Marching Past

I recently went to my daughters annual day celebrations and was caught up in the excitement which seems to emanate from each of the participants, my young ones included. It took me back to my school days, about which my class mate, whom I met after a long gap of 20 years, just recently, who is also a great fan of my blogs (so he claims), has been constantly egging me to write about.
We were one of the first batches of the school so we were pretty passionate about the school. We were also in the school band, though now I feel embarrassed thinking how silly we would have looked, me clashing the cymbal and my friend, T, blowing the bugle! I used to alternate between the symbol and the flute and then it was a matter of pride for us but now when I think of the sight of me clashing the cymbal, I can’t help but laugh! Then, we were a privileged lot, we the band who always used to bring fame to the school, who had uniforms stitched every alternate year and could escape class hours for practise sessions under the hot sun! It was like a legacy of sorts, which I passed on to my sister, who also went on to become the band leader!
Of course, we had to bear the cost of the uniforms, but then the teachers would remind us, it is only those who are talented who gets chosen. (Talents for cymbal clashing! But I believed her then) So we would go home, implore, explain and then beg for the money which would be handed over after countless objections.
We had constant practises in formations and in March past and from what I could remember, we really used to enjoy all of it! The outings that we had, the competitions that we attended, the church functions, all in the heat and some even had hours of marching and long hours of waiting.
So the next time you see a band performing, don’t laugh it off, ponder on the hours of practice, the amount of money spent and then maybe even imagine me clashing the cymbal…(but I warn you, don’t laugh)

And Finally Recognition

Today is Christmas and I woke up feeling happy for no obvious reason! I drove to office listening to music I love and hummed or rather sang loudly, boldly, as I always do when there is no one to listen! I entered office and whoopee! I was greeted by the Christmas decorations in office, and I almost hugged N, the person behind this cheer, this selfless soul, about whom, I should blog later…
But coming back to the decorations, there is a brightly lit X’mas tree, balloons, festoons and small gifts for all on our desks!
Well, I put on my computer, check mails and go to blogger and there lies another surprise, an award from Deeps…
It has made my day…the efforts have paid off…
I scrounge for time to write here and sometimes when I find the time I lack in ideas. Accepting my award I want to thank all my faithful readers, firstly my family, who have become my loyal readers, K for checking everyday whether I have scribbled anything about him, then friends who read and comment and then other blogger friends who so loyally read and encourage and here I want to thank Deeps and Reflections for the comments, because, honestly, ultimately it is the comments that you look forward to, when you sign in everyday! And both of you are so generous with them and it motivates me to write more...
Here is the award:

This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.
I pass this on to three bloggers whose blogs I try not to miss…
Umm Oviya
I,ME,MYSELF
And
Reflections

I also wish to pass on the award to one more blog which has huge potential but due to the responsible job of feeding and taking care of my sister, this blogger cannot dedicate much of his precious time to this world...
Error(b)log

This is Heavenly...

Imagine…
Waking up to the sounds of chirping birds and the occasional shriek of crows
To temple bells tinkling rhythmically
Sniffing whiffs of strong and freshly brewed coffee
And drinking it from your favourite easy chair
Stretching out comfortably and gazing out at nothing in particular
Dreaming of the rest of the day spent in pure laziness…
Till interrupted by urgent calls from your little devils…

Being coaxed to eat a little more and being served a lot more, lovingly…
You are forced to go to bed to give your tired bones some respite!
The kids being admonished for troubling you
For taking long naps when the sun is shining down
Forget the process of cooking
To remember it only when it is time for your meals!

Where else is all this possible, but at Home…
Who tends to you like you are a kid once again, but your Mother…

P.S: Thats my fav 'charukaserra' or Reclining Chair...

The first stage show of N's

 

This was the younger ones first stage appearance and both of us (K and I)just about managed to identify her before the show got over. Can you imagine, we were focusing on another kid who beared a resemblence to ours and focused all our energy, clicking pictures, smiling and waving at her till our elder one pointed out the right kid!We instantly shifted attention and thankfully we had some pictures of the 'right' and our very own kid.

Looking Back

It is at the time of diversities that stories of courage, determination, selflessness and even patriotism comes to the fore. Such events like the Mumbai Terror Strike also highlight cowardice, lacklustre performance of our very dear politicians, the slipshod treatment of our security and our casual approach to humanity and mostly it puts light on the lack of crisis management in the country. I have tried to identify the good and the bad reactions to this crisis…I tag all who are reading to add on to the list…

A Kick in the Rear to
1. Lack of a plan to move forward. How come the NSG had no copy of the floor plan of the Taj when they went in for the rescue operation? How come there was no strategy in place…
2. Border security, do we have any? I wonder…
3. The state police face a major problem of shortage of firearms. One official said that although the state government had requested ammunition for training purposes, the Centre’s response was dismal. Why so?
4. The protection gear for NSG and also for the local police. Do we have a safety system at all? Are their lives of no value?
5. RR Patel and his insensitive reaction , ‘Hotharahthahe…’ Bullshit, is this how a leader who has the responsibility of the whole state comments…on such a serious matter!
6. Vilasrao Deshmukh for his thoughtless act of including filmstars and directors to the tour of Taj…and even later for not understanding what the entire furore was about!
7. Some media personnel, Barkha Dutt, in particular for being crass in the way she spoke to the victims or their relatives and also for sensationalising the whole issue.

A Pat on the Back to
1. Those faceless brave hotel officials for keeping their cool and guiding their valuable assets…their guests. Shouldn’t we be taking lessons from them?
2. NSG , what they lacked in planning they made up with their brave actions.
3. I also laud our Mumbaikars for keeping calm and not let their emotions guide their actions but verbally expressing their disappointment in the country and its leaders.
4. The announcer at CST for warning the civilians from keeping away from the platform as he saw the shooting from his vantage point and thereby saving numerous lives.
5. To the policemen, who killed one of the two terrorist after they ran out post the CST incident and the killing of 55 innocents, at Girgaum Chowpatty, and injured the other who is now the only alive and caught terrorist.