Late December Early January.......

There's a picture on the wall in our room--that of a kid with chubby cheeks. We stared and stared at the picture for nearly 8 months before Tejas was born --- without much of those chubby cheeks. Now after nearly a month, he's slowly gaining them. Pinching his cheeks red is our pastime now.

Your success or failure in job depends on your relation with your immediate boss. Appears crude but yeah, as far as I know it's true. And also what's success or failure is decided by him, not what you think they are.
And a gem from 'Saving private ryan'-- A platoon commander says this to a young rookie'...it's simple in the army son. You grab me, I grab someone up there, he grabs someone else, and it goes on in a long line.'

End of project. A break expected before a new one begins. Planning to laze a lot. And comeback fresh after eating 'A Course in Miracles'.

Two friends-- Anand and Sudarshan-- get Baptised into the blogworld.

Watching a lotta movies, sleeping late, waking late, working hard, contemplating a bit, meditating sparsely, getting tired and shivering silly all along.

Christmas arrives. Archana's close friend who had a series of abortions is gifted with twin boys, maybe as a christmas gift. Planning to visit a church this time. Wanna meditate long on that day, provided I'm not working overtime. Christmas evokes bittersweet memories. And archana never fails to recount how she was almost converted to christianity by her overzealous friends.

My son will get a cradle ceremony this weekend. All friends and family will be arriving for the event. Making preparations for the event, arranging for the dinner, sending out invitations, planning ahead and above any eventuality---it's nice to take responsibility and get involved into something that's out of the routine.

Late august Early september is a simple yet sublime movie about love-loss, individuality-togetherness, rebellion-conformity.... all captured beautifully through the gestures and nuances of everyday lives. You don't feel as if you're watching a movie, it's like you're witnessing life directly, and sometimes it's your own life.... those characters are you. The magic of
cinema wows you when you come across such movies.

A year passes by and we're at the threshold of a new beginning, a new year. Amidst all the visible changes, there's also a kind of dissatisfaction with myself. There are regrets at missed opportunities, remaining weaknesses and the continuing staticness of life. It's a routine to begin every new year with resolutions, and a few weeks later these resolutions are all but forgotten.
Never have I bothered to follow up on my goals and find out if any of them have been fulfilled. It looks silly to start another new year with a new set of resolutions, so I'll keep out of that exercise this time.

It was around this time last year that Mouli departed. We remember him now when a few friends have left behind their careers and routine life and decided to pursue Spiritual research and sadhana. How would he have responded to this situation, we wonder. Inspite of his jovial nature and apparent carefreeness, he was a determined character--one who was single-minded
in his pursuits and honest in his acts. He too would've probably left his job and taken up spirituality completely. Amidst those who come and go, he'd have stood like a pillar of integrity and capability, making things happen silently without trying to hog the limelight, without taking things to his head. He would've definetly become an example for others to follow.

Just as we remember people for what they've done and what they shouldn't have done, we also remember someone like mouli for what he could have done had he been with us.