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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Doll

My pretty niece (the same one I was ready to steal a couple months ago. And still am.)


That's my mum holding her while I entertain her to click pictures. :D

Today, I came one step closer to being the favourite aunt! :D :P Doll wanted to do nothing but hang out in my arms. :P Of course, that has got more to do with her loving my necklace to play with than loving me. But still. :P

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Vagina Monologues

Produced and directed by: Mahabanoo Modi-Kotwal and Kaizaad Kotwaal
Cast: Mahabanoo Modi-Kotwal, Dolly Thakore, Jayati Bhatia, Avantika Akrekar and Sonali Sachdev
Rating: 6/5



The moment Mahabnoo Modi-Kotwal made all the men in the audience stand up and applauded them for being there instead of the IPL match at the Wankhede stadium, I knew I was going to love the next 70 minutes or so. She just had a way of saying things, even things as simple as "Please switch off your mobile phones", that you wanted to laugh with her if she laughed, cry with her if she cried and rage with her if she vented.

Actually, the evening had begun on a not-at-all promising note. Moon, two of my cousins and I went to the Comedy Store in High Street Phoenix Mall, Lower Parel here in Mumbai for the show. The Club was super expensive, had bad lounge lighting, loud horrible music and obviously bad management. We were waiting outside the club for about 30 minutes and then, inside the club for more than 30 minutes before the show began. So naturally, we were quite pissed off. (Incidently, if anyone wants to know my ratings for the club, it would be 2.5/5.)

But the show more than made up for it. It was a complete laugh riot, which had still maintained it's sensitivity. Exploring all the possible avenues of womanhood through the vagina, the show narrated so many individual stories and stories of half the population of the world - some heart-warming, some heart-rending, some touching, some empowering, some brutal, some pleasurable...the list goes on. The monologues explore sexual pleasure, orgasms, conditioning, repression, rape, child sexual abuse, periods, child-birth and even a Vagina workshop to teach women how to love and respect your vagina. These were the stories of a Parsi woman who had repressed herself for decades and decades, a Maharashtrian woman who "had had some experience. With men.", a Punjabi woman whose husband had a shaven pussy fetish, European women who were raped during the World Wars, making innocent victims of them, a girl from Louisiana who faced sexual abuse when she was 10, women who attended the Vagina workshop conducted by a woman, a woman who had a moan fetish and who had changed her preferences, of genital mutilation etc. Every single one of the Monologue was given such consideration and was delivered perfectly. The play has managed to capture the essence of what it feels like to be a woman, to have that anatomical place "talking about which is considered as bad manners today".



Jayati Bhatia, (extreme right) in her role of the woman with the moan fetish drew the maximum amount of applause. Even Avanti Akrekar (extreme left) with her ability to modulate voice according to operatic necessities and Sonali Sachdev (in the front) with her strong acting and accent modulation skills stole everyone's hearts.


All in all, it was awesomeosome!! I loved the play to bits and would definitely recommend anyone if they get a chance to watch it. :)

*Images courtesy Google Images.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Conversations

Me: Mum, I miss baking very much! Please buy me an oven.
Mum: What is it with you and buying things? Who will take care of it, clean it etc? And anyway, I know you won't use it often enough at all once the novelty wears off.
Me: Mum!!! Baking urge!! Please be reasonable!
Mum: *Sigh* Okay. I've got some sand from Rajasthan.
Me: *waiting for explanation*
Mum: *None forthcoming*
Me: *cautiously* Sand?
Mum: Yea. You can bake with it. It comes out just fine. That's how they do it there. *March off*

Bottom line: Baking urge still not satisfied and growing stronger. *frustration*

*****************************************

Mungi (my awesomeosome friend from college): So, how did your teacher training course go? Did you make new friends and all?
Me: Yea, it was good! And I did make a few really good friends! :D I also flirted a lot with this one girl! :D
Mungi: WHAT?
Me: *giggle, giggle*
Mungi: *guffaw* I mean, I flirted, gooooood. A lot, very gooood. One, very very good. GIRL?!! It seems leaving England has affected you in a much deeper way than I thought. :P

blah, blah, blah...

Talking about smoking et al...
Mungi: What is post-k...komint...
Me: Post-coital cigarette? *explanation*
Mungi: Ah, ok. Why do people go so gaga over it?
Me: Because it feels awesome?
Mungi: *shocked look*
Me: *realising the implication* ... is what I've heard...
Mungi: *shocked AND unconvinced look*
Me: *suddenly enjoying this* No, really. That's what I've heard. I've not had sex ever since I started smoking.
Mungi: *shocked look back*
Me: *making weird faces trying not to laugh*
Mungi: *uncertain laugh* Let's go to college.

Bottom Line: I love scandalizing people. :D But also, I love Mungi to bits. :D

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Addiction

DV (Devil Voice): Oh, yay! There it is!!
AV (Angel Voice): Yeah. But you shouldn't. It's not a good for you.
DV: Oh, come on. It's just one. One won't make a big difference, right?
AV: No, that's just your addiction speaking. Just one today, just one tomorrow, just one day after...and then, it will all add up. Besides, it won't help you quit.
DV: But you never said you wanted to quit. Did you? Were you ever trying to do that?
AV: But of course that's what you want to do, right?
DV: Yes, but eventually. When you feel ready for it, right?
AV: But that is not defined!
DV: Ah, who cares? Anyway, you haven't had one in 2 weeks!! Surely if you just feel for one after a nice, satisfying meal, it should be fine.
AV: No. Not at all. Because you are stronger than that urge. If you clamp down on this feeling right now, you will be able to overcome your addiction.

I *in a small voice*: But I am not addicted. I haven't had one in two weeks. And before that, another week. And before that, another week and a half. And before that, another 2 weeks. And before that...

AV: You kept a count and you're telling me you're not addicted?

Thankfully, my AV is the dominant one in my head so far. Except for, of course, the above mentioned once a week or once a fortnight slips. But I get sternly reprimanded for those times. Hopefully, AV will continue to dominate me. Amen.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

I really like to know who came up with that saying. Bloody Idiot.

In the third season of SATC, Charlotte said that it takes a person 50% of the amount of time he/ she spent with their partner to get over the said partner. I wish it was true.

Even though my "relationship" lasted for about  3 months and the time we actually, physically spent together was not much more than one month, why is it that today, 4.5 months later, I still can't come to terms with the loss? Why is the pain still so raw that it can wet my pillow at nights? It should be easier, right? Especially, since we knew this is exactly how it'd be? It should be a lot easier than this. Should be.

But. It's not.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

And another one bites the dust...

Some people are so horrible. Like so, so, so horrible.

But I still don't judge them. At all. Really, I am the epitome of tolerance and acceptance and all. *Sigh*

Monday, April 4, 2011

Hanging out in the Wild!

So, finally I got pictures of Girnar and Junagad in Gujrat from my cousins. And so, I intend to make everyone jealous by putting up gorgeous pictures of the wildlife in Gujrat. :D

Spotted Deer
Papa deer and 2 baby deer! :D The baby in the front looks oh-so-innocent!! 
Forest Lizard
The first day itself, we went to Sashan Gir - the only national park in Asia where one can find lions. And of course, along with lions, we spotted a lot of other animals and birds too. And it was all damn cool. :P
Do I even need any words? 
Nilgai
The King :D


And the Queen ;)

Vulture
Drying it's wings after a bath ;)
 
A piece of meat left on the tree by a leopard and now feasted upon by the crows
More vultures





Something that sounded like "Laplings"

Leopard Pug Marks




Great Horned Owls
So, that's all about the National Park and wildlife. :)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

"Swayambhu"

First of all, Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! India won the World Cup!!! :D Though I am about 75% convinced that it was a fixed match, I will still be happy and celebrate India's victory!

But what I am happier and more kicked about, is the victory celebrations that I witnessed in the small suburb of Mumbai that I live in.People out on the streets, on foot, on bikes, in cars, with dhols, loud music systems, flags, the world cup look-alikes, screaming, cheering, dancing, celebrating, with anyone and everyone - friends and strangers alike. Truly, cricket is a religion in India - one that unites people instead of dividing them. ♥ I have never loved being an Indian more than today! :)

 Sorry for the poor quality pictures but father and I just went out for a walk to see things, like a tourist and we didn't realise that taking the camera would be totally worth it. So, phone camera it was. 

I don't care much about cricket and most definitely, have a few ideological issues with it as well. But, with this atmosphere that it has managed to create, I not just forgive it, I accept it open and whole heartedly. :) My father used a Gujarati word for it: "Swayambhu" meaning something that comes all by itself, from your heart and in a mob, not incited by any speech or anything.