Thursday, September 15, 2011

The Only Link Now........

This was Babuchetten's last sms to me :

"Never blame any day in your life..
Good days give you happiness,
Bad days give you experience,
And worst days give you a lesson…”


It ended with his signature line :
“Good morning and have a great day!”.

And then  he left without even saying a good bye...

I wonder how many' good days' he has seen in his life! Certainly not many . Born with the proverbial silver spoon in the mouth, he was soon thrown out of that comfort zone when fate cruelly snatched away his father. Growing up in a joint family with a widowed mother , that too in the shadow of an almost perfect sister must have been tough for this intelligent but rebellious boy. And it showed in more ways than one. Dropped out of college ,gave up a well paying bank job and did all that we would shudder to even think of. He couldn’t careless, not for him the so-called social norms. In that process he rubbed many people on the wrong side.
But ,for some of us at least , Babuchetten was affection personified. All that he had stored up in his heart were showered generously on my two sisters and my niece .( He was always at logger heads with me ,often bullying me to tears)Perhaps even the gods must have been moved by his extravagant emotions and so gave him a daughter. He doted on her, lived and breathed for her. Everything was picture perfect for him, or so he thought till things started falling apart. He put on a brave front as usual. Never complained. But the pain and agony took its toll . It looks as though he lost the will to live and gave up!
Many images are flashing through my mind... that naughty teasing smile, his trade mark habit of twisting a strand of hair at the top of the head with the forefinger whenever he is in a thoughtful mood, the defensive stammer when confronted….
Memories ,however sad,is our only link to you now, dear brother ! We will treasure them. You will forever live in our hearts ! 



Friday, August 5, 2011

Gift of July !


      A grandmother all over again and enjoying every moment of it !

Saturday, June 4, 2011

कोई लौटा दे मेरे बीते हुए दिन....


Sun shine or rains, schools reopened on June 1st. These girls are ready for the new session with brand new uniforms ,bags and books. Nostalgia ! Nostalgia !  कोई लौटा दे मेरे बीते हुए दिन....

Friday, May 13, 2011

What I Enjoyed Most about Bangaluru!



The changing face of the city.Ever expanding. Like a mother’s bosom…willing to embrace whoever comes within her fold.

Catching up with relatives and old friends. That was what originally the holiday was meant to be. But it turned out to be much more than that..



A totally unexpected darshan of Shree Shree Ravishankar in his ashram….. the ever so gentle, ever smiling Guruji of millions. He surveyed the scene with a sweeping glance that does not miss a single detail as he stepped into the hall where all devotees were waiting. Then as the devotees bow down one by one, he has a nod, a smile, a kind enquiry, an encouraging remark for each one….and a blessing with the touch of a rose..



The delicious mango curry prepared by my sister-in-law……










And meeting him in the crowded Commercial Street ! He was there,in his impeccable white suit,red tie and the poker face all intact ! That famous “couldn’t careless” look ! I swooped down on him . “55 rupees ,ma’am,” said the shop keeper. I handed over the money .Took home my own Zu Zu ,dangling on a key chain !

Silly ? Childish ? Who knows ? And who cares ?

An unforgettable holiday !


The Original Jhumkaas !

Saturday, April 16, 2011

What to expect in Ajmeer & Pushkar .

The Dargah Shariff of Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chisty,although a bit dirty,over crowded, with pick-pocketeers roaming around.

The Brahma temple at Pushkar , the only one in the world dedicated to Lord Brahma with guides telling all sorts of cooked up stories, and a most unimaginative temple structure .


Colourful shops which has nothing much to offer unlike other cities of Rajasthan.



The cafeteria at the railway station. They have an interesting menu to offer.



Enjoy the trip. We did !

Monday, April 4, 2011

God’s own country ?

The euphoria is still on…..India is shining in the true sense. I am talking about the World Cup . The entire nation kept waiting till mid night – nails biting,,,,cursing Mallinga… crying for Sehwag and Sachin. Feeling sorry for Gambhir…. Till finally our men snatched the cup from right under Sri Lanka’s nose…..The hysteria still hasn’t died down. Gifts and appreciation for our team are pouring in from every corner of the country.

While one state is sleeping……

Remember how we forgot to recommend Resul Pookutty for a Padma award ? Pookutty made the country proud by winning Oscar in sound-mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire

Remember the Sandeep Unnikrishnan fiasco ? Maj Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Ashok Chakra who was killed at the NSG operations at the Taj during 26/11 while trying to rescue two injured colleagues. The whole world watched with horror, as well armed terrorists were shooting down innocent people and our men were trying to put up a brave front. No less than an actual war.

“Do not come up, I will handle them.” were probably the last words which Major Unnikrishnan told his men as he was hit by bullets while engaging the terrorists inside the Taj Hotel and later succumbed to his injuries.

The Kerala government did not send any representative to attend Major Unnikrishnan's funeral. The Chief Minister took his own sweet time ( after much criticicm in the media) and visited Sandeep’s parents and received a well deserved welcome .

The same fate awaited Sri Santh who came home after the World Cup. No announcement of a gift for him ( leave alone other players ) from our government….because our government has other things to worry about.

Our heroes can wait……They better wait. After all they have the privilege of belonging to God’s Own Country , don’t they ?

Some privilege ,indeed !