Greetings wonderful MTBs!!!
and good work to all of you!
For having solved the riddle before
I give you all this clue.
The letter " L "
Write it down, add it on...
And let’s move on to the next little song.
“A predilection for nuts but not for Coke.
A sixth sense for a potential joke.
Now you have all you need to size her
Why on earth can't you still recognize her?”
Solve it and you get your lead
Misguess, and you lose your speed
Solve it slow but solve it now
And before you go, take a little bow
Go to 'Comments' and leave me a clue
Tell me which blog you are off to.
Good luck! Good luck! Be on your way.
You have your work, cut out for the day!
Tag: Fair Game
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
one more tag
Jawahara tagged me for this one quite a while ago.
Here goes:
1.LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: Race
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
A Right Royal Bastard by Aminuddin Khan, Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, New Life- short stories by Vijai Dan Detha, Dev Anand's autobiography, Romancing with Life.
3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Ludo
4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? The Week, Outlook, RD, Good Housekeeping,India Today.....
5. FAVORITE SMELL? The smell of wet earth after the first rain.
6. FAVORITE SOUND? Hubby's snores!
7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Self pity
8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE? The zillion things I need to do in the day.
9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? Dominos
10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? No chance!
11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I'D...? Have a house with excellent housekeeper attached!
12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Don't drive at all now.
13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? If he's had a good dinner and is sufficiently full to be called stuffed, yes. (If he's there, that is).
14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY? Mostly cool.
15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Our first car was a second hand Amby which I often had to push!
16. FAVORITE DRINK? Water, club soda, green tea
17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD .....do all the things I've ever wanted to do.
18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes. Shouldn't I?
19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Never have, never will.
20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.
New Delhi, London,Agra, Lucknow, Angthong (Thailand), Kochi, NOIDA, Gummidipoondi,
Kolkata
21. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Used to watch the Wimbledon finals.
22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
She writes very well. I also enjoyed her book, The Burden of Foreknowledge
23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? A nice clean floor.
24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? A taller, thinner, musically gifted version would be appreciated!
25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL? Both, depending on circumstances. Was essentially a morning person before I got used to reading blogs late into the night!
26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
No longer eat eggs as such, only in cakes.
27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? The easy chair with footstool in my sitting room.
28. FAVORITE PIE? None, really. Prefer gooey pastries and cheesecake.
29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate. The darker and richer, the better.
30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Whoever is jobless enough! I tag
The Indian Home maker, Choxbox, Parul, Itching to Write
Here goes:
1.LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: Race
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
A Right Royal Bastard by Aminuddin Khan, Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, New Life- short stories by Vijai Dan Detha, Dev Anand's autobiography, Romancing with Life.
3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Ludo
4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? The Week, Outlook, RD, Good Housekeeping,India Today.....
5. FAVORITE SMELL? The smell of wet earth after the first rain.
6. FAVORITE SOUND? Hubby's snores!
7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Self pity
8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE? The zillion things I need to do in the day.
9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? Dominos
10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? No chance!
11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I'D...? Have a house with excellent housekeeper attached!
12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Don't drive at all now.
13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? If he's had a good dinner and is sufficiently full to be called stuffed, yes. (If he's there, that is).
14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY? Mostly cool.
15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Our first car was a second hand Amby which I often had to push!
16. FAVORITE DRINK? Water, club soda, green tea
17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD .....do all the things I've ever wanted to do.
18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes. Shouldn't I?
19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Never have, never will.
20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.
New Delhi, London,Agra, Lucknow, Angthong (Thailand), Kochi, NOIDA, Gummidipoondi,
Kolkata
21. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Used to watch the Wimbledon finals.
22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
She writes very well. I also enjoyed her book, The Burden of Foreknowledge
23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? A nice clean floor.
24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN? A taller, thinner, musically gifted version would be appreciated!
25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL? Both, depending on circumstances. Was essentially a morning person before I got used to reading blogs late into the night!
26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
No longer eat eggs as such, only in cakes.
27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? The easy chair with footstool in my sitting room.
28. FAVORITE PIE? None, really. Prefer gooey pastries and cheesecake.
29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate. The darker and richer, the better.
30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Whoever is jobless enough! I tag
The Indian Home maker, Choxbox, Parul, Itching to Write
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Father of the Bride: second post on the shaadi business
Most of our Indian weddings have a strange dynamic. By virtue of being the family of the groom, an entire set of people are given superior status over the bride's family, who is supposed to bow and scrape and generally kowtow to them. It is part of a set-up wherein the parents of a daughter are burdened from the time she is born. With all our liberal thinking, this is something that has not changed significantly over the years, barring a tiny minority which includes many of us on this forum.
A few decades ago, when we lived in Thailand, we were struck by a great contrast in the expressions of the airport staff at Bangkok airport and the Delhi airport. The Thai staff at both customs and immigration, were uniformly smiling and cheerful, while their Indian counterparts were generally grumpy and grouchy looking. We had also discovered that in Thailand a young man had to pay a bride price to the father of the girl he intended to marry, and would work and save towards that, and both youngsters would work and save towards the wedding expenses. It was essentially the people who were marrying who were working towards it. Whereas our poor Indian fathers were burdened with the cost of the girl's trousseau, if not actual dowry, and the need to provide acceptably lavish hospitality to the groom's family. No wonder the grouchy men at the airport. I agree that it's a very simplistic observation, but it has the ring of truth.
According to me, an ideal marriage would be one in which the bride and groom would be equal partners in the entire equation, with both sides sharing the expense of the ceremony and subsequent hospitality, proportionately according to the number of people each side has invited. The parents of both bride and groom would, instead of 'giving' their children away, would welcome the new member to be a part of their family, and then proceed with whatever form of ceremony they desire- civil or religious, hopefully in a language that is meaningful to the couple taking their vows.
The old mindsets can change only when the onus of choosing a partner is on the man and woman concerned. It is about being responsible for your own decisions and how you want to implement them. Some of our glorious traditions need to be broken- and the tradition of having any kind of marriage which leads to spoken and implicit demands, needs to be changed. Till date, some banks advertise loans for a son's education and a daughter's marriage.
The Rational Fool had this to say, as a comment on Usha's blog http://agelessbonding.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-many-more.html#5685165301382537508
"as parents, let's begin by washing our hands completely of our children's marriage. Let's restore to our children, especially our daughters, their inalienable right to select their mates. Completely, unequivocally. No if's and but's! The kanniga is not a property of her father to be given away as dhanam to a nincompoop who happens to have the planets and the stars in the right position at the right time.
p.s. I am out of the loop. My daughter is happily married to her college senior. Neither my wife, nor I, had anything to do with it - not even the expenses. With the pleasant exception of both of us walking the aisle with her".
I had read this several months ago and it has stayed with me.
In his own post, Girls Interrupted
http://therationalfool.blogspot.com/2007/08/girls-interrupted.html
he has this to say," many social ills in India pertaining to women, such as female infanticides, honor killings, forced abortions, and the dowry system, would be eradicated, if and when women reclaim their inalienable right to mate selection. Even casteism and communalism, the twin scourges of India, would cease to exist, if women selected their own mates instead of relegating that power to their parents".
It is a major change of mindset: from a historical system where the word of the patriarch was law, and where he was also responsible for the well being of each member of the family, to a system in which an adult is expected to be responsible for his own life and his own decisions. I recall a cousin's wife telling me how good the arranged marriage system was, because if things went wrong you could always blame your parents. I found this statement utterly appalling. We need to accept responsibility for our own actions. (If you are caught speeding, kindly pay the fine instead of invoking the names of the powerful people who can come to your rescue).
Even when youngsters do select their own partners, the 'boy's people' syndrome doesn't go away. So often you hear of women losing respect for their in-laws because of the way they threw their weight around at the time of the wedding, or in making arrangements to suit their family members rather than something mutually convenient to both parties. It is not a power equation. It is about the happiness of your children, and your own future happiness. If you have a friendly and loving relationship with your daughter-in-law and her natal family, everyone benefits from it.
Our Indian traditions are deep-rooted. Our first reaction to a child's love affair becoming known to us is usually disapproval. (Some atavistic urge seems to prevent both parents and children from recognising each other as sexual beings).
Which tends to create far more problems than it solves. Please give the youngsters time to see where their relationship is headed. Allow your children the freedom to bring friends of both sexes home. You will know their friends, and there would be far less need for hole-and-corner meetings. Disapproval may catalyse far more powerful attractions than a general willingness to approve of their friends.
As parents we think we know what is best for our children. The best we can do is accept their adulthood. We may not be able to save them from heartbreak. But we can console them without saying 'I told you so'. We have to be there for them at all times, and yet not interfere in their lives- a fine balance indeed!
A friend was telling me about events in her family some fifty or more years ago. They were four sisters and a brother, all of 'marriageable' age. They came across some matrimonial correspondence between their father and a gentleman of their community for the eldest sister which upset them all- apparently, not only were stipulated amounts of cash and jewellery to be handed over at the time of the wedding, but also on the occasion of the birth of the first child and on various other ceremonial occasions. There were also suggestions that the brother take a hefty dowry to help meet the expenses of his sisters' weddings. The siblings decided then and there that any such kind of marriage was insulting and not required, and collectively absolved their parents of their responsibility to get them married. They were all well educated, enterprising people who wished to live life on their own terms. Four of them did find matches on their own terms, and the fifth never married, and yet is one of the happiest, most emotionally fulfilled people I've ever known.All have had fulfilling careers and satisfying lives. They could do this in the
nineteen-fifties. Why can't we do it now? People may not explicitly demand dowry these days, but even the assumption that the father of the bride foots all the bills is, to my mind, questionable.(Unless of course the groom's family refuses to participate at all, which is another matter).
At the very least, be willing to question the status quo. Be the change you want to see.
Edited to add: The Indian Homemaker's latest post is even more radical. Do take a look.
http://lifeofanindianhomemaker.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-important-is-it-for-girl-to-get.html
A few decades ago, when we lived in Thailand, we were struck by a great contrast in the expressions of the airport staff at Bangkok airport and the Delhi airport. The Thai staff at both customs and immigration, were uniformly smiling and cheerful, while their Indian counterparts were generally grumpy and grouchy looking. We had also discovered that in Thailand a young man had to pay a bride price to the father of the girl he intended to marry, and would work and save towards that, and both youngsters would work and save towards the wedding expenses. It was essentially the people who were marrying who were working towards it. Whereas our poor Indian fathers were burdened with the cost of the girl's trousseau, if not actual dowry, and the need to provide acceptably lavish hospitality to the groom's family. No wonder the grouchy men at the airport. I agree that it's a very simplistic observation, but it has the ring of truth.
According to me, an ideal marriage would be one in which the bride and groom would be equal partners in the entire equation, with both sides sharing the expense of the ceremony and subsequent hospitality, proportionately according to the number of people each side has invited. The parents of both bride and groom would, instead of 'giving' their children away, would welcome the new member to be a part of their family, and then proceed with whatever form of ceremony they desire- civil or religious, hopefully in a language that is meaningful to the couple taking their vows.
The old mindsets can change only when the onus of choosing a partner is on the man and woman concerned. It is about being responsible for your own decisions and how you want to implement them. Some of our glorious traditions need to be broken- and the tradition of having any kind of marriage which leads to spoken and implicit demands, needs to be changed. Till date, some banks advertise loans for a son's education and a daughter's marriage.
The Rational Fool had this to say, as a comment on Usha's blog http://agelessbonding.blogspot.com/2007/08/how-many-more.html#5685165301382537508
"as parents, let's begin by washing our hands completely of our children's marriage. Let's restore to our children, especially our daughters, their inalienable right to select their mates. Completely, unequivocally. No if's and but's! The kanniga is not a property of her father to be given away as dhanam to a nincompoop who happens to have the planets and the stars in the right position at the right time.
p.s. I am out of the loop. My daughter is happily married to her college senior. Neither my wife, nor I, had anything to do with it - not even the expenses. With the pleasant exception of both of us walking the aisle with her".
I had read this several months ago and it has stayed with me.
In his own post, Girls Interrupted
http://therationalfool.blogspot.com/2007/08/girls-interrupted.html
he has this to say," many social ills in India pertaining to women, such as female infanticides, honor killings, forced abortions, and the dowry system, would be eradicated, if and when women reclaim their inalienable right to mate selection. Even casteism and communalism, the twin scourges of India, would cease to exist, if women selected their own mates instead of relegating that power to their parents".
It is a major change of mindset: from a historical system where the word of the patriarch was law, and where he was also responsible for the well being of each member of the family, to a system in which an adult is expected to be responsible for his own life and his own decisions. I recall a cousin's wife telling me how good the arranged marriage system was, because if things went wrong you could always blame your parents. I found this statement utterly appalling. We need to accept responsibility for our own actions. (If you are caught speeding, kindly pay the fine instead of invoking the names of the powerful people who can come to your rescue).
Even when youngsters do select their own partners, the 'boy's people' syndrome doesn't go away. So often you hear of women losing respect for their in-laws because of the way they threw their weight around at the time of the wedding, or in making arrangements to suit their family members rather than something mutually convenient to both parties. It is not a power equation. It is about the happiness of your children, and your own future happiness. If you have a friendly and loving relationship with your daughter-in-law and her natal family, everyone benefits from it.
Our Indian traditions are deep-rooted. Our first reaction to a child's love affair becoming known to us is usually disapproval. (Some atavistic urge seems to prevent both parents and children from recognising each other as sexual beings).
Which tends to create far more problems than it solves. Please give the youngsters time to see where their relationship is headed. Allow your children the freedom to bring friends of both sexes home. You will know their friends, and there would be far less need for hole-and-corner meetings. Disapproval may catalyse far more powerful attractions than a general willingness to approve of their friends.
As parents we think we know what is best for our children. The best we can do is accept their adulthood. We may not be able to save them from heartbreak. But we can console them without saying 'I told you so'. We have to be there for them at all times, and yet not interfere in their lives- a fine balance indeed!
A friend was telling me about events in her family some fifty or more years ago. They were four sisters and a brother, all of 'marriageable' age. They came across some matrimonial correspondence between their father and a gentleman of their community for the eldest sister which upset them all- apparently, not only were stipulated amounts of cash and jewellery to be handed over at the time of the wedding, but also on the occasion of the birth of the first child and on various other ceremonial occasions. There were also suggestions that the brother take a hefty dowry to help meet the expenses of his sisters' weddings. The siblings decided then and there that any such kind of marriage was insulting and not required, and collectively absolved their parents of their responsibility to get them married. They were all well educated, enterprising people who wished to live life on their own terms. Four of them did find matches on their own terms, and the fifth never married, and yet is one of the happiest, most emotionally fulfilled people I've ever known.All have had fulfilling careers and satisfying lives. They could do this in the
nineteen-fifties. Why can't we do it now? People may not explicitly demand dowry these days, but even the assumption that the father of the bride foots all the bills is, to my mind, questionable.(Unless of course the groom's family refuses to participate at all, which is another matter).
At the very least, be willing to question the status quo. Be the change you want to see.
Edited to add: The Indian Homemaker's latest post is even more radical. Do take a look.
http://lifeofanindianhomemaker.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-important-is-it-for-girl-to-get.html
Monday, April 14, 2008
I asked the moon......
This song has got into my head and isn't leaving it:
Maine poocha chand se
ki dekha hai kahin
mere yaar sa haseen?
Chand ne kaha
Chandni ki kasam
Nahin, nahin, nahin.
A very rough translation:
I asked the moon
if it had seen
anyone, anywhere
as beautiful as my beloved?
The moon replied,
I swear upon the moonlight
No, no, no.
This rather corny lyric was sung by the inimitable Mohammed Rafi (for the 1980 movie Abdullah, lyrics Anand Bakshi, music RD Burman). But it sprang unbidden into my mind yesterday, and isn't leaving.
The Sometimes Resident Engineer has been a weekend husband for the past couple of weeks, spending the working week in Durgapur. He got back on Saturday morning, was supposed to go to Raichak and cancelled his plans, and just hung around the house,snoozing between phone calls from the factory, doing Sudoko, switching on the TV two seconds after I switched on the radio, not switching on fans (how he sits there in the sweltering heat is beyond me) and not switching off the bathroom lights, and generally pottering around! And it was wonderful. We didn't go out of the house, and didn't even think about it either.
Maybe more than a couple of days would be a bit too much, but I know how much I've changed over the years. Sundays used to be days of mismatched expectations, leading to almost inevitable warfare. When he's around, I no longer bother about tidying our room or making the bed or dusting, or care about going out to be entertained. Having him around is all the entertainment I need. Am I growing old?
Or just sensible?
Having him around must have brought that song to my mind. And to my eyes, of course there's no one as beautiful!
Maine poocha chand se
ki dekha hai kahin
mere yaar sa haseen?
Chand ne kaha
Chandni ki kasam
Nahin, nahin, nahin.
A very rough translation:
I asked the moon
if it had seen
anyone, anywhere
as beautiful as my beloved?
The moon replied,
I swear upon the moonlight
No, no, no.
This rather corny lyric was sung by the inimitable Mohammed Rafi (for the 1980 movie Abdullah, lyrics Anand Bakshi, music RD Burman). But it sprang unbidden into my mind yesterday, and isn't leaving.
The Sometimes Resident Engineer has been a weekend husband for the past couple of weeks, spending the working week in Durgapur. He got back on Saturday morning, was supposed to go to Raichak and cancelled his plans, and just hung around the house,snoozing between phone calls from the factory, doing Sudoko, switching on the TV two seconds after I switched on the radio, not switching on fans (how he sits there in the sweltering heat is beyond me) and not switching off the bathroom lights, and generally pottering around! And it was wonderful. We didn't go out of the house, and didn't even think about it either.
Maybe more than a couple of days would be a bit too much, but I know how much I've changed over the years. Sundays used to be days of mismatched expectations, leading to almost inevitable warfare. When he's around, I no longer bother about tidying our room or making the bed or dusting, or care about going out to be entertained. Having him around is all the entertainment I need. Am I growing old?
Or just sensible?
Having him around must have brought that song to my mind. And to my eyes, of course there's no one as beautiful!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Inner Sanctum
As you can see, teal blue has to be part of my house, somewhere! Many bits and pieces have a story- the black bench in the bedroom and the black chairs in the sitting room and their matching table were probably made in Delhi. We were living in Kochi at the time. I'd seen them at an exhibition, and fell in love with the design. The Sometimes Resident Engineer was just too busy to come and look at them, despite much fruitless nagging.
"If you like them so much, just buy them", said he.
"If you promise not to criticise them once I've bought them," said the long suffering spouse.
The furniture was bought and installed in our strangely shaped sitting room- one wall was part of a diagonal. I think the furniture felt very much at home.
Late evening. The man of the house returns. He takes one look and says,
"The nails on those seats are going to rip a lot of clothes."
Bah.
After which I promptly made cushions for the seats.
I'd bought these maybe in 1996 or 1997. They've moved with us from Kochi to Noida to Gummidipoondi to Kolkata, where they got a fresh coat of paint and brand new cushions. I still love them.
Monday, April 7, 2008
House beautiful!
My home- my favourite place in the whole world. It's sometimes a glorious mess, despite being inhabited only by adults most of the time. But I insist that it's always glorious!
The first picture is of my original colour scheme with my very first FabIndia durree, which I had taken ages ago but hadn't even tried uploading. I realise now that I should have rotated it before uploading it, but never mind! The next four are of the current look.
A virtual welcome to my home, dear readers.
Somewhat unchallenged at last!
After having had a digital camera in the house for the past several years, and having taken the occasional picture with it, (if and only if I could find new batteries when I wanted them), I finally uploaded some pictures onto the computer. I know that it's no big deal, of course, but since it's the first time it feels like a great achievement! Which I insist on sharing with all of you. This lovely Bastar metal work cow is a gift from my uncle and aunt, who came to stay with my parents while we had gone to the US. Isn't she lovely? I think she is! The 'people tree' next to her is also a tribal piece from the same area, given to me by a very dear friend.
More in the next post. Three cheers for the photo-uploading dinosaur!
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