tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9336432364400318552024-03-13T05:09:04.078+05:30Just like that!My jottings on this and that, here and there, every now and then...Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-68002981670495283112020-11-09T20:15:00.004+05:302020-11-09T20:56:47.854+05:30Of Gods n goddesses, fine dining and finding things - part 1 Kannur is a quirky land. With quirks that are lovable to the Kannur folk, but very weird, initially at least, for the non Kannureans. Our Gods too, are Gods with a difference. They are, you could say, of the people, by the people, for the people. Muthappan is one of the human-Gods, who take on a godly character when he dons the headgear which is believed to give him godly Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-4799204089686200222017-10-03T15:11:00.000+05:302017-10-03T15:11:11.034+05:30To get to read or not to
Sonny boy used to LOVE being read to. But as he grows up, while he does read, I cannot call him a book lover :-( Both the Acha and myself are voracious readers (I used to be, at least), and that he isn't, is a fact I find it very hard to reconcile myself with.
He can watch anything on a screen- tv, computer, phone, tablet- anything, and he can spend HOURS in front of it. Which gets my Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-89316131246266653062017-10-02T23:37:00.001+05:302017-10-03T14:24:22.032+05:30The reading bug bites again, phew!
It had been ages since I'd read any new books. I just couldn't seem to find the concentration to keep at it, or rather the luxury of time to get lost in it.
Things haven't really changed, life is as busy as ever. In between, I even let go of the driver and the cook that I'd experimented with having. But then, all of a sudden, I got back my reading mojo. And that fills me with joy. I'd dearly Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-84703023479028272782017-09-30T10:22:00.001+05:302017-09-30T10:22:23.294+05:30Renewing jottings
Its been a while that I've been thinking to restart my blog. So many happenings left unrecorded, except for short notes on FB. And FB doesn't come anywhere close to blogging.
This year, Vijayadashmi was celebrated from Cochin. Owing to a death in my family, Sonny boy and I were unable to participate actively in the puja, but we made for very good passive onlookers. And after the puja ended, allJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-28862898905965771072016-02-17T17:25:00.000+05:302016-02-18T19:57:42.716+05:30Fatal February
Looking back, I think that Feb spelt misfortune for Trinity.
When we brought her home, after that terrible, horrible wound/burn in her thigh (we still don't know how it was caused!) we were soooo happy. And then in Feb, she got all listless and was off her food.. . . sure sign of being unwell in a lab! The vet who came home to check on her, diagnosed it as pyometra, and thankfully Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-69860738378257211252015-12-24T14:08:00.000+05:302015-12-24T14:08:16.055+05:30Of dogs- well trained and otherwise
Sonny Boy is in Cochin for part of the Xmas hols.
An uncle there has a dog, Micky.
Ever since Trin left us, he's been happy to be with any dog that he comes across, and yesterday, he'd spent the day at Micky's house.
He just called me, and told me that I would be very unhappy if I saw Micky. Apparently, if you asked Micky to come, she would come, if you asked her to go, she would go, she would Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-48314046419230788472015-11-23T16:55:00.000+05:302015-11-23T16:55:27.274+05:30Of sambar and varutharacha curry
And its back to square one. The cooking, I mean.
The first cook we had was good. Her chicken curry was delicious!! But she was unreliable. And would take leave often. She also skipped work for an entire week that I was away from home. Without any notice whatsoever. A hassled, irate husband told me to send her packing. Well, she had to come before I could send her packing, but what I did do, wasJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-52095049746393548002015-07-28T21:01:00.000+05:302015-07-28T21:01:27.752+05:30Suffrage and doubts
Sonny Boy, now in 6th standard, was reading his Civic lesson. . .
. . . and was reading that if people were not happy with their elected representatives they could change them.
"Good!" And then he did a double take- "but what's the use?? You can only change them after 5 years, right?"
Right, my son, right. Which is why you need to be extra careful WHO you vote into power.
. . . .and then he Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-84010852884905804272015-06-23T16:07:00.001+05:302016-11-03T13:02:54.459+05:30Back to writing for the sheer love of it, just like that. . .
I've missed this space so. But inspite of that, hadn't feel like visiting either. It had changed, and there were too many good memories associated with what this space used to be.
Number one would be of course, the friends I made for life. All those girls I met in the virtual world, who then turned friends in the real world too, some of whom know and understand me better than family. Not all ofJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-83991931087468428112014-08-24T00:01:00.003+05:302014-08-24T12:23:50.960+05:30Madras memories. . .
Yesterday, I was awaiting a client, watching TV at their office reception when I got to know that there was a Madras Day, which was being celebrated yesterday. Apparently it's celebrated on 22nd Aug, every year, and has been prevalent from 2004 and more actively, 2008. . I'd never heard of it till yesterday tho'.
But it brought back memories. . . .
Going back to those mad, glad days of MBA, Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-52859441324689851082014-08-14T23:42:00.000+05:302014-08-14T23:44:51.084+05:30Sharing the Language of Love indeed!
Some months back, I'd participated in a Google Hangout to support Johnson's Baby's 'Share the Language of Love' campaign. Couple of weeks back, I got a totally unexpected call. And earlier this week, the pleasantest surprise met me at home. . .
I loved that it wasn't an impersonal courier, but hand delivered. I beamed delightedly at the delivery person, as I thanked him, and he Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-51441398498390989252014-08-13T22:14:00.001+05:302014-08-13T22:14:26.326+05:30From Sarjapur Road to HSR Layout.
So, end April, we moved- from a spacious 3 bedroom in a sprawling apartment complex with all
amenities; to a cosy 2 bedroom house in a peaceful layout. This, because we
invested in another apartment- which hopefully will be ready to welcome us in
Dec- and we needed to balance the EMI and rent with the monies being deposited in the bank at the
month end. We had been in the earlier Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-36929713053847783962014-05-16T15:54:00.000+05:302014-05-16T16:05:10.585+05:30The 'Modi'fication of India
Election Results Day, and the country seems engulfed in an orange haze. Change, they say is good, and Indians seem to have taken this very much to heart.
Like someone commented on FB, there was no Modi wave, rather, there seems to have been a Modi tsunami! All I can hope for now is that this tsunami spills well being and progress among the citizens, instead of destruction.
I had not beenJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-21059798682601409162014-05-04T20:23:00.000+05:302014-05-04T20:29:22.268+05:30Of Gods and Goddesses
Today had a visit from our landlord, a good man, who in the course of other conversation, asked who our family deity was. And I told him that we worshipped all deities. Indeed he could see for himself that my puja room held a Vishnu and a Krishna and a Shiva and a Devi and . . . . lots more. But he was not satisfied. He insisted- you must have an ishtadevathai (favourite God)- all of us have oneJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-81866648397979867032014-04-07T23:55:00.001+05:302015-06-23T16:11:17.592+05:30without you. . .
Tomorrow will be the 40th day since you left us. Officially 40 days is a period of mourning for us mallus. I wonder if it ever ends, unofficially. . .
Not a day passes when you haven't been thought about, spoken about, LOVED, even more so than when you were with us, if that is possible. There are time when my heart literally aches with wanting to run my hands over your fur. Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-11588891312686574192013-07-30T22:22:00.000+05:302013-07-30T22:23:26.612+05:30Mars and Venus
When I fall ill, I tend to curl up and draw into my shell. I shun company, especially solicitude and prefer to let the sickness work its way out of my system.
When the Acha falls ill, like a man, he lurrrrves attention, mollycoddling and generally making a mountain out of a molehill.
With our two opposite natures, when I fall sick, the Acha tends to be all over me, irritating me all the more Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-2209118966505162442013-07-30T22:09:00.001+05:302013-07-30T22:09:10.429+05:30A full plate
Am in Chennai today and tomorrow. And after that, my boss is going to be in Bangalore on Thurs and Fri.
The Acha has been complaining of a stomach ache for a few days now. Is more when he walks or bends and stretches. Am worried that it could be appendix related.
These are times when I wish I didn't have a high pressure job. I'd hound the man into going to the doc or for tests, cos I wouldn't Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-76216521200985052602013-07-28T23:46:00.001+05:302013-07-28T23:52:26.909+05:30T, Tommy, Brownie, Ghost and Blackie
I love dogs. Mine and others' and strays too. T, our Lab, has many canine neighbours who'd like to be friends with her. But since being friends with her requires also being friends with me, Madam will have none of it! Possessive to the core where I'm concerned, she chases away most dogs who come around wagging their tails when we go for our walks.
For starters there's Brownie and Tommy, two Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-15114401983034351382013-07-28T12:03:00.000+05:302013-07-28T12:03:19.566+05:30Cheating. . . a bit!
So we near the end of the month, and I find that I only have 16 posts, instead of 28. And this is including the 2 last 2 posts. The next week, am again going to be traveling again, so I'm going to be running short of posts by the deadline. So, skewing the rules a bit, here's a review of a movie that I did sometime back on another site. This was written some years back- before this blog Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-57993933159766031242013-07-28T11:37:00.002+05:302013-07-28T11:38:47.105+05:30Finally. .. Tada!
The saga of the shoe rack finally comes to a (happy) end.
My corner stand, in my last post, was an off-shoot of the search for the shoe rack. Finally after much traipsing around, in shops big and small, we finally found one.
I'd have much preferred a simpler one, without the slightly garish leather with the white stitches, but to tell the truth, I was fed-up and just wanted one that wasJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-85397724775030959032013-07-28T11:07:00.002+05:302013-07-28T11:07:25.850+05:30Something old, something new
The Ganesha in black stone was bought before our marriage. It was bought at one of the exhibitions in Bangalore when I was staying as a PG on one of the bylanes of Brigade Road.
The terracotta Ganeshas are about 2 years old- had bought them at another exhibition somewhere. I meant to paint them, but never found the time, and so they remained in a chest of drawers till last week.
And then, Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-90707953007323061912013-07-27T12:48:00.000+05:302013-07-27T12:53:17.969+05:30Change....
This year, Sonny boy has stopped having tuitions. He'd been having them for the last 3 years.
It was not that he needed extra coaching. It was more that since the tuitions were in the evening, we had found a way to keep him occupied till one of us at least got home. Our house keeper would stay till about 6-6.30 and then she'd have to leave. We'd reach home only post 7 in the normal scenario. &Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-4439810323022083642013-07-26T21:28:00.003+05:302013-07-26T21:31:59.991+05:30Dark is beautiful
Stay unfair, stay beautiful, says Nandita Das in her campaign against the fairness fetish that is sweeping India like an epidemic. Till some time back, the fetish unfairly (pun intended) applied only to girls, but now boys have also been bitten by this bug. Fairness, the great leveller, you could say.
While I was definitely not fair, my sister was darker than me. Thankfully, Mom was not Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-89565667073927922762013-07-25T23:59:00.001+05:302013-07-26T00:18:32.088+05:30Karkidakam and all that comes with it
It is the holy month of fasting for Muslims. Hindus and Muslims have more in common than than you know-it is also the holy month for Hindus, starting from July 16th. The Karkidaka masam. Or the Ramayana masam. When traditionally, in most Hindu homes, the Ramayanam gets recited. Most temples have Ramayanam recitals too, during this month.
Closer home, my mother-in-law recites it aloud, andJust Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933643236440031855.post-74473259835774172082013-07-25T16:31:00.002+05:302013-07-25T16:44:37.936+05:30 Malayalam and me
I can read, write and converse most admirably in Malayalam, but, I have never ENJOYED reading books in my native tongue, as much as I do reading in English. Maybe because as a kid, there WERE more English books and novels that I was exposed to. Even now, I don't think that there are as many books for kids in Malayalam as there are in English. Which is sad, because I realise now that there are Just Like Thathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04156108159461377932noreply@blogger.com2