Do Not Call!

Today i got a call from a financial company asking me to take a loan which they were supposedly offering at very lucrative rates.
I had read an article in newspaper about how people do not opt for “DO not call” option, and then get irritated afterwards. I was one of them, till this call came!

I got this call when i was exhausted by giving a full fledged lecture on correlation and it’s application in economics! So i was enjoying my coffee when this girl called. Otherwise if such kin of calls come, i thank the caller and hang up. But surprisingly this one lasted for 3 whole minutes..! it was like this…

The girl from that financial company: Good afternoon ma’am, am i talking to Mr. Vijay Deshpande?
(This annoyed me!)
Me: No, you’re not. And if you’re saying good afternoon ‘ma’am’, then it cannot be Mr. Vijay Deshpande!
Girl: Oh I’m so sorry ma’am, actually this number is registered with this name, that’s why I said so. I’m really sorry for that.
Me: Okay fine. Tell me.
Girl: Ma’am, if I have annoyed you, then I apologize again for the mistake!
Me: I said it’s okay. Come to the point.
Girl: Thank you ma’am. Actually I’m new in this company, and this is the first assignment given to me, that’s why I’m a bit nervous.
(I thought, “Okay girl, no problem. But that has got nothing to do with me. Are you by mistake considering me as a counselor or something??!?!”. But i didn’t say these things, instead….)
Me: Ok. Have you called to tell this?
Girl: On no, no ma’am. Actually I’m calling from **** Financial company. I wanted to brief you about this new personal loan which we’re floating in the market.
Me: Ok. Thank you, but i’m not interested.
Girl: Please ma’am, at least let me tell you about the loan. I’m sure after listening to the benefits which our company is offering, I’m sure you’ll want one.
Me: No please! In that case please don’t! I already have one loan, and i’m in no mood to take up another.
Girl: Oh, if you’re not in a good mood ma’am, I’ll call you sometime later.
(What?!??? is she crazy? Or have i said something like that??)
Me: Look, i think you do not understand. I am saying that i don’t’ need a loan as of now. And if i need any, i’ll surely let you know.
Girl: Oh that’ll be great ma’am! Do you want my number? So that whenever you want it, you can let me know.
(Now i started laughing!)
Me: Well, no, i don’t. But i’ll surely call your office and ask for you. But as of now, please i don’t need any loan.
Girl: Okay ma’am. But in that case, let me just tell you about the offer. So that you can save time later.
Me: Oh, is this offer for lifetime??
Girl: No, this is our special Christmas offer.
Me: In that case, when i need one, that time this offer will be changed.
(There was a pause for a moment. I thought she will give me some reason and will hang up. But again, i was surprised at the reply she gave!)
Girl: No ma’am, I’ll ask my manager to keep this offer especially for you!
(Oh how sweet! And how stupid!! Now i really thought i’ve wasted enough time on this call. So tried to be a l’il adamant.)
Me: That’ll be nice. But i think you’ll need to first check with him whether it’s possible. And i know it is not.
Girl: How do you know that??
Me: (Now really frustrated!) Because, anybody who’s eligible to take loan would know this. (But I should not expect you to understand!!) And because i teach this subject, so don’t even bother.
Girl: Oh okay ma’am. I think I’ll come to you someday to understand these things.
Me: Yeah sure. Bye!

And after this, i started to enquire about “Do not call” option!

Foodie!

Many people will laugh reading this(“kitna kam khati hai tu”, “isliye itni dubli hai”.. no, i am not at all ‘dubli..’:(..)…and when i say that i am a bon vivant, i mean i love eating different kinds of foods.. not in large quantities though!
There are a few people whom i know, say they like home made food, ‘Ghar ka khana’.. of course, everyone likes that! So do i! We don’t have to mention it all the time when we are asked, “What do you like to eat?”! Obviously, we cannot answer a maître d'hôtel when he asks ‘what would you like to have’ with this answer, ‘oh actually i like home made food, but as i’ve already come here, i’d settle for 'paneer bhurjee and a nan'!”
That is why i am keeping that catagory out of the purview of this post! :)

There are so many places we like to go to just because of the distinctive taste of the food which is served there, and not only because of the great ambience.
For example, i just love the ‘bajaj nagar -pani puri’..there is just no other place in nagpur where one could get even a similar one, leave alone better one. I’ve been eating at that point since i actually started to eat out by myself.. and the taste has always been the same! God knows what he puts into that ‘pani’ apart from pudina, hari chatni, chat masala, which makes it so appetizing! And this is one dish which can never be enjoyed in a plush restaurant! You have to stand near that ‘bhaiya’ , holding that bowl made of dried leaves, and control your tears, which are bound to come once you gulp that puri!

Similarly, 'rolls' is one such food item which is best enjoyed in an open eatery. And i believe be it a ‘paneer roll’ or a ‘cheese & spinach roll’ or a ‘veg roll’, served with extra ‘kanda’, is the menu for a perfect working day dinner, followed by a nice cup of tea or coffee.

Now coffee is one thing which i am not very educated about! Though i enjoy it a lot, i generally prefer it with something sweet, like a cookie or a piece of cake, if the coffee is hot. But talk about tea, and i can go on talking about it right from the flavors to the different methods to prepare it. but let us not go on to beverages! Or else, it’ll make me write about my new found love, red wine! :)) so let us not go into that domain!

Chinese food is one thing which i personally think should not be made at home. It has to be made by that ‘chang’ looking person, in that huge vessel, with all the fire coming out of it every time he puts something into it! But yes, there are many restaurants which are famous for this category of food. You can find a roadside Chinese ‘thela’ serving the best of hakka noodles, which can give a cut – throat competition to ‘China Town’ in pune!

Now there are certain things which have to be enjoyed in a restaurant, like a pizza in “Pizza Hut’, burger and fries in “McDonalds”, icecream ...well, icecream is one thing which really doesn’t need a brand name.. and when a vanilla ice-cream is served with chocolate sauce, then who cares whether it’s Quality walls or Top ‘n town! But yes, Softcell in DP is worth mentioning , specially it's 'Top Notch"! Such softies really make my heart melt!
Samosa at “Preity Corner” is arguably the best in town. Also, sizzlers is one thing which is coming up high in my list. Specially the ones made in spinach!

I have specifically added SOME of those items which i feel are meant to be enjoyed outside home. Because if we start talking about the things prepared at home, then i think the list will be endless. And as a gourmet, this list can never be exhaustive… just some of the favorites.. any more which anybody can think of??

I wish

I wish i could become a little girl for some time.. so that i could cry without any reason.. so that even if i cry, i wouldn’t have to tell the reason to anybody.. or even if i had to, i could give any stupid reason..

I wish i could just pour my heart out to anybody, knowing that he wouldn’t mind it...
I wish i could have no inhibition to tell my people how much i love them.. Where i wouldn’t have to give any reason to do so.. so that people could love me selflessly...

I wish i could meet anybody whenever i want.. Without any special reason…..but I also wish i were not alone on those special days.. on those special occasions..
I wish i could again choose not to make some people part of my life…to take back my days from them.. so that i could hate them no more…

I wish i could become a little girl again for some time.. so that i do not have any reason to write this post…

For a cause

This Diwali was a real fun and a different diwali for me. To start with, i saw two movies in the diwali week!! Both, 'Jab we met' and 'Om shanti Om' were average movies.. so i spent my money and time on something which i never do in diwail season..

Next change was that i didn’t spend much of the money on my clothes or accessories. (Oh god, what is happening to me?!?!) Yes, a very big change…!! Though it is a different story that i spend it year long on these things, but let us concentrate only on diwali spendings..! :))

But the main change this diwali was that i didn’t burst crackers, for a special cause. I’d read an article about how we waste our money literally on something which really is of no use, and this struck me so much so that i decided not to burst crackers. And secondly i’d decided to have a no – pollution diwali, full of lights, which is the essence of this festival. Diwali is celebrated mainly because of the belief that it’ll bring light in our lives and that no one should be in the darkness of shame and hatred.
I was one of those people who used to love and enjoy bursting crackers.. but now, i am happy that i’m contributing to a good cause… to make everyone’s diwali a happy one..

Wait..

Sometimes we wait desperately for some things, some people.. We feel as if the wait is never going to get over.. And as Hindi movies put it, “har lamha ek uumra ki tarha lagta hai..”..!! Very true..
We plan so many things, we plan to wear special cloths, do some special cooking, take out some good movies’ CDs.. We actually plan each and every moment for which we really wait..

Still even after doing so much planning and all the preparations, we feel that so much has to be done.. And the most funniest thing is that even after these things, still so much time is left..

And when finally that moment comes, we forget all the planning and preparations for which we’ve spent so much time..
We just feel the moment…trying to live that moment.. And wish we could get more time.. Wish that time should just stop.. Wish that every moment should actually be as long as eternity..

But it doesn’t happen.. Time passes.. very fast... and after that we feel that we haven’t even done one percent of what we’d planned.. just didn’t get enough time..!!

And again we wait for that moment to come again, and start preparing for it.. again..

Innocence

The other day my small cousin sister asked me, “Why are you applying Kajal?” i said, “i don’t have beautiful eyes like you, that’s why!”
She thought for a moment, then again asked, “ But why?”.
I was a bit confused. I thought she wanted to hear the praise again. So i gave her the same reply.
But she was not satisfied with the answer.
“But why do you have to have good eyes?” Okay.. i thought.. So this was her second question. I thought for a moment, and then told her that everybody wants to look beautiful. And if they don’t have such beautiful looks like hers (again trying to impress her!!), then they’ve to apply things like kajal, lipstick, etc. (Wow, this was fastest i could think of!!)

“But even if you don’t apply all that, i’ll still like you. Then why are you still applying it?” Oh god, i didn’t have to think so much even in an interview!!

And i finally told her that yes, she was correct. And had to stop applying all that till the time she was with me!!

But somewhere she’s right, i thought. How innocently she reminded me of the fact that those people, who really love us, love us for what we are. They take us as we are. And we just don’t have to do anything to make an impression of what we’re not. These are the people who would tell us what suits us and what not. What looks good on us and what not. And most importantly, what is good for us and what not. We don’t have to take any special efforts to let them know how beautiful/good we are.

And as i was thinking about it, my already cute sis was trying to look cuter by applying the same kajal and lipstick which i was using!! :))

Waiting for winter

It’s almost 12 in the night and i am eating a hot “sabudana khichadi”..! It is not the time to eat it, i know. But i didn’t have my dinner today because of some important work (and because i dont have it on friday :) !!). And my mom dearest was thoughtful enough to know what i would like to eat after a come back.

But as i was coming back home, from Civil Lines, which is one of the coldest areas in Nagpur, i realized that winter is already knocking the doors. And this made me so happy! Winter is my favorite season!! And at that very moment i had this urge to have a sizzling cup of “adrak ki chai”!! (And one can have tea anytime!!!)

So, as it is i was about to have sabudana khichadi, i also obliged myself with a cup of tea. And as i have this habit of making some extra tea all the time, i’m so happy that by the time i finish writing this, i’ll (again) enjoy the (remaining) tea..! And as i am planning to wake up a bit late tomorrow morning, the joy is already doubled!

My (second) steaming cup of tea is ready, and the ‘khichidi’ is almost finished… and i am waiting for the winter to show it’s real colors.. to have many such moments.. where i could get more reasons to have tea.. anytime i want..