beam me back, scotty

The rain sizzles on dry earth. The smell zooms me back to the past. Back to quiet, humid and lazy days at home, watching the rain dampen the front porch. The pitter patter that brought out the frogs, making me take a step back in fright. Papers floating away as makeshift boats under the tiny bridges formed by gateways to neighborhood houses.

The milk boiling away on the stove, takes me back to days when my mom or aunt prepared the mandatory afternoon coffee. So much comfort in the simplest memories.

An early morning jog, jogging memories of December in Madras. The sultry mugginess of pre-dawn summers in Chennai, spent watching the sun rise and in watching the artworks of neighborhood ladies.

A sleepless night, looking out of the window, takes me back to chennai powercuts, when the cousins would gather to belt out musical numbers, with scant regard to tone or tune.

Catching a glimpse of the 'goods' train, brings back or rather takes me back to those daily train journeys, with friends and strangers.

An ice-cream cone that always reminds me of movie-watching with dad, waiting for the interval when I would get the softie and then the race to finish it before it started leaking from the bottom.

Interwoven chains, but they don't really take you back. But it would have to suffice.

What are your nostalgic triggers?

Life goes on...

Over the last few weeks, I have tried. I start to write a post but am unable to proceed beyond a few lines. An eventful month, to say the least.

It was not my dad and it shouldn't have hurt, but I had to go through it yet another time. My father in law passed away 3 weeks back and we have all changed. It was expected, yet unexpected. We knew he was counting his days, but hoped he would be around to see the kids one last time. But in a sense, there was closure for his kids, which I will never be able to claim. Every death, near or far, takes me back to those black days when I lost mine. A death at 80 is not as horrible as one at half that age. A loss is a loss, but there is also the feeling that a life was well-lived. It was time and the rest of the family took heart in the fact that we did our best for him.

The tough part is for the m-i-l, to be uprooted from the life she knew for the last 50 plus years. Granted, there are no responsibilites piled on her shoulders, but the move is going to be tough on her.

So, I have come out of that haze. Preparing to visit at a tense time adds to the stress of temporary single parenthood. But, beneath all that, I am getting a break for 3 weeks, which by then, I will fully deserve.

There is a new respect for my mom, and the other moms who went through this at a much younger age, bearing the responsibilities on their shoulders, taking care of home, hearth and business. There is a new appreciation for the paper chores that my hubby takes care of, that I have been trying to handle. There is a new confidence that I can take care of everything if I have to. Although there is definitely no inclination for that.

Oh Man!

You might want to go out and buy some watermelons. There is a sharp indication that the demand might go up. Check this out.

A Texas scientist says the fruit contains bioactive compounds that relax blood vessels, much like Viagra.

PS: All the puns were unintentional. So I say!

reel lines

I came across
this article on the most popular lines from movies.

Top 10 must used film lines:

1. "I'll be back." ("The Terminator")

2. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." ("Gone With The Wind")

3. "Beam me up, Scotty." ("Star Trek")

4. "May the force be with you." ("Star Wars")

5. "Life is like a box of chocolates." ("Forrest Gump")

6. "You talking to me?" ("Taxi Driver")

7. "Show me the money." ("Jerry Maguire")

8. "Do you feel lucky, punk?" ("Dirty Harry")

9. "Here's looking at you, kid." ("Casablanca")

10. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." ("Dirty Dancing")

We have some like this in Kollywood too. The most popular ones are from the boss, Rajini. In fact, it has become a necessity for his movie to have some "bolded" lines that his fans can repeat. "naan oru thadavai sonna, nooru thadavai sonna mathiri".

There was "thagidu thagidu" from Sathyaraj.

Then from my most favorite movie of all times - "catch my point" and "chinna meena pottu periya meena edukkanum". And there was that "aaay" that was heavily plagiarized from this movie.

Long time ago, they made a movie with Ranjan as the villian, who locked the heroine and spouted - "avaa othinaa iva varuva". Not sure how many people recognize this. This from the days of DD dominance, when watching the sunday night BW movie was a big deal. That line was extremely popular in school. As was "naatha... naathi" from Santha Sakkubai.

What are your favorite lines?

Back in action, slo-mo tho

So I am back! Didn't think I would, did you? New place, new home that's not yet home, mom duty have all kept me quite on my tippy toes. Also, I suspect a lil bit of dep., and the cold weather doesn't help.

Was it a deja-vu that happened today? I am not sure. As I tried to park my car for my habitual gym visit this morning, the lady next to me was trying to back out. Without a backward glance. And I was right there. It took me a frantic couple of seconds to force down on the horn to let her know - excuse me, could you hold on just a second while I park and get out of your way? Missed by a hair's breadth. After an hour's toil, I back out of my space, after waiting for a van to pass. I am pretty sure I braked before trying to change from r to d. Next thing I know, I am stopped by the wall behind me and I am left wondering how that happened. I guess it is better to have a small dent in the bumper than one on my head.

It is kind of unnerving because, recently, I almost missed another such. I was waiting for the left turn light, one late evening. I start to turn, when a car comes rushing straight from the opposite side, not giving a flying eff about the traffic signals. It was too dark to see if this was a sleepy head or a drunk or a devil trying to mow me down. Luckily my brakes held solid and worked at the right time. It took me a long time to stop shaking. At the speed that the other moron was going, he (yea, I say he) could have done some serious damage. And he didn't slow down at all.

Now if only if my brakes had worked as well today too, I could have been saved that embarrassing dent in the bumper.

A new chapter

The move is done. Physically to speak. We still have countless boxes to open, cupboards to fill, walls to paint and art to display. It can wait for now. A new routine, a new outlook and a new schedule. Getting used to it all. Weekly visits to see Sri Venkateshwara and eat some yummy prasadam. New places to discover. Would be exciting, if not for the blasted bout of cold.

I feel disconnected to everything, a feeling that it is a vacation, that we are going back to our old home. There is also a feeling that this is not going to be permanent. Is this what it is to be uprooted? Even though the roots were only a decade or so old?

I will have to wait and see how I feel in a month or 2.

Caffinity and a question

Not the burning question of the moment. But I got to thinking about my dependence on tea. On to people's dependence/addiction to caffeine. Then wondered how and when it started. Do you remember when you started drinking it? I don't. I remember sitting on my daddy's lap, waiting for the coffee to be "aathufied" so that there was a thick layer of foam on top. Slurping it up so that I had a foamy moustache. I did not want it given little by little, it had to be foamed to the top.

I could not drink anyone else' coffee except my mom's. Peaberry A and Peaberry B with a touch of chicory, well roasted was how she made it. 2 and 1/2 heaped spoons in the filter. First decoction. Not bitter at all. While in college (out of rather, since we cut classes quite a bit then), I tasted woodland's tiffin room's coffee and I loved it. Cafe du monde's coffee made it to the charts too. Until I graduated to flavored coffees at the local bagel store.

A decade ago, I switched my allegiance to tea and have been going strong on that. Especially Trader Joe's chai tea bags, if there is no assam tea handy. Strangely, I have developed an intolerance for coffee. I do like the aroma, and even tolerate it in tiramisu and such. But I am a total tea drinker now. Of late, I have been thinking of may be giving it up. May be. Or Not.

So the question is this.
When did you first start drinking coffee/tea?

(note: this will not kill any cats)

Victory??

Churidar clad women can visit the temple @ Guruvayoor. First reaction - Yaay! The last time I visited, I sweated tons in a silk saree, having to wait while a special closed doors pooja was going on. In December.

But then, I think. As long as you respect the premises for what it is, are they right in barring the way for non-Hindus? The land of Sankaracharya should show more tolerance, right? I have heard horror tales of the power play that happens in such big temples. Living in the service of God, some people feel so close to Him, that they start feeling/acting like one too. Who decides what is right and what is wrong?

Are the guys still supposed to attend in mundus/veshtis? When are shorts going to be in the allowed list?

I have never been barred from churches and durgahs, so isn't it right that we reciprocate? It is a place of worship for us, but it can be a place of peace for others. I enjoy visiting churches for that calm that washes over me, just like the smell of camphor and basil. Good things need to be shared, right?