My little sister..

It’s going to be a boy... when all the elderly voices were heard in the house,
one soft voice curtly said 'I want a sister' and there He heard me.

Too plump to handle
but still carrying her in my arm,
after all she was there on my demand !
Call her Nanu, call her Gotu,
plz don't call her Kruti,
She might not hear you..

Youngest in the family, dearest to all,
pampered to the core, loved more...

Didi nu puchdu.. my little sister
Stopped eating Bhindi
coz didi did not like to..

Like a Gunda raj at home she orates
but crying while fighting with classmates...
Not a single day in school goes
without meeting her in recess break,
not only me... but even all my friends,
looking for my biladi with two pony tails...

Never knew how to smile for a picture,
but now those pictures,
brings a broad smile,
on every viewer's face !!

Ironing her uniform,
preparing her plates,
being her little mother,
seemed more like my own traits...

Playing blind man buff and
getting caught while shouting out of fear..
Will those days come back ever !

Sobbing together while watching a movie,
otherwise tying to prove ourselves nervy..

Dancing like king Khan on darde disco,
shooting the act, knowing that it is psycho !

My best friend, my best companion..
Didi nu bachchu..my little Nano..

Healthy fights with dad,
lengthy chats with mom.
Reading for long hours
remembering her C.S. Sir

Trying to groove, moving her sleek finger,
struggling to the rhythm of her dear Dharmesh sir

Talking to buddies for long hours on phone,
telling long stories all full of fun..
oh ! but back of her mind, the bills she can’t shun..

And now that u are on earth ! away from your heaven,
remember that all the angles that you are given,
will always stand by your side, just have that gut,
will protect you, trust me, no matter what !

Everybody loves you :o)

From a Friend

One bright morning I met her on my way

She surprised me hard and made me quiet

But life is long and it took a turn

She held my hand when I needed one

She listened to me, She gave me time

She surprised me again and made me quiet

She is strong, She is tender

She is smart, She is crazy

She laughs at me, She laughs with me

She is mature, She is fun

We are different, We are alike

I am lucky to have her around

I call her my friend

She held my hand when I needed one

Love

-- and i called her self centered ! SORRY friend..

Golden Temple (express)

I usually book my tickets in Baroda express but during festival seasons the ticket booking is house full, nearly within one week from when booking opens.. so had to take the tickets in golden temple express this Christmas(NRI season as in Gujarat).. This was my second experience with this train.. the first time I had to take this train (scheduled departure 23:36 from platform no. 1) As shown on the internet it was two hrs late than nirdharit samay… I reached the station 45 mins earlier against the delay so that parents can go to bed as early as possible.. When I reach station I see the train already standing at platform no. 3 !! I walked neatly to cross the bridge and board the train… my eyes and mouth remained wide open when the train started to move within a second after I stepped inside!!
Today again Golden Temple express, 3 hrs late from scheduled departure.. I reached station at 2 am to see the train further delayed to 3.38 am. The weather was chill as the temperature touched 11 degree; I paid for a cup of adrakh chai at a platform stall and sipped my way to the waiting room. As I sat in the waiting room, dozing and listening to songs, there was a guy two seats apart, all awake, he was in a his thin red lee tee , dint seem to be feeling cold.. sitting and smiling to himself as he was navigating back and fro in his web cam, on his lap was a leathered brown, fancy, ladies hand bag and other luggage surrounding his feet. In the previous row there were three chairs kept close to each other to make a small bed on which a pretty looking lady was sleeping, all covered with a shawl and a blanket, she seemed to be in her own dream world as she found her comfort on that makeshift bed of hers while getting cozy in the blanket.

The announcement was made at 3.50 am, as my train was to arrive.. there was still some time to go and the guy quickly took a picture of the pretty lady as her fair face was seen from in-between the two back rests of the red chair. He gently woke her up while folding the blanket and placing it back in a jhabla theli. As the two of them started walking together towards the platform from the waiting room I could not resist my smile while reading the print on the jhabla theli “MANOJ WEDS NEHA” :o)

May be the person who provided all the warmth did not need a sweater! :)

Their seat was next to mine, bogey no. S/5, Golden Temple Express!

Are you Gamed ???

Registered when the restructuring was going on in my company after it was taken over .. now work had geared up since like 3 days... the dates of the matches were not fixed.. till yesterday mails were sent to the HR to find out if the game was hand ball or throw ball !!
We just wanted to play.. today morning the group of registered gals of IT dept planed to meet at the ground at 9.30 am.. no one being sure if we could get a hand ball for practice I carried my volley ball along ( which did not have any air : ).. by 10.00 am 5 gals turned up in their track pants..
The fun part was that ground already had a set of school kid doing some event.. more fun was, except for one gal of the so called team, no one knew what the game was..
Bharti (who knew the game), managed to find a stick and started to scribble in the mud.. two goal posts.. the ‘D’ area.. three steps.. and so on..
Every one was listening with full concentration coz department ka savaal tha ( no.. not that we dint want to lose.. but we did not want to look like fools :D )
Half and hr discussion and back to office..
At 11.30 am we get a mail saying the match is scheduled for today 1.30 pm !!! what !!! we don’t even have full 7 players :O. we started asking in our respective work teams.. can any one join in... we need two gals.!
Managed to get them by 12pm... back to ground then.. with the volley ball !!
In all this.. my concern was..
A. I did not know any of the gals there.. how does one find out who is in her team and who is not !!
(taken care.. we were all in colourful tees and the opposite team were all in black.. okay just DO NOT pass the ball to any gal who is in a BLACK tee.. )

We still had an hr to go (actually half an hr as the match time was pre pond to 1.00 ).. We started practicing passes.. and tried different goal keepers one after the other.. finally decided upon one who was better than the others in the team.. :)
There the whistle blew.. and we had to go in the court.. they won the toss.. fortunately they selected the court so we chose to attack..
first half.. we made 3 goals.. they - 0... I was the ‘pp’ ( chase the other team babes and try to snatch the ball when my team in the defence act) second half... two minutes remaining.. we made 5 more goals :D... finally in the last minute they got one goal.. !!
One played and ran like this, don’t know after how many yrs.. it was more than fun to play.. making 3 goals was bonus to the fun.. winning the match.. double bonus to fun !!

The day with the tender buds !

For the volunteers of Umang foundation, the week end started at 7 in the morning heading towards Vithalwadi for celebrating children's day with those children who did not have anyone to tell them about the significance of the day. If they knew something, it was to earn a living by doing odd jobs.
When the members reached in the morning there were children from various places in outskirts of Mumbai. We had to accommodate 100 children and the place we got in the area was too small for all of them to fit. So we had to divided ourselves and the children in two groups and started with our activities .

It started with the drawing competition where all the children were provided with drawing sheets, pencil, eraser and a box of crayon colors each so as to put their thought on the paper. Each volunteer guided a group of 5 to 6 people to help boost up their innovative ideas and the the enthusiasm and the results shown by those children was awesome. After this concentration job we lightened up the mood with a lots of music, dancing and singing performance by the children. They sang loud in unison, forgetting all the differences in them. To see them dancing was to see them realizing their childhood which I really doubt how often they could.

After these joyous moments they were screened a small seminar on fire hazards and safety measures. They were keen to hear everything that the instructor said readily answered his questions and were ready with their own curious questions. It was hard to believe that these little people did not go to a proper schools.

It was time for lunch by then. Umang had contacted the AASRA team to arrange for lunch so that Umang could sponsor the same. The meal started after a small prayer. There was all silence in the room when the food went down to their stomach. They relished it to the last bit, knowing the importance of each grain, not wasting what they took in their places. They were small but mannered to up up their own plates to dispose it themselves.

After all this the children were taken to an open ground where the Umang Foundation had arranged a magic show for them. Their were roars of claps as they saw the magician in his fancy robes. The excitement showed up as their eager eyes as they watched the magician perform his art. There were giggles as the magician performed funny tricks on them at times.

Yes... we the volunteers had expected the event to end by midday 1 pm. And to our surprise at this point it was already 3 pm, and there was still lot of excitement to come for the kids. Our joy knew no time bounds, no space bounds as we saw their innocent faces, their enthusiasm about the day and their receptiveness and presence to gain all out of it.

Last but not the least, the distribution of small gifts that are daily necessities for us but luxury for them. The smallest age group was gifted with a colorful ball and fancy water bottle with animal faces over the cover. The elder age group was distributed a pencil box set that composed of a pouch, pencil, eraser , sharpener. Face masks were distributed to all the kids which made some kids look scary, some jokers and some frutie :) . It gave us pride to see the drawing competition winners proudly posing at the camera with their prizes !

After all was done we felt heavy to leave the place as the children said good bye to us waving till we reached the end of the narrow lanes. They seemed contend for the day and brave, all set for the next day !

Bichchu !!

Force shall meet only padlocked minds
As doubt encounters only murky paths
Your average playmate I never can be
Talent for the common is not something I have

What your eye sees is not the entire play
The dark waters run very deep
What my mind reveals is just the outer coating
Believe me, there are many more layers to it

A faithful friend and an even better foe
Give me a reason and I'll put up a show
I love and hate with equal fervor
Match it if you can else I'll have to let you go

Pluto, my ruler gave me many an advice
Some good for you and some full of spice
Careful I say, Careful my friend
As one false step can lead to the dead.

Mystery is my nature
Don't try to solve it
Deception is in my veins
Hiding vulnerability behind it
Pride is my tragic flaw
Try not to wound it
Loyalty is my choice
Seek it, enjoy it