one a penny

Today, as I was browsing through the city markets, I saw a small kid, a 5 year old child sitting alongside a weighing machine. I thought 'let me get my weight checked' . There was a lady, with her daughter in tow, who was standing on the weighing machine. Both the mother and daughter had a view of their mass into gravity values. and......when the kid asked for two bucks, the lady said that the weighing machine was incorrect, the scales were wrong. The little child, I was amazed to see, tried to adjust the needle of this instrument, brought it to the zero mark and asked the lady to try the machine again. Her daughter pleaded her mother to pay the child. But that female refused to pay the money....two rupees to be precise and just trotted off.
I stood on the machine.....I think the weight was accurate....its been the same for years. Hope to gain some weight someday! Anyways before I digress from the story, I paid the child two bucks, he wanted to pay me back 'one penny'. When I said, never mind, the smile that I saw on his face was incomparable to anything else. I thought what would that little child do with one extra rupree,,,,,but more important what would that affluent looking lady do with that 'one penny'. It is difficult fo me to understand.I suppose it's quite an ardent task to understand or justify this kind of ridiculous and obnoxious behaviour.
I'm sure this lady wouldn't mind paying 50 bucks for a coffee in a coffee shop. Maybe she was saving for the same!

an old aquaintance

This weekend I was on my usual city darshan spree. Walking with the evening breeze is a soothing experience in the North Indian summer courtesy proximity of Chandigarh to the hills. My favourite is the city lake where I tend to go again and again, am never tired of the waters. People walking, jogging, just rushing past you...somehow all this kind of fascinates me. I saw a very old couple there, must be in their late 70's walking hand in hand. They looked beautiful and I could not get my eyes off them. The old gentleman just like any other teenager bought something to eat for his lady. I thought that I had seen them somewhere before.... kept thinking about them. While driving my way back home, their charming faces kept coming back to me. Thankfully, my neurons didn't let me down! I had spotted them about ten years back, when I was a school going kid and had gone for a haircut to a salon. This septuagenarian had accompanied the lady to the parlour. She also had a haircut (much better than mine!), her husband looked at her admiringly and said that she looked good with the new hairstyle. At that time, I thought what a hep couple....this time i said.....what a blessed couple. May God bless them! Amen.

Life in a.....Metro

Metro is a nice movie....a reflection of todays times. Its been a week since I watched Metro and the one person that straightaway comes to my mind is Irrfan Khan. He manages to make you laugh, smile and you are forced to fall in love with him! Kay Kay Menon also leaves an impact in his own way. He belongs to the detest him types....the personality I suppose you would never like to meet in your 'one life' but then you keep on bumping into such characters. If you haven't seen this movie, watch it for Konkona-Irrfan. They are in simple words...sweet! And yes, I'm sure by now, everyone must have relished Metro's soulful music.

The good old videos

Ek anek and Mil sur mera tumhara videos are for my friends born in the 80's. As a kid, I used to enjoy them a lot and till date, these simple videos have a charisma of their own. Watching them brought a smile to my face..ah the days of innocence! I miss them!

धूप

धूप की बारिश में हम घर को चले
मीठे पानी की खूबसूरती को चख कर चले

धूप ने कहा तुम तो छिपते फिरते थे हमसे
आज हमारे आगन में कैसे दिखायी दिये
भोली धूप को समझाया हमने
तुम तो हमारी अज़ीज़ हो
तुम तो हमारे साथ चलती हो
भाव तो उसे देते हैं
जो मेहमान हो
तुम तो जिन्दगी भर का साथ हो

यह सुन कर धूप मुस्करायी
बारिश की बूंदों भी झिल्मिलायी
इन्द्रधनुषी आसमान हुआ
रंगो का समां बना

और हमारा क्या
हम तोह अपने घर को चले
धूप और बारिश दोनो को संग ले चले

Timeless beauty

Beautiful sunset and the morning glory
the two sides of an eternal story

the sun sets, night transcends
peace prevails, time to rest
birds, animals, plants asleep
pristine creatures, so much at ease

the next morning, when the sun rises
wraps in its beauty, the wordly wise
the aroma of flowers, the aura above
tranquility and calmness abound

this is beauty, eternal bliss
soothes the mind, strengthens the soul
if only we have time to spare
the ethereal Nature, has everything to share.

Child's play

Cheerful, happy and sometimes moody
moving randomly, finding spaces
the little child with a mind of his own
follows his heart, into the world unknown

he has no beliefs, no prejudices
I teach him, the ways of the world
don't do this and don't go there
he doesn't listen, he has to play

Go, my child, it's your game
give it your best and never lose faith
whatever is the result at the end of the day
in my eyes, my sweetest child
you'll be a winner, always a winner.