The swan song

Phew!

April has ended, and it has done so on a bittersweet note.

Doing the A-Z blogathon this year was a super fun ride, and I know I'll miss thinking of and hunting for crazy songs to regale you with. At the same time, I'm also relieved that it is over. Because it sure was exhausting. I was battling multiple deadlines at work, Xena had lots of assignments and tests to prepare for, and with Viv gone on his annual teerth-yatra business trip to Vegas, and me having to manage everything, it was not easy. April never is, and I ask myself every year why I do this and whether it would be considered cheating if I simply did the blogathon in another month instead. (Yes, it would be.)

But this year's A-Z blogathon felt different. I know it doesn't make sense, but it felt easier as well as more difficult to come up with songs rather than random thoughts for the 26 letters. I also picked up the amazing millennial skill of gif-making, which I am still so excited about that I want to go put it on my resume.

In the last one month, I have watched wayyyy more bad songs than anyone should ever have to. And that too, multiple times before deciding they were worthy, and then multiple times again when creating the gifs. Yes, I am scarred for life.

And YouTube is not helping. My current YouTube 'recommended for you' list is mortifying. If anyone saw it, they'd look at me, tsk, shake their heads and walk away.

Another side effect was that the songs would get stuck in my head, and even if I woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, my brain would be humming 'Gali gali mein pani hai' or 'Barah maheene line mari'. Whenever I'd be in a cheerful mood, suddenly I'd hear 'O happy in my heart dil dance maare re' in my head. And it's not just me. My lovely songs have touched many lives. When Viv came back, I made him watch the Dreamum Wakeuppum song, and 15 minutes later, I heard him singing to himself, "Dreamum, wakeuppum, breakfast mein uttappam".

The song that got really badly stuck in my head was the susu song. I had to literally shut my mouth so I wouldn't end up singing it aloud — Xena would pick it up in a flash and share it at school, especially in Hindi class and I'd be that mother that corrupted an entire class of kids.

There were some songs that didn't make it to the list for emotional reasons. For example, there are several Sridevi songs that would neatly fit in this blogathon, but I just couldn't get myself to make fun of her songs. Not that I am a fan, but it's just too early.

There are so many other songs that didn't make it for various reasons, and I'm wondering if I should do this for next year's blogathon as well. I can't let these precious finds go to waste. They have to be shared with the world, especially with the folks whose lives have not been touched by these gems. Like a friend said, "Yeh kaunse patthar ke neeche ke khopche se did you dig these songs out?"

Thank you all for your emails, comments, messages and encouragement. They meant a lot to me and kept me motivated throughout the blogathon. I will now go and respond to all the blog comments, after which I plan to go into hibernation for a while and then focus on updating my travel blog.

I also need to immediately go and listen to a LOT of normal songs so that my YouTube recommended list goes back to its old glory. Coke Studio, here I come.

Thanks for the love, bewdas and bewdis. I will miss you like mango.

PS: Btw, do let me know which songs touched you in particular.

Chennai Express

Thanks to purana (ooh, that autocorrected to piranha!) bewda Arun who pointed out the very embarrassing fact that I did not blog at all in October, I'm back at the bar.

Viv, Xena and I are in Chennai for Viv's cousin's wedding and it has been nothing but FUN! It is hot though, and I'm glad I took the advice of my friend who burst out laughing when I told her I was packing a full-sleeved salwar kameez because, you know, "it's winter in India". Yeah, apparently there is no winter in Chennai. We sleep at night with the AC/fan switched on. Viv has been ignoring my dirty 'yeh tumhara winter hai?' looks.

Xena got to witness her first Diwali in India, and her constant question was, "Why is it so noisy, mama?" Noisy? This? Beta, this is nothing compared to the noisy Diwalis of my childhood, most of which was spent in Bihar/Jharkhand where my dad was posted for many many years. Both Holi and Diwali used to be, for lack of a better word, quite jungli. But I shall have you know that we used to have fabulous winters and at one point, the temperature went so low that the water froze in the pipes and when we opened the taps in the morning, nothing came out.

Anyway, back to the original topic. We just wrapped up day 2 of the wedding and 'wrapped' is the right word simply because of the number of saris I've sported. (#sarinotsorry) The sari is my favourite outfit of all. I'm partial to the chiffon kinds, mainly because they don't form a parachute around you when you sit down, the way silk saris do. So yes, I've been wearing a lot of saris and jewellery and yet that has not stopped me from eating pani puris (gaahhhh that autocorrected to pain puris!) like the true jungli that I am. I'm not kidding you, I attacked the pani puri stall at the wedding as soon as I possibly could, and stopped only when the pani puri bhaiya started to get a little judgemental. I'd have continued but it was getting hard to ignore his 'Didi, ab toh bas karo' looks. Hmmph!

The food has been so spectacular that in spite of not having gymmed for a week, I'm indulging guiltlessly. Viv, on the other hand, has been feeling pangs of guilt and has really been holding back. He'd better not act like this tomorrow, because I have a Rajasthani thali meal planned for the whole family at Rajdhani tomorrow.

Over the two days of the wedding, I have been introduced to nothing short of 2772723664849494 relatives. Even my extended family is quite large, but Viv's is unfathomable. It felt like he really knew most of the thousand people present at the wedding, leaving me to wonder where on earth the groom's relatives were. On day 1, I just followed him around cluelessly, being introduced to, but not at all being able to keep track of, all the chitappas and chitthis and athais and athimbers and thathas and paatis and cousins and their spouses and kids. Luckily, unlike mine, his side doesn't have the custom of touching the feet of the elders, otherwise my back would have gone for a toss! And oh, if I had a penny for every time I heard the phrase "Remember me? I came to your wedding..."

On day 2, I fared much better, and it really helped that everyone speaks excellent English, including the grandpas and grandmas! Wow. I did get tested on my knowledge of Tamil at times, and so I flaunted my extensive Tamil vocabulary, which comprises key phrases such as 'rombha pasikeradhu' (very hungry) and 'saapaadu venu' (need food).

I also felt a little 'senior' because I'd been the only non-Tamilian bahu in the family so far, but this time in the new generation of damaads and bahus, there was a Lithuanian and an American! Also, the fact that I'm kind of half a generation above the younger, unmarried cousins I was hanging out with meant that I could switch from 'cool bhabhi' to 'mami mode' and back in a blink, which was kinda fun. I am going to find a suitable app to track the family tree on both sides, complete with photographs. Any recommendations?

It's been really fun so far and I'm soaking it all in before we get back to Singapore (and full-steam work!) next week. And yes, for those of you following my travel blog, I will indeed be completing the Iceland series very soon!

Cheers,
Sayesha

Glamp shots

Glamping.

It was a word I'd never heard of, until two weeks ago.

I came across the strange term while looking for ideas for a short vacation to take my Mom on. There is even a website called www.glamping.com. It defines 'glamping' as 'a way to experience the great outdoors without sacrificing luxury'. The Wiki page on 'glamping' defines it as 'a portmanteau of glamour and camping'.

Though I'm all for fully outdoorsy camping, it didn't seem like a practical idea considering the 5-year-old and the senior we had in our group.

So glamp we did, and boy, was it awesome.

I'll take the next few days to update my travel blog Hopscotch about this trip. The first post is already up, and here's a preview!

Home run

First of all, sorry for the month-long hiatus and a special round of thanks to the bewdas, especially Idom and Arun, for pulling me back into blogosphere.

What a month June has been! Hectic doesn't even begin to describe it. Renovation work was in full swing, and my deadlines were showing their great love for Murphy, when Viv announced that he had to make another trip to the US -- to attend the WWDC. At first, I panicked because he was the one dealing with the day-to-day renovation matters, while I was in charge of the most important part - picking colours. (I'm totally kidding, by the way. I did quite a lot of the groundwork and research, found the contractor and vendors for the fixtures, and then handed them all on a platter to Viv and said kthxbai.)

I was very apprehensive about his US trip. I didn't want the contractor asking me some urgent and technical question about the fan model or something during Viv's sleeping hours. I was sure the 'Bhaiya, koi aur colour dikhaao' approach would not resolve something like that. But we survived that phase, and all went well.   

Though we have been here in Singapore for 17 years (oh wow, it will be exactly 17 years next week!), our inherent Indian-ness made us reluctant to believe that the contractor would finish the renovation when he'd said he would. We'd even told our temporary flatmate that we might be staying at his place longer if the work didn't get over by the end of June, and he'd readily agreed. But surprise, surprise, the contractor kept his promise and we wrapped up and moved back to our place. 

So here we are, back in a place that feels old and new, familiar and fresh, all at the same time. Here we are, like newlyweds, unpacking and decorating and buying appliances and feeling excited about the upcoming parties and get-togethers. The furniture came in this week, and the curtains should be here by next. I have moved my office into my room, and so Xena now has her very own room. Needless to say, she's super excited. Somehow, even Blueberry seems to know that we are back home.

We are planning how to keep our 'new place' better organised and cleaner than the last one, and establishing rules that extend beyond the house, towards a better lifestyle. I might share that list on the blog at some point, if it's worth sharing. 

So that's what we've been up to. How are you, bewdas? :)

In the hot seat

Hello hello! Hello ji sanam hum aa gaye... :)

We are now back after a really nice vacation in Perth. Thankfully, Xena was quite well-behaved and we did not have to join the ranks of hapless parents who get dirty looks from the rest of the passengers throughout the flight.

I will be taking a few days to blog about the holiday in detail on my travel blog Hopscotch. Do stay tuned, bewdas.

Meanwhile, here's a collage of the various expressions Xena had during her first time in a car seat!

Point of return

The Bhai is back.

A thousand apologies to the bewdas for suddenly disappearing on them, and a thousand thanks to the bewdas who wrote in to check on me. No, the Bhai wasn't arrested or anything. (Well, come to think of it, she kind of was, but we will talk about that another day.)

For now, I am back in the bar and it's business as usual.

Cheers!

Back... and forth

Marhaba!

First of all, a big sorry to all bewdas who commented on the last post and did not hear back. Secondly, a big sorry to all bewdas who live in the west coast of the US and offered to meet up with Viv and me; we were on this crazy whirlwind road trip with not much internet access (*gasp*) and may have in our haste, even skipped some very upset relatives.

Now that I am back, I just need to shake off this jet-lag (deja vu... the last post I wrote was also in a state of extreme jet-lag) and more importantly, the end-of-vacation doom. And as soon as I am done, I will get down to neglecting the bar again. Erm, I mean I will be on Hopscotch for a while posting photos and details about our California vacation. But I will be sure to reply to the comments on the last post before that.

See you guys again soon, at Hopscotch, or right here, at your friendly neighbourhood bar. Don't be too good! ;)

Bindaas in Bintan

During our recent Bintan trip, Viv and I discovered things about each other we hadn't known in the last decade of knowing each other.

I discovered that Viv has a phobia of snakes. Simply put, they make him go EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Viv discovered that I should never ever be allowed on the driver's seat of any aquatic vehicle. Simply put, they make me go WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Both of us discovered after being flung off our jetski into the middle of the south China sea that lifejackets are indeed LIFE jackets.

Hop over to Hopscotch (use links on the right to navigate) for more!

Home run

Singapore ke thakele mausam
Se apun fultu pakela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Bhaad mein jaaye air-conditioner
Kya jhanjhat hai, jhamela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Jahan sardiyon ka mausam
Raapchik hai, albela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Bachpan ki Bhaigairi ki
Yaadon ka jahan mela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Jahan ki sadkon par apun
Kitne barson khela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Jahan sab yede bindaas hain
Aur sabka bheja satkela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Jahan sabke paas time hai
Kyunki har koi vella hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai

Jahan har gali mein pani puri
Ka laga ek thela hai
Apun Hindustan ja rela hai!

I'm going back in time...

...to relive the holiday.

Another Big Bang

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! Off to Bangalore! :D

The Big Bang

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! Off to Bangkok! :D

Du-b(h)ai - the mother ship beckons

I am very very busy at work these days. End-of-year assessment period is never easy. I have to do appraisals, look at mergers and acquisitions, organise the annual symposium, sort out performance bonuses to give out, assess my global network and come up with creative ways to increase it, and what not. Uffff! After all, being a Bhai is not an easy job.

Waise tension nahin lene ka - apun ka global employee network toh akha duniya mein chaadar ki tarah phailela hai. India mein Satish mast kaam kar rela hai - akha country akela sambhaalta hai chhokra. Bahut tarakki karega. US mein baby Aish toh bachpan se hi apun ka naam roshan kar reli hai. (Uska size aur US ka size compare karo toh ricard is impressive - big fat bonus to her. Gives new meaning to the term 'baby bonus' eh?) UK mein bhi apun ne teen char gunda-type cousins bichha diya hai (family ka khayaal toh rakhna padta hai na). Apun ko bachpan mein bahut maarta tha yeh log, abhi laga diya doosron ko maarne mein - better utilisation of energy and resources.

December is also the time for 'SAsh Bhai's Annual Symposium for Bhaigiri, Englis-spikking, Wasooli, Dadagiri and Assorted Skills' - also known as 'SABAS, BEWDAS'. Every year, the symposium is held in different parts of the world at undisclosed locations to give sabasi to bewdas who, with their exemplary work have been an inspiration to many a new chhokra in the business. The symposium also serves to facilitate knowledge- and skill-sharing between international bewdas. The location of the symposium is so secretive that sometimes even Bhai ka khud ka chhokra log don't make it there because they can't locate the errr.. location. In the symposium, strategies are discussed, money is handed over to the Bhai, and bonuses given out (to those who manage to find the location of the symposium and get their asses there - it's a test I have designed for them).

Location kabhi repeat nahin karne ka - pulis ka khatra hai. Ekich motto hai Bhai ka - akha duniya cover karne ka. US, UK, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Pakistan - Bhai's done 'em all.

And now it's time to... Du-bai.

Ah, the mother ship beckons.

Is baar bar meich khullam khulla location bol dala - apun ka ilaka hai na. Toh ja rela hai apun - bar par nazar aur bheje par control rakhne ka, rada nahin mangta apun ko, samjha?

See you at the symposium, bewdas! Those who make it, I mean. I'll see the rest of you when I get back to Singapore.

Bole toh - dekh lega apun tum sab ko. :D

.

(S)O-SO

"You saw an SRK movie yest and still no post about it on your blog. Are you alright? Is everything ok?"

My friend sent me this sms yesterday.

Sheesh.

The rest of you who probably think Bhai has kalti-maroed from patli gali after leaving bar khulla, are wrong. Bhai is not underground, Bhai is overworked. I am covering four titles of one of my editors who's away on marriage leave, and also involved in the training program for the newest editor in my team. Bole toh - this week fultu biji. Saans lene ko fursat nahin types. Aap convince ho gaye ki main aur bolun? (Yes, this dialogue is from Jab We Met - one of my favourite ones from the movie!)

Besides, a very dear blog friend is visiting Singapore and staying with Viv and me, so I doubt I will have a lot of time for the bar this week. Dukaan khulla hai, bindaas piyo, bhidu log! Bhai bhot generous hai.

So I watched OSO on sunday (I totally refuse to watch SLB's translucent-towel-dropping movie), and my review is exactly that. (S)o-so. I watched Jab We Met again in the theatre right after OSO and I think I still enjoyed it more. But there were brilliant moments in OSO too. Here is my quick review (may contain spoilers).

1. Shabana Azmi totally phodoed it - her one-liner was the best in the movie.
2. I totally think Karan Johar should have said what Sanjay Kapoor said - that would have brought the house down!
3. Manoj Kumar, chill re, if there's anyone who should feel insulted about his portrayal in the movie, it's Sooraj Barjatya and even he was heard ROFLing over his scene.
4. I can't believe Vishal got two lines but Shekhar didn't get any. Acting nahin aati? Do line nahin bol sakta? Useless fella!
5. Deepika is hot, but not hotter than Shilpa Shetty in a sari.
6. Farah should only make spoof movies.
7. Sonu Nigam sounds heavenly in "Main agar kahoon". The song sounds better heard by itself - without the video.
8. The 70s scenes were not very authentic. Looked very movie-set type. I'd expected Farah to use the 70s' grainy look in the first half.
9. Shreyas was wasted.
10. "Real life mein kitna short hai!" was howlarious.
11. King Khan is King Khan. Arrogant rascalaaa, but we love him. Mind it!

Samachar samapt hue.

Kiwi-pedia

Dear bewdas,

Kia Ora! (Multi-functional greeting in Maori language that I picked up in new Zealand)

The bar is taking a break - lock, stock and barrel (quite literally! :P) - so I can devote some time to finish the mammoth task of writing my travelogue about my 2-week NZ road trip.

Cheers!
The bartender

Bar bar dekho

Hi bewdas,

I've finally managed to finish writing the posts and uploading all photos and videos of the Pakistan series on the other bar. Thanks to everyone who encouraged (read 'threatened at gunpoint') me into completing it. Apologies to all you guys for not being able to reply to your comments the way I used to. Too many things are happening (many of which will be revealed over the subsequent posts)and lately I feel like I've not been able to catch up on or keep track of my own life.

However, starting this week, this bar's back in action! Hop back on to Sayeshaz! :)

Cheers!

*clink*

Bewdon zara bar sambhaalo...

...apun bas gaya aur aaya.

If you can dream it, you can do it

I dreamt it here.

So blog's gonna take a break till Tuesday.