Book-Cover Tag

Lots of pending works to catch up, have been quite busy. Professionally somehow managing it though a trip to Europe is again on the cards. And on personal front ? Oh well, Diwali shopping tops the pending list. :)
Also, with Indo-Pak series approaching fast, I fully suspect my company’s intentions for planning my tour around that time.
And here in blogosphere.. so many things to write about but just not getting time to really sit and collect my thoughts. Have been invited to write permanent cols in 2 different forums as well.
Somehow managing to put these small posts to keep this blog alive. And one of the ways is to do pending tags (11 to be precise). So I thought to start with them and I must say I loved doing this one. Once again the tagger is none other than Fleiger. Ok without wasting time, the rules first.

Rule (there is only one):

Go to the advanced book search on Amazon, type your first name into the Title field, and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.

Well, here I am going to talk about two books.

First I checked for my name Cuckoo and what I got was the famous but very common book cover “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey. Naah, this is not the “most interesting/amusing” cover I wanted to have. Then I saw another book which looked more interesting/amusing to me. The book is “The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage” by Clifford Stoll.

The Cuckoo's Egg is about tracking down computer criminals. A 75-cent discrepancy in billing for computer time led Stoll, an astrophysicist working as a systems manager at a California laboratory, on a quest that reads with the tension and excitement of a fictional thriller. Painstakingly he tracked down a hacker who was attempting to access American computer networks, in particular those involved with national security, and actually reached into an estimated 30 of the 450 systems he attacked. Initially Stroll waged a lone battle, his employers begrudging him the time spent on his search and several government agencies refused to cooperate. But his diligence paid off and the hacker, who was involved with a spy ring, tracked down the book is a hit & best appreciated by the computer literates.

Then out of curiosity, I searched for “Koyal”, Hindi version of Cuckoo. And wow ! What I got was a very interesting book again.

The book is “Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet” by Kashmira Sheth.

The story is about a dark skinned 16 years old girl Jeeta and her life in a small apartment in Mumbai. She is well-developed as a strong, independent teenager looking to find her own way of reconciling her dreams and the expectations of her family. She grows up with the conflict between old beliefs and customs and the modern world.
Jeeta, after having watched the family go through countless interviews with prospective grooms, doesn't want to have her husband selected for her. There is a certain boy who holds her interest, but her friendship with him remains a secret from her family. With the support of her best friend from school, Jeeta discovers that there are many more open doors for her than she suspected.

I guess both the books must be good reads. I have noted them down, will definitely read them. *Sigh* Sigma will know why I did that.

Now, the most interesting part of tags. (Mischievous smile)
It is time to tag people. The list is as follows.

1. Ajeya – I am sure your name will have many books. Come back from your vacation & do this. No hurries.
2. Ashutosh – After that serious post of yours, here’s something light to write about. Make this your next post. Let us see what your name brings us.
3. Adi/Deepti – Oh I can’t separate you two. Anyone or both of you can do this tag. Pretty easy and both of you are going to get plenty of book covers. I am hoping that you get both the names on one single cover. :)
4. Beast – I know of your very high interest in book reading. ;) Don’t worry your name search on Amazon has nothing to do with your reading habit.
5. Hpy – This is going to be fun for you. Search for your real name on Amazon & publish the book cover. That’s it. ;)
6. Pijush – I know you are going to enjoy this tag. If in doubt, ask me how to go about it.
7. Sigma – Oh your real name will sure bring the best book covers. Go ahead.

And anyone who wants to have the pleasure of seeing their names on book covers, I throw the tag open though I know names like Alpine, Aditi, Alok, Abhi, Craver, KT, Priyank will fetch good results.
Never mind, one more tag on books is on the way.. Go figure... :)

Note:- You can read Tag Etiquettes here.

Current song- Empty Hands – Karsh Kale
Technorati Tags: Books Tags

What Does Blogging Mean to Me!

Why do you think I spoke about tag etiquettes in my last post ? ;)
I have a few pending tags that I tried to put aside for quite sometime but not anymore. They are clinging onto me like parasites. I think I’ll finish them off now.
This one was given to me around 8 months back but required a bit of maturity, in terms of blogging to answer the questions honestly. Now that my blog is one year old, I have taken up this tag.

Without going into reasoning of who, why & when I come to the point. As always I put the rules first.

Rules of this tag:

1. Name the person with link who tagged you.
2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.
3. Tag 6 or more people.

Rule 1: Well, I am tagged by a person who loves to tag me since my days of naissance in this blogworld. If you go through my tags, you’d come to know the culprit’s name. I am one of his permanent victims and so, I have renamed him as Tagger of the Century. Now, are you really interested in knowing the name after so many hints ? Well, the name of the culprit is Fleiger.

Rule 2:
This time it is a questionnaire to be answered on the topic “What Does Blogging Mean to Me”. Here I go with the questions and my takes.

Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
Yes, I am happy but not satisfied. I derive happiness from many small things but it takes a lot for me to get satisfied with anything, it has more to do with my hunger for excellence.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yes, they do. But none of them are remotely interested in it except for one cousin who once in 3-4 months reads it, gets charged to have his own blog and then his enthusiasm ends as quickly as it starts.
I try hard to pull my family members to the monitor to read my blog but of no avail. However, they appreciate my efforts and achievements when they see your appreciative & encouraging comments, but invariably their last sentence would be “There are better ways to utilize your time”. Duh !

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
It is a private thing for me as far as my professional life is concerned but whoever is my friend, knows about my blog.

Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Yes, of course ! My blog is the main source for venting out my sane/insane thoughts and it has come quite a long way. It has brought me many good things… more focus, more pleasure, more satisfaction and yes, more friends. My blog has become a medium to have conversed with some wonderful people around who have enriched my life as friends.
Moreover, I think my reason for satisfaction from blogging is changing slowly. Earlier I was quite content with being alone in this big world, now I have also started liking company of people around me and perhaps that is the reason I have made my blog a little interactive.
In short, it has surprised me for discovering a new me from within.

Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
Since the professional life does not leave me with much time and my readership is much more than I ever expected it to be, I barely manage to keep in touch with those who have been kind enough to leave comments on my blog. So, no discovery of new blogs for me UNLESS someone has recommended it in any way.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
I love feedbacks and comments more than visitor counters, but visitors counter too gives me an important feedback. I have put it only for my reference.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Yes, many times. I have seen photographs of many bloggers who have put them on their blogs. For others, I have tried to imagine.

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Do you think all those Fortune 500 companies would be blogging if there was none? Furthermore, I think the blogs have given a voice to an ordinary person like me and to me this aspect is very important.

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
No, I don’t think so. I have seen bloggers helping others in whatever way they can. I’ll cite some examples that I have experienced or I know of.

- First one was seen on Mridula’s blog when someone wanted to contact a particular person in a hilly area and she became the link. Till date, none of them have met in person and I don’t think meeting is necessary for this purpose.
- Through their blogs I have come to know of many bloggers (not naming anyone here but hey guys, are you listening?) planning & going together on weekend leisure trips.
- My own blog has become a link between many bloggers who have started interacting with each other on one-to-one basis and I am sure they’ll meet in person when opportunity strikes.
- I, myself have become friends with some bloggers who are now more than just bloggers to me. I know I can count on them. Hey thanks.
- I think I am also going to be a link again between two regulars here. Both are studying in NMIMS, Mumbai and I would be the happiest person if they meet in real life.
- And more recently, when I wrote about a play that I watched, one of the actresses herself had commented here and is been since regular.
Similarly on a larger scale, at the time of bomb blasts in Mumbai trains, a separate blog was opened to help the victims and their families. My blog had not even taken birth at that time.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?
It is a normal thing and I try to learn from criticisms. I appreciate the valuable comments made by each of my readers. Many of them love to debate here on certain issues that I post. If you have noticed, I still have kept open my comments section for all, including anonymous commenters and no moderation of comments here. :)

Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?
Fear ?? No. Avoid ?? I’ve never been to any political blog for the reasons stated in answer no. 5 above. Also, it is not an area of my interest.

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
Who ? When ? Where ? I have no idea of such arrests.

Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
Being an optimist I don’t think I’ll die so early. Later, I hope someone from my family or my reason to blog would put a post here announcing to the world that I would no more be blogging. :)

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?
Well, I always display my “current song” at the end of each post. So, it has to be my current song Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye, Jab Koi Mushkil Pad Jaye.

Rule 3:

And this is the top most reason why I like tags. Grinning *wicked me* .
Let me think whom should I tag (read victimize) now. Ok, here is my list.

1. Craver – This is my first tag to you, you are my first victim and we all very much want to know your thoughts on blogging. :)
2. Catmoves - Yeah, I remember I have to do a tag given by you (I am still roaming around for that one) and a post as well but I would appreciate if you to do this one. I am sure you’d enjoy doing this.
3. Carol – Oh Oh, I know you don’t like tags but this one is real thought provoking. Hope you would take it and do justice to it.
4. David - I would appreciate if you take up this tag and I know you’d do justice to it.
5. Maverick – Hey I know you have not done this one. Be a good boy now.
6. Jarvram – This is my first tag to you and I am sure you’ll enjoy doing it.
7. Scanman – Gentleman, you got to show the world your reasons for blogging.

So guys, I pass on the baton to you. Now it is your turn to do the rest.

Current Song: Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye, Jab Koi Mushkil Pad Jaye - Zurm
Technorati Tags: Tags Blogosphere

Tag Etiquettes

Today I am going to speak about tags and tag etiquettes. Tags.. they are fun to do, fun to read and they let you know more about the person who is doing the tag and thus help in building a foundation of friendship. I am quite often tagged by fellow blogger friends and try to attempt them very religiously.

Tags have two parties – tagger, the person who tags and the tagged person.

Etiquettes for Taggers :

1. If you first mention about the rules in the beginning of the tag, it’ll be easier to understand and will also help the tagged person to attempt it.
2. Generally the last rule of tag is to tag a specified no. of people of your choice. Do not worry on this aspect; you can always tag fewer people than mentioned or leave it open.
3. When you tag a person, make sure that s/he gets the message. Either link them in your post or knock at their doors. Simply by writing in your post would not help as they might miss reading it.
4. Try to make sure that the person you are tagging, enjoys doing it, don’t just randomly pick up any name. E.g. if your tag is about books and you tag a person who is miles away from books then the very purpose of tag will have failed. Don’t worry, it’ll come with experience. :)

Etiquettes for Tagged :

1. If you get a tag to do, first etiquette is to acknowledge it. Have some courtesy, some manners. Either accept it or refuse it but please don’t keep mum. Remember, silence means affirmation and the tagger will get a wrong indication.
2. There is no time limit as such but if you have agreed to do the tag, keep your promise. Nothing will happen if you don’t do it but you’ll come in bad books of the tagger.
3. Follow the rules of the game and paste them in your post as well, so that the next person doesn’t have any difficulty in attempting it.
4. When you are done with it, inform the tagger.
5. Sometimes tagger keeps the tag open to all. In that case if you feel to do the tag, please follow the rules of the game. Also, give due credit to the tagger (linking him/her is the best option) since you’ve picked it up from his/her blog.

Current Song: In Dino Dil Mera, Mujhse Hai Keh Raha - Soham
Technorati Tags: Tags Blogosphere

Do I make you think ?

I think I thought a thought, but if I thought the thought I thought I thought, what was I thinking?

Aaaah ! I am happy. Happy for many reasons. No, it has nothing to do with that Smiling post.

Well, I am tagged again but this time with a difference !

I am given a tag of ‘Thinking Blogger Award' by a fellow blogger and a regular here, Mur of Queensland, Australia who has nominated ‘One From the Cuckoo’s Nest’ i.e. my blog as one of five blogs that makes him think.

My blog is not even a year old.. only a few months, not even completed 100 posts and now this ?

Well, I am honoured, humbled, touched and of course I am flattered. Thanks Mur.
It is nice to be recognized for your thinking cap but then I realized just because I make him think, does that necessarily mean I am a noteworthy thinker ?? What do you all say ?

In Mur’s words “Cuckoo who is a popular sub-continent blogee with some great stories and a huge local following”. Well, that’s your generosity Mur.

Now, it is my turn to tag five bloggers who come to my blog and whose works make me think. Hmmm.. a difficult one I must say since all of you guys’ work make me think.

So, here goes my list.

1. Mur Yes, I am tagging him back as his blog is a mix of thinking box with a good sense of humour and without whom I wouldn’t be writing this post.
2. Gaurav who says a lot through his posts including some of his nonsense ones. ;)
3. Peace with Guns who writes some life tales with nice simplicity.
4. Aditi mostly writes some serious posts which really make me wonder whether she is my soul sister.
5. SiD some of his posts [not the current ones ;)] were quite thought provoking ones.

Now it’s your turn to carry on the good work. And you can tag me back if you think my blog makes you think a little.

Ok, once again the rules are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to five blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the origin of this award.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.

P.S.:- And I think I am going to win another award this year.. to be ‘The Most Tagged person of the Year’ [There are still some pending ones :(]. Thanks to my regular readers and welcome to the new ones.

Current song- Sensualité - Axel Red
Technorati Tags:- Tags Thinking Blogger Award

Those were the Best Days of My Life

Yes, today I am going to talk about the good old days of summer. I like all the four seasons for different reasons and summer always had a special place in my life. The summer when we had plethora of time, the summer which made us sweat but not tired, the summer which made us gaze at the stars and the summer which made us shed our clothes to the minimum. Oh summer ! Oh summer !

Yes, the lovely summer is here again ! But alas ! We won’t be able to do many things that we used to love doing then. That is the price we have to pay for growing up.
And when I was tagged by two people (Mathew & Fleiger the Tagger) to do this Summer Tag, I felt doubly nostalgic. ;)

Yeah, you got me right. Its tag time again. And the rules of the game go like this.

1. Name the person (with link) who tagged you.
2. Describe what you are asked to do, in this case write about eight things you enjoyed doing during summer.
3. Tag five people

The summers remind me of many things & those many things are mostly common among all Indian children. I will try not to repeat or keep it to minimum.

• Food: Watermelons, mangoes, ice creams, Rasna, sweet thandi lassi and home made different flavoured milkshakes were the staple food of my summers. More than solids I survived the scorching heat of North India on liquids. My all-time favourite thirst quenching ice-cream was THE orange bar but sneakily licking the lid of cup ice-cream was so much of a fun not to be missed out and I still do not miss it ! ;)

Later on when I grew up, Nirulas was the place for ice-creams.

• Comics, books: The most of summer vacation afternoons were spent in reading something or the other. Favourites were Archies, Asterix, Tintin, Phantom and Enid Blyton. Also, since Hindi reading was made compulsory :( Champak & Parag became the part as well.

The day new books for new class were brought home, the first job was to put brown covers and then finish off the books one by one.

• Morning Rounds / Sunrise: Getting up early morning was another fun thing for us. All (Well, most) of the neighbourhood kids used to get up early and go for morning rounds discussing the day’s plans while watching the sunrise.
• Dolls: Playing with dolls was another activity for me and I loved that. One of my neighbourly aunts was expert in making cloth dolls with all the minute details including eyebrows & nails. During exam days ‘orders’ were placed to her to make dolls and the summers were spent in playing / marrying them off. All the Barbie dolls were kept aside as they were no match to these dolls.
• Cricket: Later on when I grew up a little and after I was threatened ten thousand times by my mom to throw all my dolls, I took up cricket as an alternative and I am proud to say that it became one of my favourites.

Though I used to represent my school in long jump & races, cricket was never neglected and is still not neglected.

• Climbing Trees: Growing up in the capital city was fun but it was incomplete without the summer trips to grandparents’ place. My grandfather had a huge bungalow with all types of trees and a big garden. The whole area was so big that I used to measure it in kilometers instead of feet / yards ! Obviously, climbing trees and counting the branches or fruits was one major activity for all of us.

• Star Gaze: Sleeping on the terrace and gazing the stars ! What fun it was ! Discussing the constellations, finding the Saptrishi, making the shape of Leo, looking for some satellite or shooting star. Nights were really very short to accommodate all my fascinations.

• Saying AAA….: Last but not the least. Saying Aaaaaaaa (sometimes with your palm on your opened mouth).. in front of the desert cooler or an oscillating pedestal fan. Yes, if you happen to be in North India, I am sure you would have seen or done this. It used to make a very strange funny sound but so were the strange days of that life.

Now that rule no. 1 & 2 are taken care of, time for my favourite rule. ;)

Yeah, you got it right again. Its time to find my victims, my shikaar. So, here goes my list..

Abhi- Your blog needs some delicious summer delicacies. :)) I know you are busy for a month but after that would like to know about your bachpan.
Alok – Would like to know how your summers were spent. Finish your exams and do this tag please.
Lazy – You have been quiet for sometime. We all would like to know about your summer/summer holidays you enjoyed most.
PM – You too are quiet these days. Take the tag now. :)
Prashanth – Never tagged you. Let me grab this opportunity. ;)
MG – There is no other way to know more about you than this tag. :P

Maverick, Sigma & Bach – Be ready, I can see the channel through which this tag is coming your way. ;)
Current song- Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams

123/5

Aaaaah ! I am tagged again !! Sigmaaaaaaaaaa I hate you. (just killing, ok?) Oooops typing error.. that was just kidding. Ok ?
Well, Sigma has asked me to display here on my blog 5^th paragraph of page 123 of the book I am currently reading. Hmmm… pretty simple. Isn’t it ?

Again first the rules of this game.

1. Name the person (of course with the link) who tagged you.
2. Describe what you are asked to do, in this case publish 5^th paragraph of page 123 of the book you are currently reading.
3. Tag five people

Now this tag has some FAQs as well. Let me put them down also.

1. What if the page does not have 5th paragraph
Ans. In that case take the last paragraph

2. What if the book is very small & doesn’t have page no. 123
Ans. Take the last page.

Well, to put it honestly my “Currently reading” list has three books. (Most of the time I am busy reading Archies & Asterix’s).

First one is Shantaram. But I won’t put 5^th paragraph of that book. Want to know the reason ? Well, I am on page no. 121 for the last eight months and am in no mood to touch that fatso again in near future. But yes, the book will remain in my list of "currently reading" till I finish it. More so, Maverick has already published the page.

The second book is The Bermuda Triangle. No, no. It has NOTHING to do with World Cup group B matches.

The third book is The day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth started yesterday.

Here is the 5th paragraph of page 123 from the book The day of the Jackal.

Now the best part of the tag.. Sigmaaaaaaa I love you for tagging me !! ;)

Ok, so who all are my victims this time…All new ones whom I have not tagged till now. They should be interested in reading also na. Ok, this time I’ll pass the baton to the following people. Heyy Don’t panic, this one is extremely easy.

Hmmm..

BTR – I know you read. Show us what you are reading these days. Now you have two tags to do. :)
SiD – I have never tagged you. Let me grab this opportunity. :))
Mohan – There is always a next time, right ?
Ranjeet – Let us see what book you are reading currently.
Sharda – I am sure you must be reading a lovely book. What is it about ?

Note :- No more tags for me please. I have some pending tags which I would like to do first. So, tag me at your own risk.. I am not going to tag (Ooops take) it !

Now be happy, listen to my current song. :))

Current song- Somebody – Bryan Adams

Dreams or Nightmares ??

As I said earlier, in last one and a half months directly or indirectly a lot has happened around me. Tagging was one of them. But this time it was not through proper channel (you know what I mean). Yes, for a change it was not Fleiger but Sigma who tagged me.
Hmm.. one has to respect the tags and do it. You can evade them only on very genuine reasons. That’s called Tag Etiquette. First, to make it more systematic let me put down the rules of this game.

1. Name the person who tagged you
2. Describe what you are asked to do, in this case describe your three dreams / desires / nightmares or a combination of them .. whatever you want to tell.
3. Tag three or five people

Rule no.1 – As I said, Sigma is the culprit this time. ;)
Rule no.2 - Well, I have already posted about five of my dreams which are actually desires so this tag has been taken care of ! ;) Bye bye Tata. :))

Ok, Ok. Chill. Now that the desires are covered in that post, it is turn of dreams/nightmares. I’ll describe only two because I have only two. Coincidentally both of them are related to travel, so with slight modification they become part of my other blog as well. Here they go..

ONE - This was also my first dream that I remember and I still remember the exact details. :))

I was six years old then. My father was transferred to Bharatpur (Rajasthan) and we had already moved to that tiny quiet city. But within 15 days of shifting I dreamt that we had just got down at Bharatpur railway station.

It was a wintry late night and there was no conveyance to go to our place. Fortunately my father got two rickshawallahs from somewhere and we were ready to go to our place. He made me sit in one rickshaw with all the luggage saying I was a big girl now and could take care of luggage and travel alone ! And he, my mother and younger sister sat in another with some more luggage. Being a quiet child, I didn’t say anything but was extremely scared. On top of that my rickshawala didn’t know the route so was told to follow theirs.

I was feeling very cold in a pink lacy frock (Hey, my memory is good even in dreams). I had kept an eye to their rickshaw which was racing ahead of us in those narrow lanes. Suddenly as the luck would have it, the chain of my rickshaw got stuck and he had to stop.

According to me he took ages to correct it and by that time the other rickshaw was nowhere in sight. We went left and right in some lanes but couldn’t find them. Street lights were not proper and at a distance some dogs were barking.
I started crying very hard.. so hard that I was actually crying in my sleep ! And then my mother rushed to me and asked whether I had a bad dream. I must have been crying for long .. my pillow was all wet. I was relieved to see her and after telling her about my nightmare I clung to her for the rest of the night.

It was very strange to have such a nightmare because of several reasons. First, we had already moved into the city. There was no need to see going there again. Second, we never had to use a rickshaw for transferring our luggage..lol.. it was always big trucks with many helping hands to do the needful. Third and most important, at that age my parents would have never left me alone in that rickshaw.

TWO - The next dream is quite contrast to the above one. That was of my childhood and this is just two years old. While the first one made me cry this second one left me laughing out loudly. It is about air travel and is bizarrely funny. Here also I remember everything including my seat no. but I’ll keep it short.

I was flying high when suddenly our airplane exploded in pieces up there in the sky. Fortunately or unfortunately at that time I was sitting intact reading a
magazine with my seat belt on.

When I felt a little cold, I looked around and found myself in the clouds. I could touch them. So, I tucked my magazine securely to read later, checked my seat belts... they were jammed.

It was a scene to watch.. me sitting comfortably on my seat, all alone plummeting down but feeling and admiring the white clouds.

I had a big grin on my face and I wanted to be there forever.
I never bothered about other people’s fate though I could see some burning pieces of aeroplane going down. Then a few moments later I came below the clouds and within no time I could see the sea below with no sign of land anywhere.

Instead of worrying about my life, do you know what thoughts came to my mind ?

“Oh my God ! How am I going to swim to the shore in a sitting position with this seat stuck to me ? And the article I was reading is still incomplete !”

Rule no.3 - Now the best part of doing tags. Hmmm.. Let me think, Sigma has already tagged some. Ok, this time I won’t tag anyone who is in India and whom I have tagged before. All new victims. So my list goes like this..

Keshi – You are tagged dear. Tell us something about your dreams.
Sugarlips – I would love to know about your dreams. You and Nadeem both can participate in this. Made easy for you, eh ?
Jeseem – Jeseem the dream boy, you asked me if I give chocos & candies to my visitors. No, I give them Tags. :P
Mathew –Tell us about your dreams before going to Switz. Were they about Switz ?

That makes my list. Arrey, hang on ! One more from me.

Fleiger – How can I forget the Tagger on this so auspicious day of tagging ? This is the time when one can actually take badla (revenge), you know. :P

Wanted to tag some more people like MBA, Alok, PM, Arzoon, Niki, SiD, Sharda, Sameer (you are damn lucky), BTR (Aap bach gaye is baar), Adi & Aditi (Won’t tag you for obvious reasons) but then there is always a next time.

Note:- This is my 50^th post as well.

Current song- Sapna Mera Toot Gaya – Asha Bhosale

Back with a Tag !

I am tagged again!! Tagged by a person who loves to tag me again & again since my days of naissance in this blogworld and once again I accepted the challenge. Here I am, taking time out of my busy schedule, trying to tell you a bit about myself. Well, I have both positive & negative traits in me as you’d know now but that’s the way I am. Here I go...

Rules of this tag:

1. Name the person who tagged you.
2. 8 things about you.
3. Tag 6 people.

Question 1: Are you really interested in knowing the name after so many hints? It is none other than Fleiger, the Tagger of the century.

Question 2:
Now this is the most interesting part !! Oh come on!! Not fair. Only 8 points? It is something like you have been asked to describe only 2 points in your exams when you are ready to bombard them with all you learnt by rote ! Just kidding!! Wondering where do I start from. Being a very private, quiet and introvert person in real life, it’s like a challenge for me to speak about myself. Ok, let me try.

1. I am a straight forward, sincere and a level headed girl. I just can’t have anything fake about me or things related to me. Not even my posts on this blog. They have to connect to me in one-way or the other. I like being true, true to myself and to the world. Life is not a pack of cards or a blue sky for me. I take it seriously. But that does not mean I don’t laugh and keep crying all the time. I make others laugh and cry as well ;)

Most of the time I am a serious quiet person but that little funny bone got stuck somewhere in me (kabab mein haddi??) and from time to time it starts showing its true colours especially when I am in mood or in the company of people who can really make me laugh. In short, I am a strange mix of contrasts.

2. I am neither a writer/poet nor I want to become one. Was inspired by a very dear friend, whom I adore endlessly (Hey you!! Are you reading this?). No, the friend never asked me to write, I just got inspired by the sheer presence of my friend whom I had started missing.. Complicated?? Leave it at that.

3. Being on constant move & uprooted, I have dearth of close friends. As I am very reserved person, it takes a lot of time & effort for me (and for the other person) to make genuine close friend but once friends, I go extra mile for the person I care for. The people who know me, will agree to all of it. I am fully aware of this negative side of me. But that’s the way I am.

4. I love music. Music soothes me and makes me forget the whole damn world.. Soft melodious songs, ghazals, fusion, instrumentals, nursery rhymes are some of the kind of music I can listen to anytime. 88% of my songs are Hindi. Rest includes English, Marathi, French, Bengali (only S D Burman folk songs) & some Punjabi songs.

Not a particular singer or album but anything which suits my mood. My all time favourites are Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosale, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali. Waittt, that doesn’t mean I like only soft music.. I am equally at comfort with blaring music when I am on a long drive (happens rarely though). Told you.. strange mix of contrasts.

5. I am a very organized person. Never you will find me, my place, my clothes, my mailboxes in clutters. I like my neighbourhood spick and span. That’s again a negative point.. sometimes I overdo it and wonder why others can’t be like me.

6. I have excellent memory chip fitted into me, have my own database and once registered there, people are sure to get wishes on their birthdays/ anniversaries and all the information when needed.

At home when people don’t find their belongings, they come running to me “Do you know where I kept that thing?” and Cuckoo knows exactly what do they mean by “that” and where it is kept.

7. I am not a regular movie goer mainly for three reasons.. lack of interest, lack of company and lack of good movies. I can add one more.. my erratic daily schedule (for last six months I have been extremely busy). I do watch them if I have time or the movie is recommended as good. Believe in quality not quantity. Can watch any good movie even if they are of an era when even my mom was not born ! Is that a negative point? If so, then be it.

8. Reading is another passion I enjoy. Mostly thrillers and some other interesting ones. But no Harry Potters for me. Thrillers started from my father’s collection and ended (my last book) with Robin Cook’s Coma. Not getting time to start another one. But I cannot read the same book for more than 3-4 times. Someone told me he has read Godfather 17 times! Phew!

I am also a fan of Tintin, Archie and Garfield. Tom & Jerry is my favourite cartoon show and I can watch it again & again & again for my whole life. Coyote & Road Runner, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel Hardy are some other in the list. BTW, just watched a DVD on Asterix yesterday.

9. Unlike general belief about girls, I am extremely good at keeping secrets between friends or otherwise and people who have confided anything in me know that their secrets are going to remain within me till my end.

10. I have a sweet tooth, love sweets in any form. Sweets, ice creams, chocolates. Ummm delicious .. But chocolates should only be in the form of chocolates, favourite being Swiss Lindt. Can’t have chocolate flavoured milk, chocolate ice-cream, chocolate burfi etc.

Ohh I shot up by two points but I think that is excusable. Or is negative marking applicable here too? No worries, Cuckoo is charmingly chilled, almost iced person and seldom gets angry. :)

Question 3:
And this is where I need to think now. I have very few regular visitors to my blog and either most of them have done this tag or the tagger has tagged them.

So, I am left with very little choice and after thinking for a while I am tagging the following persons and leaving free for others to pick up the tag.

1. Abhi (You are my first victim, my lovely shikaar. Can’t let you go, would like to see more of you)
2. Maverick (Now that your exams are over, you can attempt it)
3. Mridula (Don’t worry, take your time, maybe after December but we would like to know more about you)
4. Sigma (Sorry, I don’t have much choice here. But I want you to do it)
5. Sunil (I am sure you’d like to go for it)
6. Tarun (How can I leave you behind?)

Bendtherulz, Mayank & Priyam... you all are lucky this time. You don’t have blogs.

Ketan, Sameer, Deepak, Hazel Dream, Bharat, Alka and others. Pick this up if you want to.

Sameer - (would have liked to tag you but it won’t go with your blog, so leaving the option to you)

Leaving SiD’s all friends so that he can tag them !! But on second thoughts, I could have had Bharat at least!

NOTE – Make this tag as your next post (Mridula is excused, she can have more time).
After doing the tag please leave a comment here so that I can visit you. Please don’t make me wait till eternity. I have some more tags waiting for you !!. Kidding, ok?

NOTE – Now, No More Tags for me. Grrrrrrrr...

Update on the post..

Mridula, Maverick & Sigma have done their tags, Sunil has been excused since he has already done it before (my mistake to tag him).
Tarun has taken a sabbatical at present but has promised to do it as his next post.
Abhi ?? No news :(( Perhaps he is also going to take some more time.
Sameer has shown interest so probably.... :))

Current song- Abhi Na Jao Chodkar ki Dil Abhi Bhara Nahi – Md Rafi & Asha

My First Tag

So, I was tagged - tagged for the first time on my first visit to someone’s blog. Fleiger, The Great Eagle tagged me. Ufffffff.. Why did I visit his site? Galti se mistake ho gaya.

Anyways, I tried doing that…shuffle & play & think of each song as answer to those 15 questions. This is what I got...In blue are my instant reactions.

1.How does the world see you?

American Idiot - Green day

Oh no !! Who goofed up with my list? Of all the songs, this one had to come NOW??? But..but never mind, I am an Indian, it's not for me.

2.Will I have a happy life?

Kahe ko Roye, Safal hogi teri Aaradhana – Aaradhana

Heyyy Hello, excuse me. I am not worrying …ok?

3.What do my friends think of me as?

Dost Dost na Raha – Mukesh

So, the secret is out now ;)

4.Do people secretly lust after me?

Jadu Hai Nasha Hai- Jism

Huh??

5.How can I make myself happy?

Just Chill Chill Chill- MPKK

Ok, ok… No more questions on my happiness.

6.What should I do with my life?

Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale – Maachis

Now, is it a hint for me? Someone wants me to follow Gandhiji?

7.Will I ever have children?

Ek, do teen, char, paanch, che, saat, Aath, Nau, Dus, Gyareh – Tezaab

Bas, bas. Enough ! Believe me it's almost 8 hours since I played this musical game and unknowingly I am still staring at my tummy worrying..

8.What is some good advise for me?

Thodi Thodi Piya karo - Pankaj Udhaas

Now, THAT is a pretty good advice ;)… Amen..

9.How will I be remembered?

Bindu re Bindu - Padosan

Cuckoo re Cuckoo would have been better, I guess.

10.What's my signature dancing song?

Soniye, Tu Hi Tu hi Meri Manzil – Aksar

At last, something nice coming my way.. :)

11.What's my current theme song?

Rim Zhim gire Sawan, Sulag Sulag Jaaye Man

Arre, Baarish ke mausam me aur kya girega? On a serious note-something that I love… rains and this song.

12.What do others think is my current theme song?

Aaj Main Upar Aasman Neeche- Khamoshi

Matlab??? They are sending me to GOD abhi se?? Can’t they think of something better for me?

13.What shall they play at my funeral?

Where's the party tonight? – KANK

WHATTTTTTTTT???????? Now I know the meaning of “Aaj Main Upar, Aasman Neeche”

14.What type of men/women do I like?

Agar Tum Mil Jao Zamana Chhor Denge Hum – Zeher

Now, that's a commitment from my side… ;) but but but.. by looking at the response of Q12 & Q13, I am not very optimist. Abhi to Zamana mujhe chordne ki baat kar raha hai.

15.How's my love life?

Piya Tu Ab to Aaja - Asha & RD Burman

Do I need to comment on this?

Now, I am thinking of who should I tag. Hmmm let it be a surprise. And yes, no more tags for me puleeeeese.

Current song- Another Brick In The Wall – Pink Floyd

Humour Tags