I have decided to break all ties with any Gujrati whom I might be knowing..

.. lest some people believe that I support Narendra Modi and his actions during Gujrat riots.

Now I know

why my father insisted that he would cut our hair by himself…

It gives a BIG high seeing the result of your ‘hair-dressing’ skills!!!

(I cut Diya’s hair for the first time today. Though I love long hair on kids, yet I felt that it would be difficult to manage long hair with someone like Diya who has decided NOT to let clips and bands stay on her head.. I can’t bear to see a shabby baby!!)

TouchWood!!

What else would you do but admire your own luck when your 90+ grand-mother-in-law decides to overcome all her fears and physical limitations, and travel across miles, just to meet you!!!!!

I am angry..

.. and feel like blasting the newsreader who said something like  ‘ You wouldn’t be knowing about this song unless you are forty or above'(while referring to IPL opening ceremony).. Hello!! What do you want to say – for someone like me who LOVES this song, is it some kind of age-related-wake-up-call?? I prefer to turn a blind eye to my greying hair or diminishing stamina. I prefer to feel young and back in love again, and this song makes me feel both!! So no one should dare comment on the age of the fans of this mushy mushy song!!

On a serious note, I prefer the  old version of this song by Elvis

(words & music by george weiss – hugo peretti – luigi creatore)
Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can’t help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can’t help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can’t help falling in love with you
For I can’t help falling in love with you

lyrics from here

(Wonder what does this make me now – 60 year old??? 😉  )

My next read…

Have you ever felt the urge so strong that you just can’t be patient and finish the current book in hand before buying a new one?

I felt it, on  my last visit to Crossword, Garuda Mall.. And had to literally drag myself out of the store by constantly reminding of the book lying unread (which is actually very interesting), some pending work @ office and of course the never ending work at home..

The object of lust is:

A long lost friend…

Someone who made my heart go soft with her own life’s story.

Someone whose path crossed with mine at a very crucial junction.

Someone who I had begun to trust (which was reciprocated as well)

Someone who disappeared all of sudden

Someone I miss deep in my heart

Someone I can’t get myself to hate despite all the back stabbing.

Someone who makes it a point to know what is going on in my life without getting too obvious.

Someone whose pain pinches my heart.

Someone who I wish could have a more clear vision.

Someone who could just get rid of the bitterness and see the sweetness that life has to offer.

When you cry for no specific reason!!

Noor e khuda – Bollywood Hindi Song Lyrics

Movie: My Name is Khan (2010)
Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Loy Mendonca
Director: Karan Johar
Lyricist: Niranjan Iyengar
Starring: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
Song Title: Noor e khuda
Singer(s): Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal
Release Date: February 12, 2010

Noor e khuda Lyrics

Noor e khudaaa
Ohhhhooo ohhoooo
Noor e khuda

Ajnabe mod hai
Khauf har ore hai
Har nazar pe dhua cha gaya
Pal bhar mein jaane kya kho gaya

MMm..Aasman zard hai
Aanhein bhi sard hai
Tan se saya juda ho gaya
Hmmm…
Pal bhar mein jaane kya kho gaya

Saanse ruk si gayi
Jism chil sa gaya
Tootey khwabon ke manzar pe tera jahaan chal diya

Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Tu kahan chupa hai hume ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Yun na humse nazarein phira
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Tu kahan chupa hai hume ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Yun na humse nazarein phira
Noor e khudaaa ..
Noor e khudaaa…

Hoo nazarein karam,pharmahi de
Oo deen o dharam, ko jagaa hi de
Oo jalti huyi tanhaiyan
Roothi huyi parchahiyan
Kaisi udhi ye hawa
Chaya ye kaisa samaa

Hmmm rooh jum si gayi, waqt tham sa gaya
Tootey khwabon ke manzar pe tera jahaan chal diya
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Tu kahan chupa hai hume ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Yun na humse nazarein phira
Noor e khuda

Aaa aa
Aaaa aaa…
Ga ma pa ni.. sa da ..
Aaaa aaa..aaa aa….

Ujdhe se lamho ko aas teri
Zakhmi dilo kyun hai pyaas teri
Har dhadkan ko talaash teri
Tera milta nahin hai pataa

Khali aankhein khud se sawaal karein
Thamne ki cheek behaal kare
Behta lahu fariaad karein
Tera mitta chala hai nishaan

Rooh jum si gayi, waqt tham sa gaya
Tootey khwabon ke manzar pe tera jahaan chal diya

Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Tu kahan chupa hai hume ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Yun na humse nazarein phira
Noor e khuda

Noor e khuda, Noor e khuda
Aaj kal tu kahan hai ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Aaj kal tu kahan hai ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Aaj kal tu kahan hai ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Aaj kal tu kahan hai ye bataa
Noor e khuda, noor e khuda
Kya ye sach hai ke tu hai humse khafa
Noor e khuda …

Lyrics from here

An ideal mother?

She: (With horrified expression on her face) What is that??

Me: (puzzled) What is what?

She: How can you be so careless with your child?

Me: What did I do????

She: (with disgust) I always knew you were too young to be a mother.

Me: (losing patience now) What wrong did I do?

She: Isn’t that a wound mark on your son’s knees?

Me: Yes, it is. Yesterday while playing in the park, he fell down. Thank God! the cut wasn’t as deep as I feared it to be.

She: (Amazed at my indifference)

Me: What happened?

She: How could you let him fall?

Me: I let him play. Falling down is just one of the minor side effects.. Nothing wrong in that.

She: Nothing wrong in playing. But how can you let him hurt himself? Why not let him indulge in indoor games only.

Me: But won’t that limit his development, social interaction skills, and most importantly, his health?

She: Why?  I made sure that my son ate properly, coaxed him to participate in debates, extempore etc. That he was not interested in these activities is a different issue. But I didn’t let him go out and play with those rowdies on the street, atleast not until he was big enough to take care of himself.

Me: And how big was that?

She: 17 years, after which he went to college and played over there. Isn’t this how it should be?

Me: (Now having totally lost it) And isn’t your son an overweight, socially reclusive, and a shy person even now at the age of 40? Oh, and why isn’t he married yet? And why does he still stammer while speaking.  Oh, and have you noticed that the moment he opens his mouth to blabber something, people fly away to atleast 4kms away from his side!

She: (Stumped).

What (battered) women want..

is not your sympathy or pity – it only lowers her equally battered self esteem

Not financial assistance – Before asking for financial grant, she needs to have enough courage to utilize it.

No legal discourse – she perhaps already knows that abuse is illegal and that she can file a court case against it.

No I-told-you-so sermons– she made a wrong choice (or perhaps had no choice at all) and is now paying dearly for that.

No taking-sides even if it is in her favor – she can make out when it is a fake support and when it is not.

No path-enlightenment / imposition of your decisions on her – She knows her condition better than you do.

No shrugging off her confessions about abuse as attention seeking techniques – No self respecting woman would do that.

What does she want??

She needs you to give her a patient hearing.

She needs you to tell her stories of courage and strength.

She needs you to be able to relate to her pain.

She needs to know that there are ways out.

She needs to know that despite whatever her abuser might say or do, she is not as bad as what he/she claims her to be.

She needs you to trust her.

Domestic abuse is a harsh reality. And more often than not, abusers are gentle and kind people in their other avatar.  The least you can do is let them know that they are not alone in this and can do a lot to get out of it. Divorce is  just one of those options. There are other ways possible. Involving family is one of that. His/her family needs to know the true nature of the person concerned and support the victim. If the victim is unfortunate enough to get that, true friends would always be there to extend their love and support. One has to just reach out and there are a million opportunities to get out of the pain and hurt.

(Though I have used ‘she’ to refer to the victim, it can be easily replaced by a ‘he’ wherever relevant)

NishiJapon

It’s only the worst times that brings out the true character of a person. And that is what happens when the family of a retired gentleman is stuck in a situation which claims their sanity.

|spoiler alert|

Bimal (Soumitra Chatterjee) is visited by his family and his friend in his Darjeeling house……

There are images shattered, all thanks to the crisis that the earthquake brings with itself. The suave, kind, loving husband that Nirmal appears to be is nothing but a facade. He is revealed as a not-so-caring partner and a womanizer during one of the outbursts that his wife has thanks to the behavior she is made to witness in front of the entire family. Till that point, both him and his wife maintain and try to live the illusion of a happy married life, something that is brought out as a false impression again thanks to the above mentioned outburst. The rich gentleman who is their guest is overwhelmed by hunger and physical discomfort, turns to temporary insanity.

But the end brings hope …

To the troubled couple, the outburst turns out to be the realization.

The younger brother , who was unnerved by the revealed character of his brother tries to overcome his own fears and bring about some relief.

The wife, who till now lived the perfect life of a homemaker confronts her own doubts and suspicions.

Her sister and brother-in-law discover comfort in each other’s strength.

And of course relief in form of contact with the outside world..

Pic from here