Thoughts and books :).

Hello! After all these days, months (and may be almost a year), it occured to me that i haven't written anything here for a long, long time. So, this is just an attempt to dust the cob-webs. For starters, i discovered some really refreshing debut books, and i am clearly looking forward to reading more works from the authors of these books. Two of these books are short story collections, vignettes mostly from the everyday world around us and sometimes from a hypnotic and very surreal world of imagination. The third one is a debut novel, which i liked purely because it broke quite a few stereotypes associated with "desi-lit". You do have the beautifully ornate sari picture on the cover and you do have quite a few of the standard things associated with what lies beneath such ornate covers, what you also get is a refreshing story of an ordinary citizen trying to make sense o the world around him.

And here they are, three very interesting and gripping works :

If it is sweet by Mridula Koshy
`Etudes by Aseem Kaul
The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa

And then, besides my standard fix of Murakami and Abe, I have also enjoyed reading the works of Banana Yoshimoto. I recently read "Kitchen" and "Hardboiled and Hard Luck" and was impressed by how simple words can sometimes convey very powerful emotions.

What's on your reading list these days?

Oh, and meanwhile I also visited Boston, along with my dear friend MD, in late summer this year, lots of fun, as always :).
Besides doing a highly touristy thing like taking a duck tour, the other highlight was going to Brookline Booksmith, the best bookstore ever! Meeting my friends Ms. Doll and Ms. E. and just walking around in my old neighborhood , besides eating in our favorite places, awesome! You know what i mean :).

Friends-2.....

For every Dhoom, there's a Dhoom-2. So, here's the sequel to my post :).

I am all about friends, who mean a lot to me.....and i don't mean people who casually (mis)use the word friend/friendship. i mean the ones, who truly care.....

And i am so happy that one of my friends Ms. Love recently became a Mom the second time :). So she's do betiyon ki Mata ji now :).

and then y'day Golden girl and i had lots of fun-she's truly Golden-heart of gold, really!

Best of all, i got in touch with some old frinds recently in the true spirit of X'mas season.....after a long time.....they are colleagues turned wonderful friends.....

Ms. Happiness, who loving responded to my first email to her in two years within 2 hrs. after writing.....i had missed so much in between.....in her words "Musical, feels so good to hear from you.....i first opened my eyes big to see, if it was truly you.....and now that i am sure its you, i have a big smile on my face, really"..... Ms. Happiness, who's name reflects her personality and what she does for others around.....and who would treat me with generous helpings of home made bread and hummus. it was quite a reunion.....we both caught up on lots of things.....and are hoping to keep in touch.

Ms. E, who shares my love for ear-rings (like Henry Blofeld), replied with the same chirpiness as always.....she of the crisp Boston accent and famous temper (the latter by her own admission) :)). Ms. E, who shared work woes and love for the city of Boston.....Ms. E, who remarked that i didn't say "like" five times in every sentence-so i still very much belong ;). We shared coffee and lots of gossip :)). We met after a long time, and it was fun.

and meeting Doll was wonderful.....chatting through the night.....lots of things that we never said before.....

and missing Ms. Moon.....


and having that bit of fun with MD before she left for Europe.....in a city that we both love.....

and then.....

Kudi guaach gayi.....(literal: the girl got lost).

Many days back, i had asked, "When will there be the next tea-party".....and my hopes were re-kindled.....i picked up the phone and called.....after almost two and a half years.....the same voice mail greeted me.....i wondered if she would call back.....

The next day, while i was shopping at Macy's with MD, that familiar voice said to me on my phone, "Hello ji, ki haal chaal. Main taan sochiya si ki kudi pata nahin kithe guaach gayi e (and i wondered if this girl was lost).....". It was Arshi.....The same voice, the same questions like, "Tumhare baal abhi bhi utne hi lambe aur khoobsurat hain" (is your hair still as long and lusturous)".....in those five minutes, while we were still thinking of what to ask each other, secretly we had found answers to all our questions.....She promised to meet up the next day.....

Pic: Prudential-Fond memories for Arshi and me

and i know, i am still waiting.....

and i know its enough that i heard her voice again.....

we didn't meet up, she didn't call me back and answer my multiple voice-messages.....

but she didn't need to.....

so, when are we having the next tea-party.....

Charles, Charlie Card and more :)

More Boston stories, about the city and the folks.....

It is just amazing to go back to a city you are familiar with. There hasn't been much change, the same places and people-the same familiar and comforting surroundings. I even recognized the lovely girls, who worked at the Longwood area Starbucks and CVS :).

Pics : Park Street , X'mas Tree at Boston Commons and the State House

The first noticeable change was that my all time favorite Lindt's store has moved from Longwood Medical Area-so i had to go to Cardullo's at Harvard Square, which has Lindt's and lot more :).

And yes, finally MBTA has said bye-bye to the token system and introduced the cutesy Charlie Cards (drumroll please, and do view this link-must see)!! The system came into being not so long ago and hopefully would do quite well. There are some teething problems: for one, it sometimes takes a lot of patience to recharge-the vending machines may not read your credit card well. But overall, i like the concept and design and have saved a Charlie Card as a suvenir :). Pic: The Park Street T-stop
And the wonderful outing with MD (who was taking a brief vacation in Boston before flying to Europe. See, that was another great reason to be in Boston) at the Harvard Square: eating at Tanjore, watching a movie (The Good German) at AMC Loews and then walking upto Memorial Drive to stop by (and take pictures, ofcourse) at Charles, the gorgeous Charles.....
And we had fun, walking around.....enjoying the Boston skyline.....



Now, i am not going to review this movie! and
would rather sum it up saying that it was high on style (great cinematography) and low on substance. Geroge Clooney, who i am a huge fan of, didn't do much except parading in uniform like attire!

Also, one evening it finally snowed.....just a day before i was leaving.....Ms. Doll smiled and we decided to go out to Boston Commons to see the ice-sculptures :). Snow.....the first snow is always beautiful.....

and now is the time to share some desiyana, Boston style :).

First, the restaurants: I only ate out thrice:once at Tanjore, another time at Indian Entree' in the Corner Mall food court in Downtown Crossing and then at Indian Chilli Cambridgeside Galleria. I must say, i was pretty disappointed with both the food courts, more so with the Indian Chilli-the hostess is really rude. She doesn't really care if there's a customer waiting or not! and food at both places was also just OK. The Indian Chilli stall used to be Alladin's at some point-the food and service were a shade better then.

Tanjore was OK, had decent service-the sambar and chutney were too sour though. But atleast, MD and i could sit and chat for long-thats what made it worth it.

So, the conclusion is that MOST (not all) desi food court stall are not worth it-i really wish they would be, though.....

and i really missed not being able to go to Gourmet India in the Coolidge Corner (Brookline Booksmith, a wonderful bookstore is located there-and yes, i didn't amange to got there). Decent food and the simplicity would make me go for it :). and they apparently have food-court stall in several malls in Greater Boston area.


and also, i missed the Bombay Cinema.....at Allston, on Comm. Ave.-they stopped playing movies long ago.....


Hmm, and then i had this interesting incident in the T :).

There was this strange guy in the train, who i noticed was looking at me. I tried to ignore him. and then minutes later he was saying something not so audible. I thought may be he's asking somebody about a stop or so. He said the same (similar sounding) thing a cpl. more time, and then i realized he was asking me something! I still didn't get what he was trying to say, given that he was talking really too soft.

and thats when he asked in a more audible voice "Are you of Indian nationality"- and i said "yes". and he smiled and then went on to say "You look like an Indian" :). Hmm, i wondered, what would he ask next! and then he asked this gem of a question, "Are you also into hotel business, because most Indian who i know are into hotel business" :)). I really tried hard to control my laughter!! and finally managed to put a stern look on and firmly said, "No". By this time, other people, especially women around, were on an alert mode, as they wondered if this guy was crazy! He continued, "So, what do you do?". When i briefly informed him about my profession, he was, like "Wow" and went on to say "Oh, yes! many Indians are doctors and scientists. BTW, are you into psychiatry" :)). The woman next to me gave this a guy a dirty look and next thing we both noticed was that it was time for us to get down :)).

So much for desi related fun :). Will chirp more on friends and folks i met there, soon.

Pics: Downtown Crossing, Inside the Prudential Center Mall and near the Boston Commons

My lil' vacation :)

I had been having dreams.....vivid, rich dreams.....crazy dreams.....

I poured out nostalgia all over this blog, and held some close to my heart.

I longed to sit outside that Starbucks, on the benches.....in my dreams, i saw cob-webs in the elevator that i used to take to go upto my office.....

and much contemplations later, i decided i had to be there.....

and thus my trip to Boston.....

every city has a distinct smell.....a distinct flavor, a distinct style.....that brings those who love the city back into her lap.....

and i got a chance to feel it all.....

the Longwood Medical Area, the food-court where Ms. Moon and i used to share our thoughts, where Ms. Doll (who played my host this time) and i chatted over coffee and even that CVS, where sometimes we would just walk in, to de-stress.....

The smell of Green Line T.....the familiar sights of Brookline and Coolidge Corner.....

I had never been away.....

and through that week, i lived in the same apartment where i used to live before.....the same apartment where i played a host to Doll, when she just came in from India and now she was playing my host.....the same apartment, where Moon lived before us both.....the same apartment, where Arshi and i lived together.....the same apartment where Doll lives now.....

I had come home, my second home.....

i dusted those cob-webs indeed.....writing to some friends after ages and seeing the sparkle in their eyes, when i met them.....and i have lots to share on that.

Happy New Year :)

Here's wishing you all a very happy and joyous new year.

and a belated Merry X'mas :).

I am just back from a lil' trip to Boston, more on that soon.

Once more, hello and warm wishes to everyone.

Friends :)

I know, i've been away for a while.....infact, i've been missing the blog :). thats height of narcissism ;).

Have been meaning to write since last weekend, but first i got sick and then there were few other things to take care of. Yeah, i finally got cold too. Oh, hold on, i am fine now-and anyway, you don't get sick reading a blog :)).

This week, a very dear friend of mine said bye-bye to the City of Angels, as she moves to Europe in a few days. needless to say, i am missing her and our adventures together.

We met a lil' more than a year ago. She was returning home from work, i was getting back to the lab after getting my evening coffee. As we waited for the walk sign, we found someone familiar around us.....yes, familiar. and then suddenly, we exchanged a smile and we both went "are you from .....". We exchanged phone numbers and email ids. Aha, and that was the beginning of what turned out to be a great friendship, spiced up with lots of food, movies and chit-chat. Thats why i like these desi-desi "where are you from"s.

We happen to be from the same graduate school-different departments and would have barely noticed each other in the campus.....(barely enough ;) to light up that faint spark of familiarity. The other common zing-thing we discovered within 5 minutes of our conversation was that we both had spent great time in Boston at some point :).

A whole year of good things, shared and experienced together-would last us both a life-time.....not only through the millions of pictures we madly clicked everywhere around, but also through the warm words, both spoken and un-spoken.....

i wish you a wonderful future and hope you make great friends in your new place.....

MD, this city isn't going to be the same without you, and i hope you would be back sometime-our favorite desi restaurant (and the friends we've made there), the Fox theater and the rest of Westwood awaits us :).

Boston, Tea-party.

One of the things that i miss most about Boston is the tea-party.....and i am not talking about the Boston tea-party. Way past the midnight, Arshi and i would have our own little
tea-party :) .

Arshi attended Art School during the day and worked in the night at an apartment help-desk in Prudential. But there were days when she would have a day off from her work. and those were the days we dedicated to the mad tea-parties :). Sitting outside near the apartment entrance, in the cold midnight that Boston so lovingly presented us with, we would sip on chai.....we would share pakoras, namkeen/nimko and many a dream.....endelessly chatting about how we wanted the things to be and how they actually had been. We would passionately talk about the books that we had read, the movies we enjoyed.....and the songs we so loved.....we would play on the same songs again and again, and never be tired of them.

we would talk about her workshops and my experiments.....the nice and the mean people at work.....and about the things that bonded us the most.....like our language, Punjabi and our passion for food. She loved sooji-halwa and would often ask me to make some.....yes, that what we were upto, making halwas and frying pakoras in the wee hours.....she would sometimes bless me like an octagenerian Bebe ji "Tere bachhe jeevan".....and we would burst our laughing. sometimes she would just make some mehendi and would insist that i also apply some.....we talked about mehendi a lot and tried to recall the Punjabi wedding songs :). she was like an elder sister to me, always so caring.....

few days back i was looking for something in an old bag.....and i found some notes on yellow stickies.....i had saved them when i left Boston.....those were the notes Arshi used to leave me.....our schedules being so different.....one of them said "Dear, the daal and sabzi in the fridge were yummmmmmy, promise to make you some aloo-parathas over the weekend, and BTW, thanks for the book-its great." and a B'day greeting card for me, which had a picture of me that she had clicked.....and another note about missing the tea-parties (written during the days when she was working towards her exhibition at school). we had many tea-parties after that.....we moved on with life.....any clue when will there be the next tea-party.....

Diwali stories

Happy Diwali, everyone. I am sure you are all having a wonderful, colorful and a thunderous diwali :).

I just woke up-had real great dreams about Diwali.....Oo wow, all the phooljharis, chakris and anaars. As I call home, I can hear the sound of fire-crackers in the backdrop. and friends are writing from home abot what they are going to do for diwali. am I jealous ;) . what do I do for Diwali? ha, ha-go to the lab :) and go out for lunch.....

This year my family welcomes two new members: my nephew (brother’s son) and my niece (sister’s daughter). Their parents are a bit worried that the diwali dhoom might upset the lil’ ones.

And I am thinking about how I spent my Diwali last year-it wasn’t anything great, especially with the happenings in New Delhi. and I felt disgusted with one remark from an Asian colleague “Oh, they had such trouble for a festival, innocent people targeted-why? India is not an important country”. and I went all GRRRRRRRRRRRR. well, umm, not that loudly and rudely. but I challenged her to explain what she meant!! I turned out that she meant politically neutral and with her English not helping her enough she uttered the unsavory!

But, there’s one Diwali that’s very close to my heart. Boston, circa 2003.....

its a Diwali weekend-am back home after finishing a bit work in the lab. as I sip on some masala chai, the door-bell rings. Hmm, she’s home-my house-mate Arshiya. She looks at me and greets “Happy Diwali ji”-and I greet her back with the same. as I serve her some chai she quips “where are the lights”. and that makes me think, hmm, yes, its Diwali today. But then, am I supposed to celebrate this year.....Mom has left us for the heavens this year.....i think. I am quiet. and Arshi asks me, “kahan kho gayin aap”-i remind her that Mom is here no more. She smiles and hugs me and echos what goes on in my minds just as she hugs me. and we understand that my being happy and enjoying is only going to make Mom happier. She would actually not like it, if her child isn’t happy. I look up and break into a tearful grin and I hear my sweetheart Mom say “Chal uth, aiwayein na ro-ja uth ke kuchh kar. Aapni saheli naal bahar jaake aa” (”get up, don’t cry like this-go, do something-go out with your friend”). Thanks sweetie, I chirp, as Arshi looks on if its for her. She knows the answer.....and goes to set up the X’mas lights on the windows.

Dressed up, Arshi and I go out. Its quite chilly and we decide to walk upto the Bombay Cinema for a Hindi movie from our apartment in Brookline. I am told that theater no longer screens Hindi movies. On the way, we stop at Kashmir, an Indian store and buy some diyas and sweets. We pick up a coffee from Dunkin’-Donuts and buy a cpl of samosas after we reach the theater and get the tickets. The tickets are for “Pinjar”, a movie based on Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam’s novel by the same name. We anticipate a great movie as we both are Punjabis.....from the two sides of border. We munch on samosas while watching this movie that revolves around the story of a girl Puro, set in the turbulent times of India’s Partition. We are both a tearful shadow of ourselves, crying in bucketloads.....the movie ends and we both come out with a heavy heart and begin walking home. But as we walk, we feel lighter.....we laugh at this situation-an Indian and Pakistani girl watching and crying through this movie together. its a hindi movie like situation, we joke :).

We reach home, its another round of chai, this time with aloo-paranthas. We light the diyas and then sit and chat and within five minutes we realize we need some therapy.....we break into tearful grins again and pick up the casette for Chalte-Chalte and enjoy our beloved SRK dancing to “Gumshuda.....”