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".

Of God's own country!

Contrary to how I had perceived Kerala in tourism promos: a land of Kathakalis, coconut trees, vast stretches of waters; my first impression of God’s own country was a land of eagles, kingfishers and little egrets. It’s probably the budding photographer in me that notices birds more over what is apparent and right in the face, like coconut trees and vast stretches of water. This vacation, from October 31 through November 5, was fantastic. I did an evening at Thiruvanthapuram; thanks to the awful Air India service that delayed my day by about three hours. Never ever fly Air India, I told myself. Apart from the time delays, I thought, the staff was kind; making up for the short comings in delayed schedules that they didn’t have control over.

The next two days were spent in Varkala. Varkala is very laid back and it feels like a smaller version of Goa. North cliff is pretty happening in the evenings vis-à-vis the south. I lived on the south at Hindustan beach resorts; a very decent place to stay for two days. But if one wants action, north cliff is a better place to live. At the north cliff, I loved the café Del Mar restaurant. I only had a late evening coffee there but the ambience kept pulling me towards it. I would probably book the Clafouti resort at the north cliff if I decide to visit Varkala again. The water lake (probably called Angeco) towards the golden temple was beautiful; experienced my first photography aha moment here. Shibu, the boy who drove us around recommended a visit to this temple. He was an excellent sarathi. If ever anyone decides to roam around Varkala, he can be hired as a sarathi during the trip. He is available on +91-8089419757 and one can give him my reference. He knows me as Jeeva ;-). 

Shibu can be reached on +91-8089419757

Kovalam was next for two nights at Samudra KTDC resorts. Nice resort, beautiful outdoors. I was mesmerized by the pristine blue waters at Kovalam. I haven’t seen water that blue ever in my life before, so this was a first. I decided to get in, experience it on the last evening. On the second day at Kovalam, I decided to take a trip to the backwaters of Poovar, an approximate of 16-20 kms drive from Kovalam. The backwaters are overwhelming for photographers. Colorful greens, narrow mangroves, gorgeous birds in flight, golden sands and more. The pictures at these backwaters was my highlight of the Kerala trip.

One would think European accents are difficult to follow. English in mallu is equally challenging.

God’s own country has been a hit with me! 

More pictures on facebook

Forever us

"In moments a perfect world exists. In moments, I am the perfect one for you... these moments, of you and me, are often infinite. In all the randomness you are 'the one' that my heart wants to stand still with. You are the emotional experience of my soul and therefore, like its ethos to live on to eternity, forever exists. That forever is US." - extract from the Untitled.

Taking stock on September 23

1. Closer to model colony, an area in Pune, 28 lavish pent houses are being constructed called Skyone. I think it runs 4 crores+ in terms of cash and should be 4 BHKs or so. I say to myself “I would love a 4 BHK”, 3 rooms for the three significant people in my life (grandmum, mum and sis) and I shall keep one to myself. Call it a family home. Then I peep into my bank account and laugh at myself with the realization of missing zeroes. Nevertheless I like the idea of that home. It also tells me, no matter where I shall live, Pune will always be home as long as my grandmum and mum shall live.
2. I will meet Jolie someday. I probably will hug her out for five minutes. If she’s kind we may do coffee. If she’s kinder we may spend a day together. I will photograph her and then call upon someone to take a picture of me and her together. Don’t blame me for being crazy!! Life’s taught me to believe in the powers of the universe!
3. A moment comes in your life, like a flick of a finger, where you realize you can never be the child in the family anymore. You assume the guardian to everyone who has brought you up. Its terrifying.
4. If there’s one thing I could change from the past, I would buy less clothes and invest the same amount in assets. If I had two, I would make up for the loss of time (pointless gallivanting to nowhere) and invest it in social work.
5. “Pick a workout you like. A little of some that you don’t. Be consistent and regular”, is a learning I would take forward with me in the future. I love aerobics and working on the chest and biceps. I can hardly do pull ups. I hate doings lunges with weights.
6. Speaking of workouts, I would like to do the 48 hours of uninterrupted sex marathons like Derek and Meredith. I would like a lot of these marathons. I would marry the ‘one’ I do these marathons with.
7. Once I am done with enough of these marathons for a season, I would take a break. I would then sky dive or bungee jump. We had then go on honeymoon :-).
8. Rain mates with sunshine
   Every three hours
   In moments, a perfect world exists.    
9. I should push myself to swim more. Like dolphins or orcas.
10. There’s just one thought that excites me these days and turns out I don’t have the motivation to do it. When I get the motivation, I don’t find the time. Catch 22? No silly, I just need a kick on my ass to do that one thing that will make me proud.
11. On Sep 11, 2012, a friend of mine, Nanju, got married (or got his legal license of marriage). I am very happy for him. So are a million of his facebook friends.
12. That makes me love policy makers, at least some of them. I should be a little more aware of politics. I am such a dim wit when it comes to that!! Who would have thought we live in an era of g-love-lization where a Telugu boy from Bangalore got married to his American boyfriend in Washington :-). I don’t know the story since I left Bangalore in 2009 but next time I visit I am going to sit with him and have a chat over coffee. Get to know his story.
13. I am a good listener. However, I selectively choose whose stories I want to get to know.
14. One should take care when crossing highways. Use the under bridge or over bridge or whatever that allows you not to confront the speeding traffic. Playing safe is better than broken bones. Recently, I was walking with an acquaintance trying to cross the highway: lets just say he got bruises which otherwise would have been broken bones. Lesson learned.
15. I am excited to get more tattoos. The very idea of a visual representation of one’s soul on skin is exotic.
16. The last film that touched my heart was BARFI. It was on September 16, 2012.
17. In my experience, “one shouldn’t be overwhelmed by promises or all things that come in the form of ‘talk’. Let actions take your breath away. That is how great friendships are made and love is found.”
18. I want to visit London next year in Summer; meet my dear friend Vishal. Pub hop, get drunk, get wasted!! It has been a while since I did that. See, that’s why friends are super important.
19. As for love, all I can say is, love can never be forced. That dynamics is the emotional experience of your soul. “To revel in its exoticism cannot be faked.”
20. Time is a great healer, guide and philosopher. Take my word for it.
21. I heard of a great saying from a friend of mine once; “The trouble with life is, when you are half way through it, you realize, its a do it yourself thing.” I believe it to be an absolute truth.
22. Of all the poets I have heard of I remember Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words... “to leave the world better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or redeemed social condition. To know that one life breathed easier because you lived... is to have succeeded.” Another absolute truth.
23. Last but not the least, I want to thank Ganapati Bappa with all my heart for the wonderful days and years I have had. In the next 35 years if I can say to myself, “I loved”, I would have made my life’s worth!

Early morning dream!!

I had a strange dream this morning. I saw a beige mouse. Very pretty looking actually but I hate mice. So I freaked out in the dream... but in whatever unconsciousness, I realized this was Ganesha festival so it seemed like a very good sign!!

In the same dream or another, I do not know now, I saw an eagle. It dived down right to where I was and, in reflex, I raised my forearm for the eagle to sit. I was worried about the claws but when I saw the eagle dive down with such confidence, "I must know the eagle", is what I said to myself. Hence the forearm reflex. Isn't the eagle the national bird of US or something? Or some specific breed of eagle?

This morning I got something in my inbox and I have been thinking of the dream!!