SHADOWS - Thursday Challenge

The Shadows Of Medicine 

Some good, some bad... 

Only a doctor who

 is an observer by heart 

knows which one is what !

-R.

PS: This post is written as a part of Thursday Challenge-July 31st 2014

Full Circle

Tangy Tuesday Picks-Blogadda-July 29th 2014

“Having a place to go is home, having someone to love is family, having both is a blessing”

-Donna Hedges-

This story began with an extraordinary discovery Appa made sitting in the balcony one afternoon of this fortnight “Look! There!” he said, “Where?” I asked. He pointed between the leaves of a young coconut tree which is growing within the compound of the house across the road.  And from then on I had the pleasure of watching a beautiful family of jungle babblers come to become. They went about their daily errands in complete ignorance of being watched. The parents would fly to get food like worms, insects and what not to feed the hungry little ones. And they would open their raw and red beaks widely, each one thinking he or she is chirping louder than the other. It more seemed like they were saying “Mama for me! Me! Me!” What a precious sight and sound that was!

There were three of them in total if I am right, and what ruckus they created especially in the afternoons. On most of the times it was the neighborhood cat lurking around the nest waiting to make them his satiating lunch, and then there were those cloudbursts at odd hours. The nest was made at a very odd place, one strong breeze and they could be down on earth. Despite all this the fledglings always remained protected because one of their parents was always around in the building.

In a matter of few days I saw them perch on the edge of the nest, the mother or father would rush flying from nowhere to keep an eye on their movements. When they could obviously manage themselves they started taking steps, one by one. They made small leaps first on the tree which held their nest, and then they slowly jumped fluttering their wings to the nearby areas, on the bush, on the ground, on the compound and within no time they were out of sight. The nest is all that remains now when it is no longer necessary, with still and spawning memories.

Four years ago I had written this poem: Roots And Wings for the love our parents show us. Only when we bring our focus to certain things in nature we realize some of our blessings, there are messages in everything that is happening around. Even a small reed of grass swaying with the wind has a thing to tell. Now when I look at this empty nest I think of the babblers, “Where have they gone? What have they become?” Maybe I will find another nest by the younger ones somewhere around here again.

I am sure there are many concrete blocks down any road with the same story as this nest. People getting married, having children, bringing them up, looking after them, teaching them, seeing them grow and seeing them go. Isn’t it amazing how life comes in a full circle, even for us humans. Too abstruse I know, maybe that’s what The Big Bang Theory is all about, "we come together to move away" -LIFE !

-R

Reflections-Thursday Challenge

ADVICE FROM THE LAKE

Be Clear

Make Positive Ripples

Look Beneath The Surface

Stay Calm

Shore Up Friendships

Take Time To REFLECT

Be Full Of Life!

PS: As a part of #ThursdayChallenge, to look at the other entries visit Thursday Challenge-For Fun and Learning

-R.

Love Black-No Lack

“Hmmm…do you have it in black?”

All you ‘black-is-so-me’ people like me out there remember this question you ask every time in a reflex? I have lost count of the number of mumbles and stares I get when I go “Give me anything, but make sure it’s in black!” I do not intend this to be just another post on dresses and suits, shoes and belts, kajals and eyeliners, wallets and purses, cars and bikes, canines and felines. I am of the opinion that for anyone who lives with this colour it is an obvious choice for all his wants and needs, and I bet there WILL be more than five! Since the time Blogadda came up with this question I have been a little uneasy, frankly for a week I had not gone beyond thinking “Only five? Why Blogadda? Why?” :-) 

And then I get this little black bookmark inside a book from them which I had the chance to review! :-)

‘Desiring’ something in black? Well it had to be genuinely intense. I love and prefer this colour over the others not because it makes me feel classy, good, beautiful, smart or unconventional. I have seen, heard, read and learnt about the colour from people and characters who have carried it more than in their attire or accessories in their heart and soul. I relate to this colour that way, something more than ‘Black- is-my favorite’. You know somehow one cannot stop noticing certain things, how a colour which half the world considers a bad omen or sign adds to the magic something or someone can bring, that’s my only reason for wanting these awe inspiring stuffs in BLACK:

·         For BLACK brings me SMILE when it is much needed!

“I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. Everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large”

-Charlie Chaplin-

The happiness Chaplin has brought to this world cannot be put in words. Above is just one of my favorite scenes from his movie ‘A Dog’s Life’. Such was the man and such was the colour he chose. No bows, no ties. No trim, no grim. A jolly good fellow in the truest sense. If anyone can get me CHAPLIN’S HAT, I promise to watch his movies full day with you ;-)

·         For BLACK brings back my CHILDHOOD when I think I have grown up!

“All ducks are black Amma?” I used to ask my mother and she used to convince me by answering “No the crazy ones are Raksha!” I cannot imagine those times of watching ‘The Looney Tunes’ on Cartoon Network without this black bird. What wit, what wisdom and what timing! If anyone can get me all the DAFFY DUCK LOONEY TUNES VIDEOS compiled together I promise to watch them too ;-)

One of the daffiest moment of this bird here:

“Daffy Duck he had a farm, E... I... E... I... O.

And on this farm he had an *igloo*

Ee... ayyy... ee... ayyy... dohhh? “

·         For BLACK brings bitter for good!

“Tea is like a hug in a cup”

-Patrick Jane-

Whoever called this beverage ‘liquid wisdom’ must have been wise. I have never seen anything loose itself and spread all its colour and flavor in a cup of hot water so instantly. I have survived many days and nights gulping BLACK TEA, more than water in fact, those examinations I tell you in medical school in the last ten years of my life! This desire isn't any addiction, it has done more good than harm. Anyone willing to make a cup for me, I assure you a great deal of conversation while we have it and of course lots of love.  By the way I like it earl grey without sugar ;-)

·         For BLACK brings me FANTASY when I am done with reality!

“We've all got both light and dark inside us.What matters is the part we choose to act on.

That's who we really are.”

- Sirius Black  -

Siriusly!!! For any HP fan this spelling may seem more than right. You know characters such as these in stories teach a reader so much about loyalty and life. There were moments when I had thought “Who is this freaky man?” about Sirius Black while I read the earlier pages of the book ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. By the end of the HP series I was of the opinion that after James and Lily, his parents, Sirius Black was the next best thing that has happened to Harry. Who can forget the scene when he punches Malfoy and says “Get away from my Godson!” such selfless care and love. True to his name, ‘Sirius’- the brightest is always in the darkest. If anyone can get me his FLYING MOTORCYCLE which Hagrid used to drop little Harry at the Dudley's, we could go for a ride around the skies after our black tea ;-)

·         For BLACK brings satiety to my heart  more than my sweet tooth!

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream"

-Riley Weber-

Who wouldn’t say yes for an ice cream? The joy that it brings especially during the winters, nothing like it. ‘Kuro-Goma’ or BLACK SESAME ICE CREAM so called in Japan looks a little different. The flavour and obviously the colour interests me, we could have this for the dessert on our way back. What say? Anyone game? For black in simple pleasures of life? ;-)

PS: This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com

The Deliberate Sinner - Book Review

Signing up for Blogadda’s book review programme  is a good thing to do for two reasons, the wide variety of genres they cover while they put up books for review keeping Indian authors in mind well that is something commendable. Secondly the letter from Nirav Sanghvi I see right under the cover page with every book that comes home makes me smile.  Adding to it this time a signed copy with one of your favorite quotes “Hate the Sin, not the Sinner” written by the author on the first page of the book ‘The Deliberate Sinner’ by BhaavnaArora was at my doorstep yesterday. It had been long since I had read a contemporary Indian author’s work. Done and dusted in an hour and half, it was fairly a practical read. My evening made!

I did not immediately fall in love with the book nor did I hate the writing, simply because I just couldn't understand its pace. There is no denying that it explores an area of raw realism. The range of thoughts and emotions of a woman of today that too an Indian, in an institution of marriage is a tough topic. It is not easy to sum up in around hundred and fifty pages. Maybe that’s why the little derailing. The narration especially in the end did seem like a fast forward, like someone is trying to wrap up the life events of the protagonist and give her story some ending. That’s the only thing that made me a little hypercritical. 

Her life is near perfect at some moments and she does not take drastic decisions, but then again you see her at crossroads in a failing relationship, not due to her, there are people and circumstances based on which her life is shaped. The chemistry dies, a lot of biology happens, normalcy resurfaces and somehow life continues. But she needs more and makes sure she gets it. The story puts this message across, a failed marriage is not the one which ends with divorce but is the one which is just managed for years and years, just lived happily ever after.

There are certain lines in the story for which I had an involuntary nod:

“You have to take the problem head on. You die or you kill the enemy; there is no other way”

“Pain and pleasure are inseparable”

“Confusion is not a good place to dwell”

“It is always the unseen which is more consequential than the seen”

Profound thinking! No matter who you are and what situation you are in right? What struck me was this; it requires a lot more than feministic conviction to openly write about a woman’s physical and emotional needs so precisely. It may sound over the board or unconventional at places, but that is the way it should be. Everyone can write about fairies and vamps, but to write about the many who battle between these two extremes it is something.If an author dares to write about such issues, especially in the kind of societal setting like the ones we live in right now it means only this, it’s high time we read and know about it too.

PS: This post is a part of the Book Reviews programme at Blogadda- The Deliberate Sinner.

       Thank you Blogadda for a wonderful read! :-)

-R.

Pressed Flower

"Isn't it odd how much fatter a book gets when you've read it several times?" Mo had said..."As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells...and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower...both strange and familiar.”

-Cornelia Funke-

PS: Entry for Thursday Challenge of 18-07-2014 -FLOWERS

-R.

A Piece Of Cake

“Chocolate flavor will do?” I asked.

No response.

“Okay, Vanilla is it this time? I asked again.

He walked away giving a nod, well seemed like it. 

This was at the neighborhood grocery stores a week ago. Three days later I baked this cake for him, it took me a good two hours. I generously decorated it with tutti frutti, jellies and grated chocolate after the icing, all the time thinking of him. He loves cakes, that apart there is a certain sweetness about him. I had to remember to keep that proportion. I wanted it to be more than edible. While I placed this one in the refrigerator and let it set, I sent him a picture of it with all the excitement in this world.

No reply.

He came home at night, after dinner opened the refrigerator and had a share of it without much noise. He must have got the picture so I thought. I looked at him eat and couldn’t stop myself from curiously asking him “How is it?” He slowly turned and looked at me, like a lion disturbed during his meal after the kill. It wasn’t anger, it wasn’t annoyance. It was more like a grand statement. “If I am eating it means it is okay, do you get it? “ he said, and that was his longest line for me for the day.

“OKAY you mean? Well okay!” I said startled.

Thankfully it was decent enough for a home- made stuff, and that too just my second one. The next day when he was back home he opened the refrigerator again “Is it over?” he asked looking at the almost empty bowl. Nobody replied because the rest of folks at home were over and done with it. “Che!” he frowned and sat down. I smiled. He smiled too.

You know there are always a certain category of people in your life with whom no matter how hard either of you try there cannot be or rather there is no need of long conversations to put across a point. You ask something more, be sure to get a punch on your face. There is no demanding, no complaining, no inquiring, no pestering, no praising with intentions and no fishing for compliments. It is not in their element. Yet you feel blessed when they are around, just like how I feel with this younger brother of mine. No matter what I do, no matter what I want, no matter what I feel and no matter what I make he does not judge. And when he is forced to, he makes sure I either feel very awesome or very awful about it depending on the circumstance. Straight without doubt. More than everything else, no matter what I cook or bake, I am happy that there is one person who will surely eat.

Dealing with such a brother, it's a piece of cake!

-R.