He-man , Super-Man, Bat-man.. My-man!

Yelo!! :)

Sorry for not posting earlier.. lot of things have kept me busy and ahem.. mainly p-bug bit me hard!.. 


Anyywwayyy, coming to the topic of this month, 'The men in my life', I've been thinking hard for quiet sometime if there's any one man who's made a lot of difference in my life and I jus can't make up my mind if its daddy dearest or the cuddly grandada or the boyfriend or one of the few guy friends I have...

I share a treasured memory with each one of them and each relationship I share with a person is so different from the other..

The doctor uncle... If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have survived to see this day today...Each time he distracted me with those stories while giving me those hundreds of injections... The origami birds and a pink lolly pop for being a good girl and taking in all those bitter medicines...

The ever there for me daddy.. who used to cheer me up with those board games everytime i fell sick (and mind you.. as a child, i spent more time in the hospital itself :(.. ) or buyin me those expensive art stuff without amma's knowledge or taking me out to eat the street food he used to enjoy as a kid or jus giving him that hug as soon as he used to get back home from work... those simple li'l things in life gave me so much happiness...

The grandada whom we all used to fondly called as Apappa, who passed away when i was about 7 years old.. I have faint memories of him carrying me back home from the Play home... Letting me play doctor doctor with those plastic syringes of his... Spinning wonderful stories and letting me doze away on his fluffy tummy.. Teaching me how to eat mango the 'messy' way... I wish i could have known Apappa more.. All i have now are the pictures of him which my grandmum has stored in a beautiful album....

VK.. He literally changed my life... I can hardly remember my life before I met him... I am so glad we found each other in our early teens and we've literally grown up together and bonded and survived through all ups and downs.. Of course we have different interests, likes etc and i still dunno what made me fall in love with him so much!.. I guess somethings are jus best unanswered... I can honestly, from the bottom of my heart say, he's my pillar of strength...

Apart from them of course there have been Timb and Joe who literally changed my perspective on 'boys can't be friends'.. I hated the notion of 'rakhi brothers' and restrained from friendship with boys.. I guess the first year study trip and the hilarious duo made me want to get to know them more and ever since, they have been one of the bestestest friends ever!!! :) ...

Even though Men are known to be physically strong and emotionally 'sensitive' and stuff like that, I really think 'The man' of my life has been my mom... My amma... She may not be as soft hearted as daddy dearest but she's literally the strong 'super-fevi bond' that has kept this family going for ages... The way she manages the house and yet has carved a name for herself in the society as a gazetted officer and a dancer, the way she literally has given us the courage to pull ourselves up from each time we tripped over something and pushed us into 'never give up  kanna', the way she has been supportive throughout everything in my life... yep.. she's truly the Man in my life...

Source

MY FIRST MAN!! :)

            I hugged him tight as tears rolled down my cheeks. The train gave a long hoot and slowly started moving away. “I don’t want to go”, I whispered. “You HAVE to go. Go and build a wonderful career. You HAVE to do this without me. Without US”, he said and turned away to wipe his tears.

          “All the best, paapu”, he said and watched me hop on to the train. I stood at the door, waving my hand at him, bidding him a goodbye. His eyes, they spoke everything. I have big eyes, just like him. I have his teeth, elongated and pointed teeth. I have his nails. I have his color. Wheatish. I have his qualities, I sing, I write. He does them too. I’m short-tempered, so is he. I’m courageous and bold (if someone had gone through what I went through, they would have quit college long back. It took a lot of courage to stand up to people and prove myself right.) The courage and that thing to ENDURE people, especially bad ones are from him. He has endured more of such things in life. The way I sit, the way I pick my spoon to eat, the posture I sleep in, the way I twitch my face and look up at the sky when I laugh, it’s all HIM. I’m the Daddy’s girl!!

            He was the first man to hold me in his arms. The first man to touch me. “Ap-pa”, I must have fumbled when I was a baby and I can imagine how overjoyed he must have been that day.

“Appa, do a jeeeeeeeeeee-jhik”, I would ask. A Jeeeeeeeeeeee-Jhik meant, he would throw me high up in the air and catch me. He would repeat this until I’d ask him to stop it!!

Up in the air and he would never let me fall. He would hold me before I could fall. Maybe, as a kid, I trusted my dad so much that I knew he would never let me fall.

          “Appa, I have a doubt in these allied angles. Can you explain them to me now?”, I asked him when I was in fifth grade. It was 3 AM. “Now? Its 3 AM”, he said rubbing his eyes and looking at the clock. Nevertheless, he immediately recalled I had an exam coming up in the morning and sat up all night with me to teach me allied angles. My Math Whiz Dad!! :P 

          “Look at this”, he said, waking me up one fine morning. “Look AT THIS”, my paapu’s photo is in this newspaper. “WHAT!”, I said throwing myself up from the bed. I could see my dad’s face beaming. I was one among the toppers in my tenth boards and my photo was in the newspaper. He was flaunting it to my mom – “my daughter”, he said. He used to stay up with me all night while I studied for my boards, because I just couldn’t study alone. He would do little things like making coffee for me, playing the radio so that I don’t fall asleep, keeping me company whenever I felt bored of answering ‘model question papers’. All of this, in spite of working all day long in office. I don’t know how he managed to do that.

          “Appa, are you sure I can do this? I’m kind of scared”, I had told him. “Of course you can. I’m right behind you”, he said and wrapped his arms around mine and turned on the accelerator. It was my first scooty lesson. Dad had insisted I take a scooty to college. At some point, I remember, I had put on the brakes with the accelerator turned on. I fell and he fell with me. We both were bruised. Badly. Yet, he never stopped giving me driving lessons.

          On the first day to College, he had followed me up in his car, while I drove the scooty, just to make sure that I would wade through Bangalore’s traffic carefully.

          

          “Which course do I choose dad?”, I had asked him. My Medical ranking was WAY better than my Engineering ranking. “I think I would get a better medical college than an Engineering college”, I had said.

“It’s Engineering”, he had said. “You cannot survive in medical, paapu. It’s not for emotional ones like you. You will break down if your patient dies. I’m not discouraging you. But it’s a hard field for you. Think about it”, he had said. Had I taken Medicine as my profession today, I would have flunked. I’m glad dad put some sense into my brains then. I joined an Engineering college.

          “Appa, I have a confession to make”, I said one day. He looked up from his papers and removed his spectacles. I slept on his lap and cried. I had got my fifth semester results that day. And I had passed in all the subjects with a meager FIRST CLASS. A girl who scored distinction, stooped down to a FIRST CLASS. “I’m sorry Appa. I don’t know what went wrong. I’ll work harder next semester”, I promised. “You need to know what went wrong, paapu. Tell me what is happening. Is everything fine at college?”, he asked.

          I looked at him. He had turned into a friend long back, maybe ‘I’ hadn’t noticed him. “Nothing is fine, Appa. I don’t have any friend in college. It’s just me. I don’t want to go to college anymore Appa. Can I just quit and take some other course? Please Appa”, I had started crying uncontrollably.

“You will NOT quit just because you do not have any friends. You will NOT quit your career just because somebody did something to you. You will NOT quit just because you are alone in college. You will NOT quit just because people are stamping all over you. I want my girl to be strong. Stay where you are and show people that you are strong and can survive without them”, he said. If I had quit that day, if he had LET me quit that day, I don’t know what I would have done today. My dad had analyzed the weak point, and he helped me convert it into a strong point. And the next semester, I was back on the topper's list.

          “If you feel alone in college. Call me up, call up mom. Talk to us, we are always there”, he had said the next morning before he left for work.

That’s probably how me and Appa became ‘friends’!!

          Finally, when things in college settled down and I found my true friends, Appa would sit with my friends and talk to us. He would talk to us about college, lecturers, laboratories, internals, externals and would still not get bored of our college talks. Probably, that is why my college friends still make it a point to visit my mom and dad when I’m away from home myself.

          “You are also not here, somebody should visit your parents when you are not around, right? So, its US”, my wonderful friends had said. I feel they are the angels in my life. I’m glad; at least, somebody visits my parents often to see they are doing well when I’m away. How many of you have such friends? Lucky me, isn’t it? 

          “Appa, guess what, I got placed!!”, I had yelled over phone. “That’s awesome news. Congratulations paapu. I can’t believe my little girl will be going to office”, he said.

And THAT office, packed me off in a train and brought me to Delhi. Away from my dearest Da-da!!

          “Appa, I want to do my Masters. Please don’t get me married soon”, I said jokingly. He laughed at it, I’m not letting you get married until I understand that my little girl can handle a family. And you can do your Masters if you wish to. Go ahead and study everything that you can”, he said.

I gave my entrance here, in Delhi. I missed him so much on the day of my exam. Every exam, my dad would drop me to the examination center, he would wait there till I wrote my exam and would bring me back home. But this time, I was alone. I had to take an auto. I had no one to come back to when I finished writing. It was such an empty, hollow feeling.

          Every time I roam around places in Delhi, my mind would go back to my dad. “Would dad like this place? Would dad eat here? Would dad buy this shirt? Would dad like my office? Would dad…”, so you get the drift.. It’s always my DAD for me.

Thank you Dad! For being there with me, for me and for being the First Man in My Life!!

The Men in My Life

Hello Darlings,

I apologize with all my heart for the MIA that I have been in the past month or so. Now that I am back with the discussion post, I hope you forgive me :)

Ever since Maithz let out the discussion topic for this month, I have been writing it out in my mind this way and that way. The post would be too long if I write as much as I want to, but I promise you I will trim it for your sake ;)

Dad, 

There is so much I can talk about you. Dad-Daughter relationship has always been a special one and ours is no different from being special. I know how much you strive to make my life the best. Though we do not tell it each other's face, we both know we miss each other when we are not together. And by the looks of it, you have passed on most of your genes to me. Courage, Determination, Survival instinct, a knack for managing stuff around the place and so on. We are like 2 swords in a sheath, I should say ;) but we manage to make up for it and I thank you with all my heart for that. For accommodating my daring views, for adjusting for my sake, for tuning down things for me, for trying to make things easier for me and for so many more special moments.

Bro,

You are the guy to whom I can never say 'No'. I am glad I have you, for you have been my support ever since I remember and you still are. Thank you for letting me wrap my hand around your little finger. Thank you for never letting me go. Those bicycle rides and trials hoping I would learn it soon, those moments when we used to fight over who gets a bigger share of snacks, those moments of piggy-back rides, those moments of story-telling so that I wouldn't tell on you for eating the cookies without mom's permission and so on... All these are still as fresh as dew in my mind and to think that you are already married and are a family man, as the phrase goes, just blows my mind out. ;) Nevertheless, you are the best bro I could have ever had, and I know you will just as awesome in any role that you play. You are just as special as your birthday - the 29th of February! Remember how I used to bug mom, during our childhood days, asking her why she gave birth to you on such a special day while she gave birth to me on a plain October 20th? ;) I can just keep going on and on about you, but I will just stop with saying I love you, hoping that it would convey all that I want to.

'A' - The One,

Without you, I don't know what I'd have become. You are the person who has spent most of your life with me , next to my parents and bro. You beat everything that stood in the way of us. You taught me the meaning of love. You proved that prince charming is not only for fairy tales. You taught me that perfect love is to see an imperfect person perfectly. You taught what it takes to be in a relationship. You taught me how life and people can turn out to be. The good and bad - you taught me that when I did not know to see the difference. You believed in me when I didn't. I do not know how you believe what you believe in me, but I just know if it is not you, it can be none else. It is just not enough to say thank you. You deserve much more than that. For now, let me start with a thank you.

'V' - The friend,

You have been The friend in every possible way. I have never been this comfortable with any other friend. Always out there, for me and A. You being a mutual friend to both of us, you have had to be the peace-maker when we both go on one of our silly fights. But I have never seen you complain. You are the supporting pillar we could always rely upon. I miss you. Would have been so better if you were in India, but you got things to do and I just hope that you are back soon. Thank you for those moments of laughter, concern, friendship, mischief and more. You taught me what friends are for. Unwavering support is difficult to give. You have given us that greatest gift. Putting your problems behind, you took our problems on you as a priority. What more can a friend give! I am glad that you are in our lives. Thank you :)

There are still so many men in my life to thank. The ones who have helped me in any small way they could. The ones who were not so good to me but nevertheless taught me what I should look out for. To all them, thank you.

Until later,

Keirthana :)

The Men in my Life-The What-if Men!

(This is an excerpt from a magazine article written by a famous female writer Tishani Doshi. I found the piece truly intriguing and an echo of my own sentiment...gawsh, how I wish I had written it! Anyways, I share it here and hope it stirs you too. Kudos to the thought!)

Male female relationships are circumscribed by expectations and slotted into categories- boyfriend, father, brother, friend. But some elude this classification and testify to the pleasure of the detour. These bonds flirt on the lines between formality and intimacy and yet these are often men that we still want despite it all.

“In recent years I have come to realize that it’s impossible and a little unfair to expect one man to fulfil all your intellectual, emotional and sexual needs. Once you get your head around this idea and let go of the monochromatic, either-or vision of the world, you begin to see a whole grey spectrum out there. The relationships that are most important to me now are those that defy category or logic. I call them my what-if men. What if he weren’t married? What if he lived in the same city? What if he weren’t ultra religious or didn’t do drugs or loved dogs? The range of the what-if man is truly awesome.

A relationship with a what-if man is a nurturing one, it may be fleeting or permanent, but it is nothing like the cliché of an affair, which is hot and hurried and poof! Love and sexual tension may hover over the periphery, but for it to really work, certain boundaries have to be maintained- that’s right, no sex because physical intimacy puts a spin on things and slides it into murky territory.

You may hold hands with your what-if man or not. You may unburden your darkest secrets and fears or not. You may consider each other as your ‘back up’ or not. The joy is in recognizing something special in another human being, in making that connection regardless of timing and circumstances, and learning how to draw fire from it.

My favourite what-if man is 40 years older than me: a demigod in his own country, a poet and a political hero. We meet once in a year, if we are lucky; eat spaghetti alle vongale and drink copious amount of wine. We talk about ways of living and share histories. When people look at us, undoubtedly they’re thinking, what’s going on there? But it is nothing inappropriate or sleazy. It’s just what-if. What if he were younger or I older? We meet, we talk, we return to our lives, and we carry the other person with us.

The great beauty in what-if is that you never take anything for granted because there is no ownership or expectation. It enjoys a longevity that other relationships can’t sustain and it exists in continuity always shifting and moving to accommodate both your worlds. The what-if man represents possibility, yearning. His place is never fixed. If you know what you want and what you are willing to allow, it’s worth having a what-if man or two or three in your life; like manna straight from the skies.”

  

P.S. (Caution, mini post ahead):

Hi everyone! I don’t even know how to show my face for I have been so badly missing in action here. But when Maiths told me that the discussion for the month was “Men in our life”, and poked me to write, I could not resist the temptation to create this-almost a confession box of sorts. While I was scrolling down the articles already posted, I was amazed that some of you wonderful women thought of your father and brothers when “men” per se were referred to. I must have been born under a stupid, horny, faulty by default star for my first thought at this mention went to all the drool worthy male specimens that have come into my life and decided to stay. As for father/brothers/uncles/cousins... oh yes, thanks for reminding that these are guys too, for as such they relegate to the backgrounds as the air you take for granted.

Through blogging I have interacted with some of the wittiest of heads and three of them have become the fabric of my life and in communication with me from years. It is sometimes quite amusing to admit that my best friend, with whom I yack my heart out is actually an amazing 22 years old software engineer, who is in a relationship with the girl he loves, after I badgered him enough to do so. He started by calling me ‘fairy godmother’ but soon realized how I juggle between my halo and horns and the ‘fairy’ part disappeared. He is often hearing me out with such awe, as though my word is the epitome of truth that affects his thinking. He is half mad, overflowing with facts that he knows I don’t care a damn about, most brutally subjected to my poor jokes and possibly the funniest guy I have known.

Another is a 26 years old engineer again, who is a cassanova online yet the cutest, most sharmila guy otherwise. The repartee he churns out garnished with his super sexy voice makes him an irresistible catch. He came out of anonymity for me after almost half a year of me pestering him for that. He has a beautiful mind and such gentlemanly mannerisms that often I feel like the man here when I sometimes throw my flirting volleys at him. He just laughs and calls me crazy.

The third is another 25 years old animation expert, mighty deep and no-nonsense sweetheart with whom it all began after ages ago he had read my blog and we became best of friends. He does not write per se but expresses himself better in words than most I know. He has no qualms in saying “bahut kameene ho aap” when I pull his leg too much for not being able to lose his virginity yet despite being in the U.S of A. He is what girls should take home to mommy.

These are men who know me inside out and still want to know more. These are men I have never met and probably would never either. They NEVER compliment me...in fact you’d see them pulling my leg all over Facebook. But I know that if I were on my death bed, they would come from remote corners of the earth to see me, just so that they could tell me what a nautanki I look while dying.

We talk everything under the sun, yes, the most personal of stuff too without the teeniest hint of any sexual tension. They've been there as the unbiased third party whenever turbulent times rocked my boat. They make me laugh like none other and provide me something that I value most “effortless conversations that have a life of their own”. They make me accept that men and women can actually be just “best friends”.

And then there are other friends I have managed to find in the Head of a software firm, a Captain of ships, a Colonel in the army, an almost doctor in the making; The best of minds-the range is staggeringly large aged from 22 to 52, for I never can let go of people who once come past my periphery. Each communication happening now and again brings in a beautiful flavour to my life-like hand-picked best of flowers blooming in my little balcony garden where I tip toe to, every once in a while to escape the mundane and then carry back the smiles and warmth they leave me with. Does it make me disloyal to my man? Does it interfere in my relation with him? The answer is NO without any explanations. Try it out, maybe the What-If man unlocks you to your potential so that the man in your life sees you as he should.

THE MEN IN MY LIFE

THANKS TO THE MEN IN MY LIFE

You who held me in your arms when I was weak                          

And held my hand while traversing tough paths

Then when time came

Releasing me to take my own way

Still following and protecting me from behind

Thank you DAD for being the first man in my life.

You who led me through the right way

For being my idol

For all the little secrets we share.

Thank you BRO for being my first friend.

And now thanks to those who  form an important part of my life

“Thank you” is just a little word for everything you did for me

The ones who took care of me after I left home

Letting me talk non-stop, silly pakofying stuff, all the PJ’s

The one who told me that it’s fine if I don’t know everything

No one expects me to.

And to do what I really enjoyed

And not compare with others

The one who made me realise that I don’t own all of the world’s problems

That there’s nothing wrong in crying when I am upset

And the ones who are always ready to solve my problems

The one who knows all my secrets and keeps them safely

And cheers me up when I am upset

And makes me believe that I can travel my path alone.

Those who believe in me

And made me feel special

All of you who made me feel wanted by valuing my opinions

And respecting my decisions

 My dearest friend

Remember all the non-stop nonsense we talk about

For making me smile when no one else could

And the ‘ONE’

Thanks for teaching me the meaning of LOVE

You came, made me smile, laugh, cry

And then went away

Leaving behind your memories

Which gives me the strength to move ahead

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING A PART OF ME AND MY LIFE

FOR BEING A FAMILY, A FATHER, A BROTHER, A FRIEND AND COMPANION

FOR DEFINING ME AND MAKING ME WHO I AM

Dear menKIND

               I know you have been bashed by us on several occasions in blogworld and we women have commented to keep that ire ignited :P You have been condemned ,for all the wrong you do, more often than been praised for the kind gestures. Today I want to thank all the wonderful men in my life (in no particular order)

Thank you for running behind me holding the seat of my bicycle so that I don't fall balancing it.
Just because I saw the ad of  the new "Hide and Seek" (which was not even distributed in shops then) and I craved it badly, you went from shop to shop every day after work until you finally found it!
You lost your temper more on me than on anyone else. But I am also the only one who can get anything from you. I got your spontaneous generosity and my outburst I inherited from you.

Thank you for forgiving me for being selfish. When I don't have enough patience to wait for you to eat that chocolate lying alone in the fridge ;).
Thank you for always lending me your things and letting me have it if I forget to return them :P.
For the novels you let me buy from your saved pocket money.
For obeying my word above everybody else.

Thank you for putting up with my outbursts. Bless your soul, you are the receiving end most of the time :*
For the random things you say that keep me smiling all day.
For listening to my dukh bhari kahani and my silly ideas. For the  stupid jokes we shared.
For that precious time you steal from the day  for me :)
For being the only one I can't think of what else to thank for :D :D Because everything seems so natural with you :D

Thank you for letting me do all the crazy stuff in the lab :D
For sometimes doing even my part of the experiment ;)
For leaving your work and coming to help when you see I m struggling with something.
For all the last moment jhols we do while submission.

Thank you for not loosing patience with me when I do not write enough. (FL this is you :P )
For lightening  my mood (although you don't know that)

Thank you for leaving  your seat in the bus so that I don't stand in a bus packed with men ( that random guy in the bus)

The list goes long but for now I will stop here :D

Big Bite !

She was being watched for long now.

She has been eating her food peacefully and talking about all the world stuff and he was being a patient listener.

Or rather, was simply watching her speak or thinking about something.

From food to studies, from relatives to relations, everything was being discussed.

She ain't too much of a talkative person but right now, she was speaker and he was listener.

The food was good. 

She was having her favorite food and he was having his.

T.V. was being glanced at by him from time to time in between their conversation.

"Hmmm....", that was all that was being given as a response to her talks.

And a move was made by him.

She was offered a piece of Naan from his Thali.

She was speaking about something when in the middle of everything, his hand grabbed a piece of Naan, dipped it in Daal and was brought to her mouth.

They were sitting facing each other on the table.

She smilingly ate from his hands, though with some difficulty.

She had t open a big mouth for that offered bite.

Some Daal was stamped on her face while the bite was offered to her.

She mananged to eat the whole in one go.

And after she finished eating, did she notice the daal on her face.

"I made you eat a big byte na", he said thoughtfully, seeing her cleaning her face.

The thought with which such a big bite was offered to her was what made her smile along with the innocent question, the thoughtful thought that he should have made her eat a small bite and not such a big bite was cute enough for it to be a blog post.

Smita 

Shoe Laces and The Men in my Life

[From:http://findingsun.wordpress.com/tag/hearts/]

My shoelaces are undone
Cried the little girl
The school bus is at the stop
And I have got to rush
Putting away his news paper
He placed her on his lap
Let me tie them for you
Lest you slip and fall

Little Brother don't run,
Your shoe laces are undone
I can tie it for you
Or ask Daddy to come
Don't trip on shoe laces
And hurt your little knees.
My dear sweet brother,
That is just not fun.

Your shoe lace has a double knot
And your fingers are cold
Let me untie them for you
And help your cold feet warm
A smile she gave that said more
than a thousand words could say
As his hands moved up her feet
 In such a loving way

Little one, come to me
Your shoe lace is undone,
Let me tie them for you
Lest you slip and fall
With a mischievous smile he runs away
Asking me to chase
Thud, Thud, I rush to see
And take him off with me.

PS: Just a unique way to thank the men in my life (Dad , Brother , Hubby and Son).
Belated  Valentine's Day Wishes, Darlings!

the Men in my Life.

     The first thing that comes in every girl’s mind after reading the title of this post is her father obviously. He’s the first man we see when we come in this world. He’s the first person whose hand we hold and learn to walk, whose words we listen to and learn to talk, whose actions we observe and learn to act, whose arms we feel comfortable in.  He’s the one from whose hands we like to eat, we like to get beating, we like to receive gifts and we like to receive love. He’s our world, our everything. He’s the man in every girl’s life till the day she meets that someone special. That someone special around whom she just have to be her natural self. And this post is for him :)

I love my father. Till date, he has been the man in my life. I have always looked up-to him for being what I am today. The rules, the principles of life, being honest, truthful, hardworking, these are few qualities I have learnt from him. But then, every girl someday finds somebody whom she places next to him in her life. And this is all about this guy. Reason for presenting him such a valuable position, not many men will make you smile your real smile, and the one who do makes you do this, is the man of your life.

 It’s been my biggest mistake to meet him so late in my life. I don’t know what life would have been,  had we met earlier but one thing I can assure is, life would have been much more beautiful, had I met him earlier. Though It’s more beautiful than my imagination now even. All thanks to you A ( Hope you won’t mind me writing this all ).

 Not many will make you think how beautiful you are, but he did.

 Not many will make you believe in yourself, but he did.

 Not many will do things out of the box for you, but you did.

 Not many will think about you, but he did.

 Not many will make you feel good about your presence, but you did.

Thanks for everything A :)

You might have not realized it, but you did and still do a lot many things which have a great impact on my life, for the good of-course. There are a lot many little things you do, that I love. And this is all about that :)

 The way you make me cross the road, holding hands like a toddler, is what I like. The way you say my name and blogger, is what I like. All your appreciation for my writings, I still have them all J  The way you make plans for our meetings, the way you get scared when our plans execution seems to be hard, is cute. The way you protect me on the road from vehicles is nice. The way you think a lot about me, see my pictures, comment on them and then tell me all about it, is just so naïve about you but is all loveable. The way you keep on looking at me, from the corner of your eyes, with me not even looking at you, is adorable. The expressions you give, when my face is held in your hands, that look in your eyes when you do so, is simply unexplainable here. All the words you speak to me, I remember them all. The thought with which I am made to eat the first bite of your food, is something that can’t be expressed here. It’s something that can only be felt and can’t be written. Everything that you have done till now, all those gifts, talks, messages, everything, everything is simply so beautiful :)

All the movies, places, gardens, market areas that we have visited, I remember them all. All the places where we ate and where we spent quality time, I remember it all. All the journeys,car, auto, bus, train, flight, all the gifts, everything that we have done, I remember it all. AND I LOVE THEM ALL. And the best, was the birthday celebration :)

 

I had thought of this to be a long post but I am sorry, am unable to write anymore than this. How can I express all those beautiful moments spent with you, all those memorable things done with you, all those happy moments gifted to me by you in a mere blog post. I just can’t and hence I am ending it here. You know it, it’s sometimes hard for her also to speak via her writings and this is one of those times !

Thank you A for everything :)

Thank you, and I mean it from the core of my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day Baby :)

Hunks and Me :P

Ahem Ahem...

hullo dahlings...long time.... Anyway, am back! (always a privilege being the only guy in an all-girls-blog)

Maithili always manages to find discussions that are always girl oriented. And I had enough of it. So here's my post of *drumroll* 'the men in my life'

And noooo, I won't be talking of my superhero dad or wonderman 'grand-dad' or my-ball-scratching-neighbour. Its time to talk about those MEN in my life...who err...are special...for good or worse, I'll remember them...and love/hate/curse them.

1. Abhijit

One of the oldest school buddies. You can call him my langotiya yaar, since I remember him from the time we used to wear shorts to school and a water bottle around our necks. He was a bully... well no, his huge girth made him look like a bully but then he was too silent and inside that huge body of his was a thousand teddy bears. But then at the age of 13-14, I was one of the most accomplished rule-breaker and hence, Abby was the butt of my jokes and limitless pranks.

Oh he fought back. Almost shoved a fork inside me and threw the teacher's chair straight at me, but because I watched Matrix, I was able to escape certain disfigurement. But we were good friends even then. After the blood frenzy stopped, we used to steal tiffin boxes and teased the girls.

Now he's in the United Kingdom, an avid Liverpool fan and we never stop insulting each other's football clubs over twitter whenever we get the chance. I miss that huge giant. I really do :(

2. Manas

Manas (M.J) Goswami, he looks like a foreigner, with his light colored hair and over 6'2" height, he's one of my best friend. And we're like :

"dude, when you coming back...am frigging lonely..."
"err...whattt??"
"I mean am frigging home alone, you ass"
"err...whaaaaaaaaat???"
"jerk...you know what i mean...i need someone to make this life exciting"
"whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttt...ok lol lol..I will be there soon..make some plans, call whoever is in town..."

And then we meet in the evening...have momos, smoke and after 15 minutes...

"dude, wtf are we doing here like gay couples?"
"you called me ass...i had nothing to do at home anyway'

another 5 minutes later,

"isn't there anyone else in this city other than me and you?? where the the girls??"
"no idea...let's go anyway...we'll meet tomorrow again"
"yep..gimme a call"

And the whole thing lasted 30 minutes...

The funny thing is we do not need to stay in touch all the time...guys rarely do that...but I can count on him to have my back anytime. Our girls even made us promise not to share anything personal with the girls with each other. That actually helps since right now he's committed to one of my sister and I'd rather not know how he manages his hormones.

3. Vickram

Now that's my cousin bro...the one with whom I live nowadays (along with 2 other girls...but that's not the issue here)

He's the one who has problems being a gay...well he's not actually gay..he just waxes his body and wears pink t-shirts that makes his girlfriend mad. But other than that, he's super fun (when he is not behaving like a girl)

Hmm...who else?

Oh yes, a certain 70 year old maths teacher that gave me the thrashing of a lifetime when he came to knew that I put a stray dog inside his brand new car when he just gave me 1/40 in a maths test.

Another certain Chemistry teacher, who made me sit in the first bench every frigging day since I used to keep chatting with this certain girl (another of my fav sister) and he was uncomfortable with the fact that she might pay me more attention than him. Yeah, i guess he was into kids.

A certain guy in a shopping mall who hit on me because he thought i was gay!! I mean c'mon! Am i not supposed to tie my long hair and wear skinny jeans? I've a flat ass for God's sake!

Oh well, I guess these are the ones I will never forget. There are lot of other guys and double of girls, but its time to wrap up this post.

P.S| I will post a recipe soon (this will be a veggie recipe, so you may not kill me)

Have I grown up?

I still love Tom & Jerry and would prefer watching it over anything else. :D

I still love animation flicks more than any other movie, even if the latter is by far the most popular one ever filmed.

I still wish I could get those soap solution used to blow bubbles and then go open-mouthed over how beautiful the bubbles were. :)

I still go head over heels in love with Calvin and Hobbes. :)

I still cry and crib if someone doesn't let me have that thing which I want so much.

I would still gladly exchange my blanket for my mom's saree.

I still search for Young World at my office pantry before The Deccan Chronicle or Times of India.

I still strain my eyes to read that kitty corner at the end of Heathcliff comic strip.

I still get excited over getting a new pen and notebook.

I still love Cerelac's/Farex's yummy taste and wish that I could eat it without people calling me crazy.

I still love to go to parks and sit on swings (I have never had the inspiration to swing high though, even as a child. I just wanted to sit on the swings and gently rock back and forth)

I still love that orange candy we used to get for 25p and wish that the local stores would sell that.

I still love lollipops and will happily suck on one while walking down the road, without giving a damn to what others will think of me.

I still hold my big bro's little finger while we walk down a lane. (And I am glad that he lets me do so :) )

I would still gladly give up a bike ride to have a breezy cycle ride down a lane.

I still go Wheeeeeeee over bubble wrap and don't rest until I popped out every one of the bubbles. :)

I still look up at the sky to try to figure out a constellation that I learned in 3rd grade. (No success till now, though :( )

I still love to dream than to wake up.

Have I grown up? What do you think? Is it just me?

Until later,

Keirthana :)

The Inseperables..!!!

            She sat on the stairs of her college, her hair flying in all the directions. Her cheeks pale because of the winter breeze. Tightly wrapped in a sweater and a jacket above it, muffler around her neck, a pair of gloves protecting her sensitive fingers. She sat there since the past half an hour, reading her current novel. Occasionally looking up to say hie and hello to her friends and aquaintances. They all knew she was waiting there for him. He was always late. She checked her watch and again patiently looked in the direction from where he'll come running and panting, saying sorry for a zillionth time, and then smiling, the smile she could wait for her entire life to see. Yes, it was that smile that made her wait so patiently for him always.

            They were best friends. Inseperable for the last 3 years. She secretly crushed on him and he crushed on every single girl in college except her! But he knew he couldnt live without her. The days when he broke off with some girl or had a new crush or took a new girl to date, he would tell her everything in detail... details no girl could handle but she did! She listened to them all, patiently, laughing all the time, not to hide her own feelings, but because they were so hilarious! She was the only thing constant in his life during all these years. She too was happy with just that. The fact that he called her up even at 4 o'clock, just to say he missed her! They truely were inseperables. Almost married to each other in a way no-one could understand.

            She spend more time at his place rather than her own. She was the one who trusted him and sat besides him when he learned driving and ventured out on the main road for the first time. The rear seat of his bike belonged to her. It was an unspoken rule no one could break. He planned surprises for her birthdays. She had her first sip of beer with him when she turned 18! She had her first drag of hukkah with him on her 19th birthday. She shopped for him whenever she went shopping and it worked vice-versa. She knew better than him about his choices and he knew hers. She learned biking with him and came to him in the wee hours when she first scrapped her knees and broke the head-light of her bike. They both had had a hearty laugh over it with cups of chai in their hand.

            During vaccations, his house was her home. She ate there, studied there, slept there. Watched movies, played games, went out on long rides and afternoon drives with him. He was her friend, best friend, brother, enemy, crush... all in one! If she was a social animal, he was a social monster! He had ten times more friends than hers and ended up talking to almost every second guy on the street. He was always late for movies. At first, she waited for him outside the theatre, but then, soon realized it was a bad idea, and went to watch the movie all alone, he always joined her after the first 10-15 minutes with the same smile on his face, and she couldnt be angry anymore!

            He was the hunk of her life... the ultimate hunk in her eyes! Yes, she told him that often and he couldnt stop blushing. He complimented her by calling her 'moti'! Yeahh, she was stick thin then, and would jump happily when she heard him calling her 'moti'! :P She sat listening to him sing for hours. He wasnt a good singer but enjoyed singing and had a great voice! Sometimes, when in the mood, she would even dance while he sang and then dance with him! Starting from ball dance, waltz, salsa, to even baraati dance! He was not as great dancer as her but was a quick learner and complimented her perfectly! Almost all their friends, except the close ones thought they were dating, she just gave them a smile when asked about it. He took the pain to clarify their misunderstandings.... but the misunderstandings and questions never ceased...so he too gave up!

             Eventually, she fell for other guys, and he for other gals as usual. She felt jealous everytime he got serious in a relationship and spend less time with her, and he felt insecure everytime she fell for a guy and couldnt stop raving about him and gave him less attention!

             But today, after 3 years, he still is her friend, best friend, brother, enemy, crush... all in one package! They both fall on each other in times of need and support and love. They both know, there is this one person on earth whom they can wake even at 4 am just to say, I miss you so much! I miss our old days!!... or just hug and cry for hours without giving the other person a reason!... or just go and sit infront of the other without saying a word and everything is understood!!

P.S. - Before anyone asks me, yes, the girl here is me and the boy is my bestfriend cum brother cum lover! And he is one of the few 'men' I have in my life...and will always have!!

New topic for discussion..

      Hey Darlings,
      There was no topic for discussion last month as many of the Darlings were on a blogging break and the entries for the last discussion were very few. Now that I see many of you returning to blogworld I feel its time for the next discussion.
      Keeping in view that it is the month of love and Valentine's is only a few days away, the topic has been decided to pamper and cherish the men in our lives..
      The topic is - The men in  my life..
      It does not have to be only your better half. It could be about your dad, your brother, male friend or any random male you would like to talk of.
      Once again I would like to speak out the rules.
1) No  more than 2 posts allowed within 24 hours. If you see that there have already been 2 posts, then please schedule your post or mail it to us on darlingsofvenus@gmail.com and we will put it up at the right time. It is only to give proper exposure to each post.

2) Once again poetry and fiction allowed. But I would advise you to use minimum fiction.

3) You have the option of posting anonymously by just mailing the post to us at darlingsofvenus@gmail.com

4) Female readers who are not yet a part of DOV authors are welcome to post a guest post on the same topic.

5) Label your post as "Your name" "Discussion 4" and any other label you feel apt.

I request you all to participate in this discussion and make it a success. Spread the love..

Chicken-Soup-For-The-Indian-Woman-Type Post

This one is for you Stixsu; 

I hope the dedication makes you smile, even if the post doesn't.

I decided a long time ago that I won't write a blog post that is about any incidents that happen in my life unless they are funny, simply for the reason that they happen to every one else too and me harping about it will not make it any more interesting to readers. But this, I had to.


I was in bed happily experimenting with the new music app I got, when she got onto my (upper bunk) bed and flopped down next to me, facedown. She used to do that when she was upset (I'm her personal hotchocolate+rockyroad+guybashing specialist) but for the past few months she has been coming 'upstairs' just to visit. 
(This is hostel culture for the uninitiated. Our bunks are our personal spaces, much like our homes which others can 'visit')


So I assumed that she was visiting and banged my head on in time to Pink's screaming until I heard sniffling. My heart almost stopped on hearing that bunny-like sound for she is very dear to me and I hate seeing her cry or get hurt, especially since she's a gentle soul.

I hugged her close and said all the right things just to make her stop after which the story slowly came out. She confided one of her deepest, darkest secrets, a demon that is still plaguing her, with one of her closest guy friends (my classmate, as well) who, typically, behaved like a jerk about it and was insensitive. 


She put herself out there because she trusted him and made herself vulnerable. And got hurt in a way that is not going to go away soon. For every time she thinks of her friend, it will be this hurt that surfaces rather than all the happy memories they have had together. 


That is one friendship shot to hell and flushed down the drain.


My point here is that, don't make yourself vulnerable to anybody except those two people in your life who are 'Your People'. It could be your bff and your sibling, it could be two of your childhood friends, it could be your mother and your father, it could be your mother and that guy you have decided to spend the rest of your life with... it could be anybody. The only qualification is that they shouldn't judge you for anything and they should know you better than you know yourself.  


Because at the end of the day, everyone else cares about only themselves first and they don't care how bad you get hurt. They might feel bad about being the reason, but that's the extent of it.  And you all know how badly hurt can hurt na, I don't need to explain how it feels inside when you just want to curl up into a ball and fade away into oblivion just because someone hurt you. We have all been there.


Put yourself out only when you're sure that the other person understands what it takes to do that and how much it takes out of you. Don't confide fears, insecurities, dreams and hopes to people who don't care what happens to you either way. Don't place your trust in people who value it.


Protect yourself, your fragile psyche. 
For very few, very, very few are worth getting hurt over.


P.S: I might be biased by my own experiences, the world might be slightly brighter than how I choose to see it but only slightly.

Slap-Rose-Surprise !

“Today is your birthday?”, the lady asked inspecting her bag.

She gave her a puzzled look and replied, ”No”.

“Am not wearing birthday clothes, nor do I have a birthday card or some fancy gifts with me to make someone ask this question. Then why did she ask so?”, she thought to herself while the security lady was busy inspecting things in her bag.

“Okay”,

she got the answer and hence smiled and so did he!

The lovely red roses bouquet in her hand-bag made it look like as if it was her birthday to the lady at the red fort security check!

But it was not a gesture on anybody’s birthday. It was a token of sorry for someone by someone for something that had occur the previous day and had led to some anger and fight but the outcome of which was as lovely as the flowers!

 

**************************************************************** 

 “Hey, ask the aunty standing there to leave na”, the question popped up by him in the middle of a conversation was absurd! Moreover, him having a problem with a lady standing there and watching them came as a surprise to her.

“What ...Who aunty…”, she looked around to see a 50 year old woman standing few steps away from them and hearing their conversation while waiting.

“Why you have a problem with her.”, she giggled. He didn’t find it funny though!

“Ask her to leave na”, he sounded irritated with the lady’s presence there now.

“Arre…she will go na”. And after a minute, she did leave.

“Yeaaa…aunty has gone”, he was more than overjoyed to see the lady leaving with his son and daughter and law.

“Close your eyes”, he said.

“Wh…….. What! …No! “, she literally screamed at him.

“Arree, close your eyes na!”, he insisted again.

“No…Why..? Why should I close my eyes?”, she asked.

They had been sitting at the metro station for some few minutes now. She wanted to leave for their destination as soon as possible but he wanted to sit there for some time. Clever he! He was making the mood to present something!

“Please do it na”, he yelled!

“Arree…But why?”, she looked in no mood to do that!

“Just do it!”, he yelled again.

And before she could open her mouth again came the order,” You too made me do this once, remember? Now do as I say”, he said blackmailing her!

Tit for Tat! She had to close her eyes unwillingly! 

Though she love surprises but she wasn’t expecting one today in the least!

She closed her eyes while he struggled with something in his bag! She heard the noise of some polythene bags moving!

“A gift! No”,she thought in her mind.

 

Though a smile came on her face just with the thought that she was about to be presented something but she kept on saying “I am not gonna accept anything”.

He kept quiet, still struggling in his bag!

She kept on repeating the same lines, ”What is it? I am telling you. I am not gonna accept anything. I don’t need anything!”, but who would listen! 
Him, Not in the least! 

Some 30 seconds had passed and now it was really hard for her to keep her eyes shut anymore. The impatient girl had to cover her eyes with her hands.

“Don’t cheat”, came his words, mixed with some plastic bag’s noise.

 

“Am not cheating . Please hurry up na”, came her baby voice.

Surprises are her favorite!

“Alright.”

“Open your eyes”, and there he was standing there, smiling, with a bouquet of red roses in his hands for her.

“Oh God! You are maddddd!!!!”,she said smilingly.

He just kept smiling and standing there.

“God!!! You are totally mad!”, and she pulled the bouquet towards her.

“Why did you bring this! Why? You are maddd!!!”.

She kept calling him mad the whole time and alongside not only she had accepted it but was totally overwhelmed by this lovely surprise. Not even in the wildest dream she had ever thought that one day she would be presented such lovely flowers by him.

 

She kept smiling, looking at the beautiful red roses, and kept complaining, ”Why did you bring this? You are mad!”. Her usual act of not enjoying the moment but to keep shouting at him for the good that he do!

“You were angry na”, came the baby reply.

She looked at him and smiled. 

“What to say to this guy! He will do what he wishes to! And more or less I too love it!”, she thought in her mind.

Red roses made her happy, more than anything can ever make! 

The movement of the fingers on the wet red petals is what she loves. The fresh scent of the flowers, the beauty of white and red mixed and wrapped together, the thought with which it was presented is what made it all so beautiful for her. She was more than happy to receive and more than sad to keep complaining about it.

“But I wasn’t angry.”, she said, 

not even moving her eyes from the flowers.

“You were. You said so, yesterday evening only.”, he said.

“But then I said later that I wasn’t na. I agree I was mad at you in the afternoon and in the evening too but then later I was okay. I told you too na. So you didn’t have to bring flowers.”, she again complained.

“It’s okay na. You are happy na, that’s what matters.”, he replied.

“But still. You didn’t have to do this all. You are mad, totally mad”, she kept complaining while enjoying the fact that she got such a lovely surprise to remember forever!

She was complaining but was more than obliged to keep the bouquet.

“Thank you so much”, she smiled.

He smiled back.

“But still you didn’t have to do this”, they laughed and left for their destination.

The whole metro journey kept going on the questionnaire between them with only one question and one answer to it.

“Why did you bring the flowers”, being her question and “Because you were angry” being his reply.

*******************************************************************

 

Thrash!

“O..h….”, her face turned to the other side after the sudden imprint of slap on her face.

She was talking or rather enjoying the funny site of him sliding up and down the chain of the sweater of the other friend of theirs standing with them. And in the middle of conversation came a slap on her face  by him. She did smile but was taken aback by this sudden action of his!

 

She didn’t mind him slapping her as this hadn’t happened for the first time but the intensity was much more this time and this has been happening since few days now. She was not angry for being slapped but him not realizing that he had slapped her hard did irritate her to the extent of being angry.

She left the place and he wasn’t coming to see her off at the gate but the call of the other friend of theirs  to him made him come.

 It was all settled now. She was happy for being presented the flowers and he was happy that she accepted the flowers. But the whole metro journey the thought that why he brought the flowers, kept bugging her as she was angry on him in the first but later on her anger had eventually subsided down later at night. But then if a slap can bring such lovely surprises then she and her cheeks really don’t  have a problem!

Smita