Love of my life : mathematics!

Ever since I put the title of the book up, 'the universal history of numbers', I knew this post was coming.. and soon.

I hate maths... completely.. from the bottom of my heart. Actually it is kind of difficult to distinguish the exact emotion I feel - is it hate or fear. More of the 2nd one , thus leading into the first.

As a child, I always questioned the necessity of knowing mathematics as a subject. Why does anyone need to know calculus or algebra or trignometry.. what is the application really... I couldn't wait to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it has always been with me through my life.. like an unwanted pus filled sore.

When I went to 11th standard, my parents thought I should continue with maths at least till 12th. Post 12th, I opted for Economics.. and guess what!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There's maths there too!!! And then MBA...

And now funnily enough, I am in a profession which requires a "comfort with numbers" as  a basic skillset.

How I am scared of Maths is not funny!!!!! Even though I have scored well in the subject.. in fact that was my highest scoring subject (!!!!!!!) in 12th standard boards.. I scored 88 or 89% I think!!! So even though I have scored well.. it just scares the s**t out of me!!!

In fact, in campus when the placement season was on.. we had these aptitude tests as the first level screening for many jobs. And I almost threw up. I went to my friend in tears.. and told him there's no way I could get a job.. . He very patiently tried to teach me.. I just have this big big a mindset..a block.. that I just cannot do it. Now matter how much I read the problem and try to understand it, I just doesn't get into my thick head at all!!! And I shed many tears.... I used to be a tortured soul.. but finally I did clear a couple of tests :)

During recruitment, I begged my would be boss to not put me in the "quantitative" department as I do not like maths. But he just pooh poohed the idea and there I have been for the last 9 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now of course my confidence levels are higher - excel helps of course :)  ..


But ask me the area of a hexagon..the number of hours it would take for the water to drip from the tank.... I feel weak in my knees ...a bit dizzy.. (what helps is that my job, thank you god, does not require trignometry and the likes)

Any maths and I just zonk out for those few minutes from the meeting OR wait for one of those gifted individuals (who are always there in every meeting.. the first to raise their hand and give the answer ) to say something while I nod intelligently.

I cannot even calculate very quickly. If someone asks me to add stuff up.. I just go the excel sheet. If no one is looking or stressing me out, then I can calculate quicker. Mental maths always used to terrify me.

I think maybe its to do with my maths teacher. I used to be petrified. I wish she had been kind and gentle .. I for sure react better to that approach than the stick one. I just wish she had in my formative years made it interesting to tackle problems. I know so many people who delight in solving problems.. I am not one of them and I envy them for it!!!

Education could have been so much more fun.

So what was /is your favourite (read hateful) subject?

Adrian Mole .. dont go ..

He is ill  :((

I just finished the latest one.. Adrian Mole , the prostrate years..

In the flight.. I was praying as I was racing through the book..hoping she doesn't kill him!!!!

Phew!!

The book is still funny.. though the world is not sunny (I did mean sunny and not funny!!) anymore.. as it used to be! One of my favourite literary characters.

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I just got back from Bombay today. I am happy to be home.. I have been out for the entire week.. and by yesterday I was craving to be back home.. in my bed.. doing what I do .. instead of going to a guest house!!! I am growing old. Thats what it is.

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My most exciting moment of the week : has to be when Scarlett messaged me on Tuesday to tell me Sidin Vadukut of Dork fame had commented on my blog!!!!!!! What a moment!!! My presentation was going to the dogs... the data was all c**p..the client was sitting on my head ....And I had a happy smile on my face.. my colleagues were astonished.. I had a spring in my step.. and feelings of pure joy were radiating from me..everything that the client was saying during the meeting was falling on deaf ears and I was all smiles!! He must be fuming... must be thinking.. what in the world are you doing woman.. you miserable twit.!!

And the most taxing moment , frustrating moment - not accessing blog during this time due to excessive work ....to share the joy!!! Hrrrmmphh. Can be very frustrating.





Anyway, so I was on cloud 9.. and Bombay, the presentation, and everything else actually passed me by in a haze.


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And I missed you guys so much... I am so happy to be back to my bed, home and my laptop. :)) I cant wait to meet my friends at work!!! You can make gagging kind of sounds, all that you want.. but its true!!!

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Its Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we had secret Santa at work. Everyone participated.. I was secret Santa to our security guard.. and from the day it was announced till yesterday we had to make our secret"child (that sounds weird) feel good. So I sent one egg puff on day 1.. chocolates on day 2.. a Christmas cake on day 3 and finally a box of chocolates on the final day!! Other people were more enthu and did nicer things :)

What did I get ? I will let you know tomorrow... I am so very excited.. being the materialistic person that I am....... I love getting gifts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is so very very very exciting.

On that note. goodnight!! And can I say once more.. I am happy to be back :))

A little bit of perspective..

Its been a kind of an icky weekend.. cloudy, dull, grey, gloomy .. not to mention the work which has been on the back of my mind and I am really not doing much to solve it (by working i.e.) !!

And then we decided to visit old family friends.. actually relatives now.. Uncle has been hospitalised. While they have been in Bangalore last one week, we couldn't meet them earlier.

Uncle was diagnosed with cancer... was extremely unexpected.. he quit smoking a decade ago.. went to the doc for some check up!! Now they are here to get some tests done.. to check how much it has spread.

I find visiting hospitals really difficult.. if there is one thing I am scared of.. terrified of.. that is illness.. especially in the case of family. To see so many tubes and stitches (indicative of the operation)... a shiver passes down my spine.


And on these occasions, I do not know what to say - should one console or talk about other routine things to take their mind off things!! I usually opt for the 2nd way... but mostly people can make out from my face.. blood usually drains out.. and one conversation can have me in a flood of tears.

I wish people were never ever ill.

Over the weekend I have been worrying about a presentation.. this hospital visit has brought in a bit of perspective .. what idiotic things we worry about.. when actually you could be out enjoying..  and just being with the people you love. I get this jolt every once in a while.. I got it a few months ago when I resolved that I am going to stop being a workaholic and spend time with parents and with A.. I haven't met my sis in ages!!! And a month hence, I am back to working late nights.. traveling.. with no time for anything..

And today again as I introspect.. I have spent the entire year working, working and working more. And when I was not working, I was worrying... anxious about work ....thinking about clients, business, presentations.. I cant remember when I had a full day to myself when I was completely free from work, physically or mentally.

Sad isn't it.. It takes something like this to bring you back to earth with a thud.. makes you take a step back and look at your own life.. and wonder what is it exactly that you have achieved.

While I work over the weekend...

I hate working weekends. And as you can see I am in no mood to work.. since I am blogging and not working.. this slavery never stops!! Ho hum

But anyway on to a brighter note...

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I finished Dork and boy is it a hilarious book!!!! I picked it up on Scarlett's recommendation. When I started reading the book.. I was like "Oh man, this is going to be a crass humour" kind of a book!! But joy behold.. it is not!!!! It seriously is laugh out loud funny.. literally!!!

It is about a Mallu Man trying to fit himself in, by hook or by crook in a consultancy firm!! What did I love about the book - whats there not to like!!! The affable character 'Robin Einstein Verghese' who in all his funny ways, is the most super confident being on the planet, no matter what the rest of the world thinks... and he is not worried either.. he breezes through without much of a care in the world.

When I say its laugh out loud funny.. it literally was for me. I narrated  the incidents from the book to my colleagues to work and went hysterical with laughter...  and that day when I came back home, I was like, was it really so funny. I dont think so.. it always seems funnier when you are in a bunch of hysterical people... and you also kind of, KIND OF start exaggerating things ... a wee bit....when you see everyone hanging on to every word... so that night when I started reading the book, I was conscious of the fact that I had read 2 chapters and not laughed out loud even once. I thought it was all in my imagination - OR what I liked to think I did.

And suddenly I started laughing and couldn't stop... even when I shut the book to get some sleep.. I was shaking uncontrollably with laughter remembering the book.. A, who was snoring away to glory by my side, woke up with a start and asked why I was crying!! lol

The scene was - Robin buying off a micro from his hated roommate when he leaves.. and he wants to cook food in the micro.. and suddenly he says.. that ba***d... the micro would only switch on for 20 secs.. so he has to stand next to it and press it every few secs.. and it took him 1 hour to make Instant chicken curry!!! And I laughed and laughed and laughed till I started crying!!!!!!!!!

It is a very good take on consultants.. actually office life in general.. the faffing.. the put on camaraderie...all of us who work would be able to identify with it!! And of course being a mallu I do identify with the mallu-ness.. what with babykuttys and blossoms..

Apparently a part of the trilogy.. I am waiting with bated breath. I am buying the next 2 too, Sidin.

I was so enamoured by the book.. I did a bit of search on the author Sidin Vadukut. Read his blog - which is as awesome as his book!! Read his post on his trip to to Sri Lanka.. I was rumbling with laughter even when reading that.. He is good. Now I "like" him on facebook, follow him on twitter and follow his blog as well!!

I have told everyone I know to buy the book.. and I have managed one sale as well!!! I should get commission!!! :))

Why cant I ever write like this!!! I want to be an author and make trillions.


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Now I am onto reading The Girl who kicked Hornet's nest. I am also reading the universal history of numbers - I hate numbers but I like history. So there!!! More about my love for maths in the next post!!!!

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I feel like the times when we used to have exams... When you need to study.. and you so do not want to study.. you take a break because of the smallest of reasons... you live for the breaks. That is my situation right now. I am chatting with people.. watching all kinds of mind numbing TV.. doing timepass.. I just dont feel like working!!!

Cant I just run away.

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Off to bombay tomorrow .. thankfully an evening flight.

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Watched MTV bakra after a long time.. Cyrus is a butcher who is offering fresh mutton to people.. and the fresh mutton is actually a human being.. one of the fresh pieces start screaming suddenly asking the shopper to help him....!!!! The guy got a scare.. scare is an inadequate term!!!! Cyrus will get beaten up one of the days!!!! In fact if I remember correctly, he did!!!

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Screeching women on splitsvilla.. such a derogatory show.. why do women do it..

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Now I should get back to work I think.. :((

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I am not able to get the highlight to go!! oops.

4 pairs of chappals, 2 pairs of earrings....et al..

I just need one comment to get a boost and put in a post immediately!!! haha...

So here goes..

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All you need to do is laugh a lot and believe me your day goes well. I have experienced this!! You literally float on air.. Only one thing you should be careful about.. accepting more work in all your happiness.. You may regret that!

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I just finished reading connect the dots. It is quite an amazing book... so inspiring.. to read about these people who made it big.. just because of their passion and commitment. I wish I were'nt such a scaredy rat. :(

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Took mom to Chitra Kala Parishat yesterday. It is a fair like thing wherein people from all over India put up their stalls.. handicrafts. clothes, paintings, ceramic... I bought 4 pairs of chappals and all together only for 700 bucks. Quite a steal. And 2 pairs of earrings.. 50Rs!!

I would have bought more.. there were lampshades.. rugs... diffusers... candles.. candle stands.. bedspreads..mugs..

A bought bastar men frames and 2 wooden boxes inside which you can light incense sticks.. it ensures ash does not fall anywhere.. and incense remains hidden inside the box..

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Please watch the soap..saas bina sasural one day. It is very strange.. and thus humourous. This girl gets married into a household with very many men and no women. The day she walks into the house, she sees a mountain of unclean dishes, occupying one room!!! How is that even possible!! Apparently the men, each one of them, eat 3 plates of rice everyday...  And she cleans the kitchen in her nice clothes and jewellery... her father in law instructs her that she needs to get the food ready everyday by 1.30 as they like to eat then.

That I found extremely sad, not to say annoying. The first day in a new house.. and she is expected to do everything.. I guess that is the reality in many houses.

Though one thing I really really liked.. and believe me I was completely astounded to see this coming my way.. So the new bride cooks rice and daal on her first day. And while she is cootchie cooing with her husband, a roach falls into the daal. And this is where I was flabbergasted.. actually I should say happy.. the husband, to my delight, does not tell her to cook everything again or that his father / family cannot to be served this trash.. he actually removes the roach from the daal and asks her to serve the dish as is .. to his family. And asks her to keep her trap shut!!

I was so happy to see that at least there is at least one serial in which they have shown a progressive husband.

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Tomorrow is monday again :((  ..on the top of that no Marion in MC australia.

Headaches, you ask!!

I get headaches very often! That would be about once in 2 weeks.. maybe!

I get headaches because of  -

Too much stress
Washing my hair at night
Washing my hair when its cold
Traveling by rick when chilly and not adequately warm
When I feel cold either due to weather or AC
When I travel a lot
When I sleep too much
When I sleep too less (less than 9 hrs)
When I stare at the machine for too long
If I do not eat, skip meals
If I put coconut oil on my head for too long

Basically I get a headache because of anything and everything... AC is the culprit more often then not!!

I get this from my mom's side of the family.. everyone has headaches!!! 

Well, saridon is my best friend.. I just took one. I definitely do not belong to the set of people who do not pop pills at mere headaches!!! I do not know or understand why people choose to sit through so much pain in the hope that it will go away.. the pills are created for a reason right!!

So anyway, today, the reason I think is............ cold... yup! Definitely the chill in the air and the washed hair combination!!!

love it or leave it

I have been leaving it.. mostly.


Today again at work (yes, I have very many conversations at work),  we were talking about pursuing interests. And how we would not be able to sit at home doing nothing.. I know I am like that.. I need to work. I cant think of life without work.

Anyway, the point is, I thought of what my interests were - And I came up with reading, movies and of course blogging.

Till date I have never been able to sustain any activity that I have tried to pursue :

1) Drawing - yes I used to draw in school. Then one fine day, as an adult I decided I need to have some interests outside work and drawing was it!! I bought a sketch pad.. pencils.. colours , a book that teaches sketching.. I did it for one day .. exactly one day. Since then, I have torn out pages out of sketch pad and written letters!!! :))

2) Drawing again - 2nd attempt after 2 yrs. This time told A to teach me. He is good at sketching.. he made me draw a wooden chest.. and then told me about perspectives.. and then made me draw again and again.. till I just got up and left.

3) Swimming - yes, that still remains as the no 1 thing to do!! I found out eveything about classes - about 3 times and in different cities. Right now, its too cold to learn.. brrrrrrrrr

4) Learning a language - I decided first thing I should do is learn to read and write my own mother tongue.. my book on "learn malayalam in 30 days".. remains unopened.

5) Gym - you already know what I did. I also used to walk in bombay.. I think I did that for about month and then got bored. I bought walking shoes and gym clothese too!!!

6) Albums - I decided (yet again), that I should create an album of our jaunts..( I do not particularly like digital pics).. starting with london.. I bought a notebook which has handmade paper.. and I wrote LONDON on the first page..after that awesome (being sarcy here) start, I just didnt feel like doing anything with it and the notebook remains as empty as ever!! Oh if that wasnt enough, I bought a bright lime green colored book to record our pondicherry trip too... and it looks pretty.. pretty and empty.

I do not seem to learn my lessons, do I!!

So basically my interest wanes.. I make excuses like.. it is too cold.. do not get ricks.. I will join once I buy a car.. its too early in the morning.. its too late in the evening.. too much work.. its weekend...blah blah blah!!!!!  Nothing holds my attention.

Now blogging is the only thing that I have been able to sustain my interest in... And boy am I surprised. And I dont know how... look at all my pathetic excuses (as above) !!!
So the reason I came up with :

a) I have my circle of blog friends who I interact with - I read their blogs, they read mine. I am happy at knowing more people .. and there is no pressure to go out.. and meet .. one can just opine if one wants to.. or not!!! Know some people more.. know interestign people.. know who you want to know

Basically its only because of you guys that I have been blogging.

Of course, you cannot sustain anything if you are not remotely interested!! SO some credit, I do give to myself. You have to be motivated to blog. And I am motivated even now! Its been 2.5 yrs!!!

Actually I almost didnt blog - when I had to start the site.. I saw the form and freaked.. and I was like.. God... I have to fill so much information. And thinking of a name for the blog etc etc and I left it. And Scarlett insisted that I try once. And my first post... I felt ridiculous .. writing to myself on a public forum!


Thank you Scarlett for persisting.......... for introducing me to this fun! :) I would never have known it otherwise.

I am happy with my big fat hard bound books, thank you

This post has been long pending. I have been having discussions about about kindles with various people ever since it was launched.. and a colleague got her kindle to work. And we all got a chance to examine it.

Yes it looks like a book. Yes you can read it when on the go.

But it is so NOT for me.

In fact just last week, I was examining someone's kindle. Very many many books had been downloaded but none read!!! And I feel people who like, sorry , love books would be like me!!! Aren't you?

I need the real book!!! The entire reading experience is enhanced by the smell of paper and the feel of the book. I love reading in bed .. in fact that's where I read everyday. And I cannot, just CANNOT imagine taking a kindle to bed.

I love looking at my books too. It is very soothing, I find.. and it gives me this great pleasure when I look at my book rack... knowing and seeing there are so many books for me to read!!!

And for some reason, I never got the concept of reading books online! I can read articles.. really long articles but never books. I know someone who read deathly hallows online!!! Can you imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe it reminds me of work.. I really don't know what it is about reading books online that is such a put off!!

The touch and feel of books is the most important to me. I don't think I can ever leave it aside and download books and read on a kindle.

Give me a real book anyday!

Will hard bound books disappear? Not if there are many many more people like me.

I will never ever give up my books and read on a kindle. But then never say never is what some people say... I used to hate mobile phones too.. But look at me now.. I cannot live without my phone.

On second thoughts.......

Actually, no... I will never buy / read on a kindle... Downloading books... pah!!!!!

Rainy day stash of books

When I am down and out, I enjoy reading fantasy , comics, children's books, comedy, chic flicks, a really racy suspense thriller...


But there are some days when you are totally out and want something familiar. So I have a stash of books which I re-read on my worst days when :

a) I am overworked, so stressed out that I need something familiar
b) When nothing around me is going right.. I am depressed.. and I need a few laughs
c) When I am scared.. the night is too silent and I am alone in the house
d) It rains like crazy and it is chilly and you are house bound
e) When am pms (ing) and I am depressed
e) Many  a days .. just like that.. when you just feel like dipping into something nice



So my choice for these rainy days -

1) PG Wodehouse - My favourite author!!! Gives me quite the laughs when I need it. I never got bored of it no matter how many times I read it. I take refuge in PGW books quite often.. I remember the one night in Bombay when I was alone and I was so scared... I read PGW till 5am.. till it became sunny and light!!!!! You can never be scared with Bertie / Gussie Fink Nottle / Bingo around you ... As one of the introductions to PGW stated... when there is a bed in a PGW book, it is not used for s*x... it is used as a hiding place!!

I have read most of PGW.. save for one.. which I have had for the last 6 months.. I am saving it :)

2) The Faraway tree series by Enid Blyton - I can never ever ever tire of this book. This is one book I have read about 20 times at least... Every few months I read this book. 3 kids living in the country - Jo, Bessie and Fannie find this magic tree which grows different things every few metres.. and there are elves/ pixies who live on it... moonface, silky (who keeps washing her hair), the angry pixie, Mr whatshisname, dame washalot, the saucepan man.. and every few days, on the top of the tree, there is a magical land that comes.. land of birthdays, land of rolling (where you keep rolling), land of giants, land of wishes, land of toys , upside down land, land of nursery rhymes.... you get the picture! What a wonderful book... and what an imagination. One of my eternal favourites !! And this is what I read on rainy , drak, grey, dreary, gloomy days!!!
Actually all Enid Blyton books have such a positive atmosphere... rosy cheeked children, drinking ginger ade, going for picnics... eating scone and jams!!! Ah.. to be transported into that world.. sheer bliss!

3) Archies  - I started reading Archies when in school and I read it to this day. I have about 50-60 odd Archies and I keep buying them every month. I love Jughead and Moose and Midge and Reggie and Mr Weatherbee and everyone else!!! It makes me laugh even now.. as an adult.. seeing Archie walk into lampposts.. one image permanently stuck in my mind is that of Archie skateboarding down a steep incline. Many a times when am reading Archies, you will find me shaking with laughter!!!! I love it ...light reading when overworked!!!  It makes me feel all sunshiney!!!!


4) Harry Potter - You knew this was coming didnt you! I dont think there is any book as fascinating!! It is so fascinating that it makes me forget all my worries and troubles. Whenever I have read the books .. I have read the series 3 times now.. my head has been full of HP for that period.. and nothing fazes me.. so deeply am I entrenched in the HP world!! I wish it didnt have end though - I wish she would write more of it :(

5) Outlook Traveler magazine -  Nothing else (besides whatever I mentioned above) makes you feel better than reading about beautiful destinations and dreaming about visiting these places when you are putting in about 14-16 hours a day. Whenever I have too much work.. I read outlook traveler and plan for a trip.. which invariably does not happen.. but makes me feel great at that point in time... the thought of taking a holiday and chilling!

6) Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend : It is hilarious. While I havent re-read any yet, I read a few books of the series when I was really dying with work. And everyday late in the night, on my way home, I would feel happy thinking about the fact I am going to read Adrian Mole. Everyday I read in bed and I would be laughing so much that I would have tears in my eyes. So I used to feel happy that I went to bed happy and smiling.. all set to face work the next day.


So what does your stash of "feel happy" books comprise of?

Of headaches, Archies, Pictures and more

The year is about to end.. and I have posted only 69 posts yet!

Prioritize moonshine, prioritize.... work will always exist, with you and without you.

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A colleague, S, gave me the Archie wedding series of digest! There are 7 digests in all .. i read it all last night itself.. IT WAS TERRIBLE.

We like Archies, we love Archies... because they remind us of a time gone by .. a connection to the old world charm.. my own school/ college. I really do not want to see them getting married and having kids. I want to see them walk into a lamppost, goofing up in school etc. I am not ready for the "married" world.

Can I disclose what I read? Please please? Let me know.

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I was reading all my old posts today.. I had so much fun reading them as well as the comments.. How much we all bicker!!

And as I read  my old posts, I felt my writing has deteriorated!! :(

Will I ever write so well that I publish a book? Ho hum.. a billionaire me , like JK Rowling.. keep dreaming moonshine!

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News today :

1) CWG corruption scandal
2) Adarsh  housing corruption scandal
3) Karnataka housing / land corruption scandal
4) 2G corruption scandal
5) IPL scandal
6) Pamela Anderson on big boss 

Thats what I saw when I switched on to the news channel last week.

Pamela Anderson.......... so did she finally increase trps of big boss?

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Some changes to my blog layout - I copied the "currently reading" bit from Scarlett and posted that on my blog... also added one new thing called picture of the week. I keep taking pics on my Blackberry. Random pics of my surroundings that I keep taking. I plan to put them up, once a week.

The current picture of the full moon is a few weeks old. It looked amazing. We were driving back from Koramangla and that's the picture I took when we were at a signal.

I also added an online pet.. a tortoise named oliver :)
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I get headaches very often - if I travel a lot, if I sleep too less, sleep too much, eat food that doesnt agree with me, wash my hair in the evening when its cold, when its cold and chilly and I need to travel in a rick, if I stare at the screen too much , if I dont eat on time etc etc .. you get the picture.

Today I have a headache - I overslept. Saridon, my best friend.

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A gloomy grey no sun chilly day today. I want to watch some nice romantic movie and have a nice cup of tea. I wish I didn't have to make it myself!!

Why am I not creative :(( .. On a gloomy day, one should do something nice.. to chase the gloom away.. maybe make a collage of old photographs and hang it somewhere.. now if only I had a wand.. or summon up enough energy!

Top 100 books apparently!!

Came across this on FB, someone had uploaded this. BBC apparently has published top 100 books. Though i have no clue if it bogus or not, it was still a fun exercise to carry out....

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here!!!! (copied directly from FB)

Of the 100 , I have read 21!!!! I have havent added the ones the classics I read in school - Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen as they were a part of syllabus. Whatever I have read as an adult is what I have marked!!!

I tag you all - Mommie, Scarlett, Knife, Moony ,melee ... and anyone else who reads my blog!!!! Please leave a message so that I can read on your blog.. if you dont have a blog then put in a message on mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So here goes.....

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (in school)

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (I have it.. does that count?)

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (In school)

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis 

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (In school i have read it!!! It was a part of syllabus)

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (I have read 3/4th.. that am sure counts)

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (Again in school , not as an adult)

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I have read very many.. not the full collection though)

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (In school)

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Drunken stupor.. in the company of fellow blogger Knife

So one fine rainy day, Knife messaged me and asked if we could catch up for dinner!! I had many worries -

a) he had messaged saying, "dinner with you guys".. I assumed dinner along with many of his fans!
b) His 20,000 friends were leaving messages on FB and I assumed everyone would be invited with Knife sitting at the head of the table like a guru, and me trying to claw my way through to shake his hand, and
c) the stress of trying to suggest a place for a foodie like Knife!!!! You know, my amazing will not equal his amazing. I am happy with a nice ambience, good company and nice food.. which actually maybe substandard in his opinion!! Boy, was it tough. So I tried to convince him to go to UB city.. but he was in the mood for "grunge" food as he later told us.. and I was like, grunge food.. ehhhhh???

But finally what happened - a) guys = me and my husband b) no 20,000 people.. just us and him and c) we both arrived at Koshy's as the "it" place for grunge food.. I too like Koshy's.. but I wasnt sure whether he would like it .. it looks like old Indian coffee house.. with peeling paint.. ceiling fans.. friendly service with old waiters (who will disappear for ages and never see or hear you calling them.. but eventually they will turn up with a smile on their face, no rush and you cant help but feel nice and warm) .. and it has people like us dining there, you will find!

Koshy's is a Bangalore landmark... It has been there for donkey's years.. pretty much like Indian Coffee house. And you can sit there.. and sit there.. lounge around with your beer....no one will throw you out.

So amidst much trepidation, I met Knife along with husband. Husband had chanced to come home early last night and I got him along too!! And ........................... the verdict is.. it was fun. Koshy's passed Knife's test!!!

We ordered mutton cutlets.. now A is a foodie too.. so he suggested a couple of items. Mutton cutlets (A's recco), prawn biriyani (Koshy's recco), prawn curry rice (I love it and my recco) and pork vindaloo (Knife's recco). We reached at 10.40 just as the kitchen was to close.. and we were starving!!!! We nursed our drinks , A with his bud, K with his whisky and me with my old monk .. when suddenly we were served and asked for our last drinks order.. and we ordered another round.

Now with me the thing is, rum puts me in a "happy" frame of mind! Come to think of it.. so do the other drinks!!! Anyway.... good company.. high spirits.. and amazing food when you are hungry.. positively lethal combination! Research, food, work, food, scarlett, traffic, food, food, blogs, and more food.. were the conversation topics ;)

At 12 finally, we moved out of the restaurant with great difficulty.. boy we were stuffed!!!

It was truly fun and special! And no I do not have any pics!!! Check Knife's blog
for that!!

Knife... thanks for chocolates.. half way through it!!!! And like I said, next time UB City, rogue elephant, karavalli!!! :)

Preparing for the next HP release and more

So Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1 is releasing coming weekend (dang, I havent booked tickets yet). Last time when I went to watch half blood prince, I remember having known only the basic story.. I had read the book a year back. So when people told me that it wasnt true to the book, I was flummoxed. The only reason why I had been claiming it had been true to the book was that Snape killed Dumbledore (sob) and thats all that I realised I remembered. The sob was for Dumbledore getting killed.. I was positively depressed!!!!

So this time round, I decided to be prepared and read Deathly Hallows. Anyway I remembered thinking (when i read the book the first time) that it was complicated. So now I have almost finished the book... and guess what, it is as awesome as ever!!!!!!!!!!! You know I had forgotten how brilliant JK Rowling really is!!!! The small loops tied in... the fast pace.. it really is brilliant.

The only problem with reading the book again before the movie is the worry that they will not be able to include everything in the movie and it will fall short of expectations!!

The second reason of course is to get into the mood of Harry Potter!!! And I am so full of it right now.. you can ask me any question from the book!!! And I feel fantastic about knowing these details that you ordinary people may not remember.. hehehehehe!!! I feel so good.

A question for you die hard fans...Like.. whose patronus was the silver doe???????????????????????? Come come people.. answer.. DO NOT GOOGLE.

And while we are at it, what is Luna's fathers name?

Name the 7 horcruxes... And name the things that can kill these horcruxes!!!

What is Ron's aunts name who talks about Dumbledore's book during the wedding?

What are the deathly hallows?

Who helps Harry/Ron/Hermoine break into Gringotts?
You can submit your own questions and I will try to answer :)
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I am sick... oh ho, not mentally.. I am sick physically. I seemed to have picked up something from Sri Lanka.. food/water infection combined with irregular meal times = dyspepsia apparently. I feel like a character in a Wodehouse novel... the numerous uncles with dyspepsia.. was it Uncle Tom? Aunt Dahlia's husband?

It is sickening. I am supposed to have mini meals through the day as I am unable to eat a full proper because of lack of appetite.

Oh well!!!
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Did you all watch KBC???? The guy won 1 cr....for 5 crs called out Ganpati Bappa Moriya to give him guidnace.. apparently the guidance he got was to continue.. he did not have a f*g clue to the question.... first person born in antartica.. who will for that matter.........took a complete guess against all advise!!! And lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AB was clearly frustrated and looked as if he wanted to slap the guy....... He got only 3 lacs ....... and this after he won 1 cr!!!!!!!!!!! Some people...............

And on that note.... goodnight!!!

Pictures as promised - Sri Lanka

Colombo


The view from our hotel room - Galle face beach!

The Kalaniya temple about 7 kms from Colombo - this was our favourite!!!!!! Definitely not to be missed!!!

St Lucias church

The Wolvendaal church and one of the tombstones inside the church!!!!

The Gangaramaya temple. It is a beautiful place yet again but extremely touristy!!!!!

Kandy

The Kandy lake is pretty - and you can actually walk and sit in that peaceful area. We also saw monitor lizards basking in the sun. The 2nd picture is of the temple of the sacred tooth relic. It is a Buddhist temple. It is opulent, beautiful. No pics of inside the temple - I forgot to click!!!!!! :)


Earls Regency Kandy. A nice hotel - it faces the Mahaweli river. The only problem is that it about 10-15 mins drive from the city center. So if you do not have a vehicle, you need to rely on the autos!!!

Nuwara Eliya

St Andrews, the place where we stayed at Nuwara Eliya, a hill station like Ooty. All the houses at Nuwara Eliya are styled like English cottages.

Galle

Pictures of Fort Printers where we stayed at Galle. It is inside the fort and a really nice 18th century mansion!!!
Pretty much like Neemrana, they have tried to bring the restored mansion to the olden days as you can probably see from the pics (if you really stare at it).


Streets of Galle inside the fort, and yes thats me! :)

Galle cricket stadium - it is only fenced. So you can actually watch the match from the road and maybe atop the fort!!!! It is so close that you could probably see the cricketers from the road!!!!

What you can see in this picture is the Galle Fort Wall - On the right side of the wall is the quaint Galle town inside the fort and the left side is the regular Galle town. You can actually walk on the fort wall - it takes about an hour, a walk by the sea.

Sorry about the pic sizes!!!!!! It takes a hell lot of time to upload ... the entire formatting goes for a toss!!!!

But I do hope you get the general drift! :) Enjoy.

Back in time from Sri Lanka for Diwali

Happy Diwali everyone. Hope you all had a blast and did NOT contribute to the noise or smoke pollution. :)





So here's a beginner's guide to what to do in Sri Lanka ... rather what we, beginners did in Sri Lanka :)



1) Day 1 - Our flight was late by very many hours.. and instead of spending the afternoon chilling in Colombo, we spent the afternoon at Chennai airport (I wish I could say roasting, but it was not.. was raining there). We stayed at Taj Samudra which faces the Indian Ocean... its, well.. nice. Doesnt live upto the expectations of a"TAJ" hotel. It definitely was not value for money!!! We strolled on the beach - ate some rubbish at the stalls there.. it really was rubbish!! Or maybe we did not know what to eat - we had some mutton thing with naan. And then we walked.. and walked.. finally landed at Bavarian, a german pub with live music!!!



2) Day 2 - City tour!! We made them include a Buddhist temple at Kelaniya and that wa sthe best decision we made during the trip! It is a beautiful, serene, calm place - visited by locals!



And then we were off to Wolvendaal church , St Lucia's church - both beautiful and extremely interesting!! Only for those who like history (I love it) or like architechture!!! Evening we visited the Gangaramaya Buddhist temple - it is slightly touristy!

And then to Odele!!! GO to Colombo for shopping. This is what I heard from every person!!! Odele was supposed to be THE place for it!!! Well, it is like another Lifetsyle! The stuff is good.. but usually I get very confused when faced with too many options!! And I am a terrible shopper!! So if shopping's your thing, you will feel right at home there!!! What did i buy - a pair of shorts (very cheap, INR = 300) and a dress (INR=600) which i will never wear!!!!!



Oh, thats one thing great about Sri Lanka.. it is cheap - the one place you can actually divide rather than multiply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ps : INR is double Sri Lankan rupees)



3) Day 3 - we left for Kandy. We reached in the evening, and promptly went to watch the cultural show. Another one of the things with Sri Lanka is that everything closes early in the evening!! We rested our tired selves at Earls Regency - a nice hotel though about 15 mins away from the city center!!



4) Day 4 - We went to the temple of the sacred tooth relic! It has a lot of history behind it but again is very touristy!!!! And then we left for Ooty of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya! It is a beautiful place - has english type cottages .. all of them, not just one or two.. all the houses are built in that style!! It is a charming place.. nothing much to do there except walk around a bit and enjoy the chill (if you like cold places.. I for one hate cold)!!!! We stayed at St Andrews - a really really really nice place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



5) Day 5 - We left in the morning for Galle - about 6 hours from Nuwara Eliya. And this was my aboslutely favourite part of the trip!!! I love the sea - I can sit and watch the sea for hours!!! It is so soothing.. you can actually walk around the Galle Fort.. not around, I mean on the Galle Fort!!!! And we saw turtles in the sea... and the town within Galle Fort (there is one part of town outside the fort which is like a regular town) is so pretty - i dont remember if there were cobbled streets... but sure felt like it!!! It had these quaint houses and shops!!!!!!! I loved it!!!!!!!!

We stayed at Fort Printers which is an 18th century restored mansion inside the fort ... amazing!!!! Though food was sad.. well i guess you cant get everything!!!



And then we trudged back to colombo for our flight back to Bangalore!



Travel Advisory

a) Buddhist temples are brilliant and so are the churches.. do visit if you are work harassed!!! You need to cover yourself up for these visits!! Long pants are a must.

b) INR = 2X Sri Lankan rupees.. joy to the world!!!

c) But transport is expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

d)Food is expensive - a dish can cost about 1000 rupees (INR=500)

e) Shopping should be on your list - After all that i said, it is really cheap!!!!!!

f) I had fish curry rice everyday!!! Its quite nice - you will never feel the lack of Indian Food!! Though by day 5.. I couldnt have looked at curry-rice again!!

g) Carry all the short skimpy stuff you want!!!!!!! I felt so gloriously free in my apir of shorts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

h) If you like something - buy it! You are not likely to find anything cheaper anywhere else!!

i) If you are visiting many places like we did, its best to take reddot tours. They are great - they sent us a car + driver who was extremely helpful. They keep to themselves, advise you if you need it!!!!!!!!!!! And just let you be.


Phew!!!! Pics of some of these places in the next post!!!

Dont you just wish!

Why is it that it always post an important meeting , you come with these absolutely dazzling things that you could have said ... or think, why in the world did I ever open my mouth to utter such trash!!! After all how many opportunities does one get. And as one utters all this bilge, simultaneously the mind is churning the thought - oh god, what c**p am I talking. And by the end of it all - why did I ever say all this? Why couldnt have I said interesting things about Indian economy!! And this, after one puts considerable thought and writes these short and crisp bullet points on the possible topics that could be discussed. Basically all of it goes out of the window.

Actually, doesnt it always happen - at least to me it does.. everytime without fail. I finish an important discussion, leave the room and trash myself for all the rubbish I talked. Rather all the things I didnt talk about.

One can only hope and pray that people forget quickly...
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A very exciting trip to the Bombay airport - made it just in time to catch the flight with about 2 mins to spare. I left at 6.15pm (from Lower parel).. my flight was at 8.35pm!! I was at BKC (more than 3/4th distance) by 6.45pm... and then all havoc broke loose! A colleague was trying to drop me to the airport. We missed the airport turn and went over the flyover (this after negotiating all traffic and at 7.45pm)... and then we took some shortcuts, rode like Bond.. and zipped our way through to reach the airport with 5 mins to spare - only to realise we had missed the Indian Airlines departure terminal which is a separate terminal. And the only way to get there is to get out of the airport, take a full U turn and re-enter the airport!!!

The airport officials I must admit were so sweet - they bundled me into this shuttle which goes to the IA departure - the coach people were at first reluctant as they thought the check in time was well past - But then when they realised we had 5 mins .. they broke all the rules (literally speaking) in the world to get me there in 3 mins!!!

I thanked them with all my heart!!!:) I dont think this would be possible in any country but India!!!!

And I made it - actually I was the second last person to board the flight!!! Phew!!

Goodnight!!

Oh no, not you Jimmy!! :(

This post is for those of you who watch masterchef australia, star world!!

I have been following this show right from day 1. I love the creativity that these people display - and these are not proper chef... they are amateur cooks.. though if you see what they cook.. you would never be able to figure that out if you did not know it already. They help each other out - And thats another thing I like about the contestants.. they are not fiercely competitive in the sense of trying to bring each other down.. they focus on their skills!!!

And I love the judges - they do not kick, scream, throw plates (except once, and that too when they liked it), throw food etc etc.. they are positive and have tons of energy. When they say its disappointing, I am sure everyone feels it!!

So one of the contestants was Jimmy - he is an Indian and actually was doing very well on the show. Why did I like him - besides the fact that hes an Indian, he was always ever smiling not matter what!!

I will miss him on the show :((

We are what we eat

And if that is the case.. I dont know what to call myself!!!!

Today I had : Pasta, chips, chicken curry, 1 roti, fried rice, beef fry, chole (2 types), rajma, beetroot, veg curry, fried karela, tapioca, bhindi. And then coffee rum pudding(i think), one slice of a cake..

And then in the evening one more slice of biscuit cake.. another plate of pasta..

No wonder I felt so stuffed.

It was pot luck today and everyone at work got something.. my contribution was the chips! Unfortunately I missed another chicken curry,fish and dal! I just couldnt eat anymore!!!

So I had a plan to skip dinner... but skip I didnt!! I made dosa and chutney!!! This pot luck is not good for my paunch :(

There can only be one : AB

There is and only one superstar.. for me... another A!!! Its his birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And what better than to dedicate a post to him.

For those of you who do not get it, I am talking about Amitabh Bachchan... swoon swoon swooooooooooooooonn...

Its his 68th birthday today!!! And he is still going strong.. he is my favourite actor.. I think one of the first movies I ever watched.. that i remember .. would be an AB movie for sure..

Can anyone ever forget.. Vijay of Sholay.. or Vijay of deewar.. the original don.. AB in Shakti (I still cannot forget the scene where he is clad in black and chasing the villian at the airport).. or in Satte pe satta.. amar akbar anthony.. majboor.. naseeb.. shan.. do aur do panch.. mr natwarlal (the song, mere paas aao mere doston.. I love it).. khoon paseena, hera pheri, kabhie kabhie, coolie, mard, lawaris, dostana,parwarish.. phew...god, the list is endless!!!!!!!

Is it any wonder why we dont have a super star like Amitabh.. not in the near offing!!!

And as I am watching KBC on TV.. the same thought just gets reiterated.. he is so humble.. he is just brilliant with people.. KBC brings out the best in him.. and it is a real pleasure to watch him host it!!!!! He is just super with people.. people gush all over him.. and he makes everyone feel special!!!!

And as I am typing this, everyone in the audience is singing Happy Birthday to him!!! How sweet..

I am one of those lucky people on the face of this planet who have had the opportunity to meet him!! It is the highlight of my life... my mom's side of the family which is completely into Hindi movies actually congratulated me on being the only one in the family to have shaken hands with him!!!! Ah well..

Yes, that is my absolutely favourite memory.