Google it !!

If only there was a Google search for every question in my head.

Like- Who stole my phone and how can I kick his/her ass black n blue? Where did I keep my keys!.. or When will I become rich!? Which is the perfect car for me? How should I plan my savings? What is the perfect haircut for me that'll make me look like a movie star all the time ? :) .. and so on..Except that in the google of my imagination I'll always be lucky and will get only ONE extraordinarily precise and correct answer that will answer other most obvious branching quesitons too!

It feels so awesome to be answered, doesnt it?When we ask, we have a question, we are in need.. but when just the correct answer, correct justification comes, its such a satisfying feeling !

When our call is answered, our prayers are answered, and curiousity is quenched, it does indeed feel good - most of the time, anyway :)

Its an mmmm feeling... The way we go mmmmmmm... while savoring exactly what was needed.

I like that feeling ! :)

But since, I have sooooooo many questions at any moment of time in my head and the search engine of my wonderland is currently still in my imagination, doesnt it help to just concentrate on the important most pressing questions first?

I guess seeking the answer or deciding the shelf life of a question before it expires, is all the game we call 'life'. Without all this to think about and to work for, what will be the inspiration to make people get going?

Hmm. The brain bulb just went "ting !!" next to my head :)

Well, in the present, as I of now, I think its best to celebrate having all these uncertainities around, and the next day on - Lets get Cracking !!

Thats what the New Years are for !! :)

Afternoon delight !

I had too much of extra time and energy to sit at home and get bored one weekend, so I decided to make use of the fact that I live in one of the most vibrant cities of the world !

I called up my friend who lives right across the street and we decided to go exploring.

We headed down south to the town, a short train ride away from the suburbs where we live, to get the taste of the 'town'. The first expedition- we decided has to be about shopping and fashion! To indulge in a little gal pleasure of discovering fun accessories, hand crafted interior designs and who knows what all stuff  the streets have to offer ! Yes - my ladies and gentlemen, we were street shopping . How exciting !!

Hence we made the Colaba Causeway our foremost and primary destination.

We exited out of the VT station and took a cab to Colaba Causeway. If it'd not been SO hot we'd have loved walking to it. So, in case whenever you go, walk in the area in daylight... splendid it is. Surrounded by ancient , uniform 3 story-ed  buildings, which have seen so much of time and people, wide roads in neat right angles, and patches of clean blue sky above, its a treat to the eyes of anyone who's actually seeing all of this.Some places have just so much history in them. 

I can understand why many people miss out on the history and the sky and all other things .. that's because they are blinded by all the cool stuff that street vendors were selling! When we saw that, our faces were that like the pirates as if we'd discovered the Gold of Aztec! ...or like we'd time traveled into the Arabian Nights! Such amazing creative earrings, bangles, kurtas, bags, durries. So many colours and so many different designs. It was liberating to see all of that. We were simply not prepared for that. 

Street shopping is supposed to be fun.. but not this cool!

My guidelines for people venturing on Colaba causeway/Bandra Hill road are: 

1. Keep a budget in mind. You're never going to keep it, but its good to have some lines drawn when entering so much temptation.

2. Keep at least a vague view of what you want to buy. It shouldn't be that you went to buy a clutch and came back with bag full of mugs, bedsheets, kurtas, big tote having totally forgotten about the innocent red clutch. These are tricky places for the mind.

3. ALWAYS and always bargain. Firmly but discreetly. If a shopkeeper senses that your bargain may be affecting other customers too, there goes your price! 

What I bought - 

A table runner, a small lipstick holder that'll actually hold my earphones, a beautiful turquoise kurta, a yellow oxidized metal belt for my dresses or even saris and a bright pink T-shirt with an agenda to make crows more popular (as if!). 

Having satiated our hunger of culture and accessories, we stepped into the legendary "Leopold Cafe" to have their legendary cheesecake and sandwiches. Absolutely...yummy. That place deserves a standing ovation. Truly does. Any maybe that's why its so popular, specially after having gone through so much!

We can still see some of the bullet marks on the walls from the terrorist attacks in 2008.

After feeling pleasantly full, half sleepy, done with our day of a little newness, tired as little kids back from the fete, we took a train back home to home and our regular lives. 

Next expedition will be to create a picture scrapbook with history from all over the city!

We also found a delightful french place, will post details of that in the next post.

Until then -

Life is either a great adventure or nothing -Hellen Keller

A hole in my heart

Theres a dog shaped vacuum in my heart which refuses to fill..

When I got Pasha, it was the biggest change in my life until then. It was so huge, the change, that I wanted to write about the experience which I can boast of and share with the world! Not a single word came on paper. That little bastard used to take all of my time and mindspace with his flurry of activities, extreme cuteness and BIG round brown eyes. SO many experiences, I thought I'll atleast one everyday like in the movie Marley and Me. In all these years, I wrote nothing until only one article - a few months back- which was mostly inspired from random places.
I would want to write about how he looks at me sometimes with the wisdom that will challenge my ancestors, sometimes with so much heartmelting trust that its impossible to do anything but cuddle, sometimes with mischief worthy of devilish kids.. And so my time and his time went hand in hand until now - when he's not around.

Now I have all the time...Time to write, to go to that dance class, to work in office forever, to watch late night movies, to roam around without thinking of home. Except that I dont want to do any of that any more. .. I just want to go home to my dog whom I gave up because I didnt think I was doing him justice of a good life. Because he'd stay alone at home for countless hours, no one to play with, and us being around only for the weekend and that too not full. Because I 'think' that we 'might' leave the country in near future and Pasha wouldnt have a good home 'then' because we'd have to keep him in hurry with my relatives or aquaintances who dont know much about dog care..

Here are the reasons why the new home is better than mine:
1. Franz is more obsessed by dogs and equally loving as I am. (which is almost impossible to find)
2. Pasha doesnt have to stay long hours alone like he did when we'd go out working. He loves company and hes getting loads there.
3. He gets company of other dogs there and also a wife :)
4. Hes really happy in the new home, as he eats well and plays too..

So when I think about him I know Ive done the right thing but for me it feels like Ive just lost MY baby and best friend bundled in one.. Or an emotion close to that.Does knowing that its for the better of loved ones make the hurt go away ? I hope so. Im trying.

The only thing is I dont regret anything about him..I dont regret because as long as he was with me, I gave him all the love, attention and care I could and more.  And even now, I know inspite of all the pain - that I did him good.

You're always going to outlive your pet, thats a decided fact. Trust me that this no-regrets feeling is the only saviour !! and this can come only from within.
Love your pet, take care of it and be with him/her as long as they are with you.. Because one day they wont be around and you might feel guilty along with being sad and alone thinking you didnt return enough of the undying unconditional love they showered you with. I can still go play with him.. Others might not be so lucky..
So please !! Act responsible and of course.. there's no ration on love !


P.s. Post your queries to me in case you have any concerns with your pets travelling/lodging and boarding/vets/training etc and Ill help you with the contacts I have.. If you feel you're not able to cope up with your pet, please contact me. I'll be happy to help!

Epilogue:

Pasha's new home :) .. (the black and white, shamelessly happy dog is Pasha :p )

Rewind to Seinfeld - The Mother of all Comedies

Sometimes the road less travelled is less travelled for a reason. - Jerry

Ya know, its not fair people are seated first-come-first-served. It should be based on who's hungriest. - Elaine

He purposely mispronounced my name. Instead of saying "Costanza", he'd say "Can't-stand-ya, can't stand ya!" He made me smell my own gym socks once. - George

I must have been out of my mind. Look at you. Why don't you do something with your life? Sit around here all day, you contribute nothing to society. You're just taking up space. How could I be with someone like you? Couldn't respect myself  - Kramer

The fantastic four :D !!

A U B is not marriage.

Marriage is not a union of two souls, its an intersection of two souls (Ref: Venn Digram). ONLY the common habits, common hobbies, common interests survive, rest everything stays out of the box. Even if not initially, but eventually it is pushed OUT of the box.
So which is why it is not shallow at all to seriously reconsider a marriage proposal if your passions are not common and are non negotiable, because if at all they dont match in the marriage, the life expectancy of your interests will shorten abruptly.
I know, about ' But wont you get a brand new person who loves you and cares for you in wake of giving up ONE lousy hobby!!?!'. Well you do- but thats it. And the moment u're out of your honeymoon mode, you'll need ur hobbies back !!

P.s. Dedicated to all my peeple looking for love and marriage!! :)

What does it take to be great?

What is the age limit to be great? I know there is none.
What does it take to be truly great?
And more importantly - how can you achieve greatness when you live a mediocre life, earning mediocre salary and have mediocre interests that are limited in comforts of some mediocre mall.
Does greatness also - like absolutely all other things in the world come from within? Because its actually very frustrating to know that ALL things in the world actually (peace, happiness, beauty, wealth, health) come from within and still are most times out of reach. Because, honestly - I want to be great !!.. I want to reach the top of my bell curve and want the top of that to be ABOVE that of everyone else. Is that too much to ask from self?
Many say that greatness can be achieved by thinking out of the box.. others say that greatness can be achieved in every action and to execute everything to perfection... many others are of the opinion that you are born with greatness in your destiny and nothing you can do will diminish or increase how great you are.
This is bullshit. Specially the last one.
I think - everyone is great in some way or the other. Its just how we see it as greatness. So - greatness doesn't come from within, but the certificate sure does.

Fallen Angels

Another lifesaver from Aerosmith :)

There's a candle burning in the world tonight

For another child who vanished out of sight
And a heart is broken, another prayer in vain
There's a million tears that fill a sea of pain

Sometimes I stare out my window
My thoughts all drift into space
Sometimes I wonder if there¹s a better place
(Tell me) Where do fallen angels go
I just don't know
Where do fallen angels go

They keep falling

Now the times is frightening
Can't ignore the facts
There's so many people
Just slippin' through the cracks
So many ashes are scattered
So many rivers run dry
Sometimes your Heaven is Hell and you don't know why

(So listen) Where do fallen angels go
I just don't know
Where do fallen angels go
They keep falling, falling, falling...

Can you hear me
Somewhere out there there's a shining light
And I got to be with you tonight
And with all we're nowhere

We still pay the price
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way
In downtown paradise
Where do fallen angels go
I just don't know

Where do fallen angels go
They keep falling, falling, falling...

Mylyfe

The right to choose... Life... And freedom to exercise the right. Thats what makes my heart beat.. Thats where I feel glad to be alive.
Its not just blood that runs in my veins.. Its the urgency... The urge.. To live some more... Do something better than just non descript invisible existence. To make birds fly... and stars shine... For me.

The stubborness that I share with a single leaf of grass bent on growing on a concrete floor. To live in the now. Not like the grasshopper of an old story, but a true follower of now.
To claim... And reclaim my life ...

Livin the dream...

Its a dream to live the life of your dreams....but many a times I forget that this life itself is a dream...
The concept of matrix was a hit not for no reason. The only difference is that here ...in this life, I just get alarmed into realising the truth by some preset wake up calls. Alarms that are designed to stop myself from kidding myself that this is all true..and is actually happening.
Nothing is true...nothing except the fact that this life, as i know it, and whatever it has for me, can go away at any moment. Depressing as it may sound, it is equally true.
The more I believe the myth, the deeper I am in the dream, the more alarmed I get when the alarm rings..
Shakespere said a lot of silly things, but the one where we're all actors and world's a stage was GENIUS. Okay maybe he didnt say anything silly! But the actor who actually starts to believe tht plot is the best actor and foolest of them all too..
True happiness and peace, something that I've been looking for since so long, can be attained only when I make best of this life while realising that this is all a myth.
Just like a movie can best be enjoyed when I realise that even though it might be based on a real incident...right now...its just a movie..