Mr. and Mrs Iyer

Of what we come across -Few things, few people, few books, few movies, few songs, few scenes become imprinted in mind.

Mr and Mrs Iyer is one such movie. Konkona Sensharma has acted marvelously. Superbly!

While watching the movie, I was most moved when the old couple were forced out of the bus. The old Muslim couple. Later through Raja's eyes as I saw the dentures fallen out of their broken case, the old man's glasses...And when Raja is typing on his computer about the dentures in its hedious grin, I feel a repulsion that I cannot explain.

For a second why the hell do we follow any religion at all. I suddenly go back to my teenage days when I used to start my diary entries with 'Dear God'. The word GOD strikes me oddly. Then I wonder what was the need for that old man in the movie to read his Kuran on the bus or, what is my need that I hang a picture of Lord Ganesha in my kitchen, why do we believe at all? If there is an Almighty after all... wouldn't s/he be affected by the killings in the name of religion...

They tell me, God is a concept which has been passed on to us by wise men so that our lives are hinged to a solid core. They tell me religion was developed so that civilized societies will have a face, an identity, a belief system that they could hold on to, belong to.

I had wondered as a child when I used to read about Hindu Muslim riots. I had even written a poem titled religion when I was 13. Now it does not affect me at all. I do not care. I turn a deaf ear to all those headlines screaming from newspapers or internet sites. Whether it was the killing in Virginia Tech or it was like a movie I watched, it remains a news. It is no more personal, like it was when I was a child.

Yet, if I could have my way, I would not belong to any religion. So, I say....so I say.... but this rebel in me disappears when someone in family falls sick. Or on small ocassions, like when I am cooking for guests, I take Ganesha's name so that the food will be good. Not only I have gone to God in times of trouble and asked for his help. I have considered it my right to accuse him when I am in trouble and to demand of him to make everything fine. He has so far complied. And when I am fine I say he is just a concept.

We need God, even if he might be a concept. Our life in this planet perhaps is not mere chance in the universe or possibly it is.

When I understand this... I who am an average human being. I fail to believe that so many of us will not understand that we are all human beings. I wonder why there is so much of man killing man at all. Why cannot we all be good, when our parents have taught us to be good.

It might seem that from the safety of my house I can rave and rant on a full stomach, but the designs of terror has not come out of poverty has it? It stems for greed of power. Power to destroy?

I remain speechless. I remain... And I hardly get affected, I hope!

Yatharth comes home

It is amazing how a single day can sometime stretch into innumerable days, Reena sighed. Yatharth was coming home today. Two flight changes and then a train back home, it would be late, he had told her. She had smiled and told him she would wait.

After weeks, there would be a proper dinner , she thought and busied herself deciding the menu. Besan kee roti like Amma made was Yatharth's favorite. She would crumble the roti with her hand and add ghee then mix it with curry and yogurt and then give it to Yatharth. This was exactly how she had seen Amma serve roti to all of them. Papa would top it with lot of onions and Amma would make a face, now you will have onion on your breath whole day. Reena shook herself out of the reverie. It was easy to take a journey back into the past when one had so much of time in hand. Time that she needed to kill!

She dragged herself from early morning till the afternoon. Switching the tv on and then switching it off. Listening to Pink Floyd and then turning to Bryan Adams. She had never missed home like she did today. From a fiery, hyperactive Reena she had mellowed down to a soft spoken and gentle Reena. Perhaps that was the outcome of keeping quiet for days.

Reena was still living her life in the hulla baloo of Kolkata. She had yet to immigrate in totality to this foreign land of lakeside and hills. Switzerland the dream destination was still dream like and not reality. Her mind still wandered to the puchka wallahs and moori wallahs back home. The building where she had lived with her parents had several people living in them. In their 7 storyed building here, Reena thought it was only she who had an apartment. She never saw a soul wandering in the corridor. THe doors were all shut, and she had to resist the urge to ring the door bell of the apartment opposite to her. Dropping in for a chat, to get to know your neighbors , was probably not acceptable here, this Reena had realized early on.

Then she had taken to herself. Her life centered about Yatharth when he was home. ANd when he wasn't her life was thrown off the orbit. It was true she tried hard to discipline herself. She kept her house clean and cooked good dinner. But if Yatharth was not coming home, she did not care to make the bed, cooked once a day, ate leftovers withour reheating them, had cereals for breakfast, lunch and even dinner.

But life had changed had it not. She had found a new path to orbit. Swapnil had tiptoed with too much of hope. Hope for days filled with storytimes, talk times, feeding the baby. She was so thrilled these days that she cooked meals in time. Ate a hearty breakfast and gave up coffee for milk.

She looked at the watch, it was just lunch time. Solitary luncheon, she murmured. But they will all be together in dinner time she told Swapnil, when she retired after lunch for a little nap.

In her dreams, she saw Yatharth smiling on the door. She saw Amma holding Swapnil...

Sipping Coffee

Coffee has always elevated my mood. Don't know why, really. But today seems a rather nice day. It is sunny outside and cool indoors. With love songs in the back ground, a hot cup of coffee and some lemon rice, I wonder what else did I want from life. Yes, I feel a tinge of jealousy when I see friends talking of office work and bosses and even Linus rushing off to office. But then I see what I have got to myself. A whole day to pamper myself. I wonder why I really don't do that. I skip lunch frequently just because I will have to cook for me. Hmm, the good thing is I can laze around in a pair of shorts without MOM getting on my neck with 2 things, make yourself useful- your room is a mess, if it isn't then some other room is...do a favor go help me it will be Diwali time soon and weekends at home are rare...go on a bit of cleaning spree. If I comply without complaining, she will tell me next.. first get dressed while looking skeptically at my bermudas which fall just an inch short to my knees.

Hmm..how much I miss mom, when I go back to sleep after Linus is off to office. Yes, I do not fall asleep but just wait for mom's ... lazybone get up.... I miss it soo much.. :) All moms have to be great. Mine is. And all kids must love their moms like crazy... Despite all things that kids need to put up with mom type of people... you know eat right...and come home in time... and on and on and on...

Well, well, well...how much I miss being a kid. My birthday is coming again. Yeah, my friends would remember after I remind them... with it is in april isnt it...and this conversation will be in late may or june or hell july...

Just for the heck... 22nd of April is the date...

And and and, just because I am soo happy with the Gung Ho song playing in the background and the Nescafe... let me tell you .. i am gonna be in Locarno-Lugano for birthday.. So glad to have bday on a weekend... :P

Hmm, this post almost is coming close to an email of sorts... argh, may be I dont mail people so much these days that I have decided broadcasting! well, blogging in a friendly world can't be that bad. And when this mood to keep your slender fingers busy on the keyboard comes one must give in. Ah, again I miss mom , the way she looks with awe at only one thing i can do better than her...type at an astronomical speed... (the speed is astronomical in relation with hers :D)

So so so.. I should stop, and go out ... its a fine day... And I am smiling to myself. Good music, good coffee and a bright day, few things in life just so simple yet so much of pleasure..

Hmmm, by the way before I stop writing, let me tell you about this brain wave that came last night.. I had started this blog just as an outlet of expression. And well somewhere I thought I could see myself...the brand called me. So, now what I think is people who visit my website and do not really know me, they must have some kind of image about this brand..VID... you might feel free to put down what you think this brand is like...I might actually give a next post on brand identity.. something from our brand management class if it sounds interesting..

And if someone wants me to sketch a brand profile for them.. You could leave your page URL and I could go hang around and give a feed back!

What say you.. enough for today!

cheers

:)

While blog hunting

My time pass these days is extensive blog hopping. I hunt and I hop! Yesterday I found this wonderful advertisement blog, http://creativeads.blogspot.com

They talk about brands and I simply love talking about brands. They have this interesting thing they call ' ad trivia' where they ask you to identify the brand they are talking about. Yesterday I identified the brand and did it correctly and among the many correct answers I was picked the lucky winner.

It made my day today, when my friend visited that page, saw my name and then mailed me about it! Hmm, just like that I thought I would tell you all about it. YOu can see it here

:)

Meanwhile... (not the continuation of story)

It is gentle breeze, that takes adrift my heart. Outside under the starlit sky, I pull a chair and stare at far away lights. Like someone once told me, this is that time, when I fly beyond the mounts flickering with lights, beyond the lake which ruffles with few strong waves, I fly beyond myself.

It is strange that I should take this flight. Where do I reach. To you, who do not exist. Why did I ever conjure you, ever thought you could by chance be alive, be true? I wonder if you were, what would you be, how would you look like.

The stillness of night, punctuated by the sounds of cars racing in periodic interval has cast its silence on me. The prattle dies, the eyes do not blink and I continue to stare at the lamp post in the foyeur.

I learn, not to complain, not to worry that I am here without you. I learn I am destined to wait. Not because you will not come. But because this is how it is to be. This is how we can be together, this is how we can belong, this is how we connect.

Now, for the sake of you, do I tell the world who you are. Or like you want, I return to my world without any crease on my forehead..

I will try to find whats 'within' some other time. Will try to understand 'self' some other time. Will reflect on 'spirit' some other time. For now I am glad I am aware, that I am.

Bang! the coconut

Reena hated to call up Yatharth while he was in office. Somewhere, she had drawn a boundary between work and home. For Reena it was like, she were at office. But today she decided it was best to call him up. Yatharth would return the next week from his UK trip. And Amma's growing concern for have you been eating right, and 'coconut nahi khaya beta' had consequently filled the fridge with skimmed milk, flavored yogurts, strawberries, kiwis, oranges and a coconut.

She wondered how to break this one open. She took the wine opener and dug the needle into one of the three eyes of the nut. Hard nut to crack! But after some minutes of patience and perspiration she was successful. Coconut water sprouted, and she drained it in a glass. It was nothing like the dhaab water, that she had been raised upon back home in Calcutta (now Kolkata). But it would do and she gulped down the semi transparent liquid in one breath.

Later when she went to an Indian shop which sold, 'garam masala' and 'papad' she asked the lady behind the counter if she could break the coconut. Reena offered to come another day to collect the nut! The lady behind the counter must have considered a real nut. She came outside and hit the coconut on a pole. Bang! and it broke into two. Reena was happy like a child. Even bought some masalas she did not need. With her bag filled with basmati rice, toor daal, sambhar masala and dhaniya powder, she perched the coconut on top.

Like when you start a new venture, be it marriage or an inauguration of a new shop, or birth, she had always seen her father break the coconut before the deity. Today it felt auspicious somehow, when the coconut broke into two on the pole outside the shop.

She wanted to narrate the whole nutty affair to Yatharth. Sometimes it is so hard to contain few things to yourself. You just need to talk in one breath, and then laugh or giggle. These were few things that Reena had come to value. It was rare for her to talk to someone in her own tongue. She dialled Yatharth.

'Sweets!"

'Yes, everything is fine?' Her phone calls in office were out of ordinary.

'yeps, I just bought a coconut, and used the wine opener and drained its water, and took it to the Indian shop and the lady....

'Honey, I am in a meeting right now. We will talk later ok? I will call you once I reach the hotel."

Reena hung up. And felt silly. What was there to tell him really, a coconut... how she had managed to break it. And that she was still wondering how to scrape the white flesh out of it. Was just all this that defined her life, frozen peas and coconuts! Her eyes began to sting as tears welled up.

She curled up in sofa like a little kid. And then few minutes later she was crying and home sick.

Writer Speaks:

Dear Readers,

Thanks a tonne for your interest in the story of Yatharth and Reena. I really had no intention of writing a story in this line, of a young couple. But then thanks to all of you, who kept coming and asking for more, this story is taking a shape. I hope to take it further.

Well, I think this post should qualm all fears and worries about my well being! Please bear in my mind, all characters are fictitious ;)

Yes, it is true that I tend to hide behind characters and write my story. This time it had been Yatharth when I was poring my emotions. Suddenly aimless, shaky and unbalanced... I wrote about Yatharth wondering what he needed from life. However, now the story is taking shape and I am out of that mood swing, I will try to develop Yatharth's character too.

I was just wondering, where in the world should this couple be living? It has been obvious by now that they are not in India. Swiss would be the most convenient location, since I know this place now. I can talk about Reena going to Migros for groceries. Describe a few places, like the beaches by the lake... like it is daylight till 8pm... like the sight of Rocher De Naye from the balcony... or may be the nuances of daily life other than groceries ;) Buying tickets at the train station. Downloading hindi movies, looking frantically for recipes in the internet. And Amma calling!

So, I settle for Swiss, and by the lake... So it will be in the Lake Geneva region. It could be Vevey-Montreux where I am currently living or Geneva or Laussane. And where does Amma live? Hmm.. India or Nepal? Nepal where my mom actually is. Hmm and where is Reena's sasurbadi or sasural?? Kolkata...hmmm I will make it Mumbai, direct flight to Geneva. And so mother in law can visit Reena during 'these times'.

Hmm, and who should these two be? Bengalis, Gujjus....

I wonder if I will be needing specifics to these levels...

Currently the next thread in mind, is about Reena calling up Yatharth, worried how to break open the coconut she just bought!

Friends keep coming, put in your thoughts sometime. It is lovely!

Vid

Amma Calls

Amma has this strange habit of speaking so loud when it is a long distance call, Reena recalled. When she was a kid, she wondered why Amma would repeat, hello hello hello whenever she was talking to their relatives living in America. Amma would often pepper her Hindi with few words of English thrown in here and there. She would say, "aur weather kaisa hey?" "bachho kee education kaisee chal rahi hey?", stressing on 'weather' and 'education' while inquiring about both.

Amma still has this habit, Reena smiled as she heard Amma say Hello Hello Hello, in one breath when she picked up the phone. "Yes Amma", she chimed. And Amma asked her about the weather, and she asked after Yatharth. " He should not go out for that long", she complained to Reena. " It is okay Amma, I don't feel lonely, really." " Sacchi (Honestly) ? But you never would eat your meals alone, without someone by your side.... "I switch the TV on Amma, and it is like a room filled with people" And Amma laughed.

"Aur bolo (tell me what's new)". Reena wondered had Amma already guessed, there was something new after all. New beyond the high rises, beyond the places she had visited, the malls, the currency exchange and how costly even dhaniya patti (corriander) leaves were.

"Amma", we are going to be a family soon. And then she burst into tears. "Reena, beta (child) arrey yeh toh wonderful news hey (this is a wonderful news), she said stressing on wonderful.

Reena laughed, her mom had picked another new word of English. Then Amma was all over giving her advices, telling her that she will come over after a few months. Till then Reena was to eat well. Healthy food. No more pizza, or the baby will stick in your tummy with all that cheese and refuse to buzz when it is time, she jested. And beta, have lots of white food, and you will have a gora gora chora ( fair son). Hmmm, why not gori gori chori (fair daughter??), Reena grumbled.

But Amma was not listening, she was listing out food items Reena should eat " teen baar doodh, skip nahi karna beta" ( milk thrice a day, and don't skip it child), and eat chhena (cottage cheese made out of fresh milk at home by adding lemon juice to hot milk and straining the curdled mass), and lot of yogurt and chitki (coconut). If you have the white part of the coconut, you will have a fair child, that's what they say, Amma sighed. Reena was not very fair, and Amma always blamed herself for not eating white things when she was carrying Reena.

Yes Amma will do, Reena said. And then in a while she hung up. There was a list to make while going for grocery today. She took out her pad from the drawer beneath the telephone table and jotted down..

coconut
milk
yogurt (nature)
milk chococate
...
...