Awesomeness does not need an intro!!

Awesomeness does not need an intro! Or does it? Would not know because I have walked in with zero intro at several workplaces and found that news of my credentials had reached there much before me or someone had heard about me and my work or my hubby’s profession & post. Always it was an “awesome” feeling except when it was because of the last aspect, not because I had something to hide about hubby dearest but because I wanted my introduction to be because of me and ME alone!

People got to know me and over time, the awe turned to genuine respect which is what always mattered to me. I was liked for who I was, what I believed in, my ethics and that list according to me is long. Maybe for others it is just a few things of what I think is important to me and for them it could just be that she is a snob, stuck-up, b****. I wonder why we use animals to abuse our fellow brethren. For these poor beings are the most important role models and any abusive word should just be a descriptive adjective in nature rather than a noun, an animal noun.

Well, that is ME! Loads of roles rolled into one, many understandings clear in my head, infinitely positive actions for me & people around me, nothing which I think I cannot do except simple Math and driving the car in India, rest is like the cakes I take only a few minutes to bake = cakewalk!

Childhood memories are the fondest ones which remain etched in the back of our memory blackboard. I have many. Childhood relationships take the largest hit in terms of sustainability in these fast-paced times. As I grew up amongst a force’s lifestyle, a crisscrossing of the Indian countryside, amongst several iconic schools, friends who have not kept in touch, places which have remained all-time favorites, holidays spent in an idyllic 5-acre urban retreat in a city steeped in history and lore, with people who cherished my very being (apart from my parents, of course), a few pets thrown in as well as the carefree nature of my childhood, it did not bother me with worries about the future. I doubt, I ever thought or even contemplated about who would or would not keep in touch. If my efforts at bonding were reciprocated in appropriate ways, I went out of the way to be there, to stay connected. Otherwise, I kept to myself.

My cousin who beat me to this world by a couple of months has been one who has over several years kept the emotional fuel-line attached to me. It has been fun talking about parenting, studies, English grammar rules, reading, painting, cooking, people around us, poems, pranks, nostalgic memories of us growing up, vacations taken, moments of self-evaluation and weaknesses, angst over everything under the sun, feelings. Our list of topics keeps getting longer and it is always nice to have common memories too.

Well, that is Affectionate Aparna! If Patience needed to market itself, then she would be its brand ambassador. She dons several roles effortlessly with being mom to a smart, forever wanting to do something new & different primary grader, the usual wifey-daughter-in-law roles apart from being immensely talented with her brush and flooring me till today with her surrealistic simplicity.

History fascinates a few. I was amongst those few. Though not all kinds of it but most of it. May be the genesis of wanting to teach Social Studies lies somewhere in there. And amongst the teachers who remain in my memory since school, is my Social Studies teacher. Trips around our country are always permeated with history and lore and legends and believable & unbelievable chronicles of the rich cultural & historical background which India has. The kingdoms, the rulers and their dynasties, the religions, and their beginnings – each as mystical as the other if not more. The Mughal rule has fascinated generations on end, and mine and the ones after, were no different. Who does not find the palace intrigues and the hushed extra sprinkling of hearsay history of the guides at our historical monuments interesting and worth a dumbfounded, astonished gasp!

The Agra Fort of the great Moghul king, Akbar helped us revel in all the mystified and astounding details of one of the most fascinating ruler from our past. The Taj Mahal – that fascinating monument which has seen the world’s who’s who is one of the most captivating, spellbinding and hypnotizing architectural monument one can ever hope to see. A must for every bucket list of places-I-shall-see-before-I-die.

As was the history-soaked city of Amritsar. Revered and celebrated on several levels, this city invokes a mixed bag of feelings for every visitor. The fervent nationalist can have their dose of the armed forces connection, the religious have their faith secured at the mesmerizing Golden temple and the culture happy can shop to their hearts content in the lovely, busy streets and pick up the most mesmerizing phulkari work and the foodies will rejoice in the delectable Punjabi cuisine and definitely end up saying…”Yeh humri pawri ho rahi hai” as they devour the tandoori chicken, the chole bature and the to-die-for lassi!

Well, Agra and Amritsar are not on our list of cities to visit, said no tourist ever!!

A cradle of culture and a melting pot for traditions and history……..Agra and Amritsar!

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