Opposites

It is often I encounter
black and white

Tradition vs. independence

as a daughter.

responsibility vs. equality
as a sister.

Love vs. family honour
as a young lady.

Home vs. work
as a wife.

Life vs. so many things
as a mom.

I am a modern woman
all the opposites dare me
all the paradoxes scare me

and the toughest choice remains
to make my baby laugh
versus
go out and have a life.

The fire in my soul
the freeze of the norms
its a battle still on...

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Memories....across cities

PIND DADAN KHAN

Many decades ago in the bylanes of a small town , the tricycle meant a lot to him and his two elder brothers.They were almost the same age and size,born only a year apart from each other,and hence no one played the big brother but they were more of friends.The colourful tricycle was a gift from their maternal uncle who lived in Rawalpindi -the big city where big people went to work.

SHIMLA
A few decades later,when he was a dad, at the peak of his career,he did try to find time to choose toys for his daughter,but the hilly terrain of his home prevented him from buying her a cycle.Time went on,she grew up...

CHANDIGARH

Several decades later as he buys a sophisticated looking baby-scooter(that's what they are called now) from a swanky mall for his toddler granddaughter,he is reminded of a lot.A home lost decades back ,whose memories are now dull but dear,brothers/friends who grew up and apart and are now dead.He relives the joy of sharing a toy and his seven-decades old heart reminisces fondly....

This is a true story about me,dad and sonee....

Some F words

It all started casually on a random day ,but the past one week I have been obsessed with F-words of all variety.No,not the obvious one but the ones that we overlook all the time,the ones that actually influence a lot of all our lives.They are numerous ,jumping at me from all corners ,here I start with only ten.

It started with the new word in my life-frenemy.People who are friends and adversaries rolled into one.I am sure at some stage of life we all encounter one- the bitter-sweet types, the ones we endure but can't do away with.They are everywhere,and come in all shapes and sizes, moms , kids ,colleagues bosses,neighbours and the list is endless.

Friends and family the two important f's for all of us,the two pillars of support,the sunshine when the weather of life is nasty and the shade which we all seek when the sun is too strong.Faith,food and fun are the ties that bind us to our friends and family.The faith of being there always for each other,the joy of shared meals and tastes and the fun that originates from being witness to mutual happiness and success.
Face and facebook-the two profile badges we all carry.once upon a time we all had a face,the physical identity of our being,the one we all carried around,had to there was hardly a choice.And then came the facebook,the alternate,the omnipresent self,the one with the wall,the status and the friend list,only it was after all virtual.
My personal favourites are fear and failure.The two faces of life that we all must see and experience.Failure so that we know the importance of success,so that we know who are the friends from the foes.Fear so that we know always what is at stake and learn to prioritise,so that we know the anatomy of courage.

so what are your favourite f -words?think and share...

MOTHERS

A Spanish proverb says -An ounce of a mother is worth a ton of a priest.

Ever since I have ben a mom ,I often wonder, about moms of people who made an impact ,be it the great reformers,scientists and artists or the dictators,terrorists and the like.

I often wonder what kind of childhood influence did Hitler's mother have on him to make him so full of hatred and anger.So I researched and found that Klara Hitler was a young victim of cancer and many historians opine that had she lived more Adolf Hitler would have been an artist and not a traitor.His years of misery in Vienna after her death was the time when he formulated many of his ideas on politics and race which had immense consequences in the future.

I strongly believe that any kind of change in individuals or societies has to begin with mothers,simply because they are the vocabulary and the dictionary of a child's thought process.I am my child's encyclopedia ,her window to the world,her reference point to relationships.I am important because I am indeed the key to her future and the difference she might make to the world.If this is so then it is the most empowering role one can ever have.

We really have had enough of sham glorification of motherhood in literature and history,what is needed now is aware motherhood,educated daughters who become empowered wives and moms.

History,literature and  even our own bollywood is full of exaggerations of the greatness of motherhood,what however is really needed is acceptance of motherhood as a job worthy of respect and praise.The requirement is of a society more sensitive towards its women ,a nation that pays some real credit to moms who groom its future.  All moms though don't need to carry the load of making the next Einstein or Picasso,yet all mothers must carry the huge load of responsibility of nurturing responsible and sensitive humans.

WHY

ONE

It was just another

winter afternoon,just another little walk home,

and then all changed.

The strangers,the dark corners,the muffled voices

made no sense.

I was scared,tired,hungry...

I want my mother...

Days passed..

and then it all ended.For them

It was just another case

of kidnapping and murder....

TWO

It was just another winter evening,

just another day of my 75 years long journey,

and then all changed.

The voices,the blurred faces,the brutal force,

I was scared,shocked,and hurt

Does it have to end like this...

minutes later

yes,it all ended.For them

It was just another case

of a gruesome murder.

This is a tribute to the little boy and the old lady who were killed violently while the city beautiful and its governing agencies lay fast asleep....May both the souls rest in peace.

THE NEW PINK SHOES

the first morning

of a fresh new year

cold yet promising.

two small feet

lazily take a bath

and hours later
unaware of the pace of time
saunter into a shoe store.

the new pink ones with white lilies are wow
and as the little one proudly moves out
there is a puddle on the street
tempting but muddy

so the two little feet give it a miss

and the pink lilies shoes
remain spotless

the mom watches

and prays..

may you know always

what puddle to jump in

and which one to miss.

HAPPY NEW YEAR SONEE