Life - or something like it

I am currently hooked on to books and Movies which have World War II as their central theme. And when we talk about World War II, how can we forget the book 'Band of Brothers' written by Stephen Ambrose. Book Review The book is an International Bestseller in which the author pays tribute to the men of Easy Company, a rifle company which is part of the 506th Parachute Regiment , 101st Airborne Division of U.S. Army. Easy Company along with Dog, Fox and Battalion HQ companies made up the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The book starts with the rigorous training of 140 men and seven officers at Camp Toccoa, Georgia who are part of the Easy Company in the summer of 1942. They came from all walks of life and all corners of the country. The book describes the intense training to toughen up the soldiers.What made their bond strong was a intense desire to kill Germans and do their country proud. By late spring of 1944 Easy Company had become an ...

I swear, 'Some other Dude did it'(SODDI), I was not even there, I have been framed. This is a conspiracy and now I will be called a cold-hearted killer. Oh! have I lost you? Hang on, as the mystery unfolds...  One morning as I stepped in the bath tub to have a shower I was greeted by a many legged guest who looked like a younger brother to the picture below and was trying to oust me from my own bathtub by scurrying hither thither. I don't take kindly to such behavior and so I blasted the poor guy with a jet of hot water and totally drowned the sucker. His death was quick and hopefully painless.  But now, I am being haunted by his death, I have nightmares in which  hundreds of his relatives are out to attack me and some of them are vicious and look like this.   The nightmare starts with a cold dark night. As I am running through the forest, I hear leaves rustle, I turn to see a giant Spider running towards me. I am running with my heart pounding and I see more a...

Social media like Facbook, orkut and twitter have literally exploded in our faces these days. Friends and relatives are coming out of the woodwork as though, after a long period of hibernation. Everyday I get friend requests from people I have lost contact with for more than a decade.  The conversations start with excitement as we have so much catching up to do. After the initial furore things cool down once we discover that we are not the same people any more, the ones who bunked classes together, had beers and danced like maniacs to the beat of Hindi movie songs, gave a shoulder to cry to broken hearted classmates as they sighed and yearned for the attractive girls of the class.  All of us have changed, we have families, jobs and responsibilities. We are no longer the carefree people who thought that the world lay at our feet and we could conquer it all. The bond with classmates though not broken is not what it was earlier, it has weathered as time has...

Hamid tossed in bed just like every night and tried to fall sleep. He could clearly hear the ticking of the bedside clock as the minutes dragged on. He turned over to see his wife Mahtab sleeping next to him and his one year old son Mohsin in the crib by her side. Mahtab had come to UK just over two years back from Pakistan and Mohsin came in the world 10 months later. He was the apple of their eyes, a sweet and bubbly child, full of laughter. Mahtab stirred and in a sleepy voice said " Not able to sleep? Should we go to the doctor? Are the dreams still haunting you?" He said " There is nothing a Doctor can do, you go back to sleep, It is nearly time for Namaz." Mahtab's brows creased with worry, she checked on Mohsin and slipped back under the covers.  Hamid got up from the bed silently and started to prepare for the morning prayers. After his prayers he sat near the window with a cup of tea and waited for the sun to rise.  The sun rose behind the tree...

There is no dictionary meaning for eve teasing, Wikepedia describes it as : " Eve teasing   is a   euphemism   used in   India ,   Bangladesh , and   Pakistan   for public   sexual harassment ,   street harassment   or molestation of women by men, with Eve being a reference to the biblical   Eve ." After I moved to UK, I literally felt free, the lack of 'Roadside Romeos' was quite a pleasant change. I do not have to think twice about what I am wearing or how I look in a particular dress. I do not have to keep adjusting my Dupatta or check myself in the mirror many times to see if my dress was transparent or low cut.  There are no catcalls or random comments hurled at me or any other woman walking in the street. All women can actually take a walk without being X-rayed with lusting eyes or lasciviousness grins. Men will not rub against you, grope you or pinch you. You can actually give a smile and say 'good ...

This post has been itching my mind for past few days and how much ever I try to make it humorous, the funny words just refuse to come. I have been working for the past decade or so and had the chance to work in different companies with different work ethics and environment. Indian companies have evolved and so has the work culture. We now spend most of our waking hours at the workplace and it is like a second home to us. The workplace is like a big dysfunctional family with some members we want to completely avoid and others who bring comfort to us. The work culture has changed drastically in recent times with people having long work hours and the pressure to perform. With the influx of more and more young blood each day at the workplace most of us have become expendable. There is fear of getting overshadowed in this race to climb the corporate ladder. In such situations anything and everything has become acceptable. There is an insane rush to get promoted and stand out from ...

Oh! You Atheists and Agnostics please do not run away from this post, I am not here to preach about God. This post is all about how a casual walk with a couple of youngsters turned out be an interesting one hour, trying to answer difficult questions and admiring the thought process of the younger generation. Yesterday, Hubs and I took our friends kids, a girl aged 8 years (M) and a boy aged 10 years(K) for a walk near the Lancaster canal. Our friends were going to join us there in some time.  The kids are boisterous and intelligent, always full of questions and curious observations. It all started with their recent fad of making wands out of sticks, a la Harry Potter style. Being a Harry Potter fan myself, we discussed the spells you can cast with your wand and Hubs created new ones like 'Archimedes Galileo'. After some discussion about 'How Earth was considered flat by people many centuries ago' , the conversation turned to God. 'M' was walking with me so I ...

All of you from India or of Indian origin know the meaning of the post title. As you know, I am talking about house guests. I read a post at 'Musings' which inspired me to ponder and write this post. Over the years since my marriage, hubs and I have been entertaining house guests in myriad size, shapes and attitudes. Even living in this phoren land, there have been very few months when we did not have a guest. It has been wonderful to have friends and relatives dropping in, even if it is just for a day or two. In India, families of friends and friends of friends have stayed over to avail of our hospitality i.e. free lodging and boarding. I am not complaining folks, it was easier in India when you had someone to cook and clean and do other household tasks for you.  In UK, similar to other western countries you don't have a butler or a maid helping you out with chores. It all falls down on your shoulder, you become the official toilet scru...

Just like Indian movies have their famous lines 'Kitne Admi the? (How many men were there) from the movie 'Sholay' and 'Mere pass maa hai' from the movie 'Deewar', here are a few of my personal favourites from some specatcular English movies. 1) "Houston, we have a problem."  This is a line from the movie Apollo 13 where stranded astronauts on a mission to the moon struggle to survive in a crippled aircraft some 205000 miles from the earth. 2) "My mama always said, 'Life is (was) like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." The words made famous by Tom Hanks from the movie 'Forrest Gump'. A story of a simple minded man who proved determination, love and courage are the most important things in life and you can achieve anything. 3) "After all, tomorrow is another day!"  Scarlett O'hara from the movie  'Gone with the Wind' made these words famous. An epic tale of a woman...