hiii! Today's Karthigai! Lots of lamp-lighting was done, and tomorrow there'll be a grand bonfire at the temple. Everyone's TV's probably tuned to the channel showing the ceremony and prayers going on at Thiruvannamalai. And we keep hearing crackers sporadically. Since there are only oldies here, and me, we didn't burst any crackers or play with sparklers here. But did light up lots of clay lamps and place them all over the house, especially at the entrance! It looks so lovely.

Speaking of old, a primary school bus stopped outside the house today afternoon and as usual I was sitting out in the balcony doing today's crossword. And a whole lot of kids were having a heated discussion about something, and suddenly one of them saw me and told the others "eh there's someone there!" and they all turned to me and said "Hi aunty!"!! 0.o AAARGH. I am so depressed now. I just waved sadly at them sigh.

But on a happier note, the England-India test has started! And finally I get to watch it on a normal screen instead of the mosaic in Singapore. It's actually taking place in Madras!!! If it was a One-Day, I'd have forced people to go with me to watch it, but since it's just a test match, I'm not insisting. Yay I love cricket! Okay dinner time, byee!

Sigh the weather's horribly dull now. Side-effects of the cyclone I think. It's not pouring, thank God, but it rains on and off which is equally irritating coz our clothes won't dry at all. And amma and I are too lazy to leave the house. It's been a week since we got here but we haven't gone anywhere! Not even to the nearby library yet! At least I've got a year's supply of Reader's Digest and puzzle books to keep me occupied for now. I'm also getting thatha to talk to me in Hindi all the time but I end up laughing at my lousy grammar so much that I don't really learn anything finally. My favourite hang-out at home is the balcony. It's cool and breezy so we can save electricity, and the stuff we see from there is really interesting! Compared to sitting in our balcony in Singapore where we can either see the playground or Marine Parade Road. It's a nice change.

Stuff I see while sitting in the balcony from 11am-12noon:

1. Squirrels chasing each other up the coconut trees in our garden.

2. The crow coming to our window sill to eat paruppu saadham (cooked rice with lentils)

3. The vegetable vendor calling out vegetable names in some weird madras accent, cycling along with his cart of fresh veggie.

4. The neighbour's car struggling to get out of the basement coz it's completely waterlogged.

5. The priest leaving on his bike, while wearing saffron robes and a kudumi. (kudumi = a tail kinda thing in his hair. The traditional priests have it)

6. Sari-clad moms on scooters!

7. My grandparents' friends walking past and exchanging pleasantries from the main road (they yell).

8. A sudden gust of wind causing about 50 Neem leaves to fall off.

9. Not-so-well-to-do school kids looking unkempt, but still chattering and running about happily.

10. The road-cleaner who takes ages to clean just a short stretch of road coz he's not doing his work most of the time, but sitting and gossiping with his pals.

11. Americans dressed in Punjabi Suits who come to the nearby school to learn Carnatic or Hindustani music.

12. 2 pigeon couples taking turns to fly from my house to the neighbour's house, and vice versa.

13. The cook maami arguing with my great-aunt and pacing outside to steam off.

And at this point, I run back into the house, in fear of getting caught in some mindless argument. There's never a dull moment here!

Ok, back to my crossword puzzle! byeeeeee :D

hiii from chennai! I'm still calling it Madras coz I'm not used to the new names (which are actually the old, pre-British names). It hasn't changed at all since the last time, but for some minor differences.


Bid farewell to three guys/men at Changi Airport, all of them looking relieved to see us leave :P ("so much more peace in Singapore now!") The plane journey on SIA was good. There was quite a bit of turbulence, and me n amma were stuck with a really irritating guy next to us (well, he kept ON asking for brandy, thereby irritating us) but food was pretty decent and landing was smooth. I was looking forward to watching the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 but that dumb channel refused to work! Neither did the comedy channel showing Scrubs and 30 Rock. So I was stuck watching some unheard of movie called Ghost Town which was actually quite funny, tho not the brainless chickflick type I would've preferred. Anyway I was more thankful that BrandyGuy didn't barf so was in a good mood till we got to the immigration. Oh, the mess! 3 flights had arrived at the same time and there were just masses of people forming their own queues which all ended up at the same three pathetic immigration counters. It took 3 times longer than the usual long time it takes to clear immigration. And after that, baggage collection was a gigantic mess as well. They'd hyped up the security due to the Bombay bombings so we had to clear our hand luggage before getting our checked-in stuff. Luckily, thanks to appa's PPS card, our stuff was placed outside the carousel and we could retrieve it immediately. As we exited the airport, there was another mass of madly-waving people holding up placards, but we managed to find my grandma (patti) excitedly waving to us, standing right in front. So all was good.


On the drive home, the windows were down and the Madras breeze hit my face along with the sights and smells which I'd missed for one whole year - the ample billboards with actors and cricket players, the stench of the rivers, the crazy honking of the motorists for no reason at all (even after 10pm), the crazy driving of the motorists as they drive without adhering to any of the road rules (why do they even bother painting lanes on the road here?!) and the few places like Anna University and Bill Roth Hospital which are familiar to me. Finally we got home, and saw my grandpa (thatha) and great-aunt eagerly waiting at the gate. Here at last! Patti had made cake and custard as she does every single year, so at midnight we were happily having dessert and catching up on whatever we could, despite being thoroughly exhausted.


The next few days were typical and routine, but I won't get bored of this lifestyle for a month at least. Waking up around 8.30, having tea, watching TV, reading the papers (which are v v interesting btw), eating like mad, more TV, more reading, talking to the elders and more TV before sleeping. Lots of cricket, LOTS more bollywood - inexhaustible fun! It's just different coz teenu's still in Singapore and my cousin Adithiya's been posted to work at Mysore. Once they get here (Adi just came today), it'll be just like always. Every year is so similar, yet each day is different. That's what I love most about India.


There's cyclonic weather due to hit Madras tomorrow. So no plans to leave home. This rain, however, might bring in an onslaught of bloodthirsty mosquitoes which have been surprisingly quiet for the last few days. There has also only been one power cut so far which happened this morning. I'm praying that there won't be any more of those. There definitely won't be a water shortage here (dunno about Bombay). So it's just gonna be a fun and lazy two weeks before we set off for Bombay on the 21st.


Oh I went for a wedding today! Vijay TV Ramya's bro's wedding. It was lovely tho we were only there for half an hour. Saw actress Suganya and singer Harish Raghavendra. Oh and Prakash Raj!! But it was weird asking them for a photo coz they seemed to be in a rush. Probably would've seen more if we were there for a longer time! I'm finally getting to wear my few new saris. Haven't even done any shopping yet or gone to the library. I'm just too lazy to leave the house (and the TV)!


Alright, I'm getting enticed by the smells from the kitchen - patti's making a cake for adi's birthday tomorrow - so shall go hang around there now :P goodnight! Oh, did anyone go for the B&J ChunkFest today btw? Sadly there wasn't anything here. Clearly, I am hungry. Goodnight! :D

I'm sure blogs and everything are monitored nowadays. So I'm not gonna talk about the hatred. Will talk about the sadness instead. Waking up daily to read yet another tragedy in the headlines.. I'm just getting more and more cynical about the world now. And seeing how Bombay, my favourite Indian city always full of vibrance and life, is being brutally bloodied and burnt.. it's just plain painful. Every single time I see the Taj Mahal hotel in flames, I think of the time last year when we'd all gone there to check it out, and Nariman's Point, and now things will never be the same again. It's just like Marina Beach in Madras, I can never go there now without thinking of the 2004 tsunami and the hundreds of thousands of lives lost. Why does there have to be so much death? Death of so many innocent people. Sigh.

And I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared. We'll be in Bombay in about 20 days for a huge family function and who knows how the situation will be then?! And my grandparents are practically alone there now.. I can't even imagine how they're feeling. Appa's going to Bombay even earlier. In 10 days time. AAAH. Can only pray hard. And amma and I will be in Madras in 3 days. The situation there isn't all that fab too. Half the city is underwater thanks to torrential rains. Which means an exponential increase in mosquitoes and power cuts. Sigh.

Ok but I should be thankful. At least everyone I know is still alive.

Yan can cook, so can I! :D

ok not like it was some high-level gourmet dinner but I think yesterday was the first time I've actually cooked for someone who wasn't me (teenu's not counted. he's inhuman.) And no one's complained of any stomachache yet :D well I did get some help for the final preparations but still.

Actually yesterday morning, I woke up with dread, mainly coz I didn't want the water to run out while my hands were smelling of onions. But also hoping that everything would turn out fine, considering the last time I made something, it was screwed-up yogurt. Then I had this realisation while talking to krups; that cooking was pretty much like art, just being bold and experimenting. And neela also said that I can do whatever I want in the kitchen, coz it's my food! SO I think I might actually start experimenting more.. Even though I said that my cooking quota's been taken care of for the next 6 months :P Ok but friends, this doesn't mean I'm going to cook for all of you! Only for myself, coz God knows how it'll turn out. And will give some to teenu. He eats so much junk that it won't make a difference. So here's to one more form of art which I'm gonna pursue! (other that painting, photography, music and jewellery-making :P)

Kitchen, beware.

ohmyGod. Just witnessed an accident involving 3 vehicles. I didn't see the actual collision but saw one of the cars skidding towards the road divider and getting completely crushed on one side. And a taxi and a sports car screeching to a stop slightly further down. And I think there might even be a bike/motorbike involved coz I see something below the crushed car. And omg some pieces of debris are flying all over the place. This is at the junction of Siglap Road and Marine Parade Road, an extremely accident-prone area but I think lately this is the first major one I've seen. Oh man I really hope it's not fatal!! The ambulance hasn't even come yet! Ok it just did, silently, so I guess there are no injuries. And that thing isn't a bike/motorbike, but actually some part of the crushed car. Accidents are scary. I am really appreciating my life right now.

Oh speaking of which, that zoo incident. omg! Right now, I just hope the poor tigers are ok. The world's going absolutely mad. Like those people who're signing a petition to allow marrying fictional characters and to make it legal. wth! Amma's totally given up hope on the world now. I don't even want to think about how drastically worse it'll be in 50 years time.

Ok now amma's complaining about how sports cars shouldn't even be allowed in Singapore heh. But ya, most of the accidents here have been caused by them. Or speeding motorbikes. Sigh. The police have now come. There's a huge pool of fuel on the road. And 2 other cars and 1 bus have stopped there with hazard lights on. No idea what's happening. I think T left to go down and check it out. (nosey-ness at its best. Or maybe this was a perfect excuse for a midnight moonlight stroll with God-knows-who *ugh*)

Anyway, today was appa's birthday and we went to Kinara, as usual. I will never tire of the food (as long as it's at most once a month). Absolutely delicious. And the people are so nice too. Got them to put a candle on kulfi and they embarrassed appa by playing Happy Birthday to the whole restaurant hehehe.

I should probably go sleep now. It's nearly 1. Only about 2 more weeks before India woohoo! g'night.

hii! So here's what I wanted to write the other day. From the book "Dear Prince Charming" by Donna Kauffman. There are little snippets before each chapter, which are supposedly written by Prince Charming (this guy who's basically in touch with his sensitive side :P). I just found it interesting. And some of them make sense in a funny way, but some are NOT APPLICABLE, so please no raising of eyebrows. Feel free to agree/disagree!

Truth
A key element in successful relationships is honesty. Namely, being able to detect when your significant other isn't practicing it.

Revelations
In all relationships, secrets are kept and disclosures are made. The key to survival is how you handle things when the former becomes the latter.

First Dates
When entertaining a man in your home for the first time, try to overlook any Neolithic behaviour. Trust me, he's just as nervous as you are. It's just that, in general, men don't handle nerves with the same finesse as women. While a woman will quietly anguish over whether the meal will come together on time... the guy is trying hard not to do or say anything that will rule out any chance he might score. Meaning, he's certain to do something wrong. And they say women are the hormonal ones.

Appropriate Attire
Men don't care about fashion. Not really. Oh, they'll care enough to look halfway decent when they're wooing you into bed. They'll even let you dress them up and take them out, if it makes you happy. But don't be fooled. Behind every man who's out there in killer Hugo Boss, there is a closet back home, filled with ratty flannels and faded t-shirts. And if you've any doubt which he holds more dear... just try donating his college sweatshirt to Goodwill.

Indicators
You can tell a lot about a man by how he reacts during an emergency. Especially when the emergency is yours. Does he stand and give orders? Does he waste time placing blame? Or does he jump in first and ask questions later? The man who jumps is a man willing to participate. And, ladies, I don't have to tell you that participation is a Good Thing.

Character
How a man dresses can tell you a little. A man's comfort in his own skin can tell you a lot. The tux doesn't make the man. The man makes the tux.

Urges
We all have them. The problem is knowing when to act on them and when to channel that energy elsewhere. Men aren't always great at deciphering clues, so don't waste time being subtle. If the urge isn't mutual, hand us a basketball or a golf club and tell us to go play outside.

Risque Business
Business is never just business to a guy, especially if the person with whom he's doing business is a woman. Most men will be hard-pressed to pass up an opportunity to combine business with pleasure. And it's important to remember that a guy can find an opportunity for pleasure in almost any business situation.

Personal Best
If you're lucky, you'll meet someone who brings out the best in you. If you're very lucky, it will be the kind of best you never knew you had.

Synchronicity
It's easy to say it was the right person at the wrong time. Harder to go for it, anyway. And we all know there is truth to the saying that harder is better.

Natural Selection
How do you know when you've met The One? You realise that no matter how long your Reasons-Why-I-Shouldn't list gets, you still keep coming back for more.

Anticipation
Just when you think you have it all under control, something happens. Expectations are exceeded. Curiosity is piqued. And then you're in that lovely holding pattern between Do I Dare?... and Dare I Don't?

Impulses
Even the most commitment-phobic guy will occasionally leap before he looks. Of course, this is rarely relationship-related. It's usually an attempt to prove some misguided manly point. You'll earn points by not rushing to point that out.

Sexual Attraction
Hunger is a powerful thing. It can make you deaf, dumb, and blind to reality. Hunger is sneaky. It can make you believe that feeding it is more important than anything else. Hunger is also vital. But indulge at your own risk. Or it will come back to bite you on the ass.

Foreplay
Men are generally a bit slower to realise that the "F" word should be more than groping mixed in with a little tonsil hockey. Ladies, these men can be trained. Eventually. However, never underestimate the power of a man who needs no training. This is a guy who can have multiple flaws, and still steal your heart. This is the man who understands that the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world... is shared laughter.

Risk
Some guys will risk their job, their pride, even their life, before they'll risk their heart. Especially if they've had it handed back to them already. So it always comes as a surprise to them when they find out their heart has a mind of its own.

Compatibility
Sometimes it's not about finding what you have in common. It's about sharing your differences and discovering something new about yourself in the process.

Love
Women think men look for sex, not love. But men want to love and be loved. It's just hard for them to admit it. Admitting they want sex is easier.

The Morning After
Guys can royally screw it up, but not always for the reason you think. Sure, there are those who are awkward and tentative because it was just one night and they don't want you to assume too much. But sometimes he's awkward and tentative because it meant more to him than he thought it would... and now he's afraid you won't assume enough. Only he's not sure how to let you know that. So stick around, give him a chance to do it right.

Trust
You can ask for it. You can be asked to give it. You can even believe you're feeling it. But real trust has to be earned. And you won't truly know if it has - until it's put to the test.

Commitment
Women think men are afraid of it. And they are. But not for the reason women think. Men think women view commitment as a guarantee. There are no guarantees. Only a promise. To have faith, trust, and hope. And a willingness to find a solution, even when it seems impossible.

Life
Just when you think you have it all figured out, life presents you with a new plan. It keeps things exciting and challenging. Especially if you're flexible enough to trust in new things. And share that with someone you love.


That's it :)

P. S. Congratulations, Squirrel, and all the best with life! The cricketing world will surely miss you!

gosh I'm feeling so awful right now! The weather being so dull and dreary is completely reflecting my mood and not at all helping. It's a feeling of sadness, tinged with regret and well, nostalgia. The latter most seems to be haunting me a lot these days, thanks to my idle mind, and that just leads to sadness and regret! Sigh.

So what happened was, I went back to NUS yesterday to watch med fac's Playhouse competition. And I walked down the halls of Engineering towards macs and felt a gush of emotion. I had no idea I'd actually feel that way, considering how much I disliked life in NUS. But the fact that I was actually a student there just few months back hit me badly, and how it'll never be the same again. Exams and studies have been part of my life for the last 18 years, and suddenly all that is gone. Yes I do plan to study further, but it's definitely not the same thing. People are older, more serious and probably meaner, and the whole campus-life thing is never gonna happen again. sigh. So when I watched playhouse, I realised how much I miss that kinda stuff.. Events where many people are involved, and teamwork is absolutely crucial. Even project work and staying back late - I miss that so much! (to ykw, I'm so glad I'm not the only idiot who does this :D)

And the regret thing, well sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice about not joining medicine, considering most of my close friends are studying it. I'd have been a much better person, constantly on top of things with studies and with better time management skills, but then I think about more and I don't think I have the guts that you guys have. A tiny spot of blood makes me queasy, so nope, no wayyy. I guess I regret it because I'll never be able to understand what you go through everyday! And I see the closeness that you all have and it's SO NICE. Ok but that's just a small lame thing. Main regret is Engineering in NUS was probably not the right choice. And that too, electrical engineering. Actually I dunno, I really enjoyed some of the modules, but ALL my grades reflected the total opposite!! I am still puzzling over that. And at this point, it seems that grades are what're the most important in finding a job. I really think that if I'd joined a different university, things would've been so different in terms of striving for excellence and having a reason to live every day to its fullest, like how I did back in JC.

The worst thing about all this is it's all in the past and there's no way I can change any of this. So it's completely pointless even thinking about it. But well, since I can't constantly read self-help books all day long, I do inevitably think about it and feel awful. Extremely irritating. Got to go back to the present and focus on the future, which is right now seems like one big murky, blurry um cloud.

Oh and I also went to Jurong Regional Library where popular books are more easily available. Managed to get 4 totally brainless, chicklit-y books and I love the one I'm reading right now! It's called "Dear Prince Charming" hehehe. The first page of each chapter has a little paragraph which is very interesting so I'm gonna blog about it the next time I get the computer! Hopefully later today.

Teenu's starting his A's tomorrow so lots of tension at home. Luckily reading makes me oblivious to everything around :D heh this post is so confusing but oh well. That's what blogs are for! Comp in demand now, byeeee.

I miss PE!!!! :(

Time's flying at a crazy speed. It's mid-September and January's events are still fresh in my head. I'm sure everyone feels this way, but it's surprising that even though i'm joblessly sitting at home (literally), time's still flying! It makes me wonder how things will be when i do actually get a job. And God only knows when that's gonna happen :/ But anyway, i'm still searching.

Thatha and Patti are leaving this saturday for the cousins' house. I'll definitely miss them. Been spending most of my time with them this last month and the house is gonna be so empty again. Of course the workload will decrease immensely so maybe i'll have more time to dedicate to the job hunt. It's so heart-warming to see how happy they are though. They look visibly healthier thanks to the presence of family, as compared to being all alone in that huge house in Bombay. But it's good that they've only got less than 2 months there before the house gets completely packed for Thatha's 80th birthday celebrations in December. Really looking forward to that and spending time as a huge family and especially hanging out as a group! Though I forsee lots of bullying hmph.

This weekend was a terrific one. Celebrated a sad and painful (hehe) event with awesome people.

All those years of reading romance novels made me dreamy and that's where the "moony" in moony loony comes from heh. Ok well I do admit that I've gotten more cynical about life and love and happily-ever-afters over the last few years. Growing up sucks! But it's wonderful to realise that all that does still exist in the mostly cold world out there. Smelling the salty sea and white sand on the beach, having moonlit strolls with music in the background, and eating (chocolate!) ice-cream while watching fireworks. I never expected all these to come true on the same day, and the best part was, everything was way better than I'd even imagined. Thank you so much for making this birthday unbelievably memorable and more amazing than I'd even thought possible :)

The next day was spent with me smiling at the stupidest things hehe and lazing around the house as much as I could. We celebrated nutti's dad's 50th with a nice surprise party. He was truly surprised, which was great! Really good job by nutti and everyone else who helped. It was such a happy event and it was nice to see people say really nice things about someone who deserved it fully! Sad part was, I really missed the g12-ers! All those nuts who've gone abroad for university :( you guys were missed BADLY. Can't wait to see you all again soon!

I got home really hyper about midnight, when all the fun usually starts. Called charan R - a yearly ritual - and we sang to each other :D And after that I was just thinking Omg the activity this year is way less than last year's! Maybe birthdays aren't what they used to be anymore.. It's just another year gone by and why on earth am I getting so excited about this day! I think I haven't fully grown up yet and I still think I'm 12 :P But that said, it was an awesome day. Was woken up by a call from my grandparents in Chennai and the rest of the day just went by with me savouring every moment. Thanks to everyone for the lovely gifts! And all that CHOCOLATE. omg. AMAZING stuff. Had a lovely time with closest pals and my family that day. And that's why I love birthdays. When you feel loved and seriously it's not the gifts, it's the wonderful wishes and blessings that everyone showers on you. AAH SO NICE :)

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!!

I'm gonna go watch Gossip Girl episode three. Season 2 is as trashy as Season 1 had promised. byee.

Sometimes you just know, when the day begins, that it's gonna be perfect :)

hii! Today's been a crazily busy day. I felt amma's full load of work when she had to go for paatu rehearsal and thought, okay wow so this is why she's always so stressed! I'm getting fantastic training for the future now *groan*


Anyway, took some time off to watch the olympics closing ceremony since I dumbly missed the opening. It was really spectacular. And sadly I couldn't recognize most of the people there! And now everything's over! Aah. Ok nevermind, it's late. Goodnight.

Blog's revamped - and I'm back! With more crazy posts. And I'm gonna try and stick to proper punctuation and sentences or I'll forget how to really write!

There's nothing much going on in my life right now, except my job hunt, and paatu class. And thatha & patti are here so I've been busy with them, keeping them occupied. The stuff on TV's all trashy nowadays. Somehow, despite the supposed joblessness, my days are spent with me always having something or the other to do. Maybe coz I've got to much more housework now (DO NOT SAY THE WORD - you know who you are). I'm still refusing to learn to cook though. VVI. (Vera Velai Illai/Nothing Doing). Lots of time for all that.

Today's Krishna Jayanthi. Happy Birthday Lord Krishna!

Amma made me draw His footsteps today. It looks like He entered my house as an adult and as He walked down to the pooja room, He became a kid :P hehe. Charan R chamathly made snacks like cheedai and all. Such a good girl :D (Charan, I'm promoting you here. In case you didn't realise. For you-know-what :P :P)

We're playing some bhajans CD by O. S. Arun. So nice. I shall go be useful. Goodnight and byee!