Misc Nothings iii

I always find it difficult to watch anything competitive, whether its a game of tennis or a quiz show on TV because I feel sorry for the losers and want everyone to win. A is the more competitive one of the two of us. But recently I loved watching University Challenge, while A was sympathetically cringing for the losing team. This is just one example of us “changing places.”

Since A and I have known each other for so long we sometimes joke that we have partially brought each other up. It’s funny seeing how your own personality affects your own partner’s and vice-versa. A has made me a far more organised person than I ever was (of course he will claim he sees no evidence of this!) and wrought some very important emotional changes.
——————————————————–
Many of you said very nice things about my name. Thank you. I wasn’t too happy with it as child. A lot of people thought it was inauspicious (think of the Mahabharata). Someone I know once had a daughter, many years after I was born, and was told by the astrologer to name her with a name starting with “U.” She wanted to name her the same as me but her family didn’t let her on the grounds it was unlucky.

Then there was this woman who teased me by pronouncing it wrong and said “neechey uttra!” Some of my Tam and Mallu friends and relatives still pronounce it that way, so I am forever climbing down (but Yesudas does a brilliant job here in the madly named Danger Biscuit). And of course in the UK hardly anyone can pronounce it all, which often results in my giving people like taxi firms my surname as my first name. I think I am just growing into accepting my name.
———————————————————
I went for a long walk in one of London’s woods with a friend who is Druid. The fact that London has woods in the middle of the city and Druids is wonderful. Also that I have druids as friends is wonderful!
———————————————————-
Have landed in India and am in happy/mad rush. The guy next to me on the plane announced on the phone to his friend at the start of the flight, with great glee, that he was going to drink lots of Bacardi. Which he did. And then snored for the rest of the night as I had expected .