This blog has been inactive for more than a year now. And I never thought that I would be inspired to start it up again. However, the atrocity of the crimes committed against women should be enough for most Indians with even a slightly modern point of view to get up and voice their opinion through any channel or medium available to them.

First, there was Mangalore. Then Bangalore. And then Bangalore again. And again. And again. Where will this end? How long are we going to tolerate this behaviour for?

The trouble really is this. These were the first incidents to be publicised by the media, but so-called moral policing has been a hidden phenomenon of India, operating covertly in places you would never expect it. There have been scores of articles condemning "moral policing" in recent days, yet the governement, the police, politicians, the people we expect support from, do absolutely nothing to stop it. And in their silence give these men further encouragement.

Have we really come to a situation where women could be forced to act, talk, walk, dress differently? Whatever happened to the democracy and freedom that we prided ourselves for? We have spent years looking down on countries that have been in similar situations and hence slipped down to road to regressive and negative actions. Yet we find ourselves in the exact same position.

To find a constructive long lasting solution that will put these men back in their places (which in my opinion is jail) is the real puzzle. Any suggestions?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Phew, six months or thereabouts has gone by since my last post. Here I am, sitting in a new country which I now call "home". Here I am, in cold blustery weather that makes me finally understand what James Herriot was talking about. Here I am, writing in my blog after so long when really I know that if I don't finish my management essay I will be well and truly rogered.

It's been a strange sort of 2 months. First of all, they've kind of galloped by. Kind of like you turn your head and bang! You're in December! They say change is a good thing. I answer back with "who says so? And how much change?" No now I'm just being unfair. I do love my life here. I love what I'm doing, the college, the quaint little town, the Christmassy feeling in the air, the 2 pound Corona's, autumn leaves (which are non-existent now), the rabbits scampering around, fish and chips...the list is endless. What I do not love however, is washing dishes. That, and fire alarms being set off at 1 in the morning. They are a paranoid race indeed.

I've said it before but I will say it again, thank God for Moron. In a foreign country, he is the one familiar thing that I cling to. He spoils me rotten, takes me shopping, cooks for me, lets me have the side of the bed that is not up against the wall and even, on occasion, washes the damn dishes.

I named this blog "singing in the rain" for no particular reason really. I have one now.

One

*Wrote this a couple of months ago. Will need to write the sequels shortly.

This morning as I was driving to work I had the sudden inexplicable urge to write something. Its funny how it always happens at the most inopportunate times. By the time I've reached somewhere where I can lay my hands on a pen and a paper, I've forgotten all the wonderful perfectly bloggable thoughts that are running through my head at the time.

Much has happened since the last time I blogged. I've started work again. With the same company. Which makes me fear very much that KC will be proved right and I will die working there. However, its a different setup and I actually, at this point anyway, kind of love my job. The fact that its just temporary certainly doesn't hurt.

Oh yes, and then there's the whole college thing. Don't really know where's/why's/how's of it. I only know that I'm going.

Then there has been all the drama of relationships that change and change and change again. Moron is simply wonderful. And forgiving. And thats all there is to that. For now anyway.

But the real reason for this post has been the trips. In 2 months, I've gone to Goa, Bombay, Goa again, Goa yet again and Masanagudi. With very different bunches of people. And they have been fun in different ways. I've been living out of suitcases and waking up in different beds every weekend. But this is the only time in my life that I get to do this shit. So I went right ahead and did that shit.

Goa Trip #1
So a friend of mine from school who we will call PK (or actually PP now) decided that she was going to have her wedding in Goa. Which was great for us anyway. Any excuse to go there after all. So Chet, Dinks and I decided to go a couple of days earlier and then Anshama joined us later that day. Zombie, Puriyada and Laksh decided to come a couple of days later. Much drinking, dancing and general mayhem was had by all and sundry. Even the normally staid Zombie and Laksh were seen letting their hair down. If you want to really have a fun wedding, you have to marry a North Indian. You have to hand it to them...they really know how to have a good time. So we would go for the functions for a bit and then slip of to the beach and lie there while sipping on a King's beer. It really was the life.
One of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.

Some kind of grotesque decorative item the hotel placed on the pull-out sofa.

We ate a lot of this. And all its cousins. Crabs, prawns, squid, mussels. You name it, we ate it.

And drank a lot of this. The vanilla milkshake looking drink is actually a really potent brew with loads of fenny in it. Lethal.

Happy : )

And then I look around...

Coffee. P.G. Wodehouse. The look on her face when I come back home. 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' - any episode. Walking in the rain. Shopping - in small doses. 'Brown eyed girl'. Photographs. Daydreaming. Random e-mails. 4 page letters. Phone calls from old friends. Phone calls from new friends. Phone calls in general. Sleeping in between my parents. Chocolate cake. Chocolate anything. That first date. Falling in love. Being in love. Making love. Gifts for no reason. Playing with dogs. Beaches. Quilts. Gossip sessions. Romantic comedies. Hot showers. Water faucets. Hugging. Kissing. Old jeans. Getting buzzed. Interesting houses. Cheesy souveneirs. Lying around doing nothing in particular. Uncomplicated relationships. Singing in the shower. Lying next to him. Moonlight. Butterflies. Bubbles. Bathtubs.

Focus on the good stuff, they tell me.

Sun and sand, sea and sky

Seriously, who would not want to go back to this...













And this...













And this...













And this...













If I promise to give up all dreams of being a corporate bitch, then can I live last weekend on repeat please?

City of blinding lights

I feel like there's a timebomb ticking inside me. Every second that goes by is just one second closer to its explosion. And it will not be pretty.

I don't know the person that I am anymore. I seem to have just drifted into whoever I am right now - with no particular thought or direction to it. And I don't know whether whatever I believed in before even makes sense anymore. And I'm scared of giving it too much thought because that would mean maybe shattering 23 years of thinking and believing certain things and I'm not willing to pick up the pieces and start over.

People think they know me but I don't think they really do. I don't even think I really want them to. If anyone knows me I'd rather it be me.



















I suppose some people would consider this beautiful. I classify this under a list of things titled "What were they thinking???". Strangely enough this fountain is located in Manipal of all places. What is lacking there in infrastructure in general, they've made up in grotesque fountains. It's enough to give one nightmares.

S-O-S

Blogspot is apparently now banned in India! I'm guessing its temporary but still. As always, when confronted with something that I cannot do, I immediately want to do it all the more.

I was telling Funnylifian that the reason I don't write much anymore is simply because this blog has become everything that I didn't want it to become. It is now based solely on events that occur on an everyday basis in my life rather than the random musings and introspections for which it was originally intended.

Oh well, I think I've found my reason to start blogging all over again.

Dum dum dum

And so I missed the month of June.

Which is kind of strange considering the fact that I had a couple of posts all half-typed out. And the fact that I now have sooooooo much time on my hands. Pretending to study is such a hard job...*sigh*....

It's been a crazy eventful month though. To sum it up, over the past one month I have caused two boys to fight over me (haha that sounds so much better than it actually was)...travelled in a second-class compartment (it's been a while for me ok...I'm a snob...so sue me!)...learned that there is always some connection with a person that you thought you'd never met before ("So you studied in college with this guy from Madras who I knew from....")...watched one cousin get engaged and another get married...been asked about a thousand times when I'm going to get married ("You're next-in-line" is the most irritating phrase in the world...especially when said with a horrible mallu accent)...made some new friends (Ash I really miss you)...gossiped (not something that I normally do)...smoked like crazy...become fat (its all that rice and fish I tell you)...got hit by a bus (it was only my side-view mirror, relax)...attended one of the most 'filmi' weddings I have ever been for (complete with elephant and everything)...fake-smiled like my life depended on it...partied like crazy...

This post, however, is not about any of that.

This is just so that I don't miss the month of July.

Eye in the sky

I really wish that I could write like this. However every time I try to think of a description that is remotely beautiful and, more importantly, appropriate, I go completely blank and my thought process becomes something like this, “Yeah, so that sunset was really beautiful. There were all these colours and it was umm…yeah well…umm…really orange.” I need help.

A couple of days ago, I was out drinking and I ran into my client. Which was kind of embarrassing given the fact that I had taken the day of saying I was sick. What’s worse though is that he now knows exactly what my legs look like. All in all, I think it’s a good time to quit.

I think patting a friend on the back while he throws up is one of the most heroic things one can do. It almost seems mandatory now for me to be around when Hero decides he’s had enough to drink.

The last one week at work is unbelievably relaxing. So far today, I played su do ku, checked everyone's blogs, checked my mail around six times and called everyone in my phone book.
When I finally quit I'm going to drive myself insane.

Oh and if I was buying a suit (which is a really expensive thing to do, by the way) I would be extremely cautious about taking pushy salesmen’s advice. Especially those who talk about the advantages of the rich grey vis-à-vis the pinstripe while wearing a bright yellow shirt with Superman on it.

Updates, etc.

I started this post about a week ago. Since then there have been some significant additions. More specifically, there has been one. It's in italics so as to distinguish it.

*My new house is bee-yoo-ti-ful. Really. Of course there are still parts of it that look a hurricane hit area. But it's more or less fallen into place.

*And there's a set top box. This weekend - 2 straight hours of 'Bold & the Beautiful - The Week That Was' followed by 'Desperate Housewives', 'The O.C' and other miscellaneous crap thrown in between. Bring it on!

*Hugging someone you love is the best feeling in the world. Period.

*I really wish people would ask me what they want to know about me instead of everyone else but me. I don't know when I gave the indication that I would not be willing to respond.

*When I meet people who aren't from here, I get so unbelievably excited. A hint it is methinks.

*My lymph nodes are enlarged. Which is probably not that big a deal but I'm freaked out about it anyway. If it's not better soon then I have to go for a scan.

*Yam leaves today. And suddenly I'm taken back to the way I felt when I left Bombay. That choking feeling in your throat, the uncertainty of what comes next. I don't know what I'm going to do without that girl.

*Phone calls from old friends are always good. Phone calls from old friends who are drunk as skunks are even better.

*A certain mad Madman has his birthday tomorrow. At least I think its tomorrow.

*I've quit my job. In the worst possible way. Angry words and a significant amount of screaming, shouting and crying were involved. Since then, attempts have been made at reconciliation. But the verdict remains the same. I'm not going back to fight a losing battle. Working with family is so hard.