Eleven on Ten

(For Abhiir at 10-11)

Last year for Christmas, we wanted to play ‘ Secret Santa’ within the family especially to teach everyone to think about what the other person may actually like to receive as a gift and not just to think about what they want as their own gift!

We decided on a fair maximum amount of AED 60 for everyone, so that its neither too less, nor too much for the kids to handle. The game was mainly to see how much does one really know their family member? About likes and dislikes, colour preferences and so on.

We rolled the chits and got the name of the member we were supposed to buy the gift for. We went together on the holiday of December 25th to a mall. We decided to disperse, shop and meet again in the atrium in next one hour, with the gifts , and then to have lunch together.

This time Abhiir, my gen alpha boy, had got my name on the chit he picked. He insisted on going to the shop of his choice alone to pick the gift. We were all in the same mall on the same floor , so we allowed him.

Now getting a gift for your mother is the most difficult one for a ten year old boy. He asked AI for ideas! Obviously. AI suggested jewellery, flowers, perfume. So now the challenge of getting all that in AED 60 was the big one.

He did an online research (the night before) and looked for how to fit jewellery and perfume in that amount. He noted the suggestions down(on a piece of notebook paper in neat handwriting :) and carried some change from his coin purse, so as not to fall short of a few dirhams to not be able to pick the right gift!

I am sure AI asked him , what theme may your mother like? I am sure he said floral.

So he shortlisted a pair of floral earrings and a pendant set and an orchid perfume, from the suggested shop, that would fit in the given budget. He showed his neat notes to the kind lady at the shop and she helped him find the things and gift-wrapped them for him. The man with a mission was on his way out from the shop, where he met the older brother, Arhaant , who asked him what he had got for Amma.

The 15 year old said, of course Amma has a very specific taste in jewellery and she may not like the gift. But our Gen Alpha hero did not get dejected. He was very confident about his choice and his approach towards shortlisting the right gift for his mother. He said, I am sure she will like it!

We met in the atrium. Abhiir had a big toothy grin. He gave me the gift. I opened it. Arhaant kept saying, I bet, She wont like it...

But when I saw the handwritten notes about the floral earrings set and the orchid perfume, I couldnt hold back my tears! Abhiir had actually treated this exercise like a school project. He said, because of Amaira and her red hibiscus, he was absolutely sure I would like something floral. Arhaant kept saying, Amma never wears such earrings. But I said, this time Amma will wear these earrings! If they are handpicked with love, so carefully, systematically by her ten year old son, who did so much research and hard work for the gift, how could any Amma not like it!

I wore the earrings, the pendant and the perfume for Abhiir’s yr6 graduation to honour not just the gift, but his confidence on his choice and the effort he took in selecting the gift. I still have that handwritten note describing the brand name of the floral earrings set and the orchid perfume. It was four dirhams more than the decided amount, for which he had carried the coins! I will always keep the note and remember this incident with a proud teary smile.

I do believe, the kids of this generation know how to use technology much better than us millennials!

Later, I asked Arhaant what he would have got for me, if my name had been on his chit?

He said, I know you are very selective in your taste. Its not easy to find something that you will definitely like. So I would have brought real flowers - a bouquet of red and white roses or lilies and dark chocolate, all to fit perfectly in that budget. Nothing can go wrong there. I smiled to myself. He does know me too well...

But still, sometimes something offbeat, done with maximum love and belief may just bend all the rules for the mother within...

Now I understand when they say, its the process that’s more important than the end product. 

Dear Abhiir, 

I will never forget your sweet, meticulous gesture at the age of ten. Eleven on ten for that!

:: Gift and the handwritten note :: 

:: I wore it at the graduation!::

Past Phew Months

(For Arhaant at 16)

If someone had told us last year that the grade 10 board exams were going to be cancelled next year because of the War, we would have laughed! But here we are now, actually been through that situation! It's true. Sometimes what we worry about never really happens. And what we never even think about even in our wildest dreams, may actually happen!

After several weeks of cancelling, rescheduling, postponing and being on hold half-way through, the exams are finally done! These mock exams were treated as the final exams this year and the scores from these exams will be the final result. Fair enough.

In the earlier months of alarms and apprehension, I can’t imagine how these fifteen year olds must have felt! After much ado about the importance of these exams, the real deal happened in a much different setting. Many years later , these gen Z people would be telling the younger lot about the exam fiasco in “ their time” due to war, similar to how our grandparents talk about Independence and Partition or how our parents talk about floods and earthquakes of their time!

I definitely brag about having written my second book through COVID days and having started on my third through the uncertain war times!

The past “phew” months have tested most of us to the highest points of tolerance and patience, being on stand-by mode for the longest periods of time. As if being a parent to teens was not enough. However, the homeschooling bit this time was much easier to navigate than the COVID times. But exams are something my mind is accustomed to stress about.

During my tenth grade board exams, I used to ask my mother if I had studied well. She would just say without much thought but with a reassuring smile, “Yes, you have studied very hard and I am sure you will do well in your exams.”. Honestly, that statement was like a quick recharge for my mind. It's just about our mother being there for us when we need her around.

That’s exactly what I have tried to be for my older son this year. I will not take any credit from him about planning his study schedules. He has done it well and been quite sincere throughout this academic year. I have only been there to eavesdrop on some of those “late night online study meets” to check if it was really about the studies or some blue pill red pill discussions ;)

I have been there for that quick break of basketball on the terrace, one v one or two v one, when I kept telling the boys how our girls team used to lose terribly at the inter school basketball matches and they exchanged smiles, refusing to believe that their mother was on the inter school basketball team!

I’ve been there for those loving hummus and zaatar sandwiches and oats with fruit, accompanied by my motherly pep talk. For the fun of wall tennis on windy evenings, avoiding hitting too hard or else the ball will keep going into the neighbour’s garden. Or to become the bowler, when one is batting and the fielder when both of them are fighting over who gets to bat... and so on.

On the side, I have been doing some freelance landscape work, done lots of writing and art. On all the important milestones, I have tried my best to keep myself available for my children just like my mother used to.

The graduation celebration was a great success. It's a 'proud parent' feeling to watch our almost 16year old son walk in the graduation gown to collect his certificate. 

My much fancied double graduation(grade 10 for Ary and grade 5 for Aby) finally happened this year! We had missed one such opportunity back in 2021 when everything was online. But this is just the beginning. An important milestone, amongst many more to come.

Finally, since the exams and celebrations are over, we definitely need to take “phew” breaks this summer to recharge from the past few months! Phew!

Dear Arhaant,

Happy 16th Birthday! This is the first year when there are no exams on your birthday! The football season is here, like it is every four years around your birthday. Watching a football game with friends would be an ideal celebration! Keep swimming, drawing , playing whichever sport that is your favourite this year! Please don't overdo the weights! Yoga is equally important. Everything else after 18 ;)

And...most important - If you have to choose between being right and being kind, choose kind. (I know you want to choose right ;)

The IKEA style carrot cinnamon cake is on my to do list. Of course, mine will have finger millet flour and lots of other healthy things you may not always want ;)

Amma 

:: Arhaant at 16 :: 

:: Yr 11 Graduation ::

 

Creative Contributions

I am honoured to have been invited last month to this special event “Stories for the Love of The UAE”curated by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sandooq Al Watan and Austin Macauley Publishers, UAE, to celebrate the contributions of creative people, living in the UAE for many years.

I had an engaging conversation with Dr. Louise Lambert, through my first podcast, which presented a platform for me to highlight sparkling moments in my journey as a Landscape Architect, Artist and a Poet and experiences of the past few unusual months in the UAE.

My poetry book, AMAIRA the Little Woman, got a chance to be seen and heard, as a story through womanhood, with its beauty and struggles.

It's been a great experience, interacting with creative people from all over the world who have been calling UAE their home.

To get this equal opportunity is the freedom of expression, that speaks a lot about this nation.

Thank you

:: Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, UAE

:: Sandooq Al Watan

:: Austin Macauley Publishers, UAE

:: Dr. Louise Lambert

:: Stay tuned for the full conversation to be shared on this space ! ::

   

:: My First Podcast ::

:: Conversations with Dr. Louise Lambert ::

:: Stories of the UAE ::

 

Afternoon

In the perfectly cool shadows
of a late February afternoon,
neither too harsh like the midday sun,
nor too mellow like the evening,
the pergola casts a poised pattern
on the sun- washed walls.

Bougainvillea spreads her spiky arms
with pink- painted manicured fingers.
The world can stay busy,
but the leaves and buds are resting.
Like the cats in the sunbeams,
meditating on the rhythm
of their own tapping tail tips.

There's something so poetic
about Ramadan afternoons,
especially when coordinated
with the month of spring!

:: Afternoon is the fourth addition to this series of my earlier three poems - My Morning, Night and Evening :: 

https://quiethappiness-tasha.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-morning.html

https://quiethappiness-tasha.blogspot.com/2017/05/evening.html

https://quiethappiness-tasha.blogspot.com/2012/12/night.html

Portal of Midlife

The portal of midlife,
is a delicate difficult junction,
of change and challenges.
Lets give each other
another chance
to greet our older selves
with new eyes.
Hold my hand
and cross this threshold together…
Let’s renew “our space” again.

Over the years we have learnt, there cannot be two alphas in a relationship. When both partners have a strong individual identity, they often need to balance between playing alpha and beta as per the need of their life’s situation.

Marriage and Family cannot be an individual championship. It's a team sport, where each member needs to play at multiple positions.

When one partner gets to enjoy the limelight of playing center forward, the other partner shall guard the goal and play goalkeeper, at times filling in to be the defender as well. Grown up children eventually step in to play at mid level, helping both partners as required.

Currently, I think I am the goal keeper and sometimes, the referee. I got my chance to play center forward and be in the limelight. I will give the boys a chance to shine now at their positions.

Generally, males are programmed to have more 'doing’ energy while females to have more of a ‘receiving’ energy. If the woman has very strong beliefs and opinions, she sometimes needs to deliberately switch on her receiving energy in a marriage yet continue her 'giving energy’ in a family.

This is the delicate challenge that midlife presents in a marriage. As we count 19 years of married life, it's the portal of midlife which we must cross carefully together, helping each other along the way.

I hope this year steers us to the direction that aligns with our life’s true purpose.

:: Our 19th Anniversary pictures began at the Lempuyang Temple , Bali this Spring,  but the real celebration was a cycle ride date night in Abu Dhabi. We went to the posh hotel on our cycles, had a drink at the rooftop bar that windy evening in September and then cycled back, me, wearing a dress with trainers and a helmet, French style! This has been my favourite so far! Perfectly age-appropriate!:: 

:: Lempuyang Temple, Bali :: 

:: The Portal of Midlife ::

Unveiled

Radiant, shining, bright.
She looked dazzling that night.
Blushing in a reddish gold sari
like a newly wed bride.

But the wicked darkness cast an evil eye
and trapped her in a thick black spell.
She prayed in silence
for the dense fog to unveil.

Soon the veil began to shift
from one phase to the other.
Her shine was still intact,
but unrevealed to the world.

As the long cursed hour passed,
from childhood to youth
then motherhood to mid life,
untold stories flashed across her eyes.

When times are uncertain,
one needs to stay calm and pause.
Our aura isn't all lost,
It's only under wraps.

Blurring the lines
between what truly exists
and what can be perceived,
is an eclipse, waiting to lift.

And when that closed door slides open
our old vibrant self
will rise again in the vast sky
to glow like the full moon!

:: Inspired by the Lunar Eclipse on the night of September 7th. :: 

#lunareclipse #celestialwonders #quiethappinesstasha #takeapause 

Rumaira

 "Rumaira", my latest artwork, features the loving relationship between my boys and our lost cat Rumi... She would have turned four this June. Happy 4th birthday dear Rumi, wherever you are!

On a very sad note, last year after Diwali, Rumi wandered off a bit too far and never came back... We are still waiting for her with open arms...

Every Eid Al Adha, we used to celebrate her birthday, as she was a rescued kitten and we did not know her actual birthday. She came to our lives in the Eid holidays of 2021 and filled in the much needed colour and freshness, like the favourite red hibiscus she has borrowed from Amaira, in this artwork!

Rumi and Amaira are like my two ethereal daughters, symbolizing love and strength. This illustration brings together all my children in one frame! This is the first time my boys have been part of my illustrations. 

My artwork always starts with a first rough sketch on a tracing, like back in Architecture college days.  After the final tracing with ink, I fill in the thicker lines with black gouache paint. Thick red gouache paint is used to fill in the hibiscus. Once the ink and paint are dry, the sketch is brought into the digital medium for fine tuning of some linework. This is the process I have followed for all my illustrations showcased in my poetry book, AMAIRA, the little woman, creating my own Amaira signature style. 

I hope to express many more emotions along the way, through the same medium. 

#amairasignaturestyle #minimalistart #rumaira #paintandink #myboysandgirls #amairaart 

My Glimmers

I would always realise some moments in a day that would calm me down, bring inner joy and peace and make my heart sing. I did not know about ‘glimmers’ until I read a psychological article recently - - - ‘A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger—it is some kind of cue that brings one back to a sense of joy or safety. In our overstimulated worlds, glimmers can be the answer to regulating our overwhelmed nervous systems.’

From the beginning of this new year, I have let the Wind take charge of my life. To go with the flow. Accept new challenges that come along the way. I have taken that bold step towards a new beginning to see where I find myself towards the end of this year.

My life last month and my life this month are a totally different story. Somewhere that excites me, but at the same time, it scares me as well. It’s not easy to fit everything you’ve always loved into a much stricter schedule. Whenever we step out of our comfort zone in search of an upgraded life, Time is never on our side. It's either Time or Money. And that’s exactly how discovering these glimmers each day, each week become the pacifiers that help me look at the larger picture of life.

Watching the sunrise, feeling the warmth reaching deep inside my body, making every piece shine.

Discovering new flowers in my garden, the vines looking greener and denser, smiling to myself, I’ve taken good care of the garden.

A pair of laughing doves quenching their thirst in the bird bath full of floating pink bougainvillea flowers.

The neighbour’s cats walking on the parapet wall, owning our terrace!

Watching my children play outdoors and suddenly realising, they’ve grown taller.

Remembering my cat, Rumi, slept in shapeless ease on the sofa when I would come back from work, cuddling her, waking her up and watching her awesome yoga stretches.

Kris is already home, before I reach and ‘just poured’ hot tea is waiting for me. Aby is cleaning his football boots, very neatly and keeping them in the right place. Ary is studying for his Psychology test and seems to know much more than me in this subject. These are my magic beans!’ My Glimmers.

When God plays his card of time, we must learn to live in moments. I am learning this every minute of this new month, hoping to add more to my list of Glimmers, experiencing many familiar ones each week, trying to live life in a slow peaceful pace between two hurried blinks!

I found one this morning, when a fearless parrot visited the terrace and watched me water the plants! I’m still smiling. He gave me a great pose!

Let’s go, Wind! Let’s catch new glimmers!

Through Thick and Thin

Eighteen years ago, 

the delicate golden rings we exchanged,
have now turned into thick robust copper bands!

#eighteenyearstogether #throughthickandthin #happyanniversary #souvenirsfromsarajevo 

Unsung Melodies

I am someone who loves to document every bit of my travel stories and life incidents. But sometimes, many events remain undocumented, only because of being so engrossed in that moment or having much fun, that there was no reminder for grabbing the camera to capture them. Such times become memories that we actually never forget. They are the unsung melodies of our life!

This rainy season, we took a road trip to Sakleshpur from Bengaluru. Kris and he boys were with the cousins in their uncle’s big car, because they wanted to play road trip games and listen to their favorite tracks. In my sister’s car, it was just me, my sister and my father… Well, in hindsight, actually there was another unseen member traveling with us…my mother’s memories!

It was so natural for us to start listening to old Hindi film songs and some old Marathi “mood songs” from the 70s and 80s . One by one, they kept playing in a rhythm, unfolding one memory after the other… My mother used to listen to these songs while doing her chores. We used to do our annual Diwali cleaning and the same songs would play on an audio tape — side A for one film and side B for another! My father always has many interesting stories to tell about each film song , its music director, lyricist and the singers. His knowledge about movies is outstanding. As my sister drove, I was juggling between being a navigator and playing the songs. Baba was actually the RJ, giving us some trivia with every musical note! Honestly, the journey of about five hours through a hide-n-seek of rain and sun just went by in no time! It was almost like our mother was right there with us, letting us know which song she wanted to hear next..

That weekend, at Mugilu, a homestay in Sakleshpur, the rain never stopped! We had three cottages, separated by a narrow pathway full of wet leaves, ferns, leeches, tall trees swaying in the wind and constant rain! Reaching from one cottage to the other was an adventure in itself! There were four Indie dogs that selflessly kept showing us the way!

On one such drenched evening, the weather called for staying indoors with music, scotch on the rocks and playing cards! This homestay is designed for a screen -free holiday. There were no TVs. The kids were sitting in the balcony, looking at the dance of the tall spice plantations with peppercorns and bay leaves, playing some quizzes and eating onion fritters, noodles and nuts. The grown-ups, on the other hand, got engrossed in many-a- game of poker! Turns out that Baba is actually very good at it! He taught my newly-turned-fourteen son how to play poker. We used UNO cards as fake money and went on with our games as the frivolous windy evening melted into a night spiked with insect buzz! This has been my best unphotographed memory of the trip so far! We just lost the count of time. The dogs came to call us for an extraordinary country style dinner, served at the rain-deck, a five minute walk through the twisty rainy plantations! Of course, the hill treks with cows, muddy streams, leech attacks and strange insect bites also contributed to the ambience. Just that continuous hum of the rain, flavored with old Hindi film songs playing in the background, the humble meals and the most memorable family time was what made this weekend getaway so special!

In the earlier week in Pune, when I met my girls gang from school, the “Gol Gappa Gals”, we spent almost the entire night playing endless laughter-filled games of Pictionary with our unique combination of rosado wine and spicy banana chips! After a laid-back evening swim followed by a giggles-n-gossip stroll by the rolling greens, we spotted a dancing peacock surrounded by four peahens! Again, very special memories undocumented in pictures!

Each time, moistening my lashes, these unsung melodies still continue to play in my mind long after returning to the desert…

Also - Ran

With little chubby legs
when you toddled your way around
exploring exciting new routes,
I ‘also-ran’ behind you…
only to keep you safe.

When you waited, confused
on unknown turns,
I held your tiny hands,
‘also-ran’ with you,
helped you choose...

My role has been to guide you,
show you the right direction.
Not to pave the way for you,
but to see you take the lead,
while I also-run…

Now both of you
are running ahead of me,
fast and independent.
I also-run, then wait and watch, proudly,
your silhouettes against the sun…

You need to find your inner calling
and build your own road when needed.
Just once in a while, turn back and look out for me…
perhaps a bit slower now, your mum,
‘also-running’, with one eye on your finish-line!

#tomyteenageson #growingupboys  #rolereversal #mumgetsolder 

:: This poem is especially to my teenage son, who is turning 14 in a few days...::

My Memory of YOU

 Its been almost 3 years since my sister and I lost our mother. But her memories just come and grip us every now and then and coincidentally, at the same time! I think, its this time of the year that the mind floods with her memories and they keep reminding us of her last days in March 2021.

I wrote this poem originally in my mother tongue, Marathi, I've also translated it into English, myself because automated translations never seem to do justice to the original works.

तुझी आठवण

वार्‍याच्या एका हलक्या लाटेबरोबर, 

मनाच्या काठावर अचानक येऊन बसते…

तुझी आठवण. 

तू असतीस तर हे म्हणाली असतीस, 

तू असतीस तर हे केलं असतं, 

याची आठवण करून देते…

तुझी आठवण. 

ओळखीच्या रस्त्यांवरून चालताना, 

एका अनोळखी वळणावर डोकावते...

संध्याकाळची रात्र होताना

काळोखाच्या चादरीवर चांदण्या वेचत राहते. 

तू लिहिलेल्या पुस्तकात तुला शोधायला निघते…

पण भेटते स्वतःलाच तुझ्या गोष्टींमध्ये!

तू असतीस तर तुलाही माझ्या कवितेत 

तुझा उल्लेख सापडला असता!

आणि अशीच पुन्हा एकदा कागदाच्या सुगंधात 

अचानक एका ओळीवर थांबून

हळूच हाक मारते…

तुझी आठवण!

- नताशा बेडेकर

My memory of YOU

Drifting with a wave of the breeze,

she sits unknowingly

on the edge of the mind —

my memory of YOU.

She reminds me

of what you would have said…

what we could have done together, 

if only you were here…

Walking down familiar roads,

she peeps from behind an unfamiliar bend.

As the evening turns older and wiser,

she plucks stars from

the night’s dark blanket.

I set out to find you,

through your book,

but end up finding myself

in the stories you've written.

How I wish you could have found yourself

in the lines of my poems…

if only you were here…

And then once again,

in the fragrance of timeworn diary pages,

suddenly she pauses upon a sentence,

and calls out to me…

my memory of YOU.

:: Rajgad, Pune (2017) :: 

Last but not the Least

This year has been different. I have realized the difference between solitude and loneliness. I can say that solitude is my happy place where I go back to find myself.

More than anything else, this year has made me take those big risks in life, told me to take a chance without being scared. I gave up a lot for something I have truly believed in for many years. I dared to walk away from the rat race to follow my calling.

I quit my well paying job and my comfortable position. I embraced myself without any designations. I am enough and still worthy without that position and that pay cheque. I don't need to feel guilty for taking a break to do something different.

I have led a fulfilling life, even if I  have earned less money than before. I know, only love and passion are not enough to keep the engine running. But there has been lots in life to keep me motivated. I have celebrated little wins. 

The most important event has of course been the publishing of Amaira, the little woman, my second poetry book, that I had kept safe in my heart for many years. I have received amazing reviews from readers across the world. I am really grateful for this.

Amaira has given me hope. Everything may not happen exactly at a particular time, but it will happen when it has to. I have faith. It has made me a believer.

The second most important event has been my alumni presentation “Landscapes: Outer and Inner”. It has been the right platform I had been looking for, to share my story with the world. I am so happy I came out and spoke about my life and journey of 17 years thus far, through this profession of landscape architecture. It also gave me an opportunity to introduce the underlying depths of my book, Amaira, the little woman, to those from my creative field.

2023 has pushed me to find my purest sources of joy _ _ _ My home, my garden, my cat, my boys.

I talk to my plants every morning as I spot new flowers. When I look at my cat sipping water, it quenches my thirst. When I see my boys cycling fast in the community garden, it just brings a smile to my face.

This year I have also learnt how to capture the best memories in the form of short videos combined to form musical reels. I am experimenting with this creative form of expression.

Since the past couple of months, I have been doing some freelance landscape designing work from home. It fulfills my creative thirst without a lot of stress. But the pay with freelance works is nowhere close to the comfortable monthly pay at the end of each month, that comes from a regular 9 to 5 job. But this is something to keep me going for the time being. 

I am definitely more flexible this year, in all ways possible! My knowledge of yoga has gone up. I learnt about mudras and mantra meditation. I have played more ping pong, I swam more, ran more, cycled more, danced more and I bathroom-sang more than any other year!

I recreated ten of my mother’s recipes. And I have begun to call myself a poet --- proudly and comfortably!

I look forward to new things in 2024. Here are some resolutions and hopes for the new year —

Happy 2024!

1. Earn more, save more.
2. Learn Tai Chi
3. Continue yoga and other forms of staying fit physically and mentally.
4. Try a 10km marathon.
5. Participate in more book fairs and book signing events.
6. Hope for more reviews for Amaira.
7. See Amaira in more book shops and in more homes.
8. Trip with my sister and family as every year to a new place in India.
9. Try to fit all the things learnt in 2023 into the new routines of 2024.
10. Drive on unknown roads bravely.
11. More of gardening, cycling, ping pong, swimming, running, sketching.
12. Keep exploring new places.
13. Face your fears. 
14. Note your insecurities and work on them.
15. Read more books. 
16. Be genuinely interested in football!---I can do that much for my boys ;)
17. Master the freestyle stroke.
18. Eat clean.

:: First Sunrise of 2024 @Hatta ::

Frangipani Fest

As landscape architects, we generally know how to design around plants and with plants. But to really understand the behaviour of plants and trees, we must know what a gardener knows. A good gardener feels the pulse of each plant. He knows how much to prune a plant and when. He intuitively waters the plants according to their needs through changing seasons. Basically, he can read the minds of plants! And that's exactly why, these days I am doing an internship with the gardener of my compound. And funnily, he doesn't even know that I am trying to be his student ;) But he's one happy chappy, ready to share a few gardening tips every now and then.

This morning, I saw him chopping off some branches of my favourite Frangipani tree. I ran outside a tad annoyed. But he told me that the increasing bunches of flowers this season have been weighing the tree down to one side. He needed to prune the branches on that side to keep the balance of the tree and stop it from bending down. I agreed, the tree needed pruning.

Immediately I began collecting the fallen branches that still carried loads of white and yellow flowers. He was saving them for me. These are the flowers I collect every morning.

He also warned me about the white sticky ‘milk’ that leaks from the chopped branches of a frangipani tree. I was actually aware of it. I have grown up around these trees in my childhood garden in India. We didn't exactly have this particular frangipani (plumeria obtusa) but we had the one with pink flowers(plumeria rubra) . My sisters and I used to have our hands smeared with that white sticky milk while playing “flower sellers”!

Soon I had several large bunches of long stemmed frangipani flowers, enough to decorate one tropical beach wedding party! Oh what a treat! I arranged the flowers in baskets on my terrace and made a few bridal bouquets as well. Oh I felt like a flower queen! It was indeed a frangipani festival marking the beginning of pleasant weather.

Creative Collaboration

Khalil Gibran has said - - - “Let there be spaces in your togetherness.  Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup…”  

As we celebrate 17 years of married life and 22 years of togetherness, I can say, it's the ‘SPACES in our togetherness’ that have kept us together all these years. Like being in the same room, but dancing to your own heart’s tune…

My idea of love was never the goody-goody type. Definitely NOT about the guy going down on his knees, offering diamonds to the girl. It was more about having a creative life partner, you want to grow old with. Someone who could give me constructive criticism about my work, with whom I could discuss design, art, photography and everything creative; who could push me into doing more than I thought I could. It was about making beautiful handcrafted things for each other, cooking for each other…And with Krishna, it's been exactly this! 

Once during our dating times, I had asked Krishna to make a portrait of me, just like he used to for our professors and friends. When I saw my completed sketch portrait, it highlighted my thin eyebrows, crooked nose, pimples, not the most flattering hairstyle and dark circles under my eyes!!! A part of me was angry, but the other half was actually happy. I had received my mirror of reality! This was one solid guy, who I knew , would never try to impress me with fake compliments. He would keep me grounded. He would be my best critic. And that day I asked him to be my architect partner for our future dream home!!!

Since then, we have had a healthy, creative competition going on.  The latest is about who makes better chicken? Or who is better at sketching! 

I am winning at the chicken one these days. Our boys are the judges, also bitten by the creative bug that architecture has sown in our minds back in college days. 

I cannot imagine my mornings without the best steamy cup of tea that Krishna has been making for the past 17 years!! There is no competition at tea making…I am willing to lose each time!

With increasing wrinkles,

smiles seem wider.

Hair salt-n-pepper,

but conversations, spicier.

Celebrations, simpler;

Experiences, richer.

Drinks become milder,

but Life’s half full cup, 

bigger and better!

Looking forward to a continued creative collaboration. 

Cheers to the spaces in our togetherness.

#happyanniversary #17years #spacesinourtogetherness #creativecollaboration

:: Creative Collaboration ::