My daughter's anklets

A gentle chime, the pitter-patter of tiny feet on the plain floor, groggy steps to find her mothership.

Her eyes full of sleep and body swaying as she walks, a cuddle is what she seeks and waits for my open arms.

Thus begin our days, seeking each other out, for everyone needs a hug.

It wasn't always like this, she would wake up and cry. For she was still a baby and always wanted me nearby.

She learned to call out, i taught her that and she even learnt to climb out of bed

Though i was a proud mom, folks around got me worried. "She isn't walking yet", they said. "Look how weak she is" , they said

I rallied on, trusting my child and giving her her time, what's there to hurry up when she has been doing just perfectly fine.

One fine day, out of the blue, after taking hesitant steps between the table and the stool; there  my champion was walking in style, hands in the air celebrating her stride

My daughter's anklets, her sweet innocence. Her perseverance and confidence,  her independence and my dependence.

Kanji Files!

As a downed a glass of warm Kanji this morning, a black and white wheel started whirling in my mind. I was transported to the days of my attending early morning classes.

I would be woken up by my human alarm, my Mom and would quickly proceed to get ready. The classes would start early by 6:15 am and I would have to leave home by 5:50 latest. There was no excuse for dragging my feet as I had paid hefty fees and it was the only means to show my commitment to the course I had taken up.

I would invariably be late and sneak in to the empty chairs in the last rows, mostly amongst the boys. I didn't make any friends then, it was only me spending a sleepy morning and then whizzing off to work. I had my apprenticeship to be at, so had very little time to stay back for chit chat. Every morning, Mom would make fresh Kanji (porridge) for me to drink after classes. As I gulped down a glass today, I found myself time travelling.

The best part was however the brisk walks in the crisp morning air, rushing from home to the bus stop and more hurried walking from the stop to classes. After the classes I would again set off by foot to my workplace, which was a kilometre and a half away.

Today, as I am getting ready for a visit to my child's paediatrician, I shall also ride down the memory lane. The coaching centre and the doctor's clinic are just two streets away.

Porridge is a Dish, Kanji is an Emotion.

It is just a phase!

Six months since the begining of the year and I now realise that nothing much has happened. Rather, I haven't done much in these six months

We all look for hobbies to satisfy our urge to do something and many a times struggle to find the right one. I was pretty successful in identifying my favourite pursuits. I was an ardent reader and also wrote a lot. Unfortunately, I find myself using these in the past tense because I have ceased to read and write.

Can there be any explanation for why one stops doing something they liked a lot?

I can call it a phase. A break from reading and a small bit of writer's block. But six months is a long time and feels like the year might slip away before I get to accomplish something.

I did read a book, a classic at that. So I can at least be consoled that I haven't lost the taste. Managed to write a few blog posts and haven't lost the flair. Still it is far behind the voracity with which I used to read or the speed with which ideas and words formed in my mind.

These days I find myself addicted to YouTube, watching video after video and letting time fly. I used to be a TV addict and now this seems to be the next one. With the smart phone in hand I find I am constantly refreshing my FB page and checking for watsapp messages. Though I do not suffer from the Selfie syndrome, these are equally devastating and as I write these words, I realise that it is just blocking my creativity and numbing the brain.

Realising what is happening is the first step in righting the wrong and since I have identified the cause, I soon hope to break from this phase and do something fruitful.

Incidentally I have crossed 150 posts on this blog. Yay me!