English just KICKED THE BUCKET! 3

Ok so here goes another one – this one made Shakespeare turn in his grave

The victim- the word " Familiar"

Which means- adjective. intimate - acquainted - conversant – close

One of my friends commits this carnal sin over and over again.

Familiar has nothing to do with “being family oriented”

The other day while returning home in the bus Ms. D said – “My husband is a very familiar person and takes good care of our family.”

I had my ROFL moment of the day and started giggling…

My sweet friend didn’t understand what was the joke in her husband looking after their family.

I explained her the meaning of what she had just said and we both started giggling together.

I hope I come across more such funny ‘FAMILIAR’ gaffes!



:-)

@ Home in Pune!!

The other day, I was waiting at the bus stop for my bus early in the morning. It was pouring cats and dogs and like everyone else I was trying to combat the rain with the artillery of just one feeble umbrella. I saw a narrow stream of water by the road-side carrying a small sapling with the flow. I was observing the sapling which was now slowly strumming ahead with the current bearing the heavy pitter-patter of the gushing rain.

And, then suddenly I had a tiny EUREKA moment of my own - I realised that the sapling belonged somewhere else but it had been uprooted due to the pressure of heavy incessant outpour and was forced to shift from its place. It was now going to re-hold roots where it was going to find conducive conditions - a new place with ample water and sunshine to grow. A place which it can make its home. Yes a Home!

A few years back, I had also been uprooted from my Matrubhoomi(Mumbai) like the sapling due to certain reasons that are no longer valid. But staying back was a conscious decision. I did not find the reason to leave strong enough. I had always liked my Karmabhoomi (Pune). A city which gave me my career, my friends and my self worth. A city that I can rightly claim after 3 and half years of forgetting the names of the bridges and confusing them for each other - that I now know in and out of : ).

Pune has rightly acclimatised me to its pulse, pace, places, people and persona. When once I was lonely and lost it gave me a close knit social-circle of friends, family and extended family. Whats exciting is the fact that I have a home of my own here now. And it has only made things easier and better for me!

I owe a lot to Pune - Pune gave me a lot of things - one among it is a brand new life when I felt everything had ended and now it has blessed me with a home to call my own!! I love you Pune - Not by CIRCUMSTANCES but by CHOICE!!!

English just KICKED THE BUCKET! 2

On public demand I am updating yet another carnal sin committed by us while speaking English!

Keep your ears open especially for this one as it completely changes the complete meaning of the sentence!

The victim- the word " De-Stressing"
Which means removing the stress or unwinding the stress!!

While some people pronounce it as dis-stressing which means great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; acute physical or mental suffering; affliction; trouble or a state of extreme necessity or misfortune!

Its high time that we correct this mistake! It can land us in a Major Soup! Say for example you tell your Boss," If it was not for your distressing( You actually want to say de-stressing) Company the picnic wouldn't have been fun at all".

Just imagine your wrong pronouncing or writing of the word de-stress can prove to be a matter of great distress for you!! hehehe

My advice don't commit this gaffe at all costs!!

Return to Innocence!

Children..aren't they the sweetest things!! No matter what state of mind you are in - they always manage to bring back a smile to your face!! Just try doing this!! Have you ever seen children lined up parallel to the railway line..happily waving back to the ignorant passengers of the passing trains!! For once - let go of all inhibitions of how people will judge you and wave back at them....with a simple smile if not over the top alacrity. And see the magic!! Their moon like faces brighten up with this momentary happiness of receiving a positive response to their mirthful anticipation. They keep waving back at you, till your train speeds away farther than their vision can capture!! I am not able to word the way this feels...its a pleasant feeling to make them happy in the most simplest form...like there is a complete different meaning to life other than the infinite materialistic ones we keep chasing about!!!

Life's Big Lesson in a Small Scoop! 10

I am updating this section after a loooooooong gap! It was not that lessons weren't learnt in this span! Infact there were many! Its just that not all of them were drafted here!

Abb padh likh kar kiska bhala hua hai?????

I have a habit (You can call it a bad one) of uttering hackneyed dialogues and making fun of the highly cliched sentiments that our Hindi Cinema evokes @ times - rather ignorantly. One of my favourite one is to babel fish in a typical auntie like monotonous style, " Abb padh likh kar kiska bhala hua hai ?"(Read:Who has benefited out of Education anyways?).

Yesterday I had my Eureka Moment! As me and my hostel mates gathered for our regular late night "girl talks". And our regular bhanksss about films began. I began to utter the same dialogue. And I stopped mid-way. Rather my rational brain forced me to press the STOP button immediately.

"Padh Likh kar Kiska Bhala hua hai ?" My brain re-read, scanned and comprehended the dialogue. The answer came pronto: Mera aur Sabka. This was even more applicable in terms of women. I gulped my curiosity @ that moment and let it lie low for later contemplation. After everyone descended to their slumber the internal ratification began. I am 26 years old. Am independent!(yeah I can finally say that) Inspite of a crash I have landed to the safety of my own feet. Bruised but certainly not broken! And a major portion of the terra-firma beneath my trembling feet(apart from my loved ones) has been provided by no one else but my education.

There are girls in my hostel who have practically come from remote villages in Maharashtra. Some of them can hardly afford a metro-lifestyle. They prefer to walk their way around instead of spending Rs. 3 everyday on the "comfort" of overcrowded PMT Buses. They want to educate themselves and the world around them. They are taking pains of working part time and educating themselves because they understand that in a society that is ruled by the influence of ever-altering political, social and economical scenarios, it is education that will be their backbone.

Education today has stood firmly with many ladies who have absolutely no support in this world. With education comes financial Independence and it further reckons freedom to take individual decisions responsibility.

Just imagine the spate of us Indian women if we were born in an earlier time frame where situation was not conducive for women education. The vicious circle of poverty - early marriage - illiteracy - dependency - destitution would have continued. The anti-women literacy antagonists would have ruled the world and our atrocities as a second sex would have multiplied. Or for that matter even if we were born in a third world country that was not pro-women education and liberation, each day would have been so difficult to live.

I think we Indian women should really be grateful to the doyens of women education like Anandi Bai Joshi, Mahatma Phule & Maharshi Karve etc. It is only because of the relentless efforts of these people that many Indian women are Educated, Independent and Earning a living for themselves today!

What has education provided me??? The answer is simple! EMPOWERMENT- to stare the world in the eye, keep pace with it and challenge it!!!!

I got my answer!
I will never repeat that dialogue again!
I swear!
: )

English just KICKED THE BUCKET! 1

English dies a sad death everyday..And very brutally @ that!
And guess what, we kill it~
Here is one instance how..

The victim- the word " Functional"

According to Merriam Websters dictionary:
Main Entry: func·tion·al
Pronunciation: \ˈfəŋ(k)-shnəl, -shən-əl\
Function: adjective
performing or able to perform a regular function
—func·tion·al·ly \-ē\ adverb ctional psychosis>—compare organic 1b

I have atleast heard 25 people at isolated instances using the world wrongly, in a totally different parlance colloquially!

They say- This dress is casual but I prefer functional dresses for special occasions.
or
This is a functional clutch- for everyday purposes I have another one.

1.e. the word functional is surmised as "related to function or special occasion"
when actually it means a regular function(activity).

It is high time that we correct this gross culpable linguistic gaffe immediately!

Sleepless in Shaniwar Peth!!!

What among the following factors contribute the most to you turning into an insomaniac due to sleepless nights ?

1. Bed Bugs
2. Painful Breakup
3. Coffee
4. Nostalgic dreams
5. Exams
6. Work Load

My Observation:
All of them are equal partners in the crime....Just not in that order..hehehehehe

Life's Big Lesson in a Small Scoop! 9

Elephant the Management Guru!

Date: 5th July, 2009
Time: 7:45 pm
Venue: Gokhale Road Naupada,Thane

Are you perplexed with the Tittle? Are you taxing your brains thinking about the connection between this Mammoth and Management? Allow me to explain.
I had always heard that Elephants are very intelligent animals. But have you ever seen an Elephant practising Management? This Elephant seems to have all the qualities of a Management Guru. I will tell you why!! : )
Foreword: It collected coins and notes on the tip of his trunk and would give it up to the Mahout only when a substantial amount was collected to avoid taking pains by raising his trunk consecutively again and again. This shows that the Elephant was a Smart Worker and not just a Hard Worker. But it got swayed when it saw someone giving him Bananas. He lost his focus, gave whatever coins he collected to the Mahout and continued to binge on the Bananas. One Man just pretended to give him something to eat but never gave it to the Elephant. The Elephant however gave all the coins to the Mahout.

Now what are the lessons that we learn from this Elephant.
1. Keep some cards in your hands, do not divulge all. You rule the roost till the time you are the sole party to whats IMPORTANT.
2. Be a smart worker and not just a hard worker. Gone are the days to slog. It is time to be proactive and plan strategic moves. Foresight, initiative, innovation, interpersonal skills and Plan B are the new found key words.
3. It is good to focus on something and treat it as significant but if a fruitful(literally in this case : ) opportunity comes along you may switch your streams to be part of the High Tide.
4. There are people who show us Gajjar( banana in this case hehe) but that might just be a facade and you might end up loosing out on what you had in your hands in the first place.
5. Every situation is different and it is necessary to contemplate the pros and cons of every action and act accordingly. One way of reacting might not necessarily fit the bill for all the circumstances. Your thought process needs to be fluid.

Isn't it weird but wonderful how people, places, animals and our surroundings have a lesson or two to teach. We just need to observe them closely and decode the hidden meanings and apply them in the due course of our lives.

Her Lacuna

Everyday as my Bus passes through the infamous street of Budwhar Peth, I spot this one lady who is constantly lost in her reverie. I could’t help putting together a fictitious account of her life and imagination in poetry. The poem is called Her Lacuna which means her void because there is a longing for a change somewhere. And a long wait for someone or something who can take her away from her suffering……forgetting that she and only she can put an end to this!!



Her Lacuna!

Somewhat fidgeting, somewhat fighting herself
She stands there with her grease laden pudgy face
Searching internally but failing to connect with her outer self
Manequined in a Saree that is scandalously draped
Her low neck blouse revealing her bedizen feminity to its behest
A dash of the Color Crimson dabbed across her pouty lips
In a weakly lubricious pose but with an artificial grin
Trying to be strong when fingers are pointed and distances are kept

She thinks perhaps while standing here for hours
Before the long wait is over
Why not unlive the lived moments of her glamorous life
Beading together each memory as it runs riot
Dreams new and old everywhere- aren’t they best left unseen
For before you blink-
They fork sweet innocence into endless profanity
Beyond which, life seems a lot less complicated


They come and go
Many times they pay, sometimes they borrow
She obdurately faces it all
Without displaying even the slightest sign of supplication
Personally she may not approve
But there is always an inherent obligation
Her thoughts are refracted by a nascent hesitance
Though it dies a sudden death, once the lights are switched off

She makes them feel like they are her kings
However bilious, violent and vituperative-
She accepts it all as if-
They are the moiety of her own copious sins
Her nebulous faith drifts apart with her imagination
And finally succumbs to the pain of the reality
Her clean past mocks at her sullied present
As she braces herself for a chaste future


Its evening time now
The ambience in the bazaar is foisting a chaos
She looks in the mirror, her mind steers clear of escapist thoughts
She stares at the “New one” as they call her
Trying diligently to attract their attention
She looks at her old fat body and swarthy skin
Gulping down depression she continues to stand there
Accepting her fate and waiting for them to arrive
Ironically to put an end to her own self-inflicted despair………………….

.........by me