Oh My(rtle)!!

My little crepe myrtle saplings from two years back are at my shoulders now. I have eight of them. Three of them are blooming, one has sprouted a few buds and the other three are waiting to hit adulthood to bloom, even though they have grown bigger in size. It seems some trees take about three years to flower, when grown from seed. Maybe next year will be the year for them to blossom!

In our old house, the crepe myrtle we had, would throw a pink velour fury at this time of the year and we would wholeheartly appreciate its beauty. It was the backdrop of many of our beautiful pictures. 

I've managed to spread the seeds of love for that resplendent tree, quite literally. Here's testimony to the fact that when you nurture anything,  it thrives and  blossoms! The pictures are from 2023, 2022 and 2021 in that order. #labordayweekend update!

Friends!!

If it wasn't for friends where would we would we be? Friends make the world go round, supporting us in different ways from toddler years to old age. I have been more than blessed to have the loving companionship of several friends who are dear to my heart. 

This picture has a friend from college days, few from early days in US and also newer friends. It is a representation of the joy that all my friends have brought about, through the years. Happy Friendship Day to all of you!!

Zen and The Art of Complimenting!

Where and when did you receive your most touching and your most badass compliment? I'll go first and please follow suit in the comment box.

When I was a little child, one of my mom's colleagues in Shillong, Bina Jethai used to say, ' Ei morom loga soku keta ba kaar ghorot jabo?' which translates to 'I wonder in whose house these lovely eyes will go' but in literal terms meant, 'I wonder who would you get married to'. Her voice still rings in my ears, her sublime face still distinct. Such is the power of complimenting and the way it touches lives.

More recently I was dressed for an outdoor party at a friend's place and  asked my mom if i looked okay. She told me 'You look like a Babydoll' her voice exuding humor. It was her

way of saying, Why do you ask? Yes ofcourse, You always dress up nicely, Do you really need my opinion? - all at the same time. 

In an era of social media induced auto-generated inundation of compliments, their value is degenerated. I make an effort to make them more specific at least half of the time. If the right compliment can make someone's day or more, then why not?

A few other real life compliments make me smile whenever I remember them. We lived Kolkata in the early 2000s and I was seeing an elderly lady Sharmila mashi, who was an acquaintance, after a while and asked her if she remembered me. She responded in Bengali saying,  'Ei chehera ta ek baar dekhle ki bhoola jai? ( Can one forget this face, after seeing it once? ). On another occasion,  seeing me fretting over something,  a coworker had said, 'Whenever you feel sad, go and look at yourself in a mirror?' 😃

The most badass compliment I received was also from a coworker, early in my career. Even in the most developed country in the world  America, women are often not treated fairly or equally in the workplace.  When I started working here, I was surprised to see that the otherwise very independent girls, would still not speak up in such circumstances. I on the other hand was known to be 'NICE' ,but if someone hurt my interests and stepped on my toes, it wouldn't take a second to raise my voice. I did it inadvertently and one of girls I worked with who was observing said one day, ' You can morph from a butterfly to a superbitch in seconds' . It still makes me feel powerful, although my personality and attitude towards resolving such things has transformed to some extent, over the years. 

I have this and other posts written in my head for a while. I am just transcribing it to digital now. Hope you like it and please share your experiences with compliments.🙏🙏🙏

My Experiments With Truth - Part 1

I have tried giving up different things at different times in a sense of renunciation and practing self-control. This year I gave up one of my favorite hobbies, SHOPPING!!

In full disclaimer, I did buy a few Indian clothes, primarily during my trip to India, but other than that I didn't buy anything else except few very essential items,  not just for myself but also for my daughter Mahika.  

Before this run of giving up, my fingers were on constant click-to-buy mode any hour of day or night, since I primarily shop online. It's been seven months into the year and I have managed to get past the thrill of it and the retail therapy it provided, only until the un-boxing. After that, the items I purchased were only something I already possessed and stashed somewhere in my closet, or worse still in my basement. 

This year, I've been tapping on my basement 😊. So far I've had great finds purchased in yesteryears, that I've been adorning to parties and events this spring-summer!

I may have to buy a few things for Mahika, due to heavy wear and growing out of clothes, but I intend to continue my shopping hiatus for some more time.  The best part of it is the realization that my happiness is free from dependence on retail consumerism. Here's a dress from my basement collection. Doesn't it look pretty good? 😊

Beloved Taffy!!

When the time is right, things happen!! It was in our destiny to have a new kitten walk into our lives at this juncture and here he is. Welcoming Taffy Borkakoty, out new orange tabby kitten into our home and hearts!! 

Milo, the golden retriever,  is smitten, almost love-sick. All he wants is the kitten. Mitch, our 15 year old tabby cat, was nonchalant for all but two days and has been playing constantly since then. 

Mahika is being the guardian and we are all elated by Taffy's delightful presence. Aita ( grandma)is making DIY toys for him 😊 and daddy finally got someone in the household named after him. Taffy is a broken down version of the name David, meaning 'beloved' and is of Welsh origin. Welcome Beloved Taffy!!❤️

Happy International Women's Day!!

Happy International Women's Day to everyone!!  While we continue to #EmbraceEquity and promote inclusiveness,  let us also work on strengthening ourselves by enriching our minds with knowledge, with which comes empowerment and supporting and lifting our fellow women versus breaking and hurting one another, in all aspects of our life. 

Introspection can change the world!!

We were fortunate to visit NASA recently and learned a lot about our Aeronautics and Space Program. Here's a fun fact -

As of March 2023, 72 women have flown in space. Of these, 44 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, or as space flight participants on short-duration missions.

#internationwomensday #iwd2023 #nasa #stem

The Jackfruit Tree - Sharing is Caring!!

Nature gives abundantly and its gifts flow to everyone irrespective of status, race, religion even species. Such is the case of a jackfruit tree that stands loftily in the compound adjacent to where my mother lives.

In spring, the tree blossoms and in a few months by July, its fruits are ripe and ready to be devoured. Whoever has eaten jackfruit know that it offers a raw deal. Above the mushy fruits is a thick shell that is rough and sticky and hard to break. Nature has its own devices too, in terms of inherent intelligence of beings as well as the tools they have to conquer what they need to survive.

The monkeys here are behind the ravens in evolutionary sense. They jump around the tree trying to get to relish the fruit but to no avail. Meanwhile, the crows come and pierce them and take the first offering. The monkeys follow by eating from the holes pierced by the crows. Some of them fall on the ground when overripe and the monkeys keep waiting for it and come and gobble them. The story doesn’t end here.

One sunny afternoon, my mother was watching the theatrical performance of the crows and the monkeys from her window, when the air was permeated by the shrill call of a vendor who goes from home to home sharpening knives.  He was treading the path under the tree and was in clear view of my mother. However, he was himself completely unaware of her presence.

He had probably not got a chance to eat lunch that day for whatever reason. Maybe he was too busy with business or maybe he was trying to break the buck to buy something to eat. Whatever the case, his eyes fell on the jackfruits that were on the ground. He looked around to see if anybody was watching. On feeling comfortable that he was the lonesome human there with just the crows and monkeys around, he quickly picked up pieces of the fruits and gulped them.

After fulfilling his appetite thus, he rang out his usual shrill call to sharpen knives and carried on with his pursuit of business.