Sunday (Day 6)

Preeti - you said it and i did it :). Thanks for the idea !

Yes, it's Sunday, it's raining and dear husband said he wants to have pakoras.
After a long time..perhaps 7 months i made pakoras today - just potato and onion pakoras and` With a big mug of coffee - it was perfect sunday afternoon.

Beautiful day (Day 5)

Sun shows up, brightly shines and every face shines even brighter. People smile, laugh, talk, play and enjoy. In Netherlands all this fun is dependent on sun so much that i could never imagine so while being in India.

Today was one such awesome day. Yes - bright sun, long drive, a friends' get-together, loads of delicious food and drinks including chilled jaljeera, a game of basketball, cricket round, kids playing happily, water guns in full swing, bicyle rides, some good news' shared - That's as perfect as it can get. It was truly a wonderful day. All possible because of beautifully shining sun.

Tiny 'MIRACULOUS' gestures (Day 4)

How tiny gestures make our day.How small actions make kids so happy.


My 2.5 yrs old daughter comes running to me saying "mumma - aau..it hurts" After asking where, i just give her a kiss at the spot pointed by her and she feels perfectly fine. (In today's case it was on her cheek only :)) Many a times a kiss has worked wonders in some serious situations also. Like when she fell down once and had a bad bruise on her arm - i gave her couple of kisses there and she felt alright - running around again with same zeal and enthusiasm.


Similar way, when i reach back home after work i am welcomed with a shy smile and a tight hug. All my tiredness and day's frustrations vanish in a split second. What amazing wonders such small actions can make - i get amazed every single day!

It's so sad that such tiny gestures become such an obligation as we grow. Saying a hello and passing a smile also become big things as grown ups.


One thing which plesantly surprised me here in Netherlands was people greeting every passer-by. It feels so good when someone passes by you and just says a hello with a broad smile.You feel certain unsaid connection. Streets no longer feel alien.

But in last 5 years(that's how long i have been here) i have seen a drastic change in this aspect of social behavior. People no longer greet as openly as earlier esp in slightly bigger cities. And ofcourse the blame goes to foreigners.


Nevertheless, there are many other small acts of kindness that melt your heart. A bunch of flowers to thank your neighbour for some small help, a cake to share with the colleagues just because its sunny outside, inviting someone over for coffee just like that(when i say coffee it means coffee only - no cakes n cookies or other snacks involved - yes thats how it can be here), a congratulations card in a neighbours letterbox for new born baby or for passing an exam or for getting a driving license - there can be any or no reason. But any action like surely makes your day and gives you reaons to smile for days to come.


Go,show some nice tiny gesture and make someone's day !!

Image courtesy: http://www.raisingafamily.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/thank_you_note.png 

NOW (Day 3)

Now will not stay
So do sit and pray
Now is to cherish
Soon Now will be Garish

Now and then
If not now then when
make up your mind
Now must you unwind

Now if you say
It's not a delay
You will still be in time
To smile and to chime

Now is not forever
Behold that truth
Behold that lover
Soon Now will be over

I was suprised at myself when I just realized that the NaBloPoMo theme for this month is “NOW” and what I have written in last two days is mostly about “THEN”. OK, more like Then and Now !Today my thoughts revolved around "NOW" and some words floated out.

Image courtesy  : http://techdev.cc.depaul.edu/wordpress/?p=259

Letters (Day 2)

How letters used to  be such an amazing form of communication – I would say they were the BEST.

Both Writing a letter, receiving a letter gave equal pleasure. I  have always been very fond of writing so I used to write small letters to my friends. (But they were hardly posted as I hand delivered most of them. They were mostly for my freinds and I would see my friends everyday in school or in playgroud) I used to love the idea of writing and giving letter to my friend. It gave me different level of  bonding with my friends.  Even when school got over, I kept writing letters to few friends (and yes – this time posting them) Every single day I would hope for receiving one in my own mail box. I even used to write letters  to my aunts and cousins. For the same reason I was fond of sending cards too – most of them hand-made.
Even after I went to college in a different city and stayed in hostel – I regularly wrote letters home and to friends. Slowly the number of letters being written became lesser and lesser. The only letters I was receiving were from my parents and brother-sister And very rarely a letter from a childhood friend. I would read that one letter again and again. I would start replying to that the same day – hoping to get a quick reply back. Slowly I started giving up too…writing became lesser. No more card making. Just few ready made cards to close ones.

Letters and cards gave such a  special feeling. Every word felt personal. It meant that you were the only one in thoughts when those words were being written.  Right from finding a beautiful writing paper  and a  nice pen to some beautifully decorated envelope till it got dropped in the letter box. It was whole process in itself. All the straight-from-heart- feelings and thoughts scribbled on a sheet of paper and sealed in an envelope on their way to another heart.

A thought of the moment
Which lasted a moment

The moment passed
Got captured in words

Which last forever

Ages later
Words deciphered
The thoughts relived
By another life
Another soul

In those words you see
a story
and you live a life !

I wish there was some marathon for writing one letter everyday to someone.

Blogathon - I am up for it :)

I was just reading around about bloggers participating in June month Marathon of blog posting.


Something in me triggered me to go for it and give it a try and i whole-heartedly said "Yes Yes Yes..i will do it Now Now Now"

I will appreciate your leaving comments to encourage me to keep going.

My first post for the day is already there. Read On!

Circle of friendships (Day 1)

Today I just felt like remembering some of my cherished friends with whom I have almost lost contact or have a rare contact now. I somehow have a quick bonding with peeople with names starting with "R". In all phases of my life till now - school, college, job - I have found one close to heart friend and each one of them has her name starting with "R". Another common thing in my friends is their zodiac sign - I have an almost immediate friendship with people with sign - Saggitarius. Again most of my friends fall in this category. Then their is one month - September - in which fall birthdays of maximum friends of mine including my best friend and my sister. And the last category is of people having their names starting with "S" - this is another major common factor.

Ofcourse I have friends with names starting with other letters too. And I have a different level of bonding with each one. Just that how that bond slowly vanishes in the hustle and bustle of our daily life - we dont even realise.

When we were in school how we got diaries made with each one's likes dislikes and other interests.We shared stuff, we shared stories, we did our first girly talk - blushing at every word coming out of our mouth. We tried to decorate those diaries so well so as to treasure the friendship and secrets till eternity. Then we moved on to college. And before we knew we had left behind half of that treasure. That treasure took back seat in life and we found new bondings. We shared future plans, we shared love life secrets, we shared emotions, we shared fears. We guarded each others' secrets. Especially being in hostel changed the total outlook and personality.

Came next phase - college over, we moved on and stepped in corporate world. Some went for further studies. Others moved on to cities and countries where they found jobs of their interest (atleast it seemed so)
New aquaintances, new colleagues and new friends. Different level of sharing... outings, get-aways - the fun was there though different from earlier times.

Some changed jobs, some remained. Friendships continued for a while. Letters were already bit old style by that time. So emails and phones became the medium of being in touch. And not everyone was so internet-savvy. So freindships again vanished somewhere because of distances and unavailability of mediums. Some still kept trying to keep the contact going no matter what. No hinderance mattered to them. Am thankful to them from the core of my heart. They keep me going!!

Today i sit back and remember all those long-lost friends. I still wish i can get back in touch somehow. (Though i have found many on social networking sites available these days yet few close to heart ones are still missing) I miss some of them a lot.

There have been different reasons everytime for friends to move apart - distances, work schedules, marriages( yes, that affects friendships too as that new relation demands lot of attention and time and by the time you realise its too late) - there can be many reasons.

I dedicate this post to all my dear friends and if they ever read this - i want them to know- i miss you all and i still cherish each and every moment spent together and each and every work spoken to each other in that unsaid blind trust.