Z is for Zoom

Yay! This is the last post for the challenge and I actually finished it!

My earliest experiences with photography involved a point and shoot film camera. It was limited in terms of the things you could do with it, the number of pictures you could take and not to mention, the financial issues (developing costs money!). And in spite of that, I would take pictures whenever it was possible. I was the official photographer for any family event that was not important enough to hire a professional photographer for. I took decent pictures and most of all, I was willing to take the extra effort to capture special moments and at the right angles. So that made me quite a popular photographer (with the family at least).

When we started earning money, R and I did a lot of research and bought ourselves a digital panasonic Lumix. It was one of the best digital cameras of its kind. We would take it out during vacations and play around with it quite a lot. We used it quite a bit before we decided to take the plunge to get ourselves a D-SLR camera. Finally, as a combined birthday gift (R and I have the same Birthday month), we decided to buy a nice and expensive Nikon D-SLR. We were super excited when we bought it and started experimenting with the different things it could do. Somewhere along the way, R started to lose interest where as I continued to pursue photography as a hobby. Since R was not that interested any more, I got sole ownership of the camera now.

From then, I started a special relationship with my camera. We went to several places and did a lot of things together. The zoom lens will always be special to me because it was the first lens that I bought together with my camera. After all that experimenting, I got pretty good at taking pictures of people and nature. What is more was that I thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures, although I did not so much enjoy the post-processing so much. I always believed that if you take good pictures, you don’t need to process them much for them to actually look good. And then somewhere along the way, we lost touch (my camera and I)! In between my thesis writing and my pregnancy and having Pickles, I pretty much lost the special relationship.

Once Pickles came along, I tried every now and then to take his photographs to record all his major milestones. I probably haven’t done a very good job for the last one year, thanks to all the exhaustion and sleepless nights. But now, I am looking forward to reviving the relationship with my camera again. If this A-to-Z blogging challenge has taught me one thing, it is that I can find the time to do stuff if I really want to. 

I hope that I can take my camera out of it’s dry cabinet more often now. And you'll probably see for yourselves if I do. Wish me luck!

Y is for Yesterday

Yesterday, I thought smoking was cool and was willing to even try. Today, I will shoo you away from a distance, if I see a cigarette in your hands.

Yesterday, I would roll my eyes at a parent, if I saw a noisy and/or messy kid. Today, I'll just meet the parent's eye, give them a silent nod of understanding and help if I can.

Yesterday, I swore I wouldn't be 'that' parent, who wont stop talking about their kids. Today, I try hard not to be but I probably would, if you show the slightest sign that you are interested.

Yesterday, I  judged people (a lot!). Today, I can empathise and I know everyone is trying to do their best.

Yesterday, I thought nothing of watching a 3 hour movie at a stretch. Today, I think it's a luxury (Is that even possible anymore?!)

Yesterday, I complained I was sleepy even after a full night's sleep. Today, I'm happy with whatever little sleep I can get.

Yesterday, I thought I didn't have enough hobbies. Today, I say, 'what's that, again?!'

Yesterday, I complained that I had no time. Today, I still do (I suspect I always will).

Yesterday, I did a lot of foolish things. Today, I'm just glad I lived to tell the tale.

Yesterday, I was young and foolish. Today, I am older and maybe a little wiser(?)

X is for XL

If you're in doubt, I'm talking about the sizing charts on cloth labels.

I've never been a very small person. Neither am I extremely big sized. When I was younger and in India, I always bought stuff with M size or sometimes even L. I wasn't really concerned about the sizing charts all that much. As long as I found anything I wanted to wear in my size, I was cool about what size the chart showed.

Then I moved to Singapore. Imagine my surprise when I went shopping the first time. I found that even the clothes labelled L didn't fit. I had to shift to XL or XXL even and that too, only if they were available in those sizes. Many labels didn't even make clothes to fit people like me. I was mortified. It was not that I had suddenly become fat or bigger. Just that the people around me were suddenly smaller and more petite. I remember getting terribly depressed about the size of clothes. I remember wondering if I really was so abnormally big that it warranted not getting clothes that were my size at all.

Well, that was clothes. About shoes, the lesser said the better. When I asked for a size 10 , the sales staff would give me questioning looks.  'A UK size 40 please', I would politely say again. They would then look at me funnily and then look at my feet. 'Are you sure?', they would ask. 'Yes, absolutely'! And with that I would show them my huge feet. They would nod, perhaps in agreement, perhaps in surprise and say, 'Oh sorry, Ma'am, this one doesn't come in a size 40. Why don't you try these?' and then show me the ugliest looking pair of shoes in the store.Or worse, they would point at shoes from the men's section and call them unisex. I would just inwardly roll my eyes, shake my head and walk away, muttering a quick thank you.

When I went to the US or to Europe though, I noticed a different trend. Forget L, I could actually even ask for an S size and fit into it comfortably! And shoes, oh yes! I would find any shoe in my size and a few sizes bigger too. I shopped like crazy and came back loaded, until my poor suitcase could hold no more, although I remember one of my Singaporean friends had to actually shop at the kids' section. She was embarrassed that she couldn't find clothes in her size. They were all too big for her. And it was then I realised, it is just a matter of where you are. And truly, and in this case especially, the people around you define what (size) you are.

Now I shop quite easily. Maybe now, I know where to shop. But I must admit, I actually find good shoes and even great ones, every now and then. I have absolutely no qualms about being a size XL or XXL even. And I'm not even embarrassed about my large feet. I guess that's what growing up does. I have lost my sense of extreme vanity along the way. It doesn't matter whether it is a size XS or XL that I'm wearing. What matters is that it fits well.

W is for Wish

So, Sayesha, Shub and I decided to do something special for W. We decided to do a common word, Wish with each of us making a wish/es for another's kid. I'm writing this for Shub's little A. Shub has written this for lil Xena and Sayesha has written this for Pickles. So here goes..

Dear Little A,

You're very lucky! I hope you know that. Lucky that you were born to very loving parents who'll let you grow as a person and will stand by you every step of the way. Someday you're going to be old enough to read this and understand what I'm saying. And that day, I wish that you have all the things that I wished for, as a young lady but couldn't have and so much more.

I wish that by the time you read this, you're a strong, confident and bright young woman just like your mum. I wish you have a lot of good friends but also a few great friends who'll have your back, no matter what (that is something I had, yes!). I wish that you be fearless and more so that you don't need to fear anything. I wish a different world for you than the one I had when I was growing up.

 I wish that you don't have to say you can't do something because it's not safe for women. I wish that your parents don't have to stop you from going for a run at 11PM. I wish that one day, you can just pick up your backpack and travel wherever you want to (or ride your bike, if  you choose to), just by yourself. I wish that you can travel the world. There is nothing like travelling to teach you important lessons about yourself and the world that you live in.

I wish for you, an equal society, where you are not discriminated against, because of your sex. Where you can do what you wish, how you wish and whenever you wish it. A society that doesn't burden you with rules of double standards and hypocrisy. A society where you can rise to the top without having to pay a price at any point, for being a woman.

I sure hope that the men from your generation know that they have to play a big role too (only a few good men from my generation will agree). Not to protect you, hell no! (If all men understood that, you wouldn't need to be protected at all). Just to respect you and treat you as equal, just as another human being. And I sure as hell hope that I can raise my son to be one of those men!

And more than anything else, I wish a world of peace for you. One where you can travel where ever you want and not have to think twice about it.

Love,
Aunty M

V is for Vacation

When I was a kid, summer vacations meant no school. But they didn't mean going away to another place, much less another country. Of course, there was no money to go to another country back then but Dad didn't believe in travelling, even to a neighbouring town unless there was a specific need for it. At most he'd send us to a relative's place or to visit my grandparents. So, my earliest memories of vacations are limited to train rides to Mysore or bus rides to Mangalore and a stay at a relative's house. Of course, Dad got transferred to another small town but yet until much later, my experiences remained limited to Bangalore and some other parts of the state.

And then in college, I told Dad I would like to go and study elsewhere. To him, this was an absurd idea. Since he had himself grown up pretty much in hostels all over India, he didn't want to put us through that. Shocked as he was, he said something along the lines of, 'You get in first and then we'll talk'. That was when I travelled to a few more places in India for the entrance exams of prestigious universities. It's another matter that Dad didn't let me go to any of the schools I got into, but I am thankful that he at least let me travel to a few more places in the country.

A few years later, I moved to Singapore. Moving to Singapore was a fresh start for me. It was my first time staying out of home, living alone, earning my own money and living in a different country. Along with a lot of other firsts, Singapore opened doors to a lot of places around the country. In the first couple of years, I travelled to some of the neighbouring countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and each trip, although short was a new experience in culture and in travelling itself.

When I enrolled for my PhD, my scholarship gave me funds to travel to any place for one conference every year. I learnt from my fellow students that the conference was less important than the location where it was being held. Then started my experiences with real travelling. Using my scholarship, I travelled to Switzerland, Italy, Scotland and the United States of America. Each trip opened my eyes a little wider to how substantial and diverse a place the world really is. Every trip made me want to travel more. Although I enjoyed all my trips, the ones which let me grow the most, was when I travelled alone. It forced me to  meet new people, experience new things, and take leaps of faith. It helped me to broaden my horizons just a little bit more.

It has been a while since I last travelled (if you don't count my annual trip to India). Travelling with Pickles will be a challenge to say the least. I know a lot of people do it and with great ease, but for me it will be new and it sure is scary. But I hope to travel more with him. I hope to take him to newer places and experience newer cultures with him. I guess it is true that we do for our children, what we lacked as kids. Just like my dad wanted to protect me from hostels because he had bad experiences, I want to give Pickles the gift of travelling early in his life, because I didn't have it.

This post comes right in time as I am planning our next vacation. I'm super excited, can you tell? After all, half the fun of a vacation is planning it and waiting for it. Don't you think so?

U is for Uncategorized

Just to give you an idea about what was churning in my head, all day, yesterday. Read at your own risk!

U is for U2, the first thing that came to mind before writing this post. Did I tell you I love them?

U is also Unbreak my heart,which was playing on loop in my head yesterday while thinking of a word for U. And just to be clear, I'm not very fond of that song. It's just that the word 'un-break' bothers me.

U is for University where I had the most fun of my life.

U is for Urvashi theatre, where I watched movies in college, after bunking lots of classes.

U is for Ugly duckling, which I always was. I don't know when the transformation will happen. I'm still waiting.

U is for Unsolicited advice, that I don't take well to. Sure, go on all you like. I might even nod and humour you but it doesn't mean I will take it (your advice, I mean).

U is for Unspoken rules, the ones, which you should always adhere to.

U is for Urban Bites, which is one of our favourite haunts for middle eastern fare, which reminds me, we haven't been there in a while.

U is for UK (Upahaara Kendra, not United Kingdom), which reminds me of their mouth-watering dosas.

U is for unlimited. I can go on and on with this post, the list for U in the dictionary is huge.

U is for Unintentional, if this post gave you any grief.

T is for Trapped!

Ok, I know I'm giving away a lot with the title, but you'll know what happened once you read this anyway. This is part 5 of the escapade series. You can find the rest of the series here.


The girls woke up and realised that they were on the train and would reach Bangalore soon. They freshened up and got ready to get down . They considered alighting at the Cantonment station, (which is a stop before the main Bangalore city station), just in case somebody was there looking for Vee. But they soon decided not to, as it was difficult to get to where they wanted to go, to Mee's friend's place. They alighted at the Bangalore city station and soon made their way to the cloak room. On their way, Mee tried calling her friend, but did not get an answer. Not sure where to go, they thought they would figure it out slowly. In their naiveté, they thought that they were now safe as they were out of their town. Little did they know that the people who had met Soo and Mee had alerted relatives in Bangalore and they were looking for the girls at the Bangalore city train station.

As they were walking to the cloak room, Vee saw a familiar face. For a moment, she forgot that she was supposed to hide. Before anybody realized what was happening, she went straight to this person and shook hands with him. Only then, did Vee realize what a blunder she had just committed. This man, Uncle V, had a sheet of paper in his hands. Slowly he looked at each of the girls and read,

'Tall and fair...You must be Soo' he winked,

'Tomboyish with short hair....you must be Mee', he winked again,

'Short and pretty, you must be Shee', he identified each one of the girls.

'Hello, girls', he said with an evil grin. 'I'm sorry but you have no choice, please come with me now!', he said as he winked again.

The girls realised that they had no choice but to follow the man. If this was anybody else, this scene would have been grave. But because it was Uncle V,  it was hilarious. The girls didn't know whether to laugh at him or to take him seriously. With great difficulty, they kept straight faces.

If you thought Uncle Chot was a character, Uncle V a.k.a the winker was totally something else. Each of his sentences were punctuated with winks and his mannerisms were extremely funny. He would chew tobacco as he spoke and spit every now and then. He would scratch himself randomly and his movements were vey jerky. He was a meek man and was terribly scared of his wife. His wife, Aunty V, was another character. She was huge and towered over her husband. She was loud, spoke her mind and never forgot to tell the winker how useless he was. In another time, the girls might have actually liked her but for now, she was the enemy.

The winker immediately made some calls to say that the girls had been located and that he was now bringing them home with him. Although, there was a situation now. He had come to the station alone on his scooter and obviously he could not take all the girls with him. Instead he stopped an auto-rickshaw (a three-wheeled vehicle, in India), made the girls sit inside and then told the driver to follow him. He now sat on his scooter and merrily rode away, convinced that the auto would follow him. In the auto, the girls guffawed away. They couldn't believe how stupid the winker was. All they had to do was bribe the auto driver and tell him to take a different route and they were pretty sure he would do it. But since they had no place to stay yet and they were hungry and tired, they decided to go with him. They figured that with someone this stupid, they could give him the slip anytime they chose to.

In about half an hour, they reached the winker's home. It was a nice little house with a big garden. Aunty V waited for them near the door. She gave Vee a hug once she saw her and nodded at the rest of them. Aunty V, was way smarter than her husband. Once the girls were inside, she made them put all their money on the table. This was her way of making sure the girls wouldn't escape again. Mee however was smarter. She always kept most of her money in a secret pocket. She made a show of emptying all her pockets while still leaving some money behind. Aunty V took all this money and hid it away. She then made breakfast for the girls and locked them up in the guest room. She told them that more people would come to meet them soon. Vee thought her parents would come and get her but it turned out that her parents were now actually in Hyderabad and doing something important. This meant that Vee would not get to see her parents anytime soon.

.....to be continued.