Wednesday 5 August 2015

The Roller Coaster Ride

Last Sunday evening... I got home after work, to a gorgeous rainbow - oops double rainbow! Such a beautiful sight - I was thrilled beyond containment :D
Later that evening, the Strathmore folks had invited us with Maa-Baba over for dinner. We basked under the warm golden yellow light, with Kishore and Lata's melodious voices in the background, while the lovely food grabbed all the attention. Much effort was put in by our new friends - Ankur, Chandni and Vivek; not to forget our old friend, Eshaan. :) It was so heart-warming to listen to some of my all-time favourite tracks like Raina beeti jaaye  and Beeti na bitaaye raina, while the moon rose higher up the night sky.

Monday evening, at the fag end of my evening shift, as I was heading back after handing over a patient to the ICU team, I got a message from one of my close friends from college, Prudhvi and then, learnt that one of our good friends was going to get hitched soon! What a surprise! I was so kicked, I tried my luck and called him up via Whatsapp. God bless technological advancements. A decade ago, we were still struggling with dial up internet; and now I can call him, serving in a rural area, via phone, pretty much for free! It was so good to listen to his voice and tease and laugh together. There's that thing about close friends isn't it? You don't have to necessarily talk everyday, but when you do, you can always resume where you last stopped and it just feels so uplifting :)

The next morning, I helped Maa-Baba pack and tried to rest in the afternoon, pre-night shift. I also decided I'll accompany Prantik to drop my in-laws off at the airport, later in the evening. So we headed together to Changi Airport. The check-in as always was smooth, and I quickly got a greeting card, to express our gratitude to Maa-Baba for the lovely summer '15; After which, we had some appetizers at the Thai restaurant. Soon enough, it was time for them to immigrate. We took our last welfie before we parted ways. Farewells aren't kind on the heart, ever but guess, it's always the promise to meet soon, that keeps us going...

Getting back to a seemingly empty home, just the two of us, after good 2 months, felt different, to say the least. It's like a glaring void, that we don't know how to fill. But, I guess, time heals. And soon enough, our own voices echo against the walls and fill up our rooms, giving us the illusion that we aren't alone...

In the meantime, the country was mourning the passing away of the former People's President, the inspirational teacher, India's Missile Man, who truly gave Wings of Fire to the vision of India 2020 - a Bharat Ratna indeed - A.P.J. Abdul Kalam passed away while doing what he enjoyed most, teaching. Such a blessed soul :) He shall be missed. May his ideas and values, continue to ignite minds and serve as a beacon light for our nation, in the decades ahead...
Also, a couple of days later, the nation witnessed the execution of Yakub Memon, brother of Tiger Memon, responsible for the Mumbai 1993 terrorist blasts. Hundreds lost their lives, and many more remain scarred for life. This execution was debated over by lawyers and many well-read folks but I know of one of my friends' father, who was a victim of the blasts. Though, the main accused are still out in the wild and evading the police and interpol, Yakub's hanging probably tries to send out a strong message from the country's legal system, point of view. (To the many fanatic terrorist groups, he probably is a martyr!) But if I were to ask the many victims, if this changes anything? I am not entirely convinced of that... For what's lost, is lost in the sands of time, forever. And though, the wounds have since healed, the scars will remind them, constantly, of that dreadful day. And there is truly, never a complete closure...

The week, thus started out, as quite an emotional roller-coaster ride. We decided to watch the LKY Musical - a tribute to Singapore's Founding father. It was a well orchestrated performance, with anecdotes from Lee Kuan Yew's early life. It served as a reminder, to all Singaporeans,  of the impact he's had in transforming a fishing village to a formidable red dot on the world's map. The 9-box concept for transitioning between different scenes and times was quite unique and well-executed. We then grabbed light dinner at the French Bistro - a date night after what feels like ages! :)

Once in a blue moon, which was on Friday, my off day, Pran worked from home, in the morning. :P It was good to spend the day at home, organising the kitchen cabinets and the fridge :) That evening, we were invited for dinner at one of Prantik's friends' place. I had met them only once before; it was rather kind of them to invite us over while his father was in town. We had good fun conversation and Chicken Biryani for dinner :)
Saturday, we were to attend another housewarming party, and I had even picked up a wine bottle for them, but an hour later, I found myself sprawled in the living room, my body demanding rest. So we called it a raincheck and stayed home instead. Pran and I caught up while enjoying the gentle breeze...

The Asthavakra Gita teaches one to be a witness only; may all events that occur, float as clouds, while we remain untouched and maintain our poise. Over the weekend, my parents were at Tirupati, a pilgrimage temple in South India, with a group of friends, while I continued, to just be...
Steve Jobs' mantra was to "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" while Sri Sri Ravi Shankar advocates to "Stay Hollow & Empty" thus, I just stayed me...

A week of farewells, and some goodbyes forever...
A week high on emotion.
A week of seeing the rainbow, beyond the rain :)

T-10wks




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