Jab we met - again

This time, it was Mampi, ~nm and moi.

~nm and i have met earlier. This was the first time that we were meeting Mampi... and the excitement at our end was incredible.

Mampi was there with her husband. She is a charmer if there ever was one, and effortless at it. She also has the cutest, most impish smile i have seen on anyone in a long time.. VERY different from the more serious avatar one sees online.

~nm's skill is slightly different. She can put u at ease in a jiffy, and she will have you yap yap yapping in under a minute. Her son Aniruddh takes right after her.. Anirudhh and Ishaan were playing like chaddi buddies within 15 minutes of meeting, though my son is a rather shy specimen.

Mahesh, Mampi's husband, deserves a special mention. He was the only husband stuck in that house (the other 2 husbands were playing "Find me if you can") , with the TV match for company. He was soo sweet about it! Mahesh, to you goes out an extra dose of gratitude for letting us have the time of our lives!!

Why do we bring children into this world if..

... This is what they have to finally meet?
Israel, Africa, Iraq... how does the name of the place matter?

I was way too disturbed by these pictures to put them up on this blog. maybe its what happens to a person after they have had a child. maybe its because i just saw my sleeping son, and one of these children looks uncannily similar..

Why bring any more children into the world?

The Doordarshan Quiz

Think you know your Doordarshan well? Try this and tell me what you think...
1. "Chitrahaar", the weekly program of Hindi Film songs, was telecast every _____________ .

2. This program was an adaptation of "Little Women": ______________.

3. This program was based on that eternal romance, "Pride and Prejudice" : _________.

4. "Malgudi Days" was based on a book by R K Laxman.
True/ False ?

5. This was the first serial based on mythology to appear on TV with a huge production budget. This was also the serial that marked the entry of a film production house into television. Which serial are we talking about?

6. Pankaj Kapoor made a mark as the carrot happy detective in a detective serial. The name of his secretary in the serial was _______________.

7. "Neev" was weekend viewing. The story was about a ___________.

8. Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi was made famous, justifiably, by this excellent execution of a historical. The serial we are talking about is_________.

9. They were staple faces in our drawing room once a week, as they smiled, discussed, and brought rich Indian culture into our homes - Siddharth Kak and Renuka Shahane. The TV series that brought them to us, and that played the game "Six Degrees of Separation" with its viewers was:

10. This was a 5 part serial based on Bheeshma Sahni's novel of the same name. The theme was India's partition.

11. This family saga was made special by Ashok Kumar's commentary at the end of each episode. The serial was ___________.

And your score is?

So, what are you doing?

Palash Sen has done a brilliant post in the Times of India today. His piece shamed me, as indeed, it would have shamed every other reader.

Therefore, I, the Citizen of India, hereby pledge that:
1. I will not drive against the rules. Small things, big things, any thing. I will follow traffic rules, safety procedures, even pedestrian lights.
2. I will not condone if my child cheats in an exam.
3. I will VOTE.
4. I will read party manifestoes before every election. I will look for forums to ask questions to the people purporting to be our leaders.
5. I will, once a year, contribute to the Armed Forces Fund.
6. I will not litter public places.
7. I will not bribe.
8. If I have a bad consumer experience, I will tell other people about it, instead of keeping quiet and thinking "why should i do this for someone else?"
9. I will do a refresher course on the Indian constitution, RTI et al, and ensure that my children do it too.
10. If there is an accident, i will try and get the victim to a hospital. Or i will not be a tamasha bystander.
11. I will speak to at least one person about population control in this month.
12. I will teach at least one child around me. Preferably a girl child.
13. I will NOT keep quiet if someone around me is being troubled for dowry, is being harassed, or has undergone female foeticide. I will, at the very least, break social contact with them in toto.
14. I will only vote for one reason - the administrative performance of the person. I will not become a vote bank for religion, for language, for caste. I will not become a part of the vote bank. Period.
15. When i see someone do something that they should not be doing, i will speak up. They may not listen, but I will speak up. Its not about someone else any more.

More on Mumbai

Unlike other people who are keen on "getting on with life" post Mumbai, I doggedly hold on to the negativity, until something more concrete than people losing plum jobs happens. Until there is a strategy in place for the protection of this country. Until our policymakers realise that the voter is not an idiot. The theme of destruction continues.

Can you feel
the clock ticking?
Time
licking its minutes away
as we lie perspiring
wrapped in a rug
on an old, war beaten street
that neither you nor I recognise.
The stones
yet as familiar
as if
they have gulped our blood down
their parched throats
and a little
streaming down the sides of the mouth ...

Is this a nightmare
or does the terror of war
actually transcend Births?