keep smiling in life

A Friday morning.I was on my way to the office.My friend had given me a lift and so the two of us were in her car,giggling and laughing,gossiping and generally being opiniated about the world in general and no one in particular.Traffic was heavy( as it always is in Mumbai) .Radio Mirchi was full of music and masti. Both of us were having a good start to the day.We paused at a signal.The young book boys(boys who sell pirated editions of latest best sellers at the cheapest prices possible) swarmed into the halted traffic.A little fellow with a spark in his eye stopped near my window.Madam ji dekho..and showed me The Lost symbol. Something told me to respond to him.Yeh to maine padh liya hai,I said.To in me se kuch dekh lo ..he said showing me the tall tower of books that he was carrying.Yeh saare maine padh liye hain,I quipped.theek hai to yeh le lijiye...aapke kaam ayega...and he strongly recommended "Loose your weight ,not your mind by Rujuta Divekar!!! thoda weight bhi kam ho jayega( did he mean his own ..the weight of his life ) or mine???? I burst out laughing!!!! No dear mujhe yeh nahin chaiye.... theek hai he said,aap apne doston se bolna mere hi signal par se books kharide...Saying this he gave a mischievous little wink and ran to the next halted car.
He didn't sell his book to me but he sold his enthusiasm and his spirit to keep smiling in life !!!!

The phoenix

She was happy,joyous and free.The world was hers to rule.When she smiled ,she radiated happiness.She fluttered as lovely as a butterfly.From every flower that life gave to her,she not just received,she gave instead...a lot of happiness..she spread around.No life that she once touched ever forgot her.It seemed as if Nature had conspired to keep her happy.Then the bubble burst.The Gods went against her.She began to cringe.she began to cower,she began to fear.She feared to smile,she feared to laugh,she feared to rejoice.But she learnt to resist this deviant plan of the Gods.She smiled though it pained,she rejoiced though it ached,she laughed though she was tormented.The world did not know.The world believed the image she projected,a shadow of her true self.The world believed she smiled because she loved it,she smiled because she did not want to hurt those she loved.The world believed she rejoiced the gifts of life,she rejoiced that in all this pain she had her babies to look forward to.The world believed she laughed at it ,she laughed to challenge her own self.Time and again her struggle,her pain and her energy to deal with it makes me want to believe that she is the modern day phoenix.She will rise again and laugh at the world.AGAIN!!!!!!

ode to kalpana

I first met Kalpana in my sixth grade.We had recently relocated to Trivandrum and there I was Maharashtra chi mulgi standing in the Malayala nadu knowing nothing of that language.Someone told us that Kalpana was the best teacher of the language.She was friendly,she was humourous and she helped to learn easily.So began my Malayalam lessons from her.But I could meet her only once a month.A three hour class of fun,frolic ,entertainment and education-those were her classes.In less than a year not only could I understand the language but could speak reasonably well in it too.though i no longer needed her classes,she continued to remain an integral part of my life.she encompassed not only aspects of my life but also my entire family.My family was with me in this entire endeavour,right from the first class!!!!
Kalpana taught all of us.....
for almost 7 years we regularly visited her every month and came home enriched..sometimes happy,sometimes sad,sometimes thoughtful,sometimes pensive...
Today I heard she is gone,gone for ever...I felt i had lost a link to my past.Kalpana has been replaced by Big Bazaar....Kalpana was the theatre where I saw my first Malayalam Movie!!!!!
Kalpana was where I began my tryst with Malayalam movies.Here was where I cried along with Mammooty,laughed with MohanLal,romanced with Rahman,danced with Shobana,learnt sarcasm under Balachandra Menon, and empathised with Nedumudi Venu.
Today she stocks washing powder!!!!!