George Clooney, a fellow humanitarian (and heartthrob).. now this is just one of his adjectives, am sure, to describe him… a heartthrob talking about another fellow-heartthrob

An important ‘How-to’…

Come back for more

Many years ago, in a crazy radio contest, I won a doll (a stress-reliever doll). It was a contest that happened in the day and I was, perhaps, one of the few who travelled all the way to Tardeo to collect the prize. It felt foolish but was fun, and in the spirit of things I guess. But reading about the Brilliant Weblog, that’s exactly how I felt. Sure there are better and prettier blogs out there but hey, once in a while, feels nice to get a small acknowledgment.

So thank you Nimpipi. She showed how to buffer nails and, though she isn’t with me always, I apologise to her everytime I file my nails all wrong. My nails now thank her for the care I give them. I miss her musical laugh and can’t believe our paths crossed but only for a few months.

Here’s what she has to say about this blog: I love her header, it’s a personal favourite and an inside joke. I also religiously read the links she uploads, and I know I have a tendency to borrow her opinions. May not help you very much though, because you need to know her in person. Yes my in-person me makes my blog look very sensible, I think.

And now for passing it on (I have reduced it to 3 as many other on my list have already been awarded):

Anumita — One of the first few who introduced me to blogging, the design is simple and the content, fabulous. Her frequent holidays make me feel like I made the journey with her.

Entelechy —  She doesn’t write as often but I wish she did.. I don’t think I have interacted with her much, offline.  She has little touches on her blog that make me wants to go back and reread old posts.

Simplicity — He’s a designer so no surprises there but, as his title goes, it’s simple and the Sunday Links, addictive.

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.

Here are the rules:

1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back

2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. (I have reduced the number.)

3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’

4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

5. And then we pass it on!

Hurrah for the garbage collector.

Today when I reached home, I saw a sweetmeats box in the kitchen. It turned out the guy who collected thegarbage, Vinod, had had a baby girl and had distributed sweets. I would have completely moved on and not thought about this had my mother not repeated this three times in a span of 15 minutes.

I stopped and turned around to listen to what she was saying. She went on saying it over and over again, with immense happiness in her voice: “He was distributing sweets because he had a girl. The first in his family in three generations.” Her incredulity and the unbelievable-ness of it. That, he, was actually glad of a girl!

I had to, then, point out to her that, in India, its the educated more than the uneducated who abort and kill baby girls for that famous ‘son’. India may ban sex-based tests but it still happens. There is no need for geographical discrimination within our country. A doctor, who is a friend of our family, had offered my mother, during her second pregnancy, the option of finding out whether the child she was carrying was a girl and to abort it, if the need be. A doctor was suggesting it and that’s how easy it would have been. She thankfully refused and today I have a 25-year-old sister, who I hope never hears about this blasted suggestion. And I have been unable to meet this doctor since.

China has always allowed it but they are trying to arrest this falling sex rate. But it is still a grim picture.

Long live people like Vinod who celebrate the arrival of a daughter. And people like my parents.

And oh yes, when my mum was busy having kids far away from our dad, his instructions were explicit — ‘Should you have girl (at least the first time since during the second baby, he was around), please send a telegram and if it’s a boy, it’s ok, no hurry, a letter will do.’ Way to go Dad.

A strange kind of media watchdog… via