My daddy strongest!!!

Father, dad, papa.......these words conjure an image of that one person who is our eternal hero.
While mother is the symbol of love, father undoubtedly is the symbol for life. Fathers introduce us to this magnificent world and like a guiding light show us the way to live in it. He is the teacher , mentor, idol, provider, protector and guide. Sometimes knowingly but often unknowingly his everyday deeds with small but valuable teachings hidden in them, shape the person we become.
I am lucky to have a father who believed in me as much as he loved me. Even today, years after his soul has departed for another world, I derive immense comfort in the knowledge that he is up there looking out for me.....his little girl.
As I treasure the memories of one father, I am grateful for the presence of an amazing one- father of my kids, in my life. The way his eyes twinkle when he hugs them, his chest broadens just a little when they are felicitated,the  tranquil peaceful look when he curls up with them and the worry lines which cloud his face when they are unwell. These are all testimony of the eternal love for his children. The ardour with which he teaches them everything from mathematical formulas to teachings of Gita ,is admirable. Like an artist,he moulds carefully, shaping them into individuals they will be one day.
Father's love is a masterpiece of nature that cannot be replicated.--Happy Father's Day!------Finger Talkies.

Rain Drops On My Window Pane!!

Come June and the first pitter- patter of raindrops , announce the arrival of monsoons. The first rains so unexpected, yet long awaited, fill the air with joy.

Monsoon is perhaps the most enjoyable of all seasons. Rains perpetually evoke a joyous feeling in both young and old.

During my childhood I had read a fascinating story about raindrops being tears shed by sky. Well, tears or no tears, after the sweltering , smoldering summers,rains are more than welcome.

Every year, monsoons make me nostalgic. One rain drenched evening, fifteen years ago, as the moon played hide and seek with clouds and raindrops tingled  the skin, I started on a life long journey with my life partner. And, since coming to mumbai, four months of cloudy skies and rains have been a sheer bliss.

I love to wake up to the music of raindrops on my windowpane. Often clouds fill up my balcony and sipping a hot cup of tea, I stand in reverence admiring this gift of nature. Many thundering nights, I curl up with my kids dozing off, as the heavy darkness descends.

Heavily laden clouds, floating like cotton candy, envelope the city in a foggy blanket. Amidst the light drizzle and heavy downpour the city takes on the glow of new shiny paint. The otherwise concrete city , now filled with lush greenery is a tonic for sore eyes. The cool breeze and the fragrant wet soil act like a catalyst triggering the taste buds.

Alas, like every good thing ,monsoons also bring few problems. The mushrooming potholes and the endless traffic queues moving at snail's speed are troublesome. Nevertheless, the glory of monsoons overshadows these bumps.

Monsoon is the time for naughtiness and nostalgia , memories and madness, romance and rains, chai and samosas.....savour it.

Dreams to Live or Dreams to Die??

            ' It is unfulfilled dreams that keep you alive.'
                                                                             Robert Schuller

Sadly, the reverse of this quote proved true for Jiah Khan, who ended her life at the young age of 25. Her unsuccessful Bollywood  career is thought to have been the trigger. A precious life with dreams still fresh in eyes, came to an end too soon. It is shocking that a confident, educated, cheerful twenty something girl can willfully end her life.
We all dream and go through life, trying to make these dreams come true. And when one dream comes true .....we have another one...and then another. Life goes on. In this fast paced life we do not pause to cherish the dreams that have been fulfilled, instead keep running after the unfulfilled ones.
Many times we try to realize our unfulfilled dreams through our children without even considering that they may already have their own bundle.
Glamour industry is perhaps the biggest example of this. Many unsuccessful or small time actors groom their children to enter glamour world hoping that their children will achieve what they couldn't.
Another face of glamour industry...the reality shows for kids ....are quickly becoming breeding grounds for false and misplaced idea of stardom. Parents literally haul their kids to participate in these shows without even considering their aptitude or talent. It is sickening to hear vulgar songs from the innocent mouth of a five year old taught by the parents themselves. The eyes which are dreaming of fairies and Santa Claus are burdened with their parents' dreams.
Their hearts remain untrained for rejection, break too often at the hands of humans who sometimes are judges in reality shows or perceived lovers in real life! And when the sand slips from our hands, we mourn the loss, often too late to do anything.
RIP Jiah, or should I pray, RIP parents' dreams....Finger Talkies

First Day of School.......AGAIN!

The school has reopened after the long summer break. A new session has started. The quiet corridors of the school are suddenly flooded with activity. The new admissions are wandering somewhat lost in the new environment while the old ones hurry around excited to be back in the familiar arena. A newly promoted old one holds my hand too. Promoted from Nursery to Junior Kg :) Around her are flocks of tiny tots who are venturing into the school life for the very first time. With huge bewildered eyes they are looking around , one tiny hand clutching tightly mama's or papa's finger. Tears are rolling down the cheeks at the thought of entering this huge monster of a place with alien faces all around. Anxious parents meanwhile are trying their best to convince the little ones to move from their secure embrace to the guiding hand of the teacher. And as the little one takes the giant leap into the corridors of school, the heart beat quickens on both sides and moist eyes follow them till they disappear into the classrooms. My 'senior' daughter is so composed, so much in control!

Though my kid is well settled into her school life by now (thankfully...), the scene outside the school, on the first day always touches a chord in my heart. In the sweltering heat of June parents brave the 'mob' to reach the gate on the first day of their child's school minutes earlier (which seem hours.....). This ordeal seems worth when your heart swells with pride seeing the shining faces of the students. Achievement of completing the first day of school successfully, clearly reflect in their eyes.

The first day of school is a gentle reminder that through tears and tantrums we have ushered our precious ones into the phase which will shape their whole lives.....Finger Talkies.