My newest crush :)

I am in a spell.. The spell-weaver is John Castle...Who is he ye ask?

He has piercing blue eyes, looks disapproving. And then when he smiles....ooh lala it reaches your heart straightaway. Atleast it did mine...

I saw him as Inspector Craddock in The Mirror Cracked from side to side, Agatha Christie's televised story of Miss Marple played by Joan Hickinson. I loved him in it. Since then I have obsessed about him. He was about 55 when he played the role, and is 70 now...God he did it so well. And he wasn't even a leading man. This picture is of John Castle at a younger age..

If I ever visit UK again, I will hunt him up and tell him how much I like him. Wish I could see him in more screen appearances.

John Castle joins the list of my crushes. Earlier and still occupied by Jeremy Brett, Tommy Lee Jones, Harrison Ford, and George Clooney. These men are all old (at least in Indian terms) and yet have the charm and personality to make me go weak in the knees. My dream is to go on a date with George, which may never happen. :(

But if it does....

Faith, Karma, Luck by chance...

Saw Luck by Chance recently...I liked it but not overly so. It felt like a documentary on our film industry. The movie did raise a pertinent point, is it Luck or Work? Does Karma have anything to do with this?

Observations & experiences have taught me to think so. Our life, lifestyle, success/failure is, I feel, quite a bit reflective of our and even our ancestors' karma. Perhaps thats why our Hindu wisdom has advocated a period of "tapasya" in each man's life...to wash out his sins and seek spiritual progress. Sai Baba has clearly emphasised on 9 ways of attaining knowledge "Atmaa-gyaan" ...Satsang, service to others, reading religious books, charity are some of them.

Our parents & theirs' performed pujas, did charity, satsang etc. Perhaps that has a given a sense of happiness to us. (World survey says we are quite a happy society). If you consider India's past, India is quite blessed. She has rich, fertile lands (or had). India has rarely faced any major natural disasters. India has shown amazing progress (despite its corrupt & useless leaders). This is, I believe, quite a lot due to the philanthropic nature of its people. Now that these values are eroding, the next generation is at a risk of losing the wealth of wisdom. It becomes our duty as parents to do everything in our power to dip into old-age wisdom & impart ancient teachings to our children.

Extremists (people who have least notions of "God" & "Godly") are putting a violent shade to religion. "Hindu Terrorists" a word I never thought existed, is now a reality. It is painful to think that we would spend our energies breaking law, people and ethics. Education system from the elite "Gurukul" system has gone down the "Donation only" drain. As a mother, the biggest terror for me is securing admission in the threatening, corrupt world of Indian schools.

Our generation has the capacity to take charge. We are better traveled, have advantage of reflection and global knowledge and resources. In the movie "Rang de Basanti", the youth take action against the correct problem, even if the solution was wrong.

Lets try to limit the mean thoughts, words & actions. Lets respect our parents, our culture & Nature.

A book on Sai Baba's life & teachings has become my bible. I will try to incorporate as much of His teachings as I can. My selfish motive is my daughter. I hope I do enough good Karma to enable her & her contemporaries. to have a good life, Luck and all.....What will You do????

Me homemaker..but do I do nothing "sitting" at home?

Disappointing to note that my opponent thinks that being a homemaker means sitting at home doing nothing but cooking and watching k serials.

That is an attitude prevalent even among women in India who are employed outside the home... Once again, it has taken the western world to recognise the role of the homemaker as the most important job in the world. And it goes unpaid too!!!

A homemaker looks after the home so that the "gainfully employed" husband can come home to a calm base (whether it remains calm or not is another topic) . She looks after the kids, ensuring that they study well, eat well and play well. In India, she also looks after the elderly in-laws (atleast thats the idea). She looks after the past, present and the future generations..all at once..

She herself however, doesnt respect her role. In the modern scheme of things, going out for a work and getting that second salary has become more important than looking after kids or parents. I am not saying working after having kids is wrong. No sir. What I feel is the future generation is compromised due to the lapse of the very Indian concept of joint family. These days we cant stay even with our own parents. So kids are pushed to day cares, out in the world, in the hands of strangers at a very early age...even before they have bonded enough with their own flesh n blood.

Solution? Perhaps one of my best friend has achieved a good balance. She works in Mumbai for an international bank. Stays with her inlaws and has arranged an apartment for her ailing parents on a floor above. She manages to look after everyone and the responsibility of bringing up her 2 yr old kid is shared by everyone. The kid gets a wholesome environment to grow up in.

But can everyone afford to make such arrangements? If not what else is out there ??????

Why blog? Why now?

Everyone who is anyone, is blogging. Everyone who is not anyone, is also burning the e-world with random thoughts. So here! I splashed right in.

This is a world where anyone can put in a word (more would be welcome, funny would be appreciated), But be warned...this is dueling place. My main opponent being some Telugu character I have never met, called Sarath Pendalaya, who tries his inept hand at belling the CAT and succeeds 95% of the time. Besides the bells, Finance, sports, & journalism interest him. Talk about having all the time in the world. He also pretends he is half my age and double my brains. A laughable ambition, I say...

But who am I? You may call me a nerd (judging by my heavy glasses). Nopeeeee...I am just a detective fiction aficionado in love with Sherlock Holmes (the one played be Jeremy Brett only). My mission is to read the entire series of any detective character I like. Having finished with Sir Doyle's and Dame Christie's work, I am in an undesirable position of looking out for new characters, who can stimulate the grey cells & the old heart.

So here goes an attempt to electronically settle duels!. The rest of the world can take sides, oppose, depose or go fly.

My first topic for my very own blog? Cat got my..pen.!?

Now that my better half (I dispute the "better" part of the half, but thats another blog) has created a blog for me, I am at a loss..What or who should i spew my venom on? What should I write on?

The inhuman, despicable massacre in Mumbai's landmark or the greater tragedy of the city's admisnistrative eunuchs. Or the strange case of weird killings of get this - only Andhra guys & gals - mainly students, in the US. So far 8....Why only Andhra people? Why no other community from the Indian diaspora in US of A?

My meandering mind suggests the possibility of internal Andhra border political killings spilling over the States shores. Can it possible that some political wannabe is destrying the next generation opponent in foreign shores and getting away with it.

However, My dont-be-an-alarmist side says possibly and more probably US is full of Andhra students rather than the "moneybhais and bens" I had assumed. I mean the enterprising Gujjus ofcourse.

I havent met a single Gujju yet, except behind a counter. Though I havent yet gone a-visiting New Jersey, an Indian stronghold. People say the streets are exactly like India's, full of food stalls, shops and bad drivers. Americans snigger at even the Deptt of Motor Vehicle in NJ. Wonder who mans the counter at DMV? Us "garibs" or them "goras".

To be fair, I havent spent time enough in USA. Only a ayear and that spent mainly indoors or instores. Not being a student is a major disadvantage. Not being employed is even worse. I dont get a chance to interact with them Amrikis, nor they get a chance to meet a modern, progressive not money nor career minded Indian. Other delicious adjectives come to mind, but dont want to start a war of words with people who know me :) But yeah, I am nosey as hell....

My experience so far tells me US is better than UK in a zillion ways. There is a huge debate on whether it is better than India. All NRIs with a stay span of 2-5 yrs find US better. NRIs with 10 yrs plus prefer India. NRIs beyond couldnt care less where they stay as long as they can get their Americanised kids to talk to them.

I guess I will discuss (with who???? I wonder) the merits and demerits from a worldly wise point of view next blog..Ciao!!