Certain things never change

Recently i had been to my hometown and i was really happy to see the same people around whom I am seeing more than a decade. Am glad that they have not changed. I feel like am on cloud number nine when am there. Its so peaceful.

Meet Yellavva our maid, am sorry i do not want to call her as my maid at all. She is as good as one of our family members. She is been helping us since more than a decade. You can just leave your house in her custody and find everything in place. The word faithful fails to explain her. I really run short to talk about her. She is nearly 65 and so active that even youngsters should be ashamed about themselves. She is so over active, she climbs tree, jumps compound walls and what not. She always walks miles together barefooted irrespective of any season. You can't even find a single gray hair and loss of tooth, she has good eye sight and hearing as well. Also knows so many home remedies for illness, takes care of our small garden without we being asking her. She is strong and tough like a stone. Touch wood she should be fit and fine for years to come. Its really hard to find a person like her to help us in these days.

She do not feel hesitated to ask tea whenever she feels like having. She calls my dad as her brother and he prepares tea for both of them many times. As my dad is teao-holic.. so my mom is tired of preparing tea for him... :)

She is also a great believer in God.

The puffed rice vendor, he is giving us the puffed rice more than a decade only.

The vegetable vendor, she even blessed me for my prosperity... how sweet of her. How many of them in metros will we can see vendors like this? I really feel good when I see all of them whenever i go there. They feel that they are seeing their daughter. Its really a nice feeling for me.. am obliged.. :)

Both of them are enjoying their pan, which they keep on chewing as and when they get time in between their work.

She selects the good chillies for us and gives the best.

Meet Akkamma, a maid lives her life by herself. I was surprised to see a mobile set in her hand and just took a pix of her when she was busy talking to someone. This one really depicts the changes happening.

It feels good to see certain things change and few remains the same. I know change is way of life.. So is Akkamma evidence here.

The life in metros is crazy.. no one is even bothered to ask their neighbors how they are doing.. :( I hope the people at least in small town should never ever change...!

No Work huh!

The software tools I work on are down, and am jobless since last Friday... and will be going on leave for a week or more... :( am afraid that I may have to be jobless.... eeww! I'm tired and sick of playing Farm Ville, FishVille and Cafe World my facebook.. :(

Now I think I should start believing that "whatever happens happens for the best".

Happy Vacation and Merry Christmas!!! to all my readers... :)

Fighting back against sex slavery....

Its very sad to know this fact. Really appreciate the aggressiveness of this lady.

Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing women and children from sex slavery, a multimilion-dollar global market. In this courageous talk, she tells three powerful stories, as well as her own, and calls for a more humane approach to helping these young victims rebuild their lives.

Click here for the complete story from Sunitha Krishnan.

Poignant Ping... :'(

Suddenly one fine Morning He pings Her...

He: Hey
She: Hi, seeing after a long time
He: My wife saw your baby message
She: Oh!
He: She was asking me why you call me baby
She: What did you say to her
He: I had to convince her that you are my good friend
She: I did not do anything to spoil your relationship, you know that ha!
He: she is very possessive about me
She: Yes, i can understand her feelings
He: Am sorry I have to block you for sometime
She: ... what? what did I do?
He: nothing
She: You know me right?
He: Yes re...
She: Am sorry if anything might have bothered you
He: Why are you worried?
She: Yes I am
He: ok catch you later bye
She: Bye!

Later she remembers the days He used to call her and talk anything and everything under the sun. Now that She and He are married to someone else... its creating sticky situations. It was always Him who used to take initiative in talking She always tried kind of guiding Him in the right path. But unfortunately finally when She too fell in Love with Him, and now that He is dodging Her.... :(

Corollary: Extra Connubial Concern!.. ahem!

Its happening habitually now.. I wonder why... why people why???

OOOO....Li... Li.....Life is Crazy...ssss ;)

Enjoyable Weekend!

On Friday evening itself I started to chalk out my work. I told him to take me to bank first to get my accounts transferred to the new branch near my house for the convenience of my transactions. And he did, after so many rounds to the bank I finally got my work done. Suddenly to my surprise I happened to see the familiar face who was filling out some voucher there. I told him hey! doesn't that the girl looks like "Poorvi" ?( Charter name in a Kannada serial called "Muttina Torana") we see her almost 5 days in a week in one of the daily soaps... he suddenly said yes! its her... But I was bit confused as she looked bit hefty on the Television, but he asked me to wait to finish her work. She happens to be one of my favorite characters in that Kannada serial! Mom always tells me that look Poorni (me) has come, whenever Poorvi's segment would come. She believes that I relate quite a bit to Poorvi's character. Ahem! now am not gonna reveal what are the characteristics of Poorvi... and don't want to let everyone know me so candidly.

After waiting for quite a few minutes he directly went to her, whereas I was hesitating to talk to her initially. When he started to talk then I took over and did not allow him to talk at all... :) She too was glad to talk to us.. she looked as beautiful as she looks on the small screen. Pretty clean and spotless face i liked her! Here is her Pix I took with her permission. I forgot to ask her real name eew! I was so much immersed in Poorvi's role that I was calling her with the same name.! How stupid of me.. :( But actually she seemed to be quite contrast to her role.. obviously!

Here is Poorvi for you from "Muttina Torana"

I also told that My mom likes her role and her a lot.. she was joyed to hear that, finally we wished her and left the Bank with great joy! I know its not a great thing happened with me, you can spot plenty of small screen actors in the place I live. But, its nice feeling if you see your favorite actors and talk to them, click pictures with them.. its all fun to me at least... :)

Soon after coming out of the Bank I could not wait to ring up my mom to share the joy with her. So I did call to my parents and did it, they too seemed happy and asked to get the pictures next time I visit them.

Soon after that he turned his bike towards a theatre to watch the latest movie " Maleyali Joteyali" ( English Version for Non Kannadigas-- "Together in Rain" ) starring Ganesh - a popular Kannada movie actor .

Movie Posters of "Maleyali Joteyali"

Unfortunately it was sad and disappointing to me.. :( but the fun part is that he got the tickets in black because all were sold out as it had released the day before. After sometime he looked at his tickets and found three instead of two! we were thinking for sometime to what to do with that extra ticket, he tried to resell it to a lady who was still selling in black. For the first time I saw a lady selling tickets in Black outside any theater... she heatedly refused to take it. Then he tried his luck with another guy selling the tickets there. It worked! and we were in profit!!! yeah good job there!!! that was really fun! I told him that in this recession season we can take up this business of selling tickets in Black... ;)

Hey! one thing I forgot to mention that it was an "Ekadashi Day" (Holy Fasting day for Hindus). We were just trying to keep the fast for a change and test our selves as how long can we sustain the hunger. It went all well till we reached the cinema Hall. There slowly he started to crib about food, he got Corns first, then Pop Corns, Coca- Cola, Ice cream... Huh! I kept on reminding him about the fasting he kept on getting eatables.. :( this is how we both fast... After returning from Movie with bit of headache, we just rested for a while at home and in the evening I asked him to take me to ISCKON, coz I wanted to buy some posters of Sri Srinivasa Govinda Perumal, (Nothing but Lord Tirupati) that's what my colleague had asked me to get it from ISCKON, with great difficulty I got them... yuppy!

Now that he already bought some cake, sweet bread and spicy bread and also some Butter biscuits for the guests visiting us the next day in our home. Got some hot nice Ekadashi Prasadam to eat, we ate that cake as well. He again started feeling hungry. There is a canteen in the temple itself, and was in dilemma whether to go there or not, I kept on reminding him about our fasting and he kept on hunting for the food... :( then gave him a tough choice saying that if we are eating in the canteen then I'm not gonna cook at home. But, he was badly wanting the Palak (Spinach) Parathas which I was going to prepare at night. poor thing.. :) Somehow he finally decided to eat in that canteen itself and postponed of preparing parathas the next day. I was happy coz I was saved from cooking at home..yeah!

Now that we deiced to eat there, he again started to crib about what to eat, whereas certain items are prohibited to eat on that day... I said dude! do you really think we are fasting? he ignored me.. and ordered some Appam, Idiappam (Some Kerala food items) and an Organic Dosa.... My God! we managed to finish them and he was still not full.. I got pissed out and strictly said NO MORE EATING NOW! Then helplessly he had to agree with me and went back home had some fruits and buttermilk and went to sleep..... zzz

I recently realized that one can write out something if one is really sad or pissed out in life.. or struggling out. Yes, its true if there is no struggle then there is no fun in achieving what we want to and this keeps us going! That's why we had so much lovely songs in olden days... I love to be sad and feel doomed out.. so that my mind churns out and comes up with nice words to put on to my blog... PHEW!

तेरी याद!

याद तुम इतना न आया करो,
की मैं ख़ुद को भूल जाया करू |

तुम्हारी याद इस कदर आती हैं,
जैसे तूफ़ान आकर अपने साथ सब ले जाती हैं |

तुम्हे चाहे हम इस तरह,
बता न सके किस तरह |

तुम हो तो सब कुछ हैं,
नही तो सिर्फ़ फुरकत हैं |

आजाओ तुम जल्दी से,
की रहा न जाय जिन्दा मर्जी से |

खिला चेहरा तुम्हारा सामने आता हैं हर वक्त,
जैसे तुम्हारी याद आती हैं बेवक्त |

कही मार न दे मुझे तेरी याद,
क्या तुम्हे भी आती हैं कभी मेरी याद ?

हर बार सोचा की तुम्हे याद न करेंगे अब के बाद,
पर दिल ने इसको टाला बार बार |

क्या करे ये समझ न आए,
तेरी याद मुझे छोड़ न पाये |

- पूर्णिमा, २००३

All these days I felt that my "Sun" of "Life" was covered with thick "Cloud" of "Sadness" . Now that all the clouds moved away and now I can see things clearly and more brightly... My vision is bit cleared... :) " that's why its said " Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining"........ :))))))

My Love

Thousands and thousands of miles away,
In a place called Shanghai, where he stay;

Who is so dear to me,
that His separation is not bearable by me;

My heart always craved to be his dear,
When we were studying together;

He is now settled there with good job,
But my heart is not still out of his cob;

He is such a good guy,
that nobody can say to him good-bye;

He talks to me so many times,
But never says that am the reason for his smiles;

My love for him nobody can smell,
As I have kept him in my heart like a pearl in the shell;

He's ray of hope of my life,
As, I want to be his wife;

How should I tell him that he is my passion,
And not a friend for fashion;

He's my life's pilot,
As, the blood is  for a sinking patient;

My love for him will never peter-out,
Till I pass-out!

-Poornima
- Thursday, 28th July 2005; 12:30pm

Finally got "Spotted" for my effort at work.. feeling good good.. :)) But somewhere in my heart am feeling that this should not be a nice way of saying that we are laying you off.. :) as very soon we are gonna get the list of people being laid off.... huh! as always i feel that my glass is always half empty!

oh Jesus save me please... amen...

PG ದಿನಗಳು...

ಅಂತು ಇಂತೂ PG ಬಂತು...sss ಎಂಬ remix ಹಾಡು ನಾನು ಜೋಡಿಸಿದೆ. PG ಅಂದರೆ Post Graduate ಅಲ್ಲಾ, Paying Guest ಅಂತ. PGನಲ್ಲಿನ ಒಂದು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಅನುಭವ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಓದಿ. "ರೋಗಿ ಬಯಸಿದ್ದು ಹಾಲು ಅನ್ನ, ವೈದ್ಯರು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಹಾಲು ಅನ್ನ" ಎಂಬ ಗಾದೆ ನನಗೆ ಈ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬ ಅನ್ವೈಸುತ್ತದೆ. ನನ್ನ ಅತ್ತೆ ಮಾವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸರಿಹೋಗದೆ ಇರುವುದು, ಕೆಲಸ ಸಿಕ್ಕು ದೂರ ಹೋಗಬೇಕೆಂಬ ನನ್ನ ಆಸೆ, ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ನಡೆದುದಕ್ಕೆ ವಳಿತೇ ಆಯಿತು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತೆ "ಎಲ್ಲವೂ ಆಗುವದು ವಳ್ಳೀತಕ್ಕೆ ಎಂಬ ಮಾತು ನಿಜ... ನನಗು PGಅಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವ ಅನುಭವ ಅವಶ್ಯವಿತ್ತು ಅನಿಸುತ್ತೆ. ಒಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ತೆ ಮಾವನ ಕಾಟ ಹಾಗು ಮಂಕು ಗಂಡನ ತಲೆ ನೋವು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಈ PGಗೆ ಬಂದಾಯಿತು. ಇದು ನನಗೆ ಕನಸಿನಲ್ಲೂ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡಿರದ ಸಂಗತಿ.

PGಗೆ ಬಂದ ಕೂಡಲೇ ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಕಸಿವಿಸಿ ಏನೋ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಭಾವ, ಮುಂದೆ ಏನು ಎ೦ದು ಒಂದೆಡೆ ಇದ್ದರೆ, ನನ್ನ ಜೀವನದ ಅಮೂಲ್ಯ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನ ಬಲಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಭಾವ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಡೆ. ಈ ನನ್ನ ದ್ವಂದ್ವ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ನನಗೇನು ಹೊಸದಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೂ ಮದುವೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ನಾನೇನು ಸುಖ ಪಡಲಿಲ್ಲ, ನನ್ನಿಂದ ನನ್ನ ಹೆತ್ತವರಿಗೂ ಸಂತಸ ಸಿಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬಹುಷಃ ಇದು ನನ್ನ ಪೂರ್ವ ಜನ್ಮದ ಪಾಪ ಕರ್ಮಗಳೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಯಾಕೆಂದರೆ ಈ ಜನ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ದ್ರೋಹ ಬಗೆದಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಇದು ನನ್ನ ಪೂರ್ವ ಜನ್ಮದ ಕರ್ಮವೇ ಸರಿ ಎನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

ನನ್ನವರು ನನಗೆ PGಗೆ ತಲುಪಿಸಲು ಬಂದಾಗ ಕಣ್ತುಂಬ ನೀರು ತುಂಬಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ನನಗೆ ಅದು ನಿಜವೋ ನಾಟಕವೋ ತಿಳಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ನಿಜ ಎಂದು ನಂಬಲು ಆಸೆ. ಆದರೆ ನಾನು "ಆಸೆಯೇ ದುಖ್ಹಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ" ಎಂಬುದೂ ಮರೆತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವರ ದುಖ್ಹ ನೋಡಿ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಬೇಜಾರ್ ಆಯಿತು. ಆದರೆ ಒoದೆಡೆ ಪಂಜರದಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಬಂದ ಪಕ್ಷಿಯ ರೀತಿ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಇತ್ತು. ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಕೆಲಸದ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನಗಳ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಊರಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕಾಗಿ ಬಂದದ್ದೆ ತಡ, ಧಿಡಿರನೆ PGಗೆ ಬರುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ನನ್ನವರು ಹೇಳ್ತಾರೆ... ನೀನು ನನ್ನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ದುರುಪಯೋಗ ಪದೆಸಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಅಂತ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ನಾನು ಆಮೇಲೆ ಮರಳಿ ಅತ್ತೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ.

ಆದರೆ ನಂಗೇನು ತಿಳಿದಿತ್ತು "ಪಾಪಿ ಸಮುದ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದರು ಮೊಣಕಾಲಷ್ಟೇ ನೀರು" ಅನ್ನೋ ಹಾಗೆ ಆಯಿತು. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ದಿನ ಎಲ್ಲ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಇದರ ಅರಿವು ಇದ್ದರೂ ಮನೆಯ ಉದ್ವಿಗ್ನ ವಾತಾವರಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರೆತಿರಬೇಕು ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸು. ಮನೆಯಗಿಂತ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ವಾಸಿ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

ಹಾಳಾದ್ದು ನನಗೆ ಆ fan ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ನಿದ್ದೆನೇ ಬರೋದಿಲ್ಲ. ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಿಂದಲೂ fanನಿನ ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಯಾರ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಅವರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ fan ಇದೆಯೋ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ ಅಂತ ಖಚಿತ ಪಡೆಸಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಹೋಗೋದು. ಹಾಗೆ ಬೆಳೆದವಳು ನಾನು. Fan ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೆ ಉಸಿರೇ ನಿಂತ ಹಾಗೆ ಆಗುತ್ತೆ. ಇದೇ ನಾನಿದ್ದ PG room ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಜಗಳಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾದದ್ದು. ಒಬ್ಬಳಿಗೆ fan ಇದ್ದರೆ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ, ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬಳಿಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ್ದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ. ವತ್ಟ್ನಲ್ಲಿ fanನಿನ funda ಆಯಿತು. Fan ನಿಂತ ಕ್ಷಣ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತು ನಿಂತು ಹೋಯಿತು. ಸ್ಫೂರ್ತಿ, ಮಧುಮಿತ ತುಂಬಾ ಜೋರು. ಅವರ ಜೊತೆ ಸೇರಿ ಶ್ವೇತಾನೂ ಹಾಗೆ ಅವರ ಜೊತೆಗೂಡಿದಳು. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ನನಗೆ ಪ್ರಾಣ ಸಂಕಟ ಆಯಿತು. ಬಹುಷಃ ನನ್ನ ಅವರ ನಡುವಿನ ಭಾವನೆಗಳ, ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಅಂತರವೇ ಕಾರಣ ಅಯಿತೋ ಏನೋ ನಮ್ಮ ಭಿನ್ನಾಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಕ್ಕೆ. ನಾನು ಯಾವತ್ತು ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಲೆ ಕೆಡೆಸಿ ಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ನನ್ನ ಒಂಟಿತನ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿತು.

ನನ್ನ ಬಾಲ್ಯ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತೆ ಕೂಡ ಅವಳ ಅಮ್ಮನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದಳು. ಅವಳು ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಪಕ್ಕದ room ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು. ಅವಳಿಗೂ ಪಾಪ ತುಂಬಾ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳಿದ್ದವು. ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ತುಂಬಾ ನೋವು ತಿಂದಿದ್ದಳು. ಅವಳು ನಾನು ತುಂಬಾ ಅನ್ನ್ಯೋನ್ನ್ಯವಾಗಿದ್ದೆವು. ಅದೇ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಮಾಧಾನವಿತ್ತು. ಅವಳಿಗೂ ನನ್ನ roommatesಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚನ್ನಾಗಿಗೊತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಈಡಿ PGಗೆ ನನ್ನ roommates ಜಗಳಕ್ಕೆ famous ಇದ್ದದ್ದು ನನಗೆ ಆಮೇಲೆ ತಿಳೀತು. ನನ್ನ ಒಂಟಿತನ ನನ್ನ ಬೆನ್ನು ಬಿಡಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ... ಕೆಲಸ ಚನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ, ಆದರೆ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಮನಸಿದ್ದರೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಚೆನ್ನ. ಮನಸಿದ್ದರೆ ಈ ಜಗತ್ತು. ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸು ಇನ್ನೂ ಏನೋ ಹುಡುಕಾಟದಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇದೆ. ಅದು ಏನು ಅಂತ ಇನ್ನೂ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೀಗೆ ನನ್ನ friend ತನ್ನ ಅನಿಸಿಕೆ ನನ್ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡಳು. ಈ ಜೀವನ ಏನು ಅನ್ನೋದು ಬಹುಶ ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಇನ್ನೂ ತಿಳಿದಿಲ್ಲ ಪಾಪ ಇನ್ನು ನೀನು ನೊಂದ ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಇನ್ನೂ ನಿನಗೇನು ತಿಳಿದಿತ್ತು ಬಿಡು ಅಂದೆ...

Second Chance

Feeling like life has given second chance for me to live... should i believe this or not? am in a dilemma :( anyways life is a continuous set of challenges, threats, happiness and all. So no one could define LIFE so far. Does the other person deserves the second chance to make it right after all those heartbreaking incidents.. ?

Nothing comes easily in life, fate is such a thing which no one has control on it. Today morning while i was waiting for my shuttle i happen to see the Jain Digambara ( a nude saint in Jainism)and people following him so quickly.. I realized that its so difficult to give up our comforts and every worldly pleasure for the wellness of the society.. How many of us have the guts to move on naked in this civilized society that too with proud and respect! Hats off to such people. These are such people who are still struggling hard to maintain the design of our society. May be because of his Darshan i might have been blessed by this second chance. My heart is repeatedly saying this to me. So feel like believing in second chance i got today to live.

After all what we take with us when we are gone? Whatever pleasures and pains we got, we got from this world and gonna leave back here itself. So living every moment of our life happily matters. And unfortunately we tend to forget this truth in our busy possessive world. And what for we struggle so much in life? We achieve all the conveniences just to be happy, then why we look for our happiness in materials than loving people around us. Why man has become so selfish? But sometimes we forget all this when we have things with us. We only realize the importance of anything when we lose it. Why don't we understand this before losing it? May be this is what Human nature is!

Whats the fun in life if everything goes by our wish and plan? I think there is fun in making impossible things possible in our life. Then there is no limit for our happiness when you achieve what you wanted. Realizing one's mistake and rectifying the same is what is intelligence and is a real human being. Let me see how far my this logic works for me.. :) Should i trust this ray of hope?

Missing you...

May our decision is to depart,
But this was my ever first experience of having a man so close in my heart...
To my ill fate i did not get back the Love from you which i did for you...
That your thought and try for another substitute was again so painful for me...
Your hate redness to my parents was even more piercing for me...
Its your family which was never there for me at all...
So what will i do in life without anyone despite...
Which every woman mourn on so quite ...
I surely miss you...
And all those bitter moments more, as the intimate ones were very few...
I don't think you too miss me the way I do...
Else, you would have taken all the measures to avoid these heartbreaking intrude...
But i know we both are not happy with this choice...
I still pray to God that this should all be a faux...

-Poornima Kulkarni

"Facets of Love"

Love is a beautiful feeling for sure,
Because it is the only thing which has the power to cure;

It turns a man to human being,
And gives the life a real meaning;

Love has the capacity to turn every negative to positive,
And makes every being sensitive;

Love gives the strength to patience,
And fills the life with sweet fragrance;

Love can make Man-Kind,
As it is said Love is blind;

Love brings every lips a smile,
But no one can stay without it a while;

Though! everybody crave for Love,
But, rarely few people dare to Love;

Love is earth's greatest asset,
Which has its own various facets.

-Poornima Kulkarni
Sunday, 17th July, 2005; 11.20pm

Nuptials

Wed-lock, tying knot ... why is it said so... i wonder... why? it sounds like bonded labor...that's why may be today's generation is scared to get married and to fall into any commitment like this, or feel its added responsibility or burden? They are not brave enough to face this kind of bondage and fear of losing their freedom and space.. more than before!

Feeling: Locked

Any suggestions... for renaming? Please feel free to share... :)

कभी किसी को मुकम्मिल जहाँ नही मिलता,
कभी ज़मीन तो कभी आसमां नहीं मिलता |

तेरे जहाँ में ऐसा नहीं के प्यार न हो ,
जहाँ उम्मीद हो इसकी वहां नहीं मिलता |

कभी किसी को मुकम्मिल जहाँ नही मिलता...

“Mystic Mission”

(It’s about the entire Universe and also Mother Nature)

Up above the blue blanket,
Down below the green jacket;
Both are in the same pocket,
Yet they are in a different socket,
Carrying the water in a bucket,
Taking the fire in a diskette;
Blowing the air by a trumpet,
All together in a wonderful market;
Moving in a fantastic gadget,
Making the trip within their budget;
Leaving behind all the hate and regret,
Enjoying their journey with incessant spirit;
Everyday they take-up their project,
Doing it with joy and jubilant;
By finishing their every assignment,
Not resting for a single minute.

-Poornima Kulkarni
Wed, 13th April 2005; 11:26 am

यू तो सभी नाम के हैं रिश्ते....
जो इश्क में डूब जाए वो हैं फ़रिश्ते |

Life : I do not discriminate anyone by cast, creed, color, sex or age... i treat everyone equally.

Me : click!
Life : kick!

An Ode to Merciful Mother

Mother, Mother with lots of treasure,

Comes to me with lots of pleasure;

She gives me all her love and leisure,

Making my life full of laughter;

Takes away all my pains and dolorous,

Giving me all her own happiness;

Mother, Mother you are the super deity,

You are been sent by that only almighty;

How can you bear all this superiority?

I wonder and think out of curiosity;

You are the symbol of sympathy,

Blessed with the gift of empathy;

Mother, Mother you epitomize the creator,

How can anyone weather without your prayer?

- Poornima Kulkarni
Wed 13th April 2005; 12:16pm

पता नहीं किसका भरोसा करें....

दोस्त दोस्त ना रहा ,
प्यार प्यार ना रहा,
ज़िन्दगी हमें ऐतबार ना रहा|

Annoying Aditya!

Wake up K!d!
Its like becoming fashion or today's trend for guys to like or love the woman.. pretty older than them. Well, i really donno the theme/logic behind this actually. But yes, am seeing lot of such guys around these days....:) i donno where this culture may lead us to.. huh!

Since four days back i got a message on Gandhi Jayanthi.. it was from a stranger... i called up from my another number and asked who it is.. and the voice on the other side said am Aditya and had my number in his friends list.. i wondered how can anyone have my number whom i donno! And also one from my profession, who seems to be much younger to me... and also another guy whom i found on internet.... these do not even bother if the woman is married/elder/have kids or not..... c'mon what happened to us? is all our culture gone astray or failed to foster our faith? Please do not slay it!

Then i thought he might have picked some random number and sent me the message.. i told that i donno him and not to message me henceforth. Annoyingly he did the same over and over again and sent me messages in and out day in and day out... but i never responded.... He is still annoying me with his sms' and miscalls... :( Suddenly today morning in our office we had a new joinee and accidentally his name too is "Aditya" then I contemplated for a sec and said.. c'mon how can this be possible..... but just amazed to be surprised.... that Aditya claims to be from Belgaum and our new colleague is from Delhi.. heheheh. I donno so far how many wrong numbers i got.. similarly many of them might have got it. But mobile is boon or bane cannot be decided for sure.

I think the country is just going crazy.. especially guys... they are seeming to like the gals elder to them...! there is seriously something wrong.. either this is fashion/idiocy/Psychosis.... and to add on to it they take that famous cricketer as an example. Why cannot his achievements as an inspiration? how funny... i came across some three guys like this recently. But you know it feels nice as i think i do not look my age.. and look much younger.. hehehe.. but i do not entertain such things...May be that's why its said "LOVE IS BLIND", I even speculate its DEAF and DUMB too. (Please do not ponder me as not in favor of LOVE.)


I think all this is because of media influence. In a country like India people easily get carried away by movies and film stars, as its kind of their passion.

Media is a very strong medium of communication to reach out to large youngsters, provided utilized in a right way like conveying our values and beliefs through this. which can really have the capacity to mold the youth to the right path! Just think twice over it before you imitate or follow someone sincerely.:D

Loneliness to recycle bin...

Though i like friends in my life, but unfortunately i never had a true friend till i found Gombi. I know to have a friend you need to be one. Yes i feel that i am very friendly to people. But always my friends ditched me. So as usual i feel am isolated, no one to share my feelings with.In my childhood till college all friends remained for few days. why it always happens with me. Even my mom knows about the way i had my friends in life and she is also surprised that why are friends so short lived in my life. Why always i get such friends? They are only my friends only when they have some work get done by me. So i feel that the world is so selfish.

Even you may say that i am also like them, approach people only when i need them. But NO, a big NO, i always wanted to be with them, i always craved to be in their groups, but no group never ever accepted me as their part.

Even NOW i find such people around, and i think they are gonna be there till i die. So now i sought of tried getting adjusted to such people around me. But let me tell you its so very difficult to be alone and aloof... thats why i feel i am most of the time sad.

Wherever i went I found myself aloof. Even in the group I am like odd one out. I donno why. Do all feel the same as i do?
I felt the same loneliness even in my in laws place. All of them still treat me the same way, as if am alien, or did something unforgivable. When i feel am right for my deeds and admit doing that. They just do not like me just because am honest, straight forward. I speak on the face whatever i feel about people or them? Is being true is so punishable? Then why are we taught about truth in our schools? and if we have to pay for being truthful so much then why do our parents teach us to be true and honest? Are all these for namesake?

Even in my work place i feel all all alone.... do people do not like me either?Even she shares the same experience as i do.? or am not that adorable to be around? Oh Gosh! this feeling is killing since my childhood.

But I found Gombi when i met her through one of my classmates, when i was already working. She is the only friend i can say is true friend of mine. But as the time passed the distance has just widened. We are unable to meet often, but still share all our feelings and experiences in life. We are kind of birds of same feathers. We do share same kind of thoughts and experiences. Atleast I should be happy that I have such a good friend!

I was just looking for pictures suitable to my topic today that is about loneliness.I happened to collect few images, and finally decided to delete them from my system, and i liked the way the system asked me "are you sure you want send lonliness to recycle bin"? i said YES!.. but its going to be there till i delete it from there forever, or atlest for few days till it automatically vanishes from recycle bin... :)

Thanks to Latest Technology...

I never dreamt about that am gonna meet my PU collage classmate after 12 to 13 long years... i was surprised by his message yesterday evening.. and i was wondering how he might have got to know my number. But he managed to get from my brother and he gave it to him. Since then I started to live in my flash back days.. inquired about all my other classmates and now he is also in my orkut friends list!those days were really funny and beautiful days... life so coll and tension less.... I am glad that he is in touch.

eewww so scary...! :'(

I just wanted to post this since a month, as its already a month i watched that scary horror movie 'Autopsy', still its haunting my mind.. its so strongly left an impression on my mind.. still unable to come out of its horrible, brutal, deadly, bloody scenes....

I hate that my colleague who gave me to watch that movie... Now am scared of all the doctors in the world!

Eastern tales to keep you listening late into the night

1001 Nights

• Feature Page
• Aladdin’s Lamp
• Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Jack and the Beanstalk.. My Favourite.....

Traditional German stories, often with dark seams

Brothers Grimm

• Feature Page
• The Golden Goose
• The Elves and the Shoemaker
• The Six Swans
• Rapunzel
• The Town Musicians of Breman
• The Frog Prince
• Rumpelstiltskin
• The Golden Fish
• Snow White
• The Cat and the Mouse in Partnership
• Hansel and Grettel

Short and sweet animal tales that come with a lesson for life!!

Aesop

• Feature Page
• The Hare and the Tortoise
• Video: The Rat and The Elephant
• Four Aesop Fables
• Androcles and the Lion

For those Lovely Stories..........

http://storynory.com

ಅಮ್ಮನ ಬಾಲ್ಯ... :)

ನಿನ್ನೆ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಮಲಗೋ ಮುಂಚೆ ಹಾಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಮತ್ತು ನನ್ನ ಅಮ್ಮನ ನಡುವೆ ನಡೆದ ಮಾತುಗಳು... ಇಬ್ಬರು ತುಂಬ ಖುಷಿ ಪಟ್ವಿ. ಹಾಗೆ flashbackಗೆ ಹೋದೆವು. ಅವಳ ಈ ೬೧ರ ಇಳಿ ವಯಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎ೦ತಹ ನಗು ಮತ್ತು ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸು ಅರಳಿದ್ದು ನೋಡಿ ನಂಗೆ ತುಂಬ ಸಂತೋಷವಾಯಿತು. ಏನ್ mood ಬಂತೋ ಅಮ್ಮನಿಗೆ ತನ್ನ ಬಾಲ್ಯಾದ ದಿನಗಳನ್ನ ನೆನಸಿಕೊಳಲು ತೊಡಗಿದಳು. ತಾನು ಮೂರನೆ ಈಯತ್ತೆ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ತುಂಬಾ ಡಾನ್ಸ್ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾಡುತಿದ್ದಳಂತೆ. ಆಗ ಅವಳು ತನ್ನ ತಂದೆ ತಾಯಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಣ್ಣರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಹಿರೆಬಾಗೆವಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುತಿದ್ದಳಂತೆ. ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಊರು ಇರೋದ್ರಿಂದ ಹಾಗು ನೋಡೊಕೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ತೆಳ್ಳಗೆ ಬೆಳ್ಳಗೆ ಇರೋದ್ರಿಂದ ಇವಳನ್ನೇ ಡಾನ್ಸ್ ಮಾಡೋದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವಳ ಟೀಚರ್ ಕರೆತಿದ್ದ್ರಂತೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಹೇಳುವಾಗ ಅಮ್ಮನ ಮುಖ ನೋಡೋ ಹಾಗೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಮುದುಡಿದ ತಾವರೆ ಅರಳಿದ ಹಾಗೆ... :) ೭ ರಿಂದ ೮ ಡಾನ್ಸ್ ಗಳನ್ನ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದಳಂತೆ ಅಮ್ಮ ಆಗ. ಕೆಲ್ವಂದು ಹಾಡಿನ ಪಲ್ಲವಿ ಈಗಲೂ ಹೇಳಿದ್ಲು.. ಅಬ್ಬ ಏನ್ ನೆನಪಿನ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಅಮ್ಮನದು. ನಿಜ ನಾವು ಸಂತೋಷ ದಿಂದ ಕಳೆದ ದಿನಗಳು ಯಾವಾಗಲು ನಮ್ಮ ನೆನಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಸಿರಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆ ಅನ್ನಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಇದೇ ನಿದರ್ಶನ. ಆ ನಗು, ಸಂತೋಷ ಅಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲೊ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾಳೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅಲ್ವೇ ನಾನು ಅವಳನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ತವರು ಮನೆ ಹೆಸರಾದ "ಸುನಂದಾ" ಎಂದು ಕರೆಯುವದು. ಅದು ಅವಳಿಗೂ ಸಂತಸ ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ ಅಂತ ನನಗೂ ಚನ್ನಾಗಿ ಗೊತ್ತು. ನಾನು ಅವಳ ಜೊತೆ ಜಗಳವನ್ನೂ ಆಡುತ್ತೇನೆ... ಅವಳಿಗೆ ನಾ ಹೇಳಿದ ವಿಷಯ ತಿಳಿದಿದ್ದಾಗ ನನಗೆ ಕೋಪ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ.. ಮತ್ತೆ... ಪಾಪ ಅಮ್ಮ ಅವಳು ಓದಿದ್ದೇನು.. ಅವಳ ತಿಳಿವಳಿಕೆ ಏನು ಎ೦ದು ನನಗೆ ಅನಿಸಿದಾಗ ... ನಕ್ಕು.. ಮತ್ತೆ ಅದನ್ನ ತಿಲಿಸಿಕೊಡುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಅವಳೇ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ ಗುರು... ನನಗೆ A B C D ಕಲಿಸಿದ್ದು, ಮತ್ತೆ This is Ramu, He is a Boy; This is His Shirt, it is White ಅಂತ ನಂಗೆ first standard ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು... ನನಗೆ primary school ಅಲ್ಲಿ Algebra ಹೇಳಿಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು. ಅಮ್ಮನ favourite subject ಅಂದರೇ mathematics. ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟೋಂದು formulas ಇನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿವೆ. ಈಗ ನಾನು ಮುಂದೆ ಓದಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ನನಗೆ ಅವಳಿಗಿಂತ ಕೆಲ್ವಂದು ವಿಷಯ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಮೊದಲು ನನಗೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಡುವಾಗ ಅವಳಿಗಿದ್ದ ಸಹನೆ ನನಗೆ ಈಗ ಏಕೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಬೇಸರವಾಗುತ್ತೆ ... :(

ಅವಳಿಗೆ ದಿನಾ newspaper ಓದದಿದ್ದರೆ ಏನೋ ದಿನಚರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ missing ಅನಸುತ್ತದೆ... :) ಅರೇಯ್ ಇವತ್ತು ಪೇಪರ್ ಅನ್ನೇ ಓದಲಿಲ್ಲವಲ್ಲ ಅಂತಾಳೆ. ಈಗಿನ ವೇಗದ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ದಿನಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಓದುತ್ತೇವೆ... ? ಹೊರಗಡೆ ರೂಮಿನಿಂದ ತಂದೆಯ ಕೂಗು "ಸಾಕು ಮಲಗಿ ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಬೇಗ ಏಳಬೇಕು...... ಅಂತ "ಹಾಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡ್ತಾ ಮಾತಾಡ್ತಾ ಯಾವಾಗ ನಿದ್ದೆಗೆ ಹೊದೆವೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ zz zzz ...

My lovely cousin Rama Akka...

During my visit to my parents house this time... i made up my mind to visit my cousin's place and i made it.. and it was worth visiting... i just relaxed with the kind of environment there.

I used to roam with her in my childhood days.. . she is one of my favorite cousins. So i started my journey towards Hirehandigol.. it was raining continuously in Dharwad then.. and also even now.

Clicked some pictures while traveling....

Finally reached the destination after three hours journey. I simply loved the simple village life in Hirehandigol, Gadag District. I loved the peace there and no tension, stress and competition for anything.. Just leading life as it takes you.... here are some pictures i clicked there....

My cousin Rama akka.. she is kind of everyone's favorite in our family.... she is so lovely person. Being a diploma civil degree holder.. never stepped into kitchen before her marriage.. now managing the whole show in her husband's home.. she manged herself to be in that remote small village.. hats off to her dedication to the family.

My cousin Rama Akka.. i call her Rama devi.. with love and affection...

With her mother in law in the sweet kitchen...

The Pooja room...which is inside the big kitchen...

The quite big backyard for the cows at home....

Another view of the cows resting place....

A servant who takes care of cows grazing and all....

The calves so cute and lovely.....i loved them...a lot...

Cow calf relation so sweet to watch...

Another view of calf's love for its lovely mother cow....

Renavva.. with my cousin in backyard of the Home... the adorable maid of my cousin.. and also she is indeed so sweet to be one.... does any household job for my cousin.... she is amazing! She was very eager to get photographed.

Renavva taking care of the cows... she is the only person who milks the cows there. She in fact talks to them like her friends... i was so happy to see this love for animals....

My cousin feeding with lots of love to her maids...

Finally the proud caretakers of the beautiful home in a place like heaven. I really liked the way they lead their lives there. Her husband also works for some government textile industry and also takes care of his farms and lands. Very well balancing his job.. great job indeed! Thats why we beleive in statement that "Pairs are made in Heaven". These are made for each other in fact.

Just clicked a man painting his house.. . besides my cousin's home.

I finally recommend such places when you are totally tired with your tiring urban life... its totally soothing and relaxing.. nothing to think and worry about.. peaceful life... amazing place for me at least... would like to visit this place again.. and would like to spend more time there next time....where time is never in a hurry to run.

Tell-a-vision!

Television has a big role in my life. Well just thought of sharing some of my childhood memories attached with television. Having TV at home was a luxury then. There used be days when i used to go to bed without food, that was just because i used to be so satisfied after watching TV. My family still makes fun of me about this. God! i still wish to be like that so that i would have not put on so much...:( I and my brother used to love the 1984-85... Doordarshan Programs. Of course it was the only channel we used to have then. There were so many bugging programs as well.. (then being a child) but still we used to watch. Just watching anything and everything on TV itself was so much fun for us. We used to watch TV in our neighbors home, when we did not had our own set. Seeing this my Dad got fed up and got a TV set for us. I still remember the model its called ITI Monarchy which had shutter and also a lock. Unfortunately i could not find the model on net. So just got this one which is just close to that model. It was a black & white TV. It had an antenna on the roof.I was so over joyed and felt that i have everything in this world, and i loved my dad for that.

We used to rush to the TV centre, which had generator, which was just close to our home in a small town like Gadag, whenever there was power cut, just to make sure we do not miss the important part of our program. And we used to curse the Electricity Board for cutting the power at the important stage.

I must admit that Doordarshan really used to have very good programs THEN. I still live with those memories and remember the songs and names of the programs even now.

Some of the programs which i still remember goes like this

Cartoons: Spiderman, He-Man: Am the Master of the Universe, Some film division programs from Doordarshan-- Ek aur anek, etc

Some puppet show.. i do not remember the name though, it used to come on Saturday afternoons.

Stories like: Fairly tale theater, Vikram aur betal, Alice in Wonderland etc...

Serials: Ek Do Teen Chaar: A children detective serial, Show Theme, Buniyad, Hum Log, Kari Khari, Yeh Jo Hain Zindagi, Rajini, Karamchand, Chitrahaar, Chitramaala, Indradhanush: I remember that this had shown us computers then, a robot and time machine stuff, Kile ka rahasya, You and Your Pets- which used come during the movie intervals for 30 mins on Sundays ( I remember we used to so desparately wait for that to finish, just to keep track of the movie climax...hehehe ) and many more... :)

English Serials: UFO, Stratrek, Danger Bay, Secrets of the Sea, Street Hawk,, huh.. i love all of them.

The Ads: Oh Gosh! i still remember the ads... Surf, Nirma, Rasna.. ( I love you Rasna)wow.. TATA namak.. namak ho tata ka tata namak...just used to love them like anything.

I remember I used to sing the full song of "Mile Sur Mera Tumahar" which had most of the Indian languages in it... My relatives when ever gathered together used to make me sing that song and were amazed by my memory and wordings of different languages i used to sing in.. exactly the same way.. i love it!

I really miss those programmes now. I strongly beleive that our childhood memories really have a very strong impact on our life....

Huh! now is the time 2009, I do not have a TV set at home.. and am not repenting for that. As i do not think there are any such interesting programs coming, which i feel i miss out.... and now is the time that i Hate to watch it or do not have time or patience to watch it.. somehow i don't think that its a must for me. Well, it was just other way round many years back!

I feel am fortunate enough that i had a very fun filled childhood. All thanks to my lovely parents for making it so happy.. :) Who never pressurised us for anything.

What if there were no stories in our lives...????

I wonder if we all grew without listening to stories and not being lost in our own world.. i wonder how that world would be without any stories to tell or listen... :)

Audio Stories

http://librivox.org/adventures-of-pinocchio-by-c-collodi/

Children’s Literature

Click title for list of chapters and links to audio files

• Aesop. Aesop’s Fables - Complete Menu (Volumes 1-12)
• Baldwin, James. Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. Little Wizard Stories of Oz (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. The Marvelous Land of Oz (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. The Lost Princess of Oz (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. The Road to Oz (solo)
• Baum, L. Frank. Sky Island (solo)
• Brooke, L. Leslie. Johnny Crow’s Garden (solo)
• Brooke, L. Leslie. Johnny Crow’s Party (solo)
• Brooke, L. Leslie. The Golden Goose Book (solo)
• Brooke, Leslie L. The Story of the Three Little Pigs (solo)
• Burgess, Gelett. More Goops and How Not to Be Them (solo)
• Burgess, Gelett. The Goop Directory (solo)
• Burnett, Frances Hodgson. A Little Princess (solo)
• Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Sara Crewe: Or, What Happened at Miss Minchin’s Boarding School (solo)
• Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden (solo)
• Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
• Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass
• Collodi, C . (transl. Carol della Chiesa) The Adventures of Pinocchio
• Crane, Walter. Baby’s Own Aesop
• Denslow, W. W. The Three Bears (solo)
• Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon (solo)
• Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows (solo)
• Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows
• Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. Fairy Tales
• Harris, Joel Chandler. Uncle Remus (solo)
• Hoffman, Heinrich. Struwwelpeter (solo)
• Hope, Laura Lee. The Story of a Stuffed Elephant (solo)
• Kipling, Rudyard. Just So Stories (solo)
• Larned, William Trowbridge. American Indian Fairy Tales (solo)
• Lear, Edward. The Owl and the Pussycat
• Lofting, Hugh. The Story of Doctor Dolittle
• MacDonald, George. The Light Princess (solo)
• Marshall, H.E. Our Island Story, Part 1 (solo)
• Marshall, H.E. Our Island Story, Part 2 (duet)
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. The Golden Road
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. The Story Girl
• Moore, Clement C. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Mulock, Miss. The Little Lame Prince (solo)
• Nesbit, E. Five Children and It
• Nesbit, E. Railway Children (solo)
• Newell, Peter. The Rocket Book (solo)
• Newell, Peter. The Slant Book (solo)
• Potter, Beatrix. Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter
• Sandburg, Carl. Rootabaga Stories (solo)
• Sewell, Anna. Black Beauty
• Sidney, Margaret. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (solo)
• Spyri, Johanna. Heidi (solo)
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Cow
• Turner, Ethel. Seven Little Australians (solo)
• Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (solo)
• Williams, Margery. The Velveteen Rabbit (duet)
• Williams, Margery. The Velveteen Rabbit (solo)
• Wilde, Oscar. The Canterville Ghost (solo)
• Wilde, Oscar. The Happy Prince and Other Tales (solo)
• Wyss, Johann David. The Swiss Family Robinson (solo)

Teenagers might find these books especially appealing:

• Alger, Horatio. Ragged Dick (solo)
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Gods of Mars (solo)
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice. A Princess of Mars
• Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe (solo)
• Haggard, H. Rider. King Solomon’s Mines (solo)
• London, Jack. Call of the Wild
• London, Jack. White Fang
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Avonlea
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of the Island
• Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Rilla of Ingleside (solo)
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island
• Stratton-Porter, Gene. A Girl of the Limberlost
• Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (solo)
• Twain, Mark. The Prince and the Pauper (solo)
• Wells, H.G. War of the Worlds (solo)
• Wells, H.G. War of the Worlds
• Verne, Jules. A Journey to the Interior of the Earth

Where is my life turning to...

"ज़िन्दगी का कैसा मोड़ आया"

ज़िन्दगी का कैसा मोड़ आया |
लगता हैं खुशियों को साथ छोड़ आया ||
जब भी इस मोड़ पर खड़ी होती हु तो ऐसा लगता हैं,

ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं,
चारो तरफ़ धुप ही धुप हैं |

मीलों तन्हाई बस तन्हाई हैं,
जैसे ग़म के डेरे सजाई हैं |
शिकायत फिर ज़माने की हमसे | तोंबा
ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं.............

सूरज का रोज़ का निकलना और ढलना |
ऐसे | जैसे दिल का जलना और बुझाना |
ज़िन्दगी ने भी साथ छोडा | ऐसे |
रूह से साँस रूठा हो जैसे | तोंबा |
ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं.............

दोस्तों का साथ तो क्या,
दुश्मनों की भी आहात नहीं |
अपना किसको कहे हम,
जब गैरों की भी आहाट नहीं |
ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं.............

सपने देखा करतें थे कभी,
हकीकत में बदलेंगे इन्हे सभी |
क्यों ज़िन्दगी ऐसे पेश आई ?
मौत को भी न रास आई |
ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं.............

दिल जिसको चाहा ज़ार ज़ार ,
होते गए वो दूर बार बार |
बन गए हैं बोझ इस कदर अपनो पर,
जैसे कोई हक नही रहा सपनो पर |

ज़िन्दगी का ये कैसा रूप हैं,
चारो तरफ़ धुप ही धुप हैं |

- पूर्णिमा, २००३