2011!

2011 was interesting. Highlights:

• I celebrated 2 years of marriage in 2011. Karwa chauth 2011 was the first day i recall when I ate absolutely no food. Am proud I could manage that feat :)
• The beginning of the year saw me complete my first year in London. I had never thought I would leave India and knew that if I did, I would definitely hate being out of the country. 2011 saw me slowly fall in love with London and the big city- multi cultural pot of simmering ways of life that London proudly is.
• Middle of 2011 witnessed me complete one year of work in London. Can;t believe that I managed to get a decent job in recession hit London.
• I changed roles towards the end of 2011. I am very grateful that I had options to chose from inspite of how the markets outside are and I am thankful that people at work appreciate my capabilities and abilities.
• I travelled extensively this year. Sid & I started 2011 with Nice (France) and  Monaco- gorgeous beautiful places. We managed to get out of the main city and explore villages near the beach. The camera can never capture the gorgeous beauty of the blue Mediterranean sea. Never!

Near Nice, France

• Italy- The Nice trip was closely followed by a ten day trip across Italy ( we visited the lovely Rome, Florence, Venice and Pisa). We mostly did touristy things in Italy plus I was quite unwell during the time. We are therefore planning another trip to the beautiful Italy in 2012!
• Next up, in June 2011 was the absolutely stunning Spain. I realised during this trip that I am not a big city person, I enjoy the smaller cities much more- that's where you get to see the real culture of a country. After spending a few days in Barcelona, we headed out to Tarragona, again a beach village near Barcelona. And it was lovely!  

Yours truly in Spain

Tarragona, Spain

• Then our next trip took us to the city of a 100 Spires, Prague! Here are some pictures of the beautiful, charismatic city!

Prague View of Prague

• This was followed by a trip to New York City (And the Niagara falls! A must see!!!). Add to that two trips to India and you will see how busy I have been travelling across the world!

The breath takingly beautiful Niagara Falls New York City View at night from the Empire State building

• I learnt to cook better. Yes, I did! For a party I threw last night, I made samosas, khandavi, quesadillas, spinach pin wheels etc etc all on my own! 
 

• Made new friends. A dear friend now, is a girl who I met first on a Jet Airways flight from Delhi to London in the beginning of 2011! She was sitting next to me and we exchanged numbers on the flight....nothing happened for the next two months but after that we started meeting up, got our husbands to meet who got along really well...and voila! friends!
• Being married to a sports enthusiast ensured that we were sitting in stadiums across London for a variety of key matches! This huge list included India England cricket matches at both the Oval and Lords. We lost one and drew the other :(

Eng Vs India, Oval

• Tennis- we were there at the Wimbledon grounds cheering on Leander Paes in the doubles mixed (he lost too)

Leander Paes, Wimbledon, having just lost the match :(

Mens doubles semi finals: Wimbledon 2011- the crowds begin to gather

• Saw the God of Tennis- Roger Federer live in action in the Barclays O2 Mens Finals. And thankfully he won! What a sight it was, to see each and every person in the arena stand up and applaud that one man. It was a moment I will never forget.
 

Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals- what greatness and what a humble man

 

• Add to that a couple of football matches and you will realise how busy we have been sitting in stadiums too!
• Sid got me to see Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dace tap dancing show. Tap dancing had fascinated me even as a child and I simply loved watching these incredible men and women perform with grace and energy.

Michael Flately's Lord of the Dance

•  Apart from that , we watched almost every movie that we had the whim to watch and loved every bit of the gorgeous silver screen that cinemas across the world had to offer! 

As you can see it has been a busy year. Add to all of the above a book. 2011 saw me become something I never dreamt I would become in my twenties. An author. On the 1st of September 2011, my first book got released by Rupa & Co to a largely positive response. It made to best seller lists, i gave many many interviews (which reminds me that there are two pending sets of questions that I should answer ASAP), I wrote an article for TOI which was met with a great response, newspapers carried pieces on me and TIB, I launched the book in Delhi, i gave autographs, I addressed a crowd of over 500 people talking with them and telling them about TIB, i saw TIB kept in best seller sections in book stores in India. Most importantly, however, I got emails from my readers. They emailed me their love and appreciation for TIB. For that I thank you all.

Have a great 2012 ! I wish you all the health and happiness!

Love

RP

 

Mommy Love!

The old world met the new.

My Mum wrote me a letter. Yes, a proper letter. No, not an email. A letter. Written on ruled paper and in Hindi. How charmingly old world-ish is that?

I really cannot recall when I got a letter last (except for the bills that we get in the post here in London).And one from Mum, never before!

However, the letter was not posted to me. Instead, as soon as my mother finished writing the letter, my brother fetched his ipad, clicked a picture and Imessaged it to me.


That is how the old world met the new. But that is not the point of this post.

So I was about to finish work when I got the picture of the letter sent to me by my brother. I squinted here and  there to read it, I enalrged the image, I turned my iphone upside down, I did every thing possible to read the letter till I was able to figure out each and every word.

And then I re read the letter.

And then re re read the letter.

 And then re re re read the letter.

Almost tearing up each time I read it.

I will not go into the details of the 2 page letter as it is too personal. Suffice to say that it was the sweetest, loveliest letter I have ever set eyes on. My Mum had been (uncharacteristically, might I add) missing me terribly and she thought of just penning down her feelings.She told me that she missed me, she told me what all she missed ( including me being so busy studying the whole day that I would not even take a bath- how charming :/) and how unfair it was that I now live hundreds and thousands of kilometers away from her.

Anyways, like I said, I read the letter about a trillion-gazillion times.Infact after work that day, I went out with some people to a jazz club. Dimly lit, excellent music, great food. But all I could think of was Ma's letter.

Such is the power of words.
Such is the power of love.

I realized that day that when you truly love someone( your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your kids, your friends) its like this thick rope connecting two hearts, securing the two hearts, empowering the two hearts. One heart writes and the other reads. One heart says and the other hears..

And sometimes, one heart says a little bit and the other heart understands everything.

Love
RP

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You can buy my first book, The (In)eligible Bachelors published by Rupa & Co. from Flipkart 
and interact with me on Facebook too!

Live it!

Like, I said to a colleague the other day while coming back from an amazing meal, sometimes we are so busy living in London that we forget to look at it.

She agreed. We discussed how we can probably describe the road to work (and by road I actually mean the road) and not the people that we (don’t)see or the beautiful buildings that we again( don’t )see.

So that day after work, I stepped out of my office and looked. And saw. And realised what an amazingly beautiful city London really is.

I had never really consciously noted the beautiful architecture of the building bang opposite to office.

I had never paused to admire the understated but immense beauty of St Paul’s Cathedral which I walk past each day to work.

I had never noticed how trees had she their leaves and how pretty they looked decked up for Christmas. Who had put up the blue lights? And more importantly, when?

I had never noticed the little fountain. How pretty that looked!

I had not noticed how beautifully fresh the cold wind that I hid my face from was.

I had not noticed how with approaching christmas everyone was looking happier.

I had not noticed so many many things.

This is life. This ordinary day that has gone by is life. One day has gone past you. It was the day you could have done so much, seen so many things, laughed, joked, clapped, danced…it is gone. A small part of life as you know and (hopefully) love is gone. Just imagine how precious it was.

Sometimes, we are so busy living life that we forget to see. And admire. And appreciate.

I have realised that it is time to change that about me! And I am convinced I will J

Love,

RP

Back!

My bad. I know I have not been posting on blogger. The reason is simple. I have started writing in my diary again. Yes, yes, much like Kasturi:) I came from India 2 weeks back and it already seems like it was ages ago when I was in India last. There are a lot of things that have happened since which have kept me extremely busy. The India trip was amazing. The highlights: 1. I got to launch my book! Yeaaaayyy! It was absolutely amazing to stand on the little stage in the Crosswords book store in Select city mall, Delhi posing with my book as people clicked pictures. It was lovely because I got to sign my first few copies. It was lovely because my mom, dad and bhai could make it to the event. It was lovely because a lot of people who had read the book could make it to the event! 2. Gave my first in person interview. Living in London had ensured that all my interviews till then had been conducted on the phone or via email. A lovely lady from Hindustan times came over to my place to take my interview. It was a nice experience. 3. Took part in a live chat! On rediff. That was like super cool. So many people asked questions that I did not know when the hour was up. I still had questions pouring in. 4. I got to speak to more than 500 students , ask them questions, answer their questions…just generally speak to them, talk to them about my book et al. Lovely! It is a good thing that I enjoy public speaking :P 5. Tried my hand at making Momos. And before you ask they turned out really well  6. Met up with some friends. Always amazing to catch up. 7. Gave my brother a haircut. Do not ask how that turned out :P 8. Went shopping with my Mum and dad- the simple of pleasures of life 9. Got pic clicked with all five of us in it. Love that pic! The list could go on. However, the surprise this time was that while it was aweful to leave home, it was not that bad to come back to London. I love London in the winters. The foggy, bleak, grey and damp London. I just love it. Plus London is now all decked up for Christmas and there is such an air about Christmas time that it is infectious! This will me my first Christmas in London. Last year we were travelling in Morocco during this time and I am looking forward to being in the UK for Christmas. Fingers crossed for a white Christmas :) Love RM

From New YOrk City

So many people have asked me the same question- what is the difference between London and NYC? and finally I seem to have my answer. London is the quaint, antique street lamp with the yellow bulb and intricate carvings of an era gone by. NYC is a bright, jazzy neon sign. Which is better? You can take your pick:)

SO yesterday I went to see the Niagra falls. I was expecting it to be as over rated as most tourist spots are ( eg I found the EIffel TOwer to be massively over rated) but boy was I wrong! Absolutely totally wrong! I have never felt to captivated by the beauty of a place before. I really don't know how to put it in words.

WE got on the boat to go to the falls so that we could look at it. As I approached the falls I was stunned by the beauty. The water of pool was blue green. The water from the falls pure white. The force of the water pelting down -absolutely unimaginable. The noise from the falls distant but still oddly deafening. The sky a bright blue . As mist from the falls rose white birds flew around. The falls surrounded by white mist seemed so beautifully mysterious that I fell in love with that one scene right there and then. The white mist surrounding the blue and the green. Heavenly.

I don't do this normally but I stood there drenched from head to toe and memorized what my eyes were seeing. I clicked some pics too but I have realized that pics do little or no justice to the beauty of nature.

Then we climbed some bit of rocks near the falls to get a closer look. In a blue poncho, totally drenched and shivering I stopped dead in my tracks at one point.It was literally raining like crazy ( the supposed mist) and I had turned around to ask Sid to be careful as he tread the slippery grounds. I stopped mid sentence as i spotted a rainbow. Not huge, not even big but it began at my feet. I don't know if it is really that big a deal but I was stunned. A rainbow that is beginning at my feet, I repeated to myself. I stared at it for a long long time unable to take my eyes off it.it was almost magical. To have a rainbow begin at your feet.I stood there and took in each bit of what my eyes were seeing.

I have

Hello,

What started 1.5 years back more as a hobby than anything else, is now a published book. 2 years back had you told me that I would one day be an author I would have looked incredulously at you.

Infact I know what I would have said. I would have said something like ‘yes, I will write my book, while on my way to the moon’. Some smart ass comment that would have seemed smart ass only to me.

Anyways (as always), I digrees.

So the book is out now. People are getting hands on their copies and the reviews are trickling in. It is such an amazing feeling to read a great review (thankfully ALL reviews have been fantastic so far). I read what readers have to say about TIB and feel my heart warm into a fuzzy ball of warm chocolate.

I then read it again and then again. I look at the words you have written and wonder which parts of the book made you think that way. You teared up? Where? You laughed? What made you laugh?

Reading about how TIB has made readers smile, laugh and tear up is more gratifying that anything I have ever experienced. Readers have commented how they have been up way past midnight because they could not put down the book. One lady complained of a terrible head ache the next day because she was up till so late reading TIB. I know atleast three readers who mailed and gave the retailers an earful because they had not delivered the book on time. Another reader wants her Mum to read TIB. Another has already given it to his Mum. Another has just bought another copy for his Mum. Another reader is thinking of going down the arranged marriage route after reading TIB. Another reader went to office on Saturday (he never does that) because he was keen to get a copy as soon as possible. A senior from B school tells me how TIB is the first time in a long long time he has read a book in one go.

I am amazed at how positively people have reacted to TIB. Touch wood.

All the hard work of the last year and a half is worth these comments. Absolutely, totally, completely worth every bit of this.

Thank you to my dear readers. Thank you so much for liking TIB. I hope you continue to like and love TIB.

Again. Thank you.

Regards
RP

Want the First chapter?

Hi,

I know I know. All I seem to be talking about on this blog is TIB (The (In)eligible Bachelors! Huh!)

I agree. But my book is now coimng out in like 5 days! Can you beat that?

Right, so I am giving folks a chance to read the first chaper of my book :)

You have to just drop in an email at theineligiblebachelors@gmail.com and I will respond with the first chapter :)

Look forward to seeing you there :)

Love
RP

Heylo,

I am back. It has been an extremely busy few days and i do not see that changing any time soon.

Most of the after & before work hours are dedicated to 'The (In)eligible Bachelors' making me very busy. Add to that a hurt back ( thanks to a skating class in Hyde park) and a pulled muscle ( thanks to an over strenous yoga session) and you get the picture.

So, the sample copies are now ready. My publishers have shipped 2 of them to my home and I can’t wait for my Mum/ Dad/ Brother to receive the package and open it and take pics of my book and email them to me.

*Sigh*

The wait is now almost killing me!

The book will then officially release on the 1st of September, 2011. The date has been pushed back and there have been slight delays, but well, what can be done about that?

I am jittery, nervous and excited. But mostly, I just want the book to come out now. I have been working on it for more than 1.5 years. For 1.5 years, each day I have spent time and energy on the 252 pages that will be put in the form of a book. It is indeed a labour of love.

The support for the book- that has been fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. However it has not come from places I had expected it will come. I have learnt to be fine with that because of a reason. Some complete strangers who have gone out of their way to promote TIB.

I look forward to your support :) and I hope you have pre-ordered your copy! If not, then there is the flipkart link on the top right of this page. Do get yours pre-booked now :D

Love
RP

Hi,

I have fever, my forehead is hot, my brain is not working too well, so I am just going to up an image.

I know you will like it :)

Love
RP

HT City (Delhi & Mumbai)

The Eligible Bachelor and Lotus Root Curry.

Blog Marathon 2
Week 3: Post 1
Guest Post by: Shumaila
Spoiler: Love Story ahead :)

Introduction to Shumaila
Shumaila, or Shumi or Schumi(as I have always spelt it in my head) is my loomie from first year at B school.
Loomie.
Right, you do not know what this weird word means. Here you go:

Roomies share a room. Loomies share not a room but a loo. Interesting, I know ;)

She was one of the hottest girls on campus (please do not be misled by her humble post below!), an amazing team player ( I vividly remember the countless hours she used to spend working on her group assignments) and has turned out to be a fantabulous cook and blogger!

Shumaila currently lives in the US and I hope that one day, she becomes renowned for her cakes and breads and all the other yummy, mouth watering stuff she makes!

She blogs here and I would highly recommend her blog to those of you who cook. I follow it quite closely myself and have lifted off recipes with a mental whoop of joy! Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that one of us can cook so amazingly well!


Enjoy her post and the recipe that follows it!
Needless to add, thanks a ton, Schumi :D

-----------------------------------------------

The Eligible Bachelor, Shumaila's story

Ram Pyaari, or as we friends know her- Ruchita, is the author of the upcoming book, The (In)Eligible Bachelors. Its a fiction novel about what goes on behind the scenes in Indian arranged marriages, through the witty account of a recent MBA graduate, Kasturi Shukla. The tag line says it all for the book:

Arranged marriages are complicated things.
So are relationships.
And so are mothers.

V and I had an arranged marriage last year in March.

But unlike the whole arranged marriage scene in India, I never had to go through the typical arranged marriage routine of parents-of-girl-sending-out-proposals-narrowing-boys-arranging-meetings-dealing-with-rejections-stuff. In fact, my parents weren't even looking for a boy nor was I.

V was the first guy I ever spoke to, in terms of the whole arranged marriage thing. Even five years back when V's proposal came for the first time, his was the first family who had shown the bahu (daughter-in-law) kind of interest in me.

Five years back, I wanted to study MBA and live independently for a while.
Five years back V too had just started his masters in the US and wasn't looking to get married.

So, after a brief interaction (one yahoo-chat-window long conversation) in cyber space, V and I parted ways.

Little did we know that it was temporary.

Fast forward two years.

I joined an MBA college. My parents showed no interest in boy searching, though felt that after MBA, I should get married, but they were not doing anything about it.

Being the only son, V's parents though were looking for suitable matches. So V kept on seeing prospective life partners during his short trips to India.

V, according to his family was a picky one when it came to girls, refusing rishtas (marriage proposals) left, right and centre.

But that all changed when I came into the picture. (tada!)

I really don't know what it was about me that made him tell his parents very covertly- 'what about Chauhan uncle's daughter (aka me)? Is she still available?'

We hardly spoke five years back, just chatted online briefly and honestly I have no idea what we talked about- I assume I must have said something really witty and smart for my memory to have stuck with him. But, knowing me, and the witty and smart lines I have come up in the past (I can probably count them on my two hands), I don't think that was the case.

But then, I was pretty good at picassa-ing photos back in those days- probably it was one of those morphed picture of me that made me look like Angelina Jolie (yes, I think she is very pretty) rather than the Rosie O'Donnel (No, I don't think she is ugly- just more closer to what real people look like) I actually am. That image of a "pretty" girl might have stuck in his mind and that's why he kept a tab on whats happening in my life through orkut. Boy, he must have had a treat if that's what got him interested in me. *Insert evil laugh here*

Anyway, fast forward another two years, and my MBA was done. I was still not interested in getting married. My parents too were not looking for a boy (though getting me married off was on their mind but dare they act on that- my wrath would have seriously injured them!)

I was actually interested in opening a bakery- with no prior experience or interest ever shown in the kitchen one day I decided baking was my true calling- after graduating in economics and doing an MBA in finance- that seemed like the most logical path to carry forward on. (I know what you thinking and I agree- kudos to my parents to bear with my constant erratic behavior and I judge them for not whole-heartedly trying to find a boy who would get me off their hands sooner. Parents I tell you, they love you no matter what!)

Anyway, I digress again.

So, I wasn't looking.

My parents weren't looking. (Though secretly I know they were hoping I get married.)

But V's parents were looking and since V had accomplished what he wanted to before marriage he too had started showing interest. But nothing was working out.

Now, don't get it wrong- V is a find, a keeper, like how they say in India- heera hai ladka, bilkul heera (the boy is as valuable as a diamond). Great job, intelligent, handsome, very cultured, simple- almost like a Sadhu. He was every mother's son-in-law-dream-come-true!

But, like I said, he was picky. No one fit his bill.

Enter me.

Tada!

Well, actually, re-enter me.

Tada!

When his marriage proposal came, I told my dad no. My friend and I had a great business idea and I wanted to work on that. My dad though, plotting some master evil plan of his to get his daughter married did not convey this message to V's dad, thinking 'fickle-minded-me' would change her stance.

Around the same time as our dad's convo, V had mailed me on my Yahoo, an account I rarely used ever since I switched to gmail 2-3 yrs back, but hadn't been deleted out of sheer laziness.

So after two-three weeks of his mail lying in my inbox, and he thinking I was clearly not interested, I don't know what made me open my mail (the last time was probably 4-5 months back). I replied to his 'hey-i-hope-you-remember-me' mail. I directed him to my gmail and thereon our conversations started.

From surety of not being ready for marriage, the conversations that followed convinced me, that he was the perfect guy for me. Till date, I believe, with all my heart, vice-versa does not hold true- he could have done much, much better! Kya karein ladka heera hai heera!

But I guess in life, not everyone can come out as the winner, right?

And for a perfect marriage, don't they say the husband should always let the wife win!

Well, V let me win! :)


The Lotus Root curry

Lotus roots are roots of the lotus water lily. The roots are tuberous, with large air pockets, making them buoyant in the water, and give the lacy pattern when sliced. It has a firm crispy texture. Dishes having lotus roots are pretty common all over Asia. This is a dish from the Northern Part of India, Jammu and Kashmir. Its a fairly simple recipe, and tastes great with Tandoori Roti or Naan. I initially thoughtof pairing it with rice but its a little on the drier side to have with rice. I used frozen lotus roots, which you can find in the frozen section in Asian stores.

Adapted from India: The Cookbook

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound lotus roots
1 tbsp ghee, clarified butter
2 black cardamom pods
4 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, about 1 inch long
1 tsp ground aniseed
1 tsp ground ginger
250 ml (1 cup) natural plain yogurt
salt, to taste

Directions




Cook the lotus roots in boiling water for 10 minutes, or until half done.
Heat ghee over low heat.
Add the whole spices, aniseed and ginger. Season with salt. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low heat, stirring constantly.
Add lotus roots, and let cook for another 10 minutes.
Add the yogurt and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. The ghee would separate.



Serve with hot rotis/naans.

Blog Marathon; Week 2 , Post 2

And it begins!

Yes, it has begun! :D The preordering has begun!

Here on Flipkart

Here on infibeam

Is not that super cool! The book is also available on uread and ring-a-book!


So, coming to the post.


When I was younger I wanted to become a detective. I was as serious about my career choice as any 5 year old could possibly be. I spent my afternoons practising skills I was sure would save my life one day.

I have afternoon insomnia. I created that right now and since I created it I will tell you what it means. A person with afternoon insomnia, very predictably, is a person who cannot sleep in the afternoon. In the 1.5 years I have lived in London I have never slept in the afternoon. Never.

Now after having armed you with that life chnaging piece of information, let me come to the point.

So I aways wanted to become a detective. Since I was a child. In the afternoons my Mom would nap with my brother and me on either side. I would pretend to sleep (another great skill to have for a detective, I told my 5 year old self) till Ma and Bhai were fast sleep and then quiety get out of bed (another handy skill) and practice.

In the darkened room with the curtains drawn, I would let my imagination go wild. The room was a mansion of a dangerous man. I was a detective on a very dangerous mission. I had to find the dangerous truth that would save the world from ? Danger, ofcourse!

I had to move as quietly as the mouse I ferverently hoped did not exist in the room. My brother who was mumbling in his sleep was no innocent 4 year old. He was actually a very dangerous killer who should not wake as I searhed the room for important documents. The urgency. The mystery. The suspence as I moved steathily around the bed looking for dangerous papers which I knew I would finally find in my school bag very quickly once i got bored or tired.

Oh Boy!

So well, as you would have figured out I did not grow up to become a detective. I did a boring degree in Engineering and then another in Business Management.

I wanted to become a detective. I did not. I never thought I would become an author. But I did.

Yesterday, my book 'The (In)eligible Bachelors' went up for preordering. And as I sat there staring at this pagee and the 'Author' in brackets next to my name, it hit me.

You do not know what destiny has in store for you. It can be bad, but it can very well be good too. Keep the faith.

Love,
RP.

PS the book can be pre-ordered on flipkart (yes! they are pre-ordering my book!) infibeam at a very cool 40% discount, at uread.com and at ring-a-book.

If it interests you ( and I really hope it does!) please do place your orders. And as always thank you for your support and kind words.

PS Kinder souls could share the link on the facebook page too. As you undoubtedly know, sharing the link gives you a halo and two wings! I need all the help I can get to spread the word!Thanks :)

Blog Marathon
Week : 2 ; Post: 1
Days left for official release of TIB('The (In)eligible Bachelors' for the uninitiated:): 17
Country wise availability : 1st week of Spetember.


Focus on things to do!

I could never do that. If someone said something I would think and think about it till my brain imploded.

Common sense prevailed. But later. Much later. When, sometimes, it was too late.

For the better part, I would just think. And think. And then think some more.

What an absolute waste of time, energy and resources.

Today for the first time in my life, I was able to simply ignore the nonsense and focus my energies on something parctical that needed my attention. I was able to park aside the rubbish. Ignore it and just simply move on.

It was just so simple to do it and so very easy. I know that my head did not ask any questions, there was no curiosity, nothing. My brain just said to me, 'Hey listen, do you have time for this crap? No, right? Then please do your work'

As simple as that.

I consider that a victory. I have always had a very sensible voice inside my head. Only it was much easier to not listen to it. Now, increasingly I find myself dealing with things very rationally. I am learning to deal with that surge of anger that leads me to say things I always regret later. I am learning to ignore what people are saying (if it is not constructive). I am also learning to be open to criticism (good, since my book is coming out soon! :P)

Maybe this is called growing up?


Love
RP


Next post: Tag from Tanvi!

PS: My father was so happy with the reponse you guys gave for his previous post here that he is ready with his next post! That will come later maybe in week 3 :)

Blog Marathon

Week 1, Post 2

Dad's Post:

Dear Readers,

After taking your opinion only, I am putting up Dad's post the way he wrote it. Let's see who breaks the code;) To me it seems pretty straight forward now :)


THIS HAPPENED 411 YEARS AGO


I can give the exact time difference to the people who would like to go into those details(the type 1 personality)As it is said that history repeats itself and there is a good couplet:

येः सच कि तरीखः दोहरति है खुद को ,लेकिन जो अच्हे होते हैं वोह् किस्से नहि -होते -

It means that repetition does not have what was good in it the first time.What actually happened in act 1 SCENE 1 was that shehzada asked Mehrunnisa how the pigeon flew away ,she threw up the next pigeon in the air ,exclaiming this is how!

Only 411 years later in act 1 scene 2the same story was repeated minus the best parts.For this i will have to fill in some details.

One of close family friends had to leave town for a couple of weeks and they were very fond of their pet parrot.They requested me to look after the pet so Mitthu entered our family.This was a amazing pet .while me and my wife(Of (in)eligble Bachelors fame) were discussing somebody and we laughed,immediately Mitthu echoed the laughter perfectly .Then we realized his latent qualities.

There was plenty of cucumbers in the garden for Mitthu to feed and he kept us amazed by his shear ingenuity.

The time passed quickly and it was with heavy heart that we had to return Mitthu to its original owners,there children were missing Mitthu.I went to the pet market brought a parrot,being of very good breed it started learning fast.

Now was the time for act 1 scene 2 minus the frills i.e.the shehzada Sid was missing ,though i can give you the exact lattitude and longitude from Botswana to india where he was at that moment ,so my daughter coolly opened the cage of the parrot to let it fly away.Neighbourhood boys and servants ran around looking at the tree tops,with no result.

We waited for our pet for next few days and as the days passed our hopes dwindled.

How we got a new occupent to this cage will be told to you in my next post.

Comments now ;)

Blog Marathon
Post 1 Of week 1

Singham, Moview Review.

*No Spoilers ahead*

Singham, in sanskrit means Lion. Each time Ajay Devgan did anything that was inkeeping with the meaning of the name, a lion roared a couple of times in the background.

It is this that killed me. In a good way. It is what made me want to stand on my feet in the cinema, whistle a couple of times and clap really hard.

I loved Singham.

I loved Singham for the tight,fast paced script, the mindblowing dialogues, the background score and the action scenes.

I particularly loved Singham's signature action stunt where Devgan would jump in the air in slow motion, and with a not too pretty grimace on his face, would bring his palm on the head of the poor bloke who had made the error of crossing Singham's path. The bloke would then bounce a couple of times like a ball. That did it for me. Really it did.

Ajay Devgan is exellent. He plays the character of a super cop well by ..well..underplaying it. The khakhi uniform, the spotlessly white Baniyaan showing from underneath, the ray ban shades, the stuck on muchchi- it was all absolutely perfect.

Full points to Prakash Raj. He is the perfect villan. Not stealing the actor's thunder but honestly, well....matching upto it for sure. I did not bat an eye lid (literally) when the two men confronted each other in what were some of the best scenes I have seen of late.

The story is simple. It plays on the age old formula of good versus evil. Of courage. Of standing up for what you believe in. Of standing up for what is correct and right.

But the star of the movie in my opinion was the back ground score. It added to each scene. It lifted the movie to another level, it made me sit up, it made me want to clap and whistle.


Singham is Ajay Devgan's Dabangg. Only it is much better. It does not trivialize issues. It lets big issues remain big. The stakes are high here. And there is little tomfoolery. It is serious. It throbs. Yes, it does. Its all muscle and brawn. But with heart.


I therefore, highly recommend it to people who love masala movies. Go watch it. If posisble dont watch it in a multiplex. If I were a guy in India, I would not even buy balcony tickets for this one.



4.5 stars from me. Only because I do not give any movie 5 as a matter of principle.


P.S Bloggers and all you creative people! The Book give away is on fire. Close to 100 entries already but hardly any from the most creative people I know!You guys! Do go to this link and have some fun and give the non-bloggers a run for ...err...my book ?lols!

Dear Readers,

Side note first: I have just started a flash fiction (less than 10 words) contest on the Facebok page of the book. Winner gets pretty much the first copy of the book my publishers post to me :) My way of saying thank you to all of you for your support prior to the release of the book!

Visit here to take part in the competition that is already heating up!

Do take part. It is a LOT of fun. Plus you get my first copy of the book :)

My Dad, a doc by profession, is an exceptionally intelligent man. From what I know of him, I am convinced he has a photographic memory too.

He has written a small, very small piece for the blog. I had to read it some 5 times before it all made sense to me. That too after Mum had explained his post.

Now, I have two options, I can either elaborate his post or put it up the way he has written it.

Suggestions?


Love
RP

PS The Marathon has completed one moth! Yeaaayy! but the posts will continue for some more time. Only I am going to reduce the number of posts to two a week.

Neha's Guest Post

Blog Marathon: Tuesday Post
Reason why the post was not put up on Tuesay: RP dozed off on the sofa

MY / the non author’s STORY: I have often stared at crumpled ATM withdrawl receipts and shoved them back in my pocket. Have even tried looking into a pot full of boiling tea leaves, trying to find the sunset colours in it but I couldn’t.

Sigh, I wanted to write, and the great authors do hunt for these seemingly insignificant things for inspiration, don’t they?

Well, I am a surgery post graduate resident and the most “in my face” and obvious thing in my life right now is my residency. Its obvious I should write about it, but of course my lips are sealed. Though only till the day I pass and run out of my prestigious institute . ( holding close to myself the degree and the pass certificate). Plus there is no time to write.

I multitask like my most fellow comrades : am a doctor. But I don’t just, for eg. , say, order an xray to be done. I tell the ward sister “sister ji, patient ko xray room bhej do”.

She’ll say “theek hai” and go back to her more imp task of checking out the other sister’s nail paint.
I wait.
Then I go find the ward boy. “bhaiya please patient ko chod aao xray me” . He’ll say “ok, ma’am” with a broad grin and go back to whisling a new chartbuster.

Mornings are always beautiful for him. Never suffers morning blues like us lesser mortals.

I wait.

Then I shout.

Then I catch hold of his arm, forgetting I am a doctor, going to be a surgeon and push him a little (with my 5’2” height that is all I can do) “ bhaiya jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaao”

Grrrrrrrrrr. Now u know why the ward boy is humming the new chartbuster and not me. That is because I am in the hospital till late night doing the moron’s or someone else’s work.

Doctors, sigh.

Well, that is my story :)

Non author : who shall someday return as the angry young woman to narrate her story. Adieu till then!

Ram pyari’s / the auhor’s story : Well, Well, she did get inspired by the fading mehndi of her hands. So she is the author.

Lovely, brilliant and adorable Ram Pyari.

Aapki Ram Pyari will soon be “Madame RP of the ineligible bachelor’s fame” (so, we pray, hope and wish)

By the way, I am one of the the lucky two people who have already read the book. (and if some Sherlock Holmes thinks I am Siddharth in written disguise, I’m not ;) ).

Will tell you guys why everyone should read the book!! :-

1) Its about “marriages”!!! Oh c’mon, they are like “the event” in our indian lives. It is not your, mine or sombody’s wedding. Its nani dadi chacha chachi mausa masi, masi’s mom in law, and also the very important and very own aunty from the neighbourhood’s affair as well. Did you ever see this aunty ever bothering to take interet when you were struggling to get into college or deciding what to do with your career when u passed out?? That is the charm of shehnais, marigolds, and the gold ;)

2) Girl power : its about “us”. Independent headstrong bold ( smug smile :)) career women who do fall in love, who do get caught up in the arranged marriage chaos. All of us HATE the idea of our pictures being mailed to total strangers. And to be told that some xyz guy( with a paunch, a bald head and with hundred other imperfections) has rejected us coz our nose is not dead centre or because we area a little fat or a little too thin.

3) Its cost effective. (am I sounding cheap? NO! JUST THINK AGAIN OF THE END OF MONTH DAYS, YOU HYPOCRITES)

4) We all need a few laughs. We do. And this one is guaranteed to give you more than a few.

5) Its 100% gripping. You will not put it down before you finish it.

6) Its about mums too ;) your typical run of the mill mum. We love them. But, ah well, at times, well, you know what I mean. Please refer the book for details :)

7) Its by your Ram Pyari, and my didi. I haven’t known her for very long. But for some reason I absolutely adore her, can just pour out my heart to her and turn to her for help. Maybe because she is such a sweet heart. ( also she gave me a VERY COOL snake skin belt ;) )

8) Guys! Have you seen her pics??? Have you seen those coats and those high boots? You got to give credit to the fact that she is one classy chic! ;)

9) At the risk of sounding desperate and freaky : c’mon my fellow comrades, doctors, the residents,all the tragic heroes : lets raise a toast to this lovely young lady and her book. Pease find out time to read it. Its fab and it’s a stressbuster. AM KIDDING, I mean to address all you guys, the readers. Am sure you will enjoy the book as you have enjoyed reading RP’s blog

Dearest Ram pyari, am sure with your readers love and support the book is going to rock the bestsellers lists. You totally deserve it. Good things happen to good people. Lots of love from me. All the very best.

Dearest readers, thank you for bearing with me, if you did. Don’t u worry, the next post will be from Ram pyari, should clear this post’s hang over ;).

Love from me

Neharika



Thank you Neha for the lovely post. Yes, you one of the only two people on the planet who have read the entire book (except my publishers/ editors, i hope) and it was lovely to read what you had to say about my book. Love.

RP
HE7FF679B4GZ

I think she is dead

Blog Marathon: Sunday Post

So, I met her first at my own wedding. She was preparing for her MD entrance exams then and while her exams were just round the corner, she had refused to let them stand in the way of her attending my wedding. Needless to say, I was touched.

She came home at about 10:00 am on the day of the wedding and I took an instant like to her. I felt I was meeting someone I have known for a long long time....it was weird in a way.

Anyway, thats not the story. This blog post is about what happened the day after my wedding. Obviously, my 'vidai' had happened and I was not there when this happned, but this is how it went.

So she had been up till late in the night for my vidai, had come back to our place and crashed. You know how it is with the house of the bride the day after the wedding. Ours was no different. Chaos reigned supreme.

The morning after Mum was in the kitchen making tea when she thought she should wake her up.After all, she had a train to catch.

So Mom went to the room she was sleeping in and whispered her name.
No response.

She spoke out her name loudly.
No response.

She again spoke out her name, louder than last time.
Still no response.

Mom literally shouted her name and tried shaking her.
No respose from her but my Masi who had been sleeping next to her was wide awake by then.

Right, now Mom is paranoid. Sample this:

Me: 'Mom, I have a head ache'
Mom: Beta, it might be brain tumour. No, it has to be brain tumor.

Me: Mom, I am tired.
Mom: Thats a common symptom for cancer. Oh my God.

You get the drift. So anyways, coming back to the story. So there was Mum, still recovering from the vidai of her lovely daughter, without any sleep, standing infront of a girl who lay still. The girl was not moving. Neither was she responding. That is when Mom is believed to have said this to no one in particular in a horrified tone:

'I think she is dead'

Masi gasped and in true filmy style brought her hand to her mouth for effect.

'oh My god!', Mom is believed to have panicked.

She then went to Dad's room and conveyed to him the news that she believed that the sweet girl who had come to attend my wedding was dead.

'Please chaliye, dekhiye to kya ho gaya hai usko', she said pulling my Dad out of this bed.

Dad,a doctor by profession, then went to her room and checked her for life.

'She is fine', he said turning to look at her.
'but...' said Mom confused.
'She is just sleeping!' said Dad as he gently shook the poor, tired girl awake.

On that lovely note, let me introduce to the bloggers, Neha, who is going to write the next gues post. She is a beautiful, intelligent and veryy sweet soon to be surgeon from one of the top MD colleges in the country. I have the honour of knowing her and you will have the chance to read her first guest post.

Stay tuned.

Love
RP

Bhai

Blog Marathon: Thursday Post

So my brother called me up again. These days he generally calls me up and speaks to me in a serious baritone about:
1.what I have been doing for the marketing of the book.
2.Scold me a little bit about not doing enough
3.shout at me a little bit about what he things is going wrong
4.give me a few ideas that I have been stupid enough to not think of myself

In all act like the big brother he is not.

My brother, a doctor, is a year younger to me and calls me 'didi'.

So, he called me up yesterday.

'I have booked movie tickets for Mum and Dad' he said.

'Great', I said smiling 'they wanted to watch a movie?' I asked.

'Not really, Mum has not had a chance to go out too much so I just bought the tickets as Dad won't buy them'.

Dad wont buy tickets because unlike the rest of his brood, Dad is not that big a fan of movies. Not a big fan of paying theatre tickets. He frankly finds them over priced. I mean he enjoys movies but he would much rather buy a DVD and watch at home.

'Hmm...ok' I said. When had my brother, the tiny little cheeky boy who could make me laugh and cry like crazy turned into this man who was sensitive enough to know what Mum and Dad might like?

'But I am telling them you bought it', he added casually.

'What? Why?', I said surprised. A few weeks back, I had tried buying surprise movie tickets for Mum and Dad from London, but due to some issue with my India credit card, I had not been able to do it. I had told Bhai about this.

'Generally, they will like it more', he said casually.

I shook my head. Really when had this happened? When had that joker grown up? Right under my nose without me finding out anything?

'Okay', I said slowly very touched.

'Call Mum up and tell her that you have bought the tickets', he ordered.

'I will do that', i said.

'No, do it now. I am waiting'.

So, well... I called up Mum to tell her that I had bought her tickets that cost Rs 300. She was so happy and thanked me many times. She told me that she had hardly gone out in the last week and would love to go out for a movie. And then thanked me again and again.

'Thank you thank you', sang Ma, very happy. I heard Bhai in the background.

'Ma, why dont you say thank you to Bhai too?', i asked.

'Why?', she asked.

'Just like that', i said.


I spoke to Ma today. She told me how she was so touched with my gesture that she had even told Nani about the movie tickets. She had, she told me told Bhai many times since she found about the tickets that she had a fantastic daughter who even though lives thousands of kilometres away is concenrned about every little / big thing.

'What did Bhai say?', I asked Ma.

'Nothing, he just smiled', replied Ma.

May God bless you Bhai. I hope, pray and wish that your wishes come true. You are the most fantastic brother possible on this planet.

Love
Didi

Blog Marathon: Tuesday Post
Reason for delayed Post: Because I forgot on Tuesday that it was Tuesday

So, apparently, on Tuesdays I forget that it is Tuesday and hence I do not put up a post. I generally remember Thursdays and Sundays (for the post) but I forget Tuesdays. Also, I generally remember on Wednesday that it was Tuesday yesterday. Last night(Tuesday Night), I was sitting in my bed at 10:00 pm trying to write something for Thursday not realising that I needed to put up a post right away! I know I need to get my head checked. I will. Soon.

Now coming to Nikhil's post. Like Nikhil said, we were together at work. We (we were a group of 4 Management Trainees) were such a crazy bunch then. I had so much fun being with the gang that I dont think anyone has ever had such a cool gang of office friends. We were all straight out of some of the best B schools of the country, all of us were in awe of how much money we were making and I was in my home town(yipppeee)!

That one year at home after Bschool was the most fantastic! And for reason.
I was at home. I had decided who I was going to marry, and I was the bride to be ( people girls who are married will know what different treatment you get when you are the bride to be)

I was working, studying for GMAT, preparing for the wedding...and had ossumm friends. They were lovely days, full and happy....I miss those days sometimes...

Anyways, coming to the post, I am given to understand that there is immense speculation about which of Nikhil's multiple points are true?


My take on them:

After marriage when she moves to London, RP is going to:

· Develop a British accent, mait!

No, I dont have an accent. Not yet I think. I sometimes have to change my style of speaking just a little bit when I speak to people here, but no, I def do not have an accent.

· Color her hair blonde, and keep a hairbun.

Seriously, come on!For the record, my hair is jet black and I generally leave it open. I will wait for a couple of decades before I start setting it in a bun.

· Sport a overcoat, and goggles, and boots look.

Yes, that is true. I have many over coats now. I have two lovely pairs of boots that look amazing with jeans. I have always had goggles. So yes, true true true!



· Shop the hell out of D&G, LVMH, and Bvlgari. Goodbye Mango. You were too mass market!

*Sigh* I wish this were true.

· Keep a pet, and carry it around everywhere.
I will NEVER EVER do that! Pets freak me out.

· Smoke a cigar. Or rather not. She hates it. Cancel this one specifically for her.

Correct. I will never smoke.

· Cook a dish, burn it, and make Sid eat it. (The burn is accidental, the making him eat is not)

For those who have doubts. I cam back from work at 7:15 pm yesterday. Was dead tired but made Tarka daal, rice, vegetables and 10 rotis from scratch in one hour flat. Also for those interested, I am inviting some 6 people over for Sunday Lunch where I will be doing all the cooking. *Superior look*

· Haggle with the shopkeepers and vegetable vendors (if they exist there) to give her a discount, in pounds :) This out of the innate Indian within her.

I actually dont like haggling. But I dont like paying the price the shopkeeper asks for. So I haggle, though I dont enjoy it at all. Here in London no one haggles with anyone. I leave the haggling for India. Its one of the things I miss most about India. :)

· Join a kitty club or whatever you call that, play cards with her gang, and crib about her daughter in law as she grows old.

I come home from work dead tired, still do what is required for the book on the blog, the Facebook page, send emails, cook dinner and by the time I get into bed I am so so tired that I could cry of tiredness. And you talk about Kitty parties?


· Watch daily soaps like 'Balika Vadhu', 'Na aana is des laado', 'Yahan main ghar ghar kheli', 'Sabki laadli bebo', and of course, 'Chajje chajje ka pyaar' whenever she is home. Gosh! Why is television content going backward?

*Sigh* Right, so after the work, the book stuff, the cooking when I get into bed my lap top comes with me. There is a lovely website that streams Indian TV and I spend an happy 15-30 minutes watching my favourite shows. I feel connected to India that way. Currently I watch X factor very regularly. So yes, this is absolutely correct :)

· Call her family at least 5 times a day.

I call them atleast 10 times a day.:) Correct.

So in total 3 points are correct :) well done!


Now you guys know me better. Thanks a ton for the guest post, Nikhil :)

Love,
RP


PS The Facebook like page ( top right for the widget that will take you there) for 'The (In)eligible Bachelors' is sitting at a tantalizing 592. Pitch in folks ;)

Blog Marathon: Sunday Post
Guest Post by Nikhil
More about Nikhil here.

Raam Pyari

A big Hi to all RP fans! (Who might as well choose to unsubscribe from the fan list after seeing this sudden drop in blog quality).


As you would have noticed, RP is totally living up to her promise of posting three posts a week. And for those few occasions when she does not feel like writing at all, she has asked for some fillers from some near and dear ones. That's what she calls Plan B. Sid, of course, is one of such persons. Poor Sid, I wonder the multiple threats he would be facing these days. I remember his brave attempt at writing (dictating) 'Jack and Jill went up the hill'. Way to go, buddy. I am on your side.


By now you would have guessed that I am under similar pressure to write a blog post for the lady. After giving it a deep, serious thought for almost 23 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 3 seconds, I thought why not give you some snippets about your author's life, the quintessential RP. After all, I have had the luxury of knowing and observing her at our previous workplace. Note that I will be restricting myself to only the fun part here, as RP hasn't yet wire transferred the full amount she promised to pay me to write good things about her. Of course, I don't need to comment on her writing skills and the passion behind it :)


If you have followed her posts well you would not disagree even slightly over the fact that she is the biggest drama queen to have been born on this earth. If the words that come out of her are melodramatic, try imagining about the ones that do not and remain only thoughts in her shaitan mind. She has a reaction on almost everything! She has always been like this, and was the same when we used to work together on some high priority problems and discuss the same in the company's conference rooms. Problems like who's dating who, which boss is the most sadu, etc etc. Work was taking a toll on our lives. After all, we were the youngest future leaders of the firm!


Interesting story this. One fine day we got to know that RP is getting married. Hona kya tha, the office was abuzz with speculations, some said out aloud and some only grapevine. From the boss to the peon, everyone was talking about her. Miss popular. What follows is a not-so-comprehensive, whatever-I-could-recall list for you guys.


After marriage when she moves to London, RP is going to:

· Develop a British accent, mait!

· Color her hair blonde, and keep a hairbun.

· Sport a overcoat, and goggles, and boots look.

· Shop the hell out of D&G, LVMH, and Bvlgari. Goodbye Mango. You were too mass market!

· Keep a pet, and carry it around everywhere.

· Smoke a cigar. Or rather not. She hates it. Cancel this one specifically for her.

· Cook a dish, burn it, and make Sid eat it. (The burn is accidental, the making him eat is not)

· Haggle with the shopkeepers and vegetable vendors (if they exist there) to give her a discount, in pounds :) This out of the innate Indian within her.

· Join a kitty club or whatever you call that, play cards with her gang, and crib about her daughter in law as she grows old.

· Watch daily soaps like 'Balika Vadhu', 'Na aana is des laado', 'Yahan main ghar ghar kheli', 'Sabki laadli bebo', and of course, 'Chajje chajje ka pyaar' whenever she is home. Gosh! Why is television content going backward?

· Call her family at least 5 times a day.

· Ask for hardship allowance if her company makes her stay beyond 1800 hours.

Thankfully, in my cognizance, only two and a half of these things have actually happened, yet. Which ones, you are free to make your own guesses! RP, did I miss anything major?


Having said that, hats off to her, for moving to an unknown land, managing office, home, and a future bestseller in an excellent fashion. Brave girl! And for being a special, special friend. With whom you can connect right where you left, whether it is after days, or months!


So that was for you, RP. Keep writing and entertaining. And wish you all the luck for your book :)

Blog Marathon : Thursday Post
What's in a name?

Naming anything, however insignificant, is difficult. I had trouble naming my favourite pencil when I was in class 3.

The little chicken I had as a pet ( who incidentally died the day after it came to us, *adequately sad Sigh*)...well...let me not even go there. I was awake the whole night thinking of a name for him/ her ( I never really found out the gender and I am not sure how you do that in the case of chickens). I finally decided that 'Chooza' would be an appropriate name and dozed off in the early hours. Only unfortunately Chooza was dead by the time I got up.

When I was in class 6, we got a not so small puppy. A girl puppy. I recall that we, as a family debated for days and days without being able to decide the name of the girl-puppy. It is a different matter all together that the puppy refused to respond to any name except the one it was used to. And it is again a completely different matter all together that the name the dog used to respond to was, of all names possible, 'Shweta'.

And it is again a completely different matter that at that point in time we knew 3 human being shwetas including a very dignified Shweta Aunty who incidentally stopped visiting us as regularly after we got Shweta.

Shweta Aunty. Poor Shweta Aunty. She came to meet us soon after we got Shweta. During her stay I had to (and I repeat, had to) say things like:

'Heel, Shweta'
'Stay Shweta'
'Sit Shweta'
'Stupid Idiot Shweta'

Trust me I had to say all of this. The situation demanded that. Shweta Aunty gave us a superior condescending glance and walked away not to return for a long long time.

You wonder what happened to Shweta? Did Shweta and I form a lasting bond that we humans can form only with dogs? Did Shweta live for 15 glorious years bringing us much joy, love and laughter? Did I feel that a part of me was gone forever when Shweta was put to sleep?

No.

None of this happened.

She ran away. She ran away with a mongoose. And no, I am not making this up. 2 months after we got her she ran away with a Mongoose. Our neighbour saw her elope and alerted us. We searched and searched in the near by slums:

'Bhai Sahab, aapne ek oodbilaw aur ek kutte koh saath dekha hai?'

Yes, we asked this question to the slum dwellers who looked at us as if we were mad. A little naked boy running in the mud was the only one who said he had seen the pair and took us to the sewage pit.

'There?' my Mum asked.
'Yes' he said. And laughed. And ran away.


Anyways, so the girl puppy ran away.
Eloped.

Anyways, I digress.

So the point is that naming anything is quite difficult.

Naming your first book is Oh-My-Gawd difficult!

So many many many months back when I had hardly even started Chapter Number Two of my book, I went to watch a movie here in London. As the credits rolled I literally jumped off my seat.

Because somewhere on the screen was written 'Happily Ever After'.

It was music to my ears. It was magic to my eyes.

That had to be the name of my book. Happily Ever After.

Happily.
Ever.
After.


So that is what I named my book straight away. Right there, unfinished bottle of pepsi in my hand, no idea where the story would go, but the book was named.

Happily Ever After by Ram Pyaari. How lovely!

A couple of months passed. Wonders of wonders, with a full time job also, I managed to finish the book. The lovely people at Rupa & Co. agreed to publish it (God Bless those kind souls).

And then it happened.

They did not like the title of the book.

In the meanwhile I asked around. As it turned out a LOT of people did not like the name. Some said it was too girly, others said it was plain boring. Some even said that they would not pick up a book called 'Happily Ever After'. (Apologies to authors who actually have a book called 'Happily Ever after')

Hmmm.

So I had to agree with my publishers. Maybe, I thought ruefully, it was not a great name after all.

So I brain stormed and came up with new names. That list included potential disasters like 'Marry who?' (Yes, I thought of that name as well. I shudder now.)

I sent the names I thought of to Sid, my brother and Nikhil. Nikhil rubbished most of the names I had suggested and came up with a list of names he could think of.

Sitting on number 2 on the list sent to me in an email was a name with which everyone now knows my book by- The(In)eligible Bachelors.

Right, question.
Who is Nikhil? Nikhil and I worked together for about 3 months, both left the company but the friendship stayed on :) And this post was actually an introduction to Nikhil who will be writing the next post!

Here is the link to Nikhil's blog :http://solitaryduel.blogspot.com
If you like this, please do come back on Sunday as he will be posting his first guest on my blog :) Come back and encourage him with your comments!

I need to say just one more thing about the title now. Three words. Heartfelt and genuine.

Thank You, Nikhil.

RP

Blog Marathon: Tuesday Post

I am exhausted. There is so much happening that I am just trying to keep breathing and doing what is required.

(Try to) Keep Calm and carry on. That is the mantra

Today I was just thinking that at this rate I will have a heart attack soon enough. You know what was the next thought that crossed my mind? God, please, not before the book comes out.

I almost burst out laughing when I realised how my brain is working these days.

None of the things happening are bad. I am travelling, I am working long hours, I am finalizing details about the book, I am trying to market the book, I am cooking dinner, I am going out with my husband to watch movies, I am calling up my Mum ten times a day to give her some detail that would mean nothing to anyone but her...but it is all adding up to a lot.

There are always pending emails to answer, pending work to be done, laundry to be done, utensils to wash, room to tidy, office to go to, calls to make.....*sigh*


Anyways, there are a few pending guest posts lined up. I am trying to goad those people into writing it. Lets see if i can succeed (see! more work! chasing these people. People who have promised a post, please thoda sharm karo!)

Right, my day is done now. I need to eat, watch X factor on the Internet and sleep.

Good night!

Sunday Post

Ramdom Post

After many many many years, I am putting up a random post. As always in bullet points :

1. I went to the Wimbledon (Yeaaaayyyy)

2. I saw Mahesh Bhupati.

3. I saw Leander Paes play. Yeaaay. He lost. Not Yeaaaaay

4. I snooped around and soon figured out that the girl sitting in front of me was Rhea Pillai, Leander's wife

5. To encourage Leander Paes, Rhea would shout 'Chal Lee, Chal'.

6. Some of the Indian supporters also picked up the 'Chal Lee Chal' chant

7.Straweberries and cream is over rated.

8. I saw Delhi Belly and was shocked

9. I saw 'Buddha Hoga Tera Baap' and left mid way

10. I also saw Transformers and almost fell asleep

11. I am horribly excited about the book. When will Mid august come?

12. The FB page ( http://www.facebook.com/#!/theinEligiblebachelors) has 486 likes. Yeaaaay.
12.5. 14 remain for the magic number of 500. *Hint* *Hint*

13. Believe it or no, some Bollywood actors, TV actors, boxers, authors, reality stars, script writers, theatre personalities have commented / liked the page

14. How they landed on my page- I do not know. I just know that I am very grateful for their kind words.

15. Shirish Kunder, Editor/ Director has even shared the link of my book page on his FB page with a message that reads 'check out the new talent'. I know it is crazy. And no I do not have contacts in Bollywood. And I am the 'talent'. Yeaaaayyy.
15.5 Like I said, it has been crazy on that Facebook Page.

16. I LOVE X Factor India. I think I have a crush on Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He is uber cool.

17. I want to read this book called 'Even Silence has an end'.

18. I promise I will go for the skating class this weekend. Good.

19. I promised the same thing last weekend. Not Good.

20. And the weekend before. *Sigh*

21. I dread Monday mornings. From today onwards, I wont :)

And enither should you. Have a nice week. Enjoy your work. We are all lucky to be employed.


Raam Pyaari.

Post 8: Thursday

Prague

The city of a hundred Spires.
The land of the Franz Kafka.
Beautiful, beautiful Prague.




For all those of you who are not married and would like to honeymoon in Europe, Prague is my recommendation. Venice comes a close second.

Anyways what a day Friday was when I was leaving for Prague. I just had TONS of work and it was only 20 minutes before leaving the house that I stopped working, threw in a first set of clothes I could find and voila I was ready to go abroad!

The flight itself was uneventful and I spent most of the time reading my book.

As we sat in the taxi,at about 9 o' clock in the night, I eagerly looked around. Not much. What was the hype about, I wondered. We drove a little further. Still nothing. Looked like a big barren European city to me. And a little further and the city opened itself like a flower.

The cemented roads in the outskirts of the city gave way to charming cobbled streets, the white street lights were replaced with the warm yellow of the street lamps. Prague had me captivated from the word Go!

Our hotel was on a quaint cobbled street leading to a hill, lit pretty in yellow, small dainty shops on either side-closed but their colorful wares on display even at the late hour. Only later did I find out that it was actually wonderful location as it was about 5 minutes from both the Castle and Charles Bridge (both are major tourist destinations). The hotel was called 'The Golden Wheel' was a very interesting mix of the old and the new. On our arrival we found a note from the hotel staff welcoming my husband to the hotel. Right, they did not welcome me. But never mind, they made up for it with the lovely views from outside the window.




As Sid settled to sleep, it hit me. I had missed breakfast, I had not had lunch and now I was skipping dinner too! And so I proclaimed to the already sleepy Sid that I wanted to find something for myself to eat. And I set out alone. I walked uphill. And I walked. And I walked. All shops that were open only sold alcohol. I glanced at my watch- 10:35 pm. Not bad, I said to myself only to immediately realise that due to time difference it was actually 11:35pm local time! That freaked me out. Alone, in an unknown country at almost midnight!

Oh My God!

Being the drama queen that I am (and totally ignoring the fact that I had a functional phone in my pocket with the lovely google map and Sid's number should that be required) I decided that I was in mortal danger. The old touristy uncles and auntys passed by with their silver hair and walking sticks, but I was convinced that my life was at stake.

The theatrical bollywood fan in me toyed with the possibility that i was already lost. But well, I could still see my hotel down the road, so that did not really work. Anyways, I turned around and decided to make my way back to the hotel without any food, lest I did get lost. Bhooka Bharat.

And as soon as I decided that there was no food in the whole of Czech Republic for me at that hour lo and behold! I saw a little place, almost hidden that I had missed. Almost right infront of the hotel. So much like me to not see the shop in front of my hotel and walk hundreds of kilometres. Uphill. Lovely.

Smacking my head, I walked in. An angry looking girl was sweeping the floor. My heart jumped with joy. No, not because I had just seen a grumpy Czech girl sweeping the floor but because my eyes found food! As I played with the sandwiches, I tried to figure out what was vegetarian and what was not. Unable to understand Czech (ofcourse! Duh), I turned to the grumpy girl to ask her if the sandwich in my hand was veg.

'I dont speak English!', she said angrily in perfect english.

I almost laughed out loud in her face right then. She gave me a queer look and continued with her work.

I hastily paid for the most vegetarian looking sandwich that I could find and hurried out. Walked across the road and entered the safe heaven of 'Hotel Golden Wheel'.

A little later, exhausted, I slumped into my lovely white huge bed. Exhausted but very content. I had in one hand a sandwich which Sid confirmed was only bread and cheese and cucumber. And in the other I had my book. I flipped the page, took a bite and read the words and I mentally itched for dawn to break so that I could see how the city looked like in the morning...

To be continued....