my daughter Sunakshi.... an everlasting bond!

The Sunakshi that I have known - first of all, this human being is not like everyone else, she is beyond the ordinary, she is far ahead of being just extra ordinary, she is a phenomenon! I met her or rather came across her profile on a blogging site, where I have been a regular blogger. She had written a couple of poems, and as I read them, I realized that this person was different. Her thoughts were ahead of the kind of thoughts that we all normal folks have, her poetry, her eloquence, her brutal honesty, her words had a huge impact on me, somewhere deep inside me, there was a churning. And then I noticed that she was just 18! How could an 18 year old express so profoundly? I said to myself, and remember posting my comments on her verses. And contrary to expectations, she replied. And that’s how we got introduced! Subsequently I requested her to read my posts, and she became an instant fan of my writings, she remains my biggest fan and my inspiration till date!

We then got to know each other and soon a common thread began to slowly but surely bind us together. This thread was the thread of friendship. As days passed by this thread became a rope, we soon formed a bond, a bond that does not know to break! This absolute gem of a person is now my daughter, a daughter I have always wanted, always cherished, always dreamt of! Nothing on this earth can be compared to the satisfaction I feel, when she calls me “papa”!

Sunakshi has a heart of gold, and this golden heart has one emotion in abundance, which is love! At times I feel, she has enough love to move mountains, she really has, I am serious! I do feel enriched, ever since I met her, God has been kind and generous when he was distributing love, he must have liked her a lot too, as he filled her heart with endless love. And it reflects in her voice, in her verses, in her words, her actions, and her very self! She emanates love like no one else! In these turbulent times, her love will prove to be a beacon, wherever she goes, calming and soothing the turmoil in her way….

Her wisdom leaves me stunned to the core, I just go speechless when we discuss or interact on various topics. I always wonder when does she get time to comprehend, understand, accept, and then express such noble thoughts of wisdom, she is just 19 today! I always feel, and I am saying this for the first time - give her an atheist, and sunakshi will turn him/her into a believer in two hours flat, that’s the power of her thoughts. Every single thought of hers is backed by completely unwavering conviction, and rock solid justification. To be honest I have always found it tough to win an argument with her, and I am so proud of it!

We both believe in the law of karma and the concept of rebirth completely, so we always have rejuvenating discussions, whenever we talk or chat. Sunakshi is fun to be with, loves life like anyone else of her age, yet remains very different from others. I always tell her that she has an objective to realize, on this earth, and her presence on this planet has a definite reason for being so! She understands what I mean.

It gave me so much happiness to meet her, for the very first time, in Jan this year, when I traveled all the way to Punjab! I actually spend 2 days at her place, met her parents and family. It was a bit unusual initially, but her parents knew of me, and we all were comfortable very soon. In fact her mother had moist eyes, when she said that their daughter had found so much of happiness after meeting me! If all goes well, she might spend this diwali with us, at pune!

Needless to say, the most lovable person I have ever known, and there wont be anyone else like her, not even close to her. She would like me to write about her weak points too, but I know she hasn’t any! At times she does sound weak and vulnerable, and at such times, I do miss being in Chandigarh, a lot. From pune I cant do much for my darling daughter, but she has the courage too, to fight against every odd and every challenge that life throws at her!

She has an awesome presence, absolutely one-in-a-billion! Her personality has shades… shades of love, warmth, care, affection, and a huge touch of glamour too! One of the few people who can make her eyes dance, half of her poetry oozes out of her expressive and magical eyes!

I have always always wanted to have a daughter, and I can go on and on, and probably write pages, on her, and yet I know I will feel I haven’t written enough, cos she is like that! My hearts carries infinite love and affection for this lovely daughter of mine, god bless her with the best of things in life, today, tomorrow, and for ever!

wisdom, wadas, and weekend with natarajan!

i spent 5 wonderful years of my life, in kuwait, from 1987 to 1992. worked in an oil refinery, looking after the maintenance of online process gas analysers. we lived in a 3 bedroom flat, and everyone else, other than me, in this flat, was from tamilnadu. by the time i returned to india, my mother cud never understand how can a guy return from a 5 yrs stint in an arab country, and be so used to sambar-n-rice! i owe it all to the excellent, and exotic culinary skills of my senior colleague mr s natarajan. i was a 25 yr old bachelor then, and natarajan was in his early forties. a man of wisdom, and exceedingly good at conjuring up some amazing traditional tamil recipes, i loved to spend time with him. we had a 5 day week, and on thursday mornings, natarajan used to prepare a huge pile of parappu wadai, or daal wadas, made out of chana daal, for all of us. i used to be with him during this whole process, in the kitchen. every minute spent with natarajan was a learning experience for me. he was an ocean of knowledge, whether u ask him anything from our religious scriptures, communism in russia, the civil war in the usa, our independence struggle, etc etc.weekends in kuwait were thursday n friday. we would get up early on thursday mornings too, while every one else slept, the preparation for the wadas wud begin. it wud start with him bringing his cassette player in the kitchen, and play some lilting ilayaraja numbers, or at times, he would play "suprabhatam". then he wud begin the wada process, first he would meticulously chop the onion very fine, grind the daal soaked in water overnight. next he used to grind black pepper, lots of it, coarse. he said one shud feel the pepper cracking under our teeth while eating the wadas!! mix all the above, along with salt, chopped coriander, finely chopped ginger, lots of curry leaves, and grated coconut. believe me friends, i am yet to forget the aroma of these divine wadas.and while the process wud go on i used to ask him questions, mainly on our scriptures, since he knew a lot. i remember asking him once, the reason behind hindu women putting kumkum or a bindi on the forehead. was it just to do with fashion or was there more to it? he gave me a wonderful analogy. this is what he said to me:a woman was the head of the home. lets compare the home with the universe. look at what happens in the mornings. the head of the universe, the SUN, rises early in the morning. as the sun rises, there is a crimson glow at the top first, as if nature is laying a crimson carpet for the chief guest to arrive. and then slowly the sun appears, it is crimson too. and once the sun rises, the whole world rises with it. the sun provides the energy to everyone, as people go about their daiily chores. it controls everything from the top, it is the undisputed boss for the entire day. finally at dusk, the lord decides to call it a day, taking away the red carpet, and the crimson ball with it.similarly, early morning, the lady of the house gets up first, puts a red bindi on her forehead, which resembles the sun, puts some more sindoor at the parting of the hair, this resembling the crimson glow, and goes about taking charge of the home, waking up everyone, providing them with energy(food), being in control of things, managing the entire home,and in the evenings, or at the end of the day, a job well completed, the lady goes to bed, taking off the crimson bindi, along with the sindoor. a very unusual, but an interesting comparison. you know something? sharing a secret with you all here. my respect for the lady of the house increased after hearing this explanation from natarajan.incidentally, natarajan and wife now live in trichy. with both the sons well settled, he has now retired from service. and i do miss his wisdom, and his wadas. weekends will never be the same.....