The drudgeries of life
Thursday, September 22, 2011
One score, many years! - A Letter to my Little Angel
Hi kiddo,
Time flies.
It seems like it was just yesterday that I had received the good news that you'd be joining the family... I was happy, but I remember having no clue as to what the whole brouhaha was all about.
Back to square one.
I’ll reiterate. Time does fly.
Today is the 22nd of September in 2011.
And just like that, you’ve completed 20 whole revolutions around the sun! By jove!!
Things have changed, but certain aspects remain constant.
You were an infant then and are a mature adult now, but you’ll always remain my baby sister <3
You were a little girl a few years ago who has blossomed into a beautiful, charming, intelligent, compassionate, independent woman. But come what may, I’ll be the same overprotective, loving, mischievous, lecture-giving, pain-in-the-ass big brother that I always was :D
Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Sweetu!
Shine on, you crazy diamond of mine!
Truckloads of love, hugs and kisses,
Appu
Time flies.
It seems like it was just yesterday that I had received the good news that you'd be joining the family... I was happy, but I remember having no clue as to what the whole brouhaha was all about.
Enlightenment took its own sweet time to dawn.
Soon enough I had realized that even long before your arrival, you had unwittingly started stealing my limelight, everyone's attention of which, until then, I was the sole recipient!
Worst still, a while before your arrival, the woman I loved the most had to be taken away from me and was imprisoned (or so I thought!), and I was allowed to meet her only once a day as per visit schedules.
And I had started fretting over the thought that if the harbingers of your imminent arrival were this unwelcome, how unpleasant your arrival could turn out to be for me!!
And then you arrived.
One glance at you and all the childish negativity had evaporated.
Right at that moment, all I cared about was the fact that I now had two beautiful women in my life :)
The new entrant was you, the little angel who I couldn’t help keep gawping at!
Before I knew it, I was a big brother. Period.
That day was the 22nd of September in 1991. A Sabbath as holy as every!
The last couple of lines in the rhyme “Monday’s Child” fitted you ditto, and they still do:
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay
Soon enough you became the apple of everyone’s eyes. You won so many hearts.
More importantly, in a jiffy you became the centre of my universe. Needless to say, you still are.
True that pangs of jealousy and vindictiveness played spoilsport initially, but they paved the way for a stronger bond.
I remember the evenings in crèche when, at the tender age of 8, I used to be faced with the decision to choose between a cricket match with friends, and being with my hardly-a-year-old sister. I used to surprise myself by forgoing the dumb game, though I do confess now to having looked out longingly towards the field at those times...
I vividly recollect the bone-chilling experience of our first long walk, you were all of 2 years then, to the colony pond with the kid next door – the stroll during which, out of the blue, a pack of mad stray dogs charged towards us helpless kids. Though the other kid ran for his life, I, despite being scared to death but realizing that it was impossible for us both to take flight, held you protectively and stood my ground. I had wondered where a scaredy cat like myself had garnered this much courage from.
I can still recall those hundreds of games which I taught you to play over the years, most importantly cricket. I had made you believe that bowling is the best thing ever, and while a half-a-decade old you used to tirelessly keep pitching the ball, I, the selfish batsman, enjoyed while also exposing you to the joy of fielding :p
I reminisce about the smart and brilliant kiddo that you always were, excellent in academics, fantastic in extracurrics, teachers’ pet, our parents’ gem, and my little role model!Then came our fights. I was pretty sure that our ‘cat and dog fights’, as mom labelled them, would lead to our being sent away to different boarding schools. Thankfully that never happened, despite our squabbling being a never-ending story :D
My memories of your teens is somewhat hazy, my staying away from home to be blamed for that, but I clearly remember the somewhat awkward adolescent who had her own set of strengths, but was struggling to find a foothold in life. Then, it had seemed like an energetic electron losing its energy and spiralling downwards into the nucleus. But all nerds know that that doesn’t happen! As did I.
Your temporary relapse was akin to a solar eclipse – you fear that the brilliance of the sun is going to get lost in the oblivion of darkness, yet at the point where getting enveloped by gloom seems inevitable, an unexpected and outright brilliant corona in the middle of the nothingness serves as a positive harbinger of change, reinstates your faith, and lights up your world!
Sure enough, the way you pulled yourself up from the rubble, and emerged as a much stronger person is praiseworthy. And you’ve never looked back since. The way you’re surging ahead in life now, there’s no way that the sky is the limit for you *touchwood*
I hate comparisons to the core, but I feel pretty smug about getting to see traces of myself in you. That said, I effortlessly gloat about the fact that you’ve outdone me and all my tacit expectations of you, but best of all, you’re constantly outshining yourself! Keep it up!!
Simply saying that I’m proud of you would be the understatement of the millennium. Words fail me
Soon enough I had realized that even long before your arrival, you had unwittingly started stealing my limelight, everyone's attention of which, until then, I was the sole recipient!
Worst still, a while before your arrival, the woman I loved the most had to be taken away from me and was imprisoned (or so I thought!), and I was allowed to meet her only once a day as per visit schedules.
And I had started fretting over the thought that if the harbingers of your imminent arrival were this unwelcome, how unpleasant your arrival could turn out to be for me!!
And then you arrived.
One glance at you and all the childish negativity had evaporated.
Right at that moment, all I cared about was the fact that I now had two beautiful women in my life :)
The new entrant was you, the little angel who I couldn’t help keep gawping at!
Before I knew it, I was a big brother. Period.
That day was the 22nd of September in 1991. A Sabbath as holy as every!
The last couple of lines in the rhyme “Monday’s Child” fitted you ditto, and they still do:
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay
Soon enough you became the apple of everyone’s eyes. You won so many hearts.
More importantly, in a jiffy you became the centre of my universe. Needless to say, you still are.
True that pangs of jealousy and vindictiveness played spoilsport initially, but they paved the way for a stronger bond.
I remember the evenings in crèche when, at the tender age of 8, I used to be faced with the decision to choose between a cricket match with friends, and being with my hardly-a-year-old sister. I used to surprise myself by forgoing the dumb game, though I do confess now to having looked out longingly towards the field at those times...
I vividly recollect the bone-chilling experience of our first long walk, you were all of 2 years then, to the colony pond with the kid next door – the stroll during which, out of the blue, a pack of mad stray dogs charged towards us helpless kids. Though the other kid ran for his life, I, despite being scared to death but realizing that it was impossible for us both to take flight, held you protectively and stood my ground. I had wondered where a scaredy cat like myself had garnered this much courage from.
I can still recall those hundreds of games which I taught you to play over the years, most importantly cricket. I had made you believe that bowling is the best thing ever, and while a half-a-decade old you used to tirelessly keep pitching the ball, I, the selfish batsman, enjoyed while also exposing you to the joy of fielding :p
I reminisce about the smart and brilliant kiddo that you always were, excellent in academics, fantastic in extracurrics, teachers’ pet, our parents’ gem, and my little role model!Then came our fights. I was pretty sure that our ‘cat and dog fights’, as mom labelled them, would lead to our being sent away to different boarding schools. Thankfully that never happened, despite our squabbling being a never-ending story :D
My memories of your teens is somewhat hazy, my staying away from home to be blamed for that, but I clearly remember the somewhat awkward adolescent who had her own set of strengths, but was struggling to find a foothold in life. Then, it had seemed like an energetic electron losing its energy and spiralling downwards into the nucleus. But all nerds know that that doesn’t happen! As did I.
Your temporary relapse was akin to a solar eclipse – you fear that the brilliance of the sun is going to get lost in the oblivion of darkness, yet at the point where getting enveloped by gloom seems inevitable, an unexpected and outright brilliant corona in the middle of the nothingness serves as a positive harbinger of change, reinstates your faith, and lights up your world!
Sure enough, the way you pulled yourself up from the rubble, and emerged as a much stronger person is praiseworthy. And you’ve never looked back since. The way you’re surging ahead in life now, there’s no way that the sky is the limit for you *touchwood*
I hate comparisons to the core, but I feel pretty smug about getting to see traces of myself in you. That said, I effortlessly gloat about the fact that you’ve outdone me and all my tacit expectations of you, but best of all, you’re constantly outshining yourself! Keep it up!!
Simply saying that I’m proud of you would be the understatement of the millennium. Words fail me
Back to square one.
I’ll reiterate. Time does fly.
Today is the 22nd of September in 2011.
And just like that, you’ve completed 20 whole revolutions around the sun! By jove!!
Things have changed, but certain aspects remain constant.
You were an infant then and are a mature adult now, but you’ll always remain my baby sister <3
You were a little girl a few years ago who has blossomed into a beautiful, charming, intelligent, compassionate, independent woman. But come what may, I’ll be the same overprotective, loving, mischievous, lecture-giving, pain-in-the-ass big brother that I always was :D
Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Sweetu!
Shine on, you crazy diamond of mine!
Truckloads of love, hugs and kisses,
Appu
Labels: Birthday, Family, Memories, Nostalgia, Sister, Sweety
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Same time, last year...
I'm a tad bit confused... is this seriously a new year, or have I walked back into the last year again?!
Not a silly question, mind you, given my proficiency at ending up at square one time and again...
But no, seriously! Comparing January 2010 and January 2011, I'm reminded of the billboard outside a certain shop I came across in Leh, which read: "Same Same But Different".
The irony of it all! Sighs.
2010 had started off on a perfect high... 2011 has had a rocking start as well.
Le mois de Janvier, 2010, accompanied by the ravishing cold, beautiful weather, enchanting company, truckloads of optimism and positivity et al promised a fresh approach to everything... same holds true for the current month.
There was so much to look forward to at this point of time, last year... that too applies to the present.
Had watched Chance Pe Dance in the 3rd week of 2010, and walked out of the multiplex with a scrambled brain... Experienced Dhobi Ghat this time, and still debating with myself whether to like the movie or to hate it (ok, loved the cinematography, not to forget the somewhat haunting and engrossing relation between Arun & Yasmin!)
I was cribbing about packing one such night, exactly 365 days ago... today I'm doing the same. (Call me a hypocrite, if you may, for loving traveling yet hating the P of its precursor!)
Attended a dear friend's marriage, the first of the year on a Sunday at almost the same time in MMX... going to do an encore for another dear friend's marriage tomorrow, only this time the counter goes up to MMXI!
The ensuing Monday last time was meant to be a dreaded day full of boring lectures (but not everything that is meant to be actually happens!)... the coming Monday is all set to be a long boring day at work (though I tweaked some strings and ensured that nothing of that sort plays spoilsport...)
So on and so forth...
Back to the irony bit.
Though the starting months of both the years in question have a striking resemblance, they're totally different... poles apart!
Situations are similar, but the circumstances are different.
Identities have been retained, yet images have undergone drastic changes.
Personae are the same, but the people are strangers.
Reactions are ditto, but the chemistry is strangely new.
Feelings are intact, but reservations have flourished.
Age is almost the same, yet the youthfulness seems to have aged.
As the popular song November Rain goes: Cause nothin' lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change...
Extrapolate, please.
In retrospect, it seems like one whole year passed by in a jiffy, though there were several moments, good and bad, that seemed to last a lifetime. God's way of saying, "How selfish that you wish to freeze only the happy moments!"
All said and done, I don't know where 2011 is headed, but I certainly don't want it to end up like 2010.
Anyway, the show must go on!
Enough of rambling. As much as I tried to postpone the darn thing, I must pack! :(
And have to get up at 5:30, on a Sunday of all days :'(
So till next week, adios!
Have an awesome weekend!
Labels: 2010, 2011, Beginnings, Friends, January, Marriage, Memories, Nostalgia, Time, Travel
Monday, May 03, 2010
I hate...
...Packing, Moving, Unpacking, Settling in, Repacking, Moving again... you get the drift, right?
The never-ending story of sorts!
But I do like rediscovering old things (forgotten books, messages scribbled on tattered pieces of paper, little gifts, greeting cards, dog-eared photographs et al :) ) during the packing process... so what if it just prolongs the task :D
Oh well! All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...
Cya when I cya...
Labels: Change, Memories, Moving out, Nostalgia, Packing
