I have been grossly negligent in posting the blog this time. Please excuse me. It is summer, the boys (and their friends) are home all the time, I am knitting a blanket for the baby and Sachi has joined work half time. In short, life has bulldozed its way into our home. We are overwhelmed by its welcome return and no one is complaining.
Sachi started working from 12:00 to 5:00 PM last week. The first day seemed almost like the kids' first day of school. I walked out the garage, along the side of the truck, and wished him good day multiple times. He smiled back making faces and starting and stopping the truck a few times, joking with me. His staff in the hospital welcomed him with cards and food. His patients were more than glad to have him back. Suraj and Ravi sent him flowers (this he still talks about). After work he drove over to his favourite coffee shop and then came home. I was there to welcome him like a good wife. He looked like he was glowing. The day proved to be a tonic. We spent a pleasant evening and retired early. Next day I thought would be a repeat of the first day. Wrong. He switched into his old self and was already in the hospital while he was getting ready. Bye-s were hurried (I am getting late...!) and a quick photograph for the blog (come on Ambi...!!) and he was gone. He is doing well with half days. He takes a short nap after work and then catches up on the news. Watching Suraj, Ravi and their friends going in and out is our other main activity for the evening. Dinner is simple - Sachi takes some rice and curry with gravy, I take same in regular amount and the boys clean off the rest. Sachi also takes ensure (4 cans in a day) to make up for the needed calories. Peg tube is long forgotten.
Suraj is taking a world geography class and has informed me that he is going to ace it. Ravi took a class in movie critiquing and has already aced it. So the summer is passing in real relaxation. August 13th. Ravi will move back into dorm and put the next phase into gear. Around that time Sachi will start full time work. I will try to remember what I used to do when he worked all the time.
Jyoti is doing fine. She is here for 3 days. Jeff has gone to Chicago so she has decided to come to her maayke. We plan to pamper her while she is with us. Today Suraj and Ravi got their wisdom teeth pulled (which were growing horizontally according to Dr. Macknight). Their mouths are sore and they cannot eat regular food. Khichri, icecream and clam chowder are on the menu. I know at least fifty 'wisdom teeth' jokes but they look so subdued that I have not tried any on them (yet).
Our garden looks as colorful as can be. The kitchen garden is doing good too. We have cucumbers, tomatoes (and more tomatoes), zuchini, bell peppers(simla mirch), hot peppers, water melon and pumpkins. There were radishes too but by the time I checked on them they had matured into old fibrous leathers. Now I am waiting for the pods (moongra) and hope to saute them. The peaches are still small and green. The apples have become sweet but are not red yet. We will wait for them to match the red washington apples in HyVee before harvesting them.
I will try to be more prompt in writing. We eagerly wait and like to read your messages. We specially appreciate you replying even in the absence of new posts. You are our good 'karma'.
Till next time. . . . Ambi.
7 comments:
Dear Sachi & Ambi,
Congratulations to you both 0n resumption of your respective duties. Sachi looks so grand sitting in...who's car. Has he got a new one? Surely he deserved one.
You are growing vegetables like a farmer, planting flowers and fruits like a horticulturist, tending trees like an environmentalist, painting, cooking, provisioning.... how many roles you combine in one body! And what is acing that Suraj and Ravi are achieving in their respective works? Didn't hear the word before. Must mean excellence or first position just as aces are in their respective suites.
Love, Daddy.
Growing pains, persisting aches, happy anticipation and a rosy tomorrow.....
How wonderful it sounds and feels when life bounces back to normalcy, and yet how guilty we are of taking it for granted till Fate jolts us with a rude blow......
Whether we rejoice at good tidings or suffer through painful events, whether it is peals of laughter or tears of agony that we live and die through, whether we soar with happiness or sink in sorrow...... We are all basically playing out our roles on the stage created by Him. Good or bad, evil or divine, ugly or beautiful.....every little moment contributes to the whole. There is nothing random. All things have their own place to complete the gigantic jig-saw puzzle presented to us by our Creator. Sometimes, looking at a landscaped park we appreciate its precise layout and shower words of praise on its designer, but at others, faced by the apparent chaos of a forest with its wild growth and unfathomable mysteries we are confused.....the sacredness of the untouched forest is lost while only that in which the human hand has intervened wins our approval. Instead of allowing our constantly chattering minds to spin the ever increasing web of thought, forming an impenetrable veil between us and reality, if we surrender to His Will and watch ourselves and our fellow beings with total presence and alert silence, without judging or comparing, without associating or divorcing, without dividing or dissecting.....we shall behold in one magical moment the beauty and eternity of the Higher Order.
You both have traversed the Circle of Life in a manner that puts you far ahead of the rest of us. You have neither lost your humility when crowned with success, nor crumbled to pieces when faced with adversity. With serene acceptance and total surrender, with your heads held high and humble, with your focus on every passing moment and act remaining single-minded, you both have celebrated the journey through the myriad labyrinth of life from success to success......from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. And that is the mark of true greatness.......
Love and Pranams.
Babi
My dear good-old brother and nuabou,
Pranam."He that heareth these sayings and doeth them is like unto a man who built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the wind blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock.” When your life is built upon obedience to God and upon doing His will as you understand it you will be steadfast and unmovable even in the midst of storms.(Meditation June 12 th) When the rain and floods (Alcoholism) came or the wind and storm (cancer) blew, your house (life and life style) did not fall for it was founded upon rock (God).
The unfolding of events in the last six months has proved the above statements without a doubt. God had prepared you so well for the coming storm and your surrender to His will was so complete that the terrible ordeal you had to go through seemed like a gentle boat ride across a still lake. The rain and the wind blew but you were protected so well that it was like anaesthesia.God’s love is like that; you have to go through the motions but the pain and suffering does not reach your soul.
It was a great relief to know that the first check-up at Mayo was completely OK. By His grace the rest of the check-ups will also go well. The important thing is that you are prepared for the unexpected and ready to accept His will, whatever that may be. We, all your siblings in the East celebrated each and every victory you won on your way: starting from ringing the Bell of Hope, the home-coming, the starting of eating by mouth (coffee and cake)to driving your car, going out alone and finally successfully joining work & getting back to your old self on the second day itself, according to nuabou.
Here is wishing you a happy marriage anniversary(though late)and our envy at seeing you celebrate it with colors. It has been ages since we played Holi together although the last time you were here that festival did come and go. God has given you a bonus in addition to your successfully completing the course of treatment, in the form of a grand child on its way. The thought will keep you occupied in sweet anticipation as you go about regaining all the activities of your life where you had left off.
Hopefully you will get back to work full time some time this month. But please take it easy and do not force things. You have your whole life to do as you please, but for the time being take your own sweet time doing your job and do not neglect your health. This is the only request of your siblings from back East.
Here is a thought from your meditation book for June 2nd :
You cannot believe in God and keep your selfish ways. The old self shrivels up and dies, and upon the re-born soul God’s image becomes stamped. The gradual elimination of selfishness in the growth of love for God and your fellow human beings is the goal of life. At first, you have only a faint likeness to the Divine, but the picture grows and takes on more and more of the likeness of God until those who see you can see in you some of the power of God’s grace at work in a human life.
We all have seen this in you and pray that it increases day by day till your life becomes totally bathed in His grace and you become pure and perfect.
With pranam, Your loving
Subu and sudha.
DEAREST SANABHAI N MY ANGEL BHABI,
CONGRATS, CONGRATS, CONGRATS!How
wonderful it is to think that my dear bhaiya has finally joined his
usual regular work. WOW! keep it up ,brother!
Bhaiya,your self surrender and confidence in the ALMIGHTY
has helped you to come out from darkness to light, in flying colors
.you r so very stable in your place, dear brother...its just beyond words
n is unimaginable...i just can't believe, that through out these days of
pain, suffering n agony...you never did a ooff, or complain, or get
irritated on HIM...which usually one does...what one says...'WHY GOD WHY
ITS ME, THAT YOU ARE GIVING SO MUCH PAIN N GRIEF, ETC ETC....But look here
you r just unbeatable...Can anyone beat you? no not at all...HOW did
you get so much of strength , Bhaiya???WE all are so, so proud of you,
our dearest great brother...I just wonder...how could so much of change
in you could come in so less time!!!!MIRACLE...they do happen...and it
has happened in my brother's case...
BHAIJAAN,you have really achieved something very
very great...which sages try for ages to achieve..YOU have made it, my
dear brother...when i think of it ,tears of joy well up in my eyes.
I have learnt soooo much from you, still learning...
You r just like a wonderful book...one goes on reading n learning new
things everyday in every page of your life. Hat's off ,to you bhaiya!
my angel bhabi, see, what your magic wand has done to your
hubby n to the whole family!!!Everything has changed...See how the
atmosphere of the house has become...full of fresh, happy n cheerful
thoughts...everyone smiling...looking ahead for a new arrival. ON one
handBHAIYA getting normal n on the other, hope of seeing the new
member very soon...WONDERFUL!KEEP IT UP! BHABI...
LOTS N LOTS OF LOVE, BEST WISHES,N PRANAM TO U BOTH
LOVE SINI N SANJU
A EULOGY TO AN ERA....
Childhood memories....millions of beautiful moments.....countless memorable events. Kites flying high in the open skies.....Festivals unfolding in vibrant colors.....spirits soaring in the joy of togetherness.... Vacations spent in Puri, enjoying the majestic sands of its wild shoreline.....Going on picnics to exotic places and savoring delicious treats .... Chocolates and Cookies, Ice-creams and snacks....Life was almost like one unbroken journey from fun-filled times to fulfilled dreams. The face of Gana Mausa is enough to recall all those marvelous memories. Wrenched by the unpredictable jaws of fate in a sudden blow of unforeseen mortality, Gana Mausa, our beloved Uncle of a thousand years, departed from our midst to the upper echelons of Divinity last week. Age is not the only determining factor in assessing the value of one's life. It is not the years alone that constitute the length of your life....it is rather the life in those years...more importantly it is not the number of breaths that measure your life..it is rather the number of moments that take your breath away... And there have been many such wonderful moments in the company of Gana Mausa, Snehamai Mausi and their entire family. To me personally they have gifted the first and oldest friend of my life: Pinu. We grew up together, laughed and cried in unison as we graduated from childish pranks to matured stupidities, from quarrels and rifts to friendship and understanding, from the youngest brats in our respective families (which we still enjoy being) to grown-up individuals of responsibility, fathering the next generation with care and conscience.......but always keeping the child in our hearts alive with innocence and wonder. They also bestowed upon us a brother of indomitable will and courage, treasuring a heart of gold, under whose watchful eye India's borders had been safe and secure and continues to be so under the protection of his fellow-forces of security: Sanju Bhai. The synergy among the members of both our families was a win-win scenario of envy and emulation by other units of contemporary times.....
Gana Mausa, the Giant of a man may have left us, but his Spirit which is immortal and eternal shall always be with us, guiding our unsure ways through life and showering his blessings of love on one and all.....We shall always reminisce with nostalgia, the familiar sight of two friends of several decades, sitting across each other, forming rare words on an aging board of scrabble and silently pondering on the next winning formation for hours on end, prodded ahead by endless cups of tea and intermittent chatter. Probably Gana Mausa has answered the call from the Kingdom of Heaven to continue the unfinished game with his dearest friend and our beloved Captain: Baba.
I shall conclude my eulogy with a quote that retains its moving touch in spite of its repeated use:
“He who lives in the hearts he leaves behind, never dies.”
Pranams and Prayers
Babi
On Raksha Bandhan...
A thread of love... "raksha" to help "bandhan" a bond. Although deep-rooted in our rich religious heritage, two historical counts stand out to evidence the powerful gesture embedded in this age-old tradition. A queen, Rani Karnavati, when threatened by Bahadur Shah's invasion of her kindgom, sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayan who abandoned a military campaign to ride to her rescue. A similar story has been recounted during Alexander the Great's invasion of a small kingdom in India whose queen tied a rakhi to Alexander to forgo the invasion and spare the lives of her king and his people.
If great kings and emperors can abandon their ambitious campaigns to respect a gentle gesture of love, then we truly are capable as brothers of greater feats in the protection and well-being of our sisters. So I wish you the happiest raksha bandhan. May He in His eternal wisdom guide my hand in your service whenever you choose to call upon the bond you strengthen with each rakhi you tie upon my wrist. I pray for your health, happiness, and well-being always.
Love
Naren
I'm back with a vengeance. I have been out for the count so-to-speak getting used to my year as a sub-intern and let me tell you, it has been truly INCREDIBLE! But more on that later. First...
To Seema Apa and Sandeep Bhai:
I landed in Boston for my first rotation as a sub-I early in July. I was to work in Pediatric Cardiology at Harvard's Children Hospital, i.e. Boston Children's. To say the least, I was scare, not knowing if I would be able to keep up with the intellectual pace of an institute as renowned as Harvard.
I was greeted however with smiles, embraces, and kisses (by Anamika). Bhai and Apa settled me in, tremendously easing my transition into a new environment that would prove to be demanding and challening. I, thus, spent 4 wonderful weeks at Boston. I looked forward to my weekends most, knowing that scrumptuous meals, delectable sweets, and hours of giggles/hugs/kisses awaited me. We dined on Chinese bot-pot, Chinese BBQ, Chinese noodles, Chinese wings - seems they have a strong affinity for Chinese cooking. Over one weekend, we watched whales breach the waters of the Atlantic. We even rode the Charles River and experienced Boston Square. It was a vacation more than a rotation, work hard during the week, play harder during the weekends. But most of all, I will not forget Seema Apa's cooking! Nandini Apa, she has inherited strong genes. Everything from thai to stir-fry to Indian mutton curry - mm-mmmmm!
I didn't have the chance to spend as much time with Sallas and he was thoroughly missed. I've gotten quite used to playing him in chess and scrabble while Anamika watches. I did however enjoy a lot of fun and games with Anamika. Her energy was phenomenal and her demeanor equally pleasurable. She was perpetually smiling, playing, laughing - and a child's giggle feels like the dawn of a new sun.
What can I say? My 4th year is off to a beautiful start thanks to Seema Apa and Sandeep Bhai.
Love
Naren
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