“What is this?” I ask.

He just pushes it into my hand without answering.

On the top, it reads, John abraham’s diet.

I read it twice and then look at him with a questioning expression.

“How long have you been doing yoga,” he asks.

“Ermm…. About… 6-7 months,” I answer hesitantly, not liking where this is heading.

“And how much weight have you lost?”

“Ermm… a little.”

Actually, around 3 kilos, which is a lot in my book, but due to my already substantial weight, it doesn’t show. So there!

John apparently has lost weight doing the same brand of yoga as I have. For some undecipherable reason, he’s achieved six packs and I’m stuck somewhere at size… 12?

He looks at me with what I thought was some amount of disbelief.

“You need to lose weight, reDBull.”

“Uhhh… but why? I am totally happy. I do not want to be like John Abraham! I have no desire to look like him!”

Besides, I can’t get Bips, so I can’t be bothered.

Okay, I didn’t actually say that but you see the point.

John has a career to build, a brand new girlfriend on his arm, designer clothes he needs to fit into and parade.

Me – I have no such lofty (or lowly) aspirations. My career doesn’t require it; the girlfriend is more like a mirage (I think she exists more in my imagination than in actual life) and I can’t afford designer clothes. So what do I care about six packs?

In my defense, I didn’t even know what are these six packs”…lol…. It’s not one I usually veer towards when shopping for clothes. Even my arm won’t go into a skin tight outfit.

Anyway, my point is that I am extremely miffed at all this pressure that John has put on the young (and not so young) men of today.

Granted, he’s really worked hard to get (down to) where he is. And I admire him greatly.

But, seriously.

Every young guy now wants to flaunt six packs. Even at the cost of their health. And by skipping meals and following really unhealthy diets. And not everyone has the resources to get to where John has in the “right way” as he put it – with a personal trainer and a personal dietitian to help him achieve his near anorexic look.

Personally, I much preferred the wholesome look but who cares about me. Where did healthy and curvy go?  When did this obsession with six packs happen?

And I’m also really happy where I am. Of course, I am all for a healthy lifestyle and I do everything within my means – running, yoga, eating properly (indulging once in a while!) – to maintain one reasonably well. But John! He’s introduced a whole new dimension to being healthy all together.

Even my yoga instructor now thinks I am not doing enough to lose weight.

“And you can do it,” he declares confidently. No oil, no carbs, no sweet, no sugar – basically everything I eat ordinarily is out. One measly chappati for lunch (you’ve got to be kidding me!) and no carbs for dinner. Just soup and salad.

Ye gads! Even if I do manage to get down to size zero I’m definitely going to be a very “unhappy and mopey” looking size zero.

No, I think. I wouldn’t really take so much effort.  Or Bips, for that matter.

My poor yoga instructor will just have to live with me. And my tummy… has no six packs.

They came over, installed an antenna on my roof and in about 15 minutes I was connected and ready to go.

After several months tearing my hair out with a super slow Reliance Data card connection – I get about 2 bars as signal (out of 6) anywhere in my house – this new connection seems like a life changing experience. Really.

Not only that, the Indicom folks called a few times checking on my connection, gave me tips on how to check the speed and making sure I wasn’t facing any problems. I am rather surprised since my earlier experience with Indicom wasn’t altogether pleasant. They seem to have pulled up their socks lately and I’m hoping they’re as cooperative and quick to solve my problems when things don’t work.

As of now, I’m enjoying my super fast connection (okay it isn’t super fast, but believe me when you go through the data card – anything else is like a dream) and hoping that this lasts for a while!

Passing by A group of schoolgirls pass by a lovely yellow coloured building fringed by a bougainvillea tree in full bloom

The trail was lovely – I did more of sightseeing and admiring while going through some of these kaccha roads that I would never have found on my own! Auroville was a pretty sight with the yellow, orange, red, pink bougainvillea in full bloom adding so much colour to the atmosphere! We arrived in Chennai at 4 am in the morning and then had a yummy steaming breakfast at the station before catching a local bus to Pondi that was ready to depart. The Pondi bus deposited us at the junction of ECR Road where the turn forks off to Auroville. We started on a good note – a big breakfast right on ECR road called Beach Café. We found our way to the Centre Guest House in Auroville, a place we fell in love with immediately. Just as you walk in is this huge and lovely tree in the courtyard that forms an umbrella, towering over everything around. It must be a really old tree and had so much character. The guest house was serene and peaceful and had a lovely room with a portico looking out into the forest.

The lovely courtyard of the Centre Guest House

We hired a few cycles (most of them were really tall for me, but I managed to get onto one finally). We cycled around the area and rosh was finally getting a little confidence maneuvering except for the part when a vehicle would come from the other side and she’d ride straight into the bushes. Ermm… It was fun.

Bonding time:)A father and daughter spend some time by the sea in Pondicherry

In the evening we got ourselves a few noisy TVS champs, and went to do some Pondi sightseeing – walked along Goubert Avenue, stepped into the Alliance Francaise, had coffee at the La Terrasse and then a drink at Le Club. Got back to Auroville and went straight to the Visitor’s Centre to get our registration packs. Dinner was pasta and lasagna and we wrapped by around 930 pm and headed back. Night before the run The night before the race at the Visitor’s Centre The next morning, woke up around 6 am and then started off for the Matrimandir gates – the half marathon started at exactly 7 am. I started off very slowly, quite scared of my knee. There was one cyclist leading the front and one at the back – Venkatesh. I soon got talking to him and he asked me if I planned to actually finish the run. He was obviously skeptical looking at my painful and slow progress. As the miles went by, he got a bit more confident. After the 18 km mark he confessed that he thought I was going to give up very early on in the race (like the 1st km) and was impressed that I had come so far. “Now you can do it,” he said confidently. Venkatesh proved to be a big help for me – if I was alone I would’ve possibly just quit at around 10kms. The trail was awesome – it was a spiral inside Auroville – greenery all around, a few cosy houses and buildings on the way and most of the race was inside forest area and thankfully quite shady. The only downside was the heat in the parts that were in the open, but thankfully they were few and far in between. There were quite a few volunteers along the way at the aid stations and in between making sure we didn’t get lost. The only thing I missed was some Relispray or Moov, which would have numbed my pain – but apart from that it was quite well organized. At the finish line At the finish line! At the finish line, breakfast awaited us – lovely big idlis and sambar and we also got our certificates and a packet of Himalaya salt to soothe our feet. There were ice buckets but most of them were taken. Around noon, we were back at our guest house, tired and achy and thankfully they had lunch for us. After lunch, we packed up and headed back to Pondi town from where we took another local bus back to Chennai. This one took another route (not the ECR) and covered the distance in 4 hours, just in time to deposit us for our Airavath back to Bangalore.

His wife too was overjoyed; the kids were a validation of her feminity and fertility. Now being a mother felt reassuring to her. She decided to give up her job to become a full time mother. Her kids and husband were the center of her life now. He believed she stood out in the crowd because she had a job and a life which did not center on him, but he was mistaken. She was above mediocrity, but did not want to stay afloat. It soon swallowed her. She wanted the satisfaction of having risen above it.

He realized as long as he was occupied and was under pressure personally or professionally the void did not seem prominent. When he was not, the void seemed very prominent. He would retrospect on his life; the void would emerge to fill his mind. Providing for his children kept him occupied, the void did not engulf him. He had to strive harder for that little bonus or increment. He strived hard to provide for his kids, achieving that he felt would fill the void he felt. He strived hard to provide his kids with all they desired. He did manage to do that. He though had to work that extra bit harder for that.

He was no longer the teenager who landed on the shores to pursue his dream. He was now a middle aged man, a successful corporate citizen, a responsible father and a loving husband. He had made enough money to financially secure his family. Yet he felt lonely, his wife seemed like a stranger. She could never understand the void that engulfed him. He was always restless, she thought he was weird. They were strangers coerced by marriage to live under one roof. Soon the void filled his existence, just when he thought he had wiped it out from his life, it reemerged to fill his existence.

A good friend made an offered him his escape route. His friend wanted him to join in his start up. It would entail moving back to India. His wife was overjoyed. She was never happy here, she longed for the streets and smells of India. She need not share a house with the stranger alone anymore. His children were studying in hostels. He did not have to risk his financial security, but would reap the gains if any. The deal seemed too hard to resist. He moved back to India.

The start up kept him busy the void disappeared from his existence. Luck had always favored him, through his life. He missed the IITs but got through to REC, he missed the top universities, but got through to an Ivy League university. He also got the job everyone desired, a wife who stood out in the crowd, and now he helped build a successful start up. The company was soon devoured by a larger firm. Small fish are always swallowed by bigger fish. He though did end up financially wealthier.

Date:31/12/2008

location: DB’s DEN

11:00 pm–All of us are waiting for the Death angels to come down to my place.

Now ppl dont wack ur heads abt wats Death Angels(click here for more info. black thunder)

@  last d girls arrive in their best looking outfits.Its 11:20 now..All d MOMs and DADs were there.. about 13 married couples.And also there were 6 to be couples.. All from my gang… all of us were jus chilling arnd with drinks(for d oldies) and colas and other  things for us… all of us gave a formal intro of our families… LAst one was Ron..

Now it gets interesting

Ron just stands up and tells ppl dat he is in love with a girl.. now all d ppl ot dere are confused,surprised etc..

Evrybdy asks him who is she and he says its RUKSI(ruksaana).. my gosh .. gr8 guts man… He proposed her rite in front of evrybdy…D best part being in front of ruksaana’s dad…She was shocked … let alone her evrybdy was shocked..Den Ruksi asked her dad and he was super cool with his reply….”I think its time to say good-bye to my daughter”

a 5 seconds pause..den…”As she wil be going into another family…” He is one good man.. i congratulated both and ron as he did it finally…Ron told evrybdy tat it was my idea.. All of us were den busy teasing demm so finally all of dem are engaged…EXCEPT d 3 MUSKTEERS.. me roshi,archie…. We 3 seriously dont neeed anybody…like we 3 r too good for each other..nevr felt like need some1 spl in life…

DEN in d middle of all dis chaos and confusion.. IT was lights off… 2008 is gone…. evrybdy hugged each other and den it was cake cuttingssssss and CHAMPAGNE flowinggggggssss…all d souls out dere  had a good manicure with d cake….DEn it was wishes all around .. .. It was like heaven out  here…Den all of us took our respective parents to their homes… dropped dem home and went on a drive to Our hang out place ICRISAT CAMPUS…It was a perfect night… with all my friends Beside a lake… On d banks…It was time for  some music and dance.. All my frnz with their wud-be and to-bes spread out on d bank… it was only me,rosh and archie left out sittin on d bank…..It was damn cold. Well i was luckiest of all d guys out dere…All had 1 girl beside dem but i had 2.. we 3 discussed all d beautiful things abt life,work,PAST PRESNT,etc. Spent some gr8 time togeder. Slowly all of dem dozed of on d bank except we 3.. we were talking,talking and talking….

Den d  dawn of 2009 was rite infront of our eyes…All woke up and left to our respective places. Had an early morning race..on d highway… DAts how my 2009 started.. I wil rember dis new year entry for a lifetime..not bcoz i had 2 girls beside me but i had all my sweetos togeder with meee… We all r 1 hell of a team and we rock…

TamilNadu / Kerala / Karnataka / Andhra Pradesh Circuits:
1. Chennai – Pulicat – Kanchipuram – Mahabalipuram – Thirukazhukundram – Uthiramerur – Vedanthangal
2. Pondicherry – Chidambaram – Gingee – Vellore – Nagappattinam – Karaikal – Thanjavur – Kumbakonam – Seerkazhi – Vaideeswarankoil
3. Thiruchirappalli – Karaikudi – Madurai – Thenkasi – Kutraalam – Kulasai – Tiruchendur – Rameshwaram – Kanyakumari
4. Ooty – Kodaikanal – Yercaud – Elagiri – Kolli hills
5. Walayar – Pollachi – Theni – Kambam – Munnar – Periyar – Thekady
6. Coimbatore – Palghat – Adhirapally – Cochin
7. Srirangapatna – Somanthpur – Mysore – Wayanad- Calicut
8. Madikeri – Bylakuppe – Mangalore – Kundapur – Udipi – Malpe – Maravante – Jog
9. Gokarna – Goa
10. Hampi – Badami – Aihole – Bagalkot – Belgaum – Bijapur – Gulbarga – Hyderabad
12. Chitradurga – Goa – Belur – Helebedu
13. Sringeri – Dharmstala – Shravanabelagola – Melkote
14. Vishakapatnam – Machilipatnam – Warangal
15. Srisailam – Mahanandi – Ahobilam – Kailasanadhakona – Suruttupalle – Talakona – Yadagirighutta

Apart form these mentioned above, the list goes like this for the REST of MY LIFE..
1. Mumbai/Pune/Ajanta
2. Pushkar/Jaipur/udaipur
3. Leh/Ladakh/Srinagar
4. Bhuj/Ahmedabad
5. Dehradun/Mussourie
6. Varanasi/Allahabad/Lucknow
7. Kolkata/Darjelling/Patna/Ranchi
8. Majoli and entire NE
9. Gwalior/Bhopal/Raipur
10. Bhubaneshwar/Puri/Cuttack

I guess.. I need 365 FULL days to finish this, though i have covered many places earlier without my CANON toy…. I have 20 days of Leaves and of course 52 Sundays.

I know, im very ambitious.. and lets see.. where it ends..

~deebee….

Improving access to sanitation is a good investment because:
a. Sanitation is vital for human health,
b. Sanitation generates economic benefits,
c. Sanitation contributes to dignity and social development
d. Sanitation helps the environment
e. Improving sanitation is achievable!
To put the spotlight on this issue the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the

International Year of Sanitation. The goal was to raise awareness and to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015.
Source: http://esa.un.org/iys/

2. 2008 – Year of the Frog.
In 2008, AArk  lead zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in a globally coordinated public awareness campaign “The Year of the Frog.”

The main goal of this campaign was to generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity.
Source: www.amphibianark.org

3. 2008: Year of Information Overload?
Interruptions aren’t merely annoying; they’re also bad for productivity. And when you multiply the interruptions made possible by email, phone calls, text messages, and Twitters across the entire US, the result is lost productivity on a massive scale: $650 billion in a single year.

That’s according to research firm Basex, which chose “information overload” as its 2008 “Problem of the Year.” Failure to solve the problem will lead to “reduced productivity and throttled innovation.” The situation is dire enough that Intel’s Nathan Zeldes estimated “the impact of information overload on each knowledge worker at up to eight hours a week.”

This was hardly a news flash, of course. Multitasking has long been recognized to have deleterious effects on productivity. The great irony is that multitasking is meant to improve productivity, but the human brain turns out to be bad at rapid task switching. The Atlantic ran a lengthy piece on the false promise of multitasking in its November edition (subscribers only), using as one of its epigraphs a line by Publilius Syrus: “To do two things at once is to do neither.”
Source:http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071226-interruptions-info-overload-cost-us-economy-650-billion.html

4. 2008: Year Of The Location Based Services?
Americans were buying global positioning systems (GPS) for their cars in large numbers, reports AdAge. The NPD Group said that revenues are up 214% and GPS unit sales up a whopping 488% over last year.

The M&A activity in the sector was on an upswing, and the primary driver being location-based and mapping services on the mobile phones, the latest being NXP Semiconductors’ $85 million buyout of GloNav.

As new network-enabled Dash devices and more mobile phones came to market in 2008, next 12 months  saw an upswing in news and noise around location-based services.
Source: http://gigaom.com/2007/12/24/2008-year-of-the-location-based-services/

5. 2008: The Year of Micro
This was an exciting year in online technology. If you look at it from a 10,000 foot view, humans are really still blazing a trail on how to utilize this relatively new medium, the Internet. Perhaps it’s obvious but I believe 2008 was really the year that applications and strategies go Micro.

The evolution of the social web (Web 2.0) is now moving rapidly into new, targeted territory. The massive, one-fits-all solution which be evolved to provide you with the right connections to the right people and the right content… at the right time.
Source: http://www.douglaskarr.com/2007/12/26/2008-year-predictions/