The story so far....

A dim lit corridor led to a small room. Its entrance held a creaky metallic chair on one end , and a shaky wooden stool on the other. In between them stood a large register holding scribblings of many...

The man on the chair called himself a Librarian, taking the seat on the stool were its readers. A room packed with books -most of them old, some partly torn, some without cover pages. Starting from ground level to lofty heights, books seemed towering on me from all sides. I was about 12 then. While my friends went for Famous Five & Secret Seven, I devoured Tinkle Digest week after week.

Years rolled...face of Library changed. Libraries started giving out fresh, neat books- as good as new ones. Kiosks replaced bulky Entry Registers, dainty cushions replaced creaky chairs...Tinkle Digest took a back seat. 

An inclination to pick Indian Authors took over. Sudha Murthy, Chetan Bhagat, Amish Tripathi, Devdutt Pattanaik. Reading was taking a scandalous turn. Finishing a book & picking up the next one, became a craze. Craze turned into addiction. Addiction became a race. A race against no one in particular. Indian titles alone couldn't keep pace with it. So global authors chipped in... John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Dan Brown. Non fiction, self help books joined in... Who Moved my Cheese, 6 Thinking Hats... Blue Ocean strategy, Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.....STOP!

A refreshing pause came by... reading slowed down. Random books kept coming but the habit of reading was undergoing a change. From renting books to buying books & saving them to read another day! Books of interest kept adding up, adding became piling & piling became stocking. For want of space they were re-arranged, then shuffled, subsequently shifted, until one day...went out of sight. 

I always wondered how the Librarian with a creaky chair reached out to the books he stacked at lofty heights. 🤔 Just as I wonder now, on which attic I have placed those books for future read.? Nothing  aids my memory to tell exactly which books are stored in there. If I were to climb up & search them today, the place would resemble the same faintly lit library aisle that I had visited years back.............Originally this post was to find an end here!

Then comes a book, that once again keeps me awake through the nights. Its been a very long wait! Having sleepless night by the book.... Now reading Ponniyin Selvan- Vol 3....

You & Me ( School)

You hush in your friend's ear......directing her to crawl 

Towards the white board......staring in front of you all

You tip toe her closely, to implement a secret you shared

Erase the writings on the board, that too with hands bare!🙌

Why am I not angry, when you say

You repeated this feat, yet another day....

So, you don't know to sip water using straw?

Or you play innocent to have fun at that cost..

Your dress isn't dry, your desk is a pool

Water play 💦💧💦doesn't tire you....whether home or school!

Why am I not angry, when you say

"I am the only one - whose water bottle was taken away"😐

Those chairs 🪑in the classroom, are meant to be seated

You line them up, saying a train 🚆 is created ...

To accomplish this,  you partnered a new friend

And her Mom is upset, 😡 for what you both have done!

But why am I not angry...

And why am I all smiles...

In your 1st month of schooling Offline 

I have loads of stories to pile 😉

You & Me (TV time)

"Gas Stations" are familiar but not "Petrol pumps"

"Dump Trucks" ring bell but not "Garbage vans"

Wolfoo & Lucy are now our extended family......

90% of screen time we offer them daily

Me -when I was 4.5???

On a tri-cycle, indoors I moved .....Looking up to the TV Screen ..when ad jingles were heard.

You & Me ( Travel)

   Your idea of travel is different from mine.....

At Four and a Half, 
you frown at the thought of enclosed transport :(

Whatever comfort ,a cab may offer, 

Ventilated autos is what you prefer. :) 

No wonder, when it comes to flight journeys...
 we have longer conversations about Airport trolleys :) 

 as compared to "in-flight" memories 

Hello 36 :-)

On the eve of my 24th Bday- I had written @24     .12 Years on, recreating on similar lines Hello 36!

@24 Travelled substantially. Goa,Mangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Singapore. The year marked my first visit abroad.

@36 Travel scene changed. But before lockdowns & restrictions  -Kolkata Happened! When I read Jhumpa Lahri's The Namesake - visiting Calcutta became a wish list. Sankar's Chowringhee just elevated my yearning to make it. And in Nov 2019-  Dum Dum airport unfurled City of Trams for me! 

@24 says watched Mumbai Meri Jaan- the movie to remain in all time fav.

That was the Pre OTT phase when movies came in DVD/ CD or channel broadcast. 

@36 i wont list any favourite. Movie menu now includes a rich language diversity. Content variety in the form of Web series. Short films -adds up entertainment value.

 

@24- Active on blogging platforms, consciously did Blog promotions, attended Blog Meets.

@36- Haven't done any of this for a very long time. But made a 1st and very naive attempt at StoryWeaver .After months of deliberation submitted my 1st kids story with my own illustrations here.The Language Man Story

Developing a story -presenting it in a language that kids can relate to- was a challenge in itself.Even difficult was to draw up illustrations matching my story. Made me realize- how much more I need to work on my drawing skills

 

@24-Learnt to recite “Hanuman Chalisa” without referring to the book.

@36-Attempting to learn Bhagvat Gita with my 4 year old. To make this learning interesting- re-reading the relevant stories of Mahabharat, doodling sketches of blind folded Gandhari/ Bhishma on Bed of arrows to give a visual impact.

A few points on continuity now... @36 continues what @24 started..

@24 Captured some wonderful Kodak moments, & treasured them with Picassa.......@36- Mobile Gallery is brimming with pics. Sorting- assorting they make their way to Zoomin albums. 

@24Exercised my right: both at Assembly and State elections. @36 Yes!!. Infant at home - was not an excuse!!

@24 Made it a point to thank Rickshaw & Cab Drivers, every time I hired their service. @36- Dependence on home deliverables increased. So a conscious effort to thank Courier/ Food/Grocery delivery guys!  

I am not active on Twitter these days.  Had I been,hashtags would look like this.....  #Infant #Toddler #Workfromhome #Onlineschool#36

The Kingmaker's Tale

A handwritten note was delivered to the control room. It read "The dawn broke early".  The note had no address, but signed with initials P.O.  These initials had a compelling past,  it sent shudders! 

Control room watched every move carefully. After being underground , Mr Aluwalia now surfaced to harvest his unfinished dreams. Initials P.O. tattooed on his right arm. Decoding the initials would definitely make their job easier.

Meanwhile, the usual bouquet arrived Aluwalia's residence. It had become a routine now . He kept calling flowers and they continued coming. Today, he made a call. In chaste Marathi he said "Ani Yen yeu deh".  The mention of International currency. Control  Room did not see this coming. A team was readied & they headed to Aluwalia's residence. Meanwhile, stationed on the bridge was a guard whom Aluwalia gestued to come in. 4 sacrifial knives were broght out & laid on the feast table. Control room made frantic calls, urging the team to head fast. The team was still 3 mins away.....

The guard entered......

• 1 Down with the  1st knife. He became the 1st casualty.
• Out of the blue-the 2nd one was tracked - 2 Down.
• The 3rd & 4th were the knife's delight.

What the control room failed to see, was now becoming clear. The handwritten note, flowers, the guard, international currency  -they missed seeing the VICTIM in them

• The note "The dawn BROCOLLI (broke early) ( Victim 3 identified)
• He kept CAULIFLOWERS (calling flowers) & they kept coming in (Victim 2 recognized )
• International currency ??? -  ONION (Ani Yen)  ( Victim 4)  -
• Stationed on the bRIDGE was a GOURD- how could they not decode this????

And the final blow. .......He was Mr AALOOwalia- The Kingmaker,with intials POtato-oed on him.  

This narration ends here. This is the Control Room's point of view. The Team reached the spot & THE KINGMAKER WAS "HUNTED DOWN". But on the walls of the Potato Community, reads a Saying " Until the Lion learns to write, every story will glorify "the hunter"   

This post written for INDISPIRE- Edition 373. Theme- #Potato must be the Hero

Fancy Chandeliers to Fathomable Storage

I have been a silent admirer of Home Decor for decades.
Dad acquainted me
with words like Architect and Interior Designers, very early . He had a collection of magazines on Interiors. It showcased

  Long drawn curtains, Winding staircase, magnificent chandeliers and Sunlit rooms. This was my first brush with Home Decor as a school kid.

Gradually I started connecting Home Decors shown in magazines with those we see around. There was enormous difference.  What many people implement at home is more "need based". Half Curtains on windows to allow ventilation,  Cloth screens on mirrors, to protect them from scratches. Even if done unintentionally, these small acts add up to how your home looks.

Then a time came to organize my home. To my surprise, the real challenges were totally different. Arranging (forget decor) a home , is more about handling dicardables. Today, when  I look a pile of disposable clothes- I yearn for that "Barter Man" who traded  Old Clothes for New Utensils. This man, has vanished from our neighborhoods.

Real day confrontations include- handling Plastic Containers without lids, Carton boxes, outgrown apparels.....So, to tackle them with peace, I moved to what school taught us - "Best out of Waste". Today they call it ". Upcycling". 

The random pics that you see along  this post, are a few Upcyclings I have done, in the last 1 year...

 PIC 1- Lid Less Plastic Container, covered with Outgrown Toddler Dress + Broken fancy Hair clip.

PIC 2-  Mini Stationery stand- with a top portion of Plastic Bottle.

PIC 3- Makeover of a mundane plastic container with a unused piece of cloth.

Home  Decor was just a shout away. I decided to take it up on piecemeal basis- Corner by corner.  From fancy chandeliers to fathomable storage- my outlook towards Home Decor just widened bit.