Hey People!
The party`s over. Finally! And in a few hours,we take the flight back home from Frankfurt. Its been an awesome break. And much needed. And now the heart yearns for home. And some good ol` 'dal-chawal'. And chicken. Its funny how they dont serve chicken anywhere in Germany. Atleast not in the small towns we were in. Only pork and beef! And in the last one month, every time I have tried to order something fancy at a restaurant, vivid visions of a hundred, stinking boars running amok in the gutter, come flashing by. Or an incident from childhood does reruns in the head, where a hundred enthusiastic cow-worshippers in Kolkata had taken out a rally, shouting slogans of 'Gai humari mata hai!".
(And a bengali youth, notorious for his irreverance, had shouted back - "Woh to tum logon ke shakal se hi maloom par raha hai!")
So I have pretty much lived on grass for the last 30 days.
No, no. Not that grass. Just some lettuce, spinach and some other fancy leaves.
I`m in no mood to do another travel blog on Germany. Though the place is worth talking about, really.
Anyway, so this is just a goodbye note. And a rather disjointed one at that! Shall write again,once I`m home. Do pray that I have an uneventful flight back, though I have my own doubts! I have run out of my 'Avomine' supplies, which incidentally means that a very nauseated and air-sick Piper shall board the flight tomorrow. *sigh*
My sincere apologies to all fellow travellers , you know, just in case.. ;-)
Ciao then,
More later..
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
A Lesson Learnt...
October 2007
Kolkata
The clock on the railway platform said 5:18 am. I sat by the window seat in the ladies compartment,watching fellow commuters scuttle across the crowded Sealdah Station. Loud voices screaming out to each other. Aroma of tea rising up in the morning air.Vendors hurriedly loading their barrels and wicker baskets onto the train. Newspaper men juggling enormous bundles. Last minute rush onto the ladies compartment. Catfights. And the smell of sweat, even at that ungodly hour. I sat there, waiting patiently for the train to leave. It would be any minute now. All of a sudden I heard this loud din and I looked across the aisle towards the door. Two hefty vendors were holding up an old man and literally shoving him into the ladies compartment where I was sitting. I realized minutes later, that it was only because his frame was so crooked, he could barely stand up straight. For a moment I wavered. Didnt know what to do. Should I get up and help the old man,who was by now,on his knees, and fishing for something in the torn satchel that he was carrying. But he looked a little scary. Tattered clothes. Broken glasses. Wrinkled skin. Shrivelled up eye brows covering two muddy yellow eyes. Forehead knotted by the years. And for a moment I felt sorry for him. Here was a man,not less than 90 years of age, threading his way from one train to the next, begging to live through just another day. What on earth could have happened to compel him into such dire straits? Didnt he have a family? What kind of a job did he do when he was young and more able-bodied? Or did he forever make a living out of the alms thrown to him by the daily commuters.
And then I saw him stagger towards me with a small packet of peanuts. He came and stood in front of me , offered me the packet and said,
" Ek taka" ( One rupee a packet).
A disclaimer at this point. I dont like peanuts. I can even go to the extent of saying that I really hate peanuts. Cannot stand the sight,smell or taste of it. I can be quite quirky that way!
But I certainly didnt want to turn the old fellow down. Whatever little expectations he had from me (even if it was a rupee) I didnt want to disappoint him. I was too busy feeling sorry for him!
So I fished in my bag for a 2 rupee coin and extended it to him. He thrust 2 peanut bags in my hands. I quickly returned them, saying,
"na na eta chai na" (no,no I dont want these).
And time stood still just then, for this one moment of truth to sink in.
He slowly took out a 2 rupee coin from his satchel and kept it on the seat beside me. Then looked me straight in the eye and said,
" Gorib thiki. Kintu bhikhkhe chai na. Kaaj korchi!"
( I may be poor but I`m not a beggar. I work!).
He walked away, leaving a downright ashamed me with another of Life`s lessons I`ll never ever forget..
Kolkata
The clock on the railway platform said 5:18 am. I sat by the window seat in the ladies compartment,watching fellow commuters scuttle across the crowded Sealdah Station. Loud voices screaming out to each other. Aroma of tea rising up in the morning air.Vendors hurriedly loading their barrels and wicker baskets onto the train. Newspaper men juggling enormous bundles. Last minute rush onto the ladies compartment. Catfights. And the smell of sweat, even at that ungodly hour. I sat there, waiting patiently for the train to leave. It would be any minute now. All of a sudden I heard this loud din and I looked across the aisle towards the door. Two hefty vendors were holding up an old man and literally shoving him into the ladies compartment where I was sitting. I realized minutes later, that it was only because his frame was so crooked, he could barely stand up straight. For a moment I wavered. Didnt know what to do. Should I get up and help the old man,who was by now,on his knees, and fishing for something in the torn satchel that he was carrying. But he looked a little scary. Tattered clothes. Broken glasses. Wrinkled skin. Shrivelled up eye brows covering two muddy yellow eyes. Forehead knotted by the years. And for a moment I felt sorry for him. Here was a man,not less than 90 years of age, threading his way from one train to the next, begging to live through just another day. What on earth could have happened to compel him into such dire straits? Didnt he have a family? What kind of a job did he do when he was young and more able-bodied? Or did he forever make a living out of the alms thrown to him by the daily commuters.
And then I saw him stagger towards me with a small packet of peanuts. He came and stood in front of me , offered me the packet and said,
" Ek taka" ( One rupee a packet).
A disclaimer at this point. I dont like peanuts. I can even go to the extent of saying that I really hate peanuts. Cannot stand the sight,smell or taste of it. I can be quite quirky that way!
But I certainly didnt want to turn the old fellow down. Whatever little expectations he had from me (even if it was a rupee) I didnt want to disappoint him. I was too busy feeling sorry for him!
So I fished in my bag for a 2 rupee coin and extended it to him. He thrust 2 peanut bags in my hands. I quickly returned them, saying,
"na na eta chai na" (no,no I dont want these).
And time stood still just then, for this one moment of truth to sink in.
He slowly took out a 2 rupee coin from his satchel and kept it on the seat beside me. Then looked me straight in the eye and said,
" Gorib thiki. Kintu bhikhkhe chai na. Kaaj korchi!"
( I may be poor but I`m not a beggar. I work!).
He walked away, leaving a downright ashamed me with another of Life`s lessons I`ll never ever forget..
Monday, August 25, 2008
True Colours...
I am peaceful today. Cool,calm and collected, as they say. I am Blue. The lovely refreshing blue of a calm ocean. People talk of 'feeling blue' and 'blue Monday'. But my blue is the sky making friends with the sun and cotton-puff clouds. The Blue of a robin`s egg. A Blueberry muffin.The Sapphire Blue eyes of a maiden princess. It is the colour of welcome water in a heat wave.
Red is inside me too. My red is not the angry,bleeding red. It is a happy colour, rising up inside me like a great ball of fire,exploding into the air and spurting forth small flames of laughter. The Red of a clown`s nose. The Red of the symbolic heart. The Red of the vermillion on a young Indian bride. The Red of a ripe strawberry. Red rubies and rust. The same red glow I see at sunset and at the wake of dawn. My Red is vivid. My Red is pure.
And then there is Green. Not the green monster of jealousy.But the green of Life and Love. Green grows in me like a tree, slowly bursting forth into a greeny mosaic of young leaves. Green is life when I watch winter branches become heavy with green foliage in Spring. The Green of a traffic light. The Green of a dollar bill. The Green city of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Emerald Green waters around a coral reef. My Green is fertile. My Green is rich.
Black is not dull ,dead and gloomy. My Black is elegant. My Black is feminine and chic. It is exquisite. It is classy. It can be shiny, glittering, stunning. My Black is not a reminder of storms. My Black is the sky at night - sparkling with stars and carrying the Moon on a silken thread. An evening dress studded with diamonds.
My Silver is a special colour of adventure and excitement. The stars at night. The moonbeams reflecting off the Silver sequins of a bold evening dress. A jet in flight,the Sun chasing it and making it shine. It is a dangerous,exciting silver of flashing swords and clashing 'en garde' cries.
And finally White. I save it for special days. White like the clouds on a clear day, a long dress and a veil. A white orchid bouquet. A white cake. A White wedding and Love. A White Christmas. And White oyster pearls. My White is always special. My White is always shared.
Inspired by an article in the Readers` Digest, read a couple of light years ago!
Red is inside me too. My red is not the angry,bleeding red. It is a happy colour, rising up inside me like a great ball of fire,exploding into the air and spurting forth small flames of laughter. The Red of a clown`s nose. The Red of the symbolic heart. The Red of the vermillion on a young Indian bride. The Red of a ripe strawberry. Red rubies and rust. The same red glow I see at sunset and at the wake of dawn. My Red is vivid. My Red is pure.
And then there is Green. Not the green monster of jealousy.But the green of Life and Love. Green grows in me like a tree, slowly bursting forth into a greeny mosaic of young leaves. Green is life when I watch winter branches become heavy with green foliage in Spring. The Green of a traffic light. The Green of a dollar bill. The Green city of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Emerald Green waters around a coral reef. My Green is fertile. My Green is rich.
Black is not dull ,dead and gloomy. My Black is elegant. My Black is feminine and chic. It is exquisite. It is classy. It can be shiny, glittering, stunning. My Black is not a reminder of storms. My Black is the sky at night - sparkling with stars and carrying the Moon on a silken thread. An evening dress studded with diamonds.
My Silver is a special colour of adventure and excitement. The stars at night. The moonbeams reflecting off the Silver sequins of a bold evening dress. A jet in flight,the Sun chasing it and making it shine. It is a dangerous,exciting silver of flashing swords and clashing 'en garde' cries.
And finally White. I save it for special days. White like the clouds on a clear day, a long dress and a veil. A white orchid bouquet. A white cake. A White wedding and Love. A White Christmas. And White oyster pearls. My White is always special. My White is always shared.
Inspired by an article in the Readers` Digest, read a couple of light years ago!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Rhythm..
Jostling. Shoving. Rambling along.
Hot tears. And angry sobs.
Snarling. Biting. Slicing.
A hand clasp here. A hug there.
A split lip. A bared soul.
A bitter word. A warm hug.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
A slashed soul. A soaring spirit.
Holding of hands. And a lingering conversation.
Fierce struggles. And a hot cup of coffee.
Heart wrenching whimpers. And soulful music.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
Ashes of burnt dreams. Footsteps in the mud.
Jingle of windchimes. Amidst volcanic outbursts.
An easy catharsis. A thawing ego.
A breach of trust. An act of betrayal.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
A staircase here. A brick wall there.
A blur. And a rainbow.
A skirmish. Or a war.
Bleeding hearts. And bruised souls.
Broken promises. And dreams realized.
A balmy embrace. A gasp for air.
A fall down the hill. With no direction home.
And a hop and a skip every now and then..
Life and I continue to be friends..
Hot tears. And angry sobs.
Snarling. Biting. Slicing.
A hand clasp here. A hug there.
A split lip. A bared soul.
A bitter word. A warm hug.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
A slashed soul. A soaring spirit.
Holding of hands. And a lingering conversation.
Fierce struggles. And a hot cup of coffee.
Heart wrenching whimpers. And soulful music.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
Ashes of burnt dreams. Footsteps in the mud.
Jingle of windchimes. Amidst volcanic outbursts.
An easy catharsis. A thawing ego.
A breach of trust. An act of betrayal.
A hop and a skip every now and then...
A staircase here. A brick wall there.
A blur. And a rainbow.
A skirmish. Or a war.
Bleeding hearts. And bruised souls.
Broken promises. And dreams realized.
A balmy embrace. A gasp for air.
A fall down the hill. With no direction home.
And a hop and a skip every now and then..
Life and I continue to be friends..
Inspired by this
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Awards Part 2
Ok, so D has been kind enough to give me this award. And I quote her :
"The Brilliant Weblog award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. (Ahem!)
The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere. Here are the rules to follow:
1. When you recieve the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).
5. And then we pass it on!"
And the seven brilliant weblogs I award are:
1. Nostalgic Chica : For the funny,yet endearing way she narrates her tales and because in every post of hers, I find a certain part of myself :)
2. Suki : For her brilliant style of writing and wonderful insights. And to think she`s just a kiddo! :-)
3.Mira`s Mom : For making such an interesting read out of a Mommy blog! I love the simplicity with which she narrates her tales.
4. Orange Jammies : For the poet in her, par excellence! You read her blog and think that is exactly what you might want to convey to the world. And yet,you never can.. She`s brilliant! Really!
5. Raising T : For being the wonderful Mommy she is,to Lil T. For the fabulous way she addresses her problems in life and finds simple solutions to them..all in her blog. I love to read her blogs, though I sure wish she`d publish more often :-) She`s one of the first blogs I got addicted to and one of the first bloggers who was kind enough to leave encouraging comments on my posts :-))
6. Chrysalis : For the brilliant and spirited posts on issues that all of us should spend time thinking about, even if for a little while..
7. Sukanya : For having the guts to bare it all. For the simplicity in her writing style that has me hooked!
One last note of thanks to D, for being sweet enough to acknowledge my presence in the blogosphere. And here`s hoping that we get to read more and more of her fabulous posts!
Awards Part 1
18 years back in time...
A little girl of twelve comes running through the kitchen door. The old sachel flying behind her,shirt hanging out and hair spilling out of the clutch. A sight to see. But her eyes say it all. And in her hand she tightly clutches the award she got at school. Excellence in various subjects. She won,after all. She`s not the useless brat people think she is.And Mommy pats her back,gives her a glass of lemonade and says, "Well done Baby. But who won the medal?"
8 years back in time...
A tired 20-something gets up to wash her face. Grabs a cup of coffee and sits down to study again. Nobody had said that Med School was easy. But then again, no one ever said it would be this hard. But she knows she has to go on. Violently rubbing off the sleep from her eyes, she roams around the hostel corridor, reading, memorizing, struggling to keep afloat. People swim past her in aggressive strokes. All illusions shatter. An intelligent young woman,set out to be the greatest doctor in the world, now stands by and watches people swim towards the finishing line. While all this time, with her head under water, she struggles to stay afloat.Coming up for gasps of air now and then.
5 years back in time...
Limping along, she`s managed just fine. All around friends and college mates take to the winning stand,while she slowly bumps along. People turn back with eyes of pity.Sometimes even disgust. Some think she may have been on drugs.While others think she`s fallen into 'wrong' company(?!!). Why else would a smart young girl ,who set out to win the world, somehow get confined to the last staggering few.. But she carries on,mindless to the insanity of the world around her. Bumping along ragged unknowns.Shoulders drooping. Spirits soaring.
1.5 years back in time...
A woman sits by the window of her favourite coffee shop and looks at the world racing by. She no longer feels the need to join the race. She`s content to sit by and watch the rats win. Not overtly happy. But reasonably content. And at peace. Here she sits, waiting by the window for The G to show up. And thinks of what to write on her next post. It started of as a past time.Her Blog. Her space. But grew in proportions to become her life line. As readers increased and comments flowed in, she felt something stir inside. A longing for a stamp of approval that is not hers. Vignettes of appreciation now and then. And nameless, faceless friends. Warm hugs and hand-clasps across the web.What she lacked in reality, she got it here,in this space.
And now...
A young woman of 30, comes running through the kitchen door. Purse flying behind her, shirt tucked out and hair spilling out of the clutch. A sight to see. But her eyes say it all. And in her mind, she tightly hugs onto the award, that D so sweetly awarded to her.
"The Brilliant Weblog award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design."
The G looks up startled, wondering if she`s sick. And then the words spill out. She`s won after all. She`s not the useless brat people think she is. And The G pats her back, gives her a glass of lemonade(albeit a lil spiked! Apple Bee are you reading ;-) ) and says, " You so deserve it,Baby!"
A little girl of twelve comes running through the kitchen door. The old sachel flying behind her,shirt hanging out and hair spilling out of the clutch. A sight to see. But her eyes say it all. And in her hand she tightly clutches the award she got at school. Excellence in various subjects. She won,after all. She`s not the useless brat people think she is.And Mommy pats her back,gives her a glass of lemonade and says, "Well done Baby. But who won the medal?"
8 years back in time...
A tired 20-something gets up to wash her face. Grabs a cup of coffee and sits down to study again. Nobody had said that Med School was easy. But then again, no one ever said it would be this hard. But she knows she has to go on. Violently rubbing off the sleep from her eyes, she roams around the hostel corridor, reading, memorizing, struggling to keep afloat. People swim past her in aggressive strokes. All illusions shatter. An intelligent young woman,set out to be the greatest doctor in the world, now stands by and watches people swim towards the finishing line. While all this time, with her head under water, she struggles to stay afloat.Coming up for gasps of air now and then.
5 years back in time...
Limping along, she`s managed just fine. All around friends and college mates take to the winning stand,while she slowly bumps along. People turn back with eyes of pity.Sometimes even disgust. Some think she may have been on drugs.While others think she`s fallen into 'wrong' company(?!!). Why else would a smart young girl ,who set out to win the world, somehow get confined to the last staggering few.. But she carries on,mindless to the insanity of the world around her. Bumping along ragged unknowns.Shoulders drooping. Spirits soaring.
1.5 years back in time...
A woman sits by the window of her favourite coffee shop and looks at the world racing by. She no longer feels the need to join the race. She`s content to sit by and watch the rats win. Not overtly happy. But reasonably content. And at peace. Here she sits, waiting by the window for The G to show up. And thinks of what to write on her next post. It started of as a past time.Her Blog. Her space. But grew in proportions to become her life line. As readers increased and comments flowed in, she felt something stir inside. A longing for a stamp of approval that is not hers. Vignettes of appreciation now and then. And nameless, faceless friends. Warm hugs and hand-clasps across the web.What she lacked in reality, she got it here,in this space.
And now...
A young woman of 30, comes running through the kitchen door. Purse flying behind her, shirt tucked out and hair spilling out of the clutch. A sight to see. But her eyes say it all. And in her mind, she tightly hugs onto the award, that D so sweetly awarded to her.
"The Brilliant Weblog award- a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design."
The G looks up startled, wondering if she`s sick. And then the words spill out. She`s won after all. She`s not the useless brat people think she is. And The G pats her back, gives her a glass of lemonade(albeit a lil spiked! Apple Bee are you reading ;-) ) and says, " You so deserve it,Baby!"
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Aaaaahhhh!! :-))
Hey People! Its working! My laptop started working again! Just like that! Boy, am I relieved or Am I Relieved!! Going over some of the 'Greek' IBM Thinkpad sites, I think I diagnosed what the problem was. Looks like the poor baby went into hibernation because of over-charged batteries!! I had not the faintest inkling that such things could occur! The whole episode scared the living daylights out of me. I`m taking extra care to see that the batteries are only half charged now! Gosh! What a day its been!
My earnest plea to any and all techies reading this post. Is this hibernation thing for real? Could there be any other problem with the darn thing? What,if any at all, precautions can I take to avoid such hair-raising, bone-chilling episodes in future??
p.s - A Big Hug to Suki for her response :-))
My earnest plea to any and all techies reading this post. Is this hibernation thing for real? Could there be any other problem with the darn thing? What,if any at all, precautions can I take to avoid such hair-raising, bone-chilling episodes in future??
p.s - A Big Hug to Suki for her response :-))
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