MIRROR OF MIND

On a sunny June afternoon, I was sipping a chilled mock-tail at a hotel in the city, where I was travelling. The restaurant of the hotel had huge French-windows overlooking lush green lawns and a serene blue swimming pool. The sight provided some relief in the hot and humid climate of mid-June. While appreciating the beauty of the greens and the blues, I spotted a man in the pool enjoying a dip in the cool water. He was constantly gesturing somebody to join him, but I could not see who it was as the parapet obstructed the view. After swapping my chair and straining my neck, I got a better view. I could see a lady standing under the shade of a palm tree near the pool. I could also see a baby, playing in the pram parked right beside her. The man (her husband) eagerly wanted his wife to join him in the pool and probably enjoy some quality time, but the lady, also a mother of a toddler, was reluctant to leave her baby alone. However, the lady gave in and slowly slipped into the pool,

The other day I received a picture of an audio cassette and a pencil, with a message ‘Future generations will never know the unique relationship between an audio cassette and a pencil.’ How true! The sentence reminded me of my huge collection of audio cassettes, and took me down the memory lane, to my home (where I spent my childhood), where a cupboardful of cassettes are ‘resting peacefully’. Cassettes and I go back a long way! When I was a toddler, my mom used to play nursery rhymes for me in a cassette player, which was considered to be a luxury during those days. As I grew older, my bond with these reels became stronger. My brother’s collection mostly comprised of English albums and Ghazals, which he used to boast of. George Michael, Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams, Pretty Woman, Enigma, Pankaj Udhas, Jagjit-Chitra, Ghulam Ali and the list is endless. Out of these, many albums were re-recorded – borrowing the cassette from a friend, and recording the songs on a blank audio ca

Although I have received and rejected countless invitations to play Candy Crush Saga on Facebook, this one is irresistible! And, I promise you it's slightly different too. The one which I have a crush on, lately! I went to the Gulaab no Golo the other day. In Ahmedabad, it is a crazy sight to watch how people flock to these candy crushers and popsicle sellers to beat the heat. As soon as we reached, we encountered a common problem, that of parking. While we were straining our necks to find a suitable place, a security guard whistled and signed to move ahead to a vacant space. We did. Gulab no golo ,  a small lari serves ice dish of or golas of flavours you might have heard, but never had a chance to relish. As soon as we disembarked the car we saw 20 odd people standing in the queue alone... the crowd standing around the lari and already having their share of gola was of atleast of 75 to 80 people. I lost patience seeing the crowd. My little one was scandalised with all t

Like a smoker can never quit smoking, a writer too, can never stay without writing. It's addictive! And so, here I am,after over three years, penning my thoughts... err keying-in my thoughts here. Had it been my diary, I would have fought the cobwebs to reach out to it kept in some dark corner of a book shelf. The dusty diary would have made me sneeze several times before I could actually open it and begin writing on those termite-eaten pages. But, nothing of that sort happened. Thanks to the advent of technology, my blog looked spic n span, just the way I had left it... three years ago! Life has undergone umpteen changes in these three years. It has been quite a transition from being a dedicated + dominating wife, to a dotting mamma, and am loving it! I have so much more to write about, to share, to express... with you. YOU. Who have been my constant support and inspiration for writing. YOU, who always encouraged me to resume my blog writing. YOU,who spoke those kind words t

One place where a buzzing city comes to a halt is at a traffic signal. This is one place where people get time to witness a series of events, think, see, observe etc. This is one place where one stops… though for few moments and watches the city passing by. One Evening, while going back home from office, I was stopped by the blinking red light. Like others, I too took notice of various activities going around. One thing common between all traffic signals, apart from red, orange & green lights, is young kids asking for money; or to be precise – begging. This signal too, being in the heart of the city was no different. When everyone was in a rush to reach home after a long, busy day, these kids’ working hours had just begun during the peak traffic hours. While I was waiting for the signal to go green, one such kid came yawning near my Scooty. Barely eight years old, he was wearing a pair of shorts and a shabby t-shirt on a chilly, January evening. He was adamant on his demand for mon

It was around 1pm, as I headed towards a restaurant for a family lunch. The occasion was Rakshabandhan. After parking the car on the opposite side of the restaurant, I started crossing the road. I was still half the way when I felt something tickling my feet. I stopped for a moment and started flipping my saree from left to right. Before I could realise that I was doing this awkward act in the middle of the road, a tiny grey thing quickly hurled and took a shelter near the road divider. Oh! It was a baby squirrel; caught on the wrong side of the road, trapped in the busy traffic. Though it was a baby, it was quick, restless and clever, just like its adult counterpart. It cleverly tried to climb the divider, but unfortunately the sides were too high to climb for this tiny creature. The poor thing was almost stuck in the hustle-bustle of the traffic. And I just could not leave that cute little creature all by itself. Before it could run away, I carefully caught it in my hand. I waved my