Modern Ramayan - 2

The far reaching effects of Merrill Lynch being lynched: I have to write the story differently now! This making my job difficult. Damn... the US financial crisis has changed my story line!! But that would be the next post....

So for now, here is Modern Ramayan Part - 2
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Sita felt that the e-mails were taking her nowhere. She immediately mailed Ram her phone number and asked him to take some responsibility and call her up. On the other side of the globe, when Ram read her e-mail early in the morning and dialed her number immediately. He too was anxious to know Sita better. When they spoke, Sita realised that Ram was even more crazy that she thought he was. He told her that he wanted to teach his kids Ramayan and at that she burst out laughing and said "I would like to see that day". "Oh you will" he said.

But Sita was in a soup again! As per the norms of an arranged marriage, Sita should not have given Ram her number on her own. He should have requested his mother to ask Sita's mother to forward her phone number. Yeah, even in 2008 people follow these dumb rules! It was time again for Sita to think "If mom knows this...."! So madam seeks Ram's protection. She tells him "Hey, I cannot tell mom that I spoke to you. So can you please ask your mom to ask my mom my phone number." And dutifully, after speaking to Sita, Ram mails Kaushalya just as Sita had asked him to.

Sita always thought that Ram was too busy to call her. So she found a way out - missed calls! She gave missed calls every other day. And like a darling he called her back. And when she worked all night in the lab, they would mail each other throughout the night. Thus two months passed as though they were in Chitrakoot. And finally they decided that it was time to meet. He got the dates for his visa stamping. They would meet in ten days. They were elated and happiness had no boundaries. Kaushalya (Ram's mother) called Sita, so she could talk to her. Sita was so happy. Ram was happy too. She mailed Sita telling her that he had never been so eager to travel 18 hours before. He had taken enough troubles to get a date for his visa. appointment The visa office specifically asks for a cheque from HDFC bank. Which obviously was a problem for him. So he asked his cousin brother to do it for him. And when he spoke to his cousins, uncles and aunts, all he spoke of was Sita!

What they didn't realize was that Chitrakoot was not for a life time.

Soon Ravan was to enter their lives.

Modern Ramayan 1

I was watching this on youtube, and I sat wondering what ramayan would be like if it was written in 2008.....

My version would be something like this:

Ram and Sita were introduced to each other by their mom's. Ram had studied in the IIT when he was in India. He went on to study Financial Engineering in the US, lets say Cornell. Sita had studied in Amchi Pune (that is becasuse I am familiar with Pune). When they met, Ram was working with Meryl Lynch and Sita was working as a researcher in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). They began interacting the modern way - e-mails! She waited for 2 weeks from him to mail the first time. And in the interim, everyday his mother used to tell her mother that he is busy - it was his month end (he is in the financial sector remember!). Sita tried to glean as much as she could when the two mothers were frantically mailing each other. Aparantly, he is a devotee of Lord Krishna, he fasts once a month and expects his wife to do so. She liked him the moment she saw his photograph - 'I think he likes the colour black. The black leather jacket looks good on him.' It was the same thing on the other side. Much later he told her, 'I liked your snap in the saree especially with the gajara. Nice traditional look. I like that'.

And finally he did mail her. It was a formal e-mail, telling her that he had read all the e-mails that their mothers wrote to each other and yet he wanted to know her in her own words. Sita wrote back in a way that was true to her character - an informal, friendly e-mail. She said she thought he was on his way to the Himalayas, the amount he prays! And then she went on telling that her friends call her a bundle of energy. She went on to tell him how she wanted to be an architect but her mother put her foot down for her own reasons. He was impressed with what she had written so candidly.

And then there were no e-mails. Now , this troubled the girls mother....after all she had taken the bane of getting her daughter married upon her own shoulders. She had a talk with Sita. And Sita sits down to draft an e-mail to Ram. She writes:

"Hey Ram

How you doing? I was just talking to my mom and she was asking me why we haven't commnicated... Oh don't worry, I told her that since you have the IIT and Cornell attitute, which you will keep throwing and since I will keep throwing my IISc attitute... this thing will take us over a year to decide something!! She freaked out...b ut never mind that. "

She presses the button "Save"

But something is wrong.... She has 'sent' the mail instead of saving!!

Oops.... Dont you avoid public bloopers in arranged marriages???

Now Sita is in a mess...."If mom kows this.... I'm gonna be in a soup" she thought.

She now wrote another mail apologising for the mistake and explained that it was meant to be saved and sent the next time he wrote to her.

The next day she receives an e-mail from him...

"Sita,

I am sorry I was so formal with you the first time around. If anything, I had a good laugh sitting in my office the first thing in the morning. And hey, please don't take the IIT and Cornell against me! You dont have to send these mega mails to me every time. You can keep it short and sweet.

Cheers,

Ram"

Ah, now this is what I call ice-breaking mails.....

And this is how it all began with Ram and Sita in Modern Ramayan 1.

Tales from Nowhere

I have changed the name. I removed "Ithaca", because i no longer believe in it

keep reading


Love

Shil

Anything for Modaks

… And I mean it! Anything for modaks! And not just any modaks, it’s about those delicious ukadiche modaks. Even if it means asking my Prof “Sir, where can I buy ukadiche modaks in Ahmedabad?” He smiles and very sweetly says “For that you’ll have to come to my house.” Yippeeeeee….. That is exactly what I wanted! Ganpati Bappa Morya! Mangal Murti Morya! Being shameless has its own advantages eh?

It’s about the mathematical formula A=B, B=C therefore A=C. I love modaks. Bappa loves modaks. So I love Bappa. Huh? I don’t know why I just wrote this line. Whatever…

If there's a movie you should watch its Mumbai Meri Jaan. Unlike the many cliché-ridden movies of Mumbai blasts, this one is different. It’s about the life after blasts. How people are traumatized and how life is never the same. But that’s not why I ask you to see the movie. You should see it for the it ends. They leave the movie on a positive note, in spite of a gibe on the media. If anything, Kay Kay Menon and Irfan Khan never cease to amaze you. The scene where Irfan Khan tries to rid himself of the stink of richness with mud totally touches you. But I repeat, you got to see the movie for the way it ends.

Coming back to Bappa. I was at home when sir said the Aarti. The Khirapat was simply awesome. That apart I had this very awesome Maharashtrian lunch – batatyachi bhaji, koshimbir (jyachyat danacha koot hota!), and varan bhat. Ummm…. I am sure a lot of you are very jealous. That is partly why I am giving the details and the specifics. But there are a few side effects – like fever! Alas, my happiness is marred.

Anyways, for another few days….

Ganpati Bappa Morya! Mangal Murti Morya!