What's New?

New year and a new post! After all my aspirations, trials and tribulations I am here again finally. These past few months have kept me occupied in various things, craft being the chief one of them. More than anything else, I hone my photography skills(however insignificant) on my crafts these days. So dear reader, you can expect most pictures in my posts related to my crafts. Please bear with them.

Now, lets come to the main subject. I mean Coco. As expected from the son of a strict mother, he is turning into a fine gentlemanly boy, who tries to be of use by putting spoons back in the cutlery stand after licking chyawanprash off of them! Thanks to my keen eyesight and 'Vyomkesh Bakshi' like detective spirits, I spot them right away. So, you can come to my home and stay assured of being served with clean cutlery. Almost always. :D 

Oh, by the way, we have moved into a British era bungalow, that comes with a defunct fireplace et al. But, unlike the good old 'foot of the Himalayas' days, I am yet to discover the joys of staying here. The elaborate engagements of social life and personal matters have kept all of us too busy to look around and smell the flowers. Literally!

But, one can always hope, right! 

Read on for picture descriptions. It might be interesting, I promise!

The topmost picture is of two dreamcatchers out of which the white one is hanging one one of my living room walls delicately. The multicolored one is made on order for someone. It might be interesting for you to know that the rings for both of them come from a large embroidery hoop, that couldn't serve its intended purpose. It hung inside my closet for many years, until one fine day another purpose was found for it. Destiny!

 The second image is of few cards that I made for someone on request. They might look ordinary but they are the fruits of a couple of hours of painting, measuring, cutting, gluing, babysitting, snacking and homing in general.

Then there is one corner of my living room which I tidied up hurriedly before clicking a decent enough picture for the blog. 

The last picture is of Pink Pitari's jewelry, that was lying in separate mounds of necklaces and earrings while I was clicking their pictures for promotions. 

I think this is enough for the first post of the year. Hope to be here more often. 

From Himalayas To Nilgiris!

A big hello from a new place. May was all about packing and moving and June went in settling down in this awesome new place that has everything that the lazy woman loves. It has beautiful weather, hills and of course flowers of all colors. The surrounding hills are carpeted with lush green tea gardens which make a view so luxurious, its takes your breath away. But what it really lacks is the familiarity and comfort of the place that I called home for past two years.

 Between packing and unpacking boxes, the time flew by and little did I realize that I was actually missing something. Coco and his dad both became busy soon enough and I was left at home wondering why I found myself engulfed with a strange emptiness. More alarming was the fact that many of the ladies here complained of feeling blue and depressed. Being the hardcore optimist that I am, I never admitted to it openly and strongly believed that these are initial jitters that will subside in some time.

The hills and the climate are great, but just not comforting enough. We are staying on the top floor of a three storey building, which provides exceptional views of the town nearby. But it is not something that I wake up for. It is not something that I look out for, like I used to play peekaboo with my rosebushes. Waking up and seeing a hill town spread before my eyes is a strange view and I was unable to assimilate it all into my existence, for first few days.

 It has been over a month now, and I am still figuring out my favorite spot where I can sit with a cup of tea, a piece of craft, a book, my laptop, or just by myself quietly. This new home of mine has a serious lack of such cozy corners.On top of that, it is too rainy and too windy here. Then one day it occurred to me. I am not an apartment dweller by nature, none of us are. I have stayed on ground for most of my life. I even hate flights. Staying on second floor is really hard work for me. It makes me feel, well, restricted. Additionally, in the busy schedule, I barely spend any time alone at home. Being an earth dweller, I need to grow my roots before I start feeling comfortable. I need to spend time in this new home, to be able to love it and call it home lovingly. 

These days, I am trying to do precisely that. The good news is, we are slowly growing on each other, Nilgiris and I. Meanwhile, the treasured memories of Himalayan foothills are safely nesting in my heart.

  Boxes packed, loaded, gone...catching a few moments in the garden before saying goodbye.

    

  

Precious April Days!

The Coco household is packing and moving across the length of the country in May, a month of new prospects. May is full of hopes and possibilities of what 'May' happen! But the sweet memories of a beautiful April are not leaving the lazy woman's mind, especially as she is sitting amid black army boxes, laboriously wrapping her stuff in bubble wraps and taping them. 

For anyone who is wondering what was so special about April, the weather was awesome for the starters. While the rest of India complained of scorching heat, we were seeing charming, breezy days and cool evenings. The air was filled with sweet scents of spring and the winter flowers were still around, reminding us of the lovely winter that went by. 

With the most pleasant part of the year, which is neither cold nor hot, it was still possible to spend some time outside in the company of my favorite roses. If only the mosquitoes were not there!

March was the concluding month for Coco's playschool. Ferrying him back and forth to school had become a favorite activity of my day in the past 8-9 months. The sight of shiny roads and warm sun made me incredibly happy. To complete the happiness, strains of vintage Hindi music always accompanied me. Have a close look at the picture above. It was taken on a drive back from Coco's school. The white iron gate and red pillars of FRI gate, with a magnificent building behind them (not in the picture) are a sight that I am in love with. Do you see hills in the background? It is Mussoorie. My humble phone camera cannot do justice to this incredible sight. In April, we got Coco's admission done for only a month in the new session so that he is occupied with activities, while we are busy with packing. So my driving job is back and I am happily doing it for it brings to me the sights and sounds of a beautiful ten-minute drive, twice a day. 

To make April more pleasant, a book arrived in mail. Yes, people, I am a published writer now, with a short story published in an anthology named 'Colors: Shades Of Life'. My story is about two army wives (how obvious :D) and their friendship. The book is getting rave reviews and is available on amazon and goodreads. If you buy the book and read it, please be kind enough to share your thoughts and reviews. And I must thank you all again for your immense support and words of encouragement.

While we are delivering news, here comes one long due, though not related to April. The lovely folks at 'Burst Of Happyness' have hired me as a blogger to write informative and useful pieces for a healthy and happy life. I also manage their editorial calendar on the side. So, if you wish to contribute an article, do get in touch with me :). Please do visit the blog and get a lot of useful articles about health, beauty, awareness, natural living, decluttering, DIY recipes etc. You can also wander off to the main site and treat yourself to luxurious handmade bath and body goodies.

Before the packing began, we spent all our April weekends in visiting nearby places like Lansdowne and Mussoorie. More on these in upcoming posts! Till then, enjoy the exciting possibilities that 'May' happen.

To The New Horizons..

Every journey has a story behind it. Why else would anyone leave the warmth and comfort of their home behind to travel across the length and breadth of continents, braving the elements, getting scorched in sun and drenched in rain? Especially someone like me, who was cocooned in the love and affection of my parents  in a small town home would have never thought of a journey which would take me from North to South and then some more places. 

It was a time when none of my efforts of bringing my life on a desired path were giving any results. All I had were wasted opportunities and shattered dreams. It was as if darkness was attacking me from all directions and I could see nothing but gloom ahead. But I was not ready to give up. I had to get out of that place and chase my dreams. I was not born to be dominated by the smallness of social boundaries drawn for girls, I was born to break them and find new horizons for myself, so I thought. The life that several other small town girls had was not meant for me. And I never ever thought any different from this.

There was a time when I could see girls younger than me getting married and having children, going about their lives in a run-of-the-mill fashion. Friendly neighborhood uncles and aunts would keep talking to my parents in hushed voices, while I tried to ignore them. I knew in my heart of hearts that that kind of life was never going to be my life. Thankfully, my parents never tried to decide for me and heard me out.

The next step was to change lanes and press the accelerator hard. I took the bold decision of moving to Delhi for higher studies and make an altogether different career than what I had originally thought. While my mother cried her eyes out and my father was worried sick, they still supported my choice. Delhi has not been in the news for all the right reasons, and especially for a lonely girl from a small town and an even smaller exposure to the ways of the world, it was like trying to conquer Mount Everest. 

After my first couple of journeys when my father accompanied me forth and back from Delhi during holidays, I insisted that I travel alone, as I could not bear the thought of troubling my parents, and I knew travelling was a huge source of anxiety for my father. After that, as if I had grown a pair of wings. I completed my management course and got placed in a reputed IT company in Hyderabad. I flew to Hyderabad with my parents and joined my company, and gained the reputation of a lighthouse in my small town circle.

As for those uncles and aunts, they are making their girls study professional courses and have ditched the plans of getting them married soon after their high school.

   

Written as a post for the prompt 'start a new life' for housing

The Gentleman's Promise

Looking up to the sunshine, in the hopes of a beautiful day!

The night was dark, just like that phase of her life was. She was on the phone, talking in as hushed a voice as possible as her cousins were asleep in the adjacent room. The guy on the other side asked her repeatedly to speak loudly but she was scared, of one particular cousin to find out that she was talking to a guy other than him, that too to a guy he disliked as he had some sort of premonition about him taking this girl away someday.

The person who was on the other side had just proposed to her the previous week. He was in Army and had a busy working schedule. He tried to keep up with pressures of new-found love by calling her regularly, but what he thought was regular for him was uncomfortable for her. For instance, he called her at odd hours, sometimes from a desert where he was lodged for the night, sometimes from a tent or a truck. Some days he would not call at all and later when he called, he told her he had to walk a few kilometres to another sand dune to get cellphone reception.

She had learnt to keep her phone close to her at all times in the past week, as she would wait for him to call, just like all other girls in her hostel did. The girls teased her to no end since she met him, and never failed to mention his name, as if they knew all along that eventually they would come close, and she responded with fake irritation, smiling internally. They were in contact for a few months now, after reuniting on a social network after almost 10 years. They had been together in school, and she tries to think even today how  it would have been if they had fallen in love then! 

She was sitting on the mattress on the floor, looking over her shoulder for the signs of this nasty cousin, trying to keep the conversation on as she could hear the wind howling on the other side as he spoke. Trying to understand what he was saying, she bobbed her head to the left asking 'What?' and instantly turned right to see the cousin standing there, like a monster from a nightmare, his raging eyes almost burning her down. She gasped, but regained her composure somewhat, as she realized that she was still on phone, with someone she regarded very special to herself.

'Who are you talking to?' he asked, breathing heavily, his whole body shaking with rage, though he knew the answer clearly. 'That ***? '

She tried to come up with something, anything that could save the moment, but random sounds escaped her lips, as she thought of the guy on the other side. 

In one instant, baring teeth like a rabid dog, he snatched the phone away from her hands and smashed it on the floor, sending its parts flying across the room. She was numb with shock and fear. But only for an instant. She was now worried about her boyfriend and what would happen now to their one week old long distance love affair! He would have heard this and would find it very rude that she hung up on him. After all, army guys are well mannered, and they expect to see good manners in return too. He will break up with her now. Oh, the only guy she ever liked so much would hate her!

In tears, she collected the phone parts from all over the room, and sat down on the mattress to join the pieces as she wished her shattered love story could also be simply assembled like that. Watching her sobbing and trying to put the phone together with shaky hands, the cousin sat by her side and took the phone from her. He put all the parts in place and gave it back to her. 

'Okay, don't cry now. Call him.' Of course, she was already dialing the now most important phone number of her life. The phone was ringing, but he did not pick it up. She tried calling many times, but it was not answered. Something she knew already. It was certainly the worst phase of her life, already bleak, ridden with multiple bouts of sickness, repeated failures at building a career of her choice, and now this, a heartbreak, which she had least expected.

Crestfallen, she put the phone on the mattress, as her cousin tried to console her. She could not register what he was saying. All she could say to him was 'He will never talk to  me again,' between her uncontrollable sobs. 

Her cousin had once been her best friend. He assumed himself in the place of her guardian since she arrived in this city to study. With time, this love took skewed parameters as he obsessed over her. He would pressure her to visit him every weekend, he came to meet her almost daily on some or the other excuse, talking to her on the phone when not visiting, keeping a tab on when and where she went, even with her girl friends, what she was wearing on these outings without him etc, which would make her feel stuck in a cage. Despite of her severe admonitions which were sometimes borderline threats, he would never stop trying to control her life. To add to her woes, he also tried to act like her boyfriend. Friendless and lonely, and mostly naive, she listened to him and laughed off his romantic advances thinking he is only joking. He never liked her talking to her male classmates or any other guys. The fact that she had a real boyfriend now obviously made him mad with jealousy.

Though he was apologetic the next morning, she packed her backpack and told him in a cold voice, 'Nobody has a right to tell me who should I talk to or fall in love with. Not even my parents do what you did. Whatever happens, I am not setting foot again in this house. You suffocate me.'

'Oh, but you say that every time you get angry. You will visit next weekend, of course.'

But she hoped to keep her resolution this time. A hope that was on the verge of being snuffed out.

Later that morning, as she was finding it utterly difficult to concentrate on the lecture with burning eyes and scorched heart, her phone started ringing. To her utter disbelief, it was the boyfriend. She rushed out of the class, excusing herself. What would he say? would he be angry? how would she tell him about the cousin? She was breathless with all the effort of carrying the ringing phone with such great expectations and an audibly beating heart. 

'Hello?' It came out as a question.

'Hi,' his sunshine filled voice replied, as she pictured him smiling. 'How are you? All well? I saw your missed calls last night. Sorry, I just walked up to this road, there was no connectivity in my tent.' 

'So, you are not angry with me?' The warmth in his voice was already melting away her fears, resurrecting her hope.

'No, why?'

'Because the call got disconnected last night.'

'Yeah, that was abrupt, but the connectivity is so bad in this area, I thought I will call you back when I reach my camp. But there was simply no network.'

'But why didn't you pick up when I called?' 

'Oh, we had started from our halt, and I could not hear my phone ringing over all the rumble these tanks make.'

'Ohh,' she sighed with relief. So in all its likelihood, the bad network had saved her love story.

'Achha listen,' he said, ' Forward me the number of your cousin, I should talk to him. He seems to have a big problem with me, I don't see why, and I should get it sorted out.'

There, her heart skipped a beat. So, he had heard it and was still not breaking up with her.
'Hello, what happened? Do not worry. I knew something was quite out of place when you first told me about him. Remember, I will not judge you, ever. It is a gentleman's promise.'

Oh, she fell even deeper in his love. There were people like him, who took it upon themselves to sort out the anomalies created by others and there were people like her cousin who did not even have his own life sorted out.

Her life suddenly started looking beautiful. She finally had found the right person who she could actually love like she loved her family, strength to overcome the cousin's pressure and hopes for a future where she could be free, to do whatever, go wherever with anyone she wished, wear whatever clothes she liked. In a few months she would out of this city and this cousin would be a matter of the past.

She gave him the number, he called, as she had expected the cousin did not talk to him after he introduced himself. The cousin kept visiting her and calling her while she stayed there for the duration of her academic tenure. She kept her promise and never went to his place again. She moved to a far away city for work, gradually the communication with the cousin became scarce and died down as she had intended. The army guy had become her knight in shining armour by just being there like an anchor.

Written as a post for the prompt 'Look Up Stories' for https://housing.com/lookup