Tip Toe

The anxious wait.The flurry of activity everywhere.Chores to do.The list is never ending.A new entrant as tiny as your forearm,as light as 3 kgs and look at the high intensity preparations.Its more a royal reception.That pin drop silence before the low decibels resound across the corridors and the world awakes.Little does the new entrant know,what's in store for him.Hard top luggage, cars at your service,list of sweets lined up and the burst of joy.MOJO........

My neurons  are in a state of hyperactivity and the creative mind sending pulses that are hurtling down the veins , waiting to reach the point of explosion.Its kind of similar to the bottled Champagne waiting to be uncorked.The excitement and delight one would experience when rolling over those bubbles over your tongue, this is a million folds beyond.The ECG refuses to stop from setting records  of scaling Everest ,even if it meant to do so a million times.The surge and drops measured are driving the B P apparatus crazy ,making it forget the formulaes it so easily identifies at normal times.

Trying to tell yourself "CHILL BUDDY ", you find yourself in a reverse situation of a fried ice cream.That brave look,the most enthusiastic smile on your face and the clock ticking by slowly and steadily ,reminding you that come what may, I will not change my pace.

The train of emotions chugging along at this moment in unexplainable.Trying to figure out ,is that the first time ? No .Then why?Ageing perhaps mellows you down ,but internally, you are no better than a bowl of jelly waiting to get out and spring a surprise.The moments lived 3 and a half years ago liven up ,and you start getting yourself back to those times and hoping you still would have a sound sleep ,peaceful rest just when you touch the bundle of joy that has tiptoed into your life.Once again the new pages  of my salt and pepper covered book called AABO 2.0 is about to get released. Is it 5G?

Head down

The long patient wait of 9 months, the hormonal changes, the emotions doing a roller coaster,the doctors setting up milestones all the way and then the grand finale for the new life to emerge on the face of this earth comes.

The final push, the intense tears of happiness, the routine agenda for the professional doctors and staff , the anxious family members all holding hands and assuring everyone stating "All is well".This is non verbally and verbally , inspite of not being a fortune teller or probably inspired by the prophecies of Nostradamus. The excitement around the ward , the anxious moments ticking away on your watch which is competing with the wall clock in the corridor.The seating area, with people trying to put on their best smile of assurance and waiting to probably hear the first cry.

Then comes the bundle of joy , wrapped in a soft comfy towel, experiencing the shocks of entering the real world from the cosy and safest place on earth , the mother's womb.The father to be , the silver haired and bald Granddads and Moms, the Aunts and Uncles scrambling to get a quick glimpse and each one wanting to be the first to cradle it .Some with the sheer fear of handling such a delicate bundle, having lost touch to grapple with such delicate situations after having faced the roller coaster of real  life.Numerous question marks, boy or a girl, fair or not,tall or short , how many pounds and of course the million dollar question.....Who does the baby resemble???????The world around you just stalls.The time stops.The excitement catapults you to seventh heaven and you walk on cloud nine.The main star of the moment "THE MOM" is sort of given second priority that instant and then it dawns on everyone almost that , how's she doing?

What a relief and a mind blowing experience it must be? What a great sacrifice and resilience held by every Mom to be.Out of this world experience I guess, which we men cannot imagine.The soothing comfort of experiencing the tiny pink face, small feet, peaceful closed eyes, that flutter trying to gauge and see who was that who held me all these months.The mini fingers , in the pink of health, the adjustments being done to align and straighten up in the tightly wrapped blanket ,must be a big ordeal for the new entrant to this fast paced world.

The flurry of activity that follows, sets the social networking world ablaze and the phones don't stop ringing .The SMS gateways gets chock-o-block with messages announcing  the arrival of the  bundle of joy.On one hand we align to the new rules of the game of high sanitation, high sensitisation, soft speech, limited access, giving space to the parents of the new born to live their personal moment of JOY.How exciting?

All this and more , with the time clock ticking , and events and emotions to unfold , starts the beginning of a new chapter called "LIFE"

Mantra of 70's

We work through our lives , to make our lives.We earn, spend and go through the rock and roll at various stages of our lives.Somewhere during the professional careers you get the KRS'S and KPI'S, with terms like objectives, goals, vision and mission etc. We live through that , get appraised and  look forward year on year improving our living standards.

In the whole process do we really plan out our personal lives? We work to a shifting goal post and really don't have an end in sight.Life being so unpredictable , one keeps doing some financial planning, health at some point of time and try to probably achieve that so called " WORK LIFE BALANCE".Coming across various situations in my own life, set me thinking if I could possibly set a goal and work backwards , where in I can hypothetically set a goal for my self and start living life to the utmost , every day, every moment with a set time clock that ticks backwards.

I set up a chart with a goal of reaching 70 years .The objective being, not to be a burden on my kids and loved ones, seeing and understanding your own health equations looking at the world today and the deterioration people are set to make out of it.The other part is while you can physically take up challenges ,do those now and keep the mental abilities , if fate allows , for later.Temporary amnesia, selective amnesia may follow , but would help achieve the milestones you set for your self.Many would argue as to why so low a target or otherwise.It's purely up to an individual to set it and could vary .The main purpose being, are we having a plan and working towards it? If you do , you will realise there is a purpose to live in life and you can actually enjoy those milestones.It gives you the space , time and money to get those.The sense of achievement , that you accomplished something that you set out for is also there.

This way you could see the world , in time , before your legs revolt.You could complete your adventure trips before your lungs puff out.Eat and enjoy the sizzling brownies and ice creams before you become to sweet a person , carrying a sugar factory with you.Spend quality time with your loved ones, which i consider to be invaluable and precious.These moments don't come back and its therefore important to live by the moment.The elders at home would love to understand your situations in life and how you tackle them , provided you could spend time with them as well.You could plan a little better for them , and give back atleast something for the years they spend on bringing you up.Live the child's life and babble around with your little one , and don't see them grow horizontally at the rate at which you travel.Living out of a suitcase is not life.

Keep a tracker, look back and then blog ......live those memories again.Revisit them, share them and feel blessed.

Changing equations

Just came back from a long deserved vacation, starting from no other place but the UK, who ruled us for 150 years.Times changed, and the scene changes.It's such a fascinating experience, to see the Asians dominate and control every corner shop, become the mayor or hold high positions in the political and industrial circuit.

The rich and the famous, along with the undisciplined and reckless travellers to this part of the world, rushing to Harrods, occupying majority square inch of the exclusive venue and shopping for brands like Prado, Gucci, Rado and the likes ,just shows who is calling the shots.

We have a diaspora that has the Etiquette  and the ones that are light years from that , yet living in harmony rubbing shoulders and relishing the Asian cuisines .We term it as snob value etc.but money talks, and that what prevails, at least for a brief period of time. With Brexit, it's gonna get worse.The racy London seems to have lost its charm and seems to be deteriorating, than the one seen a few years before.life moves on, people running underground, I mean the metros, money on their mind ,promoting the Chelsea Stadia and pushing souvenirs, the run of the mill London Eye view aka Hong Kong , and Singapore,and the area looking more like China town with Chinki eyes and Pounds  spent on the materialistic pleasures that is making this country susceptible to  foreign invaders economically and politically.The political debate, lack of a strong hand driving it, desperation to enter into JV agreements with China even in unexplored, areas of nuclear power plants just to stay afloat is a marked drift and change .The fight for supremacy in the race to outbid each other is creating pressure on the entire system and pushing it to the brink.

Moving over or under the English channel to Paris sent out a more vibrant signal but increased security,and the pleasure of having a peaceful holiday is missing.Is it the hostage crisis, the influx of immigrants, the racial hate campaigns which were subdued and are fast emerging? Are they sign of survival of the fittest , or just plain stress built up trying to resolve the complex maze, of issues created to a sagging economy.

Is the EU loosing its sheen? Is UK on the verge of a survival path, using ventilators to keep breathing. The fallout of Greece, Spain, Italy and many others close on heels is not an encouraging sign.The axis will tilt in favour of the dragon , which in turn is going to gobble up the rights of all human beings and will lead to breathing fire down the neck and loosing democratic values nurtured for centuries.

Every country is trying to find a foot hold in their own space, and if successful, will try to shift the focus and weight elsewhere. In this game plan , if the mathematics is not known and understood,its doomsday.If  the game of chess is played real SMART one never knows what is going to happen next.If we see the trends in the middle east, we need not plan voyages to mars and moon as there will be enough and more craters on earth to explore than waste money going  to the Moon , in a sagging economy !!

Transit Zone

What a Sunday I have been through.It took me through all the stages of life ,almost.

Planned a visit to see one of my aunts, aged 90, in Mumbai  .It was after a long time I actually saw her in person, apart from a few exchanges on phone. As a part of the daily routine , we are so immersed in our work and other scheduled and unscheduled work , apart from the social media engagements one has with no protocol, leading us into mundane corridors of life.Little do we realise the value of people who struggled for us, expressed concern and gave unconditional love .They are a few miles away, and we have to struggle to meet up with them.They are at an age where movements become restricted and a place like Mumbai and in the rains , its almost solitary confinement.

What amazed me was the spirit.She was glowing at that age, happy and a smile that flashed across he wrinkled face , silver and white hair that made me feel ashamed of myself, and the candid confession of honestly having missed me and my family.It had no strings attached.The daily routine of meditation , a small closet next to her that she expressed was her assets , and just the touch and blessings made you feel so good. I was wondering, if at all , we could reach that age would we have that outlook, that health and cheer that reflected in every inch of her spirit.

Moving from there came to meet my grandson, aged 3.5 years , which was a surprise call for him.This was when he ,least expected us to be there , and thereafter it was a riot.The little  hands that he uses to cup your face, the fond kisses he sets up on your face, even on the receding headline , and the acrobatics he does , using you as a prop , rejuvenates you much more than an expensive spa treatment .The sheer delight on his face, the eagerness to download so many moments in his life to us in that short span, excited about his schooling experiences,the toy cars which he breathes daily, and of course just wanting your total undivided attention for him leaving aside everything else. Genuine , true, selfless, love  I would say. It makes it so difficult to part , that he is aware you will return back ,and he doesn't want to leave you.Makes it more difficult for his parents as well.Telling him the truth, however , makes it easier for all , though difficult to put across.

Moving on in this transit of 24 hours ,coming over back home at Pune , and moving to see your aged in-Laws, recuperating and fighting their age , unable to express what they want and yet probably going through a huge battle inside,which has restricted them totally .Being dependent on us and immobile, must be a torture.Quantum of food intake, the type of food , the medications to make them comfortable and the inability to tackle the phones and lack of hearing that makes you feel flustered.We tackle a lot of challenges in the youth and growing years, but the strength and agility is on our side.These challenges in the later years , where we fight with low physical strength and maximum mental health is miles different. If that mental health is failing us then ...........it's a real test of fate.

Shifting horizons from morning to evening, some delightful and others kind of helpless situation , which seems a bit beyond our control.Meta physical strength, divine intervention , is what takes you  through, when every measurable , physically and mentally doable option fails .

Life is made of pages that exist in this universe, where each one of us comes in to script a screenplay and enact our roles, to make it a blockbuster or a flop.Be it the first half or second half the movie has to run full length, 70mm. stereophonic , Dolby sound et al. This will be eternal and nobody is responsible for the story you write and live by.

Breach

Watching the lives of people nowadays ,be it happily married families or the new entrants to the institution called marriage,just throws up many questions.Are marriages really made in heaven?

The fragile society,the ambitions and competition to outdo each other,be it husband or wife, and the sheer peer pressures to show the world you have arrived ,is breaching the very foundation of the institution.The process of seeing each other,or just plain love at first sight all seem to end up with such challenges that very few scrape through that unhurt.Emotional drain, financial fiasco,and the physical abuse that these people go through at early ages or later lead to disastrous consequences.Their hopes of building up a good life get dashed.Some decide to forge ahead and prove a point to the world,others crumble under the societal pressure .The outcome of this leads to broken marriages, just going through the motions to show the world all is well,or a make belief facade is created to pull yourself through it.The mundane environment and stressed minds of working couples and the sheer hopelessness emerging out of dashed dreams,is a dangerous sign.

The rise in the one night stands,extra marital affairs,and lifestyles that are leading to smoke , drink and make merry.The kids, if any are going to see all this and more and loose hope in the very idea of getting married.All of them seem to be wanting to test the waters, before taking the dive.Later the better ,but when ,is the million dollar question?

They would only possibly understand the gravity of the situation or the need for a companion or partner at the later stages in life ,especially post 50.When medically ,physically and a sense of comfort of having the loved ones around is amiss.What  will this Gen X or Gen Z do then?

The rates of divorces and a simple phrase that "we don't get along "happens so soon ,that the impatience prevails and leads to the break up within the first years if not months.Are we so indecisive and immature ?Do these people really know what they want?Is it the material aspect that has blinded them?The fast cars, fast partners, the pseudo mooah,mooah, and quickie culture is unsettling many of us it seems.

We have little or no respect for culture , for senior citizens and are so blinded by what's taking place around us that this seems to be heading to an apocalypse now.

War zones ,destructive mind sets, sadistic political outfits, ambitions on the rise for sheer survival.
The cross cultures and their rub off ,especially quicker ,with the evil side ,is on the rise.   We need better and quicker counselling, more quality times spent with our loved ones and make them realise the value of human beings and the roles they play in this screenplay called life , which is the biggest blockbuster ever.Don't mess up the once in a lifetime opportunity one has been given.Moreover you have no right to mess up some one else's life as well.