There are places I'll remember All my life Though some have changed Some forever, not for better Some have gone and some remain Saket, My home in Vile Parle. The bungalow still stands but gone are the 'Otlaa's - where we sat and passed many idle moments in our childhood. Gone is the 'Paachad no compound' - where we collected 'lucky stones' for a game of Hop-skotch. Gone are those artistic metal gates on which we stood and kicked them to open and shut. Gone is that corner where I spent making mud cakes. Namiella, the neighbourhood building. That too stands till now...looking ill-maintained and old. The pre-school in it's compound still exists. That's where we all studied. We called it the 'Alvares' school - after Mrs. Alvares, the principal and the owner. Nagrecha Nivas, another building in the neighbourhood. A joint family seperated and living on different floors. With fights galore. Abuses, insults and some very entertaining and...
In July, my husband and I took off for a holiday to Ooty (Udhagamund). I had seen countless Hindi film songs picturised in the Nilgiris and known of innumerable newly married couples romancing in the boats of the Ooty Lake. And this was the first time I was going there. Our flight landed at Coimbatore and we found the car we had hired, waiting to take us to Ooty. The 3 hour drive was full of dangerous turns, some charming landscape and bright green tea plantations.Was it beautiful?! Yes, it was! And with the beauty, was a chill in the strong winds that were accompanied by the scent of the eucalyptus. We reached the Taj and were warmly welcomed with fresh grape juice. A cottage, more than 150 years old was where we were led by the hotel staff. The colonial structure that stood in front of us looked very inviting. Once inside, it was as though we had been transported to the last century. Wooden flooring, a huge fireplace, watercolour paintings, antique furniture and a cozy foyer with two...
*Devnagri script begins - ॐ भूर भुवः स्वः ॐ तत् सवितूर वरेनियम भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यों - नः प्रचोदयात् ॐ *Devnagri script ends - Aum Bhoor Bhuvaha Svaha Aum Tat Savitoor Vareniyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yon-naha Prachodayaat Aum I remember my mother teaching us when we were children, this divine Mantra called Gayatri. She asked us to chant it everyday before bedtime and whenever we were scared of the dark. Since then I have been chanting the Gayatri Mantra - never knowing the exact meaning of this verse. Do it because Mom has said it's the most powerful prayer of the Universe. As I grew up, I came to believe that Gayatri was the goddess that was there in my mother's pooja mandir. It's a beautiful image with the goddess sitting on a white swan and the Gayatri Mantra printed below. But somehow, since childhood, I never could have that emotional feeling while praying to the idols. I got that feeling only when my mother or father told me stories...
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