A Week on a Sheet!

A Painting and a Story #2

Have you heard of Inner Wheel? It is an international women's organisation with the unique ideal of Friendship and Service. Women thrive on friendships. We laugh, we share, we gossip and as a consequence we feel elated and empowered. A happy woman is by nature generous and empathetic.
I have been a member of the Inner wheel club since 1987 and have built strong friendships.

The current lockdown created a strange situation where our service projects continued with vigour but we missed the candour. Uma Arya a keen participant in our Whatsapp group suggested that we each create (and share) short videos that showcase our skills/ hobbies. What began as a trickle went on to be a torrent of talent by the end of the week. A 30 something chanted the Bhagvad Gita and a 70 something crooned a hot Hindi number! A grandmom gave her grandson a funky haircut and there was a poem eulogising the rapidly dwindling salt-and-pepper (hair)! Collections of key-chains, spoons, and bells were dusted and displayed. Needle-work of college days, decorated pottery, rangoli art, gave affirmation to a scintillating part that lay buried under the busy-ness of adult life. Mundane green plants, blooming flowers and a thundershower became mesmerising videos. Diffident members were gently nudged to be a part of this exciting week.

We became teenagers. FOMO - fear of missing out - happened. We rushed to check for messages every 10 minutes! Some of us got scolded by our kids too!

I had to capture this fervour. And so some doodling happened! Here it is. My 'painting' for this week. I have used Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens bought hastily from Amazon, on thick art-paper. The gear-wheel in the doodle represents the club that brings us together and within the wheel - What does each doodle represent?  Feel free to guess! 

This sheet, and printouts of this sheet are now safely preserved in the "Happy-Place" in various homes. 

A HAPPY PLACE .... You know?  That corner where you keep  in easy access little things that launch sweet memories and transport you to bliss - a scribbled note? a toy car? paper napkin from a hotel! a broken seashell! You have a Happy-Place ....... right? 

A Talent-week Doodle

A paint brush challenge

hey
will you join me in some fun activity?
here is what we do
take a sheet of paper
take some water colours
a nice wet brush
and paint.

no
you do not necessarily have to draw two mountains and a river!
in fact, you don't need to draw at all...
let the paint and the brush have their say.
some washes of colour?
some splashes and blobs?

take a pic of your painting
or scan it
and send it to me at     rtn.rao@gmail.com

i will make a collage and post it here.
the collage will appear on 2 july 2012

so what say - let some emotions flow?

Mid week luxury

If Sunday is the first day of the week then how come saturday and sunday is weekend?
so we begin the week from its end?
or do we end the week at its beginning?
that's funny!

OK, guess what I did yesterday!
I had cereal
and slept
I had curd-rice with lemon pickle for lunch
and slept
i got up in time for the 4:30 tea. had it with biscuits. (Suffered) the maid while she did her work
and slept

but i experimented with pasta for dinner. and made some awesome pasta too! A first time for me.
both
marathon sleep
and pasta

what's the most decadent thing you did? or the most luxurious? or the most relaxing?

No time mama, I'm loading the bus with cars

I like it that he has no time to come to the phone
I like it that his cars mean more to him than anything else
I like it that he can Whack the baseball
I like it that he defeats me in virtual table tennis and dissolves into peals of laughter

Dear grandson - It is your birthday today. I have made sabudana kheer... that your mom called gulle payasa ... the bubble pudding! I have placed it before Lord Ganesh and sought his blessings.

We are sending you loads of love and blessings.

This reminds me of the story of Tenali Rama the court wit and jester and Sri Krishnadevaraya - the emperor. One day the king sat on his throne, put a leg on leg, took a deep breath, looked at the ministers of his court and asked -
Wise men, tell me what must be done to the legs that kick me and the hands that slap me?
the wise men were appalled. What? they murmured
who has the audacity, the temerity, the impudence to kick you, slap you??
Chain him, beat him, banish him they said ... not pausing for breath
falling over each other to win the king's applause
then Tenali Rama the wit said, put tinkling anklets on his feet and gold bracelets on his wrists. For great Emperor ... This must be ... your little son.

and if 

dear reader

your loved one 

has a birthday today 

and you are far 

...

this payasa 

is in celebration 

of that birthday too

for good words

and good thoughts

have great power.

Sabudana  Payasa

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A cat may look at a king

The internet breaks down many a wall. Open almost any site and you have a window at the end of the page that invites you to leave your comment. Comments, advices ... jeers and insults ... all distributed at will.

10 years ago we watched an event on TV and fumed in the obscurity of our living rooms. If we were audacious enough to voice opinions we were told in curt Kannada ... Neenu yelli - avanu yelli ... meaning look at you ... huh? where are you and where is he??
So accepting the truth of the times badava nee madagnathe iru  ... we remained mute*

Today we twitter, we blog, we leave a comment, upload a video, and with no hint of a blush. The cat (or even a rat) not only looks at a king, it meows it yawns and makes other noises too!

The proverb implies that a person may not be that great but that does not deny him certain rights. He is not entirely restricted in the presence of a superior.
What are you doing?
I am writing Sachin's biography
WHAT? You are going to write Tendulkar's biography?
Well,  a cat can look at a king. So. Why not?

But of course there is a world of difference between LOOK and SEE.
A cat may look but would he really comprehend the king? Would he really see?

* kannada proverb: literally: poor man you be what u are

a meeting on wires

At about 5.30 in the evening we venture out for our walk. We sometimes meet athletic runners, men cycling with dogs on leash, couples on a quiet stroll. They nod at us, throw a greeting or just wave.

did you try the red berries??
hey your beak is nice and shiny
eat some more flowers they are good for your eyes
did you notice those two there? they are waqlkingggg!

who's chatting??
Then we catch them at they daily update-meeting. a hundred sparrows line up on the wires exchanging notes of their day's adventure.

birds assembly

The yellow car

About a naughty yellow car

There is a nip in the air. Mornings in Bangalore are special.

Here at Brigade Vista I walk into the balcony to breathe the cool 6 am air. And a bright YELLOW CAR  interrupts its chat with the bike and winks at me. Today after the regular morning Hi to it, I wonder whose car it is??
I mean someone has invested in a bright YELLOW CAR…

a chatty yellow car

Maybe it takes a sporty young man (and his girl friend) to pubs and parties?

Perhaps it sparkles at an MNC courtyard dropping a lady to her plush office?

Could it sizzle with gossip as it hauls socialites to a kittie party?
Orrr… it shuttles a jeans-Grampa to the tennis court?
Does it whisper to the guy who washes it everyday?
And laugh with the kids who clamber into it?

I swear it winks at me……….

A YELLOW CAR can’t be a quiet staid regular guy…can it? It must be bold and different like the person who bought it

Eh?

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A pile on the counter

Yet I donno what to give

My BIL's nephew has scored an admirable 97.4% in his 10th boards. So we decided to buy him a gift. Now I am partial to books so we went book hunting. I barged into Nagasri in 4th block, received a big Hi in recognition from Mr Venkatesh and dissolved into the shelves of the bookshop.
Soon piled in the counter were four books. A short story collection by Jeffrey Archer, Chicken soup, Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell, Change Anything...by somebody.

I came home and started reading Jeffrey Archer. I dont think I can gift him this one.
Chicken Soup I learn he already has
Tipping Point is maybe too tough a read for him.
Change anything proved to be quite adult.

So I returned to Nagasri and selected more books. You see I ...just have to give him books.
This time Think by Edward de Bono, a collection of Ratnana Padagalu, and something on Cricket came home with me.

Now I have fallen in love with Ratnana Padagalu. I am going to keep that.
Raju feels Think is more teacher oriented and less of an energetic 16 year old read
That book on Cricket has only statistics. I found it soooo boring. U think he will like it?

May be I will go to Nagasri again this evening. what say you?

---------------------------
bayasidd saman bekaadange
irali illaden irli
thapathreyanakk thapiddalla
sullantha announ barali.

GP Rajaratnam says in this poem
Things that we crave for
if there...or not there
always trouble us
Let someone who thinks I lie, come face me!

Like the drinbk in the bottle, he says,
it troubles him when something remains in the bottle
and troubles him when the bottle is empty too!!

we saw what you did

hi
I am back
Have been so caught up with myself that I couldn't blog. that is so bad.
sorry
but do keep reading me
yesterday I watched this seeta-kalyanam program on TV in the channel shankara. The prog ran for 40 minutes. The camera person has shot the audience just once. and the editing person used the same audience clip once every 7 minutes to add variety to the otherwise purely on stage activities.
There was this lady in a bright blue saree who peered into her mobile and read-typed in-and sent a message.
So every seven minutes while all others seemed engrossed in the Seeta Kalyanam here was this lady in a blue saree ignoring all else, and peering into her mobile!!

there is a gentlemen who we always only at the bangalore airport...no matter whether we are flying in or flying out! does he live there? maybe he thinks we do???

Four years back I met a lady when I was going thru some real health problems. Even to this day, whenever we meet she asks me ... how is your health now!! huh?

is that called branding?
doesnt it happen all the time? one meeting, one mail, one goof up, one monotonous conversation and we are ready to form permanent assessments.

may be thats why they say
today
this moment
is what we have to show the world what we are?

aaah! toooo much

My cutting board

About looking for things that are actually right under your nose - after all

Early this morning I reached for it ... the chopping board ... that is ... and did not find it there. I mean I always stand it over the tap, leaning against the wall, allowing the water to drip into the sink, while the chopping board dries. But today it's not there.
I hunt over the counter
mutter at the maid and
look in the draws
I even crouch to see under the cupboard and
pull open the crockery cabinet
and finally I give up and begin to rinse the coffee mugs ...that is when I find it.
Right there on the drain board, leaning inconspicuously against the side wall of the same colour.

my chopping board

Sometimes we just dont get it
When we are caught up with our habit formed presumptions...
We look for time tested slots into which we automatically put
people
situations
reactions
conversations
And when it does not fit, we are lost.
I must remember
Not all cutting-boards are on the tap leaning against the wall dripping into the sink
?
-
--------------------------
Warts and all

Something small

I just had to share this picture with you all.


This flower is really tiny and growing in the wilderness of Manali

I swear, It grabs

About things that grab at you

The fruit 'n' nut chocolate bar in the fridge has been grabbing at me since three days. I succumb. I tear open the shiny foil and break off a few slabs. The first is consumed hastily. The second one is for taste. The third is sinful.
Some chocolate remains. I should wrap it up again and keep it in the fridge.
I do not. I leave it on the table.

A young 20 year old Selvi comes in to help me do the house. She is a new recruit. On the way out she quietly picks up the slabs of chocolate. I realise this an hour later. I am fuming at her betrayal.
How could she steal??
But I am equally to blame. I leave it there, grabbing at everyone who passes by. We need to be careful about what's precious to us. right?

By the way
The chocolate bar is aptly called TEMPTATION
!!!

-------------------------
The fragility of our honesty is directly proportional to the strength of the grab?
-------------------------

A Child again in Solang Valley

About my second childhood

That is a gift that nature gave us on 23rd March.

At 10 in the morning with (hold your breath!) apple juice, buttered bread, cornflakes, parathas and coffee in the right place, wearing the warmest clothes we had with us, my husband and I settled into the allotted car. After a twenty minute drive we stopped at a shack that rents out snow gear. For 1600/- we get skis, snow wear and a guide. We settled for snow clothes-boots-gloves and doled out 700/- for a pair.
Soon we began to see dirty white stuff piled by the road, behind walls and between trees. It suddenly dawned on us…that it is frozen snow!
Yippee

The car swerved into a curve and screeched to a halt. ‘You get off here and climb to the snow point’. He said. ‘You take mules, or bikes. It’s quite far!’
A fifteen minute climb does not seem so daunting. We have the entire day. Armed with a hard tree branch for a stick (cost us 10/- rupees) we climb up the steep slopes. The stick is a real blessing. Mule dung gives our snow shoes a non-slippery warm footing. And we reach the top. We are in Solang Valley.


Solang Valley


I really did not expect this large expanse of snow. It’s like we see in calendar pictures. White gleaming peaks, dark green pines, untouched snow and paragliding in the blue sky. The age group ranges from 7 months to 70 years! Everyone has their share of frolic.

For what we did there on the white playground, wait for tomorrow's blog!
Five hours later it's time to head back. My knees are screaming. I can’t climb down 200 feet to reach the car. But hey! We make one phone call and learn that the car is within 10 feet of the snowy playground. The stop at the base was to make possible business for the mules and bikes! We dint fall for that did we? The climb was pretty enjoyable too…dung and all!




mules at solang valley

 This is how I looked !

Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji

abhi abhi yahin thaa, kidhar gaya ji?

Have you heard this most romantic song by OP Nayyar, that plays, laughs and teases?

The scene is a sedate office with books and files and tables

This young man (Jonny Walker) is looking for his lost heart

and his girl, Cuckoo asks him where he saw it last!

reprimands him for bringing it along

and hunt under the tables and chairs for it!

he wonders if she has not by any chance stolen it

by her large eyes and pleasing face

and he is willing to pay her two four-anna bits to have it back!

the banter and teasing go on for 3 minutes

bringing a smile to anyone who listens in to their happy chatter

...

and understands!

here is a YouTube link

Tell me

Do we LAUGH because we are HAPPY

or

Are we HAPPY because we LAUGH?



-------------------

arrey yaar........ show me your gums

------------------
We are off on a Conducted tour! We explore Manali. I will be back with many stories on 26th.
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Lotsa Color



festival of colours





I can hear the kids of my apartment shouting and throwing colour

I can hear families bursting into sudden binges of laughter

I can smell mixed aromas wafting from busy kitchens

I can see the leaflet from Nathu's from which I will order lunch!

This Holi I have a prayer

Let there be more laughter and fun in our life.

Let us take ourselves less seriously

Let us just love.

Let us see behind all that gary colour,

And find the person we cherish.

I only splashed virtual colour on virtual paper.

HAPPY HOLI

A video on the net

About a video on the net

and all the noise and fun it created



The world has shrunk.
we hear this being said so-o-o-o often
that when someone tells me I tell them
yah sure
just join me
on an auto ride to Malleswaram from Jayanagar
or drive to
Gurgaon from Mayur Vihar at 9 in the morning
but cheeky asides apart the internet finds
the needle in a haystack
the mustard seed in ten kilos of rava
the lemon seed in a mound of lemon rice
the four leaf clover in the mile of grass

anyway
want some fun?
want to raise your eyebrows in amazement?
want to peep into the amazing small world?
Just enjoy by clicking here
See All Three Videos
Dont miss OK?


I got this link from Beth. My Blogger friend.

My heart on my sleeve

I'm TReee

I want to hug you and hold you tight
I want to feel you pushing against me, struggling to escape
I want to make your favourite dishes
I want to tickle you and hear you laugh
I want to hunt around and find you behind the curtain
I want to give you gift wrapped parcels
I want to dress you up in T-Shirts with cars on them

Today, my dear grandson, is your birthday
{I know its still previous night for you in the US where you stay}
I will make rice-kheer, akki-payasa, (your favourite) and share it with your Tata
and we will send you wishes and hugs and kisses on phone

FOR YOU ARE TURNING THREE
wow!
Big BOY.

Happy Birthday
-------------


My heart on my sleeve

 ---------------------------

jopana...kagada bari!!

Two small suitcases, a cabin bag and a camera
all packed and ready
I am off to bangalore. It means for me
no cooking
lots of dressing up
lots of going out
a wedding to attend
meeting people
looking at bangalore with a new eye!
I will see you all on my next blog on 10th.
be safe
have lots of sunshine
and laughter

pink in the air

The Terrace in Lake Terrace

About the colour of thoughts

We stayed at Lake Terrace at this house on the second floor in Calcutta. The house was divided into the seating, dining, kitchen, wash area and the bedroom, balcony area. The two areas were connected by a long and over used corridor. I later learnt to great alarm that this corridor was actually just some planks with false cement flooring!

I remember fondly the balcony.



Coloured by thoughts

The balcony was a large one, open to the sky. So technically it was a terrace.
Two taut strings were tied on one side, hidden from the road. I don’t remember ever seeing clothes put up here though! Perhaps the clothes were washed, hung to dry and folded away while we were at school?

This place gave me the freedom to wander into my dreamland. It was a place I escaped to when my marks were low; a place that helped iron out social stresses. Here I dissolved into an Enid Blyton,  Agatha Christie or later Harold Robins.

The terrace was on the second floor. I gazed upon the streets below and observed the world go by unobserved by it. And I liked that.

Our house was the only one with NO WATER PROBLEM. During the Holi festival my cousins, friends and I freaked out on the terrace in uninterrupted water-play. We filled pichkaries spraying each other with coloured water, smeared horrendous powders on each other and became absolutely unrecognizable.

In summer the terrace was flooded with scorching sunlight. Just what women want to make papads and sandiges. Small lumps of spiced aralu are left in the sun to dry and are later deep fried into tasty crispies. My aunt and my mother patiently made aralu-sandiges to last the year. When they were not looking I stole a few half-dry sandiges from the edges. O! half dried sandiges are yummy. I still like them. But stolen ones are tastier!!

Broken biscuits and stale bread slices were left on the terrace. Sparrows and parakeets made hasty visits to pick mouthfuls. I wish I had pictures. Photography was expensive and not encouraged in our home.

During the rains the place became damp. The floor was uneven cement. Rain water collected in small puddles giving the terrace a raw and rustic feel. Ah! The heady smell of rain.

That was a rented house. We relocated to Chennai, then to Bengaluru, I became older, wiser (!), got married, nourished a family and moved through homes and cities…

But
Even now,
When I want to sort out my thoughts
Or relive childhood moments
Or understand people who matter to me
I go into that terrace … in my mind … and I feel more peaceful, more in control, and warm

What part of your childhood home do you recall fondly?

A Hindi Couplet and a Ladder

A Doha is a couplet in Hindi. Couplets are fascinating. Just two lines convey a world of meaning. Read this one. The poet has changed just one word and the meaning of line two is the opposite of line one….just one word!!

And hey! If you know please can you tell me whose lines these are?

Paradhin ko hain nahi swabhiman sukh swapn.

Paradhin jo hain nahi swabhiman sukh swapn.

Paradhin means dependent, but here the word is used with contempt so it would mean clinging. Thus the couplet says

He, who clings, has no self-respect, happiness, hope.

He, who does not cling, has self-respect, happiness, hope

Neat … naa? Brevity is an art. English idioms are smart too. Idioms in a few words convey a paragraph of meaning
Is the Hindi Couplet telling us ... Look here! You want to go places? Carry your own ladder.
This man over the Yamuna Bridge seems to be doing just that!

Here are some idioms and gyaan from the ladder........enjoy!
You want to go places? Carry your own ladder.

That way the bottom of the ladder is always close by and you begin to climb when you are ready!
Just be sure to place the ladder at the correct wall.
After you have climbed up a rung or two, check if your ladder is leaning at the right wall.
Go on. Climb and reach the top of the ladder.
Do you like the view? Move into the garden of your choice. But hey don’t kick the ladder.
Are you wondering WHY! Surely you are smart! Don’t tell me you can’t even see the hole in the ladder? Well you should guess. You may want to climb into another garden. Keep that ladder safe, man!

Did you like it? I think you should try this one  Be Indian Be Fashionable