Of Old and New

This article was first published by India Abroad -

http://www.indiaabroad-digital.com/indiaabroad/20110729?pg=39#pg39

“I’m coming home ,I’m coming home ,tell the world that I’m coming home”, I surprise my kids singing along  the catchy chorus. It's a song by  Diddy Dirty Money playing on the radio.The  expressions on their faces –full of cheer, surprise and  a  bit of  bewilderment ,is obvious as their next question for me - how and when did I develop this passion  for rap music?

I look  back in the rear mirror gauging their puzzled minds and smilingly reply back , yes I  like the song ,yes I liked the genre , but it’s the lyrics of the chorus that wakes up the dormant singer in me and inspires me to sing along ! I relate to the song so well because I’m actually going home for a vacation after a very very long time.

The guava tree that I had planted years ago, along my dad, is bearing fruits this season, I am told. The little niece of mine, shy as a ‘touch-me- not’ plant, is now waiting to regale me with juicy gossips about her life in college, the faithful old maid of ours who provided  lifelong services to our household ,has sadly left this world last summer and I will not be able to see her or hear her wisdom packed one line statements. 

 It would be clichéd to say but it’s true that the more life looped me into its tight grip here in the US, the more I became embedded in its web, unable to break away, and time slipped away quickly just like in a sand watch, waiting for no one!

 I plan for my coming trip, with a hearty concoction of emotions, ready to recharge, renew and revisit places and people I had left behind. I hear that the booming India phase has had a positive impact in my town which has given it a new facelift. New landmarks have mushroomed up everywhere wiping out the old ones, changing the city scape like never before.  The big farmer’s market area has turned into a huge glitzy mall, the century old cloth market with shops as ancient as the banyan trees around them now bears the look of modernity with the construction of new multi- storied buildings, the potter’s street and the jewelry baazar are following the suite, I hear.
 The town looks more messed up and chaotic with the incessant construction going on, but the local residents like my parents don’t seem to mind it at all. Embracing the changes like never before they are enjoying and moving along with the new march of development.

Their enthusiasm has filled my heart too and I look forward to experiencing my town with a new set of eyes,ready to replace the old sights, smell and sounds with new ones. Not local lass anymore I would feel like a visitor exploring my own home town after years.  How fun it would be eating golgappa’s and Alphonso soufflé in chic food courts, where McDonald’s and Haldiram’s sweets exists side by side .Or shopping for the local and international brands, within the same roof, all of that and much more without the hassle of travelling around.
 The new Indian shopping experience certainly awaits me! Yet amidst all these changes ,there are a few places that I wish would escape the banner of development -I hope our town people can spare  the beautiful lake, only one in the area, where I spend my childhood learning Yoga and eating Faloda Kulfi’s, and the Herbal park- a green reserves of herbs and medicinal plants where we would flock early summer mornings for a dose of cool oxygen- just in the same way as they have preserved and maintained the numerous big and small temples that have been around since probably before the town began . It would certainly make our town an ideal place where development and preservation can go hand in hand !

 On a personal level I hope my capacity to talk endlessly at hours with family does not wane away after years of practicing politically correct statements!   Talking without inhibitions is so stress busting, almost therapeutic and I sure need a dose!And finally how can I ignore the dreamer in me who yearns to take an ambitious leap back in time to enjoy being that young girl once again, lost in her own loving world, in her parents’ home. Shelving away  roles and responsibilities, how  peaceful it will be go back being the person I once was  even if momentarily!

                                                           

                                                                

A style of my own

This post is about my expression of style for the ‘A Style Of My Own’ blogger contest by http://www.womensweb.in/ and Trishla emart

A style of my own!

Until I sat down to write about this interesting topic I had no clue to what my style was about. Thinking about what makes style 'personal style’ led to finding my own!

‘Style of my own’ is the distinction you carry which sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. It is a style that is personal, unique, true to yourself and offers a glimpse of your inner being.

 Having a style is more than a collection of saris or shoes in your wardrobe. You may have the finest range of Patola’s , Banerasi’s or  Kanjivaram silks. You may have the newest “red soles” Louboutin's or the finest ‘Choo’s’. You may grab the hot off the runaway ‘anarkali’s which will surely turn you into a fashion diva  but without adding  your personal panache to the attire, even the most exquisite design  will fail to impression.

Personal style is like customizing your house. You may own a very large mansion or a modest flat but they way you set it up, the décor that you chose, the personal attention you give to the interiors gives it a character that speaks about you.

It may present itself as warm and welcoming, chic or classy or be a modest abode. It revolves around who you are as a person, your lifestyle, your aesthetic sense, the boundaries and wall of your fashion sensibilities and above all your true inner self. For without taking an inward reflection of who you are and what you want to exhibit, you will never find out what your true style is.

Just like our preference for the looks that we prefer to wear. The attires we pick and chose could be traditional, bohemian, modern, rebel, casual, chic and so on. It could be an established style or an evolving one.

 In a finer sense, style can be seen as a holistic representation of a person. The visual appeal, the confidence and demeanor, the approach and attitude, the intent and the thought all go hand in hand to make a personal style or even a personal statement.

What is my personal style? Well, before writing this piece I had a vague idea about my choices and preference but could not come up with concrete words to describe it. After an inward walk into my closet and myself I found out exactly what my style is. True to my roots of being an artist, I love to wear COLORS and use my CREATIVITY while mix and matching the outfits. Just like my paintings radiate colors so does my closet.

Amethyst, fuchsia, chrome yellow, crimson, bronze bespeak to me loud and clear.  Yes, I do unabashedly carry these beautiful colors all year round, even in the middle of a grey winter (season of black), for wearing them brightens up day.

 Red garnets, moonstones, amethyst and corals dominate my jewelry box. Radiant colorful Indian silks in brocade, dupion, and jacquard rule over my scarves and sari collection.

Pure earthy colors dominate my woolen lines. Cotton, linen, crepe, chiffon or lines, patterns and prints, all are welcome to be a part of my wardrobe collection as long as they have a color harmony that beseeches me.

 To be honest even my cozy fuzzy socks are a collection of unique patterns and colors!

 Decking up my closet with a plethora of vibrant colors that bring simple joy of being to me is what my personal style is all about!

THE REAL CONNECTION

THE REAL CONNECTION

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     While driving back from work ,the quirky advertisement belting out on the "Desi" radio grabbed my attention, “Aaree - tumne mujse shaadi kari hai ya phone se?" ( have you married me or the phone) yelled out  an irate spouse! It was an interesting ad for a website which left me smiling. I shook my head as if a message had just hit home.

Many of us”technoholics” will agree that if given a chance to bring one thing on a deserted island, without a blink of an eye, we would grab a cell phone!

    In this technological era of instant and incessant communication, it’s hard to imagine a day without a cell phone. The idea of a phone being used primarily for talking and texting seems antiquated. The perpetually upgraded smart phones have changed the ways of communication and have replaced our many other needs, making our lives not only comfortable but also self -sufficient.

    From the morning alarm to e- mails, headlines, weather, traffic, social news, bank accounts , shopping, eating, entertaining, exercising, goggling ,gaming, and a million more other uses; these smart phones with the user friendly apps can cajole us into using them all day long.

    The predicament however is, that the seemingly utilitarian phone can quickly turn into an impulsive habit and eventually into a cell phone usage addiction! While it would have been fine to make the cell phones an extension of our limbs if we were living in a deserted island, but the fact is that we can't!

    So, when your child wants your undivided attention to hear him out while your mind goes wondering to see what’s the latest trending Facebook story, or when your spouse tries to look in your eyes during a conversation and your eyes keep hovering over the new e-mail notifications that just popped up, or when you impulsively dig out for your phone instead of savoring the taste of asparagus lime soup  at lunch with friends, or flash the iridescent screen-light in the middle of a movie, that's the time to get that impulsiveness in control!

    Not that paying attention to these small moments can make or break one's life, but in a small way, it  empowers you to keep the mind focused, to be  in the moment and  to be a better manager of the electronic  mayhem  that we confront  in our  everyday life.

    To give myself some freedom from the increasing dependence on the phone, I challenged myself to keep the cell usage to a minimum and feel the difference.

It was not an easy task, but being a mindful observer of oneself was an interesting insight.

     There were small changes that I initiated like kicking the cell phone out of my bedroom and setting up a regular alarm clock. I wasn't grabbing the phone first thing in the morning anymore! Browsing with awareness of the time and responding to the mails, texts only during the work hours, consciously keeping the evening hours phone free or leaving it home when going out for a walk, were the small subtle changes that made a big difference. It gave me that extra down time while saving my energy resources.

    Keeping the cell phone at bay gave me a strange relief of sorts, like getting down from a roller coaster of going in and out of two worlds -being present in the virtual world  and  in the  real world at the same time!

My mind could feel the calmness of living in the actual moments and not being overflowed by an array of random thoughts  that kept sprouting with the constant flow of information. It paused the button of an overused activity -just so I could sit back and nourish myself from other sources.

    And for all the while that I abstained from using the phone -nothing, nothing really happened that demanded my immediate attention! Nothing out there in the virtual world was more important that a chattering stroll  with my daughter, or listening to chirping birds  with my eyes closed or tending to the rose buds, or  just breathing and being alive.

    Just like many other choices we make that needs mind control, like eating , exercising or other addictive habits, keeping the cell at an arm’s length was an interesting insight.  Less distractions with the virtual world makes room for more interactions in the real world -and making those  real  connections with real world is what is called having a life - a real life. I got mine back -did you?