'News' on the shelf - Instant is the buzz word!

Instant here is in reference to the savior food that comes in handy when one is feeling lazy, is short on time, is suffering from a cash crunch, or when one seemply wants the relish the taste of it. Yeah baby, this post is about about “instant noodles”.

There is the new addition to the most adored club of instant food which includes Nestle’s Maggi Noodles as the long reigning emperor. The other brands on the supermarket shelves are –
Nissin Foods’ Top Ramen - I have known them ever since I have known Maggi though I always preferred the former.
Capital Foods’ Chings Secrets - Too unflavoured for me. They have a Chinese twist.
CG Foods’ Wai Wai - You really have to cook them, they are so much more instant!! A Nepali friend introduced me to them some time in 2004.

The very recent additions include:
Knorr Soupy Noodles - They still more of soups I feel.
GSK’s Horlicks Foodles - Here I wonder why did they have to brand it as Horlicks Foodles. I like how they taste for change.

The brand new insurgent into the market is Sunfeast’s Yippie!! I was wondering what was taking ITC so long to come out with instant noodles when they have been here with their instant pastas! And voila, here they are.

I am trying these as you read this post. I am eager to learn about your experiences!

Stuff I've left behind

Tonight as I brushed my teeth in preparation of much needed slumber after a long and tiring day of work, I paused to look at the white brush, an Oral B Sensitive, wondering how soft its bristles felt against my gums. This single thought was enough to plunge me deep into memories of things left behind in the distant past.

I looked at my image in the mirror, turned back and asked my roommate if she had ever left behind stuff at people’s place she was visiting, and the answer was the much expected affirmative. I have been using the sensitive toothbrushes for quite some time now and tonight, something just reminded me that I have left so many of them behind at so many places. I believe toothbrushes happen to be easiest articles to be left behind when packing bags for chiefly two reasons, one, we always leave them lying in the bathroom, never timely recollecting to pick them up before leaving and second, they are so easily replaceable!

Now, there have been quite a few other things that I have left behind and they all hold with them such fond memories. Last month, when I was visiting Kat in Delhi, I left behind a much loved bra by Triumph and I remember that I almost threatened in order to persuade her to send it back to me as soon as possible (You need to experience it yourself to find how procrastinating some of my friends could be!). Yeah, it is one of my favourite comfort wears after all. And the other time, I left behind a pair of new hair-combs and an old towel which dearest Newt very promptly returned to me. The other common things I have left behind have included items like paperbacks some of which I had already finished reading, shawls, various articles of clothing, cellular phone chargers, cosmetics, tickets which I always had to rush back to collect, keys for which I have had to wait a couple of days at a friend’s place or easier broken a lock or two to get into my room, and the list goes on. One of the kinkiest things I have left behind was at Yal’s place, this time it was a pack of condoms over eighteen months old, almost close to the expiry date I guess, he called them antique condoms and joked he would never use them.

Besides all the material stuff mentioned above, there have been quite a few things a lot less material and a lot dearer that I have left behind. The childhood and innocence were left behind first, and it was losing these that have in a great manner made me the woman I am today. Yeah, I am a woman now, not a girl anymore! I have also left behind the bitter-sweet emotion of the first parting from home, the butterfly-in-pit-of-the-stomach feeling from first love, the pain from the first heartbreak, the sadness during some long lonely nights, the smile sprinkled days at the varsity, the frequent evening parties enthused with laughter! Also, as I leave behind these small symbols, I leave behind a legacy that keeps my existence firmly bonded to the Earth, memories that I share with so many, and may be one of these things that I leave behind will keep my memory alive long after I am gone. I am not one of those who desire oblivion, I prefer the limelight. I have got over so many events from the past, and time teaches me that it is the right way to be. Old clutter must be cleared away to make room for the new and I am more than in love with the new clutter in my life.

Dear Readers, do tell me what you have left behind!

Silence and the Words

On the drive back from work to the place where I am staying, my eyes flipped between the odometer on the dashboard of the car and the air conditioning vent gushing out cold air at 23degreeC. Occasionally I raised my eyes to stare blankly outside the windshield of the car, unmindful of the various sights and sounds cruising past me at 125kmph.This evening, I was not being my usual cheerful self. I was not planning to explore tonight the new city I find myself to be in. Tonight, I did not want to venture out into finding new ways of spending the rials I have in wallet.

I am still trying to figure out the thing that had turned me off or exactly when or how it came about. In fact, this is what was on my mind when I drove back from work. I had started playing a game with me; I was trying to describe how I feel tonight as succinctly as possible, and so succinctly that I tried not to make the description last longer than a word.

I thought I felt weird, which I chose to replace with unsatisfied, which was not a very good choice either. A string of words raced through my mind just like the beautiful views on Al Qurm Heights Road in the national capital city of Muscat, raced past outside the car.

And of course, more often than not, such thoughts strike mostly when the scales of emotions are tilted on the negative side. Alas, human nature! I have not yet learnt to encounter pensiveness in jubilation. I have found myself turning a little quiter over the past few month, a little more restrained, a little less voluble. I offer different explanations ranging from New Year resolutions to growing-up for this phenomenon to people around me.

All along, I have tried to live with the personal motto of "18 'til I die", but I guess 24 is soon catching up with me. I guess I need to replace this with "age with grace" now. So far, so good. Again, I guess the one word game for emotions stems out from this very same turn of events. I am being brief and I have now found the word which describes how I feel tonight.

I feel "incomplete"!

If you read this, please leave a comment behind. Tell me how you feel in one word. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sleepless in Song

It is long past the
Forsaken hour of midnight,
I lie against my pillows
As sleep eludes my eyes.
I read aloud thy verses and
The walls my voices mime.
I wait restless for thee
To share my solitude tonight.
Your footsteps sound against
The glacial stones outside
An ethereal being now stands
At my chamber doors open wide.
Is it sleep or intoxication
That obscures my sight?
I peer at thy unearthly presence
While against my will I fight.
My hands stretched out, long to
Hold thee in their own right,
But instead I am falling, falling back
Into a dreamy ravine.

What some people think I am...

It is Tuesday evening and I am still my Client's office for discussing a project we intend to do for them. Everything was wrapped up by the afternoon, however, it is the documentation that is taking so long. While I wait, I thought I should share something with my virtual world.

Here are the top five things that people tell/ask me regarding my nativity. Listing them in reverse of order of hilarity:

No. 5
"You look like a south Indian." That is what soooo many people have told me.

No. 4
"You are Christian, G, is it not?" I wonder how people come to that conclusion just from a person's appearance. Blah!

N0. 3
This was my masseuse asked me while she massaged my back. "You are a Goan, are you not?"

No. 2
"Are you Madrasi?" That is the question that my Professor always flicked at me in spite of reminding him several times that I belong to the same region as he.

Now for the gem of all and this one is also my favourite.

No. 1
"G, you are Sri Lankan." That is not even a question but an affirmative statement from the same gentleman who asked me if I was Madrasi.

Ohh good. Everything wrapped up. It is time to leave. This meeting is over for good.
Leaving for Chennai tomorrow.

A Letter for *****

This was originally supposed to be an email for a friend, but then I changed my mind because I didn't want to be so explicit to a man and so it finds its place here. I hope he would visit my page to read this.

Dearest *****,

Remember that some time back you asked me to be straightforward with you. I never thought I would have to put it so explicitly to any man, but there is this thing that I think I should tell you. It's about why women are the way they are. Why do they seem so be such an entangled mass of thoughts that a man could very easily lose himself in there. He is just lost in some women but then he also finds himself when he is lost in thoughts for that one woman. You will come across a number of women who will mesmerize you, flabbergast you, disgust you, love you, hate you, make you come across a zillions emotions you never knew you had the capacity to feel. That is the power we hold, though we are all females of the same species, we don't have much in common.

There are a number to things we do because it feels good, it feels right. Do not go around pushing a woman for reason about why she feels the way she feels unless it is physics or any other scientific subject. You will need to have a lot of patience with her. Let her take her time when she is arguing but never leave her in the middle of it.

When we feel strongly about someone, we hesitate to admit it, even to ourselves. We know that post admission it becomes difficult to move on especially when the feelings are not reciprocated. When we ask a question, there is no right answer or wrong answer but the answer that we want to hear and it will not be difficult figuring out what we want to hear. We love to hear someone speak what we think. So, may be once in a while you can let go off you staunch stance and take our side. Also, when we ask a question, we do not like having a no for an answer, unless that is what we are expecting, but then once we have it, we feel disappointed for a moment. Always avoid answering in ‘hmm’ too much. It makes us wonder if it is a yes or a no. Please save us the trouble.

It is also very easy to bring a cheer on our faces or make us feel truly happy. A genuine compliment, a smiling "Good Morning", a flower, a good movie or book, a lovely walk or a talk, a nicely brewed cup of coffee or ale, a refreshing breeze, the smell of wet earth, a good shop, fresh grocery, absolutely anything could make our day but the catch is, you'll need to mix and match, find what goes with who. That is where you will need to use the grey cells in your head.

We take a hell lot time when we have to get dressed for a special occasion, but you cannot blame us, we like being complimented and feeling good about ourselves. We have a penchant for sweet, romantic, emotional flicks, after all that is what we wanted to be seeing in one of you. We all love to shop and spend hours at it. When you find one your good friends downcast, take her shopping, she will be all fixed up in a jiffy. However, a word of caution, the whole thing could backfire if she does not find what she is looking for.

Some of us might remain as stagnant as a pond while some of us might be a gurgling stream, but then all of us share the same passion, the same nameless mysterious entity, that you call ‘complicated’ which makes each one of us who we are.

We have tricks that will outlast a lifetime. You will never get bored with us. Every day is new adventure, because, even after spending a lifetime with us, you will find yourself being surprised on more than just one occasion.

Though I have not more 24 years of experience in this field, but then there might a thing or two that I should know.

“Patience is virtue” was never truer than when you are with us.

Eventually, it is this virtue that will lead you to her who will make you experience what we truly stand for.

Love,
G

A Tale Waiting to Unfold

The song might be pretty relevant to the post below. It is another one of the songs in my life which weaves a tale of its own spanning ages and I mean this literally.

Thanks to Chantal Kreviazuk and John Denver for the song.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin', it's early morn
The taxi's waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

I'm ...

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I'll tell you now, they don't mean a thing

Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, oh, let me kiss you
And close your eyes and I'll be on my way

Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times that I won't have to say ...

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

And I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

But I'm leaving on a jet plane
(Ah ah ah ah)
Leaving on a jet plane
(Ah ah ah ah)