Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Weighing Machine - II
Whenever my wife stands on the weighing machine and see the scale go lower than she expected, she grimaces.
Whenever I stand on the weighing machine and see the scale go lower than I expect, I smile.
It is strange how lives change in diametrically opposite directions.
Whenever I stand on the weighing machine and see the scale go lower than I expect, I smile.
It is strange how lives change in diametrically opposite directions.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Barbershops
The earliest memory of a
barbershop that I have is a small posh rectangular shop in Jayanagar 8th
block, way back in mid 1980s. Posh because it was filled with grand mirrors on
all the walls, and a visit once in a month was a much sought-after event. Usually
I was accompanied by my father and since I was too small to be seated on the
grand cushion chair, I was elevated to the mirror-level with the help of a
wooden plank. I didn’t mind missing out on the cushion nor the wooden hardness as
long as I was compensated by being able to see myself as well as the neighbourhood
goings-on in the mirror.
When we moved to Jayanagar 4th block in 1989, I guess
I was tall enough to enjoy the cushion. It was a different barbershop though,
the one closer to the new home. It was called “OK Hair Dressers”. Funny name, and I never forgot it. Amongst its
peers, it was considered to be the “poshest” of all. Very expensive too, I believe.
Mainly attributed to the presence of a television set on the upper far left corner
of the establishment. Considering that hair cut was a Sunday morning ritual
(had school on Saturdays too), and the most popular cartoons and Chitrahaar
being aired at the same time (whole of India had only one channel at that time),
the extra bucks seemed worth it. Slowly, when the craze of the cartoons and
Chitrahaar ebbed, the extra money seemed unnecessary, and I started
experimenting with lower classed establishments.
Names of many of these establishments escape me but I distinctly
remember their locations. There was one on the 18th main street that
I vividly recollect. Although there was no issue with the actual hair-cut, the crowd
and the behavior within the shop was jarring. I felt as I was in the midst of
rowdies. Added to this was the issue of door never being closed. This somewhat embarrassed
me. Perhaps I was always used to the barbershop’s door being closed that an
open-door barbershop never gelled well with me. I decided that it was my first
and last. After experimenting in and around all the barbershops and complaining
about the rates (which was more or less started at INR 20 and steeped up to INR
40 due to inflation) in deep detail with my grandfather every one Sunday of the
month, I decided that time was now an important factor than money. So I decided
to stick to the nearest, whatever be the rate. As it turned out the nearest was
a decent establishment with moderate rate and I stuck to it loyally until a
barbershop opened just a few yards from my home.
This newbie opened the shop in a grandiose scale with
respect to the art of haircutting. Although the establishment in itself was so
tiny that only 2-3 people could wait on the sofa, the uniform of the barber,
the exquisite dentist-like chair with elongated moving-leg-rest and the range
of barber-paraphernalia were overwhelming. The AC was unheard of in Bangalore
barbershop, although I knew that in other Indian metropolitan cities, an AC
barbershop was a common thing due to the extreme heat. Rumour had it that this
barber himself was from a 5-star hotel. When my turn came, he used a rummy tool
on my head which stunned me. All these years I was used to the synchronized
snip-snip of the comb and the scissors and now, for the first time, a machine
was being used on my hair. That was it. I went back to my previous barber.
I guess that barber near my home never got on well with
others in my neighbourhood too because soon he went off and someone else took
over from him. This guy was an elderly gentleman with a dedicated teenage grandson,
who learnt the art of “barberhood” and customer satisfaction very soon. The
elderly gentleman just took over the finances, remodeled the hair salon to
slightly bigger size, and made it much more common-man friendly whereas the
teenager roped in some of his pals to perform the ‘Service-with-a-smile’ act.
He encouraged friendly banter, spoke about recent Kannada movies and songs,
offered coffee during breaks and returned change with both hands giving respect
completely. He thanked profusely for the visit and spoke about how he wanted to
expand this business.
This setting worked best for me. It was the nearest to my
home – just a few steps. It was moderately charged (touched the INR 50 in late
2000s) and I was just a few years elder than the barber which added a twist to
the barber-client relationship. This went on for a long time until it was time
for me to travel to the United States.
Marlborough, USA. My first haircut in US was a disaster. She
asked me to pick a number. Before I knew it, I said 3 and to my horror I realized
later that lower the number, smaller will be the hair. I missed the snip-snip
of the comb and the scissor. Instead it was a mix of the machine, of somewhat awkwardly
holding the hair in a fist and then snipping. It was mildly irritating during
the process but the end was even worse. It took many months for the hair to
grow back and I always wondered why I had to tip a barber. It was a small
establishment, near to my apt and for the first time in my life, my hair was
cut by an opposite gender. It was a strange experience. To be fair to her
though, she did her job well. Just that it was an unknown pitch to me. Once I realized
my mistake, I changed gears accordingly.
Woburn, MA, USA, 2011. There was a barbershop right opposite
my apartment but it was closed on Sundays and hence I could never visit it. But
it just so happened that twenty feet here or there in Woburn Main Street, and
one ends up with a barbershop. The one I chose was the one that was open on
Sundays. The lady who attended to me was from Brazil, and her home was adjacent
to the shop. In fact, to go to her house, one had to walk through the store! And
then, there I was thinking about the variety of barbershops that I have experienced,
when I met the best of the lot in Nashua, NH, USA, 2012.
As part of move-in mailers, I received a $4.99 coupon from a
nearby barbershop called Great Clips. It was the first time I had heard of
them. I never had had a hair-cut in US for less than $12, and I thought $4.99
was a very good deal. When I did more research, I found out they have a web-site, was
franchised and also had online check-in, something that I thought was done only
with respect to airlines! Anyways, when I entered, all the barbers exclaimed “Welcome
to Great Clips!” Now, isn’t that a warm welcome or what! It is something that
is done for each customer entering the store!
Anyways, the lady at the counter asked me to register (name,
number, etc) and it was a pleasant experience all around, especially because when
I checked out I was given another coupon (more than current but less than
actual). Nice way of customer retention, I felt. So, there I go again. This
time, even before I could specify how I need my hair cut, the barber (this lady
was different from before) asked me if I wanted same way as the last time, and I
said yes. Since this was a mystery, I asked her how she knew my previous choice.
Apparently a record goes into each registered user on the user’s preferences so
that the user need not specify each time what he wants. Only thing he needs to
say or confirm if it is the same way as previous and the barber is all set. Wow.
That’s all I could think. A simple thing as hair-cutting can be advanced to
such heights of professionalism as Gift cards, Haircut reminders, etc. The first two times I had come to Great Clips
due to the coupons but the third time – although Cost Cutters and Supercuts was nearer to my
house – I still preferred GC because I needn’t had to specify how I wanted my
hair cut! What an amazing way of holding onto new customers such as me! But if I
thought that was the best of my experience with “barbership”, I was wrong.
It was time for the first haircut for my daughter who is
almost a year and half old. Thanks to my wife who had done some research on the
topic, we went to Snip-Its. This is a barbershop exclusively for kids, and the
atmosphere is as if you are entering into a Disneyland. Cutting infants and
toddlers’ hair is so difficult and hence the ambience is made conducive to kids
to divert the attention from the actual snip-snip. Be it personalized robotic-looking
PCs portraying cartoonic ads of Snip-its or a horde of toys and goodies at arm’s
length, it seemed as if hair-cut was the last thing on the agenda! The icing on
the top of the cake was a complete set of souvenir for the first hair cut: A
bravery certificate, a comb, few strands of hair, a toy and a picture!
My, my! It just keeps getting better and better – Man continues
to exceed Himself and it is this thing in Life that is enchanting and enriching!
I only hope that that teenage barber near my home in Jayanagar also achieves
such impressive feats in his chosen profession…
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Natural Pattern
There is a guy
Who stays in the same apartment complex where I stay
And also works in the same office campus where I work.
I possess a silver Honda Civic
Whereas he a brown Honda Civic.
Today morning, the silver left the apartment complex first
Only to be followed by the brown
All the way to the office.
Today evening, the brown left the office campus first
Only to be followed by the silver
All the way to the home.
Neither he nor I spoke to one another
About leaving home or office.
And yet Nature created this nice little coincidental pattern
Which made me agog
And made me blog!
:-)
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
The Pink Honda Civic
There is a community college very
close to my house. Each day on my way to office or on my back home from office
(that’s four times a day considering I come home for lunch), I have to pass by
this college in my car. There is no compound or partition that separates the parking
lot from the road and hence there is complete visibility of all cars in the
parking lot.
On couple of instances when I
was passing through the college, I noticed a pink Honda Civic car entering into
the college campus. The striking color boggled me because I had not seen a pink
car before in my life. As can be guessed, there were few gals in the car and no
doubt the car belonged to one of them. I was intrigued about the obsession of
the color pink with gals. In fact, I happened to see this particular car enter
the campus a couple of times at the same time I was passing through the college
campus.
After this incident, perhaps because
it was easy to distinguish it amongst 100 visible cars or perhaps because i wanted
to humor myself daily, each time I passed through the college I gave a quick
glance over all the cars in the parking lot and searched for that pink Honda
civic. Usually I found it within a few seconds. This became a game of sorts. I
would only get about 4-5 seconds for scanning through the parking lot, and I would
be driving at about 25 mph on a single-lane two-way road. So, with these slight
challenges, it was a quirky self-made game with no gain no loss, and yet this
tiny desire to win. Something to make life interesting, that wee bit more.
As it happened, it was not
this quest for pink Honda Civic that eventually gave me joy. This search for a
vehicle-in-the-parking-lot, in fact, brought back memories from a distant past.
During my college days, I had a crush on a girl. I was too shy to talk to her
anyways but I knew the two-wheeler in which she used to come to college. She wasn’t
in my class so the only way I knew if she had come to college or not was to
quickly glance through the parking lot once a day to check if her two-wheeler
was present. Seeing her vehicle in the parking lot was almost as good as seeing
her, some kind of an assurance that the day might turn favorably so for me to
get a glimpse of her. It was like a hope, daily. Something that made me look
forward to in life. It was a special moment – this searching through the
parking lot. It was a tense moment too. No vehicle meant she either hadn’t yet
come to college or would not come. Which meant there was no hope of seeing her
that day. Which meant, it was a boring day!
Now, when I search for this
pink car, I am remembered of all this teenage emotions and how strange it all felt
then. I don’t get all that excited now when my eyes finally latch on to the car in
the parking lot but I surely feel nice remembering those good old days back
in college when my eyes latched on to that two-wheeler!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sharing
Paavani was in great hunger. She kept repeating 'Mommom, mommom'. So, my wife got some snacks for all three of us. We all sat down. Paavani was in utter excitement. She kept reaching towards the snacks, and not taking her eyes off it. My wife and I asked her to wait till the snacks were placed in the plate. She waited impatiently, all through jumping and trying to grab the eateries. Finally, we gave her the plate.
First thing she did was to take what she could in her tiny fingers and put it in my mouth.
My wife and I realized that she has already grown enough to reciprocate feelings such as love and sharing.
We were speechless.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Valentine's Day Thought
A spouse can either make a life or break a life.
I am glad my valentine made my life.
I am glad my valentine made my life.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
More or Less...
I got my first salary over nine years ago.
I could not figure out what to do with so much money
suddenly.
It covered up an entire year of my four-year Engineering course
fees.
It amazed me that within a year of employment,
I could repay back my parents financially whatever they had
spent on me for 22 years of my life.
My salary gave me immense happiness and amazement.
My salary now is pretty much the same as my first salary,
But in a currency that is almost fifty times more than my
first salary’s currency.
But after filling in the EMI, family maintenance and
other expenses,
I ponder if my savings can satisfy my child’s complete education
and
If I can lead a comfortable post-retirement life with
growing inflation.
My salary now makes me think and ponder.
Less was More then...
More is Less now...
Strange, more or less!
"Universal" Relationships
Astrophysics explains Big Bang and Metric expansion of space
in clearer detail (but wiki will do for now!). The concept, anyways, if I understand
correctly, is that each particle in the universe is moving away from one
another constantly. The phrase ‘moving away from one another’ somehow struck me
as something that can be related to our lives too.
When we are infants, we are so close to our parents. So much
so that they are our everything. Then there are siblings with whom we start
sharing. Right then, our universe has expanded. Couple of years later when we
start going to school, we make new relationships. We get to know our teachers,
we make friends. Our universe has further expanded. We share secrets with our
friends and hence parents have got distanced. When we change schools or when
our friends change schools, that’s when our universe expands further. True, we
are still friends, but the common ground (school, in this case) is no longer
common. We go to college and make more new friends. The ‘school’ friends became
a past while the ‘college’ friends became closer. Then we go to work. Our day-to-day
interaction with colleagues makes them as our new friends and the ‘college’
friends are now a past. Colleagues quit, people join other companies, more and
more new relationships, at the cost of old relationships distancing itself – very
much like the Universe and its expansion theory.
What starts as physical distance becomes inherently a cosmic
distance too. Well, I guess, nothing can be done about it, and it’s the way of
life. The Universe is just mirroring our relationships. However, thanks to the onset of
Social Networks, everyone whom we know (or knew in the past) has come a tad mentally
closer. Surprisingly, there is a hypothesis about Universe shrinking too – and its
called Big Crunch.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Ajji - Paavani - Suprabhatam
My maternal grandma was a big devotee of Lord Venkateshwara.
One of the celebrated slokas on His Highness is Shri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam.
As I have already indicated in one of my previous posts, it was a daily ritual
to hear this sloka in her house, while being busy with morning tasks.
As if by a strange cosmic connection, my daughter loves this
sloka too. Although she is none too aware of the spirituality and divinity associated
with the sloka, she is spellbound when she starts hearing it.
Midway, the sloka changes its tone. At this, my daughter starts dancing in her
own animated way.
I can’t help remembering ajji. If only she had lived a few more years, she would have been so happy seeing this spectacle. Perhaps she
is seeing even now...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Blame it on 2012?
As 2011 neared its end,
Workload reduced,
Morale raised.
As 2012 started,
Workload increased,
Morale dipped.
Hope Workload and Morale
Stop trapezing between
Zenith and Nadir.
I want a better 2012
Than the way it has started.
Amen.
Workload reduced,
Morale raised.
As 2012 started,
Workload increased,
Morale dipped.
Hope Workload and Morale
Stop trapezing between
Zenith and Nadir.
I want a better 2012
Than the way it has started.
Amen.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
The 5 Minutes
As I left my office cubicle today at about 7 pm to head home, the impending encounter with weather outside filled up my mind. Then, as I was walking towards the building exit, I realized that whatever is the weather outside (which was about 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit), the office temperature inside should always be around 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit even at 7 pm. Perhaps all through 24 hrs. Then I remembered someone rightly had pointed out that the colder regions are cons to the Global Warming because the thermostats have to up the temperature by about average 50 degrees during winter whereas in warmer regions, the air conditioners have to bring down the temperature down by average 30 degrees during summer. So, in all the colder regions, the energy utilization is more by average 20 degrees, which is bad for Global Warming. Meaning, if one has to fight for Global Warming, one has to move to a warmer region!
I had come out of the building now and was walking towards my car. The office where I work is really huge. It hosts about 1000 folks which roughly translate to over 900 cars. So the car park is much, much bigger than the office space. There are lots upon lots of parking and one can walk miles together just through the multitude of car parks. Whenever I am driving towards or leaving office, I can see one particular car which is parked right at the end of the last parking lot. Perhaps the reason why this person parks the car at the very end is to have an extra bit of walking. Me? I try to find the closest possible parking space just so that my time in the open air is as less as possible in this teeth-chattering chill.
This made me realize one more thing. As I finally started driving towards home, I recollected that my last few posts in the blog are all more or less talking about weather. But, in reality, the only time I experience the weather is from home to car, car to office, office to car and car to home.
In a 24 hour time period, this is less than 5 minutes...!
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Happy New Year 2012
Time is like a juggernaut. It stops at none. It neither slows nor speeds. It goes on its steady manner. It is man-made. But for time, each day would have been, well, just a day. Thanks to time, each day has a unique identity.
Days bundle up into months and months bundle up into an year. As each year ends and a new year dawns, people rejoice. Sometimes I wonder why we rejoice on the new year’s eve. After all, it is just another night, just another day. It is purely statistical. But Statistics and Numbers have a way of bringing joy to Man. And sadness and other emotions too. Bradman’s average being a jiffy short of 100 always gnaws. Sachin’s current long stint (how much more should we wait?!) at 99 international centuries keeps us on edge of the seat.
Yet, there is a sense of joie-di-vivre when the clock approaches midnight on the 31st of December. There is a sense of accomplishment, of having lived through one more year successfully. It brings out the bonhomie amongst one and all. Strangers wish one another ‘Happy New Year’ and flash a bright smile. Why is it that we do not smile at one another every single day? Wouldn’t this world be a great place if such camaraderie existed all 365 days a year! But then, I guess, it would have robbed the uniqueness of a New Year’s Day!
There are many days in a year that Man celebrates but it is only on the New Year’s Eve when the clock’s countdown is anticipated with such animation. And when the clock strikes twelve, there is hugging and kissing all around. People clap and laugh and sing and dance as if something great happened. But nothing really happens in this physical, practical world to cause any significant change. No one does anything spectacular. The world doesn’t achieve anything great. The clock ticks on just like on any other day. It has no feelings. It does not know the significance nor does it know that it is the one and only agent for this Earthly Nirvana. It does not even stop to celebrate. It goes on and by the time the festivities end, it would have already completed the first few hours of the New Year.
Although nothing spectacular happens, the number in the year - a man-made counter - gets incremented by one and this simple change gives so much joy to so many people. Many flock to metropolitan places to catch a glimpse of the city’s New Year’s Eve attractions such as Fireworks, concerts, parties, etc. Many go to special resorts or to parties to celebrate in small social gatherings. Many stay up at night till the clock strikes twelve enjoying the number of entertainment shows telecasted on the television or just plain news of the happenings across the world.
I wish I could remember each of my 31 New Year’s Eves. For many years, it always was a party at my father’s office. After my father retired, it was mostly sitting in front of the TV and watching the world enjoy – many times sitting alone too with none to rejoice or walking around the block to see the festivities. Perhaps an occasional phone call or an sms to whosoever was nearest and dearest at that time of the year. But some occasions - especially the last few - are memorable. When the year turned 2007, I was 36000 feet above the world! I wanted to wish my neighbor in the Singapore Airlines but she was fast asleep. I was very cynical in 2008. 2009 was with wife in the midst of an unruly crowd in Brigade Road, Bangalore. I slept in 2010! 2011 was a very nice, warm gathering with my school friends and their families. And of course, my daughter’s first. 2006 and 2012 are those spent in US and both have been very special. 2006 was with friends in New York Times Square to see the ball drop. It was an unforgettable experience. 2012 was awesome too, with wife and daughter, in the White Mountain Region in New Hampshire amidst snow-covered mountains.
All in all, it is a time of universal happiness. It is the only day that gives immense joy to humanity and brings smile to one and all, regardless of caste, religion, sex, age and innumerous other man-made distinctions.
It is like a new chapter in each person’s life. A brand new set of blank pages that one can author in one’s own way as one wishes.
Here’s me wishing 2012 to be filled with joy, happiness, health and prosperity.
Happy New Year!!
:-)
Friday, December 09, 2011
The Perfect Place on Earth
This Earth, we are told, is 70% water and 30% land. Out of this 30% land, I guess 70% of it is uninhabitable, what with it being a desert or a forest or a mountain range. That makes this Earth only 9% habitable. In this 9% habitat, I guess 70% of the people live in countries with more than half a year in the cold. Which means, in this Earth, only 2% - 3% are "perfect" places to stay.
What a blessing it must be to stay in places where one doesn't have to think about "weather.com" (or equivalent) and then choose the attire - just to grab something from the neighboring store or to throw the garbage out. What a blessing it must be to open the windows everyday all year round to let the fresh air in. However, this 'blessing' is so easily taken for granted that it's true significance comes only when staying in the extreme climate for month after month.
To be fair to the climate, the 'cold' isn't as cold as it was back in 1800s. Thanks to Man (and Global Warming), the average cold temperature during winters are reducing. True that it will melt more and more ice and hence water occupancy on Earth will perhaps increase and a big bane to those near the shore but this is a true boon for those situated in extreme cold climate areas.
If water occupancy increases, then going by the same percentages theory, the "perfect places to stay" percentage will reduce even further. Considering its "perfect", the population density (especially at the rate at which we are going) is more and this automatically leads to several negative points for the non-climatic attributes (such as lack of cleanliness, unemployment, traffic, politics, Governmental apathy, etc) which makes it "Imperfect".
Hence, Man is left to choose between {Weather and Population Density} and compromise on the derivative benefits or drawbacks to make the chosen "place to stay" as perfect to Him as possible. So, in effect, there is no real 100% perfect place on this Earth. And there will never be one either.
:-(
What a blessing it must be to stay in places where one doesn't have to think about "weather.com" (or equivalent) and then choose the attire - just to grab something from the neighboring store or to throw the garbage out. What a blessing it must be to open the windows everyday all year round to let the fresh air in. However, this 'blessing' is so easily taken for granted that it's true significance comes only when staying in the extreme climate for month after month.
To be fair to the climate, the 'cold' isn't as cold as it was back in 1800s. Thanks to Man (and Global Warming), the average cold temperature during winters are reducing. True that it will melt more and more ice and hence water occupancy on Earth will perhaps increase and a big bane to those near the shore but this is a true boon for those situated in extreme cold climate areas.
If water occupancy increases, then going by the same percentages theory, the "perfect places to stay" percentage will reduce even further. Considering its "perfect", the population density (especially at the rate at which we are going) is more and this automatically leads to several negative points for the non-climatic attributes (such as lack of cleanliness, unemployment, traffic, politics, Governmental apathy, etc) which makes it "Imperfect".
Hence, Man is left to choose between {Weather and Population Density} and compromise on the derivative benefits or drawbacks to make the chosen "place to stay" as perfect to Him as possible. So, in effect, there is no real 100% perfect place on this Earth. And there will never be one either.
:-(
Consumerism
Ok. So it was a Friday and we wanted to ensure the grocery shopping was all done on Friday so that the weekend can be kept free. We did our shopping and came home only to realize that we had missed to get diapers.
So I went out again to get the diaper. It just so happened to have a deal. $18 for 2 and $10 for 1. So I took 2. It also said purchase of $30 of specially marked items would lead to a $10 gift card. Since I had come as far as $18, I shopped even more to reach $30 just to get the gift card!
Finally, I came home after almost an hour although all I needed was just a diaper. Next day morning, we realized there is no banana. So off we went again to the market. There we spent even more time and got even more stuff than just banana.
Realized that if diaper and banana was not missed in the first round itself on Friday, then the 'extra consumerism' would not have ensued...
:-)
So I went out again to get the diaper. It just so happened to have a deal. $18 for 2 and $10 for 1. So I took 2. It also said purchase of $30 of specially marked items would lead to a $10 gift card. Since I had come as far as $18, I shopped even more to reach $30 just to get the gift card!
Finally, I came home after almost an hour although all I needed was just a diaper. Next day morning, we realized there is no banana. So off we went again to the market. There we spent even more time and got even more stuff than just banana.
Realized that if diaper and banana was not missed in the first round itself on Friday, then the 'extra consumerism' would not have ensued...
:-)
A Pokey Day
From the morning today, I felt I was being poked.
Got a call early in the morning regarding a 'High Impact' issue but it turned out few hours later that it was not an issue at all. Even before this got resolved, another issue cropped up. Few more hours of investigation and it too turned out to be a non issue. Meanwhile another guy mailed about something not being right, and while I was trying to break my head on it, someone else thankfully responded that I wasn't the right person to be contacted. Then, another person sent a big mail to all senior management that my install had broken some other project whereas my install had not yet taken place!
I felt like being poked at from all sides. As if some guy Up There wanted sadistic pleasure out my discomfort.
Anyways, in the end, it was a zero-issue and a successful install. Hopefully, the last one for 2011.
Got a call early in the morning regarding a 'High Impact' issue but it turned out few hours later that it was not an issue at all. Even before this got resolved, another issue cropped up. Few more hours of investigation and it too turned out to be a non issue. Meanwhile another guy mailed about something not being right, and while I was trying to break my head on it, someone else thankfully responded that I wasn't the right person to be contacted. Then, another person sent a big mail to all senior management that my install had broken some other project whereas my install had not yet taken place!
I felt like being poked at from all sides. As if some guy Up There wanted sadistic pleasure out my discomfort.
Anyways, in the end, it was a zero-issue and a successful install. Hopefully, the last one for 2011.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The First 12 Months
The memory of cradling my newborn in my arms just after she
came out of the womb is still fresh. When the nurse asked me to hold her and I
held her, I could sense her looking at me –although biological facts suggest
that newborns cannot see or focus on anything. Its been a whirlwind of a time
since then. Time goes so fast and time goes so slow. There were times when we
all wanted her to turn over in the bed and there were times when we felt she
started walking too early and crawled too less.
But each month and each day has been a great and fun filled experience.
Not a day passes without her giving us something to laugh about. Her innocence
is so fresh. The other night, I was sitting on the sofa watching her run from
one end of the wall to the other end where there is a glass partition that
separates the living room and the balcony. She does this stretch about 100
times a day – tirelessly and with great gusto. This particular night as she
went near the glass partition, she saw the headlights of a car on the driveway
that faces our second floor balcony. Sensing the car to be coming near her, she
came running to me in fear with outstretched hands! She used to do the same for a long
time when the cooker started to whistle but she has grown out of it. She used
to laugh whenever I yawned but she has grown out of that too. Such pure
innocence!
I wonder what makes her categorize actions as ‘Something to
be scared about’, ‘Something to laugh about’, ‘Something to cry about’. If
there are raised voices, it makes her cry. Even if you are telling loving words
in a raised angry voice. If you laugh looking at some comic scene on the TV, she
looks at you and laughs with you. No one teaches her this – yet she is able to recognize
The Good and The Bad. Seeing this itself is such a marvel.
Looking at one’s child grow makes parents realize how they
were during their own initial days of life – and of course how much trouble and
joy that they would have given to their parents! Its never boring and its never
tiresome. Perhaps it is because of the immense love that the child entrusts the
parents with. The way she comes running to parents calling with just-learnt
syllables “amma”, “papa” filled with such unconditional love – a love that is
not based on looks which is common amongst college-goers. Whatever be the
physical appearance of mother and father, a child will always love her parents.
In 2005, my first year in an alien country, I saw many new
things. Now, I am experiencing some of those things – all thanks to my daughter.
-In Ashland temple, I had seen the priest taking infants inside the sanctum sanctorum to the idol for the Lord’s blessings. Few months ago, the priest took my daughter inside the sanctum sanctorum, and I felt blessed.
-I had seen infants sitting on the shopping carts while the parents shopped. Now I play with my daughter, sitting on the shopping cart, zooming through the aisles while my wife shops.
-I had once sat in a colleague’s car after clearing the colleague’s child’s toys from the passenger seat. The other day, a colleague who sat in my car had to clear my daughter’s toys from the passenger seat!
-In Ashland temple, I had seen the priest taking infants inside the sanctum sanctorum to the idol for the Lord’s blessings. Few months ago, the priest took my daughter inside the sanctum sanctorum, and I felt blessed.
-I had seen infants sitting on the shopping carts while the parents shopped. Now I play with my daughter, sitting on the shopping cart, zooming through the aisles while my wife shops.
-I had once sat in a colleague’s car after clearing the colleague’s child’s toys from the passenger seat. The other day, a colleague who sat in my car had to clear my daughter’s toys from the passenger seat!
Always wanting to be tickled, wanting to laugh, wanting to
play peekaboo, wanting to run in that tiny legs away from mom’s feeding hands
(although hungry and want to eat), wanting to be read books, wanting to be told
rhymes, wanting to hear songs, wanting to go outdoors, wanting to know and do so
many things in life which adults think is monotonous. She adds such freshness, such a desire of ‘I-want-more’. I realized that all human beings are created with such desire, such "wantingness"! So much is talked about in religious themes about "desire" being a bad thing and to be happy with what one has, but how can this be achieved when the basic DNA of human beings itself is created in such fashion to keep desiring more and more!!
Each action of hers necessitates a snap or a video. The 11th of every month had become a milestone activity for
my wife and me to share her development and progress. It was fun to pick
amongst thousands of snaps and write captions. It was fun to share the joy and
read the comments. Its been a year (and more than a month) already and so much happened – with so much
to happen yet in her life.
Here’s wishing a very Happy Birthday to my little one, and
best wishes for many, many more fun-filled years to come! Love you, Tontu!
:-)
9
The maximum years I had ever been in any one institution was Good Shepherd School - from LKG to 7th standard: That's 9 years.
On Nov 18th 2011, GSS lost its post.
On Nov 18th 2011, GSS lost its post.
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