Jun 18, 2016

Maasi banaya aapne :)


hello?
haan beta lakshmi aayi hain!
sach? :D
haan... baad me baat karte hai.

All smiling, I put the receiver back.
I was jumping with joy and didn't notice the filmy dialogue Mom just made. I realized it a few mins later while repeating the wonderful news in my head. Really Mamma? She surely had watched a lot of Hindi movies, I told myself.
Moreover its her first time as a Grandma, I can understand her excitement and nervousness. She probably couldn't think of her own words instantly.

The little one was going to be the first kid of our next generation and somehow the family had an intuition that it would be a Girl. So, I was ready with the name - Pari. There were so many names coming from everybody, but mine was the favorite. Yeah, I know its a very common name now but back in 2003, it was nowhere. I heard Pari the second time in a serial, which happened 3-4 months later. And, there I had struggled through months to find a beautiful and unique name for the doll who would call me Maasi .I got to hear it a few months later but the sound was totally worth the wait!
Maasi, coming from those cute little lips through few tiny teeth, made my eyes twinkle with early mist followed by a few warm drops. She was angelic. It was sheer bliss.
When Mom used to massage her, she would sing "Pahle to main mommy thi ..Naani banaya aapne". Oh she brought so much fun in our lives :).

How I suddenly thought of writing about her?
Well, just few weeks back it struck me that her birthday was approaching and she will enter into her teens this year. Couldn't believe so many years have passed already ..still feels like yesterday when we went to hospital to meet her for the very first time! I haven't been very good at handling infants so I would wait for her to sleep and then cuddle her :-)

How time flies!
Now, she is already trained in classical and contemporary dance. A talented performer, she is a part of almost every dance program happening around. At 10, she choreographed her dance for my wedding-Sangeet. Super cute it was!
Here is a pic of her(right most) with her dance group.




Birthday special tight hug and lots of love -- Maasi
God Bless You.

Jun 13, 2016

Second



Second.

I'm not your first. You aren't mine either. 
My tailoring business gives me enough to lead my life with dignity and provide a future to my son. 
I've never really felt a need of another man after my husband's demise. 
However, I'm moved by your gesture of accepting my son as your own. 
My son has agreed to call you 'father' after you met and coddled him. 
I can't thank you enough for giving him the happiness that was long lost. 
You decided to marry even sooner after meeting me.
I want to tell you that it's a courageous step for me to trust life again. 
It must be a bold decision for you too. 
We are ready to take up this leap of faith called marriage, again.
We'll vow to complete each other's lives soon. 
I want to congratulate you for this new life and new beginning. 
I'm a person who picks happiness from little things in life. 
I promise, I'll make sure we put our best efforts to make it a happy 'Second'!

- (written by my kid sister, inspired by a widow remarriage)




This girl/lady is a neighbor from my hometown. Coming from what they call the 'poor and backward section' of the society, she was hardly educated and married off at a very young age. She had a son soon after. The husband was a good fellow. However, the in-laws disowned her and her infant son as soon as the husband died untimely.
We always had good terms with this family and our hearts went out for her when she returned to her parents' home and started taking menial tailoring work to raise her son. She persisted and the boy now studies in 9th std.
In those small cities of northern India, its still very difficult for a woman to resettle in her life after divorce or widowhood. Naturally, we felt delighted to hear the news of her remarriage after more than a decade of single-handed struggle.

How I want the society to change for the better!