Friday, December 29, 2006

Home and away!

Going home! Tomorrow night! Back to Delhi for a while to see family and friends and to relax before the next term of teaching and studying starts! I dont know if time to blog will be available..I shall be far too busy sleeping and resting and being fed food that I have not cooked in dishes I wont need to wash!!
Hope you had a good Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year!!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Hush!

Its been a dark foggy day, its a freezing foggy night with promise of snow and there is an eerie silence which comes with the bitter cold..it brings to mind a song..which I have heard several times before...but it makes a LOT of sense to me today!

There's a kind of hush all over the world tonight
All over the world you can hear the sounds of lovers in love
You know what I mean
Just the two of us and nobody else concerned
There's nobody else, and I'm feeling good holding you tight

So listen very carefully, closer now
And you will see what I mean (see what I mean)
It isn't a dream (it isn't a dream)
The only sound that you will hear
Is when I whisper in your ear, I love you forever and ever

There's a kind of hush all over the world tonight
All over the world people just like us are falling in love
So listen very carefully, closer now
And you will see what I mean (see what I mean)
No no, it isn't a dream (it isn't a dream)
The only sound that you will hear
Is when I whisper in your ear, I love you forever and ever

There's a kind of hush all over the world tonight
All over the world people just like us are falling in love
Are falling in love
Fallin' in love

Lyrics by Engelbert Humperdinck

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Kipling

Just started reading Jungle Book again, after a long long time..its so lopsidedly discriminatory...strange how such things dont strike you as a kid! Never thought about this when I sat and watched the film or read the book as a very young child!!
Amazing.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Memory

Its a fine thing. Its a strange thing. And it can do wonders.
One can remember flashes from childhood, a favourite toy, a place visited, a dress you liked, a scary moment in a school play, the death of a pet..the list goes on. Most of these are not nasty memories, just things that left a lasting impression on you.
As you grow older the memories change - examination halls, a crazy time with close friends, embarassing moments with members of the opposite sex, and even more embarassing ones with members of the same sex, travels to places new, experimentation with thoughts, things, and people. Surprises and shocks, gifts and laughs, work and jobs, friends, foes and family....the list goes on..our mind is like a memory bank..without which we wont be who we are.
Over time..details fade away, you could remember a person, but not their name. You could remember a face but not know where you saw it. You could remember the season but not the year...it happens.
One thing that does stand out is how quick the past becomes a distant past and the present switches and becomes a recent past. Memories build up quick.

I reflect today on the one of the few people who I held in high regard for their immense intelligence and sharpness of mind and a lot of love as well. In my head he shall always be a smiling and loving sharp old man. Today his memory does not exist, and his recognition is gone...but to me he will always remain..an important part of my past. Of me. One has to learn to let go. This present shall become a past.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Christmas - Hate it?

In contradiction to previous post:
Its Dec, its nearly Christmas....and there are a LOT of annoying things around:
...the endless christmas carols in the shopping malls dreaming of a 'white christmas', well global warming has taken over..and we can dream on..there is going to be no snow anytime in Dec from the looks of it.
...the complete lack of any colour but red. The streets are red, the shops are red, everything is red. And if you dont like that colour..you need to run away, somewhere non-red!
...the complete lack of availablity of anything that has nothing to do with Christmas, eg..birthday cards, non red clothes, wrapping paper without stars and 'Merry Christmas' on it.
...the queues in the shopping malls, specially for food.
...the enormous strain and stress on people's faces as they buy loads of 'meaningful' presents for everyone they know
...the pressure to meet and greet family you dont get along with and spend a whole day being nice to them.
...The Christmas goodies and shopping is around in shops from August!! and then they count back!! Oh Dear!
...Boxing Day sales brings people out with ammunition and protection on to fight the crowds who go shopping in the sales..its MAD!
...the grey skies and the cold weather that is essentially a part of Dec.
...the constant question, ' so..what are YOU doing for Christmas?' in my case..nothing much, I get a tree, I put it up, I sit near it and wish I was home, some friends might come but I am not sure!
...the congregation of families, so there is no one on the streets and it looks lonely, and if you are, God forbid, sitting miles away from any family..then it makes you feel worse!
...the whole 'get-drunk-and-kiss-someone-at-the-christmas-do-in-the-office' syndrome. Its almost like a tradition in UK, you must get drunk and then you can be really silly and get away from the trouble you may cause by kissing your boss and since its christmas, its ok! It is silly..sp if the boss thinks that way!
...The whole dodge the Mistletoe business..I am too short to spend time arching my neck to check for mistletoe, so dodging sneaky people who wait for you to stand over it is annoying..and there ALWAYS is a tonne of mistletoe around!

I could take it in good humour and laugh about it, but as it happens year after year..it gets a tad annoying!! You land up wishing you were somewhere else..and start to get tired of the whole thing..I already have students whingeing about why they shall be asked to attend lessons right after X'mas! I should be kind and generous...'tis the season for giving after all! Oh Dear!!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Christmas - I Like

I am not Christian but I have studied in a Roman Catholic School with Irish Patrician brothers for a long time....
I am not Christian but I live in England where the Queen is the head of the Church...
I am not Christian but I like sitting in churches and I cant walk past one without going in...
I used to hang a stocking when I was younger and did believe in Santa...perhaps I still do..I find the Grotto's that spring up very interesting..
I am not Christian but I like midnight mass and I know most carols...


...and I like Christmas trees,
...and the fake snow,
...and the tinsel,
...and the fairy lights,
...the tiny presents,
...the mistletoe and the holly.
I like the streets all lit up,
I like the people rushing around the buy things.
I like the spirit of love, giving and kindness that comes with the season.
I also appreciate the holidays and the effort people make to meet their families.
I like the hopefulness for the snow to fall on the right date.
I like the carol singers and the saxophonist who plays haunting tunes on the street.
I like the smell of pine from the trees.
and the excitement on children's faces.
I shall wish you a merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to you..

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Loyalty

You move to a new location, you look around, get your bearings and you start living. Initially you think..this is NOT home, this is a temporary settlement, this is for only so long and so you keep to yourself. You are hesitant to explore because you know not much, and sometime...just sometimes you are afraid of finding something that you will really like..but you dont want to like it, just in case it is better than what you get at home. You are reluctant to buy creature comforts due to the temporary nature of your existence in a new place.
Longish period of time passes and you start automatically comparing this with that, and always, but always..back home wins, there are no contests..nothing compares to home. You forget that often appreciation is good and no one is challenging your loyalites.
You home is in your heart, its a part of you. You carry it where you go, nothing compares to it, but the planet is big and the places many. Appreciation is key and loyalites are never questioned, let alone challenged.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

My gift!

As gifts go people link women to gifts like perfume, clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery etc etc. Men are however more limited in terms of electronic goods and the odd aftershave :) Wii, iPods, laptops and other such like. Gifts are more a reflection of a celebration or emotion and tokens than something to buy an emotion, though they tend to be misinterpreted pretty easily.
Birthday time coming up and I did not think I would be this happy to own something this tiny...but I have recently received something that is known to keep women happy..till eternity! Happy and connected...forever..through a piece, a tiny piece of a glittery stone :)