Wednesday, December 23, 2009

THE YEAR THAT WAS

I just realized that we are being ushered into the last week of the year! Yes 2009 is coming to an end. The year 2009 has been rather eventful. I've had several beautiful moments, several learning experiences and made many good friends. The year gave me the opportunity to write a lot! I got a health column to write, a column on colleges and a column on inspiring leaders. I also got an opportunity to do a health supplement single handedly on Mylapore. With all this writing I learnt so much. The most beautiful part of the year was the time I managed to befriend Nina. Its been amazing knowing her. I wouldve been reluctant to interact with her considering the age diff n of course her status but she eased things out for me. And I certainly believe Baba is connecting us and will keep us connected for ever. I've spent some of my happiest and most memorable moments of the year with her. From being at her stunningly beautiful beach house to attending duchess meetings and all her 02 programmes every moment spent with her made me happy! The month of August wasnt great. I went through a bad bout of depression and messed things for myself. I didnt know if things would be like before for me. A trip to Shirdi happened on 1st September. With Baba's blessings I recovered and am back to being my normal bubbly self. I have joined the Duchess club which was a long standing promise to Nina. I have had tough moments during the year in terms of business as well. But have sailed through it all. I look forward to a more beautiful, a more fulfilling and a more prosperous 2010.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

MRS CHENNAI FINALE....A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE



An event which I had been hearing about for the last couple of years but never had the chance to witness has to be the Mrs Chennai. Last year I went for the prelimary rounds but did not watch the finale! This year I decided to go. I had 2 reasons- My friend Rashmi Bothra being a finalist and of course Nina being honoured with the honorary Mrs Chennai crown this year! The latter is probably what drew me more to it as my mom said! I managed a press pass and was there on the dot at 6.30. But when do events begin on time? Yeah they began an hour late. The show started with a curtain raiser dance by all the finalists. Then came the question answer round which went well. Dr Kamala selvaraj released a brochure on the 10 years of Mrs Chennai. Just before the talent round Nina was crowned the honorary mrs chennai by actor Vivek. It was amazing to see her on stage with the crown and the sash! I could hear people behind me saying - " she looks cute." This was followed by the talent round. My friend Rashmi danced well. She made it to the final 6. The question answer round here messed up her chance. she is not someone who follows current affairs. the question put to her was " was it a wise and correct decision to give obama the nobel peace prize?
and she said yes!! Sadly she didnt feature among the winners! But no regrets! Am sure she has a good learning experience! This year they had a seperate competition for the forty plus and 50 plus as well! The event ended as late as 11 PM. After this we managed to take pics with Nina. Was a great evening and was amazing to see that so many of us had turned up there just to see Nina being crowned! It was indeed a befitting honour for her!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Celebration of Good life!

Two weeks ago I received this beautiful invitation from a well known doctor in Chennai. Amazed at the beauty of the thought of organizing such a programme I immediately accepted to attend the party!

Dear Friend

Every once in a while someone comes along in our lives
Whose touch, smile, hug, helping hand or kind word sinks deep into our hearts
Leaving an indelible mark which warms the soul
Parties,Get togethers, Conferences, Associations, sms, Email,Phones
We hang on to these activities for this very reason
We all need somebody to back us up
This is the GOOD LIFE
Each one of you have performed that service to me over the years and I would like you to join me to celebrate my Good Life.
This is just my way of acknowledging, appreciating and thanking each of you for your love and support.
I need you to be there for me in all that I do.
Please join me for a celebration of the GOOD LIFE
Note : It is not my birthday or anniversary, so just bring yourself and your good heart. No presents please.


As I walked into the party hall I was asked to write my contact details in a notebook. The fellowship and high tea was on and I met lots of new people. All of us were curious to know what the good life celebrations was all about! Sharp at 8, with our plates in hand, we sat and watched the presentation given my doc! An amazing PPT she had different thoughts about how all of us had given her a good life! Some by being good friends, some by giving her compliments when she needed them, Some my sending her emails which left her laughing and pondering and of course by just being our good selves! She thanked all of us! And then came the part which really left us pondering. She wanted us to do something for Caregivers. She told us how people who have parents, spouses, children with disabilities or disorders which require constant care are bound to their houses. they have no space,no opportunity for an outing, no one to speak to and how helpless they are. One gentleman whose wife has alzheiemers shared his experience with us. It was indeed touching. We decided to form an egroup and start brain storming on this. Each one of us can make a difference to these care givers. A small outing once a month can make a huge difference to someone who is stuck in the 4 walls of the house! Aloha our e group is all ready to act and to make a difference!

Friday, November 20, 2009

FOUR IN A ROW



20th of November.....the day my long standing dream came true! Yes I finally watched surgery! I might sound crazy, but my childhood dream was to be an obstetrician and deliver babies!! That never happened! But over the years I've always wanted to see a surgery. My friend Dr Priya Selvaraj made that possible today! I walked into G G hospital wondering if I will be able to watch the surgery or will I faint! With butteflies in my stomach I changed into the gown, wore the mask, the surgery cap, sterlized foot wear and stepped into the OT! The patient was on the table and all I could see was a huge stomach covered with transparent surgical paper and ready to be cut open! She made the first incision and blood gushed out! and then multiple incisions were made and finally when she cut open the placenta, tonnes of fluid and blood gushed out which was removed with a suction. And then came the big moment when she put her hand in and pulled out the baby. It came out and along with it came a long umblical cord! She quickly cut it and handed over the baby to the paediatrician. Then she removed the placenta- a huge lump of gooey stuff! The whole process took 5 minutes!! Then started the tedious job of suturing! She sutured layer by layer and it took over 15 minutes and the patient was cleaned up and wheeled out on a stretcher! The baby is given to the paediatrician who cleans up, gives it some oxygen, and checks the baby thoroughly. I saw tubes being put into the nostrils,mouth and rectum! Poor baby was bawling! I managed to watch 4 surgeries in a row and all the babies were girls!! I am proud of myself for not fainting, puking or reacting adversely to the scenario. I truly enjoyed it! Thanks Doc for making my dream come true!

Monday, October 12, 2009

CHETAN BHAGAT'S NEW LOVE


As I went on a lazy Sunday evening stroll into the near by Odyssey store the big board at the entrance welcomed me......." Chetan Bhagat's 2 states" released on 9th October. The die hard Chetan Bhagat fan in me was tempted to buy the new book. A bright red cover and the excerpt of the book which said marriage between people of different communities totally convinced me that I would love reading it. Armed with the book I returned home, poured myself a glass of chilled milk and sat down to read the book. The cute lil love story of Krish and Ananya was exhilrating! The way they first meet and how Krish describes Ananya's looks. A fair South Indian!! he he! and How he begins teaching her economics and in the process they fall in love. Their days at IIM Ahemadabad. Their first smooch, the first time they sleep together..all vividly described. Then comes the time for their placements. Ananya chooses HLL and Krish Citibank. Krish does not get along with his dad and wants to live close to Ananya and chooses a posting in Chennai. His saga of convincing Anusha's parents- teaching her brother Manju for IIT, helping her dad with his presentation and giving her mom, an aspiring singer to perform with SPB! Finally they are convinced that he is their prospective son in law. Then it is Ananya's turn to go to Delhi and convince Krish's parents. She intervenes and saves his cousin Minti's marriage. Now that both parents were conviced they wonder who to make the families gel. A trip to Goa and things only get worse. Finally it is Krish's dad- the bad father all the while- who turns good at the end and makes the wedding happen. A typical South Indian wedding in a mandapam at Mylapore marks a new beginning for Krish and Ananya! The last page tells us that Krish and Ananya are blessed with twin boys!!
I couldnt put the book down until and finished and having read such a cute love story I went to bed with a lovely smile on my face :-)

Sunday, October 4, 2009

THE JOY OF GIVING WEEK


September 27th to Oct 3rd was called the Joy of giving week and across the country various events were organized during the week. I decided to be part of this week and share my joy with everyone. I first took part in the I love Chennai run on sunday morning which was part of the Chennai marathon. What an experience it was to run with 70,000 people. the heavens were pouring but did not deter the spirit of the runners. we knew we were running for a good cause- to educate 14,600 underpriveleged children. The second event that I was part of was the Battle of the Buffet. The brain child of Mahadevan of Oriental Cuisines. Savera, Raintree, Residency, GRT and Taj supported him and they served a lavish buffet to the donors. We paid 5000 each which is given in full to the NGO we support. I supported Tanker foundation and indeed Tanker sold the highest number of passes- a whopping 100! and I also got a free pass for Mom. so we both went for the event. It was a great evening. Suhasini Manirathnam was the compere and we got to hear a melodious kutchery by Sudha Raghunathan. I enjoyed listening to Brahma Mukute and Kurai Ondrum Illai! and then we headed off for dinner. The Strawberry mocktail was amazing. I chose to eat Chinese and the Oriental and Lebanese cuisine. The food was ok! The dessert very mediocre. I missed having a fresh fruit trifle. I did not indulge much in dessert because I am trying to get in shape! and Nina has just complimented me on my looks! Truly she keeps me motivated to get in shape! And other than mom she has taught me the Joy of giving! and it feels great to have been part of this lovely week! and now that I have learnt the Joy of giving, the Joy of touching lives and seeing a smile on someone's face, there is going to be no looking back! I will always share a smile, a hug and all that I can...because it means so much to be able to touch someone's life :-)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

TEACHERS DAY

Today is the 5th of September! Teachers day! I remember the days in school and college when we would scurry around to buy cards and roses for our teachers and try and entertain them a bit and make them feel pleased that one day of the year. but yeah along the years I have had some great teachers! All of whom have made such a big difference to my life! My childhood dream teacher was Radha at Bambino! I dont remember by fascination for her though people around me say how much I adored her! Shobhana Jayanth my class teacher in Class 5 when I joined Adarsh was another joy to learn from! Sad that she passed away suddenly but I do miss that great lady! Mythili Venkat, my neighbour first and then my english teacher in class 10 was a total fascination for me! I loved her english classes, her singing and her spirit totally! enjoyed my trip to Ooty with her! and sadness when she moved to Mumbai! I do remember crying when she left school! and now we are back in touch after a good 11 years thanks to the world of internet and of course by PR Skills! In college Dr Patricia Gabriel was the greatest professor one could have. Absolutely gritty, a typical scorpio she would sting and yet teach us to be on time! her lectures at super sonic speed were initially difficult to keep pace with! but later I enjoyed them the most! She would know my marks in every subject and keep track of me all the time! Had a ball with her during our trip to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. I still do keep in touch with her and cherish all the memories of my days at Stella Maris. Kudos to all my teachers whom I have loved and adored over the years! Each one in their own special way has shaped my life and made me what I am today! Happy teachers day to all of them!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

CONFIDENT KIDS ON STAGE- THE GRAND FINALE OF HONEY I SHRUNK MYSELF


After weeks of following the Honey I shrunk myself programme which was a joint intiaitive of the Hindu next G, Acme Fitness and O2 in the papers, I was pleasantly surprised when Nina invited me for the grand finale at Savera. The event was well planned and I entered a hall, with a stage and ramp all done up and I was wondering what I was going to watch. After a speech by Mr N Ram, the fun part of the event started. The 11 kids who made it to the finals were on stage. They began with giving a yoga demo, then a step exercise demo, then they grooved to a bollywood number! mind blowing performance by all of them! The lost weight but regained all the confidence they had lost due to ther obesity! each of them was having a blast on stage. Then a small film shot at savera was screened in which each of one of these participants shared their experience and almost sounded like brand ambassadors for O2 :-). They all got clothes from the Institite of design and make overs from a Cut Above and walked the ramp! was amazing to see their confidence levels. Nina's speech was the icing on the cake, when she shared details of how people made friends during the course of the 8 weeks and of course she was a boy chasing a girl!She also hinted she was going to reveal her age 'cos he kids had been asking her- n smartly said " I am as young as you in energy n spirit but my real age I will reveal after you lose the next 10 kilos!!" 8 weeks of rigorous diet and exercise coupled with fun helped these 11 lose weight. The maximum a guy lost was around 13.5 kilos! The winners were the ones who lost maximum fat percentage and not maximum weight. The winners walked away with cash prizes and O2 memberships. The evening was great fun and I think I was lucky to be part of the audience! Thanks a ton Nina for having me there! I am sure you were one major inspiration for all the kids! They are fortunate to have started their fitness journey with you! Keep rocking!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

THIS TOUCHED MY LIFE

My latest write up in the small and smart column.....True gifts! how it has touched my life! I hope more people will start giving their near and dear ones true gifts!

http://www.hindu.com/rp/2009/06/28/stories/2009062850080200.htm

Monday, June 15, 2009

KNIT INDIA LAUNCH.....AND THE TRUE KNIT INDIA CUISINE

Tamil scholars on the dias, giving the best of their speeches ( some of them even refusing to shut up in all the excitement) and a hall packed with receptive audience, was the scene at the launch of Knit India Volume 4 by Sivasankari. Sitting in the hall, in the midst of the who's who of Chennai was an amazing experience. I am only glad I understand tamil well. Cho Ramaswamy was outstanding. His sense of humor left the audience in splits, While poet Vairamuthu took off in this typically poetic language and went overboard talking. He didnt really want to wind up. Sivasankari is an amazing write- writer of writers as everyone described her- and she said she was trying to show India to Indians through this book. she stressed on the need for people to visit places in our country and appreciate the beauty of the traditions. Her description of the Gangai Aarthi at Varanasi was spell binding. The prolonged book launch came to an end much to the delight of the audience and they were treated to some authentic cuisine from across the country. The expertise of Nina Reddy- my dear friend- whom Sivasankari introduced as her daughter and even told people about her musical tone of talking- was seen in the way the food was organized. The hall was split into 4 zones- North, South, East and West. The theplas and chat from the west, Pulao and paneer from the north, Luchi bhaaji and Rosogollas from the east and mami's kozhakattai;s, murukku, dosai and pradamam from the south were all amazing. I truly loved the mami's sitting there and making kozhakattai's- my greatest weakness. What a tribute this food arrangement was to the 16 years of Sivasankari's hard work was! And only Nina could do this! Love you! For having invited me and for the lovely experience I had rubbing shoulders with scholars! Truly a memorable book launch and a befitting tribute to writer Sivasankari!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

MOMMY' BEAUTY TIPS




My mom discovered an awesome beauty tip. Thanks to Prema aunty n the acne on my back mommy found a way to do away with wrinkles. A tip from our very own kitchen!

Poppy seeds- Khus Khus
Kasturi Manjal- Turmeric
Aloe vera
Milk

Poppy seeds need to be powdered. but cannot be powdered easily so you need to roast them and then powder them. you will not get a fine paste. It will be a coarse paste. mix the paste with the kasturi manjal or turmeric. Add fresh aloe vera. the simplest way to grow aloe vera in your gadren. Cut a leaf, remove the skin and thorns and scoop out the gel. you can store the gel in the fridge. make a mixture of the gel, poppy seeds powder, turmeric and a little milk. Apply it on the face for about half an hour and wash off. It tightens your skin and does away with all the wrinkles and laugh lines. Use of turmeric is optional as it dicolors your skin.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

MEME......THANKS TO POPSIE

Hello
here is my frist Meme! Honestly speaking I didnt know that something called a Meme exists until I saw Popsie's blog! I am quite tempted to answer these questions as well! so here I go..

1. How did you come up with your blog title OR what does it mean?
When I started blogging, I was kinda new to this whole concept. I thought I wld give it a catchy title. being a history student Hitler struck me....but more than Adolf Hitler it was my kitten Hitler who tempted me to name this blog!

2. What are your general goals for blogging?
I am a freelance journo. so this gives me space to write stuff that I may not be able to write otherwise and also to put up my articles online so all my friends can see them. And also to write about people whom I love and who have truly made a difference to my life!

3. Do people “in your real life” know that you blog and do they
comment on your blog OR is it largely anonymous? How often do
you post (x per week)?
Yes I have told them it is my blog. I get them to read and comment. I dont blog too often. If it do it once a month it is an achievement!

4. How often do you read other blogs (x per week)?
I am addicted to Big B's and American muslim's blogs which I check more regularly than anything else.

5. How do you select blogs to read (do you prefer blogs that focus on certain topics or do you choose by tone or…?)
I read anything that interests me! of course I am a huge Big B fan!

6. Do you have any plans to copy your blog entries in any other format, 0r do you think that one day, you’ll just delete it all?
No way! I love my blog the way it is....it will remain so for posterity!

7. What are the things you like best about blogging?
Blogging lets me write whatever I please. No one can edit and no can say dont write this or that!

8. What are the things you don’t like about blogging?
I dont like people leaving nasty comments without knowing why you have written such a post.

9. How do you handle comments?
I enjoy reading the comments. take some of them as good feedbacks and respond as often as I can.

10. Do you have any burning thoughts to share on blog etiquette?
no nasty comments pls!

11. Any desired blog features?
Mo blog for all just like Big B! Lolz

12. Have you suffered blog addiction?
Not really!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

THE BETTER SIDE OF WRITING



It has been over 3 years since I got into serious writing. The journey has been interesting and I have met some of the most lovely people during the course of writing. Some Whom I choose to make friends with and others whom I choose to admire from a distance! Last year my mothers day story took me to GG hospital and I met Dr Priya Selvaraj! I thought I was going to meet a stranger and she walks into the room saying, I just added you on facebook and your brithday is two days away! whoa what a surprise that was! There has been no looking back ever since! We exchanged mobile numbers and have exchanged umpteen silly sms's ever since! We are both crazy! After a lot of deciding we went out for dinner to the Taj mountroad on saturday and it was awesome to spend time with her and know her better! It is indeed nice to know the better side of socialites!
Another wonderful person whom I have known for 6 years and now I say I have slept over years of knowing her!! Lolz yeah Nina has been an acquaintance for 6 years and a good friend for the last 6 months! yeah that is how long I have taken to get over my shyness! I dont know how I am so shy with some people and not with the others! It has been amazing to see Nina's simplicity! She has been so affectionate and so approachable! And Smsng her at night seems to have become an addiction! Ofcourse I beleive that if there is something in common which has brought us close.....that has to be our love for Baba!
I am glad to have met such wonderful people along my journey as a writer!
And I am sure I do have a lot to learn from all the people around!
Love you guys and I hope to see more of you!

BACK TO BLOGGING

Here I am finally blogging after 3 months! Been busy, Been lazy! and Yes the most important factor was my friend popsie....who went into hibernation! She is one who brought me into the world of blogging! Almost a year we werent in touch! I guess everyone goes through the phase where they need their time and space. Am so happy we are back in touch!
Thanks Popsie for roping me back into the world of blogging!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

JIL JIL JIGAR DHANDA



The recent celebrations in the city, Chennai Sangamam were quite a hit with the public. since they had programs at the nageswara park where I walk every evening I was witness to some awesome dances and music. but the icing on the cake was the food. we had some yummy food stalls courtesy the Taj, Rain tree and Oriental cuisine. I got a taste of the adai avial, pongal, ragi sevai and pasi parupu dosai- all of them equally delicious. but my favorite was the jil jil jigar dhanda! yeah that is a drink from Madurai. dervied from the hindi word jigar thanda- which means cooling for the body- this drink wad addicting. out of curiosity I spoke to Peer Mohammed who was here all the way from Madurai with his famous jigar dhanda. He says they boil 40 litres of milk, until it is down to 10 litres. then they add nannari syrup, sugar and badam gondu!......and add loads of ice and keep mixing and this delicious drink is ready. Absoutley addicting for the milk lover in me.......I watched the dancers from Barnala in Punjab go balle balle as I downed a second glass of jigar dhanda and said yummmmmmmm! this is what I call getting a true taste of culture :-)