Tick-tock-tick

Dear 33-Colours,

Had a waited a few more hours, our next tryst would only have been in the new year....

I hear people around me saying, 'this year has gone past too quickly...' I construe this as a sign of good happenings & occurences in their lives, which makes me revel in their happiness....

I have always wondered the way we define time and bundle it into days, years, decades, centuries & millennia, always looking for reasons to celebrate.

I got a new companion this year, who i like to call 'jojo' - Without even announcing he took a place in my mind (literally) and became a part of me....Unknowingly he gave my thoughts a new dimension and made my conviction in destiny stronger।

Facebook, Flickry-Fluke, Yahoo chats & you captured my imagination
& Art influenced me like it did never before...

My relationships moved from strength to strength & beautiful 'moments' got indelibly etched to my memories.. As I look back to the year that was and look forward to the year that will be, all I can do is count my blessings...

Thanks for embarking with me on this journey called life...I'll be back with you very soon...

Ode to Art

The first lesson you are taught is to perform is a Namaskar - an embodiment of gratitude. An expression to mark your respect towards God, Guru, learned audience and towards Earth, which would get stomped timelessly during the performance.



I feel transported to 13th century, imagining the genesis of an art form in Kuchipuddi, a small village in Andhra Pradesh...


Kuchipuddi Dancers were typically men and it was only later that women got an opportunity to participate. Typically perfomed in groups, the dance was enacted as a drama in royal courts and temples..





With every dance step, my admiration for the art increases, realising the hardwork, discipline and dedication which goes in the act...It's a journey of discovery - of your body, mind and self.

I wondered if technology has made it's imprint on this art and there were '10 easy steps' to grasp this talent ...Immediately reprimanded, I was told that this is a skill which gets transferred through a bond - through a connect established between the Guru and Shishya...

Biji

Today is a beautiful day - it's my Nani's (Biji's) birthday. They say you are not supposed to ask girls their age and my Nani is a true believer of it. She does not recall how old she is, nor are you supposed to prod anybody in the family about it - it's some superstition in which they believe that publically exhilarating long years of existence could attract evil eyes. However, by a fair calculation, she should be celebrating her 95th or 96th birthday today ...(touch wood!).

She is losing her memory but she still has so many stories to narrate. 'I came from a rich family of landlords, we were three sisters and I was the eldest, she tells me. She was made to wear dresses meant for boys beacuse she was the eldest and considered the 'boy' of the house. Unlike the norm those days, she went to school till 8th standard and is conversent with Urdu, Hindi & English. My Nana taught her how to read and write in English. My Nani got married when she was 16 . According to her she was late to marry vis-a-vis norms in those times. There was gestation of 2 years between her engagement and marraige. Nani reveals that my Nana was not her picture of the ideal boy she wanted to marry. She says he wasn't very good looking to what her other sistrs got and his mannerisms (like talking loudly) does not please her much. My Nana was a public servant and there came many priviledges that my Nani got to enjoy -watching parades on 26th January, meeting and shaking hands with the President, getting invited to the private screening of pictures at Rashthapati Bhavan. Nani also remembers her beautiful days in Shimla, where her father-in-law was based. Cold wintry mornings, nature walks at 4am, their house overlooking the valley, the dharamshala they sponspored. She swells with pride on the compliements she got from her father in law for being such a dutiful, respectful daughter-in-law.

Nani is slowing losing memory but she repeatedly narrate incidents of her childhood, married life, her children. She does her prayers twice a day, bathes without fail and even washes her own clothes. Till a few years back she could even cook, but her hands tremble now. She has always been a very practical person with lots of self respect. She told me that she still gets her husband's pension and she is not dependent on anyone.

Today we had a sumptuous dinner - thanks to Mama, Mosi & Laksmi for organising it. I gifted a woollen scarf to my Nani. She nicely draped it, insisting that I shouldn't have bothered as she has a couple in store. Money saved is money earned as she would say.

Over dinner, I asked her if she would come with me if I get a short assignment in Australia. She readily agreed and offered to cook for me when I would go to work...in return all she wanted from me was to give her some directions in the neibhourhood so that she could go for afternoon walks..

I love you Nani.

Wishing you many more beautiful and healthy years.

Experiment

I was told by someone to Experiment. The first time I heard this word "E..." was probably in one of my physics/chemistry classes, long time back. At that stage experiment construed to me as something practical, fun, using dexterity of my hands (& mind), following a procedure, yet not sure (but hoping) of the desired outcome.
After so many years, I was reminded that I was forgetting to experiment..experimenting with my views, interests, ideas..in a nutshell, experimenting with Life'. Not ready to embrace, but I had become risk averse, complacent, routine oriented - what many would call boring...

I want to attempt blogging - after all it's just an experiment!