If they made mornings illegal, I will never sin!

My morning started with SRK's tweet that he is so not a morning person. Some relief! Not because he is also not a morning person- he can afford to be anything he wants to be! But because it fueled my latent urge to share and know that how wrong is it to not be a morning person? Especially when you married someone who loves the morning breeze, the first ray of the sun and every other blah thats related to that time of the day. Also when your Mom always filled your brains with 'how people who sleep till late tend to be real losers in life!'

Ya so where were we? I was telling how some people are normal even when they are not- a morning person! What if I say my morning does exist. Its just maybe 3 hours delayed than yours but it still is my morning right? I wake up like you do. I pull the curtains like you do. I enjoy my tea like you do. I bathe, wear fresh clothes and YES I go to work, like you do! If I have chosen my work station to shift to a special corner in one of the rooms where a table keeps my laptop, my land line, my cellphone charger, my reading lamp and loads of exciting pending/finished jobs lists that (along with currency)  give me an eternal satisfaction (because I write now)- so what? I also manage my home front and 2 school going kids( BOYS!!)- unlike you do!!

One justification to my utter dislike to mornings and shameless laziness also could be that I have for the past 5 years worked my ass off raising two little cubs who growl me out of my slumber every time I remotely tread into it.I have, after all, sailed through a seemingly impossible task of getting them to a stage where they pull their pants down, climb to the potty, use the jet to clean themselves, climb back down, flush their crap, come out of the loo announcing "Ho gaya", wash their hands in the basin and go back doing what they were before answering the nature's call.

After all the negativity above I do have some good qualities too! I am- woo hoo- very much a Night person. You can keep me awake and expect all the enthusiasm as if I have just started my day. All my good ideas for my writing or consultant based assignments come at that time. But alas all this excitement is not witnessed by the boys around me because the younger ones have school the next day and the older one- well didn't I tell you he wakes up early to feel the morning breeze- EVERYDAY!!!

Are you wondering how a mother of 2 can afford to be a "No Morning person' ?- Do not forget that all this is when I wake up at 6:30 am everyday (your favorite time of the day) and send my kids to school. Its legitimate to go back believing it was a small 'break' to my night and continue the luxury of sleep. Trust me for me it is "either Good or its Morning" :) . Anyone else admitting yet???

You smart? Wow! Me stupid? How?

Boman Irani is so right when he says that he likes movies which do not want him to be stupid! Its like he read my mind and said that. He said this in an interview being telecast around 6pm on my TV and 3 hours later the same TV was showing me Housefull 2. My Facebook friends know that while I was watching that movie in the theater (circumstances forced me), I had updated my status that this movie is evoking the emotion of anger in me. I was angry because someone was assuming that I am a total idiot and thus I will like this crap. 

But hey! To each his own. I met several people post this "Housefull" encounter who made such a sympathetic face when they could not understand 'HOW ON EARTH' could someone not derive the true "meaning" of that cinema. 

Now when I merged what Boman had remarked and what Sajid khan offered in the name of a movie like Housefull, I decided to spend just a couple of minutes on figuring HOW people appreciate such movies or better still- why is it that I do not confirm to such a view? C'mon!! I live in a world where Rowdy Rathore is a super success!! Again do not assume that I am a jhola chaap, pseudo theater loving chick who thinks only alternate cinema can satiate my "oh so elevated" creative hunger. I loved Dabangg. Yes I loved it for the pure charm of Salman Khan but I can argue for hours that he did not want me to become stupid to believe him. I was also okay with 'Cocktail' because that was a point of view and it too boiled down to- is the creator of that stuff assuming that I am stupid? No.

So the crux of the matter is that I found the answer to why I do not like the justification- "Dimaag ghar par rakh kar aao" cinema. My brother and I grew up on a very basic principle set by our Dad. What he taught is almost like the foundation of our every move and a reference point for every decision that we take. He told us: Its okay if you think you are smart. But its a blunder if you think that the one in front of you is stupid.

Our thinking towards how we dealt with this world and its people is now clearly playing on material stuff that we like or dislike. I do have a problem with anyone who even before beginning a conversation with me, assumes that I am stupid. How many times have you all felt that you meet someone who is not only thinking he is smart but also discounting your brains by almost half its true worth? Many a times right? Hence not just to Mr Sajid Khan, but to anything and anyone who deals with me thinking I am STUPID- I choose not to let him make this assumption and succeed. 

After all, this is a primary reason why our Parliament doesnt run, why Chidambaran thinks he did not drain out our money because coal has not yet been mined, why we continue paying our taxes which swell Switzerland's infrastructure and yet are too lazy to do something about it :)

Image Courtesy: www.diylol.com

Am I mother-material for preparing potential Bharat Ratnas?

Why cant my kids be Olympians?

You know when I saw Indians biting those medals I only saw V and N in them! But I also see them lifting World Cup trophies, Grammys, Oscars, Indian Idol titles and more and more and more. So just sports is not my worry. My worry is larger! I am just confused that what is it that can take my kids there? Where the world is on their feet and where they are proud of themselves. Okay stop sobbing you guys- Its no "Mere bete yeh banenge wo banenge" rant. Its this:

The P&G Olympic ads put a lot of pressure on me as a mother. Saurabh stays out of the house for 12 hours everyday to earn the bread we eat with him when he returns. For the time that he is out slogging, I am spending every minute of my life with our two contributions to the "future generation" of our country. I know very well that due to lack of 'this' and 'that' the true potential of our country's talent is not coming out in its full bloom. But imagine whatever is coming out DESPITE those shortcomings is doing so because there is some will, some effort, some intention of these achievers and of course of their families- their mothers. 

So I do have 2 choices- either I could just sit and hope that a miracle will happen and my destiny will make me open my eyes one morning and 2 passes to the awards ceremony (and a gala dinner post that) will be lying on my side table- left there by either V or N and all I have to do is think about- "What should I wear to this one?". Or I could put in some serious thought in how I can mould my two delicate lumps of clay and make them 2 strong individuals who have been exposed to a variety of such opportunities where they can make themselves and their country proud!

Now c'mon how difficult is that to do? So what if I am,

• Miserably lazy: So much so that brushing teeth also is a huge task every single morning!- I am sure if they opt for a sport I will have to be up early morning to take them there?
• Compulsive drama queen: Do I need to quote instances here?- If they fail and I cry more than them, will it do any good to their morale?
• Not talented in any which way: Facebook has shown me how big a loser I am! I have absolutely no talent of which I can click pictures and expect likes!!- So its not even in their genes!
• Get bored so easy: I need a constant boost to a mundane routine- How will I ever take them for their classes each and every day?

Does this mean I should give up? Does this also mean that because I am all of the above, V and N have any less chances than anyone else whose parent is none of the above? MAYBE if I do not do anything about it, right? Hence let me now change the question I asked in the beginning of this post differently and more relevantly- 

Why cant I be a mother of 2 Olympians? :)

Rakhi-Shakhi...Haai Tauba!!

Every year at this time, the newspapers, the commercials on TV/Radio or the story lines in all Hindi serials focus on/around just one sentiment. They are all milking the brother- sister relationship and selling innovative ideas on how to show your gratitude and love through their chocolates, spa packages, diamonds or holidays. Some over enthusiastic News channels are also telling you what color Rakhi you should tie your brother if you REALLY love him! So basically everyone is madly riding the wave of making sisters and brothers make utterly thankless and guilty if they are not doing what is expected out of them as per these marketers.

On the other end are some sisters and brothers who are insulated from such guilt trips because it just does NOT matter to them what this emotion is trying to bring out in them. Some who are raised to learn to ignore the idea of tying a knot around your brother's wrist and gift your sister anything. For them this day just comes and goes. When they were in school they enjoyed this holiday with complete silence and no sign of fanfare  of a festival in their house. When they are in office and its an off day, they just dont know what to do all day. And if they are married into a family who celebrates Rakhi, they simply play along giving fake smiles and even faker blessings that this bond means something to them.

You must be wondering WHO exactly are these creatures who were destined to never enjoy this spirit. Well  these people are my FAMILY :). Due to a certain untoward occurrence in our clan over 100 years ago, our family (and every family in a cluster of about 10-15 villages) stopped celebrating Rakhi, Bhaiya Dooj and another festival called Ahoi Ashtami.

Well its not important to know the names of these days, what is important to know is that for the 1st 25 years of my life this festival did not evoke any emotion in me- for good or for bad. I did write essays on Rakshbandhan but that was it. My association ended there. One day before Rakhi, our school saw a number  of girls tying Rakhi to 'the Bully boys' to teach them a lesson and for me it was all simply crazy! Its true that your upbringing shapes your social and cultural inclinations. So for me and my brother, Rakhi has always been a chutti- thats all :)

Even when I have gotten married and experienced the whole process of making an effort to see your brother, gifting your sisters, sharing sweets, hugging and blessing each other- I am detached. Not in the form of showing disrespect! Certainly not ! But in a positive way. How?

I exchange about a 100 messages with my brother Rahul everyday( Half of them are sentences from me and monosyllables from him). I do not sleep till he reaches home-even when I am not in the same home as he is (I get scolded from Saurabh for this and Rahul has cheat codes to escape this emotional stress). For me he is my first son, before V and N (So what if I am the one who turns to him for advises on life saving matters). He has to just know that I need a particular thing and he will go to any extent to get it (Al Bake shawarmas are a classic example which he now orders on phone for convenience). He advises me on every little change that I want to do in my house ( and when I do just the opposite- he still loves it). I advise him on how to deal with his friendships ( and he never adheres to it!). I share my secrets with him (Yes Rahul! Bas wahi secrets hain meri!). He loves my husband as his older brother and respects him so much that it makes me proud ( so what if he is as scared of him as he is of Dad). I know for sure that I will love his wife as much (Dude- get a good one). So on and so forth :)
Even with my cousin brothers, I know all of them will come to me in a matter of hours if I called them at 2 am in the night ( so what if our communication is just through Facebook but touch wood I have never had to use the 2 am call- But pretty sure about it!)

Batao Rakhi isse zyada aur kya karti? It would have celebrated this beautiful relationship of ours? We celebrate it everyday :)

Same to you Brothers !