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 :)