Yes, Ma'am.....

(Thats not me...)

Me and tags, is like me and the Mumbai Traffic Police; we keep out of each others way. For various reasons like the whistle.

But I tend to look back very fondly on my days as a student, 37 years ago, and cannot refuse , when someone like Sucharita, a Professor of English makes a request.



Four Places I’d Like to Go, or Things I’d Like to Do:

1. Visit the place in Kokan that my ancestors came from . I have a "Kulavruttanta" (family tree journal , listing, for a given last name, all branches), for my maiden name, and there is a place where my oldest known ancestor (8 generations before) has a memorial/samadhi. Apparently my parents took us there about 55 years ago.

2. Greece : The place fascinates me, and the Music of Zorba is always at the back of my mind. Just finished reading Greekayan in Marathi by Dr Meena Prabhu, and am even more interested now.

3. Australia : I read Lucy Walker books as a school girl, and have been dying to see the outback ever since. I now have friends from here who are there, as well as my blogging friends from Australia. Just waiting to win the lottery.

4. Don't know if this will ever happen, but I would love to be able to go and meet Barrack Obama. I like to hear him speak, and have read his books.


Four Places I Have Lived:

Pune : The place where I grew up, went to school and college, and still hark back to. It holds a lot of memories, and in all the wear and tear over the years, the place still stands tall in my mind.

Mumbai : Where I now live, and have done so for the last 35 years. It grows on you. With all the crowds, the useless weather, the noise and other things, the place has guts and spirit, mostly amidst the common middle class folk. That counts. And draws you.

Irvine, California : I went to graduate school here in 1970 and was there for 2 years. This was an amazing experience , including living with American roommates , some of who I still communicate with. Great memories, greater friends.

Karlsruhe, Germany : Our family spent a year here in 1991-92, when my husband was on a visiting academic assignment. It was a different experience now, going as a mother, dealing with kindergaarten and middle school issues, and picking up useful German and many many friends....

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:

Darjeeling (West Bengal)
Nepal
Goa
Delhi-Jaipur

Four Food or Drinks I Have Liked:

Bhel : (Mouth watering , tear generating spicy snack mixture of puffed rice, onions, tomatoes, raw mango, savouries, and three types of chutneys/sauces. To be eaten on paper with thicker paper spoons.) From a specific roadside vendor stall in Pune. The current owner is the third generation running it, and i knew the grandfather. His technique remains unmatched

Sugarcane Juice : Still drawing crowds by the hoards. With a hint of lemon and ginger, totally unbeatable in Pune on a scorching summer afternoon. There are specific juice stalls I go to, and the quality is unchanged. Can drink any amount of these.

Iceberg Lettuce : My introduction to this was as a student in the University, and I simply loved the entire concept with dressings and stuff. To this day, I can make a meal out of it, when i get the stuff, that is. Friends and family visiting from the US have been known to arrive with a huge iceberg lettuce kept in an icebox.

Mango Pickle : Made fresh, in season, peeled raw mangoes, cut small, with a mustard and lemon mixture, that simply zings up your nose, and clears the sinuses. Ideally eaten with fresh Jowar Bhakri and white butter. (I know you are feeling jealous so I will stop....)

Four Books or Movies I could Read or Watch Again:

1. Little Women (Louissa M Alcott)

2. The movie Lagaan

3. Smritichitre (in Marathi) by Laxmibai Tilak.

4, The play ,"Varyavarchi Varaat" by late PU La Deshpande in Marathi.

Four Works of Art Before Which I’ve Stood (or Sat):

1. Rangoli portraits drawn during festivals

2. The Mona Lisa at the Louvre. If you move around it feels like the eyes follow you..:-)

3. The Sun Temple sculptures at Konarak

4. Pencil portraits of my parents done by my nephew when he was 8.


Four Figures From the Past Whom I’d Like to Watch at Work or Meet for Dinner:

1. Walt Disney while he came up with all his cartoon characters

2. Einstein

3. Rani of Jhansi

4. My mother's mother who passed away in my mother's childhood. That was one grandparent I never saw. This meeting would surely be great.

Four People I Think Might Take it Upon Themselves to Take Up This Meme:

Vivek Patwardhan

Manju

Lilly

Subramanian Iyer