January jackpots

One of the nice outcomes of moving part of your home into another is you bump into pleasant surprises stored in boxes. This cheque reminds me of a time I earned in $. It’s special because it was dated on my birthday but most of all I like it because of the whales in the backdrop. The orcas hold a particular significance in my life; so I believe. Someday when I have them painted on my soul, I shall explain their significance. I wanted to keep this memory so alive that I had the cheque laminated.

I always knew my grandmother (aai) was gorgeous, and still continues to be, but I had never seen any pictures of her in the younger days. The picture (below) was taken when she was just about married. “Another jackpot of January,” I said to myself.  “That’s my wedding sari, in silk,” she said, also mentioning that the blouse design was “in vogue” during that period (1950s). 

I love her. She is a woman of strength and substance, right before my sister. My mum is very lady-like fascinated with jewelry and all the so called womanly things but aai and my sis are less materialistic and more spiritual.

Aai birthed five kids, four girls and a boy. During her times too, boy or girl, were both equal to her. She never felt the urge to birth a particular gender. A nice, healthy child was fine by her. The man next to her is my grandfather (Bapu), obviously ;-)! I never really liked him. No love whatsoever but he was a responsible man with Gandhian philosophies. If I was to discuss with him about Gandhi and his German wrestler boyfriend, he would probably beat me unconscious for even thinking that Gandhi had a male lover. Needless to say, he was very Indian in that aspect. To a majority of Indians, freedom fighters were all WHITE. No shades of grey or black. I like Gandhi. Personally to me, apart from freedom, he has given two great philosophies which I shall discuss someday later. He is a great philosopher, great man but I am open minded to listening some of the dark secrets he had buried. When Bapu died, I didn’t go to his funeral. My excuse was, “I didn’t love him, anyways.” I have more empathy now and let people be what they want to be unless it doesn’t affect my course of life. If it was today, I would have paid my last respects. I respected him although didn’t have the love. Even without the love, I am sure part of his blood runs in me. He was also super proud of the fact that his first grandchild went to the US in his early 20s for work. Aai and he fell apart after the loss of my mamu but she came back to nurture him during his “sickness.” She was strong enough to believe in separation and soft enough to nurture the only man she ever loved.

Me and Jaidu (my nephew, Jai,) had a republic day date. He wanted to see “Main Krishna hoon” and I took him along to Cinemax at Infinity Malad. He has no love for the maternal side of his family but there have been a few instances over the past days that his love for mamu is overflowing. He actually kissed me twice before going to school once. Doing that on his own, without coercion from me or his mother, is something. He’s a very kind, soft and gentle boy, I have realized with the time I spend with him. There are kids who are jerks but he can never harm anybody he knows. He loves any food other than the one cooked at home. The afternoon we spent together he had a filet-o-fish meal, two samosas and an ice-cream. He wanted to pack a double trouble doughnut for later but I was very worried of all the things his stomach had been digesting that day. I became the disciplinarian and said, “No, Jayu, enough eating outside for the day! We shall have the doughnut another time.” I reasoned, he pretended to understand. :-). He is a mirror image of his mum; same eyes, same lips, and similar kindness. x o.

Oh yeah, someday in life, I am going to visit the lavender Garden in Mont Ventoux, Southern France. I was the 555th person to like it on facebook. It should be a sign, yeah?

5555 pageviews

I was happy about the 5555 statistics! So, posting as a memoir! "The Rebound" is the all time winner to date!

Click to go to the blog.

2012 summed

Hightlight: 2012 has been pretty fantastic, especially, as far as material gains are concerned. I invested in a studio apartment in Pune; not exactly a place I would live in but probably one I would go back to with my date to ****. If I was sure to live in Pune for years together, I would have probably got a bigger place, a place with a terrace where I could do coffee in solitude and have the date for company. However for now, it seems like a good investment given the dynamics of my life. I am happy about it.

Dad inherited a family land. 

Another new home

The highlight of 2012, though, has to be the house reconstruction that belongs to maternal grand mum. We did the pooja on November 19, and moved in soon after. It's wonderful living in the new house with greenish-grey, cold on the feet, kotha flooring. However, beyond the wonders of living in a new house, I am glad grand mum is back into a place where she spent the peak years of her life. A place where ladies stroll into homes without announcement and chat up. Camaraderie can be so vital in old age. I have seen aai (grand mum) absolutely thrilled and happy after a long time. For someone who hates walking even to the closest garden, she finds enough adrenaline rush to make to and fro rounds up the three storeys multiple times during the day. Let Ganapati Bappa continue to bless her with good health and minimal suffering!

Diwali time; aai in her new home

It's wonderful to celebrate Diwali surrounded with family. This year was one of the finest Diwali celebrations in my life.

IBM: Six months ago, while aai lived with my sister in Mumbai, faced some health hazards. In order she finds some consistency with medication and hospitals, I decided to move back to Pune for a while. I have to thank my stars and Bappa that I work for IBM, an organization who does pioneering work for smarter planet that in turn translates to smarter work for employees. With just my laptop, I could move to Pune IBM location and work effortlessly. Not many organizations can boast of this flexibility. For this reason among others, I would always love and be thankful to IBM.

In general: Hemant got married on June 15 and he seems happy and content. He sort of has become a family man now, doing family things (like going to bed by 10:30 p.m. as he puts it ;-)). This year Hemant has lived up to the proverb, "A friend in need is a friend indeed", for me. I needed cash for the new house and he was the only one who helped me out financially. In my experience, I don't see a lot of people (/ friends) help out other people (/friends) with cash, so I would say, this act was very kind and I only state it here for "as a matter of fact" basis.

I am lesser involved with people emotionally than I used to be. In the prior years, I had passion for people I loved. Over the years, I believe, the number of people I have passion for has significantly plunged. These days I tend to notice the fluff people exhibit to create an impression of niceness. These are the worldly ways, I have realized. I play along, unaffected but appreciative of all they have to say. However, I let them volunteer a grand gesture for me to attach my soul to them. Once the gesture is done conspicuously or otherwise, I say to myself, "Okay, this gesture deserves a shot for my emotional investment." I believe, its life's way of helping me filter out the special ones from the Tom-Dick-Harry or Jill-Jane-Janice!

Sue during her Mumbai trip in February; Lekha at her wedding in December

My God child, Sue, touched my heart this December with a special gesture. During the same time, on December 16, I attended Lekha's wedding. Both these women were the ambassadors to reinforce my faith in the niceness of people in 2012.

Secretly, I have begun to test the people I wish to invest my soul with.

Nevertheless, I am still very open minded and welcome friendships. Being open minded is the foundation of spirituality.

I picked up a Canon 100-400 mm lens in August hoping to further develop photographic skills.

My birthday this year was nothing extra ordinary.

The Kerala vacation was one of my best this year because of the opportunities it presented for photography.

January through March were a few tough months from a state-of-mind perspective. I have rarely felt lonely before but these months were a minor course study on "loneliness philosophy".