my birthday present...

There are a few things money can't buy and for every such thing there's love, dedication and hard work! My this year's birthday present was an amalgamation of all these...My sister sketched in a lovely collage of sorts, me in my different states of childhood and youth...a simple white piece of cloth was transformed into a metaphor for the days i spent in my maiden home, with mom, dad, cha n sonia...the time frozen on this piece is a special one for me...



the wrapper doodled by her with a lovely piece of thought...


hand-made accessories again gifted by Sonia...


a sweet greeting card telling me how grilling and torturing it was for her to be in the Que of the shop to buy the card for me n funnily she says in the end that she had to steal it...:)

Thanks sis for the cutest gift ever!

me with my Grandmother-in-law....

Today on the occasion of Gangaur, i tried designing a mehandi on my left hand as the professional designers were busy with overwhelming appointments in their parlour....everyone in the family liked what i decorated my hand with.... i stole the moment of completion of my design to pride myslef on my instinctive creativity inherited by my Grandmom and Mom and the contagious talent droped religuously on me by the presence of my super-creative sis...i just said to myslef - "itana toh mere khoon main hi hain..."..and i stuck my nose up in the air...:)


my right hand flaunted the innocent doodling of my sweet li'l sister-in-law Sakshi...she very fondly wrote "S8" and "SA" for the first alphabets of the members of the family and "SA" for "Sonia and Abhinav"...how thoughtful and cute!

me before the pooja...

Super Saas!!

Hails to my Super-Saas, the Saas of all Saasus, who in spite of being bed-ridden, still manages to sway generations with the commandment in her voice..with an oxygen cylinder always beside her bed, no body can dare to loaf around her or else he or she is in for a good rebuke...

i sincerely salute her efforts in keeping a home the way it should be...it's a rare view to see joint families in the society these days and making the people residing in it stick together is even more arduous..But my Daadi-Saas is the glue that has kept the people of the family together..and the sceret behind her energy and alertness is the very strong will that resides in her 24 X 7, to see her people together..she uses her experiences to solve problems, not only of the family but even of the outiders..

in most of the houses these days we see old people vying for attention but her authority is such that she's never alone..people want to be with her, look after her, because everyone, including the kids understand that she's the wizard, the centripetal-force that attracts discipline and togetherness in the family..

i hope this force exists in all the families, joint or nulclear...

पीला मकान

मुझे याद है बचपन में जब नानी के यहाँ हमारी बच्चा पार्टी मामाजी के आम के खेत जाया करती थी, उनकी एक बैलगाडी में बैठ क़र .. तो बड़ा मज़ा आया करता था..मामाजी सारे बच्चो को धूप से बचाने के लिए सफ़ेद कपडे के स्कार्फ बच्चो के सरो पर बाँध दिया करते थे..रूहफ्ज़ा की एक बोतल हम अपने पास रख लेते थे और रास्ते भर अन्ताक्षरी खेलते हुए खेत पहुंचते थे..वहा पहुँचते ही नज़ारा देखने लायक होता था..ढेर सारे आम के पेड़ ही पेड़..दोपहर की उजली धूप, और आम के रंग से ऐसा मालूम होता था की पूरे खेत पर किसीने पीला कलर ढोल दिया हो..ऐसे मैं जब हम किसी आम के पेड़ के नीचे जाकर अपना घर से पैक किया हुआ पाँच खनो वाला खाने का डब्बा खोलते थे तो टीफ़ीन में रखी सब्जी में भी आम की खुशबूं समां जाया करती थी..घर पर आने के बाद ऐसा लगता था मानों सारे बच्चो ने कोई आम की खुशबू का परफ्यूम अपने उपर लगा लिया हो॥


अब समय का चक्र घूमा है..नानी के यहाँ ज़्यादा आना-जाना नही हो पाता...ओंर वैसे भी आज आम के स्वाद में वो रस नही आता जितना नानी के गाँव में हुआ करता था..क्यूंकि उन फलो में नानी का प्यार, मामाजी की देख-रेख और मामी के हाथों की आत्मीयता हुआ करती थी..शायद इसीलिए इतने आम बच्चे आसानी से हजम भी कर लेते थे॥ :)..


बचपन की उसी याद को ताज़ा करने के लिए हमने इस बार अपने घर को पीला कलर दिया..जिससे देख एक बार तोह हमारे घर के पडोस में रहने वाले सिन्धी अंकल भो सोच में पड़ गए..की इस कलर की तारीफ़ की जाए या चुप-चाप हस के अंदर चला जाए..लोग घर का रंग देख अलग-अलग तरह की बातें करते है..लेकिन ये पीला मकान अब कभी भी नानी के उस दुलार की कमी महसूस नही होने देगा..हम सब को..:)

I remember the days when Sonia n I as kids used to await dusshera holidays with a lot of enthusiasm..there was a defiant sense of victory that surged through our veins to see the huge effigy of Ravana being burnt to ashes with other two effigies of Meghanath and Kumbakarna being set aflame by the actor dressed as Rama, by shooting an arrow into Ravan's navel. It was so much fun! when we couldn’t see the Ravana in the crowd due to our short heights, our Chacha, whom we’re very fond of, used to help us climb any nearby ‘thela’ (handcart) so that we could see the huge idol with big moustaches stand with false pride at the centre of the ‘maidaan’ (ground), with his other two aides..sonia used to ask me with her innocent expressions, “didi Ram kab marega Ravana ko?” (when will Rama kill Ravan?)..

Then, there was just a naïve fear of whether Ram would be able to kill Ravan or not..though every grown-up knew that it’s just a celebration n it will happen the way it is supposed to be..but quite paradoxically, as we grew up, we realized that the fear has only grown..and mercilessly..

It has intruded on every individual’s life and taken the ugly face of terrorism time and again..just like the fierce Ravan reappears every year representing the evil, the innumerable Ravanas, roaming around the streets, hiding behind the camouflage of being a common man, waiting for the massacre with their life-hungry eyes and ogling at the unseen havoc they want to target..their living takes to death and they die taking lives..what do they get?..probably ‘nirvana’ or whatever they’re being taught in the so-called secular schools where probably one of the teachings asks to take pride in being a terrorist..

Public gatherings today are best avoided as they are the hot-spots for terror-strikes..dushhera today is just another cyclic-celebration of the Hindu calendar..in today’s terror-tainted times, the festival seems to have lost its relevance somewhere down the alley of time..this also reminds me of Neeraj Pandey’s thriller ‘A Wednesday’ I saw a few days back..where a common man challenges the law and targets the jailed ‘jihadis' and the pulverised Mumbai cops who seem to be on bended knees when it comes to an effective counter-terror policy..i think this is what every common man will take to, once the tolerance level exceeds its decent limits..
Even if we dare to step out of our homes to satisfy our desire of being a part of this festive season and see how the city is performing the ritual, all we could see is the faces with tense expressions and celebrations wrought with anxiety…hats off to those spirited ones who without caring a damn, zestfully make the effigies and welcome the festivals in an aboriginal style..
Two of my very dear friends, celebrated this dusshera somewhat like this to compensate for their absence in India..:)

hahahaha...

As we proceed with enough razzmatazz about the generation Y, few of the self-imposed perceptions of the Indian society remain unchanged..Yesterday mom was just telling me to clean my room..quite casually she said “humare ghar ka kaam kar le phir toh tere sasural chali jayegi kuch dino main..” n she just laughed it off…I just said “haan mom, ye aapka ghar, wo sasural, mera toh koi ghar hi nahi hai na?”..going by those grave expressions on my face, mom took a break from her dusting regime, came close to me and fondly stroke my hair, and said “arre waise bhi toh betiyan parayi hoti hai, isme nai baat kya hai?” she walked away...the scenes which I used to enjoy in ekta kapoor’s serial were happening live in front of me, in my own home..it was very strange…sach hai…it’s a male dominated society after all! Still.

Shades of grey…

I thought of introducing these shades a few months back on my blog’s first anniversary in May, but was waiting for just the right time. With the wonderful turn of events, I am thrilled up to my rolling eyeballs to happily introduce you to these mesmerizing shades…The shades of grey…and what do they represent? Well, to me they are tranquility and mental peace, like the beautiful night that follows when the setting sun bids adieu in a million hues and the waters of the lakes glisten in twilight..it is when the full moon hangs bright and round and your eyes hold a distant gaze of dreams and hope in ceremonial dignity..Life is still a whirlpool of sorts but with a different mix of colors..

On this Friendship day....

i finally bid goodbye to Mumbai…I never liked the city..i hated the humidity, the crowd, the incessant chasing of dreams by thirsty souls…quite paradoxically, this place has taken a lot out of me but has yet given me so much..there is a certain bond that I developed with this place in just a few months. I feel desolated to leave it..i left my friends and family behind in Indore (especially my mom..i have never stayed away from her for so long..) to make it big in Bombay..but I am not going empty handed..i succeeded in making even a bigger bond of friendship nevertheless, with some amazing people here..life has come a full circle for me…:)

Divya, earlier a FOAF, now, an extremely good friend of mine, has been an inspiration..her talent of dealing with people and the power of convincing others is worth watching..i somehow have a lot of ego hassles which come in my way of handling individuals..good I didn’t become a Human Resource Manager or something…big beal! Anyways, I’ll miss her a lot and i’ll miss her scolding while stopping me from buying nonsense stuff for myself ..juz like my mom.. she knows better what looks good on me..it rarely happens that I strike a chord with someone in such a short time…with all the potential to become a good director, I wish her all d luck in life..

Anant sir…ahem…my senior in EMRC and now a director and finally a friend.. Short-tempered..(I am scared of him on the sets as he’s totally a different person there)…but I’ll miss him for he’s always been very caring towards me..gave me work wen I was searching for some…I gave many auditions, but did not get any response..chote-level per hi sahi, but he kick-started my career..i’ll always be thankful to him for that and who knows maybe if I become a big star tomorrow, then maybe I can consider thanking him in one of my Oscar acceptance speeches!..:)..:)..i’ll also miss his cute habit of miss pronouncing certain words like calling one of the assistants “Santose” (in stead of “Santosh”)..n shouting his name like that without realizing it while walking across the sets..

i'll miss these guys..

that apart, I promise to myself that this is not the end of the road..i am not leaving my career and no way I am giving up..this beginning will continue without a break..:)