Slipping Away...

As the season change and the winds go stronger, I see the sand slipping away. The beach is vast and it's mine for as far as I can see. Yet, the winds of change have surprised me. They blow away the sand to a far distant land....a land beyond mine and it feels like there is nothing I can do to hold back the sand.

Everyday when I take a walk at the beach, I see some part of it fading away...far away from me. How am I dealing with it? Well I don't know.

I guess, with every walk, I add in a prayer that what's mine, stays mine. I also ponder, does it want to stay mine or has no qualms walking away to a distant, greener land. At times, I fight to withold what's slipping away but it does not seem to have an effect that I am hoping for.

I don't know how things would pan out finally, but for now I think I'm trying my best - to fight or to accept, maybe running away or let it run over me.

It seems it is just the right time to take a break away from the chaos...may be more of running away from it or assimiliating what's happening.

So very soon am embarking on this wanderlust. A sort of getaway from reality. And the days of wanderlust would also feature here. Hoping for all of this to settle down itself and in a way that I don't see my beach fading away...or the sand slipping away...

Amen....

Mesmerized...

With each breath, the chest rose and fell...

The hand splayed over it could feel the sway...

The silhouette of the pouty lips was too enticing to ignore...

With each touch of fingertips that massaged the brows...

A faint sigh echoed...

Could feel each stress knot detangle...

Could feel the caress that came back as the rejoinder...

With each strand of hair that I stroked...

Could sense the anxiety melt away...

As I sat aside & glanced back...

All I could feel was...mesmerized...



The Lights Of Hope...

Two more days to go and September would also end. This year has been a roller coaster ride for me for sure. September was no less. Quite a few unexpected things happened to my family & me. Loss of precious assets, wear & tear of several favorite accessories all in one go, a minor accident, illness of a family member to nane a few.

Especially after the last two, I kept thinking what else could go wrong? But over the weekend that is just passing by, I also realized that wherever I went, I saw these beautiful lights around me and these made me smile for sure.

I thought that while the going was not good, it wasn't all that bad either. September even had some memorable moments for me. I got to meet my hotelier friends after ages....got the news that a dear friend of mine would be changing jobs for good... woke up each day to the smiles & antics of my darling niece...got lovely gifts on daughter's day and gave family members a nice surprise too...the guy whose employee banged my car took care of the repair expenses etc etc.

When i reminisced, I realized that the incidents of this month symbolized the festival lights. On the darkest of the days, these lights represent hope, happiness and brightness in our lives. September showed me that facet. For everything that went wrong, something also became right or got corrected.

As I drove back yesterday night, I kept looking at these lights & felt hopeful. All's well that ends well. As the month culminates & the new one is just round the corner, I can sense the change in the air, the mood of the people around & myself too.

The lights of hope are ready to welcome the festival season. The joy is just round the corner and it can't wait to engulf us in its intoxicating exuberance.

May all of you be touched by these lights of hope and have a great year ahead.

Bless you all...

Shaken & Stirred...

For those of you who might be thinking that this post is about Martini...it's not.

Well this is about how a supposedly uneventful day of mine got a jolt and took a turn I had not foreseen. Life had been going on at a pace that had somewhat become mundane. And thus thought the one above… lets undo the status quo.

 Well I won’t get into the theatrics of what happened. In simple words…I got banged and I got banged hard. Actually, it was my car that got banged & that too by a dumper.

The angry piece of machine came charging at my car & despite my attempt to swerve away, the collision happened. As it rammed through the fender & the bumper, the crackling sound made me skip many heartbeats.

The dumper was so close to me that the door could not be opened & for few minutes the car got tangled with the mean machine. It took a lot of maneuvering to detangle. I almost thought that this is it and I would go away like the bumper did.

But in all of this chaos, I was fine. Safe, unhurt… I was fine.

What ensued for next few minutes was the crazy public gathering to see what was happening, cops intervening, a howling dumper driver jumping on my head & me trying to understand what just happened.

The owner of the dumper reached in some time and without any questioning, offered to pay for the damages. He sent across one of his employees along with my car for repair as well. His employee paid for the damages not getting covered through insurance, then & there.

Finally, the madness came to an end. Am happy to come out of all of this unscathed, but how do I really feel?

Shaken & stirred…

As You Turn 8...

A little birdie told me that you crossed the 8 months mark, 2 days back. So here is this write up just for you, though a little late but by chance & not by choice.

It still feels like yesterday that you suddenly sauntered into our lives and brightened the wintry mornings. And life has changed for good. Everyone whose lives you have touched can't stop thinking about you and that thought brings a smile to their faces.

You look around with your chirpy glee and everyone comes running to you, smitten by your charm. For us, the day begins with you and we don't want it to end lest you will grow up by a day.

Has anyone told you that you are magical?

You've brought life to your grandma's aging & ailing knees. You made the workaholic in me to stop thinking about work all the time. Your ma only has eyes for you. Last but not the least, your dada is crazily crazy & protective about you. I mean he is not letting me get your ears pierced...that's so unfair.

Neverthless, none of us are complaining coz we all are busy soaking in your charm every minute of the day. As you experience your many firsts, you are weaving beautiful memories for us...

How can we forget the first date with lemon or the coconut or your favorite "Mitthi - the homeopathic meds for teething" or the chicken leg piece & the list goes on.

It will take you a little more time to be able to read what has been written about you but whenever you get to see this, you should know that you are truly loved by all of us my dear. You make each of our days which are usually filled with chores and never ending madness. It's you who brings us the much needed sanctity. It's your erstwhile toothless smile & the current two teeth chuckle that makes our world a better place. It's you who makes me run back home from work hoping I might be lucky and you would be awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. And guess what.... I do get lucky at times. Nothing can match the sleepy smiles that you give when the angels are playing with you in your sleep.

I can go on & on and still I won't be short of words to describe how you have changed our lives. So all I will do is shut up.

Our dear, darling Pinka, Pinku, Mana Singh, Cheeky, Kittyparoo, Samaira, Kaddu, Nona .....here's wishing you a happy 8th month. My darling button, may God shower you with all the happiness that we can ever think of.

Signing off with loads of cuddles n tickles...See you in a few hours...

And Then I Went To Dolanji Bon Monastery...

Well once in a while, the workaholic in me decides to take a back seat and the free soul sets out to explore the unseen. I realized that it had been a year & I had not taken a break away from the daily grind. Thus, I looked for the most opportune time and set out to the mountains.

I did a bit of research and got to know that there is a Bon Monastery in Solan. Well the web only had dated information about this Monastery but it was enough to pique my interest. The visit became one of the items in my itinerary.

An Innova was hired for the day and the driver shared that the drive to Dolanji is around ninety minutes or so. And then I set out. A little excited, a little nervous about this little adventure; I was looking forward to my rendezvous. This was the first time I would have visited a Monastery.

The drive was beautiful, the weather was lovely, the rain drops kept up their pitter patter throughout the drive. Luckily the driver had an aux wire as well and thus my favourite tunes played and made the journey even more memorable.

A few kilometers before the Monastery, we crossed a bus stand and saw a monk waiting for the next bus. The driver asked him to join us as he would have helped us get to the destination. He was an old monk & I took a liking for him instantly. When we reached the last stretch of our journey, the road was more of a rubble and I realised how difficult it must be for these people to travel on a daily basis.

The monk was kind enough & agreed to show me around the Monastery. A short uphill walk brought us to the quaint little Monastery. There were classes going on & so we had to wait for some time for the prayer room to get opened. During this time, quite a few monks passed us and they exchanged few words in their language. I knew for sure that they spoke about me, actually enquired about me and all I did was smile. The old monk did all the talking on my behalf.

And then came the time to visit the main prayer hall. I had never seen anything so beautiful. The books, the idols, the gong and so much more. They lit the incense sticks in front of the Goddess' idol. The monk said.."go ahead & pray for whatever you seek".  And I did....folded my hands, closed my eyes and bowed before the Goddess. Well if it comes out to be true, then I would definitely share it here as well but only time will tell...

Since I had taken up so much of the Monk's time, I offered him my gratitude and said that I would be leaving now. He then said something that not only surprised me but also made me very happy. He said-

"You've come so far...don't you want to see the rest of the Monastery?"

My joy had no bounds and I said "Yes ofcourse I would like to see all that is there!"

He then took me around the library which has been maintained very well, explained to me about the various scriptures and books kept at the library and also showed me the seat where His Highness "The Dalai Lama" sat when he came to inaugurate the library few years back.

We walked around a bit, saw the classrooms, and other sections of the Monastery. I thanked the Monk for his generosity and decided to walk back to the car. As I walked by, I looked back to the time spent at this beautiful place...set amongst the clouds, peaceful. serene and soulful.

When I had reached there, I had the restlessness of a city soul who had been travelling for a long time without rest. But when I was going back, I had a sense of peace within me. I felt rested, calm and happy.

This visit will always be engrained in my thoughts as one of the memorable journeys I have ever undertaken. Needless to say that the drive back felt even more beautiful as we cut through the rain drops and sped towards Kasauli...

Wanna go back again....and again.....

Beating Away To Silence...

The outlier goat & I had a chat. I thought I would feel better and I did for a while. But I'm back to square one once again.

Don't know if I was happy to see that a response came after a week or sad that it took a week for the outlier to respond. It felt as good as not getting a response probably.

I don’t know whether the discussion that took place would culminate into something meaningful or not but all I want is a closure. I think I somehow managed to share across my anxieties but have they been understood is the real question. And would the goat do something about putting them to rest is what I will have to wait & look out for.

By the look of things, all I can say is that I think I’m sinking. The beat is becoming weak and seems like the line will go silent very soon. I thought that this would be different but it’s the same story getting retold with some changes.

Gosh!! Will this ever stop? If yes then when? Will the goat look out for the other goat? Want know before the beat wears out…