Changing Faces of My Life

The many facets and ever changing nature of life around is most remarkable and needs to be appreciated with a happy heart.

The above may seem to be a very vague beginning to a blog but thats what has been happening to me over the past two months. It was just 10 months back that I was an unmarried woman, leading the life of more or less a teenager (although its been eons since I was in my teens!!), stepping out of the house much against my parents requests to stay in one place for a period of half an hour. Then came the month of May when I decided that it was the ideal time to get married, June I was engaged (hooked), months of long distance courtship went without much hitches, December I was married( booked) and by January I was cooked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess this is the pattern for almost all and sundry but ME.. No one, most importanly myself, imagined that I would go through what every other woman (at a marriageable age) goes through. But its all been fun and enjoyment. Not one day seems to replicate itself, despite the fact that I've been at home in Mumbai for most part of my time spent in this new city that buzzes with activity all around. Sometime I've felt that my life is like these movies, where life goes all around you and yet the person who is viewing this remains stationery. This is bound to change, no doubt about that and so I've decided ( I made the decision a long time back actually) that I am going to enjoy this as long as it lasts. For, who knows when I might yearn for my life as a home maker again!!!

But there is one thing that I miss alot.. CRICKET.. Its been my way of life for the past 10 years and to abruptly stop it seems very odd to me. I keep thinking about the games I've played and the ones that have been etched in mind forever and that keeps me going. Also frequent communications with my colleagues makes sure that I am not entirely out of that circle. I dont intend to let it go that easily but there comes a time for everyone when they have to choose and my time is now. Its a hard decision but I've taken it with an astute mind and I intend to stick with it.

New Life Out Here In Amchi Mumbai!!!

The marriage bonanza ended, the cricket fever came down and now I'm where I'm where I am meant to be. In Mumbai, with my husband and being a 'home maker' (I hope that tag is there only for a few more months as a full time job description though!!!!)

But I have to accept something, I didnt really expect to fit into this role too well, but from my initial self analysis, I haven't been too bad. Cooking too has been rather palatable and that was something totally unexpected. Am quite proud of it myself.

But if Nikhil thought I would stop at this, he is wrong. I'm going to keep myself occupied by simply dishing out new cuisines for his ever inquisitive taste buds!!! :)

Now that I have enough time to pen my thoughts, lemme get serious about it and be happy. So heres wishing me lots of happiness while I blow my mind off writing!!!

Back In the Helm

The weeks of boredom looks like it might come to an end. The 'season' is about to start and am back at the helm from the looks of it. While I'm certain I can do it, there are others who worry for my well being (more mental than physical).

As for myself, I have already started filling my mind with what is to be done and what is not to be done. I have been given back captaincy (thrust would be a better word though) with the hope that I can fare better than my predeccesor and more importantly, overcome my 2006 failure to lead the team to the nationals.

I already have a few butterflies in the tummy, self doubt and all those familiar emotions. But I have nothing to lose or fear. I will give in my best, as I always do, as a keeper, btsaman and captain and hope that everything falls into place and the victories keep coming.

There is nothing more heartening to see a well thought out win and its my sincere prayers that the decisions I make are correct (faults are to be expected, but I would like to keep them a bare minimum :) ) and followed to the tee.

Its with a lot of hope, speculation and confidence that I agreed to this. I know I have the support of most of the players, Nikhil, Urmi and a few others who believe in me.

I just wish that I live upto their expectations and most importantly my own......

Peace for our Children

The calming effect on the mind of an adult by a sleeping child is unexplainable. Maybe that was the inspiration for the soft rock band MLTR to write the song " Sleeping Child". Its a truly touching and wonderful compilation of all the things a child must be witness to when they grow up. Dont we all want peace and happiness!!!!

But we the elders are lucky in this aspect. We get to watch peace and solitude in the face of a sleeping child and that I'm sure is what we want for our children too. But the question is will they have the opportunity to see a peaceful world?

With the various terrorist attacks and the recent incident in Kashmir involving children as hostages has made me worry about the lives of children who will probably never understand what a wonderful world this can be to live in.

We are all to blame for this. Every issue that is discussed has politics or religion as its base, where is the human element!!! Cant we think for a Man from a Man. Does it always have to be connected with a persons associations and affiliations?

I know I am going nowhere with this discussion, but all that I am doing is introspection of the self. Am I too going to lay back and watch all thats happening around me and make no difference to those around me? Millions of men and women in dire need for assistance in the human form are milling around me and yet I have done nothing for them. The only solace I am getting is from the fact that I have atleast commenced the thought process within me. Someday, and someday soon, I will work to help the lives of atleast a few by making a difference in my little way.

Until such time, let me feel the calm with by watching the child sleep...........

Lessons I Learnt

My friend Jayashree bought me the entire 9 seasons of X- FILES.. That is something i bugged her about ever since she set foot in American soil and after three years I have got what i wanted. :)

This fascination for X-Files began when i was in my eleventh standard i guess... The initial attraction was FOX MULDER and nothing else and I guess that was how i viewe it for a very long time, even after it had ceased being telecasted on TV.

However, and believe me what I am going to say might seem stupid, I learnt something quite valuable from the serial. The pursuit of something that one really believes in and not stopping until you knw that the end has come.

The end, mind you, maybe good or bad, but heart of hearts the person who truly looks for answers or means to achieving their dremas, aims, ambitions, pursuits and everything else will probably be guided by someone far above us, to help us realise that we have reached the end of the long and winding road.

I am drawing a parallel with myself, because I believe that I know myself best. I have worked hard and I am still working (although not as hard as before) to achieve my undying dream. But off late I have begun to realise that my end is probably getting closer and yet there is a sense of calm around me. I have always got what I wanted, unless I changed my mind about something I desired, and so when my dream of playing for the country came a little closer, I believed that I could actually make it.

But today I know that I wont get there( there is maybe a 1% chance and I have been very bad with probability ever since school, so my guess is I wont play for the country) and that doesnt make me feel like I have not achieved what I wanted. I know and believe that I have worked hard in the limited time frame that I had. Starting at the age of 20 meant that I had to put my ambition on fast track mode and I did. But I guess I got onto the freeway and although I have tried really hard to get back into the highway, I realised that the freeway was leading me to another place, A PLACE WHERE MY SATISFACTION FOR HAVING TRIED WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME.......

The Week that Was

Its been a long time since I have done this and there is no excuse for it unless laziness can be termed as a reason.

I have begun listing down the list of people I would be inviting for the wedding. There are some names in that book for whom I have scant respect and in my second round of filtering I will certainly remove most of them. The reason is not because I want to cut down on the numbers, not at all, for me its important that those who come for the wedding actually wish me well and not have an iota of jealousy. One might wonder why the jealousy. Its just that there are a few in this world who cant be happy for others and for me I have alot of people in my cricket fraternity who think that I have got more than I have asked for and that I dont deserve it!!!!!! Yup its beats me too...................

Otherwise the week has been made up of visits to various docs, all for the same problem (in case someone assumes I'm a sick person, in the literal sense!!) and paying each of them a hefty amount. I am kind of getting sick and tired of this, but when i think of Urmi and what she has been going through for the past 6 years, my problems feel like the discarded pluto.. that small..

Preparations for the wedding and also underway. The first purchase was the jewellery. Its a nice piece of work, the pendant. But what was more interesting during the buy was what Aarti (SIL) spoke with the jewellers. It was fun and was certainly a learning experience for me. Quite a few interesting points came forward and everyone of it made sense. :) Good work Aarti!!!!!!!

Next week will involve the purchase of something very very important.. the 'thirumangalyam' and ' koorey podavai', the true symbols of wedding and marriage...... just a few months away.. Am I ready yet???????????????

Back From Mumbai

I dont think to most it would make sense but this is how my mind goes....

The four day visit to Mumbai under the pretext of accompanying Urmi for her IIJS show was fulfilled (no doubt about that i hope) but it also gave me time to spend with my beau, understand the city and hopefully act as a pre cursor to my life there from next year.

When I left from here I tuned my mind to accepting the place as it was. If I was going to live there then I should be liking it!!! There is no point putting up with some place I dont enjoy. Although this trip meant going out, shopping, eating and all that, at no point did i let my guard down. I enjoyed the city for all that it presented towards me. The traffic on the roads, inside malls, the rain, the dust, lack of walking place, Nikhil's friends, his house, his travel to office... everything that i did, I did it with a sense of purpose and understanding and guess what, I loved it :)


I met up with Nikhil's friends one evening and they were all women, three of them to be exact, each very very different in their own ways and each of them made me understand a part of him that would certainly help us both grow. You can judge a man by the friends he has, atleast i think i can. From what little in conversed with them, i know I too can gel with them quite fine. I think thats important for Nikhil that i can communicate with his friends, because they would form an integral part of our lives too.

Nikhil's house...hmm.. I dont know why there was an initial reluctance to take me there, but ultimately he did and I really liked it. You see I need to know his life as a bachelor and what he will be after the wedding on the home front too :) So thanks for taking me there. You have a cute house. This brings me to the topic of his room mate. Guess one reason why they do get along well with each other is, neither interferes in the others way of life and work, while they join together for things they need to do together. They had a good living understanding.

Well, four days of fun, understanding (tiny argument) and enjoyment. I had a lovely time.... :)