What does love mean?

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."

- Rebecca (age 8)

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."
- Billy (age 4)

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
- Karl (age 5)

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
- Chrissy (age 6)

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri (age 4)

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
- Danny (age 7)

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
- Bobby (age 5)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
- Nikka (age 6)

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
-Noelle (age 7)

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
-Tommy (age 6)

"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
-Elaine (age 5)

"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says >he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
- Chris (age 8)

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
- Mary Ann (age 4)

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
- Karen (age 7)

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
-Jessica (age 8)

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PS: What is love for you?

Jab ... (When ...)

Jab chalti rehti hai zindagi
Toh hum ruk jaayen kyon?
Jab behti rehti hai hawa
Toh phir hum tham jaayen kyon?

Jab har raat ke baad aati hai subah
Toh hum andheron se ghabrayen kyon?
Jab shor karti hain saagar ki lehren
Toh hum aawaaz uthayen na kyon?

Jab eksi padti hain dharti par suraj ki kirne
Toh hum karen bhed-bhaav kyon?
Jab indradhanush mein mil jaate hain saat rang
Toh hum sab bhi isi tarah ek ho jaayen na kyon?

Jab phool bikher sakta hai apni khushboo
Toh hum muskurahatein baatein na kyon?
Jab pyar se badkar nahi hain kuch
Toh hum yeh rog jahaan mein phelaayen na kyon?

Here's my feeble attempt at writing an English version of the above poem.

When ...

When life keeps on going
Then why should we slow our pace?
When the wind keeps on blowing
Then why should we stop at one place?

When after every night comes a morning
Then why should we be afraid of darkness?
When the waves of the ocean are always wailing
Then why should we hesitate to raise our voices?

When the sunrays fall in every quarter
Then why do we discriminate?
When in a rainbow seven colours can come together
Then why don't we too similarly amalgamate?

When a flower exudes its fragrance all around
Then why shouldn't we too spread laughter and cheer in bounty?
When nothing greater than love can be found
Then why should in the world it be there in scarcity?

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PS: This is my first attempt at writing a josh bhari poem. :) So people tell me how you found it?
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Ek aur sher...

Pehle pyar karna nahi jaanti thi,
Ab bhulana nahi jaanti.
Dil toot jaane ke baad,

Kaise jodte hain use yeh nahi jaanti.

Pehle dil mein basaana nahi jaanti thi,
Ab wahaan se nikaalna nahi jaanti.
Jaanewaale ka intezaar kyon karta hai dil,
Is sawaal ka jawaab nahi jaanti.

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PS: The first line of this sher is actually a dialogue, from the the movie Kal Ho Na Ho, which I like a lot. I've just added some more lines to it. :)

Notice the notices

In an office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER ..... PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In another office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD

Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE BUT THE BULL CHARGES

On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)

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PS: I have to thank Ruchi for sending me this forward which I loved so much that I had to put it up here. :)

A "dog"ged life

A friend of mine once told me that whenever I wanted to change a particular topic while chatting I would invariably start talking about Aamir Khan (but of course!) or dogs.

I FEAR DOGS.

I guess it had all begun with our neighbour's dog chasing me. The dog who used to be kept mostly indoors was freely moving around that day and it decided to go after me. I dropped my school bag at the gate and ran to save my dear life.

In college I was once sitting outside the library writing my Physics Lab Journal. I was concentrating so hard that I freaked when this dog shoved himself right between my face and my register. I think it was God's way of punishing me for bunking a class and not completing my journal beforehand.

There are so many stories from my IITB days. My favourite is the one when minutes before an Organic Chemistry quiz I found myself stranded alone with eight dogs to my right and another eight to my left. I got saved that day by one of my classmates who was on his way to the department. On another occasion this guy whom I used to loathe came to my help. How I wish for my saviour to have been some knight in shining armour instead. On all other times I was happy to have my friend Chandrima acting as my bodyguard. Till date she hasn't been able to reason out why on seeing me, dogs which would be lazing around otherwise, would suddenly become active.

A few weeks back four puppies were born in the parking lot of my apartment building and I am already worrying about what will happen when they'll grow up. Mark Twain has said that "courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear". But for once I doggedly refuse to conquer my fear... of dogs.

A Beautiful Prayer

God make my life a little light
Within the world to glow
A tiny flame that burneth bright
Wherever I may go.





God make my life a little flower
That giveth joy to all
Content to bloom in native bower
Although its place be small





God make my life a little song
That comforteth the sad
That helpeth others to be strong
And makes the singer glad.




God make my life a little staff
Whereon the weak may rest
That so what health and strength I have
May serve my neighbor best.

Arz kiya hai ...

Kisi bewafa se wafa kya karna
Bhula diya hai jisne humein, usko yaad kya karna







Kisi ki jhoothi mohabbat ko dil mein kya rakhna
Gham mile hain jo bhi, unka hisaab kya rakhna





Jo nahi ho sakta tumhara, uski aarzoo kya karna
Nayi manzilein talaash kar, purane raaston ka kya karna

Nach baliye!!

For as long as I can remember I have loved dancing. As a kid I would copy the classical dances shown on Doordarshan but only in the close confines of my home. I had no intention of dancing anywhere else. So I gave my sister and her friends a hard time when they wanted me to be a part of a group performance to entertain a Durga Puja audience. I cried during the first rehersal and joined the rest of the girls only after a week had passed. I was in class II then.

My shyness persisted until class XII when finally at a birthday party my friends pulled me in to dance along with them. And from then on as if there was no stopping.

Today infact the tables have turned completely. I encouraged the girls in my lab to attend the Dandiya Nite at NCL Hostel. They did come and being first timers were initially hesitant. But few minutes into it and they began innovating their own steps.

People otherwise calm by nature were seen dancing to the beat of the dhol with abandon. People who were earlier unwilling to pick up the dandiya sticks later were found unwilling to put them down. In all we had such a blast that when we stopped it was way past midnight (!).

Sometimes in life we prefer to stand on the sidelines, feeling afraid to take the plunge on our own. On such occasions let the fun we had on dancing for the first time despite our doubts, act as a reminder about what we could be missing simply because of a fear of faltering.