What's in a Name.

Another post on my four legged friends. We take so much pains to name our children, just a word of advice to pet owners, - do put in the same amount of effort to name your pet as well, reason being they're stuck with that name for the rest of their lives. Not that they care, still wouldnt you want your pet to have a nice name!

We have a German Shepherd in my in laws place. We had to take him to the vet to get his shots and for some problem with the ear. R and i took him. R parked the car while i got Foster (the German Shepherd ) out and waited on the platform. Even before R could take the leash from me, he looked kinda shocked. I wasnt sure what i had done but R was looking else where. Turned around to see what he saw - outside the clinic was this humongous creature for a dog. It bore more resemblance to a bear though.

I handed over Foster to R. Went to the beary dog. She was on a leash, not that it was needed as i realised later, and the caretaker was sitting with her. My first question - does she bite. Thankfully not. She started playing, jumping and licking my hand. When she stood on all fours, she was upto my waist. I stand at 5'10 so you can imagine how tall this dog was. She was a pure bred German Shepherd. It was evident. Each of her legs were like tree trunks and she was needless to say huge!!

She was extremely friendly though on first glance anyone would have retreated a couple of steps. Like i had earlier mentioned she was just one huge teddy bear. I struck up a conversation with the caretaker. Including the dialogue verbatim so you can figure out how many watts the bulb on my head should have shone!

From the beginning, here goes:

A : Kadikuma (Does she bite)

Caretaker: Kadikadhu Ma...ana romba vaalu so gudhikalam ( She wont bite but she is naughty so she may jump)

A: Whistle whistle. Chamathu kutti. Enna vayasu achu. (Good girl. How old is she?)

Caretaker : 11

A: Ohhh you're 11 years. Irundhalum vaalavey irukiye. ( inspite of being 11 years, you're still naughty)

Caretaker: Ma..11 masam ma..11 varusham illai (ma she is 11 months not 11 years)

A: *Shocked* Ennnaa...11 masam dhana!!! (What...11 months only!!)

Caretaker: Ammam Madam (Yes Madam)

A: Enna sapadu kudukareenga. (What do you feed her). Veedu enge. (Where are you put up)

Caretaker: Chicken dhan ma sapdum. Veedu vandhu ECR le oru farm house., ( She eats only Chicken ma. House is on ECR ..its a farm house)

A: Hmmm...seri per enna..( Ok whats her name)

Caretaker: Kuttima!!

A: *Bulb bulb bulb* *Stutter Stammer cough* Enna Kuttima va!!! Idhukka!! (What kuttima..for this one)

Caretaker: *Chuckling*..ammam Madam ( Yes Madam)

A: Enga...nalla dhaney irundheenga...ivalo periya nai..yaravadhu kuttima nu kupada mudiyuma!!!..(You were alright nah. For such a big dog, would anyone name it Kuttima. Kutti meaning small)

Caretaker: Nan enna madam panna mudiyum..naana per vechen ( what can i do madam, did i name her?)

Never mind! I turned around to see R laughing at the super bulb that i got. I'm not one of those people who can disguise my expressions. If I'm shocked it would show on my face. Looking at my expression, both R and the caretaker had a pretty hearty laugh.

In my mind...this creature was the size of a full grown lion and she was stuck with a name called Kuttima, an oxymoron, for the rest of her life. And she was only 11 months old!!!

Can you imagine standing in a huge farmhouse. You whistle and call out "Kuttima come here". You would expect a Pomeranian or a rabbit to come jumping not a 50 Kg German Shepherd!!

Rising up to the Occasion!

Titles can be deceptive. This has nothing to do with any heroic event. Another of my Buddy's, lets just say not so pleasant experiences. Preferably not readable for children!

Buddy turns two years, next month. Having had quite a few dogs before, we've never really taken the trouble of getting them crossed. Perhaps since all our dogs have in some way or the other been crazy, the fear of seeing generations of craziness freaked us out. With Buddy we decided to take a chance. Those who know Buddy, personally, I can see the horror on your faces! He is a growing fella give him his space!

So Buddy turns two. Through some known folks in the veterinarian community, we found a mate. She was 5 years old and her name was Chocolate. Surprise Surprise - she was Chocolate Brown ;). Buddy was to be taken to her on Monday. Timing issues and it got postponed to Tuesday. Damn, i had taken trouble to give him that extra pat while grooming him. An extra puff of powder. I even put some lacto calamine on him so that he smelt good.

Tuesday arrived and with the evening Chocolate arrived. The act was to be performed in our house on the terrace. The option was some open ground in Adyar. No way was i going to allow that spectacle. Actually I'm thankful it was our terrace. Chocolate was taken up to the terrace with her master and a trainer. Buddy was taken as well by the chap who takes him for a walk, our version of trainer.

Buddy has this collar which I got him a month ago. It sort of warns us before he comes. With a half choke, the chain has this distinct chal chal sound as he runs. We sat anxiously watching TV. i heard a yelp and a squeal. I felt really bad for Chocolate. I was sure Buddy was at his worst behaviour. Within seconds, i heard the familiar chal chal and Buddy was back home literally cowering down. Following him was his trainer/walker. Buddy was petrified and had come running all the way back home. The yelping and squealing was not Chocolate, it was Buddy!!!

Chocolate's Master simply took her back home. Buddy looked ashamed and still a little freaked out. My justification - he is still a baby and he has all the time in the world. Maybe Chocolate growled at him! News spread fast and wide and everyone knew of Buddy's experience with adulthood. R cannot stop torturing me that this chap was useless and should be castrated - hah! you wish!!!!. He is a baby, he will grow up!

R chuckles - Buddy boy...you sure did not 'rise' up to the occasion. Pun intended.

Buddy boy!

Buddy who? My 1 and half year old fawn labrador. I've been meaning to write this post but somehow i know, this is one post that would never end. There would always be many more.
Buddy came home in September of 2008. Ever since, our entire world has very literally been topsy turvy. The sofa covers are on the floor. The leaves from the plant would be all over the balcony. Slippers would have no straps. Keys with chewable key chains, would not have key chains, mattresses would have no cotton... and the list goes on.
He came in when he was a month old. We picked him up at the Vet's clinic. He had a small scar on his head. The scar is still there, his differentiator from all other labradors. As we sat at the clinic, Abhi, Mohi and I, Abhi held him while i was busy buying stuff for him. Within seconds he was busy chewing the band around Abhi's wrist. He was just the dog i was looking for :).
The reason we bought another dog was coz we felt Amma needed a companion. I was to get married soon, Abhi was to go abroad. Candy is there, but the sweetheart that she is, you can't quite expect an eventful day with her around. She would do as you tell her and is totally unobtrusive. We needed life after we lost Ranger. Basically we needed a clown :)
At home there was a war before Buddy was accepted. With no choice left Dad and mum had to give in. I even threatened to walk out of the house with Buddy. You just cant help getting attached to the fella. How did we name him? We picked lots. We had 5 names in mind. We were four of us, and we picked lots. All 4 times, we got the name Buddy. Buddy was officially christened.
As a pup his morning schedule. Howl and bring the roof down at 5 am out of hunger. Amma learned his ways fast. More than Buddy adapting to our household, we adapted to his ways. Amma just had to heat milk and mix Complan and allow it to cool before he came dashing out of the door. 5 am!! He would run out lap up the milk and run for whatever he found to chew. Paper, Cushions, Slippers, shoes - anything that was non metallic!
Taking him for a walk, is more like taming a mad horse. He would not walk, he would pull and run. The first 5 minutes invariably go in a tussle between the walker the walked the leash and the collar. The sole survivor would be Buddy, the rest would either be on the floor or ripped apart.
He's grown into a handsome muscular and extremely lovable dog now. Taking him for a walk is still a challenge. The common belief is that dogs mature with age. Buddy is an exception to probably every defined rule, including gravity! His main target is almost always Amma. His morning routine - Amma would go around setting the sofa straight, the cushions, the covers. Buddy would very religiously follow and pull them all down. He would then have a sip of coffee from Amma. If she refused, a battle of howls normally ensued.
Amma bought a beautiful vethalai chedi (betel leaf plant). She kept it on the balcony close to the verandah grill. Abhi used to religiously water it. One day Abhi was out, when he got back the plant did not exist. Buddy put his snout through the grill and chewed every leaf he could lay his teeth on.
When Amma comes home every day, she has the habit of tucking her keychain on her saree. Buddy's duty is to jump on her, push her, take the key and throw it. There are 6 specific spots in the house where the missing keys would definitely be found. Never underestimate Buddy's capabilities. He can eat a stone. He can break a wall. He can chew cane chairs and leave them legless.
Mischief apart, i can bet on anything, that Buddy understands every word we say. When you talk to him directly, he inevitably responds with a bark or howl depending on the tone which we use. Amma and Buddy have had quite a few of these. Extremely receptive and also quite stubborn if something had to get done it just had to get done. And he had a way of asking for it. He would ensure you know what he's asking for - be it a glass of milk or a stroll around the house. A dog who knew his mind... and ours!
And yet he is the most lovable creature God has ever created. I will stop here. This is a haphazard post, but there is just no end to Buddy's antics :)

Gym rules!

Ive been working out for awhile now. No i dont have a super deadly figure, I'm no where close to it but i like to atleast think that i have an agenda to work out in place. So every morning i manage atleast a 45 minute workout. Atleast i wont die jogging for 5 minutes :). Now that's saying a lot!!!
Anyway I generally go to the gym do my workout and tend to observe people around me. Some rules, that have already been clearly mentioned by 'Nothings aplenty' but felt the need to reinstate.

• Workout quietly. Making noise is a severe distraction. Breathing heavy is a strict no no. Ive been offended several times and walked off from my machine
• Have your own towel. You wouldnt want to be sweating all over the place.
  
• If possible carry your own water bottle. If you prefer drinking water at the gym, be decent enough not to sip the bottle. There are others as well.
• If the person next to you, working out is good looking, avoid paying attention to them. If you're on a tread mil runnin at 11 , your chances are you might be on your way to the hospital in an ambulance at 80 km/h
• Take the trainers help. Dont be shy. They are experts and they're advice is crucial
• Put your mobile off or keep it on silent. Sensitivity. Take your calls outside the gym floor. Nobody wants to listen to your personal rantings.
• enjoy your workout...atleast try. Waking up at 6 am is tough no doubt but still enjoy :)
• Dont workout on an empty tummy. You might collapse with cramps. Sure fire way to screw up your work out
• Wear sensible work out attire. Jeans are a definite no no. Your at the gym to work out not draw attention. So dress comfortably.
  

Im no expert here. Just some observations/recommendations.

Happy Gymming.

Idiocy!

Most of my posts are usually inspired by my travels/travails. This happened on a recent trip to Madurai. I was on an early morning flight. Checked in and sat waiting for my flight to be called. Groggy and tired, i could barely wait to get onto the flight and go back to sleep atleast for 45 minutes. Flight was announced with instructions for older people and rows 1 - 8 to board first. Needless to say the entire junta made a queue, as though if they did not board the flight immediately , they would have to cling on to the wings!.
I normally take my time to stand in the queue and end up being the last. Same case while deplaning, the minute the seat belt sign if off there would be a queue waiting to fall off the aircraft. Honestly you lose nothing - maybe baggage space in the aircraft which is not much of a problem since i travel light and would only have a laptop bag on board. I made my way to the queue.
Again this post is no offense meant to people with white skin but more of a jab at our own regional idiocy. There were a few white skinned people in queue as well. They were a couple of feet in front of me in queue. The ground staff approached them and took a look at their tickets. They were among the last rows. I infact was ahead of them in terms of seat number. The staff chap simply smiled did some small talk, asked them where they were from and led them ahead of the queue straight to the waiting van. I wasn't shocked, irritated rather. Here were so many people, all of them paying for their tickets. These white folks were also paying the same possibly lesser. There was no business class on this flight, so no chance of priority. Their seat numbers were way back. There were older people ahead of them waiting in queue. So why this importance???
I was silent, and terribly irritated. Bad way to start the day. Reached the aircraft. It was full but there was sufficient space for my bag. Sat down and was busy reading the morning paper. The cabin crew went around serving people water. She was rather grim while serving. I swore to myself that her reaction would surely change when she saw a 'foreigner'. Bingo! As she approached them, her face broke into a wide smile, as though she had seen a ray of sunlight in a cloud covered land. Comparison intended! Were these white folks paying her? I honestly felt like confronting her. I was after them, she offered me water, i turned it down in rebellion. She probably couldn't care less! I would torture her later mid flight for water. Irritated, i fell asleep.
I'm not sure what this so called attraction to white skin is for. Does that look better? Is white skin a qualifier for more brains? We sure have so much to learn. Baffling!!

Dare to dream...atleast dream

Its just one of those days you sit and think about all that you wanted to do but dint do for whatever reasons.

In school actually i have absolutely no regrets. However, there was a time when a family friend (popular person hence shall refrain from using names), asked if I'd like to act in a film. i refused, why coz i was still in school and had a long way to go. Should i have done just that. I love acting, atleast realised that later in college. But still Theatre would any day be a preferred option.

In college, another friend had asked if I'd like to get into VJing. Again i turned it down owing to lack of time. I was into too many things, sports, culturals, theatre, studies. One more addition and I'd need 72 hours every day. And VJing was not really something i was interested in.

Once college was done, again couple of known sources asked if I'd be interested in films. My Mum's reply - I will get you married. I still fail to understand why the threat of getting married would deter me from getting into that field. But the sad part then, it did and i went away to Hyderabad to pursue a career - which i had never planned. It came my way and i took it. There were plenty of opportunities in Theatre with some of the top names in Chennai. I turned them all down and went away. I spent a year in Hyderabad - just working. The same person who was into so many things in college and school, was just working. Sad

Back in Chennai, with a new job, again not planned, but serious advice from a good friend, made me shift. She felt i wasnt being used to my fullest potential in my current job. I came back to Chennai and the new job was exciting, fun, new, challenging. I loved every bit of it and still do. But again none of these were planned. I just took what came. Again an opportunity in Theatre came my way. I just about managed to attend a few practice sessions, but work, family and theatre was far too much to take. I had to sacrifice one - i sacrificed theatre ....again.

Now as i sit and think in the last maybe 5 years i dont think I've really done what i wanted to do. Films is not really my piece of cake. True Theatre, small screen acting would definitely be something to look forward to. Again how, when, where . Questions, and more questions continue to haunt me. Comments and opinions to add to it. My only take on opinions and comments is that, an industry is not bad or shady, its the people in it and again not all of them. One rotten apple here and there leads to a total image disaster. Its totally and entirely an individuals mental make that determines whether or not he/she would turn into a rotten apple!

One other side of me craves to get into politics. Ive loved to be on the administration side - to have the power and authority to bring about change. I know I have it in me to go for it. Then again questions, opinions, feedback - its a scary field, dominated by men, you need to do this and that, - my question - isnt that the case with every field. Any field for that matter is definitely not a bed of roses. Its upto the individual to take the plunge and thereafter keep a firm head. Its not the industry that spoils a person, but once own lack of self confidence and will power.

I dream now, i dream of being able to make change, i dream of being able to realise my dreams.

I shall rest discontented and dissatisfied, as long as i do what comes my way and not what i really want to do.

Hopefully, it all just ain't a dream...

A farce is a farce is a farce?!?

This happened in our second year of UG. We had a paper on British Literature and the name of the play we had to read i think was called 'Ways of the World' by William Congreve. The play I'm guessing was alright coz i anyways dont seem to remember a word of it. But there was one stark incident which all of us...every single one of us remember.

We were split into groups to do projects based on this play. In our group of 5, it was common that 3 would be close and the other 2 would be close. Or 2 would be close, the other 2 would be close, and 1 neutral (mostly me!!! - I had to unfortunately play referee). Various combinations. Sometimes all 5 of us would just have a blast. It was not a tension or a feud, just a matter of choice and comfort.

Zena, Archu and I were in one group to do the project. Sats and Ambz were in the other. The class was taken by Leela Chelliah Mam. We were definitely not one of her favorites thanks to an incident in our first year. Will write another post on that. Well the day came for us to present the project to the class. We were done. So were few others. It was Sats and Ambz turn. They were to analyse this play from the point of view of a 'farce'. (dramatic piece of work, something funny, improbable plot, exaggerated characters and slapstick humour)

Satz was in full force talking about characters, the play, the dialogues. And from what angle she was talking i dont think, even she knew. The word farce was not mentioned once in her entire monologue. I call it a monologue, coz Ambz was cooing in between, while Sats fought the battle of words with herself. She was done. LC looked puzzled. LC simply asked her' You've said so much, for what and on what i have no idea. Now tell me what is a farce and what have you analyzed'.

Satz as i told you, famous for her one liners and foot - in - mouth answers cooly replied ' Mam you see, A farce...is a farce..is a farce'.

Class over. We were rolling laughing. Satya still stood with a straight face convinced that what she had said made perfect sense! LC, needless to say walked off in a huff :)