Parler français

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I stumbled upon a site for French students while trying to get back in touch with a friend, Alex, a Parisienne who often visits London to meet our common friend Karen. Now, the challenge was that I needed to introduce myself in French! After years of being out of touch, I tried to build complete sentences and realised, how much I'd forgotten. I was struggling to join the words together and could only say those things about myself that I knew the words for! Literally, at a loss for words! Alors, Here's what I wrote about myself:


Bonjour tout le monde!
Je suis Indienne mais maintenent, j'habite à Londres. Je suis ingénieur des télécommunications. Je parle anglais, hindi (la langue nationale de l'Inde) et quelques autres langues régionales de l'Inde. J'aime apprendre de nouvelles langues et j'ai étudié un peu de français à l'école. Je voudrais parler bien français en bon accent.
Voila, à la prochaine!

Est-ce que tu pret pour Bournemouth?

Padma asked me if I was game for a day on the beach and I didnt sound convinced when I heard it was Bournemouth. Nevertheless, since it was my darling sweetie who was so looking forward to it, I yielded. "Good", she said, "be ready, we'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow morning".

I took note of the time and told myself not to delay the trip. Slept early that night so that I could be up and bright early. But was so exited that I could hardly sleep and my eyes opened at 6AM itself. Was unbelieveably ready by 6:30! Cant understand what happens to me on weekdays, hehe. So, while I waited for the clock to tick, I did some menial chores around my house.

7:00AM - no sign of her
7:30AM - no sign again. I get impatient and gave Padma a call. And what do I get to hear? Mademoiselle answered my phone with a yawn and asked me what time of the day it was! Can you believe it? I wondered if the trip was for this weekend or the next!



... to be continued

Mania Olympia

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Whoopee!

I'm so glad that India has won 3 medals this time at the XXIX Summer Olympics in Beijing. It’s 1 Gold and 2 Bronzes in our kitty already. This is also the highest number of medals we’ve ever bagged in any Olympics. I remember that it was just a solitary silver last time around in Greece (that too was in shooting) and none in the Winter Olympics in Italy. I hope we perform better in the the London Olympics in 2012! Fingers (and batons and javelins) crossed, hehe.

Mera Bharat Mahaan!

Lays of continuity

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Its been a pretty dry week for my blog but not in my life; its been at its most happening best! Sunday was my birthday. Monday was a lot of work. Tuesday and Wednesday were a lot of fun with my friend who was visiting me in UK. Thursday was sleeping for 12 hours as I hadn’t slept the previous two nights. And I don’t know what Friday will be like. Hmm. I haven’t had time to talk to Mom and Dad. I haven’t been mailing my friends (in fact one of my friends thought that I was upset with him or something like that and called up from India to enquire, hehe). I haven’t been having dinner and breakfast regularly and havent cooked in the whole of last week! So, by those standards, I guess no blogs being churned out is quite permissible.

Based on the nature of the facts above, I hypothesize that there exists an inverse relationship between the occurrences of events and the blogs written during the sample time window. But I’m pretty sure this is true. And can prove it too. In the following way. When the number of events increase, the time spent on them increases. As the amount of time in any stable system is constant, consequently, the time available for blogging reduces. Since the amount of time available is a determining factor for the number of blogs churned out, subsequently the number of blogs decrease. Therefore, it can be inferred that more eventful the week, lesser the blogs written during that time. Mathematically stated, if E= number of events in a given time period and B=number of blogs written during that time, then EB=k (where k is a constant). This is a universal rule that holds true for all lethargic instances of class homoSapiens. I am contesting the next Nobel Prize.
Shoo, I sound like a geek*!

Voila, jusqu'à la prochaine!





Addendum:
· A geek is defined as ‘A person who is single-minded or accomplished in scientific or technical pursuits but is felt to be socially inept’
· The title is adapted from the ‘Laws of continuity’ that my not-so-contemporary Bernoulli had once stated, that the discharge at each point in a pipe or channel is the same at every other point (assuming the there is no sink or source). Mathematically : Q1 = Q2 = A1 V1 = A2 V2.

Meri Bindiya Re, Re Ay Hay

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We had traditional attire day in the office today. I was quite at sea as I hadn’t packed anything ethnic in my suitcase when I flew from my des. Anyhow, I wore my creative hat and concocted an ensemble that would fit the occasion. It consisted of this lovely Kurti in citrus couleurs (courtesy Lifestyle, Pune) and a chudidaar. To complete the look, I decided to give myself a bindi (we call it Ticklee in Marathi at home; amusing name, naa?). Nothing elaborate and in fact, not even a Bindi, per se. On the contrary, quite elementary, it was a simple vertical line with my eye liner!
But it wasn’t easy to accomplish, mind you. It was only on the third try that I managed to get a straight line, equi-spaced from my brows and of uniform width! I guess the last time I had adorned my forehead this way was way back in 2006. That was for Lohari in Pune and again when I had draped a saree in Mysore. I still remember that I was never fond of Bindis when I was a little girl becase I thought that it was very rustic. To the contrast of today, when I consider it symbolic of my Indian-ness. Someone was recently talking about 'Coming of age'.
Jokes apart, here are some wisdom capsules. Found this on Wikipedia, ‘The Hindus believe that a red bindi should be worn by women who are married and a black bindi is worn by single girls. A black bindi is also believed to keep the evil spirits away’. Suits me perfecticklee!
Anyhow, here's a picture of what my Bindi looked like:

The importance of being Calpurnia

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[11:41:31] Desai,K,Kaus: hello pavan
[11:41:39] Shinde,P,Pav: heylo
[11:41:47] Shinde,P,Pav: were you trying to call me yesterday ?
[11:42:16] Desai,K,Kaus: no
[11:42:23] Desai,K,Kaus: my phone did, though
[11:42:26] Shinde,P,Pav: ok
[11:42:47] Shinde,P,Pav: :)
[11:42:57] Desai,K,Kaus: just wanted to tell you
[11:43:00] Desai,K,Kaus: i got my money
[11:43:04] Desai,K,Kaus: persistence
[11:43:22] Shinde,P,Pav: Good !
[11:43:29] Shinde,P,Pav: (Y)
[11:43:42] Desai,K,Kaus: pig-headed persistence
[11:44:05] Shinde,P,Pav: :D
[11:44:32] Desai,K,Kaus: you need to appear to be stupider than the other guy
[11:44:51] Desai,K,Kaus: then take down their statements one-by-one
[11:45:07] Desai,K,Kaus: then let them think they're geniuses
[11:45:29] Desai,K,Kaus: that feeling however, lasts only until you tell them "see?"
[11:47:45] Shinde,P,Pav: :)
[11:50:54] Desai,K,Kaus: that is what i call the 'albert einstein' moment
[11:51:12] Desai,K,Kaus: There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there.
[11:51:20] Desai,K,Kaus: to quote the man himself
[11:52:07] Shinde,P,Pav: hmm
[11:52:59] Desai,K,Kaus: or Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III
[11:53:48] Desai,K,Kaus: if you've followed shakespeare
[11:53:57] Shinde,P,Pav: I dont thnk this was there in julius ceas
[11:54:05] Shinde,P,Pav: caesar*
[11:54:15] Desai,K,Kaus: no no, the first quote was einstein
[11:54:40] Desai,K,Kaus: the julius caesar line is perhaps better known
[11:54:57] Desai,K,Kaus: Brutus: There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
[11:54:58] Shinde,P,Pav: nobleso fall
[11:55:02] Shinde,P,Pav: noblest of all
[11:55:37] Shinde,P,Pav: I dont remember these lines
[11:55:52] Shinde,P,Pav: I remember what the soothsayer says
[11:55:56] Desai,K,Kaus: no?
[11:56:04] Shinde,P,Pav: and i rememer his wife's deream
[11:56:17] Shinde,P,Pav: and i remember brutus being called the most noble
[11:56:21] Shinde,P,Pav: dats it
[11:56:41] Desai,K,Kaus: yeah, chlamydomona or something like it
[11:56:53] Desai,K,Kaus: cassiopaea perhaps
[11:57:07] Desai,K,Kaus: or cauliflowa?
[11:57:23] Shinde,P,Pav: I'll got with option 3
[13:22:39] Desai,K,Kaus: ah, no, i've got it
[13:22:45] Desai,K,Kaus: calpurnia!
[13:22:57] Desai,K,Kaus: i thought it was california or something
[13:23:14] Desai,K,Kaus: not the RHCP album
[13:27:57] Shinde,P,Pav: that is californication
[13:28:06] Desai,K,Kaus: yes, exactly
[13:28:08] Shinde,P,Pav: or were you thinking of eagles ?
[13:28:19] Shinde,P,Pav: you can chk out any tiem
[13:28:26] Shinde,P,Pav: but you can never leave ?
[13:28:39] Desai,K,Kaus: no no, i got confused about california and cauliflowa and californication
[13:28:53] Desai,K,Kaus: then i remembered
[13:29:48] Desai,K,Kaus: it seemed illogical why julius caesar would call his wife cauliflowa
[13:30:05] Shinde,P,Pav: I cant see why he cant
[13:30:17] Desai,K,Kaus: or california, because it hadn't been discovered then
[13:30:23] Shinde,P,Pav: I can clearly imagine him saying ..
[13:31:00] Shinde,P,Pav: "Oh beloved Cauliflowa, thy bushy hair resembleth the vege of the same name"
[13:31:17] Shinde,P,Pav: or just like augustus ceasar gave the month his name
[13:31:26] Shinde,P,Pav: and julius himself named another
[13:31:45] Shinde,P,Pav: .. he might have wanted to name a vege in memory of his wifey
[13:31:50] Desai,K,Kaus: :D no no, but then it would be more relevant if he called her californication :P
[13:32:00] Shinde,P,Pav: perhaps that's how the vege got its name!
[13:32:04] Desai,K,Kaus: maybe
[13:32:40] Desai,K,Kaus: and her full name was calpurnia pisonis
[13:33:11] Desai,K,Kaus: so it would be unfair to call her cauliflowa pisonis
[13:33:20] Desai,K,Kaus: or californication pisonis
[13:33:29] Desai,K,Kaus: so it had to be calpurnia

My Stupid Mouth

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There is this amazing construction of chords on the acoustic guitar in this brilliant song by John Mayer with the same title as this post. I was listening to it last morning as I was walking to get my bus to work. The prelude has such a catchy rhythm that I found myself walking in step with it. And you know me, give me a song with heavenly chords on the acoustic guitar and I’m on board. This song has made it to my Top Charts on day one!


The lyrics are extremely relatable. At least for me! There are so many times when I’ve ruined my own chances, courtesy my stupid mouth. Not with any date, but with colleagues and associates. I can’t prevent myself from speaking my mind out and sometimes, people do get offended. Then, comes the awkward silence, in which I wear my fake smile and start looking around, 360 degrees, searching desperately for a subject change. Like Sangeetha Aunty once remarked that I speak first and then think. My stupid mouth.

There are also those occasions when I keep ranting away to glory. With no brakes and no lower gear. And it could be on absurd social issues to the latest development in Bollywood to the life and miseries of Mary, Queen of Scots. Which is perfectly fine with close pals (they dote on me, touchwood), but catastrophic for a new relationship. Particularly, if it’s with Indian men (about whom I will write in a separate post, aargh). Like Tanu puts it, ‘One will have to be a little more courageous to stand through all the juggernaut of talk Pavan may throw at first, so that it does not rip off one's memory of one's name’. My stupid mouth.

There are also those occasions when you’re trying to be part of an existing group who’ve already got some standard jokes they crack on the next readily available victim. And you try to be jovial and humorous, but they say something really minor and insignificant and the tables turn. And you tell yourself, ‘I tried to be funny, but looks like the joke's on me. Call me Captain Backfire!’. My stupid mouth.

Something else that I noticed about the song is that the line ‘I’m never speaking up again’ appears, albeit in a very subtle form, in his other creation, ‘Your Body is a Wonderland’. That’s another song that I love and it makes me want to be in love; however we will not discuss that in this post and which we will save for another post.

So, here’s to this awesome number (cheers!):
I'm never speaking up again
It only hurts me
I'd rather be a mystery
Than she desert(ing) me




The chords of the prelude progress in the following way :
D - D/C# - D/F# - G - Bm - D/F# - G
Source :
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/j/john_mayer/my_stupid_mouth_crd.htm
You can listen to the song on youtube too :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tg-0Yy0M94&feature=related

Getting high

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Kaushal's funny lines of the day:
[10:35:47] Desai,K,Kaus: hello?
[10:35:57] Shinde,P,Pav: hi - on a call
[10:36:35] Desai,K,Kaus: i used to get hi when i used to drink a bit too much
[10:36:43] Desai,K,Kaus: never heard of getting hi on a call
[10:37:03] Desai,K,Kaus: besides, it's not socially acceptable
[10:38:09] Shinde,P,Pav: Social casualities are quite commonplace for me these days

Land Ambassador

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I nurture an unflinching love for my beloved motherland; but I’m not to be mistaken for an eccentric flag-waver. Over the last two years of my life that I have lived overseas, I’ve grown to believe that I am an ambassador of Indian culture. As a young independent lady, I feel that I’m an icon of a positive and progressive image of modern India. And unknowingly, it has been my endless endeavour to educate people about ‘India Shining’. To shred the ugly garbs of sati, superstition, dowry and communalism that veil our many achievements.

During each of my escapades to the countryside, I’ve found people talking to me with awe for India. I have been asked queer questions and have been given unexpected compliments. I’m reminded of this one afternoon in May ’07. I was waiting for my friends on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, soaking in Scottish hospitality. A well dressed elderly gentleman walked up to me with a faint, yet welcoming, smile on his face wanting to know which part of the world I belonged to. I had travelled from London where I had been living for the previous 8 months; even so, I said aloud that I was an Indian. I still don’t know if it was my response or the pride that was evident in my voice when I spoke about my nationality that sent him into a brief length of senile silence. Recouping, he asked me various questions and we discussed my opinions on Scottish history, people, tartan and spinning mills and some other related subjects. Since these subjects did not visibly pose any impending threat to international security, I remained vocal about my views.

After we had had a long talk, with an impressed look, he asked me if it was common for young girls in India to travel overseas alone. I tried not to look startled and explained how different India is now and how much freedom we girls get. We went to discuss more about women’s oppression in India and I elucidated the circumstances that existed a few centuries ago, reminding him of witch burning that was widespread in this part of the world and which even had royal sanction. In fact, I’d like to tell you as well, that the beautiful gardens at the foothills of Edinburgh Castle has


... to be continued

Berozgaarie blended with poetry!

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One of my friends pinged me today while I was busy work. I was absolutely tied up, yet, the persistent bugger wouldn’t let me work in peace. Here’s what transpired :


srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:19]:
       howdy?
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:20]:
       Goody
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:20]:
       busy?
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:25]:
       thodi
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:25]:
       Ghodi
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:25]:
       lambe race ki
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:25]:
       bina shoe lace ki
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:26]:
       aur pencil heel ki
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:27]:
       ankhein hain cheel (kite) ki
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:28]:
       tareef ho rahii hai .. bade der ki
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:36]:
       so now u know main hoon kitna free
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:38]:
       par kaam hai mujhe abhie bhie bahut saari
srivastava,G,gaurav,DKL C [12:38]:
       uff yeh tumhari roz roz ki beemari
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:56]:
       beemari to lagi hui hai pehele se hi
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:56]:
       shayad 20-Feb-06 se hi
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:57]:
       ilaaj hai iska sadhaaran si hi
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:57]:
       update karo apna CV
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:57]:
       aur daalo ek site par jiska naam hai naukri
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:58]:
       nahii hai vikalp aur koi
Shinde,P,Pavan,ANP1 C [12:59]:
       batao, samajhdaar hai na davai humaari ?

Doomsday Conspiracy

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Arguably, I think the worst time to find a life partner or get into a relationship is soon after a break-up when you are at an all-time emotional low. You struggle to suppress the maelstrom of feelings and the whirlpool of thoughts so that you can pick up the pieces of your life and move on. You fake a smile at your colleagues and associates so that they don’t get a peek into your morose and melancholy life. You lie when you say you’re doing fine but you know in your heart of hearts, that you desperately long to turn the pages. The overbearing void begins to engulf you but you continue your solitary battle against dejection.

It is in such a state of mind that you tend to become vulnerable and manipulatable. Inevitably, you find yourself drawn to the first person who shows you sympathy (whether it is heartfelt of not). Sweet words are what you want hear and a shoulder to, maybe not cry on, but at least to rest your head on is what you need. And no matter who it is, as long as you get to hear sweet expressions of love, your heart will get filled with joy. The once overwhelming vacuum diminishes. So does your abiity to distinguish true from fake. You overlook any signs of imitation; convincing yourself that what you have found is best for you, most true to you.

If, God forbid, the person intends to use you, then you have conveniently let yourself walk into doom’s lair. Giving the reins of your life in the hands of another, you allow yourself to be manoeuvred. Obviously, to not to suit your better interests but to serve someone else’s. After the initial charm wears out and you see the true layers, by the time you return to senses, it might just be too late.

Coming of age

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Off late, I've begun to certify several things as having come of age. I'm not sure if it is actually the object in question or it is purely my perspective that has come of age. Anyhow, the latest to be certified in this category is the Indian advertising fraternity. How exactly they have managed to please me is what I'm about to tell you.

I stumbled upon an Indian commercial today that casts my heartthrob Abhishek Bachchan as a Sarpanch. (For those with limited knowledge of Hindi and/or Indian democracy, a Sarpanch is the head of the local self governance body in rural India.) The ad goes like this: a village is torn apart by riots between rival castes. The Sarpanch restores peace by advocating that everyone be known by their phone number and none by their caste.

I must say that I am quite impressed at the choice of such a sensitive subject. It portrays the contrast between the volatility of caste co-existence and its prevalence in modern and progressive times in a country where even the illiterate and the poor can enjoy the comfort of a cellular phone.

I’m also impressed with the ingenuity with which the ad makers have comfortably maintained political correctness and averted enraging any regional groups. Not sure where I’m coming from? You wouldn’t have noticed it but the accent in which the Sarpanch speaks has a Rajasthani / Haryanvi touch to it. The set and villagers in the ad give you a distant feel of UP / Bihar and the music at the very end of the ad has the distinct Maharashtrian beat. Subtle. Uncontroversial.

Nothing about the ad as such, but I can’t hold myself from complimenting Abhishek for his distinct style which keeps me asking for more. You will notice the soft, yet powerful expression that he gives at the fag end of the ad when the punch line ‘What an idea, sirji’ is spoken – nearly tending to superiority and dominance, I’m sure he means to say, ‘I’m innovation’. And the unshaved look does kill!



You can watch the video on youtube :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp-Zc1X_9_4