The countdown to 2013 begins!

Namaskar friends! I am enjoying the last few days of the holiday season. Had a very good time so far. Most of my time was spent around the 3 big F's. Before you get any ideas, the 3 F's are friends, family and food. It's almost 2013 folks!

 It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets. ~William Thomas

 



I had a good 2012, but it could have been better. I hope what I could not achieve and experience this year, will happen in 2013. My gut feeling says it will be a better year. I definitely want to lose some pounds and be more fit next year. Also, want to blog about some interesting topics, planning on taking some quality pictures and relying less on google images. My top priority is to try and make more friends. I have realised over the past few months, that I am limiting my creativity by mingling with the same, few friends that I have. I wish to make new friends, with interest in art and culture. Lets see where fate takes me. Would love to explore some new places. Wow! so much to do, just on the personal front. Then there is family, work and giving back. I hope I can spend quality time with family everyday and at work do the best I can. Volunteering is also on my mind. In that sense, my new years resolution is to break every rule that I have set for myself so far. Easier said than done? Only time can tell. For now, I am going to enjoy everyday of this year like there is no tomorrow.  BB 6 - What could be better? Nikethan is the already a finalist and Ashika is out! "Balle Balle"! Who cares if Nikethan had an unfair advantage over others in the task to determine the captain? Who cares if Urvashi deserved it more than Nikethan? I am happy. Only wish Nikethan would speak up a little. Well, now is his chance to let the public know, who he really is.

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Here is a new year song that I came across while browsing. The Song of the day is from the movie Nazrana Pyar Ka.

This is will be my last post this year folks! I hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2013. Please keep coming back and reading my blog. Leave a comment or two. It will keep me motivated.
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Dabanggggg!

Namaskar friends. Salman Khan rocks!!! If you have not yet watched Dabangg 2, then you are missing some solid "paisa vasool" entertainment. This gorgeous, 5' 9", enigma called Salman Khan, can still makes girls miss quiet a few heartbeats. Arbaaz has saved the best for last with his flawless direction. Just when you think that movie is over and had all elements of entertainment in it and was well worth the watch, Salman decides to keep you glued to your seats as his greek god like body oozes out of his tailor made, body hugging crisp shirt. Yummylicious. God! This man is perfect! Sometimes so perfect, that you want to touch him to see if he is even real. With his hard work and dedication, he has managed to acquire a perfect 10/10 body. Salman is synonymous to style. Everything he does, he does it with charisma. His action scenes make you want to have a boyfriend, who can protect you from all evil, his romantic scenes make you want to have a husband like him, his emotional scenes makes you want to have a son like him, his impeccable comic timing makes you want to have a friend like him, his dance moves makes you want to stand up and grove with him.  He is every girls dream man for sure. At 47, he is drop dead gorgeous and can give every other hero, young or old a run for their money. The movie has nothing new in terms of story. Very predictable plot. Yet it is a super duper hit. Only because of one man - Salmaan Khan. He carries the whole movie on his broad shoulders. Sonakshi and Kareena are there to please the front benchers. Sonakshi's styling could have been better. Alvira Khan, who is apparently her dress designer went a little too far with those deep neck Saree blouses. The movie was a perfect choice for a ladies night out. We 4 girls loved the movie so much, that we all got together at one friends place (her husband was out of town) and watched Dabangg 1 all over again. And yes, we all came to the consensus that Dabangg 2 was even better than Dabangg 1. Imagine that! Meanwhile, the cash registers are ringing! The songs are growing on me. So, today's Song of the day is from the movie, (no points for guessing) Dabangg 2. Enjoy!

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I learnt how to make authentic Punjabi parantes today. I watched my friend make it. She made Paneer parante and pattha gobi parante for breakfast this morning for us. They were finger licking good. I will try and post pics. when I make them. And as far as BB 6 is concerned, I am liking Niketan and Urvahsi on Bigg boss 6. I hope one of them wins. Niketan is too handsome not to win. Urvashi is forthright and deserves to win for that, in my opinion. Some how, I am not liking Delnaaz. I am getting the feeling that she is fake and Rajeev, the lesser we talk about this man the better. Arrogant and foolish. Imam is there to take care of  TRP. So, I am hooked on to this show. Christmas eve, is my Dads B'day. He will turn 83. I really miss him. Got to go folks. I want to call and wish him a Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas all of  you.

The power of prayer

Hello friends. Last Friday, when the whole of America was happy because it was finally the weekend, when they could be with their families and enjoy planning the upcoming holiday season, a tragedy struck. A young autistic boy decided to go on a killing spree. He shot 28 people, including his Mom that morning. They were all students or teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. The first question that came to my mind was "Why oh why little, innocent kids?" Is there really a God? I don't have the answers to these questions. I read that the Mom of the Gunman loved guns and often took her children to the shooting range to practice their marksmanship. Aah! that explains so much. Kids pick up from their parents. Sad. NRA got to do something about the Rifle laws pretty soon. Friends, lets take a deep breath and close our eyes and pray for these good souls. RIP my dear angels. We love you! Sorry this had to happen.
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Sometimes you hear someone say, "We've done all we can. The only thing we can do now is pray."
I believe that the power of prayer is first felt inside of us.To me, the power of prayer depends on the sort of prayer that you are praying. Oftentimes people become disappointed and disillusioned when they pray to God to grant a specific outcome or desire and their "prayer" is not answered. Many people think a miracle has happened when just such a prayer results in God's bringing about the desired outcome. Its a sense of closure we get when every other trial fails. Many people at once, not necessarily located in the same place, but focusing, and praying for peace, all at the same time has some kind of magical effect. Words won't placate the pain, but prayer will. Together a lot of great things have been achieved. It is at this time we all have to value life. Thanks everybody for being a part of my journey by reading my posts. I love you all. I leave you with this Song of the day:



Chimneys

Namaskar friends. So, I read that Kate and William are having twins. Not sure how much to believe this as I read it on the front cover of a magazine when I was standing in line at the Grocery store. Feel sad for the nurse who died. Not her fault. Nobody would do this on purpose. If she would have not killed herself, she would have lived a living death. People would harass her no end. What is even more sad is that she was from my hometown, Mangalore. I really pray that the family gets the strength to bear this. Manisha Koirala has also been bestowed with some bad news on the health front. So sad. I read her request to public. She has asked us not to be sad for her. She says she has enjoyed life's gifts and is completely satisfied and has decided to move on come what may. I love her spirits. Many tbattles can be won with a positive attitude even the battle of Cancer! My strong Mom is one such example of courage and strength. She is a breast cancer survivor for close to 6 years now. I love you Mom. You have taught me such good values in life. Had a good day at work. As usual I sat down to help my younger son with homework and was surprised to see that he had to write a rap song for homework. He was struggling in the beginning, but after spending some time thinking about it, I found him completely engrossed in it and coming up with the cutest little verses that rhymed so well. He amazed me. The motivation was that the best song will be used in a rap video on the morning news at school. I really think America is the place for freedom of expression. They have got it right. Who knows we might discover a new Will Smith pretty soon. he he. The online radio station played this lovely song today from the movie Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka. I was hearing this after a long time. This song instantly took me back to college days. They don't make such songs anymore. The singers are Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal. This combination of singers was deadly back then.

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Every time I read about smoke coming out of a Chimney, in books written by Enid Blyton like the Famous Five, I used to romanticize about the idea of having or even seeing one in real life. This was such a rare sight for us living in South India.

Little did I know then, that this smoke is dangerous to health and is a cause of pollution. I guess this is more to do with the Industrial Chimneys. We have a chimney at our home today. It is of high maintenance for us. Nevertheless, I like having it. I like driving around the neighborhood in the winter. So many houses have their fireplace on and its a pretty sight to see the smoke come out of the chimney. The light grey smoke spreading across the dark cloudy skies brings on a sense of calmness, giving the feeling that all people inside the houses are enjoying a warm and cosy time on a chilly winter day. Calls for some hot masala tea. Little joys of life. OK folks. Shub ratri.





Nothing much

Hello cyber friends! Long time! As much as I hate the phrase "I was busy", I have to use it today, as I did not find time to sit down and write. I can blame laziness also to some extent. Anyways, nice to be in this space again. Had a beautiful weekend. Spent Saturday afternoon outdoors with a friend, just walking around the local shopping complex, doing some window shopping. Giggled away like 2 high school going teenagers. Felt so good. The good weather added to the fun! Sunday afternoon we attended a holiday party at one of Shekar's Vendors place. It was a fun event with lot of food and nice people. Kicked of the holiday season with a bang! I have so many parties lined up for this week, both at work and with personal friends, who are more like family now. We are planning to be together for dooms day. Really hope the day will pass by without any calamities. I am not sure if I mentioned this, but a good Asian market has opened in our area. I noticed that the board in front of the store said supermarket in Hindi. Now, isn't that something! We Indians have made our mark. We have arrived! Feels good. So, I saw something at the store. A Tangerine with the leaves still on it. I had never seen the leaf of an orange tree in my life. So it was nice to see it live! Posted the pic. for you guys to also see. Came home and shallow fried Shrimp. The kids loved it. Bigg boss 6 is finally picking up some steam.

I am a meaningful, slow song freak. So, today's Song of the day is from the movie Papa kehte hain. Jugal Hansraj has that innocent face to justify the song. I know Udit Narayan as a singer is outdated. But I find myself liking his songs even today. The voice has a certain magic that works for me. Enjoy folks and Shub Ratri. Till next post. :-)

Jewellery organizer

Hello friends. Beautiful weekend, spent mostly with my own company. Its such a reward to have my own time. On Friday evening after work, I went shopping for some clothes. Found some much needed winter sweaters. I got attracted to the same old colors like black, red and grey. Bottom line is they are comfortable and I will use them more than once. :-) Saturday, after finishing all activities with kids in the morning, I sat down and spent my afternoon constructively. For the longest time, I wanted to organise my jewellery. I was thinking about the most efficient and low budget way of doing it. I came up with the idea sometime back, but finally got around to doing it on Sat. Please see pics. below.

Such a nice feeling when something gets achieved. Even if it is a small project. I love going into my closet now. Clothes and jewellery (my favorite things) both well organised. But the bad news is, my chest pains are back. Not sure what it is. I took an Advil for now. Lets hope it goes away tomorrow. Bigg boss 6 was ok. Not very exciting for the past couple of days. Hopefully "IS" will do something interesting soon! Banking on him and only him to carry this show forward. After him, Urvashi is good. I hope, in the end Urvashi wins the show. She stayed the longest and was honest and frank throughout the show. She is kind of like me. :-). I will now close with the Song of the day, a gazhal by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Shub Ratri.



People Person?

Namaskar folks! I spent sometime writing this post, and this morning, realised that I forgot to publish it. So I am posting it now. Birthdays come and go. All that comes out of it is the reminder that we are yet another year older. My knees are also reminding me of the same thing these days. Folks! Got to make the most of our precious lives, whatever is left of it. I exercised for 45 minutes yesterday. Felt good. I know consistency pays off. It is easier said than done. Read about the baby girl whose parents named her “Hashtag”. Hmm. What were they thinking? Pity that poor girl’s future state in school. It is indeed the social networking era folks! And it is finally worth talking about Bigg Boss 6! They have got it right this time with Imam Siddiqui. I watched yesterday’s show and boy! “IS” owned that show. He is an intelligent man. Just with words he has taken all the others as hostages. Yes, in real life, I would not tolerate anyone like him, but like he correctly pointed out, these people are supposedly professionals who are paid big money to provide entertainment. They better do it for us who are continuously wasting our time watching TV. I loved it when he said it took 50 episodes for the show to finally take off! He has interesting one liners. One of his favorites is when he knows that he is losing the argument he says. – “Ab ho gaya, maine maafi mangi. Bath khatham”. With this he shuts the other person up! I can’t wait to watch today’s episode. This colorful character called Immam Siddiqui reminds me of the actor, Govinda. Song of the day is from the movie Dulhe Raja. Govinda was such an entertainer!

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I looked up the definition of a “people person” today. It said - an outgoing, gregarious person with good communication skills. I think, in today’s Social networking era, to succeed, this trait is a plus to have. People close to me tell me that I am a “people person” and for the most part, I am. I like picking up conversations with random people who I meet, outside of work and home. After analyzing (surprise!) this behavior of mine, for some time I realized I do this because, this type of interaction is less pressure. I like the fact that the person on the other side, does not know me at all and we might never cross paths again. So even if he/she is judgmental, it would not make a difference to me. I can talk about anything under the sun and get it out of my system. And when I meet people, who agree with me, or give me free advice or better still go on to share their own experience, it is such a beautiful experience. I like this especially when I am waiting in long line, or sitting on an airplane or when I am shopping, basically when I am doing mundane, brainless activities. This doesn’t mean that I meet such people ALL the time. There are those ‘introverts” that I accidentally bump into, on one of MY most “chirpy” days. One nasty look from them is enough to tell me, to stay faaaaar away from them. It’s always a gamble. But then, life itself is a gamble isn’t it? So beware folks, you might be that next unfortunate person that I pick on. Lots of love. Have a fabulous day!

November 22, 2012 - My Birthday

Helllloooo friends! I was away from this spot for sometime and I had a very good reason for that. I was in the midst of so many good people who gave me a surprise B'day party on Thursday, Nov. 22nd 2012.  It was a day of double celebrations with a supportive family and fun loving friends. I feel blessed to have such awesome friends, who can bake, paint, sing and cook! One friend even went to the extent of presenting me with a custom painting made just for me encompassing my life! And my dear friend Anu made a Japanese cream cheese cake just for me. Hubby dear and the kids gave me flowers and jewelery.  So carefully thought of  as far as the choice of flowers. Yellow happens to be my fav. color. Thanks again all!

 Baloon and Sunflowers from Hubby and Kids

Bright and gorgeous. Aren't they? Made my day!

 Japanese cream cheese cake baked for me by my dear friend Anu

"All about me" - painting presented to me by my friend Vaman Kamath

Also, we celebrated Thanksgiving at a friends place with an all Italian menu. Did some shopping on Saturday and also met with some friends at a local Burmese restaurant. The food was so good. This was the first time I was trying out this type of cuisine. Have some pictures for you. Stay tuned for my next post. Bigg boss 6 is finally getting interesting. I am so glad they brought back Imam Siddiqui. TV shows is all about drama. Got to be spicy. Salman Khan does a great job hosting the show. Folks, it's quiet late here. Got to wake up early tomorrow. For the Song of the day, leaving you with a chirpy song picturised on the chirpy Anushka. I love this girl. So fresh! Love the voice of the singer Neeti Mohan. This song is so addictive. No wonder they say that A. R. Rehman's music grows on you. This has the flavor of the song "nanna re, nanna re, nanna re, nanna re" from the movie Guru.

Shub ratri folks! Love you all!

Lyrics - Vyrics

Hello friends! Yet another manic Monday. Ideal weekend again folks! Celebrated a friend's 50th B'day in style! I was the MC of the evening along with a friend. Participated in a skit and dance again. Hopefully, the host will release the video soon, so I can share it with all of you. Watched Jab tak hai jaan on Sunday. My SRK made me cry as expected. He does need to improve his health. His face looks thin and drawn out. I liked his bearded look though. Unlike what others have to say, I still think his acting was par excellence. Gorgeous Katrina can move!  Her angelic face can make any man go weak in their knees. And believe it or not, I loved Anushka Sharma's acting. Agreed, that the movie is not a blockbuster, but it worked for me. I got the sugar coated romance, that I had paid money to experience. I will add this movie to my DVD collection. Let's talk Bigg Boss 6 now. With the addition of the new rural house, this season is definitely alag che but boring che! They are bringing back all the contestants who had gotten out. So the game is starting all over again? And the wake up call by the rooster is so annoying. Grrr! Except for Urvashi Dholakia and Sapna, who are the only reason that I am watching this show now, the others are so dull. I am not understanding what game they are playing. Colors tv better step it up a little. Talking of colors a thought just occured to me. I wish they introduce a button called "format" on facebook. I would love to commnet in different colors. Song of the day folks is form the movie Ustadon de ustad made in 1963. I heard it after a long time at the 50th B'day party last Saturday. It was a memorable musical evening for me.

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I was listening to a song on the online radio last Friday and tried to write down the lyrics of the song quickly on a piece of paper. Could not even get the first line down. Gone are the days when I had good hand eye co-ordination. I used to be able to write the whole song in one shot. I tried hard to finish the lines when the beginning of the song played again, but in vain. I could not understand the word at all. Maybe because it was a Ghazal and the language was Urdu. Thank god for Google, I could just type 2 words into it and get the whole song! The quality of life is so much better now, compared to say even 10 years ago. Technology is indeed amazing! On that note I will take your leave for tonight folks. Good night!







Pilgrimage sounds good!

Happy Children's day everyone! The Indian nation is fondly remembering "Panditji" the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on his 123rd birth anniversary. He loved Children very much and so, he was often referred to as, Chacha. That’s why the Birthday Day  i.e 14th November of Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated as Children's Day in India. I remember celebrating this in school. I understand the importance of schooling beyond studies now. Much has been written about the Petraeus scandal. It was a mistake at a personal level and there was no breach of security. Therefore, should not have been a punishable crime according to me. Adultery, however, is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And then there was the hideous crime that the University Hospital Galway in western Ireland committed. Doctors refused an Indian woman an abortion despite serious risk to her own life, because Ireland was a Catholic country and the foetus was still alive and that aabortion is illegal in the Republic of Ireland. The 31-year-old dentist died of septicaemia, or blood poisoning, on October 28. Imagine the trauma the family is facing right now.Sad, sad! Remember Pinki Pramanik, the gold medal-winning athlete in the 4x400m relay at the 2006 Asian Games? Indian police have charged her with raping her former partner after medical tests showed she was actually a man. They have declared that Pinki is a male pseudo-hermaphrodite. Male pseudo-hermaphrodites are genetic males who develop some female physical characteristics and identities. Pinki is fighting the case. Sigh! Anyway folks, it's time for Song of the day. Today's choice is from the movie Sadma sung by Suresh Wadker.

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Not an ideal day for me today. Too much going on. I finally got my hour to relax. At this point, going on a Pilgrimage sounds like fun to me. I would get to relax and I would have no connection to the "real" world. A predominant reason that people of all faiths go on pilgrimages is to develop a closer relationship with God or nature or to seek forgiveness. Currently, for me it is to get away and also because I am curious and wish to observe. I would like to have that new experience and find out for myself if it can indeed bring me peace of mind and the change that I am looking for within myself. I would like to make new friends, who are so much different than the friends I have now. I have heard a lot about Haridwar, Vaishnodevi and Varanasi. People who have visited these holy places have been heard saying, that they have been cured of fatal diseases, mental illnesses, have experienced spiritual bliss, etc. I have read and heard of too many miracles. I would love to visit at least one of these locations to start with. Lets hope I get that opportunity. Hari bol! 

Palying cards

Happy Diwali friends!

Vajan badjayega agar khaoge mitai gheewali
Lekin kya farakh padtha hai, roz, roz todi aati hai Diwali

Khao piyo aish karo said Sallu Bhai on Bigg Boss 6. I have already had sweets overload. My friend Anu, had made a Tresleche cake for Shekar and I for our 20th anniversary. Enjoyed it with a few friends on Sat. She is such a fab baker! I am the luckiest person, who can taste so many different cakes from her.

 Tres Leche Cake



 A yummy slice!

I bought some fresh sweets from a restaurant called "Hot breads" which has newly opened here. I feel so nice, when I shop there. So many Indians come here to eat all kinds of delicacies. It feels like I am in India. Love this time of the year. There is a festive ring in the air, and everybody seems busy. Had a busy weekend again! I am participating in yet another skit folks. This is for a friend's 50th B'day this Saturday. I am aslo taking part in a dance, for the same event. So all through the weekend, I was busy with the practice. Feel guilty that I cannot spend enough time with the kids. I will make it up in Decmeber. On BB6 Sidhu paajis exit was sad, but the show needs more spice, so it might actually work out. Can't wait to see what the Big key has in store. Bollywood is getting ready for a HUGE day tomorrow. Jab tak hai SRK! I hope all goes well for him. It is very rare that a movie is opening on a weekday. Song of the day is from JTHJ.

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Unlike my North Indian friends, for me Diwali is not associated with playing cards. But today, as my friends are looking forward to a good time of some competitive card game, I am reminiscing my college days with my family back in India. My Grandma and Grandpa had 12 children of their own. Every night after dinner, they used to unwind with a game of cards when their children were well fed and in bed. Their favorite game was "Bridge". To think that my uneducated Grandma could actually put up a strong fight with Grandpa on an intelligent game. Wow! she was indeed an amazing woman! She just did not have the opportunities to prove herself. Unfortunately for her, my Grandpa died early and she had to stay with her children. She would distribute her time evenly among all her kids. I think she liked coming to our house (my Dad is her 2nd son). One of the reasons being, we all liked to play cards. Two of my cousins went to the local engineering college and would visit us, when Grandma was with us. So we had a big team of card lovers. My Mom, would not play, but would cook some delicious food for dinner along with the domestic help, who was so kind. Man! I miss those days. Our favorite game to play was '28'. I was always on Grandma's team. The cousins formed another team and my Dad and my brother made the third team. We would play for hours together. Our decibel levels were so high, our neighbors must have been cursing us. After college , the first time I played cards was a couple of months ago with few of our friends here. I am trying to understand the game of poker. It's not rocket science I know, but the sequences are so confusing to me. Lets hope I pick it up quickly before my love for cards starts to disappear. I am not sure, if it was my Grandmas enthusiasm, or being with family or the anticipation of yummy food after the card game, that I am mesmerised by, at this point, but I sure miss those times. Shub ratri my friends!

Fakebook - Live!

Kem cho friends? Another fantastic weekend later, back to the 8-5 grind. Finally performed our skit "Fakebook" on stage LIVE! for a very supportive audience of 400 + people this past Saturday. It was well received. There is a first time for everything correct? I now have a new appreciation for actors.  I have posted the video below. Check us on You Tube. Don't forget to comment.

For the people who have seen the YouTube video from my previous posts, in the version below, we have added 2 more characters and some more dialogues. See if you can recognize them. Today is election day here in the US. All people were busy casting their vote to their favorite candidate all day. I did too this morning! Had to wait in a loooong line for a hour and a half, just to get to the booth. Because it is the 21st century, I picked the electronic booth as my choice to enter my vote. After standing in another line for what seemed like 30 minutes, I noticed that there was only one electronic booth. All the others were paper booths. Really? I used the paper ballot in the end as I had to be at work. Some students used the long lines to collect money for a wounded warriors. Good idea. Anything for a good cause. Now, the whole nation is glued to the TV for the results. May the best candidate win! Haven't watched BB6 for a couple of days now. Got to catch up soon! Read that Starbucks India has an item called Konkani Twist on their menu. The article said “Konkani Twist” (90 rupees) looks like a cheese puff, but longer. It’s basically flaky croissant pastry filled with spicy mutton and twisted. Definitely trying it next time I am in India!  Got to go now folks! Not in the mood to research a new topic. Will write again soon.

Leaving all my dear friends with this beautiful song from the movie Izzat from 1968. Kya feelings express kiya hai! Shub ratri folks!

Good advice, Bad advice

Hi friends. Happy Karva Chauth to all my North Indian friends! Hopefully the moon came out on time and all of you could break your fast. First of all, I am sorry, I spoke too soon regarding Karishma from BB6. I was sad to learn that her Dad passed away and she had to leave the house. No wonder, she seemed a little disconnected on the show. May she find strength in dealing with her loss. Looking forward to the grand entry of BIG mouth Dolly Bindra, pretty Shweta Tiwari and sexy Mink. "Ab aayega maza". Oh, oh and today is the Badshah's B'day. Wishing SRK a very happy B'day and a lot of success for "Jab tak hai jaan". Also, did you all think that Ash deserved the second highest French Civilian award "Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters" for her contribution to cinema and promoting Indo-French cooperation? What contribution? There were so many more deserving actors like, Tabu, Rani Mukerjee, maybe even Priyanka Chopra (although I don't like her that much). Anyways, with a name like Aishwarya meaning wealth, born as a Scorpio, success is just a formality for her. Song of the day is this intense song from my favorite SRK movie, Veer Zaara.  SRK looks so handsome in this movie. He makes us believe that true love does exit. He makes you want to be in love. Uffffff!

  

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Advice is like opinions. Everyone’s got one. Over years I’ve gotten some good advice and some bad advice, advice I wish I’d taken and advice I wish I’d never heard, advice that made no sense at the time and advice that was like one of Oprah’s light bulb moments.

Best advise to me – The best advice is advice that makes a difference in our lives. Many times the advice we receive, and find useful, even life-changing, is full of words of wisdom that can be of benefit to others as well. The best advice that I received was from my gynaecologist when I was pregnant with my second son. I used to be paranoid that I am going to miscarry my baby. I would call the doctor every second day. One day, when I was in the final trimester of my pregnancy, I remember that I could not fall asleep, as I was sure, my baby's heart beat had stopped and I felt that the baby was not moving. I made an appointment with the doctor the next morning. The patient doctor sat me down and told me "don’t worry about the things that are beyond your control. You are not going to achieve anything". That night I slept like a baby. I went on to deliver a beauty baby boy who is 11 yrs old today. To this day, I try to follow what that doctor told me. That reminds me, I haven't seen him for more than 2 years now. I should make an appointment. For general women's health of course.

Worst advice to me  – Have you ever taken someones advice and it backfired? Well, I have. But it did not exactly backfire, it did not make sense when I tried it. Someone told me, "let babies sleep in the crib and not in between parents right from day one of their birth". I tried it as an experiment with my second born.Yes, even after I went through so much during the pregnancy. What was I thinking? Poor child kept on crying the whole night. My heart was ripping apart everytime I heard his cry, but I did not want to give up as that person had told me that it was normal for a child to behave like that. If I give up now, then he will sleeping with us for a long time. I tried this for 3 days in a row. Did not work for me. Neither he nor I slept well. So, I decided to bring him back between us. And it worked so well. I had the satisfaction of bonding with the baby. We transferred him to his elder brothers bedroom when he was 2 and  to his own when he was 4. All is well that ends well now. There was no need to rush the process, in my opinion.

Life - where it should be?

Happy Halloween blog friends! Calm has prevailed after the storm "Sandy". Luckily we did not have any mishaps in VA. Enjoyed some quiet days at home. When I finally drove out of the house this morning, the majestic golden sun welcomed me. With the first light of day, the dazzling bright sunrise was promising a beautiful day ahead. The gorgeous maple trees on either sides of the road were playing hide and seek with the sun. It looked something like the pics. I posted below. How romantic! I fell in love with nature once again this morning.

October is over friends. A lot happening for me in November. I am acting in a skit which we are presenting on stage on Nov. 3rd. I will try to post the video if it gets captured. It's our engagement anniversay on Nov. 4th and Nov. 8th is our 20th wedding anniversary. Nov. 13th is Diwali and my friends mark your calendars because the movie "Jab tak hai jaan" is releasing. SRK will be back with a bang! Nov. 22nd, is my BIG day. Yes, it's my B'day.  Can anyone guess how old I will be? Biggboss 6 is the most boring season so far. We need people like Dolly Bindra and Sky Walker for TRP. Siddu Paaji and his Vichar dhara. crap can stay outside of this game. And whats with That bimbo Karishma biting her finger nails all the time? Sapna and her Aseem bhaiyya are annoying. Friends haven't you all been in that situation when the same song that you were singing in your mind plays on the radio. It happened to me today. This is why I wish we had a Hindi FM station here in VA. I love the real time interaction of the radio. The aniticipation that a good song will play next, keeps me hooked on for a long time. Some Radio Jockeys can make it very interesting. I always listen to FM station while in India. The evening hours on the Radio makes long drives dreamingly mysterious. To add to this if there is good company, which is always the case in India, with so many cousins, family and friends around it's like "Sone pe suhaaga". So the Song of the day is that song that I heard on the online Radio, from my favorite movie "Band Baaja Barat" - aada ishq, aada ho jaayega.

 

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Today, I talked to a friend after a long time. This is how the conversation went:

Friend: Hi, long time!
Me: yes, how is life?
Friend: My life is not going anywhere. I am so depressed.
Me: Why?
Friend: (Sounding all sad) I had planned so many things for myself, none of which is materialising in life.

I tried making her feel better with some pep talk. After we hung up, I thought to myself, is my life where it really should be? The answer was, for the most part it is! Phew! I like waking up everyday and going to work. I come back to a clean and happy house, I am pursuing the things I love, like acting in little skits, participating in dance shows, watching movies etc. Luckily, Shekar is very supportive with my passion for art and culture. I am mingling with the friends that I really like and have consciously decided not to socialize with people that do not mean anything to me. So, if tomorrow "Yamadooth" knocks on my door, I have no regrets. I felt good knowing that, this contentment is coming to me from deep within. Well, that doesn't mean I am happy always. There are days when I do feel sad and dwell in self pity. But once in a way it is ok to be in that space, I think. I have many more dreams that I want to fulfil if life permits. Traveling being on top of the list. Let's hope health, money, family and many other factor's cooperate.

Good friends = Good life!

Vanakkam friends. Gearing up for hurricane Sandy that is expected to hit the east coast any time now. Forecasters are saying that it would bring “life-threatening” flooding,  prompting widespread evacuations and the shutdown of the New York City transit system. For us, Schools have been declared closed tomorrow. The children shouted in glee when they heard this. I am expecting more days of no school. While the kids are happy, I am wondering how to get to work tomorrow. It was yet another fun filled weekend for me folks. For the most part, I think, my party was an enjoyable one. I mostly heard positive comments. Posting some pics. The song of the evening was "Chane ke khet mein" from the movie Anjaam. Couple of my friends danced to this nice number. It was what we called a "seeti bajane wali" type of performance. Definitely the highlight of the evening. Both these ladies are so graceful. They were so nicely dressed. One other friend sang the same song. The show ended with a grand ladies fashion show. I feel really blessed to have griends who are such good sports. We partied "Gangnam style" on Sat. till the wee hours of Sunday, that Sunday, was spent as a lazy day.  I caught up on the episodes of BB6 from Friday. Salman rocked on Friday. I have to agree with him on the "Sapna" incident. What is she in there for if not for the money? Now that she has agreed to go in there, she has some responsibilities. She might as well have given the opportunity to someone else who was more deserving. I wish someone inside the house had the backbone to go against Siddhu. So far, no spice in BB6. It is not "Alag Che", it is "boring che".

Suhaan, Ruhaan and Nikhil

Me with Madhavi and her kids

The gang! (Just after the party started. Missing a few others)

L-R: Vijaya, Anu, Aparna, Smitha and Vandana. The ladies who danced to Chane ke keth mein were Aparna and Vandana.

Bhavani, Bhuvana and Seema

Smitha, Deepak, Rajesh and Shilpa, playing the Baloon game

Audience. The lady in blue and maroon salwaar is Anu, who sang Chane ke keth mein

More "patient" audience. Can't thank them enough!

Beautiful mehendi and bangles.

Lovely Smitha singing "aaj kal panv zameen per"

 People enjoying good food cooked by my gorgeous lady friends
 

Good food, good company and a few drinks = entertainment, entertainment, entertainment! Anyway, go to go folks. A little tired. Posting this song, that a friend sang at the party. A sensible song by Kishore Kumar from 1972's Joy Mukherjee, Tanuja & Deb Mukherjee Starrer movie "Ek Baar Muskura Do".

Shub raatri folks! Love you all. Looking forward to a new day tomorrow.

A day off from life?

My dear blog friends, I get nervous to open the newspaper these days. So shocked to hear the sad demise of man who put smiles on our face with his witty one liners and comedy shows.....JASPAL BHATTI JI RIP...".  I noticed that sad things happen just before a BIG event in life. Example: Boney Kapoors' ex wife died just before her son's Arjun Kapoor debut movie release, recently Yash Chopra died just before his last movie release "Jab tak hai Jaan" and now Mr. Bhatti. His movie "Power Cut" was due for a release soon. I remember watching his shows "Ulta Pulta" and "Flop Show" on TV as a school kid. Anyway, I want to take this opportunity to wish all my dear friends and family a very happy life ahead, be it health, wealth or anything that they want in life. I really want all of us to be happy. Somehow, I am very nervous these days. I am totally soaking-in, the weather these days. Fall is a time when things become cooler, and all of those beautiful leaves earn a fiery glow before falling. Anyway, with Dussera celebrations behind us, looking foward to Diwali now. Let's try to burn less crackers this year. How could I not post a song of Yash Chopra movies? The Song of the day is from the 1988 movie Vijay, directed by Yash Chopra and starring Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles. Rishi Kapoor was the SRK of yesteryears. Nice!

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With so many things going on in my life, a thought just occurred to me. Can we get a day off from life? I decided to post this as my status on Facebook last night. I was surprised to see that a number of people responded to my question. The first person directly came to the point and said, "It's called death". While I agreed, I pushed people to think of another solution. My friend added humor to this discussion by saying maybe a "Sri Sri" session should help. Another friend wrote - "Day from life => day at work, assuming life = what you do outside work, the equation works. (I have to agree to some extent, given the assumption). To this one other person responded by saying "We can always take a day off from life..... provided we define what we mean by day off and what is life??". Hmm definitely some food for thought! Another person wrote "Hibernate for a day." They all had a point!  But then, the ultimate answer came from one of my classmates from college who said - "Wise men and women have no time for such ideas. They celebrate life each moment". Well said my friend! I have to agree with you 100%. Your point is well received. After all, who are we to decide about our precious, god given life? We must have done a lot of good things in our previous lives to get the human form in this life. I am so glad for Facebook. I am able to hold a discussion with a group of people sitting right here on my couch at home. Cheers to life!

 

“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”

― Robert Frost

KHAMOSSSH!!!

Heelllllo! It's Sunday evening already? Today marked a sad day for Bollywood. My favorite director Yash Chopra, passed away. Hopefully he has passed on his skills to his children. I have to watch at least one sugar coated, romantic love story per year not to lose my faith in romance. Yes friends. True love, romancing in Switzerland with chiffon sarees, loud Punjabi weddings, etc. do exist -  in the minds of people. he he. Let's enjoy our fantasies on celluloid. It feels good. Thanks Yash Chopra, for showing us that romance can be so beautiful if and when experienced. I just finished watching the BB6 episode from today. Agreed that Siddhu has brought positivity to the show. No doubt, that he is an intelligent person, but the real master mind of today was Bigg Boss. By asking the housemates to choose 2 people, who they want to save, BB has really killed 2 birds with one stone. Isn't it the same as eliminating, those who they don't like? Fantastic job BB! The 2 contestants that have been nominated Urvashi and Rajiv, are both TRP material. Unfortunately, this twist might cost BB heavily. I personally, would have liked both these contestants to stay, after all, Siddhu can only solve problems. We need people to create problems correct? Anyway, I am going to be busy this week, with an upcoming party that I am hosting this Saturday. Should be lot of fun. Everybody enjoyed the "upma" at the Sat. party. As promised some pics. for you.

 

 

 Boiling water with Masala

 

 After the upma had been added and cooked. Garnished with Cliantro and coconut

 All mixed

 Dished out

 Garnished with Sev. No Sev, No eat per Konkanis

I am in the mood for a slow romantic song right now for the Song of the day. I thought Manisha Koirala was the prettiest girl, when I first set my eyes on her in this movie. She was cast opposite Salman Khan. A sad movie, shot in Goa with some fab acting. Yes, the movie is Khamoshi. Totally a song for Feb. 14th.

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We have heard Shatrughan Sinha say KHAMOSSSH many-a-times in old Hindi movies. Is this really possible? With all the recent developments in technology for communication, will there be a day in the future where people may not have the need to talk? My answer to this question, is NO. People have a tongue, and they will have the need to use it. They might use it a little less frequently, but the organ was a god given gift and the almighty gave it to us for a reason. Just like machines, all the parts of a body have to be used in order for man  to function as a whole. Hman bodies are machines after all. Plus, there might be side effects to no talking. For people like me, it might lead to depression. I get the urge to express myself orally every 30 minutes. Man is a social person. No matter how many social networking sites they open, I still have the need to talk. Got to go now folks, I am getting that strong urge to talk. :)
 

Lactose free ki "badbu" free?

Happy weekend folks! Hopefully everyone is in their great Saturday spirits. It's going to be a fun filled weekend for me. More house parties with friends, food and dancing. Was concentrating on household chores and family for the past few days. So, did not get a chance for this spot. Did you all hear about the lady who breast fed the Pup? Apparently she felt complete after this experience 'cause she could not breast feed her children. Strange are people. Now that all of us have sent Mr. and Mrs. Khan on their merry way to their 250th honeymoon, (next topic: Will they have any children? hehe) let's concentrate on Student of the Year. Shall we KJo? So what if the story line has nothing new? (I haven't seen the movie yet, will catch it on DVD). It's has all the ingredients to make me happy. Music rocks! Definitely playing it at the Diwali party this year. My favorite is Radha. Love you KJo for this typical KJo song. It's sooo..ooo me too. How clever of you to choose a traditional name like Radha, during Navaratri time. I must say, very creative! Can't wait to dance to it. So, it is the Song of the day/week  for me.

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Friends, I think my search for a milk substitute, had finally come to an end. My problem with milk was the "yucky" smell. I tried mixing all sort of powders, in the milk, after the countless suggestions from multiple friends. But that smell of the rawness of the milk would not go. Finally, one friend suggested I try the Lactose free milk. The "Silk" brand. She said to mix some fruits of choice and honey with it and blend it into a cold smoothie. I tried it and guess what? No smell, yummy taste and a healthy drink was in front of me. Now I drink this Monday-Thursday, every night. This way, I get my daily quota of fruit consumption too! I am in a rush today. Got to make "upma" for a party this evening. I know, "upma" is not the greatest snack. But I think, I make pretty decent tomato "upma" as per some of my friends. I will try and post pics. in my next post. Till then, have fun my dear blog friends. Catch you soon. I still haven't watched the elimination episode of Bigg Boss. Wonder who got eliminated.?

The hot!, hot! space

Happy Navaratri my blog friends. So, looks like my idea of making this an interactive blog is not working. Never mind. Please come back and read. Good enough! Let's discuss my question on my previous post some other time. For now "Shaadi Mubarak" to the 'hatke" couple Saif and Kareena. Modern days are here! Daughter is attending father's wedding. I heard this joke. Saif's kids when attending the wedding sing "Aaj meri baap ki shaadi hai". Lol! Hey, I am not judging. They have already sensationalized the event by having published the news of police coming to their house. The reason? Neighbors were getting disturbed by their loud music. Hmm. Ok. Kareena was looking alright in Manish Malhotra lehenga. I had an awesome weekend folks. Attended a Garba/Dandiya event on Sat. People call it, The great Indian social dance. I call it a workout. Broke into a sweat the glam way. They played Bollywood numbers for the last 30 minutes of the evening. The crowd went berserk when they heard this song from the movie Rowdy Rathore. I like this song too. The choreographer had cleverly capitalized on Sonakshi's waist line. Therefore it is the Song of the day.

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Every time I sit in this space, I feel hot! I intentionally go there. This is where I hear all kinds of stories. People like to unwind here. Alright folks before you jump to any conclusions, let me tell you, the social place that I am talking about is a Sauna. he he.

I associate the Sauna with a relaxing vacation. So, every evening, I go to the gym, I spend 15 minutes relaxing in the Sauna, after my workout. People, are so nice when they are in here. Today, I saw a lady applying honey to her face. I asked her about it and she said honey has benefits for the skin. This is the first time I was hearing this. She offered me some to apply. I did. After washing it, my skin did feel little softer. I know, change cannot come overnight. I am bad at following a routine. Let's see how I do with this one. As, I was sitting in the Sauna, I wondered if apart from being relaxing, if the confined room of about 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit was good for my health. The high temperature in a sauna stimulates blood flow and circulation, causing blood vessels in the skin to expand and become more flexible. This better blood flow helps lower blood pressure. It turns out that Sauna therapy helps with respiratory problems by alleviating chest congestion, which can relieve complications from bronchitis, laryngitis and other respiratory disease. The high temperature in a sauna stimulates blood flow and circulation, causing blood vessels in the skin to expand and become more flexible. This better blood flow helps lower blood pressure. The high temperatures causes sweating, which in turn helps in body cleansing. The high temperatures  increases your heart rate which in turn burn calories. A 20-minute session at approximately 165 to 175 degrees F will burn over 500 calories. WOW! Did not know that. I am spending more time at the Sauna from now on.

Question on Gupshup

Namaskar friends. Amitabh, Amitabh, everywhere. Happy birthday to dear Amitabh! I think, I should pick this living legend's song, as the song of the day, today or else it is an insult to me being Indian. There are so many songs of this great human being that millions of people around the world like, that even Wikipedia is running out of space to enter this information on their site. My choice today, is a song sung by the multi talented star himself. You have for sure heard some one or the other sing this song at a party. Most of us have danced to this a zillion times. It's a classic! It's a no brainer then, that it is the Song of the day. Enjoy folks!

I must add that I love some of his other songs like, Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, Neela aasman so gaya, Rang barase, paan banaras wala, etc.

I saw pictures of his grand party. Looks like everyone who attended the party had a good time. Definitely felt the absence of the Kapoors at the function. It was good they chose to go with Abu-Sandeep as their dress designer for the evening, considering how much they all needed to camouflage their non flattering curves. They all looked awkward. Like always, now we know why they were hiding the baby for so long. Good idea, to have waited for a good occasion to introduce it to the world. Did not look like the baby had light eyes. She was definitely tall for her age. She is cute like most babies are. Beyond that, there are doctors for everything these days. he he.

Another thing that amused me today was India's answer to Mango and Banana - Pizza! Brilliant! The mocktale article on TOI was sarcasm at it's best! The author used some clever nicknames like Lady Lasagne, Bob the Builder and The Great Wall. It definitely bought a smile to my face this morning.

Bigg Boss 6 slowly but surely picking up, with the likes of the commoner (yeah right!) Kashif, the Rajiv-Delnaz Saga what Sidhu playing "Jodi maker", pretty creatures like Karishma and Sana walking around in skimpy outfits, the "bindass" Sapna, and the model-captain Niketan Madhok (I am liking him. Love the way he speaks hindi). Yep, sure shot entertainment, entertainment, entertainment!

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Folks! I want to make this blog a little more interactive. It appears that the human mind is incapable of not thinking, at least on the subconscious level. I want to leave you with a question tonight. Do you think with the advent of social networking, text messaging, Instant chats, and all other electronic means of communicating that are out there today, that the world will be a quieter place soon? Meaning will people talk less? If so, will it be good or bad? Need your input. Please leave me a comment. Shub Raatri.