Mini's Scripts

I have now taken an indefinite break till December ‘10 from my employment. I had snuggled in my own world, where I knew the limits and rules of the role and therefore had no demands as such. Arriving late and leaving early or later or even sometimes on-time did not matter much as long as the work was complete. :) For the initial 2-3 days, I cleared the junk at my bunk, ate as much I could to sustain energy for morphing into a shop-zilla and following the process of demand-fulfilment as raised by one and all at home… Oh my visa card… It’s a humble request to you from a seasonally chronic shopaholic – “Please hide yourself somewhere…where I can’t locate you easily…” Taa Mini

A nomad, as they say has no roots. One can only trace their origin is by their specific behavioural pattern and facial characteristics. I am a firm believer that as life must go on, so must we. Of course, evolving with time… You see, even a thin stream finds its own way and makes its journey to the ocean. To retain balance, the rule of life is that let there be nothing that be permanent. The universe, the mankind, the nature…everything is temporary…there is a duration of particular event at a particular point of life, which if not utilised optimally becomes a regret. Wow! now I'm even writing like an engineer...O God! Pls save me from these human calculators... Well, here is the simple mantra as told by Chetan Bhagat at Symbi, Pune:  Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give yourself a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. There is no point o...

Life at High Wycombe was like living in a typical English countryside. Rural landscape combined with modern lifestyle, what more could a parched Indian from Delhi ask for! Living most of my life in the greenest but high-on-humid state of Kerala (India), the only difference that I felt in the UK was the temperature. Its cold here. The summers are at least 20-25 degrees less than the average Indian temp, which is normally at 40 degrees during the months of March-April. Its a big city. And its an advantage if you have anything that has got wheels - a car, a bicycle, skates or even a skateboard. Forget your stilettos if you want to save the cab fares in this city. Its simply huge.... In fact , the city which came into being in 1960's is still partially occupied with some empty offices, flats and more new building. I have only heard of  the United States being HUGE in all aspects...I think its applicable to this city too.

Free... eeeeeee ... A word that makes me dizzy with all that adrenaline rushing through my otherwise pinchy conscience, and making me sit up and ask - What? Where? When? [Not keen on who and how part, I can manage that :)] I admit - I' m a big Freebies fan! So coming back to the point, while I was looking for some free stuff, I came across a report on BBC, which says that as the media moghul Mr Rupert Murdoch earned less profit this season, so he is planning to charge online customers for news content across all its websites. I say, Mr Murdoch, keep the change, it will help you buy some 'piece of mind'.

I really sat and thought about the changes in me since my last post on this subject and I must admit-I am now feverishly trying to behave like a grownup. Thinking all the pros and cons of any situation, diplomacy in relationships, finding means of comfort and of course the money-money chants. Phew! Had never thought about it while as a kid. I remember, once my Papa ji (father) had given me a 100 rupees note in March and had smuggled it with me slyly into the hostel(money and eatables were not allowed there! sic!). I could do nothing with that amount, so when the summer vacations came next year, I spent the entire amount eating during the 3-day-trip back to home. With 5 figures remaining to hit 30, I am yet not able to figure out that how must I behave when I am to have kids and may be start disciplining them about life. No clue! I may turn out to be an exceptional parent... hahaha ... I will be continuing this one. For now, I just don't feel like writing anymore.

Note: This is an article, I had written some time back. BTW, it's no way related to my life here in the UK. I just thought of continuing this subject so needed to mention it here, as without the first part,the second one will seem vague... Read on -> -> -> Being practical is a trait that one develops to cope up with life's harsh realities. Gone are the days when one could smile and in return get a free lollipop or an ice cream, when the common goal of stealing raw mangoes from the neighbourhood would unite all the foes in half-pants, when all the pockets in the dress would be full of home made knick knacks to chomp on during the two hour evening game break and finishing the day with small nap at the tuition. Hmmm… My first initial stood for mischievous and till a few years back, I lived up to it. The remotest corner of my brain tells me that it all began when I was punished for fighting with a fellow classmate in first grade and the Nun honoured me by making me s...

For every profession there is a course here. And mind you, you are not qualified to even start your own business until you have the license to run your SBU (small business unit, read home business) , or that you must have done a short/long course and have a certificate to prove it. In the early days, I did not pay much attention to it, but now that I'm R&Ding it, I'm simply not happy. Too many restrictions or a very well-organised system - don't know which side to choose! Starting with the education system, while the schooling is free, all that you might have saved, flows out as university fees. Another alternate to this situation is that most students begin working and then either go to college later or do a certificate course. As I'm told, having a university degree is great but even a certificate will do. As an international student the education fees are usually higher or sometime more than double the fees paid by UK nationals. Even in India, we do not charge...

My earliest memories of making faces at the swear words (like sala ) goes back to my nursery days. I was programmed by the elders in the home to give a sullen look whenever someone used ' sala ' while talking. My oh my! I was too good at spotting this 4 lettered word. With each passing years my vocabulary multiplied with razor-sharp and accurate insults in Nepali, Malayalam, Hindi and of course the other tongue (read English). The small section of population that consists of people like me who have lived in hostel all their life can vouch that the first thing they learnt in any new language was how to swear at others in their language! In Rome- do as Romans do! Haah !

Well, not only this is the first question that we learn to answer to, it is also the first step towards your identity. To begin with me – I was told by my benevolent family members that I had the most number of names written on the rubber sheet on which I had spend my initial baby months. And as I grew up, I used to boast in front of my schoolmates by counting each name on my fingers (back then counting up to 10 was considered an achievement) which would sound anything from Meenakshi Sheshadri to Manisha! Ewww! The basic criterion was that they had to begin with letter M. And when the admission time came – I was assigned the synonym for micro (Mini!). Thus began my conflict with my name. Sometimes my name was justified according to my height, and sometimes it wronged me by making people think of me as the youngest/single child of my parents. Add to it, a surname (Kumari!)L, which doesn’t even resemble my father’s name or clan, instead diminishes my super-puffed Rajputaani shaan. ...

Oh! How I hate going to Southall here! I wish I could tell! Although people call it- Little India, I dread if most of them have seen the real India! After going for the first time, I had decided that I will never visit again. It reminded me so much of Janpath , Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar markets in New Delhi, India, minus the stray. :) Yet, the memories of having mouth-watering Indian dishes weakened my determination. Reaching Southall , we went to a temple which was within walking distance of the rail station. Unlike regular temples in India where for a rule, I never saw Durga ji with Ram and Sita ji's statues in the same room, I was taken aback when there were 6 of my fav gods ( in their own rights) , darned in their finest. In this particular moment of Godly confusion- I bowed to Radhe - Krishna - as it was my grandfather who had introduced him first from an array of pictures of Gods and Goddesses, while I was a kid. I felt happy inwardly as I had done j...