NaBloPoMo

As I sat before my laptop several visuals from the past flashed before my mind’s eye as I harked back to my college days …these, then are a few of my favorite “salad days”….which I revisited…

The day I started Medical school, stars in my eyes, looking forward to living a seemingly unattainable dream…

All of us – small stars or even suns in our own small worlds – were now forming a constellation. A constellation that would last a lifetime, though we were unaware of that , then.

The struggle on the first day with wearing sarees (an Indian attire which was a dress code on the campus) with most of us wearing it for the first time… tentative looks into the mirror and towards each other for assurance…looks repeated in classrooms and labs, as we battled the new words and meanings.

The clinics and the classes… as we saw each new symptom and sign we learnt, they found an echo in us and ours, as cadavers gave way to patients, teaching us the secrets of illnesses and cures.

The hallways of the college, the wards and the classrooms, the scarred desks, the proxy attendances, the back benchers and the front benchers, the heavy books, the tests and exams and vivas and results.

The first brush with failures, something that most of us in our young lives, till then had never encountered, making us realise that success should never be taken for granted.

Friends, ever ready for innocent fun, be it shopping, movies, seeing off someone or a treat for scoring a distinction – any reason was good enough for a trip to ” town”, mostly in creaky crowded buses, which none of us seemed to even notice.

The evening trips to the local College Canteen, Indian Coffee House…. dressed in starched n freshly ironed sarees… ending in an unacknowledged but unmistakable race to catch a seat facing the door- my best friend was the best at this.

The heartbreaks and heartaches… sometimes lending a shoulder… sometimes looking for one…

Taking to the streets to make our voices heard…leaving our fears and apprehensions behind.

The slogans we shouted, the placards we held, the police we braved – all with a passion that only youth can bring.

All for justice for a grievously wronged student, ready to face the wrath of the powers that be.

The undulating campus dotted with spots and names that make sense only to the CMCites ..The Horizon, The Fisheries, The Coffee house, The Golden Dragon, The Clock tower, The Library…the list goes on and on.

The trips back home made in the earliest train out of town in happy little groups .. none of us had ever heard of reservations or even sleeper coaches .. as the wooden slats of the unreserved coach served as the most comfortable seats to chat the night away … as minds met and forged friendships that remain with me to this day… as animated discussions on any topic under the sun let the night run away – we even wished on some occasions that the train get late.. but it never did!!

The late night life-changing discussions … the sharing of thoughts words and views shared seamlessly as we connected and reconnected over cups of stale tea and coffee…

Friends… some “just friends” .. some “good friends”….. some “best friends”…

The college Youth Festivals.. the Inter Medicos… the plays and dances …the Sports days and friendly Cricket matches.. the film Festivals .. the new age “high thinkers” on the campus…

Friendships that lasted sometimes for a season …sometimes for a lifetime… but always for a reason they touched our souls.. and we were never the same again ….somewhere in each of us they live on.. as we do in them….

The smiles and tears, the stolen glances and shy smiles…the hookups and the break ups.

Memories….. words tumbling out……but let me stop… they are but memories …from another time… another day…..Our Salad Days……

Most of the wonderful bunch of starry eyed kids from the Silver Jubilee batch are now celebrating Golden jubilees of their own existence.

So it is that we look forward to reunions

Look forward to revisiting these Salad Days

Salads that look so appetizing… so wholesome…. so nutritious…

Salads that are manna for the soul…

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/salad-days/

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_writing_challenge/leftovers/

Key to A Heart

November 17, 2014March 1, 2016Aruna@RipplesnReflections23 Comments

An old post recycled…..will be back later

Today’s prompt: Secret

GOLDEN KEY : You’ve been given a key that can open one building, room, locker, or box to which you don’t normally have access. How do you use it, and why?

Have been thinking and thinking,

Cannot think of a single thing

As the DP suggests, I want to open best

WordPress may joke may say it in jest!

If any building, room, box or any locker

Has a treasure not meant for my rocker

I want no part of it , so goes my own ditty ,

I have no want for any more in my kitty!

Now wait – if the key opened a troubled mind

Or a beautiful heart – Ah That, I would call a find !!

No diamonds, no rubies, no silver or gold

The wonder or joy for me, can ever hold,

That comes with lifetime friendships

With real, honest n deep relationships .

So, give me a key that I may unlock your mind

Such a key would I call “golden” and ever bind!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/golden-key/

The Wait

November 17, 2014November 17, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections10 Comments

I wait for a word you never can say

I wait for a sign keeping fears at bay

I wait on a road you never take

I wait for a call you never make

I wait for a love that maybe,never was

I wait for a message, just because

Continue reading →

Achievement

November 15, 2014November 25, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections22 Comments

<a href=”http://Envelope Pushers“>Achievement: Have you just run 26.2 miles, finished a long-term project, or met a personal goal? This week, show us an achievement.

Also In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Envelope Pushers.”

Drew a blank on the grid yesterday so am Linking it to todays post In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Calling Uncle Bob.”

The event I am going to talk about is one that is a little old.

It was the time I was doing my MD in Obs and Gyn . My daughter was born by Cesarean Section just a few weeks before my university exam. Let me assure you doing the rather strenuous MD course during my pregnancy, was not a walk in the park.

The surprise was that at the end of it all, I had not only cleared the exam but also managed to ace the University! It was the happiest achievement of my life and so I also consider it as my biggest achievement.

I guess I was so paranoid of being unable to handle the extreme pressure , that I really pushed the envelope then.

**Rank Certificate for standing 1st at MD exam from Pune University in Dec 1998**

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/achievement/

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/envelope-pushers/

`<a href="http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/envelope-pushers/">Envelope Pushers</a>`

By Hand

November 14, 2014November 14, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections13 Comments

By Hand : What’s the best present you’ve ever received that was handmade by the giver, not store-bought? Tell us what made it so special.

What a lovely thought – to go down memory lane and visit those moments where a gift touched me and made it special because it was hand made. I have received several such gifts especially from my family.

Starting with my mother who made lovely dresses for me on her sewing machine all through my entire childhood. She made frilly frocks and smart “bell-bottoms”! Night wear and pyjamas. Saree blouses and other paraphernalia as I graduated to wearing these dresses.

Wearing one of the Frilly Frocks made by my mom

Me my sis are both wearing outfits made by hand by my mother

Continue reading →

Ready Set Done – #100 Happy Days

November 13, 2014November 13, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections55 Comments

I first wrote this on 28 May 2014…….. am re-blogging this here today.

Today I have a small story to tell……so here goes…..

A self-confessed internet junkie, I was randomly browsing when I came across this site which challenged us to be happy for 100 days at a stretch. It also came with a statutory warning that as many as 71% of the people who took up this challenge failed to complete it, citing lack of time. Life is stressful at times and at that moment in time, I was going through a period of self doubts and apprehensions. As I explored the site, I felt that it was worthwhile giving it a try, I had nothing to lose but my apprehensions and anxieties! The exercise required me to post a picture everyday, for 100 days in a row, about something that had made me happy that day… sounded simple and yet 71% had been unable to do it..Was I up to it? I decided to give it a try.

Continue reading →

Blast from the Past

November 12, 2014November 13, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections11 Comments

Trio No 4: Today you can write about anything, in whatever genre or form, but your post must include a speeding car, a phone call, and a crisp, bright morning.

********

Sunday morning, up with the lark

Off I went to take a walk in the park!

The sun was up white and shining

On a clear crisp and bright morning!

“Trring trrring” went my faithful ol’ phone

” Hi, remember me ?” said a deep baritone!

***** Continue reading →

Contrast – Chalk n Cheese

November 11, 2014March 8, 2016Aruna@RipplesnReflections18 Comments

Todays Daily Prompt: Contrast

*******

What do I say ? Where do I begin?

As into today’s Daily Post I log in….

_____

I love the late, late night, he’s into early morning

I love an evening at home, he loves his partying!

I love visiting the past, all the sugar and the spice

He loves remembering only the part that’s nice!

_______

I love shopping and malls – My idea of weekend fun,

Alas – To him, its akin holding to his head, a gun!

I love guides, books n Knick knacks at a popular spot

A waste, says he – will you ever open all that you got?

_______

My cupboard overflowing, yet I have “no clothes to wear”

By his comfy old shirts and suits, he will always swear!

Save for a rainy day, says me, invest and look to the future,

Live for the present, says he, the future’s not ours to nurture!

_________

I make and break and remake – “Flexible” decisions are my hallmark

While, once taken, they’re “His” to stand by, right or wrong, light or dark!

Together we have traveled more than half my life,

The wind beneath my wings, to whom, I am a wife!

_____

Mars N Venus, Chalk and cheese – we may well be

But for the life and family we have thankful I’ll ever be!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/oil-meet-water/

Less is More

November 11, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections9 Comments

http://penntonic.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/weekly-photo-challenge-minimalist/

The Rohtang Pass – the sheer White Vastness

No Time to Grudge

November 10, 2014November 11, 2014Aruna@RipplesnReflections17 Comments

NO TIME TO WASTE : Fill in the blank: “Life is too short to _____.” Now, write a post telling us how you’ve come to that conclusion.

Life is too short to Bear A Grudge.

I believe in this and abide by it too as far as possible.

Having said that, let me hasten to add, I am no saint. I have my faults and weaknesses galore! I am a perfectionist, I am critical, I demand a lot from my loved ones from loyalty to appreciation. I make no bones about stuff I do not like. I am outspoken and honest as far as opinion and views go and more often than not, am brutally so! I have a fairly short fuse and that is evident too. Continue reading →