Music: Melodies of my days.

I sing out of tune, and I cannot play any musical instrument, but listening to music always makes me happy.

Growing up, listening to the daily request programme broadcast by the Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) Broadcasting Corporation was mandatory. I vividly remember the singing classes at school, in both English and Hindi, the Chaayageet on television, and the Binaca Geet Mala on the radio. MTV and Channel V were two channels I often tuned into.

Adolescence saw me enjoying the then-current favourites in Hindi and English, buying cassettes by the dozen, and shaking a leg when nobody was looking. CDs came later, and I remember my sons, now in their twenties, using them.

Now, it's music I turn to when I’m stressed and when I’m cooking. Music helps me cook up that storm in the kitchen, because cooking isn't one of my favourite activities.

My dad was musically inclined—he loved to sing, and now that I’m married into a musical family, every day is ‘music day.'

My son and husband have studied Western classical music and are pianists. I enjoy listening to Pop music. I like listening to gentle Jazz too. The Girl from Ipanema is one such Jazz song that puts a spring in my step.

ABBA, Vengaboys, Michael Learns to Rock, Big Mountain, and The Pussycats are among my favourite bands. The Games People Play by Inner Circle and That Peaceful Easy Feeling by the Eagles, Perfect by Ed Sheeran, You Raise Me by Josh Groban, and Beautiful in Your Eyes by Joshua Kadison are some of my hot favourites, and I never tire of listening to them. This post would be incomplete if I didn’t mention Usha Uttup.Being an oldie –goldie, I also love listening to catchy and soul stirring oldies sung by oldies like Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Jim Reeves and Neil Diamond. Jerusalema sends my spirits soaring.

I know not much about Ghazals or Hindustani classical music, but I enjoy a few Bollywood hits like Kabhi Kabhi, Chu kar mere mann ko, Yeh Ajeeb Dastan Hai, and Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chodenge.

Among the spirituals and hymns, One Day at a Time, Precious Lord, Abide with Me, God of the Mountain, and What a Friend help me during tough times.

Music is inclusive. It goes beyond the barriers of colour and gender and there’s music for every kind of mood and any kind of situation that you may find yourself in, so happy listening! 

image credit: Freepik

This post is my entry to the weekly Blogchatterbloghop challenge

Happy Birthday Blogchatter

 Happy Birthday Blogchatter

 

Blogchatter is one of the best things to happen to a writer. It’s a user-friendly platform with lots to do. Opportunities to read, write, learn, and be educated and informed are galore.

I joined Blogchatter about 4 to 5 years ago after hearing about it on SHEROES. I’ve been writing, reading, and sharing posts on Blogchatter ever since. It welcomes the young and old alike. 

My biggest moment on Blogchatter was when I received the Top Post badge for my very first post.

There are these five lovely ladies who keep the platform running and our grey cells ticking 24/7. They are also  never too busy to clear a doubt or make a clarification.

Blogchatter hosts activities for both readers and writers—the weekly blog prompt challenge, Write A Page A Day; the Half Marathon, A to Z challenge and TBR challenges, to name a few.

I have participated in several of these challenges, and what makes them even more exciting is the redeemable reward points I earn for participating or winning.

I have yet to attend an offline retreat, but I enjoyed being part of a local offline Blogchatter community gathering.

Being part of Blogchatter has proven to be an awesome journey, and I wish the A-team and community members a long life at Blogchatter. 

The This and That of Colours

  We are surrounded by color—in the beauty of nature, in the ugliness of war, in the clothes we wear, in the décor of our homes, in photograph albums, and just about everywhere. 

We do not live our lives in black and white but in varied colours that life unfolds in. 

Science and psychology both hold the view that colours are an integral part of our lives and influence everything we do or feel.

Colour psychology is the study of how colours affect human behaviour. It’s that burst of orange, splash of blue, stroke of red, and the other colours in the rainbow that add that zest to our lives.

A depressing day may be associated with grey or black; red symbolises your passion and energy, while blue creates an aura of calm and tranquillity, not forgetting that blue is also associated with sadness and a style of music called “the blues.”

 

Can you communicate with colors?

Colours silently communicate moods and emotions and are a reflection of your temperament. Be it our clothes, art, home decor or digital spaces, the colours we use are reflections of what we like, dislike,  and our temperaments

As a child, I veered towards muted shades. I hated bright tones. Gradually, I was drawn to bolder hues, and my current favourite is a vibrant green. My son went through a phase when he loved only one colour: purple. Mom hated pink and swore by blue. Dad was a ‘Khaki’ man.

I have a colour fetish. I remember asking my husband what colour of car he planned to buy before asking him any more important questions about the purchase. The same goes for the rotary phone. The colour was my priority. To my delight, my husband has recently bought himself a red keyboard.

 

American businessman Allen Klein once said:

“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that colour your world. Constantly colour your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colours to the picture by including humour, and your picture lightens up.’’

 

Life continues to add colour to our palettes, some bright and cheery, others dark or muted, but every colour goes into the creation of our messy, imperfect, but beautiful journey of life. 

What was your favourite colour

as a child? Has it changed? 

This post is my entry to the weekly BlogchatterBloghop challenge. 

Image credit: my personal picture (Chiuli glass museum , Seattle)

The Song Of Our Bond - Book Review

 The Song of Our Bond—Book Review

 

Book Title: The Song of Our Bond

Author: Pinki Bakshi

Number of Pages: 100

Publisher: ukiyoto

 

 

The Song of Our Bond, a 100-page novella written by Pinki Bakshi, is a poignant tale of childhood friendship, love, resilience and relationships.

The story is set in the 1970s in Eastern India. The tale centres on 9-year-old Bengali Meena and 10-year-old Oriya Kasturi.

Meena’s family moves to Khurda Road in Orissa from Kolkata, and it's there that she meets Kasturi. Kasturi helps Meena navigate the unfamiliarity of her new home. The girls strike up a friendship as solid as a rock. Does the friendship remain rock solid?

Soon, circumstances force them apart when Kasturi and her family move to America. Both girls are heartbroken. Kasturi leaves behind a teddy bear for Meena, whom they call Kassy.

Meena finds solace in Kassy. She whispers her doubts, fears, and insecurities to Kassy. The girls continue to remain in touch through letters. Personally, I belong to a generation that grew up writing letters and loved it.

Communal riots over a silly issue flare up in Khurda Road. The residents, including little Meena, are deeply disturbed, and somewhere along the way, the girls stop writing letters to each other, though each fondly remembers the other.

Spanning decades, life happens, and the girls grow up. Will they meet again? Will it be like old times? A true friendship will survive the test of distance and time.

If you're looking for an easy, quick, and impactful read, this is it. Pinki explores the various themes with simplicity and honesty. It's a hurrah! If you still share an unbreakable bond with a childhood friend. The book doesn’t shout for attention; you’re simply drawn into a moving story with themes that resonate with you.

The book is available on Amazon.

What Does My Browser History Say About Me?

Thirty to forty years ago, we read advertisements or watched advertisements on television about products we wished to purchase.

We flipped through encyclopedias, atlases, and dictionaries for knowledge and information. The internet and cell phones had not yet entered our lives. 

When the internet and cell phones took over our lives, the story of all our lives changed dramatically. We typed furiously into our browsers, searching for anything and everything. Our browsers reveal our curiosities, our anxieties, our dreams and hobbies. 

I remember cutting pictures and newspaper tidbits for school projects. 

For my sons’ projects and assignments, I quickly logged into Google, typed my queries and searches in the search box, and helped myself to whatever relevant information Google provided.

As time passed, the boys learned to work on their own. Today, there isn't a single child who doesn't know how to work on a computer or cell phone.

Down the years, my quest for knowledge or information on topics that include beauty, recipes, geographical information, health, and even idle celebrity gossip will be sighted in my browser. 

I don't look up medicine all that much because, frankly speaking, Dr Google scares the hell out of me.

Shopping on the internet means looking for the best bargains, and boy! I'm spoilt for choice, ending up more confused than ever.

My browser history will also reveal that I search for writing prompts, gardening tips, travel deals, the meaning of words, and book recommendations.

It's an ongoing process—there's always some information to gather, whether gardening tips, restaurant reviews, or even the lyrics of a song.

Books will always be there, and some of us still swear that books are still the most trusted source of knowledge and information. Some find it easier to type something into the search box or browser and explore the vast sea of information available.

As long as the internet thrives, our browsers will always have history.

What is the funniest or strangest thing your browser would reveal about you? 

#WAPAD #Blogchatter

 

What Does Peace Look Like To You?

 

It feels rather strange to be writing about peace when the world is so fractured and disturbed.

Every human being craves peace and strives to be at peace. Peace is often spoken of as the absence of conflict or noise, but to me it is something deeper, something more profound, a feeling that I wish to experience within me.

 

My personal peace comes from:

·        Completing a task that has been on my to-do list forever.

·        Conducting a difficult conversation and seeing it through better than I expected.

·        The acceptance of a situation or circumstance, and relinquishing control over it.

·        Savouring the quiet of the early morning with the right sounds around me—birdsong, the hum of the kettle, or even raindrops falling gently on a windowpane.

·        When I’m not overwhelmed by anxiety and my thoughts are rational and I can take one day at a time, I’m at peace.

 

What does peace look like?

 

Peace in daily life:

Peace is the laughter of children, the quiet strum of a guitar, a lullaby, basking in the winter sunshine, and the comfort of being myself.

Peace in relationships:

It’s when I can trust people and speak freely without the fear of being judged that I find peace. Peace is about embracing differences and coexisting without animosity. When I quit trying to make an impression to be likeable while accepting that it's okay not to be everyone’s cup of tea, I

find peace.

 

Peace in the world:

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.’’

-Mahatma Gandhi.

When nations choose dialogue over destruction and communication with respect, dignity, and compassion, peace reigns in the world.

 

Peace of mind:

My physical health is directly in sync with my mental health. When my thoughts are not racing and when anxiety doesn’t paralyze my functioning, I’m at peace.

 

My Takeaways:

Ultimately, peace looks like something I would allow to happen by clearing away the clutter and noise and the ‘what if’ and ‘what next’.

 

“Peace is a daily, a weekly and a monthly process gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”

 - John F. Kennedy

What does peace look like to you?

This post is part of the Blogchatter#WAPAD challenge

 

What Does Success Look Like To You On An Ordinary Day?

 

 

Success is generally measured by wealth amassed, milestones achieved, promotions, and trophies won.

Success on an ordinary day encompasses none of the above. It’s accomplishing the small, mundane tasks or routines that I have laid out for myself or experiencing small wins and joys. It is not loud and shiny but quiet and soft.

For me, success on an ordinary day would look like not hitting the snooze button or even waking up refreshed before the alarm goes off, all ready to take on the day. It would see me incorporating more movement into my day, getting some sunshine, pausing to savour that morning cuppa and going along with the flow of the day.

Success would be the way I choose to respond, rather than react to difficult situations and people. –That cheerful conversation with a friend that leaves me smiling is another kind of success.

When at the end of the day, I still have energy left to read a few pages or whisper a few words of prayer, I call it success.

Hence, success on an ordinary day is a far cry from what success is otherwise associated with. It’s balance, connection, joy, progress, and small wins. It’s about a life well lived.

 

This post is part of the Blogchatter #WAPAD challenge. 

Image credit : Pixabay.