monkeying around

October 24, 2007   Comments (0)
 

monkey businessSo, early one Saturday, I went downstairs to get something and heard Meena, one of the maids, screaming from the garden to Anita the other maid upstairs on my floor to shut the balcony door immediately — there was a monkey on the parapet. Given that Anita is petrified of the dogs, Meena guessed right that having a monkey come in while she swept would not have amused her. So Anita shut the door. Meanwhile the monkey hung out and calmly watched all the chaos.
I can’t believe that such a huge wild animal is hanging out in suburban Delhi. Yes, we see them at tombs and in large parks but in congested, residential South Delhi? Anyway, I’m haunted by the thought of said visitor stealing my underwear which dries in the balcony he was just below. I’m not sure what I’d do if I found this chap in my bra and panties — let him keep them, I guess.

 
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you gotta have faith…

October 17, 2007   Comments (0)
 

divine clinic

Sometimes a little intervention helps, I guess.
Especially when you’re getting certain fluids tested…?

 
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chhotu chai

October 13, 2007   Comments (0)
 

At the cinema in Vasant Vihar, security pretends to be strict. They make you check your bags (even laptops) at the chaiwala near by. The alternative is to skip the movie and wait for your friends or go home … so grumbling and exasperated, I checked it in for the princely (and not really confidence-inspiring) sum of Rs. 10. And when I went to pick it up I found a whole fresh batch of chai being brewed, ready to be served into these tiny, tiny cups. Oh well. I guess such a small quantity is good for somebody! (I need a much larger fix.)

 
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itty bitty ‘pehredaar’

October 10, 2007   Comments (0)
 

puppy guardThis is an old photo…maybe 3 months old now. I’ve had it saved in a draft post since I took it because it’s just heartbreaking to write about. This little imp of a puppy hangs out at the dual ATM’s near my house. When we first met him, he was fuzzy and frolicky, as puppies are. The next time I met him, he had a huge wound on his head, but despite the dried blood and flies, he was in great spirits, gamboling, playing, wolfing down food. The watchmen and workers there were engaging with him, looking after the little cutie. Now, three months later, he’s sick. He’s lost his fur. His eyes ooze, he’s got fleas, he’s pretty wretched. And it breaks my heart. In Bombay there’s the Welfare of Stray Dogs that sterilizes strays and attacks the problem at the root, so to speak. I’ve been dying of guilt over this puppy. I should have called one of the animal shelters and had him fixed early on at least. And vaccinated. But this is my dilemma: should one even bother? It will sound heartless but is that really the solution? Should one actually just let them die out — as they surely will (in fact, as another sick dog down my street just did?) Wouldn’t euthanasia be a kinder fate than dying slowly once your cuteness disappears?

 
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say cheese :)

September 12, 2007   Comments (1)
 

Leaving the church across my house on a Sunday afternoon was this foursome. They were just so cute, I asked if I could take a picture. And they agreed. So here they are: four to a bike.

 
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snails kissing

September 3, 2007   Comments (0)
 

Ok, so I’m romanticizing wildly and anthromorphizing, as well. But when it rains and rains and rains in Bombay, everything looks like it’s smiling. Well, to me. Erm, probably because I don’t live there 😉 and don’t have to deal with crazy commutes. This past week in Bombay was super cool. After having lived in cold, cold rain for 12 years, I was happy to go out and stand Titanic-style on the balcony every time it rained because it was so wonderfully warm. I’d nearly forgotten how lovely and refreshing and welcome rain can be.

 
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you know you’ve arrived when …

August 31, 2007   Comments (1)
 

… you’re on a bus 😉
That would be the poster of Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag on the back of a BEST bus featuring my baby brother who’s all grown up and … arrived. There are other buses tooling along with the poster along the side as well, but this is all I could capture while in motion on the roads of Mumbai.
So, since Monday, we’ve had hoopla (and no time for blog) galore. We saw the preview screening on Monday, and on Thursday we went for the red-carpet premiere. I behaved myself and acted the star-sister rather than the glamor-struck fan or the journalist 😉 And I got out of the way of the paparazzi that was solely interested in the bro … and how 😀 First day first show screening is tonight for all our friends. Critics’ assessments come tomorrow…

 
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Rakhi

August 29, 2007   Comments (0)
 

Rakhi, this year, was on the 28th. In the last 12 years, I think I have been physically in the same city as a brother, cousin or otherwise, only once — Berlin in the fall of 1998. For the last four years, the Internet has made life very simple. I went to a desi portal, selected a design, typed in a ‘personalized’ note, and hit send (and also punched in my credit card number.) And invariably, the rakhis have reached the brothers in the US, Europe, Australia and Asia on time. For the first time in a long time, I purchased rakhis myself, wrote out notes longhand, bought and affixed stamps, and mailed them all out. Prashant should be so glad I didn’t buy him one of these pictured here. The choices included a real cell-phone sized metal ‘phone’, a dolphin, ninjas, and rotary phones. All to be worn on the wrist, yes.

 
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lending libraries

August 24, 2007   Comments (2)
 

So, while I do miss Trader Joe’s and biking along the Charles in Boston, the one thing I’ve found a good substitute for is the library. I actually patronize (that sounds awful) Eloor
which is beautifully stocked and really a pleasure to visit. The other day, though, I was surprised to find that the hole-in-the-wall library I frequented as a kid, daily (except on Mondays when they were closed, so I was allowed two books on Sundays,) had re-opened. As a 7-year-old I would ride to the library sitting side-saddle on the back rack of our Man Friday’s bike. By the time I was 11, I was deemed old enough to manage the 8-minute walk on my own. Displaying my OCD tendencies even then, I serially ploughed through all the Enid Blytons, Carolyne Keene’s, Franklin W. Dixons, Alfred Hitchcocks, Robert Arthurs‘s Three Investigator books (Jupitor Jones is responsible, I’m sure, for my obsession with business cards) graduating on to Sidney Sheldon and Lawrence Anderson. What was my mother thinking?? Nah, I’m glad she gave me free reign. Yes, I was precocious, but, hey, I knew stuff!! 😀 Oh and the 3L’s are: Live, Laugh, Learn. Cute, no?

 
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ghostriders at sunset

August 10, 2007   Comments (3)
 

wrongwayAfter work one day, I decided to do a bit of shopping at Lajpat Nagar market — one of the largest markets in Asia — and on my way back at gloaming, my cycle rickshaw walla (whom I chose over an auto rickshaw since it’s environmentally sounder) decided to go the wrong way up Ring Road — only the busiest thoroughfare in Delhi! That’s the view over the rickshaw walla’s shoulder as I held on tight with one hand, continually gasping in disbelief that we didn’t get hit, head on!
I don’t recommend it. It’s hair raising to have cars, buses, and scooters (and random pedestrians dashing across!) aim at you and only just barely miss!

 
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