It was normal Saturday evening. Had just come back from office and was busy channel surfing when the news caught my attention.
“Serial blasts rock Ahmedabad.”

Ahmedabad is the city where I had started my career and having spent 5 lovely years there, any news about the city grabs my attention. Being a practical person I don’t get attached to a city but Ahmedabad is an exception.

My immediate concern was my friends who stay in Maninagar area (one of the blasts site). Fortunately I was able to get through them and the news that they were safe relieved me. My next step was to try calling other ex-colleagues & friends but then I decided upon sending messages to all of them. When I started adding numbers I realised that the 25% of my phone comprises of people from Ahmedabad. I was scared.

But then upon receiving the messages all my friends started replying they are safe. But then I received a call Mr. Rajendra’s phone. There was a lady on the other end.

Lady: hello, who’s there?
Me: hi, this is S, am Mr. R’s colleague, just wanted to know he is safe.
Lady: where are you calling from? I’m his wife speaking.
Me: I am calling from Mumbai, I used to work with him, Is he ok?
Lady: I don’t know, he hasn’t reached home, his number is not reachable and he comes from the same route where the blasts are happening.
I was dumbstruck; I didn’t know what to say.
Me: Oh! I hope he is ok, take care.
Lady: Ok.

I was surprised by my reaction. I knew that when I had sent a message to my friends I was not only praying but also expecting to hear only the news of their safety.
I wasn’t prepared to hear a bad news.

Why? May be am not brave enough or may be I was in a denial mode. I was hoping that if terrorist acts happen somewhere then even I can not be affected.
As they say you’ll never know until it falls on you, .

My mobile beeped there was a message which said, a blast has happened just 50 meters from our home, at LG hospital. Palm trees near are place are all burned but we are safe.

I slept late that day, messages were pouring in late night too that people were safe. I was happy & relieved but there was a niggling fear which I was unable to put rest to. I had not received any call or message from Mr. Rajendra. Could he be the part of the statistics? Could he be the part of those numbers?

Sunday morning was dull for me. Somewhere deep down I was shocked. Ahmedabad is a peaceful & the safest city for me and the people there the most gentle of the lot.

Why should this happen to them & for that matter why anyone? And then my mobile buzzed of, it was a new number. But when I took the call & heard the voice on the other side I was relieved.

It was Rajendraji it took him time to remember who I was but I was thankful that he was safe.

In the later part of the day while watching news I was shocked to know that they were still discovering live bombs. This literally means that no place is safe. You never know where a blast awaits you. How does it feel to live in such terror? How does it feel to live in a country where the main priority of the politicians is to stay in power? Safety of its junta comes last.How does it feel to see that it was so easy for the terrorists to strike so many locations at a time. And the next location can be the one where you are standingHow does it feel to amongst terrorists for whom targeting innocent people & hospital is a kind of revenge?
I have no answers to these questions but I know that I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe for my family, friends, neighbors & myself.
And after hearing about so many blasts this is the first time that I am not feeling safe because this time it has affected the people I know.
I just shudder to think how people are who are directly affected must be feeling.

What do woman really love?
What is our favorite time pass?
How are we impressed?
Why do we love shopping?
Why do we talk so much?

Blah!!! Blah!!! Blah!!! And more Blah!!!

Instead of spending time to unravel such silly questions I would want the mankind to leave us alone with wads n wads of money. Money, which can be spent without any kind of guilt.

Guilt free shopping *rubbing my hands in anticipation & with a glee*.

Though I can come up with a huge list of such items but let me concentrate on one for now.

Hand Bags, to say I have a fetish for them would be an exaggeration but to say I love buying & hoarding them would not be an understatement.

One bag of mine lasts usually 2-3 months and then I get bored of it and then begins the search of another perfect bag :-) and sometimes I don’t need any excuse to buy one. I just feel like buying & I buy.

Though all my bags are usually black n brown but usually it’s the white ones which pull me. But due to practical reasons they aren’t bought :-(

I usually prefer huge bags but mostly they end up looking bigger than me :-( but that doesn’t stop me from buying them ;-)

The bigger the bag is the bigger the mess it is in.
Am an expert in loosing stuff in the bag and whenever I visit a multiplex and the aunty there checks my bag I mutter “how will you find anything in this when even am not able to ;-)”

Usually the bags which I carry have numerous pockets & zips and the probability of all of them being open is higher ;-) why waste time in opening them again n again.

Though I won’t say I keep all my hand bags very properly but a month back I was in a mood to pamper them and so they all had a great bath in my washing machine and when I told my colleague about it she was shocked ;-) bags in washing machine????

All said and done I can buy any number of hand bags and not feel guilty about it. I feel that bags, shoes & clothes reflect our personality and we shouldn’t compromise on that. Shopping is a therapy for dull moods, good moods and every mood. So pamper yourselves and don't try reading any message in this diary because there is none.

~Love thy bags~

I guess watching one match live was addictive enough to eye the finale. The shifting of the venue convinced me to fight for the ticket but final decision was nailed by the fact that Salman Khan was expected to perform. I grabbed the tickets hoping that the news was true.

When Kings XI lost out in semi’s my spirits were dampened so the sole reason for me to go to the Finale was Salman Khan.

With the ceremony planned to start at 6:30 pm we didn’t were in no mood to take chance so we were there at the stadium at 5:45 pm took our seats which had a very good & clear view. This time we had come well prepared, bole to we were armed with a very good binocular (am glad we invested in them) & our Digi-Cam.

The ceremony started at around 6:45 (I’ll be posting a separate post about the ceremony, laser show & the match tomorrow, need to ready the video).

After the performance of the starlets “Shonali Nagrani” announced that here comes the bollywood’s heartthrob and man I was out of my seat shouting….and yes she announced the performance of my Salman.
The dais was facing pavilion and was quite far from us but I had my binoculars aimed there and found some rookie dancing, I wondered are they making a fool of us??

I was glued there and then there was a blast and there he was….
Dressed in Black N white suit….my heart beats faster while I write this ;-) imagine my condition then…sighs!!!!! He danced on the tunes of “Dus Ka Dum” (am waiting for my weekend dose of him ;-) ) which lasted some 1 minute and then he was gone…:- ( but yes, he danced like a dream and for me It was a dream come true....

With the entire euphoria ending the match started. But I knew where to aim my eyes…..i focused on the pavilion and managed spotting Amir Khan, Imraan Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Anjali Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Neeta Ambani, Gautam Singhania, Vinod Khanna with his wife and no Salman Khan.

Some 45 mins later I thought to focus there again and I saw Neeta Ambani turning back and wishing someone. I refocused on that someone and saw him hugging Amir Khan and then when I saw who it was I literally fell off my seat, hehehe…

Yes, indeed it was Salman Khan who took some 45 mins to change his shirt from white to violet but Man he was looking soooooooooo good ki I can’t tell you. For the next fifteen minutes I don’t know what happened in the match i was just staring there....

I only knew one thing; this is the closest I’ll ever be, of him. Provided fate changes its face and throws me in his arms ;- )

When I was staring him the only thought I had was, kaash if could go there….

Now comes the sour point, Salman Khan decided to take quick round of the stadium (video attached) and I decided to take a stroll at that time (yes, yes am still cursing myself). :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

I console myself with the thought that God has better things for me in his mind ;-) he will arrange a special meeting for me, am sure :-)

After that stroll he was gone and so was the fun for me…. I felt like an inflated-now-without-air-ballo
on

Sighs!!!!!!! @ Infinity…..

PS Watch out for my post & video on the opening ceremony, laser show & the match. Will uploading some snaps of the cricketers soon...

PPS Salman haters please m2m your feelings to bildebej ;-) only good things about him are to be said here...Its just a request ;-) honest feedback is always welcome

Well I wasn't as excited about the change as I was last time. May be I have grown or am past that euphoria. So when I logged in MS I was niether shocked nor excited.

My very quick observations....

- The Main screen looks bland & empty.

- As soon as I write a post or review I'll appear as hot profile, do I want that much attention?

- If I update even a single snap I'll be there on the homepage, do I want that much attention?

- Sell & buy, looks kind of ok..lemme explore it more

- Cities...hmmmm need to explore that too.

- Review of the day not opening...hmmmm

- Star writers = celebrity members hmmm...can we have a Page 3 ;-)

- Recent reviews are like in your face

- Am liking the summary against the Sizzling hot profile ;-)

Dashboard

This is worrying me.
Like facebook here I'll be getting an alert on what people in my Trusted List have been upto.

Though I have no issues in getting an update on who wrote what, what worries me is

- Getting an update who added whom in his trust list

- Getting an update on who gifted what to whom. I mean why should I know that who has pinched whom and who has kissed whom ;)
Isn't it a intrusion of privacy in a way?
May be am from old school. But I thank god that I am already through with recieving Bikni nahin to am sure I would have been scandalised ;-)

What is missing is getting an update on who has sent an m2m to whom ;-)
But hey let me explore more and enjoy the new look....

PS Mumbai = Bombay.....its called inviting trouble ;-)

I don’t remember which year it was but I remember I was very young, may be 6-7 year old. We were cooling heels at home as it was our summer vacation and enjoying the season of Mangoes. What I hadn’t bargained was the ‘funsee’s’ (boils) which were a result of the heat generated by ‘M’ and the simmering heat of UP.

These ‘Funsee’s’ made my Mom a lady with mission. She used to run behind me to take out the ‘puss’ and afraid of pain I used to run around.
 
Though these funsee’s didn’t leave a mark on me but they managed to scare me off ‘Mangoes’.

When offered to me I used to say I don’t like them & then I used to get a stare & a dialogue, never seen anyone in my life who hates mangoes. I had no explanation for them.
 
10-12 years later when we shifted to Gujarat we were introduced to a new breed of “M” there was one which used to have a “keeda” inside and people used to say it made the mango tasty. Though the thought made me feel sick but I had to agree it did taste better :- )
 
My mom started giving me “M” laced with Ice cream, jelly & cherries though I ate them but I was no where falling in love with them again.
 
But things changed in 2003 when a colleague of mine dumped a full box of mangoes on me saying, eat them. He used to stay in Veraval, which incidentally is famous for good quality mangoes.

2 dozens of “M” & just me n my friend to finish, Marta kya Na karta I started eating them & started to rediscover their magic. Though I didn’t fall in love with them even now but the story moved ahead from being friends to being enemies and then being re-acquainted & getting used to them.
 
But it was finally the Aam Ras served in Gujarati thaali which did the trick. Easy to eat & tasty indeed.
 
Though am nowhere in love with them even now but I have started enjoying them. In fact for the first time I tried making Aam Ras which turned out quite well but I wished only if somebody else could do the messy work of peeling & cutting them ;-)

As have been told that Mangoes help you to put on weight, am trying that I don't get addicted to them but I also know that this fruit is gonna see more of me :-) in near future....

How do u love it most? Slices? With Ice Cream? Aam Ras? Or any which way....
 
Don't you think MS Gift Mall should have Ice Creams & Mangoes too ;-)

Mohali was playing and the match was slow, me being me wanted to see everything being played on TV. A channel here & a channel there I found one of my favorite (but not liked by all) movie playing.

“Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya”, one of the most underrated movies, and no am not gonna talk about the movie per se. It’s a song from it that I wanna talk about, yup “Kambhaqt Ishq” was the song which I had chanced upon and the channel & I went into a trance for sometime.

There were too many memories with that song

-  In my hostel if you could hear the song in the corridor it was assumed that it was my room where it was being played.

-  I had an equally “sanki” friend, we both were too fond of dancing and used to hate the gossip sessions going on. We used to lock ourselves in a room and used to dance to the tune of this song as if there is no tomorrow. No audience was allowed and that was the time when used to feel the most liberated.

-  There was a phase when I was very-very sad and my friends used to play this song to get me into activity & trust me it worked every time.

-  Even now if you play this song, I just close my eyes and still remember each dance steps.

-  Have now downloaded the song, it’s my caller tune & ring tone too. And when I have to concentrate I plug-in the headphones and when this song comes it’s very hard not to dance.

My favorite line from the song is (Its from the slower version & I love both the versions)

Dil dil main basa hai aise patthar pe lakreen jaise…
Iss bachna hai mushkil bachna chahein to kaise….
Saalon se yahan rehta hai….
 
I feel there always will be songs which are etched in your mind for some reason or other.

And there are some songs which made to make you dance…..

This is one of those for me….

Few more like this are Bumbroo (we had danced on it for our college fest), Where’s the Party Tonight, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Kisi Disco main jaayen (that was my debut dance in front of my whole family :D) and many more….

Which song makes you dance???? Love to share with me???

My first in-stadium-match-experience turned out to be something different than what I had expected. I came out wiser and educated.

- The size of the stadium was a revelation. It was too small.

- I felt that number of players on field was quite less. I literally counted them to recheck, in my excitement counted two less & felt proud of my discovery :-D

- The player who are an enigma on screen become a spec on the field and u know its Shane Warne if he has a black band on his hand or it is Utthapa because your neighbor calls him idli-sambhar-uttapa ;-)

- When suddenly the crowd rises & starts clapping without any shot being played you should assume that its cheer girls doing some stunt. The crowd uncle-aunty-daughter-son-colle
ge kids all were more interested in cheer girls.

- Tendulkar is God for his fans, period. His playing or not playing is immaterial people will sport his T-Shirt only and just a glimpse of him on screen and the chant of Sachin-Sachin begins.

 - Its fun to see the waves being made and the way all the 6 levels of crowd synchronized and the excitement makes you join in the wave making.

- The scoreboard was not there and several times I was tempted to call my bro and ask for score, I know he would have ROFLed. ;-)

- The Camera-person’s are pro. Cat calls to them like Oye red shirt, ESPN, Halkat, uncle, bhaiya, khopdi doesn’t affect them they will focus where they want to ;-)

- After every six/ four or wicket I used to wait for its replay, Alas!!! For that I had to turn to the small screen-big TV 

- Whichever team you support inside the stadium you go with the crowd. Every wicket is celebrated & so is every boundary. I guess inside the stadium every stranger bonds with another stranger as what mattters here is having fun & enjoying.
 
For me the overall experience was an excellent one.

Though we have always felt that watching a match in the comforts of home is better but now I feel if you want to enjoy the intricacies of match watch from home and if you wan to enjoy the madness then join the madness.

What Week I had…..

- My very-much-booked-tickets of the IPL match never landed in my hands as they were sold out :- (
- Boss came back after a 2 week tour :- (
- Boss tells me, your work was excellent but appraisal, well err...you know bell curve :- (
- My bai decided to ditch :- (
-  I preview my review & submit by mistake :- (
-  Reviews of mine doing Mr. India act ;-)
- I write & publish one review but it feels like I have published three...:-(
- For a change I get a holiday like everyone else ;-)
- With the month ending I get rid of my choti si choti ;-)
- My bai resurfaces ;-)
- MS becomes a battle ground, almost, but then better sense prevails
- My desk is dirtier & filing is pending (anyone coming for help?)
- My team Mohali is on a winning spree :-) & for a change Mumbai Indian’s registers a win :-)
- I realize how many friends I have made here :-) 
 
And there is one more day to go before this week ends and just one more day in between after which a new week begins....

What I need now?
May be a break, a break from work, a break from routine….may be a break from MS....

But can I stay away???
What do you think???
Wanna bet on it???

Gifts have always fascinated me. I love getting them and when I was staying alone I used to gift small things to myself :- )
 
I still remember how excited I used to be in a birthday party. Be it mine or my brothers or anybody else’s. My modus-operandi was very simple, as soon as somebody gives a gift, take him or her in a corner & ask “Kya laaye ho?” My mom used to glare at me and eventually before any party when we were given a run down of how to behave the 1st thing in Not-To-Do list used to be, DON’T ASK WHATS THE GIFT.  I still smile when I think about it. However the curiosity to know the gift in advance is still very much there.  
Another thing which I remember from my gifting days is that there was an uncle n’ aunty who have made a record of gifting the same game to me and my bro for 5 years, Ha ha ha we used to gift them to others.
So in few word have always loved getting & giving gifts and when MS came up with gifts I was happy.
 
The fact that you need not unwrap to know the content is bliss & every alert of gifts bring a smile to my face.
 
But as people say that the novelty of gifts reduces as the gifts are all same and they are all on display. In fact you get same gifts more than one time. With my love for books famous, have many of them in my collection.
 
Then how do we make a normal gift different?
 
It’s the message with it makes the difference.
 
For e.g. last week I had received a Punch with the message “Dhishoom” which made me smile :-)
or for that matter a laughing Buddha with the message Grin.. I wish their was a broken tooth :)
 
I am very proud of sending a bracelet with “ki hum to chori se ;) bandhe ek dori se ;)” message….
 
Do you think we should delete a gift sent by anyone, just because you don’t like it?
I remember there was some member who had called me a cheat & sent a cactus to me, I still have that with me or for that matter even the dreaded bikini is still there in my kitty.

Why did I keep them? Do I love my gifts so much?

No, the fact is I love the fact that somebody has made an effort to choose a gift for me.

And as was said in “Lamhen” why should we gift somebody what he/ she likes, they will themselves get it. Gift somebody what you like, so that they remember you through it.

With 200+ gifts with me I would like to thank everyone here for their effort in gifting me & giving me a reason to smile :- )
 
And with all the negativity going on I would like to say lets all smile through, it’s a phase which will pass. Let’s celebrate the friendship's we have made here & forget everything else. 95% of people have not met each other but we all have started trusting eachother…lets continue doing that...
 
I suggest that lets to send hugs or simple gifts to each other & forget everything else.

Though if points are a constraint why don't we send an m2m as a gift? Up to you :-)

My first few hugs goes to Rohit, Vee, Shanti & Sudipto for standing by me…who are u planning to hug?

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”  So smile please....