My latest book is The One Who Swam With The Fishes.

"A mesmerizing account of the well-known story of Matsyagandha ... and her transformation from fisherman’s daughter to Satyavati, Santanu’s royal consort and the Mother/Progenitor of the Kuru clan." - Hindustan Times

"Themes of fate, morality and power overlay a subtle and essential feminism to make this lyrical book a must-read. If this is Madhavan’s first book in the Girls from the Mahabharata series, there is much to look forward to in the months to come." - Open Magazine

"A gleeful dollop of Blytonian magic ... Reddy Madhavan is also able to tackle some fairly sensitive subjects such as identity, the love of and karmic ties with parents, adoption, the first sexual encounter, loneliness, and my favourite, feminist rage." - Scroll



Sign up for my newsletter: The Internet Personified

19 June 2006

Things that make me happy (so I don't forget)

Rain; sleeping in a room that's completely dark and completely quiet; air conditioners; sitting in front of a room heater and warming my toes; blankets with satin linings;
fluffy bathtowels; singing; late night conversations with jazz music in the background and red wine; sleepovers; not having to drive.

High cheekbones; the noises horses make through their noses; good smells; watching pianist's/guitarist's fingers; the smell of foreign suitcases; new shoes; the feel of a baby animal; letting the surf touch my toes; a good book; having do-you-remember evenings with old friends.

Cheese; olives; mustard; pickle; food that makes me crinkle up my nose; good huggers; good kissers; a backrub; singing along to music at the top of my voice; long, wordy emails with plenty of description; people who miss me and say so; flat stomachs; a full packet of cigarettes.

Creating things; telling a good story; hearing a good story; gossip; Turquoise Cottage when it's empty-ish; men who smell nice; pedicures; the perfect cup of coffee; Barista's hot chocolate with mint, on a winter's day, sitting outside and smoking; finally being able to use the big word I have been rolling around in my head all day; identifying a tune; a new episode of one of my favourite TV shows; being able to make someone laugh; being able to laugh.

Having a crush on someone and thrilling with possibilities; new comments on my blog; fluffy pillows; romantic comedies; bumping into someone I haven't seen for ages unexpectedly; house parties; push-up bras; pretty panties; being forced to revise judgements in a good way; finding empty roads when I expected traffic; dimples; good news; horoscopes that promise excitement and romance; meeting new people and becoming instant best friends forever; fashion shows sometimes; a free drink; boxes; old photographs; happy endings.

Right. Everything seems to be in order.




26 comments:

  1. am addicted to your blog.:)
    ex-lurker me be.
    very apt happy making things you listed here!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You forgot to add one more - talking to me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. i couldn't agree more.

    and yeah, new comments for you. be happy :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Long descriptive mails eh? No wonder you liked mine (assuming still, that it wasn't sarcasm).

    And pretty panties absolutely rock.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Right, as good as the ode to a lump of putty i found in my armpit one midsummer morning.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Getting to use big words*nods vigorously*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Goat cheese and tomato-basil crostinis...ahhh.

    Whoops, sorry.

    I saw the word cheese in your post, and I couldnt possibly read beyond that.

    :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. checking your blog for new entries is one of mine...its so upsetting when you log on everyday n there's noting new..so then i re-read some old stuff i really like...
    and if there's something new- its one of the things that make me happy :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Its strange...i had made a list on something like this a month back called 'Life's best moments'. Luv your blog....

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love being able to laugh and making others laugh too =) It's a nice list to make, but I don't get the order of the things. Is there any particular order?

    Just curious.

    Cheers,
    Kaurin
    PS: I've decided to stop lurking and make you happy with some new comments, ain't I nice? =P

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice posts. Got a lot of smiles out of me on an otherwise horrible horrible day and week. Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Everyone should have a list like this.. when I started my blog it was like my second post .. I look at it when the day isn't great and smile.. *grin* ..

    ReplyDelete
  13. watching pianist/guitarist fingers.... do-you-remember evenings... exactly.

    ReplyDelete
  14. hey em,

    i found your blog today at work by googling "delhi nightlife" or something like that. i'm an american intern working at an advertising firm in delhi this summer and my project involves lots of "research" at bars... hehe.

    anyway, i love how you write! i thought you were an expat at first because you're so forthcoming... i guess i still expect indian women to be a little more conservative but i'm learning that's not always the case! i'll definitely keep reading!

    charlie

    ReplyDelete
  15. y: thanks :) ex-lurkers are always welcome.

    indian stallion: oh totally. how could i forget? ;)

    wishful thinker, methinks: thank you! (shameless hints sometimes work)

    mint: merci. you should try it too. most therapeutic!

    sirisha: you should really learn to accept a compliment! look how modestly i bow my head and say thank you prettily. :)

    nitin: oh-kaaaay. someone's been reading their hitchhiker's guide recently.

    ab: you too? i try and slip them into my copies as unobtrusively as I can!

    punkster: you forgot fresh buffalo mozarella, blue cheese, soft, stinky emmental and even yellow processed Brittania slices.

    sri: awwwwww. thank you!

    anon: thanks! I hope it brought you as much joy as this one reminded me that i had.

    kaurin: nope, no particular order, just as they occured to me. weirdly enough, as soon as I posted it started to rain. i was so pleased.

    rohini: you too? it hasn't been my YEAR so far. grah. 2006 sucks.

    dersh: i know! i don't know why it took me so long!

    kiki: hey, i didn't think anyone else would like to watch musicians fingers! glad to know it's not just me.

    charlie: ah indian women. it takes all sorts, some of us, actually, more and more these days, are "forthcoming". :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. gI have just launched a monthly creative women's e-zine and would like to invite you to write for it. You can talk about anything appealing to a Women audience. I do hope you like the idea!

    http://www.girlenroute.com/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi,
    We have selected your blog to display latest feeds in Personal blog section of http://www.enewss.com website.
    Please email us, if you don't want us to use your feed.

    We will also appreciate if you can link to our website
    url:http://www.enewss.com
    description: India Samachar
    Thanks
    Enewss team

    ReplyDelete
  18. loved the list
    barista hot chocolate with mint.. mmm.. couple that with a slow drizzle outside and nice conversation ...
    sd

    ReplyDelete
  19. Amazing. Nostalgia after reading a blog-post which you wish you had written, but not really is a newly discovered pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  20. tried this for my blog some time back, gave up.
    could not have had a better list.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nice list...horscopes with romance and excitement days usually turn out to be dental appointments for me..:(..sigh..

    ReplyDelete
  22. this is really gr8 to read, coz normally people avoid writing these trivial things which are the real happy providers

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your feedback! It'll be published once I approve it. Inflammatory/abusive comments will not be posted. Please play nice.