It's a mad mad world

'Stray' into my heart

I grew up with a strong desire to bring a dog home. My dad, a dog-lover, always put his foot down and said no. It always broke my heart. He did get home our lovely cat. But he always refused to keep a dog.
We had three dogs guarding my uncle's home -two Dobermans and a stray desi dog that dad had randomly adopted.

While the Dobermans were lovely, the loyalty of 'Namu' was something else. He would sense my dad's arrival even when our car was more than a few kilometers away.

Namu died. So did the Dobermans We built a small shrine in their memory.

A puppy was lost near my building. I fed him a few biscuits and milk. He had distinctive spots on his body. Two months later, the puppy was all grown up and had made a home in the neighbouring park. He would recognise me. And walk with me whenever I passed by the park. A few biscuits were enough to make him my friend for life.

These two dogs and many more, convinced me that the so-called mongrels in this city are actually sharper than most pedigree dogs. One day, I told myself, I will adopt one of them.

And that day did come. I found Bono. He's the apple of my eye. And when people ask me what breed he is, I proudly say he is a stray. Yes, people love expressing shock that I chose a stray over a lab or a pug, but the truth is, Bono chose me.

When people talk about stray dogs being a nuisance, I often find myself defending the four-legged 'rasta'farians. If they are cared for, and if they are vaccinated, they add value to the community. Five gardens has strays that are regularly fed and vaccinated and they guard the neighbourhood. They don't bark or chase regular walkers but if they think someone is dubious, they warn people with barks and howls.

This year, Twestival is supporting the NGO Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD). The organisation works towards vaccinating, sterlising and helping the dogs of Mumbai. You can read about their work at WWW.wsd.org

Check out http://WWW.Mumbai.twestival.com for more info. They need volunteers, donations and more. Do your bit. My dog and his relatives would be extremely grateful to you.

Thank you for choices

We all want to shy away from taking sides. We don't like confrontations and most often we sit on a fence. I've been sitting on a fence for a long time. What I didn't realise was that this sitting on the fence business often meant that my fate was placed in someone else's hands. I didn't go look for things, I accepted whatever came my way. Luck was on my side and sent good things my way.Thank you for that :)

I hated confrontations, so I just said and did whatever pleased the people around me. Eventually, I realised that I was doing very little to please myself.
That's when I started jumping off the fences. That's when I started thinking, talking and doing as I pleased. Sure there were a few ruffled feathers, but ruffled feathers can be set right. And if you believe in your choices, you can actually find happiness.

Thank you for bringing these choices my way. Thank you for giving me the strength to make the choices and thank you for the integrity that allows me to stick to my choices.

Thank You For... The Right Moments

I think too much. Even a simple jar of Nutella cannot be bought without thinking things through. And yet, when I've thought and thought, I take that impulsive jump out of the sheer thrill of not thinking. There's this one thing I have thought and thought and thought about. Sometimes thought has lead to action and the actions have lead to not so pleasant reactions. And yet, this jump felt right. It happens to be impulsive yet it happens at the right moment and then it suddenly feels like my life is going from black and white to color, one tint, one hue at a time!

Thank You For... Magical Reminders

Sometimes, stress can get you down and make you hate every little bit of your day. Why this? Why not that? Why did I? In these silly moments, I often forget to think about what I've got. We all have that magic. Its the thing that makes each life so unique. We often forget that its better to be grateful for the magic rather than being frustrated about the hurdles. But then just like that, with an email sitting in your inbox, your loved one reminds you to seek that magic and to appreciate it. I'm grateful for that person, I'm grateful for her reminders and I'm grateful for the fact that she is responsible for most of the magic that happens in my life... Thank you!

To Keep A Woman Happy @anaggh would agree and add a few points :)

Two Grey Kittens Up For Adoption

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Two_Grey_Kittens_Up_For_Adopti.zip (3.01 MB)

Thank You For Kishore Kumar

If he would have been alive, he'd have been 81 yesterday. Unfortunately, he passed away before I even realised the meaning of  'Cheel Cheel Chillake'. But when I knew music, I knew Kishore Kumar. Be it the endless renditions of 'Eena Meena Deeka' for how fun it sounded to being moved to tears by 'Aa chal ke tujhe', the man steered his listeners from mischief to love to profound ideas about life. He added life into the words and he added music into notes. His films, his songs, anecdotes from his life made everyone around smile.  So what if he was worried, so what if he was lonely, he never let those around him feel blue. I might never have met him but he feels like a part of my soul. Thank you, Kishore da, thank you for your songs, thank you for your yodeling, and thank you for rescuing me from blue mornings with your voice... 

Thank You For... Wishlists

Amazon always tempts me... And most of my temptations are transferred to my wishlists. I accidentally chanced upon my wishlist today and I realised how I had grown with those wishlists. I saw Enid Blytons, Harry Potter paraphernalia, Kurt Cobain Journals, Film screenplays, DVDs and then it progressed to books about writing and of late, there have been baking books and kitchen supplies. Its almost like the wishlist documents my growth. Yes, back then, i wanted these things, but I wasn't sure I could afford them. Now, looking back, I realise I dont want them so bad. I can make my choice now... A rational choice. You weigh the want against the need and then counter-weigh that ratio with the price and then you decide whether its worth its while. 

Thank You For- the ability to let go

We often stumble and fall. We have the option to lie there, and wait for help to come through and we have the option to get up, pick up the pieces and go looking for help on our own. What we do, largely depends on the reason we fall and what breaks during that fall. Something broke inside me when I fell... And I decided to give myself the time to stop writing these 'thank you' notes. Now, the time has come to get up. What was broken, will never be fixed and it is up to me to accept that. However, letting go of that broken emotion takes time. And you only let go when you wake up and realise that there's a lot left to appreciate. Nothing lasts forever and the heart needs to find a new reason every day. A new reason to breathe, a new reason to live, a new reason to love and a new reason to smile for. 

Little Things that Bring me Joy

I recently adopted a puppy... He was found lost and abandoned... We named him Bono... 

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Little_Things_that_Bring_me_Jo.zip (2.23 MB)