Pondi trip - Day 3

(Check vacation snaps @ http://picasaweb.google.com/anuja.rathi/PondiTripFeb2010?feat=directlink. Do read the posts below this to get info prior to this day)

Day 3 dawned bright and clear.

However, it was not before noon that I saw the sun, simply coz I woke up at 11 and spent a leisurely one hour getting ready. On my to-do list today was Auroville – one of the most popular tourist attractions in (or rather near) Puducherry.

Auroville is about 14 kilometers from Hotel Ginger, and an auto ride costs about 150 one way. It’s always better to have an idea about and pre-negotiate fares with auto drivers, who obviously are looking out to rake in some extra moolah from unwary travelers. My usual trips between Ginger and M.G. Road cost 30 to 40 bucks one way during the day, and 50 to 80 during the late evening/night. I’d done my research prior to leaving, and so I offered an auto-walla 300 bucks for a return trip to Auroville. I expected him to take me around the complete township as well as the Auro beach.

So, what IS Auroville? Well, you could check out my pictures to know for yourself. Alternately, you could check out their own website. Basically, it’s a small town built on the idea of The Mother who visualized that there should be unity in diversity and people should live together in harmony without religious interferences. And you can actually see it! Indians, Europeans, Americans and others sit together to eat at the Auroville Visitors Centre cafeteria, and chomp on lemon rice and apple pie. They walk together around the gallery and watch the video and exhibition that tells more about Auroville and the Matrimandir – a huge golden ball, the largest man-made one ever, which houses 12 meditation halls and 12 gardens, each with a unique name concurring with human values and virtues. They walk in groups to the Matrimandir, and feast their eyes on the beauty and peace that radiates within the campus. So famous is this place in so many ways - you can search more details on a host of websites including Wikipedia.

Coming to the point, what’s there to see? As I said, there’s a visitor centre that gives tons of information in the form of videos, displays and exhibitions. After you explore it, you can head to Matrimandir, see the gigantic Banyan that lies at the centre of the township, and then take off to Auro aka Repo beach. I had read online that it’s an unclean one infested with thieves. However, my experience was different; sure the entrance to the beach was dirty and stinking, but the water and the people were certainly nice. I could not enter the water as I hadn’t come prepared, but I returned to this beach on the penultimate (=second last) day and had a gala time.

This outing took about 4-5 hours, and I HAD to hit the bed after I returned “home”. I set out at 8 again and headed to a restaurant called Satsanga, which is touted to be one of the best places to eat in Pondicherry. It was not as expensive as I’d imagined, the ambience and mob were brilliant, the French cuisine and seafood menu were tantalizing.

I decided to try the seafood soup and some prawn dish. The former tasted quite like our usual lentil/pulse soup mixed with luscious pieces of meat that were crunchy and didn’t taste bad... The prawns were all right, nothing worth writing home about. Seafood usually is bland and salty, so I knew what to anticipate. All I’d wanted was to experience something out of the ordinary. Mission accomplished.

I passed a hep little joint on my way called Le Space; it looked like a cozy little place with a young crowd, colorful blinking bulbs and light music. I promised myself I’d visit it one of the following evenings. (Destiny had scheduled it for Friday.)

It had been too long since my taste buds had taken a swig of delicious cold coffee, so I dropped in at the Café Coffee Day outlet at Ginger and ordered a chocolate doughnut with my pet Devil’s Own. One of the best parts about staying in a good hotel is that even if you relax indoors, you enjoy it without feeling claustrophobic or guilty about wasting time.

Time for Sleeping Beauty to set foot in the Paradise of Dreams. Gnite!

- Happy Princess

Pondi trip - Day 2

(View my vacation snaps on Facebook and Picasa : http://picasaweb.google.com/anuja.rathi/PondiTripFeb2010?feat=directlink.)

Bon Jour!!

So let’s figure out the geography, shall we? There’s basically this main street called M. G. Road (there’s an M. G. Road in every city/town/village in India, and Pondi is no exception), and the entire civilization is based around it. So, on one side of M.G. Road you have the Aurobindo Ashram, Rock Beach, French War Memorial, French Institute, Bharatidasan Park, Rolland library, etc and on the other side there’s the Botanical Garden, Churches of Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart of Jesus and Grand Bazaar. So, if you hire a bicycle (as I did on Day 2), then you can cover all of these places within a day. The entire commute would be no greater than 7-8 kilometers if planned well (which I obviously did, aadat se majboor!) And at 30 bucks per day, it’s an awesome idea. However, do take note of the timings of different places – quite a few shut at 5 pm, and some are closed on Mondays, so you better plan well.

But before that I had a sumptuous breakfast at Le Café near Rock Beach. The view from the 24 hour restaurant is grand, and the place is frequented by foreigners from everywhere, so the food and service is also pretty good. I dug into my Continental breakfast with gusto and savored the sight of the waves dashing on the rocks.

A short walk away lies the Aurobindo Ashram (click here for more info) and I was stunned by the numerous flowers adorning the villa. There’s vibrant purples, fiery reds, pale beige, pretty pinks and gorgeous greens. There’s cacti and gladiolas, marigolds and so many more. The ashrama attracts people from across the globe, and the silence and peace there is mesmerizing. Visitors are allowed inside during specified hours, and they can only view the Samadhis of Aurobindo and the Mother. There is a publication department that sells hundreds of postcards and books on various subjects in a range of languages. I got one on physical exercise – yoga and all. Need to get rid of this paunch, man!

I noticed a wonderful thing at the ashram – whenever people start making some noise (which they clearly do), they are not told to shut up by placing a finger on the lips. Instead, the ashram folks place all their fingers on their mouth. I found this action remarkably humble and so much better than the usual “keep quiet” gesture. The latter reeks of ego, superiority complex and admonishment while the former is a meek request that touches the heart. Try it!

I pedaled away from Manonmani Cycle Mart on a BSA, smiling as if I’d won a million dollars. It had been ages since I’d cycled – 9 years to be precise; the last time was when I was in standard 10^th. The roads were quite congested and the auto and bus drivers were a little rash, but having rode around Pune for a decade, I really didn’t find it too challenging to maneuver my way. My enthusiasm coupled with a city map and my keen sense of direction made a terrific package and I thoroughly enjoyed my sightseeing.

The French Institute was as novel to localites as it was to me; nobody knew where it was. It is a disappointing place, with not much to see – just a pretty backyard, some posters and manuscripts. I don’t even think it is a tourist attraction, but somehow it landed up on my places-to-visit list.

After that, I checked out the Church of Immaculate Conception and the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The former remains dear to me because the gong started ringing there when I was praying. It was an extremely optimistic and symbolic event to me. Even at the second church, the service began when I entered the premises; I AM God’s favorite child after all!!

I cycled on to Botanical Garden but it had shut at 5 pm, so I set my bum at rest at Coffee.com on Mission Street - a snacks and internet services joint. The Iced Mocha was as shitty as the baguettes (sandwiches) were amazing, and I noticed a few French-ies ;-) all glued to Facebook. I was tempted to follow suit, but I had promised myself that I would avoid any connection with the familiar, except for an occasional call back home to let folks know I’m fine.

I decided to reward my will power by splurging on some delicious chocolate delicacies at Choco-La. This place guarantees pure orgasm to all chocolate lovers. So, there’s a variety of pastries and candies for you to gorge on – tiramisu, dark chocolate, white chocolate, dry fruit chocolate, you name it. I had the Moksha cake, and it was yummmm… A must visit for sure!

Some souvenir hunting later, I trudged back to Ginger. The vending machine had caught my eye when I’d checked in, and I planned to use it today. That it held Milkybars was fantastic, and in my excitement at using a real vending machine, I bought a packet of Kurkure as well. (Ya, I know it’s cancerous, but what the hell, I don’t always eat and act right, so it’s just one more addition to the poison in me.)

It was a Monday well spent, and there were still 5 days to go. I thought I’d take it easy and relax in my room, munch on some junk and watch TV till late. I was on vacation - no waking up early to the commotion at home, no getting ready for work, no need to look at the time and follow a structured routine! Blissss… And to sleep on a king-size bed with fairy-white sheets and pillows…

The magic of Puducherry unfolds…

Sweet dreams!

Princess

Pondi trip - Day 1

(My vacation snaps have been uploaded on Facebook and Picasa. The link for the latter is - http://picasaweb.google.com/anuja.rathi/PondiTripFeb2010?feat=directlink. Let me know your comments on the pictures as well as my adventures!)

4.15 am : The alarm buzzed. I woke up all eager and energetic. D-day was here. I was finally going to fulfill my dream of visiting Pondicherry.

It had taken a little while to decide whether I should set my alarm for 4 or 4.30, but given that my flight was at 6 and I wasn’t gona have a bath at such an unearthly hour, I thought it wise to give myself 40 minutes to get ready and 20 to get to the airport so that I could check in by 5.15.

5.55 am : She was racing like a bird, pounding hard on the runway. My middle seat did not give me too grand a view of the scene under the plane, and it sure was not enjoyable when the flight started jiggling and rattling mid air.

But we got to our destination in an hour and thirty minutes so I wasn’t complaining. Besides, I’d paid just over 4000 bucks for an Indigo round trip, so I was delirious with joy at having struck a great deal. Booking early rocks!

10 am : Pleasantly stuffed with Idli and Dosai, I washed my breakfast down with an addictive and steaming cup of coffee. The restaurant my cab (fare pre-decided as Rs. 2300/- for a one-way trip between Chennai and Pondi, that’s about 3 hours) had stopped at, was near a theatre called Mayajaal, located on East Coast Road (ECR). The websites I’d checked before leaving had said that the ECR was an extremely scenic route, but having traveled on the Mumbai-Pune expressway N number of times, it wasn’t extraordinary for me. It’s true that coconut trees never leave your sight, and the road has no bumps or craters… Good enough…

My first stop after breakfast was at Dakshina Chitra, which houses the culture and attractions of three South Indian states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, spread over 10 acres of land. (They have their own website! Click here) It’s nothing short of heaven for those interested in traditions, arts and architecture. To me, it was different… Unusual… Interesting…

Our next destination was Crocodile Park that I have visited before while on my trip to Vellore with the college gang in 2008. The crocodiles were just as smelly and just as scary as the last time. I still managed to get quite a few amazing pictures… And also at Mahabalipuram – the shore temple and Five Rathas. Please take good note of this – an umbrella and an ice-cream can make this excursion decently bearable. Otherwise the sun and the heat will really drain you out.

3 pm : Entered Pondi and even the streets looked special to me! Checking in at Hotel Ginger (a Tata enterprise) was like ecstasy personified. I took some time to unpack and freshen up and set out after a mini lunch at Ginger itself.

My to-do list for the evening read Rock Beach, which is the only beach inside the town. Yeah, there’s no sandy beach within the settlement; you need to travel a couple of miles for that. I took an auto and got to the beach just as all the population started descending there. Let’s face it, there’s nothing much for the common man (and woman) to do in Pondi in the evenings, and what better place to head out than the beach and sit near the crashing waves? The statues of Gandhi and Nehru face each other, and the Old 19^th century lighthouse looks on right at the entrance to the beach. I strolled around and enjoyed the lovely breeze as I walked the crowded path. There was an Ambedkar monument near the Municipality building, and I took a few snaps for my history-politics-and-biography-crazy Abba to relish.

The people there are so friendly and innocent. As I passed by, a few girls sitting on the roadside called out to me…

“Helloooo! Helloooo!”

I looked around. They were definitely looking at me. Addressing me, for sure.

“Yes?”

In chorus - “Where you from? What iiiiiis your name?”

I was dumbfounded, I didn’t want a bunch of kids yelling my name in public.

“Sunita”

“Telugu? Where from?”

“France” – Could think of noplace else.

‘”Come photo, photo!”

I glanced about. One snap wouldn’t hurt. Besides, it would delight them.

I wrested to keep my skirt around my legs; the girls were tugging at my arms and clothes in order to be close to me. Click.

“Ok byeeeee, Sunita byeeee. Bye Sunitaaaa.”

:-)

I continued my stride down Rock Beach and landed up near Dumas Street – famous for restaurants, basically the French part of town. I’d heard of a Seagulls restaurant that was popular with tourists. And indeed it was a nice place. I dined at Pier Point watching the waves, the cool breeze caressing my hair and calming my soul. The rustling of the coconut leaves inspired the poet in me, and I enjoyed gazing at the sand and the crowd around me. It did not bother me that others were staring at me, and one guy even came up to me and asked me the time, despite the fact that he had a watch and I did not…

All in a day’s work.

Cheerio!
Princess

Pondi-CHERRY on the top

Hellooooooooo!

I'm back :)

My trip was super-duper awesome, and I soooo didn't wana come back!

Obviously, had to... There were people, things and events waiting for me in Pune-land.

Well, I don’t really know where to start and what to avoid when I tell you about my expedition. It was the height of awesomeness; everything was perfect, and all that wasn’t was made up for by my peace of mind and enthusiasm.

But leme begin by telling you a few points to note:

1. Carry an umbrella if you plan to roam around in/around Chennai and Pondicherry.
2. Bargaining and negotiating is a given anywhere you go (at least in India) and if you don’t do it, you’re a fool with no sense of efficiency.
3. Keep an open mind when you travel. Be willing to explore new places, meet new people, eat new dishes, do things out of the ordinary and just enjoy everything without criticism or evaluation. Of course, don’t compromise on issues pertaining to your safety.

I’m gona keep adding to that list as an when I remember more stuff… But until then, this is good enough.

So, to put it in a nutshell, I left for Chennai from Pune around 6 am on Sunday the 7^th of February. The Indigo I took departed on time, and was a shaky flight, but we landed well before the scheduled arrival time. (They say the journey’s 2 hours long, but it doesn’t take over one and a half.) On reaching Chennai, I took a cab to Pondicherry. The pre-decided fare was Rs. 2300/- and the driver promised to take me to sightseeing attractions on the way. This included a breakfast halt, Dakshina Chitra, Crocodile Park and Mahabalipuram. (More details later.)

When I reached Pondi around afternoon, my room at Ginger was ready. It was a dream fulfilled. A little rest and refreshment later, I set off for Rock Beach - the only beach inside the tiny town and the hub of all activity and tourism. The next few days were spent in combing the entire union territory and relishing all that Puducherry had to offer – beaches, churches, restaurants and Auroville. Frankly, there’s not much to see, so if you’re the compulsive traveler who needs a list of places to check out and hopes to see tons of innovative and exciting places, then you’ll be disappointed. Yet, there is so much to experience – the culture, natural beauty, people and most importantly, the tranquility.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there, which lasted exactly a week : Sunday through Saturday. And not once did I feel that I was bored or that it had been too long. One reason for that could be that I was only looking out for some relaxation and change. The other is, well, I prefer a calm pace during my vacations; I don’t enjoy getting up early and running to catch one place after the other. So I did things I wanted and saw places I wished, at leisure.

When I returned on Saturday midnight, I was baked brown and tired yet rejuvenated at the same time. The horrifying news of the blast at German Bakery in Koregaon Park greeted me, and I couldn’t believe it. I’d always thought of Pune as a pristine place that no evil might touch. Turned out I was mistaken. God bless the souls who were killed and injured in that incident. I hope the offenders get punished.

Another news that I got while still on vacation was that our family had been blessed with a baby boy. Not a healthy one, unfortunately, but it’s fighting hard and so are we. I’m sure everything will be fine soon, my intuitions are all telling me that this time it couldn’t be wrong. None of us deserves this, especially my Bhabhi who’s sucha sweetheart…

And yet another news – a great one, which is that I scored a whopping 118 on 120 in TOEFL. I’d been super anxious about the test and had barely studied, but I guess I did extremely well. Just lost a mark in Speaking and one in Reading, but got a 100% on both Listening and Writing. Woo hoo! Happy, Texas? Take me now! And you too, Michigan – I’m waiting to hear from you after the telephonic interview that took place on Feb 4.

That’s all I’ve got time for today. Shall compile my adventures soon, and post them here. Until then, you can check out my vacation photographs on Facebook (if we’re connected there) or Picasa. The link is - http://picasaweb.google.com/anuja.rathi/PondiTripFeb2010?feat=directlink

I’m back!! :-)

Betcha missed me ;-)

Tadaaa...

-Princess

Love is...

Remember the cute comic strip Love is... ? It used to come in Pune Times a while ago, before the T-shirt comic started... I used to collect them when I was younger - a cute little picture of a man and a woman followed by a short definition of the different acts and feelings in love.

Love is... is a comic strip created by New Zealand artist Kim Grove in the 1960s, later produced by her son Stefano Casali. It is actually a series of little love notes that Kim Grove drew for her future husband, Roberto Casali. The beginning of the strip coincided closely with the 1970 film Love Story. The film's signature line is "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Incidentally, one of the most popular Love is... comic is "Love is being able to say you're sorry".

I'm putting up here some pictures that I found online... Coz we should never forget that love is the simple things in life that become so unusual just bcoz that special someone is with you :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

May Love always smile on you and your loved ones...

-Princess

Rann ... Till You Succeed

Yup, I've watched Rann, and the movie is so not as marvelous as expected. Of course, all the characters and actors are spectacular, but wonderful performances don't a terrific movie make...

The story is oh-so-stale, but Ramu wanted to take a shot at it nevertheless, before Madhur Bhandarkar came around with his real-life-story clan. (Madhur has done page 3 before, but Rann is primarily about the news channels on air.) Not surprisingly, the movie is about how these TV-wallahs cook up stories to raise their popularity and TRPs*

(A lot of folks, including me, don't know what the full form of TRP is... It's Target Rating Point, and it stands for "a measure of the purchased television rating points representing an estimate of the component of the target audience within the gross audience", says Wikipedia. I didn't quite understand all of it, but for further info, click here)

Amitabh Bachhan plays the very dashing and respected Vijay (again! but not Deenanath Chauhan, this time it's Vijay Harshwardhan Malik), a popular journalist for over 3 decades. He runs a TV news channel with his son Jay Malik (an extremely talented actor - Sudeep or someone) and the gorgeous Suchitra Krishnamurthy who plays a grey Nalini Kashyap. As Vijay runs the show with honesty and integrity, it is no wonder that his channel is not making profit, a fact that deeply disturbs his son who is eager to ace the race in television channels; a position currently held by Amrish Kakkar (Mohnish Behl, as despicable as he was in Maine Pyar Kiya - which means he's a good actor).

Politicians, businessmen and media professionals flock together for personal interests, and Mohan Pandey (Paresh Rawal, under-utilized), Navin (Rajat Kapoor, as brilliant as in Bheja Fry and Mixed Doubles) and Jay start the game of you-scratch-mine-I-scratch-yours with zero morality and high potential gains. Neetu Chandra (dressed cheaply so that the guys aren't disappointed), Gul Panag and Simone Singh have little to do, but they look convincing in their tiny roles. Who obviously takes the cake is the Big B and the small D... Riteish Deshmukh is fast becoming one of my favorite actors because he infuses tremendous sincerity and passion into his characters. As a newbie in journalism, he beautifully portrays the amateur's dilemma of candor versus profit. And to put in a few light moments, the film makes way for Rajpal Yadav, and does the guy need any introduction? He's superb, man.

I guess the story is evident from the prologue above. Breaking news becomes synonymous with breaking trust and misleading the public, who excitedly watches and believes everything they are told by the media. The plot would have been more thrilling if only all of us were not so painfully aware of this fact. After all the drama and evil is done, Vijay H. Malik candidly apologizes to the public and discloses the identities of the no-gooders. Game over.

My rating - 5 on 10.

My dream run for my MBA abroad is going ding, ding, ding... I mean I'm getting dinged (means rejected) left, right, center. It began with Cambridge, was taken further by Kellogg and now NYU Stern. I worked hard on the last one man, the T-shirt that I made as a personal expression of myself, I really put my brain, heart and soul into it. But I guess I ain't surprised. I've been told that there are blokes who get admitted to Kellogg and not to NYU. It's that great. Chalo, theek hai. Ab rahi toh do ummeede - Michigan Broad and Texas Austin. Have to crack both ya. Sala kuch toh choice ho!

I gave my Broad telephonic interview last night. It went well, I think. The interviewer was in a great rush and I could barely make out 70% of what she was saying. The questions were quite repetitive, I felt, coz she began with the usual Why MBA, Why Broad, and then asked me about 5 questions all revolving around teamwork. I was a tad distracted coz of some annoying interruptions, so I don't recall much of what I said, but I'm sure I didn't goof up too bad. Let's hope for the best.

But for now, it's vacation time! Yoo hooooooo... I leave for Pondi the day after. My packing is reasonably done. And what has eased the process is my latest shopping spree :-D

Awrite now, don't oggle people. I HAD to buy a few things for my trip, besides the shorts and tube. Hit Central the other day, there's a wonderful sale going on, very attractive discounts available. I got a couple of casual but cute tops/Ts, and a beautiiiiiiiiiful dress. I've always wanted to own one like it, and its simplicity is so stunning... Wow! Dying to wear it... Come opportunity, present thyself!

Time to say goodbye, people. I'll see if I can drop a line from Pondi, but honestly I don't plan to be connected to anything/anyone in home city Pune. So, don't get too lost and lonely and disappointed with Princess missing :-) I promise I'll dish it out in bucket-loads after I return - all my adventures and fun and realizations and philosophies.

Cool?

Cool.

Take good care of yourself until then!

Love always,

Princess

I'm Alive

Wazaaaaaaaa, fellas?

I'm doing good, extremely happy coz I did some fab work over the last couple of days. Work as in professionally and academically. Nothing gives you the satisfaction that a good day's work can... Trust me...

Of course, other than going shopping and purchasing something dreamy and exquisite, which I did too :-D

But more on that later... Let me begin by telling you how things have been at work... By the way, I completed 6 months at YB yesterday. Cheers!

Honestly speaking, I've hardly had much to do over the last few weeks. I've just been loitering at work, and trying to look busy and important. (Which most people do so often, that after a point of time, they stop realizing they're doing nothing unusual or productive. Weird but true.) So, when I was told outta the blue that I need to visit a client and evaluate candidates for communication training, I was glad to actually be occupied in constructive work, for a change.

Now, I was expecting about a dozen candidates and I was nowhere close to prepared to being handed a sheet of 60-odd names, most sounding South Indian - you know, the usual Rao and Reddy and tons of snake-god names. I took a deep breath and geared up for the task.

I do enjoy meeting people, and I must say, it was fun. One of the best things about being a trainer is that you can let yourself go wild and encourage the students to explore themselves during interactive sessions. Which is exactly what I did. So, right from the usual "What's your favorite destination?" to "What would you do with a million bucks?" to the more controversial "What would you rename yourself as, and why?" and "Why don't you have a girlfriend?", I went berserk. And the candidates thoroughly enjoyed the interrogation. (I know coz we were both giggling.) Helped me build the required rapport and helped the students relax. Good job.

Tell me something new ;-)

But that's just the basics. I HAVE to share with you the details about the weirdos I meet and the crazy stuff they do... LOL... Omigosh, it's hilarious, the way some folks behave...

So, as I said this group was mostly composed of idli-dosa-people. While their MTI (mother tongue influence) and pronunciation had me grinning and fuming alternately, they came across as extremely sincere and polite. Unfortunately, non-trainable, though. Wana know how chatting with them is...?? Check this out : When I asked "Tell me about your family", they say "My name is blah-blah. I studied at blah-blah. My first job was so-and-so". I calmly guide them back to my original question, to which they answer "My fother (NO typo, they say fOther) was retired and mother was housemaker (HOMEmaker/houseWIFE)." I make a straight face and ask with empathy, "Was? They're there, right?" only to be told, "Ya ya, they in Kannur." Shucks....

And then there was this deadly-looking chap who tells me, "I want to join this company because branded, and then people will give their daughters to me to marry." Ahem, how many you looking for, mate?! Pretty candid and upfront, I admit...

Another reedy fellow on being asked "Why are you so thin?" replied promptly "I will drink Complan." Hehehe... Too late for that, buddy. Should have done that sooner...

And godddd... some of these guys dress in such outrageous ways! I had to blink a couple of times when I saw this dude walk up to me in a bright red shirt. I mean, a traffic signal red of all colors to an interview? It's almost like saying "Hire me or I'll fire you."

This other cartoon in a waistcoat, jeans so ornately embroidered that it could put any fashionable girl to shame, funny gigantic glasses and elfin shoes told me he likes Emraan Hashmi and tries to emulate him, in style as well as actions. God bless you, Emraan, and your marvelous fan following...

And how can I forget those who look upon these one-on-one chats as a means to vent and displace their agony akin a free counseling session? I begin with something as harmless as "What's your best quality/talent?" and end up listening to an entire monologue about how the parents did not allow the child to play and pursue cricket as a career, and after that the child never quite did anything out of his own volition, and he now lives a life completely directed and commanded by his Paa and Maa. Interesting... And worrisome... The psychologist inside me really aches after hearing these stories.

But well, that's just a little glimpse of some things in my profession. It's as much entertainment as it is hard work. After all, training people and raising their competencies in a matter of weeks/months is no child's play. My next Academy batch starts after my vacation (Pondi, yipppeeee!)and I shall be super busy in Feb, what with the family expecting a baby any moment. The stork better wait until Feb 15!

About the TOEFL, well, it was... umm... what should I say... I guess it was OK, I don't really know. I think I did a good job on the entire test, though I was smiling throughout for heaven knows what reason. And then I got bored on the extra reading section, and passively answered the questions in the listening section. The speaking section was not as bad as I had expected; the prompts were pretty good, but I lost sense of time and found the time allotted for speaking short. What I sure did fantastically on is the writing section (no surprise there, right?!) where I gave a free rein to my imagination and language skills. Woohoo!! The TOEFL is gone and done with. Hushhhhh... No more tests for me now at least for the next 6 months! Of course, there's the evaluation bit - my Michigan State Univ (MSU) telephonic interview is on the 4th and I have to make sure I crack it and get an admit. There's also UT McCombs and NYU Stern... All in good time.

And now for the shopping bit - I bought a pair of sexy shorts (something I've wanted to own for a millennium, so what if I really don't have much opportunity to wear them?) My mum all but collapsed when I showed her my latest buy. What with the funky tube top I bought on New Year's and now these glam shorts, she's worried about the direction my fashion sense and ultra-modern brain is taking :-D But she's a great sport, and now she wants me to buy a nice short skirt as well ;-) Wanted to do that, but didn't get anything chic enough...

Another chic-y thing was my evening at Stone Water Grill (or SWG, if you will). This swanky place in Koregaon Park sure is one must-visit. True, it's expensive and I didn't quite love the music, but the crowd, food and ambience is amazing. Particularly the Char Grilled Mushrooms... Yumm, so juicy... and the sauce was just right!

That's all for now. Will keep you posted about further developments.

Asta La Vista!
Princess