Overwhelming love - My entry for the Get Published contest’

I had quit my job.I was trying to write & did attempt-some silly ,some factual,some stray thoughts which I had started putting on my laptop in a blog.One of those days,I received a request from an ex-collegaue. This was about his friend & wife.It was a honorary job for me .The friend had narrated the tale of his life with his co worker wife.I had to edit it & make it interesting.I did as I was told.Added some Indian words in place of English words to make it familiar to readers.Then it was put up on a site.My ex-colleague told me that I had done a good job.

This is inspired by their  story-Pranay  & Meera, who meet while working for the same employer.He is a simpleton.She is more well read than him & a double graduate.They fall in love .Though their mother tongues are different & they belong to different communities,they get married with blessings from all -her & his parents & other elders.She prods him to go ahead in job & he succeeds.Both are now officers, though working at different offices.He is more confident than before as she has nurtured him to set higher goals & go for them.He is overwhelmed with her care & love for him & his family.It is ,as if, Pranay  owes everything to her .They have two children now. Meera  is a the ideal bahu ,the doting bhabhi ,the tiger mom & the perfect employee - everything in one ! Pranay  is trying his best, to emulate her.Then, tragedy strikes, on the Deepavali day.

After that ,the roles are reversed.Will the love last ? Will it deliver ? Was that, which existed between them just infatuation ? Did Meera  really care for his family & him ? Will Pranay  repay her back & how  ? Will true love triumph ? And why should anyone look for love when only survival stresses us so much ?

Will their employer continue to employ them ? What about the funds ? How will they survive ?

What will happen to the kids ? Will they be orphaned ? What is all this- fate or misfortune ? Maybe ,all this happiness was too good to last.

This is a true of many stories which begin with love & end  with a whimper as there are many things which take centre stage as life chugs along.The story is very much of our times -which is  full of impatience &  unceratinity. Will it inspire to  show that love is limitless & infinite.It is as if, the pot of love is overflowing - with more love,affection & respect.Such love can bring back people from the dead ! Or will this story end on a hopeless note as there is no use, in hoping against hope & stretching things which will break with the next pull.

Endnote: This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Really natural !

Nature is beautiful, to say the least.It is always working & the results are magical.It works slowly & steadily -never furiously like us The end result, is that nature continues to stun us with beauty, which refreshes & inspires us.

When I was small,I stayed in a place, where my dad grew a small garden. My dad, found gardening very relaxing & would inevitably be found there, tending to his numerous plants,shrubs,etc.In the backyard,there was a papaya plant.It had grown in the usual manner -having an umbrella like cover of leaves at the top from which hung some fruits.We devoured the fruits often.Once ,our backyard gate, was left open.A calf came & just ate the  the papaya top.Now, the papaya plant looked just like a stick- its umbrella was gone ! We were upset.A few days later ,we saw fresh leaves  & new shoots at the top.Very soon ,it grew into a well built papaya tree ! And then, it bore us so many fruits, that, we had to distribute amongst our well wishers & friends !


After some years,my dad was transferred to a place, on the banks of the holy Ganges river.From our home ,we could see the water of the holy river.In summers,we would head to the river & take a cool & refreshing bath.We also looked  at peacocks on the opposite banks.Whenever we had guests visiting us,we made it a point, to take them to have a  holy dip in the Ganges .After all ,how many get a chance to wipe away their sins in serene surroundings ?

In the holidays ,I would visit my mother's native village, where, we would bathe in the river & then go to the temple for feast.We hardly swam &  the cool waters were soothing in the hot summers ! I visited my grandpa's farms once in a while & we travelled on bullock carts ! The slow winding journey would make us drowsy, till we reached our destination.

When I visited my paternal aunt's bunglow in Vadoadara,I would pick up chamelis & mogras for my aunt's daily puja .The chameli shrub had wound its way towards the bedroom & it smelt superb ! I would water the garden regularly.The smell of  wet earth reminded me of the monsoons which would soon make an appearance.

After we shifted to the metro, for our college education,I thought, I would hardly get to see any natural wonders.I was absolutely wrong.My neighbour grew a small garden downstairs, just next to the building where we lived.She had planted kadipatta plant , some flower shrubs like hibiscus  & others.Her hands were magical & her plants grew beautifully ! She would give me fresh curry leaves & we would use them for rasams & sambhars.Inspired by her,I planted the hibiscus plant, in the  kitchen window, in a pot.It grew magnificently & every Tuesday,I would offer the red flower to Ganpati as I did Ganesh puja.

Again, we shifted & this time, it was a green colony, full of trees & meadows.The walks, we took,  rejuvenated us after a hard day's work.  The tress & surroundings looked, as if we were in a hill station and the temperature inside the colony was  always, below, the average, in the rest of the city.

After my marriage,I always had  a Tulsi plant for company.It keeps the air pure & can be added to tea for that herbal touch .My kid is found of puppies & is the one, who spots them on roadsides,even, when we travelling.A year or two back ,she & her friends found some puppies.They tried to cajole us -parents into adopting them & as we refused,they hit upon an idea! They would carry milk & biscuits to feed the puppies daily.In spite of this tender love & care ,the puppies died except one, which survives to this day.It is now, an adult.My kid always calls it & it responds by running behind her ! My daughter & her friends keep running after a cat, which has made  its home, in the building, where we stay.I tell my daughter & her chums to stay away from the cat which is pregnant most of the time & will therefore, be aggressive.I am glad, in a way, as she is having her own real experience of Nature !

 This blog post is written for the The Kissan 100% Real Blogger Contest on IndiBlogger.Please do share your real experiences which motivate us in enjoying the  nature even as we marvel at it  !