LifeZamaZing

YES

i know i am missing and you could even assume i am absconding

but actually it is nothing like it. I am simply making the best of the phase i am going through.

you see you don’t get these precious months of pampering very often!

Well, I am pregnant…

rather i am the end of my lovely, fulfilling and HAPPY pregnancy.

The doc has given the 9th July as my due date and i am simply taking it lightly.  So all these months when i could have blogged i did nothing because i had this unfailing reason saying “I am pregnant” and hence you really cannot have any other expectation out of me except to be happy!

Which by the way i am. The entire period of carrying the baby has been GREAT. For that matter i have not suffered from a single typical symptom of pregnancy like morning sickness or nausea or hunger pangs or any of it. It has been as good as ever.

Sooo i feel blessed and lucky and once again i m convinced that lifeZamaZing!!

Thanks prax and amit and all others who cared to visit me and ask me about my absence … u see i m enjoying my unearned break!!

Will update about the boy/girl status as soon as i can!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Yes. I am sure everyone does but it’s just that i realized it all over again yesterday. Well there is a social function coming up in the family and hence i was advised by my dear mother-in-law to get a few feminine itsy-bitsy things done. To be precise, in very sweet words she asked me to get myself to look more presentable than the usual spartan, austere look that i carry.

And hence like a good daughter-in-law (i am one, don’t grin!) i went to this next door lady who seems to be running a small-time beauty shop. The ambiance and all that is not worth mentioning but i had gone there for a facial and once she started massaging my face, i was ENJOYING it! The last time i had treated myself with such niceties was three years ago on my wedding. So had kind of forgotten how goooood it feels to have someone work on your body. She wasn’t great and neither was the treatment extra-ordinary or anything like the new up-market beauty salons but i was relishing each movement of her hand.

Ahaaa… felt soo nice.

And that is when I realized that facials or beauty treatments are not paid for exorbitantly by the ladies just for the heck of it’s outcome. But rather the process of going through it is sooooo pleasurable that women kind of love it. And in most families i know of i have seen men come home tired and exhausted and have their backs or foreheads massaged by either their wife or children but am yet to hear of families where the reverse is done. So, i believe women end up at these parlors to pamper their bodies. And just yesterday i found that i am no different. I too enjoy the pampering! Ohh! how i enjoyed it!! Looking forward to another more pleasurable encounter!

What about you? Don’t you like such pampering??

Popularity: 47% [?]

Today, me and Abhi (my husband) are to dine at a family friend of my parents-in-laws. Now they have been calling us over for some 3 years now (since we got married). And we have been putting it off for some three years now.

Nooo, there is no problem with them. They are absolutely fine people. But the problem is that they are calling JUST me and abhi- not my parents-in-law. Now those of you who are wondering that why is it a problem i just want you to know that abhi has a special mechanism of ‘Shutting Down’ or rather ‘Hibernating’ when in unsolicited company. Which implies that as soon as we reach their place abhi is going to utter all of  few 100 words like  “How are you uncle?” , “Yeah, business is fine.”, “Grandparents are fine.” and the likes. After these few niceties he will get into his shell and the host and hostess whom i have not met for more than a total of 10 minutes so far will be left staring at me while abhi will finely be watching any non-sense that might be there  on TV or fidgeting with his mobile.

I feel really sad for the host because they feel it is their duty to call us over for dinner but what they fail to understand is that there are NO conceivable topics of conversation between them and us. You see, I can’t possibly be telling them what i did today at work- like write this post :P, and if they want me to pay heed to why Smriti Irani’s comeback is a boon or bane to Kyunki… then i will have to imitate abhi!!

So, for those of you who have endured such moments of social torture please tell me how do i save myself?? I have a few ideas but i have tried them for three years now so gotta think of something else!

Ummm lets see- how about having a friend call up and tell me it’s an emergency and have me rescued??

I guess i am going nuts!!

ummmmmm, help me damn it!

Popularity: 43% [?]

YEAH, it’s holi time and you can already feel it in the air.

Suddenly there are advertisements about skin care lotions and safe herbal colors/gulal and hair oil and people in rin-ki-safedi-white clothes and then there are colors splashing all over them.

God! now it is the commercials that remind you of the festival’s coming than anything else. Well, but this year we had some different reminder as well. You see, holi is really famous in Rajasthan and it is as good as diwali for them. And since holi is coming we had a few unsolicited Rajasthani guests on Sunday morning. They came up early morning (well, it was 10 am but on a sunday that is early to me!) and started singing aloud with manjiras and a dhol-like instrument (which i am going to call dhol now onwards;))

It was a couple with their teenage daughter and one more companion. The daughter was so trained that she started dancing as soon as the dhol started playing. It was in perfect synchrony. And there was an odd indifference about the way she did it. She really did not care to feel the fact that she was in an alien place with people’s eyes zooming in on her. She had only one sense of knowledge- like Arjun’s vision of the bird’s eye- and that was the taal of the dhol. If the dhol plays she dances around in a typical fashion, if it stops she stops abruptly as if she weren’t dancing at all. And her dedicated indifference was most highlighted when i started taking pictures of her. Others in the troupe cared to look at me, she did not even grant me that pleasure.

But anyways, we were talking holi. And yes that is what they had come for- collecting money in the name of holi. You could call them beggars, nuisance, pain, alien or anything else but the fact is that i liked to be reminded of holi by them rather than the shampoo ads. Somehow they gave holi the touch it deserved! A touch of colors, a touch of LOUD and unclear music, a touch of incomprehensible lyrics, a touch of mitti, a touch of des and desipan, a touch of indianness!

Yes, indianness is what they brought about. Something that the fancy hair oil ads missed out.

[P.S.- Please excuse the pathetic lighting in the photos. I clicked them with a mobile phone and could not manage better lighting. These are the best out of 7-10 pics i clicked, so just make do with them ;)]

Popularity: 58% [?]

YES!

That is what they are going to be.

Any reason that i put up here is going to be invalid, face-saving and pathetic. But I will still put them up

–> I am reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Reading it for the third time. And I find it sooooo engrossing that the first thing i do after work is get back to it. Though there are a few scenes in it which i know by heart now but still i find it toooooooo endearing to think of anything else.

–> Bcoz i am reading Atlas Shrugged all i think of are the characters of the novel. Hence i really find no valid topic to write on. Again a pathetic reason.

–> I have been busy with work and family (hahaha… i don’t believe i am writing this)

–> I have run out of topics. (Of course when you don’t think about it, it ought to happen)

–> Writing a blog is insensible. Well its the most sensible thing which requires the attention of your senses and hence I am unable to write

Well, let me be honest. The actual and the only reason is

I HAVE BECOME LAAZZZZZYYYYY

Yes. Now i am talking. No other godforsaken reason.

Ahaa… finally i have started being honest.

And hopefully this honesty shall translate into hard work. Please pray for me and in case you can find some other incentives for me to work on my blog please give them

Amen!!

Popularity: 68% [?]

I have been truly blessed in terms of health. Have never had a fever in the past decade, headaches are just not known to me and I can digest just about anything.

Given this not pink but PINK health I had started to believe that people overplay their sickness. Meaning when people complain that they have severe headache or their stomachs are not fine, I could never really empathize (forget sympathize) with them. But everything changed last week.

I was out shopping and the day was as usual as it can be. Had eaten a huge breakfast and light lunch. I was looking through various stuff at a shop and suddenly everything started getting hazy. First I thought it’s mental but then my body started getting loose and I could hardly keep straight. Asked for water, sat down on a chair and HAD to put my head down. For all those moments when my body was struggling to balance its metabolism my mind was racing against it and telling me

“Feel this, Feel this, this is how people feel when they are ill. Low sugar and low BP is not just a fake excuse. IT HAPPENS!!”

And when it all ceased within a few seconds I was a humbled human. I for once started to understand the plight of those who must be suffering from whatever it is that they suffer. And not to mention that I felt luckier than ever that I am not a victim of such health problems. I am just soooo happy for my pink health!

Thank you God for making me strong and humble!!

Popularity: 66% [?]

Reliance, Gujarat and business have an unbreakable-ambuja-cement bond. Come any news about Reliance and entire Gujarat is definitely up and listening. Whether the stock market gurus are or not but the harried looking lonely guy in Wankaner is definitely aware of it.

And when Reliance declares an IPO- well, it is mega hubbub for Gujarat. No soon is the slightest of news spread about it, the active stock marketers start adjusting their investments with the IPO as it’s focal point. And when the news is actually out, BINGO!!! there is a tangible vibrancy in the entire state. Almost everyone, yes everyone who has finance and has something to do with stocks (which everyone in Gujarat has!) is up and ears for it.

It starts with collecting money. All the money that had been lent out or given on interest or otherwise is suddenly called for in extreme emergency. Philanthropy definitely takes a backseat for a few days and the common dialogue is - ” bhai mare nathi chale evu. reliance no IPO aayo che mane paisa moklay!” (”Bhai, it is dire emergency, I HAVE TO apply for the Reliance IPO, please pay up.”).

Then comes the udhaari ki topi. BEG, BORROW, STEAL, do anything for the IPO.

Then comes the blocking of Demat Accounts. “If your uncle’s daughter’s brother-in-law’s cousin has a demat account through which he is not going to apply for the IPO, then that account is for me”- says the Reliance-possessed Gujjubhai. “I will apply through that one too. Ohh, how will I manage the funds? Well, Reliance hai na to kahin se bhi kar lenge!! (Well, if it is Reliance, will manage it from anywhere!)

And then comes the actual renting of accounts, people pay upto 1000-1500 Rs. for rent for the IPO. And then lately I have even even come across the scheme where you are paid 10% of the IPO amount upfront, if you let them apply through your account. Whether the person who is paying you upfront is allocated any shares or not by the company is secondary but you get 10% for sure. So for an application of one lakh, you get 10,000 only for nodding your head! And like most Gujaratis if you have opened up demat accounts for your metric pass aunts and uncles then JACKPOT! you get 10,000 X as many accounts as you can manage!

So, you see Reliance is the common factor binding all Gujaratis. Whether it is Mr. Anil’s Reliance or it is Mr. Mukesh’s Reliance- if it is Reliance it is for Gujjus!!

Well, but what I saw today in Ahmedabad beats all this. Today I saw, the levels to which Reliance has penetrated in the minds of Gujaratis and how much they rely on it. As such IPO forms are available a day or two before the IPO opens to the public. But the upcoming Reliance Power IPO have been available since a week for its opening date of 15th Jan and today I saw a small stall put up on one of the busy roads of the city which read-

“RELIANCE POWER IPO forms available here”

For those unaware of what this means, let me tell you never ever so far have there been such stalls put up for the general public like this (Or none in my notice at least). But what you see here is the real Gujju spirit. Some smart chap knows that EVERYONE is going to apply and they all will need forms and help with filling it out. So he has started a small short-term business helping Gujjus do what they like most- invest in Reliance. Well, talk of trickle down effect. I am sure none of the Reliance brothers must not have thought of such effects!!

HAIL Reliance!!

Long Live Reliance!!

Popularity: 83% [?]

Modi won. Gujarat won. Gujaratis won. People won.

Congress lost. Media lost.

I live in Gujarat. I have seen it from the urban areas and from the most interior and undeveloped villages. I have seen the developed countries as well and hence I believe my views about Gujarat are not myopic. I write all this to make my readers understand that what I say here, are my views, but they are a reflection of lakhs of people of Gujarat too.

Okk now coming down to Modi’s victory. He deserved to win. His work and determination spoke for him. People love him truly, madly, deeply. But why they love him

a. Because they trust his words. They know, if he says it, he will DO it.

b. Because development is tangible and they have experienced it.

c. Because he has reached the heart of every citizen in Gujarat not with publicity but in spite of unending media vilification.

d. And last but most of all because they need a leader with an iron-like will. They have had enough with moderate, indecisive, non-conclusive, sloppy, faint-hearted slogs. Gujarat is not blind to his errors but they would rather choose an erroneous man with power and vision than the one with no agenda or identity.

This I believe is the real cause of his victory. India is changing and so are Indians’ expectations. They want quick decisions. They want emphatic stands. ‘Chalta hai’ attitude bogs them down.

And if you doubt anything that I have said here about development, his charisma or people’s love for him, I have a few honest instances to enumerate. The instances mentioned here are my personal experiences and no suni-sunayi kahani.

24 hour power supply

I went to my village in North gujarat before a couple of years. And in the hot summer afternoon the electricity went off. In dismay, I couldn’t help but scream ‘NOOOOO!’ But my cousin who lives there consoled me, “Don’t worry, it will be back in 2 minutes. Our village has participated in Jyotigram, so no problem”, he said. I didn’t believe him but he was right. Within two minutes the fan started tweaking and blew hot air all around. Then I learnt that the Gujarat govt, ruled by Modi, had started with Jyotigram Yojana under which any village could get 24 hr electricity by paying some upfront amount. And 24 hrs meant 24 hrs.

Earlier the connections for village homes and bore-wells or pump-sets in farms were same. The fields needed 3 phase electricity and providing that much power 24 hours was not possible. But under Jyotigram, villages could get a different connection which would provide them 24 hr power for the village and for limited hours in fields. Hence nobody slept in dark. This was the first way in which Modi reached the common man.

Government servants were made accountable

My uncle was the Sarpanch (Mukhiya) of our village till last year. At that time Modi started with Krishi Rath whereby he and the entire revenue department of respective district from the District Collector to the gram sevak everyone got together and heard the problems faced by the villages, as represented by the Sarpanch. My uncle too went to meet the Krishi Rath at the district headquarter and made his appeal of a pending amount that the govt was supposed to disimburse to our village since a decade. The note was taken and the meeting was called off after several such appeals. My uncle came home from there by the afternoon hoping for an answer within a week. But to his utter surprise and shock withing two hours the District Collector himself came to our house (Sarpanch’s house in this case) asked for the exact details with absolute politeness and kindness- something that Sarpanchs are not used to by the Collectors. The officer promised to deliver the amount within a stipulated time and again uncle was not sure of whether this would happen. But it DID. Within a week the amount pending since a decade was delivered to the gram panchayat’s doorstep. This is why the entire village and my uncle a life-time Congress supporter salute Modi.

Prevention rather than damage control

In another similar instance, on one such sultry morning our door bell rang at 7:00 am and the servant came rushing to inform my parents that some pili-batti wala saahib i.e. some govt officer has come over. Dad went down and it was the Deputy Commissioner of the Ahmedabad Municipality who also happened to be dad’s friend. Dad was surprised to have him home in these wee hours and on inquiring about his purpose, dad found out that there was a danger of Plague in the city, due to excessive rains and stuff and they (the municipality) had been asked to check every part of the city personally and report directly to the CM. And hence in order to complete his work within the time frame they had started working since 6 in the morning and the commissioner did not have his tea yet. Now that he was cleaning up the area around us, he thought of taking a short break and coming over for tea. That was a Class I officer of the Indian bureaucracy at our door step. Ahmedabad never got caught up in plague and we were probably saved without direct efforts.

Helping the marginalised

A two year old child of my grand-mother-in-law’s best friend, who is economically backward, was detected with a severe heart problem. The child required to be operated upon and regular medicines. Under a scheme of Gujarat govt any child within five years who develops such deadly diseases is treated for free. And our relatives child WAS treated and that too without any cost and the child is well off now. Other states might be having such schemes but it is the implementation that has won the Gujaratis.

These are a few instances of his work. Of people’s love for him, I have many more to enumerate like the one of the old man who has finished all his social and economic obligations but wants to live just a few more years because he wants to see Modi work; or from that dholi who had put down his dhol since the day Modi filed his form for elections and vowed that he would play the dhol ONLY if Modi won. And he let go of his earnings of the entire marriage season for his vow. Modi won and he played the dhol!!

I can still hear that dhol playing. And anyone who can’t or who finds it difficult to separate it from media and congress rantings needs to clear his mind and ears. The message is loud and clear. Work wins.

Adding this video for those people who feel Modi works for a particular section. PLEASE check this out!

Popularity: 99% [?]

“The age of superheroes is catching up in India.”

“Krrish is first modern day example of Indian superheroes”

“Ohhh, we have to long time to go before we have our own Spiderman or Superman”

Heard these often? Well, I have too but it makes me wonder do we actually don’t have superheroes? Is the era superheroes yet to catch up on us??

And suddenly it dawns on me–NO. Indian superheroes are far older than Hollywood, Bollywood or even Christ!

Well, let us list out a few basic characteristics of superheroes

–>They have superhuman powers

–>They appear and disappear at will

–>They usually work for the betterment of human life

–>Disguise is a part of their personality

–>They have some enemy or dark force that they fight and mostly defeat

Well now Spiderman, Superman, etc. have this all but has it ever struck you that Krishna, Ram, Hanuman, Vishnu, etc. too have it all??

Amazing but we have been programmed to see superheroes only as people with blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin and unreal costumes (i would truly want to meet the costume designer of Superman who designed the underwear-which-is-not-worn-under). It has never struck us that we didn’t need the bollywood badshahs to help us take a fantasy leap. Our ancestors have taken it centuries before the West even learnt to spell f-a-n-t-a-n-s-y!

Let’s understand the powers of our superheroes.
Hanuman has the capacity to fly, fight an an entire nation ( Lanka), carry mountains and still be humble. He saves Lord Ram’s brother by flying with a huge mountain on his back.

Krishna, the master of all superheroes has all the acts of magic to his credit. He can create a silhoutte against the Sun when need be and even remove it with one sweep of hand, can take over devils like Putna as an infant, save thousands from flood (Govardhan Parvat), and of course fight and defeat the evil whether it is Kans or Kauravs.

Ram, the epitome of human-superheroes he has to his credit the incredible fantasy of having rocks float over water just because they had ‘Ram’ inscribed over them. He had the powers to call for wind, sun and rain with his bow and arrow and of course the capacity to fight for nine long days with unqualified soldiers against a mighty army and still come out victorious.

Bhim, Arjun, Bhishma, and scores of other characters in Mahabharata and other mythological works provided (and do so even today) the excitement and zing that humans always needed. Whether it is through the creation of a utopian place (the satyug) or the fear of losing the loved ones or just the unleashed force of creativity. India has never been without superheroes. It’s just that our superheroes have become too super and we now don’t just have their posters in our homes we even have temples built for them.

So, we are miles ahead in the race of superheroes. Every mythological story ever written whether it is the Jai Santoshi Maa or the Jai Shakumbhari Maa, it has the element of superheroes. And don’t forget India has more superwomen or superheroines than what Hollywood has yet to think of.

So, pat your backs and be proud. We are not only far ahead in thinking of superheroes but even in dressing them up. We don’t need chuddies over pants to take millions by fantasy.

What do you say?? Do let me know how wrong right am i on my take on superheroes.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Every Sunday I oil my hair in the morning and wash it off by the afternoon. And after oiling my hair if there is some oil left, i oil Abhi’s already gray and short tresses. Almost invariably when I go over to oil his hair he is sitting on his PC fidgeting with it. I fail to understand that after six long days of work right before a PC how can he get himself to sit before it the first thing on a Sunday morning. However, he amazes me till date and I always find him there, neck-deep in something that i find truly useless.

However, as soon as I start oiling his hair, his fingers automatically tend to slow down on the keypad and as if he is under a magical spell he gently closes the lids of his eyes evading the presence of the (evil, according to me) PC. My fingers in his hair work far better in taking him off work than any of words do. With full concentration he enjoys being worked on and a naughty yet innocent smile appears on his face. The smile is programmed, like thousand other things in his life, to grow into a broad grin as I work vigorously in his hair and shrink into an unpleasant smirk as i am about to end the Sunday routine. But all good things come to an end and so does this.

But this makes me wonder about the effect of TOUCH. It is just sooo immense yet understated that at times people just don’t tend to realize that they don’t need anti-depressants but just TOUCH! A good tight hug from your loved one could tell you much more than a thousand words or million dollar gift could. Imagine receiving all the presents on your birthday but no one to hug you or kiss you to wish you a birthday. It would be so hollow.

Touch according to me is the most underplayed therapeutic tool. Most Indian families see hugs between friends or family as an overt and hence useless display of emotions. I don’t remember having hugged my father or mother since I became old enough to remember things. It is sad. Not that my parents were careless but they just believed that their daughter is too old to be hugged or to-run-fingers-through-her-hair. I realized I enjoyed the touch of someone’s hand in my hair only when i went to a parlour for a hair massage.

And as i was married by then i decided to extend the pleasure of that magic of touch to my husband. However he hates the idea of oil and his latest request is ” can’t you just massage my hair without oiling them?” The request is met with an emphatic NO but he knows better. He knows that i love to fidget with his palms, hair and forehead. And hence whenever we are watching TV, he discreetly puts himself before me in such a manner that just out of volition I would start running my fingers through his hair. Just as unknowingly as people start biting nails or picking nose. And hence he has his way of oil-without-oil! By the time i realize that i have been systematically induced to work in a particular fashion he has had his quota of touch for the day and he is happy with it.

Shobha De has mentioned in her book ‘Spouse’ about the immense value of such TV-time touch for a marriage and I don’t seem to mind being duped into it at times if guarantees me such a pleasurable marriage. However, I just feel that touch need not be limited to spouses or babies. We as adults too need it. Of course not the touch that you so often get in India thanks to our population density. The touch in mumbai’s local trains carry no such value except the increase it brings in our tolerance levels towards fellow humans.

So, I am convinced that at any age i would like to be hugged and held by the ones i love, to celebrate or mourn whatever life has to offer. And i pray that all of us find people around us whom we can hug so that we don’t have to wait for some Juan Mann to start a ‘Free Hugs campaign’ or a munnabhai movie to remind us of the jadoo ki zhappi!

So, what do you say?? Let the touch spread? Or do you know of something better? Do let me know.

Popularity: 44% [?]