I Love You, Bro!

My brother turned 19 today...so I am going to dedicate this post to him, and all great memories with him.

The first memory I have of him is when I was 3 and he was just born. I had been given the rubber sheet which is spread on the mattresses to save them from the baby's excretions. So I come home and I am all "big sisterly" and spread out the sheet on the floor and ask mom to let him sleep on the floor. Mom gently laughed and explained to me how babies sleep on bed, and thats when I understood what it really means to be an elder sister.

Over the last nineteen years there have been countless arguments and bloody fights where we have beaten each other blue; but for every fight, there has been a patch up. For every time we've hated each other, we've loved each other twice more. For every time we've blabbered secrets, we've kept thrice more!

My brother is a very good friend of mine with whom I can share anything and everything. He takes good care of me, saves me from mom's verbal arrows. We form a great team. The path to it hasn't been easy, but the end result is great!

He is growing into a wonderful man who is up for all lessons life will throw at him!

Love you bro! happy birthday!!! Blessed be!

Food I Really Miss

The canteen food at SIMSR, though decent isn't all that satisfying. Here is some food I am missing like hell because I haven't had a chance to have to go and gorge on it for quite some time!

Kirti ke ghar ka khana!! Always on the top of the list!!

Double cappuccino (machine made) at St. Xavier's canteen. And the cold coffee there. The Nescafe house in the Somaiya campus I believe adds too much sugar to the premix. It actually tastes like liquid horribly sweet melody!

Cannon pav bhaji and the masala chhas after it.

Teriyaki noodles at Five Spice, Fort.

Anna's (the mess in charge @ Xavier's) breakfast meals and dal chawal.

Canteen food at St. Xavier's.

Sizzlers at Raj Mahal....they're awesome.

Caramel custard from Metro cafe. It's out of this world!

Theobroma brownies, cakes, and all kinds of desserts. Really food for the Gods.

Leopold's chilly fried potatoes (we still don't know what they are actually called!)

Mad Over Donuts: great donuts. The flavours are quite imaginative and make your mouth sigh with pleasure!

Home! Mumbai!

Home! Mumbai!

Rains! Flooding! Colourful umbrellas! Crowded trains! Wet seats! Plastic covers for protection!

Smell of wet earth! Crowds! Damp newspapers! Late trains! Wet roads!

Crazy sea at Marine Drive! Getting wet! Walking barefoot! Sneezing!

Rushing cars! Jam-packed traffic! Horns honking!

Old buildings! New traditions!

Aaahhh! Mumbai! Home!

Fun Things to Do

Ok so its Saturday afternoon and you are bored, or you are with a friend and have nowhere good to go out to because..well.....you are short of cash...and all places have a paying prerequisite. Anyways, here are some fun things you can do and not even spend a dime:

Take a walk in the park:

When was the last time you actually did this? Yeah, we can complain that there are no open spaces, no parks but you will find some if you are willing to actually move your body out of the couch and do it.

Volunteer:

Go do some volunteer work. Take your friends along. It will make you feel content.

Play Antakshari:

All you need for this is:

Baithe baithe kya karein?

Karna hai kuchch kaam

Shuru karo antakshari

Le kar prabhu ka naam!

Cook:

Yeah! Get together and cook! Create something new in the kitchen! If it turns out good you will be very proud of yourselves! If it doesn't, it will be something you will laugh about for a long time!

Create a Collage:

On the computer or using pen, papers, scissors, old pics. Do it alone or with your friends. Get your creative juices flowing. Extend this to other forms of craft or art....as you wish. Its a great activity!

Read:

If you are anything like me or my friends, you will enjoy a lazy afternoon spent reading.....and enjoying yourself with different stories and characters.

Create a Boardgame/ New Sport:

We used to this a lot as kids. Crete a new game or sport, with our own rules and scoring systems. Saturday afternoons were a laugh riot because you can think of the silliest rules and enjoy yourselves.

Choices

This is one of the best pictures I have ever come across!

The choice is always ours! Isn't it?

Once in Life

Bunk a lecture or office

Dance in the rains

Walk barefoot on the beach

Sing recklessly

Laugh til your stomach hurts...and then laugh some more

Do something that scares you

Fall in love

Miss someone

Take random crazy pictures

Write a poem even if you cant rhyme

Talk to a complete stranger

Dress up

Cry in a movie

Tell someone how much they mean to you

Call an old friend

Let go

Learn a new language

Volunteer to help

Play with a child

Do something spontaneously

Play a prank on a friend

Hug someone

Take a walk in the park

Play a sport even if you don't know the rules

Eat alone at a restaurant

Throw a party

Take a breather and live!

Because as they say, "Life is what happens to you when you are busy doing other things!"

Love is...

Love is when I get late and my father is waiting for me for dinner.

Love is when my brother leaves all the ripe and sweeter pieces of the mango for me.

Love is when I am missing my best friend and I get a handwritten letter from her along with a gift whose meaning only the both of us would understand.

Love is the relief I feel when I talk to my friend.

Love is when my friends understand what exactly what I am feeling even if they are halfway across the globe....by just the look on my face.

Love is being disturbed from work by the right people.

Love is giving surprises to those you love.

Love is in the smallest of things....

A Tribute to "Friends for Life"

I have been reading my friend's (Kirti's) latest series of blogs that are a tribute to all her special friends. Here's my love for my friends..to all the wonderful things I learn from them:

Sanaya: I admire your courage and patience and ability to be calm under pressure. I learn it from you, so hang in there honey!!! We love you!

Vidhi: Her kick-ass attitude and the fact that she doesn't take bullshit from life....learning from you love.....

Kirti: For letting her head rule, because I let my heart rule....you complement me jaan...

Mukul: For his perceptiveness...something we don't give him credit for....but you are great at reading people especially your friends....

Bhavik: His sense of humour...which may not be the best but it never fails to bring a smile to my face (either that or really irritate me!!!)

Akshay: I wish I had even half his charm and ability to talk..I would have gotten out of many sticky situations in life.

Varun: I admire his maturity and silent strength...and the fact that we both like the same books and can talk about them.

Radhika: For her sheer grit and determination to live life as she chooses to.....you are really great jaan!

This is to all my friends. Thank you guys for always being there!