This is really beauty?

I've watched with alarm at the demands of the fashion industry for skinny models to walk down their haute couture ramp. But this is the limit!

I gaze in disbelief at the picture of this poor, starved, skeleton look alike who no longer can be called a "model". In the fashion world that demands beauty and poise, I fail to understand why the demands tend more and more towards anorexic and disheveled looking girls.

Caught inbetween two worlds

It is some time away from work for me. My little one isn't in the pinkest of her health and I'm hoping keeping her home will restore some color to her cheeks. Since we were home, me and a friend decided to meet for lunch. We both are new moms (sorta, my kid is 16 months and hers is about 10). I still like the term new moms as it gives us room to be a little more, how do I say it, pretend new mom? Well, coming to the point. We met for lunch. Much as I had anticipated, I ran up and down for paper towels between bites of sandwich. She cooed and rocked her baby between her bites of sandwich.
After we got done, we decided to take a walk with the babies hoping that'll get them to sleep.

Like a gaggle of geese, when women get together, we talk (yes, mostly just talk). Talking to her, I realized how much value my work adds to my identity. I'm struggling to be a good mom to my little one. This means, I have to take time away from work, try to spend quality time with her in the evening, work up a magic in the kitchen for her, tend to her during her bouts of crying at night. I enjoy parts of it and not so much other parts of it. But this seems to reduce the additional time I can put in for work - not just the part that is done in the office like turning in your deliverables. I'm talking more about the part that is done outside: networking, conferences, company events etc. I wanna be the coolest mom around yet I'm burning to be the smartest kid on the block at work too. These two roles seem to be consuming time out of a finite space.

Definitely caught inbetween the two worlds. I guess in this era, all worlds a stage..unfortunately, you don more than one character and have to change quickly between acts. In some acts, you have a split personality =)

Different? not, I want it same!

Everyone is on a journey to find something different, to do something different, to make something unique. But once in a while, we all need the same same. We want it exactly the way it was, nothing changed like Amma's coffee, Daddy's scooter sounds, ringa-ringa roses tune. This time, for me, it was the wedding season.
I am missing close to 7 weddings this year (that is counting only the ones until july). I was swamped with memories this morning of weddings. My friend jokingly mentioned that we need to move the weddings to here in the US, but I stopped him. I just realized, I want the audacious-loud-indian wedding. I want the wedding halls with tubelights and creaky chairs. I want the jasmine flowers, sandalwood water sprinkled by little girls and one coy teenager. I want to hear that "vaango vaango" from a smiling stranger who has no idea how I am related to the bride/groom but warmly welcomes me as a part of her family. I want to hear that nadaswaram fill the room with some abaswaram, some melliflous, some known, some unknown melodies. I want to be in the crowd, alive with happiness, excitement so tangible that you can touch it. I want to be a part of the mindless banter around pattu sarees, jewellery, show off gifts from hubby, mil to the jealous eyes of observer. Every now and then, pay attention to what is going on with the bride and groom on stage. Run around and help the family with the wedding proceeds, watch the wedding go step by step and remember my own. I want the same maamas and maami's calling me and talking to be for atleast 30 mins, reliving memories from yester years; just enjoying being part of a big, loud, yappy family. I want the orange juice spilling on maami's saree, coffee-is-cold complaints, kesari is heavy, idli is light. The getting ready for lunch; have the guests enjoyed the food; have wedding favors been given out. The part where I would be dying to eat a morsel and finally be relieved to find it my my turn to sit at the table. The part where I would enjoy every part of the food; the festivities and the fun. I wouldn't change a thing about the weddings. I want nothing different. Just the same - old-chaotic-colorful weddings =)

Oh! I so miss the weddings in India-South India- Madras/Chennai!