Archive for December, 2008

December

Posted by: Prudein misc in misc
15
Dec

december1

Glossy streets,
In bright tinsel gowns
Dazzling colours,
On dressed birch leaves
Sparkling lights,
Across starry winter skies
Jingle bells,
Under slant red roofs
Misty dreams,
Of gossamer and silver wraps.
Empty souls,
Inside Harrods glitter alleys

Veiled tears,
Spill onto hungry bowls
Silent screams,
Unheard in crowded streets
Cold reality
For hands clutching stale bread
A penny,
For our love
A life,
Worth our tinsel town
Warm miracles,
A fervent christmas wish.

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Sigh

Posted by: Prudein misc in misc
12
Dec

T: “How do you know you wanna spend the rest of your life with him?”

P: “I know.” *smiles*

T: “But how? In love, yes okay. I understand. But how do you know the rest of your life?”

P: “I just know.” *smiles again*

PS – It’s amazing how you go through life without knowing answers to so many questions. And then you just know the answer to the most ambiguous unprovable question of your life. Just like that. You know. *smiles*

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New Alcove

Posted by: Prudein misc in misc
8
Dec

Every new thing speaks excitement, thrill, the unknown, a new beginning, a nouveau challenge, like a new taste your tongue encounters and you don’t quite know whether you like it or not but you’re still taking tiny licks of it because the pull of discovering something novel that you might possibly like is irresistible!

I remember my two month old Labrador pup going for her first walk in the big bad world. The tiny thing had a frown on her face and was half walking and hesitantly sniffing around her and then taking a short little excited run before realising she was on unfamiliar territory, freezing once again for a few seconds to look at me for reassurance afore exploring afresh. I remember her yelping in excitement and hopping around and being scared of black ants. I remember her not wanting to be more than two feet away from me always making sure I was right there as a safety net to protect her from this weird world which was brown, green and full of insects. I also remember her randomly running a little far from me and then suddenly realising I wasn’t with her, turning and sprinting towards me with her ears flopping as fast as her short fat legs would carry her! Awwww

I have always loved the ‘new’ in life. Naah not clothes or the usual temporary high that shopping brings, but the unfamiliar in daily living. A slight change in schedule every day, a walk back home via a new route once in a while, a random walk in the neighbourhood discovering a new park or library or grocery store, an impromptu weekend getaway, a fresh sport, language, cuisine, culture, colour, new job, new friends, talking to strangers on the tube, on the street, at a party, exploring a new city, town, locality, settling into a home.

It’s almost dewy. Sigh. Change makes you unbelievably happy! There are so many different things in life, so many choices, so many variations and to never experience more than one variation in any one category is simply…sad. Only true love and loyalty don’t change, for everything else nature’s laws apply!

I moved rooms on Saturday. From the first floor to the second floor and boy it was some move! There was scrubbing, cleaning, mopping, dusting and wiping to do. From the doors and windows to the muddy wooden floors. And then there was packing to do on the 1st floor and unpacking to do on the 2nd. Up and down the stairs I went carrying clothes and books and bedding and more clothes and cosmetics and miscellaneous odds and ends. Gosh! I had no clue that I’d collected so much essential junk! Yes essential! It’s amazing how you could do without certain things when you don’t have them and then suddenly when you have them you simply can’t do without them. And then came the painful part. Dismantling furniture like removing draws from cupboards and racks from chests and carrying them up one by one. My new housemate, Tosh was God sent! I said it’s too heavy and she said ‘tosh!’ So we carried everything up and co-ordinated on the stairs and managed so well stumbling only once or twice (no fatal falls, don’t worry) and damn felt so powerful! I even put together my first DIY shoe rack yesterday…felt like an engineer!

For all the cribbing and back breaking activity, it was amazing. The anticipation of what all that work would lead up to was simply thrilling! I have always found roughing it exciting because of the ‘newness’ of it as well. I remember kids complaining about travelling by DTC busses every day in Delhi, but for some reason I found the journey a novelty all the time for things you get to see, do and hear!

My room’s all done up now and for a change after a long time feels like home. I even became a domesticated homemaker; made the effort of putting a make-believe divan, bought a rug, cooked a warm meal and had coffee. I haven’t had coffee or tea at home since my Uni days.

It felt good…the change, the novelty of setting things up in a new space, the entire idea of starting a new way of life. It’s amazing how shifting homes helps you come up with a whole new bunch of completely achievable resolutions. I resolve to keep my room clean and look as pleasing all 7 days a week, I resolve to iron my clothes and look hot every day (:P) no matter how time consuming it is, I resolve to read something new, interesting and current every day, I resolve to eat right and I resolve to use my new rug to practice yoga a few times a week.

For now, I’m just going to lie on my cosy bed and stare out of the skylight window and dream a new little dream…

Cultural Perception

Posted by: Prudein misc in misc
4
Dec

Sometimes I feel bad about our perception towards certain things as a people. The perception that wealth is bad and must have been gained through false means, or that a wealthy man is mean and unkind or that to be martyrs and absolutely generous and giving to people at the cost of your own well being is a virtue. I have seen it in so many subtle ways where people in India are always so excessively modest about their wealth and find it embarrassing to speak about how much they have…and those who do are considered flashy show offs (there are of course many flashy people around but we seem to condemn a person who is spending all his well earned money on luxury). We have a tendency to be guilty about our accomplishments for some reason instead of being proud and accepting a thump on the back well.

This story I read somehow shows how deep into our philosophy as a people this is ingrained -

http://www.gurmat.info/sms/smspublications/gurunanakforchildren/chapter5/

Disclaimer: I agree there are communities which are quite the opposite but the same does manifest in various ways among them as well. Also, this is not a barb against a particular religion, simply an observation of us as a people.

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