Phibe! :)

5 days to go for 2012 and 5 more posts on the blog to hit a century :) though I would love to welcome the new year partying I have a feeling that I would  probably be writing a blog post when the countdown begins :-). Actually! Not a bad idea at all :P. Whether I party or not, one thing is for sure, I will complete my 100th post on this blog on New Year’s Eve :-) With that hope and spirit, here is my list of 5 things I wish to do :)

Streak my hair purple: I am crazy about purple and all its shades. I have collected loads of purple stuff in my wardrobe and have never gotten tired of adding something new. I have driven shopkeepers mad asking for a specific purple shade dress or purse. In fact, my parents simply jump at the sight of anything purple saying "Sakina's favorite color". Recently when I walked into the beauty parlor, I spotted a huge Schwarzkopf hair color poster with a lady having purple highlights! And boy, did I get tempted? Yes! I sure did! I decided to streak my hair purple or rather highlight them on my 30th birthday. But...I couldn’t and that’s why this one goes as a top item on my wish list :)

Buy a Purple Honda Civic: I love Honda Civic! The sexiest car I have ever seen and dreamt off! And the sexiness just gets sexier when it’s in purple! Most of you who know me have seen me getting completely distracted when I spot a civic on the road, especially when it’s purple! Oh and I also have a Civic poster on my desk which acts as a Motivation factor! ;) I just hope I get my hands on this car before the Honda guys decide to make it ugly :(

Get a Tattoo on my neck: Ha! This one is recent too. I remember hating the idea of torturing yourself and permanently encrypting something on your body. But hey! We permanently have ear piercings even though they tend to hurt, so what’s the big deal with a tattoo then, right? :) I want a nice cute small tattoo done on the back of my neck :) preferably in purple :D Any designers?

Write a book: From the time I started blogging, I have been wishing that one day I will write a book. I have written a lot about myself on this blog, may be one day I will publish an autobiography ;) or may be my love story or may be about purple ;)! Who knows one day I will be the next popular writer in town. Hehe :)

Open my own boutique: Fashion designing has been my dream for a very long time. I still hope that one day I will officially open a store and sell clothes which are “branded” by “Sakina” :) A day when people would come to my store and are ready to pay a fortune for my designer Saree” :). A day when people passing by my shop look at the mannequin and say “Awesome Ghaghra”! Well I can go on and on, but you get the point right?  

Here is wishing that at least one wish out of this wish list comes true before I die :)

Six!

I have always loved travelling, I have never hesitated to pack my bags and just go out there and discover the world. Be it a leisure trip, or a trip for a friend's wedding, or a small weekend getaway; I am the first to volunteer and probably the one organizing too :) After I got married, Vishnu and I have tried to make a list of places we want to visit and then pick up a place whenever we are ready for a Holiday :) That's exactly how we landed up in Andaman’s earlier this year :). I do have a very very long list of places I want to go to, but today, 6 days to 2012, I wish to list the 6 places I absolutely want to go/visit :) (Actually my hubby is making the same list and trust me, the places are different ;) hehe)

1. Tajmahal in Agra, India – As one of the  travel guides mentioned "There is nothing as beautiful as viewing the Taj by moonlight" - that's exactly what I want to do. Go to Agra during a full moon night, get special entrance tickets, sit at the Taj and enjoy the silver shine around the building! Absolute beauty!

2. The Pink City - Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan! Place filled with Mahals and palaces. One of the finest planned cities and a city of royal ancestors. I want to go for a weeklong tour to just Jaipur and walk into every palace built there, eat the bajre ki roti at a local restaurant and get myself dressed up in a Rajasthan costume :)

3. Kerala Backwater tour in a huge houseboat :) - This place has a movie connection, remember the Jiya Jale Song from Dil Se? I want to do a 3 day long trip from Cochin to Kumbarakom and simply enjoy the lush green view around me.

4. Venice, Italy - The first time I came to know of this place is when I saw one of the most romantic songs from The Great Gambler,  Do lafzon ki hain Dil ki kahani . I surely want to do a romantic boat ride in the city  of Water :)

5. The Alps, Switzerland - I have seen this place only in Karan Johar movies. I want to play with the snow, do lots of skiing, and go on the cable car and roller coaster rides on the snow!

6. The Grand Canyon, Arizona US - What can I say, when my dad told me about his experience here, I quickly made a note that I have to make a visit there. When I saw the move 127 hours, I was convinced that I wanted to visit this place before I die :) I believe that the sunrise/sunset view is simply spectacular.

These are not the only places I ever want to go to. I do have another list of short trips I want to make, but for now, these are the 6 most wanted places I ever want to go to :)

Why I like to be in Chennai

Recently lots of my colleagues crib about how much they hate/dislike Chennai. Thanks to my non-Tamilian look, people often assume that I would second their feelings and have a similar story of how this place ruined my social life or rather LIFE! Nothing personal against the people who don’t like this city, everybody has their right to liking or disliking something, however, this outburst from my colleagues really got me thinking, is this place that bad? Well my immediate answer was - No! "Why do you like this place Sakina?" you may ask. My answer - this blog post :)
- Chennai is what I call "home". I have had the most memorable memories, the best school life, the most fun filled college life, an interesting career and a very filmy love life. I have lived most of my life here, and do not mind living the rest here. In simple words, I am born and brought up here.
- I believe that this city is one of the safest places in India, especially for the girls. Try going on your scooty at 1 am in the night all alone in some other city and be sure to reach home safely. I have done this many times right here with no fear!
- The weather - yes! I mean it! The weather! (I can totally imagine your eyes pop out reading this). They say Chennai has 3 seasons Hot, Hotter, Hottest - Agreed. I rather enjoy being under the hot sun getting a tan, than wrapping myself in half a dozen layers of clothes. I rather have bath with normal tap water than from a boiling geyser. I rather sweat it out and get my body to cool down than freeze to death in snow. I rather enjoy those few rainy days with joy, than to carry an umbrella/rain coat daily and suck at it! I rather fall sick just once a year during change of weather than be sick all through the year due to erratic change of weather daily!
- The beaches - the world's second longest beach is in Chennai :) - well keeping that fact aside, having a beach at a driving distance is luxury. Beaches are a good way for me to unwind and a good adda to catch up with my friends. I don’t need a food court at the mall to meet someone; I would rather go to the beach with them and eat roasted peanuts instead :)
- The simplicity - the people here are simple and grounded. No show off, no bull shit. People here don't expect too much out of themselves or each other and are happy with what they have. None of us ever missed KFC, or a McD, or EA mall 10 years back.

This place is not perfect and has its flaws. But the point is, which place doesn't? I guess every city, every town, every village has its own good/bad and people who live there (or decide to live there) just see the brighter side of things. This city is special to me and will always be no matter what other people may think about it :)