Life has always been interesting to me...

Together They Separated!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 07:38:00 +0000

They met, had a common connection. Family came together and announced they are soon to be married. They met, now they have to. Courtship. They stumbled across long forgotten trunks laden with dust. Dust is dust. Mud is mud. A part of your and mine existence. Superficial selves do not understand this. Woes, remorse, and aches. Bruises. Tears. Parted their ways.

The realisation dawns, never give your words to those who do not value the love behind them. You can't keep on mending, with so many knots. Knots they are, knots they were, knots they become. The moment they tripped on the dust laden memories.

Wish they had walked past, and came out to see the shining sun, from those dark alleys of forgotten memories.

Reading Agatha Christie

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 16:20:00 +0000

There is something called ease and simplicity to relate with what Agatha Christie has written. Her novels lets me travel to a time where I would never be able to visit. Everything right from scenery to the old English country side settings, familiar faces of the English people, little ongoings of the english villages back then lend such a wonderful backdrop to her novels.

Summer Vacation Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sat, 16 May 2015 19:47:00 +0000

Summer vacations have begun, and I have already made a list of few important tasks that needs to be taken care of.

Tashu

-take Tashu to Ballet class every Wednesday and Friday

- spend at least an hour with Tashu in park

- revise her school work and eventually complete her holiday homework

- set routine in her life- right from waking up to sleeping on time to eating and social etiquette

- read her story book every night before going to bed

- playfully teach her small household tasks to instill sense of responsibility in her

- chit chat with her in between all the household chores, keep her involved and make her feel important and eventually building strong mother daughter equation

Deepak

- sort out all his paper work, invoices

- make sure he gets proper diet (of late his stomach problems have increased)

- tone down my temper

Self

- reading

- daily journal

- morning and evening walks

- practice driving and get my DL renewed

Hopefully, I would be able to, somehow, achieve a harmony in my life which is way too disturbed of late. It's not that I'm not working on these things, yet somewhere everything I do seems incomplete.

May be I need to relax my nerves and take my mind off every other worldly issues for sometime.

Musings_1

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 19:58:00 +0000

1

Watched ‘Lovelace’, a biographical motion picture based on Linda Lovelace’s life. It made me think how vulnerable we women are. However, strong, educated, powerful we become, women are still mere lambs surrounded by bloody hounds. Wild animals eat us, which is justified in what nature has made them to do. But, we humans, we gnaw at each other as if the other one under the claws is a mere corpse, just a cadaver lying namelessly in the morgue.

She went through a polygraph test as suggested by the publisher before printing her autobiography- ‘Ordeal.’ There were men to contest against her, stated she is lying. I’m nobody to judge, and definitely my talking for or against doesn’t count. It’s just that, I at times feel, no woman would go to this extent of lying.

And, yet forget about truth and lies. Such things are happening, and there are people talking about women emancipation. Is there any way out of this vicious circle- where at the end, a female body is still the highly sought after commodity available for all sorts of bargain.

It’s still a men’s world!

Today alone, I watched a video that became viral on WhatsApp where few goons are thrashing a boy and slapping the girl. How do we become the authority over anybody, I don’t understand this. Who we are to take laws in our hands. And, how come such things go unseen by actual lawmakers and the whatnots of the law and order.

And, just now read about Rohtak Rape case, what do these men feel while doing so, what sort of high or pleasure they seek after acting like beasts?

With every news, or story like this, I feel like going dead. Sometimes, I want to shout, cry out loud, thumping my chest hardly and calling names to all those cruel beats out on that point. I just feel so helpless.

I almost choked while placing myself in the place of the victim. I hate feeling so helpless. It makes me wonder, are there really any Gods or are we just trading our life in the name of hoax? It’s better to have no faith, than having it and be betrayed by it!

Introspecting Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 17:25:00 +0000

There are times when we need to stop worrying and look at things with a broader perspective. I’m not spilling the beans about some heavy political or national agenda here. I have been reading a lot of parenting quotes and articles on the web of late, and of course it is natural being a mother of a hyperactive little girl. It does make sense to keep looking for something or the other for web. Since, in the age of Google, even Dadi-Nanis are giving tips on weblogs.

Of late Tanushya has been giving me tough times. Doesn’t listen to me and she has questions about everything. If I ask her to go and get your rhyme book we will read it together, then she would look at me and say, “Why?” WHY! What, why, I mean at times I think how could she do that, how could she ask me why when I’m her mother and whatever I say is to be done right away.

I’m wrong here, being a kid, being in an age when she has begun learning things from her environment, started questioning everything, she has all the right to ask me why she should fetch the book and take it with me. What good would it do her?

I’m planning to have some serious introspection and come up with some good ideas and tricks to teach her good manners and cultivate good habits in her. Children these days are no fools who can be played upon anytime. You have to be practical and logical while making them listen to you and do things you want them to.

I definitely have to research and read a lot before outlining the steps or golden rules I’m going to follow with her. I don’t want her to sit with a tab in her lap and peering into it for the sake of learning something worthwhile. This is the greatest nuisance of these times. Children have become prone to lethargy and leading a laid back life like dullards who have nothing, just to prop themselves on a pillow and glare into the big screens or little.

Hopefully, next time I may have chalked out some of the statistics to deal with my 3.5 yr old little girl.

Sunday O Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:11:00 +0000

Sunday is generally practised as a holiday almost everywhere in the world. However, it is to be noted that for a woman there is no such thing like weekend or holiday. She has to be on run even when it's Sunday. Now, since husband is home, kid is not going to school, you are not required to work on assignments, the weekend seems just perfect. Wooh wait! This is just not yet over. You have to arrange wardrobe, washing, ironing, organising drawers, closets. cook, getting stuff in place for big Monday. Play with kid, air with her and revise week's tasks, yeah her how to play with weird clay dough and the cold may want to have some crash course in painting right away. So, uni have to be all set mentally that weekend is going to be a huge unique sort of working day.

This gruelling task of shortlisting priorities, lining up important tasks begins from friday night (when actually I should be rejoicing wow there would be no lunch boxes, school bag).

This is just not happening stuff! Sometimes, I plan out, make a list of certain things for myself:
1. Will give my scalp a good pampering. Good almond oil massage followed by steam wash.
2. I'll do pedicure, not liking my feet of late. They look so tired and wanting for care.
3. I'll read something, something to pep me up.
4. I'll go for a long walk early morning.
5. Will take Tashu for evening walk.

But, none of this happens. I'm so entangled in the Web of my self imposed and other important responsibilities and obligations.
In so tired most of the time yet I keep going- right from shopping for Tashu to managing arranging and organizing my grihasthi and my freelance work.
Can't even put blame on anybody. That would be an excuse. I have to do something with myself for myself lest I'll be a shadow of what I was and am still left.

Today' clay dough art project with Tashu

Mother's Pride Annual Festival 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 19:53:00 +0000

I woke up my little girl at 5:30 a.m. In the morning, gave her quick bath, got her ready for the Big Fat Punjabi Wedding, in which she has to perform a ‘Gidda’-‘Mehandi Mehandi Gidde Vich Nachdi.’ I, somewhere had this hunch that Tanushya would get tired and her costume, hair, makeup, et al will get dishevelled for sure. She may also get cranky.

Yet, I dropped her at school with oodles of enthusiasm and in a good care of her teachers.

We quickly wrapped up the breakfast takeaway and reached Ansal Plaza to park our car. Got on the shuttle Bus for Sirifort Auditorium and met Shonali at Gate no. 2.

Luckily, got perfect seats to sit in the stark view of all the performances, phew!

The theme of this year’s Annual Event is, “Every Child Is a Hero.” No doubt, ask every mother, she will tell you what all she sees in her child, ask every dad and they will tell you how their chest swells with pride to see their tiny tots. For every parent, even a modest bit of climbing up the bed or down the stairs is a heroic act, an act of valor and pride by their children.

Absolute theme!

The show commenced with the prayer and candle lighting ceremony and of course with not-so-brief-yet-very moving and interesting speech by Sudha Gupta, founder, Chairperson of Mothers Pride.

You could see the elation of achievement on her face. When you plant a seed and see that plant growing into a tree growing day by day right in front of your eyes, showering benefits not only to you, but to everybody around, there is no vocabulary to fill in the expression of joy you feel in that moment. Once, my professor told us during one of his lectures, “Sometimes our language is too deficient to surmise what all a human can feel in a moment of love and joy!”

Sukun and Abhishtha, Presidium, Indirapuram, hosted the show.

And, believe me they actually did a fabulous anchoring. I was simply amazed at their command over language and attitude to claim the stage brilliantly. My husband sitting next to me quipped, “Did we know words like ‘mesmerizing’ at this young age?” I couldn’t reply just smile at the surprised look on his face.

Sparsh, an NGO founded and initiated by Mother’s Pride and Presidium fraternity for the special children with special needs. These children are taught handicraft, and other small jobs to make their livelihood and improve their motor and sensory skills. Indeed a great job!

Nearly, 80,000 children in between the age group of 2-5 years participated in the annual festival of Mother’s Pride that spans the duration of 4 days. It’s really awe-inspiring to see tiny tots who have just begun talking, walking, scampering around are actually performing live on stage in front of thousands of audience. I bet, even the best of us couldn't do this. We would not be able to take to the stage with such a gusto the way these little stars did today.

I presumed the age of those two hosts from the Presidium, around about 10 years, but my amazement found no bounds when I learnt they are just 7 year old hosting the event alongside their brilliant teachers. In that moment, I knew, my decision to enroll Tanushya into the Presidium is not wrong. I did the right thing!

Lots of people complain about the fee structure, donation stuff, and many other affairs related to Mother’s Pride. It’s easier said than done! Rome is not built in a day! And, trust me, you cannot run an efficient institution be it academic or medical or whatsoever without having proper financing channels.

In the past one year, I have seen the efforts of teachers, the patience with which they work with our kids, handle them, teach them, love them. It’s just beyond words. Three cheers for all the teachers, didis, and other staff of the entire Mother’s Pride.

Can’t help from going astray; let’s come back to the Auditorium and to the show.

Shloka, a little girl from Anand Vihar branch sung beautifully, “Aa chalk ke tujhe main leke chalun...”

I’m sure most of the parents like me have wiped few trickles off the cheeks. She indeed sounded like a nightingale cooing a melody in your ears.

There was a beautiful presentation of freedom fighting days. To begin with, we could see a throng of freedom fighters Mangal Pandey, Jhansi ki Rani, Tantya Tope fighting against the East India Company.

And, whoa! What a lovely sight they made- Little Indian Swatantrata Senani and East India Company officials in all those red coats dancing together. The actual Freedom fighters must be having a gala time watching little British army dancing with their replicas down here.

The scene of first ever revolution against English shifted to The Kakori Revolution, with little krantikaris all dressed in beige and black suits shouting, “Inquilaab Zindabad.” You could see all those little Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose stomping their little feet on the stage.

I felt goose bumps and could feel them even now, when little Bose yelled at the top of the voice, “tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga,” followed by “mera rang de basanti chola, maaye rang de...”

Even, East India Company officers couldn’t refrain themselves any more from dancing on “Tere laal chale hai maaye ab teri laaj bachane.” Next, came the era of Gandhi – “Bande mein tha dum, Vandemataram.”

And, the finale of freedom struggle - August 15, 1947, “Vandematram.”

Next in the line was a beautiful and an intensely moving performance by the Sparsh and Presidium kids- “Sadda dil vi tu, Saddi jaan vi tu, Saddi shaan vi tu, Ganpati ka jai jaikaar...Oh... Deva..

Morya, Morya, Ganpati Bappa Morya”

Accompanied, by this enthralling Ganpati Rap performance by Sparsh kids, was a twinkling performance by Sector 93, Noida branch kids – “Chand tare jeb mein hai...hum hain dilon ke shehzade”

It actually, seemed as if the entire stage was a galaxy of little red and white stars strewn all over.

Mrs. Sudha Gupta dedicated her favourite two lines to all her kids from Mother’s Pride, Presidium, Sparsh family – “Aa chal ke tujhe main leke chalun, ek aise gagan ke tale, jahan ghum bhi na ho, aansun bhi na ho bas pyaar hi pyaar mile.”

And, a Jugalbandiperformance by presidium kids

Now, after such a long wait came the Punjabi Tadka- the Big Fat Punjabi Wedding. I was dying to see my little one dancing on the stage. The entire wedding was enacted by little kids of Mother’s Pride, Sector-19 Noida Branch in various phases.

First, Jaago Reet-“Jaagon aiyyan”; Second, Mehandi-“Mehandi mehandi Mehandi gidde vich nachdi...” Oh, I could see my little one dancing and doing all the steps religiously but she was at the back so couldn’t click her nicely. This was the saddest moment of all for me during the entire day. Yet, when I saw her flickering glimpses, I felt so happy and proud of my baby.

Third, Welcoming groom- Veer ji veyon chaliya...”

Fourth, the arrival of Bride-“Aaya Ladiye Ni Tera, Sereyan Wala Vyavarh Aaya”

Fifth, Wedding- “hai re mere, daadia rabba...babul tere, kinane lejaania aye...”
And finally, the vidai-“ Sada chiriañ da chamba ve, babal asañ udd jana”

Kudos! A big applause to all the teachers of Mother’s Pride Sector-19, Noida branch for composing such a beautiful portrayal of Indian Wedding. I know most of the women sitting in the audience must have been transported to their wedding times. And, all the dads must have been wondering how they would feel when their daughters would leave them to make a new life ahead, away from them.

Tanushya, my darling daughter you looked simply fabulous! You are my star, baby! Noyonika Darling, you rocked the show, it was sheer delight to see you dancing majestically oblivious of the world around you.

Little Prideens rocked the show with their stupendous feat in Fashion Fiesta. It was a treat to our senses to watch little hearts burning the floor with their outstanding performances.

Aha, how could I miss to mention the Cartoon dhamal. The little kids portrayed the theme-“Every child is a hero” by donning the characters of their favorite cartoons- Chhota Bheem, Doremon, and Baal Hanuman.

Shreyanshi from Anand Vihar branch sang “Govind bolo, Hari Gopal bolo” and set the mood for upcoming Krishna Leela.

A hypnotic Ballet performance by Urjuti. I was like lost in her graceful movements for a long time.

Few more performances included, a dance sequence on 'will you read me'; folk dances of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujrat

And, the Prize distribution. Tanushya (Tashu) received third standing in the category of outstanding student of the year.

I would like to thank and congrats Annu Khatri and Meenakshi Negi for being such a wonderful person and loving teachers to our kids. I had a great time watching these lovely angels dancing and singing and frolicking on the stage.

The Cry

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 05:40:00 +0000

I want to make you cry
Behold, I want to make you cry
The way, I have all the while.
Sun does shine bright in the sky
It' the moon that soothes me
The day is bright
The nights are mine
Behold, I want to make you cry
The way, I have all the while
I want to shine like a star
In the sky so dark far and near
Have you cried enough to get along
I'm mere a shadow you feel so rare
I know you are the sky
Make me shine in it
In the Night sky bright like a star
Behold, I want to make you cry
The way I have in all my might
I'm in a fever, this is why
Let me cry and feel your tears
Let me cry
Let me just cry

Monologue

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 12:43:00 +0000

I haven’t scribbled in the journal, on blog, or even on any page; was very upset with myself. Had no idea what all is going on seemed there is nothing more to talk about. I have been involved at places so many, events umpteen yet had nothing in mind. I was everywhere but never in mind and soul. My soul went away from me, wandered over the yellow lanes, where streets seems to be laden with the dust of forgetfulness, carcass of life lurking in all the nooks and crannies, and that dull, obtuse landscape seemed to have diffused right into my heart without nudging me and made home.

Had been through lots of ups and downs, empathized, sympathized yet bored. Felt a if I’m losing grip of reality-while the only reality I perceived till date was only me.

It's heart wrenching to see yourself torn between you and you - the two YOU of your one physical entity.

Tashu's First School Picnic

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 06:05:00 +0000

Saturday, 21 September 2013 at 11:11 Tashu had gone for picnic outside school premises today for the first time. My mind is so unsettled and I'm so apprehensive about how she would be doing. .. All should go well. She is favorite of her teachers so I am sure they would be taking good care of her and other kids too. Oh now I suddenly realize how difficult it used to be for ma to let me go for the picnic which ofcourse I went at the age of 13. My parents never let me go for picnics or school trips. First because they were always apprehensive about safety and wellbeing. Second most importantly because of economic constraints. I belong to a family where shelling money for such trips is pretty useless or I presume so. However, on contrary in case of my little sister she had always been allowed to go wherever she wanted to go yet she keeps cribbing like a horse whining for not being allowed to run free. .. lol she will eat me raw for this sure. Back to Tashu, though shradh, those days in Hindu religion you pay homage to your ancestors and deceased ones and not supposed to buy anything new. I went out all the way sacrificing rituals traditions and culture at the altar of mother's feelings and bought her a trouser and a top, shoes and some snacks for today's picnic. How much desperately I want to go and see how she is doing. Can't wait to pick her and know how much she enjoyed ... Shared with Memoires for Android http://market.android.com/details?id=net.nakvic.dromoris http://sites.google.com/site/drodiary/

That Girl!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 08:01:00 +0000

It’s easier to become an inspiration rather than a disciple. I have always observed that I am good at influencing people with small words and big thoughts. However, when it comes to me, my personal attitude towards life and its stratagems it’s all loose talk which I do towhile away time. It’s a fancy job I do most of the time. I mean I love talking, discussing and learning things. I love to talk because I find people and their views interesting. I personally feel that when I listen to somebody ranting or bubbling or babbling I want it to be one on one i.e. I should see the person. This makes the conversations all the more interesting and enjoyable and makes me all the more a good listener. I like to see the gestures, expressions - mostly the meanings of the ejaculations are conferred by them rather than the words.

So, there was me listening to this girl from a small town. The small town is really small and is too distant as per my calculations in terms of so called sophisticated circles I associate myself with. Though, with means of modern technology nothing is distant these days.

Her parents have given their best to her – right fromeducation to her lifestyle. Hailing from an economically sound family she has all the amnesties one can imagine. The girl has a mind of her own, speaks bold and blatant, not caring what people might be thinking and judging about her. She has her own set parameters for everyone around and never frets from giving her piece of mind if ever poked unnecessarily. Her personal life is quite public with her subtle FB updates, yet nobody including even relatives in the friend list has the cheek to question her. I really admire her for that. She must be in her what – early twenties and yet she is mature enough to handle her life so well. She is so polite, decent and well mannered you cannot expect her to be stern. Her eyes have that look which makes you feel mocked at, if you ever dare any silly notion or word slip out of your mouth when she is around. Her eyes speak – I dare you!

Her dressing tells you if not yet then wait some more Iam definitely going to beat you in your own world. That gait telling you I am game to handle this city life on my own terms and still that curiosity that piercing gaze to unravel what more lie hidden from her.

Even that nonchalance telling I am still innocent about the game my subconscious has been playing on my mind.

I had been a bin for all her thoughts and view points on various subjects which I feel are yet not suitable for her age. But, you can’t blame the young dame; times have so bloody changed and the youth are all hacked out in between their family background and the city life.

She is quite ahead of her age when it comes to share your opinions. She can speak at length on subjects still unsuitable for a tender age. Be it sex or marriage or marital issues or ideologies. But what a clarity man, even sometimes I am confused about what I think and what I practice. She is not!

Wonder how far she will go – I am sure nobody can fool her. Seems this is what’s needed most in our species. Here, I quip again!

My Life – A Reverie It Is !

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 08:24:00 +0000

Most of the time it's my reveries that distract but believe me I so very much love to be lost like that. All day long to do nothing just sitting with eyes wide open, creating a web of weird possibilities, wonderful life and things the way I wish them to be or want.
It's just one of those crazy moments of my life when I feel "waah life ho toh aisi..."
Few days back I was imagining myself like a woman in her early thirties with a scarf tied around her head as a turban, wearing long flowing chequered skirt (black and beige) with a Huge belt on my waist with a prominent buckle White ruffled shirt resembling the ruffles in the hair flowing wayward because of those rapid walks I am taking in the room. One hand in the air gesturing what all I am thinking /composing and in the other in between the fingers is languidly held cigarette half smoked. Some sheets here and there in the air and a writing desk full of stationary, books, an open dictionary, a thesaurus bookmarked, a writer waiting to be addressed...
A window right behind the desk ajar... chair seems to be in waiting for long too... coffee ready to poison me after so many turns on the boiler.

A walking stick- my umbrella perching on the corner longingly staring half at the door and half towards me to coercing me Darling, let’s take a stroll before you madden us all out. Who all, I mocked and they right from door to window to ceiling to books to table for coffee and the almost frenzied hair shouted in unison “us”
What a weird imagination, but I love to live like that. May be would have loved to be lived that or have lived in some time like that....

“Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.”

- Longfellow

Tashu Taken To Hospital

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 12:57:00 +0000

Tashu is suffering from dry cough from past one month. We are giving her medicines and all yet you just cannot stop kids from doing and having everything. So, I stopped keeping water bottles in the fridge, now she would not be asking cold water to drink. She loves ice-cream and we're trying our best to not to let her see even one.

Last night we were out for dinner with friends. Catching up and all and Tashu had lots of fun. She didn’t get up in the morning for school. And, I let her sleep so that she doesn’t feel tired all the day long.

She woke up around 11:00 AM and asked for a Choco Pie. There is a limit to restrain your kid from everything. We in this age cannot just resist certain temptations how could we expect a child of 2.6 years to stop eating chocolates altogether. I complied with her request and went back to my work. She started coughing right after having it. I felt sad. Can’t help though! Suddenly I realized even I am feeling uneasy to breathe (my maid told me in the morning there is some very unusual odour in kitchen). I went to the kitchen and saw white mist and just couldn’t breathe and puked. When I came back Tashu was literally choking, reddened face smeared with tears and she puked almost everywhere in the room. I just took her to bathroom gave her a quick shower and meanwhile we both were short of breath.

I immediately called Deepak and we rushed to Max Hospitals emergency. They gave her a nebulizer for almost 30 minutes and then we met her Paediatrician Dr. Shishir Bhatnagar Whom I informed that she haven’t yet recovered from Dry cough, and this happened today. He was surprised that people still use such Pest control. He advised to get a chest X-Ray done.

When we showed X-Ray reports he exclaimed “I am not happy with the results, she has pneumonia patches” and prescribed meds for 9 days along with nebulizer for 5 days.

I just cannot sum up how it feels to see your child with that ridiculous looking mask over her face. It kills you. I know, it was just a nebulizer that helps in breathing easy still it’s some medical equipment they mount on your face - and it was over my beautiful little doll. I don’t know how many times I cursed the people who got the Pest control done (later I came to know it was our landlord).

Tashu is just 2.6 years and got exposed to the radiations of X-Ray. I cannot just simply erase the image of her fragile half naked from top body standing in front of X-Ray Machine. Dks and I were holding both her arms stretched horizontally. We were made to wear some radiation proof jackets and what about my little girl. My mind was plagued with so many thoughts in those moments of waiting. What Tashu might be thinking, she might be wondering what is all this they are doing to me and making me stand like that...

Every time I see my daughter in pain, the realization dawns on me how much it would have pained my Ma when she saw me crying in pain on regaining consciousness after my Caesarean. She must have felt so horrid and helpless on seeing her child being injected and operated... Nobody knows and can ever sum up the feelings of a mother whose entire life is her children – her flesh and blood. And, how ruthless we become when we grow old - our priorities, wishes, desires, and life. We hardly even think if our parents wouldn’t have been there, how we could even be able to ask/demand/raise our voices...

I am grateful to God for making me a parent to know what it is to be a parent and what all goes into giving birth and bringing up a child.

The Exile

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 13:09:00 +0000

I often get these compliments aka comments showered upon me by one or the other person, “you write well, keep it up!”; “your words have depth.”

Earlier such statements blown towards me used to work for at least three to four days duration, then for a day or so, and now for a few minutes and whoosh... no more I am inspired or even inclined to think that I want to or even sometime back wished to scribble a few words here and there.

For a few hours I am occupied in a real physical sense, tending to my daughter’s needs, husbands requirements, household, making daily calls to both of the mums (his and mine), talking to people who really need me to listen to them and then there is helluva lots of time where I can do something productive- like finish my client’s daily assignments, read a book, jot down in my journal- which gets changed every year without a word being added into it.

Phew! Nothing of the constructive and productive sorts happens- I have become slag, I am tired and exhausted mentally to a brink that now I want to have few days not just few minutes or hours to lay my head back on the chair and stare blankly at nowhere.

I cannot think with my eyes closed. If I have to visualize or think about something important I need to have my eyes open wide and staring at some blank space. I almost live a life of my imagination in that short span of staring. And the session is so orgasmic that, that need to make things happen in real gets quashed. I already have lived those moments and achieved those feats which I was wishing for before that ‘blank staring’. I don’t know I am making any sense of what I am talking about or not. It’s so difficult to make yourself understandable to others when you yourself get lost in the maze of your own reveries.

Today , Nanny asked me to write something for the FB page she has just started ‘Stripoff Slumber.’ I trust her words though. But.

‘Stripoff Slumber’ is one nice name for a group, which coaxes creative geniuses to shrug off the dust laden canvas and let some sunshine fall on it to blend lot many hues of the life and imagination on the board.

I wanted to tell her, tell her it’s no slumber it’s something beyond which is too difficult to get rid of. It’s that lack of confidence in oneself and...

Lootera- A Poetic Reprise!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 21:22:00 +0000

The movie trailers hitched me right from the onset. I have always liked Sonakshi Sinha, and with this movie she has cemented long lasting loyalty.

The chemistry between Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi is just awesome. Both did justice to their character. The retro backdrop of post independence era, loss of zamindari, vintage cars, sophisticated bong girl studied at Shanti Niketan- it's so mesmerizing. Shift from one time frame to other is subtle and smooth.

A young man in the guise of an archaeologist comes to a small village, charms not only the daughter but zamindar too. Allowed to stay in Haveli and then begins the clandestine relationship between the protagonists. Simple script with no rushed dialogue delivery. Lad is struck with guilt and tries to stay away, but love is such an intense and wild force, it draws you in off guard. When hero surrenders to the forces of love intervenes the obligations and he absconds.
Better watch the movie to know what happens next.

While watching movie I was lost in the world of Varun (Ranveer Singh) & Pakhi (Sonakshi Sinha) - felt their passion , their pains, their love agony. it was a heart wrenching experience for me. Second half of movie transports you to Dalhousie - a beautiful snowcapped hamlet with a damsel in distress.

Lootera is not a hit and run case! It is a powerful statement in its own way. A fierce opponent to masala movies. This movie by Vikramaditya Motwane and music by Amit Trivedi is going to stay in your hearts.

Number "sanwaar lun" sung by Monali Thakur is fantastic. "hawa kr jhonke aaj mausamon se ruth gaye...." beautiful lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
Another song 'monta re' sung by Swanand Kirkire and Amitabh Bhattacharya has appealing music
- it will sure make you smile.

"In silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves"
-Rumi

Lootera is full of such beautiful silences. Go have a plunge! :)

100 BBC Reading List

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:31:00 +0000

Friday, November 26, 2010 at 5:17pm

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES.

Bold those books you've read in their entirety.

Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.

Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses! Feel free to add comments too.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazu Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Comment: This is unfair and shortsightedness of BBC to assume that people may not have read more than 6.

Nanny has read 30 books, and for my part I have:

32 read;

79- few chapters left;

75- read half of it almost thrice but seems couldn't complete it ever; exhausts me completely;

47- read only 40-50 pages

39- 30-40 pages left

32- left in the middle

24 & 27- just few chapters

14- many still left

8- pick, read, and drop in between

6- few parts & chapters for reference; genesis complete

4- first three novels complete and remaining ones yet untouched

From Nanny to Nicky!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:29:00 +0000

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 12:56pm

To the mother-to-be :)

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby.....

somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, 'normal' is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct ...

somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring ....

somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a good' mother, your child will 'turn out good'....

somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother....

somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first ....

somebody doesn't have two children.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....

somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten ...

or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married....

somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home....

somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her....

somebody isn't a mother.

Love you Nanny! :)

First Wedding Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:27:00 +0000

Friday, December 10, 2010 at 10:37am

It was in November 2005, I first met you online. And, since then there is no looking back. Leaving you didn’t work. You were present everywhere-in my imagination, thoughts, and even in places which we discussed during our long long chats. It seemed as if your shadow or some part of you existed everywhere, lurked behind me where I went.

It was in December 2008, we met once again. Only this time to get into a long lasting relationship!

It was in December 2010, we got into wedlock.

Happy Anniversary to us my love!

May we always receive God’s blessing!

15 Books That Will Stick To End...Mine?

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:26:00 +0000

Monday, July 6, 2009 at 5:23pm
Rakhi tagged me so roping myself in.

How to minimize the count was an issue with me...yet somehow I managed to come up with number 15. Here It Goes Folks!

1. Suraj Ka Saatvaan Ghoda (The Seventh Horse Of The Sun) by Dharamvir Bharti
2. Love In The Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Spanish, 1985; English 1988)
3. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936)
4. The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh (1988)
5. Waiting For Godot by Samuel Becket
6. Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1902)
7. Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1952)
8. Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1967)
9. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
10. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (2003)
11. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (1st to 3rd AD?)
12. The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank(1947)
13. The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
14. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
15. A Room Of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (1929)

Wizard Of Oz- L. Frank Baum (1900)- One of the Book I can never separate with

Memories To Be Cherished

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:24:00 +0000

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 12:05am

There is always some specific incident or the choice or a thing that reminds us of someone with whom we had been friends or spent some good or bad times. The person can be a passerby, a short term acquaintance, or even someone with whom we are in never ending relationship.

Dear all, I would like to know something which reminds you of me. It can be a habit, an attitude, a style, a taste, a feeling, and even a moment.

Like:
Flip-flops, White bag, CCD lounge, remind me of Nanny as if she is the brand ambassador of them.
Pink color, know not why, mostly reminds me of Tina. May be because she is the one who looked best in the color and I had seen her in the same during PR days (Beginning ones).
Evening walks- I miss Trishna terribly. During my entire grads, we used to go for evening walk.
Wooden houses remind me of Pamela’ hazurbua’s place where he used to live into the same boundary just next to the pukka house. Isn’t it Pamela?
Every series on Fox History makes me think- Mani ko toh sab malum hoga…I have never found any voice impressive as his (except-Naseeruddin Shah & Gulzaar)
Purple color- Megha
hai hai coconut chutney-Prema
School days-Hemant
Cozy cozy pillow talks with Sonal
Vibhor used to make me recall my Lecturer Hemant Sharma- similar stature, wavy hair, nonchalant
And so on…

Comments that followed

Vibhor Yadav hey, thnks Prachi....
and any book stall..reminds me of u...today i was at Om Book store... and it was like i was almost seeing u n rakhi checking the shelves....
October 3, 2009 at 12:12am · Like
Rajeev Ranjan hmmm...what do I remind you of??? You remind me of Amrita Pritam!!!
October 3, 2009 at 12:16am · Like
Prachi Sharma @ Vibhor... yeah... books I have rummaged through most of the book stores in CP, Kamla Nagar, GK, and Khan Market And I am sure Nanny is one step ahead of me...
October 3, 2009 at 12:17am · Like
Prachi Sharma @ Rajeev Don't tell me... Amrita Pritam Ji was one of the most beautiful poetess... how come I remind you of her

However, I feel you can be a social activist whose pen really have prowess to jerk people off their slumber to a cause..
October 3, 2009 at 12:20am · Like
Rakhi Garg @Vibhor
I bet And I so miss the book shopping experience here. That's why I make it a point to buy them whenever I am in Delhi.

@Nicky
I love this note of yours. I will make one too, soon
About book stores, one step ahead or behind, it doesn't matter. It is the love for books that count
October 3, 2009 at 12:23am · Like
Rajeev Ranjan hmmm...thanx

But u do remind me of Amrita Pritam, a beautiful person with beautiful skill
October 3, 2009 at 12:38am · Like
Tina Manocha @ Prachi, Vibhor - Oye hoye.. nice piece Prachi.. well im still mostly in some shade of pink .. well metro rides, CCD and BCL definitely remind me of you without fail
@Vibhor - yeah completely agree ya.. books = Rakhi + Prachi..
@ Rakhi - CCD and Metro Rides with you too and especially when i have to file my nails.. lol.. Dont forget me when u make ur note
October 3, 2009 at 12:42am · Like
Rakhi Garg Nicky there are so many things that remind me of you, it is difficult to pick out a few. However let me try...
Rides in the metro, BCL, Janpath, Junk jewelry and junk food. That's it for now
October 3, 2009 at 12:46am · Like
Vibhor Yadav and wat abt me Rakhi and u Taaainaaaaa ?????
October 3, 2009 at 12:51am · Like
Rakhi Garg @Tin
Nail filing you bet
I'll have you in my note, don't worry!
October 3, 2009 at 12:56am · Like
Tina Manocha @ Vibhor - gurgaon reminds me of you.. lol..
October 3, 2009 at 12:59am · Like
Vibhor Yadav @ Taaainaaa : gurgaon..yeah y not. Thts why wen u cm here.. u dont even call huh!!!!
October 3, 2009 at 1:33am · Like
Momina Wahab sweet....memories are like that....companions on the darkest roads...and they keep us going
October 3, 2009 at 2:25am · Like
Manimugdha Sharma Amor sahiba, hume bhi yaad karne ke liye bahut bahut shukriyaan! And I feel flattered to be compared to Naseer sahib and Gulzar sahib!
October 3, 2009 at 12:24pm · Like
Prachi Sharma @ Rakhi
@ Momina Very true
@ Mani
October 3, 2009 at 1:19pm · Like
Sachin Mudgal where is me??
October 4, 2009 at 12:07am · Like
Prachi Sharma Ohh main bhul gayi thi ki u too have made FB account... never mind... I was about to mention your name in my blog...

Woh chand jaisi ladki mere dil mein aa rahi hai..... whenever I listen to this song... Ur face with that intensity with which you sung it comes in front of my eyes...
October 4, 2009 at 3:07pm · Like
Ganesh Bhattarai You know ur specks u used to wear at school is what strikes first when i try to memorise u in school. ha ha ha mamma gal
November 9, 2009 at 11:03am · Like
Prachi Sharma @ Ganesh yes that I was and am still mumma's girl btw I got rid of those specs now
February 23, 2010 at 12:01pm · Like
Prianca Arora man!
there is one thing which immediately reminds me of you...your studded nosering (i've never seen anyone else carrying it so butifully as you did) and CCD, yes!
miss you
stay khush !
February 23, 2010 at 6:58pm · Like
Prachi Sharma @ Prianca is it? thanks btw I just love wearing them...
CCD ... of course that was where we met for the first time... love you sweety
February 23, 2010 at 8:01pm · Like

Gist of The Note to Readers in The Little Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:18:00 +0000

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 6:13pm
We have almost 2,000 languages in our country out of which 50 are into publishing; 24 official ones with unique script , vocabulary, grammar, and literary history. And, we have about 15,000 publishing houses that releases 70,000 new entries annually in 50 languages plus English. Out of these, English writings are just a quarter.
In comparison to India, entire European Union has mere 23 official languages.

We haven't yet explored Indian Literature, what we have seen till date is a tail of the elephant of the five blind men fable.
-TLM

Indian Literature is still a "terra incognita" for we young elites of India.
(TLM)

Bookers, diaspora, Ghosh, Roy, Chaudhari, and of course Rushdie.... and " Beyond lies the unknown, clad in impenetrable darkness." And, this unknown is Indian Literature.

The Little Magazine

Again Snowfall- Jivan Namdung

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 2:09pm
A poet who used to write
Poems of snow
This year went to the capital
To recite the poems of snow
It is not known
When he will return to the hills
Because the snowfall has started again,
Roads are empty
Paths and corners are desolate
Walking down the same roads and paths
The poet had walked to the hot plains
In search of him, a poem has set out alone
In the snowfall this year.

Jivan Namdung is famous writer of Nepali Contemporary Literature in India. He lives in Darjeeling.

Source: The Little Magazine

Summer Vacations Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:12:00 +0000

May 15, 2013
Who had ever thought once again in life, I have to carry a school bag on my shoulder along with a water bottle. Now, I have to- revisiting school days with Tashu. I really wonder how it would have been when my mum used to take me to kindergarten. She enrolled me at the age of 2 years (she was a teacher in the same school).
Experiencing it all over again- excitement of classroom stories, details of pranks and fun, thrill of vacation- It's all coming back. :)
Tanushya' holidays has begun from today. No more getting up early, getting ready for school- but I know she is going to miss her school so much. Yesterday only, when I scolded her on something , she retorted back-I want to go to Anu Mam, "mujhe kool jaana hai mumma..." She even didn't cry while I dropped her.
Kids are like that, they get so engrossed in colorful fun things. I was not jealous even a bit- I really wanted her to get close to her teacher- the only way she would be able to get adjusted in school-new environmnet other than her home.

An Outing

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:06:00 +0000

May 13, 2013
It was fun outing with young mums We had lots of gossiping; had so much to talk about- husbands, kids, in-laws, parents, life, and food WOW! Felt as if was in some real conference---lol!
Shruti-Rhiddima's Mum
Shonali-Noyonika's Mum
Monica-Akshita's Mum
We were the very first customers of Bikanervala, Sector-18, Noida today.
When I and Shonali reached there, cleaning was in progress, thought of taking a stroll here and there- but women- found 24*7 opened-rushed in and did some shopping-I really was wondering we women have a tendency to shop even in wee morning hours when half of the population is either trying to stretch themselves out of bed or are racing for their work place.
Now, see I have given my husband a golden opportunity to do 'women bashing.'
We had to rush back to pick up little girls otherwise seemed the 'multiple discussions we were in could have gulped down almost entire day
We ordered lots of chitter-pitter
Daal pithhi Kachori
Rajkachori
Puri-Bhaji
Samosa Chaat
Lassi
Water Meon Mojito
Virgin Mojito
Mango Pastries for Little dolls
Well, Not too much for morning breakfast Besides I am on dieting!

My Princess-Tanushya

noreply@blogger.com (Prachi Sharma) — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:02:00 +0000

April 13, 2013
"Just living is not enough" said the butterfly fairy,
"one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower"
-Hans Christian Andersen