Worth more than a 1000 words?:)

Whack the wrong

'sudarshanchakra'

This is my entry for 'wanna whack' contest at Blogadda.

Abuse of any nature is unacceptable – respect is the bare minimum requirement! And must be.

I am enraged when I see youngsters on the street bullying senile/old beggar people – why mistreat old people who are in such dire state and need help. Will our own parents not get old some day, wont these 13-14yr olds too? Why the need to strip another human so bare, why the need for such humiliation?

I get enraged when I see dogs (pets or strays) being mistreated- kicked, stoned, tail being pulled … at this point I don’t want to whack the offender- I want the dog to bite back! And the poor dog is too afraid of man to do any such thing- so whack whack!!

When people suck up to me, say smarmy things to covet favours from me, I absolutely feel like whacking those! Cmon guys grow up – ticket to fame and glory and prosperity comes with honesty and hard work! Not by smaarming up to people! Whack!

When I see people spitting paan laden splatter on the walls and streets and on the roads by shoving their heads out of their vehicle doors O god, whack! Whack! Whack! Must confess I use my blaring car horn (sometimes) and sometimes my vocal chords- to let them know my disapproval! And they immediately apologize but the deed is already done (and will be done again am sure!)

I am enraged when I see women/females being abused –either by the husband or by her own family! The husband is a wife beater (this is upper classes we are talking about) – her own family never comes to her rescue, instead pressurizes her to sort things and get him to love her again! She neither has the protection of her own family nor any shelter from an abusive husband! Here I want to whack the self centered family who cares more for their reputation in society than the dignity of their own daughter!

I been reading the announcement of this contest by Blogadda for many days now- I had no intentions of ever taking part in it! Till this morning when I saw an old man at Mahim Causeway being dragged by his shirt, laughed at by young boys who were barely 13-14 yrs old - something snapped in me, I pulled over, got out of the car, and seriously let the whack! happen. I pretended to call the police and played out the trumpet ring tone (used in IPL matches)- the boys scampered!

Things I miss much

Mums innocence

Mums eager enthusiasm of sharing and giving

Mums easy forgiveness

Mums cooking

Mums constant chatter and engaging endearing ways

Mums sulk and the ease with which she would come around

Mum as a favourite punching bag who never punched back

Mums vegetable shopping and me lugging those heavy bags behind her

The sneaky stops at the vada pao wala to eat the forbidden

Mums child like excitement for the same thing done the millionth time over

Mums partiality towards ghee and its generous pouring in our food

Mums healing touch when I was in pain

Mums all encompassing unconditional love

Love you, love you, love you and miss you lots Mum

Some thought starters for creating a better life story

1. Learn something new everyday
2. Don’t miss anything
3. Laugh at yourself, today
4. Read a poem
5. Write a poem
6. Go for a walk
7. Go camping
8. Travel on a budget
9. Play a game
10. Invent a game
11. Write 1,000 words about what you did
12. Write 1,000 words about what you want to do
13. Make a list & check it twice of things you want to do
14. Make plans to do one of the things on your list above
15. Eat something new
16. Help a stranger
17. Ask a stranger for help
18. Give someone gas money
19. Give someone a ride
20. Be thankful for what you have
21. Sacrifice a want for a need

There you have it, 21 ways to make our life story better which will in turn make us happier:)

Tigers Must Roar

The tiger entered India from Burma and gradually established haunts in Assam, Bengal, the foot-hills of the Himalayas, and the central and southern India. These gorgeous majestic felines are found in dense forest, valleys, caves, forested hills, and the banks of rivers and streams. In the Himalayas, tigers are found up to an altitude of 2400 to 2700 meters. Amazing!

This big cat is one of the biggest and most fearsome predators in the world. The tiger resembles a cat in every respect except size. It has the same sleek body, heavily padded paws, stiff white whiskers and a rough tongue .It has the same sharp sense of sight, smell and hearing. It moves with the same stealthy tread, grace and cunning. Like the cat it loves to be alone, hunts at night and has grace that is unbeatable.

The recent ads on TV definitely will have you worried if you have your heart and mind in the right place. The tiger is a rapidly depleting population in our sanctuaries, on the verge of extinction.

We as a country have the distinction of harboring almost half of the world’s tiger population, but I wonder for how long we will retain this status. WWF claims that there are approx 1,411 big cats remaining alive that need to be protected on a crisis basis.

Facts suggest that action taken on the ground remains insufficient and marred by bureaucratic procrastination. We need to conserve our tiger’s guys.
If you are concerned about Tigers and wonder what u can do to help, go to http://www.saveourtigers.com/

Mumbai belongs to you?

My name is Khan, Bombay has space only for the Marathi manoos, The UP-Biharis saved Bombay during the 26/11 attacks...and what not make the headlines today. All of these why because everyone wants to stake claim to Bombay!

SRK is the Badshah of entertainment not for no reason! He truly entertains. He owns a cricket team not for no reason! He is an astute buisnesman too. So does he have a right to opine and chose what is best for him? Last I knew we were a Democracy and every individual rich or poor had a voice that could be used when required! Do Politicos have to interfere in every individuals life to grab headlines? I mean have they ever thought they if they spent all that unused energy for the development of Maharashtra or for the good of The people, helped them earn a living, they may earn more blessings and a robust following?

Why does Hindi cinema or Sports have to be mixed with Politics? It feels that our politicians have nothing credible to say, nothing substantial to report, so they pick up 'popular following' of the rich and famous and target them- cause it is much easier to have the Media shutterbugs follow them then with no effort!That's cheap guys!

Earn your credit! Bombay is not a small house or a land that you the politicians can grab and sit on and claim as yours! It is a big city in case you have forgotten, with many state/language speaking people residing in it. So don't tag the city! Leave it well alone.

Things that could spark Life for me

Spending an entire day eating junk food without feeling guilty

Telling someone the story of my life, sparing no details

Giving my mother a dozen red roses and telling her how much I love her

Putting my name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon

Drinking beer at Oktoberfest in Munich

Sleeping under the stars

Going wild in Rio during the Carnival

Experiencing all cuisines and travelling the world

Indulging in the most fabulous world spas

Putting my money and name on something: a college scholarship, a bench in the park, sun shelters or water fountains at bus stops

Growing and tending a garden

Living in a beach facing home across aqua waters

The high of weed

Look into a dogs eyes and being filled with a tender feeling

Stimulating, respectful, deep conversations with family or close friends

Having ‘spiritual experiences’ (sense of transcendence, gratefulness, connectedness, being loved by the Source, stillness, etc)

Being totally goofy and/or laughing long and hard with friends

Experiencing other’s artistic creativity, particularly when its really innovative

Being creative myself (writing a song, story or paper; creating a campaign for the development sector or a beneficial social site etc)

Gathering with a group of friends for a tasty meal and some wine

Traveling to new places

A room full of flowers of all hues and colours

What sparks life in you?:)

Was it a vision or did I see God?

HAve you ever been to a place, a holy place - seeking peace, quitetude and a connection with Him? And then realized that without you knowing why or how, you have been weeping silent tears - real tears; rolling down your cheeks, and you cannot fathom why such deep sadness or why such huge releif? At that moment you feel like he was there right in front of - holding your hand, looking you squarely in the eye with a smile, enveloping you in his warmth.

I have always believed God exists within. And that one doesn't have to go to holy places to seek Him. And yet when I have been to such holy places in my lifetime- I have been on some rare occasions been left speechless with my own reactions. I simply cannot explain it

Is this what they call the 'connection'? Why does this happen? Does anyone have any answers to this? Have you ever felt it? And how did you deal with it?

When ill- you gotta be home

The phrase “no place like home” comes alive when one is ill, sick, blue, down and out. The tender loving care showered on you when sick, the gentle care with which things move around you, the love that envelops you at such times - makes you want to take re birth in the same family again and again and again

Before you can open your mouth and complaint - things are taken care of, a heck of a lot of home remedies have you bouncing back on your feet within no time, you are allowed to sulk and whine and they simply look at you fondly as if a baby who knows no better, they ruffle your hair and say ‘its all right this too shall pass’ making you feel the sting of tears at the back of your eyes for you being so blessed when they are so kind and considerate

Home is rightly the place for one to be tended from sick to well being again. Home is where love is unconditional. Home is about kindness and nurturing. Home is where you get tender loving care when ill. I am glad to be home. Thank you God for such a wonderful family.

My Guilt

Everyone had been scaring me and I was kind of see-sawing between wanting a dog soooooo badly and giving into the fears. I've been absolutely loooonging to have a lil Lab pup as a pet and have been jostling between how will I manage, will I need a full time maid, what do I do when I travel etc...Fears of how will I look after a pet all by myself with no help? Fear of never having a pet animal before and not knowing if I will take a shine to this new creature in my life? Fear of what if he doesn’t like me? Fear of will I be able to give him as unconditionally as they say dogs give to their masters? Fear of tending, nurturing, caring, training all despite work, office and routine life… Till one day I got the courage to accept a dog – a princely little pup, all of 7 weeks old - whose owner couldn’t keep him for her own reasons.

As soon as Pooch happened in my life I hunted high and low like never before and got the pup a maid who would alongside me tend to him, be there with him, love him, and look after him. I also took time out from work so that in his initial formative days I could be there for him, to train him, make sure he got the right meals, felt secure and safe and knew he was precious for me.

My days were a whirlwind with Pooch. My world revolved around Pooch completely and I have no guilt in admitting this. I found myself talking non stop with this little fellow from his waking hours till he slept, I watched him sleep, eat, and do potty, trained him to go the bathroom instead of any place in the house, gave him his meals, fed him, took him to the vet for his first shots, drove the car so gently and slowly so as to not disturb him if he was sleeping in the car, and to make sure he never felt an “ooh ah ouch” of speed breakers or bumps on the road.

From having a complete grip of my life, I suddenly found my life thrown into 8th gear as I was kept engaged with Pooch non stop for all my waking hours without exaggeration. In the time he would sleep I would check on work, do the house errands, tend to my plants as soon as he’d wake he needed a companion to play and do masti with. The young maid disappeared after one day and so it was back to Pooch and me together managing our lives. I was going nuts cleaning after him but he was just so adorable and so responsive to training and playing and compliments and once in a while ticking off that there was no ways I was turning him away from me.

Every day I would be mentally saying to myself soon I will manage him, the house and work more efficiently. He can accompany me to work and come back home in the evening with me. I will look after him at work. He will soon become magically trained and understand everything. The issue was he was too young a baby, he wanted everything in his mouth from dirt and dust to plastic to vessels to chair and table stands to the iron of the bed to rugs and spoons everything- and making sure none of the harmful stuff went into his mouth, he had become adept at the command “open your mouth Pooch”- so much so at times he even outsmarted me by hiding stuff under his toungue so that he wouldn’t be caught out. This constant tension that he may swallow something wrong while my back was turned away bothered me no end. I badly needed help to keep an eye on him while I turned away for a few seconds and there was none…

Also after being away from office for over a week, I needed to resume work- and that tension had started mounting on me. I wasn’t able to find any help, I was struggling to keep tabs on him not putting wrong things in his mouth, my own eating sleeping patterns had gone awry…I was wilting with some defeat setting in.

Pooch is a little baby, my little tiger, my shweeto baby and I loved him to distraction. I played games with him like when I was young, I cuddled him like I have never before, he was smelly becos I was told by the vet he cant be given a bath as he is too small yet, but I love him much much:) infact I wept copious tears one day becos he slept for 3 hrs non stop and despite waking him so many times- he wouldn't stir. I got so so so worried that maybe I had fed him bad, or too much, or too little…why was he not waking up?! I held him in my arms hugged him and wept a lot- he finally opened his one eye- climbed upto my neck and licked me a couple of times and then went back to sleep- I laughed and cried harder:)

He's been an unadulterated joy:)

The world had frightened me about how I would manage this lil pup alone, without help - and I had been saying “M, one day at a time” - I am equally afraid of such a huge responsibility, but his giving is so unconditional that I am willing to forgo my travel, and my going out etc till he grows up and can take charge of himself. Till then I am willing to be housebound and office bound. I was not willing to admit defeat. I wanted to make a winner out of this situation

Alas the story does not end on such optimism. I eventually came to realizing that real life is not about my own needs and desires but this little fellows needs are more important than mine. He needs people around him who will care for him and look after him without stressing about parallel lives such as outside home there is an office to go to! He needs a full family around him where people can take turns to look after him, rather than one person be there all 24hours around him. And most importantly he doesn’t need to be shunted from one home into another but needs a home that looks after him permanently. This realization brought grief, sadness, guilt, shamefulness, hurt, tears but for his sake I had to give him away till I got my own house in order. He now has been gone 5 days and not a single day goes without me pining for him or crying for him. Keeping my own guilt and need aside I know he is now in a home where he is being done justice to- he has constant companionship, even if people go off to office in that home, there is a the lady of the house, the kids and the servants at home for Pooch to never feel alone and always have companionship.

What I am left behind with are memories- happy ones where I remember Pooch walking like a lil tiger strutting his ware from room to room in my home, I remember him playing with me when I would throw the ball or he would want my toes for his playtime- he’d jump like a horse doing equestrian events at show- so majestically, and sometimes he’d be slipping and sliding all over himself and fall like a bundle of soft wool, he would get himself entangled in his own legs foolishly and then would get up looking dazed- give himself a good shake and then once again go diving for my toes and fingers…god he was such a delight. Absolutely worth having in my life. I miss him.