Flashback March 2005

Taking a cue from Art Navy’s post of 26th Dec, on her initial days of pregnancy, I thought of documenting my experiences too.
We tested positive with the in-home test done over the weekend and since my doctor was busy getting her daughter married to Muralitharan, we waited till Good Friday to see her. We decided not to break the news to the family until the doc gave a clear go ahead. And after the confirmation, we decided to celebrate with a “whirlwind” romantic getaway to Pondicherry!
While we were quite wary of the test as I was not experiencing any tell-tale signs of pregnancy like giddiness/ nausea like the heroines in bollywood movies do, yet after 1 week of hugging the news of “baby” happening, to ourselves, we were sitting at the doc’s room with the confirmed, official medical test. She asked me to do the scan just to ensure everything was alright as I was already on the 6th week.
As we were waiting for our turn, I frivolously mentioned that it would be great to have twins.
I went in for the scan after loads of water and the doctor was taking his own sweet time and asking me plenty of questions. In turn I also started asking him whether everything was fine. Annoyingly he did not want to answer. Another doc came by and started looking at the screen. He just muttered “twins aa??” I thought I heard something that sounded like twins and on cue started troubling the doctor with questions- what happened, what is it?
After a long time the doctor turned the screen towards me and said -its twins. I could see two distinct dots.
They called hubby to show him the goods. As I saw him coming I made a ‘V’ sign indicating 2 – I doubt it whether he understood as he had such a goofy smile on his face as the doctor started giving him the good news.
Hubby’s feeling is beautifully summed up by him – Never in my school exams I scored more than what I estimated. After seeing the scan results, I felt I was getting a better score than I had anticipated!
Dr Nithyaa said probably her good luck had rubbed off on mine! I had planned not to tell my office about the pregnancy during the initial days, for obvious reasons- all should go well, and bonus and increments at office were due. But as they say one should never plan too much- Doctor advised bed rest for 6 weeks atleast to tide over the high risk twin gestation, if possible for the entire 40 weeks. So I had to break the news to one and all in office. And thereafter “baby” became “babies” in our conversation.
And Pondicherry trip went out of the window.
My CEO’s comment- how can I blend two different fragrances in the same vessel!.. For the uninitiated, I worked that time in the fragrance industry and the fragrances supplied to FMCG manufactures are a blend of ingredients that are mixed in individual vessels.

Do They Beggar Description

Yet again I wait at the traffic signal and the pirate beggar urgently taps on my window- pirate I say as he is attired that way but lame. And another fellow is forcefully using a dirty rag to wipe the car windshield in exchange for money. You will notice that they know where to knock- at the driver’s or passenger’s window in owner driven cars and passenger window in chauffeur driven ones or taxis.
Typically one can segment beggars in many ways-
a) Place of begging-temple, road, beach, train etc
b) Style of begging- physical diability, labour beggars- beg in exchange for song/ dance, car cleaning, astrology, outright sale- of flowers probably stolen from cemetary, cloth for wiping car, cheap toys, fancy dress
c) Age group
d) Alm Specific- amount of money expected or food or clothes or supposedly charity for education
e) Status- simple, straightforward beggars, forced beggars- they would have lost their money and need cash to get back home or beggars in disguise- sellers, proper salesmen who come door-to-door- the cash outflow from the donor goes higher as the status of the beggar goes up

I set thinking about my memorable beggar related incidents and have documented them below-
1. Lost Family- most common in Chennai- typically 2 couples. Either one of the men or one of the women will suddenly start walking along with you almost whispering- hindi maalum hai kya- meaning do you know Hindi? In a city like Chennai where any self-respecting Hindi speaking individual who rarely gets a chance to display his or her language skills, will open his or her trap and eagerly reply in the affirmative, mentally flexing the muscles. Then the raam kahaani (literally meaning autobiography or the epic-story) will start. Typically they would be going to Rameswaram in a group by train and would have been left behind when they got down at Chennai station to drink tea or fill water and all their money and ticket would be with the rest of the group who are on their way to Rameswaram. The women would be almost crying pathetically meanwhile at the very talk of their plight. Now they would ask for some money which they are raising to get back home in UP or Bihar or Orissa and would require a hefty donation from you who would be having just enough money to pay for auto fare in your purse. They will also want your address for returning the cash. It’s up to you to fall for the trap or suggest they go to the police to get their help.

2. Sick Baby- I had 2 same encounters in the same place in a 1 year gap- A woman in unidentifiable colour sari will be carrying a baby of less than a year and will ask you to pay for the fare to take the baby to the hospital. I parted with Rs 5 coin to pay for the bus fare to the nearest hospital that was walking distance away- Adyar Signal to Malar Hospital. And she demanded Auto fare! I refused and had an identical encounter next year and then I threatened to take her to the police. Before I could even get a response from her, she had sprinted across the signal that was still green and reached the other side. One who is familiar with the Adyar signal would know that there are too many other sides at this signal. I wonder where she picked up the baby and whether it was drugged.

3. Nautankibaaj Daaku (Dramatic Dacoit) - This one happened in Ranchi- an armed dacoit with face covered and all entered the shop where I was doing my purchases. At gun point he asked for money. The shop keeper and his assistants were smiling and giving coins to him. He was a regular “dacoit beggar” in the shops in that locality.

4. English (Speaking) Patient- We met this man at the Elliot’s Beach- He called himself Stalin.He mentioned that he had hurt his leg and was limping because of that and needed to go to the hospital at the other end of the town. Because of the good fortune of losing his wallet, he said, he had the good fortune of meeting us – everything happens for the good adage truly followed. Having said this, he regarded us as someone sent by God to help him reach right across the town to the hospital. We were brought to the beach that day to solely give him money. Not bus fare but auto or cab fare. And we must not imagine that he is a beggar- only a person in need asking for help. Well, well, well- as usual we suggested to get help from Police and he scooted off- quite fast despite his limping limb.

5. Sales Manager- This one frequents Elliots beach and carries a discarded bag used by Marketing / Sales Managers, for collecting his alms.

6. Blind Man’s Buff- Man is blind and wife can see. They are consistently seen on Elliots beach- (I seem to specialize on this locale) - man walks with hand on wife’s shoulder in typical hindi movie style. One day the husband was begging alone and his eyes were intact- I personally tested his seeing skills…even confirmed later whether or not he was that blind man.

7. Jadugar Muni- (Magician Sage) - This one accosted us at the Ranchi station when we were just about to drive away. Claimed that he can read our future and show magic. His magic show was to take a 10-rupee note from us, draw a few circles in the air, place the cash back on our palm, close the palm and walk away. When one opens the palm there is a blank paper on it.

8. Pester Power- the kids who wanted money to eat. I wanted to buy bananas worth Rs 5 for them but they wanted money so that they could go to the nearby hotel to have idly.

9. Applauding Menace- The eunuchs at Mumbai traffic signals- I had 2 major encounters with them when I was in an autorickshaw. They all of a sudden come and clap loudly in front of your face. I once screamed as I was too startled by the sudden clap. And then they prod and poke you for money and even smile sweetly at you since they know you are scared. I did some small talk saying that they startled me and therefore I screamed not because of the fact that they are eunuchs- one should not offend them you know! I parted reluctantly and slowly with a Re 1 coin – all the while waiting for the signal to turn green and since I couldn’t be slow beyond a point I had to hand it over to the waiting hand and got a soft yet firm slap on my thigh in exchange as the coin was of too low a denomination. Since the signal turned yellow they rushed to the next in line else do not know how many slaps and of what intensity I would have got. Moral Dilemma- it was a business trip so should I claim that Re 1 I parted with, under the section tips without bill? Or should I take the expensive cool cabs for the short distance from airport to Andheri or should I anyway take an auto and budget about Rs 5-10 for the eunuch beggars and claim that against tips- it would be anyway cheaper that the cost of the cool cab fare. In another encounter after a marriage in Delhi the eunuch gang came over and asked for Rs 12000 (roughly $250) since the family had the good fortune of obtaining a baby making machine. Final settled amount was Rs 8000 ($160)- not bad for a day during the marriage season and not forgetting that there is no season for births and they will smell out the new baby in their part of the town and come begging. And quite an upgrade from the 25 years ago when eunuchs came and danced in my neighbour’s house and in exchange took Rs 20 ( at that time the Indian Rupee value was equivalent to around Pound 1.6) and tried to snatch the frock that my mom was embroidering.

10. Mahatma’s Descendant- Met this one on the train at Vijaywada station- small puny boy painted in silver, dressed up like Gandhiji complete with the trademark spectacles, begging for alms.

11. Door to Door Salesman-cross between a beggar and a thief- this one was the biggest looter of all. He rang my bell on an afternoon when I was at home alone during the advanced stage of my pregnancy. He claimed to be from Hindustan gas-you know Hindustan gas Ma’m. We are installing fuel savers for your gas. I actually imagined that they have been sent from HP or Indane or the likes and are on Government orders. He exalted the virtues of fuel saving using that stuff– this is a metal net like thing that fits on the burner and channelises the flame to the dish and does not allow wastage. And it was coming at a reduced price of Rs 250 a pair. He handed over the item to me and asked me if I wanted more for fitting on all my 4 burners. Thankfully I said 2 will be enough. The state that I was in, I was feeling quite vulnerable and I still think that my mind had stopped functioning even though my instincts were telling me that he is a cheat. I asked him for the bill and the guarantee card which he gave- bill being a receipt that you get for ordinary donations that you make and the guarantee card was the pack cover and some obscure number printed on it. He even gave me the telephone number of the company on request. The moment he left I sort of gained my senses and dialed the number- off course it did not exist and I immediately called the security to search for this man in the building but he had made his sale and left immediately unnoticed by our extra efficient security. Also the price on the product cover was Rs 20. Post that the algorithm for responding to any salesperson or promoter as they say is-
a. Ask how did you enter the premises- answer will be usually exit gate or 1 of the side gates – they do their homework well and know the weak links in the complex.
b. Next ask did you check with the Secretary of the building – Since I am the Secretary currently I know whether they have done that or not otherwise send them to the then secretary’s flat to take the necessary permission – usually they would be chased out on the Secretary’s orders
c. Chase them out threatening that you will call the police/ Shout at the Security in vain
d. Whatever happens- never ever buy anything and close the door as fast as possible. When calling up the Security or Secretary- close the door – more often than not they will escape by the time you re-open the door.
On another occasion one salesman sold an air freshener for Rs 300 (at more than double the price of an ordinary one) saying that it is made by orphans and will even kill pests. Actually it was some Chinese stuff imported by some local unknown agency and was plain air freshener with no actives that kill or chase mosquitoes

12. Door to Door Jeweler-The con men who come to your door to clean up your jewelry or brass/ copper items. This happened to my Mom. One such guy came and she gave a brass item for polishing. This man suddenly grabbed at my mom’s chain and said he would clean that for her. Luckily my mom acted immediately, and chased him away.

Googled for beggar industry and found the following interesting links that estimate the size of the industry which is not taxed by the government. May be one of these days the governments will find a way to make these beggars file tax returns or worse make the giver pay a percentage of the 50 p or Re 1 coin that you hand over so thoughtfully or rather thoughtlessly to the maimed beggar at the traffic signal.

http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/bhiksha/begging.htm
http://sndr.xcviii.net/blog/?p=11
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/13spec.htm

Watch Out For…

KideX 2006 was organized by CII at Chennai Trade centre on 22-24 Dec’06. It was a 3-day exhibition of products related to kids- right from Alphabet Blocks to X-Box. A conference on Friday concluded the event. There were delegates from various organizations like Britannia, NIIT, Star India, Pidilite, Lowe, The School- KFI, to name a few that spoke on the theme- Child is the Father of Man. A few students represented their schools and spoke on the theme too mainly referring to what makes them tick.

I gathered the following for future reference at the expo-
1. Chandamama – the magazine with a collection of stories that used to seem to go on and on. I used to love the Vikram and Vetaal esp but I vaguely remember that there were many ghost stories in the whole book. Price- Rs 180 for 12 issues. For subscriptions, mail to – subscription@chandamama.org, www.chandamama.org
2. Young Scientists- 60 page science comic magazine- on basic science in three broad levels for class 1 through 7. Price- Rs 500 for 10 issues. Mail to- subscriptions@theyoungscientists.in, www.theyoungscientists.in
3. Monster Club- Located at Abhinav Centre, No 4, Co-operative colony, Alwarpet, Chennai-18. Ph- 18004256786, 044- 32977482. - Library for kids between 1 to 14 years of age. Variety of books available and also special rates for purchase and even a buy back scheme. Mail to- info@bookmonsterclub.com, www.bookmonsterclub.com. Rates- Rs 1200 for 1 year
4. Geo Junior- Magazine for age group- 7-14 that captures the essence of earth matters
5. Disney Adventures- 100 page magazine for kids, talking of a variety of subjects- science, brain games, technology, details of schools, humour, art & craft, sports etc. mail to- disney@infomediaindia.com
6. Kiddoscope- Party Planner- mail to kothari.tanya@gmail.com, 9840051068, 044-42604468
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Currently Reading John Grisham's King of Torts. Half way through and the going has been good. Ihad bought a whole lot of Grisham's at the bargain counter of landmark and never got around to reading them. Expectations were high from my side after The Runaway Jury that I had read long time ago, the movie fails to do justice to the book though. After reading Last Juror, which was quite boring in parts, I really needed a break from Grisham but I am back on it.
Went to Odyssey to check the new releases and discovered that there is an offer of select 3 books and get the lowest priced one free. Did a chance discovery of books by Geoffrey Archer located just below the Jeffery Archer collection. I had never heard of the author. Any reviews on his books?

Tejas & Ojas @13 + Months

Time to make a quick update on my babes.
1. Tejas is cutting his 3rd upper tooth
2. Both prefer to walk rather than crawl
3. List of naughty stuff- try to roll on the gas regulator, open the water bubble tap, remove vessels from there storage and try to take the knife whenever possible
4. When we say “so jao” they will sleep wherever they are or they will bring a pillow or a soft toy each and sleep on it- acting off course
5. When we ask where is Christmas Star, they point upwards and Tejas even says – E Taaaaar may be meaning Star who knows?
6. The moment we say Hello Daddy they will take their hands to their ears.
7. They take our mobiles and place them on their ears and walk around muttering something
8. They love to play with the switch and say “aaaa” in appreciation if the light turns on
9. They point to the cupboard where I stock the homeopathic medicines and say Mama and ask for it
10. Tejas hugs Ojas and Ojas doesn’t like it even one bit. He feels threatened.
11. Ojas pulls at Tejas’ hair
12. If we snatch away a dangerous toy they lick the floor or bang their head on the floor in protest
13. When they want something they say – de de meaning give
14. They can switch on the TV
15. When I come back from office the response is not so enthusiastic as it used to be in the early days. May be they have got completely used to the routine
Below is the update by Tejas
oijik/
mmmmmmmmmmmm
;,m nnn

The Road Well Travelled

As I drive by I can see the traffic police waving us past the signal but don’t know why he suddenly decided that I should not be allowed to pass and just before I was going to cross he stopped us. I was cursing him mentally but as they say everything happens for the best, had I passed by I would have missed an episode that acted as a blogworthy balm to my auto/ taxi/ bus/ truck bruised soul. The same traffic cop stopped a taxi who was on the left lane on the Madhya Kailash signal and seeing that the right lane people were allowed to move before him took a sudden right without any warning. The good cop (previously bad cop for me)stopped him, detained him for a while and made him take a reverse and go back straight into SP road rather than taking the right to Tidel Park which he had done all of a sudden. Provedence eh!
If I had the time I would have showed a thumbs up to the cop.
As I pass by I can see more trees being felled along Raj Bhawan and I am told all of them will go to pave the way for the sea of humanity and teeming vehicles that go by it everyday. So much for the benevolent signs of “Tree Ahead” that the Ecotel Rain Tree put on each of the trees. Also I notice that the cops on this road at this time are much more vigilant so defaulters, be aware. The flyover happening at Kathipara junction near Le Meridian should hopefully regulate the traffic much better and for the uninitiated, I have learnt of a much easier and faster and most important scenic route from Kathipara to airport- go through Bhat Road, get into the Cantonment area and you can avoid the entire traffic.

As I listen to English songs on Radio City FM 91.1 (happens between 9-10 am and afternoon around 3 and somewhere after 5 pm there is hindi happening), I feel it is a good time to think of a post for the blog and most obvious one is an update on my driving skills–
I can be classified as a semi ass-hole driver now (excuse me for the use of the word).
1. I honk unnecessarily at the taxi/ auto in front of me when the light turns green as I know that if I would have been in front of me he would have done the same. I understand it’s rude to honk in many countries whereas in India honking is done as a warning so that they don’t hit you.
2. I don’t quail in fear as much as I used to before when the bully truck or bus drives past me almost threatening to shove me off the road/ median
3. I did the unpardonable offence- spoke on my cell while driving. Promise I‘ll never do it again and delete this line before my husband sees it.
4. I don’t allow the fellow to change lanes and come in front of me if he suddenly switches on the indicator- instead I honk honk honk and speed till he loses hope of getting the better of me
5. The combined time I drive in 1st & 2nd gear is less than the time I drive in 3rd & 4th gear
6. Instead of 45 minutes of commuting time, I now take 35- 40 minutes.
7. If the signal is green and I am a little away from the stop line, I am able to drive in speed and cross the finish line well before the light turns red.
8. I can overtake from the left now and am not mortally afraid of driving on the middle lane.
9. I can mentally created blog posts while driving
10. I can do an autorickshaw turn which means suddenly turn right angles and move to the next lane if you find that your lane is too long or blocked by a stopped vehicle/ red signal and the next lane is moving.

With this improvement in confidence level I can start planning on buying my new vehicle. Any reviews on Estello? Anyone rate Wagon N dual, Swift, Estello & Indica both petrol & diesel for me please.
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Does anyone know of an authentic homeopathic shop around adyar- the one that sells the german ones? The one I buy at basement of Ambika Appalam depot building seems to be ineffective. I repeatedly need to tell them to add extra drops in the globule as they don't smell or taste medicinal at all.

Miss You

As I drive down to work, I notice that the buildings on the left side of Sardar Patel road, right before Alexandar Square is much more visible that what it was before I also notice that the road looks brighter and the sun is streaming down unrestricted. And then it suddenly hit me as I saw the remaining boughs of the giant trees that used to border the SP road. Yes I miss you- all you trees that have been cut down brutally to make way for the snarling traffic, a number that is ever growing and to which I have also contributed by taking a job on this part of the town. To make life easier for us commuters, the trees have to be sacrificed. And I question, has there been an equal number of trees planted elsewhere to make up for this loss in the ecosystem? If this continues, what legacy on this earth are we leaving for our progeny? Questions to which, unfortunately, I have no answers!

And I set about thinking the other stuff I have been missing nowadays. And as it often happens, the thoughts move to blogworld. To list out specifically, I am missing Hip hop grandmom who is grounded because of system problems, Visitor who is lost in action- please come back and enlighten us with new blog fodder, or atleast tell us what form have you assumed in blogworld, Twisted DNA who has not been blogging as regularly as before he went to his holiday. hariwho used to be a regular visitor even if he did not blog as regularly and gave food for thought every weekend, K’s exploits from k’s mom, has to be me’s views on a wide variety of topics, Sush who is busy with her pre and post wedding, apu and appu are not enlightening us with the corporate world and otherwise (and btw I miss apu’s stories/ serials), ammani’s QT, kk and his brainwaves, patti and control freak who started well and did not move beyond the 1st gear, the kid’s out of the blue thoughts and tales. I am missing all the posts containing burning topics, hot topics and controversial topics.

Life has been pretty dull in the blog world. I guess other priorities and lack of time.
And to top it all I have been missing the most frequent and regular visitors on my blog. My last post had 2 comments out of which one was a spam and one was from artnavy whom I bulldozed personally into commenting.
My earnest request to my blog friends on the left column- come back please!!
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Just finished reading Cat'o'nine tales. If not anything else, prison sentence has helped Jeffery archer make a lot of money since he has relased atleast 4 books recounting his experiences. Prison Diaries - I, II, III which I have not read and off course, the one that I just finished reading. Liked the tales a lot esp the Indian one and the Chess one.
I am currrently readinbg C Rajagopalachari's rendering of the Ramayana that I had bought long ago for my collection. It's a good read unlike to what I thought it would be. I had not expected it to be as interesting as Mahabharata which i smore multidimensional. However I still feel that justice to all characters in Mahabharata has not been done, some of them just get a passing reference and could do with a more elaborate introduction.

Ad lib Eloquence

Taking up Art Navy's tag...

Warmest ad
Hutch Pug Network
LIC Ads

Most romantic ad
Titan ad – couple in restaurant
The Cadbury Girl
Archies Card
Close-up dance of yester years

Sexiest Ad
Gucci Rush
Liril aloe vera

Most Suprising Ad
St Gobain series
Radio Mirchi
Ad in which the truck driver is saving fuel by asking people to push the vehicle- forgot the name of the ad….

Funniest Ad
Unequivocally The Amul hoardings

Funny Ad
Since funniest is occupied by Amul- I am forced to put this entry
May be you should try the beach café…Dumb Dumb Dumb Dumb…
KBC II Ads umeed se duguna- annoying yet funny

Cleverest Ad
Fevicol hen-egg
Matching- Not Matching- FAL dark circles- only Fair & Lovely ad that was not offensive and conveyed the idea therefore clever…
Maruti True Value- kids come with toy cars for exchanging
Mileaaaaaaage- annoying but clever
Kamasutra- what were you thinking of?

Mocking Ad
Sprite all taste no gyan
Sunsilk – Time kya hua – iske baal dekhkar- 4 baje hain…

Stupidest Ad
paan pasand- shadi aur tumse, kabhi nahin
Rajnigandha paan masala- munh mein rajnigandha kadmon mein duniya- what crap
Clinic- Vipasha basu/John Abraham
Fridge si thandi mein garmahat- Dollar thermal wear
The list is going on & on…

Most Offensive ad
Fair and Lovely -coffee ad/ Ayurvedic fair & lovely- beauty company ad
Kaua kala – hair dye ad

One that gave Goosebumps
Raymonds Ads – all of them

Social ad that left a lump in the throat
Eye donation ads

Lost in Translation
Detergent ad in Print in Islam countries- dirty clothes in the left, detergent in the middle and clean clothes on the right- They read from right to left!!

Favourite Mnemonic
Maharaja - Air India/ Appu- Asiad
Louis mosquito- I like the pride in his work that he displays
Also the acidity / headache following the sufferer
Vicks Khitch khitch

Earliest Jingle you recollect
Washing Powder Nirma/ OK –OK aa Tata ka OK/ Lifebuoy

Earliest Ad you recollect
Colgate- Saans ki badbu pareshani…

Jingle of your teens
Har baat hoti man chaahi- Ponds DF Talc/ Deewana Banati ho- Pond’s Dream flower Magic

Jingle of today
Kya Aap Close Up karte hain?

Favourite kids in Ads
the naughty boy in Vaseline all through his growing up years, jalebi boy, surf excel siblings, eureka – isse kya hota hai

Grooviest Man/ Woman in any ad
Siyaram Guy- early ones
Oil of Olay- old one

Annoying Ad
Harpic esp during dinner time
Itch Guard

Nostalgic Ad
Krackjack- Kittu Gidwani etc

Favourite Ad Animal
Hutch Pug, Wrinkled dog, jealous dog who scratches the CD

Mixed Bag

The little monsters are making it difficult for me to be away from them now. I feel like just watching their antics the whole day- of course without the perks - crying, poo, pee etc. Their current favourite word is dadda said insistingly even though I beg them to say mamma. And you must see daddy going mushy over them. Their favourite hangout is the vegetable drawer and they love playing with the potatoes and nibbling at the garlic pods- acquired taste!
The shape sorter toy has been well taken and they have learnt the trick real quick. the ping pong ball is the ever favourite and they follow those all over the house like two squirrels. The remote lock of the car is copied dutifully- "aa aa" as soon as the car beeps so and they do recognize their car among the crowd of cars parked.
Yesterday both were introduced, rather they got themselves introduced to noodles. They loved it- served on a plate and hand picked.
Their favourite game is hide and seek around the sofa with each other. I once read that twins play hide & seek a lot esp peek-a-bo around the curtains as it reminds them of their time together in the womb.

Watched Dhoom 2- liked it - quite entertaining but they could have had more escapades of Mr A- at least to the level of Bunty aur Bubbly. Was it reminiscent of Ocean's 12? Anyone? BTW, what exactly was Bipasha- Sonali-Monali doing there- no frill value either. Abhishek was dashing as usual, Hritik's make-up quite versatile and Aish gorgeous. Both ladies did a great job in toning up. Tapori Uday deserves a good mention but underutilized like Circuit in Munna bhai sequel. The end was predictable. Refining the criminal seems to be the mantra now days exp if the criminal is a dashing good looking hero- (also done in Bunty & Bubbly, catch me if you can, Dhoom). The songs were unnecessary and too many. I must say they have done a great job with Sathyam online ticket booking. Even the snacks can be booked I suppose.

Went to the Kabab factory- don't know why but I could not enjoy it as much as I have done before on all occassions. May be because I went with hubby and got the lousiest table. Right in the middle- table for 2 and we could hardly talk to each other without all diners knowing what we are talking and if we moved too much the various extra cutlery, crockery and the sauces would have toppled off so had to concentrate top much on the food. The flip side of going as a couple to a well known joint is that you more often than not get the tiniest, most un-private and least comfortable table. Restaurants - are you listening? And then there was this card trick that the magician showed us. I am still wondering whether we were hypnotised for that split seconds.

The new company has Worldspace channel music. I discoverd it recently either because they turned up the volume and it is now audible in my room or they had stopped playing for a while nad re started- whatever, I didn't care to find out. Eat mangoes, don't count the trees.. But only english played. no hindi - sob sob.
THey also use the Humidous machine for water- it uses atmospheric moisture to create drinking water. quite nice. Has anyone else reviewed the product post use? Is it fit for home use?

Double Trouble or Double the fun? Smart Ways of Bringing up Twins

I have done a lot of Internet search looking for articles on bringing up twins and have come up with the following pointers that I am trying to follow:

1. Individuality- Never refer to them as a combination like the twins, the boys, the duo, the sisters. Always refer to them by their names. It's fun to dress them alike but sometimes I try not to dress them alike just to protect the individuality. I may use similar styles like T-shirts for both or rompers for both. People more often than not gift identical dresses. I do try to drop heavy hints to do otherwise!
2. First among Equals - Don’t follow the same order while referring to them nor designate one as older. Try to reverse the order too. Especially in c- section, the difference is usually a minute. Refrain from forcing one to call the other bhayia, didi etc. Help them adopt a non –hierarchical reference or use the name.
3. Birthday Parties- Have individual cakes for each of them and insist on the birthday song being sung twice. Record for whom it was done first and the next year cut the cake for the other one first. (I was unable to do this as each cake was of 2 kg owing to the shapes I wanted and since there were 2 parties and I wanted the cake to be cut during both, and more than 4kg of cake was not desirable so I had to make do with 2 cakes only and both cut the same cake both times)
4. During rituals and ceremonies don’t always have the same fellow being attended to first.
5. When someone asks who is the smarter one or who is your favourite- never give a clear answer. Be non-committal
6. Don’t compare them in any aspect or say one is good and the other is being bad
7. Don’t promote rivalry. Some people give one toy to one of them and wait for the other to react by crying or snatching. But true that they often try to fight for the same piece after comparing two identical pieces. In that case, divert their attention
8. They are not parts of a whole but individuals as well.
9. Milestones- May not be same for both.
a. Tejas started walking last month after many days of attempting to walk. But Ojas got up and started walking all of a sudden yesterday.
b. Similarly Tejas got 4 teeth all together in August, and Ojas has 1 full, 1 half & 1 emerging tooth.
c. Ojas imitates us in whatever we do and Tejas only smiles, albeit picks it up later from Ojas.
10. Illness- when 1 gets the other will soon follow so precautions have to be appropriate.
11. Sometimes I feel I have not paid attention to one of them the whole day may be if the other one is ill or cranky. I try not to feel guilty as I went by need of the child for that particular day.
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Re- Equipped

High chair- The high chair is serving the purpose of feeding and generally seating them
However despite being strapped they stand up on the chair. Quite dangerous hence back to the bouncers…

Bath Tub- a little late in the day – gift from grandparents- they are enjoying the group bath, yes even the finger pointing is happening!! Ojas enjoys lying flat in the tub and “back float”- off course- need to be careful

Tri Cycle- even before they have started walking, grandparents have gifted them. For starters they are sitting on them with support and pressing the control button to switch on the song and lights. Both like to hang on to the same cycle inspite of having 2 of the same kind. One sits on it and the other holds on to the handle to watch the lights

Why I don’t Orkut

Cardamom suggested I do something on Orkut- so here goes...
1. I understand Orkut is to search out old friends- Well, whichever friend I need to be in touch with – I already am and others- I don’t want to.
2. Orkut is a forum to make new friends- Arrey it is becoming difficult for me to manage and do complete justice to my new friends (both 1 –sided and otherwise) in blogland- proof- the growing list of “Oft visited” sites on my blog- how will I manage the new Orkut ones.
3. Why should I Orkut- Why should I blog has answers but Why should I orkut is not giving me answers
4. Beyond 1 & 2 above, I don’t understand what Orkut is all about – well that’s out in the open now- till now I used to tell everyone that I don’t have time
5. I don’t want to become fat or poor- if bad bad server no donut for you screen keeps coming to me even once a day, I can bet I will buy and eat a donut that same evening
6. And of course- I don’t have the time- my blog posts are suffering already

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New Company Update

Finally I have arrived
I have made a live client presentation. But I felt that I was blabbering in the air as I have not yet got the grip on the subject.

Just completed a huge omnibus presentation on one subject and feeling really good after the boss said "well done". Some of the fundas got appreciated.

Pressure on me- to completely learn the market details and get it on the finger tips as soon as possible.

As they say- a month is over and so the honey moon period ends.

An observation- the formats, some of the words and even pictures are same as what I used in my previou company. So someone out there has been shifting jobs and circulating similar formats form one company to another!!