Buses and movies

While in BGLR I would go often to my hometown, sometimes every weekend. It was easy. Catch a bus on Fri eve, reach Sat morning. Leave on Sun eve and come back on Mon morning.

The buses were decently comfortable, much more comfortable than the flights with economy seating. If you are like me who can fall asleep anywhere easily, it makes it easier to get through the hours. The bus would start, and I would drift off ... doze ... wake ... doze ... calm and peaceful, except for the roar of traffic outside until...

... they play a movie. And then my torture begins. I cant watch the movie and I cant turn away ... because of the reflection of the movie in the windows. The sound - what can anyone do about it? They just play it loud, real loud.

Movies are a ritual on these overnight buses that ply between major towns and cities. A ritual that needs to be kept come what may. It does not matter whether you have good movies or not. For that matter, how can you define what is a "good" movie? Everyone has their own definition and preferences.

I dont know how many horrible movies I must have watched or heard on these journeys. Tons. 95% crap movies, per my definition. All the Grade B and C movies from gultland. All the movies that I would have consciously avoided. Three hours of torture, meaningless violence, crappy and silly dialogues. Sometimes I would wish I did not know the language.

That's how I saw the Telugu version of the Tamil movie Ghajjini. The one that Aamir Khan is acting in Hindi and due to be released shortly. It was a big hit at that time. One of its songs was in every cell phone as a ringtone. I did not care much for the song though everyone was raving about it. I was on one these overnight journeys and they played GHajjini. Teh only part I liked was the romance between the guy and girl - it was light and sweet. And then there is a 180 shift.
Meaningless murders. Violence. Pyschothrillers.

Honestly, I did not understand the whole purpose of the movie. It was a hit, such a major hit that Aamir Khan wanted to act in a remake. All the e-papers are about this movie now and how it will do at the box office!

I cant watch violence or psycho stuff for the thrill of it. Like the "I know what you did last summer" and the sequel "I still know what ...". Saw the first one, had no idea what the story was all about and who killed who for what reason...some of my colleagues loved it for the simple reason that it made them sit on the edge of their seats for nearly two hours!

I prefer simple, nice, cute movies. If that does not make them or me realistic, I am ok with that. Gimme Shrek. Madagascar. Ratatouille. Home Alone. Hrishi da's or Basu Chatterjee's movies. I can even tolerate a Govinda-David Dhawan maybe.

Then there is Rab De... I dont like Shah rukh with moustache though...think he should retire.

Of winters and icy rain and crystal trees

I am not very fond of the cold and the winters. Never liked them. Not that I like hot summers either. Staying in BGLR for almost a decade spoiled me to the extremes of temperature.

Remember those cold mornings in DGP ... waking up to go to school was such a torture. The lowest we ever had was perhaps 4 degrees Centigrade but so what ... there were no heaters at the time (I mean central heating for the whole house), the floors were cold, there was no hot water in the taps. I would wake up and sit on bed and shed tears for being the lone miserable creature in the entire world who had to wake up so early in the morning. My parents would be awake by then but they did not count.

When for my engineering college, I had the choice of Kanpur vs Chennai, I had no hesitation to choose Chennai -

Since then I must have lived in some cold places. Boston, Swiss, upstate NY. And something happens when I set foot in a place. Like Boston had one of its coldest winters and snowstorms in over 80 years. Zurich had its longest winters and 2 days of non stop snowing in April - never heard of before. Well, it does not stop there ... when we landed in ALB last year, it had 22 inches of snowfall, one of the worst in recent years.

Three days back we had icy rain. The weather foecasts were predicting wintry mixes and icy rain, like they always do and I did not pay much attention. We have had icy rains before ... they are bad than the snow but not really that bad.

This time it was different. It rained through the night. When we woke up in the morning, the power was out. A rare event where we live. Nothing works if there is no electricity - no stove, no heater, no phone, no internet, no TV. My husband went to work. My cellphone was water damaged during out trip to Hawaii and I was lazy to get it repaired. No means of communication.
Thankfully, the boiler was working and I managed to get a nice, hot water bath.

Outside, the scene was beautiful, was picture perfect. All the trees and beanches were covered up with ice. Looked amazing like crystal. When the sun shone through the clearing gray skies, it was even more magnificent. I bet the whole of Northeast shone and glowed and glistened...ok, whatever, I cant find the right enough word.

It started getting colder inside as the temperature dropped degree by degree and I started piling layers of warm clothing around myself and snuggled into the sofa. Wondered when the power would come, and wondered how dependent our lives had become on electricity. If it became any colder, I decided I would go aprk in my car. Gasoline prices have fallen recently, so I thought that should be ok.

We were some of the lucky few who got power by evening. And when I connected with the rest of civilization, I came to know about the havoc wreaked. Trees had fallen, sometimes smashing cars, tranformers had burst, more than a million homes had lost power - half of them dont have any even 3 days later and some of them may take 3-4 days more, ... all because of an inch of icy rain! Forces of nature are mighty indeed!

"Be a leader, not a follower"

We were in Las Vegas last month on our way to Hawaii for a 2 week vacation. It was a Saturday and we went to this Sahara casino for a buffet lunch.

There was this woman, an African-American, who was clearing the used plates as and when they piled up on the tables. S and I were concentrated on our food when a conversation at the next table fell on our ears. The woman was talking to a couple sitting at the table. Maybe they asked her how she manages her life and kids living in the Sin City. She said she told her kids that their job is to "focus" and "study" well. She is working hard to provide them a good education and it is their responsibility to mindful of the fact. She has also told them to "be a leader and not a follower".

Wow! I think. What an amazing piece of advice from a mom!

I am now listening intently catching every word she utters. Be a friend to your children, she tells the couple. You have to understand them and be their friend, not a judgmental adult. It also depends, she continues, on how we communicate. Many times, she says, we are so wrapped up with our own thoughts and beliefs, we tend to misunderstand what the other person is actually saying. Ask the person, "is this what you are saying?" instead of fuming and getting into a rage. You will at most times find that when the other person explains what they actually meant, that it was not meant the way you understood.

Now, I am sitting there and remembering the times when I could have easily misunderstood someone ...

At times like these, when everyone is looking for leaders and hoping a leader would emerge and lead the masses, I remember this mother's words and wonder - why cant each one of us be a leader?

Aa chal ke tujhe

Aa chal ke tujhe main leke chaloon
Ik aise gagan ke tale
Jahan gam bhi na ho
Aansoo bhi na ho
Bas pyar hi pyar pale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Suraj ki pahali kiran se
Aashaa kaa savera jaage
Chandaa kii kiraN se dhul kar
Ghanaghor andhera bhaage
Kabhi dhuup khile kabhi chhaav mile
Lambii sii Dagar na khale
Jahan gam bhi na ho
Aansoo bhi na hobas pyaar hi pyaar pale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Jahan door nazar daud aae
Aazaad gagan laharaae laharaee
Jahan rang birange panchhi
Aashaa kaa sandesaa laayen
Sapano me pali hansati ho kali
Jahan shaam suhaani dhale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Sapano Ke aise jahan mein
Jahan pyaar hi pyaar khila ho
Hum jaa ke vahan kho jaaye
Shikuva na koyi ghila ho
Kahin bhair na ho koyi ghair na ho
Sab milke chalte chale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

A beautiful song by Kishore Kumar - How I wish ....

Wake up calls?

We have had a series of wake up calls ... for the whole world. How many more do we need before we wake up to the fact that we cannot act in silos? that what matters in one part of the globe does not affect the rest of us? that whatever decisions and actions we take will affect generations to come?

Strange isn't it? That today, we are faced with a global crisis in all respects.

Economic crisis - socialism has fallen and in a way capitalism has too. This just goes to show that it is not as much about capitalism or socialism as the principles and values that go behind it. Companies are falling like a pack of cards. No body would have imagined a few years back that some of these companies - financial, auto, etc would be at the brink of disaster. Greed, caprice, power hunger.

Environmental crisis - we are fast using up our natural resources. We are polluting our environment with carbon emissions, with chemicals and bio-nondegradable substances. Vegetables, fruits, greens, grains, meat, --- we are now looking for ways to go the organic route.
Not to mention the technology invasion, we dont know yet the long term repercussions of microwaves, cell phones or the waves used in the process, just to name a common few ...

Religious crisis - where people have forgotten what religion is actually about and have been abusing humanity in the name of religion. This is nothing new of course, we have relished using religion as a tool to induce fear in the masses for ages and have used it as a weapon to kill millions.

Political crisis - the world over politicians have become a despicable breed, I dont mean just the people in public office or in the govt, but people who practice politics in all walks of life and in all professions.

Social crisis - that has existed for years, human rights, women abuse and suppression of rights, child abuse, poverty, etc...

The time has come for some serious soul searching. We have had a number of wake up calls and we will have many more if we dont heed what's going on ...

We can no longer ignore how we the people of a country and the world are all connected to one another economically, socially, politically, environmentally, technologically, globally and spiritually.

The world is getting flatter and smaller day by day. We can no longer be driven by the sole need to make profits/money or exhibit power/control --- at the expense of humanity, at the expense of our beautiful planet, at the expense of the forces of nature, at the expense of our souls.

Humanity has to be our new religion. Love the universal language. Peace our new mission. And respect for every plant, animal, bird, human being our new creed. A bit of humility will also go a long way - like the CEO of a major bank seems to have finally realized!

And how will this happen? It is already happening. There has been a growing awareness among people for years now. The majority of the people in every country around the world want peace, want to live and let live, want to get on with their lives. It is a growing reality and a growing force.

The pen is mightier than the sword. But there is something mightier than the pen. It is our intention and our thought and the resulting action.

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paul Coehlo

No this is not a mere quotation from a book, this is how the universe works. Let us make use of the Infinite Spirit of the Universe to realize what we desire. Let us set our intentions loud and clear - global peace and happiness and prosperity and freedom for one and all. We are getting there in the best possible way ... yes, we are.

What can we do...

Life ... how does one describe life? And how does one define normalcy? I so want normalcy to be restored into our lives, at the same time I dont want it to. The same old normalcy where we forget about everything and go back to our regular lives? My life, my family, my work...no. What can we do then? What can we do to restore peace and security once and for all?

Do we cure the visible symptoms or heal the cause? War is not a solution. Top officials resign. The govt makes strong statements, declares that we will not surrender. The parties go about hurling accusations at one another, what one did, what one did not. Promises will be made. Vote banks will be swayed and secured. Elections will come. Some of us will go vote. Vote for whom? Same old politicians, same old talk, same old deeds, same old kachda. Do we want to go through the whole tamasha once again?

We say politics is like that - dirty, as if that explains everything and will solve everything. Good people wont survive in politics, we tell ourselves, and so we stay away. The story continues. We let politicians divide us on basis of caste, religion, region. We trust the next government would do something, keep the promises and solve our problems. And when they dont and we know they dont, we stay away from elections and dont participate in voting.

What choices do we have? Political reform. How do we go about achieving that? Not by voting the current govt out of power because the opposition parties are no good either. How do we get the message across to these parties that we are sick and tired of them all and none of them deserve our votes unless they clean up their act? How do we get them to clean up their respective parties? How do we enforce that people with criminal records do not stand for elections? How do we ensure accountability at every level? How can we introduce feedback mechanisms into the system and ways to bring down the government if they are not following the promised agenda - instead of waiting for 4 full years? How can we ensure that that the politicians are not eating money and the people are getting what is due to them? How do we ensure transparency? How can we ensure that the differences between the rich and poor are minimized with very focussed development programs? How can we engage the youth in the country so that they dont get carried away by so called lofty goals? How can each one of us participate in the govt actively with commitment and values and bring out the needed reforms?

Reform is a must now ... at all levels and every single one of us needs to cooperate and participate.

Check from all sides?

When we were young and lived in a small township campus in Bengal, we would be scared of thieves. Thieves that would break into houses in the night, who would rob homes holding people at gun/pistol or knife point. Rarely did they kill - perhaps they had some values! Every time a robbery or theft happened, we would be scared. For a few nights. Life would then go back to normal within a month and all would be forgotten.

Times have changed. Now, it is no longer petty thieves and petty ammunition. And not just one's home. Credit cards, identities, bank accounts, computers, cars, organizations, public places, nations.

HAs any place been left out? We seem to be advancing technologically but so are the hackers, the law breakers, the attackers.

But has the world ever been safe? Battles, wars, crusades, ... history is full of them. Every land where man has set afoot. For as long as we have known, man has had a need to dominate, to hold power, to be in control, to reign supreme - at whatever cost - beg, borrow, steal, kill. We have created religion, race, caste, class, state, nation, organization, society, community...we have created rules to go with each of these...rules that are unfair, biased, unequal. For centuries, there has been discrimination of sex, caste, religion, race, class ... and what not.

We have not only abused humanity, we have abused the earth and the environment. We are creating global warming and pollution, we are killing and animals and birds directly or indirectly every second, we are clearing vast areas of forests every second. We are pumping chemicals into the environment every second.

What is safe in this world today - food? air? water? land? people?

Our lives are no longer safe.

We have checked ourselves from all sides and in all possible ways. How do we get out of this?

finally, it's over

months of campaigning. months of speculation. it has finally come to an end. post analysis may continue for some days and weeks perhaps but we will soon get going with hope for the future.

the interesting part of the campaigning has been media coverage. every news channel shows a marked preference to one particular candidate and they only show and talk about events and words and actions that proves their case - twist them if required, because ultimately all is fair in love and war. that is journalism today. maybe it is no longer journalism but just media.

one thing i like about the elections in this country, the candidate has to really work hard. two years of campaigning and sticking to your guns is not easy. well, when compared to what happens in our country. you dont know who will be the prime minister until the elections are all over like it happened last time. yes, we got the best bet we could have got however in MMS.

i too hope that politics changes in our country. for the better. with more accountability and transparency. with more young and educated and bright people taking to politics. if we could change politics from being just a dirty word. i know this is not mere day dreaming and hoping, because ultimately the cycle of change will catch up and with rising awareness it wont be long before change comes to our country. it is bound to happen. just a question of when.

the block

i loved math when i was in school. seemed to understand most of it. except for when it came to stocks and shares and probability. two areas that seem to have eluded so far.

stocks and shares now has extended to finance. it took me years to understand how the stock market worked or why guys stayed glued to the stock ticker thru whole day thru. so after resolving i was going to get to the bottom of the stock markets, i slowly and steadily make progress reading up stuff, researching ... i thought i had finally figured it all out.

i go invest in some stock and in some mutual funds. the times are good and i was making money. i encouraged my husband to invest too. it is not all that bad, if i can do it, you can do it too. so he goes and researches and gathers fundas and he invests. and since my grand advice was given and taken, the whole world has been shaking up. the economy is in turmoil and the markets are volatile. yes, you guessed, the mutual funds are no longer doing well.

my block returns - i thought i broke through it. but i am as baffled as i was when i was in school. the markets and their volatility and the probability of their recovery - they will recover but when and how soon or late?

i dont think i will understand finance and stock markets, one is based on rational, analytical, logical and mathematical principles - or so i think and the markets are based on pure emotion - well, mostly fear.

what works best when it comes to the markets - intuition/gut instinct or rationality based on past experiences? iw ish someone would tell me...

wisdom or old age?

talking about movies and books and childhood crushes and romance ... i wonder why i dont read romances any more. i mean the m&b kinds, the nora roberts novels. i wouldn't mind a georgette heyer still - i like georgette heyers for the fun and great sense of humour.

how come romances do not appeal to me any more? the question is noteworthy because like i wrote in a previous post i started reading romances since my seventh standard. and i have devoured tons of them over the years - tons and tons of them. but now i dont read them anymore.

i am more interested in quantum physics and biology... you get the picture, dont you. surprising when i never understood what heisenberg's uncertainty principle truly meant all those years back. i did not understand the significance of einstein's relativity theory or why energy and matter are the same after all. or the double slit experiment that proved that an electon acted as both a particle and a wave. though nobody knows exactly why, there are a number of theories now.

so i wonder at this sudden interest of mine in the big bang theory, in black holes - yes, i am mesmerized by black holes, i am fascinated at the stars. i am in love with the sun, more so because it is is winter, and when it shows up in the sky like it did today after 3 days of clouds and rain and the first snow showers, i am ecstactic and joyful ... and thankful.

i am in wonder when i look at the plants and trees - these are my friends when i look out of my office window. they keep me company the whole day - with their changing colors and bright hues. the leaves have all fallen now but the trees still look beautiful. and i think there is a purpose in the leaves falling - it lets more of the winter sunshine reach my home.

i am in awe of the cells in my body that function day in day out without tiring or getting bored doing the same thing. what keeps them going? what motivates them and inspires them? do they ever go to sleep? do they hibernate? when do they rest?

away from the pressures of school and work, my curiosity seems to be growing every day. i want to know why and how everything works...

is that a sign of old age or is that signs of wisdom? :):)

taare zameen par

we watched this movie over the weekend and my husband and i both loved it. great story, great acting. the kid was so cute and adorable and suited the role so well.

whenever i watch some great acting, i am in awe of the person and in admiration of their talent. but i have always wondered how one can make a child act and emote - of course, they must be talented, no doubt about that, but how do they express themselves so well? all the kids in the movie were phenomenal, especially the lead kid - ishaan. what expressions - just did not feel like he was acting. he was such a natural.

the movie reminded me of my own childhood days - school and studies. the nightmares and the fears and the pressures. my neices and nephews attend schools that seem to be no different - in fact they seem to be worse. huge portions, heavy bags, little creativity, long hours! the very thought makes me cringe every time.

on the brighter side, there is a lot of change happening in our country. there are lots of ngos who are working towards transforming education. the educated masses understand and are fighting for a change. change is coming, it is slow and limited to places and areas but it is coming.

the first whiff of romance...

i still remember those days when we got our first television. black and white it was. i was in my 7th standard. got hooked on to cricket immediately. we won the benson and hedges world series cricket under gavaskar and shastri won the man of the series award. how the girls in the class drooled over him. some of us did not like him and we would have arguments and fights over who was the best player and who the most handsome!

yeah, those were the wild teen years when the sight of a handsome guy stirred romance in the heart. wonder how many crushes each one of us must have had as we grew up. TV characters from buniyaad, hum log, trishna. talking about trishna - this was the hindi serial based on jane austen's pride and prejudice. i had read the abridged version and coming to think of it that was my first romance in life. i was totally in love with darcy. totally and completely. so much so when trishna aired on TV - i considered it my solemn duty to fall in love with tarun dhanrajgir who played darcy. i must have watched it all the three times they showed it on TV.

school was interesting - not so much for the studies as for the early morning post episode discussions we had before classes started. each episode would be dissected, thoroughly analyzed and all future possibilities discussed. dilli waala and veeravali from buniyad were favorites till teh director and writer seperated them and we all cried at the tragedies life throws our way.

yeah, those were the days...of innocence and naievety and romance. i remember my history teacher telling us in our seventh standard - she had two children of her own - and maybe she thought she was doing us a big favor - whatever it was - this is what she said one day - dont ever read harold robbins and mills&boon. and guess what happened after that - we hunted down our first mills&boon - a classmate quietly hijacked it from her older siblings' collection and we had our first taste of m&bs...

Color color what color do you choose

Brown, red, orange, yellow - add different shades to these colors and liberally sprinkle them all over the country side - that's the fall foliage.

I first spotted these colors and was majorly excited 7 years back. I was visiting a friend in Boston and I flew down to Manchester in NH. The to and from drive to Boston from Manchester was maginificient. Never had I seen nature in greater splendor, all possible hues, glowing in true glory. I had committed them to memory.

Last year, fall came and I was excited about the fall foliage, hoping to see nature's grandeur. I was disappointed. Even more so because I had raised my husband's expectations of what he would get to see. Either we were too early or too late or maybe the fall colors just didnot come that vibrantly. I wondered if I dreamt all those colors way back then.

This year has been amazing. The colors are all over the place. So vibrant and so wonderful. Esp. when the sun's rays are falling on the leaves.

Fall is coming to an end. The leaves are all falling off. And we are expecting our first snow of the winter in a day...

Right Brain, Left Brain, God, Energy, Peace, Love and Nirvana ...

I have no idea if the brain is physically organized as left and right brains. Some doctor friends disagree with that. Is it just a conceptual or a logical seperation then? Who knows!

I came across this video by accident ... after I watched it, I knew it was no accident...it was a synchronocity. It is 18 minutes long. Has a slow start but is very very effective. I found it very powerful ... and moving.

http://blog.ted.com/2008/03/jill_bolte_tayl.php

...woh baarish ka pani...

isn't it always amazing how we miss the past? there are times when i miss those days when we were all together ... i mean my family was all together. we were a large family. four girls and a boy. i wonder how my mom put up with us. our tantrums, our fights, our wishes, our wants.

i remember lots of fun times together. when the rains would fall in summer. in bengal, where we lived then, it was a daily ritual for rains to fall in the afternoons during the hot summers. the thunder and lightning was scary - every single time i would think - this is it - the world is coming to an end. such was the ferocity of the winds, the loudness of the thunder, the strike of lightning. trees fell. leaves fell. flowers fell. pollen flew. after the storm came the calm. silent and peaceful. and beautiful. mom would make hot hot pakodas or bajjis or the like and we would sit in the verandah enjoying the rain and the stillness after.

i would give anything to have those days back. those blissful days. simple. uncomplicated. ignorant of life. of life's surprises. i would give anything to have my dad back in my life. i wouldn't fight with him anymore. i wouldn't argue with him anymore. i would take back every single nasty word i might have spoken. if i could only touch him and be able to call him "naana" and hear him call my name in his own special way.

What changed?

Three families meet for dinner one Saturday evening. There are three children - a brother and sister aged 3 and 6 respectively and another little girl about 1.5. The two girls are more outgoing and enjoy themselves running around, playing with each other and inventing of new games.
The little boy, a shy little thing, stays with either parent closely for the better part of the evning refusing to mingle, hiding his face in the crux of a parent's shoulder, refusing to look at anyone. His parents dont know what to do. They apologize for their son saying he is too shy and he is always like this. At home, of course, he is different. The adults in the room agree that he is very shy and playfully enjoy a laugh. This is not happening for the first time. The families have met many a time before and the little boy's behavior has been consistent. Even when he played with the other girls, he wore a face of reluctance and boredom.
Dinner is served. Conversationally, the mother of the little boy says that he refused to come when he was told they were going to P Auntie's place for dinner. Even before she completes her sentence, her son starts wailing - continues for about 10 mins. The mother is frustrated and scolds her son with dire results. The crying does not stop. It just gets longer and shriller. Realizing that the boy is not enjoying being the center of attention, the adults divert their attention to the other two kids and change the topic of conversation. Not long after, the boy stops crying.
Dinner is over and dessert is over. A lady in the group sings a wonderful Carnatic song. Everyone appreciates her. There is clapping. The six year old girl bouyed by the enthusiasm and the appreciation volunteers to sing next. An English song. She looks at eveyone as if asking if that is ok. Of course. So what if it is English? Everyone is looking at the six year old waiting for her to sing. She runs numerous tunes through her head trying to figure out what to sing. Her voice is soft and low but she sings beautifully. Praise flows. Claps follow...encouragement and appreciation.
The little boy is watching everyone. There is a visible change in his energy. He no longer is looking shy. He no longer is hiding his face. He joins his sister and sings along with her. His voice is slightly louder and firmer. They sing some lines from Thomas the Tank Engine. The boy continues to sing the same lines over and over again. He knows he does not know the whole song but he is singing. More claps. More praise. More encouragement. More appreciation. More motivation.
It is time to leave. The guests start to leave. Everyone is happy and waving good byes. Including the little boy. He waves his hand. He says good bye. He looks at people straight.
On earlier occasions, the little boy would hide his face in his father's shoulder holding on to him tightly as if he was surrounded by hostile aliens and would have refused to look at anyone. He would refuse to say good byes or talk.
What changed?

Say cheese...

We were travelling this past week. NYC. Washington. In-laws are visiting us. One trip to Niagara Falls and we can tick our list of to do's and must see's.
Vacationing is fun, when you dont have to do the dishes, worry about what to cook next, what to wear to work, what to do at work...
Email anxiety, no - when hotels charge you for internet access ... but if access was free, we would be on the net every minute acting like important CEOs whose companies are on the verge of a crisis. Checking email an umpteen number of times so as not miss anything important... and if there were no mails it was good reason to whine because it obviously meant that nobody cared for you enough ...
Photo anxiety, yes. My husband loves taking pictures. Not just taking them - for him it is an art. The lighting, the background, the angle, the distance, the sun, the grins ... smiles are not good enough. You have to stand there till he gets everything right and you should not forget to smile, I forget, grin ... All that is well enough except that he never is part of the pictures because he is so passionate about taking them. The rest of us want our revenge so we force him to be part of some. We take pictures of him but he is not very pleased ... because they dont come as well as when he takes them! I dont seem to have the patience or the judgment - for me taking a picture is Focus, Say Cheese, Click...that's it...and as long as I have not cut people's heads off, I am pleased with my work...

On a roll...

Two weeks pass by since my last encounter with the skates. My husband would provoke me but I would come up with all kinds of reasons for not skating. We were going to return them - I had made up my mind.

Then one Saturday, we went to Lake George with friends. We took the skates along - no idea, what or how I wanted to do it. Did not get a chance to inaugurate while at the lake.

We returned home in the evening. It was nearly 7pm. My husband encouraged me try out the skates (surprisingly! till then he had done his best inspiring me with skating stories involving broken bones and what not...). So I wore my pads and helmet and got into my skating shoes. Felt like I was being led to the guillotine - I was really scared. But then haven't we mastered to put on a brave face? So I put on a brave face and held on to my hubby tightly - very. For over twenty minutes we went around slowly. I tripped quite a few times, but thanx to my hubby, I was still in one piece.

S slowly started loosening his hold on me. After about 40 minutes, I decided to try on my own - and to my surprise I was able to drag myself by myself with S close behind. It gave me a lot of confidence.

Monday came - and I went out bravely myself. I was intending to practice in the parking lot next to the swimming pool in our apartment complex. There were men cleaning the pool before opening it for the summer. I wore my pads and the skates and sat in the trunk for a long time - for over fifteen minutes before I put my first step forward. I was a source of amusement to the pool cleaners. After that, there has been no looking back. I read up skating tips and instructions on the web. Saw some videos on you tube. The web was my new found instructor.

I have finished ten hours of skating so far - keep practising and practising in the park. People who see me regularly in the park cheer me up. That keeps me going. It is a funny sight - as I drag my left foot while I push forward on my dominant right foot. Remember how little boys used to learn cycling - on their dad's bikes when we were kids? pedalling with their right legs and dragging their left leg along? That is how I did it. Funny it looks.

In my last outing, I have been able to skate with both my legs - I need a lot more practice with balance and coordination but I am on a roll. It is exciting. It is empowering because I did it all on my own without an instructor just following my body's instructions and my intuition. But what keeps me going is the exercise I get - skating has been good exercise - and that's a big deal indeed because I put on weight so easily. Now I know I can have a dozen kids (just kidding - dont be shocked!) and get back into shape skating right away:)

What I learned from my skating expedition -
1. Be in the moment, if I am thinking of something else and not focussing, chances of falling are pretty high
2. Keep fear at bay, the many times I fell was because of fear, I let fear control me and lost my calm and common sense in the process and would go crashing down
3. Listen to the body, the body sets the right pace for you.
4. Patience, dont be impatient, remember Rome was not built in a day
5. Practice, even if it is for 15 minutes, practice, practice regularly.
6. Dont be afraid to fall, dont think you are looking stupid - remember, those who have learned the sport will remember what they went through and those who dont skate will admire you for your courage.

So get your skates and roll...

Grapes turn Sour...

For many years I have wished to roller skate. I was fascinated when I first saw men and women skate in a Boston park - it was the summer of 2000.

In summer, it is hard not to notice skaters happily gliding past you. Cold, long, snowy winters make you determined to make the most out of the summer months. So, this summer, I did not want to lose any time. After convincing my husband that I would be okay, that I would try hard not to break any bones, I got my skates kit.

The first time I tried my skates (other than in the sports store) was on the carpeted floor at home. Wow! I was able to stand and move around. The blades did not seem at all dangerous. With my new found confidence, I set off to a nearby park the next day. I sat in my car (in the parking lot that was in the middle of the park) and put on all the protective gear - helmet and all kinds of pads. I wore my skates too. I was in the backseat and realized that getting out of the car was going to be tough. Obviously, the tar surface is no carpet! I had to literally shove myself out of the car - and landed on the ground with a thud. Looking up I noticed a couple of women walking in my direction and trying hard not giggle. They went past pretending not to notice.

Thankfull, there was grass nearby. So, I gingerly crawled to the grass surface and stood up. Oops! the blades were real dangerous! Crossing the grass I stepped on to a pathway - I have no idea what happened next because I landed with a big thud. I hurt my right elbow real hard as I tried to support myself during the fall. It took me some ten to fifteen minutes to wear my pads and helmet. But it took me only a couple of minutes to tear them from my body. I took off the skates and walked to my car and dumped all the stuff in the trunk. I am done with skating, I told myself. I called my husband and told him my skating adventure is over. I was not going to get started on something that will land me in bed with broken bones. With the whole summer lying ahead and with the numerous stuff I was engaged in, it seemed not worth the while. Pictures of myself lying with a cast crossed my mind many a time.

I did not want to do anything with skating any more. I was determined to return the entire kit! I was disappointed for not realizing my dream - but look at the brighter side of it - I would get my money back! The grapes were indeed turning sour...

Short and Sweet

Hello kenny, airspy, choxbox! Thanx for the blogging inspiration. I have been planning to blog for quite sometime now but not this soon. I have been procrastinating...

Wanted to get started ... so short and sweet it will be ...