You in Me

Sun set after sun rise,
One year has passed since your demise...
My life book had lost its foreword,
But I knew I would grow stronger moving forward...
Today, I recognize your words in mine,
I seem to be traversing the same terrain...
When I explain logic behind my actions,
Or reason out permutations and combinations,
I use your words which made little sense then,
But weaves a complete picture now, end to end.
I assumed you would be hovering around me,
Only to realize there had occured a spiritual alchemy...
Mom,I have internalized you,
Visible only to the eyes of a few...
Mom, I see you in me,
Let's keep going - one, two, three...

March Musings

As I rummaged hurriedly through the shelves of my kitchen,
I heard a strangely familiar tweet from the community garden.
I realized its that time of the year,
when birds migrate and oh what a music to the ear!
Their shrill shriek got me to my balcony,
And I searched for them uneasily.
Among the many annual visitors who throng that tree,
there were beautiful green parrots - exactly three.
Each year they come and peck on that pea pod,
What exactly it is - I know not.
My mother spotted them three years ago,
And bird watching became our favorite pastime instead of bingo.
Its been six months since she passed away for eternity,
I have tried looking for her divine presence in every possible opportunity.
This year, I expected the three parrots to be joined in by one more,
Who knows, my mother could be number four...
To my surprise, I find only two of them sitting there,
Perhaps, the third one, like my mother, left them forever...
Is this God's way of helping me come to terms with reality?
Is this precisely  what we call an intervention of spirituality?
                                                   

  - Vaishnavi Prasad 

Reflections on the Year that went by

The earth has completed one full revolution marking the end of another year. 2018 was a year of challenges for me. I quit my job owing to my frequent illness and my guilt of spending lesser family time especially with my kid. Before donning the perfect mother hat, I had to take up the role of responsible daughter. 

My mother was critically ill and we as a family tried our level best to bring her back to normalcy. Those days were busy rushing to hospital and helping mother in all ways possible. Nights were scary. As medical practitioners would call it, by God's grace, a medical miracle happened and she recovered. I returned to my routine, leaving her at home town. I had trouble sleeping at nights, thinking about her agony. She didn't last for more than a couple of months. After my mother passed away, there was a sudden calm and a surprising peace in me. I no longer had to worry out of helplessness. This serenity too was short - lived. The eerie silence made me act weird. I had always wondered how children without parents could be  normal and playful. I now know the answer. As there is none to lend a shoulder to cry on or say a word of appreciation, one tries hard to make the best out of every celebratory mood. 

The emptiness at the bottom of the heart did bother me. Also, my ailing grandmother whose memory was slowing fading away, was a case of concern. As a child of working mother, I had spent most of my holidays and vacation with my grandmother. I convinced myself that her nature to seek pleasure in little earthly delights would keep her going. During the last week of December, she passed away. Two significant people of my childhood were gone for good. 

I am yet to rediscover my lost enthusiasm, although I seem to be trying hard to move on. I wish I come to terms with reality and find the bigger purpose of my life at the earliest. 

Social Bane Called Silence

If power perturbs you,

If positions disturb you,

Ponder over…

If safe play is your game,

If the bull is not for you to tame,

Ponder over…

If you silently pass by neighborhood bullies,

Yet shout out loud to be with ‘freedom’ allies,

Ponder over….

Positive thinking is not turning blind to negative happenings;

Being in the good books of many does not guarantee security…

No mother lets the child err willfully,

No friend ignores misdeeds willingly….

The spirit of togetherness is not just in celebrations,

It reflects and thrives in empathetic conversations…

If misunderstandings of a few are ignored,

It’s akin to supporting the accused…

Say ‘No’ to bullying and stand by the victim,

After all, integrity is the fruit of true wisdom.

Image courtesy: https://pixabay.com/en/misunderstanding-black-men-2421389/ 

Jungle bells, jungle bells, leopard on the way...

News: A leopard was spotted inside Vibgyor high school campus in Bangalore through CCTV by a security guard on Sunday. Forest officials were immediately informed. After hours of hide and seek, the animal was tranquilized and taken away. In the process, a wildlife conservationist was attacked by the animal who was rushed to a nearby hospital and is recovering now.

2 days later...

I stay in an apartment pretty close to Vibgyor high where the notorious leopard incident took place. The second night after the incident, we could hear cracker bursting, people shouting and see fire lit up near the open fields . Rumor of three or more leopards sighted in the vicinity was spread which sent shivers down our spine. We locked ourselves inside from all sides. After a few minutes, my whatsapp was flooded with messages saying the feline was spotted just behind our compound wall. I couldnot sleep that day and for a couple of days thereafter. Although it was reported to be gossip mongering, I still wake up at the slightest disturbance outside our house during night time.

On a lighter note, we could not think of an alternative to a closer coexistence with nature than here. If only I had realized what people meant when they found our new community akin to a resort :(

Typical advertisements in the days to come could be on similar lines...

The 'Urban Woods' apartment - Relax yourself in your true abode with birds chirping, leopards visiting and snakes hissing around you....

The 'Universal' school - We provide holistic education to our children by not taking them closer to nature, but by bringing nature closer to them for a hands-on learning experience. Note: Our free snacks and sibling quota is a hit among animals as well, as observed in the video where a leopard was seen entering the kitchen while its family members were found staring at the classrooms with prying eyes.


The park - We offer jungle safari to our esteemed tourists who can venture out on an adventure walk during nights to spot some exquisite wildlife if you are lucky enough. Thrilling games such as 'sedate challenge' with a tranquilizer, ' catch me if you can' and 'Identify -  leopard ya cheetah' can be played.

The ' TRACK IT' Contest - With many Information Technology companies round the corner, an IT contest will be conducted where technology has to be used to track 'It' using any technology such as GPS, where 'It' could be anything from a cute cheetah cub to a lost lion king.

MAARathon - As we emphasize on physical health, the shift from hackathons to marathons is inevitable. To make the run interesting, leopards will be placed at the start line for a memorable "MAARathon" experience.

Shopping - Heavy discounts on animal print dress will be available to celebrate wildlife conservation week. On the other hand, prices of pepper sprays, lathis, whistles are expected to increase following a surge in demand.


Let's learn to live in harmony with nature and thrive alongside wildlings watching over your window...

Salute Thee Blogger!

When I started blogging in 2009, I was desperately seeking some form of communication with the outer world. After my first blog, there were a few technical glitches that dissuaded me from blogging. I returned after a couple of years in 2011 and took to this medium with passion. The more I explored reading fellow bloggers, the smaller I felt in stature in comparison with them. Nevertheless, I continued though at a snail's pace. Participating in contests, commenting on other blogs, it was an exciting journey. When I read inspiring stories of bloggers who had turned into sought after columnists in noted newspapers and magazines, I was motivated to try harder. I admit my ability to spontaneously spin out suitable articles is limited owing to minimal, irregular reading of books and magazines. But I managed to make a start.

 

Image Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/

After almost 6 years, I have transformed from a part time trainer to a freelance content writer. Interestingly, my last content writing job was through a friend who had read my blog. Over the years, I have evolved more as a person partly due to the exposure availed through blogs.  People like Alka Gurha and Purba Ray are my inspirations as they stand out of the crowd through their quality driven content and unique individuality. At times, I had felt my presence at blogosphere was unwarranted for with brilliant writers like them. I had even taken a sabbatical and sat back to simply soak in the pleasure of reading their posts. Politics, Parenting, Homecare; I had everything on my platter whenever required.


Thankyou blogger for this wonderful platform. If not for you, I would have lost in the pages of a book seeking thumbs up for selfies and fake friendships. Looking forward to learn much more from you...

Art of Giving

As I walk back home with my vegetable bag, I see many green tomatoes waiting to ripen in their balcony pots. Pigeons that once used to fly away at the slightest change in status quo, now boldly fight with one another to sit on the grill window. The crowded departmental store seems to seriously think of dedicating an exclusive row for organic cereals and pulses. Something is changing.

When I open Rediff news, all that captures my attention is this: 'X quits high paying corporate job to teach under privileged children'; 'Meet Y who is the reason behind the smile of tribal women in Assam'; 'Z returns to India to train youngsters of his village in entrepreneurship skills'. The Hindu daily features articles on people who have taken to reviving traditional art forms and engaging skilled local craftsmen. Something is changing.

Image Courtesy: www.behappy-2.com

We have Chotta Bheem and Hanuman for cartoon watching (despite the poor spoken English with mother tongue influence) in the place of Dora and Superman. Bookstores have more of Indian writing on mythological characters instead of Harry Potter and the like. Awareness on the need to construct houses with local sustainable green materials has increased. We segregate waste based on biodegradability.  Handmade terra cotta or paper quilled jewellery is a fashion statement. Something is changing.

Our fast paced consumption pattern has slowed down as indicated by the vacant shops in empty malls. A sense of guilt has struck the masses. It's time to learn the art of giving to live peacefully. I know this is just the beginning and a long journey awaits us. Nevertheless, we have decided to start. Giving back to nature, country and mankind at large is a responsibility bestowed upon us. Learn to give so that your children live to give it back to theirs.

The month that passed by

April-May seems to be a tough time for mothers. Those 60 days that were our childhood desires throughout the year turned out to be dreadful dreams. I had to agree on a few honest attempts made to spend quality time with the girl initially. She too was excited. Interest waned for the two of us as time passed. Nevertheless, we lazied around and now are waiting for the academic schedule to keep us on our feet in the coming months. To the more serious segment of the post, here goes my 'points to ponder' from these days.

• I was browsing through the Internet on April 25th as usual when I saw a birthday doodle. Least interested, I continued. Minutes before exiting, my pointer indicated to the doodle and guess what?! It read 'happy birthday Vaishnavi'. I was more perplexed than pleased as Google was the last person (?) I expected to wish me on my birthday. When I returned from my visit to Madurai, home town, Google+  mailed, " Vaishnavi, you have a story to share". The entire journey pictures were chronologically arranged and displayed in slides.  Now, I am not a very public person wanting to tell the world all I do. My Facebook account deletion 2 years ago justifies this (not considering the occasional logins through spouse account :). Are we becoming way too visible even without wanting to? Today's article in The Hindu titled 'The big data conundrum' throws more light on the topic. Right from the government's policies such as Aadhar card to internet requirements of personal details for every single transaction, validates the fact that  'you are being watched'. Beware folks, it's not just your dubsmash video that you upload in Fb that is seen, but also the secret birthday bash you celebrated in the pub with your chosen few.

• "Whatsappening ?" I yelled of late.  Yes, too much of whatsapping left me laughing over a few funny things. Too many groups and you lose account of the conversation loop. 'Congrats SI, You have lost weight' messaged AA. ' Thanks dear' came the reply. I was wondering why SI didnot look so to me when I met her yesterday. Later did I realize that it was SI from college group who had lost weight and AAs were numerous to rememember. The prompt commentor no matter what is posted ( I wonder if she ever reads , for the emoticons appear nanoseconds after the post), the benign wellwisher ( happy bday to A's cousin's daughter who is my Fb friend), the reposter ( copy paste copy paste, oops that was not meant for this group), the who-knows-who non-participant ( dude, who the hell added me here), the gracious greeter (today is the day, gm; if not today tomorrow, gn), the list goes on. 

Not happy: Paula Cochrane has been hit with a staggering £1,200 phone bill after texting hundreds of smiley face emoticon symbols that weren't included in her 'unlimited' £31-a-month contract. Read full message from website.

Picture message from dailymail.co.uk

• The power of advertising was seen again at home. An exclusive tamil message for those who understand.

        ஐந்து வயது மகள் இரண்டு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு நேச்சர் பவர் சோப்பு விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிரித்தேன். ஒரு வருடம் முன்பு டேபிள் மேட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிந்தித்தேன். இந்த வருடம் சென்னை அமிர்தா காலேஜ் ஆப் ஹோட்டல் மேனேஜ்மென்ட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறாள். ஷாக் ஆயிட்டேன் அவ்வ்வ்வ்வ்....

Happy digital living, readers!