work is worship

we were taken to a corrugated box factory yesterday, as part of a course i'm doing. the bus meandered through the garbage and slums of goregaon east industrial galas to stop before what looked like an overflowing gutter. we had to dodge through dirty water and waste paper to make our way to what looked like one machine in a hut. that lead to another little room, and yet another machine, towards yet another room and yet another machine - there were rooms and machines to cut, stick, fabricate, crease and print boxes.

the workers were listening to religious music, oblivious to all but the task at hand. the young man running this operation was guiding them with such dedication and devotion. to quality and to the job at hand. work is worship. it was humbling to say the least.

rain

blasts again
mumbai weeps in pain
in the pouring rain

eight year old gears for school
tests today
spells *julry* wrong again

big pain
small pain
the rain pours down again
and again and again

sari tale

oh, oh cringed the cream kanjeevaram, shrinking into the corner, longing for the days of yore. i knew i'd only meet bright plastics...

ice gola lips

ice gola lips. rangeela indeed.

Real Beauty

"Beautiful" he said to his shy, young bride in the morning, when she was fresh out of the bath drying her wet, long, jet black hair with a towel.
"Yuck" he said in the evening, when he found a strand of the self-same hair in his dal.

"Hmmmm" he had replied, not taking his eyes off his laptop, ten years later, when she asked if she looked "OK" to attend the party.
"Beatiful" said their seven year old, emphatically. "Mama looks beautiful".

"Beautiful" she had said when the sun rose over the hills on their holiday in the mountains.
"Can't bear this sun" she said suffering the mid-morning heat on their trek, reapplying her sunscreen.

Beauty...depends so much on the right time, right context and right mind.

sugarcane juice

sugarcane juice vendor - a lot of people love this sweet juice spiked with a little lemon - some of us would agree had we not seen how it was made :)

balanced diet

and this is how i balance my diet - icecream, mirinda and pineapple.

the sari

love this sari. bought for my brother's wedding. from kalaniketan, juhu. not conservative, not blingy. silk and cotton - gold and silver. love.

travellers