Back to India (Nostalgia) :p

11 over weight bags ready to burst open any moment...three laptop bags stuffed with all weird things along with the laptop...one of them didn't even have a laptop ;)!! a BIG handbag, a mighty stroller, a naughty 5 year old, topped up with 2 huge teddy bears and a blanket....31 hours door to door journey, 3 times flight shuffle, and a 115 lbs me (120 lbs actually :P) and a 160 lbs hubby!!!!

Two things that drew us back home was Family and Food! And above all see how in the previous sentence I unintentionally used the word "HOME" :)

There is some-thing in the air (apart from pollution ;) ) which distinguishes India from the rest of the world.

I vividly remember reaching Mumbai and the helpers at the airport dying to offer me help with the luggage. For once I thought that they kind of like me ;) and then started the "Kya madam rupaya nahi, dollar do na" :)
After the most exhausting journey I have ever had, shelling out dollars really didn't matter. I was tired, I was dizzy, and a midst all that, those helpers looked like tiny little angels spreading their wings of help :p

I so remember my little American accent"ed" kid, and poor hubby trying to shush him every now and then, or everyone from the cab driver to the sweeper will charge us more, thinking we are some filthy rich NRIs

How can I forget my village aunt hesitantly greeting me in English "Good evening" beta instead of Namaste, and everyone waiting so anxiously for me to open my bags as if I was about to open Pandora's box!

After two beautiful years in India, as I sip my "Taj mahal" chai, I look back as to how the bottled water has turned to endless filling of bottles with aqua-guard water, perfumed Victoria secret hand sanitizers to Lifebuoy hand wash, double pasteurized organic milk to Amul gold, Vegetarian-fed-cage free-hen eggs to "Saleem ke ande", and the list is endless..

Home is where the heart is, and nothing beats the joy of sitting in the car, stuck in a traffic jam at 45 degree temperature, honking nonstop, for no reason at all :)

How fat am I??

I honestly don't know how fat I am...Haven't you all seen the asterisk below the BMI calculator saying "It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build." I console myself thinking that though I was never so athletic, but may be I have a muscular build :P
Today when I  looked in the mirror, I wanted to sue the manufacturers for not mentioning the warning that "Objects in this mirror are smaller than they appear" :D Then I almost convinced myself that maybe it's not a good quality mirror and is slightly convex, when unfortunately I saw the reflection of the door behind me, and it looked so perfect! I didn't lose hope though....Some days you just look fat...don't you?? or maybe it's just the clothes I am wearing.
When I look at my pictures, I feel I look thinner in my left profile. So I have deleted the rest of them, and the album has left me pondering!!!
Sometimes I wish I could see myself walking towards me :D But somewhere in my heart, I don't want it to happen, because I am not sure if I am ready to face myself :) What if I look really huge!!!!!
When I ask my dear ones how fat I look, I am told that I am not "that" fat.
THAT????
Sometimes I even walk besides strangers...so that I can be compared to!!! But believe me nothing works :)
I envy thin people, and I envy fat people too...who have accepted their size and eat happily!!
Gulping down my strawberry shortcake, I just realized that fat or thin, there is a lot more in life...
Pakodas, Gulaab jamuns, Jalebis....and the list is endless :) :)

Nothing :)

On a fine Saturday evening, when I had nothing to do, I thought of blogging about SOMETHING. Even before I started thinking about that "something", pictures of my blog flooded with Google ads flashed in front of my eyes, people ready to pay anything to grab a little space and Me being famous *blush* *blush*.
I sighed and I smiled :)
A sip of hot tea a few seconds later; and never before, had I realized how big a word is "SOME-THING". Utterly despaired, I Googled  to find out what people usually blog about :) There was everything from politics to poetry, and my facial expressions changed from curious to awful!! I knew nothing about nothing.
Then I thought of developing a website. Again I Googled,  "How to develop simple websites for free" :). A few clicks here and there and finally i settled for a simple one. Enthusiastically, I opened the editor...a few drag and drops and I was yawning!
"I will settle down for a blog", convincingly I told my mind.
I poked my mind real hard, and pleaded it to tell me what I was good at!I begged that at 30, I definitely deserve to know!!! But the Mr. stubborn up there simply sat and smiled at my plight :(
I thought I was good at poetry, but my heart never danced with the daffodils....
I thought I was good at humor, but my heart felt awful. Sports for me was never more than chutes and ladders and politics was way beyond my understanding!
Soon enough I realized, I really knew nothing about nothing; sipping my hot tea.
I smiled at myself, and hoped that one day my Mr. stubborn will pull out some magic wand; a crackle of lightening and rest all will follow :)

My favorite group of people! :)

I guess everyone at some point or the other becomes tired of his or her usual monotonous routine, be it going to office, or setting up the lemonade stand everyday....
And everybody feels that the grass is greener on the other side. An office going guy often wishes to start his own business, whereas the lemonade guy envies the office going ones, thinking how easy it must be to sit in an AC office punching keys on the keyboard!
(The reference of lemonade stand comes often, because at one point I secretly desired to have one ;))
Let's not talk about the lemonade stand now, because it's like touching a raw nerve!! :)

Instead, let's talk about the IT guys in US on  H1 visa, having around 8-10 yrs of experience in the industry! My favorite group of people :) They are always found whining about the work load, and offshore calls at night. Also, they are so unpredictable. In the morning they are found talking about their business plans once they reach their homeland, and in the evening you can find them envying someone's green card arrival.
 Each of them has an "IDEA" and each one of them is so very sure that he or she has that "SOMETHING" in him or her which is often yet to be explored!!!???***&&&&#### :))
Talking of their business plans,
While one thinks of opening his consultancy in New Delhi (He swears that he will not get his lease extended this time!! :), once he is back to India after 3 months, the other relishes the idea of opening an Amritsari  "Chola-Bhatura" stall in Bangalore (The idea behind is to attract theNorth Indians living there) What an idea Sirji :)
I once came across one talking about starting an online business, but had no clue what business would be good enough ;) and was determined to hire somebody (was not sure what that "somebody" is called) to help him out once he is back to Mother India!! :)
And also there is always one in the group who prefers not to talk too much of his plans, but makes sure that everyone gets the vibes that something big and interesting has already been cooked in his head!!
Some-body wants to rock the real estate agency, while the other-body wants to put all his money in a fixed deposit in a bank, eat up the interest every month, and retire once he is back. My personal favorite! :P
I often wonder how and why did they end up in IT in the first place, and for once wish to see the expressions of a fresh engineering pass out when he reads this blog :)
Good luck to all the IT guys!