I didn't realize until now!

It was the very very very bad day in my history. The first thing Priya told me in the morning was about her wedding. Wedding?  Yes her BF proposed her the night she went to stay over his place and on the very next day they saved the date. It’s on 22 June in Goa. Yeah! That’s right it’s less than a month when I am going to be the official loner in the city.  

After office she literally kicked and dragged me to the high street to buy extremely hot shorts for her bachelorette party.  We went to Paladium (one of the swankiest mall on High Street) and straight up to Guess. After checking out every single shelf I finally laid my hands on aqua green satin shorts, it was lighter then the feather and even Priya liked it and insisted me to try it on and then what happened was the big black stain on my existence.  First it was expensive then my entire months take away food and second it didn’t fit me!

“Oh Gosh! I am not getting in it!” I screamed from the changing room. I was struck half way through the shorts and wriggling to pull it up but it was not moving.

“Don’t worry. I will get you the bigger size” Priya didn’t understand the enormity of the situation. I came out buttoning up my old Levi’s jeans “Let’s go”. I stepped out of the store before Priya could open her mouth to say anything. She followed me down the elevator and then out on the pavement before running in front of me to block my way.

“You crazy or what?” she demanded in a voice which was too high to use in public place.

“Let’s go to Barista I will explain everything” somehow I got hold of her hand and lead her to Barista, walking as fast as possible.

“Now tell me” she asked as we entered the café. I browsed the café only to found table for two by the large window and I ushered her to the seat.

“I was not fitting in that. Do you know what it means? I have gained weight for Christ sake!” I pushed aside the urge to go home and threw myself on the bed and cry myself to sleep.  

“Where? I can’t see any flashes bulging out” she x-rayed me. “I know even I didn’t realize until now but it has happened” I could felt sudden tears pricking in my eyes.

“We could get you bigger size. You know it was so pretty” she said wistfully. “No I won’t wear another size. I always wear 28 and wearing 30 would be very devastating and won’t be less then emotional trauma for me” A big fat tear rolled down my left cheek.  “Now what?” finally Priya was sounding concerned.  “It’s all because of this whole take away food system. I swear I will die of hunger rather than ordering take away” I meant that.

“I am going to find some decent gym and going to beat myself to be anorexic..errr….not exactly anorexic  but definitely size 28” I wiped out my tear, stood up from the chair and walked home. As I twisted the key in the lock I flung the door open and threw my purse on the floor before rushing to the bedroom and climbed on the weight machine. I have gained 5 bloody pounds.

I can’t let my immigrated-single-girl-working-in-some-fashion-magazine status morph into immigrated-single-bigger, fat-girl-working-in-some-fashion-magazine.  Tomorrow morning I am seriously going to get myself the membership of some decent gym.

Signing off

Maybe bigger girl in the city

It's Sunday!

Hey Sunday guys!!  I love Sundays as it’s the only day when I can actually wake up at 11 and can spend my time in watching as much movies as I want (of course on my laptop). But it’s also the only day when I have to kick and push myself in cleaning my studio apartment and doing laundry. Well I don’t want to get domestic right now, not for at least next one hour…I should make me a coffee. It’s sounds perfect, very Sunday-ish.

Sitting cross-legged on sofa and cradling the cup of hot, steamy coffee while reading Sunday Times is also the favorite part of my (sun)day. Hang on! There is an article about some fashion expert in Vogue in the supplement. Oh Gosh! She is looking so fabulous in Chanel’s tube dress. She is wearing Chanel? Look at me I am the bloody Feature writer in the fashion mag and I buy every single dress from fashion street. In fact my whole wardrobe looks like a tribute to fashion street. Damn! I have to do something to land up in these high profile and supper glossy fashion mags, I have to be really really fast.

I think I should first call the CD rental shop and order Music and Lyrics, Something Borrowed, 51 dates and 27 Dresses before giving away myself to tiding-the-house movement.  OMG! It’s impossible to clean this house.  Every single thing of my wardrobe is piled up on my one and only vintage chair and Look. At. The. Floor… it’s all hidden under the empty and some half filled take away boxes and I don’t even want to talk about the laundry. I can’t do it! I need help.  

Ok. Don’t panic, have a glass of water and sit down for a while. I am just incredible in consoling myself. My Dad is right I should be more organized about my life. Ok. Here is the deal I will just sit down and make a list of all my work and then will take one thing at a time and within no time I will be an organized person. I am sure it won’t take much time. Phew!

·         Separate dirty clothes and put them in washing machine.

·         Fold the wrinkle free clothes and put them in cupboard.

·         Iron the clean but crumpled clothes.

·         Clean the bedroom, washroom, kitchen and living room.

·         Clean the dishes.

·         Change the bedspread.

·         Go to the super market and stock the frozen food.

·         Make the lunch or would it be dinner by the time I will finish all the work?

·         No movie, no walk on the beach, no looking-and-absorbing-the-life-of-the-sea moments.

Oh God! Who would say I am would- be- writer (in Vogue or Elle) after looking at my Sunday schedule.

 I am a writer for Christ sake not some domestic expert. I want to get in Vogue or Elle not in some home-making business. I need help. I have to think something cleaver.

Ok. After thinking for good 10 minutes here is the new list of me, The Writer in Fashion Magazine:

·         Hire the domestic help or maid for first 8 things in the previous list.

·         Go to Juice and get manicure & pedicure French manicure-pedicure done.

·         Start movie marathon with 27 Dresses followed by Something Borrowed, Music & Lyrics and 51 Dates.

·         Order Dominoes.

·         Go for a walk on beach in the evening.

·         Spend some looking-and-absorbing-the-life-of-the-sea moments while eating delicate candy floss on the beach.

·         Watch America’s Top Model and order Chinese and a bottle of Pinot Grigio.  

Signing off

Not some Domestic Goddess but a Writer (of course in fashion mag for Christ sake!)

Not a bad day..!!

“Finally got a cab”. Ok. You want truth. Fine!  Standing in the scorching heat under the extremely harmful sun-rays which were superbly capable of giving me chocolate complexion for entire 20minutes and after five unsuccessful attempts of grabbing the cab I decided to put my life on stake. I pulled my hairs’ back in high pony tail and stepped on the middle of running road of Worli and waved my hand lunatically, result, a cab screeched to the halt right in front of me (Did cab driver just shouted some obscenity?). I chose to ignore and popped my head in the window “Could you please take me to Malad?” I asked politely.

“ No!” he snapped. No?

“But why?” I wailed

“Because that’s not my route” he barked.

“But that’s my route” I was making every possible attempt to stop myself from crying in the middle of the road in front of complete stranger.

“Get another cab then!” he exasperated.

“I am already late for office and I don’t have time to wait for another cab” suddenly I realized I was almost whining.

“Don’t waste my time….” Before he could complete his sentence I literally threw myself on the back seat  and crossed my hands across my chest.

“What is this? Get out of the cab!” he grimaced.

“I won’t. Take me to Malad” I was glued to my seat determined to lie in front of the cab if he would have tried to drag me out.

After agreeing to pay double fair, he ignite the engine. I had to pay him more as I didn’t have any option. Did I?

But this is definitely not a bad day even after cab-fiasco  a.) I managed to write 450 words article after browsing half a dozen articles on Google  b.) Natasha Akhtar, my boss and chief editor of Glitz won’t come until 11a.m because of some prior commitments.

Oh! I am craving for coffee. Now I am in office so I can order as much coffee as I want (it’s free!), actually I ordered the coffee as soon as I entered the office.  Till the time coffee arrives I should check my mails. Mmmm….no important mail.

Hang on! My Blackberry is vibrating.  Mom?

“Hey mom”

“Aadhya. Am I disturbing you? You must be in office.”

“No Mom, I wasn’t doing anything important”

“ok” she is silent now. I bet there is something going on.

“Mom, you wanna say something?”

“er…..err….yes”

“Say then!”

“ My daughter, we have been thinking that you should settle down now. You have a degree and good job . What else you want? We have come across this very nice man, he lives in Delhi and have his own scrap business. Very nice family”

Good job? Delhi? Scrap business???????

“Mom neither I have a good job nor I am settling down!”

“You work with SBI, aren’t you?”

I hate this “Yes mom but this is not a good job. I want to…. I want to do something good, better, creative”

“You want to be an actress?”

“Nooooooo. No I am not going to become an actress and romancing Stranger men!”

“Then what you want?”

“I will tell you at the right time. I have to go. Have lots of work to do.” I cut off the line before she flips another question.

“Aadhya. You ready with article” Nuts (this suits her personality more than Natasha!) was hanging half out from her cabin door.

“Yes!”

“Get in the article”

It’s been five minutes and she is still reading it. Honestly I haven’t written that much. OMG! No she can’t catch me! I have improvised and twisted my bits and pieces of information (from Google!) very brilliantly.

“It’s good. Seems you lie a lot to your boyfriend”

“Trust me. I don’t”

“Well I have a news for you” are they promoting me? I knew one day they will appreciate my talent.

“We are going to introduced Travel column from August issue and I want you to write it AS WELL”

“No problem. I can handle two columns at a time” Can I?

“I was expecting this from you. You know you are my favorite” she said with fake plastered smile.

“OK. So our first location is Pune”.

Pune? Really? What about Paris? What a cheap magazine!

“OK. So when I am suppose to go and roam around Pune?”

“Go? Wow… you love us so much that you are ready to sponsor your own trip. Others must learn from you”

“Why would I Sponsor? You are supposed to do that” what the hell is going on?

“We? Well it’s you who suggested going to Pune. I never said that”

   ?? I was confused, very confused.

“Oh…come on….. You can buy travel issues and search on net and even go to travel agencies to know about pune”

“You mean I just have to sit here in office, in Mumbai and write about different places?”

“Correct!  Now get back to work”

Bloody beggars’!!!

“Aadhya, I won’t be able to go with you today as I am staying at my Bf’s place tonight”  Priya said. She is my only friend in Mumbai and we use to walk back to the station together every day since day one. But today I have to walk back alone.

Gosh! It’s amazing weather. This is what I love about this city. You never know when it gets windy, rainy or grilling hot. Today it’s windy.

I haul my I-pod from my bag, put the plugs on and..aha… I love this song. “Every night in my dreams…la la la..lallala”. I guess I will walk down to my flat rather than boarding Mumbai local because I don’t wanna miss this awesome evening. 

Signing off:

Lonely heart in big city!

"My wide-awake night"

Calm down. It's not all that bad. I still have more than couple of hours in my hand. I can do it.  I mean of course I can. I am a real writer for Christ sake!

Ok. Fine. So what if I write for a local fashion magazine? So what if I have to submit 500 words article about "10 things not to tell your boyfriend" in just three hours? So what if I don't have (and never had) a boyfriend and how on the earth would I know not to tell him what? So what if I am feeling so damn sleepy that I could flop down from the chair on the floor any minute and fall asleep in less than a second right there, over my article, over my career.... Damn! I am dead.

I shouldn't have gone out in my next door neighbor’s house warming party. Yeah! I am talking about my new neighbor who is hotter than the Mumbai weather and who already have a super model girlfriend (bitch!). It's already 5 A.M and I haven't written anything other than the title and have been sitting blankly staring at the laptop from last 20 minutes.

Oh fuck! Earthquake. My table is shaking. Thank goodness, it's over. ..........It's back?? There is again a viberrr…....ohh.. It's my BlackBerry. Once again it's my mom. Oh please don't be worried there is nothing bad has happened in my home. It's my mom's daily schedule to call at this unearthly hour just to check what I am doing! If I pick up the call then she asks why I am awake at this time in are-you-still-out-with-some-stranger-man-who-can-take-your-advantage tone. If I don't pick my phone then she says if you sleep till this late then when you get time to go to temple. Temple? What she think am I some saint? I work in a fashion magazine, write about clothes, shoes, relationships and men!

Err….Well it's not her mistake. She doesn't even know the truth. To escape from Shimla and to land up in Mumbai I told my parents that I have got a job in States Bank of India as tele-marketer and i showed them a fake call letter as well. But it doesn't make me complete liar. I lied because of them, for them! My dad would have kicked me out of the house if I would have told him that I am gonna work in fashion industry and my mom would have passed out just on the thought of me living alone in the big city and working in the industry of compromises and casting couch (thank God I didn't come across any such moron).

I always wanted to work in fashion magazine. Vogue is my bible since time immortal and Elle is my staple read. I always knew one day I will write a column but little did I know is in local magazine i.e. Glitz not in Bible i.e. Vogue.

No! It can’t be my alarm. No! No! No! It's 7 A.M? I didn't write a single word nor I can, can I? I have to take shower and have to save time to put on volumes of concealer under my eyes to hide brown shadow. I have to run! I could grab a cab and write in my way to office. Brilliant! Yes I can do it. I am a writer for Christ sake!