My friend's wedding...a dream in the world of reality!!

Please note that this is a dream and there are relations to people I know and have been associated with. I have changed names, for my sake.

On Tuesday morning, as I was getting ready to go to office, I got a call from this school friend of mine, Mary. She was getting married. I was ecstatic as I was asked to be the maid of honor.

Our friendship goes way back to the days when we used to live in the same lane in Delhi. She and I went to the same school and were in the same class, different sections though. We are Telugu Brahmins and hers is a Christian family, but that was never a hindrance in our friendship as our parents were also equally thick friends.

Mary has an elder brother, Thomas. He considered me as his sister, in the same way he considered Mary. So we were more of a family than friends. Those were really some good days.

Being in different sections and then moving to different places increased the gap in our friendship. We slowly became hi-hello friends. In spite of that, she called me to inform that I was her maid-of-honor was really an honor for me.

To top it all, attending a proper Christian wedding was my dream. Actually getting married in Christian style is my dream, but attending also is great. This gave me an opportunity to fulfill a part of it, though. So I was happy.

I agreed to it immediately and started contacting all my friends in Delhi. Most of them agreed to attend since this gives us a great chance to meet after like almost a decade.

Also Mary being my school friend, she was their friend too J.

Next day, Mary called me to know about my itinerary and inform me about my stay. I told her that Mom was coming along with me. The news made Mary’s mom happier than anyone. It would have more than 20 years since they saw each other. After Uncle’s demise, we did not get to meet Aunty and this could be an apt occasion is what Mom also felt and agreed to accompany.

I reached Delhi on Saturday morning. The ceremony was due on Sunday. So I had the whole day to myself, to meet my friends, hangout in our favorite places. Thomas received us and gave us another big surprise, the wedding was to be held in the school.

This was superb news for me, since I have been attached with my school. I love everything about the place, the teachers, my classmates, even the principal and vice-principal. And not to forget the non-teaching staff who were most supportive to us. I jumped at the news and rushed to the school. As a maid of honor, it is my responsibility to oversee all the arrangements and ensure that everything goes on without hiccups. Frankly, the real reason was to revisit my school and relive some memories, if not all.

The feeling was overwhelming, the moment I entered the building. There were many changes to the place, but the essence was still intact. I became nostalgic when I was just wandering around the primary section, the foundation of our lives.

There is a way to the playground from this section, the place where the wedding was to take place. The preparations were going on in full swing.

Sometime later, I really don’t know, after how much time, Thomas came and took me to the hotel. Mom had directly gone to the hotel, to check on Aunty, if she needed any help. Surprisingly, there was a Haldi ceremony, which usually takes place in a Hindu wedding ceremony. But looks like Mary liked that ceremony so much that she wanted it as a part of her wedding as well. And Mom was there, so she was guiding Aunty on how to go about that ceremony. I was standing at the end of the garden, enjoying the happiness that Mary had on her face.

Soon I was joined by my school friends. The reunion felt great, after a hectic work schedule, a sudden relaxation of this stature is a boon to one’s life. And I was no exception. Thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them, reliving old days.

In my heart and I am sure in hers, Mary knew that I was longing for a break like this. So she let me have my share of fun with my old buddies, I totally loved her for this!!

There was kumkum, haldi, bangles, coconut and all in a Christian which was an amazing blend of cultures. So there we were, enjoying the ceremony, where out of nowhere, Meena comes out hurling abuses at me. I was appalled, dumbstruck with no idea why she was scolding me like that.

Thomas jumped into the scene like a samurai and handled it all too well. He sent me back to the hotel and asked others to take care of Meena.

Meena was a classmate but not a very close buddy. We were always on good terms, so a sudden bombardment of this sort was shocking for me. I was still in a state of shock when I reached my room. I could not understand why she behaved like that. The biggest surprise was, no one stopped her!! She kept shouting but no one opposed her. I could not understand why!!

“One can’t please all.” This statement, I could never understand and believe. I could never handle someone not liking me. Though there were people I did not like, but I could not tolerate if someone said they did not like me. I would continue to pester the person asking them for a reason for disliking me. And now this, in public was more of embarrassment for me. I spent the rest of the time in the room crying. I did not go back to the venue so that I do not trouble Mary with this situation.

Though I did not like what happened, the next day, I put everything behind and went to the school. This was Mary’s day and as the maid of honor, it was my duty to ensure nothing went wrong. As soon as I reached the school, I was spellbound. The ground was decorated with flowers; the stage was setup for the ceremony. Everything was just so beautiful and perfect. The ground was getting watered and the morning sun shone to the water droplets creating small rainbows around. There could have no better place for Mary to get married and I was so happy for her!!

Suddenly, a coconut from yesterday’s Haldi ceremony came hurling at me. I just missed it. I turned around to see who and from where it came. Just then Meena came running with another coconut in her hand. She threw me on the ground and shouted at me, asking me if she should throw another one at me. I was speechless; I did not know why she was shouting at me like that.

This time, I shouted back at her, “Haan mar de..tere dil ko bhi tasalli mil jayegi. Lekin kyun…yeh toh bata de???”

She replied, “mere papa ko maarne ke time pe yeh pata nahi socha tha kya tune?”

********************************* The end *********************************************

My affinity with this number: 102

I have this history with this number: 102.

Sometimes life just does some things to remind you of yesteryear and put you in a state of nostalgia.
I was dropping my father-in-law at the bus stop when the number just flashed in front of me as the pillar number. I did not realize till then that this was pillar number: 102. Suddenly, memories came bombarding at me, memories of the days I would love to go back to.

Those were the days when I had come from Delhi to Hyderabad after my class XII board exams. I was staying at  my grandparents and was preparing for EAMCET. I was taking coaching (super short term, if you want to call it, it lasted only for 20 days) for it in an institute in Narayanaguda.

From my grandparents' place, there exists a direct bus to this place, but one rarely sees it. So my only solace was this bus number: 102. This would take me directly to the institute location.
Thus started my journey with and in this bus. :).

20 days and done, gave my EAMCET and went back to Delhi. After counselling, joined a college which was unsurprisingly en-route this route 102. All my friends used to board this bus to come to college. Anytime that I had to go to their places', this was the bus I used to board.

3rd year of engineering arrived, CAT coaching started. Guess the place where I had to go for coaching, somewhere near Narayanaguda (grin). And the bus I had to board (no points for guessing).

My class started at 6:15 a.m. So I always used to board the first service of this bus, so much so that the driver used to wait for me to come to the bus stop if he saw me walking towards the bus stop. The conductor as well as driver had become good friends of mine :). 
The same thing repeated when my sister joined me in Hyderabad. She also had to board the same bus :).

It has been a while since I used this board owing to my change in location, but the memories remain!!
Thank You 102 :)..

Who is this Subramanyam...Yevade Subramanyam? (My Review)

Sometime back, I happened to watch this movie, Yevade Subramanyam . It is a very refreshing movie with the heart in the right place. I like Nani for the movies he does. The stories look real and so does he :).

Coming to this movie, the story, the idea behind the movie is superb and very apt in the current world. Nowadays everyone is running the rat race looking at just his own progress and not very worried about the other person. In such a scenario, Nani’s friend asking him to accompany him to Doodh Kashi is simply out of question, But circumstances arise where he is forced to go. The journey as expected shows him the real world. How he realizes who he is during the journey is the rest of the story.

The story is good but the execution failed us. Nani as usual played his part well. But the loose ends in the script does not make the viewer very happy. The lead pair do not have any chemistry between them. They both look great separately, but as a pair in the movie, did not impress me at all.

Rishi, Subbu’s friend is the most refreshing character that I have seen in a long time. The actor Vijay Deverkonda has done a great job. Avasarala Srinivas, I am starting to like you more and more everyday, with a small but an important role in the movie, you really make an impact. The other technical aspects are all okay.

I believe one must watch this movie for the freshness that it gives. The film looks beautiful with picturesque locations and good looking characters.

My rating for the movie: 3/5.

Great expectations...

The Sunday morning, instead of my usual lazy self, I took my son to the audition of a children based programme.

And I saw a plethora of varieties of kids and parents alike. The parents eager to see their on the television, and the kids..wooh..don't even ask!!

Some kids eager to go and show their talent on the screen. All dressed up, with makeup. You are right, all made up. Dress and looks, and all. I must say, I was impressed with the amount of effort put by both parents and the children.

And then there were some kids who did not want to go in at all. The parents persuading them, but the kids were relentless.

Well luckily my son did not put up a show, thanks to my mother-in-law, who had prepared him. Also it was because of her interest that we went for the audition. But when I asked my son how did the audition go, he had a simple answer for me. I forgot. :). Then again I did not want to become that nagging mother who kept asking him questions. I thought if he was really good, then he would be selected. :).
Fingers crossed.

Oh..what a tamasha!! (Movie review)

Continuing with my last post. 

The story is about a boy who lives himself in a place called Corsica. This is where he meets a girl. The two spend the rest of the days together having fun, but without making any advances towards each other (though they wanted to). Time flies by, and the girl comes to the boy's city for work and finds the boy in a totally different avatar. She does not understand and tries to make some sense out of the boy and his life. Does the boy understand what she wanted to convey and what happens next forms the rest of the story.

I actually had not seen the tagline of the movie before. I saw it only during the interval of the movie. Why always the same story? This is the tagline and is so true. The first half is yes, boring. I thought, what a waste of such talented people. But the post interval part is the strength of the movie. It is very powerful with amazing performances by Ranbir and Deepika. Imtiaz Ali truly brings out the best out of Ranbir in every movie they do together. This was proven again in Tamasha, after Rockstar. 

Music is also good, I have already reviewed it before :). It fits the storyline beautifully. It actually flows with the movie.

A special mention about Piyush Mishra is really important. Because he plays a pivotal role in the boy's life. Why and how, one must watch the movie for it.

I believe every person will definitely relate to the movie. So I urge everyone to go ahead and watch the movie.  

My rating for the movie will be: 4.75 / 5. 

Why do I love rom-coms?

Of late, I have only been watching romcoms whenever I get some free time. This made me think, why do I like watching these movies?

Every time I watch any rom-com, I automatically find myself in that heroine's position. Then I start thinking what would have I done in her place and so on! But that doesn't happen in other movies. Yes, that is correct. I am totally smitten with rom-coms.

Definitely this is one of my favorite pastimes, not that I get a lot of time :). But to think of it, why do I love these kind of movies, I did come up with some points. 

• While I am watching the movie, I am transported to a whole different world. 
• The characters make me laugh, they make me cry, but finally they make me happy :).
• I get to experience some of the most beautiful things in life again :), like love at first sight, coming back for the person you love, see the smile on the loved one's face :)
• There are hardly any sad endings in these kind of movies. Even The Notebook, the two died together, which, in my opinion, was one of the most beautiful endings for any movie, and life as such. 
• I understand such things are usually hypothetical but still happy endings please me :).

I am still thinking of points. If you have any, please do leave me a comment. I would love to know what you think...

Love comes softly...watch it!!!

Another finding from Katherine Heigl movies was the "Love Comes Softly" series. It is a series of 11 movies/episodes of roughly about 1 and 1/2 hour.

The movie starts with two people with completely different backgrounds getting married under some unavoidable circumstances. The woman is pregnant with her first husband and the man already has a daughter of 9. The rest of the episode shows the struggle to adjust, love and cherish the relationship.
In subsequent episodes, the family expands and new people join and celebrate life.

What I really liked about the complete series is the way the characters love and embrace life. They are content with what they have and always eager to extend help. It reinforces our faith in God, irrespective of religion. The series bolsters our belief in fellow human beings, in the act of helping others. It reminds us that "God helps those who help themselves." and "One must help, one day or the other, it will definitely help us" and so on. 

These were the moral values that we had learnt in Moral Science classes in school. And have seemed to have lost somewhere in our everyday struggle to survive and excel the race, be it at home, workplace, anywhere!! These episodes are a reminder of what we had learnt and are expected to follow and teach our future generation.

I recommend this series to everyone irrespective of age and gender. I absolutely gloat over romantic movies, but this one was so pleasant that it filled my heart with joy and I was all smiles watching it.

This may not be the best of series around, but give it a try. 

My rating for the entire series would be: 3.5/5

p.s. There is a book by this name also.

Yes..this is The Ugly Truth!!

After watching The Bu(i)g wedding, I browsed through Katherine Heigl movies. I stumbled upon this one..."The Ugly Truth". The actors were Katherine Heigl, of course and Gerald Butler. Immediately I decided to watch it.

Abby (Heigl) is a TV show producer whose TRPs are falling drastically. She has to bring it up, else her job could be in jeopardy. On the other hand, Mike(Gerald) is the host of a TV show called The Ugly Truth where he discusses issues between men and women. He doesn't hesitate to call a spade a spade and tells what men actually want. Because of this he is very popular on TV and so is his show. He is hired by Abby's TV channel where the two meet and so the movie continues. I do not want to divulge any further details about the movie.

The film starts on a slow pace but once Gerald enters, it speeds up and becomes interesting. Gerald is good as Mike. I love his accent and the way his mouth twitches when he speaks (Blush! Blush!). Katherine, in her part does a great job as usual. 27 Dresses is my personal favorite but this movie was equally good. What made this work was the crackling chemistry between the leads.

A clip from one of the best scenes in the movie

There are some really hilarious scenes in the movie and I had not laughed that loud during any movie in the recent times. And if you know me, you would know, how loudly I laugh!! Hehehe!!

The ending is very melodramatic but the overall movie makes up for it.

My rating for the movie would be 3.5/5.
Watch it!! It is a fun watch!!!

Shh..grandpa's around!!!!

Just the other morning, I was standing in my balcony basking in the morning sun. I saw an elderly gentleman doing his daily yoga practices. Accompanying him were a bunch of kids who also were something related to yoga :), falling in and out of the yoga mat.

That scene reminded me if the days I had spent under the guidance of my grandfathers. My paternal grandfather was a man of less words and more anger. We were very scared of him, so we used to hardly stay at home. Most of the time we would spend in our aunt's place with my cousins.

But one thing I distinctly remember is the walks to the MCEME temple in Trimulgherry. It used to be a long walk but he made us do it. I did not realize the distance during my childhood as with cousins it was always fun doing anything. But now when I pass by the same place, I wonder how did I manage to walk for so long. And that too almost everyday!!

He hardly spoke, but the thought that he was around, was reassuring.

I also remember the songs he used to sing, Alak elahi ek hai. I sing the same to my children. He was a good singer with a baritone.  With his friends he was one of the most jovial persons around.

Maybe the fact that we were staying in Delhi and visited once a year did not allow the bond between him and I to grow much.

When he died there were lots of people who attended the funeral, that is when I realized what a gregarious person he was. Also he was the one who wanted to celebrate life, and his death. On his 1-year ceremony, dad hosted a big dinner party in his memory rather than having a dismal memorial. 

Today looking at that old man doing yoga and also silently monitoring the kids brought back memories.

Dear grandfather... Rest in peace!!!

Tryst with death???

Last week I underwent operation to rectify umbilical hernia. The doctor advised general anesthesia for the surgery. The surgery started, as usual, the OT team had a tough time finding a vein. They cited multiple reasons, including my obesity. But even when I was thinner, it was tough to find my vein. Nevertheless, the team finally found it and inserted the anesthesia.

I don't remember when the surgeon came and when the operation concluded (obviously!!). But post it, when the doctors were getting ready to move me back to my room, they found that I was not inhaling. Actually by that time, even I was awake but my body was not under my control. I was not able to make any of my parts move including my lungs.

The doctors in order to make me respire started hitting me. They also pinched me and pressed me under my ears. I could feel the pain but was helpless as I could not force my lungs to suck the air.

I could hear them say, Shashi breathe... Shashi Nandivada oopiri peelchukondi(saans lo, breathe) but could not do much.

It may be a very common situation in the operation theatre but for me, it was a tryst with death...

That is when I felt maybe this is what happens when you die when you so much want to live!! God brought me to his doorsteps but then sent me back. 

Thinking about this, I recollect the speech that my friend wrote for me, where I was opposing the topic, and which still holds good, man is definitely not the architect of his destiny.
The entire speech is in  one of my earlier blogs. Here is the link: http://iamshashikiran.blogspot.com/2007/06/man-is-architect-of-his-own-destiny-is.html