T'was Christmas

The season of joy is upon us, my first one without S. since we have been together...
S. and I love all holidays, mainly because of the food and the lying in and ahem, other opportunities. Christmas, however is a time for family... Its a time when spirits and emotions run high, firecrackers crackle and stuff really hits the fan...
S. and I are always home when the fun begins, so for our first Christmas together, it only seemed fair that we should have our own merry little Christmas... Every year we used to buy Christmas ornaments... On our first Christmas, we added a little tree to our yuletide shopping...
That tree used to live in a corner of my cupboard for most of the year, but every year around the second week of Christmas, it would come out and be dusted. One year, I accidentally broke one spoke of the tripod it used to stand upon. But the little fellow continued to stand as proudly as ever, if with a slight backward lilt... We felt that only added more character...
So, we used to get these ornaments that were suited for our family trees that are 20 feet tall...But they looked enormous on our little tree. There was something wonderfully festive about seeing our little tree decked with stuff almost equal its size, struggling to fulfill its Christmas destiny with elegance and aplomb...
We loved that tree and we loved our Christmas...
We would always put off planning the night until the last minute. Then, it used to be a frenzy to get the ornaments and arrange for our little dinner... Remember, most of these Christmases happened when neither of us had a kitchen, so it was mostly take-out and wine served in disposable plates and cups... But we had our little things; our candle-stands that we made ourselves with carved Styrofoam and toothpicks, mistletoe and snow flakes we made with origami and for the most part, sitting in a blanket, all warm and fuzzy...
That day meant so much, 'cause when I was back home and the cake fell apart, or there were little ankle-biters all over the place all high on sugar, or I had a fight with my folks over the tree, the dinner or any of the gazillions of things that can and do go wrong just because its Christmas and God likes to have his fun on his Birthday like the rest of us; I always had our little Christmas to turn to...
And so S., I have just one thing left to say, all I want for this Christmas and every Christmas hence, is You (and a few puppies, and a baby, and diamonds, and a chopper and...;))

Of warm hearts and warm hearths

S just went to a friend’s housewarming party… That got me reflecting on our housewarming party… it was June and it was hot. How we had shifted to said house is a another story… My room looked like a battle field where cartons, two years worth of newspapers, dust lions, banana peels, things that rolled to unknown corners and I considered teleported and such like had met and bitten each other to death… K. was there, she knows… She had one afternoon to help me salvage what was worth salvaging, move it down two floors and get it to our new home…Oh, and the moving people never showed up… K. and I had to do what I can only term lithe gymnastics to fit ourselves on a rickshaw with a table that used to fold when I got it but developed stiff joints due to age, neglect and such… K. and S. moved everything into the new place, that’s right, I just stood there amazed and lauded their sheer strength. Actually for the most part of most things, I just stand and laud…

That was a fun night. We moved in, K. stayed the night… And although we were very very tired (K. and S. ‘cause they had to lug like a 100 pounds down two flights of stairs and then up another, me ‘cause I was lauding), we went out for Chinese food.

So then, the housewarming… I don’t remember how it began… I remember I was tired having cooked pasta (for someone used to lauding, that’s strenuous work). Then K. came, helped me cook (more lauding) and we had some cheese. Then R. and B. came… B. used to be our friend; there are stories about him but they would have to come later. And B. brought with him 6 chilled bottles of beer. I remember B. opening the beers and I remember S. opening the rum and the gin… After this, my recollections are dim. S. says I was drunk by the time the rest started on their seconds. Like real work, I also have a very low threshold for withstanding rum…

See, the thing with me is, rum gets to me real quick but I also sober up real fast. Now, the opposite happens to B. and that is what forms the premise at this point. He is no novice when it comes to beer-drinking and was quite steady on his feet after about 3 litres. Then he took it upon himself to mix something he called the white devil-one part soda, green chillies soaked in gin, mint leaves and then just fill your glass with gin, don’t be shy… Oh and some ice-cubes… These too he had about 4 of. Then began what I can describe as one of the longest half hours in our lives.

B. first went to the bathroom… It has been a year and I still don’t want to know what he did in there. The upshot was that after he was gone, we found the toilet rolls in the tank, the top of the tank under the sink and a poor little towel hook in the shape of a pineapple is still missing… After wrecking our bathroom so he barreled into the kitchen, knocked over a jar full of cumin and licked my spatula… That’s right, he picked up the spatula from the pasta pan and licked it. You would think I would take that as testimony to my cooking prowess, but to this day that party is referred to as the day B. licked the spatula and threw it behind our little kitchenette.

Oh, and he proposed to my fiancé. We finally convinced him to leave and as S. was seeing him to the door, B. took his hand and planted a big soppy kiss on it. Then he informed S. of his undying love for him and left. And then called 5 minutes later to re-affirm his love. So, in summation, he licked my spatula and basically my fiancé, messed up our sparkly clean bathroom and everyone’s moods.

After he left, we cleaned up the bathroom and swept up the cumin and peace returned. K. and R. stayed the night with us. Actually, it turned out to be quite fun after all. K. and I peeled and sliced potatoes;   then we made some French fries and had them with chocolate shots at 2.00 AM. K had promised to stay up all night, but she fell asleep sometime after 3.00. That was fun too, ‘cause then we took pictures of her nose from all kinda angles. I still have those…

While doing the chocolate shots, we toasted to having more such nights together, to studying together, to  finding jobs together, to having houses nearby where our babies and dogs can play together… To growing old together…Lots of shots, very drunk!!!

Some of those things happened, others didn’t and still others might yet happen…

Torture Talkies

So, one thing you need to know about K. and S. is that they both love sloppy, cheesy, colorful as macaws, makes-me-wanna-rip-off-my-arm-and-eat-it-movies. Movies meant for pure torture on the human intellect made by what I can only believe is a singular specimen in a category of zombies that take pleasure in consuming human brains that have first been baked, fried and mashed... I mean the giggling, the songs that sound like a parody of poems taken out of a child's kindergarten book, the bovine damsel in distress and the stupid knight in sweaty armor... Where I am concerned, these movies belong in torture museums with your spiky chairs, thorny collars and whatnot...
Now, S. and I love horror movies. Its like a drug rush; we stay up all night, cuddle with popcorn and then when its dawn and the movie is over we go over the finer, more gory points (for instance the time when the protagonist went to the bathroom/ kitchen/ creepy backyard with the weird trees and the spirit/ faceless fiend was lurking just behind the door)... And the next night, we have our lights on and we wake each other up before each night-time bathroom visit.
So, basically, S. enjoys both worlds. If he wants to see an atrocity he can go with K. and for a cool night of creepy videos with burning trees, little girl spirits that refuse to die and ectoplasms issuing out of a camera, he has me.
The thing about K. is, she HATES horror. Can't abide by it... Even the Ramsay brothers can scare her...The sight of a bloody hand, a hanging body, a beastly ghouly or obviously haunted ruins can give her sleepless nights.
Torture talkies began like this: S. and I wanted to see Paranormal Activity and we insisted that K. join us. She agreed provided I sat through Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. I must say though, K. has a braver soul than mine. I COULD NOT sit through that mulch. At one point I actually went to the bathroom and read all the labels on shampoos, oils and whatnots just so I wouldn't have to go back out there and watch that.
K. braved Paranormal Activity quite well, though she told us later that she didn't see most of it. She was...well, lets not go into what she was doing... But she sat through it all the same...
Well, the barter worked well... I got Raat and Darna Zaroori Hai in exchange for part of Hum Saath Saath Hain and most of Maine Pyar Kiya. I realize that it sounds like I got a bargain, having had to watch these only in parts, but I maintain that 1 hour of any of these would have been greatly appreciated by the monarchs of yore who established the Spanish Inquisition. Also, K. fell asleep halfway through Raat...Although to be honest I downed a pint of beer and I don't quite remember how many rum-and-cokes before sitting down for Maine Pyar Kiya...I think at one point there was something blue in my drink that tasted like nail-paint...

Torture talkies were fun for S., a pain for sometimes me and sometimes K., but they always were a hoot-and-a-half... The up-shot is that I am singularly grateful that Bollywood of the 90s is over and done with and K. probably has a higher tolerance for horror :D 

Pictionary-101

This is about the time when we were working on our MA thesis... By working, I mean sitting in the lab, watching videos of penguins falling into ice-holes and people being kicked in vital areas; eating; watching re-runs of How I Met Your Mother and Friends; eating; adjusting screen resolution; eating; changing the font to something more interesting and sharing it; laughing; eating; and eventually packing up and going off to KFC for a change of scene, good intentions of studying some more AND you guessed it, eating :P
Some of our fondest memories of those days were formed in that KFC. We used to go up to the sitting area, we had this favorite booth, a round table with a semi-circular sofa and a couple of chairs. The hours we have spent there were some of our happiest.
We would order a nice batch of original recipe fried chicken and coke and then 'study'. Only, by studying I do not mean studying any material which can be remotely helpful in the writing of a thesis. We taught and studied, pictionary; to be more specific educative, fun, graphic and not-so-clean pictionary. You see, at the time R. still had herself a ship well-anchored, which for the rest of us had sailed a long time ago...This game, we told her, was a means to teach her the nuances of the larger game of sexes, multiplication and manipulation. And it was, by far, the most fun we ever had.
By all means, it was not ALL dirty... We played the regular version as well; and K.'s chicken scrawl became apparent one afternoon when S. and R. got a point just because the word 'Scrutinize' was looking like 'Dcrutinize'... K denies this, but we all saw it. I still have a picture for proof :P
KFC was not the only place where many versions of this singularly joyful game were played. I think I still have a napkin from Route-04 that has I think the last game of 'dirty' pictionary we ever played. It now resides in a little folder I have which contains other things that always make me laugh.
Another one is a napkin from said KFC which has S., R. and my renditions of K.'s nose. K. also marked these efforts and R.'s version reads, "THATS NOT EVEN A NOSE!!!" We love you, K. and we love your expression when we do what we do :D
Writing the thesis was the time we really and truly became a unit... Before we knew it, the thesis was submitted... We were so happy that MA was finally over...We were post-graduates... Now when I look back, I wish it had lasted a little longer...This post by no means envelopes all the wonderful thesis-writing-time memories. There are many more to come...

Parting of the ways-2

So, to take up where we left off we move to about a month after S, R, K and I had started to get to know each other. It was around this time that we had to organize a farewell party for our seniors. The three of us were in different teams (three, 'cause S and I are, to quote K, "a hermaphroditic blob"). K. was in charge of the food committee, R. for decorations and favors and we were in charge of anchoring the day's entertainment. That was the time when the four of us became really close. K. was in charge of food, which meant we used to go out tasting cakes and stuff which is when we discovered our mutual love for food.

The party was a great success and we had a blast preparing for it... Our theme was 'kites' and we spent quite a few afternoons, writing invites on little kites that proved to be much tougher than it sounds. The kites refused to hold up under the assault of pens and many were sacrificed before someone had the sense to suggest markers. The organizing took a long time, it was chaotic and hot and noisy and great fun...

Another memorable morning was spent wrapping gifts. Sticky tape on our fingers, scissors being passed around with a great deal enthusiasm, scissors being lost and frantic minutes spent tracking them down... I don't think I helped much. I was trying to make a behind-the-scenes for the party... Which gave me a great excuse to excuse myself  from the actual work of preparation :)

The day's entertainment included a dance performance. After much arguing and abusing our phonetics lab computer, ethernet and speakers to converge on a song, we thought that the hard part was truly over. Alas, it had just started for our performers. They spend entire afternoons practicing while we had the easy job of criticizing...We shot their rehearsals and asked them to watch for the mistakes. True tyrants, we truly were...

In the end, that party took us as individuals and integrated us as a group. Later, events would follow that would break up this feeling for good, but for the next few months, all of us really got to know each other and be a team... Of course, nothing could break up the four of us... But we do look back fondly at those sunny days when our entire class hung out as one...

Parting of the ways-1

A month ago, our ways parted... Here I am going to revert back to initials, mainly because I am up against a wall finding apt Greek names for everyone :) This post is about the four of us: Erebos or S., K, R. and yours truly.
We met during our Masters, a time of change and and new beginnings for all of us... Funny thing, S. and I were together at this time, but people say we look alike so at first, our classmates had a dilema: soulmates or siblings; consorts or cousins? For the record, we look nothing alike except for the curly hair, glasses and general chubbiness... Eventually, K. and R. knew from some of my (now famous)indiscreet comments. Oh, and there was this guy, lets call him G. who figured out we weren't related in any way from the beginning, but didn't know that we were in college together. So he spent the first week asking S. how he got a girl to...ahem...go out with him that soon after meeting. I think S. enjoyed the suspense while it lasted...
The four of us weren't that close to start with... In the beginning, S. hated K. because K. has been the reason he was forced to do extra work for an assignment that would otherwise have been easy. I remember an entire afternoon spent doing said assignment and cursing K. with each stab of the pencil... Sorry, K. :P :P
We didn't know R. that well and she didn't know us.
Our friendship evolved slowly. We found out that K. and R. were very sweet and very much our kind of people. We shared the same principles and interests (no pun intended) and all of us shared one great love: that for food. As we explored and discovered new eateries together, our hearts grew fonder.
We realized we shared another great love, one that is so beautiful and fulfilling: that for dogs...I realize that in context of eateries and 'fulfillment' one might get an impression that we love dogs as edible things. No, we just love dogs because they are the best things that ever happened to humans. K. has two adorable little things (they are not little, literally, but then aren't these darlings always little :)) Bo and Sh. Bo is the cutest thing, always trying to run away from home with his incredulous cute little expression and he would curl up oh so sweetly on your lap and sleep... Sh is the most innocent little thing, he looks everywhere for his ball, answers even when you call him 'idiot' and when he nudges you with his nose, I dare anyone to not go 'Awwwwww'... R.'s little cutie is called 'Bud' and he is the most adorable thing. He also shares the great love for food with us and spends long hours sitting in front of the kitchen with that melting look that only dogs can practice and have. He hates exercise, loves chewing slippers, doesn't like baths and is insanely jealous of an imaginary dog. He has the world's cutest little butt and R. says most of his puppyhood was spent trying to walk upright with that little butt weighing him down :)  
Talking about shared love of things, we also had shared dislikes. In the beginning all of us had kind of an icky feeling about babies, more specifically little ankle-biters that just ambush you and pull your hair, grab your phone and scream until you have nightmares of screaming babies. Over time, K. and R. have started to come around to the idea of having babies. S. and I. still refer to babies as 'it' and though we still feel a little queasy about the whole idea, I promise you K. and R. that when you have babies we'll love them and hold them and everything... :) And someday, we too shall take the plunge ;)
Over the years we have had our moments, our memories, little fights as well but the beginning is always the best part.
This was our beginning, and thus started an association which has given all of us trunk-fuls of memories and laughter, shared together...

Getting to know us-1

I am Rhy and this is for Erebos. He knows who he is and he knows that I miss him a lot these days... He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and after more than 4 blissful years, I find myself 9000 miles away from him. This too shall pass and so we shall soon be re-united. Until then, these posts will make him smile... At first I thought I might use initials instead of names, you know, privacy, defamation and what not. But then I decided to go whimsical and use the Greek pantheon instead. Why I call my partner Erebos, you ask? He is  the God of darkness and shadow, Erebos, I mean, not my partner. And I decided to call him Erebos because he would rather be the master of darkness and shadow than be the master of something beastly and goody-two-shoes like air, light or harvest... This blog will take us back 7 years, we will re-visit fond memories we made together and also not-so-fond ones. The blog will actually go back to the time life was barelling us towards each other, things you already know about me but which I will write anyway because, well, because its nice to write things. And also, when our baby walks up to you and surreptitiously asks if you too believe his mother is crazy, you can just show him this :)