While I did outgrow the temple shops, one thing that I can never outgrow (i hope) is the urge to eat at every single eatery in any public place.. like the Marina beach for example. Even today, after many many trips to the loveliest place in Chennai, I still can’t help but look expectantly at the various shops there and try to stuff myself with chat, corn, peanut sundal, ice creams and everything else sold there.

The recent addition to this must-eat-at-all-shops addiction was the stretch along Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad. Ever since I went to the Lumbini park last year and saw that the street on both sides was dotted with all types of street food vendors.. I’ve been wanting to go there and pig out. Yeah yeah nothing new there.

Last week, the MP, Ajju and I decided to go on an impromptu ride to Hussain Sagar and spend some time walking along. The moment we got down from the car, while the cold wind welcomed us, the aroma of corn being roasted on coal made me go Zombie eyed. First stop masala roasted corn. After munching it off in 3 minutes flat, the 3 of us moved on to the peanut bhel vendor nearby. The vendor wasn’t anywhere in sight and his stand stood all alone there. So decided to talk a walk. Cracking non sense jokes and walking hand in hand, we reached a chat vendor. Pani puri, Bhel puri, aloo puri and every other type of puri he had were flying off his shelves into our stomachs.

Next stop, the peanut bhel vendor next to this fellow. The spice of the chat and bhel finally got to us and we moved on to milk parlour nearby for some ice-cream and lassi. That done, the lone roasted peanut seller was the only guy whose shop we hadn’t stopped at.  All bases covered, we walked back with a paper cone full of hot roasted peanuts.

The walk back to the car seemed to be quicker. But I wasnt complaining. What with a full stomach and the MP and Ajju playing perfect gentlemen and letting me have a go at everything in sight.. I had my fill that night.

Thankq MP and Ajju for the lovely walk along the lake.. Look forward to more such outings.. with the food stops of course..

* Long time desire.

A while back.. writing here used to be my most favorite mode of unwinding. Stories.. thoughts.. musings.. the mind worked overtime and came up with the whole post and the fingers just clicked away.. Recently that changed. Writing and for that matter.. thoughts became incoherent.. I realized I was stressing my mind to come up with flows and coherent writing.. I had no choice. It was a question of bread and butter. Even then.. when there were times when I was faced against a wall.. I came here.. poured out on a whim.. ranted about something that made no sense at all.. and was able to get the creative juices flowing.. There were other times when the thought , flow and subject matter.. all were there.. what was missing was the will to put finger to keyboard.

It stuck me that to bring out true emotions and thoughts to the post.. I needed to be in a proper state of mind. I have had this epiphany before too.. Just that real life and responsibilities had taken precedence and the mind was no longer into idle thinking mode. Only when the mind wanders off most posts are written.. Mentally of course..  I don’t actually blame life. I enjoyed this phase too. It taught me a lot of things.

I had a chance to explore a new side of me. All this while I have been a raving foodie.. Enjoying different types of food.. Savouring in the flavours and the textures.. And then.. MasterChef Australia happened.. Little by little this series prodded the cook in me and lo and behold.. I started wielding the ladle in the kitchen. literally. Actually the craze began a bit before MasterChef started.. I blog hopped a bit and found a few food blogs. People have too much time and resources. How else can you explain all those drool worthy pictures and the up-to-the-last-detail recipes? So yeah.. I ran amok in the kitchen for almost 2 months. Whipped up some new and lovely dishes.. Tried to make simple stuff like aval payasam with less than desirable results and even tried my hand at vadais a couple of times!

MP was a pillar of support. Be it our favourite gooey semiya upma or the fluffy dhoklas or the soft rotis with onion tomato curry or poondu kozhambu.. He loved em all .. Which gave me all the more reason to try new stuff and impress the man. Well technically seeing him wipe off his plate and then move on to the pot itself gave me a sense of pride and satisfaction which I am not able to put down to words.. At the end of the day his wide grin and the twinkle in the eyes which told me that the dish was well made was all that mattered. I must say.. MP was extremely supportive and appreciative of everything I made and that alone was enough to motivate me to cook the next day. One does need motivation right?? I got so used to his appreciation that one day when he made fun of me for the gooey rice.. I went ballistic! So the blogger became the cooker..

This adventure into the kitchen revealed a new side of me – and this was a revelation to both me and the MP. After my first ever venture into the kitchen which was disastrous [to put it mildly] the poor soul had given up all hope on me. Yes I enjoyed cooking a lot but I still missed this space and my ranting..

And now there’s a change of scene and mindset.. Although my love for the kitchen hasn’t diminished a bit.. Here’s hoping I get around to airing more thoughts and rants right here..

PS: I went back and read this post. I felt it didn’t make much sense and wasn’t “coherent” enough. Here’s hoping this attempt would remove the block and let the words flow..

Coming back.. I fished into my handbag.. fetched the famed wallet and bought out a couple of notes. At that moment.. mom was inside taking some bag or something.. So I ended up fiddling the notes.. taking a good long look at them and eventually wondering about the transformation – in form and value – these blue notes have undergone over the years… That’s when the thought struck me.. Its been a looooooooooooong time since I held currency of any kind in my hands…

Wherever we go.. more often than not.. MP handles the cash dealings.. and almost always its a credit or debit card transaction. Going one step further its online shopping that seems to be filling up my credit card bills..

One thought led to another and soon I was happily reminiscing the wonder years when we used eagerly await festivals.. dress up in our best and go on a “falling-on-the-feet” spree.. Later sit back at the end of the day and total up the collections.. make elaborate plans on how the money is to be spent or stashed away.. only to be told by parents that it would be safer with them.. and helplessly hand it over to them.. bah!

And all those times when we used to visit our maternal grandparents during holiday.. During the blessing seeking ritual while leaving.. in front of everyone patti would give 50 rubeess and then whisk me away to the kitchen secretly.. and thrust a 100-rupee note that had lain hidden in the horlicks bottle on the top most kitchen shelf.

Another bulb flashed.. I have preserved one such note for posterity too.. In one of my umpteen lairs..

Gone are those days when pocket-money was so hard to come by.. Today all it takes is a swipe of the card or entering a few numbers on the screen.. No wondering what dad or mom will say.. There is an inherent self-assurance that they will trust our judgement. Will genNext ever know what it is like to receive the much-loved kaineettam?? Only time will tell..

Yes yes my brain clicks non-stop and in the 5 minutes it took mom to fish out the bags that she was looking for.. I went on this trip down the memory lane and was back in time too!

PS: Yes yes I know my birthday post should be here.. Believe me when I say I have typed over 2000 words and I am still not done with the prologue. If I can.. I will get it published as a 50 page book.. Lol.. I will try to cut out stuff and make it crisp and then post it here.. Deal??

Or better still.. How bout this poll?

Help me ok?

* A 100 rupee note.

As for me, as much as I loved getting surprised, I love putting them together for loved ones too.. The endless planning.. the going over the options.. the white lies.. the not so white ones.. the timing.. the tension.. the watching what you speak.. all this goes into a surprise plan.. The kicker? Trying to maintain a straight face all that time.. and waiting for the events to unfold at the set time.. It usually takes some time for the plan cloud to form. Constant mulling over the options, including newer ideas, cutting out some superfluous ones.. all this happens and slowly.. it takes shape. Once all the plan is in place.. I can never wait for it to unfold in its own sweet pace. I am impatient. I know patience is a virtue and clearly.. I lack in that department.

Like this visit to my parent’s place in March. I planned a little surprise around the visit and went thru hell trying to keep it down. I mean come on.. Just how much can one control one’s emotions. I shall talk about the actual surprise another time. For now.. I shall just stop with saying.. the expression and joy on my parent’s face was well worth the trouble I put myself through. They literally went around telling everyone who lent half an ear on how their daughter surprised them!

Earlier it used to be mom, dad and Ajju. The MP has now taken it upon himself to be the subject of most of my surprises. Only this time around.. he was massively surprised in a terrible way. I didn’t get that lovely soul anything at all for his birthday. Yes I am mean. Curse me all you want but my heart broke to see the disbelief on his face.. It was a more childish .. “What are you telling me? Is this the woman I married?” rather than the “What nonsense you didn’t get me anything??”. In my defense, I was in denial. End of discussion.

Now if this is one side.. getting surprised is a whole different ball game. Like this one time when Ajju and his friends planned a surprise birthday party for me.. or like when Tray landed in Chennai and took me by surprise or when the MP planned a surprise cake and gifts for me last year.. Each time I had absolutely no idea that such plans were brewing and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a different matter all together that I kept kicking myself for not reading the obvious signs and not guessing it before hand. Well played guys.. Very well-played.

But poor MP.. These days whenever he tries to plan something around me.. I, with my extensively long nose sniff it out and make a huge fuss, forcing him to spill the beans. Very unsporting I know but sigh..We live in the same room for God’s sake and keeping things from each other is definitely as simple as you think it might be! Even now.. A couple of days back.. I did this and MP lost all his patience. Unlike me he seems to have a bigger helping in this regard. So he consoles me.. Tells me about the surprise that was meant to be and finally when it’s supposed to be happening.. surprises me more.. Yeah he is sweet like that..

If you thought this was all.. planning a surprise or being the recipient of a surprise was all.. You are soooo wrong. There is one more side of this. The surprise is planned around you. The planner thinks he is playing his cards smartly and u have no idea about this.. Only.. you know about it. Now that is even more frustrating. Been there.. done that.. Earlier this March, around the same time that I was planning to surprise my parents with a visit, tray laid out a parallel plan to surprise me. With wat else.. A visit of course. And thanks sheer dumb luck, sensitive ears at the wrong times and some neurons working overtime, I chanced upon this plan well in advance. Trying to act out a farce where I pretended as if I knew nothing about it was such a pain. Two in one. Being a planner and a recipient. I can only look back and marvel at myself for pulling through!

So what was your most memorable surprise? And which side of the surprise would you rather be in? Tell me all about it!

That night.. after the movie got over.. We didnt speak much. But suffices to say that the MP stayed awake right through it and asked questions here and there.. The first signs of being inducted into the world of magic.. The next morning was a whole new story. He was bouncing around the house yelling that he was a Griffindor and that I was a Slytherin. Aah.. The classic symptom of how-I-became-a-Harry-Potter-fan syndrome.  Never mind that the first few times he couldn’t get the names of the houses right.. But after a few tries.. he got the hold of it.. He asked me more and more questions and was trying to get the names into his mind. My each answer ended with.. you should really read the books.. you will enjoy this a lot more…

The day wore on but had more in store.. He wanted to watch the second part that night itself. And the fact that the next day was a working day had no effect on him whatsoever. So we stayed up late and watched the second movie too. And he was as excited as a ten year old. Spells, incantations and what not. The duel between Harry and Draco excited him too much and he wanted a wand. Shabba!! Of course questions and clarifications were inevitable.. Whats a potter movie without them? A sudden vacation came our way and 2 weeks went by before we could catch up on the 3rd part. Well well whaddaya know.. The MP was sooo excited and pumped up tha,t the first thing we did after we got back from the vacation was to catch up on the movies.

Week nights, weekends.. nothing was spared and litlle by little we made up for the lost time. Our usual routine was that I would pop off after the movie. and this man would sit up.. Watch it all over again.. Just to make sure he didn’t miss anything the first time around. Taking this a step further.. he even sat and watched the Order of the Phoenix all by himself while I was sleeping. He just couldn’t wait. And soon we were watching the last half hour of the first part of the Deathly Hallows.

He loveddd Harry, Ron and Hermione and of course Quidditch. Thats a no brainer right.. But wait.. There is more. By the time we were done with DH 1, Dumbledore, Fred, George, Sirius and Hargid were his favourites too. He hates Draco, Snape and Bellatrix. He hates Bellatrix so much that he calls her “I Killed Sirius Black!”.. He would keep telling me how much he was like Ron and ahem.. I had to be Hermione no? That would make me a Griffindor too.. Ha ha .. Thank God he hasn’t read the book yet.. Or I could well be Pansy Parkinson! As for me.. It was lovely watching all the movies again and mouthing the dialogs silently.. Each time Snape came on screen.. I would let out an audible sigh and that would get the MP rankled up. He hated Snape’s guts! Now now.. Didn’t we all?

All along I had kept telling him.. By the time you finishDH1 you wouldnt want to wait to watch DH II. My prophecy came true and how! The night we finished watching DH 1, he wanted to know if tickets were available for DH 2 the next day itself. Office could wait he said. But it isnt that easy is it? We managed to get tickets with nice seats for a show, a couple of days later.. The lead up to the movie as expected. We had an hourly countdown and Expecto Patronums flying around.

On the D day.. clearly.. Of the two of us, he was the more excited one. He couldn’t wait to get into the theatre.. and all through the movie.. I could say he thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Especially when Molly kills Bella.. there was a savage “yeeaahhh” from him! As for me..  it was double the fun of course.. I savoured every bit of it.. And what made it even better was that MP was by my side.. Having fun too..

When the movie ended.. He didnt want to go back home. He wanted to watch the movie again and couldn’t believe the series could be over. He was like.. How could she stop with just 7.. There should be more… Welcome to the world of Harry Potter darling.. All of us in here feel the same way.. Both of us keep watching bits and pieces from the other movies and have some comment or the other each time..

He’s asked me to get the books asap and wants to read em all..

So the ride.. is still on ain’t it?

Yes yes I am talking about the boy who lived.. the chosen one.. Harry Potter of course! So why was I so late in watching the last movie? Here’s a quick flashback on it!

Tortoise coils…………

I was pretty late to the Harry Potter party.. After the whole world and its grandmother had read 5 books and watched 3 movies, on one dull and boring afternoon in 2003.. I picked up the first book. Little did I realize.. how much it was going to change my life. Over the next week and half.. I tore across the remaining 4 books and managed to catch up on the first 2 movies as well. College happened and what do I see.. There’s a whole bunch of em.. Mad cap potter fans.. I watched the 3rd movie with Ajju and cuz S and the 4th movie with a raucous gang at college. What an outing that turned out to be!

The wait for the release of the 6th book was an impatient one and when it did.. It was memorable for more reasons than one. I still remember the dull faces in class a couple of days after the release of the book… Dumbledore dies.. Can you believe that it was the topic of many many conversations! And by the time the final book was out.. I was done with college and was racing Ajju to finish the book.

And once we finished.. there was a weird sense of elation and emptiness. The fact that there wasn’t going to be any more tomes with the adventures of our favourite characters did rankle a lott.. Discussions discussions and more discussions about the plot and how some of the most loved characters were gone and a whole lot of other things happened.. And finally it was all laid to rest.. After all there were 3 more movies to look forward to.

Life resumed and we were all caught up in its endless twists and turns.. I managed to miss the next 3 movies. But this July when the last movie was out.. The FB feed was flooded with updates from fellow fans who had been to the theater and watched the final part of the saga unfold in front of their eyes! I wanted to be there too.. Badly.. There was only one problem.. The MP hadn’t received any Owl from Hogwarts. Not just yet.. He hadn’t read the books or watched the movies and neither was he inclined to do so.

And I didn’t want to drag him to a movie where nothing would make sense to him and neither was too enthusiastic to hop along. I wasn’t too keen on giving up.. One afternoon..over a casual conversation.. I slipped it to him that he should really watch Harry Potter and went on to wax eloquent on how awesome the whole magical world is. At first he brushed it off saying it was too complicated for him and he wasnt exactly interested. After a lot of coaxing and cajoling he agreed to watch the first movie. 10 minutes into the movie.. He was snoring.

I consoled myself.. Maybe he was really tired.. We decided to give it another shot.. Of course after some more cajoling and bribing from me. That night.. We watched the first movie. MP for the first time.. and me for the nth time. I could reel out dialogues at will. It was the first part.. What do you expect!

So how did the MP react?? Read about it tomorrow!

To be concluded…

It was tough to decide which ones we wanted to try. We settled on Black and White, Italian Spices and a white chocolate donut. Going by how hungry we were, the 3 seemed to be a bit too less. So we also indulged in a sandwich and a hot chocolate too.

In keeping with current traditions, the kitchen was just a glass pane away and the bakers (?!) in there, were fussing over each order coming in, as tenderly as one would treat a new born.. There was a tray of donuts waiting to go into the oven and another that had just come out.

First came the Donuts.. All 3 were extremely soft, spongy and really well made. It was pretty obvious they were straight out of the oven.The Italian was not the usual sweet donut that we’ve come to expect. It was topped with loads of cheese and herbs and tasted real nice. The white chocolate was good too.. nothing special to write home about. But the star of the evening was undoubtedly the Black and White.. As I dug my teeth into the dark chocolate topped donut.. warm white chocolate oozed out to greet me. It wasn’t long before I looked like the boy in this ad here. It was magical!

Within minutes the Donuts were gone and the sandwich and hot chocolate filled up our table. The sandwich was good.. Lots of salad and chips to go with it.. But the hot chocolate was a let down.. It was too watery.. The staff were courteous and there was nothing about the place or the service that left a bad taste in the mouth.

I was very tempted to pack a few more donuts but a stare from the better half, conveyed that I had crossed the calorie and sugar limits for the entire month.. So I quietly trooped out.. Wanting to go back and get lost in the Black and White Doughnut all over again..

Do drop into this joint and watch your sweet tooth fantasies unfold…

The year was 2006. The protagonists: Su aka Peppermint, Thala and of course me.

Su and I were thick friends.. We had hit it off from Day 1 and somehow despite a few differences, for most part, our lives were identical.. A few months back.. she had told me about Thala.. who also happened to be in the same GNIIT class as her. The two also were pretty close and from how much she talked about him… we [me and her other friends] used to tease the two of them.. You know what I mean don’t you.. We were young and without a worry.. All this made absolutely no sense at all.

One day out of the blue.. Su told me that she wanted to me to meet Thala.. And that the 3 of us would hit it off too.. Blah blah and blah.. We decided to meet at Spencer’s the oldest, and at that time the hippest, mall in Chennai. I was the first one to arrive.. And then she came in with Thala. Initially Thala and I were just courteous to each other. While we acknowledged each other’s presence.. the conversation mostly was between either one of us and Su. The third one was a mute spectator. But that wasn’t for long. Being the birds of the same feather that we were.. A light banter started and we started doing what we went there for.. Pigging out.. Wraps.. Corn kernels.. And the spice drove us to the Juice Shop.

Here is when the day well and truly kick started. While Thala and I settled for our usual poisons.. Su decided to get experimental.. and ordered a grape flavored concoction with a dash of ginger. That sounded nice.. except that.. when it came.. it was actually a pinkish goo with loads of ginger in it.. We tried to take turns to somehow gulp it down but the juice won .. hands down… With contorted faces and a funny tasting tongue we stumbled into Shree Mithai next door.

I ordered VadaPav, Thala Bhel Puri and Su a plate of pani puri. Midway through the munching session… Su realized that some of her puris were cracked and that all the water was flowing out. I suggested that she take a bite of the puri and the filling and sip a bit of the flavored water. When Thala seconded it .. naive Su trusted us and did exactly what we asked her to. It was downright funny to look at and the two pranksters burst out laughing. Which was when it dawned upon Su, that we had made her look stupid. She chased us out and after a fair bit of running and catching.. we decided that an ice cream might calm her down. Boy oh boy.

Double chocolate for me.. Nutty crunch for thala .. no surprises there.. These were our favorites. Turns out Su had had some lovely mint ice-cream before. So she wanted Peppermint Swirl. Our cups came first.. looking like how we expected them to. Su’s cup arrived.. It looked like vanilla ice-cream dripping with cyan colored syrup. One mouthful and Su’s face contorted. We took turns in tasting it. Poor Su.. The day was testing her to the limits. Her ice-cream tasted like toothpaste.. Again it was our turn to laugh laugh and laugh and that day at that ice-cream parlor .. she got her current name.. Peppermint.

We teased her about how the letter P was extracting revenge on her. The pink juice, the pani puri and the peppermint swirl. And how she must make it up to someone whose name started with P so that the P Gods would forgive her. LOL indeed.

All this while, we had lost track of time. Thala had to be in his German class. So he had to leave after this. After he left.. Su told me she had some news and dropped a bombshell. She was leaving to the US for post grad the next week. Suddenly all the brightness of the day vanished for me. I was inconsolable. So was she.. But hey.. life had to amble on…

We bid a teary goodbye and as a farewell gift.. I got her a KANK audio cd. Timing an all..

This day also marked the beginning of the adventures of the 3 musketeers. We had a couple of other adventures before life, time and distance took their toll on us. We have come a long wayyy from this Spencer outing.. But even this day.. when we look back.. it brings a warm feeling in the heart and a silent tear moistens the corners of the eyes. Because this is where it all began..

A chance online chat with Thala re-kindled old memories and brought this one up here. The second adventure should be up and about soon too.

Well .. Kate and Eve do get their dues.. In the end.. That should make me happy no? No.. On the contrary.. The thought that came to me immediately was.. Was about the numerous lives they scarred and charred to get their way? David was dead.. Tony was institutionalized.. Marianne was dead too.. So was George Mellis.. [This guy deserved to die anyway.. ] What about these lives that they snuffed out to get what they wanted??

These damages were irreparable right? Soon after.. The MP and I got into a discussion.. The point of discussion revolved around this.. Mean characters.. Fate’s retribution to them.. and how the victims never recover from the low they have been pushed to. MP argued that Karma comes back.. And the meanies do get something in return.. My point was.. yes they do.. But no matter how much damage is done to them.. They have already ruined one life or God knows how many.. And they have had their fill of fantasy/happiness/fulfillment.. what ever it is that drove them to the despicable act in the first place.. Spare a thought for the victim who is never going to recover from the blow.. even if he does.. he has scars to remind him about the painful past that was. And in most cases, the victim is innocent.. Getting a raw deal for no fault of his.

MP countered with the many lives theory.. If you are good in your last birth.. you will get good things this time around.. And if u have been mean.. someone is going to be mean. So am I supposed to cower in fear and be good all my life.. so that in my next birth.. which I am not even sure is going to exist.. is nice to me? And whats proof that I have been bad and that’s why mean people come into my life and ruin things for me? And so on..

The discussion went on for some more time before the MP sushed me and forced me to go to sleep. Needless to say.. I had nightmares..

The next day however was different.. The MP, spurred by certain events.. conceded.. I was right.. The victim’s life is scarred indeed.. Mean people do get away with all their nastiness and there is nothing the victims can do about it .. They can only stand back and stare. Rue their fate and get on with lives.. There was no “Ha.. I told you so.. I win..” expression on my face. Only a sigh and resigned-to-fate listless expression with a wry smile.

Now moving away from all this.. another thought came to my mind.. Why was I analyzing this so much? After all it is a work of fiction. Why is affecting me so much? A voice that I never knew existed.. offered an answer from deep within.. I am getting older.. And the older I grow.. the more people I meet.. the more new things I experience and all this goes a long way in putting each incident in a newer perspective. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction and all those experiences our friends narrate.. are happening in some part of the world. We ourselves are a part of some of the most mind numbing situations.

While I might refuse to grow up in attitude.. deep down.. the gears are grinding non stop .. The subconscious is constantly clicking and a lot of untold words and experiences are being recorded for posterity.

So there.. A lot of philosophy went into the last couple of posts. Did unwind me a bit.. Here’s hoping to a chirpy post next time around.. However.. If I turn up with something heavy like these.. You know whom to blame..

Adios

I cried my heart out when I read books like “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns”.. I even went into a bit of seclusion because I was too touched to react.. But that was on a non personal level.. A couple of characters in this book are taking meanness to a whole new level. So much so that.. at times I feel like throwing the book away.. But for the sake of finishing.. I am droning on..

I maybe over reacting.. But a quick look into my own life tells me.. there have been such people around me.. all these years.. and like the victims in this book.. I have realised that they meant harm, only after they had done significant damage.. such damages have sometimes healed over time and some others have left behind scars.. deep and painful..

Another interesting angle is that.. the sinister characters in this book get away with what they do because.. they have power.. money and a whole lot of other things. In contrast.. in daily life.. an average joe could do such lasting damage and still have the temerity to smile and hammer in the proverbial last nail in the coffin. I wouldn’t claim to be an angel.. I have my vices and anger .. but one thing I can proudly say is that I have never been manipulative. I like to get things done my way.,. but I don’t go around twisting arms and bending people over their backs..

A sudden gush of memories come flooding in and I think I can quote more than a dozen incidents where I was forced by people I trusted, into doing things that were beneficial for them.. And I am being extremely nice when I say just beneficial. I am not sure if it’s because of these bitter incidents that I hate these mere characters in the plot.. To me they are more life-like and walking around in flesh and blood rather than being just figments of the writer’s imagination.

I usually try to be extremely nice to people. I go out of my way to please them. But over years.. I have realised that quite a few of my so-called friends have taken advantage of this trait and have been mean to me. And just because they know that I am not going to talk back and try to hurt their feelings.. they have been having their way all along. I wish I were the nalla madu which would get only one soodu.. Even repeated insults and hurts havent deterred me from being the nice person I am. No I am not blowing my trumpet here. Ask my real friends and you shall know. Time and again some really good friends.. [Yes i have a handful of them. Life has to be balanced no? Some one has to come with their shoulder when I needed to cry my guts out no?] keep telling me.. Its time I mended my ways.. Just like bad habits die-hard.. this one seemingly nice but damaging trait of mine isn’t going away any sooner..

There.. I digressed.. But I feel better now.. Kate and Eve.. I hate you.. and your guts. Go to Hell.

PS: Kate and Eve are characters in the book.. What did you think?