Happy Independence Day!

Don't take me wrong by the title. I am not the overtly patriotic type. I am the kinds who needs reminders like Independence Day and Republic Day to arise the bits and pieces of patriotism inside me. Nonetheless, I hope for a better future for all of us here!

Until later, I leave you with a particular  favorite poem of mine -

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Rabindranath Tagore

RIP Tejaswee

IHM's Blog  is one of my favorite blogs and it was shocking to read the update that she lost her daughter to dengue fever. Needless to day, it is a big loss and may her soul Rest in Peace. 

Moments like these also make you realize as to how short and unpredictable life is - and why its important to live life to the fullest everyday. As Tennyson once said, drink Life to the lees!  

Moments like these also make me realize of  how silly and foolish I have been with my share of crankiness and irritability. 

IHM - You are the most inspiring person I have come across in the blogosphere - This post of yours shows the amazing strength that you have.  

For now I leave you with my fav posts on Tejaswee's blog - This  and This 

RACS and YT!

The typical chat with long lost acquaintances (of either gender) who simply do not get the message ever that I am not interested in long drawn chats. A simple hello and keep-in-touch works well for me - but nothing more than that. Here are some snippets of the conversation (obviously exaggerated !)

Really Annoying Creepy Acquaintance (RACS) : Hey - Are you online?
Yours Truly (YT) : Hello. (Dude, I wish I were offline).
RACS: Nice Display Pic - You have become cuter than when you were at school.
YT: Thank You !
RACS: Where are you now?
YT: I am at Hyderabad.
RACS: I heard that you got married. So who is the lucky one?
YT: Err.. Hmm - the lucky one is my Husband
RACS: Ha ha ha - nice joke. I mean what is he doing?
YT: He has just stepped out to buy some veggies for dinner.
RACS:  Ha ha ha. But I am very angry with you. You never invited me for the wedding.
YT: OMG! You did not receive my invitation. I had emailed it to you. Must have gone to the spam folder then. (Ya.. Right)
RACS: That is fine - so was it a love marriage or arranged marriage
YT: Arranged Love Marriage
RACS: WooooooooooW!
YT:  :). (what is so wow about it?)
RACS: So What do you do currently?
YT: I work for abcdef!
RACS: Oh - How did you end up there?
YT (who was considered a total loser for her choice of subject for graduation - read not engineering or medicine) : Well, it worked out for me.
RACS: I am so so so happy for you!  You have made us proud (Seriously???)
YT: (Wishing despeately for a power/internet blackout)
RACS: What else?
YT: Nothing much.
RACS: So you have been married for like 2 years now right !
YT: Ya.. (clearly understanding where it is leading to).
RACS: - So - any Good News?
YT: Ya... The good news is I learnt how to cook, I went on a nice holiday and things are going good here!
RACS: C'mon, apart from that
YT(slaps forehead): Hey listen, I have to rush for a meeting now! I will catch up later.
RACS: Sure, I will wait for your ping!!

Uniquely Singapore

Snapshots from what was a first holiday for us in 2 years of married life. Loved the place and the lifestyle - fast and organized (when I look at from the 'chalta hai' Hyderabadi perspective). The place is awesomely touristy - information is available everywhere and anywhere. We had a very unique objective when we planned this vacation - we would travel only by the train or bus. No cabs or taxis!. The bus routes and the train schedule was so easy to understand that we did not find it difficult to acheieve it. 

My top a-ha moments (not in any particular order) in Singapore which made the time off worthwhile - 

1. Luge and Sky ride at Sentosa - for someone who has fear of speed and fear of heights, this is BIG! 

2. Getting down at the wrong station on our first train ride - almost breaking our objective of not taking a cab and finding the correct way very soon.

3. Kopitiam - trying out different kinds of cuisine everyday - Japanese food, you are not for me! 

4. Walk across Clarke Quay at night - beautiful lights all across. 

5. Discovering that chewing gum was banned in Singapore!! 

6. The 'you-may-now-cross-the-road' signal. I found it super cool.

And Happily Ever After...

Just saw this adorable movie called Bedtime Stories and it took me back to the fantasy world of fairy tales and bedtime stories.

 I am a firm believer in Happy Endings and the concept of 'Happily Ever after'- I know that something happy and nice has to happen in the end. If there is no happiness in the end, then it is not over yet. Even now, I love to read fairy tales and feel the magic. When the protagonist are in the suffering phase, I know that there will be happiness and joy around very soon.

A movie is not over for me unless I see the happy picture in the very last shot - yes, tragedies are not for me. Also, Yes, I did cry when Dumbledore died.

Strangely, I believe this even in the mad and aggressive corporate world that I belong to. The competition is high, the pressure is huge and I am not even sure how long I can survive in what increasingly seems like a rat race to some extend.

So, when the lil girl in the movie says that stories should have happy endings with such an innocence, there was no way that I could change the channel after that. Also, I love Shelley for writing these lines -
'If winter is here, can spring be far behind'.