Trials and Tribulations by Fire

Friends... People who we supposedly choose People who we bond with, sometimes more often than with family People who know our innermost secrets and passions People who love us despite our shortcomings People who we can call at the dead of the night People who stand by you when a kin dies People who give you a loan, a shoulder to cry Friends... People who talk incessantly about their kids once they are married, does not matter if you are single People who selfishly call you when they need to get information People who miss your call when they are with their loved ones and vow that they were in a meeting People who tell your parents that you drink People who call you up on your birthday and forget to wish People who reveal your worst nightmare to strangers People who tell you that your job sucks when you get promoted People who cozy up when your social status improves People who claim to be in touch with all your updates but do not read your blog or your book if you ...

I step out of my house in trepidation. Fear lurks closeby. Fear. A foreign emotion. I cover my shoulders lest I attract unwanted attention. I walk with my head bent low. I Fear my bowed head will touch the ground and I will become one with the sand and dust.  I Fear.  I Fear to look into the eyes of the leering eyes of the autowallah standing outside my door.  I Fear that a stray gust will blow my dress too close to my body and show off my shape. I Fear that I will attract unwanted attention.  I Fear that I will provoke a 'red-blooded' man.  I Fear that I will be shown my place.  I Fear that I will have to eventually resort to wearing a Burkkha and step out only with a man.  I Fear Men.  I Fear...

Here are a few sample chapters of the novella: the Legal Bond. The Legal Bond Chapter 1 Today Maya sat by the window, a book on her lap, long neglected because her heart was full and her mind too elated to be able to take in the printed word. She leaned happily against Ravi who sleepily put an arm around her shoulder. The trees flying past the speeding bus reminded her of the recent past when she had met Ravi, fallen in love, and almost lost him because of her own folly. The bus carried in its belly a motley group headed to the temple town of Tiruvannamalai. Maya sat in the air-conditioned coach, her mind going over various incidents that had taken place in the past. In just a few more hours, they would reach their destination. Maya sighed as she heard Ravi’s gentle breathing, which told her he was fast asleep now. She sank back against the soft cushions and focused on completing her book. The trip would be hectic, she knew. This was the first time she was visiting ...

SRK rocks! Just returned home after watching JTHJ in S2 cinemas aka Theyagaraya with a sense of joy that I got last after watching DDLJ.  JTHJ, a 2012 release, written and produced by Aditya Chopra and blessed by Yash Chopra.  JTHJ is a typical Hindi movie and moves you, makes you empathize with SRK and cry with Katrina (I was shocked!)  The storyline oozes genius and this movie is a fitting finale to the master  storyteller Yash Chopra. Kudos! So, Major Samar Anand completely woos the two women in the movie apart from the other women in the theatre. Katrina and Anushka have done a good job dancing to SRK's tunes. The movie moves effortlessly from London to Leh, India. Songs are shot well and Kat has done the dance number very well. SRK matches Kat well and the audience lapped it up. I sat mesmerized as Major Samar diffused bomb after bomb and made many women's heartbeats miss.  Anushka's on-screen striptease took the men by surprise and I hea...

Finally, ended up making my favorite sweet: 7 cup sweet. Also called as 'Ezhu Battlu,' in Karnataka and by my maternal grandmom.  Ok, the '7' in the name comes from the seven ingredients that are required.  Check this out:  This is how the cake looks like once it cools. You should be able to easily cut it into pieces.  Ingredients:  Besan - 1 cup Powdered sugar - 3 cups (I used 1.5 cups) Ghee - 1 cup Cashew nut powder + almonds - 1 cup Milk - 1 cup Method to prepare: Mix all the ingredients and stir well so that there are no lumps.  Now, take all the ingredients in a thick bottom kadai and put on high flame. Keep stirring to ensure the flour gets mixed well.  After 10 mins, reduce the flame to low and continue stirring. You will find bubbles coming out and the mixture starts leaving the sides. Take a square or circle plate and grease it with ghee. After 10 mins, the batter consistency will be thick and you ...

Deep within, a churning, a rumbling boil threatens to bring down the fortress so carefully I built; A fear creeps up, slowly, steadily up the spine and lodges in the heart, near the nerve; Farther I go, the faster it catches up, I run, to shake it off, it follows like my shadow; Oh! Why are you following only me I ask, you are the best, it says! Dumbstruck I turn, I See my reflection and reflect on my own fallacies and fantasies; Longing becomes painful, yearning becomes a companion;  Heart is where the blood gets cleaned, life is where my sorrow gets a life;

Nowadays, wherever I turn, I see diyas and lights. It is Diwali time in namma Chennai. The colors are resplendent and bright; flames flickering in the light wind.  Ladies decked in their best gold and Kancheevarams, throng the narrow busy streets of Mylapore; haggling with the flower vendors and pot-bellied men selling lovely mud diyas.  How people navigate their large bosoms and butts and reach their destinations is beyond me. I keep getting amazed at the ease with which a scooter wala uncle manages to reach home in one single piece with all his bones and flesh intact challenging the perversion of the organism called the MTC driver. It has been ages since I last boarded an MTC bus. I often drive to work and to other places of interest. I do not even donate money to the next set of perverts: the infamous Chennai auto walas .  I had a chilling run-in with a Chennai auto wala  and after that I swore that I will not donate my hard-earned money to give busines...

I picked up Ravi's   If God Was a Banker   last month. To say I was quite impressed with his story telling abilities would be an understatement.  When I got   The Bankster  as part of a book review program by Blogadda.com I was thrilled.  In this new book, Ravi weaves a plot thick with conspiracy, murders, and money laundering. There are three stories that run parallelly: a CIA agent who smuggles blood diamonds from Africa; a resort owner who loses his son to the Chernobyl disaster is fighting against the opaque ways of the government machinery while setting up the Trikakulam Nuclear Power Plant in Devikulam, Kerala; and the senior management of G2B bank who are up till their necks in corruption and money laundering activities. In the beginning, the three stories seem different from each other and you need to focus a bit to keep in mind the various characters involved in each story. As the story progresses, it picks up break neck speed and conv...

Found some time to write about this finally! Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition that affect the wrist of people who perform repetitive tasks such as typing, driving, or writing. Most often, computer users are known to suffer from this condition. Last week, I experienced a debilitating pain in both my wrists and thought I was coming down with Arthritis. But, Google threw up some interesting: CTS! Presumably, it had everything to do with the way I was using my wrists and the way I was typing on my keyboard. Well, I surely had not thought of ergonomics while posting on my blog or writing my first book, or even doing my freelance work. Life is tough. So, the only remedy that the website claimed was foolproof was rest, lots of it. I had to keep my wrists stable and as much as possible straight. Is it possible for a writer to keep her wrists straight? Nah! I try my best to use my hands alternately; I even tried driving with my left hand and succeeded. The best experim...

  Never fancied Chinese food. But went along quite happily with the team to eat  not-so-exciting Chinese food at Mainland China's (MC) OMR branch.  I consider myself a foodie and ensure my taste buds do not die off due to lack of different tastes. The husband and I are not exactly connoisseurs of good food, but do eat out often and relish well prepared food. I had half a mind to take hubby out to MC, but after today's fare, I am not too keen to do that.  The food is strictly ok, nothing to write home about. I have had better Chinese food in road-side stalls. I tasted all the starters and trust me, they tasted the same. I am a vegetarian and did not feel it was worth so much money. The buffet costs INR 600/- and the food leaves a lot to crave for.  What I didn't like about the starters: they left a bitter aftertaste of corn flour and Ajinomoto. I was wondering if there was any other spice other than corn flour and MSG. Bah!  If I had a c...