A good ending

She was like many of us, driven and strong

Who travelled not the well-beaten paths

But made it on her own through the foliage

In the process, lost old loves and found new.

The journey was never the same throughout,

There were really tough times that broke her

She trod step by step, day by day all along

Till she got what she wanted throughout life.

But when she met him again, her childhood mate

There was a spark of affection, pure unlimited

It was as if she wanted him to stay with her

With all the force of her childhood prayers.

It's with the same sense that we see her again

Beaming her childhood smile with him around.

A House for Mr. Biswas

He thought of the house as his own, though for years it had been irretrievably mortgaged. And during these months of illness and despair he was struck again and again by the wonder of being in his own house, the audacity of it: to walk in through his own front gate, to bar entry to whoever he wished, to close his doors and windows every night, to hear no noises except those of his family, to wander freely from room to room and about his yard, instead of being condemned, as before, to retire the moment he got home to the crowded room in one or the other of Mrs. Tulsi’s houses, crowded with Shama’s sisters, their husbands, their children. As a boy he had moved from one house of strangers to another; and since his marriage he felt he had lived nowhere but in the houses of the Tulsis, at Hanuman House in Arwacas, in the decaying wooden house at Shorthills, in the clumsy concrete house in Port of Spain. And now at the end he found himself in his own house, on his own half-lot of land, his own portion of the earth. That he should have been responsible for this seemed to him, in these last months, stupendous.

A House for Mr. Biswas (1961) is V.S. Naipaul’s third novel and deals with the life of Mohun Biswas, an Indian settler in Trinidad and his struggles to have a house of his own. Born the wrong way and considered to be unlucky by his parents, his prank leads to the death of his father. His mother and the four children are separated, Mohun taken into the care of his aunt Tara and her husband Ajodha. To earn a living, he works as a painter of signs and falls in love with Shama of the Tulsi family.

The Tulsi family is a joint family with the mother Mrs. Tulsi, her two sons, her sister and family, her fourteen daughters, their husbands and children, all living under the same roof. He longs for a house of his own and builds two, one of which blows off in the storm and the other catches fire. His struggles to have a house of his own that be “unaccomodated and unhoused” is the theme of the novel.

After years of poverty and humiliation, Biswas gets a job as a news reporter and his fortunes change. He saves money and when his son Anand is humiliated by Owad, the present Tulsi patriarch, he buys a house and takes Shama and his four children there. The house has so many faults that he did not notice but then it is his own and he dies there.

The novel portrays the lives of Hindus in the West Indies and the joint family system is humorously portrayed especially the nicknames that Mohun Biswas devises for his mother-in-law and his brother-in-laws. At the same time, there is pathos in the rootlessness and humiliation that a poor migrant has to suffer in an alien land. A House for Mr. Biswas combines both laughter and tears to depict a man’s attempt to find his self and his own "privacy and space" as Naipaul himself says in his BBC Interview.

Fulfilment

The Notebook

There are books that you might want to read time and again. Nicholas Spark’s The Notebook  (1996) is one of them. An old man reads out a story to an old woman in a nursing home. Though she is the Allie of the story that is being read, she does not recall it as she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

The story that he narrates is about a summer romance between Allie and Noah set against the backdrop of a small town in California. They have an intense passionate affair and he shows her his old family mansion that he wants to renovate. Her parents take away when they come to know about it and Allie leaves a message with his friend Fin that she loves him.  They get separated because of a difference in class as Allie comes from a rich aristocratic background.

Years later Allie gets engaged to Lon, a young and rich lawyer and is happy. Then, she sees an article about Noah and how he has restored his family mansion. She goes to see him without informing her mother or Lon.

The next morning, she finds her mother at the doorstep and she confronts Allie by reminding her of her engagement with Lon. They argue but she gives Allie a bundle of letters that Noah had written her over the years.

This surprises Allie as there are so many letters which he had written for almost a year and Ann says that she hadn’t given them to her because she found her to be too immature. 

Ann asks Allie to make a choice between Noah and Lon, what is she wants and what is good for her. She finds that though the years have changed them in so many ways, this time she is not ready to let go of what she wants.

Sparks, in his interviews about the book has said that he had modelled the story on his wife’s grandparents who had been married for around 60 years.

The film version of the book directed by Nick Cassavetes is equally memorable though it  focuses on Noah and Allie's love as a summer romance that gets a second chance and is as much about parenting guidelines for parents who discover their kids to be in love with unsuitable suitors from inappropriate social classes. The film is quite sensuous portrayed against luscious greenery and the countryside. 

The Wanderer

The Wanderer 

This heart has been a wanderer who loves to ramble and had ways where none existed before. It never understands the wisdom of other's words nor can a choose anything other than what it wants for itself. Sometimes, it creates raging fires in places where a soft little word would have done. 

Not that there were no mazes in the olden days. There were many that it burnt down or flew past, though not with a victorious smile or swelling pride but with quiet equanimity; it didn't have much left behind to boast of.

For years, it has searched for beauty in all places in the serenity of nature, in the spontaneity of a child's smile, or in the most beautiful thoughts where it has always dwelt. It has often wandered in the serenest places on earth, where it took in with amazement, the feeling of being so minute in a huge beautiful world. Sometimes, it has wandered alone, partly to its dismay and partly to create a pride in solitude. There were also times, when in another wanderer's eyes, it read solace, warmth and a strange delight.

World Menstrual Hygiene 28 May 2022

Menstrual Hygiene Day takes place on 28 May every year. It's a chance to highlight the importance of menstrual care, and raise awareness about the issues faced by those who don't have access to sanitary products.

Access to sanitary products, safe, hygienic spaces in which to use them, and the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma, is essential for anyone who menstruates.

But for too many, that's not the reality. 

Menstrual Hygiene Day aims to break the stigma around menstruation, provide access to menstrual health education, and create the opportunity for all to have access to what they need to effectively manage their periods. To create a world where no women or girl is held back because they menstruate, by 2030” is the theme of the World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022. “This means a world where every girl or women is empowered to manage her menstruation safely, hygienically, with confidence and without shame", the official website said. 

The vision is to create a world where: 

• Everyone has access to and can afford menstrual products of their choice.

• Period stigma and social discrimination are history.

• Everyone has basic information about menstruation, including men and boys. 

• Everyone can access period-friendly water, sanitation and hygiene facilities anywhere in the world. 

The 2022 campaign will use the #WeAreCommitted hashtag. It will be used by organisations across the world to publicly announce what they are committed to contribute to the overreaching goal and set an example for others to follow. 

Menstruation is one of the important and essential processes of a woman’s body that deserves utmost self-care. Proper hygiene during menstruation can help you to manage the pain and stay fresh during your periods. So, good menstrual hygiene should be your first priority.Be mindful about the period products you use. 

Not giving any attention down there during your menstrual cycle can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, and that can make you prone to vaginal infections. Even though the vagina is a self-cleaning organ of the body, you will still have to keep it clean. Here are some period hygiene measures which will help to stay happier during menstruation. 

For the benefit of young girls and women, Dr Manisha Singh offers menstrual hygiene tips that are important for their well-being. 

1. Changing sanitary napkins or tampons every 4-6 hours is the cardinal guideline for maintaining perineal hygiene 

Menstrual blood attracts a variety of organisms from our bodies, which multiply in the warm blood, causing discomfort, rashes, and urinary tract infections. By replacing your sanitary napkin or tampon at regular short intervals, you can avoid genital infections. 

2. Clean your perineal area (vaginal area) properly each time you change your napkin. 

Washing your vagina is extremely important because bacteria cling to your body after you remove your sanitary napkin. Most people wash their perineum but not correctly. It should be from the vagina to the anus, not vice versa. Germs from the anus can transfer to the vaginal or urethral entrance if you move your hands from the anus to the vagina. 

3. Avoid using soaps or other vaginal hygiene products 

While adding vaginal hygiene products to your routine is beneficial, using them during menstruation may cause complications. Vaginas have a cleansing system that works throughout menstrual cycles, and these artificial hygiene products may interfere with this natural process, resulting in infections and excess bad bacteria growth. 

4. Properly dispose the sanitary napkin 

Tampons and sanitary napkins must be disposed appropriately. Wrap them properly before throwing them away to avoid germs and illnesses from spreading. Make sure to not flush them since that will spread bacteria all over the place. Since you are likely to contact the soiled area when wrapping the used tampons and sanitary napkins, thoroughly washing your hands is critical post disposal. 

5. Switch over to silicone menstrual cups if you are comfortable inserting it into the vagina. 

It is cheap, safe, hygienic, and reusable (every month for up to 2 years). Ascertain the cup size you need from your gynaecologist and get started. Though doctors do not advise menstrual cups for very young girls. 

Come help create menstrual hygiene awareness among your community. Share this post on social media by using the following hashtags. 

#MHDay2022 

#WeAreCommitted

Life sentence

Biodiversity Day

Twinflame Prayer

May we recognise that we are not separate but whole even though we might not have even met. For you were always with me in each and every birth of mine and someday I might recognise you from the smile on your lips. 

May we meet someday somewhere and form an effortless harmonious bond. May we escape from the usual trials and tribulations that follow all twin flames. May our true love that spans several lifetimes set a path for us to be in harmony with each other. 

May we be fortunate to experience each other in all lifetimes, fortunate enough to feel the hunger of the flesh, the thirst of the soul and the comfort of the heart. May we remember with accuracy the touch of each other's skins, the smell of each other's bodies, the taste of each other's lips and the tone of each other's voices through eternity. 

May we be always together and in harmony with each other savouring each and every moment of this life together. May we always feel synchronicity and enjoy the paths that life sets in store before us. May we live together till the last breath lives from our earthly bodies to settle down in other realms of existence. 

May we love each other throughout all ages and all lives forever. May we learn unconditional love quite early enough so that we know each other's strengths and weaknesses and accept them open-heartedly without being judgmental. May we love, adore and cherish each other in our hearts. 

#twinflame

#reunion

#twinflamereunion 

#reunion

#improvisedtwinflameprayer

The Unsent Letters

Thunderstorm

The tiny yellow leaves in his hair made me feel a strange tenderness for him. It created in me a strange desire to run my fingers through his hair and to experience an intimacy that beckoned me like a forbidden dream. This need hit me like a thunderstorm, the first time I had gazed deep into his eyes. 

May be it was because he was waiting under the trees, may be because though he said he didn't wait much, but his eyes flickered with a strange delight when he heard my footsteps. It was as if he had missed me every moment of the weekend and his eyes might devour me with their hunger. 

Every time, I looked into his eyes, it was as if I I could hear the roar of the thunderstorm. For me, whose ears long for his words, whose eyes thirst for his gaze, whose heart longs for his embrace, whose skin hungers for his touch, the reality steps in and mutters that it is enough to hear this roar of the thunderstorm every single day.

Positive Affirmations

Positive Affirmations

In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete. I now choose calmly and objectively to see my old patterns, and I am willing to make changes. I choose to react as though I have found a treasure when I discover something else to release.

I am teachable. I can learn. I am willing to change. I choose to have fun doing this.I see and feel myself changing moment by moment.Thoughts no longer have any power over me. I am the power in the world. I choose to be free. All is well in my world. 

Chance

Flow with the tide, not against it. When you feel that change is necessary, be willing to change and do not try to resist it. Be very flexible. Keep open, and never let your attitude be 'What was good enough for my parents is good enough for me.' Change will never come if that is your attitude, and changes must come. The new cannot fit into the old mould because the new has outgrown the old and needs more room. Give it more room by expanding with it. It need not be a painful process when there is no resistance. When a plant is pot-bound, it needs to be repotted to allow its roots to expand. When your consciousness has outgrown the old con ceptions, it needs to be allowed to expand into new realms. This process can come about very naturally; there need not be any stress or strain. Simply let go, relax and feel yourself changing and expanding as naturally as breathing, moving out of the old into the new.

We Are Free to Be Ourselves

In order to be whole, we must accept all of ourselves. So let your heart open and make plenty of room in there for all the parts of yourself. The parts you are proud of and the parts that embarrass you. The parts you reject and the parts you love. They are all of you. You are beautiful. We all are. When your heart is full of love for yourself, then you have so much to share with others. 

Let this love now fill your room and permeate out to all the people that you know. Put the people you want in the center of your room so that they can receive the love from your overflowing heart. From your child to theirs. Now see all the children in all the people dancing as children dance, skipping and shouting and turning somersaults and cartwheels, filled with exuberant joy. Expressing all the best of the child within.

She

Her heart is large enough
To hold you close to her;
For she is not of this world.

She is foolish in her ways;
Poundwise or pennywise;
For she is not of this world.

She didn't give me a staff
Nor a bag for my journeys;
For she is not of this world.

Nor enough to nourish me
Like the others did theirs.
For she is not of this world.

But she loved me enough
To let me learn by model
To learn lessons my way.

Mom

All I wanted was a book of recipes like yours
Like the one you kept like a hidden treasure,
On special occasions, you'd leave the kitchen
Smelling of spices, roast chicken and plum cake.

The wild shopping spree just before Christmas,
The cake-mixing at midnight done together,
The written recipes followed to the last line
The spontaneous tweaks to the plans that I make.

This book of magic is abandoned after this loss,
Though the Christmas flavours linger in the air,
Goodwill, happiness and merriment-the first time
I had celebrated Christmas with flavours at home.

The secret recipes, the love of wine and laughter
All are lessons that I have learnt from you, mom.

Icarus and the Sun

Anam Cara

Sometimes, the answer comes late for some seekers. The lonely roads may wear you out; the skies might turn bleak and hostile; the days might spent without ever having a soul to breathe your worries to. 

There is always this desire, the need for warmth, for compassion, for meaningless chatter and meaningful silences yet the road is quite lonely. 

Much later at a turnstile, you might meet a traveller in whose eyes you might see eternity, in whose warmth all your wanderlust might be kindled again, in whose extended hand you might see a soul connection. 

There might be others who have gone ahead and reached their destinations long ago but your blessing is that you value the wisdom taught by the lonely roads, the weary feet and the warmth of your long-desired for companion. 

Photo Courtesy: flickr.com