Empathy

1. This morning, when we were commuting to work, some unknown person traveling by an auto signalled something to us, pointing to the bottom part of the car. I asked V to check the lights, blinker, doors etc, all of which seemed to be in tact. Then V got suspicious of the tyre becoming flat, and stopped at a distance to check. His suspicion proved correct and he took the car to a near by centre and got it fixed.

2. Last weekend, when we had gone to watch a movie, we got some ‘corn in a cup’ in the intermission. As V had gone to get something else, I carried the two piping hot cups in two hands along with a phone and walked into the theatre. And then I started wondering how I would pull the seat back with these non-empty hands. As I reached my seat, the lady who sat next to my seat, who is a complete stranger to me, pulled it for me to sit.

3. Sometime back, when we were commuting to work, V had to stop and give way to someone who was trying to cross the road. That guy stopped and acknowledged V’s gesture with a thumbs-up sign.

Many incidents like this, however small they may be, instill a feeling in me that the world around us is beautiful, that the people around us care for each other, empathise with us !!

New love

 On my quest for children book authors of varied genre, with the goal of introducing as much as possible to A, who is currently head over heels in love with Geronimo Stilton, I came across Subhadra Sen Gupta, who writes historical fiction. I heard about her Children’s history of India too and got a chance to look at it on my last trip to a book store. But the thing that held me back from buying it was, it seemed little too big , compared to the ones A is currently reading. I wanted to wait an year or two before putting this before her.

And one day, out of the blue, I came across another book by her at the library, Bishnu the dhobi singer, a Pratham publications one, which was set in the times of Tansen, the great singer at Akbar’s court. This book fit the reading level of books that A is currently on to. Triggered by the awe that I had in me for all that surrounded Mughal empire, induced by Indu Sunderesan’s Taj Trilogy, I placed an order for the book immediately.
I hoped and wished that A would like it, and fortunately she got hooked to it, after the first chapter was done. Both of us enjoyed the book to bits and I found a new love for Subhadra Sen Gupta. 
The writing is beautiful, introduces so many things about those times in an interesting manner, the pictures take you back in time, the glossary at the end is informative, the story line is gripping, the book is perfect to arouse interest towards history.

Although I have visited numerous historical places linked to the Mughal dynasty as a kid, I have been waiting to make a fresh, new visit once again ever since I read the Taj Trilogy. Now, I have got a companion in little A, who is showing equal interest, and we have started bugging V for the same 😊

Can’t wait to try other books of hers !

Current crush

 At this phase of life and point of time, do you know what my current crush is ?

Here are some pointers :
It lightens up my mood

It’s something very easy to do

It has been successful in consistently living up to my expectations 

It does not expect too much in return from me

Every one around me too enjoys it 

It makes me feel good about myself 

It is all so colourful and not too gaudy, just the way I want 

Ok, wanna hear it’s name
Here you go, am talking about Aurelia, the brand for women wear !

I have been visiting this store for a couple of years now, and my love for it has been increasing with each visit I make to it. The stores that I visited are small, but the collection they have got is just the perfect one, elegant, colourful, varied, economical. Sometimes they are on sale too, and a real one, and the prices then are too good to believe !
Have you too visited this ? What are your experiences about it ? Do you too have any current crushes ?

The ripple effect of

 Zindagi Gulzar Hai…

I wonder how V’s expressions would change into, upon encountering this name, on reading this post.
Ok, coming back to the point, the substance of this post , Zindagi Gulzar Hai, is a serial, which I got to know about through a friend. She informed me that she got so addicted to that serial, that she had seen it nonstop and liked it a lot. I made a point to watch it sometime and then mentioned about the serial to MIL. Very soon, she too started and got addicted, I couldn’t wait any longer and then I too started watching it. Apart from the fact that we finished the entire set of 26 episodes with in a week, there were times, when both of us, would be finishing our work, and rushing to our rooms, to move on to the next episode. V would watch me in confusion and the expression of “I can’t help this girl “, as I kept watching episode after episode. 

To summarise, I liked both the male and female protagonists, for their characters, all the relationships, the diaries of their thoughts, the background song and so on and on.

And then, V’s sister and MIL’s sister too were told of this and they too finished it up and enjoyed it.

So, to continue the ripple effect, go and watch it on YouTube, if you haven’t already, and are in the mood to watch something 😊

Who knows, you too might like it 😊

Koooo chuk chuk

 A family running with bated breath, dad carrying luggage, mom carrying the little one, grandparents running behind
A family paying off the taxi fare and picking up the luggage 

A family debating whether to cross the railway tracks or use the stairs to reach the platform on the other side 

A family waiting over patiently 
People carrying boxes filled with Karachi biscuits 
People everywhere, each with a different style, each there for a different purpose , what a sight to watch !
I was gently reminded of the numerous memories that I had as a little girl, as a growing girl, and as a grown up one, travelling in the trains.
While I was feeling this way, A was totally excited and couldn’t believe herself that she was actually going to travel in a train. Yes, this was her reaction, when we traveled to Bangalore, last month, to attend the house warming ceremony of V’s sister. Yes, this is A’s second travel in a train, after the first one, which she doesn’t even remember, which happened when A was less than 3 yr old, when her aunt got married. 
I didn’t know how I should be reacting to A’s excitement, for this kind of travel was a common thing for me as a child. And the same was so uncommon for A.
I know, I should make some serious attempts to make train journeys happen for A too, so that they get added to her list of sweet memories.
Leaving my task aside, A did enjoy her little journey, and got totally excited about sleeping alone on her berth 😊

Celebrations make an early entry !

So for this birthday of ours, that’s going to be on this Sunday, the celebrations have decided to make a 2-day early entry!

The first one came in the form of a surprise gift from a friend. Knowing my craze for the ear-rings, she gifted me these lovely ones. They brought a big smile on my face.

And knowing the amount of pressure she’s undergoing and the plate of things she’s handling currently at work, I wonder how she manages to do so many things without a miss !

The second one came in the form of a planned one from V. He has been proposing to buy some silver jewellery for quite some time now and I have been putting off the idea, unsure of how it would suit me. Finally I gave in, and we visited a store close by, this evening. It didn’t take long for us to zero in on a piece and we got this dazzling bangle !

I failed to capture a decent photograph of this inspite of multiple attempts at it.

And the third one was an unplanned, impromptu purchase. While we were at the store, we chanced upon some silver chains for men too , and how could we miss the opportunity , when V had been looking for one for the last couple of years. We immediately grabbed one, naming it on the upcoming birthday !

And before I forget about the last one, which was actually the first to make an entry, here it is, a watch from Amazon !

See, the advantage of a couple celebrating birthdays on the same day, is that, we buy things in double, we celebrate in double and the happiness doubles 😊

Earn, spend, all in a day !

A has been attending drawing classes, twice a week , for some time now. Last Saturday, when A went along with V to get some fish for the fish tank, she had a brain wave. She offered to take drawing classes for V, for just 5 rupees a month. They had the agreement sealed.

Next day, she made her father sit down, drew couple of pictures like hut, hat et al, made him draw them, and gave some homework too. A little later, she got us something from the shop down stairs, and asked us if she could keep the change, 5 Rs, as her salary, and we obliged.

And a little later, she went and bought a packet of chips , with her first salary !
And you know what, she shared the fruits of her first salary, one with me and one with her grandmother too 😊
p.s. A is now toying around the idea of charging 5 Rs per class, instead of per month ! Survival tactics, right ? Now, time to see how the father is gonna respond to it !