Raining Thoughts

From in-between the clank clank of vessels in the kitchen, I could make out heavily accented telemarketing commercial voices emanating from the main hall where the TV had previously been spewing out Doraemonish Chotta Bheemish voices. Sensing that it was time for my kiddo to hit bed, I called out to her, “Bedtime…now go brush your teeth like a good girl..”  After continuing with my kitchen scouring for a few more minutes I  realized  that the telemarketing show was still on with the mock American accented Hindi speaking female voice continuing to wax eloquent on the 199 benefits of some bogus gym contraption that guaranteed all the right things in all the right places. What my brat was doing there listening to it puzzled me. ‘She might have slept off on the divan', I thought. Even if that was not the case, Silence had never been a healthy sign when it came to my baby angel. I moved to the hall to see what was happening. A mind-boggling sight greeted my eyes.. ...

A highly ornate BMW diesel auto-rickshaw that was stuck in the slow moving traffic in front of the non-branded rickshaw I was travelling in triggered off the amusement button in my head today. Amusing though it might have been for me at that instant, it sure would not have been so for the car owner who would have suffered the loss of his precious car emblem. I could almost picture him somewhere  in a posh Pune suburban villa, wringing his artificially re-grown crown of pitch black hair in angst, possibly at an emblem’s distance away from sanity altogether... Car logo thieves are frenziedly spreading brand equality all across the country nowadays. A slice of ‘have-ism’ gouged out and blatantly plastered across the foreheads of the have-nots. To anybody who asks ‘What’s in a logo?’ the answer would be ‘a whole lot!’ because that’s apparently what the ubiquitous mafia-like body that is involved in this ignoble art across the length and breadth of this nation suggests. One cann...

Of all my text books from primary school, the one closest to my heart was the colorful science text book full of vivid color pictures and fancily boxed fun facts. In comparison to the monochrome social studies and language books, the science book stood out like a beautiful rainbow full of promises… a beacon of hope in a color-deprived universe.  And of all the chapters in there, the very very multicolored seed dispersal chapter always looked best to me with its seeds of all hues, shapes and sizes, illustrated in different acts of getting dispersed. Seed dispersal was (and is) a gargantuan affair. It could alter geographies, flora, fauna, perhaps…the course of life itself. And all those fine techniques nature chose to employ. How strangely impressive! Flying seeds, floating seeds, hooked seeds, sticky seeds, clingy seeds, chewy seeds, shitty seeds…  Ah well…that brings me to the crux of the matter. About time I began my post. So… It’s one of those lull train journeys tha...

Lil'D: Amma, it's December, isn't it? A:   Yes dear. Very much.  Lil'D: Why isn't it snowing in Pune? A:   Darling it has never snowed in Pune. And I don't think it will, very soon. Lil'D: But Amma how can there be Christmas without snow? How will Santa come riding then? A: Oh, Santa has access to other modes of travel when in Pune. Besides Santa lives close by, you know? * Guiltily thinking  of ''Shanta'' aunty who lives in the opp. flat * Lil'D: Amma you're lying, I know. There cannot be Christmas without snow!!! A: Says WHO dear?!, Says whoooo??? Lil'D: Peppa Pig. A:   Huh! Peppa Pig? Did Peppa say anything else dear? Lil'D:   Yeah... Peppa also said Amma dunno anything about Christmas... AND... A:   Sighhh... AND...  Peppa's always right...... Pic Courtesy:    Google 

Me: Hello…Hello….Amma… can you hear me? Amma: You just left! What happened? Me: (* excitedly *) ….Amma… there’s a peacock perched on the rooftop of a house on my way to the bus stop!!! Amma: (* skeptically *) Look more closely…that must be a crow or a hen. Peacock!? Ha… and that too in Trivandrum??? Mmm but…are you sure it’s one?…look more carefully… Me: (* irritated * desperate * ) : Aiyyooooo….IT IS A PEACOCK!!! I’m SURE. Amma : (* uncertainly *): eh?... mmm… Me: (* nail-bitingly *) Wait!! Guess I was a bit too loud. I’ve scared it off. Ohh!  It’s jumped on to the coconut grove adjacent to the house now. Ah! There it is…I am watching it. Amma: (* blandly *) What’s it doing now? Me:  (* breathlessly *)   It’s pecking at the ground & strutting around in the grove. Oh!... I wish I was carrying a camera phone at least… I could’ve shown you… Amma: (* non-chalantly *): Pecking at the ground…hmmm….that’s exactly what a guinea...