I trust you

She is in her mid twenties, pretty, lively, smart, friendly and can brighten any room with her sunshine smile . People connect to her easily and she has friends flocking around her like a flower has butterflies around it.

A lot of who she is, is because of her warm, open and lively home environment. She is brought up to be carefree and responsible. In fact she is brought up to be fiercely independent. She would never be said NO to anything in her house. She is taught to assess the risk in any action and to access the action was worth the risk.

She is studying medicine these days - and yes, she is my friend ! We have been friends for the last 10 years. And boy ! Is she fun to be with ! :) There is this incident that she had once shared with me.

As a part of her medical internship, she was placed in a small town. Her father's old friend stayed in this dreamy, slow-paced, misty hillstation like town with his family consisting of his wife and his children – a son and a daughter. Since the families were friends for ages, it was but natural that she would stay with them when she was in this town. The children were about her age – so she looked forward to staying with friends she had practically grown up with. This was the first time she was staying out of her family and yes ! she was excited !

She loved staying with this family. Everyone was very loving and they took good care of her.

The hospital she was placed in was clean, the staff were warm and helped her settle down. Everyone worked as one big team. One fine day , one of the doctors at the hospital threw a party to celebrate the birth of his new born son to the hospital staff. She informed her aunty and went to the party. Since she was going to be late, she went and stayed at her friend’s house.

She had a wonderful evening and the morning she went back home. Something seemed different. The mood in the house seemed to be subdued. Uncle and aunty seemed to be doing their duties as usual, but why did they seem a little quiet ? Once she had settled down, her uncle called her. He asked her gently why hadnt she informed him about the party . Uh. But I had informed aunty she thought , a little confused. But she could understand her uncle's concern. And then he asked her - do you know what all happens at late night parties ? You should have taken my permission. For the first time in her life she felt she was questioned about an action she had taken. She was deeply sad and hurt.

Even though she knew that her uncle was concerned, she couldn't help thinking What are the aunty and uncle asking ? Did they not trust her to be sensible ?

In that upset she finally called her family. The moment her dad heard her hello, he knew his daughter was not her usual self. He asked her gently if anything was wrong. Hearing his reassuring voice, she narrated to him in between sobs, what had happened in the last two days. Did she hear her father smile understandingly on the other side of the phone. He patiently heard her out, till she had nothing more to say. And when she calmed down, he told her with a quiet peaceful , smile -

“ Dont worry. I trust you”. And then there was silence.

She hadn’t expected to hear that. She hadn’t realized she was waiting to hear it. Suddenly her sobs stopped.

In the pause that ensued after she heard her father’s reassuring words, she felt a calm that she hadn’t felt in the past two days.

She heard her father say it again - “I trust you completely”.

It were only two seconds, and two simple sentences.
But, her world suddenly seemed beautiful and alive.

Tough times sure make a person learn about a lot of things. They test a person’s endurance and perseverance. But at the same time, there is always something new to learn. She was presenced to the unquestionable, unshakable trust her family had on her.

With the armor of love and trust of her father and her family in her heart, she went on to face another challenge of the world.

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To kill a mocking bird - Atticus says !

I have had one post on "To Kill A Mockingbird" earlier too.

Among the various things that catch your interest in this novel, one thing that you cannot help but notice is the depth of character of Atticus, a middle aged Lawyer and father of the two children( 6 year old Scout and 10 year old Jem ) , who are the main protagonist in this novel. His understanding of life, the way he connects to his children and the values with which he brings them up really make you notice him.

The plot in the novel takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus in this novel defends a black man much against the ways of the society in America in those days ( The novel is set in the 1930s ). He knows that he is not going to win this case, but he follows his conscience.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is also been made into a movie with numerous awards to its credit. The character of Atticus has been played by Gregory Peck and must say - he has done full justice to the character.

Check out the few dailogues Atticus speaks out in this novel. Much of the dailogues listed below are about what Atticus believes in , while he is defending the black man or about how he wants to bring up his children as strong, responsible, mature human beings.

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I heard from a few people that the people and the relations mentioned in the dailogues below are getting confusing . So here is a summary -

Atticus - main character
Scout - 6 year old daughter of Atticus
Jem - 10 year old son of Atticus
Jack - Brother of Atticus
Bob Ewell - The white man whom Atticus proves guilty


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Scout : "If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you ... doin' it?"



"For a number of reasons," said Atticus. "The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." […]



Scout : "Atticus, are we going to win it?"



"No, honey."


Scout : "Then why-"


"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said.


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Jack ( Atticus's brother ) is having this conversation with Atticus - while Scout is listening on behind the door. Atticus is aware of this - and wants Scout to listen to every word he says.

Jack : But she doesn't know the meaning of half she says- she asked me what a whore-lady was..."

Atticus : "Did you tell her?"

Jack : "No, I told her about Lord Melbourne."

Atticus : "Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness'
sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but
they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply
muddles 'em. No, you had the right answer this
afternoon, but the wrong reasons. Bad language is a stage all children
go through, and it dies with time when they learn they're not
attracting attention with it.

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Atticus to his son Jem - "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. "

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Atticus to his six year old daughter Scout explaining why he needs to defend the black man - “Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

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Atticus to Scout , advising her , not to get reactivated when people make fun of her or her father about defending the black man - “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anyone says to you, don’t let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change…it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.”

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Atticus to Scout “It’s not okay to hate anybody."

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Atticus to Jem"As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it— whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, of how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”
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"Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open."

Atticus will not try to spare his own family from the consequences of their actions. When he thinks (wrongly) that Jem has killed Bob Ewell( white man who Atticus proves guilty ), he insists that the “best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open”.
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Atticus to Jem “Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that household full of children out there.”

Bob Ewell is a white man , who Atticus proves guilty in the court of law. In a fit of anger, this man spits on Atticus's face and Atticus does not react to it. He later explains to his son Jem, about why he let Bob spit on his face.
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Happy Independence Day - Google style ! :)

Well Google is known best for its search engine. But what I love most about Google, is that everytime I go to google, there is a new, beautiful logo to greet you. Cant help smiling at the inovation and creativity of the logo team. Hats off !


Here are few Indian Independence Day Logos for all of you !

2010

( Imp - Please click on the 2010 logo , to see the real beauty of it )

2008

2006

2003



So, along with Google, Here's wishing all of you


A Very Happy Independence Day !

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The Girl with the smile

There is a family doctor whom we have been visiting for a long time whenever we have had health issues in the house. The doctor is a high profile doc. and has a great reputation. The hospital behind her dispensary is run very well and everything around looks spic and span. The nurses though not too talkative, look kind and helpful. Having so many good points to the doctor and the hospital’s credit means at any point, this dispensary is always full of patients who are awaiting their turn.

Most of the days there is a young serious receptionist who barely manages to give a smile and a middle aged grumpy one with a nasal voice who tries to sound friendly and nice. The job of the receptionist would be to schedule the patients for their turn and to bill the patients who have done with their consultation. Also they would look up the patient’s file and do some preliminary entry and get the file ready for the doctor. With all their serious faces, one thing that must go to the credit of both is that , they did their job well and they both were efficient. The bill got churned out quick and the files were ready well in advance.

One day, when I went to the dispensary for yet another check up , everything else seemed routine - except for one refreshingly pleasing sight ! In the place of the young and the middle aged receptionist - was a very young ( 20 or 21 years ) , short, receptionist with curly long hair and a nice smile. The line was as long as ever and to top it all this girl was "highly" inefficient. Patients were awaiting their turn with their files to get updated, and the patients who had finished checkup were waiting to get their bill ready. Clearly the girl was finding it difficult to handle the crowd.

But instead of getting bogged down, the girl seemed to enjoying it all. She was embarrassed of her not able to manage the crowd for sure - but she was laughing it off and apologizing with a smile and getting on. All of us patients were watching the long delay ( that seemed to get longer because of this girl ). One particular moment, there were 3-4 patients waiting for their bill to be done and 4-5 of them asking her when they had their turn with the doctor. And just when I thought the patients at the counter would get a little vocal - she looked up from her register - with an innocent look on her big round eyes and a nice apologetic smile on her cute face.

The next moment the guy , who was getting his bill prepared by her, melted. He asked her for the calculator and calculated his bill himself and helped her out with a reciprocating smile. She gave a grateful smile, cut out the receipt and the served patient made his way back. The tasks were the same as ever. But for once , there was something different happening in this dispensary. The patients walking out were shaking their head in disbelief and were smiling from one ear to another. All of us waiting too were smiling at and enjoying all the confusion around that this little girl was managing to create.

Uh ! Sure the files were not getting processed as fast as before but whoever said the girl was not doing her job !

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Iktara !

Ever since I have heard the 'Iktara' song from the movie 'Wake Up Sid' , I have been fascinated by it. The producers of this song for some reason have put only the female version of Iktara on the official audio CDs for Wake Up Sid. So for a long time I had heard to only the female version. The voice of Kavita Seth and the beautiful lyrics would leave me captivated.

But my respect for the beauty of this song increased many folds when I heard the male version. Such a soulful rendition of song it is ! Both the male and the female renditions have a folky voice that sings the song.

While the female version of the song, symbolizes a confused happiness, the male version shows loneliness and sadness. In this post, I am going to give the song, lyrics, meaning of the lyrics for all of you to enjoy.

Firstly some gyaan
Movie Name : Wake Up Sid
Director : Ayaan Mukherjee
Music Director For this song: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics : Javed Akhtar
Singer: Kavita Seth and Amitabh Bhattach ( Female Version )
Tochi Raina( Male Version )

Male Version

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Rooh ka banjara re parinda
Chhad gaya dil ka re gharonda
Chhad gaya dil ka re gharonda todke
Re gharonda todke, gaya chhodke

(rooh = spirit, self or seat of intellect, banjara= nomad, parinda = pigeon, free rebel bird
Its the free spirit (in me) that is soaring, flying out like a bird, escaping from my heart, which (once) used to be its abode…..breaking the shackles that held it within….(as we talk), the spirit is away on a wing and a prayer, having bolted from its own (constraining) home.)

Je naina karun band band
Beh jaye boond boond (2)
Tadpaye re, kyun sunaye
geet malhar de

(Every time I close my eyes, the river (of tears) begins to drizzle (down)…..Anguish and misery are my (constant) company, even as the song (and sounds) of rain(s) have started their slow dance.)

Bemalang tera iktara (8)

(Iktara is a single stringed instrument capable of a deep bass and a sharp treble…..and hence is metaphorical of music and the seven notes and life’s up and down in general. This line says….
My iktara continues to harp without any chord, melody or joy….)

Itra tun basi basi, padi hai sirhane
Band darwaja dekhe lauti hai subah
Thandi hai angeethi seeli, seeli hain deewarein
Goonje takrake inme dil ki sada
Goonje hai re (2) dil ki sada (2)

(itra = colloquial word for perfume or an aromatic body paste
My embellishments (like my scents and fragrances) are lying wasting around, breathing their (useless) aromas out and (in the process) dying….My (new) morning (and fresh beginnings) are about to return back after knocking endlessly on my closed doors….My oven and my walls are all damp and cold (due to neglect and disregard)…..In all of these atrophy(surrounding me), all I can hear is the wail of a dirge from my soul, this slow constant echoing lament of my heart.)
)

Jo naina karun band band
Beh jaye boond boond (2)
Tadpaye re, kyun sunaye geet malhar de

(Every time I close my eyes, the river (of tears) begins to drizzle (down)…..Anguish and misery are my (constant) company, even as the song (and sounds) of rain(s) have started their slow dance.)

Bemalang tera iktara (8)

(My iktara continues to harp without any chord, melody or joy….)

Female Version

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Orey manva tu to bavra hai
Tu hi jaane tu kya sochta hai
Tu hi jaane tu kya sochta hai bavre
Kyun dikhaye sapne tu sote jaagte

(My heart, you are so naive. Its just the start of a dream, and you have already stopped thinking (rationally!!))

Jo barse sapne boond boond
Nainon ko moond moond
Nainon ko moond moond
Jo barse sapne boond boond
Nainon ko moond moond
Kaise main chaloon,
dekh na sakoon
Anjaane raastein

(When the dreams are pouring drop by drop, my eyes are getting blocked by the downpour, and hence I am unable to walk on these unfamiliar routes).

Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara
Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara
Dheeme bole koi iktara iktara,
dheeme bole koi iktara
Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara
Sun rahi hoon sudh budh khoke
koi main kahani
Poori kahani hai kya
kise hai pata
Main to kisiki hoke
yeh bhi na jaani
Ruth hai ye do pal ki ya
rehgi sada
kise hai pata… kise hai pata

(Iktara is a single stringed instrument capable of a deep bass and a sharp treble…..and hence is metaphorical of music and the seven notes and life’s up and down in general. This para says,There is an iktara playing all around me, slowly surrounding me. As I am listening to its story, (I) am losing myself in it, mesmerized, so much so, that I don’t know whether (it) is telling me the “whole” story, or just parts of it…..How can I gauge that, when I have myself become part of a story, without knowing whether it is just a tale of a few moments, or will it last forever….)

Jo barse sapne boond boond
Nainon ko moond moond
Nainon ko moond moond
Jo barse sapne boond boond
Nainon ko moond moond
Kaise main chaloon,
dekh na sakoon
Anjaane raastein
Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara
Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara
Dheeme bole koi iktara iktara,
dheeme bole koi iktara
Gunjasa hai koi iktara iktara,
gunjasa hai koi iktara

Now can you blame me for being in love with this song :)
Last, but not the least, must thank my husband for suggesting me to write this post.
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Note : The translations of the song have been picked up from
http://spinningawheel.blogspot.com/2009/09/792-music-53-iktara-from-wake-up-sid.html
http://spinningawheel.blogspot.com/2009/12/969-iktara-male-version-from-wake-up.html?showComment=1275579004190

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