Never in my entire life had I felt such a strong urge to get away by myself somewhere, anywhere, far from the daily grind. I realized that I badly needed a break if I were to be able to function normally without the bitterness and the grouses.
Something else that had been brewing up for a while, suddenly failed to materialize, and I felt lost for a while until one morning. I chanced upon this ilander and chat friend of mine, BASANTHI(of the chal dhanno / SHOLAY type), on rediff messenger (by fluke, since we meet on gtalk later during the day) and we got talking. And after a while she asked, “Hey Misty, why don’t you come to my home?” Was I surprised? That is an understatement. Coming from her it was a TOTAL SHOCK. (Later she told me that she had shocked herself too by inviting me and was later even more shocked when I accepted her invite to go to an unknown destination, thousands of miles away to meet a couple of virtual entities.) Well, we had never met before, only chatted and seen each others photos. Sheer madness? Yes, under normal circumstances.
For once I had this urge to be just MYSELF, not a wife or mother or daughter or a daughter in law. No carrying any emotional baggage with me on this journey.
I asked her if I could invite our common friend (the ilanders’ AKKA) and she said, “Fine with me, you ask her.” And, so the call was made to Akka who asked her hubby for permission. After some initial hemming and hawing he agreed to let her go. Her excitement was crackling, this was her first time too.
And hence the plan was put into motion, dates decided and railway tickets booked. Akka got her tickets confirmed to and fro, while I was in the waiting list both ways.
Tensions began…………… will I get the reservation or not? Coz, it was a 30 hour journey by train. Travelling without a reservation would be no joke.
Tried my luck in the VIP and emergency quotas thru’ two sources and informed my friends about this element of uncertainty. Basanthi secretly thought I was making an excuse, trying to wriggle out of the trip. She would say, “Misty, tell me anything except that you are not coming,” while Akka, who was equally looking forward to the trip, said, “Misty, if you cancel then my hubby won’t send me alone. It is because of you that he has agreed to send me” (as if we were traveling together) but, WOW, must say that felt great.
The suspense of my getting the reservation lasted until 45 minutes before I boarded the train. As we were boarding the local suburban train, hubz asked, “Misty, what will you do if you don’t get the reservation? Will you cancel and come back home?” And at that moment I decided, “Reservation or not, I am going”, I was too excited to back out now and decided to brave it all. Also I did not want to burst their bubbles because of me. We were all looking forward to meet each other.
Someone up there was certainly smoothening things for me. It turned out that Myname was there in the 3 tier AC list. Which of the two contacts in the railways had made this possible, I don’t know, but one thing I knew for sure, that this trip was going to be a grand success. Immediately I called up Basanthi and Akka and told them that I was on my way. Throughout the journey I found myself smiling away, happily, for no reason.
Next day at 9.00 in the night, I arrived, and Akka reached an hour later. We three met like long lost school friends. All hugging and smooching done with, we proceeded to Basanthi’s abode and chatted thru’ half the night, eating delicious gob-stopper laddoos that Akka had brought along.
The next four days ( and nights too) were among the best in my entire life. We were like forty year old adolescents, doubling up with laughter, giggling, teasing, sharing, caring, photographing and going totally berserk, without a care in the world. Basanthi took us sightseeing, and together, we sinned twice at an icecream parlour called Jack Frost which serves yummy-licious ice-cream cakes with loads of nutty sprinkles. And yes, heavy issues like our weights, were conveniently forgotten.
Akka and I spent a whole day together by ourselves visiting the lush ArakkuValley and the famous BorraCaves. And when we came back, a delicious hot meal awaited us.
The best thing about this trip was that there was no man in the house whose whims and moods we had to anticipate, fear and pander to. And believe me, it can be quite taxing. After Basanthi’s daughter was packed off to college at 8 a.m., there were no worries at all. Another factor that helped was that we did not go with any kind of expectations from our hostess, and neither did she expect much from us, hence we were all atat ease with each other.
What we ate, when we ate, when we slept, when we woke up, where we went, how we traveled, was all apni marzi se. Basanthi’s daughter soon realized that her mother and her friends were all cuckoos. Basanthi and I discovered we had a lot of other similarities too besides being jokers.
On the last day, we didn’t want to part. We wished we had one more day together to enjoy and laugh and tease Akka, who took it sportingly, realizing that she had no choice. I, for one wanted to have some more of Basanthi’s kerala cuisine, especially her masala allus, avial and Akka’s rich coffee, which we demanded as a matter of right whenever we felt like it.
Neetha Nair, Meena Sundar and I, Misty, parted with intentions of meeting up again next year, God willing. But even if we don’t ever meet up again, I know for sure that the three of us will remember these carefree days of pure camaraderie with nostalgia, when three impulsive women did something totally crazy and bizarre.
Meena and I will never forget Neetha’s palpable excitement, her endearing and heartfelt invitation, her disappointment when she felt that all this may just be a pipe dream and above all her caring for us total strangers.
Thank you Neetha and Meena for being my friends. And to you Krish, for encouraging me to go out by myself to start with..
It’s strange how a seemingly innocuous event can set the ball rolling and change our lives.
It all started with a wedding card that I brought up from the mail-box a year and a half ago. My father-in-law read it, pondered over it casually and asked my hubby, “Anna, isn’t this Umesh the same as Gania’s brother? The family name is the same too.” And my inlaws and hubby all went into flashback mode, recalling their days in Ahmedabad, spent with their homely neighbours and particularly Gania, who went to school with my hubby in Ahmedabad.
Hubby mused, “Yeah, I must get in touch with Gania. It is more than a year since he phoned me.” He searched and found Gania’s telephone number, and they talked of their childhood days -- playing together and their school days and other friends. Gania named a few others that he was in email contact with.
Soon afterwards, they met over a cup of tea at Nariman point. Two decades had passed since they had last met in their building society in 1986. Each was amazed to see how the other had changed… It was a tentative meeting, but there was still a warm spark somewhere, which got the fires rekindled in their hearts.
And then all that happened and continues to happen, is amazing.
My hubby is one of the more proactive ones among his friends, if I may say so. After Gania added him to his small email group of school friends, my hubby started enquiring about others. The size of the email group rapidly grew; emails started pouring in from all over the world. I could see the excitement building up, with hubby opening his mails 5 to 6 times a day and telling me who all had responded. Before I knew it, he was in touch with some 10-20 friends.
For me it was a pretty large number because in all these years, I had known him to have only one school friend he was in touch with. So it was a revelation to me that he had gotten in touch with so many old friends!
The ball was set into motion for a reunion in Ahmedabad, where they had all studied at a Boy’s Convent school. Very soon, in September 2006, they had their first reunion where many guys, along with their wives, met after what seemed like centuries. Hubby went with Gania, and they stayed at the home of another friend, Sanjeev.
And after his return, hubby narrated the entire event to me and pointed out each ‘boy’ to me in the photos. Of course, I could not imagine each of them as boys because they were in their forties, but he gave me a vivid picture of each one and his relationship with them. I could see and hear the schoolboy that my hubby was once……
A second reunion happened in January 2007, once again in Ahmedabad, at another friend’s farmhouse and this time, since Gania was unable to go, I decided at the last minute to join my hubby, to his great joy! We cancelled his train ticket and took a night sleeper bus from the highway near our house.
The reunion was to be held late in the evening. Along with one of his friends who had come from Delhi, we reached the farmhouse around 8.30 in the evening.
What I got to see through the evening was something I shall never forget! Grown men behaving like kids, back-slapping, re-introducing themselves (since some of them had changed beyond recognition!) calling each other by their classroom nicknames and reminiscing all the naughty things that they had done in school, and remembering some of their teachers. And this time, many more guys had joined in.
While the other wives were sitting around a campfire, my camera I went around with my hubby. Getting introduced to each of his friends and taking photos of each encounter, I thoroughly enjoyed each moment of the reunion!
That evening, I got to see the school boy in my man. The joy in his eyes and voice when he fondly spoke to each one of them, hugged them and shouted with them!
Oh boy! The get-together went on till well past midnight!
The next day, we visited his old schoolteacher, Ms Fernandes, at her home. I had heard a lot about her from him. It was a delight to meet her in person -- a very sweet spinster lady who lived all alone in a sparsely-furnished, old house.
Recently, on Friendship Day, Sanjeev was in Mumbai days on business. Gania and hubby, along with another friend, arranged an evening meeting at Bombay Blues in Bandra. This time it was just the four friends with their wives. It was fun.
A few days back, hubby called up Ms Fernandes and asked how she was. It seems she had retired and was thinking about her future, since she was a lonely lady. He thought about it later on and asked her if she would mind if her old students did something for her out of love. And she was a bit hesitant at first, but finally after he convinced her that he would do it only if others agreed, she said ok.
He floated the idea of collecting funds to buy her a computer and printer so that she could stay in touch with her students over email, and do some computer-related work from home. He sent out emails to all his friends, and a lot of them agreed to pitch in for a computer. One of the boys from Ahmedabad took up the responsibility of purchasing and setting up the computer at Ms Fernandes’s house and also tutoring her. He has promised that his wife will be responsible for all the help that she would require related to the computer.
Now the D-day for giving the gift has been set up as 2nd September, close to Teacher’s Day on 5th September. Who knows, it may turn into another get-together?
Due to my son’s forthcoming exams. I may be unable to go along this time. But then, you never know!
Words......have the tremendous power to make or break, relationships of all kinds., “He said this to me or I said that to him, He makes me feel so good when he compliments me and he hurts me so much when he shouts at me or hurls abuses at me”. All words, said by the other person to us and from us to them with the intent of hurting or making one feel good or for communicating certain emotions.
Why do these words assume so much importance? Why do some people have the power to hurt us more than others? Or someone's compliments feel more special than another's?
It is because we allow it. We give so much significance to that particular person and hence the relationship becomes meaningful to us and thus whatever he or she says to us, kind or cruel, compliments or criticisms all assume priority and gain the power to hurt or feel good.
We also derive our sense of being from that person. We wait for the approval of that person. It is like: If he says you are good, then one starts believing that about oneself and if he says that you are not so, then one tend to believe that too. Why? Because at some point in life one gives more weight-age to the words of that person, because one wants him/her to care and love and hence one is ready to make oneself approvable, mould oneself to his/her tastes, bend ones own personal rules to suit his. And why does one do this? Because there is a subconscious need to belong and hence one allows that person to rule.
I am not saying that all the spoken words are insincerely spoken, but what I mean is that we need not take every spoken word seriously. The words need to be weighed in the correct context. Sometimes one may say things in a certain mood and under certain circumstances and not mean it in a hurtful way at all. And in the same manner a person may pay you a compliment when he or she does not really mean it, except to make you feel good at that moment. Nothing wrong there. Take it in the right spirit.
This becomes all the more evident in the chat space than in meat space, because in the latter, one can see how the other person is feeling at the moment. It may be possible to gauge his mood at the moment. But on chat space a person may be feeling a completely different emotion than he or she conveys to the other person. One may be chatting with several people at one time and the topic of discussion with each one may be different. With one there may be a perfectly serious discussion on the philosophy of life, with another one may be having a naughty chat and with a third person they may be sharing a joke. All different moods, right? One may think that it is not humanly possible for a person to do that, but I have known it to be possible. Albeit not everybody possesses those mental skills, but those who do, I salute them.
Such a tripartite conversation cannot be very meaningful, because, one is unable to explore a thought or share an idea meaningfully. Sooner or later, a perceptive person will recognize that your chat friend is not wholeheartedly with you.
The best thing would be to enjoy the chat for the sake of it and not read too much meaning into the words and not allow the person’s words to assume too much significance, even if it is a compliment. Perhaps the next best thing would be to move on from that person to someone who can share a more meaningful conversation with you, and allows and encourages you to share and explore your thoughts and feelings to its logical ending and not leave you midway feeling lost and parched. Or simply go ahead and MULTITASK.
The minute you tell yourself that these are ONLY WORDS, they lose their significant power to give you joy or inflict sorrow.
P.S: By saying the above I m not invalidating the chat experience, because I have had the honour and pleasure of interacting with few of the best people on the iland who have become my very dear friends and I value my daily chats with each of them very deeply. Here I m only highlighting some aspects that have been known to affect people.
This is one of my long time favourite songs, it is an unusual song. The credit for this first upload goes to my dearest friend SHYAMA. Love you loads.......
Katra Katra Milti Hain Katra Katra Jeene Do Zindagi hain...Zindagi Hain Behne do... Pyaasi hu main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaa
kal bhi to kuch aisa hi hua tha neend mein thi tumne jo chhua tha girte girte baahon mein bachi mein sapne pe paanv pad gaya tha sapno mein rehne do pyaasi hun main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaa....
Katra Katra Milti Hain Katra Katra Jeene Do Zindagi hain...Zindagi Hain Behne do... Pyaasi hu main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaa
Tumne to aakash bichhaya Mere nange pairon mein zameen hain Paake bhi tumhari aarzo ho ho shayad aise zindagi haseen hain aarzo main behne do pyaasi hoon main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaaa....
Katra katra milti hain katra katra jeene do zindagi hain....zindagi hain behne do pyaasi hum main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaaa....
halke halke kohre ke dhuen mein shaayad aasman tak aa gayi hun teri sooni baahon ke sahare dekho to kahan tak aa gayi hoon kohre mein behne do pyaasi hun main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaa.....
Katra Katra Milti Hain Katra Katra Jeene Do Zindagi hain...Zindagi Hain Behne do... Pyaasi hu main pyaasi rehne do rehne do naaaa
Film: Ijazat, Lyrics: Gulzar, Music: R D Burman, Voice: Asha Bhonsale
A trip in the jungles of Jim Corbett National Park
We left from our friend's home in New Delhi at 6.25 in the morning on 21st of April, to reach Ramnagar, the basetown of Jim Corbett National Park (JCNP), from where we have to collect our reservation and booking receipts. We reached there around 12ish and after the formalities were over we had lunch at the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) guesthouse in the vicintiy before we started our journey in the hired gypsy which was to be our mode of transport inside the jungle reserve for the next 2 days. It was our first experience of travelling in an open car. And while it was an expensive option as against the Tata Indica that we were travelling in from New Delhi, we opted foro it and we soon realised tat it was worth every penny that we were paying for it. Because one cannot have the feel of the jungle from a closed car. Also the fact that you are not allowed to step out of your car during the safari also makes it an added disadvantage. And no small car is going to be able to withstand the jungle ride, thanks th the stones and bumps and undergrowth on the jungle paths. So the best bet is nothing but a gypsy.
That said, we reached Gairal, our alloted forest guesthouse around 4ish. Since we were all pooped, we decided to do the safari the next day early morning. Well, the guesthouse can best be described as a 2 or 3 star accomodation, but it was neat and clean. And the ambience, ah, truly awesome. From the room one steps out into a huge lawn strewn with cane chairs. A few yards away you climb down a steep flight of steps to land onto a verandah overlooking the Ramganga river that flows through the entire jungle reserve. And Gairal is considered to be its starting point. One sees fish and also someone spotted a crocodile. The only words that can truly describe the setting was peaceful and serene.
It was a much-needed, welcome change from the daily grind of reality. Nothing worked here, no cell phone, no internet, so how much ever one may have wanted to go online, as had been the habit, this was an excellent way to get de-addicted. And as my luck was to have it, my camera also failed me and there I was left with a dysfunctional camera in my hands. Nothing can make a tourist and a camera happy person like me feel so helpless and handicapped. I was extremely upset. This was my dream holiday, meticulously planned and executed, and here I was in the midst of beauty with no way to capture it for posterity and sharing with my friends, except to see it with my own eyes and capture it in my mind. I had never felt so handicapped in my life before. If there was a camera shop around I would have bought one, but well that was not to be. So I decided that I would not pine for it any more and would imagine that I had gone there without my camera.
There is no power supply in Gairal, they power is switched on from 7 upto 10 in the evening, thanks to a generator. So, after having dinner we decided to stroll around on the lawns and enjoy the clear sky with so many twinkling stars. This is one beauty of nature that we city folks can no longer enjoy, thanks to the pollution. And after ten once the lights were off and the guesthouse was thrown in pitch darkness except for some light being cast by the fat moving crescent moon. On such a night, we started loking for constellations in the clear sky. We spotted the Saptarishi or The Great Bear, the North Star, my husband and daughter tried to spot the Orion and by 11 we decided to sleep because we had planned a safari in the early morning.
We woke up around 5.00 am and after having tea we left by 5.45 am for the safari in the hired gypsy. Can you believe the whole day we were supposed to spend the day in the esteemed company of Mahendra and Mahendra? Unbelievable, right? Well, our guide and our driver were both Mahendras, so well so much for the esteemed company on the safari.
As we trundled along the jungle, Mahendra the guide regaled us with the jungle lore. He pointed out three kinds of deers, peacocks, peahens, some rare jungle birds and wild elephants. We spotted elephant dung on the road and stoppped. The guides try to follow the sound to spot animals in the vicinity. He realised at one place that there were elephants in the area and we waited patiently. We were asked to keep absolutely quiet so as not to disturb the animals, lest they get scared and run away. And our patience paid us rich dividends and within a short time we saw a small herd of elephants coming towards us from the dense forest. And when they came out on the road and they stood in a majestic way facing us, as if telling us, "Welcome to our jungle". One mother elephant, a baby, an elder sibling, another baby and finally another mother --- M m M m M this was the formation. And after giving us a glance they once again retreated into another part of the forest.
As we proceeded further we saw a hog deer and a barking deer. A barking deer warns others if a tiger is nearby. We tried to spot a tiger but we could not. We went around the forest and saw different kinds of vegetations. From a lush dense forest we went to the grasslands. And wow what a site!! Wide open vistas, and a clear view of the meandering Ramganga river was completely breathtaking. We felt that we were part of a National Geographic programme. We were taken close to the river and what do we see there, but four gharials, rare species of Indian reptiles, that look like a alligator. They were sunbathing and what a sight to see!
At around 10.30 we reached the Dhikala camp where we were supposed to wait till three in the afternoon before we could go for another safari. So we had some breakfast, hired a room for resting and later went for the afternoon safari at sharp 3 in the afternoon. This time we once again went to the riverside but at a different place in search of a tiger but instead we got to see another herds of elephants and five tuskers, which are again a rarity.
While we could not spot the tiger, we were treated to elephant lovemaking, which our guide said was a rarity to spot. We tried to understand their behaviour, we watched thru' our binoculars. And what a rumbling orgasmic sound they made while making love. It would put any self respecting human beings to shame. This, of course lasted for only a few minutes, owing to the heavyweight of the elephant, I suppose.
We also spotted a jackal disbursing a stag party besides the river by trying to chase a deer who ran for his life, but was lucky, and the formation split like a starburst, Wow, what a sight to behold! Later, we still tried to spot the tiger, that is basically what all tourist try to spot, but for us, these two sightings had made our day. Maybe we will come ONCE AGAIN to spot the tiger. After going around some more we went to a three storey high watch tower to see the jungle. And finally reached Gairal around 6.45 pm.
We all then had a cold water bath, and some hot tea and coffee on the lawns and discussed our experience of the day. Post dinner, hubby and I decided to take a walk on the lawns in moonlight because the lights go off at 10 sharp. Once again we sat staring at the sky because we knew that this was a sight we were not going to be able to see soon. Meanwhile the kids were inside watching Hanuman movie on the laptop. Hubby and I decided to sit by ourselves on the cane chairs wrapped around in the blankets while holding our hands. It was such a tender romantic moment for us. Just the two of us all alone amidst the jungle, another rare experience for us.
Next day morning we left for our onward journey, back to Ramnagar, to collect our car and proceeded towards Kausani, our next destination in the mountains for the next two nights.
We are holidaying in the Uttarakhand presently and so am off the iland for a brief while.
Some of my friends Like Shyama Menon, Savita Dutta and Cpyder reached out and informed me that I had been oin the iland front page. I would like to thank them all deeply for this. And I want to let them know that they all mean a lot to me, especially SHYAMA.
I also want to say my deep thanks to all those people who have posted comments on my post and my guestbook to congratulate me.
I am glad to inform that we will be meeting some of our iland friends in Delhi who have always been in touch with us. My husband and I are both looking forward to it.
One thing that I really value in life is the company of good friends. Good genuine friends, who will, God willing, turn out to be friends for life, friends who care and this I have learnt from the time I was knee high.
Right from the time I became aware of my world, I have known them. They have always been part of our life. The five of them and then one more joined later. And now while the number has dwindled by two, the love is there for all to see.
I am talking of my dad and his three childhood friends and their spouses. Their friendship spans almost 50 years and they are all in their 60s now. And they are the only true family that my dad has had, apart from us of course. They have shared countless joys and sorrows and been there for each other always.
Let me briefly introduce them NP, PD and JM (that is dad) have been diaper buddies, who lived, played in the same streets of old Bombay and studied in the same class and school. Then they all went to separate colleges, but their friendship still remained intact. Then came RT who was more dad’s friend but who gradually grew thick with all of them. So all in all they were 4 close friends.
As their fortunes grew, they all shifted residence from old Bombay to the swankier area of Malbar Hill. This was a stroke of destiny, that allowed them to still be within 10 to 15 mins of walking distance.
Then they got married. Normally after marriage, there are chances that one drifts apart. But fortunately it did not happen with them. The reason being their wives too found companionship with each other and they were like one big happy family. Even this friendship is regarded with equal respect by everyone’s extended families. Whenever there is a function in the others family, the rest of them are always invited.
Wherever they went touring in India, be it the South circuit or the char dham yatra in Uttaranchal, or Goa, among the many others, they always did it together. Recently on my dad’s 67th birthday on 1st April, all of them went for an overnight trip to Matheran and enjoyed themselves.
In 1980, my parents had an altercation with my grandparents and as a result, they were out on the roads, but found haven in the home of dad’s friend RT for a year before our home in Vile Parle got ready. For three years dad lived away from his friends. Only in terms of geographical distance, but they never lost touch with each other. The relationship continued as usual, growing stronger, and as luck would have it, my granny fell ill and three years later, we were back in Malabar Hill where we came from. Its been 23 years since then
Five years back, tragedy struck, on the eve of my cousin’s wedding reception. After dinner, RT (who had come for the wedding with his wife) had a heart attack and within an hour of my meeting him, he died. It was such a major shock for us! Here he was a while back and then he was no more! Unbelievable. It was like one pillar of the four, was lost forever. And as if this was not enough, a few months later NP lost his wife to a major stroke of diabetes.
Left behind were one widow and one widower. A moment of discomfort in the relationship, right? No, that is the sheer beauty of their friendship. They all go out together for movies and their walks to the HangingGardens, have dinner at each others homes on Sundays and have lots of fun too. I sometimes envy them sooooo much.
Their hearts have grown fonder, their feelings for each other stronger. And time has brought them even closer to each other. What more does one wish for?
A couple of years ago, my hubby was offered a special fare trip on the Superstar Libra, the luxury yacht, by one of the people that we publish a bulletin for. Of course I was ecstatic. Always wanted to spend a night on a ship and when this was offered at such a good price, the temptation was a little too much. Not that those few thousands were any less, but what the heck, it was a once in a lifetime experience and hubby and I have never really splurged like this on ourselves.
So hubby kept on asking the gentleman as to when he could make the payment and he kept on postponing saying, “Baad mein batata hun, kya jaldi hain” and this went on for some times and finally, what happens, we are gifted this trip! Wow!
“Too good to be true”, I thought. But well it was a fact and what was more it was close to my hubby’s birthday too!
So finally on 12th November 2005, evening 5.00 we boarded the liner from the Green Gate at Ballard Pier.
Wow! Now this was what we call luxury! It was pure bliss and for the first time we had gone out for a night leaving our two kids behind with their grandparents.
Waiting for the ship to leave a few hours later, I told my hubby, “Look I love my children very much, but tonight I want to forget everything and just be with you. Like the time we were dating?” And he agreed.
We enjoyed all the experiences that the liner had to offer. Enjoyed the several course meals on offer, the various shows performed by exceptionally talented artistes.
Finally, we lounged on the upper deck, under the sky, surrounded by the dark sea around us, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. And yes, we struck the famous Titanic pose too! So what if this wasn't the TItanic and we were not Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet! We were us and that was all that mattered!!
Next day we played a game of scrabble on the upper deck and I was thrilled. Its my only favourite game next to chaupath or chausar (ya the same game that was played in the Mahabharata).
Next day I narrated the wonderful experience to my mum and could see her eyes twinkling with excitement. I knew what was going on in her mind. My dad had made his bucks the hard honest way and since they had to go through many hardships in their lives, my folks were and are very careful with their money. Today they are reasonably well to do but, if it meant spending ten grand for a night’s experience, I knew left to themselves, they were never going to do it. And my parents are already on the other side of sixty.
The look on mum’s face never left me, and I was determined to send them and I kept on thinking of ways to make them go. I cajoled her that this was a once in a lifetime experience, don’t be kanjoos with the money. I think you should spend the money, it will be worth the experience, I went on and on……And I could see the cartwheels turning in her mind, but finally she said no.
Just then it struck me, what the heck was I doing?Was I not earning? Did I not have enough money in my savings account to send them on this trip? But I did not want to use my husband’s money, Not that he would have denied me. I was too proud to do that. It had to be my own money.
I made all the necessary enquiries and concocted a plausible yarn about being gifted another trip aboard the luxury liner and hoped that she would believe my story since it had happened once earlier also.
Well, fortunately she bought my story and I called up the agency and they sent somebody and I made the payment. The trip was on. They were going aboard the Superstar Libra.
I felt very happy. I had done it! I had thought about my parents for once. And also the fact that I had been able to do something for them with my own money. For me it was money well spent. And I was also glad that they would really be able to enjoy it since they thought it was a gift. Well, it was in a way! MY GIFT! The first ever!!
My brother though smelt something fishy and he confronted me and after several denials I admitted but told him to shut up. He was in two minds. Finally I got him to agree.
The D-day arrived on 1st April 2006, my dad’s birthday. And I could feel their excitement, especially my mum’s. Dad is cool. Nothing bothers or makes a difference to him. But to mum it meant a lot and that meant a lot to me.
Jab We Met
Words Worth???
I am Alive
Katra Katra Milti Hain
My Trip to The Corbett National Park
Friends for Life………
Gifting a little happiness......
I Am Alive