but seriously!!

Friday, October 02, 2015

Losing Baba

Baba died last Sunday quite unexpectedly. It was a routine pacemaker change and the doctor had said that there was no problem that he anticipated. But the hospital handled the whole treatment poorly and I strongly suspect that Dr Balbir Singh was negligent in his treatment. It was a huge shock that I'm still reeling from. My mother is heartbroken and we are all trying to cope with life after him. I really had expected to spend another 10 years at least with him. I had wanted to do so much more for him. 

Here is what I'm planning to say at his remembrance tomorrow. Don't know if it will come out like this, but this is what the intention is.

Not many know this, but my father was born in a small village in Bangladesh and grew up there before partition. He grew up without much. In fact he once told me that the family of four brothers and three sisters and their mother survived a famine because of a coconut tree that they had at home. But it was a time that he recollects with fondness. He’d tell us stories of how he and his brothers would play and catch huge prawns with their bare hands. At independence the family moved to Siliguri where many of his side of the family still reside. Education for him was everything. He trekked miles each day to school and was a topper right through school and college. Towards the end of his college, he worked as a headmaster of a school and worked his way into the IPS in 1961. His family then went to my mother’s family with a marriage proposal. My maternal grandfather wanted an IAS son-in-law. But my father had evidently set his heart on marrying my mother. The next year he qualified to join the IAS.  He went back to my mother’s family and well, the rest is history. From that small village, with practically no opportunities, he rose to retire in 1996 as a secretary to the Government of India. It is that grit and determination that is so remarkable. He set his goal and let nothing stop him. I’ve seen and learnt that he was honest, diligent at his job and was clear and frank with his views. He was someone that my sister and I are super proud of.

He wasn’t a complicated man. He was an intense, inquisitive  thinker who questioned everything till he found a scientific logic. He was very fond of history, politics, sports and was a quiz buff. He was a fan of great lives. His eyes lit up when he spoke of Napoleon or John F Kennedy. My sister believes that there was no question he could not answer. He loved to look after his garden patch to spend time at home with his family or to read a good book. He was a big storyteller. One of my fondest memories of him is his regular bedtime stories, mostly stories of Krishna or the Mahabharat.  We love Baba and will always hold our memories of him very close.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Past the halfway mark

Had some friends over for a landmark birthday. It was a nice evening that was stress free and relaxed.  Missed some out of towners that it would have been nice to have had over as well. Several FB friends wished me. Many called. Trying not to react negatively to those that were unable to connect or perhaps forgot.....
The most important bit was a visit from my parents. It wasn't usual for my father to trek out to Gurgaon from his home in Mayur Vihar 1. It was more often that we would visit him. But lately he had made the effort and started visiting more often. I was so happy that he came on my birthday. I was lucky to have got him to come, to have spent the time with him and to have got his blessings on this day.
Importantly, it's time to review a lot of stuff about myself and figure how to spend the rest of my time on this planet usefully. For one, I would like to be there for others who need me. Maybe, I'll put in more effort to connect to those who have been a part of my journey in a happy way. Be more humble. Hopefully dial back on the level of aggression that living in this part of the world fosters. I will try to learn to let go of past pain and try and take things as they come with some degree of equanimity.
My greatest strength is my family, most of all Nina, Neil, Mamon, Sitamma and Bob uncle the parents and my in-laws. Ever so grateful for their love and support. 

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Selfies and Pictures

There are a thousands of pictures and selfies that I have. From way before selfies became a thing. Can't be posted though. But they can be shared with those I love. And those I love are in some of them. And in some are only snapshots of moments. All stored away in my mind and heart. Some in the deepest recesses. To be accessed by closing my eyes. And sometimes involuntarily in my dreams. Probably far more precious than anything that I can put on FB or Twitter. Things that live in me. Almost all that will go when I go. A fraction that will live in the memories of those who love me and share some of my journey. 

Friday, July 17, 2015

In Me

I see God in the smallest kindness that any creature shows to another. In the smallest smile in anyone’s face. In the littlest joy that I receive. In the beauty of the tiniest wild flower on the roadside.
I see God in the most majestic mountainscape, in the contemplation of pictures of outer space. In the warmth of an ocean wave lapping at my feet. In the lush verdant green of leaves in the rain.
I see the devil in the smallest wish that harm comes to another. I see the devil in the tiniest word designed to hurt needlessly.
I see the devil in bigotry, intolerance and unwarranted violence.

I recognize a little of all that in me.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Still love Delhi

Almost four years of living in our own home. Home is great. But it's a flat! I do wish I had the bandwidth to look after a ground floor independent home. And I still wish I was back in Delhi and not Gurgaon.

Yeah, but driving in South Delhi certainly makes me miss it just a tad less. 

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Update after an age.

About 3 years into a freelance existence. After 10 years of working for someone. Hmm. Can't complain much. Stress levels are down. Love at least deluding myself that I'm my own boss. Love the freedom to do as I please. To be as I once was, only older but no wiser.

Best things that have happened to me are N & N. And I love that I have a little more of my own time to share with them. Grateful for all friends who are special and hold me as special. Can easily do without the "pretend" ones.

Almost 3 years of living in Gurgaon. In a flat! Egad!!! No I'm still not used to it. I still like Delhi. Still like the thought of living in a small place in a "colony". One day.... One day...



Wednesday, September 23, 2009

We move... Again

Time to move, again. This time to our own home. Wonder how this will work out!

I had never imagined that I would move from Delhi to Gurgaon, but here we are, in the process of shifting.

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