Pea Pod - A taste of everyday life

Once upon a time, there was a man named Ramu. He lived in a small little house, did not have any riches but was happy with what he had. His only prized possession was his dear plant. It was a plant that gave such lovely flowers. Ramu took great care of this plant. He would water it everyday, gave it ample sunlight, trimmed and pruned it and even sang to it. But this plant was very hard to please. It flowered only when it felt like it. Sometimes, Ramu would wait for a week for it to flower and yet sometimes it gave flowers everyday. Ramu used to ask the plant in his songs to tell him what used to worry it so much. Then one day, the plant spoke. "Ramu, I don't like the clothes you wear. I don't want to flower." Ramu went and bought himself two new pairs of clothes in spite of not having any extra money. The plant flowered everyday then for weeks together. After a month or so, it stopped flowering again. Ramu questioned the plant. The plant replied, "Ramu, I don'

As soon as I get back home from work, I put down my bag, freshen up and leave for my walk on the beach with C. A brisk and refreshing walk. The beach looks beautiful at this time. The breeze is cool and the sky is decorated with small little stars. There is one star that is particularly brighter than the rest. Our first thought - it was Venus sparkling with all its might. But we were wrong. There can't be two Venuses, can there? I claim myself to be very observant, then how is it that I didn't see the real Venus? During one of our walks, C and I kept staring at that bright star. We thought we saw it move. In a few minutes we saw it becoming dimmer and dimmer and then it was gone! How could this be possible? This can't be a star! No way! And the unnoticed Venus was still shining bright in the sky. What was that star then? Was it a star, anyway? The next evening we saw it again and we'd see it everyday after that. Shining bright, moving away and finally disappearing. We w

I miss you.

As usual, I was in the train last evening, heading towards home. It takes around 10 odd minutes to reach my station. As soon as the train was drawing closer to my destination, I got up from my seat to stand near the compartment exit. Right behind me was this Maharashtrian lady, clad in a ghastly pink saree. I don't know what her problem was as she kept pushing me lightly from behind, coaxing me to go further near the exit. I refused to budge. The train hadn't even halted ; why was she in such a hurry? Maybe she needed wings to fly out! When she pushed me again, I politely turned around and told her that I would only get off once the train halts completely and that if she wanted to get off faster she could do that from the other side of the exit. Just then, the train halted and I was out. Maharashtrian lady zoomed passed me, turned around and with a voice dripping with sarcasm, asked me - "Are you paralysed?" For a second or two, I was dumbfound. Instead of getting ang

The winds, they did hit me Night and day The rains have harshly lashed at me And I stood tall All, all alone With my proud head held high. To all who thought This mountain is lonesome I'm alone but not lonely The sun hides behind me in the morning The moon smiles down at me in the night Birds, they fly above my head I have my friends in the sky.

In one of my earlier blogs, I called 'Love' a beautiful ditch. But why did I call it that? A friend commented saying love was one of the most beautiful emotions in the world. Agreed. 100%. All I have to say is, why do we 'fall' in love and then love being in it forever? Love is a ditch - a beautiful one at that! You just want to dive right in! I have started to understand this 'beautiful emotion' lately. Love is unexplainable. It's an emotion full of illogical, contradictory and the most sweetest of things!

You came into the garden The garden where I live And made me so much brighter With colours that you did give. Butterfly, butterfly Stay here with me Our life will bloom Together if we'll be. I'll smile at the morning sun You flap your wings in bliss There will be joy all around If we could be like this...

No...This rain wasn't one for smiling. I am sorry about the song that I sang. I am sorry about the prayers that I said. This was a monster of a rainfall. Hope I never see anything like this again...ever in my life. It killed a very dear friend of mine. Goodbye, Premal...

The Gods are smiling at me! Yes, they are. I've genuinely prayed for the rains. Global warming warnings scare me. What if there wasn't any rain in Mumbai? What happens to the tens of thousands of people Mumbai feeds? What if ? But here I am...smiling at the grey clouds looking down at me. Smiling at the sound of thunder. Smiling at the plants and trees as they rejoice! Smiling at all the lakes that would overflow. Smiling at just how lucky Mumbai is! :-) I'm singin' in the rain Just singin' in the rain What a glorious feeling I'm happy again. I'm laughing at clouds. So dark up above The sun's in my heart And i'm ready for love. Let the stromy clouds chase. Everyone from the place Come on with the rain I've a smile on my face I walk down the lane With a happy refrain I'm singin' Just singin' in the rain!

When I sat staring Outside the window Looking at the rains My mind wandered ...Just a memory behind Making excuses to stay home School was boring Dad dropping us to school As the rains came pouring Childhood was right here ...Just a memory behind Five friends escaping To a hillstation Walking hours on wet roads With the downpour lashing at us Freedom was right here ...Just a memory behind All is here Including everything You and I And all that I ever saw ...Just a memory behind

Today was like everyday As my rickshaw drew to a stop Along came that little beggar With a skip and a hop Putting his palm forward He begged for some money I said I had some, but For him not any He pursued, Blocking my way What I felt in my heart I had to say My dear beggar, Why don't you go to school? He looked at me As if I were a fool He smiled And moved on Went on to beg, His hopeful eyes still shone I knew not his joy Nor did I know his strife But this I knew that he was A graduate in the school of life.

What's with me and the cats? Black cats, brown cats, small cats, Persian cats! Earlier this week my colleague was frantically in search for a home for these Persian cats that her sister had seen abandoned on the roadside. She naturally asked me and I did find a home for them. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they had already been adopted by someone else the very next day. Then today this girl who is an aquaintance and whom I rarely get to meet, spoke to me over the phone. It was a cat call again! Her cat has given birth to two kittens. She asked me if anyone wanted to keep them. My search begins...all over again. It's been raining cats and cats this week!

Sitting cross legged And palm on palm Everyday I experience That serene calm. One breath in One breath out Silence within Silence without Searching for the light Between the brow Amidst the dark Something blue and bright I longingly await What the masters have felt That supernal bliss That ultimate state.

March 5th has come and gone. So has Mark Knopfler. I was there at his concert, of course. But don't ask me if I saw his concert. Because the answer is - I just heard it. Too bad I'm only 5'2". Should have been at least 8ft tall to see Mark on the stage. Inspite of all my jumps and asking people in front to move left and right, I just couldn't get to see him. Yes, there were screens put up alongside the stage. I wish they were put a little higher. I could barely manage to see those too. To spoil the show further, there were people who managed to sneak in cigarettes inside the venue. There was too much crowd anyway and on top of that I had to breathe in all that smoke. Oh yeah, before I forget to mention, I did hear Mark Knopfler. I love the laid back attitude of this guy. That lazy drawl of his! His fingers moved on his guitar with utmost grace. The way he teased the audience by changing the lead of his Sultans of Swing was the most entertaining part of the conce

On your mark, get set...go! Soon it's going to be time to welcome one of the greatest rockers of our time to India. Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits. To think of it, it's an uncanny coincidence that two of my all time favourite rockers come to India back to back. For those who don't know, there is this link between Sting and Dire Straits too. Sting featured in the very popular song of Dire Straits - Money for Nothing. He mouthed the 'I want my MTV...' The next time you listen to the song, make sure you're all ears. So now that I've been stung, it's time for me to be in dire straits. How long, how long, Markie, how long has it been? How long you gonna keep me wondering... How long before you shoot My love is strong... How long? Not long...The waiting stops on the 5th of March.

I know, I know! This is the second time that Sting is being mentioned in my blog. Frankly, I just can't get out of the hangover or maybe I'm badly stung. Whatever it is, he's back in this little space of mine - small stage! The day I read in the papers about Sting coming to India, I had made up my mind to go for his concert, wherever it might be! I wanted to live up to being a Sting fan. The destination was Bangalore and Bangalore it would be. I got my travel tickets booked and forced my very reluctant brother to accompany me ( He was later glad I dragged him along!). Bought the tickets to the concert and was all geared up to go! My mother and my sisters found it funny that I was so passionate about watching a singer and would travel all the way to Bangalore for him. Can Pea 'BEE' be far from a Sting? Last week on this day, my brother and I were on the train. We reached Bangalore the next day - the day of the concert. I was going to be staying with my cousin. She wa

He wasn't an alien to anyone here. He didn't have to send any SOSs to us. He just sent so much of his sacred love that I'm in love with him and so were all present there. No one can ever lose faith in the man called Sting. The Palace Ground in Bangalore was like a field of gold - so many of Sting fans all over the place. Every breath he took, every move he made, the crowd was watching him with awe! At 53, this man did not look fragile, in fact it looked like he'd live a thousand years! I'm am so glad I went there and would like to thank Sting for making it one of the brand new days in my life :-)

A friend of mine has been observing my 'not recently updated' blog. He asked me if I had a blog block. That's a nice phrase - Blog Block! It's not that I've nothing to write but I don't know what all to write. This past week had so many things happening. But most of them don't want to feature here. One interesting thing I did was to start a group on Yahoo. A group of all the people I worked with in my last job. I thought I was doing something great - to bring together so many people. The thought came to me because almost everyone has been in touch with me and they keep asking about the other people. I was quite fed up telling them the same old stories individually. Anyway, I did start the group but the response was pathetic. Only 3 members in one week! Shameful! Bad idea! On asking a few to join, I got discouraging replies. Some people just didn't want to be in touch. I can't force anyone, can I? Should I be the moderator for a group t

What happened to my blog? It's come to a standstill Don't I have anything to write here? Or is it some other work making me slog? Slogging v/s Blogging There is this tough tug of war I have plenty of things to write about All I got to do is some expert dodging!