Reality shows.. are they real..?? so not.. true..!

Lately, we have been watching some of the reality shows in both Indian channels and some English channels.. like BBC.. etc..

Its quite sad that some of our Indian reality shows don't look like reality shows.. The judges seem to have rehearsed their lines many many times before they deliver it.. some of the judges are actors/actresses who we see in movies..after all the experience they have in big screens..why do they goof up..?? Why cant they deliver their so called 'real dialogues' with some reality..??

To me it looks like a well scripted drama.. where there is a script writer who hands the scripts to each of the judges.. who then.. just play their part in the small screen..

But.. the English channels don't have these dramas in their shows.... its a fact.. I have nothing against Indian channels and I think by having these reality shows, a lot of young talent is being recognised.. and also being appreciated. But all I ask for is a pinch of reality..

The only one reality show that I still appreciate is KBC... since AB was fantastic...
Anyways.. this is what I think, and how I feel about the reality shows.. I might be biased, might not be.. or might have got the complete wrong end of the stick.. But this is just how I feel.. and I think this is the best place to write about how I feel...

Travelling.. a passion

Travelling has been something that I always wanted to do.. Its something that has always excited me...even as a child I used to dream of travelling the world.


I have been extremely lucky to have visited most places in and around Bangalore through one day school trips and my parents have taken me to a lot of places. We, as a family have visited most places(temples) of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Some of the temples are mind-blowing.... Some of the beaches on the west coast of India are one of their kind.. as my grandparents/parents are from a small village near Udipi, we used to travel to Udipi often. Needless to say, the beaches there are fantastic... Some beaches are completely secluded.. with access limited to the village and the people who know how to get to these remote places.... Its a wonderful place.. with lots of interesting people......

I have been to a lot of places in the last few years.. We have travelled quite a bit in UK and also a few cities of US and Europe..This year.. we have planned to go to Dubai.. and look to travel to a few more places this summer..

Travelling is one thing I want to be able to do all my life.. I thank God, my parents and all my loved ones who have been a great influence on whoever I am today..

Looking forward to Dubai.. now.. heard a lot about that city from friends.... another 2 weeks to go... hurray... !

Haircut.. :)

I have been thinking of getting my hair chopped from the past few weeks..but could not get hold of my favorite hairdresser. Apparently, she has gone on maternity leave, which seems to me like a big lie as I met her 3 months back, and there was no evident proof that she was pregnant. I have a strong feeling she has left that parlour and they are telling customers that she is pregnant.. Liars ! I had found her after a huge search,after a lot of trial and errors, but have lost her now.. She was a sweet Latvian girl, with a beautiful smile. I used to love talking to her while she worked on my hair and she was very good in what she did. She used to also give me handy advice as to how to look after my hair, how to style it etc..

A week ago, I told MR that I feel like getting my hair chopped as a part of a general conversation.. and from that day.. every weekend he has been following up.. He asks me once on Saturday and again on Sunday.. He is more excited than me.. he was suggesting me to get my hair cut short and change my hairstyle and has been showing me various hairstyles on the web...

So after all this, I finally decided to get it cut and booked an appointment for Sunday.. in a parlour a few blocks away from home, recommended by my friend who had been there a few months ago.. And on Saturday.. I feel that my hair looks great and start questioning myself... do I really need a haircut..??

I finally go for it.. I get my hair cut really short.. I have not had hair so short since since college.. so it feels cool.. Its really short.. just a few inches below my ear... I look different and I am loving it.. The only thing I am worried about it is maintaining this hairdo.. as it might need extensive blow-drying and hair straightening.. which I hate doing especially when I have to rush to work in the morning.

Lets see how it goes...

Oxford Street....

My normal work place is near Tower of London.. the home of Kohinoor Diamond and also crown jewels..... But sometimes I get to go to the office in Regent street which is perpendicular to Oxford street and both these streets are famous for its shops.. Both streets are more or less a mile long and you could possible find all possible stores in this street.

Regent street is famous for its more expensive brands like Banana Republic, Furla, Krut Greger, MNG etc.. whereas Oxford street has all possible streets from Selfridges to Primark.

People who know me.... probably have guessed it by now.. I love this place as I love shopping.. some of my favorite shops are Debenhams, Selfridges, Next, New look, MEXX....etc.. I can spend the whole day in these streets..

I sometimes feel.. that I have shopped all my life... but actually thinking about it, I can still do with some clothes.. Is everyone like that.. or is it just me... There is no more space in my wardrobe but this does not stop me from shopping. Especially, when you are around Oxford street.. the temptation is huge.. to go to the shops..

I really thank God for giving me the ability to be able to spend as I like, thank God for blessing me with a person like MR who does not stop me from doing what I want to do, he is pretty worried about the wardrobe condition though..:)

My first job in the UK was in Bond Street, which is another prestigious street, where the rich and famous shop... Its got all the designer stores there.. The moment you enter that street, you kind of figure out the change.. the people change.. the cars change... the shops change.. and the price tags... Man they shoot up.. ! Its got some of the most prestigious antique shops, some really expensive jewellery stores...

I thank God for all his blessings.. !

London...

is a magical city.. I absolutely love London and dread leaving this city... It has its own advantages.. but over the long term has its own dis-advantages... That's another blog all by itself..

But.. Living in London for such a long time.. has taught me a lot of lessons.. a lot of values in life.. I am and have enjoyed my stay here and will cherish it.. I am a better person today.. personally, professionally.. I owe a lot to this city and the people here..

I sometimes complain about the tubes, trains, people.. etc.. but honestly... I am just being silly.. the transport system and the connections within London is excellent. Every city I visit convinces me of the fact that London underground is the best.. I have been to various places in America and a few places in Europe. Some of the biggest and the most famous cities like New York and Paris.. Honestly.. London is the best!


I/We love walking on the bank of Thames.. on a nice pleasant/warm night.. love to stroll around the banks of River Thames near the tower bridge (often called by mistake as the London Bridge.. but its called the tower bridge..Home of the Kohinoor diamond).. The broad pathway is beautifully lit up, the bridge is lit up completely.. and there is so much peace and the place is tranquil... here is a picture of one such nights when we went for a stroll...

The other monument of London I can stare at for hours is the 'Big Ben'. I don't know why, but I love looking at the Big Ben. There's something about the Big Ben that it catches my attention completely everytime I see it. It looks even better in the evenings with the lights.... One more picture below...





London has and will always be my magical city... I am in Love with this city.. !

Moody... moods..

How can some people show their mood swings to everyone. I feel that's unfair on other people. Sometimes it irritates me and gets on my nerves but as I always do, I try maintain my calmness as much as possible and leave such people to themselves.


As I care about people, I feel they are going through something that I am not aware of and probably its taking a toll on their mind. But seriously, I don't know what goes in their mind... Do such people who have mood swings expect everyone around them to have the same foul mood and by grumpy, or do they just don't bother about others?


Whatever they think... I am sure they are being extremely selfish. That's just my feeling.. I am not generalising or being judgemental... but pouring out my honest feelings.

I understand that it might be difficult to pretend when your not really happy to look happy, but I am not saying that they should have a smile on their face 24/7 but there are certain times in life where you just need to get on with life... life throws challenges at everyone, do these vanish if a person stays grumpy?? Its up to us, how we accept it and move on with it.. rather we don't have any rights to spoil others day just because we are going through stuff..

Live and let live.. is all I can say....
Sorry about the rant... will stop here.. :)
Cheers!

Kaapi

Hailing from the south of India, I have always loved Coffee (commonly known as Kaapi in many south Indian Languages). Every morning Amma used to make up light kaapi because as kids, all three of us hated milk and still do. So, just to change the colour of milk from white to brown, she used to add a little liquidated filtered coffee into it. Amma had tried various drinks like horlicks, Maltova, Complain etc..but nothing had worked like Coffee as none of us complained. So, at a very early age I was introduced to Coffee and developed a taste for it.
Every morning, I woke up, brushed my teeth and then went into the kitchen, helped myself with a cup of hot coffee made by Amma and waited for my turn to have a bath before I went to school, college or anywhere. Also, in the meantime, would read through the English newspaper (mainly adverts ). We were not allowed to step out of the house without a morning bath.. Now.. That’s what I call discipline.. !

Eventually, I was old enough to make coffee for myself. I used to try to alter the proportions of milk, sugar and the filter coffee liquid. I realised that it tasted much better with little milk, more filter coffee liquid, in short strong coffee. But Amma did not like the idea of her kids drinking strong coffee as it was not healthy and I agree with her completely, so she avoided situations where she let me make coffee. That was tasty filter coffee with chicory in it. I had enjoyed coffee everywhere, from Coffee house on MG road, to coffee days, from the self service darshini’s to good restaurants.

The love for my coffee continued even when I came to London. But the coffee’s here did not taste as good as Amma’s coffee, the coffee’s here are very bitter and some of them are disgusting. Eventually, I realised that the real coffee is actually bitter and back home they actually add chicory to coffee to make it taste better. I also learnt that chicory is banned here and what we see in London is one hundred percent coffee. The fact that coffee was bitter, did not stop me from having it… I slowly developed a taste for it and today coffee is become a part of my life, a part of my daily routine. I love the smell of fresh coffee, and whenever I pass across a coffee shop I am tempted to have one. This is not a good temptation as there are lots of coffee shops in London, and when its chill outside and you smell fresh coffee being brewed somewhere close to you.. all you want to do is.. have a nice hot cappuccino or a nice hot Mocha. Although, I should say, that I am in the verge of getting addicted to coffee and I make conscious effort to stop drinking too much as its not good for health and can disrupt sleeping patterns and has many more side effects. But it works wonders when one has had a heavy meal in the afternoon, and have to spend the rest of the afternoon working. It helps you survive the afternoon quite well…
Three cheers to coffee.. I love you.. !

What can I say.. ?

One of my good friends told me long back when I was having a rant at someone and it has stayed with me since then..

"Some people teach you what to do, some people teach you what not to do"

Some kids these days shock me.. Some kids surprise me with their behaviour...

I don't know what others used to think of us, my brother, sister and me when we were kids when it comes to our behaviour. But we were given clear instructions about how to behave when we went to others homes/houses/parties/places. We could not behave like careless kids, were not allowed to jump on sofas, beds, cots or even speak loudly and screaming would land us in big trouble. We were not allowed to demand anything from the host's kids, even the toys they had that we did not have, or even simple things like eating in moderation. Cleanliness being one of the biggest, my mom being a clean freak, always made sure that we did not get messy with our food.

I really admire my mom for teaching us good behaviour and keeping us in check. Some parents these days just don’t have it! The child is more like a parent, and the child rules the parents. This is no joke, this is a serious problem and I think a lot of parents are responsible for it and honestly it should be the other way round. Parents should be able to govern their children, to be able to tell them what they are doing wrong and stand by it, smack them if need be. Some parents don’t do it and as a result, the child does what it likes.

In the last few years especially after I have come to London, I have observed quite a few number of children. Back home, I did not have too much to do with kids as none of my friends had kids and I was the youngest in the family. Some of the common tantrums kids throw at parents are as follows which absolutely annoy me, but also suggests me ‘what I should not do with my kids when I have them

 Its dinnertime and the kid says its not hungry, why because, it has been eating loads of crap all through out the day and does not like rice, dhal, subji dinner. The parents force it to eat, the kid does not even taste the food but says ‘its too spicy for me’ and refuses to eat. The parents don’t know what to do…so they tell the kid… 'then go to the kitchen and get what you like which is not spicy'. Feeling happy, it goes and brings a muffin and devours it ! - This means to say, that the child is hungry, but does not want to eat the normal dinner, but wants to eat all other rubbish and parents just don’t get it!

 Parents visit a friends house who has a kid of similar age, both parents chat and leave the kids to play, its probably normal for kids to jump on beds, make noise, scream, shout and play. After a considerable long time, the parents decide to leave as they need to go to work the following morning and the kids have school too. The guests call their kid and say that they have to leave and the kid refuses to go with them, it starts to cry, moan etc. After about 20 mins, they are still there convincing the kid that they have to leave for xyz reasons. What annoyed me the most, was that.. after a little while, they had to offer incentives like, I will take you shopping, I will buy you this that and the other, come lets go home. Me is thinking.. ‘Come on…! Who is the parent, who needs to convince whom here.. ! I don’t get it.. and the parents don’t get it either!

I have many more of such scenarios, but this post is going to be awfully long if I recite them here. But honestly, I cannot understand a parent’s mentality, I cannot understand how can one so weak in love that they don’t teach their kids values like general behaviour & respect elders and disciplines like having a healthy eating/sleeping pattern, cleanliness, importance of having a bath everyday.
When confronted some parents with these, they were blunt enough to say ‘we will see what you will do when you have kids’…
Oh well.. I now surely know.. what I should not do for sure…. 

What a book!

Here I was at Liverpool Street Station this morning… reading a book.. Waiting for a train to take me to Tower hill. To be specific, waiting for a circle line. Most of the times, one of the four trains (every 7mins-honestly there is no reason to complain) that cross the platform is a circle line, and normally, I get agitated about the fact that why one in four.. Why not one in two…??

But today… I was, not bothered, immersed in to my book, really happy that my train has not yet arrived and I can read some more of my book and thinking ‘Oh well.. Its not my fault if I am late to the office.. It’s the train.’ !

I also had other options of getting to work, like taking a train to Aldgate and walking to office, which I would do normally if there were problems with the trains, but today I could not be bothered as my book did not let me do it.

And the book, I was reading is called Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Thanks to my sister V for telling me about it. It’s an amazing book and a complete page-turner. The movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is based on this book and now I am really looking forward to watch the movie

Tale of Boots!

From the time I watched the song ‘Yaye Re, Yay Re, Zor Laga ke naache Re’ in the movie Rangeela, I wanted to buy knee length black boots. At that time I was in school and all I could is dream about it. And moreover, In Bangalore, it would be really difficult to find knee length boots and also it would be very expensive if I were to find it.

All through my college life, never felt the need for boots. Most of my college life was spent wearing a pair of Reebok sneakers that my brother got me from his very first trip abroad. As I was a tomboy of the first order, most of my college life was spent with a few pairs of jeans, T-shirts and sneakers. I used to wear Salwar Kameez once in a bluemoon, when most of my jeans are being washed.

After I started working, since the organisation I started my career was an American multinational.. and they did not want us to dress formal or anything like that.. so did not bother buying anything fancy.

Then I came to London. I used to be amazed at people’s dress sense here in a good way. Some of them look so smart and the dream came back of owing a pair of smart looking boots. J
I finally managed to buy a beautiful pair of black boots a few days before christmas and I am really thrilled about them. They are perfect for the weather, they are comfortable and keep me warm.. What more can you ask. I also got another pair of cheap boots from Brussels, which is also extremely comfortable. I have been wearing my boots everywhere now.. and I am loving it.

First Day back after break....

Today is my first day back in the office... after a great Christmas break. I am not at all a morning person, I love to lay inside the warm quilt on my bed, with a table fan blowing air softly at me.. We have been waking up really late during the holidays and also sleeping late. But from the last two days, we have been practising to sleep early and wake up early, but ended up sleeping early and waking up late. At least me. MR does not sleep early and he was struggling to sleep at 11 yesterday.
Imagine, not having to wake up to a go to work, imagine waking up in the morning when your body says.. 'that’s enough, you have rested enough', imagine waking up, making a hot cup of masala tea and some hot breakfast, lazing on the couch, not having to worry about life, work, family, job etc etc..
I am sure there are some people in this world who are living such a life, some lucky and some have worked hard for it...
But anyways.. I strongly believe that we should be happy with what we have and live life to its fullest with what we have but dream for bigger and better things and work hard towards achieving it.
Today, I have a birthday party to attend. My friend’s daughter’s birthday party, she is 6 today and is really excited that its her Birthday and she gets to cut the cake. She is also expecting, that everyone coming today will bring her a present, she is a sweetheart and I have got her a nice winter jacket as a present to keep her warm.. hope she likes it. Look forward to the tasty food my friends are preparing today for all guests for her birthday, which means me and MR don’t have to cook tonight. We can take it easy, relax, go to the party, watch TV, spend time together and relax.
That’s it for today…. Will write more tomorrow..
Bye for now
Cheers!

Visit to Watford....

I have had a good long 11 day break.. and tomorrow I am back to work.. :(
We went to ISKCON temple in a place called Watford. Its about 1 hour drive for us from home. As we hail from Udipi, we have a strong attachment to Krishna, so we make it a point to go there when we find time and when we feel like doing the trek..

Its actually a beautiful home converted in to a temple. The temple has huge gardens, a lake with ducks and very picturesque walks. They also have a small Bhagavat Geetha walk, which explains some parts of the Geetha.

This beautiful house converted to temple was once owned by George Harrison of the Beatles who then gifted the whole property to ISKCON. The house/temple is massive with beautiful wodden doors, floors, huge french windows with grills etc..
All in all.. its a beautiful place to visit.. Check this link ...
http://www.krishnatemple.com/home/

We also had some good prasadam and headed back home..
Back to work tomorrow.. and I am really not looking forward to it :( Oh well... I guess we have to do it.. !
Will write more later..
Cheers!

2008 out.. 2009 in...

I always wonder, what I can blog about everyday... I am quite bad at remembering events, thougths that cross my mind on a daily basis. Not that I am not an active person, or I spend the whole day at home or something. I do a lot of things and go to a lot of places.. but still when it comes to writing it, I cannot think of anything! I need to improve on this and I am determined to do so.. Wish me good luck...

2oo9 has arrived already... and don't know where 2008 went...

I came to London in 2004. 2008 has been the best year for me so far. I have a feeling of accomplishment and contentment. There are lot of reasons for it. Oh well, who wants the reasons, we only care about end results.

I have been having a wonderful break.. a well deserved break should I say.. slept late, woke up late everyday.... had breakfast at 10.00 AM, late lunch, late dinner.. enjoyed at home.. did some essential pending household cleaning... all in all.. its been a long time.. that I have been at home(in London) for such a long time.. :) Loved every bit of it..
Tomorrow is my last day of holiday.. and then I am back to the grind.. or rather we are back to the grind... :( Oh well... I guess.. this is life.

That's it folks... for now...
Cheers.. !