Thankyou Jahnavi, Anushree and Aditya. And Neena and Reshma.
You guys get so much more life and energy and love into tnt. thanks so much fr your caring. when i look back at each one of them whom i have worked with, in the past 5 years, i realise that though a few came to do a job, most of the others have loved being here.
As i train, put them through their paces, scold, shout, be horrid to them at times, i have genuinely loved each one of them. They have all had their quirks - right from akash to neena to shrikant, but all of them have again and again put tnt over personal priorities. They all gave. I have had a long chat with Ravi and also with Nirmala. I'm finding a remarkable change of attitude in both. After a few years, i feel i have a team going. Initially, i think the stress of making the whole thing work was too much for me. But today, i spent a longish day at work. and i enjoyed it.
Jahnavi has created her own folder preparing for the HP event. And she has color coded it. And Anushree thoughtfully bought color post-its for her. very cute ! I love you guys !
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Garden Bookstore ?
Would it work ?
Often i think, what if i move the bookstore into a garden flat... books are inside lets say couple of rooms, and it opens into a courtyard, garden ... with a jhoola, hammock ... easy chairs...
it will require more maintenance and will have its own perils in terms of wet feet etc.... but it will be nice. Will it attract customers, even if combined with just coffee.... it shouldn't becom a Mocha... more folks to do tp than to read. This will dissuade the real reader. Also, the casual walk-in will never know the place ... it wont be spotted, like it is currently, even though its on a sidestreet.
As a second outlet, maybe worth a try ... but managing 2 outlets.... oh! i will give up very easily.
Often i think, what if i move the bookstore into a garden flat... books are inside lets say couple of rooms, and it opens into a courtyard, garden ... with a jhoola, hammock ... easy chairs...
it will require more maintenance and will have its own perils in terms of wet feet etc.... but it will be nice. Will it attract customers, even if combined with just coffee.... it shouldn't becom a Mocha... more folks to do tp than to read. This will dissuade the real reader. Also, the casual walk-in will never know the place ... it wont be spotted, like it is currently, even though its on a sidestreet.
As a second outlet, maybe worth a try ... but managing 2 outlets.... oh! i will give up very easily.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I found this here
Thank you Regina.
She Talks With Books
I am the owner of a little bookshop- shop, not store... where each book is lovingly placed precisely on the shelf of its choosing that it whispered to me during a late night sojourn, thus forcing the prospective book buyer to become one with their bookmate in order to find its exact location in this strange little bookshop that seems to shine from the inside out and where the books talk to each other and invite each other over for tea and crumpets...
Upon finding said bookmate, the eccentric owner of said bookshop- me, dressed in flowers and ribbons, begins to tell them of all the wonders this book has to share and why one can never really own a book- why, it's the other way 'round, you see... and how one must treat their new companion as if one were holding the world in the palm of their hands, which, of course, they are, as this secret bookmate of yours will take you on one long, beautiful trip inside yourself...
I know, I get those kinds of looks all the time, those looks that say, "Is she crazy or am I for walking into this place?" but being eccentric as I have been for lo, these many years, one gets used to being looked at strangely... perhaps that is why I became the owner of a bookshop, where the books merely long to be looked at and I swiftly re-direct their gaze from me to the book they hold and say, "Can you not see all that there is to offer you here in these pages?" and they look and soon become one again with the fantastical smudges on paper called words and I leave them to it...
They walk out soon after, relishing their bookmate, nestled safely amongst the beat of the heart, and as they leave, they wonder if the place where they spent what seems like a lifetime really existed but yes, it must have because here is the book that called to them and they listened and they swore to secretly return to the little eccentric bookshop and the eccentric bookshop's owner that somehow, in the same light, both truly dazzled and warmed the space in between the longing and the wanting...
As for me, I return among the whisperings and secret meetings of historical biographies and romantic fiction and perilous mysteries and sweet poetry and they all quiet themselves as they think, "Here comes the eccentric one again who thinks that because she owns a bookshop that she owns the books as well...", but I hear them and I think...
"I'm not that eccentric..."
Thank you Regina.
She Talks With Books
I am the owner of a little bookshop- shop, not store... where each book is lovingly placed precisely on the shelf of its choosing that it whispered to me during a late night sojourn, thus forcing the prospective book buyer to become one with their bookmate in order to find its exact location in this strange little bookshop that seems to shine from the inside out and where the books talk to each other and invite each other over for tea and crumpets...
Upon finding said bookmate, the eccentric owner of said bookshop- me, dressed in flowers and ribbons, begins to tell them of all the wonders this book has to share and why one can never really own a book- why, it's the other way 'round, you see... and how one must treat their new companion as if one were holding the world in the palm of their hands, which, of course, they are, as this secret bookmate of yours will take you on one long, beautiful trip inside yourself...
I know, I get those kinds of looks all the time, those looks that say, "Is she crazy or am I for walking into this place?" but being eccentric as I have been for lo, these many years, one gets used to being looked at strangely... perhaps that is why I became the owner of a bookshop, where the books merely long to be looked at and I swiftly re-direct their gaze from me to the book they hold and say, "Can you not see all that there is to offer you here in these pages?" and they look and soon become one again with the fantastical smudges on paper called words and I leave them to it...
They walk out soon after, relishing their bookmate, nestled safely amongst the beat of the heart, and as they leave, they wonder if the place where they spent what seems like a lifetime really existed but yes, it must have because here is the book that called to them and they listened and they swore to secretly return to the little eccentric bookshop and the eccentric bookshop's owner that somehow, in the same light, both truly dazzled and warmed the space in between the longing and the wanting...
As for me, I return among the whisperings and secret meetings of historical biographies and romantic fiction and perilous mysteries and sweet poetry and they all quiet themselves as they think, "Here comes the eccentric one again who thinks that because she owns a bookshop that she owns the books as well...", but I hear them and I think...
"I'm not that eccentric..."
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Remembering(too late!) June 13th 2007
The tnt Memory went...
Without the 'light' it may always have remained so!!!
Happy Birthday Jyoti, and please feel free to rap us on the head.
Without the 'light' it may always have remained so!!!
Happy Birthday Jyoti, and please feel free to rap us on the head.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Is, will be, has been
The freshly starched cotton sari
says, “you must rush, prove, marry, care, conform”.
The carelessly slipping ikkat dupatta
says, “I will climb mountains, read, dream, defy”.
The crinkly soft chungdi sari
says, “my dear, you must eat, drive carefully, watch”.
Will you wear platinum or rubies?
No, silver or terracotta.
Gold or diamonds?
Will you eat a roti or a sandwich?
No, pasta or falafel.
Rice or curry?
Will you buy a laptop or a mutual fund?
No, a vacation or shoes.
Silks or bangles?
It’s a wonder how,
while living in strikingly different worlds,
under the same roof,
three generations of women,
try desperately to live the same life,
in turmoil, in serenity.
This one is for J, who I trust implicitly.
says, “you must rush, prove, marry, care, conform”.
The carelessly slipping ikkat dupatta
says, “I will climb mountains, read, dream, defy”.
The crinkly soft chungdi sari
says, “my dear, you must eat, drive carefully, watch”.
Will you wear platinum or rubies?
No, silver or terracotta.
Gold or diamonds?
Will you eat a roti or a sandwich?
No, pasta or falafel.
Rice or curry?
Will you buy a laptop or a mutual fund?
No, a vacation or shoes.
Silks or bangles?
It’s a wonder how,
while living in strikingly different worlds,
under the same roof,
three generations of women,
try desperately to live the same life,
in turmoil, in serenity.
This one is for J, who I trust implicitly.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
friends and team tnt
Friends and team tnt will continue for a while.
Vernen.
How does one describe him ? Student? Foreigner? Friend? How do u know him ? Customer ? Employee ?
Well he just walked in one day "for the airconditioning" ! I was at the counter, as usual, i was filling in for somebody. Mid afternoon. And we got talking. After the initial where are u from, why India to study ....I frankly didn't expect to see him again. But he was then staying in Sriram nagar and had to walk to Kamal often. So we started seeing him more often.
Our discussions have ranged from people, attitudes, culture, mythology, girls, professionalism, work front, his sisters, world, business, software ... his parents, backgrounds, cancer and chemeo, bonding, mother's side for family ....... so much. Countless. The Durshet trip was good. He dnt make it to Kamshet - that was in summer.
Vernen's address in Pune ... c/o twistntales. People come to tnt looking for him. Srinivas, Devashish, Ramgopal Rao .... the friends that he has made here .. whats it about him ? Polite ? Gentle to a fault ? No class consciousness ... Krishna, Prashant and Ravi Bhaiyya were his friends too... I m going to miss him terribly. Lunch is never going to be the same !
For Vernen, the degree has come at a cost. I know what he means. Good Luck, Vernen. May you find a great job and that someone to share your life with. You deserve it. And dont forget that Cape to Cairo trip......in a GMC truck with a lot of S. African Indian kids with nan for Company ! Count me in !
Vernen.
How does one describe him ? Student? Foreigner? Friend? How do u know him ? Customer ? Employee ?
Well he just walked in one day "for the airconditioning" ! I was at the counter, as usual, i was filling in for somebody. Mid afternoon. And we got talking. After the initial where are u from, why India to study ....I frankly didn't expect to see him again. But he was then staying in Sriram nagar and had to walk to Kamal often. So we started seeing him more often.
Our discussions have ranged from people, attitudes, culture, mythology, girls, professionalism, work front, his sisters, world, business, software ... his parents, backgrounds, cancer and chemeo, bonding, mother's side for family ....... so much. Countless. The Durshet trip was good. He dnt make it to Kamshet - that was in summer.
Vernen's address in Pune ... c/o twistntales. People come to tnt looking for him. Srinivas, Devashish, Ramgopal Rao .... the friends that he has made here .. whats it about him ? Polite ? Gentle to a fault ? No class consciousness ... Krishna, Prashant and Ravi Bhaiyya were his friends too... I m going to miss him terribly. Lunch is never going to be the same !
For Vernen, the degree has come at a cost. I know what he means. Good Luck, Vernen. May you find a great job and that someone to share your life with. You deserve it. And dont forget that Cape to Cairo trip......in a GMC truck with a lot of S. African Indian kids with nan for Company ! Count me in !
Bawi Budday Bash
I got presents...
...and you didn't..BLEH!
Get AWAY you Freaky Fotographer You!
Don't look at me, I'm Homicidal!
Yay, in 22 years, I learnt how to scratch backs..finally!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
For Write Draft, 28 May 2007
How simple it is
To befriend an entire institution
To wonder at the rain
Twisting on glass
To remember
....and forget
and remember
again...
Always,
tnt.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Remembering June 2nd 2007
Sonali
May you retain all the colour in you, and may much more spread through your life.
And...may your jokes only get worse!
Shankar
Travel, finance, good food and then some.
May you retain all the colour in you, and may much more spread through your life.
And...may your jokes only get worse!
Shankar
Travel, finance, good food and then some.
Happy Dappy Budday!
To our resident Mad Bawi. Without prejudice, the prettiest of us tnt girls..next to Nan.
happy birthday, and may you always lose out on your share of sanity.
With love
Your Fellow Toi-Toi's.
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