Letter Game ~ " L "

You're supposed to be tagged for this game, but since I volunteered to be it and asked for a letter, Scarlet assigned one to me. Thanks, my friend. :) (If you would like to play, leave a comment on this post SAYING THAT YOU WANT TO PLAY and I will assign you a letter. Then post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter on your blog. Explain the rules with your ten things and when others comment requesting a letter, assign one to them; thus, the chain continues.)...I posted the photographs with the things, but they are completely optional...! Have fun..!

I was given letter ~ "L", so here I go with the things I love with this letter ~

1. Light ! ~ absolutely love watching it's play with different things, different situations ~ at different times of the day...

2. Leaves ~ Their forms, colours, movement…especially in spring and autumn ~

3. Letters ~ receiving and writing, especially the postal ones. In today's world of e-mails its just something else to receive a letter in a person's own handwriting. Adds so much of warmth and personal touch.

4. Long exposure shots ~ love the unpredictability of the way the trails will be formed as per the unpredictable movement of the light source...

5. Limes ~ oranges and lemons ~ Love their vibrant colours and freshness








6. Liquor chocholates ~ mmm :)


7. Long drives on breezy nights with soulful music…


8. Living loose ~ mentally and physically




9. Lilies ~ specially white ones !

10. Lip gloss ! ~ I dont think I can step out of my house without it !

And last but not the least ~

11. Life ~ Its quality of how in even the worst of struggles, it always holds a hope for a better situation...

Wish I could have said “Love” in this list ~ but I don’t think I know it that well to have justified writing it here…but I do hope that someday when I am on my death bed and someone asks me 10 things I love with “L”... :) I would be able to justify saying ~ “Love” then… :)

Staring into time...

Thats my grandfather. He's 86 and still going reasonably strong ~ In the spirit that is. Though he's not strong enough physically to walk much, every evening he sits in the parking of our apartments and keeps gazing at the street ~ at people coming, going, children playing, shouting, laughing. Every day when I return from work he's sitting there. When people moving around him dont even have a moment to stop and look at him gazing into the spaces of life, wonder what goes in his mind ~ Does he think of his childhood ? His youth ? The good and and bad experiences of life ? His realized and unrealized dreams ? The calculations of gain and loss of life...?

As I take a moment to stop and be in this moment with him, without him being aware of it, a thought suddenly comes to my mind ~ What would I be doing when I will be so old ? Would I be happy with the way I have lived? Would I have any regrets? Sitting like this then, would I be at peace with myself ? And then the decision comes ~ I will live my life in a way that at a time when all I will be able to do is gaze into space and time, and do calculations of my gain and loss ~ I would be able to say ~ Who cares about the gains and losses ! I have lived this life as it should have been lived ~ fully, truly and soulfully and that is all that matters... the silence inside me would not matter then, because I would have heard and played the music of LIFE...

When the music's over, turn off the light...

Tea and music ~




...an unbeatable symphony.

Soft lights,
Solitude of the night,
Soaking in the feel of
Eddie Rabbit singing ~
"I love a rainy night..."

Beatles singing ~
"All you need is love..love is all you need"
Agreed. But where do you find it..?!?

And then~

"Hey, Jude, dont make it bad, take a sad song and make it better....
And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain,
Dont carry the world upon your shoulder..."

One more round of tea hearing to the mushy, velvety voice of Norah Jones humming~

"Money's just something you throw, Off the back of a train,
Got a handful of lightening, A hat full of rain,
And I know that I said I'd never do it again,
And I love you sweet baby... but I always take the long way home"

And then Don williams ~

"I dont believe in heaven waits for only those who congregate
I'd like to think that God is love,
He's down below, he's up-above
He's watching people everywhere, he knows who does and doesnt care
And I'm an ordinary man, sometimes I wonder who I am...
But I believe in love, i belive in music, i belive in magic... and i believe in you...."

Yes, I believe in music..I believe in music...After a long..long time, music happy again...and a voice inside sings along with the soulful Doors~

"When the music's over, turn off the light...
Music is your special friend, dance on fire, it intends,
Music is your only friend ~ until the end......"

Getting tingled in the soul and riding on a high of music.......Time for another tea......!

A simple act of love...

Valentine day just went by...a day when everyone thinks about love and ways to show their affection for their loved ones. Most of my couple/married friends had elaborate plans ~ movies & shopping with their partners, dining at fancy restaurants, buying and giving expensive gifts, perfules, diamonds, flowers, soft toys, heart shaped stuff, chochlolates etc, etc. At times I feel the basic concept of Valentine's day had got lost in all the galm and glitz that goes around it. Small significant acts speak much more than all this splurging of money to show that you care.

What I did and felt on this day is another story, but something that my dad did yesterday touched me and made me reconsider my present shaky stand on love. My dad is a very simple person, who though a very warm hearted and loving person is not very used to displaying his affection openly. This year for the first time in 22 years of my parents' married life, he got a rose for mom for valentine's day! He came back from work on his usual time, he got the medicines that mom had asked for, and got a pink rose, which without any ado he handed it to mom, wished her a happy valentine day.

It was a beautiful pink rose, mom was quite suprised and very happy, mainly because it was completely unexpected and also because after all these years of marriage, dad took this effort to display his affection with something that he knows mom loves a lot. This act was even more significant because doing something like this is quite out of his natural behaviour, but still he did it.

The simple pink rose is standing gracefully on our dining table and everytime I pass from there I am reminded of the happiness on mom's face when she received the rose and the simple, child-like pride on dad's face to see mom happy.

This small episode between of Valentine's day between my dad and mom touched my heart and made me re-realise the importance of simplicity things in life...

Call of the pink

Staring at me from the grey,
The pink of life
Says to me ~
"There will be an answer,
Just let it be..
Take off your old stuffy clothes,
And paint yourself with some colour from me..."

I think ~ maybe I should not resist...

Six random things

Scarlet tagged me in this game of 6 random things about oneself…Its interesting and I am game for it...So, here I go first posting the rules and then the writing 6 random things about myself (Actually I broke the rule and went ahead to write 7 things...but I’m sure nobody will mind :))…

Here are the rules ~

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Some things about myself ~

1. I can relate myself with a river ~ have never been able to stay in one place, one thing or one situation for long ~ love it and hate it!

2. I am a bundle of contradictions ~ I love the rains and the sunshine, partying and meditation, simplicity and style, rock and country music… luxuries and roughing it out…. the list goes on...!

3. I am unbelievably bad at handling my finances, tax returns and stuff like, to the extent that I don’t even remember my total salary package….which infuriates my sister, who is a banker! And I don’t really care for money, but love the things money can buy..! :)

4. One of my aims for my life is that I want to be able to play one musical instrument really well before I die ~ working on flute and guitar ~ On a highly positive note, I will end up learning both of them really well ! :)

5. I simply love green chilies and nobody else in my family does. But when I cook I cant help but be generous with the use of green chillies… and those days we run short of dessert..!

6. My childhood was spent in Kashmir (a beautiful hilly place in India which is known as the ‘Switzerland of India’). We had fields of roses behind our house and our garden had bushes of huge white snowball flowers…vivid memories of those days still bring the smell of that air to me…

7. I have learnt that things change, people change, situations change, but life has to move on…acceptance and letting things be is better than resistance. (well, actually am in the process of learning it…)

Now I tag ~

Chandan

NRkey Menon

Om

Archana

Pink dogwood

Sharanya

Do let me now when your entry is up...will love to read about you.......

New Year 2009 ~ Most unforgettable beginning till date…

My dad had been in the hospital since the last few days...to be precise, since 31st December. We had plans for partying on the New Year’s eve…My parents had their party on our terrace and me and my sister had friends coming over for a cocktail dance party at her place. A huge fresh strawberry cake had been ordered for us, recipes for cocktails downloaded from internet and starters and main course food had been ordered.

But God had some other plans for our New Year eve..! Dad suddenly got ill on 31st evening and had to be admitted in the hospital immediately. Dad was completely well earlier with no sign of any kind of sickness. So this hospital episode caught all of us completely unaware…! The parties were cancelled, food order cancelled, everyone was informed about this sudden mishap..

And our New Year eve was spent in the hospital room by dad’s bedside, looking over him. At the strike of midnight, we quietly raised a toast to his health with glasses of water and welcomed the New Year 2009…

The first day of the New Year and the first week were spent at the hospital ~ taking care of dad, meeting the doctors, discussing medicines, buying medicines…

Dad is fine now and has come home today. After spending 5 nights at the hospital, today I, Vibha (my sister) and Sunny (my sister’s husband) will be finally sleeping at home !

All these days Mom, me, Vibha, Sunny ~ were literally living in the hospital. But the amazingly thing is none of us felt any strain or stress of the situation. Reason ~ We all were there with each other giving mental, physical and emotional support to each other.

With this, the stressful time turned out to be an opportunity when all of us realized how important a family is and what a huge difference it makes to have someone by your side in difficult times.

These days at the hospital turned out to be a bonding time for all of us, when we all had willingly cancelled all our individual commitments, plans and activities to be there at the hospital to be a support to each other. When none of us cared about our personal comfort, or personal preference. All that mattered was dad should get fine and till that happens, we all should be there with each other, for each other.

There was so much warmth, love and selflessness in those days at the hospital that it went a long way in reinforcing our relationships with each other and also in dissolving the minor differences which seep-in at times if not checked. This togetherness in tough times rejuvenated and our belief and love for each other.

So the New Year which seemed to have started on a bad note, actually started off with a beautiful beginning. and turned out to be the most unforgettable New Year till date.
Had this mishap not happened mom and dad would have been enjoying in their party with their friends and me, Vibha and Sunny would have been enjoying in our party with our friends….

But God had some other plans for our New Year eve..! He wanted us to share that splendid strawberry cake in the hospital room, surrounded by the warmth of love and not on the dance floor in the flowings of cocktails and loud music…. He wanted us all to welcome the New Year together, in the right way, with the right spirit…

And as this New Year began with this positive note, I want to make a new year resolution, that this year I will take special efforts to make everyone who matters to me happy, and make them know how special they are to me…. Heres wishing whoever reading this post a wonderful new year of love, peace and togetherness......

A couple of pics from the hospital days ~

That's mom, dad, Vibha and Sunny in the pic...and me behind the cam...

Dad and Sunny....Dad is evidently trying in vain to suppress his smile at being photographed :)