Pure innocence, a camera and some wonderful memories

They say life is a continuous cycle. It has it's twists and turns but in the end, it follows the same old pattern. Unless you are Benjamin Button, you come into this world as a cute little baby with natural bumper pads, unaware of life's cruel tactics and then you grow up to be old, matured and cynical of life's ways. You come and go in diapers. But it is the journey in between which matters. These days, in every place, I see my friends, family and co-workers putting up images of their kids, nephews and nieces on the computer, on social networking sites and their Cellphones. Needless to say, I do the same. Babies are cute.... let's not deny that. They are so cute and loveable, you would forget the crying and tantrums just looking at them. Ask the baby's parents and they will probably agree or disagree on this. But one thing is for sure, they love the kid no matter what.

My mom once said that obviously pregnancy is a harrowing experience. But once you are into labour and when you get to see your baby's face for the first time, the pain just takes nano seconds to fade away. I will never know how true that actually is, maybe it's just how mothers are built and that is when the maternal instict takes over, but it must be true. Babies have the most innocent and pure expressions. That is where probably the snaps come in. You get to take snaps of that innocence because in some years, it is going to be diluted by the harshness that comes with maturity. And these snaps will then be memories of wonderful times. The times of your life which you will explain as stories to your friends and probably bore them to death telling them about how wonderful your kid's first step was, how he cried when you didn't give him the gift he wanted, or how peaceful he looks when when he sleeps. And all these times, you will be filled with emotions!

My dad takes snaps of me and my family. He has been doing that since we were kids, filling countless photo albums in the process and a big box with those albums. And ever since my

brother got him a digital camera, every event has clicks associated with it :) There are snaps of me and my brother when I was a kid. And every time my 'Aai' (my mom) and 'Baba' ( my dad) see them, their face lights up remembering those days with the most wonderful smile possible. I think it is their way of having solid triggers for the memories.

Now, when myself and my brother are away from home, I realise how much they must be missing us. More than 20 years of looking out for the kids has now been partially replaced by waiting for them to come home in vacations. Face to face quarrels (mind you I accept that my mom and dad have always been right) have now been replaced ( Partially again... I fight with my Mom all the time) by phone calls to ask me if I am still at work at 11 PM or at home preparing to sleep. And all along what remain constant are the memories of the time spent together. Some in the form of snaps... and many more in their hearts! Thanks Aai and Baba, for all the wonderful times.

A slight drizzle, a zephyr and a hot cup of coffee.



I always like the rains.... right from my childhood, I have just loved them. Face it, when you are staying in a place like Nagpur where the summer temperature reaches 47 Degrees celcius (oh yeah... u stay just 53 degrees below water's boiling point) the rains and the arrival of the monsoon is like the dove's sighting after the biblical floods. So why the blog on rains suddenly? Now, being in Bangalore, the rainy season is not exactly a different season. And when you end up working long hours on a nice rainy day sitting inside the office and just looking helplessly as the Heavens shower the earth, your frustration is bound to grow. Fortunately, I didn't have to work on the weekend. So in the evening when it was just about to rain, I took my bike out for a drive. Driving on the road during a slight drizzle is one of the coolest experiences in life. There is the urgency of getting to your destination early, but when it has just started raining, there is the balmy zephyr hitting you as you drive, carrying the scent of the soil as the first drops of rain land on it. Something about this type of weather always makes me want to eat Roasted Corn or even Popcorn for that matter. And yes.... A cup of Hot Coffee! Imagine this.... It is raining, a cold breeze is blowing and you are sitting at leisure in your house, looking at the rains, eating hot buttered popcorn and drinking a warm cup of Coffee ever so slightly flavoued with vanilla, chocolate and hazelnut... Aah... That is bliss... That is Heaven.. Savour the taste of the popcorn and the Mild coffee as you just gaze out the window losing yourself and going into the "Ponderer's spot" that you have in your mind (I also reach that when I am in a boring lecture particularly electrical machines, doing boring work or when I am standing in front of the fountain outside my office building) .If you are an engineering grad like me, you have had this experience... For that matter, all college guys and girls have had this experience (if not, you did nothing in college) ... Imagine that you have just been drenched in the rains. God probably made Corn to be eaten in that situation. My slice of Heaven... Eating Roasted corn made by one of the hawkers in the most unhealthy way possible (using coal and/ or charcoal) on one of those days near our college gate, which had a tea stall nearby to drink the heavily sugared tea/ coffee. Can't beat that. I don't get it why people do drugs.. if it is just bliss you want, try this instead. At least it won't kill you in the process.