thebanterinmyhead

Happy new year 3018

Women take on the Universe

As the sun rises on 3018, the premier leaders (all females) of 180 planets of the universe congregate at Sayuri Jima off erstwhile Japan. As they bask in the first rays of the morning sun, they plan to throw a huge party for having finally created a perfect world.

Tsehtan is right now the Supreme Commander and has readily agreed to this. She has delegated the division of works and responsibilities to Urgyan, the next in command. Urgyan has huge plans for this party and she wants to make it a huge success.

Trama and Phunchog are expecting their second child together. When Sonam was born, Trama had carried the child in her womb so this time Phunchog has decided to take up the responsibility to bring in their second baby. Rajesh and Pulkit on the other hand are still trying to decide who should conceive their child due to their work responsibilities. Urgyan is hoping that they take this decision very soon as they both are the head choreographers and DJs for the party. So at least one has to be there, physically fit and making people groove.

Palzom’s team has finally figured out how to make fuel at home from air after they discovered how it is to be made from water a few years back. She is planning to launch this on the day of the party itself so that anyone and everyone can make it at home. All that they will need to do is buy a machine as an initial investment and they are sorted for life. The government is then planning to remove all fuelling stations and make parks and play areas for the children and the elderly. The massive oil spills ten years back that caused havoc on the planets forced them to look at other sustainable and renewable sources of energy.

Tashi needs to get her knee replacement and cataract surgery done. She is also going to get her diabetes and hypertension removed from her body this time. They have these health pods in every hospital and health centers at all levels in which you just have to lie down. The machine assesses your physical problems and then asks you what all you need to be treated. All you have to do is fill in your details, press the necessary buttons and take a nap or read a book. The machine will do its work and let you know when it is done. Till last year, Tashi could not afford this service. But this year under President Tsehtan’s leadership, the government has subsidized this scheme. Also this year Tashi’s son and daughter have both started working after completing their education. She will finally get a brand new body and will be able to visit the 65th planet Tholong. She has heard it rains diamonds there. Now wouldn’t that be a fine thing to see.

Drolma, the head security officer of all the planets has finally achieved her target of teaching self defense to the entire population of all the planets, both men and women. She had solemnly pledged to do this when she took over this position. She also plans to make this huge announcement on the day of the party. Thanks to her efforts, crime rate is almost nil across all the planets. Isn’t that something to be really celebrated with great pomp and show?

Life is much better. People are healthier and genuinely happier than ever. There are no rich or poor people. Everybody lives a comfortable life. Everybody has a source of income. Everybody contributes to the economy. Men and women are at par with each other, not just theoretically but in true practical sense too. There is tons of greenery every where. The weather is pleasant and perfect all round the year. The air is fresher and purer than ever.

Nobody had thought that this was ever possible, specially after what Earth went through many years back. But history has stood witness to the fact that when men and women unite and put their heart and soul into something, it always comes true. The prefect world has been achieved. It only needs to be maintained. They are already training the present younger generation for this. The children are being raised to be more loving, caring and compassionate. They know that they are being a huge responsibility of keeping this world a beautiful place. Supreme commander Tsehtan is pretty sure that the current generation will not disappoint her.

As the sun rises on 3018, the premier leaders (all females) of the 180 planets of the universe congregate at Sayuri Jima, off erstwhile Japan, they plan on doing so much when I’m suddenly jolted from my day dream by Miraya who is looking at me and saying “mumma, potty, saaf “ while the maid is also staring at me and asking “Didi, what do I make for dinner. There is bhindi and tinde”.

This blog post is a part of #Womensdayblogparty
. I’d like to thank Sagarika Das for introducing me. Read her post for this blog party here https://sagarikapodder.wordpress.com
Also do go to my friend Shruti’s blog post on https://thebittersweetmommy.wordpress.com/to read what she has say on this women’s day.

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The Dreamer Mum

Aesha’s Musings

Baby & Beyond

YOO HOO!! WOOT WOOT!!

I am sure by now it is clear from the title of my blog that I am excited as hell about something. Let me share the news with you.

No, I am not pregnant. (I have no such intentions also).

No, I have not won the lottery. (Sigh, I wish I did).

Instagram happened to me almost six years back when I downloaded it because I saw someone else put up lovely photos with awesome filters. I put up two photos and then forgot about it. I got busy with work and life in general. I did not have time and energy for social media after a hectic day at the office. Then I got pregnant and quit my job at the same time. So technically I spent a lot of my time on my phone or TV. Yes, I know books were also an option but I had kind of lost interest in reading anything that time. And that’s when Instagram happened to me again.

This time I looked at it with a whole new perspective. I started following a lot of interesting accounts, one of them being Nikita from @beingmammabear. No, I am not buttering her up. I found her writing funny and relatable. Other than birthing her daughter, she also birthed the idea of a monthly photo challenge called We Are Real Moms or as we called it that time, WARM. The aim was to help moms put their real self in front of the world and help build a community of like-minded moms who would help and support each other and just have fun in general. All this was going on while some lovely photos and heartfelt stories were put up.

When the challenge started, I was back in my village in Himachal and my Internet connection was sketchy there. I saw the prompts and thought to myself “Go do it, girl. Put your story out there as well.” Procrastination has always been my biggest enemy. And it won in that month as well.

Come June and I participated. I knew I was hooked on to it now. I participated in the forthcoming months on an on and off basis. I never won anything but it was so lovely to read so many real stories and see such a lovely and a varied array of photos. A different theme was chosen every month and the quality and quantity just improved at every step.

And then that lovely day finally came when I got a call from Nikita asking if I wanted to host the March Challenge. Of course, I said yes, without an ounce of doubt. Yayayyayay!!!! Imagine me doing a little happy dance at that moment and even now as I write this. My co-host for this month is the lovely, sweet, soft-spoken Namrata from @snamzz. You can go check her profile too. Both of us were interviewed for this and these are up on the blog of @lifeofrealmoms. You can read the full interviews here.

https://lifeofrealmoms.com/2018/02/24/real-mom-dr-pooja-kapoor

For those of you absolutely new to this concept of LORM and wanting to know more about it and even participate in it, do click on that link. It will take you into this magical world of mommies who are tired, sleep deprived, have been pooped and peed and vomited on, haven’t maybe eaten properly or combed in days but are not afraid to share their stories with the world.

Go go. Click click. See you all on the other side, hopefully.

A Lost Love

The girl and the boy met four years back. Their first meeting was nothing short of a world war. The boy thought that the girl was a little too over friendly while the girl felt that the boy had some serious attitude issues. They met at an office meeting, exchanged some formal pleasantries just to maintain the decorum but did not like each other at all.

Days passed and turned into weeks, which soon turned into months. They both forgot about each other and got busy with their respective work schedules. Then one winter morning, the girl’s phone beeped and she was more than surprised to see a message from the boy. It was work related. They started talking and discussing the issue. They both did not know what that one simple innocent message had in store for them.

The conversation that had started on a formal official note soon turned into getting to know each other more. Thus started a lifelong unbreakable friendship. They would talk for hours together. They could talk about anything and everything under the sun. They would discuss their families, their work, their friends and their foes. They knew that they could count on each other to be there when needed. They could fall back on each other in times of emergencies. From downright hating each other, they became best friends.

The girl’s husband knew of the strong bond that the boy and the girl shared and it kept him relieved that there was someone who would take care of his wife as he was far away from her. Together, the three were a riot. They cracked the dirtiest jokes and laughed out loud at the silliest of them. When the three met together, it was nothing but fun and laughter. They were the loudest in the crowd.

But society did not approve of this setup. The boy moved away and they do not meet anymore. They do not even talk to each other anymore. It has been more than two years that they have seen each other. They have stopped exchanging emails or phone call or messages. But they still remember each other’s birthdays and anniversaries. They wish each other in their heart and say a silent prayer every day hoping that the other one is happy, safe and sound wherever they are.

The husband sees the girl’s pain each day and he knows that she misses her best friend every day. He feels sad that he cannot do much about this situation. But he has never tried to replace her best friend. She is thankful to have such a loving and understanding husband in her life. She is also thankful to have met her best friend, although having him around would have made things better. Knowing that he is in a happy place makes her happy too.

So I leave you with the lyrics from a song,

Umra Bhar Ka Saath De Jo
Kyun Wohi Pyaar Ho.
Kyun Na Mitt Ke Jo Fanaa Ho
Woh Bhi Pyaar Ho.

(One that stays with you all your life why is only that love. One that sacrifices itself for the other is also a form of love).

Love and relationships are complicated. Cherish what you have and value the people you have. You never know what the future holds for you.

This post is a part of the blog train started by Jasmeet of http://www.mommyvoyage.comand Anchal of http://www.themumstory.com/. They have networked to bring together moms to share their take on Love and Relationships in this month of Love .

I am grateful to Ankita Raj who blogs at https://caringmommadiaries.wordpress.com, for introducing me to the blog train.

I now let the train pass from my station and reach yet another wonderful place on Sagarika Das’s blog at https://sagarikapodder.wordpress.com

Letter of love – to my beloved.

I am thrilled to be participating in a five day “LOL-a-thon” organized by “The Momsteins”. Join us to read some wonderful letters written by 25 cool bloggers. Stay around to read some amazing letters coming up.

Today’s prompt is “letters of love- to your beloved.”

To the love of my life
It took me more than an hour to think of what to write to you. It is not because I do not have anything to say. It is because I have too much to say but I do not know where to start.

We first met in 2009 and we started off as friends. I do not even remember when that friendship turned into love. I remember proposing you via messaging one day, after you had dropped me off to my friend’s place. You did not reply for a full two and a half hours. I was so worried. I thought I had lost the friend also in you. I eventually found out you were stuck in traffic and had not checked your phone. You never proposed me and me being my usual hyper self had no time to wait. 🤣🤣

And then started a cross country love story. Me being from the north of the country and you being from the south, I knew from the beginning itself that we were bound to have problems in getting our relationship accepted by our families, in getting used to each other’s cultures, traditions, food, dressing sense and pretty much everything else. Have you noticed how I’ve perfected my dosa making skills over the years?? 😂

You have stood next to me like a rock over the years. You supported every decision of mine, well almost every one of them. When I decided to suddenly quit my job and study, when I decided to streak my hair red, when I kept adding to my piercing and tattoos collection and even helped me out with the designs.

Yes, sometimes I don’t like you. You are messy and unorganized. You will never put back your clothes into your cupboard the way you took them out and I’ve to keep picking up things after you. You sometimes go into “selective hearing coma” and end up either repeating what I just said or asking me a question about that same topic a minute later. I know you do not listen to everything I say but you do listen to everything important that I say.

You are a lucky guy to have found me. 😂😎 And I know someone up there is very very happy with whatever you did in your past life that you found me. I’m too good to be true. And I’ll continue to be so. Please do continue to love me and cherish me all your life. I’ll try and do the same.

Also, please get milk and curd on your way home just like you do everyday.
😂 😂 😂 😂 (A blogger friend has probably written this in her letter too. Totally copying the idea from her 🤣🤣🤣).

I would like to thank Priyanka for introducing me. You can read her post here https://mommynshanaya.wordpress.com

I would also like to introduce my fellow blogger Lohitha. You can read her wonderful post on the prompt here https://somebeautifulsmiles.wordpress.com

Letters of Love- to myself

Today’s prompt is “letters of love- to your older or younger self”.

Here I am, writing a letter to myself. I had never thought I would do so, but I guess my blogging experience had some other plans for me. So I thought about it really hard whether I should write to the younger Pooja or the older Pooja. The younger one has made many mistakes, some that I regret even today. I have taken decisions, which were not right then and are still not right. I have learnt lessons from these wrong decisions but that regret is still there. But then, there is nothing that I can do about them. It is in the past now. My future though is still ahead of me. And there are still many years left in my life (hopefully) where I can bring about some changes. Therefore I shall be addressing this letter to the future Pooja.

Dear Pooja from the future,

I hope you have aged gracefully and beautifully. I hope you have stopped coloring your grey hair and have accepted them as a part of your growing up. I hope those greys shine away to glory when you sit down in the sun on your balcony with your coffee by your side and enjoying your favorite book. I hope you also have a huge pile of books that are still waiting to be touched. I hope your wrinkles talk about all the smiles and laughter you have shared with your family and friends. I hope your eyes still shut completely when you laugh. I hope the spots on your face have only added to your beauty. I hope you are more in love with yourself than you are right now.

I hope you are still best friends and still in love with your darling husband and he is right there next to you enjoying the sun but not reading anything. You couldn’t manage to get him also to enjoy books? That’s ok. You tried. He probably enjoys you enjoying your books more than reading them himself. I hope you guys have a dog or maybe more by your side, giving you company too.

I hope Miraya has grown up to be a kind, caring and a loving lady. Is she already married too? Do not force her if she still has not chosen to do so. I hope you respect her choices as an individual. Has she colored her hair green? Oh, that’s ok, remember that’s her choice. Plus it is your favorite color. You have raised her well. Have faith in her. She will not do anything to bring harm to you or herself. Besides, you will always be there by her side to support her when she needs it and asks for it.

I hope your home is comfortable. It doesn’t matter whether it is big or small but I hope it is filled with lots of sunshine, smiles and warm hugs. Is it already filled with grandkids running around? I hope your home is still the “go to place” for all your friends. I hope you still have loads of parties and people still love the food you make with love. I hope you are still enjoying good health even with those tequila shots competitions that you still compete at with your crazy bunch of friends.

I hope you are still as fun as you used to be when you were young. I hope you have some regrets from your past so that you do not commit those mistakes again. I hope you learn from the younger Pooja and become a better person. I hope your family and friends are proud of you. I hope you are proud of yourself. I hope you love yourself even more as you age. An empty vessel cannot provide any food to others. So fill yourself with love, laughter and genuine happiness which shall then spill over in abundance to all those around you.

Stay the same babe. Be your own favorite, always. Be you.

I would like to thank Pavneet for introducing me. You can read her post here https://vintage-mommy.com

I would also like to introduce my fellow blogger Alpana. You can read her wonderful post on the prompt here http://mothersgurukul.com/

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Letters of love – to your neighbor

Today’s prompt is “letters of love- to your neighbor”.

Dear Neighbor… in bed,

My dearest little neighbor in bed, sleeping oh so peacefully, let me begin by saying, I love you. I do say this too often, right? I know, every mother does. And those reading this right now, agree with me and are probably smiling right now.

Your daddy used to be my neighbor in bed till 29^th November 2015 when we found out that you had already started forming inside me. Since then, you have taken up that space your father and me and we are so glad you have done so. Since that day, you have always been by my side. I have felt you grow inside me. I felt you move and kick around inside me. I felt your hiccups inside me. The day the doctor showed us your little heart beating on that screen, I can never put down in words my feelings from that day. No matter how hard I try, no matter how many dictionaries I open, no matter how many writing applications I try, I will never be able to describe how it felt. I will tell you this many times till you grow up and yourself decide to form life inside you. Maybe that day you will finally understand what exactly I felt that day.

You came into our lives on 17^th July 2016 and since then you have been my actual physical neighbor in bed. Someone who cries at nights, earlier due to hunger and now due to dreams probably. I have fed you, comforted you and patted you back to sleep. I have been kicked by you, woken up with your face or your feet or your bum against my face. I have told you stories, some real and some imaginary. I have made your uncles and aunts sit on zebras and giraffes and walk around in boots covered with penguin and panda designs. These are some of the animals you recognize and sometimes want stories made around them. Your father has made imaginary stories about crocodiles and cockroaches because you wanted to. You are his neighbor in bed too after all.

My darling neighbor in bed let me tell you, you are a beautiful child who has nothing but love to offer to everyone. I see you going and shaking hands with children in the vegetable market. I have seen you shower smaller children in the park with your hugs and kisses. It makes my heart swell with pride that I made you. I created you from scratch. Well yes, biologically your father helped too but then I would like to take maximum credit for bringing such a beautiful baby into this world. Stay the same my girl. Be kind, be generous, and be compassionate. The world might not always reciprocate your feelings. Do not be disheartened. Give them one more chance and if they still hurt you, keep your head high and walk away. (I will go beat them up meanwhile, don’t you worry).

My sweet little neighbor, Mumma, and papa are super happy to have you in our lives. I thank God every single day for giving me a chance to be your mother, for giving me this opportunity to try and raise you into a good human being. Yes, I know I sometimes scream at you during the day. I might have even hit you once in a while. (Those of you judging me by reading this, I have never ever hit her very hard, and you can judge me all you want). As you lie here in bed next to me, dreaming away to glory, let me apologize to you for that. I never meant to hurt you in any way but I am human too. And sometimes, your crankiness and clinginess become a little too much to handle. I know you also have a reason for your erratic behavior but I just sometimes fail to understand it and I get flustered. I know you understand me my sweet child and you forgive and forget immediately. Stay the same baby.

So my dearest neighbor in bed, you might someday move out of our bed and go lie down in your bed, but you will never move out of our hearts. You are an irreplaceable part of us. We love you to all the farthest galaxies and back. Till you move away, let me just snuggle some more with my squishy soft neighbor and dream away.

I would like to thank Surabhi for introducing me. You can read her post here http://www.pearlncaramel.winkl.co

I would also like to introduce my fellow blogger Neha. You can read her wonderful post on the prompt here bloggifiedmom@wordpress.com

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Letters of Love- to my SSCs

I am thrilled to be participating in a five day “LOL-a-thon” organized by “The Momsteins”. Join us to read some wonderful letters written by 26 cool bloggers. Stay around to read some amazing letters coming up.

Today’s prompt is “letters of love- to an inanimate object”.

Dear SSCs

Wondering what that short form is all about. Well, read on and you will figure it out.

So dear SSCs,

We were such good friends. We fit like a glove. We were best buddies. We did everything together. We ate together, worked together and slept together. We were madly in love with each other. We were inseparable.

You were there when I excelled my school exams. You were there when I won all the competitions that were held in school or even the inter-school competitions. You had my back when I did not win something that I deserved. You stayed with me through school farewell too. Oh, I still miss that day when we said goodbye to all our friends.

We went on dates together. You were there when I met my so-called “first love”. You were there when I had my first heartbreak. You helped me wipe my tears. You gave me warmth when I needed it the most. You helped me stay dry in those rains. You were there when the cold winter breeze was freezing me. You protected me from the harsh summer sun. You were there during our beautiful spring walks.

We went to medical school together. We dissected bodies together. We learned so many things together. We had our share of failures too. Remember that one time when the biochemistry teacher asked me that question and I had no clue she was even talking to me. You were there, all this while. Do you also remember that time when I jumped over the walls of my hostel so that I could go out for tea at 4 am with my friends? Do you remember how I landed on some thorny bushes and ended up hurting myself and crying? You helped me wipe my tears.

Then we went on to do post graduation and that is when you started distancing yourself from me? It was all still the same. I was still studying, going for dates, eating my heart out and partying when I felt like. Then what happened SSCs? Why did you slowly move away? Did I hurt you in some irreparable way?

Once I got married and had my baby, you completely broke off all relationships with me. You did not even want to look at me. You are still all around me. You are still everywhere I go. I have tried to come close to you so many times but you just did not want to be with me. You just did not want to fit like a glove again.

I miss you. I miss you a lot and I pray to God every day for you to come back into my life. Although I do not actively do anything about it, Lord knows that I would love to have you back. Now, you are just lying in my cupboards and my suitcases with some of your tags also still on, staring at me, looking me with disappointment and maybe disgust too. Oh my Small Sized Clothes, will you ever fit me again?

I would like to thank Mohita for introducing me. You can read her post here http://mommaloveskabir.blogspot.in
I would also like to introduce my fellow blogger Shruti. You can read her wonderful post on the prompt here https://fastnfeminist.wordpress.com/.

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#TheMomSagas
#Mummasaurus

Letters of love- To my parents

Today’s prompt is “letters of love- to my parents”

Dear Ama and Ba,

These are the terms used for parents in our dialect in my village of Tholang in Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. I am sure many of you might not even have heard of the names of these places. I do not blame you. This is one of the remotest areas of Himachal, which is inaccessible for about 5-6 months of the year due to snowfall on Rohtang Pass.

So my dearest Ama and Ba,

Let me first begin this letter by saying that I love you a lot. I know I do not say it very often but I mean it from the farthest and the deepest corner of my heart (kinda the Apex beat, showing off my medical knowledge all over again). My love and respect for you both are unmeasurable. Yes, I sometimes scream at you and maybe even scold you but Lord almighty knows that you are two of my favorite human beings on this earth and no matter what I do in my life, I will never be able to repay all that you have done for us.

Ama, you carried me in your womb for nine months and continued doing all the hard labor involved in the fields, tending to the cattle at home, cooking for the whole family and cleaning up behind them. You brought firewood from the forests to keep the family warm. You brought water from the village tap to keep everyone’s thirst and hunger at bay. Despite everything, you toiled on but you kept me warm and safe in your womb all this while. You birthed me. You brought me into this world. I am here because of you.

Ba, you gave up your entire life in providing for my brother and me. First, it was by caring for Ama, then providing for us financially and now that we are both grown up and settled in our respective worlds, you are still providing prayers and love for us. I was, I am and I will forever be indebted to you. I am not ashamed to tell the world that you left your once favorite things “alcohol and smoke” for our sake. You quit your chronic habits because Ama asked you to. From having packs of it every day to not even touching it, you have come a very long way. It takes courage and a very strong willpower to give up such habits overnight. I am so proud of you.

After I was born, you sent me away to Kullu, a bigger city as compared to our village so that I could get a good education and a brighter future. You sent your two and a half-year-old child away from you. I cannot even imagine the kind of pain that you must have felt when you were asked to separate from me. (Or were you happy and relieved, as you must have got some peace?). Now that I am a mother myself, I know how much it hurts to go away from that little piece of your heart. You just sent me away from you both forever. So that I have access to all those facilities which you both did not have and which other children of my generation had.

I am what I am today because of that one decision of yours. Yes, the aunts and uncles who eventually brought me up also have a major role to play in my life but I will save those emotions for another letter. I owe my life to you, in all senses. Pardon me if I sound like a narcissist, but I like to believe that I am today a confident, a loving and a caring person and an independent woman (maybe not financially right now), all and only because of you both.

You gave me one life by bringing me into this world on 20^th August and then another one when you decided to send me away so that I become what I am today. I do not know how I would have turned out to be if I had stayed back in our village. But there is one thing I am very sure of; I turned out just fine away from you as well.

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Year 2018 Resolutions

Oh that time of the year again, when some of us make this list of promises and resolutions only to be broken in a few weeks or maybe months if we are strong-willed. I am not lying when I say that I have never ever made New Year resolutions till date, not because I never needed to but because I knew I would never be able to live up to it. I know myself well that ways. I know I do not have the willpower to say no to hot steaming gulab jamuns when I have resolved to lose weight. So, you know, I might as well not even make them.

This year is different. I feel like making some resolutions for myself. Is it because I now have a blog and I wanted to write about it? Is it because I now have a daughter and I want to set up some examples for her? Is it because a lot of mom bloggers are doing it? Well, I am not sure about the exact reason and I think it is important that that is not where the focus should be. What is important is that I have decided to do something like this and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am able to fulfill most of them. So here it goes.

Contact one old friend every month with whom I have not talked in months or in years. Life happened to both of us or we had a fight or misunderstanding. I have a long list of such “friends” with whom I was best friends at one point in time and used to talk almost every single day but now we are worse than strangers. I have put the word friends in inverted commas because deep down I still consider them my friend but after this one effort that I intend to make this year, if they do not wish to continue what we had, it shall be a permanent goodbye. I wish to start this by doing it every month but with the list circulating in my head, I might have to do it every two weeks too.
Do one good deed every month. I have not exactly thought of how I will be doing this but I am sure I will get ample opportunities as time passes. I just have to be ready to grab them at the right moment. If given a chance, I would be happy to change this too from “once a month” to “once a fortnight or week”. I do not want to start with very far-fetched dreams because it is better to be practical in the beginning itself.
Drink more water every day. Yes, of course, I want to lose weight, but going to the gym is not my cup of tea. I have tried going for evening walks. I even downloaded an app to measure the distance walked every day. Then grocery shopping, Meera’s shopping, laziness, evening get together, menstrual cycles, north India winters etc. happened. The list of excuses is endless and that poor app got neglected on my phone and one day finally got uninstalled. Drinking water seems to be a more practical idea. It serves multiple purposes of keeping the gastrointestinal system and excretory system clean. There are options of warm water in winters and icy drinks in summers. I do not even need to step out of the house to do so. It is perfect for someone like me.
Fast once a month- this is not going to be done with the intention of losing weight but just to detoxify me. I won’t be making resolutions of not eating sweets and chocolates and ice creams because that would be a big joke. I have zero willpower when it comes to sweets. So just to compensate, I shall give my stomach some much-needed rest.
Oil my hair every week. I have these phases when sometimes I oil my hair twice or thrice in a week and times when I forget where my hair oil bottle is. Yes, I know I am weird. I am an all or none person. There is no “in between” for me.
Wear sarees at least twice a month. I love wearing sarees and I have a decent collection that I can show off. Some of you might even remember that I participated in the #8sareesinoctober challenge conducted by @sareesandstories. The only problem is I keep waiting for occasions to wear them, which come very rarely. Most of my friends are married and those who are not are either not getting married or are already married but did not bother to invite me. (BTW, these are some of the “friends” I was talking about in my first resolution.) Hence I have resolved not to wait for occasions and to wear them when I feel like. This could be for a temple visit, or for grocery shopping. Let the world call me overdressed!
Slow down. Miraya is never going to be this small ever again. She will not be an eighteen-month-old toddler ever again. Let her be the mini hurricane she is. It is ok if someone else’s child of the same age is building huge towers with blocks or putting smaller straws through bigger straws, and all that my kid does is destroy the tower you built or chew those straws. It is ok. There are many things that my kid can do which the others cannot. It is not a competition. She is a smart, healthy and a happy kid. And that is all that actually matters.
Take at least one trip with just your friend or friends this year. This has been on my to-do list ever since I got pregnant. I have done many such trips before I got these responsibilities for myself. I actually miss those days of freedom. Now that Miraya is a little older, I have to do something like that again. At least once, if not more.
Create something. I have a few ideas in my head for this. Some DIYs, some business ideas, some blog ideas etc. Let us see how many of these am I actually able to fulfill. You might just see lots of updates on Instagram soon.
Lastly, use your DSLR more often. So husband gifted me a camera in 2011, which hasn’t been used as much as it should have been. So this year, I have resolved to learn some photography and use that camera. I shall try and upload at least one picture a month from that camera and hope to get an honest opinion from all of you.

If you managed to reach till here, thank you so much for tolerating with my “not so fancy” resolutions. I just needed to pen down “the banter in my head”.

The exact change

She looked through her coin box to find the exact change for the two cups of tea that they would be drinking. She liked giving the “chai wali aunty” exact change. Even aunty loved her for that reason. She was a great customer, no doubt but she always used to give the exact change. So aunty did not need to look through her moneybox ever. In fact, it helped aunty with her other customers too. She once thought of opening an account with aunty but then forgot about it.

There was one more reason aunty really liked her. She used to come for tea with a friend of hers and they were the happiest “couple” aunty had ever seen. They were always laughing, always giggling, always pulling each other’s leg, as if there was some sort of a competition. They used to come to her teashop every day, thrice a day or maybe sometimes even four. They even used to come at the same timings. Aunty often wondered if they had set some alarms for those tea sessions.

There was one thing aunty noted. They never stayed for more than ten minutes at a time. They came, had tea quickly and left immediately. But those were the best ten minutes of her day too. She loved these customers of hers. They made her laugh. They asked her about her day, where she came from and how much earnings did she make in a day. The other customers came there only for tea. These two came there for her and for each other.

These two were not always about fooling around and joking with each other. A few times, aunty even heard them having some serious discussions too. It was mostly the guy rendering some deep emotional talk to the girl. But then the guy was one of the best listeners that aunty had ever seen. Every time the girl opened her mouth to speak, the boy listened with all his attention focused at her. She seemed to be the most important person in the boy’s life. It seemed as if he could spend an entire lifetime listening to all that she had to say, laughing at her silly jokes, telling her his jokes and making her laugh and just being there for her, always.

This tea place did not even have any place to sit. Most people had their cups of tea either standing or leaning against someone’s bike or scooter. The guy used to bring his scooter along every time they came. You are wrong in case you thought that he used to make the girl sit on it. He would sometimes offer her the seat and sometimes not even bother. They were not the usual couple. They were friends first and then a couple. They were best friends and equal partners.

Having controlled all this while, aunty finally asked them if she was his girlfriend to which they both gave their heartiest laugh. Aunty was shocked to find out that day that they both were married… to two different people and they were very happy in their respective relationships. It was their unique chemistry that brought them together, and, of course, their love for tea too. They were both preparing for exams and used to take those tea breaks together, to keep each other charged up, to motivate each other and to of course enjoy that cup of hot ginger tea.

Then one day, the girl came alone. Aunty decided not to ask her anything. She leaned against a scooter, had her tea and left. Everything was exactly how it used to happen earlier. The only thing missing was the boy and the only thing different was that the girl gave extra money and asked aunty to keep a track so that she won’t need to bring money every day. The girl started coming alone after that every day. She would still talk to aunty, laugh but her eyes were empty. Her heart was empty. Words still came out of her mouth but they were hollow and had no meaning left. She still laughed but it was not real. Aunty asked about the boy but the girl never gave any satisfactory answer. She never found out where the boy went. Had she been imagining the boy all the time? She could not have. She had seen him in flesh and blood every day for the past one year. She could not have just imagined her.

Finally, the girl also stopped coming for tea. Aunty had no way to find out what happened to her. There were no more conversations, no more laughter and no more exact change money being given. Aunty still had some money left with her but she did not know how she would return it to the girl. She had no idea where the boy went and now the girl had also stopped coming. She did not even know their names or where they lived or where they studied. Aunty kept that money aside hoping to return it someday.

She still waits for them every day to return to her shop. She still sees them sometimes during the day but they do not stop when she calls out to them. She sees them laughing again, joking and fooling around with each other. She can even sometimes hear the change money jingling in the girl’s pocket but they don’t stop for tea anymore. They just disappear every day like they disappeared three years back.

This blog is a part of the Chai-a-thon blog train organized by “The Momsteins”.

I would like to thank Nisha Zaheer from http://a2zlifeofatwinmom.blogspot.in/2017/12/chai-ki-tapri-memories-to-cherish_14.html?m=1 for introducing me.

I would also recommend you to check out my fellow blogger, and friend Pradnya’s blog http://mummyingainteasy.com/ultimate-tea-obsession/ and read about her wonderful “tea memory”.

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