Home remedies ...

Road trip plans fell through because of my stupid cold!!! GRRR.

However, Shabbu [and Mumanijaan before her] has recommended a home remedy - turmeric powder in warm milk. Supposed to have healing qualities. Will keep you posted on how it turns out. If I don't stop coughing in my sleep tonight, its off to the doctor I go.

Road Rules ...

From two weeks of being a witness to the crazy driving, and a limited amount of driving myself here - here's what I've come up with.


- Hand signals [i.e. furious waving outside the window] trump indicators.
- When one wants to turn left, begin turn from the extreme right lane - indicator optional - and proceed to block traffic until turn is complete.
- When turning right onto a main road from a side road [remember we're driving on the left side of the road], it is only courteous to cross into oncoming traffic, blocking everyone travelling in the opposite direction until the road you're trying to enter clears up enough to complete the turn.
- people don't take you seriously unless you honk - when overtaking, make sure to honk so that the vehicles know you're attempting to overtake - since no one uses their mirrors, and change "lanes" [they're imaginary] blindly, if you do not honk, you're likely to have someone ease into you or yell.
- it is custom to attempt to overtake vehicles that faster [sometimes as slow] than the one you are driving - for example: rickshaws overtaking other rickshaws, buses over taking buses, rickshaws overtaking buses.
- buses find it neccessary to switch from the left side of the road to the right after pulling out of a bus stop, only to immediately pull back to the left moments later to stop at their next stop.
- traffic lights -- green always means go, yellow means - keep going, red means step on it so you make it through. when stopped at a light, some intersections have timers indicating how much longer the light will take to change - when the light is still red, and there are five seconds to go - don't be surprised if some dudes shoot through the intersection
- always drive with your high beam on - at the very least you'll drive your fellow drivers to blindness and there'll be less people on the road right?

There are so many more things I can't think of right now - of course I think of them when I'm driving!!!

Bangalore Profile

Not really much to report right now, I spent most of the weekend resting up and nursing my cold - its been quite a while since I've had a cold, and I always forget how annoying it is. I feel worse for the people around me, which is why I've avoided meeting people - with the exception of Pavi on Saturday night. Trying to keep up with my profile of various people, this post will be about Pavi [Pavitra Chalam] --- figure she'll be famous soon, and I need to publicize that I know her ;-) for the record!

Pavi came over on Saturday evening [she was s'posed to come over for dinner on Friday and the plan was to watch movies and films all night, didn't work that way!] just in time for dinner;Pavi's always been my guinea pig ... I think that she'll eat just about anything though ;-) I experimented with a recipe that I've been holding on to for a while - its the mongolian beef from pf changs - I was actually pleasantly surprised with the outcome. This just might be my favorite recipe from this day forth!!

Anyhoo, people ... right. Pavi and I have known each other since 10th grade - we were never in the same school together, much like Jay and I, but became friends through some random series of events and actually kept in touch! Out of school, she was all about becoming a journalist - and while others with similar ambitions went straight for the bachelors program in journalism, she took a slightly different route. Instead, Pavi studied history, political science and economics. I couldn't understand WHY she made this choice ... I mean Pavi was the cultural guru [while moonlighting as an athelete]... star of all the literary festivals, writer extraordinaire, why in the WORLD would she choose such dry subject matter [or so I thought at the time!] I later learned that her choice was made upon the advice of a relative [himself a journalist], and now understand what a good decision it was. Her choice allowed her to explore the foundations upon which most of her subject matter would be based. Pavi turned out to be the GURU of cultural gurus --- and her life has taken many interesting twists.

Though a student of history, Pavi continued to explore the arts -- participating in several theatrical performances through her bachelors. Upon graduation, she was immediately recruited to join a broadcast journalism program in Chennai [I believe it was a BBC sponsored program], word on the street was that she'd join NDTV or the BBC, or something cool like that. Nu--uhhh! Two years ago I get a phone call from my mom telling me that there was an article in the paper about Pavi traveling to Karachi with a group called the "Youth Initiative for Peace" where a dozen or so Indians and Pakistanis [students] got together in Karachi for two weeks, to build bridges between the two societies - culminating into a short documentary, produced by none other than our very own Pavitra. Coming out from that experience, with a short film to her credit, Pavi shoots to Morocco for the World UN Congress [I don't even know how she landed that gig!], where she is a delegate, and in some bizarre twist, is asked to report on the event for a local news channel - in Arabic. Oh yeah, she doesn't know Arabic!

I'm sitting in Washington, following the email traffic about all of her exploits ... in utter disbelief, my mind going back to all of our "what I want to do when I grow up" kind of discussions. We didn't realize it at the time, but this is what Pavi was meant to do. She's the kind of person that was meant to be the ambassador, document her interactions, digest them, and convey the message - at some point, she decided to do it through film. Over the last two years, Pavi has traveled from Morocco to Ireland to Italy[working with Global Vision for GM-Free Ireland], and back to namma Bangaluru [our bangalore] - doing what she does best. Now drawn to the bright lights of the big apple - Pavi heads to the NYFA in August - where she will no doubt wow her peers and professors, starting off her illustrious career as a filmmaker devoted to socially relevant issues such as potential dangers of genetically modified crops, importance of cross-border dialogue, and whatever the needs of the hour may be.

I got to watch some of her short films on Saturday night. I was amazed - especially with her collaboration with our artist friend Raghava on two of his projects, Anthropomorphism and Art in Motion. I don't know how anyone will get to see them, but if I ever get hold of them -- you can ask me!!!! They're REALLY REALLY COOL!

So, I've just spent the last five paragraphs discussin Pavi's achievements -- how does any of this fit into the blog - well, she's a quintessential Bangalorean. Her background and activities over the past few years, are a testament to Bangalore. All this IT mumbo-jumbo you hear about nowadays - Silicon Valley of the East and all that junk, none of it is true Bangalore -- Bangalore is a city with few great monuments and landmarks, but Bangalore is its people. Banaloreans are film and theatre personalities, atheletes, photographers, artists, IT-gurus [can't deny it, Bangalore has the highest concentration of Engineering schools in the world], random joe's, kitty mom's, mohammed mama's, kamala's ... they all play into the mix, and make Bangalore what it is [or maybe I mean was]. Unfortunately, as the skyline changes, the flyovers go up, and the call centers continue to pour non-Bangaloreans into the city - these factors coat the city that was once the Garden City and the Pensioners Paradise, and mask the faces. One used to be able to walk around, and see what we like to call the familiar "Bangalore faces" -- don't see that many of those nowadays. But Pavi's definately one of the few faces that you do see ...

Random - speaking of faces, I'm not the only one that talks about familiar faces. There's a photojournalist that is working on documenting Bangalore faces in a collection centered around a Bangalore legend - Koshy's. Can't wait to see the end product.

Birthdays, and feeling blaaah

Friday was Ishaan's first birthday, and we all got together with the Sulaimans at MEG for a little to-dooo! Of course, the kid's not gonna remember much, but I guess the first few birthdays are for the parents and grandparents, to some extent a social neccessity. It was really fun though, brought back alot of memories of other birthdays, namely Daniella and Zayd badsha's birthday back in the day when Shal and I would be there bright and early, ready to blow up hundreds of balloons. Ok, maybe not quite that many, but it was a fair amount - needless to say, we were blue in the face! hehe!

Naina had stopped by for lunch earlier, so wonderful to see her - she's been working hard on her masters, and is getting ready to start working as a family counselor soon. Alot has happened in both our lives in the last three years, so we basically spent two or three hours catching up, before I had to leave for the birthday festivities. In between I was also entertaining an electrician and the telephone repair man - which made for alot of confusion at one point.

Arrived at MEG, about an hour later than scheduled, Shal was completely frazzled - she had spent most of the morning decorating the garden, and supervising balloon blowing, etc. After shooing her back into the house to get ready, I took to helping Hussein with the finishing touches, which included decorating the front gate. Apparently, minutes after I put up the balloons on the gate, some random kids ran by and plucked them off, much to Arika's dispair -- she came running from the kitchen, yelling, followed by mama - who was a little baffled - I of course, was completely oblivious to it all. Eh, whats a couple of balloons I say. Anyhoo, the streamers were still up, all served its purpose - and some kids got to play with the balloons - all g in the h - as the dc-peeps say ;)

Soon all the tots started flowing in, there were only about 8 kids and their moms ... they all dived into the little plastic blow up pool of toys, and had quite a blast - EVEN AKBAR JAANU! As I may have mentioned in previous posts, the weather here has been pretty fantastic - very pleasant, not too hot, in fact not hot at all, theres a wonderful evening breeze that flows through the city. The only issue is that its pretty overcast most of the time - but it hasn't really been raining. HOWEVER, as the kids came in, it seemed like there was going to be a cloud burst - so mama and Rohaan called for some cake cutting and snacks serving. Figured, might as well get it all out of the way -- so we had a little sing song, cut the cake, and just as we were about done - down came the rains. AAAAAh... subha'anAllah! Of course, everyone rushed inside with the kids, we ran about grabbing plates of food and the cakes to get out of the rain, gathered up the toys, etc. In less than five minutes, I was soaked, not too much, but enough to get me to put up a post entitled "blug" -- coz thats how I feel today [Sunday]. Been sneezing and coughing since yesterday, running a slight fever ... uuuuugh, yech. Anyhoo, so I've been laying low for the past two days -- trying to get this out of my system, inshaAllah I'll get it out soon!

Culinary Note: We entertained with the classic Bangalore birthday food, a menu that has NOT changed in decades. Sandwiches [unfortunately we missed the trademark memon pudina, aka mint, sandwiches], chips [with a new age sour cream dip], samosas, smileys [potatoes cut out in the shapes of smiley faces, deep fried], bondas [sort of mashed up potatoe with onions and spices, covered in a batter and of course, deep fried], jello and custard, shaami kababs [minced meat with spices, shaped into rounds and what else, fried :0)], and of course cake [aaaah, chocolate mousse cake from Mako's]

Going backwards, on Thursday I spent the day w/Shal - she was my official mall tour guide - we went to Garuda mall and Forum -- Garuda's not completely open, but had a couple of stores that aren't at the Forum - like Marks & Spencers and Mango - both TERRIBLY overpriced, but I did see some REALLY REALLY nice shirts at Marks & Spencers. hmmm... maybe they'll have a sale? unlikely. At Forum, we basically just walked around - unless you're really shopping, you can't spend more than an hour or two at the Forum. Lunch was at Mickey D's - which was a HUGE mistake. The fries were the fries, I don't think MD's fries change around the world, but the burgers, maaaan. First of all, they're not beef burgers [would be very offensive to India's Hindu majority] they're chicken -- the "Maharaja Mac" is basically chicken kababs in bun. The McChicken was fine, except the meat was the size of a chicken nugget. Needless to say, thats my first and last visit to Mickey D's. However, its worth checkin out their website, the menu is very interesting - reflective of the interesting mix of cuisines here in India. For example, the veggie McPuff and the Spicy Chinese. You're gonna have to check out the website to find out what thos are!!!

After chilling at home for a bit, we headed out to Rangashankara to check out Girish Karnad's A Heap of Broken Images - it was actually pretty interesting, and engaging, considering that it was a one woman cast. Arundhati Raja, renowed Bangalore Theatre personality, plays a writer fluent in both English and Kannada [local language], enjoying great worldwide success with her first novel - incidentally written in English. The story is that she's giving an interview on TV before the premier of the movie [in Kannada] based on the novel, and as shes leaving the studio, she encounters herself as a TV image. The writer and her TV image proceed to have a dialogue - hence bringing out the plot of the story ... very interesting. Rangashankara [pics] itself is pretty cool, looking forward to going back this week for Romeo and Juliet.

Girish Karnad is one of Karnataka's leading play wrights -- in fact, he's probably India's leading play wright. I doubt anyone's heard of the movie - AgniVarsha, but it was based on Karnad's drama - The Fire and The Rain. The Fire and the Rain [directed by Bangalorean Arjun Sajnani] was incidentally, one of the first plays that I watched, probably 10 years ago now, and I would go as far as to say that it was my introduction to theatre.

Kamla

Kamla has worked with our family for over half a century, for sure. She started working as a young adult [probably late teens, early 20's] for my nani [maternal gradmother, we fondly refer to her as Amma], back when my mom was a toddler [correct me if I'm wrong peoples]. She was absolutely devoted to Amma, and now to Haroon Mama, and has cared for all of us in the family at some point in time. My older cousins and I grew up around her [sometimes hiding her tobacco pouch] , Zaydu and Daniella grew up with her yelling at them whenever they were up to no good. She was Amma's staunch assistant back in the day when the famous "rainbow" cakes were made almost daily at Aga Abbas Ali road, before mixers and grinders found their way into the kitchen. It was common for us to enter the kitchen and see Kamla in the corner, mixing the batter vigorously, with Amma standing over her, slowly pouring various food colorings into the creamy white batter.

Today, Kamla [aka, Victoria, Vicky, Kammy] is over 80 years old - this is my guesstimate - and although she is still going strong, she hasn't been able to work for years now. However, she still lives in my mama's house, and is taken care of by the family, for she has no family of her own. She's happy with her tobacco, "sapaad" [Tamil for food], strong black tea and glucose buscuits - the most important of those items is her tobacco. Most of the time she doesnt' recognize people, but I like to think that she remembers me, and knows who I am. She's staying with us for a couple of days, a little change from the ordinary - so I see her everyday, which brings back alot of memories.

I have a great fondness for Kamla - she's a part of my past, and a part of alot of memories of Amma. She's also a part of my Bangalore. I say that rather selfishly, so maybe I should rephrase. Kamla is part of the Ali Mohammed Bangalore - for I know there are many members of our family that remember her fondly, ask about her often, and also have her in their memories. Several of our favorite, funny "Amma" memories have something to do with Kamala and her antics! So, for all you Ali Mohammeds that haven't seen Kamla in a while, click here.

Kamla, aka Vicky

DSCF0003
Originally uploaded by zeezai.

Culinary delights ...

Aaaah, after piddiddling around the house all morning, I finally got out around 12.30 to pick up Gay [pronounced "Guy"] and Sam to head for lunch. I lied in my last post coz I said that we were going to Bheema's, we actually went to this NEW place called Ponnuswamy Chettinad Hotel of Chennai ; or more commonly "Ponnuswamy's" - EVERYONE's been telling me about it -- and when I say everyone I mean two people :-) But still, it came highly recommended. SO, on the way to Bheema's I suggested it to the girls, and they were all for it, so we changed plans mid way - didn't throw us off too much since they're both fairly close to each other, and it wouldn't have taken hours through traffic to get there.

The place itself isn't the most impressive - small entrance, with a large bright yellow sign with the specials listed [chicken curry, fish fry, crab masala ... mmm]. As we enter, they were cleaning off a few tables [there are only 8-10 tables in all], so we were asked to sit for "ten or five minutes, madam". We of course took the opportunity to chat - I've known Gay and Sam since I was a wee tyke in elementary school - Sam has probably been to every birthday party I had until we were 13 years old! As she says, we beat each other up through school and thats why we're still friends [yeah I don't get it either]. We never keep up through email, or call each other when we're in the US [she went to school in Ohio, and is now finishing up in London] - but somehow, every time I'm in Bangalore, I track her down and we grab lunch toghether. Gay and I are a little better about keeping in touch, and we were at CAE together for two years - and practically lived at each others houses [and PJ's house] during that time!

Once we were seated, and had menus in hand -- we proceeded to examine the menus with great attention to detail. This is serious business! After some deliberation and conferencing, we decided on a couple of dishes - the much coveted prawn biryani, chicken kolumbu [curry], crab masala and my all time favorite - Gobi [Cauliflower] Manchurian. As we waited for the food to come, we prepared our banana leaves - yes, this is the fun part, we got to eat on banana leaves!!!! I'm convinced that food tastes better on the banana leaf!

Anyhoo, the preparation of the banana leaf isn't too complex-- its pretty simple. First you pour a little water on to the leaf to clean it, more often than not, the eatery cleans them before putting them out - but its part of the eating-on-the-banana-leaf ritual. One must clean it. Anyhoo, next you wipe it clean with a tissue [eh, you can just wipe it with your hand too]. By this point, the food had arrived - and we proceeded to dig in. All I can say is, this place is AWESOME. The crab masala was ok, next time we order the crab w/out the shell. BUT the prawn biryani was simply AMAZING! Honestly, it was REALLY really good stuff. I feel like I should can this stuff and ship it stateside. It's like GOLD! Actually, no - I think EVERYONE should come to Bangalore JUST to eat the prawn biryani at Punnuswamy's ... and hang out w/me of course :-)

Conversation was scarce during lunch, besides the mms and omg this is awesome, and we should come here everyday type comments. Of course, there was the usual tussle over the last serving of biryani. Just kidding ;)

Once lunch was over, we headed back to the car - we had spent all of lunch reliving old times, and talking about all the crazy things we had done, and all of our crazy plans for the future, etc. and even after the massive lunch that we had just consumed - we headed to buy softee [soft serve icecream] cones, just for old times. The price of soft serve hasn't changed in three years, its amazing and the kiosk is probably manned by the same dude!

In true Bangalore style, we headed back to Gay's house [she lives in a beautiful old bungalow off Richmond Road - I absolutely love it!] and sat around talking again, there was a lovely breeze through the windows -- I could have fallen asleep right there! But, I had to hit the road again ... it was time to make some more visits.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy, visited Amina Phuphu, stopped by to see Pavi - in her new digs [well not THAT new!] ... their apartment is awesome. What I love about Bangalore apartments, at least Shabu's, Sarah's and now Pavi's is --- they're so spacious, have beautiful large balconies - and when you sit out on the balcony, there's a lovely breeze that just reassures you that ... in the end, no matter how much traffic there is, no matter whats going on in the world, some things in Bangalore never change.

Prawn Biryani w/sides; and crab masala

Prawn Biryani w/sides; and crab masala
Originally uploaded by zeezai.

Click on this pic for more shots :-)

eeh gads, is a couple of weeks enough!?!?!?

argh, there are too many people that I NEED to hang out with! nah, alhamdullilah, never too many peoples! :-) just seems like there's alot to do, and not enoug time - I have two weeks to meet and greet, and also get started on my mom's list of things for me to do! InshaAllah all will be good.

If you're wondering why I haven't posted more pics, I have them, I just haven't posted them coz I need to download that software to do it, and I'm lazy ... muhahahahaha!!! Getting there...

Traffic woes ... round up of visits to my boys, and plans...

So, this evening was one of my first real drives around Bangalore - not quite Bangalore, but probably the most traffic infested areas of the city. I headed to Indiranagar to ball with Aliya, and getting there wasn't really an issue - I headed out there at a quiet-ish time. Ballin was like the old days, I was a mess and Aliya just beat me to the ground. The first game was 15-11, the second was 15-09 - [If I didn't know her better, I'dve said that she let me get to 11 and 9 points]. As she said later in response to Chitra's wise crack ["Do you remember how to play?!"], "Her game hasn't changed a bit, she's so predictable!" As most people know, in a one on one situation, there are only two things I can do - shoot [and miss!], or drive in on the right [never the left]. Of course, Aliya having played alongside me, AND against me for so many years, knows this very well.

Anyhoo, back to the traffic - after ballin, a session cut short by my breathlessness, we headed to her house - I wanted to meet her mum before she left for Delhi, and then back to Vancouver, and catch up with some of our other friends from the bballin days. We stopped on the way at Coffee Day [local coffee frachise, similar to starbucks - but not quite there], where we picked up some cake for Karthik [Aliya's husband], and headed to her house. On the way, we got stuck in a pretty bad jam. Wait, let me rephrase that -- as most traffic jams in this city, the situations was aggravated by the sheer impatience of everyone on the road. Its shameful how impatient Bangalore drivers are - from autorickshaws to two-wheelers [cyclists, motor bikes, scooters, you name it!], cars to massive buses! No one can wait, each person thinks their work or destinations is more important than the others.

Side Note: Buses are THE worst. When I was learning how to drive, our driver said, you can try to out maneuver any vehicle, but never try and get in front of a bus. They drive blindly, if they hit you they don't feel a thing, and they'll never be worse for wear - if you see a bus, move out of its way. In earlier posts [blog-stalker tyrrell pointed this out], I said that the traffic isn't that bad. Well, I may have to retract that - its gotten worse, and besides the impatience - its also because there are so many more cars on the road [I've been told its because of low interest rates and montly payments on car loans - its easier than ever to get a car!], and most of these cars are not owner-driven, they are driven by drivers, who really have no attachment to the car, nor do they face repercussions if there is damage to the car. Additionally, previously Bangalore traffic was bad because of the two weelers and buses, now the cars have also gotten into the act - trying to squeeze their way into any crevices in the traffic. Its unheard of to have just two straight lanes of cars at a stop light.

Gone are the days of easy leisurely driving down South Parade [MG Road], now its annoying. I still enjoy it most of the time -- but sometimes even I have to say, seriously -- when traffic is not moving, how does it help to honk? Does it help the situation to squeeze into an intersection that is already blocked?

Of course, all of the traffic problems in Bangalore increase exponentially when you throw the state of the roads into the mix --- potholes, incomplete flyovers, unevenly paved streets. ARGh. However, I still think that the MAIN problem is the fact that people are impatient - when they're impatient, they drive like they're on CRACK. Honestly, I think that alot of them are on crack too!

This has been a kind of "complaining" post upto now, but now I'll tell you about my evening w/the girls.

We went over to Aliya's apartment - first time I've been there since she moved, and Sheetal and Chitra came over a little later. Both are friends from the basketball days of old - we've shared alot of good times together, especially with Aliya and Chitra. The three of us hung out a lot together during the Mounts days, Sheetal had her own drama going on at that time. Anyhoo, Sheetal is a model and actress [Malayalam and other regional films], and she is truly whack. No, really - I'll use a Harry Potter term [btw, new book releases July 16th!!!] - she's "mental"!! She arrived at about 7pm, she talked NON-STOP until 10.30pm. Anyone who's EVER said I talk alot - you don't want to meet Sheets. She's REALLY nice, but when she's with peopel she knows as well as she knows us, she'll just talk her head off. She's also really excited because she's engaged and her wedding is in December inshaAllah --- another reason why she talked so much. She told each one of us about the design of the card, her clothes, and how she's going to match everything -- she told us all separately, so since I was there first, I heard the story FOUR times!

Aunty and Sarah brought us dinner from the club, and Sarah immediately put us to work unloading the car. She's heading off on her new UN assignment in December, and until then she's moving into her flat. A little bit of background, Aunty's family developed the property that they lived in, and the area has developed really nicely --- lots of apartments buildings have come up, and everyone in the family has a share in it in the form of an apartment --- very common set up. So Aliya and Karthik have a gorgeous three-bedroom apartment that they moved into last year that has been the home base for Aunty, Sarah and Farah. Sarah and Farah also have apartments in the neighboring buildings, and Sarah is moving into one of them. I have to say, they are really gorgeous apartments - very large, spacious, multiple bedrooms, beautiful patios - two are ground floor apartments, so they have adjoining gardens. Alhamdullilah, they have all settled well.

So after dinner, once we got Sheetal to sit quietly for a bit, we were talking about the days we used to spend at Aliya's old house, and all the basketball trips we went on, and the tournaments and the fights, and the pranks. And we just sat and laughed about all the stupid things we had done, and the crazy people we met along the way! Everyone's settled now - most married, some have kids ma'shaAllah, its amazing. Of course, I'm the baby of the group - most of the gang are 26-28. It was such a nice evening, hangin' out, chillin', relaxin' all cool :-)

Off the topic of hanging out with friends - I never posted about my two beautiful nephews ... subha'anallah ... they are lovely kids. Ishaan and Akbar -- the newest members of the Ali Mohammed family are one year old and nine months old respectively. Ishaan is a cunning little fellow, he'll never actually come to you, but will demand your attention at all times. All afternoon he was showing off with all his toys, standing at his keyboard playing for half an hour at a time, crawling around putting pieces of old bread in his mouth, giggling on the terrace, shouting AH AH AH, and TATA TAAAA. Ma'shaAllah he's the cutest, almost - Akbar gives him good competition!

Akbar jaan is his mothers pet, he will not leave her when she's in front of him. When he is in her lap, he giggles and hides, and lies upside down, and turns red -- an absolute doll of a child. But when he's out of his mothers lap, he really makes you work for his affection. It took me about half an hour before he would sit in my arms without yelling, and another hour or more of walking him around and talking to him before he would talk back, and by talking I mean, his blah blah talk. But subhan'allah, at one point, he started babbling so much that I thought he was telling me about how his sister was making a fuss earlier in the day! Ma'shaAllah, he's already trying to stand up - I sat him on my stomach, and held out my hands - he'd grab them and pull himself up and jump up and down with a big toothless grin on his face, his light eyes sparkling! I hope I get to spend more time with them this summer inshaAllah, and become buddies with them :-)

What next? Tomorrow I hang out w/Gay [pronounced Guy] and Sam - we're goin to BHEEMA's! - our favorite andhra joint.

Culinary note: Food from the Andhra Pradesh region is supposed to be the spiciest food in the country - Andhrites are so used to spicy food, that they are known to eat whole green chillies if the food isn't hot enough.

Btw, PITT here I come

SO, this is a bit of old news, well - its almost a week old, but coz it still hasn't really hit me I haven't "formally" announced it ... Tyrrell [my blog-stalker] made me put up this post

InshaAllah I will be starting Law School in the fall at the University of Pittsburgh. So anyone in Pitt - HOLAAAA! anyone not in Pitt - VISIT! :-) Actually, I believe that the horrors of 1L are true - so, um, keep up with me on the blog. There'll be some super stories I'll bet!

Please keep me in your duas as I do all the financial aid apps, and look for a place to live - yes, from across the ocean.

Crazy city ...

Yesterday I got to spend some time with Zayd, and boy he's grown --- its amazing to see him as a young man. Its like I blinked and he grew up ... no longer is he little Zaydu basha. But as an adolescent, he's focused, organized and has it together. Impressive :) Anyhoo, he took me to the Forum, which is Bangalore biggest mall - with an 11 theatre multiplex [largest in the country], and we saw Batman Begins. It was cool - a little too much violence for my taste, and I was a little put off by the weird East Asian mysticism that seems to come standard with most movies these days.

But let me tell you about the Forum. Essentially, its any-mall-in-the-world, except of course that it has more india-based stores, however -- it is constantly packed. Now, I've heard about this - people have been telling me forever that there is a constant crowd at the Forum, but I didn't expect what I saw. We drove up from the back entrance [smart move, the front entrance to the parking lot is a nightmare!], and there is a line of cars, probably 15 long, waiting to get into the parking lot. The ticket gate thing - you know where you push the button and get a ticket for parking, yeah that thing - is manned by three people, one of whom pushes the button, retrieves the parking ticket, and hands it to you. Yes, I'm serious - there is a person standing by the ticket machine all day, pushing the button and handing it to you. 'nuff said.

Once you find parking, which seemed like an impossibility to me, even though the parking lot that has the capacity for about 800 cars, you maneuver your way to the mall - forget about taking the elevator. When you finally get inside, you're overwhelmed with lights, stores, people - oh my lord, the people -- so many people. Swarms of them, its like post-Thanksgiving shopping ALL THE TIME. Insanity. Most of the people come for the multiplex, which, by the way is VERY interesting --- first of all, there are three different kinds of theatres you can watch the movie in. There's Classic, Europa and Gold Class. Gold Class has the super plush, flat reclining chairs, includes a certain amount of food coupons - food is served TO you- IN the theatre, AS you watch the movie. Classic is the basic set up, the seats recline a little - I thought it was pretty comfortable.

Side note - one thing that annoys me to no end -- cell phones. People LEAVE their cell phones on during the movie [not even on silent], and ANSWER the phone, in a regular tone - to tell the person on the other end that they're in a movie. ARRGGH! For the love of God, if you can tell whoever called that you're watching a movie - you can let the call go, and call 'em back in an hour.

Another interesting aspect of the movie theatre -- there are people that come to you, as the movie is going on, asking you if you want something to drink or eat. WEIRD. Anyhoo, it was an experience - I'd definately go back to the multiplex, but am making a mental note to sit in the middle of the theatre.

Food Court - this place is awesome. There's ALL kinds of food - mexican, mughlai [indian], chinese, shwarmas and falfel, south indian food [idlis, dosa's, etc] desert, subway --

So, this is the new Bangalore. The Bangalore of Old is personified by people like Mohd. mama, and places like the Club - simple, calm, relaxed, patient, sleepy - it was a city where who you were [in terms of lineage] meant more than who you knew, or how much you had. The new Bangalore - well, I'm just beginning to see what its like. From just driving around, I can see that the relaxed pace is gone - there is no patience, no sense of courtesy on the road. I see traces of the calmness in some of my old friends that haven't changed with the city. The ones who stop to take pictures of the Bangalore of Old before its all torn down and converted into one huge store front. And those that wake up early on Sunday morning to feed the pigeons that flock to the Athara Kacheri [Karnataka's High Court - translation: Eight Courts]. The sleepiness of this little town has been slapped out of it - and its running full speed ahead. But here's the problem - this town was never meant to be a huge city. It was never planned to be a huge city, no one anticipated this kind of growth. The answer to the boom has been to develop the old into the new ---- tear down the old bungalows of mortar and brick that we were once proud of, homes and offices that hold a history of what was once the jewel of the south. Put up glass buildings that house people that can't see this city for what it is ... a little town holding up really big names. Names and people change, but history remains the same. What will future Bangaloreans see in their history?

It seems odd huh, I'm talking about all the huge advancements that are being made, but just went on for a whole paragraph putting holes in it [at least that what I hope I did]. Here's why I wrote that paragraph. I was on my way back from visiting Ishaan, and was waiting at a traffic light, and a little boy came up to the car, his outstreched hands open, pleading with me for some money. I didn't have any - and I told him that. I said, I don't have any money to give you [I really didn't]. And I stopped, and thought to myself - how can I even say those words. I'm driving a car with half a tank of gas, I just returned from a filling lunch, and I'm telling this child that I have no money to give him. It would have been better if I hadn't said anything at all. It amazes me - 24 hours previously, I was at the Forum - what I assume to be a multi-million rupee [maybe even dollar] mall, and this child is homeless and on the street. The irony of it.

Here's how I feel, and this is only my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. Instead of building multimillion dollar malls, why not spend a fraction of that rehabilitating the city? A mall next to a slum is still a mall, but a mall next to a school that educates and houses street children is more than just that. A child with no opportunities looks at a mall that he could never walk into, let alone afford to shop or eat there [on that note, the guy pushing the button for the parking tickets probably can't afford it either], probably with awe, but also with a certain amount of contempt for those that can enjoy it. A child with a positive opportunities and guidance could look up with hope that one day, he or she would be able to go in there and enjoy such luxuries.

Whats my point? Well, just as those Bangaloreans that can shop at a mall deserve to be able to enjoy it, don't those that cannot afford it deserve a chance? There are equal responsibilities - for those that have, and those that don't have as much, both deserve equal attention, maybe one more than the other.

I'll get off my soap box now.

A true Bangalore evening...

Met up with Ali [short for Aliya!] for a bit this evening, stopped by to see Kash, but didn't get to see her unfortunately. But, met Ruksana aunty and Duja for a bit, was so nice to see them! Wish the setting was a little different - but Alhamdullilah, all is good. Got lots of good news from Ali, she and Karthik are moving to Dubai in September, Farah's expecting in December, Sarah's in BLR until December - and is then heading to her cushy UN job (she's COOL!)

Headed over to the Razack residence to surprise Zayd Basha for a bit while I waited for Jay to get out of work, chatted w/Zainab Aunty and him for a bit ... he's GROWN SO TALL!!!! Anyhoo, was s'posed to meet w/Jay, Bajaj and Mallya, but Bajaj and Mallya couldn't make it so it was bonding time w/Jay - which was awesome, coz we had a lot to catch up with ... especially considering the fact that she GOT ENGAGED LAST WEEK!!! OMG! I've never met the guy, but apparently that was a purposeful tactic - Blr peoples know what I'm talking about. It has something to do with my protectiveness.

Anyhoo, we decided to go to the Bangalore Club - for old times sake, and as we drive through the city, Jay's like - how come you're not ooh-ing and aah-ing... and I realized later that I probably wasn't commenting because I've been silently absorbing everything, taking in the visuals so I can amend the visual map in my head. But I also think that I'm a little shell shocked ... maybe. Not neccessarily at the actual changes, or the crazy traffic (which I personally don't think is that bad) but maybe at the fact that I'm finally back - after talking about it and whining about it for so long, I'm finally home.

Jay and I have a really interesting friendship - its great, we're really close, but its interesting how we got to be friends, and such good friends too! We never went to school together, had completely different sets of friends - absolutely no crossover until a couple of years ago, and our only extended interaction [on a daily basis!] was during Hindi classes for about 6 months, back in 1997.

So, we decided on Bangalore Club primarily because Jay wanted their chicken rolls, which BY THE WAY - WERE PRETTY DARN GOOD!. Overall, the club was a great choice because it was an ABSOLUTELY gorgeous Bangalore evening, comfortable - about 65-70 degrees, gentle breeze across the lawn, scattered clouds darting in front of the moon. They've done up the lawn a bit, there's music playing in the background [cool 80's music of course!], good kababs, and of course it was great hangin' with Jay - caught up on each others lives to some extent, we need to do a little more of the chillin!!!

If anyone's ever wondered why I love Blr so much, its times like this evening - sitting at the club, kicking back and chatting while gazing at the moon, with the breeze gently tapping you to a comfortable place... its the best feeling in the world, and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. I never thought that I'd equate "Bangalore-ness" to the club, but its a fact -- the Bangalore Club will never change. Its old Bangalore to the core, and thats probably why everyone loves it so much -- its the place you go to take a trip back in time, to the days when sitting on the lawn and chilling in the breeze was the norm. Of course you can hear the hustle and bustle of the traffic right outside the gate, but after a while its easy to block it out and enjoy the easy pace.

Culinary Note: Dinner was seekh kababs (eh, ok), malai chicken kababs (mm, yummy), naan, chicken curry ("half plate"), masala peanuts, Jay's chicken roll, and some kind of chocolate pie for desert. Any guesses at the total bill? Anyone? Try Rs. 200. The equivalent of app. $4, give or take a little. Plus, I got to see Jay in full form -- we had order some shrimp, and went to the counter to pick it up ... the dude had said he'd reheat it for us, when we get there - all the shrimp is gone, after a little back and forth with the dude, Jay goes, "Boss, this just isn't done." LOL I almost fell over laughing!!

Anyhoo, tomorrow its lunch at the Only Place w/Zayd, the first screening of the pics at the Razack residence, hangin out at the Forum [maybe checkin out Mickey D's Indian style, hehe] and end the evening w/Batman :)

PS Apologies, no pics from the Club -- it was a little dark, and also I'll borrow from John Mayer and pray that my writing was enough to help you picture the moment.

didn't have a camera by my side this time hoping I would see the world through both my eyes maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words

Making plans...

Wow, for a split second this morning I thought to myself, "what the heck am I going to do for two months!" But now, three hours and four phone calls later, I have made many a plan! :-)

Today I'm taking it easy, trying to meet up w/Jay and Bajaj for dinner most likely, Saturday is my day w/Zayd, maybe hangin w/Kutts in the evening, Sunday morning is tentatively booked for breakfast w/Pavs and Madhu, Sunday afternoon I'm spending w/the Sulaimans of MEG, heading to Rangashankara on Wednesday for "A Heap of Broken Images" by Girish Karnad. I CAN'T WAIT :-)

Its interesting coz everyone's life has changed so much, but I feel like we're still in the same ole' pace -- Jay works for O&M; Bajaj is a freelance photographer [OMG she is the COOLEST!], Pavs is heading to Film School, Madhu is studying drama in Delhi ... but they're still running at Bangalore pace ... which is SUPER! I LOVE IT!

PLUS, Bajaj is going to take me out on shoots around Blr ... so COOL! I've been waiting to do this forever - I'm SO SO PSYCHED :)

Aight, thats my piece - I'm heading for a shower - ARGH! I also have pics from the plane :-)

Home Sweet Home

Everything seems smaller. Even Pasha!!!!

I just got in, its 2.18am local time. Am wide awake, even though I only slept for bits and pieces. It felt like forever, but alhamdullilah I'm home now. Funny, alot has changed, but alot hasn't. I've kept a visual image in my head of Bangalore, and although there's the random new building and the random unfinished construction, it all still fits. The house is still the same, everything's where it should be ... a little empty, but a couple of phone calls should fix that :-)

Honestly though - everything does seem smaller - my bed seems lower, the stairs seem easier to climb ... maybe I've grown? hm, this sounds like my issue with shirt sleeves ...

Anyhoo, theres a bunch of things I need to do -- namely calling people and figuring out how I'm going to spend my time wisely, settle in, figure out how to surprise people :-) the usual...

So, just checking in -- OH btw, the "Muslim" meal on Lufthansa's not half bad - I've heard horror stories, but I was pleasantly surprised! So much so that I didn't eat mom's Kaati roll and string cheese :-)

AIM is 90% installed, so inshaAllah I'll be on IM soon enough ... peace, love ... and basketball!!

SAVE NPR AND PBS!

You know that email petition that keeps circulating about how Congress is slashing funding for NPR and PBS? Well, now it's actually true. (Really. Check at the bottom if you don't believe me.)Sign the petition telling Congress to save NPR and PBS:http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

A House panel has voted to eliminate all public funding for NPR and PBS, starting with "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and other commercial-free children's shows. If approved, this would be the most severe cut in the history of public broadcasting, threatening to pull the plug on Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch.The cuts would slash 25% of the federal funding this year—$100 million—and end funding altogether within two years. The loss could kill beloved children's shows like "Clifford the Big Red Dog," "Arthur," and "Postcards from Buster." Rural stations and those serving low-income communities might not survive. Other stations would have to increase corporate sponsorships.Already, 300,000 people have signed the petition. Can you help us reach 400,000 signatures today?

http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting/

Thanks!

P.S. Read the Washington Post report on the threat to NPR and PBS at:http://www.moveon.org/r?r=745

I'm leaving ... on a jet plane

My bags are packed [not quite]
I'm ready to go [er, am I?]

Its 12.50pm, June 15 - I'm leaving in about 4 hours, and its weird -- I've been waiting to go home for SO long, but its just a littled weird now that I'm actually leaving. SO, I'm on my way - will be on AIM as much as possible, and will blog as frequently as I can :-)

Random ...

Talked to Zayd basha in BLR -- my nephew, he's now 15 I haven't seen him in THREE YEARS! Will be back in B-LO on Friday morning inshaAllah, and guess what??? I get to spend Saturday w/my Zayduuu! He's promised me the day :) Zaydu is Daniels little brother, and the sweetest child on earth. I can only imagine him as a little baba, so its going to be huge shell shock.

Another random comment ... check out Bangalore Blogger -- there's a new restaurant in B-LO called Shoik ... you've gotta see the menu ... http://www.shiokfood.com/menus.html -- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I plan to eat there this weekend :-)

Wedding bells ... um, not quite bells ... but you know what I mean!

June 11, 2005

The morning started out with the breakfast of champions -- danish, muffins, and coffee, lots and LOTS of it. The fam had rolled in through the day on Friday, and we brought the "Whyndham" house down at the Mehendi that evening. Groggy Ali Mohammeds and friends were slowly rolling into the hospitality suite for breakfast, and Boojan and I manned the fort for a while. The events of the day were basically - GET READY FOR THE WEDDING :)

The nikkah and reception were being held at the Lodge, which was about an hour away - so we had to leave around 5.30pm - again, the pressure was on us to get the baraat there on time. Breakfast and lunch gelled into each other, and soon it was time to get Mo ready to roll. My mom walked him through the traditional and religious needs of the day, Noamz helped him get ready. Its tradition in our family for the groom to wear athar [essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers], and Noamz was elected to put it on Mo before he went down. Around four, Mo had to leave, so we had a small gathering of close family and friends to send him off - with dua's [supplications] led by the oldest member of the family - my mom's mama. Mohd. Mama read a beautiful dua, and again put athar on Mo ... it was a really really emotional send off. I don't know why I was so emotional, I guess its just coz this is the first wedding in our family, and it was really moving ... and of course, Mohd. mama did the dua.

After sending Mo off w/his buddy Harish, rushing coz they left a little later than scheduled, we hustled to get ourselves into gear to get moving. Buses had been aranged for everyone to get to the Lodge, in addition to cars that followed in a caravan ... the bus was alot of fun, it was a task and a half to get everyone on, and MAKE sure everyone was on - but alhamdulilah, it worked out ... and off we went, into the sunset ... or maybe it wasn't really sunset yet, I was just making it fairy tale like.

Arrived and prepared for the nikkah, which was also really beautiful ... the Imam that conducted the nikkah was incidentally present during Mo's time at SU, and of course was close to the brides family. so, the nikkah is essentially the signing of the wedding contract, and is conducted by the imam, and there are two witnesses - one was the brides uncle, and the other was mom's mama. While I would love to go into the minute by minute of the details of the nikkah, its all very simple - the imam gives a small talk, usually about marriage and the responsibilities of marriage, etc. and then the couple is asked for consent [both parties MUST consent willingly], and then they sign. Once that's done, there is alot of hugging and congratulating, and in this case, alot of picture taking :-)

The reception was awesome - for the record, this is technically only the second wedding that I've been to in the US - incidentally, its my brothers', so all the norms are lost on me -- I haven't a clue whats normal and whats not. Anyhoo, it was beautifully organized -- we all had assigned seating, I was at the "cool" table - the Omer girls, Zarah, Daniella and 'sef [i.e. You-sef that is!], which was so awesome coz I got to chill with all of them, and not be going crazy - for the most part. I did get up periodically to chat with other people, and do the meet and greet ... my feet were killing me at the end of the night, but I have to say, my feet can't compare to the bride's family -- they have been on their feet since Thursday, and probably even before -- constantly on the go, making sure that everything is perfect, and wonderful -- which it absolutely was.

All in all, the night was full of alot of warmth, fantastic food, alot of pictures [I promise I will put them up; I have over 400 pictures from the weekend, and I need to pare 'em down to a manageable size!] - quick highlights

- the slideshow -- it was SOOOO cool :)
- the cousins [bride's] dancing on the landing together :) awww
- joothe chupayee [hiding the shoes] and subsequent negotiations
- song selection
- being seated at the cool table :)

Ok, you're wondering what this hiding the shoes business is -- a sort of a game in desi tradition, the bride's family steals his shoes and prevents the groom from leaving until he pays the siblings/cousins of the bride a negotiated amount. Variation - young people in the brides family prevent the groom from entering and meeting the bride after the nikkah [in the case of segregated nikkahs]. Don't even think about leaving without your shoes - the family won't allow a barefoot groom to escort their princess out into the world. So, essentially there's gotta be some negotiation -- all a part of the fun of the evening. This time there was a little twist since we, and by we I don't include myself since I was pretty clueless through it all, had managed to find the shoes after they were stolen, and managed to hold onto ONE of them which gave Mo some bargaining power.

The pic here is a really cute pic of the first dance ... Mo was trying really hard not the step on the GORGEOUS train ...

Okie doke - signing off w/Mabrooks to the newly weds ... can we hear a chorus of "WE ARE FAMILY" :)

The newly weds first steps ... out on the floor!

Oh what a night!!!!

AAAAAAAAH! Its about 9 am, Saturday morning - I REALLY wanted to post last night, but was SO absolutely wiped that I could barely stand. Alhamdullilah, yesterday was a FANTASTIC day ... if we weren't feelin' shaadi like before - we sure as HECK do now! It was truly wonderful ... all the family came in ... through the day, a trickle, and then the flood gates opened and it seemed like the all rolled in at once!

Our first, and most anxiously awaited guests (for me at least!) were Sam, Noamz and Daniella - they arrived from Bangalore on Wednesday, and shot up here yesterday morning. It's been three years since I've seen them, and it was like I was in a dream ... are you guys really here? pinch me please! :) It all seemed to get better when they walked in the door --- as my mom said, when I saw Noamz and Sam, immediately there was a weight lifted off my shoulders!
They were followed be the Doddamani's, my mom's best friend from her college days.

The day was nuts - our first guests arriving, j'ummah, packing the mithai, hair, etc. Daniella and Sam were like whizzes with the plastic and ribbon -- I half expected to see a rabbit pop out of their hands :-) Suddenly about two o'clock we realized that we needed to organize lunch for some of the people that were there - in our heads we had organized it, in the sense that we had thought about it and had prepared, but now it was time to put it into action ... Boojan, etc had rushed off to the salon, so mom and I were running helter skelter trying to put together meat and bread into some semblence of sandwiches ... ran into the j'ummah returnees and put them to work :)

By the time we had organized lunch, it was about 3pm or so and the trickle became a flood ---- the Omers, the Saits, the Rahmans, the Swarup contingent ... it was like a movie [and I mean the bollywood variety!], every time I turned around there was another familiar face .... it was like, I know you, I know you ... the most important and for me somewhat emotional moment was when my mom's mama arrived. He is one of my favorites - my maternal grandmothers younger brother, he arrived from Bangalore a couple of weeks ago to attend his grandson's wedding last week - and he drove up with his daughter and two grand daughters ... the Omers - my fav Texas cousins :) yeehaw :) Mohd. mama is BAngalore - to the core. He's the most proper memon gentlemen you'll ever meet, he was so happy to be here in this "beautiful" hotel for such a "grand" occasion [I love the way he says things like that!]. It is truly and honor and a blessing for him to be here with us ... alhamdullilah.

In all hte helterskelterness, I did manage to get off a few pics, nothing great -- but it'll do for now. Maybe for once I'll relive the memoriest through my writing instead of through pictures, although pictures are alot cooler :) Anyhoo, I had never really met the Rahmans - part of the Portland branch of the Ali Mohammeds - but I'm glad we got the opportunity here! :)

Of course the Swarup contingent came in full force, raring to go ---- Neenz and Sash had a dance for the evening, etc. but lemme discuss that later [trying REALLY hard to make sense!]

Because there was so much excitement w/everyone here, we almost lost track of time -- the baraat (i think we're the baraat) had to arrive at the Mehendi by 7.30pm; and I started recieving calls from Mehro about being on time --- and we REALLY wanted to make good [we were pretty late for the engagement!]. It was really out of Ali Mohammed character to be on time, but ALHAMDULLILAH - WE DID IT! We assembled between 6.30 and 7pm; got the rasam in the car, and pushed off ... arriving in a trickle between 7.20 and 7.30. If anyone thinks that its a little odd that I've spent an entire paragraph discussing how we were on time -- yo, you don't understand, desis, especially a kinda large contingent ESPECIALLY when they're excited, cannot - as a rule of nature - be on time. THIS IS HUGE! [Aly, you feel me right?!]

Ok, so we arrive and assemble in the lobby - the plan was for the rasam -- fruits, clothes, mithai, etc. to go first, my parents, Boojan and myself next; followed by Mo - under this awesome red dupatta held up by his friends [aw man, I wish I had a picture of that, but my camera wasn't around :( and I was kinda banned from taking pics :( :(] -- yeah, so Mo under the red dupatta with Jack Jr. "fanning" him with a large red fan ... and followed by the rest of the family and friends.

So we set off, and let me just explain ONE thing. Our family - like cousins etc - there are NO boys. Mo's one, I have two cousin in BLR, and until last year only my nephew [alhamdullilah, we were blessed w/two more lil' boys last year!!!] - yeah, so the only weddings that we've had in our family are from the girls side -- very different to being on the boys side. and in general we're out of practice [ok I'll quit the excuses] -- our line of people got split up, and were scattered along the path - I'm sure the video guys weren't very happy about htat -- will probably have alot of edititing to do to make that entrance look like it was supposed to - regardless, it was fine ... at one point I just started laughing, and laughed it off ... whatever right?

Entered, placed ourselves at tables ... mingled a little ... about half an hour later, the beautiful bride walks in, through a line of color ... her friends and close cousins had lined up along side her and she entered under a red dupatta held up by her brother and first cousins. Floating in green and gold... there she was, to oohs and aahs around the crowd :)

We did the rasam, which basically is the ladies take some mehendi and put it on her hand [eh hem, napkin], give some money for good luck [I think] and do some mou meetha [sweeten the mouth; i.e. feed her something sweet] -- and of course take a cute picture :)

After all of that, and many MANY pictures [note - I was NOT partaking in ANY picture taking!!!] we started the dances ... there were about 8 total; they were SOOOOOOO CUTE!!! the kids did about four dances [both sides], the brides family and friends did a couple, her brother and sister in law did a REALLY cute one to chaiya chaiya, and of course - we had to represent ... as most of you know, this dance was the ONE thing that I was most concerned about, and was the source of great anxiety -- but alhamdullilah it turned out well ... we were extremely pleased esp w/the ending :) It was a medley of songs, and we had planned that the last one would be "its the time to disco" [if you haven't heard it, google it coz its a really fun son - I thought it was the cheezyest thing ever for a while, but it was awesome!] and made up some really easy steps -- and pulled my brother on to the floor, brought our family on, and his friends and we basically danced around him, and in a surprise twist, we brought the bride on :) Then her family came on, and well, it was just alot of fun ... we danced the song out -- and tantanatanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :)

Anyhoo, that was alot of fun, and the rest of the evening was just alot of eating and dancing, chillin, etc. I need to sign off now coz I need to head down to breakfast to see if all is good --- but I just want to sign off with this ... Mo's really lucky - this family's awesome - for many reasons, but ESPECIALLY for this one --- the highlight of the desert table was


A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAAAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!!

I mean HOW COOL IS THAT! [I DID GET A PIC OF THAT -- will post later :) ]

CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!

Quick post ...

The Bangalore walleh are here, the ladoo's are being arranged, the music is playing - its bollywood in SYR ... the tamashaa has begun.

Aaoo Aaoo Yeh Khul Ke Kaho [my cheezy translation: come, come, say it out loud] :-) its the time to disco :)

Fun w/Mehendi

shaadi ki tayari ... [preparation for the wedding]

Mama has taken over the "kitchen" - by "kitchen" I mean, the 2X2 space in the room that has a fridge [no bigger than my hand!] and counter top that is taken over by a microwave. Alhamdullilah, it works! Today was training day - Mama, Boojaan and I made sandwiches to test out the system. The brides siblings stopped by this afternoon to drop off all of Mo's clothes and gifts, etc [tradition...], and we had planned to serve them sandwiches, cookies, etc. The usual mix of random food :-) and mama just swept in, and had us all in line. [some background: my mama is the founder of the only place - Bangalore, and is a fantasmic chef, and has the art of organizing food down] I have pics of that too :-) Anyhoo, all went according to plan, they came, they saw [or rather, dropped off] and went - short and sweet. All in all a very pleasant afternoon with the in-laws :)

Mo and I proceeded to Kinko's - and I'm usually really happy with Kinko's service - the one in Arlington has always worked well for me, the same goes for the one on M Street - but seriously, this Kinko's HAD to be the WORST one in the world. Ok, thats pushing it. But all of its basic services were lacking - customer service, the computer terminals were slow and freezing, the copier kept spitting out the paper unevenly [this in particular annoyed me to no end!]. After almost TWO hours, WAY longer than it should have taken, we were successful in printing out what we needed - directions, etc. for the wedding guests.

I was really hoping for a quiet afternoon in the room, maybe a nap, but as soon as we got back, we left again to pick up Boojan and mom from the mall. What started out as a 20 minute trip became more than an hour long - for various reasons - slow sales people, confusion, indecision, etc. Returned to the courtyard, already wiped --- had to finish up the guest baggy-ies and last minunte gift wrapping, the usual last minute running around [we were expected at the Shaadi Ghar for dinner around 8.30-ish.]...finally, our small contingent of six arrived at the shaadi ghar, ready to start the party ... or rather the mehendi party. Today was the day that the bride had her mehendi (henna) put on -- its a pretty tedious process coz not only does it take a considerable amount of time to actually apply henna, it takes a decent amount of time to dry.

I have to say, kudos to the bride ---- she seemed really calm, relaxed and refreshed as the mehendi was being applied. Trust me, I have seen some pretty frazzled brides, and TRUST me I know that she probably wasn't as relaxed as I thought - regardless ... she was still lookin good, and this is NOT a biased opinion.

Yes - I did get henna put on my hands -- I mean I am the groom's sister --- [pics to follow] and weird as it may sound, I actually enjoyed it -- YES I DID. Its been a while since I've attended a wedding, let alone attended one that I could put mehendi at!!!

aargh ... I'm so annoyed - there's so much I want to say, but I'm sooo tired ... need to get to sleep. InshaAllah will be back w/more news. WOO WOO!

Peace out ya'llz.

May the shaadi tamasha begin ...

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

The groom and his immediate family arrive in Carrier Circle ... the transport of choice is the white psuedo-jet -- I'm tellin you, this thing is HUGE! and way cool - its got a DVD player! :) Of course we didn't watch any movies since we were enjoying the bollywood music ... I know I know, so totally out of character! Fear not, it won't last long.

Mama arrived to day - he's a riot. I really wish I had a camcorder to document the interactions - we were heading to dinner, and of course we really didn't know where we were going - each one of us is talking about a different thing, its raining, i'm taking pictures nine-teen to the dozen - utter chaos. Perfect wedding mode! :)

The day has been interesting, Boojan and I made all the little guest-baggies ... of course I probably messed 'em up. All good, I think we'll be good -- it'll be appreciated. IT IS SO HOT HERE -- I mean why did summer have to arrive the week of the wedding! The aircraft's digital temperature display said that it was 187 degrees. Of course it felt like that, but I'm sure it wasn't that bad - it was pretty funny - I got a picture of it ;)

After dinner, the brides parents came over to say hello, whats up, hope you're settling in well. Random chit chat, last minute details over kaaju kathli (almond sweets), chocolate chip cookies and chai, over too soon, but of course there is still much to be done in the shaadi-ka-ghar ... and of course Boojan and I had to practice our dance ... I have to admit, I'm not really dreading it as much as I was before - I think that has something to do with the fact that I got my song [its the time to disco] in :) well its not really my song, but its fun! :) I'm probably gonna be SO SO SO sick of it by the end of this weekend.

Random aside, Sam told me that Flavors is a cool movie, really funny she said -- its an english/hindi desi indy type film. I've got the soundtrack which is pretty cool, and have been wanting to watch it for a while. Ah well, there is time in India! :)

I really wish that I had my brain wired to this blog coz all day I keep thinking I should document whats happeneing, and how this conversation would be such a funny blog piece, and how that picture was awesome, etc ... but by the time I sit down at 1am, my minds a mess! And as I said before, I can barely keep the days straight!

OH, the pic --- the sunset was AWESOME. Dad sent me to the car to set up the seats (we had collapsed the back of the van to create a cargo hold of sorts) and as I walked out into the parking lot, I saw the sun setting across the highway. IT WAS SO ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS that I sprinted back into the room grabbed my camera and yelled behind me that I'd meet everyone in the parking lot -- to top it off, the pic came out well, AND the moon is in its early phases -- so there was a beautiful sliver of white in teh sky as we came out from dinner. Subha'anAllah -- absolutely amazing.

Until tomorrow, oh another exciting day in the life of the Z --- Michael's, Kinko's, Wegmans. WOO.

Nugget of a possibly insightful thought ... cookies and chai are great remedies. However, somewhat problematic when you're on south beach.

peace ...

Gorgeous sunset ...

What day is it?!

What a day - I can't even recap! Well, I can't recap for a number of reasons - 1. I can't remember if what happened today actually happened today, or if it was yesterday, 2. its all rather mundane blah stuff thats not really interesting [but then again, when has that stopped me], and um 3. i don't know what 3 was supposed to be.

Right now its 2.32 am - I've been trying to edit and combine the music for about two hours now, and I think I may have finally got it down. I think its a little sloppy, but for 2.30 am it'll do. Will do over it w/Boojan in the car tomorrow, and if it gets the ok - I'll burn it as soon as we settle in at the hotel. InshaAllah I'll meet the deadline!!! :)

Yeah, back to today - spent the morning at Staples and Target; got home and ate some yummy kheema, left over biryani and roast beef - yeah i know, what a combination - but when you only eat zabihah I kinda feel like you need to get all the meat you can get when you have the opportunity!!!! After lunch I headed to Macy's coz I needed to get some last minute stuff, ended up finding a REALLY cool shirt that I think I love! :) We'll see how long that phase lasts ... but since its summer time I think the classic white shirt will last longer than the normal phase! Also caught up on some errands like um, checkin' my ticket to go home, payments, mail etc. [see, really boring stuff].

Chatted w/some DC kids for a bit - one of my old colleagues at K&S just got a SUPER promotion, someone decided on law school (i think), BBQ plans being made, life is goin on... apparently not EVERYONE in the world is stopping for this wedding -- although it definately seems that way.

Long drive to SYR tomorrow - we've rented an airplane - yes, it is, its about as big as the propeller jets that scare the bejezus out of me! Thankfully our airplane stays on the ground :) Seriously though YO - this thing is HUGE; I could probably fit my entire room (former) into it!!! Anyhoo, alhamdullilah its a good thing coz we've got a TON of stuff!! Will DEFINATELY take pics :)

Definate backlog of pictures - primary reason is that it'll ruin the surprises, secondary reason is i'm a little preoccupied right now :)

Ok, 2.42 am - time to hit the sack. Any ideas about what I should say at the reception dinner would be a WELCOME email!!!!!! muchoz graciaz amigos!

WOW!

SanDisk's Cruzer Mini USB Flash Drive is ONE RESILIENT PIECE OF HARDWARE! Just ran it through the washer (HOT) and let it sit with the wet clothes for a while ... it STILL works!

Hot music ...

Just read this article in India Today [International Edition] about this female tabla player based out of NY - Suphala [ http://www.suphala.com ]. She trained under Ustad Zakir Hussain, born in India raised in the US ... I've never heard of her before and never heard her music, but I'm very curious. I did check out her website and the videos on there are SO COOL! Check it out.

its the time to disco :)

So, today was the day I danced. Actually, today was the day that I practiced for the day that I dance. OH MY LORD - SUCH A LONG LONG DAY! They just seem to be getting longer ... I've only been here for two days and it feels like a week!

Headed out to Westchester to meet up with our third dancer and practice at her house - of course in true desi style, no gathering - regardless of whether it is three people or thirty - is ever complete without eating some good ole home cookin'. SO of course we ate for like an hour, hehe - just kidding - we were actually productive. practiced the dance, inshaAllah we'll have it together for Friday. if not, ah well - whatever. Spent FIVE hours practicing, but it was fun -- not my favorite afternoon activity, and i'm really not thrilled to be doin' it - but now that I've incorporated some of my ideas into it, its not that bad ... I can't complain ;)

My task for the next couple of days will be to figure out how to edit and combine the songs [we're doin' a medley] correctly so that it doesn't sound like i strung a bunch of a-track tapes together with glue. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Btw, the DVD of this dance will be availabe online - for $50 per copy :) this is going to the "Zee wants to have a really good time in India" fund :)

Mom made butter chicken for dinner, but since we ate all day, I couldn't justify eating a second dinner ... so I'll be dreamin' of butter chicken. mm mm good. Speakin of Mom -- she needs to use the comp, so I'm out -- I know all of this is really really random, but heck its late - I can't possibly make sense. One day inshaAllah ....

Rockport Roadtip

long day ...

Spent the day doin that weddin' thing -- grr, as excited as I am about it, its really not my thing. Saw all the clothes - bride's, Mo's, mine, Boojaans. All pretty cool ... of course I went crazy with the camera - pictures from every angle! Will post pics like crazy once they're given inshAllah - don't want to ruin the surprise :-)

Tired and annoyed - brain isn't functioning. Amazingly - missing work ... well maybe not work per se -- more like the fact that I had someplace to go and something solid to do. Tyrrell was right - I think I'm getting sick of this relaxing thing. Hm ... something to ponder upon.

Today was Haji's shower -- missed hangin' with the cool DC muslimah :( I'm sure it was tons and TONS of fun!!! Also missed Raabz and Riya-n-Piya's grad partays ... sad days.

Talked to Dr. Lisa on IM today -- she's settling well in CA - checked out her livejournal today too -- she and Dr. Shirin are so cool -- first they road-tripped to CA, and THEN they went surfing!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!



Oh, another random fact -- Sam saw Julia Roberts in Taos -- now, I absolutely love Julia - think she's THE COOLEST; also the fact that she just had twins raised her a few more notches in my mind!! :) Julia's cool ... and now Sam's cool too coz she saw her...

Aight, time to either watch SNL or hit the sack, either way -- I'm outtie for the night -- Ciao!

A goofy me in my half packed room last week

The end of an era?

Apologies for the somewhat delinquent posting ... alot happening, but not really enough to warrant frequent posting. Here's the run down -- Tuesday was a big day. Huge actually. After a FOUR year effort to obtain my drivers license - I FINALLY took the test! WOO! I know it seems odd that I should have taken four years to get to the point of taking the test, especially to my Bangalore homies - considering the fantastic driving record I have back home! Anyhoo, it was a big day ...

Thursday was moving day - I finally succumbed and signed up for a storage space out in the boonies. What an ordeal!!!! With out Sam, her trusty sister and RAV4 I don't know where I'd be!!! Alhamdullilah, it was a crazaaay effort, but it all worked out - and after two weeks of packing and organizing and psuedo MOVING, i am moved. I definately should have taken some pictures of the progress, it would have been pretty darn cool --- but ah, well ... all good - sam took a couple of the desk in the RAV - if I can convince her to email them to me, they'll be up! :) We celebrated the momentous occasion (my departure from 3114) by hitting up Peking Gourmet out on Rt 7 - omg, the food is SO good! One of the only reasons that I would return to non-zabihah-ness is their kung pao chicken!!!!!! anyhoo, maybe someday I can convince them to make it w/Zabihah chicken :)

Thursday was a tough day - not only was I stressed coz of actually moving out, and cleaning, etc., but also because its the end of a phase. A while ago, I realized that my life has been in phases -- and its been kinda predictable. Two years at MCC Bangalore, CAE Bangalore, C'ville , DC ... now I'm kinda in a position where I really don't know where the next coupla years are gonna be. InshaAllah all will be good - there's a plan for sure, just wish I knew what it was. Anyhoo, as my mom told Sam, "This move is very emotional for Z" - when I heard that I laughed, but its true I guess -- explains why it took me two weeks to get it together. Anyhoo, all done. On to the next phase ... Mo's wedding. woo woo! The fam's coming in starting Thursday night, the count down has begun! The excitement is rising, the wedding date is fast approaching ... get ready for some B-lore style tamasha! Daniella's gonna be my partner in crime ... she gets here Friday morning, w/Sam and Noamz!!!! Can't wait!

So, where am I now? Richard Marx's "Right here waiting" is playing, and I'm sitting in the sun room -- looking out at the beautiful NY skyline across the Hudson ... a bit hazy, but still spectacular... little boats up and down the river, the water is actually really high coz of all the rain... we're going to start all the gift wrapping, and organization of clothes, etc. I haven't seen what I'm wearing yet -- big surprise I suppose hehe ... pics will go up soon. My parents got Mo some REALLY cool shoes and hat to wear, I've got pics, but all my wires are packed away somewhere - will get 'em up SOON! :)

Considering the fact that I wasn't really keen on this song about a week ago, I actually like the lyrics ... and it does sum up whats goin through my mind ...

I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down

--- "Graduation" Vitamin C

Ok, thats that --- from now on its ONLY WEDDING RELATED STUFF! :) enough mush. later ya'llz.