A Chennai Girl's guide to Dating...

Let us start with a Disclaimer, shall we? What all goooood posts start with one... So --> This might apply to dates generally. But hello, I am writing this and I am a Chennai girl. Hence the title. ok? OK!

Venue: 
Chennai as much it is hot, is a beautiful place. If the guy leaves the choice of date to you, think wisely. And don't pick a mall, as much as the idea of spending the day at a Centrally Air-conditioned Mall tempts you to no end.

If it is a simple coffee date, do not pick the same old Cafe Coffee Day. Well hello, you have been sitting at that place almost daily and all the waiters know you and your order. Do yourself a favor and think about Madras Coffee House (T. Nagar), The Madras Kafe (Nungambakkam), Coffee Central (T Nagar), Coffee world (Abhiramapuram), The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Velachery) and so on. Or if you are really adventurous, ride out to ECR towards Kipling cafe.

Heck if the date sucks, you will at least have a good menu to ponder upon. Why should you be stuck with a bad date and a bad coffee??

Eating out:

umm... Eating at a restaurant, yes...

Starve the previous meal!!! please please, do not go pick on your food. What are you trying to do? Save him some bucks?? Go all out and chomp on that Masala dosa! Murder that plate of vazhapoo vada!! Or if you swing the other way, slurp some of that sauce from the chicken wings like you mean it! Carve out good chunk out of your beef steak. I personally like some good Mughalai biriyani, Syrian Beef fry and a lemon soda. Then may be a large serving of Ice cream. Or if there is a dessert buffet, three of everything and the chef on my plate, pretty please with whipped cream and cherry on top!

Digressing, ouch! My relationship with food is a different story, of well.. But yeah, I have learnt that a girl with a good appetite is a huge turn on for guys as much as anything else. Never got the logic behind it, oh well!

Dressing up: 

Not much of a choice here. Chennai climate makes sure that you can't wear layers. And wearing anything shorter will get you raped and I am not even joking here. I simply don't care and wear what I like. Add my quirky sense and you have a laugh riot. There have been instances when I have worn Sweater in May, White sheer kurta on a rainy August day, matched Yellow kurta with bright pink accessories, carried a red handbag and wore my green sneakers!! I am sure Actor Ramarajan would have been proud of me!

Conversation: 
FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, DO NOT BRING UP BOOKS!! Chances are that his favorite book would be Three mistakes of my life by Chetan Bhagat. One fellow passionately dissected and explained Two states to me. The delicious grilled chicken sandwich was the only thing that held me from running away.

Another topic to avoid is music. I was happily singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody and one fellow said "I JUST LOVE JUSTIN BEIBER". I had to pretend that I went momentarily deaf just to sit there for 20 more minutes.

Stick to weather, the love for Chennai, the latest economic development and anything neutral... If he says, he hates Chennai and its climate, it is time for you run away like a headless chicken. WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A CHENNAI HATER, ANYWAYS??

Well anyways, Be yourself. He should know what he is in for, shouldn't he??

And even after all these you do graduate to the mythical second date, sit back and relax, he is a keeper!! 

Food Glorious Food!

I was out with my friends sometime last week. Conversation suddenly turned towards food and I was exclaiming about the mouth watering fares available across Chennai. A friend quipped "Oi, you would eat so less. so don't talk". Another friend countered saying, "Hey you haven't had Ratzzz over at your place, I think. She stayed at my place for a week and I know how much she eats." :-D

Just because I am puny people think I peck on my food and don't realize how much of a foodie I am. For instance, my last trip saw me doing nothing but eating, eating, more eating, sleeping and did I mention eating? :-P When watching TV, playing cheeky bingo, whitewater rafting, whatever activity-- food must be within easy reach! Yummy food! To my joy, few of the best French cafe's were located on the same street as I stayed at.

Morning saw me walking into the Cafe Des Arts which also had an art gallery attached to it. I started with a humble looking Nutella Crepe and Tchai. Me and my friend well in love with that place so much that we ditched the idea of exploring the town and stayed back at the Cafe, eating, drinking, reading and in general relaxing. The Cafe waiter lady smiled each time we asked for the menu and started laughing when i called for the menu umpteenth time saying i am hungry :-P This was after numerous brown breads, scrambled eggs, couple of sunny side ups, crepes and so on :-D

I was so full that I limited myself to a plate of Biriyani and Raitha and slept off. Evening was a different case though. Fish and chips - Steamed Lemon and honey chicken - Rice - Vegetable Stew - Red Cabbage Coleslaw accompanied couple of drinks. My only complaint was there was no mayo to accompany the Fries :( :-D

Next morning was the usual fare. Dosais - Pooris - Sambar - Chutney - Watermelon juice. I may or may not have had French Toast and Sausages after that :-D Lunch was a homely affair of Virundhu Bhojanam - Sura Puttu - Chicken and Fish Curry. (Feast meals - Shark something).

and that was just a weekend. Yesterday I was sleeping over my siblings' place. My brothers decided to take me out for dinner. (it's another issue that I reached late night and none of us 3 were in the mood to cook) Malabar parotta - Chilli Chicken - Egg Burji - Sunny side up later I gobbled down 2 ice creams :-D The expression on my sweet bro's face was priceless when I asked for the second ice cream. I don't suppose he saw that coming :-P

Ok so why all this yapping about food?? I realized there are only few things that get me going and Food tops the list :-D and given I tweet more about food than anything else, why not write about it too...

Expect some more damage in that area very soon :D   

The Return of Killer Vadas!

Whenever I move away from a place, more than the place or the people I miss the food there... when I left Chennai few years back, i missed Sambar Sadam/Bisibelabath and Sambar vada more than anything else.. and full meals too.. missed them so much that when I landed back in Chennai a year ago, I promptly hit a Saravana Bhavan and ordered Sambar Sadam, Yummm Slurp!!

So you can see what I would be missing now! Yup the street food of Indore... Indore was the city which made me a glutton... The Chappan Bhog with its 56 shops of different delicacies and the Sarafa market (which is ideally a jewelry mart that transforms into a food bazaar post 9 pm) are dedicated for food and food only...

Dal baati is one heavy food that has to be reserved for Sundays and Holidays...  Made of Dal, I ate this first at a Sai Temple, I had the habit of visiting for my Reiki treatment... it was served with lemon, some chutney, dal, onions and something else..  was so full that I slept in the car by the time i reached home :-|

Ghamandi lassi takes the punjabi lassi to a totally different level... Butte ka kiss is a kiss of a parallel world... This is a part of India which wakes up to Hot Jilebi and soft Poha... Johnny's hot dog at the Chappan dhukan may be just bun and patties but they are so crisp and lovely, you will end up ordering more than enough... trust me i always did...

This was the first place I had "Mitha Samosa" that too by mistake, a sweet mistake nevertheless... Garadu is just yam cut into small pieces, fried and served with lemon and spices... Just pop in a piece and there will be myriad number of tastes popping in your mouth... Mithe Tukade is a fried bread slice served with generous helping of dry fruits and cream, Yumm!!

When I got back from office, I usually took a walk from the main market to my house buying vegetables, stuff and stopping especially for a plate of Paani pathasa (paani poori for you lesser mortals), Aloo kachori and sometimes a bite of Khaman...

If its saturday, my weekly off, I will walk over to Apna sweets for a Lunch Thali...  for 80 bucks you get 5 pooris or rotis, chola, dal tadka, dal makhani, rice, pulao, 2 sabjis, 2 rasgullas, papad, pickle, onions, lassi and dahi.... yumm slurp!!

Sigh... anyhow, this is also the city which showed me Sago/Javvarisi is not just for payasam, payasa or kheer... they make umpteen number of dishes with a handful of Sago... Sabudhana khichdi is to die for and my personal favorite is Sabudhana Vada... So imagine my delight when mom left a pack of Sago during her last visit... :-D

I got into the act of finding the recipe and gathering the ingredients... very simple to make and Ta-DA..

A bowl of soaked Sago, grated potatoes, finely diced onions, rice flour, green chillies and some chaat masala.. mix them all, make them into balls and deep fry them... voila!!

 I can go back to Indore just to eat all day :-D Sigh, how i miss the Dark chocolate pastries of Fantasy and  a nice plate of chat at Khajuri Bazaar!!

A guide to what to gift her and get to her heart...

or something like that...

If you have been even a little bit observant, you would notice that i have added a small icon "Desicritics" to the sidebar among the various badges... yes sire! Yours truly has started writing at DC... It all started with me requesting and eventually Flyinfiddlesticks inviting me to write at DC... Follow the link here and do read my posts, mind you I am just 2 posts old :)

Coming to the title of the post, I shared one of the articles by a fellow writer Mansi, "Gifts Men Should Not Give Women"... Santa promptly commented "then what to gift???" If i remember right, Santa had asked me this question previously in yet another instant too :-D... so here goes the post....

Giving a gift is not a mighty thing... it varies as per the person... as per Mansi's post, flowers and chocolates are a boo-boo... well roses and a box of dark chocolate lifts me up anytime... seriously, anything from "My Man" with love will get me going about it for hours... anyhow, to the list...

Flowers: The secret lies in how you present... make an effort... read about the flowers you are sending... a pointer here, the meaning of the flower always vary as per the country... Dutch believe white rose is for death and Americans believe it denotes innocence and "seeking forgiveness" ahem! anyhow, read about the flower...
and don't send a lack luster bunch... either send her simple bunch of dozen roses or dig out the whole Amazon forest as a floral bouquet... anything else is gonna leave you dangling :-D

White roses waiting to be sold at flower market

 And if you are still in doubt, go for the classic bunch of RED ROSES!!!

Chocolates: Whatever women say, they dig chocolates... they can have a high rigor diet going on, but a simple box of chocolates artfully presented raises their heartbeat.. :-P

Make her drunk on chocolates and your love

Be Creative: Pick up those scissors and glue stick... remember those craft lessons you had to undergo in your middle school (no don't remind me.. mine was a horror)... pick up a clue or two from there...

• cut up hearts of various sizes and stick them on a chart paper... corny, i know.. but hey, if it wins her heart, you are good to go right??
• make something, which she had seen and mentioned to you... at college, a friend once came to me beaming and showing off a red kite... she had mentioned about kids flying kite on the beach when the couple had gone out on a date... the boy promptly prepared all by himself a red kite and gifted it to her... all he needed was some tissue paper, sticks, glue and loads of love! 
• go the Chetan Bhagat way, make her a lipstick case... ok engineering mechanics is not my trough.. so what try something similar..
• instead of buying a greeting card which says "101 reasons why I love you", sit down and write down reasons why you like to be with her.. Even 1 would be great, you don't need 101 reasons to floor her... one Valid reason is enough...

Ok, not this one... bats are no good in love!

  Encourage Her Hobbies:  Sure shot way to reach her heart... she is dabbling in cooking, get her a cooking book or some kitchenware... she is into painting, get her new supplies or a couple of camel hair brushes... she reads a lot, get her a subscription to the local library... Oh come on you got enough options there...

Ok not so old.. But if she is into classics like me, YAY 

Go the classic way: If you don't know what to give, go the classic way... take her out  for a dinner or cook her a meal... even noodles or mac and cheese would be great... book her a day at the spa or give her a lovely massage... or if she is really angry, stay away from her... ok, i am joking :-D

 If none of the above works, just hand over your credit card to her and see her jump up and down in joy... hey it really works :-P

Bake some happiness...

Take me to a new house that you are in the process of buying or renting and i will promptly walk into the kitchen and check it out... what the hey, this pigeon hole i am living was rented by me solely because it has ample kitchen space... my home may lack any interior decoration or furniture, but my kitchen will always remain well stocked... right from basic salt, sugar, pepper to flours of at least 4 kinds and south Indian masalas of all kinds...

Its well established that i love cooking for others... drop in home and give me an hours notice and i will whip you a four course meal...  but ask me to cook a simple dish and eat myself, i ll hunt for a curd tub and eat it up with rice... well thats me... oh yeah, i eat like a pig when i eating out, just can't eat my own cooking sigh...

ugh ugh, i am digressing... anyhow, i love to cook... and i LOVE to bake... yes!! cakes, muffins and etc etc... it started way back during my school days... my dad's friend who owned a Swiss bakery came by our house.. i was intrigued when he baked cookies in under 15 mins... really, sigh!! moist and chewy... yummy cookies.. i miss those days.... ugh i am digressing again... so anyhow, he taught me to bake cakes, cookies and of all things a pizza base... yeah you read it right.. a pizza base... i am one of those species who can whip out a pizza right from the scratch at home... no need to go in search of pizza buns at midnight when you crave for this delicacy from Italy, umm or was that from Naples... oh never mind, the point is i can bake a pizza.. tra la la la :-D

When parents where at native and sister was alone with me on her birthday in 2001, i baked her a cake, not one but 4...  but there was a minor technical glitch though... we being at our parents home, i didn't know which floor was where... so i baked cakes out of chakki fresh wheat flour... only the trash can knew of my efforts... and now you through this blog :-D

When i returned back to Chennai last year,  rented this place and secured myself a gas connection (cooking gas i.e., ahem) my baking passion returned to me... :-D Voila... i started with a simple Chocolate cake with chocolate chips...

Chocolate Cake with choco-chips

Then one day i got this brilliant recipe to bake a cup cake in flat 5 mins... I altered it a bit and made it into Strawberry Mug cake (10 mins)...

Strawberry Mug cake in my fav. Mug

and after that baking a cake became a norm... baking a chocolate-marshmellow cake for sister's colleague (which was a disaster), chocolate cakes and strawberry cake and so on... the recent one is Banana cake with banana cream filling...

Banana Cake in the making

It started with half a jar of Banana cream left out from my morning breakfast spread.. and i was desperate to make something useful out of it... after torturing Bikerdude for a day and dragging my bro to the local Nilgiris, i got all the ingredients ready for the perfect crime, errm cake.. :-D

And voila... the best cake i ever baked!!

Banana Cake with Banana Cream fill 

Well you will have to take my word, because not a single crumb is left now... Burrrp!! oopsie, excuse moi!! :-D

Note: All these are baked in a cooker :) hence the texture won't be the same as baked in an oven

Little Red Riding Hood...

My fascination for anything Red is a long known story... Usually it is my sister who gets the burn of it...


well picture this.. we were shopping at Ampa Mall, some shoe store and suddenly sister hears a squeal...  "oooooooooh Red Ballerina Shooooes..." Source, ummm errr Me.. :-D

 So thats how the scene is... unlucky me Red doesn't shoot my complexion or else i ll stack up my wardrobe with just Red dresses.. :-D and i know which color will dominate when i have a house of my own...

To list some of the Red things hoarded by me, i am a proud owner of

1. Red coffee Mug
2. Pair of Red Ballerina Shoes, ahem
3. Pair of red Flip Flops
4. Red Stoles
5. Loads and Loads of red bangles
6. Red Vanity Bag and
7. Red Pillow. 

 It was not always red... and i dunno how long i ll be fascinated with this color either... It was Yellow during High School.. Partly because it was imposed on me and partly because i was vibrant and jumpy... the fascination eroded when i entered the college.. Black took over.. mainly because i never wanted to be noticed... and never because someone said black makes me look sleek and sexy, never.. i repeat never :-D

I started loving red sometime in April 2010 and its always my sister who steers me away from anything red just because she doesn't want to see me gushing over it for the rest of the week.. he he he... i still have a red umbrella on my wish list...

Some wisecrack just quipped Red is a color of love, oh well... smirks 

Travel Diversions or so they call it...

What do you think of someone who takes a break from his office and takes his family of a wife and three kids for a trip across the country... all this when the kids where aged 9, 6 and 3 respectively and the country being India... and yes that man is my father and i was the middle one, the 6 year old.... Now you know when and where the travel bug bit me...well lets just say, it bit me mighty well...

so Blogadda comes up with a contest again..It is Travel Photography this time and so here is my entry.. Thanks to Biker dude for tipping me on this contest...

 Water, Water, Everywhere:

This was during a road trip to Pondichery and beyond.... Pitchavaram Lake is a famous salt water lake and more famous among the photographers for the sights it hides among its mangrove roots... i was with a bunch of photographer friends.... the best part was the sight of rain approaching us... no words can help me to describe that feeling.. sigh..

In Photo: A Bunch of tourists from North India, who got excited when we started clicking them... Shot at Pitchavaram lake, Tamilnadu

Jewels, little Jewels of Nature:

 We were taking a break en-route to Nagalapuram, a quaint village at the base of Nagala Hills, Andrapradesh... it was early morning at the dew drops had just started to settle down... this beautiful jeweled spider web is one of the bests i have caught till date...

In Photo: A spider web laced with early morning dew drops... Shot at on the way to base camp of Nagala Hills - Nagalapuram, Andrapradesh

Floating away in time:

We were on a bike trip to Mahabalipuram when the Rain god thought otherwise and was lashing at us like it was his only chance... With no chance to click anything, we stopped at Salt lake backwaters at Thiruvidandhai on the way back... the rain had slowed down a bit but the wind was still on our face... so you know why this umbrella is floating somewhere instead of being over our heads :)

In Photo: A red umbrella floating away to oblivion (we rescued it, obviously)... Shot at Salt lake Back waters, Thiruvidandhai, Tamil nadu

The Point is life is Endless:

Lepakshi temple is a trip i won't be forgetting in this life time... not knowing the local language, getting lost, fun and total awesomeness... this is a click of the forgotten corridor which surely needs some support... the magic is the corridor looks unending much like our life..

In Photo: Corridor behind the Lepakshi Temple, Andrapradesh

Play with Colors:

after our brunch at Mysore we came out to resume our bike trip when i spotted this "then unoccupied" home... though the home lacked activity, the wall and the things placed in the window spoke volumes...

In Photo: A plain yellow wall with a orange window.. shot at Old Mysore, Karnataka


There i am done.... oh yeah i forgot something else, the link back rule...

Me and Road to Freedom!!

If someone had told me two years back that i ll transform into an adventure loving chic who takes off and hits the road every weekend, i would have probably given them my worst stare and called up a psychiatrist to fix an appointment for them... Now, my friend's complain "Be in the city for atleast one weekend" :-D

My trekking interest started in the year 2007 when my class guys bet about reaching the top of a random hillock at Yelagiri.. yours truly happily reached there first even before any of the guys could make it...i still trek, atleast once a month...  but the interest in road trips was sparked by a impromptu trip with friends in December 2009...

One fine evening M just called and said "You are joining us on the road trip to Pondicherry, this Thursday".. was cut off before i could argue about office schedule... the trip was fun.. it was just us friends, the car and the road... and yeah pit stops, loads of pit stops... right from finishing of all Parotas of a local road side eatery that the cook had prepared for the whole day to getting lost along the lanes of Pondicherry, the trip was total fun... had the most beautiful experience of watching the rain approach and cross us, as we were seated in a boat floating on the Pitchavaram Lake... its another story that i started shivering and P had to hold me for a long time to keep me warm... i had my first treatise with cigarette and alcohol, and mind you no regrets... that bridge is crossed now :)

2010 had a great start with me starting off with a single backpack to Bangalore, Karnataka and to Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh from there.. Re and me were the partners in companion...  Re knew a bit of the local language compared to me who acted dumb all through the weekend... the Lepakshi temple and the nearby rock hillock which we scaled bare foot were all fun.. but the real fun part was our return trip... we got lost.. yup, you read it rite :) we got into the wrong bus and realized it a good half an hour after the bus was on its way to some other place.. the conductor let us down in the middle of nowhere... did we panic??

 The Naga-devis at Lepakshi temple, found at the base of Nagalingam

Well as Re said, Lets have some tender coconut from that street vendor before we figure out something... so Tender coconut it was... a local came to help and put us on a "van" towards a major bus junction... middle of nowhere, around midnight, two females, dark roads, beaten down vehicle, and i expected him to demand skyrocketing fare from us, if not do something else... we didn't believe our ears when he quoted the fare... "3rs. each madam" bless his soul.. we gave him a ten rupee note and walked away... Reached back Bangalore around 2 in the morning and rest of the weekend was uneventful..

February sent me on a trip to Anaikatti for a Photography + Trek trip (bus trip) and March saw me marching away to Nagercoil (train trip)...

April saw me on the road again... Me and the kiddo S planned a one day bicycling trip from Tambaram to Chengalpet.. a total of 120 kms.. the ride towards Chengalpet was total fun.. first pitstop was at Thailavaram.. we had to click a Hanuman Mandir there... it turned out to be a hole in the wall temple and took us atleast three to and fros on the same road to figure out the temple... but the Curd rice they gave us as Prasadham was total yumm... with breakfast done, we moved on till SRM Lake... took out the camera for the first time...we took several pit stops for water, sugar cane juice, mosambi, tender coconut etc, thanks to the scorching Chennai sun... the next stop was at Singaperumal Temple.. fun again... had a great time by discussing Hindu Mythology (my favourite topic: Captain Obvious) with the kiddo... took a detour through Mahindra City and had the most fun lunch at Wangs, The Cake shop of Taj...

 Our Bicycles at one of the pit stops

After two hours we reached the final destination, The Chengalpet  Lake.. we managed to cross through and get into the lake.. i seriously didn't know that the lake was off limits till we reached back to the city... though i dint have much to click, kiddo had great fun clicking me as a machi-waali and what not :-P

the trip back was okayish, till i got the sun stroke and we took the train back to the City... it was total riot, right from the Tea uncle near Tambaram, giving us a boisterous smile when he heard us taking a bicycle trip early in the morning... on the return journey, when i couldnt take it anymore and went off to sleep it was heartening to see a guy saying his kid "come this side and sleep , don't disturb akka, she is tired"... and it was total awesome to have S kiddo as your partner in crime... psst: he is gonna call me aunty for ages for calling him kiddo in this post :P

May was the icing of all the trips i took... Yuppo, a bike trip... if you are a regular reader and following me for a long time, you might know about my bike accident 8 years back and my fear of bikes... i just took the risk as i was not the one who is going to ride it, i was just a pillion passenger or luggage.. :P i was still wary of the long ride and the speed... i reached Bangalore at around 5 in the morn and we geared up at the railway station itself.. i was really a sight, jacket, yellow helmet, wrist band and all... :D

First stop was at Chennapatna for breakfast.. i lost count of the pit stops after that as we took way too many... not that we were tired but both of us were shutterbugs and we were like "hey that looks nice..stop stop stop we will click" :P our first proper destination was Somnathpura... a temple for Vishnu, with him in three various forms... Several clicks and "Eshtu" later we were off to Mysore... reached pretty late.. i saw the lighted up Mysore Palace.. man wat a sight!!

 The Nagamandala at Somnatpura Temple

Next day we took a tour of Mysore Palace, roamed around the old Mysore part of the city and did things that a regular tourist won't do.. :-D the ride back was awesome and in break neck speed given i had to take an early bus and we were pretty late while starting from Mysore... i wouldn't forget this ride for various reasons...

and my fear of bikes, errmm gone.. or atleast hiding for the time sake...lets hope i just don't get too brave and take on to ride a bike myself...

What next: More of these trips and something new... that parasailing at Pune which Satti suggested sometime back is really tempting me now!!

Wanted a groom for Slim, Smart, Sexy Bride...

Ok cut that sexy part... the Bride is ultra cute and a Doctor.. a poetess, a photographer and a published writer... the girl is none other than our darling Soph at Che sara sare... now the requirement in the Girl's words..

Wanted groom:
for a beautiful, smart, sweet, cute, intelligent, girl

Expectations:

• the guy should give her a diamond ring on marriage and diamond band on engagement
• the guy is expected to take her to all the countries in the world
• the guys is expected to supply enough pocket money every day to the girl
• the guys is expected to take her to pubs and discs every weekend
• the guy shouldn't get jealous when the gals hangs outs with her friends
• the guy is expected to allow her to wear even skimpy clothes
• the guys should love her unconditionally
• the guy should treat her parents like his own and give them money every month

"evavanavathu elichavayan erukana?"

My Love - Hate Relationship with....

Me and Rain-god have a very strong relationship, a Love-Hate Relationship... I love him, he Hates me.... or otherwise, umm i dunno :-|

Chennai is otherwise scorching hot and sultry.. but let me wash my clothes and wring it out to dry, lo behold, My love-lorn Rain god sends his secret weapon aka the RAIN downwards... this has been going on since i came back to Chennai... its horrible to the extent that when-ever my friends feel very hot, the call-up and ask me to wash clothes... :-(

And when-ever i go out on a Date or hang-out with my friends, lo behold again.... Varuna Bhagwan is surely in love with me...see he can't even bear me going out with other guys or be seen with them... he is in that much love with me... :-P

 It all started when i was in my class 4th... i was very much in love with him but he didnt even spare a look at me.... i was so smitten that i ran from one building to the other without my Coat on... i wanted to get drenched in his love and enjoy his embrace, you see... Poor me, all that love was too much for this silly smitten rat... i got sick... That was when He started to note me.... :-D

Since then he is trying to embrace me thru his Raining love when-ever he can.. he is trying to woo me back when i go out with others and trying to stop me from going out... Hmmmm...

but Pbbbhttt at you, Rain God...  i got over you... as much as i love you, i can't stand your first love.... i get easily sick whenever you shower for the first time.. so leave me alone... i have got over you, you move on too... there are loads of nice girls out there... :-)

Tag Vaangaliyo Tag...

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4?
Book : "Mister God, This is Anna"
No painted cherub on the church ceiling was this child,but a smiling, giggling, squirming, real live child,her face alight with some inner radiance, her eyes like two blue searchlights. /the block words were in the fourth line...its a pocket book i carry everywr man/

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can & touch air?
Ouch.. hit my hand on the wall... naan corner seat girl pa...

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
wait a sec.. let me recollect when i watched TV lately... err no, i dont know...

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
2.30 pm 0_o

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
2.29 pm... Yesh!!!!

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
What computer??? dude i don't have this Headphones glued to my ears 24*7 for no reason... Gandhiji said "Hear no evil", so i hear nothing else :-P

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
one hour back.. Lunch time.. but this is a dumb question.. if u know me, 3/4th of my life is spent outdoors..i return to my place only to catch the customary 40 winks.

8. Before you started this Q&As, what did you look at?
my watch.. waiting for the day end... i have plans for the evening.. har har har

9. What are you wearing?
Romba Mukiyam... this is the second time someone is asking me this question today... :-D

10. When did you last laugh?
another dumb question.. i laugh thru the day baby... and have a perpetual smile etched on my face.. wrong question to the wrong Rat..

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Paint.... Pinkish yellow ermmm yellowish pink, Watever!!

12. Seen anything weird lately?
ha ha ha.. yeah right.. Fancy that you ask me this.. i am so weird that everything else seems so normal to me...

13. What do you think of this quiz?
Surely Gils doesn't have an inkling abt me.. :P

14. What is the last film you saw?
The Bulletproof Monk for the nth time... day before yday i think

15. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
old question... deposit it in several banks.. get debit cards from all of them and back pack around the world... :-)

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno!
you ll know some day.. but this is not some day

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Why?? why do you want to change the world..its so beautiful as it is...if not for the politics aka politicians, world will lack humor... and if not for the guilt, life would be too rosy...

18. Do you like to Dance?
Dude.. This is the dumbest question you can ask to a professionally trained dancer... ask me what form i like to dance :-P

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
i can think of atleast one person who will beat the hell out of me if i answer this question... Wtf?? the answer is Ragamaalika...

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
aiyo!! now i am sure to be dead tommorrow... tsk tsk tsk the answer is Megharanjan... go ahead make fun of me.. but yesh, i am that addicted to music...

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?
nah buddy.. I am still aiming at a quite corner along the ECR road...

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Oh shit.. that St.Peters is getting really old.... Ratzzz you can go back to the Earth, there must have been a mess up...

Ha ha ha... as usual, i tag no one... But yesh! i kindly request folks not to tag me..plz plz (i ll send u chocolates as a bribe if u refrain in future) :-)

Cheers to Life..

A triangular Love istory...

The Black Safari Duo was again there today, with its usual tinted glass windows.

 Megha had been noticing that Automobile for quite some time now. It would usually be there by the time she reached her bus-stop. And usually will accompany her bus in the same pace till her office. When it happened first, she was amused to see the Safari driving parallel to her Bus. She expected it to drive off, when her bus took a pit-stop at one of those numerous bus stops. But no, it stopped a bit and continued to drive again once the bus started. And never once had Megha seen the inmate(s) of the vehicle, thanks to the heavily tinted window glasses.

Megha was working in the Crime-beat dept of the city's only afternoon newspaper. She was living alone for almost 7 years now and was quite independent in her own way. Though she was pretty normal with the girl-next-door look, something in her made everyone take a second look at her when she walked by. Dressed in some smart Kurta and Jean along with her acerbic tongue, she was a dread for her colleagues.

Chetan was her only colleague who could manage her. In fact Chetan was her friend for the past 6 years since she was shifted from Page#3 to Crime-beat. Initial office gossip had that both were romantically seeing each other, until Megha released a volley of abuses on the drop-of-the-hat-coffee-break-gang. Since then the office crowd left Megha and Chetan alone on their own terms.

Megha always left her house by 7 am to reach the nearest bus-stop where Chetan would join her for their regular bus at 7 15 am. Only recently was this new addition of a Safari and its in-mates. After the initial curiosity and amusement, it gave raise to dread and irritation in Megha. She had pointed it out to her friend quite sometimes. But Chetan always dismissed saying it was nothing and they can't do anything until the Safari mate does anything. To him, the Safari-mate was another just painless harmless eccentric creature of the city.

Today again, the Safari was standing at its usual place. Unfortunately Chetan had taken a day off to visit his Family back at native. Megha somehow felt that, whoever the Safari-mate was, he will surely come out today. Her hunch proved prophetic as a tall dusky hunk stepped out of the loco and approached her. Fortunately for him, a bus arrived at the same moment and saved him from a series of derogatory abuses from Megha. She was fuming all through her journey thinking about the audacity of this guy. At least she was now sure it was a guy and not some random chick routing for some naughtiness.

The Safari-mate was a hunk and any girl will be attacked by sudden jelliness of her knees by his approach, but not our Lady. She was pretty much frothing in her mouth by the time Chetan called her up in the evening to report his arrival back to the town. She was screaming at the top of her lungs when Chetan asked her to meet him at a nearby coffee pub. She agreed and left her desk in a huff.

Chetan was waiting at their usual couch at the Pub and had ordered her a huge mountain of Chocolate Brownie with a double dose of chocolate sauce. Megha made a face and dug into it. Once she was done. Chetan asked if she was cooled down now. He said he would deal him tomorrow.

The day dawned well the next day. But Megha felt like taking an off and duly texted it Chetan and remained in her bed. Chetan came knocking at her door by elevenish and dragged out to a mid-morning brunch.

They hit a Falafel centre near her house and were pigging out on Falafel Sandwiches to their hearts content. Chetan got a call and had to move out to the foyer, when M spotted the Safari-mate approaching her table much to her chagrin. He was smiling at her ad he approached nearer.

M got agitated and even before he could say something shouted out, “Hey, look Mister. Stop following me, I am not a bit interested in you.”

The Safari-dude looked all confused and replied “Who showed a interest in you, anyways??? I was routing for your friend. First I suspected you were a couple. But the distance between you obviously says you are not and your friend is interested in guys. Can u please ask your friend to consider my proposal?”

Saying that he moved away, leaving a stunned Megha, who suddenly realized she was in love with Chetan too.

-D Rat
Plz Vote for me at the Indiblogger contest

Unrequited Love

Visual D I A R R H O E A by =mirchiz on deviantART

And the Nightmares are back... i reallythought she had left me for good, then... i think i was wrong... i run and run amok.. they still chase me like there is no tommorow...i flee to escape... but the impetus is so hard that it pushes me over the edge...


my cerebellum is crammed that i can think no more.. every platelet of mine spells thy name... the pain that hammers me is huge and bears me down when ever i move... i am reduced to that of an old man who wills to lie down and crumble..


Born will be I, with more strength and power... 'cause to overcome your love is my goal now... you broke my heart no matter what... but i will be back like the light after night...


but who am i fooling... no wonder even when i travel across seven lands, your love looks upon me like death... i don't want to bear your love and live till i age and wither off... let me be crucified... for you and millions of other unrequited love...
__________________________________________________________________________________

i wrote the above piece in a guyzzz perspective... Today morning R sent me the above animation... he is a great artist and i love his work. he claimed that he did this one in complete whim... but it kindered so much in me as i could see loads and loads of symbolism... Hope i did justice to his art... you can find more of his work here....

Dus Paisa wala...

"So how is ur Dus paisa wala??" Bobo asked licking his fingers..

It was a Friday and Megha was enjoying her ritual eat-out with Bobo and Krathi... Krathi with her big appetite always tried to compete the biggest foodie Megha... but today M was picking at her food.. Bobo concluded that it as something connected to Chetan...

Megha sighed and said " Don't call him that yaar.. that's wat is the problem.. Yday he started fighting on this issue"... "Dus Paisa wala", M spitted vehemently..

M had met Chetan in of those thousand Book fairs that throng the city all thru the year.. her love for books made her visit almost every one of them... she was in grazing a book on Aurobindo by Satprem wen he went past, umm ok more of dashing by her... then they wr standing next to next at the check out counter...

It was him who started the convo..

C: Hi... nice collection of books u have choosed! i take it that u are an avid reader..
M : Umm sort off.. wat are ur Genres of interest?
C : U know.. mostly autobioraphies, biographies, Non-fiction etc etc etc..

They finished their purchase and walked to the parking chit chatting mostly on books... just as M was saying bye, C tripped and his bag went flying towards Megha's feet... spilled wr the graphical autobiographies named "The Next door Slut", " The uncle and his Mistresses" and yet another...
M picked one and said "Ah the Autobiography!!" and burst out laughing... he laughed sheepishly, lunged for the book and scurried off immediately..

it was abt 2 months after this wen M saw him at a local stationery shop... she called from his behind "So Mister.. have u done with all ur Autobiographies".. C was stunned to see her.. he had least expected M, a strikingly beautiful lady, to remember him least alone talk to him after wat happ the other day... he laughed nervously but before he cud reply, M put him at ease saying 'oh come on.. its not as if u r d only guy interested in those amorous books.. everybody denies but secretly gets them hook or crook.. u atleast bought it publicly at the fair"...  all C could blurt out was "ummm..Coffee??"

its a yr since their first coffee date and they were still steady in their relationship... their interests in everything except for those "autobiographies" kept them going.. she turned a blind eye for his particular habit and he eventually lost interest in those too... Recently they had purchased a couple card to reduce their alarmingly growing phone expenses... the call rate btw them was 10 p /min and texting came free of cost...

immediately their friends circle had started calling C as Dus-paisa wala... not a flattering nickname there and C was extra-ordinarily pissed... this was the main reason for their recent arguments that eventually led to fights and black outs.. they had one of their silly fights before M came out for this Friday eat-out and was particularly annoyed beyond limits...

"Ab tho har roz yahi soch ke..." Bobo's mobile started singing... he exclaimed "M.. tera Dus paisa wala..." and ducked to dodge the cutlery that flew in his direction from M...

B : Hi Chetan.. Kahan pa hai...
C : Hi B.. ummm... listen can i talk to M.. she has switched of her mobile.. Plz...
B : lo Karlo Baath...(passing on the mobile to M)

M : C.. wat happ now..
C : ummmm.... can u come out plz...i am waiting outside..
M : Wat the hell!! cant u come in.. i am with Bobo n Krathi only..
C : Just come out...

Megha was worried if this is a prelue for another big fight now.. she hurriedly went out searching for Chetan... M worridly asked"Wat happ C.. is there a problem?" suddenly C got to his knees and produced a beautiful Rose boquet out of no-where... then he huskily asked " Will u marry me, My Dus Paisa waali???"
M was stunned even to utter the "yes" which she eventually uttered.. C slipped on a ruby ring onto M's finger and hugged her close....

Krathi dragged M to inspect the ring, wen Bobo asked Chetan "scene kya hai boss.. One moment u are fighting the next moment u ask her to marry u.. am i smelling something fishy? and wat is this dus paisa waali.."

"Ssssh!" shushed C, " don't be loud..." after checking that they were at safe distance he said " i was planning this for days.. but as its VDay tomm i tot, let me propose her"

"Thats fine..But wat happ to ur silly fight!!" asked Bobo...

"Oh that! Solo company has withdrawn all its plan expect our Dus-paisa wala scheme.. ummm..i am happy and ll be her Dus Paisa wala forever.. But i beg u plz don't let her know.. after all i need something to fight with her now and then right??" said the love struck newly engaged Chetan, grinning as wide as his llips cud allow...

 :-) Happy Valentine Folks... 

For u Pink Lips!!!!

this is from Nachi (simbly lurve u, sweets), again...!!!

pink chaddis and all are fine, 

but i am still without an Valentine!

so i guess i am going to stick to my sorry tune,

anyways most people think i am a crazy loon.

my cards and gifts are to be taken with Aspirin,

only cakes are something for which i would kill.

amazing women and good food are pretty fine,

but that ain't reason for me to get an Valentine?

a bottle of Rum and an ol' quirky song,

the cat on the ceiling and me in a thong!

singing and dancing and jiving to my quirky song.

dude, St Valentine, you can join in too, 
and all you women, "yeah, i love you too!"
but this Valentine ain't going to be no different
and i ain't going nowhere, and i'm still here
so unless you call me and sing me a different song,
i shall keep hoarsing my voice in this quirky song!

 lovely ain't it!!!

Anyways, moving on... something that popped into my mind...

Megha : Bobo.. wat are u hiding there..ouch a mushy pink heart pillow!!wat got into u dude!!
Bobo : Ummmm... this is for Krathi..
M : Why doesn't she have any pillow.. last time i slept over her place, she had enuf for an army to bunk there..
B : Megha..plzzz... Feb 14th is coming over and i need to give something...
M : and u selected this??? are u sick!!
B : come on.. with my meager pocket money this is the most decent i cud afford.. anyways wat are u doing??
M : Lunch at Fortune Landmark...a table already reserved for d single lady,me
B : Hey but that's fricking 1400 bucks.. are u crazy.. i cant even dream abt it
M : Hell-o!! u get more than that  from ur parents every week.. wr does that all go???
B : He He He..u know d usual!!
M : Define usual...
B : Ermmm... Prolonged calls, numerous texts, taking Krathi out, dining, getting her gifts, treating her friends, treating my friends on her behalf, flowers, chocolates, petrol, etc etc etc
M : and evetually get nagged by K..
B : Ummm.. yeah.. even after all this, i get to hear "Bobo u r not taking care of enuf"
M : Dude Wake up!!!.. u are killing urself... do u get to hang out with ur friends anytime, like anytime anywr??
B : No..
M : Do u spend enuf on urself ?
B : No....
M : Can u look/stare/ogle at other specimens of the opposite gender..
B : Hell, No! u wants to get killed..
M : Can u hang out with K without being afraid of getting caught by friends or family??
B : No Way!!!!
M : Can u eat at those road side dhabas??
B : Are u crazy.. Krathi ll give me a lecture on health hygiene and wat not..
M : Hmmm.. in short u ain't doing anything u want to??
B : Ermmmmm Rite...

(Silence...)
Krathi : Hey Megha.. HIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Bobo.. wats that u r hiding sweet heart..
B: This.. this pink heart?? oh nothing just got it for my Dog, Caesar.. u now doc has asked me to keep him comfortable...

Yay!!! more many more reasons Singletons Rock... . Here u go Luscious lips.. done with..



for all those who have met their soul mates, Happy Valentine's Day.. to all the singles, Happy INDEPENDENCE Day!!!!

if u find a strong stench of Pinkishness in this post it isn't my fault.. the sole credit goes to Pramod Muthalik (this guy has a page on wiki!! lord save the earth!!).. Sure its his Trademark color....



The Rat...

This Valentine Day!!!

Girls Girls Girls!!!! How many times have i warned to be abt this vile tribe called MCPs... Now u have to come running to me, holding the hem of ur skirts and tears streaming down ur rosy red cheeks... u poor things... come here.. first let me give u a warm hug...
Lets talk abt the ex-lames first... oops, my bad, i meant ex-flames... u fell in love with this guy, fine... u has an issue,fine..d guy broke off the relation, fine... now u are longing for him,i understand, very fine... but now the guy asks u out on a wake of V day and u say yes, NO... NOT AT ALL FINE!!!
get off with it girls!! he left u... accept that... now he is just trying to get back as the loser has no date for his valentine weekend.. the dimwit knows u damn well that u wont say a no to him... but lets differ.. come on girls show tenga to this tribe, now!!!

and yeah... go here to show tenga to Muthalik and his kind... i hitting the pub no matter wat this saturday... and if i cud help a hot hunk in tow!! i am gonna show up in a noodle strap top, definitely in my best Levi's and practice all my raunchy dance steps... let anyone just have the guts to touch me or marry me to the guy i am with...

Ouch u have 4 more days to go!!!
The Rat...

Of Course i love u, till i meet someone else...

Ok.. anki,there is no need to point out that the title is yet another book.. smirks

Anyways... Got mixed responses abt the question i asked on my earlier post...  well never mind! whose gonna do a Ph D on the topic...while Nachi wanted more time to "dig" on the subject Sandoz calls it Crap... Go beat 'em ppl.. :-D


Quake boy, we are talking abt the feeling love.. not the requirements for life security/job security or watever it is called :-P... anyways... go here to read all d comments...

My take??? dunno.. all d love i have in this world are for Chole Bature, Dark Chocolate, and Chicken... but i go with Morrie Schwartz and Albus Dumbledore... "Love wins. Love always Wins!" & "One thing evil doesn't understand is Love"...

P.S # 1 : am in btw houses.. cha! i meant i am shifting my house.. so the break in btw...
P.S # 2 : Came acros this blog today.. click on the pic to roll ove to the destination..

http://uturncomics.blogspot.com/

P.S # 3: Ah!! well actually nothing.. :-D

Wats this thing called love???

So!!!

So wat if i am spending my days grinning endlessly?
So wat if there is an added jump in my walk??
So wat if my appetite is back to normal from abyss???

So wat ? So wat?? So wat??? :-)

You know why??? i am in love.. total love.. Eternal love

totally love with ... (Drum Rolls) ARR..

Jai ho!!! Jai HO!! Kaala Kaala Kajal tera , koi kaala jhaadu ....

P.S. # 1 : Rush over to Coffee and Stories... i helped DV put up the current Template... contact me for customized templates :-) am thinking of taking this up as a part time job.. absolute free for Bloggers who follow me :-D i know i know i am that cheap...

 P.S # 2 : Shh.. Ward off Sandoz and Deep... this post is not for u guys to say d Rat is lonely, coz i am not ...

P.S # 3 : Guys.... Deep asked me this question "wat do u mean by love, if u ever loved some1 then u know d meaning also. tell me ur opinion i m waiting for ur answer?"  answer me ppl... ll put together a post on that later...
 

If u wanna be with me, Baby, there's price to pay...

Hey u there... Listen!

I am in action...

Enough of your rules!

I have got my own Tools...

:-) had a tough week.. u wud have very well realized that given my lame posts during last 2-3 days... was handling two Training programs not to mention various business meetings and review programs... went into a sort of depression and realized that only when tears started rolling without my knowledge...
its not yet completely over but that's life....

 :-D but wats fun was, i had to attend a training program today instead of conducting one.. it was on NLP... don't ask me wat... a trainer to say u that u need to do stuff, which u are probably doing already in ur life... Lolz... but the best part was ___________(Drum Rolls Plz)_______ the Trainer himself... Jay was completely yumm...

a total eye candy he was, i was drooling over him all along.. not to mention the heavy interaction from my side during the session, given i play the mute Rat usually in such programs... wat added spice was the fact he is a Tamil... Wah!! i was conversing personally in Tamil and others had no clue wat we were talking abt...

He He He... i am so so so  much in love with this guy... Google baba ki Jai.. now i got all details abt him including his Mobile no., address and such there-of...

but Somebody please get him a divorce, first.. you can have his wife, no issues with that... :-D

Dressed to kill...

I just wonder how am i looking??? my stupid room mate is off to some musical concert.. like hell!! who in these days is interested in Classical music wen u got Iron Maiden Live In concert in 1 hour... ok accepted that i liked to sit in those Katcheris a couple of years back but that was because of my mom's compulsion... oh Crap!! the mirror had to crack just now, huh?? i am not able to see myself fully... i just hope this Purple tube top matches with my sneakers.... well i ll just add a dash of purple blush then may be he wont notice my ugly brown sneakers...

MAn!! i shud have got those sexy black dress Krathi was pointing out that day... now i wouldn't have to argue between these crunched up tees and suits... Ermm will it be too much if i add kajal to my eyes... Damn.. my room mate had to abandon me just now huh??

Hmmm.... but anyways he doesn't like Black... he made a weird expression that day on seeing Bobo wearing Black Pullovers... Ha!! no probs... good thing i don't have much black numbers... now i may not worry wen we go around the city.. i just hope he will ask me out.. atleast today... Come on!! i have dressed to kill yaar.. he has to note me atleast today...

how can any guy go without noticing me... Krathi says i have a figure to die for and Bobo always praises my rock star attitude.. so why does he doesn't even look at my direction... oh Bother!! may be he is just playing hard to get me... Come on! even i dont pay much attention to him... but any moron shud have understood my sly glances by now.. unless he is the King of Morons... Grrr

Hmm anyways....Sexy dress - Check... Matching Accessories - Check... Make up - Check... Co ordinated
Tote Bag - Check... Hair - In Place...Great Now i am off... Wait... Is this i love Iron Maiden logo visible enuf??? i do hope so..


I just wish atleast today i ll get to hear "So, Megha wat are u doing this Friday Nite??" from Chetan... see ya guys... i ll surely update u in an hour...