Taxi No.9211

I had the best taxi ride home tonight and I feel I must blog about it because I know that if in future I do read my own blog and come across this, it will make me smile.
Ok, so there is this place called Murugan's Idli in Little India which has the best Dosa and Idlis in Singapore all served with an array of wonderful chutneys. Mmmmm lip-smackingy delicious.
My flatmate, this awesomely cute friend of mine from work and I go there every once in a while for dinner. I have been fasting for Ramzan this year and hence to break the fast we decided to go to our good old Murugan's.
As per our Murugan's ritual, we always end our dinner with a trip to Mustafa's (it's a huge market-mall place in Singapore where you can find anything and everything from all over the world and all in reasonably cheap prices). And my friend and I end up singing and dancing to famous bollywood numbers while holding hands. We have never been drunk in that situation, but I swear to God anybody who sees us is convinced that we must have had at least a bottle of wine each! I guess we just get drunk on the happiness. It's always so much fun!

Tonight, we were singing the songs " Main shayar to nahin..." (From the hindi movie Bobby), Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani ... (the great gambler) and whilst we were in the middle of a loud rendition of "Chura Liya hai tumne jo dil ko... " (yaadon ki baraat), we got our taxi.
We got into the cab and since we did not want to leave the song half sung (my excuse - the song might take offense) we kept singing after we got in.
Now co-incidentally, the taxi-uncle turned out to be an avid fan of old hindi movie songs! He promptly started playing "Tum Bin Jaoon Kahan..." ( From the movie - Pyar ka Mausam - he explained) and we showed the appropriate enthusiasm with our "ooh wows" and "ahh very nice!"
That was all the encouragement he needed. He went on to say how exquisitely beautiful he thought Asha Parekh was (I kinda agree that inspite of her overly-large derriere, she was quite the looker in those days) and how handsome Shashi Kapoor looked.
"Now both become fat and ugly neh?" said uncle.
And we nodded our heads wisely saying...hmm true.
It turns out he was a fan of Madhubala and Sharmila Tagore too. And he adored Dev Anand and Rajendra Kumar.
Then he asked if we knew any Lata Mangeshkar's songs and if we would sing it for him. He apparently had a singer as his passenger but she was Tamil so couldn't sing his favorite hindi songs. I obliged and sang my heart out.
He rewarded me by putting on the only other song he had on his tiny mobile phone - "Main Shayar to nahin"!
"What a co-incidence?!" I gushed. We were just singing that!
And uncle was very happy and he was even happier and amazed that I knew the entire song - yet again!
I sang along in the taxi and then continued to sing other songs for him that include
- O nanhe se farishte from the movie ek phool do mali
- Aaja tujhko pukare mere geet re o mere mitwa mere meet  from the movie Geet
- Kaun hai jo sapno mein aaya ... this was because he loved Rajendra Kumar as well!

He advised me to go karaoke singing more often and I asked him if he goes often because he really was an excellent singer. Being a chinese he sang out Asli Naqli song beautifully.
He said he and his wife used to frequent Karaoke bars, but now he doesn't drink beer and so he doesn't go karaokeing - "no beer, no fun lah.... . Now I only sing for my wife", he said and laughed.

Ahh the romantics, they always re-kindle the faith I have in love and all forms of romance.

Then he said that though Shah Rukh Khan and all are very nice, old movies are still the best. Indian actors are so real and so good that they made him cry.
And here I was thinking, wow, hollywood has such great talent. They have amazing actors, while Bollywood is good only for hamming and melodrama. Taxi-uncle opened my eyes to all the talent that we have had the honour and fortune of watching in those growing-up years.
Hats-off to all the hard work and skill that goes into making Bollywood what it is today!

So, many songs and non-stop exchange of words and thoughts later,  I was at home and thanking him profusely for such an entertaining ride and hoping if I will even get to ride in his taxi again.
I'm hoping I do, because it's a small world and according to the spirit of Bollywood - anything might happen!

Fleeting moments with strangers can also leave you warm inside and these moments make you feel alive and happy.
Wishing uncle many more years of music and love...

Of chiffons and silk and shiny shoes...

Which means I have been a bad bad girl and gone on a shopping spree. Bad Shmad, there's nothing like a short black dress that makes you seem a lot slimmer, to help lift up your spirits sky-high.
Or a pure 100% silk polka dotted trench-coat styled dress that makes you look like a fashionista when you walk right through your office doors in it and makes your day look up instantly. 
Then of course there's the rusty orange one-piece dress suit, with tiny roses with pearls lining the neckline that looked fantabulous in the shop mirror but which i haven't had the opportunity to try out as it is with the shop for alteration. Team it up with the short black shrug jacket with the ruffled up sleeves and baby, I am having breakfast at Tiffany's :)
And then there were these peep toed suede and croc-skin brown and grey shiny shoes from Charles and Keith with just the right heels - my excuse? I was anyways looking for a peep toed-low height pair for a long time now, so, well.


Now, my wardrobe is kind of overflowing with dresses that I have not even worn once! There is another reason for this, besides my being possessed by the shopping demon, and that is my sweetest new friend. She is my colleague and is the most generous and fun girlfriend i have had in a long time. She has this collection of clothes that kind of don't fit her too well and surprisingly end up fitting me perfectly, and she keeps donating them to me and it's now like having a big sister in town whose closet you can share. 
And there are a few of those dresses that make me feel like a princess, a light canary yellow chiffon and satin wisp of a dress and a black sequined number that would be perfect for a dinner or some light clubbing. 
All I need now are occasions and I am going to go berserk around town with all of my wardrobe backing me right up. What more does a girl need? Who needs one doting guy, when just a piece of clothing off her clothes-rack can help her get admiring glances from hundreds of men? 
Thus begins, the twisted tails of 'Mia and her Wardrobe'....


Then there was also this tiny bit of home-stuff shopping that I am very happy about. I bought a pair of pen stands made of clay - a man-gnome and a woman-gnome, a pair of square painted blocks to brighten up my wall, a pair of potted plants - one of which is an amazing dark magenta colored Gloxinia, a sign that now hangs outside my door and proclaims that it is a 'Girl's Room' that you are about to enter, and a frilly red pillow for my work. 
All I need to do now is go get my new bed delivered to my home(thanks to the landlord succumbing to my wishes of having a double bed instead of a single one) and I am all set to the bliss of happy-home life.

The Corporate Challenge 2011

My first so-called marathon experience. Ok, so it's not really a marathon, because the distance we ran and walked in-between (it was Hot and Humid and plus the crowd...and a whole lot of other reasons!) was just 5.7 kms.

Everything aside, it was a fantastic evening. For the first time since I came here, not only our entire team, but also the entire office was empty by 5:00 PM. All the serious runners, got changed into the black and green JPMC t-shirts and were out by 4:30 pm. We started at around 5:30 pm and got into the bus that took us all the way from Capital Tower office to the esplanade bridge. The sight that welcomed us was amazing! Blue and silver balloons floating up and the bridge itself flanked by banners and posters was enough to inspire the laziest person to run, just to be a part of it.

The roads were partly cordoned off for the run, and there were people running to warm up and some of them walking down towards the starting point. The colors and the t-shirts were all awesome, all these companies getting together to run for a greener tomorrow! (that was the tagline.)
The CISCO t-shirts were the most vibrant and colorful of the lot, plain white but sprinkled with rainbow colors, and not surprisingly, they did end up winning the best t-shirt design contest at the end of the show.

I wasn't feeling too well, so I had decided to walk, but just being there fueled me with so much energy and excitement that I ran and kept running till i reached the finish line at the F1 pit. I made it in a not-so-bad time - 52.04 mins including the water breaks. So yayy me!

The after party at the hospitality tent was nice, not as happening as i had thought it would be, but food was very welcome after the tiring run and so were the drinks. The white wine as quite nice and a couple of pints of beer later, as I chatted and laughed with my colleagues and new found friends, I had the peaceful air around me of a day well spent, looking forward to the lazy long weekend that was to follow.
I would recommend it to everyone. At least once in your life, you have to participate in a marathon. It's fun, liberating and above all it's an experience like no other.

Teenage Creativity

I wrote this hindi poem when I was 14, in a classroom. It was a free period and we were supposed to revise for our upcoming exams, and I wrote this instead... :)

आज अचानक से ज़हन में एक चिंगारी सी उठी,

नस-नस में बहने लगा गर्म खून,

न जाने कितने मौसम बीत गए इस आलम में

की याद  ही नहीं कबसे जम सी गयी थी ये ज़िन्दगी|

हाँ, पहले भी कभी बहती थी ये लाल नदी,

गर्म-सर्द साँसें जाती थी और लौट के आती थी,

पर कभी नहीं छुआ मेरी आत्मा को इस तरह

जाने या बात ऐसी आज एक लम्हे में हो गयी|

आई अहन से ये लहर और झकझोर दिया 

रूह थर्रा उठी, लबों पे आकर रुकी एक अनसुनी पुकार,

जाने किसकी थी वो अजनबी पर पहचानी सी दास्ताँ

जाने खो गया था किसका अस्तित्व उस भूली बिसरी शाम|

बह रही थी जो ज़िन्दगी समय की तीव्र बहाव पर,

आज अचानक ठहर गयी वो मानवता की पुकार पर|

एहसास एक अनजाना सा जागा मन की गहराईयों से,

एक अनछुआ अजनबी था वो कब्रों के इस शहर में,

खली मेरी आँखें उसने और कानों में चुपके से कहा,

जाग - इंसान है तू...

~Soumya

(1998...dont remember the exact date :))

The Music of Mere Words

“Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotion know what it means to want to escape from these” - a wonderful quote from Emily Dickenson.

I chanced upon few stray pages of a diary that I used to keep as a young adolescent. I had written a couple of poems in Hindi.

Here goes: 

महफ़िल थी सजी आज यहाँ

फिर किसे ढूंढ रही थी नज़रें?

मैंने कहा, सब कुछ तो है यहाँ,

तन्हाई ने आवाज़ दी - वो यहाँ नहीं ...

जिसकी खुशबु बस्ती है दूर पहाड़ों में

और उतरती है वो घटाओं संग,

बरसती है मन के इस वीरान नगरी पर

बनके पहली फुहार की सौंधी खुशबु|

बस जाता है हर वीराना

उठती है एक चंचल सी लहर,

आग के लपते बन जाते हैं शीतल ओस

मालूम होता है अमृत सा हर ज़हर|

आज तुने कही वो बात जो कचोट रहा है मन,

मीरा ने तो हस के विष पिया, मैं कहाँ की जोगन?

दर-बदर फिरती हूँ तलाश में,

कहीं तो मिले एक कतरा ज़िन्दगी - इसी आस में

आस जो तोड़ी है तुने, वो कैसे जोड़ पाऊंगी?

पर चीज़ वो तेरी है, उसे जीवन भर अपनाऊंगी|

~Soumya

(December 2004)

One nation and the frenzy!

What does it mean to be an Indian? And what does it mean to an Indian when 11 fellow country-men lift the cup proclaiming the entire nation world champions?
It means that every Indian, in every part of the world, whether he or she follows cricket or not, sat through the entire 9 odd hours match screaming, praying fervently, jumping up and down with joy at every point their team scored.
They tweeted like crazy and facebook saw a traffic like never before as every status got updated with every wicket taken and all the extra runs scored. People united across the globe and celebrated with tears of joy and dance with music and fireworks and food and drinks. They congratulated each other, called everyone up, sent messages all over the world.
"We" got the cup home after 28 long years, they said.
At times like these, do we get to know just how connected we are. Different cultures, different religions but underneath it all beats an Indian heart that rejoices when eleven worthy sportsmen lift a cup. It takes a single golden cup to awaken the Indian spirit in all of us.
Suddenly the very same people who criticized the team captain MS Dhoni, started swearing by his abilities. People who had doubt etched over the frowns in their faces suddenly broke into a smile that said - I knew it all along that we could do it.

It took eleven sportsmen to bring our country together in celebration. What will it take to keep the nation together? What will it take to prevent it from breaking apart ever again? What will it take to keep the euphoria going?

Another championship? Or just the realization and morals of today's youth that keeps it thinking and deliberating. I don't have the answer yet. But I hope to be a witness to it, whenever that happens, be it another 28 yrs down the line or sooner.

I am woman, hear me roar

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore

So...going through my previous blog was enough to make me realize that 2010 was a crappy old year (Get the wordplay? Happy New year - Crappy Old year? No? Ok fine, forget it!)

Apart from those happy and ecstatic moments that were few and far between, most of it was pure hell. I was miserable, I was jobless (although I was still earning my meagre salary) and I was heartbroken. Let me tell you, being heartbroken and getting over a relationship-gone-bad at the ripe old age of 27 sucks! Big Time!!

And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

What did I do?

2011 came knocking, and I threw the door wide open and greeted it with a wide smile (those who know me and are thinking it must have been one of those totally plastic smiles - I don't care what you think ..hmmpph...at least i made an effort. So there!) and took it's arm and walked towards the sunrise.

A new job, a new city, a new beautiful home and now as I sit typing on my new shiny macbook pro, I say to myself - "Not too shabby, gurrll!" and I realize it is a new year. A beginning of another chapter. Be it good or bad, I am the author and I am the one writing it.

You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul

For the past 5 and a half years, I have wondered what it would be like to really like my job. To feel good about getting up and going to work daily. I had a fair idea of what I wanted to do, but things looked difficult. There were easy options of settling for mediocrity and keep doing what I have been doing for all these years. I did not settle. I said no to the easy-way-outs.

Now I like what I do. I am like a new born calf treading unsteadily but slowly and surely getting steadier. I am enjoying the change and loving it. I'm not saying that it will last and I accept the possibility that it might get boring and monotonous over the years, but you see, when it does this time, I won't be unsure or doubtful. And until that moment, I hope to make the most of it.

Those people who never appreciated me or understood my worth for those past 5 yrs that I have slogged for them, can suck it!

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Yes, I have a long long way to go ahead. As I have started writing again, I can feel the tiny fingers of newborn hope wrapping themselves around my heart. I will travel more - lots of countries await. Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia feature in this years 'destinations - here i come' list.

Maybe learn a few languages, get enough experience to get another higher-paying job, get certified and who knows, maybe get another degree.

Eventually, I might even start dating and might finally get to meet 'the one' and end up happily married in a few years down the line. For now, just the fact that I can imagine the possibilities is good enough to make me feel contented.

Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained

Pain is something I can face. I know, because I have faced it and have emerged stronger. I have been in agony, emotional hell, and physical pain. And I am a survivor. I have been in denial, I have suppressed my emotions until they ate away my core, I have weeped and smiled through tears.

Even now, a few words right on target have me weeping, gut-wrenching sobs that refuse to ebb. But I always manage to steel myself, hard and cold and ultimately all in one piece, at least on the outside.

I laugh with people at work, make jokes, call up and talk to friends and family and those precious few people in the world who care, and every day and every passing moment I know that I can face anything. I'm a survivor, I'm a woman. Pain is something I'm designed to handle. Agony only serves to polish me into the diamond that can cut the densest and hardest thing on earth.

If I have to
I can face anything
I am strong
I am invincible
I am woman

I just wish at times that I didn't have to.

2011, would you be kind to me please?