Life

I met my childhood friend of 23 years! Yes 2 years away from a silver jubilee. We met after a gap of almost 2 years, neither of us felt the distance although we were not really in touch over the last 2 years. The 3 hours that we met felt like it lasted a measly 3 minutes. We laughed about the silly things we had done in school, the letters we would write and how we would wait impatiently for the next one. When we met we would fight about who had written more letters!  Time seemed to have spurred away and we had to part unwillingly to get back to our routines.I told my friend "Yeh Dil Maange More", we must meet again and for longer. We share some beautiful memories together. Walking and cycling back from school on Saturdays while eating roasted dal and samosas at a local bakery! Vying with each other on the number of Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys that we could read in a day.  Debating on Aamir Khan Vs Shah Rukh Khan! Fighting over which of the Hardy Boys ...

I posted my blog on turned tables or unsolicited advice yesterday and felt incomplete about it. Was privy to a few discussions with family and friends, did get some opinions.  Made me contemplate deeper. Sometimes you are indeed a referral point to a dear one, and when they reach out to you for your opinion or advice, you could make it genuine. While you cannot decide for them, you could help by sharing your point of view. Being rude or retaliating back can have its own repercussions of bringing ruin or misunderstanding to a lovely relationship Being polite and nodding your head every time can leave you feeling extremely irritated and discontent. Of course the fact that you compromised will show up its ugly head in some other conversation There could be few relationships where saying no becomes difficult.  Maybe with the in laws, the spouse could be a boss or a superior at work and even a parent. Constantly ignoring advice could make the person giv...

Narayan my cousin wanted to go on a vacation – I found myself stating that he had to visit “ ABC Homestay” at Sakleshpur, he would indeed miss so much if he didn’t go there Ganesh my nephew wanted to know what specialization to opt for – and I told him how much he should take the one that is most lucrative and not the subject that he is interested in Naina was upset – I gave her a sermon on how she could manage herself better and create the life she wanted, minus the melodrama Papa wanted to know how he could reduce his mobile bills, and I decided what plan he should take Mom wanted to vent out on what happened with her colleagues I barged in with my judgments about the people who work with her and how she should and should not interact with them Deepika – well, I made her resume, and told her that was one she had to use, since I knew her better than anyone else including herself (of  course that helped and she got her dream job) Hubby dearest wanted new s...

The year was 1999 and three thickest and thinnest of friends (oh yes - they indeed looked a tad malnutrition-ed!) were together. They had quite a history dating back to over 5 full years. Inseparable!  They seemed like triplets living in 3 different houses. Sanvi, Jaya and Maya, were rarely seen without the other. Of the three, Sanvi and Jaya were like peas in a pod indeed. You would never see one without the other. To most outsiders, they were like sisters. Exchanging clothes, talking for hours on the landline was everyday routine. Walking together meant escorting the other over and over again, until one of the parents said that was “enough”. Talking about the “guys” on the block, the crushes, who liked whom, who was following whom? Even other common friends could not get time and space with them separately. If that did happen, one of them would be enraged with envy. It seemed like nothing could really bring these two apart for even a short period of time. They...