Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Inquisitive Bubble

The Inquisitive Lot
Who is in this lot?
This lot contains bothersome relatives and neighbors, sometimes your old friends fall in to this category as well

Who is the target or rather victim?
Girls/ Women who have completed just their schooling/ Degree/ On the Job, Falling under 18-30 group

Characteristics of the Inquisitive lot
  • Manage to run in to us once in two days/a week and invariably annoy you by asking stupid questions, mostly personal.
  • Sometimes come up with intellectual ideas and stories of how well they managed a personal situation which they imagine that you’re facing now
  • They turn in to instant relationship gurus for futile (sometimes imaginary) problems, mostly personal again.

Why do they do this?
That’s question I have been thinking of ever since I completed my college and couldn’t get a logical answer. May be they
  • Are just jealous?
  • Get a sadistic pleasure of irritating others?
  • Are happy to have found a topic for gossiping later?

This sounds really silly but don’t know when on life this is going to stop. Let’s find out where it starts and what on earth really it is.

When it starts?
On completing UG:
Neighbors, relatives mostly all around you, whenever you happen to run in to them or vice versa, they asked this silly question – “Degree mudichachu, any plans of getting married?” the very same question was asked at least a million times to your parents. Usually dads were the worst hit by this bubble! They have to encounter not only the neighbors and relatives, but the whole lot of friends, friends’ friends, priests in temple, astrologers well known to the family (astrologers actually, eagerly await this opportunity)

It sounds like a simple yes/no question but often give rise to series of when, what, where why, type of questions.

Like for example,

If the answer is yes, then you can imagine the rise in the level of curiosity in this already overly snooping lot.

And if the answer is no, again, this would give them a tiny amount of dissatisfaction but ultimately that do not deter them from asking “why not?”, “ok, she is too young, what is she going to do?”, “then when do you have the plans of getting her married?” etc.

Again there are these people who seamlessly irritate you by suggesting/ bringing to your notice a few bachelors that they know of.
Why do they bother? (me to myself)Me: (Sigh!.... No answer)
On completing PG
So now this lot would have decided that you have no other go other than getting married. They cannot tolerate you getting that job you struggled to get through various placement interviews at your college.

At this stage when you finish your PG and you are placed in an organization, this lot is cluttered with a series of ingenious questions. Like, “does the job profile suit you?” “Is it a good company?” “What are the benefits like?” “Do you have night shifts? Oh! What kind of job is it!” worst of all, “What’s the salary like?” and the ultimate, “So its time to really get married?”

On the job
Now if you still haven’t decided to get married, this question becomes a nightmare in your life. You have to encounter this at least a zillion times a day. The more you grow old the more grows the inquisitive bubble.

Post marriage
Finally, you have successfully got rid of the nightmare. But wait a minute; the worst comes in the form of “Any good news?” You have to negotiate even your servant maids, office assistants, security guards, peers, (sometimes it becomes a peer pressure!) so on and so forth. Mostly these neighbors and relatives, they assume that your private life is pathetic. They, sometimes, even feel bad for your husband. This really is frustrating.

New mom
Now you are a new mom, a complete woman - as the bubble says, though they would never spare you without questioning. What the hell now? This one is about your career. “When are you getting back to work?”, “How are you going to manage?” “Your job profile won’t provide enough room for your baby?” etc

They often come up with numerous clever ideas like, “Why can’t you take up the bank exams?” “I think you can become a school teacher or a lecturer, that way you can easily manage family and work and also will have time to relax”

On job again and your baby’s first birthday
This time you have guessed it right, it is “When are you planning the next one?” This is too much now and the bubble often becomes a syndrome at this stage. Now we are much matured and consciously try to avoid such encounters. But, there is always no stopping them, they would go beyond the limit and bore you with their adventurous stories of managing three/four kids. They still go further and tell you how you can satisfy your husband’s physical needs and still manage two kids! How to develop companionship in your first child, blah blah

And why the hell do the bother?
Me: Startled (and No answer yet).

New mom 2
Now, you are almost relieved of the bubble, which just disappeared. Most of these people now won’t have anything to discuss about you. But still few manage to bring forth that stupendous question, “When are you planning to get back to work?” There we go again.

I don’t know what really bothers these people. Why are they so nosy? Please tell me if you know the answer.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

iClicks!

Pelicans @ Guindy park












Lil shaky but good!






Greeneries @ home!























- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

It's raining!! It's pouring!!

I love rains.. But now it's getting too much in here, I mean too much of rain.. It's raining cats, dogs n even elephants.. Who knows! This never lets me go out and hinders all my tasks..

Hey!! You up thr, Pls send this guy called Sun here!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

iPhone = iFun!!

"Luck" thats wat i call this!
"Have u ever seen a home maker using this?".. This is wat I asked my husband when he decided to give the iPhone to me!! Wat a fool!! Oops!!
Initially, I was a bit unhappy to say good-bye to my Nokia xpressmusic but still it's an iPhone that I'm getting!! Voddafone!! Sorry, Wat a phone!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Wat a relief!!

It's Sunday and I dint cook anything! We have all been invited by our neighbour for having lunch.. time to relax before TV

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A perfect day...

A sudden rain made me very happy today. I know I sound very tame by jus mentioning that “I’m happy”… couldn’t get an apt word.

I was sitting in my bedroom and was reading a magazine when I heard the sound of rain drops. Surprised, I went out to have a closer look. It got a lil heavy and a big bang of thunder followed. I cursed it as it startled my lil baby… but l8r, was very happy abt it, as it made the weather so cool and soothing for her. The roads were a lil flooded and the trees looked very pleasant after a month of sun’s tough regime. This was a rare scene in Chennai at this point of time.

It’s a day to rejoice and it really helped my mind to be at tranquil.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The book I badly want to read

Few months back I was reading a book called "Hour Game", written by David Baldacci... It was about a serial killer and full of suspense (till I read). I kept my eyes glued on the book, but unfortunately I couldn’t complete the book as I got very much involved with something else.
The killer was an interesting person and all his strategies were mind-blowing. The killer had adopted killing styles of different serial killers such as The Zodiac Killer, Son of Sam, etc. The killer used the code language and was very meticulous in erasing all possible forensic evidence from the crime scene. He was very notorious and had a strong urge to kill a cross-section of people; killing was just a sport for him.The book was really good; I will definitely grab a copy from the library as soon as I get time.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Something Special

I got up from the bed; the clock was ticking around 7. It was so cold and there was no glimpse of Sun. It was raining cats and dogs and I was lazy enough to curl myself up and prolong my sleep as much as I can - if and only if it was a normal day. Last night, before going to bed, I kept telling myself that today should not be a day filled with mundane affairs; it should be something new and something special. So, I came out of the bedroom and made myself a hot cup of tea. I sat down on a chair facing the balcony and started to plan the day carefully, with "something special" as the primary objective.
To read a book, was the first thing that came to my mind. I can't go out to library and get a book.. But, thank god! I had got a latest copy of Business Today, which was one of my favorite magazines. I stopped subscribing for BT last December and never got enough time to read one till date. I sat down in the afternoon and read it fully!!
To listen to good music, I managed to do it in the evening. I listened to all my favorite numbers.To LMAO (Laugh my a** out), for which I watched a spoof on the TV, it was funny but not like what I expected. Anyways that was okay!
And finally, to blog about something. From the morning at the back of my mind I was thinking on "What to write?" My mind was totally blank as there was nothing much to write. But I made it a point that I should write something (and kill people who read it!!) as this space gives me so much happiness and makes any day complete. I just opened the laptop and started to scribble on the notepad. Here I am feeling happy and contented with what came out.Feeling great and fresh… I'm charting out things for tomorrow, things that I couldn't do today.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Peace at once

Peace was the thing which I craved for last week and got it at an instant when I inadvertently stepped into Sri Parthasarathy Temple (in picture) at Triplicane yesterday.
The temple was rarely uncongested and I was so fortunate to be on one such rare occasions. Even then, I had to wait for a while to see the deity as the screen was dropped. It made me impatient and I was vaguely scrutinizing the people who waited along with me. The screen was raised and the exquisite idols glittered in front of my eyes. Everything in the divinity was beautiful and the adornment was tailor-made for an obviously expensive simplicity. It was about fifteen minutes I spent worshipping the God, which instilled peace on me. I was totally rejuvenated and my heart was beating felicitously.

Temple must not be an unusual place for too many people who live around here; it certainly wasn't for me as well. But, it's been a long time since I just passed through a temple to say "Hi" to my favourite God, which, I think, made me feel unusual about it.

For some strange reasons my mind was not at its normal state last week. It just seemed restless and was at the heights of its eccentricity, plausibly on something which didn't make any sense to me. I was brooding over it for a while. This unplanned visit made me happy and made my mind placid again.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

K - PODU

Let me first explain the exact situation,

Locality: Areas where pakka Brahmins live (Eg: Mylapore, Triplicane, few parts of West Mambalam, etc)
Country: India
State: Tamil Nadu
City: Chennai

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Disclaimer: This blog is not written to pin-point any indifferences or whatsoever of any of the community. All the characters used in this blog and all the situations explained here are not fictitious. If at all, it happens to be u, what to do? It’s just a blog and it's my space, so buck off!!
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It was a summer vacation and I just passed out of 5th Std. It was around 10 o'clock at night when my brother and I were on the road playing odi-pidichu (running and catching). Suddenly, pakkathuvitu Raju mama came out, he had a ladle on his hand and there was a burning camphor on it. He put the burning camphor on the floor and fled inside without looking back. We were watching the burning camphor... 10 o'clock and a burning camphor? Hmm…Weird, I thought....

Suder (my brother): Raju mama enna pannrar?
Me: Theriyala da
Voice: Inga enna panrenga rendu peyrum.
Both of us were shocked and turned back. It was my mom with an angry face.
Me and Suder: Valayadindhom
Suder: anga paren, Raju mama edayo erichi konduvandu poturkar...
Mom: moonu vaati karithupitu, ullavanga modhalla...
Me: yaarmela ma thupanam
Mom: Kizhathupitu va...appodhan avanga drishti namakku varama irrukum, thirippi andha karpuratha paakama vaanga
Both of us were confused, did wat mom told and went inside

Suder: ennadhu ma adhu?
Mom: Karpooram
Me: edhuku karpooratha koluthi koduvandhu poturkar?
Mom: Drishti kazhiyardhuku
Suder: Kannu-podrathuna ennama?
Mom: adhellam onnaku edhuku? pesama irru
_________________________________________________________________
“Kannupodardhu” - Oru sirappu paarvai (One Special sight)

A spl interview with K-Guru Aiya Kannu (Translation: Sir Eye)…

Sir, What is meant by Kannupodardhu?
Kannupodardhu (here-in-forth referred as K-podu)... (Translation (T/n): Eye dropping)
Meaning: "K-podu" is an act of getting jealous at people, esp at ur neighbours, for having/ doing something new. For eg. If they have bought a new ac, car, fridge, etc, u visit them and say, "Cha evlo superaa irruku", but inside u will have vayatherichal or u jus stay at home after staring at him/ the new thing for a while with vayatherichal (T/n: stomach burning).

What is meant by Drishti and Drishti Kazhikardu?
Drishti (T/n: Eye sight)
Meaning: Drishti is another word for K-podu... I think the word has its origin from Sanskrit, it can also be reffered as "Drishti podardhu" (D-podu) (T/n: Eye sight dropping) or Kan Drishti podardhu (KD-podu) (same meaning)...

Drishti Kazhikardu (T/n: Eye sight canceling) Also called Drishti Suthipoodardhu (T/n: Eye sight circling-dropping)

Meaning: It is an act or a process of canceling "Drishti". For eg: If a neighbour is seen looking at son/ daughter going to school, esp. exams, or if he has seen wondering at any of ur new things that u bought or assuming that he would have seen wondering at these, you "Drishti Kazhichify" or "Drishti Suthipotufy"

How do we Drishti Kazhichify?
Drishti Kazhikardhu is an art, which has acquired many forms over a period of time... there are specific days in which this process is carried out for it to achieve its real purpose and there are numerous tools used in this process.

Ideal days: Amavaasai (No moon day), Tuesdays and Saturdays
Popularly Used Tools: Karpuram (Camphor), Elumichai pazham (Lemon) with karpuram on top, Thengai (Coconut) with karpuram on top, Pooshanikkaai (Pumpkin), Uppu molagaai (Salt and Red chilly)
Process: There is a host, the host is mostly an elderly member of a family, she/he will use one of the above tools eg: Most simplified way of Drishti Suthipodardhu is to put Karpuram on a Spoon or Thengai/Elumichai with karpuram on top, The family members will sit together (as in group photos), then the host holds the tool on hand, hand is stretched out and lifted high and draws three clock-wise circles and one anti-clock wise circle on air (So as to cover the entire crowd from head to toe). Immediately after this is done, the group moves out of the place in the opposite direction without looking at the tool. Then the host, quickly, moves out of the house and drops the tool on the ground. Usually excepting for the first two tools and the last tool mentioned above, the other tools have to be dropped with full force so as to break it into pieces.

Spl usage: Few of the above mentioned tools have a particular time/day in which they are used. Elumichai pazham is generally used, if a person gets a new automobile. He has to put one lemon under each tyre and start the vehicle to squeeze them. Pooshanikaai is used mainly by shop-owners on amavaasais. Generally, a small triangular hole is made on top of the pooshani and a couple of low-value coins are put inside the hole. Then the hole is sealed with the piece of pooshani and a lot of kum-kum. Karpuram is usually lit on the top of this triangle
Easier tools: Cracking knuckles - rotating the hand thrice before the group and cracking the knukles by bending ur fingers on ur forehead, Uppu molagai (Salt and Red chilly) - hold them on fist, then, rotate it thrice before the group and put it on burning sticks

What is the impact of K-podu?
Well, that’s a good question. The impact of eyes dropping depends on the thing on which it is dropped. It also depends on the experience of the person dropping it. For eg: If it’s dropped on a person, he might end up meeting some accident on that day. However ppl don’t actually know that someone has dropped eyes on him, so end up with some unpleasant thing and then come to a conclusion that it’s all because of "Kannupodardhu". If there are series of ppl (esp neighbour’s neighbbour and his neighbour and so on) who actually puts eye on a poor fellow, he might end up with some serious problem.

Is there any way to avoid K-podu?
There are many ways to avoid this invisible trouble. There are instant tools available everywhere, like, tying Karrupu Kayaru (Black thread) on neck or hand, Mai or My (Soot, applied on eyes), Karrupu pottu or Mai pottu (Black bindhi or soot bindhi), Black dress, any forms of black apparels, even if a person is dark, he has to use one of these to avoid K-podu.

What if a neighbour peeks through window when one isn’t using/wearing any of these tools (at least while on bathroom)?
Put a black screen silly.

Can this be put only on a single person?
No, it can be put on anything

Then, wont it be very easy for countries to destroy its enemy without a war?
It cannot be generalised as a country as a whole. It can be possible only for a small circle, maybe a family.

Btw Sir... What is meant by O-podu?

O-podu??...... hmm, after K-podu, the person ends up with sth unpleasant and u say "O! wat a pity", that’s O-podu, ...

Do you believe in these things?
Many times you don’t and sometimes you do. Esp when u have a baby at home, u tend to believe all this.

Well I asked if YOU believe in all these?
And that’s what I jus tried explaining…


Escape!!