Feeling Time passing by!!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

I'm not upset about Ageing---it's a natural process---and Death is Life's ultimate Conclusion---all agreed!!!However when Idols pass away and merge into Eternity---they leave behind a lingering Sadness---and a hankering for the days that were!!
Dev Anand,Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor were my favourites and still are.Of these Shammi Kapoor passed away recently---on the 14th. of August.As a child---at age 4 years--- I first saw Shammi Kapoor in "Tumsa nahin Dekha" and flipped!!!His sense of Rhythm had me mesmerised----and he was the one with all the peppy Rock 'n' Roll numbers!!Till then all Bollywood Films had a story to tell---his Films were sheer Entertainment.His ghost Voice was Mohammad Rafi and how I adored that Voice!!!Add the beautiful Velvet voices of Geeta Dutt/Asha Bhonsle and you have intoxicating Songs!!!Even today I never miss re-runs of Shammi Kapoor's Films---and despite having watched these often get caught up in the Film---such is his Charisma!!I still remember my chance Meeting with him--2 years ago.Sudhir and I had gone out to Lunch and as we were leaving,Shammi Kapoor entered on his Wheelchair---accompanied by his wife.Seeing him I behaved like a Star struck teenager---and dropping to my knees beside him---took his hand in mine.I was so overwhelmed that I was struggling for words!!!However when I found my voice I thanked him for making my world so special.His cultured and dignified presence commanded Respect---and I came away from that chance meeting extremely happy at having met him!!His Songs were my constant companions over the years as I grew from Childhood to to Adolescence and then further to Womanhood----and today even as I age those Songs continue to keep me company---for I have different Moods--Peppy,Romantic and Light---all duly categorized and taped!!And today Youtube helps a lot---I can view my Favourite Songs at the click of a Button---and again Time stands still before my fascinated gaze!!
The next one to pass away was Jagjit Singh on 10th. October this year.A Ghazal Singer of International repute both he and his wife Chitra sang together and we became their fans from the mid 70s when they began making their mark in Ghazal singing as a couple.Sudhir simply loved these Ghazals and we've passed many a hot afternoon in Summer Vacations listening to these playing softly in the background.Those days our Music System was placed in our Bedroom---and many Monsoon nights acquired a special feel when with dimmed lights we allowed the magic of Ghazals to wash over us against the Rain falling rhythmically in the background.The beautiful Urdu Couplets set to langorous Music weaving a Spell around Heart and Soul has to be experienced---the beauty of it cannot be described!!My special favourite was their rendition of two separate Ghazals "Yaar ko mainein Mujhey Yaar ney" woven into a single Ghazal--sung as a Duet by both Jagjit and Chitra---it remains my favourite to date!!Today those days are gone and we're all older.The Memories connected to each nuance of every Note linger on---and will do so forever!!!Rest in Peace Dear Favourites!!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

OVERWORKEDJANET 10/19/2011 5:41AM

More and more as I hear of the latest friend, celebrity or famous person passing I compare their age to my Dad's or my own. As I count the comparable years, I think about how blessed I am to have had known or known of these people. I helps keep the love I have for those around me grounded and I try to enjoy every moment. I don't get sad at the thought of loosing them, I enjoy them more! Report Inappropriate Comment

ATMANI 10/16/2011 10:15PM

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BOVEY63 10/14/2011 3:31PM

So lucky that their music and movies live on. Report Inappropriate Comment

SAASHA17 10/14/2011 11:49AM

I hear ya....I loved Shammi Kapoor as a kid. We had this video tape from Shemaroo of his hits and I would sit for hours and just watch his antics...RIP Dear friend....It was a sad year, we lost so many amazing talented people.. Manasa Report Inappropriate Comment

MARKSTIPANOVSKY 10/14/2011 5:00AM

Have a lovely day. Report Inappropriate Comment

XXMILAXX 10/14/2011 4:57AM

:-( Life is such. Their music will be immortal! Comment edited on: 10/14/2011 4:58:11 AM Report Inappropriate Comment

A Few of My Favourite Things!!!

Friday, October 07, 2011

As usual Mumbai is hot during the day but the nights and mornings are turning crisp and cool---Autumn is finally here!!There is this Almond Tree outside my Bedroom window---and it's large Green Leaves are slowly changing colour to a rich rusty Scarlet----contrasting beautifully against the deepening Blue of the Sky!!!The hot Sunlight too has the sheen of mellow,antique Gold---gilding the Leaves and bringing back hoarded memories of the Autumns of Childhood.The sight of the thrusting Bronze and Gold Spears of the Silver Oak against a background of a deep Azure Sky had inspired me to paint an Abstract---one of my father's favourites it stood on the Mantelpiece occupying a place of Pride in our Drawing Room!!To me the deep Purple Mountains etched against the Cobalt Sky is another Memory I love.The deepening Dusk in the Autumn carries a Velvety feel to it---and when the night Sky is spangled with Stars---it is a mesmerising sight to behold!!This is the best time of the year for me!!
Just before Diwali we have the Sharad Pournima--or Kojagiri as it is called in Marathi.On that day the Moon hangs like a glowing Yellow Lantern in the Sky--large,glowing and full!!That day is also called "Navanna Pournima" of the Harvest Moon---for the Rice Crop is harvested then and the first time new Rice is ceremoniously cooked on that day.The full Moon rises early and travels slowly upwards shedding it's glimmering Light---peeping through the feathery Fronds of the Coconut Palms waving in the Garden.Traditionally a huge pot of Sweetened Milk flavoured with Saffron and some other Spices is covered by a thin Muslin Cloth and left on the open Terraces of Buildings and homes to absorb the Moonlight---and is drunk after midnight--believing to be full of the Moon's mystically magical properties!!During my childhood we would all spread a thin Carpet on the Terrace and just glory in the Silvery brightness---singing and dancing to pass the time.Each Moonlit night is special and magical---but this is the best of all---the Ultimate one!!This year it falls on the 11th of October---if you don't believe me just take a look at the Moon that day!!
For me the nights of early Autumn arefull of a mysterious mystique!!Somehow the very Air breathes Magic!!In North India specially the Air is redolent with the scent of heady Flowers like Narcissii,Chrysanthemums,Sweet Peas and various Lilies.The deep Blue of Larkspur, the deep Purple of the Pansies contrasts beautifully against the deep hot Scarlet of the Poppies tossing their heads in the gentle gusts of the Breeze playing through the Flower Beds.I also love the rich buttery Gold of the King Cups and Butter Cups---the entire Garden a Picture in beautiful, contrasting, vibrant hues---the Atmosphere heady with the pervading scent of Roses--how I miss those days--specially in the Autumn!!The fallen Leaves are raked up and Bon Fires are lit--scenting the Air with a smoky aroma---a mixture of Eucalyptus Leaves mixed with various others. To me this smoky scent is what symbolises Autumn to me--a Mystical Magical Season before Winter hits us!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ANITAS66 10/13/2011 8:59PM

Wonderful description. I am right there with you. Report Inappropriate Comment

ATMANI 10/11/2011 9:03AM

India, the land of festivals. Thanks for sharing... Report Inappropriate Comment

BOVEY63 10/8/2011 1:02PM

Your autumn sounds beautiful! Report Inappropriate Comment

MILLISMA 10/7/2011 8:30PM

Um, I can not only picture this, I can almost smell the flowers! Spring and autumn are my 2 favorite seasons. Mary Anne Report Inappropriate Comment

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens------

Friday, September 30, 2011

Life is a Beautiful and Colourful Mural-----painted with a myriad colours splashed next to each other---the bright Reds,Greens and warm shades of Happiness interspersed with the sombre shades of Sadness---Blue , Grey and Black balancing the brilliance of the hotter Shades!!Yet all these together create a wonderful Life well lived!!!The old Julie Andrews Song from "the Sound of Music" Musical is a wonderful tribute to all those Simple Things that uplift both Body and Soul to create a sublime sense of being Alive!!!
I'm an extremely Positive person---like a Ball I bounce back each time after any Crisis----and can never remain sad or depressed for long.Today when I look back over the years I realise that there are certain moments that are my most precious Memories of all!!The two such moments that take precedence over all the others are connected to the Love of my Life---Sudhir.One evening after our Engagement in December 1969,we were driving down Mumbai's beautiful Marine Drive or "Queen's Necklace" as it is called.The Sun was setting over the Sea in the background and we were discussing a Film we'd just seen.As Sudhir turned to look at me a shaft of the mellow Rays of the Sun struck his face---and I was mesmerised by the sight.I can still clearly remember the soft halo it created around his head and turned his eyes into a liquid Golden Amber---combined with his aquiline nose and thin cheeks it turned him into a Greek God---and took my breath away!!The next time was when he flew down unexpectedly to Chandigarh during the few months after the Engagement and before we got married.I came home from College but wasn't told anything about his having come down.I climbed the Stairs to my Bedroom and there he was sitting on my Bed--his eyes lit up with Mischeif and a beautiful smile playing on his lips---anticipating my incredulously joyous reaction!!I think I fell even more deeply in love with him---if it is possible----and since then have always loved both his beautiful Amber Eyes and his mesmerising smile----it is a smile full of Love and Tenderness---reserved only for me!!After almost 42 years together both of these still have the power to make my Pulse race!!
The other special moments are connected to my daughters and their births.Both the births were long drawn out and difficult but normal.Lotta was born after a labour of 8 days---literally a few hours before they were to perform a Ceasarean Operation.Due to a bad Haemorrage I became unconcious and when I revived the Staff Nurse put Lotta next to me.I was so eager to see what my baby looked like---and gazed at her round little face ecstatically while she looked at me for a minute---then screwed up her tiny button of a nose and turned away as if disappointed---definitely not liking what she saw!!Sayali on the other hand was born normally after I ingested an amount of Castor Oil twice---to quicken my Labour given the antecedents---and when they laid her in my arms all nicely swaddled---that tiny little mouth--so beautifully shaped---started nuzzling me frantically in search of Nourishment!!What I looked like was not the Issue--I was her mother---and she was ravenously hungry!!!
The one birth though totally etched in my mind is when my Grand Daughter was born.That moment was completely unlike anything else I'd ever experienced before!!My first sight of her was a fair,rosy cheeked little baby with a Rosebud mouth,tiny eyes almond shaped slits and a thick thatch of black hair on her head---her rounded little limbs exposed as the Staff Nurse presented her to two sets of Grandparents waiting anxiously outside the Labour Room.Suddenly the Almond shaped slits opened to reveal Grey eyes and a tiny Starfish shaped hand emerged as a fist uncurled---and then curled again---this time round my heart!!!In that single moment I fell under her Spell and became her willing Slave---and have remained so since then!!The eyes have now turned Sherry coloured and that tiny frame now measures 5'8"---- very leggy and slim to look at with masses of long,thick Midnight Black hair---and the Rosebud mouth talks nineteen to the dozen till somebody has to shut her up for a moment of Peace and Quiet!!!But when that beautiful coltish creature flies with arms outstretched towards us at the Airport to hug the two us tight at the same time---enveloping our necks with her slender but strong arms---almost strangling us in in the process---the rush of Love it creates is it's own reward !!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

NITAINMN 11/16/2011 9:41PM

Hehehe!! Beautiful stories and loved the description as usual....keeping me attentive. I have no urge to read romance novel for a while after reading yours, Komal! Report Inappropriate Comment

OVERWORKEDJANET 10/8/2011 9:10AM

You made me visualize,and smile about, your lovely granddaughter. Report Inappropriate Comment

ATMANI 10/3/2011 7:36AM

Beautifully captured! Thanks for sharing. Report Inappropriate Comment

XXMILAXX 10/2/2011 5:30AM

Truely magnificent! Report Inappropriate Comment

BOVEY63 10/1/2011 10:27PM

What a lovely blog! Report Inappropriate Comment

ANITAS66 9/30/2011 10:07AM

Komal ji. You have this fantastic talent that a very few have, to describe everything so well that I feel like I am right there with you and feeling everything that you are feeling, seeing everything that you are seeing. Report Inappropriate Comment

NICE125 9/30/2011 9:33AM

Lovely blog!!! The descriptions are amazing! Report Inappropriate Comment

We Reap as We Sow--2

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The human Mind is incomprehensible---like a famous Marathi Writer Jaywant Dalvi once said--it is like a "Maha Saagar" or an Ocean---and only God knows how to plumb it's depths!!!Vasanthi Maushi's Surgery was performed successfully yesterday and by Saturday she will be discharged from the Hospital.As expected her Convalescence is a problem.
She is a very rich lady but is not willing to pay for hired help---expecting one of us---her neices and nephews to fulfill our "Duty"----and in spite of her problem and present predicament---has not learnt her lesson.Since her Money was tied up in her Account we paid for the Operation and Hospitalisation and to give her due credit---a Sum she says she will repay once she is well enough---and we know she will too.What she does not understand is that we did what we did as our Duty towards her as our Aunt---not for whatever "Rewards" we may recieve after she passes on!!Even today despite her Epilepsy she is far healthier than most of us who are facing various Health Problems.Only God knows how many of us will precede her to the Other side---and I am serious when I say this.
When one of my Cousins offered to contribute towards the entire Treatment her reaction to that was that actually he shouldn't even expect repayment---because she was leaving him a certain Amount in her Will----reducing his spontaneous and generous gesture to nothing!!I don't know when she will understand that not a single one of us wants or needs her Money---in fact we've helped without any Expectations of repayment!!!She however is bent on calling it our "bounden" Duty to care for her---and expects it as a right.Since I'm leaving for the States I cannot have her here as closing up the House and putting things in order before I leave needs all my efforts---and as I tire easily I have to space myself out to finish all the Chores it entails.Besides looking after such a cantankerous and difficult person is extremely draining both emotionally and physically!!!Mikki too cannot look after her as she does not have Domestic help at present---so there will be no one to keep an eye on her once she leaves for Work.It has fallen to Ritu's lot to look after her---and she is busy making arrangements for a hot Fresh Hygenic Lunch to be delivered home to her (Ritu's) Flat 5 days a week and has already promised overtime pay to Vijeta,her Domestic help to baby sit our Aunt during the day for 10 days after her discharge from Hospital!!!
That old Adage is so true---Blood IS thicker than Water!!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

XXMILAXX 9/29/2011 2:19AM

lol..hope everything, by God's grace, works out for your Aunt! It's amazing what we put up with for blood! Well, take care of yourself too. Report Inappropriate Comment

We Reap as We Sow!!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Certain circumstances shape one's relationships and events of one's Life----some of them are like a Thorn in one's flesh!!!Mummy's younger sister Vasanti Maushi--- a Spinster---is sick---and alone--ostracised by the entire Family.There many reasons for this---the premier one being her own inability to form and retain relationships.
Since her childhood she has been an eccentric and idiosyncratic person---considering herself to be a class apart from the rest of us Mortals.She never married since she was prone to Epileptic Fits and besides never considered any proposal to be good enough for her---rejecting quite a few good ones. My maternal Grandma, Aaji, indulged her the most amongst all her five children---in this Vasanti Maushi even managed to supersede Bal Mama---Aaji's only son!!This made her wilful and uncaring as well as extremely selfish----with an extremely sharp tongue---to the extent that all her siblings preferred to stay an arm's length away from her.Since Mummy was the only one who lived far away she was largely spared hence was more kindly disposed towards her sister comparitively due to less inter action between them----but the biggest blow was yet to come.
After Daddy's death in 1974 Mummy shifted back to Mumbai and was refused shelter temporarily in Aaji's home by Vasanti Maushi on the grounds that they did not want any upheaval in their regular routine!!My maternal Uncle--Bal Mama had already moved out and was living separately with his young Family.Since Mummy was looking for a Flat of her own this announcement must have hurt her terribly---following as it did barely a month after Daddy's death but she never let on how much it did.It was my brother-in-law Milind who stepped in and invited her to stay with us---and in 1975 when Sudhir and I shifted here my two younger sisters and Mummy moved in with me.In 1977 her own Flat became ready and Mummy immediately shifted there.After that it became a constant pattern for Mummy to look after Aaji and spend time nursing her during the day each time she fell ill---this included an 8-9 hour unrelieved Hospital Duty---for Mummy was free during the day since both my sisters were either studying or later working.Mummy did this not due to Duty but with a lot of Love.Vasanti Maushi would summon her each time a visit to the Doctor or Bank was on the Cards and Mummy ran a myriad errands for Vasanti Maushi despite being 8 years older, Menopausal and heavily Diabetic.It became so bad that Mummy seemed to have become a Slave obeying Vasanti Maushi's commands---And that--knowing my brutally frank and outspoken mother was a shock to see!!
In 1996 Aaji passed away after ensuring that Vasanti Maushi was well provided for and would be looked after by Mummy---in fact she took a promise to that effect from Mummy---unknown to us.In May 2003 Mummy contracted a bad bout of Bronchitis which brought pressure on her heart---and it began getting difficult for her to move around Town though she was still very active in her own home.That is when she'd request her cousins to step in for her with Vasanti Maushi's visits to her Doctors to monitor her general well being and Epileptic Medicines----and for Mummy's sake they'd keep their own prejudices aside and oblige.Mummy passed away in January 2010----and Vasanti Maushi lost her only support.She had hurt everyone--Family and extended Family pretty badly by both her Conduct and barbed Words and no one was in a forgiving frame of mind.She felt the Money she had would ensure that all would Kow-Tow to her-----but this Pipe Dream just broke recently!!
Now she has a serious Gynaecological Condition requiring a Hysterectomy----and while all three of us---Mummy's daughters have rallied round her no one else is willing to even listen!!Today all three of us are battling Ill Health in our own different way.I am on a heavy dose of both Heart and Cancer Medication and have been advised no stress due to my Conditions,Mikki is extremely obese and a heavy Diabetic while Ritu too has just 2 years back battled a Hysterctomy due to Uterian/Cervical Cancer and won.Both Mikki and Ritu are working in Jobs that require a large level of Responsibility and Accountability----sometimes involving plenty of Overtime work.The three of us thus are in no position physically to offer Post-Operative Care----so today Vasanti Maushi faces a bleak Convalescence all alone!!
Lesson???Man is a Social Animal---so remember to be spontaneously helpful and Well meaning as well as generous in one's thinking---for one Reaps as one Sows!!!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

BOVEY63 9/28/2011 12:38PM

You are so right. Report Inappropriate Comment

ANITAS66 9/27/2011 8:42PM

That's a big lesson to learn for all of us . Be kind to others. Report Inappropriate Comment

NICE125 9/27/2011 4:10PM

Sad story, but how often we forget these lessons, the cycle of life, what you give you get... Report Inappropriate Comment

RAGGARWALAX 9/27/2011 4:01PM

That's got to be hard to watch but I honestly cannot imagine turning my back on anyone in their time of need no matter how difficult they may have been. Not saying it is easy to forget but we are human and I don't know part of being human means you have compassion?? Report Inappropriate Comment

SAASHA17 9/27/2011 12:03PM

Hmm...What goes around comes around. but hopefully she realizes it and she gets through this. Manasa Report Inappropriate Comment

XXMILAXX 9/27/2011 4:18AM

Amen to that! It's sad that some people think that they can mistreat others and still expect all good things to come to them. It's her Karma...maybe a stranger will be kind enough to help her. Report Inappropriate Comment