BOOOO…………….ANSWERS
1. For the Boos
2. It’s a pain in the neck.
3. Fangs Giving
4. People were dying to get in!
5. You are the most booooooooo-tiful thing I have ever seen!
6. You suck
7. It was love at first bite!
8. He didn’t have the guts
9. Spook when you’re spooken to.
10. Long time no see
11. Roller Ghoster
12.Nothing gets under their skin.
BOOOOO………..
1. Why did the ghost go into the bar?
2. What’s it like to be kissed by a vampire?
3. What is a vampires favorite holiday?
4. Why did they put a fence around the cemetery?
5. What did that boy ghost say to the girl ghost?
6. What did the skeleton say to the vampire?
7. What happens when two vampires meet?
8. Why didn’t the skeleton go to see a scary movie?
9. What did the mummy ghost say to the noisy young ghost
who kept interrupting?
10. What did one ghost say to the other ghost?
11. What is a ghost’s favourite ride?
12. Why are skeletons usually so calm?
13. How do you make a skeleton laugh?
20 years after graduation, my classmates formed the yahoo group and we had all the details of families listed there. Going through the names of my friends, spouses and kids made me write a short story with some of the names I found there. The names are given in bold. (The story is in Malayalam)
Hrishikeshathekkula yatra aarambhichu . Madurai Meenakshi Kshethrathil ninnum thudangiya thirthayatra. Orupaadu naalayi manassil kondunadakkunna Asha.Deviye thozhuthuthappol manassinu enthoru santhi. Makale sumukhanum Sudhiranum Sugunanumaya orale elpichathilulla Santhoshavum samthripthiyum manassu niraye. Raniye pole njan valarthiya ende ponnumakalude roopam Karthikadeepam pole manassil thelinju nilkunnu. Than varacha Rekhayude appuram kadanittilatha makal. Yethra Valsalyathode njan avale valarthiyathu. Snehamayiyaya makalude Pradeepthamaya mukham ippozhum manassuniranju nilkunnu. Sakala Kalakalilumulla avalude Anitharasadaranamaya kazhivum orthupoyi. Sangithathilulla Praveenyam ennum prothshahipichirunnu. ShobhanaMaya bhavi avalkundakatte enu hridayam niranju prathichu.
Yaminiyude nisabdathayil evidenino Shivajapam kelkunnu. Om namahshivaya
Hrishikeshathu, Remyamaya Himalayathinde Athulangalil, Keertiketta Viswanathande mandiram. Girijavallabhane manassil dyanichu.
Naale Bharat bandh aanathre. Bharathathile janagale Mithila rajakumariyude pathiyaya Sri Ramachandrande Ayodhyanagarathe kurichu Prabodhavanmarakkan oru kootam alukal cheyyunna yathnam. Jayasreeram vili kelkunnu. Bandhil Sajeevamayi pravarthikkunu rashtriyapartikal. Bharathathinde Pratapathe kurichu vathorathe prabhasanam. Rakshayilla naale oru divasam visramam, yatrayilla. Raavile aduthulla Lakshmi Kshethrathil poyi thozham. Makalude peril oru PushpaArchana kazhipikkanam. Ravile pathrathil kandu Chandrababu Naiduvinde manthrisabhayude pathanam. Iniyumenthakkeyano rashtriya maatangal ennu chinthichupoyi.
Aduthirikkuna alkku arudeyo Roopasadrusyam thoni. Engo kandumaranna mukham. Etho veetil ninnum pazhaya hindi pattu kelkunnu. Orukalathu peruketta Zeenath Amande cinemayile pattu. Kali kalam! Gayatrijapam chollenda nerathu cinemaganamo?
Kshethrangal thozhuthirangumbol thonnunna Divyanubhuti paranjariyikkan vayya.
Madakkayatra arambhichu. Kazhinjathelam oru Binduvayi marayunnu.
SMILE
Her face reminded me of my granny. The toothless grin (scarce to find nowadays with the advent of dentures), grey hair, thick lens glasses and a simple sari worn in the typical Gujarati style. I spotted this lady in front of her house during one of my early morning walks. She waved at me smiling. I too smiled and waved back.
Kem Cho? (How are you?) she asked me the next day. Saru che (I am fine ) I replied, smiling. We became friends through these warm smiles, that invariably lit up my days. Further down the road another smiling face met me. The municipal sweeper, with his wheel barrow, on his daily duty of cleaning the roads. He gave me his toothy grin and I smiled back.
As I hurriedly walked forward I met this fat gentleman walking his fluffy white Pomeranian dog. " Good Morning" he called out smiling. I smiled and walked on lest he start one of his boring lectures. I walked towards Kamati Baug the large, beautiful and lush green
The fresh air blew across my face. The rays of the rising sun filtered through the tall trees. People from all walks of life, young and old, men and women, kids, all enthusiastically doing their rounds on the jogging track, waving at familiar faces with a smile on their lips. Happy couples were seen walking in quiet conversation lost in each other and basking in the glory of the morning sun. A dull ache enveloped my mind as I wistfully remembered the time when I walked along the same place with hubby dear, exchanging intimate conversations, until his posting abroad.
Feeling a pair of eyes on me, I glanced sideways to see a group of monkeys squatting on the lawn. Were they grinning, I wondered, reminding me of
I walked back home refreshed, ready to start a new day. Behind me I heard the tinkle of a cycle bell. I made way for the cycle and looked back to see another smiling face " Good morning auntie". It was my neighbours daughter on her way to school. I smiled as I said "Good Morning Beta ..Have a nice day"
Smiles, smiles all through the way. The milkman, the watchman, the newspaper boy each in their own inimitable style.
It brought to my mind the thought I had scribbled in my diary many years ago.
Smile a while .
And when you smile, another smiles,
Soon there are miles and miles of smiles
And life is worthwhile because you smile.
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
KEEP SMILING……………..
This poem by Thrity E Bharucha appeared in the "Eve's Weekly" (January 1980 issue) A favourite of mine ! A beautiful poem ……………
A Champa Garland
I planted
Thirty summers ago.
You never thrilled the way I did
When the first bud burst in flower.
But now u caress its soft green leaves
Do they remind you of what is past?
Of the hands that tended it many years ago?
I read your thoughts
I sense your pain
I never never thought you cared.
Your eyes are pensive now as you weave
A champa garland.
White hairs fall across your face
You push it off with impatience
I never thought it mattered
You twine the flowers one after the other
In solitary file.
I always though you were indifferent
To love
When my soul did burst in flame,
Your complacence shattered my spirit
O, how I ached for a gesture
To show that you did care.
I did not know love could be
Contained quietly in one's heart.
That love was not all gesture
Till now.
I watch your grief
As you reminisce
If only you had woven me
This garland when I was
Instead of decking now my grave with it
As I watch you grieving now,
I weep in solitude
If I could but wipe your pain away
If I could but give my heart once more .
But I can't I can't .
I'm no more.
With the spate of 'female' bashing ' jokes sent to my mail box by my fun loving college mates, I wanted to counter them and thus was born this story.' This is written in lighter vein and no offence meant to anyone.
Zero met zero'..there was a Big Bong''and two heroes were born. The first one was GOD and after a few seconds the DEVIL. (Did you guys know that GOD and DEVIL are twin brothers?) Since God was born a few minutes early by the Big Bong theory, he was given charge of the kingdom of heaven, which made Devil nurse a grudge against him. (Like Duryodhana was jealous of Yudhishtira). He was waiting for an oppurtunity to strike back and get the throne.
One day God was in the process of making a human being. He got all the materials required and asked Devil to get some water to mix them. Devil siezed this oppurtunity and added a few drops of Temptic acid and Lazoic acid ( which he had stolen earlier from God's locked laboratory) to the water he gave GOD.
(Temptic acid and Lazoic acid are colourless, odorless, acids with a' specific gravity of 1.0000001 and 1.0000002 respectively. Temptic acid causes temptation and' Lazoic acid causes laziness)
Thus GOD mixed the water containing Temptic and Lazoic acid and created the first human being - ADAM.
Adam was walking all alone in the Garden of Eden when he saw God's assistants, the beautiful angels
After a few days Lazoic acid started having an effect on Adam. He was becoming lazy and wanted someone else to do all the work for him and' he lied to God (the first lie ) that he was lonely and needed a companion. God took the extra ellu (bone) out of Adam' and created MADAM.'
Devil, the opportunist,'was quick in making friendship with Adam. During one of their Somarasa (drinking) sessions, Adam confided in the Devil 'Aasane'.(sings) ' Oru golam polulla chuvannu thudutha aa apple thinnuvan moham'.(Tune of the song 'oru vattam koodiyen ormakal meyunna thirumuttathethuvan moham'.'). Valla' vazhiyumundo Annaa??
'Chummatheyango thinno'..'' Devil
God's anger knew no bounds.' His CID had briefed him earlier and he knew the culprits. Since Madam was a part of Adam he had to punish her also along with Adam. He clapped his hands
Its another story how human beings managed to send Devil to Hell (we will call it the Big Bung theory).
Meeting
She tripped over the steps. Her hand tried to hold the railings. A strong hand helped her. "Careful dear ….watch your step". She thanked the gentleman as she regained her posture. "You seem to be frolicking like a kid" he commented. "What do you mean? Like a kid? I am one". " Now dear " she said shaking her head, "Don't ever count the grey hairs on your head. Its the state of your mind!" The gentleman raised his eyebrows. "And who says that?" he asked.
My best friend dear …my best friend .. she said with a smile that lighted up her face.
"And who is that may I know?" He queried. Was he being too inquisitive? She wondered still she couldn't hold back her happiness. Within minutes he would be here. He had promised. And she knew he was one who would never break a promise.
He walked along with her up the stairs. He was watching her enthusiasm, she could feel that. Why was he smiling so, she wondered. She was thrilled at the prospect of meeting her friend. They had been chatting for almost a year now, and she expressed a desire to meet him. He was arriving at
"How will you recognize me?" she had asked. "Leave that to me" he had told. She wondered what his plan was. He loved to give surprises and she wondered what he would spring this time.
"Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?" the gentleman asked her. "You have 15 minutes left to meet your friend".
"Did I tell you so?" she looked at him quizzically.
"Didn't you?" he asked playfully.
They entered the AC dining hall. She looked around. Hubby had vanished probably for a smoke grrrr. She felt a bit strange and why was this gentleman so friendly? She wished her hubby would come soon.
They sat down at the table. He made her at ease and asked more about her friend. She was a trifle irritated when he mentioned the ills of net chatting. She was sure her best friend was a cut above the rest. And why was this stranger so interested in advising her? Oh she wished her hubby would come back soon.
"Hello Arvind ! " she heard the voice of her husband booming from behind. She stared at the gentleman as he stood up and shook hands with her husband.
As she pouted with a glaring look to both of them, she heard Arvind say " Thanks for that photo, I could spot her easily"!
Flying (Saucer) Papaya .
The gyaenocologist confirmed it and I was in the seventh heaven of delight. If the would-be-mom is in such ecstasy, will the would-be-dad be far behind? We decided to celebrate the occasion with a grand dinner. I gorged myself, with a good amount of chilly chicken and fried rice (my favourites of those days), fully aware of the fact that the next few months these dishes may not be as palatable to my tongue with the morning sickness et al.
It's the luckiest period of a woman's life, you see. You get what you ask for. It's a tradition not to deny a pregnant lady whatever she asks for, lest the newborn get an ear infection. (huh..huh was Draupadi pregnant when her valiant one-among-the-five husbands the great Bhima went in search of the "kalyanasougandhika" flower so painstakingly?).
There is a big list of do's and don'ts too. Have milk in plenty (ugh I hate milk), eat fruits and nuts (monkeyish!), eat iron rich foods and a list of not to eat items .. All was drilled well into our ears by elders whenever we met them.
Now the real story begins. My neighbour aunty, a mother of four and grandma of six, would lovingly send me, staying away from parents and in-laws and attending office, eatables once a while. One day she sent me a piece of ripe Papaya grown in her garden. I love fruits and nuts, any type (even the chocolate filled ones of Cadbury's). Back from office I was slowly peeling the skin of the papaya when in came hubby dear to the kitchen. He looked at me with stern disapproval "You are going to eat that?. Don't you know that papayas are hot for the body and cannot be eaten in your condition?".
" Oh, I know that but this is only a small piece" I argued. He said a firm "NO". I persisted "Aunty wouldn't have given it to me if I was not supposed to eat it". Oh, no sympathy at all from hubby dear. " Nothing is going to happen with this small piece of papaya I am going to eat it" I said firmly.
Angered that I was being unnecessarily stubborn, he just picked up the papaya piece and sent it flying out of the kitchen door. As the projectile took off I watched sadly the flying papaya as it landed in the backyard.
I went out to see the orange coloured papaya all brown and dirty lying on the ground. I knelt down beside that and sang "Veenithallo kidakkunnu dharaniyil, podiyumettu ende papaya " ** (here lies my papaya on the earth, coated with dust)(Courtesy Kumaran Aasaan).
Although years have passed by, whenever we eat a papaya we are reminded of this flying papaya incident.
** Shri.Kumaran Aasan was a famous Malayalam poet. His poem "Veena Poovu" (The Fallen Flower) starts "Veenithallo kidakkunnu dharaniyil, sonithavumaninjayyo shiva shiva ." Meaning “Oh God, here lies the flower on the earth coated with blood "
I dedicate this blog to my best friend whom I happened to meet after I wrote this story.
My Friend
Her eyes were moist as he bade her goodbye. 'Thanks for everything' Vineeth's voice was almost a whisper. Did she detect a trace of sadness in it? However, she was sure the words came from the depths of his heart.
'Shall I get you some coffee?' she asked.' 'Give me the privilege' butted in Dev ' You chat with Vini' he continued as he got up and squeezed her hand. She noticed that he left a face tissue in her hand. Years of togetherness, her husband knew her well enough. He can read me like a mirror she thought.
Vini was returning home. To a family, a wife who were eagerly awaiting the reunion. She was happy for him. Within the happiness, she was sad too. 'In a short period of 'six months he had become' a friend, a soulmate.' A friend she would cherish forever.
It seemed just like yesterday that she met Vini. Her thoughts flashed to their first meeting. It was a fall that led to their meeting. She was walking along, after parking her car, thinking herself lucky to get a slot very near to the store she wanted to visit. It was always difficult to get parking space in this big north Indian city.
He was standing there all alone . Forlorn, clothes dirtied from falling into a pit, unable to converse in the local language. He looked like he would drop right there, exhaustion and helplessness writ large on his face. One look at him and his thick moustache'she had asked 'Malayali aano? (Are you' a Malayali?).' She saw hope light up his face as he said 'athey' (yes).
She gathered he stayed a bit faraway and invited him home which was just a stone's throw away.' Reluctantly he agreed, knowing he had no other choice. ''She looked at him. He was too slim to fit into her husbands clothes. She called out to her son.' He took over, after all hadn't his parents always inculcated the 'athidhi devo bhava' culture in him.
Back after bath and a change of clothes, he was still at a loss. Born chatter that she was, she put him at ease soon. She learnt that he had a wife, a five year old son and his widowed mother back home and that he joined this new place of work just the previous day. After dinner she dropped him at his place and that was the beginning of their beautiful friendship.
That night she called up her husband.' 'Dev'. Today I met Vineeth'.' The conversation lasted an hour and she was happy to get a patient ear at the other end.
Vini was a simpleton. Away from home in an unknown place for the first time he needed help and like a true friend, she pitched in whenever needed and made him comfortable. Within a week he was familiar with the roads and shops. He offered to help her with her shopping but she refused saying it will make her too lazy. 'After all didn't she want to stay trim when Dev returned after his assignment abroad.
Many times she found him looking longingly at wife's and son's photo. There were no words spoken but she could sense his yearning to see his family.' She learnt that his wife was not getting along with his mother. He was torn between the two women in his life. 'Wait for the third woman' she used to say 'who will totally change your life'.' 'Daughters often did that to their doting fathers.
Vini learnt what she said was true.. that you miss your spouse for what he or she is when you stay away from them. Wasn't' her life the biggest example? She advised him that things would get better, that he had to be patient with his wife. After all a married girl had to make much adjustments at her in law's place. She tried to make him understand his wife's difficulty.' It opened his eyes. After three months he made a visit home and came back happy.' Things were getting better.' She was happy for her friend.
You seem to be a Jack of all trades he commented one day.' She smiled. Dev was her mentor. If not for her dear husband she would not be the confident lady as seen by others now.'
He was a reserved person. Slowly he opened up. She discovered his many talents.' Music, Books ,Computers, Human nature 'you name it and' he could talk on any subject under the sun. Thoughts flowed, opinions exchanged, even the silence between them was comfortable like true friends.
Her thoughts were interrupted. 'Coffee is ready' said Dev as he came in with the tray. They sipped in silence. She thought how lucky she was to have such an understanding husband.
It was time to leave. Vini gifted her a memento.' A pure crystal rose. Its like our friendship he said, clear and pure. And with a final goodbye he turned to leave.
She watched as he turned the curve, past her
1. The ‘devil’s luck’ is:
a. Exceptionally good luck
2. The ‘devil’s books’ are:
c. Playing cards
3.’Devil’s bit’ is:
a. A plant called scabious
4.The ‘devil’s tattoo’ is:
c. Drumming the fingers on something
5.’Devil’s dung’ is:
a. Asafoetida
6.’Devil take the hindmost’ means:
b. The last one is going to be in trouble
7.The ‘Devil’s Advocate’ is:
b.A person appointed to oppose the canonisation of a new saint
8. A ‘printer’s devil’ is:
c. An apprentice in a printing works
9.A ‘devil’s coach-horse’ is:
a. A fierce looking and fast beetle
10.’Devil in the bush’ is:
c. Love in the mist
