The One where Mahi goes to Chennai!

Wow it's been ages since I've updated this baby, hasn't it?
I've been a shitty-arsed blog visitor too, please forgive me..you still love me right?

(I know you do.)

Anyway!
I'm back from my short trip to Chennai (thats in South India for those of who couldn't give a rat's ass about geography).
My mom and I went for my second cousins thread ceremony. Along with meeting up with long lost relatives Mom also thought it would be an opportune time to unleash Mahi onto the unsuspecting public. Heh heh. Good ol' Mom.

I don't quite know where to begin...
Most of you know that I've always had this slight fear of India..you know too much noise, too many people, too much everything (but then again, compared to Singapore, any place would seem like too much). But this time around I found myself enjoying the hustle and bustle of the life there.

The place had character. The traffic sucked big time though. There was no concept of staying in one line or actually glancing at the traffic signal. There was liberal use of full-on flood lights, followed by liberal temporary blindness which was followed by liberal near-death experiences.
Cool!

Speaking of 'cool!', I met Mom's side of the family after nearly 8 years.
I've always been very fond of all of Mom's cousins and their kids and her aunts and uncles. They're an affectionate lot. It's a huge family and all of them make it a point to have a sort of reunion every now and then. It's amazing how much the family has expanded. One of my grand-aunts now has 10 grandchildren! Thats 10 second cousins in a flash! I've got to work overtime on my family tree now.
It's our custom to touch the feet of the elders and every time I did that, they would bless me with the utterance "May you get a good husband." I guess in this day and age, it's not such a bad blessing to receive, eh?

All of them speak Tulu and I found myself drifting to a pleasant place while all of them spoke rapid-fire Tulu. Sort of like a babbling brook. It was so nice to hear, even though I didn't understand 90% of what they said. 4 days ago I could speak only a smattering- just enough to tell the people at these functions to stop loading my banana leaf with food. I would just smile and nod and mutter the occasional "Yes, yes correct" or "No, no!" (complete with an edge of panic in my voice) and that seemed to please them. But something weird happened- as if by osmosis, or diffusion for those of you who are anal about these terms, I started to actually speak a few phrases of Tulu. A few well formed phrases at that! Enough to make decent conversation! Mom and her aunts and cousins were shocked. God bless the unconscious absorbtion of information.

Speaking of banana leaves, sitting on the ground to eat with your hands can be a real bitch for someone who sits at a table and eats with a fork, knife and spoon 99.9% of the time. I managed to eat whatever came my way with measured small handfuls (fingerfuls?). Of course there were the usual 5..10.. 50 people laughing at my sad attempts all the way. But I like to think I did good.

Speaking of 'good', it was nice to realise that good looks run in the family too.
Heh heh heheh heheh.
(What? I never said I was modest!)
Mom's side of the family had people with pink skin and amber-green eyes.
What the hell? I've got brown eyes and brown skin.
Goddamn you, Genetics!
*Mahi shakes a fist*
But then again, even the ones without those feline features were pretty damn good looking too.
I know, I know, I'm being superficial and all that, but I like to give credit where it's due, okay?

Speaking of 'pretty damn good', let's talk about FOOD, people.
Singapore is forever calling itself as a foodie's paradise but compared to the food in India, it's just downright insipid.
The food there was completely and utterly mindblowing! I told Mom I would move there just for the food. At this point I could practically hear Mom gleefully thinking "Hee hee, single eligible bachelors in India, get readyyyyyyy!"

And finally speaking of bachelors, I didn't see many of them around but I did see their mothers and grandmothers around. These ladies are a force to be reckoned with.
They scare me.
There was a lot of whispering and hush-hush talk about prospective grooms and all that.
C'est la vie.
*Shrugs*

Oh and I shopped too.
Hehehe

The flights sucked ass but all in all I had an amazing time.

Here's to family ties
-clink-

People-Watching

I reckon I've got a lot of hobbies-
1) Drawing/Painting
2) Reading
3) Listening to Music
4) Meeting my buddies
5) Not doing anything/anyone (that was a joke for the humorously-challenged)
6) Cooking
7) Gardening (nevermind that half the stuff I plant ends up oh...DEAD.)
...and the list goes on and on

However, what I didn't realise is that the one hobby that I indulged in most often is 'people-watching'.
People-watching involves observing various people for small amounts of time. It is free of prejudice or any bias. It is, in some strange way, incredibly fulfilling. While I'm waiting for a coffee, or sitting on the bus or even shopping, there's always a couple of people that fascinate me.

In fact, so strong is this urge to people-watch that my friends have observed that I tend to immediately get spaced out when I'm in a place that had loads of people milling around. I used to think it's probably because I have a fear of crowds, but I realised its more like a sensory overload.

I love watching the coffee lady make my mocha. It's almost as good as drinking the mocha itself. How she ambles around like a mother hen and how deftly she adds more chocolate. I wonder if she has any children. I wonder if she has a man (or woman) who loves her for the sweetheart that she is.

I love how the scrawny dude in the bus puts his arm protectively/alpha male-ly over the shoulder of his much taller, hotter girlfriend. And how she slides down to lay her head on his shoulder. I wonder who asked who out. I wonder how long they've been going out for.

I chuckle when I watch the girl in lecture cast sly glances to the hottie at her left. I wonder if she'll make a move on him before the semester ends. I hope he makes a move back.

I inwardly smile when I'm in the lift with two students from mainland China. Their rapid fire conversation sounds like fun. I wonder if they're talking about the hot chick they met. Or if they're gonna try some of that crazy Indian food for lunch. I wonder what their idea of fun is, and what they do in their free time here in Singapore.

I can only stare in wonder at some guy's incredibly blue eyes. Sounds cliched as hell but Jesus.. You could spontaneously combust if you looked into those eyes for a second longer. I know I couldn't look any longer because he would probably read my mind without even trying. They don't call eyes 'the windows of the soul' for nuthin' yknow. And hell, forget windows..my eyes are like huge gaping holes in wall. Forget holes in the wall, they're the complete absence of a wall. I wonder what his first kiss was like. I wonder if he's ever as socially inept as I feel when I'm in his vicinity.

I wonder what the loner in the corner is all about. Is he just quiet coz he doesn't friend? He could be a laugh-a-minute...or he could just be a loner. I wonder what sort of a friend he would be to me. I wonder what his bedroom would be like.

I marvel at how amazingly interesting some peoples faces are.. At how incredibly sharp someones nose is..At how beautifully sculpted a persons cheekbone can be. At how brown an eye can get...At how delicate a ear can look..I wonder if I'll ever get to draw these people in my lifetime. I can only hope.



But what unnerves me if I ever find out that someone's been watching me. And wondering about my life.
If you have, do tell me..I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Observing someone under a microscope can be intriguing, but whats even more intriguing is what the specimen observed of you.

Cue the Wedding March!!!!!

What a whirlwind start to the Year 2007!
The slow New Year's eve I had was definitely not an indication of what was to come.

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dev and Arpeeta coz the two lovebirds are NOW ENGAGED!!!!!!!

I am absolutely ecstatic with joy!!!!!!!
(Boy and Girls who were lusting after my two very pretty friends: Sorry! You'll have to ogle elsewhere now :P)
Dev proposed and (obviously) Arpu said "Yes."
(The actual story is HILARIOUS but I don't think I'm allowed to post that....yet)

Aaah it seems like just yesterday that Mink and I were checking out pictures on Arpu's laptop and froze when we came across Dev's.
"Arpu. Who is THIS."
"Oh some guy from Melbourne."
"He's HOT."
"Really? He's OK I guess.."
I can hardly believe its been almost two years since I started a conversation with that guy and found him to be a lovely person..of course he did kiss ass big time to get my approval ;) (Don't you deny it Dev!)
And of course it seems like just yesterday when Dev called me excitedy to say "Hey Mahi! I think your friend is into me and all that!!":D

But seriously, I can't think of two people more suited for each other.

I'm gonna save the good stuff for the wedding speech later on but hey Dev, I saw the ring and duuuuuuuuuuuuuude I TOTALLY approve :D

Aye with the news of the engagement it's been madness here. When Arpu got back from Melbourne, I got a flurry of phone calls asking if the news was true. I totally felt like her personal assistant/manager/publicist/damage control-
"Arpeeta is extremely tired after her trip but is in good spirits."
"No Arpeeta is NOT married already."
"Yes of COURSE she said "yes" to Dev."
"Arpeeta is currently spending time with her loved ones and is unable to take your calls."
"Arpeeta is napping. I will let her know you wanted to speak to her."
"The wedding date has not been fixed yet, but once it is you will be the first to know (not.)"
"Arpeeta's schedule is currently full but I'll let her know you wanted to meet up."
"No, no she's not pregnant!"
"Arpeeta only has a caramel frap. CARAMEL. Get it right next time, assface."
(Hehe okok I was kidding about the last two. What? You couldn't tell?)
I've said this before..I would do SO well in the PR business.

Of course when I told a few friends about it, the next inevitable questions was "So, Mahi, when are you getting married?"
To which I would answer tongue-in-cheek (of course) "July 10th, 2009. Your invites are in the mailbox. I just need to find a guy and we'll be all set."

Here's to you Arpu and Dev -clink-
I can't wait for the wedding. All those nice, single, slightly tipsy men hanging around.
Heh Heh Heh.

Anyway, I gotta run now!
Places to go, people to meet and all that ;)
Take care guys!