The drudgeries of life
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Homecoming!
For as long back as I can remember, Christmas time and the holiday season have been all about family time.
Save for the one-off occurrence a couple of years ago, I have always spent this time of the year with my parents and sister. This time is no different! :)
Earlier all four of us used to pack our bags and rush off to Calcutta for a quiet, peaceful and beautiful getaway during Christmas time. But for the past few years, it has been an all home affair - something I like much more than the sojourn at Cal. In those trips to West Bengal's capital city, all we did was go shopping, devour delicacies, attend mass, roam around and relax, all of that in a city which for me always had the tag "It's a neat place to visit but you wouldn't wanna live there." At home, we get to do all of that plus, best of all, feel at home. Sighs :)
Home for me is Fantasia - a name which my dear parents gave to the nest they built on a foundation of love and dreams - yep, as strong as ever! True to the name, our home is a free composition structured according the composers' (my parents, in this case) fancy. Over the years, despite the winds of change and the sands of time, proper planning and relentless efforts have ensured that the foundation of the place has just grown stronger in parallel to the structure expanding like a big heart, where, needless to say, love has thrived and memories have been cemented.
Myself and my kid sister grew up in Fantasia, and no matter where life takes us or what we become, our home will form an integral part of us and whenever we go back there to visit our beloved Dada and Mumma, we'll be back to being kids and will relive the pleasant nostalgia of our childhood days - for us, it will always be Square One.
To reiterate, home for me is Fantasia - it is Dada's warm embrace, proud eyes, easy laugh, and wonderful talks; it is Mumma's cozy lap, beautiful smile, caring hands, excited chatter, and her relentless pampering; it is Sweety's big hugs, reminiscent ponderings, sibling wars, and cute dramebaazis!
Aahhhh! Just 2 more days, and I'll be there to experience it all. Just that, this time round it will be a tad bit extra special for all of us. I've never been so sure of anything else till date.
Life's more or less perfect when you're touching wood almost always :)
I remember an age old wall hanging on the walls of Fantasia which had the caption, "Home is where the heart is." I'm retracing my steps back to my heart pretty soon!! This time round, I'm taking another heart along... :)
Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas, well in advance!!
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
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
To Sweety, with love... ♥
Dearest Sweetu,
It's been a long while since I've actually written something for you, save for those extra-short SMSes. Actually it has been ages since I've written anything at all, so good luck for reading what follows.
Here goes nothing...
When I was five years old, my wants and demands for toys, games et al were somehow replaced by the subtle craving for a childhood playmate at home... after all, I had seen so many kids of my age or somewhat elder having a fun time with their younger siblings! Peer pressure, it was!
Spending evenings with the colony ka bacchalog was no longer an attractive prospect...
At the age of six-and-a-half years, I knew from the bulge in Mumma's tummy that a little brother was coming! Yes, I always prayed for a little brother... someone whom I could fight with, boy-to-boy; someone who'd be my shadow, my eternal copycat who doted on me; someone with whom I'd indulge in all the games and activities that little boys are so obsessed about; someone who'd be my best buddy; someone to whom I'd always be the big brother...
You can't imagine my utter delight when one month before I turned seven, I got an advance birthday gift - a sibling!!!
When talks of the nature "It's a healthy baby girl" echoed around in Jubesta hospital, the last word didn't matter a bit to me.
All that seemed to matter was that I was a big brother now :))
And boy oh boy! Was my infant baby sister a darling or what :*
Then came the hard part... after seven years of being the cynosure of Mumma and Dada's attention, I realized that the limelight was no longer on me! Agreed that you were the baby of the family, but try explaining that to a jealous seven year old!
It took a while for me to start appreciating sharing the parents' love and affection with you...
In parallel to that, it also took me time to realize that you're going to take ages to grow up.
At the crèche, I'd longing stare out at the cricket field where Bittu and Buntu used to be playing, while I used to stay by my little kiddo's side, who'd otherwise start crying the instant I wasn't in her field of vision! I knew where I belonged straight away, sports be damned!
Over a period of time that seemed like eons, I witnessed you growing up! I can simply close my eyes and revisit certain instances that are so preciously stowed away in my memory:
First, you rolled over on your own (I can so clearly remember being the first witness to this "miracle" on the train to Bangalore, and a tiny little you, merely four months old, flashing a proud smile as if you know what an achievement you had pulled off!)
I vividly remember:
- the little toothless Sweety's passion for dark chocolate
- the chubby cheeked sweetheart who drew everyone's attention, and who'd win their hearts by not refusing to be carried in their arms :)
- the restless crawling baby sometimes crying at getting hurt and demanding that the perpetrator (usually the floor, the door or some inanimate object) be repaid in kind - that was usually accompanied by a loud "BAPPP"!
- the same restless sweetheart who took to walking and talking like a fish to water!
Then there was no looking back!
The toddler matured into a powerpuff girl :D
And my training my new playmate took focus... someone would've thought I was teaching a younger brother the tricks of the trade :p
From cricket (oh ok! So I made you do the bowling most of the time :p) to karate (hehe I so don't know what stunts I taught you, but we did have some nice fights!), I did teach you a lot!!
Another awkward change was when Mumma asked me to take you along when I played with my friends. Ouch.
But it worked out so wonderfully despite my feeling that you'd be left behind and ignored. You actually became one of the gang at such an early age :D
You were, what, five years old when Sonu, you and I walked to that pond near our locality, when a bunch of mad dogs started running in our direction, barking like crazy. Sonu, fearing for his life, turned around and made a run for it.
Holding that tiny little hand of yours in my hand, feeling the tightening grip of those little fingers, knowing that we'd never outrun those canines, I for the first time in my life felt like a protective elder brother... and I feared not for myself, but for you! Talk about discovering something beautiful in the most adverse of circumstances...
Holding that tiny little hand of yours in my hand, feeling the tightening grip of those little fingers, knowing that we'd never outrun those canines, I for the first time in my life felt like a protective elder brother... and I feared not for myself, but for you! Talk about discovering something beautiful in the most adverse of circumstances...
Thank God for those maids who save our lives that day!
That said, I can never ever forget how bad a brother I was at times: being vindictive and asking my little honeybun to imitate my touching the fire hot goodnight mat; yelling at the kinder garden baby for making me wait for 10 minutes when I went to pick her up from school; and many more :'(
Woah! How can I forget our "cat-and-dog" fights over the years?! If only Mumma had had the will power, she'd have definitely sent us to boarding school :p
My memory is somewhat blurred when it comes to those adolescent years of mine... I remember your ups and downs at school, your being a champ at extracurrics, Sweety the awesome dancer, your budding passion for reading, you and your friends et al.
Then came my IIT preparation days... talk about being busy! But those late nights were extra-special when I came home, tired and drained, only to find you awake just to kiss me good night, to talk to me from the darkness while I studied by my lamp, or to find a note from you that read:
"Love you Appu. Good night. -Sweety"
"Love you Appu. Good night. -Sweety"
On my last night at home before leaving for college that fateful July, I cried like crazy! I was more Sweety-sick than homesick!
But things do work out wonderfully... as much as I had feared that the distance will play spoilsport, we as siblings grew so much closer. And younger too!
True that our bickering commenced where it was left off whenever I came home, but it was much cuter now, and so very precious too!
Plus it was fascinating to watch a fairy tales loving baby, who had grown up and had started reading Nancy Drews, Enid Blyton et al, now becoming a matured girl who devoured books of Nicholas Sparks, Sidney Sheldon, Colleen McCollough, etc.
Then the fascination for school books, and the passion to study and make it big! I truly saw a reflection of myself in you, a much better and clearer one at that B)
Same goes for the things that you missed out on... those times were tough, but witnessing how wonderfully you adapted and started living life to the fullest is exemplary!
Talking to you almost everyday, even if most of the times about the same old things, listening to your excited chitter-chatter, cheering you up when you're down, pulling you leg now and then, are some of the things that make my day perfect!
And as if I don't already have a gazillion reasons for loving you and for being proud of you, you just keep giving me more and more with each passing day!
Five days ago, when you asked me in a hushed tone:
"Appu, I want to talk to you about something.",
I wondered what it might be about.
"Appu, I want to talk to you about something.",
I wondered what it might be about.
And when you replied:
"It's about my career... I want to know what to do in life... what should I do after my engineering.",
I was dumbfounded.
"It's about my career... I want to know what to do in life... what should I do after my engineering.",
I was dumbfounded.
My little baby sister is now all set to be a career-focused woman! Woah!
She's about to turn 19!! Nineteen for God's sake!!!
Wasn't she the world's cutest, prettiest toddler just yeaterday?!
Today, she's this beautiful young woman who has a heart of gold, who's very sensitive, thoughtful, extremely compassionate, diligent, and what not!
Time does fly...
Wasn't she the world's cutest, prettiest toddler just yeaterday?!
Today, she's this beautiful young woman who has a heart of gold, who's very sensitive, thoughtful, extremely compassionate, diligent, and what not!
Time does fly...
When I texted you 3 days ago saying,
"Meri baby kitni badii ho gayii hai yaar :') " (My baby has grown up sooo much!),
I loved your reply which read,
"Khush reh, paagal... atleast tere liye to hamesha ek baby baby hi rahungi na :*" (Be happy, stupid... at least to you I'll always remain a baby!)
That sums it all up!
Sweetu - you'll always always and always remain my darling little baby sister, the apple of my eye, my best buddy; someone who I love (and will continue loving) more than anything in the whole wide galaxy, and for whom I'd give my anything and everything!
Wish you a extremely happy happy 19th birthday, plumpudding!
God bless you truckloads!
Love you, and miss you heaps!
Millions of hugs and kisses,
Appu
P.S.: I'm sorry I won't be able to surprise you this time round... I so wish I could have... Have a fantabulous time nonetheless ;)
Labels: Baby, Birthday, Family, Happiness, Nostalgia, Sister, Sweety
