“Choice” is a nice word

When you are sad you can choose – Happiness. Which doesn’t mean that it’s easy. It’s just a Choice.

Today is a very dear friend’s birthday and this piece is a tribute to her. I have seen her going from being a giggly college kid (she has her serious side) to being a mother of a wonderful intelligent, artistic girl who is growing up too fast. And I’m afraid she’s going to be taller than me in just a couple of years. My friend has made choices, some not so good, some great some just simple. Simple choices are nice. Like the choice to dress better, exercise, chant, be a great mom! They are easy to keep and easy to live with. Her choice is Happiness. Of course her butt needs to be kicked once in a while by yours truly :-)

We have a love-hate relationship. I don’t expect her to do everything I ask her to do but lately she’s picked out the best parts and made it her own and given me more faith in god than I ever I had before. She chose to chant and make a life shift and things just fell into place. She ain’t no saint though! No way in hell.

The choice to be real when everything is forcing you to be someone else and have you think and see things some other way around is stressful. My brain goes on a blinker around such people. It’s not only tiring and its also quite pointless. A point of view is nice but a everyone is entitled to their own. That’s why we’ve been friends for so long. We’ve (unknowingly) chosen to not each other and chosen the best things from each others experiences to make it our own.

So babe! – you have the choice of suffering my company for the rest of you life or ……..actually on this one you don’t have a Choice!

I want to be fish feed!

I haven’t made my pilgrimage to Goa this year. Will absolutely happen though. Anyone who knows me a little bit knows this – Urmi wants to be fish feed! – Strange after a whole lifetime of being a fish eating Bengali !! What irony. Maybe that’s my way of “giving back”!

Whenever I finally go to hell I would like to the path to be through Goa. Don’t bury me, don’t burn me, don’t mummify and don’t put my in the well of death. Just roll me into the sea in Anjuna. It has a little but of elevation (like the hills) and has the sea in front. Perfect. Unreal? I don’t think so.

Sneakers for my old age

I have a disease – I’m not politically incorrect.

Once upon a time (fresh out of Art College) I was around some friends and discussing our wishlist in life. What we want at 50 - ??

Answers ranged as follows:

1. House full of art and grand kids
2. Farmhouse outside delhi
3. Want to be a famous/rich painter
4. Want to work with the worlds top advertising firms
5. Want to design accessories and clothes

My answer – I want to own the finest sneakers. If god is kind then a car or a bicycle will be nice.

My friends ofcourse had a priceless (pun intended) look on their face. Next question was – Why?

My answer – so that I can see and experience as much as I can of this beautiful piece of art/architecture that I’m standing on!

Silence. Then laughter followed. The they fun of me. And I took it in my stride. Frankly I didn’t take myself too seriously also. Maybe not a 100% anyway. So then I was asked for a more realistic answer so I gave a one (as some of you may know I even got that wish for a while)!

Time went by – I got into the madness of life. Though I must admit I’ve loved most part of it and I guess it’s the experiences that make you. I love all my friends and have met some amazingly nice people. They have so much heart. Makes me want to be a better person. I guess I’m plain lucky. Ultimately its only that stuff you remember, atleast that’s the way its with me.

So I guess its time to make them all pray again for me so that I do get my pair of sneakers! :-)

I see fireflies lighting up the path for me……!......Thankyou god

Things happen for a reason. Old saying. And everything happens for the best. And I’m grateful for everything, truly.

Some things make happy in the long run (whatever that means) and some things will make me happy forever. I figured I want to share my love for music, art, the wilderness, food, culture - in short – I want to share my lust for life with my family and friends.

The last 12 years have been spent in doing the regular stuff. Now I cant wait to for the rest my life to begin. From regular office going life which suited me just fine (I’m lazy and bad with money!!) to a life that that may seem some sort madness – but get fireflies these days to show me the way. I trying to get through the bills, mails, meetings, driving to work early, performing at work etc etc just like I have forever but all the time I’m saying to myself – not for long (hopefully).

My dad once told me – even if you win, you’re still a rat!
No way in hell. Nothing wrong with wanting to be a rat but ultimately you’re stinky, disliked and eat out of other people’s plate. I would be happy to eat dal – chawal on a banana leaf and photograph or paint it or just take it all in as a memory.

As I write this piece I’m sitting in a meeting room with 9 other people. I’m sitting at one end and the projector is at the other end. Thankfully I not presenting, only listening (multi-tasking Gemini). To me this looks like a path with the fireflies going about their business while my mind wanders. I see fireflies again – this time in the day!