A little bit of this and that!

Walking inside the cycle shop, the aroma of fresh samosas and ginger tea from the neighboring shop mixed with the smell of grease and labour pushed me to nostalgia. As a kid, I have come here exactly at 4 in the evening for 12 years. Running from school after the final bell, I would throw my bag in the ground and take a spanner. "Don't spoil your uniform! Change your dress and eat first" - dad would chide. Grudgingly, I would change to my oil stained shirt and trouser and gulp down the samosa and tea to go back to clutching my spanner again. Dad had let me play with his tools since I was 4 years old - from breaking toys, I had moved on to fixing and building bikes. Even after a master's degree in mechanical engineering and working in a dream job, I would still say dad is the best teacher I have ever had.  The neighboring shop keeper came in and smiled "Karthick! Va pa! Epo vanda ooruku? Evlo periavan agita! Samosa and tea sapidu" (karthick! When did you ...

A reminder to self on children's day! Sit near a stranger in the bus and smile at him, Unscarred by the time that guy in auto behaved inappropriately Confide your small worries to a friend, Unscarred by the time a close one chided that you were being whiny Skip a little as you go back from work, Unscarred by the times that you have been stared at for being weird See an old couple holding hands and believe in love again Unscarred by the times you have seen love hopelessly crashing around Try something new and scary Unscarred by the times you have tasted failure Smile a little more, Laugh a little louder, Dream a little bigger, And Play a little harder Bruises on the knees leave scars too But that has never stopped you from jumping again. Why then do you let the scars on the heart be an obstacle? Live life - Unscarred by the experiences of the past.

It was time - time to let go. I closed my eyes and held his hands tightly, wondering why this was so difficult. Yes, he had been the apple of my eyes for the last three years - and i have no idea what i would do with all my time after going back home. But my nervousness wasn't just because of the thought of going back to an empty house. It was something more - the fear that he would no longer depend on me for the little things, that his ideas and personality is going to be molded by other people he meets, that something would happen to him if he was taken away from my sight even for a minute.  My eyes glisten slightly. It wasn't supposed to be like this - he is supposed to be the one that cries. I am a little hurt that he doesn't - instead he is just really excited about today. I tell him that i will be waiting for him when he comes back and ask him to be careful, and point out that i have kept his favorite snack in the bag....

Lingering around the corridor – she wondered why she hesitated so much. She has been here a number of times and met with far more important people than the one she was about to meet now. And yet – she was more nervous than she had ever been. Taking a deep breath, she went into the reception and handed over the small box she carried to the warm receptionist. Looking into the box, the receptionist smiled and said “It will take an hour mam, please wait in the waiting area. We have bill gates as our special guest today, you know the guy who made windows operating system. He was born in 1955 – you can spend the hour with him if you like”. ‘1955 – Almost 2000 years back’ she thought as she went into the waiting area – This would have excited her normally, history was her passion. Yet today, she was not in the mood to talk to anyone. She went into the silent zone and slept dreamlessly. She was woken up again by the receptionist with a warm smile – “Your guest is ready mam. Please follow me...