Well, it’s the end of the year and resolutions have to happen. I don’t believe in them, but that doesn’t stop me from making them! Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Eat less, drink more (water, folks, water - before you jump to conclusions and I get labelled as an alcoholic)

2. Finish all those things I couldn’t in 2003 (and that is a really long list)
3. Spend more time with my cat and less on the blog (I’m not sure whose loss and whose gain that will be though)
4. Learn to spell ‘decapacitated’ (I never won Ms Spelling Bee)
5. Talk less, meditate more (starting with yoga lessons tomorrow!)
6. Learn to be more patient (especially with my mom ;)
7. Get serious and develop a goal in life (no, really)
8. Win more awards (to make up for what I never won during my growing up years)
9. Get organised and super-efficient (well, every gal’s gotta dream!)
10. Stick to my resolutions (and that will probably be the toughest)

Here’s wishing all of you a scintillating, rocking, exciting and bountiful 2004!

…I’ve got myself two awards! (sob, I haven’t won too many in my ’short’ life). Oh wait, wait… I did win a second prize at a debating competition in school. And first prize at a flower arrangement show (I always had a knack for flowers :-). And I won an award at journalism school (of course, I know it doesn’t show, but let’s not get mean here, okay?). But getting to the point…

I’d like to thank my family (sob! sob!), my friends who have supported me every single step (so what if they don’t read my blog?!), my old school mates (and so what if they ingore my emails?), my newspaper vendor, my bai, all those who made fun of me in college (sob! sob! sob!), the love of my life, (and this may or may not be my husband ;) my computer and… hang on, hang on… my cat, who inspires me to try harder every day…

Thank you, thank you.

(Big Sob!)

(Congratulations to all the other winners. Jivha, Lazy Geek, Franklin, Rajesh Jain, Suman, Mahesh, Alpha, Charukesi, Alok, Venkataramanan, Chakra and Raj)

I also owe Vaijayanthi a prize, so I better get started.

A lovely weekend.

Went for my first guitar lesson on Saturday morning.

Had friends over for dinner on Saturday night. Nearly everyone got lost trying to find our new place. Someone commented that they thought they were travelling to Pune! Cooked too much food. Belatedly, I realised I could have fed another 13 people. And our friends aren’t as young and hungry as they used to be either! Have enough food to last for the whole week now.

If you’re coming this side of town, please do drop in :) We’re bound to get tired of eating the same thing all of this week! On the menu: delicious momos (supplied by my cousin who takes orders), chicken wings and drumsticks with mushroom and baby corn (cooked Chinese style), moong salad, bangda fish fry, pomfret curry, chilli paneer, egg and potato delight (cooked by hubby after much persuasion :-/), dal and pulao. And then topped off with ice cream and custard.

Went out on Sunday to watch the really violent Tarantino flick, Kill Bill, Volume 1. QT never ceases to amaze. The one thing that is constant about him is his unpredictable style of filmmaking. And one gets a big dose of it in his latest endeavour. He must have a really gruesome imagination, I think. In fact, after a few minutes, the violence starts seeming run-of-the-mill - like something you encounter everyday - heads chopped off, limbs disembered, bodies decapacitated and fountains of blood everywhere. Eeks. And at the end of the two hours, she’s only killed two out of the five on her list. My last word: Watching Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu are totally paisa vasool!

The other movie I really want to watch is Love, Actually. Unfortunately, no one else I know wants to see it :(

Still waiting for the phone guy to land up. Meanwhile, went to check out Reliance’s connection, which offers Internet access. It works out a little expensive at about Rs 24 an hour. And there have been such bad reports about their service that I’m thinking twice about going in for it. Has anyone tried connecting from a Reliance phone? I’m wondering if anyone has first hand experience…

Meanwhile, Mom arrives from Guwahati tomorrow to spend a month with us. So I’m going to be on good behaviour now :)

I have to write about this. Spent four hours today morning running around trying to get my phone connection back on track. Since I was away, the new phone installation work order was cancelled. As a result, I had to go to three different MTNL offices to find out what to do next.

My first stop was at the office where I filed the application. “We can’t do anything here,” says the man at the gate. You have to go to the other exchange. Tomorrow.

So today, bright and early, I get to the other exchange. There’s about a dozen people all looking as clueless as me. Since there are no signs (or a help desk, which of course would be like asking for the moon) I had to figure out where I was supposed to put in my complaint.

Finally, I asked another man, who I assumed belonged to the office. “Mr Patel will help you,” he says. Of course, as luck would have it, Mr Patel had not yet come in. After waiting for about half an hour, finally the man in demand walks in. I tell him about my problem.

There is much discussion about what’s happened. Has my work order been cancelled? Or has it not? He asks me to sit outside for about 10 minutes. Which is actually about 20 minutes. Finally Mr Patel informs me that a linesman will come over today and fix my phone. Can I please keep my documents ready? I almost break into a jig over there, when he asks me to wait for another 10 minutes.

Now they call me back and tell me that my order has been cancelled. I could feel all the air going out of me, like a deflated balloon. I knew life could not be this easy. And this is a phone, for heaven’s sake!

I was then informed that I had to fill up another form (lord, what can we do without them?!). Attach a letter to the form. And then go to office number 3. Ye gads!

I rush to a cyber café, type out a polite letter, jump into a rick and make my way towards office number 3. There’s a quick customer service centre, which I realize is not so quick. I ask someone for Mrs Joshi (who I have been referred to by office number 2).

“Not his room,” says the guy at the counter, pointing out in a vague direction. I rush out of the door and go searching for room number 3 where I am going to find my saviour, Mrs Joshi. Alas, she is on leave. Another gentleman looks at my papers. Then looks up his screen (though I think he did that to show off he’s computer savvy).

Then he bundles me off to room no 4. Where there are three busy women. I take my chance and go to woman no 1. Of course, it’s not her. It’s not woman number 2 either (my luck, as I mentioned before isn’t so good today!). It is number 3. This time, I really really want to celebrate and give her a quick hug. “When can it be done?” I ask optimistically. “The work order will go out today evening,” says the lady.

After which it will take another 4-5 days for the guys at office number 2 to get into action. Wow, if you ever want to make life complicated, you can definitely learn a few lessons from organizations like the MTNL!

Now, begins the wait for my new phone connection. Meanwhile, Sify Iway, zindabad!

December 13

1. I nearly miss my flight from Bangalore. I am early to arrive. But they change the flight number. Silly. I hear my voice on the intercom and then the speakers. “Calling passenger Anita…. Last call to board” I rush to the boarding gate. Hurry, says 2-3 officials. (Yah, right, what do you think I’m doing?!). Get some dirty ‘how-can-you-be-so-late’ stares from some passengers. Dang.

2. Nice breakfast. Eggs. Sausages. Mmmm. Almost makes up for last-minute ‘plane missing’ experience.
3. Hyderabad first impressions - Nice roads. Looks so neat. No girls :(
4. Hakimpet, Secunderabad is a 40-minute drive. My friend Rukshana who works for the Air Force is posted there.
5. The rick keeps going. Seems like the middle of nowhere. I reach. Finally.
6. In the evening, we make a trip to Banjara Hills where her in-laws stay. Get another look at the city. Impressive buildings. A major Mughal hangover. From the legislative assembly to the museum to the hospital, you can’t miss the predominance of the domes and spirals.
7. We decide to watch Tehzeeb in the evening. Friend’s brother-in-law drives like a maniac to Prasads. All tickets sold out. Janasheen tickets available (No, I scream!). Then to Anand. All sold out. Hmmph… But nice drive by the Hussain Sagar Lake makes up for movie miss.
8. Talk to Rukshana till about 3 am. We have lots of things to discuss. But naturally. We’ve been married for 12 years between both of us ;)

December 14

1. Wake up early and make it to the Yatri Niwas to catch daily tour bus.

2. Sightseeing starts with the Birla Temple. Impressive marbled structure. Especially if you’re into gods.
3. Next, we climb 316 odd steps to Golconda Fort. Good exercise. Nice view too. Also proof that we are no longer as agile as we used to be.
4. Qutb Shahi tombs next. We decide on a long distance view and eat instead. Bad food. Mahtoob sounds exotic but the dal and sabji are tastleless and disappointing.
5. Salar Jung Museum is impressive, well maintained and houses a really good collection. The nearby (not much publicised) H.E. Nizam’s museum is even more impressive.
6. Charminar - There’s too much traffic at the old city. The bus is diverted some way from the gate. We catch a quick glimpse. (How can I got to Hyderabad and not see the Charminar?!)
7. The zoo - The only animal I get to see is the white tiger. Rukshana refuses to walk further. Can’t blame her. It’s the second time she’s seeing all the sights!
8. End of the day. Back to her in-laws place to freshen up.
9. An hour later, I meet with the Lazy Lump at the Barista in Banjara Hills. He’s seems neither lazy nor a lump! And he’s not as shy as he claims to be on his blog. Maybe, he needs to rethink his image! LL is a charming young man who’s from the North, but works in Hyderabad. However, I get the feeling I’ve seen more of the city in one day than he’s seen in his one and a half years ;) We chat over coffee.
10. After coffee, friend joins us and we take a rickshaw to drop LL on the way. At the signal, a truck comes hurtling towards us. The rickshaw driver, swerves out of the way at the last moment. And thank God, because the truck driver doesn’t seem to be seeing anything in his path. A close brush with death (or at least with an accident!). My first meeting with LL will be forever inscribed in my memory. LL (if you ever come to Mumbai) the traffic here is much better, may I assure you :)
11. Friend takes me to her supervisor’s place for dinner. She works for the Air Force, where everyone is Sir and Madam, so I get to meet a lot of them! I even meet an old school mate. How small is the world?

December 15

1. I am tempted to go para-sailing at the Hussain Sagar. The weather is gorgeous. And someone is already out there, parachute and all, sailing over the lake. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time, so we settle for a ‘6-minute’ speedboat ride around the lake. It’s definitely a quickie, but it will just have to do…

2. Friend takes me pearl shopping (how can you come to Hyd and not buy pearls?). How indeed? Bad idea, however. Despite my resolve, I weaken as the guy lays out beautiful coloured pearls in front of me. How could I not pick up a few?
3. Lunch is biryani at Paradise. A very popular place, judging by the long queue waiting for tables. We stuff ourselves with chicken tikka and biryani.
4. Time flies fast. Have to leave for the airport. Why didn’t you take a few more days here, asks my friend. She’s probably being polite!
5. Get to the airport well in time. Lounge around since I’m early.
6. At 6.30 pm, I am finally back in Mumbai.
7. Looking back, it took me 55 minutes from Hyderabad to Mumbai and one and a half hours from Mumbai airport to home.
8. Amen!

On my last day in Bangalore (December 12th), I attended a fusion music show that was a part of the Bangalore Habba (a festival to celebrate the city), held at the very impressive Palace Grounds. I am especially fond of live fusion music and this one featured Taufiq Qureshi (a brilliant percussionist), Niladri Kumar (an absolutely amazing sitarist), Parthasarthy (mridangam), Karl Peters (bass guitar) and Louis Banks (keyboards).

Against the backdrop of the tudor style building in the middle of the grounds, the stage was all lit-up for the occasion. The performance started with a few songs and then a recital by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. We were doubly thrilled when he ended with a Bengali song and a Bihu folk tune.

There were about three power trips (Bangalore living up to its reputation!) during the show. Thankfully, it was fixed and though the performance started late, we were in for a real treat. I’ve watched Zakir Hussain, but this was my first time watching his brother Qureshi. And I must say he was amazing - the sounds he produced (and without any instruments) left the audience speechless. Niladri Kumar was an absolute treat (do watch him live if you get the chance). And some electrifying music they created together. The thing about live fusion music is the spontaneous jamming and the camaderie that these musicians share. And when translated into notes and melodies, it is sheer joy to watch and listen.

And to think we nearly missed the show. Despite being Bangaloreans, both Pallavi and her husband Rocky were blissfully unaware of the festival. So I had to literally holler and shout and until they took me seriously. Pallavi managed to wrangle three passes (bless her resourcefulness). We dropped our other plans happily. And with no regrets!

Initially, we were at the very back of the open air seating arrangement. Being rather short, both Pallavi and I had a really hard time seeing anything on the stage. Later, thanks to the ingenuity of a couple of other guys who were with us, we managed to get into the VIP section. And by the time, Qureshi and his team were on stage, we were in the front row. It couldn’t get more up close and personal!

By the time we left it was about 1.00 am and a Sufi music session was still going on. But I had a flight to catch the same morning so we decided to make our way home.

There ended my Bangalore trip, and on a rather high note!

(Pallavi went on to watch and enjoy more shows on December 13th and 14th!)

Marriage seems to have done wonders for Dravid :) I’m still recovering from India’s win in Australia after 22 years. Phew! That was such a big sleep wait!

Dravid’s performance has also brought about this discussion: Is he a more dependable batsman than Sachin Tendulkar (for all his brilliance)?

The top 100 from BBC’s search for UK’s best-loved novel. Of course, we Indians will have a totally different list, but since we don’t as of now, here it is:

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer | Live chat
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

I’ve read 34 out of the 100. Most of the classics were during school and college days and I find it increasingly taxing to read them now. But, it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do! All the more reason to get myself a library membership quickly. Stop watching movies and read more instead! Hope you’ve scored a little better than I have!

[Link via Aashish]