The Missus misses

I'm missing the wet towel on the chair.

There isn't anyone screaming out my name 10 times and bug the hell out of me.

The guitar isn't losing its chord nor am I losing my mind.

There's still juice in the fridge.

But neither coffee nor cheer at home.

I've put on the TV so the silence won't gobble me up.

You've made living alone so very un-cool.

Now that you are away, I'm living with myself. 

I'd rather get my roomie back than be a better person. 

Come back you messy monster of mush. 

I'm missing you loads. More than I care to admit.

Besides I haven't said "chup kar" to anyone in 3 days!

Come back. Before I lose my nasty ways.

Ears on Strike part II

One of the fallouts of staying away from India is that you don't really get all those song snippets or movie trailers which show you what a song is about. Not neccessarily a bad thing but since you can't believe what you can't see, you just tend to believe what you hear.

Have you heard the song " Masakali"? We listened to it quite regularly on our drives in NZ and loved Mr. smooth-voice Chauhan's vocals. The song's lyrics were somewhat of a mystery to me and it bugged me that I could not find a satisfactory reply to M's persistent " what does masakali" mean. I feebly suggested 'type of a flower (bud)' but I think he knows enough Hindi to know I was bluffing. But that wasn't the only mysterious part of the lyrics. I deciphered the rest of the lyrics as:

" Aye masakali masakali. Thoda matakali matakali.

Zara BUM ko jhatak. Gayi dhool atak..."

(I did ask myself how in the world someone could catch dust on their behind-but then in the bold new world of Mehra/Kashyap cinema and the Joshi lyrics factory, the possibilities seemed immense. Maybe this was their way of saying 'don't sit on your arse- get moving'.) Also, I knew the song was good enough to be filmed on the lead, Sonam Kapoor- so I imagined a fair bit of jhatkas associated with the visualization and suspended any further analysis.

Imagine my shock when I learnt that the song was about a pigeon called Masakali- I found it quite difficult to wrap my liberal poetic-license bestowing mind around the concept of a song that asked a pigeon to first shake and then dust its poor butt. What cheek. (pun unintended)

And then at Bangalore airport, while browsing through books and music cd's, I chance upon the very attractively packaged cd of Delhi-6, which features notes from the lyricst and the lyrics too. Needless to say, I hurriedly flip to the Masakali page only to see the following as the actual lyrics:

" Aye masakali masakali. Thoda matakali matakali.
Zara PANKH jhatak. Gayi dhool atak..."

...........(laughter)...........(very loud laughter).......(stares from fellow passengers)....(sheepish exit)

M, on learning of my discovery was quite amused. Admittedly, I feel this slight dent on my hitherto undisputed authority on Hindi songs and lyrics in our household. Well, whaddya know-Hindi lyrics sites just got a new reader.

25 Random Things

25 Random things about me

(this is a tag I got on Facebook and from Goofy Mumma, Anu and others- most of my friends have already done this coz this was circulating a while back. If they haven't done it yet, I'm assuming it's coz they didn't feel upto it or had done a similar "quirks" tag earlier. Feel free to take it up)
1. For the longest time ever, I was really touchy about my height. To make myself feel better, I’d compiled a list of short people who were successful- Napoleon, Rachel Reuben, Sachin Tendulkar are names I remember from that list. It's ironic that most of my bosses have been really tall people! Life!
2. I loved watching Remington Steele. Pierce Brosnan was irresistible.
3. Your are likely to find more Hindi film songs on my playlist than English music. I can relate better to the lyrics and it doesn’t sound funny when I sing it in my natural accent.
4. I learnt classical music (hindustani) and dance (bharatnatyam) when I was a kid. I regret not pursuing these arts further.
5. I am intensely loyal to my friends and family-if you opt to criticize them in front of me, do so at your own risk.
6. I admire people who can do cart wheels.
7. I would rather be an Archeologist and spend my time discovering more about Mohenjodaro and Harappa, not only because I like the sound of these names.
8. I love watching movies. I love watching “Behind the scenes” specials even more. Especially the ones in which director, script-writers, cinematographers etc. are seen discussing story boards or camera angles or dialogues or lighting or costumes. I dream of directing a movie some day.
9. My mind works in pictures, which is why I love reading books so much. Each book is a new story waiting to be cast and played in the cinema of my mind.
10. I hate discussing intimate stuff with people at work. It just feels wrong and weird.Especially given that my mind has this visual bent.

11. I can’t bear to watch horror movies. I found “ Bhoot “ scary. I also hate the idea of kids being in horror movies. That too feels really wrong. There was this crappy movie called Darna Zaroori Hai or something and they showed kids with their eyes gouged out- I could not sleep that night.
12. I love the sound of bamboo wind chimes. Metallic ones don’t work for me.
13. I hate polite conversations and politically correct individuals.
14. My face has recruited an army of errant muscles that are not in my control and give away my true feelings. My face goes red when I am angry or embarrassed. Frowns automatically appear when I think someone’s not worth my time or is largely fully of crap. Needless to say, this has led to “situations” at work.
15. I usually don’t drink aerated drinks, unless it’s Mountain Dew. Ironically enough, my first job was at Pepsi. I preferred Thums Up when in college but drank only Pepsi products while working there. (I did mention loyalty somewhere, right?)
16. I prefer prose to poetry. I like limericks but don’t think those count.
17. Will choose brain over brawn. Especially if the brainy one plays the guitar :P
18. I love earrings and if my earrings are either missing or not co-ordinated with my clothes, I’m either feeling unwell or am deeply depressed.
19. I loved collecting shells and mica, when I was young. I found mica only in Nagpur. I have not found shells in Nagpur :)
20. My favorite line from Pride and Prejudice is “Mr. Darcy proposed! I scarce believe it.” (when I said random things- I meant it :))
21. I would like to write a book, open a restaurant and start my own business (in addition to the restaurant)- I do hope I find time, money and inclination to do all of these things.
22. Most of my wardrobe consisted of blue when I was in my teens. It took birthday presents and severe coaxing to make me wear anything that was not blue.
23. I have been called a stubborn mule. I think it was meant out of affection. :P
24. I don’t like people who brag and steal others’ thunder. I’d rather they take a dip in the drain or go suck an egg. (DT- owe you for this phrase :))
25. I hate making resumes and writing appraisal forms. I would rather stick to one job than make my CV again and I’d rather do my job than talk about what I did.

Leave of Absence

It's been a while since I visited this space. Allow me some time to dust away the cobwebs, open the windows and let the musty smell out.

I see that you missed me. Plenty happened in the past 6 weeks or so that I've been away and there must be reaps of pages that deserve to be devoted to stories that deserve to be told. As for most things in life, sequence is of no and every essence. NZ will pour in the posts that follow. My experiences in India shall come alive. Tales of house hunting and home finding will unfold. And this space will look inhabited once more.

But tarry a little. Dusting takes some time. I'm allergic to dust.

As for the leave of absence, I humbly beg you to consider my case and now, humbly I must take your leave.I shall return and yes, you could thank me for the warning.