Santa comes calling much before Christmas!

Its difficult to justify thoughts. It is difficult to understand certain things and why they happen? It is difficult to be patient for a long period of time and then realise that the patience is still there but the terms have changed. It is difficult to make peace with the feeling that it is alright to be honest and genuine all the way. It is difficult to keep on wondering about fateful incidents and why they prick so much. It is difficult to contemplate why certain people 'just give you ideas' like none before and then laugh all the way. 

Photo: Jayashree

It is difficult to accept change and certainly when it comes calling in an unexpected way. I never thought an evening could really make me think differently than the way I have thought for the last few years. Laughter is a gift and a good company certainly provides it in abundance. It does not mean, my wait has ended, it means that I know a person who can tell me what to think and why to think in a certain way and let me stay, like me.

It is difficult to have people who read your mind everytime and I am thankful to have some around me these days. It just tells you how much you have held back from the fear of non-acceptance, non-acknowledgement and what not. It is difficult to find people who match your so-called wavelength and your way of thinking, or atleast seem to try and understand. Yes, weird ideas do not easily find acceptance but then I have always loved fairytales not for the fact that they were simply beautiful romantics but for the way of imagination and narration. 

Photo: Jayashree, Chandigarh, December, 2011

There are so many things that we find in common over a long period of time but there are these unbeatable equations that just happen. There is nothing to hide about it, but it still is a treasure to have. 

Photo: Jayashree, Chandigarh, December, 2011

To this Christmas, I wish to declare that I found myself a Santa. Infact, we found each other. A Santa who is there to spread happiness. A Santa who is there to tell you how to move on in life. A Santa who is a simple person at heart. A Santa who knocked on my door much before Christmas and has given me reasons to cheer for the times to come. 

A Santa who talks less and in monosyllables and so is an 'intellectual'. 

A Santa who has always been a fighter and so remains the 'hero'. 

A Santa who loves to vanish like Mr. India (Anil Kapoor starrer 1987 Bollywood movie). A Santa who is so down to earth in the times that are hard. A Santa who shall and will remain close to heart, even if the Santa moves to a new home, new town and a new land. 

Merry Christmas! Let all of you get such crazy, fun, likeable and wonderful Santas. 

P.S: My Santa has been working so hard that he forgot to eat and now has reduced so much! 

So, starting this Christmas, Santa, you need to have cheese and stuffed sandwiches and tea.

December saga: In between 'Coffee and contemplation'

While waiting for a cup of coffee in a quiet corner of a cafe on a very close friend's birthday party, you come to realize how funnily and quickly time flies away. Decembers always give you a sense of closure to what the year has given as well as taken from you. 

There are no enough answers for both and that is where the charm of time lies. A year before, I was waiting for my graduation hat and looking forward to welcoming 2013 on a note of achieving greater heights, not just professionally but personally as well. While, the fact of having graduated was yet to sink in, time had already come to fill in application forms for higher studies. Six months into 2013, I was cribbing about how I should not have opted for further studies, and contemplating on how I could have consequently saved myself from a lot of unwanted stress. 

Photo: Priya Baid

2013 became a year synonymous with meeting different kinds of people, making new friends and losing touch with many others and yet it gave a lot more than it took away. Indeed, it was upsetting to not have some people around or to see good friends going away from each other but it was equally enriching to learn the circumstances that made these difficult decisions, a part of the learning process.

If the year was harsh in its treatment in some ways, it was kind in many others. If the year was full of troubles, it was full of fun moments and moments of togetherness with loved ones. If the year was a mirror of understanding patience, it was also reflective of how that same patience has limits. If the year was a testimony to pushing oneself beyond capabilities, it was also a reminder of how fate plays a tremendous role. If the year was a roller-coaster ride, it was a ride worth remembering. If the year was full of expectations, it gave the courage to live with disappointments. If the year was full of useless banter, it gave a lesson on how to deal with one's inner thoughts and emotions. If the year was full of mind boggling activities, it gave some tears and moments for silent contemplation. This, being one of them. 

Photo: www.google.com

Meanwhile, my friends tease me on the silence that envelops 'in between'. This, 'in between' moment just adds on to the numerous others that have come, stayed and left me with several invaluable realizations. Among these realizations, I realize the air envelops in the smell of my cold coffee. I get back to my friends and the coffee, in the hope that these reflective 'in betweens' remain, December or no December!