R-Rated

Disclaimer: This post contains crude language, so kindly do not proceed if you are offended by those. Incredibly, for me, I voted in the General Elections. It's the first time in my life I have voted at any level (internet surveys do not count). How I got the Voter ID card is another question altogether but that I even got one in the first place is literally mind-blowing. Unfortunately, for several lakh eager voters in Mumbai, their names were not found on the voting lists (what the fuck happened, EC?) Another first for me is that in my adult life in India, this is the only time I have had the opportunity to soak in the election hysteria (2004 and 2009, yours truly was in the US). I have had keen interest in the US Presidential Elections in 2008 and while that was hotly contested and they had several shit-slinging matches between the Republicans and the Democrats, it was nothing compared to what I am witnessing here in India. For starters, it might get confusing to a casual ...

As the twins grow up, we are getting a glimpse of what their personalities will shape up to be if they continue the actions they do on a daily basis now. This is at least till they start going to school and get a formal education. With great joy, I predict R1G to be the "Class Monitor". Ever so obedient on most days and the teacher's pet. She is going to maintain decorum and ensure her homework and assignments are submitted on time. The observation is based on how methodical she is when it comes to her feeds (touch wood) and her play habits - I will play only from 'this' time to 'that' time. Beyond that, if provoked, I am going to yell and scream till I get my way (that is, the class needs to behave when the teacher is away - no goofing around during free lectures). R1G has done a complete U-turn a.k.a The Kejriwal as I had great expectations from her to be the Gunda of her batch. Times change and this one is getting things in order already. She is...

Just yesterday, I was chatting with a friend and she reminded that I hadn't updated the blog for a while. Just casually, she mentioned that I had 2 Good Reasons to write. Duh!! So with the kids - whom we codenamed R2 - who our friends and family fondly refer to with the moniker, turning a quarter of a year old, what better time to write something about them. Here goes the quarterly results for R2, Inc. With the twins at 3 months, we feel like we have already put in 6 months of work. While they grow up gracefully, the scene at home (at times) resembles a scene from The Walking Dead - you know, the one with Zombies and all.. Just kidding, both parents and all grandparents just resemble as if they walked with the Dinosaurs.. Again, just joking. I've got to stop with these co-relations :) Bad for investor relations. It's been good times generally with a bad few days when the mood in the house had been somber due to the kids not feeling well and running...

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...