My best Christmas memory

My best Christmas memory….... Years ago when I was in Bangalore I met Br Joshy and Br Jobby from my alma mater St Anthony’s college by chance; we hardly used emails then and FB groups didn’t exist! They were finishing their theology course in Kristu Jyoti.  They invited me one Christmas to accompany them to a nearby village where they used to teach. The occasion was Christmas and the event was a talent show for the kids.  I was to judge a dance competition and I was quite at a loss with  myself since I wasn’t born with any artistic skills whatsoever nor did I cultivate any ever!  I cannot forget the reception I received there. Throngs of children in bright toothy smiles gathering to see me. They wanted to know how to address me and Br Jobby quickly said ‘Sister’. So all around I could hear sounds of Hi Sister, Hello Sister, Welcome Sister. When the actual show began, there was no need to judge. I was fascinated by the children and their simplicity. Their dance simply left me enthralled and I wished big  time to join them. But I was a judge! And a Sister!  I scribbled the score each time a new contestant took the stage! I just could not decide who was the best! But I gave 10 on 10 to a girl of 4 or 5 years who came and stood still and smiled till her teeth ached! Br Jobby or Joshi smiled at me and said ‘But she did nothing?’ I said ‘But I am the judge!’

Speechless

Life is just so unpredictable. I woke up this morning with a resolve to give the best to the world. I made an early start to work as well, reading an inspirational message to have a clear vision on the way to any destination. So was I  all enthusiasm, listening to some music, working, was on track and just knew what I needed to do today. But this was not to last as one of my colleagues let me know the piece of news which disturbed for the whole day. Omji Shukla, a team mate left us for some other abode on Sunday night and we had not known it till Wednesday afternoon almost! He has left behind all the hustle bustle, the mad race, the deadlines, the pressure, the joy, the laughter and all of us. Much it pains my heart to think what his family must be going through at this moment to have lost their young son who I hear was supposed to get married in Feb next year. He use to sit just across my desk and I don’t know how many times I have crossed his desk while getting myself a cup of tea. It is empty now and I still I can’t believe that a man who was there till last Saturday is gone forever! The team was shaken and though we are keeping the show running, there is a strange feeling inside that cannot be expressed in words!  I may or may not remember him forever but I can only imagine the void it has left on the life of family and friends. The person who has his desk next to him  must be taking days to accept this bitter truth.  Here was a healthy person, young man who had much to see and do, gone! Gone! Cannot do anything but ask the Dear Creator to teach his family to live without him!

Unknown...

This road is what I tread everyday but why does it seem so new today?
May be I am alone on the road and cannot hear your little whispers...
May be the rustling of the leaves is not so clear without the dash of our laughter
May be the fragrance of the wild flower is lost without your smile
This road does seem long as there are no footsteps to match!
I keep walking and it seems so long
I keep walking and it seems so dark
I keep wondering if you were the one who lit the path
I keep wondering if you were the one made time go by
I keep walking till as far as I can go
There will be some light across the path very soon I am sure...

What Durga puja meant to us as children...

As I try to remember what Puja meant to me when I was a child, so many things come to my mind and I don't know where to start! Puja meant school holidays to start with, Puja meant shoping with parents, it meant what gifts u received and how many sets of dresses we got. Puja meant visiting friends and seeing theirs too and if they had few more than you, hoping that some aunt or some cousin might just gift you another one. Puja meant praying to the rain gods for bright sunny days. On Shoshti, it meant baba taking us to the pandal and buying some gift from the nearby shop. PUja also meant the first time you learnt to apply nail polish or trying to learn to wear heels.Puja meant some pocket money every puja day - 10 from ma and 10 from baba; spending 10 and saving 10. Puja meant the ghoognis and the tetul aachars...oh how it makes me smile now :-) Puja meant some khichuris too but I hated the queue and so bhai use to go and get some home! It meant khichuri in the mission on Saptami. Puja afternoons were spent with parents, pandal hopping and on Navami, it meant chow mein at Eee Cee or wherever! Puja evenings were meant for friends, reserving seats for them and taking turns in having our dinner and spending the rest of the time watching the cultural programmes. Navami nights use to be orchestra night and my personal fav was a band called 'Yuva'. We returned in the wee hours of the morning to steal sleep for a few hours and then again to the Pandal with our books and pens on Dashami. Puja also meant some Puja - whether it was rushing to be part of the first Anjali batch and laughing when the main Pandit called out 'Bolun....jayanti....' or watching the evening 'Aarti' competitions. And then the sad part to watch it all end and say ...'till another year', following the crowd as far we could go and sometimes with moist eyes. I think I have been to Polo just once for the immersion.And finally helping ma with  the coconut ladoos and waiting for the Aparajitas in the evening. Then say, well it's not the end - Diwali and bhai foota to follow!

Madness as they call it...Feelings as I call it

I stand by the window and watch the moving world
I stand by the window and watch the halted world
I see the sun that shines bright, but I can't feel the warmth
I am trapped within some closed walls
From the window I feel like the winter's here
The sun rays fall but it has no strength to drive my cold away
I feel the wintry winds and I want to step in there,
Oh not here but a little there, a little sunny space is all that I care
Step in where the sun rays might be a little strong
But no I am within some closed walls, and I am cold
The sun rays are there but I am still cold
I know if I just stepped out, I will feel the heat...
The summer heat at it's peak
But from within my closed walls, I feel that winter's near
And me chasing a bit of the sun, here and there

The flowers in our Shillong home

Most of these flowers have been clicked by my brother and planted by my father. I might have randomly clicked a couple but these always manage to remind me of our home and how hard we all tried to make the flowers bloom and more importantly save these from the morning people who came around to pick flowers for the daily Puja. I once remember running after someone after I had discovered that he/she had come to pick the flowers from our garden. He was just too fast and disappeared even before I started to chase.

Love this bunch? Don't you? Even I do. But somehow time and fate has brought us away from all these. And we can enjoy the greenery and the freshness just once a year during our annual visits. And here in Delhi, with so little space around us, we long for these colours.

Much as love these Dahlias, I used to be scared about the caterpillars :-) I remember how we traded tubers, so we could have that variety in our garden.

I don't know what we call these but I sure love its colours.

This one is a rare hibiscus colour. And I simply love the softness that surrounds it.

And this is a delight, ain't it?

Come my way...

A bit dark today...a bit too much
Wondering where that faint bit of light is!
To catch it, hold on to it...
Hold on to it for a while longer till I see it glow bright
Hold on to it for a while longer till I see it glow brighter
I need that faint bit of light as soon as I can have it
To take me out of the dark that is now...

Weave a dream

The evening sky, the setting sun, a look at the day gone by
And tomorrow shall come too soon, and pass like today does
A dream I weave, weave into space, weave into time
The dream I weave does touch the sky, touch the sun setting by
The dream does touch the clouds, the grey clouds then touch the dream
I wonder then looking at the setting sun...
Is this dream worth a try?
The black clouds of doubt linger past the setting sun
The sky turns grey and so does my dream
Will my dream hide with the setting sun?
The faint ray of hope looks me into my eye
Whispers to me a lovely tune
The tune does ask me to weave my dream, to colour it in hues bright
To give hope its wings, let it breathe and let it fly
Look for the silver lining in the clouds of doubt
Give your dreams it's dear home
Weave and weave and do weave your dreams
Tomorrow will be a far better day
The faint light will glow more bright, stay and shine more bright.

Forever

The smile that caught my eye
The one word that I heard
The moment when our paths crossed

Wish I could capture that moment,
Capture somewhere in the space of my mind
So I could see the smile time and again
Wish I could record that word,
Record in the back of mind
So I could hear it when I liked
Wish I could pause that moment,
Pause for as long as I liked

But that moment's gone
The smile has faded into time
The voice can hardly be heard
The distance is too much to tell

But I wish that moment to be back
The smile to stay for a lifetime
The words to be heard as I hear my breath
The gap to vanish into space...

Dream

The pleasant morning, the wish to sleep for a minute more
The dying traces of the night's dream
I try not to awake for a minute more
To not break the story and make it unfold
To see the smile and know the face
One more minute to see the dream to an end
But pleasant morning takes it all
I try to remember the story hard
But just as the sun begins to shine
I see the glimses fading away
And then I can't remember it more
As I get into the daily chores...

Loss(My Pussy's no more)

This was written long long back in 2000 when our pussy cat died :(

Just as the cold breeze touches us unawares
So did she enter our lives silently and suddenly
She became a part of us, we never understood and we never realized
She sat beside the fire on cold wintry evenings
She ate the sweet pie with us on warm afternoons
She walked in step to welcome friends
And bid them goodbye too
And countless things she did to make us laugh and bring happy tears!

But just as the breeze touches us and leaves
She left too, so soon, silently and suddenly
She was young and she was playful
But now she's gone
What remains are endless memories...
Her bright shining in the horizon and beyond
The breeze still will blow, touch and go
And life will move on!

Bangalore

I have memories from Bangalore that I cannot forget. My second home after Shillong and the first time I have been away from home. No doubt the place where you go to school/college is always special because you have endless memories of little things. Memories of your first visit to the college, memories of the first class that you attend, memories of the first friend that you make and so on that just stays on.

Just as I started writing this, I am taken  to the first day at hostel. My parents dropped me there and there was a girl from Jammu for whom that was the first day too. She was not my classmate and I can't remember her name now. I can vaguely remmeber her face too. I will have to ask one of my friends whether they can recall. We nearly joined our beds because my room was big and empty. This room became the envy of many others later when they thought that I had got the best room. Talking of the night I remember I woke so many times and was nearly waiting for the day to break in.

Slowly as other girls joined, we formed a group. We were eight girls and all from different parts of the country. But good for us, we had many similarities inspite of differences and these similarities have kept most of us close to each other then and keeps us going even now.

The image of the college brings back memories and one day I would surely like to visit the place. Hope it is sooner than later.

I am reminded of the Sunday mornings which started for me with arranging the clothes for the laundry when we were in hostel and later washing our clothes when we started living independently. I would make sure that this was the first thing that I did so that everyone got their time and space. A visit to the nearby shop to get the newspaper and read it with my morning tea and breakfast is something which I enjoy doing even today. I have to do both the things together or else it just seems so very incomplete to me.

Holi 2000

The best things in life come when you haven't planned for it. The pleasure of unexpected happiness stays on with us for  a long time. So, was the Holi of 2000!

We friends lived in a rented accomodation during our post grad days. We really didn't mean to do anything different except for sprinkling colours at each other so as to keep the tradition alive! But the idea struck when we went to the neighbouring shop to buy some more coloured powder. We visited some of our friends to wish them but ended up getting coloured from nose to toe. Soon, we decided to try the same on other friends and soon there was a multi-colored gang on the street.

We walked among the lose sand and the hot sun. The dirt and the heat didn't matter anymore. As we reached for other friends, there was no stopping. We played not only with the traditional colours but also with eggs, indigo and mud! The ultimate icing on the cake was when someone splashed an entire bucket full of water which resulted in a water splashing virus which was never ending. I even hit myself on the head and everything seemed to stop for a split second. But I didn't mind it and assured others that it was nothing and we continued as long as we could.

Come every Holi since then and I am taken to the Holi of 2000.

So called poems for the three sisters

This one is funny! Three of my friends were called 'Three sisters' by another common friend of ours after the Three Sisters mountain ranges in Sydney! These so called poems were written on demand!

Ode to THREE SISTERS
Here's for Sister 1:

Over the blue hills n beneath the blue skies lives a maiden Parul

She sings n dances to nature’s rhymes

She scolds n threatens friends around

She pings and gossips and tries hard for news

And on Valentines, she looks and looks and looks

Around the crowd

But she misses her knight everywhere she looks

But I’m sure he’s just around the corner

All what she needs are eyes that can find the obvious but hidden to all

So, friends wish her luck

And she prays for that too

On this say may she her valentine find
(Composed on Feb 14)




Here it is for sister 2:


Two love birds on a land near by

Sing, eat and Chat all day

And one fine day they both have to fly

One to west and one to east

Oh they cry but they know

It won’t last and they will meet

So they depart and again they meet

To sing, rejoice, dance and play

They again he has to go and

She waits and waits for that day to come

When they will be together again

Her wait is small and her hero comes

And they are together again

They go and celebrate and have some fun

And she’s gifted a diamond ring

To say that he loves her true

And their love shall forever shine



This is for Sister 3:


Beyond the horizon, where the earth and sky met

A damsel dwelt

Pretty eyes and lovely smile

And she had friends, for her who thought

Who referred princes here and everywhere

But she had her eyes on some far away land

Where her prince charming lived

And she had admirers here and there

But she craved neither for riches nor for fame

She had her mind on some adventure sure

To travel new lands and make new friends

And soon shall she fly

To some distant land and horizon new

To win her crown and find her prince

Her friends will miss her for sure

But they all wish her luck and love

And hope that their friendship ever lives

Window

What is it in a window I don't know that makes me stare out endlessly. I can stand looking out without being aware of the time running past me. My thoughts wander endlessly into so many spacious voids. My mind travels too fast and sometimes I am taken to my childhood years, to the place where I grew up and where I use to sit by the window and watch the raindrops trickling down the glass panes. I too start feeling the water running down my head touching my eyes and flowing through my heart and all I want is to dance in the rain.

When I am upset, I stand my the window and control my anger and my tears. I look out at an endless point just to avoid the tear running down my face. I do not like to be disturbed then because whatever your intentions might be, the paused tear drop will just come out and it will literally start raining tears. I look out of the window to avoid looking at someone who might have caused me the anger or the person trying to console me.

Sometimes, I stop by the window inside a tall building and gaze into the other buildings, wondering what all must be happening inside those buildings. I think everyone inside those buildings would have a unique story of their own and one of them must also be staring out of his window. May be he would be seeing my shadow by the opposite window and wonder at the vastness of the universe where we all belong. I then wish I was among the clouds.

Sometimes standing by the window, I can pause my thoughts too. Pause and look at a leaf flying here and there, see the dust that the leaf has gathered and wondering that if it rained, how relieved the leaf would be. I imagine a shining leaf with droplets clear, dancing and singing it's heart out. I too wish that I could fly in the air.

I love looking at the sun setting down from the car/bus window while I am traveling. I love the bright orange colour and love to watch how it goes away, away and away within minutes. I think of another wanderer like me who must be looking at the same sun at the same time. How many of us must be looking at the setting sun at the same time. The sun knows it is being watched but it will still follow its course and we the distant traveler will have to wait for the next day to think of the same thoughts again. I wish I would know know where it went to and rose with it the next morning.

At night I love it specially when I hear the raindrops against my window pane. I love that trickling down of the rain drops down my window pane to lull me to sleep. On clear nights, I love the moon bright by my window and think that another traveler like me will also be watching the same moon tonight. I like to be with the moon and play with the stars that night.

I love to see the sea by the window, watch the sparkling rays of the sun falling and dancing in the water. The million glitters and the million sparkles just makes me smile. To watch the clear sky and the blue waters from your window is a pleasure to the eye. And yes, my thoughts don't remain my own anymore and I am lost amongst the tiniest of sparkles and be one of them to dance and play when the day is bright.

My Rickshaw Rides

I use to work at BIIT as a computer faculty in 2002. It had become a habit to take a Rick rather than a bus. I use to carry loads of books and there was no direct bus, so my preferred mode of transport was the Rickshaw!

Anyway, Rick drivers became known to me or rather I became known to them. I knew few of them and usually took their services only!

For  some time though, I se to be returning home on the same Rick. I did not find him on Saturdays though becuase of the weekly market rush.

One particular day it happened that I did not find him for two successive days. On the third day, as I came down the road, I saw a Rickshaw driver waving at me and nodding his head so as to say I am here. For a second I thought he was not the same person who use to bring me home but somone else. But the next moment I thought it was he only! Anyway, I sat on the Rickshaw while I was still confused and hoping that he was the same person. I thought he might not be well and that's why he was looking different. To add to my belief, he did not ask me where I wanted to go but took the route that I followed daily. All the while I was thinking to myself and noticing his gesture, appearance etc.

He stopped just where I got down every day. When I paid him hi fare, he said "Brother has gone to the village two days back".

Sachin described by others

Sachin is my favourite player and has remained so since I started watching him. The world loves him and no wonder why - he remains humble and mature and is getting better with age.

Here is a collection of what people have said about him!

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Televisio...n and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.
- Sir Don Bradman


India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.
- Sunil Gavaskar

He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling.
- Richie Benaud

Sachin is cricket's God!
- Barry Richards

Harder he works, the luckier he gets.
- Ian Chappell

Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow nothing is a problem.
- Geoffrey Boycott

He is Sachin Tendulkar. I hope he stays Sachin Tendulkar. We need a new player, a player in his own way. He has a technique which is the hallmark of a great player. Everything indicates that he will be a great player and I am sure he will prove me right. Reminds me of Barry Richards.
- Eddie Barlow

He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.
- Greg Chappell

I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazingplayer.
- Shane Warne

I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he's 99.5% perfect.
- Viv Richards on Sachin Tendulkar

Today, he showed the world why he is considered the best batsman around. Some of the shots he played were simply amazing. Earlier, opposing teams used to feel that Sachin's dismissal meant they could win the game. Today, I feel that the Indian players, too, feel this way.
- Wasim Akram

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.
- BBC Sports, on Sachin Tendulkar

I Was fielding in the covers Tendulkar came out to bat in his debut Test at Karachi. I still remember Waqar Younis was at his peak form at that time. Tendulkar tried to drive Waqar through the covers off his very first ball in Testcricket but was beaten all ends up. But I walked to captain Imran Khan and told him 'this kid looks very good' and Imran agree with me.
- Abdul Qadir

I have watched a lot of Tendulkar and we have spoken to each other a lot. He has it in him to be among the very best.
- Sir Garfield Sobers

Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours.
- Michael Kasprowicz

If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.
- Dennis Lillee

I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara.
- Glenn McGrath

What we (Zimbabwe) need is 10 Tendulkars.
- Paul Strang

Sometime back I had written a piece that said that Sachin's the master and Lara a genius with his head high up somewhere. That's it!
- Peter Roebuck

Sachin is an attacker. He has much more power than Sunny. He wants to be the one to set the pace. He has to be on top. That's the buzz about him.
- Jeff Thompson

Tendulkar is the most complete batsman I have stood behind. I saw the hundred in Perth on a bouncy pitch with Hughes, McDermott and Whitney gunning for him he only had 60-odd when No 11 came in. I've seen him against Warne too.
- Ian Healy

Sachin's the best. I've had this view since I saw him score that hundred in Sydney in 1992. He's the most composed batsman I've ever seen.
- Mike Coward

The pressure on me is nothing as compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, like God, must never fail. The crowd always expects him to succeed and it is too much pressure on him - Mark Waugh
Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.
- Brain Lara

His life seems to be a stillness in a frantic world... [When he goes out to bat], it is beyond chaos - it is a frantic appeal by a nation to one man. The people see him as a God...
- Mathew Hayden, on Sachin Tendulkar

It was one of the greatest innings I have ever seen. There is no shame being beaten by such a great player, Sachin is perhaps only next to the Don.
- Steve Waugh

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick.
- Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999

Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us..., even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.
- BBC Sports, on Sachin Tendulkar

Evening

What is it in this evening that makes me restless?
What is it in this evening that I don't want to lie and rest?
My mind travels here and there, to the past and to my childhood years!
I am not happy but I don't want to cry
I am not sad but I don't want to smile
I am filled in void and void is filled in me
My mind races to those playful years
The garden of my childhood years
Laughing and playing with friends around
Catching butterflies and plucking the flowers
I can see our childhood feet, running and hiding in the bushes near.
Today these friends are scattered near and far, like those petals we threw in the air
One word from them brings back a smile but those years are gone for ever and ever!
I remember myself a little child and my mum tying my ponytail with ribbon white
The hurried look on my face and the love in my mother's eyes
And dad would bring home a cookie new or a fancy lolly to see us happy
These were days of my growing years
And even today mom and dad finds new pleasure on little things
But those days are ever gone
I know not why my mind wanders to those years and there is some void which fills the air

Sydney

Sydney! The name of it brings me smiles and sighs to some extent. I have endless memories belonging to the place and not sure may be the first impression is the one that remains forever! That might be the reason I love that place!

On my my first day me and my roomie had dinner cooked by her and then we went out for a walk. A walk to Darling Harbour, one of my favourite places on the earth. I don't know how many times I have walked the Pyrmont bridge and everytime I found it beautiful. I loved the cold wind blowing, I loved the setting sun and I simply loved to walk by the Harbour or sit still and watch the people!

Should I ever go there again I know that Darling harbour would always be on my list of places to go.

On my first visit to Sydney, a friend and I thought that we should go for morning walks. One such morning, we walked and talked, a couple of guys drunk said something like Indians girls being pretty and passed a comment that they ate fish and were good at ignoring. Gosh, I just controlled my laughter and then when they left us, I gave my laughing nerves full freedom.

There are so so many memories of Sydney that when I remember I update this. Random thoughts actually! One evening as I was returning from work with a friend, it started raining. We were to get off at the next station and I stood near the door. As the door opened, I took my head out to watch if it was still raining as though it was the door of my house and I would decide whether to venture out or not! My friend then reminded me that we had to get off and we quickly ran out. Once we were out, we could not help laughing at my absent-mindedness :-)

So many times I have played the guide and Luna Park was one such place where I visited don't know how many times. The rides and the fun was too good to ever forget. A friend of mine and I went to Luna Park once and the man at the gate was perhaps very happy to meet folks from his country that he did not swipe our tickets, allowed us the ride and asked us to enjoy another.

Another time we were a group fo 7 or 8 people visiting the park and none except three of us had the guts to ride the most dangerous one. I was scared too but seeing little children so much at ease made me think that I could do it too. For a while I screamed and shouted with the fellow riders and then I felt that it did not seem to end and I just closed my eyes and prayed for a safe landing!!!

I had my scary experiences too, the first one being me and my rommie waiting for a friend at Town Hall and I think it was almost 9 pm when someone approached us and demanded money. My roomie was so scared that she almost reached her purse when a couple passed by us and saved our day. They asked the intruder to get away and waited till he was out of sight and made us so comfortable that we felt safe.

On another occasion we were returning from Watson Bay if I remember right, and on the train I had just turned around and a lady took offence.I don't yet know what I had done to earn her dirty looks but that incident did scare me to hell. A similar incident repeated when a guy with long hair and shabby looks just sat near us and kept tapping his fingers on the window pane. And it took only a line in Hindi to my friend who was traveling with me, to make the guy angry and call us names. We both kept quiet and almost remained motionless until the time he got away.

I always think I will do Sydney once more in my lifetime and till then I will re-live the memories many more times.

Rain

Raindrops on my window pane will lull me to sleep tonight, oh I wish I was with friends tonight telling stories of years bright...oh I wish I could watch a movie tonight over a cuppa tea and some pleasant laugh...but theres work for the morn and the rain to lull me to sleep tonight...

Colours say it all

Today is Feb 13 and I thought if I could find a colour that I would wear to work tomorrow. So, I found the following which is rather interesting:

http://www.weeksupdate.com/2009/02/valentine-day-dress-code-which-colour.html

Continued....
Also, some time back someone spoke to me about the colours that should be worn on particular days of the week. I don't remember all of it except for Red on Tuesdays, Green on Wednesdays and Yellow on Thursdays. The one I try to follow is the Thursday one but Wednesday seems to win as well as green is the colour of my cupboard now. Actually my cupboard is more pink than green but I don't know the day for pink except for today, Feb 14 when I take special care not to wear it as I don't want to send the wrong message :)

On Holi, I received the following message from a friend:
Red for prosperity
Green for happiness
Blue for longevity
Orange for progress
Pink for friendship
..........
I am reading 'The Winner Stands Alone' now and here's wht Paulo Coelho says bout colours:
White signifies purity nd integrity
Blck intimidates
Red shocks abd paralysis
Yellow attracts attention
Green calms everything
Blue soothes
Orange confuses

Well!

One odd day

It's my strength that you know of
It's my toughness that you can see
It's my calm that you know
You can have my shoulder to rest and cry
You can see me smile when you feel down
You can hear me soft when you want to rest
But there is that one odd day
When I can break, when I am lost
On that very odd day
I want you to read my mind
I want your shoulder to cry on
I want you to be just by me.

What is in a morning cup of tea or coffee?

Hi, good morning! Ready for a cup of tea? I often wonder what a morning cup of tea does to you or me that we wouldn't start our day without it? For many years, I have not drunk tea even though I belong to a cold place and had frequent attacks of tonsillitis or sinusitis. But my years in Bangalore have made me a tea drinker anyway. It's not about being in Bangalore but it is about being in a group that one takes to tea or coffee, I guess.

Back in Bangalore, I remember we use to have our tea glasses in hand and stand by the balcony and chat for hours before we thought it was time to do some studies.

I am not addicted to tea as such but even at work, it feels like I should have my first cup of tea and then start working. Sometimes I get my cup and its cools down on my desk just as it was without my realizing and I really don't have an urge to get another cup but the feeling of getting your first cup must be satisfied!

I miss it where I am now as a tea friend does not exist here. Earlier my tea- friend and me would just check our morning mails and tasks and then get together for a cuppa. It would be the same in the evening when you felt exhausted and then looked forward to that much needed tea break. Machine tea never tastes good but its just that little chat over whatever kind of tea that did wonders.

I remember in Sydney, the mornings would be filled with the coffee aroma and even though not much of a coffee drinker myself, I just loved it! I didn't feel the same ever in London even though people gathered around coffee machines but that never tasted or smelled like how it did in Sydney. Well, well...I might be just a bit partial.

I will never say no to a cup of tea or coffee as anything could happen over a cup of coffee...(stealing the tag line from Cafe Day I guess). and Starbucks opening its chain in India is certainly news too!

And I love my tea in a special way, not many can match my expectations and sometimes I fail big time too. That perfect colour, that perfect dash of sweetness, not too much of milk and neither too strong is hard to come by...

Doctors and the Medical profession

When I was in my growing up years, I loved playing doctor-doctor and treating my playmates - my brother and my grandfather with some imaginary pills, checking their heart-beat and the like. No wonder till a certain point in my life, I wanted to choose medical science as my profession. This did not happen for a few reasons however I am glad I am not one among today's many doctors who are so professional that they don't care much about the lot of the patient as long as their purse is happy.

Though I have severe tonsilitis inflammation since the last two days, I will not visit a  doctor. I will have the homoeopathic remedies my dad prescribes or stick to home made ones like a ginger tea, or some jaggery to keep my throat in some shape to sustain the 1 week period that a normal cold/cough takes to vanish.

I know of doctors who won't even check you properly and prescribe medicines. Also in Delhi, I know of so many doctors who give you some colourful pills in small envelopes and no prescription. What does the poor patient know what medicine he is taking and if he needs to consult any other doctor in the future, how will the other doctor know what was the previous treatment undertaken by the patient?

Doctors should not only ask the patient of his medical history but also should be aware of the physical condition of the patient before prescribing any medicine. My mother was prescribed some medicines and since she has a weak constitution, her body could not take those and that resulted in severe vomitting and her being admitted to a hospital.

It is indeed sad that the profession which deserves so much respect is being looked down with disguise. The doctors today are only interested in earning commissions. They will tell you to undergo the same tests in a matter of a couple of days. I never understand this logic. And they will tell you to get it done from a certain clinic only.

What I do and tell the people around me to do is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat the right food, sleep well and then diseases would not be so near to you. Avoid the doctors as much as you can. If you are fearing that something is not right with you, do seek advise but don't blindly follow what the first doctors tell you . Today's doctors are doctors because they have passed some exams by some means including swallowing the names of the medicines. When prescribing these medicines, they don't think about the possible reactions becuase medical books cannot have eveything in such minute details. The physical condition of each human being is unique and how they react to the same medicine may be different. Good doctors are those who think, analyse and remember if they have treated a similar case before. So, please understand what your doctor is telling you to do and why? Take second opinion, take third opinion.

Having said all these, I still hope the faith in the profession is restored.