Word Warp!

I'm not one to play computer games, just don't have the patience, and normally shrug it off  with a sarcastic 'just how do adults play computer games?!' query! But in order to familiarise myself with our Ipad, I allowed Gitu (the one who leads people astray!) to teach me a few games. So I attempt to herd sheep (nope, no comments welcome!), colour blocks and...attempt Word Warp. The latter I'm afraid to say has become a slight addiction with/for me. 

Each game gives you 6 random letters, a time span within which to make as many small words from this jumble as possible...the number of possible words are listed as blanks. At the start  I would - like an innocent kid kicking a ball around aimlessly - quickly type out as many 3, 4, 5 and 6 letter words as I could think of, and the race was only against time. I took great satisfaction from all the words I could figure, even the humble 3 lettered ones. The score would add up...and at some point you lost a round and had to start from sratch, trying to break your previous record. I could understand in a way why this game suited me - I've always felt I wasn't competitive, and once sanctimoniously told a friend, 'I compete only with myself - as long as I've done my very best...blah...blah...b****y blah'! So, here I was competing with myself, doing the best I can etc.

And then one day fate struck as I let out a loud wail - as if my world had come to an untimely end. It hadn't - but my round of Ward Warp had! Aditya was around, and came rushing to see what had happened to his 'mushki' (in a strange, freaky way in my family the child has pet names for the parents!). When he realised what had upset me so, he explained - as you would to some dim witted child (phew...thank God this blog has privacy settings, that was such an un-pc thing to say), 'amma, don't you know that if you get the final 6 letter word(s), you will not get kicked out, even if you don't get most of the others?'. Aha...now I knew the trick...I knew how to hang in there...and now the problem began! 

For I began scrambling to get the 6 letter word(s) first, ignoring the teeny weeny humble 3 & 4 letter words that have been such a large part of my life so far. 'Shhh...', I would brush them aside carelessly, 'wait your turn...you aren't important'. Many a round was completed with just the 6 letter word adorning a rather empty page...one which had a lot of blanks left - well, rather blank! And the more 6 letter words I got, the higher the score I reached. And every now and then I would querulously demand of The Man and the child , 'quick....what is a 6 letter word with 'dirtpo'??'  Once when The man asked, 'doesn't asking people for help defeat the whole point of the game?', I replied, 'I've reached a score of 125000 - what, you want me to lose now? At this stage?'. Was he completely clueless??

'Not competitive, are you?' the son smirked. Is that what it is? Is that what the competitive streak does to you - makes you bend rules slightly, just so you could hang on to the high score you've achieved? Is that what makes billionaires work for more profits...sometimes even by hook or crook? Does it make you push aside all the humble but useful folks around you, as if they were nonentities, just so you can hang onto the big names in the game? Or is it just me - unable to deal with being competitve, a streak that  has entered my life for the first time - at the ripe old age of 50?! Maybe I'm floundering as this is the first time I've had to deal with it. Or perhaps I was spared this streak during my younger life by some higher force, one which knew I would lose track of rules and regulations and policies....not to start with maybe, but definitely once I'd reached a slightly better status in life! Perhaps I would have climbed the rungs of the career ladder, pushing aside humble friends along the way...hmmm...interesting thought. But in the meantime, a 6 letter word with 'jredau', anyone?

The mind and heart

The mind and heart

What the mind knows
the heart does not accept -
It forever longs to see my father
who was so special and dear to me.

What the mind knows
the heart does not comprehend -
Where did he go, how can this be?
That I'll never be able to see no more
My father so dear to me.

So today - a month later
I suddenly decided to see,
What it would be like to
let my my mind have a word with my heart
which so abandoned feels.

"And what would you like to know
Oh heart, whose grief appears to be
so inconsolable, and so bereft
to a mind as practical as me?"

"Where has my father gone,
when will I again see
the twinkle in his eye
that always lit up for me?

When will I hear again his voice beckoning to me
'Kutti...' he would say, his voice
booming, happy and free.

When will I hear him say 'hul-lo'
in that special drawl that was his,
when will I hear him ask for his 'master' -
that special name he had for my son?

When will I get another letter
written so neatly to me
always in reply to the one
sent on the date he referred to be!

When will I see his pleasure
at the beauty of a flower..a bird...a tree
when will I hear of his escapades
to a town - so far away from me?"

"My child, you've answered yourself
if you search all your words to me
For in your questions lie the answer
about your father, so special to me.

For you will see his eyes light up
along with that twinkle and smile
Whenever to your mind you bring
all those memories and wonderful times.

You will then hear his voice again
Call you 'kutti...'
You will see again his lovely hand
whenever his diary or letter you read.

You just need to close your eyes
and imagine calling him for free
irrespective of the time difference
to the place where he now seems to be.

You will hear his 'hul-lo' again
said in that special way that was his,
asking about 'baba' and your back
and about Raja whome he thought was the best.

And whenever you see a flower
a bird...a butterfly...atree
these things will always bring to your mind
a man as special as he.

A man who died as he lived
with unfailing spirit and glee
who always lived for the moment
and cared for those around him too.

A man who taught without saying
how confident and fearless to be
a man who corrected without raising
ever a finger to you.

A man who always brought a smile
to the faces of his children five
who left no cash, no will, no house
just a lot of blessings for free.

A man who was as special to me as to you,
 so dear heart please be free
as free as a bird, as your father
who was special to both you and me"

Seasons in the sun - Spring

Went for a walk after a few days....mother nature has been busy lending a helping hand to the plants, trees appear to have greedily sapped in the sunlight...the soil...and ofcourse the result is breath taking! My head turns left to  right ...taking in all the new growth, flowers and shrubs vying for attention. I feel like an avid tennis fan trying to grasp each stroke of the rivals as they play ! It's just as well the pavements in this place are smooth and clean, for that helps when people like me walk without looking at the ground! As I go downhill (literally, not figuratively!) - the slope makes me feel like I'm walking into the horizon!  I look up at the clear, bright blue sky, with fluffy white clouds casually wandering over it.  And I think to myself - is there anything as exciting and invigorating as a bright, clear day in spring?? And yes - this is something else that I'll miss about this place...the different seasons with its varying beauty. From the scorching summers (if & when we do have them!) and the fresh spring, to the glorious autumn and even bleak winters. So, this is to remind myself of spring in my later days!


Spring heralds the beginning of a new season, it not only brings the much needed break from harsh and bleak winters, but also allows nature - who has been waiting patiently or otherwise in the wings - the chance to play the lead role. For the trees and shrubs and flowers all begin to come back to life. Like life after death. There's such a clean, crisp smell in the air...and brigh sunny days like today can take your breath away. For the clear blue of the sky is almost spell binding, the white fluffy clouds seem to float around aimlessly, as if to break the rhythym of the blue. There's colour everywhere - from the glorious purple haze of the Ceonothus to the huge dinner - plate sized blooms of the clematis. It's just glorious - makes you want to sing to the tune of nature. I don't know if this is my favourite season - for despite the fact it heralds the impending chill of winter, autumn has a charm of its own. But I must confess spring does lighten the heart and makes the spirit dance, wants you to get up and go....fills you with the promise of new beginnings, dazzles you with its beauty and colour ...makes you feel young, pumps fresh blood into your weary limbs...need I go on?? You get the gist by now...so, here's three cheers to SPRING...hip, hip...