So this morning , I open the door and I’m taken aback. In good way, actually. It’s cool, just a bit chilly, infact, WOW! God actually switched the winter back on! Just like that. And he also bundled in a few clouds , and, to top it all, he sprinkled a faint little Rainbow on the morning sky too (even if i saw it only later on social media posts)!!! So, yeah, wow! I decide its too beautiful and pleasant to go back to bed, and settle on the porch with some hot piping tea!

And then it dawned open me, if seasons can change like this overnight, who do I think I am to underestimate life after all? Stress comes and goes, because stress is now probably a synonym of modern life , but so what? I could feel it just evaporate from me into the universe…. just like that!

It struck upon me, yet again, that there is a positive for every negative, a cool relief after every scorching summer, and while it maynot snow like I fantasize it , the cool breeze is probably more soothing than the snowfall !

So Why do we get back feeling stressed every now and then? That’s probably an unseperable part of this big mad parcel of our fast, modern, do it all rollercoaster we call life, maybe even a big one, but its just a part nonetheless. The stress isn’t life itself. The completing part is probably Hope.

So, here I am, sipping my uplifting masala chai on the porch, silently making this promise to have a firm hold of positivity in daily life situations ,that I’m gonna be happy and hopeful…. and I realise, once again, “picture, ab bhi baaki hai mere dost!”

School mornings are usually , let’s put it as “NOT SO NICE” for Madhav and Mumma! For Madhav, it’s a dragged from bed- getting a sleepy bath- back in bed routine. Mumma, on the other hand , after 3 or 4 sweet good morning calls 😙, like most other moms, transforms into, shall I say, ahem 🤭, A DRAGON 🐲? Madhav certainly (but with a fair share of pouts 🙇‍♂️, wails😭, tears😢and complaints 😤) responds to the Dragons call! All in all, it’s an unpleasant run upto the school bus each morning 😑…

This morning though, 4 customary sweet mom calls later, out came the Dragon! Followed by the irritated pout by Madhav…

As he stood , closed eyes, lips curled in an annoyance-

Madhav – ” Mumma, I’m cold!”

Dragon Mumma – “No, you’re not cold, you’re Madhav!” 🤐😏😆

The annoyed Madhav opened his mouth to retort a cheeky reply, but his his lips just spread out in a silly smile, acknowledging the silly PJ! Pout gone, Dragon gone!

The morning just became sweet!

Brought me back a pointer from my childhood- Laughter is probably STILL the best medicine!

શું કહેવું મારે તને, શું ખબર?

કંઇ જોઇતું હોય તને, શું ખબર?

રહે છે હંમેશા તૃપ્ત તું , માગતો નથી ક્યારેય કશું…

આટલો સંતોષ કોઇને હોય પણ શકે, કઇ રીતે, શું ખબર?

જીવન નો શું સાર છે, કે પછી છે આ બેમતલબ,

રોજ મનમાં ઉઠનારા આવા સવાલો ના જવાબ, મળશે? શું ખબર?

હર રોજ ની જેમ, આજે પણ વધીજ છે આ ઊંમર…

વધતી ઊંમર સાથે ઘટી રહ્યું છે આ જીવન, વ્હાલા…

જીવી લઇએ આજે જ, ચાલ, માણી લઇએ હર રોજ હવે,

કયારે સરી જશે હાથ માંથી, કાલ કેટલી છે નસીબમાં, શું ખબર?

“Mummaaaa….. Dev was disturbing me when I was sleeping”, complained my 7 year old Madhav this morning. “Good morning betav, Jai Shree Krishna”, I said, opening my arms to him.

“I’m so sad, he didn’t let me sleep…😪” Madhav persisted, getting into the comfort of my lap.

“Divine cancel to being sad “, I replied. “Why?😕”

“Every morning, Be Thankful😌, not sad!”

“Huh 🤔why?”

“Well, be thankful you woke up this morning, you’re alive, and so are all you family members- so many people die everyday , and we are all alive, that’s reason enough to be thankful..”

“No, not many people die everyday!”

“Yes, they do, and your family is alive, and you are in your room, which was cool and comfortable, so be thankful , baby!”

“But still, Dev was disturbing me 😒..”

“Okay, then be thankful you have a brother and sister to disturb you!”

“Mumma!😲”

“Imagine you didn’t have them, if you were alone, would you enjoy? Noone to play with, sing, dance, fight, study with?Alone, Everyday! Wouldn’t you feel so lonely then?”

🙂

“Oh yeah! Thankyou God!”

“Ok, and what about Good morning and Jai Shree Krishna?”

“Good morning, JSK 😘”

And that’s how I also realised, while teaching him,

Its so easy to be thankful!

શું જોઈએ છે મને , ક્યારેક એની ખબર નથી…

જોઇએ એ મળશે, શું મટી જશે તૃષ્ણા ? તેની પણ તો ખબર નથી…

કરૂ છું કામ બધા હું ખરેખર , રાખીને કૃષ્ણ ને સમક્ષ,

કૃષ્ણ કરાવે જે કર્મ ની રમત, એ લીલા ની છતાં , કંઇ ખબર નથી…

પ્રેમ છે આપણી વચ્ચે ઘણોએ, છે એની મને પાક્કી ખાત્રી,

પણ દર્શાવવો એ કેમ, કદાચ એની જ તને કંઇ ખબર નથી …

માંગું છું હું હકથી , શું ઠીક છે એ? સાચ્ચું- ખોટું ખબર નથી …

ધરી દીધી છે ફરી આજે અરજી મારી, વ્હાલા તારી સમક્ષ ,

અરજી ને મારી, તારી મરજી ની મોહર મળશે કે નહીં,

શું જરૂરી છે એ મોહર, કરવા પુરાવો પ્રેમ નો?

…એ વાતની…ખબર નથી….

कहीं तो ये बादल तूफान बन बरसते हैं,

कहीं कुछ लोग, बारिश की इक बूंद को तरसते हैं….

कभी बडी रफ्तार से, निकल जाती है ये जिन्दगी, कभी,

आडे-तेडे, नुकीले किसी मोड़ पर आकर, अटक जाते कुछ रस्ते हैं….

लगता है अनमोल, शायद, वही जिसे मुमकिन नहीं है पाना,

आसानी से जो हो जाते हैं हासिल, वो ख्वाब भी तो लगते हमें सस्ते हैं ।।।

Its surprising how completely the overpowering , unstoppable thoughts and worries of work, of the world, everything just stops occuring to you. Or even if it does occur, the mind stops registering those thoughts . That sunset you marvel at from the windows of your office, is equally beautiful even from the windows of the hospital room. There’s this one day, that you want from your busy schedule, to sleep, to watch movies, to talk to friends even, without being interrupted by work calls or your coworkers, it’s so elusive, isnt it! But when you have that one day (or 2) at the hospital, how come you can’t think of any of those things to do? How come you cant connect to that movie you’ve always wanted to watch? Or the book you’ve been planning to read but cant bother to open now?

All that matters, at times, is that not so little bundle of life that we call our child. At times when he is (even a bit ) sick, this is the time we realise what matters most to us.

Me, having been lost in the never ending labyrinth of work for the past 6 months (that have flown at the speed of light), this is probably a reality check . A realization, that i can easily get a bit of my life back from the ever grinding pressures of life itself.

For my life, from my life!

I’d planned a trip to Esselworld this vacation, when i told this to people, they said go to Imagica instead. But this was convenient, so esselworld it was!

That ferry from Gorai creek… Was it really that long ago? 20 years 🤤😨? really? The excitement of Esselworld- probably the most exciting place of my childhood was all over me– and, over my kids. Yes, i was visiting with my kids 😊.

The rides were crowded as ever ! The music happening! Some rides are still the same, i see, but riding with my kids is not the same! When did i reach this point? Wasn’t it too soon? From shrieking carefreely with my teenage sister to giggling with my tween daughter- wow! From Running between rides (to save time) to standing in the queue at the dominoes outlet- whoa! From deciding if I’m brave enough to ride the zyclone – to dragging the kids, reassuring them it won’t kill them… looks like I’ve grown up! From thinking of it as an expensive getaway even for myself, to an affordable day out for the family, wow, time has flown!

Spending the full day there, I’ve exchanged a few thousand Rupees for memories of a lifetime- me and my (equally chicken) daughter braving a rollercoaster with a loop for the first time! Having learnt that the homely looking Hubster is a daredevil at heart, his fun rating has really spiralled!

I’ve also realised that fun is not only having it myself- its seeing my kids, nieces and nephews giggling away with excitement, pondering over menus and sharing humongous chocolate-laden desserts. Makes me marvel that inspite of all the advancement of the ages and technologies, the taking over of social media and mobile phones, bonding still develops the old fashion way- holding hands so as to not get lost, grouping to match your taste of fearlessness (or fear) at the rides, discovering the tastes of your cousins to settle on a single pizza, and giving up the last few bites of your dessert to the others!

Thank you Esselworld, today you gave me a new insight into Zindagi! And my Age 😜!

The little lamps of friendship,

We’ve lighted along the way,

They float in my heart like diamonds,

And they sparkle every day!

The laughter we shared together,

The fights we’ve sometimes had…

Most memories we made are happy,

But we’ve even had some sad!

We’ve travelled cities, states and oceans,

Distance could never keep us apart,

We are inseparable friends,

We live in each other’s heart!

What can i wish for you, that you dont already know?

Health, happiness, wisdom and laughter, may day by day they grow!

And ofcourse, how can I not say this to you today…

Whether or not i ever mention it, i love you everyday!

Wishing you more life in every moment of your life!

Happy Birthday Preet!

For no known reason, the Ola cabs app showed considerably raised fares for my trip to GANESHPURI….

In a split second me and hubby decide to take the train, Virar train! We walk to the ticket window and I check the Ola app again for the fares, they have gone down, but we’re already at the station , Might as well take the train, i give up to my own temptation. Atleast we may save some time!🤔

I, along with my 2 (untrained for Mumbai trains) kids , get in a Virar local.Its crowded , yes, but not as much as typically as a Virar train is… my 6 year old does start crying but the ride is otherwise uneventful. Midway i think, why not get down at Vasai and call hubby… he is slightly agitated as to why i like to make such changes all the time… i counter the question with ome of my own, ” why can’t you just comply without questioning?” . He does 🙃! Afterall, how can i explain my love or attachment to vasai, the town i grew up in, where my roots are, to him, or anyone else?

As we get down, hubby just once says we may even get a bus here… i walk ahead just a few steps and lo and behold! Ambadi Bus- just a few metres away! I RUN LIKE A PRO “lets rush before we miss it” Now, Im pretty sure this bus goes to GP- The village of my Mama! Seeing me, the Hubster is even more bewildered than my kids 😂😂!!! He asks me again if this bus will go to GP- “OFCOURSE”.

A ST bus ride back to GP- GP! MY CHILDHOOD GETAWAY! my mind and heart race back to my childhood– the times before mobiles and very limited landline connectivity 🙄!