(Saw this caption in one of the Johnsons' Baby ads, and it inspired this poem ..)
----------------------------------------------------------------
'Positive' in clear and blue it says..
Take a deep breath and the mind sways..
With a smile,nod and a wink..
You say to him, 'Its what we think!"
Smiles,pauses and cheeks change hue..
So when is the 'bundle of joy', due?
Tests, checks and routine scans,
Excited moms, dads and grans..
Do this, don't do that,take care..
Stress,weights,fatigue - don't you dare!
Eat good, think good and rest well,
Its for the baby , not you, they tell..
Slowly there is this small little bump,
Feeling it, the heart does a jump!
The day of the first ultrasound,
A tiny form , both watch spellbound..
A life within, a flickering heartbeat,
A wonder, a miracle or nature's feat?
The baby within occupies your mind,
feeling it inside, you relax and unwind.
Tiny feet,tiny hands, baby sounds,baby smells
Upon all this and more, your mind now dwells.
The time comes close to end all longings,
And thus the labor of love begins.
Through the pain,whats the drive all along?
To meet you my little one, is all I long.
With all your might, one last try,
Exhausted but relieved, you hear it cry..
My Angel, my life now you will adorn,
And With the Child, a Mother is born.
------------
(Motherhood is a rebirth - so true!)
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A Piece of Swiss
Coming from a service oriented marathi family, I would have only dreamt of going to the Swiss country some day.
And thanks to I.T. - my dream came true pretty early, and not once, but twice! (and if the devine forces permit, might come true a couple of more times)
I don't really remember dreaming of going Swiss.Though the wishful thinking of " I want to see the world on my own once .." was always there.
Been there, seen stuff, I can say its really a dream come true!
Many must have dreamt of being in a land so pure and lush and exhilarating that one feels surreal.
Abundance of nature - talk about it!
I had dreamt of sparkling blue waters, snow covered mountains, lush green landscapes, multi-hued blossoms,thick pine forests,wooden cottages, acres and acres of greenery, cruises which offer panoramic views everywhere,as you lie down on deck drenched in sun!
I had these flashes for years - after watching a movie, or a Discovery channel special, or after flicking through a travel magzine.
I had marveled at lands so beautiful, waters so clear, skies so spotless.
And when I saw them for real, I still marveled at them.
What makes a trip unforgettable?
Its the experience, its the company, the memories.
This trip to Swiss scored a perfect tenner on all these.
Experience - amazing - the food, the stay, the travel, the sights, the scenic beauty - everything was just spot on!
Company - who else but the companion for life? Can it get any better? :)
Memories - When you shut your eyes and think back of the time you had, you know its something you will recall to make yourself happy and cheerful.Unblemished, unspoilt feeling of bliss, contentment and peace - isn't this a rareity these days?Swiss memories of this trip is my very own "Raindrops on Roses .." song! :)
Is Swiss the most beautiful place on earth - may be not.
There are other places beautiful in their own right.
There are places which are beautiful for some people for their own private reasons.
Beauty is not always grand, not always pure, not always to do with mother nature.Its relative. As wise people have said, it lies in the eyes of the beholder. Its depends on the frame of mind.
I had already seen Swiss, but this trip revealed something more peaceful and deeper.
Was it my state of mind that made Swiss look so good, or was it Swiss that made me feel so good?
Can be anything ..
Is Swiss a a piece of heaven? For me - yes it will be - now onwards.
And thanks to I.T. - my dream came true pretty early, and not once, but twice! (and if the devine forces permit, might come true a couple of more times)
I don't really remember dreaming of going Swiss.Though the wishful thinking of " I want to see the world on my own once .." was always there.
Been there, seen stuff, I can say its really a dream come true!
Many must have dreamt of being in a land so pure and lush and exhilarating that one feels surreal.
Abundance of nature - talk about it!
I had dreamt of sparkling blue waters, snow covered mountains, lush green landscapes, multi-hued blossoms,thick pine forests,wooden cottages, acres and acres of greenery, cruises which offer panoramic views everywhere,as you lie down on deck drenched in sun!
I had these flashes for years - after watching a movie, or a Discovery channel special, or after flicking through a travel magzine.
I had marveled at lands so beautiful, waters so clear, skies so spotless.
And when I saw them for real, I still marveled at them.
What makes a trip unforgettable?
Its the experience, its the company, the memories.
This trip to Swiss scored a perfect tenner on all these.
Experience - amazing - the food, the stay, the travel, the sights, the scenic beauty - everything was just spot on!
Company - who else but the companion for life? Can it get any better? :)
Memories - When you shut your eyes and think back of the time you had, you know its something you will recall to make yourself happy and cheerful.Unblemished, unspoilt feeling of bliss, contentment and peace - isn't this a rareity these days?Swiss memories of this trip is my very own "Raindrops on Roses .." song! :)
Is Swiss the most beautiful place on earth - may be not.
There are other places beautiful in their own right.
There are places which are beautiful for some people for their own private reasons.
Beauty is not always grand, not always pure, not always to do with mother nature.Its relative. As wise people have said, it lies in the eyes of the beholder. Its depends on the frame of mind.
I had already seen Swiss, but this trip revealed something more peaceful and deeper.
Was it my state of mind that made Swiss look so good, or was it Swiss that made me feel so good?
Can be anything ..
Is Swiss a a piece of heaven? For me - yes it will be - now onwards.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Memories Are Made Of These ...
This song by Dean Martin rings in my mind quite often.
Its a very very tender ( and ohhh sooo mushy) song and to hear it with a few strums of guitar makes you wish for a moon-lit dinner with your special some-one. :)
Its a nice song with simple lyrics, and words of wisdom.
A quick search on the net revealed that this number is quite a favourite in weddings, esp when the father walks his bride-to-be daughter to the altar - soo apt n sweet! ( Am sure, I'd be one of the guests with a lump in my throat and eyes brimming with tears at one of such weddings)
But this song also brings some very special memories and in an entirely different context.
One of the memories attached to this song is from my childhood.
We were in 5th class. My very close friend - V's father had a very nice collection of english records. She had a record player at home, and handling those big black discs was a thing of great novelty. It was my first taste of 'phoren' songs,(which I later learnt was country and pop music) which I could actually hum along!
I even remember her being particularly fond of a Jim Reeves record, because its cover had a colored potrait of him, in his chequered suit - lop-sided smile,auburn hair and green eyes et-al ! :)
( the song 'Adios Amigos' was the one we liked for what we thought were 'exotic' words! )
We loved playing these records, not because we had an ear for the songs but more because it made us feel like pompous grown-ups, who chitchatted with english music playing in the background :))
Those were the days when minds were very keen, fresh and open to absorb all new things, learn more about everything and anything, with a constant urge to explore and discover on our own. We hadn't seen the world much, and each new experience brought a great deal of excitement.
Its from those formative years when your friends, your school, your teachers infulenced your mind the most and shaped it to be the thinking person you are today.
I remember one of my friend S's words at our 10th std farewell function. We were coming out of the 'school' and moving to 'college'. We were going out into different worlds pursuing our individual dreams and aspirations.
S had said that when we are kids - our parents influence us the most. As we start our formal education, our school becomes an institution which affects and influences our mind the most - as we spend maximum time here. While thanking the teachers she had said that while transiting from children to adults - theirs' was the influence which would stay with us forever. And she said that we all are grateful to them, and of course to our friends, because they have imparted to us something that would guide us through the rest of our lives.
This song is linked to the transition. Though its a romantic song ( and this aspect we appreciated much later ;) ) , this song for me is the one which evokes my school memories, the friends, the teachers and the discoveries of everyday wisdom.
Linked with this song, my memories are made of these.
Its a very very tender ( and ohhh sooo mushy) song and to hear it with a few strums of guitar makes you wish for a moon-lit dinner with your special some-one. :)
Its a nice song with simple lyrics, and words of wisdom.
A quick search on the net revealed that this number is quite a favourite in weddings, esp when the father walks his bride-to-be daughter to the altar - soo apt n sweet! ( Am sure, I'd be one of the guests with a lump in my throat and eyes brimming with tears at one of such weddings)
But this song also brings some very special memories and in an entirely different context.
One of the memories attached to this song is from my childhood.
We were in 5th class. My very close friend - V's father had a very nice collection of english records. She had a record player at home, and handling those big black discs was a thing of great novelty. It was my first taste of 'phoren' songs,(which I later learnt was country and pop music) which I could actually hum along!
I even remember her being particularly fond of a Jim Reeves record, because its cover had a colored potrait of him, in his chequered suit - lop-sided smile,auburn hair and green eyes et-al ! :)
( the song 'Adios Amigos' was the one we liked for what we thought were 'exotic' words! )
We loved playing these records, not because we had an ear for the songs but more because it made us feel like pompous grown-ups, who chitchatted with english music playing in the background :))
Those were the days when minds were very keen, fresh and open to absorb all new things, learn more about everything and anything, with a constant urge to explore and discover on our own. We hadn't seen the world much, and each new experience brought a great deal of excitement.
Its from those formative years when your friends, your school, your teachers infulenced your mind the most and shaped it to be the thinking person you are today.
I remember one of my friend S's words at our 10th std farewell function. We were coming out of the 'school' and moving to 'college'. We were going out into different worlds pursuing our individual dreams and aspirations.
S had said that when we are kids - our parents influence us the most. As we start our formal education, our school becomes an institution which affects and influences our mind the most - as we spend maximum time here. While thanking the teachers she had said that while transiting from children to adults - theirs' was the influence which would stay with us forever. And she said that we all are grateful to them, and of course to our friends, because they have imparted to us something that would guide us through the rest of our lives.
This song is linked to the transition. Though its a romantic song ( and this aspect we appreciated much later ;) ) , this song for me is the one which evokes my school memories, the friends, the teachers and the discoveries of everyday wisdom.
Linked with this song, my memories are made of these.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
The place we stay is a small town.
The lane we stay has neat rows of converted Victorian houses, and a few B & Bs.
There is one huge parking space at one end of the row.
This lane runs parallel to the busy main road, which has a bank, a drugstore, 2 pound shops, 2 bakeries, a vegetable shop, Somerfields, Mac-D's, PizzaHut, 1 Lebanese and one 1 Chinese restaurant, a salsa dance class (yeah!) , 2 pubs, a few real estate offices,an ATM , a superstore - you get the picture? A real busy street, with all options for people of variety of age groups!
And here comes the link.
There is an old man. A hefty, 6 ft, 70 lb old man. With a green jacket - the ones that social volunteers wear here, with large specks, flannel pants, black boots, rubber gloves and a woollen cap. He carries a bottle of water, a few polythene covers and a stick - the ones with a clamp at one end, with which he can pick stuff off the road.
He is a rag picker. He does the work for himself. He takes it as a mission to keep the streets clean.
Morning, when we are rushing out of the house, in a hurry to reach the office, we see him in his gear, picking stuff off the road - cans, bottles, papers, leaves, covers - what ever can be picked up off the road to keep then clean.
If there is other stuff- like dog do, spilt liquids, dried food stuff - he squirts some water there, and wipes it off the road with some paper. He does the same work every day, without a word, without bothering about people around. He dosen't speak a word. He is totally absorbed in his work. He does it with such dedication !!!
During weekdays, we see him in the morning, without fail. Be it cold, be it snow, be it rain - he is there. He works on the weekends too! In fact - we see him on the roads more often during weekends - after all its more work on weekends!
In Maharashtra we had a great saint " Sant Gadgebaba " - who dedicated his life promoting cleanliness - he was a living example of the motto - Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
When ever I see the old man on the streets, carrying out his missionary work, I think of him as an english GadgeBaba.
The lane we stay has neat rows of converted Victorian houses, and a few B & Bs.
There is one huge parking space at one end of the row.
This lane runs parallel to the busy main road, which has a bank, a drugstore, 2 pound shops, 2 bakeries, a vegetable shop, Somerfields, Mac-D's, PizzaHut, 1 Lebanese and one 1 Chinese restaurant, a salsa dance class (yeah!) , 2 pubs, a few real estate offices,an ATM , a superstore - you get the picture? A real busy street, with all options for people of variety of age groups!
And here comes the link.
There is an old man. A hefty, 6 ft, 70 lb old man. With a green jacket - the ones that social volunteers wear here, with large specks, flannel pants, black boots, rubber gloves and a woollen cap. He carries a bottle of water, a few polythene covers and a stick - the ones with a clamp at one end, with which he can pick stuff off the road.
He is a rag picker. He does the work for himself. He takes it as a mission to keep the streets clean.
Morning, when we are rushing out of the house, in a hurry to reach the office, we see him in his gear, picking stuff off the road - cans, bottles, papers, leaves, covers - what ever can be picked up off the road to keep then clean.
If there is other stuff- like dog do, spilt liquids, dried food stuff - he squirts some water there, and wipes it off the road with some paper. He does the same work every day, without a word, without bothering about people around. He dosen't speak a word. He is totally absorbed in his work. He does it with such dedication !!!
During weekdays, we see him in the morning, without fail. Be it cold, be it snow, be it rain - he is there. He works on the weekends too! In fact - we see him on the roads more often during weekends - after all its more work on weekends!
In Maharashtra we had a great saint " Sant Gadgebaba " - who dedicated his life promoting cleanliness - he was a living example of the motto - Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
When ever I see the old man on the streets, carrying out his missionary work, I think of him as an english GadgeBaba.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Home Coming..
Sticking to the name of the blog - "its never too late" - to restart blogging! :)
With the Hindu new year , I am resuming my periodic blogging.
Am back from a long (and I wish I could say relaxing) vacation to India.
Its the second time that I went back to India from a foreign land.
But this time, the coordinates were changed.
Now I have two homes to return to. And two sets of relatives to courtesy-visit ;-) (Sigh!)
( People on relatively short and really long-awaited trips to homeland can easily relate to these "courtesy visits" ! )
When you are returning home, you are looking forward to spend quality time with your dear ones, and try to make up for the long long time that you'ev been away from them.
After getting over the jet lag, the long hours of travel fatigue, unpacking gifts, reshuffling the this-part-still-belongs-to-me wardrobe - you realise that almost 2-3 days of your precious vacation are over!
Then there are these really important things like bank visits, paper work, applications and blah blah which you wish weren't there. There go another day or two!
And then come those visits!
" Auntie Meena wants to meet you both, you never got to meet after your wedding..",
"Uncle Vijay would love if you can join them for dinner, you both weren't there for his son's thread ceremony...",
"Did you meet little Purva? She is already 4 months old - do go and say hie once! " ,
"Dadaji's brother constructed this new house rt? well, they have kept a family get-together cum house warming - you both should make a visit! "
"Cousin Shriya will sulk if you don't meet her inspite of being in town! - you missed her wedding!"
" Sujata auntie's mother passed away, you should go and meet her once.."
And there are many more celebrations, ceremonies, new arrivals, unfortunate departures you have missed over the year.
All these are your people - relatives, friends, loved ones. They have missed you in the times of their joy and sorrow, and want you to spend a few moments with them.
After all, this is what you have solely missed while being in a foreign land. Your people.
Then why, why do these visits seem like an obligation? Why are we reluctant to spare time for these?
Because these visits are not the same - had you not been outside. The time is short, you'ev lost touch, you take time to warm up to these people, you have this limited time in which you want to bring yourself as back to normal as possible. And you feel the time slipping away ..
What happened to the plans of having long, liesurely conversations with mom?
To the plans of spending at least one evening munching pizza while guzzling on some fizz and watching crappy movies with your siblings, long into the night, cracking jokes and having fun like the good old days?
What happened to the plan of going on a drive with dad , chatting about career moves and future plans, interspersed with crib sessions?
Of the plans to have a lazy sunday family lunch and the gup-shup that followed into the sleepy noon-nap?
Of plans of having one evening free to catch up with your gal-pals?
And then - you think, you think of the changed coordinates, the new relations, the time you'ev been away for - and all this makes sense.
You go through these visits and once you are back in the foreign land, you look back and feel glad you did! :)
And you do catch up with those plans - you help mom with cooking, and blabber along all the while - what if a few rotis are a shade too dark! ;-)
You take dad along for all those mundane bank trips, and catch up during the mandatory hour long "lunch breaks" in the bank ;-)
You tug along your kid bro and sis for shopping, and then spend the evening sampling pani-puris and chats, till your parents drive down to pick you up for the next visit ! :)))
And just when you think you have juggled it all - its time to go! With a heavy heart and lingering memories, you pack your bags and head towards the airport. Your cellphone keeps on buzzing till the last minute you board the plane.
Once inside, you switch off - switch off from the world around, and make a hurried trip down the memory lane, to ensure all that happened in this whirlwind home-coming is tucked away snugly in corners of your mind, to savour it later ... till the next trip back home.
With the Hindu new year , I am resuming my periodic blogging.
Am back from a long (and I wish I could say relaxing) vacation to India.
Its the second time that I went back to India from a foreign land.
But this time, the coordinates were changed.
Now I have two homes to return to. And two sets of relatives to courtesy-visit ;-) (Sigh!)
( People on relatively short and really long-awaited trips to homeland can easily relate to these "courtesy visits" ! )
When you are returning home, you are looking forward to spend quality time with your dear ones, and try to make up for the long long time that you'ev been away from them.
After getting over the jet lag, the long hours of travel fatigue, unpacking gifts, reshuffling the this-part-still-belongs-to-me wardrobe - you realise that almost 2-3 days of your precious vacation are over!
Then there are these really important things like bank visits, paper work, applications and blah blah which you wish weren't there. There go another day or two!
And then come those visits!
" Auntie Meena wants to meet you both, you never got to meet after your wedding..",
"Uncle Vijay would love if you can join them for dinner, you both weren't there for his son's thread ceremony...",
"Did you meet little Purva? She is already 4 months old - do go and say hie once! " ,
"Dadaji's brother constructed this new house rt? well, they have kept a family get-together cum house warming - you both should make a visit! "
"Cousin Shriya will sulk if you don't meet her inspite of being in town! - you missed her wedding!"
" Sujata auntie's mother passed away, you should go and meet her once.."
And there are many more celebrations, ceremonies, new arrivals, unfortunate departures you have missed over the year.
All these are your people - relatives, friends, loved ones. They have missed you in the times of their joy and sorrow, and want you to spend a few moments with them.
After all, this is what you have solely missed while being in a foreign land. Your people.
Then why, why do these visits seem like an obligation? Why are we reluctant to spare time for these?
Because these visits are not the same - had you not been outside. The time is short, you'ev lost touch, you take time to warm up to these people, you have this limited time in which you want to bring yourself as back to normal as possible. And you feel the time slipping away ..
What happened to the plans of having long, liesurely conversations with mom?
To the plans of spending at least one evening munching pizza while guzzling on some fizz and watching crappy movies with your siblings, long into the night, cracking jokes and having fun like the good old days?
What happened to the plan of going on a drive with dad , chatting about career moves and future plans, interspersed with crib sessions?
Of the plans to have a lazy sunday family lunch and the gup-shup that followed into the sleepy noon-nap?
Of plans of having one evening free to catch up with your gal-pals?
And then - you think, you think of the changed coordinates, the new relations, the time you'ev been away for - and all this makes sense.
You go through these visits and once you are back in the foreign land, you look back and feel glad you did! :)
And you do catch up with those plans - you help mom with cooking, and blabber along all the while - what if a few rotis are a shade too dark! ;-)
You take dad along for all those mundane bank trips, and catch up during the mandatory hour long "lunch breaks" in the bank ;-)
You tug along your kid bro and sis for shopping, and then spend the evening sampling pani-puris and chats, till your parents drive down to pick you up for the next visit ! :)))
And just when you think you have juggled it all - its time to go! With a heavy heart and lingering memories, you pack your bags and head towards the airport. Your cellphone keeps on buzzing till the last minute you board the plane.
Once inside, you switch off - switch off from the world around, and make a hurried trip down the memory lane, to ensure all that happened in this whirlwind home-coming is tucked away snugly in corners of your mind, to savour it later ... till the next trip back home.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
memento
I finally happened to watch the much heard of film Memento.Its based on the central character suffering from anterograde amnesia, a condition that prevents him from forming new memories.
I won't go into explaining the story line and all that, its pretty complex to describe in few words.
What appealled me most about the film is the way it is filmed.
It gave me the same uneasy feeling, when you are trying to solve a puzzle, not a very complex one though.You know the answer is just round the corner, and if you spend some more time on it, you will crack it.
I got that feeling while watching the film. " I'll watch some more, and then I'll be able to crack this Jimmy/Teddy/Lenny mystery.." And I went on to watch the entire movie. The first and the last scenes connect if you watch the movie from start to finish (but of-course).If you miss something in between, its like a lost piece of jigsaw.
When I started watching the film, I took some time trying to figure out the meaning behind scenes in color and scenes in sepia.But when they started making sense, it was fun watching the movie.
Also, certain parts of the movie are hilarious.The character Lenny is shown running, but he is not aware why..So he goes.." Ok now - why am I running? "He sees a guy watching him through a parked car, and the guy moves as soon as he sees Lenny." Ok - so I am following this guy" - Lenny thinks.And starts running towards him, but the other guy takes out a gun." Oh well - he is following me! " Lenny thinks, before he starts running away from the guy!
While watching most of the movies, there are things happening in it, which the audience is allowed to know, but the characters in the movie are shown oblivious to it. Here, I felt equally under-informed and helpless as Lenny. This added to the fun of watching it.All you can do while watching the film is to link scenes together. And you have to wait for them.
It was a different movie experience for sure.
Do watch it for a change.
I finally happened to watch the much heard of film Memento.Its based on the central character suffering from anterograde amnesia, a condition that prevents him from forming new memories.
I won't go into explaining the story line and all that, its pretty complex to describe in few words.
What appealled me most about the film is the way it is filmed.
It gave me the same uneasy feeling, when you are trying to solve a puzzle, not a very complex one though.You know the answer is just round the corner, and if you spend some more time on it, you will crack it.
I got that feeling while watching the film. " I'll watch some more, and then I'll be able to crack this Jimmy/Teddy/Lenny mystery.." And I went on to watch the entire movie. The first and the last scenes connect if you watch the movie from start to finish (but of-course).If you miss something in between, its like a lost piece of jigsaw.
When I started watching the film, I took some time trying to figure out the meaning behind scenes in color and scenes in sepia.But when they started making sense, it was fun watching the movie.
Also, certain parts of the movie are hilarious.The character Lenny is shown running, but he is not aware why..So he goes.." Ok now - why am I running? "He sees a guy watching him through a parked car, and the guy moves as soon as he sees Lenny." Ok - so I am following this guy" - Lenny thinks.And starts running towards him, but the other guy takes out a gun." Oh well - he is following me! " Lenny thinks, before he starts running away from the guy!
While watching most of the movies, there are things happening in it, which the audience is allowed to know, but the characters in the movie are shown oblivious to it. Here, I felt equally under-informed and helpless as Lenny. This added to the fun of watching it.All you can do while watching the film is to link scenes together. And you have to wait for them.
It was a different movie experience for sure.
Do watch it for a change.
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