The 'Pet' Leopard

The bunch of 10-12 year old kids watched with wide open eyes as the guide put his hand inside the bars of the cage and petted the leopard inside it!! They were scared.... and amazed at the same time. The leopard was behaving as if he was a pet dog!!

The guy (let’s call him Mr. X) turned to the kids and said that it was a wild leopard and none of them should even think of doing what he just did. "He will bite your hand right off!!", he said. The kids gasped!! And Mr. X only smiled. He could see it written in their eyes. They were seeking an explanation, and he was about to tell them one of the biggest truths of life.

“This leopard was badly injured and rejected by his peers when we found him. He was in a bad shape, and everyone thought that he might not live. But, I decided to do something about it. I gave all that I could to the poor animal...medical attention, care, companionship and love. Yes, Love. I gave it to him at a time when he needed it the most. I cared for him when he was down and out, and had lost the desire to live. At first there was not much improvement. But then slowly, he started responding!! He healed and was back to being the ferocious wild animal that he was.” Mr. X said with a smile on his face. “But there was one big difference. He knew who had been there for him in the times when he was down and out. And he remembers that. And that is the reason why he lets me pet him, because he acknowledges the fact that I was there for him when he needed it the most.” His grin grew bigger, and the kids eyes even bigger!!

And one of the kids in that group started a blog called ‘Spring Blossoms’, much later in his life. Me.J

That incident left a life-long impression in my mind, and a lesson I need to remember, but forget repeatedly. The love given by a friend in times of need has the power to tame even a wild animal, leave alone the supposed civilized humans. At times, I forget this while figuring out who my 'friends' are and who are 'the others'.

We might have many ‘friends’, but we fail to realize the difference between friends and acquaintances. The ones, who are there for you when you need them, when you are down and out, are the Friends. The rest, you might want to call them acquaintances or something else, but definitely not friends. I had learnt an important lesson that day – “Be there for your friends, and value those who are there for you when you need them, with your life.”

THANK YOU ALL MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS. YOU ARE MY ANGELS. J (I need not name anyone, because you know it. J)

I Resign from Adulthood .....

I Resign...

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult.

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities

of an 8-year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.

I want to sail paper boats across a fresh mud puddle and spend my whole aftrnoon making and flying paper planes.

I want to eat patries and icecreams and candies and sweets, spillin thema ll over my clothes and not worry about how it will affect the way i look.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade

stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to have 2 full months of fun, frolic and visits to my Nanima's home during my summer vacations.

I want to spend the all my days with my Dadu n Dadi.

I want to jump like mad and dance during rains as if there is no tomorrow.

I want to go back to the time when breaking a 'kinky promise' meant a condemned life in hell..!! (Well.. I still believe in that.. :D :P)

I want to return to a time when life was simple.

When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables,

and nursery rhymes, 

but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what

you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair.

That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and

be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again.

I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

This is a small write-up that I read somewhere and wanted to share it here on my blog. I have added a few things to it. In our running around all over the city and the globe as a grown-up, we tend to forget all the little things that used to make us roll with peals of laughter and mean the world to us in our childhood, things which we now consider to be petty or silly or even idiotic. 

What is the first thing that we notice in a kid ?? Its his energy, his zest for life, the mischievous glint in his eyes, the running around all through the day and still wanting more - basically the spirit.. the spark !! We should not let this spark fade under heaps of office work and numerous e-mails. We need to keep this spark in us alive no matter what the situation is. We need to shed our inhibitions and throw caution to the winds at times rather than wondering about the consequences. Or else we are in the danger of getting classified in the category of 'Khusat Buddha'..!! Keep flashing your pearlies... (And if you are worried about how look, go consult a dentist, brush every 15 minutes... but KEEP LAUGHINg your heart out.. :) .. :D .. ) We need to quit thinking too much about each and every problem that life brings our way and breaking our head over it. Sometimes letting go, and allowing things to be is essential. As they say - 'Ignorance is Bliss' !! 

Being with kids and playing with them helps us become one, and i find it to be very destressing. In fact it makes me happy.. :D . Play with kids and eat 'Desserts' when u r 'Stressed'..!! (Try reading it 'Stressed' in reverse !! :P )

I don't care if I have a time machine or a gadget by which I can turn back time. Because, I have already resigned from my adulthood. I know being an adult gives you a few things like Credit Cards, Cars, Mobile Fones and so on.. (what were you thinking you perverts ??!! :P), but what the hell.. Paper planes, Silly Dancing, Toy Cars...here i come!! I'm a 8 year old kid from today. Affirmative !! :D :D

PS - I do admit that I Still do a lot of the things that I have mentioned above :D :D , but I want to do them more often, actually more more often. :D :D ..!! Cheers..!! 

Childhood Memoirs...An Ode............

I wanted to write something on this topic since a long time...in one of my previous posts i mentioned about my grandparents...but it turned out to be smethng which made me and others who read it sad...mayb it reflected the feelings i was feeling at that time...so i would like to post something which would bring a smile on my face...and on all the faces who would read it...im going to wirte somethings which made me smile...and which i hope would help me feel better when i would not be feeling so nice...

so here goes...an effort to relive some of those sweet childhood memories...an effort to preserve them...

the first thought that comes to my mind when i think of my childhood is my Dadu...ohh the very mention about him makes me smile...i was the first child in my family after a gap of exactly 20 years...the first grandchild...so i was showered with love from my all my family members...i was given various nick names...one from each of my family member...n i was closest to my Dadu...the way his face used to get lit up with a radiant smile when he used to see me...it still lits up my day...i lived with him in the same house during the first few years of my life...he used to love me more than anything else...i remembr a few incidents...

th time i used to return from my school in the afternoon...i used to be famished due to the sweltering heat of ahmedabad...n he used to wait for his 5 year old grandson to return...he would not go for his afternoon nap...he used give me a bath...feed me with his own hands....n i used to jump around the house...on the bed...n he used to see me...smile...n then we used to go off to sleep together...

then there were thos times when we used to go to see the circus...he used to take me...and my mom would be like "beta dont eat ice cream or chocolates..." n wat my dadu wud do is buy me all the chocolates and ice creams that i wanted...and then he used to wipe my face off...clear away the "evidence"... :P ...partners in crime... lol... i recall one particular incident when he took me to an ice cream parlour...n he bought me an ice cream...i ate it joyously..n thn i said..."Dadu ek aur"....n Dadu smiled...he got one more ice cream... n agen i ate it...relishing it... and... wheni was done...he asked me... "Ab chalen ??" ... n i smiled...wickedly... :P ...."Dadu ek aur".... lol...he smiled at me...n got me one more ice cream.... i ate it ...n was finally content... n so was Dadu...it was evident from his smile... :)

n then we movd...my dad got a transfer and we moved...we never "lived" in the same house after that.......

my Dadu n Dadi used to visit us...in Bhavnagar...n in our other house in ahmedabad...they used to get chocolates n biscuits...toys...all th thngs tht bring a joy on a child's face...they used to travel so far...n given their age...im sure it would not have been easy...but i think th joy of seeing their grand children(my kid bro n me) would have been too luring...they used to take us to the market...buy whatevr we used to ask for... my first carrom board...Dadu got it for me...i still have it...we still play... n enjoy...

they used to take us to temples...tell us stories in the night before sleep...teach us to pray...tell us little things...they instilled values in us...my grandparents and my parents...all the members of my joint family...th values which will stay with me all through my life...n help us see the troubled times through...

my Dadi..ohh Dadi...she was such a sweet heart...she had sme health problems...n cudnt walk easily because of her knee...she used to feel so much pain while climbing the stairs...but tht didnt deter her from moving all around the house to prepare sweets and other thngs for us...for all the family members....she was an excellent cook...used to make food that im never going to get to relish ever again...she used to make "Mithai" and so many other thngs and would bring them for us...she used to climb the stairs of the house...we dint have any elevators in the two storeyd building...she used to take half n hour to climb...but used to brave it for us....ohh Dadi....she used to stack up the house with those huge containers...with all the things i used to like...used to pamper us...pamper us big time...those weekends with our grandparents used to the highlight of the week... :)

n thn thr was this time when the house was in a mess...n my granma was a perfectionist...she used to say "agar ghar mein koi aa gaya toh...??? th house shud be in a perfect state at all times...!!" :) ... so the house was in a mess...n she told me to change the bed sheet...i was so annoyed...i said ok...n when she tried to tell me how to do it...i said..."no...i will do it on my own..." n i ended up makin a mess... i looked up at my Dadi...n we broke into a laugh... lol... then she taught me how to do it... perfectly... n to this day...no one can take out a flaw when i spread the bedsheet in my home... all thanks to Dadi...

i dint get to spend as much time with my maternal grandparents...we used to visit Nana n Nani in our summer vaccations...the whole gang of cousins...we have a big family...so the whole house used to get filled up with kids n their momz running behind them... n Nani used to love it...she would cook delicious things for all of us...she would get up early in the morning n extract fresh "Makkhan" using that strange contraption tht she had...n she used to feed that to us...would make sure we ate it...she used to tell us "you have to eat it...how else will you become strong ???!!"

we used to surround her and jump around...she used to sit in the centre...n all th kids used to shout "Meri Nani...Meri Nani....!! " n my cousins used to shout "Meri Dadi...Meri Dadi..." :P lol...

Nanu was soooo sweet...he wouldnt speak much to us...he was ailing n used to live in a separate room...i think he used to fear that he might harm us young kids coz of his ailments...he used to care so much for us...he used to get chocolates n biscuits n wat not....but he wud never give it to us directly...he gave it to Nani...n she used to pass it on.... :) ... he used to get all those things right before the time when we used to leave...to return back to our homes...to ensure that his daughters would not have trouble regarding food....

Tomorrow its the death anniversary of my Nani...2nd of May...Miss you Nani...Miss you all...

In the fond memory of My Grandparents...Love You all...