Tell us about the object of your dejection — something you made, a masterpiece unfinished, or some sort of project that failed to meet your expectations. What did you learn from the experience? How would you do things differently next time?
This list- where would mine be beginning ?
That forgotten unfinished oil painting?
The blue cardigan awaiting its collar?
The value of the rupee to the dollar?
The Lil’ pile of books I have yet to read?
The jewellery I never started to bead?
The post PG Study leave that I did not take?
The lovely cakes I wanted to learn to bake?
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The holiday abroad Rajiv and I had planned?
The daily walks we had planned hand in hand?
The extra minutes I wanted to spend with my son?
The movie we were to see together on television?
The music classes I missed with my dear daughter?
That were planned weeks ago, now seem to matter!
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This list may never end, But for every list of dejection,
There is another list, a longer list of of joy and affection!
The love and tender warmth in my husband’s eye
The happiness in a friends voice, no money can buy.
The twinkle in my darling daughter’s eye,
The spring in his step as my son does fly!
The blessings of my mother feeling cared n loved
The smile of a patient , the bundle of joy she held !
White to me, will always signify purity, simplicity and peace.
Unfortunately in Hindu Culture, white is inauspicious and signifies sadness. It prescribed this color only for Widows and widows wore only this color day in and day out, whatever may be their preference, age or wish. There was no choice.Things have thankfully changed now.
In Kerala a part of South India, we also wear a special kind of a saree called Kerala saree which is not strictly white but off white. We wear it for all traditional occasions. In the picture I am wearing it on a Festival called Onam.
The stairs in our house is colored white.
And I love white clouds. So I am starting with them.
Heavenly CloudsIn Traditional White with my Flower CarpetWhite Descent
OUT OF BREATH : We all seem to insist on how busy, busy, busy we constantly are. Let’s put things in perspective: tell us about the craziest, busiest, most hectic day you’ve had in the past decade.
Busiest day of the decade,
Difficult choice has to be made
Among a thousand days each one busier than the last
Dozen “me”s meet each other some days, each whizzing past.
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Whose turn is it to take the stage today I wonder
The wife, the doctor, the daughter or the mother?
The social me, the chef or the interior decorator?
The surgeon, the friend,the sis or the mall locator?
This group of sculptures is known as Arjuna’s Penance, said to depict the Pandava prince’s penance to obtain Lord Shiva’s weapon. The sculpture dates back to the 7th or 8th century and is a testimony to the talent of the sculptors of that time. It has over 100 figures of man and beast, life and nature, brought to life by artisans of that day. Truly a Marvel of mankind ‘s art and skill, it is one of the Heritage sites protected by UNESCO. They call it the descent of the Ganges
The lady in the foreground is my Mother , who also is to me, a living symbol of endurance.
Machines, appliances, and gadgets sometimes feel like they have their own personalities — from quirky cars to dignified food processors. What’s the most “human” machine you own?
This post was earlier written in response to a prompt asking what a person digging 500 years form now would learn about me and our present life from a relic left in my premises….So read on….about my soulful “Life companion”Continue reading →
As a kid, were you happy or anxious about going back to school? Now that you’re older, how has your attitude toward the end of the summer evolved?
Me Vintage 1980
I chose to respond to this prompt because it triggered memories of childhood summers. My summer holidays – a time when “We had joy, We had fun, We had seasons in the sun!”
We went to my Gandmas place to spend the summer break and oh what fun it was! It was a old large house in a rambling courtyard. All my cousins would be home in their respective ancestral houses as we term them in Kerala. We would barely finish breakfast and assemble at the Kolam – a water body, a home pool or man made water tank with a shelter and steps leading down into it that most houses in Kerala are attached with. Not a swimming pool but one where I learnt swimming. We would frolic in the pool, play games, dive, jump and generally have fun unmindful of the scorching heat that would leave its mark on all of us. This would continue till one mother (my mom or one of my aunts) would come out to admonish us and force us to leave! Lunch would usually be a combined affair in one of the four houses. That over, the “afternoon siesta” was carroms or cards or monopoly depending on what caught our fancy that day. Ably aided and guided by my youngest Uncle we kicked up a ruckus that had must have disturbed the adults trying to get some shut-eye.
Kerala is picturesque and my village was no different. In the evenings, we would explore the various features around – from a huge rock to hillocks to just traipsing along the countryside – lush green paddy fields or barren rocky land. We had impromptu picnics with food being potluck- whatever we could forage…. from tender coconuts to jaggery and chips. I was an avid reader. Enid Blyton was a favorite and to me, these trips made me feel I was one of the Famous Five off to enjoy the summer! However no mystery ever presented itself for me to solve! The nights would see me curling up with a book well past dinner time… Bliss! No TV, no mobiles, no internet yet we were one happy bunch that looked forward to the next day of friendship and fun.
Me my sis and 2 cousins atop a hill feature
However enjoyable the summer holidays were, I had no problems returning to school. I did my entire schooling in Goa. School was fun place as far as I was concerned. Academics came easy to me, I had friends and in general I have very happy memories of school. I was a chatter box, so I had teachers pointing it out sometimes but nothing more strenuous than that. Annual days, joint whist drives with the neighboring “Boys school”, annual picnics, being on the student council, taking part in the Annual days, the School farewell – they are all happy memories. I went back after 30 years and what fun it was yakking away with the friends who had all grown up! Goa was a lovely place to be and Goans wonderful people to be with and that was possibly another reason why school was more fun than stress. Thank you, Goa.
So no August Blues there!
Hello, Life!
As an adult I try to create a happy world for my family. We love traveling and make small trips to explore Incredible India from the mountains of Kullu Manali to the backwaters of Kerala, as the adage goes- from Kashmir to Kanyakumari! I listen to the music my kids listen to. We catch a movie that they want to see and try to see the movie from their point of view. The world today has changed. The simple pleasures of life have given way to more complex ones , but if that is what they like , so be it. I learnt to be tech savvy to understand their world and ended up liking it a lot myself. There are less of books in their world and that worries me at times. That said, words are still a part of their world, so what if they are electronic – so that’s ok, I guess.Serving in the Army takes one to the remotest corners of this beautiful diverse-but-united country. And we spare no opportunity to use the summer hols to see a new place. Autumn is an ill-defined season in South India and summer is followed by monsoons and Kerala is at her lushest, loveliest best in the monsoons!
In general, summer continues to be fun and a time to creating memories together.
So, no August blues now either!
At the Puduchery PromenadeGoan sunny dayMaking Waves in Goa
What are some (or one) of the things about which you usually don’t trust your own judgment, and need someone’s else’s confirmation?
Well this one was a great prompt as far as I am concerned. One I could immediately relate to. I have an opinion on everything but I’m a huge fan of second opinions, and barely buy or do anything – anything at all – without a “How does this look?” “What do you think?” to my shopping / planning partner at that point in time, usually my husband, often some other member of my family and occasionally , a friend. Continue reading →
Prompt: We often capture strangers in photos we take in public. Open your photo library, and stop at the first picture that features a person you don’t know. Now tell the story of that person.
My story is about the person clicking the pic.
Who is she?
I have lived with her from the beginning of time as I know it on earth… yet do I know her?
Ripples N Reflections 