Who Is This?

This time I would like to share a picture

 

Who is this?

 

Any Guesses?

 

Shall reveal the answer in a subsequent post... :)

 

Answer available in next post

Liebster and 33 questions again!

Three good friends of mine in the blogosphere honored me by passing the Liebster Blog Award. I am humbled by their kind gesture and thank them with all my heart.

Anupam Patra at Reflections has been enriching the knowledge of his readers with regards to the legal system in India. He writes awesome poetry and fiction as well.

C.Suresh  at Life is Like This says humour is his forte but certain short stories he wrote recently dealing with human emotions tugged at the hearts of the readers. A very versatile writer.

Neha at Neha's Journal is the  winner of the Lakme Diva Blogger Contest at Indiblogger and her posts continue to enthrall her readers.

I have to answer 33 questions in all and so I am skipping the facts about me part!

From Anupam :

1] 'Checkered blue n white' or 'black'?
Black
2] Curtains or no curtains?
Curtains
3] Hardcover, paperback or ebooks?
Paperback
4] What's your ambiance while writing?
Nothing specific, just that my brain should not be taking a big break :) (which it often does)

5] Do you plan to publish a novel?
I have plans but to realize it few others must plan as well rt? Publishers for a start :D ha ha For now its may be some day....
6] Do you like to make a gift for your loved one or do you rather buy?
Make a gift anyday ...Its always special
7] Which is the most beautiful color according to you?
There is a line in a song in AlaiPayuthey which quotes 'the feet of a child that has not touched earth yet'  the tender pink in that...
The blue in the peacock's neck...
The white of the pristine clouds...
Every color is beautiful in its own way

8] What’s your mantra in life?
Live and let live :)

9] Have you ever thought of becoming a soldier in your life?
Nope.

10] Do you have stage fear?
When speaking no. But there are times I was asked to sing and then its stage panic ! (And a ear-ful torture for the rest! :)  )

11] ‘Mickey mouse/ Aladin/Duck Tales’ or ‘ Shin Chan/ Doraemon/ Kitretsu’?
Duck Tales
From Suresh:

1. What do you think is your best post?

The tribute I wrote for my dad
2. Which of your posts do you think was most under-appreciated?

Hmm...Those that I published when I just started blogging...Then I was not part of any major blogging networks and hence very less readership

3. What genre are you unable to attempt and wish to?
Murder Mysteries 

4. What is the one unachieved dream that you look forward to achieving?

 Publishing a book :)
5. What is the aspiration that you think you can never achieve?

I like life simple...I wish for small small things...They happen , well and good...Dont , then something better is in store...No huge aspirations...So nothing!
6. What is most important to you - Values, Relationships or Money & Fame?

Relationships
7. Which do you prefer - a peaceful life or a life of passion and turbulence?

A peaceful life any day....for the latter I take the help of movies
8. Which place in India do you most desire to visit?
I dont think any other country on earth offers so much variety and abundance of colors like India...Its a traveller's paradise....I would probably like to go on an All-India tour covering as many places as I can from Thar Desert , back waters of Kerala, mountain ranges of Himachal, temples of Tamilnadu....Its Incredible India!

9. Which place in the World do you most desire to visit?

I would like to visit as many places as possible...Nothing specific
10. What is it that you like the most about India?

 Culture, heritage and unity in diversity (that reminds you of Social Studies? )
11. What is it that you dislike the most about India?

Political System and Politicians, Corruption, Beggary, Casteism and basically every social evil we all blog about

From Neha:

Have you everfallen  o ff your bed while sleeping?

Yep! :)
Do you still sleep with your teddybear?

Nope, but I love watching my son sleeping hugging his pet soft elephant!
Which celebrity do you have a crush on rt now?
No one! Most of them seem a little too dumb! :) (Hope none of them read this!)

Have you ever done somethingwild and crazy ? If so, do tell.
Yeps! Bungee Jumping! Can read about it at A Not So Bungled Bungee Act

Your favouritesuper hero?
Hanuman from the Ramayana, he is the world's oldest superhero I suppose!

Your favourite child hood cartoon character?
Tom n Jerry

Your hobbies?
Reading(I prefer light humor and murder mysteries), Cooking

Your favourite author?

I like those who can write light humor filled romantic novels and also murder mysteries and all who write that...Just finished a novel by Janet Evanovich...
I like Agatha Christie and am a big Harry Potter Fan
Your favourite junk food?
Pizza, Vada,Chat items

Your favorite music band?

When MTV made its way to my home through Cable TV I used to like Backstreet Boys and Boyzone and Spice Girls and almost every band that played on that channel...I guess I was trying to be cool!! ha ha
Now I listen more to film music...Love melodies of Ilayaraja and also songs with a fast beat...
Are my questions silly and stupid ?
I better not answer that ;) (Nope, they are quite good :) )

Now, I would like to pass this award on to the following bloggers whose posts are always a delight to read

N.S Kirti at Verses From My Heart
PrivyTrifles at Memoirs Of Me
Deepa Duraisamy at Deepa's Kaleidoscope
Rajrupa Gupta at Riot of Random
Jayadev Menon at Sales Coach
R.P.S Ravi at SunByAnyName
Ash at M*U*S*I*N*G*S
Jas at Going Beyond the Pages

I am supposed to ask another 11 questions to these friends , rather I would like to ask one thing...

State 11 things you think are required for a happy and fulfilling life..Could be things, principles, rules anything! :)

Mommy and Sonny Visit the BirdPark

Last Sunday my husband was  not in station and it was just me and sonny at home.

My whole family truly believes that the most heinous crime that can be committed against me is asking me to sit all day within the confines of the four walls of the house.

V was actually busy and content.You simply do not get bored when you are three and a half and you just dont need a reason to be happy. An ant on the floor can give as much pleasure as a visit to Disney Land.

Hence though I declared to the big bad world that I was taking him out as he was getting bored, it was actually my own boredom I was escaping from.

Anyways, I have mentioned in some of my earlier posts about my son's addiction, craze or whatever you may call it to fauna. If there is anything that fills him with absolute glee its the sight of birds or animals.

With due consideration to the above fact, bird park was the choice as its close to my place and I decided to take on the herculean task!(Herculean? If you are wondering why, you need to take care of my little fellow for a day. Or for that matter any kiddo in the 3 to 4 yr range.Believe me, it sounds a lot more easier than it is!)

The weather-God smiled upon my quest to spend some quality time with my little boy and made sure that there were no irritating and troublesome downpours.It was bright and sunny throughout.

I just let the day go, moving in the directions he wanted to the tune of his childish pleasures.Whatever he wanted to see, however long it took!

The way his face lit up on seeing the penguin swim, the squeal he gave on seeing the pink flamingoes, it was bliss.

I realized that a simple thing like a hornbill flying from one branch to another could be the source of innocent pristine exuberance.

Every now and then he excitedly pointed at little things that he observed which were huge in his world...."Amma, the feather of the Pelican fell into the water. We need to stick". Luckily he did not insist that I had to stick it back immediately!

He spent almost three quarters of an hour simply watching the storks as they kept wading in the pool trying to find some fish while I sat on a bench nearby observing him. I doubt if any of us adults can get so much joy out of a simple scene as that!

Sometimes, its imperative that we take some time out and be with kids as kids. Just let them be themselves and relish in those little moments.Laugh when they laugh, run when they run and share a cone of icecream .They deserve it and trust me , the happiness it gives can be equated by nothing on earth.

There is a place called Lory Loft in the Singapore Bird Park. Its an enclosure for a flock of very colorful birds called lorries and visitors can feed some porridge-like substance to the birds which can be bought nearby. The last time we went , he was hardly two years. Then I was carrying him and he watched with curiosity as we adults fed the birds. This time he declared 'Vidyut give mum-mum(rice) to the birds' and he took the bowl from me and proceeded to feed his feathered friends. There are some subtle moments in life when the realization dawns on us that 'Boy, he is growing up!' . And I beamed in pride as I watched him carefully feeding the lorries without getting scared or spilling one drop.

The icing of the cake was the Parrot Paradise. For one, I was amazed by the varieties of parrots. Name a color and there was one in it- Purple, Blue, Red and even Black! As we wandered amongst their cages, I heard a familiar note amongst the cacaphony of their screeches. I went in the direction it was coming from and tried to concentrate. A yellow and green parrot was singing some rhyme that was very familiar. I moved closer and listened carefully. 'Haa-ppp-yyy B-urrr-ttt-daay' sang the bird.  I have seen them do in some shows, but on a hot afternoon, this parrot in a cage was happily singing away to glory. Leave alone V, I myself was terribly excited. Both of us pitched in. In the tranquillity of the greenery all around it was mother, son and a parrot singing 'happy birthday to you' without any care about who was listening to us. Actually we seemed to be the only tourists in that enclosure. 

The caged bird seemed to be preaching  "Happiness is the state of your mind, not of your surroundings"

After around five hours, I said to V that we needed to get going. I had been pushing his stroller and was a little exhausted. As I wearily headed to the taxi stand he turned  to me and declared without even an iota of tiredness..."Shall we go to the elephant park ?" I should have thought twice before giving him a name that translated to energy!

The Lost Word!

This is one of the posts I wrote in my initial days of blogging, Thought I will publish again!

I am sure that quite a few of you might be residing in cities where you don’t know the ABC or Ae-Be-Che or rather whichever way the script goes of the local language. People in such circumstances would have a lot of stories to share.

This becomes most problematic when you travel, or go shopping, and in case of vegetarians like me when you hunt for food. During my initial few days in Kuala Lumpur, there were instances when I would walk into a restaurant and ask if there was something veggie. Malaysian food is full of fish, meat and if nothing else anchovies for the flavor. People like me asking for vegetarian were a totally rare sight for them. The lady servicing this mad customer would give a blank look.

Okay! You did not understand, is it? Fine! Here I go again! Do-you-have-anything-veggie? I would stress each word to try to make her understand. She would give me a “Where-on-earth-have-you-come-from?” look and say “Don’t-have” with a wave of her hand. “I have better customers to attend to. Good riddance” I can almost hear the words in her mind.


Now the above belong to the “I know some English” cadre. The experience is best when you have someone for whom English sounds the way a tribal language in the deep jungles of Africa would sound to you and me. One such fellow was sent to do some general repairs in my home by the landlord.

I was alone at home with my three month old son. This guy rings the bell and comes inside and says Hi.

“Obang?” he says.

Now it was my turn to give a blank look.

“I am sorry I don’t know Malay”

“Obang! Obang!”

Well, repeating it twice will not make me a Nobel Laureate in Malay Literature.

“Ladder?” I ask trying to help.


“Obang! Obang!” and he starts walking around the house and exploring

“Bathroom? Yes the heater is not working” I say slowly and firmly trying to make the best imitation of the lady who used to come on Doordarshan at 1:15 on Sundays. News for the hearing impaired.


“Obang” and he shows me his hands with three fingers open and the thumb and index finger closed.


“Yes there are three fixes to be done”
“O-baaa-nnn-ggg” now putting so much stress on each syllable is not going to drill any amount of Malay vocabulary into my head.
He puts his hands on his hips and looks to the left and then to the right.


I stand like a school student whose teacher has just asked her “now what is fourteen times twenty-three”. Not those prodigies who have the answers stored somewhere or the other in their brain.

There is a minute of awkward silence.

Now he looks at me with a “Lets try it again” expression and says “Obang” moving his hands backwards and forwards showing three again and again.


Is he telling me that the interiors are superb? I wonder. Naaaah.Why would he repeat it so many times?

“Obang Obang” and he peruses the walls.


Luckily my neighbor is at home and I rush to seek their help.

“There is a guy out there speaking only Malay and I can’t make heads or tails out of it.”

My neighbor’s son, a fifteen year old gives me a 'Not Again' look and comes with me.

“Obang!” our man in question repeats with a relieved tone.

“Obang means hole. Is there a hole on the wall to be sealed?” the boy asks me.

Oh dear! All this while he was showing a hole with his thumb and finger and I was looking at the three shown by the other fingers.

Now that was a fix that was not there in our initial list and I had not remembered it. Even if I did remember, it would not have made any difference. I would have still been the non-Malay-speaking-idiot-who-has-landed-from-God-knows-Where.

With the help of my fifteen year old translator I managed to get things done.

Mammoth Wheels

I turned around to take a glance,
At the bygone history in all its expanse;
Trying to envision, a moment, a phase,
Of no pain, no fear , no cries in the human race;
Like a wind, tearing at all that  it gets to see,
They all roared back lashing at me;
Riots,Wars and Subjugation,Genocides,Violence and Slavery;
Acts  of terror in the name of reign or bravery;
Not a single moment could I find
Of absolute calm in the realms of mankind;
Arrogance, Fanaticism, Greed, Trick and Treason.
Each and every page bellowed its own reason;
Patches aplenty cover the visage of earth
Dark and morbid, or light and in mirth
The hues keep moving, they don't remain the same
The mammoth wheels of time playing their jigsaw game
The grass that is red and sometimes yellow
One day becomes  green, the sun providing the glow
Is this the cycle of of life , Of existence?
A question beyond the reaches of my cognizance!
For now, I close my eyes in obeisance and utter a silent prayer;
For peace  to prevail forever and forever!


The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is located at China Town in Singapore. A must visit place for those visiting the first time.

Meeting Place

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 30; the thirtieth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

"I should have changed into something else" thought Akshara. Her blue and white school uniform was a little conspicuous.

The evening wind pushed a strand of hair in front of her face, shielding her vision. Catching it with her nimble fingers, she tucked it behind her ear.

Her eyes were fixed on Raghu, as he walked in the direction of the bhel puri vendor.

Her hands slowly moved to her cheek and carressed the spot, where his kiss had touched her a few minutes  ago. The red nail polish on her nails gleamed in the glow from the setting sun as a blush formed in her tender cheeks.

Bombay! A few of hours left to catch the train. Raghu would marry her and they would start a new life together. He had even suggested that they could find her a chance in Bollywood.

Pa and Ma would never approve of their relationship. Board Exams, Marks, Studies! Thats all they were concerned about. Her future lay with Raghu, they would never understand.

As agreed, she had attended school as usual and had rushed to him at their usual meeting place at the beach.

As Raghu neared the cart, the mobile phone in his pockets started rendering 'Jai Ho' indicating an incoming call.

"Vicky?",
"Everything going as per plan?"
" Perfect Vicky. Have I ever goofed up before? She is with me now."
"Ok. Bring her to our usual place once you reach Bombay"

Raghu turned towards Akshara and smiled.

Sixteen year olds were his favorites. He would have his turn first. After all it was his plan that was being enacted. Vicky could take her after that.

Akshara heard some riotous laughter and turned in its direction. A small boy was playing in the water, his father standing nearby."Be careful son. You have fifteen more minutes.We are heading home after that", the man shouted to his boy.

"He must be Atul's age" she thought. A depressing emotion crept into Akshara's mind when she thought about her little brother. Eight years younger than her, he was her only sibling. She got reminded of the previous night when he had been terrified due to some nightmares and had crept next to her in bed hugging her tightly.

A few feet ahead, a little girl was standing near the water, her arms locked in the safety of her parents' firm grip. Every time the  waves touched her little feet, they lifted her up and she let out squeals of delight.
'Once More Mama, Once More' she kept screaming in childish mirth.

Akshara's memories travelled back in time to a day when she had been six.  Goa;Vacation;That afternoon !She had been playing in the water. A huge  wave had enveloped her tiny body.  She felt her feet getting dragged by the currents and she was suddenly getting tossed like a rag doll .The salt in the water hit her taste buds and stung her eyes. She could sense that she was swallowing the water but there was no way she could control it. The next thing she remembered was waking up facing Pa's anxious face, tears streaming down his cheeks. She had never seen Pa cry before. For that matter, until then,she did not even know that Pa could cry.

A gloomy and lost expression clouded Akshara's face.She started getting restless. Guilt, fear, shame - All combined lashed at her mind in rhythm to the splashing waves. Above all , the thoughts about her family bore into her being like sharp arrows.

"Oh my God! What on earth am I doing?" she thought with panic.

"This is wrong, Akshara. Get up.Go back home" she heard a voice pounding repeatedly inside her head.

Akshara rose with agility  as Raghu neared her, holding two plates full of chat in his hands.

"Raghu, this is not correct! I am going" she shouted as she started moving backwards away from him.

"What happened baby? Hey wait Akshara" he kept the plates down and tried to come near her.

"No, I need to think Raghu. I am sorry" she said and ran. He ran after  her, but before he could reach her, she quickly got into an auto and headed home.

She was seated at the sofa when her Pa came back home from work. "Hi sweetheart!" he said and gently ruffled her hair.

She went near him and gave him a hug. When she felt the secure warmth of her father's embrace, she burst into tears. "I love you Pa" she cried!
"What happened Akshara?" 

"Nothing ! Nothing Pa. I promise, I will never do anything that you will be ashamed of."

She rushed to her room as her father stared after her in bewilderment.

Raghu's calls stopped coming after some time.She could not bring herself to respond.

The next morning , the family sat together for breakfast. The familiar music from the local news channel on TV filled the living room.

Distractedly Akshara glanced at the TV screen and her heartbeat stopped for a moment.

"A man named Chander was found murdered near Fisheman's Cove early today morning with multiple stab wounds in his abdomen. He was a criminal wanted by the local police in connection with a sex racket. He is said to have lured young girls to sell them in cities like Bombay and Delhi.A woman named Kavitha has surrendered at the DGG Police Station accepting responsibility for the murder" the newsreader announced.

Raghu's lifeless  body stretched on the sand on the TV screen.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. I’m thankful to C.Suresh, who introduced Blog-a-Ton to me, and I debuted in the 28th edition.

Credits Image - Shades of Orange by Harsha Chittar Courtesy - Curious Dino Photography via www.blogaton.in

F55 - The Ghastly Sight

The knife pierced the woman’s chest and tore its way in, triggering a vehement flow of blood.

Unperturbed by the ghastly sight, the man continued.

A lump sum had been promised.

He had a family to run! It was not his first time anyways.

Hours later they switched off the lamp outside the operation theatre.