:)

A Gift.. for someone you love!!

What Goes Around...

The day was warm. Though still early, vehicles had started fighting for space on Delhi's busy roads. Dust and other unpleasant particulate matter hung in the air, giving everything around a rather dull glow.

That was how a layman would have registered it, anyway. To the eyes of one person that we know of, however, the day was bright, the trees were green, the sky was just the right shade of blue, and there was remarkable beauty in the most commonplace of things!

Ah, you wonder, Who could this person be? Well, let's just call her 'She Who Must Not be Named' or (S-wmnn, or even Superwoman). Hmmm... yes, that has a ring to it!

And there she is, in the mirror, with Ringo peeping over her shoulder! You remember Ringo, of course.. As to why the two of them are standing around doing such blatantly narcissistic things in public places.. we'll get to that in a bit. This story is about more than the two of them.


Let us begin here. It's a tomb. On this bright and beautiful/ dusty and hot day, S-w happened to give in to one of her strange whims, and ignoring the various autos jostling for her attention and patronage, chose to walk. And since she was in a whimsical frame of mind, it isn't surprising that she decided to check out the desolate and sad looking tomb.



A sometimes-enthusiastic historian with a passion for crumbling monuments, she was quite pleased that she had decided to visit the place, and had quite a pleasant half hour poking around. Since the general frame of mind was upbeat that day, she managed to view all the blatant encroachment, neglect and general pathetic-ness with much equanimity.

There was so much to do that day!!! After months, most of her friends were back in town!! So she made her way out of the little lane behind the tomb, and walked on!

Whipping out her trusty phone, she started locating her friends. Ringo, Singo, Sammy, Pammy and even Simba was back!! But as usual, it was painfully difficult to come up with a plan that suited every one... soon it became obvious that hoping to meet everyone in one place at one time was a bit too ambitious!! Apparently that kind of thing is something you just can't manage once college is over. Oh well! It was time to rush back to college where Ringo and Sammy would meet her!

Ah! It was so good to be back in the Cafe, where so much time and money had been spent, so uncomplainingly, and the effects of which were still reluctant to let go of some of their waistlines! Ahem. As they joyfully recounted all the latest happenings in their lives, they also ate and ate and fed the cat who wasn't adrak, but might have been! There was so much to say, so many people to crib about, but alas, too little time! Ringo and S-w scooted off to meet Simba at haat, leaving Sammy to finish off some random work...

Stuck in traffic with a rather slow Autowalah for company, Ringo and S-w were in a suddenly pensive mood. It probably happens as an immediate effect of extreme happiness. So they continued to discuss their lives, focusing this time on the more pensive aspects of it... A number of flashbacks and general hugs and sympathy later, they discovered that they were at haat!

But where was Simba? It takes a bit of looking to find people in haat, specially if they have a tendency to stop at every other stall! And that applies to both the searchers and the search-ees.

As we all know, there is not much that can be done to stop people from admiring bright baubles or fancy footwear... even the sad fact that there is never enough money to buy stuff doesn't stop anyone from trying on as many things as possible!!

In such places, it is logical that much thirst is the direct result of such activities, and very soon the two friends too, had to pause for refreshment. And what a lucky choice of food-stall, for who should they see sitting on a bench looking adorable, but Simba! After a few kulhad-wali-chais and chaat and such things, they were ready for more!

More conversation, that is.

In the meanwhile, Sammy was done with her work, which included playing with kids and getting some 'colour' in her cheeks.

Time now to hop onto a bus and meet the others!

Why does the bus you need to get onto always have to be the most crowded?? Sigh!!

She was startled when she got a phone call from S-w midway to haat, telling her that the plans had changed again, as she had to go meet Pammy! So she did the smart thing and put her foot down! As usual, S-w just smiled and did as Sammy wanted, cause there are things in this world that you just don't argue about!

And now it was time for Singo to appear on the scene! Showing off her brand new kolhapuri chappals! Ah, the joy of victory over haggling shopkeepers was writ large on her radiant visage!
And of course there was the unbelievable happiness of being back in Delhi, and of sinking into the cushy chairs at their favourite coffee-place, and that too, in the company of her friends! Doesn't this sound as though it was written by someone longing for simpler, happier days spent in the company of some really good friends? Oh fancy!

I think it's best to leave the story here. You know how it is, one gets all sentimental and soppy after a while! Let's just say that they all had a really good time, and were thoroughly tired at the end of the day! That's Sakura-chan, saying goodbye!

Look!

It happens every so often... you look at something casually and then there is the double-take moment, cause there are things you just can't believe you really saw!!

Exhibit A:
'Please do not spit'

In the waiting room at Bombay Hospital, squeezed between cramped rows of chairs and a few dustbins of the overflowing kind.

Exhibit B:
Cow in box
or
Bisleri headed Bovine

Actually I found this somehow cute and hilarious at the same time. Ah, the beach, the beach, however filthy it may be, there will always be something to uplift your spirit!

Exhibit C:
'शुद्ध गोमूत्र'

Yes it really was, right next to bottles of rosewater and packets of incense and whatnot, in a posh departmental store!! After I'd laughed long enough, I took a picture, but I think I was still shaking with laughter cause I noticed later that it wasn't quite as sharp a picture as it deserved!

The Delightful Doings of Dad

While the title of this post may not go down as my most amazing attempt at alliteration, I do believe it captures the spirit-of-the-thought-that-inspires-this-post most admirably.

It is just one of those things. You know, appreciating things that were, once they've ceased to be. And we had hardly noticed that dad wasn't the laid-back life of the party anymore. There was so much else to think about, worry about, get stressed about... parties and such like seemed to belong to another galaxy. And then we got a wake up call. The kind that really wakes you up.

Like all things in our otherwise humdrum life, we made the most of the big shock, and came to Bombay to fix things. The way things were unfolding seemed to have a pattern, but before we had danced to that tune for a bit, we were thrown by all the new razzle-dazzle that cropped up every so often. Really corny most of it, and yet unexpected, for who would expect bad drama in their own life on a daily basis!?!

Yes, indeed... there was the melodramatic (picture mom doing an Amitabh from Deewar... at the temple, you know) and the psycho-dramatic (mom again, dragging me to a corner of the hospital room, and showing me the glass slat in the window that she was convinced dad had tried to remove). Oh, but this is all about mom! Let us shift to dad already!


Milk!!!

So, Late at night, the night after his biopsy, mom and I were just about falling asleep in the rather depressing hospital room when we were summoned to the ICU where dad was spending the night. Frantic, we ran all the way to the other wing of the hospital, only to find dad sitting up in bed demanding coffee. The little nurse was at a loss. Oh, this is the time for a little dialogue.

Mom: What happened? Is everything ok? Should we call the doctor?
Dad: (cherubic grin) I think i haven't been fed anything. (pout)
Me: Hi dad!
Mom: Ok... you're hungry? Shall we bring you something to drink?
Dad: (imperiously) Yes, I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee.
Me: chuckle
Mom: (coaxing) Where will I get coffee so late? They don't have room service in this hotel, you know! Would you like some milk maybe?
Dad: (condescedingly) Ok, I could have some milk.

Nurse-ling ran around and managed some milk. Dad drank it all up and decided he ought to have a little more. Mom and nurse-ling huddled together frantically to discuss the lack of milk-at-hand. I hung around poking dad companionably.

Finally, it was decided that we should both go down and explore the by-lanes around the hospital to try and discover some milk for a hungry dad. And so we walked, late at night, asking at every shop that wasn't already shut, getting redirected by every shopkeeper, until we finally stumbled upon a dauntingly built man overseeing the boiling of a really large amount of milk in the largest kadhai I'd ever seen. Mom tried unobtrusively to push me behind her (just in case any of them happened to fancy me for their second wife, I suppose). Soon we were hot-footing it back to the ICU with a packet of newly boiled milk, praying that dad hadn't come up with any other demands in the meantime.

We really should have known better. He had snuggled into bed and was sleeping like a baby, barely deigning to open an eye to acknowledge our efforts.

Rooster-man

Some time later, we moved to the brother's little house, which is quite cute, and nicely located right next to a mini-basti. Just under the bedroom window is a little open space flanked by some kind of a shack on one side, and some tin sheets on the other. It is customary for a group of barely clothed kids to spend much of their time inventing games such as climb-the-shack and other such, which all involve much squealing and merriment. Dad rather likes it.

Apart from the kids, the little open space is also used to tether two goats who are rather quiet most of the time. But the star of this little circus is undoubtedly the rooster. When I was younger, I always had the impression that a rooster somehow always managed to cock-a-doodle-doo at sunrise or even at six am, and I always imagined people could set their watches by it. Was I wrong!!!!!! This rooster sings out at whatever hour of day or night it feels like, be it midday or two in the morning. Right under our window. Loudly!

I had managed to ignore it pretty successfully, and assumed the rest of the family did too. And then, one night, dad sat up in bed sometime in the middle of the night, looking concerned.

"I can't hear the rooster... They must've eaten it up!"in such a sad voice that mom and I could not stop laughing... To put his mind at rest, the kind rooster chose that moment to announce its presence.

After that, their affinity became more pronounced every passing day! Mom and dad were doing their little bit of healing, and throughout the rooster kept up a loud accompaniment to their voices. This prolonged the healing time of course, because dad would keep laughing everytime he heard the rooster, which was everytime anyone said anything!

Mom says we may as well adopt the rooster and take it home.

'The Happy'

Up and down
Round and round
Tra la la
Tum tee tum
Jig a jig

Hop hop hop
Swing swing
Skip and twirl
And hum to the tune
That vibrates through me

:)

Darkest night

A melancholy evening, spent in indecision and an excess of grief had taken its toll, and sleep eluded her. It wasn't entirely unproductive, that first night. She came up with the most lucid expression of the inner turmoil she was being put through... the latest in a seemingly unending list that fate had in store for her, she thought, sighing deeply. But oh, she liked what she had written... it had such pathos that she felt pleased. How well she expressed herself!

Trees are probably proud of their sourest fruits too.

The List

It's been a while since Sangee tagged me with this one, and finally I am in just the right state of mind for it!! The tag requires that I list out my favourite Georgette Heyer Men(GHM)... characters from books who actually made us go starry-eyed and weak-kneed and induced us to spend some appreciable time spinning pleasurably exciting dreams about them... You get the picture...

The one thing that I did realize as I got thinking about the Men-In-Books(MIB) that I liked, was that I actually didn't like too many after all. In most of my all time favourite stories, it was the heroine who made all the difference; the men were usually either not as entertaining, or just not distinguishable from the rest of the vast gang of MIB..

Even so, some of them rose high above the rest...

First, I just have to have Heathcliff on the list... Wuthering Heights always affects me very deeply for some reason, and he is one of the biggest 'some reasons' around. This was one of the few books where the female characters really didn't leave much of an impact on me!

Then of course, Pride and Prejudice gave us Mr. Darcy(swoon, swoon...) who was typical in many ways, but had everything necessary(and in just the right proportions) to turn young girls' heads and put their hearts a-flutter.

This list is getting horribly typical I think, but how can I not add Mr Rochester to the list? He was one of the most interestingly believable characters in Jane Eyre, and I don't think I need to go on about it, except that I thought I'd mention that I loved that conversation between Jane and him where he said that thing about a cord linking the left side of his body to a corresponding area in her anatomy, or some such.. I found it a fascinating thought.

Ok, now for some hard-core GHM, of the GH variety... Many enjoyed These Old Shades a tad more than Devil's Cub, and while I agree that Justin was a much more interesting personality, he was , I feel, a bit overshadowed by Leonie! Hence, he gets an honorable mention here... Vidal however, I found somewhat cool!

Then there was my all time favourite, Sylvester(or the wicked uncle ;) ) who was just so ... everything that he should be, plus he and Phoebe complemented each other perfectly! And ahem... Ridicklus Gudgeon!!!!!

But I was most partial to Sir Tristam Shield, who refused to ride 'Ventre-a-terre' to the possible deathbed of Eustacie, but agreed to do so for Miss Thane! I really never got over that ridiculous bit about the balmy night air... even in November, for to lovers all night air is balmy!! (and all lovers barmy, presumably)

And oh, I also have rather a soft corner for Joss P. Weatherby, who may be found amusing himself in the pages of Quick Service, and while he shares traits and such with some other Wodehouse characters, he definitely appealed most favourably, I almost know-not-why!

I am not going to write too much about Aragorn(book or movie), because after all, it's almost a given! But while on LOTR, I have to add Gandalf to the list (Gandalf of the book, not the movie!)
And I thought Faramir was one sadly underplayed character!!!!

Ahhh.. no more for today, I am somewhat fatigued!