Monday, August 29, 2005

Ain’t a Housewife a Domestic Goddess???


              
            If you thought that building a temple for Khushboo in some remote village of TamilNadu is heights of frenzying fans –think again! PPl the world over are tuning in to Desperate Housewives just because the First Lady of the US of A mentioned it. (quote “I am married to the President of the United States and here is our typical evening. Nine o'clock, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I am watching Desperate Housewives. With Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentleman, I am a desperate housewife. I mean if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George.” unquote)
But the sad and true fact remains that Yours truly is guilty of the same but I would rather blame it on the boredom of a Friday night.
           I have a repu of not being very sociable with my neighbours – well can’t blame them since I have only 24 hrs to juggle between my work, home and cooking so the spare time is spent in front of my laptop, books and on the phone (not necessarily in that order) but the aunties are as saccharine sweet as any sugarcane field. They ask me if I want help with the servant, driver etc etc so that they could happily approach me for borrowing that odd cup of sugar or some green chillies.
         Watching DH made me wonder if there are hidden elements of Susan or Lynette in any of them but they all seem very docile to me –the types who devote their time in kitty parties and their children. Since I have the honor of being the only working woman in my apartment complex (if I don’t count Asha who has a home-office) they suggested holding a kitty on a Saturday so that I cud join them; now a kitty is as strange to me as a blue movie; which is - I keep hearing ‘bout it a lot but never ever been to one and also try to avoid it like dengue fever.
           A housewife is an alien concept to me – no, I mean my Mom is one but I personally can’t relate to that concept. It is not about the money, it is also not about the Status –it is about having a life, individuality and identity. To learn to appreciate the aesthetics of life beyond the four walls but then ultimately itz each to their own.
            And these days there r also occurrences of house-husbands (also mentioned in Prey) – who have proved that they could manage the household chores as well as any woman…    
            Coming to the serial, which has rocked US these days, DH is a product you would get if u cross any of Ms.Kekta Kapoor’s serials with CID.
The characters seem so melodramatic and immature- rather made-up and larger than life.
The petty jealousies over-exaggerated and the women really desperate; so  
if itz Friday night and you don’t have any agenda then …Please do not tune in to Desperate Housewives. It is much better to watch the re-runs of Friends any day!

Thursday, August 18, 2005

One Way Ticket

the bags are packed, good-byes told n all-the-bests mouthed.
the return to my home sweet home begins ,back to
-the kitchen where I rule- the actual Princess Chimera's realm
-the potted plants on my balcony ledge bearing a forlorn look in my absence
-the teddies in my bedroom badly in need of a hug
-the tiny money-plant craving to be watered by me
-the 5am Yoga classes to shed the excess calories gained
-the ladies-nites on Wednesdays at TDS


this last time itz a one way ticket for me from B'lore to Hyd,
yes I wud definetly return to this place for a visit but things wud never b the same.....

Friday, August 12, 2005

when did u last have a romance?

To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance
-Oscar Wilde

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

I never met a Calorie I did not like

If you guys thought that women endure only childbirth then you are mistaken, when we are not worrying about what to cook for dinner we are worried about the project deadlines but that single worry, which is constant and persistent across women of all ages, is the Calories! Of course I’m not counting our obsession with the shade of nail polish or the make of our sandals.
I know it is touchy topic to speak about, what with the Atkins and South Beach diets doing its rounds in all the circles possible but I proceed with my ordeal nevertheless.

Wonder why do ice creams and chocolates taste the way they do which leaves us guilty after succumbing to their charms once in a while. And believe me all your plans of burning those calories the next day never work, not esp. after you get up at 8 in the morning and rush to work at 9.

But thanks to Moms who are ever ready to humour their daughters.
Every weekend my Mom finds me losing weight, I bet if she’d see me everyday she would say the same. She welcomes me with a 'You have grown sooooooo thin', 'you are not eating properly' -note that leaves me smug and happy. Though there is no correlation between general health and weight (in fact obesity has more disadvantages) the world in general and mothers in particular think that thin is synonymous to being unhealthy (only wish the guys also thought that!)

To make matters worse we have ppl who make it a point to comment on the amount of weight you have put-on. Now I think there should be a law against them – crucify whoever comments on a woman’s weight – no make that crucify them nude!
And leading the pack (to be crucified) would be the salesmen/women in shops,

Just the other day I realized that the waiting time to fit into my old jeans is over and went shopping for a new pair, I was rushing into a trial room trying to avoid one of those ever-ready-to-help guys, when I hear a voice behind me:

ERTH guy: Ma’am, what size are you looking for?
it is bad enough feeling lousy about ur waist size, gets worse when you have to declare it in public!
Me: mumble 28…..
ERTH guy: (appraising me) No Ma’am I’m sure they wouldn’t fit, 30 should be ok
Me: err…perhaps... ( why can’t the earth swallow me now) anywayz I’ll try both
5 minutes later, I emerge out of the trial room and quickly rush to the Payment Counter and come home happy with my purchase. Now don’t ask me who was right!

So the next time think twice before you tell a girl “I think you have put on weight”, unless you want to make an enemy for life.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom

It was 1 in the night and I had just finished my conference call, though sleep was beckoning me, I got in the mood of poetry and not wanting to lose that moment, I started writing. Of late, I find myself drawn towards Anna Akhmatova’s poems, which seem to convey a whole lot of meaning in a few words. Now, brevity has never been my forte but try I would ……

She lies intoxicated in those arms
Knows not what the world beholds

She seeks him in those eyes
Trying to break from the trance

She breathes in soft sighs
Mouths his name in sweet delight

She wonders about his restraint
Realizing her folly ,’Oh! It wasn’t him at all’