A lucky day

On Saturday, I suddenly felt like having pizza. I often have cravings for junk food, but then I do not encourage myself for it. But once is ok, I thought. My mom was least interested in pizza and I had no other company. Tanay was already asleep and I wouldn't have shared the pizza with him under any circumstances. So, I took the phone, rang Domino's pizza and ordered a personal pan and pasta in white sauce. I ordered at about 8:10 pm and the lady at the other end promised me to deliver it within 30 minutes. I was happy and was waiting eagerly for the pizza.

Half an hour passed, one hour passed. No signs of pizza.

I called at the shop, she said, "my person is on way". I was already miffed by the fact that she didn't keep the promise, but then had no other option than to wait for the delivery guy. She then later added that I should ask the delivery man to give me a discount of Rs. 300/-.  I didn't believe my ears. Was it true? My bill was Rs. 315/- and if a discount of Rs. 300/- is to be applied on it, then ideally I will have to pay only Rs. 15/- for a personal pan pizza and the pasta. I reconfirmed with her and she said that I had indeed heard it right. Then I thought, it is worth a wait for Rs. 15/-!!

The pizza finally arrived at 9:40 pm and I gladly received it and handed over only Rs. 15/- to the delivery boy after asking him to speak to the lady at the shop. I took the parcel and realized that it was not hot as they usually deliver. I thought of calling back and blasting them, but then I thought, what should I really expect at Rs. 15/-? I can re-heat it in the microwave at home, can't I?

I savored each and every bite of the pizza and the pasta as I sat at the table and pondered.

Lady luck smiles on us when we least expect it and we should be able to enjoy the small packets of happiness that she brings along!

What's your take on it?

A trip down the memory lane

Owing to the hype created around the nation-wide strike today, I decided to work from a location which was near to my house and this new company is exactly next to my old company. The campus is very beautiful and I have so many good memories of the old company and the things around it.

When we were a team of four, we often went to the eatery called "The Bay" which had a roof identical to an umbrella and under which there was a plethora of restaurants. Mcdonalds, Subway, Dominos, Baskins Robbins, Beijing Bites, Kathi zone, Costa Coffee, Cafe Coffee Day all under one roof! What a fun it was! There was also a juice parlor where we had tastiest sandwiches and milk shakes, which closed down later. My colleague Sudha, who was pregnant at that time loved to gorge on the sandwiches and the extra sweet "Guava milk-shake”. We have also waited for an hour for our pizza to arrive from Dominos and chatted away merrily with no sense of time and that we have come here leaving our work behind. We also paid a visit to the Baskins Robbins ice-cream parlor there and tried weird combinations and flavors. A hectic and irritating day at work called for treating oneself with something which lifted the mood! The Chinese food in Beijing Bites was so damn spicy, but still over our never ending talks, it never seemed bad at all. Our favorite hang-over later, when I was alone in the team and the others left the company one by one was Cafe Coffee Day with my best friend and shuttle mate, Teju. We spent hours together drinking Cafe Latte and enjoying the hot sizzling brownie with ice-cream. The corn and spinach sandwich was also awesome over there. We have shared so many worries and happiness, both related to work and personal life. I also saw the buses waiting for the employees today to bring them home and it took me back to the shuttle-time. It was actually one of the best times I and Teju had after office. We were welcomed by the cool wind in the evening sometimes, sometimes by a drizzle of rain, sometimes by the bright shining sun. There was often a long queue in which we had to wait for the buses to go out of the gate one by one and the speed at which the bus driver drove the bus as if he is driving on NH7 was really maddening and annoying, his competition with the other bus drivers at the cost of the people inside irritated and amused us at the same time! Plus there was a maddening traffic due to the road work on our way back making us late in reaching home. We often got tired and exhausted, but we had each other’s company which was the best part of that 45 minutes ride! Oh, I can go on and on..

All those moments just fleeted in front of my eyes and I wished to live that life one more time, the last time! One never realizes that the moment which he/she experiences cannot be relived ever again. One has to weave the memories and keep them aside in one corner of the heart and revisit them often. Teju later chose to be a home-maker and I went for maternity leave never to return to the old company. As I passed by the building today, I felt a sudden rush of emotions and realized that the old company, the company building, the bus-time are no longer a part of my life and I no longer exist for them either!

Teju dear - As a toast to the good time we spent together, I bought the blueberry muffin and banana split muffin home and shared with mom and dad and Tanay! Once we meet in person, celebration to banta hai!!!

:-) 

Happy 2nd anniversary - Dear Blue Sky

I am so sorry my dear blue sky.

Your 2nd anniversary just slipped out of my mind yesterday. When I hit the bed exhausted yesterday did it dawn upon me that it was exactly two years ago when you took shape!

I share every trivial thing in my life with you and also the most important thing in my life. You are always there like a blank slate waiting to be written upon. You are always there to encourage me to play with words and put my thoughts into beautiful little essays, which will be etched forever as far as the technology will stay with us. You welcome strangers with open hands and also invite the well wishers and friends to comment on my write-ups.

You stand neglected many a times, when I am very busy or just too bored to open the laptop and paint my thoughts on your vast and white canvas. You are not judgmental, you never criticize me, you never say that a particular article is senseless and doesn't deserve to be on your list. You are elated when you get positive comments about your appearance and the content of the post. You are never pulled back by any negative comment and you very well know how to take it in your stride and move ahead with new thoughts and ideas and posts. You very well know that some people may like you and the others may detest you. You chose to focus on the good and build your good-will on it. By word of mouth, I am sure you are known to many people by now and they are all happy to have known you and sometimes to have read you.

So, I take this opportunity to wish you tons of posts like the ones in the past and many more to come in the future and let your glory unfold and increase day by day. Your growth is my personal growth and our strength lies in sharing with each other, isn't it?

Happy Anniversary, dear Blue Sky!!

The sacrifice

I am not a regular TV addict, but I like seeing a few serials here and there as and when I get time.

Today, there was a telecast of Filmfare awards hosted by the favorite duo, Shahrukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan. They created quite a ripple the last few times they were together and I was looking forward to watch them together again after a long time, but I did not switch the TV on today! Why?

                                                                                                                                            
Because I got hooked to a book after many days! As I wrote in my previous post, I just couldn't keep the book "It's your life" down. Tanay was thankfully sleeping the whole time and I got ample time to flip through a few pages. When was it the last time when I sat with a new book like this, with the smell of it's cover passing through my senses and my eyes devouring all that they came across in the book? Not at least in the last 11 months that my baby is here. Before that I did some reading here and there, but not very regularly. It is said that for a ritual to become a habit, one needs to practice it for 21 days in a row. Will I be able to get back to my old routine and life-style if I give it a try? Shouldn't be difficult, I guess. It just needs a bit of discipline and the will to take out "me-time" for myself.

Sitting on the sofa watching a mindless drama is worth sacrificing to read something or do something which will really enrich your life and make you happy. There are many sacrifices like these which people do everyday! Obese people let go their passion for sweet stuff, chain smokers try to bid adieu to their addiction for the sake of their children, many working moms sit at home for their kids and so on and so forth.

Life is full of compromises and sacrifices, so what if a little sacrifice brings you a ton of happiness and gets you high on the "feel good" factor?

I think such small sacrifices are worth it, aren't they?

O-zone

I am a regular reader of the column called "O-zone" in the Sunday edition of "Life" in Times of India. The author is Vinita Dawra Nangia. In the last week, an advertisement caught my attention which said that a book is out called by the name "It's your life", which is a collection of the best stories published in this column. It immediately caught my fancy and I did not spare a single moment in ordering it from flipkart.

I am not an avid reader of books, but I have read a few good ones suggested by my friends. The moment this book was in my hands, I got hooked to it. It's front page is so very colorful and vivid. On the front page, it says, "Reflections on contemporary living and relationships". Human relationships and their intricacies and complexities have always fancied my imagination and I often write about them in my blog. As I turned the pages one by one, I realized that all these short essays, write-ups are so very close to my heart. I have been through it all and yet they seem so new and unexplored to you. The thoughts are written in a very lucid and free flowing language. She directly strikes a chord within you. This book doesn't portray human beings as god or demons, but as you and me who make mistakes, are vulnerable, are happy and sad about things, are confused many a times, but striving to be happy and maintain a balance in their lives.

I felt immensely happy about my decision to buy this book and I plan to finish reading it by taking out time from my schedule and I will also ask my friends to read it.

It is definitely like the layer of ozone which makes life liveable and enjoyable!

The new and the old

My HP laptop purchased in 2009 gave way recently.

The fan was making noise, the system was getting heated and the laptop was switching off on it's own. Now that I need to travel to Germany for official purpose, I wanted to know if this laptop is going to be useful at all or not. I did not know where to look out for help in getting the laptop repaired. I sought the help online and within a week I got my laptop repaired and it came loaded with Windows 7 and MS Office 2007.

I so very loved the look of it. I felt like a child at the candy shop who is happy and confused with so much variety of goodies in front of him. I felt as if I had bought myself a new laptop itself. Nothing was changed on the exterior actually, only the fan and the adapter were changed, but the interface was so very refreshing and cool. Same thing applies when I get a new haircut or wear a new pair of jeans. It makes me feel good about myself for the initial few days. What is so special about any "new" thing in life? Is it the initial attraction of holding on to something novice and different that makes it so special to cherish it for at least some time in life? But doesn't this initial attraction fade away with time and then one gets used to it and it suddenly loses it's charm and importance and becomes a mundane and daily thing. 

What if this happens with people too? What if we do not get along with the people whom we loved at one point of time? What if the existence of people around us suddenly worries us and taxes us? What should one do if the bond that once two people shared suddenly seems a burden now?  Is it right that we change as people? From new to the old? From good to the bad? Why can't things remain new forever? Why can't people and relations remain brand new for days to come? Perhaps that is the essence of time. Every thing/person that comes into existence shall perish. What fun would it be to live every day as a new day and as a new person and treating every chapter in life as a new beginning.. 

Hasta la vista

Today was a relaxed day in office. Nothing much happened during the day except the usual stuff and as the evening progressed, things became little exciting. I came in early because my driver who drops me and picks me up from office had an emergency at home and so he had to be with his ailing 10 month old. So, he requested me to start little early and I obliged and we literally hit the house in 30 straight minutes. It was a smooth ride and I was very happy to meet Tanay outside the house playing with his buddies.

My best friends in my society, Snehal and Sonali had come over with their kids to my place because Snehal would be leaving for her native tomorrow and she will be back only after a month and by the time she comes back, I would have already left for Germany. Our kids created a ruckus in my house today and I so very loved it. They were hitting each other, talking to each other in their own sweet language, were laughing with each other. My living room was so endearingly messy with toys all around the place. My mother-in-law was feeding them rice and dal, so they had messed their clothes and hands as well. It was really a sight to watch! I so very wished to capture all these moments forever in the camera, but alas cameras do not work as good as the mind which creates memories for a life time.

Snehal's boy Hridhaan is a tough guy and the eldest of the three. Zara, Sonali's princess follows him and the youngest, but the naughtiest is my boy, Tanay. Sonali and Snehal call him "Chota packet, bada dhamaka". He looks tiny and puny but is the first one to snatch toys from the others. Reminds me of the Airtel song "jo tera hai wo mera hai, jo mera hai wo tera" (Whatever belongs to me belongs to me as well and vice versa). In Tanay's case it is "jo tera hai wo mera hai aur jo mera hai wo bhi mera hai (Your thing belongs to me and my thing belongs to only me!!). But both my friends love my boy like crazy. We all love each others babies like our own. We feed them food, talk to them, play with them as if we are a whole big family.

Our babies forget crying and they get less cranky when they all are together. They enjoy each other's company. It was so lovely to watch them together today. I clicked them together while they were busy in doing their work! I am not sure when they three will be together again like these bringing the house down with their pranks. I will surely miss Hridhaan and Zara in Germany and they both will miss Tanay a lot. We will keep each other posted and will show Tanay his friends in India who will be waiting for him to get back!

Dear Sonali and Snehal - Your friendship means a lot to me and I will always cherish the bond which we share so closely. We have seen so many ups and downs together and I am sure we will be doing that in future though distances will separate us. So here's for you both dearies...

Hasta la vista (Till we meet again in Portuguese)

God bless our kids and give us strength and courage to be good and patient parents!

The virtual world

I had been to a short visit to Mumbai and Pune with my baby and my hubby.

There was a get-together with my friends and relatives in Mumbai and there was a Sankranti special program called "bornhaaN" in Pune. I had invited many of my friends for both the events well in advance as I knew very well that the week ends are generally busy. In Mumbai, the event was on Sunday and in Pune the event was on a week day.

It was a great learning for me when many of my friends did not even acknowledge the invitation mail that I had sent out. I can completely understand if they hadn't turned up due to some xyz reason, but many of them did not even bother to read the mail and write back to me. Some friends told me that they will try to make it, but they did not turn up either, reasons - the mega block on Sundays in Mumbai and due to earlier personal commitments which were clashing. So, none of my friends turned up in Mumbai for the get-together, except two who were friends of Atul and who had also become my friends over a period of time. They made it inspite of the mega block and the so-called other odds on that day. I am very thankful to them. In Pune, because it was a working day, it was difficult for the friends to come as they had been to work.  Even in Pune, 4 of my close friends did turn up to share my happiness. I was very happy to see them after a long time and I am also not sure, when would our next meeting be. I thought about the other friends, who couldn't come, "Couldn't they manage one day to come early and come for my program?" But then I also put myself in their shoes. Would I have gone to such a get-together after a hectic and tiring working day? Perhaps yes, perhaps no.

When I posted the pics of the program on FB, all those friends who did not turn up for the event liked it and praised it and showered their virtual love on Tanay. I thought to myself, is it really worth? Are we so busy nowadays that we get time to login to a virtual world and write about the great time we had or great movies we saw, but meeting people, friends, relatives, in person has become next to impossible? Are we shying away from showing emotions towards the people with whom we spent a good deal of our life as a child or as a student in college? Have the expensive gadgets and applications and the so-called "well being" in terms of status and money dried up the warmth and affection towards our own friends and relatives? Will our grandchildren and their generations to come meet up only in virtual meeting rooms?

These thoughts gave me goosebumps and I wondered how to overcome these things which are now a part and parcel of our generation..