Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Tits and bits... to fill your mouth with a smile !
A CHILD'S PRAYER
A mother I met told me that she saw her little boy sitting in a corner of the room, saying " A-B-C-D-E-F-...."
"What are you doing?" she asked
"Mom, you told me I should pray, but I have never prayed in my life and I dont't know how. So I gave God the whle alphabet and asked him to make a good prayer of it."
Morning Walk
Six am - Two women in their salwar-kameez are out for their morning walk. As they walk, they talk about their important friendships: husbands, kids, coworkers. They occasionally touch each other's shoulders, stop, face each other and laugh. A sun-dried seventy-something man, wearing an orange sweater and monkey cap, walks by, smiles , and says, "You two look like you're doing ballet together." And so they are. As friends, they are dancing in synchrony: listening, encouraging, challenging each other.
And these two women are My mother Shobhana and her best friend Meera aunty (as I call her) And this is me, Shobhana's son's view of these two beautiful ladies, while they are on their morning walk in the garden near our residence. A son watches on her mother to catch those glimpses of joy on her face, to watch her animatedly describe her son's and daughter's exploits and sorrows - and share her heart with the sole person who can - her friend. Cheers to friendship.
( Inspired by an article in "In the Company of Friends".)
A mother I met told me that she saw her little boy sitting in a corner of the room, saying " A-B-C-D-E-F-...."
"What are you doing?" she asked
"Mom, you told me I should pray, but I have never prayed in my life and I dont't know how. So I gave God the whle alphabet and asked him to make a good prayer of it."
Morning Walk
Six am - Two women in their salwar-kameez are out for their morning walk. As they walk, they talk about their important friendships: husbands, kids, coworkers. They occasionally touch each other's shoulders, stop, face each other and laugh. A sun-dried seventy-something man, wearing an orange sweater and monkey cap, walks by, smiles , and says, "You two look like you're doing ballet together." And so they are. As friends, they are dancing in synchrony: listening, encouraging, challenging each other.
And these two women are My mother Shobhana and her best friend Meera aunty (as I call her) And this is me, Shobhana's son's view of these two beautiful ladies, while they are on their morning walk in the garden near our residence. A son watches on her mother to catch those glimpses of joy on her face, to watch her animatedly describe her son's and daughter's exploits and sorrows - and share her heart with the sole person who can - her friend. Cheers to friendship.
( Inspired by an article in "In the Company of Friends".)
I could not stop that.... you now know ! ;-)
For a week or so, I let out a sigh of sympathy. Then for a week I let out a sigh of joy and then for the rest of those days, I let out a sigh of envy ! - All directed at one person in particular. The person in question is a dwarfish man ( I don't know if its rude to call him that), standing outside Kemp Kids on M G Road.
This person is a 'small' man of about 3 feet or so in height. His job is to don a suit of various animals and stand outside the Kids Kemp shop welcoming the customers and the kids who walk in. He is short, has a rough edge to his face, has a grumpy look perennialy and dresses shabbily when not inside that suit. But once inside the furry suit, he seems to be such a cute little dynamite. He plays around with the kids, waves good-byes to the people passing by the shop, gives little fluffy candies to kids and gives them hugs. Thats his job.
Earlier, I started to be really sorry on seeing him eking out a living by doing such a 'menial' job. Thats why the sigh of sympathy. That's when I saw certain other things.
The kids were so comfortable playing around with the furry dog or a roly-poly rabbit. They enthusiastically shook his hands and climbed on top of him. He was equally happy in cupping their tiny hands and giving them hi-fives ! Thats when I started giving out sigh of joy
This became a daily activity for me gradually. I used to step out of office to have a cup of tea near this store and used to pass by the place where our 'dummy man' stands. Some times when there were no kids to play around with, he would try and while away his time by waving at us and blabbering nonsensical gibberish through the mask over him.... How funny I used to think. I used to just give him my typical smile and move along. And other times I used to see him sitting on his chair, carressing and lovingly playing with a kid. One image will never be erased out of my memory... the image of a small 3 year old girl, sitting on his lap and hugging him. And he too wrapped his claws/hands around her. She sensed this and tightened her hold, her tiny & chubby fingers cushioning inside his furry exterior. What a poignant moment that was !!! I could imagine his face slowly relaxing and enjoying this show of affection, even though I could not see his face inside the mask.
How a little girl, with her innocence, ironed out the creases on his forehead. How a 'simple' job like his, gave him the comforts that I could never get !
Thats when I started to sigh out of envy !
How I would also love to swap places with him, just to experience the touch of child over my skin! My skin has burnt out of lack of touch. An innocent touch of a child, gives me such a tremendous adrenaline rush that I cannot capture it in words or emotions. Everytime any kid - be it my relatives' or my friends'or even strangers'- hugs me or touches me, I feel so elated. Not even a woman's touch feels so good as does a little child's. It comes second only to my mother's touch. :-)
This person is a 'small' man of about 3 feet or so in height. His job is to don a suit of various animals and stand outside the Kids Kemp shop welcoming the customers and the kids who walk in. He is short, has a rough edge to his face, has a grumpy look perennialy and dresses shabbily when not inside that suit. But once inside the furry suit, he seems to be such a cute little dynamite. He plays around with the kids, waves good-byes to the people passing by the shop, gives little fluffy candies to kids and gives them hugs. Thats his job.
Earlier, I started to be really sorry on seeing him eking out a living by doing such a 'menial' job. Thats why the sigh of sympathy. That's when I saw certain other things.
The kids were so comfortable playing around with the furry dog or a roly-poly rabbit. They enthusiastically shook his hands and climbed on top of him. He was equally happy in cupping their tiny hands and giving them hi-fives ! Thats when I started giving out sigh of joy
This became a daily activity for me gradually. I used to step out of office to have a cup of tea near this store and used to pass by the place where our 'dummy man' stands. Some times when there were no kids to play around with, he would try and while away his time by waving at us and blabbering nonsensical gibberish through the mask over him.... How funny I used to think. I used to just give him my typical smile and move along. And other times I used to see him sitting on his chair, carressing and lovingly playing with a kid. One image will never be erased out of my memory... the image of a small 3 year old girl, sitting on his lap and hugging him. And he too wrapped his claws/hands around her. She sensed this and tightened her hold, her tiny & chubby fingers cushioning inside his furry exterior. What a poignant moment that was !!! I could imagine his face slowly relaxing and enjoying this show of affection, even though I could not see his face inside the mask.
How a little girl, with her innocence, ironed out the creases on his forehead. How a 'simple' job like his, gave him the comforts that I could never get !
Thats when I started to sigh out of envy !
How I would also love to swap places with him, just to experience the touch of child over my skin! My skin has burnt out of lack of touch. An innocent touch of a child, gives me such a tremendous adrenaline rush that I cannot capture it in words or emotions. Everytime any kid - be it my relatives' or my friends'or even strangers'- hugs me or touches me, I feel so elated. Not even a woman's touch feels so good as does a little child's. It comes second only to my mother's touch. :-)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Jumbo - The Great !!!
The eyes are moist, and my heart weeps.... I do not know if it weeps out of sorrow or it weeps out of nostalgia, or out of respect.... All I know that this is emotional as emotional can be.
Anil Kumble has retired from international cricket. And a fan still wipes the tears straming down.... :-(
Anil Kumble has retired from international cricket. And a fan still wipes the tears straming down.... :-(
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A dash of light and colour, is all it takes... :-)
From the moment I opened my eyes today at 7 am, I was feeling wonderful. Some days are like that, na? Just perfect....
I am passing through the most stressful days of my career, as is evident from the scarcity of posts on my blog for a very long time now. Even when I sleep, its fight against the darkness... a jostle for daybreak to happen... so that I can wake up and hit for work... not because I am so in love with my work... duuuhhh... but for the simple reason that I have too much to do and I am bad at time management (whatever that means )
But today I was relaxed... I opened my eyes and I lay there on the bed... now that is rare... very rare... as soon as eyes open, its as if there is some military command given to my legs to just unwrap themselves and put their beloved self on the floor. But today was going to be different.... I was convinced. I woke up with a smile on my face... how refreshing :-) The day saw me cooking breakfast... a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed with crumbs of bread, onions, green chillies with a dash of oil... it was good... nothing revolutionary but nice. Not perfect but normal ... just normal....and for once I realized what normal feels like.
The day panned out well with lots of reading, watching the Little Master hit the Australian bowlers ( did I mention anytime that I love test cricket more than one day or twenty twenty ) And then with a hot cup of tea in my hands, I put on some nice music.. and made my way outside my apartment. Walking around in your slippers, shorts and comfy jersey - I swear it was such a nice feeling..... The whole building reverbrating with the music emanating from my apartment... everyone could hear it but I do not think anybody was disturbed... for once Winamp decided to play those songs that could be pleasing and uplifting !!
And there you go... like icing on the cake.... kids came bustling out of their houses... suddenly it was like a carnival... those little ones didnt shriek or make any noise... just kept playing their weird games... sometime hiding inside my legs, sometimes climbing over me and sometimes asking for a sip of my tea... he he he....
And when kids are playing, their mothers can never be away , can they? They have to always spoil the fun with their pedantic looks... whew....
These young mothers are the prime example of obnoxious creatures... why do they look at you so suspiciously everytime, as if you are one of those who have just got out of prison and out to disturb their peaceful and normal life. Its a grouse that I have of the so called 'families'... they think of bachelors living amidst them to be outsiders... whew... as if we do not belong to any families... I face it everyday when I open up my apartment's doors and windows to let in sunshine and fresh air.. and there you go, the lady living in the apartment will close her door on me... why yaar, ? I dont have any interest in poking into your household , honey... chill !!!
Lolz !!!
And whilst those kids were scampering around and I was blissfully unaware of the stares that I was getting from those young mothers.... I get a call from my friend. And you know what, I am standing on the second floor common area, there are these ladies around in the third and first floors, gossiping secretively, every now and then glancing furtively at me.... and what do I do.... he he he .... I talk about them staring at me in no unequivocal terms and at a quite audible volumet to my friend.... I ask her, " I wonder why they staring at me yaaaa?" And she just laughs back and says, "Anna, are you wearing your skimpy khaki shorts that you wore on the day I visted you?" I said yes. And then the way she laughed gave me full idea as to why they were staring at me.... I will not say any more....
So there I go sipping on my tea and oh ya... watering my potted plants... what admirable courage they showed past month or so, when they survived without any care from my side.... Oh, I showered them with my love and attention... cleaning them with gusto. It felt so lovely doing household work and not be bothered about any work related pressure.... all these activities made me realize... being alone on Diwali, is not that bad afterall... :-) ...
And the day continues still.... a nice shower with warm water, a date with the Almighty at the Ayyappa Temple and a nice supper awaits this fellow.... and of course Bill Aitken is yearning for my attention... his book 'Seven Sacred Rivers' still remains unfinished... just one of the unfinished businesses that I have to round off this perfect day with ! A lonely but perfect day !!!!
Hola !!!!!
I am passing through the most stressful days of my career, as is evident from the scarcity of posts on my blog for a very long time now. Even when I sleep, its fight against the darkness... a jostle for daybreak to happen... so that I can wake up and hit for work... not because I am so in love with my work... duuuhhh... but for the simple reason that I have too much to do and I am bad at time management (whatever that means )
But today I was relaxed... I opened my eyes and I lay there on the bed... now that is rare... very rare... as soon as eyes open, its as if there is some military command given to my legs to just unwrap themselves and put their beloved self on the floor. But today was going to be different.... I was convinced. I woke up with a smile on my face... how refreshing :-) The day saw me cooking breakfast... a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs mixed with crumbs of bread, onions, green chillies with a dash of oil... it was good... nothing revolutionary but nice. Not perfect but normal ... just normal....and for once I realized what normal feels like.
The day panned out well with lots of reading, watching the Little Master hit the Australian bowlers ( did I mention anytime that I love test cricket more than one day or twenty twenty ) And then with a hot cup of tea in my hands, I put on some nice music.. and made my way outside my apartment. Walking around in your slippers, shorts and comfy jersey - I swear it was such a nice feeling..... The whole building reverbrating with the music emanating from my apartment... everyone could hear it but I do not think anybody was disturbed... for once Winamp decided to play those songs that could be pleasing and uplifting !!
And there you go... like icing on the cake.... kids came bustling out of their houses... suddenly it was like a carnival... those little ones didnt shriek or make any noise... just kept playing their weird games... sometime hiding inside my legs, sometimes climbing over me and sometimes asking for a sip of my tea... he he he....
And when kids are playing, their mothers can never be away , can they? They have to always spoil the fun with their pedantic looks... whew....
These young mothers are the prime example of obnoxious creatures... why do they look at you so suspiciously everytime, as if you are one of those who have just got out of prison and out to disturb their peaceful and normal life. Its a grouse that I have of the so called 'families'... they think of bachelors living amidst them to be outsiders... whew... as if we do not belong to any families... I face it everyday when I open up my apartment's doors and windows to let in sunshine and fresh air.. and there you go, the lady living in the apartment will close her door on me... why yaar, ? I dont have any interest in poking into your household , honey... chill !!!
Lolz !!!
And whilst those kids were scampering around and I was blissfully unaware of the stares that I was getting from those young mothers.... I get a call from my friend. And you know what, I am standing on the second floor common area, there are these ladies around in the third and first floors, gossiping secretively, every now and then glancing furtively at me.... and what do I do.... he he he .... I talk about them staring at me in no unequivocal terms and at a quite audible volumet to my friend.... I ask her, " I wonder why they staring at me yaaaa?" And she just laughs back and says, "Anna, are you wearing your skimpy khaki shorts that you wore on the day I visted you?" I said yes. And then the way she laughed gave me full idea as to why they were staring at me.... I will not say any more....
So there I go sipping on my tea and oh ya... watering my potted plants... what admirable courage they showed past month or so, when they survived without any care from my side.... Oh, I showered them with my love and attention... cleaning them with gusto. It felt so lovely doing household work and not be bothered about any work related pressure.... all these activities made me realize... being alone on Diwali, is not that bad afterall... :-) ...
And the day continues still.... a nice shower with warm water, a date with the Almighty at the Ayyappa Temple and a nice supper awaits this fellow.... and of course Bill Aitken is yearning for my attention... his book 'Seven Sacred Rivers' still remains unfinished... just one of the unfinished businesses that I have to round off this perfect day with ! A lonely but perfect day !!!!
Hola !!!!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The first sign .... Now the prayer begins
It took me almost two days to come out of the shock of the improbable win of Liverpool over Chelsea at Chelsea's home ground, Stamford Bridge. How the hell did Liverpool pull it off!!!!!!!!! I am still dazed.... I never gave them a chance of winning it.... I just thought that if we play well , then maybe we can escape with a draw. All the pundits just confirmed my belief. So here I was sitting in front of my TV without even a prayer. Hmm.... and God has some superb ways of proving that HE exists.
I dont exactly know from when I started supporting Liverpool Football Club... I guess from the time Michael Owen burst on to the scene and since he played for Liverpool, I by default became a Liverpool supporter. But when he shifted to Real Madrid, I still didnt feel like supporting Real. Thats when I realized that I had become a true Liverpool fan. After Owen's departure, I found myself heroworshipping other liverpool players like Steven Gerrard, Riise, Carragher ( I modelled my game on his style... I will always consider him to be the best defender after Paolo Maldini)
This win gives me confidence but it still doesnt convince me about Liverpool winning the Premier League. I am ashamed to say this being a big fan of the club... but I cant see the champion stuff in them.... just a feeling... i do not say that to my friends, because I do not want to sound like a pessimist....
But rest assured, I will never stop supporting the team however bad they play. The toughest of times Liverpool FC went through and I was there shouting at the top of my voice in order to cheer them ( albeit in my living room ).
Now I have a fear - as is evident from the title of this post - I am afraid this win is God's way of pleasing us . Maybe God just wants to give us such record breaking wins , just to soften the shock of not winning the league :-( Call me a pessimist if you want to , just as far as sports is concerned and my favourite teams are concerned.... am a pessimist !
Now begins my prayers for the elusive League triumph.
I dont exactly know from when I started supporting Liverpool Football Club... I guess from the time Michael Owen burst on to the scene and since he played for Liverpool, I by default became a Liverpool supporter. But when he shifted to Real Madrid, I still didnt feel like supporting Real. Thats when I realized that I had become a true Liverpool fan. After Owen's departure, I found myself heroworshipping other liverpool players like Steven Gerrard, Riise, Carragher ( I modelled my game on his style... I will always consider him to be the best defender after Paolo Maldini)
This win gives me confidence but it still doesnt convince me about Liverpool winning the Premier League. I am ashamed to say this being a big fan of the club... but I cant see the champion stuff in them.... just a feeling... i do not say that to my friends, because I do not want to sound like a pessimist....
But rest assured, I will never stop supporting the team however bad they play. The toughest of times Liverpool FC went through and I was there shouting at the top of my voice in order to cheer them ( albeit in my living room ).
Now I have a fear - as is evident from the title of this post - I am afraid this win is God's way of pleasing us . Maybe God just wants to give us such record breaking wins , just to soften the shock of not winning the league :-( Call me a pessimist if you want to , just as far as sports is concerned and my favourite teams are concerned.... am a pessimist !
Now begins my prayers for the elusive League triumph.
Friday, October 3, 2008
For.....????
Do you hear me?
Do you feel me moving through?
With my foot upon the gas,
Between the future and the past,
I am here...
...here where the desire to vanish
is stronger than the desire to appear !!
Do you feel me moving through?
With my foot upon the gas,
Between the future and the past,
I am here...
...here where the desire to vanish
is stronger than the desire to appear !!
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