Word Attack!!

Biriyani overload

It starts from tonight. We’ve been invited to my chachi’s house for dinner. The ENTIRE extended family. Shazu and her hubby are on their way to Bangalore from Vellore where they’ve been for the past few days. So, in their honor, there’s a dinner invitation where everybody will be coming. Great!

Tomorrow Bade Baba has invited everyone for lunch. The day after(i’m dreading that one) is when we have invited the whole extended family for lunch and a fatiha to celebrate moving into our house. And you know….in our families the only thing you can expect at a daawat is biriyani. Lots of it!!!

Hits and Misses…

No hits so far..

Only misses.

Yesterday there was too little salt in the curry and roti. Mansoor complained that they make him uneasy and he feels like throwing up. I felt like throwing something AT him.

Today there was too much salt in the curry and the rice. Mansoor complained that I should have made some chicken fry and everything else would have been forgiven. I felt like throwing HIM out of the house.

Time seems to run away like its grown a million legs while I try to finish making breakfast and lunch together so I can put Az to sleep and work peacefully. Before I know it, its 11 am! I really need to grow more organized. Thank god its the weekend tomorrow!

Feedback!!

When I got this month’s Good Housekeepin magazine, I eagerly looked in the Letters to the Editor section to see if anyone, anywhere had mentioned my story in last time’s issue, I found there was nothing at all. Then I spotted a small sidebar where someone from Delhi had written in to say that their photo feature was fantastic. Then, here’s what follows…”This issue was really good…from the touching short story ‘Was it Love’ to the recipes….” etc and etc…:)

My! I thought I’ll take a picture of that page, zoom the section where my story is mentioned and then paste the link here, but unfortunately, the sidebar is in yellow with white text. So, naturally, you can’t see anything.

Feedback feels great!!

Rat Escapades Part 1

Ok. So here’s the update on the rat. It escaped from the confines of the room by getting inside one of the woofer speakers and sitting there very quietly and happily. So far, it had tossed the bread I had kept aside for it(generously topped with rat poison of course) very contemptuously. The bread was in one corner and the rat poison was strewn around everywhere. No sign of any dead rat. Because of course it was sitting inside the speaker.

When the speaker came outside into the hall, it had escaped into the hall without our notice. We thought that it had either died or ran outside the house when the doors had been open. A couple of nights ago, Tuesday night to be precise…I was alone in the house. Sab had gone with ammi and Mansoor had gone to the restaurant.(He runs a small fast food restaurant in BTM Layout, our erstwhile neighbourhood).

At eight pm, the house was quiet and I stepped out of my room bored. There was no TV yet. Bang opposite my room is a small wash basin and I heard some rustling sounds coming from there. I shut my bedroom door and then quickly took a stick and pushed it behind the wash basin. Nothing happened. I peered around but theres not much space to peer as there’s a wall next to the wash basin. I saw a black tail hanging out from behind the wash basin. Horrified I poked the stick at the tail and the rat ran outside and scrambled madly before hiding behind a cupboard that we have kept in the hall.

My heart was racing as I dumped Az on the sofa and came to see behind the cupboard. There was a small gap between the cupboard and the wall. You know, when you’re looking for a rat, you do tend to look down right? That’s what I did. No rat there. The, purely by chance I lifted my eyes. What do you think I saw there?

Yes…a little like in this picture, the rat was actually spreadeagled between the wall and the cupboard while he looked straight ahead, hoping I would not spot him. What a moment that was!!!! I still feel prickly when I think of that!!! I didn’t know whether to stand there amazed, or to chase it again or to take a picture. I regret not taking a picture! I shooed it with the stick and it slithered and ran all the way down and disappeared.

We had no idea where it had disappeared after that. I was hoping it would have run off outside the house. Read the next post and you will know that I was wrong!!!:D

Moving on…

In 2003, Ayesha sent me an email asking me if I wanted to try out a job. My first thought was no, people at home won’t let me, so why even bother asking them. But for some reason I was tempted and I applied for it. The job was a three month contract with IBM and I went to do the test. I got selected but things didn’t work out there and for some reason they canceled the contract. I was dejected because I had painstakingly convinced my family about letting me work. There were the usual questions where they wanted to know how would I manage Saboor who was 4 years old then and how I intended to explain this ‘job’ to the usual nosy busybody extended family. It was unheard of…a girl from our family, actually going out and working. I convinced everyone somehow but to see it fizz away was a huge disappointment.

When I got an email from Narssimhan from Commit, the following year in February, I was very surprised. I had sent him my resume after the IBM fiasco. He wanted to meet me and see if I could work for him for a project. I met him, and we hit off instantly and I was instantly a part of Commit. Although I joined only for three months, I ended up working there for four years.

These four years have been extremely rewarding to me. Without Commit, I wouldn’t have known what it was to be independent and what it was to be actively involved in a team and an organization. I got to experience the highs of having successfully completed projects and being a part of the corporate world.

Today, I am on the verge of leaving Commit. I haven’t had any disagreements with anyone and although I wouldn’t say that everything was hunky dory, I do feel a twinge of sadness at leaving. I have found another job that also lets me work from home, and I hope to do well there. It was very very odd the way the new job landed, quite literally in my lap. Until last Wednesday I hadn’t considered leaving Commit at all. But something happened that made me really think about my career prospects and growth here. I seriously started thinking of getting my resume ready and circulating it around. The next morning, I got an sms from Aparna Chandrashekar. Aparna was my lecturer in college. She has a fabulous sense of humour and we used to get along quite well in college. I had met her on Residency Road one day, in my early days at Commit and we had exchanged phone numbers. We’d SMSd each other infrequently, but we’d kept in touch on and off.

I called her and she said that she had a job prospect for me. And it was something I could do from home. I took it as a sign and I pursued it and yesterday I got confirmation from Bradford Internet India Pvt Ltd that I can join them as soon as possible. The new job looks very exciting. And can you believe it? I will be working for the actual Earl of Bradford!! It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and I wonder what I have to call him when I meet him at the end of this month when he flies down from London to meet his team here in Bangalore!!

So, I’m in the process of leaving Commit and joining Bradford Internet. I hope to do well here. We all have to move on, and I’m positive I’m moving on in the right direction!

So here it is….

It must have been all of ten minutes. My feeling of being happy on being in my own house. I smsd Ayesha who was in Chennai visiting her sister and she replied back saying she’s happy for me. The house was quiet, and the kids were asleep. I walked around the house, feeling really happy that now, I could do things according to MY way.

There was a certain amount of loneliness too. I could hear my MIL, parvez bhai and Anjum talking on the balcony upstairs and I felt the loss of moving away from a joint family keenly. At the same time I was also glad I had this little space of my own. THEN, to my horror a rat jumped out from behind the kitchen curtain and scampered into one of the rooms!! The rat had come from my house in BTM. Availed of free transportation I’m sure. We’re still trying to hunt it out!

Being in my own house is cool, but like I said, the feeling of being happy must have lasted all of ten minutes. Between hard work and sheer exhaustion, there hasn’t been much time for any other feeling to creep in. Anyways, theres SO much more to blog about. Will do so when I have the time.

This is it!!!

Ok. So this is it. I’m going to shift to my new place today. I’ll be staying the night there. Pray for me. Dua karo! I should be getting broadband sometime next week. I’ve been hopping between moms place and Koramangala, so i’ve had access to the net. But now, i’m going to be cut off till I get the net! See ya guys then! Ta!!

House Keys

I’ve always associated house keys with my mother. Whenever she walked, her keys would tinkle and I would know where she was. Whether she was coming to give me a dressing down or whether she was just walking in the house, the house keys which were attached to a key ring that she would tuck at her hip were an indicator of her presence in the house.

When she and abbu had gone to Haj, leaving me and Junaid with my grandparents who had come to stay here, I remember missing her so much, and crying myself to sleep for a few nights. Then one day I heard the keys tinkling and I was shocked. Where did that sound come from? Had she come back suddenly? But then, no. She hadn’t come back or anything. Then where was that sound coming from? Until I saw Saleem mam(mom’s bro) locking the house one night. HE was the one with the keys! Ammi had given them to him while she was away. And there ended the mystery of the house keys that tinkled even when Ammi wasnt there.

I’ve always associated house keys with responsibility. Responsibility that I have never wanted because I am not good at that kind of stuff. I tend to be a bit absent minded and forgetful although I try my best not to. Its just that sometimes I live in an alternate reality and there are times when I have seen my mother or mil look at me in frustration because I have completely missed out on something. Yes, well, I am that kind of person.

And today, Mansoor handed me my own set of house keys for our home in Koramangala. To say that I feel awed is an understatement. But me, being me, I have just dumped the keys in my handbag of the month and here I am writing about them. Just looking at them is enough to give me the shivers! There are so many! Baap re!!!

Out of action

Guys….the shifting has started in earnest and my old room is looking such a mess with clothes and boxes and other things strewn about. Most of my stuff has been shifted to Koramangala and the remaining will go tomorrow. I’m excited to see the way my house is taking shape. I’ll be out of action for a few days till I settle down and get broadband. see ya then!

OMG!!!!!!

I can’t believe I forgot. I got engaged on this day, in the year 1996!!! I’ve been seeing that its May 5th from morning, in my mails and everything, but it never occurred to me, although, just a couple of days back I was telling Sidra that May 5th was the day i got engaged. I realized it just when I posted the last blog. Well…does it even matter now? Especially since Mansoor is hardly the type to remember it himself!

I do remember that day, although, I cannot say, as some writers do, with awful clarity. There were SO many people in our house! And they were making all these yummy things to send to Mansoor, and everyone kept ribbing me, etc etc..I remember that by evening, the house was swarming with people, and to think that this was an alliance between two inter-related families…

I remember that I was sitting up stairs, and ALL my friends had come over. We were this mad, giggly bunch of girls(I was just 18 then), who had just finished their first year exams…and we were giggling all over each other, much to the consternation of a few of my aunts. Aiyyoo!! My friends, I love you so much for being there with me!!!!

Ayesha! You were there in this saree, looking as elegant as ever. I remember, Tariq bhai’s mom was looking at you most inquistively, as if she was on the verge of getting a proposal for you!

Neets! I remember you had cut your hair real short, and you were the most tom boyish of all my friends, and giggling the most too!

Martin! Yes, Sunita Martin…I remember being glad that you were there, passing your comments, with your trademark wit and that dash of sarcasm that escapes many people, even today I’m sure

Sweta! You were the most unusual of my friends. I mean, I really dont know how you and I hit it off. But never mind, I just remember that it had made me happy to see you there

I seem to recall these four with most clarity, although I think a lot of my friends from PU were also there. I need to look at my engagement pics once more to recall that….gosh, I must be growing OLD!!!! :((

Anyhow, it had been a fantastic day, I was looking gorgeous, and I think engagements are really so much better than weddings! You get to dress up and then you don’t even have to leave your mom’s house with all the crying and everything that happens in a wedding. The only thing that pissed me off, was seeing my name in the laddoo box as W. Andaleeb. Since the laddoos came from Mansoor’s side, I hadn’t seen it until someone showed it to me. Gosh! That made me so mad! I was Andaleeb Wajid and NOT W. Andaleeb, and although there was very little I could do about that, I made sure they got my name right in the wedding cards!

I also remember, as it was May, it was awfully hot, and after the engagement, all of us girls were sleeping upstairs in the master bedroom. At one point, I couldn’t breathe(the room is carpeted to top everything) and I just woke up, came downstairs and found some space on the floor where my mother was sleeping. I curled up next to her, and when I got up in the morning, I realized that I had actually squeezed in beside my mother in law(who’s also my phuppu and so she too stayed back at our house itself). EVERYONE teased me mercilessly about it for days!!!

Aah! Those were the days!