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Thursday, September 30, 2010

leather touch..

My father belongs to the second generation within the family and community, who makes leather and leather products. The family business had an in house tannery which used raw leather to make it to a finished leather by treating them with various chemical, dyes, the works.. soon the leather would be cut and hand stitched into various leather products like wallets, purses, leather jackets, etc.
The area in and around the leather tanneries stenches..

But, I wasn't so much bothered by the smell.. in fact I loved the smell of wet blue (a kind of treated leather, not really raw anymore, but still smelly to most). The finished leather would smell like most leather handbags or wallets do, but that smell would be a mixture of the smell of the hide and a lot of chemicals. I loved the wet blue smell.. it is still kinda in its initial stages of treatment but I love it..( please dont get ideas, I am not a vampirette)

Once there was a factory lock out due to some agitation by workers and all work had to be shifted home and the hall room was converted into a makeshift store for those wet blues.. When I returned from school, I went and sat on those mountainous piles of leather and stay there the whole day, studying there, playing there, sometimes sleeping too!! 

I had always wanted to join the business when I grew up, the love for leather was in my genes. It was not to be though, being a girl I had to marry and make kids and not leather. Last year, I was in my father's tannery in Calcutta and was with him while he was grading the hides, very quickly, I started pointing out the various grades and my papa was impressed saying that I was a fast learner. 

Even now I have a strong sense for leather, and I usually smell, like one smells a fruit or vegetable, to find if it is real leather or rexine..


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Google

Don't believe me? GO ask GOOGLE!

Disappearing..

disappearing forests... disappearing parks.. disappearing vilages.. disappearing fields.. disappearing food.. disappearing mankind??

Monday, September 27, 2010

mmm..Chocolicious!!

Oh my mouth is watering!
Even the mention of chocolate waters my mouth..

When I read about Hansel and Gretel, I was so attracted to the story, only because of the cottage of the witch which was made of chocolates and candies and toffees.. mmm.. wow!!
I wished I had an evil step mom and who would leave me at the forest so that I could find that cottage, and eat those chocolates. Never mind the evil witch who I thought I would outwit after eating up her whole cottage!!
Aaahhh I am lost in the creamy world!

Once some chocolate company, I think it was Cadbury's came to our school and showed us a half an hour video  of how chocolate is made. When I saw those huge vessels filled with creamy chocolate, I wanted to dip myself in it and remain there........... ooohhhh lalala mmmmm
Then I had a brilliant idea, forget foreigners, find a man who owned a chocolate factory  and hook him up with marriage! Howz that??

Even now I eat more chocolate than my kids, and if there is little I will hide from them and eat!

Love and Money!

I have been hearing that "when money comes, love goes out of the window."
Since then i have been wondering what happens when money goes?
Does love then come back in or remain?
Yes I know love is blind etc etc..
But, without money can love survive?
Can love feed you?
Get a roof above your head?
Clothe you?
Money can do all the above... and more! No?
Dont we need those things to survive?
I am not talking about wants which can be unlimited, I am talking about the "basic needs" of human beings!

If the phrase "when money comes, love goes out" holds true then why is it that most poor households have wife beating and polygamy?
Housemaids or helpers or servants who come to my house to clean, wash etc always complain of the shortage of money and sickness and hunger, and yes no support from husbands. There is no mention of love! 
Apparently there is no love.

Now you would be wondering where I got the above phrase from. Obviously, from my rich relatives. As per their view, their husbands get them everything they need, the expensive clothes, the jewelery, the foreign holidays, yet they complain of no love. So strange!

Concluding from the above, there is no love, irrespective of money. Maybe there is love only when you have the right balance of love and money, meaning a little bit of money and a little bit of love can go together
A lot of money = no love
very less money= no love
Is love a myth and money a reality?

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Foreign fantasy

Yes, I fantasized the word foreign and everything associated with it.

My first love was Switzerland courtesy Yash Chopra and his picturesque film songs.

I loved the snow capped mountains and the saree clad heroine (she was too hot to feel cold in thin saree too). I must mention the trains, the ones which travel all over Europe ..wow! and the scenes that passed by
My father often had to travel to Europe because of his export business, and I yearned to go with him. Once i remember taking out all my clothes from the almirah and insisting that he take me although school was on. Obviously he didn't take me and I cried for hours.

My grandpa became critically ill and was diagnosed with throat cancer for which he was taken to london to be treated with the best doctors and hospitals, and I so fervently desired to go, that I wished I was also ill, so that I would be taken there even if it were for treatment.

It wasn't just foreign travel on my mind, I was also secretly in love with foreigners.
If someone asked me did I love someone? I used to answer,"yes, a foreigner."
Someday I would marry a foreigner and will go away for ever. (sshhh)
My prince charming in a white horse was a "gora" (white) :P

yeah yeah .. Neither did I go abroad nor did I marry a gora :-((
Maybe someday i will ..........

Saturday, September 25, 2010

friend or fiend?

FrIEND always

Con game!

CONsciousness CONs CONfidence

Oh Boy!

Oh I wished I was a boy!


I had this notion that to be a girl or a boy was in my hands.. (level of confidence was ohhhh)
So, I had a sister and she was all girlie, she had her ears and all pierced when she was in class 1, but not me..
When mom wanted me to get mine pierced .. I was like, "What rubbish I am going to be a boy when i grow up!!"

I hated all girl things.. playing indoors was a no no especially with dolls and house house eeeks!!!
But I was left alone with nobody to play with, so I had to strike a deal with my sis, I play doll doll for one hour and she plays bat and ball for one hour.

Often I searched for games which required no partner, and I found squash, flying kites, playing with carom (both sides). I sometimes invited the boys from outside to throw the ball while I batted. hehe!

I was so damn serious about it that I convinced myself that it was possible and I would certainly prove it.
It was at that time I also read on some people who underwent operations to change gender, and I thought, "there! I am not the only one."

Alas! I was in the 6th std, and slowly came to realize that it wasn't possible and that I was destined to be a girl and I had no power to change it! It was a Blow initially and as a sign of giving up .. i went and got my ears, nose pierced in one go! ;(

Since then I have tried to behave like a girl (I really try hard to)

magic wand!

So I just watched a movie and there was this magic wand that did all the works and more..
How I wanted I had one..
I was sure, (because i was six) I could find it somewhere, it was only a question of time and persistence!
I thought I will start by asking anyone and everyone (someone would know!)

Now I was a stubborn child and if I wanted anything I wanted it BAD.
There was a distant relative who used to come to our house often,and even though he wasn't given much importance, i wouldn't think of not asking him, lest he knew!!
He said indeed he had one but it would cost me 50 rupees
I was ecstatic! and even though I didn't have the money I promised to get the money within a day or two.
I don't remember where I got the money from, perhaps it was stolen (yes I was cheeky enough to steal)
And sure enough my deal was done and I had a stick in my hands!
I quietly went up to my room and i moved the piece of wood up and down spoke to it for hours !!
I was desperate but it did not do anything as per my wish..
I wished I start flying but not a budge I felt!

Saddened and disheartened, I showed the stick to my grand mom (whom I was very pally with) and she told me it was a piece of sandalwood and not a magic wand!
I was :@ (angry) and !@#$#@!#$#@$%(abusive)
How dare someone dupe ME!
I had to get my money back and I waited for that relative to come so that I gave the sandalwood back to him and get my money back. He did come after a few days and I vented out my anger on him and demanded that he returned the money.. which alas! he had spent!
Along with the money, my hopes of finding a magic wand was also squashed..

one of the first bitter lessons of my life! No MAGIC WAND (boo hoo)

introduction for a new series in this blog

When I was smallY
My wishes were manY
Now that I am bigY
I know they were so sillY

Now when i think of theM
I feel I was such a buM
But wishing was such fuN
even though it wasn't doNe

The time has comE
To pen down somE
So I will try to use wit
and produce some .... eeeks did i just wish i was a poet !!
cant find a word to rhyme with wit , wonder how I came thus far!!