On summers and Adios!

‘I want to have summer vacations now like we had when we were kids!’ I told A the other day, out of the blue.

Slightly perplexed, A replied with a couple of questions, ‘What would you do if you did have summer vacations? What did you do back then?’

‘Well…I went to my Mama’s(maternal Uncle) place…met all my cousins..had a blast with them..ate lots of mangoes…watched TV all the time..slept on the terrace and got up only when the sun seemed like it was torching my skin..played all kinds of games…in short…it was masti time!’ I went on and on…oh such nostalgic moments! :)

‘Wow…sounds fun…what’s stopping you then? You can do all of that even now. It’ll be a good break for you from the monotony out here. Want me to make your travel arrangements?’ A was being incredibly supportive. *Danger/Confusion/Jhol alert*

Weighing my options and scrutinizing the whole scene clearly made me realize that what seemed very simple in theory was far too tricky practically. Some of my cousins are working and won’t get holidays easily, the ones who are studying have some or the other classes to attend even during this time. I’m on a 'losing weight’ mission and have to seriously cut down calories, so mangoes have to be limited too (sulk..sulk..sulk). I don’t have any deadline for watching TV now, in fact I’m kind of bored with the whole lot of nonsense shown on it nowadays. And most important, if I go to my Mama’s place I’ll have to cancel going to my Mom’s since A Junior has limited summer vacations. Where does that leave me then? Do I really want this? *Wondering endlessly*

As if reading my thoughts, A, my knight in shining armour came to my rescue. ‘Changes happen in our life, many times without our knowledge and consent, but they do. Our priorities change, and so do our responsibilities. Mom did her best by making sure you got a slice of that fun at your Mama’s place by sending you there. It’s your turn now. You’ve to let A Junior spend time with his family, his Grandmas and Grandpas, his Uncles and Aunts and his sweet little cousin. We’ve been there, done that. Let him get all the pampering too!’ He said matter-of-factly, knowing this was exactly what I wanted to hear.

I hate to admit, but he was right. Although we’d love to be spoilt all our lives and refuse to grow up ever, it’s an imperative phase of our life and we have to accept it whole-heartedly. Childhood is the best time of our life, and gives us lovely memories for a lifetime. We can tuck those moments away safely in some corner of our mind and look back at them fondly, whenever we want.

Having said that, I’d like to inform all my dear friends out here that I’m going to be away from our blog world for the next few days. I’m off on a holiday and won’t be carrying my laptop with me. Would try and keep up with you guys, going to miss you all! You all are such lovely people! Adios! :)

Love Romance and Us

I’ve always felt that love and romance is an exaggerated and baffled concept. Exaggerated by people who seek to earn some revenue out of it, and baffled by people like us who fall into the trap. How significant it is in our lives and how imperative it is for a relationship is for an individual to understand and decide.

All of us have countless dreams from our teenage (which are highly fueled by some whirlwind romance from Mills & Boons, some highly melodramatic romantic movie where the hero woos his darling with this ardent love for her, and sometimes even by some love story of a friend or a classmate that we’ve had a firsthand account of) and expect that someday our knight in shining armour would come and take us to his paradise of undiluted and undying love.

If the reality is a stark contrast to this, we end up sulking and lamenting. There have been many instances when I’ve heard some or the other person, especially a girl, crib about how unromantic her other half is. He doesn’t bring her flowers, doesn’t take her for candle-light dinners, doesn’t sing romantic songs for her, and on and on. As if they are a proof that he doesn’t love her. Sigh! :(

I know all these things sound very mushy and indeed would make any girl go weak in her knees, but are these things really all that important? And if they are and he doesn’t do it, does she take the pain of letting him know that she’d like him to do all of them for her? I guess not! I’m not trying to advocate the opposite sex here, but making a relevant point. If the other one doesn’t know what you want, there’s nothing wrong in letting him know that. After all it’s you who’s going to reap the benefits of it, right? :D

We try to find love in cards, gifts and physical things, when it can be felt and conveyed best through the simplest things…eyes…a smile…small gestures like selecting each other’s clothes for a party…so on and so forth. If one tries to compare these things with some expensive piece of diamond jewellery, then it is wrong and unfair. One gets bored with these things very easily, but emotional bonding is what stays with you forever.

The best example for unfrilled love can be our parents. We’ve probably never seen them expressing their feelings for each other freely, but it is palpable. They can read each other’s minds and almost always predict flawlessly as to what the other one is up to. They have such a strong bond that they can silently convey their feelings to each other, by just a look or a gesture. This, I feel, is romance at its best, isn’t it?

Got Awarded! YAY!! :)

‘Jab koi kuch dil se chahta hai na, real mein, to use wo zaroor milta hai’

Me quoting a filmy dialogue seems very melodramatic but this is exactly how I’m feeling right now. Ever since I saw this award I was secretly hoping that some kind soul would give it away to me, and the darling that she is, Comfy did just that! Thanks Comfy dear for this yummy looking Cupcake Award…Hugs! :D

Another good part is that I get to tell three things that I love about myself (so people have some heart and be kind to me regarding them :)). Here goes:

1.I love my eyes and I’ve often been complimented on them too. Sensuous, naughty, beautiful are some of the adjectives that have been used for them. My eyelids have a reddish tinge to them which stands out even on my wheatish complexion and give them a permanent ‘made-up’ effect.
2.I love my ability to transform myself into the role of a friend/daughter/sister etc effortlessly depending upon who I’m with and what the person needs or wants me to be at that time.
3.I’m incapable of holding grudges against anyone. If someone has hurt me I’d try and cut off from that person completely, but never let anything fog my judgement or understanding to indulge in anything foolish.

I also need to post a picture I love...so here it is :)

Reason...nothing special....I just love the way this cute little kid is sleeping...not a single worry in the world..dreaming away about God-knows-what! :)

I'm passing on this badge to these 5 wonderful people: G , Titaxy , Addy , Chatterbox , Psych Babbler

My blog is even more special to me because of all of you. Thank you all guys! :)

The Changing Uni-form

The other day I was amusingly dressing up A Junior in his first ever school uniform(which is very vibrant with a bright yellow shirt and navy blue shorts and red collars and pockets), and I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic and going down the memory lane, remembering the very essential part of our school: our school uniform.

The first sign of identification that one looks out for to comprehend which school you belong to is your uniform. During our time there wasn’t much experimentation with colours and our uniforms looked very bland and boring. The colour was a strange shade of brown; girls wore a frock which had a belt around the waist, while guys had a shirt and shorts of the same colour. Secondary students wore a maroon coloured tie.

The school norms for beautiful mehndi designs on hands, girls showing off their stylishly cut tresses in pony tails or better still leaving them open, and the length of the frocks getting dangerously above the knees were not very strict, hence it was fun to watch the college years already descending upon some of us. Also, it added some spice to the tasteless rag that we had to wear every day.

Passing out of school I felt that uniforms had finally left my life for good. In Junior college I breathed a sigh of relief when I wasn’t forced to don the same washed and rewashed clothes again and again the whole week. I had the freedom to choose from the countless dresses that I had lying around in my closet and which were crying out to be worn! But my joy was short-lived, to say the least.

When I was an engg student we again (!) had a uniform (can you believe it!): white shirt and blue jeans. The specifications were very clear; both guys and girls had to wear a buttoned shirt (for girls the expected length of the shirt was well below the waist) and a decent pair of jeans (meaning no holes in them and no threads hanging out of anywhere).

The crowd of any college being an ensemble of students from varied backgrounds, geographical locations and level of financial conditions, these criteria were obviously very rarely met. The fact that these ‘uniformed’ people were now adults and had a rebellious quality that was ready to show itself at all times became a hindrance in regulating them. So yet again, the uniform became a fashion statement.

Looking back, I feel they weren’t that bad either. It’d have been a punishment to decide every night what to pick out for the next day and get the selected dress in order, not to mention the accessories and embellishments to go with it. Now, when A complains that I take a hell lot of time to decide on what to wear and almost empty my whole closet to find what best suits my mood, I feel I could actually make do with a uniform for going out with my husband!

The week that was

The first week, which is supposed to be the toughest, is over. Tough it was, alright! Most for me, since every day I had to leave him at the door while he clung to me tightly, refusing to let go of my hand and howling as loud as he possibly could. I chose to take him there myself (buses are a big no-no right now!) and wait till his one hour is over.

Moms are blessed with a sixth sense to identify when their kids need them. I seem to have a sharp one, since every time A Junior cries I can make that out (I’m just downstairs, remember?). The first day, I held my ground for some time, even trying to ignore it a bit, but obviously I couldn’t sit reading there while my son was in tears and in company of strangers. I literally ran back there and brought him with me. The whole duration: 30 minutes.

A got upset and said he’d expect the same thing to repeat every day, and that I HAVE to be strong and stretch it to one hour. Well, easy to him for say. He’s not come to drop him there, what does he know? But nevertheless I took his advice, and after that we did seem to manage it successfully.

There was a new revelation everyday though. He won’t eat from it, but he doesn’t like anyone to close his lunch-box (anyone can do the honours of opening it). He’s least interested in sitting in the class with other kids; instead he sits with the incharge there, in her office. Even a casual mention of the word ‘Ma’ is enough to put him off. When given a book he happily looks at the pictures in it, flips pages through it and can be totally left on his own. Etc etc etc….

His obsession for waving out to people, anywhere and everywhere is very endearing! Coming out of the lift, getting off the train, even while walking on the pavement, he makes sure to wave to everyone. Even the most khadoos looking people can’t help smiling back at him. And oh yes, the moment he sees another kid, he calls out for him, runs to him if he can, and hugs and caresses him (wonder what the kids in his class did!).

Many more instances are going to follow which I’ll keep you updated with!

Although this arrangement seemed torturous at first, it’s been a welcome break to catch up on my reading. The fact that there’s a library right in front of his school is an added bonus!

And the Golden Award goes to...

Remember the time when you bought a dress you had second thoughts about and which garnered the most compliments for you? Remember that activity course you took only following your friend’s footsteps and insistence but which seemed like it was made for you? Remember the last time you had an undercurrent of myriad intense feelings inside you but it was all left unspoken because you couldn’t bring yourself to voice it freely?

These and many more such instances made me resort to this Blogosphere. I like to call it as a virtual notice board where we can simply scribble whatever we feel like, it always works. There were many things I wanted to share, express and convey, but there was nowhere I could vent out all that. As someone who seldom speaks out her mind openly and has been leading a domestic existence for a considerable time, this was a welcome release.

Amongst the many other lucrative facets of blogging, one is the freedom of expression it offers you. There are no prejudices and you needn’t worry about being judged or misconstrued by anyone. Even if they do, it’s not your problem! It is your space and you can paste whatever you please on it.

Guess you must be thinking why I’m ranting so much on blogging suddenly. Giving away the news a bit late, but this happens to be my 50th post! It’s a huge achievement for me, since I wasn’t too keen about it when I started out. Slowly as I started reading other blogs and receiving more readers and feedback on my own, I felt inspired and appreciated, and that helped me come this far.

To celebrate the Golden Anniversary of my blog and as a token of gratitude to all the nice people who visit my blog, comment on it and follow it I’m giving away awards today. Thank you guys…you’re superb!!! Hope the same rapport extends and grows in future.

This goes out to all those lovely pictures we get to see by:

Nu

Titaxy

Comfy

G

Reflections

D 

Preeti

This goes out to the blogs that sometimes provide us with strange stuff, but which is thoroughly enjoyable:

Nu

G

Addy

The Analyst

Vinay

Chatterbox

This is for the blogs that talk about issues and life, and which definitely make us sit up and take notice of things in and around us:

Nu
Titaxy

Mihir

Deven

Rohini

Zephyr 

Preeti

Psych Babbler

Hmmm...this one goes to all those Moms out there (can I award myself??) who provide us with the cute and bubbly activities of their sweet kids. I don't know very well about all, but the ones I know are:

Comfy

Zephyr

Reflections

Preeti 
Rohini

(Who all can I add here??)

All the girls...this is for you!!!

Nu

Titaxy

G

Comfy

Rohini

Chandrika

Swaram

Psych Babbler

Reflections

Preeti 
Chatterbox
Zephyr
D

And finally...this is for all the people mentioned above. For being my 'Blogger Friends' and giving me your valuable comments and feedback!!!

Hope you all liked them!! :) :)

The First Chapter

I’m a curious blend of anxiety and nervous anticipation right now. The D-day has arrived. Last many days I’d been cursing myself under my breath for acting so hastily and almost called the whole thing off. One part of me kept on blaming me for not thinking it through, whereas the other part was more welcoming and backed my decision supportively. The thought’s been nagging me endlessly day and night though. Am I doing the right thing? Or am I subjecting him to something that he’s not yet ready for?

In case you’re new here you’d wonder what I’m talking about, whereas the more informed ones would probably guess it right. I’m talking about my son’s playgroup which is starting from tomorrow. If you’ve missed the first part of this post you can read it here.

I called up at his school yesterday to confirm the date (and hoping it would be postponed, which wasn’t happening). It is going to be for all but one hour for now, and imagine my amazement when I’m asked to bring along a lunch-box, water bottle, an extra set of clothes and what not! What do kids do there? Arm wrestling in the mud which will make them hungry enough to eat with strangers and a bunch of other toddlers, who they hardly know? What would they do if he cries the moment I leave? What if some other kid towers over him and hits him?

It were these and many more such questions that my mind was preoccupied with all day, even when I went to buy a new Pokemon lunch-box and water bottle for him (which he selected himself!). A’s been trying to calm my nerves down, even offering to take a leave and accompany us. Though it sounded pretty tempting I declined it saying (uncertainly) that I can handle it on my own.

I know it’s not my first day at school, but on my first day all this worrying was done by my Mom, not me! As she recalled this morning I happily waved her good-bye when I entered my class. I hope the same happens tomorrow too, only the ‘what-in-case-it-doesn’t-happen’ part is tough to settle with.

Wish me luck!!!

Happiness per se

Here's one simple question that I'd like to put to my blogger friends. What would make you happier?

1. Your tiny but honest gesture that made someone else happy while you faded from the picture  

2. Something that you did despairingly, but which fetched you recognition and adulation
  

Please do justify your choice :)