Happiness!

All my life, I've tried to understand what true happiness is.

Was it when I got good grades?

Was it when I got my scooty?

Was it when I finally did what I wanted to?

I kept thinking even as happiness ensued me.

HAPPINESS:

was when I went home last diwali and felt like a daughter

was when he told me money will come, moment may not

was when he shared tiny yet significant moments of his life with me

was when mumma told me she called him up 'just cos she felt like it'

was when I was down with fever and for the first time someone took care of me, just like I'd imagined

was when we went to eat kulfi in the middle of the night

was when I realized how complete my life is

was when I realized I can be happy without buying something material

was when I watched a youtube video which made no sense to me, yet was familiar coz it reminded me of him

Happiness is all these small things which bring a smile to your face...and it comes in doses.

Right when you need them. :)

100 TRUTHS

Have been having a hard time posting something up. Have found on previous occassions that 'tags' are my answer to this blog-block: HERE GOES 100 TRUTHS (a tag I flicked off Renu Aunty's blog)

1. Last drink: Water

2. Last phone call: Snehal Patel (fiance)

3. Last text message: Shreedutta Vasudeva (Chids)

4. Last song you listened to: 'Before the Dawn' by Evanescence

5. Last time you cried: 22 February 2010

HAVE YOU EVER...
6. Dated someone twice: Still dating Snehal Patel...over a million times :P

7. Been cheated upon? Nope

8. Kissed someone & regretted it? Nope

9. Lost someone special? Yes

10. Been depressed? PLENTY of time

11. Been drunk and threw up? Drunk (unintentionally), yes. Threw up, NO.

LIST THREE FAVOURITE COLOURS:
12. Lavender
13. White
14. Beige

FIRSTS :
15. Made new friends: Asian College of Journalism, Chennai

16. Fallen out of love: Too deep in it to fall out of it :)

17. Laughed until you cried: Almost always :)

18. Met someone who changed you: Yes. My Fiance.

19. Found out who your true friends were: Yes.

20. Found out someone was talking about you: Yes. :)

HAVE/YOU:
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: No.

22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: Plenty

23. How many kids do you want to have: Two.

24. Do you have any pets: No

25. Do you want to change your name: No.

26. What did you do for your last birthday: Had a party at a rooftop hotel, just for family.

27. What time did you wake up today: 7 am for a damn 'photo shoot' (otherwise I'm up by 8:30)

28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Reading something on KERS

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Starting a new life with my better half.

30. Last time you saw your father: January 27 when I went home for the Republic day holidays.

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: NOTHING. Whatever needed to be changed, has already been.

32. Most visited web page: ACJNEWSLINE :P (To keep checking if our links work properly)

Whats your:
33. Name: Smriti

34. Nicknames: DD, Deeds, Deedee, Sammi, Sam, Smutty, Smartie, Smarts, Simmi

35. Zodiac sign: Taurus

36. Male or female or transgender: ?????

37. Elementary: ???????

38. School: Taraporewalla Montessori House of Children and Harvard P.S, Hyderabad

39. Colleges: OU, Asian College of Journalism

40. Hair color: Coloured Dark Chocolate :P

41. Long or short: Medium

42. Height: 5'2"

43. Do you have a crush on someone? Kimi Raikkonen

44. Ever been in love? Yes. Still am.

45. Piercings? Ears.

46. Tattoos? Nope.

47. Righty or lefty: All Righty Right.

48. First surgery: None

49. First piercing: Ears

50. First best friend: Prashant

51. First sport you loved: Cricket

52. First pet: None yet

53. First vacation: Can't remember honestly.

54. First concert: Might have been the Lata Mangeshkar concert at Hyderabad

55. First crush: Prashant.

RIGHT NOW:
56. Eating: Shreedutta's head.

57. Drinking: Water.

58. I'm about to: Sleep.

59. Listening to: Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot

60. Waiting for: a free day in the life of ACJians.

YOUR/FUTURE
61. Want kids? Of Course.

62. Want to get married? Yes. AND not running away from the mandap :P

63. Careers in mind? Journalism, Teaching too.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
64. Lips or eyes: Eyes.

65. Hugs or kisses: Both. :P

66. Shorter or taller: Medium.

67. Older or Younger: Anything.

68. Romantic or spontaneous: Rom Rom Antic. :p

69. Nice stomach or nice arms: Ehh? Nice BRAIN.

70. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive

71. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship

72. Trouble maker or hesitant: Both.

HAVE YOU EVER :
73. Kissed a stranger: Nope.

74. Lost glasses / contacts: Nope.

75. Broken someone's heart: Quite a few.

76. Had your own heart broken: Quite a few times.

77. Been arrested: No.

78. Turned someone down: Yes.

79. Cried when someone died: Yes.

80. Liked a friend that is a girl? Hell yeah.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
81. Yourself: Yeah.

82. Miracles: Yes.

83. God: Sachin, apparently. Otherwise, no.

84. Love at first sight: Totally!!

85. Heaven: Ehhh??

86. Santa Claus: No.

87. Kiss on the first date? Maybe.

88. Angels: Yes. The Human ones. Not the fairy tale ones.

89. Devils: Yes. The Human ones again.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
90. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Yes. :(

91. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? No.

92. Wanted to kill someone ever? YES.

93. Among your blog mates, whom would you like to kiss? PJ :P

94. Committed a blunder and regretted later? Many times.

95. Wanted to steal your friend's boyfriend / girlfriend? Why would I? I've got the best. :P

96. White: T-shirt

97. Black: Jeans.

98. Red: Shoes.

99. Pink: Bedsheet.

100. Posting this as 100 Truths? Boring. :| :P :P

Open to anyone who wants to take it up :P

Lives of Others

It has been exactly one week since our trip to Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) and I still can't seem to get those images outside my head.

As is the routine with every tourist spot in India, Mahabs (as they call it here) has a huge influx of tourists - local and foreigners. Agreed that the architecture is spectacular and beaches are beautiful. Normally, it would have been an ideal weekend getaway on short budget. Amid the huge tourist influx, I wonder how many wait to notice the poor ladies selling beaded ornaments.

We reached there around 11 in the morning and were immediately hounded by a woman selling bead necklace. She was carrying a baby, carefully put up in a cloth bag hung across her chest. She was pregnant with another child. What was striking about this woman was, the baby was positioned right on her breast, while she continued to have her hands full with these beaded necklaces.

A little while later, as my friends negotiated on the price of hats being sold near the Shore Temple, I saw plenty other women like the earlier one. Most of them were carrying children, just like she was. The rest were pregnant. I was quite overwhelmed when I noticed that every one of these women either had a baby or was pregnant. And they seemed like they were in their early to mid-twenties.

I saw the first woman again. This time the baby had woken up and was crying. She kept yelling out, trying to sell the necklaces to anyone who was interested. At the same time, she tried hard to breast feed her baby and stop its crying.

Although it was a good trip with friends, I am still haunted with questions about those women.

I wonder what their life is like everyday. Children are a huge responsibility and to see them juggling motherhood with livelihood, just humbles me. I cannot imagine such a loss of privacy, but these women seem to have none.

One can't help but imagine...the lives of others.