Happy Republic/Australia Day!

I have never been much of a patriot. I am one of those people, who feel absolutely neutral about their country. There was never a time when I eagerly wished to move out of India, to any foreign place. Neither was it very difficult for me to leave my country and settle abroad. But since I’ve left India, I have not once sung the National Anthem without crying. When my daughter was young, she would ask why I was crying. I would just drop the issue, saying I’m missing my mom. But now, as a 4 year old, she’s a little more intelligent. She notices when I’m not able to speak. And somehow she knows the cause. She looks at the TV and asks me what song it is. Why are they singing it? I explain that it’s her country’s National Anthem. It’s our republic day tomorrow, that’s why they are singing it. And she replies, “But its Australia Day tomorrow”. The other day she told me, “Dad’s home is in India, your home is in India, and my home is in Australia”. We laughed at her innocence at that time. But somewhere in my heart, I’m uncertain whether to be proud of it, or ashamed. Truly, I cannot tell her that this is not her home. I cannot take away her sense of belonging to the place she’ll spend most of her life in. But, I can also not let her be oblivious to her roots. I’m sure every parent staying out of homeland, must be going through the same trouble. And I’m sure, in the end, everything will fall into place. It depends on us to find the balance, and I’m sure as long as we intend to, we’ll be able to strike the balance.

It’s a good thing that there’s at least one national holiday which India and Australia share together – 26^th of January. So, while I’m enjoying the nationwide holiday, and watching news about celebrations in different parts of Australia, my mind wanders back to my school days, when this day meant flag hoisting, drills and dances – and the National Anthem. 

So, Happy Republic Day my fellow country people!

And Happy Australia Day, my fellow Australians!

Ding dong!!

One or our relatives celebrated their anniversary a few days ago. And, on their anniversary, they shared on FB, a very old pic taken in our home. And this took me down the memory lane. Now, I don’t want to sound like the ‘who bhi Kya din the’ types. But it’s really amazing how things have changed in just a decade or so.

There are many things which have changed. But this is not a school essay- ‘past and present; write in 350 words’. So, I want to write about one thing – visitors - as a tribute to this pic which was taken on one of their visits to our place.

Today, we don’t visit our friends before at least making a phone call to ask if they’re home, and free or not. In those days, nobody cared to do that. I miss those evenings when between sips of tea, mom would suggest, “let’s go to so-&- so’s house”. I still remember those days, when the doorbell would ring without warning. And we kids would eagerly wait for mom’s pleasantly surprised voice going “ahaaaa” on seeing some old friends – 'coz that meant a break from our boring homework!

We make our weekend plans, several weeks ahead, nowadays. There was a time when weekends used to be totally unplanned... yet fun. Though if you had asked in those days, “what did you do over this weekend?” there wouldn’t be any solid answer.

We invite people for lunches and dinners – and plan what all we need to cook (or bring, if it’s a potluck). But back then, servings could easily turn from 4 to 14, without much efforts. NOT JOKING!! As such, I’ve never seen my mom fuss over cooking – aaj ki ranna korbo? (What to cook today?). More often than not, our meals were planned just half an hour before eating. But that never caused a problem, even when we had surprise guests over dinner.

I love that feeling of sudden pleasures, in the middle of a mundane chore. Not that it was always pleasurable though! There have been several times, when after much coaxing and crying, dad would finally agree to take us to a movie/ restaurant; and just when we’re about to leave – surprise!! Visitors became the visited!! I really used to get annoyed on those occasions…. I still do! More so now, when the trend IS to inform people before visiting them. And it also gives me time to make my house presentable- to shove the half dried clothes into the cupboard, to put all the dishes in the dishwasher, to clear the kitchen table top, to make my daughter pick up her toys! But then, there was a different fun in arriving somewhere unannounced – that’s all I’m saying.

Technology has changed our lives big time. Long distance phone calls have turned into VOIP’s. Letters have become WhatsApp messages. And when you want to use words at length, BLOG!

My New Year Post 

I turned 33 this year. One of my friend says that 33 is the new teenage. What she means is that life has just begun for me. In many ways, yes I agree with her, but being an Indian 33 year old Mother, has given me quite a few experiences to learn from. Here, I’m summarizing a few lessons life taught me the last year. Some of them are new discoveries for me. Some, just reinforced with time.

Lessons I learnt last year:

•   It is not easy to stay in a rented apartment in Australia. It’s even more difficult when you vacate.

•   Misunderstandings are bad. But if there’s love, Relationship stays in spite of them. If there’s no love, they become the reason for a broken relationship.

•   Whatever you do, people will form an opinion about you. So, it’s pointless to explain yourself.

•   It is not always good to voice your opinion. Silence is indeed gold.

•   You are responsible for your own health, happiness, success, and career.

•  A relationship takes two.

•  Sometimes, children do keep you together- and thriving.

• Your adulthood reflects your childhood- a lot.

•  We can replace family politics with fun things like travelling- and that helps!

•  You can have mixed emotions for things like sky diving, and still have fun!

Looking forward to the 34^th year, where I have several plans lined up. I know, it’s going to be a major year of learning for me. And I’m ready for it. Bring it on 2016!!