Girls of Riyadh

So, I finally read this book eons after I had spontaneously purchased it from a airport bookstall. I would like to begin by mentioning that books purchased at the airports, usually never quite live up to the book image and the blurb that are part of the packaging content.

The book, Girls of Riyadh, pretty much stumbles upon the same stereotypical adversities the girls of Middle East have to face when it comes to marrying the man they love or their attempts in finding the one who would love them with the same fervour as they do.

It has the corny jokes, the political tensions, the rules of a stagnant society, stuck in an era of their ancestors as they try valiantly to hold on to their roots while their off-springs remove the 'veil' of the past from the face, after a successful struggle.

What is different in this book that I have read about contemporary thinking women in the Middle East is that for every mother of Gamrah there is a mother of Uri, for every Firas, there is a Tariq.

But, what gets my goat is that, all these stories, have the same story line. Which makes me think is there not a story coming from the middle east buy a woman, who does not wish to write about the difficulty of searching, and falling in love.

We get it that is extra difficult to fall in love in a country where 'love' itself as a concept is banned and is allowed only if it to be expressed to Allah. But to wax on about it for the entire book, does get a bit tedious.

And the comparison to the SATC series, is sheer absurdity. Those women, were stereotypes, not crusaders to make women sit up and demand their rights around the world. To give them a status more than that of excellent actors is ridiculous.

The author, cheats on the concept of the SATC inspired book. The series focused on the physical needs of women, expressing their needs, the emotional needs came in after the series achieved popularity all over the world, which is when its downfall began.

Women around the world, baring the west, don not talk about their physical needs, and to advertise your book as the first of its kind from the middle east, I would say 'Blah'.

Read the book, if and only if, there aren't any good magazines to purchase.

100 Truths that I found about me!

LAST TIMES…
1. Last beverage: Sprite over ice cube
2. Last phone call: Masi
3. Last text message: Rajshree (updating me about her shifting plans)
4. Last song you listened to: Masterplan - Oasis
5. Last time you cried: hmmm... honestly can't remember..which is a good thing I believe.

HAVE YOU EVER...

6. Dated someone twice: Haha..never make the same mistake twice
7. Been cheated on? : Yeah
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? :yes...ugh!
9. Lost someone special? No...
10. Been depressed? : oh..depressed/dejected/denied/devastated..several times..
11. Been drunk and threw up?.. yes and still haven't recovered.

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Green
13. Dark Brick Red
14. White
15. Grey

FIRSTS :
16. Made new friends: Building/school
17. Fallen out of love: not yet fallen in it... ;)
18. Laughed until you cried: There have been so many of them..., but can't recollect the first one...
19. Met someone who changed you: They all want to mother me..is that the same?
20. Found out who your true friends were: some in time, some not in time.
21. Found out someone was talking about you: haha... it surprises me that they do :-p

HAVE YOU:

22. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes
23. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: baring an odd few, all of them
24. How many kids do you want to have: twin girls/boys
25. Do you have any pets: I had, my pet turtle, Michaelangelo the II
26. Do you want to change your name: NO! I love it, it defines me :-)
27. What did you do for your last birthday: A real low low low key affair.
28.What time did you wake up today : 9.45 am
29. What were you doing at midnight last night: having the clove stick
30. Name something you CANNOT wait for : Post-graduating!!
31. Last time you saw your father: Just before I started typing this
32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: i wish i could go back in the past and correct a few things... apologize to some...and kill some others...
33. Most visited web page: FML/Blogger/Wikkipedia/DailyMail/Sidereel/Google

WHAT'S YOUR :

34. Name: Moshita Prajapati
35. Nicknames: Mosh, Moshi, Moshu, Mo5, M, Kishi, Butterfly, Padmavati, Bhajirao, Moshquito, Moshit...
36. Zodiac sign: Virgo
37. Male or female or transgender : Female
38. Elementary: JB Vachha High School for Parsi Girls
39. Colleges: SIES/Khalsa
40. Hair color: Black with brown highlights au natural
41. Long or short: short, but a valiant effort is under-way to grow it long
42. Height: 5.9"
43. Do you have a crush on someone? Sadly no, I haven't found any
44. Ever been in love? Don't think so... too young to appreciate and understand it
45. Piercings? one in each ear
46. Tattoos? two, one on the inner left ankle and the other on the upper right shoulder blade
47. Righty or lefty: Righty
48. First surgery: NA
49. First piercing: My ears when i was a kid
50. First best friend: Nidhi Punja
51. First sport you loved: Skating...is it a sport
52. First pet : Turtle
53. First vacation: Dubai...when it was still nice! :-)
54. First concert: Bryan Adams
55. First crush : Julian from the Famous Five/Arjun a childhood friend
56. Eating: lost appetite around four this afternoon. Haven't found it as yet :-(
57. Drinking : water
58. I'm about to: this is getting tedious
59. Listening to: a song in my head...gal meethi meethi bol from Aisha
60. Waiting for: Christmas? No, September 30th actually

YOUR FUTURE

61. Want kids?.. yes... but, a trial run with a puppy first... a beagle!
62. Want to get married? uumm..... I know I have to...
63. Careers in mind? Editor in a publishing house, and if to be exact... a children's books editor/Translator

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?

64. Lips or eyes: Mischievous eyes/Intellectual eyes/soulful eyes
65. Hugs or kisses: ? each preceding the other
66. Shorter or taller: Taller...shorter doesn't work...
67. Older or Younger: older
68. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneously Romantic!!
69. Nice stomach or nice arms: Nice arms
70. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
71. Hook-up or relationship: I tried the earlier one, so its time for Relationships
72. Trouble maker or hesitant: hmm.... a mix maybe

HAVE YOU EVER :
73. Kissed a stranger: Well not after kissing :-p
74. Lost glasses/contacts: Lost count!!
76. Broken some one's heart: Yeah... I have broken hearts... not a good thing
77. Had your own heart broken: Yes, karma is a bitch.
78. Been arrested: Never ever going to happen, been warned by the police though :-p
79. Turned someone down: Yeah....
80. Cried when someone died: Not in initially, but later when the shock went away.
81. Liked a friend that is a boy? Yep

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

81. Yourself: Not all the time.
82. Miracles: do occur
83. God: is there...somewhere...watching...
84. Love at first sight: PUHLEASE!
85. Heaven: Nope
86. Santa Claus: I am not a 5 year old you know,
87. Kiss on the first date? Hmmm... on the cheek?
88. Angels: They are there to keep the Devils in line
89. Devils: They are there to keep the Angels in line

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

90. Is there one person you want to be with right now? ummmm...no not really
91. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? Yes...it shall never happen again!
92. Wanted to kill someone ever? Oh yes!! shoot with an intention of not to kill, then bury them neck deep near the sea during low tide... wait... that would lead to their death.. so yeah.. I guess..:-p
93. Among your blog mates, whom would you like to kiss? Whats a blog-mate???
94. Committed a blunder and regretted later? Lost count
95. Wanted to steal you friend's boyfriend / girlfriend? : Nah.

ASSOCIATE WITH SOMETHING YOU WEAR :

96. White: pearls
97. Black: jeans
98. Red: lipstick
99. Pink: nailpolish
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? under pressure....YES!

Happy Birthday Mum

Today is the birthday of a woman who comes from a long line of the most bravest and resilient women I have had a chance to know on a deeper and personal level. My mum.
Today is also the day when I was to officially graduate my MA in International Journalism. But fate intervened and I was told by email that my dissertation was not approved and hence I would be graduating next year. I am sure and certain that there was a reason for this to happen.
This belief comes from one of the numerous lessons my mum has taught me about life.
My dissertation helped me secure my three month editorial internship at Random House India where I was told that I am apt for this field. My current job at the German Book Office which organises the worlds most famous book fair ie. is the Frankfurt Book Fair involves co-ordinating a children's book festival. I was hired because my dissertation which reflects my interest in children's book and publishing. This dissertation and what it has got me so far is now helping me get a job in a company I plan to work for in the coming months. I thank the lord and my mum for supporting me in my belief that this dissertation is what I wanted to write about. Even when I was told that it does not make sense by my supervisor, you said go ahead and show her what you want to write.
I did and sadly we know what happened.

My birthday gift for you this year would be to work at the company I am feverently praying, hoping and wishing for and tell you with a smile on my face that your daughter is now a permanent employee and she has the worlds coolest job and would like to thank her dearest mother for understanding and supporting her in being who she wants to be.
Love you loads ma!
X

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

In our lives as single women, on the search of a the perfect man and then to become HIS perfect woman, we look at women in our lives who are comfortable in their relationship with their men.
What exactly is the cause of that comfort level, that respect which ensures a smooth relationship that defines myriad bouts of frequent temper, sole choice control and the reason for the utter devotion that would even shame a catholic!
A complete understanding of emotional blackmailing mixed with equal parts of complete surrender of your self in recognition of HIM.
Is this what I am supposed to transform myself to after I have found the man I am most compatible with. According to my D-bua YES. She not only has merged her identity with her husband, but is also programming her daughter-in-law to do the same. With her transformation underway, she has now set her eyes on me, the Bombay Girl who is in her house for three months. She has all the time in the world to fill my head with thoughts of what a woman's place in a marriage is to be like and how my manner of speaking, behaving and expression of thought should be curtailed because it doesn't suit the tempers of her GOD like male species in her house.
What she doesn't realise is that her 'wise words' reek of hypocrisy and the exhibition of the relationship between her daughter-in-law and her son, is reason enough for me to smirk at her every time she starts to talk about how nice it is they are happy because of her advice.
I may not be as 'happy' as them, but I assure you that mutual respect will occupy the top position in my relationship with my future husband along with love, trust and fidelity.
And I think we shall be alright even though my husband will have to put up with my independence and mood swings and thoughts because he chose me as his because of them :-)
X

No Sleep Tonight

I lay still on the bed, not even struggling. Just lying motionless on the mattress that I had laid down, directly under the fan, a necessity that would ensure a comfortable sleep from the Delhi summer heat at night.

Little did I know that it wasn't the heat that was going to keep me tossing all night, but rather the usual over speeding of thoughts that ran through my mind now, uninhibited and unstoppable.

There were thoughts of failure, what constitutes failing, what if people found out, then of society, my thoughts about society and people who judge(they can stick their views and opinions up their a#*!!), then just people, of finding the ideal boy, then right boy, then of friends, the close ones, the discrimination we make between our friends, then family, and how much family has done for me, and what I have done for family which bought me back to what I am doing now(waiting for a interview call !!) and this brings us back to the whole 'I hope I can live up to the expectations of me and my family, which leads us rightly back to 'what if I don't = failure.

No sleep tonight. (Damn it!!!)

Checking

'You wasted Life , why won't you waste the afterlife'

There present among the six billion souls are people whose souls are darkened beyond black. It is a reflection of their thoughts and feelings, that slants more towards, jealosuy, envy, anger, masochistic, sadist, greedy, and selfishness than any villan that you have either read about or seen acting out their malicious thoughts on the halpless protagonist.

There is person I know, whose soul unfortunately is black. I cannot say this now with surety, but I am assured beyond belief that the shade that was once a dark grey, like the dark clouds that crowd the sky during the monsoon season, is now a shade of black, the colour of the midnight sky in the interiors of a forest seen from an abandoned path.

What fazes me is that this does not faze the person. The chinese whispers games that were a part of the idylic, nostalgic innocent filled childhood, has been unfortunately used as a apprentice in the grand scheme of things that not only destroy any peace and serenity that people had achieved once again after banishing this dark presence from their life, but also rather unfortunately brings back the repressed and supressed thoughts and feelings which were best meant to be forgotten.

I quite don't know what to say when a person you have been trying to bar from entering your own private enclosure despite repeated warnings and denials. I am supposed to feel flattered or just hounded by a merciless beast that thinks that this a game, wherein the thrill lies not only in chase but also in the catching of the prey(me).

You had your chance, you had your time, you screwed up that time. Anything that you have said, not said, done or not done is nothing but a painful reminder of the dark soul that you were and are.

You have a chance to renew, but no what do you , you instead resort back to your old favourite game, Chinese whispers, but this time with new participants and boy aren't you getting better with age.

You still wish for me to be a audience to your life. But why in the world would I want that, even to be an audience in your afterlife would be a punishment, since so far you wasted your life, and I am quite sure that you shall be wasting your after life as well.

Table for One

The worst thing about celebrating your success is to find that there is no one you can celebrate it with. The felicity of having gotten what you have dreamt, wished and worked towards ever since you realised your calling is just over and beyond mountains happiness.
I was asked to assist my boss, Anirban to edit this book 'The Golden Sacrifice'. Its the Mahabharat from Arjun's point of view. The sheer disbelief and excitement that followed was 'WOW' this is what I had hoped to do when I started my internship her at Random House India and it has finally happened. Though it is the last month of my internship but then hey better late than never right.
But, there wasn't anyone to celebrate it here, no hugs no bear hugs no kisses and pats on the back. All I received from my foster family was the lukewarm and very stoic reaction of 'badiya'. Bless their soul, that is really nice of them, damn but I missed the my family and friends in Bombay. Telling them the good news over the phone and email is not exactly the same on the scale of happiness had it been face to face.
So I celebrated it by myself. My table for one, where books and chocolates were enough for a dinner conversation for my Bombay family who made it in that tiny table that I had booked in honour of my celebration.
It wasn't all that fun as how long can you manage to hold a conversation in your head where you are the only person who is physically present there :-p
But, its okay. Its alright, because I believe every success story big or small should be celebrated with the same zeal that was invested by you when you were trying your very best to achieve it.
So go out, with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. With your most flirty dress and shoes that would want to make a man bow down in front of you. Even if you have to tell the waiter as you enter the restaurant "table for one".
The time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted

Happy Mother's Day

Me and my Mum at the movies.
The time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted

Friends

They are my working week and my Sunday rest,
I have to say from around the world I have the best.
Who love me even when I am all moody and distant,
Without them my life would be over in an instant.

Purple Vidya and yellow Shradha thank you so very much for being in this world and finding me and being the perfect friends that anyone could ever ask for.
The time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted

The page is blank

I have observed that when you finally get what you have toiled to achieve after a few sweating moments, you have no clue as to what to do with it then.
You either rush through with the sweet success of victory and savour the delicious feeling of achievement or it becomes such a surreal moment you feel sort of cheated with the sense of victory. The worst is when you realise that the whole process wasn't as tough and confusing as finding the beginning of a single spaghetti in a full bowl, rather more like finding a black olive in a garden salad.
There is also the 'Chasing Car' Syndrome as bought to my attention when I was a watching an interview of Gary Lightbody. For the uninitiated he is the lead singer of the alt band Snow Patrol and one of their famous song is Chasing Cars. When asked about the meaning, Gary alluded the phrase to his dad, who mentioned that Gary was like a dog chasing a car when it came to girls. A dog chases a car without the intention of knowing what to do with it once it stops. It stops its chase and barking as soon as the car has slowed down.
According to Gary's dad, that is how Gary was when he came to girls, he would chase them, but when they fell for him, he wouldn't know what to do and would chase another girl.
So, in theory, we all like the thrill of the chase more than achieving the target. Once we get that, our mind becomes a blank page, waiting for someone to write something new for us to chase #
The time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted

Testing 1-2-3

Hello hello... mail to blogger post checking. #
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version - Official

The end of the show song!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVT9Cv_EUbw#

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?