Word Attack!!

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!

At last!

At last it looks like we’re going to start shifting. People like Mansoor need to have someone with a board (with , GET STARTED) written on it, and a clanging bell to go every time they see the board. A little bit of Pavlov’s experiments, I kind of remember…:D

Its been more than 2 months since I told everyone I’ll be shifting to Koramangala. And here we still are. In BTM Layout, with no idea when we will be moving. I am seriously fed up. The house in Koramangala needs some repairs and Mansoor has been procrastinating like anything! Abbah! But today, I really, quite literally pushed him out of the house, and he says that now, they may have figured out the problem as to why the motor wasn’t running, but apparently, in the up stairs house, theres no water at all. Wait a sec. Let me digress and explain all this.

So far we’ve been in a joint family set up. For 11 years of my married life. And now, we’re selling this house and moving on. So, at this point, we’re splitting up into nuclear units. For the first time in my entire life, i will be managing a house, and my mother in law will be with my brother in law, managing his house. The idea was to get a place for rent till we buy our own houses. But my mom stepped in, and asked me to stay in her house in Koramangala because it was getting vacated. This house is actually two houses in one. There’s a ground floor thats completely different from the first floor. We opted to stay in the ground floor. My brother in law started looking around for a place to rent and he went as far as HRBR layout, which is the back of beyond, if you know what I mean….Yeah, so my MIL started worrying and she realised she didnt want to be so far from us. So, finally, after consulting with my mother, she and my bro in law are renting out the upstairs portion of the same house in Koramangala.

Whew! That was one explanation that was long over due.

So, apparently, downstairs water is gushing out from the taps, but theres no water up stairs. Anyway, whatever it is, MIL will be going tomorrow to start cleaning the house so we can move in finally.

And what I was saying about boards and bells….actually, what I did was, I stopped waiting for people to start packing, and I just went ahead, and started packing Saboor’s clothes, some of mine, and I packed all of my books in a big box. So, I feel good about having started something.

Meanwhile, if things work out well, we’ll be outta here in a few days time. At last! I’ll miss this house and the memories it holds for sure, but I do look forward to what life has to offer to me too!

Sorry Lubi…it took me so many days to get into the mood for blogging! Just don’t know why I didn’t feel like it!

Onion Dosa Breakfast and Square Dosa Musings

I had the most amazing onion dosa for breakfast today! Well, it was the first time i’ve had it, and I don’t know if it could be any better, but I’m a fan now!!

It so happened, that I was passing by Balaji Veg(our local veg fast food resto) and I saw a couple eating some sort of square dosa. I was intrigued. It looked crisp and it must have been pretty good because the man kept leaning over his own masala dosa to try some of this square dosa from the girl. I wanted to try it too, but I didnt know what it was called. I know plain dosa - crisp, flaky dosa that disintegrates beautifully in hot sambhar, I love masala dosa, the portly cousin of the plain dosa, with a handful of potato palya peeping from inside, glimmering because a nice fat blob of butter has been tossed over the palya, before the dosa is wrapped up..I know set dosa, but since i haven’t tasted it yet, I’ll assume it tastes as insipid as it looks. But this one, I didnt know what to ask for. At the counter, the man looked busy. I asked him if they have a square dosa but he shook his head. Maybe in the din he didnt hear me.

SO this morning when i went out with Azhaan, I thought, let me try out all the other dosas they have. One of them will surely be the square one. I asked for Onion dosa and the man nodded and gave me the coupon. I had the strangest feeling as I gave the coupon at the other counter. Like, what the heck are you doing with an Onion dosa coupon? You ALWAYS buy idlis, or vadas or masala dosas…don’t you know what you’re getting into?

I watched avidly as the dosa chef spread the batter. Square, let it be square I thought. But it was the usual round. And to my disappointment, he loaded it with chopped onions and coriander. Obviously. Well, what was I thinking? Onion dosa. Obviously it would have onions.

It seemed to take a longer time than usual to make, and I waited as he finally served it on a plate. Two small bowls, one with chutney, and the other with some red curry were kept ON the dosa, and he plunked some white chutney on it. I took it with me outside because there was no place inside. With Az on my hip, I broke a piece and put it in my mouth. It was fabulous!! The long time he had taken over it, (after flipping it) ensured that both sides were crisp, without becoming papery. The onions were half cooked and half crunchy, but it was just great!

When I finished it, I wondered which one the square dosa was. Next time. Next time I’ll find out. And onion dosa wasn’t bad at all!!

Chick lit…

Do ALL chick lit books read the same? There seems to be some sort of formula here. Working girl, messy life, London, parents in suburbs, girl friends and men. Of men, there seem to be two types: the good looking guy who she will fall for, but who will turn out to be an SOB and the slightly offbeat character who is actually her true love, but believe me…she will look the other way as long as possible! Chick lit authors probably take these ingredients, toss them around here and there and work in other things and voila…there it is!! Their runaway bestseller! While this may sound patronising, actually it isn’t. I really, really love Chick lit books! They’re so full of life, and the contemporary and conversational tone the author sets is something I find really cool.

I read Bridget Jone’s Diary about ten years ago and I thought it was amazing. Here was a book that didn’t read like a book. At that time I hadn’t even heard of chick lit. I read the book that Helen Fielding wrote before Bridget Jones and I read the sequel to Bridget Jones too. The movies were passable I’d say. I am not so fond of Renee Zellweiger ( I find her Brit accent very slow and pronounced, but maybe its just me)

I haven’t read that many chick lit books over the years. I got into a phase of reading books by Indian authors and that hasn’t left me yet. So when I popped into my library last week, for some reason I picked out a book that literally screamed ‘chick lit’. Pink cover, shopping bags, high heels….:)

I started read it..oh, by the way, its called The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopoholic, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I’m enjoying predicting how bad things will turn out for this girl, and seeing my predictions come true too!!

There’s not much to review in it, and although its not like some of the fluff I so shamelessly read (historical romances, and the like…), I don’t think I’ll be posting a review about it. That’s why this post comes under the Just Stuff category. But for now…i’m getting back into the world of the serious shopoholic.

Yeh kya hua???

It started because of those severely insipid vanilla wafers that Mansoor brought home the other day. Me and the boys were like, seriously,..what were you thinking? Vanilla wafers???? Mansoor thought it was pineapple since the packaging was yellow. I was like, pineapple? When it comes to wafers its only chocolate for me, and apparently thats the case for Saboor and even Az!

So, I thought I’ll use them in some recipe, called up ammi, asked her for the recipe for some dessert of my childhood that she used to make, by layering custard, wafers, biscuits, custard etc and freezing it. Sidra smsd me the full recipe, and i spent my Sunday evening pottering about in the kitchen doing that.

I followed the instructions, but there are times when your mind seems to be glazed and although you’re seeing things, you’re not really looking. The heat in the kitchen stunned me a bit, and then I stood stirring the custard, a little stupidly perhaps…and there! before I could realise what happened, it had curdled. What was supposed to become a creamy custard became a disastrous curdy mixture. There was no way I could use this. SOS alert! I called ammi, who said that she really couldn’t do anything, as she was sitting some 7 to 8kms away.

‘Make ande ka halwa with it’ she suggested when I sounded desperate. ‘Add some khova, a little crumbled biscuits, some ghee and stir it a bit.’

I quickly delegated this task to my MIL who was glad I was thinking of not wasting food, by making more food. Then, I heated up another litre of milk, reduced it, and started the custard process again. I remember, there was one point where I actually opened my eyes wide, just so I didnt miss anything.

I waited and waited for the custard to thicken. When it seemed slightly thick I switched off the gas and followed the remaining instructions, of cooling it, adding gelatin and vanilla and then starting the layering process.

By this time, my MIL had finished making the halwa. It was not a bad effort considering that it had started out as something else.
When I got down to the exciting part of layering the pudding, I dipped the wafers in juice, arranged them neatly on the base of a pretty bowl, and poured the custard over it. Only thing was that the custard hadn’t thickened and the wafers promptly floated up. What layers, I thought in disgust as I poured the rest of the runny custard into the bowl and jammed it into the freezer. When I peeped into the freezer after half an hour, the wafers were floating and I realized that this was an even bigger mess than the first attempt!!!! I had to hack off a few blocks this morning for Saboor and Mansoor, who kind of liked it, but decided it was too sweet for them. Its still lying in the freezer. I hate it when this happens!!! And by the way, the ande ka halwa is ok. Its not bad, but its not fantastic either!! Yeh kya hua!!!!