jobless mind at work...

PS: Only people who have experienced the struggle of taking out a second ear ring from the pile, know how useful this idea can be :-D

PPS: Courtesy: Hero's Ferrari model Car dabba :-D

lead kindly light....

Happy Deepavali to Everyone :-)
PS: I made this Card :D

Dont dig your Grave with your own Knife and Fork!

GM Diet for 7 days...
Pros: Detoxification, Cleansing and weight Loss
Cons: a little tiredness initially, taste buds will go dead and if you have horrible friends who order pizza and garlic bread and eat in front of you, then you are a goner!
After hearing a lot about this GM diet, both Hero and I thought we'll give a try and we started this last monday.
Day One was supposed to be only fruits. I had fruit chat made out of Apples, Grapes, Oranges for breakfast. For lunch, I just had one apple and thought will have soup around 4. But I got lazy and skipped that and went out for groceries, and by the time I came back home, I was dead tired. One of the main reasons could be because I had had very less water the whole day. The diet strictly prescribes 10-12 glasses of water and I think I had just 3-4 glasses of it. For dinner, I prepared something called as WonderSoup. Whoever named it that, I'm sure they thought combining vegetables like cabbage, onion, tomato and capsicum to form a soup and drinking that is the biggest wonder. It was pathetic, I threw up! and was totally tired by the end of day. But I realized it was mainly because of not following the rule book.
Day two was only vegetables. This day I drank water time to time and had veggies in small quantities in small intervals of time. Started the day with mashed potato with salt, garam masala, chilli powder etc and cucumber chat at 11, beans sabzi for lunch, tomato chat for tea time and dinner was mixed vegetable sabzi.
Day three was fruits and vegetables. Fruits for breakfast, cucumber chat at 11, fruits for lunch, Tomato at tea time and vegetable sabzi for dinner.
Day Four was the best! we had to eat only 8 bananas and 3 glasses of milk whole day. I was wondering if it was really enough, but then you'll be surprised to know, you'll not be able to eat all 8 bananas in a day and yet you'll be full of energy.
Day Five was one bowl of rice and 8 tomatos. I made Lemon Rice with Tomato chutney for breakfast, Tomato bath for lunch and Tomato soup for dinner. And actually even though I did not eat as much as I usually do, after 4 days of fruits and vegetables, I was feeling very heavy with just half a cup of rice.
Day Six was a bowl of rice and vegetables whole day. It was lazy Saturday, so we had brunch of Veg biryani at around 11, lemon rice around 4 and some fruits around 8. We had gone for a party and we sat with 10 sadist friends around us having pizza and garlic bread from Papajohns :( boooh!
Day Seven was supposed to be a bowl of rice with vegetables and fruit juice. Morning we started with Vegetable bath and we went out and checked our weight... I had lost 3kgs and he had lost 3.5kgs :D So, to celebrate, I had apply pie and cappuccino and bid adieu to my GM Diet :D
More than the weight loss, I feel its a very good cleansing mechanism and I now feel very light and fresh. I also learnt I could make so many dishes with very less (half a spoon) or no oil at all. I think this is the first time in my entire life, I completed a diet successfully!
Yayyyy! :D

Rheumatoid Arthritis - my experience :)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks all the joints. About 1% of the world's population is afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis, women three times more often than men.

Last year, I was carefully handpicked into this 1% of the world's population! When I travelled to Minneapolis, US in the winter, I was all excited about my first snow fall, making a snowman, seeing the white world and taking all the snow rides. But less did I know that my life was going to change for a while (or may be forever :-/). Though my stay was all that I had dreamt of, I went back to India with a gift: Joints pain! It started with the wrist and the fingers. I thought it could be RSI because of laptop usage, took medicines, physiotherapy, but it didnt work. Changed couple of doctors, and took lot of tests at the end to realize it was RA.

When I was first diagonized, I did not take the illness (just like anything else in life) very seriously, Fine, I have a problem, I need to take medicines, I'll be alright, was my thought. My orthopaedic doctor reffered me to a Rheumatologist, Dr. Satish Kalanje in Bangalore Hospital. When I first met this doctor, he explained me what the problem looks like and the only solution to it being DMARD (Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drug) which comes along with lot of side effects. But a lot of times, the disease vanishes itself within 6months, so, they will not start DMARD until the disease establishes itself. So, he put me on painkillers and asked me to go back after 3 months. The only thing I had asked him was, Can I go to my Dance Class or not, he had smiled and said, wait for sometime. (heh, I still dont know how long that sometime is!)

I was told that among lot of other side effects, while taking a particular DMARD, I was not suppose to conceive. Though I was just 8 months away from my marriage and forming a family was nowhere in to the radar, the thought of the drug having any relation to pregnancy scared me. At the same time there were a lot of people whose uncles, aunties, cousins, grannys having arthritis, who condemned the idea of taking alopathy and asked me to take Ayurvedic. So, my next step was Ayurvedic Medicine. By now, my joints pain was extended to all 3 joints in each finger, wrist, knee and back and I started living on 2 painkillers a day. the problem is very werid, if you are sitting at one position or lying down without moving, there is absolutely no problem, but the moment you move a bit, it pains.

I meet a doctor, who as all other Ayurvedic doctors, HATED English medicine. He explained, this problem is because of the cold climate and the fluid which acts as a greese between the joints gets hard during cold and that is why it opposes movement of the joints. He asked me to stop the pain killers and start with his black color golis. The pain I was having was unbearable! along with this, someone suggested start taking Neurotherapy Massage. Though while getting it done, it was giving me some relief, nothing much changed through out the day.

I had started limping, everyone in office had started noticing me and asking if I was alright. I lost 6 kgs of weight in 3 months, I used to love just lying down in the bed like a dead body, at night during sleep, I used to wakeup each time I was changing the posture, because it used to pain. When I wake up, if it is early morning, I did Pranayama and then sleep again. By now, the disease had spread itself to all possible joints in my body, including the joints at the jaw. Because of that, I was not able to chew anything hard.

My grand mother who is 87 years old, used to bend and touch her hand to the ground and tell me, you also do this, its not very difficult, I could just smile and say I cant :). I remember going to a Kamath Restuarant along with my dear friend Rao and eating set dosa. Aunty later told me, she had gone home and cried in front of her seeing me struggle to chew the dosa. I remember one day shouting at my mother for adding lot of urid dal and channa dal in upma because I couldnt chew. I sometimes wonder how I managed the dance program in office, Goa trip and Dandiya during last Navratri when I had so much pain. One thing that stands out of my memory is having panipuri with my cab gang in office Cafetaria and not able to open my mouth fully for even the smallest puri :(. I'd gone to the ladies room and cried that day :(. February was my wedding and it was November when I was still limping, not able to sit on the floor, not able to climb the stairs etc.

That was when it dawned on me, that I should get back to allopathy. thats when I realized, let me be relieved of the pain, I shall battle the side effects, and let ME survive first, and then, I can think about problems related to conceiving :). So, I went back to Dr Satish Kalanje again. Got nice scoldings from him for ignoring the disease. Last 6 months of not taking any medicines for the disease had taken its toll. The ESR count which is supposed to be 0-20 for a normal person and was 35 for me in the beginning, had gone upto 100 when I went to him. I started with Methotrexate (DMARD) in December and slowly I started recovering. By the time of my wedding, though I wasn't able to sit on the floor, I could dance happily on the DJ nite, previous day of wedding ;). I did not know being normal was so exciting :)

I dont know if i'll ever be able to go for trekking, or join back my dance class, the disease might actually come back in the winter, especially now when i'm in a colder country. But you know, I have seen the worse, so, I should be able to manage even if it gets a little bad :). Besides Parents, I owe a lot to Aunty, Rao, Nichu, Joyee, Manju and Hero for all that they are :) Thanks for being the pillars of my strength! Only those who saw me during those days, knew how I was. I feel happy when I look back, I didn't do that bad after all :)

PS: I have not exaggerated or made RA look bigger than it is. This is what is my experience has been and may be if someone is diagonized and starts the medication immediately, they will not have to go through all I did :)

Paris Pranaya...

Paris, the City of Love, the City of Lights... and after my visit, I have no doubt why they call it that :). The city has so much to offer and if you are planning to explore the whole of Paris in one small trip, forget it, its not gonna happen. We went for a 4 days trip and could just get a small glimpse of the City.
We started on Thursday evening and took Eurostar from London to Paris. It was a pleasant 2 hr 20 min journey. The speciality of the train is it goes through English Channel Tunnel for 20 minutes or so. We stayed at a Hotel Called Louvre Forum at Rue du Buloi [pronouced as ruju-bulva]. The area was very close to Louvre Museum and its a pretty decent place to hang out. The rooms were pretty small, but we were fine with it, since our main agenda was mainly roaming around.

On Friday, we started with Musee Du Lourve. It was initially built as a Palace which later was turned into a Museum. If you do not plan what you intend to see in the museum, you'll definetely get lost! We spent around 4 hours, and could see only the much talked about paintings of Leonardo da vinci.

A small trivia: It took around 700 years to construct this historic monument :O. So, Hero & I were joking aroud it like this: if you go ask anyone in Paris what their father was doing, answer would be constructing Louvre, what about grand father, ditto, what about their grandfather, ditto would be the answer :) he he

Inside the Museum...

Some beautiful Paintings...

[The Museum entry fee was 8 Euros and audio guide was for 6 Euros. I'd recommend the audio guide, without which you'll not explore anything as all the boards and descriptions of paintings are in French :]

As you come out of the Louvre, you find a huge garden known as Tuileries Garden which was built in the memory of Tuileries Palace which was burnt in 19th Century.

The other end of the garden is Place de la Concorde. During french revolution, a guillotin was erected here and this place has witnessed many notable criminals being executed.As we moved ahead, we entered a retail heaven called Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Its known in France as the most beautiful avenue in the world. The whole street is covered with Chestnut trees on both the sides and all the big brands of clothing, bags and shoes, which makes it look very beautiful :D :D. Whoever said money cant buy happiness... sigh!

The other end of Champs Elysees is Arc de Triumph, to honor the soldiers who fought for France. We can take tickets for the elevator and go up for a better view of the city, but since there was a long queue, we did not climb up. Underneath there is a tomb of an unknown soldier from world war I. There is also an eternal flame lit in the memory of the dead who were never identified in the World wars.

Day two was at fantasy world, The Disney land. Since both of us were very keen on taking all the rides, we took fast passes and could go to only 4 rides. [Pirates of Carribean , Rock n roller coaster avec Aerosmith, Big Thunder Mountain and Finding Nemo]. We also loved a theatre show called cinemagique which was a combination of live performance synchronized to different movie scenes stiched together. Its a good watch if you want to take a break from the rides and relax. Again, one day is just not enough for this magic land! Day three: We started with Sacre Du coeur [a Roman Catholic basilica dedicated to sacred heart of Jesus]. Its a very beautiful church atop a hill (Montmarte). The architecutre will leave you stunned, but one thing I did not like was there is neither information written in English, nor do they give audio guides. So, we just ended up seeing a beautiful building without knowing anything about it.

Around this temple is artist street where you find so many people writing caricatures. The area around this Church is very nice to look around.

After that, we took a train and headed towards Notre Dame de Paris [meaning, Our lady of Paris]. It is a stunning gothic architecture marvel! They took around 3 centuries to Construct this Church. It was finally completed in 1320. We took audio guides and it proved really informative. There is a small Museum inside which has a nail and a small peice of the Cross which was used to crucifixion of Jesus. Also, this church holds the official chair of Archbishop of Paris.

Inside of Notre Dame Church, is filled with Colorful Stained glass windows. remember Knowledge tree?

We had lunch at an Indian Restaurant (after enough craving) and then headed towards Pantheon. This was originally constructed as a church, but later was made into a Burial Place. inside the pantheon...
Day Four was the last day of our trip, so we wanted to take it slow. We checked out from our room and kept the luggage at the front desk since our flight was in the evening. Our last day was completely dedicated to The Eiffel Tower. It was constructed by Gustav Eiffel in 1889 for the 100th year celebration of French Revolution.

The tower has three levels; we took tickets for the 3rd level and descended down to the other 2 levels. The whole city can be seen from the top of the tower. And one more must-do thing in Paris is taking the Siene river cruise. We went on the 3rd day and had a glimpse of the City of Lights. We couldnt capture much of it in our Camera, but look at the Iron Lady in all her glory. Every 15 minutes the lighting changes and its a treat to watch :)

As all good things come to an end, so did our trip and we headed back home.

One word to describe Paris is Beautiful! (No wonder, i've used that word so many times in this post :D)

Paris Pranaya..... for sure you'll fall in love with it :)

new people, new place and a new phase...

Its different...
the gang I freak out with, the people I walk around, the food I eat outside, my routine, my life! no deadlines, no work pressure, no emi worries, no traffic, no credit card tension, and far from my dear ones :(. everything has changed.. suddenly!
for long i've been wanting a normal life. I was really really tired of everything, I was badly waiting for a simple life. and now I have it!
Its been close to 2 months I've relocated to London along with Hero, and so far, so good!

PS: Had to struggle a lot to get the internet working in the new house, thats why the delay in posting. Hopefully will be regular from now :)
PPS: and the foodie in me made me start a new food blog under: http://ellarumaduvuduhottegagi.wordpress.com/ [as though being irregular in one blog wasnt sufficient :P]

In one of the episodes of my latest televison obsession, SATC, Carrie says...
“Later that day I got to thinking about relationships.
There are those that open you up to something new and exotic,
those that are old and familiar,
those that bring up lots of questions,
those that bring you somewhere unexpected,
those that bring you far from where you started,
and those that bring you back.
But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you, you love, well, that's just fabulous.”
It is so true isn't it?

I guess we all love ourselves above everyone else. We are friend, daughter, sister, wife, daughter in law, sister in law, mother, at different points of time... they are the different roles we play! but, at the end of the day, we are, what we are! we might fake/act/try to please anyone in any of our roles, but we can not fake to ourselves.

And, in any of our relationships/roles, it is very important for us to like being the we, we are! in case we dont like it, that should definitely be treated as a wake up call!

:D :-) :-( :-| :-/ :-) :-(

got my 'dependent' visa today...
I dont know if I should be happy or sad...

and they say life doesn't change...

it so does!!!
Nish forwarded me... thought of sharing it... I think most of us can relate to it... sigh!

Here is a girl, who is probably as educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have,
because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements.

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters,
almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name.

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen.

One, who is expected to make tea, first thing in the morning and cook food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, may be more, and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother, a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important, relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it....

F.R.I.E.N.D.S....!

You have somebody standing by you to lend their shoulder when you feel like crying, to give a bear hug when you badly need one, an assuring smile saying everything is going to be okaaay, or share a silent tear of happiness seeing you happy, I think that is when you should realize, God has sent you a special gift in the form of a FRIEND.

I'm glad I have a few special gems who've proved me time and again that they are there for me, no matter how crappy or happy I am :)
Thanks for being such a pillar of strength to me... I value you more than words can ever say... muahh!

I'd like to dedicate the title track of F.R.I.E.N.D.S to my F.R.I.E.N.D.S... :-)

So no one told you life was going to be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, you're love life's DOA.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

You're still in bed at ten, the work began at eight.
You've burned your breakfast, so far, things are going great.
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these,
But she didn't tell you when the world has brought you down to your knees.

That, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me.
Seems like you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me.
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with,
Someone I'll always laugh with, even at my worst, I'm best with you.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.

But, I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.
I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.
tan tadadaaaaaaaaaaaaan tandadan daaaaaaaaaaan ooooooooooooooooo :-)

Deadlock!

Have you ever driven a vehicle in Bangalore Traffic?
Your vehicle is stuck in the middle of the road; from right side you have a van, from left side there is a Car honking impatiently, in between you have 2 wheelers who want to creep in and move ahead and then the people want to just run across the road before the traffic melts... the noise, the pollution, the heat, arghhh, sometimes we even forget where we are going…

Don't you think its just like Life? Sometimes, you just dont get what is happening around you... a plain deadlock! you cant think of doing anything than to just wait for all the vehicles to clear the path.... uff!

I think in such a time should just follow Calvin...

So, I'll go home, watch some SATC, FRIENDS, Balika Vadhu, Roadies, Jhalak dikhlaja and everything else the idiot box has to render, such that any kind of linear thought is impossible!!!

Our First Ugadi

"Ugadi" is New Year per Hindu almanac. yuga+aadi, yuga is era, aadi means start thus meaning start of an era. It marks the onset of spring, the first season of the year, hence also heralding a new year and a new beginning. (remember the Yuga Yugadi kaledaru Yugadi marali barutide song?.. ah... so fresh that is!)

This is the first Ugadi after I'm married. Typically the newly wed couple are invited by the girl's parents to celebrate the festival in their house. But for me, the first Ugadi goes back to....

It was the year Hero had proposed.... he wanted us to meet as it was OUR first Ugadi. Since he was working that day, we'd planned to meet in the evening at Forum. Just to surprise him, I thought i'll try something new and planned to wear a saree... Now, atleast people from my planet know how difficult it is to manage one! So, when I was busy fidgeting with it, I get some 10 calls. (And since it was those days when I'd not declared anything at home, I had to keep it a top secret that I was going to meet a friend on a festival day). So, I ignore the calls as I'm already late. and just when i'm out of my house and wait to take an auto, I get a call from the angry Hero telling he has enough work to do, he is heading back from the office bus stand assuming i'm busy. I was like, huh! okaaaiii fine, I thought i'll surprise you and blah blah blah... blup... I hang up... just in 2 secs, another call, I'm starting now, will be there in half an hour... and I went to Forum Mall all red faced... Hero comes, 15 min late and hands me a single looooong white flower with a sheepish grin. (u know the flower which is normally used along with other flowers to decorate a bouquet?). I was a little puzzled, i'd not seen anyone buying that flower, but u know guys right? so.... u never know! but later, when I heard the story, I was all smiles :) :) :)...

Apparently, when Hero reached Forum, it was as it is late and he went in search for a florist. And since he did not find any, he went and offered the receptionist a deal. That, he would buy her 2 day old bouquet which was kept on her desk for the original price as it was a total emergency situation... (I still don't believe he did that!). That lady bluntly declined the offer (ha ha ha I can imagine what she'd be thinking :-?) but asked him to pick a flower if he wished. Since all other flowers were pretty old, he had to pick this flower with a sly smile :-)

and, that was the story of OUR First Ugadi :-)

This year, the year we are actually married, he isn't around to celebrate it... :-(

You know, a unique aspect of ugadi is the distribution of Neem and Jaggery (its called “Bevu-Bella”). It symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise) , which should be accepted together and with equanimity.... and that explains... :)

Happy Ugadi to ALL of you :-)

and Mr Husband, ningunu :-)

If wishes were horses.... I'd have been a tanga owner....!

how is married life?

oh, thats one common question everyone asks post wedding... Guys, the only thing I'm doing promptly after my wedding is running around for my friends weddings and falling sick. Nothing else! Thanks to Hero, who ran away (flew actually) 7 days after our wedding... pssst... So, I'm back to my single life...


When three of my close close friends and I decided that its high time we finally fall into the trap, we almost thought of the same time frame. Thanks to the stars, the auspicious time which was selected had a good gap between all our weddings. One of them married a Maharashtrian.... Yay WE went to Pune...And then, 2 of them got married twice (ofcourse to the same person!)... One got married in Kannadiga ishtyle, and then the Bong style and another one got married in Iyengar style and then Mallu style... so, I got to roam around to a lot of places you see :)



Some one asked me in office today if i'm going to gym (ah... how nice it sounds to the ears :D)... One more person echoed it and said, yeah, I wanted to ask you from past few days, you've lost weight... I said ohhh thanks, but No, i'm just sick. Some of my friends ask, oh you miss your hubby, so, you've lost weight eh? My mom thinks people have casted an eye on me, thats why i'm not well from the time I got married...


People, On 2nd I get married, 6th I go to Pune, 10th Hero flies :(, 12th I join back office, 22nd wkend R's wedding, 27th Kolkata visit, 6th, N's wedding, 14th Kerala visit, during weekdays 3 days in his place and 2 days in mine (the girl is not supposed to stay at her mother's place after wedding you see... :-/). So, in between all the running arounds I have to have everything from poha to puchka, gola to roadside rasmalai, masala chai to matka tea, pooran poli to mishti dohi and the spicy food at his place... everything!... poor my health... how will it sustain? One week of diarrhea and thats why full tuss pataki...


Couple of months back, in one of our Oh we have to lose weight josh, I and R had gone to Vibes and taken some package. I'd gone for spot reduction for arms (I really have pailwan hands :() and she took a 5kg weight loss package. Each session we went, the instructor used to weigh us and even if we were 500gms more than previous day, she never used to give us the session... duhhh! give money to them and get blastings, look at that! So, needless to say we were thrown out of many sessions... and at last we got bored (there was no damn difference in us either!), so we stopped going almost towards the end... I remember asking her, how much more left for you? (I meant no of sessions) for which she'd replied, 2 more sessions and 5kgs :P ha ha ha.... now I can proudly say, VLCC/Vibes ko maro goli, get diarrhea once and it'll make you look really relaly thin :D [if not the dehydration, at least the no. of trips you make to the RR, ha ha ha :P]

btw, I wanted to share with you one picture I love very much from my wedding album:

ahem ahem... this is to announce that....

I married my best friend :)

PS: for all the cribbings i've done about wedding in this blogsphere, I was so waiting to announce this here :)