Being a 20 something

This weekend, I was in one of those lazy moods that Librans tend to slip into when they are excessively bored of life. I don’t mean to sound negative…But, face the fact!! my life has no spice…At 20 something, I am a complete mess…

People have a “being 30” syndrome, a middle age crisis, and an old age problem…but have you heard of any one who speaks of the ebbs and tides of being at 20 something…Ok..meet ME!!!

Having cut 20 odd birthday cakes, having blown several candles on each birthday and having accepted many a worthless gift with an artificial smile and cliché statement “O! so wonderful!! Just what I wanted.”, even when I knew that it was the last thing I had dreamt of receiving on my birthday, has not made me any happier.

Like any other youthful twentian (a word coined by moi), I dreamt to own a palatial house, drive snazzy cars, eat the best of food, have the best clothes to drape myself elegantly and expensively, have a job that pays me well or even better own a company or two, have a handsome hunk by my side…And I thought that was the life I wanted….And so day and night I lived in this utopia, not in the least doubting that life could not be a fairy tale.

At twenty years, I suddenly don’t like certain things about myself. I feel I need a change in attitude, a change in basic mind set, a change in my habitat. I could also do with a bit of touch up with my nose and chin, silky- straight hair would be fine. On the whole may be I should go in for cosmetic surgery. And my mind was playing throwball. I was never so confused in my life. One minute I want this and the other minute I would be wishing I had made the other choice. I do even stupid things like laugh and cry at the same time. I just realized that some people who I had placed in the category of close friends didn’t fit in any more. Have I changed or have they…It’s not like it’s anyones’s fault but we just don’t connect anymore. I have distanced my friends and cousins unintentionally. It’s like drawing a circle and defining a zone around me which no one can enter without my permission.

I consider myself acutely bad in making impactful first impressions. It always happens that I meet this really handsome hunk on my bad hair day. So, BANG goes the first impression…And the worst part, I get compliments for my hair on the day I fix an appointment with the beauty salon for a hair cut. Things that I buy as exquisite designer stuff go on sale the next day…I mean can life get any weirder???

To keep my head cool which was throbbing under all this pressure I decide to take a vacation. I considered a place in the lap of nature for my vacation, which would envelope me and all my troubles in it’s loving arms and cradle me like a baby. I parallelly thought of an adventurous holiday, where I could go trekking, mountain climbing, para gliding and satiate the exploratory streak in me with all the adrenaline shooting sports. Yah! 20 points for guessing the answer…I couldn’t decide where to go. I wanted to go to chill off, and be alone with my musings…You guessed it right again..Got a resounding scolding from mom saying I was not to leave the house alone…Poof!! Goes my holiday… I’m under the constant vigilance of my mom…Hey!! I know she cares for me and all that…and I know that I love her, she loves me, she-scolds-me-for-my-good kinda shit…But, mom I’m not going to get these days of my life back….I might get to do them when I’m older, maybe being a 30 something….but it’s not as much fun when you do it as a 20 something.

At 20 plus, I guess biologically some hormone is secreted in excess which drives you into a crazy frenzy…I have these fits of sulkiness which repels people away, I don’t remember myself being moody before. Infact, I always was that pleasant girl who was welcome everywhere. I doubt if I’m welcome even now.


Let’s look at my job…Okk..Let’s not look at it…It’s not even remotely what I wanted to do. All I do is sit glued to the chair all day hunting for damn bugs raised by a fat brained fellow who didn’t have enough grey matter to look into it himself…Well that was a candid description of my work. And the love of my life, is something that is beyond definition, maybe the first time I’m at loss of words. I have people around me who care, but what do I want in my partner is still hazy. But, if I delay this anymore I’ll soon be saying “I do” to some stranger who according to my mom is a suitable match for me…Sounds scary!! But, what if I don’t make the right choice…God!!! I’m confused….

I have these sudden spells of enthusiasm of working late night without blinking an eye, trying to make the most of my dull job. There are spells when I’m really active and go around doing my chores briskly and efficiently and some other times I find it comforting to lie on the couch all day and think of nothing in particular, just sit like a cow chewing cud and ruminating over my outlandish thoughts.

I know that I have written this also in a fit of passion and I will definitely wonder as to why I posted this, just immediately after putting this on my blog. So, before u can say supercalifactionlisticexpiadidotious I take your leave.

The Epicurean Point of View

I placed the last piece of succulent chocolate cake in my mouth. The rich choco cream adorned my lips while I munched on the glorious last bite. It’s kind of disappointing when you reach the last bite; you wish for just that “little” more. The waiter approached me with some more tempting offers on the menu. Together, they tried to seduce me to have another go. I fought my urge to devour yet another pastry, paid the bill and gave an admonishing look to the perplexed waiter. On my way home, I saw a hoarding which screamed out details of a beauty clinic offering excellent weight reduction therapies. I had a surge of nausea; the cake was twirling in my stomach out of guilt. I pacified my conscience with the greatest difficulty and set about my routine work.

I have this habit of reading a book at bedtime. So, presently I sat at my reading table and picked up a book at random from the book shelf. It was already 11:30pm and very promptly I hear my mom’s voice asking me to go to bed. So, I switched the light off and settled down with the book and torchlight under the covers. (If you are wondering what makes me so particular about reading a book, well…I’m clueless). So, now, this book turns out to be on gluttony..

*The conscience sighs, there we go again*

The author of this book, Francine Prose, has a very unique stand on gluttony, which I must confess was a tad comforting. The holy religion of Christianity describes gluttony to be one among the seven deadly sins that the human soul could succumb to. To start off, it describes gluttony to be an excessive greed for food and drink and the reason they classify gluttony as a sin is because it acts as a stepping stone to the other sins as lust, sloth. Surely, the McDonalds, and the other pizzas and burger joints don’t go for the Sunday mass. It was this greed that compelled Adam to eat the apple on the forbidden tree. If he had not done so, all of us would be roaming around naked appreciating the beauty of the Garden of Eden…Well, in a way I’m glad he ate the apple….

At this point I would like to quote the author, who has mixed comedy and a dash of cynicism to elevate the spirits of “gluttons” like us.

“The traditional solutions to the problem of gluttony and lust, has been to suggest that the element of sin enters in only when we allow ourselves to relax and enjoy satisfying the needs of the body. We are allowed to eat and have sex as long as we don’t like it.”

The gurus of Christianity fight for their stand by examples and illustrations from history- the three drunkards of Flanders who went to combat death in their drunken stupor, Cyclpos – the one eyed monster being too drunk was slow-witted for Odesseys and his men. They are true to an extent. But, I believe in the concept of amending definitions and bending rules slightly to suit the changing times. Well, in today’s context, the inability to control the desire to have a second or maybe even a third helping of a cream pie, is not actually the punishable sins, where you would be boiled in the hot oils of hell ( I don’t mind going to hell after making this statement). I’m not preaching to overindulge in eating, neither am I professing an extravagant seven course meal. Being an epicurean is not a sin, infact I think it’s boon where you have the taste to appreciate the variety of cuisine in the world and also be thankful to those hands which rose to feed you, be it the chef of a multistar hotel or your mom. Getting the very opportunity to eat is a boon as there are some unfortunate ones in this world who are deprived of this basic necessity.

I would also like to add a pinch of salt to the simmering soup, “excess of anything is not good”…

So, don’t count the calories before you eat that chocolate cake. Eat on!! The threadmill is always there when you finally decide to shed off those extra pounds.
Ciao. Now it’s really late and I can sleep, as my conscience is at peace.


“Eat, drink and enjoy today for who knows from tomorrow I might be on a diet.”- Garfield, The Lord of the Epicurean Clan.

I am 16 going on 17

“I am 16 going 17…” A big hello to all my readers out there…I’m am 16 posts old (this one being the 16th one)…Yah yah…I know what you’ll say, there are some thousand odd people out there in the blog-o-sphere, celebrating their 100th post or maybe oblivious of the fact that they have crossed such a mark…Then why all the hoopla for just crossing the 16 posts milestone??? As an answer to all such kind of questions, all I have to say is “Those guys are missing out the fun in celebration”…

There are scholars who have said that “Life is a celebration” and me, I’m an incurable optimist, with a song on my lips…

Just like the miller of the Dee,
I know that I have the key,
To unlock that happiness within me
It simply takes the inner eye to see
That we have everything with us, from A to Zee.

Well, I know that was a pathetic effort to be poetic…Before you hit the back button of the browser or before you close this window, I solemnly swear never to attempt another bit of poetry.

Fervently hoping that I have not lost any of my readers, this is Megha signing off.

Style Check

Welcome to Megha’s section on “Fads and Fashions of the Season”…I do not guarantee the span of the term “season” though… I conducted a survey ( I’m fond of these surveys) to check out what’s IN and what’s OUT this season.

Girls say guys with long hair are totally INNN

Tattooing snakes, dragons and looking like a poster advertising the Madagascar is OUT
Piercing-nose rings, belly buttons are positively IN

Practical modern bahus are IN
Ideal non existent Tulsis are OUT
*suffocatingly ideal..choke choke*

Dress to occasion totally IN
NRI attitude and a “put up” accent OUT

Desh Bhakti-IN
*We are the Rang De Basanti generation*
Flying abroad-also- IN
*Surprising we appreciate the Desi bhakti funda on silver screen only*

Gold is OUT
*Phew!! Exceedingly expensive*
Metal is IN
*Trendy Alternative*

High heels-OUT
Comfy footwear-IN

Getting up late-OUT
Early rising and exercising and all the health buff-In

Chivalry in men-IN
*This is an evergreen IN item*
Chauvinism in men-OUT

Independence in girls-IN
*Yeh..Girl power*
Bechari akeli ladki attitude-OUT

Blogging-IN
*Yah when people like us are in the trade it is cool..oh!! sorry for the typo kewl*
Soccer-IN
Cricket-OUT (he he)

Emran Heshmi- OUT OUT OUT
Amitab- All time IN


Mushy Karan Johar movies-OUT
*Paleaseeeee….the same cliché with Sharukh in it*
Sensible art film and documentaries- IN
*The likes of Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen is the choice of the current generation*

Sufi music -IN
Himmesh Reshamiyya howling-OUT


Ciao for now...
Please post your comments and let me know, if my blog is IN or OUT….