Jaane Kyon?

Jaane Kyu Log Pyar karte hai…..

Well, there is no answer to that question. Why do people fall in love? Why did I fall in love with you? Maybe it was destiny, after all. Maybe we were fated to be together. Maybe we are bound by past Karma.
Whatever the reason, I love the feeling. The warmth of your embrace, envelops my soul. The sweetness of your kiss lingers on and brings a smile to my lips even on days you are not around. The sensitivity of your words calm me down and gives me the strength to weather any storm.  The small things you do make a difference.
The coffee every morning warms my core. I can’t think of ways to thank you for being there for me, time and again.
Why we fell madly in love is a mystery but I think I know why I continue to stay in love with you.
Zindagi ki safar mein hazaaron humsafar mile, ek hamrahi………You are my true companion, without you the journey of life would have been incomplete. Thank you for being my travel mate for the past decade. I love you with all my heart.

Amma

You: You will realize when you have a child of your own and she does this.

Me(all of seven): I will never force my child to do what I want to do. I will give her a chance to use her own brain and decide.

You: I am your mother, I know better. Just do what I say. It is for your own good.

Me: I don’t want to.

You: I don’t care if you want to or not, just do it.

Me: I just want to play, let me play.

You: You have played all day long, if you don’t finish your meal NOW you will get into trouble, BIG TROUBLE.

Sulking Me(In my head): When will I have the freedom to do what I want to do, not eat my meals and get away with it. I can’t wait to get out of here.

Mind Reader that you are : You will realize all this when you go away, have a family of your own and don’t have me around to fuss and fret over you. Now finish your food before Achan gets here.

Me(Crying and choking on my food): You don’t love me. What do you do for me? You are always yelling at me.

And this saga continued day after day way into my teens.  Wonder where you got all the patience and energy from?

Fast forward twenty something years –

Your Grand daughter is roughly the same age as I was and we have been having this ongoing discussion for hours.

Here is the last part of it -

Me: Do what I’ve asked you to and then watch TV.

Your Grand-daughter: Amma, let me watch TV. I can’t do it now.

Me: Do as I say, I know what is good for you.

Your Grand daughter: No, I will do what I want to do.

Me: I am your Mother, I know what is best for you. Too much of TV is definitely not good for your intellect. Pick up your journal and start writing.

Your Grand-daughter: I DON’T want to write. I don’t like to write.

Me:  Remember what Ms. N said? You need to keep writing daily to improve your handwriting. In India it is important to have a good handwriting.

Your Grand-daughter: I don’t care. I don’t want a good handwriting.

Me: PICK UP YOUR JOURNAL, NOW!!!!!!

Your Feisty little Grand Daughter: I am NOT going to write. I have nothing to write about.

Me: Sit tight for ten minutes and you will come up with something. Think about our recent vacation at your grand parents place. Write about the Vela or all the mango trees in Ammamma’s house.

Your GD: I don’t want to write, I’m BORED of writing.

Me(Almost losing it): I DON’T CARE FOR YOUR BOREDOM. IF YOU DON’T PICK UP THE JOURNAL RIGHT NOW YOU ARE IN BIG BIG TROUBLE.

Your Grand daughter(with tears flowing down her chubby cheeks): You don’t love me, you don’t even like me. You bother me all the time.

 

Fast forward to the same evening -

Me(on the phone): I’m EXHAUSTED. Mothering your grand daughter is the most stressful job in the universe.

You: It’s ok, kids who are troublesome while they are little always turn out to be loving supportive children. You wait and see when she grows up she will be the best kid out there.

Me: She is so stubborn, she drives me up the wall. I mean, she cried for hours before touching her book. Have I EVER troubled you like this?

You: No way, you were such a good kid. You were NEVER stubborn. I am shocked your daughter is like this. Now your sister is a different story, I’m pretty sure she has taken after her aunt. You don’t worry. Soon she’ll grow up and understand.

Me: When is she going to grow up? I can’t wait.

You: Don’t hope for that. They grow up too soon as it is. Enjoy every minute of it for soon she is going to grow up and go away and then you better not have any expectations from her.

Me: *sigh* You are right!

How is it that you are always so right? 

I Love you even more after experiencing Motherhood. I don’t need Mother’s Day to remind me of the invaluable gift in my life called Amma. Not a single day goes by when I don’t think of you and everything you did to raise us. Even though we are not always on the same page, you are always in my heart.

Here is wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day in advance.

As promised – Nemmara Vela 2009 Pictures.

Better late than never! I finally managed to upload the vela photos. The videos are going to take a while but until then, hope these images arouse your curiosity enough to wait for the videos.

Nemmara Vela 2009

Nemmara Vallangi Vela 2009

The Nemmara Vela 2009 is an unforgettable experience. Not only did I get to participate in the festivities, I also got to experience the fireworks, a first for me.

As usual the festivities began with all the pomp and vigour. On a positive note, neither was the heat index as high as last year nor did it rain. Excellent panchavadyam was music to every aching ear, heigtening each of my senses and transporting me to a greater world. If I could choose from my entire life, all the episodes where I have experienced heaven on earth, this panchavadyam is definitely going to be somewhere on top of that list.

As usual, Bhagavathi’s thidambu was beautiful, personifying her dignity and elegance. The “thidambu ketal” ceremony at Mannath Temple was great to watch. It gets better every time. The magnificient pachyderms stole the show, atleast from the point of view of the petite participants. All of them were awestruck by the eleven elephants at the Vetaikorumagan ksehtram.

Both the pandals were pieces of art. It seems bad that they are coming down as I type this but then if history is proof, the next ones will beat even these.

As a grand finale, the night sky errupted into hues of dazzling colours. My little one was more interested in knowing the winner of the fireworks display. I personally liked both, one for the accoustic effects and the other for the pyrotechnique display.

This Vela is a significant event in our calender and if you go by the sea of people thronging Nellikulangara Kaavu on the two days, it is understood that many hold the same sentiments.  I am inspired to create an entire writeup on the Vela after interviewing DH’s Ammamma. That is definitely in the agenda for a future post.

Note: Pictures and videos are definitely on the way, as soon as I get back to my broadband.

Finally uploaded the pictures.

Mein Jaag nahi sakthi

We humans are a strange lot. We don’t care for anything we own unless we loose it. And then we miss what we no longer own. And the cycle continues.

I miss complaining about how little my one vote can do to change the system. I miss my Dad chanting “No vote, no college” mantra when I used my extra important morning class excuse(the one that I otherwise conveniently bunked). I miss my right to vote in this country. Yes, I made an informed decision to become a “Videshi” but back then I didn’t think about what I would loose. When Jaago Re plays on TV, I keep thinking about how I cannot wake up from this slumber, how I cannot be one insignificant number in the one billion target. Why? Because nobody cares about my Perfectly Indian Soul. 

So all those of you who plan to hit the snooze button, think about it for a minute. Would you rather try and make your feeble voice heard or have no voice at all? Think about everything that our past generations may have sacrificed so that we could have this luxury that was once their dream. It must have been each of our grandparent’s vision to see their future generations having a say in the country. What would they say if they saw this apathy? If not for us or our ideals, do it for them.

Go make your mark. Nothing may change if you do, but if you don’t then what is the use of all the gyaan that comes later?  The word democracy itself says “crazy”, so quirks are part and parcel of it. Everyone is free to pick on the quirks but does it do any good? We have a long time to pick on the quirks, I’ll join you in the rants but first go vote.