Thursday, July 18, 2013

We have moved....

At the moment I am starting many things from scratch in my life....so also moving my blog home for many years to wordpress...(yeah...right where everyone is moving....or has already moved!)

The same Ann...the same clumsiness....the same madness shall continue at www.annseries.wordpress.com

Blogger you have been good!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

'Looking' Married

The most common comment that I have been getting since the day I got married is that I don't 'look' married, right from Day 2 of my marriage. What is with 'looking' married? Do I have to wear a board round my neck stating that I am married? Well in India...Yes!

Acceptable ways of 'looking' married in India: Sindoor, wedding ring, wedding locket, toe rings, blingy clothes in bright colours, couples of extra kilos preferably and sitting coy at public events! All of the above applicable only to the female, none applicable to men...(they are still 'khulla saandh' :~D)

Day 2 after the wedding, the Man and I attended my friends' wedding anniversary. When she told her mother 'Ma this is Ann...the one whose wedding V and I attended last night', there was a collective gasp from the heavily decked up aunties in blingy sarees who saw me in a khadi silk kurta and churidhar..that too in beige!!! (No red!...another gasp!) Me thinks the aunties looked more 'newly married' than me. 

Day 5 after the wedding, the Man and I started cleaning our new house and I could not bear the sight of the wedding band getting tortured by the metallic scrub and soap solution. Also the Man and I could not come to terms with the yellow shiny metal on our respective fingers and I could never come to terms with the thick gold chain I had to wear because on it hung the 'wedding locket'. So out went the rings and the chain! The Man and I were very happy from that day!! But society clearly not! 

My best friend has this game where she loves watching people's reaction when she tells them that I am married. Apart from the standard reactions of 'ooh u don't look married' we also get obnoxious ones. One of the most obnoxious comments I received was from a lady who is highly educated and working in a very high post with a government undertaking. She asked me 'so how come you both decided not to wear anything...too much confidence in each other?!?!!' I stared at her and said "Yes absolutely!" (although convenience is the real answer ;~) )

The principal of one of the schools I studied in is the famous Mrs. Y.G. Parthasarathy. This cheerful woman at the young age of 80 and counting still sports the brightest kancheepuram sarees with fresh flowers on her hair. She once told us that people asked her why doesn't she 'show respect' to the departed soul of Mr. Parthasarathy and 'dress up' like the other widows. Her answer was 'Till I got married and my husband came into my life, I was sporting colorful clothes and flowers, so why should that stop once my husband is no longer alive'. Coming from a lady belonging to the staunch Tam Bram community, this is blasphemy in their society!!
  
Dear Indians, I don't need you to draw boundaries for me to remain loyal...I am capable of doing that by myself. As for showing India how lucky I am of being a 'suhaagan' (status of being married), luck is not represented by looking like a Christmas Tree with Chinese Diwali lights on it!! 


PS: Now my main worry is the Man not 'looking' married...especially since I heard that he is getting marriage proposals...that too from pretty expats!!! 



Thursday, July 11, 2013

Gender Bender - Decoding Relationship Cold War


At the mall Saturday evening...

Husband: Do you want to check out something in Aldo? There is a sale going on...

Wife: NO...the sizes in Aldo don't fit me.

Husband: Do you want to got to Paul Smith?

Wife: NO... They have only men's clothes...why do you care, you got me into the mall at 9.30 pm when all the stores have closed for the day..

Husband: Bata is open!

Wife: I DON'T WANT ANYTHING!!

Husband: Okay...

Sunday morning...

Husband wakes up at 7.30 a.m, finds his cup of tea on the table...

Husband leaves plates on the table, does not switch off lights/fans..returns and sees everything in their proper place/state.

Sunday afternoon....

Husband: Do you want to go for a movie?

Wife: NO

Husband: Last week you said you wanted to watch that movie, now what happened?

Wife: Not in the mood....

Husband: Okay....

Husband spends Sunday evening surfing internet, read movie and car reviews, watching flicks on TV...

Wife thinks I will make him suffer by not talking to him...how dare he refuse to take me for the movie last week...and this week he takes me to the mall at 9.30 p.m...HE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS!!! I did everything so that I don't have to talk to him...but Damn I can't nag him!!!

Husband thinks WOW...had a whole day to myself after AGES!! and everything went exactly my way ...didnt have to spend any money at the mall, didn't have to make the mandatory Sunday morning tea...didn't have to plead for food at 10 a.m., no weekly grocery shopping, didn't have to watch that stupid chick flick she was talking about last week, didn't have to switch off the lights/fan (which self respecting guy does that anyway!), didn't have to face her random conversations and most of all NO NAGGING!! Is this a dream!!!

This my dearies is why husbands LOVE COLD WAR!!!

Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental!



(Pic courtesy: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/f/fall_out.asp  I own nothing!)

Monday, July 08, 2013

'Picture' this... Da Thadiya

I watch MOVIES...P watches CINEMA...
because I can watch a movie of any genre...from Dabangg rated (hope i got the spelling correct) to Oscar nominated...while P believes he watches quality cinema...although he can quote dialogues from Mitunda classics like Gunda, Boxer and the like!

I love this movie: DA THADIYA!



Love (or in this case "luwe"):

~ This movie is so relevant in current times, that i wish it is remade in other languages (while remaining true to its spirit)! 

~ This movie will lower profits for ayurvedic and other weight loss clinics this year.

~ I constantly worry about the last 2 kilos to shed but after this movie I give a ' : ~P ' to that weighing scale.... i am like this wonly!

~ The protagonist and his side kick....Thadiyan and Shadddy (NOT to be pronounced as 'shadey') so REAL!

~ Netto bungalow and Fort Kochi...whats there to not LOVE

~ Last but not the least... My new anthem



Loathe:

~ Could have prevented Thadiyan from wearing 'khadar' all the time after he joins the party...okay i am just nitpicking! 

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

In Santa's land

(well not really...Santa's airport more like it!!)

What happens when one has to spend 5 hours at an airport in Lapland cause somebody crossed immigration unknowingly and lost the golden opportunity to step out into snow clad wonderland...

we eat cheesecake with lingonberry sauce....


Curiosity got the better of me when I popped in a piece of humble looking cured meat only to be told that is REINDEER MEAT.... sorry Rudolf but u taste very good...I also ate cold smoked caviar only to regret it and chomped on some liquorice to change the taste in my mouth. I was tempted to pick the reindeer meat and bear meat to take home, but taking the said meat outside EU is banned.. :(

Finland..your transit lounge keeps me well occupied, you definitely deserve a visit! Hope to see u soon...

Monday, February 04, 2013

Turning Three O!!


Wake up by 7 (a.m. that is)
Lose 7 kilos by nov 2013
Follow discipline
Eat healthy and reduce the carbs
Hit the gym atleast 5 days a week
Attack procrastination
Read more in quantity and quality 
Improve photography
Process more photos
Learn a new language and photo editing software and may be a sport
Cook healthy and frequently

Another set of new year resolutions....NO. In about 10 months i will be (*drum rollsss)....30....denial, angst, worry....not really...because everyone will turn 30!!!!...muhahahahaaaaaaa. and these days people look better in their 30s than they did in their 20s (thanks to botox and surgery :) ). 

There is no way i can stop the clock or reverse it. Even if i could do either of the above, i will not avail the offer. But if there is an option of being better than i was in my 20s....that is something i would like to do. And i do have the option of being better than i was in my 20s..so i hope to adhere to my resolutions. 

Have a nice day....



Friday, March 02, 2012

Boheme!!

I have spent more than 5 years in New Delhi and have never visited Hauz Khas Village...or as I call it 'HK' :~P and when i made the maiden trip recently, i regretted why i didnt go there all this while. HK Village is a world in itself...mix of old world charm (with the ruins), and some crazy kitschy art..some villagers in ghagras and designers in dhoti pants...


Under this board mercs and BMWs were parked!!!



Kaanta laaga...


Where else can one find a jogging track along side a lake in Delhi!!

Tucked away in this 'village' is a small place called Boheme which over looks the 'Hauz' (lake)...situated on the 4th floor the climb to the 4th floor is sufficient to build an appetite...


Limited menu and unlimited view of the lake


I love quaint, simple, white and blue places and Boheme just has that!! The menu is limited, largely continental. The service takes a long time...but i will not mind because this is a place to relax, chat/read a book and the food is not really the highlight...we had ordered the pizza florentine, pasta with white wine sauce and prawn and the cookie crunch cake...and food was OK... its a great place to book to host a party for 25-30 ppl...


All images captured by embarassing P with the camera.. ;) 

Some day if i ever open a restaurant, the ambience should in all likelihood will be like Boheme... :~D now i just need to hunt for a cook in my restaurant.. :~P