Ma’s pickles, the famous biryani, the long evenings in front of hussain sagar, the lanes of Charminar, dad’s gleaming eyes beckons…

So, see you all in six weeks time.

I have not replied to many of my friends, once am back I will try and be more active on iLand ( obviously this is for those who miss me )

Till then happy times to one and all.

Ciao friends

“Akka, akka…” shouted my sister while I was engrossed in some novel or the other one fine day in those teenage years.

“What’s the matter?" I whined at being disturbed.

“Didi, next week there is an elocution contest in the school about "Man and his environment” and I have given my name as one of the participants."

 I was certainly amused when I heard that my sister had decided to enrol herself in a contest. The reason, I say, I was amused is because I knew full well that my kid sister had major issues with writing anything longer than 3 sentences. Nevertheless, I encouraged her and said that she should go for it, little realising that I was digging my own grave (something that I always seem to do).

"Ok, didi, so how many days will you need to finish writing about Man and his environment?” she asked me in a tone as cool as a cucumber.

Needless to say I was surprised, now even the book in my hand could hardly hold my attention.

“What do you mean? Why should I write? You are the one who gave your name so you go ahead and write, if you want I can make some amendments and suggestions "I offered.

"Please, please akka you write and I will mug it with apt feel and right pauses and vomit it out on the stage and trust me the prize is mine.”

After much cajoling by her and a promise that she would buy me a treat and another novel I reluctantly agreed.

So, I did write about the Man and his environment and my sister did go and speak on the stage and delightfully I say, she did receive the first prize.

What amazed me was her confidence, as although I would often write for others I myself never had the courage to participate. Public speaking isn’t my forte. I even forgot my speech once half way through and till date I panic whilst speaking in public.

However, ask me to write about anything anytime and I would be happy with that.

I am a bit of a story teller and I owe most of it to my parents. From the time I could remember dinner time was the occasion for interesting conversations and often my parents would regale the tales of the extraordinary moments in the ordinary lives of people around us.

Their pastime rubbed off on us siblings too and I tried my hand at writing.

The reason for these recollections, I turn a year old on iLand today. And what a year it has been!! I began writing to amuse myself and in the process I probably have amused some others too.

I have made a few great friends here, many acquaintances and possibly some enemies too. A year long stint probably warrants that.

I am touched by the affection that I and my posts have garnered with my friends. I guess it is this fondness that makes us probably want to write more.

Of late, a lot of the people I associated with a lot seem to be easing out of iLand slowly and that certainly is the reason for my not being so regular in the blog world too.

However, we all are bound by a common thread and  that is the need to express and as long as that want is there, we will keep coming  back to pen something or the other.

There are certain issues that are not so positive about iLand but I guess with time like everyone else even I have learnt to sieve the trash and acknowledge the good.

All in all it has been one enriching journey so far.

That's all from "winds of change "for now…more some other time.

Till then, happy times to one and all.

Guys, those of you who came running because of the title, apologies!!! I do have a nasty sense of humour although sometimes, I crack a joke at my own expense. Well, well, nothing that was on your mind friends, this was a simple exercise I decided to take up after reading PKMadhavan's old post titled, "The threes of my life." Well, he being the gentleman he titled it decently and me the naughty streaked one decided to go for something jhakaaassss….So, here it goes, just another tag blog, but to be honest I enjoyed taking up this one the most as there were many things that I rediscovered about myself.

 Three things that scare me

1        The look of grief on others faces when I know I am the reason for it.

2        Being in the donut of death. (Yes, MRI scanners freak me out)

3        Being judged.

Three people who make me laugh

1        Pseudo intellectuals.

2        Mr Bean and Brits in general with their sense of humour.

3        God, if he is around.

Three things I love

1        Solitude and soliloquy and observing things silently.

2        Reading with my cuppa tea and music playing in the background.

3        Making others laugh and happy.

Three things I hate

1        Bullies, being taken advantage of.

2        Disrespect towards work ie latecomers, callous attitude, shirking work.

3        Men who think every" bindaas" girl is game.

Three things I don't understand

1        Intolerance of any kind ie religious, moral or what have you.

2        Vindictiveness, apathy and selfishness.

3        People who don't have balls to stand up to their mistakes.

Three things on my desk

1        A photograph frame of me and my sister when we were both 5 at different times with a personalised message from my mother.     (The same frame adorns my sister's desk too)

2        The latest edition of BNF (British National Formulary) and stacks of case papers and reports.

3        A dark blue coloured Littman stethoscope.

 Three things I am doing right now

1        Waiting for my interview cum exam results, worrying about my dad's health.

2        Reading "A passage to England" by Nirad C Chaudhuri

3        Blogging (I call this part of my life as the blogging phase)

Three things I want to do before I die

1        Learn one musical instrument.

2        Write a fiction book.

3        To see every nook and corner of "Incredible India".

Three things I can do

1        Listen patiently even when the other person is being downright abusive and spiteful.

2        Forgive unconditionally but maybe not forget.

3        Make friends and keep them too.

Three things you should listen to

1        A call for help.

2        Little ones and their amazingly imaginative stories.

3        Ghanapaatis chanting in Sanskrit, MS Subbulakshmi's Suprabhatam, the sound of  Ganges at Hrishikesh and then at Haridwar, music in general and sometimes silence.

Three things you should never listen to

1        Sugar coated praise.

2       'I 'specialists and pessimists.

3        Men bragging about their conquests.

Three things I'd like to learn

1        To be able to say "NO" without sounding apologetic and guilty.

2        To stay focussed and look ahead.

3        To cook a meal better than my mom and get my dad to praise me. (So far have been unsuccessful)

Three favourite books (tough call here! I wish I could add a few more!!)

1        Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, JLS by Richard Bach

2        Godaan by Munshi Premchand

3        Man, Woman and Child & Doctors by Erich Segal

Three favourite foods

1        Alu ke paranthe with a cup of dahi and nimbu ka achaar

2        Pithla with hot plain white basmati rice

3        Methi malai matar & banarasi pulao

Three beverages I drink regularly

1        Ek pyaali chai with a few drops of milk and half a teaspoon of sugar, angrezi ishtyle.

2        Water.

3        Tomato juice with salt and pepper and a generous dash of Tabasco sauce.

Three TV shows/books I watched/read when I was a kid

1        Malgudi days, Bharat Ek Khoj, Mogli (although when Mogli came I wasn't a kid anymore) Siddharth Basu's quiz show (the name beats me!!), He Man.

2        Panchatantra Tales, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Arabian nights, Amar Chitra Katha, Chandamama.

3        Heidi, Tintin, Archie and most comic strips, Nancy Drew's, Enid Blyton's and wot not !!

I would like to tag:

I have decided to let this one go without taking names. I invite everyone on to the floor, whoever is keen; please the show is all yours.J

Smiling is infectious,
you catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
 
I passed around the corner,
and someone saw my grin.
When he smiled I realised,
I had passed it on to him.
 
I thought about the smile,
then I realised its worth.
A single smile just like mine,
could travel around the earth.
 
So if you see a smile begin,
dont leave it undetected
Lets start an epidemic, quick
and get the whole world infected.
 
 
As soon as exams are around the corner I find a million other more interesting things that grab my attention. Even insignificant trivia assume truckloads of importance and instead of cramming the anatomy of surgery and pathophysiology of medicine I ponder on the burning issues. As if my burning on the already burnt issues would prevent the charring, but then who can stop a wandering mind, eh!!
 
The global meltdown and cash crunch has me thinking deep. I follow the senseless drop and rise of sensex, the bows of the Dows, the oopsies of the Footsies and the thrifties of the Nifties and know exactly well how those who have invested must feel. I have seen this too often in ICU, the rise and drop of blood pressure and heart rates of sick ones has often left my heart in my mouth.
 
Ma called sometime today and informed the gold prices are down, “How about buying some??” I said, ” How about the one gram gold waala dull looking jewellery Ma, that’s the in thing, forget the real stuff !” She fumed and fettered and finally gave up knowing fully well that this girl will not change.
Being a female version of a perennial ” Sudama”  I never invested in anything apart from books and they are safe and sound in my home.
 
Then I move to cricket and this is something that has always been a focus of my interest especially if it’s a test series between us and the Aussies, whether it’s in land down under or here…the battle and the heat is on!
I recently read somewhere that the curator of the Mohali ground kept running underground to change the knob of pitch from an absolute “belter” to a “minefield” depending on what the Indians were at on the playground and I laughed out loud imagining the silliness of it all. A case of sour grapes for Aussies, I say! Or is it “Baggy green” going ” Saggy green” I wonder.
 
Instead of memorising the symptomatology of ” Dandy- Walker Syndrome” here I am neck deep into reading an article about another walker, a cricketing great no doubt.
But pray tell me Silly Gilly, why are you accusing the Doyen of the game for something that happened aeons ago, trying to stir up another controversy to boost the sales of your book, is it Mate !!
 
But now that I am reminded of the “Monkeygate” scandal I wonder if all Bhajji was trying to say was ” Mainnu Ki ??” Now that does sound like monkey but I am told Bhajji being Bhajji he apparently swore in our Rashtra Bhasha.
 
But, I am sure Gilly, that the master blaster will give you the silent treatment and let his bat and ball do the talking. The silent treatment is certainly the best !!
 
Hmm…then I hear about the possibility of Hindu extremists in the Malegaon blast. I do not know what to say but Sigh !!!
 
It saddens me to see Somnath Chatterjee getting so upset and emotional at the circus that keeps getting created in Parliament. ” Sad day, sad day” he says.
 
And finally I see Himesh Reshammiya crooning on umpteen channels, ” Hari Om, Hari Om”. I bet those who watched the movie must have said ” Hurry Home, Hurry Home! “
 
I think I should stop now, if ma was anywhere around me years ago, I would have been given the silent treatment too for so called “wastage of time”. How do I tell her that my creativity rises way above all the stock exchanges mixed together when the exams are nearby.
 
But advantages of being a grown up now, no silent treatments except for our own conscience.
 
So, here I go back to my books. I hope I won’t post anything until exams are over….but who knows…will not bore you guys until Deepavali is over that is for sure !!
 
PS That poem I read in one of the hospital noticeboards and the author is unknown to me..but I thought it was too good and had to be shared.
      So keep smiling my friends, keep smiling :)))))))
 

Carpathian Bashi-bazouk!
Dictatorial duck billed diplodocus!
Miserable blundering barbecued blister . . .
Anamorphic aardvark!
Dunder-headed Ethelred!
Addle-pated lump of anthracite!
Nitwitted ninepin!
Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!
Ten Thousand Thundering Typhoons!
 
Ahem….Lassies and lassas…no no, Captain Haddock has not taken over my soul. He is still very much a companion to Tintin.
Monalisa is very very angry and instead of going for the regular expletives that all my brethren use, I decided to go back in time and remember Capt Haddock.. I am so in rage since last two days. What the bloody balderdash bifocal bulimic bumble!
 
Some..” miserable molecule of mildew!” has erased 10 comments from the blog which was my first attempt at humour.
Gone with the wind..ppoooooooofffffff and I am so upset.
 
 
Its some one called “Arrey”!!
Who gives a name like “Arrey” to thier child. This person’s gender is unknown. Although, I would like to keep cursing by using the Masculine gender, I think it unfair. It could very well be a female.
Moreover, all my best pals are men.
This “arrey” bugger has done it to Ambrosia too.
Isnt this ” arrey” sad!. Was ” arrey” upset that I made a grand attempt at humour and “arrey” cannot.
 
How pathetic! This Lily-livered bandicoot has not written any comment, all it says is “array said……”.
Wonder who all this ” Nincompoop! ” is going to get too.
Wonder whether this “fancydress freebooter” is someone who dislikes humour…( Ahem…Ant r, Frozy, Moe, Sunshine, Rajesh watch out…!!)
 
The team rediffiland is equally a “Nest of rattlesnakes”. A mail sent to them regarding damage control has come back as “undeliverable”
 
On a serious note, I cherish all the comments that I receive.
 
I am so annoyed…but I wonder what the hell can I do apart from fret.

 

I should just say “let it be” like Beatles or Moe’s Uncle and write another blog…mmm?
 
 

 

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country (me) awake

I always wonder if I ever have a son or daughter what should I name them…There are so many names over the years I have grown to love…when I was a starry eyed teenager I wanted to name my first child after my first crush if it was a son…Thankfully, that thought has passed me by as the crush popped like a bubble. Living abroad trying to get other races to pronounce your simple name can be quite a harrowing experience..I am sure there are a few of my ilander friends who might have experienced this.
 
One thing I have noticed here is that any name which has more than four letters has to be shortened by everyone as its too long for people to bother calling. Fortunately, my name is short and easy enough for them to manage.
 
I fell in love with names like Prateek, Parikshit, Ashit, Sheetal ….
 
Unfortunately….Prateek becomes a Prat…Parikshit becomes Pshit….Ashit …oh my god what’s wrong with those parents ..how could they name thier child A shit….and then sheetal…one of my best friends….but nope it becomes shit all….
 
Have dropped the idea of these names….have decided to play it safe….Siddharth and Supriya…for now…I am sure in time I’ll come up with reasons for not keeping them too…for now Siddharth is quite an enchanting sweet one and …shorten it to three letters to Sid…doesn’t even have to be four…same stands for Sup….I wonder if they will end up calling her tomato soup or…something more fancy…chicken wonton soup…hmm….will have to rethink if its a girl….
 
Easiest thing would be to go back to homeland…where people know the meaning of thier names….and a story attached to it…hmmm…