भिर्रररर

Last night, I attended this wonderful play called भिर्ररर. It touched a chord in me. 

The story opens with introduction of the main character and her mind. The main character played by Janhvi and her mind given a human form played by Mayuri. The story has roots in a village called Abdul Laat, which survived historical invasion by building the facade of a masjid in front of a temple. 

This survival is the foundation on which भिर्ररर is built, through narrative, ओवी Ovis, movement. It is very sensitively told by Janhvi and Mayuri. Both actresses are dancers which brings fluidity, into not just the movements, but expression and what they build on stage for you to experience. It takes through the life of the woman. Her first broken dream of education, marriage, childbirth, aspirations and hope. Hope that persists.

It touches upon farmer death, the incapacity of a man to survive. While the woman stands up, faces the world, the changing gaze of society, patriarchy and still stands in the mud and blooms like a flower. Not just alone, but she builds a garden. Empowering women, other women, the way she knows. Adapting to the new world ! 

Many questions are asked and left for you to learn what is literacy and what is education ? To live life in a FLOW that is NATURAL. 

It ends on a very tender note where she rest just a bit to dream.

Go watch it ! 

My darling Janhvi Marathe who pours her heart and soul into a character. Sings beautifully and shines in folk which is her forte`. Love her timbre built on classical training and inherited musical genes.

Mayuri compliments equally well. Lithe performer. Carries herself well through the play. The story is her credit. 

The name भिर्ररर is quizzical just like the many हुमण / riddles they use. Go find the answer because you can’t guess it sitting at home. Be in the theatre. Next show in Andheri. 

A special mention for my dearest Trupti Marathe for opening the show with such brilliance that only a good soul can get to theatre when requested to fill in instantly !

Must mention about the venue. Shakti thank you for creating a space in your grandparents memory Jayshree & Jayant  Salgaokar Experimental theatre that allows young talent to bring such stories and performance.

Tickets 🎟️ 

https://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/bhirrrr/ET00505295

Teetotallers like to pose!

I reflect. In the year 2014 at the Bloggers meet in BLR was a session on wine tasting and pairing. It is very fashionable to do it. I was glad to do it. I learnt things about myself. You never know until you cross that edge. This picture of me taken by a blogger buddy caused quite a ruffle in my circles. I still wasn’t married then.  I was the daughter of a teetotaller family. Dad and uncles never touched any kind of alcohol. How was I doing this? Arey arey, She has got spoilt!!! Was the conclusion everyone jumped to. Then in 2015 I got married. Arvi drank in social circles and never alone. We got married in Dec and on the 31st it was the first time he poured out a tumbler of whiskey for me 🥃 I barely licked it and turned my nose up. Arvi said If you don’t drink I won’t enjoy it. So began the habit of pouring out glasses of wine, champagne, vodka or whiskey for me. I would sit with him. Serve him snacks and watch him enjoy and then he would consume my glass too. However Arvi drank on rare occasions at home infact only on his birthday, Navroze and 31 Dec and a rare wedding that we might have attended. I never developed a liking for alcohol. I do cook pastas and bake with alcohol but that too is very rare. Once a close friend happily opened a bottle of white wine for me. When I didn’t drink it she was surprised even more. Then we decided to make vanilla extract with that wine. This picture still makes me smile. It gave me a thrill at the time. It was a moment of shattering the glass ceiling for me. Now I have Arvi’s bar still abundant that I clean once in a while. Have given away some expensive bottles to people but I keep the rest in Arvi’s memory. 

I always say, I am high on life. Don’t need alcohol !

P.S. People will not read this but remember that pic forever 🤣🤣

What Makes The Quality Of My Life Rich?

I have lived a life where what I wanted in life is priority. I had a single minded focus on travel. Travel is expensive and you cannot do it if your pockets are empty. Travel of the kind I like not as as a nomad. Nomads can live n travel without money.

I never had the pressure of earning money for a living. My father never ever put it on me. I am blessed I earned enough to travel in luxury once a year and on budget whenever I wanted to. If you ask me what I did with 18 years of salary, well it was enough for me to run my every day life and have a small investment. Above all freedom to travel the way I like. The way I have lived it is not possible for a person whose goals in life are to own a home, car etc. I have a car which my organisation made it easy to own. I used it for all my travels until a few years ago. I used to drive every morning to work in BLR through mad traffic and scenic roads n villages of rural BLR that were on my route to Electronic city. This even though I had a full time driver. I stopped driving after I dashed into an auto. My dream of driving cross country was never fulfilled. I do wish to get back to driving now that my nephew Pranav has learnt driving.

I got married to Arvi at an age when I felt the need for a partner and fortunately I found the sweetest husband. Even in our marriage travel was the most important thing. Our year was planned around where we would want to be in what season? So it was cool months in Udwada, Summers in Thal, Rainy season in Panchgani and Our anniversary month of Dec at a new destination. Arvi had spent a life building two businesses and due to health and the responsibility of his ailing sister had not travelled like I did. Arvi loved luxury so we chose that in our travels mainly because of his health restrictions. I ensured we had access to a Doctor at all times. Thinking of it now, I feel I was a tough nut all that time. I risked it but made beautiful memories with Arvi.

Besides travel I have built parallel economy for myself through several hobbies. I continue to blog after 15 yrs. Even before the blog I loved needlework and used to embroider, stitch, knit and crochet etc. Creativity was my thing. Blogging gave my creativity a new outlet. I got into photography a big way. My food photography also gave me money for a short while. I was writing for India food network too. That’s when they offered me the rearchitecting project of their website. The website has undergone 2 more cycles after it. Currently done by someone else.

Then came along Deepa Krishnan who brought me into demo and dining experiences for Magic tours. Though they have been sporadic. I did few on my own. I have conducted few baking classes too.

However I was doing all this while Arvi was my top priority. My hobbies gave me sanity in the challenging times. My Baba was very independent till the lockdown started. He lived on his own and cooked for himself. He spent a lot of time in Gondavale and pursuing his goals in spirituality and religion. He has been my rock all my life. It is only in the last year I had to take care of him. I have never ever seen my father frustrated with life. I learnt that acceptance of life the way it is doled out to us from him. We had lost my Aai when she was just 44.

I get my bounce from my parents. I get my outlook to life from both of them too.

In the current scenario I never feel lonely because I have built relationships that are loving with family and friends. Some new who hold me dear. I connect easily with youngsters. They brighten my life. Just to mention few things they say to me that make my day.

1. A friend’s 8 yr old daughter, “Anjali aunty you talk like a bird!”

2. Another family friend’s teenaged daughter, “Aunty what’s your skin routine?” None I reply. “Your skin is so smooth, I want to lick it!” I push her back, the drama queen that she is. Just keep washing your face with water as often as you can I tell her. Guess I am vain and I can’t forget this love

3. Cut to now… a young set of boys want to have a potluck at my place, dishes that they will cook themselves because I cannot be offered anything less. They don’t want me to have the pressure of cooking for a gang. They find me cool. Ahem! I am flattered

My loves are my nephews and nieces. I am very much into them. I must not become a helicopter mom to them I remind myself.

Grateful to Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj for this life.

RamCharitManas

In September 2021 RamCharitManas came into my life. I was mourning the loss of my father who had passed away in June. It was very hard for me to float through life without the love and warmth of my cousins. Besides them there were few people from my Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj's followers who were by my side through thought and phone calls. People who for me are very important today. They spoke to me and gave me strength through my father's illness and when he was gone nursed my soul back to good health. Among them is Sir. After my father he is my guiding light. When I told him grief stricken that my days feel empty, there is nothing left for me to do and I felt no purpose to live. In this short span of three years I had lost my husband Arvi and my Baba. Sir sent me this RamCharitManas.

I started reading it and found Awadhi difficult to read forget understand it. This is a Marathi translation so I got the meaning but I struggled through the original. Sir suggested that I read only the Marathi translation but I was persistent. Yet the lyrical nature of the original Awadhi soothed my mind. I read aloud and it made me happy. It was the day of Ganesh Chaturthi when I started reading it in my father's home in Nerul. I was alone yet I felt my heart lighten a bit. The Mangalmaya vibes of its words was beginning to heal my soul. I started reading it critically but within few weeks gave it up and just started enjoying the love that oozes from its reading. 

I would leave the book on the dining table and read it whenever I felt like reading it. The magnetic pull of the words. It is something one must experience. Then I started reading about 10 pages everyday. Sometimes I read more and sometimes I felt fatigued and would stop at 5 pages but that was rare. 

It took me about 3.5 months to complete my first reading. Sometimes understood it and tried to absorb the essence. At times my modern mind found it hard to accept certain incidents and thoughts which feel socially outdated. When I read I was so into the story that I felt the emotions. I got angry with Kaikayee, was furious with Ram for being so obedient and Dashrath for being so helpless. Laxman was me. There is none like Bharat. Hanuman is so intelligent and entertaining. Kaakbhushundi is so evolved that he became my idol.

If I have to choose my favourite Kaand it would be Aranya kaand filled with beauty. Layers and layers of human nature explained thru it. Each Kaand is enjoyable in its own way. Baal Kaand and the conversations between Shiv Parvati was a new learning for me. Ayodhya kaand demolishes the Raghukul as the united and peaceful family. Kishkinda kaand became more enjoyable for me as I have visited the place near Hampi. In my mind's eye I referenced all the locations as I enjoyed the building up of the army of the monkeys. Sundar Kaand is all about Hanuman and his trailer of events to follow. A warning to Ravan.  Lanka kaand the victory over evil. The essence of Ramayan. Uttar Kaand the return of Ram to Ayodhya his accent to the throne of Raghukul. Also the amazing story of Kaakbhushundi is part of this concluding part. It will take many reading to appreciate RamCharitManas. Hope I continue reading it and studying it.

I want to jot down here that I finished reading it exactly on 28 Dec and on 29th I read the brief on Tulsidas's life which is at the end, 29th was Shree Gondavalekar Maharaj's 108th Punyatithi. This is no coincidence!

Shree Ram 🙏💮

Half Mark Milestone

I complete the half mark of life on Earth today. 50 years! I have the संस्कार of spirituality from a young age so I view this time on Earth a sub set of my Universal time. Hence I don't fear death. I have a duty to do in this birth and will do it and leave when I am summoned by the creator.

Reflecting on the life gone by, I had a childhood filled with wonder and fun but that I understand and appreciate now. Adulthood has been filled with struggles being on my own without my Aai actually began when I was 14 that is when I actually became an adult. I have always been a pain to people at home because I chose to do what I want and achieve what I want. I did not subscribe to stereotypes. When asked as the eldest in the family I gave a go ahead to get everyone else married and not wait for me to get married because I wanted a man of my liking. We have only one life here on this Earth and I wanted to live it fullest. Yet not wildly. Now I can say proudly alcohol, drugs and any other recreational poison did not attract me. That credit I give to my family of teetotalers. My Grand Dad, Grandma and Grand aunt enjoyed their tipsy but not their children and they said being teetotallers made them better focused on their path and better achievers. I was hoping to outdo them. My youngest Uncle MJ is a big influence on me. Some very good influence about reading, arts n culture but also some unconventional influence. Now I realize that unconventional is not always good but cannot change it. Frankly it's not a regret for sure but could have been different. Dad has been my constant. It is difficult to word what I feel about him. I am the closest to him.

Arvi and I met late in life after many other suitors in between and a couple that I might have pursued myself. Looking back those relationships would not have lasted because it's hard to live with me. I know it. Arvi had a hard time and so did I but the most beautiful thing he taught me is to be open and talk. We talked all night many times and went to bed at 5 am sometimes. We were lucky that we were at that point in life when we both worked from home and only when we wanted to. Arvi after our initial getting used to was totally in love with me. I know that is the most beautiful thing about our relationship because I may be a dutiful wife but he was the devoted! 💖🌈🌸

My mother's loss to ovarian carcinoma so sudden when she was just 44 that I was traumatized and began believing that I would also live only as much. I believed I will have her diagnosis.

In Jan 2012 when I had the heart incident, I laughed and thought khel khatam 😉 par innings abhi bhi chaloo hai!

After Arvi, this phase is a new kind of freedom like he always said, "You are not answerable to anyone." I am well taken care of by him. Now I will live to contribute to society in my own way. I think I am still alive, not just alive but live this life with gratitude and positivity only because there is some कर्म that is yet to be fulfilled.

Yet more often now I am preparing to leave, like I prepared to live so far. Yeah I have always been a planner sometimes God approved them other times I surrendered to his will. There is nothing morose about it. I don't live in the illusion that I am a permanent resident of the Earth. So I must leave a mark even if microscopic!

What the picture represents?

The meaning of this picture of the lotus pond is very deep. When I clicked it in Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary  what caught my eye is the various stages of the lifecycle. It attracts me a lot.

Lotus has great symbolism in spirituality. It arose from the navel of Vishnu. It represents highest level of consciousness. The ब्रम्हरंध्र is represented by a thousand petalled lotus.

In the  Bhagavad Gita the human spirit is adjured to be like the lotus; one should work without attachment, dedicating actions to God, untouched by sin like water on a lotus leaf, like a beautiful flower standing high above the mud and water that represent the worldly experiences.

A Fun Wall Makeover

Finished wall in flat 4hrs

Marked by heavy Monsoons

In May 2013 I renovated my home and just 2 months later came a heavy monsoon. Mumbai monsoons are notorious. The heavy lashing on outer wall of the bedroom gave us a patchy, musky wall. When friends and family visited my home, everyone would sigh sadly at that wall. It was the first thing that was noticed by everyone in a newly done up home. I lived with it for almost 2 years and finally decided to fix the problem. Last year the society got all the repairs for the cracks on the outer walls done. However I did not want to paint the wall again. I wanted something different. I was looking for a quick solution and wall paper seemed the right choice.

Off I went straight to the Flipkart’s Home Store section.They have a whole range of Wall decor, stickers, posters, painting, shelves, hang-ons etc. in addition to wallpapers.

I chose the Puffin FL87308 (MultiColor) PVC wallpaper. It was a nice design and washable too. Pasting it up on the wall sounded easy. My bedroom wall size is 230 cms ht X 335 cms width with an a/c outlet in the middle. I quickly checked the size of the wall paper. It was 10 mts in size and got a clarification from flipkart that it was 53 cms in width. Which meant I would need 2 rolls of the wallpaper to cover the surface area of my bedroom wall.

The ordering was easy. I checked out the item and paid online. The notifications from Flipkart informed me about the processing of the order, dispatch and delivery at every stage.

After I placed the order I called in for the wall paper worker to tell me if there was any preparation involved for the wall. They said they would do it themselves. I was away for a wedding when the wall paper was delivered at my home. Dad got the wallpaper pasted while I was away. As decided he arrived with the tools and glue at 3pm and by 7 pm they were done with the wall makeover project. I was co-ordinating everything over the phone. The excitement was mounting...

Since the wall was stained and powdery due to leak in the monsoons, the wall was first scraped and touched up with white cement. Then each sheet was aligned to get continuous design. Finally the wall paper was glued and pasted and finished in flat 4 hrs!

I was all excited to see the bedroom wall when I came back today. I quite liked the wall makeover and it was so easy to do that my Dad who is a senior citizen could manage the project for me in my absence.

The before and after pictures of the bedroom wall had to be done! What say ? 

I think wallpaper makeovers are a lot of fun for a quick change that you want to bring about in your home decor and quite affordable too! 

Have you done any projects for a quick make over? Tell me about it, it would be lovely to hear your stories.