Saturday 22 December 2012

Random rumbles to get rid of men's evening stubbles

This post is a part of the 'Shave or Crave' movement in association with BlogAdda.com

So our very own , my personal favourite Blogadda organised this Amazing amazing evening for women to relax and think to the fullest , what they can do so that men crave and agree to get rid of that awful evening stubble , which they think makes them look sexy . ( Ew.) Now , you know how men are , so adamant . But these are the few things , that "could" make men crave , so much , that they would do make the impossible , possible ! :P

These are my ideas :

1. Sports wala Khel :
Every man has this one favorite sport , that he really really loves , more than he loves women also . In India , its mostly football or cricket . And ofcourse , we women , hate discussing about who scored what and which country lost to whom or which tournament is next and which cricketer is the best . But , if you really want him to get rid of that horrid stubble for an important evening party , promise to watch the tournament with him or discuss his favorite sport with him , with interest .
And , he's sold .

2. Chup wala quiet :
Its a well known fact that women love talking ( in my view , its expression of feelings and creativity , but men , think its annoying ) and men want to just not care . If they ever open their mouth , its either to discuss sports or ugh , discuss sports . So if you want to make your girlfriends jealous at the evening party ,by flaunting your guy minus his horrifying stubble , you will have to promise him that you will not talk . And only listen . I know , I know that's difficult. But try toh karo.

3.Despo Wala Cheap:
Men love massages. Anything without the talking would be absolutely delightful .So massages. And what better place than Sukho Thai ! Like today , we women got this opportunity of a foot massage , men there are absolutely craving for it .Tell him , this is his opportunity ! All he has to do to get a massage , is shave off his evening stubble. 
He'd grab this one ;)

4.Mummy Wala Darr:
Admit it , he is never going to be as scared of you , as he is of his mother. At any age , the terror of a complaint to his mother , is going to bring him shivers . So go blackmail him , tell him you are going to tell his mother all that she doesn't have to know . He will have an absolute clean shave , no evening stubble . (For that matter no morning , afternoon or night stubble as well , if there is any ever :P) . 
P.S: This is the quickest and best way . It will never go wrong . Be mean girls ;)

All these thoughts came to my mind only because I was so relaxed after the Sukho Thai Massage ;) Do visit the nearest Sukho Thai Centre and relieve your stress :) 

Cheers !

Monday 17 December 2012

Things I can't figure..


1. Why , oh why would we call address alternate person we met as  "Sir" ? I thought , its a term reserved for a person you respect . But unfortunately , more often than not  , we say it out of obligation. Or so i think?

2. If things dont happen like the do in movies or books or television, how did they think of putting them in movies or books or television?

3.When you sense somebody not driving well ( According to your judgement that is , whatever standard that might be) , why do you say ''Must be Woman driving !''
  Oh dam , i forgot men were born with perfect driving skills .

4.Somebody famous once said ,"What goes around , comes around". Hello , Mr. Famous ! You forgot to mention goes around what to come back around it ?

5.Why is it necessary to eat absolutely horrible food to remain healthy? Why cant cheese make you glow ? Or lets put it this way ' Why is it that all bland , boring and sad food is healthy ?

6.Why do we have to say '' Let your hair down'' at parties? What if my face is way prettier than my hair?
  (P.S. : Please consider people who have curly hai , no ?)

7.And our favourite , ''Blood is thicker than water'' . Tumko kaise pata ?

8.WHy brownie points for excellence? I lke cupcakes more . Tsk.

9.'' Am i talking greek and latin?''.
No . LOL. You dont know either.


You are not supposed to judge me because i put this up. Not allowed.




P.S: The author's view are personal and not intended to offend any person , whosoever. However , if this offends you , too bad. :P

Sunday 7 October 2012

The Untold Answer .

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 32; the thirty-second edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is 'An Untold Story'



She sat there with her daughter ,being disturbed by his loud snores. They were softly chattering about the day's happenings. It was well past midnight . It was no unusual day . Alice was a busy career oriented woman  and always multi tasked , juggling between her personal and professional life . She had no option . The thought of quitting her flourishing business to stay with her daughter often crossed her mind . But she forced herself to think otherwise . This often left Sara , her daughter , confused . After all Sara was only 13 , well almost . Her birthday was a week away and like it always happened , her mother would yet again not be with her on this day .

It was a big day for Sara . She was going to enter her teens . Being the youngest among her classmates , she had seen fancy parties and dreamt of a similar party for herself . She would , undoubtedly get  party of her choice . Her mother was a rich business woman and money was never an issue . But it pinched her that like her friends , she wouldn't have a nice family portrait clicked on her birthday . She stared at her father , his snores angered her little self . She barely liked him . He never made any effort to get close to her either . She looked into her mother's eyes . She wanted to ask that question , but she was afraid , it would be rejected again.

She said to Alice " Mom , would i get what i ask for this birthday , as my gift ?"

Alice said " Ofcouse sweetheart , you will always get what you ask for . "

"Mom ,  Why do i have no grand parents like my other friends have ? Are they dead ?"

"Sara," said an agitated Alice ,"Have told you to not say this ? Why will you not obey your mother ?"

"If they are not dead , where are they ?"

Reality dawned upon Alice . She realised that her daughter was growing up . And as she matured and started understanding situations , more questions would bother her ,and she was bound to ask for answers . It was time , Sara had to be told the truth .

"Sara , listen to me carefully . I am going to tell you An Untold Story , that part about my life that you have never known , nor has anybody in this town . For them , i am a victim to the earthquake and have lost my family and belongings there .  I met your father when i came to this beautiful city of Illeana when i was only 20 years old . I had nobody by my side and he became my closest companion and biggest confidant. We soon fell in love and got married , only for me to realise that he is a gambler and has lost all his belongings . I fell out of love , but i had no where to go to , nobody to turn to . This town was now my everything ."

"But mom , you should have gone to grand pa , since you say he is not dead..."

" Do not interrupt Sara .
   I am no victim to any earthquake .  I was infact the Princess of  Goana ."

Sara's jaw dropped . But she refrained from commenting , remembering her mother's earlier agitation.

"I was a pretty young girl , engaged to a handsome prince ,Steve from Sanparse . He was young and handsome . I fell in love the minute i saw him . Or maybe that was infatuation. We were instantly engaged . I felt a little glitch from my father . He loved me thoroughly and i failed to infer why he felt unhappy when such an important event of my life was going to take place . I chose to ignore , thinking to myself ,'Ignorance is Bliss'. Probably this was the biggest mistake of my life .

Two months later , in a grand function , we got married . Ours was a small , but strategically situated country. It was war time . Goana's border was the ideal place to initiate a war , but my father was an efficient king . He ensured no outsider was allowed to enter .

Thousands of guests from the neighbouring country came to visit our country for my wedding . Little did we know , these included Steve's guests , who infact wanted to use this day as an opportunity to use the the country's border to launch their first missile and initiate a war . The unimaginable happened .

The wedding hall was suddenly captivated  , the guests became hostages . I looked at Steve , he was involved . I turned to my teary eyed father . A streak of guilt ran through my body . I realised that somewhere down the line , my parents were aware of the fact that something was wrong .

All of us were thrown into a dungeon like dingy room . We were kept there for months together , with minuscule amounts of food and water , barely enough to survive . Everyday , some people were taken to the palace to do odd jobs like sweeping the floors or changing the curtains . One such day , my parents got chosen . I refused to let them go , I offered to go instead , but they did not care . An unusual thing happened that day . The guard erroneously left the door to the dungeon open . While the guards were away , the others decided to take this opportunity to flee from this dungeon. I was in two minds . How could i possibly leave my parents at the mercy of such ruthless people , but i thought i could come back to help them once i was away .

That is how i came to this town . This is my past . Every week , i travel to Goana , dressed like an army man , to meet my parents . The guard , who left the door open that day , did it on purpose . He could not bear to see so many people suffer . Unfortunately , he was beheaded for being careless . The other guard , is also a nice man but is scared for his sake and will not let the prisoners leave . But nonetheless ever since i went there for the first time and requested him to  allow me to see my parents once a  week , he obliges."

She stopped . She sobbed uncontrollably . Sara felt awful . Tears ran down here eyes . She hugged her mother .




The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: BluBluBling, Participation Count: 1

Friday 14 September 2012

A girl with flamboyant mannerisms , if only

12th August, 2005

Dear Diary Dearest ,

Today is the day when i feel like just giving up.

I have no more to write to you. 

I wish i could once again decide that Hope is why we are alive . But not any more .


Yours always , 
Best friend .




He had read this again . His heart sank , yet again. After all , he had seen her evolve from a chirpy young girl to ... he did not even want to mention it .

...

Samir was always extremely fond of his sister , much of a fatherly figure for ten year younger Anushka .They came from a conservative family from Punjab . Her love for food , and zest for life seldom surprised him . He had seen his baby run around the paddy fields , hopped enough just to get hold of her little hands , see her laughter roar under the splendid blueish orange sunset  , the magic in her sparkling eyes , you could say it lit the field . He would often proudly mention to his buyers that it was her who  brought life to his green lush fields . He loved how her heart reached out to the the workers on the field , and how she had no air about being the owner there . She always got along her share of gulab jamuns to the field to share it with their kids , it gave her an immense sense of joy .


He would get goose bumps at the thought of how he would wake up each morning next week and convince himself to go work at the same field , with the same people , growing the same crop but yet remarkably different , missing its magic because she would be gone ; to another world , to start her married life . Their culture and atmosphere forced his supposed modern parents to get their minor daughter , married . The fussy grandmother's apprehensions about hurting God by not following the ritual of getting a girl married by the age of 15 and moreover , facing the social stigma from their relatives and villagers , just added to peer pressure on naive Anu's parents . They got her engaged to 14 years older , Rakesh , a rich spoilt brat who's family owned a 100 acres of land , at a distance of  about 40 kms from Anu's village ; because his family did not demand dowry . Her parents were so overwhelmed with the fact that they got away with the demand they feared most in their life , that they failed to infer why that had happened .

Nonetheless , next week , the lavish wedding took place with a lot of relatives , food , drinks , lighting , colour  , clothes , flowers , friends , music and a lot of happiness . Or wait , was everybody happy ? Well , the grandmother was ecstatic . The parents were teary eyed yet experienced bliss . Little Anu , loved the attention and gifts she got , much waiting to open each one of them . But Samir , he did not seem happy . The speed at which the affairs had passed by , got him thinking . He would wonder all day and his mother would pat his back to say , he was just apprehensive about the thought of staying away from her . On that day too , he had similar feelings . But he knew it was not just apprehensions . He knew something , somewhere was wrong .

Two months passed by. As the ritual says , the girl's parents and brother have to visit her and shower her and her new family with gifts , as an expression of gratitude for accepting their daughter . The minute they stepped into her house and he embraced her , Samir knew something was bothering his darling . But Anu refused to nudge . She refused to let out her sufferings in the house , about how her family treated her like a maid servant and beat her each time she would make a mistake , while cooking or ironing the clothes or doing daily chores of its like . Little did she know , it was just the beginning . Samir felt an unusual pain but was helpless .

Thereon , each day each minute he thought about her , wondering what had gone wrong . As per the rituals , her family was not allowed to see her for the next two years since an astrologer had mentioned how that could negatively affect her married life . Forced to behave as per social customs , he failed to do anything . Two years passed . He was euphoric to see her .

He saw her . He was shattered . Burn marks on her face , cigarette butts used to burn her hands , a fragile tired girl is who he saw . Before he realised , sorrow had turned into anger . He charged towards her husband and held him by his collar. Her parents ran after him , trying to control him , and sobbing  at their daughter's state. They walked away , knowing that taking her back would amount to social outcasting . They left her , at the mercy of  those animal like humans . Samir did not have the heart to do so , but neither did he have the authority to take her away , with him , to a joyous world where she should have belonged . He made her promise that she would keep writing in a personal diary and he would read it each time he secretly came over , to give her good food . It was their little agreement that made him feel better .

Well , not actually . Each time he went there and read her diary , he realised how her situation was getting worst each passing day . But he helped her to gain emotional and mental stability to hope that there would be a day soon , where he would take her away from that awful place.

At one such visit , when he waited in her backyard , he heard screams . It was her . He sensed it immediately. Within seconds , he saw smoke coming out of her room and all of a sudden , he heard her shriek , cry in pain . He rushed to her window. Her in-laws had poured kerosene all over and put the room on fire. He managed to break in and rescue her .She held her diary in her hand . On their way to the hospital , he read the last letter in her diary . A jitter ran through his body .

It was not them . It was not her in-laws. She had put herself on fire. 

Samir broke down. He asked the jeep driver to stop . He no longer wanted to save her , for he felt her pain. He stared at her , embraced her . She gave in . There was an unusual smile on her face , which said , she had not been happier than she was today , at this point , since the day she got married ; almost like she was happy to have gone , while she was in the arms of that one person who cared . 

A million memories ran through his mind.He wondered , if they did not force her to get married , what a young girl with flamboyant mannerisms would have his sister been. He called his parents to inform them , that she was dead. 

...

Today is Anu's 12th Death Anniversary . He yet vividly remembers each moment from that day. 

Even today , reading her last letter , brings tears to his eyes. But , there is also a sense of bliss , because , she deserved to Soak No More.




This is a post is a part of Indiblogger's Contest #SoakNoMore .

Please visit : http://www.indiblogger.in/topic.php?topic=61

Tuesday 4 September 2012

My black beauty , my bike

 So I really really wanted a scooter because i always imagined how i would almost fly on it , how the wind would brush past my face , how i would over take expensive luxury cars because my little kiddo whouldn'y require so much space ! And yes !  my dad got me a black scooter  ! 

 Riding it to work and back home from work is usually the most awesome part of my day . But the Mumbai rains scared me and I stopped taking the bike to work and ended up travelling by the local BEST bus to work where a zillion sweaty , tired and annoyed people crib , jostle , push and get their way into and out of the bus to get home or to work each day of their life . It just made me unhappy. Until yesterday! So I decided , since the Mumbai rains are just ditching me and never happening (not that I love them, ewww rains ! ) , to take my bike ( yeah , I don't like to call it scooty) to work ! That is when , for the first time in 6 months of having the bike ,  I realised HOW much I really love riding it and how much happiness I get in those 20 minutes of getting to work ! 

Just wanted to share , the happiest part of my day ! 


(Will post a better picture soon )

P.S: Today while my bike was parked in the building compound , a car slammed into it and hurt it badly . Let's hope it gets well soon . 
P.S.S : This post is by an immature kid in me , sharing her happiness like she got a candy !

Thursday 30 August 2012

Love . Live . Life

Shimmering bright lights -red , blue, green , yellow; garlands of flowers -the pretty red roses , fresh Lillis , blue orchids and of course , the Indian Favourite , soothing to the eye,genda ka phool ; the decked up interiors, the studded lehengas , the clutter of merry kids running around , the red nail polished manicured hands , the fragrance of the dark brown mehendi , the thumping of  drums  , the magical sound of the shehnai , the over the top decorations , the well dressed relatives , the red velvet entrance .

It was this picture perfect view , Simran had always wanted for a wedding . It was the dream day of her life , kyunki bachhpan se hi usse shaadi karneka bada shock tha by god .

Just as she waited in her room for Raj and his family to enter the mandap where her mother was waiting to pull the groom's nose , her cousin Geet mentioned ''Finally , the day has arrived when you will marry the man you chose , the love of your life , Raj .''

As she said this , Simran became teary eyed, she went into a daze ...

*** Meet Simran , the cute , chirpy , sabki favourite , dancer by day , dreamer by night girl . It almost seemed  like ever since she was a child , her ultimate aim in life was to get married to who she loved , not to somebody her parents thought would be ideal for her , because her perception about Arranged marriage was that she would be treated as a cook for the rest of her life . Although her parents came from an educated backgroud , had had an arranged marriage despite which her mother was a successful college principal , Simran's views always differed .

      Meet Raj , the handsome , dark , tall  boy . Absolutely Mills & Boons. The minute she had seen him , she had fallen in love with him . Her parents thought very highly of him and approved of her choice . Simran was overwhelmed about the fact that her parents approved with her view on her having a love marriage , even thought they had their apprehensions.

     Are you thinking , phir aakhir problem kya hai ?

    Well , what if in a very unusual situation , a girl's parents approve of her choice of having a love marriage but the boy himself opposes this view ? Yes , Raj was a believer in Arranged marriages . His parents had had a love marriage and were more than happy in their lives ! But Raj believed that it was a mark of respect to his parents to get married to a girl of their choice .

   You may call him stupid , but this very quality of his made Simran fall for him . She knew that all she had to do was convince his parents that she was an ideal life partner for him. She did all she had to , until his parents were satisfied . During this course , Raj also realised , how important it was to know somebody with whom he was going to spend the rest of his life , after all he had seen his best friend's arranged marriage fall apart . He started to acknowledge Simran's efforts to convince his parents , began spending time with her and helped her win everybody's heart .  He instantly felt the comfort with her , he could sits hours next to her without speaking a word , and this was truly magical , for Raj thought , talking to somebody for hours , to easy , but sitting next to somebody for hours without talking , without any awkwardness creeping in , indeed makes that person special .                       ***

... Chalo Simran , the boy's side has come .''

   So all went well , and here we are ! Its Raj and Simran's wedding today . There has been no drama , no fight , no convincing . It has all been smooth . Neither has love marriage conquered arranged marriage nor has arranged marriage conquered love marriage . Nobody's feelings have been hurt and yet every person , bride , groom and their families are happy.


Marriages are made in heaven , love or arranged is just a means to get to the final destination , so how does it matter ? Love ya arranged , marriage is amongst the most beautiful relation man kind will ever see .




This post is a part of the Indiblogger ' Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage contest ' . To know more about this show that stars on Sony Television , please log on to :     http://www.facebook.com/LoveYaArrange

Wednesday 22 August 2012

An Ilumaniac Evening !

Lights , camera , action .

Did you miss the best event that happened in Mumbai last week?  Did you miss Nokia Apptasting Indiblogger's Meet ?

http://www.indiblogger.in/bloggermeet.php?id=164

Lets  try and re live all those moments right here on my blog .
Go on , read through & feel mesmerised !

I was waiting for this moment , to get on  stage ! No no , I didn't want the silver wrapped gift , I just REALLY wanted to get up there .



***Wondering what I'm talking about ? Well , it was the Nokia Apptasting IndiBlogger's meet in Mumbai ! With Taj Lands End as their venue , Nokia as their sponsor and the oh so handsome Vikas Khanna and Rajiv Makhni as hosts , it just couldn't go wrong ! (Haan , haan sach toh yehi hai ki mein wahaan hosts ko dekhne gayi thi ). So I walked into this beautiful ballroom kind of hall , full of guests , registered myself and had this moment of fame where the screens said *Ketki Barfiwala just walked in- one minute ago* ! That moment was happiness personified !

Then happened a little interaction with some amazing bloggers before a very very entertaining opening ceremony , the best I've ever seen took place ! The indiblogger guys just walked in and said *Indians by birth , bloggers by choice* and made us hug and greet the bloggers around us . It was so warm and welcoming and I just had jitter run through my body ! I said to myself "wow , this is some place to be in " !

The concept behind Nokia's apptasting meet was to reveal the applications featured in the Nokia Lumia Series and about appreciating and getting to know food better and ofcourse , the relation between these two . That clearly explains why , the chef who has authored 7 cook books , owns a restaurant in New York , and who has served at the White House , Mr. Vikas Khanna , was hosting along with the man with an awesome sense of homour , who makes  the crowd happening , The  Tech guru Mr. Rajeev Makhni!

So the first round , 30 seconds of fame , Where the screen displayed the name of a few chosen bloggers ,  to get on stage and pick any one host's side , Vikas Khanna's for food and Rajiv Makhni's for technology . Every time it was the next blogger's chance , I would pray it was my name because mujhe toh bass stage par jaana tha . If I had to pick a side , I would definitely pick food , because i know a lot about food I'm totally true to my surname , Barfiwala it is ! But , mera number toh aaya hi nai ! Nonetheless , this round got me introduced to some really amazing people , whether it was the bloggers from Surat and Pune , or the blogger who loves phones too much to have each for more than a week and has had 530 phones so far , or the youngest 12 year old blogger or the most experienced , youngest at heart grandmother blogger .

Moving on , the hosts made  the evening a wonderful experience with their witty sense of humour , got interactive with the audience and introduced us to such mesmerizing features of the Nokia Lumia Series which we never knew existed ! Like did you know about the cocktail app wherein people like me who do not know what kind of alcohol would match their meal , can just read through and will get the possible solutions ! Can you believe it just got so easy ?! 





In the midst of these Poonam (Nokia Executive) came up and said , here is your chance to pick an app you really thought shouldve existed and if your app is really possible to create (Unlike Vikas Khanna's most wanted app - one that will great his beeji 'parui pauna' while he is miles away in New York) Nokia would announce the launch of such an app soon ! I wanted one but I was too excited and couldn't think of it that time ! I want an app that can help me capture my thoughts then and there so I don't forget and can blog about them later ! Like for instance I picked up some amusing thoughts  from topics discussed at this meet to write about on my blog , but I've already forgotten . I hope Nokia is listening ! I want my app!!
***






So when I got up on the stage , next to the hosts*excited* , they said this is a competition that will have a unique round as the finale , one that no competition has ever had . The excitement rose . But little did we  know that our jaw would drop the next minute on hearing , it was a Quiz ! I mean , look at me ! I'm not a quiz person . And especially if its technology , I'm challeged ! No , I really am .and so was my partner . We thought we know a lot about food , but there is so much to food ! Obviously , we didn't know ! The first two rounds were a little embarrassing because nobody knew anything! But our friends managed to do pretty well and also scored their extra points for their dance moves ! The third round got interesting as the team who eventually ended up winning (My friends!), got an amazing full score ! But the round that stole the evening was the last round , blind folded food tasting , where we had to taste a dish and guess its ingredients!it was genuinely , one of the most unique games ever!we came third , embarrassed ourselves a little but I was so happy to just be up there ! And we got really lucky to have won the Nokia charger for participating . The surprise for the evening was that the winners of this quiz would win the Nokia Lumia 610 ! Banno ki Saheli , our very own sahelis won this and the excitement knew no boundaries !

But the most adorable part of the evening was after this ! Indiablogger , the dashing baby turned five and this called for a cake cutting ! I love cake cuttings , and this cake was chocolate mousse *slurppp*. There was so much excitement , a vibrant atmosphere and heap loads of photo sessions.  Followed by a beautiful round of drinks and dinner , lots of socializing and interaction , we wal
ked home with an Indi blogger T-shirt , and a hundred  unforgettable moments to be treasured for life !

                                                               Happy 5th Birthday Indiblogger ! We love you !

Saturday 2 June 2012

Pyaare Government !

02 June 2012
Dear Mr. Indian Government,

Hello Mr. Government. Greetings . Hope you are doing brilliantly well this warm and sunny afternoon.The sultry weather could be taking a toll and could give you a massive headache , and then hearing all these people of yours cribbing all the time about how the rupee is devaluing, how the budget is adversely affecting them , how service tax has increased by leaps and bounds , how income is not increasing and all.

Now all this , i agree . But when these citizens crib about how the petrol prices are rising way too much for an average Indian to accept , i do not agree ! You , are such a gem of person ,the efforts you make to help your citizens ! And these citizens just cribbing away without giving it a thought ! But , here , today , i wish to thank you , for having increased the petrol prices. This , truly has been a landmark moment in the history of Indian Government . Because , the Indian citizens have failed to decipher your true interest in this price rise . Today , i want to take this opportunity to explain to my fellow citizens , your true intentions .

Back in the 1970's and 1980's , when owning a car was unaffordable an was considered to be a status symbol of the rich , most people stuck to using trains and local buses as their mode of transportation , and most of these most people , walked  to their destination .Not only did they save monetarily , but also kept well in health.Then slowly , in the 1990's ,  after 1991 when India faced globalization, more competitors from round the world , came into picture and as it works , supply exceeded demand , cost dropped , and having your own vehicle became affordable . Simultaneously , due to your New Industrial Policy benefited us , citizens vastly and  standard of living became better by the day .We started depending on our personal vehicles so much , that we have forgotten that walking  to our destination , is an exercise , way better than going to the gyms and exercise clubs. Also , we have lost our patience , waiting even for a few minutes for public transport , angers us no end .
So government uncle , thank you . Because now the cost of gas has risen so much , that citizens would be compelled to use public transport or to walk or to buy a bicycle .

The good old days are going to be back . We are going to be patient again , mentally relaxed ,  and improve our health , the healthy way . So we , should be having no reason to crib . I , on behalf of all the Indian Citizens , thank you for this , and also apologise for all the cribbing and for the revenue loss caused due to the 'Bharat Bandh' in protest .

With Respect ,
Just another Indian Citizen. 

Tuesday 29 May 2012

IPL – The Feel Good Phenomena


-The story of how a bumbayi-ite loves IPL

 




*Wake up . Brush . Bathe . Have your breakfast . Read Bombay Times . Look in the mirror for 10 exact seconds (obviously not more , you are going to miss your train then ) . Stuff your dubba and bottle into the bag . Run to work (because if you are late , assignment nai milega ,toh boss respect nai karega ; boss respect nai karega toh promotion nai milega ; promotion nai milega toh paisa nai milega ; paisa nai milega toh life kaise jiyenge , how will you fulfil your needs ?) .

Work . Work. Work . Have lunch . Work . Work. Work . Eat vada pav below office . Run and catch the train . Reach Home. Have dinner . Watch TV . Use the internet , keep some movies for downloading (woh toh bas aise hi download karte hai , dekhne ka time kisko hai ? But ,but, it feels nice to say ‘’I have a 100 movies downloaded and kept at home ‘’ , nai? ) And then sleep .sleep. sleep.

Wake up...

Are you wondering how i know about your daily routine ? Did you think i was following you ? Obviously not ! Looks like ,you too ,are from Bumbai ,my friend .*

So all the Bumbayi-ites , chalo , lets go back in time ...



2008,April
Cricket you know , is as much a religion in India , as any other religion is .
So , the Board of Cricket and Control in India decided to merge cricket and entertainment , and launched a  professional television cricket league ; IPL-Indian Premier League .
Ofcourse , it created a roar of excitement amongst people world – wide . Bumbiyas were happy too , weren’t you ?

Well , you were , and why not ! It is something totally out of your daily boring and monotonous schedule , almost free to watch (since it was shown on a Set Max , which your cable provider provides you with , at no extra cost ) and above all so entertaining  and enthralling !

Back to 2012

Over the years , IPL kept growing . Five years down the line and we have reached a point where IPL tickets can cost anything from Rs. 650 to Rs.5000 , or much more ,since , the black market for these tickets is fast growing . But lots of us Bumbayi-ites are ready to spend that colour of money , on one single evening – expensive tickets , on buying the jersey of the team your support , on gathering your friends and tattooing yourself , on accessories , and merchandise of that team , and most importantly , ont he food and drinks to celebrate the success of the team .Because for them , an IPL evening is like breaking free from the daily routine , from the same old work , from the herd class sweaty trains and traffic . Its as good as a tequila shot ,when you have it , it brings a weird happiness , like the one from hallucination ; a joy beyond expression ,a feeling that this ,is my life ,an utmost desire to remain there forever , in the same feel , but when you sleep it off , its all gone ;like it never happened .
Isn’t the Bumbayia life like that ? We work endlessly each day , and behave as if yesterday did not even happen!

And so ,there are lots of big brands out there in the market , loads of entrepreneurs , cricketers , who are ready to invest in IPL , in terms of money , effort  , skill or talent . Because , hell , its got whopoping return on investments.

Its like this : Even though the team you own or are a part of , ranks last in the season , you would be making profits , because big companies are yet going to sponsor your team , yet going to give you advertisements , people are still going to buy your team merchandise and more than anything else , people are still going to come and watch your match in the stadium  . Basically , IPL is soon going to become the Indian Religion .

And , all this , despite the fact , that cricketers and team owners ; have , in the past , been found fixing matches , bribing officials , bookies have been found paying players to suit their business needs , team owners have openly declared that IPL is nothing more than mere business for them , the sport and its rules are being over looks , tickets are overtly expensive , vendors , restaurants are over pricing on the criterion of match screening , youngsters are getting more into the habit of betting , politicians have found a way to make money , and ; security measures have been diverted to IPL , and important matters are being overlooked .

The question is ,does this concern us ? Or should IPL be taken in the spirit of pure business ?But if that is done , isn’t it unfair ?6 To the sport ,to the people who spend their hard earned money on it , to the very talented cricketers ?Would such commercialism lead to the world losing its innocence ,the fact that even a game is not taken in a sportsman spirit and bribing is over powering our thoughts ?

But we,at Bumbayi ,don’t care, or rather , do not have the time to care . Because here , as someone rightly said , Life is a race , and if you don’t run fast , you’ll be like a broken egg !
IPL was , is and will continue to be amongst the most entertaining event of the year , no matter what !

Think about it .

Monday 28 May 2012

Summer the Ketki Way!

So this summer , Lakme's sunshine girl Kyra has chosen me to spend her time with ! And what better than a girl's day out to the beach ?!

So we , are going to land up at a beautiful goan beach , and guess what !
Kyra asks me for my summer daily routine ! Well , obviously i am taken aback , because the sunshine girl herself wants tips from  me !

Anyway , i give her these tips and she totally agrees ! This is what she does as her routine too !

So i thought i should be sgaring this with all my blogger friends too !

Besides the usual tips like :
1.Drinks lots of water
2.Eats Fruits having good water content
3.Wear lose clothes
4.Apply a sunblock
5.Always wear something to protect your head and eyes;

Kyra and I have the common belief that ,
This summer , wear your style , be comfortable  , be yourself , and you will be the perfect sunshine girl , the one whose advice everyone would want !


At the beach ,in our colourful flipflops , lose ,printed  & pretty  tops , Cute little accessories ,we had an amazing time because we could do it all , jump in the salty warm waters beneath the shiny sun , play beach games on the white sand-we all love beach volleyball , right ? , get a tan and laze around! All this only because our mantra was , 'Be yourself , Be comfortable ' !

So girls , just go there and have some beach fun !



This Blog is a part of the contest by :http://www.facebook.com/ilovelakme

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Change is inevitable

Change. Everything changes . All the time . Imagine , you nails and hair also grow every second . Every second .
Infact, a friend posted once , "The only constant in my life in 20 years is Apsara eraser" !

Sometimes this change is going to crush you . Its going to make you feel that everything is lost . But remember , afetr every dark night is a bright morning . The bright morning has to come . Earlier or Later . And , when it comes depends on how you decide to treat the change.

You , have to hope its going to do you more good , than bad . You , have to believe , that all the struggle through the change , adapting to the situation and the new people around you , the effort , is all going to be worth it one day .

And then you are going to look behind at the day when the change happened , and when you cried for old times sake ; and you are going to laugh at yourself . Because , at that time , its all going to be fine .All the drama , all the effort , its all going to be worth it .

So , believe , that the inevitable change is going to do you great . Its all going to make sense one day !

Cheers!

Monday 9 April 2012

So Much , yet nothing !

Don't you think filmstars , celebrities and every other person who has loads of money and who is constantly in the limelight , is so lucky ?!

Even i thought so , until recently .

And I am Sameera . Ayesha's school buddy , short , dusky , average looking . I do a small 9 am to 5 pm job , run around to make ends meet , but look foward to getting home every evening to hug my child and dine with my husband . It gives me immense pleasure to to finish work at office and run home to be greeted by people who care about me . My parents , often drop in to check whether everything is alright and my family is doing well . Brings a smile to my face . 
Also , my best friend often brings home some biryani so we can share dinner and which saves me the effort of cooking after a tiring day at work , since i cannot really afford a cook or maid .

Just last week , i banged into a school friend . Not that i hadn't seen her in long . I had , but she hadn't. Ayesha.

Lets meet Ayesha , 28 years of age , a successful actress and super model , tall , slim , beautiful , rich , successful! ( Yeah , i know you made an image in your head and already muttered to yourself , 'So lucky' !)

It was ages since we actually caught up . She called me over to her place .
At the doorstep of her mansion (yes , it wasn't even a house ) i was astonished , and thought to myself , 'She wears pretty clothes , travels the world , and has so much money and luxury ! Her luck has shone brightly'.

Ofcourse , since it was so long and i had a family now , we had so much to share . Or well , maybe i had so much to share . Because after hearing me talk so much , Ayesha was overwhelmed . When it was her part to finally narrate her life over the years , she had nothing much to say . She finally uttered that her life was artificial , very pleasing to the eye . And to show to the world , she had luxury , comfort an money , but when she got home , she had no one to ask her whether she had eaten her meals , nor was there anyone to share them with her .

To the outside world it seemed that , Ayesha had so many fans and so many people who would care for her , but no one saw how artificial that was ! Ayesha was a loner at heart and in one of the most crowded cities of the world , Delhi , she felt she was all alone.

At that moment , i cant express how i felt . Maybe i just felt blessed . We lived extremely contradicting lives , she had so much , yet nothing ! While i had nothing , Yet i had so much !


P.S: Any resemblance to any character living or dead is purely co incidental.
P.S.S: This is yet again a part of Awesome April ! www.mytalentissowasted.blogspot.in


"Enjoy the small things in life , the big ones , are usually artificial" - Pamela Aderson 


                                                     Love ,

Sunday 8 April 2012

State of Affairs

She sat there .
Sad eyes . Check .
Exceptional fear . Check .
Trembling body . Check .

Each time she heard a knock on her door , she yelled for help .

"Mumma , Baba " she yelled .

No one heard her painful cries . You know why ? Because she asked for help to get rid of pain from who made her go through that pain .

Shyamli's parents were not particularly well to do . Her father worked at a construction site in their village  . The builders had been promising returns when the mall was ready , which ofcourse never happened and in exchange , these labourers were paid a meagre income of rupees 50 a day where Shyamli's father had to feed 6 mouths . A question that would arise to your mind :
If he didn't have the affordability then why so many kids?

"Male Child ".

Not that i have ever understood the need and importance of having a male child , its common belief in ancient India (and yet recently also ) , that male child is the heir to the family . And having a female child is like an ill omen .

So back to the Shyamli , her parents (like a lot of parents who are uneducated and are part of  the social 'not having a boy child' stigma) , decided to sell Shyamli.

Yes , however horrid it may sound ! Their poor 9 year old daughter who was sold to a prince from an arab country . While most kids her age were playing and enjoying , Shyamli was giving in to the sexual pleasures of someone , her grandfather's age , only so that her family could receive a little money !

Not that it was all that easy to take her away . Her school teacher , did confront Shyamli in front of the entire village before they took her away , as to whether she wished to say anything with regards to where her parents were sending her . Although she knew , she decided to keep mum , because her father had threatened to beat her up if she opened her mouth . Her mother , who could feel the pain , was too over powered by her dominating husband , too much to help her daughter .

But this my friends , is the sad state of affairs in India today . Rape , polygamy , etc are becoming increasingly common due to fall in the sex ratio in India  , especially in the northern states . Since sex determination has become so common and convenient , female feotecides and infanticides have increased ! Spread awareness , educate women and let try and make this a female dominated society ! Gone should be the days where men ruled ! This might not go down too well with the men !

P.S: This article is very cliche and something everybody knows , but im just doing my bit by spreading a little awareness.
P.S.S: This article is a part of my best friend's Awesome April !www.mytalentissowasted.blogspot.in

Monday 2 April 2012

Do what You Love , Love what You Do!

I have no qualms in admitting that i am not exactly fond of what i currently doing . My job does not interest me , even a tiniest bit ! No , that does not mean my colleagues or office is bad , they're really nice people , but just that , this work is so not my cup of tea !

Yet , i stuck to the decision of continuing this job ; because i thought , "Heck , nobody loves their job ! But then thats the whole point ! You are supposed to love your hobby because it makes you feel happy ; but you are supposed to do your job because it fetches you money ! "

But you know my bwoy ; that aint true ! On a recent assignment , i went to audit a famous music store in the suburbs of Mumbai ! And this was my 'favouritestest' assignment to date ! Every person who worked there , did were doing what they loved the most in the world ! The store manager , plays the piano , and boy , he's good ! The Guitarist , so amazing ! And he , handles the guitar section ! And so is the drummer ! The most amazing among these was a part time employee ! He is an architect by profession but music was always his first love ! So he agreed to take up a part time job at this store !

In their free time ; that is when they were not attending to any customer , these guys jam together ! So basically , each day , they wake up to do what they love the most ! It got me thinking ! Maybe everyone should take out a little time of their busy schedule and do what they love the most , everyday ! Like me , i like to write , to express my thoughts , so i took up writing this blog ! I might not be the most amazing writer in this world, but it makes me feel happy ! So this is that one thing that i have promised to do , for myself !


I request you all , to take out half an hour everyday from your busy schedule , and do what you love ! Believe me , there is no feeling like this feeling ! So , lets all make a resolution ! 

Sunday 18 March 2012

Hi There !

Lets do this test , 9 out of 10 blogs you read would start with , "Umm , i dont know what im going to write on this blog " ! Well , the point here is , neither do I ! But i guess i shall figure that sometime while writing this blog !

So , Hi There !

Lets start with a little about me !
Hello , me myself PinkPebbles . The thought of writing this blog came to mind because i wanted to express what i feel , about life , about things happening in this world , about things happening in my world etc.
Not that i write very well , but ki farak penda !
To be very honest im in the 'wrongest' field ! I like to yap , like really yap ; "jabber jabber jabber" ! So ideally i should be somewhere where I can talk all the time , use the constituitional "Right to freedom of speech and expression" as if it were made for me ! But instead i do a 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. internship ! "Hayy , meri zindagi "
Oh and there are these one million , billion thing i really want to do ! Like learn photography , get a professional photo shoot done , become a fashionista , a journalist , a rich business woman , a traveller !
So much to do , so little time ! Will keep posting about this on my blog !


Too much melodrama (Jo meri life mein bahaut hota hai waise) for now !

Keep reading ! Hope to get back with something fun !

Audios until then amis!