One day at a time

A note I wrote on facebook

The last time I tried to write this, facebook played villain and the whole note got deleted. Here's attempt 2. Nothing much to say really but its just been pretty long since I rambled something. I've always been into planning. Been an advance planner of sorts. Sometimes over planned. Like at 18 I knew what I wanted to name my children, that type of hilarious planning. Mom thought I was plain crazy while some friends blamed the typical Virgo meticulous planning syndrome raised to the power of infinity. However, as life plays its beautiful games with us all the time almost every plan that I thought I had figured completely backfired and I ended up with something totally different than what had been planned.
Not a shocker for many of you I'm certain. Life's like that! People told me to stop planning. Make a conscious effort to not think of how you want a particular situation to evolve, go with the flow, blah..blah..blah. But, come to think of it isn't making a conscious effort to not plan also a type of planning?
I had a plan, graduate at 21, complete PG by 23, start working with a newspaper for a couple of years, meet Mr Right (oh that illusion!! calls for a whole other note doesn't it ;)) have kids and life will be sorted by 30. So I graduated by 21 luckily haha, even completed post grad and secured a job with a leading newspaper in Mumbai. However, what do you do when on the first day of your first job within the first hour you realize that this is not where you want to be at all! This job that I had planned to get for x amount of years lasted as long as my tenure in the company. All of 8 hours!
You obviously don't have a back up! Like advance planning wasn't bad enough you actually expect me to have an advance back up plan? What do you do? It's simple really. You start all over again. It's difficult but you figure it out, it hurts but you learn to deal with the pain, you're alone but at least you are searching for something that will lead you to your inner peace which ultimately is the only thing that should matter
Start afresh, start step by step, don't regret and start one day at a time..

I love you Moombai!

Dear Bombay (As I know it),

I love you! I mean how can I not? You are my birthplace, the city that gave us place to live generations ago when my forefathers left my so called homeland in search for other opportunities I presume. You are the city I have grown up in, the only I have known as home. You are like that anchor that I come back to after days and weeks of living in foreign lands. At 28, I can safely say that I have seen my fair share of the world but no city in the world gives me that sense of comfort like you do. That's cause I know you. I know I belong to you. I always have and somewhere always will.
You have your flaws. Sure you do! People have deteriorated you over the years. They dirty your coast, your roads, pollute you and are too corrupt to even try and help you grow. But then every city has their share of flaws don't they? and how can I blame you for something that people have done to you? I still love you.I still argue in your support be it with fellow Indians or foreigners. I particularly hate it when foreigners criticize you. I get very defensive even though they have valid arguments. I guess I'm possessive and would react the same way if anyone spoke about anything I loved as much as I love you.
I also feel that some people get very judgmental and quickly form a negative opinion about you without even really getting to you what you're all about. I wish they gave me a chance to change their opinion.
Anyway leaving the others and coming back to me, you are my city of firsts. My first crush, my first love, my first heartbreak, my first friend, first job, and so many more. I have so many memories attached to you. Playing in the waters of Juhu Beach, riding the horse carriage at Gateway of India, drinking my first beer at Leopold, the first local train ride to Jai Hind College, my first visit to a nightclub (Remember Scottish Arms?), the first time I got ragged in college (had to propose to the South Indian dosa guy in Hindi) amongst others that if I start typing them down will fill countless pages.
I only wish I was able to increase the pace of your development and help reduce corruption to make you into a city you deserve to be. A city that will stand out amongst the rest as one of the best in the world. Although it looks like a distant dream at the moment can't really out rule the possibility can we?

I don't know where life will take me in the future. But be rest assured my heart will always lie in you. You can take a Bombayite out of Bombay but you can never take Bombay out of a Bombayite!
Love always

And tomorrow will be a new day

A heart full of emotions,a mind filled with memories. So many feelings, I fail to describe through words. And then tomorrow will come full of hope, my life will change..a little,but forever.

All good things come to an end

...and I guess the end only means more and better beginnings. Here's to a new life full of excitement, anticipation, laughter and tears.
Amen!

Its raining weddings!

I think once you turn 25, attending weddings becomes as essential part of your life.  Initially it begins with attending weddings of your older cousins, siblings of your friends but once you are 27 where I am today, you soon start attending weddings of your own friends. Suddenly all the happy go lucky single friends you have seem to disappear by the second and all you find yourself doing is dancing at their sangeets, pretty aimless :)
So as you can probably guess by now, April has been a month of attending weddings. Very smartly, 3 of my close friends decided to get married leaving a gap of few days from each other which technically ensured that I had to be there for each one of them since not a single function overlapped.
Anyway to cut a long story short, April was a month of unforgettable madness. Endless discussions on organizing bachelorette parties, gross cakes, feeling like have won an Oscar after successful execution of these parties, dance practices, sangeet performances, dressing up, getting fed up of dressing up, sarees, bridezellas, triple seat on a vespa, massive Goan shack meals, my first South Indian wedding experience, losing luggage in Goa and later my identity proof, the boys with shorts/lungi's and leather belts, spending 3 hours in front of the mirror only to look natural and endless such memories. Pictures coming up soon!
Good luck to the 3 most wonderful couples I know!

Meeting Mr Wrong

Let me begin by wishing all of you a Merry Christmas! Hope you have been successful in spreading some joy all around and that the coming New Year fulfils all your dreams,aspirations and ambitions.
So lately ad midst all the work, I've been busy attending  Christmas parties,weddings..a typical December as I am sure you identify with..I can see a lot of love stories blooming all around me. A lot of new love, you know the variety that gives you shaky knees, butterflies in your tummy, straight out of romantic movies the kind that makes you feel 16 all over again. Whose love stories you may ask? Well, mostly friends, close friends who were looking to find their "Mr Right" and seemed to have found the perfect match to what they were looking for. It's nice isn't it? When someone exactly who you had imagined to be with comes right in front of you and you know he is your "Mr Right". The kind your family will be proud of, the kind that complements you, the ideal partner and the reason it never worked out with anyone else
Seems perfect doesn't it?
But sometimes I can't help but wonder what happens in a situation when you fall in love with Mr Wrong?
 Firstly, who is Mr WRong? Mr Wrong is someone you never in your wildest dreams anticipated you will fall in love with. Someone who does  not match your definition of your ideal match at all. Yet you find yourself deeply attracted to. Your family's worst nightmare. This obviously doesn't mean he is a horrible person. He is great, but the thought of spending  your whole life with him...scary. He is financially dependent so you can forget being the trophy wife if that was your intention. A flirt, so you're never sure if you are indeed who he is attracted to. Someone with views so different from yours that you can't stop analysing as to what is wrong with you that attracts you to these bad boys. Your family will hate Mr Wrong. Your friends will think you need a doctor. But you just cant help but fall in love with him. Inspite all the negatives he will seem to fit in perfectly in your topsy turvy world. He knows when you're having a bad day and knows just how to make it all right in his weird way. He knows your flaws, he listens, guides and ensures you get over your all your fears with so much ease. He is there for you as a friend, a confidant and a guide. You will never know the real him. You can't read Mr Wrongs mind. You will never know if he is actually the person you think him to be or the person your besties have made of him. Yet admist all this chaos and confusion he seems like the only person to look out for in a crowd. What happens if Mr Wrong ends up being your Mr Right?
Sigh! Life would be such a pickle if that happened.

Twanny Savan!

It was time few weeks ago to blow the candles out from yet another cake and turn a whole year older. Well, nothing worth mentioning or very distinct happened this year. It was quite the routine except for the fact that I have 2 more grey hair now, making the grand total to 3 in all. Stress, I'm told, too much of it.
Well, coming to my day it was really special as a lot of my close friends took the effort to make me feel great and young if I may add ;)
Birthday eve was spent with close friends at 212 followed by a holiday the next day well spent with the family a few other friends and the day ended with dinner with few relatively new but very special people. Birthdays are very special to me. I treat them with great priority in my life and it doesn't necessarily mean just mine. It's just one day in the whole year that's truly yours and I would personally take that extra step to make each one of the people I feel close to feel special on that day and I'm really glad that those people did too.
I guess all this giving importance to birthdays stems down from the days when my grandfather was living. There was not single birthday spent without receiving his birthday card by post followed by a phone call sharp at 7:00am. Whenever he was in the city,a surprise gift wrapped and a cake followed by a dinner was always due. Mum seemed to have picked this habit up from him and its been tradition in our house that whenever it is a member of the family's birthday this whole ritual of singing at midnight, cake, gifts and the works have always been followed from ever since I can remember. Of course after having grown up and spending most of my birthday eves outside of home these midnight rituals have shifted to early morning ones for me.
However, these things matter lesser and lesser as you grow older I presume.At one point I wouldn't even be able to look at the face of someone who forgot to wish me on by birthday. I'm definitely over that syndrome and have been able to successfully move on with those relationships.
I guess what I'm trying to say that life is too short and special people in your life, very few. Go all out for them on their birthday and make them feel special. Trust me, you won't regret that smile on their face and especially if she's your wife, girlfriend or someone you're trying to woo you won't have to do much the rest of the year :)
Coming back to my day, leaving you with a few pictures of the delicious cakes I cut throughout the day. Great flavours some. Hazelnut, Chocolate and Raspberry with macaroons and a blueberry cheesecake. I had a fun day! After all age is just another number!