On Popular Demand : The 30th Birthday.

So they say that anything done for 30 days becomes a habit. I never thought that I would get hooked onto writing like this. It is beyond just cathartic. I am now addicted. This is my morphine, my vicodin, my cannabis.

It has been a week since I wrote and my fingers have literally been itching to type away. The clickety clack of the keyboard, the words rumbling around in my head till they form on the screen making some sort of sense, the images playing in front of my eyes as if on replay, all of this has been sorely missed. That's why I am back here.

That and the fact that it was sort of hinted more than once that I needed to write about my 30th birthday and how some people had made it totally special. I decided to be generous and make some space in my online world for them.

Okay just kidding. There were no threats made, but I think my cousin and her husband definitely need to be thanked because without them this Singapore trip would not have happened. (that's how thanksgiving speeches begin). Also I know that they were the ones under a LOT of pressure to make this birthday extra special, which they did and this is sort of my way of telling them how much I love them for it.

So what did I do on my birthday?
I went from adult to child to adult again. Confused??

The night before saw me being a proper 30 year old, drinking champagne (not liking it and pouring the rest of it into my friend's glass), getting cake smeared on my face and my beautifully highlighted hair, and getting phone calls from my family. Btw the cake was outstanding and definitely one of the best cakes ever!

On 5th morning, the child in me (more like the nerd/teacher in me) wanted to go the Science centre and just get lost in the midst of the world of experiments and learning. Absolutely loved every minute of it. Maybe even more than my 9 year old nephew did.
Then, since I had taken the rains from Bangalore along with me, we got caught in the middle of a thunderstorm (mind you, the thunder is really loud in Singapore. like scary loud) and got drenched while running towards a food court.

Normally I am like cat and like to curl up inside when it rains, Nope not a fan of getting wet. However I do believe that if you are setting out to do an activity, you must do it justice. I was on holiday. I was there to enjoy and experience every minute of Singapore life and if that meant running in the rain in a summer dress, then so be it.

After all of this we landed back home and one of my best friends (who happens to live in Singapore) took me to this beautiful restaurant, Level 33, for dinner. Like the name suggests, it is the 33rd floor of tower 2 in the Marina Bay Financial towers, from where you are a part of the skyline and you get to see the harbour front etc etc all lit up. Breath taking. The perfect way to end a beautiful day with some olives and good company.

All in all a great birthday. I know my best friend's sister will beg to differ since I did not cry on my birthday and there is a common rumour that Krupa's birthday can be classified under "best birthday ever" only if I have shed a few tears. I am neither going to agree with that nor disagree with that, and end this blog post on that note.

So here;s more trips, more birthdays, more experiences, and lots more writing.

Cheers to 30!

Krupa

P.S nope I am not doing #365daysto31 nor am I taking up the rigorous task of blogging with a schedule here. 

#30DaysToThirty: The End... Or the beginning?

On this day, Dec 5th, 30 years ago, in 1985, at this time (1.33am), a baby girl was born. Her father had been with her mother up until Dec 4th night. He took a train back to Bangalore from Coimbatore and promised to come back the following weekend. Somewhere in the middle of the night he woke up with a thought, what if his baby had been born already? His gut feeling was perfect. When he landed in office the next morning he got the news that his wife had delivered a healthy baby girl. His first child.

Now 30 years later, she sits here, typing away. 


I know that technically yesterday's post was the 30th post, but I couldn't resist sharing this small story with everyone.

When I took up the challenge to write a post every day for 30 days, I was excited. I never thought how hard it would be. Drawing the line between what could be shared on a public forum without comprising on the quality of the content was really difficult. I had to really dig deep for some of the posts, but the response I got was overwhelming. It reassured me that I am a good writer, that I do have the capacity to entertain people and make them come back to read more.

Thank you for being such a wonderful audience.

This is the end of #30daystothirty, but my saga continues....

krupa

BTW this post was scheduled to go up at 1.33am. 

#30DaysToThirty: Thoughts of a 30 year old on marriage.

Taking a small break from the birthday posts, this is something that I contemplated writing after I turned 30, but no, I think I'm ready for it now.

Yes I am 30 and yes I am not married. Nope I am not secretly in love with someone. Nope I am not rebelling against marriage. And no, nothing is wrong with me. I am perfectly healthy- physically and mentally. I am also ready to get married. But things don't just happen when you want, right? Some things take time to happen. You have to give it that time. I understand that. Why doesn't the rest of the world?

"What have my parents been doing for so long", some nosy people ask. My parents have been living their life and letting me live mine. Whoever said that getting their daughter married was their sole purpose in life? And please don't tell me it is their "job/duty"? By the way, if parenting was considered as a duty, then mind you getting me married doesn't end their call of duty.

What do I want from a groom, asks everyone. Good question. I wish that answer was simple. I want everything. A friend, a roommate, a party planner, a partner in crime, a person who thinks like me, but is nothing like me. A guy who can handle tears, and one who can write well. A man who knows when to stand up for me and when to let me face the fire. A person to sit on the sofa beside me and read a book, one to walk along the streets and hold my hand. A man who doesn't shy away from PDA, but also knows that he doesn't have to assert his right over me in front of my guy friends. A guy who can accept my guy friends, because lets face it, I have more of them in my contacts list. A person who understands that I need my time alone and I need my girly gossip time. A man who surprises me with flowers mid week and understands I like to shop alone. A guy who doesn't sympathize with me only at 'that time of the month' and a guy who doesn't write off my mood swings as PMS. A person who can talk sports and politics with my sister, because I know nothing on those. That special someone to balance my hyperness and also understand how much I love life. A guy who never compares me to his mother, sister, or ex girlfriend. A guy willing to cry to me (not literally) about how his ex broke his heart. That person who understands that I have secrets that I don't wish to share. Someone who can accept that I too have a past , but my present and future is with him. The sanity to my craziness.


I want a simple wedding. I don't have the patience to go through 5 dress changes and allow 7 ladies to stand in the room and watch as one patti ties that 9 yard sari, while the rest just throw about their 2 cents worth of knowledge. I really don't care who did all the work and how someone else took all the credit for it. I don't want to have the bride's room filled with boxes and boxes of stuff that are not the bride's and everyone just walks in and out of the room like it is a train station. I am too old to sleep at 1am and get up at 3am to wash my hair in cold water and wait for a makeup artist to do my makeup and hair while I sit in a blouse and petticoat and the damn 'candid' photographer hovers around trying to click pictures of me that look natural yet not obscene (remember I have not yet draped the sari). I don't want to hear how my dad's third cousin's wife's sister whines about getting a sari worth only 2000INR while my mother's second cousin's granddaughter got a sari worth 300INR. (why do we give saris to everyone? I don't get it. I mean I am the one getting married,  why does everyone else need gifts?). And don't even get me started on how I have to not eat food till 4pm (after waking up at 3am) but everyone else gets to rave about the amazing pal payasam. After all that I will barely remember even a moment of the wedding and will have to hear everyone, and I mean everyone, give me their version of what happened.

All I want is to exchange garlands, sit on my daddy's lap, get a thaali tied, cry a bit, get the marriage certified by a registrar and then get on with living my life. I suppose that isn't too hard now, is it?

Okay who am I kidding, we all know that while this makes for a great blog post and a very vague possibility, I have zero control over how things will actually pan out, but well. this is what would be on my mind. Thoughts of a 30 year old on marriage.

krupa 

#30DaysToThirty: Diary entry from novemeber 4th.

November 4th, 2015

Dear Diary
So yesterday we all realised that the month of November and December was going to be crazy and all four of us would be travelling. In fact, we would be in different places for my 30th birthday. That weekend is NH7 so my sister would be in Pune or Bangalore. Mom and dad would be heading to a wedding in Coimbatore. I was supposed to go with them, because it is Janaki aunty's daughter's wedding, but I just can't. In fact I don't think I can make it to Shyam's wedding as well which is just a day before that. As okay as I am with the fact that marriage just isn't on the cards for me yet, I am not okay to celebrate someone else's special day when I turn 30! Dec 5th should be my special day. All the attention and  limelight has to be on me. Period. So I made a decision, I am not attending any weddings. I am going to stay right here, in Bangalore. I have enough people with whom I do want to celebrate my birthday with. There is Nandu and Sharad and Francis and Ranju. Let me not forget Poove and Amith. I have all the people that I love right here. What more do I need??

Well this is what I thought, but I didn't know that my family had a different plan altogether.

My dad insisted that we go out for dinner tonight. A birthday celebration a month in advance. He was so insistent. Sometimes dad can just be a pain. But anyway, I love eating out, so we got ready and went. We decided to try Imli. Oh man, the bindi fry was just amazing!!! And the sabudana vada too. I am totally going back there for those two dishes. 

After dinner, my sister kept a wrapped package next to me. A birthday gift already? Wow!! In my sister's typical style, she had wrapped it in multiple layers and there was a note on each layer. Oh I have to tell what each note said. 

Note 1: DON'T MAKE PLANS FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY (we already have...)

Note 2: Bring in the new decade in a new country 

Note 3: We don't know about spa, but you can spend the weekend with Meena 
Do you remember that I had made plans with Meena last year on my birthday to have a spa session with her for my 30th.  

OMG!! Like what the hell just happened?? You know me. I was obviously in tears by the time I finished opening the last layer of wrapping. In there lay my passport and tickets to SINGAPORE.

I was touched. Actually that would be an understatement. To get a family like this, I must have done something right, right?? I am actually holding back my tears as I write this. 

Wooohhoo!! Singapore here I come!! 


Okay so yes, the cat is out of the bag. As you all read this I will be on my way to Singapore. This marks the 29th post, by the way.

krupa

#30DaysToThirty: Best gifts in 30 years

If you tell me that you don't like getting gifts on your birthday, then you are a person that I don't want to know.

Here are some of my favourite gifts so far no a random order.

1. Miniature DIY doll house
2. My first makeup kit
3. My only Barbie
4. A teenage mutant ninja turtles card
5. Handmade paper mache pen stand.
6. Box of 27 gifts
7. Silver pendant with my name engraved
8. My first salsa dress
9. A helmet filled with birthday messages on sticky notes. 
10. Handmade cards
11. My first bank account with money it of course.
12. Framed collage of pics with my 10 C gang
13. Handmade photoframe with a pic of me dancing in it.
14. My blue cap
15. Chain and earrings with my birthstone
16. Ghajini  music cassette
17. Green bandhini dupatta
18. A blue sari
19. Pink carnations
20. Tickets to a Suriya movie
21. A box of doughnuts.
22. Black blazer from Stalk Buy Love 
23. Sherry, my doggy doll.
24. Aldo wallet
25. Cup cakes with 10 C forever written on it.
26. A powerpoint with pictures and voice recording of all my friends.
27. A booklet with discount coupons
28. Bobbi brown gel eyeliner
29. Vincent chase sunglasses
30. Tickets to Singapore

Yes yes I am a materialistic person. But hello, how many of you remember gifts that you were given at the age of 5? I do.

Countdown to the birthday continues

krupa

#30DaysToThirty: How I almost ruined my 16th Birthday.

By now all of you know that I am one of those people who always has expectations for her birthday and I LOVE planning my birthday. Now when I was turning 16, I took it into my head that I wanted a surprise party (clearly influenced by the chick flicks I saw). Now how does one arrange their own surprise party?? You don't. You just relax and hope that someone will do it for you. Or better still, it will happen when you least expect it (like my 18th birthday)

Try that reasoning with a overly imaginative, super excited 15 year old girl. It just doesn't work. I had dropped all sorts of hints about wanting a surprise party and waited for it to happen. And I waited and waited. I was very sincerely hoping that someone would slip and I would get to know that some planning was happening. As it go closer and closer to my birthday I started to worry. Being the control freak that I am, I just needed to know that my birthday was going to be special, and my mom and friends seemed to be doing nothing about it.

Finally two days before my birthday I walked up to my mom and said that I want to call all my friends and have a party. She said okay and did the necessary arrangements. I invited all of my 10 C gang and so much fun. It was one of the best parties.

Okay so my birthday was done, then I got to know that a surprise party was actually being planned and I had completely ruined the "surprise" part of it. Hey in my defense, how was I to know that something was being planned. I just knew that I wanted to have a good time on my birthday.

I know my mother and best friend still talk about that till date.

And that's the story of how I almost ruined my 16th birthday. Almost.

krupa