Sunday, November 18, 2012

From Heaven, With Love …



Heaven is not the all-white ambiance. Heaven is not Katrina Kaif or Mila Kunis offering you grapes. Heaven is not sipping wine with angels, sitting on a cloud …

Heaven is colorful. Heaven has two people you love the most in this world, buying you samosa’s. Heaven is drinking tea on big square chairs, which are the first piece of furniture your parents bought when they got married.

I am in heaven!!

Heaven has no backdrop of blue skies. Heaven is not soft music playing on harp. Heaven is not quiet and peaceful and about doing nothing.

Heaven has a white walls and backdrop of belongings collected over decades. Heaven has constant noise of chatters, stories, complains, planning, sharing apprehensions and discussion. It’s running to and shuttling between banks, markets, malls, eateries and nana’s house. It’s making checklists of things to do, food to eat, stuff to buy. Heaven is a living room bustling with activities of a daughter visiting after a long wait.

I am savoring every minute of this heaven …

Because heaven is mom’s affectionate words, her food, her care, her wisdom, her enthusiasm and her worries. It’s her smile, her crumpled sari, her sudoko, her leaving her glasses everywhere and her love for life. Heaven is dad’s love, his unconditional doting, his pride, his instructions, his questions, his kindness and his scolding’s. It’s his set little rituals, his glass of tea, his relinquishing of TV remote, his driving, his buying me paan and the fact that we are his life.

Heaven is sister’s memories, her pictures on wall, her face on computer screen, her worries, her nit-picking, her directions, her comments, her relief that I am at home and her worries that I will leave soon.

Heaven is where you belong, where you were modeled, where you will be always loved and supported, where you are special and where everyone special to you resides.

Heaven is also humbling, you know you are privileged to be here. May God Bless my heaven!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Its love…


The only thing in india that is more than its population is unexpected, unconditional, undefined love.

As a kid when I did not get into the same school as my elder sister, my working parents were mainly concerned with the difference in our school timings. My sister was responsible & old enough to carry the house keys and get in the house safely but they did not know what to do with me coming home 45 mins before her.

My dad’s colleague’s family offered that I could stay at their house for this duration. Dad was skeptical; it was an inconvenience to say the least. But he could not think of any other arrangement for such short, mid-day inconvenient time everyday.

Every single day from 2:30 pm to 3:15 pm I stayed at their house for two years. Every single day i was offered water and I fought the insistence to be fed. Every single day my uncle’ mother, wife, 3 daughters and one son, all significantly elder to me,  thought it was important to strike conversation with me, ask me how my day was, worry about me if I was late and make sure I leave the house with only my elder sister; All this with not a hint or glimmer of reluctance or disinterest, day after day. 

It was not baby sitting by any angle. It was just… just indianness.

Today i met the middle daughter of my uncle, one of my smiling,talking,loving, welcoming, expecting nothing in return... guardians. All memories came gushing back. We remembered old times, smiled, choked on emotions…

With some heart-felt goodbyes... she forced a 500 Rupee note in my hand. And when mom and I objected she said “money in india is not money, its love” yes everything here is a currency of love. :)