But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?

Guess what?! I watched TV today... like not news, but other entertainment channels. (Indian politics and other news items are also entertaining, not denying it.) These are my observations from the minute I switched on the TV - 

1. TATA Sky is awesome. I mean digital TV is better than cable TV. We've had digital TV for the last many years (since it was launched in India) but I think today was when I actually watched TV with like loads of attention. It makes the 'surfing' and the viewing experience so much better. 

2. There is no dance show like Boogie Woogie. It's been there since I was in school, like 4th Std or something. Off late there have been shows like Nach Baliye, Jhalak Dikhlaja, Dance India Dance and what not. They are these melodramatic shows with little or no real talent. But boy the talent Boogie Woogie contestants have, it is crazy. I watched it today again and the way Javed, Naved conduct the show is plain, simple and nice. 

3. It is bloody IPL time!!! Are my esteemed readers aware that I am this crazy cricket fanatic!? Yes I can even watch test matches, 5 days at a row with not necessarily India featuring in it. And I feel SO damn guilty that I still don't know the IPL team composition. :( My Sunday schedule is to figure out which team has which players and choose my team. (Since I am more of an Indian than a Punjabi, Hyderabadi or a Delhiite, I will choose my team totally bias-free)

Ok now beyond TV - 

I am damn happy today, for no particular reason. :))) Yes, I am all smiles! I have a few movies that I can watch tonight and some kickass books lined up for my reading pleasure. I am all set to pack my bags and to go awayyy! (I am not thinking of the other not-so-pleasant things which I have no control over.) 

Aren't ya'll happy for me? :) 

Sending loads and loads of hugs and kisses for allll of you who need it. :)

* Oh btw, I have put on weight. Not being sad (decided not to) but just letting you know. Will go for a run from Wednesday onwards. And will start gyming from April 10th. OK Tata ByeBye.

One wish and then it's all Sex and the City

Wish - Ride on a car/jeep roof, again. (We did it so often back then and I am dying to do it again!) 

Sex and the city  - They don't air it on TV anymore here in India. I was looking for episodes to watch online and I saw that loads of websites have these awesome quotes from the serial. Here are the ones which I always had loved - 

"Despite the fact that there are over eight million people on the island of Manhattan, there are times you still feel shipwrecked and alone. Times even the most resourceful survivor would feel the need to put a message in a bottle, or on an answering machine."

(I swear!)

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous."

(And those someones seize being that someone after the first date!)

"I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it."

 (That's almost me talking!)

"That's the thing about needs. Sometimes when you get them met, you don't need them anymore. "

(Exactly! That's why the thrill of chasing!)

“When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there's no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?”

(When? When you finished tenth grade.)

"After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away” 

(So damn true and I am so glad I am the luckier kinds!)

"Some people are settling down, some people are settling and some people refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies."

(Sounds familiar...nah?)

Indian television - It's good you know!

Indian television is surely a notch above the rest. I remember this one month I spent at Europe and the frustration that TV brought along. First, there is no cable operator like in India, who will fix every cable related and small TV related problem for you. They have Set Top box or more popularly Sky TV (yes, the British version of Tata Sky, or is it the other way round?!) We did not have Tata Sky at home before I went to Europe, so operating 1 TV with 2 remote controls was quite a task for me. Oh was it 2 or 5? Yeah, the room had a remote control for the heater, for the DVD player, for the music system, the TV and for Sky TV. Phew! I spent an entire evening with my palms freezing outside the gloves (we Indians cant seem to do anything with gloves on!) but alas, I had not the faintest idea how to work the damn TV.

The next evening my friend came home (who had quite easily figured out switching on the flat screen monster) and we started surfing. There were many shows (read American idol, old episodes of friends and sex and the city - thats it.) There were about 60 channels playing either one of the 3 - All The Time. There was nothing else to watch. Again, my friend found for me a channel that would play hip-hop 24x7. And there too, no surprises, it was the same set of 5 songs. sigh!

And that is when, the me who cant stop saying how much I dislike TV, I started missing Indian television. The joy of Star Cricket, news on NDTV, Roadies on MTV, Boogie Woogie on Sony TV! Aah! man is that heaven!! I was desperate to the extent, some big bindis and zardosi sarees in a K serial-ish setting on TV would have made my day!

How can I forget the quintessential Indian advertisements? Authors' note: All ads in Europe were as if I was watching Asian Sky Shop. Ya, like what Bingo has tried doing, in a mocking way, is exactly how ads for packets of yucky looking potato wafers to the ads for washing machine are. That is when I appreciated Indian advertisements the most. I mean just see the latest Himani Pain relief ad, so symbolic of today's world.
The ad for an Insurance policy - Khwaab thode zyaada - it touches you somewhere. They know what we relate to. And the old dairy milk ad, remember? Kya swaad hai zindagi ka? Oh my God! now these are what I call advertisements. They are supposed to sell products, and they do!

Though I am back in India and it turns out I am not an Indian TV freak yet, I will still sign off saying - Long live Indian TV and the masala!