India Blog Mela - February 2010

Smi is turning over a new leaf.

Silverine is on the no-fail diet.

Great Bong goes to the barber shop.

Annie Zaidi is wondering if women are safer in Mumbai. Or Delhi?.

Shekhar Kapur remembers Nirmal Pandey.

Jade is working.

NeoIndian is just an Indian.

Divya and the permanent chaddi.

Dave and Jenny have two bargaining tactics.

Narendra Shenoy was trying to be funny.

That's all for now. The March 2010 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the February 2010 Blog Mela.


Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for the March 2010 Blog Mela being hosted here on April 5.

HOW TO NOMINATE
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-31 March 2010 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on April 4 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January

India Blog Mela - January 2010

Alaphia thinks It's Never Us. Its Always Them. .

Silverine experiences maternal connectivity.

Great Bong delivers an SRK-ian chuckle.

Krish Ashok is obsessed with Mile Sur Mera Tomorrow.

Aditi Sen is thinking about some random stuff.

Jade is facing street harassment.

NeoIndian is wondering if he's made the transition to living in India.

Divya lives in an industrial godown.

Spaz Kumari didn't like 3 Idiots.

OuchMyToe didn't get any credit for 3 Idiots.

That's all for now. The February 2010 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the January 2010 Blog Mela.



Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for the February 2010 Blog Mela being hosted here on March 5.

HOW TO NOMINATE
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-28 February 2010 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on March 4 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Staying at the Neemrana Fort Palace

Being a fan of modern plumbing, I am usually not too keen to spend time in 15th-century forts. But heritage hotels are different and an off-site office meet at the Neemrana Fort Palace was just what the doctor ordered.

Harry Potter fans would enjoy visiting this imposing hillside resort in Rajasthan's Alwar district -- it's a maze of tunnels and stairways that would put Hogwarts to shame.

Yes, there are attendants but come nightfall they all seem to melt into the walls, leaving me to navigate the indistinguishable passages to my ninth-floor Chandan Mahal.

Thankfully, there are no ghosts around -- no raja was beheaded, no princess jumped into any well (as far as I know) -- and I never came across any wandering spirit in the fort's turrets and courtyards.

I was a bit disappointed to learn that my apartment, albeit furnished with mahogany almirah and Rajputana fittings, was a 20th-century creation built above the refurbished medieval rooms. But it had its charms. The windows gave me a bird's-eye view of the sunset and the village beyond the ramparts.

There are no television sets or landline phones but the BlackBerry does work and once through with the office meet, it's good to unwind with an hour of traditional folk music -- complete with dancers in sequinned costumes and fire-spitters. The food, especially the desserts, is not too bad either.

But what really got me hooked was an attack on the fort. Not by looters or armies, but by a bunch of wildly screaming tourists zipping down cables from the hilltop.

Visitors to Neemrana can get the complete flying experience -- strapped into a harness and propelled hundreds of feet below from hillside platforms -- on a wire.

People wary of 'Made in India' tags can take comfort that the Flying Fox zip tour is "Swiss-made and British-operated" and there has not been a single fatality since it opened at Neemrana.

What would probably kill you though is the gruelling climb to the first zip platform. I was panting by the time I reached the top, my legs buckling under me as I resolved to do something about my out-of-shape body.

The zip tour, in comparison, was a breeze. There was no way I was going to climb all the way down so performing a death-defying flying stunt seemed the better option. There were a few anxious moments as I swung off the platform, but I relaxed soon enough, even finding time to enjoy the aerial view of the fort and the fields in the distance.



Two hours and five zip runs later, I no longer thought this modern sport was an anomaly at Neemrana.

I wonder what the 15th-century inhabitants would have made of the heritage zip tour -- it does make a whooshing sound each time someone is using it. Probably would have scared them out of their wits. Maybe that's why even their ghosts didn't stop too long.

But there's no stopping the tourists. Apparently Kate Winslet keeps coming to Neemrana. And with good reason.

(Photos and video by Rituparna Bhowmik)

India Blog Mela - December 2009

Alaphia goes to Lunar House.

Silverine is having wardrobe woes.

Shekhar Kapur writes about the wallahs in his life.

Krish Ashok is going through the slacker's dilemma.

Son of Bosey wants the Delhi Commonwealth Games to include tambola as a medal event.

DoctorAtLarge celebrates his crowning glory.

Dave and Jenny find they are the attractions in Delhi.

Narendra Shenoy gets his first massage.

Surkhi thinks she's not good looking enough.

OuchMyToe has a four-point plan to survive the economic crisis.

That's all for now. The January 2010 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the December 2009 Blog Mela.



Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for the January 2010 Blog Mela being hosted here on February 5.

HOW TO NOMINATE
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-31 January 2010 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on February 4 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November

India Blog Mela - November 2009

DoctorAtLarge is not counting on his lady luck.

Silverine has some advice for her HR manager.

Doosra thinks Ponting was King Pyrrhus in his previous birth.

Banno makes it clear she's not dancing for Gabbar.

Our Delhi Struggle were put off by India's time zone.

Narendra Shenoy goes to China.

IndieQuill does not like rice.

eM has some musings on multiculturalism.

MamaSaysSo has been dethroned.

OuchMyToe has a guide for foreigners in India.

That's all for now. The December 2009 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the November 2009 Blog Mela.



Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for the December 2009 Blog Mela being hosted here on January 5.

HOW TO NOMINATE
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-31 December 2009 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on January 4 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

India Blog Mela - October 2009

DoctorAtLarge is indulging in Sem(en)antics.

Great Bong writes in defence of Bengali men.

Silverine is going Oh My God!.

Ramesh Srivats brings us the Nobel Peace Prize behind the scenes.

Thomas is indulging in random chat.

Suchitra is impressed with the Mumbai police.

Krish Ashok is crowing about crows.

Annie saw the bad and the ugly.

Sidin is suffering the effects of retreebution.

Surkhi is trying to be a Punjtam.

That's all for now. The November 2009 Blog Mela returns early next month. But before leaving, do please vote for the best post in the October 2009 Blog Mela.



Did you just come across a quirky, interesting or something-that-tugs-at-your-heartstrings blog? If yes, feel free to nominate it for the November 2009 Blog Mela being hosted here on December 2.

HOW TO NOMINATE
- Leave a comment on this post OR better still - Mail me at toeknee (at) gmail (dot) com

RULES
- Posts must have been written by Indians or have an Indian angle
- Only posts published between 1-30 November 2009 would be accepted
- If possible, please nominate individual posts, not the whole blog
- Feel free to nominate something you have written. Immodesty appreciated
- You can nominate as many blog posts as you like - provided you really like them
- Only nominations received before midnight on December 2 stand a chance to be featured in the Top 10 list
- No, you don't get any moolah for nominating or getting featured in the Blog Mela. That could change once I am a millionaire but for now you'll just have to bear with me
- Yours truly reserves the right to nominate good posts which you ignore

PREVIOUS BLOG MELAS
2007
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September

Sex and the Schoolboy

I looked up from my textbook. Harpreet, a gangly boy with a conspicuous red turban, was the only other student in the classroom. And he was talking to me.

"Do you know where babies come from?"
"What?"
"How babies come into the world?"
"From the stomachs of women"
"Yes, but before that"
"God puts them there"
"You are just a child," Harpreet sneered.

He looked around and then whispered in my ear.
"You have to put your pee-pee in a woman's pee-pee"
"Are you crazy?"
"Sex, they call it sex"

Pee-pees were usually an uncomfortable topic but I sat there transfixed by this revelation.

I had never felt the need to explore the origins of tiny little things that bawled at odd hours.

Someone (the nanny? a playmate? I don't remember) once told me that God put his finger in women's belly buttons and made babies grow. I had believed it. It never struck me why men didn't have babies -- after all, they too had belly buttons.

Suddenly, now it all made sense.

Harpreet looked triumphant. He had imparted forbidden knowledge to another human being.

"Today, you are all grown-up," he said, scratching the front of his red turban. "Now you know the secret."

I don't remember much about that day in the classroom. But this first conversation about sex seems to be imprinted in my mind.

It was years later that we had our first formal sex-education class. We had learned much more by then and the sex therapist who was invited to school had little new to tell us.

At the end of the session, he picked up chits from a bowl in which students had been invited to pose anonymous questions. And there was one question which stumped even the instructor.

"The hair on my head is growing like my pubic hair. Please help."

Dear 'Bigg Boss 3' Video Editor

We have a bone to pick with you over censorship of live footage from the Bigg Boss house each night.

We are seasoned 'Big Brother' voyeurs and claim the right to watch what really happens in the house at midnight.

We want to see every tear that rolls down Rohit Verma's cheek, every gesture Tanaaz Irani makes asking irritants to disappear, each side-splitting antic by Raju Shrivastav and every clichéd one-liner Kamaal R. Khan uses to woo Claudia Ciesla.

What we get instead in the live feed are close-ups of the fish pool, the garden seats, the jail, the gym treadmills and the futuristic furniture.

The Bigg Boss inmates are speaking, crying, laughing, sleeping nearby and yet you never reveal their faces or allow us to eavesdrop.

Are you falling asleep at your work station and missing the correct camera feed? Do drink a cup of coffee and pay more attention.

Mom is livid. She wants to catch hold of you and grind you into a million pieces to be mixed with tomorrow's breakfast chutney.

"Let me get my hands on the camera guy," she says, her hands gesturing in the air for that invisible neck -- your precious neck, Mr. 'Bigg Boss' Video Editor. So please be more careful.

Yours sincerely,

Disgruntled 'Bigg Boss 3' voyeur

To fast or not to fast

Mom doesn't like the concept of Indian women fasting on Karva Chauth for the long life of their husbands.

It's not that she's a feminist but after cooking and cleaning up after husband and two messy kids for thirty years, who isn't?

It isn't really cool for women to sit and starve at home while hubby dearest stuffs himself with samosas from the office canteen.

That's what Mom tried to tell her more traditional friends while helping them shop for silver bracelets on the eve of Karva Chauth.

"Okay, I get it. You want to fast. Fine. But at least get him to fast with you. Tell him to prove his love for you."

But to no avail.

The young mommies pretend to listen to Mom. And go back to their houses to watch 'The Perfect Bride' on television, eager to dress up in their Karva Chauth finery and swoon in their husband's arms.

Mom is irritated. Her FarmVille plot isn't doing too well. A certain someone is not following her on Twitter. And the neighbourhood mommies have all ignored her request.

I ask Dad if he ever wanted his wife to fast on Karva Chauth.

Before he could reply, Mom piped up from the kitchen.

"If he says yes, there wouldn't be any food on the table."

Dad didn't dare reply.