Inspiring DOV!

Darlings of Venus has come a long, long way since its start. We've grown from a mere 7 followers (or the 'core members' as Maithili likes to say!) to having over a hundred followers. And that is a huge deal.

Off-late, everybody seems to be busy, lacking inspiration and ideas for the blog.

I was wondering what we could do about it and found myself browsing through the initial posts on the blog. The excitement on the first day of posting on this blog, and wondering who the other co-authors were (I wasn't following many of them so I din't know anybody except one or two!), and what they were going to post.

One post that really touched my heart back then, has managed to do so even now. That one post, reminded me of the original reason why we all got together in this little space. Why we wanted an all-girl blog and what was so special about it. Since we have many new readers/contributors on board now, am hoping this inspires you all to make this blog see brighter days.. again!

(Some of you might have read it already, but no harm in reading it again.. because this one's a gem!)

Once upon a time, Mom went into labor. Yeah, that’s where it all starts, doesn’t it? (This is the part after the Happily-Ever-After, the one they seldom show)

After quite some time of panicking, huffing & puffing, screaming, several glasses of ice-chips and hours of birthing that tested her threshold of pain, out popped an itsy-bitsy baby.

‘It’s a girl!’ cried the Doctor. Mom was just happy it was a healthy baby and Dad couldn’t speak for the emotion choked his throat up. Inside, they both questioned their parenting abilities while vowing to bring her up her like the princess she was.

Dad looked at his two girls, proud beyond words can explain. His little nest was complete now. His love had borne fruit.

Mom didn’t mind that she, for the first time since they fell in love, didn’t have her handsome husband’s undivided attention; he was philandering it all on the little miracle that she’d borne. She didn’t mind at all.

They went home.

Her first smile had them on their knees, her cry had them scampering for solutions. They recorded her every movement, reveled in the length of her pretty eyelashes, rejoiced in her deep dimple and knew she had them both twisted around her little finger.

Mom had to fight her own tears when she cried on the first day of school. She went an hour early to pick her baby up just because she couldn’t wait any longer. She worried so much; what if she gets hungry, what of some kid pinches her, what if… Nobody knew her baby like she did.

Dad’s heart almost broke when she came back from the bicycle ride with a scraped knee. While he whispered comforts into her ear and rocked her to sleep on his chest, he wondered how he’d deal with a broken heart, God forbid.

She grew in leaps and bounds.

Mom had conversations with her. Told her about the birds and bees and all in between all the while wondering if her little princess had grown old enough to have The Talk with. She still seemed too young, a mere child.

Dad watched her from afar, playing the disciplinarian and refusing to let her go for the ten day class trip to Goa. He didn’t budge; not to her tears or rants or door-banging. Later he told Mom to take her shopping.

She drifted apart; from the parents, who she’d admired, loved, trusted. They became strangers while a whole new world opened up to her. She experimented with her boundaries; she touched, got burnt and touched again.

She had fun. She took pictures, she flirted, she drank coffee and bunked classes. She flunked and topped and wrote bull in her papers. She tried on clothes and didn’t buy them. She painted her nails black and didn’t care. She made a lot of noise, learnt to drive in her friend’s car, ran along the beach, barefoot screaming with her BFF’s – her oyster, the world and beyond.

She fell in love. And got her heart broken into a million pieces. She learnt. And grew.

She fought for her individuality, refused to be swayed by the society. Stood stead by what she believed in.

She made choices, her own. She lived with it. She made mistakes and learnt how to make them go away.

But somewhere along the way she realized that the only ones who’d stay with her through hell and high water were Mom and Dad. She tried to deal with Mom’s concern, she tried to do right. She tried not to wear the mini-skirt in front of dad.

She tried to understand. Because she loved them.

She got a job, one that she loved. If she was ecstatic, they were beyond proud. She did well, she became a career woman. She was the Office Bitch and the one they came to for all the answers. She multi-tasked and blew minds. She reached the top of the ladder and yet remained Dad’s little ‘peanut’.

She fell in love again. He stayed. And made a difference. And made her happy. She lived in seventh heaven with her feet planted firmly on ground zero and realized that this is it.

She got married. And it broke her heart. She didn’t understand why she’d to give her home up, leave her parents. And they reassured her that it was the beginning of her wonderful new life, that they’d always be there.

She became a mother. And our story comes a full circle.

She understood. Everything.

The sacrifices, the unconditional love, the choices, the concern.

She cherished them, the pillars in her life.

She prayed for them, their well-being.

She loved them back, unconditionally.

For she realized that without them, she’d be nothing.

Thus the story of a girl goes on. 

It’s your story and mine. Your life and mine. 

Your problems and mine. Your Bloody Mary and mine.

Let’s share...

The heartbreaks and the Kohl,

The celebrations and the fruit roll,

The love and the laughter,

The tears and the PMS,

The secrets and treats,

The sisterhood and the lust,

The forever issues with weight.

Cheers to bad hair days, being ourselves, getting rid of jerk boyfriends and bitchy ex-friends, cheers to making a place for ourselves in the world and getting our make up right. Cheers to blowing their minds and having fun. Cheers to kicking back and relaxing and to getting down and dirty. 

Being a girl is SO much fun.
Lets be girls together.


Posted by PeeVee. You can find the original post and comments here

Traffic of my life!

This is more of a been-there-done-that kinda post. Every city has its own complaints about its traffic. Since I am living in traffic-horror every single day here in Hyderabad so I thought why not make a story out of that too! 

1. Auto Drivers:

They always think that from all the horns blaring around them, none of them are aimed at them. I really want to learn that from them. Blocking and ignoring a particular sound/voice that is blaring/screaming right in your ears - that would be a useful talent in life! 

2. Car drivers:

They hate Bike Riders while stuck in traffic because riders get to squeeze by more easily. They hate bike readers because they get to cut in front of you just when the light turns green. They hate bike riders because they make it so damn hard to overtake with all their zig-zagging.

3. Bike riders: They hate Car Drivers because drivers get to sit in AC while they're out in the sun (rain, smoke, or dust). Muhahahaha *car driver points and laughs*

4. Bus drivers: They don't have AC nor can they squeeze by. They purposefully squeeze you out of every inch of road you have if they can help it. Enough said.

5. Just as the light turns green, there is that one last pedestrian who always HAS to run in front of you just as you're taking off. Always! Some day I am going to run smack into you and you'll fly off the road and ITS ALL YOUR FAULT. So there. Don't say I dint warn you.

6. The Honkers: They are such pleasant people. How else can you explain the fact that continuous honking sounds like music to them? Granted it drives everyone else crazy, but hey! As long as its music to my ears you all can shut the f**k up. Arrgghh! I hate them! Yes the light changed to green. I am not blind. I can see that. Give me a second to move forward. One second is all am asking for. I too want to go wherever it is that I am going 'as soon as possible' *rolls-eyes*

7. Dancing lights: Yeah that's right. Why don't you shine the damn headlight right in my eyes? You and your high beam in the middle of the city. People! have the minimum courtesy to dip them especially when you are stuck face to face in a narrow road. Else dont complain if i bang right into you (and hopefully break the damm headlight) because I cant see two feet in front of me!

My parents are STILL on facebook.

While the whole world has moved on from Facebook to twitter, there are some people who are still trying to get the hang of Facebook. Don't believe me? Read on!

I started using Facebook properly only in 2010. And by properly I mean stalking people, checking their 'exotic trip to the island' photos, trying to guess who her boyfriend was in the group photo, checking out her sari and makeup in her wedding photos (and bitching about it because I wasn't invited), secretly being jealous of all those who were vacationing in Greece and Swiss Alps and liking every damn thing in my path. Phew! Did I miss anything? No? Okay then!

Before all this, I only had an account, a dummy account. We had no access to internet in office and I worked close to 12 hours a day including weekends. We would spend hours in office making fun of "those people" who seemed to find it impossible to go about their day without sharing every second of their life on fb.. Updating their status messages every other second, posting photos everyday.. I thought I would never ever do that until i discovered it was only a lack of internet connection that was stopping me. So it was no surprise when I jumped onto the bandwagon with the rest of the guys.. it went on for a while.. was fun, entertaining, great way to catch up on gossip.. until.....

.... my parents ( read plural ) were on FB...

Initial shock led to some real good fun ( kidding!... about the shock part not the fun part )

Dad - What is this wall? What does wall mean? Hey is this your profile? Show me your friends list.. I want to see...what was that girl's name.. in school? That girl... who always got first rank..? Hey this guy is that guy.. he dint give those farewell photos.. that guy right?.. What was his name? Hey she looks the same! where is she now.. what is she doing? 

Who is this boy? Why is he commenting on your pics? Who is this boy? And this? Why are there so many boys? (By now I am pulling my hair out)

Okay okay no more boy questions but what is this wall? 

:|

Thats my dad - A hundred questions, no patience to wait for answers, and Me- no patience to answer.

But he got the hang of it pretty quick, his list of friends is increasing day by day and threatning to take over my number! Apart from ocassionally worrying and questioning me about some weird status message that I put up, my dad is a very cool friend to have on my list. Much much better than my mom.

Ok here we go. Mom. On facebook. BIG mistake.

1. She forgets the id with which she should login. Reason being she has so many accounts. (one yahoo + one gmail = too many to remember)

2. The moment she logs in, she'll call me, and the doubts begin.

    "Ok last time. now tell me.... how do I go to my wall?"

    "Is this my wall or your wall?"

    "If I am on my wall, why am I seeing your updates?"

    "But I see your updates on your wall also!" 

    "How do i post on your wall? (grinning) I used the right word na.. posting na.. correct?"

    

Just break the damn wall already! 

    (shouting from the hall.. and am in my room)

mom - ok after commenting, what am I supposed to do?

me - (confused irritated expression) what do you mean? log off, browse, do whatever you want!

mom - I want to see the comment I put...

me - (grumble and get up) you are supposed to click on 'post comment'.. only then it will be posted na..  obvious na...

mom - ok where is it.. I cant see...

me - Mommmmm!!! scroll down!!!!

mom - ok ok dont shout.. ok done.. thats all..?

Trust me. She enjoys me screaming at her.

3. She has 11 friends. That includes all our family. 

4. She wants to learn to upload pictures.. it takes me 2 days to teach her after which she promptly forgets. And calls me when am on the way to a movie with doubts. I come home and end up selecting and uploading all the pics. ( Though I crib, we spend many happy hours wasting time together *grin* )

5. And as if to prove my point, she just called me and said "Hey it seems Uma aunty commented on some photos.. check and tell me.. and reply to them.. bye"

:|

So they are on Facebook. They are all over my blog. And now my mom wants to learn twitter. God save me!

Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give

Finally! My post on this month's discussion "The Art Of Giving". I know its extremely long, so please have patience. Also its not one of my best works. I literally scribbled this in 20 min. So please concentrate on the message, rather than my poor writing skills :P

Now that we've cleared this, READ! :D 

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Shruti sighed as the traffic light changed to red again. Why did the whole city have to be on the road on a Saturday morning? Stupid traffic, she grumbled to herself. She had no choice anyway. Stupid manager had called the whole team on the weekend, the weekend before christmas!!! Urrgghh! Stupid job, stupid life! There was no end to this stupidity. She sat in the back seat of her Skoda, staring out the window and brooding as her driver tried to maneuver the traffic and get ahead. Stupid life indeed. An hour later, and after numerous calls from her team lead asking her why she hadn't reached office yet, she turned into the huge familiar gates of the IT Park. Not a person in sight, except for the cleaners and sweepers. She had to cancel all her plans of going shopping with her friends and meeting her boyfriend for lunch. 

As she reached the front desk, the security ladies stopped her for checking her bag. As usual they were more interested in catching up on their daily gossip rather than checking her bag. Such a callous attitude! They should be fired! What if she had a bomb right there in her bag? They dint care one bit! She fumed and walked away in a huff. The same thing every day! Every day she felt like saying something to them but then it wasn't her business. As she stopped by the twelve elevators, a maintenance man said "Madam you need to take the stairs, all the elevators are under repair and maintenance for today". "What do you mean ALL of them? All twelve?" she asked incredulously. Great. Just awesome. Now she had to climb six floors. This day was going to be just perfect. 

She entered her ODC and was greeted with chaos. That was how her  project was every single day. As usual they were far far behind on their schedule. "Shruti, I've already assigned 15 components for you to test", her team lead rambled on as soon as he spotted her. "Also have a look at the defect sheet. The CICS team is waiting on us. Unless we fix the priority-1 defects they can't get started on their testing". She sighed, switched on her computer and got to work. 

2 hours later

"Shruti, coming for chai?" her teammate Anita called out. Wow, I've worked for 2hrs Shruti thought and said "Let's go! Am dying for a break". They passed the security ladies again and Shruti heard snippets of their conversation. "I think her husband hit her again, That's why she din't come today" said the first lady "I know poor woman, it seems her son has been sick since the past one week, and that drunken bastard has still not given her money. He is still seeing that other woman too" the second lady responded. "Come! Before our torturous team lead starts ringing us again!" Anita shouted, pulling her forward. It wasn't the first time Shruti had heard them talking about such matters. But she had never really bothered. There was always some other immediate distraction. A colleague greeting her, a "Why are you not at office yet?" message from her team lead, or she was busy chatting with her boyfriend. But something was different today and it pricked her. 

She sat on the little plastic stool at the tea stall, sipping her tea when she saw that old woman again. She'd been there since the first day Shruti had joined her job. She was an old woman, with a shaven head, tattered clothes and kept mumbling something under her breath. Her 'home' was beside the tea stall. A few tattered blankets, the most filthy looking clothes(?), all bundled together.  For the hundredth time Shruti thought about her, why was she here? Where were her sons and daughters? Was she really crazy? Was she eating daily? What if the old lady fell sick? "Fifteen rupees madam", the chai waala said, interrupting her thoughts. "What?" she spluttered "Fifteen rupees for this measly little cup of watery tea?" "Madam its a Saturday, and its fifteen on Saturday" he said. "What kind of nonsense logic is that! You are looting people! Just because you have a chai stall in Hi-tech city, doesn't mean you can charge Hi-tech prices" she raised her voice. "Mam the prices are fixed" said the chai waala raising his voice and pointing to the little piece of paper mentioning all the rates that he had stuck to his stall, "You should have checked the price before buying my tea then" he said. "Let it go Shruti, we don't have time for arguments" Anita said, digging into her purse to pay up before Shruti started one of her famous arguments again.

Muttering and fuming, Shruti headed inside with her friend, when she spotted a third security lady. The three of them had their heads together and were discussing something, there was an urgency in their voices. "Uhh.. Hello? Aren't you going to check us again", Anita asked them. It was then that Shruti noticed, the third lady had a black eye and she was crying silently. The security lady barely glanced into their bags and said "Done madam". That must be the woman they were talking about, the one who was being abused, she thought as they headed to the stairs. 

Within an hour she had forgotten all about the women and her problems. Her manager had come breezing in and began criticizing every thing. They were still no where near schedule for Monday, and with her manager breathing down her neck every few minutes she was finding it extremely hard to concentrate on work. They all had lunch at their desks while working, "We don't have time to while away in the cafeteria people" her manager had announced. What an idiot! He walks in at afternoon after having a hearty meal at home, and now begins his tyranny here. She hoped and prayed, she would get out of this project soon. 

End of the day…

Phew! Done! I can finally go home now, Shruti thought as she was wrapping up for the day. "Excuse me, may I have your attention everyone", her manager suddenly announced. What now, she groaned. Everyone got to their feet uncertainly, because usually such an announcement was followed by 'We need to stretch until 8'o clock today'. "I just want to thank you all for coming this weekend. All of you. But one person has relentlessly put in their best efforts, and has come to office every single weekend without any complaint. And its because of her that we are going be back on schedule! Shruti, please come forward".

She was shocked. Was she dreaming? This was her manager right? The one who refused to give her a leave even when she was so sick she could barely walk? The one who piled up more and more work on her as soon as she thought she was done with her share? The one who was never satisfied by the number of defects she fixed, and always had something to criticize? She walked forward still amazed by this sudden gesture. "Here" her manager handed her a huge hamper full of sweets, chocolates and christmas cake. "Sorry I was always so hard on you Shruti", he said with a twinkle in his eye, "I just saw your potential" he smiled. She gave a huge grin and took the hamper.

Not a bad day after all!, she thought to herself as she climbed down the stairs. She saw the three security ladies again. The third lady was somewhat calm now but still very dejected. The other two were counting money and giving it to her. "Here, take this for your son's hospital bill. We'll ask the others and come up with something" they were saying. Shruti saw them looking at her and she smiled tentatively and hurried out. She wanted to say something but she din't know what. As she stepped out, she called her driver asking him to come to the front of the building. It was then that she saw the chai waala bending over that old lady and saying "Take this Amma, this should be enough for three or four days", and he handed her the money. Now she understood why he had charged fifteen rupees for a thumb sized cup of tea. The chai waala caught her staring and gave an apologetic smile. Shruti smiled back understandingly, cursing herself to have judged so quickly. Suddenly she made up her mind. 

"Wait right here" she shouted to her driver and ran back inside. She skidded to a stop in front of the security ladies who looked up in surprise. The third lady had started crying again. Shruti fished into her purse and took out a few hundred rupee notes. "I don't know what's wrong with your son, but please take this and take him to a good doctor. If you need more, well, i'll be back on monday anyway so you can let me know then!" The lady gaped at her with tears in her eyes "How?.. How?… How can I thank you", she sobbed. Shruti fidgeted, "No no.. please.. I am happy to help, here take this too.. for your son, it'll cheer him up". She handed over two boxes of sweets from her hamper and gave it to her. She smiled at the incredulous look the woman gave her and said "You don't have to thank me" and left the woman with tears and happiness shining in her eyes. She ran out to see the chai waala packing up and walking away.. "Hey! You!  Hey wait!" she called and ran after him. "Merry christmas!" she said and pressed a box of sweets into his hands. The shocked chai waala said with a toothy grin "Thank you madam… and… errr.. sorry i was rude earlier". 

She waved him away and turned to give one to the old lady too, maybe she could just put it beside her and go away? She was a bit scared of the crazy old lady. But wait, where was she? She had disappeared. Wasn't she here just five minutes ago? Strange.. she thought and got into her car. 

Monday morning…

Shruti got down from her car and glanced at the chai waala's stall. He was busy with customers and the old lady was back! And she had a box of sweets beside her, a box that was from her hamper. Just then she saw a little boy about seven giving the old lady another sweet from the box, and then running inside the building with the box in hand. As she reached the front desk, she saw the security lady again. The little boy was clinging to her uniform. "Madam!" the lady called out brightly. "I can't thank you enough. My little boy is much better now and I have moved out from my husband's house. I am staying with my sister nearby" she said softly smiling at her son. "That's… great!' Shruti smiled back. I just changed that woman's life Shruti thought as she walked away. She felt all warm and fuzzy… on a monday morning! "Madam lift is still under maintenance" the repair guy said. Shruti looked at him, laughed and ran up the flight of stairs!

“As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

"Always have, always will"

He is married. Married. She told herself once more hoping that it would stop her from doing what she was about to do. It din't feel wrong, in fact nothing had felt more right to her. She knew he felt the same way, which was why they had decided to meet today. She waited in her car, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel while glancing at her watch for the nth time. Late as always. She smiled to herself inspite of her annoyance at him. Her phone beeped. "Be right there love. Can't wait to see those beautiful eyes once again". Her face broke into a spontaneous smile like it always did when she thought of him. She settled back into her seat and let her mind wander to those magical moments…

12 years back..

Her eyes. Big, round, black, beautiful and absolutely mesmerizing. That was the first thing that drew him to her, that made him drown in those black beauties. It was love at first sight. The moment he looked into her eyes on that fateful day he was irrevocably in love. "You are my life", her eyes seemed to tell him and he was more than willing to be anything for her. There were meant to be together, and it was almost like they both had been waiting for each other. All those shy glances from her side, and bright smiles from him had resulted in something extraordinary. 

They were the hottest pair in school and throughout college. The ideal pair, the pair that was meant to be. You couldn't think of one of them without the other popping into your head. They were together for five perfect years when all of it suddenly ended. Nobody knew the reason why. They went their separate ways, chose their respective paths, built their lives around it. Even after all these years, their common friends sometimes spoke about them - as a couple. Of how it would have been had they not broken up. The mused over the whole situation, guessing as to what could have happened. They couldn't imagine something going wrong, they were such a perfect fit.

She sighed. 12 years and he still made her blush like a school girl. 12 years and the thought of him still sent shivers down her spine. 12 years and she had never gotten over him. 

He was the practical one, the one with a clear head, the one who was capable of making tough decisions and sticking to them. He had all those qualities which she prided herself in having but somehow when it came to him, she became a hopelessly romantic fool. Her tough exterior, her cold rational approach towards life, her quick decision making - it was all for others. With him, walls came down and she was back to being the young innocent girl that she was 12 years back. She had cursed him, cried to him, begged him, ignored him, worshipped him - but he had remained the same, loving as ever. Of course he'd been a jerk, no doubt about it, but he had made up for it. More than made up for it.

She snapped out of her day dream when she saw the familiar car turning into the lonely road. Her body tensed and her eyes smiled as he parked the car right in front of hers, almost touching it. She took a deep breath, steadied herself and got out of the car a few seconds after he did. Her heart thudded and spluttered as she took a step forward. The moment their eyes locked it was as if nothing bad had ever happened between them. All that pain, the guilt, the heart-ache, all those months she had spent crying, all those nights he had held his head in despair not knowing how to make things right - none of it mattered. They were in a bubble, in a world of their own. 

"Shall we take a walk?" he said, with that heart melting smile of his. 

She nodded silently and walked with him.

He loved that about her. They way she hardly spoke around him, but her eyes said it all. He looked at her delicate frame, her long straight hair, her graceful walk and the way she was clutching her phone tightly it her hand. She was tensed and nervous and shy. It gave her away. He took her hand into his and they kept on walking. His mind flashed back to that time 7 years back when he had held the very same hand and place a ring on her finger. She had refused to accept such an expensive gift but he had shoved the box into her hand. She had looked at the ring, smiled and asked him to place it on her finger. 

He noticed now, that she had a ring on almost every other finger except that one. His eyes kept going back to her face, to her eyes. Oh what he wouldn't do to see those eyes happy, to see them dance with joy! He had done everything he could to make sure she had a perfect life. He had made the ultimate sacrifice for her seven years back - he broke up with her, a sacrifice that almost shattered her delicate heart, a sacrifice that made him seem like the villain, the bad guy, the betrayer, the heartless one. It had cost him a lot but still, it was a small price to pay. Specially when it was to make her happy.

They had reached the park, their favorite spot. "I have an early flight tomorrow, at 5:30", he said. Her eyes saddened "You're leaving? Already?" she asked him. 

"Told you, seven out of twelve months I am on the road". 

"I have no idea why your wife puts up with you"

He laughed. "I am pretty sure she is having an affair" he said. 

"Convenient. For you. For both of you actually" she said

"You wouldn't understand. Its not that simple. I still love her" 

"Yeah I get it" she said softly "It took me twelve years but I finally get it. It wouldn't have worked out if we had gotten married"

"You know what i believe right.. Just because two people love each other doesn't mean they have to get married"

"I know. I believe that NOW. Specially us. Lord! That would have been a disaster" she laughed.

He smiled and kissed her forehead lightly "I have to get going"

They walked back to the car. "Be in touch?" she asked

"Always have, always will" he smiled.

She got into her car and sent him a text message "Just had an epiphany. Just because some one doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have"

He looked through his window and gave her his bright mischievous smile and mouthed 'I love you'. She laughed, shook her head and waved to him.

She drove back to her boyfriend, he drove back to his wife.

p.s - Inspired from  true incident.

p.p.s - I SWORE to myself that I wouldn't write ANY love stories (I have many reasons and its a long story.. don't ask!). But I couldn't ignore something that was happening right in front of my eyes.

How much is too much?

Blogging-world can be so welcoming that it can sometimes overwhelm you and side track you. We have all experienced phases of blogging where we start writing for our readers more than for ourselves. We've been addicted to blogging, checking if somebody has left comments on our latest posts and checking for new followers. And we have also obsessively stalked our favorite bloggers, waiting for them to update their blogs. I've also known a couple of bloggers who have shared 'a little too much' about their lives only to have deeply regretted it later.

How much is too much?

Most people you interact with here are so genuine and warm and welcoming. Once you meet such people and once they start following your blog, you realize that you can relate to almost everything they write and so can they. It only makes you want to be more open and more forthcoming in your posts. When I first saw the topic for this month's discussion, I was all for sharing my story along with the others. But as I started writing it, I realized there are some parts of my life that that are private and definitely not meant for the internet, specially not for the silent readers. It may sound weird coming from me, someone who shares her pictures on the blog- my face, my identity. But honestly sharing pictures doesn't seem as intimate to me as sharing the happenings in my life. I never share details about my life, only my lifestyle. 

Its not that I am scared of what people might think about me or my life, its just that I decided to draw the line here. People who matter in my life, know all that there is to know about me. I have nothing to hide from anyone but that does not mean that I need to share everything with everyone either.

This is not to scare anyone off or to offend anyone. Its great that those of you who have shared their stories here, did so, and if it has given you some sort of relief, release or just a feeling of 'you are not alone', then I am more than happy for you! 

I am not particularly talking about this discussion topic(its just that it triggered this thought process) but any post in general. This is only to make sure that you are aware of what you are posting and to make sure that you are posting it for the right reasons. If what you are posting is something that you are going to regret after 10 hours, 10 days or even 10 years then don't put it up for the whole world to see.

If I don't love, respect and appreciate my post they you definitely wouldn't. 

Where would you draw the line?

The kurti gets a makeover!

Whoohoo! I am finally free and at last I decided to grace DOV with my presence. Maithili first approached me to write for this blog saying "Who else going is going to write about fashion if not you?". Sadly only two of my posts until now are related to fashion. Then I got caught in all the girly-ness of this blog and forgot all about it. But wait.. isn't fashion one of the biggest aspects of any girl's life? I thought clothes, shopping, love, cribbing-about-men and being bitchy were some of the things that brought us girls together! 

One year back when I changed jobs, I realized the new place did not have any strict dress code, which was a relief at that time. I was beginning to get sick of churidars and kurtis, and so jeans from Monday to friday was a welcome change! Before I knew it, I started shopping for more and more western outfits and now I have a huge cupboard full of churidars and kurtis simply lying untouched. But the fact is that kurtis are the most comfortable piece of clothing for both our weather and errr… roads a.k.a - useless men on the roads. 

They suit every body type, they are good enough for a date with your boyfriend or for a movie with your friends, for college/work and even for walking around on the streets. And they are perfect for every weather. Personally I am bored fed up of wearing kurtis over jeans or with cream/white/black leggings. Here are a few ideas that I personally follow on an everyday basis.

Contrast colors :

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I've chucked away my cream/white/black bottoms and I suggest you do the same! Pair grey + purple, blue + red, pink + red, orange + green, black + yellow. Pick up combinations that you can never imagine yourself wearing and wear it.

Kurti with a jacket : 

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And I don't mean just any jacket. Not the sweater that your aunt bought for you or the hoodie that you bought in Pantaloons or while street shopping. Maybe a leather jacket or something equally boy-ish and rugged. Even a well fitted blazer would do! Blazer with a kurti? Yes! Think out of the box.

Kurti with a belt :

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This is one of my personal favorites. I like belting anything and everything! You can go for a casual belt like in the pic above, with a broad belt over an anarkali kurta or something dressy like the one below. Cinch it right at the waist or slightly lower at your hips. 

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Kurti on a skirt :

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Have you ever tried this? Such an easy-breezy alternative to a baggy loose tee. I absolutely love this look on a short skirt. Don't belt it though! If you are wearing a mid-length or a long skirt then tuck it in for a perfect finish!

Kurti as a dress :

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Come summer and you can forget about those bottoms altogether! Wear a bright colored kurti with comfortable flats, or add a belt to make it look more dress-like, or just add a pair of heels and you are good to go!

Kurti with chunky/funky jewelry :

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Wear long chunky chains in contrasting colors, mix but don't match, wrap a floral choker around your neck, or you could even tie a thin scarf around your neck as a chain.

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And of course... big chunky earrings!

Kurti with shorts :

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So you are done with skirts too? Then move on to shorts. Give the same old shorts + tee routine a break. Try pairing a long-ish kurti with shorts and start looking amazing!

Different silhouettes :

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Now for this you need to explore the markets a bit. Apart from collared necks, A-line kurtis and anarkali kurtis, we don't usually find much variety. But you will if you know where to look. If you don't have time to shop-hop then browse the internet for designs or unleash your creativity and design one yourself. Catch hold of a tailor whom you can pester and make him stitch it for you. Which reminds me I need to pay a visit to my tailor (who is being very clever and avoiding my phone calls *hmmm*)

These are just some of my suggestions/ideas. Hope this helps all you girls in college or with jobs!

p.s - My post on this time's topic of discussion is a little late but on the way!

Even a fashionista falls down somedays!

Just another weekday. 

6:00 am -

Chammak challo blares right in my ear and disturbs that yummy dream I was having (its an annoying song that FORCES me to get up to switch it off so that i don't have to listen to it. Perfect for an alarm!)

Switch off alarm and go back to sleep (I don't bother with 'snooze' anymore)

6:30 am - 

Mom peeps in. "Are you getting up?"

Mumble something and go back to sleep.

6:50am -

My room becomes brighter and brighter inspite of those thick curtains (stupid east facing room)

I wake up. I remember I have a meeting at 8:30. Get out of bed

7:15am -

Think of a dress to wear while showering. 

7:30am -

Stand in front of wardrobe. Still thinking. Pull out clothes only to mentally sigh and push them back in. 

(There goes yesterday's neatly sorted pile)

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Suddenly I remember I already picked a churidar set last night.

I try it on. Not satisfied.

I feel like wearing western formals. Grey trousers with a bright red shirt and some black heels. (result of late night fashion blog browsing)

Start digging into the now-messed-up pile in search of my grey formals.

Found it! 

Its completely crumpled. Plug in the iron box. And the power goes off. Damn!

Search for black trousers instead. Can't find them. 

Shout and ask mom (who is busy in the kitchen).

"Where are my black formals? Did you throw them for wash? They don't need a wash!!! I lost them!!! Where? Mommmmmmmm!!!!"

"You have black formals?" 

*face palm*

"#$$%&& I HAVE! You've seen me wear them SO MANY times!!! But WHERE are they? Its getting LATE!!!" *exasparated whining*

"How am I supposed to remember what all you have? You buy too many clothes..I don't know when you have time to go. No more shopping from now on… blah blah blah"

I am temporarily deaf.

*Sigh*

Fine i'll pick some crappy boring churidar. *grumbling* 

I find a green one that I haven't worn in a long time. Its neat and ironed (thankfully). 

Still cursing the power cut 'coz its hot and am sweating with all this hunting.

I get dressed.

Putting on matching earrings when one earring falls down. 

I bend to pick it up and *riiiipppp*. My pant has a big tear near the knee. Damn! Damn! 

Curse the designer. Curse the cloth. Curse the tailor. What a flimsy material! I can't even bend my knee. Can't even sit. Thank god this dint happen in the meeting! #toptenembarassingmoments

Check the time - Its 8:10!!!!!!

No time to decide on another dress. Its a daunting process.

Pick a different bottom for the same dress. Red. *Hmmmm*. Green and red. Nice and bright. Give myself a pat on the back. Fashion blogging has changed the way I look at colors.

Enter - Cousin Sister. Yawning. With her little baby boy. Who is also yawning.

"Sweetie cutie pieeeeee… Good morning baby booooooo… sleepy babyyyyy.. muah muah muah….."

Sister interrupts my baby talk.

"What the hell are you wearing? To office?? Muhahahahahahaha" .

"What? Its nice. Its called color-blocking. You don't know a thing about fashion"

"Okay…hahahahahahaha"

Slam the door. *Grumble* Try to pick another dress. Time is running out!

Try on a couple more dresses. One refuses to fit. I yank it and wiggle into it. I can barely breathe.

One deep breath and something's going to pop out. Bah! So many dresses to alter.

I feel ugly in the next one. Another one - not ironed. 

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Time - 8:30. 

Dad - You want me to drop you? I am ready.

Me - No no.. you go. I'll take my car.

Mom - STILL not ready??? I thought I saw you wear that green churidar?

Me - The bottom tore. So had to change.

Sis - She wore red instead. Hahahaha… 

Mom - Why do you listen to her when you know she's worse than you?

Me - I don't know! I just do! She's annoying! Now let me go!

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Rush back into room. 

OK close your eyes and pick something Chandana. Whether its ironed or not, torn or transparent, you are going to wear it and just GO. Even if its purple and yellow.

I pick a white and pink. Gah!!! I don't want to wear pink today.

*Sigh*

Pick the original churidar. The one I decided last night. Silently walk out.

Get into the car, call my guy and start wailing about what a bad morning I had. Lots of Awww's and promises to take me shopping. 

I smile. I dream of what I want to buy and drive into the sunset drive to office where my actual bad day starts!