Bleed BLUE Saturday :(

I consciously don't work on Saturdays so that I can make quality time with my FAMILY. It is a Saturday morning and here I am typing away at my keypad all by myself, while the kids are out with friends and Nu with his brother … C'est la vie… I had a plan (in my head) to check out the summer workshop offering at Prithvi with the kids this morning. Well we did sleep late last night so I got up late and the kids got up later!! So, despite my day off and interesting plans for the day they bounced out of the house saying 'Mama, I have plans … We'll go some other time ... please!?'

Sigh … somebody said that this is the WHATEVER GENERATION that does whatever they think is right! I sense that I shall soon be left to my own devices and it is perhaps then that I will take to my true calling!? Will I ever write that book … make the film … the story is in my head and a few words are on paper too but ... I cant get myself to complete it. What stops me? An inner voice, my destiny proclaiming that this is not the right time or is it plainly just my laziness? I keep trying to put together a VISION BOARD in my head but never do in real … why do I procrastinate so?

Since the family was away, I skipped breakfast and had a dull and hurried lunch too; cleaned up the house as the maid didn't land up thanks to the conjunctivitis bug; after which, I thought I would watch Vishal Bhardwaj' 2007 film 'The Blue Umbrella' or get my hair done at the parlor or just go chill at BRU World. I logged into my blog instead and started typing … this is what you call a truly lazy day!

The only highlight was that I figured how to add the FB thumbnail at the bottom of every post ... that really felt good as I struggled a lot thru the settings to figure it out! But apart from that its been BORING … This is what you call a Bleed BLUE Saturday!!!

Hopefully the evening will be better as we have dinner with Nu' family ...

Nobility Calling...

There comes a time when you feel you want to give back … the time has come and the joy of all the people that count in my life has been unbounded!!!

I am happy to start new beginnings … I invoke Lord Rameshwara' blessings in taking the right baby steps … Thank you my Universe for giving back to me … Thank you my dear dear Rameshwara! Thank you my dear Family - Roshni, Raunaq, Mama, Papa, Nu, Malee, Anj, Baji, Vir for your love and prayers.

I am happy to be a part of the EMDI Institute of Media & Communication - General Management, Teaching and Interacting with young minds, and working closely with some of the best industry minds and practitioners in the media and event industries is music to my ears and makes my face break into a perfect 'Battisi Smile' :)

We celebrated with Vanilla and Watermelon flavors of Natural Ice-cream!

All the people - Rashid

Life and people in this beautiful city of Mumbai never seize to amaze me and today was one such chance meeting with a man called Rashid.

As I stepped out of my meeting at Lower Parel I gave Raunaq a call and confirmed that I was on my way home. He said he would wait for me for lunch and so I quickly jumped into a taxi urging the cabbie to speed up towards Bandra. I got off 20 mins later at the Linking Road KFC corner and quickly hopped into the Habit Shoe Store (my favorite shoe spot) just in case they had something interesting ... after browsing and finding nothing I jumped into a rickshaw and headed towards Andheri. I thought of Raunaq being hungry and reached into my bag for my phone... and reached ...and reached ...and reached ... it was not there!? Yikes -- Dam yaar Priya how do you manage to do this each time?

'Bhaiya gaadi rokiye hamara mobile kahin chooth gaya hai, aapke paas mobile hai kya?' 'Nahin Madam'. He stopped and I frantically looked around while my mind raced for ideas on what to do next. I saw a puny looking man standing next to a car with a mobile in his hand - he was the driver of the car. I requested him for his phone and he gave it to me a little reluctantly. I quickly dialed my number and it rang and rang ... nobody picked up. I was crestfallen! I breathed deeply and dialed once more and after a while a man' voice at the other end answered, 'Hanji boliye'. 'Dekhiye yeh hamara mobile hai ... ap kaun hain!?' 'Ji main taxi wala hoon .. agle passenger ney humko aapka mobile diya aur woh hamarey saath surakshit hai - aapko mil jayega. Lekin abhi hum Dadar ja rahe hain aur uskey baad hi wapas bandra ayengey. Aap hamein 45 minutes mein phir sey phone kariye toh hum aapko wahin KFC par milenge ... hamara naam Rashid hai aur hamari taxi ka number 921 hai'. I thanked him and gave the phone back to the puny driver and thanked him too.

I had 45 minutes to kill and I desperately needed to go to the washroom too. So I went to Sanju-Vanita' place in Khar and after using the Loo I called my son and apprised him of the situation and asked him to carry on with his lunch. I then spent some time chatting with Vanu -- she fed me some yummy lunch and chai. Exactly 45 minutes later I called Rashid on my mobile again. This time he was close to Bandra and said that I should meet him at KFC in 10 mins. I said quick good-byes and thankyous to Vanu, Sanchu and Utsie and sped to KFC.

Outside KFC, I waited and waited and peered had at every cab that passed by but there was no sign of Taxi 921 for more than half an hour!! I requested a lady dressed in a burqa sitting in a rick to lend me her phone and she willingly gave me her phone when I told her that I had left my mobile in a cab and that I was trying to trace the driver, 'Arrey baap rey, aapko yakeen hai ki wo phone waapis zaroor deyga?' 'Haan mujhe yakeen hai'. I called Rashid once again on my mobile ... he said he was stuck in traffic at Bandra masjid and should be there in a few minutes. On impulse I rushed into KFC and bought a Chicken Zinger and a Cooler.

A short while later, I saw Taxi 921 drive up thru the crazy traffic and I waved out. Rashid waved back and I smiled. I rushed to his cab and thanked him profusely as I he handed me back my mobile, 'Aapke husband ka phone abhi aaya tha ... aap unko phone kar leejiye'. I gave him the burger and cooler and some money for taking the trouble and burning his gas for me in the terrible heat on aamchi Mumbai and then finally I took down his car number and full name ... Rashid Kalu Ansari Taxi No.JA-921-C-01 saying that I would inform the Taxi Union of his goodness.

I left bidding goodbye and blessing Rashid for a great life ahead ... feeling tired but relieved I called my husband, my son, Vanita and my parents (I had seen a received call from Mum - she also must have spoken with Rashid)...and I then called the lady in the rick and the puny driver and told them that I had traced my mobile ... they were happy and I think they felt good that I called to let them know ... and then smiling to myself and thanking God for saving the day I finally reached home :)

I called my friend Vidyadhar for the Taxi Union' numbers. I spoke to Mr. Quadros the Secretary of the Union and he was very pleasant and heard out my experience and said that I could write an appreciation note for Rashid and fax it to his office and that they had a system of rewarding such members. I did so immediately and felt good ...

Like I said, every one I met in this day was supportive and helpful and amazing in their own little way ... and I felt that I had completed the circle. God please bless each of these individuals and in some way make their lives happy :)

Golden Era' Everlasting Beauty … Waheeda Rehman

These beautiful B&W shots of Waheeda Rehman are from the suhagraat scene of the film 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand' … Guru Dutt her newly wedded husband asks her to take her time to open her ghunghat for him (he has never seen her face before); he however cautions her that she may as well get a look at him as he is this grotesque guy with ugly teeth etc… she panics and lifts her ghunghat to reveal the face shown in the picture above … and her husband gasps and says 'Subhaan-allah' and when she sees his handsome face she breaks into a smile :)

This morning I watched Guru Dutt' 1956 production and Raj Khosla' directed hindi film, C.I.D. the unforgettable musical treat, with hummable songs that are often sung in antaksharis across generations even today ...
- Boojh mera kya naam rey nadi kinarey gaon rey, peepal jhoomein mere angana thandi thandi chaon rey
- Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahaan zara hat key zara bachch key yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
- Aankhon hi aankhon mein ishara ho gaya baithey baithey jeeney ka sahara ho gaya
- Ley ke pehla pehla pyar bhar key aankhon mein khumaar jaadoo nagri sey aaya hai koi jaadugar

… and just as the suspense of the murder of Editor Srivastav is being followed by Inspector Shekhar (played by Dev Anand), he is taken to a palatial home of a beautiful mysterious lady called Kamini (the vamp of the film) played by the young and nubile Waheeda Rehman -- she looked stunning and gave a flawless supporting actress performance and was also picturised in the unforgettable song 'Kahin pe nigahein kahin pe nishaana' … The film made an interesting watch and towards the end Waheeda dominated the screen space with Dev instead of Shakila (the heroine of the film). After I completed the viewing I did a rerun of the songs … and in particular Waheeda' kahin pey nigahen … not only was she graceful and beautiful but the expressions too were perfect … her first hindi movie appearance clearly showed the glimmer of a star about to be born!

My curiosity about her grew and I surfed to view some of her unforgettable song performances on YouTube from films like -- Guide, Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, Khamoshi, Kaagaz ke Phool, Chaudhvin ka Chand, Reshma Aur Shera … and then I chanced upon a catchy Telugu ITEM song 'Eruvaka Sagaro Rannooo Chinnanah' from the 1955 film Rojulu Maraayi, beautifully danced by none other than Waheeda accompanied by two men playing dhols … I was pleasantly surprised to watch the young damsel move gracefully to the tune and couldn't help tap my feet as I watched it again and again … as Waheeda has said in past interview it truly is a lovely song and indeed very hummable. I havent stopped humming it even as I type this blog … Waheeda appeared only in this song in the film but it is this song that became a super hit of its time … and it was after watching her in this film and learning the fact that she also spoke Urdu that Guru Dutt decided to offer her a role in his next film … shortly after he casted her in C.I.D. as the vamp Kamini and the rest is history … Go ahead and paste the following link in your address bar to watch this first visual treat of Waheeda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAtR9RWIYno

Born into a muslim family one would have thought that her parents would object to any form of creative art .. however her parents were of different mettle. Waheeda born on 14 May 1936 in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India, started learning Bharatnatyam, an Indian dance form, at a very young age along with her sister from Guru T. K. Mahalingam Pillai, doyen among nattuvanars. They performed on stage on several occasions too. However her father, who was a District Commissioner, died while she still in her teens and hence never saw the success his daughter achieved … even though it was he that set the foundation for her career -- it was after all her dance performance in Eruvaka that gave her career the start.

Her first ever film as a heroine was a 1955 Telugu film release called Jayasimha with the great South Indian mega star NTR (N. T. Rama Rao with over 350+ Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films in his acting career), which was a modified Hamlet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz0wA8Jb59E

Her most popular releases were in the decades of 1950-70s. With her film 'Guide' in 1965 her career peaked and she won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her emotionally complex rendition of Rosie -- in this film in particular her two song sequences of the famous cobra dance and the song 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai' are my favorite watches of Waheeda. Her performance in Neel Kamal (1968) and Reshma Aur Shera (1971) also accorded her Filmfare and National awards respectively. And although she has given some memorable performances in her films Pyaasa, Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, Khamoshi, Kaagaz ke Phool, Teesri Kasam and Chaudhvin ka Chand she did not receive any awards for them. A few of her films failed at the box office too. In an open discussion with fans and media in Seattle and Washington October 2004, she stated that her most memorable films have been Pyaasa, Teesri Kasam and Guide. Her most successful film was with Rajesh Khanna Khamoshi while her most romantic scene ever was the song sequence 'Waqt ne kiya' from the film Kaagaz ke phool.

There is much talk of the romance of Guru Dutt and her and I can imagine why they must have had a relationship if at all. His work shows that he was an emotionally sensitive man but undoubtedly depressive (even Dev Anand had remarked that he being young and so creative he should not make depressing films) … but the fact was that he was married to Geeta Dutt (again my favorite singer of all times) and maybe that was the reason that things did not go further with them. Guru Dutt died in 1964 and a few years later so did Geeta Dutt.

The 1964 release of Shagun where she starred with Kamaljit did not do too well at the box office however it provided the base of her marital life -- it was during this time that Kamaljit (the hero of the film) proposed to her … they however married a decade later on 27 April 1974 and had two children Sohail and Kashvi.

Her recent releases showcase her as a supporting actor in Lamhe (1991), Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Water (2005), Rang De Basanti (2006) and Delhi 6 (2009) -- each of these films have been critically acclaimed. With time Waheeda has aged gracefully and it is good to see that she continues her romance with films even today… and as always it is a pleasure to watch my favorite DIVA of yesteryear on the big screen.

Demi-God of Bollywood - Dharmendra

Nu and I have this common liking for old hindi movies, so much so that in this time and age too our favorite weekend stop is the Landmark store' Hindi movies section ... you will find us here often, lost in debate on which movies to buy for our ever increasing collection of films. And now that Moser Baer and the likes have managed to crack the high pricing of films Nu cant seem to stop himself! At home we often watch these films together on a Saturday / Sunday evening with a glass of beer and wafers doing the rounds. Needless to say, we are the kind of couple that pauses at a channel airing an old movie while surfing ... and hum along with the old favorite melodies or imitate a dialogue or smile wistfully at a romantic scene or debate a particular movie' popularity and finesse or just crack a joke over some idiocy being enacted by Mehmood or Dev Anand or Kishore Kumar or Tanuja or Nutan or Asha Parekh or Bindu and the likes; or just laugh out loud before we move on with our surfing ...BUT it is seldom the case that we have surfed past a Dharmu film and cant help but get glued the moment we spot him ...

What a man he is and what films he has done; from his earliest ones when he was a nobody doing films like his first few 'Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere', 'Anpad' and 'Phool aur Pathar', to his hits in his prime years and his parallel cinema films and even the latest. He is one man that gets us weak in the knees, that makes us sigh unabashedly about his good looks and wins our hearts hands down for his acting skills ... whether it be emotion, comedy or action ... the man has done it all and not unlike us he has won the hearts of millions across the globe!

And yet through his career spanning 50 years he has not been awarded a single best actor award ever ... he has been nominated several times (Phool Aur Pathar, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Resham Ki Dori, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Ayeee Milan Ki Bela, Naukar Biwi Ka) but never awarded ... In fact even his nominations are not for any of his best performances ... I find amongst my favorites of the 250 odd films that he has done till date; that whether it was Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Sholay, Phool aur Pathar, Black Mail, Aankhen, Guddi, Seeta aur Geeta, Raja Jani, Naya Zamana, Jeevan Mrityu, Jwar Bhata, Dost, Shalimar, Burning Train, Krodhi, Razia Sultan, Chacha Bhatija, Ram Balram, Metro, Apne or Johnny Gaddar; his dialogue delivery, comic timing, action rigor and romancing have never failed to impress me and yet he was never even nominated for any of these films!


In 1975 his releases were PRATIGYA where he pretends to be the village inspector Davinder SIngh while he is avenging his fathers death with none other than Ajit and is swooning (the now remixed version) to 'Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana o rabba itti si baat na jana ke ke ke o mainu pyaar kardi hai o o saddey uttey o mardi ey' at the joy of Hema acknowledging his love -- a thrilling comedy and a great screenplay, SHOLAY the first Indian movie to have made 60 Golden Jubilees in over a 100 theaters across India where he played the ever favorite heart on his sleeve romantic Veeru showering his love for Basanti played by none other than his sweetheart Hema and where he spewed fire at Gabbar barking 'Basanti in kutton key samney mat nachna chahe meri jaan chali jaye', CHUPKE CHUPKE Hrishikesh Mukherji' cult comedy film where he played the adorable Dr. Parimal Tripathi urf Pyaremohan kidding the great Om Prakash in the guise of a Driver from Allahabad speaking SHUDH Hindi and frustrating the life out of him and his family ... all 3 great films and excellent performances by Dharmu and yet he didnt even get nominated for these films. The same year also saw releases like Aandhi (Sanjeev Kumar), Deewar (Amitabh Bachchan), Sanyasi (Manoj Kumar) and Amanush (Uttam Kumar)... Sanjeev Kumar walked away with the Black Lady for his unforgettable performance as JK for his rendition of a lover of a woman in power!

As an actor he has never failed to please ... however as a man he has disappointed me personally on two counts and since this is a piece dedicated to Dharmu here goes ... it bothers me that he must have hurt Prakash his first wife when he chose to convert and wed his on-screen dream girl Hema; although I am sure that now all must be well and that the families and wives have adjusted to each other' place in his life it is still a gnawing feeling that the man of my dreams let me down ... and the second is his habit of drinking ... Perhaps this had a lot to do with the dual life he was forced to lead due to his second marriage. And yet I have only seen love and respect in the eyes of his sons Bobby and Sunny and never so much as a twitter from Hema or Esha/ Aahana ... so he must be doing a lot of good for his families ... Sigh! My heart goes out to him and wants to hold him and say 'I love you Dharmu nevertheless and always will ...' Needless to say, both of these are private matters that we can only speculate about and hence my comments dont count! May God bless his families with happiness always!

Last December 8 he completed 75 years of age and although in his recent appearance in his home production 'Yamla Pagla Deewana' he didnt really look that great the fact is that his spirit is unending and there is a renewed zeal in him to do more and I wish him the very best.

Summer of 69 - LIVE @ BKC, Mumbai 12 Feb 2011

In January 1994 when Bryan Adams came to India and performed at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai I was indisposed due to being 7 months pregnant with Roshni and although it was emotionally the most satisfying time of my life it was also the toughest! So I just could not go for the concert. This year on 12 Feb 2011 he performed in Mumbai at the MMRDA grounds and it was Roshni that made it possible for me to share the euphoria of the 20000 odd people that attended.

The tickets were prohibitive. The cheapest ones were priced at INR 2000 and I knew that they would be no fun at all. The INR 4000 and INR 10000 were the other options. Farrukh was not too keen to go and was humming and hawing about going. Eventually he suggested that I go with Roshni and that we could buy the INR 2000 tickets ... ah well I thought ... at least I would get to see the man LIVE!!! So Roshni took the initiative and called Varun who said he would help with booking the tickets for us considering it was a day before the concert. A short while later Roshni came to me gushing, 'Guess what Mom! We are getting 3 VVIP tickets i.e. 3 tickets @ INR 10000 a pop for FREE' ...
'What ... I cant believe this!???'
'Its true Mom, we will need to pick up the tickets from Varun' place tomorrow.'
YIPPPPPPEEEEE!!!! ... is all I could say and the countdown began for the moment of euphoria that would unfold the following evening!

The next evening came and we set off at 5.30 along with Ankita ... and of course Mumbai' Traffic decided to be at its worst! We picked up the tickets and reached the venue and were zapped by the chaotic arrangements! Although we had VVIP tickets there was NO PARKING available anywhere!!! Both the girls mobiles were virtually on the blink and so I could not even send them in alone so I prayed ... 'Oh God please please please ... since you have brought us this far please just spare us one parking spot' and VOILA ... there was a spot just a car length away!! We quickly parked and ran inside as we saw Jackie Shroff giving a BYTE on Bryan Adams to the hungry press. Next we spotted Shiamak ... who hugged Roshni and Ankita with a pat on their heads when I said these are your students, 'SO sweet ... God Bless!' Amongst the stars we also spotted Aditi Gowitrikar, Raju Hirani and Preity Zinta who looked very pleased to be there!

The VVIP area was on a PODIUM and yes it was stylish with seating and sexy round tables with drinks etc. It also supposedly had a clear view but by the time we reached it was jam packed and standing there was just pointless. So we pushed our way into the INR 4000 crowd that was thronging the area in front of the stage. Roshni pushed n pushed with Ankita and me close behind till we reached the front ... we were not bang centre but towards the side ... but it felt great to be part of the madness.

We had arrived late and hence the crowd was already in a frenzy as Bryan dressed in black was crooning away ... he looked great and didnt at all look his age of 51 ... he had so much energy and sang virtually non-stop all the way to 9.30 making us go crazy with all the old favorites Summer of 69, Everything I Do, 18 Till I Die, Straight From The Heart, You’ve Been A Friend To Me, Heaven, Here I Am, Let’s Make It A Night To Remember, Please Forgive Me, The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You, All For Love, etc. When he started singing Summer of 69 the crowd went ecstatic and Bryan sang it with the same feeling and emotion as he has always done ... oh it was awesome!!!



He then asked someone from the crowd to accompany him on stage to sing 'Baby When You’re Gone' along with him ... there was chaos as the crowd desperately tried to draw his attention and hoped to be picked up! The lucky one was a young girl called Gauri who actually sang the whole song and danced along with BRYAN. She did a pretty good job and looked great and even got a huge hug and T-shirts for her friends :) It was a cute moment and I am sure an unforgettable one for her! Before singing 'Everything I do I do it for you', he asked all of us to turn on our mobile screen lights and hold our phones up in our hands in the air! When I turned to look at the crowd it felt like the stars had descended on the ground!!!

His latest album, Bare Bones, which is a compilation of his greatest songs has been given a gold certificate in India and it was from here that he was singing most of his songs ... The experience was truly exhilarating and of course the crowds refused to let him go ... he did 2 solos specially for us even after the rest of his band said Adieu and sang while playing his harmonica along with the guitar ... unbelievable and simply spectacular! WHAT A NIGHT ... thank you my Lil Roshposh and thank you God for making this happen!

MOVIE REVIEW: Hum Dono (Rangeen)

RATING: * * * * *

Wah Dev Saab WAH!!! ... Aapke kya kehne! What a film this man has made and acted in. I saw it in BW with Farrukh a few weeks back and we didnt stop humming the songs for the next few days ... such is the nasha of this film' melodies.

Yesterday Bhabhijaan called and said that she would like me to accompany her for the new colored version of the film ... Farrukh and I had been making plans with the gang but somehow nothing had yet materialised ... yesterday being thursday I feared that I would miss the cinematic screening of this epic Dev Anand film if I said no ... so I said yes and HUM DONO rushed to reach just in time for the PVR Juhu 12.30 screening. As we were entering the screen the titles had just begun and the screen was alight with the colors and a-sung with the famous lighter melody ...ting tin ting tin ting tin ting tin ting ... this got Bima and me all excited as we groped around the dark hall and so we just sat ourselves down on the closest seats available and soaked in the beauty of the music. And then the magic began ...

Dev Anand' handsome face smiling and holding Sadhana' (Meeta) palloo with a ribbon tied to his hand, Meeta' doll like face switching the lighter on an off, Dev flirting with her in the song 'Abhi na jaao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin...', wooing her at the gate, her onlooking father, the proposal, the dejection, him enlisting in the army, Meeta leaving her father' home to be with his mother while he is away, him becoming Captain Anand, him shaving while looking at his reflection in the pond and then the ever favorite 'Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya ... har fiqr ko dhooein mein udata chala gaya ...', meeting DA2 Major Verma i.e. his Hum Dono counterpart with just the mooochein being the differentiating factor and of course the ho ho ho gutteral laughter and SCRAM SCRAM, a deep bond of friendship and brotherhood emerges between the two of them in a place that reeks of death and hatred, and then there is DA2' mother Lalita Pawar and wife the gorgeous Nanda (Ruma) who like the perfect bhartiya ardhangini 'jo aadmi ke adhooreypan ko poora karti hai' ... kya devi hai yaar our kya khoobsurti hai aur kya bhajan gayen hain ... 'Allah tero naam ishwar tero naam...' DA2 getting injured and becoming POW, DA1 coming back to find his Mum is dead and that Meeta has been in his home all this while, he goes to give the news of DA2' death to his family and they i.e. Lalita and Nanda and all his friends start thinking that he has returned home as Major Verma whereas he is actually Major Anand (he has got promotion after the war), Nanda falling sick and Anand being in a kashmakash of whether to tell the family that he is actually not Major Verma ... but the Doctor warns him that Ruma will not survive the shock due to her heart ailment, Meeta misunderstanding Anand and Ruma' relationship as she spots them together in the Mandir, and then Ruma' penance and eventually returning with a missing leg on crutches just as the bhajan 'Prabhu tero naam jo dhyaye sukh paye tero naam ...' concludes ... the fight between the two DA's and then the reconciliation and the expression of love between the two couples .... ooooooooh what a story, what songs and what gorgeous looking people and WHAT A FILM ... I had tears or sorrow and joy rolling down my cheeks by the time the film concluded

Thanks a ton Dev Saab for sharing this beautiful acting experience with us on big screen ... we loved it and kept feeling that there needs to be an ongoing screening of some of the best films of your era and they should be tax free so that as many people can watch and learn from them ... kyonki woh waqt ki khoobsoorti kuch aur hi thi and I wish thru these movies we could somehow keep the beautiful values and the innocence that India had ... alive ... I LOVE you DEV ANAND ... God bless you with the courage to continue to do more such acts of idiosyncrasy :)

Lily Boose Nu!@#$?

You must wonder who this is ... is it a woman, flower, animal!? It is none other than my darling husband Farrukh Shaikh ... One fine evening when my dear Anika was doleful; she and I playfully christened him with the name and it has stuck ... she now calls him simply LILY and adores him ... bonds of love that are timeless and names that are often weird and unexplained but their oddity and cuteness spells LOVE.

I remember my mum calling my sister 'malkin' and my dad calling me piyu, rui (as in as soft as cotton wool) and peachy. My kid sister was called pochersingh, chocha, chochey, mulmooch :) The cutest name that I have been called has been by my babies ... they call me MARSHIE(as in marsh-mallow -- they think I am as cuddly and soft as one) ... shaikhu and honey call me Pichi (which was a shortened version of Priya Chachi:))

I remember some really weird petnames/nicknames in the family as well. My cousins are called Sunny, Honey, Money, Bunny. Another set is called; Chicky, Ricky, Nicky and yet another is called Ginni, Minni, Tinni... My MIL called her 4 sons Munna, Pappu, Raju, Guddu ... this is typical of a Punjabi sibling lineup.

I remember a Bengali sister and brother having the names Buchki and Potal ... two boys in Cathedral school were called smallie and biggie when they were kids -its a different thing that smallie grew in size to be a lot huger than biggie but the names had stuck... Farrukh calls his friends by weird names like Sanju is called Coolie, Pramod is Lungi, Vanu is Hathyarin, Tanu is Monopause, Hoju is Tension, Archie is Doordarshan, Duriya is Khamoshi, Honey is Chantt, Guddu is Rangeela, Tariq is Sarkar and Prashant is Sanki etc... They hate him for these names but he calls them by these names nevertheless and has also logged them so in his mobile contact list... Looks weird when there is an incoming call from say Sanki or Lungi or Monopause :)

Have you heard of any weird names? Do share them with me in your feedback comments below ... This is Piyu signing off with love :)

Ritika Weds Asheesh

Whenever I go for a wedding the positive energies and happiness never fails to set me on a high for the next few days. The 25th of Jan 2011 saw my dear friend Ritika and Asheesh tie the knot for a lifetime of love and togetherness and as I smiled fondly at the radiance on dear Rits' face I couldnt help asking myself - what is it about a wedding that I love the most ...the uniting of two souls, unashamedly dressing up in BLING, the splash of colors in the clothes that people wear, the immense beauty on the brides face, the pride in the grooms eyes, the bangles, the veils, the jewelry, the sweets, food, music and dance, the merriment on meeting of old friends and long ago met relatives, the tears, the laughter and the tranquil on the parents faces ... I love it all ... and above all of this I love the hope and the desire to commence new beginnings ... chahe kuch bhi kaho ... yeh shaadi ka laddooo sabse bada gamble hai lekin sabse mast partnership bhi hai. God bless the newly weds :)

India' Republic Day 2011

The morning of 26th January 2011 began like any other @ 6.30AM... I switched off the alarm that croons every morning "..ehsaan itna sa kar dey" as if gently reminding me that I need to do the world a favor by getting off my ass and doing my earthly duties. I walked slowly with my eyes shut (my eyelids refuse to give way these days and my aging knees dont permit speed early in the morning) in the cold darkness, with mechanical precision to Raunaq' room and switched off his fan, snoogled up with him for a bit and then cajoled him to get up. After ablutioning and stuffing our faces with some breakfast we left for his school ... and while we were waiting for the lift Raunaq snapped at me for something inane and we got into a spat over how each of us should not be speaking to each other -- this sudden aggression is a new phenomenon I am occasionally seeing in my adolescent son (needless to say that these are spurts that dont last long and the love bond we share is rock solid!). Thankfully the lift arrived with some unassuming equally bleary eyed people clutching onto their sides for whatever warmth they could garner what with the temperature still hovering below 18 degrees early in the mornings. I sullenly walked in with Raunaq close behind me. I stiffly walked ahead of Raunaq and as we were walking out of the gate someone from the building called out to him ... it was a family whose little daughter Anushka studies in the same school as him. They offered us a lift and although I was irritated thanks to the spat I agreed and got into their CRV.

As I thanked them and exchanged pleasantries Raunaq gave me a side hug and whispered 'Sorry Mom' and I looked at him and nodded approval and the tenseness was over. Anushka was dolled up with make-up and a colorful costume looking adorable all set to do a dance at the school function that morning. Raunaq was dressed in his bright yellow basketball colors .. jersey number 10, shorts and keds. Anushka' father asked looking at the trophy in Raunaq' hand, 'So what is the trophy for?'. Our team won an interschool basketball match Uncle ... this is the MSSA tournament that takes place every year and our team participated and won ... 'Wow! thats cool' and I swelled with pride.

As we entered the school the backyard was milling with students, teachers, helpers and excited parents. A pole stood in the centre with the flag tied to the top in a knot waiting to be hoisted. Soon the welcome address commenced by the Sports Coordinator as the Principal was away for an international tour, the flag was unfurled by the oldest member of the school administration and the crowd began to sing the national anthem. As always, a chill ran down my spine as I watched the motley crowd mouthing the jaya he jaya he ... and when the head girl and boy took the school oath with the entire crowd standing in attention with their right hand extended my tears escaped my eyes and flowed onto my cheeks ... I couldn't help reminisce my school days, the naval parades, flag hoisting at papa' ships and INS Chilka, the illuminated Govt institutions and all the great leaders who have led us to freedom and allowed us this moment of joy 60 years later.

The program organised by the school teachers and students was a burst of color and music and grace and some lovely messages of making the world a better place. Raunaq and his team came on stage to receive their award/trophy for the series of basketball matches they had won in the past month ... moment of pride indeed :)







I had a lovely emotional morning and returned to my building well in time for the flag hoisting ceremony there. Some songs, speeches and recitations by kids and adults alike and a delicious plate of snacks and loads of pleasantries.

I bought 5 flags from a road-side vendor a kid probably the same age as my son ... his name was Abdul and he wanted me to click his picture with his friends which I promptly did ... his smile was priceless... the republic of India had provided him freedom of speech, earn a living of his choice and unabashedly ask for a picture to be taken with a smile without any fear ... he actually made my day!