Piggy Bank

My Roomie and I were looking for Birthday gift for a little girl who is now turning EIGHT.. The eight is in Caps as the little girls likes to pretend to be older than her age :-)
After a little thought for her craze for dancing and coloring, and her trying-to-be-older-than-her-age attitude, we chose to give her some sensible gift , a Piggy bank.. Something which will help her learn that little by little one can build up a fortune.
So "Do deewane sheher me , Raat me aur do peher me" started looking for a nice little piggy bank.
In US , we generally look for things in the Mall or the super-stores which boast
"We sell for less"
"All the Ingredients"
"Where It Begins"
"Its All Inside"
"Don't stop living in the red"

So we went on the search .. Initially we had thought its going to be easy. But soon we found out that searching a Piggy Bank is like searching a needle in Haystack.
Toy-stores ? One of them had really ugly piggy banks or miniature locker-cupboards for Coin savers.
The store of world-famous Children's entertainers who say "Its a small world" dont keep piggy bank or even a mousy bank.
Card Stores? They have piggy bank marked "For our first baby", "Daughter's College fund", "You are turning 70" ,
Super stores -- Only one of them had Piggy bank which was huge enough to be a Pumpkin was too costly to be fit for a Piggy bank.
So after roaming in the mall for 3 hours, in a superstore for 1 hour and another for 1/2 hour in another store we dint buy anything :-(

Just a day before the birthday, we picked up some toy and gifted it to her.
Fortunately the little girl liked it!!

Taare Zameen Par

Taare Zameen par is a movie about Dyslexic Children.. Wonderfully made!
As one of my friend says, its the real use of a powerful medium

I happened to watch it twice , on continuous days .. It happens with me that second thoughts and Third thoughts are too much from a critic's point of view. With Taare Zameen Par, I happened to find more meaning in the movie second time I watched it.

I feel its not only the Dyslexic children, its with every child.. Each has a different plus point, native talent. Is it really brought forward?

Forget children, do we elders know what is OUR real talent? How much do we know ourselves? How much do I know myself?

Do I need to ..

Kholo Kholo Darwaze
Parde Karo Kinare
Khuntey Se Bandhi Hai Hawa
Mil Ke Chhudao Saare

To find

Tu dhoop hai Chhamse bikhar .. Tu hai nadi O bekhabar!!
Beh chal kahin , ud chal kahan
Dil khush jahan , Teri to manzil hai wahi ..............

The Divine Flute

I am on this train to Richmond, Virginia, a journey of approx 8 hours and the first time in US that I am going somewhere alone.

I am armed with Ipod, laptop (I can plug it in to recharge) and printouts of a Manual to pass this time..

But this isnt about the Journey.. Its about an musical experience.. I have my Ipod set in Shuffle mode and have put on all the songs.. So any one can come up for my listening Like a radio :-)
So I was reading the Manual and was captivated at a point and a Jugalbandi of Bansuri and Veena started off on my Ipod. In few minues, I was compelled by the music to put the papers aside and close my eyes. As I closed my eyes, I felt as if I was sitting in my Kuldevi temple in Goa , in front of the Shri Chamundeshwari Mahamaya and gazing intently at her..
The Flute veena recital ends in Tabla beats. As these beats started , I was brought out of the trance and I was back in the train in US..
Not that I heard this instrumental for the first time, But I looked at the names of Performers and the description. It was a wonderful recording of the performance of Prakash Hegde and Jaishree ( Dunno who they are )..
The Description explained the trance.. The Bansuri -Veena recital was in Raag Durga Alap!

"What are your dreams?"

Some days ago, I met a colleague who use to travel in the same bus from office to Dombivli back in India. I had met her at Annual Function just a month before that. She kept in touch and that day she was in Milford on the Train station. She wanted to see me and then had to go elsewhere. I had my car then, so I thought I should pick her from the station and drop her to the location she wanted to go. So I went to the station picked her up, and since she had sometime before she had to go her desired destination, I took her to my place.

We started chitchatting and slowly moved to the purpose of her visit here. Then she started describing her business , which was a Multi-level-Marketing business. I hate MLMs, not sure of the exact reason for the distaste , probably I seen more people losing money in it. But still, as I did not feel I appropriate to reduce her enthusiasm, I let her continue.
As in all MLM's one of the few initial questions was "What are you dreams?"
I got stuck..terribly.. I couldnt think of single dream that I could tell..
The conversation then drooled on to materialistic goals to money and how MLM can bring you money , etc.etc. All the crap I had heard when few more ML marketers had tried to sell me their stuff..

The question has haunted me .. till today. What are my dreams.. Sometime back I wanted a house of my own.. after staying away from my home for 6-7 months I realise I need a Home, little or large, but should be full of people loving and caring for me , instead of a big, empty house.
I want keep working, it keeps my brain active. Make me sit doing nothing, and you have bored me to death.
What else do I want in life? I need to find out ..

BTW today morning , I woke up dreaming that I was running through the corridors of a big school with a hallticket for an exam, searching for the classroom where my number was .. Does that signify anything?

MY Car

I got a car! As in US, the distances are great ad for easy mobility you need a car..
So I bought one.
The car.. I learnt to drive here.. was a little bumpy initially .. probably dangerous.. But it was a good feeling. Being on your own, moving out for your own things. Not depending on others for anything.. Just Being yourself..

I loved driving.. I could go wherever I wished to..

Then one day, I decided to join my friends for a movie. While I was on the way , I lost my way, then found it, and then in a confusion and a hasty decision I met with an accident. Hit another car, panicked, hit the gas , climbed the curb and hit a signpost. When the car could move no further, I realised I never hit the brakes. I wasnt hurt physically, but totally shaken.. I was totally unable to think of anything. I called my friends to help me out. They came soothed me out.. took me home, then to a movie. I calmed down a little till the evening..
As night darkened , I felt too nervous, too gloomy ..so much that I just walked out of my apartment and kept on walking .. I was going aorund the place for atleast 2-3 hours before I felt exhausted. When I could take it no more, I called up my friend to take to over to their place.
It took a day more for me to calm down. But the stress took me out and I fell sick..
3-4 more days and then I was fine. and then came a call from my insurance company telling me that they had declared total damage on my car, and that it cannot be repaired. They wil pay me the whole amount , but not my car.

So I have lost my car.. and gone back to the same phase as I was a 1 month back.
This one month was a great time. I can never forget the moments I got with myself.. The time I spent behind the wheel , with the speed , with a little anxiety of driving the right way yet the happiness of actual driving..
I sure will try to get another car for the love of driving..