Can hardly believe that Asha Bhosale just turned 76. The lady positively looks ageless! And somehow I have always found her more approachable than her elder sister. She looks as if you could just say Hello to her if you run into her any place and she will flash her dimpled smile. A classic chirpy mischievous younger sister :-)

I had a chance to listen to part of her interview on some FM channel. The RJ asked her about the dilemma that many modern women face – career or marriage. Without mincing any words, she categorically said that if a woman wants to reach the top of her career she shouldn’t get married because the giant ego of a man will hardly be able to tolerate her success thus leading to marital discord.

Three cheers for you AshaJi for telling it like it is!

Sometimes your own actions and thoughts can surprise you, isn’t it? I was reading Steve Berry’s “The Venetian Betrayal” when I came across a line on a page that described a delegation as “three women and one man, one of them the Vice President”. For some reason that I am yet to fathom, I assumed that the VP was the man. Turned out that one of the women was the VP.

Now I agree that I am not any extreme bra-burning feminist. But I find men who consider themselves superior just because they were born men simply ridiculous. And that’s the reason I am surprised – and a little angry – at myself for this.

What’s with Bhajji? It wasn’t a pretty sight watching him lash out at a hapless photographer just because in the crowd his camera touched Bhajji’s head slightly. And when are these journos going to realize that the best way to make such arrogant “celebrities” fall in line is not to chase them?

Sometimes you come across some news that makes you wonder whether you should laugh or cry.

Two days back I read that the Conservatives in the US are up in arms against the president for some speech that he made at some school extolling hard work and perseverance. According to them he is trying to indoctrinate the students in his “Socialistic” thoughts. What has hard work and perseverance got to do with Socialistic views? I don’t have a clue. I wonder if Mr. Obama is also scratching his head at the Oval office :-)

The other news that made me gasp in sheer perplexity was about some parents who made sure that their precious offspring arrived in this world on the auspicious day of 9/9/2009 – at 9:09am. I felt sad for the tiny ones who were yanked out of the comfort of their mom’s womb just because their stupid parents believed that the child would be blessed with good fortune if he/she is born on an auspicious day!

The parents didn’t even spare a thought that by this atrocious act they could be permanently harming their child’s immune system. What has this world come to? :-(

I had been to Crossword because they had a sale going on. It felt good to see the place crowded with people who wanted to buy books. While waiting for my turn at the checkout counter I noticed that Dan Brown's new novel "The Lost Symbol" is going to be out on 15th. It will be a while before I can see it in my library. But already I cannot wait to get my hands on it. :-)

I had decided to read all of Robert Ludlum's novels that are in the library but the convoluted plots of both "The Lazarus Vendetta" and "The Rhinemann Exchange" proved a bit too much to digest. So this time I brought home Steve Berry's "The Venetian Betrayal".

So far the plot looks promising what with the missing body of Alexander the Great and a Greek Fire that spreads more when doused with water. I hope it doesn's get more complicated than this. :-)