Most FAQ

For those who aren’t computer geeks and don’t understand what FAQ stands for or means, lemme tell you, FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Question. In my case, right from the time I’ve been small, I’ve always been faced with the question, “What does your name mean?” And I’ve always answered that “I don’t know” or “What’s in a name?” :)

Anyway, I do intend conducting a small research on my name but till the results are tabulated/formulated/evaluated let’s proceed to the next most FAQ that I’m confronted with now-a-days which is, “When are you getting married?” Believe me, this question has been asked to me so many times that I’m very much habituated to this question and have fairly well rehearsed my answer which is a simple, “I don’t know”…

The other day I was leafing through the 14th February edition of Femina and came across an article titled ‘Love Actually’ by Diana Kotwal. It was really a very impressive article on women and I’m pasting an excerpt of the same which is very much the answer I would like to give all those people who ask me the Q: “When are u getting married???”

….Women want to Believe

We’re not going to settle for less. Not going to rush into hurried nuptials. And we’re certainly not going to pressurize men who don’t want to be with us. As for the assortment of aunts who circle us like vultures at every family wedding, bring it on. You don’t scare us. Despite all your efforts, we’re going to stand our ground.

The thing is buried deep within our cynical hearts is faith. We know he’s out there. Please, there’s no hurry, we’re equipped with the patience of a water buffalo.

When our time comes, we believe it’s going to be worth waiting for. We’ll find our imperfect, real, passionate, attentive equal.

Bottom line, women are highly complex, intelligent and multidimensional creatures.

We want men who are highly complex, intelligent and multidimensional creatures.

Go home, Prince Charming, we’ve got a real man to find.

Coloured @ Holi

A country like India has a lot of cultural diversity and there are festivals marked nearly everyday or every second day. Being in Goa, most of the festivals for me were marked on my school calendar in the list of holidays, which meant a day@ home watching TV, sleeping, going to the beach, cleaning my room, etc. As such, I never came close to actually witnessing the rituals and traditions.

Living in Pune has given me an insight into a lot of Indian festivals. And one such festival is Holi. Very similar in nature to the Carnival in Goa, where everyone lets their hair down and enjoys to the fullest, this festival is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm especially by North Indians.

Most of the residential societies in Pune have programs scheduled for Holi. On the eve of Holi, or Holika Dahan the lighting of a bonfire takes place. The day is also popularly called 'Chhoti Holi' or 'Small Holi'. The bigger event – i.e. playing with colour takes place on the next 'big' day.

Holika Dahan is an extremely popular tradition and is celebrated with fervour all across the country and is symbolic of triumph of good over evil. There are numerous legends associated with this ancient tradition and since each of my friends had a different story, I finally gave up as :-( it is difficult to pin-point as to when actually the tradition started. Once the bon fire is lit and the puja performed, a few of the women started singing songs whilst others danced around the fire.

This year Holi came on a Sunday & it sure was a change to see people on the roads early in the morning playing with colour. The festival of colours is extremely popular amongst children. They eagerly wait for a prey with a bucket full of coloured water, an ever ready water jet- popularly called a ‘pichkari’ and loads of colour packets to give vent to their mischievous nature. Rather, the festival is not confined to any age group for old, young and kids everybody turns as naughty as the other on Holi. Playing with colour continues till every inch of all participants is totally coloured and the person becomes virtually unrecognizable.

In most residential colonies, people move out in groups, called ‘tolis’ visiting one house from the other, sparing nobody and forcefully colouring the shy ones whilst exchanging greetings.

Bollywood too has captured the various moods and shades of Holi through a large number of songs produced over the years. Some of these songs like Holi ke din & Rang Barse…have gained immense popularity due to their success in capturing the spirit of the festival. Impressive picturisation, apt choreography and a touch of folk element has also played a major role in generating mass appeal for these songs. From streets to by lanes to the Holi parties @ water parks, these numbers are played on loud speakers and people have fun dancing to their tunes.

Imagine after a game of Holi your skin begins to glow and your hair gets an added bounce or luster... Most people cannot imagine this scenario as for a large majority of people it is nearly a nightmarish experience to get rid of the colours and to get their initial skin type back. Taking note of the look of dismay on my face, an old lady told me that in the olden days, ancient India was fully aware of the benefits of the fragrant natural colours for our skin and health and also of their therapeutic value. The ingredients of ‘Gulal’ were purposely chosen for their emollient qualities.

But this Holi one thing is for sure, given the fact that Viman Nagar faces a huge water problem, the tanker contractors must have minted a lot of money as people surely had to have a very long bath!!! ;-)