R-Rated

During our growing up years in college and beyond, there were a few of us who enjoyed “Single” status while some had a Girlfriend/Boyfriend tagging along their respective coat-tails. At any social gatherings among friends, there used to be groups where conversations (always, eventually) veered towards the “significant other” and all the ‘single’ junta would let out a collective groan. Raise your hand if you have been a willing (or unwilling) participant in these soirees. Then as the singles started playing “Doubles”, the GF/BF types graduated and got married (may or may not to the initial partners they showed off in earlier years!!) and then again in social outings, the doubles would cringe as the married crowd would just blabber about how wonderful their new ‘status’ is. An exercise in strangulation might have been more fruitful, some would argue. I have known a couple who had been a “couple” for years, took their relationship to the next level, were their obnoxious best at parties...

Between the hoopla surrounding a certain cricketer’s retirement and 2013 drawing to a close, a life changing experience happened – twice!! While the eventuality of it was known, the sheer element of tension and surprise was unprecedented. A little baby girl and a little baby boy entered our lives on 11-December-2013, rendering the planning process entirely ineffective (for the most part). Consider this, the original planned date was 15th Dec (I prayed they “stay in” until the 15th, so I could officially be on leave starting 16th Dec until the New Year), and after some careful planning and discussions, we narrowed it down to the 12th, thereby entirely eliminating 11.12.13 as the probable birth date of our twins. In fact, we even called our doctor to inform the date as 12.12.13. Heck, K worked till about 1 AM on 10th planning to take 11th off for the delivery the next day. God, were we in for the shock of our lives, when the kids prepared to announce themselves a day earlier. The saying...

With the thrill of Goa evaporating quickly, it's best to put those last three days in perspective. August 16th: Saint Nishit's birthday. The oldest in the gang and he proved it by wanting to "talk about life". He backed it up by wearing a Sadhu-type outfit for his b-day. Day started with breakfast at Baga at one of the places that refused to lower the volume the previous night. With a horrid breakfast out of way with the kids having a great time in the sand, off we went to The Mango Tree for lunch. Decent affair I would say. In the evening, we went to the pool and people got to see Icebergs. Oh, sorry, that was 4 fully grown men completely unashamed of their bodies, flaunting away. Sam resembled the closest to what we should've been like but hey, you don't get to see glaciers in Mid-August in India. So enjoy while they last :) Dinner at Tito's and for once we lucked out. Great food, great ambiance and pouring rain (when we were inside). Late night...

With the initial teaser out of the way, here comes the full picture - or at least a portion of it. Konkan Kanya Express - What a name!! That's what we boarded at midnight on the 14th of August from Thane. With no taxis willing to go from Mulund to Thane and the ones willing charging a ransom, we took the good old local to Thane. With bags in tow, we reached the platform after an endless walk - only to see all the displays showing "CR" instead of the actual compartment numbers. With some help from fellow passengers, we stood right where our bogie would have been and voila, perfect location!! M, A and Nans joined us at 1:00 AM from Panvel and off to bed we went close to 1:30 AM. Morning started at 7:30 AM with some light sneezing (not from me) instead of an alarm clock. My initial thought was that BB was having her sneeze-fit but it was not to be. Our co-passenger had a bad case of cold that woke us up. No harm done. It is very important to note that Banker proved to...

As some of you know, whenever I (or we) take a trip, it never ends with us just returning back with a solemn body language (and dreadful workdays following). It almost always comes to a stop with a blog post capturing some of the great moments from the days gone by... With that tradition in mind and our first outing in India in more than a year, K and I and the cast of Gr8six embarked on a beautiful and remarkably short trip to Goa. Most of you don't know the gang of six - which has added a few new members (namely the wives and the kiddos) and has missed a few (they being out of the country). Introduction beckons... KiMo (or as Mayank calls her - Dollar Bahu/DB ) and Rajesh ( Madrasi - again, coined by Mayank. I don't quite remember when he called me by my given name). Mayank (let's call him Banker ), Anjali ( Bahubali/BB - strong reason behind the name) and Nanhi (Nayonika for the rest of the world). Nishit (we call him Producer - eventually he is going to p...

It so used to happen that while growing up in a Hindu Brahmin family, you were bound to be religious - or Faith-driven (for the most part). Temple visits were as common as having dinner or going to college. It was a routine. Going to a Hanuman temple on a Saturday was mandatory - or the day would be incomplete. Such was the devotion I used to have while growing up. I remember going to the Subramaniam temple - or as our family calls it The Chedda Nagar Kovil (temple) once a month was an extremely fulfilling religious release. I have made numerous trips to Shirdi and Tirupati and have enjoyed them for the most part. Travelling to get there might be hell (sorry) and the never-ending queues might drive one insane but for the "fraction of a second" that we get to see Baba's face or Lord Balaji's divine stance, the endless worries just melt away and time stands still, however fleeting that instance might be. The reason I write this post is because quite recently I have...

It's been exactly one year since the US Paycheck stopped depositing itself in the BofA account. Yes, one year has passed since I packed up and moved back to India . The initial few months were a blur as I was just trying to get adjusted to reality and not just a "vacation" period of 20 odd days that an H1B visa holder gets while having the time of his/her life catching up with family and friends. Let's see, I will summarize the last 12 months into something significant that has happened (or not). May 2012: The Anantharamans landed in Mumbai and first week was spent trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with Amma. That the diagnosis did not reveal anything that would make the heart skip a beat was extremely satisfying and ....relieving. That my aunt would be admitted to a hospital almost immediately upon our return for a relatively simple knee procedure and then getting herself into the ICU, with no signs of life and then making it back from the Other ...