CRY CRY

Whenever I listen to this song cry cry itna cry karte hain kaiko from the movie Jhoota Hi Sahi, wonder why do we cry? Is crying good or bad?

When we see our loved ones crying, it makes us feel sad. Reason...we know they are in pain and we don't want them to go through that pain. When our kids cry, we get really upset and when they cry for no reason, we scream, yell and get really frustrated. We always want them to be happy.

So... is CRYING really a bad thing? There are times when CRYING is considered to be good...

- When baby is born, everyone want the baby to cry. Does that mean we are not happy to see the baby happy? Nope.... it's an indication of LIFE. If the baby doesn't cry, nurses and doctors pat or swing the baby upside down to make him/her cry. So CRYING is a sign of LIFE for new born baby.

- A mother cries in pain while delivering the baby and again cries in happiness when she holds her baby for the first time after birth. CRYING here is very natural.

- A new born baby cries when hungry, it is an indication for the tired and restless mommy to feed the baby. CRYING here is a survival technique bestowed by God.

- People cry when loved ones die. If not, it is an indication of mental SHOCK. People even hire professionals to make everyone cry... funeral wailing in Rudali movie.

- Tears are good to clean and lubricate the eyes. CRYING is good here too….but to certain limit ;-).

Didn't know there are different types of tears until I read this article: http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/CryinLaughing.htm. Very interesting....

"....First of all, there are really three different types of tears. Basal tears keep our eyes lubricated constantly. Reflex tears are produced when our eyes get irritated, like with onions or when something gets into our eyes. The third kind of tear is produced when the body reacts emotionally to something. Each type of tear contains different amounts of chemical proteins and hormones..."

- Last, but not the least, CRYING is a way to unleash your inner pain and relieve the pressure of strong emotions, especially when you miss your dear ones.

And here are some health benefits of crying: http://www.helium.com/items/339767-possible-health-benefits-of-crying

OK. Enough of CRYING now. Be HAPPY and when the time comes, do shed some tears.

For now, enjoy the song on YouTube..... rote kai ko hum.. hain...rote kai ko hum.... even though it is a song on CRY, absolutely no CRY on their faces. It should have been smile smile itna smile.... karte kaiko hum....haste kai ko hum. Anyways, love this song :-).

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Saturday, November 13, 2010

Updating the post with Bisakh Jyoti's song... Chitti na Koyi Sandesh

Happy Dussehra

It's very interesting to see how this festival is celebrated in different parts of India in different ways. But ultimately it is the festival of joy :-).

When I was a kid, we used to do Puja at home and then in the evening, used to visit Jammi chettu (Shami tree) with parents. It is said that, before going into exile, Pandavas hid their weapons on Shami tree. After exile, they recovered their weapons on Dashami and declared their true identities and defeated Kauravas. As the weapons were safe on the tree, they expressed their gratitude by doing Puja to Jammi tree and so is the custom to do Jammi puja on Dashami. It is accompanied by exchange of Shami leaves with relatives and friends

I still remember how we used to collect Shami leaves one week before the festival, and then sort out list of people to do Pranaam on Vijaya Dashami. The ultimate goal… when we do Pranaam, we get money … and with that money, we could buy extra Diwali crackers. As we grew older, we restricted Pranaams to parents and dear ones. And instead of wasting money on crackers, we bought plants for the home. Our views changed over time.

Being a Bengali Bou, Durga puja celebration has totally different flavor in my life. Few years back, I visited my in-laws in West Bengal during Navaratri. For me, everything was new….watching Durga Maa idol making, Durga Puja pandals, Kola Bou, Bodhan, Pushpanjali, Bhog and Sindhoor Khela…wow…so many things to enjoy during the last 5 days of Navaratri. And of course, I love watching Dhunuchi naach on Durga Asthami. More than that, if you have enough money, you get to wear new clothes on all 5 days… no food preparation at home…. just get ready, go out to Pandals, chat with friends and look for beautiful girls etc...

If you want to know more on the Bengali way of celebration, visit http://www.netglimse.com/holidays/durga_puja/time_and_way_of_celebrations.shtml

Now in Pune, we enjoyed Navaratri with Dandiya and Garba dance. Visited Durga Pandal organized by Bengalis in Koregaon Park. I captured Aarti and Dhunuchi nritya and uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy....

Durga puja - Aarti - Part 1

Durga puja - Aarti - Part 2

Dhunuchi naach

And if you don't have time to watch video, here are some pictures:

Enjoyed watching Dhunuchi nritya performed by ladies to the beats of Dhak (drums).

Had good food. Kids really enjoyed dining out.

Had fun watching Bengali Drama. I couldn't stop laughing for the dialogue "Ginni, tumi amaake beshi gyan diyo na". If my husband is reading this, I'm sure there is a big smile on his face :-).

And a tour to the art exhibition....

To all my friends reading this blog, I wish you and your family a very HAPPY DUSSEHRA. May this festival bring prosperity, joy and peace in your life.

Is there a 911 service in India?

There are so many things I like here in India… but truly missing 911 service. Not sure if there is anything like that in India.

For the last three weeks, interior work is going on in one of the flat in our building. It’s good that they are getting their work done quickly, but at the cost of others sleep. I’ve been requesting them to stop the work during nap time. Also filed a written complaint with the Society manager, but no luck.

They agree to stop the work, but the moment we are out of sight, they’ll start again. Even society manager got fed up. Yesterday, I got owner’s contact number from the Society office, called her up, and explained to stop the work at least for one hour in the afternoon. As per society rules, there shouldn’t be any noise between 1pm and 4pm. She knows the rules and told the same to the labors.

Funny thing is, they stop the work as long as she is there, but once she leaves the flat, they are back to banging. They don’t have any common sense, all they want is to finish their work quickly and go home. And the sound is so horrible, it’s like hitting on your head with a big hammer.

Today I really got so frustrated, took my camcorder, went to the flat, recorded the worker’s faces and gave them strict warning that I’ll give police complaint if they don’t stop it in another two days. Didn’t realize that I can even shout so loud. Few days back, when my maid took off without informing, I was a bit angry on her. But she told with a smile ‘ Didi, aap gaali dene se bhi, gaali jaisa nahi lagtha hai’. Hmm.… not sure if I should take that as a compliment. Seriously learning to raise my voice now.

To my surprise, when the landlord came to discuss this in front of the labors, all the 15 workers said that they didn’t make any sound. For GOD sake, I don’t understand how they can lie so confidently. Anyways, Chitragupta is noting it down ;-).

I want to avoid filing an FIR, but if they continue it any further, I don’t have any other choice. Never faced these problems in US. Just a call to 911 used to take care of things… with no one knowing who complained. Truly missing 911.

WUNS A PO NU TIME…

You might be wondering, what language is this? Don’t worry..… it is English and the first story written by my younger daughter Pari.

Last week, her teachers sent home her class book for review by parents. She was very eager to show the stories she wrote. She opened the book and told me to read. First of all, I didn’t get what she wrote…. then realized that I should read with her mind… which is equipped with only letter sounds, short vowel and a bit of long vowel rules… and of course some sight words. If you are parents to school going kids or familiar with phonetic rules, you know what I’m talking.

So ready to read the story?

Wuns a ponu time there was a prite gril but a wich want to cil har so she sent a hunter and he went so he so the gril but the gril was were cind so the hunter put his gun down and then he told to the prinsis so the hun tuer tolde to the wich that I cood int finde the prinsis the end.

Trust me, even I had hard time reading the story. But Pari read it so fast.... I was just looking at her face in amazement. Liked the way she told “ THE END”.

One word that really made me laugh is GRIL (GRILL ;-)). But when I read with her mind, she is absolutely right. She knows that there is R in GIRL and it is silent, but she doesn’t know where to place it... all she knows is GIRL is pronounced as GIL.

OK… here is the story translation:

Once upon a time, there was a pretty girl, but a witch wanted to kill her. So she sent a hunter and he went. So he saw the girl, but the girl was very kind. So the hunter put his gun down and then he told the (same) to princess. The hunter told the witch that I couldn’t find the princess. THE END.

After two days, she wrote another story. But this time she upgraded GRIL to GIRL :-).

And this translates to:

Once upon a time, there was a girl lived in a garden. But she was pretty and she was kind and she was also good. But she went to her garden and there was a lion. But she didn't know that it was friendly. So she saw the lion and they became friends.

Even though there were so many mistakes, truly admire her CONFIDENCE and then asking me “maa, can you tell me the words that are wrong...” :-).

I started learning English alphabets in fifth grade and all words were mostly sight words with no idea of phonetic rules. I know, now I’m correcting her…. after few years, she’ll correct me ;-). It’s a great learning curve for me too. Kudos to her teachers who encourage them to pen down their imaginations without fear.

HOPE

My daughters are very fond of muskmelons and they always bug me to buy one. They thoroughly enjoy eating it and I sincerely wash the seeds to feed the birds. But kids always plant the dry seeds with the HOPE that they’ll grow big and bless them with lots of muskmelons.

They tried it many times in small pots. To my surprise, sprouts emerge, but die after they grow 5-6 inches. Kids never lost their HOPE….they continuously planted the seeds and smiled whenever they saw their small HOPE emerging out of the pot.

To boost their HOPE, I got Miracle grow plant food. Olaa…..what a difference.…. it crossed 6 inches….1 feet….3 feet…. now jubilantly embracing the window mesh with the HOPE that it’ll hold the weight of the muskmelons.

When I see the creeper from far, it looks as if it is standing all by itself with no support.... and brings so much positive energy.

Now it is smiling with yellow flowers.

To get to the fruit, it needs proper bed and FLOOR to hold the muskmelons…. but I like the way it is running to touch the CEILING with no fear to hold the melons once they grow.

Now kids planted more HOPES in the small pot next to it.

Sprouts are talking to sun with the HOPE to grow soon.

Moral of the story.... NEVER LOSE HOPE. The word HOPE itself is holding so much HOPE (Highly Optimistic – Pessimism Eliminated) in it.

btw, few months back, I watched this romantic war movie ‘A Very long engagement'… bit slow and boring at times. But watched with the HOPE that the girl’s HOPE will come true. Climax left me with tears in my eyes. Tautou’s action is simply superb and heart touching.

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Adding more pictures of the melon growth....