#4 Dear me! Letters to Myself: Happy Thanksgiving

 

Dear life,

Everyone's happy today in the US and eating Turkey dinners. Their outgoing President even pardoned a turkey and spared its life. How magnanimous!

You know how I love festivals and so, I thought of you and the journey of my life so far.

The long list of happy memories far outweighed the list of things that went wrong like, the time when as a teenager I and my cousin ended up watching a wrong movie at the theatre because we were too shy to ask for a ticket for the movie of our choice. Instead, we asked for 'a ticket' for the next show - which we were told was about to start. We never questioned what was playing assuming it was the new Amir Khan film because there were enough posters around us saying so.

I still remember waiting patiently thinking that the English film, Conan the Barbarian, was just a long-ish trailer and the Juhi Chawla film, Goonj, will start any moment. It didn't help that the morning show didn't have any interval.

We almost cried when 'The End' loomed up dashing all our hopes of redemption. Oh! The follies of innocence and youth.

I have till date not watched the movie in deference to the teenaged me who didn't have the money to watch it in the next show!

Anyhow, today is not about losses. Today is about gains. And though we may not get to eat a turkey tonight - it doesn't matter. I am still happy because I can count my blessings with you.

So, without further ado here is the list:

1) My Family - for their love, kindness and unconditional support - that was a no-brainer!
2) My Friends - for their patience and positivity - I am very poor at keeping in touch :(
3) My Teachers - for believing in me and nurturing my ambitions
4) Children - for sharing their unconditional love - especially three little girls I'll always remember
5) Books - for being the best medicine for every ailment I've had
6) Films - for eliminating boredom and keeping hope alive
7) Travel - for killing the blight called monotony, the bane of my existence
8) Star Trek - for making me believe in science
9) Harry Potter and JK Rawlings - for making me believe in magic
10) Rains - for making me believe in miracles
11) Ice Cream - for making me believe that cold is better than bearable
12) Sea - for turning me into a believer
13) Shakespeare - for just-in-time philosophy
14) Hand Creams - for helping cope with dry air conditioned offices
15) Table Lamps and Cushion Covers - for instantly refreshing home decor
16) Van Gogh - for filling me with curiosity and a different perspective
17) Tintin - for being an amazing role model
18) Cars - for making me self-reliant
19) Delhi - for making me curious about History
20) Bombay - for making me trust again

That was not a huge list but, writing it up made me smile from inside out. Happiness is not a thing that you can buy at the grocery store or a mall but, a feeling that stays in your heart pumping blood into the brains. :D

I remember when I didn't have the money to buy a camera, I would simply capture frames with my eyes and string them into poems. It was such a beautiful way to capture memories and keep them alive!

Today when I look at this list, I know that each point has several layers and memories accumulated in it. If I was to elaborate each one, I can fill pages till I run out of space to write and you the patience to read. But, there is no need for that. You already know what I know.

Happy Thanksgiving dear life!

Love,

Shoma

#2 Dear me! Letters to Myself - Falling Leaves

Falling leaves
Image Courtesy: Shoma

Dear Life,

I know that this is a sudden spurt but, like I said, I had been wanting to write to me/ you/us for a long time. For years now I have been my own best friend and confidante.

Today, as October has turned into November and the dried leaves filled up the backyard, I did not clear it as I usually do. Instead, I sat down with you to think, to look back and relax.

You may have called me a few names for not getting chores done but, it did not matter. Just sitting there with feet dipped in sunlight falling across the threshold was enough to stop you from lecturing me in just a few minutes. Oh! How the mighty fall!

Rest and be thankful
Image Courtesy: Shoma

The thoughts were not too difficult to follow were they?

Remembering the raw and ripe mangoes filling up the place just a few months ago.

Raw mangoes were falling like the now dried leaves at one point and it was such a pleasant surprise to wake up and find them scattered all around waiting to be picked up.

Once the novelty wore off, I stopped picking them up and instead left them for the domestic and society help. Food's food, isn't it?

A few days later, the ripe fruits would start plopping down. It was a funny surprise.

Still sleepy, I thought it was the neighbours upstairs throwing down half or partially-eaten mangoes because most of them were somewhat eaten.

It took a few minutes to imagine what was happening. It was the birds, feasting on the fruits while they were still hanging up there on the branches!

It made me laugh so much. I looked at the fruits, half eaten and thought, "Wow! Organic! Innocent and sitting ducks."

Fallen
Image Courtesy: Shoma

And today, the leaves are falling, messing up the same place which it had once studded with fruits.

Dried leaves. Who wants them? Who needs them? And certainly, no one is burning them this winter.

It's after almost a month that we could actually open the door and sit out for a while. The smog had made it Hell for so long. 'No bonfires please, we are choking!'

Yes. Life is like that. One day you are raw, then, ripe, thrown around half chewed and then - gone up in smoke.

Death is not the end though because all those who have laughed with you when you were raw and ripe and cried for you when you were chewed up and thrown out will remember you and think of you when you are nothing more than a bunch of dried leaves being burnt into ashes. You will continue to live in their memories and perhaps only die when they are gone too.

Crumpled
Image Courtesy: Shoma

Dear life. I am happy to have you as a friend and companion because together we make a great pair. Especially now, when we have been through so much and seen life from such close quarters.

Grateful to have you around and, I promise to keep writing.

Love,

Shoma

Tree of life
Image Courtesy: Shoma