Punjab. What began life as a trip to Delhi to promote mouldy medical books became a road trip across Punjab to promote said books (some things in life dont change). So three loud, boistrous Delhi sales guys and one bemused non-hindi/punjabi speaking editor visited one town and five different cities in as many days --
Ambala (Definitely a town, this one; cant really say much about it since I only saw it late at night when I was too sleepy and tired to look around much. Oh yes, we had cheese toast and north indian coffee for breakfast. Rather yumm.)
Amritsar (Unbelievable. This is the city that has the Golden Temple???? How can the people here display such artistry, sensitivity and CLEANLINESS inside a temple and then live in an utter dump outside?? How??? Have they got a collective split personality?? And they still have cycle rickshaws, that feel like they are going to topple anytime!!!! OK, I'll calm down. Also went to the Pakisthan border to witness a completely juvenile show of might/patriotism/whatever. Poor Pakisthanis. We keep playing boring hindi songs at the border. No wonder they hate us. Anything else..... ah yes, had completely divine, melt-in-your-mouth paneer. Sigh!)
Jalandhar (Something approaching modern civilisation. Felt a bit queasy though. And oh yes, visited a college called Lovely Professional University - I kid you not!)
Ludhiana (I'd been told that this was the Mercedes capital of India, which was quite strange because I saw only one Merc. Maybe I was just in the wrong part of town? No butter chicken here. Maggie noodles rules! And now I understand why people use cycle rickshaws - when an auto hits a bump in the road it feels like its entire hind quarters is going to fall off. Also understand why north indians are so loud - the autos are deafening.)
Patiala (Finally a city with traffic lights. And parks. Fancy that! No Patiala peg for me though. Stayed at a non-smoking, non-drinking, non-meat, non-clean, nonsense hotel. Couldnt wait to leave.)
Chandigarh (I really really like this place. Its well laid out, green, full of blossoming flowers and is altogether so cosmopolitan you can forget you're in Punjab. Would go back there anytime!)
So when the sales guys asked me what I thought of the North, the kindest thing I could think of to say was that I was very glad I lived where I lived. And I really meant it. I am used to thinking of Madras as a fairly ugly, dirty, dusty, noisy place but now I realise that its squeaky clean and gentle and even sophisticated compared to what I saw in Punjab. Not to deride North Indians, I mean, clearly they like living the way they do, otherwise why put up with it. But give me the South anytime!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Smoke and Mirrors
I have racked my brains and reached into its farthest recesses and I still cant pinpoint what caused this great desire to acquire ‘smokey eyes’. I seem to have developed into one of those people who, once they take an idea into their heads, must instantly rush about till they have achieved their objective, only to discard the whole thing a month later. Thus it was with eBay, thus it probably will be with scores of other things.
So first step, I googled the subject and ended up watching a YouTube video on how it was done (9 minutes of company time, while keeping an eye out for the Prowler – I must say knowing that he can pop up suddenly does add a certain frisson to my non-office related activities). Next step, a visit to my local Health & Glow, which yielded only a kohl pencil and a mascara that cost me an arm and a leg. At the first trial of my newly acquired weapons the result was somewhat disappointing: far from appearing sexy and mysterious, I looked like a drag queen. Not so said others who had more experience in these matters. So I decided to up the stakes and go to Lifestyle. The cosmetics salespeople there are amazing. Just wont take no for an answer. I think my boss should hire them to sell books. Thirty minutes with them and I couldn’t recognize myself. My sister said I looked like a Goth. I think she was being polite. ‘Fright’ would be a more accurate word. With the eyeliner, mascara, silver eyeshadow, black eyeshadow, foundation and lip gloss I’d morphed into someone else – a sort of cross between a bat and vampire. But with time, I began to get used to the look (adaptation is after all the key to the survival of the human race) and loaded down with more products than I will ever use in my life, I put my sunglasses on and went home.
This morning I woke up at 8:15 and even though I rushed through my usual activities I didn’t have time to do more than just apply some eyeliner. And I don’t see my time situation getting any better. So much for my new smokey eyes. When I first told my friends about this new obsession all of them gave me various bits of advice but the one that I never heeded was probably the best of all, saving as it did both time and money. I should have just got Orange Belt to give me a black eye instead.
So first step, I googled the subject and ended up watching a YouTube video on how it was done (9 minutes of company time, while keeping an eye out for the Prowler – I must say knowing that he can pop up suddenly does add a certain frisson to my non-office related activities). Next step, a visit to my local Health & Glow, which yielded only a kohl pencil and a mascara that cost me an arm and a leg. At the first trial of my newly acquired weapons the result was somewhat disappointing: far from appearing sexy and mysterious, I looked like a drag queen. Not so said others who had more experience in these matters. So I decided to up the stakes and go to Lifestyle. The cosmetics salespeople there are amazing. Just wont take no for an answer. I think my boss should hire them to sell books. Thirty minutes with them and I couldn’t recognize myself. My sister said I looked like a Goth. I think she was being polite. ‘Fright’ would be a more accurate word. With the eyeliner, mascara, silver eyeshadow, black eyeshadow, foundation and lip gloss I’d morphed into someone else – a sort of cross between a bat and vampire. But with time, I began to get used to the look (adaptation is after all the key to the survival of the human race) and loaded down with more products than I will ever use in my life, I put my sunglasses on and went home.
This morning I woke up at 8:15 and even though I rushed through my usual activities I didn’t have time to do more than just apply some eyeliner. And I don’t see my time situation getting any better. So much for my new smokey eyes. When I first told my friends about this new obsession all of them gave me various bits of advice but the one that I never heeded was probably the best of all, saving as it did both time and money. I should have just got Orange Belt to give me a black eye instead.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Prowler and the Flowergirl
The Prowler, as has been documented on this page before, is so called because of his inclination to prowl about his cage, leaving no nook uninspected or cranny unvisited. He likes to creep up on unsuspecting inmates and take a good long look at their monitors, all in the name of ‘just doing his job’ and ensuring that the troops have their noses to the grindstone every second of the company’s time. I often think he must wear rubber-soled shoes since I am never able to hear him when he comes for his daily look-see at my monitor. To date he has caught me reading newspapers, chatting with friends, posting comments on fb, viewing a slideshow of the sexiest man in the world and doubtless blogging as well. And I usually get a frown and a stern disapproving look for my pains. But yesterday, by means of the simple act of agreeing to present flowers to a guest at a company function, I have been ejected from his hit list and am now sufficiently well entrenched in his good books that I even get a goofy smile in passing. Strange indeed are the ways of men.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Just another day at the office
serious correspondence
silly fwds
prowling bosses
mindnumbing microbes
execrable coffee
chatty collegues
office intrigues
fantastic food
match-making darlings
outrageous ideas
impossible deadlines
the home bell
silly fwds
prowling bosses
mindnumbing microbes
execrable coffee
chatty collegues
office intrigues
fantastic food
match-making darlings
outrageous ideas
impossible deadlines
the home bell
Monday, February 9, 2009
Looking forward to...
A romp with Leo
My evening cup of coffee
A good chat with my soon-to-be-married friend
Three lovely new books just waiting to be read
My evening cup of coffee
A good chat with my soon-to-be-married friend
Three lovely new books just waiting to be read
Ah bliss!
The four-day weekend
I spent the last four days in airports, cars and in Kanyakumari. Bless my Dad for his conferences. That seems to be the only way I get to go anywhere nice (work-related travel is always to some god forsaken medical college). So we flew to Trivandrum and drove down to Kanyakumari from there. It takes a full 3.5 hours of bouncing along dirt tracks passing themselves off as national highways, dodging cycles and lorries (often at the same time), being shaken up till your fillings fall off in deeply rutted roads, and being utterly charmed by the landscape to reach KK. Honestly they should just make the whole of Kerala and its border with TN a national park and tear down all the buildings (every single one of them an eyesore) and just let things be.
In KK we stayed at the Tamilnadu Hotel, which is right next to the beach. It had been recently spruced up because the CM was supposed to make a visit there but in the end he cancelled. So the rooms were neat and clean, plasma tv on the walls and belgian mirrors everywhere. But somehow this sprucing up didnt extend to proper running water in the bathroom. My Dad had a daily struggle with the man at Reception/Housekeeping trying to get them to turn the motor on; somehow I dont think he quite succeeded in convincing him (the Reception man) that things like having a bath everyday was a part of most people's daily routine.
Despite my Dad's conference we managed to see Padmanabapuram Palace (lovely place; surprisingly well maintained), Vivekananda Rock and Thiruvalluvar's Statue (overrated), Vattakottai (sweet little fort but surely forts were not so completely devoid of internal structures?), the Church of Our Lady of Ransom (white - by Berger Paints - Gothic church right on the beach, rather like icing on a cake), Kamaraj Memorial (nice photos but no dates), Gandhi Memorial (nothing new unfortunately), some waterfall - cant remember its name (very inviting looking, to stand under I mean, not to jump off) . I also managed to wake up early enough to walk up to the View Tower and see the sun rise (nice but couldnt see the 'plop' as my Dad calls it when the sun emerges from the sea).
As always when I am outside Madras, I was struck by how different culturally the rest of TN is. People seem more 'Tamil" here; for one thing, their language is purer and more musical that the variety spoken in Madras. They are also more gentle and brutal at the same time. Hard to explain really but its rural good manners, honesty and helpfulness mixed with an extraordinary close-mindedness and tolerance of and capacity for violence. Maybe Sherlock Holmes is right: villages are more scary places than cities.
In KK we stayed at the Tamilnadu Hotel, which is right next to the beach. It had been recently spruced up because the CM was supposed to make a visit there but in the end he cancelled. So the rooms were neat and clean, plasma tv on the walls and belgian mirrors everywhere. But somehow this sprucing up didnt extend to proper running water in the bathroom. My Dad had a daily struggle with the man at Reception/Housekeeping trying to get them to turn the motor on; somehow I dont think he quite succeeded in convincing him (the Reception man) that things like having a bath everyday was a part of most people's daily routine.
Despite my Dad's conference we managed to see Padmanabapuram Palace (lovely place; surprisingly well maintained), Vivekananda Rock and Thiruvalluvar's Statue (overrated), Vattakottai (sweet little fort but surely forts were not so completely devoid of internal structures?), the Church of Our Lady of Ransom (white - by Berger Paints - Gothic church right on the beach, rather like icing on a cake), Kamaraj Memorial (nice photos but no dates), Gandhi Memorial (nothing new unfortunately), some waterfall - cant remember its name (very inviting looking, to stand under I mean, not to jump off) . I also managed to wake up early enough to walk up to the View Tower and see the sun rise (nice but couldnt see the 'plop' as my Dad calls it when the sun emerges from the sea).
As always when I am outside Madras, I was struck by how different culturally the rest of TN is. People seem more 'Tamil" here; for one thing, their language is purer and more musical that the variety spoken in Madras. They are also more gentle and brutal at the same time. Hard to explain really but its rural good manners, honesty and helpfulness mixed with an extraordinary close-mindedness and tolerance of and capacity for violence. Maybe Sherlock Holmes is right: villages are more scary places than cities.
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