Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The lost princess.

She was a princess born into an otherwise unknown kingdom. Her little home. The walls were a serene white and the only thing in abundance was love. She was showered with love everyday and her eyes sparkled with joy, it was pure innocence.

And then came childhood, full of laughter and playing in the sand and dirt making little castles where her dolls awaited their prince. Through their eyes she dreamt of a prince too. A prince whose hand she would hold and stand tall as she journeyed this world.  She was proud as a peacock and brilliant as an owl.  Her aspirations and dreams knew no bound. Nothing was impossible.

Like a caterpillar she had blossomed into a beautiful vibrant butterfly. She no longer needed the cocoon to protect her. She had travelled the world and seen its beauty. Amongst all the madness, she had found beauty in herself and in her work.  And she continued to dream of the prince.

He was confident and brilliant, just like her. She had found her prince; and soon, they were blessed by the world, to live happily ever after.

And so began a new story, soon they had their little princess and showered the same love and blessings on her.  Slowly but surely, life was now routine and the charisma and magic of young love was over. They were both now parents; trying to juggle and balance life.  

Time no longer stood still as they gazed into the sky, there was now the noise of phone calls, alarm clocks and a little princess who was testing her toddler vocal cords.

The gleam in her eye was replaced by questions, the pride was replaced by doubt and it didn't matter anymore. And yet she continued to love her prince. But then came the war, and the prince had to leave. He won the war, he was now the king, but had seen newer lands and wasn't sure which to call home.

Surrounded by beauty she waits for the pretty.

NO.. I did not paint this. Though would love to one day.
Its something I found on the net...I need to find the name of
the artist, and post it here.
Its a great piece of art, I am sure u agree. 
She wondered with bewildered eyes where the sands of time would take her.  Her daughter's smile was her oasis. She silently prayed and hoped for a better tomorrow for herself. And wondered if she will see the clear sky again. 

Such is the story of not one but many women in this world. These are not random thoughts, but thoughts that came to me as I read the different articles on FB, and varied news websites. 

Why doesn't a woman have a voice? Why is it that a woman considers it her duty to cook for the family? Its an unsaid expectation, that the woman cooks and cleans. And if the man steps up to help, he is considered hen pecked. Who defined these roles and who made them the norm? 

All very poignant questions, I know. But such is the mood today.

Hoping this new year is when we learn to celebrate the being that gave birth to civilizations. For it is true, without a woman there would be no man and no world. 




Sunday, January 27, 2013

Trying to bring structure to this blog.

Hello, its me again :-) and so glad to see yo u here.

Its been two months since I started this blog and every post has been from the heart. One of the unsaid benefits of starting the blog has been walking my self through the thoughts and that's always a good thing.

Glass Art at the Children Museum of Indianapolis.
The explosion of colors in this masterpiece reminds me of
4th of July Fireworks. 
In the blogging world, there is Wordless Wednesdays - where bloggers post a pic and no writing, there is Philanthropy Fridays - on how to give back. 

I am now starting Music Mondays and Thoughtful Thursdays on my blog.  Maybe these already exists, and if I find other bloggers doing the same, I will post their linky things on this blog too.

Music Mondays - starting off the week right, with a song that has been making me happy and helps me to angrily, grumpily smile through it all.

Thoughtful Thursdays - where I express my thoughts; random, structured, emotional and all.

And I am going to join the others for Wordless Wednesdays. This is where I hope to post the pics of my paintings.

The challenge is not how to find material to write or post, but developing the discipline to be posting regularly and on time.

I am starting this Monday with "Firework" by Katy Perry.  Check out the tab above - Music Mondays.

You are a Firework, just ignite the light.

Cheers!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Freedom!

What a busy weekend.. so much happening and all at one time.

49ers pushed and grappled their way to the Super Bowl Finals. And you're probably thinking I am a huge sports buff. On the contrary! I understand Tennis, Baseball, Soccer, Cricket.. to the point that I know what's happening. I don't particularly follow any athlete, sports person or team. But Football.. I just don't get.  All I see is a bunch of guys running after this little ball and then falling sometimes in less than 5 seconds. They tell me its a very strategic game, and maybe it is, but I am yet to understand it.  And yes I watch it, to support and be excited for my husband,  and for a friend too.  Like I tell them, I am just excited seeing all the excitement.  And now while everyone waits for the Super Bowl Sunday to see the 49ers and Raven's wrestle it out, I wait for the half-time to see Beyonce' perform. 

And for Beyonce' it must be a feeling of distinct pride to be able to sing at the inauguration today. Such a beautiful voice. I am always jealous of those who can sing.  There are only a few who can say and make a song in the same breath. 

Posting this in honor of the poem "One Today" by Richard Blanco.
I particularly liked the passage on One Sky. 
The inauguration today marked yet another era of freedom.  And again I am not huge on politics, but then I watch when it is important.  Important not for politics but because I am always impressed how smooth the transition of power is in this country. How logical and sensible it is.  It is democracy as it should be. It is when we all agree to disagree and move on to make a better world. I am from a country that has cradled civilization for thousands of years and has the proud title of being the worlds largest democracy. Yes it is India. And I am proud of my roots. But there is still a lot to do there. And I am sure, some of you might say, who am I to complain, when I am not even living in India. And you're right.  But this is not a passing thought, it has been an observation since many years. It has been an admiration and yes, I have learned a lot after coming here. The  best part, it has taught me how to appreciate my own home better.  The inauguration came to an eloquent end with the beautiful first lady in red. She truly personifies the phrase "Behind every successful man is a woman." She is definitely the wind beneath his wings. 

And last but not the least, I started a painting. Agreed, its not a national news, but its HUGE for me and so the humble mention.  Its yet another Ganesh. This time being made on demand for a friend, I had lost contact with. The connection is now revived. Thank you Facebook!  

The 49ers oblivious of the pain and hardships of the actual 49ers who brought CA into the limelight, played their best, to once again bring San Francisco its glory. The President reaffirms his oath to lead the country to a better tomorrow. Me starting another painting, What does all this have to do with Freedom? Everything.

It is the Freedom gifted to mankind  that allows us to be all we can. The man who taught this nation to look beyond the color of the skin. The man who believed in another one just like him, living thousands of miles away, in another time, and like him was trying to fight for the freedom of his country.   It is he that is celebrated today with the win and the oath. 

Today as we celebrate and say Happy Birthday to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, let us remember to cherish this freedom. MLK or Gandhi, all they wanted was the Freedom to be. 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Don't Worry, Be Happy!


Intrigued by a FB prompt on a friends page, I decided to post the eternal question too; What is happiness? The responses were not many, but then I wasn’t expecting a flow either. From the 200+ in my network, there are a trusted and loyal hand full who take the time to read my posts and respond and it is them that make a big part of my happy world.

Happiness, defining it as mysterious as the existence of an Unicorn. I know it’s an unusual comparison, but lately my world has been filled with purple unicorns.

Coming back to happiness; It’s a state of mind says the intellectual, Its being home with my kids says a mom, it’s the first kiss says a sweet 16, it’s getting everything on your Santa wish list says a kid, its not being sad, its all about food, its living life with vigor says she and he alike.  Trusted always, Webster says its “a state of well being and contentment” or it’s a “pleasurable or satisfying experience.” 

As many people, as many definitions of happiness.

Do these definitions really mean anything to you? And be honest.

Another interesting emerging trend is to quantify happiness. Its almost becoming an industry of its own, as now governments want to add the happiness criteria to their measures of success.   And for me that straight out takes away the joy of being happy.

So what is happiness? I can only speak for myself. And here’s my take on this elusive question. Happiness to me has nothing to do with whether or not I have achieved my career goals ( which as we all know, I left long time ago,) it is not about what dress size I wear and it is definitely not about what my cheque book says.

Happiness is the freedom to be me. It is the freedom I have to make choices and take decisions. After all what good is a fat wallet or a size 0 dress if the freedom to do is missing. It is this freedom to be who we are that allows us to achieve our personal goals, set new career objectives and achieve them too. And for that I thank my husband. He gave me the freedom to be a stay at home, no questions asked. No suggestions given, just the simple freedom to do what I wanted.  Its been over a decade, but he simply said, “do what works for you, we’ll figure the rest out.”

So happiness to me is being me.  It is this sense of immense self existence that lets me "grumpily smile" through all adversities of life.

So my next question to all is, when I can’t quantify my own existence, how will any government or a psychologist find my happiness quotient. They can give me a form to answer questions and tick on happy, very happy, unhappy and so forth, but will that tell anyone, anything.

Happiness is not an objective quantity. It’s not even subjective for that matter, because its not a state of mind, it’s a state of being. 

This was at 6.30am few days ago.
After a stormy night, the Sun rises to a beautiful morning
reminding us yet again of the cycle of life;
the cycle to keep moving.
The slave was not unhappy for he was a slave, He was unhappy for he was not there for the world.   And when his existence was proven, he soared high to write, to invent, to run, to entertain, to lead and above all to freedom. 

Don’t worry, Be Happy. It’s just You!