Colors of life

My dear Daughter, I still can’t believe you are four now! I mean, where and how did all these years whiz by me? Inspite of my whining and grumbling to the world about how you have left no stone unturned to make my life, umm well, frenzied (to put it gently); I realize now how ridiculously boring and uneventful my life would have been otherwise and I wouldn’t have anything to blog about here if not for your ..err.. rebellious, defiant and charismatic personality. So thanks to you for keeping my blog alive and giving me motivation to write about periodically! You entered your fourth year with a thud.. A thud with blood. Gosh! It still gives me a shiver when I think of that fateful day. We were having our dinner, your dad and I, and you were playing inside the room all alone (still curse ourselves for leaving you alone despite knowing your mischievous nature…sigh!) and suddenly we heard a loud thud from the room. We rushed inside to see what happened and there you were lying on the fl...

I couldn’t recognize her at first. It took me a few moments to realize that it was her. Her face looked pale and there were traces of aging all over her beautiful face. She looked ten years older than her actual age. She was the one who was blessed with good looks and beauty. She was a beautiful person inside out. She had always been popular back in our hay days. Everyone loved her and yearned for her company.   Though only a lucky few got the pleasure of her company. And I was the chosen one.   It was a sort of miracle that she chose me to be her friend since we were complete opposites. While I was an introvert, she was an extrovert. While I was the geek of the class, she was the heart of the class. While I used to shy away from parties, she was the life of a party. While I had a few friends, she made friends easily.   In short, we were poles apart yet there was some unknown force that bonded us together and made our friendship stronger by the day. Eventually, we grew to...

  One of the most wonderful time period in any woman’s life is when she is pregnant. That is the time when she is treated like a queen in the house and her wish becomes everyone’s command. Oh yes! So apparently it is the most blissful and indulging phase that she goes through in her entire life. But along with the goodness you have to bear a lot of advice thrown your way at every step. The so-called ‘experienced’ women will leave no stone unturned to claim an upper hand over the situation. Of course, they mean good in their own way but sometimes it just becomes a tad too overwhelming to digest all their beliefs and advices. As your belly grows, so the does the opinions and speculations. Some of the most common beliefs / advices that most women come across are :   Eat for two This is, probably, the most common piece of advice given by every other person when you are pregnant. It is believed that since you are carrying a life inside of you, you need to double the quanti...

A child’s firsts are special moments for any parent. You watch with wonder when your child achieves a milestone for the first time ever. I’m no different. I’ve even captured some of her first moments on my lens and froze them for ever! Every time I look at those pictures it exudes nostalgia and feeling of reliving those moments again and again. Every first is exceptional and holds a special place in my heart and mind. Her first day of life is the happiest day of my life and all the pain of c-section evaporated into thin air the moment I held her in my arms for the first time. Her first smile was like a magical moment and even till this day fills my heart with warmth, peace and contented happiness that is beyond words. Her first squeals and laughter are like music to my ears and can’t seem to get weary of hearing it over and over again. Her first tummy-time brings back the memories of the time she learnt to wriggle her way ahead. The first time she sat by herself was a proud m...

Dearest Internet, Ever since your advent, life has changed drastically. Actually way beyond that.   We didn’t realize at that time that we are headed back in the times of slavery. Yes, we are your slaves. The irony is we have willingly surrendered ourselves to you without even us realizing it. Smooth win for you, ain’t it? Its rather funny how you have us entwined around your little fingers that even the thought of getting liberated seems farfetched. You must be smirking at our insanity and how you have us besotted. Completely. Ever wondered, the plight of us humans who rely on you day and night? We cannot fathom even one day without your blissful existence. I don’t know how we even existed before you. You have become an integral part of our daily life and play a vital role in our lives. Even more significant than our family and loved ones. We can probably live without them for a day but would go crazy if we had to even stay apart from you for a few hours. That is how important...

Are we (my husband and I), as parents, parenting from the same page? Of course we are. And we always do. Just that those pages are from different books! Yeah, no kidding. We don’t like to read the same books. So apparently, we can only be on the same page from different books. We are as diverse as day and night. We don’t see eye to eye on most of the aspects of life. So how can the parenting part be any different? Not much. Right. Apparently, our parenting styles are different as we are. While I’m the devil mom; he is an angel dad. While I’m the one who disciplines and make rules; he is the one who teaches her how to bend the rules. While I’m the one who yells and shouts to get things done; he is the one who gets things magically done, without any coercing, like a magician. While I’m the one who controls and reprimands, he is the one who crumbles in front of all her, reasonable or unreasonable, demands. While I’m involved in all her routine (read boring) and insignificant activities ...

People, I’m delighted to announce to you all that after one (or was it more?) year of rigorous training from the most apparent source I’m finally, how do I put it.. umm , in ‘motion’. Plainly put, I’m potty-trained finally at three years of age. Well, almost. Big deal you would think, right? Exactly my point. But who would dare to enlighten that to my feisty trainer, my mom. Yeah, she thinks she climbed mount everest (for some reasons only known to her she thinks mt. everest would have been easier to climb compared to potty train me, now can you believe that?! Neither do I.) and is as elated as if she has won a medal for it.   I mean, grow up mom! No need to make a big deal out of it, right? Everyone gets potty trained by this age so what’s the deal breaker here, is something beyond me. Ok, maybe apart from a few minor glitches. Alright a little more than that. I admit it wasn’t an easy road to reach where we are today. To be honest, it was one ‘shitty’ affair. All the timeouts, ...

I went shopping, few days ago, since my favorite sale season is here! I love to shop during sales which give me immense satisfaction knowing that I managed to save quite a few nickels. Not to mention that in that process of saving a few nickels I lost many a dimes. But never mind that. I am just basking in the glory of grabbing the best deals of the season out there. Retail therapy works wonders on my worked up mind, you see. So, while shopping and browsing through the aisles of a famous mall in my city, I saw a little girl of about 7 or 8 years watching me fascinated. I don’t know what it was that struck her the most about me that she was quietly observing me and noticing my every move. Had it been an adult, it obviously would have sent a panic alarm but since she was a little kid I didn’t pay much heed and was just amused by her fascination. Slowly, she began to approach me, came in front of me and suddenly asked “Aunty, are you a Muslim?” I stood there stunned and shocked at h...

My dear friend, It’s been a really really long time since we became friends first. Our friendship probably is almost as old as we are today. We know each other since kindergarten and today our kids have also passed kindergarten. It’s amazing how our friendship grew with us and is still as strong as ever. Today, when I look back at those days, it feels like a different era.  In those times, friendship was considered to be a beautiful relationship which bonded two strangers into a lifelong bond and an unforgettable journey of togetherness and companionship. And ours, indeed, was a friendship to remember. We behaved and did everything as sisters would do, only that we were born from different mothers. The journey from school to being college graduates only got exciting and thrilling each passing year and it was just because I had you as my companion. For every little thing. We were like partners in crime. And even otherwise. I mean we couldn’t think of doing anything without ...

Amongst all the pics that I’ve had the opportunity to click, this has been one of my favorites. There is something about this pic that screams arty. Or maybe it’s just me who is delusional and biased. But whenever I see this pic it somehow gives me an impression of a beautiful painting which I wish I’d created. At least I had the privilege to capture it on my lens. Even though, as you would have guessed by now, it’s a photo of a reflection in water; it comes across as a creative art or vision through a painter’s eye. And with this the ‘photo of the week’ series comes to an end. Though it doesn’t stop here completely. Instead of the weekly photo we will have a ‘photo of the month’ series starting from next month. If you have any wonderful clicks that you would like to share please feel free to do so in the comments below or on my Facebook page. Till then happy clicking!