A Fan meet.. or was it?

For a long while, the people in my Orkut community have been thinking of planning a meet and asked me to land up. It was getting tossed this way and that and I wasn't sure whether it would happen around these times, at least until Super Singer was over.
But somehow a date was fixed for the 27th of September and we decided to meet up at Amethyst. Along came the 26th and I was chilling out. Only to be reminded by Kathiresan uncle, a person who has been a fan but more a family member now, that the meet is for the following day and whether I was prepared. I was like "Ohmigosh", logged in to Orkut, which I hadn't done in a while and penciled the time in for 4 PM. And this I was doing late 26th night.
Hardly expected anyone to turn up when I went to Amethyst. Kathiresan uncle could not make it and the girl who had actually started this community a couple of years back, Madhumathi was away at Hyderabad. Once I landed, I saw a couple of guys at the entrance and they introduced themselves while we headed inside. Some 15 people had landed up which was super for me considering the short notice.
I was hungry so the first thing that I wanted to do was check out the Menu. And was hardly impressed. But then this is not a food review, so I shall stave off that.
We went about getting introduced. And then they put forth questions on how I got to sing for Rahman sir, Airtel Super Singer, who my favorites are, Dubbing experiences, being an RJ and there was a short singing session, before I had to take off. The Vijay TV crew was already waiting. I got a birthday card, beautiful flowers and a couple of memoirs.
Somehow it did not feel like I was meeting strangers but it was more like a High school reunion of sorts. Definitely one of the beautiful trees that will be part of my memory lane.
And thanks for turning up people!

Sometimes....

Memories are preserved thanks to photographs. A few months ago people from the New Indian Express came home for an interview. And took some 25 photographs, the most important ones so that they could use it. Mom was never one to click everything that I did, every important moment, prize winning ceremonies and stuff like that. Hence, there were a prized few. We always planned to scan and preserve in soft copy. But as they say, procrastination is something that got the better of me.
And thus the people at Indian Express took the only copies of the pictures we had because at that point in time we were hard-pressed for time to scan them. And LOST all of them.
The reporters who were supposed to be responsible for it hardly cared. Calls to the publication was of no use as well. Apparently it was lost in their time office. Someone said it had been couriered even after we told them that we would personally collect it. We tried talking over several weeks, begged them to somehow find at least few of our photographs, but to no avail. After a point they stopped taking our calls.
And now when someone came to home to shoot a small feature on Mom and I, they asked for pictures that they could use. All of which are lost now. To most, it might seem like much ado about nothing. But to me, it was a valuable possession, which I deserved to have and I no longer do for no fault of mine.
This particular moment I wish I can have those back. But I know I can't, no thanks to my sense of postponing and definitely, no thanks to a pack of irresponsible journalists who couldn't care less.

Another year

Has passed by.
A reminder of things that could have been done and the things that have transpired.
As another year passes by, I raise the bar higher on things I want to do and made up a list of things that I must do before I die.
Birthdays - to me are not about parties and celebrations. Even as a child there weren't cakes and cutting and inviting. Just the wearing "color dress" to school and going about giving chocolates.
Yesterday I happened to visit my school, The Hindu Senior Secondary, Indira Nagar, met my teachers and decided to gift them something. And so I did.
A birthday is somehow just another day to me, a mark on the bark of time, to chronicle that precious moments have passed by, The quiver of time, unfortunately is not really as inexhaustible as Arjuna's Gandiva.
So much to do so less time is the only thing that keeps ringing in my ears.
I heard Rahman anna once say that once you start earning, you can't learn. And as I grow older my thirst to learn grows. I think it must be the same with everyone. Responsibilities happen and poof goes everything.
That's when you wish the God of wealth will step in and sponsor your learning and support your family :) Wishful thinking - that is what this is. So many dreams are not chased as the pressure to start a family, support it and very well too rises. Children happen and the dreams are given a RIP.
I happened to read "Ancestors of Rama" in the Amar Chitra Katha series. I own the entire collection. Well almost. I think its a wealth that you can give yourself and the generations to come, for anyone who is Indian and who wants to know India. Actually I wonder why Anant Pai, (aka Uncle Pai) the brain behind ACK has not been given any high government award for the contribution he has made. I tried mailing him. But somehow the mails bounced.
And Ancestors of Rama, talks of Aja Raghu who once returned after a massive conquering spree and distributed all the wealth amassed . And when the last portions were over, in walked a sage, who specified a fee that needed to be given as Gurudakshina to his Guru and that amount only Kubera owned. Raghu then asked the sage to make himself comfortable at the palace, while he decided to go to war with Kubera for the wealth. Kubera, however divined his intentions and filled his coffers with the wealth he needed overnight.
So I guess for the amount of things I want to learn I would need some help from Kubera too. Or a Markandeya boon. Either one is fine :)
Here is wishing for you that may you have the gumption to step out and learn no matter how old you are, may age never be a factor; may you have a mind that is open and beautiful to accept all things new; may you get the rightful wherewithal that pay for your learning because the best things in life definitely don't come free or cheap and more than anything else, may the universe bless you to make your dreams of learning come true.
Tathaastu

The joy of finding someone long lost

Is exemplary. There was this girl mom met years ago, when she was taking classes at NIIT. A newly married beautiful Punjabi girl. And mom couldn't stop talking about her since and eventually I met her too.
As days passed the relationship between the families deepened. She was stationed in Chennai for not too long. Maybe about a couple of years. In her I found a friend, a sister, a voice of reason in addition to my mother. Got to know the lively lovely Punjabi Culture, got introduced to this thing called Worldspace, saw her through a Karva Chauth. And then at that time I thought I should only marry into a Punjabi family. Of course, she drummed sense into me the veggie, and said I am never going to find a Punjabi who doesn't love his chicken tikka. But somehow, I think I should have a previous janma connection with the culture. I adore it and love the people.
Time passed. Her husband and she moved to Jaipur. We continued to stay in touch. When we went to Delhi, we drove down to Jaipur and met up with her and the newest addition, a bonny baby boy - Dhruv. Mom was beside herself. She had a Punjabi grandson :) We discovered the marvel that is Jaipur while staying with her. I still seem to remember the zing in the air of Jaipur, the cycle-rickshaw ride, the malai lassi typical of Jaipur that cant be found anywhere else and I have a special love for the Kundan Jewellery :) Anything that is Rajasthan style jewellery.
They moved to Delhi. And somewhere then, we lost touch. In all these years, I would be reminded of her several times, the times we spent together. And also tried to find her. Tried Orkut with no luck. Remembered her old Email ID, wrote in and that bounced. Several times I willed her to get in touch with me. When I went to Delhi earlier this year I tried to see if there was a way I could find her. Futile.
And today, I log in to Facebook. My Inbox shows two unread messages. One profile with a picture, one without. And the one without spelled out her name. "This is me from the good old days.. see that you have become Big time"...
I felt this ripple of gurgling joy that I have not felt in ages... Of finding someone again. When I spoke to her, she told mom that their moment of "Aha" happened when they were watching the Star Screen Awards ceremony on TV and saw my name in the list of nominees. That I had sung Tere Bina was major for them. And that I was part of Mayya mayya too, was major-er. :)
Spoke to her for quite a while. Did a quick catch up of the years that had flown by.
And am planning to go see her soon, God willing. My nephew is 5 and a half. And I have a pretty niece who is 9 months old.
The world is a pink nice happy place.
And somehow, I dont know why I am signing off this way for the past few posts. But this is wishing for you, that you discover something that you thought you lost and that which gives you the joy that I feel right now. And that the joy within you permeates the beings around you too. So that the small world that all of us have created for us, around us, becomes a joyous place. When you smile, may it radiate from within. And may you connect with the joy that is the core of the universe.
Thathaastu.
P.S: Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Ganpati Bappa Morya..!!!