Will the real "shadys" please get lost!!!

Well another crisis in India. This was the worst of all. “How can a city be held hostage??” was our first reaction when we heard about it. All we could do was get news about the attack from friends and family back in India or read it in the papers. But what were the politicians back home doing? I bet they were not doing anything different. I feel in India a politician’s main aim is to get the post, the power. That’s it. Once he/she gets it, their struggle is over. Their "responsiblity" ends there.They just don’t have to bother about anything else. If there is any crisis in the country, they stay calm for a little while, and after the crisis is over, come forward to express their “grief” over such an incident. Does democracy mean electing a bunch of selfish people who cannot think beyond money?
The -------- who attacked the place just wanted to spread terror. They were successful in their mission. All the “investigations” to establish the identity of the terrorists is bullshit. It’s time to think beyond the democratic and non violent principles- If you can’t ignore them, just destroy them.

Diwaleen

Happy Diwali...
Today is the festival of lights and surely some lights did show up on a couple of balconies in my block.....For a change, we celebrated Diwali and Halloween together....my roommates who came just three months back were all keen and enthusiastic to adapt to the US culture....As a resut, we did not just light the diya, but instead carved an entire pumpkin to put it in....But it resulted in a whole lot of fun...I decorated the house with the lights while my roomies were busy carving the pumpkin and cooking dinner...After we all finished our respective jobs, we invited a few friends over for the aarti, that was played on youtube, followed by our prayers...I "tasted" three types of kheers, had amazing dinner and finally went and caught up with our pals....this was indeed different from what we usually do on festivals...yeah yeah I'm talking about lazing around like its just another day :)

Singing in the rain...

Its been raining all day....this is the kind of weather where you just feel like snugging in your bed wrapped up in the cozy comfort of a blanket. I just love the view from my window....everything looks so serene and peaceful....the lush green view outside is so soothing...I feel sooo lazy.... To add to the mood, I have been listening to "Mera Kuch Saaman" from Ijazzat. This is my all time favorite song which makes me drift into a new world altogether....
Playing some slow songs in the background, I read my favorite book while sipping hot tea....Wow this is life!!!

Mind Your Language

“Sorry I did not get you. Can you please repeat it?” This is the common sentence that most of the desis in the US hear. When I go back to India, I guess my friends will definitely notice a change in the pronunciation of certain words. It is so difficult here to use the normal Indian accent because people just don’t understand you. Potahtoes now became potaytoes….tomahtoes became tomaytoes…capsicum became green pepper, lady’s finger - okra, spring onions - green onions, petrol – gas, Z’ed’ - Z’ee’, zero - o and the list goes on. Why can’t you just stick to the general way of saying it? They might question…but this is what happened when my friend very innocently tried using our way of saying things…
We once went to have a pizza and wanted some extra chilli flakes…This was the conversation between my friend and the guy serving the pizza…(S- my friend, G- guy at the pizza place)
S- Hi. Can I have some extra Chilli Flakes?
G (puzzled) - Sorry Sir I don’t understand
S – Chilli Flaikes?? (Trying to change his accent)
G (staring blankly at my friend) - Sorry Sir but we only sell pizza here.
S- No, I want Chilli Flaykes?? Chilli…
This went on for quite some time. G was now looking at us helplessly seeking some intervention….
Finally one of us had to interrupt and explain to the guy that my friend had meant “crushed red peppers”…. Phew!!
As if trying to talk to the natives here is not bad enough, just imagine our plight when we have to pay our bills on the phone through the automated voice recognition system!!!!
Hmm…now you know that this change of accent is more of a necessity than ishtyle :)

Away...

Away I want to be from the selfish world
Away I want to be in my own shell,curled
Away I want to be from the immature adults
Away I want to be from their mean insults
Away I want to be from the irresponsible souls
Away I want to be from the painful howls
Away I want to be like a bird set free
Soaring in the sky leaving all the pain behind me

P.S:- I am not in any depression...was just trying to flex my creative muscles :)

ABCD...

I always wondered why Indian kids born in the US were called confused desis till I met this real cute cousin of mine...this two year old kid goes to an American play school where she spends most of her day and after she comes back from school her parents only talk to her in telugu, her mother tongue, so that she could learn the language right from the beginning...sammy (the American version of her traditional Indian name :)) , is so confused that she doesn't know which language to use.....this little one answers in only an accented "yeah" or "no" whenever we talk to her based on the tone of our sentence and the direction in which we nod our head...and to add to her woes they even teach spanish in her play school :)
hope this confused desi would soon learn some language so that we could atleast understand what her baby talk is all about :)

Rendezvous with Life

I can't believe that it's been one year already since I came to the US...but I must say life here has definitely taught me how to become a survivor...I always used to tell my mom that studying in the US would teach me a lot in life and it surely did...

From cooking our own food, running around for assistantships, meeting new people, waiting to see the first snow fall of the season, shivering in the december cold, facing the tough competition, staying up all night to finish off assignments, reminiscing the wonderful times spent with family and friends back home, crying silently at nights, dealing with the disappointments, trying to sound cool whenever parents called, facing the tough challenges to juggling between work and studies, becoming a four pointer, getting an internship, having small tiffs with friends, bonding with roommates, longing for the spicy and yummy home-made food, trying out different cuisines, fighting the bedbugs, falling in love with the fall colors, watching lots of movies with friends to kill boredom, having occasional potlucks, learning how to be independent..whoa!! it surely has been a long journey...Looking back, I feel these are the moments that make life memorable...

Everybody faces challenges in life...but how you do it makes all the difference :)