Autumn

"When you are reluctant to change, remember how beautiful Autumn is."

I was having my evening tea with a friend this evening and he remarked upon looking at the glorious sunset about its beauty and the colour of the sky to add on to the dramatic effect-- we went on discussing about the changing season and realised it was Fall already..

Autumn is Nature's way of telling us the greatness of letting go-- the trees let go of their precious leaves instead of holding on to them, to welcome a fresh lease of life to follow-- the leaves fall on the earth to impart to it new fertility to bear the fruits of winter..!!
The trees are ablaze with color, the air crisp, and the earth resplendent with the rich aroma. The sun's hotness retreats, as Mother Nature and her inhabitants prepare for the stillness of winter.

Its time thus,to get done with everything or everyone negative that encompasses us..A career that is causing us anguish--A relationship in which we do all the giving and no receiving-- A social obligation that no longer serves us-- Anything----

Its rather time to feed our joy and nourish our spirits.. to do something that enriches our life, helps us feel better about ourself, to fill our senses with all that surrounds us; the smell of the soil, the sounds of the birds or rustling squirrels, the soft feel of the earth...to let our senses fill our entire being while our mind rests..

Its Autumn- and its the transition time..!!

Rains---you beauty!!!

And it rains yet again.. to wash away the Monday Blues.. to wear away the last bit of tiredness.. to refresh the fatigued soul-- September rains have a different fragrance in them-- the water drops fall on the parched face of the earth covered with withered leaves and gives solace to both.. its more of life like nature rather than the destructive nature the rains often portray in other seasons..

The early September rains remind me of my first year college days-- it was during very heavy rains like this that I had bid good bye to my folks and was heading towards a new life in a boarding.. on the very first day of my arrival at the hostel, I tripped over a slippery-due-to-rain staircase and gifted myself the very first (and hopefully the last) fracture of my life, on the right ankle.. although my parents had stayed with me for the next two days I ensured them I could take care of myself in the hostel and that I did not want to miss my first days in college, so they dropped me back to the hostel..

In those 21 days of a plastered foot and an absolutely unknown territory, my faith in the world and its goodness was strengthened greatly!! If we go by details, I did not know a single soul when I had arrived, I remember my mommy requesting my room mates in the hostel to look after me if possible and they replied in the affirmative, but that was it-- practically, I only had myself to be dependant on..

After my folks finally left, I remember crying a little-- I had never done that before, and even after that till date, I'm generally very strong in matters like these  but I guess that time was different.. anyway, so as soon as they left, I was surprised to see my room mate, Priyanka, was her name, summoned all other girls from the adjoining rooms and introduced me to each of them.. I almost cried again to see the warmth strangers can provide to someone who's new and alone.. the next day in college, all our classmates were called by the seniors for 'introduction' and 'proto announcements', I went too, but yet again, to my surprise I was asked to sit and watch and the only proto I needed to follow from the list was following the Dress Code-- I chuckled and silently thanked God for showering on me a blessing in the face of an adversity..

Three weeks that followed were nothing different than they would have been had I not had the fracture..they were in fact better in many ways.. I made some lifetime friends during those three weeks-- I attended my freshers party with that broken leg-- at times very conviniently I missed my assignments in class,thanks to the broken leg-- in all three weekends of that 21 day duration I explored Delhi with my friends with that broken leg.. 

So many years have passed now and that 'broken leg' remains a funny beautiful memory rather than a difficult or painful one.. and rains like this tickle and refresh the episode keeping it anew.. 

Sometimes

Sometimes.. many times , what meets the eyes is not really true-- or is it? 
Our conviction on a person or a situation is so very strong at certain times that the instances that we logically believe are real, seem false, because we know that what we really trust from inside against what we see or hear is right.

We might get anxious or excited even hurt or angry when we first get exposed to the incident, but introspection and the inner calling screams and shouts and convinces us that this, what our logical reasoning is forcing us to believe in, is not completely right-- and its then that we start to calm down and begin looking at the other perspectives. Most of the times, we really do understand later that our inner selves know us best, and that our instant response was probably wrong.. guilt and regret takes over and we start to mend and undo what our first reaction...

Therefore, what is to be done at the very beginning!? It sure isn't easy to ignore and reject everything against someone close to us -- our first natural thought process tells us ' there is smoke where there is fire' -- and practically too.. blind faith really doesn't exist especially in times like today-- also when we ourselves hear or see something first hand, its comparatively difficult to digest it without the burp of doubt..

We should rather, at instances like these, introspect before the shooting I guess, bring our heart and mind in sync with each other before contradiction and may be weigh the other possibilities way before blurting out what we think must have been-- not easy for sure-- directly proportional to the closeness of the person in terms of difficulty, but really important.. coz once we know what actually must have been, the feeling of guilt is manifold.. here, I think, what can probably make it easier can be just revising in our minds why have we anyway trusted the person till now! Of course, there must have been some qualities he/she would have portrayed unless we're exteremely bad in judging people, and this thought makes the entire process to follow comparatively very easy...

This post might sound like a Deepak Chopra piece  but these says when relationships are so vulnerable, I think its really important to cherish and nourish if you have a valuable one..rather than letting it slip through your fingers coz of petty doubts or misunderstandings... 

The festival of Teej

Being blessed with a Super-Mommy, who's a beautiful blend of modernity and traditions-- I have had the good luck of being very closely exposed to both these facets extremely well. My childhood comprised of learning twinkle twinkle and Johny Johny rhymes as well as Mahabharata and Ramayana stories running pararelly.. thus, I can say I have a fairly good knowledge of both sides of the coin. My mother has a very spiritual bend in her personality and since a very early age I was involved into the why's and how's of the various festivals, ceremonies and fastings that she carried out.

This post today talks about one such Hindu festival which though isn't very pan-indian, yet it holds a lot of significance in certain parts of the country-- the festival of Teej.
Teej is celebrated across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh mainly and is predominantly a women-lore fest. The reason for celebrating this day are two-- I) It denotes the arrival of Rains and thus fertility and relief from the scorching heat, imparting a festive onset on the minds of people.
ii) It signifies the togetherness of Lord Shiva and his beloved wife Parvati, as it is known that this was the day when they finally united and Parvati reached the abode of Shiva-- hence the importance among women-lore.

Women, also girls occasionally, are known to keep a one day fast, without even having water, to enrich the love for their husbands and celebrate their togetherness, girls keep the fast in anticipation of getting a husband like Shiva 

Its not just the fast that marks the festival though, women get decked up from head to toe, its believed that married women must do '16 Shringar' of which the Mehendi, bangles and the Sindoor are mandatory. Regional folk songs are sung, happiness is spread and love is revisited 

Personally, I have seen my daddy dearest go out of his way on this particular day and shower utmost affection on mom, and why wouldn't he?-- all the fast and the celebration is done by her keeping him as the epicentre after all!!

For me, its a beautiful and pure way both of them thank each other for their togetherness-- touchwood!!

Over with a beautiful book

When reading a great book, I try and read it at a very slow pace-- its like the fear of having to let go of someone, who has started to make us dwelve into fascination, way too soon-- I ALWAYS have this feeling! Hope its normal  

Over with a beautiful book, 'The Kite Runner', last night and I'm already feeling nostalgic as if I've just seen off a loved one over to a journey continents apart.. I still haven't been able to decide what the book depicts though-- is it a story of friendship? Of unwavering loyalty? Or love? Was Hosseini portraying Redemption at its best? Or Disappointment at its worst? Was the book about the ties of blood or simply about life, as it goes on..
Well, whatever it was, it was plain awesome. I could feel hell break lose at times and experienced a slice of heaven in others. I cried too easily and laughed out loud in the silence of the night while soaking myself through the pages. A tale of life and its ways, that brings about the inner most realisations and fears and courage and feeling of love within us to the forefront.

A lovely read..!! Heart warming and heart breaking-- overwhelming and devastating... highly recommended.. 'the kite runner'- Khaled Hosseini

Prince

It was a winter afternoon, my Happy Holidays were on with nothing much to be done, as I don't think I was ever a naughty brat waiting for vacations to do something out of the way, neither was I creative enough to pursue my 'hobbies' or 'pastimes' except for reading which also exhausted after the first week... 
I was all of 8 years and killed time mostly reading Jughead and craving for his burgers and fries as there was no sign of a Mac Donald's back then in my city.. in fact, until then I had seen burgers and fries only in my comic books 

Well, this ain't another blog on my 'Foodie Cravings'..  its about the sweetest memory of finding my first love..!!
Yeah, I found my first love when I was a tiny missie 8 years old.. 

One fine afternoon, Daddy brought him home.. i saw him first at 8 weeks old.. the smallest and the most beautiful bundle God could create.. Cooing in a cardboard box, there he was my 'Prince'..!!
Shining blackish-grey his coat, with the droopiest of faces and the eyes of a man in a drunken stupor, he was sooo strikingly handsome even in his babyhood!

Why call him Prince?-- because he never listened to what anyone had to say, he would walk and run and eat and sleep and play and fetch, at his will.. he was Capricious..!!

The rest.. is history..!! I discovered and re-discovered so many facets in myself because of Prince. I understood that I could love--love ferociously, love protectively, love unconditionally..
Some non-dog-lovers, think that dogs love you because you feed them, but it's so much more than that. The joyful squirm I got when I hadn't been home for a few months was just wonderful - he used to be so pleased to see me (and me him!). I don't think I ever had a dull moment in life, while at home after having my dog.

He was my happiness, he was my best friend, he was my link to paradise.. he knew me like no one else, he would spend hours sitting at my feet while i used to read or gently lick me on my cheek when i gave him a warm rub on his rough dry nose..
In him I found joy, his carefree attitude inculcated in me the spirit to follow my heart, no matter what..!! He taught me to appreciate the simple things.. Prince taught me about selfless love and unwavering loyalty.

I found it so hard to be sad with him around, coz he would lick away my tears and try and sit on my lap like he used to do when he was a puppy, only failing to realise that he was now almost double my weight..!! 

Prince was the magician of my universe.. He could express his love by volumes by simply wagging his tail and the speed of it would tell me how happy he was..

My family has had dogs before, in fact, we've always had dogs.. we still do..and I have adored them all.. with all my heart and love.. If I have to choose my favourite out of them all, it would be like choosing among my own children, but Prince was really someone apart.. may be because I kind of brought him up, may be because I fed him with my own hands on days when he would be bored of his food and create tantrums on eating, or may be because I have nursed him whole nights when he has fallen sick..I really don't know, what was it that made a big soft corner in my heart for this Neapolitan Mastiff boy I had..

He isn't around anymore, he hasn't been there my whole life, but he has certainly made my life whole..!!!

“If I could be half the person my dog is, I'd be twice the human I am.”
RIP Princie.. I miss you loads.. 

Complimentary gifts from life

Irritating alarm clocks,unending mobile phone rings, long uninteresting e-mails, working lunches, busy weekends, hectic deadlines, Strained relationships, dreadful bosses, failing health, lost contacts... we've all experienced one or all of these..

We dont remember when was the last time we enjoyed a hearty meal with people we love without touching our cell phones a single time during the meal or when we visited our grandparents for a full fortnight without having to juggle with our bosses for leaves, or when we took a calm stroll in the nearby park or beach without the thought of having to rush back to our daily chores..

What we all have instead is, to-do lists--on our phones or e-mails and reminders on our calenders!! 

'What is this life, so full of care..
We have no time, to stand and stare..!!'

Well, that's life! Most of us would quickly say-- indeed it is..!!

However, this life that we have chosen also comes with a few complimentary offers 
I have chosen my set of complimentary items-- absolutely free, free, free .. 

The smell of rain as it quenches the thirst of the parched earth.. listening to the chirping of the early morning bird.. the long lost chords revisited upon meeting an old friend.. the warmth of watching young lovers meet.. the touch of mom's hands on the forehead.. the nostalgia on seeing a flock of birds returning to their nests at sunset..
The winter sun, daddy's hug, a hot cup of tea on a rainy evening, cuddling a pet--
These are some of my complimentary gifts.. and I totally adore them..
'Some beautiful things in life are free still..choose your set...'

Wating to hear your set of complimentary gifts from life ..