The Namesake- A Touch of Sentiments

I recently watched the movie "The Namesake" on DVD that was directed by Mira Nair, though the movie had come out earlier this year. I had already read the book written by Jhumpa Lahiri, but seeing the movie made the experience lot more realistic for me. It was one of those movies that had me crying my heart out and poor K had to stop at one point and we watched the remaining portion on the next day. The movie still remains fresh at mind and in heart that prompted me to write a blog.

Perhaps there have been other movies that showcase cross-cultural issues and American versus other cultural issues and differences like Bend it like Beckam, East versus East etc., but what makes Namesake stand out, is the beautiful way in which Mira Nair portrays the true personalities of each of the characters that make you forget that it is a movie after all.

The story revolves around first-generation Indian American Gogul Ganguli and his Bengali family, parents Ashoke and Ashima, specifically and the struggles that they each meet out to come to terms with the American culture. Kal Penn as Gogul Ganguli and Tabu as Ashima live and breathe the images of their respective characters and really touch your hearts with their stellar performances.

The story line and incidents that happen right from the start of Ashima's marriage to Ashoke and her entry to the American land till the end when she decides to live her life part in Calcutta and the US complete a full life for the film. The movie has a message for everyone- be it the Indian arranged marriage couple or the Indian American children born in this country. It portrays Ashima as a strong woman of substance who has come a long way since she married Ashoke. It also depicts the hardships faced by Gogul and his sister, more so, by Gogul, in trying to fit in. The women in his life- both Maxine and the Begali wife Moushmi teach him valuable lessons that shape his thought processes and make him understand himself more.

A few scenes that really stood out for me were when Ashima tries to call her son on his birthday and he his out with his girl friend Maxine's family, when she later tells him to make him up Maxine (though she doesn't approve of her) and some more.

This movie is a great learning cultural tool for many Indian Americans who go through the sturuggles of raising their children in this country. As for the non Indian poulation, it gives them a good insight into the arranged marriage system and how love, trust and commitment follow through. It also provides a good overview of the emotions and feelings that Gogul-like Indians undrego growing up in this country.

It is a rather slow movie, especially in the earlier parts, but The Namesake will speak to anyone who has felt themselves pulled in different directions by their own heart and emotions.

A must see for all!

Happy Deepavali...A trip down memory lane

It is those memories of celebrating a Deepavali back in India that makes it so special for many of us who aren't back home for this festive occasion.- Happy Deepavali...

Several of us have different memories when we talk about Deepavali back in our homes in India. For me, it brings back first the smell and taste of the sweets and savories (bakshanam)

that could be tasted as they are bring made by mothers and grand mothers, unlike other festivals like Krishna Jayanthi etc. where you would have to wait for the Gods (naivediyam)

before you can have a go at the goodies. I still remember the times when my mom would make kara boondhi a few days before Deepavali which would be the official lauch of the preparations.

Not to forget, the "Deepavali marundu or lehiyam" that would be the first thing to fall plop into my palm after an oil bath. The elders would refer to it as a good digestive and eating that before delving into the sweets and savories for the rest of the day would keep you up and running.

Moving on to more than just goodies for the stomach, Deepavali brings lots of crackers, and recently, heard from India that there are tons of new varieties of crackers, sparklers, flower pots etc. that have been added to the existing traditional ones.

Special television programs throughout the day in all the satellite channels and new movies being released on that day all contribute to the festive atmosphere of the day. New clothes, colorful versions of several designs and jewels along with a visit to relatives, grandparents places for blessings and sweet exchanges are all the other things that complete my memory of a complete Deepavali celebration.

As for this year, planning to record some of the Sun Tv programs to watch (esp. the star pattimadram) and watch it sometime later. For K and I, it is just another routine work day and a trip down memory lane of earlier Deepavali's.

Wishing all bloggers A Very Happy & Prosperous Deepavali...............................................

JK Rowling's spills secrets on her characters

As one of the millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide, I have to do a blog on JKR's latest revealetions on some of her characters. Rowling was present at New York City's Carnegie Hall on Saturday night at an event that boasted of thousands of Harry Potter fans who had come across the country for the hot event. These lucky children won a sweepstakes created by Rowlings publisher and they then flew to New York from all over the place. The event was hosted by MSNBC news anchor Keith Olbermann who paved the way for Rowling to occupy the center stage.

Answering to a question posed by someone in the crowds, Rowling spilled the beans on the kindly old headmaster of Hogwarts, by saying that Dumbledore was gay. That statements explains a lot from her series, especially, it affirms the connection between Dumbledore and Grindelward, his younger days companion who took an interest in the Dark Arts. Albus Dumbledore's character is probably the most loved and discussed, next to Harry, in all of Harry Potter's fan groups. Though, initial books probably made readers question the loyalty and relationship between Professor McGonagal and Dumbledore, Rowling clarifies that in her latter books.

Hope the upcoming Harry Potter movies, would make sure that the authenticity of his character remains without messing up the storyline.

Further, Rowling went on to answer a few other questions such as Neville's love life, Molly Weasley's killing of Bellatrix and so no. The whole evening came to an end by 8.30 pm when Rowling stood up to sign the stacks of books piled up for the children who had come.

Wish I could go to one such event and get caught up in the magical moments................

Saraswathi Puja and Vijayadasami- end of Navarathri

Happy Friday!

Since I didn't get to do a post on the golu this year, thought that I would do a write up on the end of the navarathri festival, which is marked by the Sarawasthi puja on the ninth day (navami) followed by Vijayadasami on the tenth day. Because, these days fall on a weekend, it becomes a little easier, atleast for working folks like us in the US, to do some sort of a mini puja at home.

A trip down the memory lane- Back in India, Saraswathi puja was an important day to reckon with. It was on this only day that our parents never insisted us to study/read and we were made to keep all our books, musical instruments before the Goddess and puja would be performed. This was done as a form of respect to the Goddess of knowledge Saraswathi who would be the one to bless our educational pursuits. In commercial places, this day would be referred to as Ayudha puja and all the machinery, equipment used in any form of shop, industry etc. would be cleaned and decorated with flowers, sandalwood paste etc. After a brief puja, sweets, rice flakes (arisi pori) with jaggery would be distributed to all. Even vehicles and automobiles would be decorated and worshiphed since they brought livelihood for several folks.

On the tenth day of Vijayadasami, the day that the Goddess has attained victory by slaying the demon, is considered auspicious and siginifies good over evil. This is the day when new ventures, be it in business, education, music, dance etc. is begun, since it signifies prosperity throughout the coming year.

Well, thus comes the end to the navarathi season. Hope everybody has a good weekend.

Back to Blogging

Hello! Hola! Bonjour! Ciao! Aloha! Namaste! Vanakkam..........

Yes, I am back to blogging after a leave of absence of six months. Given that my last blog was in April when we moved into our new home, I didn't think that I would come back to blogging for several reasons, top one being that I simply had lost the enthu and motivation to blog somewhere along the line. Further, I didn't think that me not blogging would make a difference to the huge blogger community, honestly, it doesn't, but when a few friends kept asking me as to why I haven't blogged and that I should start blogging again, I thought, well, maybe its time to make a come back.

A lot has happened in the last six months, don't want to indulge into great details about each and every thing. The highlights would be K and I completed 3 years of matrimony in June, we visited London and nearby cities like Stratford, Oxford enroute to India in July. We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday function in India and attended my brother-in-law's engagement around the same time in August. Came back to US and spent the last week in keeping golu and inviting friends.

While, those have been the happenings in my personal life, other things that whizzed by were Thalaivar's Sivaji making history in tamil cinema, the Indian stock market's growth (given that it was down today), the Google and Apple stocks still holding strong, the I-Phone frenzy and more.

Well, with the comeback comes a new look to this blog......will be back soon.

Home..Sweet Home

The last couple of months have probably been the busiest time in my life, given that my blogging has consistently decreased to "a blog once a month". But, that doesn't prevent me from spending my lunch hour reading some of the other blogs to keep up on the happenings.

Early this year, after a lot of pressurizing from my end, my husband and I decided to embark on the "Bay Area Housing Express" to make our journey through the tedious process of buying a home. As first-time passengers in this express, our requirements for reaching the destination of "Buying a Home in Silicon Valley" were different. K's need was simple- "You buy a house, pay for it to live in it and don't expect anything more." My desire was a little more ambitious- Given that the housing prices in the valley are much much higher than anywhere else in the country and don't seem to drop lower; and logic sans the already inflated housing prices versus steady salary growth, not knowing how unpredictable the future here is going to be, still, the tinge of hope that maybe, the home price may go up slightly and there is still room for a small profit to be made.

But, anyways, the entire process of home buying was an educative and eye-opening experience. Initially, our knowledge base on the topic was limited to conversations with some friends who have been experts in this area, buying and selling their 2nd and 3rd homes. Nevertheless, the process seemed scary. You know there's a lot of paperwork involved, and a lot of vocabulary that might sound alien. It was like doing school work, the evenings, K and I spent reading the material our agent had given us and learning the meaning of terms like Adjustable Rate Mortgage(ARM), Amortization, Annual Percentage Rate(APR), Closing costs, Contingency, Delinquent, etc. The easy part was spending the weekend afternoons going for open houses and then after a while, you realize that the more you see, the more you get confused. Not only that, you know that the ones that are in a reasonable condition are the ones that will be sold in a jiffy with mutiple offers and the fixer-upper types also had their bidders.

While several friends of us kept telling us that the prices have gone down now, the scenario during mutiple offers brought a jolt of unexpected happenings. While nation-wide home prices have declined, the valley still seems to be going steady, not great, but flat. When a house has multiple offers, it just seems that people are frantic enough to escalate the value of the home and make sure that the price is highly inflated, atleast 15-25K more than the listing price.

Anyways, to cut a long story short, we finally found a house that we liked and more importantly got. The hard part comes afterwards, gettting the home loan approved, locking it down at a good interest rate and closing escrow.

Once all those processes are completed and you get the keys to the home, you can finally call yours, one may think that you can breathe easier. The moving in, followed by seeing the huge mortgage amount go every month from your paycheck, makes you wonder, if you made the right decision.

But, seeing that you can slam nails into your walls, hang how many ever pictures you want, paint them and decorate them as per your wish and basically having the freedom to do anything, makes you smile and say, "Maybe, this wasn't such a bad idea, after all."

More on the home series to follow..................................................................

Bachelors- 'Singled Out' in South India (100th post)

Recently watched Mozhi on big screen with some friends, although Jo's acting etc. are all talked about, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes between the Telegu actor Brahmanandam who plays the house owner and his clashes with Prakash Raj, seemed like a fresh breath of comedy amidst the other present day stereo types. This episode in the movie along with a recent conversation with one of my single friends in India gave me some content for a blog.

A good high-school friend of mine who works for a BPO in Chennai was telling me about his state of affairs as a "bachelor" guy in the city and how hard it is for him to make a right impression with folks considering his single status. When I asked him to elaborate more, he was only too happy to express his displeasure about the way bachelors are treated in and around the city. Given that several youngsters come from different parts to live and work in Chennai's booming IT corridor and companies, inspite of their education and good behavior, the society has little regard for these folks.

As an example, he mentioned how his house owner looks down upon him and a few other roomates of his with suspicion given the fact that they are bachelors. It was so hard to even convince him to rent us this apartment for 3 working bachelors. Out of curiosity, when he asked his owner why he was against bachelors, the man responded with a knowing grin, "I was a bachelor once. I know what you guys do!" My friend was saying he may have hinted about drinking, making noise, partying etc. but the truth is we hardly make much noise and do any partying in the house. We work on day and night shifts alternatively and come home to relax, watch some tv and get some sleep. We don't cook regularly and are often out of people's ways and feel that we are way better compared to several other family tenants.

He didn't stop his out-pour there, but went on to say how the neighbours view the bachelors. A few years back when he was living with his parents, they would fondly tell their small kids about "Anna" and wave to him. Nowadays, when me or my friends walk into the apartment complex, the folks rush in with their kids and close the door, just because I smile and say hi to them. The same neighbours, especially the married women, later, knock on our doors with a request to teach their child Math or Science or help out with a school project that is due on the next day.

He was also telling me how several of his colleagues who are CA's or sofware professionals have been denied home loans by financial institutions, owing to their unmarried status.

Lastly, my dad was telling me about a distant relative of his who had left Tiruchi to work in a good job in Chennai. Looks like he was in need of a gas connection, which, after my dad's narration, I realized is not the easiest to obtain in Chennai. The boy had to have a ration card in order to get his gas connection, for which, he had to be married or needed to take days off from work to go back to Tiruchi and cancel his name on the ration card there. The boy commented to my dad that he had a passport, voter's ID Card, a driver's license, a PAN card and income tax receipts, but none of this could be useful in helping him obtain a gas connection.

Looking at all this, seems like being a bachelor is not such a great idea and all fun as it appears to be. I guess the city definitely needs to be more open and polite to the tons of youngsters who are bachelors and are there to make a living.

Thought for the day:

Try to focus, not on the annoying things your neighbours do, but on the things they do right.

Back to Blogging.....

It has been a while since I blogged, especially the meaningful blogging, except the Thanksgiving and New Year wishes posts. No specific reason, except for a sudden dip or lack of motivation on topics to write about and work catching up and some other stuff to take care of at the domestic front, there has been no will to blog. Although, I have been reading the other blogs on and off when time permits. Hopefully, I will start blogging regularly from now on....

Thought for the day:

When someone asks you how you are, don't emphasize how busy you are. You're an interesting person with many qualities besides busyness.

Happy New Year & Resolutions

Wishing all bloggers A Very Happy and Prosperous 2007! Thanks for all your wishes and hope the new year brings in more blogger friends and sharing.

Back to work today- the first working day in 2007 and I'm sure that some of you may have made resolutions to start off the year. Making New Year Resolutions is no less than a tradition in modern times and though they are easy to make or think of, its quite difficult and virtually impossible for everyone to keep up their resolutions till the year end. A few suggestions on keeping up those resolutions and achieve them by the year ending.

* Its a good idea to recall last year's resolution and see if it has been successfully achieved. If not, make that the primary resolution for this year and promise yourself to keep it this year.

* Also, making a lot of resolutions and not following them is easier, so try and stick to 1-3 resolutions, small ones that you are sure can be achievable.

* Keep reminding yourself of your resolution daily, by writing it and sticking it in your office or at home and reward yourself when you have work towards your goal.

Well, one of my resolutions this year is to try and pray to God for a few minutes daily either in the morning or evening. Feels like this habit of mine needs some strengthening in the new year.

Would be interesting to hear some other resolutions for this year.............

Happy Tuesday!

The Joy of Giving, Exchanging Goodwill and the Holiday Season

Its been almost a month since my last Thanksgiving blog and it appears as though my blogging happens only during the holiday time and not earlier, simply because, life has been more busy and I haven't been in the mood to blog.

Well, its that time of the year when wreaths made from artificial mistletoe, carols about holly, ivy and reindeer, bright-colored stockings are all hung up as decorations- all these have become an integral part of Christmas and holiday celebrations at work and outside. Yes, I am referring to my work place, a totally white dominated office where the spirit of giving and the holiday season have started to cheer the atmosphere around me.

I am not a Christian and neither have I yet started celebrating Christmas at home bu putting up a tree etc., but I definitely enjoy exchanging goodwill with friends and colleagues during this time of the year.

Being in a University, we are closed for the next week starting 12/23-1/2 and these last few days in the office have been good. First of all, work is slow at this time of the year and it is great time to catch up on organizing and cleaning the office and making plans for the new year. Secondly, attending other department XMas parties, lunches at nice restaurants with a group of colleagues followed by "white-elephant" gift exchange games make it seem so realistic. I haven't felt the same during Diwali time here in the US, not that the Sun TV programs and temple visits make me only feel more nostalgic. But, the nice thing about the holiday season and approach of XMas is that I don't feel left out. I too go shopping to buy gifts for friends and colleagues who shower their holiday spirit on me by giving me home made baked goodies, stockings filled with candies and a lot more other XMas gifts.

I am learning a lot about reciprocating gifts this year. "Gifting is an art" and I think it should be done with a lot of elan and class. Wrapping and packaging of the gits with the most innovative of holiday paper and bags make so much of a difference and is thoroughly appreciated.

Last, but not the least, the joy of giving is not only exchanging gifts at work, but also practicing some charity during this time of the year. This year, I participated in a Holiday Toy Drive for homeless kids and managed to collect some toys from work that I passed on to the Urban Ministry department who organize the toy drive. I find lots of colleagues and friends (sadly, not Indians) who contribute a portion of their income to the Red Cross or do something to help the less fortunate folks.

An older colleague of mine who has no living family members says that the joy of giving is deep and rewarding and works wonders on a person's psyche. She says that when distraught with tension and worry, a little help to somebody in need can be a great stress buster and an anti-depressant.

With all the sales happening in stores around us, being caught up with our hectic lifestyles, passions and interests, we never pause to reflect on the misery of those in dire need. Well, not to go on to the point of sounding monotonous, it is a good idea to start thinking about doing something small for a person in need during this holiday season.

Merry Christmas to those celebrating and Happy Holidays for the others. More frequent blogging to follow.....

Happy Thanksgiving..........

Its that time of the year when the US festivals and holidays start coming and filling our houses and lives with the spirit of the season. The Thanksgiving Day and long weekend is one such occasion when its time for family and friends to get together in someone's place, cook a fancy meal, need not necessarily be a turkey meal and enjoy good food and great company. In 2004, K and I made a trip to Boston to spend the holiday with my aunt's family where they celebrate thanksgiving in a traditional way cooking a vegetarian version- we had mashed potatoes, veggie stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy, a dish made out of butternut squash and pineapples and of course pumpkin pie. A picture of the dinner has been attached.

In 2005, I tried my hand at making all those dishes that I had learnt from my aunt on K and invited another recently wed couple friends of ours and hopefully they enjoyed the meal.

This year, dear aunt, uncle and cousin are arriving tonight to spend the holiday with us, can't wait to try out some new dishes this year.

Other things that I am looking forward to this year- Black Friday Deals and shopping on Friday the day after thanksgiving, a trip to SFO to watch the Ghirardelli or Union Sqaure Xmas Tree lighting on the same day and maybe some other visits to nearby places in and around Bay Area during the weekend.

To all those travelling and spending time with family and friends and for those who plan to stay home and relax during the holidays, wish you A Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!!!

More blogging to continue from Monday.....

A Glimpse into Mani's "Guru"

Mani Rathnam is one of those few Indian directors who has carved a niche for himself and his style of movies. Madras Talkies is his home production and everyone knows about all the trademark movies that have come under his direction and remain as hallmarks of good cinema. With his sophisticated style of film taking and his eye for the best and most suited star cast coomplimented by the best in music AR. Rahman (this time, it is indeed worth spending every penny and minute watching Mani's films.

I am both excited and am eagerly awaiting the release of his next venture "Guru" from Bollywood. During my browsing time, I manage to catch up on all the tit bits from the websites on the movie. Almost everything about Guru is grandiose and builds high expectations.

Beginning with a heavy star cast that includes Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakravarthy, Madhavan and Vidya Balan, well, if this isn't the only reason to watch the movie. With Mani's expert direction, I am positive that each actor would have performed to the best of their abilities. The second best thing about Guru is its music-AR Rahman has been roped in to do some stunning background score. Gulzar's lyrics have been sung by ARR, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal, Madhushree and Bappi Lahiri.

Finally, the story of Guru- It is rumored to be based on the life of the Ambani family. The Ambani family is known to be one of the richest conglomerates in the world. The movie is based on the transition of a simple villager to a rising businessman and entrepreneur who grows to become the largest private company in India. Abhishek Bachchan is said to have played the part of Dhirubai and Aishwarya as Kokilaben. Of course, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and Mithun also have strong supporting characters to play. Inspite of being known to do some controversial movies like Nayagan, Bombay where Mani Rathnam has had to face obstacles, in this movie too, he had to walk a tight rope in not copying the verbatim lifestyle of the Ambani's, since the family doesn't want any controversial scenes that would slander their family reputation. So, a private screening of the movie to the Ambani family would probably be expected before its December release.

Abhishek Bachchan's performance both as the youngster and the older Ambani must indeed be a visual treat for his fans and of course the chemistry between him and Aishwarya (his soon to be wife) must only add more of the magical element to the movie. A few articles comparing Ambani to Velu Naicker in Mani's Nayagan about 20 years ago have also been coming out claiming that this would be Nayagan Part II. Since, the movie has been shot in Mani's favorite city Mumbai, but a lot of shotting was also done in and around Chennai, the song sequences have been shot again in Mani's favorite location- Thirumalai Naicker Mahal in Madurai (the place where Kannalane song from Bombay was shot.

The Music of Guru was released in a star studded event in Mumbai last week (pictures are at India Glitz events gallery under Hindi section), but the CDs become available only on Nov 18th.

A short Trailer of the movie at India Glitz and several short music bits are available for viewing at behindwoods.com as well.

Guru seems to be amazingly promising and comes with a lot of expectations from the 60 minute promo trailer ...Villager Visionary..Winner with ARR's background score and minimal dialogues. Just counting the days till its release this December.

A Man's Rules

Just came across this on the internet and thought it would be interesting to share-

If you ask most men, they would say that the rules are made by their women in their lives etc. For fun, If a man were to make his rules-

Rule 1 Anything I said six or eight months ago is inadmissible in an arguement. All comments become null and vid after 7 days.

Rule 2 If I say something that can be interpreted in two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other way.

Rule 3 It is in neither your best interest nor mine to make me take those stupid Cosmo quizzes together.

Rule 4 You can either ask me to do something or tell me how you want it done- not both.

Rule 5 Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials or time-outs.

Rule 6 Christopher Columbus didn't need directions and neither do I.

Rule 7 When I'm turning the wheel and the car is nosing onto the ramp, you saying, "This is our exit" is not necessary.

Source: Internet


Happy Friday!

Thaali aka Mangalsutra- No strings attached?

Have been wanting to write about this topic for a while now, but haven't had the time to do so. In today's modern world, a married woman makes a conscious choice to wear or not wear her thaali or mangalsutra. What does this imply?

For those who aren't familiar with the Hindu tradition of marriage, a thaali (as known in South India) or a mangalsutra (as known in North India) is tied by the groom around the neck of the bride on the day of their wedding signifying their union. The thaali is considered auspicious and is believed to protect the marriage and life of the husbands and was never usually removed in the bride's lifetime, unless her spouse died.

But like all traditions and customs, today this trend is also changing. Although, it is tied at the wedding, the younger generation women of today are choosing whether to wear it all times, or not.

For many women living outside India, the thaali is worn on and off. Some reasons for this are that- First of all, the fear that something may happen to their spouses if the woman takes off her thaali is overcome by the voice of reason and logic.

Secondly, the new era of women are confident that a mere symbolism of the thaali is not an expression of their commitment in the marriage. Most of them feel that loving your spouse and staying married doesn't come with a piece of chain around your neck.

Thirdly, the practical difficulty in wearing the thaali is that it does not blend in with western clothes or go well with party jewellery, silver jewellery, black metal etc. Earlier, the thaali was a traditional thick rope, followed by the thick gold chain and each community has their version for the pendant. Slowly, the gold rope was replaced by the "karugamani" which is made of small gold and black beads and then nowadays women have a "micro thaali" done which is fashionable, much sammer in size and weighs lesser.

Also, during work outs at the gym and other activities such as swimming etc., the thaali is uncomfortable. Not to forget mentioning that some women are allergic to the gold and even have marks on their necks.

But, many women still like to wear it at special occasions and sometimes even on a regular basis and when asked by colleagues at work are proud to explain that it is the equivalent of a wedding ring and symbolizes that a woman is married.

Life is much easier for the women abroad when you don't have a mother-in-law hovering around in the background to express shock and disbelief or a mother to express her concern when you aren't wearing the thaali.

But, for the married women in India, well, I do know some of them who work in MNCs who don't wear a thaali daily to work. But, for the others, it is a constant battle and struggle when the traditional society that is steepled in orthodoxy, culture and values fails to listen to the modern day women's perspective. Also, when the women living in US visit India, they are inclined to wear the thaali more as a way to keep the family members from reacting. Of course, there are still stronger women who hold on to their decision and boldly say that it is a matter of individual choice.

Lastly,how does the husband react to all this? Some of them who are raised in an orthodox background don't approve of their wives not willing to uphold the tradition of being married to them, while others are a lot more open to their spouses making the decision. But, secretly, most men do seem to care about whether their wives want to wear a "thaali" or not, its just that the circumstances in today's lifestyle are such that he has to make his wife have the final word on that!

Happy Friday!

Happy Halloween

Just got off the hook after organizing A Halloween Lunch Party at work. The spooky decorations and witches and candies were all put out a few weeks ago throughout the office- I guess for lots of folks, being in HR means just "OB-adichifying" with parties, office events etc. It does mean doing all this, but involves lot of physical work and also creativity. Employees love to have a nice atmosphere at work and it is one of the duties of HR to boost their morale by coming up with all sorts of ideas for every special event.

This year for Halloween, I decided on doing a costume party, cos many folks in our office loves to dress up in their Halloween costumes and I haven't yet got into the costume group (for which some folks look at me and say "You need to set a better example as HR".....and my response to them is, "Yeah..I am setting up an example in other ways, not just by wearing a costume).

Anyways, came up with two categories- Most Frightful Costume and Most Creative Costume for the Event, ordered and picked up Gourmet Applewood Pizza (which is thrice as expensive as Round Table or Chicago Pizza), got half a dozen variety of candies, cookies and treats.

The pizza lunch followed by a secret ballot voting for the Best Costume of the Day in each category ended well with people thanking me for all the efforts. Can't wait to go home and hit the sack. Guess those with kids have a lot of Trick or Treating to do this evening.

Attached are pictures from our costume themes- Most Frightful and Most Creative Costumes of the Day.

Happy Halloween!!!

Hobbies for Pleasure

"Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby!" Prof. Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion".

Recently, I came across a few people's opinions on a random survey conducted between ages 12-70 in a certain community event. The topic and questions thrown at the folks were- Have people bid goodbye to hobbies or are hobbies still being considered essential to our lives?

From my personal view, I feel that a hobby is an activity or interest pursued outside a person's regular occupation and engaged in, primarily for pleasure and interest; otherwise it loses its purpose.

It was interesting to read some of the responses and opinions that people shared about pursuing hobbies.

From my daily experience in reviewing resumes, atleast 15% of them have a final paragraph on hobbies and often times I wonder, if this is a mere ornamental additional to a resume or is there more to it than that.

Hobbies can be anything right from surfing the net for constructive purposes, blogging to more traditional ones like gardening, cooking, playing sports, reading, listening to music, art and crafts etc. Whatever be the hobby, it needs an investment of time and lots of passion by the person to keep it going. Due to the technology advancement, computer and video games and watching cartoons on TV have taken precedence over outdoor hobbies.

Some examples that I found worth sharing are-

An older generation Indian mother after relocating to Indonesia, was part of discussion groups to share her knowledge of India with foreigners. She also taught English to adults and children from non-English speaking countries such as Norway, Korea and Indonesia. She found that sharing her knowlesge with the wider world makes an interesting hobby.

Another Indian lady who is a homemaker in Australia spends her weekends making glass paintings and mehendi designs for functions and also earns an income out of this.

Here in Bay Area, there are tons of Indians and their families who conduct classes in Carnatic music, dance, cookery, Tamil language etc. and not only pass on their talent and knowledge but also make a decent living out of doing this. They meet a lot of people and thereby form new friendships and contacts.

Some folks voiced that due to time constraints, they made their profession into a hobby, not sure to what extent that kind of a parochial view can be taken.

Anyways, the bottom line was pursuing a hobby that one enjoys contributes to making a person's life stress free and happy.

Would be interested to hear some of your thoughts on this........

90th Post- 6 Weird Tag Questions

My 90th post - Tagged by Raju, 6 weird Q&A responses......

1. Psycho in me: Aaaha!! The psycho in me gets triggered when a women is put down or when her opinion is not heard of. Worst yet, can't bear to keep quiet when an older generation man, old school thought, South Indian brahmin man acts as the dominating chief in the household and the rest of the family needs to fear him and obey.

2. Thinni pandaram: Absolutely! I love everything about good food- any cuisine, only vegetarian stuff, ever partial to sweets, pastries, ice creams and cakes. Of course, love to cook the delicacies as well.

3. Kids: Love to cuddle other people's babies,afraid of holding them in my hands, though. Not too fond of them as they grow older.

4. Dreams: Often have the most weird occurences in my dream. Last night, dreamt that a tiger is in the loose in our neighbourhood and it may enter our apartment. It took a while for poor K to rouse me out of my sleep and calm me.

5. No weird: What is the question?

6. Bore factor: Having to stand before the wardrobe every morning and decide what to wear to work.....

I am sure most folks would be bored by tagging them...but will not be the spoiled sport here- so my tagged bloggers: Anu, Renuka, Priya, Shankari, Sundar and jinguchakka........makkale- please don't curse me for doing this!!!

Happy Diwali to All

Wishing all bloggers Happy Diwali!

For the NRI folks: Enjoy the weekend by eating the delicious goodies (home made or brought from store),wear new clothes, visit your nearest temple, be prepared for the crowds in the temples, have a nice lunch and don't miss the Sun Tv programs, if you have cable connection.

Diwali

Today’s the `Festival of Lights’ all o’er;
A joyful day for minds and hearts and souls;
And people throng the Temples to offer,
Prayers, resolving to take better roles.

And most of them are richly clad and clean,
And eat such dainty foods and sweets with mirth;
Whilst noisy crackers burst, their lights are seen,
It seems to be a happy day on Earth!

But are there not hearts woe-filled, very sad?
Denied of laughter, smiles for days;
Today’s the triumph of Good over bad;
But what about the wastage in much ways?
True joy is when you see someone else smile!
True charity gives joy in Heav’nly style.

Sonnet by Dr John Celes on the Festival of Lights.......

NRI Diwali Special Part I

Its three more days to Diwali and I am sitting at work writing a job description for a new position that needs to be created, classified, posted, recruited, interviewed and hired as soon as I can. Well, what else can we, other NRI's who work and study here in the US do other than fantasising about their childhood Diwali days and buying calling cards to call India to ask about the Diwali preparations at home.

Earlier, during school and college years when I was in Chennai, I wasn't a big fan of Diwali, mainly bcos I was afraid of crackers. My fun with crackers was restricted to the sparklers aka "kambi mathapu" and flower pots aka "boos vaanam". Vedis such as electric pataasu and even cape guns were banned in my house since I would crawl under the bed with my ears stuffed with cotton and my heart beating loudly at every sound made bya cracker in the neighbourhood. But, what made me still look forward to those Diwali days back then?

A week or so prior to the Diwali day, my parents would take me to Naidu Hall and Nalli etc. for Diwali shopping and a salwar or a midi would be the choice of the day. Today, as I look at all the online apparel business and hear about the crowds at the shops in T.Nagar from my folks, it seems like a lot more gala has been added to the festivities, simply bcos new fashion apparel like modern designer clothes, traditional silk saree varieties and even so many latest trends for men's wear and kids- the new tinkerbell pattu pavadais etc. coupled with the Diwali bonanza, mega sale at Pothy's, Saravana Sotes, Globus, Lifestyle etc. has made the whole package more attractive.

The crackers- What with Subhiksha and many shops offering all the latest types of crackers and lamps-diyas etc.it is indeed a kids delight to celebrate Diwali.

Of course, when we call our parents, they keep saying, now that you've all grown up and gone away, there is no one to burst crackers, so we haven't bought any, just a few sparklers for namesake.

Then, the sweet and savory making time at home. The women of the household-ammas, grandmas etc. would all join together or exchange recipes on making laddos, thengoyal etc. Of course, the special Diwali "legiyam" would top the list, so that it will do good for digesting all the goodies. Slowly, even that started to change. My mom mentions that since all the youngsters have grown up and nobody has the enthu anymore, they have resorted to Krishna Sweets, Grand Sweets and other outsourced Iyer mami's to order their muruku, badusha etc.

On Diwali, visits to temples and grandparents and relatives houses, adjusting the visits such that we don't miss the special programs on Sun Tv would always be memorable. Today, when I see all the advertisements for the shops and Diwali sales and also the preview for the special programs that are going to be screened on Saturday, it touches a memory chord to the years spent in India.

Well, without adding more senti- its still good to have those memories, but living far away here, we can still make do whatver is feasible and fun for us.

Random Ramblings

It is Friday afternoon and I just finished organizing a baby shower for one of the employees in our department, we had delicious Mocha Chocolate Cake and some fun games. I am ready to leave for the week........just some random thoughts put together in a blog....

1.Thalaivar SuperStar became Super Grandpa on 10/10/06. Being the hero of TN, he distributed sweets and Rs.1000 to all Appollo Hospital staff on this joyous news. Poor Dhanush (whose role isn't too significant as son-in-law, he is 25 yrs old and is younger to his wife Aishwarya) told media that his son would be named by Thalaivar on a grand auspicious function.

Inspite of Rajini attaining grandpa status, his fan crowd and status of hero amongst Tamilians is still at its peak with the successful shooting of his next mega budget Sivaji.

2. Heard that the new movie "The Departed" that has all the major star cast is very bloody, more so that Munich for its violence. So, wondering if we should go for Jet Li's Fearless instead tonight?

3. Want to make some gobi manchrian this weekend.

4. Want to go watch the Pumpkin Patch festival and carving at some close downtown.

5. This huge piece of choc cake that I ate this afternoon is still lingering in my mouth, maybe workout during the weekend?

More meaningful blogging next week......................Happy Friday!!!