Blogging Phases

Like everything else, blogging too has phases.

The other day, I was discussing this with a blogger how many people have kind of stopped writing; or they are very irregular. Now, there are times when the "girl" in me gets too curious about certain things. I am close to a few bloggers who happen to make to my chat list too. And I happened to discuss it with couple of bloggers!

One of them said that the surrounding affects bloggers. We have many common bloggers on our list, and many have stopped writing. This is affecting us. Yesterday I told her that I was taking a break from blogging as I have lost interest in writing; but here I am, breaking my own stupid rule. Reason is simple - I write because I like to. It relaxes me. Because I write crap and nobody reads me was never and will never be the reason behind me not blogging!

Coming back to the blogging phases - I kind of agree with her. The surrounding affects you a lot everywhere - be it your work place, or home or even blog world. Hmmm, true that. It does affect you. I miss so many bloggers and their posts. Many are my friends now, but I still would love to read them. I have always been a fan of personal blogs. Especially the ones who write about people. The missing bloggers - most of them write personal blogs, and I miss their posts!

And I happened to discuss about the so called sannata with another blogger too. She said that there has not been any controversy recently, thus people have lost interest! And it made perfect sense to me. Yes, no controversy, no fun. Now it's time to create one :P Ah, just kidding! I lack time for such useless pursuits in life!

But the blogging definition is changed drastically! So many new sites come up and they judge blogs! Based on the genre they write about and content they have! Since when regular blogging became a competition? When you have many blogs for a particular category and one of them wins, does that mean other blogs ain't that good? Having a competition is a separate thing altogether, but nominating blogs yourself is something I cannot digest! Again, it's my own opinion. Many people love such an arrangement. Votes, Awards, even controversies for that matter!

Looks like this is a silence phase of blogging. Not many people write these days, not many people read these days, almost everyone takes part in blog contests as nothing interesting is happening around, every second site comes and declares contests and takes interviews, still I (and maybe a few of you) miss those same ol' blogs!

And each day, I am taking one step towards a scenario where there will be "ban Neha" movement going on as I have been talking a LOT against things/people other bloggers love :P

Senti times!

I am dead scared of them - senti times! Expressing those insecurities, crying with running nose, or simply abusing people who were once upon a time the most important part of you!

I have been seeing the senti times all around me since November! A very good friend of mine got married to an NRI and now settle abroad. She had thrown a Bachelorette Party in November. Now, she was in total mood to get drunk and dance her heart out. Drunk fine, but why dance? Sigh! Now, the party started and within an hour, she was drunk!

I won't mention how she danced, abused and eventually cried, and embarrass her here; but yes, it was the same senti time again! She was crying and she didn't know the reason! The only thing she was little bit worried about was her eye make-up! Girls!!!

Now me being me, I called her up the next morning and told her that she was crying a lot last evening, and I have photographs to prove that. Her reason was that she would miss all her friends once she shifts to another country. That party made only her senti, but when she was leaving, we all got pretty senti at the airport. She misses us and we miss her too. We were crazy people while in college. I got to know her and a few more people much later, but since the time we have become friends, each time we have made ourselves feel proud by breaking the record of our previous lamest act :P

Things have changed now. Both of my friends have settled abroad. We had a group chat 2-3 days back and we were discussing about our kidas. It made us all very nostalgic and senti! But then we decided to make the conversation happy and started with "girls' talk"! No, it didn't involve hot guys, shopping or gossiping, but much more than that! I cannot mention it on a public blog, but you surely get the drift right? :P

When the first one got married, we had prepared a skit for her and performed it at the time of her sangeet. It was a disaster and that made everyone laugh! We had selected hindi songs as per situations like - mere piya gaye rangoon, inteha ho gayi intazar ki, waah waah raamji jodi kya banayi and all the other songs which you can easily predict to be there at the time of weddings and romantic situations! We had fun preparing the skit and our other friends who had to tolerate the practice sessions at that time have lost all their hair since then :P A picture that was clicked after the skit and while we were singing - G.U.J.J.U. from Kal ho na ho which still leaves us cracking with laughter! Being too lame made the whole thing too funny and memorable :P

Ah, senti times scare me! They make me senti too!

Paani puri ke side effects

I am finally done with attending all the weddings. I was supposed to go to Pune to attend my friend's reception, but health finally gave up. Bad throat and cough thanks to the food and drinks I had for the past one week!

Now, I am highly allergic to mint. This is the reason I cannot have any food item which has mint. We do not use mint in most recipes, so I do not miss much; but one of my most favourite chats - Pani Puri or Golgappa - it has mint. And I cannot eat that :(

I usually have good control over my taste buds, but this time around, when you have 5-6 bhukkad friends around you, it's difficult to control!

For each of the three weddings and various functions that I attended, I had a group of friends around me. We were hogging onto the starters as if we had not eaten for years! Whatever was coming our way, we were eating that in HUGE quantity! Be it some mughlai starter or a chinese one, regular veg koftas to juices-mocktails-soft drinks name it and you see us having it!

And Lunch! One poor guy took Basundi at least four times; each time he was unsuccessful in even tasting a drop! Someone or the other was taking away the bowl the moment he refilled! Reason - just for fun!

Then there was Paani Puri counter! We went there, thinking we would simply taste one or two! It started flowing in and without realizing, we had quite a few of them.

I got an upset stomach and bad throat thanks to all the hogging that we did over a period of four days! And thanks to that, I could not attend my close friend's reception at Pune! Ah, missed one hogging party!

I am off to MP tonight. A mini vacation I deserve. And it may sound strange, but this is my first ever vacation of my own money! So far, family sponsored the vacations even though I was earning. But this time around, it's different. It's going to be a budget trip - not because it's my own money, but because that's the fun part of the trip according to me and three other friends who are accompanying me. We are going to travel by train and stay in non star hotels! I am very much looking forward to it. Those on my facebook will see the pictures soon. Those who read me may be disappointed a bit as I am pathetic at writing travelogues. Nevertheless, if I come across interesting people on the tour, they will surely be blogged about!

So, until next week, ciao!

PS: For my convenience, I have removed comment moderation. So be careful while posting any love messages :P

Weddings!

It's wedding season all around us. Each day, there is some or the other wedding happening. First, people spend money to get married, then they spend money to raise the reason behind the marriage. Some times, the reasons are more than one! 

Don't get me wrong. I love kids. I am very fond of them; but when I see the ever exploding population, my mind tells me to give gyaan to all those who are yet to know the meaning of family planning and who strongly believe in "hum do, humare do. zyada ho to phek do". Isn't it better if one plans for one kid only so as to do one's bit to control the population a bit?

Anyway, this post is not about the gyaan on population either. I have to attend a few weddings and receptions in this week. I went for a very close friend's Mahendi function today and applied mahendi on both the hands! I love it. It always make me feel very happy. I love the smell and the look of it on hands. Here is a pic for you!

Isn't it lovely? :)

Now, a typical Indian wedding has many advantages - good food, happy and cheerful people around you, mahendi, meeting old friends and such. But the worst part of it - shaadi.com! A few aunties are always ready with numerous proposals for you even before you open your mouth to say that you are already married! Prospective brides and grooms will be bestowed upon you the moment you enter the wedding hall (hole if it is a gujju wedding!)

I have to attend such weddings in this week! And I am planning to carry a board with me which says - Not available for shaadi.com! Hope it works!

PS: Busy time ahead. After attending 2 weddings and 4 functions, I am going on a mini vacation I truly deserve. I will be back before the new year and another outstation business trip to a hill station awaits in the first week of January. I will try to be as regular as possible on this space as I miss blogging so much!

PPS: It was my birthday on the 14th of this month. But I am still accepting belated wishes (even advance ones for the next year for that matter!). 

Mother's "Love"

Don't we all love our mothers? 

But most of us get scared when our mothers express their love for us in the form of food, pampering in public, praising us in front of "marriageable prospects", choosing clothes for us - the list is quite long!

I get scared too sometimes when my mom starts talking about my qualification in front of those perpetually gossiping aunties. She even mentions the courses I left mid way or still pursuing. Ah it does get embarrassing some times as it's not a big deal to be a double graduate and double post graduate; is it? :P

Luckily for me, her habit of stuffing my stomach till it bursts is no problem at all as I am blessed with high metabolism (thank god!) and thin/fat kind of things don't matter to me much. But it does make me very much lazy! Like I have this typical gujju habit of taking a nap in the noon. Since I have my own firm and my work is not time bound, I can do that. But such a habit proves tricky when I have a client meet or a visit to retainer clients.

These days, she has made a Saturday night schedule for me. She oils my hair each Saturday. There is some home made oil she has got from somewhere. She empties at least 200 grams of it in my hair and makes me a champu! No matter at what time I return home, I have to become champu once a week! Poor me!!

And those stories of their times about how they listened to their mothers and never cribbed about the quantity of food, or the oil in hair, or even the gossip part for that matter. Ah, talk of the times 30 years back and now. But I do not mention that out of fear of starving myself for an hour! After that, she is my mother and she will give me food anyway :P

And that's the most beautiful thing about her and all the mothers. Whatever they do, they do for us. Unconditionally. Since the time we are born, they make us their priority. They make us cry but cry for us too, they sacrifice their career, lifestyle, social circle, outings and many more things just to give us a perfect upbringing.

Ah, there is no special occasion today. I just felt like sharing something emotional, thus this post. What does irritate you in a nice way about your mother or father? Do share it in the comment box :)