The Life and Times of a Blogomaniac

EDITED TO ADD : Thank You,Blogadda, for the Tangy Pick !

Caution: This is a work of fiction. Yet, resemblance of characters and certain incidents to anyone real or virtual is purely intentional !

Also its a long story which couldn’t be cut short !

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It is a bright sunny morning.

Time 8AM

Deeps,after sending off husband,R & daughter,Namnam,gets set to indulge in her daily dose of entertainment. Its time to pay visits to her friends in the blogville. She cant wait to know whats happening in their lives !!

She realizes she has to be back soon to get on with her chores at home. She plans to cook shahi paneer and fried rice ,a favorite of both R & Namnam, for lunch ! She is confident she will be back by 930 at the most. C’mon how long should it take to drop in a word!

She starts off with a visit to Nancy,who lives close-by

Knock Knock! Knock Knock!

No response.

Deeps: Helloooo,are you there,Nance?

Deeps knocks again and just as she thinks Nance is away and begins to retract her steps, the door is opened by a half-asleep Nancy

Deeps: Oh,so sorry Nance,didnt know you would be sleeping. Are you ok?

Nancy: Oh yes yes,I’m fine,thank you,Deeps. Its just that I came across an article on sleep deprivation recently and was so shell-shocked to know about the detrimental impacts it could have on one’s life that I didnt want to take any chances. Thought I would catch up on some lost sleep of my own,just to be on the safer side!

Deeps: I understand,Nance. You sleep tight and have sweet dreams. Will come by later .

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Deeps,now, hops by Rakesh’s zone

Rakesh: Hi Deeps !

Deeps:Hi there, whats up? You seem to be pissed off with the advertising industry for way too long!

Rakesh: Yes! This uninhibited capitalism is getting to me!

There sure needs to be a change in topic before the air gets more serious.

Deeps: Heard Kurbaan is released.

Rakesh: Yes and am looking forward to watching it.

Deeps: Wonderful! will look forward to your take on it.
C u later,Rakesh

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As she wonders where to stop by next, Deeps hears some giggling and chirruping amidst a lot of tap,tap from Swaram’s end and decides to drop by.

Swaram: Hey,Deeps,come on in!

Deeps: What’s all the noise,Swar and how come you’re not at work?

Swaram: Oh I had a large carton of ‘bubble wraps lying here,so we thought of taking a day off from work to pop pop pop away to glory! Tee hee!

Deeps: We? Is Su in too?

Right then two hands wrap Deeps from behind.

Crafty: *Super tight hugs*, Deeeeeeeps! So good to see you here

Deeps: Hi Craftysweets,so good to see you too? So who else is here?

Pixie: I’m here too..hee hee

Deeps: So the “Gang of Girls” is here! Fantastic!
Carry on,girls,have fun. See you later

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Deeps heads to Vimmuuu’s house next.

Vimmuu: $#@%^&*#$#%$…Oh sorry, Deeps,didnt see you coming. Welcome!

Deeps: Whts the matter,Vims? Why r u so hassled?’

Vimmu: I’m raging mad at the Water Board. .You know,they have stopped water supply of my house. Apparently they think I wash clothes and take bath way too much and that leaves other residents in the locality with hardly enough water for their own use.

Deeps: Oh! Thats a shame! Dont they know those are your favorite indulgences??

Vimmu: I’m seriously going to give them some lessons on cleanliness and hygiene,I tell you!

Deeps: Good luck,Vims.Hope they see sense. Bye!

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And then she heads off to Hitchywriter’s abode.

Hitchy greets her with a very morose ‘Hi’ .

Deeps: Why the sullen look,Hitchy?

Hitchy: Look how poor Sachin is being dragged into the political brouhaha!! Cant the fanatics just leave him alone and let him enjoy his moment of glory? They owe him at least that much.

Deeps: Yes its very disheartening! I’m sure Sachin is sensible enough to not let such ridiculousness get to him though.

Hitchy: Yes of course! But still its depressing. And as you know the more I feel depressed the hungrier I get.

Saying this he gets up to head to the kitchen.

Hitchy: I’m going to have some ‘Akuri’. Care to join?

Deeps: No thank you,Hitchy.I’ll get going too. You enjoy your sulk Akuri Bye!

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Deeps reaches IHM’s house and rings the doorbell.

IHM: Welcome,Deeps. Please come in.

Deeps: Thank you,IHM. I cant wait to do some serious male-bashing.So,who are we targeting today?

IHM: Not today,Deeps. I’ve received a letter from some harassed husbands who are protesting against their nagging bickering wives and they are looking for as many voices as possible in support of them. I’ve decided to stand by them. Men deserve to be heard too,you know.

Deeps, a bit panicked at this revelation asks,” ah..um..IHM,is there a certain Mr R in the list of petitioners,by any chance??’

IHM checks the list and responds in the negative.

‘Phew’ ! Deeps heaves a sigh of relief.

Deeps: You’re doing the right thing,IHM. I’ll support them too wholeheartedly !!

IHM: Thank you.

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Deeps,next heads to Solilo’s house.

Solilo: Bienvenue!

Deeps: Hainji???

Solilo: Oops!sorry,I forgot you didn’t know French!
Welcome!

Deeps: Thank you.

Solilo: So,did you read my revue des livres of “The Horse Boy”?

Deeps: your what?

Solilo: There I go again! I mean my book review?

Deeps:Yes,Sols,and I loved your take on it. In fact I had shared my thoughts on it too.

Solilo: You had? Then how come I don’t remember it?

Deeps: You would if you stop letting my comments go into your trash can

Solilo:

Just then something catches Deeps’ eyes right across the street.

Deeps: Sols,has Sakshi shifted from her house?

Solilo: I don’t think so. I know she was planning to though. Why what happened?

Deeps: I just saw an unknown figure coming out of the house.

Solilo: Really? Where? Where? Let me see.

Sols joins Deeps to peep through the window.

Solilo: Oh,that’s definitely Sakshi,Deeps? Look at that Olive green nylon hat with rabbit fur she is donning!

Deeps: oh yes,that is her, indeed. But whats with that style statement?

Solilo: Ah! The inimitable Sakshi! Only she can wear an orange lungi and red shirt and carry herself off with such elan!
Come lets ask the Diva herself where she is off to.

Deeps and Sols rush outside.

Deeps:Hi Saksh,where are u off to?

Sakshi zooms off without a word.

Solilo calls out from the back,’Hey partner, where are you going without replying to us?

Sakshi is out of sight by now.

Deeps: Never mind,she must be in a major hurry to ‘come first’ somewhere. Lets not take it away from her.
Ok,Sols I’m off now. Catch up with you later.

Solilo: Bye Deeps

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Deeps stops over at Smitha’s now.

Smitha: Hi Deeps you couldn’t have come at a more apt time. I’ve made some muffins!

Deeps: Wow,Smits! Cant wait to gobble them. BTW why are you wearing an XXL-sized shirt buttoned up all the way till your neck??

Smitha: Oh I’m on strict orders to wear a bigger shirt lest my midriff shows up!

Deeps: Orders from who?

Smitha: Who else but Poohi !!

Deeps rolls off her chair in a fit of laughter. ’Girls I tell you! Is it any surprising that we see glimpses of our grandmothers in our daughters at times??!!’

Amidst all the muffin-munching and endless chatting,Deeps loses track of time.

And then suddenly……

Deeps: Gosh! Look at the time! Its 12! Have I been away for so long?? And I have about 50 more houses that I had planned to visit today! Guess that will have to wait till tomorrow

Have to rush,Smits. Bye,see you later.

Smitha: Bye! Hop back safely,Deeps.

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Deeps scurries back home to realize that she is already running late to go and fetch Namnam from school. Not only that. She has to put washed clothes out to dry. On top of that,she finds out that the electric oven is on !! She cant even remember when she had used it last!

Anyway, she decides with a heavy heart that Shahi Paneer and Fried Rice will have to be substituted with a simpler and non-exciting Dal and Rice today.

And then she composes herself and sets off to fetch Namnam and bring her life back in order….

Moral of the story : Excessive blog-hopping can take a harmful toll on your day-to-day life.It can even disturb your mental equilibrium.

Credits:

**The title is inspired by the blog title of a very popular blogger Indian Homemaker

**To know the definition of a Blogomaniac please refer to this page in Solilo’s blog

EDITED TO ADD: I’m sorry,people I’ve not been blog-hopping lately and I’m yet to respond to many of your comments in my previous post. Have been caught up with some domestic obligations. Will hop by and visit you all soon.

Vrishchikam 1

Vrishchikam is the fourth month in the Malayalam calendar.The month is considered particularly auspicious for devotees of Lord Ayyappan. From the first day of the month,the devotees,who wish to visit the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple situated amidst 18 hills,observe a vratham/penance for 41 days, whereby they abstain from meat,fish,alcohol,tobacco,sex,haircut,shaving,use of ill-words,unpleasantness,swearing,etc. They are expected to wear only black or saffron coloured dresses,don a Rudraksha mala. They are to visit a near-by temple everyday till they start their pilgrimage to the main temple.The temple remains open for the entire period.

Sabarimala is a pilgrimage center situated in the forests of Western Ghats of Kerala.The Ayyappan temple is located in the midst of 18 hills at an altitude of 914meters. It is believed that Ayyappan meditated in the Sabari hills after killing the demon,Mahishi.

The Holy shrine of Sabarimala is one of the most visited pilgrimage centers in the world,with an inflow of 4.5 – 5crores of devotees estimated to be visiting every year. The pilgrimage to Sabarimala is reported to be the second largest after Hajj in Mecca.

The temple is open to people of any religion,caste,creed or strata,unlike other temples in Kerala where it is proudly displayed,’Non-Hindus not allowed’ which I find utterly ridiculous.But there is one thing about Sabarimala temple as well that I find hard to accept. And that is its restriction imposed on the female gender. Apparently women aged between 10 and 50 are not allowed to visit the shrine. I fail to understand the logic behind this discrimination. How is the devotion of a 30 year old woman any different from that of a woman whose age falls outside of the age-bracket? Will it be right to assume the intention will be any less noble? Isnt God supposed to honor each of His devotee in the same manner?

Sabarimala temple

My memories of Mandala kalam are of Achan & Amma informing me and brother of the start of the month a day before.It meant that our day,for the next 41 days was to start,not my the usual morning tea/coffee,but by first taking a shower,early in the morning and heading straight to the puja room to pray and then sipping the hot morning tea. It also meant that our house would be devoid of any non-vegetarian dishes for that period. It meant that just as we kept ourselves clean,we were to keep our thoughts and our surroundings as much so.

What I liked about the season was how it enabled me to bring about a certain amount of discipline and order in my life that I could carry forward to make my life even better.

Today is Vrishchikam 1,the first day of the month. And I’ve started the day with a silent prayer and a hope that I’m able to harbor only good thoughts which I can pass along to my daughter and everyone else around me. And heres wishing everyone a life free of all kinds of unpleasantness and evil energy.

** facts,figures and image sourced from Wikipedia,and Google Images

At your (in)convenience

Before I begin my long pent-up rant, I’d like to make it very clear that this post is not directed at any one particular religion, sect or belief. My frustration or anger is aimed at all those people who seem to care a lot about their faith thereby bringing about a certain amount of discipline in their own lives, but at the same time are highly insensitive towards the inconvenience they cause to others.

I left home to go out in the morning on Friday. It was only when I got out of my building that I realized I had chosen an inappropriate time of the day to go out.

Zuhr, the afternoon prayer was about to start and people who had come to pray in the nearby mosque had parked their vehicles in every possible direction outside of our building. The entire stretch of road was blocked. So much so that there was hardly any space for vehicles coming from adjoining roads, to pass by.Needless to say,I had a tough time getting out of that mess.

I was really bugged as I had planned to be at this place at a certain hour and I was clearly far from achieving it simply because of some people’s indifference.

Such nonchalance can be so frustrating! What if someone had had to rush on an emergency and this unwarranted hiccup was something the person could not afford? Aren’t indifferent actions of some people adversely affecting the day-to-day lives of their fellow beings?

Let me point out this is not confined to one region or country. I’ve seen similar things happening in India too.
Delhi and a few other parts of North India have Jagrans/Jagratas organized, in the name of God, every now and then, by some of His devotees.

Jagrans/Jagratas,as many of you would know,is a session wherein people stay awake through the night and offer prayers to God. They show their devotion by praising Him,singing bhajans and playing loud music with religious songs blaring through the loudspeakers. It’s a different matter, though that those bhajans would have a guess-game,of an interesting kind,attached to them. Guess the original film-song!

I’m not against praying or being devoted to God. I’m a God-fearing person myself.I have my own beliefs and follow to some extent, the values and teachings that my religion, Hinduism,offers. So I perfectly understand the sentiments behind people’s devotion and implicit faith in God.

What I don’t understand is the logic behind showing devotion so explicitly in a residential area, through the night, with deafening music, thereby hampering the lives of others.
Let me not even get started on those incessant political rallies and religious rath-yatras that bring cities to an absolute standstill.

All I’m trying to point out is that all of us are free to follow our beliefs and practice what we believe in. But do we need to do that at the cost of others’ convenience? Is that the right way to go about it?

I know what I feel or write is not going to make people think or behave any differently. The system will still function in the same manner as it is now.The people will still have the attitude of unconcern towards others’ feelings.

But I also know that this is a topic that has been brewing inside me for quite sometime and I’m feeling much better after letting it out. One of the virtues of blogging,I guess!!

Another voice against Domestic Violence.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Solilo,Smitha,IHM,Lakshmi,Hypermom,Swaram have each written a post on domestic violence and done their bit to spread the awareness. Passionate Goof,even touched upon a relevant issue of child abuse to tell us all about how grave and sensitive the situation is.

After reading each of their take, I didnt think there was anything left for me to contribute.They had voiced their concerns in a much better way than I could have mine.

But a simple gesture by my daughter,yesterday,made me sit up and think of not only those children who were being abused but also those who were being affected by simply witnessing their loved ones being abused.

R and I got into an argument about something as trivial as buying a furniture.The argument went on for a bit longer than usual. Eventually we reached a consensus and the matter was pushed aside. Namnam, was doing her own thing in her room, so we were pretty much sure that she didnt care much about what had transpired between us.

The day was being spent just as usual. Nothing noticeable. But what I didn’t fail to notice was how Namnam was being extra careful in making sure R & I joined her in whatever she did,together. Whether it be painting, or playing badminton, or watching television, or simply running around the house. She even insisted,at one point that R & I played badminton with each other and she watched us play. Even while I was busy doing my chores, she dragged me midway to join her while R read us stories !

And then the most beautiful thing happened. Namnam simply got up and asked me & R to say ‘I love you’ to each other. The minute we said that and turned to look at her, she threw herself on us to hug tightly and said ,’I love you too’! The look of sheer happiness on her face is inexplicable. It was as though all her efforts had been paid off.

This is when it was clear that she did care about the argument that ensued between R & me earlier in the day. I realized how important it was for her that her parents loved each other just as she loved them .
If one slight argument between her parents could affect a 3year old , imagine the plight of those children who must be witnessing their mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent or even a friend being abused mercilessly day in and day out in front of their eyes .

Almost all of us have come across cases where women are beaten black and blue, raped , paraded naked in public. Where men are tortured no less. Where young girls are caged and raped for years by their own fathers. Where young boys are sodomized or forced into male prostitution. Where aged are thrown out of homes by their own children like dirt. Where small children are physically and mentally tortured by their monster-high-expectations-ridden-parents! Not just one,but every section of our society is susceptible to the dangers of Domestic Violence.

It also includes those who silently witness abuse being meted out to their loved ones.They are as much the victims.

One way to combat and condemn this menace is by spreading awareness about the same and letting the victims know its not their destiny. They have every right to change it.The Bell Bajao campaign is a movement in the right direction to bring domestic violence to an end. So are the efforts of so many of us bloggers who are spreading word by writing about it.

I do not know how far and wide this drive to spread awareness will reach.But if even one person realizes that there is an option to call out for help,then,in my opinion the intention is well served.

Today is the last day of the month, however let this not be the end of our drive towards living in a world sans domestic violence. Keep spreading awareness.