INDIA - REGLORIFIED!!!

As Team India makes history, and as the entire nation rejoices, and as the media papparazzi-es the heroes, and as facebook expresses every joy and every bit of the tension moments, and as the state governments declare bountiful prizes to its players, I can't help thinking and believing that Cricket is indeed the singlemost religion of India.

We are a diverse land. Diversity in our languages, religions, Gods, customs, and festivals. The Northies dislike the southies, the westerlies dislike the easterlies, the urbans ignore the rurals, and the metros look down on the smaller cities/towns. It's much too chaotic and hard to believe how we live in 'seeming' harmony. But come cricket, it is HARMONY - REDEFINED, it is UNITY - REIDOLIZED, it is INDIA - REINDIANIZED.

The second Dhoni sent the ball spiralling high beyond the field in style, the entire nation bursted with the tri-colored flags. Orange blended with the Green, and the Blue chakra spinned at its best. Celebrities to common man, poor to the rich, politicians to its public, hindus to the muslims, everyone was out on the streets and danced their hearts out. And yes, even drank their 'livers' out...lol. Come to think of it, we don't see this much flag even on the Republic/Independence Day. It was the most unmissable and the most unforgettable night that went down in history as we have never seen the entire subcontinent celebrate anything together like this. And once again, I missed my Bombay, and I missed my India. Complete disregard to caste, color, creed or class and full-on joyous moods were the 'highlights' of the riot that exploded with vivid colors and glorious fireworks......and war-like victory slogans like "Bharatmata ki Jai". INDIA - IN ITS TRUEST AND PUREST FORM.


CRICKET IS TRULY OUR RELIGION AND TEAM INDIA, OUR GODS......;) And as we still bask in the after-glory of bringing home the World Cup and congratulate each other on our victory, lets sing and dance to DE GHUMAKE....GHUMAKE...GHUMAKE!!!

Emotional Overload!!!

I am thinking about the pressure cooker right now. And its whistle. That little toot of a thing that releases the crazy pressure built inside by the steam, just enough to even things out but let the food cook too. Where is our whistle? Don't we need a whistle too? For our mental/stress pressure build-up? For our emotional overload?

We all have different emotions ranging from the good ones to the bad ones, from happiness to sorrow, from excitement to depression, from love to hatred, from contentment to rejection, from stable minds to extremely fragile and fluttering hearts. And many a times, one of these particular emotions takes on more steam than it usually is accustomed to, and overwhelms us with its tsunami-like waves, completing smothering us as we lose control of our ownselves. (Japan is still fresh in our minds, right?) We are left powerless and weak with no ability to think straight. Public will start with its smart-ass wisdom, which truly speaking, just self-consoles and tells us to 'count our blessings'. But how does one deal with all the anguish and pain thats not just in your heart, but has touched your soul and you are not ready to yet 'accept' things and let it go? Is it correct to 'suppress' or 'indulge'? Can we really 'forget' after we 'forgive'?

What I believe is we do no good to ourselves by masking our emotions under sadness, anger, so-called love or peace. Our feelings are never good or bad. They are just that, feelings. And what we need to figure out is a way to transmute them. Not forget, not suspend, not mask, not cover, not hide, not suppress or pretend to ignore them, or stay too busy to not feel them. But instead find a way to release the build-up. It'll probably take a long time, subjective to every person that is, I believe. And I don't know if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. But effort one must put is to embrace our own feelings and then find a less-harsh way to deal with it.

Now what will I do? Or rather, what do I do with my pent-up thingies that have not only a mental , but also a physical effect on my body?

A. Cry. Cry my heart out. Cry it all out. Look at the mirror and fall in love with my puffy red eyes. But cry it out.
B. Dance. Dance hard to the fast hip-gyrating Bollywood numbers.
C. Distract. It will be temporary but will give you some relief from trying so hard to deal with your own self.
D. Go to the beach and scream my lungs out. Oops, the coast is a good three hour drive. An expensive option. Maybe save it for later, when nothing else works. Oh, I miss my Bombay. But imagine going to Juhu beach and yelling out to the sea. I'll have people gather around me in no time and staring at my stupid face, not really sympathizing but hoping I'll do some more drama for their entertainment.
E. They say meditation and yoga are very effective. But hell, I have no patience for that. Breathing in and breathing out while counting in 'thousand-and-one' seconds, no boss, not for me. Atleast not yet.
F. Writing blogs such as this.

Laughing eyes, and an over-enthusiastic face, may hide your true self. But don't play hide-n-seek with your own self and your emotions. Pull them out, hug them tight, tell them its okay to feel the feel, and we'll wait together for 'Time' to take its toll, and in the process, mellow us down as we learn to release our 'steam' whistle by whistle.

Inspiration!!

Inspiration maru kyai chupai ne bethu che,

Inspiration maru mara thi modhu vaari ne bethu che,

Hu gotu badhe, kyai jade nahi ee,

Inspiration maru mara thi risai ne bethu che.

Inspiration mane bahu vaahlu che,

Ena vagar maru astitvaj saav adhuru che,

Duniyaadari ni jhikjhik ma jodaai gayi hu,

Atle maru inspiration maara thi risaai ne bethu che.

Inspiration mane keh chooth thi jeev,

Abhay bani, nidar jeev,

Na dabaav tara jazbaaton ne,

Na taan kar tara hriday ne.

Par sankrai gayi chu hu aa jeevan na bandhano ma,

Khud ne bandhu, ke udu aakash ma,

Samaj choothi gayi che aa aabhas ma,

Atlu pan mara thi risaa ma.

Ene kahyu, vaat maanse toh aavi jaish,

Tane mari saathe duniya ni ser karavish,

Main kahyu shakya nathi, bahu kathin che –

Dil ni vaat maanva ane manaava ma,

Etle maru inspiration aji che eni aad ma.

Dancing!

The garba nights have done me good. Dancing has done me good. Dancing, always, does me good.

As I was expecting Raahil, I took upon a choice, a choice to stay at home and mind my home and kids while I let my dollar-earning capacity take a step back. Not that I was minting a truckload, but decent enough to get out shopping with no guilt. To be honest, going shopping with hubby-money is not making me feel guilty either...lol. And as I stayed home, went about the child-rearing duties, the mundane household chores, the wifey responsibilities, my mind always went bonkers. It still does. Simply because it has a lot of time to think. While folding clothes, to cooking, to changing diapers, there are all kind of electrical charges running through 'em. Positive, negative, a lot negative, a bit positive, but never neutral. And neutral is one seeks. Coz neutral is happiness, neutral is peace. And this is when I resort to dancing. Dancing brings me this neutral state of mind. Dancing makes me feel at ease.

I turn on my Ipod any time of the day and I let myself loose. Fantastic exercise. One would probably think I am mad, but mad I wish to be. Even if it is temporary, but I do forget my negativity, my sadness, my turmoil in my heart and mind, as I just feel at peace. (Have you noticed that I am trying too much poetry here, I wonder why?) But besides the mental benefits, let me draw your attention to the physical advantages too. Just for motivation that is. Dancing is said to give you a 'high' higher than marijuana. That must be something right? Moreover, the women of the world, it has anti-aging effects and reduces wrinkles. Hallelujahhh!!!! No more expensive creams and moisturizers, lollll. It also brings a glow to your skin a la naturale. And if it happens to be a song you love, you are going to smile a heck lot than you usually do. So it automatically is going to make you happy. And boss, while the spiritual pros are temporary, the physical ones can be more permanent. ;)

So my friends, dance your heart out. If you are in USA, its the garba weekends, so get your traditional outfits out and get out. And if you are anywhere else in the world, don't wait for a chance to dance, tickle your dance bone and move that body the way it wants to. Happy dancing!!!

Fear

What is fear? Wiki says its 'an emotional response to potential danger.' And there is this variety of phobias with fancy names which I never seem to remember like phobia of heights, water, etc. Anushka has a phobia too. A phobia of loud noises. On googling, I find that its called 'Ligyrophobia.' See, I told you these fancy names are so hard to remember. Anyways, she is petrified of fireworks, loud announcements, thunder obviously, and the likes. Each time we think she'll outgrow it but things haven't changed much since the past 5 years. I guess I'll just talk to her doctor at her annual checkup coming up just to make sure that she doesn't need any extra help.

Coming to think of it, everyone has its own fears,rite? I, for one, am eternally scared of all insects and all bugs. So, basically, anything that crawls...or flies at our level. Yes, you can picture me jumping on the sofa on seeing a big bug on the floor. But I have learnt to control the yelling and screaming as I mature .....or more, as I am a mom now and I have to comfort the kids before I comfort my own self....lol. And yes, I am scared of the dogs and cats too. That makes me think, what is one common thing that everyone, or a lot of us are scared of......across the world. Or at least India. And the one thing I can come up is fear of ..........happiness. Yes, happiness. And now what's that?

I remember the time when I was little, or actually even now, when I laugh out loud, literally, there definitely will be someone to tell me, "Sheetal, don't you laugh so crazy, you'll cry soon." So we can't even laugh our hearts out in fear of sabotaging our happiness. Why do we always think about jinxing it? Why can't we live even one emotion to its fullest? Why do we pollute it by over-thinking? I heard this beautiful line in the movie 'Paheli.' It says "aaj ki aad mein kal ko ojal hi rehne do." Doesn't this make sense? Why can't we all just live in the present without worrying about the future? Or is it more prudent to think ahead so that the plans we make are not foiled. Or rather, we don't get hurt. Yes, its only natural to save us from being hurt. But in order not to get hurt, we don't savor the moment that makes us truly happy. And that I should say is 'fear of happiness.' I am sure its more complicated than this but I leave that for later.

I don't really know how to overcome any of the fears. And the only thing that comes to my mind are these lines from the movie 'Invictus.' They are actually written by Winston Churchill but Nelson Mandela gave it as an inspirational gift to the thereby Rugby captain of South Africa.

"We are still the masters of our fate,

We are still the captains of our soul."

West Virginia!

Mountains and mountains of tree-covered slopes, miles and miles of rivers cutting through 'em, gorge-ful of canyons abundant in lush-ness, tons of trails to walk your heart out, and steepiest cliffs to rapel on. That, my friend, is West Virginia. Wild and wonderful. Breathtaking and beautiful.

When you make your way through the shooting class IV and class V rapids, you can't help but yell and shout and scream as you paddle your raft away from the ginormous rocks. Full-on excitement and fun. And between the rapids, as the guide lets you jump off the raft and lets you float along the relatively milder currents, it is tranquility redefined. The river becomes the coziest bed you have ever slept on as you float tummy-up. The life jacket gives you a pillow-like cushion at your neck, and you look up at the clear, lovely blue blue sky with a few wisps of clouds, and you can't help but feel.......just peace. Just calm. Just happy. Floating in a pool is something, but floating in the natural river is just an extremely serene experience that you never want it to end.

Back at the rustic log cabins that we overnighted in, we had a delicious barbeque session where Bis and Santosh smoked the burgers and corn, while Ajay was an expert burger-arranger. The paneer was just awesome awesome awesome (courtesy Deya). And the kids cherrified the campfire with their smores. This was followed by some vigorous Bollywood thumkas, courtesy, not the girls, but the half-drunk guys, who were lost in their liquor (prepared by Ashok). Some were even ready to jump from the top of their cars (wink) while some mimic-ed Devanand. lolll

This was such a fantastic trip. Thanks all you guys and lets just storm the orkut, or facebook or watever ftp's there are with the pictures. And as long as we all are in this land of 'goras', we'll continue to indulge in the 'goron ke chonchle' as they turn to be as mazedaar as they can be (wink).

River tubing

Sit yourself on a tube and let yourself float away down the river. Engage in a wonderful gossip session with a friend (remember to tie the tubes together) or simply take a nap under the sun. (Heat from the sun feels really wonderful when your bum is soaking in the cool water ;)).

Its an ideal stress-reliever. As we all complain how stressed we are, etc, etc, and as it gets kinda hip-per to use the 's' word all the time, napping on a tube would definitely detoxify your system and relax you. Though I have to be completely honest and admit that I have no big stress to deserve such a de-stresser; but come summer, I'll do anything and everything to stay outdoorsy even at the cost of getting a bit bored in the end especially when the river got really really lazy. lol.

But as the river turned, and jumped and slowed, I couldn't help but compare it to our lives. Don't they have an uncanny resemblance to each other - the life and the river....or should I say, Life is a river. We all started out as a raindrop from up above. We trickled our way to the streams and into the larger river. Along the way, we saw some clean and sparkly shores, or some not so bright. We faced the rocks and trees and made our own decisions. Sometimes, we'd just charter a safe course through the obstacles, other times we did get ourself stuck in a big mess; but finally, did make it out clear. Sometimes, we were at the mercy of the currents, and sometimes, we chose our own path. But in the end, we all will and shall end up in the same place we came from - the sea. Final destination is the sea. Its just the journey that will be the interesting part.

Read this already huh? Nothing new rite. But well, I just thought it was time for another blog. lol and finally, my words of wisdom to you would be

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream;

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream. :)