Music, a heartfelt note/appreciation, children with their trusting innocence

I would have stolen an existing idea and made it my own. There is this blog I follow called 'Three Beautiful Things,' and more often than not, its about simple things. Beauty around us, in the mundane. A sleeping child, the splendid brown of a freshly baked cake, the froth on a cup of coffee, soft colorful clay, a freshly washed white shirt. You get it, I am sure. Without meaning to plagiarize, I started writing about the things which make everything seem fine.

Music most definitely works always. You need to pick that right piece of music and suddenly out of nowhere, you can have your own pocketful of sunshine (that was my favorite song for the longest time). Like in so many of my posts, this will be about nothing so in case you are reading this, do not expect enlightenment at the end of this. I am really just trying to dust away the rust, and trying real hard to get back to writing. So be nice appreciate the effort and reserve the criticism for later :)

A heartfelt note, in our digital age we don't get these anymore. But if something of this kind does happen to pay a visit to our inbox; it does feel pretty good. If you happen to have a particularly lucky streak then you might get that unexpected note of appreciation and oh what a feeling. Tells you, you did something, someone noticed and decided to give you a pat on your back. Aren't we all about doing stuff to get noticed and instant gratification. Think a certain social network and our efforts to be leading an enviable life. 

Finally, a child walking up to you with their toys to help them with their Lego, a child you have never met before, but who trusts you suddenly more than his parents. A child who sits next to you, and trusts you to put food in their mouth and help them finish before mommy gets back. Ah that innocence, doesn't that take your breath away. Makes one feel, at what point did we lose that child in us...

I came across this poem, and it was too good to not share.
  

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size 
But when I start to tell them, 
They think I'm telling lies. 
I say, 
It's in the reach of my arms, 
The span of my hips, 
The stride of my step, 
The curl of my lips. 
I'm a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That's me. 
 

I walk into a room 
Just as cool as you please, 
And to a man, 
The fellows stand or 
Fall down on their knees. 
Then they swarm around me, 
A hive of honey bees. 
I say, 
It's the fire in my eyes, 
And the flash of my teeth, 
the swing in my waist, 
And the joy in my feet. 
I'm a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That's me. 
 

Men themselves have wondered 
what they see in me. 
They try so much 
But they can't touch 
My inner mystery. 
When I try to show them, 
They say they still can't see. 
I say, 
It's in the arch of my back, 
The sun of my smile, 
The ride of my breasts, 
The grace of my style. 
I'm a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That's me. 
 

Now you understand 
just why my head's not bowed. 
I don't shout or jump about 
Or have to talk real loud. 
When you see me passing, 
It ought to make you proud. 
I say, 
It's in the click of my heels, 
The bend of my hair, 
the palm of my hand, 
the need for my care. 
'Cause I'm a woman 
Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman, 
That's me.

                     -- Maya Angelou

A reason, season or lifetime

Most of us have heard this, more often than we would like to acknowledge. Increasingly I have come to realize this. The realization is a bit unnerving at some level, but also comforting cause you stop pushing yourself. May be the series of goodbyes I have had to say this year, is to be blamed for this moment of clarity. 

I've always been the kinds to keep a few friends, but real close ones at that. The thought of them going away for work/study or any other reason, has always been kinda unwelcome. Not that I am against change only as long as it doesn't change the canvas of my life too much. Yea Im somewhat set in my ways. Sides, its that sinking feeling, which is momentary though (thank God for little mercies) but its like So this is it. That's what I dread the most.

I have been lucky to meet and interact with some real nice people, seriously funny, sharp, good looking, witty, motivated, focused and still fun.. and more, and with each one of them I have cherished the time spent. Its when they got busy with their lives, is when I truly realized that not everyone is here for a lifetime. 

A bunch of people I traveled with, for work, stayed and had quite a bit of fun, all made for good company. And now its been over 2 may be 3 years that I haven't spoken to a single one of them. It felt strange at first, cause I did try hard to stay in touch, but realized that they were there for a season. When all of us needed each others company and the comfort there in. That in our respective lives, the way we were, we could have never been friends for long, may be just acquaintances. 

Some people I met (virtually) and at the time it seemed like just a passing acquaintance, but these same people form very vital pillars of my life. Its like having a pen pal (very Old school I know, in this perpetually connected digital age), who you're never sure of meeting in person, nonetheless their presence is important. Specially on one of those particularly pensive days. They bring the cheer with music/pics/random gossip or just feel good talk. So they're there for a reason, but I'd like it if the reasons never end, so I can bank on the friendships for good for long.

At college, I was quite blunt in expressing that I'd perhaps never really make an effort to keep in touch with any of my classmates. And to my own utter surprise, not only do we keep in touch, but could easily be the best of pals. So I know for sure these people are here to stay. Then my bunch of friends at work, most of whom have moved on with their lives. I'd have never given credit to how deep our bonds really were, but only now do I realize that these friendships were not seasonal, but will hopefully last a lifetime. All the people I met along the way, at work and outside. The contours of our lives might be constantly changing, but we would always find a way back to connect somehow....or so I hope. Cause I really believe that these folks are for a lifetime.

Finally, the people I have tried the hardest to hold on, slipped away with time and years. Losing in the crowd, memories gradually fading away, sucked up by the chaos called life. I am not quite sure about this part, the why and the how. Were they here for a reason, that I can't fathom, or a season called good times.......who can say!

All Things Money can(t) Buy


Ok this might sound like a Mastercard advert. But I will try my best to not make it sound like one.


This somebody I'd like to call pseudo Kate Middleton has been bragging about her rather grand wedding plans. I have been forced to absorb a lot, we share our bay (quite a bit of luck there), my poor ears and subsequently senses have been tortured quite a bit. My brain feels like scrambled egg at the verge of getting totally charred due to overheating.  Why did I choose Kate Middleton,
well first she was Not a blue blood, second several thousand people watched her getting married, third, there was such a fuss about her marriage, it was made out to be THE wedding of the decade.  


I don't plan to give you a download of the sensory overdose I was subjected to, but it sure got me thinking. All things money can or cannot buy:


A real nice top of the line car, the most latest model in a color of your choice. It has to have the best music system fitted in, cause whats a drive without music. What about a wonderfully company who hums along with the music in the car, in a voice so good that it makes your heart take flight.


A princess like well planned trousseau, grand celebrations, swarovskis and diamonds, a pricey photographer, exotic locations, guests being flown from beyond the pacific, and the works. What about the knight in shining armour all those classic literature books would have us believe? Forget the shining armour, but at least just the right guy. 


A villa to call home, fill it with some staff members to maintain the property and a dog to keep the staff busy. What about some people in it, to drown the deafening silence?


Wonderful holiday destinations, breathtakingly beautiful photographs, picture perfect moments captured to a T, what about the priceless memories with some loved ones, which are beyond SLR abilities?


Gadgets, places, things and more...... I wanna be a billionaire so freaking bad, buy all of the things I never had!

The Magic of Print

An otherwise slow moving Sunday, was made quite delightful I realized, yet again by all forms of printed media. Technology has come a long way in giving us company, and keeping the tech savvy hungry for more. It has filled our days with easily accessible information, friends (just a ping away), music from all parts of the world, classics long lost, movies and everything I might be missing here. Digital media has taken over our lives in a big way. News, books, advertising (my favourite :P) and what not. 

Still, print media hasn't lost its charm, I'm speaking for myself here. I was never fond of crushed papers, or old books in tattered condition. Though I do agree they have their own place in a book lovers life. Back to my Sunday experience, like I said a slow moving day. It was raining (again). Yes rain has started figuring too often in my posts, but rainy season is almost here. So just can't avoid mentioning and romanticizing the same. 

Don't rains just naturally bring out the sleepy poet in you?....( most often they do, for me again)

Rains outside, steaming cup of coffee along with a book I have been meaning to read for a while now. Songs of Blood & Sword (Fatima Bhutto). Okay the weather and the title of the book were two extremes in themselves. Anyway, I can read articles, blogs, this and that on my system, but I just can't bring myself to read a complete book in any other form, than as a hard bound or paper back, printed copy. There's just something extremely engaging about it. After pouring over the editorials of the Sunday paper (they have diluted over the years, but still worth a read), over a 100 odd pages of Fatima Bhutto, at a stretch. The experience was something else. I were to put it in simple words, a Sunday well spent. 

I have friends who would call my inflexibility a mental block, and I do give full points to them for having taken to the digital medium seamlessly. As for me, I keep getting back to the printed medium and falling in love with it all over again. 

Speaking of which, more on Songs of Blood & Sword in another post.

The most fragile 'F' word

It wavers more than a dried leaf on a dead branch. The leaf has the excuse of being almost at the brink of dear life. It has lived its time, it has seen its spring and in the winter of life it gives away slowly the color and charm of youth. In the winter of its life, it withers away when the wind tugs at its base. 


But what about us or is it just me?  


Faith, I find is more fragile than that leaf. More delicate than the petal of a flower. Difficult to have, tough to hold on to, very very easy to let go. They say its about the choices you make, the decisions you take. Whats there to choose? Everything... I know. To be or not be, to keep the faith or just let it go. 


Doubts are like raging bulls, hovering clouds, in your head, or all around. Grey, dark, relentless. Then how do you keep them at bay? Find an anchor, God help you with that. Its easy to write off people, relations, situations and intent.

I try a bit everyday, almost invariably unsuccessfully, but I hope to get there someday, to keep the faith from shaking, to keep the belief from breaking. Faith not just in the divine, but in those I know, in the ones to keep, in the ones to let go, in all things pure, in the human heart...

A little something,


I have been trying learn something important, from every experience big and small, lately. Trying to be more aware, and conscious of life, mine and around me. I was talking to mom, and she shared some trivia with me, you could call it a fact or a story. Either way, I found it lovely, and couldn't resist sharing it. Disappointments and failures pull us down, and we forget to realize our true potential. 


We forget that the obstacles are part of existence, not existence itself. 


I don't mean to sound preachy, though it is fun to step in to the shoes of one, every once in a while, but now is not the time. 


Coming back to what mom told me....


In order to control an elephant, its young one, the baby elephant, is tied by big strong ropes, to the trunk of a tree by a mahout. No matter how hard it tries, it isn't able to pull the tree down, and there it stays trapped in the big thick ropes tied to its legs. As it grows up, the rope becomes thinner and finer. No longer as thick, heavy and overpowering. Over time it reduces to being just a string, much like dental floss (okay that be might an exaggeration, but you get the point). But by then, the elephant, now much bigger and stronger, gets so conditioned to the ropes and staying tied to the spot, that it pretty much stops trying. There ain't no tree that the beast of the jungle can't pull down, but it just stops trying, without realizing its immense potential. 


That's life for us!

Little things that make your day :)


These totally deserve a post. Things which have unnerved me, have sure found a lot of space on my blog, but the nicer moments and experiences are few and far in between. So yet again, an attempt at a feel good post :)


I realized I am all about the little joys and moments, which suddenly brighten up your day, just like that. When you're least expecting it, some act of kindness, love, friendship, or just a gesture. You carry that experience all day long, making you smile when no ones looking or just feel happy. Yea thats the purest emotion, or so I think. 


When you come to your workstation, and find a note in a familiar hand, just saying 'where are you?' makes you feel some one came looking for you. A sudden call from a friend, who you haven't met or spoken to in ages, the quick catch up leaving you feeling a lot lighter inside. A card left at the back seat of the car or a handwritten note, all to appreciate & celebrate you. Lovely bookmarks brought back by a friend from foreign travels, acknowledging your love for books, a sudden email from a friend from afar, to say 'thanks, for touching their lives, with your thoughtful gesture.' An aerial ride over a city, arranged specially for you, a meal cooked just, cause you were missing mom and home food. Not to forget, compliments out of the blue, from unexpected quarters. These include all of your kind comments on my blog. 


Countless such priceless moments, that I can go on and on about.. 


Oh yeah and I want to add here, I have got hooked to reading a lot of blogs lately, some of them truly make me smile. I can so relate and connect to all the lovely people writing so beautifully about an otherwise regular day. So you too my dear bloggers, give me reasons to smile and carry around a feeling of happiness and belonging throughout the day.