These are a few of my favorite things!

Waking up in the morning

to a bird's song of joy.

Finding in an old trunk

my favorite childhood toy!

Spending hours in the park

going to and fro on the swings.

These are a few

of my favorite things!

Cool drops of rain

splashing my face.

Some moments of peace

at my favorite place.

Choco caramel drinks and

spicy crispy corn rings.

These are a few

of my favorite things!

My hair, for once,

setting in a proper style.

A friend's twinkling eyes

and mischievous smile.

A cute little anklet

and big silver earrings.

These are a few

of my favorite things!

Beautiful colors of

the sky at dawn.

A little baby's carefree

cute lazy yawn.

Fallen leaves of autumns,

scented breeze of springs.

These are a few

of my favorite things! :)

(Inspired by the song from The Sound of Music)

:-)

Hi Little Darling,

Since your mommy daddy have not decided on a name for you yet, for now I'll call you my Faith. :)

I am your Aunty Peace, your papa's friend. I know you might never get to read this note, but I'm still writing it to you as I really don't know how soon we'll get to meet and talk...

Sweetheart, I'd been eagerly looking forward to your arrival and am so happy to know you're here safe, happy and healthy.

Today's your third day in this world with your family, and I hope you're loving every moment of it, and enjoying all the love that everyone around you has to shower on you. I have been dying to meet you, even more so after i saw your pictures... You look so charming and adorable, Faith baby, just can't wait to hold you... Some reason or the other is delaying my visit to you, but all my prayers, wishes, thoughts, and love are constantly with you.

I pray to God almighty to bless you with a long, happy, healthy, and fulfilled life. With abundance of love and laughter. May Jesus watch over you always and shower His choicest blessings on you, just as He sent you as a beautiful blessing for your loved ones.

Keep spreading love and joy amongst everyone around, just the way your papa does.

Welcome to the world and to our gang, little angel. I love you dearly...

With all my love,

Aunt Peace

Did you ever experience the real joys of life?

Did you ever bite into a steaming hot pakoda just as your mom was taking it off the stove?

Lay in bed on a beautiful morning listening to the sound of birds and looking out the window at the rising sun?

Ever felt the joy of raindrops hitting your face?

Did you ever have times when you were sitting with friends laughing like crazy over nothing at all?

Ever had someone tell you despite all your flaws that you are beautiful?

Does your best friend instantly come up with PJs to cheer you up when you're feeling low?

Did you ever have a loved one hold you close with a silent reassurance that he loves you with all his heart?

Ever smiled listening to one of your all time favorite songs after a long long time?

Ever fought with your sibling over that last bite of maggi?

Did you ever pounce on a single bowl of maggi along with 10 of your friends fighting for your share as if it was the secret of survival?

Ever had a baby fall asleep in your arms?

Have you ever felt droplets of water trickling down and tickling your cheek and neck right after a hair wash?

Have you ever shed a tear of joy seeing your best friend (finally) get married to her sweetheart?

Have you ever had an year old baby put his arms around your neck and give you a hug?

Ever exchanged a smile and a wave with a shy toddler in the car next to yours at a traffic signal?

Ever played antakshari with friends while stuck in a terrible traffic jam? Or got off the car, played music on your phone and danced on the road while stuck due to a landslide? (if not, must try!)

Did you ever get an unexpected text message from your beloved saying he loves you?

Ever cheered and clapped for your best friend as he walked up the stage to collect a well deserved award?

Did you ever get caught making funny faces with a little kid?

Experienced the bliss of a piece of chocolate melting in your mouth? or a sip of hot frothy coffee on a lazy winter evening?

Ever licked icing off your fingers after having a slice of a super yummy cake?

Did you ever wake up in the morning with a kiss on your forehead?

Have you ever missed someone and found yourself smiling thinking about the times shared together?

Ever had a friend come to drop you all the way home from work because you were not feeling too well?

Have you ever thanked God for fulfilling a big or small wish?

If you smiled or nodded at any of these, you have experienced the true joys of life!

Tell me, did you?

Some conversations that left her speechless...

They sound so funny today, but she is still speechless!

(i)

Him: main yahaan itna pareshan aur depressed hoon

Her:You keep repeating this all the time! You think I'm enjoying my life and partying everyday?!

3 weeks later

Him: Main itna pareshan aur depressed hoon

Her: Main bhi bilkul unaffected nahi hoon. Iss pareshani ki wajah sey i spent a night in ICU getting my ECG done and blood pressure monitored AT THE AGE OF 24!

Him (with a confused look): But aapne toh kaha tha you are enjoying life and partying everyday...

Her, head in hands, is speechless!

(ii)

Him: Main toh apney friends sey tips leta hoon ki fiancee key saath kya kya karna chahiye. Aap bhi apni friends sey poocha karo.

(these friends happen to be single themselves! anyways)

Her: Pata nahi. I'm not very sure if that works... I feel that every relationship is different and depends on the people involved. What works in one relationship might not work in another. So i don't think an outsider can know better as to how our relationship would work out...

Him: Hmmm... baat mein damm toh hai! You are very intelligent! par... bina tips liye how do you know what to do?!

and Her is speechless...

(iii)

Him: Dadiji is very serious. hospital mein hain. Actually, the doctor has given the answer.

(Didn't get it? Try literal translation of "Doctor ne jawaab de diya hai")

Her is thinking till today how to react at this one!

(iv)

Her: As I was saying pehley bhi... these problems could also be because of the long distance thing. And i'm hoping that everything will be fine when you get back.

Him (highly agitated): Yeh long distance sey kuch nahi hota. My friends say it's all nonsense.

Her: No doubt your friends mean good, par without knowing our relationship how can they know if it's sensible or nonsense?

His is annoyed and wants to disconnect the line. It's fine by Her

Later that day

His: You were right. these problems can be because of the long distance

Her: What makes you think so now?

Him: Aapko lag raha tha ki my friends being outsiders decide nahi kar saktey, issliye mainey google search kiya!

Her is hair-splittingly, teeth-grittingly speechless (i know hair-splittingly and teeth-grittingly are grammatically incorrect. But you understood what am trying to say, right?)

(v)

Her wrote an email to Him after Him had sent Her an ecard with a "personal message" copied direcly from someone else's message. It was quite evident because the message ended with an "I love you (Him)"

Her: "Hi,

Looks like you forgot to delete the last line from the card you just sent me. It reads: "I love you (Him)"

Him: I love you too Her

Her is speechless!

(vi)

A day after Him and Her were introduced for the first time, Him sent Her a text message that read "I love you sweetheart." and was a bit disappointed when Her didn't respond with the same. A quite surprised her smiled and responded

Her: :-) Don't you think it's too early to develop this feeling? We have spoken to each other for literally 10 minutes till now!

Him: Actually you are right. It is too early. Merey friends ney mujhey bola that i should say this to. that's why i was saying it.

Her is speechless .......... (and touched too as she thought it was so innocent!)

A Letter of Gratitude to My Best Friend

Hi Buds,

After our chat conversation today, I just had to write this. 

I had been feeling a bit restless and low since yesterday and wasn't able to figure out why. And while talking to you today, it all started pouring out by itself... The thoughts about my ex-fiance and failed engagement. After talking to you I am feeling better, but i can't help replaying those few months in my mind again. And when i do that, the one thing that i realize at every point is how you helped me deal with it all through that time, and after it was over...

Initially when i started discussing the small things with you that i felt were going wrong, you didn't blindly sympathize with me... But tried to show me a man's perspective and explain why it was happening the way it was. There were times when i felt you were being so unfair by being so fair. :-) You are my best friend and you should be supporting me, not him! But then i realized that you were supporting me only, by making sure i understand his perspective too and not get into any misconceptions or prejudices. You were, as always, being a true friend by not supporting me in what i was doing, but making sure that i did the right thing!

Remember how you suggested that i make a list of all the positives and negatives of that relationship and assign values to them based on how important they were to me? I did that for a month... by the end of which it was absolutely clear what the right decision would have been...

But then, who had the courage to take that drastic decision? Not me! But it was your gentle support, all the love and care, your prayers, the assurance that i was right, your scolding me and pulling me together when i was falling apart, listening to me for as long as i had thoughts to think aloud and things to say, your holding me when i cried and making me smile through my tears, understanding and feeling my pain, and constantly being by my side that gave me the courage to make up my mind and discuss my thoughts with mom and dad... And then on that day, when i prayed to God to make it easy for me, He made sure that i didn't have to worry about anything at all, and made it alright Himself...

As you know, i don't have the slightest regret of that relationship not working out, and am ever so thankful to God almighty that i saw the truth before it was too late... But what you don't know is that i would not have survived that nightmare without your support. I would not have been able to make this life saving decision if you hadn't helped me find the courage to do so. And, you know about the after effects of this episode... who knows it better than you! I came out of it without losing my sanity (whatever of it i had), just because you were there with me and never let me feel lonely or victimized...

And today, i can look back and laugh about most of those things because you taught me to move on...

I don't have words to thank you, and honestly i don't even want to thank you. But i want you to know that you have been one of the biggest and the most beautiful blessing to me, not just through those three months, but since the day we became friends some three years back... :)

May our bond keep getting stronger with every passing day... :-)

God bless you in a mighty way!

Lots of love,

Peace

*****************************************************************************

There were some more dear ones who made that journey much easier and bearable for me. 

The one who called me up daily without fail, loved me, scolded me, guided me, supported me just like an elder sister would have (and has completely disappeared since this ended!); 

The one who listened to me endlessly and tirelessly, constantly assured me that everything would turn out to be fine, but kept her opinion on the matter to herself till the very end! Something i really appreciate...; 

The one who inspite of being hundereds of miles away in Bangalore was constantly by my side, always there, connected through emails, chat, phone calls or SMSes;

The one who initially was worried about the social implications of it all, but later on stopped giving a damn about society and was just concerned about me :-); 

And the one who spent sleepless nights, not feeding her 6 months old daughter, but worrying about me...

Girls, I'm sure you'll understand where i'm talking about you. Thank you so much for helping me survive through that nightmare. I know this post is coming in quite late... Never had the strength to write anything about it, but somehow, found that strength today... :-)

Between Friends...

Meeting after more than a couple of weeks...

Pari: You have lost a lot of weight!

Me: Naah... Nott att alll.

Pari: It certainly does look like it.

Me: Really?

Pari: Yes.

Me: If that's the case, that makes me verrryyy happy!

After a while...

Pari: Let's have ice-cream! Chocolate cornetto...

True friends really don't let us lose ANYTHING!! Do they? :D

My Wish...

Today I experienced a sense of complete peace and serenity through the eyes of a 17 months old girl, Swechchha -- my wish...

I entered the room in Matri Chhaya that was reserved for the older children, or "bade bachche" as they called them. These older children turned out to be babies in the age group of 7-12 months. With the exception of Swechchha who, at 17 months, sat amongst them feeding herself a pomegranate with the incredible expertise of a grown up. She looked at me, I smiled, she smiled back and instantly I knew a bond was formed!

Matri Chhaya is an institute of the Sewa Bharti trust and provides a home to homeless infants -- lost, disowned and orphaned babies. People leave babies in a cradle outisde the home, ring the bell and disappear, and they are welcomed in the Matri Chhaya family, looked after and are adopted by childless couples.

I visited this place today and met the babies. There were three rooms with cradles lined against the walls. One room was assigned to the older babies, one to the middle aged babies (middle age here happens to be between 2 to 7 months), and the third room was for the new born ones. It was so heartbreaking to see so many homeless infants. And the saddest part was that even today, most of those abandoned children were girls -- unwanted female children!

After spending some time with the little ones I was sitting in the visitor's room talking to the institute's in charge when Swechchha toddled into the room and stood in front of me. She was brought to Matri Chhaya in December by the district police after they found her all alone on a roadside, apparently abandoned by family. She looked up at me with huge and the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen!

I smiled and extended a hand towards her. After hesitating for a moment she very delicately held it and stepped closer to me. With an overwhelming surge of love I took her in my arms and kissed her cheeks and forehead. She instantly slipped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder and started cooing softly... after a few moments she looked into my eyes, and fixing her gaze there, arms still around my neck, moved her face closer and rested her forehead against mine... and she smiled... An incredibly innocent and loving smile... 

That was the most blissful feeling that I have ever experienced... That unconditional love, the contentment of being loved even if it was just momentary and the joy that I saw in those eyes at that moment was worth more than anything else in the world...

I had wanted to spend a few hours over every weekend with those babies... but some figures of authority in my part of the world prohibit me from doing that, for their own reasons... I don't know if I'll be able to go again, but I've left a part of me there with Swechchha, and every child who looked at me with those loving and longing eyes. 

They will be in my heart and in my prayers always... And I'm ever so thankful to God almighty for all the love and loved ones that He has blessed me with.

Is it only about Mumbai?

Wherever I look these days, I see everyone discussing the attacks on Mumbai. Every news channel on television, every news website, even the blogs of almost all Indians talk about the terrorist invasion in Mumbai. It is such a big shock indeed that we're just not able to take our minds off this! The sudden loss of innumerable innocent lives (I don’t believe the figures in the news as more often than not, they’re not true!) has left everyone across the country with a heavy and angry heart.

I feel tears stinging my eyes when I see the shocked and shattered loved ones of the victims of this attack… I am filled with rage when I think about who is responsible for all of this. I feel like killing all the politicians and the “leaders” of this country…

We are all so greatly disturbed and affected by this. We find ourselves glued to the news to find out what’s happening and waiting for the situation to get better, praying for the families of the dead, for the safety of the hostages and the commandos… And in the midst of this all, a thought is constantly bothering me…

The media is constantly keeping us updated with the situation and condition in Mumbai… but WHY? Yes, why are they doing so? Because Mumbai is the biggest business city? Because all the big bollywood stars and n number of celebrities and important people inhabit the city? Because such an attack on the city could affect the economy of our country? Because we love that city…

Why is nobody bothered or even aware of the fact that such attacks happen in the north-eastern states of India every few days, and have been happening since God knows how many years? The entire state of Manipur, Assam, parts of Meghalaya and Arunachal are constantly attacked by militants. People there can’t burn crackers because the sound of crackers drowns the sounds of blasts and firings.

Do we know that a mindless firing similar to Mumbai had happened in Assam last year killing around 100 people? Do we know a blast in Imphal on 21^st October killed over 20 people and injured many many more? The serial blasts in Assam that killed supposedly 84 people made it to the news one day and were forgotten on the next… And these things keep happening constantly! Militants have made themselves totally comfortable and at home in these states, and NOBODY CARES! No commandos or marcos go to save and protect these people… Are they not human beings living there? Do they not require as much protection as our Mumbaiwalas? Such incidents there don’t even make it to the news headlines.

Probably it’s because there’s nothing famous or fancy about these states. They are no business hubs for our country and are of no monetary benefits to the central government. But they are also innocent human beings… How can we be so sensitive and so affected by a tragedy in one city and totally ignore the same thing happening in another within our own country?

People, please wake up… and stop being so selective in being sensitive! 

Me in some good times... along with my partners in all crimes! :-)

Love you all!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Apology to a dear friend...

Dear Blog,

How are you doing? I am really sorry for neglecting you since so long! Life got really busy and crazy because of which i have not been able to devote as much time to my social circle as i used to. I know that's no excuse to be given to a friend as dear and close as you, one who's been with me through all ups and downs of life... but i know you will forgive me... (No! I'm not taking you for granted. I just know that you love me as much as i love you!)

Let me give you a brief update about how my life has been since i last interacted with you... You already know about us being blessed with Viraj. Life has changed completely since then, and the changes range from job change to a change in my relationship status! :-) I need to rush off to work now, but i'll be back this evening with all the details... See you then! :-)

Lots and lots of love to you,
Aman