Snooze...zzz..

Today I had the most perfect snooze-time. I have taken the odd nap every now and then at work. Tried different beanbags, corners, etc., but nothing like today's nap. Half an hour of peace. I could hear a friend of mine trying to wake me up, but I didn't budge. It was one of those naps when your eyes don't want to open even though your mind is alert. So I completely ignored the random babbling that was happening in the room. It was just me, a yellow beanbag and my shawl...thirty minute of bliss! (Attaching an old picture of the last time I enjoyed a snooze at work) . Tee hee!!

Secret Diaries Part 2 - Found!

After many random profiles being pushed my way, and after many more straight NOs, the manhunt had come to a subtle standstill. Ma was going to be back in Zambia for a month or two and she herself, called it a break. "If anyone calls about alliances, don't let me know. I need a break from all this!" So, the manhunt was officially getting to everybody. And who was the happiest person to hear the word "break?" Yes yes, I couldn't have been happier. Things were back to normal. I felt like I had my life back! Umm, ok not really..but I was just relieved!

Things were going good. My Aunt from Chennai and her son were going to visit us for 2 weeks. It had been a long time since we spent time with them. We were all looking forward to it. Ma was so excited that she preponed her return from Zambia by a couple of weeks, so she could be here when her sister was around.

I was also having the perfect time personally. I was in Hyderabad for 3 weeks. My best friend from school was getting married in Hyd, so I extended my business trip so I could see her on her big day! It was a brilliant wedding! And my time in Hyd was wonderful - several night outs, drunken nights, good dinners, midnight chais, early morning chais under flyovers, etc. I was having the time of my life.

I got back to Delhi a couple of days after my cousin and Aunt had arrived. Ma was going to come the following week. So while my Aunt was here, she was curious to know what was happening on the manhunt front. There we go again, I thought.

I took her through some profiles. We were actually having fun looking through profiles - making fun of some :P We were being mean, but all in good humour. We came across two profiles; they seemed pretty good. One of them, we came to know, was an alliance one of my other Aunts in Hyderabad had suggested when I last when I was in Hyd. She also mentioned it to Ma, who said she'd come to India and see. So we decided to take that one forward and email the person, for more details on family, and about the boy.

So much for the short-lived break from the manhunt. Ma was back and she seemed like she never was on a break. My aunt and her just went all hammer and tongs! Horoscopes were exchanged, now I had to tell them if I liked the picture enough to talk to the guy. And I did. He was a smart looking fella, so I thought, what the heck, let me go for it and have a conversation.

It was a Sunday, my Aunt and cousin had left after a brilliant two weeks. Late afternoon, I got a call from the boy. He sounded nice, and was easy to talk to. He mostly spoke in good English and Hindi (given that he's Tamilian, it was a big deal for me). We talked about our jobs, basic stuff in life, a couple of hobbies, etc. Our conversation went on for an hour and half!! That was a chat that went beyond expectation for me in terms of time and quality. I felt like I was talking to a friend. He seemed very easy going. So it was all good for starters. On the third day of talking to the boy, he told me he had to tell me something. "I'm a guy who really enjoys his drink." "That's cool," I said. "Cool? Sure? you're cool with it?" "Sure, I am." He went on to say that he'd have a good night's sleep that night. :) Then I thought that was my moment too..."While we're on the subject, I enjoy my drink too," I said. And that was that. We went on to talk about how we could drink together. He asked me when was the last time I got sloshed, if I drank responsibly or not, etc. I was ecstatic. Not just because he drinks. No. Because it's a great deal if the person you're considering spending your entire life with is at peace with how you like to enjoy in life. And it's a greater and more beautiful deal if that person can enjoy the same way with you. We went on to talk a little over three whole weeks before we decided to meet.

July 3 - we were going to meet in Hyderabad and decide if we wanted to take it forward. Wow! Things were moving really fast. To be real honest, I was kinda convinced that this was the guy - but I didn't want to decide or even think so before meeting him once. Even he wanted to meet me in person before deciding on what to do next.

I was going to Bangalore for a friend's engagement and the very next day was going to be judgement day for me. So much for enjoying other people's happy days. This was one engagement where I was nervous beyond understanding for my own reasons. I told myself to be calm and not get worked up until the morning of July 3. So at the engagement, I drank my vodka and mojito, and other things and left the rest to the good old spirits! :)

Secret Diaries Part 1 - Manhunt begins

I'm your regular girl..25, has a good job, loving family, awesome friends, no burning issues in life..etc, etc. Very happy, go about doing my usual thing and life is beautiful!

Except, according to my Grandma - I'm (not) a regular girl because I'm 25 (unmarried, single), with a good job (what's the use of a good job), loving family (what's the point of a loving family if they can't find you a life-partner), awesome friends (what are the awesome friends doing without setting you up with someone), no burning issues in life (you need to be married by now!!).

Thus began the biggest Manhunt ever! To find a suitable groom for me! Now, being a conventional Tam-brahm, it's crazy how the family takes groom-hunting very seriously. It goes to unthought of levels. I'm not kidding! By the end of this write-up...you will either feel sorry for me, laugh at me, or do both!

So yes, the word was spread by my family to the relatives and friends.."Let us know if you know of any nice boys for my daughter." You can imagine my irritation and voluntary ignorance to this. Every girl going through this process starts of being pissed first, irritated, then tired, and then ultimately gives in and resigns to the fact that fate will outrun you at some point..so you might as well save your energy.

I was pissed and irritated. I would hate it when the topic would come up during lunch, dinner or any other time of the day. I would leave the room, discussion and just play dumb. I think my family got it, as they didn't push too hard. Then came the phase when I would reason out why I'm not ready for marriage. Further studies, "I'm too young for this," and other unconvincing were my refuge. It did work for a year and half. Not that they stalled the manhunt, but they just left me out of it. Then one day, Ma said.."You're free until Jan 2011 - we'll start looking seriously after that." So there it was...a date was sealed on my free bird days! After a year and half of marriage talk, it was a decent deal. And this is exactly what I mean by giving in and resigning to your fate! It happened to me too!

Post Jan 2011..I reached my "Ok, how bad is it going to be" stage and even dared to enter the "I think I'm ok with the idea now" stage.

I just had to say, "ok, fine..I'm ok with it." That's it...it was like the gates to a dam were opened! A huge wave of potential husband profiles were passed on to me. I talked to one even though I didn't like the profile too much. I went ahead to talk just because I thought I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. What if he's awesome?! I'd be losing out on awesomeness if I just went by the profile and said now. So I decided to talk to the guy over phone.

Let's just say the first 3 seconds of the call convinced me to say a loud "NO" in my head. I was greeted with a "Hellooo, Haw war you doowing?" It was a typical, heavy South Indian accent..the one I feared most! I knew I couldn't make it through with the conversation, forget marriage! Our conversation lasted 20 minutes. It was civil and cordial and I told the guy I'd get back to him. I told my parents the loud "NO" that was echoing in my head. Thankfully they understood my reasons. I didn't want to marry a typical Southie...someone who's grown up anywhere else but the south (Chennai) is good for me. Not just the accent..but the ideas, thoughts, wavelength, mindset...all these things matter a great deal and if they happen to be somewhat aligned to mine, then I'm cool with taking things forward.

So with the NO conveyed, obviously my Grandma asked me loads of questions..why? how? what?..and then she made the customary remark "no one is perfect." I get that..I don't want a perfect man..I want a man I can have a decent conversation with without being repelled.

So I was back on search mode. Aside from all the madness and fun associated with the process, it's quite tiring. It's painful to go through profiles or hear about men who are absolute strangers and coax yourself to think that one of them could be your potential partner.

Eeeew!

Why did I say OK to all this again?!?!

Secret Diaries Series (Trailer)

I've decided to get back to the basics.

Remember that time, when secret diaries and journals were so in vogue, you bought one, even if you knew you were never going to write in them regularly, or write in them at all! I was there once. My sister and I got our dad to buy us those scented, colour-paged secret diaries. And not just any kind - the one that had a lock! Oh yeah! I never got about writing regularly but I think I was pretty good. Now, when I pick it up to read, I feel so juvenile and stupid. But certain things recorded in there I wouldn't have remembered with my pathetic memory. So I thought..it's time to get back to that - penning down random thoughts..that hopefully won't seem that random when I read years later :P

So this is it - I'm going to call it the Secret Diaries (inspired by Vampire Diaries..and no, my life is not as interesting and eventful as the characters on that show. But maybe if we're all finally tired of vampires and werewolves, we could read about normal life :P)

Talking with Pictures

Rome - Vatican City, Italy (Jan 2011)

Talking with Pictures

Eiffel Tower by night - Paris, France (Jan 2011)

Champs Elysees! ~Love from Paris

We were all super excited. We'd successfully planned a holiday to Paris and Italy, enroute a business trip we were making to Dublin, Ireland. We - Bindu, Aswathy, Navneeth and I. First stop - Paris!

Paris was beautiful. Personally, I enjoyed Italy more, but Paris was nice. We were humbly hosted by Ash's old family friend and her family. We did the usual touristy places - Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. They were all beautiful and quite overwhelming - mainly because you see these places in the movies and now you're in the middle of everything. The wonderful thing about Paris was the memory of "Champs Eylssees." Now, any French person would tell you that Champs Elysees is a place in Paris. But for us, it was the single most popular word of the day!

It all started with our hosts telling us that, to get to Arc de Triomphe, we'd need to get off the train at 'Champs Eylsees.' Now this, they gave to us in writing - so we didn't necessarily know how to pronounce it the right way. Why I say this is because when we got off the train and were at the platform, a little lost, we kept asking people the way to Champs Elysees..only we were saying it wrong. We were saying the words the way you would in English. But it was meant to be said the French way, with a French accent :P It totally cracked us up the way it was pronounced and the was our photo pose word for the day. We replaced the word 'cheese' and 'cheers' with "Champs Elysees" for that day and the rest of our trip. It definitely let us have MORE fun during our short stay in Paris :)

CHAMPS ELYSEES!