Happy 6th Birthday Rendezvous!

I have always been someone who gets bored very easily. Especially things started at the spur of the moment, like this blog. The time I started it, I would never have imagined that I will continue to update it for 6 long years. A lot has happened since, but thankfully the love for writing remains and hopefully shall continue to remain so in the years to come.

Before starting the blog, I never knew I could write. One would imagine that I might also have participated in some school or college level competitions. But no, I have never participated in anything remotely related to writing. So the fact that even after being such an amateur I still write is pretty surprising. Its only before of my readers love and appreciation. Had it not been that I would have stopped long back.

So on this 6th annivarsay for sorts, please accept a heartfelt thankyou! To everyone reading this post. You are the inspiration behind each of my write-ups.
Lots of Love

Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year greetings from Rendezvous.!

SEPO

Analysis of the Movie-goers

For an average Indian, the recreation mode still consists of catching up on a movie starring your favorite stars with a big box of popcorn and cold drinks. Long before brunching and clubbing became popular, movies were the ultimate mode of entertainment. And it still continues to be so for the average middle class people. While going to the movies is a good enjoyable and relaxing program, some people you meet dead against making it a pleasing experience for you. They will do everything in their power to destroy this otherwise pleasant experience for you. And here’s a small list of how they do it:

1. While in a queue for tickets some people will literally ride up on your back like Betaal from Vikram aur Betaal. You move one inch and they will literally hog so as to ensure there is no breathing space between you two.

2. Some people don't wait until interval for the popcorn, they get it right in the start. Enter late in the hall, squash your feet while in the process to search for their seats and also sprinkle some popcorn and drops of cold-drink on you. And may I add ‘sorry’ is a word they seldom use.

3. Then come the people who fail to understand the concept of shortest path. If their seats are on one corner, they will forgo the shortest path and take the longest part, meanwhile squashing foots and manhandling the chairs and the people sitting on it. And mind you, no excuse me’s or sorry’s whatsoever!

4. Some people get way too comfortable on their seats and try to put their legs on the hand rest of the seat below. Unwashed socks never helped anyone. Especially in a closed air conditioned space.

5. Don't get me started on how annoying it is when you are just sitting in your seat, all relaxed and engrossed in the movie when out of the blue the person behind kicks your chair supposedly to adjust their legs. Don’t waste your time staring at them because you ain't gonna get any apologies.

6. The scenario of disturbance won’t be just from behind. There will be people sitting next to you and in front of you with their cellphones (busy with checking-in on Facebook), the brightness of which is blinding to the eyes accustomed to darkness in the hall.

7. Then amidst a serious scene someone's phone will ring with the loudest possible ringtone and they will match it with an even louder voice while answering. Because who keeps their phone on silent, right?

8. There are people who get toddlers to watch movies that are highly inappropriate for them. I have seen people bring kids to movies like hangover.

9. When you do the above mentioned, the kid will obviously get bored and start screaming or throwing tantrums hence disturbing the totally innocent audience.

10. And finally we have the couple who just booked the tickets so as they can make-out and create confusion in the minds of people surrounding them. People have a hard time deciding as to whether watch the movie or them!

LOVE:
SEPO

Intolerance Any One?

With the entire country going gaga over the statement made by Aamir, the last thing we need is another write-up about how Aamir is a jerk. Don't worry I am not going to talk about Aamir and Kiran here. I am here to share few instances with you and let you make some decisions based on them.

Just yesterday me and 2 of my friends went over to have some chaat in front of our office. Waiting patiently for our Chinese bhel out of nowhere a beggar kind of a mad man came abusing and blabbering while continuously staring at us. He kept doing this for almost like 5 minutes and suddenly angered by the smiling face of one of my friends, he shouted "Hass mat, honth kat dunga tere" (Don't laugh or I'll cut off your lips). In no mood to laugh now, the three of us were shell shocked and pretty scared. Suddenly he started to spit towards us and unable to take it anymore, I shouted at the top of my voice. Three of us ran hither and thither away from the mad man. Here i may point out that, near the Chaat wala, few guys from my company were also standing. And it being broad daylight and a place right in front of an IT giant, it was heavily crowded. Yet we three girls felt tormented and helpless. No one offered any sort of help, or shooed away the man. People did not even turn their faces or stop doing their chores. The chaat bhaiya finally attempted to scare him away ONLY when he started to come dangerously close to his stall. He only went away before any turning around towards us and abusing us to his heart's content.

Picture Courtesy - sploid.gizmodo.com

 Now I really don't want to sound like a whiny girl wanting people to rescue her. But don't you think under such circumstances at least someone from the crowd should have stood up? It that asking too much? At least those guys from my company, they could see the company tags around our neck..But no, they did not even bat an eyelash during the entire scene. This is really a scary scenario - people not standing up for each other. And it was not the first time I got to witness it. I had a somewhat similar incident some years back.

I was traveling in a shared auto rickshaw and a middle aged man was trying to be over-smart. His elbows kept poking me at all inappropriate places. First few times I thought it to be an accident (although I knew it wasn't) but when that jerk did not stop I decided to teach him a lesson. Little did I know that it would be me and not him learning all the lessons. The moment I confronted him he started shouting that all my accusations were false and that he was innocent. None of the 3 other people in the rickshaw spoke a word. Feeling that I was loosing the battle, I forced the rickshaw guy to pull off and demanded that I will not travel with that guy by my side. At this point I thought that the guy will get down or be forced to get down the rickshaw. But to my horror again no one said a word. And since I had proclaimed that I will not travel with the man and he refused to move, I was left with no other option but to move out myself and continue my journey to office by foot. I was so shattered to think that without any mistake of mine, I have to face the abuse - both from that man and everyone else in that rickshaw. That man got to sit and ride in the rickshaw while I had to walk in the scalding sun. How is it justice?

Now tell me, is the place we live in tolerant? Are we really tolerant? Do we need to change our outlook first and then throw dirt at Aamir and other?

Everything said, even after facing many issues and disappointments in this country, the thought of leaving this country never entered my mind.

LOVE:
SEPO

Diwali 2015

The thought of spending the first Diwali away from home was driving me into a state of depression since days altogether. But things started to look good when one of my close friend from office invited me over for lunch. The thought of going over to their place made me all excited and happy. The visit itself turned out to be awesome. Great company together with fabulous food.

What increased the happiness was the fact that my roommate was also here for Diwali and she had this rangoli and a mini celebration thing all planned. So all in all it was not a depressing, boring diwali I had thought it to be.In fact it was quite the opposite. I will let the pictures do all the talking.

Do let me know about your diwali in the comments below:

Love:
SEPO

Readers' Block

All of us well familiar with the writer’s block. It is a condition by which a writer is unable to pen his/her thoughts into words. Nothing comes to the mind or even if it does the pen refuses to oblige. It is a very serious condition especially if your livelihood depends on writing. The topic is discussion today, however is about something totally opposite to that of a writers block. It is what I am calling the Readers’ block.

I am an avid reader. My idea of a good time is curling on my bed with a good book. I am open to reading via different mediums, you name it- hard copies, soft copies, pdfs, kindle. I have experimented with almost every medium, with hard-copy being my favourite, closely followed by the kindle. Although I mostly like to read friction I am not opposed to other genres out there. Saying all this to make you understand the fact that how much I like to read. I also had this condition wherein I just had to finish reading a book however boring it maybe. Leaving it half-read made me restless and unable to start and concentrate on any other book. I was happy with this condition as it let me enhance my list of read-books. Life was good. Until....

Picture Courtesy - www.stuff.co.nz

 Chase to now and things are so different. I have a new restlessness which does not let me finish any book I lay my hands on. I have forgotten the count of books I tried to read since the last 3 months. Out of 7 or 8 books I have only managed to finish 1. Only 1. That too a short book of some 300 pages by an Indian Author (big font). I am so devastated with this analysis. But however hard I try, I just can’t manage to finish. And i am picking up good books showcasing rich cultural heritages from different types of the world. I left "The Teahouse fire" by Ellis Avery which highlights the Japanese culture of teahouses (frequented by Geisha's). I had also picked up “The handmaiden's Tale” by Margaret Atwood which is fiction set in future about Christian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government.

Somewhere down the line I though maybe I have had enough of the heavy duty stuff, so I picked up some light books by Indian Authors. But sadly even that failed to do the trick. The condition persists. I don't know what is causing this sudden change into my otherwise loyal attitude towards book reading. Since the time I remember, I have always fallen asleep while reading a book. Sadly I don't know what caused this habit to be broken. And perhaps that's the reason I do not get peaceful sleep these days. Lots of dreams and frequent breaks to see the time.

Maybe it is the addiction to TV series? FYI, I am currently binge watching the desperate housewives and I face no trouble in completion of the episodes.
I guess what I need is a good book which I find hard to put down, captive and enchanting.
This is a help call. Any suggestions are welcome.

LOVE
SEPO

Good Guy Vs Bad Guy

"Every girl wants a bad boy, who will be good just for her and every boy wants a good girl who will be bad just for him."

 This quote got me to thinking about the ever ranging war between the good guys and the bad guys. It is a well known fact that since ages, girls have been attracted to bad boys. The one with bikes and money, leather jackets and an attitude, anger and aggression, brawls and fights. She just can't help fantasizing about the bad boy while friend-zoning the good guy heads over heels in love with her. There are a lot of theories floating about this very strange attraction:

Picture Courtesy - celovetalk.wordpress.com

1. The bad boy is not easily attainable, hence the challenge to pursue him is unmatched

The bad guy is not someone who can be tied into being in a relation with a same girl. Changing girlfriends (breaking their hearts on the way) is the part of the game the bad boy so excels in. Tying him down hence is a challenging task to say the least. Thus a girl takes the responsibility of taming this wild child into a more homely creature. While many succeed in doing so others are then seen crying in the arms of the friend-zoned guy.

2. The bad boy is rough and not all girls out there like chivalry
Not all girls want to be treated lady-like. Some want the casual stuff and that is exactly what drives them to the bad guy. Because the bad guy is not a gentleman, knows no chivalry. He won't open the doors nor pull any chairs for you. Thats precisely the reason why the prim proper girls stay away from him. And the bad guy is out hunting for them (as they are out-of-league). It is a vicious circle really!

3. The pain associated with heart-break involved in a relationship with the bad boy is addictive

We all know, being with the bad boy is not easy. He will be emotionally unavailable, prone to anger spurts, maybe two timing or just uninterested. The stress caused by being with someone like this is addictive. It makes it feel like love. When things are easy and we have a guy who is totally into us, does not cheat or insult. Things seem too good to be true and that freaks us out. Love has been made synonymous with pain by the books, movies and other marketing gimmicks. So when things are smooth in our love -life (like with a good guy) it all seems very un-love like to us. Believe it or not we dig drama in our lives.

4. Challenge to turn the bad guy into the good guy

The ultimate challenge of dating a bad guy is to change him into good. Make him into somebody you can introduce your parents to. Change the way he cuts his hair and dresses up. Erase various profanities from his vocabulary. There are a lot of tasks involved in transition from bad to good. None of these deter the girl involved in bringing about these changes. Whether or not all the hard-work will bear fruits depends on the destiny and the kind of mark the girl has left on the bad boy's heart.

5. The excitement of experiencing the bad guys world

Bad guy has a different way of life. If the good guy is daal chawal, bad guy is the biryani. If good guy is Bata, bad guy is the Charles Keith. If good guy is the desi Chinese served at Indian outlets, bad guy is the authentic Chinese served at Mainland china. His style is unmatched. He only shops from branded shops. He guzzles beer more than water. He smokes up stuff. He can tell his wines from each other. 80% of girls have had their first share of alcohol or smoke in the company of a bad guy. His pub hopping and loud music playing definitely attracts a fair share of girls to him.

In-spite of the above mentioned points it is baffling as to why any girl would subject her to such atrocities. At the end of the day every girl deserves to be with a guy who appreciates and adores her. It is very important to make right decision and move towards the right guy. While the bad guy may give you a temporary high, it is the good guy who will guarantee that you get your deserved share of permanent happiness.

Love:
SEPO

Guest Post - Finding love in a big city

The best thing about blogging for so many years is that you get to meet and develop strong bonding relationship with other fellow bloggers. A relation so good that you can ask them to write a blogspot for you and they do so without batting an eyelash. I am lucky to have one such fantastic friend, also known as Vishal Bheero. Vishal has composed a beautiful post about his romance with the city of dreams ~ Mumbai. Read on to know more about it....

Settling in a big city comes with its own perks and can be cumbersome as well as tiring the time we take to finally zero in. On one hand, we strive to be accepted and defined in the big city we longed to go and make dreams happen that gives us an identity and on the other hand, there is the struggling period where we try to make things work for us.

The whole process can take a toll on our lives as it comes as a culture shock. We long for love and having a partner, say in a place, like Mumbai where everything comes unlimited. It’s a city that has always fascinated me where I found love. I had a love-hate-love relationship with Mumbai that embraced me. It’s tough to make things work for us with tiring travel in locals, jostling among the crowd to get down and hunt for an apartment within the budget.

How do one finds love in Mumbai, a city that throws limitless sea of opportunity and kick us in the bum, at times? It’s a question that plagues me. Love is like sea and water, totally free and scarce at the same time. The truth is that we need a shoulder to rely on and someone we can share our life with, laughing at mundane matters, kissing or getting intimate. You would argue that it’s a very selfish outlook at life.

Life is how we paint it: Choosing to play the victim or harnessing something beautiful to make our tale of big city something we will always remember. Love is one aspect of life where we spend lovely moments together, watching movies, traveling in cabs or local trains and enjoying the sea breeze at Chowpatty or Bandra Bandstand.

It’s a very tricky question, to find love in a big city and I don’t mean wearing blinkers to spot the hottest babe or hunk in town. It’s love, it will happen, some will argue. It can happen in the coffee shop at Barrista, Starbucks or CCD. What better way to bond with someone over coffee and getting to know each other before you hit it off!! I think it’s something that works. You can bond over movies, literature, dance or arts. Sometimes, you spot someone and the bells in your heart signal that he or she is the one you would love to share memorable moments with. I always trust my instinct and saw some interesting people at Church-gate and Fort. Nothing happened since I didn’t take the plunge in striking a conversation. I feel that you should take chance for we can never know.

I found love in Mumbai quite strangely at the library where I was studying. Saw her beautifully dressed in black Salwar and there was something about her. It was just that!! How we hit it off together is just another story!! I am not spilling the beans. Having tea together at the tapdi, sitting together to study or walking all the way from Church-gate to Colaba, I knew she was the one. She became a huge pillar of support for me and love grew. I don’t think that I can ever love someone the way I did. It’s was weird and mysterious. But, it wasn’t meant to be.

It was my tale of finding love in a big city and she would always complete me as a person. So, the trick dudes and dudettes, is don’t freak out when you move to a big city. Love will happen to you. Star with casual dating and hanging at the cafe, college campus or wherever it pleases you-watching the sunrise or sunset at Marine Drive, any takers! I just love the place for it flirts with romance.

Enjoy every single moment in the big city for you can never know when things will come to an end and longing for that time to come back again. Like love, it doesn’t! Create new memories with new people and the only thing that remains is love.

Hope you all liked the post, thanks a ton to Vishal!

The Father of all TAGS

I never shy away from tags. Even this one, with numerous questions did not deter me. So here I go doing my best answering all the questions of this TAG,

Ten how’s:
 
1. How did you get one of your scars?

Ans. I gave it to myself. In a fit of anger. It’s on my left arm.

2. How did you celebrate your last birthday?

Ans. With close friends. Dinner and drinks. Lots of surprises. Lots of love. It was good turning 26.

3. How are you feeling at this moment?

Ans. Alright-ish, I guess

4. How did your night go last night?

Ans. Pretty good. I saw The Intern. Robert De Niro and Anna Hathway rock.

5. How did you do in high school?

Ans. I was an average student.

6. How did you get the shirt you’re wearing?

Ans. I am wearing a dress actually and I bought it.

7. How often do you see your best friend(s)? Ans. Very very less.

8. How much money did you spend last month?
Ans. More than 60K.

9. How old do you want to be when you get married?

Ans. I don’t really want to answer this question.

10. How old will you be at your next birthday?

Ans. Twenty Seven.

Nine what’s:

1. Your mothers name?

Ans. Susheela

2. What did you do last weekend?

Ans. Met up with cousins and had a gala time

3. What is the most important part of your life?

Ans. Family

4. What would you rather be doing?

Ans. Travelling to Ireland. Meeting strangers, visiting cafes, writing my experiences in stories.

5. What did you last cry over?

Ans. Fight with a friend I guess.

6. What always makes you feel better when you’re upset?

Ans. FRIENDS (the sitcom) and food (the fattier the better)

7. What’s the most important thing you look for in a significant other?

Ans. Maturity.

8. What are you worried about?

Ans. My future

9. What did you have for breakfast?

Ans. Oats

Eight you’s:

1. Have you ever liked someone who had a girlfriend/boyfriend?

Ans. Guilty

2. Have you ever had your heartbroken?

Ans. Guilty

3. Have you ever been out of the country?

Ans. Yes

4. Have you ever done something outrageously dumb?

Ans. Yes. Many Times.

5. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend?

Ans. Yes.

6. Have you ever had sex on the beach?

Ans. No

7. Have you ever dated someone younger than you?

Ans. Well, age is just a number!

8. Have you ever read an entire book in one day?

Ans. Duh, yeah

Seven who’s:

1. Who was the last person you saw?

Ans. My Land Lady. Eww she is creepy

2. Who was the last person you texted?

Ans. Office friend of mine.

3. Who was the last person you hung out with?

Ans. Office friend of mine

4. Who was the last person to call you?

Ans. Dad

5. Who did you last hug?

Ans. Office friend of mine

6. Who is the last person who texted you?

Ans. Office friend of mine

7. Who was the last person you said “I love you” to?

Ans. My best friend

Six where’s:

1. Where does your best friend(s) live?

Ans. Delhi. USA. Hyderabad. Scattered all over the place.

2. Where did you last go?

Ans. My favourite coffee shop

3. Where did you last hang out?

Ans. My favourite coffee shop

4. Where do you go to school?

Ans. St. Mary’s Presentation Convent Senior Secondary School.

5. Where is your favourite place to be?

Ans. Home. With a big cup of coffee and a good book.

6. Where did you sleep last night?

Ans. I prefer sleeping on my bed. All nights.

Five do’s:

1. Do you think anyone likes you?

Ans. Anyone? I think many people like me. Period.

2. Do you ever wish you were someone else?

Ans. Sometimes. But most of the days, I am thankful for who I am.

3. Do you know the muffin man?

Ans. No. Can I eat it/him?

4. Does the future scare you?

Ans. Yea. That’s the reason I don’t think about it. The ostrich theory. Wink.

5. Do your parents know about your blog?

Ans. Yea, they kinda do.

Four why’s:

1. Why are you best friends with your best friend?

Ans. Because I am the most compatible with her. With her it’s like living with family.

2. Why did you get into Blogging?

Ans. The year was 2009, I was bitten by the bug of writing a book. I wanted to get reviews for what I had written. Those days Orkut was ruling the roost, since I did not want to scrap on Orkut I decided to blog. The book in question is biting dust but thankfully the blog survived.

3. Why did your parents give you the name you have?

Ans. Because it rhymed with Neha, the name of my elder sister.

4. Why are you doing this survey?

Ans. Because it feels like I am giving an interview, which makes me believe that I am famous. So that’s why. Good for my pride

Three if’s:

1. If you could have one super power what would it be?

Ans. Flying. I hate the feeling of missing someone. With flying everything and everyone would be just a flight away.

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you?

Ans. YES. In fact I would change a lot of things. For starters I would opt for English honours after school and NOT engineering!

3. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could bring 1 thing, what would you bring?

Ans. Wifi enabled laptop.

Two would-you-ever’s:

1. Would you ever get back together with any of your ex’s if they asked you?
Ans. An Ex is Ex for a reason. So probably not.

2. Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love?

Ans. Ouch, Yea I would. And then live without mirrors till the time it grows back.

One last question:

1. Are you happy with your life right now?

Ans: Hmmmm, things could be better but can’t complain. So yes. Pretty much content with what I have with a strong zest for making them even better!

Wowza! I did it. I thought it would be tough but it really wasn’t. I had fun doing this. Many people consider these tags to be a chore. I on the other hand feel they are a revelation. Each answer tells you something about yourself. And once you are in the flow of it, you don’t even have to spend time on thinking. The answers will just automatically start to flow. I suggest to try it when you have nothing to do.

Love:
Sepo

Upheaval by the Inflation

According to a latest update, people are seen to be crying their eyes out while cutting onions. And it is not just because of the Sulfenic acid. The price of onions is apparently what is driving the middle class to tears. While the onions, tomatoes and pulses keep fluctuating and getting normal, what we as a user fail to notice sometimes is the gradual increase in costs. Household articles, groceries, public transport etc. is way more expensive than what it was few years back. The thing is we get so engrossed in our everyday day lives that we forget to sit back and see the happenings around us. Moreover the concept of super market shopping deters us to actually check the price of the stuff we blindly toss into our shopping baskets.

Picture Courtesy - blog.doctoroz.com

I had a revelation recently when while ordering Aashirwaad aata from my local vendor on phone. I asked him to quickly send across Rs 35 wala 1 KG bag of aata, he quickly corrected me to say its for Rs 46 and not 35! I actually started caring about these things when I first started cooking and buying my own groceries (roughly some four years back). At the very start the aashirwaad aata was probably costing Rs 35 and the same cost is somehow just truck on my mind. Blame the supermarket shopping for this! While I waiting for the Bhaiya to bring over my aata I did a quick recap of the things whose prices have rose right in front of my eyes. A few examples from the formulated list is presented for your analysis below.

SNo	Item	Before Price (2011)	After Price (2015)	Percentage increase
1	Auto Meter (Mumbai)	Rs 12	Rs 18	50%
2	Aashirwaad	Rs 35	Rs 46	31.42%
3	Amul Butter	Rs 24	Rs 32	33.33%
4	Amul Cow Milk	Rs 15	Rs 22	46.66%
5	Mutton	Rs 260	Rs 440	69.23%

These are just a few of the things I remembered and the numbers are definitely scary. Inflation is fine as long as our salaries also increase with the same percentage and curve. Sadly in most of the jobs it is not the case. So we the mango people continue to bear the brunt of the huge hole in our pocket after the 5^th of every month. And this is only considering the fact that you really only on home cooked simple meals. God save you if you are fond of eating or drinking out. Not only will the food and drinks be overpriced (A drink like Old Monk will also be sold at two times its price which by the way is Rs 100) the additional cost of VAT and service tax will increase your bill amount by atleast 30%, if not more!

Picture Coutesy - www.telegraph.co.uk

 I salute people with families, children, their education, clothes, food, bills… the list is endless. Just like our expenses and woes.

 *Long Sigh*

Love:

Sepo

Some Keen Observational Theories

1. The closer you are to a person the harder it is to tell them the truth – an honest opinion you have about them. On the other hand the closer a person is to you, higher is the chance of you venting out all your accumulated anger on them.

2. Some people get up in the morning, open their cupboards and wear the first thing(s) they spot. Irrespective of whether they are event appropriate or matching with each other. Now we are not expecting you to be dressed up to nine, looking like diva’s or studs. But green colored pants with purple Tee, red colored polka dotted pants to office and a tight fitted top struggling to stay on a plump frame is not a sight for the sore eyes.

3. While we are on the subject of clothes another important point. Leggings are not pants. Yes, even if you are a proud owner of a 26inch waist. They were made for kurta’s and look horrible with tops and shirts.

4. There are some people who go grocery shopping and forget one very important article every month. We are talking about the DEO here. Small word big benefits. Coz, sitting in cramped spaces with air conditioner blowing the same stale air, trying to breathe through your elbow or hair in public transport ain’t no fun.

5. When you finally get that motivation to join gym and one week down the line you start feeling somewhat fabulous about yourself – people will start commenting on how fat you look. Well, that drives you right towards those creamy macaroons and Dutch truffles.

6. An observation based on the above point. People criticize you when you are thin, they will criticize you when you are fat, and they will probably find something wrong with you when you are actually pretty alright. Listen to the people who matter, ignore the rest and do what YOU like. Just do your thang.

7. After a particular age you just loose interest in making new friends. You become content with the close set of fools you have managed to keep over the years. Friendships often sprout during those carefree phrases of live. Once responsibility kicks in, you’d rather make acquaintances rather than friends. That said, some rare exceptions are always there.

8. You start developing a “taste” for things. Now this can be anything ranging from clothes to furniture to alcohol. While in your teens and early twenties you are ready to experiment, as you mature you’d probably invest and explore something that you are familiar with!

9. However hard you try, innumerable promises you make – People still drift apart. In spite of all the wtsapp, skype and vibers long distance things rarely workout. And for those it does work, well congratulations!

10. Even though you may not realize it and in fact hate using SMS and texting lingo it still reflects in your writing. I just had a hard time understanding why MS word refuses to acknowledge “yourself’ which in my writing flow I had spelled as “urself”. OMG. I gave myself the biggest palm-slap after realizing my mistake.

11. The more you stay alone, the more impulsive and short tempered you get. Adjusting, patience and compromise become pariahical qualities.

12. A heart felt compliment makes everyone happy, no matter how old. So go on and don’t hesitate to make someone happy.

13. When women go on criticizing and complaining about themselves, all they are looking forward for to is some reassurance. "You look great" or "You are awesome" are some acceptable answers. Go not agree with her on this one. Its as simple as that. And men say women are hard to understand.

14. There should be at-least one that thing in life for everyone doing which makes you happy.

15. Lastly, everyone should watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S atleast once. If you aren't, you are definetly missing something really special in life.

LOVE:
Sepo!

The Modern fairy tale

Since time immemorial fairy tales have always invoked a great sense of wonder and marvel. The magic of Cinderella’s shoes, snow white’s jungle adventures and Rapunzel’s long Goldie locks. We wanted it all while growing up. As adults too many a times we aspire for things fairy-like. A beautiful Cinderella like dress, snow whites’ charm and of course the prince charming riding a horse. What we read as kids stays with us till a long time after.

My fascination with fairy tales and Barbie dolls is inexplicable. Having an elder sister and many cousin sisters, I neither had to buy any fairy tales books nor force my parents to buy me dolls. I had abundant passed on dolls and books from sisters. Also some utterly fascinating bedtime stories and folk tales that I read and re-read every night. It would not be wrong to say that childhood fables leave a lasting impact in our minds. As adults we may seem to outgrow them and at times even see some glaring flaws in them. But there will always be a part of us that will smile fondly at the all the memories they invoke.Being a book-nerd I always push people around me to read. I try to narrate excerpts from my favorite books to interest them. At times highlight the advantages of reading, argue that books are way better than the monstrous movies they turn them into. So it was not much of a surprise when I bought a big book of all-time favorite fairy tales for my 4 year old niece. Since it was out of question was her to read it herself. I, very willingly made myself her self-appointed fantasy tutor. I thought it would be a great way for me to re-enter the childhood world of magic.

disneyprincesses.wikia.com

While reading and explaining the intricacies of having mouse’s as friends, evil stepmoms and fairy godmothers, I was somehow not convinced this time. Wisdom imparted through years made me skeptical on the whole helplessness portrayed by Cinderella and other fairy tale protagonists. Ok so the step sisters and mother treat her bad. Why does she not stand up for herself? Why does she behave like Tulsi from Ekta Kapoor’s Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? Why does she have to rely on magic? Why is the fairy godmothers magic so conditional, 12’O clock, carriage to pumpkin and those shoes pretty and all but glass? It was not easy explaining to my niece that glass shoes are not only unavailable and also impractical. The final straw was on how everything falls into place right after prince walks in. Whether to sweep Cinderella off her feet or kiss Snow White to life. It was then I realized that this book is full of damsels in distress, waiting to be rescued by the prince charming rather than taking an effort to do it themselves.

leopold-and-loeb.blogspot.com

I definitely did not want my niece to grow up reading this stuff. Thinking that having men in her life is the solution of all the problems. Don’t get me wrong, men are great. Getting into relationships is great but designing your own life around their existence is not! This is not how the 21st century women are or should be. I have witnessed smart independent women transform to shadows of their better half soon after getting hitched. Maybe they take their cues from the stories they grew up reading. Their man is the only topic they can talk about. The clothes they buy will be of his choice and not theirs’. They will stop doing stuff he doesn’t approve of. Some even stop eating because their man does not want them to get fat (ouch). While many of you would say that this is a perfectly fine thing to do in love. But I say why love have to be about compromise and adjustment why not acceptance. If you love me at size 4 you should love me at size 8 and even size 16. Encourage and challenge me to lose or maintain not taunt or threat. Companion ship should be about the freedom to do the thing you love and at the same time taking time to cherish the thing you both like. Acceptance of YOU as YOU are and not as someone they have mentally pictured. And if the pictures don’t match then, well then Just Keep Searching.

I want my niece to grow up reading a story of a princess who is awesome. One who eats green vegetables with delight and sips green tea. Occasionally indulging in pizzas and pastries (this would help her to understand the secret behind her slender waist from a young age). She eats a balanced diet rather than going on fad diets. So she will not grow up to have eating disorders. A bright student, she believes in wisdom from knowledge. She has fun hobbies like playing congas. She lands a fabulous job doing what she loves. She is kind but does not let people take her for a ride. She knows karate and can like literally kick some ass. She buys sexy shoes (not made of glass, duh). And if she does meet that special someone who loves her for who she is, she takes out that blue gown and her tiara :)

sarahbetty,co.uk

That’s more like the stuff to read and replay, let me know what you think in the comments section!

Love

Sepo

The Wrath of the Twitterati

Gone are the days of long romantic letters, informative columns and posts. These days 140 characters rule. You got something to say? You tweet. You got anger to vent? You tweet. You gotta wish someone? You tweet. You like something? You retweet. Twitter had never been so in rage like it is now. Social media definitely has its pros but at the same time its cons cannot be ignored or downplayed.

Everyone has something to say or share on the platform, which is a good thing. You can share across your views and at the same time come to know others point of view. It also gives you a chance to closely follow people you admire. While it is great for celebs to be closely associated with their admirers, it is also a known fact that leering amongst the crowd are haters and trouble makers. Some of them protectively covered under the identity of Anonymous. The kind of comments some of these people leave on popular people’s tweets and pictures will make you cringe.

Being famous has its repercussions. Newspapers were full of how Abhishek Bachan reverted to an insensitive user who targeted his daughter. The senior Bachan was apparently blamed for traffic jams outside his bungalow. Neha Dhupia faced protests outside her home and death threats when she dared to blame the reigning government for monsoon troubles in Mumbai. Rishi Kapoor who was recently called the C word is known to shame people who don’t follow proper code of conduct. Then there are celebs who get trolled for their misinformed tweets. Our desi superhero Hritik Roshan was victimized for his white/blue/black dress tweet and the “tribal” militant attack in Manipur. Anushka Sharma was taken for a class for misspelling Mr Kalam’s name. Sometime back not so popular but still very cute shararaat fame Shruti Seth was on a receiving end of a lot of bullshit from people. She made the mistake of sharing her affront opinion about the selfiewithdaughter campaign by Modi ji.

Now we have to understand that while we may absolutely love butter chicken, there are millions of people all around the world who would find it to be too spicy, overcooked or messy. That does not mean that we go on to attack those people. What works for them might be entirely repulsive to us. Same way while a group of us might be inclined towards one political party and its initiatives others may not agree to it. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, however biased it may be. What we can to is engage in a healthy debate on why you disagree or may highlight the benefits of the said initiate for that person to see. But lounging a personal attack, name calling, abusing and mud throwing just makes you a human looking animal. Just because social media allows you to post doesn’t mean that you forget all filter and etiquette involved in it.

What really interested me to Shruti’s case was the open letter she wrote just after the incident. Now open letters are the new fad. These days people write open letters all the time and to just about everybody. They write them to Politicians, film stars, cricketers or all the three together. Who can forget the famous open letter Shenaz Treasurywala wrote to Shahrukh, Modi ji, Salman, Sachin Tendulkar and the likes. But Shruti’s letter was different. It was a very honest and easily the most sensible stuff I had read on the internet in a really long time. Plus the points raised in her letter are pretty valid. How does abusing a women (however wrong you may feel she is) make you a better citizen? The irony is that people did not even stop the hatred after her letter. All the websites that posted her letter has comments flipping mud all over her and her Muslim husband.

And it’s not just about stars or Shruti. The advent of social media has made a commenter out of everyone, which is not at all a bad thing as long as you exercise proper conduct. My personal vendetta is also with people effectively working under the mask of anonymous. I have locked horns with many over the last few years.Browse through any video on YouTube and check the comments. You will be taken aback by the similarity in the content. The fellow commenters start by their likes or dislikes, they come to a point of disagreement and then it starts. Either they will go racist or the ever famous India Vs Pakistan. Then comes the swearing which will make even the most abusing person to run for covers. What baffles me the most is the fact that instead of bad mouthing the person involved, all indulge in abusing their mothers and sisters! Why just why???

This scenario reminds me of a quote from my favorite novel which goes like:
“Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.”

― Khaled Hosseini (A thousand Splendid Suns)

Everything said, I must say that online info sharing has its own set of benefits. It boosts your general knowledge. From Kalam Sir’s death to the porn ban and its revocation. All info is available simultaneously on Facebook, twitter, WhatsApp or Instagram. Hash tags can be easily checked out to get the entire thread of info you need for details. Imagine shopping online and spotting a feedback for the product you are intending to buy. A positive or negative review definitely affects your course of action.A word of caution though, with the speed that things are getting banned now-a-days, it would be a good idea to exercise some precaution. You never know what might just get banned next…






LOVE
SEPO

Nostalgia - A Walk Through Memories

Reunion with Capt Vandana Slathia after ages made us go back to our common blog - The Divine Secrets of Sepo - Vandy Sisterhood. Though there is nothing divine about our secrets anymore, the updates are many. Its been more than 3 years since we updated our blog. We had decided on maintaining it precisely because we wanted to look back and read about our not so happening but still worthwhile lives and beautiful memories together.

While going through all the previous detailed accounts of posts we have written, I found one of my favorite ones. It was written by Vandy for me on my 21st birthday! I had woken up feeling sad and this beautiful piece had moved me to tears. Rekindling that experience yet again .....

I know how much you’ll love if someone will compose a song for you & sing it with guitar & all. Preferably you’ll give that honor to a guy, but sweetheart, just for this moment let me do that. Of course I’ll spare you the horror of my voice,,,kya karein, ,,It’s not as melodious as yours. I don’t know how to play guitar so just imagine that I’m playing it. For giving you a feel I’m adding the pic of a guitar.

This song/ poem whatever you consider it,,,will sure make you to rolf,,,,as writing songs/poems is not my cup of tea.

Anyways here we go……

Days will pass and we may go apart,

In the theatre of life, playing a different part.

Just running after money, doing crappy jobs,

With no one around to wipe our tears & listen to our sobs.

We will get lost in all worldly things,

Won’t be able to fly as now we do with our free wings.

Frustrated, depressed, too lost, too busy,

But forgetting the time we spent together will never be easy.

We’ll miss sepo-vandy time & our shopping sprees,

Baante vala soda & raiding the shops with all that ease.

Searching bookstores for the novel we won’t ever find,

Forest green, electric blue, blood red, nail paints of different kind.

Hakka noodle, kimb, gole gappe & your favorite cheesy dip,

Testimonial vali Maggie, seniors ko lutna &canteen ke chips.

Nothing I’ll ever forget, especially that SMVDU trip,

Life was slipping, when you came & solidified my grip.

It was hell; I was lost in a dark night,

But you, princess snow white, made everything so bright.

I wish I was a guy so that I could marry you,

Give you all the joy that would have sticked like glue.

But I’m really sorry as I’m a girl that too not a lesbian, simply straight,

And I’m really happy with the things as they are now & don’t want them to be that great ;)

I’ll be happy if your prince charming would take you away in a sweep,

All I want is your happiness but will set him right if he lets you weep.

I don’t kid around when I say you are my support,

If someone bothers you, just come to me & report.

I don’t care if it’s your prince charming or our own stupid Saini,

And I don’t give a damn; let others think that I’m your nanny.

Till we are together, I want you to be happy & gay,

And sugar, in advance here I’m wishing you a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”

With loads of love & kisses

Vandy

P.S. I know to make it rhyme I’ve made it a lot stupid,,,whatever who cares,,,,just wanna say sweetheart,,,,it’s your birthday so enjoy,,,,no worries,,,no tension,,,,,,luvya,,,,,,muwaaaahhhhhhhh

It's Still Not The Time for GoodBye!

Image Coutesy - allindiascoop.com

I don’t think Maggie has ever been considered to be a junk food. It is something that we would ideally put in the category of what is popularly known as the comfort food. The popularity of Maggie can be understood by the fact that Nestle holds around 60% share in India markets. Ever since I can remember, the evening snack has always been the quintessential yellow packets of goodness. In the 90s life was simple. Pizza’s, burgers were conspicuous by their absence.We saw them being devoured through recently introduced cable network. But the only relation we had with them was of fascination. For us the-kids-of-90s Maggie was arguably the only guilty pleasure. Maggie also had a strong foot hold in foot items that are a part of relief and emergency like mountaineering etc.

We induced variety in it by adding vegetables trying to emulate the prototype on the cover.But mostly it was just cooked in boiling water. Though it was never done in 2 minutes, no one complained. Maggie meant a whole lot of different thing to hosteliers and bachelors. It was like a knight in shining armour, a saviour and a necessity to say the least. A lot of late night chit-chats were centered on Maggie. Study sessions were supported by numerous cups of coffee and bowlfuls of good ‘old Maggie. No-mood-to-cook days were efficiently taken care by the thought of Maggie hai na..

Then nestle won another round of hallelujah from the lazy bums all across when it’s introduced the cup noodles. Just add garam pani and you are done. Now there was no need to even switch on the gas burner. Because the hot water was procured from the geyser. It just couldn’t get any better.

But it did. Soon after they came up with vegetable aata noodles. Got Madhuri Dixit on board to make us believe that it’s perfectly ok if your kids don’t eat the regular chapatti and vegetables. As long as they eat these “healthy” noodles there is no reason to fret. It’s not like we believed that Maggie was the ideal food, we all knew at some level that it is a very unhealthy substitute. But we chose to brush it aside until something jolted us into action.

That jolt came in form of a very disheartening news of Maggie constituting lead contents which were 17 times the permissible limits. It takes our body roughly around two to three days to get rid of these toxins. Just imagine, noodles cooked in 2 minutes (well actually more than 2 minutes) eaten in less than 10 minutes and we feel that’s that. But the sheer amount of work our digestive system has to do to digest the maida, flushing off toxins etc is mind boggling. Especially when there are negligible nutrients involved. Just like Shakespeare would have said – Much ado about nothing.

The subsequent ban on the sale of Maggie has invoked a mixed state of reactions from people.While some are showing their anger and aggression by burning packets of Maggie, others are expressing their disappointment by sharing their fond Maggie memories on various social networking sites. There is also a section of people who are unaffected by the whole hullabaloo. For them it doesn’t make any difference. Having been eating Maggie for year’s altogether, they feel the new revelation of lead will do little harm. A college student from Delhi jokingly says “By now our bodies are so used to the lead or whatsoever content is there is Maggie that it hardly matters”.

The future course of action also varies hugely. Some people have entirely sworn-off from Maggie and the likes (knor, sunfeast, wai-wai etc.), others feel that it is only a matter of time before Maggie comes back with a bang (and with a popular celebrity endorsing it). We may recalls that the same kind of scenario happened with cold drinks and Cadbury chocolates some years back. With pesticides content found in the former and worms in the latter. After a gap of 2 months however, both the products were back with top film-stars and cricketers backing them. Most of the people therefore feel that Maggie will surely come back after the hiatus.

Nestle’s global chief executive officer, Paul Bulcke, said in an official statement: “We have been in India for over 100 years. We are part of India. Trust of consumer is shaken because of some confusion and we want to restore that.” Nestle maintains that Maggie is safe to be had but the huge over cry has forced them to withdraw the sales.

Meanwhile while the samples of noodles are tested and retested the die-hard fans of Maggie are left with no other option except reminisce. Personally, Maggie invokes memories of me and my sister fighting for who gets more share. Preparing our own maggies to see whose tastes better. Ordering platefuls of Maggie over assignments in college canteens. Relishing coffee and Maggie from Nescafé's. Ban or no ban, it goes without saying that Maggie has and will always be close to our hearts and stomachs.


LOVE
Sepo