musings.....

Ask any kid in the US who the trinities of Indian religion are, and you get a prompt reply "Brayma,Veeshnew,Sheewa"(Apparently they are taught this in high school). Religion, however, changed faces as civilization progressed, and various deities and sub-deites thus emerged.Some of these, are highly localized. For example, down south - one can see prevalance of these three deities - Lord Ayyapa, Lord Muruga and the "Amman" ( as various forms). Lord Hanuman was the deity of choice for the Haryanvis and Rajasthanis.Marathi's swear by ( no pun intended) Lord Vinayak. And the Bengalis have a thing for Goddess Kali.And then of course , are countless "Kaval Deivams" and "Kula Deivams".

A deep-throated Yesudas singing "Harivarasanam" brings back memories of hoards and hoards of Ayyappan tourists in Srirangam every December, on the way to Sabarimala. This deity is supposed to be elder to Muruga and Vinakaya - an offspring of Mohini (who is Lord Vishnu , whose sister Goddess Parvati is Lord Shiva's wife....So from these equations...Wow!!) and Lord Shiva - basically Hari and haran in one. So anyway,Here is the verse.Very evocative lyrics - very powerful singing.

Harivarasanam Viswamohanam

Haridadhiswaram Aaradhyapadhukam

Arivimardhanam Nithyanarthanam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Saranakirtanam Bakhtamanasam

Bharanalolupam Narthanalasam

Arunabhasuram Bhoothanayakam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Pranayasathyakam Praananayakam

Pranathakalpakam Suprabhanjitham

Pranavamanidram Keerthanapriyam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Thuragavahanam Sundarananam

Varagadhayudham Vedavavarnitham

Gurukrupakaram Keerthanapriyam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Tribuvanarchitam Devathathmakam

Trinayanam Prabhum Divyadeshikam

Tridashapoojitham Chinthithapradam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Bhavabhayapaham Bhavukavaham

Bhuvanamohanam Bhoothibhooshanam

Dhavalavahanam Divyavaranam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Kalamrudusmitham Sundarananam

Kalabhakomalam Gathramohanam

Kalabhakesari Vajivahanam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Srithajanapriyam Chinthithapradam

Sruthivibhushanam Sadhujeevanam

Sruthimanoharam Geethalalasam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Things I miss about the only place I can ever call "Home" :

1. The fact that I always belonged. I was loved and accepted for who I was, not on the basis of what people thought were right or wrong.

2. I never carefully worded what I wanted to say, and how I would come accross to people. People always understood where I came from.

3. I could hug my friends any time I wanted, without thinking if it was a girl/boy , junior/senior..

4. I could swear in all possible languages freely, without my friends judging me/getting scandalized..

5. Going out of the way, overboard, crazy - and could still be normal. .

6. MB - where I could change in a room full of wingees, and not care..

7. I could combined-crash with friends, without arousing anyone's lesbian suspicions..

8. I could hitch a ride , and sit in the front bar of the guys cycles - no one would think I was flirting..

9. "Mayira pochu" and "Yetha sollu" were philosophies that were loved and trusted through times..

10. Birthdays were considered special occasions - filled with surprises and cakes , and a lot of good vibes around..

Ah ! Thank God for the good times !!!

Oh yeah ! It was another sleepy day, when you curse day light savings to get used to an hour less sleep. As I slowly trudged my way to work , I heard the bus driver talk about detours because of the parade. The parade, is one of Cincinnati's oldest traditions, and today was the 87th such.

Sponsored by Findlay market, on Elder and Race streets,the parade started on over-the-Rhine, and ended at Broadway(This route is the heart of downtown Cincinnati). It marks the start of spring, and the baseball season. The whole town was painted Red today, with people sporting red hair, red makeup, and even red animals to mark the occasion.

The parade itself , was one jolly event , and people braved the chills to see school bands, Reds fans, and various commercial companies in action, as each one tried to outdo the other's Reds fanaticsm.Meijer's first truck, old style TV and radio antennas,yatches, a bus full of cute 5 -year olds who could barely say "Go reds", a makeshift mobile market and people dressed as pea pods and beans, an Elvis impersonator, a 1952 orginal bobcat - ah! The joys of living in a small, midwestern town !!!

The first game of the season, Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs, had an added attraction today - President Bush throwing in the ceremonial first pitch. The breakroom of my office on the 17th floor, has a spectacular view of the ballpark, and the river. The big screen would supplement the live action, just in case. Opening day is almost a local holiday in Cincinnati.

Do you want a taste of the American corporate work ethic ? The game was supposed to start at 2 15. And we had a meeting from 2 to 3 today.As we sat in our conference rooms on the 19th floor, I struggled to stop this urge to crane my neck out of the window to see the first pitch.Our meeting went on, oblivious to the fact that there was this country's president , 100 yards away,visible to us, if we would only see!!! Wow!

(An "I-feel-so-grown-up" type comment would be a perfect end to this tale,but I am too swamped ;) !!)

There is this phase of growing up, when the bird flies out of its nest, and discovers a whole new world. A world , different from its own. In that process, you discover things about yourself, and your "home" - somethings you are thankful for, and somethings you want to change about yourself. When I look back at the time I was 16, and I left home to live with new people in a far away land one thing I loved about my home - It always taught be to be open-minded. Especially in terms of religion/spirituality - based notions. The first three lines of this little prayer have always been very special to me, and my family. For no particular reason , I want to post this today.Here is the full prayer.

It was all planned - the proverbial calm-after-the-storm post. I would write a post about Orkut,or a colored map showing "all the states in India/US I have visited". And life would go on normally for everyone around. But then, the more I read about the blank noise project posts, I grew as a person. This was an initiative, not only to bring my outrage to the public, but also to learn what goes on , on the other side of the coin. Therefore, I tried to read all the posts, mainly those written by men. Here are some links of posts, that really modified my thought process. IMHO, I think these men deserve much more praise for coming out in the open about this seemingly "feminist" issue.

http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/07/i-am-offended.html Oh really ??? Not all you guys wanna maul anything that resembles a female that comes by ??? Why is this fact so lost on me? Oh , well , maybe because of all those shitty Tam and Hindi movies glorifying the roadside romeo. Maybe because Vijay "puts sense" into Asin , and chides her for wearing a miniskirt.He becomes the hero, and the girl falls for him !!! (WTF??) But anyway, Thanks Dude, for letting us know some men actually get offended by those generalizations.

http://peacefarm.prayas.in/?p=131 Dude , you are not a Bot, you are a real person right?Don't you realise it means we have to revisit the first point in the rulebook "Most Indian men are like this " that our moms taught us when we were twelve :))??? Anyways ! Good post man !!!

Dedicated to the Blank Noise Project :



It was a weekday evening.And especially tiring day, it was a first day of Workshop practice.Athough we were adequately warned about "Smithy guy pawan" and how he had trouble staying within bounds, K was furious. He had done it again.Trying to touch girls in the pretext of teaching them workshop fundas.This of course, led us recounting each of our experiences with street harassment, and other sexual misconducts. Six years later, as I sit down to write this post, I switch off my TV playing the Oscars, and focus. Yes, every single girlfriend I've ever had , can recount atleast one such incident where she has felt violated.

Now I know : You don't have a "past" if you have had experiences like this. Alteast in India, it is a part of becoming a woman - the first lesson you learn, is beware. And its ok to err on the side of caution rather than being naive.

I must have been around 14 years old. I was into inter-school competitions - singing,debate,quizzing and the like. Athough initially it started off as a ploy to bunk classes, the prizes and recognitions got me hooked. It was one such competition, called "Crown Capper" which was then, a big deal. Intensely competitive, and I was thrilled when I won. I rode the bus home. The walk from the bus stop to my home,is a five minute walk through a dimly lit road. I was over the moon, and couldn't wait to go home and share the excitement. A man in a cycle rode by, is arm quickly positioned over my torso. And in a flash, it was all over. I was still dazed when I got home, and I forgot all about the trophy and celebration.Suddenly it all seemed so unimportant. I remember sobbing, and telling my mom, about some rowdy elements on the street. No more. I was too embarrased to talk about this to anyone. I would refer to it as "an incident",but no more. I would recall what my Geography mam would tell us, " .... it just means, you did something to get his attention". For a long time, I went guilty.

Now I know : It is NOT your fault. Stop feeling guilty.It is not your clothes, it is not your makeup(or lack thereof).It is about THEM. Too bad.


I used to ride my "Trendy" to school at 16. One day, it was around 10 in the night, and I was coming home after a rigorous practice test session at tuitions. There is a small tributary of Cauvery that runs a few blocks down from where I used to live. It is dry and deserted most of the time - a typical "Vaaikaal". A man rode another bike parallel to me, and started talking obscene stuff to me. I was soo furious, and at that point in time, my swear word vocabulary was limited to "idiot" "stupid" and a maximum of "asshole", none of which , of course would make any sense to that guy who knew only Tamil. I was angry that I did not know any swear words in my mother tongue, so I could lash out at him. I remember going home and asking my mom to teach me swear words. Only to be told off.

Now I know : A lot of swear words in a variety of languages. I am not a prude. I swear with discretion. Because, there are such people who deserve to be sweared at. Otherwise you become a pushover. If I had to choose between being the "arrogant girl with an attitude problem" and the "doormat", I'd much rather choose to be the former.ANY DAY.

TN express is a huge train, that traverses a considerable cross section of India. It is almost a two day journey end-to-end, and the ride is filled with a wide variety of people. We were a group, about six of us, who usually travel together. It was a usual day of fun and frolic. S, who went by the wash basin to remove her contact lenses, returned to the compartment - furious.It took her quite some time to relate what happened. Our 18 year old brains were thinking - "Well, this is the stuff only mallu movies and boring documentaries are made of". And so,we each went near the wash basin, and checked it out for ourselves. Yes, sure enough, there was a small boy - about seven years of age, sitting at the edge of the door, with his legs spread wide. And a middle aged man, with his shoe-ed foot, stamping the small boy's private parts.We were all furious.

Now I know : Molestation is not gender specific. Or age specific. To me,this has nothing to do with feminism. It is rage directed towards some adults, conditioned by the society to think they can get away with doing all this.

Me and K , in our final year of undergrad. This was the first time we were riding the famous Pilani to Delhi bus to and fro. Our worst fears were confirmed - the only available seat was a three seater. We each took turns sitting in the middle seat. Two "lockies" and a lot of paan chewing and touching "galti se" later, we were relieved when a scientist from CEERI sat by us. He started chatting about local buses, and weather and such stuff. Sometime later, K told me he was trying to put his arm around her waist. She wasn't sure if he realised it.We swapped places, and the same thing happened to me. As the bus approached Delhi, he started enquiring about where we would stay, and insisted he accompany us "to safety" in a lodge that he knew. Our guesses were confirmed.It took a lot of effort before we finally shook him off at ISBT.

Now I know : It is not about illiterate men. It is not about unemployed road side romeos. These people can exist anywhere. In our own midst. And it is not about young men. They come in all shapes, sizes and age and nationality.


Me and K again.After we passed out. On a visit to BITS.We rode the notorious Karnataka Express. Our bay had army men, returning to their stations. Past experiences told us Army men ranked really high on the "likely trouble" index. We each took our berths and switched off the lights. And out of nowhere , this guy's hand drops out of his berth, and sways all the way around, and things started getting nasty. We sat together, awake all night, huddled up to avoid the touching, talked to the TTR the next day and got ourselves shifted out.

Now I know : Sometimes,discretion is the better part of valor. It is better to act intelligently, rather than act hasty in that rush of emotions. Get away when you have to.It is one thing when you are in a crowded bus , when you holler at the miscreant.People notice, and you are safe. It is foolish to try and holler in the middle of the night,in a compartment full of horny men.


Just a few things that come to mind to help be careful :

1.Always carry your cell phone with you.Even if it is to the grocery store next street.

2. Never hesitate to ask for help. It is your LIFE, and "what if everyone comes to know" seems so insignificant in comparison.

3.Be prepared.Take elementary classes in self defense.Beginning karate,kickboxing - anything that helps you feel like you can take care of yourself.If not anything , it is a confidence booster.

4.I dont know how relevant this is in India, but always report any assault to the police. I dont really believe in this "oh, what will happen to my reputation" kinda stuff.


5. There is a thin line between being brave and independent , and being foolish. Act smart.

The bottom line - You can never be too careful. If I can recall these issues of sexual overtures in such great detail, I shudder to think of those people (men/women/children) who have been raped and molested. This issue is even more relevant in India, for two reasons - the excessive population, and lack of a good law enforcement system.But as they say, change is not an isolated process.It develops from within, and then spreads into the consciousness of a whole society. It takes time. And how will a 22 year old writing about it , in the comfort of a heated room help?Maybe it would strike a chord with someone, somewhere - and there might just be a better tommorow.

Tag : blog-a-thon 2006

About a week ago, one of my friends called, and we were talking about plans for the Friday evening. He, being a"he", is the kinda guy who vehementely vetoes watching "Dirty Dancing" and turns the votes towards, some action flick, only to settle for "In-Laws" instead. So anyway, I was telling him how I was planning to watch "Love Actually" , fully expecting some wisecrack about how it was a total mushy - gooey thing to watch. To my surprise, not only had he seen it too many number of times, but he actually totally loves it !! Oh yeah , for all their macho-dacho bravado, men do secretly love "Father of the Bride" and a friend of mine actually weeps everytime he sees it, thinking of his daughters!!!

Admit it, you have spent some Friday nights huddled up watching a chick flick - be it in the theaters,your TV or computer. And whether you are a guy or a girl, you probably have been suckers for these kinda movies - atleast one. I for one , would much rather watch "I do, they Don't" rather than recite scenes from "Matrix". So here goes, the Top 10 chick flicks I've seen so far.(Or the ones I remember atleast, anyway!!)

1. "When Harry met Sally..."

Yeah ! Like it could BE anything else! I still remember this day when a few of us, projected it on the walls of a this place, fondly called "Nizamuddin". Pulling out all sofas and making comfortable beds, three of us watched the movie , in complete silence.... Well, anyway, its a cute movie, a typical "feel good" at the end of a long hard day.

2. "Casablanca "

A black-and-white movie, catching my fancy? I don't think that has happened before. It is a war-torn world, with refugees seeking asylum.Rick is your typical taciturn,cynical hero, apparently excited by nothing. And as usual he has a past, that is revealed when he meets his old flame, but they don't exactly live happily ever after. Plus it has that charm of a small African town , with its crowded marketplace and peddlers. Very nice movie.

3. "Jerry Maguire"

Now before all you guys flinch, yes , it is a chick flick,under the guise of a lot of sports crap. Yup, you have a sporting manager, but that doesnt make it a guy flick. It is still lots of weeping, and kissing , and bonding with the son type stuff. And what was that line again? "You complete me" :)) And that cute little bespectacled kid, tugging at Tom Cruise's legs - that sealed it!! (Yes, I am a sucker for cute kids!I am the kind who oggles at kids at the Mall, and goes "Oh shoooo cuteeee" ).

4. "Hitch"

That dance sequence where he teaches the fat guy to dance - I really think I must have laughed so hard, that people all around me in the theater thought I was crazy. Oh, and the way he hits on Eva Mendes at the bar - NICE!! Not to mention, THAT was when Eva sky rocketed her way into my "Top 10 women I would have flipped for, if I were a guy" list. Plus, it really has some good insights on how to woo a girl.This is the types I would like to own a DVD of.(Tip: Would make a good bday gift for me ;))


5. "Wedding Crashers"

Hilarious. And grown-up fun.(I vaguely remember sitting through this one wondering why Owen Wilson is considered one of the sexiest men alive!)Reminded me of how we used to crash farewells, and assoc dinners at BITS. Its your typical bollywood type masala mix, but a real funny one at that - Guy crashes parties,and makes out all the time, then meets this woman, falls in love, meets her family , gets busted, and then they makeup, and life is hunky-dory all again. (Yeah right !!) But hey ! Thats what chick-flicks are all about !!


6. "You've got Mail"

Well, I was in high school, and had a net friend, who I had a crush on, and then there was this movie. Enough said.

7. "An Officer and a Gentleman"

Richard Gere in a pristine white navy suit (reminded of Ross in friends??)sweeping his lady love off her feet, in the last scene. And a lot of Navy related stuff, like training, courage, strength , endurance and all that. And of course, he is the good guy who wants to honor commitment to this girl and all those related things. Good one.

8. "Erin Brockovich"

Well, technically, this might not be your run-on-the-mill chick flick, although it starrs Julia Roberts, the queen of the genre. But yes, it is about a single mom, strong and courageous , facing difficulties and then has a man who understands her, and takes care of her kids. I remember seeing the real Erin Brokovich on Oprah's and I must say, Julia has done a real good job of it.

9."Elizabethtown"

Okay, so its a lot of Kentucky, and I saw the movie in Kentucky, in a place 2.5 hours from Elizabethtown, too. Its has a sort of a cute midwestern town charm. And how she pronounces "Louisville". And uncles, and aunts, Chuck's wedding and Susan Sarandon's swing dancing. And of course, Orlando Bloom!!

10."Fools Rush In"

Matthew Perry!!
And an unplanned pregnancy, and a marriage. A lot of mexican dancing, and food and family parties. Brothers and dads who watch out for their girl. And of course those dialogues that make a chick flick what it is ... " You don't understand the concept of a family! To you it's something you put up with on national holidays! Love is a gift, Alex... not an obligation..."

There are these moments in life, when all around you is strife, but strangely, almost like divine preordinance, you find that oasis - music that just talks to you. Today, as I sit in front of my 12 inch partner, playing raaga Desh, it transports you to a place where there is no conscious thought - just notes strewn together in seemingly careless fashion , that somehow marvelously arrange themselves to make sense - and beauty.

There is something really beautiful about knowing a language like Thamizh ( YES,that is not Tamil!!) apart from being able to cuss virtually anyone from a co-passenger to your advisor and make it seem like you were actually complimenting their shirt. You can appreciate the fervor of the song, which is only matched by a bold raaga like Desh, to fully convey the tone of the lyrics.

I have tried my best to reproduce the song lyrics(complete with repetitions) in the best Thamizh(and unicode) I can, based on a real raw version that I found on the net. I am a sort of a purist in terms of music, in that I really dont believe in the fancy "sh" instead of "s". A song in Thamizh is meant to be pronounced right, not sankritzed like "shevagan sheer kelatha shevi yenna sheviye". So here is a de-sanskritized version of the song :

Good things about the Chicken-pox :

1. The first couple of days,you think you are in hell.Then you get a hang of it.

2. You can't sleep on your sides or back initially.And there is not much you can eat too.So you are actually on a crash diet and sleep deprived,so you are on the perfect weight loss plan!!!

3. Amazing care from friends and family... its like R & R !!!

4. You get to watch about 16 M*A*S*H episodes a day, with a few Gilmore girls,and F.R.I.E.N.D.S thrown in for variety.

5. You get to sleep a lot after the initial phase, and so you are sequestered in a world of good food,good sleep,lots of TV,lots of books,measured Internet, minimal phone calls.Life , lets face it , is good !!!

Oh, and thanks folks, for all the good wishes and help.Bye-bye chickenpox.I sure won't miss ya!!

Over and Out ,

Sang

Sometime in May 2005, an innocuous email sitting in my inbox announced someone's marriage. It wasn't just someone. It was someone in "the gang". My thoughts wafted to this bunch, a dozen or so of us, closely knit by circumstances or fate,cuddled up securely in a cute little hamlet in Rajasthan,facing our fears, discovering our strengths, living life together,and growing up.These are little snippets, from our conversations over all these years.

"Hey guys, cmon man, we havent really had a lot of fun lately.. It has been two whole days, thats like 48 hours since we all met up, lets go to c'not"

"People, lets play Val-friend"

"Oh-ho-ho guess who wore a bright yellow shirt today and made a fool of himself"

"Hey!! you zuked a test man, you are officially av-1 now, treat treat treat !!!"

"Guys, I am really running out on dosh here, could you just stop washing your hands in coke, just because I am treating !!!"

"Wo-ho-ho.. Check that outsti babe .. she is so totally hawt!!"

" Guys, the most funny thing happened... You know this guy I have a crush on right? and how he always wears the same T shirt, oh I am gonna protest by wearing the same damn color for one whole week till the whole class notices!!!"

"Hey people, this is S and K reporting from IPC. The time , as you all can see ,is 8 30, that means we walked out of a three hour exam in thirty minutes,and K has broken her personal best of 50 mins by a whopping 20 minute margin.Way to go man!! We are proud of you!!!"


"People,another company gave us the finger"

"Oh yes! I made that Job"

" Did I tell you I missed my 10, for the first time?"

" Yes, I have started smoking"

"Oh Cmon, stop it guys, I like this girl. Yes, did you hear that ?"

"Thalai decided to give me 5 recos, did you hear that!!!"

"Yes, that is my breath, I got sloshed yesterday"

" Fine, so now there is someone more important to you than the gang"

" Hope you make a job at PS II"

"Guys, thats admit number 5, no sign of Aid yet "

"Hang in there, you will get over her"

"Its a family emergency, screw the Elliots plan"

" We are there for you, always"



" I am getting married in two months. Hope you can guys can make it to the wedding "

"So this is my India trip itinerary...."

" I have to get my appraisal done .."

"So thats it, this is a commitment for life, I am in for a Phd"

" My PM screwed me ...."

" I am taking Salsa classes... and dating a hot Mexican chick..."

" Remember that salary hike I was talking about ? I got it !"

" Yes, thats what I was telling you when I was chatting with you yesterday, or was it today? I wouldn't know , coz I have been stuck in this lab for eternity"

" My funding chances....."

" Another telecon, I am ripping these bastards apart...."

" An appreciation mail....."

" My In-laws are visiting....."

"He graduates first, and then I graduate, and we both pay back our loans, then go back to India, tell parents about us, and get married by 2010 "

" Another Valdee , and I am still single guys... that joke you guys played on me when we played Val-friend in college? Not funny anymore....."


I hope to revisit and add more to this post as years go by....

Top 8 ways to weather a dry spell , you know, blogging-wise :

8. A long silence. And then a paragraph about how busy you have been lately, asking the readers to hold on.

7. Photoblog : This way you don't have to fill the space with words, you see. Plus, didn't someone say a picture is worth a thousand words?

6. Take one of your half-written drafts, rehash it, add a paragraph about when, where and why it was written and post it.

5. "There is this interesting forward that you guys should read" - always works. And then two months later, the original writer chances on it while googling for his own story, visits your blog, and posts a comment, asking you to remove the post. You, go back and "duely acknowledge" him,link up the URL, and let it stay on your blog anyway.

4. Post a collection of links , which you think are "insightful", "funny" or otherwise "thought provoking" and ask the readers to "please take a moment to read this".

3. Write a paragraph about latest happenings accross the world, but give up in the middle, due to ,well, you know,writer's block, and do a readers poll on this "hot issue".

2. Play with the blog template, tinker it a bit, and post about it.Don't forget the punchline "Readers comments welcome".

1. And the Top thing to do : Meta-blogging. That is, Blog about blogging.How you started it, how each on is different in his/her own way, how you can never be funny, how you can totally identify with xyz's blog even though you are total strangers... well, you get the drift !

In exactly one week from now, at precisely the same time, I would probably be cruising over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 55k feet. I am really not one of those people who suffer from flight sickness, or any other kind of sickness related to travel, but then I don't fancy these long flights, and even longer layovers.Here is one of my unfinished posts , written on one particularly boring layover at the Chicago O'Hare a few months ago.

It was a cold,damp morning. I was dozing on UA 5855,oblivious to the surroundings. A group of boisterious teenagers - not exactly my idea of unobtrusive co-passengers.

"We have an international connection to make" they said to the helpful flight attendant. "All connections may have been delayed due to bad weather too, so you might be able to make it on time". She came back with terminal numbers for all our connecting flights.

"Yours would be c4" she said, with a practised smile that she must have flashed to over a thousand strangers now. "Oh, wait a minute, I think we are landing at c4 too. Where are you going?" She asked. "Calagary" they replied. "You might be continuing on this flight Sir." There was a joyous glee on their faces. "What luck !" they thought.

She came back in sometime, only to tell them that this flight would not continue to Calagary, and so the terminal information was wrong afterall.They looked forlorn. The flight descended.The PA system crackled to life "As a courtesy to other co-passengers who have tight connections, we request you to stand by , and let them pass first".

When you are at the rear end of the flight, that doesn't help much either. They picked their belongings hurriedly,throwing the whole overhead compartment into disarray. One of them glanced through the window. "Oh look, that one over there, just might be our Calagary flight. We may have watched our flight depart before our own eyes!!" they cranked their necks to see a jumbo international Boeing getting ready for a long haul.

They waited, and waited. "Hey we should check if all these people standing before us have connecting flights.." The long haired nerdy teen looked at an old man, "Hey, you dont look like you have a connecting flight!!" they joked, sarascm peeking out from one tiny corner."We are nice people, we swear" they said ,as the semi-amused flight attendant watched.It was almost like a sine-wave graph - mixed feelings of hope and resignation as these starry eyed teenagers waited.

Did they miss the flight at the end? Would it have made a difference if they were at seat 1 instead of seat 16? Did they still make it to their place on time? I wondered.There is not much one can do about flights,and journeys.You miss some, you let some go in front of your eyes. YOu board some,just on time.

And then you travel.And travel. And travel.

This thanksgiving, I am thankful to :

• The power of God, who helped the most important person in my life recover.
• The power of the will, in each one of us. Tommorow never dies.Really, it never does.
• Good health, and FAMILY.Touchwood.
• Friends. Some things just get better and better :)

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Looking forward to many more cooking disasters,and cleaning hungamas,irrational hogging sprees ,shopping binges, sisterhood nite-outs and more with you !!!