Can you be more specific??

Recently, I had to travel by Indian Railways to goto my home town. While waiting for the train, I noticed this message on the station's LED message board.

"DO NOT TRAVEL WITHOUT PROPER TICKETS"

My immediate reaction was - What if I do? Wouldn't a more direct message be
"IT IS PUNISHABLE TO TRAVEL WITHOUT TICKETS"

I don't understand the thought process behind these indirect statements. I believe rules & regulations should be as direct & unambiguous as possible.

Phas Gaye Re Obama

This weekend was a 'slow down' one for me. I utilized the weekend by doing a lot of nonsensical things & watching TV/DVD for unlimited time. That was how I ended up watching the movie, Phas Gaye Re Obama. If you ask me, I would say, this movie explains the mortgage system in the most simplistic manner.

I have to make special mention the script writer of this movie or whoever is responsible for deciding how a sceen has to be done. I simply enjoyed the manner in which they have displayed Minister Dhananjay Singh's unofficial office.

If you haven't already watched this movie .... give it a try.

Picture Courtesy : www.bollywoodbilli.com

zimble question ....

People say I carry my heart on my sleeves. I can already see you guys nodding your head in agreement. Now, you can imagine the amount of effort I have to take inorder to answer kiddo's questions without overwhelming her. I need to work on the right choice of words, right emotion to the tone and the right amount of complexity for a 5yr old to understand.

Yesterday, we were having our evening dose of musik and dance. Thats when I play her choice of Bollywood songs on YouTube & she gets to watch, sing & dance along. We came upon the song Senorita from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. 

Kiddo {busy watching the song & trying to keep up with the actors in dancing} : There are only 3 boys and looooots of girls!! Why do they like all the girls?
Me : Because .... THEY ARE BOYS!!!!!

I would say this was the simplest of the questions she has ever asked me .... :)

Picture Courtesy : in.movies.yahoo.com

Whats on the Menu!!

This weekend, bro's wife (sil) & I took our respective kids out to their favorite hang out. After they were done with their games, we sat down at one of the food stalls & we placed our order. The kids were all charged & wanted play 'restaurant-restaurant'. If you have a girl child, you can very well imagine the decibel levels these two 5yr old girls would have reached in order to sell this idea.

Sil is normally sportive about these things. So, she agreed to goto their restaurant & place an order for lunch. But she also had an hidden agenda of testing their mettle this time. She ordered the toughest sounding dish she could find in the menu card handed over to her. I don't remember the dish. It was some fried non-veg with sauted whatever in whichever sauce.

The kids were all happy for their first order & enthusiastically started working on the dish. The dish was ready in a few minutes & they placed this steamy dish in front of sil. Yes .... it was all imaginary cooking in imaginary kitchen with imaginary dishes.

As soon as the dist was place in front of her, she asks, "What is this?"


With an 'are you nuts' & innocent expression, pat came the reply : "What you ordered!"

Picture Courtesy : manianmania.blogspot.com

Perspective

Yesterday evening, I was having a conversation with a school friend of mine. And he was inquiring about another one from school.

Me : Yes ... I remember him ... For me he is the guy with long pointed eyes .... :)
He : Long eyes! BS!!
Me : Just because you didn't find his eyes long, how could it be possible that what I say is BS?
He : How else can it be? How can both of us be rite?

If this conversation had taken place a year back, an heated argument would have ensued with each of us trying to prove that the other person is wrong. But yesterday, I was reminded of one my friends words ...

"Why do you believe that one person's right is going to make the other person's right wrong? Lakshmi ... understand that things are not always Black and White. There are millions of shades between a Black & a White."

Picture Courtesy : www.monster-munch.com

watch it!!

Off late, there has been many Asians visiting our office. I pick the term Asians because I have no clue where exactly they come from - China, Japan, Singapore, etc. There is one thing I like about people from this part of the world - their skin! They have such smooth & supple skin. Since their office wear includes frocks & skirts, its not very difficult to enjoy it either. Yes! there is a tinge of jealousy in that statement ... :)

The other day, I was animatedly explaining how healthy, supple, smooth & what-nots their skin is to a male friend of mine. He couldn't agree more with me. But the twist in the tale came with this statement of his ...
"Their skin is really really smooth. There is a beauty in the way even the water droplets run down their skin."

I stopped abruptly in my track & grinned at him. Yes! he just sealed his own coffin .... hee hee .... :)

Picture Courtesy : acmefactory.blogspot.com

the mysterious case of missing parantha

"Amma .... it was there in the tiffin box when I put it on the desk. But it vanished when I opened the box to eat it."

This is the story my 5yr old tells me when she was asked about the food she carried to school. Yes! she is expanding her imaginative horizons. In fact, I am enjoying this phase of hers - yes... the age when they start fibbing around to get away from situation.

Picture Courtesy : www.parentsconnect.com

Aazaadiyan from Udaan

Was having daily dose of music when I noticed the lyrics of the song Aazaadiyan from the movie Udaan. The opening line just caught my attention ....

Pairon ki bediyan khwabon ko baandhe nahi re, kabhi nahi re
My translation of this line is, "Your ambitions/dreams are never constricted by the shackles you are in"

This song comes towards the end of the movie. Its the feel you get when you watch the movie. I hardly noticed the music while I was watching the movie. But today, when I listened to this song & revisited that scene .... I was really really really moved. The strategically placed
"Kahani khatam hai ya shuruwaat hone ke hai"
(Does his story end here, or does he start a new beginning based on the learnings) does wonders to the scene. I just don't know how these creative people decide on these things - which song to put where with what intensity. Its simply amazing. 

Somebody has already taken the efforts to translate the lyrics into English. So, I am just listing the link here. For those who have watched the movie, you might just reconnect when you listen to the song & understand its meaning :)

punched!!

Saw a peculiar scene during my daily commute to office. There were three girls at the bus stop huddling together. Now whats peculiar about this .... well all three of them had headphones screwed into their ears and all of them busy punching into their cell phones.

Yipz! Heights of multitasking!

PS.
Posted by a punching addict ;)

Picture Courtesy : www.worldofstock.com

slowed down

One of my friends once said, "Take it slow ...."

That was exactly what happened this weekend. Kiddo & her dad were out of town and I was left on my own in this vibrant city of Bengaluru (Bangalore). Initially, I had a long list of todos. But when the weekend started, I just took a deep breath & told myself, "Sweetie ... take it slow. If it has to happen, it will happen.". And, I did the most dramatic thing - tore off the todo list.

When, on a monday morning, I look back at the weekend, I am happy. I did a lot of things. Things which I enjoyed doing ... while I was doing them .... but at my own pace. All during the weekend, I was not worried about striking max number of items off the list coz I DON'T HAVE A LIST ... yippeeeee!

Picture Courtesy : bsnyderblog.blogspot.com