Me and iMac

Guess this Saturday night was a night of smiles. I got flooded with memories that were way too back of my mind. I am happy. Thanks to the movie "Steve Jobs"! The genius Mr.Jobs, whose idea for easy to use devices, has made most of the world accessible just by the touch on the screen. But back then in 1998, little did I know or admire this genius man. Today after seeing the movie, I now know what I missed that time.

I got my first job in 1998 (thanks to DC) at a computer store that had just opened a branch office in Pune. The name of the store was weird and confusing - "Rahul Commerce". People always had the question of why it was named so and why not give it a regular computer store name. The owner didn't bother about the questions, for he knew exactly what it stood for. There were 2 computers in the store when I first joined. One was a regular PC and the other a Macintosh. I got the job because I knew MS Excel and Word. The boss used the Mac. It was weird looking and always made me think why would he use that old computer. I was just out of college and had hardly ever, almost never, heard of a Mac. When asked, I was told it was almost a 10-year-old computer and has been working without any problems since then. I also was told that the store was the first in India to have imported a Mac and started selling it. They had sold a few, but not many bought it. Though I didn't know then, but now I feel privileged to have put my hands on that Mac! Thanks to Mr. DS!! I remember my Compaq PC crashed almost every month. But the Mac stood tall, I mean small, and never surrendered to the voltage fluctuations.

Then maybe a few months later the boss started talking about the iMac. What on earth! Now, what would that be about? There was no Google, so I couldn't (never thought) search about it on the internet. We just waited for it to be delivered. And it arrived... the first ever iMac, in Pune, in front of my eyes! What a beauty it was! Aqua color. "So the CPU is in this?", "that mouse is so small!", "those are the speakers?", "this keyboard is light as a 100 pages notebook!" For heaven's sake! What on earth and how and why and who??  Steve Jobs my dear, Steve Jobs! And that's when I fell in love with the genius. Who would have thought? The compact design, different color options, simply wow! It was difficult to explain the design at home. People came from everywhere to see the iMac. It was an unbelievable device for us regular Indians. "Where is the god damn CPU?" was the most commonly asked question. People doubted its reliability. Then the price was outrageous too. Who would buy that thing, and why? But DS never bothered about the questions. He knew there was a market for it. We did manage to sell a few around the country.

When I saw the iBook - the small colorful laptop, I once again fell in love. I vowed to myself to buy the iBook someday, the orange colored one was always on my mind. But then, times changed. I got married to someone, who was just like the people who walked into my office to see the iMac and never trusted it. But now he swears by the genius design.

My eyes welled up while seeing the iMac and its launch in the movie today. Now with the "i" revolution taking over the world, I feel privileged to have got to use the old Macintosh devices. Thanks to RC and Mr.DS, I am forever indebted to you to introduce me to Mac. Ever since the iMac, I have been a devout admirer of the pioneer and genius, Mr.Jobs. Perhaps that is why my child was born on the same date as his birth date. (Yes, yes! Right now there is this huge smile on my face!) Who knew!

I salute and bow to you, Steve. Thanks for making the world a better place by your designs.

I love my ear muffs :)

Early spring, I bought new ear muffs. It was a difficult find, but I really needed one. I love it for so many reasons – it makes me look cute, it’s purple and fluffy and soft, it blocks the cold wind entering my ears, thus helping me not getting sick. Also, it prevents me from tying my scarf around my head-ears-neck and avoid a few scary stares. No, I’m not scared but people are scared of my scarf and brown skin color these days. I never imagined that a humble scarf around my neck would scare people and label me as a Muslim.

Nothing wrong in calling me a Muslim, as people have always liked guessing my religious profile. But that was in India, as I was always a darker shade of brown. In India everyone is profiling you by your shade of brown and in US, everyone calls any shade of brown – a Muslim or as long back Priyanka Chopra had said, “Arab”. Say whaat??

With the recent happenings across the world and the US elections, every brown person is looked at suspiciously. I get stares for even opening my purse in the train or bus. I had never traveled frequently by public transport before in the US. The overall experience is new and less chaotic as compared to the desi commute. It happened first time when I felt that I was looked (stared) at even while I opened my purse. A lady stared at me continuously – which was pretty odd – till I stopped fidgeting with my bag and scarf. I smiled slightly, but she looked away. I should have ignored the incident, but could not, as such small but irritating reactions happened a few more times.
From where I come in India, I am used to covering my head, face and hands with a scarf or a dupatta to protect the skin and hair from the scorching sun or the cold wind and drive around like a terrorist – openly! Then again, some Americans hardly know India and for them to know the Indian weather for that matter, is out of their world (American) knowledge.

I always wondered why Bella from office didn’t ever smile at me, while talking and laughing with everyone around me. Until, last month when she “dared” to ask me (with a forced smile), “So, are you fasting for Ramadan?” Ting! The bulb above my head shone so bright, so bright that it reflected on my teeth with a not-at-all forced smile and I replied, “I’m not.” I have the complete right to keep my religious identity in wraps. I ate a piece of doughnut right before her eyes and walked away, while she “tried” to smile back.

Yesterday at the office party, a guy literally tried to force me to eat barbeque pork and also trying to convince me it was chicken. Little did he notice that it was clearly written on the food tray as “pulled pork”! Nice try, dude! With the amount of food in your plate, it was clear you were hungry, but what you really need is to pull that pork out of your brain – and take in the food of knowledge which you have in abundance on the interwebs.

To my surprise, these reactions and responses to my skin color were not as common as it has become now. I have met so many Americans who have appreciated my country, my culture and I respect the US culture and the freedom of expression it allows me (which is also there in India, that is why we desis quickly adopt US as “home”). Many dream of coming to this great county to live the American dream and freedom. Winds of change are affecting many countries, mostly in a negative way. The negativity that has been flowing rapidly in the country for the past few months, reached the UK at a lightning speed.

In elementary school years, there was always an essay topic to write about – “My favorite festival” and most of the kids always ended up writing about Holi. There was a common sentence in everyone’s paper – “Holi is the festival that brings people of all religions together”. I feel there should be more cultural festivals throughout the world to celebrate various cultures. Let people know who your neighbor is, what kind of food he eats, what customs he follows in his country. Less of religious symbols and more of happy, smiling faces. No one should judge you by your attire or your skin color or your scarf or your hat or the food you eat.

The world needs more of love and understanding. I fear for my fellow women commuters from other cultures who have to wear a scarf for religious reasons and who bravely accept the stares and conclusions from the person sitting across them in a bus.

For me, ear muffs are the way to go! It’s purple and warm and fluffy.

Call the midwife

Call the midwife

British series have always been fascinating. The accent, the mannerism. Remember the series on DD, "Great Expectations"? Currently, I am binge watching a series on Netflix called “Call the Midwife”. It is a BBC production and right now in my mind, I’m typing with a British accent in my head. Though I was a bit reluctant to watch this, I was totally hooked by the sisters/nuns, nurses and midwives and their chemistry among themselves. What actually caught my attention was the nuns that reminded me of my school days. Now if you have studied in a convent school, you can relate to the nuns so very easily. Also, now I know how much of an influence the have British on some part of our culture.

The series is about a town in East End of London called Poplar. Its a poor dockside city, where there is an abundance of children. The story is set at the Nonnatus House, a nursing convent which is an old building that resides nuns, who are trained nurses and they also are accompanied by trained midwives. Most of the midwives are young, who have got their calling of helping people without any monetary expectations. They ride bicycles and have to attend emergency calls from pregnant women, which are often many in number. They make house calls and give prenatal care. If required, they also have to assist doctors in emergency cases.

There are so many instances in the series that relate to India and school days. Having attended a convent school with strict nuns around, we were often involved in Christian plays and songs. We were often reminded about pronunciations, punctuations, pauses while reciting our poems. The nurse sister Nirmala, who dressed our wounds with “magic” white powder, also taught us knitting and sewing. The nuns in Nonnatus house are often shown knitting, praying and helping people without asking questions was their duty. That explains my automatic inclination towards social service!

“Can I make you a cup’o tea?”, asks the host whenever a midwife comes in her house.

“Oh, that would be delightful!” is the reply.

“Would you like some biscuits?”

“Sure.”
Right now I'm totally thinking in British accent!!

That makes me go back to India, where its a common practice to ask our guests if they would like tea and most of them “delightfully” agree, accept and enjoy it. Now was it the British Raaj influence on us or the other way round? We will always argue that its us Indians who believe in “Atithi devo bhava”, and thus it may be us who may have given a lesson or two on hospitality to them. But then this shows us that we have so many common cultural and traditional following in the world. Tea is served in a cup and saucer and not mugs! There are biscuits that look like Parle-G and also some mention of Bourbon biscuits, that we even now enjoy so very much.

Riding the bicycle in India was always fun. We have so many songs in our Hindi movies where the heroine’s ride the cycle in skirts or salwar kameezes and the scarf or dupatta, respectively, fluttering along with the wind. The midwives attend the calls on their bicycle. They’ve shown teaching a new nurse how to ride it. Gosh, I remember how many times I’ve hurt myself learning to ride a bicycle!

When the nurses examine the pregnant women, the men are often told to step outside. They gladly do as told. Pregnancy is not much discussed with the husband and nor is he present during the delivery, which is most often done at home. That cultural respect (?) is so common as in India. While staying in US, we are so happy that the husband accompanies us to doctors visits, he’s present at the baby’s birth in the delivery room or else he would be looked down upon in friendly social gatherings for not being there for his wife. I remember my mother being shyly devastated by the idea of my husband being in the delivery room.

Then there is a strict nun, that reminds me of all the sisters at school. No questions to be asked when you are told to do something. Nuns are tough and ready to work under any work conditions. Mother Teresa is an excellent example of working without expectations. There are a couple of mentions of her in the series. One of the midwives character was said to have raised in India and when she gets her own baby, she tries to remember the nursery rhymes, but she can’t, as she knows only Hindi lullabies. I waited for her say a few lines, but that didn’t happen.

Another happy reminder was the hospital scene. Yes, happy and hospital together in a sentence! I sometimes accompanied my maternal aunt, who was a nurse, to the hospital. It was exciting, in a way, for a little girl like me. The vivid smells of benzene, dettol, phenol and milk.  I also got to talk to some patients, doctors and nurses. The scene in which Nurse Jenny meets the matron, brought a smile on my face. I remember matron seated in her very own small office room and being a big, strict, commanding, authoritative lady asking questions about school and family.

The setting is old London. The architecture is like Sasoon or K.E.M. hospitals in Pune. Even the hospital atmosphere is droopy. It also is like most government offices with papers stacked on shelves, the black dial telephone, despair.

Britain in late 1950’s was so different as compared to the US portrayed in Mad Men around the same time. Respect for elders, trying to protect the culture and no physical intimacy scenes are just a few points that made me do the comparison. But then, that doesn’t mean there were any less pregnancies.

Very often you are reminded of the past. The joyful and sad moments. Though I don’t like to remember school as the most happening period of my life, I am glad that the nuns were a part of my upbringing, that also taught me to believe in God, or else, I would not have been able to relate to the lifestyles of the sisters. “Call the midwife” brought back so many memories.

If the nuns have been a part of your life, you will have some deja vu moments that will automatically get a smile on your face. And if not, do watch it for the sheer joy of cultural similarities or just for joy of it.

PS.: Its a bit difficult for me to understand British accent, so I had to on the subtitles :)

An American wedding

I always wished to attend a wedding in America. Having seen weddings in so many movies, I wanted to see it myself, is it really like that, thevows, "you may kiss the bride", daughter- father dance... Yes, yes, yes. It is all that!

I never expected to see N's mail in my mailbox asking me to assist her for a wedding shoot on Friday. Just couple of hours before her mail, I mailed my friends regarding a potluck grill lunch. As Navratri was supposed to start on Saturday, most of my friends had plans of fasting or being vegetarians for the nine days ahead. But seeing N's mail, I almost jumped in my seat. I couldn't miss this opportunity! Potlucks keep happening girls, I thought. But a wedding happens just once!

I called U immediately and he too readily agreed. My son looks at me and asks, what's happening mom? I am called to assist a wedding shoot, I said. Can I come, was his expected reply. No I said. He agreed and told me take a lot of pictures. Aww....

So I replied to N that I would join her and wrote to my friends, the grill-lunch was cancelled! Instead I met my friends on Thursday for a chaat and chat party :)

I met N on Thursday evening for the first time. She is such a lovely lady and good to talk too. We talked about how to go about with the next days shoot.

I was too excited to sleep well Thursday night, but I slept and woke early. Only to sleep back for an hour late morning. But it was totally rejuvenating!

The wedding venue was sort of a vineyard, a very cosy place. We went to the brides room and she
was getting ready to wear her bridal gown. OMG! It was such a pretty gown! I'm sure at the store she may have gone, "I'm saying yes to the dress", with all tears rolling down her cheeks and all huggy-huggy to the everyone who helped her select the dress.

Without wasting a minute, N was ready with her gear and had already started clicking pictures. I was still admiring the gown :) Unlike desi weddings, the bride was so relaxed, having a drink, joking
around and posing happily for the photographer. She wasn't shy at all! And I was happy seeing her.
Yes, I did help N with the photos. Then the outdoor shoot started and everyone was so outgoing while taking pictures. The best man, maid of honor, all that I had seen in movies was right in front of me.

The wedding planner managed the wedding so well. All was happening at the proper time as planned. The guests arrived on time and everyone got to enjoy the vows.

The vows part was so emotional. "Something, something and till death do us apart..." My heart almost sank, with the flash in my hand held up. And then "you may now kiss the bride" part. Oh God! It was magical. The bride blushed and her cheeks were so rosy. The father of the bride shed a tear and so did many of the guests. N was totally doing her job and I was totally enjoying looking at everyone, along with doing my part of helping the photographer.

The number of guests were limited, which was really good. Most of the arrangements in American weddings are done by the bride and groom themselves, so they really are on a budget. Inviting the closest acquaintances is anytime good.

After dinner, there was dance on the stage. At first the bride and groom danced. They looked so good together. Talking casually and kissing while dancing. All eyes on them. Wow! Then the father of the bride danced with her. This was the best part. The dad was such a sport. He danced so awesomely and so did the bride. Oh...What a wonderful world... My heart was still to come back to its normal beat.  After that most guests joined the dance floor and it was total masti and fun! Everyone was in an enjoying mood. May god bless the couple with lots of happiness.

And just like that it was time to leave for home. We packed our gear and left the venue. But the wedding was still there going on in my mind.

I can't thank N enough for taking me along with her. The pictures turned out lovely. N shared a few
on her page. They truly are beautiful, especially the magical father-daughter dance one.

I had to write down this experience, so that down the way I don't forget it and fight with U saying you never took me to an American wedding! Yes, I am capable of doing that!

So thanks a lot N and wish you all the very best for your future shoots.And my friends, what all you see in the movie weddings, it really happens!

Yashoda - Krishna

 

 

Any kind of art is kind of a stress buster. I just wanted to draw something since a long time. So just searched for a cute picture that I had seen in a song. Though my sketch is no close to the original one, I thought of posting it here.

Yashoda & Krishna

 

Men will be men - a short story

Men will be men


Today as always Kushal came to office and started his work. He had moved from Chicago to Bentonville just a couple of days back. He was getting to know the place and new colleagues. He was well aware of the huge amount of work that was going to be there in the project.
Like most of the times, even today he had a tiny tiff with his wife Jui. Though a little tense after reaching office, he emerged himself in his work and thought of trying to forget home issues till evening.

After lunch while he was sitting by his desk, he heard a familiar and very peculiar laughter from a distance. At first he ignored, but when again he heard it, he casually got up and started looking around trying to find from which side the laugh was coming. He walked a bit further and there were two women sitting. The one with the peculiar laughter sat with his back towards him. But she suddenly turned around.

Kushal could not believe his eyes. It was...it was Shonali!
“Yes, it is Shonali”, he thought excitingly.

“Hey Kushal!” said a equally surprised Shonali.

“H..Hi Shonali!” stammered Kushal. Words were not coming from his mouth. But he tried to speak. It was the same Shonali he had a crush on when they worked together back in India. Oh, those were the days. But he just couldn’t talk to her then and now too. How he wished he was bold enough to ask her out some day!

“How have you been?” asked Shonali.

“I’m good,” he replied. “In fact better...after seeing you”, he thought.

“When did you come here?”

“I just moved for Chicago last week.”

“Oh thats why I’d never seen you around.”

“How about you?”

“Well, I’ve been here for the past 3 years.”

“Now its my chance to say wow”.

Both laugh and so does the lady standing next to Shonali.

There is an awkward silence for a few seconds.

“Its been a long time since we met,” Shonali started the conversation again. “After I quit Infotek, I joined Digital Informations in Bangalore and they sent me here on a project.”

“Thats good. I’m still working for Infotek.”

“Kushal...can you tell me where’s your desk? I just have to take some backup and I’ll be out and running.”

“Oh sure, of course. Thats my cubicle there,” said Kushal pointing towards his desk. “Do stop by.”

“I’ll be there in sometime.”

“Okay” said Kushal and started walking to his desk. “Be sure to stop by,” he said turning around.

Shonali showed him a thumbs up.

As Kushal walked towards his desk, emotions, memories poured in his head.
He thought, “Shonali is here! I can’t believe it!! I was so much in love with her back then. She’s still the same beautiful, simple lady. Now after so many years she and I will be in the same office. Yippee!!” He starts dancing in his thoughts. As he thinks, animated clouds of various thoughts form in his mind. He stares at his computer screen.
“I will not let her out of my life now. Its destined that we come back together. Did she have a mangalsutra in her neck? I didn’t notice anything in her neck. Maybe she’s still single. Should I tell her I’m married? Yes, I will tell her. No, no orelse she will distance me from her. But if she has the same feelings like I do, I will tell Jui I no longer want to stay with her.” In his thoughts, Jui breaks his head with a rolling pin. Kushal shudders. “Whatever may come. I will be with Shonali. Yes this is destiny. God knew my love for Shonali was true, so he sent me here. I will marry her and make my life happy.” The thought clouds floated in his mind, Shonali coming running in his arms, he putting a wedding garland around her neck. He smiled at the thought.

Just then Shonali tapped on his shoulder and Kushal came back to his senses. He first viewed her neck. “Yes!! no mangalsutra, no thaali! She’s not yet married,” he thought happily.
He smiled at her. A sense of victory smile.

“How long have you been in US?” Shonali asked.

“Its more than a year now. You know Infotek. They really make us desperate to seek an onsite project.”

“Yes. That was one of the reasons why I quit.”

“Good move.”

“You know what, I have to leave now.”

“Oh, so soon?”

“Yes. We are meeting late actually.”

There was a question mark on Kushal’s face.

“I quit my job and am out of this project now. Todays my last day at work.”

The happy thought cloud burst in pieces in Kushals mind. His smile vanished.

“Really?” he asked unbelievingly.

“Hmm. I’m moving to Tampa tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“Mind if you walk me to the door?”

“Sure,” replied Kushal, not being so sure.

“I was quite bored with this project and was looking for a change, when Suraj searched this new project for me.”

“S-Suraj?”

“My fiance`. I just forgot to tell you about him! I’m getting married next month in India.”

“Co-Congratulations.” The next marriage thought cloud popped in his mind and then he noticed the engagement ring in her finger.

“Thank you.”

Shonali opened the door with her badge. “There he is!” she said pointing out at the blue car that was waiting for her. “He’s from Mumbai and now settled in Tampa. We met online through a friend. I’m so happy to be with him. Yay!”

“Wow. Thats nice,” said Kushal with a slight smile.

“It was nice catching up with you again. I’ll be touch with you. I’ll get your email id from my friend and send you the wedding invitation.”

“Sure... sure thing.”

“See you then. Take care,” said Shonali, as she shook her hand with Kushal.
He half-heartedly shook her hand. She then sat in the car next to Suraj and they both waved at him and drove into the sunset.

Kushal looked as their car went and from his thought cloud he got another bang on his head by Jui. “Come home for garam rotis and sabji,” Jui said in his mind. He came back to his senses and smiled back into the office, imagining all his thought clouds vanishing in thin air.

THE END.

Nirbhaya

Right now how I wish the world should have ended on 12-21-2012. What the hell is going in this world?
The tragic Newtown, Connecticut incident shook the world. Like me, I'm sure many moms could not sleep well. I cried on Monday while leaving my son to school. I pray for the parents of the children who lost their lives on that fateful day. Let them find peace.
And then came the news of the horrifying rape incident in New Delhi, the capital of my own country. Oh what a shame! What a sad end to a life of a girl. I pray for her parents too. God alone knows what may be going through their minds right now. Sad that their daughter had to die such a tragic death. Proud that because of her death the country is trying hard to awaken a sleeping system? And what else can I pray for? Lets see -
1) Lord, please help the Government to take proper judgement in this rape case.
2) Lord, let the rapists be given the most severe punishment. Something so severe that they and people like them dare not think of doing such a heinous crime ever in their 10 lives to come. If they are hanged till death, their life will finish in moments. They will not even feel one unit of pain that Nirbhaya went through.
3) Lord, can you really listen to the above 2 prayers? Please take some action.

When I was in India a year ago, I was watching some news on some channel about female fetocide. I was literally in tears. I said this is so sad. how does anyone do such things? The elderly lady sitting next to me said she thinks this is right. This should be done. I asked do you know what are you talking about. A sudden wave of rage started gushing in my body. How can you say that I asked her. She asked me don't you read the news papers? So many news about rapes - somewhere an elderly lady is raped, despite her age factor, a 3 year old girl is raped by her father or a neighbor, a young girl is raped just because she was alone in house. She asked me is any female safe? Then why take the risk to give birth to a girl child when no one respects her?
My blood was boiling and kept thinking how can she talk like that? Kitni ghatiya soch hai, etc. But today, I feel was that the truth? I know, now I'm being a saddist. No woman is safe in India. Its the plain truth! But again, that doesn't mean I'm for female fetocide. Never ever will I be for it. Daughters are killed in the womb in India for other reasons like dowry. But none wants their daughter to die a tragic death like Nirbhayas and no one kills their daughter in the womb of a reason like rape. But no one knows the future.

2 days back when I was talking on the phone to another woman in India, Nirbhayas topic did come forward. She told me in some mythological serial thats going on on Indian television now a days. The story goes like this:
A rishi went to take a dip in the river, leaving his beautiful wife at home. Some god who always had eyes for her, took this opportunity and came down to earth in the disguise of her husband and made love to her. The original husband comes home to find his wife in bed with another man. Then he curses his wife that she turns into a rock and the god that he no one will pray to him.
After this story, she told me that look, these things are happening since ages. No one ever has had respect for women. So if some god himself did this to the lady, people still feel its okay to do it even now. But I feel, in the wake of such horrific incident in Delhi, this particular episode should not have been aired. It promotes disrespect to women and Indian men just DO NOT understand the positive or negative impact of such stories in the real world. Mostly the impact is negative. I firmly disagree with the channel who aired this episode on TV. Whatever the history, such stories should never be retold. Its a disgrace!

The other day, with lot of hype and recommendations from 2 girl friends, I saw The Dirty Picture movie. Yes! And I will not, never suggest anyone to see it, even if it is sad and the truth. The dialogues were disgustingly vulgar and there was NOTHING to learn from the movie. Its a story of a selfish woman who wanted to be famous. No need to feel sorry for her she ended her life. If you have not seen it, you are not missing anything in your life, how much ever movie freak you are. There are better movies to watch.

Also when I was in India, after reading the news of a less than 3 year old girl being raped and killed by a man, gave me some sleepless nights. Oh lord, what pain! At that time, Pratibha Patil was the President of India. Having a woman president is such proud feeling and a safe feeling for the woman. Someone who will understand what it is like to being a woman in India. I wrote a letter to her through the Government of India's website, to take severe action against rapists. Hoping that she will have some feeling for the Indian woman. What a fool I was! I now hear and read stories, that while she was the President, Pratibha Patil pardoned the punishements of 5 rapists, who had also murdered their victims. They were given second chance at life. Such disgrace, such disgust! Whatever was she thinking?? And now the present Presidents son is giving a mouthful on how women are dressing! What a failed Government and what a failed country!

My last prayer to the almighty is give some required proper thinking to the authorities to take immediate action in Nirbhayas case. Let not the voices of the people protesting go unheard.
Lastly, all women in India are Nirbhaya, they face the lust filled, disgusting eyes of men every second, everyday. Even then they stand tall and brave. Be safe women and fight against the disgraceful acts in the country. May God bless us with infinite courage, safety and happy lives.