Slices of my daily life

A couple of days ago, I was conducting a theatre workshop for a bunch of college students. At some point we came to discussing what they liked to do in their spare time. Here's a snippet: One kid in the workshop: I just love 'silent' songs Me: You mean soft songs, don't you ? Kid: No no... silent songs Me: So, these ' silent ' songs...are you actually able to hear them ? Kid, staring blankly at me: Eh ? I drew my breath and was about to launch into an explanation about the meaning of 'silent' and its incorrect usage in this case, but suddenly I just felt it was all worthless and exhaled loudly, like a big sigh, and moved to the next person. Apparently using precise words is a dying art. SIGH !

On popular demand (= request from (possibly) the only reader of this blog), we interrupt the broadcast of the UK diaries to post about the short work-vacation trip to Belgaum . For those interested and waiting with bated breath (!) for the last instalment of the UK diaries, it shall be broadcast after this post…I promise ! I am currently on a short trip to Belgaum to conduct a theatre workshop for kids aged 8 to 15 years. I had never been to Belgaum before. So this has been a very interesting experience. Here are some (word, not photograph) snapshots from the trip. ******* The first thing that struck me as I reached here was the very different way in which everybody spoke Marathi. The accent is distinctly Kannada and the words and sounds are very well rounded. In Pune-Mumbai we speak in quite a sharp manner…crisply cut sounds et al. Also, there is a fun way of combining the last two words (usually the verbs, in Marathi) of a sentence. I learnt that almost 80% o...

...lady driving the car too fast in heavy traffic with one pre-schooler in the back seat reading a book, a toddler in the front seat (NOT in a car seat or strapped to the seat with a seat-belt) chewing on a toy, ALL THE WHILE TALKING ON THE CELL PHONE !!!

There I was sitting in ‘The Chair’ with a plastic thingy in my mouth to keep it open while my dentist used frightening and noisy drilling and scraping machines to repair the damage caused to my teeth due to my phobia of visiting dentists. As usual, there was music playing in the background. When the first song ended and second one began, intently staring into a cavity, he asked me, “So, tell me, who is this singer ?” !!!!! My dentist’s a funny chap.

Other dentists say the usual ‘This won’t hurt at all’ or ‘I’m almost finished’. Although you know that it’s absolutely not true, you let yourself be fooled a little into believing it because hope keeps you going. But not so with my dentist. He believes in telling it like it is. ‘Brace yourself, this will hurt.’, ‘You have to bear with it because it will take another half an hour to finish.’, etc. are sentences he routinely says nonchalantly.  Once, just as I was sitting down in ‘The Chair’, he even said, ‘Make yourself comfortable because once I start the work I’ll only stop after it’s done and that will take around an hour.’ ! Err… ‘Make yourself comfortable…’ ??? In ‘The Chair’ ???!!!! My dentist’s a funny chap.

I have recently begun dental treatment after I could no longer ‘stoically’ bear with the pain. As expected, there’s a lot of work to be done. My regular (?) dentist is our good acquaintance from theatre. He is a dentist and loves to act as well. He seriously makes time for his hobby. We have known each other for long. There is a comfortable rapport. Plus he is a good dentist too :) That’s how he became TH’s and my regular dentist. As you go in, first he’ll have a long chat with you in the consulting room about a variety of topics, none of which are even remotely connected to teeth. Then he’ll have you sit on ‘The Chair’ and examine your teeth. Then he’ll take you back to the consulting room and draw elaborate diagrams and explain in great detail what is wrong with your teeth (without once telling you how it is all your fault !) and how he is going to treat it and how your teeth will be once he is done. Then he’ll ask you your favourite type of music. Then back you go to ‘The Cha...

when you walk into her home one day to see her having a Skype video chat with her friend who lives in the same city, 'just because' and 'it feels like being in the same room together' !

Yes. It is true. Here's what happened. I have been following The 3Six5 Project almost since it began. The concept is essentially this -  Every day for 365 days, a different person will write an entry about their experiences that day.  Recently the editors of this site announced that they are closing it down at the end of this year. Suddenly I felt that I ought to be a part of this project. So I wrote to them requesting to be an author and Sunday October 14, 2012 was my designated date. The concept of this project is such that you cannot write your piece in advance. You have to write it towards the end of your day and send it across and the editors publish it right away. So you cannot really plan what you will write since you do not know in advance what will happen that day. Go read my piece on the3six5 :)

I decide to listen to some music while I check personal emails. The first two songs are 'Sawa Rupaya'   and 'Dreamum Wakeupum'    from the film "Aiyya". I realise that these songs are in such contrast to the work day I have just had.  It's been a mixed kind of a day work wise...up and down and up and down and rather dull.  I spent the morning doing some research for a work thing. I'm absolutely not feeling motivated to finish this task, but tomorrow I will have to. I had said this yesterday too. Ah well ! I did one task very well and that put me back in good spirits. I was assigned a task that actually doesn't fall in my purview, but will have to do it nonetheless, since there is nobody else in the company presently who can do it. Its a little tiresome to be in this position. Exclusivity isn't always good, I think to myself. I got an email related to some work that I have been wanting to take up and I'm very pleased about it. ...

I've compiled some PLOW for the benefit for all those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed youngsters (NO, I'm not old. I'm   mature   and   wise , OK?!) who can't wait to jump into the whirlpool called "Work" Freaky Friday Law : On Fridays you have the most work and the weather outside is magnificent and you are cooped up in office thus preventing you from enjoying it. If you don’t have much work, the weather is oppressive and you just don’t want to go out and you   have   to, for some office work. When It Rains, It Pours Law: This one is simple.   When you have work, you have a humongous amount of it and you feel you'd give ANYthing for having none. But, when you don't have work, there's absolutely none. So much so that you actively create some for yourself out of sheer boredom (and the need to look busy when the higher-ups come strolling by !) You Can't Beat Boss Law: This is an old and unbeatable one actually.   When y...

I love… … Jumping to conclusions … Skipping my workouts …Blog hopping … Running away with my imagination How about you ? ;)

The Weather Bureau:   Light to medium showers  = Heavy downpour Any customer care call centre:   Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line. We will attend to you shortly.  = We don’t care a hoot about your call.  Please stay on the line to benefit your mobile service provider.  We may or may not attend to you before you wait in desperation for a good fifteen minutes and then hang up. The Maid:   I’ll do it right away = Don’t hold your breath Boss:   It is our responsibility to get this done on time = It is your responsibility to do it on time Mom:   Eating this is good for your health = It is going to taste awful TH (TheHusband):   I’m on my way home = I’ve not even left my place of work yet

This is what my pseudonym should be actually. I am the best you could find. If anybody entrusts me with a secret, they can rest assured that it will never be revealed unless and until they expressly ask me to. On the one hand, this takes your credibility way up and your esteem in everybody’s eyes is always high. On the other, it means that you can frequently find yourself in really tricky situations and your acting skills are tested to the limits. Sometimes it becomes really burdensome. You know something serious about somebody. You are not supposed to know it. So each time you interact with them or refer to them in interactions with others, you have to remember to NOT know that secret about them and tailor all your reactions accordingly. Sometimes the secret-teller tells you that you are the only one who ‘knows’ and asks you to seal your lips. So you guard that secret diligently. Then some day you find that the secret-teller himself / herself has been telling it to ot...

for shows of a play in which he has composed the background score, has designed the lights and will operate it for this show and has designed the set. So I asked him to bring back petrol. Somebody had recently told me that the petrol price works out to approximately Rs. 13/- per litre in Dubai . Compare that to the Rs. 78/- per litre here in Pune and you’ll see why. So the grand idea is, to buy a whole lot of liquor bottles on landing in Dubai , finish them off (with the help of the entire team of the play, of course !), fill those bottles with petrol, get them sealed and bring them back. Simple ! TH, naturally, laughed at this uproariously like I was cracking a joke ! I tried to din some sense in him… look at the spiralling prices of petrol, when do I ever wear gold ornaments, we’ll enjoy a few guilt-less days of roaming around aimlessly on the bike … so on and so forth ! But to no avail :( I earnestly told him, “I mean it ! I really do.” This appeal prompted ...

I must share this incident. It happened for the second time today, but since I was alone, I was saved of some embarrassment. So, naturally, I am compelled to share the similar but more embarrassing incident that happened a few weeks ago. My friend S and I were leaving office together one evening. We started chatting as we walked out and while chatting we signed out of office and came to the elevator. Luckily it was at our floor and we didn’t have to wait at all. So the moment we pressed the elevator button, the doors opened and in we walked, still talking. The doors closed and the lift started descending. The doors began to slide open as we reached the ground floor and in that very instant both S and I realized at the same time that neither of us had pressed the ground floor button upon entering the elevator ! The lift had descended by itself ! We did a slow-motion double-take like they show in the movies. That was the moment the door opened com...

Until quite recently, my first feeling when new people jumped into my life was - "Attention!" (as in the position that soldiers are supposed to stand in during inspections or before they begin marching). I am no longer that 'jumpy' around new people, but still I'm initially somewhat guarded. I am not somebody who makes friends quickly. I get uncomfortable with people who get friendly too much too soon with me. Also, I cannot approach an unknown person just to make friends. If the other person takes the first step forward, I do respond, politely and kindly, but not very enthusiastically. I take a lot of time to get on back-slapping terms with people. Those whose patience can last that long do gain a fiercely loyal friend in me. Only they get to see my crazy sense of humour, my fun-side and also my vulnerability. I have, several times, attempted to understand why this is so. So far, the answer that I have arrived at is that I feel vulner...

I'm nobody big. So it is highly unlikely that 'A day in the life of' feature would be done with me. And yet if you were to take a look at the last three days of my life, you'll find that they were about as alike as chalk and cheese. Day before yesterday I was in office, processing the payroll, making business calls, doing documentation. Yesterday I was rehearsing and performing. Today I spent the day at the hospital with my poor friend who and her husband are down with a severe case of food poisoning. I'm drained. I have more experience than I'd like of being in hospitals as an attendant with a dear one. Mentally and physically I have the routines down pat. I never feel exhausted. But no matter how much experience I have, being in a hospital drains me emotionally. Sometimes I fret that 'nothing is happening in my life'; And almost immediately, so much begins to happen that I regret wishing for something to happen. So today too, l...

Actually this morning I was doing just fine. I had a lot of work to do but I knew that I would manage everything properly and on time. What I didn’t anticipate was how other people would have an impact on my plan. I had planned that I would get ready and prepare notes for the program I was to be a Master of Ceremony at. This was the concluding program of a theatre workshop that I taught at for the last 22 days. In this very program, I was also the director of one team's skit out of the four teams that would perform skits. The final rehearsal of my team was scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at my place. So I would prepare my notes a little before and a little after rehearsals. By 2 I'd be ready with the notes and the final rehearsal would already be over. From 2 to 2:45 I would write my NaBloPoMo post, eat while re-reading my notes and get dressed and leave. I would reach the venue at 3 p.m. sharp. Then, till 6 p.m., along with another girl, I would be the make-up artist, ...

I am guessing that in other countries you might be spared of answering this question since it would fall in the space marked “private” and thus not be asked at all. In India, not so. Indians pretty much ask each other anything. Nothing is considered off limits. I usually find it very difficult to answer this question whenever anybody poses it. My true answer goes beyond a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. I can’t explain to people, to their satisfaction, what I mean when I say that I’m spiritually inclined but not religious. In my experience, many people do not (cannot?) distinguish between spiritualism and religion. To them if you are religious, which is proved if you follow prescribed rituals in the religion, you are automatically spiritual. When you say you are spiritually inclined they will ask you which spiritual leader you follow and which religion you practice. It is very difficult to explain to them that I do not associate being spiritual with following rituals or any particular r...

I often say this to younger people whom I advise, especially to my students in theatre, particularly to those who are more than a little afraid and do not trust themselves while I can clearly see their potential. I tell them that it is possible because they are more capable than they think you are. It is also my way of telling them that I trust them and that they should too; and if they can’t trust themselves, they should at least trust me because they have come to me for advice :) The truth is, many times I have to repeatedly tell this to myself too. There’s a funny thing I’ve observed about myself. I am quite the risk-taker in theatre. I am an actress and I am always willing to put myself in a vulnerable spot to explore my character or play deeper. Yet, when it comes to all other areas of my life, my risk perception is quite high. I have to push myself. Or give myself pep talks or sit down and rationalise my fears and plan for the worst-case scenarios so that I feel secure enoug...