Win/Lose

My mom tells me that as a kid I used to stay put at the doll section, till my dad bought me one of the Barbies . I remember sitting down on the carpeted floor of the mall, saying I wanted a soft doll which was the” in” thing then. Also my dad had to get me a make-believe kitchen set cause Haseena (my then-bestfriend) had one which she showed off. Explains I was thoroughly spoilt. It usually didn’t require much effort to get this part done. My dad gave in pretty fast . No crying, coaxing nothing. I don’t think I grew up to become a self centered selfish female(or am I?) , So I tend to always feel there is nothing wrong in being bought up the way I have been, till recently. I earn enough to get hold of the toys which fancy me today like a flashy mobile or an Ipod. But the most desirable of all things, is still out of my reach. Winning someone’s heart. It could be -your roommates so that she lets you snore at night without throwing you out , your iron Wala’s so that he decreases a fifty paisa for each dress he presses, your cab driver’s so that he is ready to wait for you when you have overslept, your Technical Lead’s so that he sends you for the recruitment next time in the King Fisher flight(yes I am obsessed with flights ). I have been pretty bad in winning people’s hearts (especially my Technical Lead’s) that I was wondering if I could just ask my dad to get it for me. People tell me we never make friends in the corporate world. You just meet people, be with them and move on. Life goes on. Is it that simple, always? If the colleague who plans to move on to greener pastures also happens to be one of your closest friends. If you have spend every waking moment with them. If you are ready to wait two extra hours hungry just to enjoy dinner together. If you have watched every other movie sitting besides them and dozing off on each others shoulder. If you have plunged into everything happy, watery, sad or muddy together. If they understand what you feel just by a silent nod or an unhappy murmur. Will you still find it simple? Does life just go on in the absence of such people? This one`s for you Patil and Raji. I am gonna miss you guys a lot.

What i call Home

My family has been shifting a lot the past one year... We have been in so many different places, that hearing my mother tongue is sweet symphony to my ears... and i never miss a chance to talk in Malayalam to my colleagues who hardly know the language... My brother managed to get a beautiful home in our "latest-shifted" location Hyderabad as against all the 2 bedroom apartments which we have been staying for the past one year, this one reminded me of my first home in Al-Ain which my electrical engineer Govt employee Dad got as free accomodation. I have spend my entire childhood in a mansion I should say and so I grew up to be a spoilt kid. My dad, I feel, liked spoiling me... I remember coming back to India for a vacation... I didnt quite like the bathroom of our room cause of which my dad rebuilt it with beautiful sky blue tiles, and made it a glamour room... so I tend to expect this kind of atmosphere everywhere... And that’s what my Hyderabad home bought me back to, my childhood luxury. I bragged to all my friends about the newly rented house which after a year resembled something like home... (FYI, I don’t stay with my family, I work in a different city and so have to stay in a hostel). I loved going home, more than just to eat my mom`s food.. It actually felt like going home... I am the only one in my family who isn’t allergic to dust... Maybe because being the high maintenance i am i never do anything much in a dusty area.. Or I am just lucky. But our new home bought back more than just good memories of my child hood. My brother as a kid used to be allergic to some kind of dust none of us have been able to figure out.He grew up healthy and i dont remember him having his allergy attacks for a long time but ,the new home bought it back.My mom would call me in the middle of the night (i would be wide awake in my work place amidst my night shifts) and tell me about my brother having his wheezing attacks,and the innumerous doctors they visit daily, and about the sleepless nights they spent.. Finding the root cause of the allergy took my “self-made doc” mom a few months... There was some kind of a dust falling off from the roof of the house(my home).. And that was the reason of the allergy... We had to shift our home... and I went home during the shifting...how I felt leaving the home is left to your imagination and the tantrums I threw will be dealt with in an entirely different blog... My college friend Subha, never let me say a single flattering comments about her favourite football player of our college team, saying "bure nazar pad jayenge” and forced me to say the antidote Masha Allah ... i used to hate her for saying that, I felt like some kind of an evil witch.But now i feel she was right.. I think I would have forgotten to say masha Allah the first time I entered my home.