The soothing rainy breeze teases the senses with the hope of watery shower from the heavens above…

                       The gloomy sky above prompts the onset of a romantic mood…The beckoning, to a new start or something good, I do not know…

                        Such surprises though, rare to come by, ‘The Wondrous Mother Nature’, are showered down as though they never ceased to exist…

-     Poornima Iyer

My Rock of Gibraltar

Ever since I could understand the complexities of human communication, I have always heard amma say – “Ni sheriya appane kondarkai di!” –mannerisms, temperament, physical personality and to some extent the ability to switch off or ignore those who hold very little importance to us, all seems instinctive to me. But there are those that I have sometimes intentionally chosen to ignore or have not picked up from you – hopefully one day the many experiences in my life would have inculcated these traits that have gone to make you the man the world sees you for today.

A disillusion that amma alone can read the three of us like open books, has long ceased to exist – through your silence, we have learnt – breaking down is always the easiest holding your head steady and yet being righteous in our actions is always the toughest.

The streak of dedication & hard work for which we are commended – comes from all those years that seemed like you had distanced yourself from family attachments, are those times that you have silently endured to make sure that we had more than just 3 square meals a day – although it was amma who cooked the tasty dishes, I realize that every dish has always been sprinkled with her tenderness and your sweat and blood. Every new dress purchased has your inevitable protection, every new bag comes with the abundant blessing that it remain infinitely full, every increment with the prayer that may his kids prosper  more than he has.

The seldom sternness that you maintained in our up-bringing is the reason threading on the toughest path seems easier to living on with a guilt weighed consciousness.

I just wish that somehow this ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ would never cease to exist.

Thanks for everything daddy!!…

Love you loads

Penny

I sit 2000 km away from my home, in my mind float a thousand images, each a manifestation of my imagination  - amma, must be in the kitchen boiling milk, the nightly ritual of all gulping down some piping hot bournvita, daddy – snoring away fast, deep in sleep post a delicious dinner and a back breaking day at work, Bros – Siddhu – probably watching a movie on his laptop / lounging on the living room couch watching highlights of a cricket / football match; Kumar – either crashed early to wake up for the jog in the morning (been complaining about gaining some weight during the M.Com Part II examination phase) or giving company to Siddhu – staying abreast with the latest buzz in the soccer and the rest of the sports world.

I smile to myself amused a bit, happy that I can remember the details so well, sad (torn between the strong desire to book tickets and spend some time with folks back home – fight the pangs of separation of being away from Hubby – fight the desire to extend the week’s long stay to say may be another week in India – and continue to curb the feeling that I have left my hubby home alone), and have this urge to well up everytime I start to think about how much I am missing home…

I realize that the distance has done me good, given me time to mature as a person, harness my emotional quotient, engage in some anger & temper management exercises, and most of all value and cherish these relationships ‘Nx’ more than what they meant to me. But it also saddens me to know that a decrease in the physical proximity deprives me of much more than the benefits – can only imagine a picture – amma humming a tune and affectionately maneuvering the ladle in the pot on the kitchen stove, signs of tiredness completely ignored to fill up the hungry stomachs of her loved ones. Daddy – unwinding in front of the television, waiting to enjoy the dinner so affectionately cooked. Siddhu & Kumar – animatedly discussing about a match call or mischievously teasing mom… How I wish… Oh! How I wish I’d give anything for just a silent glimpse, to watch this scene unfold, because… Home is where the heart is!!!…

-      Ralph Waldo Emerson

Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worry on the doorstep
And just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street

Can’t you hear the pitter pat?
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be so sweet
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade
With my blues on parade
But now I’m not afraid
‘ Cause this rover is crossed over

If I never have a cent
I’ll be rich as Rockefeller

There’ll be gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side of the street

I used to walk in the shade
With my blues on parade
But now I’m not afraid
‘Cause this rover is crossed over

If I never have a cent
I’ll be rich as that Rockefeller
There’ll be gold dust at my feet
On the sunny side, on the sunny side of the street

-     Steve Tyrell

The GOD in our HEARTS

Maa,

Today on mother’s day every child old and young will venture out in the prospect of bringing home that one special gift to express how important and special each of their mother is. So while the many kids around the world (because today is a day that brings out a child in a mother too!) are busy gathering those special gifts. Here is mine – a few words for you to remember for a lifetime … Love you!!…

“You have always taught me, have faith in the almighty, but when I close my eyes in reverence during times of turbulence the answer to my prayers…is the warmth emitting from a smile on your gentle face that vanquishes all my fears away.

There have been those times… when despite my resistance you have come forth to my respite. Sometimes, I hold you responsible for making me forsake what I desire…only to realize that the protection of your womb had never ceased to work.

Who says that the “Rani ‘Laxmibai’ of Jhansi” has quit… look here she lives on in my maa – ‘MAHALAKSHMI’… a queen in true spirit, to whom we all SALUTE!!

HAPPY MOTHER’ DAY MAA!!…. You and appa will always be my “HEROES”.”

From whom it all Began

♥♥♥♥ to infinity!

Loadsss of love Kunju…

Tiny ripples of hope

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope; and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

- Robert Kennedy

(Robert Francis “Bobby” Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and acted as one of his advisors during his presidency. From 1961 to 1964, he was the U.S. Attorney General).

♥♥♥♥ to infinity!

Maa,

I know that no matter how many gifts as a mother you receive on your birthday today, you would consider your family i.e. husband and three kids as the priceless gifts rendered to you by God, for an entire eternity.  So after much contemplation, I decided that the best gift to my mother would be to appreciate her existence in my life in my own words so please read on…

It has been over a few years now, I have come to realize that we always waste a major part of our lives complaining about what we have always wanted in terms of our ambitions and how unfair life has been in not letting us have them, but then, among the many lessons that I have learnt from you, one is that, “What we seek from life, is seldom given to us. And what life has to offer, is not always liked by us.”

Having said that, I have decided that the best gift that any person specially the ones close to our hearts – in this case would mean all of you, Maa, Paa, Siddu & Kumar… and now Roshan, could give is to keep expressing in what ever way possible – whether actions / words, how much we care for them, how much we love them and how meaningless our lives would be if anything was to happen to any of these loved ones. So here is my birthday gift to you, telling you how important you are and always will be to me as – mother, mentor, confidant, best friend & accomplice at times in letting me get away a few times… please read on… and be strong always for all of ‘US’…… MAA, I LOVE YOU!!!… HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!….MUAHHHHHHHH!

“You were my window, when I was an unborn life inside you – a fortress of protection and blessings so strong that not even the strongest or harshest of winds can uproot.

The umbilical cord fast cut, but a bond formed so strong that even God, renders a second place to you – to me you’re the creator of this life, nurtured from a seed inside of you with tender love and care.

That promise you made to yourself, when you realized a new life inside of you – to protect me from every blow, to raise me a humble being, to impart the righteous of values. Holds true as accolades are showered down in the name of my father, but a silent smile from behind the curtains assures me, of your existence.

Today, as I stand tall amidst this world of chaos, confusion & mayhem, the only coolness that soothes my senses, is the calmness that will always continue to echo through the epitome of your virtues – love, radiance of warmth, happiness through your tears, patience through your years of turbulence.

Someday, when I realize that new life inside of me, I hope that, I can be as thoughtful and loving a mother to my kids as you have been to me and my siblings – each an individual in oneself, but strung together by your bond of love & perseverance.

Happy Birthday, maa…loads of love & hugssss, to the creator of this life….I pray to god that each day in your life be filled with – love, the warmth of happiness that radiates like sunshine with infinite abundance….”

Kunju Poonuuu…… always….

Then he tells me, I ‘m a man! The mind gives me counsel and I’ve listened to it.

So I say to him, and I’m a woman! I sought my heart’s wisdom, and in the heart I trust!

- Poornima Iyer

- Poornima Iyer