Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

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  • A letter to a dearly beloved

    “Light a lamp of love! Blast a chain of sorrow! Shoot a rocket of prosperity! Fire a flowerpot of happiness!”

    My dear Beloved

    I never really understood my aunt’s statement ” my Diwali is when my children come home” . I used to think it was crazy the way she would clean her house till the last knob sparkled and even if it was mid – May or June, her solitary flat would be strung with fairy lights that twinkled , her front door festooned with garlands, rangoli and  clay lamps house while the brass tins on her table were filled with freshly made Diwali treats. I thought she was a bit cuckoo with her reaction to her children’s homecoming but now when I put out the lights for the last day of Diwali today, I understand her sentiments. My Diwali is not the same without you and will never be the way it was when you were party of my family.

    My first Diwali with you was a special one, a precious one because it reminded me of a Diwali I could have had with another one, another child if she had chosen to stay. But that little one left us even before she saw the light of day which made your arrival a more cherished one. So that first Diwali which you spent with us was extra special with the light you brought back into our lives.

    You were our special Diwali gift, one that grew with every year. I loved the way you reacted each Diwali, surprise and shock with the noise and light. Then gradually you began to appreciate the lights, the candles , the food and new clothes the festivities and the celebrations. You learnt to mix with friends and family and enjoyed our rambunctious  family get togethers, where loud chatter fought hard to make itself heard as we exchanged gifts and wishes with each other. Every Diwali there were more children adding to the love and replacing those that left our fold.  The Uncles and Aunts slowly got older and you and your cousins came to the fore. You helped with all the preparations for the celebrations, making designs with rangoli powders, arranging flowers, choosing gifts and packing them…..helping get the house ready to welcome the light into our homes.

    And then one day you left to never return not even for a stray Diwali…. and Diwali lost its special light, the sweets their sweetness till finally they turned bitter with your decision not to look back anymore. Since then my Diwali has become a mindless motion of activities that have to be done – get the house clean, make the sweets, buy the gifts and wish the people. The greetings become meaningless and even though I wish all well, I know inside my heart will hanker for your presence on Diwali Day.

    I know I ask for something that can never change because your actions are irreversible but know this dear wherever you are, that somewhere there’s an aching heart of a mother waiting for the child she lost. My Diwali can never be the same and though the sweets become sweet again, the crackers sound and new memories take the place of those you left behind, I’ll always see your honey brown eyes flickering in the Diwali flame.

    Missing you forever and forever……

    This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

    I’m also linking this as the 26th post for Write Tribe ProBlogger challence

  • Fire Crackers on Diwali night

    The start of a new year

    Last night was a big Diwali night, the first night of the start of the merchant’s commercial calendar. As a harvest festival which commemorated the start of another agrarian cycle, Diwali’s Padva is considered one of the three auspicious days where any activity can be started without checking out the alignment of the stars. So after Laxmi Puja, this is another important day, one fit to be celebrated with lights and firecrackers.

    I looked out of my balcony last night and captured some of the nightscenes I could manage without a flash.

    This Diwali has been pretty quiet with very few crackers going off at all times of day. The roads too wore a deserted look as did the shops. The lights were fewer too and I wonder if it is because of the changing demographic of the island city, with a large proportion of its population above 60, with several homes where the children have left.

    Nana Chowk’s hideous skywalk lit up in the night

    The towers in the sky

    Top floor of a skyscraper lit for Diwali

    A brilliant start burst

    Bathed in golden light

    Buildings in the front

    Festive lights in our compound

    Marine Drive in the distance

     A time for new beginnings

    Diwali is a time for renewal – a time for new beginnings. 
    I wonder what it will bring this time? 
    A brilliant star burst in the dark sky or 
    a steady row of lights 
    burning silently all night? 

    I am linking this post to Write Tribe’s October challenge. I’m happy that I’ve been able to blog each day though I’ve been a bit lost with the link ups….

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  • Pink Sky on yet another Friday

    This Friday morning I woke up realising that yet another week was over and that the year will soon be spinning to a close. After a long time I had a good night’s rest – was it because I slept late around 1130ish or was it because it was the culmination of a pleasant day?  Yes, the day began on a good note because Hubby Dear actually agreed to come to a movie..Seeing movies together has become even rarer because good movies are hard to come by and frankly I get scared to recommend a movie that might turn out to be a bummer – because unlike the TV where you can quickly change channels when you are bored, the only option in a movie hall is to grope one’s way to the toilet for relief from boredom.
    Luckily there was a movie worth seeing this week – there were two infact – and it was a toss up between the Bollywood offering HAIDER which had more stars and rave reviews than the Hollywood one THE JUDGE. It was a tough choice but I chose to go to THE JUDGE simply because the timings were more convenient.

    THE JUDGE – As cliched as American Apple Pie

    Starting out as a typically cliched movie of a dysfunctional American family – smart ass lawyer from a small town who makes good in the Big Bad City, so good that his sexy wife finds comfort elsewhere, his cute as a button daughter is wiser than her years – The Judge is the story of Hank Palmer who is brought to face reality with a return back to his roots in the corn belt of Indiana with a phone call informing him of his mother’s death. In the gloom of the funeral parlour, he meets his younger autistic brother Dale and his elder brother Glen and when he finally meets his father at his mother’s wake, he is given a cold shoulder establishing beyond doubt that he is truly the black sheep. For a man who hates his father so much that he didn’t return home for 20 years, it seems strange that this reception should rankle, but rankle it does and all through the movie Robert Downey Jr. who plays Hank yearns for his father’s approval. But Judge Joseph Palmer played by Robert Duvall is unbending in his attitude and is not ready to forgive easily. Hank would have walked out then and there and back to his life in the city were it not for the fact that the grieving Judge, his father has been arrested on a murder charge. Naturally, Hank turns back and confronts his father and the other ghosts from his past to finally come to closure with all all the loose ends that made up his life.

    The performances were undoubtedly good with each one playing typecast characters with panache. The movie moves slowly at first but picks up in the end particularly with the courtroom drama where Billy Bob Thornton plays the tough prosecuting attorney Dwight Dickham. Romantic relief is provided in the form of Vera Farmiga who plays the old high school sweet heart Sam Powell. Hank’s daughter makes a brief visit to Indiana where we see a softer side of the Judge and thereafter a melting of emotions which finally leads Hank to accept certain truths. The movie ends predictably with a semi tragic ending but one where the prodigal son returns to his roots.

    Verdict – Worth a watch but don’t expect the moon. If you are an occasional movie watcher check out the trailer and then decide .

    After the movie we relaxed at home, did the Puja and went for a family dinner on a dark moonless night by the sea. The road home was a nightmare with everyone out on Marine Drive either to watch or play with fireworks.

    The smoke of last night was evident in this morning’s sunrise which was a smoky pink tinged sunrise.

    I’d like to share some of these morning pictures:

     
    I’m linking this post to SKYWATCH FRIDAY

    The sun has long since risen and half my day is almost done.

    Soon it will be Saturday and then Sunday and another week before it is yet another Friday!

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