The Great Indian Snack!

I am not a foodie at all. Rather I am not a good eater. There are many things I don’t eat or I don’t like than the ones I love to gorge! I don’t live to eat but I eat to live.
The morning rush leaves me with little time to prepare breakfast. The practical readers may suggest that I wake up an hour or half early to prepare breakfast, but waking up early is the toughest in my agenda. I don’t even remember waking up early during the most painstaking examinations (read – science & math & oxomiya!...thanx heavens I didn’t flunk…well that’s altogether a different story & one more reason to blog!)
So preparing the dinner is upto me. I decide what should be eaten for dinner. But almost 90% of the times I am between the devil & the deep sea. I end up asking Nirav the menu & that’s how it goes.
The usual gourmet leaves me disillusioned. But talk about JUNK food!!! And there where my loyalties are!
I can never get tired of the sweet & sour, hot & tangy chutneys served with the samosas! The hotter the better. Infact I’ve been such a brand loyal to this great Indian snack that I’ve got some specific outlets from where I have it. I’ve experimented enough with it & now I know what my taste-buds desires & what are my gastronome delights!
Keeping in mind all the ill effects the samosa has on one’s health, it could never make me pay heed to those! How much Aita would tell me to opt for something more “healthier” , Be it the ones from Guwahati Dairy, or from Dilli Mistan or from Bengali Sweets & Nathu’s…. well, they are just finger licking yummy! The very smell of the deep fried samosa would make me pine for just one bite!
There has been times and instances when this very great Indian snack has left me petrified. It’s because of this very samosa that I’ve had two assaults of food poisoning! The first time I was down ill, I promised myself that I’d never touch the “Wretched” snack again! How angry I had been. But with the antibiotics doing the magic and me getting back in shape, there I was in one of my favourite outlet ready to toss down yet one more! As I was about to gulp I saw Boon standing at the Pan shop and looking at me snidely. He couldn’t imagine even in wildest of his nightmares that after such a ghastly experience I’d get back to where I left!
The second attack was no better! The routine followed – only the time was different. And this time when Boon got the news that I was bed ridden he didn’t even wish me “A QUICK RECOVERY….!!!”
Well that’s been a pretty long time now. Six months, maybe. I don’t like to recall dates that are not pleasant.
But though my devotion still remains with the samosa I’ve not had one for a long time now. I have not done it consciously. Or maybe it’s kinda Passé now. I am not sure about it. Let me try one. Let me see if I get the same feelings and also let me be sure that I am not attacked by another bout of food poisoning again!
But all said & done my loyalties ceases to dither & wither!

The Deepest Fear That's Getting Old!

Finally I realized what it takes to be in an MNC!

Well I was just a usual professional in a Tea Company. I knew my job so well that it was kinda monotony. The adrenaline failed to give me the rush and I guess I was getting to comfy with my space and my ass being glued to my seat!

One thing led to other and one fine day I find myself being called for an interview in one of the world's biggest MNCs! Whhhoaaaa! Sounds too good to be true right? But then it took three rounds of interviews - both personal and telephonic to get me thru! That was quite an ordeal... not that I depised it... but it surely was nerve wrecking!

The biggest fear - stage fright! I dread the very thought of standing up and speaking to an audience.... but the fright waned bit by bit when I was teaching business communication & English in an MBA school .... then came the time when I was asked by the Dean & also the Directors of the Institute to anchor their seminars and orientation programmes...

Somehow I completely forgot about my deepest fear "STAGE FRIGHT"!

And now when I will be working day in and day out in this new company I shall be doing rounds and rounds of talking to an audience and making presentations! And the FEAR is not about giving presentations in front of a large audience here.. but its something else - I cannot let UB down! UB- don't know how he "hand picked" me to join his team and work.. so I cannot let UB down! And to make sure I don't let him down I will give all that it takes to be deligent in my new job.

So what goes around comes around! This might not make sense here but then again - I shall be doing something which would make me have complete blackouts as a kid!

And the best part is I shall get to travel a lot... travelling - now that's like a paid holiday throughout my working hours!.... and well the icing on the cake - well I'll get to use some of the most reknown products for my hair... skin.... and also fragrances!

Now that things are stream-lining ... I guess I should get back to my blogging again!

Not a nightmare

Some dreams are so real it seems scary. Scary because I relate to it.
I see dead people in my dreams. I see them always. Sometimes I am with them and sometimes I am watching them from a distance.
The scariest of them was when I came home the day Poison passed away.
Tales of Poison is again a different story. But for now let me begin where Poison’s life ends.
Poison’s death was unexpected and I was utterly shocked. The whole world froze. My reaction was nothing. I could not express anything. I went to pay my last respects. I was accompanied with a few friends.
Suddenly I was tired. I felt alone all of a sudden. The whole world seemed hostile. I felt there was no one left to call “family. Nevertheless! What’s done cannot be undone.
I stayed there till the body was carried away for the last rites and cremation. I don’t recall who dropped me home or whether I drove home myself. But I found myself in the confines of my room. The next moment I was sound asleep.
It was then something bizarre happened. An experience my feelings says is close to the para-normal.
I was asleep but I felt something dragging me forcefully, it was for real. When I tried to free myself from its clutches I felt as if a very heavy load was placed on me. It was so heavy I could not breathe. I felt chocked and I woke up I was covered with sweat, though it was the month of October and it was marginally cold around that time of the year. I felt so gagged that I couldn’t even speak. I tried to speak but seemed I had lost my voice somewhere.
The cell phone was near me and I gave a missed call to Nirav who was upstairs with Janti & Pranti (our bedroom is more of a cellar).
After giving three missed calls Nirav came down. He was surprised to see me.The colors drained from my face and I was in a state of shock.
At first the guys thought I was upto a prank and hence was giving missed calls. But repeated missed calls for three times told them things were otherwise.
Nirav helped me walk upstairs and when I narrated the incident the guys took it lightly. They said it was because of the emotional turmoil I was going through.

I don’t know.

I don’t have an answer to this. It’s only an assumption and surely does not leave me with a good feeling.

The worst weekend that I ever had!

Work wasn’t too hectic, so surfed the whole day either reading blogs or looking for Egyptian mythologies. Having spent my time leisurely in office which I hardly get to do, we (me & two of my juniors) went window shopping to this newly opened mall. There were road shows, print ads., hoarding – all that and much more to make us decide to go and have a dekho what the mall had to offer.

Except for the cool air conditioned comfort there wasn’t anything else! The hand bags on the shelves were a replica of what I’d get in the road side stalls of Fancy Bazaar. The collections of shoes were limited. Then came the garments section – nothing in particular that would make me shell out a few bucks out of my pockets. Seemed the entire Sarojini collection was being shifted to this mall!

Having browsed thorough we came out of the mall and I treated the girls choco-vanilla ice creams from the Kwality Ice Cream Vendor.

We crossed Barista and I instantly knew one of these days this outlet must be tried… and then compare with its rival Café Coffee Day. Believe me folks! Café Coffee Day has never been a good experience with me! Either they don’t have the edibles I order or they serve forty five minutes late or simply they are running short in the supply of milk or better the music is so damn loud that you cannot have a peaceful time.

I reached home by 6.30 p.m. and got ready for my swimming session. Swimming for me is meditation. The one hour I am in the water I forget everything. I detach myself form the worries, tensions, apprehensions, anxieties. I just have one thing in mind – to reach my target – I set targets everyday – Saturday was set for one kilometer and I swam 842 mts! Not bad though I knew 158 mts remained!

Nothing was planned for the evening. Nirav’s friend Jyoti had come down to Guwahati for some business meeting. So we decided to visit him. We reached his hotel and then we decided to go to a restaurant for some drinks and dinner.

Everything seemed picture perfect till then.

The problem cropped when I saw this other guy piling on with us three i.e. the colleague of Jyoti’s.

We went to a restaurant nearby and decided to sit in the open, A.C’s can get suffocating especially with people smoking and a poor ventilation. The guys ordered their drinks. I didn’t want any, but thought of sipping a chilled Fosters (… guess I had swam good today…so why not indulge?)….

The pile – on tried had impress to us. He began by this by boasting that he & Debojit (excuse me……. Debojit…… who?) were bum chums. He even called up someone – and then informed us that Debojit was currently in the U.S. of A doing shows.

As we three (Nirav, Jyoti & me) were immersed in our own talks, though the corner of my eye I could see this bastard speaking in a very low tone to someone over phone. I know eaves dropping is real baaaaaaaaaaaaaad! But then there is something called womanly instincts & shamelessly I was paying a closer attention to what he was narrating over phone. And I was horrified when I realized that my sixth sense was so damn right!

That motherfucker was discussing about me…..“………….. she is wearing a sleeveless top & jeans………………….. works in a tea company……………. Beer… beer…” and then looks at me and asks me loudly “Aapka beer finish ho gaya?”……….. “smoking……………”
Well... I knew I had to put the brakes and I did it so.
I cut him short by asking him “Excuse me… Hello!.. are you discussing about me?”… the guy was silent for a moment and denied.
I didn’t buy that as an answer and asked him “how does it bother him if I smoke … I drink… I wear jeans? If my husband is comfortable with me then who the hell is he? If he had a problem with my habits he should have told me right in the very beginning? And how would he fee if someone discussed about his wife like this?”… By that time this bastard was absolutely red on his face and he told to whomever he was talking that he will call back later.
He apologized me said “ I am sorry BABHI”…
Babhi? Balls to guys like him!
For such chauvinist a woman is just a mere object to satisfy their own thirsts.
Nirav & Jyoti at first couldn’t decipher what was going on and when I set the accounts straight, this guy was so embarrassed that he didn’t know how to face Nirav!

Well I don’t know how many guys can I shut up but why do guys have a problem?

Why do they have such double standards?

Gosh!