Trials and Tribulations by Fire

In India, women are expected to have long hair and cutting hair is considered a sin. Especially, if these women are license holders, heaven save them from the wrath of the house help/the corner paan wale bhaiyya/security guy/etc etc.  Every passer by will have a word or two to say to this woman who has done the unthinkable: cut her hair. Ok, trimming also garners similar sentiments from the world.  I did something similar last year and eyebrows shot up. I cut my hair! Here is how I used to look before my haircut: All hell broke loose. Everybody, from my maid, the security guy, my bus driver, the SME I was working with, the pantry wale bhaiyya , everyone had a thing to say about my haircut. Everyone. My dad loved it, my mum hated it. My mother-in-law decided she liked the cut but wondered how quickly my hair would grow back. Father-in-law declared that this was the perfect cut for my face. And, this is the cut I got: The man of the house was a fence-sitter. He kept a long

Amma, Appa, and I decided to catch a late-night movie. Family night out, it had to be...I had made up my mind. It had to be Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Yep! Full on masala flick. Amma, Appa enjoyed the jokes and the easy camaraderie between the lead actors. Appa, who used to scowl at Bollywood films, like a good sport, munched on the popcorn we offered and laughed loudly at the jokes. The jokes were quite funny. Ok, let me confess. I love Varun Dhawan. Yes! I think he is cute and I (confession mode on!) have seen all his movies! Sigh! That was a relief. So, Luxe Cinemas it was. Fun evening, lots of popcorn and cold coffees and easy conversations. After spending stressful days, it felt nice to chill with my life's first friends: Amma and Appa. Growing up, I never needed friends from my peer group. They were there to play with me and rebuke me when required. They are growing old now but they are still so adorable. And, this evening turned out to be so much fun. One small reason why

Pests become pets when the luck factor is going southwards for some. Pest #1: Slacker Time waster Disinterested resource Unskilled resource Year end rating - 1 Exceeds All Expectations Reason: Poor thing has been traveling all the way to Siruseri all the way from Kodambakkam, dragging her body inside the office bus and landing on the swivel chair, and downing the 101 boxes of fruits thrust into her bag by the over zealous mother. Time...I murmur...time. Mind voice: Yeah, when you didn't expect her even to come to office, merely by coming to office and staying for 9 hours, she can claim for the #1 rating. ROFL. Ironical eh. Pest #2: Candy crush champion Gossip monger Unskilled resource Disinterested in most things (read productive) Year end rating - 1 Exceeds All Expectations Reason: Simply because one aunty loves sob stories and a sick mother-in-law and an incompetent husband adds fuel to the bucket of woes. Mind voice says: "adi paavi, OB OB" All I

Wildly beats the heart I can hear it afar, wonder what the hurry is, where it wants to run off Wildly scan my eyes I ask them, "What do you search" Silence on my ears is my answer for their quest, I realize Disjointed parts, parts of me, the whole me, looking quizzically at the disjointed me, wondering when did I come undone?  

Holi Hai! Got good news today. Felt really really glad for my friends. It being a Monday, I was suffering from dysania/clinomania. Ok, before you beat me up, these terms just mean that you have trouble getting out of bed. Sigh! Never knew laziness had such difficult definitions. So, I somehow dragged my feet through the day and realized, with quite a start, that I didn't want to do what I had been doing all this while. Meaning, creating all those boring click-click-click courses. Describing them in flowery words was not  taking me anywhere. I still felt utterly bored. The hard truth was that. On the contrary, I quite liked, I must say at this point, that I loved, to write and edit. Yeah, I am that kind of a person. You know the nit picky type who finds a mistake in every word someone utters. Basically, the editor type. :) So, without much ado, here's wishing all of you a Happy Holi!

                               PC: sakshinanda.com Name: The Patna Manual of Style Author: Siddharth Chowdhury Published by Aleph, The Patna Manual of Style, is a great attempt at capturing the ethos of Biharis. An oft quoted line from the book sums up the underlying emotion, " Go to any party, in any country, on any moonlit terrace of the world, the best dressed man is always the one from Patna." Well, am not sure, if the above line is true. I have known only one person who was from Bihar. I am not even sure if he was from Patna. He was certainly a Bihari and spoke excellent English. He was also my mentor.    I read the book in the bus, during my commute to and from work.  I do have my moments of freedom (like in the bus) when I can let loose my imagination and indulge in some grey matter cultivation. So, in two days flat, I finished this book. It is engrossing, funny, and full of quotes. I picked it up purely on an instinct. I was right. I was delighted to read

Hot Toast drizzled with Olive Oil Coffee, just how I like it...slightly strong, no sugar, with full milk, and some cream drifting dreamily on the surface, enchanting, ensnaring Jazz playing softly in the background Perfect start to the weekend, must say Got up early...by my standards...my brain shook me awake, literally. I could feel it growling in utter displeasure at my snoozing self...Sigh! Idled around the house a bit...Maid came and flashed by Gazed longingly at the box of Shrikhand sitting in the fridge and reprimanded myself to control these sugary urges... Redeemed myself by doing yoga and putting myself on a diet...err...let me see how long I sustain... Anyway...that is all for now... Ciao Have a good weekend blog. :) :*  

I started my journey six years ago. At 11:39 pm, Feb 18, 2017, I can happily say, I have completed it.  I reached my goal, rather overdid it, but I have wrapped up the loose bits.  Am I relieved? Am I feeling empty? None of it. I am happy.  Will get working on tightening it further.  Ciao blog. Good night!     

And...yes. I have achieved (and surpassed) the goal I set for myself. I am now at 62K words and just a few paragraphs short of closing my effort. TKD will finally see the light of day. A few more hours and I will go into the next decade. Will turn 40. Do I feel different, someone asked? No, I don't. I feel like myself. I do like myself more. I am more forgiving. And...most important, more patient, with myself my limitations. To fly, I must rest. Ciao then, till we meet again. Keep reading, keep growing.

So, blog, you have the right to question me and ask what the dash I have been plucking all these days this week. Go ahead, ask me. Well, you will be proud of me and my accomplishment. I am about 500 words away from my goalpost. Yes! The golden count: 60,000 words. I am just stalling. I know. Procrastinating, rather. I don't have the heart to kill my hero: Shom. I created him with so much love and dedication. I poured all my emotions into him, giving him life, so much so that I have fallen in love with him. I don't have the heart to kill him. Or should I? Is there an alternative way, where I can end the story and keep my hero also? Maybe I will do that. But, that would mean giving away my ideas of loss and trauma. How will my heroine then find it in herself to fight her demons after her hero dies?  Guess, I cant have the cake and eat it too. I will kill Shom. Period.  See you soon...