The Other Side of Life

If I had to describe the year 2016 in one word, I would choose "Meh". That's exactly how it was. Work, which occupies a majority of my awake life, was meh. Sure, we did some exciting stuff, but nothing the way I would have wanted. When I don't use my brains and start agreeing with others' plans, I become meh. As always, there was a lot of travel for work, which was also meh because it was mostly Mumbai or rural Karnataka, both of which I have had more than enough of.  The one thing I always look forward to is meeting more people and learning more from them. That didn't happen much this year. So, another point to Meh. I should have done something to change things, but that did not occur to me till the end of the year. By the time it occurred to me, looking back at the year that was became agonizingly painful. Meh. Meh and meh. On the personal front, Sherlock made some changes to his work, which was good. But we asked ourselves a lot of

When I was younger, December holidays meant eating peanuts in the sun, while the mother knit a sweater. It meant snuggling in a razai and slipping into a vegetative state reading and re-reading books, or watching Disney cartoons in the one hour of TV that was allowed. It meant assisting in the annual ritual of making gajar halwa, and being designated the head taster. It meant somehow flexing your cold-numbed fingers to make greeting cards for the new year. It meant hugging a hot water bag and fighting for your space in front of the room heater. And the big new year's eve meant hoarding chips and snacks for the glorious party night and then depositing oneself right in front of the TV at 10 pm to watch Doordarshan's exciting countdown - "Coming Up - Two Hour Entertainment Programme". Sharp at 12, when the good folks at DD would announce the arrival of New year with the exact same graphics every year, of crackers on a black screen and the words "Happy New

Today happens to be Sherlock and my second anniversary.  And I am so disappointed, I don't have words to express. Two years after getting married, I realize I never updated my relationship status on Facebook. Can you even fathom what that means? I hear, 24 hours is all the leeway you get after tying the knot, to update on Facebook. I didn't do it and now, I have no proof I am married to this dude, except for some random pics where we are both in white clothes, I look like Manjulika from Bhool Bhulaiiya and he is putting a thread around my neck. And of course, a court approved marriage certificate.  But who knows? Facebook doesn't know and considering Facebook wants to know every minute "what's on my mind?", do you think she's going to be ok with me hiding such a huge event of my life from her? (I have blatantly assumed Facebook is a she. Why else would she be so concerned about what's going on in someone's mind?) What if t