Rain Reigns Again !!

Yay! Looks like monsoon has finally set in Namma Bengaluru. We had the season’s first shower yesterday, just about an hour before I was about to start from office. Going down the memory lane, I fondly recollected those exciting youthful days when I used to be at home. We have extended asbestos shed in our house where we used to park our scooter. The splattering of rain on the corrugated ceiling, chirping of crickets, the croaking of frogs had a heavenly rhythm, a sensuous soothing cadence all rolled into one. The icing on the cake was mummy ke haathon bane pakode aur garma garm chai. Mmmm… I can still feel the taste of it. As I got back to reality, I realized that sweet music and tasty snacks were replaced with blaring horns and muddy sweet syrup supposedly tea. Anyhow, the showers got a respite from the heat. I noticed everybody rushed to the windows and corridors to see the rain! Funny, how the spell of rain can change a busy and serious workday into chaos, fun and laughter. Soon, it started pouring cats and dogs. Lightning and thunder added their bit to the season’s first pour. For once, the office didn’t seem so drab. The light above my desk did not look like the one above a criminal being interrogated by a cop in the police station. I didn’t feel like hitting a few selected characters in office or smack on their grinning faces. For once, the egoistic attitude of certain other characters seemed bearable. Deadlines seemed achievable. Colleagues seemed tolerable. Managers felt like buddies. Just when I was about to start I saw that there were no menacing dark clouds however it continued to drizzle. It was just a perfect weather to go on a long drive. To fulfill my heartfelt wish, my company cab screeched next to me. As I left for home, the trees looked greener, the rain having washed off their long-accumulated dust. As vehicles sped past, I could hear the splash of water and see the light reflected from the small puddles. I got down and as I walked, I saw people thronging the "bhutta” (corn cob)’ and chai stalls on the roadside. There were traffic jams near these stalls and on roads, which is not a surprise! Both the customers and the stall owners were having a field day! People here sure know how to enjoy themselves to the fullest. On the way, I noticed a poor family cooking food huddled inside a large drainage pipe, sheltering them from the rain. They were laughing and enjoying. Talk about contentment and making the most of what you have! Somehow, it brought a smile to my face. It was one of those days when I was grateful that I had a warm home and a family to go back to. The bowl of steaming Maggi noodles I had that night seemed heavenly after that!

It's cloudy today. Might rain. Might not. According to the newspaper, monsoons have not officially set in. Full-fledged rains are expected only towards the very last part of the month. A few hoardings and trees fell down and 2 people have been reported dead in yesterday’s rain! Couple of cars met their dreadful fate in the rain yesterday and here I am cozily snuggled in my bed playing inky pinky ponky to decide If I should go to work or not?

Rani (HB and 4B Pencils)

Why do women want to marry?

Last week I saw this wonderful movie: “He is just not into you”. There are 2 characters Neil Jones (Ben Affleck) and Beth Bartlett (Jennifer Aniston) who have been living in together since 7 years. Beth wants to get married while Neil does not believe in the institution called marriage where you have to actually spend huge money just to announce to the world of your love and commitment to each other. His explanation is that two best friends does not need a formal event like marriage to show that they care, love and are committed to each other then why does they need marriage when he is totally committed, responsible and in love with Beth. Doesn’t that make sense? Before you guys pounce on me let me tell you I do believe in the institution called marriage. It is just that after watching the movie a thought struck to me. Why do women want to marry? Imagine this: A young couple walks into a Café on a Saturday evening. As she sits opposite her date, sipping on a crème frappe, she runs her hand through her hair, moony-eyed she is already visualizing her family album. She of course has decided that he is the one — which is why she even bothered to go out with him. She knows that she will make a great wife and mother. She will also never fight with her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and, yes, she would make the best granddaughter-in-law ever. She also knows that with time and her loving attentions, she will make a better person of the guy, who is right now busy checking out the babe seated on the opposite table in minis. Girl: Stop checking out that girl in minis. Boy: Girl??? Who??? Where??? No, I was not looking at anyone… you are mistaken. Girl: hmm… so tell me what was I saying? Boy, who is caught totally off guard, thinks hard but his brain is still stuck at those smooth unending legs on the opposite table. So, to save himself from all the tsunami he is about to face, he handles the situation very cautiously. Boy: I Love You jaan. Girl: Really? cho chweet. Did you talk to your parents about us? This is probably the most common thing that happens in a relationship after a year or so. Ever wonder what drives a smart, young and liberated city girl to enter into a hand-me-down institution like marriage. The pressure to get hitched has always been there. An Indian woman views dating solely as a marriage platform. Even the first world sees an unattached woman as odd. The single urban girl leaves home for college or her workplace with a garland in her head. The modern variation of a swayamvar. Colleges and offices are marriage bureaus. The drive to become financially independent has a lot to do with finding the right guy too. A woman of course has always been categorically told that her in-law’s place is her real home. So while a city girl behaves and looks like her sisters in Manhattan, she spends her 20s and early 30s pining for a knight, if not his rescue act. “You think of getting married at 25. Thirty is like going over the hill, a different decade.” So as she walks about with a composed air in branded trousers, talking business with her junior male colleague or errand boy on her cell phone, she instinctively checks out every decent-looking man for a trophy husband. One who will make a great support system for her and their subsequent brood. Even the most coveted females are not untouched by the prehistoric bug. “We are social animals and have been brought up with the concept of permanent families. For a woman, marriage is all about security. Even women who are doing very well professionally want a man who can ‘support’ them. That they do not need the support is a different story. Even at the end of this post I cant figure out “why do women want to marry?” If you are a women reading this please enlighten me.