So, I walked in to the kids room one night to witness this… hubby and son both asleep, but holding hands…

This visual overwhelmed me beyond words , I just had to click a picture of it!

As parents, We’ve come so far in making bigger homes and providing separate bedrooms (and everything else) for the kids, we sometimes tend to forget that what the kids probably just need is so much simpler, a bedtime story from the parent or a listening ear maybe, or sometimes maybe, just a touch of affection.

This moment also sent my heart back to the time when my sensitive first born , at the age of 5 or 6, wanted her own bunk bed , we got it. But then she insisted we hold her hand until she drifted off to sleep. That gave our arms (and mind) so much stress, we decided to dismantle the bed, and it went from bunk to junk bed in less than a month.

Fast forward 8 or 9 years, my Mad Madhav , who puts up a tough front all day, just needs his dad to recharge his emotions too!

And as time races to tower our kids taller than us, and their schedules busier than ours, my arms now ache to hold them for some more time….

Let’s hold them while we still can…

Sometimes, Capturing in Black and White seems so serene, so soothing, so much more beautiful, so deeply captivating to me…. Just maybe, somewhere in the depths of my heart I feel that there is too much color ? Maybe life is just more simplistic when just seen with a single color ?
🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Or, maybe, just the opposite, isn’t it way more complicated, when we actually see and say BLACK AND WHITE, isn’t it really a HUNDRED SHADES OF GRAY IN BETWEEN…#musingsofmylife #thoughtoftheday #contradiction #lifeisbeautiful #thinking #instablog #beach #seashore #sand #blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #waves #samsungphotography #withsamsung #note10plus #nofilters #gray #grey #shadesoflife #sunsetphotography #nocolor #inabudhabi #uaebloggers #abudhabimoments #abudhabilife

होगा इश्क बडा फैला, ऊँचा,

विशाल, आसमान की तरह,

उसी आसमान को चीर कर, लेकिन,

रंगबिरंगे, दोस्ती के गुब्बारे

बोहोत आगे तैर जाते हैं….

ढूंढना पड्ता है , कभी खुद में तुझको,

तो कभी मिल जाती है , तुझमें मेरी एक झलक,

कभी लगता है , मैं क्या कुछ हूँ तेरे साथ,

पर मान ले अब तू भी इस बात को,

ऐ ज़िन्दगी, तू भी तो मेरे बिन कुछ नही।।।

The one man who turned around the thinking of millions of Indians, who has given hope and direction to Indians all over the world, who knows that real change will come when you start working at the roots, and who knows what his own roots are!
The one man who values his tradition, knows his karma, believes in his dharma, who is a true yogi!
The one man who works tirelessly , day or night, rain or sun, who hasn’t taken a single holiday in the past 17 years!
The one man who changed the diplomatic status of India and who is leading our Nation to reach new heights! Who has made friends among most nations in the world.
The one man who has humbly honored the true hardworking Indian and embraced technology to reach one and all.
Some people say you have failed at so many things, but like me, there are millions who know that You are trying, and doing all you can in your power to uplift us and lead us to glory!
You are not only our leader, but our idol, your life is a source of encouragement and energy for us all!
And from a billion fans and admirers, you have the most blessings and best wishes , not only on your birthday, but forever.
Praying To God for your healthy , long and fulfilling life!
#HappyBirthdayModiji

સુંદર તારું મોર મુકુટ છે, છે મધુર મોરલી ની ધુન,

બોલાવું છું પ્રેમ થી વ્હાલા, સાદ તું દીલનો સુન…

શું ખબર શું જાદુ છે, તારી પ્રતિભા માં એવું,

મુગ્ધ થઈ છું તારા માં હું, મારે છે તુઝને કહેવું,

પ્રેમ છે તારો અદ્ભુત કાન્હા, હવે તો તારુંજ થઈ ને રહેવું …

કર્મો તો તું જ શિખ્ડાવીશ, આપ્યો ગીતા નો તે સાર,

સારથી છે તું માધવ મારો, કેમ ભૂલું તારો ઉપકાર,

તારા પર મેં છોડ્યું આ જીવન, ચલાવે તું જ તો સંસાર …

હસ્તી તારી બહુ છે ઉંચી, પરચા છે ભારી ભર્ખમ,

છતાંય , છતાંય , હે કૃષ્ણ,

સખા બનીને મારી સાથે, ચાલે છે તું હરદમ !!

જેની છબિ, જેનું બાળપણ,

જેની મોરલી, જેની ધુન,

જેની લીલા, જેના રાસ,

જેનું મોર- મુકુટ, જેનું માખણ,

જેની દોસ્તી, જેનો સંગાથ,

જેનું નામ, જેનો જાપ,

જેની મૈત્રી નિ મિસાલ,

જેની પ્રીત નો સાર,

જેની વાણી, જેનું વર્તન,

જેનો જન્મ, જેનું જીવન,

બધાય નો, ઍક્કજ સાર છે, પ્રેમ, ફક્ત પ્રેમ,

એવા હે કાન્હા, તુઝને મારું વંદન

So these past few days I’ve been very busy,and as much as I’d not like to say the word, even bitchy – To myself atleast. 🙄

And then I sat down with my friend and probably poured out my stress to her, shed the couple of ready to spill tears (of self pity). And then came the realisation- I was overworking myself to the point that I was ready to blow off 🤯… and for what? Some goal I gave myself, which either accomplished or not, wasn’t a matter of life or death.

Sometimes we decide to take the difficult path and then just go on this self pity tour.🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ We simply decide to inflict this pain on our own soul 😖

I realised after the chat with my friend and hubby that they are with me in spirit and heart. Infact,I realised, so many people are, ready to offer whatever they can in their capacity. But also by letting me take over so many things and letting me keep my self pride, Letting me fight and win my battle , And their trust. What else can one ask for? Like seriously, what was I thinking????

If there is anything I should be, its grateful. And I am.

Lesson learnt- we all need to break free of this vicious circle of self inflicted stress and pain. We need to rise above self and see the larger picture that we are a part of- there are people and relations that complement us, complete us. We need to acknowlegde and appreciate not only The ones that come ahead and pat our backs and sing our praises but also those silent ones that trust us and let us take the lead .not just those who hug us and say I’ll miss you when we leave, But also those who won’t do it because they want to set you free to soar new heights.

And today, again, I do. I appreciate them all.

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou