C---Children

                                                                       

Children are useful -
for the poor, as extra hands in  labour
for the rich , as proud exhibits
for the class in between,
 reasons for daily struggle and sacrifice.

Children are adaptable -
they entertain when you have the time
and a  free mind to listen,
they attract your ire
when you are tired.

You can banish them for speaking the truth
or punish them for telling lies..
you teach them to say sorry for their mistakes.....
while you go on denying yours.

Children  are intelligent -
they can see through you but choose to ignore..
You build a facade ,they let  your masks  be....
..and yes,they are kind ,
'cause they love you still.

 Words are mine but the thoughts are those of a simple, wise lady from a remote village in Maharashtra ,who I met at an airport .You can read more words of wisdom from this remarkable lady here. She had a lot to say about marriage,kids and life in general.I was stumped  when she frankly admitted that she was harsh on her kids during their growing up years .She said she understood perfectly well, her children's need to leave the  village and her, to lead comfortable lives abroad.She accepted that she did take out her frustrations on her children many times and regretted almost immediately afterwords.

Her eyes welled up as she remembered her brood. When they were around,she needed no one else.
"Have you ever tried a tight bear hug with your lekru (child) "- she turned around  and asked me.
When I nodded a yes, she smiled a toothless smile
"Have you tried smelling your lekru's  (child's) hair ?" -she asked , a little excited this time.
Umm ..yes, I said, albeit sheepishly, for I thought I may be the only weird mother doing that....
"Watlach!!" ( I thought as much !),- she squealed in delight.

We were poles apart ,she and I,in every single way but at that indescribable moment, we bonded as mothers.

                                                                 
  This is for April A to Z challenge                                                                        

                                                                     
 

Ruffled Feathers---100 words Saturday

He gazed at her intently,
She  looked back only  fleetingly.
Hurt healed long since , her time had picked pace,
 no edge of the cliff and no empty space..                                               She was unruffled ,she had found her footing.                                          
             


  His time since then, stood stagnant....
  In the dark nights,he still dreamt
  he missed the last train home ,yet again
 She still stirred in him,feelings deep
 he realized,they had stayed...they never did leave

 She looked up in the sky,
 old ,worn out  feathers,
 on her feet had gathered..
She shook them off her feet,
ruffled feathers never did look neat...


This is 100 words  for Everydaygyaan



                                                                                                             

B---Bond-ing with Beauty and the Beach

Name is Bond, James Bond...so said Roger Moore in the movie 'The Man with the Golden Gun'. James Bond island,so named  because of the said movie is a famous landmark for international tourists in the Phang Nga Bay.It can be viewed from a small beach on Ko Ping Ghan. It is one of the smallest beaches that I have ever seen.  

The small Beach

                                                              James Bond island

 Thailand is one of my favourite holiday destinations because it offers the best packages in terms of  natural and man made beauty. For a traveller like me who does not 'plan' holidays, its policy of visa on arrival is an added advantage. Thailand has so much to offer .. sea,beaches,islands,resorts,shopping ,jungle reserves, a quiet secluded stay or wild night life. Have four-five days,take your pick and come back refreshed.

                 
                                                     Beach and the precarious rock

It will take several visits to get to know the country and if you are a budget traveller,Thailand is your friend.More for less works the best here.

Bonding with the family sprawled on the beach looking at the myriad hues of the sky under the setting Sun...blissful !!

This post is for A to Z April challenge 2013.

A --- Aesthetic

It is the first of April and today for the first time,I become a part of  A to Z blog challenge.

Thank you Arlee Bird for putting up this wonderful blog challenge.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that deals with nature of art , beauty and taste with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

Ever wondered why do certain things seem more beautiful than the others ? Any discussion about aesthetics is incomplete without a  special mention of  the Golden proportion.  

I recently came across an article stating that Aston-Martin,  has designed  the  new Rapid-s  car, from  boot to bonnet as per the Golden proportion. According to New York Times,

 “The golden ratio sits at the heart of every Aston Martin,” the company says. “Balanced from any angle, each exterior line of Rapide S works in concert and every proportion is precisely measured to create a lithe, pure form. 

What is the connection between Aesthetics and the Golden proportion ?

A visual form is most aesthetically pleasing when it possesses  golden mean proportions. Visual forms,natural or man made, have been found to confirm to this ratio, be it a beautiful flower such as  rose ...

                         

                                  OR..for that matter , a cauliflower with a proportionate whorl !

The Golden proportion has found its use in the world of art and architecture as well. Literature says that Leonardo da Vinci's  'Vtiruvian man' correlates ideal proportions in the human body to those in Geometry that Roman architect Vitruvius described in his book on architecture.

I am not into architecture ,neither do I claim an expertise in photography. Numbers are not my best of friends  and I reluctantly buried the idea of pursuing Architecture as my career choice after failing the practical entrance test long ago. 

However,faces intrigue me and I love smiles. I study faces and smiles daily and my profession as a Prosthodontist  allows me to do so.

The face forms the golden proportion, with eyes in the centre.The mouth and nose,the eyes and mouth, the width of the face between the zygoma to the width of the nose, all fit into the golden proportion. This according to experts is the secret to beauty. Anything that deviates from the golden ratio looks less appealing.

Facial proportions 

This universal  ratio is 1: 1.6 .The golden number is 'phi' and numerically it is 1.168.

When I learnt about smile designing,the first assignment I did was collecting photographs of hundreds of perfect and not so perfect smiles. Understanding the concept of aesthetics with the golden proportion as the stepping stone was easy ,so was creating smiles within the parameters of this magical ratio. Smile after beautiful smiles later, I grew sceptical ,when I was unable to exactly 'fit' into the golden concept and yet was able to achieve awesome results .

 Literature is agog with articles trashing the Golden proportion of aesthetics. Many have rubbished the concept as  fundamentally absurd .Beauty can not be confined to a number, they believe .Confusion prevails.... 

As Theodore cook said ,- "There is no short cut to the beautiful, no formula for the creation of the perfect."

A beautiful smile !

As for me, I love to observe, talk to my patient ,understand his ideas about his own smile ,make notes, and then reconstruct the smile . Golden proportion gives me that dependable base to build a wonderful smile. The final  aesthetic result  may or may not fit into the Golden proportion, but if it lights up a face and I get a  smile in return ,then I am in a happy space.

Even if aesthetics are not the mathematics of beauty, they are the proof of the calculation.

-Franz Grillparzer

This is for A to Z April Challenge. 

 Images :courtesy Google images

MASKS

 Masks are sold here,for a price high,

 one for each emotion, you can think of or invent.

 Masks cover well...

 and do not reveal, what you wish to hide

Their seal is tight ,yet are delicately  thin,

they blend in fine with any type of skin.

They come with a warranty and  a life time guarantee

 Rip them off ,you can not..

changing is easy, though for a fee.

 Indeed  you are born, without one..

but soon you can not live without one.

Blessed you be if the mirror reflects you,

for most, it is the mask that stares.  

    

       For  EverydayGyaan                                                                      

Çelebration at Golconda Bowl

The handsome new entrant in the family had crossed one more milestone in his career and the young couple were in a mood to celebrate with the family.

                                                                             

Always ready to try out new places for good food, the youngsters took to scanning the net .Zomato came to the rescue yet again in the hunt for a nice place to eat.Incidentally, I had done a review for Zomato restaurant guide , Mumbai a while ago for Blogadda.

The seven month old dining near Globus at Bandra west is called Golconda bowl.The name is suggestive enough that it serves Hyderabadi cuisine as its speciality.

The parking was entrusted to the valet as we were welcomed  by the warm interiors of the place.I saw a lot of curtains dividing little sections and tables where big families much like my own family of 14, were seated.

                                                                             
We were spared the trouble  of placing the order as the teens and young adults in the family took over.There is always a risk of extra food on the table when the task of placing the order is entrusted to kids but I was pleasantly surprised to see the manager helping them gently with the task.He suggested and explained in detail about each dish and its accompaniments.The suggestions were welcome since none of us were very well versed with the Hyderabadi cuisine.

The starters and soups were served promptly, earning favourable points immediately from the famished family of foodies.Delayed first course is a sure shot way of putting off a foodie.Thankfully the service maintained a steady flow throughout .

Gosht shorba , Rann, Reshmi murg tikka,fish, Stuffed Mushrooms and Veg Kebabs were polished off in silence.Not a soul looked away from the food on the plate and that was a good sign indeed.The main course was a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food .Haleem and Veg Koftas were relished and so were Nalli Nihari and Subz Hariali ,served to perfection with choice of breads.The now famous ( Big B's Biryani of the same name in the film  Cheeni Kum ) Hyderabadi Biryani had to be tried and it did not dissapoint our taste buds.

                                                                             

We ended the meal with Double Ka Meetha and Seviyan Kheer. Few upturned noses in the family who initially refused to have desserts  let themselves loose when they tasted a  tiny spoonful of the sinful desserts .

Paan never excites me personally, but to others, the attractively decorated paan tray proved to be perfect after the delicious heavy meal.

                                                                               

All in all , an evening well spent with family and good food at  Golconda bowl . Last but definitely not the least , it did not burn a hole in our pockets. :)

The 7x7x7x7 Prompt

While my blog lay neglected yet again for various reasons, Corinne of Everyday Gyaan came up with this exciting prompt.

Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf. Open it up to page 7. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page. Begin a poem that begins with that sentence and limit its length to 7 lines.

The book on my first shelf from the left was The book of woman by Osho. The numbered page seven,seventh line said something about woman and the missionary position.Frankly ,not a single decent word came out of my mind so I began counting from the right and spotted   Seven 6s are 43 by Kiran Nagarkar . The seventh line on page seven says : 
......They are what they are and one is what one is.

Here is my composition, all of seven lines,keeping close to the thought behind the above..

They are what they are and one is what one is...                                                              

 Aiming to change precisely that,
is like asking for magic where there is none.
What is left of him is not him anymore,
a shadow mere of what you yearned for. 
Put away that mould that tells you to hold.....
To change is to control and to control not love,
 it's broken shackles that yield enduring bonds
                  

Image-courtesy-Google Images

We may have unfair expectations from others to be more like us but we should understand that they should be appreciated for what they are.If  we do not like what we see , the change has to be from our side. It is not on others to make us happy, it is our own responsibility. Sooner we understand that, healthier our relationships will be.

Thank you Corinne for the prompt.