To My Darling Samarth, with oodles of Love

[Samarth to me] : Umeeya? Don't cry ... peesh don't cry !
Samarth is my joyous little angelic 30 month old toddler son. He pronounces my name as Umeeya, and he said the above sentence to me last night when I was pretending to cry because he'd jumped over my back and hurt me.

19th October 2006. One of the most defining days in the 24 years of my existence on this planet, when the birth of my little boy totally changed my perspectives in life. From a carefree little klutz who lived in her own little world; I was now a MOM !! To this day, there's no predicting what stunts he's going to try next or what's the new word he's going to say [his vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds by the day]. As much as it may frustrate me at times; one sweet smile from him and I totally give in. Yes, he rules !

Let me now share with you the beautiful little poem that I penned on 11th November 2006 when my angelic Samarth was less than a month old. It was in the early hours of the afternoon sun while watching him fall asleep in my embrace; that I decided to pour it all out.

Your tender fingers envelope mine,
The first rays of sunshine, glow in your enchanting smile

Your breath so sweet, it feels warm against my skin
Nestled between my arms
You mean the world to me.

I cannot love you enough
Cannot satiate my heart with a glimpse of your face
Every breath that you take, fills my soul with a renewed passion

Tender feet, that patter against my chest
You watch me, arms outstretched
Asking for love, your eyes in a delicate quest

Watching you fall asleep, my heart fills with an unending love
A miracle, my angel
Sent by the Lord above

I want to write a little note to Samarth:
Every woman dreams of a cute little baby they can call their own and you are ALL mine. You know what? Sometimes I wish you'd never grow up. That you'd always be this little guy clutching his Amma's hand and wanting to be helped around. But; it's the circle of life and the rule of the universe. You'll soon be 3, begin to go to preschool and place your little hands in the books of education. Every single moment I spend with you, I'm filled with delight and unending love. I'm hoping you will read this as you get older and I hope I can be a continual source of inspiration to you; as my parents were to me. I want to treasure you, cherish every second we spend together and keep recording it for posterity.



Thank you Samarth, for being in my life.

Married to a Stranger

Married for 30 years and sitting amidst a cosy gathering which included their children and grandchildren; Padma thought she was truly and astutely blessed. How she wished Hari was also here today with her; how she hoped they'd be able to exchange their silent glances as they always did.

Feb 4th 2009. A warm tear slid down her cheek as she recalled the horrid day two months ago when a sudden cardiac arrest took him away and they'd not as much had a moment to say their farewells to each other. Before retiring to bed the previous night, they'd barely exchanged a hug when the pain had come. Tearing and rushing through the very core of his insides; it had snatched him away in minutes. Final and undeterred, time waited for noone.

Naaaaaaaani? Naaaaani !!!!! ; screamed little Asha, all of 3 years. She wanted her grandma to see her newly stacked blocks that she'd arranged all by herself. Patting the little one on her back, Padma continued on to the room which she'd shared with her beloved Hari-ji. She was feeling particularly lonely this afternoon and pulled out the only one diary that comforted her in such moments.

Turning to the last page, she stared hard at the browning paper cutout. It read:

R. HARIPRASAD

1949-1979

My Baseball-Design Kolam :D Isn't that Innovative?

Recipe for my microwavable brownies :) [Courtesy: Sanjeev Kapoor's Microwave Cookbook]

Ingredients:
100 gm cooking chocolate
100 gm butter
1 cup maida [all purpose flour] + 1 tsp of baking powder. mix the maida+bkg powder and set aside.
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 small bowl of finely chopped nuts [i used almonds, u can use pecans or walnuts also]
Method:
Grease a microwave deep dish completely [including sides] and set aside. Melt the chocolate and the butter together in a microwavable glass bowl on HIGH for 2 mins. Whisk it together nicely with the castor sugar [the trick is to add the sugar in parts]. Break the eggs and whisk it into this mixture. Add the nuts at this stage.Now mix in the maida+baking powder which you have set aside. Combine it in parts and not put it all together. By now you probably have a gooey chocolatey mixture. Fold this into the greased microwave deep dish. Place a saucer [tea cup saucer] upside down on the microwave turn-table.
Place the deep dish over this and microwave on HIGH for 7 mins. The mixture will nicely rise and release the warm baking aromas :P
Remove and let it cool at room temperature for abt 10 mins. cut into squares and serve [preferably with vanilla icecream :P]

IMPORTANT: No matter what don't ever refrigerate the brownies as they'll turn stone hard and not soften even if you microwave them later.