Remember me

A long time ago, a very dear friend of mine penned these words in her beautiful handwriting in one of my books in bengali script. It seemed to come from a very deep place in the heart of the poet, from the heart of the great Rabindranath Tagore. It must be the rains that made me remember this poignant piece and it felt right to share it.

The Bengali (original) version...

Tobu mone rekho...

Tobu mone rekho jodi doorey jaye choley 

Tobu mone rekho...

Jodi puratano prem dhaaka podey jaye naba premor jaale

...mone rekho

Tobu mone rekho...

jodi thaaki kacha kache 

dekhitey na pao chhayaar moto achi na acchi... 

mone rekho

Jodi jal aashey ankhipaatey 

Aek din jodi khaela theyme jaaye modhu raatey... tobu mone rekho

Aek din jodi baadha pode kaaje sharado praatey... money rekho

jodi podeya  mone...

jodi podeya mone chholo chholo jal nai dekha dei nayanno konney

tobu mone rekho

mone rekho

English translation...

Yet do remember...

Remember me

Even if i go far away... Remember me

If old love is smothered in new Loves' snare

Remember me...

If like an unseen shadow

I choose to stay nearby

there for your descry, yet you can not see me... Remember me

If on a spring night the play suddenly stops

and tears swell on the wells of your eyes... 

Remember me

If on an autumns first light your work is hindered suddenly...

Remember me.

If no tears well on your eyes when you remember... Remember me.

Youtube video supposedly in the voice of the master himself : http://youtu.be/r9teMCBGS7Q

Slam book!

An autograph book page from the late 19th century!

A long time ago...well it sure feels like a long time ago, way back when we were teenagers, we used to have a curious practise. We used to fill up Slam Books or Autograph books. It used to be such a big deal to have one & to fill up the ones you got from your friends. Everyone had one & you'd be considered a bit of an outcaste if you didn't have it. These were made from old diaries that had been tastefully done up in bright colours, stickers & what have you. It was a delightful but not necessarily truthful insight into each others psyche! There were always questions that began with 'what if/what would you do' etc. Some of the questions that were used in these books went like :
If you were a caveman/cavewoman, who would your better half be?
Who would you like to be marooned in an island with?
And then there were tamer questions like - who's your favourite film star!

These books at one point in time determined pretty much how popular one was. You could also read other peoples' contributions and many a friendships have either blossomed or soured in its way but it was always hugely entertaining.

Here's to a long forgotten school time, teenage tradition that was replaced by online social networks!!

Moving on!

I'm listening to a lovely melody and the prospect of  moving house next week seems somewhat daunting. Two years ago we moved to this lovely house & it brought us so much happiness. We are leaving this house with a sad heart and more things than we came into the house with. I'll miss the garden especially the 2 rose climbers that produce the most spectacular blossoms. And the living room where many friends have sat with us and enjoyed a meal, a conversation, a laugh & few tears as well. 

It's time now to pack up all the things and the memories and set forth on a new journey and make new memories. This house will always be special though... more than any other we've lived in. Every phase of our life we seemed to have moved from one house to the other. The 3 bedroom gorgeous apartment in Mumbai with its enormous windows where we started our journey as man & wife... and then the small 1 bedroom flat in London where we learned how to survive in this big city! Then moved on with a bump to this loooovely 3 bed house where we learned about each other and loved each other a little more. Through this last phase we learnt how much our friends mean to us & how much we meant to each other as well through all the tough & jubilant times as well. 

I guess its time to move on. Don't know what the future holds and what new phase is about to begin but I'm feeling pretty excited at the prospect of living 2 minutes away from one of the biggest parks in London! And as the banner says... keep calm & carry on. And its apt - as in with its regalia etc., as we are moving the weekend of the Royal wedding!

:-) 

So i watched Guzaarish...

I've been meaning to watch this movie for a long time now... mostly because I think Hrithik Roshan is gorgeous and that his pairing with Aishwarya Rai is probably the best thats ever been in the Hindi Film Industry. 

I admire that SLB had the courage to make a movie about such a controversial topic like euthanasia. I still have lots of reservations about euthanasia as much as I have about abortions! Its not possible for anyone to really have a right or wrong view about this issue. 

About the movie... if the director had only put Hrithik R, Aishwarya RB & Nafisa Ali the movie would probably have been a hit. It didn't need anyone else really as the most poignant moments of the movie are the ones between Hrithik & Aish. There was too much over acting from the rest of the cast to the point of it being unbearable. Oh well..thats just what I feel anyway.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to see euthanasia as anything else but assisted suicide. And I also don't know how it must feel for the person in such an incapacitated situation or be around someone in that state. Is euthanasia moral or is it not? Is it almost assisted murder or is it assisted suicide? So many thoughts...oh so many!!! I can't pass judgement on anybody's decision but then how can anyone watch their loved one suffer in silence or otherwise, unable to move their entire body apart from the head down, to be at the mercy of other people for even the smallest things we do and take for granted. 

random thoughts about sports

Yipee...India won the Cricket World Cup 2011 and did so in an exceptional manner! 
And yipee that Indian Tennis players found their place as World No 1 in the Miami Open 2011 Tennis Cup! 


Its very clear now that cricket has become a religion in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka... I'd say more so in India but it's not all bad. Its one of the few things that brings together people from different regional communities and we all pray & pin our hopes on the national team as one unit which is a rarity in its own right! I was amazed to watch footage from all over India through the news channels, the social networks, radio, etc. as millions left what they were doing and huddled together to watch the World Cup FInals 2011... from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari, from Kutch to Thoubal, in by lanes in Orissa, up in the hills in Himachal...in the common grounds in obscure villages, people came together as one and watched a game played by able and sincere(this time it seemed truly sincere!) men who played with their hearts and achieved the most amazing results bringing home a trophy after 28 years! Oh how we celebrated! I do wish that other games and sports get as much footage and following as cricket but it seems that cricket will always be number one. 


Finally it seems that Indian sportspeople are getting the recognition they deserve or is it so?! But did you know that:

Pankaj Advani won the gold medal in Billiards in Asian Games 2010

Saina Nehwal took the gold at the Swiss Open Grand Prix 2011 for badminton

SK Solanki won the gold in Asian Games 2010 for wrestling

Vijender Singh was awarded gold in Mens Boxing in the Asian Games 2010

Mary Kom won Gold medal at the 2010 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship

These are just few names in a long list of people who did the country proud but never got the recognition they deserved for various reasons. I'm unable to decipher the depth of the insanity with which our nation follows cricket when really Hockey is considered to be our national game. Is it time to change our national sport to cricket? 


I for one don't follow cricket or like it too much for which I've been accused of being a non-Indian (blaaaaaa....) but really... I was swayed by the millions of hearts hoping for India to win. The last couple of years the nation has seen a spurt in the quality of sportspeople. From obscure corners of the nation there are athletes & players waiting to be discovered and show their ability and do their families and the nation proud! I can't wait for the day when sports becomes an integral parts of our lives - and I don't mean by sitting in front of the box and watching it...but people playing and encouraging their children to play. Schools where children are encouraged & supported if they want to become sportsmen and women!

A few years ago my brother came across a one time famous hockey player on the train. The gentleman was working in the Indian Railways as a ticket collector and he was moved deeply that he had been recognised by a young man on one of his many work schedules. I hope we can give our sportspeople more recognition and respect that they deserve.

Shaken & Stirred

An old man with an old tattered photograph in his hand was shunned by the common folk who walked the streets near Mumbai Central station about their jobs & their lives... he wanted to know if someone had seen his son... he didn't know if he would ever see him and still he searched on asking everyone he met if they had seen his beloved son who had left him years ago to defend a nation ever so proudly...

A mother was left abandoned on the gates of a medical practitioner's clinic by her children because she had become a burden on them - she was a cripple. She was left behind in the bitter cold of Delhi's winters and as she dragged herself really shocked wondering if this is what she had taught her children to become, she disappeared into the darkness of the lanes. I was there that evening passing by the shop next to that clinic and the shopkeeper told me about her. I saw her pass by in absolute silence - she looked like she could be from a middle class family. Nobody saw her ever since.

A little girl was sent with a man she hardly knew, married off to a man three times her age. She was brought to an alien land and sold off to another bidder as a 'virgin' bride. Why this betrayal she wondered... she didn't even know what or who to ask? She was now trapped forever in this web and years hence she doesn't even recollect what her name used to be & she doesn't remember where she came from. But this one time when she was being sent off for the nth time sitting quietly, looking way older than the 24 years of her life, in the 2nd class compartment of a train... the train began to near the hills of a tea-growing valley and some scent stirred inside her soul and made her cry.

Some stories I witnessed in my life and I don't think will ever recover from. I wrote these instances down the time when I witnessed them...only a few minutes of my life but it left a lasting impression.

Garage shutter makeover

On my short trip to India I was handed a project after my own heart! This large garage shutter was a canvas waiting to be splashed with paints... it was quite a challenge to paint on a surface that was irregular plus I used the unfamiliar medium of emulsion paints! I had a wonderful time creating this mural. The 6 lotuses represent the total number of people in the family & the sun represents the blessings of their ancestors upon them. As and when new members join the family, I will be adding more lotuses to the mural. 

:-)