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Threshold...The Calling

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Sujata stood with one feet in the air and hesitated, where she placed it would change the fabric of her life forever. As she stood in front of her ancestral home and looked up at the fading, peeling paints of the first floor window, childhood memories of calling out to the balloon wala and friends came flooding back. Where and how did those days go? But it would not do to reminisce about the past, a decision had to be taken and taken now. She must once and for all decide whether she could endure the drudgery of her obscure life or would she stand up and have herself counted amongst those who fought to make something out of their lives. The anxiety of having to decide had brought on a fine line of perspiration on her forehead and she absent-mindedly wiped at it with the end of her sari. Her long hair held by a hastily put clip was loose and she plucked at it as she weighed the oft-weighed options in her mind yet again. What could she do? She had saved up some money from her mea
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Nepal - On a Shoe String Budget

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 TRAVEL!  In our household the word has magical powers. We consider even the most mundane trip something to look forward to and any hint of anything outstation is always welcomed with glee. Since 2020 though for a variety of reasons our trips as a family have been limited. The last we travelled together was in Oct 2022 for a trip to Dharamshala and Dalhousie which we had to cut short due to unavoidable reasons. This year with temperatures in Delhi often touching 50 degrees, we were hallucinating about the mountains and cooler climes. Not holding a regular job makes the financial scenario very dicey and it made me extremely uncomfortable to spend on what can best be described as an indulgence. The partner however insisted promising that we would stick to a shoe string budget. The look of anticipation the kids gave me eventually made me capitulate.  We had often spotted the Delhi-Kathmandu Bus on the Expressway and wondered what that journey would be like. Quick checks online and the jou
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A Decade worth of Miracles

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  Dear Darling Rintupotash, Happy Birthday!!! My very first 'Home Production', you turn 10 years today. Feels like yesterday, when you were this little baby the nurse handed over to me, and yet you are now nearly as tall as me and wearing the same shoe size. Growing up is full of pangs, worries, and fears and you have had your fair share of it all this past year, for no fault of yours. The separation from your best friend and the many tears you have shed for her pierced my heart too, but I was helpless. Covid too didn't help matters and cooped you up indoors for months on end. Your little brother (who thinks of you as the ultimate ideal) can also be quite a handful and more than once has been the reason for you getting an undeserved scolding. Of course, I don't mean to say that you are all innocent. You too have done your own fair share of naughtiness; choosing to watch youtube during classes, reading Harry Potter instead of doing homework, making Mowgli do your bidding
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The Coming Together

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Progressing through life I have sought inspiration and strength from many around me.  Dad used to say take what is good in the other and I have tried to do that. It isn't an easy task however the one thing this exercise has done is to make me conscious of the qualities of those around me and while my attempt to emulate may have seen only limited success, it has given me a list of people I care about. Most of these people tend to be elder to me in age and experience and some peers. The one person who stands out in this list for being much younger and yet an absolute star is this little girl I was first introduced to as Sweet & Sour by my father in law. She had come over with her grandmother to meet her brother's family and her caring, intimate ways bowled me over. Whatever and whenever I saw her post that first meeting reinforced my belief that this indeed is a special being, someone destined to greatness. Her noble soul making its presence felt in every action and word. Tod
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My Middle Path

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 The Middle Path It gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nirvana. And what is that Middle Path realized by the Tathagata? It is the Noble Eightfold path, and nothing else, namely: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. In a world divided by extremes, I have chosen the middle path. After much reflection on the various arguments on various subjects, I have realized that the middle path is the sanest, safest and the one which can allow for progress towards a better world without annihilating the one we currently occupy. The mindset which says, ‘my way or the highway’ doesn’t leave much scope and quickly divides into ‘for’ or ‘against’. Two warring factions that shall never meet. In my youth, I too started out as an extremist, judging things, people, opportunities as good or bad, right or wrong through my own set of filters.
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Cant help pondering...

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Well, actually,  priyanka , you were different.  You didn't want a perfect life, a typical life, or even a normal life. You wanted a one-of-a-kind. How we doing?    The Universe The above note suitably customized would have been received by thousands across the world today as it was by me thanks to our common subscription to a site called TUT. TUT sends out a note a day to subscribers written by Mike Dooley who claims to be speaking on behalf of the Universe no less. Part fun, part philosophical the notes are usually a welcome break in a work day. As often happens with such things many a time the note gives hope, cheers up or just brings a smile. Even though we well know that it comes from one person and the same note would be received by many it still seems to speak with us with a special intimacy. Today was one such day...the note read so true that it caught my breath. I reread to ensure I had read it right and it also brought back a brief conversat
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From the Unbou to the Unbor

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Hey Partner, I walked out of the house early morning today for my blessed office events with the thought that what a thing to do on the day we complete 11 years of marriage. And it brought back the memory of something we were discussing recently about how I am not very 'bou' like. I don't do the 'will ask husband' routine and nor do I demur to your wishes and God forbid commands!!! I think I make most of your friends uncomfortable cause they don't seem to know what to do with a woman who seems to have an opinion and a strong one at that. I am thinking that it can't be easy for you to be seen as this hen pecked man who let's his wife walk all over him. But then just when I was almost starting to feel bad about you I realised that neither are you very 'bor' like. You don't try to be the commanding officer, you don't dictate terms and you don't pretend that you know everything about the country, sports or finance. You are so
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Dipping into Awesomeness

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Work takes me to Kolkata these days. A city whose love for food is second to none.  Imagine my delight when I find kindred souls in colleagues here when the day starts with first figuring out the lunch venue and menu before we start discussing work details. The last time I visited the city I had no time and yet they magically figured out enough time for me to have a Arsalan lunch while also managing all meetings and commitments. This visit was even better with me landing and straightaway heading to Mocambo in central Calcutta for an evening meet with the team.  Once Ritesh da is around one doesn't think about what to order...he orders beautifully and each dish is a delight. So a Prawn cocktail followed by a Devilled crab came in and were devoured with gusto. The devilled crab was devilishly good. The cocktail wasn't bad but paled in front of the crab. Next on was a Prawn Thermidor which left me speechless and I had a few bites of the Bhetki belle helen from a colleague's pl
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