The Jama Masjid Diaries...

I have been meaning to write this post for almost 2 weeks but something or the other kept cropping up. Though delayed but here it is...

Being a NCR kid for over 13 years, I have had my opportunity to be in and around Purani Dilli & its bylanes - be it the Nai Sarak where I shopped for text books at discounted price or the gali Chandni Chowk where I have hogged yummy munchings with my partners in crime or the extensive shopping spree I went on during my brother's wedding or the visit to Jama Masjid during an excursion tour.

Though crowded & crazily crazy, the bylanes exude their own old world charm. Amidst all the mayhem & chaos, one checkbox was yet to be filled in these past years. Over the years, I had only heard about how alive these bylanes looked at midnight during the Eid celebrations but never got an opportunity to experience it.

Every year I thought of asking few friends to tag along with me so that I could tick this pending item from my "To Do's" list. Alas...nothing could materialize. Well they say that nothing happens before the time is right and I experienced it first hand.

Finally, this year I got the opportunity to visit this part of the city during the Eid celebrations. The rains had turned the approach road quite muddy but the most amazing part was that no one went about splashing the water, while they drove to their respective destinations.

The Sehri time felt like a celebration in itself. At 0130 hours, the bylane was so lively that I felt as if I was traversing through busy Karol Bagh at evening time. We explored a lot and finally reached our destination - "Karims".

There were seven of us and we gorged on the Sehri delicasies as if we had never eaten food and won't get the opportunity in future as well. Be it the Kebabs or the Korma or the Nihari, everything was finger licking good. Could not try out Biryani as it got over way before we reached.

What followed next is what got etched in my memory forever...

As we stepped out of the Karims, and joined the mayhem back in the lane....I saw myself surrounded by souls from different cities, countries and religions. The sea of people, right below the colorful night left a lasting impression on me. Few of them were there for the renowned food walks: some were there as part of the Eid celebrations while others like us were there to experience the energy around the celebratory fervour.

The gang took turns & clicked scores of pictures. The one close to my heart? Me looking up at the fancy trimmings, lost in my thoughts with the Jama Masjid in the backdrop.

One more down....many more to go.....

Pitter Patter...

As my heavy eyelids bid adieu to the day gone by, I see the morning pitter patter giving me a sign of what's in store once I would be awake. It's been raining for several minutes now and the sound of the splashing rain is very comforting.

For me it's a sign that change is yet again around the corner. Once I would wake up, the world would be different shade of green... A brighter hue.

Last year when I wrote about the rain drops, I had said - "it washes away the old and brings in the new". I still believe that this is what rain does. And as the showers grow stronger, a smile appears on my face.....the sleepy one...and all I can see is the haze slowly sauntering around me, engulfing me and whispering....things are about to change... 

Off I go to sleep...

The Darkest Hour...

People say that before the light dawns, the hour is the darkest or.... darker the night becomes, it means that the light is just round the corner....

Well, I have a question... the light may be just round the corner....but how the hell one steers through the dark that keeps getting worse?

If any of you have an answer...do enlighten me...

Twice...

How does it feel to lose something precious, twice...

Twice the trouble... twice the ache...

Two folds full of memories...so hard to fade...

The questions...the doubts...

You lost once... how could it happen again... you think out loud...

Is there a room for third?

Oh no... never again I swear...

I rather not have it & live only in fear....

What's the best way out?

Anything precious...just move it out...

No fear of losing... there is no doubt...

Snakes & Ladders...

Life surely feels likes a game of Snakes & Ladders right now. The only predicament is that snakes are beginning to get more active than the ladders.

Everytime I see myself coming across a ladder and happily climb it, I end up in front of a snake and there is only looking back from there. Don't know which row of the game board am I currently swinging at.... don't know if I should feel - "Atleast I came this far..." but whatever it is, am not getting the vibe that I have been looking for....

All I see are the snakes waiting at the corners and yet another slide down...

And I Said Goodbye...

Beginnings and culminations are an intrinsic feature of our lives. While beginnings excite us, a lot of us don't know how to manage when something culminates or is on the verge.

I am one such person....ouch!! The feeling of letting go has this weird effect on me. I suck at goodbyes. When I'm past a point, I don't think back or look back but reaching that point is the journey that I cringe about. 

Well it was time to set upon one such journey and trust me it's not all cake walk. Each day I question the need to say goodbye, each day I look in the mirror and ask "how do I move past this point", each day I wonder what's in store next.

And I don't know the answer to any of the zillion questions popping all around me. I wish it was as easy as for a leaf when if breaks away and just flies with the gush of wind. I wish, I could just fly past like that.

In all these past years, one thing that I have learned is that goodbyes take their own time. All that you can do is to wave back and wait for the wind to blow all over you and take you to a new direction....a new beginning...

Till then...goodbye... 

As You Turn One...

This one too is delayed by many days but better late than never...

You my dear....are the shining light in all our lives. Our day starts with you and it also ends by being around you. Everyday, their is something new about you. Be it a new garbled word that you utter or a new cherubic expression that you floor us with....

Every minute that I am away from you, I sense that I'm missing so much of you. It's you, who makes me drive back quickly from work so that I can catch a quick glimpse of you before you go off to your daily date with the angels... I fail miserably on most days though...

Every afternoon, I wait to hear your steps, coming towards me to wake me from my slumber. Nobody can think of waking me the way you do. Every time you flash that dimpled smile of yours, I part of me just lights up.

Every time you hold up your hands, looking at me with those puppy eyes and you're my only saviour expression, I can't hold myself back from melting and showering you with kisses.

I hope you know how precious you are to me, to all of us. You have changed our lives in a way that only you can manage and even a day without you being around is a day gone unfulfilled. 

So as you turn one...my dear...here's wishing for all the world's happiness to come and tickle your lovely curls, shower their lucky charm over you, may all the angels above keep a loving watch over you; may each day turn out to be happier than the day gone by; may you always be surrounded with people who love you & care for you; may you revel in the feeling that you are dearly loved.

Happy one... my honey bun, sugar plum....