15 Things that make me a unique Indian Girl…

Last week I came across this rather funny but very true post on Buzzfeed. I decided to share my top 15 of the List :

1. You spend a significant amount of your time and money on hair removal, in various forms.

Yes all forms of torture waxing , threading , sugaring , plucking and bleaching

2. You regularly receive Facebook friend requests from middle-aged men in suburban India with whom you have zero mutual friends.

Or Pakistan

3. You were raised to fear the sun because your grandmother would disown you if your skin got darker.

Or you wouldn’t get married as milky tea coloured skin was more desirable in a girl

4. Of course, at the end of the day, you’re free to marry whomever you want… Except the extensive list of races, religions, and nationalities your mom has vetoed.

Hello parents its 2014 not 1820 but then saying that I am kinda off Indian guys at the moment

5. No matter how old you get, you have to give your parents a detailed itinerary every time you leave home.

Gee whizz I feel like I am 5 ! How am I meant to meet a nice boy?

6. Nothing cheers you up like rocking out to your Bollywood jams.

Good old Bollywood tracks always get me bopping.

7. If you ever got sick, you were forced to eat ginger and drink honey, regardless of the ailment.

Force fed home remedies let’s not forget Castor Oil yukkkkk

8. Your standards for romance are unreasonably high.

Thank you Bollywood for this rose tinted glasses. Sorry, current and future boyfriends.

9. You have some serious swearing abilities and you aren’t afraid to use them.

True story the first words I learn in any language are the swear words so don’t make me angry cause I will go all foreign on you.

10. Your other special talent: bargaining.

In my case always a bargain hunter, hate paying full price

11. In your vocabulary, chai = gossip.

Isn’t it a universal language

12. You never had sex ed at school, so you learned about sex from questionable sources.

Defo no Birds and the bees chat with the parents.

13. But you know that there’s nothing in the world more flattering than a sari and some confidence.

Hell yes very sexy, all men love a woman in a sari.

14.You have aunties all over the world, none of whom you are related to.

Yes Oz, New Zealand, Canada, California, Mauritius.

15. And you wouldn’t trade your loud, chaotic, and colorful life for all the samosas in the world.

Totally love my colourful culture, religion and history.

Am sure many of you reading this post are nodding and saying yes true story lol.

I love who and what I am and totally proud to be Indian.

I am leaving you with a video of one of my fav Bollywood Tracks that always gets my entire family young and old on the dance floor:  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bILcP_SmqVY

Ciaoxxx

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Love is….

It always baffles me that the English Language has only word to express the word Love yet the Greeks and Indians each have over 5 words each.

We each experience different kinds of love in life…. For me personally, Love manifests itself in my life like this :

1. Love of my  Family – your first experience of relationships.
2. Love of my beloved puppy Zara.
3. Love of my country.
4. Love of my friends who have become family.
5. Love of my Religion and culture.

All 5 are so different yet have the common thread of Love binding them together. Love is a verb and is definately more than a feeling. Go out there into the world and Try to be LOVE ! Love does make the world a better place.

This song is so beautiful, have a listen let me know your thoughts… http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qeNRQgzJqt4.

Ciao xxx

Weddings

In June my amazing friend M married her beloved M is a beautiful ceremony that was so touching. I even caught the bouquet so guess that means I am next.

So this got me thinking about weddings, marriage , traditions and culture.In an Indian wedding its always a large event that occurs over a period of 2 weeks, lots of feasting, songs, dancing and colourfulclothing.Ithinks this takes away the signifance. Every wedding that occurs now is bigger and better than the last with wedding co ordinators and programme directors all these things cost a large amount of money and is over so quickly.

Some marriages are based on love while others are arranged . This process of arranged marriage is not often done these days but there is a history of this especially in the Indian culture.They say you can learn to love someone …. not sure about this but on the flipside of the coin your family find you a suitable partner .

A wedding is the joining of two people who have decided to walk down the same path together , it is also a joining of their families and friends. Every culture has their own traditions which is always interesting to see how different people celebrate weddings.As much as it is a joyous celebration it is also sad for the to be leaving her family and starting a new life.

My take on marriage ……. Marriage is when two souls unite and become one to share their life journeys together through rocky roads and rainbows. Every religion of the world holds marriage as a very important aspect of life, I do believe in marriage but I dont beleive in the vast amounts of money spent on this day as the true meaning of this celebration gets lost. Though my heart has been broken and is almost like a patchwork quilt I still believe in love and marriage and yes I do want to get married someday not an arranged marriage tho but with someone I love and someone who does complete me …..

ciao
xxx

Onion Tears by Shubnum Khan

I clearly recall in 2011, mum reading a review of this book and saying we must read this book.I then asked why as I had not read the review, her response was its written by an Indian girl from Durban and its about life, love and woman. Mum then went on further to say we must support local talent.

Last year, I finally managed to locate Onion Tears after discovering Shubnum Khan on Twitter. I was pretty excited to read this book especially as I had begun following her on Twitter.The cover was very beautiful and very eye catching,and a comment from Shanthini Naidoo on the cover did make the reader in me hungry to devour this book.

The story is based on an Indian family in South Africa, especially seen through the eyes of 3 generations of woman in this family, the grandmother,her daughter and her granddaughter. The main themes explored in this novel are those of love, loss and life. Its a very touching story that everyone can identify with.Life is not always what it seems and the past has a sneaky way of creeping up upon us. The story pulls you in and make you feel like you know the characters personally and you can feel their emotions.Society and the role of woman are also explored in this novel.

The clever use of culture and cooking ties up this lovely novel that is simply so realistic.Shubum is truly a great wordsmith and writes with such passion which is clearly evident in this novel.

Thank you Shubum for penning such a interesting read, I cant wait for your next book and to meet you in person.
ps. Go out and buy a copy of ONION TEARS 🙂

5

As a child number 5 was my most favourite number in the world. Whenever I was asked how many do I want it was always 5. As a much loved and spoilt toddler I was always indulged with 5 of whatever my heart wanted.I recall my aunt once saying that I might have 5 husbands and as a child I replied yes I will.

Lol 5 husbands this makes me cringe 😦 So I decided to explore the meaning of the number 5 and start a weekly list of 5 in my blog.

So in my research of 5 I found that its a very ancient number that was associated with various cultures, religions around the world. Some of these facts were really interesting :

* Muslims pray 5 times a day
* The pentagram has 5 sides to it
* The Olympic Games has 5 interlocked rings each symbolising the 5 continents of the world
* In Formula 1 the number 5 car traditionally belonged to the Williams team until the end of season in 1995
* No. 5 is the iconic fragrance by Coco Channel
* Almost all reptiles and mammals have 5 toes or fingers on their extremities
* In the Jewish religion The Torah contains 5 books
* According to Aristotle the universe is made up of 5 elements water, earth, ether , fire and air
* 5 is the number of completed numbered piano concertos by Beethoven
* Famous 5 is a famous children’s book series written by British author Enid Blyton
* MI5 is the informal term for British Security Service
* iPhone 5 is the latest generation of Apple iPhone
* 5 is the most common number of gears in a manual car

The interesting facts on my favourite 5 is endless, who knew a simple childhood fetish with 5 would have so much meaning.So in keeping with the theme of 5 I will say goodbye in 5 languages Ciao, Au revoir, Totsiens, Adeus,and Yasou…….

Friends…

Sometimes its just a few words, a hug or even a smile that could make a person’s day better. Today was not a good day for me at work. I was tested to the point of almost turning on the waterworks.

Friends at work all rallied around me to make me feel better, but the matter was not in my hands to control. Change is good but change that leaves you lost is not a good feeling. Earlier this afternoon i posted on Twitter a sad face only no words and immediately I recieved tweet of concern from friends I have never met.This really touched my heart , their kind words, virtual hugs and encouragement really worked its magic.

This made me realise that friends are truly angels who remind us that we have wings when we forget that we can fly. During my many years I have had , met and still have some really amazing friends even though we dont live on the same continent anymore I know they still care for me. Friendship is very important and friends are the family we choose.I have met friends from all walks of life , different cultures and age groups (this reminds me of once telling my mum I was going to a party for a Friend who was turning 50, MUM almost did a double take and said you have friends who are so old lol).Each of my friends have taught me very important life lessons, many stayed with me through very hard times in my life and I appreciate them for that.From drunken moments of madness in Spanish , to conquering my fear of Theme Parks , to holding my hand when I was afraid or holding back my hair when I was throwing up my friends are simply the best

So appreciate your friends doesnt matter if its in reality or social media be blessed knowing that you matter to someone ….To new friends , old friends and friends I have yet to met I am gobsmacked by the kindness you have shown me ……..

I am very blessed to have met many amazing souls during my journey each so unique, so loving and the crazy ones too lol. My friends may not be like the characters in the popular show “Friends” BUT hey they are my friends and that makes them superstars in my books 🙂