If life were a wine list......

The Namitha.......full-bodied flavor with a hint of pout and arrogance.


The Aishwarya......Dry and vapid. A white wine that offers no flavor.


The Tiger Woods........a classic two-flavor wine that clubs the classy with the trashy.


The Brad Pitt...........a wonderful, gentle accompaniment to the naturally stronger flavors of the Angelina Jolie.


The Barack Obama........a lovely supple texture if you are in need of change (literally and figuratively).


The Amitabh Bachchan..........a strong and tempestuous blend of narcissism and senility.


The Juhi Chawla.....a champagne that simply refuses to stop bubbling almost to the extent of nausea.


The Vijayakanth.........son of the soil flavor only sold in extra large barrels.


The Sarah Palin..........an exceptionally flaky flavor given to bursts of dimwittedness. A classic blond that is disguised in a brunette bottle.


The WikiLeaks.........a strong red wine with a propensity for file sharing.


The Karunanidhi..........a dry, raspy wine sold exclusively in dark bottles, also known as "coolers". Is the well aged patriarch of the MooKaa family of wines like the Stalin, the Muthu, the Kanimozhi, etc.


The Robert Downey Jr...........a strong masculine blend simply aged to perfection.

of exercise and eating

today is the end of an era.....i am hitherto going to stop going to the gym. ha...there....i said it!


why this "dhideer gyaanodhayam", you may ask. to which i answer, if oprah is her portly self with a personal chef who can make perfectly balanced and portioned meals and a personal trainer who will customize exercise routines for her, what hope can a mere mortal such as I have? i am also tired of the pressure and the guilt trip. pressure from looking at the formerly plump and now toned people, pressure from the die-hards who prefer their time at the gym than a hot cup of tea and accompanying pakodas while watching a movie on Netflix, pressure from the well-meaning regulars who "kuchlam vijaarichufy" after every long absence......"romba naala ongala pakkalaye", pressure from people who seem to eat like the proverbial pig and yet maintain a figure that does NOT make them look like asha parekh when trying on new clothes, pressure from family members who meaningfully show me pictures of bollywood actresses of the size zero fame. seriously, what is this size zero and more importantly, how can it exist? doesn't zero mean "nothing"? how can one possibly be a "nothing" size and take any measure of pride from it? imagine dad admonishing the daughter...." you spend all your time at the gym, you don't go to college, you don't eat anything and whatever you eat, you vomit out. you are NOTHING.....a zero" the girl proudly says "thank you appa".  the mind boggles.


so, i will eat as i please and lounge about as i please. however, i cannot possibly watch any screen because all the models selling various products, movie stars, tv stars and even the animated women are all uniformly, if not a size zero, close to it. i will probably have to resign myself to watching dora, because at least she, like me, appears to be well-fed and proudly sports a tummy that her shirt will not hold in. what did you say....there is a teen version of dora who looks like miranda cosgrove and tummy is nowhere to be seen? dang......its back to the gym for me. at least i can salivate watching giada de laurentis cook while "maangu maangunnu" pounding the elliptical. that brings me to the question as to whether giada ever eats any of the meals that she cooks? there's some food for thought!

Navarathri

A few thoughts on the recently concluded Navarathri celebrations. While the celebrations passed with much fanfare and festivity, I couldn't help but suggest some improvements for the next year in the interest of human, err... woman kind.

1. Overhead seatbelts: These have to be legalized at least for anytime when the driver of the car is a lady wearing a saree. At the push of a button (after the lady has seated herself and fussed over the correct positioning of said saree), overhead setbelt will position and gently ease itself over the driver. Safety and style all rolled into one.....no unsightly creases on the freshly ironed/dry-cleaned saree.

2. Temporary deperiodizing granola bar (nod to Krish Ashok for inspiration): To be eaten especially at the onset of Navarathri and whenever the threat of period looms during the ten days. Lets face it, if you miss someone's home for tamboolam because of this pesky little irritant, its a logistical nightmare trying to reschedule.


3. Instant digestion/energy booster drink:  To be had when all the sundal and sweet, so lovingly prepared, does a number on your stomach and you start feeling sluggish. This will give you the power to digest granite (don't laugh, didn't you eat that sweet at ......'s house?) and fill you up with energy required to collect tamboolam from at least 25 homes without breaking sweat. 


4. Auto tuner bluetooth: This is a must-have for all people who are not tone-deaf and will help tune the earnest singers who insist on singing every Navarathri. This will make them sound like Ranjani-Gayatri or Bombay Jayashree to your ears, thereby eliciting very sincere applause. 


5. Invisible memory modifier button: This will help erase any memory of the inevitable social gaffes made  when you meet people once a year. Examples being: "When is the due date?" (When the lady in question has sadly added some pounds to her girth, but is definitely not pregnant), "Wonderful costume jewelry!' (when the lady is wearing a diamond necklace lovingly gifted by hubby dearest), "Is this your daughter? You look like sisters" (Now, this comment, while being a compliment to the mom is most certainly NOT to a 12-year old. When you factor that she might become a doctor (an OBGYN to boot) AND that you might have to go to her one day due to peer pressure, the comment suddenly does not sound so cute. Cardiologist, dentist....the options become progressively scary). The button will help by modifying all memories within ear-shot, making everyone mildly confused for a short period of time. A very useful tool even post navarathri.


6. Time turner: This nifty little thing (helps turn back time so more homes can be visited) was invented by J.K Rowling and is god-send for people who are trying to collect tamboolam from roughly a thousand homes in the short period of ten days.  These tamboolam junkies have an almost rabid desire to collect tamboolam from as many home as is inhumanly possible. I think that they belong to a secret club that meets before navarathri to set a target number of homes. Then, they meet after navarathri to discuss their achieved targets over, you guessed it, sundal and left-over badangeer. 


Until next year..........

Tamizha! Tamizha!

The recent "Ulaga Tamizh Maanaadu" resulted in much discussion. Many views were expressed, foremost being that it is a pointless waste of time and an expensive publicity stunt by the ruling party of Tamizh Nadu. Some others were worried that Tamizh Nadu is going the way of a certain "M" state of India where love for the native language and "son of the soil" pride has grown to ridiculous proportions, bordering on insanity. People blogged and tweeted endlessly about it and many jokes were made. The "Tamizh-isation" of everything English was rehashed (pun unintended), as was the re-re-re naming of several Chennai roads. .I don't live in Tamizh Nadu anymore but I can imagine how fanatical the state government could get about an extravaganza such as this, taking it gleefully to the level of a 3-ring circus. 

Don't get me wrong here...I love the language. My lack of fluency in sentamizh has been a big regret all my life. A large body of wonderful literature remains sadly unexplored due to this impediment. I grew up with a daily dose of pazhamozhis, kurrals and abridged versions of many stories. Hence, love for tamizh remains deeply rooted even though my ability at reading the language still remains snail-paced. I can sit through hours of pattimandrams and related programs on TV, alternatively mesmerised by the language and consumed with jealousy at the participants and their ease with the language. My problem is with this blatant use of the language for political gains. 

Tamizh Nadu enjoys a colorful variety of spoken dialects including the amazing Madras Tamizh....a wonderful amalgam of Tamizh and an unidentified alien language spoken in a series of mutilated sounds. Writing in Tamizh however still is in classic sentamizh. So, I am quite happy with people trying to emphasize the rich heritage of the language for fear of it being lost to the many non-indegenous influences that are omnipresent today. Also, lets face it, other Indian languages have decades of goodwill working in their favor. Tamizh is a very hard language, both to learn and on the ears....it needs all the publicity that it can get.

So, a website was built and "Aascaar tamizhan, thambi A.R.R" was brought on board to bring all the "feelings" to life with music in the spectacular way that only he can. Incidentally, did you notice the complete absence of lip-syncing kollywood stars? This is how its done, "phir mile sur mera tumhara" people, but I digress. All was well until the government started sending goons to various places around the state to have sign boards removed if they were not in tamizh. Really now, this is from the people whose families own companies called Sun Network, Sun Pictures, Red Giant Pictures  and Cloud 9 pictures. The mayor is still called the மேயர், isn't he and it is still the சென்னை கார்பரேஷன், isn't it? I am baffled.

As I understand, this is not the first tamizh conference....it started in the year 1966 with the intention of promoting the rich heritage of the language. The 2010 mega extravaganza was not even approved by the International association for tamizh research. So, my plea is that lets keep politics and personal agendas aside and celebrate this beautiful language in a manner befitting its majestic stature.

வாழ்க தமிழ்!

Michhami Dukkadam

My good friend M is Jain. Through her, I came across this wonderful phrase. My understanding is that Jains celebrate a festival called "Paryushana" over a period of eight to ten days (depending on your Jain sect). On the last day, they have this spiritual cleansing where they say this phrase to all whom they know. The essence of the phrase is "On this auspicious occasion of Paryushan we wish you all Michhami Dukkadam!  We beg your forgiveness from the bottom of our hearts for whatever misdeeds or misbehaviour, whether knowingly or unknowingly done by us to you through mind, thoughts, actions or speech during the past year. This is the whole "Kshamapana Sutra" with meaning 


KHAAMEMI SAVVE JEEVA (I grant forgiveness to all living beings) 
SAVVE JEEVA KHAMANTU ME (May all living beings grant me forgiveness) 
METTI ME SAVVE BHUYESU (My friendship is with all living beings) 
VAIRAM MAJHAM NA KENAI (My enemy is totally non-existent) 

MICHHAMI DUKKADAM 

I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of this spiritual practice and upon reading further, I came to understand that almost every human religion calls for some kind of forgiveness from fellow living beings. How appropriate is this in our lives in this day and age? If only we could all make this part of our daily ritual, so many issues will be resolved. The cause for many modern diseases are now being attributed to deep-seated and unresolved hurt that we all collect over the course of our lifetime. Sometimes, this hurt is generations old, from various ancestors and passed on through your parents. The Cholesterol drug-maker "Vytorin" has it right.....some of that high cholesterol is from your eating habits and some is from your extended family! How nice it would be if everyday we entertain these stresses for a small amount time, acknowledge them and then set them free? We forgive others even as we ask for forgiveness. Everything renews and we begin with a clean slate every single time.

I met a gentleman during a yoga seminar that I attended. He says that most of us collect all this stress in our gut area, which is why our cores get weak over time and we acquire our well-rounded bellies, which are so hard to get rid of. Ever notice how we start breathing shallow and our stomach tightens when we are in or reliving a difficult emotional situation? Bingo!....gut is receiving and storing not unwanted fat, but unwanted stress. The same can be said about people trying to get the six/eight/twelve pack abs. These efficient souls are trying to organize their stress into a smaller space so they can receive more stress. 

So keep breathing big belly breaths my friends and to each and every one of you, I say a sincere "Michhami Dukkadam".

Hate first day

Ring Ring Ring
Wake up Time
"Brush your teeth!"
"Shower up!"
"Get dressed up!"
Breakfast done
"In the car!"
Drive to School
Kiss Kiss Kiss
"Bye for Now"
Lump in throat
Choking me
Tearing Up
"I Love You!"
Lonely Day
Hate first day
Miss you guys! :-(
Please be safe.

Of books and stories

There is truly NOTHING like the smell of papier that gets me all happy and charged up. I attribute this to many hours spent in "lending libraries" of yore with their peeling, yellowing books and that peculiar musty smell that I still associate with books. These libraries were my safe haven during summer months from the Madras heat and all manner of trouble plaguing the teen mind.


I have my dear amma to thank for this particular gift. She is seldom without a book in her hand...be it either English or Tamizh. She opened the doors for what will be a lifelong love for all kinds of books with a special attachment to the fictional kind. Many Enid Blytons, Nancy Drews, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christies, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, P.G Wodehouses, abridged Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, R.L Stevenson, and Baroness Orczy novels followed and I was officially hooked. Many hours were spent in commiserating, rejoicing with or participating in the many adventures of the protagonist(s)....there never was a dull moment. Poetry found way into my reading list and  Blake, Frost, Tennyson, Coleridge, Shelley all weaved magic into my life. How can I forget the short stories? Dahl, Asimov, Chekov, Shaw, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Greene, Hemmingway, Kipling, Hawthorne, Twain, Saki all proved to be wonderful companions.


When a book was not age appropriate, amma used to give me a gist of the story in such a colorful fashion that I was in raptures. Two other family members deserve special mention in this category...my amma's oldest sister and youngest brother, both avid readers and both patient with children. I still remember with vivid clarity the day that my mama told me the story of "If Tomorrow Comes" by Sidney Sheldon. I was enthralled and to this day, Tracy Whitney is one of my favorite protagonists.


The annual book fair at Chennai enjoyed pilgrimage status in my family. We used to wait fervently for the date and leave early for the fair on the day of. A long bus ride later, the scouting would begin for good books. Always on the lookout for a good bargain, amma used to pick and choose from piles of books and comics at the fair. Once home, comics were sent out for binding and only after they were bound, was I allowed to read them. I was always taught to care for books. Even today, I physically cringe at abuse directed towards books.


Also unforgettable are the many long train journeys that my family took, all of which auspiciously began with a visit to the Higginbotham's kiosk in the departure station. Once a book was bought, I would open the pages, take a deep sniff and settle down in my berth to read. Between the exotic sights and sounds that accompany a train ride and the book in my hand, the journey of 2/3 days would pass in a jiffy. If I close my eyes and take a sniff out of a brand new book today, I can relive those train journeys in an instant. Pure bliss!

What to name it?

In the four years or so that this blog has been in my mind, my one big struggle has been what name to give it. There were certainly no dearth of ideas ranging from "Who am I?" on those especially confused days when I literally did not know which end was up, to "Mommy Cow" on those endless days of breastfeeding,  to "From Microbes to Motherhood....the journey" on the days that I felt crushingly depressed about my stalled career, or even "Music Mama" on the many days that I have marveled at the unique rejuvenating effect of music in my life. There were serious contenders like "Kayyil Karandi" on those days when it seemed that one meal cooked led to the next without any break, "Raising Hell" on the days that offspring started disagreeing at 7 a.m and continued up until bedtime and beyond, and "Priya...Oru Kelvi Kuri" on the days that I couldn't decide whether to be a wife, a mother, a daughter or daughter-in-law. Then there was a time when I thought that I should stick to one subject like world politics or cricket (aptly titled "World Politics....a worldly view" or "Cricket for Crazies") but since my knowledge of either is rather limited, I decide to let the professionals handle it. Also, for as long as I can remember, world politics and Cricket have been the sole domain of "gents"- to be discussed over many cups of coffee or bottles of beer as the case may be. Opinions about the same by "ladies" is simply looked upon indulgently or ignored altogether. I also thought of doing an agony aunt thing (Priya's Advice for Free.....FREE, FREE, FREE, ABSOLUTELY FREE.....) then I thought to myself that there is plenty of that in real life, so why bother. My present title "Eternal Groundhog Day" was also one of the contenders on the days that felt like I was on a hamster wheel and whenever it stopped, I found myself either cooking, cleaning, doing laundry or shopping for groceries. It felt as though each day was exactly the same as the next, just like in the movie. Though I have already named my blog, I cannot shake off the feeling that the title is not at all apt for my present state of mind. I have successfully broken out of the cycle thanks to positive thoughts and a group of adventurous friends. So dear reader, I have decided to change the title to "365 Musings....many days many moods". I am not ashamed to admit that I have consulted an astrologer/numerologist to arrive at the present title. Like "K" is to a certain "K"apoor, "M" is to "M"ad and "M"oody" "M"e.

Confessions of a sleepless mind

After a long long time, I did not sleep fitfully. For the uninitiated, this is also known as sleeping soundly, not waking up at random times in the deep of the night to solve complicated mathematical problems or ponder upon the mysteries of life or both, having so many of those elusive things called dreams that you actually remember a few of them when you wake up (much to your embarrassment) and not having out-of-body experiences where your body is sound asleep but your mind is busily awake, solving the afore-mentioned mathematical problems and pondering.........well, you get the drift. So, naturally when I woke up, I went into panic mode. I had new-found energy and even better, a sense of purpose coursing through my veins. Why panic-mode, you ask? Quite simply, I did not know what to do since I was so unfamiliar with this new me. After greeting my offspring and spouse with (shudder!) civility, I went about the business of actually composing a post for my blog for the very first time. What's so great about that, you ask? Well, only that this blog has been in my mind for oh, about four years now complete with imaginary followers, crisp writing and numerous awards for "most insightful blog", "most humorous blog", "most popular blog", "most grammatically correct blog" and the likes. For me, creating the blog was a victory of sorts forget writing a post. So, while marveling at my ability to remain civil to family members, I continued to write and lo and behold, the post increased in size. In between, I fed offspring various meals during the day and cooked (shudder!) a full meal which was also quite palatable for the spouse. I completed many small errands that I had saved for the day when people stop giving out free advice or Judgement day, whichever came later. If various soothsayers and my good friend K are to be believed, the latter will be some unspecified day in 2012, so I now have the advantage of an year and a half at least. I could not be more thrilled. I also engaged offspring in educational and mind sharpening games such as book cricket, showered before 6:00 p.m (if you are a tambram girl like me, you know that 6:00 p.m is a highly regarded time of day. I'm not sure who put this curfew time in the minds of my esteemed elders, but it stays and is fodder for a different post)  and spent the rest of the day in this new-found highly energetic state of mind. I also started thinking about what had led to this amazing night of sleep. Was it the fact that I had finally succumbed to elder offspring's badgering and signed him up for guitar lessons? The simple hug and joyful expression on offspring's countenance at the end of the first lesson was truly tear inducing. Was it the fact that I had finally gotten to sleep in my own bed after being unceremoniously thrown out of my room because offspring and spouse wanted to spend quality time together? Spouse has recently returned from vacation time all alone (seriously, what Gods must one pray to for such good fortune?) Or was it simply something that I ate? Rawa uppuma with thayir and oorga, for those who are wondering.  I could not think of a single scenario that might have affected this rare phenomenon. I decided to chalk this up as a random event all the while hoping against hope that it will be repeated tonight. Even if the Random Gods decide to rule in my favor again, I am pretty sure that tomorrow will not proceed as fruitfully as today did.....there are too many bad movie sequels out there for me to think otherwise.