This Blog has migrated to https://natashamusing.com

 Hola! Friends in blogosphere!

I just realised so many of you have been popping in here. I moved to NatashaMusing with Wordpress over 4 years back.

Here's the link. I apologise to those of you who stopped by, and I missed all the comments, as I don't come by here anymore. Thank you for your kind words. 

Kindly visit me here from now on:

https://natashamusing.com

And you discovered

Imagine you are undertaking a meandering journey to the mountains where you were going on vacation; all excited, hopeful and with that sparkle of anticipation in your eyes. From the busyness and monotony of life in the plains, you take a long ride to the mountains. As your MPV starts making that climb uphill, you literally clutch your heart in excitement, in prescience (apparently) of what the climb ahead holds. Life will be peaking in the mountains, the next 5 days you holiday there. So you believe!

But little do you know that there’s more to it than meets the eye. You realise you have booked yourself in a non-secenic place, in the middle of the market. You didn’t leave the plains to land yourself in yet another crowded place, did you? You have a very kind, helpful childhood friend who generously helps book you in her family resort which is gorgeous yes, but the food their doesn’t suit your teenager’s tummy.

Then, there is not much to do in this sleepy, little township. You are happy with the nothingness, but the family wants some adventure, some good food-to assuage the stomach bug, some places to explore and some more.

So a peak will not always translate to a peak. So a holiday in the mountains won’t always spell happiness. It boils down to being content with what you have, where you are and how you make the most of the situations or circumstances you are thrown into.

You return to you hearth in the plains. A flurry of activities over powers your being. It’s time to spring clean, move the woollies inside, donate the old clothes and tidy up the cupboards with summer clothes. It’s suddenly a lot of work after having put your feet up and doing nothing for a few days. The vacation is over (did it really start?) and reality has bitten you!

You speak to some wise friends and family. They dispense some nuggets of wisdom.

Your friend says it’s pertinent to find the work and play balance every day. It’s different when you are on vacation. It’s all play, then. I translate this in my head as  “When in the plains; keep a mind that is plain, simple and balanced. Focus on things and work that needs to be done, irrespective of the various voyeuristic pleasures (a bit of an exaggeration here), the city life will offer.

The family member tells you, “Derive satisfaction from within. Do things that will nurture you as a person. Also do things that will nurture you as a family unit.” Quite bang on indeed. These days more and more of us are looking out at external sources to give us happiness. Be it friends, parties, dining out, the Internet, the mall visits or holidays and so on so forth. We are forgetting about the simple pleasures that can be derived from life. A steaming cuppa coffee on the terrace, a walk in the park, watching movies on the dvd on a lazy weekend, reading a gratifying book, having a soulful conversation, gardening, listening to music - all this can uplift one beyond imagination.

You don’t need to get away; you need to find your inner peace right here; right within yourself. So be it!

My Women Wonder

I have these two friends pretty
Riti & Aditi
They are my sunshine
They ensure I don't whine
Even if I'm not enjoying that glass of wine

When we are together
I can never feel under the weather
Even if I'm off the tether

We crack at the silliest of jokes
And for any ordinary folks
We would appear as three demented blokes

Those endless conversations over cups of coffee
Give me so much of joy and glee
And together we shall ever be....

Track worthy

Stinking bathrooms,

Defecated tracks

Scurrying rats

Peanut shells

Crammed compartments

Tardiness personified

Ferrying a million

every day.

I've come to realize...

I've come to realize that my hair: is slowly turning wavy

I've come to realize that when I talk: I can't stop

I've come to realize that, when I love someone: they could love me back even more

I've come to realize that I need: to start writing more often

I've come to realize that I've lost: nothing worth losing

I've come to realize that I hate it when: people lie

I've come to realize that money: comes to those who invite it over

I've come to realize that people: are basically good

I've come to realize that I love spending my time with: friends, family, Facebook, flora & fauna

I've come to realize that the last time I cried I was: mourning my hamster Wanda

I've come to realize that my cell phone is: the coolest gadget I've ever owned

I've come to realize that my friends are: my lifeline

I've come to realize that before I go to sleep at night:I kiss Alkins goodnight

I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about: what a wonderful life this is

I've come to realize that I worry about ________ less than I should: Arusha

I've come to realize that tonight I will: hobnob with FB, read The Sunset Club, and turn in with thoughts of gratitude.

I've come to realize that I'll never be: nasty to anyone, ever

2010: Gratitude & Gratification and how!

It's been three and a half long winding years since "my" tide turned it's swashbuckling face towards this blog.

I am back after a pregnant silence, ready to explode with all my might. So beware!

My blog has a brand new look, which I so adore; so the option of switching to Word Press is out.

It's been a mighty interesting 2010 with it's myriad nuances. New friendship bonds here, precarious tear drops there, a heady work experience in the rural alleys of Bihar, family ties that bloomed in all there bounty.

A truly experiential 365 day journey and a brush with life's little nuggets of gold.

The year started of on a painful note-very exacting to the pain I mention here, in the true physical sense of being. As we bade 2009 adieu, I suffered a shoulder injury, and the traces of the pain stuck to my shoulder like super glue right upto the first quarter of the year. Refusing to part from me, it's unwelcome company. Innumerable rounds at the physiotherapist was anything but helping.

My favourite quote when I was a kid used to be: "Every cloud has a silver lining" and so the glistening silver lining chose to glean into my life at the right time. It was at this time that my good friend, Seema from UNICEF who had worked with me in the development sector offered me an assignment to cover the Total Sanitation campaign drive in rural Bihar. I was to travel with the Public Health & Education Development Minister who was physically helping construct toilets and creating an awareness about health and sanitation. Ironical, that even after 50 years of Independece people still don't have the basic right to health and cleanliness. It was a truly enriching and heart rending experience. The link to my story goes like this:http://www.unicef.org/india/wes_6128.htm

It was this first, chunky work project after almost over a year and a half that hurled a fresh lease of life to my sagging spirits, related to work opportunities. I traveled the rural alleys of Bihar sporting a spondylosis collar and managed pretty well. I had taken a long sabbatical from work after we moved to the Philippines and Singapore. Maybe a tiny project here a tiny project there, is all I had done since 2006. This project with UNICEF gave those pain ridden shoulders a fresh lease of life to soar upon, and the tide turning in my favour. In the very language of Louise L Hay and her reasoning towards psychosomatic causes of illness, she points out that any shoulder related ailment stems from the fact that one doesn't feel supported by life. And so it was for me, and soon enough I noticed a whole new horizon of hope open out to me: within and in the world outside of me. It was this project, and the indomitable spirit of love and support that Alok put forth on me; allowed me to heal physically and emotionally and pop my champagne bottle open. This apart, I tried a few spiritual healing techniques, which were just a temporary balm. As the shoulder pain did reappear time and again.

It was then that I also enrolled into a Yoga class and my body started slowly but surely opening up and began to sync in with the gradual process of healing. In the days I didn't have the Yoga class I would work out in the gym and that is where Micki, a friend from the condo I live in, introduced me to two wonderful people, Aditi and Rashmi. It is with these two women that I was to form a beautiful bond of friendship. Especially with Aditi who was similar to me in more ways than one.

In the interim UNICEF offered me another project, this time a mammoth one. The work entailed writing 15 health panels in Hindi. I began the project with a full throttle of confidence, but somewhere in between stumbled giving up hope of writing in Hindi. But there were people around me, Seema & Geeta Maheshawri included who helped revive my faith in myself and boost my depleting confidence. And I was back with a bang, seeing the project to completion and bringing in my Birthday month at the same time.

August sure had it's adrenaline rush.

Family and relatives, SILs included, threw in a surprise birthday bash for me, and that was

really, really touching, to say the least.

Thereafter Alok and I took off for our weekend getaway (minus the kids) to Tarudhan valley, a breathtaking locale nestled by a hillock in Haryana. It was my bright idea (ahem!). I managed the bookings too, courtesy, dear friend Pulak Chakraborty. The open arms in the picture are a true reflection of how I was opening up my spirit to abundance flowing into our lives.

September proved to be more promising than ever. Alok booked us for a holiday to Cassa Susegard (Home for Relaxation in Portugese) in Goa. We spent 5 gorgeous days relaxing in the lovely locales of Salcette village and beach combing innumerable monsoon drenched beaches of Goa. Norman and Carole were the best host anybody could ask for. Carole's culinary delights made the holiday oh so lip smacking and added those extra kilos to Alok's and mine, already ballooning frames!

October proved to be another promising vacation in the land of Nawabs, Lucknow. 10 days spent in the company of Goddess Durga, parents, bro, the boys and SIL warmed the cockles of my heart in more ways than one.

November struck like lightning: both the maids decided to take off for a month long vacation. Thankfully one returned in 15 days and the other has since then been absconding. But I managed to get someone to fill in her for her, and as of now things seem to be in control. Cross my fings and toes, for that one!

A noteworthy addition to this year has been my initiation into hard beverages. And it would be a shame if I didn't give out the credits to Ritika and Aditi. On one such plan Ritika and I were making, Ritika suggested, we should go try the Long Island Ice Tea at TGIF, and I looked at her flabbergasted and retorted, "Why go to TGIF to have Ice Tea?!" Such was my knowledge of alcoholic beverages, until, but recently!

November was also a month of innovations. Alok & I chose to go on a diet and opted for the famous Shikha Sharma diet. By the time the month wrapped up I had lost about 5-1/2 kilos and Alok some 8 kilos.

We also ushered in Diwali with a round of Teen patti, gambling with Ritika and Himanshu. Was great fun. Again a first for me, being initiated into the game of cards. This was followed by a pre Diwali evening spent gambling with SILs and mom-in law as well.

December was a month of celebrations galore. Ma & Dad visting from Lucknow. Our first brush with the winter chill was at Uncle Jalali's, daughter's wedding.

Aditi and I spent a lot of time bonding and sipping innumerable mugs of coffee. We even went shopping for boots just before New Years eve. We wanted to look boot-licious you see! Our Christmas tree was up around the second week of December. So the girls-Rash and Aditi suggested we have an X'mas party at our place. The cake, pasta and wine made it a memorable evening, as did the giggles and squeals of laughter from the kids when the opened three different presents.

Arusha also did a fabulous job of creating a wonderful gallery walk, for the Bikaner trip they had from her school. Mighty impressed by all the hard working and writing she put in along with her friends, to showcase the trip and it's myriad nuances.

December also brought in a job offer from VHAI-Voluntary Health Association of India, as a Consultant Editor. With it's flexi, two times a week, half a day timings; this was an offer I couldn't resist. I grabbed it hands on, and was assigned the prestigious assignment of working for a HIV/AIDS publication with imminent people from the field.

2010 has been a year to be so grateful for. New learnings, new beginnings, new horizons-all clamored into one little space. That's what made it not just worthwhile, but something to write home about.

An Afterword of Sorts...

Or is it a preface, to yet another beginning.
You see the muse is back, or so I shall assume. :o))
Thanks to Alok for gifting me a Compaq Presario, makes it so much more easier I guess.
So on that note, I'll start by doing an afterword to my entry dated March 2006 :

My Wishlist of March 2006
1. Go parasailing, snorkeling and river rafting
2. Write religiously, unfailingly everyday
3. Lie back on a hammock by the beach and read, read and read
4. Live by the sea/ocean
5. Contribute towards making a little more difference in the lives of the unprivileged
6. Keep a pet turtle, a robin, a squirrel and a cocker spaniel
7. Spend more time with nature-watching penguins waddle and woodpeckers at work
8. Last but never the least, spend quality time with my lovely family-Alok & Arusha

So here we go:
1. Go parasailing, snorkeling and river rafting

###Hmmmm...I didn't go parasailing, I didn't go river rafting either, but yes! I did go Snorkelling and Scuba Diving. And Scuba sure walks away with the laurels.

Spent a cosy New Year with Alok and Arusha at Aniloy, in Batangas, Philippines and we wraped the year 2006 with a dive and welcomed in 2007 with another. Sheer bliss!!
People, you have to experience a dive to believe how awe-inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful it is as you plunge into the gorgeous depths of the deep, dark yet so very divine sea. Who wants to go to heaven, when god already gifted us a readymade one, right here on Mother Earth!

It all actually started with a Snorkelling experience at the Bohol islands, our wondorous Haloween getaway. Alok and I went snorkelling thrice at Bohol, and still craved for more of the sea, and it's calming effects and most importantly it's amazingly wonderful creatures. That is yet another anecdote that needs extensive elaboration-in yet another post!
Then Aniloy happened; as we were winding up the year, thanks to Arnel, better known as AA; our travel agent friend who sent us to Bohol. Even little Arusha all of 8 plunged into a 15 feet dive! Alok and I were taken by the deft dive master for a 30 feet dive, the first time on, and then the New Year propelled us 45 feet down under. The most incredible experience during my dive was, when the puffer fish blew up at me into a big balloon, as I tried mollycoddling it to become my friend. Fortunately, the Jelly fish spared Alok this time on, except for one odd sting. (He had managed to get stung by many at Bohol you see!). They seem to stay away from me-maybe they like me a tad more. But Alok was amazing on his first dive. The dive master didn't have to guide him through-he dived mostly on his own, very much like the snorkel at Bohol; where I thought he had mastered the sea in his own ways.

If you are thinking of "Finding Nemo" make sure you go for a dive. The clown fish, or Nemo, the name we know the species by; is all over the place savagely protecting the Sea Anemone-one incredible symbiotic relationship. The clown fish lives in the mesh of the anemone.

My next dive was without Alok, as much as I wish he was there. He would have savoured this experience, just the way I did. This part of Aniloy was more picturesque than the earlier one. The reef homes a plethora of sea creatures. Rachelle a friend and an ace diver took Arusha and me there. What an incredible experience that was! Words wouldn't suffice to describe the beauty I was beholding, in the deep realms of the gigantic sea. There were shoals and shoals of fishes around us-maybe 100s of different varieties per shoal. These eclectic beauties would put the prettiest woman on earth to shame. The grace with which they navigate the sea and twirl around as a team is worth mentioning here. I couldn't help but notice their team spirit. Completely applaudable.
Yet another worthwhile experience during the dive was, feeding them. They all trouped and clamoured to catch the biggest bite, some straight out of my fingers. At one given point of time I thought they'd cover me into their warm envelop, like a fish jacket of some kind. If there was one!
Later as I traversed further I played tease to one pretty sleek thing, trying to finger and play a frivolous game of sorts and she or was it a he; almost threatened to bite my finger off in digust. Her big black eyes still haunt me! My third dive lasted over 45 minutes to an hour, by then I was beginning to even shiver in my wet suit (the dive suit, as it is called). But one part of me was thirsting for more. But since rules are rules and an intro dive only lasts 30 minutes, but thanks to Rachelle we got away with a longer duration; I had no other choice but to relent and come back to shore, to a sumptious Filippino cuisine.

2. Write religiously, unfailingly everyday
## No prizes for guessing I didn't stick to that one! But hope is the beginning and so is the muse. Will continue to give this wishlist my best shot.

3. Lie back on a hammock by the beach and read, read and read
## Haven't been lying on that hammock by the beach and reading, but have spent some very treasured moments by the beach, so what if I was just making sand castles, instead of reading.
But I did manage to get back to my reading in 2007, though minus the hammock! Have read some of the most incredible books- both Khaled Hosseni's gems-Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns, Sydney Poiter's -Spiritual Autobiography, Suketu Mehta's- Maximum City and many, many more.

4. Live by the sea/ocean
## We don't yet own that tiny little cottage by the sea, but we live in a place which is actually close to being our “tip of the iceberg”. We live on an 8th floor apartment that overlooks a tiny patch of sea, a n eagle's eye view; closeted between the TNT office and a management institute. The Singapore nights usher in a breathtaking view of the glimmering lights from the ships docked by the shore, recreating a Diwali of some sorts.. And the sea breeze spares no single moment in ruffling our senses and filling our home with it's crispy fragrance and sending our windchimes into a rather tinkling Sea Salsa, of some genre.

5. Contribute towards making a little more difference in the lives of the unprivileged-
## Partly achieved, so I would like to believe; from the 52 episodes of Radio Programmes I worked on in my prior job, and which are being aired on AIR and have recieved a very heart warming response from it's audience and are slated for a repeat telecast. These programmes are designed to drive home the importance of Health messages to the rural audience of UP, the Northern state of India. But, very much like Mr Frost... I have miles to go before I sleep, and would like to keep the efforts ongoing, unfailingly.

6. Keep a pet turtle, a robin, a squirrel and a cocker spaniel
## Yes we had two very lovely turtles- Bertie and Turtie, back in Manila. But had to give them away, given the emargo constraints. Now they live happily in a tank at our Scuba friend, Rachelle's place in Manila. A robin looks unlikely and so does a squirrel now, but yes a doggie might happen someday- though I am not sure if it will be a cocker spaniel, as I've taken a prediliction for other breeds like Pug, Shiatsu etc. Someday!! Hmmmmmmm...:o)

7. Spend more time with nature-watching penguins waddle and woodpeckers at work-
## We managed to do parts of that on our holidays to Bohol and Aniloy, in Philippines, and quite recently at the Singapore zoo; which really is remarkable. Just that have to figure out more ways to catch the Penguins waddling or doing a Happy Feet jig!!

8. Last but never the least, spend quality time with my lovely family-Alok & Arusha-
## Yes, three of us have been doing lots of that since we again got back together after our transit in May'07, and prior to that while in Manila, and yes, there's more to come. And me thinks, the time and moments spent with family are one of the most gratifying experiences life has to offer.

Life really is beautiful. And I am greatful to the guy up there, who is very generous. It warms the cockles of my heart to say that I managed to fulfill a major chunk of my 2006 wishlist, if not all of it. Thank you dear God Almighty!

Someone rightly said, “You just have to believe and you can.” And kudos to the Addidas sign off that proudly proclaims “Impossible is nothing”.
You bet!!
So I continue to dream...