Nightmare at day break

According to an Economic Times article it takes anywhere between 21 lakhs to 98 lakhs to educate one's child (at today's rate that too)

I am so aghast at this number! V&I did some quick calculations and found that it didn't cost 21 lakhs to get us both educated despite the fact that both of us did PG from reputed institutions and even if we include the cost of our apartment (the current and not at what we bought) it doesn't come to 98 lakhs. What kind of education are we talking about here?

If this is true then my child (when it happens) will have to start earning from the age 16 to ensure so that she can put in at least a coupla lakhs from her side and oh yeah I am gonna have to start praying for a genius who can get scholarships!

This is why one should not read newspapers first thing in the morning!!!!

Breaking news!

Indian Hockey team members to go on hunger strike

And why not they won the Asia cup thulping South Korea 7-2 and all they got is a few interviews on various channels and hit the headlines for a day. While blue eyed boys are still counting their money with state governments and central government falling over each other to see who gives out the most. I am reminded of the Kannada saying "Yaarappan duddu Yellamana jaathre" (which roughly means Yellamma's festival is conducted with someone else's father's money...please don't ask to elaborate) The ministers are paying nothing from their own pockets but from the state coffers. Why aren't they this spontaneous and generous when it comes to flood relief or rehabilitation?

And then of course there is this news

Twenty20 - my take

Disclaimer: I used to be a HUGE cricket maniac not anymore. These days my interest in the game is purely cynical.

Having said that I must acknowledge that yesterday's match was full paisa vasool. Couldn't have asked for more! Even a cynic like me enjoyed every minute of it and was cheering madly for whole 3 hours.

But nevertheless here are my observations

Why Twenty20 is good

1) It is supremely entertaining. It is like watching the highlights of a super charged up match, only better.
2) One need not kill relatives or feign serious illness in advance to watch the match. Just a simple stomach upset would do for the game is just over 3 hours.
3) The very quality makes it a viable alternative to a Bollywood movie (these days most films are almost 4 hours in length making it impossible to stay still)
4) Soon we will have PVR and Inox selling tickets to watch Twenty20 live action on big screen. It will be way better than cheering for the Lagaan's team.
5) The shorter version makes it a hit with the non cricket fans who can move on to other things in just four hours without being isolated for a whole day (actually about a week what with fans discussing the team's strategy and planning around the match itself.)
6) This is especially a boon for the remote wielding ladies of the household who will have to give up their favourite gadget for a short period of time.
7) Last but not the least Indian subcontinent can be the world champions till Australians figure out how to win the games.

Why Twenty20 is bad

This victory in the world cup means
1) that cricket is back BIG time into our lives. Dashing all hopes of any other sport developing in this country.
2) that we will have a lot more insipid dialogue delivery to bear when the cricketers fill our TV screen in the name of campaigning.
3) we will have a few more roads and circles and probably even airports named after cricketers
4) all those kids who were pushed to take up tennis will have to now take up bats and get weird hair dos
5) SRK will have to think about making a cricket based film (May be that's why he's still carrying that mop on his head)
6) most importantly all those who do not play cricket professionally will have to start praying all over again.
Hmmm yeah that's about it.

Aside:

1) Everyone was so excited at the end of the match that they forgot to English! Afridi was congratulating all the Indian nations for winning the world cup and Ravi Shastri announced that India was new champions of the TT world cup!

2) As scintillating as it was why the bloody hell is that 6 sixes of 6 balls from Yuvraj worth a fffffishin one crore rupees?????

Fashion Fiasco?

I see lots of kids and grown ups wearing these shoes these days. And this report suggests that they are not escalator friendly and can be dangerous!

We get dumped with these products and if it falls in the "cool" category in some other part of the world especially America then we HAVE to have it. WHY???????

Fashion's followed blindly and comes in to "vogue" without really bothering about
1) safety aspect - high heels on our streets is an open invitation to ankle twists and ligament tears but they are absolutely a must for every woman to be considered at least trendy if not sexy
2) just the person's own will - low rise jeans and boot legged pants are of my BIG fashion peeves. I don't want to wear them but can't find one decent pair of jeans that's not low rise or boot cut.

I am not a prude I do wear high heels on occasions and have no problems with other people wearing jeans as low as they want. My issue is that I do NOT have a choice.

My week has only 4 working days

The right side of my brain starts slowing down by Friday afternoon. I start yearning for weekend air. This basically means some rum okay if that's shocking some red wine, lotsa music, movies, friends, family, places that are not malls, clearing all books piled on the side table and clothes in the guest bedroom, just chilling out exchanging news and views till late morning with V, long drives, weekend getaways and of course food that I didn't cook. And so for the next 2 days one tries to do all these things. Here I must say that V is also of similar mindset on weekends only he doesn't want aaaaallll the above in the same weekend where as I, do. So the next 2 days goes away in a blur. By Sunday evening V's beginning to feel restless. He will say "Oh the weekend is over" but come Monday morning he's as excited as a child going on a picnic to go to office. (The only other person who is as excited is Amma.) However my right brain refuses to wind up the fun and tune into reality. So most of Monday morning I spend moping about. This is the day to check over the internet and TV if the world has shifted in the last 2 days (Weekends there's no time for internet or TV you see). This is also the day I diligently read all emails even the ones that I would otherwise delete without a second thought. This is also the day I read up various blogs and curse them for not updating it over the weekend.

And then there is this guiltripping that I am wasting my time and not doing anything creative and productive. It doesn't help that I have no one to call / sms for the sake of it because everyone's at work. Well I have work too but since it's right in my own home I take liberties. By then its past lunch time and the guilt is so over powering that I make a list. Yes a "To Do" list and start the process right away. That is if I decide to write an article I do some research or if I decide to meet a long lost friend I dig up her number so on so forth. By 6pm my guilt is almost gone. The working day technically ends in a little while and so the guilt is forgotten till next Monday. Life's pretty much on track from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon.

This post was meant to be confession of sorts and self pitying but at the end of it I am realising I couldn't asked for anything better I LOVE MY LIFE :)

midnight ramblings

Its almost 1 am and I am up leaving comments on nostalgic posts of strangers from the blog world, making myself oggarane haakida mosaranna for the second dinner of the night and walking up and 4 floors to the terrace and back to see if the traffic's moving. There is no cable and the house running on a DG am clinging on internet because Hemingway is unable to engage the mess that is my head right now. No I am turn into an insomniac lunatic I am waiting for V to return from work. No this is not one of those project deadline days. He is on the road somewhere in his second attempt to get home tonight. His first attempt was at 9 and he didn't even manage to get out of his office compound for the first half hour. Once he hit the road he spent the next half hour trying to go back to office because the damn road was jammed all the way till Silk Board flyover. So he started the whole exercise 3 hours later only this time in taxi. In all the excitement to get home he parked the car in the office basement and now we are wondering if we'll have to call the insurance guys tomorrow because it is still pouring.

As per the latest SMS from V The taxi driver does not know where he is!!! I am trying bloody hard not to freak out.

This is what Bangalore is become...rain means traffic jams nothing but traffic jams. I've spent my whole life in this city and till 2004 I had seen just one flooding that was probably in 89-90. That was an exception. The same year Ulsoor lake walls had breached and had flooded the whole area something that's almost a certainty during monsoons these days. Of course the flood in 2005 was the mother of all and we had not moved into our new home but water did. House stood in water for 4 days and we couldn't even get to it. Someone sent me the pictures of the time and till date I have shivers every time it thunders.

Okay V has found the main road and now I wait...again...because they are now approaching the house from the opposite end which means an additional 20 kms!

Why am I doing this running commentary? I guess I have to say to someone what I am feeling. Can't call Amma at this hour and freak her out...

And for once in my life I am grateful for cell phones else if V had vanished for this long without it I would've been waking up the neighbours by now (not that it would help)

This is not the Bangalore I grew up in and fell in love with madly and threw away careers for...And no I am not talking about the traffic jams. This city is a different woman now.

Will I have to put her in a time capsule too? Like all those friends and good times I had here? I don't see any other way.

I say this everytime something unbangalore (at least in my head) happens but next day someone will talk about malleshwaram or Tata institute or cubbon park or sankey tank and I will tell myself I don't want to live anywhere else in the world.

Postscript: V reached home at 2 in the morning. He didn't go to office this morning (I am aware that there 100s who do not have this luxury) because last night's traffic jam continued till 12 today and the tiny road that leads to the main road is full of water . Both of us are sitting at home watching the rain havoc coverage on TV9 (of course Rahul Dravid's decision to resign brought down the fervour of live coverages). But I can't help wonder at people's enthusiasm to bring home Ganesha despite all this. I mean I am seeing people wading through knee deep water to get him home.

And I wonder how long BBMP will keep saying we were not expecting this sort of unprecedented rain!

Lesson for the day.

Never decide to move the furniture around the house right after doing a reasonably okay French manicure yourself! It's not meant to last through moving futons and beds.

My very first

Pookkalam :)

Never take it lying low. NEVER!

Irrespective of the dress they wear, or, their ages, their looks, their educational, professional and marital status, never mind the time or place, women in Kolkata and elsewhere are being subjected to all kinds of harassment, including eve-teasing

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