Ode to Bombayites
The bomb blasts this week in Mumbai was such an awful and horrible thing that happened , Our heart goes out to all those families of victims injured or suffered casualities.
We feared and worried for all our wonderful friends who are living there - it was indeed relieving to know all are safe and good.
Going down the memory lane, I still remember when I had first met a Bombayite/Mumbaikar/Bambai-wali : Rashmi who not only ended up being my roomate for four years in hostel but one of the best friends I have. She was no where close to what I had imagined a Bombayite to be, but you know what they say about 'assumptions'.
Theree is something unique about bombayites - they are all so different and yet have this common "bombayness" (i know there is no such word) in them and here's a prespective from a Hyderabadi .
First and foremost none of them like to be called 'South Indians" - some of them even get offended when you say that. And of course, they are not northies and there is no such thing as western indians ... but guess they like to stand out as Bombayites. It is one unique place which has its own distinct language that is spoken no where else : a mix of Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujrathi which of course, they call Hindi (or Bambia Hindi).. a vernacular that you dont hear or speak elsewhere in country. Hearing "Apun, Faltu, Dimaag ka Dahi, Khandaa, Bheja, Bus kya, Bole tho, Atrangi, Tapri "...'so often from friends that we have ended up adapting in our language (konklish :-)). Some of these words are such an integral part of their language that you get those looks of "Dont you know Hindi?" types when you ask for the meaning. Talking about unique language, they also have a distinct weather- like someone rightly said, it has got only two seasons - Wet and Sweat. (I remember, during our last trip, they were complaining that it was too hot and were waiting for rains, and finally when it did rain a lot, they got tired of it and wanted the sun back :-))
It will be incomplete if I dont mention their food - specially the ones that food that's originated and modified in Bombay - Vadaa paav for instance. Also, variations like frankies (which is nothing but sabji rolled into a chapati), cheesy pav baaji (huh!!!) and so on....Apparently they now sell "non-veg vadaa paav" Hmmm...
What amazes us is that friends that we have known actually come from different parts of the country ( rather than being obviously Mahrastrian) - Rajasthanis (Bansal), Punjabis (Dhawans, Sharmas), Tambis (Krishan , Prashant, Srini) , Bawas(Bhagwagars) , Konks (family, of course!!!), Gujrathis (Shahs and Patels) - Well actually we do know a few Marathis, but just a handful few (Saie, Rupa, Manoj aka Sandeep).
To end it on a feel-good factor- they are indeed wonderful, fun-loving people.
Hope this blast was a ONE nightmare and is just last of its kind.
Then again we know that bombayites have a heart bigger than their city !

Month of June

Here are some assorted pictures taken that were taken last month

"What Shamu taught me about a Happy marriage!"

That's the essay written by Amy Sutherland that has been the number one post on 'most emailed articles' of New York Times for a long time. It is not obnoxious as I thought it was when I first started reading it. It's very well-written and has got good humor - gives a different prespective of human behavior.
It is about the ideas that the writer got while she was writing her book on animal training and used them on her husband. The good thing that I liked is that she does not use the usual nagging technique nor is she trying to alter his behaviour passively/aggressively which are probably the common and easier approach to do when someone does things that you dont like. The description of Scott is so much familiar that it would remind you of someone you know (Nagesh, maybe !!!) and sometimes yourself too.
And It is extensible to others as well - I have found the LRS technique (Least reinforcing syndrome) to be working well on Nikitha (read it as 'sometimes' and not always) :

"When a dolphin does something wrong, the trainer doesn't respond in any way. He stands still for a few beats, careful not to look at the dolphin, and then returns to work. The idea is that any response, positive or negative, fuels a behavior. If a behavior provokes no response, it typically dies away."

So when Nikitha does something wrong and we ignore her, she moves on from that activity to something new, unlike the typical approach of saying "no"s and timeouts that never work as well.

It is worth a read (no wonder it has been on top of NY times list) and if you cant find the article there (if and when NYTimes archive it), let me know and l can email it to you. :-)

State College
FINAAALLY we did it - managed to go to the State College last weekend after countless persuasion from Nivi to visit her. She lives in this beautiful village (in true sense, unlike lynchburg) called Boalsburg, which is a quite, laid-back, one-lane village few miles away from the State college. The entire Menon khandaan was there - it was more like going home. Nikitha enjoyed all the attention that she got from Menon Uncle, Amamama, Nishu, Nivi and Mathew, with Nishu being her all-time favorite.
It was fun, with lots of gupshup, laughter sessions and good food. We did have the famous 'Peachy Paterno' ice cream from The Creamery as suggested by Prem and I should admit, it's amongst the best ice-creams I have ever had. Also had Aunty's dosas and sambhar that was undeniably tasty and good.
Check out some of the pictures.