Hi!!!

This particular incident happened way back in my 11th standard. Given the fact that there was a craze to join State board schools for the 11th and 12th, I moved on to Vidyashram, which was touted to produce marvelous results. Vidyashram, it turned out, was a very strict school with it's share of eccentric rules! One of them was, gals and guys SHOULD NOT talk to each other. You won't believe the extent to which the administration went to reinforce this rule, we even had orientation programs held separately for boys and girls during the first week of school, where we were logically lectured on the cons of speaking to the opposite gender and the pleasures of mingling with our own brood. We, the students of 11B, took it upon ourselves to keep the school's morale aloft! This was to the extent that even the twins in our class,Viswa and Sarla didn't converse with each other, within a 5 Km radius around school. Sarla, belonged to this gang of giggling girls, who just didn't like this scenario. They took it upon themselves to change the situation, so off they went to Viswa n his friends, who belonged to the leading guys gang in r class and accused that the boys are too haughty n questioned them as to why they don't speak to them? (Ya rite heights of despo!) Viswa and gang retorted back ludicrously! After spending a few hours on sillier arguments of who doesn't talk to whom... and a few more on racking their brains to bring about an amicable solution, these exceptional scholars came up with an unparalleled master plan!! Eureka!! The next day, Monday, I went to school and found Sarla and co forming a congress at the cycle stand. I parked mine, waved a hi and proceeded towards the main building... Viji stopped me and said "Don't go to the class, wait for the other girls!" eh? wat was tat? She then proceeded to tell me what she and her set of close friends had achieved and about the pompous discussion they had had with the guys on the day before! The soooper dooper plan was unveiled to me in a hush hush tone. These noble people had decided that since it would be awkward to just start talking one fine day out of the blue, and then there was this Herculean problem of WHO should start talking and WHAT to talk, today, the fateful Monday, any girl or guy in the class who meets a classmate of the opposite gender says "HI" and greet each other. Trying really hard to stop laughing over this ridiculous idea, I refused to play along! But these people pestered and pleaded! Argued that because I refused , their efforts would go down the drains! They had also called up other friends and everybody had agreed (this was a made stuff to persuade me, my friends were too sane to agree to such stupidity) , they didn't call me as they knew I turned up early to school, where they would brief me. Flustered, I agreed to play along. WHATEVER, say one stupid HI and Carry on rite! k done, will do it! (DOOM - A terrible mistake!). G^3(Giggling Girls Gang) and unlucky me climb the stairs to reach our class on the third floor, which housed all the 11th n 12 th sections! We turn to take take the last flight up, and Voila!! Leaning on the corridor right in front of the landing with folded hands were viswa n guys, waiting eagerly to be greeted! Confusion! Confusion! Viji gives her nod of disapproval, "Tch tch boys are senseless!!! How the hell can one greet the guys with the staffroom and senior's classes nearby! ". With her exceptional crisis management skills aiding her, she continued, "Girls, though the plan is a little upset, it still holds! We don't want the boys blaming us for not wishing, and being snobbish, nor can we get into trouble with authorities by openly talking to the boys in the corridor, do we? So proceed silently to the class and then wish there. " Irritated, I doubled up my pace and entered the class, which is structured in a such a way that the teacher gets a view of the door while the students sit with their back towards it! So it happened that me a mere last minute compliance to this drama entered the class, with the others following me. Sitting in the last bench and doing some last minute homework (u heard it rite - homework) was Venkatesh, a really good studious innocent boy. So in hurry to get over with this embarrassing stuff, I say "Hi, Venkatesh". Venkatesh turned back and gave me a look I will never forget! He was shocked, dumbstruck!! No wonder he was so stunned! Viswa and co, who had poised themselves at the corridor did not have the sense to enlighten other guys about their scheme! Imagine you study together in the same class for about seven months, and you haven't exchanged a word directly with any girl! Out of the blue sky, I go and say HI Venkatesh! He got scared out of his wits! Actually I didn't wait for his reply, I just wanted to get over with this HI business, so just said the magic word and proceeded to sit in my bench... Thinking I am gonna to hear another bunch of hi's form the girls following me. I go and sit, leaving behind a dumbstruck venkatesh. These drogis quietly enter the class and sit down in their places. Just don't ask me how embarrassed I was! A faux pas of the century!! "OMG, Please inda bhoomi rendaa polandhu enna swallow pannada??"

Then Viswa called out Venkatesh and other guys and there was a big round table congress going on in the corridor. My friends came in the meanwhile and were rolling with laughter after hearing me! They just couldn't stop pulling my leg! Of course the G^3 got soundly bashed by us!

That evening I was returning home pushing my cycle and walking along with my friend Ramya, when we spotted Viswa, Venkatesh n a few other people going back home on their cycles. Embarrassed as I already was, I bade Ramya a quick bye and started riding home. I heard the chatter of the guys and the rattle of the cycles coming closer! Not looking back I rode faster. Hmm whats going I can still hear a cycle rattling close behind.

Gathering all my strength I pushed the pedaled faster.... Lance Amstrong would have envied me had he caught a glimpse of me then. But all this extra effort was taking me nowhere for I could hear the person behind me peddling faster and coming closer.....

"Wait!" I heard a baritone.

Recognising the voice I turned back, and spotted Venkatesh, huffing and puffing. Catching up with his breath he said: "In the morning you said hi no? .... Wide Smile ...Now I am saying BYE !"

P.S: For all those inquisitive minds out there, 11B continued strictly adhering to the school's rules and lived happily(??) ever after.

Navarathri Golu @ our place.

The golu - my pride!!

The Village and Minnie

The minnie is my creative sister's creation, a rangoli with colored rock Salt. The vallampati village has lots to talk about. There's a family celebrating pongal replete with the cow and pongal cooking. A Kuravan and kurathi are just entering the village selling paasi mani. In the farmers nook you can see a lady weeding the rice fields, with the zamindar surpervising. There is one more returning back after ploughing his feild with the ox. Since It is pongal time, many crops have been harvested, there men are thrashing, winnowing, packing grais in a sack and carrying it to the godown. Oh yes you have the village common well which has the women carying water, washing and busy gossiping. Then there is the arasa marathu adi pillayar which is not visible here.

Kaadu

Kaadu Originally uploaded by k_shambhavi.

The small forest in our golu! Sis and myself painted the backdrop for it in about 15-20 minutes at 11:30 in the night! Working together in a jiffy was real good fun :-)!

The HDFC Fiasco

Any person, who holds an account, receives several calls from banks offering free credit cards and personal loans. Having handled several such calls at home for my parents, my instinctive immediate reply to any such calls is a big curt "NO". I hold a HDFC account which I was operating as a student. Lately, there are hardly any transactions with the bank, now that I have a corporate account. One fine day (fine until I got the call- then it was all doom) I get a call "May I speak to Miss Shambhavi? Calling from HDFC credit card. We are offering a free credit blah blah..". What should I have done? of course give the usual stereotyped answer of "No, I am not interested" :-( How nice it would have been if it had been so. After my initial refusal the guy persisted, it is absolutely free mam and went ga ga over the benefits of owning a card. I was at the work and this man was going on n on. I thought acha chalo the card is going to come free, lets just have the pleasure of swiping a credit card. After all I am a "working woman" now. I said OK. Dammal the damage was done!!/?!! . That very same evening after I returned from office, two guys from the credit card division dropped in along with the forms. Talk about promptness. Having got the form filled they left saying the card will be mailed in another two weeks time. Sanity, like the cops in Indian movies, came after everything was over. Over the weekend I mulled over the whole issue, it seemed totally absurd as to why I had accepted the offer. I carry two Debit cards with me and moreover I spend very little owing to the fact that with my parents around I never get open my purse. In short the credit card is of absolutely no use. (yeai all you guys twitching n saying "Penn budhi pin budhi", it happens to anyone man). To be continued... ... Got tired narrating my woeful story:-) BRB!

Shalin' s Treat At Last!

Well, its celebration time at Tenmiles. Lots of treats coming up... just cant wait for it all to get over =P~. This session of freaking out started with a BANG with Shalin Treating us today at The Park, a Five Star Hotel built on the premises of the erstwhile Gemini Film Studios. The interiors are breathtaking. The decor has been done up in a very contemporary manner.... well u gotta see it to actually get a feel of it, the elegantly ultra modern look.

It feels really good to go out together. There was nothing-great bout the grub at Six-O-One. Hey hold on, hang on, we enjoyed the break thoroughly for we had lunch at a table directly opposite to the one where Carlos Moya was having his laid back lunch. Mahesh Bhupathy and Shwetha were having theirs two tables away from ours. Hey I can see priya going green with envy already.. wait ma.. and there was Madhavan to see us off at the portico. :-D After a super supper, the next destination was Move n Pick, the specialty ice cream parlor. The ice creams down here are too good. I had a scoop each of Macademia Dulce and Sacherritta (guess I got the spellings right!!). They were Heavenly man, yummy and creamy . And so with a Five Star lunch and deserts imported form Switzerland, the famous five returned to their haven @ 51 Maddox Street. Thanks a million, Shalin, I enjoyed the treat very much. It was grand and great one, and came as a good break from the Home-Office-Home routine. PS: For those who are pondering bout the title, this was Shalin’s birthday treat, which he celebrated on September 15. ;-)

Here I Go

mm Actually I can't belive that I m doing this ...blogging et all. Many of my friends have thier own blogs and I have always found this concept a bit wierd. To me it then apperared as an online diary kinda stuff. Why on earth would you want unknown people to know what you feel about a certain issue, or share your views with a third person. You can do all this vocally when you meet your friends. You don't have to jot down feelings on a blog. But now I feel otherwise. Opinions do change dont they? I consider this blog as a good place to give vent to my fellings on a variety of issues and to bring my creative skills to the fore. Primarily this should serve as a positive distraction from my mundane routine.