Keep Gaurav in your prayers…

Gaurav was my senior during my undergrad and I remember him as being the smartest guy and very fun loving. Actually the entire group of 6-7 friends was a lot of fun to hang out with.
Gaurav was my favorite, he had that I don’t give a damn kind of attitude and yet he’d be the first guy to make you comfortable in a party. You can’t just sit around and watch in his presence; he’ll drag you to the center of the dance floor and will make sure you drop your inhibitions and start enjoying the party… told ya, he is fun loving!

We lost touch after he left school and I heard about him a few months ago through a common friend, and found out that he has cancer. You can read the whole saga here but honestly I was devastated, it was tough for me to deal with it, the fact that life is unpredictable; you never know what it’s going to throw out at you next…

‘Life is like a box of chocolate and sometimes you have to deal with bitter ones or the stale ones too…’

Anyways, his cancer is relapsed and he needs lost of strength and prayers to beat it, once and for all. I strongly believe in the power of prayers and even though he has been in the prayers of a lot of his friends, it seems he could use some extra ones… so please include him in…
I wish that he beats this monster of a disease and come out winning…
He has a zeal for living life and with this victory he’ll prove it against odds that ‘this life just as it is worth living to the fullest’.

All the best Gaurav!!!

Gentle Persistence

I am taking Hatha Yoga classes during summer while my dance school is on a summer break. I have done yoga for a long time and there have been long stretches where I didn’t do it but I started when I was in elementary school (as part of the school curriculum) and the good thing is even if my mind forgets it sometimes, the body remembers. After a few initial tugs and pulls, the body goes back to its usual ductile self.
It also gives my mind some stability which has been giving me a hard time lately, I don’t think I am loosing it but I am not hanging on to it very tight either… Will write about that some other time for now it’s about Yoga.
It’s a good activity for me and my girls get involved too. Somu learns yoga at school and so its fun when she shows me different poses. One day, she during butterfly pose, she asked me what kind of butterfly am I and what color and it was interesting to think like that. I love butterflies and draw a lot of inspiration from them but never thought about the kind of butterfly I’d like to be. Divi also just loves to join in and see if she can stretch her legs and how far she can go…

So, every Saturday after Yoga class and when my mind is all tranquil after the meditation session, one thing or the other pops up as an inspiration and it sort of conditions my mind and my general attitude. This week’s Mantra is ‘gentle persistence’. Its reference was made in terms yoga practice and how to achieve balance and just to be able to do some poses but I think it’s equally applicable in life… gentle persistence can go a long way; with people, with work, with my goals (if there are any), just training my mind…
Forging ahead beyond the flexibility of the situation makes things rebound often but the way sought with gentle persistence keeps me going may be slow at times but consistently moving ahead and for some reason mind draws a lot of pleasure from looking ahead, contemplating future and having something to dream about…

B-bye window side office...

Its a good move, something that I had been waiting for almost a year now.
But still when I emptied the shelves and loaded the moving cart, there was a lump in my throat. I wasn't sad to leave the people as I'll continue to see them and work with them but there was a sense of an ending, like I am leaving something behind...
I'll definitely miss the sunrise on winter mornings, or the conversations that often developed around thunderstorms or snow storms...

I couldn't initiate a conversation or respond to any questions with much composure all day, just kept to myself and I am glad others let me be...
It was an emotional day and I couldn't express my feelings, without even talking to my friends I could feel the words; great move, I am exited for you, you are going to love it... yeah, all that is correct and I am excited and I'll probably show it too on Monday but today I am reflecting upon a journey, a pause to look back and think and revisit the milestones and celebrate an end in my own quiet way....

Just an empty desk... I sat and worked here since before Divi was born...

Cart loaded with stuff...

The leaves covered trees, right outside the window...

A winter morning...

Early one spring morning...

A special sunrise...