The Best Quarter of the Year

I don’t live in India, but I can still hear the dandiya sticks and picture the vibrant ghagharas. That’s the effect October has on you. Navratri, Dussehra, Karwachauth, Diwali, and plenty of birthdays add to probably the best month of the year. Really, how do we have maximum birthdays in October? (Is it something to do with February and Fertility!?)

October marks the Boy’s birthday as well. He’s never enthusiastic about it, but I am! It marks our first meeting anniversary when the Boy, after chatting online for 1.5 years, came down to my hometown by train for 2 days just to meet me. It marks our love anniversary when he went back home and finally proposed (because before that I acted like a total bitch!). For the Boy, it’s probably the worst quarter of the year since he has to remember so many dates (which, he never does!).


That's the Rangoli I made last year :)

November brings with it the best weather, when it’s neither too cold nor too hot. It brings with it bajre ki roti and sarson ka saag, gajar ka halwa, sweet rabdi, and an urge to eat lots without any guilt. It brings with it a whole new wardrobe and cosy blankets. Everything that makes you look oh-so-cute!

November is about my birthday and I’m always very excited. I hate the fact that I’m growing up, but I love the fact that I have loved each year of my life. November gives me a sense of contentment and gratefulness.
This year November will also bring the much awaited India trip. It will be 7 months to our last visit home and I'm dying to see my family. My brother will have a second baby and I can’t wait to see him smile with his eyes closed (people say they dream about their past life and smile. Yeah, LOL moment!). After my niece, this one will be the second love of my life and so the excitement is expected.


Yeah, will be turning 29, for the first time!

December makes you nostalgic about the year gone by. I always end up thinking how I should have utilised my time more efficiently and therefore, resolve to make the next one more productive. But like all resolutions, this one has no future as well.

December will bring us our wedding anniversary, third one this year. Everyone will want a chubby baby now, you know, kab kar rahi ho?! Such discussions make me most uncomfortable and I feel like running away. It’s supposed to be a happy occasion, but the pressure makes it a difficult one. Why can't some people have kids and others just have a happy life!? The only reason I would want one is to see how the baby will look like, since both of us are so cute looking!
And that’s how the year would end, with Narcissism spelt with a capital N!

35 years of 'love'!

We always blame our parents for our shortcomings. If you are a cleanliness freak, it’s because of your mom. If you have travel anxiety, it’s because your dad would have acidity 2 hours before every train/flight!

It’s only in moments of pride you think about the good things that you may have inherited. Like my mom’s an environmentalist who would carry plastic bags so that she doesn’t get an additional one. And now, I have the same habit as well. My dad is extremely punctual and so am I. I’ve always thought of myself as a mix of both my parents, you know, taken all the good points of both! Probably that’s why I’m perfect!

But one thing that I don’t like about my parents and myself is the inability to express love. Most parents in Indian families never even hold hands in front of their kids, atleast the generation I come from. Hugging and kissing is a taboo. I may have never told my parents or any family member if I like something about them or not. Even today if I want to go and tell them I love them, I don’t think I can.

Is this because they never expressed anything in front of us? Or is it just a personal characteristic? Well, it’s a shortcoming, let me just blame it on them and move on!

Nevertheless, tomorrow my mum and dad will be celebrating their 35th anniversary. And I want to wish them all the happiness in the world! That I can do :)

A Date

Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation day, first meeting, first kiss, first look, first car, house warming, fell in love, the break up date, fell in love the second time, the third, the forth, etc, etc, etc. Out of 365 days, at least 300 have some relevance. I don’t know if men will agree, but for women, numbers mean a lot, so what if they’re just in a calendar!

And not only happy dates, sad ones too. A particular day can bring a smile or a tear according to the bearing it holds. Why do we attach such a lot of importance to dates?

I know, to rejoice the occasion. Ask any guy and he will be torn between his loyalty to his girl and how much he dreads the occasion he had almost forgotten. If I tell my husband you missed something important today, he will first recall the date, think if it is some anniversary, obviously won't remember, ask me a million times, and then take a sigh of relief. (Only recently we agreed to celebrate only one day, and I just can’t recall which one we agreed upon.)

It happens with me as well. I will see the date on my phone and think if it’s an important date. I will think of all the people I know and if it’s somebody's birthday. Sometimes I’ll remember the birthday of a girl I knew 15 years back and smile. If I'm in the mood, I'll even say a little prayer to wish her well. Oh, I can be so sweet at times!! And yes, I can be good at some dates too.

I’m not proud of it. We should live in the moment and celebrate each day as it comes. Birthday, Christmas is fine, but remembering the first day you walked hand in hand with a special someone could be traumatizing for that someone!

So, does today leaves you confused about its significance or the lack of it?