deponti

The path lies ahead, intriguing, interesting...unknown.

So far, the journey has been successful, and one of happiness for the main part.






Here's wishing shortindiangirl that her journey continues, with good health, happiness, and peace of mind....

To a dear friend who's taken the rough with the smooth....





Oh, I do like the way the morning light falls...it's a palpable blessing from the sun!

That's on Lindell Boulevard, which faces Forest Park.

I suddenly decided, if I could make "kOlams" for our festivals, why not one for Independence Day?

I was walking along Delmar Loop when I saw a street artist with some chalk. I didn't like his work at all, but paid him a few dollars for his trouble, and then bought two chalk crayons from him. One was yellowish-white and one was blue on one side and pinkish red on the other: I knew I had the material to create my own 4th of July kOlam:




That shadow is me, documenting my own work! Sorry, I could do only 9 stars, the other 41 will have to be imagined!


Happy Independence Day, all you Americans. And one day in advance, happy birthday to idahoswede, who is off on a boating trip having a great time!

I'll get the toes soon....

I love and admire my daughter; she went through unimaginable pain, both during,before, and after the birth....she's had to stay extra time in the hospital as a result.

If men had to have babies, we'd have got it down to something like fishing by now...pleasurable, relaxed and painless...

Here are DnA, along with my little GD (She Who Is Yet To Be Named):





That's DnA, with their DNA passed on to the next generation....and it's really Eli's "birth" day. (All the others will be birth anniversaries, actually.)

I am petrified of writing something that will not meet with A's wishes! :)

The hospital is very accomodative of families; both KM and I have spent the entire day here and will return home only after dinner; we will have a good night's sleep, and get back to the hospital tomorrow after the day's chores are finished.

Only A's food (as the "patient") would be free, we'd have to pay for our food, we realized...and we didn't know what the food would taste like, so we packed our lunches yesterday....KM and I, being good TamBrams, each took along a 6 inch Sub.. and our white American son-in-law...packed curds and rice and mango pickle, and beans sabji!

In the event, the food in the cafeteria is pretty good...I liked the salad and the soup, and KM had a chicken sandwich and salad, too.

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My room no. when I had A was 315; A's room no. when she's had her daughter (it's most probably going to be Lalitha, but there's still a little doubt) is...351.

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There's wifi in the hospital, so naturally, it doesn't work in the room, and I am sitting outside in the corridor typing this and getting the nurses to do something about the fact that we can't get the internet on the other side of the door!

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Hundreds of messages are pouring in, sharing our joy; at least on LJ...each of you, do take this as my personal thank you....we are all exhausted, and getting to write individual thanks is, I think, going to be impossible.


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ALL newborns usually look like Wrinkled Prune Martians. So I am still surprised to see that TLO (The Little One) or GD is quite a chubby creature, and ACTUALLY looks like a baby! 3.5 kg is quite a birth weight.

She does NOT have a teeny-weeny little voice, either. She yells! There is NO doubt about when she is not happy! She has existed in the outside world for about 6 hours now, and my goodness, there is NOTHING wrong with her lungs. She's already tried hard to fasten her goldfishy mouth on various parts of my jacket arm....until she went to her mother.

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I call her "eli"...or "mouse" in Tamizh, as A wanted to call her Ellora (meaning,cloud) and at that time, the baby-in-the-tum WAS the size of a mouse, too!

And what an appropriate nickname for a baby born in the time of the Internet! She's been Eli to me for quite a while now, so the nickname comes naturally to my lips as I talk to her and croon at her.


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Because the birthing room had internet access, and because of Skype, D's parents (in Maine) and N (in Chennai) were able to see Eli immediately...I cannot stop marvelling at the wonders of technology.

D has downloaded the pictures we took, and will be sending them when he can...but WHEN we get internet inside!


Off now to go inside...let's hope they get someone to sort out the internet problem....


She's got a nice cap of dark..perhaps black...hair. LARGE eyes. The right number of everything outside, and inside, I hope.

I want her to read this one day....

At precisely 9.00 AM (central time) on 29 April,2009, DnA's little daughter came into the world naturally. She is 20 inches tall and weights 7.124 lbs (3.14 kgs.). Mother and daughter are doing fine. Baby has a LOUD voice. :)

D's parents and A's aunt were able to see the baby, parents, and grandparents due to Skype video!

Happy Birthday...and may you have many more happy ones...

To Y, of Y!, who is, today, probably at Y (Yosemite).....





And of course, happy birthday to William Shakespeare as well! :)...and my Sambandhi, D's mother, LS, too. Now, that's an amazing lady if you like...she was a math major in college, and after her sons were born, went back to college to study architecture, and qualified in a tough 9-part exam to get her licence to practice in Maine! I think my daughter's very lucky to have found such a great family.


I am awaiting two deliveries...one, of the GD, and two, of the NMLC (New MLC)....neither seems to be in a hurry to arrive...so there is a sense of "What on earth am I doing here?" and I spent a little time playing around with editing and text on Photobucket!

The visit to the gynaecologist took practically the entire day...I was joking that since A had spent so long in the hospital, she might as well have the baby and come back.

Here's Mr KM, with the monkey balloon that I bought him (for various obscure reasons)....





I have no clue how he *really* looks, because I still see the 28.5-year-old whom I married...let's see...32.5 years ago!

Oh, by the way...the monkey is on the right.


And no, the S3 MLC is NOT back yet...this is the 20D with the 50mm lens...I miss my MLC SOOOO much!

Happy Birthday to anushsh!

Someone on a mailing list I belong to sent me this, it's just TOOOOOOO good to be missed



http://www.urlesque.com/2008/07/07/jackie-stallone-will-not-butt-out/


At the front gate of Russell Market in Shivaji Nagar, as we began our walk, were several posters announcing that various notables were celebrating the birthday of Tipu Sultan ...but what took my fancy was this poster:






Few people could claim to have the "original photo" of one of the great rulers of the Deccan (which is a corruption of the word "Dakshin", meaning "South").

So...preserve that historic photograph folks, the first one ever taken, before the camera was invented!


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Happy Birthday to cyberscorpion.




Wishing him health, happiness, and peace of mind, as he lives far away from his native land. He has been a great friend to me in terms of photography, Tamizh, and general goodness of heart!

All the best, Sil, needoozhi vazhga endru vENdugirEn...

Though you're halfway around the world,
Where your life and love unfurled...
Though I think of you each day,
Today's a day to specially say....






It's the last few minutes of the date of your birth here, but for you it's still afternoon, and the sun is shining....think of all the great things you are blessed with, and have a happy time!




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Happy Birthday to shortindiangirl


And here's a very enjoyable forward I got:


Six Truths Of Life...


1. You cannot touch all your teeth with your tongue...

2. All idiots, after reading the first truth, will try it...

3. And discover that the first truth is a lie...

4. You're smiling now because you're an idiot...

5. You soon will forward this to another idiot...

6. There's still a stupid smile on your face...

I apologise about this. I'm an idiot - and I needed company!



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Today is the day that Karnataka State was formed....it's called Rajyotsava Day , "the festival of the kingdom"....




One flower represents Karnataka, the other, our motherland...and the greenery is that of our planet....



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Happy Birthday to bchandan and udhay.


So...what has the last year brought? It is tempting to think of the negatives first. But...I must think of the positives.

First, and foremost...continuing good health. Even though the chronic "nuisance value" bits of ill-health take their toll, I continue to be hale and hearty; able to trek with others less than half my age, and to enjoy life without having to talk about my knees, cholestrol, or blood pressure...topics which I see creeping into others' conversations sometimes! This, indeed, is a great treasure.

Next....another treasure...is the friends I have. Without exception, KM and I are extremely lucky in our friends. Our friends like us for who we are, and don't care how we are dressed, what our (probable) bank balance is, or how we live. Through times of adversity, they have been the rock-solid foundation that has supported us. I can never, ever, be grateful enough for the fantastic people that have come into my life....Actually, my friends may be an even greater treasure than good health, because these friends will stand by us even when we are ill..and they have done so.

Another thing I am grateful for is that I am generally of a sunny and happy outlook on life, and am able to see a lot that is wonderful about life and the world. For a happy disposition, I am very thankful indeed. A sense of humor, of fun of the ridiculous, has kept me smiling throughout, and that is a very big gift. Many people have remarked that my humour has cheered them up, too,during difficult times....and that makes me very happy.

I have also been able to retain the ability to learn (though much more slowly) the things that I have become interested in. I think fossilization begins when the learning process ends...so, I am not yet turned to stone....thanks to the several friends who have patiently taught me and taught me again, and perhaps watched with amusmement the slowness of my learning curve, but have yet not despaired of me.

This year has tested my mettle in many ways; bereavement is something which I have come to terms with. One life was torn from our midst before it even took shape on earth; and yet I came to know how much of one's heart can be given to someone not yet born, someone who yet wound his extremely tiny fingers around my emotions and wrenched them out when he had to leave. Minnal....my grandson-who-almost-was...you will always be very special to me. This is the first time since those dark January days that I am allowing myself to address you as a person.

Today is also the day my brother proposed to my sister-in-law; I remember his always-happy face, telling me, a day or so later, in an oddly formal-sounding sentence, " I asked for her hand in marriage!" The delightful young woman who was already a close friend of mine subsequently bore a lot from her own family and ours, is yet an unsoured, nice person who is still close to us, though my brother is no more. So...rather than grieve for his loss, I feel happy that she entered our family because of him. I think he lives on through her, and her love for him....

Life runs on its pebbled course, sometimes smooth, sometimes fast, sometimes turbulent...but as long as I have my friends and my health, life seems good to me, and I am enjoying every bit of the ride....

I have been extremely fortunate in my life...I hope to continue to be so.

OK, nuff said...here's one of my favourite pics from Kodaikanal lake....I want to live life like these lilies, beautiful and serene even while existing in the stagnation of the world.






I can never be the most beautiful, talented, wise, wealthy or anything-else person in the world...but I want to be a good-hearted person, with the ability to see the other person's point of view even if I can't share it, and know that my presence can make my friends as happy as their presence makes me.








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I almost NEVER remember people's birthdays in time on LJ...but today I did!!!!

It's already the 17th here, though it won't be, in Western Massachusetts for a while...here's wishing a VERY dear friend (imagine, I have never seen her face-to-face!), a wonderful human being...



asakiyume

I don't know how to do all those LARGE fonts like premkudva does, but I would LIKE to use them to wish someone who truly lives through all her senses, has a lively sense of fantasy, and writes so well....who also deals with adversity with wisdom and wit!

Some people like being wished on their birthdays. Some people don't really mind one way or the other; KM, for example, says every day is as good (or bad) as any other day; he doesn't wait to indulge himself, get together with friends, or do something he wants to do.

But some people seem actively irritated when you wish them on their birthday. One such person seemed to feel bad for snapping at me, and explained, "I know that I will never remember your birthday, so I feel guilty when you wish me." I told this person that I didn't expect "return wishes"!

Another person told me, "I am now getting older and older, don't remind me that I have less and less time left." I wonder if this person realizes that we are getting older and older and have less and less time left..from the minute we are born! If you are (as this person is) 60, and have been able to last this long, I think it should be a matter to feel happy about!


I don't make a big deal of my birthday-- the only time I have ever had a birthday party was for my 50th, which I really enjoyed-- but I do feel happy if someone wishes me, and certainly, I cannot snap at someone who wishes me.

Then,of course, there are those (and I am not talking about children here) who are very keen to celebrate their birthdays, and take offense if I have forgotten to wish them on the right day!

But usually, a birthday (or anniversary) wish is sometimes a way to reach out and say hello and update oneself, as well...it makes a good reason to call and say hello. So I think, in spite of my experience with the snapping turtles, I will continue to wish those whose birthdays I remember.

What? No...no photographs!

I had been to someone's 80th birthday celebrations on Saturday;it was a couple, this time, and it was nice to watch them surrounded by friends and relatives....and at the festivity, I took this photograph of youth and age..




How did the English prefix "grand" come to be associated with this relationship of a child's child, or a parent's parent? Does anyone know (no, don't tell me to google it.)

That baby in the photograph...reminds me of Charles Schulz's description of his creation, Charlie Brown...that ROUND head...you could put a compass caliper point on! that little girl's nose and draw a circle and the head would fit perfectly...and not to miss that tiny finger! :)

Abbah, I finally remembered in time to post...

Happy birthday to amoghavarsha. May he have Purity in his life always...and happiness and good health and prosperity and.....!



When I say "Amoghavarsha",there is this one , this one , this one , and Amoghavarsha IV (AD 968 - 972)!

I mean Amoghavarsha V , ruling from 1983 - present date...happy quarter century.

And "amogha varsha" also means "excellent rains", so here's a photo of raindrops for the photographer...





It's fun posting birthday wishes, I wish I could remember birthdays in time...