Deepavali, welcome and lit up

Wish you all a very Happy Deepavali... May the festival of lights bring new joy and prosperity to your lives! It's a time to be happy and to find new hope and new things to be thankful for...

1. Its Diwali... no other festival brings such a feeling of gaiety in everyone. All the houses are decked up and the evening makes us forget that there's no moon in the sky tonight.
2. We sit with huge needles and a roll of twine making garlands of marigold for the doors. Before its evening, all the doors are decked up for Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth to enter our home. Also welcoming her is the colourful rangoli near the door, over which Jui and I broke our backs. There's no way she can ignore such a welcome!
3. The task of placing wicks in the little earthen diyas, filling them with oil and placing them along the balcony wall after lighting them falls to me... they look marvellous, twinkling with their warm light against the night.

First Birthday!! Movie buff, Bollywood junkies and tasty

It's 'Life Ain't THAT bad..!'s first birthday today. We're ONE! Happy birthday!

1. Watching Om Shanti Om. Wow! Its the perfect masala movie. Awesome to see the audience respond. And then at night, Nisha and I rent Perfect Strangers. Good to have company to watch movies at home too.
2. Shenoy and I admit, first with some guilt and then with some pride that we've both turned into Bollywood junkies. We're constantly discussing bollywood gossip, listening to or humming hindi film songs and of course, watching movies. Aiding us in our latest obsession is The Bombay Bitch.
3. Having a corn grilled sandwich at Sidewalk Cafe.

Family time, stars in her eyes and food in her tummy

1. After lunch, we all sit together, chatting, joking, laughing, making garlands for decorating the house... Jui keeps hunting for a good Ganesh picture for the rangoli design... Ananya is busy doing silly things. Papa is pulling everyone's leg. Aaji won't stop giving instructions. Its family time on Diwali... Wish you all a happy diwali too! Hope you're all basking in the warmth of your family's closeness.
2. Watching the fireworks from the terrace. There are so many, I never know which way to look! In all directions, gold coins are splattered across the sky and the boom boom reverberates across the city. Ananya's eyes go round in wonder and gasps and claps in glee when a brilliant shower of sparkles brightens the sky...
3. Ananya decides to have dinner with us, and I end up feeding her. She runs around, jumps, and does all sorts of gymnastics between morsels and I have to keep inventing weird stories to catch her attention, so that she'll stay still for a minute and take a bite.. but we manage to finish the whole plate without any tears being shed or any tantrums being thrown!

Matter of faith, missed chance and far, yet present

1. Waking up early, and keeping my resolve of going to the temple. Its Ashtami, and Navratri is almost over, and I hadn't yet been able to visit the temple to pray. It feels good to do some things as a matter of faith and to take the effort to get them right...
2. Dharana is very excited about watching tomorrow's 20-20 match between India and Australia at the Wankhede stadium, not just because of the day long outing with friends, but also because she expects to see some action. At the previous instance when she had gone to watch a match at the grounds, it was the first day of a test match. The only action during the entire day had been the fall of one wicket, which she missed, because she happened to be yawning just then!
3. Though I'm hundreds of kms away from home, I attend the evening Aarti for the first time this navratri via telephone. Its not exactly the same, yet standing by the side of the road, I sing along with everyrone. I'm the only one who can hear me, but I can hear everyone... its a strange feeling to be part of a family ritual from so far away. A good strange feeling, of course...

Gudi Padwa, welcome delay and sleeping in the train

1. Its Gudi Padwa - the start of the new year by the Marathi calendar. Papa hoists the Gudi. ( I will upload a pic tomorrow)
2. The train is late by a couple of hours. This is good because we find this out before we leave for the railway station and I get extra time at home.. :-) And I also get to meet Anjali Kaku and Arun Kaka, whose flight would otherwise have arrived at the same time I was supposed to board the train...
3. I sleep like a baby during the journey. Usually I spend sleepless nights in the train, but this time, I sleep at around 10:30 p.m and wake up directly in the morning, while the train is just entering Pune station.

Jingle Bells, thrift and belated birthdays

1. Santa Claus comes to our module in office, accompanied by carol singers. Santa looks like he's been on a diet, but he does give out chocolates to all those who've gathered around. The carol singers strike a merry note with Jingle Bells... Walnut cake follows. There's a huge, prettily decorated christmas tree at the entrance of the building - the Christmas season is finally here!
2. I go grocery shopping just because Spencer's Daily is offering a 10 Rs. discount on the purchase of three packets of Knorr soups... and then I go pay my mobile bill, because if I pay it immediately, I get 50 sms free!
3. I call up Sharma 3 days late to wish him for his birthday which was earlier in the week. Before I can say 'hello', he's already said 'thank you!'... My 'I swear I hadn't forgotten your birthday, I just couldn't get the call through' is greeted with a 'yeah yeah... who remembers old friends!'... Of course, we argue over that, and only after evidence has been presented and accepted, is a truce finally called... :-)