Life… a Treasure

There’s so many things in life that’s worth treasuring more than money or gold, though I will confess that we can absolutely do with some money and/or gold.

Life is full of little moments and people and things that’s worth treasuring. Life itself  is a treasure. It’s the one that you have been blessed with, unique and beautiful, different from that of others, no matter how much feel it’s the same, no matter how much you try to compare it with that of others. No matter what you feel about life it’s worth treasuring. 

Every little moment is an opportunity to grow and be better, to make memories to cherish, to treasure for when days are  low and gloomy, memories that will brighten up any dullness, banish any darkness that clouds your heart, your mind. Moments once gone will never come back. Moments that you can never go back to, chances and opportunities that you may miss, that you may never get again. 

Every little moment comes together to build the life you live, the life you experience, the life you treasure.

Life is full of memories that you will hold close to your heart. Memories that act like a soothing balm that eases the pain when you are hurting bad. Memories like a piping hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day, or a cup of Chai on a rainy day, or a bowl of warm soup  when you have a cold, that warms your heart and soothes your soul.

Life is full of people who will come and go, who will affect you, who will change you, who will  meld meld and mould you, aiding you to become who you are , for better or worst. People who will be there for maybe just a fleeting moment but can still affect a change. 

There are those who will stay with you for quite a while, helping you to grow. 

Everyone who comes into to your life, comes in it for a reason, we may never understand that reason, until long after they’re  gone. 

You will come across all sort of people, the good, the bad, the ugly, the happy, the sad, and even douchebags. Some who you would rather forget. But then who you hold dear to you will continue to remain with you forever, long after they are gone, cause they are etched on the walls of your heart, your mind, an imprint, an image, a treasure. 

You never know when it would be the last moment with them, so you cherish every moment with them, you treasure them.

Life is full of memories, moments, experiences, people, that may seem to bring  you down , but can  also uplift you. Life is full of things that you will hold close to you, that you will treasure.

Life is a treasure chest that you hold close to you, hold dear to you, for all eternity.

Running in the Park in the Rains

There’s something magical about running in the rains. You actually don’t mind it pouring, when you are out there running. Any other time it could be a pain, but not when you are  out there running. The rains are a welcome relief, a soothing balm to tired joints, natural coolant that keeps your body from overheating.

You ran through the heat and humidity. You sweated a bucketload of sweat, sometimes even causing your mother to wonder whether that’s sweat or did you pee in your pants. Though your mileage were low and the weather relentless, you continued to brave it through the heat and humidity. And now that the rains are here, you can slowly and steadily build on your distance while still making the most of the rains.

The rain has a way of making everything so magical and beautiful and romantic. The smell of rain on wet mud is simply intoxicating, filling your senses with this beautiful scent that’s oh so divine.

The moment you step into the park you are greeted by all this sound. It’s like every creature in the two mile radius thinks they’re Elvis. What would have been a cacophony of sounds is actually a symphony when it all comes together, nature’s very own orchestra.

Everything looks brighter and cleaner. The rains seemed to have washed away all the dirt and grime, leaving everything so clean and a little less dirty. Yes there’s the muck and the millions of puddles, but then that’s ok, it can be easily be overlooked, or overstepped, or just hopped across!

The trees too have shaken off all the dust and grime that they accumulated all the year round. They are all green and bright and fresh and light. It’s like a weight has been lifted off them and now they are light and bright and standing all glistening and glowing and green.

It fills your heart with joy to see the water in the stream, which had dried up for the summer. You know that as the season progresses, this would no longer be a little stream, but a flowing river, filled with water and morons, that also includes me.

The rain leaves the park all Misty, making it oh so dreamy, oh so mysterious. You wonder what secrets the park would hide behind that mist, would the furry one be lurking somewhere not too far.

And so you continue to run, with a spring in your step and joy in your heart, letting the rain fall on you, wan all of you, washing away all the sweat and grime, taking away all the weariness of your tired bones, cooling you, healing you, washing away the tears, giving you a cover to hide it from the world. 

You ensure that no puddle remains unvisited, no puddle remains unsplashed. You just run through it, instead of finding your way across it, never minding your shoes and socks is getting all wet, occasionally jumping right into it to create a splash, not bothering about the side eye you get from others, it’s the child in you that’s always going to want to make the most of a rainy day.

So you run, not bothering that it’s pouring, or that you are soaked to the bone (you would have been all wet anyway, from all the sweat), you just run, and let the rain wash away not just the dirt on your body, but also the pain in your soul, ultimately finding a way to soothe your soul. So you run for the joy in your heart, for the pain and anxiety, you don’t stop, you just run, and you just let the rain do its magic. 

What more could you ask from life when you get to run in the park in the rains!!

Daring to be Bold

Does my boldness disturb you

Does it unsettle you that bare my skin

Cause it in its way unsettles me 

It scares me too

Cause very often I am critical of who I am

And I am not one to flaunt

Well to be fair

I have nothing to flaunt about 

I am sure if you passed me on the street

You would have just passed me

Like just another ordinary soul in this world

Not one to take a second glance or even do a double take

And of barechested men

You will find a dime a dozen 

In this social media driven world

With their sculpted chest

Their toned abs

And their well defined arms and feet

Flaunting their ripped physiques

In this speedos and Calvin Klein’s 

Models, wanna be models, fitness instructors, fitness influencers

But still I dare to bear it all

Not because I aim to arouse or attract

Of draw attention to me

But because in doing so it set myself free

To be brave to be seen as me

Free to unflinching bare who I am

My imperfections and my sexuality 

To find that confidence and comfort 

To be myself in my own skin

To accept myself the way I am 

So I dare

And if this boldness upsets you

I really don’t care!!!!

Monsters

They didn’t have the best of relationship, the most cordial of relationship. Their relationship was so strained that it began to fray around the edges because of all the tension. They each wondered why the other couldn’t be more like the others, normal and accepting.

He always felt that in his heart knew that he could never become the son that his father wanted him to be, though he tried his earnest and darnedest best to make him proud, but somehow he always felt he fell short. He could never be the man his father wanted him to be because of who he was. 

He wondered if his father would ever accept him for he was, the life he chose, the love he chose, if he only knew. And though he never truly spoke about it, opened up about it, he always had this thought that he would never accept him for he was, cause once, a longtime a go, he had shared his view on the subject.  

So that view stayed with him, stuck with him and never truly allowed him to share himself with his father, to tell him his truth.

He had always thought he favoured his daughters more than his son cause they took up after him. The phone calls, the message,  the chats, that he didn’t receive, made him feel left out and unloved. An outcast, an anomaly.

It didn’t help that in a drunken state his father declared that he was not his son! These words cut deep and stabbed him badly, leaving a wound that never quite healed. He lived with his whole life with this scar, with this resentment, but at the same time with this regret that he could never quite heal from this hurt, or forgive these words.

But still here they were, two grown men trying to say their goodbyes. And although he knew that he still had some resentments, some grudges, scars and unhealed wounds, he knew there had been many moments of genuine love, of kindness, of tenderness, of bonding. And for these he had to let go of all the bitterness he held inside.

In that moment there was no wrongs or rights, no ways to forgive and forget. They both knew the mistakes that they had made. But now it was time to let go and just be two grown men trying to let go of the past, trying to find a way to reconcile, find a way to heal.

He remembered a time when his father chased the monster, lurking in the shadows and under his bed, away. So now it was his turn to the do the same.

So he patted him on arms, and kissing his forehead, and whispered him to sleep, hoping while he slept he could still find a way to make him proud. 

So he said his goodbye, as he saw him take his last breath, and through the tears he whispered, “Daddy now it’s my turn to chase your monsters away!”

.. the hills are alive with the Sound of Music

“The hills are alive with the Sound of Music, with the songs they have sung for a thousand years, the hills fill my heart with the Sound of Music, my heart wants to sing every song it hears!”

These were verses that I had heard a thousand time before, and I will hear a thousand times again, but never in this way. And now that I have experienced it once again, in such a new and different (at least for me), and beautiful way, I am once again going to treasure these moments close to my heart.

Watching something so beloved, so cherished, unfold in front of your eyes is a treat (even if it cost a bomb to watch it). It had my heart from the very first Do to the last Ti. My spirit soared as it climbed every mountain, ford every stream. I was willing to follow any rainbow to watch this beautiful Broadway calibre musical live! My heart felt like it was sixteen going on seventeen, waiting to hear from the lonely goat herd. Indeed a few of my favourite things, smelling the edelweiss on those beautiful hills of Salzburg. 

It’s a dream come true to see something that you have been brought up watching, listening to, that you have sung a million times before (in your not so melodious voice), to witness it, makes you realise how blessed you are.

You couldn’t help yourself but sing along, and be amazed that you could hear many others in this magnificent (but slightly Gujju) theatre, sing along with you. 

Each song was so melodiously sung, beautifully staged, and those amazing sets, met with well deserved applause. Each song taking you back to your childhood, leaving you nostalgic, leaving you awestruck and blessed.

Every scene, every set, felt familiar but still felt oh so new. Still felt so breathtakingly beautiful. Still felt you were watching something for the first time in forever, for the first time all over again.

Every scene, every act, every song, every character moved you, lifted you, left you wiping that little tear in your eye, that lump in your throat, cause face it you are an emotional fool, a sucker who will tear up at a drop of a hat. And this is something so beloved to you, how could you not get teary eyed. 

Especially when Mother Superior sing Climb Every Mountain to Maria, this scene will so remain etched in my memory for all eternity.

The stained glass cross and it’s reflection on the floor, and the song, that song that always moved me, gave me goosebumps, inspired me (definitely not to sing, cause I croak), did just that, and then some more. It left me teary eyed, and replaying in my head a thousand times!

But then there were thing you did quite miss (thanks to the movie being so dear to you). First thing you did miss was the great and magnificent and beautiful Dame Julie Andrews, though the actress playing Maria did a brilliantly amazing job filling in those huge shoes, she was no Julie Andrew. 

You missed the regality and poise and handsomeness of Christopher Plummer. The Baroness came across a tad bit hammy and lacked the sophistication and poise of the character. Then you missed some of the songs like “I have confidence”, and the children singing“Edelweiss” with Capt Vin Trapp for the first time. 

You missed some of the scenes that were switched up, like “Favourite thing” was replaced  by the “The Lonely Goat her”, when the children sing it with Maria during the storm, though I loved how “Favourite Things” was used as a way to show the bond between Mother Superior and Maria. 

Then of course “The Lonely Goat Herd” sung with the puppets, was sorely missed.

The developing romance between the captain and Maria felt rushed and was only kind of mentioned. 

You missed the beautiful choreography that was so much part of the movie. The second half a tad too many reprises, which tended to drag the show (but you can’t fault the show as this was inherent in the movie itself).

In the end, these were just a few minor quibbles that easily got outweighed by the magnificence and beauty of the entire show, that left you awe struck and amazed, but most importantly left you entertained and moved, a truly wonderful experience that you’ll cherish forever.

And if you ever needed proof of how much the audience loved the show, you could see and hear it in the rapturous applause and the standing ovation that the cast received during the curtain call, with the loudest cheers reserved for Maria and Capt Von Trapp, (for me it was for Mother Superior who had an absolutely beautiful singing voice, and who so effortlessly hit those high notes).

And though the show may have come to an end and it was time to depart from the hills of Salzburg, and back to normalcy or life, you took a huge piece, a memory, from the play with you, and your heart was indeed filled with the Sound of Music.

Of Food and Company and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Walking down Mohammad Ali Road brought back so many memories, happy memories, of being there with friends, being there as a child, being there with your family, savouring those mouthwatering meals, whether it was Ramzan or not.

So you don’t mind that the streets are crowded, there’s traffic jams and vehicles all around who are going honk crazy, or that city is sweltering under the heat (and to think of it, summer hasn’t set in yet and it’s just pre-summer). You’re all excited and looking forward to having a wonderful evening in the company of your friends and enjoying some amazing food, and you get to to include your mum in it all (after all I am such a mumma’s boy). Moreover you get to relive so many memories, childhood memories.

What you are mindful is that you are late. Your friends have moved on to the starters and there’s no scope of getting a cab, so you have to make your mum walk for well over 1.6  kms (as indicated by Google maps) while dodging both people and  vehicles of the two-wheel kind. You sure can’t make your mum walk fast and she doesn’t want to consume water (which is important considering the weather  cause she doesn’t want to go or even use the washroom. So you are left with a slow progress, which you have to be ok with. 

Did I mention you also have to be mindful of your belonging on those crowded streets. And you have the announcer reminding you do so .

So by the time you are near the intended destination, or trying to find the intended location, your friends are almost done with the starters, so you are left with booking a table for good 17 people for the main course, and patiently waiting for them to arrive, while you get your mum a seat cause your sure she’s tired from all the walking (making up for her missed evening walks).

As you wait for a table (it’s not easy to get a table for 17) you see others too waiting for a table, and many enjoying their meals (oblivious to the heat and merciless honking outside). What you do notice that the number of non-Muslims outnumber actual Muslims. Friends and coworkers and families, out to enjoy a wonderful meal, the delicacies that the Ramzan season brings, serving a further testament that when not divided by politics and politicians and political parties and their ideologies (for their own selfish motives), people from different religions, different cultures, different walks of life, different social status, all come together in celebration, weaving a beautiful tapestry of harmony. And this is not just here, but in most festivals that the city celebrates. Just goes to show that we are willing and very able to live in harmony with each other when we are left to ourselves, without the interference with those with evil ways.

Anyway, we get our table  and place our orders, listening to the recommendations as we decide what we have to eat.  

And trust me the food  is delicious. All the Kormas, the Bottis, the Niharis, Biryani, Paya soup (got to mention this for my mumma) are so delicious and flavourful in every morsel, but  there’s that one ingredient that that ties it all together and that is the company you share this meal with. 

So whether it’s your family, your friends, your coworkers, your colleagues, your peers, your significant other, or even a total stranger, all make the meal even more meaningful and beautiful.

So over giggle and laughters and good natured ribbing, over conversations on the weirdest of topics, and taking photos ( how is that possible with me around and there being no pics), you are bonding with your fellow diners, the ones partaking these meals with you. And over these conversations, and wolfing down some delicious food, you are getting to know them better, their backgrounds, their cultures, their food, everything beyond running, even over peels of laughters and discussions of what race next, and clicking and posing for the millionth pic (how’s that even possible with so many runners and with yours truly).

In these moments, beyond the setting we usually see each other, you are cementing the bonds you’ve created, and making some beautiful and delightful memories that you’re going to cherish.

Now how is it even possible that you make a trip to Mohammad Ali Road and not treat yourself to some delightful dessert? In those moments your diet, your calorie count, what your trainer says, all goes out of the window. If you truly want to enjoy these delicious delicacies you need shut all these from your mind.

So once the plates are cleared and the bill is paid, you make your way down and into the street, one with the crowd and into the needless honking. Only this time you are not making your in the direction you would normally go to. But instead you’re going some place where you have never been to before. 

Once again it’s a slow walk, cause you can’t hurry your mum. So you walk slowly, trying not to loose your friends, wondering when would this place actually come. And the place was surely worth the walk.

The sight of a beautifully round Malpua deep frying in that kadai, can send any diet conscious person and their dietitian and trainer into a tizzy (I told you, they need to be left back at home and away from the mind), but for people like me, it’s a sight, an amazement, a delight, one that gets you all salivating. It’s not an indulgence, it’s not cheating, it’s called eating without guilt, enjoying the cuisine, giving your senses and your taste buds a feast, a treat, one they deserve, and you deserve. 

You’ve got to appreciate these beautiful delicacies cause they are what’s binding us together.

So you greedily wolf down phirnis, a biscuit with delicious mawa in the centre and the unmissable and piping hot Malpua with delicious rabri. You truly are in food in heaven. And when you had your fill of these delicacies, you wash it down with some nice cool falsa soda, the perfect coolant for a warm summer evening(not sure if it is paired with all that you have wolfed down, but that doesn’t matter, as long as it doesn’t upset your system), and considering the heat, and the awesomeness of the drink, one glass just won’t do.

And with that last glass of falsa, it’s time to head home, as it’s school night, make that a work night. You don’t quite look forward to walk back to the station. Your full but content belly doesn’t quite do you any favour. Also you don’t want to make your mum walk through the crowd again. So you book cab, bid farewell to your running buddies, and patiently wait for your ride to arrive, as it makes it way through those crowded street.

And with its arrival, it marks an end to a wonderful gastronomical evening of amazing food, awesome company, and amazingly crazy conversations, leaving all your senses completely satisfied, and your mum too had a good time, what else could you ask for.

Of Sanskars and Religion

Someone once said, “Change is the only constant in life.” If you want to survive, you’ve got learn to change with time, or be left behind forever. And then there are some who just refuse to change, who don’t want to change, and don’t want others to change too. 

They believe that change hurts them and is against their beliefs, their religions, their sansakars. This actually makes you wonder which century are these people from? Have they been watching one too many saas-babu serials? What have they been smoking, which would again be against their sanskars, but you never know! But then they have their own motives for doing so.

As humans we are constantly evolving, constantly changing, constantly growing. As part of this evolution, this change, this growth, is the way we see ourselves, the way we perceive ourselves, the way we identify ourselves. Along with it so has our values and culture which have to change, evolve or risk becoming outdated and irrelevant. Even the concepts of family and marriage has changed, from joint families to a nuclear family, from marriage within your caste and religion to inter-caste, inter-faith marriages, to marriage between nationalities. So why shouldn’t the union partners of the same-sex not be accepted and recognised.

But that said we cannot and should not forget our values and culture. We just need it to evolve with time and stay relevant and inclusive. And with we should evolve too.

But then there are those who don’t want this change. Maybe they want to stay relevant? Maybe they don’t want to loose the grip or the control that they have? Maybe they have their own selfish motives to keep their powers? They may say that they are upholding their sansakars, defending their religion, but what they exactly are defending religion from, when there’s no one attacking their religion and religious beliefs and their sanskars. In fact what they are doing, and I do hope they realise that is they are causing more damage to not only their religion but also to humanity. 

They are doing their bit in destroying the very fabric of life. They are comfortable in welding their sanskars and religion to spread hate, and divide and pit one community with another (and here we blamed the Britishers for doing this but more than happy to use it for our own selfish power and political games).

They are more of a danger to their sanskars, their religion, to humanity as whole. Their hate and fear mongering, could be a sole reason why so many are turning away from religion, value and God. It could easily be the reason why we are a nation divided and persecuted, no matter how much we may want to deny this. It is the reason why so many feel ostracised, outcast, unloved , uncared, anxious and depress. It is the reason why so many are scared and destroyed.

No one wakes up in the middle night, or wakes up one day and decides to be gay. No one on a whim decide they are not comfortable in their own skin, they do not relate to the gender they have been assigned at birth. It’s not something unnatural or against nature, as we are led to believe. It’s something that’s always been there. Something that comes to surface slow and steadily. We don’t choose who we feel attracted to or who we fall for, it something that’s always going to be there and comes naturally. It’s been suppressed for fear of acceptance, of ostracism, living in a state of constant denial.

If we believe that GOD is LOVE and the one who lives in Love, lives in God and God lives in them, then how is this form of love any different from other form of love, apart of the fact that you love the person of the same gender. This feeling is that of love and not lust, so why should this love be treated differently, why should this love not be accepted, why should this love not be recognised, why should this love be denied equal rights.

Being gay isn’t one big drug-filled, hedonistic, sexual  orgy. Being gay is more than being flamboyant, being effimate, being sexual. Damn it more than than wanting to hit on anything walking on two legs with the same parts. Trust me you don’t need to be gay for that, as many female can attest for it.

When someone asks for the right for their union to be recognised, the right to be recognised and accepted, they not  trying make mockery of the institution, or trying to disrespect any religion or religious tradition. It is out of want of acceptance and respect for religion and religious custom do they want their union to be recognised, to be accepted for who they are and who they choose to love.In fact they are way more respectful than any heterosexual couple. What they want is not to be forced into marriage of convenience, into something what is acceptable to society which will end up destroying so many lives.

The ones who find their sansakar being hurt are in fact the ones doing the most damage  with their outdated the thinking, their refusal to accept change .

Being gay is not a mental illness. In fact there’s no evidence that members of the community cannot enjoy civil rights like marriage, adoption, etc. On the contrary discrimination may lead to mental health issues (as stated by the Indian Psychiatric Society).

So if we believe in equal right to all, then why do the members of the community not be afforded this equal right that we speak about in the constitution. Why do we discriminate and persecute and suppress to those who do no conform to society’s rules on love and gender?

The question we beg to ask is when would we be able live as equals, in harmony and peace irrespective of religion, gender, age, orientation? 

Though at the moment it maybe a distant dream, it’s a dream nonetheless, one that can be achieved if we keep persevering and not be defeated or brought down, cause in the end…

हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन
हो हो मन में है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन