So I'm off to Cal next week...and one thing I'm certainly looking forward to (besides Ma ke haath ka khana) is hogging on the puchkas (golgappas/ panipuris t0 you) and the churmur (a tangy spicy mix of alu and crushed puckas and khatta pani and masalas).

One of my greatest woes in Delhi is that you just don't get decent chaat in this city. The bhaiyyas here beleive chaat is either teekha (spicy) or meetha (sweet). They just don't seem to believe i the concept of khatta (tangy). If I want something teekha I'l have a mutton curry and if I want something meetha i'd rather have chocolate. And if you ask them to put khatta, the brillaint dudes put one drop of lemon juice from a lemon well past its prime or else they'l put one stingy spoon of aamchur (dried mango powder). And if I tell them that I don't want dahi (curd) on my chaat they look at me as if I'm wearing a green suit and have two antennae on my head.

Its time to introduce the haatwalas in saddi Dilli to the pleasures of khatta acheved through the liberal use of imli (tamarind) and imli ka pani (tamarind water). I suggest that all the chaatwalas in Dilli be sent on a crash course to Kolkata to lean how to make decent chaat. Yes you probably think I'm out of my mind to even dare suggest such a thing, but I'm not, I'm very very serious. Having tasted chaat in most of the major cities in India, I am of the sincere opinion that chaat in Kolkata is the best (and no I am not prejudiced). its just that I don't enjoy chaat which has only two tastes - teekha or meetha.

Chaat is something mouthwatering - it should inspire and touch all my tastebuds - it should be tangy and spicy and meetha and bland. Each bite should taste different. Just looking at it and one starts drooling. It's a yummy smell.

Someone please tell the chaatwalas this :(

So I am confused - which team do I support?

Do I support Kolkata Knight Riders - my maayka?

Or Delhi Darevils - where I now reside?

Or Mumbai Indians - where I spent a significant part of my formative years and have a strong bond with Mumbai & Pune?

Or Deccan Chargers - cuz after all I did start my schooling in Vizag.

Gawd help me...any suggestions anyone?

Hey...a whole year gone by. A big step for both of us. Now we'r slowly getting over the magic of the newly - weds, but the magic will never fade completely.

Marriage is not all that what everyone said it would be. In some ways, its more than what I had thought it to be, in some ways its way less than what I thought it would be.

For me, Arjun is my husband, my life partner, friend, philosopher, guide, the mad hatter, my best buddy, the irritating madcap at times, the brat at another. He makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes and another time to give him a big hug and comfort him. Marriage is a bond, but its not jail.

We have accepted each other as we are, for better or for worse, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. It's a tough commitment to live upto, but it's worth it. 365 days have just flown by in the wink of an eye...and may many more years will also just fly by.

PS: My kid sister (she is going to be so pissed when she reads that bit) has written this simply wonderful poem for Arjun and me...This is the link. Read it cuz anything I say will do it injustice.

http://thoughtfreaker.blogspot.com/2008/04/to-my-two-favouritestest-people.html

Wish I could shed my skin annually, or even better bi-annually, like a snake to get fresh new blemish-free skin every few months. I am sick to death of waking up and seeing another rash/blemish on my face.

Yesterday I had to spend a one hour drive alone. Usually the hubby is there, but yesterday he was out of town. So I used the time catching up with my friends. I'v learned by now that having a buddy you can call at any time of the day or night - be it 2pm or 2 am is just waaaaaay too precious to lose. So every once in a while I pick up the phone and just go into a phone marathon for a couple of hours and emerge with the biggest smile on my face. We maybe discussing something as innocuous as "What you wearing to the party tonight?" to "What about coffee Monday" or "What a creep *&^$#@! that ^%$%#@!* turned out to be. I'm glad you dumped him.You deserve much better."

And btw, the title for this post came from this "club" that we had set up when we around 14, where we would use fictitious names and call up the guys we were then crushing on and find out about their likes and dislikes, and then impress them with that knowledge later. "Oh I just figured that you preferred Pepsi to Mirinda. You seem that kind. You know woman's intuition...." and those dudes would really get impressed. All the stuff we did in our glorious past :)