Wordsmith at work

Three birthdays and too much cake in one week.The significant other turned 61(age is just a number, you say), there was a milestone birthday with the firstborn turning 21and it was the lucky and last teenage birthday of the junior sweet tooth .   The milestone birthday made me realise that there is now technically one more adult at home. What's in store for me? I wonder.Three males - A twenty-one-year-old, a 19-year-old and a 61-year-old(read 16)I find myself pitted against 3 males!! One day at a time sweet Jesus!   Death and destruction have marked the recent past. Innocent lives claimed by cowards. Will justice prevail? Will the criminals be brought to book?  An outspoken journalist and activist is gunned down because she spoke her mind, a seven-year-old is brutally murdered because he fought his perverted assailant and a talented pianist allegedly jumps to his death . How more gruesome does it get? How many more precious lives wil...

Son, This is a milestone birthday and you are twenty-one. from a baby with colic to a man of music, The journey has sure been an exciting one. Your childish chatter on tape is but a precious keepsake, The years have flown; you, child have grown, A man soon to come into his own.  It was touch and go, but today you have so much to show.  Life is sometimes an  uphill climb, just continue to smile, be gentle and kind May happiness and good luck come knocking at your door. May the good lord be with you wherever you go! You came to us a good 40 days early. It seemed that you were not going to be with us for long - Nana said that you looked like a tiny black rat, with zero chances of survival but it has been 21 years and you are alive and kicking! There were many, many moments of anxiety and fear but you little man, put up a brave fight and today we raise a toast to 21 years of 'awesome'.  A powerhouse of talent you have excelled in almost every fi...

T he city is back on its feet after the deluge last week. Water logging, flooding and a few untimely deaths because of negligence marked August 29th2017.  Mumbaikars relived July 2005 on August 29th 2017. The richest municipal corporation in India received the thrashing of its life from all quarters for its apathy towards the citizens and shoddy maintenance of infrastructure.Every time a deluge happens Mumbaikars experience a sense of Deja vu. Will the corporation ever learn or ever care?   As always, in these difficult times, the 'good -samaritan' spirit of the Mumbaikars comes to the fore. The numerous shelters that mushroomed were amazing and there have been testimonies to the same.   On one hand, we hail the famed Mumbaikar spirit which the municipal corporation seems to have taken for granted and on the other hand if  Mumbaikars practised a little more civic sense the city may not find itself in these h...