I have been Tagged Again!

The rules of the tag are:
1. The rules must be mentioned in the beginning of the tag. 2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Whats in a name, a rose is a rose is a rose. Well whats in a middle name, especially when I don’t have one. So I have decided to use the name TORA. Tiger is called Tora in Japanese.I’m learning Japanese and still at a stage where I can only read and write katakana and hiragana (2 of the three scripts). I could have known much more if I had not missed many classes in a row. And I think I will let go off my Japanese classes. So as a dedication to all the classes I have attended till now. I take the name TORA as my middle name.

Also, the word TORA brings a smile for silly reasons I treasure.

T- Tea and trees and tap dance. I’m not going to divulge about my love for tea here. Trees, then. I love trees lining the roads, trees in the corner of a compound, trees in the middle of the road, trees inside the house, trees at the back of the house, trees next to balcony, trees in the temple, trees anywhere, anykind.Tap dance,mmm I havent learnt how to tap dance.But I have my silly versions of it.I used to tap dance on my way back home from school.I was always happy coming back home from school.:). My sister and I used to continuously tap dance for half an hour without a stop as part of her exercise regime. I just remained fatless for sometime.
I will be sane as long as I could enjoy a tree, tap dance my life away and have a cup of tea whenever I need.

O- Orange,shades of Orange except the flourescent one. You shouldn’t be surpirsed if I wear lot of orange colored fabric.oh yes! You guessed it right. Isnt it obvious? (Hint: You are wrong if you are relating it to some religious bodies)

R- Can I just leave this letter. Apart from red, request, rituparno gosh(why oh why?), nothing much is appearing in my mind right now and the above ‘R’ words are as relevant as this post. So I will let go off this.

A - Answers. Yeah yeah it all very deep. But really I get bored when pple answers life’s questions without being asked. Everyone finds his or her answers. Whats so good about yours? Leave it sir. If you think somebody’s answers are wrong, keep it to yourself. You never know when you are going to be hit on your head fatally.

I tag Tarzan, Othello, Ricky Martin and Adam. (I got to follow the rules)

T, stop swinging and tag along
O,I never liked your character.hence I tag you to punish you. What a tragedy, your life is?
Ricky, with that kind of butt swaying, I always felt you are a gay. Anyways I have tagged you. But pls don’t divluge about your new avatar. There are hell lot of books on it and I dont even want to read even one.
Adam, do you have a middle name? Uh …um were you really happy in the garden of eden? uh…um…do you really regret eating the apple? (not able to keep the curiousity. I ate apples too)

Chick Dig This! Chick Dig That!

I love this channel “Travel and Living”. It hosts great shows about travel, food and art. My interest lies in food, travel and art. And I watch these shows indiscriminately. But I have my favorites. One is a travel and food show and another a reality show. Very addictive shows but leave you unruffled. These are antidotes to the whole lot of mind ----- soaps.

No Reservation and a Cook’s tour.

A great show about travel and food and a sexy guy thrown into it. MMMMMMMM! A perfect recipe for the soul.
That’s right! Anthony Bourdain!
It’s not just another travel show. Ian Wright is too interesting but Mister Anthony Bourdain takes it to greater heights. He is not deliberately funny but satirical, and with no malice. He is a gracious guest.
Tall, lanky, a good smile here and there, great humor, a super sexy walk, cool clothes, shades, and his erotic voice. Oh I could watch him even if he talks about mathematical formulas solving mysteries or nonsense like why Bush is better than the rest of the world.
He is Howard Roark. Well not Howard Roark. He is Anthony Bourdain.
There is something in him, which is adorable even when he is sitting and watching the pig’s intestine being pulled out. Thank god he is not one of the guys who screams and lets off awfully bad sounds. The years of experience are written on his face, his walk, and his smile and his eyes.
He is not at all like a typical macho man with 16” biceps. Well he doesn’t need them to be a man. He is a man’s man and appears not so a typical lady’s man. This makes him more dishy.
I would be offended if pple didn’t know about certain personalities, but I would love it if pple are ignorant about Anthony Bourdain.He is like this pebble you find in the beach, which stood out from the rest solely because of your perception, and you just keep it as your possession. You don’t feel like exhibiting it. Only you know its worth as you have solely bestowed the price to it. It’s almost the same with Anthony Bourdain.He is like my pebble. I like the feeling when pple don’t know anything about him. None of my friends know him or watch his shows and that makes me really special.
But then, I don’t like to hold on to things a lot. I have to let go off my pebbles ;), so I'm letting go off Anthony Bourdain too. Not because he has lost the value. It’s just that pple might like him but the way he is perceived by me is unique. So I don’t mind he being out and open. I’m just too crazy writing all this stuff. That’s right! Anthony Bourdain!





Miami Ink.












Well if somebody had told me that there is a show about tattoos, I wouldn’t have bothered to even check it out.
Once while browsing. I happen to see Ami James speaking followed by Chris Graver. They were not speaking some life changing moments. It’s just the way they were speaking. Full of character. I don’t know how to put it. Well it’s like the opposite of Abhishek bachan’s nugatory figure/assuming personality. Okay! You got that! Thanks. Well I continued to listen to them and then the show took to its main course, tattooing. And it was icing on the cake, interesting guys doing interesting tattoos. Oh I love their art.
Miami Ink is about a bunch of tattoo artists, doing their job and just talking. Ami James and Chris graver make it special. And of course the store right in front of the beach adds up! And I have to mention Yoji. He balances the show by being just cute.
It’s not about the shows but it’s about the pple who make these shows special.
You see pple from all walks of life go in and out of the tattoo store with a great tattoo on any possible part of their much worn out bodies. The client’s 2-minute stories don’t leave u bored. This show needs host like Ami James who can actually make u forget to squirm your arse while watching the scrapings of the skin. Mwah! What a treat when the tattoo is made. Awesome beautiful tattoos. I’m almost tempted to get one myself. But for that I had to go to Miami and have to get an appointment with either Ami James or Chris Graver. Chances are quite bleak and I’m quite happy about that.


Somehow these shows make me feel more feminine. I take them as compliments!

BOMBAY-WORTH MANY CITIES!





I can’t read anything and everything. That’s because I don’t like to read certain things, for example travel write-ups. Never found travel write-ups delectable. I love to watch travel shows though. I find travel write-up (TW) very bland as I fail to be perceptive. I lose interest, as I’m really not keen to know his/her views abt the “place”. I would rather have a look at the place and feel it. I even tried reading certain travel write up by a writer,I had a crush on. But it didn’t help. I even tried reading a TW of a friend who is too good with words but I JUST couldnot enjoy.
Mmm talking abt TW. I feel like writing about BOMBAY, a place worth many cities.Well I visited Bombay when I was around 12-13 years of age when “its my life” was a cool life quote and being an atheist was a trend. The family decided to go to Bombay, as it was my dads much loved city. Initially, I was seeing Bombay through his eyes. He gave a brief detail about the places he liked (VT is his favourite) and the coolest joints of his time. He was nostalgic about the place as this was where he first fled to and realized that life is not just lamenting about broken homes
I don’t remember the exact itinerary.but yeah we visited all the tourist joints like chowpatty lane, marine drive, taraporrewala aquarium, Juhu beach, Nehru Science Auditorium, Gateway of India and the bewildering serene Elephanta caves. I even caught up with the film shooting where I was lucky enough to catch a glimse of my then fav Salman Khan. (This bit made me famous amongst my girl friends)
I enjoyed all the spots as it was all-new to me. I was from Mysore, a small town and I had never been out of karnataka. I was enraptured, as everything was a novelty.
VT station, the lovers kissing on the rocks of marine drive, the most shocking encounter of a large group of tranvestites, the real genuine chats, huge multitude of well mannered people, regular buses, huge wide roads etc., these, I saw it through my eyes.

But then a particular city has its intendment. And Bombay is quite emphatic in this matter.
We were staying in a guesthouse in Mathunga. And on the second night, we couldn’t sleep due to sheer excitement. Then my dad suggested us to go for a walk and treat ourselves with ice creams. Take a walk at 11.30 PM!!!. That’s famous. He affirmed that theres nothing to worry and we set forth with fewer apprehensions. He was very confident that his daughters would be safe in such a place and no one bothered to delude my father in this regard. And we never missed that late night walk to have an ice cream till we stayed there.My sister divulged me into all her thoughts and I saw too many things.I felt as though iam attaining nirvana.Bombay walk was my bodhi tree.(i was a young teenager.forgive me!)Those Bombay walks did bring out a considerable change in me. And principally for this reason, Bombay will remain my favourite city. I havent visited many cities. But I’m sure of one thing about Bombay that it is magnanimous when it comes to the life it offers like no other city.
I visited Bombay again for a couple of days when I was in my late teens. The life was still there but I perceived the city with all my growing heart and mind and consequentially my heart was burdened by people from certain walks of life, certain incidents and certain moments in Bombay.I can never forget till date and I don’t think I will ever do.Those things have made me.

Yesterday! All My Troubles Seem so......

Got up late and had to rush. Just missed a ghastly accident within a fraction of a minute.

Got cheated pettily.
Realization-As Oprah puts it “theres no such thing as Luck. You just need to be ready when oppurtunity comes knocking”. (Did I say quotes are damn quotes somewheremmm well)

Just because Iam younger and comparatively thinner in my family, I have never been considered as an adult who require a proper seat. I have always been made to adjust and yesterday was no different. I found myself squeezed between the legs in the cab. And later sat in an unbecoming position on my sister.Thanks to an unwanted guest who joined us to see off my sister and co.

The long awaited “my space” and silence held no charm. I missed the NOICE. I miss my pichkuliya (niece) and my ashraf miya (nephew) and my bossy darling sister.
It would be unbearable for few more days.

Bless me!

Tagged for the first time!

My friend Vasuki has tagged me to write 8 random facts about myself. Good they have specified the number orelse I would have written volumes.
Here I go.,

1) I used to love dancing (especially my version of tap dance) on a small wooden teapoy at home.Now it’s a little harder so I do it on the floor.
2) If I like a movie, then I have to watch it atleast three times.
3) Iam like Nick Carraway of ‘The Great Gatsby’.I hate anything stuck or smeared on any face.I will never be calm till it is cleared.I get agitated at ink spread on the hands, face.I hate long nails on guys.
4) I love curds. I asked my mum once for a litre of curd as my bday gift. Nowadays Iam smarter and ask for something worthy eventhough I still drool over curds. I go loony tooney over ripe mango instant pickle with dollops of thick chilled curds.mmmmmmm ooooooooo ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.Slurp!
5) I used to wear the same clothes for my exams. (But as luck would have it, the one sitting next to me wrote pages and pages and I sat figuring out all the shammi kapoor songs I knew).
6) Tea is theaurepeutic especially the late afternoon tea. Love making it and drinking too. Tea is a part of all my romantic fantasies.
7) I don’t like the letter ‘Y’ and even numbers. Its not because ‘Y’ sounds snoopy and don’t like pple getting even with me.
8) Even the ‘To-let’ sign tempts me to take a leak.

My cup of tea!

I sit in my abode, thoughts I don’t want, starts interfering my serenity, my whole being screams for TEA. Magically, I hear the clouds pushing away. Well if it doesn’t Iam sure that it will take beautiful colors and forms by the time I finish my tea. This is how hopelessly hopefull I get just by thinking of preparing tea. There will be a new kind of energy running along my veins as soon as I start searching for my tea vessel. I like the way milk gets dispersed in the water. Waves, dont know where to go but happy however they are going or maybe with no feelings. The milk looks more transparent and water looks murkier. With a smile, I add a teaspoon of tea powder. Blackish brown nodules will be jumping up and down and swirling around as I turn them with a spoon and the swirling tea nodules leave their color to the milk like a smoke from a chimney to the milky sky. The sight makes me little giddy and little tranzed out. By the time I add sugar, I get all aroused because within minutes I would be savouring it, sitting and admiring even the dull blighted leaves.I dont know why I feel joyous when I strech my neck up, put my tongue forward, lift my hand with a spoon of tea a little above my face so that a drop of tea falls right on my tongue and spreads bestowing sweet bitter tea taste all over my tongue.Sexy sensation! I get excited just to wait for tea to boil. I pour that tea in my favourite cup (having my favourite cup and the feel of the cup is also a part of the therapy), strain the tea and throw the vessel, spoon and the strainer in the sink and head straight to my favourite seat and sip it.
I like Georgette Heyer more with a cuppa tea. In fact all the books. But I didn’t like tea much when I was reading Norwegian wood, as it tasted a little salty.

Druthers

A post in my friend’s blog tempted me to write this one.
I have always differentiated authors and artists ‘s work based on influences of great tumult and supreme serenity respectively.
I believe most of the authors are influenced by great tumult and artists rely on serenity to produce great works of art but not the other way around.

Authors discover and might even invent chaos in every thing and hence, ramble, cribb, whine, extol and these are converted into books, great books and masterpieces. They dwell in bedlam. Frustrations lead them to great thoughts. Desperation leads to frustrations. In fact beauty also leads them to desperation and so on and so forth. But they never want to run away from these. They have an urge to get deeper and deeper into the myriad of screwed up affairs. They never fail to add a feel of melancholic tinge even when they admire the beauty in their work (a simple common quote about beauty which I have come across in several books ‘It was so beautiful that it ached my heart or I bled or something similar’). They are deliberate, self indulgent, underrated perverts. (Well, these traits never appear as vices as long as they pen a book like ‘a personal matter’) They are these adorable charmers who write 1000 and odd pages instead of a mere para. But mind u, Iam not complaining and disparaging here. Their work keeps me busy, happy, unhappy, sleepy, teareyed, lighter, angrier. I adore them. I will remain indebted to them forever.whatever maybe the reason.
Well Artists on the other hand, would not chase or dwell into chaos eventhough most of them are craziness personified. All they want is to get away from the pandemoniacal routine. Serenity helps them to produce great works of art rather than a state of great tumult. (.You can refute logically but I don’t bother!).
Sharpening of pencils, selecting the paints, getting the perfect size canvass, making the canvass, thinking of colours, basking in the the beauty of the model, (they find beauty even in the curve of the fading petals, color of the blighted leaves), the feel of the canvas, the smell of the turpentine, mixing the colors, etc., all of these will aid them to achieve serenity by shutting the ramblings tight in some corner of the head. Albeit the corner would be entered later, say, after the painting.
They have to attain a certain serenity to produce great works of art. Being serene is not a difficult task for them because they dont feel sorry about running away from chaos. And when an artist forgets his tricks, he can only chop his ears.