1999 convocation

So I found another nice picture of myself at the convocation. I quite like the convocation dress. I wish I had bought the stole as a keepsake but at the time it just didn't seem that important. The NID lawn looks so lush and beautiful. I loved winter evenings there with a cup of hot chai! Nostalgia! Nostalgia!

And here's another photo in which I wish I wasn't making such a horrible face. It was taken the same day. Sandeep Sangaru is with me who graduated in furniture design. He makes awesome bamboo furniture. I hope I will own some one day! Thanks Sandeep for both the pictures :)

The night

The night covers my skin like a cloak
I am warm and I am cold
I am here and I am not
The night gives me a few minutes

A few minutes of myself
A few minutes of freedom
From the brightness of the day
The blinding light of the day

Let this night be over.  

So toss a coin

When faced with two choices, simply toss a coin. It works not because it settles the question for you but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air you suddenly know what you are hoping for.

Ninna Wabbit

Sam once had five cats and she now only has two so you can imagine how much she loves cats. Her favourite, little Cassey aka hopalong was her favourite. She got her when Sam was five years old. Sam is an only child and Cassey was like her family, her sibling. Now Cassey is partially blind and cannot hear very well. She is very weak and suffering and has to be put down. Sam and her mother spent the night crying as they tried to say farewell.

I can only imagine the pain they must be going through losing a member of the family. Sometimes I look at my beloved Ninna and I wonder what I would do when one day I have to bid her farewell. I cannot imagine a life in which my dog is not with me. No human can love you the way a dog does. A dog doesn't care what you look like or what you do or any such minor details. All she asks is that you love her. And I do love my Ninna so much. She's the light of my eyes. She knows when I've had a bad day. She comes to me running full speed when I get home and rewards me with an endless supply of kisses. She never leaves my side as long as I'm at home. I could learn a thing or two about unconditional love from my little baby. And one day in a few years I will have to let her go and get used to living without her. I never want to lose her but lose her I will.

But till she's here with me I promise to love her just as much as she loves me although it might prove to be a difficult task because a human's ability to love is simply dwarfed by the vastness of a dog's heart. I love you my baby, may you stay forever young. 

Foggy morning

I woke up to a beautiful foggy morning. It's like the clouds descended from the heavens and blessed the desert city. It's lovely when happiness begins to flow through you right at the beginning of the day. You find the right song in the car. There's good work to be done and the weekend promises to be wonderful. I'm so grateful for every little thing that goes right in my life. Let life always be this peaceful.

See

There is so much beauty in the world if only I would take a moment and really see it.

Love

I am yet to find a better interpretation and practice of love than the following-


“We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her.

From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, 'Darling, do I understand you enough? Or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly. I don't want to make you suffer, and if I do so because of my ignorance, please tell me so that I can love you better, so that you can be happy." If you say this in a voice that communicates your real openness to understand, the other person may cry.

That is a good sign, because it means the door of understanding is opening and everything will be possible again.

Maybe a father does not have time or is not brave enough to ask his son such a question. Then the love between them will not be as full as it could be. We need courage to ask these questions, but if we don't ask, the more we love, the more we may destroy the people we are trying to love. True love needs understanding. With understanding, the one we love will certainly flower.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

The learning

I have recently started going to this website called stumbleupon.com. All I have to do is check a  number of boxes which define my interests and it keeps throwing related websites on my screen. I have realised that most websites that I like are the ones which have funny or adorable pictures of animals. The other websites that I really like are the ones about Buddhism and its teachings as one could apply in one's life. Somehow these teachings appeal to me greatly. I want to be at peace and be in the present as much as possible. This is not easy as my mind is fickle but I try. I found some writings of Thich Nhat Hanh a Vietnames monk and reading through them I began to understand the importance of the present moment. If I'm not careful it will be gone before I know it. Here is an invaluable excerpt from his teachings that I completely loved especially as I love my tea heh heh!

“You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.

Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.

Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.

If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea.

You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.

Life is like that.

If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone.

You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life.

It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished.

Learn from it and let it go.

The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.

Worrying is worthless.

When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment.

Then you will begin to experience joy in life.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

And here is another excerpt that I also loved and today when I have my tea I will try to be in the moment and truly enjoy the beauty of it.


“Tea is an act complete in its simplicity.

When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.

The rest of the world dissolves.

There are no worries about the future.

No dwelling on past mistakes.

Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.

I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.

I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.

I am informed by the tea, changed.

This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.

There is only the tea, and me, converging.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Sunday morning

The morning sun seems to want to say something to me this morning. It's telling me that the moon is treacherous and devious and everything looks different in the light of day.

The beggar

Ankur and Anshuman having a leisurely drink and yummy starters as Ninna begs unashamedly.

Suddenly

I'm tired and everything hurts. The cold has finally caught up with me. Head feels like a sack of potatoes and eyes are resisting all attempts at staying awake. Two cups of coffee have only helped cause slumber to descend upon me like a warm blanket in the winter. If I have another coffee I might fall asleep at my desk and that would be quite unprofessional. Why does coffee make me feel sleepy. It's supposed to do the opposite but it just doesn't in my case. I feel all warm in my tummy and get under a quilt for a nap.
There's a birthday party to attend in the night so it's going to get late till I finally crash out my sick and weary bones. Increasingly I feel like I'm getting old at double the speed compared to any other time in my life. Or may be I'm just having a sleepy day...

Just couldn't resist

I just couldn't resist a Photoshop filtered picture of myself. So here I am vain as ever although when you Photoshop an image it is testament to the fact that you need technological assistance to make you look good which essentially translates to the fact that you're getting old. Well boo hoo even a two year old child is getting older, get over it and embrace photoshop!

The white dress

It was Dina's engagement party in Friday night. The dress code was white and I had bought a lovely top which I was going to wear with black tights. When I showed it to Anshuman he said,"You're a silly woman. Go get a dress." So I pouted and said but it costs money to which pat came the reply,"You have a credit card, don't you?" I think I fell in love with him all over again in that moment. So off I went to the mall in search of the elusive white dress and found one dress which thankfully fit. I also found a lovely stole to go with it but then I lost it. What I mean is that it was a huge store and since I had not picked it up the first time it took me a while to find it the second time. A little white clutch and I was ready to party.
The engagement was at Dina's house which was decorated in white and teal. Dina came down the stars in a lovely teal dress. Elie ran up and put the ring on her finger. Everyone was joyous, it was such a beautiful moment and I loved being there!

I got to wear my pearls. I bought them almost 13 years ago and never wore them for the longest time. I loved getting all dressed up. I should do it more often I think. Really perks you up! Almost as good as shopping, well shopping is a part of it.

The table setting was perfect and I loved the yellow roses, my favourite.

Dina and Elie, the happy couple. All other pictures I took of them had weird shiny eyes thanks to the iphone camera which I have come to realise is not very good.

Rami and Rola, the rocking couple. It was great to spend time with them outside the office. Rami is one of the funniest guys I know. I mean sometimes he says such inappropriate things that they sound funny!

And the lovely Samantha. During the course of the party she said she doesn't look good. Ok Sammie if you don't look good then I look like a troll!

The saxophone player played melodious soothing tunes during the first part of the evening. It was beautiful. Now that's the kind of party I like!

Convocation day

So here's a gem of a photograph which I found thanks to facebook. It's the day I convocated at National Institute of Design. I remember the day very well. We were all hanging around smoking in the lush lawns under the winter sun. In the middle of the ceremony I spotted Anshuman who had travelled ticketless from Bombay to Ahmedabad in the general compartment of a train sitting crouched all night. After the ceremony got over we went for a walk and I was showing him around the campus. As we walked leisurely behind the Old Canteen Anshuman suddenly asked me,"Will you marry me?" and I replied,"Ofcourse!" It was a wonderful wonderful day and I'm glad I found an image of it. May be I could go back someday just so I could get my hands on a decent sized print of it. May be...

2013

Here's wishing all my loved ones a very very happy new year! May all your dreams come true!