15 sec of fame, cooking, woman

This weekend was a tad different from my other weekends when I simply sit at home, clear all the washing stuff, laze around the house, play some violin and finally doze off reading a book. One of my office colleague "T" is getting married in a few months and as little birds gathering straws for their new nest, he also in the scrummage rented a new house. T and another colleague C were invited to visit and enjoi some cooking while we banter along. Being a bachelor, his home was a bit ruffled up with things lying around here and there. Never mind. We started with cutting and peeling and joked about how after a few more months this would be taken over by his wife and would look much more organised, while C congratulated T on being a husband cook many wife's would love to have :). Finally we made our chicken and for of our vegetarian C tomato purree mish-mash. Being on the same cross roads (but searching-not-there-yet zone), T recommended me some money saving options and other things that I may need to care for before putting my foot in, and then we scribbled about our office boss, life in general and the girls in office who would be off-limits for our so called "to-be-soon" married friend (at-least in theory).

This was the first time in life when I actually cleaned raw chicken though I have been eating it for the past twenty eight years, but being the single son and living at home ,never felt the need to practise or try my hand. Here in Bangalore also I ate mostly at office mess or got the tiffin facility delivered at my doorstep. But I like cooking (many will frown a brow at that). Its just that life didn’t allow me a hand, this saturday I really felt like experimenting and it felt nice, but then didn’t wanted to ruin our only source of food ;). Maybe I will learn it from my wife directly, but being her only husband will she allow me :D hehehe.

Before leaving T asked if anything was missing I just remarked it needs to be more organised, to which he replied he has left it for now, although no mater how good the things are stacked "its only a women who can make the home complete"; and ofcourse I second him without doubts. Hats off to those lovely ladies as mom, sister and wife.

Returning back I headed to a mall which advertised some mega sales, so thought of the long pending shirt shopping I was planning for some time, but reaching there I found the whole city junta buzzing around like bees next to an unkept stall. All good spoils had gone and I returned back empty handed. Before exiting the mall, I saw a crowd frantically hovering around a circle with blaring music. And I also whizzed in, to see some college boys and couples huddled in to dance out a few steps on the bollywood music in the background and the comparer trying in to mesh in a few more people to get them their very own fifteen seconds of attention or was to shower a few moments of happiness in this artificial surrounding she and her company had so diligently orchestrated. While some young lads held their flashy mobile cameras filming that out, others eyed along the best chic around.

And I standing there wondered; "Happiness" is such an elusive quantity, people go whole length and yards to get it, other rake it on the sides while still others cash in while others pretend to have a good time, but even if it was for that fifteen minutes; atleast they forgot everything around; and enjoyed.

Right now -----

I just finished reading Jug Suraiya article in TOI his tickles style of writting has been my source of inspiration from long; thanks Juggy.

Connecting

Ever wondered “Why blog?”, well; to answer that one I have to start with WHAT a blog is in the first place. So instead of scourging the internet for the answer of that one I came up with my own definition. I guess it’s a hybrid between a personal diary and public self-expression. A way to connect with like minded individuals who vibrate on your frequency, “that”, when you pluck a chord they tingle exactly like you; with an “Ahhhhh” moment “but, that’s exactly what I think”.

Maybe we are those few mortals who digested all the Enid Blyton’s before heading to eight grade and have so much to tell and so much to splurge out we don’t know to whom or how; and this is where we unburden our souls. Few days back when discussing the same with Elsa (aka Jhansi ki Rani) who I met in delhi; she mentioned that all good readers are eventual writers in the making to which I slightly differ, just like not every genius is a good teacher; but we both concur at one point that writing is an inborn gift. Blogging is also about sharing our experiences and waiting for a reciprocation of another who wore their shoes, maybe have a view point and tilt the same mirror to reflect a different image of the same. It’s about connecting.

I guess at the end we are social animals and in the chain of evolution maybe this is the next step. And as one blogger succinctly sums it ip. Blogito ergo sum.


Daily hum drumm --------

So I went and came back single, while its marks a year of what I have been doing and people/friends tend to ask me often what is that I am searching which brings me to the line I just wrote “It’s about connecting”. A friend in similar quandary shirked the whole explanation until yesterday when he felt a queer exciting feeling talking to another individual for the same, and I retorted back “that’s what I meant”. It cannot be explained its about experiencing.

If any of you remember “Notting Hill”, in which Hugh Grant’s friends are trying to find a date for him and after each one gets his opinion, in one he finally remarks "She’s perfect, but theirs is no chemistry".

Aren’t we all here for the same, social interactions, blogging, befriending we seek a common understanding a unique yet similar way of looking at life itself. A connection!!

NB: Oh, in case you missed, new blogging features introduced; gives you more control on customization and categorization, details here. Catch is you need a gmail account to sign in.

HIV and society

I had just finished my food and my sunday paper had become the center table as usual. The tube takes most of my attention but concluding it all, this article came to my attention "Should HIV testing be mandatory before marriage?". With both the Yes vs. No column neatly stacked next to each other. The negation was supported by a lady (Jhanavi Goswami) who herself married at the age of 16 was left out when her husband died and ever since has worked in a AIDS help program; while the support was via Goa's Health Minister (Dayand Narvekar) who is working to introduce a similar bill in Goa.

Ammmph; so it left me thinking; SHOULD it?

Jhanavi gave some plausible reasons in its support foremost plausible from my perception being the lack on infrastructure and tampering of results. That’s a big issue. But apart from that she cited reasons like forced testing and expenditure costs which I think can be easily mooted out. As far as forced testing is concerned I guess the healthy partner whoever it may be would really be in unison, in case he/she is given this option before they fall pray for it; merely for the fact that they land in with no fault of their own. And as far as money is concerned which is 5K per test shouldn’t be a problem in a country where families even village families are bred to spend lavishly on this one time affair. At least a start should be taken in from the cities where everyone can bare it as well being educated enough understand the compulsion and need.

Dayanand is in the process of amending Goa Public Health act to bring this into force I guess being a sizable population would just be the right experimentation grounds for such an act.

I guess government should start advertising its inclusion in society and then later introduce it so that families all over realise its importance. Just like the vaccination procedures towards saving our future generations I consider it no less; wherein not only a new born is saved but the other half who falls into a marriage preview and later in its clutches with no fault of its own.

Daily humm drummm-----------

A bunch of holidays seem to be grazing my turf and I am heading back delhi to laze myself down (incase anybody rolling around the corner just honk me) not to mention a few interviews to attend not the jobs ones but the marriage prospects I am trying to hit on from long. Lets see.

Ironically every time I am reminded of my arranged marriage it rings this line from Anand and I chuckle "aajkal woh zamana tho raha nahi; maa/baap ne var chun liya; aur beti chup chaap doli chad gayee; aajkal ladka ladki dekh nahi leta jabtak ...." and ever since I saw this movie fifteen years back I was with this staunch believe that someday I also would bump into a gal and marry her off; arranged marriage was never in my preview of believe; but fate seems to be having other plans and the more I seem to analyze it the more puzzled I seem to be "if ladka ladki seem to be seeing each other from that long and marrying themselves off; what the hell am I doing". Maybe the act itself would answer that for me!!