For a very special father..mine

She looked out of the window, and heard the familiar sound of his scooter. She waited patiently as she heard the footsteps come towards the door, rushed to open it, and greet him with the widest and best smile she had. He hugged her, patted her hair and  took her in his arms. This is what heaven felt like, she thought. And then after a while, he got her down and walked over tot he kitchen to talk to his wife. She wondered, is it the wife's beautiful sarees that he likes so much, is it her big bindi that he loves so much that he has to bring her down and go to see her after reaching home. She tried peering into the mirror to see how would a bindi look on her, but being all of 4 she could barely reach the mirror.

Thats how i felt everytime baba would walk in to the house after office, play a little with me and head over to sit at the dinning table, sipping his tea, taking off his shoes, as Ma would fry some samosas, or simply serve a little bhujia sev in a round steel plate for baba. I wanted baba for myself though, all for myself, not to be shared even my mother because i was his daughter, his only child and he was the worlds most powerful man. he could open the seal of a medicine bottle with one twist of his hand, he never needed a bandaid if he scratched his hand playing cricket, he would walk in the dark at night, he could carry 3 heavy bags filled with vegetables and fruits every sunday he went to the bazaar, he would take a bath in cold water in winters, he would shoo away stray dogs if they came near me and most important, how could she forget he dint even wink an eyelid when we all got the Hepatitis B shots at the hospital. Baba was a hero, her hero and she dint like his attention divided.

Today at 29 i see a different man, i see someone with grey hair, some wrinkles on the face, a man who keeps a small bag of his everyday medicines, a man who counts on the his sugar intake everyday and most importantly a man who waits for me to get back from office so he can talk to me. Baba has changed as a person, i dont see the adrenaline rush in him to go walking even with 4 degree temperature outside, i dont see the short temper in him which made him punch some guy who tried following me from school, i dont see the impatience in him as Ma gets ready to go out somewhere in the evening, but yes i see the same father in him who loves his child more than anything in this whole world. Today as i type this, i see a  man, sitting across me on the sofa , waiting for me to finish my "work" on the laptop so we can talk a little. Although our conversations are usually on how i need to save more, eat less junk, be careful while travelling, eat responsible, be a good and supportive wife, i know some of the topics are oft repeated but i cherish them all. I see a man who wants me to live life big, never bend down in front of wrong, always speak my mind, never hurt someone knowingly, always speak the truth, be strong and balance my mind and heart.

I see my father sitting on the sofa, checking his cell phone if there were any calls because i know once i am done with my laptop, he is going to as me to check if some friend of his has sent an SMS,and honestly i miss doing this for him everyday, cuz usually ma does this for him at home.

I dont know what is it about fathers, the stronger they appear, the more you feel like protecting them and keeping them safe. Sometimes i wonder, how did God bless me with two such wonderful men to make my world, my father and G.

I love you baba, i know you would not be reading this, and i am too shy to say this to you, but you are my hero and no man, can ever ever take your place in my life...

what else can a daughter ask for ??

What is the earliest memory you have of your childhood ? honestly guys, I always had a peanut size brain, so I cant boast much of memories, but yes, baba ma had ample pictures of me. So I know how my love handles started showing on my 1^st birthday or how I started getting close to being a tomboy from my second birthday party , judging by the shorts I was wearing back then. But amid all the pictures and memories one thing remains very clear, I started resembling mom, from a very early age. Today 28 years later, she still remains the most gorgeous woman I have ever met.

There are so many ways she influenced me to what I am today, when I was a kid, I remember wearing her sun glasses and standing in front of the mirror and wondering, when would I have my own ? Also I loved and I mean loved getting made up. I remember going to the doc for my Polio drops and getting a small black ink mark on my nail. I would boast to all about my black nailpolish. Now with a 28 year old daughter who wears Jockeys at home during summers, my mother still has her summer collection of ironed, salwar kameez’s at home .

Somewhere in primary I realized about the joy of marriage, courtesy the movies and doordarshan Sunday Chitrahars and I dreamt of marrying Sherlock Holmes. I was never too fond of studies or extracurricular activities. I still remember the day I pretended of a “heart pain” because I wanted to skip the Guides and scouts camp. Thank God ma pulled me to school with my paining heart that I can now boast of a national level certification.

High school was of course a case of raging hormones, where I fell in love , stayed up at night and got the phone bills soaring high, made my parents wonder, would I ever complete my education at all. But amid the insanity, she kept me from flunking class and got me to sail through smoothly. When I sat up and recited “Macbeth” and “Merchant of Venice” ma would lie next to me on the bed and keep an eye. Guess that’s  how my name came out in the newspaper for scoring among the highest in the town.

And then it all changed, Ma was no longer someone I had to beware of, someone I needed to be scared of, she comfortably became my best friend. I enjoyed chatting with her as I drove her to the parlour and her kitty parties,I enjoyed getting her books which I knew she would like to read, she too somewhere down the line, forgot her stern looks and straight face as we became best friends.

College was perhaps the greatest time to realize what my parents meant to me, at 17 when you travel for 2 nights alone to get to Pune, you thank  them for the courage they instilled in you. I remember sitting all alone at 3 in the morning at the Pune station, no cell phone with me, waiting for the sun to rise so I could take an auto to the hostel. I remember walking alone at 12 in the night after studying at my friends place, since autos were on strike and I had no option. I learnt about people and their behaviors as I did numerous part time jobs and got my own cell phone.i learnt what ma meant by saying “a  young lady should always remember what family she belongs to “ as I comfortably managed college, hanging out in the canteen, partying out all night, going to the temple whenever I wanted to take a walk and be alone.

I love your simplicity, i love the way you look so aghast when i get you an expensive gift, i love the way you smile with pride when i tell you how well my appraisal went, i love your shocked look when we go out dining at some fancy place and you see the price on the menu, the way you insist you dont need any more sarees and fancy footwear, the way you lovingly make "macher jhol" for G and have that content smile, the way you try to understand my office work and make conversation, the way you keep telling baba how well i run our home..i could go on forever Ma.

Today, I realize how many times I might have hurt you, made you cry, took away your sleep at night, got you anxious, disappointed you and got you embarrassed. But Ma you are the best thing in my life and no matter how much people would say I look like you, my best compliment is when they say “I am just like you”

Thank you for showing me what “blessings on earth” really mean and for being my Ma. Happy Mothers Day 

something about giveaways

ohkk...for most of you who know me on FB, its a clear thing that i am nuts about certain things

1. G

2.My Family

3.My Shoes

4.Baking

5.Vodka

6.My home

7.Silver Jewellery

8.Babies

9.G

10.My Cupboard

As if by divine intervention(by the way i am very angry with the Romans and the Greeks and Indus Valley civilization for not having invented Goddess of Fashion) i landed on this blog

http://hippiehollysimplesally.blogspot.com/

..and my skirt flew up!!

really, here are these two extremely talented girls, helping you make rainy day righter and add the glitz to your outfit,you plan to wear on your chachi k bete ka wedding.

I know you all will be busy opening windows to this blog and especially following these girls and yes joining in their fabulous giveaway about the chandi ka khazana they are giving away....like Queen says .. Spread the Love

You know Its Love when.....

Along these two years of marriage many a times we have been asked "is yours a love marriage" to which G smiles and says no and to which i make my eyes round n big and say "noooo we met on jeevansaathi"

When my parents told me one fine day, that i should get married and should be looking out for options, i was asked if i prefer anyone..On hearing me say no , my mother let out a sigh of relief and told baba" ohh i knew it, our daughter will always leave this important decision on us " The last time i tried taking the decision on my own, i ended up engaged to a guy, spent all my youth n my baby love and ended with a broken engagement in 6 months and of course, i ended up with a quote written on my forehead "All men are C**** "

After more than a year of jeevansaathi profile ID number exchange, meeting around 6 different charlies ( One of those charlies further sent a friend request to G after we got married) every two months, realising that you need to stay away from certain IIT ,IIM kinds, i knew what i wanted. I knew there is nothing called love, i enjoyed watching movies like "I Am Legend" and quit reading mush!

what i wanted was my own flat by the age of 30, huge French windows, a black lab, a Silver Mini Cooper and yes in time, get myself artificially inseminated and have babies..yeah..i love babies, and i dont care much about the means of getting them!! Yes i forgot to add, my flat would be in central london perhaps and with a larder stacked with macvities and greeen tea.

But things changed on 10th November 2007, forever. i stood waiting at the window waiting for the new Mukherjee guy to come, and as he got out of the car i screamed at my ma" His father sent us a photo without a moustache but look HE HAS A MOUSTACHE!!!! "

My parents were forewarned not to even consider men with moustaches or ones who could not speak good English..of course the list was longer but these were mandates.

I never believed in love at first sight, actually dont know if ours was love at first sight or not, cuz the moment he sat across me at the table, i said to myself "awww he is soo nice" mind you, by now he had not even opened his mouth. As we spent more time i dint get what i had expected. I wanted romantic messages, i wanted loving mails, i wanted surprise gifts, i expected white lillies at my office, i expected cute status messages on Orkut, i wanted more scraps on Orkut..

But i got more ...G sat quitely and listened to em as we sat by the Bandra Bandstand, as i rattled how my day went, he would slow down his pace as i walked in my heels, he would come late so i could sneek 5 minutes of make up before he came, he spoke about his family, he told me how the New Year fireworks in Germany was seeming incomplete, he wrote me a message while coming back to India saying "Next time we would travel together" As i stayed alone home one night, when my parents left for Jamshedpur for our wedding preparations he promised he would never leave me alone, he shared with me his plans of buying a house in Pune, he asked me if i like cane furniture or not and suddenly i realised..this is what people say is Love. its the silent desire to hold him, but feeling shy. Its about listening to every word i say and think about it when he goes to bed, its about thinking of saving some more money so we could have a grand honeymoon, its about quiting heels and moving to flats so you can walk with him, its about knowing a person.

Love is not about gifts and candle light, its about what you talk of for hours when there is no electricity and you can keep talking. Love is not about expensive eating outs but thanking god for the quick Maggi he makes for you when you are tired. It is about sending that message before his flight takes off " Have a nice flight and text me once you reach..i will wait" and smiling you see him calling after he lands.

So this blog is for all of you who send me mails and ask me how do you know its love, you will know its love when you sit by a beach at night and suddenly wish he was there, when you have 500 bucks in your wallet and instead of buying a t-shirt for yourself, you pick up those floaters he wanted. Its about becoming blind to his shortcomings and being strong to forgive his mistakes. Its about picking your cell phone every half and hour to see if he messaged. Its about setting a hello tune that could perhaps describe your relation, its about waking up one fine day and asking " Has he also woken up...lemme call n see"

Its about realising that his hands are the most wonderful things i have ever felt on my skin!! !

And its still love when he puts on his black shirt and gels his hair, smelling of DKNY and your skirt flies up!!! you faint ..get up again and say "wow i love this man!!"

PS for G baby: holding your hand IS the most amazing thing i do all day baby !!

I make "looking good " even better..really

The other day i got two emails from someone , among the amazing 105 saying"where did you vanish sulagna? no posts for some time"

and you know what..it just inspired me to write a post, just a little one maybe..

you see G says i am a narcissist, and so do some of my friends..and i like it:) cuz i do really love myself.

I wake up every morning,look into the mirror and see my hair messed up, eyes a little swollen but say"wow i look nice in this hair ,ruffeled like bon jovi"hmmm

then i look around and see a man cuddled into a ball,hugging a pillow and as i croon over him,i get that"hey baby good morning" greeting in the sexiest croaking voice i have ever ever ever heard. and i say "wow am i lucky or what?"

oh if its a sunday, i take a few minutes to rub his ears, wrap him inside the rug and smell his neck(yes i love to smell his neck,) and though he wriggles, i know he likes it..i mean, very few men have their wives doing this every morning...yes every morning.

Did i tell you i am an amazing cook, no really its true cuz my food, my ingredients, the pots and pans, the burner, the microwave and even the blinds in the kitchen they love to see me walk into the kitchen. thats cuz i love spending time with them, quality time. So what happens is, when i cook during weeknights, with G hovering around with his "baby ki korcho"(in bengali:baby what you doing?) the house smells of cinnamon and garlic and dhaniya...and it makes me complete..yes it does..a beautiful house, a soulmate, an apron which says "kiss the cook", a huge kitchen and good food.

Once i am done with my first loves(G and food) i move to my other priorities, bathing.especially in summer, cuz i spen 3/4th of my life in the bathroom. And oh all my strawberry chocolate infused bathing products make me feel out of the world...absolutely..and oh psssssttt i love it when G sniffs the moment i step out of the bathroom ;) now you know why i say "soulmate"

Do you know we have 37 plants in our two balconies , which G and water religiously.Someday i dream of having cinnamon rolls and coffee in our balcony, with a black Labrador resting under my feet..errr..no actually i would love to see him standing on his hind legs on the railings and wag his tails..blisss!!

And of course evening are spent going out,just driving around to buy grocery,do things that need to be done,so even if i need to take a passport size photograph,i ask G, if the top looks bright.you know certain colours make me feel prettier..pink of course is my pet,i love the glow it leaves on my skin,i like the feel of cotton on my self in summers, i like chiffon duppatta's which ruffle when i walk,holding hands with G. Its surprising how my hands slip into his when we are walking down the roads in Aundh, the way my hands rest on his leg when he drives in the crowded FC road, the way i ruffel his hair when we stop at a signal..the way i play some dhik chak numbers, as he frowns on my choice..

Sometimes when we are with friends, so many of them get "shocked" yes shocked on seeing my tattoo and tell him"lucky dude" and that smile on his face..ohhh i have forgotten all the pain i went through for that tattoo, that smile sweeps me off my feet even after two years .

and now as i write this, the very busy man who was reading something, has quitely come and sat next to me, watching his DLF IPL as i peep and look at him from my laptop, let my hair loose, so i can get pretty again(he likes it that way) and hope i have answered "what kept me busy"

and if you have anything more to ask...let me know...i promise, i will smile, roll my eyes, put some lip balm and get down to answering :)

This ones for you guys!!!

I have been a little loaded with work,which explains my absence from blogs and FB and Orkut, but lemme tell you guys that i genuinely miss reading your words, genuinely am scared of loosing touch with you all...so this post is for everyone everyone, who has made me write this post by their little words :)

Thanks and i will be back soon...

When i think of a sweet and fresh smile, i think of Nil

when i think of someone who will make me laugh with his life as it is, i think of ramit

when i think of a benetton model who is 15 years old its dishari

when i think of naming my daughter(when i have one) i think of a beautiful name like shimkee

when i think of a nice super friendly "firangi" i think of Cathy

when i think of nobel behaviour and royalty its the queen

when i think of simple honest writing its thousif

when i see funny pictures i think of madhu

And oh Mansi i get confused with your blog cuz i have another friend called manasi, but then who else has the display pic of green smileys on Fb,other than you

an honest and witty comment will be from Rishi(i removed my music thingy for you)

muuuuaahhahahaha..Sorci

Rohit, you can still think of getting the tattoo done

Maria your roving eye always brings a smile on my face

and Dev, i like you more coz you were among my first 10 followers

Another warm and lovely gori(foreigner) is Rachael

Little girls with beautiful knack for real poetry, sunakshi Shree Ayuu and Aditi

A young boy with his thoughts so ignited on issues, Sid

New people in my blog with such heartfelt comments Dreamygal,scarlet ,duality,smrithi rao

Cinnamon Sunshine,even though she aint here, i love your words on fashion and the "hello my muffins"

And when i think of Macdonalds it reminds me of Bhanupriya with her display pic :)

Mads and manjari your comments toh are full phataka ones!!

And of all the merchants i ahve heard of, from Venice to Vietnam,the Huda merchant keeps amkign me wonder what a name ?? o wata name :)

Asif, you actually take the time to write em exactly what you feel when you read my posts

And oh my FB buddy Suruchi, you know your pyjama ka nada story still makes me smile

Raj,dint i tell you stay away from em cus you sound super alluring with your werewolf stories !

Funkyrave Freelancer and Shreya from the Captain of the Titanic, being aprt of the writers longe and following me, it makes me feel super special

Vinay your blog needs to be updated regularly,cuz you write so well

My favourite married woman Mnasi Seth, what do i say ..muaahh

And oh did i tell you, evrytime i think of people moving from one city to another there is Mohit on my mind

SG, i am still to figure out your name...and yes pesto suace, you are still not letting me know your name :(

Also J i wish you tonnes of luck and a warm hug for everything(esp the display pic with on the rocks)

Deepti i dunno where you get your awesoem shades from, but i do miss your frequency!!

Ki??? what happened :(

Dido"iiii wannaa thaaankk you" so much like the song

Dewdrops i hope you realise our comments are like conversations between people

And these days my life extends beyond blogs to mails with Jack uncle :)

Suprabhat Mukherjee...you complete me !!! i love you

Thank you each and everyone of you for getting me to my blog where the number of hits dont matter,the number of followers dont count, but this feeling of knowing so many wonderful people is precious!!

:) thanks guys