Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Disclaimer:-

I’m the sort of person who wishes that people (both male and female) came with self help manuals. I’m very bad at understanding and dealing with people. Basically, I’m not really fond of people as a species. I feel awkward in public (sometimes even among friends) and am not generally comfortable with any sort of social situation. I have almost nil life experience and am not at all qualified to offer advice to anyone (although it is sometimes expected of me). And what I’m going to write is not advice. These are just plain, simple facts coined entirely from my experience and observations. It is dedicated to two very special people, my best friend Cuttu (you will perhaps see her comments) and my cousin Anu (Sorry for the lack of warning guys). And it is primarily aimed at my guy friends ( yes sweetheart, you are also included).

[Good God, look at the size of the disclaimer, this is likely to be an ongoing series :O Don’t go away already guys, I’ll try my best to keep it short].

Okay, so here goes…

Girls like being complemented, whether they deserve it or not. We don’t expect you to keep saying how pretty we are or how beautiful we are all the time, but we do like to hear it now and then. We pretend that we don’t like to be called hot or sexy, but actually, we do. And when you don’t like something we wear or do, please…please tell us that, don’t make faces, or make fun of it, we feel demoralized and sad. The same  happens if you don’t notice that we have done something with our appearance FOR YOU. And “okay”  is not the same as “good” or “nice”. When a girl is looking her worst, she always knows it. So you can actually tell her that she is looking horrible.When she says that she is looking horrible, she is NOT fishing for compliments.  Even Aishwarya Rai lookalikes have their moments of doubt, so do I need to mention about lesser beings like me…

We love it when you call us or text us. We don't mind calling or texting or buzzing you first. It's just that we don't like doing that all the time. We feel unwanted. And we want you to talk to us, rather than think that we will not understand. And it is true that we don't understand things unless told. Feminine sixth sense is an urban myth. And even though we tend to talk, we don't disclose everything even to our closest friends. And that includes some facts about you, not because we are ashamed of what you are, but because we don't want even our best friends to think anything negative about you.


It is a common conception that girls are nagging and obsessive (I am consciously not using misconception, because that is a special talent of mine too). But as hard as it might be to believe, we like to avoid ugly confrontations too. Therefore we might sometimes be silent or not disagree with something you say, but that doesn’t mean that  we agree with it. (I might colour my hair blonde, but  that doesn’t make me a bimbo..savvy?) And we obsess in the first place, only  because we care, we don’t do that to every guy in the street, we irritate you because you are SPECIAL.

A girl often takes a long time to say “ I Love You”. It is not because she doesn’t want to, but because she wants to mean it when she says it.  And she is always worried that when she says that she misses you, you might laugh at her or think that she is being silly. No self-respecting girl will ever make out with or sleep with a guy she does not love. Her doing that has nothing to do with what a stud you are (Well, ofcourse you could be, only that is not her criteria), it has completely to do with how she feels about you.

We don’t tell you many things, many,many things, simply because we are worried that you might make fun of us or something which might actually be important and so beyond funny to us. While we enjoy humor, we don’t appreciate it being at the cost of a serious matter or our family members (whether it be our age old grandfather or crackpot cousin. We might let it go sometimes, but not always).

We don’t expect you to remember every month anniversaries or stupid events like first touch day etc, because we know that you don’t do things like that (In my case, because I don’t care much for them). But sometimes it is nice to be wished at odd things like this, it makes us feel cherished.( And we pretend that we don’t remember such dates, but we actually do, sometimes we feel so bad that you don’t remember these things, so we don’t remind you).  And surprises…WE LOVE SURPRISES…And I’m not talking about grand gestures, a surprise visit, a love message, a little card…that sort of thing. And please don’t ever forget our birthday,  that will break our heart.

This might come as a surprise to many, but girls think, about many things other than make up and the clothes en mode. Even the most cynical girls think  about marriage and kids and long term stuff like that (and this, just after they ’ve started going out. When in love…well…do I even need to say???) Even the coolest of girls worry about how serious her guy is about her. Yes, we are such dreamy creatures who ultimately want to settle down and raise a family, no matter how career-oriented or ambitious we are.  And no, we do not appreciate you flirting with other girls. Drooling, we might tolerate, but in- our- face flirting...no, no and NO. You might say, "so what, you go flirt with other guys, we don’t care”. But the fact is, we don’t want to. And we want you to care. And please don’t insult our intelligence by lying to us. We almost always know when you lie. But we let it go, because we feel sad that you don’t trust us enough to tell us the truth.

Okay, I guess this much gyaan is enough for the moment. I’m definitely getting tired writing, so I can imagine your condition reading. I’ll sign off saying that, I’m not justifying things that girls do through this post. We are far from being perfect. I for one, give my wonderful boyfriend pretty tough times through my very many faults. These are just some common facts which is true about almost every girl. If it facilitates anyone’s understanding their girlfriend better, I’ll be very glad.



Tuesday, July 27, 2010

I was soooooo excited to go home after a long year. Now I am as strongly repelled at the thought of it. No, I'm scared to go home now...I am 21, I've just completed Masters and suddenly, I'm marriage material...WTF????

Well it is not so sudden, if I'm fair to myself...This kind of thinking has been doing rounds in my family (not my Dad, Mom or Grandfather, the only people I are about,thankfully), to be exact, right after I turned 20 x-( My dad has been holding fortress for long...I guess he doesn't know about the most recent development...That is ok really, am gonna phone him rightaway and inform x-(

The matter is, my aunt just mailed me a guy's picture, his details etc etc...telling me that he'll call, go meet him blah blah blah...and ofcourse, how nice a guy he is, how much he earns, oh ya, and he works here in London.....Bloody what the hell is your problem, when I want to get married I'll tell you, then you do this sort of stuff, that is, if I ask you TO x-( That's what I've told at home, I'll do my PhD aaram se, work for a couple of years, if I haven't found a guy still,  THEN you look for one x-( and they are fine with it...what the hell is everybody else's problem???

I mean my Mom does tell me, you know, that someone asked at a marriage if they should come to our place next, or that someone random asked my Grandfather whether they should start looking for a guy for me and all that... what I don't understand is that, MY folks don't have this obsession of getting me married, why are you so obsessed ??? My 74 year old grandfather ( and I hope he lives a lot more years) says that they shouldn't  even start  looking until am like 25 or so and these people with narrow thinking are not even as old x-(

Before I was only contemplating coming back here after maybe 2-3 weeks at home...Now, I'm definitely coming back. I so don't want to stay among these weird,stuffy,narrow minded people one day more than I need to... I guess that's what my Mom keeps telling me indirectly...don't stay here more than a certain time...this is what happens...gggrrrrr....Oh...to be 10 again and worry only about the next day's homework... :'(

I miss Mummy (my Mom's Mom) every single day. But in these instances I miss her even more. She is the only person who could put such people straight. She'll tell people outright to mind their own businesses..and the funny thing is, nobody ever minded her slighting them...or found the courage to stand up to her...(Something about people with small stature being more aggressive, doesn't hold for my Mom...maybe for me, but then I'm not that small, well, I dunno,depends on people's perception I guess...lol...anyways...)...The thing is, her small size not withstanding, I always felt protected when she was around..I was her first grandchild and her favourite...She practically raised me, when my parents were away Globetrotting...and I was more attached to her than I was to anyone ever...It was her 6th Death anniversary some days back...It has been 6 years...and I still miss her so much...:( And I know she is watching over me, wherever she is...

Monday, July 19, 2010

Warning: This is going to be a really bitchy post... I'm pissed at someone and I just want some place to vent it :) Please bear with me.

The person in question is my ex. We are now trying to be friends, which just means that we are trying to be civil to each other. Okay, here goes...

Please note- the 'you' is him.

I mean, I know I broke up with you. But that didn't make me especially happy at the time, you know. But then, I've put all the negativity behind and am trying to be nice to you, then you act like the jackass that you are. When you have a problem with me posting something on your facebook wall or something, you can just tell me outright, you don't have to put obscure statuses to try to make me feel guilty. What am I supposed to say, that I'm sorry you are such an asshole??? Let's not forget that YOU are the one who did the unforgivable  wretched thing of tainting by dead best friend's memory by making stories about him x-(. And when I try to forgive all that and try to be civil with you, you do all sorts of nonsense like telling my friends stories about how I mistreated you and all that (none of which ever happened). it is not very entertaining hearing stories about yourself, which you didn't even know existed, from someone who didn't even know that you were going around with this guy. I understand that people are often spiteful after a breakup. But I didn't do anything for you to be spiteful. It is NOT my fault that we were NOT compatible, and it definitely is not my fault that you are a waste of space. So it soooo not fair that I'm the one who is punished.  Pull yourself together dude, get a grip, get a life...whatever....


Whooaaa...so nice to get that out of my system :D

P.S.Technically I'm not bitching behind his back as this post is going to his email as well ;) Cheers !!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I love you...

I love you....

It is often very difficult for me to say these words. But it doesn't mean that I love you any less. I love you as much as any human being could love another. I love you so much that it causes me real physical pain to be away from you. My tone might be blunt. I might not be very vocal either. But I love you with a desperation that scares me to death.


I have many flaws. I never have been perfect, and never will be. I don't want you to be with me, just because you are. I want you to be with me because you want to be. 


I know love is not to be bartered. Therefore I don't expect you to love me the way I do. I fear much...hope much...dream much...get hurt much...I only want to know if you'll be there to pick up the pieces when I get my spirit broken...again.

Monday, July 5, 2010

It is almost time to go back home, to be exact just 10 weeks more.....For whatever reason, the question that echoes in my mind is what would my life be like if I hadn't come to London for masters... At a glance the answer seems to be simple to me... If I hadn't come to London, I'd have completed the first year of Masters in Physics at some university in India. On the plus side, I'd have been closer to home, would probably be with some or the other of my close friends...be in a more familiar setting. On the other hand, I wouldn't have met a lot of truly wonderful people if I hadn't come to London, people who actually made being away from home easier, more bearable.

It was my choice to come here for post graduation,exactly like it was my choice to take a science graduation while everyone around me was choosing engineering or medicine, and it was my choice to go to Pune to pursue it, in a state whose customs,culture and even language was alien. These are just some very superficial examples. There are many things I have regretted in the past, and I still do. But looking back, I see that they were all really results of some choices I made. I have ended up hurting people and I regret that. But sometimes that was inevitable to something very vital to me. That sounds downright selfish, even to me. But that is what I did. I feel that what I did was what I had to do, because life is all about choices.

That is not some notion I have coined up myself. That is a piece of idle talk from one of my cousins which has stuck to my mind all these years. That itself is quite surprising because we don't really see eye to eye in most things. I remember this bit, probably because his own life is an illustration of how anyone's life can take a wholly new path owing to certain choices.

My uncle is a business man with five sons. The one in question (let us call him A) is the second. It was always expected that the first two of his sons would succeed my uncle in business, work with him like his two hands etc. It was expected that A will do some graduation, do an MBA and then join the family business like his elder brother did. That was the first notion (in my memory) that he refuted. He chose software engineering, which was fine with everyone, because he was just doing a graduation. Then he got placed in a very reputed firm and he chose to take it. All hell broke loose at home. My uncle was furious. It was unacceptable to him that a son of his wouldn't submit to his will like he did to his father and his eldest son did to him. No number of yellings or reasonings or pleadings had any effect on A. Uncle had to give up eventually. Then, after three years, in an unexpected twist, he quit his job and came into family business. Everyone was happy that the black sheep finally came into his senses and returned to the flock where he belonged. He was there for almost five years, did any number of things with it, started a few establishments of his own (when in his rebel mode), then merged it with his dad's company....so many things like that. Then last year, all of a sudden, he announced that he is going to some Godforsaken corner of Africa to volunteer with the UN peace corps. Everyone was flabbergasted. Even his mental balance was doubted. My uncle raved, auntie shed tears. But being A, he stuck with his choice. And he went to Africa. All through last year he was posted in various corners of Africa, undergoing training, teaching village children, setting up medical camps and so on. He returned to India in January this year when his big brother had a nearly fatal car accident and is planning to go back now that he is more or less fine.

The A I knew growing up was a restless guy , who flitted from thing to thing like a butterfly. He never even stood still for an amount of time, always shifting and all that. Restlessness was something I always associated with A. Even though he was never really mean to anyone, he gave out that aura, the aura of a mean, rich,spoilt brat, which he was, in many ways.Volunteering for world peace is so not something I would associate with that guy. But now I feel as if that A no longer exists. That wiry boy who was forever shifting his weight and fidgeting has transformed into a kind,compassionate,understanding man. And finally, after what seems to be an eternity, he seems to be really happy, content with where he is, what he is doing. I truly believe that A has found his calling in life.

He was never my best friend. In fact I'm not sure I even like him sometimes. Inspite of all our fights, misunderstandings, a thousand arguments...A has earned my respect forever with that one choice he made. Although the nobility of the cause is to be applauded, I admire him more for following his heart, going through hell and back (which I'm sure he must've felt it is, compared to his style of living back home) to keep up with his life choices. His transformation has actually led me to believe that it is all about the choices we make in life...that these choices make us who and what we are.