By Golly - again..

Krithika: Gauri, when were you born?
Gauri: When I was thissss small no? (gestures 'small' with her hands). Then only, I was born.

:D

Happyness

Happiness personified:
The housekeeping lady who was cleaning the mirror in the restroom with a song on her lips and a skip in her step. She gave me a sheepish grin when I went in, and started from where she had left off, the minute I set foot outside.. :)

Happy 2009!

Avada Kedavra

For some time now, Mumbai has been looking like something straight out of Harry Potter. Someone seems to have unleashed a Voldemort and the worst part is, we don't seem to have a Dumbledore anywhere.

Honestly, at this point I'd even settle for a Neville...

Spotted..

.. on my way to work this morning

- A golden retriever being taken someplace in a car. It looked the very picture of enjoyment.
- A stray dog drinking water from a most filthy looking puddle.
- A lady (very brave) walking diagonally across the Panjagutta crossroads (which, by way of introduction, is the worst junction I've ever seen).
- Clouds of black smoke rising into the sky.
- Red flames giving rise to the aforementioned smoke.

Engagement pictures..

I was so irritated in the morning, I could have hit someone. Had to watch this to calm down.. Amazing video.

तुम आ गए हो, नूर आ गया है;
नही तो चरागों से लौ जा रही थी...
:)

Red Dog

If a brown dog is called 'brownie' and a black dog is called 'blackie', will a red dog be called 'reddie'?

Erm.. I am still sane. That question popped into mind when I saw a red dog near office. The situation is this:

In a house next to office, there live a couple of dogs (along with their human friends, obviously!). One of these has reddish fur and hence the nomenclature query. We tried figuring why it was so unusually red.

Maybe it was forever blushing to the roots.
Or perhaps the owner was fashion-mad and wanted to keep his pets stylish as well.
It had a hair-raising temper.

We figured that the last one is true. This was proven when Abhimanyu walked a bit close to the gate next to which red-dog was resting, and it barked and yelled as if Abhimanyu had sinister plans of robbing the house or something. This obviously resulted in an Abhimanyu whose soul had jumped out of him for a bit. Since then, that house has been given quite a wide berth by us.

Brown-dog seems alright. It knows that we can't walk through the gate, try as we might. So it keeps shut if we are simply walking past, giving us no more than a disinterested glance.

So, if you are ever near my office and on innocently walking past a gate you sense a red furball barking at you ready (red-dy!) to rip you limb from limb.. you can be sure you are in the Red Zone!

Random

I started studying today. At this point, that PhD seems exceedingly distant. Brains have gone off on a holiday.

Sigh.

Fantastix!

Started reading Asterix yesterday. I couldn't stop laughing. My mum actually came to me and felt my forehead to take my temperature.

Hilarious!

Kid logic

The other day, I went out to dinner with Amrita and two of her kid-cousins (Shreekruthi, 9 and Anushriya, 6). Following, is a snippet of the conversation we had.

Amrita: Shall we go have Chinese food at Noodle Bar?
Shreekruthi: Noodle Bar is not Chinese!
Am: Erm.. What are noodles, then?
Anushriya: Noodles are... Noodly!
Krithika: Hahahahhahahaha
Am: No. No. Food like Noodles, Fried rice and Gobi Manchuria fall into what category?
Anu [Promptly]: Junk food!

You can't beat that..

Random Fact

I think I'm pretty much the only interviewer in existance who is more nervous than the interviewee (is that right?) at all times.

One today at 2:30. Sigh!

Conversation...

..between Wini and me.

yasaswini: it's FRYYDAEE baybee

krithika: yeah
finally

yasaswini: get to go home soon?

krithika: not for another 3.5 hours

yasaswini: 3.5 is still goot
guten nacht
gooty gooty gander

krithika: where shall i wander

yasaswini: up-ish-tairs and down-ish-tairs

krithika: in my lady's chamber

yasaswini: -round of applause-
yayayy!

krithika: =))
yay!


yasaswini: :D
and i is the leaving

krithika: sigh
:(

yasaswini: becaause i is suuber tired

krithika: ooo
go sleep
gogogogogogogo

yasaswini: :D
jaati hun main

krithika: jaldi hai kya?
!

yasaswini: we'll sing the tuntun background music in the head
sothe jiya

krithika: dhadke jiya
not sothe jiya!

yasaswini: my jiya is so-o-fying

krithika: oh.. this is specific to you
you should say soye jiya
:D

yasaswini: :D
soye jiya
tun tun tunn

krithika: woh kyun bhala
tun tun tunn

yasaswini: dont tempt the imagination

krithika: =))

yasaswini: antibios might come into the lyrics
think i better go :D

krithika: yeah
me too

yasaswini: take care my dear friend

krithika: happy weekend!
you too..

What work does to two supposedly sane people!

By Golly - II

And that my friends, is the famous Miss Golly.

By Golly!

The term 'Golly', is usually an expression. To my family, it is also, the name of my three and a half year old neighbour; who was originally christened Gauri.

A more amusing kid, I have not seen. Unable to pronounce her 'r's yet, she proudly named herself Golly. Understandable. But then, she also named my sister Pikala (Originally, Malika) and named me 'Choti Bori' (!). We attribute 'pikala' to mixed up sounds in the kid-brain; but not 'Choti Bori'. No. That has a proper explanation. Follows:
In winter, Gauri used to wear several sweaters. This attire caused her to closely resemble a little sack. So, everytime I saw her, I said 'Hello, Choti Bori!'. I think she replaced the comma in my greeting with a full-stop and assumed that I was obviously introducing myself over again; and Choti Bori was how i wanted to be addressed. And Choti Bori I came to be called.

Till date, her entire family calls me that. Regardless of the fact that the subject of my post can say my original name perfectly well. Some things just remain. Such, I guess, is life. :D

At one point in time, anything that moved on four limbs was 'cow'. Pronounced 'khowww'. So all cars, buses, dogs, cats and any other four-legged/tyre creature came under the category of 'cow'. If one fell about on hands and knees looking for some fallen article, Gauri would rush to the person, stare him/her in the face and inform him/her of the recently acquired 'cow' status.

I am going to refrain from writing of her adventures at school, for fear of being sacked (I'm supposed to be working). There is one thing, however, that I simply cannot omit. After the recently concluded Filmfare awards, she went and told her mother that she wants to wear the kind of dress that Deepika Padukone wore to the Awards. Being extremely particular that the neck and shoulders must be bare and that she has no use for straps.

All I can say is - Golly!

Hail Pel!

This morning, a number of people in the bus would have thought me demented. The cause of this thought is a book written by this gentleman called Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. For the sake of convenience and relief to my fingers (which are still at loggerheads), I shall call this person Pel.

And this is what Pel said (about a very tall, lanky character in the book) that made me burst out laughing:

...Nature, stretching Horace Davenport out, had forgotten to stretch him sideways, and one could have pictured Euclid, had they met, nudging a friend and saying: "Don't look now, but this chap coming along illustrates exactly what I was telling you about a straight line having length without breadth."

I just could not stop laughing. His name should have been Pel 'genius' Wodehouse!

The phrase 'work-life', is sounding more like an oxymoron by the minute.

Music

I've been listening to songs from this movie called Shankarabharanam. There's something about them which makes me listen to them over and over again.

Mesmerising.

PS: Apparently, a lot of people do not think like me. I claim so, because this song has been nominated for an award (says Amrita).

PPS: HAHAHAHA!

Phone people

There must be some rule against people who think that their cell phones are incapable of transporting their voice entirely to the other party; and end up yelling into the phones for all they are worth.

And people who do such a thing in public buses that are chalk full, should not be allowed.

I spent the first 20 minutes of my ride standing next to this huge (read gigantic) woman; who I believe, was convinced that the person she was talking to was stone deaf. Assuming all of us to have faulty ears too, she proceeded to describe, in great detail, the precise way her blouse must be stiched. For fear of being labeled indecent, I shall refrain from reproducing her side of the conversation.

She then went on to speak to her cook about how many spoons of oil must be used in food, because she needed to watch her weight. I have a strong feeling that if the cook had hung up on the other end; the lady in question would'nt have shut up long enough to notice that.

There is another very interesting section of people that I shall describe in a while. There is a certain piece of equipment called the hands-free; the purpose of which is rather evident. One might use the contraption when both hands are tied up with say, hanging onto the bus for dear life; or maybe when one is working in the kitchen or the garden or wherever else. The idea is simple. The section of people mentioned in the first line of the paragraph, do not comprehend the correct meaning of the phrase "hands-free". They use the thing when their hands are free. Most often, when they have a comfortable window seat in the bus, the phone rings - the thing is whipped out, attached and used. It is quite hilarious..

Perhaps we must blame the manufacturers for such discrepancies. Perhaps the meaning would be clearer if they called it Hands-not-free?

Song?

On the first leg of my journey (complete routine: share auto - walk - bus - walk some more - bus - walk a little - home - phew!) back home yesterday, I got into one of those share autos who have the very noble intention of providing value for money. This, usually takes the form of music. Much as I appreciate the thought, the kind of music (?) I was subjected to yesterday, made me want to banish all auto-drivers with such intentions. I have a feeling you'll agree with me after reading the lyrics:

मैं कपडे बदलकर जाऊं कहाँ;
और बाल बनाउ किसके लिए ?

I rest my case...