Twenty- five Seven

Going up and going down #Lift experience

January 30, 2017

A Lift Experience

Like any normal persons, the first thing we did upon checking into the #CitySeasonsTowers Hotel at Dubai was to make our way to the room we we’re allotted .

I was on a much needed R &R break and was accompanying Hubby Dear on his business trip.

Our welcome to Dubai was not without its hassles – we had a pretty rough touch down which actually had me gripping the edge of my seat while the plane rattled and shook and rumbled to a halt. Then we had an excruciating hour’s wait in the ten turned snaky line.

So when we checked in to the spanking new hotel literally across the road from the Kris Kin hotel we’d stayed in on an earlier trip, we were longing to get up to our room and out of our travel mode.

We went to the Lift Lobby and jumped straight into the first lift that miraculously opened within seconds of our reaching there. Once inside, we looked for our floor number and found a panel with completely unfamiliar signage. There were four large buttons of different colours and that was it!

Immediately, I whipped out my spectacles and peered closely to see if there was anything I was familiar with. I could only recognise the symbols for opening and shutting the doors but that wasn’t of much use.

Strangers to the rescue.

Luckily by then the lift reached a stop and an Indian couple stepped in. They seemed quit relaxed as the lift made its way up without them pressing any buttons. Trying not to look like yokels, we shamelessly asked them how they magically directed the lift to their destination.

The gentleman gamely informed us that we should get off on their floor while he explained to us how to go up and down.

Going up and coming down

Stepping out, he told us that the controls were on the outside panel.

“Press the number of the floor you want to go to and enter the lift that is indicated to you “.

Thus saying, he pressed our floor for us and we waited for the indicated cab to arrive and let us in.

That was quite an experience for us who are not unfamiliar with International travel.

In fact these are the kind of experiences that make me marvel at the skill of international spies who always seem to know exactly how to go from A to B with utmost confidence.

Doesn’t that amaze you too?

Linking this up with #MondayMusings
One Indian Girl #2017 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

January 25, 2017

One Indian Girl

Yipee! 1 down and 23 to go! I actually managed to read a book this week. And that too in a day. For those who know my life, this is a major achievement. I haven’t had time to read for quite a while. As for reading a book in a day- that’s truly amazing.

The book that had me hooked was none other than Chetan Bhagat’s latest :
‘One Indian Girl’. Do I hear some of you groaning and possibly even moaning that it is a very pedestrian read and one that could be finished in an hour?

Well in my current state, I want a book that is purely entertaining. One that doesn’t make me think and ponder over the larger questions in life. So even, though a blogger commented that she gave it up after the second chapter, I must confess that I enjoyed the book.

The Book

The book begins with Radhika Mehta at her destination wedding. However, despite being a highly successful over achiever, her mother considers her a loser. Simply because she hasn’t snagged a guy. What use is the money if you don’t have a husband? This seems to be a rather regressive view of most Indian mothers.

[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]Bhagat’s premise is simple: a woman has as much of a right to a career and a family as a man and NO woman should have to make a choice.[/tweetthis]

So finally when she does meet Mr. Right, she also meets the two Mr. Wrongs from her past. What happens then is a series of flash backs amid the mix ups in the present.

The book is funny in parts and for the most part interesting. The story line holds no surprises and is quite easy to predict. Bhagat’s narration is straight forward and well paced and Radhika as the protagonist is quite endearing.

Verdict : Definitely worth a read.
An appeal to all humans #MondayMusings

January 23, 2017

Dear Humans

Do you remember that beautiful hymn “All Things Bright and Beautiful?” How many of you have sung this in school? For those of you who haven’t heard of it, I will play it for you.

Now isn’t that a wonderful song?

Today I am making an appeal to you, dear humans on behalf of all the little creatures.

Well I am a small creature – so small that you can’t see me unless you put me under a microscope. I am Vi Rus and like my cousin, the Bac Teria, I am on your hit list. In fact every country on this earth has banned me. There are laws enacted to ensure that I become extinct. There are international conferences where important policy makers, health workers and scientists discuss strategies on how to ‘handle’ creatures like me.

And I am not the only one. There are hundreds of other creatures created by God like us : cockroaches, mosquitos, flies, bugs, ticks, lice and insects like weevils who destroy crops . There are all kinds of pesticides and medicines manufactured to make sure that me and my kind are exterminated. No one seems to think that we have the right to live too.

But honestly don’t we?

Why do you humans protest against cruelty towards dogs, cats and now bulls? What about the little creatures like us? We have to really fight hard to survive.

We are essential to the eco system too.

Generation after generation, humans have studied different ways with which to exterminate us. From simple newspapers folded up as swatters to chemical treatments. We are exposed to vaccinations, fogging, chemical sprays and all kinds of ‘inhuman’ methods.

Countless hours have been spent in studying our life cycles and at what stage they can be disrupted so that we can be exterminated forever.

On behalf of the other little creatures, I would request you to save us as well. We deserve gentle handling too.

Thanks for listening to my plea.

Vi Rus.

Linking this with #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne of EverydayGyaan.