Sunshine girl

Kyra is beautiful when she is asleep. And now, as the first rays of the morning sun bounce off her earlobes, she's irresistible. I roll over to her side to caress the smooth skin of her neck and shoulders. She awakens at my touch and stares back for a moment before her eyes crinkle and her features dissolve into a warm, embracing smile.

“Good morning, dear.”
“Good morning,” she answers in a singsong tone.
“And what does my queen desire this fine morning?”
Kyra doesn’t reply, just shrugs and then squeals as I playfully yank her off the bed, setting her feet down on the carpeted floor.

She pouts and throws a pillow in my direction, missing by a metre.
“OK, first stop is the beach,” she says.
“Now? What about a nice, relaxing hotel breakfast?”
 “We’ll have it at the beach,” she insists and rushes to the bathroom before I could say no.

Kyra returns in five minutes, clad now in a beige bikini.
“Let’s go,” she announces and ignores my feeble protests as she tosses away my office BlackBerry. “All work and no play make Tony a dull boy, remember?”
I get up to follow her but she frowns.
“Do I have to teach you everything?” Kyra asks. “Take this off,” she says, pointing to my T-shirt.
“But why?”
“Is this your first time at a beach?” she prattles on as she helps me take it off. “Don’t you remember 'The Heartbreak Kid' where Ben Stiller’s honeymoon is ruined because his wife gets sunburnt and is stuck in the hotel room.”
“Yes, I do and I remember it works out well for Stiller since he meets the love of his life”.
“But this is real life,” she insists. "We are at a beach resort with a blazing sun and I don’t want to be stuck next to someone with red blotches."

Kyra rummages around in her bag and comes up with a yellow tube.
“Here, use this,” she says and hands it to me.
I squint at the label, undecided if I should use the Lakme Sun Expert SPF 50.
“Are you sure I need this? I’m Indian and I can’t get any darker than this.”
“You have skin. You are in the sun. Then you need this,” she announces in staccato.

As I hesitate, she grabs the tube, squeezes out a blob and proceeds to rub it across my chest.
“It tickles,” I whisper as she reaches up to my shoulders and starts on my arms.
Kyra laughs and finishes with a flourish. She stands back and gives me an approving glance.
“Now, you're all set for a day at the beach.”
I look at her standing there and I know this is the woman of my dreams and that I would do anything to make her happy.
“Just you wait, Kyra. I’m going to give you the time of your life.”
“You’ll have to catch me first,” she giggles and runs off.
I just have time to bang the hotel room door shut before I run after her.

(Contest entry for Lakme Diva Blogger contest www.facebook.com/ilovelakme )

Internet is Fun. More fun on the Mobile

Meet my friend Internet. He's a fun guy and loves spending time with everyone. And believe me, everyone loves him too. I bet he can bring a smile to your face -- even if you are a stranger and I’ve just introduced you two.

Internet was born on April 7, 1969 but don't think of him as someone in his 40s -- he still behaves like a teenager sometimes. I still remember him grinning from ear to ear when he bought his first vehicle (he called it Mobile) in 1996 and it's been his favourite set of wheels ever since. Of course, he's made various adjustments over the years, adding features and newer technology so that he can zoom around on Mobile faster than ever before.

Not that he wasn't attractive earlier, but ever since he’s been on Mobile, Internet has been irresistible. Women swoon when he zooms past them. Behind his rugged exterior lies the heart of a gambolling puppy that can melt even the grumpiest of human beings. Of course, he’s a big flirt too. He takes his dates out to this fancy restaurant called Pinterest, impressing women with visions of a giant pinboard filled with their favourite things.

Internet can read faces too. He can tell at a glance who you are and what you like. He even maintains a huge book to store the faces of all the people who are in touch with him. He calls it Facebook. I wanted him to name it something more classy but he went with the suggestion of another fan -- Mark Zuckerberg. Anyway, it's made life simple for all of us. I just open Facebook, search for my friends and check out what Internet has to say about them.

Internet has an eidetic memory. Nothing great but he’s able to remember everything clearly. I find it amazing (and irritating too, when Internet behaves like a tiresome know-it-all). He's got a mind like that of Sherlock Holmes and has the makings of a great detective. When I’m searching for something, I just walk up to Internet and nag him with some magic words. He responds to some specific sounds -- just utter Google, Bing or Yahoo -- and he’ll spill the beans on any topic under the sun (and beyond).

Sometimes he makes notes too and stuffs all this information in a notebook. You can read it too and since he's so sloppy with spellings and grammar, do feel free to make corrections. His house is a mess but if you poke around in his innumerable desks (and manage not to sneeze), you’ll find the notebook somewhere in an unfinished jigsaw globe he calls Wikipedia. His friend Jimmy Wales gave it to him in 2001 and he's played around with it ever since.

When Internet is speeding down city roads on Mobile, he’s usually in a chatty mood. He’s what you call a serial Twitterer -- you know, the kind of people who speak rapidly in staccato sentences. His fans adore his tweets though and share (or should I say retweet?) them with others.

I first made Internet’s acquaintance some two decades ago and we’ve been best friends since (fingers crossed). He's given me many rides on the Mobile and I must admit I've never had so much fun before. Now it’s your turn.

(Contest entry for www.vodafone.in/fun )