Why have festivals at all?

Festivals have always been an integral part of our lives as Indians, with so many festivals to our credit; we almost live from one festival to another.

During olden days it used to be a way to divulge from the routine humdrum of life, now days though the definitions are slightly twisted, they carry more or less the same meaning.

We link festivals to a religious, cultural or social reasoning strung by dutiful rituals, prayers and devotion to the prime deities of that festival. Our kings and monarchs celebrated all festivals with grandeur, huge pujas were organized, many people would be invited to the paraphernalia of the festivals, but amidst all this glamour what was never forgotten was humbleness. An enormous amount of money, food would be passed down to the less fortunate. Those who could not afford to live like kings, would have a heart king size, when it came to sharing the joys of the festivals with the poor.

Originally the word festival was derived from the word feast that would be in honor of God(s). A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable. A feast would mean an elaborate meal, which all could enjoy. Times change; so do people and policies. Now we still have the same festivals almost the same fervor and more than magnanimous amount of spending, but we do not feast anymore. It’s not about spreading the feeling of happiness, but how much money we can flash during these occasions, it’s an expensive parade of all that you can name. The people who are humbly rooted are considered obsolete.

Have we lost the golden touch or become so overwhelmingly absorbed in our pillar to post life that we do not stop to think to add a little sparkle in someone’s life? If this is true, we definitely need some re-engineering to do.

Happy Diwali.

Do we know Ramadan at all?

We all know about Muslim's fasting for the holy month of Ramadan, but have we paused to understand its deep rooted meaning? Or do we discount it as a mere Religious Gesture?

This is my third Ramadan in Kuwait, and I have now come to truly feel what it actually means, its more than penence and austerity.

I came across a website that posted Ramdan postcards, and this is what I saw, so real; definifing the meaning of Ramadan so candidly!

May we all have a blessed one.

Fathomless

I have never been able to come to terms ever with what designs God has for you, some call it luck or destiny, I call it HIS planning. Sometimes it feels like these puzzle pieces that fit remarkable well into the whole puzzle of life really soon and sometimes it takes a while to have the pieces fit it, slight tempering that may be required to get them into that ‘set’ frame I guess.

To add to the dilemma of the puzzle pieces, God tests you if you are able to decide on the exact right piece that u need to put into your life puzzle!! He gives you couple of options and keeps on juggling with you and them, repeatedly putting you in funny situations and more so on grim crossroads!

Some may fit ‘just’ right and you never regret them and sometimes you look back and think if you would have had picked the others. What makes us take decisions that we do? Do we react exactly the way God wanted us to, or do we call it our rationalized thinking and execution? What happens when the decisions are made in split seconds, and we have no time to think, do we call it Gut or reflex action or what?

Is there a sign hidden in all that is happening around us and how do we pick them up?

Is there someone above us who steers us or do we credit it to our ingenious minds?

I gaze, I fail to fathom.

My mini school reunion

This year I decided to catch up with my old mates from school, I think there is this general trend in India that people show off their time (ill) management. Though we were a good number of friends who met up but ironically all of us were based out of hometown and all the people who were in the city were missing!!

I would not deny that we had company of few genuine friends living in the city but rest of them showed off as ‘these’ V.V.I.Ps who had done us a favour by taking out a few moments from their busy agenda; some did not even return the invite informing that they would not make it!

Lucknow, the city that I am talking about can be mapped in span of an hour, and to have fun in that city you don’t have to take out a chunk of your time as everything is at a convenient stone throw distance. Such a shame of not being able to be a part of a get together with friends who you would meet after bloody 8 long years!!!

Anyway all said and done, we were about 10 of us who had this great time and it seemed as if time had not flown at all, just that we all grew up suddenly and had gotten busy with work, family and off course put on a few extra pounds. I would bet any day on my friendship with these guys, they all feel so much a part of me, because believe it or not, we spent 8 hours of our precious day time in school; studying, fighting, gossiping with these guys!!

As one grows up and time passes by, you grow to understand people with a very neutral non judgmental perspective, without any boundaries! For all that we all shared, reminisced, it felt so wonderful!!

And as I say to all who couldn’t make it, let’s make it another time!!

Paradise Regained

Just going blank, is a good thing, you feel life going by you, with nothing at all to expect, maneuver, deliver and achieve. But unfortunately we can’t carry it one for more than a few split seconds cause honestly; the mires of human mind tangle you into them so much so soon that you would just get up and get going on your next job. I define job as anything that requires an effort.

This time I had the privilege of visiting my hometown; a barely 100 people population village in a district called Pauri in Uttaranchal, India. I really don’t know what I missed not being a part of that serene yet bustling village in my younger years, but I knew one thing that in the midst of the city noise I had lost my innocence.

Since my childhood I had this bunch of expectations associated with me. I was to never say never and adorn the ‘smart kid’ cap at all times. I am born eldest in both my paternal and maternal families, and match the definition of the ‘ideal’. My whole life role was set in front of me by my elders (I would not only say parents). Life moved on. I did not have time to turn back, came school, studies, friends, boyfriends and I kept meeting and exceeding expectations. I always thought as if I owed my families a lot and I was the responsible one. It made me extremely practical and shrewd. Thinking with my heart was a history. There was never a moment when I was not buzzing with thoughts of future plans, responsibilities and achievement.

Then came that day, weary of my 3600 metres above sea level drive to my village, I sat down on a cliff overlooking a deep gorge, I felt dizzy, my mind thought, driving past the hills must have done it, and then it all went BLANK!

My body felt so free and full of energy, something was elevating me. It felt like God had run a cleaning tape on my stereo head. He wanted me to be restarting my life and live it once for myself. I had never felt it before and knew would never feel it ever again. I wanted to clench that feeling as I heard my mother calling me for evening socialization.

The misty drizzle was getting heavier but it felt that a lot of clouds were lifted off my head.

Q8 Driving : a sweet pain!

Driving in Kuwait!

Apparently, getting a driver’s license in any of the GCC countries is terribly frustrating for the Asian community, the day u get it, u need to celebrate your freedom!! It feels kinda awkward after coming from India where u don’t even need to appear for a driver license test and you get the license in your hand, though a handful of money goes into the wallets of couple of people.

All said and done, I got my Driver’s license for the State of Kuwait in March 07. Now-a- days they give a GCC DL wherein you can drive on the Kuwait license within the GCC, so it is a relief that if u visit Dubai or Bahrain on the weekend, you can just rent a car and save on the huge transport cost of taxis or a chauffeur driven rental.

Another clause in the Q8 DL is the 3 month probation, if u hit ur car / have an accident within the first 3 months of the DL being procured by you, bang!! they take away yr license!! My better half was thoroughly terrified, he bought me a brand new sedan, and I wanted to drive it on my own, just the day we bought it!! But he was unfaltering: accompanied driving or no driving at all!! Sometimes life can be difficult, but then it is for u to understand how it could be in yr best benefit!

Driving in Kuwait is as I call is like evading the road terrorists! U need to be on the lookout at all times, the roads and traffic is very much regularized and you don’t find any traffic policemen on the roads for sure, but you have to be extra careful, one wrong clip can cost a life or maybe more! The normal speeds are 110 kms / hr and if you drive slower say at 80 kms / hr, u have all the reasons to get bumped! Kuwait has the highest accident rate in the GCC!!

Initially when I drove to work, I felt very overwhelmed by the fact, I reached safe and coming back home, I would thank God for His mercies, how so much u take life for granted and don’t really see that God really makes a lot of effort, keeping ur life risk free!

It humbles me.

A seven year itch?

In our day to day lives, we use phrases which we don’t really know where they came from and it is a deep sense of ‘Ignorance is bliss’.

On our decadal anniversary (we met for the first time that day, I know its so girlie stuff!) Three days back, I had one of my girl friend say, oh so your seven year itch is over, and I merrily replied yes long time back, but least did I even ponder for a second if I actually knew what the ‘seven year itch’ was anyway? I mean we use it like a cliché but do most of know its basis?

According to the phrase, after the first seven year in our love relationships, marriages, live-in etc, are over, we get more stable, but this is what most of us have always presumed, and presumption does not have any basis, so get the real supposition: The 'seven year itch' refers to the urge to be unfaithful after seven years of relationships with a desire to satisfy one's sexual urges ('itches').

I again presume that most of you may also resort to a dictionary of phrases and idioms to see the real meaning behind it, well most likely you would not get it, it maybe incorporated now but it never existed as a phrase before 1950s as The Seven Year Itch was a three-act play, written by George Axelrod. Billed as a romantic comedy, the play was first presented by at the Fulton Theatre, New York City, on November 20, 1952. (Yipee!! all supa cool things happen on 20th Nov)

In 1955, 20th Century Fox released a film adaptation starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell running this phrase down in history forever! The entertaining film is best known for the definitive performance of the radiant Marilyn Monroe with a little girl's giggly voice basically portraying herself as a blonde bombshell, and known simply as The Girl. The film's promotional tease photographs packaged her as the sexually-endowed girl next door - an ideal fantasy figure for all the committed yet weary spouses.

So now that we had a successful film adapted from a play, and we had a phrase to follow, psychology came to play, people actually started believing that it was true, I have a short except from a website that reads:

Relationships: Got the seven year itch?

“When my husband and I were married seven years, we would always hear, ‘Uh oh, the seven year itch!’ or ‘Do you have the itch yet?’.

The question: what is the seven year itch and is it real?”

The website answers: The seven year itch is actually a real phenomenon which occurs in many couples, although not always at seven years. One interesting fact to note is that the average median marital age of divorced couples is 7.2 years, which is where they came up with that number. Why seven years? Usually by the time you get to seven years, you have children. The strain of increased responsibility is enough to get you itching…..

A whole phenomenon from nothing, kudos to human imagination and applied logic!

The ancient wonder of the world!

I had the privilege to visit Egypt this Easter break. It was a week long trip aiming to visit all the monumental wonders that the country beholds. Pyramids are the obvious answer but there are many more that have not been hyped as much as they should have.

Many those who visit Egypt mainly know of the cities like Cairo, Luxor and probably Aswan. But there are many more cities both old and new that add to the glory of the Egyptian mythology. Fayyum, Saqqarra, Memphis, Edfu, Denderah, Kom ombo and Nubia are just few of the off the track cities that are worth the visit.

Egypt is like an open air museum, each day each place there are more and more excavations, on our visit to Cairo museum, we spotted these boxes that were full of some or the other remains, one of the box said: “2nd century B.C ornaments” while the other one said, alabaster from 14th century A.D. It makes me ponder, did those pharaohs know that they would leave behind not only a lost civilization but also a huge employment opportunity, the sole bread and butter earner for Egypt for hundred of years? Many times it also makes me think of what happens to us when we die, will our future generations excavate us in the same way and then how old will the Egyptian civilization date back to?

River Nile originates in Sudan and then flows into Egypt, it gives to this land, flourishing agricultural valleys and undulating landscapes on which settled world’s most earliest recorded civilizations. Thebes (Now Luxor) and Memphis (Can be called as the old Cairo) grew manifolds due to this enriching river. Nile saw many come and go that we cannot fathom, but now its just reduced to a trade, more than 300 Nile cruisers transport more than 50,000 tourists, spilling as much waste as they can. They boast of the river as mother Nile but when it comes to adding to its splendor, I bet you can’t count on them.
Nubia was another fascination for me; Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. Most of Nubia is situated in Sudan with about a quarter of its territory in Egypt. In ancient times it was an independent kingdom. Many centuries showed many different expansions and invasions over this wealthy and stable kingdom and then finally with the end of colonialism Nubia was divided between Egypt and Sudan. These people are far more socio-economically disadvantaged within Egypt, as compared to Sudanese Nubians in Sudan. What an irony, once the trading and commercial hub now, u see the Nubians working as felucca sailors, waiters, cleaners and even street shops, they are majorly discriminated just because of the language they speak and their skin color and then we talk of racial discrimination internationally!!

The ancient monumental feats that were achieved are no doubt incredible, but for the amount of international funding that is showered on Egypt, I sometimes feel it is let down, so much of hype, air of royalty is nothing but a mere trade, that has had its country men so dependent on it, that to maintain the pharaoh land status they may even go lengths to stir the conspiracy theory.

Penance vs Persistance!

Sometimes you don’t really know why life treats you harsh, I can’t call it harsh, but it’s like penance that it wants you to go thru. Though I have had many in my share and I absolutely think it works in your favor rather than against you!

With a similar experience we traveled to Egypt last week, after going thru a huge hassle of getting visa to Egypt for my better half, we were not allowed to board the flight cuz we were freaking 5 minutes late!!! That too, cuz we were standing in a long q to security check!! That blew my lid off, and after many years, I yelled on someone in public, embarrassing as it was, I felt good, sometimes the most benefiting anger management tool.

Looking at how jazeera airways is treating its customers, soon it will not have any!! Its status has been reduced from a low cost no frills airline to rude staff, labor class airline; but as seeing is believing; I truly believe it now!! I am not saying this cuz I am pissed off (which I surely am) but I am sure others who have traveled this airline when it started its operations and now, cannot disagree.

Good riddance as it was, we finally traveled Emirates, obviously we paid big moolah for it, but it was worth it!! It is always lovely to be associated with an airlines awarded for best service!!

That night, it was like this fight against time and my long on going penance. Huge deadlines at work, high filial expectations; you and your mind works 24 / 7, its ruthless sometimes cuz we cannot take life for granted even for a few seconds.

On the other hand I believe that God always shows us these signs that we ignore, to warn us and hence protect us. We had never had traveling troubles ever and did not know what was in store for us now, did the annoying troubles end, or was that just the start! At 2.30 am on a Saturday morning, wide awake from the past 20 hours, I felt so confused and exasperated!

Life has taught me to never say never; we had to make it to the pharaoh land, hook or hijack. And then, we did, though slightly behind schedule; we landed in Alexandria at 11.00 am Saturday morning. The morning air felt so fresh and crisp and it was relief to see the long night get over!

Do u think the penance was over?

Walk like an Egyptian! ..

With me nearly 72 hours away from the pharonic land, i am just smothering my funny bone !!

Q: Where is the most popular place for pharaohs to eat?
A: Pizza Tut

Q: What did King Tut say when he had a nightmare?
A: I want my Mummy!

Q: What did the receptionist at the museum say when a guy asked for King Tut ?
A: He can't come to the phone right now, he's all wrapped up.

Q: What is a mummies favorite TV show?
A: Death styles of the wrapped and famous!

Q: What is a little mummy's favorite store?
A: Mummies -R-Us!

Q: Why were ancient Egyptian children confused?
A: Because their daddies were mummies.

More real time jokes coming soon!!

Do u have a personality?

I know most of you must just heaved a sigh and said “not again!!” that was my exact reaction, but if u trust me, on an interesting website to dig deeper, u can. http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html

Most of us don’t really go thru the real tests of personality and / or assume what the general public (includes family, friends, work colleagues etc) have to say. Don’t worry the test has only 4 questions to test u out of 16 personality types. It tests your personality type on the basis of MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator).

Starting in the early 1940s, Myers' and her mother, Katharine Briggs, developed their model and inventory around the ideas and theories of psychologist Carl Jung, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and a leading exponent of Gestalt personality theory. I know this sentence w as a bouncer, but I still suggest that u take the test. However, it was only in 1993 when the world actually came to know about it. Prices people pay, i wonder what kinda personality was she?

Perceptions can be very deceiving; proved right yet again after I took the test and found that I am a ISFJ type!

Hana beákten !!

Life for a vegetarian can be tough especially when it comes to the westward countries, keeping that in mind, we decided to try Mexican for the first time in Kuwait. Here the menu listed, real Mexican food, quite unlike the dishes found in most Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants in India that are often over-priced.
If you have a taste for adventure you’ll be well rewarded here, if not stick to a few simple and traditional dishes that are almost always excellent and not too spicy. Mexican cuisine has some superbly spicy dishes, but it is best recommend that you take it easy initially until your stomach can grow accustomed to it.
Chilis; a 3 decade old restaurant opened its first branch in our neighborhood, offering authentic tex -mex cuisine. (A combi of Texan and Mexican cuisine) On quick surf of the menu, there was no trace of a vegetarian dish! Mexican dishes primarily consists of corn, maize, loads of colorful vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli etc. my culinary senses could not be that bad! My better half sighed and gestured to leave, poor guy generally struggles to eat in an Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesdays just cause he cant stand me staring at him and eating mundane salads; the only choice for the veggies!
But seeing the damsel in distress appeared ‘Toto’ (he liked to call himself just that, short and sweet!) He suggested Fajita Quesadillas; a dish that had buttery toasted tortillas, stuffed with various vegetables (otherwise marinated fajita steak, chicken or meat), jack cheese and grilled onions. It was served with rice, black beans, sour cream and crispy cabbage. Beggars can’t be chooser as they say, I nodded in affirmation. I also ordered a iced tea, to give me company to some unknown spicy Mexican ques ques.. (No offense; just couldn’t get the name right at first). My better half now happy and wanting to sail in the same in the boat, ordered a regular Fajita Quesadillas.
Food arrived on our table; the plate size was gigantic with huge portions of stuffed tortillas, Mexican rice, frijoles (beans) and blob of sour cream floating on some crispy cabbage. There was this first bite of apprehension and then we sunk into our seats relishing until the last bite. My iced tea, presumably my only companion, lay aside, waiting, until the end.
Other than the infamous tequila, I could now relate to more than had met my eye, basics like tortillas (staple food made of flour or maize served alongside a meal, rolled and baked for enchiladas, fried for tacos, grilled for quesadillas or thin and crisp for tostadas) Frijoles (beans) proteineous, different varieties, commonly boiled and than fried and Guacamole that has avocado mashed with onions, chilies and coriander, served as a dip or as a garnish.
Btw I also learnt that Salsa, that I knew only as a form of south / Central American dance form is also a hot sauce commonly made of red or green mix of tomatoes, onion, chili and coriander to be taken only in tiny portions to avoid your stomach on fire!
For those who don’t mind the rare and exotic, ingredients in the dishes can range from iguana to rattlesnake, deer, spider monkey, and even some kinds of insects. This is usually known as comida prehispánica (or prehispanic food), and although not very common, is relatively well known.

After digesting huge amount of Mexican food yesterday, please find my Mexican hotlist revised:

1.Food (ques ques)
2.Tequila
3. Salma Hayek (frida and desperado, loved her)
4. Tequila
5. Tequila

Holi Hai !!!

Holi our festival of colors is one of the much awaited festivals in India. Each Indian revels during this festival in his own special way and that’s a sight to feast on.

But I have a general feeling that as we move out of our country, we tends to just give our festivals a miss or do not celebrate it in the same fervor that we would usually do in India. Did u know that in Kuwait, Hinduism is not considered a religion (as it does not have a single (only) book to follow for faith like the Bible / Quran) and there are no temples in the country?

Anyway, the legalities and controversies apart, today is 4th of Mach 07, and today is Holi, so I thought of asking my brethren in office of what they think of Holi in the Middle East. (Extra Note: On the contrary, Diwali is usually much anticipated as a festival of lights with crackers and sweets, and the government here is very much tolerant when it comes to bursting crackers and creating all that air and noise pollution on the D Day)

To start off with an amusing instance with one of my colleague; he got a mail from his friend from India wishing him Holi, and his immediate reply to him was: Holi aaj hai?
Rest we can guess. This seems to be this one guy who would be seen leading a toli (crowd) of painted faces on the streets on the Holi morning, if he were in India. Times change and so do places and the ambiance I think.

Another Mota Bhai (Big Brother in Gujrati), calls it a normal day at work, but off course with sweets authentically from India, would have love to indulge in Holi if in India. I just wonder, what stops us? I don’t know the answer even myself!

We also have holi enthusiasts here!! My two women colleagues are very cheerful when it comes to elaborate. One of them has been in Kuwait for almost 12 years and its like home to her, she is a member of an Indian association and they celebrate all the Indian festivals with all its flavours. “We have all the fun that we could possibly have in India or maybe more, we dance, play colors, gorge on Indian sweets (gujiyas to be precise) and indulge in pure harmless woman gossip to top it up!” she reminisces of her holi party on last Friday (2nd March)

Another colleague, has many ideas to share, she wants to hit the beach this coming Friday to play colors and dip people into the chilly waters! And definitely eat a lot of gujiyas that her two block away neighbor will bring to her”
She nostalgically misses the ‘yellow tinge’ of Gulaal on her carpet from the Holi visits, Several washes of the painted faces and still coming out of the shower magenta red, getting hit by water balloons and walking cautiously on the streets for all that color that comes splashing on you from nowhere! Phew! I miss that too! This just got me thinking, I love my festivals! I love my country; we usually take that for granted!

One of my female colleagues, does not like playing with colors, most of us don’t if we are in India, as now a days colors can range from harsh to harshest, if smeared thoughtlessly. So holi for her is about missing her folks and friends back home and off course recollecting those sweet and syrupy memories of all the goodies that mom made especially for Holi.

Now this gets me thinking, I miss a lot of things, my country, the fervor, festivals, MOM, sweets… wow… the list gets longer, but I call Kuwait home for now.. will I ever be able to patch up and catch up with the Indian side of me? I think I will leave it to today’s evening. (I always have something cooking you see!)

Happy holi folks, may it bring for you all the colors that it can (more than your plasma TV can offer!!)

(in Arabic: Alyoum Holi)

Bahrain....Garden of Eden???

Al Khamis Mosque (1st Mosque to be established in GCC, 7th Century)

A tiny pearl adorning the Persian gulf, this entire country covers only 706 sq km. but every inch is full of life for one and all.

I wanted to fill myself on historical facts about Bahrain before writing this post We constantly live in this ignorance of GCC (referred to as Gelf ) lacking historical background and crediting the other middle eastern country as a mother of all mankind (Mesopotamia).
Bahrain has been constantly inhabited by humans since ancient times and has even been proposed as the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden. Influence by Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, finally under the Arabs, this island became Muslim.

Dilmun was the first civilization dating back 4000 years, highly sophisticated craftsmen and even warriors; fell to droughts and the plague, dying in many numbers, resorting to mass burial. Our visit to the Bahrain Archeological museum witnessed huge burial mounds, well restored in its premises showing sign of staunch religion until the last rites.

In 1st century, Alexander the Great, named this tiny kingdom; Tylos. It prospered as a centre for pearl diving and trade. Unfortunately, in the whole of the 2 floor museum one does not see any Greco remains. Just wondering, is it to do with religion?
Tip: when u visit Bahrain, do not forget to visit the pearl diving village, it is very authentic, still practicing age old pearl diving and fishing methods.

Bahrain was never incorporated into the Roman Empire; it did become a centre of Christianity that survived until 835. Christianity left its traces in Muharraq (the old city), Christian names, like the village of Dair (ie parish), Samahij (used to be the name of a bishop) remain until today.
Bahrainis were amongst the first to embrace Islam in 629. Prophet Mohammed ruled Bahrain through one of his representatives. I guess I got my answer to the above question
Other than Dilmun and Ummayad rulers, one does not see any other relics or remains in the entire small country, we saw forts, houses and palaces, dating 300 – 400 years back, when the country was called Awal.

Did u know that even Bahrain became the British protectorate in 1861, however gained independence in 1971, later becoming the founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)? Now u know!

Linking to the modern days, Bahrain is a very active centre of Trade and Commerce, much more organized and ambitious compared to its other GCC brothers, building well on its limited monetary backing.

One of the fascinating structure is the Bahrain – The Saudi causeway, this 40 Kms stretch into the azure vibrant sea connecting Saudi with Bahrain is a beautiful experience. One sees a Mc Donald’s Bahrain all painted bright and colorful with a Bahrainy flag, and on the other end is Saudi Mc D, all in green with its glossy green flag flying high! Two extremely opposite cultures, both very hospitable, very genuinely GCC.

Bahrain has lived up to its name, which literally means two seas in Arabic, it is a tiny island just by its size and rest let its history and modernism talk.

What did you do this Valentines?

Read this only if you have time. A old time pal wrote to me:

We started off, long long time back, all starry eyed, love for each other.

He said, ‘catch them young, see them grow’, I thought it the sweetest thing; it gave me strength to follow my dreams. I led on, thinking that I was the luckiest.

We got married; leaving behind all that I had known: my good old self, friends, parents seemed easy, I had him.

I tried my effort best to win over his family. There was no reciprocation. They don’t share the enthusiasm and zeal in life. Life proved me wrong. I thought I would expect some solace at his end, but he never had enough time to confront it. For the first time in my life, I felt lonely.

Temporary defenseless gave me a blunt attitude and obviously a ‘bad name’ in my extended family. I did not mind that until I knew that he knew, it was not true. I still don’t know if he knew at all.

Times changed, giving yet another chance to see myself doing what I wanted to do. It was away from all the black noise that I heard back there. but life was yet going to prove me wrong.

Now, it was always about him, he wanted this, that and I played along, I thought it was love. When they say love is blind, they are right. When they say Love keeps you youthful and glowy; I beg to differ. It’s the expensive cosmetics that do!

I was struck in a mire of being a super woman (it does not exist) who could multitask, juggle fabulously between hectic work schedules, great get-togethers and even meticulous cleaning up after it, while he only played a proud guest.

BTW, our so called ‘friends’ find me dominating. It’s my loquaciousness that awes them I guess. It is an art form, not all know how to entertain. I AM WHAT I AM. (copy right : Shruti Chamoli) I don’t talk to influence or intimidate, if that’s the message, I think it’s a case of poor assessment.

And I also cant fathom, what is with people, all healthy discussions are called arguments, arguing means pulling down, raising voices, nagging, commenting on personal lives and throwing some non sense phrases. I call it, diffidence. Simple: when u can’t defend your point in a discussion, you play nasty. (Something like everything is fair in love and war! Which war are we talking here, dont know!)

Coming back to my master. Time management is always an issue, never seemed to have time enough for himself. Whenever he has time, he sprinkles me with some love and attention! (I get happy!!)

Bringing up any issues means blabbering to the walls. ‘I don’t have time for all this, just shut up’ he would scream.

Yet another favorite statement: ‘Married life is not hunky dory as it looks in the movies, it’s boring and mundane’ : means you can’t have any expectations; just dump them.

BTW you could do anything to make your master’s life effortless; but hey you are supposed to do it anyway, so no doughnuts for you!

I am sick of feeling unwanted! I thought, last night.

This Valentines, I call it a new life. Shruti’s blog header says so much and I want to add something more: I DO WHAT I DO, I AM WHAT I AM.

______________________________________________________________

I call her a die hard optimistic with an attitude!

What are you? Hope u have a great Valentines!

An Indian Rendezvous

Its indeed rare to find such articles and that too in the local dailies of GCC countries, read on:

The following article was written by a Saudi national and appeared in the local English daily Arab News, Feb 3rd, 2007;

Over the Haj holidays, I surprised my kids with an announcement that I would be taking them to India for a short holiday. My distinct memories from having visited the country with my parents when I was a child had left me with impressions of cultures and civilizations that one reads in history books. And then there was the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. And wanting to repeat that experience for my children, I decided to give them a taste of India by planning our trip to encompass different regions of the country – Chennai, Delhi and Agra and Mumbai. In the days preceding our trip, friends and acquaintances of both my children and myself were somewhat alarmed and bemused and quizzed us with the same question: "But why India?" And why not, I would ask them. Their answers were somewhat patronizing and sympathetic. India, they would say, is dirty, crowded, and backward and we'd be sure to catch one of many diseases.

I would patiently explain to these naysayers that I wanted my children to see India firsthand, and not to take in the impression that unfortunately a lot of us Saudis and others have of that country. And I wanted to expose them to a diverse culture that they had not experienced before. And I thanked them for our health concerns, but assured them that we would be taking all necessary precautions. I was adamant on this adventure though, but to be on the safe side I must confess that I did call upon the Indian Consulate in Jeddah and inquired about any specific medical precautions that we would have to take. "Drink only bottled water, and eat only in the hotels you would be staying in" was their soothing reply.

As we spun through Chennai, Delhi, Agra and Mumbai, my kids were amazed. And they loved it. The hustle and bustle of Chennai with its serene shorelines dotted with resorts and retreats offering world-class service, the grandeur of the Presidential Palace in Delhi, the beauty of Marine Drive in Mumbai, topped with our visit to the majestic Taj Mahal had my children chirping in unison that it was the trip of a lifetime.

The preservation of historic monuments, unlike our own, were some of the things they marveled at. And from our observations, we were pleasantly surprised to find parts of India cleaner than our own city. Their roads, although crowded, were not run down as ours, and the Indians seemed more prosperous than imagined. In a conversation with the vice president of marketing in the chain of hotels we were staying at, I remarked that I was amazed that five star hotels, once known to be the haven for only Westerners and rich Gulf tourists were primarily being occupied by Indians today. Over thirty percent of our population is now middle class..." "Yes, that translates to over 300 million", she said with a bemused look at me as the force of that staggering number dawned on me.

Three hundred million! And here we are, not even twenty million Saudis, and many not anywhere near middle-class. What right do we have to thumb up our noses on India, a country on the move upward? Yes, we drank only bottled water, but also ate in local restaurants. We witnessed wealth and we saw poverty. We learned about their great history and we observed massive new projects in the works, designed to make life easier on the Indian. In spite of their diverse cultures and religions, India is tolerant and moving forward, and not bogged down by what we witness in KSA, intolerance and rigidity on the part of a few who seek to impose their views on the rest of us. Indeed, India...I have to salute thee. And thanks for making my children's' visit a memorable one.

Did u happen to read or learn of any such instances??

Made in China!!

China not only floods our markets with all the low cost yet some times very useful and durable products, but also has been a favorite among the foodies.

Yes, I am talking Chinese food people!! Many of us just love Chinese food, some get it home delivered as their staple diet, some indulge in it each time they can and some like me experiment with each possible dish in vegetarian Chinese!

I know it can sound funny, but Japan and China do have a lot of variety for even vegetarians. Many types of vegetables in different sauces and my favorite tofu.

Did u know that Japanese call it tofu and in China it’s called Doufu? I dint know that! But it is of Chinese origin for sure! It’s made by coagulating soymilk, and the curd is cut into big square pieces! It’s is like cheese from curd, quite confusing, eh?

Now went to a restaurant called Royal Gulf Chinese, I went to the one in Fahaheel (my local area) and though the exterior were not very promising, the interiors were really very exotic! As if we were in china, eating at a local’s restaurant!! The food prices are on the upper end, probably due to high quality in service and off course food.

BTW, as per the Chinese astrology, I am a monkey, so no wonder u can see me jumping all over the place! In many cases, though I don’t believe in Zodiacs, these Chinese thing actually works out to be true,… astrology in china dates back long long years and so we cant negates its precision.

Ok coming back to food, I also went to another Chinese restaurant in Holiday Inn called the Tang Chao, very authentic ambiance and extremely reasonably priced. I ordered the same dishes in both places, and guess which one would I have preferred?

Both the restaurants gave excellent customized vegetarian menus and very good service, but there was a very important factor, very dear to Chinese, that was missing in one of them, it’s the Chinese way of decking cutlery and linen.. I know many of you would say, well that don’t matter, but in the true Chinese spirit it does!

Gulf Royal Chinese did not appeal to me when it came to both as other than the ambiance I could not feel any China around, though I would still rate its food as comparatively superior to Tang Chao. Tang Chao on the other hand not only had the ambiance but the music that filled your ears took you to a small Chinese village, rice plantations and lots of children playing around! And the smells were that of a Chinese household, very woody and warm.

It made all the difference. Food is not always everything, i guess!

What magnetizes you?

Do you celebrate?

A school mate of mine sent this.

She and I share the same birthday, we both are 7000 miles away.

We share a lot of views and opinions; we both love traveling and seeing new places!

Do u think is something to do by the virtue of being born on the same day??

Let’s keep that for next time … until then read on….

Celebration means......

A winter evening.
Four friends.
Heavy rain fall
And Four cups of tea.

Celebration means......

Hundred bucks of petrol.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.

Celebration means......

3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.

Celebration means......

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of oil.
A head massage.
Gossiping about absent family members

For me celebration would mean…..

You and your grandpa.
The 4.00 AM morning walk.
Panting your way up a hill.
Watching the sunrise.
Children chanting school prayer at a distance.

Celebration means…...

Inviting a friend over on his birthday.
A Mars mini bar for his birthday cake.
Listening to Lionel Richie.
Reminiscing the good times.
Making future plans.


What is your celebration????

Do you know the difference between Independence Day and Republic Day?

(Our then Prime Minister, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, signing the Indian Constitution)

To get our civics straight, India gained independence on August 15, 1947, it was not until January 26, 1950 that the constitution of India came into effect, endowing upon the citizens the sovereign powers! Our constitution is the one of the longest written constitution in the world!

BTW what do you understand by republic? Previously India had Monarchy, after Independence Monarchy was replaced by Repuplics, so in short, republicans are anti monarchy! In a republic we all have the right to choose our leader; contrary to the hereditary heirs in monarchy. Are you a true Indian republican??

After u have had enough food for thought, here is another factoid: Did you know Kenyans celebrate 'Jamhuri Day', (Jamhuri meaning ‘republic’ in Swahili) on the 12th of December while Guyana (in Latin America) eagerly indulges into lots of merry singing, lively dancing and calypso competitions on the 23rd of February, the Mashramani day? On 29th October, 1923, the constitution of Turkey was amended, a formal dissolution of the Ottomans.

To mark the Republic day in Kuwait, our home away from home, the Hot Stepper Association of Kuwait had set up a fun evening in the literal sense, Naveen Prabhakar (Pehchan Kaun fame) the Laughter challenge champion (A very successful star one show) was invited only for one reason: to get us bursting with laughter of all sorts. He was extremely talented, after a long time I really found my face muscles stretching their limits!! If you can trust me, you could find everyone rolling off their seats on his native comedy!

I think Humour is one factor that binds us all, each country having its distinct rib tickles. For example, in our humour we ought to get cracking on Laloo Prasad Yadav and off course our own sweet Santa Singh ‘sardarji’.

It was a great feeling to be shouting my lungs out ‘Vande Matram’! It filled the air with a sense of devotion for my motherland and how proud I felt to be an Indian. I returned home with a sense of belonging.

But does this end here?

Have you ever tasted Wasabi?

We did. At precisely 10.30 PM on thursday nite. And the taste made my senses swirl.

Wanting to try Japanese cuisine for the first time at Wasabi; the restaurant from the Palms (originally) that opened a branch in Mahboula on the sea costal road, we were in for a refreshment of our tastebuds!

"Wasabia japonica(originally written 和佐比) is a semi-aquatic member of the cabbage family. Known as Japanese horseradish, its root is used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than chili pepper, producing vapors that burn the nasal passages rather than the tongue." (www.Wikipedia.com) (I hope the description has not created a 'rather' scare to wasabi!)

Wasabi is prepared by grating the fresh rhizome against a rough surface, sometimes by using a sharkskin grater that gives grated Wasabi a smooth, soft and aromatic finish!!! For those who have had a taste of shark meat, may not think likewise!! ( I know I am not suppossed to scare you again!)

Japanese food include staples of miso, rice as well as many seafood dishes like the popular sashimi and sushi. To enjoy wasabi, is to spread a little on the fish and then dip the fish side of the sushi into soy sauce so that the sauce does not touch the Wasabi, but many may prefer to mix the Wasabi paste with soy sauce, added with bits of ginger, called "Wasabi-joyu," and use this as a dipping sauce for the raw fish, or mix the Wasabi directly into a bowl of noodles.

The height of japanese innovation: The Wasabi Ice Cream, recent but increasingly popular!!

Its just not the taste that tingles but wasabi is a antedote for food poisoning, which is a useful property when served with fresh raw fish. Research in Japan suggests that wasabi may also have anti-carcinogenic properties. It can certainly clear your sinuses!!

Back in the 10th century wasabi's medicinal properties were first documented in a Japanese medical encyclopaedia of alternative medicine. Japanese believe that Wasabi not only is antibacterial and antipyretic, but if consumed in small quantities daily, it can increase the our longitivity.

So next time you visit any Japanese restaurant (Popular in Kuwait : Wasabi & Sakura), ask for an extra share of your Wasabi!! And once you finish enjoying your meal, dont forget to say "Oishikatta desu " (I enjoyed the meal. It was good!)

Are you the busiest of all mankind on earth?

Most of us have the creative bit in us: we can be writers, artists, calligraphers, musicians, dramatists having that one idea that can rock the world, yet time passes and we live that dream in oblivion, do you know why? We just don’t seem to have time!!! How lame? (I was a part of that brigade not long time ago!!)

The solution: if u want to do it, just do it, if you want to write, just write, u want to make it big in dancing, just do it! Yesterday, I saw a show called ‘ballroom boot camp’, one of the contestant was constantly told that she has both left feet and guess what.. She after 4 weeks of tough tango, won the contest (she had 3 very strong competitors)

I can actually hear few growling: A day has 24 hours and with an over exhaustive life style, there is very little liberty to actually get some quality time for pursuing our interests! Something like, ‘I have to clean the house, do the laundry, feed the children’ etc etc, but don’t you think that you life is worth more than that?

So if you interested so as to how you can take out time, and do what u really cherish, go on and rest can drop the blog! Time management:

If you are working professional, not much choice is left at work. List down activities that you do at home. Something like chatting up with friends, or watching TV or even checking your personal mails from home (incase u do access internet from work) can be curtailed as per your liking. (I hope few critics are not thinking that it is cutting them from their social life!)

One good idea to take away from the mundane work schedule is to use your free time or break (if you are a light eater and carry your food to your desk) for your hobby. This can only be useful for people whose hobby contains writing, art or crafts..Dancers and musicians (and like minded) do not disturb others in the office!

Also one can utilize their commutation time to work to think creatively about their next article, dance step or art form. That’s a great start!!

Golden hour:

Take up that one hour (assuming that you have just started) from your day that you feel is the most creative. Some like to create art or melody in the wee hours of the day. Some like to dance after a hectic day at work and some like to write at bed time (No I am not talking bed time stories!!)

Sleep 6 – 7 hours, rather than 8 hours, because if you are utilizing that 1 hour in your hobby / interest, it will bring you more contentment compared slumber (lazy sleepers can avoid this comment and continue their journey to slumber land)

Family for feedback:

Let your spouse / family feel they are a part of your interest, ask them about their feedback and how you can make things better with their participation. They will feel valued and in some cases thrilled!! Phew! Now finally after completing your ground work, you should know how you can utilize that time in your interest!

Ensure you know why you are doing it, just don’t take up the activity because your boss recommended it and so suddenly it became your passion!! Or your popular neighbor does that!

Be self disciplined, list down your activities in a planner; try to continue the interest with consistency, at least 3-4 times in a week. The steadier you get; the better. No excuses! U are not answerable to anyone and to keep self obedience is the hardest.

Once u have secured the golden period, make sure u are totally unwound during that time, so that the piece of work comes out perfect for the day, its like you are the creator of a masterpiece!

Get better at it each day, its all in your hand, you are your own motivator or demotivater (I don’t think this is a word in the English vocabulary!) so don’t get distracted, just aim at breaking your own records!!

What else can I say, you know best, (read: AM I LOUD N CLEAR?)

P.S. If you really happen to do what you want… do bother to add a comment!!

Joyfully, Jordan!

My quests to understand the middle eastern world took me to Jordan, a country that prides in its culture and picturesque beauty, and to my amazement I found in it, the true identity of ME..

We often take to these countries as ones behind the veil, backward and with hostile environs, now get to the real side, they are very well educated, learned and practice their religion as per choice! They have individual views on what they want to acheive for themselves and thier country and for them life is all about working hard and partying harder!!

My intial expectations from this country were not many, I knew it was a crucial and strategic country on the silk route of the world and bred many civilizations in the past 2000 years and more, it had valuable hidden treasures which many never explored..but the moment I landed and our hotel van zipped through the streets, I could smell it, a quaint enthusiasm..

We were parked at this budget hotel, the owner of which was not a very well to do man, his main aim was not to earn a lot of money from his foreign backpackers but to let them have a taste of authentic Jordan, this hotel (Ironically called sydney hotel) and was right on the corner of he road to Hisham restaurant, a very famous, most delectable food joint in whole of Amman.

Our attempt was to see this country in another 3 days, Jordan is a small country that rubs borders with Syria and shares land and sea with Isreal. Dead Sea was a must have, a landlocked sea with 5-6 times more salt content than the normal sea water, it offers the world's best natural spas and skin treatments. For me it was the treatment of the mind, it was so unique an experience, one only has to be here, to feel the esctacy.

Petra, another hidden marvel of the world, is a city of the nebateans, dead rose city as they call it, it lay submerged in the sands for many centuries until it was excavated in 1900s. This was build in the 2nd century by the Nebateans, who surveived in the desert, due to their skillful water management systems! It is a whole city of rose coloured rock, cut into funtabulous palacial facades. We found a whole team of excavators from Robert brown university USA working here from past 16 years, they have literally seen this city grown in front of them, as if rising from the sand!

Wadi Rum reminds one of the Lawrence of Arabia, you have to watch the movie after you have visited the Wadi rum, only then you will live it like real. Wadi rum is a dry moutainous desert, that had one of the highest and longest natural arches in the world. Its amaassness makes one wonder : how would the inhabitants survive here during the previous centuries, now locals beduoins (the local tribe) run desert camps and safaris here, before that was the way of life!!

Jordan is more than just a country, its a living example of the 'seen it all and done it all' culture, it housed 4 civilazations over the past 3000 years and has many hidden tales to tell.

Jordanians are very friendly and hospitable, unlike the GCC counries, however to the contrary I have always found the middle eastern and the GCC culture very open and welcoming!

It all makes me wonder, when we all are good human biengs.. how come few were left behind to create all the voilence?

Why blog?

Its not easy to write a post on the blog each day, there is a lot of thought that has to go in what you want to share.. and the best time to do that.. well i guess when nature calls..

Starting a blog made me think, why do writers need a blog in today's sceanario, and there can be several reasons:

What do we understand of a blog? we think it as a journal of our thoughts, opinions, views etc. like a web diary..but actually speaking, its the best and the fastest way to get an audience who are diverse and geographically spread.

Blogs are SUPERIOR content management systems, that serve as basis of search engines to attract new visitors. For example, I am a frequent leisure traveller, if i need to understand the finer details while visiting a particular country, i search for blogs that provide such details.

Did u know that blogs are ranked higher on any search engines and even if you do not regularly update the blog, they still are revisited by the search engines?

Finally, blogs help you to create a presence on the internet not only to voice out what you say but maybe to promote yr business or even to generate revenue.

So what are u waiting for, if you want to blog, well u have all the advantages for a go ahead, while i cannot commnet on any adverse effects, only if u get successful, popular and moneyed and u do not know how to handle such fame and moolah, u can get in serious trouble!!

Regal Rajasthan:

I always thought that if u believe in something it happens for you! But gradually as life moved on, it was not only the belief but the 'effort' that has to go in the belief to get it working!

I eventually got around having a 'holiday' to India. Rajasthan is the royal state that is well known throughout the country for its valiant warrior kings and queens. 5 AM morning sun showed upon our airplane and along came the announcement that air arabia flight had started its decent onwards Jaipur airport. (the now capital of Rajasthan)

Word of caution: if u have a connecting flight after your Air Arabia flight, i suggest ensure 4-5 hours of transit window!

Jaipur, unexpectedly came across as a much cleaner city compared to other metros of India. It is indeed called the pink city with all its walls and arches painted in queer pink! We were pleased to visit the palacial complexes, however, if u have ever seen a picture of the 'Hawa mahal' (palace of the winds) in the history books or a postcard, on a bus tour it will seem the most insignificant.
At 6.00 PM in the evening, when all the other monuments were brightly lit, this famous palace was lying in darkness, it seemed like one of the 'other' buildings! I think I can term it negligence.

A must visit to enjoy the colourful culture is a village look alike resort called Choki Dhani, it reinstates the colours and traditions of Jaisalmer (a far of district in rajasthan).. the food is served on palates with at least 12 - 15 dishes to savour from, its priced at a nominal of Rs 300 (6 USD) and is worth the long queue that we need to stand in ( As told : only during peak seasons!)

Jodhpur is the seocnd largest city of Rajasthan, yet another unique flavour to freak on.. its the blue city, why: the answer is from root old traditonal caste system, during the 1500s, the upper class called brahmins used to paint their houses BLUE!! this was the steep demarcation from the rest of the caste members. If u realize how deep rooted such man made customs were, one can actually relate to the communal voilence that frequents our Indian towns.
Suggestion : you should try to live in typical rajasthani houses / cottages, one such good guesthouse is mandore guesthouse, if not, its still worth a visit: go for a lunch or dinner (www.mandore.com)

Udaipur, the lake city of Rajasthan, presents a very different picture, lush, green and lovely it makes u imagine the garden of eden.. i dont know how it looked like, but as per my imagination, this place was it. It is full of lakes, foreigners and magnificient mewar history.. all scattered in bits and pieces. One unique thing in this city that caught my eye, was how the residents of this city had a local channel, all excited about the new year and city developments that were to follow, this is very contrary to the current sceanario, where indians always crib about the government is not living upto their expectations.

A must see is the sound and light show that is conducted by the HRH group in the menak chowk of the udaipur city palace premises everyday - 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, its priced at Rs. 125 per person (2.5 USD) and takes you thru the mewar ruling history. Very unusual, while all the districts (then states) held wars and battles for gain of kingdoms, mewar (of which udaipur was the capital) fought only in defense, and they never believed in bloodshed due to war. Unlike compared to other princely states of Rajasthan!

BTW: all the titles for the royals, were different from one another : the raja is called Sawai (follwed by his name) in Jaipur, Maharaja in Jodhpur and Maharana in Udaipur. It kinda nice, cuts out a lot of confusion in the King's Conferences !!

I wonder, India was called the Golden bird for many centuries.. , with states like rajasthan that pride in their warriorism.. then what happened suddenly?