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 !

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

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 walked home with an Indi blogger T-shirt , and a hundred  unforgettable moments to be treasured for life !

                                                               Happy 5th Birthday Indiblogger ! We love you !

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. 

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 .

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

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!