Onam in Delhi...

That time of year, when every malayalees miss atleast the home food.... Onam.... it was a different experience this time.... The first onam in Delhi... i thought it will be a disaster... but thanks to my cousin Josephine here, i didn’t feel like missed out...

Was at her house in Gurgaon last Sunday.... had a long onam sadhya preparing session... it was fun... we invented some recipe too... finally came up with a 14 item sadhya... it was a success... and we have beaten so many people even in kerala by miles... Planning to top that next year as well...

After an eventful pre-celebration... the real onam day was just an ordinary day... last minute i decided to wear settu saree, but was not going to be a success considering the late monsoon rain and floods in delhi.... had to hire a cab to and fro office...

 It was a quiet day for me in office... I continued to be too comical in a saree as usual... year after year i wear saree on onam day, and every time makes it look awkward.... This time i preferred mote to move around much... well, the question is when will i ever be comfortable in a saree!!??

Well, done with the day with some chips and chats with my neighbours... it was not a great day as such... but it was not bad either... Will wait for another 364 days or so and hope for it to be better... 

Overwhelmed with sadness...

I consider myself as an over emotional person... many a times its not an attitude to be shown in public... sometimes my over reactions had irritated many...
but today was one of those days; when i try to crush down all those emotions, it ends up affecting badly on my mood... i never felt so sad for a long time... i cannot explain what the real reason behind this... all those unappreciated workaholic life in office, or those uncaring family members or what else!!?? i have no clue... may be its the sum total of all anger, pain, frustration... due to each and everyone around me!!!
i had to rush to the wash room a number of times so that people wont see my red red eyes...shed a few drops of tears there.... how many times i wished for the day to end fast so that i can run away from everyone... i wish i had a true friend around that moments so that i could let it all out.... but too bad, life had left me all along this whole world... it took a while for me to calm down... but that overwhelming sadness reminded me, i need all the fighting spirit in the world to survive here...
I know i am strong.... and i have to fight it all alone.... the thought of it sometimes make me weaker.... life!!!! 

Auto rickshaw Diaries: the faulty meters....

My relationship with the auto-wallahs in any city in India except for Hyderabad was never great... not even close to good... Things are not any better in delhi compared to the horrible experience with the Chennai auto-wallahs....

In Delhi, auto-wallahs never keep the meter on; well, except for few (they might be saints among the sinners)... The most common excuse, ‘the meter is not working, i’m just about to go to the mechanics’... They might be planning to go the mechanic whole year, but ever do... When will they ever fix...

The hilarious part of an auto journey will be when the meter shows less amount than we negotiated for... negotiated will be a polite term, actually ‘fought and agreed on’ will be the right term to use... The excuse in that situation is ‘this meter is all wrong, i’m just going to the mechanic’.... Bless all auto mechanics in Delhi...

Increased rates on summer and rainy seasons... rates vary by season... waiting to see the winter rates... that will be touching the heavens too...

I am missing my bike here... tired of giving money to the greedy auto-wallahs.... Let the rainy season be over, will get a Delhi registration bike....

Dear educated, plz dont behave like an illiterate....

Of the many kinds of people i have come across in Delhi, the most common ones are the posers... the show-offs... They are everywhere; everyday in metros in huge numbers... in my building here... and surprisingly in my office... i initially thought the people in my office are all well educated and well behaved... the second part of that opinion changed in no time, as i learned about the gossips around... i cannot tolerate gossipers.... never...
Surprisingly, the first opinion is also beginning change now... some people in my office were just showing off how good they are with the world affairs, current affairs, politics, religion, sports.. and what else... In actual case, they are just like that illiterate HDFC bank employee who asked me once 'which state Kerala belongs to?'... yeah, educated madams in my office cant differentiate between the 4 different south indian states... how they passed geography in high school!!! god knows!!!
I can expect an ignorant comment like that from an uneducated person, not from anyone working in this company.... I can only conclude, Delhi is full of posers... this is the place where even the 'educated' behave like illiterates.... shame on them.... 

No more Very Very Special....

No more VVS in Indian cricket.... In the shadow of Ganguly, Dravid, Sachin all his career, but had the magic of a game changer, finally he decided to walk out.... with dignity...

Who will now walk out at situations of 40-4... and save the day... Who will ever manage the tail-enders and make then take valuable runs and win with no wickets in hand.... 

How can anyone forget the 281 in Eden Gardens against Aussies and created a fear in every Aussie cricketers veins... that was VVS.... 

Everyone will definitely miss him... but the sun has to set some day.... and today is that day... and i am typing this with a lump in my throat... He was out of form for a while... but any case he is VVS and there will never be anyone very very special like him.... 

Thanks for the memories VVS.... 

Confusing times.... decision-making times....

I left academics for a reason.... as much as i love being a physicist, the future being in a teaching career scares me... I am not good at teaching, even thought I have received enough respect from my students during my short-stint as a teacher...
I quit academics and came to publications 'cos of that.... But in Wiley, i am missing being a physicist... The job is nothing of a physicist job and it irks me... Now that an opportunity is calling me back to academics, I am having second thoughts on my decision to quit academics in the first place...
This is going to the real crucial one... My future will depend on it... If i say NO to academics this time also, there wont be any going back for me... The fact that the present job profile is no more appealing, and i am sure about the future job position in the company, i am seriously considering going back... But, then again... what will be my future in academics? will i be enjoying? or will i regret losing a job?
Going crazy over this matter for days... With my academician friends all abroad, don't have anybody who can give me a honest advice... I have to make this decision on my own and it sucks... 

Dealing with Drama Queens....

"Cant you see, I am sick... you have to talk to me politely".... An outburst from my drama queen neighbour was shocking first... Taking her fever excuse to get all attention she needed... First I was angry, then I thought why to waste my energy in talking to ppl like her...
In Delhi that was not the first time i was dealing a situation like that.... attention seekers are everywhere... using every bit of armour to get sympathy, take advantage of the goodness of others....Wonder how girls here are so needy and weak...
I consider myself a tough person, i hate to be needy, i hate to depend on other for anything... I was brought up like that.... So, seeing all these whining grown ups, its irritating.... This has become one of my pet peeves now...
So drama queens, u can never win my sympathy ever.... so drop your acts infront of me...

Blackouts, crowded metros, traffic jams... manic days in Delhi...

It all started with a power cut on monday morning.... It was a relaxing week-end and all i wanted was to start the week with some freshness.... The power was down in the morning.... and soon we realised there is no metro running... the stations are locked informed our maid... My battery in mobile was down and i checked net to see what is going on only to learn one of the major power grids is down and most of north states are power-less...
I first decided to take an off that day, why to take the pain of arguing with the autowalahs.... But soon we found the metros started moving... i started off to the station only to find a crowded platform.... I had to spend there almost an hour leaving one crowded metro after another.... finally around 10 i could squeeze myself into one and reach the office after 10.30... With the power down in entire delhi, the worst affected was the traffic lights.... It was mayhem on roads...
But monday was just a beginning... The worst of blackout was on tuesday when the entire north india went on a 100% blackout... hospitals, rails, traffic... nothing worked for hours... Thank god, the power went mid-day after all of us reached office... Our office was running on backup for hours, once it died down we were in darkness too.... That followed a long wait and chit-chat (which many enjoyed).... Finally the power was back after few hours... Pictures of crowded stations, roads filled the news websites.... The power ministry gave a warning that the grids can fail again.... so, more blackouts awaits us in delhi...
later it was learned that that was one of the largest blackouts in the world.... 18 states were affected, millions got stranded here and there... It was hell times... I am considering getting my two-wheeler here, in case of another blackout, i dont have to be worried about how to get back home....