The dress that is me

Hey all. Monday evenings are so relieving. They are like the wake up calls from a nightmare of  leftover work from the last week. So, to make this Monday evening even more fun, i wanted to share the pictures from this year's JD Institute of Fashion Technology Calender, with you. One of my dearest friends is attending this institute. Thanks to her, i got a chance to sneak peak into the pictures. Prashant Chikodi is the photographer behind these fantabulous pictures. The theme of this photo shoot basically tells a story of your search for a social identity that one of these dresses reflect.

1) Adventure

2)  Amazon

3) Coffee Devotee

4) Fear Factor

5) Gambler

6) Harmony

7) Leisure

8) Maayan

9) Imperfect

10) Plus size Fashionista 

11) Victoria

12) Tatoo

My social identity is defined by "Leisure". I am more of a day dreamer, an emotional being. I can spend hours starting at nature, articles in museums, historical sights or travel back in time contemplating about my past deeds or write poetry in absolute solitude. 

So friends, which Picture/Dress defines your social identity??  Share your thoughts!!

A Firefly

Hi friends,

Here is my latest poem for a weekly poetry challenge held by Totalfeckineejit on the name " Poetry Bus".(for more information please click on the link) . One of the beautiful bloggers'  Terresa Wellborn is driving  this week's TFE's Poetry Bus. You can find more information at Driving the poetry bus about Terresa and about the participation details.


As a part of this competition, she included a Poetry Prompt which is a picture by Keith Carter from his book, Fireflies. Here is that Picture:

And here is my poem in response to the picture. Wish me luck!

The Initiative

I am so happy to write this post. As i proceed on, i started this blog to post my views and my poetry for a specific group of audience who can share the passion that i crawl for. But little did i realized that this blogging world has pumped the much needed fuel into my ambition of writing a book. Evidently, a novel. Initially i was much more focused on compiling a book that portrays  my verses. This book is in its early stage now and it would definitely take some more time till i can see the finished product. But now i am very happy to share the news that i am diving into an ocean of creative writing that can help me deliver a beautiful novel. For this thing to happen i really need support of all the novel writers, publishers, critics and much importantly friends who can guide me, support me, advice me and warn about the potholes in this journey.

There are lot of people who helped me to nurture this idea. And i thank all of them starting with,

1)Mom: She is the most important part of my life, who constantly encouraged reading and supported financially to fill in my library with the most magnificent books on the planet.

2) My school: For all those literary competitions viz lyric writing, debates, essay writing etc

3)My Friends: For pulling out time to listen to my works even though they were never interested.

4)My blogger Buddy Saumya: She is a true inspiration, very talented and a good soul.Though i knew her only few months now, she gave me much needed push without her knowledge.

5)Ooha(means Imagination in my native language): This is the name i gave to my alterego. She is much more bolder and risk taker than i am. She constantly wants to do something different, something worthwhile that gives this life an added value.

My work will fall in the Genre which includes works by Jhumpa Lahari, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai  and Arundhati Roy. No comparison with  these legends but i am giving an idea about my style of story telling.

So, I welcome all of you who visit my blog, to post your suggestions/experiences and share the fun and frolic each day. Do watch me starting out, getting marinated, plunging in, getting deep fried, tumble washed and hung out dry. Enjoy.

Back from Hiatus

I was filling up my spare time with my new addiction "Heroes" all these days. Now that i happened to cover all the seasons, i am finally back. The last episode of Heroes season 4 or chapter 5 as it is called, had some cliffhanging moments. While i was looking forward for a new season, i was astonished with the news that the series has been called off by NBC this week. That came in a  surprise for me and made me sad. But they are going to wrap up with a 2-3 hour show in near future.All my life, I have been a big fan of super hero stories. As a kid i watched super hero cartoons, as a teenager i indulged in super hero and science fiction novels and here i am still satisfying those interests.

Heroes is paramount story about ordinary people contended with the fact that they had extraordinary powers. Some think it is a curse, some think they are destined to have them and some think they are angels of god to rule the earth. Heroes apparently gave me a different perspective on super hero talent. All the movies and cartoons just depict how the good super hero hunts down the bad one and saves the world. But Heroes is not about one super power story. It is about ordinary people, it is about how want to get rid of these powers but convince themselves to lead a normal life with these powers. It is about readjusting to the life handling abnormal changes which affect their loved ones and their surroundings. It showed how world is not a safe place even for the gifted ones and how they unintentionally embark a risky journey to protect themselves from the bad. 

Of all, it gave a perfect message that Love is the only emotion that can conquer any super power, as opposed to regular shows of that genre. A character called "Peter Patrelli", who is a hospice nurse/ paramedic, uses his powers to save the dying. Another character "Sylar" is a serial killer always targeting evolved humans with abilities. However in the end he realizes how he lost himself in the quest of some craziness, after saving a lady.  

On the whole this series gives an idea how super powers can be painful, depressive and can ruin lives in spite of the common notion of coolness associated with them.  So people, when ever you think about having two extra hands or being invisible or can time travel, just think you are just awesome the way you are, being normal. 

For me this week had send offs in store for every show that is on my list. Gossip Girl finale was an epic. But the character   "Jenny" had crossed the extremes of being a spoiled brat and accumulated hatred among most followers. In spite of Blair giving a second chance, it was sad to see Chuck could not come clean. And the writers should take the edge off of Serena's character on being confused, gullible and lack of direction. 

On the other hand 90210 finale was a complete disappointment. There were like a zillion cliffhanger moments and we have to wait till September 2010 to watch. But it is good to see Annie and Liam together. All the characters of 90210 have some serious work as a part of their lives as opposed to characters of Gossip Girl (except for Vanessa and Chuck).

And this season also saw Ugly Betty's exit. Ugly Betty always brought itself a positive energy of what all can an ordinary girl accomplishes. And it is set up in NYC background. I always have a soft corner for any series which has NYC backdrop.

Now that I am done with Heroes and not getting to watch either Gossip Girl or 90210 till September, I wanted to get hooked up with another series. I tried watching Glee but I could not able to connect with it. Then I had some kind of poll on Lost vs.  Dexter amongst my friends and the winner turns out to be Lost. I had a quick review of Lost in Time's “Lost in 108 seconds". Loved it so far and will update my experiences with Lost in near future.

Till then XOXO (Gossip Girl style ;))

The color Hot Pink

Pink is the color that represents femininity. Pink adorns the curves of women when it flows along with the fabric they wear. Pink enlightens our world when it spreads on the walls of our room. Pink creates a wave of happiness when it decorates woman's lips, pink is a quiet color that makes a huge statement when we carry it in any form. pink is all babies, little girls, candies and breast cancer awareness. 

Spring is all about bright colors and pink is bright. Hot pink is even brighter. I am having this "fashion craving" for all that is hot pink this spring.

It all started after seeing this picture of Jennifer Garner. Ms Garner is one such a lady, who can pull of any color with any fabric. And this hot pink Christian Dior dress brings out sheer elegance that competes with her smile to greet the viewers first. A hot pink dress like this will definitely make my day.

 Hot pink can make any one at any age look elegant and chic.

While talking about Hot Pink, i remember Bollywood heroine Katrina Kaif, who looks absolutely stunning in all that is Hot Pink.

This pink Saree is just near to plain but because of the color, it looks mesmerizing on her. 

I would not write this post had i not come across these Givenchy Cut- Out Shoe Boots, online. A sheer stunner, potential enough for a crime that can be avoided if i ignore them ( crime here refers to swiping my card to buy these shoes). It is hard to resist them but i better look for a cheaper alternative.

My choice for nail polish is becoming bolder and bolder. Eventually, i am now known as " the girl with weird nail polish colors" in my close circuit.(Bold=weird? seriously?). But my thirst for bolder colors is on the rise which is proved by the color that i absolutely want to decorate my nails now. Hot Pink by OPI. 


I welcome all women to embrace the color this spring. Have a bright-HotPink-full day!

Give me some sunshine....Give me some rain........

As soon as i escaped India's scorching heat flying to US, i thought NJ would welcome me with a lively spring weather it presents every year. But how would i ever thought my plea for "some rain" while i was in India would dramatically become reality in US. Now i am clinging to the phrase " give me some sunshine" cause i want to step out every day with a smile.  Tired to see this gloomy weather when one still has those beautiful and fresh memories of outings in India. Armed with a pair of flip flops, a pony tail, a skirt and top, small clutch and a pair of shades, i can roam around the city with bunch of girl friends all day long. No car, no parking issues, no week before plans/ appointments for the coming weekend, no hassles with jackets/umbrellas/gloves not sure of when the weather would change. Rarely, one would check for weather online to plan something as the seasons always remain obedient to us.

A Saturday in India:

I want to share one of the Saturdays during my stay in India. The morning started waking up along with grand mom to get ready for puja. A head bath followed by picking up flowers and sitting at puja filled the early hours of Saturday. Then read the local newspaper sipping coffee( no online news). After that randomly made up my mind to visit our ancestral home which was built by my great grandfather and was like 10 km away from my home ( This house is like more than 100 years old and i spent a small part of my life growing up there). I took my Honda Activa bike, picked up my cousin and drove all the way. Being at that place had made my mind to rewind the memories that got stored over the years and i was a child all over again. I happened to visit a  small shop in the same place where we used to buy chocolates. After spending 2 hours, we returned back home and had lunch. The menu consisted of home made tamarind pickle and tomato daal. Though these do not make it to the list of Mogul in NJ or the Cheese Cake Factory, they have their own reputation as comfort foods. Then after tried watching TV which kind of sucked as my grand mom did not let me switch the channels as the daily soaps pour in all the day long. So i pressed buttons on my cell phone and called my cousins ( One being in medical college, one working and one looking for jobs in IT) and planned to meet up for a movie ( the medical college one had to bunk the class). We drove in a car to big cinemas and watched a Telugu movie " Leader". ( I wanted to give a review for this amazing movie here but apparently it distracts the topic). Then, after a hour long journey in the traffic we reached home, got freshened up and hit the road again for shopping. This time we hired an auto rickshaw, which gave a pleasant ride to the shopping center of the city. The air along the road filled up with all kinds of smells where the smell of soot coming out from automobiles dominated all. We all got down and hit the dress store, where a shop boy brought  dresses and opened up in front of us so that we can select a dress. After making that guy to literally open up  all the dresses the store got, we finally zeroed up on 5 dresses.( Thanks to his patience).  After the fun and exhausting shopping, we wanted to feed our stomachs and found a cart selling Pani Puris on the other side of the street. These Pani Puris had the authentic taste which the "Bombay Chaat" on Oak Tree Road killed. After that we strolled along the street and made frequent stops at bangle carts, jewelery carts and shoe stores. The best part one should not miss out while enjoying shopping in Indian streets is bargaining.You can almost get like 50% discount if you bargain. And if you walk out of the store when you are not satisfied with the price, the shopkeeper wont let you go empty handed and chances are high he will agree to your price ( of course with a marginal profit for him).  From there we hired an auto rickshaw to the local exhibition (the mini version of  Six Flags). The not so adventurous rides drove us through comedic situations. We then managed to grab some chili bajjis and headed back home. No matter how far i live from my city, the motherly love it displays in which ever way i interact with it is amazing. But i can clearly admit New Jersey has been and will be my home away from home. At the end we had a girls night out enjoying the "Super Bowl" of gossips while Saturday closed its doors and Sunday opened its for yet another fun filled extravaganza.

A Saturday in US  might be the same but most of the times you get to enjoy alone and fun always seems to be a need to keep ourselves busy over the weekends. Sincerely, there is a need for sunshine in the weather and sunshine in the routine we Indians do in the US.

UNO and friends

It has been almost (edited this post after realizing it is exactly a month!) a month since my last post. Do not know why i was away but yeah time really slipped away.
Did not even get a chance to pen down lyrics. Anyways, i tried new software to implement this font on my blog which caught my eye like crazy. I hope it suits well.
My recent activity, well , past few days i did lot of stuff that in some way related to my childhood. I found all the pictures from school and class group photos. It is both funny and interesting to see how one would grow through the years.

Here is a picture from my 9th grade in India.

During weekend, i bumped into card and board games which are also connected to my childhood. Gone were the birthdays where i used to receive gifts, majority of which were the board games and interesting card games.  My all time favorite is Monopoly cause it never seemed to end once we start it. I can recollect an instance where we sat down the previous day evening for a game and continued playing till the next day evening( of course there were breaks now and then).

This Saturday, i enjoyed the glory of the card games again by playing UNO. It might come as a surprise but yeah this was the first time i tried my hand at UNO. An initial clueless followed by confusion leading to excitement left me in the second place( we were four players). Hmmm......it wasn't a bad victory after all :D

Childhood is indeed a gift wrapped up with those early moments where we learn, fail, smile, succeed, cry  but wont care what all these mean to us when we grow up. So preserving this time is very important in every person's life.For most of us, dreams come true only after they do not matter, Only in childhood do we ever have the chance of making dreams come true when they mean everything.

If one gets time, please relive your childhood. May be a high school reunion or a garage search or a Facebook meet up or buzz on the favorite teacher's doors or open the album that gathered dust over the years!

The background score for all my musings about my childhood : Secrets by One Republic

"Tell me what you want hear, i am gonna give all my secrets away................"