An ideal wife is any woman who has an ideal husband.

Yup. Am married. :) To none other than Mr. Amul Jani. Thank you all for who made it to the wedding. I will always cherish your presence. Special thanks to Anu, Anuja, Raksha, Janki and Smita. You girls kept up with my nonsense for a long time and excused it all just because i was the bride. Also to Devam. You have been an incredible host and an inspiring one. Also you surpassed all my expectations of being a helpful hand. You kept my spirits alive and smile intact. Thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping up with my stubborn demands. Be it minimizing the guest list or letting go off a ritual. Thanks for allowing my wedding to be my way. Be it choosing a simple blue invitation card or not calling relatives who didnt mean anything to me or not going overboard with gifts, decoration or food and allowing it to be a simple wedding. I would also like to express my utter happiness for one who flew down all the way to attend the wedding. And for all those who couldnt attend my wedding... let me tell you... you missed "the event" of the last decade. :) 

While i took no time to fall in love with amul back in 1998, i took over a decade to marry him. When the wedding date was finally announced, most of my friends and cousins heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally" was what i heard before "Congratulations".

To be true to all of you, i was scared of getting married. I didnt want to leave my house even for Amul. I didnt want to move into another house. I wanted to live with my parents forever. But somewhere down the line, i told myself, "Dont protest. You will get use to the change."

So though i wasnt jubilant when the date was announced, i quietly started telling myself to get prepared. I had no logical reason to refuse marriage. I loved my baby. He was a nice guy. We had been together for 11 years. Afterall, it was the next step. How long could i have avoided it? I wasnt scared of living in another house with another set of family. I was scared of leaving my own comfort zone. I have been terribly homesick before. I have cried buckets when i had to move to London briefly to pursue my Masters. I have been a terrible guest when i was dropped over at my relatives' when i was a kid. I would cry and cry till Mom or Dad came to fetch me. Knowing myself, i was a little apprehensive about how would i feel when i moved - if i may add, permanently - to Amul's place.

But to my discovery and to my relief, i am not homesick. I do miss home terribly. Everytime i need little things like cello tape or a rubber band... it immediately reminds me of that drawer or that stationery box back at my place. Everyday when i finish work, i feel like going back home. And every night... when the clock strikes 11... i think of mom. Before marriage, if i wasnt home at night... my mom would inevitably call at the strike of 11 to remind me that my time was up. I miss my old life terribly. But i love my new life.

I still wake up late. I enjoy my long sleep. And its funny to wake up with Amul. Every morning when i wake up and i see this guy all cuddled up in his favourite quilt... i cant help but smile. He refuses to give up his single quilt. :) After 11 years of being with him, i have now realised that he loves his quilt more than me.

I still enjoy reading my papers first thing in the morning with a hot cuppa coffee. And to my great happiness, aunty makes coffee just like my mom. Its fun to see Amul running around the house before he leaves for work while i am sitting on the sofa, reading my paper, sipping my coffee and in no hurry to go anywhere.

So while i thought marriage would bring sweeping changes to my life, i only have god to thank for blessing me with Amul, Uncle and Aunty. I cant be thankful enough to the almighty. My mom and dad are hardly a kilometer away. Amul is a cute husband. And uncle and aunty are gems.

And as i begin my new life... i only hope i build a strong nest i never feel like leaving behind.

Endnotes!!!

• Poor Hrithik Roshan!!! He has to dance even to sell biscuits. Dont get what i am saying?? You will have to watch the latest Bourbon Biscuit tv advertisement. Saw him gyrating to his histrionic moves fervently for some few seconds... and then suddenly from nowhere emerges a biscuit packet from his hand... and he mutters something... it happens really quickly to even register anything. What hits you though is that poor Hrithik is being typecast as a dancer... and he has to break into his fervid item everytime he endorses a product. Come on Bourbon ppl... you guys can do much better... so can Hrithik. Spare his flexile body.

End Note: Has anyone seen Hrehaan??? He is Hrithik's elder son. Recently saw him perched in his mumma's lap at some award function. Cute is the word. But think no further.... Have booked him for Aara. Aara too broke into giggles when i put Hrehaan's photo in front of her. She broke into her little chiggy wiggy dance as soon as she set her sight upon him. Double thumbs up!!! :)

• Irrespective of all the hype and hoopla that surrounded Jaswant Singh's book 0n Jinnah... its a delight to read it. Its a well-researched, well thought out and well spaced book that documents how Jinnah went onto become Quaid e Azam of Pakistan. This well researched book has been put together with great care too. It has references to several books and has brief explanation on various events and people who made history as end notes. Someone who enjoys reading history and is curious about India, should read this book.

End Note: Just as a precaution... dont hold the book with one hand and lie on your back, while you read it. Its heavy. My wrist is furious with me and is making its feelings evident since two days.

• Just as Ishrat Jahan encounter case grabbed the headlines, driving both the central and the state government into a frenzy... stories from all quarters started coming in about various other fake encounters carried out by police officers across India. While Gujarat Government dug out records to show.. how poor seventh or eighth Gujarat fared at killing people in encounters, compared to UP or Rajasthan, Chidambaram took the matter on international stage. Made a comment on Gujarat Government and Ishrat killing in the Washington. CNN and BBC which hadnt bothered so far, too took attention. Better late than never, CNN too has reported about it now. Its an interesting report from an international point of view. Can be read at: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/11/india.shooting.probe/

Talk about going international Mr. Modi!!!

End Note: The encounter feeling engulfed the city to such an extent that even local cable operators put up 'Ab Tak Chappan' - a hindi movie on the backdrop of encounter killings by police officers, featuring Nana Patekar, in their prime time movie slot.

• And when the encounters, war and crimes are grabbing headlines all over the world... and one is tired of listening to all the noise that comes with the chaos... here's a break. Photographs by Emilio Morenatti. He has travelled extensively in the middle east and has captured Afghanistan and Pakistan for Associated Press. He has also been conferred the award of Newspaper Photographer of the Year 2008. Once while on an assignment in Gaza, he was kidnapped by gunmen but later released without any harm. The reason why i am building up so much is because the photos that he took left me spell bound. These are riveting photos... something that will linger on even as you move onto the next one. "A picture says a thousand words." - it was never so true before. You can take a glimpse of his work at http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2009/03/23/photographer-collection-emilio-morenatti/

End Note: Its 12th September. My Momma Jani In Law's birthday. But even as we set out to celebrate her birthday today evening... Amul just mentioned in the car today morning saying: 'Mos, exactly three more months to go." 12th Dec is nearing. The countdown is drawing close. :) The room is under construction. Clothes and venue and functions are decided. Navarati is approaching and Diwali will be here soon. And within no time... it will be time to get invitation cards printed..... phew.... God!! Be there!!!

Till the next post.... tata!!!

August Diary

There's always a reason behind everything. I have many behind not blogging in the month of August. Inspite of it being one of the longest months of the year, i was too busy and hassled to even drop in a word. Imagine... how occupied i must have been.

So i am going to pen... rather type... my August Diary in September.

• Work has been defining my life these days. Have been extremely busy with work... so much so that sometimes i feel i am doing a job of four ppl put together. Follow ups, confirming a report, reporting, travelling, special stories, forward planning and day plans and events... god, its been too much. I have fed NewsX so much in last month that i am not only tired of cooking but am sure they have developed an indigestion too. I have had no time to send bills, reimburse my expenses or even take Sundays off. Swine flu deaths, book ban, spurious liquor and poor BJP...

• When i am not working... i am occupied with Amul. His birthday falls in August and we took a three day off to go to POLO forests. Its one of the most beautiful landscape in Gujarat. It was a good break... a much needed one and it couldnt have come at a better time than his birthday. Wont reveal the details too much... but it was high time i put aside work and spent time relaxing... and thats exactly what i did. Packed, took three days off, spent two days in forest, laughed at heart's content, played with Aara and spent three whole days with Amul.... Fabulous is the word.

Amul with a beer on his birthday... what more could he ask for?

Vrushti and Aara... Aara's first holiday

Janki, Amul, Chintan and Arjun... at Vijaynagar Palace... a heritage place where we stayed in Polo

Chintan and Aara... Aara had a blast on this holiday...

Mos and Amul... and the reservoir behind....

• It was a month of return too. Devam is finally back from the US. Though he hasnt turned up home and has a lame excuse for that... i hope i get to see him again. He has bluntly told me how i figure last in his list but in the same sentence assured me that he loves me equally. I dont understand diplomacy and therefore didnt exactly understand what he meant. This month also marked the first anniversary of Vrushti and Chintan's return to India. The biggest differentiator between the last year and this year has been.... Aara... who's growing leaps and bounds everyday.

• Another small yet significant thing about August was festivals. It started with Rakhi. I didnt send any rakhi to my NRI brothers... i was so occupied with work and travel that i didnt find time to send any. But still took two hours out on Rakhi to tie rakhi to a few cousins who live in Ahmedabad... :) i love the tradition of tying a rakhi, exchanging sweets and receiving money as a gift... majja aavi gai. And if Rakhi marked the beginning of the month and was celebrated at my maternal grandpa's house.... the month's end was marked by Ganpati at in-laws. For the first time, i sat in ganpati pooja... prayed to Ganpati to remove obstacles from two ppl's paths... and the most exciting stuff was wearing a sari on the visarjan day... :) looked like an aunty.... :)

So August is over... September arrived with a bang. On the first day, stood four hours in a queue at beauty parlour to book myself for the wedding day. Frustrating, hilarious and a tiresome experience it was. All ladies in Ahmedabad want to get ready at the same parlour.... so they all land up here early in the morning to get an appointment. It was worse than a visa line. After waiting for so long... i finally got an appointment. I havent worked so hard for getting amul as much as i did for get that appointment. But its finally done... Its also a reminder that wedding is just three months away.

The nervousness is creeping in gradually. Amul and i often point out what a relief it is to go back to individual houses every night. We often ponder if we will be able to stay together all the time? But i guess we will know it all in just a matter of few months...

September meanwhile.... is going to be fun. Its Navarati time.... garba, dandiya, late nights and honest ni paubhaji and pulao... :)

But till Navarati begins... its time for me to leave for Kutch... I am going to Lakhpat (the kanyakumari of west) on the border of india and pakistan. Should be fun, hot, tiring and a memorable experience. If its worth writing and sharing... will blog about it when i am back...

Till then... to you all... Happy September!!!

Its going to be 12/12/09

Yup, the date is out!!!

Amul and i are getting married on the 12th Dec 2009... a few months down the line. So before Amul loses more hair and i put on more weight... we finally decided to take the plunge for the sake of good photographs. 

The dates were suggested by a Shashtriji and without a single debate the families agreed upon 12.12.09. Amul and i are scouting for places to get married. So the next few months are going to be full of discussions, excitement, stress, confusion, debates, planning and at the end of it all... the enjoyment. 

I am pretty excited at planning this wedding. I have seen Anu and Anuja go through it all. Its going to be fun... deciding on clothes, jewelry, menu, invitations, guests and events. Its going to be a huge deal to convince my parents not to go overboard and invite the entire voter's list of Ahmedabad. And to actually tell my brother to spend a little less so that i can save a bit more for the wedding... :)

I hope all my cousins come for the wedding. I understand that its recession time and its very important to stick to your job... but i really really hope they come. This marriage wont be fun without them.

So while i pray to god to improve the economic scenario not just for my cousins but for me too... afterall, marrying these days is no easy affair... i wish and pray that i enjoy the entire process of planning this wedding.. WISH ME LUCK!!!

Its our turn now!!

The idea of being Mrs. Jani!!

I guess i cant run away from it anymore... the days are lessening as the realisation sets upon, that now its just a matter of months before I go on to become a wife and a daughter-in-law. The carefree days of living in shorts, waking up at will, refusing to do household chores, watching tv with feet on the table, eating at odd hours and loading my milk with 3 spoons of bournvita will soon come to an end.

Perhaps i am just exaggerating... but who loves to give up on the old cushy life??? And marriage, though will give me a chance to start a completely new life with tolly, is going to mean that i give up everything that i have lived with. To start with, my parents, my home, my room, my bed and my wardrobe... just about everything. I am just so use to living the singlehood life of being responsible only for myself that i wonder if i will be able to manage with another human, his needs, his way of living, his way of eating, his way of sleeping and sharing so much together. Especially with his family... who my friends tell 'change completely' the moment you get married. The thought is extremely exciting... but am not sure the reality will be equally exciting.

I asked a lot of married women around... if they ever dreaded being married. I am not going to quote any but 90% of them dreaded being married. Almost all of them dread being with their in-laws... some even feel they deserve an award to get along with their mother-in-law. :) The comments and contributions are from all married women. I am the only one who's not married yet. All of them are in a fresh marriage and inspite of the 'dreadfulness' they all recommend marriage to me. But there's no denying that all of them atleast once dreaded being married.

And their most basic fear was of living with another family than with their husband... Here are some of them sharing their secrets... OFF THE RECORD.

"I dont know if my in-laws will adjust to my late night shifts at work?"

"I got married very young so something i dreaded the most was if my mother in law will be fine if i dont cook?"

"I can no more watch my favourite telly serial at 9.. there's only one tv in the house. My father in law likes to watch news at that time. But i loved the way my husband gave me a nice budget of designing our room the way we like."

"I have never covered my head at my mom's place. But i knew before i accepted the proposal that if i chose to get married to this guy, it means i will have to have my head covered everytime any male of the family is around. That was something i really dreaded. Getting use to something that i have never lived with. But now i am used to it."

"I got married to an older guy. Just a day after i accepted the proposal, my mother in law, in private, made it clear that they needed a grandchild as soon as possible. I didnt know at that time if i should refuse or should i go with it. But i liked my husband. He's been a wonderful partner. And yes, its only been 3 years of marriage and i have a cute 2 year old baby girl. And to say the least, my mother in law is happy. But i completely dreaded being married that time."

"I had been in this wonderful relationship for 3 years and wanted to live with him. I would have preferred the live in relationship. But we love our parents too much to go against their wish of being married first and then living to gether. So we got married. I had no option. Ofcourse, i dreaded the word 'marriage' but i love every aspect of it... living together, sharing the same bed, making out and surviving on small meals that i cook that he relishes with so much love. I can say i still live the same life."

"The thing that i dreaded the most was - how will i spend my entire life with him? What if i didnt like him forever? I'd never have another chance. Was completely horrified. Not anymore though. :)"

"I dreaded my marriage the most. I had accepted a proposal where I was going to live with my in-laws after marriage. My husband was abroad. And i was like, till i get my visas, how am i going to live with someone i dont even know, forget love? I lived with my in laws for 3 months hardly venturing out of the house. God... i never want to recall those days. I have never adjusted so much."

"You will laugh but the thing that i dreaded the most was - how am i going to give my clothes to wash? How am i going to get my undergarments washed and i completely dreaded my mother-in-law's habit of folding the washed clothes in front of the television set in the living room, when everyone was watching tv together. The solution: as soon as i come from work, i rush to the balcony, pick up my undergarments, stuff it in my purse and go into my room so that they dont turn up in living room in front of everyone."

"My mother-in-law was so religious that after marriage, without even asking me, made this 4 day plan of visiting temples all around. My husband didnt even come saying his leave was over. So i was trotted around for 4 days to various temples. Dont ask me what i prayed for."

"If you look at the essence of being married - committing yourself to the same person for the rest of your life, wanting to have babies with him and grow old to wipe his dribble off his chin, i never dreaded marriage. But i dread everyday things that accompany a typical indian marriage, where sometimes you are kind of expected to dramatically alter your individuality for various convoluted reasons."

"My husband's father is involved with this community that follows religion very emotionally. This means regular satsangs at our place, oldies turning up at house after the morning and evening walks, and preparing 30 cups of tea or coffee daily when they come visiting. I took it nicely for 4 months. I knew this before i got married and I completely dreaded this part of the marriage. One fine day, i told my father-in-law that i would like to hire 24 hour maid to take care of all this. We did that. He's happy and so am i."

"I am dreading marriage after being married for 4 years. We had such a good life together. My mom in law never forced me into believing all the astrologers that she consults for every little thing. Now that i have a cute 6 month old, she's been crazily showing his kundli to every astrologer on this planet. I am completely dreading that moment when she will come up with the idea of making my child wear those rings or lockets. If she's reading this: NO is my answer. If she asks me... i dont know what will i say."

So, well... with all the positive dreams of travelling together and getting to live together, making babies and building a small family together... i too am dreading those moments when arguements or disappointments will arise, just because i am different.. That would be dreadful. But i guess i am just over exaggerating. As one of my friend says, "its no big deal mos. just continue with the kind of life that you have lived. your husband and his family will come around." Well, yes... thats a good idea. I am just hoping that god gives me the strength and maturity to understand the family that i am going to embrace as my own. And i really hope God looks after me personally once i am married.

And what does amul have to say about this? Amul: "Its this expectation from life to always be smooth thats giving you all the load baby. Just rather try to accept that there'll be bumps on way. That thats how life is. N that what makes it worth looking forward to every next day. "

I guess he must be true... perhaps i am just taking too much load.

55 vs 25

"Jidhar dekho udar problems hi problems hain... "

That was the first line i heard today morning as i was woken up by a loud conversation taking place in my house. My aunt was talking to someone on the phone. I dont know what the conversation was about... but i completely agreed with the statement she made and was quick enough to gain consciousness about the world... and if i may add the 'times' we live in.

This week, infact, has been quite peculiar. Everybody and anybody has been behaving difficult. If on one hand, my travel agent who hires us the official car, is threatening to withdraw the taxi till we make the payment... on the other hand, there's my maternal grand mother who's in an extremely critical condition, which reduces my mother to tears, at every available opportunity. In both the cases, there is little i can do but sympathize...

While i can manage these problems... time and again, i have been confronted by problems (not directly affecting me) which have no solution. And they have raised many questions in my mind. In these recent days, i have realised how important task it is to bring up children. Its not just about providing them the best things in life... its also about depriving them of stuff so that they learn to value... Its not only about sharing and being part of your children's lives... but you should also realise when should you stop interfering... Its not only about providing your kids with financial support unconditionally... but its also necessary to leave them 'cashless' to realise what it takes to earn money...

Its been a heavy week to say the least...

I am not going to take names... but people might relate to these cases...

One of our family friend is a Doctor. Well educated, well settled, born with a silver spoon infact. He was born in 1950 and his parents had a car then... He could afford education in the US in his 20s. Instead chose to pursue medicine and became doctor. He married a nice homely girl and years saw them become parents to a girl and a boy. Today, the girl, who is independent in her thoughts but dependent on her parents otherwise, has chosen a partner for herself. Happens so that the guy is in his early thirties, earns just enough, has dependent parents. This uncle and aunt of mine, approached me to speak to their daughter to see if i could put "some sense" into her head.

They had made up their minds... The boy wasnt wealthy enough (what would they say in their circle perhaps was what was hounding them?). They tried every book in the trick to convince me that the boy wasnt worth spending a lifetime with and that by hook or by crook, their daughter will have to accept their decision.


What surprised me was that they hadnt even bothered to meet the guy. I was shocked to hear the parameters they considered neccessary to chose a life partner. Educated, potential to earn 'good' money and had a job, living away from parents. You see, his daughter, according to them, wasnt capable of handling a joint family. And therefore, the guy she had chosen for herself, who didnt fit their mould, wasnt good enough.

The discussion lasted four hours. I completely failed at convincing him that its a good idea to meet the guy and that children, after a certain age, are best left to decide for themselves. If nothing, they will emerge smarter and stronger from their experiences. But they would have none of it.

I guess our society just gives our elders the 'unspoken' privilege of deciding everything for their children. Some parents fail to realise that their children's happiness should weigh before their criteria. I doubt if parents actually keep their children's interest in mind while looking for life partners. More often than not, they are looking for someone, who will make them proud rather than keep their child happy. I learnt one lesson though - that people who claim to be broad minded and open about ideas and life, are not really putting their words into practise.

And if this loooooong discussion wasnt enough to roll my dad and me into after-discussions... i came across this another classic example of fights between a couple because the wife was tired of taking care of her invalid mother-in-law, coping with her kids and her full time job.


The husband and wife are not on talking terms at present. The problem is that the wife thinks her husband is taking her for granted, not paying enough attention to her, hardly helping out with the chores and plus the burden of taking care of 'his' mother. (Her cry: Why cant she stay with your younger brother?)

The husband is tired of her cribbing. He feels his wife doesnt respect his mother enough. Infact, whatever she is doing for his mother, is just a 'show'. (His cry: She hardly cares about her. Just giving medicines on time and feeding her doesnt mean you are looking after her.)


Not to forget that this couple has been having these fights over a decade now. The wife isnt comfortable with the mother-in-law around. The husband is just too much of a loving son, not to abandon his mother, only because his wife is not ready to 'accept' her.

I wasnt a part of this discussion... but i was in my room.. which was in hearing distance of this conversion. The tit and tats went on for an hour. My mom was really drowsy and she could hardly help these people out but she was a patient ear. My mom tried to pacify both of them... but they both still stood their grounds. It was time for them to leave and finally my mom could take a nap. But i was so disturbed.

Why is it so difficult for people to accept that your partners have a family? That your partner was brought up by a couple - who has loved him/her much much more than you have? Is it really difficult to make some adjustments if you have to accomodate your partner's parents? Or is it just 'inconvenience' to your lifestyle? I dont understand why couples fail to remember that our parents 'never left us alone' so that they could continue with their lifestyle? Ask any parent and they will tell you how they saved up for a home to house his family - or gave up a little bit of their sleep so that they could spend some time with their children among so many responsibilities. Any parent will vouch how they have given up on things and activities for their kids - my dad gave up smoking, my mom hardly slept with two kids, her job, her hobby, her household responsibilities. I have seen people around who have traveled for weeks and weeks together to give their children a better life. I have seen parents who have broken their fixed deposits to send their children for higher education. Infact one my relatives, broke her fixed deposit because her child wanted a CBZ for his birthday.

When our parents, without even blinking, so unconditionally, have done so much for us... cant we just give them the same place in our lives???

But i guess not many people understand. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I really really hope that God gives us (devam, amul and me) enough sense to look after our parents right. I hope we never disappoint them or hurt them or let them down.

My Two Darlings!!!

Anu - Anuja - Mosiqi

Guess its time to introduce Anuja(s). My both best friends share the same name. Yeah, one of them is Anuja Shah (previously Taktawala) and another is Anuja Kastia (who soon will adopt Shah after 7 Dec)... But Anuja Shah (ex-Taktawala) is fondly called Jadu (she is thinner than me now... but not so in the olden times and therefore the name)... and Anuja Kastia is called Anu (short and sweet as per her frame)

I met both of them in 11th std at MK Higher Secondary School. It was the most historic time of my life. Completely shocked at the culture of the school - i had a real tough time getting use to the environment. Students would talk in Gujarati (we always spoke in English at AG)... teachers had aliases... all students would rush outside the class after each lecture and would come in only when they saw the next teacher approaching... and if all this wasnt enough, hardly 10 out of 50 students were interested in studying the subjects that ARTs stream offered. As i understood much later, most of them had been 'dumped' into arts because they hadnt scored enough to be in Science or Commerce. And there was I. I had chosen to be in Arts. I wasnt dumped into that stream. And i found very few students who fell into the same category. Anu was one among them. She loved Psychology and planned to major in it one day and therefore had chosen to take up Arts. And Anuja was least interested in studying. It was forced upon her. And she didnt mind coming to school as she got to hang out with friends and bully the rest. She didnt care if it was Arts or Science or Commerce. 'E to jene bhanvu hoy, ene chinta'....

Anu - Shital - Tulsi - Mosiqi - Anuja

Anu was very sweet to me. Asked me my name, helped me catch up with the chapters i had lost out on and generally chatted with me, giving me company in the breaks sometimes... And Anuja was verrrrryyy bad to me. She use to make fun of my name, use to tease me 'what sort of a name is this that sounds like mosquito'.... and did everything in her means to bully me. She would eat away my samosa... and one day when the red sauce fell on my uniform... she kept on teasing me that i had stained myself... GOD, it was so embarassing...

That was the start of our friendship... we went on to study with the same Tuition teacher when we got into XIIth... we (anu and myself) somehow got Anuja interested in studying and she scored so good that everybody was left dumbstruck...

We went to different colleges.... they went to LD Arts and i got enrolled in Xavier's... but the love that we have for each other continued... it was extremely easy to be around each other... it was so comfortable that you could talk about how stupid your boyfriend was being to exchanging clothes and beauty tips and romance tips... thats how girls are... and thats exactly what we three were about... but inspite of being so alike... we all three are complete different individuals...

Jaymin Anu - Mosiqi Amul - Anuja Aditya

ANU - She's the dabbu one... though extremely good at academics, she lacks the worldly wise... she's so sweet and naive about so many things in the world... and lives in her own cocoon. She is extremely friendly with everybody around her but when it comes to her relationship, she's this quiet one. Prefers to keep quiet (because her guy-jaymin talks a lotttt) and she's so petite in size that one can hardly do anything but cuddle her... thats Anu. She refuses to believe that she's the shortest. (even after 12 years, anu and anuja argue who's taller. My verdict - Anuja's taller) But that's Anu. Even with her small frame, she can argue forever...

Anu has this most irritating habit of making us pamper her when she wants to go to sleep. She will nicely take your hand rubbing softly on her arms... god... its so irritating.. but as anu explains it, 'please yaar... mane bahu sari ungh aavse'... and you end up obeying her...

Anu is also the world saver. Prompt in her actions to offer kindness to anyone who asks for it. And god forbid if there's a tsunami or an earthquake, no force on this earth can stop her from going to serve the needy people. She loves living in the muck, among needy helpless people and providing them care and support. She's aptly chosen the line of Social Service for herself... I will never understand why should one go to a place ravaged with such a calamity when people are dying and suffering... But that's Anu. 'You know me mos," is what Anu always says....

YES i know you babe... i will be extremely unhappy when u get married this Dec... not only you will be officially engaged in a different life of your's but will also find even lesser time and absolutely no reason to be in Ahmedabad... I hate marriages!!!

ANUJA - The married one!!! Yeah, she was the first among us to get married. She's this epitome of how a woman should be. Ekdum pati-vrata and family oriented, her entire life revolves around her 5 lakh relatives... god! If there was a family management and communication program, Anuja would be a topper of that course. She's extremely good with managing relatives... Hello, kem cho? Accha... Su Vaat che... Le, accha... God.. and it will go on and on. If i go crazy and anti-social if i am left lose between more than 10 of my relatives, Anuja can juggle 20 conversations together at a time. She's an extremely good event management, be it her own wedding, birthday parties or just parties... She would know whom to call, when to call, what to cook, how to cook, how to manage and viola... the party is a hit!!

Anuja though extremely good with people, can be a real bully with the others... She use to bully me a lot in school. Once i knew her, i turned the tables and made her study when she didnt want to and actually managed to take her to a trekking camp, which she hates from the core of her heart. I still remember Jambughoda camp. She use to literally frown at every other step. And if making her walk wasnt enough, on a self exploration trek, we took the wrong track and ended up walking seven extra kilometers that day. When we returned to the base camp, last among all the groups, we discovered that we had taken the wrong path and therefore ended up late. God!! Anuja was so furious... she not only swore never to go on a trekking camp again, she made it a point to frown in all the pictures we took at the camp. Not to forget that how she use to bully a newly married couple who had come on the trek... GOD!! Anuja will be at her furious best, if you take her trekking... where she cant bath twice in a day and can hardly manage hygiene.

But when she's not bullying her sister, or aditya (her husband) or Anu and me, she loves to cook. She's extremely good at time management and can actually manage a 3 course meal in an hour's time. 'Vaar ketli laage?'... is what she will remark when Anu and I are wide eyed at her achievement. That's Anuja. One from whom i learn all the worldly wise tips of how to behave domestic and sweet and good.

My two darlings... as i call them... are far away in Mumbai. One is already married and another one's wedding is 2 months away. I miss them tremendously. Every time's there's a sale or i feel like buying cosmetics or just going out for a coffee... i miss them the most. There were days and also nights when we chatted up without realising how many hours had pass. Nowadays, its all time bound, we meet for 30 mins at a nearby cafe and sometimes just manage to talk on phone. What with having to please an entire horde of relatives and parents and other responsibilities to finish, no one's got the time or rather that kind of time that we use to spend... some 5 years ago.

My wish - Just the three of us on a Bangkok Holiday!!! Now that would be great!!!