This is a poem I wrote 17 years ago when my baby daughter was born....
A new star
On the horizon;
A new dawn
In my life;
New aspirations
Within my heart;
A new individual –
My daughter!
A new dream
I now weave;
A new hope
In my soul;
New dimensions
To my thoughts;
A new role to play –
Her mother!
A new life
In this world;
A new change
In my routine;
New worries, anxieties
As time rolls;
A new world to build
My daughter grows!
-Geeta Abraham Jose
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Istanbul: Memories of a City
Book Excerpt:
At least once in a lifetime, self-reflection leads us to examine the circumstances of our birth. Why were we born in this particular corner of the world, on this particular date? These families into which we were born, these countries and cities to which the lottery of life has assigned us - they expect love from us, and in the end, we do love them, from the bottom of our hearts - but did we perhaps deserve better? I sometimes think myself unlucky to have been born in an ageing and impoverished city buried under the ashes of a ruined empire. But a voice inside me always insists this was really a piece of luck. If it were a matter of wealth, then I could certainly count myself fortunate to have been born into an affluent family at a time when the city was at its lowest ebb (though some have ably argued the contrary). Mostly I am disinclined to complain: I've accepted the city into which I was born in the same way I've accepted my body (much as I would have preferred to be more handsome and better built) and my gender (even though I still ask myself, naively, whether I might have been better off had I been born a woman). This is my fate, and there's sense arguing with it.
-Orhan Pamuk (Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature, 2006) Book: Istanbul:Memories of a City
At least once in a lifetime, self-reflection leads us to examine the circumstances of our birth. Why were we born in this particular corner of the world, on this particular date? These families into which we were born, these countries and cities to which the lottery of life has assigned us - they expect love from us, and in the end, we do love them, from the bottom of our hearts - but did we perhaps deserve better? I sometimes think myself unlucky to have been born in an ageing and impoverished city buried under the ashes of a ruined empire. But a voice inside me always insists this was really a piece of luck. If it were a matter of wealth, then I could certainly count myself fortunate to have been born into an affluent family at a time when the city was at its lowest ebb (though some have ably argued the contrary). Mostly I am disinclined to complain: I've accepted the city into which I was born in the same way I've accepted my body (much as I would have preferred to be more handsome and better built) and my gender (even though I still ask myself, naively, whether I might have been better off had I been born a woman). This is my fate, and there's sense arguing with it.
-Orhan Pamuk (Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature, 2006) Book: Istanbul:Memories of a City
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tagged by three!!!
I was tagged by Dot, Hillgran and Jac. So there's no way out; here goes mine:
There are 3 rules.
Rule 1. Same as for the last tag
Rule 2 You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
Rule 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
My middle name is Abraham. But I'd like to shorten it to ABE so that I can do the tag quickly and not postpone it to to-morrow as I have been doing the last few days. And to-morrow never comes, they say...So let me do it TO-DAY.
A: ATTITUDE : Having the right attitude is crucial for getting ahead in life. A positive attitude works wonders in one's life. A great thinker (I don't remember who) once said that the greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so shall you be.
B: BEAUTY: Beauty, they say, is skin deep. But when I think of beauty, it is the inner beauty that manifests itself through good words, kind deeds and supreme sacrifices. If you were ask me to name the most beautiful woman on earth in recent times, my answer would be: Mother Teresa.
E: EMPATHY: One of the greatest qualities that sets man apart from beasts is his capacity to empathize with fellow beings. It originates deep within your soul and spreads out to your fellow being who is suffering physically, mentally or spiritually. My favourite quote on Empathy is: I do not ask the wounded person how he feels. I simply become the wounded person…...
So mine is done, Jac,Hillgran, Dot. Now who shall I tag? Hmmmm....yes..got it
1.Dr.Hope and Love
2.mm
3.Sarah
There are 3 rules.
Rule 1. Same as for the last tag
Rule 2 You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
Rule 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
My middle name is Abraham. But I'd like to shorten it to ABE so that I can do the tag quickly and not postpone it to to-morrow as I have been doing the last few days. And to-morrow never comes, they say...So let me do it TO-DAY.
A: ATTITUDE : Having the right attitude is crucial for getting ahead in life. A positive attitude works wonders in one's life. A great thinker (I don't remember who) once said that the greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so shall you be.
B: BEAUTY: Beauty, they say, is skin deep. But when I think of beauty, it is the inner beauty that manifests itself through good words, kind deeds and supreme sacrifices. If you were ask me to name the most beautiful woman on earth in recent times, my answer would be: Mother Teresa.
E: EMPATHY: One of the greatest qualities that sets man apart from beasts is his capacity to empathize with fellow beings. It originates deep within your soul and spreads out to your fellow being who is suffering physically, mentally or spiritually. My favourite quote on Empathy is: I do not ask the wounded person how he feels. I simply become the wounded person…...
So mine is done, Jac,Hillgran, Dot. Now who shall I tag? Hmmmm....yes..got it
1.Dr.Hope and Love
2.mm
3.Sarah
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Day the World Changed Forever
Invisible City
Sweet and bitter smoke stains the air
The verb stains has a thread torn out
I step out to the linden grove
Bruised trees are the color of sand.
Something uncoils and blows at my feet.
Sliver of mist? Bolt of beatitude?
A scrap of what was once called sky?
I murmur words that come to me
Tall towers, twin towers I used to see.
A bloody seam of sense drops free.
By Liberty Street, on a knot of rubble
In altered light, I see a bird cry.
by Meena Alexander(author of Fault Lines, Nampally Road etc)
Sweet and bitter smoke stains the air
The verb stains has a thread torn out
I step out to the linden grove
Bruised trees are the color of sand.
Something uncoils and blows at my feet.
Sliver of mist? Bolt of beatitude?
A scrap of what was once called sky?
I murmur words that come to me
Tall towers, twin towers I used to see.
A bloody seam of sense drops free.
By Liberty Street, on a knot of rubble
In altered light, I see a bird cry.
by Meena Alexander(author of Fault Lines, Nampally Road etc)
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Dot's Tag of Fav Smells
I'm doing Dot's Tag....Here is my list of favourite smells:
1. The smell of the earth just after the first monsoon rain...did you know that it's called "petrichor"?
2. The mild fragrance of Johnson's Baby Powder...it takes me back to the time my daughter was a sweet little baby
3. The aroma of my mom's chicken stew brewing in the pot...yummmm
4. The smell of new books...something I loved as a child and still do.
5. The ethereal smell of coffee blossoms back home in Kerala....
Now, its my turn to tag:
Vidya, Jac and Hillgrandmom
1. The smell of the earth just after the first monsoon rain...did you know that it's called "petrichor"?
2. The mild fragrance of Johnson's Baby Powder...it takes me back to the time my daughter was a sweet little baby
3. The aroma of my mom's chicken stew brewing in the pot...yummmm
4. The smell of new books...something I loved as a child and still do.
5. The ethereal smell of coffee blossoms back home in Kerala....
Now, its my turn to tag:
Vidya, Jac and Hillgrandmom
Friday, August 10, 2007
Hello there!
Hey Guyz…..I'm back with a bang. Fully charged and ready to take on the next year's challenges after the most relaxing and refreshing holiday in the best place on planet Earth: monsoon drenched Kerala. Missed you guys…I'm catching up with everyone.
In the meantime, here's an excerpt from a wonderful book on Bombay, that I read during my vacation. It takes you right from the crown to the underbelly of the city and never ceases to amaze you with facts about this great city, that the author gathered by befriending people from every section of the society- from slum dwellers, killers, smugglers and prostitutes to movie stars , cops and politicians. This non fiction book reads like a novel that you simply cannot put down.
Excerpt - Maximum City : Bombay Lost and Found
You have to break the laws to survive. I break the law often and casually. I dislike giving bribes, I dislike buying movie tickets in black. But since the legal option is so ridiculously arduous – in getting a driving licence, in buying a movie ticket—I take the easy way out. If the whole country collectively takes the easy way out, an alternative system is established whose rules are more or less known to all, whose rates are fixed. The 'parallel economy', a traveling partner of the official economy, is always there; turn your head a little to the left or right and you'll see it. To survive in Bombay, you need to know its habits. If you have a child, you have to know how much 'donation' to give to the school to get admission. If you have a traffic accident, you have to know how much to give to the cops to dispose of the matter and how much to give to the father of the child you've run over to stop the mob from lynching you. If you're a tenant, you have to know how much to demand in key money from the landlord to move out. The parallel economy is fed on a diet of judicial rot. The system of justice, supreme legacy of the British, is in tatters, starved by a succession of governments afraid of its power over them.........
- Suketu Mehta ( Maximum City)
In the meantime, here's an excerpt from a wonderful book on Bombay, that I read during my vacation. It takes you right from the crown to the underbelly of the city and never ceases to amaze you with facts about this great city, that the author gathered by befriending people from every section of the society- from slum dwellers, killers, smugglers and prostitutes to movie stars , cops and politicians. This non fiction book reads like a novel that you simply cannot put down.
Excerpt - Maximum City : Bombay Lost and Found
You have to break the laws to survive. I break the law often and casually. I dislike giving bribes, I dislike buying movie tickets in black. But since the legal option is so ridiculously arduous – in getting a driving licence, in buying a movie ticket—I take the easy way out. If the whole country collectively takes the easy way out, an alternative system is established whose rules are more or less known to all, whose rates are fixed. The 'parallel economy', a traveling partner of the official economy, is always there; turn your head a little to the left or right and you'll see it. To survive in Bombay, you need to know its habits. If you have a child, you have to know how much 'donation' to give to the school to get admission. If you have a traffic accident, you have to know how much to give to the cops to dispose of the matter and how much to give to the father of the child you've run over to stop the mob from lynching you. If you're a tenant, you have to know how much to demand in key money from the landlord to move out. The parallel economy is fed on a diet of judicial rot. The system of justice, supreme legacy of the British, is in tatters, starved by a succession of governments afraid of its power over them.........
- Suketu Mehta ( Maximum City)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Excerpt 4 - Off to GOC
....Outside the window, the brown countryside was gradually giving way to a green one. Swaying coconut palms- myriads of them- welcomed us to the land of coconuts.
Lush green paddy fields flowed past. The purple lines of hilltops rose behind them on the horizon, scalloping the sky. Slowly, the sun rose above them, heralding the birth of a new day.
I was in God's own country where the sun smiled, the rain danced and thunder applauded as nature sashayed down the catwalk in all her finery. Here, nature was endowed with an abundance of beauty, grace and charm in such measure that tourists often exclaimed, "Surely, this must be God's own country!", and the tourism people decided to use this expression to their advantage in luring more tourists to Kerala.
God’s own country with its fields and rivers, lapping lagoons and bewitching backwaters was a treat to the eyes. I looked out of the window at the scenes racing backwards as the train raced forward. But I was hardly appreciating the beauty of the land. My mind was racing. Racing backwards. Through months, through years, through decades……………
-Geeta Abraham Jose (By the River Pampa I stood)
Dear blogger friends,
Yay! I'm off on a vacation to Kerala. Will miss you all. See you in August. Have fun, keep writing and KEEP SMILING!!!!
Lush green paddy fields flowed past. The purple lines of hilltops rose behind them on the horizon, scalloping the sky. Slowly, the sun rose above them, heralding the birth of a new day.
I was in God's own country where the sun smiled, the rain danced and thunder applauded as nature sashayed down the catwalk in all her finery. Here, nature was endowed with an abundance of beauty, grace and charm in such measure that tourists often exclaimed, "Surely, this must be God's own country!", and the tourism people decided to use this expression to their advantage in luring more tourists to Kerala.
God’s own country with its fields and rivers, lapping lagoons and bewitching backwaters was a treat to the eyes. I looked out of the window at the scenes racing backwards as the train raced forward. But I was hardly appreciating the beauty of the land. My mind was racing. Racing backwards. Through months, through years, through decades……………
-Geeta Abraham Jose (By the River Pampa I stood)
Dear blogger friends,
Yay! I'm off on a vacation to Kerala. Will miss you all. See you in August. Have fun, keep writing and KEEP SMILING!!!!
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