C'est La Vie;That's life

I just finished reading a fascinating book -'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini . In the book, when the author talks about Afghanisthan and the cruelty of the Taliban, it reminded me of our short stay in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 15 years ago. A bad dream, but worth penning about. At the outset, Riyadh appeared to be a beautiful garden city, with well-maintained roads, glamorous malls and people literally rolling in money everywhere. All this wealth in exchange for one birthright - your freedom. That's the skeleton that was taking rap lessons in the closet. Yes, I'm talking about the terrible human, especially womens' rights that would go on in a country that's stinking rich with its oil money. Being the capital city, Riyadh was trying to implement the Shariat Law to the maximum at that time. Hope things are better now. Saudi women had to wear a full burkha covering their faces and we, the foreign women had to wear an 'abhaya' or a veil that could show o...

So, who has the authority to administer advice - especially the unsolicited and unwarranted ones. Joking, of course. Sometimes, they can be unwise too. It's a common assumption, actually more of a misconception that the older you are, the more prerogative you have to pass on pearls of wisdom anyone who's even a day younger to you. Why is this clear pecking order amongst us? Do you think there is any truth that connects age and wisdom? Yes, agreed that our collective life experience increases with age, but there's no guarantee that they are a penny's worth. People can live in their own cocoons and grow upto a maximum enlightened level of a caterpillar, even at their ripe old age. Frankly, they have little to offer. To put politely, just yawn these people's zany words away or else you'll be doomed for life. Of course, there are wiser souls (you and me, who else?) who may have a treasure box full of experiences and are bursting to let them all out to the neares...

A honest confession from moi. My memory for anything to do with numbers is hopeless to the point of an impending neuro-surgery. If you are pathetic like me, join in my woes. If you're a number whiz, feel free to gloat. Go ahead, you've my permission. When it comes to remembering appointment dates, birthdays, anniversaries, telephone numbers - nothing registers in my brain cells. In fact, I think all members of the digit family love to gang up and play gags on me. First, they would cleverly attempt to sink in, making me faithfully shout every time, "Whoo, I got this down!". And, proceed to jump with joy as if I've nailed down a complicated astro-physical calculation. My euphoria has a short shelf-life though. At a world record speed of about a fraction of a second, gone...vanished...kaput....I lose everything. Feels as though a miniscule eraser has suddenly been projectiled into my brain, wiping off every single data and making the entire area a clean slate. But, e...

Simple enough a question - how unique are you? Anything special that could describe you and only you? Nothing personal. "You" have just been promoted as the poster child for all of "Us" on planet Earth. First, let's eliminate the obvious ones. Names, relationships, jobs held etc. All that is a part of you are but is not your whole self, your inner core. Your physique could resemble other people, so no again. And, you and billions of people have the same insides -nerves, bones, grey matter etc. too. We are all not space aliens except that loathsome '------' (freely substitute with anyone you hate). So, clearly no. That leaves our minds as the only choice. We all have crazy, yes, but uniquely crazy minds. Right? But....wait a minute. We can and do share how our mind works with people all over the globe. Even if we have narrow interests or hobbies like playing a bazooka or collecting lawnmovers, we'll be able to find that exact person - thanks to the fr...

In the 400s, Attila the Hun was a notorious barbarian who terrorized and savaging Eastern Europe so badly, that the mighty Roman Empire was on the verge of devastation. In hopes of saving Rome, Pope Leo I, the bishop of Rome, rode out to meet with the feared Hun general. Most Romans thought that was the last they would see of Pope Leo. But, in a dramatic face-to-face meeting, Attila thought he saw he saw a halo around the Pope's head. The cruel conqueror who feared no army, was awed by the Pope and thus he decided to spare Rome. >>> Mysterious is the mind of these monsters in human forms? Attila's death was even more bizarre. After a feast celebrating his latest marriage to a beautiful and young woman named Ildico, that very night, he suffered a severe nosebleed and choked to death in a stupor. >>> The fate of a savage barbarian finally ends because of an everyday, harmless and most innocous of all things such as a - nosebleed?

Have you had sleepless nights wondering what could possibly be the connection between Wisdom as in knowledge, sense, insight, perception, astuteness, intelligence of the mind and a part of the human anatomy that gnaws, crushes, chews, crunches food particles? I'm talking about the unglamorous wisdom tooth. Read on. After what I thought would be just another routine, boring exam, it was a rude shock when the dentist peered into my wide-opened mouth and with that grave look that he always has as if he has just performed an open-heart surgery, proclaimed that my "wisdom" tooth doesn't look alright. Wisdom where? Wisdom what? How come no one ever warned me till date, that my brain has started transferring its finite wisdom to - for heavensakes, why of all body parts, something so yucky as teeth? One can understand the need for additional storage, but there's plenty of other body parts that makes more sense. Just when I start hyperventillating, he drops another bom...

Order. Order. Order. Pounding on the kitchen table, hearing out both the plaintiff and the defendant (a.k.a your children), meting out fair justice.....sound familiar, moms? Yes, i'm talking about Mothers' self-appointed role as the Supreme judge in a domestic jurisdiction. It's an everyday affair for most of mothers. And, their clientele ranges from 2 to 20 year olds. Complaints ranging from hitting, pinching, clothes-swapping, name-calling, teasing, vase-breaking etc followed by complete claim of innocence from both the parties who loudly start protesting, "I swear I didn't do it, Mom". Now, you get ready to dorn your imaginary black robe and prepare yourself (for the zillionth time in this week alone) to take on the Lady Justice role. Crucial moments like these could make you either a hero or a villian in your childrens' eyes. The implications could haunt you throughout your life. There's enough dramatic moments that could outbeat a judge finaly...

No, no, this calling is not about reforming or for that matter, anything remotely useful. To reveal a bit of my narcissistic side - I just wanted to see how many of you out there as 'cocoa nuts' as me about chocolates. First, let's go through a checklist to see if you pass the unofficial "Chocoholic" test (made up by an entire team of eminent "psy-choco-logists" from the prestigious University of Uselesstudiesford) - 1. Have you ever dreamt roaming around the cocoa plantations of Brazil, unabashedly indulging in drinking to what you hold with highest regard as the ambrosia from heaven - a warm cup of hot cocoa? Of course, half way through sipping, your wild dream may be rudely cut short by a spear jab on the back. You've been accused of trespassing by an angry South American native and chances are, you'll probably be roasted alive along with the next batch of cocoa beans but hey, it was all for a good cause, right? 2. Do you wish Valentine's ...