Cadbury no more?!

For me, Cadbury has always been a synonym for chocolate. Even today, I would not mind missing lunch for a bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk, especially fruit and nut (yummmmmmmmmmmy).

Why did I think of Cadbury now? Well, I heard that Kraft will take over Cadbury. I hope they retain the name and the quality 'coz chocolate world is incomplete without Cadbury. ;)

Shraddanjali to the three masters - 1- Vishnuvardhan

I know that I am late in offering my tribute to the three people whose work and personalities I have always adored.

I am watching a shraddanjali programme on Dr.Vishnuvardhan right now. Lot of people are speaking about their memories of him.

I have always adored and respected Vishnuvardhan and Rajkumar equally. I always felt that they had their unique skills and abilities and both were unmatched. Hence I always used to be baffled whenever people spoke about the "supposed to be rivalry" between them. But according to most of their common friends, both the stars were definitely far away from being enemies and in fact, maintained a cordial relationship.

I mst admit that I got to know about Vishnu more only after his death. I watched numerous interviews of his friends, read a lot of articles about him. Only then I got to know his fondness for spirituality, his close friendships with quite a few people, his efforts to help people in need and his insecrities. And then I wondered about why we always realise the importance of a person after his/her death. I wonder why we cannot pay the same respect when the person is alive!

It was a painful sight to see Ambarish shedding tears for his best friend. Only then lot of us realised the depth of their friendship. Forty years of friendship! Wow!

It was sad to learn that Vishnuvardhan had gone into depression in his last days. But it seems that he had plans for his future and definitely, it was not an age for him to die. But then, it looks like the creator had other plans for him.

When I think of Vishnuvardhan, I remember his "Saahasa Simha", "Jimmy Gallu", "Bandhana", "Muttina Haara", "Hombisilu" and "Aaptha Mitra" and so on. I remember his songs - "Tuttu Anna Tinnoke", "Maamaravello Kogile Ello", "Noorondu Nenapu", "Kannada naadina jeevanadi", "Mareyada nenapanu", "Neralanu kaanada latheyante" etc. I also thought that he was one of the best looking actors especially in 80s.

I also associated myself with Vishnuvardhan coz he resembled one of my uncles, both in looks and perosnalities.

May God give his family, especially his wife, lots of strength to bear his demise and to move on. May his soul rest in peace always.

Updates as on 14th December,2009

I was watching a program about Tiger Woods yesterday. Felt sorry about the fallen iconhood. But the fact that he is a golf genius does not change and I respect him for that.

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Tunga's school activities have been keeping me busy. I have been so engaged in them that I have forgot to make plans for myself.:) yet absolutely no regrets. After all, this is why I turned into a full time mom.:)

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Discovered a library near by. Yippeeeeeeee! will be able to resume my reading habit soon.:)

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Bro will be leaving to states soon. Definitely gonna miss him but I know that he will find his happiness in the fulfilment of his dreams. Gud luck to him.

Tweet! Tweet!

It has been a month since I was introduced to the twitter world. It has been an interesting journey so far except that I really don't have anything interesting to tweet everyday. But I have been following lot of celebrity twitters and that has been interesting so far, especially Chetan Bhagat's tweets.

This thing called twitter is definitely a powerful tool if used in the right way. Somewhere I feel it is more effective than a blog. Why do I say so? Not many of them would have the patience to sit and read the whole post in a blog but a well thought short tweet can capture lots of attention ( ask Shashi Tharoor!) Who knows, tomorrow the tweets may become the basic code of communication!

But for me,I still need to tweet more and for that I need to make my life interesting. Oops! my daughter almost jumped on the laptop and now she is busy jumping on me( ah! the life of a toddler's mom) and here I was thinking of becoming a famous intellectual twitter!!!!May be I can kick off a new application for all moms and what shall I call it???? Did you say toddler???

When my friend gifted me "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, I was not very sure if I would read that book. It looked like very serious stuff and did not interest me enough to actually open the book. After some days, I was looking around for a new book to read and found this orphaned on my book shelf. I finally decided to give a try and started reading it. And trust me, I just could not keep it down until I finished it. It was a very different story. I had not read anything like it before. Anyway, I would wanna talk about it in a different post altogether.

A couple of weeks back, I had heard that Khaled Hosseini's new book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" had arrived.

Nodi Swamy Naavirode Heege

I remember watching him in "Nodi Swami Naaveerode Heege" and I liked him so much, especially in the title song. Even today I can sit and watch that song again and again. There was something special about him. He did not belong to the intense actors' calibre like his elder brother yet he captured the masses so well that he is remembered the most by the common man. Most of you must have guessed his name already. yep, I am talking about THE "Shankar Nag".

I have been a movie freak since my early childhood. So I was and am very knowledgable when it comes to movies.;) Anyways, I was in higher primary school when I heard of his accidental death. I felt so bad that I almost cried. That incident lingered in mind for a long time. I would watch all his movies on TV with more interest. At that age, I could just relate myself with his acting. But as I grew up, I started appreciating his directorial ventures too, especially Malgudi Days. I think that was one of his ambitious projects and I must say that he really brought R.K.Narayan's characters into life once again.

Why did think of him once again? The photo of Arundati Nag and Manjunath inaugarating the stamp of R.K.Narayan pushed me onto the memory lane. Both of them have been associated closely with Shankar Nag.

Arundhati Nag and Shankar Nag were one of the ideal couples of the industry. Both of them had the background of theatre and they probably had similar ambitions. It was a pleasure to watch them together. I have always admired Arundhati Nag for her courage and determination. This I saw when she went ahead in spite of difficulties and built "Ranga Shankara". Her efforts have paid off very well as Ranga Shankara is almost a synonym for theatre in Bangalore now a days.Kudos to the brave lady.

Manjunath, better known as Master Manjunath or Swamy from Malgudi Days, was an integral part of Shankar Nag's movies. They brought so much life to the movie whenever they starred together and they almost looked like a real father son duo. After Shankar Nag's demise, I don't think Manjunath regained the glory.

Shankar Nag has always been missed by the masses. Even today, once can see his photos on most of the autorickshaws in Bangalore. Even today, when the name of Sangliana is mentioned, the face of Shankar Nag appears first as he played the reel life hero onscreen. The songs from his movies, especially the ones from "Geetha" are played again and again in the request sections. Well, that is the greatness of art, isn't it? It defies the law of mortality very easily.

Yummmmmy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now a days, there is one thing that I really enjoy doing. And that is - watching my daughter, Tunga, eat an ice cream.:) It has been almost one year now since she discovered ice cream. Every time we go to a restaurant, she looks forward to eating it. And probably it is the only thing that she expects to eat outside.

As we enter the restaurant, she gets restless and keeps uttering "ice ceam" in her own accent. And then as the ice cream arrives, she is ready with the spoon and the bib around her. With immense concentration, she starts gulping down the ice cream. She does not respond to any of our queries as she is busy getting the spoonfuls of that delicious ice cream.

It is interesting to note that she rarely spills any of that ice cream. I feel very surprised abt that coz she is a budding eater yet.( ;) ) Usually whenever she eats anything by herself, it is such a big mess. But, in case of ice cream, it is just the opposite. I think she eats it beautifully without spilling a drop.:) Her nose and lips are smeared with ice cream and then she utters one word inaudibly " YUMMMMYYYYYYY". :) And that makes my day.:)



And by the way, if you are feeling very depressed and if there is no child at your place, just go to an ice cream parlour and watch a child relish it. It is such an YUMMY sight and if possible why don't you try to do the same?:)

To al those nameless faces

Do you remember all your classmates and friends from your primary school, high school, college days? Do you have remember all your ex-colleagues? Do you remember your neighbours who lived in your old neighbourhoods? Do you remember those people whom we came across in our journey of life all this time? And even if you do remember all of them, do you recollect all their names?

There have been many people who might not have occupied specific spaces in our lives. They might be the ones whose faces you recollect but not their names. Yet, they leave long lasting impressions on your minds somewhere.

This has happened with me many a times. I remember many faces whose small kind gestures, infectious smiles, hilarious acts, exceptional talents and unique characters have lasted in my mind forever. My java class mates, my neighbours in Tumkur, the auto grandpa, my school aayah, the nurses in the hospital, the not-so-naughty classmate- I try hard to recall all their names in vain. But yes, I do remember the faces very well. I am sure my life's journey would not be the same without those faces. I have wondered some times if I should have stayed in contact with many of them. But then, probably they were destined to be short-term visitors in my life.

If I happened to meet them in future sometime, then I am sure I would be elated. But I am not sure if all of them would remember me. Anyways, as mentioned before I am glad that they were all part of my life. I have definitely learnt something or the other from them. And I have always wanted to dedicate a post to all those faces with no names and thank them. This is it.:)

You have mail

I open my mail box eagerly to see if I have any new mail. Yep, there are many new mails in my inbox. I am ecstatic but all my exhilaration comes down when I see that those new mails are either ads or from mailing lists. Well, my inbox was not like this before. One would see plenty of mails from the huge network of friends of mine in my inbox, even though most of them were forwarded mails.:) and in turn, I would enjoy forwarding them to others.

So I sit to analyse the situation. Of course, the main change that has come about now is that I am a full-time stay-at-home mom and my whole day is centred around my kid. Obviously , I have not kept in touch with lot of my pals. And even if I am in touch with them, it is mainly through phone calls. Well, there goes my analysis. Hmmm, so I need to get in touch with all my pals and request them to flood my inbox with their mails ( ok, atleast forwards). So here I go, to begin working for the "YOU HAVE MAIL" message.:)

Today I had been to a grocery shop with my daughter. Of course, the terror of "H1N1" has been spreading at a rapid pace. So I have been receiving lot of advice about trying to avoid all possible public places. But somehow, I feel very guilty if I do not take Tunga on her regular trips to her favorite park. So no matter what, we usually make our evening trip to the park.

Sorry for that diversion in the topic. So both of us had been to a grocery store near the park. Because of "H1N1", now a days it is not unusual to see people in masks. I noticed a couple of kids in masks in the store. From their tone, I recognized them to be a bro and a sis duo. They had their masks on and they also wore gloves. And then, I saw their mother. The sight somewhat shocked me. The "mother" did not seem to be from a well off family. Her blouse was torn and she had draped a saree with half-faded design. Her hands were not the cleanest and her hair was ruffled. She kept checking on her kids' masks and ensured now and then that they had them on correctly. She did not have a mask or a pair of gloves herself.

No, I donno if those masks and gloves were given to those kids by the school or if she spent her savings on them. But I found the whole scenario very touching.

There were two points in that whole situation that got my attention.

- When it comes to selflessness, no one can reach the zenith of a "mother".

- The panic and the terror "H1N1" has been creating everywhere. Lot of credit for this should go to our news channels. Thank God, these channels were not there when plague was around. Else the whole of the population would have fallen sick not because of plague itself but by panic. I really wish our journalists, especially TV journalists would focus on the number of people who are getting cured and going home safe.

Come, let us go to school:)

The tiny tot slept peacefully on my hands. She fitted in there perfectly. And at that moment, I thought that time had stood still. But obviously that did not happen. Today it was her first day at play school.:)

My tiny tot turned two a couple of months ago. At that time, I managed to read an ad about a play group. When I inquired about it, I found out that it was actually a playschool and that the kids were supposed to be in the school for two and a half hours. Somehow we could not convince ourselves that Tunga was ready for it. So we decided to postpone her school life.

But as days passed, I observed her wanting to meet kids of her age. I also observed that she grew restless especially during mornings. The fact was that she was ready for the school but we parents weren't ready yet.:)

So after a lot of thinking and talking, we finally decided to put her into a playschool. And guess what? She refused to come back home on the first day of the school. :) All of us expected her to cry on leaving her in the school. Instead she waved "tata" happily while I put on a sad face.:)

It has been a week now and she has been enjoying her school life thoroughly. Glad that we took the right decision at the right time.:)

Book Time -2

Well, I have finished reading "Paths of glory" by Jeffrey Archer. I found it interesting even though it may not be called a typical Jeffrey Archer's book. But the insight to the life of a mountaineer definitely forms a good plot and keeps you hooked to the book. I think you will like it more if mountaineering interests you.

I have started reading "Every Second Counts" by Lance Armstrong. This man never ceases to inspire me. As I am reading through the book, his life seems extraordinary. Of course, I brought this book mainly because i had like his first book "Its not about my bike" a lot. I think the sequel to it is also worth reading. I have to acknowledge that his books and of course his life transmits lot of positive energy.

It is book time now!

Every now and then , as life becomes very routine-like, I start craving for new books, new hobbies and new songs. Since a long time, I had been reading the reviews of "Paths of Glory" by Jeffrey Archer. I have always been a great fan of his books. So I wanted to get my hands on his latest book.

Finally, yesterday I got an opportunity to buy it. And while I was there, two more books caught my attention - " The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga and "Every Second Counts" by Lance Armstrong. I could not resist myself from buying them.

Now that I have all these interesting books in front of me, it is hard to do anything else. So catch you all soon after I finish atleast one of them.:)

A farewell to the king

Honestly, I was actually looking forward to the world tour that Michael Jackson was about to begin. So today's news that MJ is no more, came as a shock.



I have always been a fan of MJ's talent. As a person, I always thought that he was a very insecure, eccentric and weird. But as an artist, I think he was the greatest performer ever. His music and dance never ceased to amaze me. His music was very lively and foot tapping. Even though he was known for his fast numbers, I always liked his slow ones more. His " You are not alone", "Dangerous", "Thriller", "Beat it" and so many other hits of his are evergreen numbers and I am sure our future generations too will enjoy his performance.



Of course, his dance has been a great inspiration to lot of artists- be it the performing singers and dancers. The concept of stage performance by singers probably was initiated by MJ. He nurtured his talent amidst all the controversies. Donno how many of them were true and how many were actually created to make him famous.



Whatever it is, MJ was a and is always the king of pop. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest artists that the world ever saw.

Whom does your baby look like?

For all you to-be mums, I wanted to share something with you.

There is gonna be one important debate once your baby is born. No, no, it will not be about the name. I am sure you or your hubby or both of you would have decided about it. The main topic for the debate will be " Whom does your baby look like?". :)

The discussion on this never-ending topic is gonna start from the day one. Even before the baby gets accustomed to the outside light, the guessing and the assessing game begins. Some will say - "She looks like her father (or mother which depends)". Some will say -"She looks like her father only ( or mother only- again that depends)." And after every such assessment, they will look at you- no, no, not for approval but for your reaction. Nah, nah, never join them in this debate. You are better off as audience in this debate. So just nod your head and smile.:)

Believe it or not, I never knew that this issue could actually be debated upon. Even today I do not know whom do I exactly look like. Some say I look like my dad and some say I look like my mom. I think I have both their features in me. And I really don't care about it.:)

Anyways, after listening to all the debate around me, I look at my daughter and silently wish for her to have all the positive points from all of us. I wish for her to be just like herself- just her.:))

Where are they?

Do u remember the refreshing songs of "Tere Mere Sapne" or the chart busters of "Gupt"? Of course, can u ever forget the famous number "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast"? For your information, all these hit songs were given by the talented music director - Viju Shah. After all those hits, one would think that he is a very busy man. But I have not heard his music at all in the recent times. Where has he disappeared?

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He is good at music direction as well as singing. His music in films like " Kaante", "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai", "Masti", "Pardesi Babu" nad the recent " Dus Kahaniyan" rocked the charts for some time. His rendition of "Dil De Diya Hai" from "Masti" is a treat to music lovers. Being such talented musician, I don't think he has been given due credit for the talent he has. Definitely I would like to hear more of him.

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The creators of "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Vansh", " Hero No.1", "Beta" and "Dil" - Anand Milind- are nowhere to be seen.

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The one film wonder guys- Sanjeev Darshan - who gave music to "Mann" do not appear even on Page 3.

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The creator of the soul touching music in "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and "Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya" and of course "Devdas" - Ismail Darbar- seems to be busy in judging music competitions now a days. Is he also planning to take up acting like his buddy "Himmesh Reshammiya"? I really wish Himmesh would get back to directing music because that is what he knows the best.

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For some, fame is so short lived. The above music directors are so talented and creative but their popularity periods have been so small or broken. Rahman definitely needs more competition, especially after the Oscar ( I am a big Rahman fan too). So come on, guys, blow off that dust and tune yourselves so that we music lovers get to enjoy a wide variety of music.:)

Notes from home

Finally we are back to "Namma Bengaluru". Ah, home, sweet home! Nothing can beat that feeling of coming home.:)

I have been very busy since I came here. Lot of "to-do" things on my list. Donno if I can complete all the tasks on my list. On the blog front, I still have to write a post on our stay at Sydney.

Sometimes, the commitments made to ourselves are tougher than those made to others. Sometimes, it is difficult to live upto one's own expectations. Hmmm, lot of work to be done. But, this time I will not disappear from the blogging world coz I have made a commitment to blog as frequently as possible.:) Let us wait and see.

Wise words

There are times in our lives when too many voices seem to be pulling us this way and that. Our very confusion in such situations is a reminder to seek silence and centering within. Only then are we able to hear our truth.



Zen, or meditation, is the method which will help you to go through the chaos, through the dark night of the soul, balanced, disciplined, alert. The dawn is not far away, but before you can reach the dawn, the dark night has to be passed through. And as the dawn comes closer, the night will become darker.

- OSHO

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Many times I have been in the jaws of death, starving, footsore, and weary; for days and days I had no food, and often could walk no further; I would sink down under a tree, and life would seem to be ebbing away. I could not speak, I could scarcely think, but at last the mind reverted to the idea: "I have no fear nor death; never was I born, never did I die; I never hunger or thirst. I am It! I am It! The whole of nature cannot crush me; it is my servant. Assert thy strength, thou Lord of lords and God of gods! Regain thy lost empire! Arise and walk and stop not!" And I would rise up, reinvigorated; and here I am today, living! Thus, whenever darkness comes, assert the reality and everything adverse must vanish. For after all, it is but a dream. Mountain-high though the difficulties appear, terrible and gloomy though all things seem, they are but Maya. Fear not, and it is banished. Crush it, and it vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it dies.

- SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

My Stay in Australia - Melbourne

A month ago, we shifted from Melbourne to Sydney. And next week, we are going back home i.e. Namma Bengaluru.:)

The experience of visiting this country has been awesome. I might not have been able to put all of that in writing yet, but at least I wanna draw an outline of the cities where we stayed.

So lemme start with Melbourne.

When we came to Melbourne from India, I was both excited and nervous. This would be my first stay abroad. Before this, I had been to San Francisco for about three weeks. So I felt like a novice when we landed at Melbourne. I had travelled with my 1year old daughter and that travel itself had taught me a lot.

We found a small, furnished apartment at South Yarra. Furnished because we did not intend to stay here permanently. But then if you want a furnished apartment, you will have to shell out more for the rent. So with that high rent, we could afford a small place.

Initially, I had to keep my eyes and ears open all the time. I felt so raw and inexperienced. I felt as if I was almost in the same stage as my daughter in learning new things.:) I struggled to open the lock of the main door, struggled with the cooking on electric stove, and so on. But as days progressed, I got very comfortable with everything around me. Just to familiarize myself with the area and the people, I would put Tunga on the pram and roam alone. I would go to different streets everyday and window shop. I became
so familiar with my surroundings that I was actually able to give directions to others on how to go about in that area.:)

My daughter and myself made friends with the park and library respectively. Everyday we would visit them atleast once. I think I made the best use of the library. I borrowed lot of books and DVDs of english movies. I watched one English movie daily and I must honestly admit that I had never seen so many of them in India.:) My daughter, Tunga, learned to slide and swing in the park. It was here that her personality was initiated. It was here that she made her first friend.:) There used to be a possum that visited our compound after dark very night. Since we don't get to see it in India, we found it very fascinating. My daughter especially used to wait eagerly for the possum's visit.:)

Every weekend, we would set out to explore a new place ( besides visiting Safeway, Coles and Indian stores:)). We must say that we covered a lot of places because of our weekend explorations.

Hmm, lemme try to put some of the places that we explored in a list. It might help you if you are visiting Melbourne some time.

- Philip Island
- Melbourne Aquarium
- Werribee Open Range Zoo
- Bucchan Caves
- Mornington Peninsula
- Arthur Seat
- Cardinia Reservoir
- Great Ocean Road
- Ballarat
- Dandenong Ranges
- Melbourne CBD
- Chapell Street
- St.Kilda Beach
- Brighton Beach

Of course, except the aquarium, the rest of them are in the surrounding areas of Melbourne. It definitely helps if you have your own vehicle. We enjoyed a lot visiting all those places. Definitely, Australia is a beautiful country and there is no doubt about that.:)

After seven months of our stay at Melbourne, we had to shift to Sydney. We had made very good friends at Melbourne. So that included and our attachment to the place where we stayed and the library and the park, our hearts were a bit heavy when we left Melbourne. But then, we were happy and grateful for the opportunity given for being able to stay in such a beautiful place for some time.

Where do I get inspiration from?

I just wanted to try listing out some things that inspire me always:



* Great comebacks: They never cease to inspire me. Kumar Gandharva, Lance Armstrong
or all those sportstars who come back and win the game - these are just a
few names. There are lots of them out there who have emerged as
winners in spite of huge setbacks in life. They are may real life heroes.


*Great piece of music: Any calibre of music (be it western, classical, filmi or pop)
that appeals to me is always a great source of inspiration. That can vary from
Bhimsen Joshi's Lalit Bhatiyaar to R.Kelly's I BELIEVE I CAN FLY to
Kal Ho Na Ho title song to Shaan's BHOOL JA to Anup Jalota's
AISI LAAGI LAGAN.:) Sometimes the lyrics and the other times,
the tunes continue to brighten up my life.

*Books: Autobiographies or biographies, some self help books and spiritual books have
inspired me many a times. When I mean self help books, they are not all of them
that are available in the market. For me, authors like Norman Vincent Peale,
Robert Schuller, gurus from Ramakrishna Ashram, Osho, Robin Sharma have been
effective. And of course, any book of Swami Vivekananda is an energy booster for me.

*Movies: Well, not all of them:) But there have been some movies that have inspired me so much. To name a few - Life is Beautiful, Jerry Maguire, The Legend of Bhagat Singh,Taare Zameen Par, Sarfarosh, Bangarada Manushya and so on.


*Physically or mentally challenged people: Man, they rock! What determination and
enthusiasm these people have! I am amazed!
Hats off to them!


*Our jawans: They spend their precious moments protecting their country. They sacrifice their lives so selflessly for those people whom they do not even know. Their bravery never ceases to inspire me. Salute to all those bravehearts.:)

*Our National Anthem: I feel so awakened and alive whenever it is played. A dash of patriotism rushes through my veins wherever I hear it. Stupendous feeling!

*A prayer: Sitting in front of an idol/photo of my favorite deity and reciting a shloka inspires and encourages me on all bad days especially.:)

*A cup of tea: Ah! the joy of sipping hot cup of tea! I feel so refreshed and active with my cup of tea and I just can't do without it.:)

*My near and dear ones who always continue to inspire me with their day-to-day activities and of course, their selfless love for me.:)

*Nature: Of course, the nature around me is one of the greatest sources of inspiration to me. It brings in lot of energy into my life.

That might not be all but I think I have listed the main ones. Hmm...that helps.:)