Mirror... Mirror.....on the wall

Kritika arrived home past midnight. A surprise gift and a greeting card were waiting for her on the table.

She was filled with joy with a tinge of guilt. She had been working for 15 hours every day for the past 2 weeks, without a single day off. She had hardly spent any time with Parnika. She went to Parnika's room but she was fast asleep. Kritika kissed her on her forehead and excitedly went to the mirror room.

"Mirror... mirror.... on the wall..... am I not the happiest person of them all?" she asked the mirror while showing it her greeting card and gift.

"No," the mirror said "Meera is the happiest of them all. Her husband gifted her a brand new Mercedes on her birthday. Look at her". The mirror showed her Meera posing with her black Mercedes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meera showed her shiny new Mercedes and asked the mirror
"Mirror... mirror.... on the wall..... am I not the happiest person of them all?"

"No," the mirror said "Your brother Mihir is. He just won the 'Businessman of the year' award. Look at him". The mirror showed her Mihir posing with his award; his wife and his two beautiful children standing next to him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mihir showed his award and asked the mirror
"Mirror... mirror.... on the wall..... am I not the happiest person of them all?"

"No," the mirror said "Suraj is. He just completed his African safari and got a dedicated show on the National Geographic". The mirror showed him the trailer of Suraj's Nat Geo show starting next month.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Suraj showed his new show's trailer and asked the mirror
"Mirror... mirror.... on the wall..... am I not the happiest person of them all?"

"No," the mirror said "Your brother Chintan is. He just got engaged. Look at him." The mirror showed him Chintan's engagement photographs, with his parents standing next to him, their eyes filled with pride.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Next morning Chintan arrived at office and found out that he had lost his job. He couldn't bear the thought of telling the news to his parents. How could he lose his job? He was the gold medalist from the best university, best employee for three years in a row, the only one to get promoted even during recession. What will Reena think of him? What will her parents say?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Suraj emptied his fifth peg and looked at his mobile phone's screen. Richa got married. She didn't give much explanation except for "He is well settled, owns a house and can afford a honeymoon in Europe". He ordered his sixth peg.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mihir looked at the sleeping pillow in his hand "Will one be enough or shall I take two?" he thought. He hadn't been able to sleep for over a month. Just as he lifted a glass of water to gulp the pill, a terrible pain shot from his left arm to the chest and he fell to the floor.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you receive your gift?" Ajay asked Meera on the phone. "Yes, thank you. Aren't you coming?" she asked hopefully. "No, the sudden policy changes have opened some new opportunities that didn't exist before. I won't be able to come for another 6 months" he said. Losing hope in her voice she asked hesitatingly "Did you think about what I said?" "Meera, we have discussed it a hundred times. I can't just wrap up everything and come there. And we had decided that we can't let our kids grow up in western culture. We want them to have Indian values. It is only a matter of few more years. Once kids go to college you are free to either join me here or start your own business"

Half an hour later, Meera got down from her brand new Mercedes in front of her Psychiatrist's.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kritika woke up with a hangover of the guilt from previous night.
"Today" she promised herself once again and switched her laptop on. She was halfway through when Parnika shouted "Mamma..... I have to go early today, we have tennis practice"

She got up quickly and started preparing the breakfast. While waiting for the upma to cook, she picked up her phone. She hadn't checked her WhatsApp in last two days. There were 178 new messages on the parents' group. "Oh my god, did I miss something?" she quickly scrolled through the messages.

There was a message from Parnika's class teacher about the educational trip to NASA & Rs. 2,00,000 to be deposited by the end of the month followed by messages with shopping lists, brand recommendations by various parents in the group.

"Mamma I want my own mobile phone for the NASA trip. I don't like you calling on my friends' numbers" Parnika said while putting her hands around Kritika's. "There is this cool new phone Kinnari has got ........." Parnika's voice trailed away as Kritika sat staring at the half written resignation letter on her laptop screen.

An hour later Kritika increased her speed glancing at her watch, dreading her boss' reaction as she was half an hour late. As she neared the building she saw an ambulance surrounded by large crowd. "What happened?" she asked Mitali standing in the crowd.

"Chintan committed suicide. He jumped off the top floor" somebody replied.

Mirror smiled with satisfaction and patiently waited for its next victim.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 - Gayatri Gadre

https://be-explorer.blogspot.com

मसालेभात

लग्नांचा season सुरु झालाय आणि लग्नातल्या जेवणाचा पण. असं समजा की तुम्हाला एका लग्नाचं बोलावणं आलं, वधू वराच्या डोक्यावर अक्षता टाकून तुम्ही तडक जेवणाच्या हॉल कडे वळता. तिथे तुमच्या सारख्या चतुर लोकांची आधीच  गर्दी उडालेली असते. गर्दी तुन वाट काढून तुम्ही एका बाजूला सरकता आणि तुम्हाला दिसतात ओळीत मांडलेली पानं आणि त्यात उरलेल्या दोन रिकाम्या खुर्च्या. तुम्ही पटकन त्यातली एक खुर्ची पकडता आणि स्वतःवरच खुश होत वाढप्यांची वाट बघता.

पानं वाढायला सुरुवात होते, मस्तपैकी बासुंदी, पुरीचा बेत असतो. तुम्हालाही सडकून भूक लागलेली असते, म्हणून बासुंदी वर आडवा हात मारायचे मनसुबे तुम्ही रचता. पण पुरीवाला वाढायला येतो तेव्हा फेरारी च्या वेगाने "पुरी... पुरी... पुरी... पुरी...." असं म्हणत तुम्ही "हो, चार" असं म्हणेपर्यंत दहा पानं पुढे पोहोचलेला असतो. जेमतेम एकदा त्याच्या भांड्यात उरलेल्या दोन पुऱ्या मिळवल्यावर तर तो बेपत्ताच होतो. त्याची वाट बघत तुम्ही आपलं बाकीचे पदार्थ संपवण्याच्या मागे लागता. शेवटी बराच वेळ वाट बघूनही तो येत नाही म्हणून तुम्ही मसाले भात वाढणाऱ्याला "हो" म्हणता. यजमानांनी दिलेल्या सूचनेप्रमाणे तुम्हाला काही कळायच्या आत तो तुमच्या पानात मसालेभाताचा डोंगर रचून पुढे निघून जातो. आता एवढा भात कसा संपवायचा हे संकट तुमच्यापुढे उभं रहातं.

तो डोंगर अर्धा पार केल्यावर अचानक पुरी वाला उगवतो आणि तुमच्या मनाची द्विधा अवस्था करून ठेवतो. तिकडे वाटीतली बासुंदी खुणावत असते आणि रस्त्यात अर्धा उरलेला मसालेभात वाट अडवून उभा असतो. अगोदरच आधीच्या अर्ध्या भाताने पोट तुडुंब भरलेलं असतं. पानात टाकलेलं बरं दिसत नाही म्हणून नेटाने उरलेला अर्धा भट तुम्ही संपवत असता, त्यात पूरी घ्यावी तर लोक अधाशी म्हणतील, वरून भात टाकावा लागेल तो वेगळा. म्हणून वाटीतल्या बासुंदीच्या खाणाखुणांनकडे दुर्लक्ष करून तुम्ही जड मनाने पूरी वाल्याला "नाही" म्हणता.

पोटातला भरता येण्यासारखा प्रत्येक कानाकोपरा मसालेभाताने भरून तुम्ही विजयी मुद्रेने एका हाताचा आधार घेत, जडावलेलं पोट सांभाळत उठता. तोपर्यंत हॉल मधली गर्दी कमी झालेली असते. हात धुवायला जातांना तुम्हाला लक्षात येतं कि जेवणासाठी पंगत आणि बुफ्फे अश्या दोन्ही व्यवस्था होत्या, आणि बुफ्फे मध्ये पाणीपुरी, दहीवडा, छोले टिक्की, लाईव्ह पाव भाजी काउंटर, पंजाबी, चायनीज, इटालियन, मेक्सिकन, असे अनेक काउंटर्स होते आणि सहज मिळत असलेल्या पंगतीतल्या जागेसाठी तुम्ही हे सगळं घालवलंत पण तोवर वेळ निघून गेलेली असते, पोटात हवा शिरायला सुद्धा जागा उरलेली नसते. त्या सगळ्या काउंटर्स चे वास घेत, पोटातल्या मसालेभाताला सांभाळत तुम्ही हात धुवून तिथून बाहेर पडता.

आयुष्यं पण असंच काहीसं आहे. सजहपणे मिळतंय म्हणून आपण मिळत असलेली पहिली खुर्ची पकडतो आणि तिला  चिकटून बसतो. स्वप्नातली पूरी नशिबात नाही असं समजून मसालेभाताला "हो" म्हणून बसतो, आणि एकदम एक दिवस स्वप्नातली परी .... सॉरी... आय मीन पूरी अवचित आपल्या आयुष्यात अवतरते, पण तोवर मसालेभाताला शब्द दिलेला असतो, म्हणून आपण मसालेभाताशी निभावत बसतो. आणि आयुष्याच्या शेवटी लक्षात येतं कि अरेच्या पूरी आणि मसालेभातापलीकडे देखील बघण्यासारखं, करण्यासारखं, चाखण्यासारखं बरंच काही होतं जे आपण सेक्युअर्ड खुर्ची पायी गमावून बसलो.
© गायत्री गद्रे

तुम्हाला आवडेल असं अजून काही - 

बुवा आहे तिकडे                                                                                                                   

कूपमंडूक

काही दिवसांपूर्वी मला WhatsApp वर एक जोक आला. अमित फेसबुक वर मेसेज टाकतो कि ट्रम्प प्रेसिडेंट झाला, आता अमेरिकेचं आणि पर्यायाने जगाचं कसं होणार, त्यावर मिलिंद त्याला कंमेंट टाकतो, "तू शनिवार पेठेत राहतोस तिथे ३ दिवस पाणी येणार नाहीये, त्याची चिंता कर". आणि एकदम माझ्या डोळ्यांसमोर हरी अण्णा उभे राहिले.

कूपमंडूक! मला नक्की आठवत नाही मी हा शब्द पहिल्यांदा केव्हा ऐकला, पण त्याचा अर्थ नं कळण्याएवढी लहान होते एवढं नक्की. चौथीच्या scholarship परीक्षेच्या तयारीच्या वेळेस हा शब्द पुन्हा मला भेटला, आणि तेव्हा मला त्याचा खरा अर्थ कळला आणि अर्थ कळल्याबरोबर माझ्या डोळ्यांसमोर हरी अण्णांचा चेहरा आला. त्यानंतर अनेक वर्ष कोणी कूपमंडूक म्हणालं कि माझ्या डोळ्यासमोर हरी अण्णा त्यांच्या घराच्या विहिरीतून आपलं बेडकासारखं डोकं बाहेर काढून, डोळ्यावरचा चष्मा सरसावून आजूबाजूला बघताहेत आणि नाकातून नापसंतीचा सूर काढून, तोंड वाकडं करून विहिरीतल्या त्यांच्या नेहमीच्या कट्ट्यावर परत जाऊन आपलं दात कोरण्याचं काम पूर्ववत सुरु ठेवताहेत असं चित्र माझ्या नजरेसमोर यायचं.

तसं आमचं गाव एकदम लहान, त्यामुळे सगळे लोक ओळखीचे. जसजशी मोठी होत गेले तस तसं कुपमंडूकाचं चित्र बदलत गेलं. ते कधी वडिलोपार्जित घरात आणि दुकानात बरोब्बर मध्ये भिंत टाकून दोन्ही दुकानात हुबेहूब एकसारख्या गोष्टी विकणाऱ्या छगनलाल आणि मगनलाल सारखं दिसू लागलं तर कधी मुलाला शहरात जाऊ दिलं तर तो म्हातारपणी आम्हाला सांभाळणार नाही असं म्हणणाऱ्या शेवंताबाईंसारखं दिसायला लागलं. दहावी पास  करेपर्यंत तर त्या मंडूकाने विश्वरूप धारण केलं होतं. म्हणजे मला आमचं अक्ख गावच एक विहीर आहे आणि त्यात राहणारे आम्ही सगळे एक एक कूपमंडूक आहोत असा भास व्हायला लागला. आयुष्यात पहिल्यांदा "इथून बाहेर पडा , मोठे व्हा, इथे काही ठेवलेलं नाही" या आई बाबांच्या वाक्याचा अर्थ कळायला लागला.

कशी गंमत असते बघा ना, म्हणजे मला असं वाटायचं कि एकदा या गावाबाहेर पडलं कि विशाल जग भेटेल, जिथे लोकं कूपमंडूक नसतील, त्यांचे विचार संकुचित नसतील, शहरातले लोकं बऱ्याचदा गावाकडच्या लोकांना तुच्छ लेखतात (म्हणजे निदान माझ्या बघण्यात तरी असे शहरातले बरेच लोकं आले होते) म्हणजे त्यांचा स्वतःचा दृष्टिकोन फार मोठा असेल असं वाटायचं. आणि या समजामुळे मी काही चमत्कारिक प्रसंगात पण अडकले. कॉलेज संपता संपता ९/११ चा अतिरेकी हल्ला झाला तेव्हा मी एका परिचितांच्या घरी बसले होते, बातम्या बघून माझा चेहरा चिंताक्रांत झाला, ते बघून ते काका मला म्हणाले होते "तुझा सक्खा भाऊ त्या ट्विन टॉवर मध्ये असल्यासारखा सुतकी चेहरा का केला आहेस? ते तिकडे अमेरिकेत चालले आहे, इथून लाखो मैल दूर". सगळं आयुष्यं पंख्यांच्या फॅक्टरी मध्ये घालवलेल्या काकांना मी कसं समजावणार कि अमेरिकेची इकॉनॉमी कोसळली तर भारतातली IT इंडस्ट्री पण खाली जाईल, आणि तसं झालं तर पुढच्या वर्षी कॉलेज मधून बाहेर पडल्यावर मला नोकरी मिळणार नाही. बराच वेळ प्रयत्नं केल्यावर मी नाद सोडला आणि त्यांच्या "बरं झालं, गोर्यांची बरी जिरली" या उत्सवात सामील झाले.

अजून एक असाच प्रसंग, कौन बनेगा करोडपती बघत असतांना तेच काका म्हणाले होते "सालं आपल्याला मिळायला पाहिजे एक करोड रुपये" उत्सुकतेने मी त्यांना विचारलं "मिळाले १ करोड तर काय कराल त्याचं?" त्यावर ते म्हणले "खूप दिवसांपासून स्वतःची कार घेऊन मुंबई फिरून यायची इच्छा होती, एक मारुती ८०० घेईन फर्स्ट क्लास, आणि अक्खा आठवडा मुंबई मध्ये चैन करेन, तसाही डोंबिवलीत माझा मावस भाऊ राहतो त्याचं घर आहेच, त्याच्याकडेच राहीन". मला हसावं का रडावं ते नं कळून, मी आपलं "अमिताभ बच्चन कसला भारी आहे ना या वयातही!" म्हणून मनातल्या मनात १ करोड मध्ये कुठल्या कुठल्या कार येतील याचा हिशोब करत परत TV  कडे तोंड फिरवलं,

तशीच गंमत माझ्या एका दूरच्या भावाची. तो मुंबई ला आला असतांना खास माझं ऑफिस बघायला म्हणून आला, security reasons साठी कंपनी कोणाही नातेवाईकांना ऑफिसच्या आत येऊ देत नाही हे सांगूनही. आता आलाच आहे तर माझ्या सोबत काम करणाऱ्यांची ओळख करून द्यावी म्हणून मी माझी प्रोजेक्ट मॅनेजर आणि २-३ टीम मेंबर्स ना घेऊन रिसेपशन मध्ये गेले. माझी प्रोजेक्ट मॅनेजर christian, केस छोटे कापलेले, आणि स्कर्ट घातला होता. तिने हॅलो केल्यावर याने तिला उत्तर देखील दिलं नाही, मलाच अवघडल्यासारखं झाला. वरून ती गेल्यावर मला म्हणाला, तुझा प्रोजेक्ट बदलून घे, नाहीतर पुढल्यावेळी तुही दिसशील  तिच्यासारखी, छोट्या कपड्यात.

असे नाना तर्हेचे कूपमंडूक मला आयुष्यात भेटत गेले आणि एक गोष्ट कळून चुकली, कि याचा जागेशी, विद्वत्तेशी किव्वा जवळ असलेल्या धनाशी काहीही संबंध नाही. काही लोक समोर खजिना पडलेला असतांना संपत्ती आली की माणसाचा कसा विनाश होतो हे बोलण्यात आयुष्य घालवतात तर काही दुसऱ्यांनाही त्या खजिन्याचा लाभ घेऊ देत नाहीत, तसे हे कूपमंडूक आजूबाजूला बघण्यासारख्या आणि अनुभवण्यासारखा लाखो गोष्टी असतांना, जन्माला येतांना घेऊन आले तेवढेच विचार आणि अनुभव पदराशी बांधून आयुष्य घालवण्यात धन्यता मानतात, आणि दुसऱ्यांनाही आयुष्य जगण्यापासून परावृत्त करतात. त्यांना कधी परकी भाषा शिकण्यातली गम्मत कळतंच नाही, ना कधी वेगळं काही अनुभवण्यातली मजा. जगातला सगळ्यात कुशल chef यांना आणून दिला तरी ते कैरीचं लोणचं miss करण्यात आनंद मानतील.

© गायत्री गद्रे

तुम्हाला आवडेल असं अजून काही - 

बुवा आहे तिकडे                                                                                                                   

A mother's heart

Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Mihit. Mihit was a happy child who was loved by everyone in his home and neighbourhood. He was the apple of his mother's eyes. She would never let him out of sight even for a blink of an eye.

One day, shortly after his first birthday, Mihit crawled all the way to the coffee table, reached for the edge with his tiny fingers and before his mother could run all the way from the other end of the room, pushed himself up. The table moved with his force as he stood up, slipped some distance and before mother could grab him, Mihit lost his balance. He screamed with pain as he fell down. Mother quickly picked him up and hugged him tightly.

For few days after the fall, Mihit kept away from the monstrous table who had hurt him. But soon he got bored of crawling and decided to make another attempt at it. As he reached for the table's edge, mother rushed to him and sat him back down saying "It is too early for you Mr. You are only one, what's the hurry? You will only get yourself hurt". Hearing this Mihit crawled back to his toys and continued playing. But next day again, he was all set to try the feat again. But again mother picked him up well in time and carried him to another room. This went on for few days. Every time he was tempted to push himself up, out of fear of him getting hurt, mother would stop him by either forcing him back down and picking him up. After some futile attempts he stopped trying. He was happy crawling and mother was happy that he wasn't getting injured.

After his second birthday though, his parents started to worry. All the other children of his age around them had started running by now, but Mihit was yet to take his first step. After waiting for few more days, they decided to visit a Doctor. After checking him thoroughly, all doctor could say was that there was nothing wrong with him, and some kids just take longer to walk or speak. They unanimously decided to wait for few more months. When Mihit turned three his mother had started to lose hopes. Her son, her only child was unable to walk. They visited numerous doctors, did endless tests and each one of them stated the same thing, there was nothing wrong with Mihit or his legs.

They visited an internationally acclaimed child specialist.When he forcefully held him in a standing position, his knees gave away. "All I can say is his leg muscles do not have enough strength to support himself" he said after an hour of examinations & tests. He suggested them some exercises and a physiotherapy which might help. But even after a year of exercises and physiotherapy, Mihit continued to crawl.

Time flies even faster when one is engrossed in life's worries. Mihit turned four in no time and it was time for him to go to school. His mother had lost her sleep worrying about how will he manage all by himself in the school, how will other kids treat him and how will he face the enormous world out there. She carried him to school on his first day and stood outside the classroom with other mommies. The kids around him were crying, running back to the door to their mothers while Mihit sat in a corner wide-eyed, too scared to move anywhere. He was so confused about what was happening, that he didn't even cry. He had seen so many kids from a window when kids in his neighborhood played and he watched from a safe distance. He had never seen them so close. Watching them running so nearby was frightening to him. As the initial fear wore off, he started turning his head in every direction, his eyes searching for his mother.  All the time, the mother was watching him from a window, wiping her tears off. Those two hours seemed like a thousand years to both of them. As the day came to an end, it was difficult to say who was more happy that it was over, Mihit or mother. But then came the next day and again Mihit & his mother had to go through the same ordeal. A week later, the realization dawned upon him that the school wasn't a one-time nightmare, but he was to go there every day. At once he walked up to his mother to tell her that he didn't want to go to the school. Mother's heart melted looking at his sad face and tears in his eyes but she threw a quick glance at his father and hesitated. Seeing her dilemma, father offered to take him to school.

As days passed, taking him to school became an increasingly challenging task for both his parents. Mihit would cry, kick, start throwing things around as the time came to go to school. One day his father returned from office with a wheelchair "Maybe he doesn't like to be bound in one place. He would like it if he can move around" he said. Mother was broken into pieces to see him in a wheelchair.

Days passed and Mihit grew up. He didn't have any friends in school and he hated the school as much as he did as a child. But he had learnt to accept it. The kids would tease him, sometimes push him around and laugh at him. He mostly kept to himself, drawing as less attention to himself as possible. He would sometimes visit a temple with his mother but otherwise mostly stayed at home, studying as the study was the only friend he had. He scored well in every exam including the higher secondary board exams and entered a medical college, he was going to be a doctor. It was a completely new world for him. To his surprise, he got a friend in the first week itself. They would spend most of the time together, be it going to canteen, library or studying.

One day the friend asked him "So what is your story?". Mihit couldn't understand "I mean what is wrong with your legs?" friend elaborated. "I don't know, it has always been like that, ever since I can remember." "Didn't you ask your parents?" The question had never occurred to Mihit. So next day he asked his parent and all they could say was he never walked, his legs didn't have enough strength to carry himself. "But of course there must be some explanation to it" the friend persisted next day.

The friend applied all the knowledge they had gained so far but was lost for a reason. "Why is it so important to you? It is OK for me. I have accepted it as part of my life. It doesn't bother me anymore" Mihit told his friend. But the friend refused to give up. One day the friend forced him to stand up taking the support of the bar outside canteen and took away his wheelchair. "What are you doing?" Mihit panicked. "I can see that your legs are perfectly healthy and if you try hard enough, you may be able to walk," the friend said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't be so cruel. It can't happen. My parents have tried all the possible ways, they took me to the best doctors and none of that helped" Mihit said while running out of breath carrying his weight for so long. His hands started hurting and his face turned red. But the friend kept observing his legs, refusing to give the wheelchair back. Only when Mihit was about to fall down, did he got his chair back. It took him few minutes to catch his breath. "You are mean, you can't be my friend.I hate you" saying this Mihit pushed his wheelchair away from his friend as quickly as his hurting hands allowed.

Following that incident, the friend made many attempts to talk to Mihit but he refused to even look at the friend. "At least listen to me once" the friend persisted even after a month. "Tell me" Mihit turned his wheelchair and faced the friend. "You are training to be a doctor. Does this sound normal to you? A perfectly healthy person is unable to walk and medical science is unable to explain the reason. All the doctors said there is nothing wrong with your legs or spine. All they could say that your legs are not strong enough. But you don't have problems with your muscles either. What would you do, if a patient came to you with a similar case?" It made Mihit think. "Will you at least try? For me?" the friend pleaded. "I know it will be painful for you. Maybe you will fall down and injure yourself. It may not even work. But will you as doctor treat yourself as a patient? I will help you in every possible manner." Mihit stared at his friend for a while before agreeing.

They started with some exercises for leg muscles, accompanied by the strenuous attempts to walk with support. It started with a minute of standing and slowly but steadily kept getting better. In a matter of few months, Mihit was able to stand without support for few minutes and took few steps holding his friend's hand. Whenever Mihit wanted to give up, the hope in the friend's eyes and reprimand in his voice would keep him going. Every time he progressed, they celebrated with a samosa in the canteen.

Unaware of the endeavour Mihit and his friend had taken over, one day Mihit caught his parents by surprise when he took few steps without any support. Unable to content their joy, they both hugged him & cried.

Mihit is still working hard to be able to walk long distance without a support but not giving up. He knows that he can not go back in time to catch those missed moments but sometimes he wonders what would life have been if he could walk as a child.

What is NaNoWriMo

Time and again, I have wondered about how one thing leads to another, and another one leads to third forming a chain of events, leading you to unexplored paths in life. When I stumbled upon Future Learn while looking for a course in October last week, little did I know that joining it will open up a big box of new possibilities for me.

I had an idea for a novel for almost5-6 years now but never took it seriously. At the start of 2016, I brought up the topic with my hubby dear and Ashish, a very good friend of mine, they both encouraged me to write it. So I set out to write a novel. Few tiny chapters here and there & some notes about key characters & incidents was all I could manage throughout the year. When I NaNoWriMo, which made me curious. A quick look up on Google told me that it is a fun filled approach to Novel writing. The contestants participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) set out on a target on 1 November to write at least 50,000 words novel by 30 November. It sounded like a perfect motivation I was looking for and I was only a week away from November. Without slightest delay, I signed up and started planning my activities for the month.

But luck wasn't on my side. I got terrible cold, cough, sore throat which developed into full-fledged fever and weakness. I looked gloomily at the calendar as each day of November passed. Finally, I recovered fully from the fever as well as a backlog of all the pending work by 13th November and I sat down. Chances looked slim. Even if I had a complete month, I was required to write at least 1667 words every day to keep up with the challenge. I was sitting on 13th and all I had was the few tiny, unstructured chapters I had written over the year. Finally, after a lot of hesitation, I decided to do it as a birthday gift to myself, whatever I can achieve in remaining days. I told myself, it's OK even if I don't complete the target, at least I will have the satisfaction of having tried and not a grudge of giving up my weapons even before the war started. And then I discovered the lovely WriMo India group on Facebook. The energy on the Facebook group was palpable. Before I knew it, I was participating in their virtual sprints, making friends who would support me and encourage me to write more, sharing their inspiring stories, doubts, troubles making it a lot more fun than it was when I tried to write alone.

As last week approached I was frantically working towards the end goal, I could already see dim chances of making it happen. Unable to find any other time, I resorted to starting post dinner. As I neared the target writing till 2 or 3 in the morning became a routine. On the night of 29th November (1 day before the end date) as I crossed the mark of 50,000 words at 1 in the night, I had my favourite music and a horde of mosquitoes accompanying me in my celebration. It was an experience worth million dollars and I wouldn't have it any other way. Though my novel is not yet 100% complete, seeing the major part of it already written has kindled a new enthusiasm in me to see it through.

As I was still wondering about how to publish and how to market it, a fellow WriMo friend - Amar Vyas offered to do an interview for his podcast and I jumped on the bandwagon. So here is the podcast from MyKitaab, which offers great tips on 'How to publish and market your book', perfect for first-time writers like me, aye?

The podcast has an interview of Puja Mohan, a fellow NaNoWriMo winner at the start and then mine (at 15:10), hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to put your comments, feedback & suggestions in the comment box below. Hope to see many of you in next year's NaNoWriMo.

Here is a link to the podcast and it's excerpts in case you prefer reading over listening - http://www.mykitaab.in/80

Unique sensory experience

When a friend called me to invite me for a meetup about Bespoke Fragrances, I had almost said 'No' when I was reminded of the article I had written at the start of this year - Make 2016 your most memorable year ever with these 12 tips - 'Visit a place where you can't find a topic to discuss or where you feel out of place'. Following my own advice from 1 year earlier, I sat down and thought about why am I saying 'No' instantly?

First of all, I had no clue why he included me on the guest list. My knowledge in perfumes ends at knowing names of some perfume brands. Usually, when I have to buy a perfume, I walk into a store, try few of them and buy the one I like without even noticing the brand name. I have some friends who can identify the perfume by the smell and who sometimes ridicule me for my illiteracy in the topic, but the subject never interested me much. So when I thought about the meetup for fragrances, I imagined a room full of people like those 'expert' friends of mine, passionate about perfumes, who know everything there is to know about perfumes, who might be arguing about why Fresh is better than Floral? I found it hard to imagine myself among this group, having no clue what to say. I could visualise myself getting bored in a corner sipping on my tea quietly. So finally just to take it up as a challenge to myself, I said 'Yes'.

The venue was comforting, 'Taj tea house' which has been on my list ever since I read about it for the first time. I consoled myself that even if I find it difficult to be part of any conversation, at least I will have visited this place and tried at least couple of their teas (you guessed it right, I am a tea lover). We were greeted by Nisha, the host for the evening with a warm smile, a lovely venue and pleasing fragrance in the air. As I settled down and got to talking with 'the others', I realised that they were anything but perfume fanatics. The crowd was from varied background right from someone who is travelling 42 countries on a bike to the creator of Angry Maushi. In fact, I ran out of time to meet each one of them as each one of them was unique and had a lot to talk about. I was delighted to meet a fellow WriMo with whom I connected instantly. Before I realised the discomfort and apprehension I had at the time of accepting the invitation, evaporated with the lovely scent in the air.

To my surprise, the meetup had turned out to be anything but what I had imagined. The best part? I didn't have to know anything about perfumes, my nose did the job! Never in my life had I realised (or to be honest thought about) the fine details which go into perfumery. To make it easier to understand for naif like me, our host Nisha took us through the journey of perfume making. I was amazed by how she managed to give us so many technicalities without a single dull moment. To make it easier for us to understand, she had brought few basic, natural elements along with their respective extracts, for each tone. There was Rosemary representing herbs, Cardamom for spices, Blackcurrant for fruits, Bergamot for citrus & Rose oil for flowers. Smelling each one of them ignited a different feeling, emotion and sometimes memories. I started to imagine what would combination of few of these would spark in the end.

I was especially intrigued by the travel range where NIsha has created perfumes for certain places, Marrakesh spice souk, Balinese Temple Bay, Cotswold county & Miami Bay Marina. How could one capture the essence of a place in a scent? Having fond memories of Cotswold myself, I tried it the first thing and was taken down the memory lanes by it. Nisha had certainly done a good job of capturing the essence of Cotsworld, but the question remained how? But I didn't have to wait for too long. There was a game planned at the end, to capture the essence of Darjeeling in a scent. I rolled up my sleeves happily sharing the things which came to my mind about Darjeeling. As we progressed and shared our list at the end, there were many elements Fresh, Earthy, Pine, Eucapyptus, Green Tea, Flowers, Oak, Burny/smoky (reminding of the coal railway). We were witnessing a beautyful journey of capturing the essence of a place. How lovely would it be, if I could carry around the essence of all the places which are special to me and wear them to be in those places again and again? Sounds poetic. Our journey ended with an assurance from Nisha that she would go back, create the unque perfume for Darjeeling and send it across as a reminder of our wonderful experience there.

Though the clock had been whispering in my ear 'Traffic..Traffic...' I stayed back as long as I could to chat with as many people as I could, but ultimately I had to leave the cozy setup and get back to the honking, crowded roads back home. I carried a lesson back home, Perfumery isn't a rocket science as I had initially thought, but it is an art, making our lives rich.

Here is a snippet for all of you to get hang of the event, though it does no justice to all the lovely fragrances we got to experience -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sowWH0UiDdw

#KaoriMoments #BespokeFragrance #Perfume

Step beyond

Raise your hand if you aren't scared of height! Well... I thought so, who isn't, right?
What if I asked you to take a step beyond the edge of a cliff, will you?

Well... sometimes you have to take that leap of faith and take that final step or should I say the first step beyond visible ground trusting the ropes around your waist and those people on the cliff and at the base, whom you have never met before, and probably will never meet again.

When my hubby suggested we go for rappelling from Duke's nose near Lonavala, I felt my legs trembling while seating on a couch and I broke into a sweat (though it was the month of December, peak of winter). I am scared of height and who isn't? It is one thing to watch the videos of people doing all sorts of adventures at heights (including hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, and even tightrope juggling) and marvel, but it is totally different thing to stand on top of a 350 ft cliff with your back towards a valley, move with nothing under your feet, when you can't even see where you are headed.  

Rappelling 

It all started with a trek up the cliff. The sun was shining bright and there was limited amount of water available on the top of the cliff. With a large amount of crowd, we had to wait for a couple of hours for our turn. By the time, my turn came, I was hungry, thirsty, scared and desperate to get down to a comfortable place to sit. 


I was all smiling, cheering for all those going before me. When it was my turn, my smile changed instantaneously as I crossed those barriers. The organising team was giving me instructions and I was cursing myself for signing up for this. I could have been sitting on a comfortable couch, watching my favourite movie, hogging on some delicious meal right now. What made me opt for this over that perfect picture of a weekend.

As I started moving towards the edge, fear started rising. Finally, the point came where I could not see any land.

The most difficult part of it was that first step off the edge of the cliff. I was in tears and had almost given up. How could possibly I take my foot off the land and suspend in the air hoping that the belt around my waist & the ropes attached to it, are enough to carry me all the way down safely? I wanted to run away, magically disapperate & apperate in my living room. I wanted to undo my choice. But it was too late. 

The only deterrent to turn back was memories of the trek up there. Climbing up there hadn't been that easy and the idea of going back by that route wasn't a rosy one. 

You can't see it, but there are tears rolling
down my cheeks

Once I let go of the visible ground and started hanging in mid air, it became a bit easier to carry on (probably because I knew that there is no turning back now). The only way was forward, or should I say down. 

I had decided not to look at the valley at all, to keep myself from panicking mid air. "It is enough for a starter to be able to complete it this time. If I survive this, maybe next time I will look at the valley" I told myself. 

It is funny to observe what all thoughts cross your mind in such situation, when you are there hanging between life and death, with nobody to talk to but yourself. Sometimes, you have to let go, to be in control, 'Let go of fear, to be in control of yourself'. That day I understood the meaning of 'Leap of faith'. Here I was trusting strangers with my life and I knew that they were much more than worthy of it.

A thought crossed my mind, what if I die today? But then another thought followed it 'We all have to die one day, what matters is how. People die in road accidents, train accidents, or for that matter even under collapsing buildings! You can not control when or how to die. But wouldn't it be better to die doing something you like, instead of in an accident? The idea is not to be afraid of death, but die without any regrets'. I could very much imagine two versions of myself presenting two completely opposite thoughts, one in an angel avatar & the other one as devil. I was realising that these activities are as much about your mind as they are about physical stamina & agility. The journey down there was hardly 10-15 minutes (to be honest I completely lost track of time while coming down). I was enjoying the silence only broken by sound of wind & occasional instructions from the volunteers. I had forgotten about the pain I took to get up there or even the pain which was waiting down there for me, was just living in that moment, enjoying every bit of it. I hardly got to enjoy that in busy city life, where the only mantra to survive is fast pace of life.

The volunteers were there to greet me at the bottom of the cliff, but the journey wasn't over. I had to cross some distance on a very steep path, with valley on one side & the cliff on the other. I found it too much after having been through the rappelling. But the thought that my lunch was waiting on the other end of that route helped me get through it. 

One thing was sure the person standing on the edge of cliff few minutes ago wasn't the same person who landed down. Something had changed in me. It was as if this experience had given me a new lesson of life, which was difficult to express in words, but it was etched somewhere in my subconsious mind forever. The sense of achievement which followed after getting back to base camp was huge. There may be hundreds of people doing it regularly, but it was definitely a big milestone for me as an individual. 

Now that it is over, if you ask me "Will you go for rappelling again", the answer will be "Hell yeah!". Okay, it won't be easy, I will be probably cursing myself for agreeing to do it again and may as well be in tears again, but it's all worth it. Weekends are not always about being cozy & comfy in your couch, wiping your tears while watching that mushy-mushy movie on 'Romedy now', they are much more than that. And for a change its ok to be in tears while fearing for your life than watching strangers in a movie and feeling their emotions. After all, those are their emotions, and they can't match with feeling your own emotions, ain't?

Here is a picture of Duke's nose we took from the base camp, before starting our trek up to the starting point.

The distance we came down Rappeling, from the top till the curve at bottom with tiny people standing (people who helped me with the landing and tough part of crossing the rocky patch to come back to the base camp).