My husband and I were recently talking about how easy or difficult it will be for us if and when we choose to go back home to Delhi. Of course, there are the good things, being near family and friends, feeling more at home in the city, but there are definitely going to be issues.
We can hardly imagine water or electricity being an issue for concern any more. Americans are completely taken by shock if there is a blackout. Tap water adheres to very high sanitation standards and is completely safe for drinking, but these folks still buy bottled water. We drink from the tap, but in Delhi, is there any telling what the bottled water may be contaminated with?
I am now used to cars stopping for me when I want to cross the road. I get a bit of a surprise when we visit the Boston city area or New York City, because those are more disorganized in terms of traffic and pedestrians wait for the traffic to stop. But they are still way more organized than Delhi. Yesterday, my husband had to wait for seven minutes to cross a red light and he was agitated at being stuck in a traffic jam. Both of us have been stuck in Delhi traffic jams for about an hour at time.
It's so clean and cool over here that I find it easy to go without taking a second shower at night or dusting the house for a week. I found those things rather difficult to do in Delhi.
And of course, I will miss the huge Barnes & Noble bookstores (An average store is about the size of an average Shopper's Stop in Delhi. They let you sit right there and read peacefully for as long as you want.), which are something of heaven on earth for a person like me, the huge variety of restaurants with international cuisines - Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Indian - whatever you can ask for.
But, of course, nothing beats buying books off the pavement in Connaught Place, eating roadside chaat and shopping for trinkets at Janpath, does it?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Song Of The Week
I really liked Atif's Tu Jaane Na from Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. It has a nice, romantic, blissful feel to it. I've been playing it over and over again over the last few days and it makes me feel really nice.
By the way, it's after quite a long while that I landed on an album where a lot of the tracks are quite nice, and all of them are reasonably nice. I think the last time this happened was with Love Aaj Kal. (Well, maybe Wake Up Sid or Aladin came a little close.) Most movie soundtracks that I have come across in recent times have involved looking for a needle in a haystack and finding one good track. Sifting through the likes of Dhan Te Nan and Raat Ke Dhai Baje to find a Pehli Baar Mohabbat, tolerating the Chiggy Wiggys of the world to land upon a Bhoola Tujhe, looking for the Khudaya Ve among the Luck Aazma and Jee Le types.
But this one is different. It has fourteen tracks, no less. Of course, those are not fourteen distinct tracks. The number includes four versions of Tu Jaane Na. All four are really good, but nothing beats the first one, the non-remixed one by Atif. The rest of the album has a balanced mix of peppy, foot tapping numbers like Prem Ki Naiyya and soft, romantic melodies like Tera Hone Laga Hoon. Definitely worth a good listen.
By the way, it's after quite a long while that I landed on an album where a lot of the tracks are quite nice, and all of them are reasonably nice. I think the last time this happened was with Love Aaj Kal. (Well, maybe Wake Up Sid or Aladin came a little close.) Most movie soundtracks that I have come across in recent times have involved looking for a needle in a haystack and finding one good track. Sifting through the likes of Dhan Te Nan and Raat Ke Dhai Baje to find a Pehli Baar Mohabbat, tolerating the Chiggy Wiggys of the world to land upon a Bhoola Tujhe, looking for the Khudaya Ve among the Luck Aazma and Jee Le types.
But this one is different. It has fourteen tracks, no less. Of course, those are not fourteen distinct tracks. The number includes four versions of Tu Jaane Na. All four are really good, but nothing beats the first one, the non-remixed one by Atif. The rest of the album has a balanced mix of peppy, foot tapping numbers like Prem Ki Naiyya and soft, romantic melodies like Tera Hone Laga Hoon. Definitely worth a good listen.
Monday, October 26, 2009
A Gadget For This And A Gadget For That
How many gadgets does one need? Particularly, in the kitchen. This weekend, I saw a salad mixing contraption while shopping at Walmart (I think that even my Indian friends will have heard of it, but, if not, that's to America what Big Bazaar is to India). It's a bowl that you put your lettuce and things into, and it mixes it all up with a spin or two. I mean, really? Do you really need a gadget for mixing salad? Is it really that hard to do that by hand? It doesn't seem to be, when I do it, or when I see the folks at all those sandwich and salad shops do it.
There was this lady I met at the hairdresser's a while back, in Delhi, who had been experiencing some trouble with her back and shoulders. Her physiotherapist had her knead dough by hand, which she had been doing with a gadget all this while. To me, that signals that we may be becoming too lazy for our own good.
Of course, there are lots of appliances that we do need. You need a blender and an oven and a can opener. Well, you may want to debate those too, but I could probably handle that debate. But there is such a thing as going overboard with these things, isn't there? You should certainly not buy so many of them as to clutter your house and kitchen. Or so that you don't leave much for yourself to do by hand. That's for your own good.
There was this lady I met at the hairdresser's a while back, in Delhi, who had been experiencing some trouble with her back and shoulders. Her physiotherapist had her knead dough by hand, which she had been doing with a gadget all this while. To me, that signals that we may be becoming too lazy for our own good.
Of course, there are lots of appliances that we do need. You need a blender and an oven and a can opener. Well, you may want to debate those too, but I could probably handle that debate. But there is such a thing as going overboard with these things, isn't there? You should certainly not buy so many of them as to clutter your house and kitchen. Or so that you don't leave much for yourself to do by hand. That's for your own good.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Memory Lane
It's interesting how, sometimes, just listening to a song or watching a movie again can take you into a world of memories. I was exploring YouTube and trying to seek out songs that I haven't heard in a while. I happened to land upon Zehreeley and it reminded me of Bhatti's hilarious rendition of the song on our Manali trip and then again at his farewell from our team.
Then I landed upon Morni Baaga Ma from Lamhe. This is the first Hindi movie I remember watching end to end multiple times and enjoying. There weren't too many children's films in Hindi that held me interest at that time. Come to think of it, there aren't many of them now either, are there?
So anyway, this song takes me back to the time I was ten years old and, when I didn't have much homework, enjoyed long, carefree afternoons by myself, because my mom and my brother would always nap in the afternoons and my dad would be at work. Well, I do still enjoy my afternoons by myself, but life isn't quite so carefree any more, is it?
When I hear a song from a movie I watched with some friends, it always reminds me of the good times I had with those friends. Of how some of them got annoyed when I sang along with the songs. How some annoyed me by laughing too much or just making too much hullabaloo for no apparent reason. Good times, good memories.
Then I landed upon Morni Baaga Ma from Lamhe. This is the first Hindi movie I remember watching end to end multiple times and enjoying. There weren't too many children's films in Hindi that held me interest at that time. Come to think of it, there aren't many of them now either, are there?
So anyway, this song takes me back to the time I was ten years old and, when I didn't have much homework, enjoyed long, carefree afternoons by myself, because my mom and my brother would always nap in the afternoons and my dad would be at work. Well, I do still enjoy my afternoons by myself, but life isn't quite so carefree any more, is it?
When I hear a song from a movie I watched with some friends, it always reminds me of the good times I had with those friends. Of how some of them got annoyed when I sang along with the songs. How some annoyed me by laughing too much or just making too much hullabaloo for no apparent reason. Good times, good memories.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Secret Dreamworld Of A Shopaholic
This was the last of the dozen or so books that I picked up in India right before my wedding. This is a book by Sophie Kinsella, and it's known as Confessions Of A Shopaholic here in the States, and has been made into a Hollywood movie by the same name.
The protagonist of the story, Rebecca, starts out as a character who loves shopping and has accumulated a lot of credit card debt. She lives in a state of denial after her attempts to cut back expenses and to make more money all fail. Basically, she is a character one would find easy to relate to.
But as the story proceeds, the storyline doesn't seem to have enough meat in it to hold a reader's rapt attention. When I started out with this one, I thought I'd find it hard to put down and finish it in three or four days. But it took me about twice as long. The sequence of events is unimpressive and sometimes just plain weird. The other characters in the story are not quite as easy to relate to. Luke Brandon, in particular, was, again, just plain weird.
I read this book as part of my attempts to understand what makes a New York Times bestseller. Honestly, it's left me a little confused.
The protagonist of the story, Rebecca, starts out as a character who loves shopping and has accumulated a lot of credit card debt. She lives in a state of denial after her attempts to cut back expenses and to make more money all fail. Basically, she is a character one would find easy to relate to.
But as the story proceeds, the storyline doesn't seem to have enough meat in it to hold a reader's rapt attention. When I started out with this one, I thought I'd find it hard to put down and finish it in three or four days. But it took me about twice as long. The sequence of events is unimpressive and sometimes just plain weird. The other characters in the story are not quite as easy to relate to. Luke Brandon, in particular, was, again, just plain weird.
I read this book as part of my attempts to understand what makes a New York Times bestseller. Honestly, it's left me a little confused.
Six Months Of Matrimony
Has it actually been that long? It seems like it was just yesterday that I packed my bags and said goodbye to the life I had and started a new one.
I'm happy to say that life has treated us well in these six months. We've grown to understand each other much better, to appreciate the good in each other, and to be more patient with the bad. We've learnt to anticipate each other's mood swings, and now we know what triggers them and what the antidote is. We love doing little things for each other from time to time. We know that time spent with each other is the best time of the day for both of us. We know each other's needs and wants much better now, and we take good care of those little things.
This was not the kind of person I had in mind for myself, actually. Nor did I want to move away from Delhi. But sometimes, we find happiness in the most unexpected places, don't we?
I'm happy to say that life has treated us well in these six months. We've grown to understand each other much better, to appreciate the good in each other, and to be more patient with the bad. We've learnt to anticipate each other's mood swings, and now we know what triggers them and what the antidote is. We love doing little things for each other from time to time. We know that time spent with each other is the best time of the day for both of us. We know each other's needs and wants much better now, and we take good care of those little things.
This was not the kind of person I had in mind for myself, actually. Nor did I want to move away from Delhi. But sometimes, we find happiness in the most unexpected places, don't we?
Diwali In A Foreign Land
Our first Diwali after our wedding was celebrated in a foreign land, which is home to us, at least for the time being. We celebrated in our own way, going out to an Indian place where we ate a lot of chaat and golgappas, which we do get easily around here, but it's all packaged in boxes and you have to mix it all up yourself. But there are a few places around here where you get it served on a plate. We went to one such place. It was just lovely to gorge on all that stuff after, maybe, three or four months.
We also went to a temple nearby. We've been to the same place once before on a weekend, and, relatively, there was a throng of people. But, of course, compared to what we would have found in India, it was still wide, open spaces inside and outside the temple, and just enough parking. People were dressed in saris and kurtas. It felt different. It didn't exactly feel like back home, because this is a South Indian style temple and a lot of the people were South Indians as well, but it did have a greater sense of belonging than whatever else I've seen in the States so far.
We did a small puja at home and lit a few diyas. Now we don't have a balcony, so we did all of it inside our house. I put the diyas in a plate and my husband decided to keep a sheet of paper under them to protect the plate. Unfortunately, the paper caught fire, but fortunately we blew it out when it was only a tiny flame. Even so, it set off the overly sensitive fire alarm and we had to open the windows on a cold night (We had a little snow on the preceding snow and more than a little snow on the following evening.) to let the smoke out. Ironical, isn't it? In Delhi, we keep our windows closed because of the smoke on Diwali night.
We also got some Indian sweets for the first time since we've been here. We had no room left for dinner after all the chaat, so the sweets and the bananas from the temple were all we ate in the evening. A beautiful evening for both of us.
We also went to a temple nearby. We've been to the same place once before on a weekend, and, relatively, there was a throng of people. But, of course, compared to what we would have found in India, it was still wide, open spaces inside and outside the temple, and just enough parking. People were dressed in saris and kurtas. It felt different. It didn't exactly feel like back home, because this is a South Indian style temple and a lot of the people were South Indians as well, but it did have a greater sense of belonging than whatever else I've seen in the States so far.
We did a small puja at home and lit a few diyas. Now we don't have a balcony, so we did all of it inside our house. I put the diyas in a plate and my husband decided to keep a sheet of paper under them to protect the plate. Unfortunately, the paper caught fire, but fortunately we blew it out when it was only a tiny flame. Even so, it set off the overly sensitive fire alarm and we had to open the windows on a cold night (We had a little snow on the preceding snow and more than a little snow on the following evening.) to let the smoke out. Ironical, isn't it? In Delhi, we keep our windows closed because of the smoke on Diwali night.
We also got some Indian sweets for the first time since we've been here. We had no room left for dinner after all the chaat, so the sweets and the bananas from the temple were all we ate in the evening. A beautiful evening for both of us.
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