Why do the best things in life come with a price??

I grumble. A lot. Grumbling is good. Great for letting out steam and even better when you want to seriously reflect on something. So you are being warned. This is a piece drenched in grumble.

Why do all the best things in life come with a price?? Dont believe me? Ok, love comes with pain. A child comes with labour pain. Babies come with poop, pee and sleepless nites. A husband comes with............ whatever you want to fill in the blank... ok lets move away from human beings. An ice cream comes with calories. Money comes with bills. Growing up comes with responsibilities. Even a car comes with maintenance issues. Neighbours come with unwanted habits. Pets come with their own attitudes. Even that gorgeous Valentino gown comes with a tag I can probably afford after I work at four jobs. Working at a day job comes with office competition, and working from home comes with a lot of tension as to where the next paycheck is going to come from. The list could go on and on..

This is one of those awful days for me. Awful because am thinking about my birthday cake. Heres a pic. Doesnt it look divine? check out the soft light cream, the juicy cherries and the yummy chocolate shavings. Can you blame me for grumbling about the calories it comes with and how hard I have been working at the gym, and how digging into that lovely piece will definetly send me on a high but is also going to hug my waistline? The guy who makes these pastries knows his cakes well. The right Black Forest sits lightly on your tastebuds, never too heavy and just rightly light. The more I type, the more am drifting away. You know what... what the heck... life is short, comfortably short. I am going to walk into that shop and buy one, maybe two and dig into it. ..... and after am done, theres always room to grumble about the weirdos around me who can hog for two and still look underfed.

TO MY SON

Never was a baby born more beautiful, more sweet,

Yet every mother feels this way,

Never did a more perfect creation nestle close to me,

Like you did today.

There must be a God,

Who crafted you the way he did,

The cherubic cheeks, the angelic smile,

The eyelashes that curl from each lid,

I love the way you hold my finger,

In your little palm so tight,

And the way you carelessly hug me,

In the quiet of the night.

You hold my world in your smile,

And yet so unknowingly,

A single teardrop in your big black eyes,

Kills me slowly.

I know that you love the outdoors,

And the tall, huge willow tree,

The many colours of Mother Nature,

Singing their hearts free.

Dangers lurk,

In the world outside your door,

Cruelty and selfishness abound,

And pain to make your tender heart sore.

Stay here in my arms, my baby boy,

And let your mother fight for you,

Where you only need to stay happy and smile,

Waking up to each morning new.

Yet I know that I must let you,

Walk on and leave me by,

As I watch you fight and bleed from battle,

Or fail even when you try.

Then, even if I can feel,

The hot tears arise,

I will hold them down with all my might,

And merely wipe my eyes.

You need to know that,

My love is possessive yet true,

And even when I am looking from above,

That I will forever be guarding you.

LOVE, PRAYERS, TITE HUGS AND KISSES,

YOUR MAMA

I feel like a child again WHEN-

1. I suck on a lollipop. Brings back memories of childhood and cadburys.

2. Make funny faces and act silly. Which isnt hard. Just to see my baby giggle.

3. Sit on a giant wheel. I still feel on top of the world and closest to heaven when am there.

4. Dad hugs me and tells me I will always be his little girl. I dont want to grow up anymore.

5. Mum remembers something I like and makes it for me. I feel loved.

6. Mum scolds me. And then reassures me that even if I am a grandkid and she is around, I will still get a dose from her. I love the fact that I havent grown up for her as yet. Sometimes.

7.  I look through old family albums. My smile as a kid. The birthday parties. Waiting to see what presents I got. Mum and dad looking years younger.

8.  I sit on a rollercoaster. I always say I wont do it again ever but then I always do it. One more time.

9. I hear songs from old malayalam movies. They remind me of the times we sat down in front of the now extinct VCR and watched malayalam movies. The songs just stayed on.

10. My grandparents tell me tales about my childhood. I want to keep listening about how I almost ruined my aunt's makeup on her wedding day, how I loved tearing leaves from the plants, and how I could spend my full day in the kitchen with our servant.

11. I listen to some 80's english tunes. Dad and I would faithfully listen to the radio on our way to school.

12. I put my face upwards and feel the rain on my face. Fever quickly follows usually.

13. I look at my certificates and cups. Those were the times when winning meant everything and even your best friend was competition. Thankfully she no longer is.

14. I play some silly game am too old for with my baby sister. She is 11 and no longer a baby is reality. And I end up playing games am too old for. Therein lies the thrill.

15. I think of my dad's house which once was, in Bombay. I used to swing on the gate and look at what my neighbours were doing.

16. I swing on the gate in my mothers house. As a child it really swung. Now it groans and barely creeks.

17. I eat a chocolate bar. I never munch. I put one cube in my mouth and let it melt away.

18. I get a surprise present. Who doesnt love surprises?

19. When its my birthday. I still want a cake, still want everybody to sing,and I still want lots of presents. Just like my yesterdays.

20. I want to cry. And my dad and mum will allow me to bawl my head off, and comfort me at the end of it. It helps so much to know that home is always there.

 21. I look at my list of things I must do in this lifetime. Two things have been crossed. Marriage, a kid and a poetry book. Still lots more left, including someday owning a baby orangutan and  a baby elephant.

22. I talk about my dreams. Dreams are a natural anti aging ingredient !

23. When I look at pictures of my teen years. Yuck. I was fat, had the thickest specs you ever saw on a female and was always the butt of jokes.

24. I watch old childhood movies like Sound of Music, Home Alone and animated flicks like Beauty and the Beast. I once wanted to do voice overs for Disney movies. Still do. Except am more realistic about it possibly not happening now.

25. I write my diary. I still have the ones from my childhood. Someday I will gift them to my child. So that he will know the every days of his mother's life.

What makes you become a child again?

Of late, my baby boy-

1. Gives me a wide toothless grin in the morning after he wakes up. He also keeps kicking both legs in excitement.

2. He stares at the fan, kicking at the speed of 80 km per hour, probably in the hope that the energy created will enable him to float upwards.

3. Is quietly observing what am doing during his bath time.

4. Loves lying on his tummy but is too lazy to do it by himself.

5. Puts out both his hands, and makes cooing noises when he wants to be carried.

6. Loves looking at the fish tank, the plants, and the fake white orchids.

7. Has started to giggle.

8. Loves sounds that can be made using the mouth. like burrp, bbbrrrrrr and especially whistling.

9. Is a little master at making the bbrrrrr sound.

10. Cant tolerate hunger ( now where did he get that from I wonder??).

11. Loves to pee in my lap.

12. Wants to be spoken to all the time and cant take being ignored.

13. Loves playing with his dad.

14. Makes little sounds that makes him startle too.

15. Likes tasting whatever am eating.

16. Already has a fascination for phones and cameras.

17. Cries when the car stops at a traffic light. He thinks the car moves on hearing him cry.

18. Doesnt like simply sitting. He wants the pram moving at all times.

19. Gets bored too easily.

20. Loves the Barney toy which sings a song.

21. Hates getting his nails cut.

22. Gently snores in his sleep. 

23. Wants to be assured that I am always near him.

24. Loves massaging his own head while drinking cerelac.

25. Hates being in his crib for long.

26. Doesnt want to bother crawling, he wants to walk right now !

27. Yells at me in baby language when we cant understand what he wants.

28. Loves admiring his little fists.

29. Doesnt bother with sucking only his thumb. For him its all 5 fingers or nothing at all.

30. Has the cutest baby yawn in the world....

Why are Indians so UN- Indian when they are not in India?

Is Mera Bharat really mahan? Ok. So yes. What about us Indians? There's something so pseudo almost about the way most Indians conduct themselves when they are not in India. Almost everything changes about them- the way they talk, what they eat, the way they say things and even their accent. Suddenly they forget how to converse even in their native lingo. Here are some weird but true observations my four eyes made-

1. They barely wear the type of clothes they would have normally worn in India- such as a sari or a salwar kameez. Once abroad, gowns, pants and skirts take over.
2. They eat different. Goodbye chappathi and bread for breakfast or lunch. Its fashionable salads, muffins and sandwiches now.
3. Even the names of dishes are weirder and longer. Like palak paneer becomes' soft cheese dumplings in mashed spinach', and chicken masala becomes ' tender chicken marinated in traditional spices and herbs'. So going by that, I had tender steamed cauliflower tossed with red peppers for lunch.:-)
4. An accent that was never there will suddenly make an appearance. I have known people who went to states and UK for a few months and then came back trying to talk like one of the natives there.
5. They work out more. Being seen at the gym, playing a sport is suddenly the in thing to do.
6. Indians barely ever smile at other Indians. This I can vouch for. None of the Indian families in my complex have even smiled at me as yet, although I swear I did. Why do we act like the other doesnt exist?
7. Nobody watches saas- bahu and other soppy serials like other 'good' Indians.
8. Most of them dont teach their kids things they learnt when growing up. Nor do they share the little things that make them Indian with their kids. Like how to fly a kite. Or eat with the hands. The more un- Indian the kids are, the more successful the parents think they have been as role models. 'My child doesnt speak hindi. But he is the first in his class in English'.
9. Suddenly ordinary eatables like rotis become'exotic breads', and masala tea becomes 'tea with spices'. Takes away the Indianness of food itself.
10. India now becomes a chi- chi country. Too much pollution, too much noise, too much garbage, too much everything.

Why do we forget that at the end of the day it is India who gives us our identity?