Category: Chronicles

Love and gravity

जाते जाते वो मुझे अच्छी निशानी दे गया
उम्र भर दोहराऊंगा एसी कहानी दे गया

We had announced our wedding and you being Tarique’s brother, wanted to meet me. So I met you at a Cafe near Churchgate station at 7 PM and the bond that formed that evening was strong. We did have our disagreements in the beginning. You were that kind of person – strong and pig-headed at times. But you always were my brother-in-law and a brother to me.

You told me in our first meeting that you are an incorrigible romantic, and in the end you even managed to romance death, so much that she took you away leaving us completely shaken. I have no idea how life would be without you. How will we all fill the void that you have left. Who will I discuss Urdu Shairi with and how will I cope up when to every sher I write, there isn’t a reply in the form of another equally good couplet.  What will I do now that I know you are not there at the other end of the phone. Tell me, is there some kind of  Whatsapp up there?  Tell me, Interstellar was right, that  love and gravity will always transcend time and space. Just send me a signal and I will know that you are there in another dimension.

Here’s  for you BIL. I am going to miss you terribly, Bhaijan, but I will not grieve your absence, your life deserves to be celebrated, not mourned.

 

Kitten Diaries Part 4 – Story in pictures

As they are growing, the kittens are giving me a lot of photo opportunities.  So I  decided to ditch the iphone camera and use my DSLR to click some pictures.

The kittens are a pleasure to be with, they are old enough to be on their own now, and perhaps will soon go away. And these photographs will be memories to treasure.

Mishti loves flowers
Mishti loves flowers
Kitten Diaries: Every piece of furniture is fun to play with.
Every piece of furniture is fun to play with.

Continue reading Kitten Diaries Part 4 – Story in pictures

Kitten Diaries Part -3 -The playful kittens

This kitten diaries update almost did not make it. For several days the kittens were not to be seen. Billu had kept them well hidden and did not even allow me near them. After about a week of no signs of kittens being around, we gave up and thought that they succumbed to nature’s ills. Then suddenly one day Billu led me to the outhouse again and there I met Mishti on the first day, Wookie on the second day and Missy on the third. Billu shows all signs of being a good cat mother, and I am so proud.
billu_with3ofthem

The kittens turned 7 week old last Saturday and they are all over the garden now, even when the temperatures rise to 47°C they find places to hide and stay cool. They have started drinking milk that I give Billu and they even eat her food. I give her an egg scrambled along with a bread or a left over roti, with a lot of ghee.
mishti_wookie
The kittens were away from me for long so they were obviously wary to begin Continue reading Kitten Diaries Part -3 -The playful kittens

21 years

11th May, 1994, it was a Wednesday. I woke up a little early that morning, got quickly dressed in a simple green coloured cotton saree that I  had purchased for the occasion, applied a light foundation and lipstick, slipped into my sandals and I was ready for the most important event of my life. It was my wedding day. I still have the clothes that we wore though there is no way I can fit myself into that blouse and Tarique in his size 38 shirt ever again.

10 AM. I was ready, the household wasn’t. 10.30 AM, I started pacing up and down, I can’t be late, surely not today. But that was not to be. For the appointed time of 11 AM. I reached the district court at 11.45 and guess who was there pacing up and down, somewhat anxious, somewhat angry, wondering how long to wait. He would have left for my place (to check if I was ok) had he not been with his father. “Have patience, such things take time” His father had told him.

Continue reading 21 years

Kitten Diaries Part -2 Mishti, Missy and Wookie

Kittens around the house keep you busy. The mother needs to be fed, the kittens need to be weighed and you just can’t keep yourself from clicking pictures. It was Day 4 and all the kittens wanted to do was sleep.

Kitten Diaries Day 4
Kitten Diaries Day 4. All they do is sleep.

The kittens sleep most of the time and are extremely dependent on their mother to protect, feed, clean and help them excrete waste. They do start being vocal though. The mother tries to keep their mews to a minimum so that they do not attract attention.

Continue reading Kitten Diaries Part -2 Mishti, Missy and Wookie

Kitten Diaries Part 1 – Billu and her mewlings

Bilaoo or Billu for short is my cat who turned one this April. She had adopted me as her human on a rainy evening in July 2014 and has been with me ever since.

billu_apr10IMG_4649
Billu the mother cat when she was a kitten (12 weeks old)

A few months back we noticed that she is pregnant. I was not sure if she would carry the pregnancy through as she herself was very young. But she did, and gave birth to three kittens on Saturday, 11th April at about 8.45 PM. It was a cool windy evening and she has been after me to follow her everywhere. She took me around the house and finally after an hour settled in front of my car in a cardboard box which was too small for her. I quickly arranged for a bigger cardboard box and lined it with some newspapers and some soft cloth.

She inspected the box and was in and out of it, certainly in pain and unable to sit at a place she was very restless. Her contractions which were an hour apart early evening, now became frequent and she would get very little rest between them.  She did not allow me to go out of her sight and I kept petting her and reassuring her.

Continue reading Kitten Diaries Part 1 – Billu and her mewlings

#47 Tummy Fill

Ok, so I may have turned 47 today but I don’t feel it. So what’s new?

The day was a busy one. First Monday of  the month always is. Morning was made with this lovely cartoon sketched by Rohan Chakravarty titled “Tummy Fill” ( A take on Kill Bill, and Lucy Liu who Rohan thinks I resemble). This sketch was Tarique’s birthday gift to me. Swati’s Kitchen is my newest baby. It lists the recipes of food I cook and the site getting a good response.

The plans for this year are set. New things to do, and to boldly go to places where I did not venture earlier 😀 I will enfold them as and when I start working on things.

Maya jaal na toda jaye

IMG_0309About 14 yeas back Tarique posted this on his blog with a story of how this simple poem, Maya jaal na toda jaye was written by his mother. Just two years back, his father had passed away and all the works of Ammi were left for their children to take care. Barring a few that my Father in law read out to me while I transcribed them in Devnagri, everything was written in Urdu Rasmulkhat. Helplessness overcame us as at that time, I as well as Tarique felt very helpless at not knowing the Urdu script. That was also the time when our business was picking up and our son, Aasim was growing up and neither of us had time to spare for learning the Urdu script.

Things changed about a few years back when I found time and resources to transcribe Ammi’s poems and books from Urdu Rasmulkhat to Devanagari. That took care of all the printed and published works but still a large number of notes and hand written poems that I could not part with remained with us. Helplessness was at its peak when Dr. Tejinder Singh Rawal decided to teach Urdu Rasmulkhat to all who loved the language. In a matter of days, I could recognize the characters and read small words, even write a bit in the script that looked alien a few years back. A year of  practice of reading and writing and I can now read and write decent amount of Urdu. I still have miles to go but with I can now type using Urdu Keyboard and have started typing Ammi’s work in Urdu Rasmulkhat.

Here’s the Nazm that Dr. Zarina Sani wrote when her (then) 10-year-old son, Tarique complained that she should write in simple language for the common man.

For those who can not yet read Urdu script, I am also giving the Devanagari transcript of this Nazm.

مایا جال نہ یوڑا جائے
لوبھی من مجھ کو ترسائے

مل جائے تو راگ ہے دنیا
مل نہ سکے تو من للچائے

میرے آنسو ان کا دامن
ریت پے جھرنا سوکھا جائے

شیشے کے محلوں میں ہر دم
کانچ کی چوڑی کھنکی جائے

پیار محبت رشتے ناتے
ثانیؔ  کوئی کام نہ آئے

मायाजाल न तोड़ा जाये
लोभी मन मुझको तरसाये

मिल जाये तो रोग है दुनिया
मिल न सके तो मन ललचाये

मेरे आँसू उनका दामन
रेत पे झरना सूखा जाये

शीशे के महलों में हरदम
काँच की चूड़ी खनकी जाये

प्यार मुहब्बत रिश्ते नाते
‘सानी’ कोई काम न आये

Photo by Steve Corey

Simple joys of life

In our day to day, noisy, hyperactive and high frequency world there is little time left to just sit back and experience the simple joys of life; rejoice in the simple fact that we exist. We so often forget how it is like to take a stroll, with an old pal, on green hills and watch the leaves drenched in rain and flowers being kissed gently by dewdrops.

We get so comfortable in the race of life that we strangle our emotions even before they get a chance to be expressed. We forget to delve into the realms of our dreams and fantasies, stop listening to the music of streams, chirping of birds and forget that there is a song to be heard, a tune to be hummed and a beautiful verse to be read.

We forget how rewarding the company of a trusted old friend can be. The freedom to talk and not be misunderstood or misjudged. The careless laughter and endless banter that once came so effortlessly takes time now.

It takes forty and a few more years. Yes, it takes those many years to realize how we can un-complicate our lives and experience the simple joys.  At least for me it did take those many years get out of a grey world and watch the rainbow go over the hill and dunk in the stream beyond.Photo by Dana C. Voss

Aasim leaves for MUWCI

Aasim with our kitten, Bilau
Aasim with our kitten, Bilau

Packing is done, and Aasim is finally flying out of the nest and he is excited about the new world awaiting him. A world where he will be part of an international community, people from over 60 countries will study, work and do projects together. It’s a dream come true for him, and for us.

About a year and half back, when we learnt about the United World Colleges (UWC), we were not sure if Aasim will be able to meet the challenges that are required to be met to become a student of one of the 14 UWCs. The more research he did, the more the prospect of being a student of a UWC excited him and finally we procured the form from the Indian National Committee in Sept 2013

The form among other things, required him to answer eight questions, and some of them were quite difficult even for an adult to answer. However, when I finally saw his answers I was impressed with the maturity and clarity of his thoughts. I felt he does have a chance.

The form was submitted, and we planned to visit the Mahindra United World College, which was his first choice among the United World Colleges across the world (his other choices were UWC Pearson College, Canada and UWC Adriatic, Italy). The visit to MUWCI made him, and us feel that this is the place where he truly belongs. Not only did he feel comfortable with the place, he met other students (and teachers) who he felt at ease with, and completely at home.

IB is a very tough syllabus and the way it is dealt with at UWCs makes it even tougher. Aasim got through the first screening (application form) and was selected for the second stage; a 24 hour interview camp. This one was going to be tougher, we knew, and it was, but he got through and was selected to be a student at the United World College Mahindra College, MUWCI for short.

The excitement of being selected at one of the best colleges in the world abated and a long wait began. He enjoyed his summer holidays and prepared himself to join the college. Tomorrow is that day for him. At MUWCI, a new life awaits him.

I am very proud of him. We brought him up to be an independent person and a world citizen, and at MUWCI, he will have opportunities that he can use to do things that truly matter.

He is going to fly, and fly high!