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Being a Brahmin and a TamBram at that in Chennai

I got married wearing a nine-yard saree, also quite uninnovatively called, a madisaar . As many women who wear a necklace called a "Thaali" know, it is an integral part of the TamBram(TB) culture. Nowadays, it reveals itself only when some remote diety has to be pleased. This post is not about the saree, rather, about the community that struts around in the saree. The other day, I happened to view photographs of a friend's friend's wedding. The guy looked very Brahm (B), but the girl wasn't wearing the madisaar. I pondered, wondered, then questioned my friend. Is he a TamBram? To which she nodded, quite excitedly, and said, "Of course babe, can't you make out." I couldn't, hence, I asked her, unashamedly though, to check with him. She did, all the while glaring at me. She even gave a disclaimer saying, hey don't think, am dumb, but are you a TB? The guy said, yes, I am a B, but not a TB. Well, that settled the issue. I rested in peace. No

Sheety Work at 10:20 p.m.

The green monster gobbles up my time The green cross that stares back at me viciously I refrain from turning away, I click the red cross to wish it away Orange is the blip that beseeches me towards the green monster I allow it to devour me, reluctantly, silently Relief sets in, I die on its face The green monster blinks and moves away

Hunger and Anger

When the hunger for food arises, composure declines. A hungry mouth demands morsel for the not-so-hungry brain. Love, affection, and respect fly out the window when hunger strikes. Anger fills the heart and fire burns the eyeballs. Human that I am, strong is the pull of stomach, many a hearts, on the way, I break.

Thoughts at 6:12 p.m.

Why does it seem difficult to wean myself away from this feeling? I feel glued to the computer, my eyeballs are caught by the screen and heart beats faster whenever the orange blip jumps. Is this true?

Age is, a number?

Understanding love at 33 ain't easy unrest, heartburn, and tipsyness gathers momentum vroom goes the heart beat when he walks by I take a U turn when I miss the road to work, again

Of Consultants and Auto-generated Job Descriptions

Here is a JD i got in the mail today: Dear candidates,We have exhalent openings for Instructional Designer We have an opening with one of our client WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES witch is cmmi level company. Experience Level- 5-9 years Skill Set - Instructional DesignerLocation – Bangalore/Pune/Hyderabad Exposure to enterprise application is preferred Training Content development About 4-5 years of experience with development of ILTs, WBTs and CBTs Advance skills with ROBO HELP authoring tool Demonstrated skills with Microsoft Office suite Experience in Stand-up training Experience with WBT authoring tools such as Captivate, Articulate and Elicitus will be a plus...bla blaa blaa.. She could have rather bleated and bleated! 

Book Review #2: Two States by Chetan Bhagat

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I am currently reading Chetan Bhagat's 2 States. It is a love story, but told in a nice way. Its as if the author is speaking with you and telling you the story. An informal, yet powerful way of capturing the reader's attention. Now, the thing with Indian readers is that they pick up books that tell them tales of woes that are similar to theirs. They like to read books or see movies that sell them a dream. The dream that makes all those ads to sell nonsensical products. Now, now I was telling you about 2 States. The story is about a Madrassi and a Punjabi munda. Eh, you know how it is, right. Yes, we know it too. All love stories have this tinge to them. The hatred, the love conquers all theme. Cmon, we all grew up on this. :) Now, 2 states is about how 2 IIM grads make out in college and try to understand their parents when they freak out at the mention of marriage between a Punju and Madrassi. Now, is that a new topic? Now, what is different in this, is the treatment

Am Back!

Am back, and how. This almost sounds similar to "Ong bak," but then, its ok. Nowadays, all'z ok. Should I rather say, all'z well. hehe. ;) I have returned to my blog after a hiatus of 365 days. yeah, that's how long I have been away from the blog. Well, it was fun to not write anything here. But again, its a personal thing that one can't keep away from not doing something that one loves. In my case, its writing and pouring out my thoughts.

An interesting forward

The is based on true facts Please do not turn on the A/C immediately as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows after you enter your car and switch the air-conditioning ON after a couple of minutes. According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air fresheneremits Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen - take note of theheated plastic Smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia,and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia,increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage.Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft... A car parkedindoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level... & the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins. It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give

Of Veg fried rice, Pulao, and Veg biriyani

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I always thought I knew the difference between these three, Veg pulao, Veg fried rice, and Veg biriyani. Did you know that actually there is no difference among the three items? Well, if you go by the number of veg-non veg restaurants dotting the panorama, the dish looks pretty much the same. Here is how a dish of Peas pulao will normally look like: In the rest of the world also the above dish looks the same. But, only in southern India, especially in the bustling city called Chennai, the dish takes various forms and names. Here, the same Vegetable fried rice is sold as Veg biriyani, Veg pulao, Peas pulao, Mixed fried rice, Veg rice, Colored rice, Mixed rice, Variety rice, and so many more. Phew. The poor pulao has got so many names here that it would have forgotten how it originally looked like. Well, let me not resort to anthropomorphism. Let us now see how a normal (to the rest of the world) Veg fried rice looks like: I ate a dish today that was called Veg fried rice in the menu,