Once upon a time, there lived a cat called Gabriel...

Once upon a time, there was a kitten. A tiny, scrawny, ginger-coloured little ball of fluff. Shivering and whimpering in the corner of a park, petrified at the big, noisy world around it. Its huge golden eyes desperately seeking for the comforting sight and feel of its mother.

Some small, nice children came a-playing in the park. They lived in a posh colony of Noida, and had seen a "didi" every evening, who lived in a rented barsati there, and had a pet cat she loved. They came upon the trembling kitten and were sad to see it all alone , hungry and sad. They chattered excitedly amongst themselves, contemplating on what to do with the tiny creature.

The doorbell rang. Aanchal "didi" opened the door, to see two shy little children holding up a tiny basket. She was surprised, since she had never spoken to the children before. She looked inside, and to her delight, saw a pair of liquid, tawny eyes set in the cutest, softest, most innocently adorable face of the tiny kitten. The children handed her the gift and ran away, secure in the knowledge that they had brought the lost, helpless baby HOME. Where the "didi" lived with another little cat, Xena.

Aanchal held the kitten in her lap, looked into its trusting eyes, and was lost! She taught it to drink milk, as it was so small that it did not know how to lap up milk from a saucer. She gave it warmth, safety, comfort, food, love..and..a name. Gabrielle.

Days, weeks, months went by, and Gabrielle grew into a strong, beautiful, friendly cat..with an attitude of disdain towards the whole world, and love flowing out from her every move, her fluid eyes..for her "mother". On her first routine visit to the vet, it was discovered that Gabrielle was not what "she" seemed. She was, in fact, a "he"- and the vet laughingly christened him "Gabriel" :-)

Gabriel lived with his adopted mom, and moved in to her new home when she married her long-time friend, and love- of -her -life, Gourav. Both of them made a home for both Xena and Gabriel, and the years went by - the love in their quaint household ever-growing, ever- alive. Gabriel responded to his name and had the most delightful antics. He learnt how to jump on a door-knob and turn it, on the door latch and unlatch it.. to be with his beloved Aanchal. Looking at him, it sometimes seemed that he actually could think, plan, and execute situations to his own benefit. The love he had for his "mom", was obvious to even the non-animal lover's eye. And was incredible beyond belief! There was a new addition to the menagerie that was "home" to the abandoned, lost helpless creatures- a tiny puppy that they found on the road one day- Brandy. The three romped around their home, and spread sunshine along their way, as they grew.

17th June 2011. Gabriel, as usual, following his mistress around the room with his tawny eyes, watched as she got dressed to go out. He jumped down near her, purring and rubbing his soft head on her legs. Then he went out on the balcony of the flat on the 5th storey, as he did every morning, to sun himself a bit and sleep on a cushion on the chair. Aanchal called out to say Bye to him, as she had done the four years he had been with her. Not hearing the sleepy meaow in response, she looked for him everywhere, but could not find him. Then she noticed that Brandy was jumping up and down at the fencing of the balcony and barking loudly, running up to her and back to the railing. Fearing the worst, Aanchal and Gourav ran down to the car park, hoping against hope that their fears were unfounded.. and suddenly their driver called out that Gabriel was hiding under one of the cars. They picked him up tenderly, and rushed him to the vet. Gabriel had fallen off the railing and down 5 floors. He had broken part of his lower back, and seemed to be in shock. The vet gave him some injections and told them that 24 hours were crucial. They nursed him gently, warming his cold, pale body with their arms through the night. He would cry with pain, then curl up in Aanchal's lap, looking at her with eyes glazed with pain. Today morning, the vet again examined him, and said he may pull through, then again, he may not.

All through the day, both "parents" sat with their "baby".. willing him to fight..to get well, heal, recover. Then, on the way to the vet in the evening, he died.

 ------"and then he took his last breath in my arms... and I told G that he isn't breathing...tried to close his eyes...and G looked at him and his face crumpled up too...we were trying to rush to the doc's place to see if there's any chance of getting him back...Got stuck in a traffic jam outside the vet's place...rushed in ....And he checked for a heartbeat 6 times, and then...that's it.
Ma, everything in the house reminds me of him. He used to climb up everywhere...Get inside everything...Feels so empty...and weird... and sad. Put him in the cardboard box he used to sleep in... to bury him next to Xena."

All of you who have had pets and loved them, will understand the pain. All who haven't.. may think its too much hype. All I want to say is - the immense love a pet gives you, the intense trust, the complete belonging..is something we humans can never find among our own kinds.

"It is better to have loved and lost..than never to have loved at all".
RIP, Gabriel. This is for you.

Kitni ajeeb hai zindagi

Kitni ajeeb hai zindagi-
Kahan se kahan le aati hai.
Hum dor pakadte hain kas ke..
Phir bhi haathon se phisal jaati hai.

Woh khwabon main doobe din
Woh jaagti raaten..
Woh umeedein, woh manzilein..
Ghuma-phira ke mil to jaati hain.

Sab kuch hota hai aas-paas,
Saare raaste manzilon se jude-jude
Phir kyon meri nazar se dekhi zindagi
Dhundli- dhundli nazar aati hai?

Hum-raaz, hum-khayal, hum-safar raahon ke
Kab hum-zubaan, hum-kadam, hum-safar se nahin lagte..
Khaali jharokon se dekhte hain hum ..
To bas apni parchayiyon ka sayaa nazar aata hai.

Itni ajeeb kyon hai zindagi?
Kyon apne aur apnon ke raastey juda ho jaate hain?
Kahan se laayen ab woh dil ka sakoon..
Jiski chaah main saari zindagi nikal jaati hai.

Three Drinks Ahead: The one conversation that made me who I am... :)

Three Drinks Ahead: The one conversation that made me who I am... :): "I woke up this morning, picked up my phone to find a message from Mom saying that my Brat brother had written something that she and Papa, ..."

A note from my son..for his sister---

he one rupee that made me what i am.. and gave me what i have..

by Saahil Tyagi on Wednesday, 08 June 2011 at 05:44

Its amazing how every small incident, every small thought, every small memory becomes a small part of your personality.. of who you are.. of what you do.. One of which i remembered today.

I must have been 10... i went to a boys convent St. Mary's in Meerut. My Sister Aanchal went to a girl's Convent Sophia, not very far from my school. Both of us were very different as children. She is 4 and a half years elder to me and she had probably read more books then, than i have till date. I always looked up to her. Always somehow thought she could solve any problem. We fought a lot.. but i still felt this security when she was around and we were at some friends birthday party.

So in school...

I used to wait all day for 'chutti' because of the 'thela wala's outside' who i still think sold the most amazing things. 'laal wala churan, imli ki chatni, local made ice candy, a local made chewing gum (that the guy would turn into any shape you wanted like a peacock and perch it on a stick), a plastic pipe (with frozen orange and cola liquid inside that you were supposed to melt with your tongue and drink), masale wali mooli with imli ki chatni on top, chuski, chatmola, boiled bhutta, orange soda (that i loved) and i can go on forever. I used to go home in an auto rikshaw, the auto wale bhaiya's name was 'Mujjan' so sometimes after 'chutti' when i had money, i had 10 min to buy something before 'mujjan bhaiya' would go crazy. So this one day i so correctly remember, i had one rupee to spend after 'chutti' which could actually buy me any one of most of the things i listed. i remember it was really hot and i wanted to buy the plastic pipe (with frozen orange liquid) also the orange soda and the oraaaange bars (as the guy advertised for it). but i felt i should buy the imli ki chatni (which came in a transparent plastic packing) not because i wanted to eat it that much.. but because i wanted to put it in a katori when i reached home and lay next to Aanchal with it when she read her book, because she loved having something of that sort while reading. And even though then i didn't think about it this way then, but i wanted to spend time with her 'with a common interest' which was going to be the imli ki chatni that day. And it automatically made both of us SO Happy..

And like they say.. a flutter of a butterflies somewhere may cause a tornado elsewhere... I believe that the flutter of butterflies everywhere causes fairweather at another everywhere, at another time. That day 'maybe' unknowingly i learnt to invest all my love into someone i would want close to me for life. Someone i look up to.. someone my heart feels secure with.. someone i love not more than everyone else.. but as much as a few others. :) :)

P.S.: Aanchal.. I Love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much..

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

I awoke to a fresh new morn, reached for my netbook..to catch up on the world and its machinations through the night, as I slept. Suddenly chanced upon this note- posted on facebook by my son. In itself, you would think- pretty sweet, nice sentiments... but its a whole lot more than that for us. Saahil- the youngest in the family, is an out and out dyslexic. In the age he grew up, unfortunately, neither his teachers, nor society and not even us, his parents- were all that aware of the complexities of the condition! He grew up with his personal hell- unable to phrase his torment, at not being able to "keep up" with his fellow-students. The demands of education, the expectations of his teachers, peers and most importantly, US- his parents-- took its toll on his tender mind right from age 6 onwards. Inability to comprehend printed words (which, as he explained years later- seemed to dance before his eyes and made him dizzy to catch and hold in place long enough to read), altered appreciation of colours, and a different perception of all things as compared to the "normal"-- must have made his childhood pretty confusing and frustrating.....inspite of all the love that abounded in plenty in our home.

His brilliant mind made him a scintillating talker, he would discuss concepts far ahead of his age..make up new words all the time.. It was "frigilator" for the stabilizer atop the fridge, "Goi" for that tar-filled wagon that carried molten tar used for laying roads.... his dad left the Air Force early while at the rank of Flight Lieutenant .. and he would explain that his father used to fly fighter planes and "left it" hence he was Flight Leftenent":-) The only awards he ever won at school were for story-telling!

I still remember the day, his dad and I went to watch the film "Taarey Zameen Par". That I think was a landmark for both of us. We held hands in the movie hall..and cried. Every bit of the torment so beautifully and sensitively picturized in the film..that the little dyslexic boy went through, danced before our eyes..and we could actually re-live Saahil's days in school and home. We could reach out and feel his torment. I think that day, something inside of me broke, and Saahil suddenly escalated in stature within my heart and soul as the most precious part of my life.

Aanchal and he had always been close. Things they shared, talked about, did- were completely theirs. We were not part of their little world. Aanchal was probably his only cushion against the cruel world:-) All the slaps and verbal battering that his childhood took, all the expectatins and hopes of the parents he loved so much.. made him attain strange little mannerisms- nervous tics of all kinds, which further magnified our worries.

Reading? Naah! That was not for our lame fledgling. Aanchal was the avid reader. The only book we ever managed to make him read was Huckleberry Finn! Which he boasted about for years to come:-) Writing? Sigh! I have preserved some of his classic works of literary ventures in an album. They are unbelievably retarded:-))) His studying before exams would involve my reading out lesson by lesson, question by question, answer by answer..through the days and nights.. the reading interrupted by many bonks on the tiny head as it nodded off to sleep:-)

All our worries of what he would do, how would he pass the boards, what career would he fit into....led our steps to a brilliant career counselor in Delhi- Ms. Pervin Malhotra. She told us not to attempt any formal education for him. His gift lay in articulation, social networking..in short-'the gift of the gab". Hence the hospitality industry would be his forte.


Today- when we see him as a successful, dynamic, happy young executive at a premier 5 Star Hotel in Mumbai, we are so happy and proud! 


So you see- why this note of his means so much to all of us?? Our little lame fledgling had gotten his wings. And can fly on his own. He can read now. And write. And express his feelings so touchingly:-) 


This one's for you, my son. I love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!


With apologies for any rude remarks in this note:-))) 


Mom

Take Care Take Charge

Ref: The TCTC Campaign in TOI dated 5th June 2011.

As a concerned and worried citizen of this planet, this issue has been one of my pet projects over the years. I am a medical practitioner and also run my own Primary school of children between the ages of 3 - 12 years. In my  own small way, I have thought about the ways I could help, by inculcating an awareness and concern about the many hazards that threaten to desecrate the environment, in the minds of the youngsters under my care and their parents and elders, to attempt bringing about some change in attitudes and awareness about our collective and individual duties. Children constitute the world's most vital natural resource.

It is very easy to sit back and discuss the issue (as all other issues), condemn and criticize the situations, pile blame on some unseen higher forces- our parents, teachers, neighbours, administration, ministers .. even the almighty! One thing that I have realized is, that we Indians are adept at doing all-of-the-above, but singularly lacking in taking initiative and lifting a finger to actually strive to solve the issues. Unless we "get something out of it". Or there is fear of punishment- be it fines and penalties, or curtailment of any of our rights.

I am really happy to see the campaign "Take Care, Take Charge" that you have launched. I would love to join them in their endeavor.

There are two headings under which I would offered my suggestions:

[A] Waste & Pollution Management 

[B]Creating Green Spaces

For both, I proposed that a new group is launched countrywide, called PPP (Project People Participation)

People working in this group in every city of India, should be either volunteers (offered some incentives), freshly enrolled employees on a payroll, or media people detailed on a permanent basis to work for the campaign.

Some suggestions are:

[A] Waste & Pollution Management :Towns are divided into Residential and Commercial areas.

 Residents of residential complexes / shopkeepers take charge of the roads/street/park/crossroad in their vicinity and become responsible for everything that needs to be done to keep the area clean and beautified. Planting a tree where possible, installing covered dustbins, arranging to have them cleaned daily, training the guards of showrooms to prevent people spitting/urinating/defiling the area in any way- would be their task. For this, incentives could be offered, in compliance with the local civic authorities and the Municipalities (as is done in the cantonments). Some incentives may be lower electricity rates for the area/ lower taxes (shop tax, water tax, etc). The area would be reviewed by the PPP officials every 5th of June (Environment Day) and the incentives continued or revoked according to their survey. In a few years, the awareness will spread in all people, and the project may run automatically. 

Also, any high-handed ugly money-making projects started by the civic authorities or their contractors, if unacceptable to the residents/shopkeepers, should be questioned/stopped by their contingents meeting the DM of the town.This will ensure the human resources of every town actually bringing about the change they wish to see.

Another incentive, easily providable by the local print media, would be a Page 3 of sorts, where coverage with photographs and interviews, is given on a daily / weekly basis, area by area. 

[B] Creating Green Spaces: Areas could be pre-determined by the local civic authorities, centrally and in pockets of habitation. Colony compost pits could be dug with the involvement of the residents, and free manure made available from time to time. . thus encouraging people to throw all biodegradable waste into it. Page 3 of local newspapers could carry slogans and advertisements of the marked spaces, for the people to plant trees in the names of each person born or died in their families (an aluminium name tab provided to attach to the tree), as also after every wedding. Possibly, representatives of the Department of Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages could have an office there, and make this task easy for the public, which, in itself, would ensure more people's participation. Their pictures could be covered in the Page 3 of the papers, as further incentive.

Schools could be involved, with teachers and children holding drives for tree-planting and banning the use of polythene. Incentive for the schools could again involve lower electricity rates/ media exposure/ free advertisements in the said papers/etc.

What do you think? Please do send in your suggestions too. Every little step may just help save the planet.

Heads or Tales ?

The games people play. The stories we weave around our mundane humdrum existences. Tales of valour, of romance, of adventure- spinning around the meshes of trapped souls, on a planet rock-solid and oh-so boring! I sometimes wonder, plodding through the familiar paths of another day, if this happens to everyone, or is it just me? The snatches of a once-favourite song, the glimpse of a vision from somewhere in the past, the fragrance of some haunting melody of life, real or imagined..all seem to reach and climb into my soul, like the tentacles of some particularly perseverent creature from outer space..and I am inexorably drawn into another world ! One, that is suddenly magical, exciting, has knights in shining armour, lush green meadows, majestic mountains, shimmering restless seas..the French Riviera, the gaming tables of Las Vegas, the supercilious Sphinxes looking down at the changing world, the busy, dusty lanes of Arabia, the sounds of music amongst the  undulating green hills of Austria, the freezing winds of Alaska...  No visa, no passport, no long-winded travel plans..no packed suitcases..just those moments of escape into another dimension! Where mystery and adventure overtake caution and habit, where James Bond smiles into my eyes (so what, if it turns out to be the local vegetable vendor?), where I join hands with Mata Hari, with Alexander, with Castle, with the MI5, with Julius Caesar..to save the world!!

A few moments into fantasy..my escape route from the set patterns of my existence. Far more refreshing than a glass of chilled nimbu paani, or a can of beer, an evening with friends or a new gadget. Its definitely "Tales" for me! Not "Heads".

What about you?