Postcards From J

Take a chill pill and maybe some of these too! (Image Source: Unknown; Don't sue me!) In no particular order: # Listen to some upbeat music and sing your favourite lyrics out loud. # Or just DANCE - even if you have two left feet like mine. Here's my current jam: # Think of parents, family, friends, just about anyone who loves you - pretty much unconditionally. # Read old, funny IM conversations you've had with your favourite people. Like the ones I have with Lo and DC... So much entertainment!  (Thank God for search functionality within chat apps) # Check out the Instagram 'Explore' tab and discover interesting people and their feeds. Some of the super accounts I follow: mumbaipaused , marsder , petesouza . Go, check them out NOW. # Dream of Japan.  (Insert your own dream destination.) Somewhere along the Hanshin Expressway, Kobe - Japan | December 2015 # Count your blessings. Be grateful. EVERY DAY. # Pray. Without an agenda...

I've always loved Bombay/Mumbai. Being born and brought up here, it's part of my identity, my DNA. But of late, this city has made me question everything around me. I am forced to throw away any rose-tinted glasses I may have put on. Let's face it. Mumbai is extremely burdened. And it pains me a great deal. And this realisation only hit me last year. My folks have now moved to our native place, South Canara (or Dakshin Kannad). Mangalore, as it's normally referred to even though it's technically not Mangalore city. Anyway, back to my point. I visit at least once or twice a year. Usually, I can't take more than four days of being 'home'. I would miss the Bombay pace and feel like something is missing. Socialising there meant attending five weddings, two funerals, a house-warming lunch, and going to church. Electricity could sometimes be a pain and one would struggle to get a few bars of connectivity on the phone. I'd feel trapped and wait for th...

Birthdays, I tell you. They creep up on you. Just like that. But hey! I'm actually not feeling anything about getting older this year. :)  CPK's Red Velvet Cake. Delish. As for my day yesterday, it was the usual. But we (family) did go to California Pizza Kitchen in BKC for dinner. I've been there a few times before, and the menu's just about alright. The only reason we went there was we didn't want to travel all the way to Bandra West or Andheri West during the peak traffic hours. And of course, for the red velvet cake. It is delicious. For a pizza place to be excelling in something else... haha! But you have to try it out. I quite love it. So, another year goes by. Kris assured me, "you aren't getting older, you're just getting better".  And then when I was being silly, RB reminded me, " oye champ! sometimes i get inspired by you to live the "good life". age is just a number, remember? ;)" Phone...

My family is g ear ing up for my brother's wedding in early December. So you can imagine the chaos that accompanies the phenomenon called the Big Fat Indian Wedding. Invitations, what to wear, arrangements for the reception, caterers, decorators, travel bookings, shopping for a zillion things, and the list goes on and on and on. (Sometimes I wonder who really enjoys these weddings - the people getting married or the ones making a fortune out of it? The latter, I'm sure.) While all this was going on, my parents (who are doing the 'inviting') happened to drop in at a very close relative's home only to find it locked. Even the windows were covered completely and the neighbours didn't know anything. They dropped the invite at the door and left. Soon after, they called the relative to check if they had received the card. No response. The cellular phone company's recorded message said 'switched off' or 'unavailable'. Strange. Then the parent...

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