The Desi Me ..

I was tagged by Vasanthan of Singaporean Indian to take up this tag .

I was supposed to mark the ones that suited me the best to calculate how Indian I am :)

[x] you were born in India
[x] both your parents are Indian
[ ] your parents expect your spouse to be Indian
[ ] your career choices are narrowed down to doctor, lawyer and/or architect
[ ] you have one sibling
[ ] your aunt, uncle, parents and several relatives you have never met in your life have befriended you on Facebook.

X's so far: 2

[x] You have dhaal at least once a day( : O )
[x] Your mother at this very moment is under the unfortunate impression that you are doing homework
[x] You have black hair
[x] You are a veggie
[ ] Zee TV is (at least one of) your favorite channel(s)
[ ] you have recently listened to 96.8FM
[ ] you and your best friend both have watched and discussed the latest Shahrukh Khan movie

X's so far: 6

[x] you have a circle of Indian friends, separate from your normal ones
[x] you speak in violent Tamilish with the above
[ ] you have a tendency to resent Britain's existence
[ ] more than half your wardrobe is salwars, churidars, patiallas/kurtas,sherwanis.
[x] a cricket ball has the power to obtain and control your full undivided attention
[ ] you are aware of and have visited BharatMatrimonials.com
[x] your surname is your father's first name.

X's so far: 10

[ ] you are a proud member of Sports-India.com
[ ] you have bookmarked Cricinfo.com on your computer.
[x] Neither of your parents could care less about phys ed, as long as your academic grades are intact
[ ] if you are Hindu, you go to the temple at least once a week
[ ] if you are Muslim you perform namaaz five times a day
[x] you have no issues with either of the above
[x] you do, however, have issues with the bombings of the Indian Embassy in Kabul and the 26/11 Taj and Oberoi hotel bombings in Mumbai.
[ ] you own a Nokia phone
[x] this phone at least once has displayed something Desi as its wallpaper
[x] you are familiar with the term 'Desi'

X's so far: 15

[x] your iPod is teeming with Bollywood & Kollywood
[x] you could bite into a red chili and honestly enjoy it
[x] you are a fan of and are infuriated at the fact that Thumbs Up is not sold beyond Indian borders.
[ ] you use the word 'arre' or 'accha' at least twice a day
[ ] your non-Indian friends have picked up on hindi words like 'yaar' or 'blah blah blah, NA?'
[ ] you have Bollywood posters in your room
[x] you have never called an elder by only their first name, you instead add or use alone 'auntie' or 'uncle'
[ ] you have read A Suitable Boy (Is it a book? I don’t do books)
[x] you play an instrument
[x] you are able to play a Bollywood song on the above instrument -

X's so far: 21

[x] your fridge has at least one Haldiram's box in it
[ ] your mother claims you were born as fair as the moon, but you have lately begun to doubt it
[ ] you own a Bose sound system
[x] you use fans whenever possible as opposed to aircon
[x] regardless of whether you are Buddhist or not you have a Buddha statue in your living room.

[x] you know what pani puri is ( I love Paani Puris)

[X] you are unable to handle chopsticks. (been wanting to learn to use them)

[ ] Your TV remote is covered in plastic (I don’t want to explain it.)
[x] You are genuinely afraid of the Indian Gossip Circuit

X's in total: 27

Multiply by 2 to get your Indian-y percentage: 54 %

Lol.. This thing was fun to do . I would like to tag all my Indian blog friends reading this post to take up this tag :)

How Indian are you ?

Monday Morning Inspiration # 66

 

I'm so happy for GRT Hotels .. Way to go ..

GRT Grand hotel has been awarded "THE BEST HOTEL OF THE YEAR" award for the year 2007-2008 and it's general manager Mr. U.Sasi Kumar has won the prestigious "Young Hotel General Manager" award for the year 2008.

This hotel is very close to my heart as I ve been there on an internship (like most of you know my passion lies in the Hospitality Industry) with my friend Dhruv for a period of two weeks ,having a study of the variuos departments and enjoying a first hand experience whereever possible.

The details of the award ceremony can be read here.

I was so excited when I saw the article in the news paper this evening and I was so over joyed , the next thing that I did was to call Mr. Ravi Balakrishnan, IT Head GRT Grand hotel who assisted us through out the internship. Jus' looking to drop by the place in person and convey my wishes to them.

I'm so proud I got to do my Intern in one of the best hotels in the country.. Yayy!!

Kudos to the team! :)

You can read my posts about the internship here and here.


P.S. Been having my tests and lots of other commitments to tend to , I aplogize for not being able to blog regularly . Will be back to form soon :)

Dolphins at play ..

I have always liked dolphins and have considered them to be a very intelligent mammal and was completley swept off floor with the Dolphin show I saw in Singapore. Now, here I have an opportunity to promote The sea world at Orlando . Please click the link below to know about these friendly mammals and also to see what mischief they are upto . If you have a kid do introduce them to the site below , I'm sure they will love it !

Misty Mornings at my University

The above two pics are the same view from my hostel in the morning (left) and evening (right) . I feel the campus looks more beutiful when its a little misty :)

Happy Holi !

Holi , the festival of colors always reminds me of my holi days in school , my previous colony where I used to stay and the fun we had in college last year .. But, the best times were always in school .

Sneaking the packets of colors into my school bag , running around with colors and splashing them on your dearest pal, getting caught with teachers, visit friend's place, spoil the interiors of my car (Gosh! how much of scoldings) , trying to clean up as much before entering home, begging my mom to let me play holi with colony friends, cycling around with friends , dance, music ... This is one festival that I really cherish a lot , even thou' its not all that popular in this part of the country (Chennai, India) .

Wishing all my blog buddies a very colorful life :) and a happy holi too!

Monday Morning Inspiration # 65

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

To read other Monday Morning Inspiration click here.

Monday Morning Inspiration # 64

I'm so sorry about the delay in posting my MMI for this week, been held up with tests in Univ. and Im finally donw with them all today .. Here goes this week's inspiration.

My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from DeMoines, Iowa. I've always supplimented my income by teaching piano lessons--something I've done for over 30 years. Over the years

I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a protege though I have taught some talented students. However I've also had my share of what I call "musicically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson.

I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student. Well, Robby began with his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my students to learn.

Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never stopped in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but assumed, because of his lack of ability, that he had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching!

Several weeks later I mailed to the student's homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he really did not qualify.

He said that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano essons but he was still practicing. "Miss Hondorf...I've just got to play!" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital.

Maybe it was his persistance or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be alright.

The night for the recital came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer."

Well the recital went off without a hitch. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked like he' run an egg-beater through it.

"Why didn't he dress up like the other students?" I thought. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?"

Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto #21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo...from allegro to virtuoso. His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people his age After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on their feet in wild applause. Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that Robby!

How'd you do it?" Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well Miss Hondorf...remember I told you my mom was sick? Well actually she had cancer and passed away this morning. And, well....she was born deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special." There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening.

As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I've never had a progege but that night I became a protege...of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself and maybe even taking a chance in someone and you don't know why.

To read other Monday Morning inspiration click here