THIS MOMENT

FRIDAY MOMENT

A Friday moment, a single photo, no words – capturing the week or day or experiences. A simple or extraordinary moment.

This moment is a ritual found on   Life - Inspired by the Wee Man, Adopted from soulemama

 which was introduced to me by my fellow bloggers. If you find yourself touched by a moment, and would like to participate, post your picture on a Friday and leave your link in the comment section, so I can visit your “Moment.”

POE-A-TREE HOP

This is for Cowboy Roy's prompt- "home is where" , where he has asked us to write a short story, poem or post pictures of our home.

Roy's Garage Sell and Auction is where you have to leave your link in the linky magical widgets.

Enjoy the hop.

HOME IS WHERE…

The heart is,

Home is where I find bliss

Home is my cocoon,

Home is my retreat,

Home is where I want to be.

Since, 1992, I have been staying away from ‘home’, that’s my birth place; a place where I went to school, had my first, second, third crushes; a place where I fell in love with this boy who is now the father of my kids (of course, I married him) ; a place where I made lifelong friends.

My family has been living in the same house for over 30 years now and so do most of our neighbors. The fruit seller, the provision store guy, the vegetable seller, the milk man, the laundry lady, everyone knows me. They welcome me with a smile and have a kind word for me.

I met my friends when we were kids, we all grew up together to be teenagers, got married around the same time, bitched about our lives, had our kids….who are now growing up together, as we did. History repeats. J

The familiarity of the place is soothing. Friends, family, relatives….celebrating functions, organizing get-togethers, catching up with local gossips and family politics, there is never a dull moment.

Home is where the memories are, especially my mom’s.

Home is where I am going tomorrow to celebrate “Deepavali”- the festival of lights.

Home is where I feel at home.

YOU TUBE TUESDAY

Originating at Josh’s 

http://itstigertime.blogspot.com You Tube Tuesday is a day set aside for sharing your favorite video. Feel free to join in. Each month Josh will highlight a selected video and present the “You Tube Award.” If you participate, please remember to leave your link in the linky tool on Josh’s blog site. 

This is the song "Ekla Chalo Re"- Walk alone, composed by Rabindranath Tagore, sung by Shreya Ghosal. The song is in Bengali.

English Translation:

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,

O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone
If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.

The Gooseberry Garden…Poetry picnic week 9 – Longing, Loss, Loosing and Failure.

STONE COLD

“I am a rolling stone that gathers no moss”

I’d like to be a chip off

The mountain

That’s steadfast and strong

Standing tall with pride

Weathering storm, snow and ice

Magnificent with head held high.

I’d like to be a chip off

That rock on the hill

Sweltering in the Sun

Unmoving to the strong winds

Unaffected by the rains

Yet, cold at core.

I’d like to be that

Tree, firmly rooted

House to many species

Rejuvenating and regenerating

Never complaining

Standing on its own for years.

Once, a flower, tender

Sweet and innocent

Dancing in the winds

Spreading joy & fragrance

Your touch, transformed me &

Made me the stone I am.

SUNDAY, THE FUN DAY.

When, I started blogging ten months back, I did not know that I would come this far or that I would last this long. J

Over these months, I have joined various blog-sites and groups which have boosted the readership of my blog and has also give me chance to improve on my writing (have I?) and think beyond my mental framework.

Yesterday was a memorable day for me as it was the first bloggers meet I attended; organized by Indibloggers and sponsored by “Dove.” More than the event, I was looking forward to meet Corinne and Sulekha….awesome writers and equally awesome women. Both are bubbly and fun to be with.

     " We were supposed to write about each other, and about our interaction with them.'

                                             "Fun interactive session."

Though we were a group of about 70-80 women bloggers, it blew my mind that girls as young as 18-19 are not only blogging regularly but are maintain more than one blog, collaborating with others to blog and finding their own voice and niche` in this big virtual world of blogging. It was also a pleasure to meet many home makers, who have not let ‘the four walls’ of their home to restrict them or their creative abilities. Yes, all of there were the Women of Substance and proud to be so, rightfully. My self - worth went up a notch.

The venue was awesome, the Indibloggers and the Dove team took good care of us. We were treated to hair wash and hair styling session and also hand and foot massage sessions. I did not want the foot massage session to end but go on and on and on.

Ah! The gift hampers. Everyone got one…but, I got two for (i) being an early bird- it pays to be punctual. (ii) For having a short hair…and I also got an gift voucher from Shoppers Stop worth Rs. 2,500/- J

A fun day with some girl-bonding, loads of fun, interaction, some learning….etc, etc…..looking forward to the next one.

For more - http://www.indiblogger.in/  #Dovespa

MAGNIFICENT MONDAY

Welcome to Magnificent Monday and the theme of this week is “water.”

It can be anything about water….waves, rivers, water sprouts, waterfalls, seas, a glass of water or anything else. If you would like to participate, and then bring your post and link them up in the linky tool of  http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment.

Also be sure and leave a link to your post in the comment box, so we can visit you.

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." - Loran Eisely, The Immense Journey, 1957.

"When the well in dry, we know the worth of water." - Benjamin Franklin

"Ye marshals, how candid and simple and nothing-withholding and free, Ye publish yourselves to the sky and offer yourselves to the sea." -Sydney Lanier, 1878.

dVerse - POETICS- TABOO SUBJECTS: HOW TO BE FEARLESS AND NOTHING LESS

Kelley Moore of dVerse Poets Pub is providing us this week’s Poetics prompt. She wants us to write about from any of these taboo topics- sex, war/politics or religion.

Here is mine….

ECSTASY

Our eyes locked

In an intimate embrace

The unwavering gaze

Reality but a haze

Senses heightened

Galloping heartbeat

Heaving bosom

As our lips meet

The tongues speak

A language primitive

Driven by the need

That’s so archaic

The hands explore

The hidden treasures

Discarding layers which

Hinder the pleasure

Hypnotised we dance

Instincts take over

Drinking in trance

In abyss we fall over

To rise to our needs

Intoxicating and addictive

You feast on my bud

Sedative-ly seductive

Blinded by the love

Entering the Eden

Reaching peak of rhythm

We b-cum one.

THE POETRY PALACE- THURSDAY POETS RALLY WEEK 53

THE FLIGHT

Weak, frail & still nested

She yearned for the sky

To soar, to swoop,

To fly, To feel and

To come alive.

                  

Some mocked, some egged her,

Her parents fed her,

She stretched & stretched

Walked to the edge

To take the flight of her life.

She tumbled, and took the fall

Bruised as she was,

Yet, courage was her call

Her sisters & friends

Cheered on, instilling faith.

Her chest swells, eyes shone,

Determination lighted up her face,

She flapped & flapped

Until air borne and

She cried in delight!

She twisted, she turned,

She dived and felt the air

She danced and waltz’d

Somersaulted with flair

This was what she await’d.

He envied them,

How can they fly…

When he was rooted to the ground?

He took aim and shot,

She met her death…in her flight!

http://promisingpoetsparkinglot.blogspot.com/2011/10/agreement-for-thursday-poets-rally-week.html

dVERSE POETS PUB ~ OPEN LINK # 13

BROKEN….

How I wish…

I was numb,

Oblivious

Could not feel,

The pain

Of my broken dream.

I had it in my

Fist, only to

Let it slip

Through my fingers…

Broke into thousand

Pieces, my dream!

I lived it

I breathed it

I nurtured it…

Too many broken pieces

To pick up…

All in vain, isn’t it?

How I wish…

I could run n hide

Away from my mind

It mocks me,

It hurts me

For running was my dream.

For more...visit http://dversepoets.com/.

HEARTBROKEN!!!

I am devastated, heartbroken and am bawling like a kid. I am kicking myself because I have been so so stupid. How could I?

Since I landed in Mumbai in 2003, I have been dreaming of running the Mumbai Marathon, the biggest marathon event in India. When I came here, my kids were young and so I couldn’t leave them alone at home and devote time for my training.

Now that the kids are grown-up and can somewhat look after themselves, I decided to give it a try. Last May, I realized my dream of trekking…I trekked to the height of almost 14,500 ft above the sea level in the Himalayan mountain range. After this, I battled knee pain for months….after being on medication for months, I resumed my gym training and finally in January this year I felt I was ready to run…at least the half marathon.

I started running in the month of February. Technically, I had almost 11 months to train as the marathon is held in mid January every year. But, time seems to gallop or will stand still when things do not move in accordance to our whim and wishes. Few days into the run, my legs started cramping and paining. I wasn’t able to make headway in breaking the 4 km mark.

Visit to the Orthopedist…some blood tests later, it was revealed I have severe vitamin deficiency, had to take injections. Pain killers and calcium supplements were included in my diet as we vegetarians get very limited nourishment from our food sources.

I also started ‘strength training’ sessions in the gym…a grueling leg exercise regime which includes leg press, leg extensions and curls with  40 – 50 – 60 reps. I am enduring it at….for a dream.

All this while I did not even to bother to check the registration dates as someone has said that the registrations starts from the month of September. Kicking myself again. But, the registration has long since closed! Kick, Kick!

Why does this mean so much to me? As a home maker, my world revolves around my family. There are some dreams which are achievable, which do not take me away from my home or my responsibilities. This dream was for me, myself, to prove to myself that I can.

Look at me now, crying…my kids are consoling me. My hubby consoled me, saying I can always run next year! My biological clock is ticking. I know how much I have been enduring for this dream of mine…..sob, sob.