Brother..

Mama's boy, Papa's pride,

Underrating his own stride

Dimpled face and a shy smile,

Living away across the miles

Thinking fondly about him,

Under the table lamp, with lights dim

Memories of childhood sprang back,

When we played as little Jill & Jack

Irking me in a game of Cricket,

With imaginary bails & hand drawn wickets,

Making me bowl the way he liked,

With endless overs, until he strike

Holding the reel, while he flew the kite,

Eager to fly it in scorching sunlight

Unbending to what is right,

Ending up in those "cat-dog fights"

Smoking my first cigarette with him in the attic,

Hiding from Mom & Dad, pretending to teach me Mathematics,

Getting scrupled and a bit scared,

Yet chuckled of our unbeknown dare

Unearthing these memories dug,

Oh! How I miss those comforting hugs

Leaving all of us you flew,

With faces smiling yet so blue

All i want to tell you,

Is Brother! I really miss you!

Sadness

Peeping from my window,

I ponder what to write?

About homes that are endowed,

With sadness and plight

Little Johnny, now so grown,

Leaves home in search of soul

Wizened face of Mama so brown,

Bewails with an unheard howl

Lass out of her adolescence,

Weeps with a broken heart

Unable to forget 'His' essence,

Searches him in every other heart

Concrete buildings with homes like these,

Appear to be strong, but are factually so weak

With silent tears and promises to cease,

Day by day rising the sadness peak

If It was my world....

In my every day life, I often find myself citing that if it was in my hand or if I could alter and so on and so forth. So i thought maybe by now i have gathered a list for my kind of world...
Firstly I would take away the importance associated with money. It would be just another thing like air, available in abundance to everyone. That would immediately put an end to stress, rat-race, greed, selfishness, power, corruption, crime, war, and inequality and in turn give birth to better things like happiness, relaxation, good health, family union and of course a better life.

Secondly, since money is copious, jobs aren’t necessary but important enough to continue living on this earth and be occupied and busy.
In my world, there won’t be any restrictions on jobs. No stress on education specific jobs. Anybody could chose to do anything till the time they are performing and doing it efficiently.

Thirdly, I would eradicate the word terrorism from the world’s dictionary. This doesn’t mean I would take measures to fight terrorism. If that would have been possible, it would have been done so far.
I want to simply eradicate it like small pox. Small pox was eradicated by successful vaccination by WHO. That’s exactly what I plan to do.
I won’t do it for a social cause or to get a good name for myself but for my own selfish reason, which is to have a safe and secure life.

Fourthly, I would make more hill stations and beaches for relaxation and recreation. Hill stations with absolute greenery, scenic roads, beautiful weather and scrumptious food. Beach with white sand, clear water and profuse aquatic life.

Now that I have a world, where money is omnipresent, free from evil, people are free to work, out of their own choice and live happily and peacefully with their families. Plentiful places for leisure and fun. Isn’t it a better place??

(Disclaimer: Since it’s my world, no logic holds true :))

Never Changing Childhood

During my childhood days, my mom often asked me to recite poems, prayers, shlokas etc in front my Grand Mom, Uncle, Aunts and many other relatives. At other occasions, I use to dance, do mimicry, and show off my paintings to whosoever came home. She did that as she loved me and was proud of me for what I did. As a kid, I enjoyed that attention and use to be elated when people appreciated.
Today when I think about it, I feel so embarrassed and my mom giggles, but something’s never change. Now I see my brother and sister in law doing the same with my nephew and niece...These little ones also enjoy the spotlight as i did and become prey to people’s entertainment. :)

Everything is the same, only their activities have changed like showing off their skills at PS2 & PS3, doing yoga and pranayam, hairstyles & dresses (specifically my niece).

Acceptance...

Recently i came across a lot of Indians who have settled abroad (basically America, Australia and Singapore). Most of them have been born and brought up in India and then went abroad for either higher education, work or both and have managed to successfully live there for almost 2-6 years.

Obviously, these are the people who basically like it there and have adjusted well. They came with a dream and have fulfilled it.Most of them have a desire to go back to their native land someday but are clueless when. I respect these people because its no easy task to have a flourishing career in a foreign land. I have very closely interacted with many such people at different times in my life.

I have observed a very paradoxical behaviour among most of them. Though, some are still non-immigrants, that said, they are not first citizens of a respective nation they are working/studying in. Therefore, logically lack a sense of belongingess but the irony is they show and portray such a strong sense of belongingness towards the foreign country that its impossible to know their national status.

Its strange, how human being starts owning a place in his mind, where he has lived for few years. Any remark against their (current) country is taken personally. For a person like me, who has her feet planted in India and abroad most of the time, have definitely experienced the pros and cons of staying in India and abroad. There are a hundred things which are better here and maybe less but still, a lot of things much better in India.

My question to these people is- why get defensive??? Why not just accept the fact that life is good in India too but maybe not how they wish it to be. Just because their so called 'second home' gave them everything they ever desired, doesn't necessarily make 'not so good' things 'good' abroad. Liking certain things abroad which are not so 'likable' is plain acceptance not choice.

I am not biased about India or any other country but the only point that i am trying to make is be vocal about your true feelings and be yourself in accepting what you are and not what you think you are!!

The religious side in me urged me to find and visit a temple in Minneapolis. So, the other day i went to a Balaji Temple here. It seemed basically like a two floor office space which was converted into a temple.

The temple fulfilled all the criteria of being a holy place namely, the beautifully decorated idols, camphor smell, striking aarti plate, prasad, chants, priest, etc but still i missed the 'feel' of a holy place. This absence of emotion was due to the shape of the building and an office type entry and exit .
I realised, how even the shape of a building contributes to the holy 'feel' which we are so used to in India. Generally speaking, the temple buildings in India are tall with either a large or a small mount or a stupa at the top with a big entrance.

As i was going to the temple, i wanted to carry some flowers or sweets. Since the only flowers accessible here are in the form of bouquets or single roses and the sweets are frozen, tinned and insipid, i decided to just carry some cash. To my surprise, i was amazed to see others offering bouquets, frozen sweets and also some stale looking-fresh sweets.
Later, this wasn't overwhelming but maybe i thought practical and convenient.
My idea was not to compare temples in U.S. with India, as i understand it cannot be the same. Rather on the other side, its good to know that some Indians are still initiating to keep their culture alive but sometimes certain feelings overpower your logical side.

This whole experience was definitely different which doesn't imply it was unlikable but just plain "different".

Contradictions!

Our world is full of contradictions. Following few statements will throw some light on the subject:

1."Be satisfied with what you have got and thank god for all that he has given."
"Desire for more than what you have, else how will you grow as a person?"

2. "Always help others."
"God helps those who helps themselves."

3. "Accept yourself the way you are."
"Don't limit yourself, expect more from yourself."

4. "Don't take life so seriously. Enjoy and have fun."
"When will you start taking life seriously?"

Well, am sure there are more such statements and everyone comes across such paradoxes in life at one point in time.

Maybe these are not contradictions to some and are only two different school of thoughts, but to those individuals who partly believe in both the thought processes, these are nothing but Contradictions.

For believers of both the schools, the search for understanding 'life' begins with realizing both sides of contradictions. Life is complicated and there isn't just one right way of looking at things.

If there was, i would have never understood -'Giving charity versus my belief of everyone should work' or 'Freedom of speech versus cheap and loud shows like"Laughter Challenge on TV' or 'Indian spirit during Cricket match versus need for Vidarbh as a separate state'.