The tale of two houses

Mumbai March 15 071, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

From not owning a single piece of real estate, I've progressed to buying two houses in a space of no time. One of course is the small little flat near Mindspace that I've purchased which ensures that I will lead a very frugal life for a long long time and the other is the little house for my nephew.

Frankly speaking, both houses would be on par on a rate per square foot basis but my nephews house is much much cuter and the little guy is simply in love with it. He opens and closes the door/windows, turns the morning/evening dial, switches on the light, rings the door bell, etc etc. My mother and sister have banned me from buying any more toys for the little guy especially after I kinda overdid it with a toy each trip. But then the smile on his face melts my heart to the extent that I simply have to get him something.

Maybe if i ever shift out to Mbai I could rent some space with the little guy. after all who wouldn't want a house that sings aloud each time you open a window and talks to you as you play :).

Luv,

P.R.

What is your cuddle quotient?

Ever wondered what a woman who checks you out is really thinking about. It isn't that designer shirt you really couldn't afford or the i-phone you spent a bomb to purchase and realized is a turkey. It's neither the rock hard/foam soft abs you are sporting. In all likelihood she's probably checking out your cuddle quotient which indicates how comfortable it would be to cuddle up with you.

The credit for this rare insight goes to a member of the opposite sex who in a moment of sheer gluttony traded this very important piece of information in exchange for a black currant sundae :D. Actually such trades have precedents even in the bible and the Mahabharata so you really can't blame a mere mortal and a foodie at that.

So sit back and relax and give your gym gloves/shoes a rest. Women really like men who they can cuddle with. Now the trick is to find out whether the lady you really adore finds you cuddly enough which unfortunately cannot be found unless she actually cuddles with you which she won't unless she finds you cuddly.

And since it is easier to lose/gain 20 kilos than read a women's mind, me thinks this piece of information has been implanted just to add that one more element of doubt in your mind.

Now it's just not enough to know whether you're smart enough, funny enough, intelligent enough, etc etc., you also need to know whether you're cuddly enough.

Sigh

- Pranay Rao

The i pill campaign

Saw the churchgate local plastered with communication about the i-pill. The pill is a morning after contraceptive. Cipla chose to tailor the communication to a very public -service ish campaign for which it deserves Kudos.

The campaign has taglines which indicate married couples preventing unwanted pregnancies rather than the single woman campaign used elsewhere. All campaigns feature married couples to cater to an Indian audience ensuring communication with minimum dissonance and/or controversy.

Check out the campaign at http://www.ipillcipla.com/resources.htm


- Pranay

Home but not alone

Coming home feels nice. More so if you have been irritable over the past few days. The gym is one place that helps me to work out stress (if any). I tend to switch off during gym and focus only on exercises, lately I can't seem to do that too. Worse I pulled my hamstring in a bad way such that I couldn't gym since a few days and inactivity after regular gymming can tend to be a little painful.

So I reached Mumbai on saturday to be greeted by my very brattish nephew. My mom says that he takes after me and suddenly I think she deserves an even bigger mother's day gift :D. My nephew has this most beatific smile which turns super mischevious when he sees me. After all I am the only one closest to his age (mentally for sure) and we generally have a ball. He finds it most amusing to poke his finger into my nose when I am sleeping or pull off my specs when we are playing. I have promised him a truck load of pastings when he gets a little older.

One of my nephews favourite toys is my phone the SE W810i. It is sheer loyalty for his uncle that makes him discard his other fav toy, his mother's Blackberry Perl for my humble phone. In fact coming home means a realization that my life in Kolkata is obsolete. The TV switches on to 29 inches of Tata sky bombarded from a 5.1 true sound system and suddenly there are tears in my eyes. If ever there was a inclination to ask for a Mumbai posting/shift to a Mumbai job, this would be reason no. 1.

Reason no. 2 would be the Formula red Palio sports standing in the driveway. A sports car is probably the world's most obvious chick magnet. Unfortunately my limited driving was in my father's old Fiat while he would zoom away on his hot wheels. I have this tendency to day dream while driving which really is not the best thing to do. But since my current job guarantees a driver whenever I use a vehicle it's cool. Also I don't intend buying a vehicle until I marry a lady who is an excellent driver.

Reason no. 3 would be the social life. Which is wierd considering I spent last night at home. Not only did I not spend a sat nite in Mumbai out. I was in fact given the job of baby sitting my nephew who did everything from pulling off my specs to biting me, to kicking me in places which would greatly reduce his chances of ever having a cousin. The worst part is he does all this and then touches me lightly on my cheek in such a sweet manner that it is impossible to spank him.

Anyways, I am going to enjoy my 9 day holiday in Mumbai starting with a super shopping binge at Wills Lifestyle to finish off around 10K of my entitlements.

So leaving for that with my sis, bro - in - law and the little hurricane.

Luv,

P.R.