Kums' Seventh Sense

What if I wrote short open letters to all the frogs that I met in my life? Don't ask me what triggered this thought process I don't remember now, mom brains! With a toddler around it is a miracle I managed to write this blog, all credits to the notes I wrote down. I am not going to mention names here. But if you are in this list you will know its you. Frog #1 I knew you weren't interested in me and that you were too good for me. But then, you were perfect for my adolescent hormones, thank you for that. But the way I turned out, you might regret letting me go unnoticed. Frog #2 Man, I was bowled over by the brains and the intelligent banter. I was quite disappointed with the looks department but then was matured enough to let it go, until one fine day you turned out to be some psycho blah blah blah stalker types. I have absolutely no regrets. Frog #3 This was a classic case of peer pressure. I liked you but crushing on you was a side effect of having mutua...

When I hit puberty I thought love was all about kissing and having butterflies in your stomach. When I grew up a little I replaced kissing with sex and the butterflies remained. Now the definition has changed in all ways possible. I've learned that there isn't just the romantic Love there is more to it. It could be the heart swelling when you see your child do something or the smile you have when you think of your parent. This year I've decided that my daughter is my valentine. Sleepless nights and the constant anxiety are all totally worth it. The sloppy kisses that I get on rare mornings are my greatest motivator. To me love is all about the level of comfort I have with a person. You really love each other if you can fart and burp to your heart's content in each other's company. If you can have conversations about that then you are in the next level, haha! Everybody sees love differently but most would agree on the comfort part. My friend Srilakshmi and I se...

I cannot believe we are a year old now! My daughter and me, as a mother. What an year it has been! Starting with self-doubts and a roller-coaster ride of hormones to somehow learning the trick of the trade, I have come a long way. I found myself a place among a group of amazing mothers here in Coimbatore. They have been my support system throughout. I will be eternally thankful to them. I do what I think is best for my baby. Babywearing, cloth diapering, breastfeeding and letting my child feed herself. All the above said concepts didnt come easy, I had to explain a thousand times and do my research to get people around me to accept what I do. Do not let the society dictate your parenting style. You are the parent and you are supposed to do the parenting not the society. The "society" will be there to tell you that you are not producing enough milk for the baby, cloth diapers are bulky, babywearing will make the baby dependent on you and a self-feeding baby does n...

I decided to quit my job and stay at home after I got married. I did that and I still can't decide if that was a good decision. It is not so nice when you hear "veetla chumma thaana irukka?" (you are jobless at home, no?) because honestly staying at home is a real full time job for which you don't get paid in any form. No money no gratitude. It is very tough job. You graduate from questions like "Is the code working?" "Is the deliverable ready?" "Is the testing complete?" to questions like "What is there to eat?" "Why isn't the laundry done?" "Have you washed the utensils?". Believe me, delivering a code package seems like a piece of cake to me. May be because I am a lazy bug. I think I was spoiled by my parents. I just can't seem to get interested in domestic chores. May be because I don't get paid for what I do. I don't get thanked or appreciated. Plus, there is no holiday. Holidays a...

On January 10, 2016 around 9'o clock in the morning my life changed forever. My daughter was born into this world. Being pregnant isn't a huge deal at all.. you'll know when the child is born. It is a big deal. I did not have any problem until the moment I realised that I wasn't producing much breastmilk. That's when the pink clouds cleared all of a sudden. I was dehydrated during labor, remember? What people don't realise is that it is perfectly normal for breastmilk to take some time to come in. It may take a few days even. Thats when the stress levels go up and thats just what you don't need at the moment. Stress is inversely proportional to production of breastmilk. You will get judged as a bad mommy if you are not able to breastfeed the baby. It is not going to help your already anxious self. Every other person visiting you will have an opinion. The only choice you are going to have is to learn to ignore those opinions. You are not a bad mo...

The pregnancy was a surprise. We hadn't really planned on having a baby yet and suddenly there it was those most wanted "two lines" on the home pregnancy test! I was shocked at first. I wasn't ready. But, eventually the mom instinct took over and it was love. You get a variety of advice from everybody. Everybody is a well-wisher in the traditional indian society. For the same question you will get thousand different answers. None of it is right or wrong. What works for you is what is right. I never did any walking. Only a little, just running errands and stuff. I did not sit up in bed every time I needed to turn during sleep. That would have made it even worse. The hardships during pregnancy is nothing close to what happens during labor. Mine is not one of those easy peasy the baby just slipped right out stories! I know why though I did not do anything to facilitate that! I was in my 38th week. It was a thursday, I was visiting my gynec for a routine now weekly...

Recently somebody asked me when do I miss my mom the most. I had an answer to that question initially. Then it got me thinking. I miss her all the time. She was my sanctuary. I was protected nourished and loved. Nobody loves anybody like how a parent loves a child. There is no judgement no hidden agenda. It takes years for children to understand but eventually they do. But losing someone who loved you so purely is tragic.

I'm overconfident. Egoistic. But I ask when I don't know. I am not self motivated. I need a pat on the back. I cannot take criticism if I know I'm not wrong. I like sugar coated pills. I do not work hard because I have to. Recognition money and knowledge are the only things that drive me. I cant work where I don't get respect. I do what I do to protect my image. If you think highly of me I make sure that that image is not spoiled. Nobody can make me work by giving me negative feedback. I thrive on positive feedback. Keep saying I'm bad I'll continue to be bad. Cause I don't have to prove you wrong I know I am good. I'm selfish I gotta get something in return for what I do. If you are not giving I am not doing. This is the only way to make me work. May be immature I don't care. Or may be I'm not fit to be an employee and I should be a freelancer.

The Notebook: One movie I refused to watch because I knew I was going to cry. I first read the Wikipedia plot and that by itself made me cry. Every time I see the movie I cry no matter what. To forget the people that you love the most can be one of the worst things that can happen to people. Their pain and love is so real it affects me personally. It's as if I'm there. This had me thinking... That is not the only movie that makes me cry. Any movie with emotion makes me cry. Movies are fine.. Books? Books make me cry too! I just can't resist. To think of it, good music makes me cry! That's the only reason why I avoid going to the theatres to watch movies with sad endings. It's embarrassing to cry at the movies. This is also why I consider it a gift from god to be able to find a friend who doesn't mind crying at the movies and to top it off cries with you and doesn't judge you. Am I being too emotional? I'm not sure. Is it healthy? I think so! Sometimes...

So today in the morning I had this good for nothing thought process going on in my mind which resulted in this: Sometimes when you are a hobby junkie you end up asking yourself what is that ONE thing you want to do in life? What is your true interest? I haven't found an answer to that until this very moment. One day I dream of pursuing my interest in music and then one day I see myself wearing a photographer's vest and then one another day my dream of being rich and quenching my wanderlust. But I guess I can photograph my travel destination and that singing while at it won't hurt. And just when I come to such a solution I start going after arts and crafts. Now, that's back to square one! Then I had to make this list. Why being a jack of all trades sucks : > you are not really an expert in anything. > you are not sure what your true interest is > people call you half baked > you end up buying stuff for each of your hobbies and then ...

We have been gifted with this life and what do we do? And yet the most we use is the gift of complaining. Complain about everything!!  When will we stop complaining? We started the moment we gained consciousness about the world. Man has turned out to be far more demanding than he used to be, I think. Or is it like man was designed that way? We hunted for animals, no clothes to wear, only caves to live. We wanted something better. We moved on to better tools, fire, we moved to villages. And then I don't know.. something like that happened.. And then something else happened.. and then here we are staring at our computer screens and living a far more sophisticated life than our forefathers. But are you satisfied with what you have? Do you think you are gifted? The answer is probably no. Even I am going to say no. I want more. Why can't I be satisfied with what I have already? May be because I don't know the value of what I have. I am no big head yogi t...

Just like many of you out there, I started my affair with the written world when I was a little girl. I remember reading Sleeping Beauty, Tom Sawyer and Tintin as a young girl. I grew up in a family where you find everybody sitting in their favorite corners of the house with a book in hand on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  My world was limited to reading weeklies, short stories and comics until I encountered Sidney Sheldon in my late (very late) teens. Almost everybody starts their book reading journey with Sheldon these days. He is one of the most popular writers of this age. One thing I like most about books is that they make you imagine and learn at the same time. I am almost always influenced by the book's content. My English becomes better for a few days after I have finished reading a good book :D. Some are so engaging that you cry and rejoice along with the characters. Whenever I start reading a book it is as if I establish a connection with it. I just cann...

Cute. Cute is the first word that comes to my mind when I think about this movie. Varun and Nithya bring some really nice memories alive. This movie has got mixed reviews. May be people who could not empathize with the characters did not understand it. Granted that there were too many Gautham Menon cliché's. Hero in an engineering college. Hero chasing the heroine to wherever she is. And the feet worshipping! And Menon must have a thing for guitars, singing and trains. Samantha is cute as Nithya, Jeeva has come a long way from his Thithikudhe days. I love the romance in the movie. Everything from the apartment play area, the car and the terrace. These are some places to which people can relate themselves to. I love that they have a swing set to share. I love that they have a drawing to cherish. I love that Nithya feels happy when Varun offers to pay. I love that they enjoy their car rides. I love that they kiss. I love that Varun gets possessive and Nithya gets fe...

I recently took part in a woman's forum meeting at work. The issue that was mostly discussed was men staring at women for their looks, their clothes etc etc etc. I don't know how long it will take women to realize that when we dress up all glam, we are surely going to get some "appreciative" glances every now and then. Making a fuss about it is a waste of time! You could do that when you want to show off that you are getting some attention. Women dress up, and men get attracted. Thats basic human nature. The animal instinct. You shouldn't be complaining about it! The pervs do the wolf whistles and stuff to get attention. You should not react to them, react as in get angry, flirty, upset, happy, everything counts. That means that they win! This is one valuable lesson to remember: learn to ignore. Nothing can rebuff them like being ignored. I don't know how many ladies are going to get upset about this post, and I frankly think I am right....

I have been talking.. whining about chain mails and SMS for such a long time. And recently one of the mails that I came across rekindled the anger and frustration towards their stupidity! It says "11 year old girl pregnant" and you should read it to understand why it really got on my nerves... SPELLING mistakes! How could I not laugh at a threat that has spelling mistakes in it? I quote here: " I will slid your body in half and then i will stab u 1 million times until all of your blood is out of you body i will take off all of your clothes and leave you naked, but dont worry, there wont be any of your skin left, i will break all of your bones, and i? will eat everything that is left of you... enjoy" I have quoted a sample mistake in red. And did it really say "Enjoy?" hell yeah it did! And why would any dead person feel shy? No need to take off the skin I say! Dear Murderer, I'd like to spare some time for you, I do not feel ...

I dreaded going to mumbai!! But  now after coming back from there I am missing it so much.. I loved it as much as I hated it! A beautiful home (note: I did  not say house!) at a luxury appartment, room mates like a family, work place at a walkable distance, everything within reach. No place has treated me so well until now (with the excemption of coimbatore, ofcourse). I was just "Kumutha" to my roomies, and by the time it became "Namma Kumutha" I was kicked out of Bombay, kinda a thing that I bought upon myself! I was transferred to Chennai!! Well that story is for later.. I Loved Mumbai... hmmm.. THANE to be exact. I loved the local trains, even though they were crowded, they were on time. I loved the rickshaws!! Really!! When you get a nice place to stay in, you eventually love the city. I guess that is what happened to me. I know I was one of the lucky people, my roomies themselves were homeless for the first few days. "Mumbai is the financial capital o...

A note to readers: this post might sound boring to the frequent and experienced flyers. All packed and ready to go fly! But wait, I dont know anything about how to get into the airport! Being educated, it was kinda embarrassing to make mistakes. But then its okay.. you learn when you make mistakes. Security check, Baggage and Tickets.. After all this I was waiting with my friend for my father to come back... (He had gone back home to take an ID proof to get into the airport, I did not know that you needed an ID proof to get into the airport) I did not feel anything until I was waiting in the queue to board the bus that takes you to the aircraft. Only then I got that feeling I was longing to get - "Yay! I am gonna fly!" That long jounrney to the runway. The cabin staff were demonstrating how to use the life jacket, the seat belt etc etc.. and I still dont know why the girl who demonstated in front of us was giggling soooooooo  much. May be she thought it was funny but ...

I am missing you my dearest Blog! Period.

ME: "I am not a girly girl!" MY BROTHER: "Hehe no way, you are girly, very girly!" What?! Did I really hear that? I am girly?! All these days I was thinking that I am not a girly girl.. girly girls treat a broken nail as an emergency, whine all night if their eye-brow job had gone bad, shut themselves up in their rooms if they have a bad-hair day and get mad if their clothes/hands get dirty! And on top of it I don't giggle but laugh, I like a hearty laugh. Ok, I'm getting diverted now.. back on track! But then I am girly in some ways, I love anything that is pink, fluffy, floral, and cute! I enjoy shopping, get super excited if I see the words "SALE" and "FREE". Read fashion magazines cover to cover, browse the internet for tips. Go around the house like a ghost with a facial mask of a different color and flavor(!) every weekend. So all that reading magazines and surfing the internet had motivated me to get a new-look! I decided t...

A good try by Kamal Hassan. Even if not spectacular it isn't that bad! Loved the casting. As usual Kamal steals the show, Sangeetha and Madhavan have done a good job. Trisha looks so polished in the movie! She can confidently dub for her roles from now on. A flock of birds fly across the sky, Kamal looks at them and that tiny tear in the eye! Perfect! Sangeetha!! Wow!! She is too good, really really good. And all those spoonerisms.. haha.. but sadly not many catch it.. well, thats typical in Kamal movies. The kid bodyguard is sooo cute! Missed the Kamal Kavidhai a lot. Since the song is gone, we miss the moment the hero and the heroine fall in love. May be if the movie was shortened into an hour and a half without some sentiments and songs it would have been more fast paced. P.S: I am a Kamal Hassan fan. So if you think the review is biased, sure it is :) :) :)