There she was all dressed up in bridal finery, every little girls dream, but this time it was for real, it was such a beautiful sight. There was total confusion in the room, people spilling all over the place, waiting for the photographer to call us in, for the photoshoot with the bride.
Words cannot describe the heaviness of ones heart as one has to part with the "little girl" knowing well that she has to bloom where she is planted... or thats the way we believe, to start their own lives and blossom, nurture a brand new family and all that.
In this case, it was my little neice, who we had held a few hours after her birth.
And to see her so happy going off with the one she loves is a satisfying feeling and kind of sets one free of the heaviness, as thats the way I wanted to believe.
The wedding festivities flew off in a tizzy and our trip to Goa was a beautiful dream.
God Bless the young couple and wish them a world of happiness, peace and Joy.

Sometimes its seems getting two people to see eye to eye ... especially when they have a past history of not doing so ... is a mammoth task... or at least was a mammoth....
Let me just call them A & B for reasons best known to us. everything is factual except for their names.
Every little word A spoke was sieved, twisted, turned flipped, and then sent forward. Similarly B dissected the forwarded word and back it went. We could sense the tension in the room, which was so thick we could get a slice of it, and back and forth it was going like we were watching a table - tennis championship.
Even if we tried to intervene and sort things out they kind of did not like us trying to make peace, they seemed to be enjoying themselves and the loads of attention they got.
Finally, the head or the person with the highest authority spoke up ..in my mind, its time folks put on your seatbelts. But I was wrong... there he was ...
talking so calmly, so simply, so beautifully giving examples of his own life where at times he too had made mistakes and always thought he was right, not consenting to listen to anothers' view .... after such a heated match, this talk felt like a soothing balm ... like a cool drink going down ones parched throat, like a patch of shade after a walk in the hot sun...
And the two were watching with bated breath who would get the last word, he let them talk and spill their festering rot onto the floor.. things were sorted out in such a lovely manner, in peace and done with grace...hands were met.. to me it seemed like there was a divine power in the authority.
As my day ended my thoughts were ... anything can be done, if only we could use kind words, if only we would understand, if only we let go of our egos, if only we forgive, and in due course time will heal .. IF ONLY.....

Such a beautiful boy !!! that is the way I can describe the little child. He is always there, playing on the footpath, so early in the morning, on our way for a walk, His father owns a little stall, where he ekes out a living ironing creased clothes.
He loves playing with the potted plants around him, and the fathers watchful eyes keeps the scamp from wandering out onto the busy traffic congested lane.
A couple of days back, the little boy was sobbing bitterly, such large tears for a little child, despite all his dirt stained face, and tears flowing ..he looked cherubic, tried to put pieces why he was crying together, and realised he was wasting water from a tiny bucket that was kept on the road.
Like all little children, he was spilling it all over, before he realised WHACK ! and then a loud shrill and sob ! sob,
The father was urgently attending to his customers needs who were impatiently watching all that was happening.
A kind hearted soul took the little boy aside and pacified him.
And before you could snap your fingers, there he was chatting with his father... All in a days work....beautiful boy.....

It has been three long weeks since my sudden attack of the flu. The pampering was the BEST part of it. Friends sending loads of food, soups, stews, WOW ! quite a variety that was, and the pampering by my threesome, showed me how much they really cared.
Thanks to all my family and friends who remembered me during their prayers.

The World Cup, was something that kept my mind off the fever, and it was heart breaking to see Brazils' KAKA being sent off and subsequently walk off so obediently, Kaka a deeply religious person,with a squeaky clean image, realised that he should take the opportunity to train himself for the next game, as he mentioned in his interview the sweetest part of his protest was"Even my granny got very angry when she saw the refree(Referring to his red card)and I cannot tell you what she said here". That was really, really sooo sweet.

He sounded so vulnerable, and childlike..Dont we all like our near and dear ones to take our sides when we are in dire straits ? the only difference is that Kaka being a celebrity is just his simple self, no pretensions and no masks. He spoke straight from his heart. Something we all have to take a lesson from.
Wishing Brazil and the rest of the teams the very best for the finals....

"HAPPINESS IS A CONSCIOUS CHOICE, NOT AN AUTOMATIC RESPONSE"


The moment she entered the compartment of the Borivili bound local, I knew she was the "Decision Maker"her walk, her talk, and the way she held her family in her hold. Ladies, baby and men all happily together.
It was evident from their attire that they were on their way to a function, the hot, humid day in the sweltering, almost melting heat did not deter them from wearing their jewelery, and embroidered sarees.
The Decision Maker(DM) seemed to know who liked which seats, and she alloted each one with her choice of seats. She spoke boldly and brazenly, shouting across passengers and co-passengers faces without, as much as giving a thought to their ear drums.
What fascinated me was her husband who she had in the crook of her little finger, he seemed to be enjoying the responsibility that his better half had taken, and he was viewing, the outside from a sliver that was available to him between passengers.
In the meantime the DM was gearing up in full throttle for her function, she was re-arranging whatever she could of her saree in her seated posture, settling the flowers in her hair, and her jewelery.
She evidently was a grandmother as she asked for the little baby and the daughter in law obediently obliged. They seemed a very content family, seemed very close knit and the men in the family, were all very content with moms ways.
There she was passing the water bottle for all to quench their thirst, and then came the napkin to wipe off the pespiration, oblivious to the fact that there were so many passengers, some of the passengers were helping in passing her equipment around.
The last glimpse I got before I alighted at my stop was one of total bliss, where DM had the little baby safely in her arms, and lulling baby to sleep, leaving the babys parents to have some time together and who seemed to really look forward to their quality time.
I began thinking, when was the last time I saw such a happy family moment ? where the family was happy despite the circumstances they were in ?(the heat, the crowded local, and the cramped up space)
Indeed it is up to us to make a situation the way we want it to be, we do not have to depend on another to make us happy or unhappy, as was evident in this case...

Always in the same dress, sometimes clean but most of the times, stained. Her head always bent and eyes searching the street, randomly picking bits of paper and reading what is written on them searching for something that I guess even she does not know. I tried to meet her eyes once, nothing happened, another time, still the same.. and finally I managed to make contact and gave her a smile, wondering if she would smile back, and she did.
Another day on my way to the market bumped into her and smiled, tried to talk to her,kind of forced my question by asking her "Where are going?" her words came tumbling out, faster than she could control, I tried to comprehend, some I did but most I didn't.
She talked about matters that did not concern us, about nosey neighbours(Who seemed to be the bane of her life) I just moved with the flow, and got the impression through her talk, that not too many people wanted to say Hi to her,( maybe it was her reluctance to make eye contact or maybe just her antisocial nature.)
She talked about the price rise, and how difficult it was to make ends meet, at which I asked her very politely"If she was a working girl?" she was mighty thrilled with my question and gave me the widest smile, which showed me a set of teeth that needed a lot of care.
She said she did work for a while but gave it all up to look after her ailing mother who passed away a while ago, now she was living on her sisters charity, and seemed to be very content with that.She asked me very relevant questions"Are you married?" "I know you live here" she said and pointed towards the right direction and even mentioned my building, both of us walked towards the icecream shop and enjoyed icecream together.
"Oh Thank you very much for the icecream"with a wave of her hand she was gone.
A couple of weeks ago I met her again this time she just looked thru me, like we had not met.
I see her sometimes walking and mumbling something to herself and even managing to smile at her own jokes. At times she smiles at me, most of the times she just goes on walking, searching for THAT BIT OF PAPER, .......

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
Kahlil Gibran

I am at a stage of my life where my niece is a few months away from moving out , that is to say get married. Sounds so cliched .. she was so little remember the day we went to see her in hospital the day she was born, so tiny, so vulnerable so beautiful !, watched her grow to be a toddler, a young girl, with a satchel and a hairband larger then her head going to school, a teenager and finally a little adult, lots of interesting tidbits I have shared with her, her friends, her likes, her dislike and finally her prince charming. What a lucky boy he is.
And each time I see the brides mother on a wedding day, I know I too will have to be there,one day.My daughter is still a teen and will be a grown up "Little"lady.
I have always believed that it is in giving that you receive real joy. My heart all mixed up, with joy, and parting, and knowing well that she has to go, most importantly to see her Happy.
Kahil Gibran so clearly states this, And I am referring only to daughters,
Sons too at one point of life have to move on and get on with their own way of life, their happiness and we have to be able to let go, I must admit that I admire my parents who at this age have let us three with our own ways of life my brother in his and my sister and me in ours, they are always there to help us, whenever we need but NEVER imposing themselves on us, I am sure Mum and Dad are the living examples of what Kahil Gibran has stated above.
And as my husband and me draw closer to our empty nest syndrome may God grant us the grace and wisdom to be able to live and let live.....They belong not to you....