Madhumitha's Blog

When you see some people you know that it was meant to be. I felt that when I saw you for the first time. I knew that we could be best friends for life and those miles of land in-between or years without a word uttered cannot undo it. I knew it then, but with time that faith took a beating. I still remember the first time I saw you, my eyes were filled with tears and your mouth was curved with a smile. Irony I thought, while I cried you smiled beamingly at me. That smile made me realize the warmth in you. It felt like gentle morning sun in midst of a retreating monsoon cyclone time in east coast of India. It tingled through my skin make me feel that we were akin. I can never forget the pride with which you introduced me to all your friends and family. You were drunk with pride and happiness, it made me so happy, but I never showed it on my face. I continued to act like I was asleep. I was naïve to understand then that I was ignoring my best friend for life. You used to b...

He looked into my eyes anxiously, with hopes of hearing a “Yes!”  To his surprise I got up, eased the creases in my gray skirt and said, “Thank you, for the offer sir! But I have other plans.” He gave an uneasy smile. We nodded, shook hands and yet again I smoothed the creases on my skirt and I left. I waited for the lift, wondering why he didn’t ask me what my “Other Plans” were. There he was hoping that I would take up the job as Marketing Head of the tools division in his company and I said no because of “Other plans”. Neither did he ever want an explanation from me, nor did he coax me with new and improved salary. May be he knew, maybe he sensed that I had a Plan B. All my life I have travelled the length and breadth of this country selling everything from pins to ships. 17 years into marketing and sales can feel like an eternity especially for a person like me. All that grounded me was my lovely 12 yr old daughter, Aneesha. It was for her that I had always post pon...

I have often wondered why the sky is Blue. I knew later that it was due to scattering of light rays. The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air. However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.  But why Blue? That question never died. Of all possible 7 colors from the VIBGYOR, why Blue? There is a reason for every creation of God. And yes, I still do believe in God and that the force created all that we know. Some say, everything came from nothing. Then, that nothing is God. I am not pious as I used to be but I still do ha...

I should have missed the bus, I should have got up late, I should have called a day off, I should have taken a cab. Of all that I could have done, I came in that bus, Ugly hideous blue bus, Not to mention the bad seats. The journey of 22 km, Standing in the whole way, On black stilettoes, Hands over rusted rod. My eyes stared out, Yours stared at me, Piercing through me Hoping that I will give you the attention you deserve. My hair flew in the wind, As if grew a pair of wings, Fluttering with joy, Tempting you to grab it. You stretched your hands, In hopes to touch me, You smiled and winked at me, Lips frowned when I dint notice. The attention seeker, The cutest one in that bus, With dimpled cheek, You were a heart throb. I did see you, A little while later, It was love at first sight, I gave a beaming smile. In the blue bus, Of all sad and detached people, You made my day, You made me fall in lov...

Her small yet heavy head was resting on the edge of a sofa. The pattern of the 3 seater was were boring and it faded with the background. There was a sweet smell of strawberries on it always, Meenal loved it that way. Her face wrinkled and she got wriggled like a worm on the sofa and hugged the quilt more tightly. She just couldn't sleep without a quilt. It was like a shining shield of a warrior heading for a battle. Her eyes opened mildly, enough to see the time. 10 am was just too insanely early for her especially on a Saturday morning. Just as she was to place her phone back on the table it rang. On the other end was Meenal's sister. Begging her to get up and come home. Her baby was not well and she had the carpenter coming home. The list was endless. Meenal was not listening. The only thing that she understood was that she had to get up and drive down the street about  3 Km or so. She hated this. "Why can't people manage their life by themself? " She asked ...

She ran as fast as she could, taking long and deep breath in between. It was an unusually hot morning of cool December in Chennai. The fog was visible, but not that beautiful. It was burdened with weight of dirt and particulate pollutant. It made her long for the clean air back home. It didn’t have such a beautiful beach but it indeed had a sweet charm to its own. As her feet kept pounding on the loose beach sand of marina her mind travelled to the moist brown sand of the paddy field back home. With a deeper sigh she continued to run. She loved to run, some call her crazy, others call her devoted; she didn’t want to call it anything. Deep down she knew it was more than an effort to stay fit. It was defining her inner urge. All that Meenakshi wanted to do was run away. Don’t mistake her for a second. She was not the brainless person in love who wanted to elope. She was a footloose person. She loved to travel. Name a place in South India and she would tell you an interesting t...

It rained cat and dogs; the city was drowning in the rain water. Sheetal stood by the window sill, staring at the rain battering the window in her cabin, high up on the 9 th floor of a sky rise in Mumbai. The cabin was filled with aroma of fresh and hot coffee, which she held tightly in her hands. She was holding on to something else as well- tears.   The city & her mind had a similarity that day. Both were drowned it its own sense. The former in merciless rains and the latter in, well you will know as you read along. She took a deep breath as if it were her last; secretly she did wish for the same. There are days in your life when you feel that nothing is right. And then there are others when you feel that the whole universe is conspiring against you. Today the universe was playing its naughty games with Sheetal. As her name indicates, Sheetal was Ms. C ool. If she was perturbed one can safely conclude that may be world is coming to an end. So, was the world coming...

I walked aimlessly in clothes that didn't fit its surrounding. All frantic, and working up a sweat as I walked randomly. The level of sweat is directly proportional to my state of mind. Right then I was tensed. I was about to make a mark in my history, I was to enter the kitchen. Yes, you heard me right- "The Kitchen". Mark you not for a quick snack or a water. Right then and there on May 2, 2012, I started to cook. To people who don't know me, it might sound strange and even utmost funny. But there is a small tale to it. I had taken an oath- "I will never master the art of cooking for I shall outsource the non core function." I never was inclined to learn it. The feminist in me always asked me to read the economist, travel, strike a good conversation with smart people, paragliding- in short just anything in the world other than cooking.  People say that a MBA degree is like a spiritual journey. You find out more about yourself than business at the e...