Who? Me?

Yes! Me!

Deb was sweet enough to think I'm versatile and nominated me for this- 'The versatile blogger award'.  I'm truly honoured. To know that someone wastes time to read what I'm mumbling away... makes me feel special. I'm a new blogger and I think (or I would like to think, that like me) new bloggers spend more time refreshing their stats (and fretting and fuming if the page view count has not turned from 0 to 1) than actually following too many other blogs.. and this nomination allows one to be appreciated and introduces one to other (some very)interesting blogs.

I started out anonymous and then shortened my name from Seena to Cna just so that no one I knew would judge me too soon and laugh at my rants. Then I joined Blogjunta and Indiblogger and realised that one cannot blog alone, one needs to blogalise (my new word for socialising on blogs). Why would anyone want to read you if you don't read them?

And would it be entirely wrong to comment on a poem based on a serious issue with just one word 'Nice'? At that moment I was speechless and the only thing I could say was 'Nice'. And the Blogger did not publish my comment. Maybe he/she thought it was too shallow. And it made me feel silly. Anyways, I now try to take the effort to put in some thought while commenting.:) You learn something new everyday!!

Now before I babble endlessly here are the rules:

1. Nominate 15 Fellow Bloggers

2. Inform the Bloggers of their nomination

3. Share 7 random things about yourself

4. Thank the Blogger who nominated you

5. Add the Versatile Blog Award picture to your blog post

Since I am Leo and Leos are apparently very proud let me annoy everyone with 7 random things about me before I nominate other bloggers.

1. Loves to fall sleep while watching late night TV

2. Can eat multiple bars of Twix without falling sick

3. Can never get over Archies comics

4. Never thought she'd enjoy being a mom so much

5. Cannot enjoy a cold coffee. It has to be hot.

6. Has a persistently pessimistic gene that she is trying hard to mutate

7. Loves looking at photos. Over and over and over.

And here are the picks and in no particular order. (apparently you can nominate the person who nominated you.Phew!) And some are bloggers that I discovered through Deb and will be following as of right now. :D

1. Deb

2. Saru

3. Gayatri

4. Zradar

5. Shubham 

6. Joshi 

7. Neelam 

8. Sujatha 

9. Surya

Some of you may have already got this award, but to me you sound versatile and very interesting and so even if I have not commented much on your blogs, please accept this award as an appreciation for making my time spent reading worth my while.

Also there are other veteran bloggers who probably got this or similar awards years ago and I don't know if I am going to look silly letting them know that I (who?) think they are versatile bloggers.  So I'll just let you go check them out if you have not already...

10. Judy

11.Dhanya

12.Gayatri

13.Meenakshi

14. Aarti

15.PsychBabbler

Thank you again Deb! 

and here is the image....

You know you have arrived in the US of A when....

I guess this post would make more sense to NRIs in the US. I have lived there for 5 years so I know.. :D

You know you’ve “arrived” in the United States of America when:

You hear a faint American accent (already?) while thanking the Visa interviewer at the Chennai Consulate for your visa. 

You ask the stewardess for extra I-94 forms because each time you make stupid mistakes while filling it but only because you are so nervous that you will say something wrong at immigration that will make you sound like a terrorist and then they will have to deport you and all your friends will laugh at you.

You gladly fill out immigration forms for complete strangers (after you have correctly filled in yours on the 4^th attempt). ‘Uncle-Aunty’ look like they just walked out of a coffee table magazine complete with turban and ‘Anarkali’ outfit and ask you in a language you don’t understand, to please fill in their I-94. But you get the idea when they plop the form, their passport and a big toothy smile onto your face. Expect them to roll their eyes if you don't have the pen though. 

You’re sent for luggage screening at Immigration because your suitcase is filled with mummy’s delicacies- Ladoos that look like hand grenades and dry meat that’s prohibited. Never mind that you lied when you answered No to “Are you carrying food items?”

All you do is multiplication. From American Dollars to Indian Rupees.  From the moment your plane lands and until you realize it’s pointless. You are always up to date on the current exchange rate up to three decimal points and you feel the pain when you pay $3 for something that actually costs Rs.30! 

You stress out about the 15% tip. 15%!!! Now not only do you have to convert your bill amount into Rupees, you have to calculate your 15% tip on your bill amount and then convert the tip amount into Rupees. *Sigh*

You meet your first Amway soul-mate. Walking down Walmart’s home section, wide eyed, and eager, mentally designing and decorating your one bedroom apartment, you see a desi person making eye contact. You are so thrilled; you have to stop yourself from hugging him. But then he hugs you (almost), talks and talks and introduces you to all his family members and then welcomes you to his house, which turns out to be the direct marketing company’s headquarters. Make money while you drink this cola. Make money while you brush your teeth. And then make more money when you stalk more desi people.

Your smoke alarm goes off while deep frying those samosas and the firefighters are on location in less than 10 minutes! Nothing to worry, you will soon learn how to remove the batteries, open the windows or cover the smoke alarm with aluminum foil. Never say never!

You start minding your manners. Who knew you had it in you to open doors for strangers and to say Thank you to someone who holds the elevator open for you. No, we never had to do that in India.

You start cutting off over friendly desi strangers at the mall because you have been a victim of too-many ‘Amway-like’ propositions.

You say hello to perfect strangers. You’re cool like that. A quick nod and then continue walking. Unlike the first time when you stopped in your tracks and asked the person who greeted you, “I’m OK but who are you?”. But Shhh! No one has to know that. 

You have a dedicated corner of your apartment to house the holy curry leaf plant. Yes, not the tulsi/holy basil, but the curry patha/vepala. And when it grows as big as a tree, you bless another new desi family with a potted one.

You (ab)use the return policy that retail stores offer. The first couple times you turn red in the face but it only gets easier. Yes, this is what they call retail therapy. Buy, swipe, feel like a Goddess, faint when the bill comes, then return half the stuff. Phew! But only within 90 days.  

You learn to say raowte for route, skhedule for schedule, intersection for junction, street for road, apartment for flat and tuh-mae-to for tomato. Ofcourse there is sem-I and ant-I instead of (semy and anty)

You become a coupon cutter. Even for 25 cents. But why not? 

You realize that another man’s trash is your treasure. Nothing can give you a high like garage sales and used stuff ("like brand new") on ebay. 

If you know of any others, feel free to add them in the comments! BTW,I still say raowte for route.

The Fatwa Girl -Akbar Agha

So I finished reading it! And within the due date! *smiles in pride* But not so much because it was a page turner. More than that I was determined to finish it without having to pay the late fees.

The book is overall a good read. The language is simple and easy to follow and apart from the many (sometimes distracting) history lessons the author keeps you engrossed. Only to find out why Amina did it? Why she blew herself into bits.

Omar and Amina are neighbours. He is smart, a debater, a singer, a Civil services aspirant and a Sunni.

Amina is strong willed, bold, eternally idealistic and optimistic,witty and a passionate about bate bazi and a Shia. (I love the poems and snippets that are scattered across the book)

Its only likely they will fall in love. A love that innocently happens but one they maturely suppress. They know they have no future together yet they share a soul-mate kind of relationship.

The Fatwa Girl is a nick name that catches on as Amina fervently tries to make a petition to the imams to issue a fatwa against suicide bombings- an act she and her friends and possibly almost every sane person in this world finds despicable. Then why did she do it? She let the bomb go off on her petite little person....

The story kicks off at Amina's backyard where she is daringly trying to learn how to ride a bike, something that is not permitted to girls in their culture. Its Muharram, a day when Shias and Sunnis are not entirely cordial with each other. Omar jumps in (possibly risking his life) to teach her how to do it and succeeds. Things move fast with Amina introducing Omar to a band where Omar becomes the lead singer. Her debating tips helps him win all his future debates. Together with their friends they travel with the band and they believe they can wash away the terror and turmoil in their country through music- one soul at a time.

Then the inevitable happens. Amina gets married to a man her parents choose, breaking Omar's heart. Rafi, the new man is charismatic, enigmatic and the ideal husband. Omar tries to meet Amina for the last time in a park and almost gets beaten up by her brother. But this also allows for a chance meeting between Omar and Gulbadan, a very beautiful 'dancing girl'. Do they fall in love?

Sometimes I feel Omar is too lucky, you know like the Bollywood heroes who never die or even if they have to, only because its a love triangle and they have no purpose to live now that the woman has been taken, and only after at least a 100 shots are fired into them. He gets away with everything.

Things happen in Amina's married life that changes her. And eventually we learn what ticked her off. Why she used the method she so much abhorred to bring an end to things.

With all the history discussion and views and opinions, I felt the author was searching for answers. Trying to explain and argue and convince himself and us to think. To not judge too soon. To understand the history of things. That all things have an origin. And 'borders' are essentially integrated into our culture and our surroundings from over the years. And its hard to break out from something we have all been conditioned into thinking.  

I picked up this book because I love exploring other cultures. Or cultures that the world pre-judges. I crave to know how a person lives, dreams and hopes under such extreme conditions. She is wearing a veil and he has a solemn expression but would they laugh out loud at a joke from the Reader's Digest. Do they fall in love? Would they fight for the remote control? Just anything that will let me know that they are as human as I am. Or I as them.

PS: I just realised I forgot to return the book. I have to pay the late fees! Oh oh!