I first heard about the Delhi Half Marathon from the newspapers last year, didn't pay too much heed to it. My weight, my body and my enthusiasm, none seemed to be right for a marathon or even half or quarter of it. Then sometime in July beginning, my cousin Meera Aggarwal told me over dinner that she was training for the half marathon. Doesn't it start somewhere in the winters I asked her? Yes, first Sunday of November, she told me. Then, why the hell are you training right now....she just laughed.
As the night went on, I got an insight into the Half Marathon and realised it is more than just a run. This Great Delhi run starts and ends outside Central Civil Services Cultural & Sports Board ground. This is near Nehru Park and the shoot off time is 7:30 Am. that early? on a Sunday? I almost tried to convince her to quit training. Who the hell wants to spoil a nice Sunday morning waking up so early.
It extends to 21.097 kilometers to be precise which is the exact distance from my residence in Punjabi Bagh to Mohit's office near Andheria More. I tried to picture running from house to office everyday and shuddered. It takes him an hour on horse power, how long would it take an average human being to cover it on human power? 3 Hours, she told me. Which means you need to run 7 kilometers in an hour. Even during my best gyming days, I have never run more than 2.5 kilometers at a stretch, another no - no for me.
Then she told me of the prize cap: You get a certificate proclaiming you finished the race. Now that sounded like an achievement because all this while I was wondering why would anyone just run. Wake up early in the morning, wear your shorts and shoes and start running? For nothing? nope, you do get a certificate...As we finished dinner, i decided that I will give the race a shot. If Meera didi was already running 7 kilometres today then i could also make it and run 21 at a stretch by November. After all, this was only July.
Well, natures call told me the very first day of my motivated self that I wasn't the marathon types. Another spurt of energy followed in September and Mohit and I started running in the club park. Well, that still carries on but I am nowhere near running the half marathon. Not even the seven kilometer sprint. Miserable, I must say! Well, it seems I have accepted that I am not cut out to be a marathon runner and with just a day left to the marathon would sit on the sidelines and watch. Rather, sit in front of the TV and watch DD's poor telecast of the same and cheer Meera Didi. I think I might be able to watch her finish. Who the hell will wake up early on a Sunday morning?
Who, I say? The motivated ones!!!!
Bravo to all who run!!!!
This blog was started by Rupal to gift to Mohit on 3rd Sept 2007. Why this date? Because this was the date we met on. Anyhow, this blog is now being turned into a sounding board for Rupal.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
It doesn't get sportier than this!
I have always been associated with sports. I played competitive Lawn Tennis while in school, was my brother's training partner when he practised for competitive Table Tennis and then was the Sports journalist for Express. So the tryst with sports goes back to my teens. But little did I know that me and sports will be so much into each other at a certain point of time.
To put it on the table, my annual overseas vacation is to that part of the world where some mega sports event is taking place. I sit up at 2 in the night when Drogba scores a goal or Tiger gets a birdie or for that matter when Phil Taylor wins at Darts. Yeah, we watch Darts championships too. And F1 Racing and swimming and Trick Shot pool. I watch them all with my sports crazy husband.
While watching and loving sports has been endorsed from him, Sports writing has come naturally to me. Maybe its from my Express days that I picked up a flair of writing about sports. If I start counting, then there isn't a sport about which I haven't written. I have written sports reports about cricket, football, hockey, cycling, roller skating to name the ordinary. In addition I have also written about the unconventional bullock cart racing, fencing, fishing, horse racing, jukskei, weightlifting and many more. These are some sports I didn't know much about and still have no clue about. But i write about them because I just love to discover each one of them and talk of them.
Currently, I am writing for 5 sports blogs, each for a different game. Goal Post is my favorite one and also the first one that made me so close to football. Many other football blogs followed but Goal Post is stationary for me. Small contributions for cue sports followed and then for racing sports. I have been trying to get a cricket news blog of my own started and hopefully it will be on track by year end.
Plus, I also write for the online game side with online casinos being the biggest contributors. I am not sure if they are a sport but I have written 1000's of articles on them and have mastered slots, poker, bingo...All thanks to my writing skills.
Lately, I have been involved in a Fantasy League in which people make a virtual cricket team and then score points based on the players real life performance. Couple of friends and Mohit and I were participants and this is the second league I am a part of. In the Champions Trophy, I came third and was fairly proud of it. But in the just concluded Champions League I topped a list of 14 people and am elated.
Though my contribution was limited to selection and it was the players who did the real job but strategics did take up a lot of time. After playing two of these Fantasy Leagues at CricInfo, I have come to appreciate BCCI Selection Committee a little more.
Anyhow, with each passing day, I keep going deeper in the sporting world and am learning a little about poker these days. So next time someone wants to discuss any sport, they know who to chat up with!!!!
P.S Did i mention that I have written Punjabi sports news? And hey, what about that time when I did a TV news report on hockey in Punjabi...Truly Sporty!
To put it on the table, my annual overseas vacation is to that part of the world where some mega sports event is taking place. I sit up at 2 in the night when Drogba scores a goal or Tiger gets a birdie or for that matter when Phil Taylor wins at Darts. Yeah, we watch Darts championships too. And F1 Racing and swimming and Trick Shot pool. I watch them all with my sports crazy husband.
While watching and loving sports has been endorsed from him, Sports writing has come naturally to me. Maybe its from my Express days that I picked up a flair of writing about sports. If I start counting, then there isn't a sport about which I haven't written. I have written sports reports about cricket, football, hockey, cycling, roller skating to name the ordinary. In addition I have also written about the unconventional bullock cart racing, fencing, fishing, horse racing, jukskei, weightlifting and many more. These are some sports I didn't know much about and still have no clue about. But i write about them because I just love to discover each one of them and talk of them.
Currently, I am writing for 5 sports blogs, each for a different game. Goal Post is my favorite one and also the first one that made me so close to football. Many other football blogs followed but Goal Post is stationary for me. Small contributions for cue sports followed and then for racing sports. I have been trying to get a cricket news blog of my own started and hopefully it will be on track by year end.
Plus, I also write for the online game side with online casinos being the biggest contributors. I am not sure if they are a sport but I have written 1000's of articles on them and have mastered slots, poker, bingo...All thanks to my writing skills.
Lately, I have been involved in a Fantasy League in which people make a virtual cricket team and then score points based on the players real life performance. Couple of friends and Mohit and I were participants and this is the second league I am a part of. In the Champions Trophy, I came third and was fairly proud of it. But in the just concluded Champions League I topped a list of 14 people and am elated.
Though my contribution was limited to selection and it was the players who did the real job but strategics did take up a lot of time. After playing two of these Fantasy Leagues at CricInfo, I have come to appreciate BCCI Selection Committee a little more.
Anyhow, with each passing day, I keep going deeper in the sporting world and am learning a little about poker these days. So next time someone wants to discuss any sport, they know who to chat up with!!!!
P.S Did i mention that I have written Punjabi sports news? And hey, what about that time when I did a TV news report on hockey in Punjabi...Truly Sporty!

Monday, October 19, 2009
There's a name next to mine!!
It was the Diwali weekend and a very busy one. Everyone was in a mad rush to visit friends, relatives. Those at home were busy with the pooja or were spending money SMSing others a Happy Diwali. It was premier SMS pricing day but that didn't stop anyone from messaging their loved ones.
Diwali Day was a very busy one so I didn't get too much time to check into the messages I received. But come Sunday and I wanted to check who sent me their wishes and who didn't. One of the wishes I received was from my cousin, Ankur who is getting married in November. A small greeting followed by two names: his own and his fiance's. I joked with him later that he is already attaching her name to his even though they aren't a couple legally.
Then I saw another message sent by Sumedha, my best friend. Her greeting had four names. The first being her newest borns followed by her elder daughter, then Sumedha's and then her husband's. Four names of the whole family were there. Another greeting sent to me had the name of a single friend of mine. A lone name wishing me a colorful Diwali.
When I sent thank you messages to everyone who wished, I joined Mohit's name next to
mine. Just four years back, the same message only had my name. And there was immense pressure from the family to have another name joined next to mine. That time my Dad used to send a collective greeting to everybody he knew and he put my name in his message. Then I got married and my name was deleted from his SMS! The complex structure of relationships ensured that my name came only next to one name at one time....
How couples are formed and they automatically attach themselves to each other is amazing? Ankur's greeting is a classic example. He didn't think there was anything extra ordinary in writing his fiance's name. That was the most natural thing to do. They are going to be a couple soon and sending a joint message to all was only normal.
Then come the families as the babies come into their lives. And even if they aren't wishing anyone, parents always use their names in such group greetings. Isn't that so natural as well? And there is always pressure to attach more and more names next to yours all the time. Parents, grand ma's, aunties, uncles and even those distant relatives, everyone loves to see as many names next to yours....
That is the circle of life. We form relations, more names come next to ours and some names go away and join other names. That is what the relation paradigm is all about!!
Diwali Day was a very busy one so I didn't get too much time to check into the messages I received. But come Sunday and I wanted to check who sent me their wishes and who didn't. One of the wishes I received was from my cousin, Ankur who is getting married in November. A small greeting followed by two names: his own and his fiance's. I joked with him later that he is already attaching her name to his even though they aren't a couple legally.
Then I saw another message sent by Sumedha, my best friend. Her greeting had four names. The first being her newest borns followed by her elder daughter, then Sumedha's and then her husband's. Four names of the whole family were there. Another greeting sent to me had the name of a single friend of mine. A lone name wishing me a colorful Diwali.
When I sent thank you messages to everyone who wished, I joined Mohit's name next to
mine. Just four years back, the same message only had my name. And there was immense pressure from the family to have another name joined next to mine. That time my Dad used to send a collective greeting to everybody he knew and he put my name in his message. Then I got married and my name was deleted from his SMS! The complex structure of relationships ensured that my name came only next to one name at one time....
How couples are formed and they automatically attach themselves to each other is amazing? Ankur's greeting is a classic example. He didn't think there was anything extra ordinary in writing his fiance's name. That was the most natural thing to do. They are going to be a couple soon and sending a joint message to all was only normal.
Then come the families as the babies come into their lives. And even if they aren't wishing anyone, parents always use their names in such group greetings. Isn't that so natural as well? And there is always pressure to attach more and more names next to yours all the time. Parents, grand ma's, aunties, uncles and even those distant relatives, everyone loves to see as many names next to yours....
That is the circle of life. We form relations, more names come next to ours and some names go away and join other names. That is what the relation paradigm is all about!!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Of Diwali...Then and Now!!
I have seen 29 Diwali's in my life so far. But the way I remember them can be divided into three categories.
As a school going kid, Diwali was all about getting new clothes, eating lots of chocolates and mithai and burning crackers. Though I was never so bold with cracker bursting, watching them from a distance was my forte. But eating and wearing new clothes was my favorite part for Diwali always. The colorfully lit house and the candles all around are also a memory I remember from my school days.
Post my grandmothers death on Choti Diwali in 1995, Diwali took a different image for me. For years to come, I couldn't think of the festival as anything but a ritual. Something that the world was celebrating but marked my dear ammaji's loss for me. Then as I grew up, I reached redemption for the same and started looking at the festivities differently. The old colors and happiness that marks this festival was back and I was an adult celebrating it in my own girlie way.
Diwali meant rangolis, diyas, wearing a suit(a bi-yearly ritual) and the evening puja with the whole family. All the four happened only once/twice an year and have a clear impression on my mind. The evening puja where the full clan sat together in the puja room and prayed for half an hour. The wait for tauji to polish all the silver coins, the eagerness to get on with the proceedings so we can eat the pooris and then the collective teasing of the little ones. Everything seems so fresh....
Then there is the third type of Diwali. The one I have seen as part of being the Dilli ki bahu. Now what do I cherish of this, you ask? The mad rush to buying that last crockery set, the abuses hurled at each other in the traffic, the huge money lost in cards, the endless hours spent in deciding, buying and distributing gifts and the sleepless nights that follow after playing cards and devising strategies to reverse the losses...These will go on and on...
But yes, the better memories are opening the gifts the others give and finding the glasses you wanted for long, a visit from Mom to wish Happy Diwali, making Rangoli and cleaning my new house, dressing up in a Sari and seeing Mohit in the one Kurta he wears each Diwali. All this make Diwali the memory it has for me... Its ever changing but there is something that never changes for the festival. The memories it leaves each year...
Here's to a Happy Diwali for all!
As a school going kid, Diwali was all about getting new clothes, eating lots of chocolates and mithai and burning crackers. Though I was never so bold with cracker bursting, watching them from a distance was my forte. But eating and wearing new clothes was my favorite part for Diwali always. The colorfully lit house and the candles all around are also a memory I remember from my school days.
Post my grandmothers death on Choti Diwali in 1995, Diwali took a different image for me. For years to come, I couldn't think of the festival as anything but a ritual. Something that the world was celebrating but marked my dear ammaji's loss for me. Then as I grew up, I reached redemption for the same and started looking at the festivities differently. The old colors and happiness that marks this festival was back and I was an adult celebrating it in my own girlie way.
Diwali meant rangolis, diyas, wearing a suit(a bi-yearly ritual) and the evening puja with the whole family. All the four happened only once/twice an year and have a clear impression on my mind. The evening puja where the full clan sat together in the puja room and prayed for half an hour. The wait for tauji to polish all the silver coins, the eagerness to get on with the proceedings so we can eat the pooris and then the collective teasing of the little ones. Everything seems so fresh....
Then there is the third type of Diwali. The one I have seen as part of being the Dilli ki bahu. Now what do I cherish of this, you ask? The mad rush to buying that last crockery set, the abuses hurled at each other in the traffic, the huge money lost in cards, the endless hours spent in deciding, buying and distributing gifts and the sleepless nights that follow after playing cards and devising strategies to reverse the losses...These will go on and on...
But yes, the better memories are opening the gifts the others give and finding the glasses you wanted for long, a visit from Mom to wish Happy Diwali, making Rangoli and cleaning my new house, dressing up in a Sari and seeing Mohit in the one Kurta he wears each Diwali. All this make Diwali the memory it has for me... Its ever changing but there is something that never changes for the festival. The memories it leaves each year...
Here's to a Happy Diwali for all!

Saturday, October 3, 2009
The kids in my life!
Please don't misunderstand this line...This post isn't to declare that there's a baby on the way, just to talk about the one's that I love so much. I've always heard people say: Kids are adorable, especially others kids. Don't know how true that is for life but I've had some exciting encounters with the closest babies in my life. And I am about to share those cute incidents with my blog( and its meager readers)....

Abhiraj(my sister Niti's son) is the first baby I felt close to. Though he isn't a baby anymore and more of a notty 6-yr old now, I still feel like he is the baby I have tendered nights for. He's spent many days and some sleepless nights with me and has troubled me a lot but he is the star of the lineup...
Now the episode I remember of him the most : He was around six months old and was at his Nani house. Niti, mum and me were playing with him. He had just been fed and his tummy was full of milk. Now, I the masi didn't know that and just wanted to play with her fav nephew. I lay down on the bed and started swinging him up and down. At first, he was very happy and all smiles. After a couple of swings, the smile suddenly changed into a weird expression which I didn't understand. Before I knew it, the cause of that discomfort was all in MY mouth. Yes, he had vomited his curdled milk right in my face...Never will I forget the taste and the incident...Will surely tell the notty chap this when he grows up...

Now for a grown up boy. Ayush, my nephew in law (BTW, this is just for explanation). He was 7 when I entered the family and old enough to understand everything. He was always shy of the girl-boy relation as he was in the growing up stage. Maybe he understood the nuances but felt he was small to completely figure it out. But his playful answers are what i still cherish. This has happened a couple of times and we still laugh at it. He continuously refuses to kiss me. He is all of ten now and I am thrice his age. But he blushes and turns red at the mere insistence of even showing a little affection towards me. I know he is very fond of me but we all fail to figure out the reason for his resistance. But, one thing is for sure, we love to laugh at teasing him about it.
Noni or Adya for some of you is Ayush's sister and an adorable one at that. Just an year younger to him, she is truly affectionate. Best is, she knows how to show it and we all love her for that....Typical girly, she is just as emotional as I am. Her lovable episode happened just couple of months after I had got married. We had gone to the market and Noni and I were walking hand in hand(something we do quite often).

All of a sudden, somebody touched upon the topic of Noni getting married and leaving her house. Her quick response was that she would never leave her mother and go. Then she thought for a minute and looked at me quizzically. And innocently asked me, "Don't you ever miss your mother?" Anyone else asking me this would have made me cry. But the emotion in her eyes just made me hug her and laugh it off. We talk about this so often when we discuss Noni. Such a doll...

Another boy baby I love is Yash. Varun Bhaiya's son. He is more chirpy now than he was when he was little. But he is a darling too. He has seen me as an unmarried bua who was always at home and now as the married bua who is far away. Staying together, his tender age didn't allow him to understand that I was going to get married and go away soon. The moment that touched my heart the most was this: I had just got married and he was still to come to terms with the fact that I no longer lived in the same house. Mohit and I were visiting and as we sat in his room having breakfast, he complained to him about taking me away. He demanded that Mohit leave the house and let me be here with them. Almost bought a tear to my eye then and even now...
Now for a girl...Saira, my friend Sumedha's daughter is the closest to a girl child I became. She was born and brought up in front of me and so both of us relate to each other just as a masi and niece would do. Her story is almost similar to what Yash's is. Being the same age, maybe both didn't understand the concept of a girl leaving her house after getting married. Her first b'day after I got married fell in January. Sumedha was celebrating the event and two days later I got a phone call. I was informed that Saira wanted to speak with me. She was complaining that this was the first time I had failed to attend her b'day and that this was inexcusable. She further went on to tell me that I cannot repeat this mistake. Well, she forgot about me her next b'day but I didn't....

The latest to join this elite club and the reason for writing all this is Shrish. Mohit's cousin's little boy. He is about to turn one next week but is naughtier than his age. We were visiting him and I loved playing with him. I had seen him all grown up after many months. Now, while his mum cooked some lovely food for us, I took upon the job of controlling him. Little did I know that I will be paid back for irritating him. While I had only had a taste of some vomit on me, I was about to have another dirty element on me. Yes, Shrish pooped on me and I had my Zara t-shirt all brown-green( Whatever shade u can imagine)... But it was more funny than annoying. The fool that I am thought it was mint chutney and was about to taste it...Thank your stars, Shrish, I didn't...Else I would always be reminding you of it once you would be grown up...
This list is endless and Tweety, Dhruv, Vanshi, Raghu, Tanvi, Diva, Rhea, Jai, Ishaan, Nishtha, Ditya and Saisha are also in it...I am sorry if I have missed some kids but I love you all. You kids make life so special....

Abhiraj(my sister Niti's son) is the first baby I felt close to. Though he isn't a baby anymore and more of a notty 6-yr old now, I still feel like he is the baby I have tendered nights for. He's spent many days and some sleepless nights with me and has troubled me a lot but he is the star of the lineup...
Now the episode I remember of him the most : He was around six months old and was at his Nani house. Niti, mum and me were playing with him. He had just been fed and his tummy was full of milk. Now, I the masi didn't know that and just wanted to play with her fav nephew. I lay down on the bed and started swinging him up and down. At first, he was very happy and all smiles. After a couple of swings, the smile suddenly changed into a weird expression which I didn't understand. Before I knew it, the cause of that discomfort was all in MY mouth. Yes, he had vomited his curdled milk right in my face...Never will I forget the taste and the incident...Will surely tell the notty chap this when he grows up...
Now for a grown up boy. Ayush, my nephew in law (BTW, this is just for explanation). He was 7 when I entered the family and old enough to understand everything. He was always shy of the girl-boy relation as he was in the growing up stage. Maybe he understood the nuances but felt he was small to completely figure it out. But his playful answers are what i still cherish. This has happened a couple of times and we still laugh at it. He continuously refuses to kiss me. He is all of ten now and I am thrice his age. But he blushes and turns red at the mere insistence of even showing a little affection towards me. I know he is very fond of me but we all fail to figure out the reason for his resistance. But, one thing is for sure, we love to laugh at teasing him about it.
Noni or Adya for some of you is Ayush's sister and an adorable one at that. Just an year younger to him, she is truly affectionate. Best is, she knows how to show it and we all love her for that....Typical girly, she is just as emotional as I am. Her lovable episode happened just couple of months after I had got married. We had gone to the market and Noni and I were walking hand in hand(something we do quite often).
All of a sudden, somebody touched upon the topic of Noni getting married and leaving her house. Her quick response was that she would never leave her mother and go. Then she thought for a minute and looked at me quizzically. And innocently asked me, "Don't you ever miss your mother?" Anyone else asking me this would have made me cry. But the emotion in her eyes just made me hug her and laugh it off. We talk about this so often when we discuss Noni. Such a doll...

Another boy baby I love is Yash. Varun Bhaiya's son. He is more chirpy now than he was when he was little. But he is a darling too. He has seen me as an unmarried bua who was always at home and now as the married bua who is far away. Staying together, his tender age didn't allow him to understand that I was going to get married and go away soon. The moment that touched my heart the most was this: I had just got married and he was still to come to terms with the fact that I no longer lived in the same house. Mohit and I were visiting and as we sat in his room having breakfast, he complained to him about taking me away. He demanded that Mohit leave the house and let me be here with them. Almost bought a tear to my eye then and even now...
Now for a girl...Saira, my friend Sumedha's daughter is the closest to a girl child I became. She was born and brought up in front of me and so both of us relate to each other just as a masi and niece would do. Her story is almost similar to what Yash's is. Being the same age, maybe both didn't understand the concept of a girl leaving her house after getting married. Her first b'day after I got married fell in January. Sumedha was celebrating the event and two days later I got a phone call. I was informed that Saira wanted to speak with me. She was complaining that this was the first time I had failed to attend her b'day and that this was inexcusable. She further went on to tell me that I cannot repeat this mistake. Well, she forgot about me her next b'day but I didn't....

The latest to join this elite club and the reason for writing all this is Shrish. Mohit's cousin's little boy. He is about to turn one next week but is naughtier than his age. We were visiting him and I loved playing with him. I had seen him all grown up after many months. Now, while his mum cooked some lovely food for us, I took upon the job of controlling him. Little did I know that I will be paid back for irritating him. While I had only had a taste of some vomit on me, I was about to have another dirty element on me. Yes, Shrish pooped on me and I had my Zara t-shirt all brown-green( Whatever shade u can imagine)... But it was more funny than annoying. The fool that I am thought it was mint chutney and was about to taste it...Thank your stars, Shrish, I didn't...Else I would always be reminding you of it once you would be grown up...
This list is endless and Tweety, Dhruv, Vanshi, Raghu, Tanvi, Diva, Rhea, Jai, Ishaan, Nishtha, Ditya and Saisha are also in it...I am sorry if I have missed some kids but I love you all. You kids make life so special....
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Looks ARE Deceptive!!
I came to know an interesting fact about myself two days back. Mohit and I attended Vikram's (a very close friend from Mohit's School) wedding in Noida with Siddharth( the third one in the special friend trio) and his wife, Ashwini. On the drive back home, Sid revealed something that I had never known about myself.
He and Vikram had very worrying thoughts for their "poor" friend, Mohit when they attended our wedding in March 2007. Both of them, I later came to know from Sid's mother, sat up that night and discussed how Mohit will be dominated by me from now. Sid confessed that they both thought that I was a very 'challu' 'punjabi' girl and Mohit's life was surely screwed now.

That was interesting and very surprising to know. The story didn't end here though. Sid told Ashwini to watch out for Mohit's challu and dominating wife when we visited them in June 2009. The poor girl said she was so scared of me when we landed at their place. But it didn't take her too long to realise that I wasn't challu and certainly not dominating. And I guess the fortnight we spent with our lovely hosts did change Sid's point of view too. He admitted as we reached his house that I surely was nice and simple and good to his 'dear' friend. BTW, the poor, dominated friend was all smiles through this conversation.
Anyhow, as Sid and Ash left the next day, I made Vikram( the partner in crime) say it out loud that I was a nice girl and a good friend. Of course, such a revelation cannot go without some praise. After all, this was the first time somebody had told me something like this about the 'first impression' I cast on people.
This got me thinking( I think I think too much!) They do say, Looks are deceptive. But are they so deceptive that a sweet, simple, nice( the list is endless so let's think of all goodie adjectives) girl like myself can be thought of as a smartass and dominating one? Well, if two men think that way, maybe that's how I look. Come to think of it, there might be other men who think like this about me!!!! There might be also a lot of boys out there who didn't get talking with me cos they had the same impression that Sid and Vikram had!!!! Hmmmmm, ain't that too many missed chances for me??????? But well, the one that matters the most did have the right first impression and didn't pass me by for the wrong reasons...Thank Heavens for that!!
There is a moral to this story, I guess which is very obvious. Let's all look below the hard crust for the softie heart...
Thanks for telling me this Sid!!
He and Vikram had very worrying thoughts for their "poor" friend, Mohit when they attended our wedding in March 2007. Both of them, I later came to know from Sid's mother, sat up that night and discussed how Mohit will be dominated by me from now. Sid confessed that they both thought that I was a very 'challu' 'punjabi' girl and Mohit's life was surely screwed now.

That was interesting and very surprising to know. The story didn't end here though. Sid told Ashwini to watch out for Mohit's challu and dominating wife when we visited them in June 2009. The poor girl said she was so scared of me when we landed at their place. But it didn't take her too long to realise that I wasn't challu and certainly not dominating. And I guess the fortnight we spent with our lovely hosts did change Sid's point of view too. He admitted as we reached his house that I surely was nice and simple and good to his 'dear' friend. BTW, the poor, dominated friend was all smiles through this conversation.
Anyhow, as Sid and Ash left the next day, I made Vikram( the partner in crime) say it out loud that I was a nice girl and a good friend. Of course, such a revelation cannot go without some praise. After all, this was the first time somebody had told me something like this about the 'first impression' I cast on people.
This got me thinking( I think I think too much!) They do say, Looks are deceptive. But are they so deceptive that a sweet, simple, nice( the list is endless so let's think of all goodie adjectives) girl like myself can be thought of as a smartass and dominating one? Well, if two men think that way, maybe that's how I look. Come to think of it, there might be other men who think like this about me!!!! There might be also a lot of boys out there who didn't get talking with me cos they had the same impression that Sid and Vikram had!!!! Hmmmmm, ain't that too many missed chances for me??????? But well, the one that matters the most did have the right first impression and didn't pass me by for the wrong reasons...Thank Heavens for that!!
There is a moral to this story, I guess which is very obvious. Let's all look below the hard crust for the softie heart...
Thanks for telling me this Sid!!
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