BON VOYAGE

I know my man since I entered my teens. When I sit down and connect the dots it tells me that I have lived only thirteen years of my life without him. I am almost a part of his life......torn apart between the phases of success and failure that touched us at the same time with its far reaching impact. I define our togetherness this way. Every time life treated us shabbily with a crisis we found ourselves picking up the cudgels and moving ahead with a unified force trying to gratify the demands of life with our forbearance. This “WE” feeling gave us strength and courage to pull on.

25 years did not pass in the wink of an eye. Our marriage has its own residue of mixed emotions........ The romantic days when our eyes met, spoke, cajoled, the exciting moments when we became one in unison with all the spark and magic of this world. Those were the days when we were enslaved because of the yearning that tugged at our hearts. But the entire journey wasn’t always euphoric. There came some years in our walks of life, years that enveloped the rainbow and shrouded it with apprehensions and travails. The busy life took us away from each other. We couldn’t fight against the tide and surrendered to the monotonous drudgery that came to greet us so unexpectedly. The peace, joy and happiness of being in communion with the man of my life were soon lost in the oblivion. A hollowing loneliness widened the gap between two people who always loved truly. So when I talk about 25 years I cannot rule out the moments of despondency. It has been quite a journey........ the colours brightened, dimmed and then at times faded not knowing how the bright hues transformed into misty shades. Yet the stressful moments could not dwarf our minds forever. We realised what we missed out on due to our incorrect ways of handling things. We wished to get back to our beautiful dreams that brought us together as man and wife in reality. We were indeed caught in the serpentine maze of life but couldn’t allow happiness to be so elusive. So yes...... we had our share of moments of poignancy but emerged victorious holding our hands with a special reassurance. Eventually we were brought back to the shores perhaps cleansed of our silly logic and false ego. We were able to fight back the hostile cosmos that is a part of every marriage. Both of us made a home in the vastness of strange ordeals our marriage gifted us with.

Honestly marriage is three parts of love and seven parts of forgiveness. 25 years of married life is not about celebrating silver jubilee, but about celebrating our growth, our maturity which allows us to understand that marital bliss is not about riding on a winged chariot, not about creating a sensation. It is life in itself...... so it has its turmoil too.
We have been married to each other because of a longing we shared once upon a time as lovers. Today our relationship has transcended above all the emotions...........love, fear, anger, grief.........all have merged ......... to create a genesis of a unique relationship in the oasis of our life as.. MR. & MRS. VIRENDER RAINA................TOUCHWOOD !!!

FROM NOWHERE TO EVERYWHERE .....

My STAR daughter TWINKLED all along. Yet in my ODYSSEY of life it took me some time to glean and capture the GLOW of light she emitted in my heart. On my graduation from a woman to a mother I realised soon what I missed all the years that had gone by. The surge of pride when your child does well, the swelling of the heart at the excitement of nurturing a child and even the agonies that arise from your child's pains are EMOTIONS of a LIFETIME. I found each one of them although different in their respective ways merged together and united us (MOTHER and CHILD) as ONE.

Does anyone know why I call her my STAR CHILD ? Oh yes as she works for STAR PLUS ! ha....ha.... JOKES APART... how can I rate my indispensable jewel to a TRANSITORY thing like a COMPANY. She is my STAR CHILD as she is the NORTH STAR that will always illuminate my life. Like the POLE STAR she stands STEADFAST and INSPIRES me to be STRONG like her. Like the POLE STAR whose light never FADES out she is there with me SMILING away the TEARS that VEIL our eyes and REJUVENATES me with her spirit. Her PRISTINE way of leading life in this STAINED world talks about the DIVINITY of a STAR. I have always been happy that my STAR works for STAR but I know even if she moves away from STAR PLUS she will forever be a STAR in her own CHARISMATIC ways. My STAR will SPARKLE wherever she goes. She is the CURTAIN RAISER of my life and as she journeys through her life my BLESSINGS will take her to a PEDESTAL where the SKIES will be CLEAR and SUNNY always. This is my confidence in a CHILD who came from NOWHERE to be EVERYWHERE !!!.

THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

Living in this modern era BOLD obviously means to BARE and BEAUTIFUL is the ‘H’ word ( HOT !!!!) ; but to me the phrase has a different connotation. It depicts a courageous lady who is bold enough to expose the corruption around. She is clad in a simple saree which is not meant to attract anyone yet is beautiful enough to pull the entire crowd like the Pied Piper Of Hamelin. Yes she is beautiful. It is her simplicity, her honesty, her will power and her wish to be herself without being influenced or maligned by insignificant things or people around that talks about an aura in her. She is beautiful as she has always respected her identity. How many of us can remain the way we wish to be. At young age there is peer pressure. Even if we wish to live with dignity and integrity our friends feel we are ‘MISFITS ‘. It is very rare that people ignore such demands of the society and preserve the pristine outlook one yearns to maintain. There was a time when many fingers were directed towards Mamata Banerjee for her unparliamentary dressing sense as I may frame it as in todays world her simplicity is a matter of mockery and a standing joke. Many a times I tell my students what beauty is. Beauty is not the fair and lovely skin, beauty is not in having a string of affairs and get the MOST WANTED tag. Beauty is the self esteem, the self confidence , the grit, the forbearance and the perseverance that makes you glow in the altar you create for yourself. If all this is beauty then Mamata Banerjee is beautiful. Today she has proved to the world that our true mettle lies in our honest dealings. The path of honesty however is as always full of gravels. She crossed every hurdle with a burning desire of not the throne but to prove to herself that she had to pick up the cudgels against inhumanity at riot. Today the throne automatically is hers. She has been crowned the CHIEF MINISTER OF BENGAL and it isn’t just her victory. It is an hour of triumph for every individual who has suffered because of ones principles, idealism and righteousness. She is the torch bearer of truth setting an example to the entire world that nothing can come to the weak. One has to be strong and the strength is not our physical prowess but our determination and passion to live upto our values- come what may.

Eighteen years back Mamata Banerjee was thrown out of the Writers' Building and she wept at the insane behavior that was meted out to her. Yet it is said whoever insults will be insulted someday. Mamata Banerjee was choked with humiliation. Life at that time was a haunting spectre of nothingness for her but she held on to the helm. Although she went through a crushing stasis with politically correct people calling her names she refused to stoop to the debased world and lead a measly existence. For her life is a continuum as she always is fortified with the greatest weapon – HONESTY.She took a pledge that she would come back to the WRITERS' building with her head held high. Today I watched her entering the same place as CHIEF MINISTER OF BENGAL.

20th May 2011 is a turning point in the history of Bengal. It will be etched in my mind for aeons to come. As I was glued to the television I saw a sea of crowd united in the canopy of a leader with a patriotic fervour, a crowd that seemed like the unending stretch of ants but one that had the serenity which reflects how dependable ‘DIDI’ is. The crowd wore a look of relief and calm. I have never seen such pomp and grandeur on any swearing –in ceremony and ‘DIDI’ has proved it to us that true pelf and power lies in ones popularity. She swerved through the huge gathering and walked fearlessly from Raj Bhavan to the Writers' building oblivious to the fact that a bullet from the opposition might strike her. A lady par excellence, undaunted in her spirits walked amidst the crowd just like any ordinary man and earned the pedestal of an extra ordinary woman.

Mamata Banerjee’s rise to power comes as a message for us. We shouldn’t belittle ourselves when people insult us and we shouldn’t lose hope when there is no ray of hope. We should believe in ourselves and have intimate confessional talks with GOD. No one should be able to change our subtle qualities and we should have the courage to be BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL in the true sense.

LOOKING FORWARD

Looking forward to February first,

Is probably something I would think of last.

A day when Pappa left this earth,

And i found myself in sheer dearth.

Tears replaced the smiles i wore,

There were sorrows galore.

But soon i realised he wasnt gone,

And encouraged me for every dream that was born.

His unheard melodies filled my life,

His silent blessings took away my strife.

As i grew up Pappa transcended all,

And his bearings in life stood tall.

I learnt that i could connect with him,

By fulfilling his endearing dream.

Today the first of Feb is important to me,

As it gives me an opportunity....

To take across Pappa's noble plans,

Of helping the poor and the orphans.

Every year as the day dawns in,

There is a calm amidst the day's din.

A thrill, a strange contentment,

Does not allow me to lament.

I get up with a renewed role,

To cheer up the dreary soul.

I have been close to my father dear,

By wiping away many a tear.

Pappa in the oneness of you and me,

I have learnt to care for the needy.

The first of Feb brings no pains,

And i look forward to the spiritual gains.