Random Ramblings

How the World’s Best Hostelmates Celebrated my Birthday

On 1st March, I did not get up early and go to the Gurudwara, nor did I eat daal pakwaan for breakfast or hear my mom read my horoscope aloud. My mom, like any other Indian mother, broke into tears, last night because it was for the time that her li’l one was away from home on her birthday. She was scared that I would not get to cut the mithai wala cake, which my dad brought from his favourite halwai, I wouldn’t wear new clothes nor would I get as many presents as I did from my aunts, uncles, cousins and little sis.

But you know what? The World’s Best Hostelmates decided to prove her wrong. 🙂
How? Let’s have a look.

They made a cake for me!

They waited for the clueless me to wake up from slumber, then finish talking to mom and dad and finally pay attention to the yummiest cake in the world.

Choco pie, liquid chocolate, crushed biscuts, sugar and loads of gems; these are the ingredients for the best cake in the world. 🙂

And now, it is time to flaunt my presents!

A cute note and a card to make my day.

Chocolates, chocolates and more chocolates 😀

Lord Krishna and Buddha to watch over me always

A box! A box full of the sweetest notes ever.

A Gulak to help me fulfill my childhood dream of owning one. That too, in such a cute shape!

So in short, I celebrated the World’s Best Birthday with the World’s Best Hostelmates Swat cat, Roja Bella, Gulabi Pinki, Super woman Anmol, Bubbly Ek Tha Tiger and Meldious Gracy.

P.S. Sorry for the overdose of exclamation points. I just can’t wipe off that happy grin off my face. 😀

And now that you’ve met my hostel roommates, it is time you got introduced to my other little buddies.

Insects in my Bedroom

Creepy, ghoulish, terrifying, beautiful (some of them are pretty looking, I must give them that), disgusting, annoying and sometimes just plain eerie; insects have become a part of my life. Initially, I used to run out of the room, every time I spotted one, but nowadays I have started a new hobby. I photograph them and give them pet names!

I have recently shifted to the temple town of Tuljapur, Osmanabad district for my Masters and getting used to the insects is one of the things that I have managed to take in my stride.

Meet some of my Crawly Friends

Miss Brown

This gal loves to eat makhees and machars and is quite cunning. She will sit around languidly, all disinterested, but the minute a machar/makhee passes by, she will open her gigantic jaws (gigantic in insect terms, not human) and swallow it whole.

Shudh Shakahari

This guy is a pakka vegetarian. Look at him, he looks like a leaf!

The Beauty and the Beauty

Both of them make an awesome couple, no? 🙂

The Oversized Makhee

A monstrous, oversize makhee that Miss Brown will never be able to hunt.

The Disco Dancer

He is a very strange insect, every night I see him crawling peacefully but in the mornings, he is on his back! Trying all psychedelic moves I suppose.

Miss Pattern
I don’t know much about her because we are recent acquaintances but she has a cute pattern oh her back.

P.S. If you know the scientific names of these insects, do let me know in the comments below 🙂

Now that you’ve known my li’ bug friends, I’m sure you’d love to come visit me home.

Happy Feet

For me winters mean cups of piping hot chocolate, pakodas with imli ki chutney and snuggling in the bed till 10 or till my kid sister wakes me up with her screeches. But unfortunately, they also mean cracked, dry feet.

This time around I thought enough is enough and I asked Mom for a solution.

According to her, Vaseline and woolen socks was what I needed and before I could say a word, she started knitting them.

Now, knitting two pairs of socks in two days (I was leaving for my hostel) was no mean task, but Supermom (that is Mom frantically trying to achieve something for her little ones) had decided her mantra: ‘Daughter needs socks, must finish in two days!’

The day arrived, I was supposed to leave to leave in a couple of hours and mom hadn’t finished knitting a pair. Her hands moved swiftly and by 4 in the afternoon, she finished the first one. After celebrating her achievement by drinking a cup of tea with a few biscuits, she got back to finish her race against time.

It was 8 and Mom was yet to finish 15 lines.

Me: “Mom, I know how to knit. I will finish it”

Mom: “I have an idea. I will knit it at the bus stop”

Till the last minute she knitted and then the bus came and whisked me away. Supermom had lost.

She was convinced I was going to drop the stitches or simply end up opening whatever she had done…

Well Mom, I really do know how to knit. Need proof? Have a look at the photos

Am about to finish

Aha! Just need to stitch

Stitched, washed and now they are ready to keep my feet Happy!

Mission Accomplished! Now I can do a little victory dance in my Happy Feet! 🙂

While I’m at it, you might like to read about my special monsoon dinner party.

Dabur Lal Tail: A bottleful of memories

I entered this world in a state of panic and peace. Just before the delivery, my mom’s blood pressure had escalated and the doctors had to avoid the delivery for a day. On 1^stMarch, 1992 I entered this world, quietly, which by the way, wasn’t a good thing. Babies were supposed to cry after birth as they take in oxygen, but I did not. I was kept in an incubator for 2 weeks, till I started breathing on my own. I did not have a name, so the nurses and my family decided to call me Jyoti. One of the older nurses would pray for me daily and apply black ash on my forehead, which she bought from the Mandir. Thanks to medicines, prayers and even a few threats to God by mom, I was healthy enough to go home.

After being showered with flowers, I settled in my cradle, crying loudly, with my shiny new bald head and a brand new name; Khushboo (the Pandit insisted that my name had to be changed)

I was not a strong child and my grandmom did not believe in western medicine. She believed that my breathing problems, weak bones and lack of appetite could all be cured with a nice massage.

A masseuse was hired for me and every day, she would have to bear my wails as she massaged my body to make it stronger. (Mom says that once I started crying, I never stopped till I became a sensible 2 year old)

Warm sesame oil was used, infused with a secret ingredient, to massage me. She would keep a camphor in the room as it was known to cure asthma. After a year of Ayurvedic therapy, my health improved and I got two new names.

Chuk chuk gadi: I could never stay still in place and would always run. Other babies started off by walking. Me? I ran, stumbled, fell, cried, got a few kisess from Mom and started running again. For the next 5 years, I never slowed down.

Hingdani Pinky(It means as pink as a watermelon): From a ghostly fair child, I became the poster girl for good health. With my pink fat cheeks, I could enrapture any adult.

Ayurveda played a very important role in my growth years and when I took in the fragrance of Dabur Lal Tail for the first time, I found it to be very comforting. I don’t have any memories of the massage, I don’t even remember the nurse who applied black ash on me or anybody for that matter. All this came up when I was talking to mom about Dabur Lal Tail. Suddenly, my mom was flooded with nostalgia and for a good hour we had fun talking about my childhood. That is why; for me Dabur Lal Tail represents a bottleful of memories.

A little about Dabur Lal Tail