Unforgettable Innocent Craze

It crawled into the courtyard and sneaked into the sun soaked afternoon,
It was the childhood I can never forget..
It smelled the aroma and kissed the magical hands that blessed the kitchen ,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It swung happily on the swing hanging from the mango tree and often used to steal a few delicacies...
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It was sweeter than the sugarcane dipped in tubs and as joyful as the song sung by a group of ducks,
It was the childhood I can never forget..
It was as pure as grandmas prayers and as white as her shiny hair,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
It danced like the smoke from grandpas chilum (part of a hokkah-traditional smoking instrument) and twirled like his unchanging decorum,
It was the childhood I can never forget...
And today when I see a smile on a little one, I can hear life singing to the same rhythm, and then my heart dances to the tune of the days, when life used to rejoice with an innocent craze.

A Smile is Contagious--Strive to Spread it :)

The bond between a child and an adult is ironical, not just because of age gap, but because it's from a child that an adult learns the selfless meaning of a smile..I still remember the days when grandpa was not too well and preferred staying in his room, my little cousin used to bang into his room and would announce his presence "dada I , your friend is here"..which would be accompanied by an enthusiastic Salaam. All the other adults would stop him from making too much of noise, since they thought that he would be disturbing grandpa, but one could see the beam of light that used to spread on grandpas face, it came with the fact that this little kid was full of hope....hope that gave grandpa the strength to get up and give him a tight hug with a big smile, something that had become quite rare because of his ailment.
I remember what someone told me...prefer the company of people who make you feel happy..it's not that you should not be there for the ones who are in pain, but people who have loads of complaints every now and then are the ones that curb your enthusiasm, so much so that you stop enjoying life.
Now I know why grandpa was loved by one and all...his enthusiasm, positivity and so called childish pranks, made everyone enjoy themselves and left a beautiful smile on their face.
So friends stay happy, spread happiness, spend time with little angels and let life dance on the tune you play.....coz the time that goes away never comes back!

The lasting fragrance

Childhood is the most beautiful phase of our life. We blossom in a secure environment and bloom in our courtyard..it's just amazing. Everything tastes better and more valuable, be it a pack of chips or the food at our neighbours place, which we savour without letting our mother know about it, and then to be scolded and coming to the conclusion that mothers are magicians, one can never hide anything from them.
There was something about aunty that always made me go to her house, her daughter was my best friend and aunty a fairy godmother in disguise. We used to play in her courtyard, I and her daughter who was a year younger than me. Whenever sweets came in their house, a share was kept aside for me. Uncle was a bit..umm..well a little scary...it sometimes gave me the feeling that aunty was like Rapunzel, caged in his three room castle. Nonetheless I was a regular visitor at auntys place. I still remember the day before my birthday, when she asked me what I wanted as a present, I quickly replied..a doll!! Instantly my dad who was standing next to me , pinched me on my hand .. what a perfect pinch it was..aunty could never get to know why I changed my mind instantly and refused a gift completely and my dad could never get to know that I still haven't forgiven him for hampering my prospects of getting a doll :( but I got a nice one on my birthday nonetheless!
There are some people who carve out a special place in our heart and mind, and they never leave it..aunty is one such person..though the visits have stopped.. the memories still linger on in my minds eye.
I can never forget the hands that fed me amazing rice and veggies with a dash of ghee that came from her village, I've never tasted such amazing food ever after that..
Was it the taste of food, her love for me or the innocence of childhood that had cast the magic spell..Now when I look at life as an adult, maybe the picturesque charm of the bygone days has given way to an alert mind, wary of people around me, but certain things never change, a stranger with a lovely smile still makes my day...love can never leave this world coz we thrive on it :)

The washed Footprints

As we move on, we leave behind loads of things , our past, our deeds, the days spent in the year that has gone by and the people who have ceased to continue the journey with us, people who had become an integral part of our being, it's like having a jovial company and all of a sudden we are left alone coz that person had to get down on his or her station..can we stop them, no we can't , everyone has a destined station where our journey would end, though we do not know when our station would come, but we do have the power to make our journey a fruitful one.
We can either waste time being unhappy, we can worry about our future that's yet to come, or we can look out of the window and breathe in some fresh air and thank God for whatever he has blessed us with....for making us sit on the right side of life, for giving us great company so that we can spend happy time, for making us a human and not an ant who has to crawl on the ground and for everything that has made us complete.
Before stepping into 2010 take out time and think about all that you've been blessed with, I'm sure you won't have words to express your gratitude.
A simple new day, with so called monotonous routine, is one of the greatest miracles of God, it's for us to understand and realise its importance.
May the new year fill our life with peace, happiness and contentment. May the joy of fulfillment smear our senses with thankfulness for the Almighty.
As I step into a new year I feel a bit empty coz I don't have my nana by my side, but today I do know that wherever he may be, his blessings would always be with me, along with a treasure of memories which I would definately keep sharing with all of you, since today I feel that the memories shared are the ones that are refilled with a new life :)
Loads of love and Best Wishes,
Sana

I can still feel the warmth!!

Weather has a lot to do with our memories... winters, along with the chill brings with it the warm shower of the days gone by...days of pet names, cute faces, warm hands and a soft whisper that makes its rounds till date. The days of never ending stories, stubbornness, a soft laugh , a happy smile, a little tear or the warmth of a pleasantly surprising sunny winter sky....The days of running around without a sweater, the days of anger that was meant for the better..the days of peeping out through a cosy quilt, the days of a little red coat and aunty's kindergarden, the days of a cold sea-saw and a warm never ending laughter..the days of an ice cream that ceased to melt faster..the days of a courtyard that cradelled with love and still does..... when I go running after the memories of a bright sunny day.... of a winter in a harbour of love that now rests in my mind and would be there forever.

Cute little Angels :)

Yesterday I watched "Paa", a beautiful movie indeed. There was a scene when Auro (the protagonist, a little boy of 13) is in the hospital and is alone in his room, he is shown playing with the plugs on his fingers, that are there to monitor his health. It made me realise how old people too become kids and behave like them, afterall they are the angels who guided us throughout our lives.
I remember when nana was admitted, it was the first time he had to stay in a hospital, he had been a perfectly healthy man all his life, but may be it was time. Anyways so I would describe the way my little grandpa behaved. For a few days he dealt with things in the best way possible, but with time, I guess things became a bit difficult for him, he had to go through a lot of pain, I could hear the pain in his voice, I still remember the last time when I was leaving he asked me as to when I'd be back, I said I'd be back soon, but then his state deteriorated and I guess he became unaware of my presence, though I doubt.
But nana taught me to live life, in the last few days, though he couldn't talk much, he used to sing songs, dance (moved his hands) sitting on his bed and was enjoying himself in his own world(the nurses around him, enjoyed aswell), he had been into theatre afterall :) sometimes I could understand what he said, but most of the time it was a treat to see him happy by himself.
Yes, old people do become kids and need the kind of love and care that little kids need. If you guys have old people around, shower loads of love on them and keep them with care and respect, they are indeed the epitome of love, love that never fades away and grows with time...We got to learn the true meaning of selfless love from them, it's time to keep them cosy in the soft blanket of their teachings.

Keep that smile within your reach!

"Kaga sab tan khaiyo chun chun khaiyo maas,
Do naina mat khaiyo mohe piya milan ki aas..."

A smile stretches out on my face, when I recall how tastefully nana used to say the aforementioned lines. I used to tease him whenever he got into his poetic trance, but his love for poetry was something that he cherished. It was as if he could feel the words sinking in and giving out a positive vibe that got him an ear to ear smile:)
Life becomes beautiful when we cherish things that we like, we should never forget the things that make us happy and should keep them close to us, so that whenever a tear rolls down our eyes it spreads into a smile.
Hope, contentment and peace linger on when they find a place to balance themselves, and what better place can they find than a heart that knows how to smile:)