Forever and for always!!

To finishing each others sentences...
To instinctively knowing whats wrong..
To never having to explain yourself..
To knowing all each others deep dark secrets..
To late night talks about work n love n life..
To sharing everything!!
To hugs that heal..
To long walks on streets we grew up in..
To getting tipsy n maaroing bollywood thumkaas..
To drooling over cute guys n fighting over cuter guys.. ;)
To watching FRIENDS for the fourteen thousandth time n eating truckloads of chocolate..
To laughing till your cheeks hurt..
To always being there...
To reminiscing about childhood memories..
To fantasising about the future..
To knowing that time n space may keep you apart...that work n marriage may take you halfway around the world...but NOTHING will ever touch the bond!!
Cheers to the amazingness of growing up with your best friends!!...to the inexplicable joy of being sisters!! ....

Somewhere I belong :)

The city of pearls..the capital of the nizams..the new techno hot spot..the home of the famous biryani and my home...Hyderabad!! The city is a living before and after story...the irani chais in the Alphas and the Madinas to the cappuccino in Mocha..the Sunday book bazaar in Koti to the air conditioned book bazaar at the Odysseys... the old city and the hi tech city...Hyderabad has the wonderful ability to let the leisurely old world n the deadline meeting globetrotting new world exist as parallel universes... :)

Thanks to the techies the city has become home to so many people whose roots are so far away from here...me for instance( but mine is a bond that started at birth)...my first loud wail was heard here in Hyderabad...n since then i have lived in n seen many cities but my heart lives here...In the crowded streets of Charminar..in the quiet of the Birla Mandir...in the glittering spectacle of bangles in the Lad Bazaar...in Sangeet theatre :( ...in Monda market with the piles of vegetables carelessly stacked n periodically sprinkled with water...in the central library in Afzalgunj where a wrinkled old man will get you a 25 yr old newspaper and smile at you till his eyes are reduced to slits...

Wherever i go i will always be reminded of the warmth the people of this city exude..they are always more than willing to direct you or even personally take you to wherever you want to go..The most astonishing inhabitant of this bustling city is the autowalah..he could be the creep who winks at you n calls u an "item" and also the hero who will yell abuses at the guys on bikes who look inside autos to check u out..

Hyderabad leaves an indelible mark on all its inhabitants...For me its the "Hou"...i know no other way to say yes..whether u live here for 3 months or 30 years u leave the city a "Hyderabadi"...The people u meet here are each so different but there is something about each of them that screams Hyderabad..much like the Biryani that is so popular here...the ingredients are so many and the flavour of each so distinct but when they are all blended in a pot what u get is harmony..the flavours complement each other..the unique taste of the blissful acceptance of the others...that is why the biryani is best in Hyderabad..because it reflects the true Hyderbadi!!..

The queen of my life!!

"Until one loves an animal a part of ones soul remains unawakened"-Anatole France

I couldnt agree more..and anyone who has shared living space with a dog, cat, rabbit, cow, goat, horse will vouch for it!!

I know that bringing Layla (our beautiful golden lab) was the best decision we made as a family..we second guessed it for a while though, cos she seemed to hate us..she destroyed the box we put her in..her tail was almost always tucked between her legs..she wouldn't walk..she wouldn't even bark..she was giving us the silent treatment!!..But something we did(thank God we did it) told her it was ok to trust us.

She started bounding joyfully with her ears flapping on long walks..she was the easiest dog to potty train...she flew down the stairs when we opened her box of pedigree..she thinks everyone is her friend and will wag her tail and extend her paw in friendship...but she saves her ears bent, tail wagging, drunken walk for the people she loves the most!!..n that is her most amazing gift...her ability to love..so easily..so unconditionally..so many people...our family..our friends..friends of friends...have all been touched by her..

my life for sure has been doggified...i know the names of all the dogs in marredpally n i have named the ones who don't have names(street puppies)..lets see there's split personality..disturbia..whitey(a black dog with a white soul)..chocolate n my favorite little limper floopy..i have conversations with her where i feel she actually replies in human..;) i love her smell n i miss it when i go on trips..she seems to know when i need her to be around n when to give me a reassuring lick n walk away..the epitome of peace n serenity..for all those who are seeking inner peace, Sri Sri Layla is the answer!!..10 minutes in her divine presence and u feel all ur stress ebb away and you can be one with the universe!!

Layla is easily my moms most pampered daughter..my dads little darling..n our favourite lil sister...She bounded into our lives, dug a nice pit n made herself so comfy that now i feel like i have never known life without her!!!

What a way to wanna be!!

The other night i was having dinner with bunch of friends n i noticed that one of them ( a super sexy chica)had a wallpaper of DOSTANA on her phone... now i ask her do u like the movie so much??? ... n she says.. not really its just that looking at priyanka chopras flat stomach makes me want to work out more...!!! n we went on to curse her for a little bit before returning to our meal...

N it not just us..Its everywhere...i saw this pic of an Indian model in a magazine..5ft 10"... 52 kilos!!(imagine what that looks like)...everyone wants the hot body...i think its competing with the big pay package or the dream man!!...the articles on how britney spears or jessica alba lost their pregnancy weight are hot on the internet!!!..despite the financial crisis places like VLCC and Labelle are making big money...the street corner chai bandis are being replaced by gyms..n kareena kapoor has taken the place of johnny depp on our walls...

i wish it didnt affect me but it does..i worry about what i eat... i drag my dog along for a longer walk when ive had a chocolate pastry..i like skinny people a little lesser..n i feel like its all around me..my girfriends.. my sister..all gorgeous women...in the quest for the so called perfect body...it constantly reminds me of this line in a shania twain song "Bigger is the best!!... but only in the chest.. What a way to wanna be"...i cannot rationalise my own behavoiur leave alone trying to do the same for all the women in the world.....

What i can do of course is wish that this trend would die... that women can eat our burgers n fries without being guilty...be comfortable in/with our curves...n remove perfect body of our wishlist n replace it with something that would make us happier!!