Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Ninna tales

So I've been enjoying walking Ninna all around the place. She attracts a lot of attention with her smushy cute face and most people, at least the ones who aren't petrified of little harmless dogs, smile at her and even pet her sometimes. I end up having short little chats with people thanks to her and I really don't mind. Let me share some of these conversations with you.

There was this guy and a girl with two dogs, a little black furry one and a brown sleek bigger one. The little one is called Bo. Bo is in love with Ninna. He runs up to her, sniffs her and tries to lick her while she growls at him. Bo is one and a half years old while my Ninna is seven. Finally Bo completely surrenders himself to her and lies on his back with his paws in the air declaring his undying love for her by saying in doggy speak,"I'm yours. Do what you will with me." She plays with him a bit and then when she turns and walks away he runs after her until the guy chases him and tells him in a mock angry voice,"Bo she's old enough to be your grandmother!" Bo doesn't care. He just wants to be her toy boy. Once I saw this guy walking Bo alone and of course the dogs ran towards each other and we were obliged to make conversation. I asked him where the girl was that day and if she was his wife or girlfriend? He answered with a slightly melancholy voice," She doesn't live here. She's my girlfriend and she comes here to see me sometimes. I bought Bo for her last year but she didn't keep him so he stays with me now." I felt a little sad for him as he walked away with little Bo frisking along, both of them a little bit hurt by their girls.

Once I was standing and waiting for Ninna to sniff out a good enough spot to pee when a Filipino guy stopped, looked at Ninna for a while, chuckled and said," Your dog is very funny Madame." So I chuckled in reply and thanked him. He's right. She is a funny dog and it's not just her looks. She's generally funny. you should see her skidding, slipping and overall making an idiot of herself right after the manmaid finishes mopping the floor.

Children either love her or squeal in terror for some reason. The irony is that she loves kids. She is incredibly gentle with them. She never runs up towards adults but she pulls at her leash to get closer to a child with all her might. Once a little girl tried to ride her like a horse and she just stood there peacefully while her ears were being pulled. A pair of twin boys who were afraid of her were circling around her once and one of them threw a pebble at her. I asked him,"Why did you hurt her? Did she hurt you?" The kid pointed to his brother and said,"He did it aunty." Kids will be kids. It's the parents' job to each them to be kind to all creatures and I think some of them completely fail at it. It's rather sad really because these children miss out on one of the greatest pleasures life has to offer.

And today I was walking Ninna when I saw a man wearing red bermuda shorts, with earphones, iPod, a cup of coffee, Marlboro reds and a lighter. Ninna decided to stop and sniff and the man approached her. She ran to him as though they were long lost friends. He petted her and once again I was obliged to have a conversation with him.

Bermuda Man: "What's her name?"
Me: "Ninna"
Bermuda Man giggling: "Does she have a boyfriend?"
Me thinking what's wrong with this idiot?: "No she's a nun." She actually is. we thought of mating her and sent her to a vet's place who had a boy French Bulldog. She stayed with him for two weeks and came back a virgin. The vet said,"She just didn't seem interested."

And then I pulled her along and continued to walk. As I was walking back home I saw the Bermuda Man squatting on the ground and talking to his friend. Ninna again ran up to him as if she hadn't seen him for decades. He petted her and she lay down on her side at his feet. She never does that with strangers. I seriously think they must have been in a serious relationship at the very least in a previous life. The man looked up, smiled at me and said,"Now I'm her boyfriend." I smiled back thinking to myself,"Dude you're such an idiot and you don't even realise it which makes you an even bigger idiot." Instead I just said,"She really seems to like you."

His friend who appeared to be a bit more sensible told me they're both from Morocco. I told them Ninna is a French Bulldog. And then his friend topped the Bermuda man and asked me,"Does she speak French?" I managed to smile and said,"No she barks in French." And then I couldn't take it anymore and pulled Ninna up, wished them a good day and walked home.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The suicidal petunia

So I was nearing the end of this post when I got confused about the spelling of creme brulee. I copied it off wikipedia and pasted it here but the font was obviously different so when it wouldn't change after trying several times I decided to delete the word but then everything I wrote after that was in the new font so I decided to cmd z over and over again till the entire post disappeared and I had my second "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" moment of the day. I'll tell you about the first one later in this post.

Now here I am writing the whole thing again. Sameera and I went gallivanting again this morning to attend the TEDx talks at IMT Dubai in Academic city. The first talk was about how networking helps business. The second one was about this NGO in India called Rang De which provides loans to small entrepreneurs. I quite liked the way he ended his presentation with a slide on which his epitaph said,"Born in a developing country, died in a developed one." That is a cherished dream for a lot of us and I hope one day it will come true.

There were a lot of students volunteering towards the smooth running of the event which was nice to see. There was a twenty minute break during which I wolfed down an apple and muffin with a cup of chai while people interacted with the speakers about the points and issues raised in the talks. I smoked with a couple of girls hanging around in the corridor at the designated smoking area. I was unable to find the smoking zone and a young helpful boy led me to it and promptly went and got a print out which said,"Smoking Area". He tried sticking it on a pillar but it kept falling down. After a while he simply gave up and walked away. There's only so much diligence you can expect from a college boy.

I chatted with the young girls one of whom was looking very chic and every inch the stylish college girl in her cool aviators, faded jeans and a scarf. They are studying marketing and finance respectively. "Serious people you are!", I said. They laughed and replied,"No, not really." I wondered if I was half as sweet and stylish in college and an image of myself in a huge tee, printed salwar and rubber chappals flashed across my mind. No, I don't think so. I don't think I was stylish at all. I wished the girls all the best for their upcoming exams and attended two other talks. One was about the process of learning and the other was about the life of an Arab American, linguist, poet and calligrapher. Both were interesting. Yes all the talks were interesting though didn't quite fit in with the theme of lateral thinking. It was good to hear different people talk about their experiences.

We went to The Farm for lunch and usually they are all booked for lunch especially the tables out in the open. Fortunately for me Sameera has excellent skills of persuasion and we were soon sitting in the open surrounded by greenery. I had the Thai green curry which was flavourful but not too spicy. Perfect. Sameera slurped up her viciously spicy red soup with glee as it opened up her blocked nose. I had the creme brulee (I'm not even going to bother with the correct spelling. You know what bloody creme brulee is.) It wasn't very good, not really sweet and the crust was not done properly. Sameera mentioned it to our server and he immediately took it away and brought back another one which was absolutely perfect. I would never have said anything and simply eaten it. Going out with Sameera Anand has distinct advantages. I highly recommend it.

While driving back we were talking about how entire Dubai is filled with Petunias. Sameera informed me that they are in fact seasonal flowers and that,"They don't actually kill themselves. You have to pull them out." An image of a depressed petunia hanging itself on a palm tree branch flashed across my mind and I laughed so much, tears ran down my cheeks. She explained that what she meant was that the petunia plant does not dry from the root and get absorbed in the soil and has to be physically pulled out when you want to plant something else. I finally understood. She was driving as always and dropped me somewhere in the middle of Barsha and instead of asking for directions to get back to Sheikh Zayed Road I decided to trust my sense of direction for once. Huge mistake.

I roamed around the streets of Emirates hills and decided I quite liked the area. The villas are quite nice and I wouldn't mind living there. I put the music loud and tried to make the best of my poor sense of direction. Finally I went over a flyover as I saw the sign for my area going past right below me. I had my first ,"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" moment of the day. Fortunately I managed to land in an area I know somewhat and finally got home. And that's that.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Sonder

Sonder - The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own - populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness - an epic story that continues around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. "

I came across this word today and it made me incredibly sad. At first I was not sure why and then it struck me that I had lost the art of engaging in conversation with a complete stranger. I shy away from new lives and keep myself safely cocooned in the familiar warmth of old relationships. There is nothing wrong with that is there? The operative word is 'safely'. Slowly and steadily I approach the forties as a confirmed introvert bordering on rather shy. I guard my time with myself like a Samurai. I have become so comfortable in my skin and with my thoughts that when friends from the long lost past meet me I'm often asked why I'm so quiet. I have changed over the years just like everyone else. Life will do that to you. I have neither complaints nor regrets about the way I've turned out. Having any would be like regretting or complaining about your only child. After all you made the choices you made and because you had some sense most of the time you recognised the unfortunate ones and didn't repeat them.

I was trying to write these past couple of days but drew a complete blank. I didn't manage to see or feel anything extraordinarily beautiful and so I remained silent. But sorrow is just as important as joy. It may not even be a sorrow emanating from a situation or person but from the absence of the same. It might be as the Portugese say- "Saudade - a feeling of nostalgic longing for something or someone that one was fond of and which has been lost. It often carries a fatalist tone and a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never really return. It was once described as "the love that remains" or "the love that stays" after someone is gone." And now I would like very much to say something hilarious as I usually do but I've got nothing for you today. 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Surprise!

Yes! Anshuman surprised me with the queen just when I had been thinking to myself that may be one day I will come across her and be reunited forever or may be not. You can imagine my reaction. I was squealing and jumping all over the living room unable to contain my joy. There she is as elegant and beautiful as ever and there I am content and looking like a hedgehog. Trust me that's an incredibly happy hedgehog. Now you know what happens to chic hairstyles first thing in the morning. Don't say I didn't warn you!

I wanted to take this picture many times over the past couple of days but I wasn't looking very much better than this at any point. I've spent most of my time in bed with Persuasion by Jane Austen waiting for Miss Anne Elliot to be reunited with the handsome Captain Wentworth. A hot water bottle has been my companion as I've been nursing a horrible tummy ache. I'm all better today so nothing to worry about.

Remember the sexy Aprilia bike I spoke about some weeks ago? I chanced upon the owner the other day. He was busy speaking to someone urgently over the phone. He was about five feet eight inches tall, bald and rather lean. So different from the image that had first flashed across my mind. You must never make assumptions about people. What they might look like. How they would behave. Wait to get to know them. Lesson for the day is over and so is this post. You have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Searching for Rahi


You know how it is sometimes you see something so beautiful it seems to pull you in its direction. I came across this painting today at an art exhibition organised by Phani, Sameera and some of their friends. It was a collection of paintings from private collections. This one is from a series of paintings by Pakistani artist Mansoor Rahi done in oil colours. I fell in love with this one as I kept going back to it until I simply settled myself in front of it and admired the artist's knife strokes and the beautiful texture of the painting. Oils glow and it is most satisfying to gaze at them. The colours so soft and soothing, the elegance of the queen's neck, the strength of her expression enraptured me. Mr Rahi is truly brilliant, is considered a national treasure and deserves the accolade judging by this painting.

Good art costs money and if you'd like to add sheer beauty to your life and make a sound investment at the same time I suggest you take this gorgeous queen home. She is still available for AED 6,500 which I'm told on good authority is a great price for a Rahi original.

I read about him online, discovered the various phases of his work but I'm technically illiterate when it comes to art. I can sense it. I can appreciate it. I can gaze at it for long periods of time but if someone begins to talk about the finer points of cubism I find myself lost. The important thing that I did find while searching for Rahi was the series of paintings of which this one is a part of. There are a few brilliant paintings of 'the king and the queen' in the series. There was one in charcoal which took my breath away however I couldn't download the image hence am unable to share it here. On the right is another beautiful one from the series. I downloaded this one just to give you an idea of how amazing the series is.




Gooey dirt

So sometimes I bulldoze Anshuman into telling me a story and most of the time he obliges with one that he makes up on the spot. Yesterday evening he told me this one.

Once a man was sleeping in the woods. He had big hair coming out of his ears. There was an ant going by and it mistook his hair for a plant and walked into his ear. Now as the ant kept going in it got stuck in the gooey dirt inside the man's ear and she couldn't get out. Now a monkey was watching all this and he thought why not close the man's ear with mud so that the ant is not able to get out. At this point I asked," Why did the monkey want to do that?" He replied," The monkey and the ant were enemies because the ant would often bite him." I was satisfied. So the monkey mixed some mud and cow dung together to make a nice paste and shut the man's ear with it. The ant could no longer breathe and died. "Oh why did the ant have to die?!" I asked to which he replied,"It's just an ant. Listen to the story." Now the man had been dreaming all this time that an ant had got inside his ear and died. So in his sleep he touched his ear and got all the cow dung, gooey dirt and mud on his fingers. He woke up and wondered what to do? He remembered that an earthworm was his friend and he could easily burrow through the dung and mud to get the ant out. So he asked his earthworm friend to do him a favour. The earthworm was only too glad to help. He burrowed into the man's ear and ate the ant along with a lot of the gooey dirt cleaning out the man's hairy ear. The man thanked the earthworm and went along his way. Now there was a river nearby and a fish was swimming happily in it. Suddenly she saw an earthworm and swam towards it to eat it. Now this was the same worm who had helped the man with hairy ears. As she ate the worm she was hooked by the fisherman. He reeled her out of the river. The fish struggled for a while and then died. "Why do people keep dying in your story?" I asked. "It's just an ant and a fish. Now listen to the story." he replied. So then there was a man and wife sitting at home and the man asked the wife what she had cooked for dinner. "Nothing. Just order something." She replied. The man ordered himself a Mutton Rogan Josh and asked his wife what she would like to which she replied,"Goan Fish Curry."

And then I couldn't stop laughing. Anshuman always orders Mutton Rogan Josh from Flavors restaurant and I the Goan Fish Curry.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The interview

So I'm using the blogger app for the first time with some trepidation. I'm also using a stylus for the first time so let's hope this post ends up looking the way I intend it to.

So I'm on the prowl for a job and I've been to a few interviews. I'm quite calm about interviews. Normally I just see it as an opportunity of meeting new people and almost always you end up meeting someone interesting. Ok typing with the stylus is annoying me and I've switched back to fingers. So as I was saying if one think too much about what one is going to be asked it only serves to upset one's nerves unnecessarily. I have a very simple formula which I've nearly perfected over the last three months. The day before the interview I try to learn as much about the organisation as I can. When I wake up the next morning I stay focused on everything superficial like what to wear. And I derive great joy from dressing well. To be perfectly honest when you dress well your sense of wellbeing definitely benefits from it.

By the time I get to the company's office I'm looking forward to meeting a complete stranger and fortunately I've met some really intelligent and wonderful people without exception. Now one would wonder why none of these people chose me. Well I'm sure they had good reasons. Strangely my spirit never gets dampened.  I just go back to writing in my little space here about nothing in particular and the world continues to revolve at a steady pace.

One thing I've learnt about life which our Bhagvad Gita said ages ago is that all you can do is make the effort and let the result reside in God's hands. There are certain things within your control and the rest are not. As soon as you accept this fact you conserve your energy by worrying less and doing things that bring you happiness. It is of little matter how little those things might be. So within a few hours of getting out of an interview I manage to think very little about it. It's pointless to worry about results. All you can do is show up one hundred percent.

And that's enough wisdom for one day. Oh almost forgot! That's me all set for the interview I went to today. I think it went quite well. We'll leave the rest up to the universe like Krishna told us to.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Treasure hunting

Yesterday was so action packed I might have to hibernate all of today to recover. We took part in a  treasure hunt organised by Dipen the Supreme Commander. Seriously I was amazed at the amount of preparation he would have had to go through to prepare all the brilliant clues. So Ram, Ranjini, Falguni, four children and I made up our team we named Kidsplus. We collected our clue sheets and set off in a big ass car. A small ass car would not have sufficed eight people. Ram drove us all over Dubai as we racked our brains trying

to solve the clues. The funny part was that we had to take a picture of the whole team in front of the building/ solution of the clue. Here we all are in front of the Choithrams at Greens. All the children were superbly behaved and did a great job of tumbling over the middle seat to the back seat n number of times. One of the clues led us to the 200th pillar supporting the metro. I wanted to make sure that the said pillar was at Burjuman so I called Road and Transport Authority helpline. I asked the helpful woman at the other end where exactly was the 200th pillar. The poor woman was flummoxed and became silent for a few seconds and then put me on hold. I'm sure she had a good laugh and told a couple of her colleagues about the crazy 200th pillar woman. She came back on line and said,"I'm so sorry ma'am we don't have that information. Well we were all laughing a little bit but desperate times call for desperate measures.

It was great the way the adults and the kids worked together frantically solving clues, laughing together, getting thrown forward every time Ram hit the brakes too hard. In his defense he was strapped for time and drove like a star. I admit several times I was sure I would go through the two front seats and hit my head on the gear stick. It was so exciting and fun. I can't wait for next year! Of course the team will remain the same goes without saying.

All in all it was a great day driving and running around all over the city. The cherry on the cake was that we won!!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Sunshine

Forgive the stupid filter. Ever since I've got the new phone with the amazing camera I take way too many pictures of myself and then waste some more time trying out stupid filters. So I had to go to Deira to meet someone today and because it rained last night there were some flooding problems on the roads and hence traffic was backed up. I decided to take the metro due to that and also because had I driven I would have definitely got lost. I took the train after a long time.

A pregnant woman got on and before I could get up to give her my seat the young Filipina next to me got up and offered her her seat. None of the men made a move. I was a bit annoyed by that fact but only for a second. Women are just as strong as men. They can very well help a fellow woman or man for that matter. The pregnant woman sitting next to me began talking to the man she was with in French. A couple of women wearing way too much eye shadow and blush were chattering away in Filipino. A young college going girl in loose pants and boots began talking coyly to her skinny boyfriend in Arabic. I couldn't understand what anyone was saying through the entire journey. I sat there smiling to myself and texting Bee (in English of course) who is unwell and living on soup because she can't swallow anything. I got off at Al Rigga station and began walking in the sun. Somehow I managed to drop my bag on the pavement and as I picked it up I was reminded of the fact that I had spilled chai all over myself in the morning and then dal all over my new phone in the afternoon (Thank God I had the sense to get a cover). I prayed the Good Lord will grant me a day when I don't spill or drop something.

I've hardly ever been to Deira. The place I was to reach was above a Russian restaurant called Fantasy. After the meeting I walked in to Fantasy and got myself a bottle of water. There were six people in the restaurant. A woman was working on a small ancient looking acer notebook. Three men were talking to each other intently and an old couple was eating in silence. They all seemed Russian though I can't be sure. There was a huge cake in the display window. It looked quite appealing really plus I've never had honey cake so I got a piece packed for myself. As I was walking out the older woman sitting with the man followed me with her eyes and I smiled at her. She smiled back just as I walked through the door. It's nice when people smile at you. In Dubai it occurs very often that strangers will return your smile. In India the people most likely to smile at you are children. The adults are mostly occupied. I remember mentioning this to my sister and she said,"Here if you smile at someone they'll think you're a psycho." OK she was probably exaggerating.

I walked on and saw a breakfast place. The sun was shining brilliantly through its windows. I walked in and ordered a Manakish. They took an inordinately long time to pack one for me. I was content to sit in the sun and didn't mind squinting my eyes at all. Finally as I got to the metro station they announced my train and I hurried down the escalator but a couple with their little boy didn't let me pass. The train came into the station and people began getting in. I ran towards the doors as they slid closed in front of my nose. "Damn!" I thought. Then I looked up to see that the next train was due in four minutes. You gotta love this city!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Ibn Batuta aur Joota

So it's the day after the haircut and this is what it looks like now. My Facebook friends assure me that it's rather nice and I've decided to believe them. My husband by the way thinks I resemble Sigourney Weaver in Aliens which is quite alright because if he didn't say something like that he wouldn't be Anshuman.

So I was looking at bags in ALDO and there was a huge mirror so I decided to take a selfie. This lady wearing two different shoes suddenly stood next to me and started checking herself out in her super high heels. I had to take the picture. It's so cute the way she's evaluating her options. I admit I despise high heels. I walk bare feet to the car and then walk back home bare feet with the torture contraptions in my hands. My mother always said that if I wear heels I'm going to develop back problems and somehow it stuck. I actually bought my first pair of stilettos just about four years ago and I only wear them with formal dresses. I've never even worn them to work. And now that I don't work my feet mostly rest comfortably in pink flip flops. I cannot even begin to tell you how dearly I love these flip flops. They feel like clouds.

Ibn Batuta is my favourite mall and not just because it's five minutes away from home. It has colour and character as opposed to other malls which are very nice as well but somehow very steel and concrete. I don't know if I'm making sense. This is the China court and on an evening or the weekend there are always people sitting by the fountain and taking pictures of this huge boat. In Mall of the Emirates I once sat down by the fountain and the security made me get up and


go away.  Ibn Batuta is just really laid back quite like me I think and that's probably why I love it so much. I've always wanted to take a picture of this elephant in India Court. This is probably the most photographed elephant in the world. Anyone who comes to Dubai must visit Ibn Batuta and the trip is not complete without a picture in front of the giant elephant. There is a mahavat riding it and someone sitting on top of the structure on top of the elephant. I'm not sure who that is or what he's doing. May be he's supposed to be Ibn Batuta himself. I don't know. 

This might also be the one place where almost all pictures get photobombed. I mean it's almost impossible to walk by without getting in someone's frame. I always halt several times and then duck and scurry away from the elephant. Now I have a picture of it too with a whole family photobombing it. It's such a sweet family though with parents, grandparents and grandchildren all together.



And here's a selfie I took this morning as the sun poured in gently through the living room window and the Neem tree swayed happily in the cool breeze.








Monday, February 10, 2014

The sweetest people

So I woke up this morning and decided my longish hair needed to get chopped off. Here's the picture of me right after the blow dry. The stylist almost burnt my ear off with the hot round brush and I'm sure I've lost a whole lot of hair thanks to all the pulling and heating. As it is the rate at which I'm losing hair I might have to go Sinead O' Connor in the not so distant future.

Anyway let's talk about happier things like Filipino people. I think they are the nicest people I've ever come across. I was just walking through the mall to get to the salon and these two young Filipinas selling gelato at a kiosk called out to me," Have an ice cream Ma'am!! Very nice!!" I laughed and raised my palm to say no. They continued to smile. I cannot explain why I laughed or why that little moment made me so happy. There's such a happy energy around some people and it's so strong that you can't help but be affected by it.

 Most hair stylists and beauty therapists here are Filipinas and they chatter away with that infectious smile and before you know it you have perfectly manicured nails. I've met a few really creative people in some advertising firms that I've worked for and some of them happened to be from Philippines and they are all without exception really sweet natured. I've never been to their country but I do hope to go there one day. Imagine a whole country where people are sweet and mild mannered. The smiles are spontaneous and genuine. The laughter rings out with a carefree abandon and the eyes have a joyous spark. I'm sure not one of them has a perfect life but when you see one of those wonderful faces crack into a smile, for a small second all is well with the world.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

For the love of rain

I'm a pluviophile- a lover of rain someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days. I'm not sure about the peace of mind but I certainly do find immense joy in the little drops escaping from heavy grey skies. I understand that it is a natural phenomena completely explainable by science but there's something divine about it. It's as though the universe is pouring it's heart out upon the beautiful earth as she absorbs every tiny drop into it's own. It's like a bridge between the heavens and our mortal world or may be the pluviophile in me is imagining things. It's been raining this morning. I woke up, went up to the window, clapped and squealed in delight to the amusement of my husband. He wasn't surprised. He knows how much I love rain.

I've loved rain for as long as I can remember. I would walk slowly home from the school bus if it was raining, happy to get drenched in the rain. In Bombay the living room had two lovely huge glass windows. I would open them wide and sit with my notebook getting soggy as the rain often touched my face and my heart. I would write away. Many of my poems were written on rainy days. At my design institute there was a beautiful lawn that would glisten in the rain and peacocks would come out and dance. Now here I am in this desert city where it rarely rains but sometimes on a day like this the heavens open up and I squeal with delight.

Saturday, February 08, 2014

Facebook

There are many reasons why I've wanted to delete my Facebook account entirely but there were so many reasons for staying on that I hung around and I'm glad I did. The picture on the left is an example of why I mostly enjoy Facebooking. That's Monica a friend from school who I connected with on FB after many many years. This picture made me laugh and it's special because her joy stems from celebrating her sixteenth wedding anniversary in the beautiful Goa. I went through her Goa album and it felt wonderful to see two people still so much in love after journeying together for sixteen years. Here's wishing you a very happy anniversary again Monica and may all your days be blessed!

Yes Facebook is just a snapshot of people's lives and we will never see the whole movie but why not rejoice in the beauty of the snapshot. Another thing I love about FB is that I get to wish people on their birthday. I love wishing people on their birthday. I mean I always sing the birthday song when wishing people. I love it so much that when it's my own birthday my own voice rises the loudest,"Haaaappy birthday toooo meeeee!" Seriously I have friends who will vouch for that fact.


Friday, February 07, 2014

Two days

The last two days were so very different from each other. The first one was quiet and I was alone for most of it. I watched Barfi on the telly and remembered why I'd loved it the first time I watched it. I think Priyanka is truly beautiful in Barfi and Ranbir comes across as supremely talented. The brilliant Chaplinesque comedy and background music made me smile. It's such a heartwarming tale, a beautiful love story. I'm such a sucker for romance!


Yesterday was spent sitting across Bee at Caribou Coffee with my feet tucked under me on the sofa. Some guy gave me a dirty look as if I had sullied the sofa for everyone else who would ever sit on it. Ask me if I care. We chatted over coffee and muffin (yes singular) for a long time and then decided to head to Mall of the Emirates. It's the first time I've ever been to two malls in a single day. While coming back Bee guided me to her home. We approached a green signal which started blinking and I hit the brakes so suddenly that the car behind me had to screech to halt too. The guy behind me threw his hands up in the air in frustration. Bee was aghast,"Dude when the green light blinks it means go!!" And I disagreed politely explaining that I was taught in driving school when the green light blinks it means you have to stop. She was still aghast," You can't follow the rules so strictly. The guy behind you is sooo pissed off with you." "Ask me if I care." I replied. We continued on our way and the guy behind me overtook me instantly and gave me a dirty look which Bee saw and I didn't. "Dude! He's so pissed off with you!' She laughed. Ask me if I care. She says 'Dude' and 'Mate' a lot. In her defense she is twelve years younger than me.

Dinner was at the newly opened Mahesh Lunch Home in the company of my husband, Sameera and Rajul. I had never been there so I was looking forward to it. We got a bit lost on our way there but finally we were seated and the conversation flowed easily. I felt warm and loved. It's lucky to have family in the same city considering we live in a foreign country. The restaurant was packed and the food took a while to arrive but my fish was wonderful. I had phirni after a long time and thoroughly enjoyed it. We talked about our first memories as a child. So what is your first memory?

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Global Village

So Sameera and I went to Global Village and thankfully she drove. I would have been stressed beyond belief if I had to find my way there. I really should get a GPS navigator. We got there and walked around. I got myself a pair of lovely blue shoes at the Turkey Pavilion. The shopkeeper said they were made of real silk and leather. In order to prove his point he tried to light the shoes on fire with a lighter. "It'll burn!" I exclaimed horrified but of course they didn't and I felt a bit silly. He knew what he was doing. I
mean I had to buy the shoes after that little show he put up for my benefit and his. I bargained and he gave in too easily. I should have haggled more but I suck at it so I quietly got my shoes and realised I'd lost Sameera. For about half a second I panicked and then remembered we both have cell phones. And that's the lovely Sameera buying herself a pretty basket. I wish this picture would have been in better focus. Entirely my fault. This shop had some very pretty hats and I tried one on.

I loved this giant hat but I couldn't imagine when and where I would possibly wear it and more importantly as Sameera pointed out where would I possibly keep it. So I got myself a funny picture with it. At the Thailand pavilion these lovely girls were dancing ever so gracefully. I wish they had considered giving them a better background.

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

My desert city

I'm always putting up pretty pictures on my blog so for a change here's a funny one. That's me in the blue dress walking like a duck towards the giant peacock.







  Would you believe this road is in the middle of this desert city. It was a beautiful drive to this restaurant called the farm. We enquired if there was a table for two available. We didn't have a prior reservation and the hostess replied,"No chance Sir". Such an honest and forthright woman she was.




And this beautiful sunset warmed my heart so I locked it up in my phone.









The only time he's not busy doing something or the other is when he sleeps like an angel. I love the way the wind is blowing through his hair. 

Monday, February 03, 2014

Amidst flowers

So I've been a bit lazy about writing everyday. The first month of the year is over and the second one is challenging my discipline of penning down something each day but I intend to face it head on and keep writing as often as possible. Yes may be not everyday but very very often.

So we went to this place called Miracle Garden on Saturday afternoon. The whole place is filled with colourful flowers in the middle of the desert. There are many places perfect for picture taking and this one is my favourite. There were several cars with flowers growing on them. The Burj Khalifa made an appearance. There was a pyramid and many boats all made of flowers. It was quite pretty and it was nice strolling around the place with my husband for company.

There were these three giant flowery peacocks and there was this white low barrier that no one seemed to be crossing. I happily crossed it to be close to the big birdies. Soon I heard an angry whistle and a security guard was waving at me angrily, gesturing me to get away from the
birdies and out of the enclosure. I raised my hands in surrender and said,"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He was not amused but everyone else looked quite tickled. I got a picture without getting anyone else in the frame and the guard's angry whistle was totally worth it.

We had lunch at More Cafe and I saw a painting I really liked. As I was about to take a picture of it the waiter said with an annoyed look on his face,"Not allowed ma'am." I replied with another sorry. My day of breaking the rules I think.

Saturday, February 01, 2014

Sun 'n' sand

So I spent yesterday afternoon at the beach. I had an interesting conversation with my husband. Here goes

Me: Do I irritate you?

A: My world revolves around you.

Me: So I do irritate you?

A: How can my world irritate me. My world is beautiful just like you and beauty is an illusion.

We were sitting in the sun reading our books. Ninna was very unhappy being stuck in the leash. She wanted to sit in my lap and showed her irritation at being left in the sand by peeing on my slippers twice. She rolled in the sand, got her leash stuck around our chairs and I had to bathe her when I got home. She really hates getting water on her face and tries hard to jump out of the tub but I've become quite skilled over the years. I scrubbed her clean and she came out smelling like roses.
The whole world and it's grandmother had descended on the beach so we parked a bit away from the shore. There were some people camping close to us. After a while some more people joined them and started blaring music from their car. Seriously people if you want to party please go to one of the the gazillion hip clubs in Dubai. We looked at each other and decided to head home.

I didn't write yesterday. This January I've missed only two days. That's not too bad I think.