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



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18 July 2009

Further tales of the newly domesticated

* Sooooooo I've been in Delhi for the last week, which is why no new posts. Delhi was hot, hot, HOT while I was there, only raining on the last few days. Fun things happened though: We came SECOND in a pub quiz (I know, I'm just as amazed as you are), discovered a new restaurant (called Gunpowder, serves--tan tara tara--Andhra/Malayali cuisine), bought NINE new dresses (and now I need occasions for all of them) and came home with so much excess baggage I had to spend an extra grand at the airport. Mostly books, but also one oven in which we made chocolate chip cookies the other day. (They were good, just got burnt a little coz we didn't know what settings to put the oven at.)

* Living together is so much fun. I love shopping for the house and doing our little domestic things and cooking! I've discovered cooking which is now my new favourite thing, even though I don't dazzle in that department. Today on the lunch menu is Goan sausages with bread, perhaps the easiest thing in the world to cook, so that should be significantly less embarrassing than other cooking episodes. (Alas, my poor cookies! Pride goeth before a fall!)

* At some point, I should go watch the newest Harry Potter, I suppose, because I already watched parts 1 to 5, even though I complained bitterly about them after. I'm such a wuss about these things. The SMART thing to do would be to say well, as each movie has been a disappointment to me, I'm not going to go for any more and retain my love for the books. But noooooo. Having commited to watching one, apparently, my mind thinks that's good enough reason to watch ALL of them. I'm sure I'll grumble about it on this blog later.

* While in Delhi, had a crazy night out and went to TLR and Smokehouse, where I bumped into many old friends, did one Kamikaze shot and bounced around a little bit, till it was time for us to leave. People though, looked so joyless and like they had to do this. I noticed people standing around in Smokehouse, elbow to armpit, chugging away at whatever beverage they had but looking sooooo, well, meh. Like this was a duty they had to perform and check off their chore list. I don't go to fancy clubs that often, not having the funds and/or the inclination, so I like the novelty value, but I felt a little bad for all these people for whom it was a Saturday Night Task. Back in the day, when there were like TWO nightclubs you visited (Ricks or Djinns or sometimes, Pluto), maybe it was because we were younger and this was all still very new, but I remember the thrill, the excitement, the feeling that this was exactly where you wanted to be. Oh sure, maybe I'm romanticizing it a bit, maybe there were still ten feet deep queues to the loo and maybe you still stood around staring at your friends because the music was too loud for conversation, but I distinctly remember people looking happier and like this was a night out extraordinaire.

Anyhoo, back to my Saturday planning (and three deadlines on the same day, because I am a crazy woman). Have a good weekend!

22 comments:

  1. How do you manage to remain soo thin with all that food,cookies and booze?

    Please do tell me,I am ballooning :(

    PS:I love your blog :)and wait for your posts do damn eagerly.

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  2. OMG. Same with me on the HP front. I HAVE to watch the movies and then rant about it properly (I mean, can't they make a proper book-made-movie just ONE time??)

    But haha. This is the last time the pony-tailed Dumbledore will be on screen.
    *dances like in a fairytale*

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  3. Delhi has been hot like anything...inspite of the rains

    Yup, you right...people in pubs here are unhappy...perhpas after teens somethings lose their charm

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  4. that's exactly what happens with me and the harry potter books...i'm sure you'll watch the movie anyway, and i'll admit it's the best movie made so far, but it's not a patch on the book!

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  5. where does one go to buy nice dresses in delhi?? I;ve looked all over and no luck so far :(

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  6. Awesome trip ha! Nine dresses...nice! I enjoyed reading this!

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  7. NINE DRESSES? Whoa... XD
    I like HP books better than the movies...

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  8. You seem to have evolved a lot in this post. As a writer.

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  9. Hey, just finished reading your book. I thought it was awesome. But I couldn't help noticing that a lot of the contents were picked up from the blog , right ?? Anyway, I love the way you write :)So, keep us posted!

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  10. Not sure whether the following is an observation relevant only to Sri Lanka where I'm from, but I've noticed that the Friday nights seem to be more 'happening' than the Sat nights right now. Possibly might be that more peeps willing to really party go out on Friday, while as u said the 'another chore' peeps go out on Saturday?

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  11. hey Menaakshi...

    hw r u ..?

    may all ur drmzz come true..

    God bless u ..

    tk cr..

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  12. Delhi brings back a lot of memories in me ...
    Gud to hear that u r enjoying doing the domestic chores n cooking
    Way to go ..........

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  13. I absolutely LOVE your easy flowing writing style...enjoyed reading about your Delhi trip and so know what you mean about people standing around looking like they're here for a task. Actually they are. They NEED to be SEEN there! :o)

    And loved the Dipso Tag at the end of the post. That got me!

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  14. @Chandni
    You have to scout for dresses in delhi at janpath and sarojini. it is tedious, but if you know the right shops it pretty much works out.

    @Em
    In delhi, every one has become so... whatever- you hardly see happy faces around..

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  15. hmm ya we r on the same boat abt harry potter....bt watched the latest today..and i think its much better than the previous ones...

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  16. Exactly my sentiments..I watch Harry Potter movies because I have to.. not because I want to..This time I went to a further extreme..I didn't only watch it, but also cribbed about it on a blog!

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  17. Hi Meenakshi,

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    ReplyDelete
  18. hey Meenakshi! I'm a 16 yr old and I read ur blog tips column in HT.....could you read my blog http://rheaakatadka.blogspot.com
    and give me suggestions please? thanks!

    -tolerable, tolkien-like teen
    RHEAA RAO

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  19. smoke house grill isn't where people go to have a good time; as the name would suggest, it's all about the meat. people truss themselves up to look glistening/appetizing, and show up to size up one another's networth. you'd think they were wax statues if they didn't twitch once in a while to show their coolly indifferent appreciation for the ticking and blipping electronic music played by their dj "friend". on the other hand, 'polka' and 'pegs and pints' are about actually having a good time..

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  20. "Back in the day, when there were like TWO nightclubs you visited (Ricks or Djinns or sometimes, Pluto), maybe it was because we were younger and this was all still very new, but I remember the thrill, the excitement, the feeling that this was exactly where you wanted to be. "

    Sorry, but that is a repeat from an earlier post.

    ReplyDelete

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