'West View' - My all time favourite home!

My great grand father and my great grand mother built a house in the year 1942. They named it “WEST VIEW”, we are still trying to figure out why they gave an english name to it, though this name has already made a special place in our hearts.
Indeed one of the most beautifully crafted houses that I have ever seen in my life. It’s more than 65 years old today. It has a huge courtyard around it, though my father tells me that it was even bigger around 25 years ago, some area around the edge had to be given the government for road widening. The courtyard even after widening offers a well around 35 feet deep, trees of Mango, Peru, Papaya, blue berry, mulberry among fruits and other trees like Ashoka, Gulmohar surrounding it!
To me till date it has been a treasure land, I was always amazed by the fact that I had a home like no one else had!! All my friends shook their head in disbelief when I described my house to them. They experienced the richness of such houses only at their native place. I was the only one who shared a lovely huge ‘old world charm’ kind of mansion located right amidst the buzzing city life!
I stayed there for the first eight years of my life, and then I shifted with my parents & my brother to my father’s company quarters. But we visited our old home almost everyday. It wasn’t far away. In vacations I and my brother would spend most of our time there. My grandparents always insisted that we all cousins stay with them in vacations. We had a gala time, getting pampered by our grandparents, getting to eat all the fruits which were very much grown in our courtyard itself. I never remember wearing chappals while playing in the courtyard, though it was rough! Playing chor police, treasure hunt, lagori, dabba aispais, thikkar, carom and cards kept us busy. The courtyard was layered with cow dung in the morning; my grandparents along with others followed this chore every Sunday. It was followed by breakfast of delicious Kanda Poha! The fragrance of the cow dung (maybe there are a few people who hate it, but I love it) was really freshening! And believe me it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it’s rather a piece of skill! Every tree had a fencing of bricks around it. The bricks were painted with reddish brown colour (geru) and rangoli was drawn around it! The well never went dry or even close to getting dry; we used the water for washing clothes, utensils and a lot of times on a Sunday, a great plan to swim in the well would be made. Some would prefer to be spectators. I was one of them. I loved the splash of water on my face when anyone jumped in the well! Some of the fat ones who jumped were always teased due to the volume of water splashed by them! After a nice swim, all of us were more than ready for a wonderful lunch comprising of aamras (mango pulp) and hot round purees!! Wow!! My mouth is watering even when I am writing this. Those times were about togetherness, fun and carefree souls!!
After we grow up everything seems to change, and though we keep feeling bad for it, we happen to be helpless!
The house is still the same even today, looks deserted in a weird way, as if it’s sad though. The trees have almost stopped bearing fruits, because there is no excited eager bunch of kids who want to eat them. The courtyard is not layered with cow dung in ages! My parents did their best to make it look like it used to look back then for my wedding in November 07. It looked really stunning, as if the house was peeping out hard and whispering to us, “I can look beautiful again!”
Now our salient home is about to be demolished and a new tower is going to rise in its place. Though this truth is too disheartening and disturbing to face, it’s also very necessary considering other factors. So this post is my little way to thank my great grand parents, who built such a breathtaking house and to my grand parents and parents who nurtured it to the best of their abilities, till it was in their hand.
But the thought that our generation didn’t do anything about it will always make me restless forever.

Dada

Yesterday while peeking into a photo album I saw a picture of my grandfather “Dada” (that’s what we all call him).In the photo Dada was smiling, the smile was saying ‘I know everything’. It was a smile of an old man who knew he was going to die, though he never left hope.
My mind was not moving ahead with the next pictures, that photo was so mesmerizing that I couldn’t help thinking about him. Since he has died, I have never let my heart think a lot about him, because it makes me cry. I just shoo the thought away if it sneaks into my mind. I can’t be brave enough for that. But the photo made me stay with his thoughts; I could feel his fragile body which was once so healthy that everyone envied him. He never fell sick for around 80 years in his life, he cured himself if he felt something go wrong with his body and the next day it would be just perfect! But at the age of 80 he fell sick, never to be fit again. He suffered severely for a year and then gave up….actually he didn’t give up, death must have given up and Dada must have smiled at death and said, don’t feel bad…am coming with you, I know its time.
He stayed with us for a year before he died. So the bonding between us had become stronger than ever. I remember feeding him liquids, while he begged not to. I remember taking him to the hospital while he pleaded not to. It was terrible to face such miserable situations in life, where you can’t stand brave yet you can’t run away too!
I cannot forget one instance when he was in Lok Hospital, he was in ICU for 15 days, his body as thin as linen. We couldn’t be with him all the time, though someone of us would be waiting outside, we couldn’t be close to him. We visited him when he was awake. The meaning of being awake to him had become realization of pain, he would keep whimpering, trying to explain how it hurt but lacked the energy to even speak. That day I wanted to meet him, touch him, so as soon as the nurse agreed to permit, I hurried towards the door, tossed my sandals away and went in. There he was to the right on a bed, to my surprise he was not only awake but he was spattering a few words also. The doctor was feeding him through the pipe in his throat. The doctor signaled me and asked him, “Who is she?” (Kon aahe ti?) He replied loudly in a clear voice, “She is my grand-daughter!!” (Majhi naat aahe ti!!) He said it with a sense of undying love; he wanted to convey so many things with that one statement! He wanted to let us know that he misses all of us, he wants to be with us, he loves us, he is bored of the hospitals and innumerable machines attached to his body and wants to be free! As I heard these words, I touched his forehead and I nodded with a smile! I pressed his head for a while, waiting for him to sleep. Going away while he was still awake was the hardest thing I could have done! As I pushed myself away from him leaving him alone with strangers, I clinched to my father and almost screamed with helplessness and dying hope. I felt belittle.
I loved him very much and I still love him. The difference being that I love him more now because I miss him too. He is everything that I would love to become someday. He motivates me even when he is not around. I feel his soul dwell in my home and I feel blessed. Love you Dada

I came across this piece of writing and I couldnt help myself from sharing it......so heres something I loved to read and it struck me hard...its an awakening to all......trust me.....

Easy is to judge the mistakes of others .....Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes
Easy is to talk without thinking ......Difficult is to refrain the tongue
Easy is to hurt someone who loves us........Difficult is to heal the wound...
Easy is to forgive others ..........Difficult is to ask for forgiveness
Easy is to set rules..........Difficult is to follow them...
Easy is to dream every night........Difficult is to fight for a dream...
Easy is to show victory......Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity...
Easy is to admire a full moon.......Difficult to see the other side...
Easy is to stumble with a stone......Difficult is to get up...
Easy is to enjoy life every day......Difficult to give its real value...
Easy is to promise something to someone.......Difficult is to fulfill that promise...
Easy is to say we love......Difficult is to show it every day...
Easy is to criticize others......Difficult is to improve oneself...
Easy is to make mistakes........Difficult is to learn from them...
Easy is to weep for a lost love......Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.
Easy is to think about improving......Difficult is to stop thinking it and put it into action...
Easy is to think bad of others.........Difficult is to give them the benefit of the doubt...
Easy is to receive........Difficult is to give
Easy to read this......Difficult to follow
Easy is keep the friendship with words.........Difficult is to keep it with meanings

Chennai Morning!

“Chennai is so hot January end onwards, you both are going to have a tough time!” was what everyone was saying to us in a teasing tone when we moved to Chennai post marriage!!
But look at the climate here…..I am loving it in Chennai right now. It is raining since two days and its just lovely to look outside the window or stand in the balcony or to ride my red scooty all alone on the damp roads.
As I rode my way to my office today my mind was filled with only admiration for my new hometown, the wet green trees, the coolness due to the rains mixing tenderly with the breeze unmistakably bringing a smile on my face, the wheels of the vehicles on the road were squirting the yellow leaves fallen from the trees haywire, everyone walking around with pleasant faces.
It was purely a magical morning.
A back answer to all of them who think Chennai is unbearable hot…this year it rained in January, in February and also in March!! Am loving it you see…;)

Best lesson from the worst incident.....

It was 17th February 08. It was a Sunday. It was 8.30 pm. And we were excited about our upcoming trip to Mumbai. We were shopping….listing things which were still to be bought and the things we had already purchased. We actually could not contain our happiness!! We were on the bike traveling from one shop to another! Amit was humming a kishore song while I rested on his back listening to his voice and thinking of the fun we both were going to have in Mumbai! And suddenly I felt my body falling down to the left. I looked ahead with terror in my eyes and I saw a car right in front. It hit us from the right and we both banged to the floor. The bike fell too. I was crying loudly. Yelling actually amidst the tears. I was in a state of complete shock. What has happened?? I was asking myself.. I was blank! I saw Amit jump up as instantly as he must have fallen down. He came running to me. He was almost on the verge of crying. Yet he stood there brave. There was blood on my right knee. My jeans had torn. There were people around us. We both had never ever felt so lonely ever before. The people were really helpful. They bought me a bottle of water, helped me sit in the Autorikshaw. And Amit and me were on the way to some nearby hospital. I was crying and crying more. Amit was trying to fold my jeans up so that he could see what had happened…but I was too scared to let him touch!! And I would plead not to touch so he would feel really sorry and squeeze my hand tightly. He couldn’t talk too. We reached the hospital. Someone brought the wheelchair. They placed me in it and took us to some room. There was an x ray machine. And they asked me to sleep on the bench attached to the machine. The doctor available at that time suggested that we take an x ray first to see if there is any fracture. I lied down while Amit consoled me. I suddenly looked at him and asked him if he had hurt himself. He fortunately hadn’t!! We both waited while they came in for the x-ray. I collected all the courage lying around in my heart and folded my jeans up till the thigh and there it was! My knee was cut. I could see flesh and I felt numb! It was such a deep cut…oh god! I was terrified of what was going to happen. Amit was telling me in a sharp voice to not look at it. But one sight of it was enough for me to fall flat back. The x ray was done and to our fortune I dint have a fracture!! It was a relief.
An orthopedic doctor was on his way they told us and we waited. With ice placed on my knee to make it feel numb. Now the story was upside down. While we waited there silently Amit was losing it. He was trying hard to stop his tears. I was not crying at all. I was consoling him. I was telling him not to cry, that I felt fine now, much better. He would say okay and again after a few seconds there would a tear in his eyes ready to pop out! It was so hard for both of us.
By the time the doctor arrived I was given 2 injections. One on my wrist and the other on my waist. These injections were to stop infection to spread and the other was to reduce the pain. But the worst part was that the injections pained even after they were given. Maybe the trick was to increase the pain of the injection and divert my mind from the knee. At least that’s what I thought at that moment.
After the doctor arrived he said he would have to give a local anesthesia and clean the wound first. Two stitches would be needed to help the wound get better. He said that he would give some injections in my knee….and I was petrified! Oh God what is happening…I would ask myself. But I had no option but to listen to the doctor. He began. Amit was telling me to squeeze his hand tightly if it pained. And I nodded. The first injection pricked me hard. And I shivered. Shivered more….cried. I was shivering the whole time he operated. By the time it was done I had taken 4 injections & 2 stitches.

Finally the doctor said, it’s done. He insisted that I get admitted because there were line of intravenous anti biotics to be taken ahead but we pleaded that the treatment we would continue in Mumbai. So he agreed. I was trying to smile because I thought it was over now for the time being. But the doctor informed that there were still three injections to be taken. One of them intravenous and the other two normal and I almost fainted. I screamed as they pushed in the needles one after the other. The intravenous injections are demons actually!! Finally it was done!! Done for the night. I had to be given intravenous injections for three more days, three times a day. That was awful and I felt nausea gripping my throat and total weakness within my body. I kept telling myself that I could be brave and that it would be fine.
And I was placed on the wheelchair again. Doctor warned not to walk, take complete bed rest for at a week at least! We nodded. Amit’s friends waited for us. It was 12.00 at night. We reached home. His friends were gone. And we both were alone. Amit gave up. He had been waiting for this moment. He cried in my arms, loudly. Just like a small child would cry. I cried too. No one consoled. We knew we were lucky enough to escape something major which could have happened.
This incident brought us closer to each other than ever before. I always used to tease Amit that he will understand my importance only when I won’t be around and he warned me not to say that ever again. He kept saying that he had suddenly had a glimpse of something terribly ugly and he did not wish to think ahead.
He wanted to rejoice and so did I.

Music...........ummmm.....

Rewind with Music.Try this.
Just the other day I was listening to the song ‘Making love out of nothing at all’ and I flew into my past…when I used to chat with Amit. We used to chat on the mobile for hours together. The whole bunch of those sweet and sour days mingled in my mind. It was like I was watching a movie in which I and him played the lead roles and the song was the director. That song did wonders. It actually rewound a particular time in my life which I can relate to strongly with that song because I used to listen to that song a lot around that time!
When I listen to the songs of Dil Toh Pagal Hai…..they take me back to my 10th standard year…..they take me back to those times when we all so called 10th standard grown ups used to watch this movie again and again…..the songs were by heart known to all of us!!
The fun we all had at that time was flashed back into my senses.
When ever I listen to the songs of Mukesh……I go back to the time when I and my brother were young and we used to travel a lot with our parents in our Maruti 800. My dad used to play these songs which I did not enjoy much back then…Me and my brother hardly listened actually…we were busy giggling and teasing and having fun. But now when those songs are played anywhere they automatically take to me to that period of my life. Its so wonderful! I don’t even have to close my eyes or anything…..open eyed yet not looking ahead…I am enjoying peeping in that time of my life without any efforts….!!
Does it happen with you folks?? The songs lyrics may not even be relevant to your life or any situation particularly…..just the feel and the tune and the mood of the song gives your emotions a lift! Its absolute FUN…..:)

Glimpses of Married Life.....

It’s just about waking up together……….. Planting a kiss on each others cheeks…….Making each other wake up to avoid getting late at work……….Cooking fulkas for Tiffin and calling out his name to show him how they fill up with air to become round balls on the flame……Flinging mustard seeds on hot oil and hearing the pit pat sounds from a long distance in apprehension……… to hurry up in getting ready and then wishing not to go anywhere……. Speaking to each other from office like we haven’t met for really long………. Sharing our views on the taste of the Tiffin sabji on phone……. coming home to each other...…Being in a warm hug after a hard days work……. Asking him what he would like to eat for dinner and cooking just that…….Chit-Chatting after dinner till the plates go dry……… Waiting for the weekends and planning for them…….. Waiting for weekends and deciding not to make any kind of plans on the weekends…….. Watching back to back movies with cups of hot coffee……. Calculating the expenses and checking if we are on track….. Inviting everyone so the house buzzes for a while with more voices……. Dusting and cleaning the house together with a lot of fun….Cooking nothing when bored, ordering a pizza instead…….. Lazing around in the house with no particular task……Holding him tight on the bike and talking loudly so that my voice reaches him through his helmet…..Him wondering how I can talk so much throughout the day……….Discovering always amusing at times irritating habbits about each other ……Getting up on a Monday morning and wishing hard it was a Sunday………Isn’t it blissful!!
Married Life is all this and more ………this one is especially for the ones who want to get married and also for the ones who don’t!!!