Day 9: 3 sides of a coin?

13 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

A man and a woman walk through the park together, holding hands. They pass an old woman sitting on a bench. The old woman is knitting a small, red sweater. The man begins to cry.

Man: Why isn’t it sunny today? I wish I had taken the time to buy a proper suit. This jacket is a bit too casual for the occasion. Nobody is going to notice who’s wearing what. Maybe Anila will…she’s weirdly observant. That one time she pointed out that one of Sumi’s living room sofas had some yarn hanging off the bottom left leg. Who sees this stuff… yup… Anila! I wonder if Rakesh will be there too? Next time he leaves for Delhi, he should take Anila along. It’ll do her some good. These Army wives I tell you… So grateful Sush is with me today. 35 years on, she still looks glamorous! I love the way her hands feel but if I tell her that she’d think me a wuss. They feel just like how Adi’s hands used to feel when he was a little boy. He had a red sweater just like the one that old lady is knitting… I wonder if she’s noticed the rains about to pour down! Oh Adi… Why did you leave us? If only you had joined the Army instead of the Air Force… Those bloody MIG-21s…

Woman: Darn this weather! Bitch of a wind this is! Who holds a memorial in a park for a fighter pilot?! Why do I have to attend? There should be a rule stating mothers not allowed! Sunny’s hands feel weird today. He should’ve worn a suit but I don’t blame him. Who cares… Adi won’t be here to adjust his tie anyway. Why didn’t he just pursue medicine?!! Darn! And why is that old lady knitting in the park… thats such a sweet little sweater though. Adi used to have one just like that. He’d have probably sat down with the old lady & started a conversation. Darn… darn this day… darn the freaking weather…darn.. darn everything!!!

Old lady: Finally out in the fresh air and I’ll get this sweater done by the evening. I made one for your mother O little one when she was still in my belly! How time flies… Maybe I should use some white wool too. Look at that couple… Oh my..tears in a grown man’s eyes… I’d cry too if I was married to that snarly looking woman!

Day 7 : Give and take

13 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

I give you a cup of coffee. You take it with a smile.
I give you wine gingerly. You take it after a while.
I give you a few kisses. You take it as a hint.
I give my heart to you. You take that with a naughty glint.
I give you a punch on your nose. You pick up your stuff and sprint!

No adverbs please…only strong verbs allowed here

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Today’s assignment: Go to a local café, park, or public place and report on what you see. Get detailed: leave no nuance behind.

My experience in the tube today!

I’m suffering from hayfever at the moment so I carry few packs of tissue, a relief balm and eye drops. I like the tube journey to and from work.

I walked into the last train compartment and I saw a few people reading books and some staring into space. It had been a hot afternoon and the lull of the heat had somehow permeated the passengers on the train. The lemon juice I was drinking was beginning to sour and the condensation was dripping off the plastic glass. As the train was chugging along, I noticed the lady sitting in front of me was wearing a dress with the most striking blue, red and green print. I couldn’t look away for a while. The elderly lady sat clutching her purse and her shopping bags close to her chest. A teenager was listening to a song over his headphones who’s beats could be heard very clearly as he leaned on the pole next to my seat.  After two stations passed, a young man came rushing into the compartment. He was dressed in a purple suit that had a brown breast pocket with a pink kerchief sticking out of it. He had a brown moustache which covered most of his face. He plonked himself next to me and started to read the sports section of the free newspaper thats available at all tube stations. He was smiling and looked very happy with himself which is the most emotion I had seen on that compartment today! And then it happened… My eyes twitched and I thundered a sneeze! This man sitting next to me jumped right out of his seat and slipped himself on the seat on the other end of the row. I wanted to say something to him but I just mumbled and looked away not knowing whether I should be embarrassed or put off by this reaction.

He jumped off at the next stop but it left an emotion behind that I’ve still not comprehended.

That letter….

06 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

It said – “My darling… We will finally see each other for the first time on 6th June in front of the village temple. Please wear a pink rose in your hair. With love.”

What a rush of adrenalin as I scurried to the temple hopeful to find the writer & the receiver.

I found a lady with a pink rose in her hair sobbing quietly at the base of the temple stairs whilst she looked at the photo of the musician who lost his life last night in a car crash. I overheard someone say that he was upset that he wasn’t able to post his letter on time.

3 songs

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

song 1: “Zindagi kaisi yeh paheli…” : Its an old bollywood song that speaks about the riddle of life. its beautiful & meaningful. Life how beautiful you are..sometimes you make us laugh & sometimes you make us cry…the ones who are with us through thick and thin and the ones who are there for your every whim..the dreamer, the lover, the poet, the writer…everyone with their dreams someday will flow away to a place beyond those dreams.

song 2: “chingda saatpi ingelei” : A manipuri song. Kind of hard to pronounce but it describes a beautiful flower which is much revered in Manipur(India). it grows up in the mountains and its hard to get to. it’ll probably never adorn a woman’s hair as it blooms in silence in a mystical place. only the wind can reach it & only the wind can play with it or cause it to be separated from the stalk. oh how envious one feels of the wind that has the privilege of being with you, o beautifil Ingelei. Beautiful forever and unattainable as always.

song 3: “chhoro kal ki baatein”… translated it means leave behind the words that describe yesterday as it has already passed. A hindi film song with a lovely message indeed. Its a new generation, a new time, and its time to bring in new hope and dreams too. Let the past be. lets move ahead with progressive thoughts. after all who’s really going to remember what you thought about in the past..the deeds that were done are remembered and the actions you do today to create the present and future are all that matter. 

I’m a bit surpried that I chose regional songs or non-english songs to write about but these are the ones that popped right up when i read about the theme. The most challenging post I’ve ever written but this is perhaps just the beginning. Bring it on I say!! 

Writing101 Day 2: A Room with a View!

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

My parent’s front porch.

The winter sun has just risen in the eastern skies lighting it up a soft orange. It makes for a lovely contrast to all the verdant scenery around me. The smell of flowers and incense drifting in from the temple next door makes for a heady ambience to have a strong cup of spice infused tea. I sit sipping tea on the steps of my parents’ house in Imphal. Its only 8am but the whole village is already abuzz with activity. I can hear the neighbour calling out to her children scooting them into the auto-rickshaw(tuk-tuk) to get to school. The temple courtyard opposite the house is hurriedly getting occupied with fresh herbs and vegetables for the lunch feast in a couple of hours and the priest is ordering the young attendants to tread carefully as the ground has been rendered moist by last nights thunderstorm. I can hear the sound of shuttles flying across looms and the spinning of the wheel as my grandmother prepares yarn for weaving.

My mother can see me drift into a different realm and she nudges me out of my reverie. “Would you like to help your father? He’s trying to plant some beans in the vegetable garden.” Yes of course I would! He’s always full of funny stories and maybe someday I’ll write about his myriad & rich experiences. I wonder if he’d like that?

After that perhaps I will take out my pen and notepad for a quick scribble. Maybe I’ll finally finish the floral painting today or should I do some weaving on my grandmothers loom. Or perhaps I can go to the market and see what new woven designs have made their way this season. If I’m lucky I’ll get to do all of it for time here seems to flow at a pace where one can hear all the sounds, see all the sights, smell the divine and taste the incredible.

Writing101: Day 1. Time to unleash/unlock!

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

First day… first post… possibly… maybe. I might not be in the best state of mind these days thanks to the onset of hayfever which is making my world a very itchy place indeed.

Writing helps me express what I can’t do vocally. Sometimes too many thoughts cluster together making it hard to say much & I land up in tears as I’m overwhelmed. So I must write to vent, to rant or to opine. At times I try to have a logical argument but that too goes down with waterworks. At times I cry not because I’m upset or sad, I cry coz I can’t hold so much of anger. My head doesn’t allow anger beyond seething point. Sometimes I hear a familiar song or the weather is a certain way & I feel the urge to write. Smells play a big part in most of my writing. Smells can trigger vast seas of memories & once again I find myself putting own to paper. I’m enamoured by the nostalgia of my own memories. And so I write…

I hope I can keep up with the posts.

a dream or two…

21 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Sometimes on days like these, when familiar scents are carried in by the breeze, a dream or two of the past reappear.

They show me that the future was really just a heartbeat away.

The unfulfilled ones dare me to dream them again.

The ones that came true bring back the unrefrained joyousness of the moment.

So i dream new ones on days like today and hope that in the near future I can say that I dared to dream a dream beyond myself.

A dream that will lead to more than just glory.

Laidhibi – the Manipuri doll

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in baby, crafts, doll, first attempt, laidhi, manipur, manipuri, manipuri doll, sewing, stitching

≈ 1 Comment

A very dear friend was having her baby shower and she asked us all the invitees to bring along something that represented their childhood instead of the usual baby gifts. It really made us all think deep and hard about our childhood and what really stood out in the memories. It was a happy jog down memory lane. The long afternoons spent making things and drawing or painting was the most prominent of them all. One of the things that really delighted me was the Manipuri doll. Every child in Manipur had one and most of the time, it was hand made by their mothers, sisters, etc. My older sister is tremendously gifted in the arts and crafts and I recollected how she used to make the dolls. Part memory and part online images of the dolls, I decided to go ahead and make this little doll that represented my best childhood memories. 
It wasn’t easy but as I moved along many little ideas and tips came back to me and it was really fun to bring this together. The materials for the dress was a bit hard to find so I had to improvise on the Potloi or skirt & the Innaphi or stole. 
Here’s my version of the Laidhi or doll.
 At this point I really didn’t know if I could make something close to the original Laidhi style
 Getting there!
Here it is! The Manipuri Laidhi…specially for my dear friend.
I do hope to make more soon.
With Love.