Monday, January 31, 2011

The Voices in My Head - 33

Valentine’s Day

I decided to read ‘A Different Shade of Purple’ that very night so that I could discuss it with Suryakant the next day.
“Though with my luck, he’ll probably never call,” said Miki dourly.
“He wouldn’t do that, he seemed so nice. If he suggested meeting, he must want to,” said naïve and ever-optimistic Mandakini.
“He had to be nice to me – I am a buyer,” Miki was as pragmatic as usual. “I shouldn’t expect too much.”
After a dinner of rajma-chawal left over from lunch, I settled down in my bed with the book. I opened it at the flyleaf to read again what he’d written. 

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Read This

I'm starting a new series. Every Wednesday, which is just far enough into the week that I begin to lose my enthusiasm for work and wish for Saturday (or even Monday, the start of another new week) to come around, I'll post links to what I've been reading, what I've liked in the past week. They'll all be feel-good reads, inspiring and funny and interesting (because we get enough bad news, don't you think?) It's also likely to have at least a couple of marketing-related reads, because that's a big part of what I read during the week.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Voices in My Head - 32


The Writer

It was seven in the evening when I stood up and gathered my things.
“Leaving?” asked Kim, looking up from her computer and over the low partition. 
“Yes!” I said triumphantly. “You have a good weekend. What are your plans?”
“I’ll sleep,” said Kim, stretching her lithe body like a cat. “And sleep, and then sleep some more.”
I grinned. “Well, I hope you give your boyfriend some time too.”
She grinned back, her eyes crinkling and making her face even more attractive. “Of course, it’s Valentine’s day on Sunday! I suppose we’ll shrug off our friends and do something romantic… What are your plans? Something edifying, no doubt.”
“Nothing much. I’m going to catch up on sleep, do my laundry – and I’m attending a reading of a new book.”
“I knew it! Which book?”

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Women Leaders

If you are a woman who has or wants a job or a career, watch this. If you are a man who wants to support the women in your life who work or want to work outside the home, watch this.



Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Voices in My Head - 31

I Tell Ma How It Went

Ma called within five minutes of my reaching home.
“You’ve reached home, ma?” she asked.
“Just reached, mom,” I said.
“How did it go, Miki? Did you like him?”
 “No, Ma, I did not like him.”
“But why not?”
“Isn’t it enough that I didn’t? I didn’t. Not at all. He was rude and obnoxious and boring.”
“But…”
“Stop bothering me, mom, okay?”

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Jai Arjun Singh's "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro"

I have been a huge fan of Jai Arjun Singh for ages (and especially after he introduced me to Johnny Gaddaar). So of course I had to buy the book. (In fact, I pre-ordered it on Flipkart: first time I've ever done that.)

Actually, the book was a gift for the Guy, who is a big fan of the movie. And he sat and read it till 2 o' clock that night, while Effe and I talked, and he finished it the next day. That tells you a bit about the book, especially as the Guy isn't the reader of the family.

Saturday, January 08, 2011

The Voices in My Head - 30


I Meet a Guy

“Don’t be sceptical about this,” Mandakini kept warning. ‘If you go in with your usual cynicism it’s not likely to go well. Give him a chance: he might turn out to be nice.”
“He has to be a loser if he’s meeting women for an arranged marriage,” countered Miki.
“You’re going to meet him,” Mandakini pointed out.
“Yeah, well, I guess I’m a loser too,” said Miki dolefully. “That doesn’t mean I would like to marry one.”
So I wasn’t really expecting much from the meeting. Would it have changed how things went if I had?

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

The Vacation: Dehradun, Mussoorie and Delhi

This vacation could so easily have not happened. The idea took birth on a whim, and took shape under encouragement from friends and the Guy. 

I have wanted to visit Dehradun and Mussoorie ever since I was a kid and read stories by Ruskin Bond. We finally made it, and it was fitting that this was our longest vacation apart from visiting family. (All we've done otherwise are extended weekends.)

Monday, January 03, 2011

Best Posts on This Blog

... or so I think. 


This blog has a somewhat different audience from a couple of years ago--or even from last year. So I thought I'd dig out some of my old posts that might interest you. I've even grouped them by category, that's how much I love you. 

Fiction

If you've been following the Voices in My Head, you might also like these short stories.

Sunday, January 02, 2011

The Voices in My Head - 29

 I Give in to Mom

At around ten on Sunday morning, I packed my bag, said goodbye to Divya’s parents and the two aunts who were the only other guests still in the house and not in bed, refused repeated offers of tea, and headed for the bus stop.
It was a long ride back, and I had only had around four hours of sleep since last night, so I drifted off and nearly missed my stop.
I finally reached home and made myself masala chai and toast with scrambled eggs. After my late breakfast, I went to bed.
Not for long, though. In half an hour, my phone rang. It was my mom.
“Hi, Ma,” I murmured throatily.
“What’s the matter? Are you ill?”

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Happy New Year

Unimaginative title, eh? But sometimes the tired, well-worn words still say it best. I'm back from the best vacation of my life (more on that soon), had a quiet new year's eve at home, and am full of goodwill today. So happy new year, you all. May 2011 bring you what you want. 


2010 has been an eventful and difficult year. With the Guy moving back and forth, our lives seemed to be in a constant state of upheaval. And for two people who used to talk on the phone for half an hour every day apart from having long leisurely breakfasts and dinners together and sleeping on the same bed talking until we fell asleep--it nearly tore us apart, the distance.