I remember...

I remember her when I get up, look at my hands and say the "karagre vasate" prayer and the teaching of being grateful for yet another new day - yet another beginning - that she taught us as kids.
I remember the times she taught us - lots of things - simple things about good habits, discipline, to more complex stuff (Well, stuff that seems complex now, in hindsight) - stuff that we never thought would be so important in life...
I remember those - and appreciate how the little things ingrained over the years have made me who I am today - and I am proud and grateful that I have the privilege of being her grand-daughter.

I remember how she used to scold me for being forgetful and absent minded with school books and stationery. The way she disciplined me when I forgot to keep my bag and books at proper places.

I remember the afternoons spent sleeping next to her - she in her warm, soft cotton saree - well oiled pleated hair, and the soft touch of her hands as she ran them over our foreheads...
I remember her soft yet strong voice as she wove stories for us - stories of heroism - stories of Ramayan, Mahabharat, Krishna - stories of Aesop's fables and Hitopdeshi - sometimes stories from her and grandfather's lives - sometimes completely original stories too - extra-ordinary tales of extremely ordinary people. Stories that sometimes still resonate - that I can still recreate from memory when some DejaVu feeling strikes...
The times spent with her have the power to transport me back to childhood - instantly - and create a warm, soft, very very protective bubble around me - a world I can go back to, whenever the real world becomes a bit too much to handle.

I remember how she taught us to appreciate every day "poli + bhaji" for snacks after school and how "poha/upma" @snack time were "special" occasion dishes - and I can't but appreciate that wisdom - especially now - when eating out/eating special food has become so common in my life, that every day "poli+bhaji / varan+bhaat" seems like a treat...:-|

I remember the times she used to cook my favorite "Golyachi Aamti" - the elaborate way in which she used to make the dough balls and fry them (and I used to hover around the kitchen and wait eagerly to sample them) - and then make the dal to put the balls in.
I remember the spicy comforting aroma that enveloped the kitchen when she added tadka  making the "every day" dal that much more special.
I remember the extremely hot, finger-burning "varan+bhaat" and the super cold dahi she used to mix together - hastily - lest I get late for school.
I remember her urge to make us drink buttermilk - every single day.

Ajji and I :)

I remember the evening ramraksha stotram she used to sing in tune as she went about her daily chores - the tune, her voice, still resonate with me - it is my goto strategy even today, whenever I need "peace".

I remember the long iron scissors with which she used to ask us to cut her nails - how she never trusted a nail cutter - and I remember my apprehension and fear of hurting her as she insisted I always cut a little bit more deeper...

I remember how soft her hands are - just like wisps of cotton - and how she says that's because her आई used to put oil on them.
I remember her smell - warm, comforting - with a mixture of Parachute + Hamam + some kitchen masala.

I remember how her eyes light up whenever she talks about her parents - her childhood home - times spent with अण्णा (my grandfather), and the times मावशी, मामा and आई were growing up.

I remember her strength - strength of character - strength amidst all hardships life hurled - strength to not become bitter - strength to keep helping people - strength to not conform to society's views of things - of strength to bring everyone together - strength she gave us, just by being there - a rock solid support.

I remember all this - and a lot more - and pray that she gets well soon.

I love you very very much Ajji :)
You are my rock :)

PS: I had always wanted to write down the thoughts inside my head - ever since Ajji started keeping unwell - but could never bring myself to do it.
The other day, some writing workshop @office gave us this writing prompt - "I remember..." and I decided to finally pen down all those memories floating around in my head.

My Fav People : Day#27/30

Love these people!
Blessed to have them in my life! :)

Including the person who clicked this : RT! :)

Fireflies : Day#19/30

A tiny spark that disappears if you blink, suddenly reappearing somewhere else.
Surrounded by the fragrance of moist earth, the twinkling with a orange glow seems almost surreal in the cool monsoon night.
You stare and suddenly there are many more of those tiny lights glittering about.
Fireflies! :)

My first encounter with fireflies was when I was about 4-5 years old, and although I don't remember much from times back then, I can clearly remember standing in our balcony after dinner and looking out for fireflies with my father. We used to have a firefly spotting contest and I used to pester him with lots of questions on light, sky, night, the moon, why the flies glow, how the stars twinkle, blah blah, the usual questions kids demand an explanation for and he used to patiently try his best to explain the workings of the universe to me...:)

Then I didn't think much about them, couldn't spot them that often after we moved homes, and our new home didn't have such a huge open space nearby...
So they were a reserved sight on the occasional monsoon trips/train journeys where you could spot them just for a moment or two.

Much later, during hostel days, as I walked back late nights to H11, they became a regular sight once again. This time around, I spotted a few glow worms on tree roots as well...It was almost magical...Fireflies and glow worms pottering about on cold windy rainy nights. :)

Of late, when I travel by trains frequently to Mumbai, there's a patch just before Palasdari station that has lots of fireflies flitting about. And the train almost always stops by for a signal here. The twinkling sight makes me super nostalgic...and I've started taking the train's stop and their being there almost for granted, a part of my journey home... :)

Of blankets & pillows...

As the month of November rolled into December and the holiday spirit took over, Bangalore city was also in a mood to chill, literally. (Hah! and you thought I had gotten over my habit of cracking PJs this new year ;-) :-P ) Being a hard-core suburban-Bombayite, my definition of winter was the time of the year when you don't sweat and perhaps the only time when people do not compete with each other for a window seat or the space nearest to the door in the local trains. (at least not in the early morning)

But Bangalore, apparently, was hell bent on making me realize that winters are meant to be, well, err... wintery  (for lack of a more apt word) :-P
I had turned up four months back with my favorite green blanket (apt for amchi Mumbai weather) and refused to buy a newer, thicker one in the hope that it will somehow tend to make my stay in Bangalore less 'permanent', (the exact story is too long and boring). But if you thought that I spent the better part of winters here shivering away, ah boy, are you wrong! Being the angels that my friends are " O:-) ", I was lent C's amazingly warm brown comforter which I happily snuggled under shamelessly (and still refused to get one of my own, stating the above mentioned lame reason). Now, here you might want to call me a miser, but sorry to burst the bubble, I have almost spent through the better halves of my quarterly salary on lesser needed things...weird, but true and so very moi.

Finally, after numerous telephonic doses from back home, I relented and got myself a blanket this weekend.

The moral of this long, boring tale is, I realized blankets are necessary. Warm, comforting things under which we can snuggle, dream, curl up and create our own small perfect world, oblivious to what's happening outside. Inside the blanket's warmth, we forget our daily ups and downs, the struggles, the competition, the strain of everyday life. (and when C reads this, she will roll her eyes and say mischievously, "OMG, you are suffering from all these?! Since when?!" :-O and burst out laughing :-| )

Aren't our family and friends just like blankets and pillows...- creating a small perfect, safe bubble of warmth and comfort around us...a blanket which we can pull tightly around us when the world gets too cold, a pillow on which we can lean on, depending on its cozy warmth. So the next time you feel cold, go get your blanket or pillow and blow away the blues...

Feeling grateful to have such blankets and pillows in life. 
Here's to my coziest, thickest, warmest blankets and fluffiest pillows...love u all! :-))