yaadein

There is no end to memories, A smile always comes back when we turn around to look at the days gone by and the days filled with laughter and fun come back in a moment. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and then i started typing this post, with those immediate few images from the days gone by which brought a smile and these little precious gems are what makes life worth.

The image of three girls walking down the huge empty roads in the defence quarters and sharing one cup of ice cream. Limited pocket money or the joy of sharing, don't remember what prompted that1:3 ratio:)))))

Amma always bought identical water-bottles, lunch boxes, pencils and pens for both kids, The sixth class studying sis lost her water-bottle cap and silently replaced it with 4th class studying bro's water bottle cap. Thank god the little secret is still a secret:)))))

Talking about the sibling it is not clear how a 1/2 km stretch from school which takes about 15 min to walk back home would take him more than two hrs and one such occasion amma back from office and went in search of him towards the school, only to find him slowly walking with a tiny plant in both the hands and also talking to the plant:( He was just being careful about bringing the plant alive but then amma gives a lecture that i need to be careful and come along with him)))))

The first movie i went to watch with a gang of girls from school, we finished our board exams and we felt so proud of ourselves. It was a comedy movie and my best friend found it hilarious, so much so that she literally started kicking the front seat with her leg while laughing, the one in that seat did not find it amusing at all(((((

Aunty's shop-next to college, she had the best of samosas and we would wait for 9am, that's when the fresh stock came and the co ed college had a ladies room:))) we being the first batch to be admitted into a all boys college and the royal treatment we got every where and i remember naming a senior "Golgappa" I never knew he was a senior:((((( and the whole gang made me repeat "I am a complan girl"20 times for no reason:))))))

A group of college friends, 23 of them, went to watch a movie and16 turned up, we sold the remaining 7 tickets for triple the price we bought them for and partied with the money:))))

I thought PG would be serious stuff and in my first weak to the college, i bunked, in fact everyday i ran away from the economics class, as soon the the professor entered from the front door i used to run from the back door:))))))

The 50 acre campus filled with only women was fun, i tasted canteen food first time in my PG. I imitated Laluprasad yadav on the freshers day and they presented me with a wall painting which is still with me:)))

I know you are going to smile when you read this Pratima:) The first all girls nightouts started not in my PG but when i started working, one bio tech teacher, one food & nutrition teacher and Me, the commerce one:) the long drives and giggling whole night and one particular such time when i guess the downstairs ppl complained about too much noise and sounds, well, we were dancing you see:)
The fried rice you made and the comments which i had, the walk back home late night and early morning walking and whole night singing and giggling is still fresh in memories, and yes, we changed, everything changed but then such is life:) isn't it.

My two best friends are guys, those with whom i can share any news, those who understand my silence and every bit of me, those whom my husband would trust my safety with, amma did the same, its been more than 14yrs and there is no end to it..... they are the strength, they are the weakness, they are the lifeline...

Thank you dear god, for all the good times
And as he posted in his blog
"haan.... waqt yeh bhi guzar jaayega"

tumhaari meri baatein

Yesterday evening, The twilight was beautiful, the setting sun, the home bound birds and cold breeze and as always the silence, The coconut palms were swaying to the musical breeze, the picture is from our balcony, There is not much noise in the apartments, i felt little sad, three families in the floor are out of town, and the rest stay indoors mostly, i don't know who is in the next floor, the basement is almost empty with no cars, the watchman is sitting silently near the gate watching outside road, The dog from the next building is busy silently sitting and watching the empty surroundings and no kids outside in the basement, the cycles not honking and no screaming or loud cheers from them, most of them have gone home for vacation, But what do we do who made this place a home, Nothing much i thought:)

Watered the plants, watched them glowing in the evening glory, the little water drops look like fresh pearls, Suddenly the sadness gave way to a smile, A smile filled with content, the empty apartment floor or the basement now doesn't seem so lonely, Free and silent it is but these are the good times, before we hit the word busy again, the holiday time and what more can i ask for, i am in my home, sweet home, Friends may join us on 31st, the phone rang...

the neighbors who now double up as good friends called from Ooty, they are starting from there on 30th, her words are still ringing in my head "Neelu, we will celebrate new year together" The family whom i know for less than six months are coming back without having more fun with their family because they didn't like the fact that we are alone here.... Such is life, simple pleasures, simple happiness and simple reasons to smile. I remember what Amma says always "You will get back what you give to others",

smiles, fun, sharing, care, affection, celebrations, Live, Let live, Joy, tears, Pain, sharing, wiping them away, filling life with new colors, Its beautiful to be living, awesome to be blessed with happiness, Enjoy till it lasts, Rest we will see....

I suddenly wanted the silence to go, and the music filled the air, the recent favourite from Rock on filled the air...... Beautiful song and beautiful lyrics........ See you all in the new year, Happy new year guys, have a wonderful time, play safe and make merry:)

"yeh tumhaari meri baatein hamesha yu hi chalati rahein
yeh hamaari mulaakaatein hamesha yu hi chalati rahein
beetein yu hi apne saare din raat
baaton se nikalati rahein nayi baat
phir wahi baatein leke geet koyi hum likhein
jo dil ko, ha sabke dil ko chhu le
baatein suron mein yu hi pighalati rahein
baatein geeton mein yu hi dhalati rahein"

Dear Atticus

The first time i read his blog was one evening of september 2004,I remember his first post "Walking into the sunset" I just started blogging then and i told myself that one day i would write like him,write to make others feel,experience each word there, let others into those memories which they have long forgotten or busy to recollect,i knew one day i would want to write so effortlessly making the reader a part of every word there,It would be no more a blog post,no more just a story,no more just another experience of his,it would be something more, because after reading in some or the other way the reader would be a part of it,part of those emotions and those smiles and joy and pain as well.
I was in an awe for his words and kept going back to his blog again and again, From his days in a B school to his Journey to a far of land in search of himself,in search of a dream he came a long way and i still go to his blog and its 2007 already, I remember the post "Time Stops"
he wrote it sitting in a small village.
And the post about his niece Dhanya which i remembered for a long long time,i dont know how many times i read it. Each post has an emotion,a feeling,an experience worth all your time,and now the latest one which made me cry,those tears which come rarely these days and Dear Atticus, just to tell you that its been three years of knowing an Unknown you,Whose name i never knew for a long time,whose face i have no idea about,whose voice i have never heard of,but whose emotions,whose life has been a part of my virtual world,where i made some wonderful friends,Where we all have been a part of each others life in some or the other way,Today i just wanted to say Be Happy and keep writing:)

You talks of sunsets,the ones which are beautiful,the ones which give a hope,Yes,for me they give a hope,the Sun going down gives me a HOPE of A Tomorrow to come,a new one, with lot more dreams,with lot more happiness,it would bring you someone who is special and who would be with you,forever,The goodbyes are only for now,The flight which left you alone will be back sooner with that special someone who would be with you forever.

Ae zindagi gale laga le

"how does it feel to start at 0 after a 100? asked a friend when i started writing here last year Feb 3rd,Yes,its been already one year,the first birthday of Aalapana and a big thankyou to all of you who read,commented, silent at times but still been a part of the smiles,pain,joy,tears and anger and frustration which poured through the words here,

It feels great,to be the same,to not twist words,to not hide the real self,it feels good,but to tell you the truth i still miss the place which has been associated with an important phase of my life,but then here or in life its good to move on and what a journey it has been,past one year,Thankyou god,for everything and for everyone who stood by me and thank god for the people who left without a trace,i am better off without them and i have no regrets of leaving behind anything or anyone.

"Friends" what would be life without them? had a fantastic time with S and Y and we did nothing out of the world but i think i would feel the same even if we three meet at home for just 10min, because there are no pretensions,no artificial emotions,and what makes this friendship so unique is the fact that we act normal and we argue and in a min forget it and call up each other and talk about something else.
and more than anything what i love is the fact that hubby liked them instantly when he met them before wedding and today he says "if i ever have a complaint against you,i wont go to your mom,i will go to S and K" and that makes the huge difference,12yrs of friendship and today i felt a bit sad that i would be moving to another city soon,whom will i call up at all odd hrs and bug about the days events?
who will willingly work on my all time unfair demands with a smile,one who acts as a driver who takes me to any place in Hyd whenever i have to travel and one who is ever ready for giving advices whenever i rush to him with strange problems:)

and who will alter all their schedules just because i suddenly feel that we need to go for a movie or a book fair or go buy a dress,who will bear my most boring shopping sessions where all they do is carry my bags and i will be walking around buying things,how much ever i fight,how much ever i say i wont talk to them they still wait,maybe because they know that i will comeback to them,i do and they do the same,more than anything who will know the real me the way these two people know? None i would say,maybe one day hubby will succeed but for now no one else know the real ME except for them,i will sure miss them,well,but then do distances matter when we are bonded for life? maybe not,thank god,i count my blessings today and smile.

I am listening to the song "ae zindagi gale lagaale,humne bhi tere har ek ghum ko gale se lagaaya hain,hain na.... humne bhaane se,chupke zamaane se,palko ke pardein mein ghar bharliya hain ...tera sahaara milgaya hain zindagi" from Sadma,enjoy life as it comes,keep that smile intact:)

Hain agar dhoor manzil tho kya?

The festivities begun the moment the clock showed 12AM,1st January 2007,sms and phone calls started pouring in and everyone said "Happy New Year" I could wish them all right then and we laughed and talked and exchanged news but there is a small world of mine here too,in this blog space,where very few know me personally, many became friends through mails and even we are all yet to meet the feeling of belongingness makes the bond even stronger.I sure wanted to write to most of you personally which i will do, but a little later,i dont believe in group mails,or one content and cc to all email id's,so here i wish you all a wonderful year ahead.

Manishji ,let your love for music and poetry be what it has been always,keep writing about all those wonderful poets and writers and i am looking forward for the countdown of best of 2006 music list:) Happy new year to you.

Ardra, my dear sweet friend,i still wonder how someone can be so simple yet so wonderful and friendly and who has been there whenever needed. A wonderful new year to you and to your beautiful family.

Surinder, Oye, happy new year hain ji dost ji :D aapke baare mein kya bole hum,the one who tolerated most of my tantrums,demands and anger and yet smiled all the time and one guy who makes me feel "Zindagi rocks" thanku dear friend, A happy new year to both of you, abhi jaldi se mujhe phone karke thank u bol ki main tere bhare mein itni acchi acchi baatein bothi hoon;p

Hirdu, Hahahaha,He sits in Goa and mails and calls up people from 7.30pm and gives them gyan, thanku hain ji,aapka sabak main yaad rakhoongi jaroor:) happy new year and by the end of 2007 your single status will run away from you,have fun till then.

Gayatri ,thanku thanku for all the cute e cards you sent me dear lady,your profile photo rocks and so do you, One of my new year resolutions is to respond to your mails on time,i promise i wont break this one resolution:) and thanku dear friend, the warmth and love is mutual.May all your dreams come true this year, god bless.

Stoneji ,kyon sirji, kaise manaaya naya saal paraye desh mein? I still dont remember clearly how we both got into touch and even those occassional mails feel so good and special, my dear friend,i wish you and your wifey a wonderful new year ahead,have fun and have a rocking new year.

Ushaji, true to your blog statement "Ageless bonding" the bond i share with you makes me sure and confident of an unknown future, i still remember the words in the mails, and the dont ever give up attitude which you pour through your posts, I wish you a wonderful new year.

Kishore ,hahahaha,i already gave you the biggest surprise for the new year,dint i:d So now you come back soon and lets party;p I wish you a wonderful new year boy,let life give you the best,you deserve it.

Rangakrishnan, i wouldn say sorry for not keeping in touch,maybe because i know you dont need explanations and neither do i,i wish you a wonderful year ahead and i know we both are friends even if we maynot be able to mail eacother for another year also,but seriously i will keep in touch,wait for my mail:)

Atticus, in three years i only received your comment once in the blog but i know you more as a friend than a blogger today,wish you continue blogging but even then,wherever you go,what ever you do let there be happiness, let there be smiles and let there be joy all around,a happy new year to you.

Ashish,oye, now smile and have a blast,and lets keep arguing and use the word Stupid more often and now you keep counting No. of treats you owe me. Life is simple,enjoy it,forget about the past,lets not wait for the future,today is with you,make the most of it, happy new year my dearest friend.

Pallavi, happy new year lady, i just admire you the most and you always were with me whenever i came to you, wish you a wonderful new year,lots of travelling and a much more peaceful and wonderful life ahead,waiting to meet you soon.

Shahid, Aapki dosti sar aankoh par, zindagi ki dor mein kahin aapke kushi bhi likhi hain,dher saver mil hi jaayega sabkuch,thoda sa aur sabr,thoda sa aur intezaar? mushkil hain par namumkin tho nahi na, meri dua hamesha aapke saath hain, khush rahiye, muskuraayiye aur zindagi ke har pal ko apna bana kar do dekhiye, bada accha lagega, naya saal mubaarak ho aapko.

Anumita,sush,Dreamcatcher,Keshi,Ishitha,Hiphopgrandmom, Passerby,da4u,we all know each other mostly by comments here but still you are all special in my blog,i wish a happy new year to you:)

Atul, wish i could understand your posts as others do :( but i seriously i check every post and comments too once in a day,i will keep trying:) happy new year to you, your photo blog is one of the best photo blogs i have seen till date,keep clicking:)

Gangadhar,we never met even after staying in the same city but your son is the cutest i would say and whenever i go to Imax i keep checking if he is near by:) virtual bonding isnt it.a happy new year to you and your family.

Tulan,Just me,Het,Velu,Kaunquest, hope this journey of knowing each other through blogs continues for long,a happy new year to all of you.

I start my new year with this lovely song...........music as always will be a part of this blog space.

Zindagi pyaar ka geet hai,Ise har dil ko gaana padega
Zindagi ghum ka sagar bhi hai,Hanske us paar jaana padega
Hai agar door manzil to kya,Raasta bhi hain mushkil to kya
Raat taaron bhari na mile to,Dil ka deepak jalaana padega
Zindagi pyaar ka geet hai,Ise har dil ko gaana padega

Thankyou Wilson

My brother stopped at a traffic signal,after hurriedly talking for a min in the phone he tried to drop the phone back into his jacket,well,it landed up on the road,and he rushed off on his bike.He had a meeting and he realized only after 6hrs that he lost his favorite samsung mobile on which he spend more than 20,000Rs.
He tried calling at his own number but it says "phone currently switched off"{ and we lost al the hope of finding it,why will anyone switch it on,they must have already removed the sim and using the phone {we all love to generalize or believe that everyone is a fraud out there}
and one last attempt and voila,......the phone is ringing and Wilson picks up the call,he was crossing the road and saw my brother dropping the phone,he tried yelling but the sound got lost in the car honking and bus horns,he was about to take it to the nearest police station after his work but thought of switching it on which accidentally got switched off when it fell on the road .
He gives the complete address but we couldn go to his house on the same day,Next day mom suggested a gift,and bro went there,Wilson refused to take the gift,but then bro insisted to open the gift wrapper and then accept or reject it,and he accepted the little holycross made of glass and took bro to his elder brother's restaurant,they both had good food and nice chat and decided to keep in touch and mom invited him for lunch coming Sunday.Welcome to our family wilson, now you are a friend:) and Thank you.

She is back:) the one who introduced me to the world of blogging and the one who got married exactly one year before me and then quit blogging and my last post made her rethink and now she is back here at Saffron skies.My best friend is back to blogging:)

"eek din fursat mein thaamein haath hamare
le gayi uss dagar pe jahaan rehti hai bahaaren
chal diye ham bhi ghar se ke kuchh befikar se,dil tha apne bharose ham the dil ke sahaare
raah mein mod aaya roshani ho gayi kam

bewajah lag rahi thi jab talaash hamari ,ek khushboo uthi aur rutt badal gayi saari
saamne toh khade the faila ke baahen "
From the movie Zindagi rocks.

All my life i lived in an independent house filled with plants trees and creepers and flowers,the house is surrounded with greenery and the flowers always greeted in one or the other corner.but now,here in our flat i just don't see a hint of greenery,except for the lone Tulasi plant in the tinyweeny balcony,and i said enough is enough.One fine evening Called up hubby to come home fast and early if he wants to have a sane life and he rushed home and we hurried to Tulasi nursery at NMDC and Hurrrrrrrrraaaaaaaayyyyyy,i have all in all 5 pots of indoor plants which i can keep in the hall and i am so glad i did so,and now i am going to buy a few more,i will takecare of them,i will,i will ,i will:)

Me:Shadi se pehle you always sounded so sweet and were always willing to say Yes to whatever i said or asked for,but now it is always a NO,huh,you dont love me anymore:(
Sri:Shadi se pehle i was expecting a wife and i used to accept it as a gods gift and said "Yes" and now i realized i got a dictator and Teacher rather than a wife,so i keep saying "No" always;p
Huh,men!!!!!

mujhe mat roko,mujhe yaar ke ghar jaane do,main hoon parwana
mujhe shamma pe mit jaane do,,usko pana hi meri zindagi ka maksat hain
agar woh milta hai mujhe marke toh mar jaane domujhe mat roko
dil ki aankhon ne meri apana sanam dekh liya,ab isi dar pe mere dam ko nikal jaane do
mujhe mat roko,mujhe yaar ke ghar jaane do

From the movie Gangster.

Have a wonderful week ahead guys,Zindagi rocks for sure:)

If not for you i wouldn have been what i am today.Its wonderful to have a friend,Specially when its you. There is always a hope,of a better tomorrow,isnt it? I know you are hurt today,feel cheated,betrayed,but love does it to most of us,Dint you tell me long back that nothing is forever.Well,you were right,i wanted to repeat the words to you now that you are down and feel its over, My dear friend,But at times its better to hold your hand and stay silent till you are willing to talk again,and i will be with you,till you smile again.
Its been 12yrs of knowing eachother,Isnt it,Three of us,from college teenagers to responsible and matured individuals sharing life with our partners,being in respectable positions,today we are lot more busy with the challenges of life,but all these boils down to one fact when we all meet,We still are the same at heart,sharing our joys and pains and smiling with eachother around,thankgod for the wonderful gift god gave me,I maybe flying today,but with all of you around my feet are still firm on the ground,thankyou. This song which you always keep humming,the one which is your favourite., i remember it today,wish you are back to what you were,i know you will,till then,just to tell you that i am with you,we are with you my dear S,Life is not easy,but dont you think we are all made to fight and win over it? we will,and its your turn now,cheerup,i know you will win it:)

Yaroon dosti badi hi haseen hain,
ye na ho tho kya phir,bolo ye zindagi hain,
Koi tho ho raazdaar,begaraz,tera ho yaar,
koi tho ho raazdaar,
Teri har ek burai pe dante woh dost,
gum ki ho dhoop tho sayaa bane tera vo dost,
yaroon dosti badi hi haseen hain...