Trip down the memory lane

Most of my inspiration to write comes when I am lying down on the bed next to my little muse. There is something different I expereince. May be the calmness the touch of the little angel brings to my mind. Her breathing creates a wave of peaceful aura and the mind finds its best place it can be. Creative thoughts flow effortlessly and often I have to get up to just pen my thoughts. Sometimes the thoughts stick in my mind till I get up the next morning and that's how I often write....

I always had a passion for writing. I wrote many poems and quotes in my school days. Had a passion for reading and writing then. Slowly, as I grew up found less and less time to read and write apart from my school/college work. So, the passion was still there but was tucked inside somewhere deep in the brain.

Now after the birth of my daughter, suddenly the passion for writing got rekindled again. Often her beautiful smiles and innocent acts were the perfect muse. As someone once said, the birth of your child is the most amazing thing in ones life and the happiness you experience is out of this world. May be this happiness gets your right brain activated and that's how I find this passion coming back to me again......

Just have to say, I love this inspirations and the creative hours on the bed. And the joy that accompanies by just putting ones thoughts in ink cannot be explained in words....or could it be? Hmmm.....!

It was a colorful evening. Nine year Old Medha was all dressed up for the occasion. She loved these gatherings where she could meet her many friends. They all loved to hang out in the outside play yard when all the festivities were going on in the inside auditorium. She didn’t mind missing any of those as she was content playing and making new friends. She met Sangeetha once in such a gathering and now they are best friends. Today Sangeetha brought her cousin Aparna who is from Mumbai. She never met anyone so far from a big city like that. And it sure was interesting to know how life n Mumbai is for a beautiful girl like Aparna. She was fixated on her beautiful eyes and the fancy mini dress she was wearing. Medha had seen those in the annual exhibition stalls last Christmas at the old Bishop School campgrounds. She wanted one of those for herself but Mom denied her request. It cost 100 rupees and Dad couldn’t afford that money for just clothes. She had two older siblings and being all girls it was easy for Mom to buy clothes in wholesale yard and get them stitched at the famous Jamaal tailors. She has never got anything from the ready made garment stores. According to mom they won’t wear well and won’t last long. So, with wide eyes she gazed at all those colorful dresses in the exhibition stalls as long as she could and imagined herself wearing one. And today to see one of those on Aparna was like waking up those desires that had long back tucked back inside her mind.

Aparna was going on with her Mumbai stories that kept both Sangeetha and Medha glued over like fevicol to their bench. They didn’t mind the commotion that was going on from the endless line of cars that was coming into the school compound and all those kids coming to play in the grounds leaving their parents inside the auditorium. Medha didn’t even mind her nature call request that had set in a while ago. She contemplated leaving both her friends behind and going inside to attend it. However, she would miss the fun in those ten minutes. And she didn’t want to interrupt the splendid story of Aparna. So, she stuck there holding her pelvis tight enough so the nature call will go away slowly. And for sometime it did…

Inside the auditorium, the ambiance was so different. The place was slightly packed. There were rows of chairs occupied with people who looked like they were dressed up for a wedding. Those colorful silk saris with wide borders stole many sights. The fragrance of the Mysore jasmine filled the air like soft perfume, mixed up with those incense sticks on the dais creating a potpourri nostalgia. Everywhere you could see women wearing those beautiful flowers on their fancy hairdo’s and it was a sight and smell extravaganza.

Sumati was sitting there in the front seat oblivious of what was going on with Medha outside. She knew there were plenty of kids to keep her company and didn’t have to worry. She always brought Medha for such occasions as she was the youngest of her children. Both of her older daughters were busy with their school work or other chores around the house, but Medha always was there ready to pop out of the house with no notice required. She knew she could get Medha ready in a jiffy as she hardly needed any sprucing. She always looked beautiful even with her not so fancy clothes. Medha was a darling child of Mom and Dad and was bestowed with many things that were a dream for the older siblings. Still Medha never took the pampering into her head and was the most obedient in the house.

It was five minutes to five and the group had already taken their seat on the dais. They were a group of six accompanied with a Mridangist, a Gatam and a tamboorian. Leela always played the tamboori for the whole event. At times when she needed break Sumati didn’t mind replacing her and it gave her much pleasure being part of the event. After all one of the acclaimed musicians in the group is her own aunt Smt Lalithamma who was in her early fifties. She was a famous recording artist in that area and her influence had rubbed off on Sumati which made her attend these Sangeetha Sabha that took place once a month. But today was special. It was the famous Thyagaraja Aradhana and she wouldn’t miss this event in any circumstance. Only a few times she missed these regular gathering due to her periods or some guest in the house and she felt sad missing them. But today is not one of those days. It was perfect. She had no obstacles making it here and being part of the big event. She sat there listening to the beautiful renditions of the krithis, one after the other from her aunt and group. The evening felt magical. All those music wafting in the air creating a surreal ambiance that felt like heaven had descended on earth. The beautiful ladies on the dais with their magnificent voices accompanied by their colorful silk saris and traditional makeovers were just the sight to indulge and the music for the ears. Sumati sat there listening as the hours go by like minutes without minding what her daughter was doing. Medha was outside in her own world not minding what her Mom was going through inside. Both were pretty content in their own place never wanting to trade their time for anything else in this world…..

It must have been a long time since Medha dosed off listening to the krithis that was playing in the recorder. The tape that her mother gave her 10 years ago when she first came to this country was playing the recordings from one such concert she attended with her Mother. But now unlike before she enjoys listening to them. They bring back a lot of memories from those childhood times and also of Mom who passed away last year to an unexpected stroke. Today she has become the same Sumati of 25 years ago sitting in the chair on the front seat of the sabha and going through an enchanted evening. It was Rhea who back came from school saw her Mom comfortably stretched on the couch closing her eyes and slightly humming to the songs in her sleep. She wanted to wake her up but then how could she? She had never seen Mom so content after Grandma’s sudden demise and today for the first time she could see a slight ray of happiness on her face. She sat there for a minute listening to the songs that were playing but her mind was too busy thinking of the events from the school. There was this new boy Julian who joined today who had moved from Manhattan, NY. She had a good time making friendship with him and listening to his stories. She was enthralled by all the details he was giving of the tall skyscrapers and the endless list of traffic on his way to school in Manhattan. He had mentioned how calm and quiet this Wichita, KS neighborhood was compared to New york. She had never been to New york but by the description of it by Julian she wanted to go visit that place during her summer holidays. She kept dreaming all those things sitting there next to her mom….and Mom was in her own world dreaming…..Both looked pretty content in their own space never wanting to trade it for anything else in this whole wide world.

It was Dad’s car pulling into the garage that brought them back to this world and as they opened their eyes and saw each other, there was a strange sense of happiness wafting inside them which could be seen in their gleaming faces.