I have been thinking of getting involved in some voluntary social activities for about 3-4 years now. All the past attempts failed for some or the other reason. The other day I was thinking about how to find some way to give back to the society, and as if a wish comes true, the community program committee at office dropped an email asking for people to volunteer. I decided that this was an opportunity to go beyond a registration, so I volunteered to teach children on the nearest scheduled day i.e. today. Somehow, I missed the meeting yesterday, yet I got talking to someone today morning and came to know that the volunteers are visiting a nearby school today. A sign!
Well, so I went there and taught these children for about 3 hours. We read an adaptation of Gulliver's travels, did some exercises, learnt new words and even a song. Since the children did not know any English song, I taught them one of the easiest ones..."We shall overcome". I chose this one since it was easy to learn as it is based on "Hum honge kamyaab", and also because I find this song very inspiring (that was the mood for today :-))
When I returned to office, I felt refreshed and energetic. The work somehow seemed better :-) And when I had to stay back in office till late, I didn't mind it...in fact, accomplished another pending task!
Today was a good day, all in all. A simple act of giving back (through a medium that I absolutely love) made a difference to my efficiency. I think I should try this more often.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Happy days...Sad days...Festive days...
In the last couple of weeks, I have logged into my blog account, started writing something and did not finish it. Sometimes, there are no words to describe what I am feeling inside; sometimes, what I want to write about needs such a long background description that I go against writing it. Other times, I just don't feel like putting my thoughts into words (of course, when I log in, I thought I would want to). So it has been quiet on my blog...
A few festive days went by during this time - Karwa Chauth (that day, I wanted to write about our 'Mehandi adventure'), then there was Ahoi Ashtmi (fasting for my kids...that felt quite good :-)) and Diwali yesterday. I like this season in India...there are many reasons to celebrate. There is lots of activity everywhere around you, and there are lots of opportunities to rejoice. But then, sometimes, the joy does not come from inside you. Some days, you are just sad and do not like the festivities around you. Those are the days when you need a friend...someone who understands without asking questions; someone who lends you a shoulder and lets you cry just because you feel like shedding tears; someone who is there, no matter if you cry or get irritated without any rhyme or reason. And sometimes, you find that friend in your loved ones, even kids.
Yesterday, I felt gloomy, I don't know why. There were probably many reasons...perhaps because of things that didn't go well in last few days. Chunchu and Shiku were of course excited about playing with crackers and I was not in the mood. Yet, when my sis asked me to at least be with the kids, I went outside (leaving the novel I was trying to write to get away from sadness), and I saw them happy about the sounds and lights of crackers all around. Now, I do not like bursting crackers because of just one reason - I like to not contribute to the sound and air pollution. My kids are too small to understand all this, and no one appreciated my even trying to explain it to them, so I let them be.
So, back to the moment that sucked away the gloom...Chunchu tells me how much she's enjoying crackers and then, she goes ahead to show to me how much she loved the 'phooljhari' and 'anaar'...she lights them and is very pleased with herself. Shiku, on the other hand, keeps covering his ears saying that he does not like crackers, but when I ask him to come inside with me, he insists on watching the skies for beautiful lights! So, I, Shiku and Chunchu sit there to watch the sky going bright and colorful with every new cracker that goes up and bursts to form a wonderful pattern. Now, someone near our house decided to play a game...consecutive crackers in the sky...all with different bursting patterns. And, in just a matter of 5 minutes, I am one with the kids...enjoying watching those things go up and form a splendid sight! Shiku and Chunchu are sitting close to me, Shiku lies down in my lap, and all three of us watch the beautiful patterns for may be 15-20 minutes. Something stirred inside me and I felt content, all the sorrow just vanished into thin air...polluted air! Again, I thanked God for bringing these kids into my life!
That's how it is with life...one moment you are feeling bad about trivial things, and next moment, you feel glad about the important ones! So that was Diwali for me.
Now, a little something about the Mehandi adventure I mentioned before. It was the night before Karwa Chauth. Everyone is excited about decorating their palms with henna, but mom did not do it that day, because she could not go out taking the kids with her. I felt a little guilty since mom likes mehandi a lot and she did not get it done for my kids, so I insisted that we put the kids to sleep and then go to the market, while dad and Sid babysat for us. But by the time the kids went to sleep, it was late. The nearby market closed. Now, all of us (Chachi, Damini, mom and I) did not want to go back empty handed (or empty 'palmed'), so we started walking towards another market. Then comes a rickshaw puller and we decide that at least two of us can go in the rick. But this guy says we can all go with him. So we 4 fat women climb onto that rickshaw and the poor guy pulls it. Of course, he charged us 4 times than usual, but who were we to complain ;-) The rickshaw of course squealed throughout and I guess all of its screws and joints must have become loose after that ride ;-P It was worth it in the end, when we reached our destination and saw we weren't the only ones so desperate for a 'palmful' of henna...there were lots of people like us, all the shops were open and the marketplace seemed awesome. There were many young couples where the hubby held a kid and the wifey got a henna...after all, the wife fasts for her husband, so he can oblige as much :-)
Coming back to today, I had to get my wisdom tooth extracted and I am writing to get my mind off the pain. But its time now to stop putting on a brave-front and take the damn pain killer!
Happy Diwali to everyone!
A few festive days went by during this time - Karwa Chauth (that day, I wanted to write about our 'Mehandi adventure'), then there was Ahoi Ashtmi (fasting for my kids...that felt quite good :-)) and Diwali yesterday. I like this season in India...there are many reasons to celebrate. There is lots of activity everywhere around you, and there are lots of opportunities to rejoice. But then, sometimes, the joy does not come from inside you. Some days, you are just sad and do not like the festivities around you. Those are the days when you need a friend...someone who understands without asking questions; someone who lends you a shoulder and lets you cry just because you feel like shedding tears; someone who is there, no matter if you cry or get irritated without any rhyme or reason. And sometimes, you find that friend in your loved ones, even kids.
Yesterday, I felt gloomy, I don't know why. There were probably many reasons...perhaps because of things that didn't go well in last few days. Chunchu and Shiku were of course excited about playing with crackers and I was not in the mood. Yet, when my sis asked me to at least be with the kids, I went outside (leaving the novel I was trying to write to get away from sadness), and I saw them happy about the sounds and lights of crackers all around. Now, I do not like bursting crackers because of just one reason - I like to not contribute to the sound and air pollution. My kids are too small to understand all this, and no one appreciated my even trying to explain it to them, so I let them be.
So, back to the moment that sucked away the gloom...Chunchu tells me how much she's enjoying crackers and then, she goes ahead to show to me how much she loved the 'phooljhari' and 'anaar'...she lights them and is very pleased with herself. Shiku, on the other hand, keeps covering his ears saying that he does not like crackers, but when I ask him to come inside with me, he insists on watching the skies for beautiful lights! So, I, Shiku and Chunchu sit there to watch the sky going bright and colorful with every new cracker that goes up and bursts to form a wonderful pattern. Now, someone near our house decided to play a game...consecutive crackers in the sky...all with different bursting patterns. And, in just a matter of 5 minutes, I am one with the kids...enjoying watching those things go up and form a splendid sight! Shiku and Chunchu are sitting close to me, Shiku lies down in my lap, and all three of us watch the beautiful patterns for may be 15-20 minutes. Something stirred inside me and I felt content, all the sorrow just vanished into thin air...polluted air! Again, I thanked God for bringing these kids into my life!
That's how it is with life...one moment you are feeling bad about trivial things, and next moment, you feel glad about the important ones! So that was Diwali for me.
Now, a little something about the Mehandi adventure I mentioned before. It was the night before Karwa Chauth. Everyone is excited about decorating their palms with henna, but mom did not do it that day, because she could not go out taking the kids with her. I felt a little guilty since mom likes mehandi a lot and she did not get it done for my kids, so I insisted that we put the kids to sleep and then go to the market, while dad and Sid babysat for us. But by the time the kids went to sleep, it was late. The nearby market closed. Now, all of us (Chachi, Damini, mom and I) did not want to go back empty handed (or empty 'palmed'), so we started walking towards another market. Then comes a rickshaw puller and we decide that at least two of us can go in the rick. But this guy says we can all go with him. So we 4 fat women climb onto that rickshaw and the poor guy pulls it. Of course, he charged us 4 times than usual, but who were we to complain ;-) The rickshaw of course squealed throughout and I guess all of its screws and joints must have become loose after that ride ;-P It was worth it in the end, when we reached our destination and saw we weren't the only ones so desperate for a 'palmful' of henna...there were lots of people like us, all the shops were open and the marketplace seemed awesome. There were many young couples where the hubby held a kid and the wifey got a henna...after all, the wife fasts for her husband, so he can oblige as much :-)
Coming back to today, I had to get my wisdom tooth extracted and I am writing to get my mind off the pain. But its time now to stop putting on a brave-front and take the damn pain killer!
Happy Diwali to everyone!
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