Cause every blog must have a post called "Memories"

... And Cause some things never change...Never!

and then the sun did rise...

I'm at work and so don't feel like working right now. We've just celebrated "S.S"'s birthday at work with cake and my favorite "crispy corn with water chestnuts" from China Gate and I am not looking forward to doing anything the rest of the day.

Sure writing this post also means that I will be working overtime today but what the heck. I am just back from attending this big fat Indian wedding. My cousin "A" recently married her fiance of about a year "G" in a huge ceremony in Delhi. I have this love/hate relationship with Delhi. When I was younger (much younger) we celebrated a lot of my vacations in Delhi with cousins et all in tow. I loved Delhi then. Once I grew older I wanted to go other places and thus the distance with Delhi grew. Lately, I've met some super cool non pretentious people (very unlike Delhi I know!) and my love for the city has increased. Also even though I complain and sneeze, complain and sneeze I actually love the Delhi winter and the oh-so-beautiful boots these Delhi girls wear.
Ohh..k.. getting back to the point, to be very honest I wasn't very sure if I wanted to attend this wedding. Don't get me wrong here.I love "A". She's a fantastic cousin someone who I have been very close to when she lived in Bombay and her entire family has people who I am really really fond of.
But reasons for not wanting to attend the wedding were more my own issues than anyone else's. Anyhoo glad I did otherwise. I have now decided to do completely the opposite of what my mind asks me to. It works out for my better.
Just for your knowledge this was only a part Kashmiri wedding. "G" is not Kashmiri, not that it matters but just FYI.
As I landed onto Delhi airport (mom and dad reached that morning to attend the mehndi function which I kinda missed) I had missed calls from "V" already. V is the single most genuine cousin I have. She is honest, carefree and her jest for life, her positivity is something I secretly admire. I don't think she knows all this about herself either. V has the cutest younger sister "S" who I will always be partial towards but she comes in later in the post.
Anyway so as soon as I reached the "shaadi khana" I was surrounded by a whole set of people I didnt know (the known people were Delhi locals and had left already). I was chilling the rest of the afternoon with "A" her very pretty (and mind you I dont find girls pretty that often) friend "M", "A"'s sister "R" and few of their cousins.
"A" had sent me a you tube Bollywood song video which I was supposed to practice and perform that very evening with "A" and "R". I was having fun. "A" was telling me all about her love story, how he proposed etc and I found myself suddenly for the first time actually enjoying and being genuinely interested in a conversation of this nature. Also I promise you that all my "aww"'s were genuine throughout. There was apparently some Kashmiri eye-candy for us too present at the wedding but I failed to know who, hence my comments on that topic will be reserved although I trust "V"'s judgement and description on the topic fully and of course "S" and her "red moustache" story ( I wish I could reveal more but I cant) .AMEN!
Coming back to that evening the venue for the sangeet was spectacular. I was so pissed off with mom for not getting me a new camera, I hardly got pictures from my old one and "S" for some reason refuses to put up her pictures making it very difficult for me to actually describe that fairyland. The dances by the other cousins were spectacular but we did a fairly neat job too. To sum the evening in chronological order
1) phoolon ka gehna 2) sangeet 3) Dj night with crazy dancing. It was great fun catching up with all the cousins and having a blast. It was almost like catching up with old friends, bonding on secrets that we have shared and so many more things.
The next morning was the another pooja for "A" followed by smacking haldi and besan all over her. She is such an awesome sport, she took all of this so sportingly. After which we left to "G"'s house for the "tilak" ceremony. I remember the car ride to "G"'s house with "R" and her cousins "S.A" and "G1". We were so short of time and had to run back in order to get ready and leave for "G"'s sangeet that night. "Phew"!
I missed all my cousins in the night cause there were not too many people I knew that night but "S.A" gave me some great company. She is so fantastic and humble. I've really begun to like her as I know her more.
Ok so we had nothing to do the next morning when we popped over to meet "V" and see some fantastic jewellary and the cutest doggies. That evening was the wedding and it was spectacular. The bonding with all the cousins, eating jalebis with "S" to giving her some career advice (which I am sure she doesnt need). It's so funny how much of myself I see in "S" that I am forced to just try and look out for her (yes I know very grandmotherly but I cant help it), to
the standing with rose petals to welcome the guests and the chatting and laughing admist all that to watching mamu wiping a silent tear everytime he looked at "A" ever so lovingly.
Personally this wedding was probably the best thing that happened to me this year amongst all the dull, drab almost static life I was leading all year through. Though there were some things I would have liked to happen differently and would have liked to react differently to certain situations but I guess whatever happens its all good.
After the wedding I spent 2 days with chacha in Gurgaon, where I met "P" for dinner at Ruby Tuesday. She is such a great girl. I cant wait for her to come visit me in Bombay and share some more great moments with her. I also had an informal Big chill lunch with "V", "S" and V's friend A who seemed to enjoy scandalizing me with all their Delhi girls are not safe in Delhi stories. "A" was great too and I hope V and S actually plan a trip to Bombay with A in tow.
In short the sun did rise on me this year, better late than never I guess. I only hope it shines for a while before setting again.
There was only one abrupt ending in this whole almost perfect story. But that's maybe cause that abrupt ending will begin a whole story of it's own.
Maybe.. on the cost of sounding very SRK.. picture abhi baki hai mere dost!!

In the end nothing ever happens..and thats the whole point

The tittle of this post is courtesy Guj (Refer to "My Gal Pals" for more information) .Post 26/11 things have been on an all time low. 26/11 has been a reality check. We always hear about blasts, terrorism but never expect that it could ever happen to us. I was at the Taj just a night prior to 26/11 attacks. I had friends, their family present during the attacks. W (Refer to "My gal pals") has her office behind Leopold cafe. I used to work right there until last year. And the way the whole situation was handled, politicized..insane!
Anyway this is not going to be another post where I crib crib and crib about our corrupt politicians. All I can say, hoping not to sound too "Shobha De ish" "Fuck Resilence" and lets do something to protect our India.
Words fail me..I have nothing else to say.. God bless our country, Amen

Pliss to maek franship? No! Why? UR bootifulll

I apologize for writing this post. I feel bad. I really do. But over the years I have safeguarded certain "franship requests" that I have receieved and before deleting them from my inbox I would like to keep them safe for my future generations to read and maybe laugh :). I will paste these requests exactly as they were sent to me in descending order of humour.
Here goes. Thanks people for all your requests, sorry to not being wanting franship with you

1) now thats what you call a perfect match...
a beautiful girl with a beautiful smile...
those eyes...that smile....yaaarrr!!!!
hehe
flirt nahi kar raha hoon!
easy...am not a bad boy ..just a way to begin
hi
i am (name protected)
from mumbai
doin ma final year BMS (sad part)
and
dunno wat to say..
just came across ya profile ...read it..liked it..pretty impressive!
and felt like messaging ya and knowing ya...
you really got a pretty smile..speaks a lot...almost hypnotising...
i am not wriitng this mail...
the smile just forced me to....
hehe
well
i am new to ORKUT
just a 2days old ..
and looking for good friends in here
for some serious advices on some serious mess that i often get stuck in...
here with a hope to learn from people and get better!!!
how did that sound?
please?
good?
tanx
i dont mind having ya on ma list as a friend
(on my knees)
pleaseee
hehe
just joking
hope to hear from you soon...
in case you are a serious kind of person
then let me tell you
i did not know that!!!
i need one more chance i will send you a serious mail!!
god! fear of rejection!!!
see you soon...
(did i tell you that you how beautiful your smile is...may be next time hehe)
take care and god bless ya
and yea
keep up that beautiful smile
:-)...
ciao bella


(pls dont mind if i sounded bad!)
wasn't that a long mail?
i dont mind being appriciated....PLEASE!
and
one confession...
i went through ya profile.. it;'s sweet
and i dunno
but ur one those prettiest girls i came across...may b i am new to this site..so ...but feels good!...and did i tell ya wat ya eyes did to me???..welll next time...
i did hear from people that mumbai is a beautiful place...but i had never found a strong supporting reason for that statement...until i met ya...
hehe
take care
god bless ya

2) Before you read this one I have no idea who he is and nor does he have my number..Go on :)
Hi...
Finally ...the never ending ...six months training
programme has ended ...today for me.
Six Months was a big time span.....I "felt" this thing
in January and Mid Feb.....but as we moved on...it got
better....and now it seems as if....it was just
yesterday.....
Lot of things happened....during this... ..on personal
front.... made some really good friends......learnt
some lessons..... formed stronger
relationships.....also moved on in few.... ....
On professional front...learnt lot of stuff........how
to handle work...but also how to present it.....
Also things...one must take care of...at work
place..... to protect and remain secure....
There are lot of other things ....may be .....I cant
pen them down.....
Challo...anyway.....I am happy that I shall be back
home on 2nd.....July. (I am leaving on 2nd Morning)
Do stay in touch.....and all the best...
Take care

PS: I shall notify my new cell number either by an
email or an sms.Chao.

3) I have no movies or books listed on my profile :)

Hi Pooja..
what ever orkuts i go through the first thing i see is the collection of books and movies..and 10 points to u for those lines..ya movies can to sm extent shape life..nice to meet u..
i will scrap u once so that u can see my orkut..

tc

4) Hi, friend I see ur ID in orkut, I like ur behaviour when i show the information which is given by u. now i want friendship with u. if u think that i am able for that thn accept my friendship. I am unkown for u and u r also unknown for me but still i am ready for freindship. I have seen lots of snaps of girls in the orkut but i like u only. that is why i am offering u only. so if u dont mind thn please mail me back. Yours unknown, I am waiting ur mail.

plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5) In March
Hi
Just wanted to wish on Valentine Eve.....
Happy Valentines Day...May you get your true love
(soul mate) if you are looking for one ....the one who
gives you happiness,love and warmth of the purest
relationship.....
GOD bless you though I am not old enough to say that.

6) We may be far apart... but our hearts could be so close. Don't you agree?

7) Hello. Okay, I said something. Your turn.

8) Dont really know you but got your profile on Dhar's friends list !!
But what exactly is a Kashmiri Nose ??

9) Hi Pooja...
hope i am not disturbing u...i had messaged u somefew days back and was awaiting a reply ...but none till date.

i guess u r busy and probably no time to be online at orkut or ....u dint feel to write back...

watever be the reason.....no issue...i am still open to frndship n waiting to hear from u...

buzz me wen ur in a mood to do so...

take care
bye bye till u reply...

10) HI pooja!!
how r u?
looks charming in ur pic.
well I'm an IT professional in pune..
drop in few lines abt urself..
BYE.


Ok thats enough for a few laughs. Now I can safely delete these emails from my inbox :)...These are safely the 10 best not deleted franship requests I have recieved till date

Mayhem! To flanders and back twice!

I belong to the "Jack of all Master of None" category. I've tried everything. From singing to swimming, dancing (indian to western) to horse riding I've done it all. Hell! I've even done stuff like fountain making. Anyway that not being the point of this post, what I am trying to say is that although I have done a lot of stuff in my life, there are very few things I have wanted to continue. Few things I am passionate about and the most important one of them being travel.
Lucky for me, my job takes me places. Like this year after joining my new company I visited the northern region of Belgium called Flanders(Map below).





I visited Flanders twice this year and it was an amazing experience both times. It is a beautiful region. Brussels and Antwerp and namely picturesque cities which you could find elsewhere in Europe too but smaller towns like Bruges and Ghent are straight out of a picture postcard. At times when I walked through those streets in the night, I felt that I've walked into a story book. Seriously!
The second time around was more fun though reasons being that I was not alone like the last time and also that the people with me (mainly media, the objective was to show them around) were fun people too. We had endless nights in different places, sampling different wines, different types of food (liked some didnt like the others) all in all it was such a cozy ambience.
I walked a lot both the times, almost 100 odd kilometers in a week each visit, but the weather allows you to do so. The people are friendly, they speak English which again is a plus and the you are just sucked into this whole elusive atmosphere.
Are these the joys of living in a small town I sometimes wonder? Did I miss out whilst being labelled a big city girl?
But I was born and grew older in India. Mind you I love my country and all that but I wonder if it would be even logical to compare a small town abroad to a small town in India? They are so self sufficient but all the ammenities and are least dependent on the bigger cities for support.
Anyway moving along, we celebrated an India Day in Brussels on the 7th of October. It was a b2b session before which we had a series of presentations. I was told just the morning of the 7th that me, who was only supposed to assist in the presentation actually had to give the whole presentation and my boss would only butt in with a few pointers.
I was a nerve of wrecks as it was a very numerical, statistical sort of presentation, something which I am just not used to doing.
But as they say, everything has it's first time and I had mine which went off well thankfully.
I still have a few updates to add but I will once I find some more pictures

My baby step towards media attention

BANGALORE MIRROR OCT 13TH 2008

Jet to link Bangalore to Brussels

The airline plans to start direct flights from the city to its European hub by the end of this month

By Renuka Phadnis
Posted On Monday, October 13, 2008

Bangalore/Brussels: “We will link Bangalore to Brussels by the end of this month. But we cannot be blind to economic events. By October 31, if loads do not build up, we may postpone it slightly. But it is very much on the radar,” said Raja Segran, senior VP-Europe, Jet Airways. He was speaking at the ‘India Day in Flanders’, a buyer-meet-seller business
session held in Brussels, Belgium last week.

The date of the inaugural flight from Bangalore to Brussels may shift as it depends on the global financial situation, said Bernard Guisset, sales support manager - Continental Europe, external communications, Jet Airways (India) Ltd. He was speaking to Bangalore Mirror at the Jet Airways lounge in Brussels.

The Bangalore traffic is dependant on Bangalore-USA passengers, who fly to US via Brussels. “We are trying to market Belgium not only as a transit destination but also as a place to stay,” he said.

Guisset sees the global financial crisis encouraging travel from India to Europe. More European businesses will look toward countries such as India as the latter provides quality low cost services. This factor, in turn, would drive more travel, which means more customers for carriers, he said. At present, 50 per cent of Jet Airways’ revenues come from India, 30 per cent from Europe and 20 per cent from the US, said Guisset.

Jet Airways has a lounge in Brussels Airport, the only one it owns, spread over 522 sq ft with 50 seats for business class and 20 for first class passengers. Economy class passengers can also use the lounge if they are ‘Frequent Flyer’ members.

Sunil Puri, MD, Mileage Communications, which represents Tourism Flanders in India, and Pooja Razdan, marketing coordinator, in a presentation said that outbound travel from India was expected to touch about 9.5 million in 2008, with an estimated growth of 15-20 per cent per annum. Of this number, 60 per cent are business travellers and 40 per cent leisure.

Visa delays
M K Lokesh, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of India in Belgium, said the major impediment to Indian tourists travelling to Belgium was the delay in getting visas. “Till Indians get visas quickly, the full potential cannot be exploited,” he said. “However, the Belgian government is trying to market itself. Talks are on at senior government levels for issuing visas quickly,” he said. The King of Belgium would visit India soon with a high level delegation including representatives of business and education, he added.

(This correspondent was in Brussels, Belgium at the invitation of Jet Airways and Tourism Flanders)

24

wow! I turned a whole year older yesterday. The day was fun. Pretty much regular except that I was just back from Hyderabad the previous day and woke up at 3:30am to catch the Siddhivinayak aarti at 5:30am which got me really tired.
I met up with friends throughout the day, overall had a good time. It's really funny how I don't feel the way I used to on my birthday anymore. Well naturally, it's cause I've grown up and am not that teen anymore (well way past that stage) but I was just remembering how I used to count days from January 1 of every year until September the 21st.
It could also be cause from right when I was little mom always made it a point to make my birthday special. Be it baby theme parties to my first teen (13th) birthday at Mac Donald's under adult supervision, to my first night out birthday at (velocity or fire and ice, I can't even remember) she has made sure that each birthday is special. Every year there is a cake awaiting me at 12:00 with phone calls pouring in every minute and I used to love every second of it. Surprise parties, with enthusiastic friends, big cards, balloons I've gone through all those stages.
All this happened till 2 years ago with Hard Rock Cafe in tow.
Now I feel different. I don't feel the urge of opening gifts with fancy wrapping paper. I don't feel bad if friends forget my birthday or forget to call me on that day. I understand that my birthday may be the most special day in my life, but it does not necessarily has to be the most special day of everyone's life. Mind you, I am not complaining, I really understand it. I feel and definitely am less excited as each birthday passes by. However, I feel content. Happy with who I am, people around me and what am I doing.
Confused about my tomorrow but I guess that's with everyone I know. As I think about the years passed by, the choices I made (good and bad), people I met, incidents that happened, hearts that I broke, people that broke mine, it all forms little pieces that fit together and make my life so beautiful.
As I begin my 25th year (a quarter century) in this world, I hope and pray for good things in store for people I love and me. What happened to the goofy me? Why am I typing like this? This is what growing old must be like :)

My pals at work were sweet enough to get some cake the next day. Although I was dunked into most of it please see the before picture below.