Summer Memories

The beaming balcony sunlight beckons me,

To bathe in the waning golden delight...

Struck by nostalgic thoughts aplenty,

I pen down my memories in the twilight...

Children playing without the pressures of school,

Forgetting all that was written on the blackboard;

Grinning sheepishly on becoming the 'April Fool',

Gulping hand-pressed juices sold down the road;

Tangy raw mango eaten with salt and spice,

As we get ready to meet our friendly cousins;

Hours of  teasing and screaming, I reminisce,

Amidst serious moments of teen discussions...

Cuddling around granny to listen to thrilling stories,

As I run my fingers over her bulging hand veins;

Her imagination runs amok - fantasies, mysteries...

Forever in my heart as a raconteur, she reigns... 

The light in my balcony is a fading beauty,

Who knows what lessons this year brings forth...

I continue to diligently discharge my duty,

 Albeit without any formal, particular oath...

- Vaishnavi Prasad 

Choose the Best or Fill in the Blanks?

A couple of years ago, we had gone shopping to the neighborhood mall. My eight-year old daughter excitedly rummaged through the kids section and tried to touch and feel every dress. She picked a shimmering sequin top and showed it to me with a broad smile. I gave a firm 'NO'.  She quietly left the spot. After a few minutes, I called her and asked, "Honey, which one of these do you like?". She touched one and walked away. I felt bad. On our way back home, I reopened the topic. "Why are you upset?  I bought the dress you chose." Her reply changed my perception for life.

"When YOU CHOOSE a few things that YOU LIKE and expect me to pick one ONLY FROM THAT LOT, its YOUR CHOICE and not mine. If only you had allowed me to get the one I SHOWED, it would have been MY CHOICE."

All this time, I had thought that I was giving my daughter the freedom and right to choose from the shortlisted, best options. It never struck me that I was imposing my taste irrespective of the choice at the end of the decision. Imagine the situation in a middle-class Indian house a good three decades ago. Children were proud that they had a say in decisions concerning them - education, career, marriage etc. We always found it easier to choose the best from the given options than filling in the blanks. The reason being, we thought we could never conceive THE ONE BEST ANSWER ourselves. Interestingly, those questions never had just ONE BEST ANSWER...

Reminded of Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken', I would like to share an extract from the poem.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. 

Today when we go out for shopping, I give my daughter an overview of the purpose of purchase. I let her bring in the options and reason out why I approve or disapprove something. "No sleeveless as its going to be winter"; "Too many green pants already at home"; "Navika has an entire collection of Geronimo which she happily lends, so any other book is fine".  I still dish out my options but leave the final decision to her provided it meets the basic purpose. Toys or gifts have a budget and she could choose anything within the specified amount. Of course, a little over and above is always fine.

Well, what's your pick in life?
Choosing, filling or detailing?
This, that or something you would love to create all by yourself?

Search for Middle Ground

Of late I seem to have a trouble,
Unable to decide the next course of action...
Plan A sounds ways too simple,
While plan B is rife with doubts on execution...
Should I continue with the current complacency
Or challenge my capabilities and try anew?
Do I conform with the 'keep-going' majority
Or stick to my 'unpopular-yet-original' point of view?

My perceptions of opportunities have become bipolar,
It looks either utterly utopian or grossly exploitative...
I don't share C's ideologies,
As they seem too naive.
Does that mean I agree with D's philosophies?
Oh no, I can only give a wry smile.
My sensibilities question everything today,
Unconvinced with explanations given by all and sundry...
Is there someone who could throw more light?
Or just to pacify this worrying soul,
Is there someone who's experiencing a similar  plight?

You in Me

Sun set after sun rise,
One year has passed since your demise...
My life book had lost its foreword,
But I knew I would grow stronger moving forward...
Today, I recognize your words in mine,
I seem to be traversing the same terrain...
When I explain logic behind my actions,
Or reason out permutations and combinations,
I use your words which made little sense then,
But weaves a complete picture now, end to end.
I assumed you would be hovering around me,
Only to realize there had occured a spiritual alchemy...
Mom,I have internalized you,
Visible only to the eyes of a few...
Mom, I see you in me,
Let's keep going - one, two, three...

March Musings

As I rummaged hurriedly through the shelves of my kitchen,
I heard a strangely familiar tweet from the community garden.
I realized its that time of the year,
when birds migrate and oh what a music to the ear!
Their shrill shriek got me to my balcony,
And I searched for them uneasily.
Among the many annual visitors who throng that tree,
there were beautiful green parrots - exactly three.
Each year they come and peck on that pea pod,
What exactly it is - I know not.
My mother spotted them three years ago,
And bird watching became our favorite pastime instead of bingo.
Its been six months since she passed away for eternity,
I have tried looking for her divine presence in every possible opportunity.
This year, I expected the three parrots to be joined in by one more,
Who knows, my mother could be number four...
To my surprise, I find only two of them sitting there,
Perhaps, the third one, like my mother, left them forever...
Is this God's way of helping me come to terms with reality?
Is this precisely  what we call an intervention of spirituality?
                                                   

  - Vaishnavi Prasad 

Reflections on the Year that went by

The earth has completed one full revolution marking the end of another year. 2018 was a year of challenges for me. I quit my job owing to my frequent illness and my guilt of spending lesser family time especially with my kid. Before donning the perfect mother hat, I had to take up the role of responsible daughter. 

My mother was critically ill and we as a family tried our level best to bring her back to normalcy. Those days were busy rushing to hospital and helping mother in all ways possible. Nights were scary. As medical practitioners would call it, by God's grace, a medical miracle happened and she recovered. I returned to my routine, leaving her at home town. I had trouble sleeping at nights, thinking about her agony. She didn't last for more than a couple of months. After my mother passed away, there was a sudden calm and a surprising peace in me. I no longer had to worry out of helplessness. This serenity too was short - lived. The eerie silence made me act weird. I had always wondered how children without parents could be  normal and playful. I now know the answer. As there is none to lend a shoulder to cry on or say a word of appreciation, one tries hard to make the best out of every celebratory mood. 

The emptiness at the bottom of the heart did bother me. Also, my ailing grandmother whose memory was slowing fading away, was a case of concern. As a child of working mother, I had spent most of my holidays and vacation with my grandmother. I convinced myself that her nature to seek pleasure in little earthly delights would keep her going. During the last week of December, she passed away. Two significant people of my childhood were gone for good. 

I am yet to rediscover my lost enthusiasm, although I seem to be trying hard to move on. I wish I come to terms with reality and find the bigger purpose of my life at the earliest. 

Social Bane Called Silence

If power perturbs you,

If positions disturb you,

Ponder over…

If safe play is your game,

If the bull is not for you to tame,

Ponder over…

If you silently pass by neighborhood bullies,

Yet shout out loud to be with ‘freedom’ allies,

Ponder over….

Positive thinking is not turning blind to negative happenings;

Being in the good books of many does not guarantee security…

No mother lets the child err willfully,

No friend ignores misdeeds willingly….

The spirit of togetherness is not just in celebrations,

It reflects and thrives in empathetic conversations…

If misunderstandings of a few are ignored,

It’s akin to supporting the accused…

Say ‘No’ to bullying and stand by the victim,

After all, integrity is the fruit of true wisdom.

Image courtesy: https://pixabay.com/en/misunderstanding-black-men-2421389/ 

Jungle bells, jungle bells, leopard on the way...

News: A leopard was spotted inside Vibgyor high school campus in Bangalore through CCTV by a security guard on Sunday. Forest officials were immediately informed. After hours of hide and seek, the animal was tranquilized and taken away. In the process, a wildlife conservationist was attacked by the animal who was rushed to a nearby hospital and is recovering now.

2 days later...

I stay in an apartment pretty close to Vibgyor high where the notorious leopard incident took place. The second night after the incident, we could hear cracker bursting, people shouting and see fire lit up near the open fields . Rumor of three or more leopards sighted in the vicinity was spread which sent shivers down our spine. We locked ourselves inside from all sides. After a few minutes, my whatsapp was flooded with messages saying the feline was spotted just behind our compound wall. I couldnot sleep that day and for a couple of days thereafter. Although it was reported to be gossip mongering, I still wake up at the slightest disturbance outside our house during night time.

On a lighter note, we could not think of an alternative to a closer coexistence with nature than here. If only I had realized what people meant when they found our new community akin to a resort :(

Typical advertisements in the days to come could be on similar lines...

The 'Urban Woods' apartment - Relax yourself in your true abode with birds chirping, leopards visiting and snakes hissing around you....

The 'Universal' school - We provide holistic education to our children by not taking them closer to nature, but by bringing nature closer to them for a hands-on learning experience. Note: Our free snacks and sibling quota is a hit among animals as well, as observed in the video where a leopard was seen entering the kitchen while its family members were found staring at the classrooms with prying eyes.


The park - We offer jungle safari to our esteemed tourists who can venture out on an adventure walk during nights to spot some exquisite wildlife if you are lucky enough. Thrilling games such as 'sedate challenge' with a tranquilizer, ' catch me if you can' and 'Identify -  leopard ya cheetah' can be played.

The ' TRACK IT' Contest - With many Information Technology companies round the corner, an IT contest will be conducted where technology has to be used to track 'It' using any technology such as GPS, where 'It' could be anything from a cute cheetah cub to a lost lion king.

MAARathon - As we emphasize on physical health, the shift from hackathons to marathons is inevitable. To make the run interesting, leopards will be placed at the start line for a memorable "MAARathon" experience.

Shopping - Heavy discounts on animal print dress will be available to celebrate wildlife conservation week. On the other hand, prices of pepper sprays, lathis, whistles are expected to increase following a surge in demand.


Let's learn to live in harmony with nature and thrive alongside wildlings watching over your window...