JANYA – A Life (Concluded…..)

Those were the days, when Chhaaya had just settled on her new job as the Programmer Analyst in a renowned Software company. Life was only about deadlines, deliverables, codes, bugs, testing, team meetings, production fixes and escalations.

The hep-hop life in Bangalore did not interest this village bred girl…. Friday nite parties, pubs, rock-n-roll… sounded really funny to her….She felt her time was better utilized, if she spent it on something worthwhile… at a library or in learning a foreign language or her new project management course… But then all this dint add any life… Being away from her parents… she definitely felt the need for a human touch….

It was then; she started visiting the HIV Rehabilitation wing of “Maitri”, a charity organization… just to distribute the clothes and medicines and spend some time with the kids there…Chhaaya met a two year old kid there…. She was somehow got attracted to this little girl…. Chhaaya started visiting more frequently and always took some gifts with her….The kid was all thrilled and all happy; to get her candies and drawing notebooks and a pack of color crayons… both made friends instantly even though they were strangers…

Why was god so merciless???!!! … This kid had lost her father already, and her mom was dying… Chhaaya cursed god, she was haunted by many questions ....
“Could I not do something for her??? Should I just wipe it out my memory saying she is just yet another victim??? Am I not responsible for my society??? Doesn’t this show, I am yet another selfish person…??? “

But then she dint want to coldly walk away….blaming her helplessness… So she went up to the child’s mother one day and asked “So what do you think is the fate of your child…after you are gone…?"....This brought the mother literally on tears…What could she say??… It was a blatant truth!!!.... Chhaaya, offered to adopt this little child… It was a big decision she made in life, she somehow felt…she found the answers… she wanted to stand by her convictions… After all

What is life with Full of CARE?
But we still don’t have the time to stand and STARE…

Janya was the one who taught Chhaaya that a simple SMILE can work wonders….She dint want another company…. She was proud to be a single mother….Her parents stood a big support to this decision of hers… Janya was now a part of Chhaaya’s life… rather her life itself….

JANYA – A Life

All things Bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful, the good god made them all…

It was a Friday evening; Chhaaya was waiting for Outlook to complete the spell check on her mail. She was sending the weekly status report to the clients from her laptop. At last the long awaited days were here… she could from work from home…Comfortably sitting on her cozy bean bag, with a mug of hot coffee, enjoying the chilly breeze from her 5th floor “Brigade Millennium” apartment’s balcony. She suddenly remembered that she had to check on Janya… so she peeped into the front yard to check on the lil kid.

Janya was jumping with joy… All her little friends gathered around her… and singing her praise… And there she was… holding on one hand “The All rounder cup” she won at her primary school today and hugging Toobie with the other. Mom had got her the favorite Toobie (white teddy bear) … which was almost half her size….

Janya was an adorable kid… the charm on her face… the spark in her eyes… those chubby cheeks… her glowing smile; even the dark tan on her skin was entrancing. Janya’s bubbly face always brought in more meaning to Chhaaya’s life…It made her completely oblivious of the status reports, client calls, Time & Cost estimations and the new project proposals…. Spending time with Janya completely relieved of all her pressures of the project “Avanaad” that she managed…

It had been proud moments for Chhaaya…as she witnessed her daughter receive the award at the Annual day functions at “Sishya Bala Bhavan”… She was filled with contentment…. She had finally found a meaning for her life…..

(To be continued)

I've learned

This is also something I found really interesting.... How many of us....have a count of what we learnt everyday ??? I added just a few of mine...to someone's thought

I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."

I've learned, that all men die, but no one really lives...

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open mind,

I usually make the right decision.

I've learned that deciding not to make a decision, is also a decision

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that people love that human touch -

holding hands,a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that Sometimes they just need a little something to make them smile..

I've learned that smile is a curve that makes everything straight..

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel.

I've learned that no matter what, Life does go on

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

It does make me FEEL GOOD

There are a few things, even thinking about them, truly rejuvenates me...I guess, its there in all of us... These are my power boosters... I have written this down on my diary and read it when ever I feel let down.... It instantly brings me up glowing as ever..... Try this out... It works..... :-)

Getting a hug or kiss from mom

Dad’s Lap
Moments I spent with my brother

Childhood mischiefs

Friends.

Laughing so hard that my face hurts.
A hot shower.
Taking a long drive on an empty road, on a splashing rainy night.
Lying in bed listening my favorite song and reading a good book.
Chocolates & Icecreams.

A long distance phone call.
A good conversation.
The waves at the beach.
Laughing at myself.
Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about me.
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
Having someone play with my hair.
Sweet dreams.
Swinging on swings.
Falling out in crazy laughter

Going to a really good concert.
Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
Watching the expression on someone's face

as they open a much desired present from you.
Watching the sunrise.
Seeing smiles & SMILING

And obviously ME :-)

23rd November 1990 - Concluded

They got near the AICU (Acute Intensive Care unit). He saw his father in tears. It was the first time he saw dad crying… The little boy’s heart started pounding…. Raman chitappa lifted him and showed him something through the small transparent circle on the Opaque glass door.… It came as a complete shock…He could instantly recognize, IT WAS AMMA… She was lying there with a huge bandage around her head; her face was double the size; it was completely blackish blue on the right side, a complete contrast to her fair complexion on the left side….

Raji Perima slowly tied a mask around his mouth and took him inside the room now… The kid already had a mental shock, any kid would to cry out loudly and scream, “Amma !!!”… But to everyone’s surprise, Jillu dint… He hesitated to take a step forward initially, but then went inside and sat beside his mom…. Mom had been injured badly, her right side was completely bandaged, even the palm and toe that showed were badly bruised…

He could now hear the doctor say something to appa… “ Sir, you have to be brave now… As you see, your wife is in a critical condition and we cannot assure you anything at this point. She might be paralyzed for the rest of the life or in the worst cases, she would not be able to survive the operation…. We are doing our best Sir.. ” … All this was because of an accident… a ruthless car driver had hit appa’s bike, trying to overtake them on the Adayar road that morning…. Amma had a serious skull injury and now she was fighting for life….

Jillu ran to his dad, and hugged him tightly… The father and son prayed to get out of this mental turmoil and Jillu wished amma a speedy recovery… Their fingers still crossed….

A year passed….It was his 10th Birthday today… he no longer pretended to sleep; there was no paal paayasam or aloo curry…. Things had changed… Jillu slowly went up to his mom & dad kissed them and whispered HAPPY BIRTHDAY….Now all the three of them shared their birthday, and mom was one year old…. Slowly recovering.... Her will power did help…She was getting back to track….

23rd November 1990 was a really SPECIAL DAY for all of them… since then Jillu saw his mom as his special child. Jillu then rushed to school kissing his mom again saying “kutty chellam... ennoda kozhanda da nee…aathula chamatha iru, appa school poittu odi vandudaren” (My dear daughter, be a good girl at home, your dad will go to school and get back early)….

Love you Amma!!!

Wasnt that an interesting read??

This is my first blog pals.... :)... A story very very very close to my heart.... Thanks for your time..

Smiles...

23rd November 1990 - Part 2

It was a fun filled day at school. Bhagya miss gave him a Sketch pen set (color pens)… Greetings from all his friends… the yummy lunch…the PT class (games hour)… the day just flew away… Jillu came home at 4.00 that evening. He tossed his bag to the corner… and drank his chocolate Complan … and set off to buy a gift for dad… With the little he had saved from his pocket money, he got a Black Reynold’s Jotter pen from the near by 'Lucky fancy store' and got it wrapped neatly…with a note wishing his dad.

Friday was a NO homework day, as there was always the weekend to complete it… and moreover it was Jillu’s day… so it was only games in the evening. He was even more thrilled as the Mohan anna and Ravi anna (older boys in the street) let him play cricket with them. It grew a little darker and they closed the match… Jillu’s team won that day…

Jillu got back home, had a quick wash and he was all set to give a big surprise to dad. He was watching his favorite show 'The Super Human Samurai' on TV and was all set waiting for the Rajdoot horn. His dad always used to honk when they entered the street and Jillu used to rush downstairs to receive his parents, who got back from work.

It was getting darker, but Jillu was still waiting to hear the horn… Finally the door bell rang. Jillu jumped to the door and opened it screaming “haiyyaa….appa…” But then his excitement subsided as he saw his mama (maternal uncle) at the door. “Vaango maama”, he greeted his uncle and led him inside… To his surprise, his uncle asked him to get one of his mom’s nighties and hurry up as they were to rush out somewhere. Jillu assumed his grandma must have been ill and so mama was rushing. Jillu was all disappointed; his surprise gift to dad was still lying there on the table, he hadn’t got his grand parents’ blessings still… (It was their routine to visit his grand parents to get their blessings on his bday)

Off they went on his uncle’s fiat car and it was a long drive. Jillu enjoyed his drive, peeping his head out of the window, delighted to see the busy roads of Chennai…he was all happy today and the drive added more excitement. Finally they reached “The Devaki Nursing Home”… Jillu suddenly got curious … “Maama, thaatha-paatikku odambu serillayaa ?? Amma inga vandrukkaala ?? “(Is granny or granpa ill?, Is mom here ?).. “Enna aachu maama, enga irukkom namma” (What happened, where are we now??)…. His uncle just patted him, but did not utter a word…

(To be concluded....)

23rd November 1990

November was by itself a festive month with the pooja holidays and Diwali that leave behind a lot of cheerfulness. 23rd November was the special day of every year, it always brought only joy and more joy to him...but 23rd November 1990 had a greater influence in their lives….Read on if you found this interesting :-)

Jillu was still closing his eyes tightly, pretending he was sleeping…he couldn’t resist the aroma from mom’s kitchen… Paal pradhaman, vengaaya arachi vitta sambar, thakkaali rasam and aloo fry... all were his favorites…. He wondered…"Is it a Sunday???" But then he remembered it was his favorite Bhagya Miss’ Maths period …that was the first class of every Friday in his 4th standard…

He could now hear amma wishing appa “happy b’day dear”… and now turning to him… she gently kissed her only darling son and wished “happy b’day kondae”. Yep.. Jillu and his dad shared their birthdays… that made this day a special day of every year… Jillu got another kiss from appa… and he hugged his dad and wished him back…

Amma gave him an oil bath and Jillu got ready to go to school… A proud little man in his new shirt and full pants… It was time for the yummy paal payasam… he started his breakfast with the sweet… and then gobbled the masaala dosai, with just 5 minutes left to catch the school bus. Mom had packed all his favorites for lunch and his school bag was all set. He grabbed his chocolate box and rushed out… wishing his dad again and blowing a kiss to mom…. Jillu was all excited… he could wear his B’day dress to school today and all the rest of his friends would be in their white n white half pants…

This day started with all cheers....

Birthdays are always a rejoicing day at school. "The Happy Birthday song”, chocolates, those little birthday cards and small gifts, all your friends would be hanging around you, even teachers wouldn’t scold you if you had not completed your homework, a total goody goody day. You would always wish to have a b’day everyday…It is always a special day….

(To be continued....)