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Tangent talk…

September 11th, 2010
12 comments


It is 0700 am and am working, well at work and for the first time really I do not have a patient to see. It might not last that long though and whatever little time I have I am savouring it and writing this. From the bottom of my heart I hate night shifts! When the whole wide world is tucked in bed and curled up on to thier soft pillows, we prod along. Come winters and it gets worse. Nevertheless, what keeps me going is the wide variety of illnesses that we encounter at night time. The number of senior staff tend to be far less and more or less you are on your own. You do something for the patient and once in a while if it works, By god you feel good. It is one feeling I have always cherished about my profession. That I have found what they are suffering from. That I have made someone feel better. That I could do something about a lot of things. The thought itself is taking my blues away that I have two more nights to go.

 

Speaking about gratification there is another thing that is immensely satisfying and which I have come to enjoy immensely. And that is sculpting. This is my third year at making the Ganesha idol. Not anything fancy but a very earthen one. It was good fun getting my hands dirty with the clay and all and just sculpting away and when the idol takes form boy, it feels good. I remember those growing up years at home when this was one festival me and my sister got hugely excited about. Mom would say that whatever we did today would stick with us through the year. So, like any other parent of that generation she made sure that we studied that day atleast for 10 minutes. I now wonder if that really is true. But it  has stuck with me. I definitely read an article or journal today, sometimes for namesake maybe! I wonder if I will tell my daughter to do the same. Well, there is still time for that. But, maybe I will.

 

It was also on this day that we would listen to all the stories related to Ganesha, something traditional I guess. I still do that and I don’t see the moon today. I wonder if it is the same in other communities as well. It is said that when Ganesha had had, his sumptous meal and was driving on his “mooshika vaahana” his tummy burst and all the laddus rolled over. On watching this Moon, could not stop himself from bursting into peels of laughter. At which Ganesha’s mother Parvati cursed Moon that whoever saw him on this day would have to be a part of ” Apaninda”. Even Lord Krishna wasn’t spared of this apaninda when he accidently saw the moon on this day. From there on comes the story of Satrajit and the Samantaka Mani and His marriage to Jambawati and Satyabhama.

 

I probably won’t see the moon today although I am not sure if it means anything. I don’t think it is about superstition, neither is it about respect. I would probably just call it tradition.

 

What else have I been upto…the usual working full time and looking after my little one…but I have never been more happier than now. Truly, motherhood is a blessing. Oh yes, I learnt Sri Sooktham with it’s full meaning. I love singing this one.

 

An hour to go before I can jump into my car!

 

Signing off from the tangent talk I have been upto. wish you all a very prosperous Ganesh Chaturthi.

 

Keep smiling..smile looks good on ya

Yak yak yak…

March 18th, 2010
11 comments

My homepage is always set to google and at various times it comes up with significant days and occassionally adds the “happy” tag to it too. It reminds me of a very well written post by one of my friends on iLand,” Today is the lazy day!”
 
Sunday gone turned out to be one such day.
 
Frankly, apart from some special festivals and some close friends’ birthdays and anniversaries I am not too fussed about these special days, be it Valentine’s Day or the Cow appreciation Day.
 
It amuses me a great deal when people wish each other on various “days”. Not so long ago someone wished me,” happy nagapanchami“.  “Yes, thank you. I am about to play with prince python in my den, why don’t you bring your queen cobra along?” said the inner me.
 
That am a  complete wuss when it comes to snakes or for that matter centipede, millipede, metrepede etc etc is another matter. Needless to say,on being reminded of the great cobra I did do quite a snake dance.
 
But then it was mother’s day on sunday. I would not have thought much about it but for a couple of reasons. Firstly, amma had left only a week ago and I sure was not missing her. Ooops, typo! You see, we share quite a “Love-hate” relationship. I love her only when she is far away.That reminds me of  a saying that I have always thought is true, ” Familiarity breeds contempt”, to which one of my close friends always adds, ” and children.”
 
Secondly, I had gone to do my weekly grocery shopping to Sainsburys and thanks to the mothers of this world a bunch of white lillies ( they are my favorite, I tell you!) were being sold for an exhorbitant price.
 
So, grudgingly I made the phone call and apologised to her for my misbehaviour when she was here and asked her to overlook my faults. “That is ok, maaf kiya!” said she.
“Amma, I have been so horrible to you, are you not forgiving me a little too easily?”
 
“Don’t worry, Beta! it’s not your fault. It’s all those hormones playing havoc on you!!”, pat came her reply. Just as I was about to slam the phone down came her usual dialogue, ” when your daughter will trouble you then you will know how easy or hard it is to forgive them. I have always prayed that you have a saggitarian girl just like I have had and then you will know what the word TROUBLE really means.”
 
Sometimes, god really does answer your mother’s prayers, I tell you!
 
I recently read Jeffrey Archer’s A twist in the tale again. I have often felt that those books that you read while in growing up years tend to stick with you more than any others. Having said that I did read Arvind Adiga’s White Tiger last year. Quite a book that one is! I really liked the last line in that book, ” We drive technology forward!”
 
I took amma along for My Name is Khan whilst she was here. Boy, I tell you..My name is Mona and I am an idiot. That’s all I can say about the movie. One thing is for sure, however sensitive  the issue Karan Johar is bound to trivialise it. Speaking of idiots I saw three idiots and it really didn’t shake much earth for me either. If anything of the movies recently seen I liked Kaminey. It was quite “Tarantinised”.
 
Of late I have put on too much weight and being a south indian I think a thunderous figure is something that I think is the genetic make up of most females in all the four states. Amma does 12 cycles of suryanamaskar daily and stays extremely fit even today ( I wonder what is wrong with my parents generation. They are all so perfect. Case in point all the senior citizens of this iLand) Anyways, unfortunately I can’t do Suryanamaskar. Half the year there is no Surya in this country until after 9 and the rest of the year the Surya is out even before 0500. Both times am out of bed or in the bed.
 
So, I pushed myself to join the gym. It takes a heck of a lot of willpower to drag my “lemon on toothpick“  body onto the bike. Yesterday had a class called BLT. I thought it was only chicken BLT sandwich but apparently in fitness BLT is bums legs and tums. What a silly chick, I am. So, the lady kept asking  us to “squeeze, release” all through the exercise. I was pretty shocked at how blatanlty she was asking us to release the gases. It turns out she was talking about pelvic floor !! (cough, cough).
 
On a serious but a happy note I have always wondered if there is something called, ” A law of averages ” and does it change with every decade? What do you think? As for me the turn of this decade has been like turning a new leaf and this time I certainly do not want to screw it all up.
 
A very mish mash and a mediocre post but instead of writing something serious and well thought out I just felt like a yak…
 
Signing off for now friends….will be back with more yaketi yaketi yak…cheerios!

PS: Message for JoP: For some reason can’t read your posts, hope you will allow us to!