On Sachin Tendulkar

I have sat cross legged for endless hours in front of the TV to watch this man play. I have skipped studies, play time, let go of perfectly sumptuous lunch and dinner invitations just to watch this man on the field, with his eyes on the ball and making the perfect contact with the bat. And I have done this for many many years now. Since when I was in school and had tightly braided hair tied with colorful ribbons, when I went to college and sprawled merrily on the floor with friends and beer bottles and now when I am married to an enthusiastic cricket fan who placed the TV strategically so that we could watch all matches from our open kitchen.

I have always cheered for him. Jumped and clapped like a little child. Screamed. Expressed disappointment. But never given up on him.

I don’t worship him. I can’t even call myself a fan because I don’t go into hysterics every time he walks out on the field or appears on TV. But, I have to say this. I admire him. For his grit. For his focus. For how he plays for the entire country. For the excitement he brings to the game. For his humility. And for never giving up.

PS- Have you come across the TIME Magazine tribute to Sachin? It’s the best tribute in words yet.

“When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to “open” the Nehruvian economy.

It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.“

I have a crush…

… on my new neighbour.

Meet Ruhi. She lives next door. And she has R and I tightly wrapped around her cute little baby fingers!!

Since there is a tiny baby in this post, I’ll put up my usual kala tika here.

On what we should have and we should know.

I came across in the IHM’s blog. It made so much sense that I couldn’t resist putting it up here.

What Every Woman Should Have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to (even if you wouldn’t) and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.
2. Enough money within your control to move out and rent a place on your own, even if you never want or need to.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
7. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.
8. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
9. A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
10. Eight matching plates, wineglasses with stems and a recipe for a meal that will make your guests feel honored.
11. A resume that is not even the slightest bit padded.
12. A feeling of control over your destiny.
13. A skin care regime, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.
14. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

Every Woman Should Know:

How to fall in love without losing yourself.

How you feel about having kids.

How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

When to try harder and when to walk away.

How to kiss a man in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.

How to have a good time at a party you’d never choose to attend.

How to ask for what you want in a way that makes it most likely you’ll get it.

That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.

That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.

What you would and wouldn’t do for love or money.

How to live alone, even if you don’t like it.

Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally.

Where to go – be it your best friend’s kitchen table or a charming inn hidden in the woods – when your soul needs soothing.

What you can and can’t accomplish in a day, a month, and a year.

Why they say life begins at 30.

The ones in bold are the ones that I agree with the most. Yet. I am pretty sure that as life goes on I will check the others as well.

PS- I just noticed most of them are already in bold! Life’s been good to me. *Touches wood*

And the original post, as IHM said, is here.

On these things we need every day

We go through life everyday like a routine. Well, most of do. We get up, shower, dress up, get a bite to eat and rush off to work. Some of us get up shower, dress up and while getting ourselves a bite to eat we cook for the entire family, sometimes extended family, get children ready, do a thousand chores throughout the day and have dinner ready at night. A lot of us do both. We also manage to find some gaps in our days. A little time to ourselves. A little time when we check our emails, surf the net, read our favorite blogs or the papers, or the book we bought three months back. Sometimes we do our nails, go for a run or indulge in a hobby.

And while we do all of this and more, we need or complete these small seemingly inconsequential things or chores. Every single day. And on most days none of us probably realize the importance of what we do. Call it a habit, a quirk or a necessity but the truth is everybody has something or the other that becomes an integral part of everyday life.

I thought I should list mine. Not all, I won’t be able to do that. I don’t think I pay that much attention to my everyday life. But I’ll try and list five. Things that I absolutely can’t do without. No matter where in the world I am. If I can then I’ll list ten of them. Let’s see how far I can go.

1. Shower- I can NOT step out of the house without a shower. Doesn’t matter what time of the day it is. I have to have a shower. I have bathed in sub zero temperatures in tepid water. I have bathed at 4am in Delhi winters when my geyser wasn’t working. I heated water in an electric kettle to take a bath. I can go to great lengths to take my daily shower.
2. My cell phone- I am paralyzed without my phone. I use it not only to call and text but also for alarms, reminders, to do lists, keep time, see in the dark and sometimes read a book. I haven’t started checking my email on my phone. No, not as yet. But I need it dearly nonetheless.
3. A hair band- I can’t keep my hair open for too long. I need to tie it up, get it out of my face, eyes and ears. I braid my hair frequently and like to keep it like that. I always have one or two in my bag.
4. My bag- Yes, my bag. In which I carry my world. I usually carry a rather large bag in which I pretty much carry everything from books to safety pins, water bottle and an anklet. I have been carrying a bottle opener for the last couple of weeks and believe me you; it has proved to be quite useful. Not only to me but for others also.
5. Cleanliness and order- I am obsessed with cleaning. I clean when I am anxious. I arrange and rearrange many things when I want to kill time. I can’t sleep if I know that my living room is lying messed up after a mad party.  I stack dishes in my sink, I have separate compartments for small plates and big plates in the kitchen cupboard. The last thing that I do before I go to sleep is straighten out the cushions on my sofa because I just cannot wake up to a mess. Yes. I mean it when I say I am obsessed.

And well, that’s all there is for me. The smart one that I am, I covered almost everything when I said “I carry my world in my bag”. If you are like me and carry a bag with faded ATM receipts and books and lost earrings and newly bought unused lip balms you will surely know what I mean!!

How about you? Can you not sleep without the pillow over you? Or you cannot do without chewing gums? A friend I know carries staplers, fevi-stick, sketch pens and a writing pad with white paper. Another friend cannot go anywhere without her i-pod. Where do you think you fit in?  :)

On Mcleodganj

Have you ever dreamed of a far away land tucked away in a quiet valley of pine forests and rhododendron trees? Where the sky is a clear blue, the snow capped mountains stand tall and the rhythm of life transports you to another age altogether? Do you want to wake up to birds chirping? Do you want to walk on winding roads with leaves rustling beneath your feet? Do you want to visit a church just to hear the sound of silence?

Come to Mcleodganj then. And drown yourself in the madness, quietness, peace and chaos for once and for all.

And if you pay close attention you would hear the collective sighs of many tired city dwellers who come away to this town sometimes to pray, to savor the delicacies in road side cafes and to fall in love.

The main temple

Cold coffee, mint tea and chocolate cake at Namgyal cafe

The lovely Glenmoor Cottages

The walk to the church

The Church

This grave is over a hundred years old

The outer Himalayas seen from the Norbulingka Institute

Prayer flags

We went to Mcleodganj a few weeks back. We avoided the weekend crowd and loved the laid back days we spent there. Do stay at the Glenmoor Cottage if you visit Mcleodganj. Lovely hosts, excellent location and good food. Perfect if you are looking for some peace and quiet.

On Valentine’s Day

Post as written on 16/02/10

My darling R got me a cute bouquet of red roses (third bouquet from him in three years!) and the most delicious tiramisu cake that was delivered to our room on 14^th morning. First time ever he got me a cake. First time ever he got me a valentine gift and kissed me while I gorged the tiramisu. First time ever I cried because I could feel, yes I could literally feel, how much love and tenderness that bunch of flowers and the cake contained.

I like Valentine’s Day you know. I think it is very important to refresh a relationship with hugs and kisses and little surprises. I agree, the heart shaped balloons and the soft toys with “Love” cushions sound really tacky but, you know, there can always be that simple card, a text message, an email or a phone call. And you can always get some chocolate or tiramisu, if you can.

And like every year I wished my Mother, R and my best friend of twenty five years. “Happy Valentine’s Day…smother smother…I love you!” is what I told them.

And Happy Valentine’s Day to you guys too. What did you guys do?

PS- I went to Bombay for the weekend of February 14th and stayed at a beautiful hotel from where we could see the entire Bandra Bandstand. Superb isn’t it?

Tagged and back!

So Sups has tagged me to this fun thing. Here are the rules-

1. On your blog, provide a link to the Great Bong’s page, May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss. Embedding the above picture in your blog would be nice but not needed.

The May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss contest

2. Then write down your top 10 Hindi movie lines or top 10 English movie lines (You can do both if you want. Only one set is required for the contest). If you cannot think of top 10, make it top 5. Cannot think of even 5? Make it top 3. No problem. Only restriction: no two lines from same movie. This done to make it fair for other movies so that they dont get swamped by Gunda or Loha or Sholay.

3. Tag five friends to do the same.

4. Come over to the comment-space of this post and post your blog’s link so I can go and read it.

Remember: Before starting the tag, paste points 1 and 4 on your blog so that the rules are available to anyone who wishes to pick the tag up from your blog.

And my favorites are-

1. “Hum cake khane ke liye kahin bhi ja sakte hai”- Dil Chahta Hai

(As for me- mein khana khan eke liye aur muft mein daaru pine ke liye kahin bhi ja sakti hun. Go ahead. Judge me. But this is who I am. Heh.)

2. “Bhagwan mainey tumse aaj tak kuch nahin manga”- From various movies. Its usually the mother in the white saree, kneeling in the temple with glycerine running down her cheeks. Oh! And the snake around Shivji’s neck suddenly comes alive after this!!!

3.“Chal Dhanno!! Aaj teri Basanti ki izzat ka sawal hai”- Sholay (Hema Malini to her mare Dhanno)

And the eternal “Yeh haath mujhey de de Thakur!!” – Sholay (Gabbar Singh to Thakur)

4.“Mogambo khush hua”- Mr. India

(Hahahahaha. Such a gem this one is.)

5.“Babumoshai….”- Anand

6.“Hasi badi mehengi ho rakhhhi hain is duniya mein”- Omkara

(So true. And Konkona said it so beautifully.)

7.“Main aur meri tanhai…aksar ye baatein karte hai”- Silsilay

8.“Don ko pakad na mushkil hi nahin, na mumkin hai”- Don

9.“Ki ki ki kiran”- Darr (immortalizing the typical SRK stammer)

10.“Daaru peene se liver kharab ho jata hai”- Satte pe Satta (if you have seen the movie you will know why this is so hilarious.)

And I just have to write this because I love love love this one from Amar Akbar Anthony-

“Aisa to Aadmi Life mein Doich time bhaagta hai. Olympic ka race ho, yaa Police ka case ho. Tum kisliye bhaagta hai bhai?”

I tag Medha, Suchismita (come back and blog for God’s sake!!), MD, Vidya and Meira.

PS- Thanks Sups! I am SO back now

Just another week…

…and I will be back here. I need to be back here. I miss being here.

I have spent this last month wishing there were more than twenty four hours in a day and less then five working days in a week but more than two days in a weekend. Which is to say, I have been drowning (yes, literally) in work, wishing R stays with me in Delhi more often and hoping the time stops over a weekend.

Also I have written at least ten posts in my head every single day. Which comes to approximately two hundred and eighty posts! Gah!! And I haven’t written down even one of those!!! Double gah!!!!

So. Yes. That’s a very brief summary of my February.

How was your last month? All good? How was Valentine day? You tell me yours and I’ll write about mine in the next post. Promise.

And thank you, all of you for hanging around. Thanks for the calls, emails and messages. Means the world to me.

So long guys!! I WILL be back soon.