silhouette

30/01/2010...the morning newspaper told me that the night is going to witness the brightest full moon. I am addicted to moon and his light. Well, I prefer the masculine-version of moon God! I attended my neighbour's wedding party and rushed home watching the moon stay calm in th esky..he was unsually big...15%extra they say. I love to watch him for long. Think about all that fantasy I love...The night, so calm and peaceful. You know, a night may not always be calm and peaceful....even silence kills at times... I was forced to get lost in the thought of nature and her magical powers....Beauty at its best, only she can portray it.
Once there was an innocent girl living in a village. Being the only child for her parents, did not excempt her from experiencing the toughness of life. She was pampered only by her grandparents. She had the wonderful and rare opportunity of assisting her grandpa in agricultural activities that were carried out by him as an ancestral lifestyle. He was a medical officer byt profession and farmer who loved nature. The little girl wore suspended burmuda and walked like a boy. She lingered around him throughout the day and was fed with love and care by her grandma. She liked to listen to her grandparents rather than her dad and mom who had a relaxed parenting time!
Well...the little girl had to grow up as a young female. She had her own opinion in everything-right from her Birthday dresses to the career she chose. But unlike other children, she was not particular about food! She ate what her mpm cooked. She dwells upon strange combo [like dosa and curd, poori and pickle..etc!]. She is, till this point of time a strict veggie. And she is so happy to type all these details and post in the internet. This female-with her own decisions and fantasies, a strict veggie, nature lover and the only kid for her parents, is none other than me!
My childhood memories are so precious for me. Now when I stand in a world that calls itself civilised, I am forced to compare the life as a kid and woman. My 22yr old eyes show various and alarming changes.
I used to swim in the river near my home. I learnd swimming at the age of 10 and still love to swim in fresh water. But now I do it in the pond owned by my friend who lives in another village kilometres away from mine. I have to beware of mobile cameras, those uncultured male crowd and the dirt in my place if I choose to swim in my water-way...unfortunate.
I used to travel the Ghat roads that took me to my grandmother's place, Wynad. The journey offered me adventure and pleasure at its peak. Only the Kerala State Road Transportation Corporation buses travelled that way along with other private vehicles [jeep and ambassodor cars and lorries] as the roads were narrow and not worth taking chance! But I am destined to live in an era where the beurocracy is so thirsty for money, least bothered about the environment that is being polluted by the developmental activities and negligant towards the human interaction that causes pollution! The roads are wide, mountain growing thin. Landslides frequent the path and construction is an unending process benefitting the contractors. Even rickshas travel the ghat roads at leisure!!! I have'nt yet seen bycycles move up [but that would be nice, no greenhouse gas emission!]. The tourists drop the plastic wrappers on way. Athorities turn duff and dumb when someone turns a key on... Sustainable development is something I should just read in my MBA text books, it's not for practise!!?
I wonder, rather I am worried about the number of days the world is going to remain all green! I plough my land, kiss the flowers that brush my face with their soft petals, feel the rain drops on my skin and walk bare foot to feel the earth. My love for this world, the nature that created you and me. I wish, each one of you- learned, practical, sensible and efficient people take some steps. Something that can really change the sad situations.
My hope is still green and healthy. I am sure that the clock is not going to tick back and take me to those olden days. All I can do is try to do my part in preserving the precious gift given by my ancestors, safe. I pause…to take a look at the full moon- the brightest moon of the year…

Home

My voice is no distinguished. It’s filled with pain, anxiety and disappointment. I speak for the living world, you, them and me. Well, please be liberal- I speak about the animal and plant kingdom too! Are we not gaining that kind of a mental state which is least bothered about the green world around us?! We keep hearing about Munnar, Ooty…and lot more… It’s ok for us to hear them and not listen them! U and I relax at hill stations, sanctuaries and pilgrim centers. Enjoy and appreciate the place. Some even praise the Almighty for creating such wonders! But how many of us take care that we don’t steal that blessing from the life of future generation? Did any of us think of our heinous deeds that ill-treat the nature? Why there are no voices that protect the nature that protects us? Wake up youngsters… it’s time…no it’s already late. Open your eyes and see what u can do. I would suggest the following tips:
a) Do not put plastic waste any where other than the specified places.
b) Take the little trouble of using paper and biodegradable materials to pack food.
c) Purchase nature friendly clothes, cotton is not just nature friendly but also body friendly.
d) Do not discourage people who turn environment friendly, if not you let others practice.
I practice the above, believe it or not. It made me more happy and nature loving. It’s much more than a treasure box… “Girls…wooden and jute accessories make you look prettier. Boys, gift you girlfriend couple of eco-friendly, usable stuff. Parents…do not encourage your child dispose sweet wrappers at some place. Imagine if you would do the same at home… earth is the home for many others too-not just you and I”!

babysitters

’In Bollywood we face the problem of being stereotyped, you know. Like. I did the movie Murder, and it became a superhit. The dominant topic of the movie was sex, and people expect me to appear the…” Mallikaji was giving her opinion to Rahul Bose, my new obsession just because of the movie Mr. and Mrs. Iyer! Though I shared the name Aparna with the director of that movie, I’d never been able to watch one of hers. And once I got the chance, I never knew that the South Indian Star, Suriya was to accommodate this Bengali actor in my heart which was full of him!!!
The next morning was to witness my new theories on Production and Operations Management! A test paper was to happen and I’d managed to leave the event apart and keep my eyes glued to my laptop screen… This very evening, before I sat down to watch ‘Pyar Ke Side Effects’, I’d been to my coffee shop to taste one more ‘frappe’ at its best. The shopping mall was unusually full and, ya, I was excited to watch babies as usual. I grabbed my favorite corner in the shop and started watching out.
I could see many pregnant women walk around. Even the woman who helped the customers to pick their stuff [I don’t want to call her a sales girl!], walk with a projected belly. I’m not sure will she ever be able to let her child shop from the same place! The niches which were meant for kids to peep in and sit and read were all occupied. Though I was with my friends, I could not keep that smile within, thinking of how one of my friends did try to get in one of those niches! I was, quite for sometime occupied with the memories of me and him running around the shop! And I did realize how idle the coffee time had become without him!
My thoughts soon got shifted and I started off with my drink. I could see a family in my adjacent corner. They had a baby girl and the couple appeared to be emotionless to that beautiful baby’s presence. I did not know that they were just igniting a series of thoughts in my mind, that I’m typing it all ignoring the test paper that can even afford to topple my career!!!
I pulled the attention of my friends to the ‘baby’. We could find the husband feed the baby with a feeding bottle. But I gave it a thought. The man appeared unfit to be that girl’s dad! And soon my observation came right, he was just a care-taker. May be the driver or a male baby-sitter! The baby was too hungry. She finished of the milk in ten minutes, herself holding the bottle! So adjusting the kid is- and I found her struggling when the milk was almost over. She was too young to react in accordance to the gravity! The man was looking around for girls, least bothered about the ‘tender stuff’ in his arms. Now, the baby after taking in lots of air managed to tilt the bottle to the maximum and consumed the entire liquid. I could not resist the question-where is that female who happened to be the one to give birth??!! I could never imagine a mom being careless of feeding her for whatever one thousand and one reasons she can speak about! And the dad, incomparable. Well, I wish someone could speak to me the reasons why countless people behave this way. A discussion was soon fueled in and we friends came up with opinions. We spoke about various reasons- mother being career oriented, giving birth to the young one of someone whom the lady never wanted to marry, ignorance, immaturity… There were quite a number of reasons. For without reasons, you cannot exist.
Men and women, this is the age of great men who inspire young minds and parents are the foster lands facilitating the realization of the dreams of such people. How many of you have thought about your children? Now don’t tell me about the education, insurance and stuff. I am clear about the question- how many of you have really thought about the way you need to bring up your kids? Have you had a look at what they need and do? You might have read and heard about child abuse, how many of you have thought about the ways in which all these happen? Do you know that most of these cases take place through baby-sitters and people in similar jobs? Attending to your young one has become a trouble to the 21st century parent-folk. Day care centers, play schools and lots keep attracting them, they are busy! Grand parents have to accommodate old age homes and no nuclear family undergoes a fusion for that reason even after the birth of a child…
I’d decided that this article will not be wound up, the problem exists- we don’t even have an organization for young babies! Now, my laptop alarms me of low battery and I can no longer keep away from my bed… tonight, I can see the full moon shine innocently at me… Let me retire and dream….

peaceful renaissance

Are you interested in taking up a trip to a village? I cannot hold on the secret for long…! It’s off the city life and full of good air. Birth place of wise Indian philosopher Sankaracharyar. A very old Namboodiri Ellam that turned out to be the womb for wisdom that took Indian history to heights...
Each room smelled earth, rather peace! Floor was so smooth and clean that my foot started feeling good… I decided to walk barefoot all around. None with some sense would feel like using sandals inside! My skin started breathing good air and guess it started shining… I did carry my digital camera but felt I should carry those memories in mind rather than limiting them into my frames…but I had to change my decisions. May be, the photography maniac within was turned on! I was accompanied by similar soul who had a better professional camera. In spite of all his comments I took out my little instrument…
It was quite hot and humid. I badly wanted to have a bath. But peacefully I decided to accompany my pal who was drenched in sweat after the long day tightly scheduled. We sat on the veranda around the inner courtyard of the home… I cannot pen down that pleasure that filled my heart after a long break… I could sense the arrival of a heavy rain, unfitting to the bright sunlight that promised a warm evening!
We always compete when it comes to uttering words. Neglecting the rest of the world we kept talking… parallel to all those words I could feel the arrival of my article. I was ‘conceiving’ and now I deliver… I hope my ‘young ones’ do fuel some thoughts in your mind too…
I could not, but think, about those minutes; hours I dragged in coffee shops in the town... Air-conditioned rooms generating duplicate comfort, and me with eyes searching for better joy… I did find various ‘faces’ of life- friends who pledge their evenings on chocolate cakes, husbands and wives staring at each other for unknown reasons [may be their office issues, or some at the bed, or event the affair they hide from each other!!!], girls and boys searching for a better pair placing their arms on another, babies wrapped in nappies, book worms…. It was definitely a learning experience, a process that made me more and more thirsty for a better life… And I was so happy that I was placed next to this friend who put the right choice in front of me…
I miss lots of innocence and purity of thoughts. Billions of human beings struggle to find freedom and happiness, they are there to accompany me in the rut my generation is in. I slowly started analyzing the factors that lead me feel all these… Yes, ignorance of the past… My answer is someway biased due my graduation in History, still I am happy that my finding is true…
By the time, the idea of organizing stress-buster camps in this campus did form in my mind… Now I needed reasons why I had an inclination towards this place and what is new in this place… Well the first doubt was answered soon by that old lady who resides in my mind [the granny in me!] it was the strong roots I have in the culture and traditions. All that practices which were fed in right from childhood do reside in my personality. I knew that a philosopher too resides my being. And it was her turn to explain the rest….
There was absolutely nothing new in this place for sure. The fact was that people of my generation has become aliens to our age old practices and lifestyle! Al what I found in this aashram was once a common site in our country. Plants, trees, discipline and hygiene. We have very well managed to reach that stage where our ancestral lifestyles are showcased by existing wise men. I have many times felt that the globe survives only because of these people who keep reminding about the valuable and peaceful past… Is it because that people have mortgaged their confidence for western lifestyle, and earned fear of mind?! Blind adaptation of ‘West life’ has become a curse on this generation. Oh, am I turning too philosophical? Should I mute my ‘philosopher’? ‘’No’’ was the immediate answer of the judge-my conscience. She always listens to various arguments the ‘angel, witch, philosopher, wife, daughter, mother, teacher and fool’ in me come up with!
In early days bathing two times a day was just a routine, now it’s modified into a prescription! Oil massage was anyone’s habit; massage parlors of the new era earn bags of wealth in the name of that good old thing which was done by oneself! Oh man has easily found out the ways to make money even through utilization of his neighbor’s laziness!!! Dieting was a new concept till recent years. But now it’s an everyday term for all those who fail to eat healthy food. Junk food fed by busy moms grow the babies fat and idle. I wonder how many kids get chance to run around and rejoice. They are trained to be sick I say…. I am sure those bedtime stories my granny and mom [to a little extend] had told me, did play a role in building up my morals. Now ‘batman and spiderman’ teach kids what to do!!! And I find many kids grow independent, they pick books of their choice and read. I feel disturbed though I am speaking of someone’s kids. How many really take a look at that stuff read by their babies? Am I going too wild?
Soon it rained. The baked soil drank the droplets. We drank the fragrance the soil had returned… Let me be that romantic woman,’’ the earth sighed when she received a message from her love… or was it an elixir the sky had sprinkled on her? They never get to meet, the union that would never happen…still they live in hope. Is the earth a woman who’s forced to live with a man not of her choice, and the sky, her love of life whom she expects to come and conquer her??? Is she happy that she can gaze at him all day and night inseparably...? And the sky a lover who’s destined to stay away and express his deep love through the sunlit days and moonlit nights?’’ O o… hope you people don’t get bored…
Time was not flying for the first time. Even time knew how badly I was in love with the entire thing happening… I owe these beautiful moments to my friend. Those photographs we caught in our frames, jokes that only we could enjoy, and the stroll in the plot [including the visit to the pond in which my darling did not want me to try my swimming skills!]… I nurture each moment I could spend there. And I share it all with you…. I am in love…once again with the Indian past….