Dogs In Their "Nests"

I love clicking photographs with my Nokia N73 mobile. I admit its not the greatest camera, but at the moment it is all I have. I will start by posting my old photographs. Inspired by Mayank Austen Soofi to take this step.

Ok now. The photographs below were clicked by me on January 2008 (last year) at Janakpuri District Centre. That's a pretty chilly time here in Delhi.

 Now I dont know how the straw reached there, because its highly improbable that the dogs collected it and made nests for themselves, but see how they have perched on the wall!

(click on the pics to enlarge them)

EDIT : Inder tells me that the yellow stuff is not straw, as I said earlier, but plants that just died.

Sleeping Beauty

I went for a walk with my mom yesterday and chanced upon this little buddy. Dont worry, he's not dead!

(click on the pic to enlarge it)

Petrified Pooch

I was feeling a bit queasy, but went ahead to meet my friend anyway. Came to this narrow, isolated road with no car in sight. Was going at a pretty decent speed when all of a sudden this brown, spindly dog jumped from the divider onto the road, and began crossing it at snail's pace. For a split second, the dog set his mournful eyes on me and put his tail between his legs. I slammed the brakes hard and my head nearly hit the windshield. (I am pretty short, so my seat is all the way in front so my legs reach the pedals. I know I'll bang my head and die if I ever meet with an accident!) The car had come so close to the dog, that he had almost disappeared from sight! I waited for the petrified pooch to move, but he just refused to budge! I honked a little but the poor fellow just stood there, shit scared. By this time I was really getting frustrated (not to mention, late). I slid down the window and craned my neck. There was the pitiful fellow. "Hush hush", I said in the most motherly voice I could muster. He came to his senses and scampered away.

How NOT To Take Care Of Your Mobile

Stupid eh? Yeah, I'm Stupid. Stupid like a fox!

Today I am going to tell you what happens when your brains take a walk.

Time : Early Morning (10 am, haha)

1. Get up

2. Go to the bathroom

3. Place mobile on sink (stupid thing no. 1)

4. *brush* *brush* *brush*...

5. Mobile slides into the sink and mingles happily with the water

6. Grab mobile and fish it out

7. Notice toothpaste stain on mobile

8. Put it back in water and rinse (stupid thing no. 2)

For The Love Of Dog!

I grew up in a colony which had many stray dogs scampering about. Every couple of months, a fresh batch of pups would be born. Oh how cute they looked! The fat, furry body and those melting eyes. A head so small, yet so complete in itself. So much better than a newly born human baby!

I have heard people scream, yes literally scream, when they hear me equating a dog with a human. Oh no. Oh no no. I am not equating them. I am simply saying that dogs are better.

There was this time when I was taking a walk with my mother. A couple was coming in our direction. The lady was pushing a pram with a bonny baby inside, while her husband was walking a pug. As they went by, I whispered "how pretty!", "so cute!" and whatnot to my mother. The baby's mother apparently heard me because she smiled. I took this as a good omen and bent down to pat the flat head of the little pug. "A beautiful dog you have here", I said.

She was shocked out of her wits.

Daddy

I used to call my grandfather "Daddy", because I had always heard my mother calling him that. He was an agile man in his youth, but as time went by his body gave way to Parkinsons. His movements became slower by the day, and his thoughts more disoriented. Part of his problems were also because of old age.

He would be extremely clumsy at times, and this would not only be a great source of amusement to others, but to himself as well. He would chuckle generously after making mistakes, and trouble his wife with absolute relish. He was a naughty old man.

The year was 2006. School was closed for the summer holidays. I planned to spend them with my grandparents. I was going to be alone with them for the first time, since Mummy could not accompany me. Little did I realise that this vacation was going to alter my life forever.

The initial few days were boring. To pass some time, I got down to some house cleaning. I raided a bed-ful of photographs, and found them in a pathetic condition. The albums were tearing at the seams, and most of the photographs were spilling out. I am a sucker for preserving old stuff, so I decided to rearrange all of them neatly and put them in a new album.

The next day, Badimummy took me to the market. We spent some time roaming around and eating. On our way back, we stopped at a photo studio and purchased a HUGE album. Oh, how my arms ached carrying it around till we reached home.

The next few days were spent in an absolute frenzy. There were thousands and thousands of black-and-white photographs to sort. Badimummy would sit down besides me and tell me the story behind every one. How Daddy would hang bedsheets in the background before clicking family portraits, how he would spend so much money on film reels, how he pursued photography as a side hobby.. I learnt so much about him from the photographs, even though he was himself present in none of them.

A week or so later, the album was finally made. Daddy knew nothing about the whole project because I had kept the whole affair a secret. I wanted to give him a surprise, and I knew he would love it. I brought him outside, seated him at the dining table, slid the album in front of him, and waited. At first, he merely glanced here and there absent-mindedly. But after a few minutes, he fixed his sight on the album and raised his frail hand towards it. He slowly opened the cover, and came face to face with a majestic black-and-white portrait of his father. His gentle eyes clouded with tears, and I saw an entire life flash before me in that one hour..

I Am Not Alone

Last night, just when I was wallowing in boredom and self-pity, my friends came to the rescue. Like a ray of light that brightens up a room after the dark night, they filled me up with warmth and hope.

I had just finished writing the previous post when a very good friend from my days in Bombay came online. She hardly ever has time, so I was surprised to see her. We chatted for sometime when all of a sudden another friend from the same "era" came online too. Wow. A double bonanza. We hooked up a conference and chatted like we did when we were little. This was happening after 9 years.

Later into the night, when I was feeling a little more happy and a lot less sad, my phone rang. It was one of my dearest friends. I knew she was distressed from the moment I picked up her call. 

As she healed, the last traces of my pain went away.

I am not alone.

Three Months, Then Solitude

I am sitting here all alone with no one to give me company. One of the rare days when I am online and everyone else is asleep. A feeling of desertion is taking over me. Why are we sometimes so afraid of the silence? So scared to be left alone? I feel like the whole world has left me and that I am running behind it, trying to catch up. I am feeling lonely and tensed. I want to break down and cry my eyes out. Today for the first time since 5th October, I am heart broken.

My New Year

I never have plans on new year's eve. One reason reason being I am not allowed to venture into the darkness at such a young age (by my parents). I somewhat agree. I would rather sit in my warm couch at home and watch tv than worry out in the cold about my safety. The other reason is that my family is most boring in terms of celebrating stuff.

But things changed after we shifted to this society. I have more opportunities to socialise and meet people. I am a people's person and love attending even the smallest party/gathering/pooja/etc/etc. So boy was I happy when my mother and her Kitty Party friends (Funny name. Is it because women sometimes fight like cats?) decided to throw a new year bash for the whole society. It was all decided barely 2 days before new year's eve, so everything was done in a jiffy. A simple menu was planned. Every flat was going to be charged a humble 100 rupees. Food for the whole family, good music, fun and games. In short - a great start to the new year. What more can a person ask for? But then every society has its share of rotten apples. A few dunderheads refused to pay the money saying it was "too costly" and that they were "not interested". Very well.

31st December arrived and the excitement within me grew. I got ready and went downstairs with my mother. The crowd thickened, and within the hour we had close to a 100 people. It was a success! But then I noticed that even those who had not paid the money had come down! Some people have no shame!

We put on some music and let the children play games like musical chairs and passing-the-parcel. The usual. There was also a bonfire on one end to keep the cold at bay. Little kids were running around and the elders were playing tambola. A few teens gathered around the blaring speakers to perform a dance. There was this incredibly flexible girl who was slithering all over the place. Everyone was in excellent spirits.

The evening was spent running around, eating, playing games, chatting and relaxing in front of the bonfire. The sky grew darker and the breeze became colder. My sides were aching from laughing so much. I kept looking at my phone now and then to make sure that we did not miss the stroke of midnight. Finally when the mood was at its peak, I looked at my phone again. 11.58 pm. Just two minutes more to the new year! The whole area started buzzing with excitement. Everyone gathered around. One lady rushed to me with a GIGANTIC balloon in her hands. The countdown began. 10.................... 9.................. 8....................... 7...................... 6........................... 5........................... 4........................ 3........................ 2................ 1....................... 0....................... BAM!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!