Sugar crush!

Does the title sound like candy crush , latest sensation among the gaming enthusiasts? I am sure, the success of this game is due to the huge diabetic population which relishes the candies at least in the game.
Since both my parents are diabetic and always the threat of me becoming one is there , I thought I should have enough of all the sweets I relish before I come into the risk category. I never realized till about recently that diabetes was knocking at my door and it would all come down to my will power not to open the door for it.  Recent round of health check up showed that I am a borderline case and  am likely to  join the club soon.
As a first step towards prevention, I decided not to give in to the weakness of munching chocolates at any given time and also cut down on sugar added to tea or coffee. I was foolish enough to think that this is going to be a cakewalk (why do I have to think of cake now?). Gulping down a bitter cup of coffee early in the morning was the worst punishment I have had in my life so far.  Just a sip and I decided, ok, I am just borderline case, a half spoon of sugar won't do me any harm and promised to myself , no more sugar for the day.  Then during the day, every time I opened my fridge, there was the  chocolate bar that was inviting me. I convinced myself just this day would be the last day of having that bar and I had a hearty bite. By evening, my neighbour sent me a bowl of kheer she had made and I had to taste couple of spoons  as I was sure she would ask my feedback the next day. By the end of the day, starting with a half spoon sugar in my morning coffee , I realised that I have had the regular dose of my sweets and it was just another day of my life without any changes for the warning I have received.
As a daughter, there have been innumerable instances when I have screamed at my father and mother for giving in to temptations and eating sweets during festivals and they were not even habitual sweet lovers like me. Except for the diabetes related outbursts (one or two per day) I can vouch that I lead a very , happy, quarrel free life with my diabetic husband.
If just one day of my life without sugar was so torturous and difficult to resist temptations, I am dreading the Diwali time when the house is going to be loaded with chocolates and sweets of all kinds. The real test for me lies ahead and I am already busy browsing the net for all kinds of tips to keep my sugar level under control irrespective of the amount of sweets I eat. I am also trying to drink everything from karela juice to aloe vera juice and anything recommended by anybody to keep diabetes at bay. I am sure, I am going to get free advice wherever I go and I am game for trying them as long as they give me the choice to enjoy my sweets. The images below are for representation purposes only !

Courage in adversity

Few years back, for a brief period , I had to stay alone in Bangalore with two small kids as my husband had been posted to Singapore and I could not move in immediately with him. That brief period of managing two small kids all alone in Bangalore was a tough period. I could not leave them behind in the apartment if I had to go out to buy groceries or vegetables as they were very young and I was scared that they might accidentally do something if left alone. but managing them outside with all the shopping bags and busy roads to cross was a bigger challenge. But the biggest challenge of staying alone was facing the callous attitude of one of the officers of my husband's company  towards me as we were staying in the company given apartment.
As per the rules, we were entitled to occupy the apartment till my children completed the academic year in the school, even if my husband was posted elsewhere. My husband had clearly explained this to me and asked me not to worry about continuing to stay in the apartment. But , out of the blue, one day, a good friend of my husband who was also the senior officer in the company, barged into my apartment and asked me the details as to when I was to vacate the flat. When I explained to him that I was awaiting the visa and school authorities to provide me the necessary transfer certificate for my children, he refused to believe it and said I was overstaying and I could be thrown out any time. Despite being an educated woman and fully aware of the company rules, I was shaken and had to call my husband and inform him about this threat.  I was petrified and was under constant fear that some other officer too could walk in like that and threaten me. Luckily, I vacated the apartment soon after that. Despite being an educated woman, I was afraid of the higher authorities who had the audacity to threaten a housewife in the absence of her spouse. It takes lot of guts to stand up to them and I have  never been a brave one in my life who could raise her voice or show courage while facing rude or abusive people .

Family of Fireman Killed in Mumbai High-Rise Fire Refuses to Take His Body(News headlines)

Therefore, it was a huge surprise for me when I came across this news of a fire fighter’s wife, who was not half educated as me , raise her voice against the authorities who were responsible for her husband's death and blamed their apathy for her husband's death. She even refused to take her husband's body home unless she was assured in writing for a handsome compensation and an assured job for her. The authorities as usual waited for her to relent , but when they knew she was adamant in her demands, they had to given in and had to provide the written assurance she asked for. Now few other fire-fighter’s widows too are coming out with their woes of not being provided with adequate compensation or jobs. But congratulations to this brave woman who stood up even at that moment of personal loss to get justice from the authorities. Truly a lesson of courage for me!

Facing a crisis

After a lot of thought about whether I should be blogging about this issue, I am doing it. A huge thank you to a close relative who convinced me to write about it in the hope that it will inspire others who face such problems in life.
Last year, October 2nd, was a memorable day for a reason besides it being Gandhi Jayanthi. It was the day my husband lost his vision all of a sudden. It was very scary for all us. I really can't imagine having to get up one day with absolutely no vision and grope around my own house, banging against things. But full marks to my husband who took the loss in his stride and was very very brave. Looking at him, I knew I should just be focusing on what I should do next and not brood about what has happened. With the little bit of medical knowledge I had, I realized that in case of loss of vision, especially for diabetics (my husband is one), every second becomes valuable since the vision can be retrieved only with early treatment. I prayed that this would be a temporary loss of vision and that he would get back to normal soon.

After a whole round of tests and investigations, the doctor concluded that my husband had suffered peripheral loss of vision. He also added that it was not due to diabetes (diabetics generally have central loss of vision). He said it could be due to vitamin B12 deficiency and put my husband on injections and medications. With continuous treatment, he thought it was possible for my husband to get back his vision, or at the very least, show some improvement.

After about almost a year now, my husband is showing steady improvement. Thanks to his resilience, he also manages to adjust well within his limitations. In fact, he took the blow with such a calm mind that I was amazed. How could anyone be so cool-headed in the face of such crisis? He never got irritated and neither did complain about his handicap.
This episode also threw light on how we take so many things for granted. For one, I never even knew that our vision can be affected in so many ways - loss of peripheral vision, loss of central vision, seeing floaters, having tunnel vision....
Until now, I had taken my perfect vision for granted and even wearing reading spectacles was a task for me. Now I appreciate my well being more than before and I have also learnt a few valuable lessons about how to handle a crisis .
I now know better how hard it is to survive in a city like Mumbai even with a very mild loss of vision and how difficult it must be for someone who is totally blind.
Unless someone close to us is affected we seem to be ignorant of the plight of the people around us. I just hope and pray that someday I can fall back on all these experiences of mine to make other people's life better.

Trip to Andaman

After really a hectic schedule of exams and rounds of clinical visits, we decided we needed a break . A long discussion and thorough research later, we zeroed in on the Andaman islands. It turned out to be a good decision and the trip was absolutely delightful.

Andaman retains the old world charm and is very beautiful. The ocean is blue and people are environmentally conscious. Unlike here in the mainland, shopkeepers are strict about not using plastic bags and littering is not the way of life. The lifestyle remains simple and we didn't see too many high-rise structures.
The best part of the trip was seeing the coral reefs and encountering the tribes.
The trip to the tribal area, by itself was an adventure. The vehicles are allowed into the highly guarded area only at specific timings and in a specific order. Not more than ten vehicles including three buses are allowed inside the area at any given time. The vehicles are escorted by police vehicles and tourists are strictly prohibited from handing over anything to the tribals. But as usual, we could see miscreants in other vehicles throw things out and disregard the rules.

Andaman is proof of a place that is governed well in the absence of political parties and leaders. The surprising part was that people are fluent in more than one local language. We came across a Tamil Nadar (shop keeper) who spoke fluent Bengali and also a few Bengalis who were very fluent in Tamil.

The local tourist guides , in contrast to the film-struck guides of North India, were very passionate about the historical importance of Andaman Islands and gave heart-rending accounts of the sacrifices made by our leaders for our independence, especially about the hardships they faced in the Cellular Jail . We also heard from the locals that there is no theft in the island. It must be a heaven to live in such a place!

I thought it would be a blessing to settle down in such a beautiful, unspoilt island. My children agreed that they too, would like to dump me on an island! This is one punishment I won't mind going through.

Board exams

A few years back, there was an article in Ananda Vikatan about how parents of children writing their Board exams treat the people in general. Any visitor who comes to the house is clearly made to feel uncomfortable and any invitation to a function is rejected with the excuse "My son is in +2" or "My daughter is in tenth".
Now my daughter is writing her Board exams and I vowed never to treat this as a special occasion and put pressure on others. But I failed to realize how much pressure there is from society on us. Last week my cousin sister and her family had come for a short trip and all my neighbours and friends were aghast that I was entertaining guests when my daughter was preparing for her exams. When I went out on a shopping trip to Dadar , I could see plain disgust in the faces of my friends- their thoughts being, what kind of a person is she?
These are just a few instances when there were no words of admonition or advice, but people expected me to show more responsibility. But all through the year, there have been heaps of advise for me regarding how and what I should be doing with a daughter facing her 'Board exams'. "Feed her frequently with protein rich diet" or "Give her lot of carbs" and "You must be crazy not to send her for tuitions. It actually helps students to work systematically" (And I know of students who systematically bunk the classes) or "What ? She is not going for IIT coaching or CET coaching? How do you expect her to do well in the entrance exams? " Its questions and advice all through the year and just to remain sane and do what you think is right for your child is a big task. The influence exercised by the peer parents and the society in general regarding handling a child facing the Board exams is tremendous. I have become a sort of recluse in this one year and dread interacting with anyone, including my kabbadiwala and dhoodhwallah for fear of advice.
I just hope that not bending to the external pressure and holding her own helps my daughter in facing the world and making her confident that she can achieve her goals without being spoon fed (literally!) and without being tutored!

Sports day

During our short stint in Singapore, the children had their Sports Day at school. I was awed by the arrangements, the huge stadium and the specially trained squad of cheerleaders. Having studied in a government-aided school where the classes were packed with children and any event was just limited to a few special invitees among the children. I never got to witness any large scale sports event in my school days.
Now, in Mumbai, my girls urge me to come and enjoy their Sports Day. But I could not make it in the past few years. This year, being the last year at school for my elder daughter, she wanted me to come. But the last minute preparations drove me crazy. Since my daughter was the flag bearer for all the three branches of her school in the march past, she had to be impeccably dressed, with shining white cap and gloves. All the instructions were given to her at the last minute since she was busy with her Preliminary Exams. Ultimately, we ended up finding the gloves and caps, just one night before. And all of those caps and gloves were stark grey- not even close to white. Late into the night, we had to scrub them, wash them with whiteners and due to lack of time, had to dry them fast with hair dryers and table fans. Last minute ironing of the uniform and running around for a suitable coat had pushed me to the limits and I decided that I needed a break. But the thought of missing out on my daughter's last year at Sports Day gave me the impetus to attend it.
And what an eye opener it was! The stadium was as huge as the Singapore one and cheering squad was so colourful and enthusiastic . Each winner was cheered heartily by their school and booed by other schools. For the first time ever, I thought that there is some good in the brimming population of India-such school events are made so colourful because the stadium is full of noise and cute little kids. Comparatively, the event at Singapore downright boring - it was not as noisy and the stadium not as filled as it was here. It was an event of fun and frolic for the kids. I noticed that the parents too were joining the celebrations and cheering.
Truly a memorable day.

Gastronomics

I recently got an assignment to translate a menu card. I should say, it was very tough and made me realize how much of a novice I am in the culinary department. I actually had to look for the English meaning for words like Lasagna and saute. I remember the time when I took my maiden flight as a teenager and was offered yogurt. I didn't even know what it was! And I completely hated pizza the first time I had it. I am always confused about the items in a menu card and comfortably settle down to what my husband orders for me in restaurants.
I was never fond of cooking and until my marriage, I never got the opportunity to, either. The house was always full of women who would never allow me to cook (not that I very much wanted to!). Then, on the eve of my wedding, I was running a high temperature, which others thought was due to my anxieties of entering a new family. The reality?- it was due to the fear of having to cook. Luckily, the first few days with the in-laws went smoothly as they didn't even allow me to prepare coffee. The actual nightmare started after a week, when my husband and I were settling down in our new house.

My mother-in-law stayed with us for a week and taught me how to prepare filter coffee. She made me stand next to her when she did the actual cooking. Once she left, I felt like I was at sea. I could not differentiate between tur dal and moong dal and often mixed them up in my preparations. I used to grind the batter for idli. but forget to add salt to it. And later on, I would wonder why the idlis were not fluffy, like how they used to be back home. I used to add entire vessel of leftover curd to the milk to ferment it and the next day, I had to endure horribly sour curd. But thanks to my husband's patience, I slowly improved (It' s another story that he became a better cook out of frustration!).

These days, I prefer not to put myself through such torture. Instead, I hand over kitchen duties to my mother and happily stay away from shows like Master Chef Australia and Master Chef India.

Devasthanada Oottaa (Temple food)

Last week I made a short trip to Dakshin Kannada. I visited Saradambika temple at Sringeri and Annapoorneswari temple at Oranadu. The temple at Orandu is situated right on top of the mountain peak and is very beautiful and serene, set in the midst of lush green mountains. Not being a very religious person, the trip was primarily to accompany my music teacher for a concert at the temple.
The most attractive part of the trip was the winding, well-laid roads around the ghats and greenery and last, but not the least, the sumptuous food served in the temples. We visited the smaller temples in and around the place and it was surprising to notice that all these temples too serve food (lunch and dinner) to the devotees. We were at a small temple at a place called Kalaseshwar near Sringeri at lunch time and though the tourist crowd was scarce, the whole village as well as the school-going children were there. They all quickly make a visit to the sanctum sanctorum and then, enjoy the food. Even the priests at the temple urge the devotees to have their food first and then take the darshan. Having the Devasthanadha Oota (meaning, food at the temple in Kannada) is considered to be very auspicious and people in and around the temple ensure that you eat well.

At Sringeri , serving the food is a very scientific and systematic process, with huge solar cookers installed inside the premises. The arrangement of the serving plates (in the shape of a pyramid) itself was a worthy sight and number of volunteers involved in the scheme is amazing.
These temples are doing such a great service to the humanity that nobody is left hungry in the villages in and around the temple. There are no beggars and people say that robbery too, is very rare.
This trip was a gentle reminder to me that temples serve not only religious purposes, but also that they serve as socially active centers. It gave me great satisfaction when I bought rice (sold at the temple premises) as my offering to the temple and donated it. I was sure that few mouths were going to be fed with that.

Friends or relatives?

During my school and college days, I always thought friends were my world and I even imagined a life and work that would involve a circle of my close friends. Even after my marriage (being the first one in this group to get married), I made it a point to keep in touch with all of them through letters (note-there were no e-mails then!) and making personal visits whenever I could. But as one friend after the other from the group got married, I noticed that their inclination towards maintaining the friendship was waning. At first, it was difficult for me to comprehend the reason. But slowly, I realized that being a woman , the importance given to the relatives of the husband's side is more and friends take a back seat. The best option for me was to develop a fresh friendship with someone my age from the close circle of relatives. Luckily for me, my co-sisters-in- law happened to be of the same age and slowly, but steadily, over the years our relationship has blossomed so beautifully that I feel developing a friendship with cousins or close relatives of the same age group is more long-lasting and practical than the ones developed in college or school.
In fact, many of my so-called close friends have not even bothered to keep in touch and I think that whenever we go through a personal high or low , it's the relatives who we are able to share it with immediately and not friends who are usually settled elsewhere. In times of crises, a cousin or an in-law is the first one we turn to, thinking that friends need not be troubled at such times. Though I do not feel the gap developed with school or college friends when we meet after years, I do miss out on the major happenings in their lives. Bonding with cousins, sisters or in-laws (when we get lucky) becomes stronger over the years. At least, that's how it's been for me.

Subtitling Parashakthi

Working from home, I've always felt that those who work in the field of entertainment are blessed. I was fascinated, especially, with the back-screen workers like dubbing artistes, technicians for special effects and subtitling writers. I was under the impression that these people would be enjoying their work because they get to watch movies during their work.
So, a couple of weeks back, when I got the offer to do a subtitling job for a company, I was thrilled, to say the least. I jumped at the offer and I was on the job the next day. The first movie I got was Parashakthi. My dream of making a huge name in the field of subtitling, like Sivaji from his first movie, took wings . I began work very enthusiastically and was boasting to people at home that I am getting paid for watching movies. But what a nightmare it turned out to be!
I had to translate every 'ohh' and 'ahh' and I could tell anyone the number of 'Kalyani's uttered in the movie, even in my sleep. I never thought I would be cursing Karunanidhi (non-stop dialogues....only the crow and cuckoo didn't talk) for something other than his politics.
The worst part of subtitling the movie was translating the songs. I thinks it's utter foolishness to try and translate a song, which is generally a play of words that sounds good only in the original language. If saying "Kalyani ran to the edge of her life" was bad enough, imagine the difficulty I went through translating "Ananda Koothadinalum Thandavakone" song in the movie.
I've vowed never to comment about the bad subtitling in movies, ever again, now that I know the effort that goes into it. And next time you watch the movie Parashakthi with subtitles, you know who not to blame!

Mahajan family

Recent news about Pramod Mahajan's brother , Pravin Mahajan's death made me ponder about the state of their mother. Do these sons ever think about what their mother would go through because of their actions? The newspaper article stated that their father had been a strict disciplinarian, who brought up all the children with good values and had faced lot of hardship to give them a good life. But the mother, witnessing her sons making such a mess of their lives, would have felt that all these values have had no effect in their upbringing.
I have known a few families where the children have gone astray despite the parents being sincere and honest in their efforts to bring them up with good values. Sometimes I wonder whether a strict disciplinarian father has a negative effect on his children. Children have such an overdose of discipline that they decide to take the opposite path, in rebellion. I have also come across families where the parents paid no attention to their children, who have grown up to have a good life.
So, whether all our efforts to be excellent parents to our children is really going to have any relevance in our children's lives is a real mystery...........we can only hope and pray for our children's welfare, after coming across such families as the Mahajans'.

Three women: Different Strokes

Weddings are always thrilling for me, as I get the chance to meet new faces, hear lots of family news and of course,relish good food. This time, three women who I met at the wedding struck me as different and they influenced me in different ways. The first one was a highly successful, middle aged woman who has travelled a lot and is doing great in her career. But she put me off by talking only about herself and by not bothering to show some common courtesy. She was so full of herself that after a while, all of us started feeling suffocated and wanted to move away. No doubt, she is a very successful career women who has balanced her personal life equally well. But then, showing no interest in others or showing no regard for the experience of the elders in the family just made me feel strongly that being grounded, having humility and applying the saying "Katradhu kai mann alavu, kallathathu ulgalavu" would make us realize that education and money alone don't equate to experience and knowledge.
The second lady was again a successful career women, but she has no airs about it. She is so simple and down to earth that it is difficult to believe that she is such an achiever. She was very simple in her dressing, despite the established custom of wearing Kanjivarams and jewelery for the wedding. We came to know about her achievements only through others and I learnt the valuable lesson that your achievements would speak for themselves and that there is no need to blow your own trumpet.
On the way back, during the train journey, our co-passenger was an old lady in her 80's who had amazing energy and was enthusiastically playing cards with her grandchildren. Although she could not converse in Hindi or English, she managed to carry on a conversation with her grand-daughter-in-law (who spoke only Marathi) and it was a delight to see people of two different generations , conversing with no common language between them. This old woman was so affectionate, even to her co-passengers, that all the children in the compartment came running to her when she called them. She was a perfect, living example of how one can enjoy life and be happy even at that age and thus, prove the saying "Anbirrkkum undo adaikkum thazh?" right.
Definitely, lots to learn from these women..........

Competitions

In Mumbai, Jan and Feb are months of Carnatic music competitions at various sabhas. In fact, the competition timings at two or three sabhas clash, so that the participants have to rush from one end of the city to another, if they want to display their talent. But having accompanied my daughter to various music competitions in the past 3 years, I notice that these competitions are rigged like the elections at Bihar( and a lot of other states). Most of the winners are students of the same institute irrespective of whether they sing well or not. Then my question is, why do they invite outsiders as participants? They might as well have an in-house competition and give away all the prizes to their own students.

Judging competitions, I think, is by itself an art. Talent doesn't need recognition, it will automatically shine with opportunities. But hard work and sincerity needs appreciation. If only 3 or 4 extremely talented contestants win the competitions at all the places, other children who really try hard and work at their shortcomings are left out and never recognized. I don't think Balamurali Krishna or Nithyashree had to win competitions to showcase their talent. But ordinary people with ordinary talent, but extraordinary sincerity and hard-work need to be appreciated.

Competitions are necessary only to give a platform for the talent. But, such rigged competitions serve no purpose. Each child is special and has its place in the world and I suggest we leave it at that.

Fear factor -live show

We live in a 7-storey building and our compound, consisting of 3 buildings, is undergoing renovation and painting. All these years, the favourite pastime of the women in the building would be to discuss the pathetic state of our buildings and how it can very soon become a heritage site. The building has not seen paint for more than 25 years and the pipes and sewage connections seem to be on the verge of breaking down any time.

So when the building renovation circular came to us (it comes every year) we laughed it off as usual. But this time , for real , they have started the process. I had to rub my eyes in disbelief and pinch myself to understand -it has actually started! Oh my! Do I regret that this work has started?

When huge poles were set up for the workers to climb the facade of the building, never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that these workers would all be in their 20s - hanging on to poles and passing on ropes and planks and huge iron frames without any protection. None of them wear shoes or a helmet; there are no machines to help them in any way. Everything is done manually; that too when they are standing on thin wooden planks tied to the loose poles by ropes. Its like watching fear factor live everyday. I am unable to concentrate on my household work and have to run out each time I hear a loud thud praying that it isn't one of the workers who have fallen off.

I feel this can happen only in India. I even wonder whether these workers have any insurance or get compensation for any injury they may suffer. The fastest growing country in the world is yet to get decent machines to help construction workers. I have noticed automatic platforms which lift workers to any point at any floor on the facade of the building in Singapore. These platforms are covered with proper grills and the workers are well equipped with proper protection equipment.

I really wonder how I can help this section of labourers in India. Being a housewife, these are the times when I feel troubled that I don't have the access or clout to do something to make the scenario better. I wish I had entered politics and had the power to change things.

Train journey in Mumbai

Mumbai life is really hectic for those who travel. But being a housewife and having led a cocooned and protected life, I am dazed at the number of people on the roads at any given point of time. A brief stay in Singapore, where even a line of ten vehicles at the signal is considered a "traffic jam" and is fussed over stood in stark contrast to how Mumbaiites get on with life despite endless traffic jams(in the real sense) and mind-blowing crowds at stations.
The first time, when I travelled by train (despite warnings that the crowds push you and how difficult it is to get in or out of the train of your own free will), I was amazed. We were literally making an "adi pradakshanam"of the station looking for the right platform(I would have garnered more punyam, if I had done that at a temple) and a train with people hanging out of the compartments arrived. My husband, who was a veteran at train travel, urged me to get into a ladies compartment since that, he said, would be relatively less crowded. I obliged, and what a big mistake it was. I had no idea of how far Dadar (the station where we had to get down) was from Bandra and there were no announcements inside the train regarding the approaching station (which again was an expectation after travelling in Singapore) and I also realised that platforms on which the train arrive can be on either side. I felt like a lost child in a mela and was feeling dizzy and nervous, wondering whether I am going to get down at the right time at the right station. Just then, a station arrived and I turned around to ask the lady next to me whether this was Dadar and before I could hear her (I don't even remember whether she answered me) I was pushed out of the exit by a huge crowd as I was standing in the middle of both the exits (a suggestion made by my husband) and was thrown onto the platform. Luckily it turned out to be Dadar station and I triumphantly walked towards my husband and told him that I successfully managed to get out on time and it was really no big deal for me (of course secretly wondering whether he could hear my pounding heartbeat!).
After this episode, I realise how lucky I am to be working from home and really pity the thousands of women who have to travel under the most trying conditions and then return home to do the regular chores. In a city like Mumbai, each working woman must be felicitated for this tremendous feat.
The biggest positive I see in this vibrant city is that people are still courteous, honest and have their sense of humour intact. A great city with great people (there's definitely room for improvement-they could start by giving up spitting chewed paan or gutka all over the place!).

My moment of glory

Staying very close to Lilavathy Hospital in Mumbai has its own advantages. You get to see lot of celebrities who come to visit the VIP patients. Last week Bal Thackeray of Shiv Sena was admitted here. As usual the place was swarming with media vans and cameramen. I was walking through the Lilavathy Hospital gate, which is a thoroughfare to reach the Mount Mary road, and suddenly a group of men, among whom I could recognise Uddav Thackeray came out of the hospital, milling around me. Surrounded by this group making a beeline for the gate where the media men were waiting to get some bites from them, I was pushed right to the middle of it. Being the only woman there certainly put me in a spot. I had no other go than to wait until the group to disperse to get away.

At the end of all this frenzy, I suddenly realised that after all, my face could be splashed all over the news. I was ecstatic. So don't be surprised if you see a the face a woman circled in red in the middle of a throng with a bold caption reading "Who is this mysterious woman?" on India TV-it might just be me!