Life Support (Wordless Wednesday)
Surreal (Wordless Wednesday)
Blazing! (WordlessWednesday)
2018 AtoZ Reflections
There is huge void at the end of 30 April , a massive lull as it were, after the frenzy of writing, reading and commenting on posts in the April AtoZ blogging challenge. I was travelling part of the month and associated connectivity issues meant I could not comment on as many posts as I wanted. Somehow I never did get around to doing it later.
This was my fifth attempt at the challenge.
2013 was my first attempt and I did not have a theme.
In 2014, I wrote about Exercising for fitness.
In the year 2015, I wrote about public parks around Pune.
In 2016 I posted about herbs from AtoZ.
For some reason, I was unable to comment on some posts from my cell phone. Also, some blogs only accepted comments via Facebook or Google Plus. I did not want to comment via these platforms so despite wanting to say something, I just could not reach out to the author.
The AtoZ Twitter handle was not as responsive as it used to be earlier. It would have helped if they had retweeted posts in which they were tagged.
I found a huge number of Indian bloggers, many from India and some living overseas. There was a fair number of older people participating which means blogging is not an exclusive purview of the younger generation. Older folks are also learning the tools of the tech trade and using them pretty well to get their thoughts heard across the world!
Travel, Health, Wellbeing, Poetry, Fiction, Self-Help seemed to be popular theme ideas and many bloggers explored them in a unique manner. I did not find many nature related blogs but I am still going through the list so I may still be surprised.
This year, my theme was a contemporary AtoZ. Do the alphabets still stand for the same objects as we were taught in school? Overall, for me, 13 alphabets could still be related to the same word namely A, B, D, E, G, H, I , J , K, L, Q, R and X. Yet each had a subtle 21st century twist. The others had other more tech-related associations.
Among my posts, the O post, O for Oxygen had the highest views, followed by I for Ink, T for Trek and M for Magnet. Comments I for Ink elicited maximum response from my readers followed by B for Ball. The comments are much less than number of views so I am not sure if people couldnt be bothered to reply or were short of time or simply did not find the posts worth commenting 🙁
I am happy to have completed the challenge and am grateful to those who have commented and shared my posts!
I came across some really interesting blogs which I will update here soon. So do come back in a week or so! Hopefully I will be ready with a list then.
What could have been better? Hmmm… maybe I could have been more active on social media and visited more blogs. I plan to remedy the latter over in upcoming days.
All in all, April has been a very hot and hectic month.
I hope to be more regular in my posts other that Wordless Wednesday so wish me luck!
Thanks for your support dear readers!
Stay well, Stay Happy!
The Gift
Abhi woke up to the sound of Rahul’s protests at having to eat breakfast. This was the only time that she got backseat on her mother’s daily agenda. She patiently waited for Ma to finish her chores and come to her. It was only a matter of time. She could hear the school bus, blaring its horn at the end of the lane and Rahul as usual was not ready. Dadima never really did object to this tardiness. Homework was often incomplete and exam scores below par. But all was excused.
Ma was soon with her and Abhi twisted her mouth into a smile. “Rise and shine dear, today is your big day!” Ma said. ‘Good morning’ Abhi echoed but the words ended as guttural sounds from her out-of-control vocal cords. Ma chatted away as she helped Abhi out of bed and prepared her for the day ahead. Today would be a difficult as Hetaldi had set a new task for her. Would she able to do it? Abhilasha steeled her mind to the looming challenge. She needed to focus.
Dadima was at the table but buried herself in her knitting as soon as Abhi came there for breakfast. Abhi attacked her food with gusto. Ma always put an extra dollop of butter on the parantha just the way she liked it. The salty smoothness of the butter helped the pieces slide easily down her throat. Most of the time her cheek and tongue muscles were way beyond her control twitching and moving of their own free will. The yellow velvety blob somehow calmed them sufficiently to allow her to swallow. Dadima complained about special meals for Abhi, “I want more tea,” she said now and Ma rushed off to the kitchen to prevent another onslaught of derisive comments. “And don’t forget to put in the ginger and cardamom”
Abhi hated having to depend on anyone least of all her mother but there was precious little she could do. Ma had almost become her arms and legs now. Abhi could feel her strength, hope and joy at seeing every miniscule progress. Mother and daughter functioned at a single level as if still bound by the umbilical cord. Ma perfectly understood Abhi’s feelings, her needs and her dislikes conveyed through her expressive eyes.
Before the tea arrived, Dadima took off for her pooja. Abhi could smell the burning incense. It was rose today and she hated it. The tinkling bell accompanied Dadima’s tuneless bhajans. How could God endure this daily audio torture Abhi wondered? Did he really ever listen? Or did Dadima’s God too prefer to ignore Abhi’s prayers? But there was no time to lose, as Ma reminded her of their appointment.
They reached the Centre just as the other kids were finishing breakfast. The tantalising aroma of freshly fried fafda pervaded the entire hall with sharp overtones of fried chillies with it. Abhi smelt the sweetness of the fresh mango juice even before she saw it- was this treat in anticipation of her feat? Smell always had been her strong point and Hetaldi had used it extensively in her training. Abhi hated vanilla after those sessions.
Her first stop was with Varshadi, one she always looked forward to. “Its only a rope Abhi” she always said, “Surely you can do this” challenging her to outdo herself. Its hairy roughness mattered little to Abhi as she knotted it into patterns. The poky cords brought out the best from her rebellious fingers as they miraculously worked together under the influence of the abrasive texture. Seeing her begin to master this rope, Varshadi had given her a smooth nylon rope and some silken thread. Much to her chagrin Abhi was unable to complete the knots as the cool soft threads actually irritated her skin. So it was back to jute for her. Right now she was working on a bag for Ma and hoped to complete it by her birthday!
Her session was cut short as she steeled herself for her biggest day in her life so far. They had been preparing the past year for this event. Ma was as apprehensive and tense as Abhi, as she got ready to take her first steps after a decade and a half on this earth. Today, Hetaldi had planned her first independent walk. As Abhi struggled out of the wheelchair with her splints and boots, she saw Ma place a pair of sequinned shoes at the end of the parallel bars.
Abhi’s cousin had similar twinkling shoes and she longed to wear them for just once, the only time really, when she had envied anyone else. Sensing her desire Ma had got her similar ones and Abhi smiled in anticipation as she began walking towards them. She commanded her unwilling limbs ahead one excruciating step after another. The soles of her feet protested with the unfamiliar body weight, as the Velcro straps felt tighter than before. Abhi felt her breath coming harder and her throat went dry even as the twinkling shoes beckoned her forwards. She could see her reflection on the biggest sequin. Was she really as tall as Hetaldi? Or was Hetaldi short? The golden shoes reflected the sunlight into a zillion facets straight into her eyes, almost blinding her. Abhi was almost there, just a few more steps. She could sense Ma and Varshadi cheering her on but could not hear anything above the thudding of her heart. Three more she muttered to herself, two and then suddenly she was enveloped in her Ma’s arms, both crying copiously as if their hearts would break. Abhi tried to wipe her mother’s tears, which seemed to be glittering brighter than any baubles. She wanted to tell her things were looking up and that she need not worry anymore. So what if her limbs were not fully under her control and her speech not clear? Abhilasha was ‘special’ to everyone, but ‘handicapped’ to Dadima. She was one of God’s own children.
The shoes were a perfect fit and Abhi admired her multiple reflections in them. The sequins felt prickly on the inside. “There’s plenty of work still to be done,” Hetaldi said. “Let’s do one more round for today”. Abhi was tired but got ready to walk again. Her life journey would be rockier than most others but she could do it, she would! Such simple gifts only made it more enjoyable!
Tamhan (Wordless Wednesday)
1st May is celebrated as Maharashtra Day. Though its a day late, I present the state flower of Maharashtra Lagerstromia reginae also known as Tamhan .
Z for Zumba
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty six and the alphabet is Z.
This will be last post for the series though I guess I may put up my Reflections later..
The list of things that I yen for should also include Zumba. Its an exercise form that is quite the rage in my city. From what I have read its a kind of dancercise but somehow I have not got down to signing up for a class.
Alberto Perez created Zumba in the 1990s and it incorporates aerobic movements with dance accompanied by some fast paced high intensity music. This Wikipedia article states that there are 9 types of Zumba, of which the Gold program is meant for older people and beginners. I guess I fall in both categories so this should be the one for me…
As I understand this falls into the aerobic workout category. This article in Time, quotes a study which found that Zumba boosted balance and core strength in overweight women who are older in age. Since it is non-judgemental there is no fear of not being a good dancer. A study by the American Council on Exercise found that Zumba is indeed a very effective type of exercise.
All in all there is enough scientific data in favour of Zumba. I know of a couple of classes in my neighbourhood too. So why am I sitting here in front of my PC and typing its benefits instead of joining?
That’s just what I will do after I read some fantastic Z posts, catch up with Twitter, schedule my Wordless Wednesday photos, cook, sleep, catch up with my book.. by which time it the health club will have closed…
😉
Getting back to my basic premise, Z for Zebra still holds as a visit to the great grasslands of Africa is on my travel wish list. Till that happens, Z belongs to Zumba!
My heartfelt thanks to you folks for your visits and comments. Your support has meant a lot.I have tried to read and comment on as many blogs as I possible. There is all of May to catch up!
See you around!
Cheers!!
Y for Yen
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty five and the alphabet is Y.
In school we were taught Y is for Yak. This is one animal that is found only in the higher regions of the world, I remember seeing them in Ladakh. So basically its not commonly seen hence I would prefer to go with Y for Yen.
I am sure your first thought would be Yen as in JPY – the Japanese currency. That’s correct ofcourse but I am referring to yen which means to have a craving or yearning for something. One of my first posts was related to my blog address (yenforblue) and you can read it here.
At this stage in my life what is it that I ‘yen’ for?
Ability to travel
Staying healthy
Seeing my family happy
Learning something new every year preferably technology related
Of all these, the last has sort of stagnated as I have only managed to gain more knowledge about field botany and bonsai. Learning music has been one thing I want to do but my tentative efforts at the singing class were disastrous to say the least. I am trying to figure out if my teacher or I was happier when I quit! I have consoled myself saying that artists need people to appreciate as well, and I might as well be a good connoisseur.
With advancing age, its important to have a goal, a craving to do or learn something. An active mind will keep ageing at bay. Hence the importance to have a yen for something!
What do you yen for?
X for Xmas
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty four and the alphabet is X.
Among the several festivals that we celebrate, Christmas is among my favourites. Technically I do not ‘celebrate’ Christmas but possibly because I studied in a convent school, this festival has always been special to me. We always had a party in schoolwith each class having its own celebration. Sometimes they took us to the chapel and we sang carols.
Now years later, I still make it a point to listen to Christmas carols.
Besides carols, the Christmas cake is yet another favourite. I learnt to bake one from an expert baker and it is really awesome even if I say so myself.The recipe calls for advance preparation but the results are worth it.
Most shopping areas in Pune are all decked up right from start of December and its a joy to walk down the streets or in the Mall. Christmas trees are look wonderful with fairy lights and ornaments. Here are some wonderfully decorated trees from homes…
 |
| Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar |
 |
| Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar |
 |
| Image credit Dr Meenakshi Pande |
I am sure there are many more facets to this great celebration – family reunions being an important one.
What do you like best about Xmas?
Only two more days to go.. See you tomorrow folks…
Cheers!
W for WiFi
Welcome!
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school?
Its day twenty three and the alphabet is W.
WiFi is the first word that comes to my mind for this alphabet. Ofcourse water still is an important letter-word association but my choice for today’s post is WiFi.
A receptionist at a hotel in Norway told me, “We get tourists from all parts of the world. Many dont speak or understand English. Yet everyone knows one word…. WiFi!!”
That in itself shows the reach of this technology. Its the gateway to the Internet, the place where one gets information, entertainment, education and almost everything else. We extensively use WiFi. At home. In office. At airports. In hotels. Going beyond the usual ones (phone, tablets, computer, laptop) the range of WiFi connected devices at home is rising rapidly.. Fitbit, Air purifiers, refrigerators, weighing scales and who can forget the latest addition – Alexa!
Phew!
Whenever we have house guests, among the first things to be offered to them is the WiFi password!!
Here is an image received on WhatsApp that shows the scene when the family gets together with the family matriarch…
 |
| Image received via WhatsApp |
I am all for connectivity but I do feel its taking over our lives. We are turning into zombies as we move from screen to screen. People are immersed in their own world and I find many are unable to converse in person. Chatting via a website or App is what gets them vocal.
As someone said, the best way to get a family together is to turn off the WiFi.
Lets get together, talk, laugh, explore the great outdoors and reconnect!
 |
| Image received via WhatsApp |
We are at the fag end of the challenge. Only three alphabets to go.
Cheers!