Much Ado About Something

Madness envelopes me with the nonstop creations from the nieces all around me - what can I say except that they drive me mad and practically insane. Every day is such a revelation with the nonsense that they sprout. There are times when they claim that I am the originator of such craziness. Now can anyone vouch for this, except them? Sometime ago we decided to put the funnies to work and started a silly dance step that brought on the giggles like nothing anyone had ever heard before. In fact, the animals (cats and dogs) from the neighboring houses added to the noise and before we knew it a tempo established itself. I’m sure there was a new quickstep in the making - humans and animals alike! What can I say except that the kids are a nutty lot and every minute with them makes the peppery white on the mop disappear! They even add fuel to the fire which was apparent with the cheekiness displayed the other day. The not so little one tells the other one who is growing taller by th...

Eat small portions four times a day, they say. Eat thrice a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Never skip meals. Skip meals. Walk. Don’t walk, run. Don’t run, exercise. Don’t do aerobics, embrace stretching. Do yoga. Don’t do yoga. Apples are good for health. Apples are bad for health. Chocolate is extremely bad for the waistline. Chocolate is a good option while trying to lose weight. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! WTF, is the right choice? Do I or don’t I? Ditch the entire process, eat what I want but cut down on the heavy stuff. Walk, run, exercise, stretch, do yoga, walk, run… Pant… Sweat… Eye the chocolate mousse. Ignore the mousse. Grab the apple. Put it back – no temptation. New plan… New diet… Colon cleanse and detox. Tummy ... where? Check the scales – 500 grams. Good going. Hungry…. Ignore food… angry… bring on the brownies. Cast them aside… Nibble at a sandwich. Glug eight glasses of water. Warm up, walk, jog, stretch… Tu...

No one talks at the table .... and there is.... Silence One voice resonates in the aftermath of an argument The rest choose... Silence The trees move with gusto Children playing and giggling incessantly But in this domain... Silence Breakfast downed Lunch too At dinner there is some let up Television playing at full mast The boom box on a high from the neighbor’s gallery But in the home... Silence No one speaks because of Differences Mood swings PMS Nastiness Selfishness A small voice tries to break through Cheekiness and glee in the word play Looking left to right gauging the mood “What went wrong?” No response... Silence She repeats the question No reply She raises her voice and gets a vague reply “I didn’t hear you” Silence “Seriously what is with you?” Furtive glances around the table “Ok I give up…“ Then a murmur “Say what?” “It was her fault…” “No his” “What do you mean it was mine…” Him-her-her-hi...

So the price of petrol has increased again and the issue will be played on across various channels with the opposition constantly berating the present government about their lack of focus. While the focus on India shining seems to be taking center stage we the people are the ones who suffer at the strategies of supposed improved economics. So where does India shine? In the bellies of the poverty struck person roaming the streets looking for a fix in the garbage dumps using half used glue to stop the hunger pangs? Or the middle class household, trying to balance out their income-expenditure for the month? However, even though every single necessity is at a high, salaries and fee structures are at the same level! So how does one balance the economic needs of man? The choices are so limited that there is no time for romance! All we do is cut back so that we have some savings for the constant rainy days! We have people in office who take an oath to do their bit for the common man - bu...

There are many trends that we follow and then there are topics that keep trending. We can join the parade and comment… or not While we are on the topic, I cannot help but comment on the program that was aired on telly by actor Aamir Khan. The man who uses his celebrity status to discuss topics that many of us shy away from because we fear what society dictates. I happened to catch two episodes – one on dowry aired on Sunday and the first one on female feticide. It is disheartening to note that these practices are being followed because of societal pressure. On the issue of dowry I am sure we can all say that we have seen this happening, been victims of it and some party to it, even. How many girls have fallen prey to this social stigma and keep silent as they cannot go back to their parents’ home because of ‘what society will say’!? An acquaintance had told me some time ago about her situation. She was married to a person from a good family where the entire wedding expens...

Ok, so I get it, there are a good many people who have a problem with being nice. What can they do when all that comes out of their mouths are foul sayings and terrible verbiage? Sarcasm intended. What gets to me are people who go the entire hog with not a care about the constant hurt they dish out. If the roles are reversed I wonder how they will take it! Many years ago, while having a discussion with a person who was a part of my life, I was stunned into silence with profanities and abuses that were so disgusting and shocking. I had no idea about what to say or do next and choose the path of silence instead. After all, what can one say when nastiness is a part of an individual’s mental make-up? A friend had to deal with practically everyone dismissing her because of her skin tone. People used every excuse possible, but she knew deep down… Initially she was upset but she realized that there were plenty of fish out there. Unfortunately, life was not a bed of roses in her perso...

There is an individual that we are forced to deal with on a daily basis and who doesn’t do anything for us – in face she’s extremely annoying. Her unique selling point in life is to be the biggest bug ever along with other attributes like nosy parker, gate crasher, sulk and the ever suffering ‘poor me’ facade. While we have obliged by giving into many of her whims and fancies, the others that were way over the top we firmly declined. Needless to say, she did not take kindly to this as she wanted to have her presence felt. So the next best thing in her book was to rant and rave, make comments and when nothing and no one was taking notice she went out and did the dirty by loose talk. As we all know, bad news has a way of travelling superfast and within twenty four hours her bitter words came back to us and did they smart! We were livid (as you can imagine). Finally we had enough of this inane gossip and decide to set people right and did by moving on with more pressing issues to ...