Tanzerin

Someone once asked me if I liked travelling... And after a lot of deliberation I said.."Well, I like being at all kinds of different places but if I have to take a 36 hour train or a sweaty 8 hour bus drive, I'm not sure I'd like that bit." I'm sure the person thought he was having the most inane conversation with the most spoilt brat around! Being a dancer predisposes you to all kinds of travel- luxurious ones, budget ones, in-between-luxury and budget-ones. You also get to live like that- budget hotels, luxury hotels, 1 star to 5 star (OK very rarely 5 star unless I book myself into one!). I once lived in a 'guest house' in Raipur where there was no running water in the bathroom, food was served in sticky plates and the table was cleaned with a cloth that could send a rat running to the ENT. A week back, re-visiting the holy temples of Shiva in the Tanjore belt, I realised how things had changed, yet some things don't ever change do they! The la...

Dear all, I am a born optimist. If in 20 years I say "can't', "not possible", "No way", "what rubbish", "Nope"....etc etc please blame my parents and anyone else around me right now. They are such pessimists. I keep proving them wrong whenever they say "O it'll hurt you", "Don't do that, it's dangerous", "Stop right now, you'll fall" etc etc, but they just won't accept it! Pah... Sambar podi is fully safe. Look I've opened the box. It's on my finger now. Ooo- run and catch game- mommy behind me- run run run... see?!?! it's safe. My eyes are watering a little bit but that's because I was laughing and shaking the box for extra effect! I can fit inside the bottom drawer of the TV cabinet. If I can just get this wire out of the way.. There! it's not bothering me now- except for that loud noise - hmm...Ooo look funny box with red and green light on the floor. Ok....

" How childhood seems to have changed such a great deal..." - I despised all these oldies who would say that to me when I was a kid.  And I always wanted to say "Well, you can go climb your tree, I'd rather just play in the park. You can go play hopscotch in the mud, I'd rather play on the driveway and not get mud in my shoes." Sure childhood seems to be verrry different today but what amuses me is that the idea of being a "Bangalorean" has become such a misinterpreted, misunderstood thing in recent times. Years ago, being a Bangalorean was to - Go to Cubbon Park as a treat for being a good child over the last month. On the way out, if you behaved well on all the rides, you got a cone of ice-cream (vanilla only) as a bonus. Ice cream in cups were for days when parents ran out of patience to sit and wait till you finished the cone. - Go to Lalbagh for the flower show on Republic Day- after watching the parade on TV of course. For those of us...

Two days back I was at a conclave of dancers, and some one asked me- "So you're full-time dancing aa?" And I wasn't sure what to say to that. And my reply like it is almost all the time was "Uhm...well....you know.. I dance yes...but I have a one and half year old daughter so...and I also do some medical writing...so you know" And my audience is always bewildered. "So transcriptions aa?" [And as bad as it sounds I take offense to being associated with that line of 'writing' so] my quick retort is always "NOO...I write for research- you know journal papers [ 'regulatory documents' will be quite lost on most people who ask me these questions]... In any case, I've been thinking a bit about what qualifies as full time, part time, hardly any time, time etc etc.. So, I don't have an office to go to in the morning. No 9 to 5 job or 9 to 8 job like most 'working women'. So I'm apparently not qualified to say...

It's time to make resolutions! 1. I am going to get fitter and healthier (it's definite indication that I need to cos my little monster keeps pointing to a treadmill and cross-trainer very excitedly every time she spots one). 2. I am going to read more (although it looks like the genre is going to be uhm.... 'Little Miss Muff...' and 'Dosai amma Dosai...'). 3. I am going to speak no evil, hear no evil, write no evil (this obviously does not include any venting and cribbing that I am entitled to when I'm bugged with certain members in our society- Got IT??!) 4. I am going to dance more (it's a little difficult though since the guru is more fascinated by her grand daughter's Gangnam style than her daughter's Trikala Jathi). 5. I am going to write more often - dear colleagues at work, please do not worry- I'll fit the scientific writing in as well ;) 7. I am going to do some of that mind mapping/memory training blah blah this year ...

I've blogged and gloated about the new entry in my life for almost a year now. New entries have that effect on you I guess. But, 10 years back there was another new entry in my life: don't be scandalised- it was no baby- just a lady. Ok again, don't raise your eyebrows, I'm just referring to the time when most TamBrahms would have labeled me the "kodumakaara Naathanaar" or as you would call it in English "the Sister-in-law".Men are from Mars and women from Venus? More like she was from Mercury and me from Pluto. What could we have agreed on? Not much.... 1. She said "Hugs are beautiful." I said "Uhm... I can't hug." 2. She said "Let's party till 4 AM." I was always indoors before dinner time. 3. She said "Let's practice that step again." I wondered "WHY????" and still do! 4. "Here's your gift for Pongal." she said. And suddenly I realised how my brother had cheated me o...

Remember when some old relative pinched your cheeks at a wedding and said, "How small you were. Look how big you've gotten!" I always wanted to say, " Well. I can't remain 5 forever! And... You used to be so thin.. look how fat you've gotten." And somehow I look at my almost-a-year-old daughter and seem to want to say just that! "Remember how tiny she was. Look at her now!" Just that it ain't moist eyes that accompany that line but "O my god, please don't put that shoe in your mouth..again..grrrr" ONE year seems like a long time but time has slipped by so quickly that I can hardly believe I'm a year old in the parenting business (Daddy J: You agree, don't you?!). Life and everything around me has changed such a big deal, that it sometimes feels like some parallel universe... And here I go again with my "10 Things that have changed...." 1. I have new-found respect for cows... Need I say more. 2. "S...