Farewell Pati..

The last few months have been some of the toughest times for our family.My grandma (Mom's mom) passed away on March 26th.This was probably one of the darkest days in my life. She suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital for over a month. She fought and struggled for almost 36 days before she finally left us.

Pati with Mom

I had flown down to Chennai to be by her side every chance i got. Deep down inside I knew this was coming. Everytime i saw her struggle I could feel she may not make it. Yet we clung on to every tiny ray of hope thinking she would somehow get through this and be with us for a few more years.

The day I got a call from my mother saying Pati (grandma in tamil) had passed away I felt so low.It felt very sad to think we would never be able to see her again.It took us all sometime to come to terms with it .Even today I can feel her presence when I think of her. All my memories of her are filled with fun and happy times.

She was all of 86 and probably the most active member of the family. She loved playing host and always made delicious food for anybody who visited. She had an amazing sense of humour and was nothing like most other older people I knew. She never sat us down to advice us or judge us in any way. She loved and accepted all of us the way we were.

There was so much cheer to her that it was almost infectious. She never depended on anybody for anything and would even hop into a rick by herself and take off to meet one of her kids or friends.I remember accompanying her on one of these rides and saw how easily she made friends with everyone from the auto driver to the fruit vendor. By the time we got off she was on first name basis and knew everything about the drivers family. I was truly in awe of her for the way she treated everyone and for the way she lived life. She never had an easy life, yet I never ever saw her crib. She always looked at the brighter side of everything and she is one of the most selfless people I have ever come across in my life.

Now, every minute spent with her is prescious. She will always be in our hearts and continue to be an inspiration to all who knew her.

The Famous Five - Tag

So I got tagged by Hari to write on this sometime last year :-)

Here goes :-

A) Five things in my room
1) A huge wardrobe that occupies half the room - Always makes me feel like I need more clothes!!
2) A custom made Teddy shaped photo frame that has pictures from the last 20 years
3) My new jet black guitar - looks awesome!
4) A comfy bed with 3 pillows and a blanket - Yawn Yawn!!
5) Pile of clothes that need to be dry cleaned (I can hear my mom yelling already :))

B) Five things in my bag
1) Laptop and a charger to go with it
2) Pen Drive - U never know when you need to transfer stuff
3) Business cards - Mine and of a bunch of other people
4) Diary - that has a zillion things written in it
5) Cell phone - Yes that stays in my bag ever since someone tried to flick it from my hand on a rick ride (I didn't even know that was a possibility :-)

C) Five things in my wallet
1) MONEY
2) Biz center ID card - The guard wont let me in without this even though he has seen me a million times and definately knows me ($Stupid rules$)
3) Debit cards and credit cards
4)Crossword memebership card - gives me that precious discount considering the amount I spend there!
5)Enrich membership card - I was awarded a free card for the sheer usage :)

I tag Andy, Chirag and Deepak...write on!

14th July 2007

It was one of the most memorable days of my life. The day my sister Maya bought this bundle of joy Antara into the world. At 3:30 in the night I recieved a call from my mom saying its a girl (which I was hoping it would be).First thing in the morning I went to visit M. She looked tired yet happy. She had this really nice smile on her face.Next to her, lying in a cradle was my litlle niece Antara. She looked beautiful (she is going to turn out to be such a pretty girl ;) ).

I would go visit them everyday in the hospital. We had limited visiting passes and unlimited people wanting to visit. Hence we fought over the passes everyday.

3 days later the beautiful Mother-daughter duo were discharged and they came home. They are staying with with us for a month and Mom,dad and I couldn't be happier.

I feel so proud of Maya for the way she went thorugh everything. Its still to sink in that my sister (the one i had pillow fights,cold shoulder fights with and the one I've shared innumerable happy moments with) is now a Mommy!

Here's a pic of my darling Antara!

Aint she cute!!!

:-)

PARIS!!!!

I visited France earlier this year.It has definately been my best vacation till date.Whats so nice about France??Definatley Paris!!!!!
Its the most beautiful and romantic city I have ever visited.Here are some pictures of places that i liked.




Eiffel tower
It is the tallest structure in Paris and one of the greatest landmarks in the world!
It is situated right beside river Sienne(read as sen) which is my favourite hangout:-)



Arc de Triumph
There is some amazingly beautiful architecture under the arc de triumph!




River Sienne
For me , The most beautiful view in the world:)




The Louvre
I read a little about the louvre meuseum in the book Da Vinci Code.Hence i was dying to see it when we were in Paris.We spent about 5 hours there and we just managed to cover the art gallery and 1 other:)
It is huge and it will take atleast 7 days to cover the enitre meuseum!!!

MUMBAI? RUDE? HOW RUDE!!!
“After you”
“Can I help you??”
“I beg your pardon”
These are phrases we hear often, but seldom in Mumbai .Is this really true??A recent survey performed by Readers Digest revealed that Mumbai is the rudest city in the world!
Having lived here for over 21 years, rude would be the last way I would describe it. Mumbai is a melting pot for various cultures. People from all over the country and around the world reside in this city. Most of these people call it home. Mumbai is known to have a very fast life .Hence most people here would agree with me when I say “There is so much to do and so little time”. A number of times this trait is mistook for arrogance or rudeness. However when it matters people come through. Take for instance the 26/7 deluge. The day when Mumbai experienced the fatal rainfall!Along the flooded roads where heavy current water was flowing, people made human chains in order to help others cross the road safely. Residents of various areas distributed food to people who were stuck through the night and could’nt go further until the rains stopped. A lot of people joined organizations like Touch etc to help families that were badly affected by this deluge. Does’nt this signify politeness??
I don’t think it right to label Mumbai as a rude city because of one incident. One has to live here and experience the life for a long enough period in order to soak in the essence of Mumbai.

AT THE MERCY OF THE RICH

I accompanied my mum n dad to a temple yesterday.We sat in there for a while until the pooja was done.During the pooja two ladies clad in torn sarees came in along with two young girls and two baby boys.The babies were also dressed in dirty old clothes.Their appearance suggesting they struggled to afford even everday meals.The reaction that they drew from the rest of the so called "devotees"(mostly sixty odd year old ladies), was quite astonishing.I heard one lady yell and ask "What do u want? You'll are not suposed to come in.Stand at the door".What kind of behaviour is this?Why the preferential treatment?
On my way out one of the small baby boys was following me,smiling at me.He was adorable.So i patted his head and smiled back at him.That ofcourse did'nt go down too well with anybody there.All those ladies were giving me that dirty look.I could read their minds."Oh you should'nt be touching them.They are dirty and blah blah blah".
This incident got me wondering why this attitude towards them?Are'nt they as much human as we are?Is'nt the temple meant to be for everyone to come offer their prayers?Who are we to do decide these things?