Few of my favourites from Ghalibs treasure

Have to type in Hindi for the flavour, too bad i don't know Urdu. But i will rewrite them in Roman script as well for some of you!

उनके देखे से जो आ जाती है मुहं पे रौनक,
वो समझते हैं की बीमार का हाल अच्छा है।
(Unke dekhe se jo aa jati hai munh pe raunak,
Wo samajhte hain ki bimaar ka haal achha hai.)

मैं भी मुहं में ज़बान रखता हूँ,
काश! पूछो की मुद्दा क्या है।
(Main bhi muhn mein zabaan rakhta hoon,
Kaash! poochho ki mudda kya hai.)

गासिद आते आते ख़त एक और लिख रखूँ,
मैं जनता हूँ, जो वो लिखेंगे जवाब में।
(Gaasid (messenger) aate aate khat ek aur likh rakhoon,
Main jaanta hoon, jo wo likhenge jawaab mein.)

उम्मीद

एक न एक शम्मा दिल में जलाये रखिये
सुबह होने को है,
माहौल बनाये रखिये...

Little Questions - Part I

Thanks to Supriya, i have found something to write about, after ages. I stole these little questions from her blog, it was great fun answering them!

LAST:
1. Last beverage → Coffee
2. Last phone call → Utsav
3. Last text message → Sanchayita
4. Last song you listened to → Hey Jude
5. Last time you cried → Yesterday

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice → Yes
7. Been cheated on → No
8. Kissed someone & regretted it → No.
9. Lost someone special → Yes.
10. Been depressed → Yes.
11. Been drunk and threw up → Never

HAVE YOU:
12. Made new friends → Yes.
13. Fallen out of love → Yes
14. Laughed until you cried → often.
15. Met someone who changed you → Yes.
16. Found out who your true friends were → Yes, I suppose.
17. Found out someone was talking about you → Yes.
18. Kissed anyone on your friend's list → Yes.
19. Made the first Move → No.
20. Do you have any pets → No
21. Do you want to change your name → No.
22. What did you do for your last birthday → Had a beer with Utsav at home.
23. What time did you wake up today → 7.30am
24. What were you doing at midnight last night → Took a shower.
25. Name something you CANNOT wait for → Food when I am hungry, which is almost always!
26. Last time you saw your father → Yesterday
27. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → I wish I was more organised.
28. Most visited webpage → http://www.google.com/
29. What's your name → Amrita
30. Nicknames → Amu, Bali, Babli, Manka, Mana.
31. Zodiac sign → Pisces, Aeries
32. Male or female or transgendered → Female.
33. Elementary → New Model KG and Primary School
34. Schools → La Martiniere, Kolkata
35. Colleges → Jadavpur University
36. Hair color → Dark Brown
37. Long or short → Mid length
38. Height → 5'6”
39. Do you have a crush on someone? → No
40. Ever been in love → Yes.
41. Piercings → Yes.
42. Tattoos → No.
43. Righty or lefty → Lefty

FIRSTS :
44. First piercing → Ear piercing when I was three
45. First best friends → Krishnendu, Zahed, Hetal, Amarpreet
46. First sport you joined → Swimming
47. First pet → None
48. First vacation → Banglore, but I was 6 months old then; so I'l go with Delhi.
49. First concert → Don’t remember
50. First crush → A senior in school

51. Eating → I love food.
52. Drinking → Often.
53. I'm about to → Finish an article on Chef Sunshine.
54. Listening to → My colleagues talking about some technicalities of websites

YOUR FUTURE :
55. Want kids → Maybe
56. Want to get married → I am married
57. Careers in mind → I love my present job

58. Lips or eyes → Eyes.
59. Hugs or kisses → Hugs
60. Shorter or taller → Taller.
61. Older or Younger → Younger.
62. Romantic or spontaneous → Romantic
63. Nice stomach or nice arms → Nice arms
64. Sensitive or loud → Sensitive.
65. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship.
66. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither.

HAVE YOU EVER :
67. Kissed a stranger → No.
68. Lost glasses/contacts → Never
69. Sex on first date → Never.
70. Broken someone's heart → Not sure, maybe
71. Had your own heart broken → No
72. Been arrested → No.
73. Turned someone down → Yes.
74. Cried when someone died → Yes.
75. Liked a friend that is a girl → Yes.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
76. Yourself → Yes
77. Miracles → Oh yes, i do.
78. Love at first sight → Maybe with clothes and shoes,never with people
79. Heaven → Yes
80. Santa Clause → I believe in the spirit of Christmas and so, believe everything about it!
81. Peace in this lifetime → I hope
82. Angels → Yes, of course

83. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Oh yes, badly!
84. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time in the past → Never.
85. You will die Young → I wish.
86. You will end with the one you love and learn to love the one you are with → end with the one i love

Little Questions - Part II

Some more from her blog!!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sometime last week
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, but there’s room for improvement
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Mutton, chicken, but I would prefer roti, sabzi or a dosa
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think I would
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Often.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh No!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Muesli
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate, Black Currant
13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Eyes, clothes
14. RED OR PINK? Red
15. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Fat
16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Chandrolekha
17. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? If they have time..yes
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING ? Olive green- grey cotton trousers with dark brown shoes
19. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red
20. FAVORITE SMELLS? First rain, coffee, rum, Old Spice among many others
21. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I copied it from Supriya’s blog, nonetheless, I do like her a lot
22. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Swimming, at times Cricket.
23. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes
24. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Dev D
25. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Maroon T-shirt
26. SUMMER OR WINTER? I actually like autumn
27. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Blink
28. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Dont have one.
29. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Different Strokes
30. FAVORITE SOUND(S). Rain, sound of heels on a wooden floor, crumpling of dried leaves31. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Rolling Stones.
32. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Gujarat
33. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Well, my intuition is above average, I have to learn how to recognise it at all times
34. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a nursing, close to my home in Kolkata
35. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? University

Jesus, it has ages since i got down to write something in my blog. My fingers itch, images collage in my mind, words spin like humming bees near my ears.....but i just cannot write!
HELP!

Winter Fragrance

The month of November brings a new fragrance in my bathroom, the smell of glycerine soap! This is one of those smells that has remained constant in my life. My dad who is very particular about which soap to use during which season, (we keep teasing him about it!) hardly experimented in the winters! It was always glycerine, he tried quite a few brands but ultimately remained loyal to one of the traditional Bengali ones. I realised how i got conditioned to the ritual when i moved in with Utsav two years ago. Whether i shopped at Spencer's or the local grocer, anytime after November, i invariably bought the same brand!!

The strong but pleasant smell takes me to a bitter-sweet roller coaster ride through the many winters i spent in my Lansdowne Chakraberia home. I remember mamma peeling oranges for us at our terrace. My sister and i often did our homework on the terrace too, which ended with a game of ludo where our ayah (boudi, we called her) joined us!
I remember papa almost chasing us to the terrace the moment we came out of the bathrooms with shampooed hair! 'Chhate jaa' he screamed, he wouldn't tolerate his daughters catching a cold! However, no matter how much she stays protected, my sister always managed to catch one, nevermind the season!!! I remember our daily quarrels about the speed of the fan in our room!
I remember peeling kilos of fresh peas for those amazing matar kachoris!
I remember the beautiful crysanthymums and pulsatinums that papa grew so passionately.
I remember the trips to New Market for Christmas decorations and the sinful rich plum cakes! The trips to the Zoo, Victoria Memorial Gardens, annual flower shows...i remember them all.
It also takes me to our annual holidays to Mumbai and Ahmedabad. I remember how Mahim dressed like a bride during the Christmas week.
Its amazing how a particular fragrance brings so many memories to our minds, memories so fresh that it feels like 'just yesterday'.
Thank you Papa, thank you for the glycerine-soap-months, for the wonderful winters, specially for me. It means so much more now.
Love you, Papa.

monotony

I know what you mean Gejo (or should i say Priya!), i think we are very lucky to have realised this before our 30s, don't you think?! Or are we going through our mid-life crisis two decades too early? Its quite strange, stillness and motion together… a wink and years pass by but each day seems to drag and suffocated in the monotonous grind.
Jesus, am i making any sense?
I don’t know what it is, why this monotony; but something, somewhere needs a little mending. And i have to figure it out before i turn into one of those irritable middle aged women!