Kuch dil ne kaha.. Kuch bhi nahin

Happy Celebration of the Colours of Life!

Holi - The Festival of Colours. The colours of the universe.

The azure skies, the blue oceans, the green earth, the reds-pinks-violets-oranges of flowers, fruits, vegetables..the glorious yellow sunshine... . And the purple yonder.

Also the Colours of Life. Happiness, smiles, friendship, kindness, charity, excitement, hope and most importantly - Love.

Gulaal is just a reflection of all-of-the-above.

So why not celebrate the festival in its rich entirety? Don't hide indoors and mock the celebration of living. Come out. And fling that gulal. Aim that water balloon. Fire that water cannon. And take back what you give. Colours, gulal, water, friendship and love 

HAPPY HOLI!!!!

For oft in contemplative thought...

Rain. The sound of the word rolls itself around your tongue with liquid magic. Baarish.. The swishing winds taking the excited raindrops on a rollercoaster ride... Incidentally.. The first word Aanchal ever spoke after beatifically beaming at the world for 14 months..

There is something so very magical in just the idea of rain.. The freshness of water, the shades of green, the song of crickets, the croaking frogs.. Cleansing the earth, sweeping the skies...the promise of rainbows in distant horizons.

I love rain. I have always, since I was a little girl, lying awake wrapped in a blanket, inside a mosquito net in the sprawling lawns of ancient cantonment bungalows..Feeling the first few drops of rain splash through the canopy of the net and sprinkle all over my face..Remember, Vinnie Dev?

School. Splashing through puddles, turning my face towards the stinging rain, tasting the droplets as they fell..

College. Bunking classes and Walking with friends to the corner teashop.. Sumedha Sahni?

Long drives on the motorbike with face tucked into the back of Rajiv Tyagis collar... Hundreds of hot finger chips eaten guiltily.. Sitting on the floor, leaning on the granite pillar in the front verandah, watching the pouring rain with Sangeeta Tyagi.

I still love rain. Maybe only Saahil will understand. How the very ions of elemental nature sometimes conspire to collide with the ions of our bodies our minds.. And somehow form a connect, a bridge as it were.. Transcending life as we know it...

Restlessness. The Restlessness of the clouds, the blowing winds.. Carrying the raindrops up and down a rollercoaster.. Transferring the restlessness into creatures part of the universe. Cawing crows, jumpy birds.. And me.

Doormats or Goddesses??

8th March- International Women's Day, as decreed by the powers-that-be. Great. It's nice to know we have a special day in the year allotted to us. Thank you. We are indeed honored. The other days , numbering 365 1/4 per year ..from the day we were born, made a cheerful loving, caring happy home for you..to the day we got married..and ditto for the other you..to when we carried the yet-another-you around inside of us till you made an official entry into this world..those were just random days, weren't they??

We don't hear of an International Men's Day..do we, Ladies? is that because they aren't important enough to have a special day allotted to them? Or too important so all 365 1/4 days are theirs??

So, basically- this could be another attempt to guarantee us our "special" status? The "weaker section of society", the "under-privileged", the "vulnerable" kinds??

Thank you. But, NO Thank you! It's definitely time to take that giant leap into the present and our collective future. To become the kind of person- nee woman- who when our feet first hit the floor when we get out of bed every morning, makes the devil say "Oh Crap! She's up!!!" Time to stop extolling our "weak" status. Be strong. Strong women don't ever ever play victim. They never whine, look pitiful, or point fingers at men for their plight. They wipe their tears, stand up and they deal! Nobody can make us feel inferior without our consent. So next time you have a weak moment- just get up, pour yourself a drink, put on lipstick and pull yourself together!

Remember - Us women come in two models only - Doormats and Goddesses. the rest of the criteria - Size, shape, colour, height, weight, etc etc etc are just inconsequential data.

So, here's to "strong" women- the Goddess category.. May we BE them, may we KNOW them, may we RAISE them. Like my mother did. I did. And you both ARE - Aanchal & Shalu Tyagi:-)
Then lets celebrate Women's Day.

So- A very Happy Women's Day- in advance to all such women. Not to the doormat category. Because they don't exist.
And you men, are welcome to wish us too:-) Because we are angels. If you break our wings, we don't give a damn. We simply continue to fly - On broomsticks:-) We are flexible like that.

Happy Women's Day- to US.

Vanakkam, Chennai

Dear North India,
I have spent one short week in the land of the Tamil, and experienced what is the true essence of India. Just want to share this with you. Because forewarned is forearmed after all. So, restrain your machismo, stop strutting around, lower your voice, lower the volume of that #&@# music, stop honking your horns.. And listen.
1. The roads of Chennai, Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry are narrow and as crowded, but nobody leans on the horn or attempts whizzing past the other, yelling obscenities. Everyone somehow reaches where they're going minus all of that.
2. The toll booths mostly are open, minus the electronic barrier. Just Nobody yells Yayyyyy or flashes beer bottles and speeds through. They stop, exchange a pleasantary and pay up.
3. Stop anyone on the road and ask for directions. They reply with a Thank you prefixed and suffixed.
4. Catch anyone's eye.. You can be assured of a warm smile.
5 . JUST NOBODY OGLES WOMEN. No matter what they wear. Or do not wear.
6. There is hardly a police presence to be seen. People haven't locked themselves behind a thousand grills. I have never seen such a safe place in my life.
7. An inclusive people, language barrier notwithstanding. It's Enlightening and so warming to realize that language is so unimportant and trivial to communicate. Gestures, a few words in English, and numerous smiles.. And Bingo! You're connected.
8. A people in no hurry. No ratrace competition. Living life as life is meant to be lived. Healthy. Happy. And it shows in the lack of queues outside hospitals and clinics.
9. In 7 days, we did not see a single man peeing on walls, and no man, woman or child spitting anywhere!
10. Last and very very definitely not the least , there is complete equality among the people. . Rich and Poor, Hindu and Muslim, Black and White. No subservient attitudes, no looking up or down at the other. You do your thing, I will do mine. Peacefully. With honour.
The driver, the peon, the household help, the employee.. You are your name to them. They will refer to you address you by your name. Yes an odd "saar" from time to time. But that's it.

Please wake up. This means You - Delhi, NCR, Punjab, UP, Haryana.. You have defiled, degraded, destroyed the spirit of India. With your uncouth manners and rotten ways.

Suddenly.. In this short week.. I saw India. The real one. I will never forget you. Because this is the India that lives inside me.

Valentine Madness

Promise day, Chocolate day, Teddy day, Hug Day, Promise day... Then the day of the deepest, awesome-est, divinest emotion ever.. Love. Makes me happy to see how our children have raised themselves from days dedicated to assorted Gods and Goddesses, fasting, doing penance, steeped in rituals.. Meaningless indoctrination of the mind. .. At least now the focus has shifted to realistic facets of life.. Food for the body, food for the soul :-)

- Happy Every Day to all.


Dear St. Valentine,
I have a serious complaint to lodge. Why did you not clarify your legacy? Why do generations who love the legacy of love, feel it is restricted to just a tiny age slot? 16 to 26 year olds? Why? Can love be compartmentalized into any shape, size, era or age? Can relationships override each other in supremacy? Is the love for a parent, a child, a sibling, a neighbor, a friend.. Any less than that for a partner?

You have to admit. You slipped up. Everyone enjoys a surprise gift. Opening one's eyes to the fragrance of fresh flowers. To see a warm smile in the eyes of those who care. That precious feeling of being made to feel special. Am I right or am I right? Sigh! I am always right. People know that by now.

So - here goes! Happy Valentine's day to you St. Valentine. And to every one I care for. And who care for me. Also.. I will put my nasty side away in commemoration of this season, and wish the same to those who do not care for me. And vice versa
Fair enough? Here's gifts in abundance and loads of love and best wishes to one and all here.. May everyone have those special people in their world.. Who make everything worthwhile . 

Randomness:-)

Looking out of my railway carriage
As oft I am wont to do for fun,
(For it isn't you alone who has that poetic licence-
dear Alfred Lord Tennyson)

I looked into the deep dark woods
For to see the precious sight,
A few pairs of tawny eyes,
Maybe a flighty deer fight.

With the trumpeting sound in my ear
In my mind's eye I saw.
How many pachyderms are these..
Did I see five and six?
Or were there five and four?

Then all at once the train doth pass
Over a meagre stream.
And inward flashed upon my eye
As though part of some dream.

A pride of proud peacocks
Gallivanting back and forth,
Their heads bowed down, their tails held high -
Water filled in their throats!

Oh but what a majestic sight that was
That I had the good luck to spy.
Afore we steamed into a busy town
And there goeth my inward eye!

-With due apologies to Robert Frost, Robert Browning, Lord Byron and Affred Lord Tennyson

Seema Tyagi