an Ode to my 'Sandals'!

all of today my mind kept wandering. sensing something amiss. maybe someone's birthday or anniversary or wedding or due date or launch or...phew! checked both my phones, my online diary. even logged onto FB after a week almost just so that i get some clue as to know why exactly this date seemed to linger on. nothing rushed to my rescue. then read an unexpected line in an unexpected mail from an unexpected sender and it all fell in place magically. "dimaag ki batti jal gayi" moment happened! :-)

i love 5th may just as much i love 10th april just as much i love hundred other dates etched in my memory for all sorts of reasons. one of those 'perfect' days full of 'perfect' moments. (not that the perfectness of it matters to me much. i love imperfections as much more often than not in people, places, preferences, situations. it keeps my interest alive! ;-) 

one of the several perfectly magical moments i was blessed with that day is posted below. i cherish this pic a lot would surely be an 'understatement'!

photograph by Parag Mahale (May'09)

one of my adorable blogger friends - Mrs. Suranga Date, spotted this one on my profile more than a month back and penned a soulful ode to my sandals. the satire on her blog is something i look forward to always for all the tongue-in-cheek humour and insight she unfailingly provides with every post. you can't imagine just HOW surprised and full of glee i was when i read the verse :-) :-) have a look pretty please!

Some sandals 
stick to the owner
everywhere,
absorbing every cut,
pokey stone,
lash of cow dung
and wet mud,
but
keeping the feet
clean,
unfeeling,
and the person
devoid of nerves...

But some,
like a good friend,
share the heat of the road
on a summer afternoon,
the stumble across
an innocent pebble,
inadvertent puddle thumps,
the little scratches
of stuff in the sand,
and stand
patiently aside,
encouraging and waiting,
as you decide to get your feet wet
in some new waters
once again...
And when a
particularly big wave
of something arrives,
and you run back,
they remain,
overcome by the foam,
but bravely facing up,
faithfully waiting for you....
- Suranga Date 

and here's the link to it on her blog of poems. all of them are inspired by a broad spectrum of moments captured by different people. hope you enjoy them as much as i do! :-)

October-November-December!

all those who know me well, know just HOW MUCH since childhood i love this quarter of the year. and no, it is not just for all the festivals, the onset of winter, gifts, birthdays of my favourite people or the new year. it is all that and so much more. i completely transform into this state of being chirpier and happier. this quarter has always held for me in life, the promise of something/someone better. though last year was an exception, except for the beginning of my photography affair!

am madly, deeply in love again after a very long time; with myself, my lovely home, my plants, cooking, some extremely wonderful friends and family who have stood by me through thick and thin, my crazy pursuits, my work, my dreams. life itself! i feel like i am the lead actor of the story/film on my life, thoroughly enjoying the performance and looking forward to the script/drama/music every single day i wake up. and i do not care as of this very moment exactly 'who' the audience is as long as i am having a gala time!

and yes, the 'bucket-list' is getting quite exciting and longer day by day. two words which define my contentment with the world in general and myself in particular today: space and pace. if these 2 things are in place, nothing could go wrong with any quarter of the year, right? ;-)

oh november! where art thou?

anticipating much,
k

choices

life is full of choices galore. happy. sad. good. bad. crazy. fun. serious. dumb.

even when we are supposedly in our darkest of moments, it is only because we tend to forget we really have a choice!

i have only a faint idea about what all changed in last 15 days. i am feeling so much more lighter n happier in my head n heart after speaking to 2 of my dearest friends. am glad i have them back in my life. one friend, i took an effort to reach out to and another friend, reached out to me now that his memories are coming back slowly :) :)

as if all the worries and tensions of last 2 months suddenly got wiped away on hearing his voice, 'kalluuuu', taunts, laughter, musings, ramblings on phone for all of 45 minutes. 'happiness' is an understatement. i still don't know if he's going to be fully alright. i will continue to have faith in his doctors, medicines and the divine power above us :)

life becomes so much more easier and smooth when you choose to accept the reality and get on with life. at least now i know that i can reach out to him. that thought certainly reassures and how.

and yes, a lot of things are turning out in my favour without even wishing or praying for them once. never really sat and visualized about this life till i actually started living it. and it has sure been one crazy roller-coaster ride so far. touchwood. i sure don't want to get off it for a long long time to come. my one choice 6 months back has led to a plethora of choices for me.

thank god for everything, everyone. and thank god for all that i do not have and all those i could not have in my life too. all the 'NO's led me towards where i stand, and breathe free and independent today.

aah. i choose to remain blessed for now! ;)

काही तरी जुळून येतय...

सकाळ पासून हुरहूर आहे मनात
कि काही तरी जुळून येतय
चित्र अद्याप इतकं स्पष्ट नाहीये
पण काही तरी जुळून येतय

:o)

probably

5.45 am and i am still wide awake. all set to welcome the first morning of this busy week probably.

the 'bad' that i was dreading to happen, happened last month to my best friend. the only person who once dared to compete with me in 'talking' much, who admitted he just can't match my skills and always declared me a winner in the talking category will probably never talk to me ever!

he has had his revenge i guess. he never thought he could manage to stop me from talking. he never thought i would be short for words ever. he never thought i could do anything but be his ever smiling, happy, encouraging, loving, talkative, sunshine girl.

today am speechless. not because of him but because of what has happened to him, his life. i am in no mood to fight with god for god knows best. he favours some. my friend and i are..were of the firm opinion that god has always been partial to special kids like us since childhood. we are who we are today because of those favours probably. time n again god tests our patience, love n faith, willingness to forgive n forget, desire to live, dream, do good. we have become only better at facing these tests and passing out with flying colours!

but my hold onto faith is not as tight as it used to be, the selfish friend in me realizes today. i have lost my best friend to something even worse than death, over and above a dozen others i have lost in last 2 years. the only person who gave me so much space in our friendship, has entered some unknown space himself where he does not remember the existence of anybody in his life of past 15 years.

i have only some heart-warming, crazy memories of time spent with him and all my insecurities to live by now.

बिछडे सभी बारी बारी...

am too scared these days to make new friends or to trust or to get attached or to get close to. they leave or they change or they pretend to change or they take away my close friends from me or they do things they think will be best for me without realizing that sometimes things can backfire for worse!..or sometimes god takes them away from me!

am too scared these days of losing the only close friend i have today besides my precious sister.

but i do not want to end this post on a sad note. last night i finally managed to see a wonderful movie i have been wanting to for some time. it features a song very close to my heart. it talks about 'hope'.

कहानी ख़त्म है, या शुरुवात होने को है

सुबह नयी है यह, या फिर रात होने को है

आने वाला वक़्त देगा पनाहें,

या फिर से मिलेंगे दो राहें,

खबर क्या, क्या पता...