the quiet after

Our Ganapathi left yesterday. The emptiness is loud, almost, in the quiet that followed an hour of puja and shouting "ganapathi bappa moriya, mangal murthi moriya!"

Now, it is only a few of us left with children who decide not to walk with Ganesha to a lake nearby, where he will be immersed. A lady is weeping as she carries her ganesha in her arms and places it on the truck, alongwith the other statues of the Elephant God.

Next year, I hope to walk the whole stretch, shouting and singing, and get gulaal on my hair and everywhere. Next year, I also hope to have it in me to carry my camera out of the house and take proper pictures...

PS

These pictures were taken by my husband, who sat at home with the kids, and let me have some fun. It was drizzling and the two year old is terrified of crackers.

sounding it right

Its festival time in Mumbai... and I am thoroughly enjoying it despite the faces my husband is making. The sights come alive in the night but the sounds captivate you through the day' till the 10.00 pm deadline since the past two years, lol!

Even after Ganesh Chathurthi and Ganapati Visarjan, the festivities will extend untill Diwali and the Navratras and no one will remove the lights and decorations untill after ringing in the New Year, which leaves only the stars to be hung around Christmas time.

I am loving the mithai, the bhajans blaring through loudspeakers and sometimes, alternating with the latest Bollywood Hits and the divine sound of arathis twice a day in our residential society's Ganapati Mandal.

Due to my husband's preference for quiet celebrations (and exclamations!!!) of all kinds, we usually celebrate every festival with the needed colours and lights - more of the sights than the sounds in our home!

and she walked away without a sigh or a tear

Two nights ago, I went to bed dreading the tough morning the next day. The husband and daughter were leaving for a short stay with the grandparents.

It bothered her that her brother and I would not be accompanying her. In the middle of making sure her little pink hair brush, her tooth brush, her pink jewellry box and her very own cherry lip gloss were secure in the large suitcase, she said, " A will be worried where I am!"

I made the appropriate noises and said I would tell him she was in school or in dance class. the look she gave me told me she was not convinced at all.

In the middle of deciding, very enthusiastically, the clothes she would wear on her four-day trip, she would hug me and say she would miss me and A too much. As if it wasn't hard enough being mindful of the business of packing without thinking of the days ahead, sigh!

Come morning, I whispered, "Its airport day!" and she was up and asking for milk. She brushed her teeth, freshened up, drank her milk and was ready by the door with her purple fluffy bag!

My husband reminded her to say "bye!" and after a big hug to me, she walked down the hallway and into the lift, without so much as a backward glance, without a sigh or a tear...

I sat staring at the computer screen, secretly proud of her dignity but my heart contracting at the ease with which she managed the goodbyes!

come back soon, my little girl, so dignified in your poise, containing your nervousness and excitement. miss you lots :)

think Sunday

... and I think orange. It has to do with an article in The Sunday Times more than a year ago. All of us have an aura and for it to be balanced we must have a regular dose of colours everyday, said an expert.

So, it is white/light blue on Mondays, red on Tuesdays, green on Wednesdays, yellow on Thursdays, pink on Fridays, brown/black/grey/navy blue on Saturdays and (you guessed right) orange on Sundays.

At first, I started experimenting with the clothes I wear daily, rather than rotating the four sets of pyjamas I lounged in, after delivering my second child. In less than three weeks, I had my neighbour exclaiming how much "neater and groomed" (cringing at the memory) I looked.

Later, with more time on hand, I extended colours in little things around the house. Having a vase of vibrant yellow flowers on the dining table on a Thursday brings cheer and kickstarts the spirit of the weekend.

Arranging pink scented candles on a side board adds to the relaxed mood on a Friday, bringing out orange plates for the Sunday lunch energises the languid pace of the holiday and nothing beats the sensation of starting the work week looking composed in white or my favourite sky-blue fabindia kurti, which is my Monday uniform!

Just in case you feel unattached and too spiritual on the first day of the week (white has that effect, according to the author of the article), get passionate and energetic with red on a Tuesday and the calming green will sooth the fiery temper and ground you mid-week.

The next door neighbour swears it has been lucky for her and makes her children dress accordingly. No such good fortune for me, but, I like the creative spurts and the vibrance in my small house and little life.

Fill your week with colour and have a happy sunday!

TGIF

My son and I slowly walk back from the front gate after seeing the yellow school bus take the turn far away. I usually am making lists in my head during this time. Today, I feel tired.

As we do everyday, he drinks another glass of milk (he wakes earlier than his sister) and me another cup of tea. I do linger a bit too long after this cup is empty. I almost feel guilty to be so tired, after all the facilities at hand.

Yet my neck hurts, my dining table is cluttered and I don't want to look at the toys and 'things' strewn about for fear I'll cry. How? Why?, I whisper.

Two things come to me, almost flash before my eyes - too much multi-tasking and trying to smile all the time. I am always doing two things, at least, all the time. Watching TV and ironing/feeding the kids/ sorting clothes, cutting vegetables or talking on the phone and typing away at the computer and whatever else I'm doing, I'll constantly be answering to all the " whys?" of a four year old.

I can still deal with all of this, if not for having to sound nice all the time and forcing a smile at people who feel I have so much time in the world because my husband is away for days together at work, I think. Then why do I, ugh!

I like the way my life is right now, it almost hurts to think of cutting off from any one thing. I will have to find a way.