Run in With ANimaLs

This week has been a bit strange where animals are concerned, yesterday I was wearing this light yellow churidar. Had just stepped out of my building when lo & behold......one of my neighboring building busybody aunty was right in the middle of the street chatting with unknown person.

Of course it was unavoidable, she did the usual I haven't seen you in ages routine to which I said but I pass your building everyday morning & night on my way to & fro from office...am i invisible?
Suddenly her dog who was sniffing some unsuspecting passerby noticed me, was very happy to see me (all dogs love me what can i say) and of course started jumping on me for attention (what to do?) luckily for me no paw marks on the dress after encounter, I patted his head, he was so happy.

I thought that was it my run in with animals has ended.........but no bigger & better things were in store for me this week.

Today on way to office, I encounder Dumbo (or Jumbo to ones who didnt grow up with Disney) right on the road outside my office building.

I had only 1 choice, with the traffic to my left, cross him & hope he doesn't notice me. Of course when such thoughts cross your mind, means its too late ........ur already noticed.....same here.
I try to pass the elephant as nonchalantly as possible & he decides to wag his tail right into my chest. It was a friendly pat which just left me a bit stunned for a second (I was like ...what the heck, did he just swing his tail???) Everyone in office was suitably entertained by the story & I'm unhurt.

Thank god its Friday, no office tomm....dog, elephant.....I was wondering what could be next?

Waiting For ..............................................

If someone had told me that I'd spend the whole day waiting for my cat to pee, I'd never have believed them. But that's exactly what happened today.......spend the whole day chasing after him from time to time ...checking to see if he was peeing.

What is this you might say? a urinary tract infection of some kind, I still don't know the details.
The day started normally enough, got ready for office, was almost on my way out when i noticed Tangy was straining to relieve himself over the litter tray(constipated was my first thought, he shd drink more water as he has dry cat food) Went over to check & noticed that as usual he had left his normal morning present for me (he always has to do his job right outside the litter tray since he was a kitten).....kinda like a you know this is me.

So this was something new, thought I'd talk it over with his vet & ask him if there was anything to be done. Called up M a few times, he just wasn't picking up his mobile (very unusual for him)
So called up his residence, Dad said he was out of town expected back by this afternoon.

By this time Tangy was acting very funny, walking like a drunk cat, tottering around the house trying to pee anywhere & everywhere. Took a small film of him to show the vet.

Did an online search for vets in mumbai, found that one was very near my place. I called & got the first appt at 9.45. Called office, said I'd be in later.

Vet did usual thing, checked his temp, gave him 3 shots, told me not to worry cats get these kinda infections often, If he still hasnt relieved himself to get him over the next morning. Gave me pills for another 7 days.

Fine, went home thinking that's it. As soon as we got home this guy does the same thing, starts walking around house meowing away trying to pee. Decided to stay at home as vet had said that I needed to keep an eye on Tangy.

The whole day passed with Tangy howling away, walking around the house, constantly sitting to pee & getting nowhere.........how i waited with him........poor guy.....what a day!

Finally at 4 I had it, called up M.......luckily he was back in town earlier than he'd expected. Said get him to the clinic immediately if you're so worried. Packed tangy in his travelling crate & off we went.

First thing he did was pressed Tangy's bladder to help him pee, bingo..........at last the poor guy.
He felt so much better, M collected sample for urine analysis (awaiting result tomm)

Tangy was so much better, came home had some food & water. Sat in his corner & rested. Finally at around 8.30 I saw him heading to his litter tray & hurray...... he was fine.

I can head to office tomm as usual, will need to take Jerry to the vet tomm. Saw that his front paw is a little swollen (dont know how, cant see any cuts/bruises) But its jerry, might have punched a rival :)

Its so typical of cats, they are fine for months & then one falls sick and all the rest have to follow suit. There goes my salary.......

My Name is Red

Decided to add one more post for this weekend. Since Tangy was snoozing blissfully on the bed, decided to sit with the laptop on the sofa lest he get disturbed. Of course as soon as I log into blogger......there he is meowing away & expecting me to make space for him next to me on the sofa.

So here we sit, me typing away my thoughts, him with his head on the laptop...pretending to be sleeping.

Finished reading "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk yesterday after carrying it around with me for almost a month. That's usually too long for me to be reading one book, but this one was way too confusing & intriguing for me to either keep it aside or read it all in one go.

What attracted me to it of course was the element of mystery....it's a murder mystery set in Istanbul of 1600's. What kept me hooked to it for a month, lugging it around everyday.....getting to read on the train ride to & fro to office....was the writing style & the story...both of which are very different from any book I've read till date.

What I loved were the various perspectives presented to us by the author, everyone has a voice & tells his or her story......including the illustrations, the ink used to make the illustrations, and the various characters in the book. It's a totally different approach and is pulled off beautifully by Pamuk.

It does get confusing at times for the reader, I had difficulty remembering whose perspective was being read by me at times, but the story flows smoothly. The dilema he has presented of the miniaturists of the time trying to preserve the past yet grappling with newer western influences was very thought provoking. Its very similar in this theme with eco's the name of the rose...there too the monks are struggling to preserve the scriptures, so much so that the scriptures & other ancient books are considered more important than anything else in their lives.

Similarly here the miniaturists are struggling to stay true to their style & in doing so stay true to their beliefs which they feel are threatened by western influences. And in incorporating these western influences they are betraying their god.

Women's place in 16th century Istanbul is also presented in great detail & how they have to use their wit & intelligence to survive in a man's world. Overall a great book, I'm surely going to re-read it a few more times. Orhan Pamuk's writing style is very interesting, he doesn't make any efforts to make it easy for the reader, he makes you work hard at reading this book & at understanding the nuances. I'm gonna look for some more books of his to buy.

My next book is a much easier read - The Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh. I have his The Hungry Tide & have read the Glass Palace which are both interesting books.

Sleep - A Weekend Essential

I started out the day doing a very necessary task....cleaning the ceiling fans. Normally these kinda jobs were handled by my brother K, but since his marriage I don't think he's going to be visiting us to clean our fans (or will he?, maybe I should have asked him)

Anyway, took the new ladder (sturdy aluminium thing) & got on with the job, after climbing 3 of the steps realized that I suffer from a bit of vertigo, made all kinds of mental calculations.......if i slip how far is the bed for a me to jump onto it (Sounds funny now, believe me it wasn't at the time) I was trying to hold on to the ladder with 1 hand, while i cleaned the fan with a wet rag with the other.

Since it was my first time, realized that the fan is not the stationary object I always thought it to be. IT SWINGS...so will need the 2nd hand to hold onto the fan blade. So of course the hand clutching the ladder had to be used to hold onto the fan blade........very scary moment that one.

But I am resilient, once I decide to do something..its done. So bedroom fan was all clean in 15 minutes. Mom had come out of the bathroom by then & held my ladder while I cleaned the kitchen fan. 2 Dusty fans were enough for me. Now they are all nice & clean. (Wonder how long that will last)

I'd made all kinds of plans in the morning...pre fan cleaning exercise...on how to spend the morning. But it was soooo hot that I abandoned all of them in favor of resting at home.

Took a nice long nap in the afternoon, nowadays i find myself spending both sat & sun afternoons napping (an activitiy that leaves me feeling very lethargic, hence i hate doing it) Find myself feeling very drowsy by the time clock hits 3pm, same thing happened today. I was watching a movie on Hallmark & eyes stopped co-operating, kept closing every few seconds. So decided to give in to body demands & took the nap.

Catching up on sleep shouldn't be my excuse as I haven't had many late nights this week. I sleep pretty well every night, mostly tangy decides to give me company (furry & hot bedmate i don't need) ........but my feelings on this subject though shared with him are ignored in typical cat manner by him.[cats natural body temp is around 104deg. F]

Somehow cats & kids have the knack of being tiny yet taking up the major portion of the bed. He can't be more than a foot long.....I'm 5feet plus.....so how come i always end up sleeping on the edge & he is happily stretched out across the bed.

He is a wise cat who is distributing his time equally between the 2 women in his life. Afternoon naps are spent by him on mom's bed...usually at her feet. So he gives her his wonderful warm company & of course night times are reserved for me.

How smart is this cat?

Overhyped Movie

Finally saw Brokeback Mountain last night. I had it for some time; but somehow never got around to seeing it, y'day after discussing it on gtalk with a friend decided to see it myself & judge this oscar winner.

Got 3 things to say about it:
1. Vastly Overrated, very american in it's approach on homosexuality.
2. Great Cinematography especially at the beginning of the movie which is actually on the mountains. (lots of sheep)
3. Was surprised to see Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana as the screenplay writers.

I've read many books written by them over the years; some memorable ones like Lonesome Dove, Dead Man's Walk, Streets of Laredo, Comanche Moon. These were all wonderful reads.

Some of these have been made into TV Series by Hallmark - I remember watching Lonesome Dove & Streets of Laredo........many years after I'd read the books. The characters in most of these novels were ones who stayed with you long after the book was over.

I guess that was one of the reason the movie was so disappointing; you felt no empathy for any of the characters, they are simply not developed enough. The women in their lives are added on just to carry on the story over a period of the next 20 odd years. Except for Ennis's wife Alma who learns early on in their marriage about her husband's lover; the rest of the family members including Jack's wife are all typical caricatures represented in movies...the dominating father in law, pampered son, new lover (neighboring cowboy he meets at a party)

The viewer never gets to know any of them, so you feel nothing for any of the characters including the central ones. I just felt relief at the end of the movie.......thank god it's over.

Though the movie was supposed to showcase a time when homosexuality was pretty much in the closet & very tabboo, I don't think that things are very different in America even today. There are plenty of men who still get married & have kids even though they are gay. Except for cities where acceptance is higher; smaller communities are still places where gays are not welcome.