I love Delhi

I love Delhi like I would love a person. It is more than a city to me. It is more than just 'home'. It is something way more than any other place. And not just because this is the place where I have lived for the most years of my life. I know Delhi has flaws. Who doesn't? But the biggest flaw perhaps, is that she doesn't foster apnaapan very easily. You have to give her time, sometimes a lifetime, to love and be loved by Delhi.

For me, Delhi is long summer days and hogging on litchi, chilly windy mornings, school and friends, India Gate and Qutub Minar, SDA and Pusa Road, Janpath and Connaught Place, chole bhature and butter chicken, warmth and familiarity, home and family, laughter and food, love and excitement, growing up and always being kid...and a lot more.

I don't have the words to describe how I feel when I am in Delhi. I feel a sense of yearning. The thought I-need-to-come-back plays on a loop in my head. And it makes me happy. So soooooo happy! I feel elated every time I get a glimpse of one of the monuments. And Delhi has so many of them. I feel a sense of ownership and pride. I feel owned by it all. Here's what Delhi is to me:

Wide tree lined roads. Home. History. School. Minar. Food. Evergreen. Mutton sundays. Hanji. Auntyji. Circles. Qutub minar. Children's park. Pandara road. AIIMS. Dhaula Kuan. South Campus. STS. Moti Bagh. INA market. Channa market. Karol Bagh. Metro. Monday Market. Madonna. Honey cookies. Paneer. Indian Chinese. Butter Chicken. Jholas. Cottage Emporium. Dilli Haat. Fab India. Lodhi garden. Picnics. Holi. Exams. Dreams. Day-dreams. VTC. Republic Day. Rashtrapati bhavan. Roses and dahlias. Sightseeing. Chankyapuri. Flower market. Gaffar market. Random shopping. Khan market. Big Chill. Anokhi. Parking wale bhaiya. Dennis. R block. Samose. Gulab jamun. Gol gappe. Galouti kabab. Statesman. Bookstores. Stationery. Diaries. Cold coffee. Aloo chaat. Pragati Maidan. Appu Ghar. Book fair. Science museum. Doll museum. Bal bhavan. First love. First job. Independence. Responsibility. Driving. Alto. Select City Walk. Vasant Kunj. Khurja pottery. Momos. CP. Nizams kathi kabab. Plaza and Odeon. Oxford bookstore. Embassies. Tents blocking lanes. Baraats blocking roads. Shaadi ka khana. Loud DJ wala music. Christmas. Anjalika. Mohan Lal book store. Bihari uncle and Susheel uncle. Choti diwali. Festivals. Patakhe. Say-no-to-crackers. Movies on TV. Summer holidays. Banta. Oonch neech ka paapda. Fatafat. Lal-jeera. Chacha Chaudhary. Tinkle. Sita. Rajma. Questions about where I am "actually" from. Wanting to fit in more. Taking pride in being different. Swanchetan. Trauma counselling. Police stations. Aurobindo market. Airport. T3. Outer ring road. Ring Road. Nehru Place. Lotus temple. Ice cream soda. Pande pan. Red fort. Purana qilla. Bouganvilla. Chidiyaghar. Rail museum. August moon. Swimming lessons at Kanishka and Samrat. Radio. Road trips. DESU/power cuts. Dilli darshan. Holidays. Sleepovers. Laughter. Earrings. Comfort. Ghar-wali feeling.

As I am writing this, I realised that this will be the first time that I am going to be away from Delhi for an entire year. Out of nearly the decade that I have stayed outside of Delhi, I have always visited every few months. No such plan now. Perhaps that's why the nostalgia. Perhaps that's why the need to 'hold on tight' before letting go.

To anyone who can't see Delhi the way I do (with complete and unwavering adoration), I don't blame you. Maybe she didn't embrace you the way I have experienced. But I do hope, there is some place in this world, that makes you feel the way she makes me feel. Because I just cannot imagine not having a place to call my own! Which makes me wonder about the need to have a person/people to call my own. But that's for a later day!

These are just few of my favorite things

I had a great 2 years in the U.K. Life as a student is anyway super. The backdrop of awesome places like Keele and Manchester only add to the charm! Even though I never intended to stay on forever, now that I'm back almost 4 years, there's a few things I really really miss, and have strong cravings for sometimes! Off the top of my head, in no particular order...
"Full English breakfast" at Weatherspoons. 
Fried eggs with runny yolks, crisp bacon and baked beans. 
Sausages and mash. 
Heat and eat meals from MnS Food. 
Cheap wine. 
Carrot cake. 
Angel cake. 
Red velvet cake. 
ANY cake. 
Daylight at 8pm. 
Weeknights at KPA with friends. 
Cafeteria food. 
Weekly trips to grocery stores. 
10 trip bus tickets. 
Random £1 shopping. 
Trafford center and Arndale. 
Train journeys. 
Bus rides. 
Strangers holding the door for you.
Politeness.
Random kindness.
Huge tress with bright blossoms. 
Primark. Shoes. Dresses! 
Steak. 
Pubs. 
Doner and fries. 
Afghan food joints. 
Curry mile. 
Counselling at Beacon. 
London. 
Being alone. 
Random walks.
Iceland.
Christmas.
Autumn!
Frost. Snow.
Choice of alcohol.
Variety of cleaning stuff - wipes, sprays, mops...
Hot chocolate.

Uh oh..that's longer than I expected. Got to find a way to visit soon! :) 

Lazy sunday rant

For the last nine months, my weekends have been a day long. Anyone with a 6 day work-week can well understand the plight of having one measly day off... By the time you set into your off-mode, half the day is gone! And with it, half your weekend!

We 6-day-weekers don't have the luxury to allow the weekend to 'set in'...so even though I'm dead tired by the end of a working Saturday, I'll make it a point to be in a 'different' mood. Perhaps it is the anticipation of sleeping in the day after. Or just the paranoia of not letting a precious Saturday night slip away! And then dawns Sunday...which is always shorter than allllllll the other days. A list of chores, pending visits, catchup calls...and at the same time a nagging thought at the back of my mind 'only x hours to before I'm back to my work week'

Well, that's how most of my Sundays are. But every once in a while, I'm blessed with a no-agenda-lazy-Sunday, and this is my absolute favourite! Today has been one such day. After a late breakfast, I spent most of my morning and a better part of the afternoon watching one of my favourite melodramas on TV. Followed by a great ordered-in lunch, watching the rain, browsing through pictures and updates of random Facebook friends, a nap and a slowwwww relaxed shower. Needless to say, that leaves me in quite a good place :D

So even though Monday looms ahead, and I have a zillion thoughts about the coming week zipping through my mind, I have a smile on my lips...Happy Sunday to you too!

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is a much  loved public figure. He must have something going for him if even people like me (with zero understanding of cricket) are die hard fans ;) No seriously, I love Sachin. He’s almost like Marmite, you can love him or hate him…but not ignore him! Even as a child, I thought of him as a powerful figure. Every time he got out, my brother would switch off the TV. In my house (and I’m guessing mine’s not the only one), the match ended when Sachin left the crease.

He’s an admirable sportsperson. But more than that, I love him for the way he has handled himself in public. With all the adulation and attention he has gotten over the years, AND all the criticism, any person could have lost their head. The current breed of ‘young celebrities’ (in sports and otherwise), more than prove my point! In a time when we see stars being created overnight, only to be forgotten in a fortnight, this man has maintained his position and dignity for almost two and a half decades. If that’s not admirable, what is?

Thank you Sachin, for raising the bar. Thank you for teaching a whole generation of Indians to dream and to strive to achieve that dream. And most of all, thank you for giving us a role model who showed us how to remain grounded in the face of the massive ups and downs!

I want to write today

I want to write today. Even though I don't know about what. Maybe because the weather is good...at least under the fan next to an open window :) Maybe because after a long time, I've had some alone time. For all my love of people, I need to switch off sometimes. But mostly, I think it's the weather and the non-agenda-ness of the day.

So well...I was reading a blog post/review about Ye Jawani Hai Diwani just now. Usually, I'd find this sort of writing amusing. Today, it just irked me. It is witty no doubt. And going by the over-enthusiasm of the "comments" that follow, it seems to have hit a chord with a lot of people. Why did it irritate me then? Is it because I loved the movie? Or because it belongs to a genre that is - almost as a rule - ridiculed by people my age (at least the ones I know)? I'm not sure. But here's a piece of my mind...

I think it's fantastic that movies like YJHD are made. They make me happy. I love to see good looking, well dressed people mouthing witty lines. I like to see opulence. I like happy endings (no I don't want to dwell on what happened after the first kiss). I like movies which don't have deprivation or depravation as a central theme. Coz quite simply, I see enough of that in real life. People watch movies for a lot of different reasons. And I respect each reason, no matter how ridiculous it seems to me. So if I don't laugh at your lust for a Marvel superhero, you don't have any right to mock my Dharma/YRF heroes either!

I watch movies to be mesmerised ..to soak in a larger than life melodrama...to relish a tale highlighting (and exaggerating) human emotions. I just  LOVE love stories! Specially those with happy endings :D Add a peppy "balam pichkari" and a soulful "kabira" to it...and I am in entertainment heaven :) So...let the cynics mock away while I dip my toes in the familiarity of Bollywood masala...

Don't you just *love* a movie that makes you want to write?!

Having spent what seems like an eternity on the down-swing of that most unpredictable of things - mood swing - it feels great to finally be up again! :D And what brought me here? As I stand here accepting my good-mood-award, I'd like to thank good food, a happy movie and last but not the least, my hormones! (They do know how to play one hell of a havoc with your life, don't they?)

So well, the (latest) movie that I've been smitten by is I Don't Know How She Does It. Sarah Jessica Parker n Pierce Brosnan! I must admit that I've been living a super dull routine lately. Can't blame anyone but myself for it! Oh wait, I can blame those ghastly hormones, can't I? Don't I just LOVE being a woman!!? haha

As you can tell, I am in a manic phase right now. So it is a little difficult to stay to the point. But I will try. The point is, the movie was such a feel-good-smiles-n-awws kind! I don't have anything to say about the movie as such. Apart from the fact that I am so sooooo grateful for not being blue any more!

If it's all about living the moment, we need more movies like this one :)

Happy holidays everyone :)

Oh wait! I started out this post thinking of how I have 'grown' in my choice of entertainment...but well, that will have to wait till the mania subsides to a more manageable euphoria!

Love. The many splendoured, multi-faceted, much talked about, mostly over-hyped...and even undermined emotion...which manages to cover such a wide variety of human experiences. Something that evokes as much cynicism as gooey romance. Something that is a one word explanation for all things good and bad.

What do I say about love?...so much has been said already! If I did decide to write about it though, it would be something like a Wikipedia post on 'Che Guevara' or the 'French Revolution' or something like that which has numerous sub-points and sub-subpoints and sub-subsubpoints!! You get the point? ;)

Coz there's romantic love, platonic love, unconditional love, friend-ly love, louve, pseudo love, rebellious love, love for animals, love for the country/planet/universe...there's just so many loves!!! Love can be 'pyaar'...or 'mohabbat'...or 'ishq'...each one with its zillion unique connotations! So, no point trying to describe it...But, how about stuff I've read/heard about love. Stuff that defines how I see the...'concept'? Here goes...

The first thing that comes to my mind are Karla's lines from Shantaram: "She loved the guy. She did it for him. She would’ve done anything for him. Some people are like that. Some loves are like that. Most loves are like that, from what I can see. Your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out—your friends, everyone you used to know. And it’s still not enough. The lifeboat is still sinking, and you know it’s going to take you down with it. I’ve seen that happen to a lot of people here. I think that’s why I’m sick of love."

These lines have kinda stayed on in my mind...despite my preoccupation with fairytale-ish happy endings! Don't you see this all around you? People working so hard to keep alive what is evidently a lost cause... It's sad, but it's one of the many things which you come across and think 'it would never happen to me/us'. I'm not sick of love, but I totally understand what Karla's talking about!

"Kehte hain ishq jise Ghalib/ khalal hai dimaag ka"

I am unaware of the source of this piece of wisdom. I love the all-in-the-mind connotation though! :)

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love is slowly losing your mind!"

:D 27 Dresses...no prizes for guessing! Chick-flicks are fulllllll of gyaan!

This one gives me respite on all those blue days :)

"Haar nahi, jeet nahi, jahan pyaar hai/ Jisme haar jeet hai woh kahan pyaar hai"

Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai

As cheezy as it gets. From a Yashraj movie, no less! hehe...I have no idea whose lyrics these are. But they feel so right! What's the point of contested love anyway?

"Sach mere yaar hai/ Bas wohi pyaar hai/ Jiske badle mein koi toh pyaar de/ Baaki bekaar hai...yaar mere"

Sagar

This song made me feel so understood during my teens you know! hehe...Unrequited love has it's own charm! I am kind of a self-confessed champion of the same ;) And though it isn't much fun on most days, it's entertaining to look back on past 'crushes' and fantasize about what could have been :)

"Mohabbat bhi zindagi ki tarah hoti hai, har mod aasan nahi hota, har mod par khushiyan nahi hoti; toh jab hum zindagi ka saath nahi chodte to mohabbat ka saath kyun chod de?"

Mohabbatein

This is the awesomest of the lot. Awesome = cheezy here ;) If, for just a moment, you lay aside your prejudices against Shahrukh Khan and his kinda movies, you'll realize, that these are very profound lines... Don't laugh!!! :P

"...love burns brighter than sunshine...Love will remain a mystery/ but give me your hand and you'll see/ Your heart is keeping time with me..."

Aqualung (from the Soundtrack for 'A Lot Like Love')

My favourite song from my all-time favourite movie! Need I say any more? :)

Twilight

Braving friends’ /family’s don’t-tell-me-you-hadn’t-read it-till-now-comments…I recently read Twilight and the books that followed. And it’s safe to say, I haven’t been hooked-on to any series like this since Harry Potter! Of course, it is foolish to compare the two. I’m just talking about the addictiveness factor here. Having blackmailed everyone who’d read the books/seen the movies into not uttering a Word about it, when I was around…it was fun reading without having the slightest clue about what was next! Okay, I did know that Bella and Edward wouldn’t ‘die’ in the first three books...lol... But that was it.

So anyway, I loved the books. When I started out with Twilight, it seemed like your regular high-school drama. And essentially, that’s what it is – girl falls for the most unattainable boy and by some sheer luck, boy falls for her too. Quite simple. So I was a li'l wary…coz hey! I have been outta high school for over half a decade now…But it wasn’t quite as run-of-the-mill as I expected it to be. By the time Edward realized that he was irrevocably in love with Bella, I had let my guard down and was totally enamored by the story. I just had to read the whole thing. The entire series was just so…'gripping’! (yes, the flavor is essentially teenage-romance, but what the heck ;) ) And after reading the draft of Midnight Sun (here), it felt kinda incomplete and frustrating to not have Edward’s take on everything!!! Let’s all request the author to do the entire series from his point of view! ;)

Out of the lot, Breaking Dawn is my favorite! I love the filmy flavor! :D n I louuuve Renesmee! Perfectly concluded! New Moon is great too (considering the sucker I am for happy-endings, this is no surprise). Bella’s insanity seemed so justified! Eclipse though was a super bummer. What with Jacob being a royal pain and Edward being frustratingly nice. Ughh. All the more reason why I wanted to know what he was thinking! You know, after a bit, I started feeling inadequate for not being able to read people’s thoughts! Haha…

As for the movie…the dumbest thing one can do with a movie adapted from a book is to expect it to live up to the book. It can’t. It mostly doesn’t. (Unless it is Namesake) So all I wanted to see was whether the characters looked like what I had imagined them to be...I wanted to see the Cullens... And I wanted to see what Forks was like. And the school they went to. And La Push…

I think it’s Stephanie Meyers fault :) She makes Edward seem so flawlessly perfect in the books that no one can possibly match up to the description. And Robert Pattinson…well, he is just too human! He’s a cute boy, no doubt…and I loved him as Cedric Diggory and love the connection with HP. But as Edward…nah-ah. But then, I don’t think anyone else would measure up either, so we’ll let that be. Bella was…pretty close. Though I had imagined someone more petite. The others pretty much fit the bill. Just that, weren’t vampires supposed to be white white? Bella and Esme were the same colour!

All this ranting apart, the books were a good distraction. When I really needed one. Do you notice how the time just before you fall asleep is the time you are only with yourself. I wouldn’t call that loneliness. But it’s a sorta not-so-great situation when you have a painful lot on your mind that you’re trying to push out of your consciousness.

Now that this is done, any more suggestions? I’m up for more distraction! :)

One reason why I don't do year-end posts is that usually I can think back to only a few months. Or rather, whatever's happened in the last few months overshadows the rest because of its recency. Same thing this year. But I came across this application called "My Year in Status" on Fb...and going through a year's statuses took me to places I had all but forgotten. So much happened this year. Major things that could have entire posts dedicated to them. Also a few seemingly inconsequential ones that made the year what it was. That make me what I am. And since the application wouldn't let me publish all my statuses, I am putting them up here. To remind me of the year that was. To make me see the :( as well as the :) 'Coz after going through the list...the year looked like there was more 'happy' than 'sad'...or maybe I just don't put up everything on Fb. Here are the highlights:

JANUARY

had d most unexpectedly cool start to the new year!

"if ur happy n u know it...la la la..."

mants m.a. to end alredy!!!!!!!

FEBRUARY

had a gooooooooood day :)

is in a strangely relaxed state ... (when i know i Shouldn't!)

hereby declares data collection as 'done' :D

MARCH

it's done! Feels great!

y cudn't m.a. end with the dissertation?!

"Holi is my fav festival again!"

today was niiiiice :)

white noise

is happy again *grin* *grin*

loves south campus library

we should have earth hour every weekend!

saw ducklings today! real ones! which swam!

APRIL

personality type: procrastinating :(

messed up :|

maybe i'll worry for the next viva...

there was egg curry n veg biryani in canteen today!

is addicted to word challenge now... (damn y have i been gettin such a crappy score?!)

finally a respectable score on word challenge! phew! :D

a week-long brek...just when it'd started feeling like exams!

ToP, PMS and an upset stomach...quite a week!

current addiction: ht blogs.

wants to vote. for no one.

y can't a draw be a draw?! :(

has never been so sick of exams before

almost done with m.a. n baby sister all chic-type on fb...i feel ooooold

"i gave my first ever job interview today!" :)

MAY

looking fwd to this week :) and the ones that'll follow :)

words of wisdom: sometimes, it's best 2 jst shut up!!

super messed up with 'time' but still on fb...

ah! Gazalee... :D

is enjoying the much needed time-out. life's good :)

time just seems to fly in pune!!! just yday it looked like i had a week...now i can barely see a couple of days more! sheh!

JUNE

is back...back to my pink comp...back to unlimited wireless internet..back home! :D

is berozgaar

bye-bye for a while..i think ;)

time travelled for the first time ever! yay!

has never bin away from FB for so long!! (pawan r u listening?? :P )

"when in Rome, do as Romans do"...umm...uhhh...wat exactly do romans do???!

is gna take bk loadsa memories n a few good friends from the euro tour...

the buildings here seem right outta a harry poter movie! (one of them actually is)

how would u feel if a random box of chocolates turned out 2 b the yummiest liquor chocs ever! :D

thank you-please-thank you please-thank you -thank you-please...ughh!

is feeling nostalgic for no reason.

JULY

Back n totally lukkhi

is off to Jaipur

GO SID!! Ice Age rocks!! :)

is super relieved! Thank u Roddick!!

it's unethical to switch off ur fone on ur bday!!!!!!

♪♪ ajj din chadheya.............tere rang warga.....♪♪

delhi's got rains :) d nice non-muggy ones finally! :)

needs 2 c HP6 b4 the whole world forms an opinion against it! half the world's alredy there...

:) :) :)

WILL find work!

ritesh said "being unemployed is the last module of your course" :)

loves everything that's got anything 2 do wid harry potter :D

AUGUST

my lappy is beemar..boohooooo :'(

shahid kapoor is (currently) eyecandy of the highest order!

Tried reallyyyyy hard to like Love-aaj-kal..bt alas!

bombay actually seemed nice last night...maybe coz i kno im gna be outta here soon :)

swine flu go away!!

they held up shahrukh khan..hawww!

thank u skype :) yday was fun!!!

our DC videos r soooooooooo much fun to watch!!! hilarious!!! :D :D

drained............

unemployed no more! yippeeeeee! :D

SEPTEMBER

no comp..no fb. y did i want to get a job?!

its raining! its raining! and i can hear it in my room! :D

sleepy sunday :)

bunny's bday 2moro! yay :D

stuffed!!!!!! big chill never disappoints :D

gets put off by the mention of religion in places where it shouldn't be considered important

joined twitter [n im 'following' imran khan :D ]

sleep's on my mind. Sunday is NOT weekend...working saturdays r terrible terrible things!

needs serious deaddiction from fb!

DD turned 50 :) I wish it was still as good. I wish there was anything as good!

giggly girls all the way! :D

been all smiles all day :) well, almlst all day ;) id mubaraq yall!

bright new day...it better b good! ;)

yay yay yay! festive season's here :) n a TWO day weekend!! :D

kehte hain jo hota hai achhe ke liye hota hai. really?

OCTOBER

"iktara" from Wake Up Sid...wow....

"सुन रही हूँ सुध बुध खो के कोई मैं कहानी ..पूरी कहानी है क्या, किसे है पता........ मैं तो किसी की होके, ये भी न जानी, रुत है ये दो पल की या.... रहेगी सदा" awwwww :)

winter will b here...sometime! ;)

wake up sid: movie of the year!!!! i looooved it !! :D the euphoria will last for a while ;)

diwali time! :D

wats worse...shallow or hollow?

diwali is sooooo colorful :) love the lit up houses all over! :) :)

i DON'T get the point of working on a festival day! I don't LIKE the idea of working on a festival day!!!!

is a happy person today

has a PLAN. Well...kinda! ;)

dis aquarium thing has such spooky music! n so many ppl on it alredy!

NOVEMBER

evry1's going away in november! :(

Zzzzzzzzz..........

i dont c wat ne1 can c in ne1 else...but u.....!

such an exciting match! n still such a bummer :(

spent the day doing what i'm best at...lazing around :)

it's mryn's bday!! :) :) :)

mindless movie+3giggly girls+nice weather = a sunday well spent :)

i'm in love with the songs from Ajab prem ki watever watever!

thoko-d PCR van!

Saloni Taneja I love u! thnx for makin me feel less foolish!! ;)

should waste less time being blue. like Mrynal Seewooruthun says, we should remembr that blue is also for sky n sea ;)

thank u god for the world so sweet. thank u god for the food we eat. thank u god for the birds that sing. Thank You God For EVERYthing!

every1 sez i should think of all the happy moments we had with him...all i can think of is the fact that there won't be any more of those :(

DECEMBER

madhuri's back :)

i'm so relieved it went well. Banashree Deka- i'm gna miss inkblot!

farmville wouldn't open! :( stupid stupid connection!!!

'mess' seems like an understatement.

Saloni's play at Sri Ram Centre today at 6!!

******************************************************************

That's too long already...but there are other things that didn't get mentioned...like the fact that Shweta had a baby boy and Svet got married! like my brother is back to delhi for good. and more...

I will always associate this year with losing Dennis. But there was more to it...so much more.