Bonnie : Hi Mann! Finally I’m ready with my questions. Must say, interviewing is a tough job! Here are the 5 main questions with a few sub questions here and there… So shall we start? Since your blog is frequented with posts on love, let’s talk about just that - Love. Tell me, when was the first time something told you that you were in love? How were you so sure that it was love? How would you describe that feeling... Just the way we read in books or in the movies? What according to you is the most important characteristic any guy should possess when in a relationship? And what do you have to say about long distance relationships? Do you think they are practical?
Mann : Love… For a four letter word, it does cause a lot of trouble… The first time I fell in love was walking back from school after my final exams when I was in class VI. My mum had just been through her first round of chemotherapy back then and I was near this junkyard about five minutes away from home. I heard a little whine from one of the drains… There were concrete slabs that covered it, but I had small hands and there was a big hole on one of them… I stuck my hand in and pulled out this little fur ball that turned out to be a month old puppy. I fell in love for the first time then… Took him home, introduced him to mum & dad. Berney (that’s his name) is almost 8 years old now…
I would like to think that I’m an observant person. And on this assumption I would say that there’s a tendency in people to become just a little bit selfish when happiness comes their way… Sorrows they are willing to share with anyone who is willing to listen… I think love is when you find yourself looking for someone to share your happiness with… To want to share you most selfish moment with someone else… When you have everything you worked towards, but are restless because someone is missing… That’s when you know that you’re in big trouble… [:D] My mum always said that love doesn’t come and whack you over the head like in the movies or in fairy tales. It just creeps up on you… It just is…
Being in a relationship is something people shouldn’t take frivolously, but to survive they need a sense of humor… It’s impossible to spend the rest of your life with someone who cannot make you laugh… The skin will wrinkle, those looks’ll fade. Your money will be spent. The sex can only last so long… But the gift of laughter… That’s the best thing anyone could ever give you.
I’m in a relationship now and it is long distance if you count the fact that he’s in Delhi and I’m in Pune. But we’re closer than most couples’ I know. Sure, I miss that we don’t have dates and we can’t see each other as often as I’d like. But when we meet up, we more than make up for it. We don’t take each other for granted and we make every moment count. Is it practical? Maybe not… But love isn’t meant to be practical. Can you picture Juliet telling Romeo to get over himself and find someone else to harass?
Bonnie : Very well said! This one question always left me clueless but you've cleared all the confusion with that answer. Moving on, I know that you are a book lover. But I also know that choosing the right book is something! So tell me how you choose your books... I mean on what basis? Do you choose them according to the author, or do you only go for specific books... Books on specific subject lines? Which is your favorite genre... Romance, comedy, thrillers, philosophy, etc? Which has been your most memorable read till date?
Mann : I think parents play a very big role in the kind of reader you become… My parents never placed any restrictions on me as far as books were concerned. If I would pick out something adult-ish, they would buy it, but told me that I could read it when I was slightly older. Till then it would be safe with them. The very fact that they bought it meant that they would let me read it… Initially, it was the bright colours on the cover that attracted my attention… And as you grow and come into your own, you begin to think before you fish something out. I always make it a point to read the brief introduction at the back and also the first paragraph… That’s when you know if it’ll hold your interest…
It helps if you’ve read a certain author before… It makes it easier to choose. Their books jump out as if they were good friends of yours… And I’m rather partial to mystery myself… So Agatha Christie is my Goddess… I also pick up books which have been recommended by certain people I know of as having the same taste in literature as me… I remember my dad telling me that I was old enough to start on more serious books and he handed me the Lord of the Rings trilogy… I wouldn’t put it down till I finished it… It’s been my favorite book so far. I even learnt a little Elvish from the extensive authors notes towards the end of the book.
Bonnie : Lovely! I’m going to go book-shopping soon! You remember we recently talked about the so-called "elite group” comprising of a few of your close girl friends... Who would help in making your wedding a grand event? Describe your idea of a dream wedding. How do you want it to be?
Mann : Oh yeah! The “elite group”… You know, I hear a lot of girls saying that they’ve been planning their weddings since they discovered what weddings and planning meant… I wasn’t one of those. I’ve never fostered dreams of ever ending up with anyone… I mean, I always thought that if it has to happen it will and then we’ll see what needs to be done… But now, being with Tanuj - I’ve caught myself daydreaming a lot…
I’m a very picky person… And I know exactly how I want things to be and if they don’t turn out that way, I get upset. (And let me tell you, you do not want to get a Taurean woman angry.) There are very few people I would trust with something as important as my wedding… So here goes… Vands, Mads, Gunjan, you, my cousin - Sagarika, my friends - Ridhima & Swati. Yeah… That would be my idea of an “elite group”. I’d love to include a personal trainer - because I don’t want to be as fat as an elephant (which I am right now for those of you who didn’t know) when I get married. But I don’t think I’ll be able to afford that.
Besides, my dad’s always wanted his darling daughter to have a grand wedding… I’m the first girl born in two or three generations on my dad’s side of the family and the youngest on my mom’s side, so the few relatives I do get along with will want something big themselves… But if you ask me, I want something really private and personal… I want the wedding to be just my “chosen” family and very good friends. I leave the “Sangeet” and reception to everyone else to organize… Bear in mind that in my daydreams it’s all perfect (and I will not sit on those awful throne-like chairs!!!)… So if you upset me, there will be hell to pay for… (Smiles angelically.)
Bonnie : Hmmm... Elite group - is every one of you listening?
Do you like to travel? How much of India have you covered till date? Which has been your most memorable holiday and which was the best place you've been to?
Mann : I love traveling… It’s a waste of your legs and your head if you don’t travel. You get to see so much, experience so much... I’ve been to Kanyakumari, but that was a very long time ago. I don’t even remember much of it. So I’m looking to renew that experience sometime soon. I’ve been all over Rajasthan & West Bengal, Delhi & its outskirts (again a very long time ago and I’m looking forward to exploring it again), Sikkim, Assam… My dad tells me I’ve been to Arunachal Pradesh once, but I can’t recall it… And Mumbai, Pune and Goa…
But the stand-out trip has to be Rajasthan… We were in Jaisalmer and my mum heard something about those camp things they set up for tourists… You know, night out in the desert and the dancers and fire-side food and stories and such… We signed up for it and left early the next day to avoid the boiling sun. I shall never forget my first view of the desert… The pink and gold reflecting off the surface - we reached just as the day broke… The trails of the wind on that grainy ocean… And the sand - gosh - it slid right through my fingers… The steep dunes and the beautifully decorated camels… Our guide, Raju ( I remember his name because he would keep singing “Raju ban gaya gentleman”) had a camel named Michael Jackson… Hehe… And then suddenly it was night… The heat driven away by some silent army of cool twinkling stars… The fire being lit up and the dancers swaying and spinning to the beats of the drums… It was like another world… It’s a pity I didn’t have a mobile phone with a camera, because I would have loved to capture those moments…
Bonnie : Beautiful description. Makes me take off to that place immediately! Coming to the last question, what is your idea of a perfect day?
Mann : I love taking pictures… Very quirky ones… Some stupid signs on the road or a particularly green tree… In fact here are some of them…
This one was taken earlier this year... On the Mumbai - Pune Expressway...
This one's near this small lane opposite my college... We go there for sandwiches. This was just outside the shop.
This was taken on my way to Darjeeling... At Kurseong.
These were a bunch of inquisitive rascals I ran into near New Market, Kolkata.
Anyone who's seen "Parineeta" must have heard of Flury's... Lovely food...
So, my perfect day would be spent clicking away happily…
Bonnie : Interview done, Mann... You've been amazing throughout the interview. I really enjoyed it... Hope you did too [:)]
Mann : Thanks… I did have loads of fun doing this… And just so the others know what’s going on… Here are the rules…
1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and may offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
So, do you want to be interviewed?