South Indian Bridal Makeup

Recalling my own wedding, I look back at the thought of not hiring a makeup artist as a big blunder. Considering the chaos of a typical South Indian wedding, the lack of a calm environment did not give me some privacy to relax and put on my makeup.
I didn't even think about using a waterproof mascara and eyeliner to help my mascara and eyeliner stay in place, through the heat and any stray tears.
Sitting around a fire only served to make my mascara droop and melt, and that left me with messy eyes! No wonder, the pictures of me towards the fag end of my wedding look terrible - like I was caught in a deluge of downpour!

Where do lovers hide in Chennai?

Although Chennai has progressed by leaps and bounds, thanks to the IT sector, there are still some drawbacks when it comes to dating in Chennai. The conservative society coupled with the lack of willingness of Chennaites to be open to their dating adventures has made it difficult for lovers to hang out freely in public spaces. Using the terms "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" is still looked down upon, in Chennai.

Hence, lovers have to find an innovative way to date without the fear of repercussions. They tend to hang out in dating spots such as movie theaters where it is dark or behind boats at the Marina Beach or at Elliots Beach or in public parks after dusk. Dating openly in the daytime is quite uncomfortable, what with the prying eyes and murmurs of strangers passing by! With the advent of technology, lovers get to use more of social media to stay in touch with each other, very frequently.

What's marriage got to do with that?

While driving down Eldams Road in Alwarpet, I came across an ad in front of a dental clinic that said "Whiten teeth before marriage". Makes me wonder, what happens after marriage - does the poor spouse have to deal with the partner's smelly, unbleached and ugly teeth, once the polish wears off, huh?:) Or, will he run for his life? 

Bizzare Ads......

I came across a banner advertisement that stated: Ram Infotech, Broken Laptop reworking. Does that mean that this particular firm works "only" on broken laptops that are "reworking"?

Also, there was a particular shop that was named "Careers 306" - out of curiosity, I asked the shop-keeper what the name meant, and he proudly proclaimed that 306 was named after the "full circle". So, I questioned him again, trying to make sure if he actually made sense. His response was that he came across a book that mentioned that a circle should have 306 degrees! The ironic part was that he was pretty good with numbers, off the top of his head, yet, he never knew that a circle is actually 360 degrees. 

Surely, boggles my mind! 

Another advertisement on my bus route did try it's very best to cash on the Kolaveri craze by saying, "Why this Kolaveri? Big vehicles, do not get angry or block the road, give way to small vehicles". How the hell can big vehicles give way to smaller vehicles when there is no road space left, let alone a pavement to walk on? If only there was a way to fold the big vehicles or compact-ize them somehow....or have the small vehicles go under the bigger vehicles a la' Matrix....or have them fly overhead, a la-Superman!  

Dupatta-less Pedestrian!

Trying to cross a five-lane intersection, with vehicles and pedestrians coming in from all directions can be a challenge, even for the uber-cool, supposedly-confident me! I was trying to cross the final stretch of the intersection, when I saw a car approaching me at a speed, slower than usual. It suddenly sped up, and I had to quickly dodge out of the way to avoid getting hit. Unfortunately, my dupatta fell on the hood (er!) bonnet, and I was wondering as to whether I should run after the car to retrieve it. The driver of the car coolly rolled down his window, grabbed the dupatta from the bonnet and threw it on the road, but not before I gave him a piece of his mind...Makes me wonder if the driver was trying to scare me or was he trying to show off his driving skills or should I say, playing the role of a samaritan!

Macho-man, anyone?

Being a daily traveler on the dirty but trusted Pallavan Transport Corporation buses, I always seem to have a hard time finding an empty seat in the women's section (by the way, it is clearly spelt out in Tamil as "Pengal"). That seems to have no effect on the dumb "Aangal" or the darker sex! They seem to have the air of impression that the women's section is their sole property and refuse to budge, even if a large group of women hover around them, or request them to get off the seats. Brings to mind, a real amusing incident...there was a saffron-clad guy (probably on his way to Sabarimala), who sat near the window in the front-most women's seat near the bus door. When I requested him to get up, it being a women's seat, he said he was getting off in the next stop. The next stop came and went, and he did not even move an inch. So, I rolled up a newspaper, tapped on his shoulder (out of respect of not 'polluting' his vows for the 48 day 'viratham' or penance!), and chanted 'Sami Saranam Ayyappa' in a louder tone, and told him that his time was up. And lo, it worked!:) Boy, these men can be stubborn mules...with absolutely no respect for the elders, pregnant women, or the fairer sex in general! Duh!

Om....cleaning-up!

on my routine walk in the park...came across a real smart 'stray' or 'street' dog...not sure what term the locals tend to use..anyways, a group that does the 'so-called' yoga routines..doubt if it is really yoga, for it appears to be a parody of comedians in a sitting pose, all hunched up, and surveying the surroundings....! This particular dog makes sure to grab a nice, comfy spot on the plastic yoga mat on a daily basis, and goes about cleaning up it's act, by sitting on the mat on it's hind legs and dragging it's body with it's fore legs:) Cannot seem to think of a better way to put this across!