24 sep 12

Today is the day when Saana said "pa" . So there u go... For 24/7 for the past 4 months "ma" is to give her all her attention and all she gets in return is a "pa"! Haha... But c'mon did she just SAY  it? Yes indeed... And Jeevs is on the ninth cloud with a broad chest proudly boasting of his connection with her despite being there less often than i.... Ohk I am as happy or even more than he is... U can overlook.. But never deny a father-daughter bond! Another newbie... She had a mouthful of her own 'pie'! She managed to put her foot in her mouth!

23 sep 12

Today Saana finally got the alphabet puzzle mat to play on... And ofcourse the bottle with spoon feeder!!! Lesson learnt from yesterdays Bbq nation episode!  watched barfi.... Awessome movie! Loved it.

22 sep 12

Today was a day to be noted.... As today is the day Saana had her first stomachful of top feed.... She accompanied us to BBQ nation and she relished her chocolate sauce n icecream.. Lots n lots of it.... After todays feat... Rather feast... We can proudly claim that she has hogged  onto something interestingly new other than her plain old duddu! What a sight it was... She yearned to have more n more of it so much so that Jeevs n I had a tough time  with her screams in between spoon refills! She sure made her presence felt!  So we took turns alternating with spoonfuls of her newly discovered favourites for a continuous supply . Saana never ceases to amuse me... She is such a delight all the time. I so wish i could capture todays moment!

21 sep 12

Today saana bid bye to her family... We went to drop them at the depot and on the way back she fell asleep!  for the last few days her schedule had been disrupted, with very less of undisturbed sleep n lotta playing... She had been a very good baby indeed... Just a few more smiles wud've been great! And yes.... She has been lucky for dad.... With him getting his next flying category CG...I am sooooo very happy...  Gappu... Keep showering ur blessings on us

20 sep 12

Last two days were so hectic n chaotic with everybody showering their love on saana n everybody wanting to catch a glimpse of saanas smile.. It was saanas first ganesh chaturthi and she surw enjoyed it despite a bout of cold...

18 sep 12

This morning when i woke up, Saana was already outside with her ajji n ajoba... My heart ached to see that good morning smile of her... That smile which prepares me to face the battles for the day. When i went out she was safe in her buddy pappas arms, looking curiously at ajji-ajooba.... As if shes searching for me.... That smile was missing and she seemed confused... I ached to hold her... To cuddle with her... To kiss her... I still am! But then i think, she needs to b with them for now. I need to let go off her for the moment and give her some bonding time with her family... Just realised  how possessive i have bcom for my darling! But i still ache!

17 sep 12

Today Saana met her ajji, aajoba, buddy pappa, buddy mamma and she went to pick them up at ambala stn. Everybody was delighted to see their little golu! I just hope Saana smiles and bonds with her family in the coming days... For they all love Saana dearly! Oh yes i even got the precious diaper bag that viju aai sent!!!

16 sep 12

Saanu learnt that she will b going to agra in 3 months... Mamma n pappa received their posting signal today... Saanu is too young to get attatched to any place.. Except mammas arms ofcourse! But i for sure will miss chandigarh... For this is the place where i came after getting married... The place where we enjoyed as a couple, the place we set up our ''home'',the place where every weekend 2112 31c used to be THE place to be, where my baby spent her first months of her life... Oh chandigarh i'll miss u indeed!

15 sep 12

Saana is down with cold today... Did not smile the whole day... Tried to put the nose drops,but she just wont allow! So much that when daddy dearest just held the bottle, she wud start screaming!  so left with no option we had to forcefully put the drops after which she cried for a good 1 hr! Get well soon angel!

14 sep 12

Today saanu surprised all of us by sitting without support! Thanx to Gaurav for it... He made her sit and she balanced perfectly... But then as its to early for her yet soft, underdeveloped bones, i had to get her off that position!

13 sep 12

Today saanu bonded big time with Priya... Special... Considering that she rarely entertains strangers... Loved her "ghia"!

12 sep 12

Saana's started holding onto things... Rattles, mobile phone, my dress, my face... But her favourite happens to b my hair... Every attempt to avoid her hold onto it seems vain!

11 sep 12

My baby's started driftimg away to sleep on her tummy... And she probably seems to like it! Just cant stop admiring her enough! Feel truely Blessed!

sketch

Here are some of my creations......

@ home...

Ahh.. its been a week since my maternity leave (a long deserved one!) has finally begun... there is lots of free time available, waiting  to be put to a constructive use!! At least that's what i hope to do... things which i longed to do but never really had enough energy left after a long and a hectic day at work. 

      Also with a bloated stomach and  the baby live n kickin' at 8 months... every activity has to be given a due consideration and a lots of thought... so after chalking out a long list of 'wanna-do-things'...  could finally zero in on just a handful of activities to indulge, enough to keep me going through the next one and half months... reading (for the baby..), cooking (for Jeevs..) and sketching (completely self indulgent!)!!! And i can happily claim that the week started with a very fine balance struck between the chores! Nice to be home... 

For u my butterfly..

I write this letter to my unborn child from the depths of my soul. 
You've entered my womb and made my life complete and whole.,,
I never thought I would be chosen for such an awesome task.
It is a greater blessing than what I ever could ask.,
I can almost imagine you in my mind.
Beautiful, Happy, Bouncing, flashing a smile so kind...
Feeling you flutter is a sensation like no other.
It does wonders for the joy of this soon-to-be-mother!!
You create a glow in me I never knew I would see.
It is true happiness that sets me on cloud nine manifested deep inside of me!
You're my baby, my child, my heart, and my wonder.
I pray we create a bond so strong,that its stands unmoved even if its faced by the meanest thunder...
You're a designers' original! A creation of the Almighty!
I can hardly wait for you to enter the world and shine ever so brightly!!
Sweet baby of mine, you're a magnificent gift from above.
Living proof of how your father and I have shared our love.
I hope you have your fathers' eyes
Then you will go into the world able to look at all things wise.
I hope you inherit my ability to plan.
With that you will be able to face all things in life as a strong woman or man.
I hope you receive from your father his selfless ways.
For this Gappu will bless you, as he did him, all of your days.
I hope you learn from me, spirit and let no one take it.
Believe me you will need it in life, and many will try to break it....
But with that spirit you must have your father's composure.
With that you will be cautious of any door you enter....
I want you to have my curiosity. 
There's nothing wrong with questions you may blurt!
But receive your fathers' discernment, 
so you'll know when to let go before getting hurt...
Have my big heart; know what emotions are and how to be real.
Share your fathers' strength so you can handle what you feel...
And his sense of humor! Laugh a lot it helps you through life,,.
Share your fathers' sense of duty. Know how to be serious and take strife.
I'm emotional so I tell you its okay to blubber once and a while like your Mom...
But learn to develop what your father has; an excellent sense of calm.
But most of all the things I wish for your father and I to share.
I wish we teach you to love, respect, be strong and free...
Like A true military soldier we would like you to be!!!
We welcome you to the world and thank you for the joy,
Oh my most-awaited little BUTTERFLY!!!

LESSONS LEARNT

Sex And The City: The Movie came out in May last year.. but who cares... whenever Jeevs is off flying i`m hooked on to the uncountable re-runs all the time n time just flies by! Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda – you ladies are always being missed! Or may be watching it is just an excuse and a way of remembering the wonderful times spent wid my ANGELS!! (By the way, I love the photo below – head-to-toe black is always chic, but don’t the Sex and the City foursome look gorgeous in color?)

It’d be hard to pin down my favorite moments of this show about the four ladies of New York city… but I’ll try! And all those hours of watching Sex And The City in my bedroom, minus my girlfriends were not a complete waste of time, as I’ve garnered quite a few nuggets of wisdom on love, life, and money from this show.

Listed Here Are My favorite Sex And The City moments & lessons:

1. When Carrie realizes that she’s spent $40,000 on shoes but could not secure a loan on her own to buy out her share of the co-op after she breaks up with Aidan.

Personal finance lesson for the gals – don’t become the Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe. Manolos can’t fund a retirement.

2.  When Carrie tells off Big at the top of her stairs right before she leaves for Paris to meet Aleksandr Petrovsky.

Love lesson for the guys – don’t take her for granted and don’t play stupid games! One day a famous Russian artist just might come and sweep her away to Europe.

3. When Charlotte tearfully tells Harry that she loves him at the Jewish get-together. She’s okay with not getting married (and for Charlotte – that’s really love when she’s willing to take marriage off the table, even temporarily) as long as they get back together. And Harry says no. And you see Charlotte’s face fall. And then he gets on one knee…

Love-life-lesson: Trust in God’s plan and have patience. And when it happens, it’ll be amazing no matter what.

4. When Samantha gave up her hair appointment to Miranda and offered to babysit Brady.

Friend lesson: such a Sweet Gesture that was...The best present isn’t about money. It’s about time and understanding.

5. When Trey shows up at the last minute to Charlotte’s Home and Garden photo-shoot, even though they were on the verge of separation.

Money-life lesson: Money can’t buy you love...

So here it is... yet another day goes by without Jeevs...

hero or hypocrite,,,

So a lotta people been talkin abt baba ramdev and anna hazare...i'm on leave and have nothin better to do...so here's my take on the hippy crowd that has suddenly been "galvanised" into action by this "baba"...it was a reply to a post by someone on friend list exhorting everybody to join the "freedom movement"!

I guess u were absent when they taught civics at school...the fundamental definition of our country is that it is a democratic republic governed by something called a CONSTITUTION! the constitution of india guarantees the right to form laws...but for that u shud be part of a law making body...the lok sabha..the rajya sabha...even a god damn panchayat....let me see some joker like baba ramdev stand for election..get voted and then table this bill and get it passed as law...is that too tough...u bet it is...cuz no one will trust an idiot who says "the cure for homosexuality is in breathing exercises"..would u trust THAT man to negotiate with pakistan or china abt siachen...or the US for a permanent seat at the UNSC?????? 

making a mockery of our constitution is easy...but if u are SO concerned abt this country and whr it's headed..y don't u DO somin abt it rather than complain...stand for election...or atleast god damn vote to not put those idiots there in the first place...What have U done???apart from complain and jump on to some ideology cuz it's cool to do so right now?!!!any idiot can say i will fast till i get what i want...that is equivalent to a 5 yr old wanting ice cream and not gettin it! there is a process..follow it....u don't like the process...fine change it..but do it the right way...before 2morow someone says he will fast unto death because gwalior is too hot and the govt shud make it centrally air conditioned!!!!

2) black money....do u even know wht it is or how it was created??? it is unaccounted money...created by corrupt politicans and bureacrats who take bribes and then cannot account for it....but it is ALSO created by businessmen...the same men who give u discount on anything from underwear to a tv if u pay cash and they don't give a bill....and while we're on the subject of bribes....sweetheart...it takes two hands to clap...why didn't i see baba ramdev standin up and sayin don't anyone pay bribes...???

3) u talk of jalianwallah bagh...he compares himself to shivaji...these men were heroes..not for wht they said..but because they stood by it...even at the cost to their life! wht did this "hero" do? run from the stage..dress up as a woman and vanish while HIS supporters took a beating...u really think that THAT is someone who shud preach us on integrity??? if he really believed in "satyagraha" he would have stood his ground...like shivaji...like gandhi!! Manmohan singh may not be a lot of things...but he stands his ground...against the media, against ramdev..and that gives me the confidence that he has wht it takes to stand up against the pakis, the taliban, china or even the US...ask urself..would baba ramdev do the same???

4) he talks of courruption....he is a yogi...he stays at 5 star hotels, has his own chartered aircraft, not mention a few hundred companies including construction firm that all shelter under a tax umbrella owing to his so called religious leanings...ask HIM where he got all that??...he'll say the easy answer..."donations"....ask a politician where he gets his money...he'll give u the same answer....so wht is the difference...how do u decide who is a crook and who isn't??

5) bottom line...as someone who is educated and who represents the future of a country, that me and couple of thousand guys in the fauj would gladly die for....please question...please think before u speak..please never degrade ur country or question the foundations on which it stands...cuz u can act as american as u want...but if u ain't proud of who u are and where u're from u can't expect anyone else to be proud of u!!! bein a patriot doesn't start and end with "liking" india pages on facebook on two days in a year!!!

everyone knows to crticise...but how many actually stand up and make a difference??? wht the govt did was not wrong...how they did it perhaps was...but then again...wht ramdev is doin isn't wrong...how he is doin it is...

u don't like the govt or how things are bein done...stop yappin on facebook..get out there...galvanise the masses..bring about changes in the system..but first get INTO the system...the way the constitution envisioned...not by succumbing to cheap publicity and tantrums thrown by grown men who amass CRORES through donations and then talk abt the poor people of india...u say wht a hero? i say wht a hypocrite!!!

"EK MEDAL MILA, MAA......."

"Going through hell... Keep going," said a desk graffiti in one of the classrooms at the National Defence Academy. I am sure it's still there, the etchings deepened by those that came later. Tired fingers trying to find solace in tradition, in the words of a nameless cadet, and the knowledge that those that came before sweated, bled, cried and triumphed the same way.

In many ways, these five words bring out the simple truth of the Indian soldier.

Of the man who left home as a boy, with his fears and insecurities, holding the pain of his lost love or pining for someone, holding dear everything that a teenager holds dear. Wanting to win the world, like every adolescent, but unsure where to start.

In the military academies they teach you to start with yourself. It's a painful process to tear off one skin and wear another but in the end the soldier comes out a better human being. The uniform stays with you for life, taking on all the grime, mud, blood and sweat - and pride - along the way.

Sadly, nowadays, it's the specks of mud that seem to make all the news. A fake encounter in Kashmir, a woman raped in the northeast, an officer arrested for spying, a frustrated jawan shooting his officers... In a society hungry for titillation, aberrations pass for the truth. Finally, some of us feel, finally, the great Indian soldier has been pulled down from his pedestal. Finally, we see him for what he is - a common man, no better or stronger or nobler than you or me.

Is it so? Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The only thing true here is that yes, the soldier is an ordinary man. An ordinary man who has made extraordinary sacrifices, shown courage above and beyond the call of duty, gone farther than he thought he could, and had the courage to stand up every time the call came to be counted.

How many of us can claim to have done that in our plush airconditioned offices, day after day?

A soldier's courage is tested not just when he is in an encounter or when called to rescue someone from floodwaters. He is put to test every single day. The prize for passing this daily performance review? Not a superlative raise or a six-digit performance incentive. He simply retains the honour of wearing his uniform for another day.

It takes extraordinary courage and pain to survive a single day of training in the academies or even the "routine life" in a regiment. A sacrifice that very few have the courage to make.

To have an idea of how tough it is to get into the olive green uniform, here is a simple equation. For the IIT-JEE - for many the be-all-and-end-all of entrance examinations - about 1.5 lakh candidates vie for 3,000 IIT seats. And for NDA, the same number competes for just 320 seats. Do the maths.

This is not to say that the NDA "rangruts" are brighter (heck, the really studious ones get plenty more front rolls and back rolls to bring them on the same level as the rest . It's just that they are one of a kind.

A very special kind who know, when they sign up at age 17-18, that they are binding themselves to a life of immense hardship, silent sacrifices, incompatible pay, separation from families - but the satisfaction that their spine will always be ramrod straight. Ordinary boys like Arun Khetrapal, Sandeep Unnikishnan, Manoj Pandey, Yogender Singh Yadav, Nirmaljit Singh Shaikhon and Vijayant Thapar who turned into legends. (Can't recognize most of the names? Tell you later.)

To give you an idea, one of them ran cross-country with a fractured leg - yes, a fractured leg - at the NDA just so he wouldn't let his squadron down. I refuse to believe that the boys who show such spirit, conviction and courage at such a young age would go about killing women and children. It is easier to believe that the sun goes around the earth.

These soldiers do not ask for any favours. Just some understanding. Every officer I know is almost embarrassed to talk about his "heroism". "It's no big deal," they say. That's what they signed up for. A Paramvir Chakra winner, for instance, went home to nurse half a dozen bullet wounds, told his mother "Ek medal mila, Ma," and forgot to mention that he had singlehandedly captured a Pakistani position. Her mother knew only when his village heard it on the radio and mobbed his hut.

Let us not make generalizations out of aberrations. The Indian soldier comes from a family like yours and mine. He is a part of society and is subject to the same pulls and pressures. Inflation pinches him, he has his own domestic problems, has elderly parents to look after, and is worried about the education of his child. He has his own insecurities and worries. And like every segment of society, there are a few rotten apples. There is no denying that. But just ask yourself how many such cases have you a heard of in the last decade? A handful? Out of the millions who donned the uniform in this time.

The dirty ones are hauled up and thrown out faster than you pick a fly out of your soup. Justice in the forces is swift, certain and ruthless. Armchair judgments, they don't need.