Sundays are not the same anymore…

Sunday’s are not the same as they used to be. The expectation of looking forward to that one day of family holiday has disappeared. The joy of watching TV, or going out for picnic with home cooked food has dimmed. There is no excitement for those relaxed yet activity-filled afternoons with family and friends. In the lawns, the lunches by the tree, idle gossip, laughter, gaiety, the impromptu game of carom, badminton, Jenga Towers, Chinese checker, jigsaw puzzles, all huddled together on the floor, may be a film at home later in the afternoon, followed by tea/coffee, and snacks, and then an early dinner. As far as I remember in those days there was no concept of a weekend, it was just about a Happy-Family-Sunday! Those were the simple joys of life, most enjoyable and the most enduring. If you were not born in 70s I should say guys you missed the golden-television-days boat! Those 80s ads & jingles (Mango Frooti, Colgate Tooth Powder, Postman, Palmolive, and Godrej Shaving Cream) still take you down memory lane! I guess most of the people in my generation long for them to reappear… will they ever? Hmm may be or maybe not.

Now with each member setting about his or her work in different directions, in different locations, in and out of the country, and also different expectation, needs and wants that spirit has travelled too; far and away. The simple joys of life now come with great apprehensions. What to do, where to go, will the place be very crowded, do they have good food and ambience, what will we do there, what is the mood, what shall I wear, is there a chance to bump into someone I don’t want to see... Aah just an entire library of questions and more questions… Miss the spontaneity!

I think communication access and the speed with which it keeps invading our existence is largely responsible for that missed HAPPY-Sunday. Conversation has been replaced by the TV, the phone, the other gadgets, Skype, Face book, Twitter and other social networking websites. In company we tend to talk less and look for the silences to be filled in by programs on the television or the activity of the mobile. BUT we love to post our status updates. We are distancing ourselves further but we still long to be aware about what’s happening around us and with those we know. Is that what modern invention is making us do? Isolation and being pinned to these gadgets. Lonely and confined to our homes or more so our rooms and cutting out the desire to travel move and discover, since all of it can be available to us in the palm of our hands!

Another observation while I travel over the weekends: The moment a plane lands I see half a dozen co-passengers switching on their cell phones and getting up and opening up the overhead chambers. Would they be able to step out even before the plane is parked, and if not then why this strange hurry to violate the rules. Is that some kind of stud-ism? Earlier it use to annoy me and now I find it pretty amusing. Impatience and loneliness are the virtues of the present, attention span- considerably reduced, regular announcement of MY SPACE between spouse, parent and children is going up, tension and excitement mounts with a drop of a hat, we tend to multitask causing unrest to our mind. Is this a good sign? I suppose it requires some amount of balancing!

Anyway, this was just a view point, needs no debate or discussion. Just a thought that occurred to my mind while I was sitting at a lounge waiting for a friend to arrive. Now that she is around I am sure the Sunday evening shall be great and full of fun!

Love you all and wish you enough happy and beautiful Sundays or so to say Happy Weekends!!!

New experience, new energy, and new hope!

There is always a sense of delight when you plan to visit home. The warmth and affection of those you love and the multiplied reciprocation. It almost feels like everything around you is familiar, but the experience still leaves you fresh and renewed. New energy, new hope, new experience, fresh thoughts and fresh inputs.

I thought of writing this piece at Bombay Airport. Somehow I still can’t address it as Mumbai, for the fact that people or some social parties think changing names can change the way people feel about a place. Anyway, shall take this topic some other day. For now the topic of conversation is the reaction and experience of several passengers flying from Bombay to Delhi by Indigo flight 6E186, on Thursday April 01, 2010. The flight was suppose to take off at 17:50 hours which unfortunately did not happen due to a technical snag. The flight was grounded and I guess so did the ground staff. Some passengers (including me) were being advised to take the refund and move on to another carrier while few were put on another Indigo flight to Delhi which agitated the passengers. Thanks to Alfred, one of the senior ground staff who came as a relief and answered the crowd, an indication of commitment. The waiting just did not seem to get over and it was at 22:20 when the flight finally took off. Very tiring experience indeed. Met some nice co-passengers (Maj. Gen. K.C. Mehta, VSM, Col Saif, Anurodth) at the lounge which made the waiting experience a bit easier than it would have been otherwise. Post boarding, there was a strange desire that the plane reached faster than ever so I could reach home earlier. Not just for me but such delays torture my parents who come to pick me up at Delhi airport each time I visit. There was some more interesting experience that I gathered during this trip and I even wanted to share it here but as the days passed by, my desire to put it all down has taken a changed opinion.

Friday, April 02, 2010. New day, bright and sunny morning… When the brain has rested well. When the body has had more than its share of undisturbed slumber, then does the body and mind work at its optimum. It is remarkable how that early morning period brings the best out of you. In the way you talk, in the way you think and in the way you express. What does the night do to us and our body when all we are doing is resting. What is that mechanism, that sets about rejuvenating us, without us making any concrete effort whatsoever. This human body is indeed a unique system. We need to look after it a lot more carefully than most of us do.

Saturday, April 03, 2010. A planned visit to Gurgaon to meet some special and dear friends. The love, the care, the affection is beyond any expressions that I would use here and that would justify it all. Completely spell bound by Anand Uncle and Sushma Anuty’s wholeheartedness, and totally recharged with Sonal, Vikas, Manu, and Timmy’s humor and wittiness. Thanks Sonal and Timmy for the ICE TEA without ice ;) Returned home with loads of fond memories. God is really kind and I am blessed with loving parents, friends, and extended family.

Don’t know how these days just flew past by and now when I am back in Bombay I am missing the warmth of home. Mothers are basically God sent angels who are there when you need them and also when you don’t know you need them hahaha! Mom hurt her finger badly and it hurts to see her in pain and in this condition. I love you mom and I pray that your finger gets better soon. I wish you take a little more care of yourself like you care for me and dad. Spoke to her over the phone this morning and I am feeling terrible pulling out of such situations. And Dad, you don’t know how wonderful you are and how I owe every minute of my existence to you. Muah! You are the best!!! You would not read this blog and I would not be able to read this out to you (yes, believe it or not, your little princess is shy) but the fact is I can’t stop thanking God today for this beautiful life!

Going with the wind, I feel like a feather in the wind.
I still hear the whispers of her voice and those touching words!!!
For a minutes or two, let me float away to the wind...

May God always walk with you. Keep well and in good spirits… you all are so precious, actually life without your affection and love would be a little less than living!!!