The Mary Poppins Handbag

Mine is a Mary Poppins Handbag. Yesterday, on an impulse, as I was walking past a shop, a handbag caught my attention and before I knew it, I was the owner! Since, it was a whimsical possession and not bought out of necessity, guilt took over the initial euphoria. As the price wasnt too heavy, I managed to convince my silly conscience not to scream out loud.
On reaching home, the first reaction from my kid was "hey, this looks like the bag of Mary who had a little lamb". I got this wierd feeling that maybe it was not the wisest of my decisions to have bought it. Next thing she told me was "Amma, what will you do with your old handbag? Can I have it?"
Now, that was a difficult one since my mind was already divided in two whether I should transfer the belongings of my old handbag to the new. I told her "Not yet, I will have to see whether it can sustain everything thats there in my old bag".
So, there started my digging. Out came my cheque books and credit card pouch. Then came my small purse that holds the change. This was followed by my ID Card and driving licence. Then there was this pair of sunglasses and a comb. How can you comb without a mirror? So, there it was a small foldable one. A few lipsticks, a small bottle of perfume, lots of tissues, lots of bills! The handbag suddenly took the form of a bottomless pit. My Mobile and its headphone, data chord, a CD long forgotten! Hold on, the list hasnt ended. In my side zip there were lots of shloka books, bindis, hair pins, safety pins, nail cutter! Pens, extra clips, extra ear studs!
I was in awe. I was amazed. How did I manage to stuff so much inside that small bag? But the best part is the amount of junk I had accumulated! After throwing away half of it and stuffing the remaining items inside my new bag, I suddenly felt, it was so much lighter and vowed that this time I will learn to throw away rather than throw in the not-required items!
My daughter has the bag now! And she has learnt the art of stuffing too!

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The Fall

Small children can associate only one word with their “falling” – pain. They react in 2 ways. The braver ones depending on how bad the “fall” is, will just get up, dust themselves and carry on as if nothing happened. The weaker ones will start bawling while the friends and well wishers would gather and nurse them with soothing words and first aid.
As an adult, “falling” comes with 2 strings attached to it. The first is “humiliation” and this comes before “pain”. Who has made the rule that adults cant fall and hurt themselves? Then why is it that the first thing you do after you fall is look around to count the no of eyes that have you caught you in the act?

Yesterday I fell. Yes, at a shopping centre. Yes, amidst some 50 pairs of eyes. There was this small elevation of not more than 2 inches on the floor. Then there was this dog sitting a few meters away. I think he understood my phobia for them because he was eyeing me and deciding whether he wanted to bark or let me pass. I was waiting for him to pounce on me, while trudging ahead. With both eyes on him, it was but obvious that I missed to see that protrusion on the floor. I tripped and fell. Luckily, I fell on my knees and not on my face. Dash dash kgs of weight forced upon the knee along with the impact of the fall, sent a shooting pain through me. Nevertheless, the next second, I mustered enough courage to stand up. A few benevolent souls and a few curious ones came to me asking me if I was fine. I replied “Oh yes, yes, I am OK”. Then they went on to explain how something needs to be done about that elevation while noone knows what and who should do it. I took the escape route as soon as possible to the shop I was heading. It was then that the word “pain” started taking its form. I managed to reach home, rubbed some pain relief gel. Today morning the throbbing pain continues as I limp but life continues too.

A few years back I sprained my ankle in almost the same manner. At that time I was coming down the stairs in my office and managed to miss a step and twist my ankle. Again, got conscious and ran out the first thing, only to wake up the next day to a severely swollen foot and had to take the day off.

The number of times I have bumped into people while turning the corner cannot be counted on my fingers. Is it patience that I lack or concentration?

Clumsy me!!!

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Everyday is not a Sunday!

Today is friday! World over people would be moving around with a big smile which says TGIF (Thank God Its Friday). Not for me. The smile is not for me. That is because my company works 6 days a week. Agreed that we start later everyday as compared to my counterparts belonging to TGIF clan, but do not kid me when it comes to the "till" portion. The day can stretch much beyond the time it is supposed to end. Luckily for me, the work is not as demanding and except for some sporadic meetings, my day ends when it is still day! Yet, I would not mind starting my day early every day just to have that saturday off! You may ask me why not look out for a job that gives me that luxury, but there are reasons I do not wish to disclose here for NOT doing so.
Coming to the point, so, its Saturday that gives me the required smile that says "hey so what if everyday is not sunday....tom is surely a Sunday".
And then comes Sunday. The day to get up late. The day breakfast gets done later. The day which my refrigerator starts empty only to end up being stacked. The day myself and hubby take turns to chauffeur our kids to their dance classes and ABACUS classes. The day I love for those 1 1/2 hrs I spend learning the next item on veena. The day when evening would mean some socialising with people and remembering Gods in their temples. The day that ends with Monday Blues!
With such a hectic schedule I wonder why I still love my sundays!

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Food for thought!

Although I love celebrating my Hindu festivals, sometimes it is exasperating. As it happened today.
Today is our Varsha Porappu – Tamil New Year. Happy New Year to one and all. May the year be filled with everything happiness. Apart from the usual vadai and payasam, we are supposed to cook a special delicacy called manga-pachchadi. It is special because it has all tastes in it – sweetness of jaggery, sourness of mango, salt, spice and bitterness of neem flowers that we need to add to it. By eating the same, we are preparing for a year which is full of sweet, salty, bitter, sour etc moments. Then paanagam (jaggery mixed with water) and neer moru (buttermilk) also has to be prepared and offered to the Lord when the panchaangam (the years predictions) is read. Over and above all this, a full fledged lunch needs to be cooked – with rice, sambar, rasam, one dry vegetable and one kootu (wet one).
So, I had to get up an hour earlier and being a Saturday and that too a full working one for me, believe me I had to muster all my courage to do so. I took head bath. Even though my MIL is there with me in all the effort, I started the day feeling “why o why cant I sleep a bit more?” Anyway, the morning hustle bustle soon got over and lunch was partaken. I rushed to my work.

Looking back now I feel, that sometimes it is good to look beyond laziness and lethargy. We do need such occasions for many a reason. The festivals call out for family unions where we need to take blessings of our elders. The festivals give us reason to think of Him. The festivals break the monotony by giving us wide variety of delicacies. Would I ever think of making manga pachchadi if not for varsha porappu? Similarly would I ever make seedai (the round spherical rice-flour crispies) if not for Janmashtami? Each of our festivals has something different to offer to our Gods. And taking His name, we relish the same.

At the end of it all, I wonder why does our life revolve around food?

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Your friendly neighbourhood

Yesterday while returning home from work, as I was walking up the stairs, I bumped into my next door neighbour.
She exclaimed “Oh dear, long time no see? Whats up? Were you not in town?”
That set me thinking - when was the last time I talked to her… maybe a month back or was it two? What a poor social animal I am? She stays right besides my house. Her house only a few meters away on the same floor as mine and yet, we see each other only in months?
Is this the way to live and move in a society? I don’t think so. So, where have the things gone wrong?
I remember my childhood days. I had morning school and hence used to be home by lunch time. Afternoon used to be spent lazing around and completing homework. Come evening and all of us kids would rush out to play games that varied with season. At times, it used to running around kinds and at other times games like stapu, elastic etc. My mother used to step out too and all her friends would sit on some verandah and share the day’s happenings… some called it gossiping, I say why not? Atleast they had something to tie them together unlike us.
Today, my morning starts in the kitchen and ends with me rushing to my work. Spending the day in the office and after reaching home, its back to kitchen, studies, dinner, TV and wind up! It sounds like a lame excuse but where do I squeeze in time for my neighbours? During the get-togethers of our society, I usually am the person looking like an outsider!
I have made it a point to call all my friends home atleast for occasions like Navratri. Last Navratri, as I went about inviting them, one of my friends commented lightheartedly “You are my calendar for Navratri. When you come, I know that the festivity is just around the corner”. Her light comment, however, pinched me!
Time management is something I just have to learn however late it is for me. So, the next time my neighbour sees me, I am the one updating her on latest gossips of our society :)

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Auspicious Day!

Friday the 13th! A nice auspicious day to start my blog. Let me prove to myself that my fear of 13 is baseless
Welcome to the world of blogging!

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