FF: Value of a Human

PC: Al Forbes

There was a time when on the road I was the head turner

The pride of my owner

Now after 40 years, when my owner is trapped in the photo-frame and hanging on the wall

I am strapped to a truck and taken to another location, like every other fall

Lucky for me, I am declared antique, and my name becomes special in every show I go

While the only place my owner’s name comes now in the frame below which a candle glows

This post is written for Friday Fictioneers 

3WW: Love or Hurt

PC: indiandramaqueen.blogspot.com

An drunk, unkempt, limp, old man lying on the footpath

Oh God, someone please give him a bath

Scorning at everyone 

Throws expletives and spares no one

His face hateful & frowning always

It was a marvel when a BMW 3 Series came that evening to take him away

Its is said he is very clever and rich

His wife was a bitch

Left him and went to another man
He stopped her, tried everything a husband can

Months went by, he showed that he didn't care
He hardly stayed in his princely lair

He took to drinking and ruining himself

I wonder if it love or hurt that he has given up on self 

This post is written for Three Word Wednesday - 468

ABCW: Geography

I want to dedicate this post to Team ABC Wednesday and all its participants.

I have been associated with ABC Wednesday for the past one year and I absolutely love the initiative. I love reading the posts of people from so many geographical locations. I love what the world thinks about my posts through their comments.
Its also surprising at times, that so many emotions are posts are similar across the globe, doesn't matter in which country, which timezone, one is.

I liked Geography because it takes me to places where I have never been to, or never might get a chance to go to, but this initiative gets me to interact with people across the whole planet, who's names, faces, lives I would never know.

I wish I could personally Thank each one of you for making me feel good through your posts and comments.
Lots of Love & the biggest thank you specially to the team of ABC Wednesday. You guys are awesome.

This post is written for ABC Wednesday - G

Mag: Accept Me for what I am

PC: Stanley Spencer

I agree I am huge, but I don't get why people see me as a threat

One look at me and every one goes "ahh, run, a huge ugly beast looking man"

They judge me before they even know me.

Thank you flowers, Thank you nature of accepting me they way I am.

God says "Someday, my dear, there is someone who will accept you the way you are. All you need is patience"


This post is written for Magpie Tales - Mag 306

FF: Time

PC: Sandra Crook

The time sand always makes her wish every time,

This is where she a saw his smile for the first time

Her only wish is that she could turn back that time sand

Not just to see him smile, but to bring him back to life

Her soldier man, stolen by time

This post is written for Friday Fictioneers 

ABCW: Father

It is said that a girl is closer to her father than to her mother. 

For a daughter, a mother is an epitome of discipline, whereas, a father is like her partner in crime! 

There is special bond that a girl shares with her father; after all, he is the first man in her life. And, she is always a little princess to him. 

From infant to toddler to pre-teen to teen, a father sees the apple of his eye grow up from a little baby to a pretty woman.
From a little girl in pony tails to an elegant lady in a saree

But what happens when the time to search for her groom arrives. Dads start having the feeling of losing their gorgeous little princess overnight to some stranger who may or may not keep his angel happy. 

The mere thought of giving away his daughter to a person who he barely knows or has probably just met, starts giving him restless nights.  

From the start of seeing the groom, to the marriage preparations to the main ceremony. I am sure father's might be going through different emotions.

The excitement in his daughters eyes while shopping, the smile when she is talking to her fiance, the sad face when she doesn't get the exact shade of what she wants.
It makes him very happy as well as sad, to think that the time for her to leave him is coming nearer.

  

On the day of her marriage, all the memories from her childhood to now, even those forgotten memories flash through his life, like a photo album. 

My father got very emotional on the day of my wedding

During the Kanyadaan(Giving away the bride ceremony), father goes through a wave of emotion in this biggest moment of his and his daughter's life. That moment when its time for him to finally accept that there is going to be another man who will love her and protect her.

Silently, he wishes that this man loves, cares and protects his daughter more than daddy can does. 

When his daughter steps out of  her parents house as "Miss" to become a "Mrs" she leaves a gazillion memories in that house.

With tears in her eyes, when she turns back, she sees a man standing in the corner with sad red eyes, trying hard not to cry.
When she comes and hugs him, he doesn't see the bride, the grown up woman but he sees the little girl who used to hug him. He sees his little baby.

And a single tear rolls out from his eyes.

He is the father of the bride

The original post is on my other blog Indian Drama Queen

Daddy's are always the daughter's first hero -Google Quote
A son is a son till he finds a wife, but a daughter is a daughter all her life-Google Quote

This post is written for ABCW -F

BA: #IAMCapable

This is about me. I am 31 and I do not want to hide my real age. I am happy about what I am, who I am and the way I am.

I have a Phoenix Tattoo in the nape of my neck from 2010 which summarizes my life.

In 2006, I met with a bike accident and severed my right hand. I was in the hospital for a year and one more year at home undergoing physiotherapy. I went through 19 surgeries on my right hand alone. Thanks to my doctors and the support of my family that I have a 99% functional hand,.

I cant move my wrist meaning, I can’t throttle/accelerate a bike. My hand has a visible scar till my elbow, it looks like a burnt injury.

Well, I can paint, quill, type, cook and everything that supposedly a woman should do. I look fairly good too. I fall under the cute category.

I lost two years of my education, I tried writing my exams with a writer but Engineering exams can’t be given orally, so I badly flunked and lost one more year. Then, I decided to give it up & start working with just a qualification of a Diploma.

First look of what my extended family thought about me

Just after my accident, one my mom’s aunt, who is about 75 now was talking to me in discretion

“Dee, you met with this accident and got this this thing (she said it like my hand was a pest), you have no qualification, your parents had to shell out all of their savings for you. You are just a burden on them. You can’t even work. The only thing you can do I sell yourself to fend for yourself”

I was shocked. How can my own aunt think like this, didn’t she see the pain I went through?

I did cry, I was vulnerable, but I decided to show her that I am much more than my body alone. Today, I am much better than any of her “uninjured” burdens.

Second instance of what the society wants in a girl

Obviously, after an age my parents started searching for suitable grooms for me. 

They started when I was 23. It took them 7 years to find a suitable husband for me.

I have met a million guys in this arranged marriage thing. But, I have got rejected my so many on my injured hand’s pretext.

I was by qualified now, I did my Grad and my Masters but men wanted a “perfect” looking girl. My nature, my education, my background, my experience, nothing mattered. I have had sentences from guys & their family saying

“Our son is perfect, we want a perfect girl” (What does a perfect girl mean?)
"Actually, I am not really comfortable with that kind of a scary looking hand" (Scary? Do you see ghosts coming out of it?)

People who wanted to “help” my parents to find me a guy sent profiles of guys who were very “differently abled” mentally & physically.

My question: Would these people do the same for their daughters? No, they won’t. Then why me?

I have been advised to go for a "cosmetic surgery" by people, which frankly I didn't want to. I am comfortable with the scar. Why should I change?
But on insistence by my family who were pressured by external factors, I did go for a consultation and to my relief, the doctor said its better not to go for a surgery since it won't really show a significant change.

These two scenarios are just a gist of what people have said and done. There is much more to it, that can fill a whole book.

I had my simple conditions,

I will marry a man who will accept me the way I am, with my scars

I will marry a guy who is equally educated as I am.

I shall not cover my hand for anyone. I am proud of what happened. I am proud of what I went through. I am proud that I came out strong & bubbly. I am proud of all my achievements.

Haters will hate.

Today, I can easily defy, whoever said harsh, heartbreaking things to me. I work to earn my living. I travel the world. I take care of my parents & they are proud of me. I live a decently luxurious life. I am pretty & famous in my own way. I am married to an amazing guy into an equally amazing family.

I am what I am because I didn’t give up believing that I am the best. 

Whatever happened, happened because it was meant to happen. 

I did, lose my patience, I did breakdown, I have cried many nights but in heart of hearts I know that my accident has made me strong emotionally and mentally.

Not just experience, but even statistics say the same. Take a look at some of the startling figures that the Nihar Naturals #IAmCapable survey conducted by Nielsen India reveals:

a. 69% of men agree that their judgement of women is based on their looks.

b. 64% of women agree that the judgments passed on them have affected their ability to reach their true potential.

c. 70%of women agree that majority of judgments on women are from family members or friends rather than strangers.

d. 72% of women agree that working women face more judgments on their looks or their clothes than housewives.

“I’m breaking stereotypes based on appearance by sharing my experience for the #IAmCapable activity at BlogAdda in association with Nihar Naturals.”

FF: Flower Conversation

PC © The Reclining Gentleman

Baby flower asked Mama flower 

“How come I am red & you are yellow?”

Mama Flower says 
“Err..Son..The crazy things I have done when I was a bud, I am happy that you aren’t multi-colored"


This post is written for Friday Fictioneers - 13th Feb 16

BA - #LoveAndLaughter Our Story

Ours is a typical arranged marriage.
Our parents surfed and scouted matrimony sites, found us suitable and contacted each other.
Then our horoscopes were matched, they matched very well it seems.
Our email id's were exchanged.
And that's how it started

My version:
I initiated the email, yesI was rude and to the point, in fact I sent my first email with pointers (ridiculous ain't it), and his reply was "I feel I am clicking the "I Agree" button on a website. That made me grin & I was at work in Mumbai with a stupid grin pasted on my face. I started liking him on his reply itself.
We started chatting, then exchanged numbers. We met. He proposed on his birthday & the morning of the day we were to be engaged
He loves to talk, and has a superb sense of humor,  (that is some quality I totally love in a man)
We are total opposites,

He says:

Mine is a short story because she stole what I wrote and made it her story. I am now left with very little original story to write! Would strongly recommend reading her version first and if you are still jobless continuing with this :)
Given that Laziness is a quality in me that I am really proud of, choosing the arranged marriage route and outsourcing the work of finding a girl to my parents was a natural choice. But I had severely underestimated the amount of work required to get a Yes out of a girl (actually it's infinitely more difficult to get a Yes out of her astrologer in the first place).
Dee played the role of “hard to get” girl to the T. 
Can't forget her first mail which had a long list of confusing terms and conditions and an "I agree" button at the end. But my friends, most of whom are married, by now have taught me well - scrolled down directly and hit the "I agree" button and from then started an eventful journey of long distance courtship, Mumbai visits and endless saree shopping (Should have read the terms more carefully)

It's been a fun time discovering each other.
We make an odd pair -
She is an eternal optimist who is as romantic as a princess out of a Disney movie - breaking in to song and dance sequences just like one of their musicals (albeit the songs are more localized to cater to her Mumbaikar tastes) while me an eternal pessimist having a very dim view about all these things.
Should really credit Dee for being understanding and working around my sarcasm and dumb jokes and still managing to love me the way she does!
Jokes aside, it’s been one awesome journey yet, one filled with fun, fights, flights and silliness! Over this period, I have had my opinion about Dee change from one with whom I have to grudgingly share my Internet Connection To someone, at the cost of sounding cliched, who I know is a great partner in this journey of life, having fun and growing old together!


Will take a moment now to thank the proud sponsors of our Long Distance Relationship: Whatsapp, Vodafone, Go Air, Various Matrimony websites and the two astrologers who finally agreed on the horoscopes matching!

Even this, his version of our relationship made me smile, he still has that effect on me after more than a year

“This post is a part of #LoveAndLaughter activity at BlogAdda in association with Caratlane.”

ABCW: Elephant God

The Elephant God also known as Lord Ganesha or Ganpati in India.
He has a very interesting story of how he got an elephant head.

His Birth

One day Goddess Parvati was at home on Mt.Kailash preparing for a bath. As she didn’t want to be disturbed, she told Nandi, her husband Lord Shiva’s Bull, to guard the door and let no one pass. Nandi faithfully took his post, intending to carry out Parvati’s wishes. But, when Shiva came home and naturally wanted to come inside, Nandi had to let him pass, being loyal first to Shiva. Parvati was annoyed that no one was that fiercly loyal to her. So she made a little baby structure with the turmeric paste that she used for bathing and put life into it and made it her son and named him Ganesh

The next time Parvati went for her bath, she posted Ganesha on guard duty at the door while Shiva was out. On Lord Shiva's return he saw this strange boy sitting at the door and not allowing him to go inside his own house.They little boy showed extreme strength & intelligence to not allow Lord Shiva inside.

Lord Shiva the lost his cool  and in his divine fury severed Ganesha’s head, killing him instantly. When Parvati learned of this, she was inconsolable to have lost her son. Soon her grief turned into anger and she decided to destroy the entire Creation! 

Lord Brahma, being the Creator, naturally had his issues with this, and pleaded that she reconsider her drastic plan. She said she would, but only if two conditions were met: one, that Ganesha be brought back to life, and two, that he be forever worshiped before all the other gods.

Shiva, having cooled down by this time, and realizing his mistake, agreed to Parvati’s conditions. He sent Brahma out with orders to bring back the head of the first creature he crosses that is laying with its head facing North. Brahma soon returned with the head of a strong and powerful elephant, which Shiva placed onto Ganesha’s body. Breathing new life into him, he declared Ganesha to be his own son as well, and gave him the status of being foremost among the gods, and leader of all the ganas (classes of beings), Ganapati.

The Ganesh festival known as Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated beautifully in Maharashtra, where people bring idols and offer prayers for 10 days, and on the 10th day then do a "visarjan" in running waters.

People chant "Ganpati Bappa Morya" and sing a special "aarti" (welcome song) and dance to dhols on the streets to welcome him

The orange dhol video is Ganpati Visarjan in Pune

The video below it is called the "Ganpati dance" famous in Mumbai

For me Lord Ganesha's story has always been intruding & Ganesh Chaturthi by far is my favorite festival.

Mag: I shall wait

PC: Carolina Knopf

When I married him I knew he would be out at the seas
When he is out there, I have no peace

I love him for what he is
I promised him to take care of what is his

I shall wait till end of life
For he is my fate and I am his wife

My heart, misses him everyday
So, I come here to see every morning and evening, if his ship is coming in today

This post is written for Magpie Tales - Mag 305

WOW: No One Knew

There is a good side & a bad side of everyone. People out there have seen a stupid, silly, dumb, mean me. Not many people know that there is a side of me which sympathizes with people who feel like committing suicide.
Because I have been through the feeling of being alone, having no hope, losing all what you had, all what you have worked for in the matter of seconds.
The feeling when you just want to end life, thinking that is what is the answer for all the problems.
Then, I started a blog and had something to pour out my feelings to.

Now, Im successful, happy, loved by everyone.
Not all are as lucky as I am.

My post is number 9th in the list

People try to kill themselves for gravest reasons to reasons as silly as "not able to see their favorite TV channel"

Nobody knows that I am a volunteer at the anti-suicide helpline & I work in a different identity.
It feels good when after months or years you get an email from someone whom you spoke to, thanking you for stopping them from killing themselves.

Its been more than 3 years, that I have stopped my "helpline" work. But, when I did, it gave me an immese satisfaction.

The feeling you get, to bring smile to a stranger who doesn't know who you are is priceless

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

FF: It Shall rise

PC: Erin Leary

I travelled to the God’s own country

A place with a beautiful history

Locals say there is a golden bridge beneath

Now covered with leaves and moss, looking like sheath

As legend says, this bridge shall rise

The day the moon is high and bright are the skies

Here was where he had asked her to wait

Years passed & he was lost to fate

She waited here every night

The bridge shall rise when the sailor & his lover unite

This post is written for Friday Fictioneers

Valentine Week Special

So, there is this new kid at work. She is around 21, fresh out of college but is still in college in her head.
She apparently doesn't know that I am a Mrs for more than a year now, so during lunch she asks me "What are you doing for the Valentine week? Am sure you must be dating someone"

With mouthful of food and in no position to reply, I just nod
And she goes on
"First its is Rose day, I have to buy a pink rose, I don't want  to be too obvious. I hope I get a red
Then its Propose day, I hope he knows that, I am so excited
Then I expect him to buy me a Ferrero Rocher on Chocolate Day
And I have seen this but brown teddy in the mall, I will take him there on Teddy Day
Then I will promise to never ever ever leave him on Promise Day
Oh my God & I will properly hug him on Hug Day
Then na, eeeeeee, we will kiss on Kiss day yaay
Then its Valentines Day. I have got a new red dress. I am sure he will love it."

I am like What? Do people even follow this crap so seriously?

Then I interpret in the crudest manner possible

1st he gives you rose & pataos you
Then he proposes you
Then he feeds you chocolates & gives you teddies gifts to pamper yo
Then he fakes a "I will never leave you baby, plomish"
Then he gets his chance, he kisses you
Then kiss turns into something and you guys get laid on Valentine's Day.

I think I interpreted it well. I am not sure why she had that pissed off look on her all day after lunch?

3WW: Story Repeats

PC; Captiondreamtime

When he is sad, he gets drunk
When he is drunk, he gets tearful

When he gets tearful, he rants his heart out
After he rants his heart out, he wants to walk

When he wants to walk, his steps are unsteady
When his steps are unsteady, he invariably falls on the abrasive side road and hurts himself

This story repeats every time when he is sad

This post is written for Three Word Wednesday - 465

ABCW: D

D this alphabet is special to me.
Why?
Because my name starts with D
My pseudo name is DeeDee & my real name is Deepa.

Its an Indian name. It means light, or a lit up earthen lamp that lightens up a place in Sanskrit
Indian festival of lights Diwali is also called as Deepawali.

Apparently, this is how my name "Deepa" is written in the sign language

PC: locatemyname.com

दीपा in Hindi
ディーパ in Japanese

This post is written for ABCW - D

Mag: Chennai Rains

PC: Adolphe Valette

In this city, it rained like never before
In this city, where sunshine turns people sore

Flooding is not just the city
But the houses too, Oh What a pity?

Its not just the skies that opened
But, the hearts and doors of houses too

A foe turned friend
Helping hands became the trend

Roads turned into canals
Places where cabs & rickshaws moved, now was replaced by boats

Rescued were people from their houses
They saw their belongings drenched & afloat

When people in this city were out of food
The whole country came together to do some good

After 12 days of ordeal
Chennai, saw the strength of no biggies but just its people

This post is a dedication to the rains that happened in Chennai in December.
Pray to all

This post is written for Magpie Tales - Mag 304