The Steffi inside me !

I abhor Ra in the tennis court. I loathe him up to the verge of strangling him then and there on the green gleaming court. I really mean it, no jokes, its as grave as ... I dont know what, but I am sure Ra knows its gravity.

We havent started playing games yet, we just practice, he himself is no master of the game but somehow he has cultivated this fallacy that he is coping up with my bad game ... and to my shame he realizes me @ my every single shot that his game is deteriorating because of my game ... and the height is he really thinks he could have participated in this US Open if I were not his partner ... and I am sure he cracks jokes on my game in all his friends circle grrrr!!!

All this shit started a month back, I was gone for my driving class (yeah driving class, this is a big story itself... I will be writing a blog about it soon) and when I came back, to my surprise, Ra had this black color tennis racket in his hands ... a wao! This allured me so much that I soon found myself head over heels towards the nearest sports authority. There as usual we started with a great combat for the color of my tennis racket. He wanted me to buy a PINK color racket with a PINK racket bag and thank god there were no PINK balls else he would have made me play with the PINK balls too (I dont know where in the earth from he get these ideas). I won and we ended up buying a masculine blue color racket for his frail little lady who he always dream in baby PINKS ...

How to hold the racket training started much before our first historical entrance to the tennis court and then inside the court before hitting the first ball came his 'chaap' training (which I will never understand even if I will be given brains of Einstein to borrow). He has some kind of table tennis experience and till now he has never missed a single chance to apply his ping pong stunts on the lawn tennis.

Every day we came back with both of our moods switched off. I wanted him to be grateful to me since I was joining him in his tennis court after my office hours and after my everyday NJ to NY up n down trips and with the worries of what to cook in dinner bugs inside my already troubled brain cells ...

...and he wanted me to play tennis shots and not my irritating badminton and hockey and golf and everything else except tennis shots, he wanted the balls to hit in the middle of my racket but sixty percent of the times balls will hit my racket everywhere else except that wide middle spot of my racket and rest of the fourty percent of times I could not hit the balls. He kept analyzing that how do I manage to hit the ball incorrectly every single time.

We both could not understand each others sacrifices and passions ... he never felt grateful to me and I kept my badminton shots continued ... until yesterday ...

Yesterday alas for the first time after my continued struggle with the racket and balls ... I guess I played good yesterday, only yesterday! Miracle do happen sometimes! Rajib was finally sweating (I know how hard he always wanted to come back with a sweat wet shirt) and it was he who wanted to stop (for the first time) and not me, only yesterday! We both came back humming and dancing on a himesh reshmiya song after the game, only yesterday! He praised my food ... he praised my dress ... he even praised my driving, only yesterday! He hugged me and kissed me after the game, only yesterday! it was a great day, yesterday!

And before I end, le me confess few more things, you can ignore this section as this is one of those boring thanks giving speeches to be put in the end (I want to make every possible attempts to hide the greatness of Ra) Ra could have got a good companion and he could have learnt this game in a couple of weeks for sure (remember I told u .. he had his so called stupid TeeTee experience) but he choose to play with me and to learn the game togather ... he helped me in kitchen everyday, he understood very well where all I needed his support and his supporting self was there during this whole endeavor (ok ok its actually always there ... you guys are impossible!). He was hard on me but then he always wanted my best to come out of me ...

And I suddenly started compairing one of my (unfortunate !) antique ol boy friend who named me Steffi and this (fortunate enough to get me!) guy Ra who actually made me feel Steffi ... thanks Ra ... you are indeed my best boy friend ... I love u ummaaah !!!

love - Aru !

(Doesnt mean I have bacame good player now ... only means I have started hitting balls correctly ... and I understand theres much much more to learn ... wish me luck !)

e-Rakshabandhan

We again had hi-tech e-rakshabandhan ... I called my bhaiyas over phone and sent rakhis and sweets via emails across the seven seas and I also sent some rakhi scraps on orkut ... and after all these busy rakhi moments I took some time out to remember those good ol days when we used to make rakhis by our own hands (remember supw classes during rakhi gals .. those reshmi dhaga and tooth brush nautankis?) I remembered our babyish chitthis that we used to write to our distant brothers ... I still remember some of the contents of those chitthis... bhaiya pranaam, rakhi ke avasar par aapko rakhi bhej rahi hoo, aap apane KAR KAMALO par baandh lijiyega ya bandhwa lijiyega whatever ... We used to send these chitthis with almost same contents to all of our bhaiyas (but handwritten, those were not the days of ctrl C and ctrl V) ... sons of bua mami chachi mausi ... every possible bhai!

... and then on the actual Rakhi day ... we used to have face to face rakhi with our other very vital bhais ... would you like to know who all ... I know you are not interested but plz allow me to tell you ... to name some ... the mango tree on our backyard which used to save mangoes for us from all the scandalous boys of BALCO, our bicycles which showed us the kona kona of BALCO, Papa's scooter on which the ride was more pleasant then todays across the sea rides ... our TV which used to save our exam score by just being switched off, books which somehow saved our minds from diverting to more terrorist activities, doors which saved us from all the perilous creatures of the earth ... all the bhagwaan jees who were ... will be ... and are saving us from everything evil in this world and to every thing else existing in our home and saving us from something somehow ... literally everything ... we used to celeberate rakhi so seriously that my mom used to worry we may put some rakhi in her food too ...

I can see all my above mentioned bhais live here blessing us with smiles ... and I can see those three pairs of small hands tieing rakhis to all of these bhais ... with the equal zeal of any other sister with a real bhai ... we do not have any brother ... but thanks Mom ... for never letting us feel down on this day!

love - Aru !

Pather Panchali ...

Declaration : I do not intend to do a review of any of the work done by Satyajit Ray but I only want to take you through the state of my mind while I watched the journey of Apu ... eloquently!

Pather Panchali was the first movie that I saw in this Triseries or more accurately named as Trilogy by Ray ... and fortunately it was my first bong movie too (and I am really exhilarated about this). Though I can speak and understand bangali but I was little apprehensive about watching a bong classic created by Ray ... I was under the impression that I will need some more Bangla knowledge to understand this masterwork of Ray ...

Rajib encouraged me and promised me that he will help me out if I get stuck somewhere but bad part was ... he was speechless ... this is actually glorifying him ... let me express my anger by saying he was almost dumb during the whole movie ... huh and worst part was we ended up watching Pather Panchali without subtitles ... aargh (this was my thought during the first few minutes of the movie) ... but to my surprise I soon realized that these two things were actually helping me to dwell into the soul of Pather panchali more profoundly.

Thanks Rajib for not disturbing me during the magical two hours (I may be wrong in this timming calculation for a simple reaon ... I was really deep inside the movie and can not tell you how long it went on) and subtitles ... thanks subtitles a ton for not being there ... if you were there I would have probably ... naah ... definitely missed the wonderful expressions of Apu, Dugga ... and others.

Dugga (I heard everybody in the movie calling her Dugga only ... am I wrong ... anybody help me out pls ... any bong? I know they meant Durga ... but even I loved calling her Dugga) so this pretty creature Dugga became my favourite soon after I saw her taking kittens out of the circular broken mud pot ... I was stunned to see that scene ... and then the scene where Dugga and Apu discovers the train ... I do not have proper words about this scene ... the bushes ... black train ... black smoke comming out of that distant train ... Apu and Dugga and the sound effects everything was more then enough to leave anybody astounded ... how Ray gets these ideas gosh? but then there is nothing to keep pondering ... he gets those ideas that is why he became Ray and I after fifty seven years (thats not my age silly ... after fifty seven years of creation of this movie I meant) am still bewildered about how he get those ideas ... that is why I am still Aru (sighs again !!!)

It was a feast for my thoughts (I was about to write food for my thought but then I realized it was actually a feast for my thoughts) to see the bonding of Apu and Dugga ... Dugga combing Apu's hair .. Dugga and Apu under the tree ... soaked in rains .. Dugga and Apu following mishti waala's runjhun ... Apu's sad eyes after Dugga's death ... yes she died ... but Ray uncle I am really furious ... how could you do that ... she was jaan of your pather panchali ... aur aapne uski hi jaan le lee ... how could you do this? Bibhuti ji's blemish I know ... but you could have saved her ... this is my only grievance about your movie ... I couldnt see her dying (sob sob!)
I appreciated Sarabjaya more after seeing Aparajito ... but she was no less in this either ... and how could I forget that old lady ... Sarabjaya used to call her Thakuran (I do not know what does that mean ... again bong bondhus ... help needed) ... she looked so pathetic ... so pitiable that now I am scared of continuing my life even after my sixtees ... and she portrayed real thakuran .. none other then her could have performed the role better ... accolades to Ray for finding her out and hats off for Chunibala for performing such a brilliant once in a lifetime performance despite of her very weak health conditions (When she died in the movie ... she was like actually died ... really real )

ok I know guys this is too heavy of a blog but still I can not end it without mentioning the last scene of Ray's masterwork ... snake scene ... Ray completed pather panchali by showing a snake going inside the house of Apu and Dugga .. symbolizing that Apu's family vacated the house for good for ever ... and here comes an end to the magnum opus of Ray humn ... magnum opus I loved using this latin word here (with sighs!!!)

Why Indian Railways are better then NY Subways

I love our good old Indian Railways, more then any Airlines, any
subways and more then any other mode of commutation in the whole
world. And I have strong evidences to allow others to accept this
truth.

When first time I travelled in NY subways, I felt as if I am
sitting in a library, none of the co-passengers took the pain to
look at me even once, the one who looked at me was the one I have
been staring at since long but she just ignored my incongruous
stare with her agile smile, a smile thats extinct even before I
could smile in response, naah even this gives an impression that
she smiled long enough, I should write a smile that vanished even
before I started thinking about smiling back, and then this
flabbergasted lady gave me an ogle that etched in my mind for
long time. My prolonged smile (in just a response of her super
duper fast smile) probably gave her an impression that I am
laughing at her. I somehow applied an emergency brake to my
already started smile engine and handled the situation gracefully
by pretending to search something in my handbag and this was all
the conversation that I had in my first journey in NY subways and
this is how I collected my first evidence of why Indian Railways
are better then NY subways ...

my fellow Indian Railways passengers ... there eyes stare agog
whenever a new passenger boards in, eyes curious to know all
about the new passenger, aah how beautiful and innocent those
eyes are and before the train stops at next station ... my lovely
co-passengers will possess knowledge enough to write a biography
about this new passenger. And soon this new passenger will join
the team waiting for a new passenger to board. This is what I
call interesting journey ... you travel in sleeper class to enjoy
the journey more and travel without reservation to enjoy much
much more and be a girl to enjoy at its fullest!

NY subway people dont rush for the seats, my tongue touched my
collar bones when I saw that, can you believe it? They prefer to
stand in the subways, they prefer to finish there novels
standing, finish there makeups standing, I have seen people
making love also while standing ... come on man sit down and make
yourself comfortable, what is the hurry? They will say sorry's
when they touch somebody by mistake, will sincerely appreciate
when somebody gets down at his own stop and makes room for this
person's seat ... hah come to Indian Railways and get the second
proof of how Indian Railways are better then your subways ...

Here as soon as the local comes, people forget their own fathers,
they become Arjuna's of the kalyug, they cant see anything other
then that one vaccant seat, and then ssaalla kuch bhi karega for
that one vaccant seat. I loose all the fun if I dont have to
struggle at any single moment of my journey, boarding on the
train should be a battle, getting down a massacre and being on
your position for rest of the time should be a combat. This is
what you pay for during your Safar. My Indian railways teaches me
to be my original self (no sorrys no thank yous ... khali dhakka
mukki) it gets that wild animal out of me which these gores hide
within themselves and takes it out in more dangerous ways.

If a couple is sitting little comfortably in this NY subways
nobody disturbs them, they let them occupy four seats, two extras
for there future children, in case this fast moving country
couple gives birth to twins on the train itself bhai ... so let
them occupy foursome, they dont bother ... I cry with incredulity
... hey bhagwaan koi sadbuddhi do inhe ... show them how we sit
in Indian Railways, if three people are sitting in a three seater
... show them how to create a hullabaloo about it, tell them not
to worry about those future comming twins and show them how to
adjust the two presenttense kids with these six people sitting in
a three seater. My Indian Railways ... teaches me team work,
cooperation, tolerance and this is the third proof of how Indian
Railways are better then there Subways!

If a NY Subway is scheduled to arrive at 7:17 (I could not think
about any other odd sounding time) it will come at 7:17, neither
a minute here nor there, what do you understand by this kind of
timmings in Indian Railways? First thing is we dont have this
kind of odd timmings, our timmings are all managed in evens
beautifully like 7:20, 7:15 and next thing is even if you write
7:17 as scheduled departure, nobody will take it seriously, not
even the train drivers and hari jhandi waale guards ... 7:17
means 7:20 in India. This is how my Indian Railways teach me
world famous Indian timmimgs and this is one more proof of
superiority of our trains over NY subways. It doesn't runs in her
own schedules ... it takes care of aam janata's comfortability
too.

My list is endless ... and so is my love for this desi chuk chuk
gadi ... I love you Indian Railways !!!

(my babi should read this blog he will be proud to get an
adherent like me ... he s a driver of Indian Railways)

A blogger borns

I was on my way to start one more day of chatting, mailing (actually forwarding), orkutting, online shopping and lots more fun activities (ok let me add little bit of meetings, discussions and coding also else you will think ... boy she is a college girl going internet cafe ... nope I am a grown up girl and I was on my way to office ...)

...and this is where I became little conscious, yes self conscious (don’t ask me what is that by the way?) about what I am doing, what I have done and what I am supposed to do … you know .. Oh you must be knowing because these are the questions that stuck sometimes in everybody’s head, especially when you speak to your Mommy and she reminds you how great you are or supposed to be or when your boss has been hard on you or take my case … when you are just a silly face in the NY subway crowd where nobody notices you because you are a dwarf among the other tall fellow American riders …

...yeah this is when I thought about these mind blowing questions and I took a deep breath and … no I didn’t became a writer then but I only inhaled all the deodorant of the man standing besides me and I said man its awful couldnt he get anythything better then this and then after giving a fierce look to that fellow (without letting him know) I started thinking ... its just one more round of that madness that comes over you sometimes and goes faster then it comes ... and as usual I will get rid of this self consciousness stuff soon and I will start riding on the subways happily again.

But this time unfortunately I kept pondering over nights in the moon light near my bed room window … wondering what the hell I want Jeez? I have everything, a job ok a job in America, good amounts in my bank, a house though a little mess but I can manage some place to eat and sleep, a loving and caring husband and though we are the biggest enemies ever born on the earth but we manage to share a few moments of peace and love everyday, ok let me speak the truth only, we very rarely share any moment of love but guys its there I swear somewhere hidden in our hearts and I am sure it will bubble up with a muffled giggle when we will get old and when we will have all the free time on earth to search for that, so guys I have all the things that makes a woman happy then my question was what else I want now, why I feel curtailed sometimes, is everybody or at least few of them around me on this subway feel like this sometimes or God has sent me only with all the free time and damaged brain cells?

But the fact remained same; I couldn’t get answers to the interrogations of my self conscious and I felt an ardent desire to at least pen down my true self.

My sincere gratitude

humn ... so once again I felt the need of penning down my thougts ... this time it was Pather Panchali that compelled me to open my blog and start typing in.

I started seeing lot of great movies after I came to US, back home in India also I used to see lot of movies but I missed the classics there ... may be because of the availability constraints or lack of interest ... or may be because of my extra ordinary love for Khan's ... but thanks to Rajib who deviated me from my beloved Khan's and pushed me to see some thought provoking movies.

I was all geared up to show him the Khan's triangles and squares and octagonals and God knows what all ... here also; but he somehow managed to win over me and we started seeing Oscar classics slowly and I mean really slowly ... afterall you can not imagine a die hard Khan fan to start seeing Schindler's and Penguins and Apus triology in just a one night; or do you? But finally now I have realised what a blunder I was doing when I was forcing Rajib all the times to watch those silly Karan Johar's K's and Khan's and others of the same types.

I have not expressed my gratitude for this to him till now but let me take this opportunity to thank him from the bottom of my heart for showing me Pather Panchali.
And what I want to say about Pather Panchali will be there in my next post ... to be continued !

love - Aru !

Mighty Niagara ...

Since the time I got first glimpse of Niagara falls my fingers are aching to type in all that I witnessed there. And so here I go ...

I have seen a lot of wonders of nature, but this was my first chance when nature made me cry and laugh and scream and ultimately forced me to confess how tiny ... ant like ... not even ant like ... but like an amoeba or something even tinier then that I am in front of mother nature.

We reached city of Niagara on Saturday evening, by the time we reached there it was already dark and what we got to see wasn't actual Niagara falls, it was a commercialised view of Niagara. All different funny colors all over the falls, red, blue, green ... a man made rainbow was there, which I guess is pretty necessary to attract visitors even in night time. But I got little disappointed to see this evening Niagara fully clad in bright party make up, perhaps because I wasn't seeing the real face of Niagara then.

Actual fun began on Sunday morning, our target was to cover two things that day, cave of the winds (Bridal Veil falls) and Maid of the Mist (Horseshoe falls).

Cave of the winds is kind of a tour that takes you in front of the Bridal Veil falls, name is bridal veil because it was actually like this few years ago, people can actually go in the back of the falls and see the falls in front of them ... just like a bridal veil but now that view is abandoned because of some accident and now people do not go behind the falls but only can see it from the sides.

You can see the falls just from a distance of 25 fts ... yes only 25 fts. This was the first thing we wanted to see, so we went there with our disposable cameras and free hands so that we can hug the actual Niagara as tight as we can. We were welcomed by brave white birds, these birds were lying there everywhere with their baby birds and were much more luckier then us since they can see the falls from a much much closer distance and that too without even paying a single penny.

We could hear the voice of thundering Niagara as soon as we entered the cave of the winds and we kept following the crowds, initial few steps were good, we could see the Niagara from a distance, but it was very crowded, everybody was busy taking snaps with Niagara falls. Now as soon as we started climbing up the wooded stairs crowd started getting filtered, now there were only few brave people including us off course. The highest point they call as Hurricane point ...Hurricane point is beyond any description ... I can not tell you Sir how amazing it was to see roaring Niagara just from 25 fts, this mighty Niagara was falling from a height of almost 50-75 fts and we were standing below that ... at a horizontal distance of 25 fts (figures may be wrong but that's what I felt) ... I could see nothing, I could hear nothing except the thunders of Niagara .. it was so exciting, I wish you were there.

Our next adventure was maid of the mist boat ... this is a boat that goes very close to the horse shoe falls ... Horse shoe fall is named because of its horseshoe shape ... I know you must be knowing all this but I want to tell you my tiny knowledge too.

We made sure that we get the position of Titanic corner in this boat and we rushed like small children to get that place ... and we did got it ... and later on we realised that was the best place in the boat to see the horse shoe falls (btw it was my idea to go to that place). When our boat reached closer to the falls ... it was only mist and mist and thunderous sounds of Niagara and nothing else ... I could not see anything ... since I had to take out my specs because of the mist but I did felt the spirit of the falls ... and it was truly awesome. I again wished you were there to witness this.

And later in the evening we saw a movie named "Niagara - Legends of Adventure" by Keith Meryll ... which showed the stories of some of the adventurous people who tried to win over the falls ... a must see movie indeed !

And next morning we took a long walk along the banks of Niagara river ... Niagara river was looking so calm and quite when she was away from the Niagara falls ... so innocent as if she didn't even knew what she is gonna do just after few hours ... but as soon as we started reaching nearer the falls ... we started seeing small water steps ... and ultimately saw the powerful Niagara falls cutting and eroding the soft stones beneath ... and then was the time to drive back home.

Rajib drove almost 1000 miles in this trip and I gained confidence in his driving after he took me back home safely without getting any ticket.

And I think I should stop it here for now ... I can go on writing but lets stop it here for the time being ... don't know whether somebody will read this post till here or not ... but if you did then thanks a ton for your patience !!!

love - Aru !