The perfect heels!

This blog is taking a break from regular programming to say this...

I have been catching up on fellow bloggers lately and I read so many of their honest, sweet posts filled with love and affection for their kids! And I wondered why I cant write like that.. And I decided I would do a post on all the wonderful things about Cheeky.. after all the only facet people know of him is the talkative, naughty little imp! Right? (Now if only I could remember them while he is jumping around me!) Anyway, as I was making up my mind, I read another blog and read a line about high heels there and my mind was unmade again! So now I will write to you an honest and sweet (oh well, I will attempt to make this as sweet as possible with mentions of chocolates and jelabis.. what say?) as possible!

As I was growing up, I was always among the tallest in my class. While Cheeky is so proud about being tall, and dreams of being taller than Daddy some day.. I was not so thirlled about being tall. I wanted to be petite and small built. I wanted to be cute and chubby too.. Instead I was reed thin and tall.. This would haunt me through my teen years, although I am not one that can be easily haunted! So while I bore my tall thin looks with a cheshire cat grin and a cheeky spirit, I continued to fret about it! (I hated looking down on people you see!)

Even when Meenakshi Sheshadri (I am not kidding you, I went to her house once with a friend who was in a dance program with her), commented on my model like height and posture (haha, I know that is way too funny.. to write an honest post about). Well to be honest, even though she commented about that she followed it up with a request for a massage! As you can imagine she was rebuffed and my friend got an earful for taking me to places with all these "I am the queen of the world" types! So anyway, I brushed that comment off with a flick off my shoulder.. however the chip remained!

So when my mom introduced me (via email, hadn't met him yet) to this guy all of 6'2", I thought he would be just a wee bit taller than me. For while I was 5'5" in reality, in my mind I was well over 6 ft. And then reality struck.. I was found running around days before my wedding hunting for the perfect heels.. I had worn flat shoes till then and had no clue how to walk in a stilleto.. so I needed heels that were not stilletos but big enough so I did not look funny standing next to this tall creature! The tall creature who still mocks me about our engagement photos. Let alone the fact that I was looking really weird with the funny hairdo done by relatives (punished for not booking a parlor.. my hair was an experimental piece for all relatives and ended up looking just awful!). Besides that I was standing there shoeless, while the tall dude stood next to me sneakers and all looking taller than ever!

At the wedding reception I finally managed to get some heels and still ended up looking short. And ever since my quest has been to find the perfect heels that will make me look at least a wee bit taller! My dream has finally been answered now and I feel so short all the time.. not to mention with all the love handles .. now I am (way too) chubby too (but we will leave that tale for another day, or we will just stove that story in the closet shall we?) but whoever said that the other side of the grass is green has to be crazy.. I want to feel tall again.. boohoo!! (Images: http://www.carthage.ed, http://webpages.scu.edu, https://www.btowstore.com)

(I will soon be back to complete my long winding, boring, pictersque travel posts)

The Pink City!

After Jaisalmer.. the big city was bound to fade in glory.. the hotel guy asked us to "just get a prepaid taxi" when we asked for pick up at the railway station! The city has roads overflowing with traffic, and urchins. It was a very sorry sight, a couple of times we gave away our packed dinner and unopened soda bottles to these kids who seemed to turn up everywhere!

I was ready to be disappointed.. the hotel was next to a Mc D.. so at least Cheeky finally would have a good meal.. (whats it with these kids and happy meals?) Finding a ride seemed to be herculean! We had to haggle with a bunch of taxi operators till we found a guy who would take us around for what seemed like a reasonable rate.. come the car we found the reason .. it was a non a/c mini van! Ouch! However we let ourselves be convinced that everything was so close together in Jaipur that the car hardly mattered! But trust me it does.. the heat was absolutely awful!

So with this rocky start, we headed off to old Jaipur.. the pink city! And now I know why Rajasthan is known to have the richest architecture in Asia if not the world. For there within the walls of the old city, Jaipur retains its ancient charm! The markets are so quaint and colorful.. the palaces are so rich in heritage and well preserved. It is hard to believe that Hawa Mahal is just a facade! Jantar Mantar with its fourteen huge geometric devices is awe inspiring. So much that despite the heat beating down on us, we stood around and found it hard to leave. Ofcourse, part of the reason was that Cheeky kept climbing up the steps of each device and calling it his royal throne!

At Birla mandir, this mom and son took pictures dressed in Rajastani clothes. The guy refused to give me soft copies, and also refused to let me take a picture. I managed to take one of Cheeky though after putting up a fight and gathering a group of onlookers! Following that we made some very bad deals in the stores just outside Birla Mandir and headed off! After the sweltering heat we decided to cool off with some shopping and that was good fun ofcourse!

The next day had us heading for the Amber fort, and although Rough guide says that Amber is not as beautiful as the City Palace or Albert Hall (with its victorian-rajput architecture, which is lovely but fails to compare to Amber), I thought Amber was the best piece of architecture I saw on this trip, perhaps next only to Taj. The gayily colored elephants carrying the hoardes of tourists and the drummers in colorful costumes only add to the charm of the place. For the rest, I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

The verdict.. even if it has been hit by mordernisation and is densely populated! The traffic and the poverty might strive to put you off, however the pink city is a charm in itself, and although the pollution adds to the sweltering heat, I would suggest you put up with it and explore this city, for it does not disappoint!

The Golden City...

The golden sands, the sandstone lined walls and homes, the glistening sun bouncing off the lake, the glowing fort walls as the night sets in... Jaisalmer does live up to its name "The Golden City"! The rustic charm of Jaisalmer left us wanting more of it! Considering it is in the middle of the desert, there is a lovely breeze greeting you through the day that almost dissipates the heat (almost but not quite). The evenings and early mornings are actually very cool and our sojourns at these times (we reserved the mid afternoon for languishing in our air conditioned rooms) were absolutely wonderful. The people are so warm and hospitable.. as you can probably gather, I fell in love with this quaint little place!

We stayed at this charming hotel called "Shahi Palace" that has a great view of the fort from its very inviting roof garden! Owned by 5 siblings/cousins, it feels so much like home! Their warm hospitality and yummy home cooked meals, helped us to fall in love with Jaislamer.. and when we had to leave, it was with the resolve that we would come back and stay longer! They were really sweet, on the first night as we hung around on the roof top, one of the brothers kept us company, relegating tales and imitating accents from around the world. Another, cooked up some desert mushrooms (he had picked just that day) and gave it to us for a taste. It was almost like the way your mom/ grandmom tells you.. taste this,this is so yum! If you do go to Jaisalmer, this is a good place to stay!

While the fort and the numerous havelis with their intricate craftsmanship holds a unique charm that only those ancient relics can hold! And the glistening lake where we pedaled a boat was simply a wonderful find in the desert, the highlight of our visit was the desert safari! But before we go down that lane, I must stop to talk about the lake. We were very excited about the prospect of getting on the lake.. and with child like delight naively looked forward to exercising our legs! However as we endeavored to get some pictures of birds flocked on the banks we hit something and could not move!

We were a good 20 feet from the banks, and so we were really bewildered! Trying not to panic we called out to a guy rowing a oat nearby with a dozen passengers! He quickly reached us and took off his footwear, rolled up his sleeves and I had visions of him diving under the boat and laboriously extricating us from whatever tangle we had got ourselves in! Instead the guy got off the boat into ankle deep water and pushed our boat off from where we had struck land! As you can imagine, all of us, including the passengers of the other boat had a good laugh!!

The next day saw us pottering about in the wee hours of the morning as we prepared for a early start to the deep deserts! We drove off to witness the sunrise among the sand dunes.. but we fell short by a few minutes.. so had to watch the sunrise well before our rides arrived.. still it was an awesome sight!! And then we saw them at a distance.. our majestic rides... as we straddled the camels and rode off into the dawn a thrill went down my spine! We had a breakfast of toast and tea in the wilderness... sitting on a colorful mat.. on the glistening dunes, camels chewing off the desert plants on one side! It was absolutely exhilarating! And at this time of the day it was nice and cool! We were joined by a group of European tourists who had spent the night under the stars in the middle of the desert! Wish I could have done that!! Except I would have not had a wink of sleep... the images of dung beetles (they feast on the camel dung.. hence the name) a la matrix style kept interrupting the pleasant images of solitude on the Desert!

After a trek on the sand dunes.. did you know that Jaisalmer was once a sea? They have fossil stones of sea creatures! And here is what we found in the middle of the arid desert .. yes shells! Anyway after a trek on the dunes, we hopped on our rides to head back to the village! The nice camel caretaker, invited us to see his home and village. We bid goodbye to our fellow tourists and headed back (oh yes this was a special privilege he said.. because we were the only Indians he had seen in months... that was surprising!). Although our camel "Tola" insisted on brushing against every shrub and thorn bush along the way.. not to mention backs of other camels, this was an experience we will carry with us for the rest of our lives! Cheeky was sad to leave his friend "Tola" behind.. and promised to come back soon with Daddy!

We left Tola in good company though. The gaily dressed village folks in their cool sandstone homes, celebrate everyday with music and dance! They take good care of the camels. The village children skip school and hang around the village. A few of them followed us around and even took some pictures with us! As we left we handed out our stash of Candy and Cookies.. they only wanted more!! Growing up in a land surrounded for miles by arid desert must be hard! I was told the kids don't even get to see candy and cookies for months! The land had not seen rain in 3 years and even food was hard to come by! So luxuries were unheard of! Their only snack is husk from the grains.. We wished we had known.. we could have taken more goodies for the cheerful, smiling little friends we made!

After taking a stroll in the fort, seeing the palaces and the city views.. not to mention shopping for souvenirs it was time to leave! And we hoped we had planned to stay longer! I am sure the pictures speak for themselves and my ramblings in this post are superfluous! Jaisalmer with its rustic appeal is a must see.. As we left I promised myself, I will be back to stay for a week or two and experience the rustic charm yet again! But for now we were off to the Pink City!

Are we there yet?

I have this annoying habit, I like to get to every airport/ railway station/ bus depot ... (you get the drift) well ahead of time! In the same habit.. I dragged everyone to the station a full hour and a half ahead of time! The train did not seem to care to arrive till it was almost time to leave, and then it left in its own leisurely pace about 30 minutes late!! While the train took its time.. we stood at the railway station under a precious spot we had grabbed.. so while others jostled us to look up the waiting list for the train.. we stood our ground.. surrounded by our baggage's and looked longingly at the fan above us that ran in full speed! Yet the rivulets of sweat flowed down our faces and backs.. and we downed bottles of ice cold water... that seemed to just evaporate from inside our body!!

We spotted a peddler adorned in chains and padlocks.. Suddenly struck by paranoia and visions of men in masks taking away my bags of clothes.. I insisted we buy a padlock and chain from the guy! While a German couple haggled with the guy... without speaking a word of Hindi .. they got the chain and padlock for Rs. 25. While we the big Hindi speaking peasants.. paid Rs. 40 for the exact same thing!!!

After a night of restless sleep, we were up bright and early in eager anticipation. However, there was more ground to cover! The journey now seemed endless... after stopping at every inert village on the way, where throngs of villagers dressed in white clothes and colorful turbans, while the women dressed in rich colors, covered their head and face with the colorful dupattas; and stood around without a care in the world! The sole purpose of their rendezvous seemed to be to watch the trains go by.. considering that there seemed to be only fields nearby.. it must have been quite a hike! We on the other hand sat in drab railway boxes, wore dirty stinky boring clothes and wondered why the throngs existed.. looking around for a reason.. maybe a festival? a fete? a carnival? a temple.. anything? No? All this hike and finery just to see us? Really?

After acres and acres of arid desert that seemed to go on forever! At least half a dozen people in our railway car trying to keep us entertained with loud music from their mobiles! Did any of us tell them that they were all causing our heads to split and ears to cry.. playing 6 different songs on their mobiles? No!! We just put up with it and lamented about it to each other! While at it.. we tried the subtle glances, the pointed piercing looks, the threatening glares.. anything but open our mouth and say something!! The noise continued! Not to mention, there was a 4 yr old spider man jumping around on our feet, backs, laps, hands and heads! As long as it belongs to one of the Cheeky family, it was fair game I suppose! Given all this, we were just about ready to jump out the train!! Really!! However we stay put in our a/c chariots and worried about stepping into the heat of the arid desert outside while the train still rode on stopping every few minutes.. and one imp whined " I don't want to be a passenger anymore!!" At least it was a relief from "Are we there yet?"

Remember the story about the padlock peddler? When we finally after having fought every instinct to unlock the chains early.. remember the masked bandits? .. well we finally decided, might as well unlock, for we would have to take the baggage with us after all eh? {ding!} We found that the lock and key having dispensed their duty were now headed to the after world..
However we had more adventures in store for us.. We had arrived at the Golden City!
Disclaimer: I am not whining about India.. I absolutely love India even with its little idiosyncrasies.. but I also was born with a sarcastic tongue!! :P

The Golden Triangle and some...

Last year when we were on our vacation to India.. we had only one agenda, to meet people and introduce Cheeky to his myriad relatives.. a vacation from the vacation did not seem necessary.. and we were happy enough to spend a couple of days in Ooty.. and kid ourselves that we had spent the best part of our vacation there!

However this year we were fore-warned.. so we started planning the break well in advance! My sister was longing for a break from the Chennai heat.. and we were not really prepared for another Indian summer.. so we chose to go north.. We decided to go to Himachal Pradesh.. and head to the Himalayas. After scary stories of the monsoon rains and land slides, that plan was dropped and instead Rajasthan was picked! Yeah I know more fool we.. we were hoping that with the monsoon rains Delhi and Rajasthan would be cooler than usual. The dates were decided and tickets were booked.. and the wait began!

On the day of the travel.. everyone was rushed.. bags packed, tickets printed, doors locked.. check check check.. we were off to the airport to board Indigo airlines to Delhi! On the flight, as we took off, I could be heard praying fervently.. I always knew that Indigo had cheap tickets and they saved by not serving you any food! However as we took off, the rickety plane made creaking noises.. the engine roared while the plane did not soar.. vroom vroom the sound said as the flight made its slow ascent!! It seemed like going in an auto rickshaw as against a BMW 5 series!!

However the flight was smooth and we made it in time (well just over time) to Delhi. And we were hit by a blast of heat.. coming from Chennai it seemed even more hot and humid.. we were so surprised.. and we thought it was monsoon season! So now none of our clothes in the 3 jam packed suitcases could work.. we needed more clothes!! yay!!

Early the next morning (that is if you will let me consider 9 am early), we hit the roads to explore Delhi.. We were awed by the Parliament, the Presidential Palace - Rashtrapathi Bhavan, India gate and Janpath... as much as we were in awe of the structures, the roads were duly admired too.. Despite the facts that no lane rules were followed on the wide roads, let alone the fact that sometimes there were no lanes even marked on the roads.. Still Delhi has the infrastructure to implement roads of international standards! We then headed to the highlight of our Delhi tour.. Qutab Minar! While the minar itself is awesome.. it is surrounded by some really awe inspiring pillars and statues that are breathtakingly awesome! I seemed to be transported in time to the 1100's... as I traversed the walkways and admired the workmanship!!

By mid afternoon though, after lunch at some obscure place suggested by the taxi driver; we headed to red fort.. the long lines and the heat had us rushing back to the car after taking some customary snaps of red fort and us in front of it.. Now we can say we have been there! Soon it was time to head to the railway station.. we were going to begin our soujourn in Rajasthan! So with eager anticipation we headed in the heat of the day to the railway station! How did that turn out? Come back and read the next part of the Adventures of Cheeky and Mommy!! Meanwhile I leave you with some pictures from Delhi...

M and the laddle!

VJ tagged me (of all people) to write about M (M the Hubby dearest for the unintiated) ... If I could really get sentimental ... I would probably wax long about how much he means to me or how much I owe him for putting up with my scatter brained self! But I probably couldn't keep a straight face while I wrote such stories.. for if this is true, then the reverse is the harder truth (my putting up with him of course!!)... so in the true spirit of this blog let me tell you a story..

About The Man and the ladle!
I had heard stories about how in the "Bachelor days" in a remote corner of Arizona 2 roomies would make a mean rasam and aloo fry sabji and actually have lunch from home everyday! And I chose to believe this tale! So when after boring each other to death with emails, one of which relegated the tale of this culinary hero making Payasam (Kheer, a milky relish) on his birthday! We finally met each other.. and I (so naively) asked about his culinary proficiency and decided from the stories I would never have to learn the elusive art of cooking! The first few months were actually close(r) to what should have been reality.. while the self proclaimed Chef did not cook everyday.. he did party catering and provided tips and advice... and I held that stupid sweet smile of the new bride in denial!!
But on this day 7 years later I have decided to finally bury that feminism hatchet, heave a big sigh of despair and declare that the man and the ladle don't go hand in hand.. and the Culinary hero of the yester years and his tallest tales remain a distant dream! Maybe for this vacation I could pack this man and his ladle to a culinary camp!! What say? (Images courtesy: http://www.cksinfo.com/cartoons/miscellaneous/education/index.html, http://www.reverendfun.com/?date=20000724)

Keeping it real!
As many of you know it is very hard for me to write sentimental tales.. when my friends would narrate stories of sentimental trysts with boy friends/ finaces/ husbands.. I would supress an involuntary laugh and wonder if that would ever change.. Maybe when I got engaged I would sprout two angelic wings and a angelic halo and start cooing and blushing!! But unfortunately.. I waited and waited and the change never came.. I remained the tom boy that I always have been!! But then M takes it a step further.. if you think I am funny (alright I am fishing for compliments now.. come come on.. do your bloggerly duty and pour them in) , you should see him!! Between us we have never been able to hold a serious conversation for more than a few minutes... but then life has been all about laughter and fun!! Having said that I am gifted with the guy who keeps me real and doesnt take me too seriously.. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I wonder!! With that note I am on the verge of losing my edge and actually those wings seem to be sprouting.. hush hush Preethi.. get a grip!!

Cheeky.. the true story!
While M's family choses to think that I am the one Cheeky gets his bratiness from and my family rushes in to confirm (what an ungrateful family I have.. after all that I have done for them!!.. As if being born in this family and gracing them with my presence was not enough...) Anyway, having said that, the true story behind His Cheekiness is the Papa bear with the innocent face lurking in the picture.. while it appears to the rest of the world that it is this silly momma who does all the talking and has the claim to blame for the Cheekiness.. today let us set the records straight and let them show that it is the Cheeky dad to blame!

The Blog Patron!
I work hard to write this blog.. that I borrow from the stories of my life.. and go on to add spice to reality.. not to mention chronicle the life and talks of our joint venture.. The Cheeky Brat; is immaterial! There is a lurker here who comes to see what else I have blabbed about.. and who seems to take pride in my writing and tell the rest of the world about my blog!! But I have this inkling of doubt.. are you trying to tell them "Look what I have to live with?" that is the question!!

Considering...
I actually seem to have run out of sarcasm.. I need to check with magnifying lens.. is that a halo over your head? Is it possible or have the 7 years of blissful ignorance dulled my otherwise razor sharp perception? Or have I sprouted 'em wings?! (image courtesy: http://images.clipartof.com)