Those Little Things

This is inspired by the 25 Notes a friend put up on Facebook. This one is Top 15 about me.

Those little things..

1. I was told by dear mommy that I used to look like Chipkali (a house lizard) when I was 15 days old. A lot of people think I still do. I was also told that dad cried when I was born. Well, I suspect, silently, he still does!

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2. One of the best things I did in my school life was saving pocket money and spending it on recordings of old songs. I am a big time Indian semi-classical music fanatic and I get maximum peace hearing it. I thank mom and God everyday for giving me the sense of music I have.

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3. I love sneakers. It is one of the biggest obsessions I have after music. May be it is because of those I collected because of my singing. I always used to dream of having them as a kid. The school white canvas shoes were the closest to what I had that could be called sport shoes. I have three pairs of sneakers today. Some dreams do come true. Thank you, God!

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4. In school, I was around friends who were extremely well read. I never understood how they could read that much. I used to get my kicks reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys when my friends were reading stuff like Divine Romance (by Shri Paramhans Yoganand). Well thankfully, I became a reading addict in college (strictly non-academic) and would not spare reading even the newspaper pudiya in which we used to eat poha!

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5. I love driving. I stopped driving bicycle since 5th Standard because I used to drive a moped and then Bajaj Classic in 9th. Those were the times when TVS Champ, Luna and Avanti were planning strategies to capture the minds and hearts of middle class aunty jis. We had one in our family for mom. Yes, it was and still is illegal to drive them without a driving license. But, well, I used to drive. Today, I am happy to be in US where driving is a great pleasure. I am loving it!

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6. I cannot carry a purse or a handbag. Even if I carry a purse, I can never put my stuff in it. I would have the purse in my shoulder and carry my mobiles (yes in plural sir ji and ma’am ji..kya karein, kaam hi kuch aisa hai..), keys, a book, wallet and everything else to be carried in my two hands. It happened today and I noticed that my purse was actually empty. I prefer bags which can rest on both my shoulders and dump my stuff in it and walk comfortably.

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7. My bag, wallet and anything meant as a utility box is always full of paper. No not paper in the form of currency, but bills and receipts. Once Ankita spent an entire afternoon to sort stuff from one of my bags and she was able to collect enough junk paper to make the local raddi wala run for his money!!

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8. I am a movie buff. Watching movie for me is a passion. Going to theatres, getting tickets against all odds, sipping a cool cold drink during interval is something I inherited from mom dad. I can watch any movie. Right from Swades to Devdas to Dev D to Hero No 1 to Singh is King! I watched Victory today..:P Sab aan do!!

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9. I love Pani Puris. I think I have mentioned this fact more than the total number of comments I ever received on this blog. But my fascination for this wonderful dish is such! Most of the people who ever gave me farewell called me for dinner and served me with unlimited pani puris. Sometimes I feel that I was born to eat pani puris. Sometimes I feel I will die eating them. Quite a possibility if you see me eating those sometime!

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10. I am an Electronics Engineer by qualification. I don’t know how a transistor works. I cannot differentiate between analog and digital signals. I do not have any clue how I cleared my Engineering. I have seen a lot of Engineers prefixing their names with “Er”. I can aptly prefix mine with “Err”. The only things I remember of my Engineering are poha, hot dog, sabudana khichadi, sanwariya seth soda, Calcutta veg-roll and of course pani puri.

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11. If Engineering was a mistake, my time in IT is a crime. Ask my leads and managers. They will have all the good things to say about me. Blackmailing is a crime!

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12. I fear chipkalis. I can never make myself be in the same room with her. I had to skip my shower many times because it occupied space in my bathroom. Once, as a kid, it fell over me doing a particularly impossible stunt of eating an insect by jumping from ceiling. The trauma is still there. I sweat seeing it, I cannot make myself move, my breath becomes extremely shallow and I see myself dying eating panipuris.

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13. I cannot dance even if my life depended on it. Well, they tried a lot to make me shake my legs in hostel. I am the only one who did not dance in my entire college life until my farewell. And when I did, my juniors were the happiest to see me go. I danced at Harsha didi’s wedding. Aaj bhi didi se nazarein milane ki himmat nahi hoti. I danced at Girish bhai’s wedding. My family threatened to disown me. I danced at an office party. They kicked me out and I landed up here in USA!

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14. I can cry a lot. I become especially vulnerable when I see an emotional or a supposedly emotional moment on screen. Today for example, I started crying seeing Harman Baweja hitting winning sixer in Victory. Anything which intersects me 6 inches about my heart has the ability to stir my emotions deep down. Crying is one of the best (and very useful) forms of expression ever!

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15. Blogging. I started this blog with a curiosity to see what all the fuss is about. It has come a long way for me. I started a few more over the last 3 years. Infact, there are a few more blogs hidden elsewhere which are out of sight and out of reach. But this one has stood the test of time. Blogging is a great form of expression. It helps flush the toxins out. :-)