Having recently read the book “The Magic” by Rhonda Byrne, I cannot pen the words the difference the book AND the power of gratitude has made in my life. Gratitude is now my best friend and the book is one of my most treasured possessions. All it takes is just two words – THANK YOU. Not a day goes by where I do not document my blessings what’s more; I have experienced the rewards for it. (No Kidding!) :) The book also made me dig out an old mail I received on Gratitude, a simple reminder to be grateful for the little things in life.

Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair
I looked at her and sighed and wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and used a crutch
But as she passed, she passed a smile.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine
I have 2 legs, the world is mine.
~~~
I stopped to buy some candy
The lad who sold it had such charm
I talked with him a while, he seemed so very glad
If I were late, it'd do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
"I thank you, you've been so kind.
It's nice to talk with folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm blind."
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 eyes, the world is mine...
~~~
Later while walking down the street,
I saw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play
He did not know what to do...
I stopped a moment and then I said,
"Why don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew, he couldn't hear.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I have 2 ears, the world is mine.
~~~
With feet to take me where I'd go.
With eyes to see the sunset's glow,
With ears to hear what I would know,.
Oh, God, forgive me when I whine.
I've been blessed indeed, the world is mine.

Thoo!

I love to eat. When I crave for that something specific, nothing, not wild horses, would keep me from getting it. I am known to wake up at 2 a.m. to eat ice cream in the dark, go out when sick with fever satisfy an urge to eat a potato bun at the bakery – in short, I won’t rest till I had my fill. A female version of Jughead if there ever was one

Usually I have very few deterrents between food and me but recently I found one that put me off what I was craving for, before you could say the word Pani-puri!

I woke up one morning with visions of spicy chaat at a place in Jayanagar in Bangalore. I stay 14 kms away and a plate costs just about ten rupees. Did that stop me from getting what I want? Nope! If it is chaat I want, it is chaat I’ll get (with some shopping thrown in AFTER eating first).

So there I was in an auto, almost wiping the drool off my face, putting up with the long distance, traffic jam, just for a plate of spicy chaat when I lost my appetite half way through the journey real quick!

The reason? Aaaaack thoooo!!

Between my place till the time I reached my destination 14 kms away, I lost count of how many times the auto driver spat out of the auto. Huge globs of shiny phlegm, on and on it went.

Past experiences of questioning the auto drivers as to why they spit ended up with them justifying their act to the point that would put any argument to rest – ranging from “what’s wrong?” to “I feel like it, I’ll do it.” So this time I just kept quiet.

Slowly the visions of savoring spicy chaat shifted, the tummy stopped rumbling, and rather than wipe off the drool, I found it difficult to wipe the disgusted expression off my face.

There was a rule in the paper by the authorities that people who spit will be fined but I can bet the category of people who do spit have never read a paper in their lives.
My feelings about the rule? Thoo!

Here’s the serenity prayer with a twist to all the people who spit in my city

God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I can not change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to hide the dead bodies of those people I had to kill
Because they pissed me off with their spitting.

FRESH FISH SOLD HERE.

This story is quite popular and has been around for ages. Here is my version of it, where I have added a lot of characters and conversation:)

Once upon a time, in a little village, there lived a man whose business was to sell fish, and so he did. Every morning, he used to sort out the best catch, arrange them up neatly for people to buy in a little space in the village market. Just outside his shop, he had a little black board that stood blank, and a white chalk to write with by its side. (Quite unlike the white board and colorful markers we get these days).

Along came the village policeman. His wife wanted to cook fish curry for him that night when he returned home from work so she had sent him early in the morning to buy fish from the market. The village policeman bought the fish, and then he happened to glance at the black board while the man was wrapping up the fish.

“What’s the use of having a board here and keeping it blank? You might as well write something on it. How about advertising what you sell?” he remarked before leaving.

The shopkeeper thought over this, took up the chalk and wrote FRESH FISH SOLD HERE in bold capital letters.

Soon along came the village headman’s wife. She was someone who simply couldn’t resist commenting on everything and everyone and most people, even in the village, avoided her. She took one look at the board and said, “What do you mean by HERE? Everyone known that your fish is sold HERE and not there and not anywhere else. Quite evident isn’t it?” She remarked smugly.

The shopkeeper thought over this, took up a wet rag and wiped out the word HERE from the words, so it read now as FRESH FISH SOLD in bold capital letters.

Along comes little Somu, a mischief monger if there ever was one and one cheeky lad. He read aloud what was written on the board and in his usual cheeky voice said, “Uncle, Uncle, what do you mean by fresh fish sold? Who gives fish away for free in a market? It is not like you are generous Karna from our mythology, we all know you are here to do business!!” and so saying he quickly ran away before the shopkeeper could think of a fitting reply.

The shopkeeper thought over this, took up a wet rag and wiped out the word SOLD from the words, so it read now as FRESH FISH in bold capital letters.


Ratna was the village belle whose main activity each day was to cook for a large household of twenty people!! Along she came with thoughts of making fish curry for the entire household when she saw the sign on the board. “What do you mean by “fresh fish?” she commented, “Are you selling stale fish by any chance and want to hide that fact? Fish has to be fresh else who would buy them” and so saying, took her packet of fish and went away.

The shopkeeper thought over this, took up a wet rag and wiped out the word FRESH from the words, so it now read as FISH in bold capital letters.

Kanthamma was the oldest woman in the village. Some believed she was more than a hundred years old. Yet she had more energy and enthusiasm than all the youngsters of today. She loved a good gossip and would never hesitate to dole out advice whether it was needed or not. Along she came, with her walking stick and chewing on betel leaves. As she passed the shop, she held up her hand to her nose. “Poooh!” she said, “what an awful smell.” Then she looked up and saw the sign that said just one word FISH. “Well young man” she said to the shopkeeper, it is quite apparent that you are selling fish. Why I could smell it a mile away and it almost made me retch!! You don’t need to tell the world you are selling fish!” and so saying, she walked away, still holding her nose.

The shopkeeper thought over this, took up a wet rag and wiped out the word FISH from the words, so now there the blackboard stood, blank and empty as before.

A man in his early thirties came by. No one knew who he was. No one had seen him before. “Probably from the next village” thought the shop keeper to himself. The man went up and bought fish from the shop keeper. Just before he turned to go, he saw the black board with its white chalk by the side, empty with not a word written on it.

“I say young man” said the man to the shop keeper, “I am not one to comment on anything.” He said, “but I couldn’t help noticing the board with nothing written on it. “

“What’s the use of having a board here and keeping it blank? You might as well write something on it. How about advertising what you sell?”


THE BEGINNING

HOW THE SUN CAME TO STAY IN THE SKY.

Many, many, many, many, many years ago, there was no sun in the sky. It was just one large black patch with no sun, no moon and no stars. You’d think the earth was pretty dark right? Wrong! There was plenty of light on earth, not from candles or electricity. You see, people those times were born with their own individual sun.


Yes, every person carried their own sun, a ball of light, which hovered a little above their head, just like a halo. It was a lot like our portable emergency lamps we have these days, only it was already there when there were born and which grew as the child grew. It wasn’t too bright or too hot, but just right, just enough to light up wherever the person went. Each sun had a life of its own.


Of course there were the wind and the rain, but that didn’t hurt the balls of light and they shone bright as ever.


People those times, and there weren’t too many of them, were a happy, contented lot. They didn’t know what it meant to get angry or yell. They haven’t experienced envy or greed.


It was a peaceful world.


However, as time passed, more and more people were born and occupy space on this earth. The number of suns also increased.


The more the people, the more the jostle for space, the need to nudge the other person out, giving rise to emotions and thoughts they never experienced before, (not very pleasant ones either). Fights began, and didn’t die down, but lasted and lasted and passed through generations. At each generation, the person was still born with a sun, a halo above their heads, only so faint that one could hardly see it.


At this point, a strange phenomenon began to take place. The light above the heads of the people, all began to float up higher and higher into space.


For every lie uttered, for every hustle for space, for every moment of anger, for every word that hurt, the balls of light floated higher and higher.


Did the people notice this? Yes they did. Did they care? Not at all. As long as there was light above them, what did it matter? They had more important things to attend to here or so they thought.


Time passed and as more and more people came into being, higher went the lights till they were all scattered bits of lights against the sky.



Then the balls of light, (remember they had a life of their own), had a meeting. In this meeting, one large ball of light decided that rather than shine in bits and pieces, scattered all over the sky, how about merging as one big light? And let’s build ourselves right here, no more being down there on earth they thought.


All the other balls of light agreed at once. They were quite happy to comply with this decision. Not once did any ball of light claim that it wanted to shine on its own.


And so, the big ball of light approached the wind and with the help of the wind that went whooooooosh…they all blew towards each other as a giant, great ball of light, bright and dazzling, that could reach out to the whole world.


However, the sun could not work all day and needed to rest and then the moon was created, but that’s another story.


For now that’s how the sun came to be as one ball of light in the sky and till date it works as one to light up the world.


What do you think happened to the people down here on earth? There continued to be more and more of them, with no more suns of course for once the suns merged, the people born down here no longer had their own suns.


And till date, unlike the sun, we are yet to learn to work as one to light up the world.

Things That Make Me Go Hmmm

30 + 1 things that make me go hmmm..(one for each day of the month).

1. People who care (to say hi, to send an sms, for that late night phone call, to just simply be there and make me feel lucky).

2. Chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, topped with chocolate chips.

3. Mom and her unconditional love.

4. Living life on my terms.

5. Books.

6. Songs that make me go aww..

7. Cute kids that make go awww..

8. Anything new – from lipstick to linen to learning.

9. Compliments.

10. Chaat and other comfort food.

11. Waking up and then going back to sleep knowing that the whole day is mine to do as I please.

12. Pleasant surprises.

13. Smiles from total strangers

14. Greenery.

15. A perfect walk.

16. Text messages from that certain someone that makes me go awww.. (Come to think of it, I go awww a lot!!:)

17. Rain outside while am cuddled indoors with a good book and hot snacks.

18. Creativity.

19. Cold drink on a hot day.

20. Comfy home clothes.

21. Foot rubs.

22. Cooking (especially if that dish I am making comes out the way I expect it to).

23. Belly aching laugh.

24. Giving gifts and watching the person’s face light up.

25. Offering support and knowing that you made a difference.

26. Shopping. (and finding that perfect buy).

27. Hugs.

28. A good cry and feeling refreshed afterwards with new thoughts and perspectives

29. Solving a problem.

30. Unexpected help when you need it the most.

+ 1. Writing, especially if it is lists like these:)


Request those reading this to add their own.

Black is Beautiful

Once there lived a cat called Snowy. Now, you’d think that a cat with a name like that would have been snow white in color, but actually Snowy was black as coal. She was named Snowy by a little girl called, Millie, who had a wicked sense of humor. Snowy was very proud of her color and loved her glossy black fur and licked it till it shone. Millie loved her a lot too and was always giving her little treats to eat, bits of tasty fish and creamy milk.

Snowy had everything a little cat would want. A lovely comfortable basket to lie in, a clockwork mouse to chase that Millie used to wind up for her, lots of toys to play with including a ball of wool that Snowy loved to unwind. But more than her toys, Snowy loved the creamy milk that Millie poured into her bowl and could never have enough of it.

One day, Snowy was feeling very bored. Millie was busy with helping her mother clean up a cupboard. Snowy longed to go out and explore. Luckily for her, the window was open. In a second she was up on the window edge and out in the garden. The gate leading to the lane outside the house was not latched. What luck, thought Snowy and pushed open the gate and off the trot down the lane, feeling very happy to venture out on her own.

At the end of the lane was an old house. The owner had gone away for many years it looked quite dirty. The house looked like it really needed a new coat of paint. Snowy went into the house, for like all cats, she was very curious to know what was there. She wandered around the garden. There, at the corner of the garden was a huge tub filled with what looked like creamy milk.

Snowy was very excited!! She sniffed hard but couldn’t really smell milk.

“Never mind” She thought “It must taste heavenly!”

She looked around carefully to see if anyone was around. And then quick as lightning she jumped right into the tub.

But wait a minute, what was this? It wasn’t milk. It was a tub of white paint! Snowy got a shock. You see, the owner of the old house had returned and had decided to paint the house after all. The tub of paint was mixed by the painters and left there in the garden to come back to later.

Miaw, Miawwww mewed Snowy, for it was rather uncomfortable. She jumped out as quickly as she had jumped in. She was all sticky and wet, but what upset her the most was that she was white in color all over.

Gone was her glossy black coat. She truly looked liked her name. Snowy wasn’t pleased at all. She tried to lick herself clean, but it tasted horrid.

Slowly she padded her way back up the lane, leaving white paw prints everywhere. She soon came to the house she lived with Millie. Snowy went right up to the front door. It was shut. She stood there and mewed loudly.

Millie who was looking around for Snowy heard the mews and rushed to the door. But when she opened the door, all she saw was a white cat instead of her beautiful black Snowy.

“Oh!” She cried “I thought Snowy had returned but you are not Snowy. You are white all over. I so miss Snowy,” and so saying she shut the door with a bang.

This was too much for Snowy who was upset over her white coat and was longing to be back with Millie in her room, hoping to be fussed over. Instead Millie hadn’t recognized her.

She stood in the garden, mewing miserably and wondered what to do next.

Suddenly it began to rain. One minute it was nice and sunny and the next minute it poured. Snowy tried to hide under the bush for she didn’t like getting wet, but it rained for what seemed like hours, while actually it one of those brief summer showers.

Along with the rain, the white paint on Snowy’s fur also began to wash away and slowly Snowy got back her black coat again. Within minutes the sun was out and Snowy’s coat soon was dry.

Snowy turned her head this was and that and was pleased to see her lovely black color was back. She licked it clean and then began to mew again, this time from hunger more than anything else.

Out came Millie once again when she heard the noise. As soon as she saw Snowy, she rushed and scooped her up. “Snowy! Where were you? I searched all over the house for you, you naughty cat! All I saw when I opened the door was a strange white cat. I wonder where it went. Snowy, Don’t you dare disappear again!” she said. Snowy purred in delight to be fussed over this way. She had had quite enough of exploring for the day.

Millie carried her in and set her down. She poured creamy milk into Snowy’s bowl and Snowy lapped it all up hungrily.

Soon, feeling quite tired out from the day’s adventures, she lay down in her basket and drifted off to a contented sleep, dreaming of swimming in a large tub of milk.

Top Five Reasons Why I love Enid Blyton

Any reader who grew up on Enid Blyton will credit her for her numerous books that fueled one’s imagination and inexplicable delight experienced by reading her books. Here are my top five reasons why I love Enid Blyton.

# 5. For her descriptions about food: Lemonade, buns, potted meat sandwiches, hard boiled eggs (usually in crisp, fresh salads that had half the vegetable market in it), tomato sandwiches, pop biscuits, toffee shocks, treacle puddings, chocolate biscuits, huge chocolate cakes, bacon and eggs with onions, slabs of chocolate bars, eclairs (usually eaten by the five find outers) scones and macaroons, jam tarts, ices, fresh bread and honey, cold creamy milk from the diary, ripe plums from the garden, strawberries and cream, gingerbread, ginger beer, ice creams… as a child, I dint even know what half of them meant, but being a foodie, that dint stop me from drooling and sighing with envy that the characters were the luckiest in the world to have such heavenly food!

Ok.. time for a break from this article. Excuse me while I go and pig out on some food :)

Back again and speaking of the lucky characters, herez another point of envy..

# 4. For her characters: Who can’t help admiring Fatty for his courage, wit and brains? Timmy for his loyalty and adorable ways? The twins at St. Clares? Or all the other girls and teachers– the good, the bad and ugly at the boarding schools? The naughtiest girl who made naughtiness seem so appealing? Dolls that come alive at nights, the cheeky Snubby and his mad dog loony, Kiki the talkative parrot who never fails to steal the show, Mr. Pink Whistle the invisible magic man who set things right……each character so unique, yet so easy to connect with.

# 3. For names: A snow man is called icy cold..a fussy donkey..kick up, an enchanter is called Mr. Spells, saucepan man (who has pans and kettles all around him), moon face (who had a round face like the moon), whatzisname (a man who well… dint know what his name was!:) …...she makes all seem so effortless!

# 2. For the locations: Forget beaches and luxury resorts and climb up a tree that lead into a cloud and off one goes to exciting lands of dreams, birthdays, secrets, goodies and lands of do-as-you please, a wishing chair that flies away to magical places and strange journeys, Galliano’s circus will never make you want to live in a house anymore, islands that belong to children (George’s Kirrin Island and the secret island from the secret series), boarding schools that made me long to apply to, playrooms and toys that made me wish I was a fly on the wall when they came alive….

# 1. For making me believe: In magic, in spells, in the power of kindness, courage, in learning a lesson in every single story and for bringing out the child in me even today, when I am in my thirties. Yes, I still read Enid Blyton and till date, I list her books as the best blessings I have had the pleasure to discover!!