Club 65, if I could make an association where everybody who is young at heart could do things of their choice without any social barriers. It would be Club 65 and I would make my father the President of that. He belongs to my generation and generations to come…I asked him the other day, “I want to go to someplace with you, just you and me.” Chandigarh Clubbing chale, he said with immense enthusiasm. He is the only man I know who talks about his dreams, his daydreams… I am so much like him in that manner. Or maybe I haven’t taken after him and not my mother. Over-emotional, extremely sensitive and not so quick to forgive but I have something...
Continue readingThe way Social media or facebook has changed our generation is unimaginable but what surprises me is how Indian culture ka tadka affects facebook. “Usne meri photo Like nahi ki, She is always jealous of me.” talks a 30 yr old to her friend because a kitty member ignored her latest picture! The “Like” button is the new ego masseuse So facebook is the new “flatter me” platform where you like every photo your bosses wife posts, to be acknowledged. Not just that you leave a comment “very nice” “lovely”, “beautiful”(the most common ones) to be in her good (face) books We have 90 mutual friends but we are not friends, taking the cold war to a different level altogether. Two women who would...
Continue readingKrishna has always been my favorite god and there was always a veiled jealousy for Radha his consort. I call it love and the world can call me preposterous. It is impossible to think of Krishna without thinking of Radha yet some of the biggest Krishna temples in India do not enshrine the image of Radha. Even the most sacred book of Krishna, the Bhagavat Puran, does not mention Radha. Just very recently, I started reading about the goddess I envied and what an immense devotee I have become of the milkmaid whose reflection I can see in every woman known and unknown. They say when Radha Krishan met the once after Krishan left Vrindavan no words were said. No hands stretched to meet...
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My part of the world, loves to believe that family is a perfect word and if you don’t fit in it, its your fault, you are the Ugly Duckling. They love words like “khandaan”, “Pariwar”, “Gharana.” So having a family and family ‘values’ is considered mandatory or else you are nothing but an alien. What about broken families? Single parents, divorced parents, step parent? OH NO! That’s not acceptable at all. Kids who live in such families are stronger individuals and they adapt better in situations, they make stronger friendships because they know friends are all they have. They have better managerial skills because they were never over pampered, they were left to “deal with it”. They are more likely to be...
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The love for the game is something I inherit from my father . My childhood was filled with his stories of him playing chess with all the champions of the city that time and always emerging as a hero. I have always fancied the game from a very young age but interestingly, father never played with me and neither did he share any of his special tricks and tips. I think the only tip he has ever given me is “don’t lose the knight too soon, he is the only game changer” “I don’t believe in shiny knights who limp in their moves. I believe in Rooks the sturdy fat coins. They like to be ‘straight forward’ “I said to him. And to me the real game...
Continue readingMrs Funnybones When I picked this book, it was only to be judgmental about a celebrity’s writing skill. Yes, I am an Indian woman who will never miss an opportunity to cast a sardonic sneer for a book written by a celebrity. To my surprise, she has done a good job and while the book is not about flowery adjectives like the one used on Simi Grewal’s Tv show, it’s about the non glamorous life of a glamorous celebrity and celebrity wife. Who is Mrs Funnybones First few pages really made me question myself, “Are you going to read this? why would you want to know about what happens in Akshay Kumar’s household” Don’t forget I defined myself as hard to please cynical...
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The dot com world that we are all part of caters to all our needs. From “khane wala” apple to “chalane wala apple”. The conventional “karyana wala” is replaced by fancy merabaniya.com. The maid my mother used to keep threatening to sack now threatens my mother because she is on bookmybai.com. From Pizza to Palazzos nothing escapes the “wild wild web” but there is still scope, scope for a brilliant dotcom idea,my agony aunt.com. Someone who would listen to all the complaints you have to make about the world. Ok, disclaimer for any ardent followers of any God man of these days, please don’t dust your gyaan about “how not to complain” It is healthy to vent out. Think of a...
Continue readingIt’s once in a while that you get to meet a politician, who makes you feel very comfortable, addresses you as “beta” and does not dust his arrogance on you. Well, maybe they don’t teach that to all the politicians but perhaps it’s taught in all royal families. That was my first question to Capt Amarinder Singh, the scion of the royal Patiala family, candidate for Chief Minister from Congress for the upcoming state elections, “how does a maharaja feel being in politics?” While he answered very humbly to that, saying, that came in easy since his upbringing as a royal prince was all about discipline, inclusivity and not discriminatory.He never let the maharaja title overwhelm him as a person. He...
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“Would you like to be born as a woman again?” I was asked this question very randomly by a woman over a woman’s day high tea this year. While biting into the cheese crackers with utmost care that the crumbs should not fall on my dress, I said “Of course, I love being a woman and I embrace everything it brings along. From periods to pregnancy”The woman who asked this smiled, holding the pleats of her dupatta placed over the shoulder and said,”wo to sab theek hai but don’t you ever wish to be a man, ” I wish I was a man because then I could get away with everything. You know I won’t have to be answerable to anyone for anything”. Her words...
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