The giving tree

As we bask in the memories, we often find ourselves being part of a light, an aura or afterglow you may want to call. Close your eyes and one shall feel the glow, surrounding you like standing in a field of sunflowers or in your garden on a sun lit day. 

What are these memories? Why do they become a part of your life? A mere reflection of someone’s effervescence or a figment of one’s imagination around how things would have been if.. I think memories are like a child, we protect them, we cherish them and we never want them to grow old, stay fresh, stay naughty, like a free-spirit, like a child..

On this day today, I would  like to share some memories of our father. A fun loving man and always a friend to all. We always think that he valued his friendships over anything else and yes that’s the best return we all are reaping, even today after twenty one years. He grew up as a young lad in metro Mumbai. He had major vices when it came to cricket and watching movies at metro cinema during his growing days. His friends then, became our uncles and their kids became our best mates. What a legacy we are surrounded by. A jovial man, people often called him happy go lucky but he worked hard, towards giving the best to us, to his best friend - our mum and to our home.

Every massive tree has strong roots and branches. While the roots grow deeper and stronger within and the branches spread wide and crazy, he is certainly our tree. Today even after so many years, all we can see is his strong, tall and happy stature, like he still resides in our family home, waiting, spreading his joy and roots. Very often during the holiday winds, he shakes all his branches, gathers them closer and says “its good to be away and connected but I just wanted to bring you closer and give you a hug”. 

I find myself to be very lucky to have grown up in a home full of love and laughter. I have now sown his memory, spread my roots and also have a small tiny branch which I love to nurture and also go crazy!

Hey Baba, I am sure you are doing fine..

Love and laughter,

US.

The wheels still go round and round

Scene 1 ..What? Where did it go? I had kept it in this showcase just last year when I visited.
Oh! Come on.. what happened to this one? Did any kid come and dash it when I was away? Or wait wait wait, it must have been done by me hmmmm may be in 1986? Remember it fell from the terrace guess it was the fourth floor? Such a sturdy survivor, no wonder its named Rough Rabbit. And that Alitalia? Didn’t it always have this tough robust body? My favourite indeed. Dashed all others to glory and still won the race. 31 years this year and my 40 dinky dash cars still await to crank up that nitro and get ready for another dash.

A so called fanatic ritual, each year when I visit home in India, I open the showcase (yes, a display closet is called showcase in that part of the world) and fill my eyes with the treasure. It only glitters to my eyes and brings out the kid in me.. a total fan boy moment I must say. Once I’m contented with the quality check drill, I still have many questions to ask and I am sure that by now mum has a set of answers that she repeats. The Puf! Pow! Bam! Bow! continues for some time and there you go, they wait for another year chilling out, chatting and dreaming of the past.

Cut to the scene 2 in 2015. ..When our baby was to be born, we went to a toy shop and my eyes got glued to a red hot wheels car. Unable to locate me in the store, my wife just called out, where ever you are come quick, I have something for you. I thought it must be another element in the baby wish list but no! Hell no!! Heavens no!! It was a mighty red Twinduction that I was eyeing and yeah as we say, things do work for us, telepathy especially. #widesmileforanentireweek

Cut to scene 3 in 2017..Hmmm May 2017 to be very precise. Winter is coming winter is coming we must buy something really good and warm for the little one. Yes let’s spend, we always stop our hands (not really, never indeed!) from buying something that we want, but let’s not do that for the little one ever.. haha! melodrama at its best. This time when we entered the store.. yesssss!! Love is green.. Love is green and oh yeah baby, love is green. Strategy at its best.. if you need something, use your child as a messiah of love and put words in her mouth. #joy #happiness #lovebug. Yep!! Then came home his green Vw with grey eyes and a red pout only to sing along the best MJ song “you are not alone, I’m here with you”.

Cut to scene 4. Today June 29 .. I asked the little one to look for the green car as I was unable to locate it and its been up my mind since couple of days, randomly beeping in my thoughts during a client meeting or dancing as a visual animation on any Ed Sherran song that pumps the beats on radio. Ping! There goes the thought bubble.. Baba, take theeesh she says with smile of a winner on her face. Our little helper, tell her anything and rest assured it will be done (In this ordeal she makes you look for the things you’ve asked her to, is a different story Haha).

Today when I rolled a couple of cars together, a little voice hummed wheels on the bus go round and round.. la la la .. la la la .. the best reference to context I’ve come across since many days now.. OK! I want to stop keying this but keep looking at the cars again but yes will leave you all with a thought. We buy cars, houses, dreams and work hard towards our personal goals but what always stays with us.. in my case is that kid from1986 who rolls the wheels without any fear, any worry but being careful and making sure that the wheels keep rolling without burning away the rubber but cruising away on a rhythm, like a flowing river. Give yourselves a chance to be a kid again. Close your eyes and remember that one thing which always made you happy. There you go… round and round!!

The Young Grey

The Young Grey

As I said my good byes to the wise man
and thought of how happily the hair have gone grey

His feet showed the distance of the times he has walked
and his speech sounds bliss to every ear

May the command on the language teach us
some pearls of wisdom for a lifetime to come

May the saffron of his journeys enlightenment's

blend with my world for it to taste like the best dessert in town

I bow to thee oh wise man
you taught me how to live the day

with a stature standing tall and wide
and the smile to accompany during your journey

As you peddled each day humming the songs
you taught melody to some quiet birds

Now they will wait for you to come back
with a basket full of new tunes

I wish when I grow grey and wise
I have my ears for these tunes to hum

I wish I walk your path my friend
as you walk ahead to show me light!

-          Utpal Milind Kelovkar

The Yellow Rose..

I see a chirpy home she said, with birds singing the morning song. As I wake up from my bed, I want to enter a garden and keep my feet on the lawn, smile with the first tickle of dew drops making my feet happy with a hot cup of tea in my hands.

A dream we once had she said, when we were young and worked hard for a great life. The life we promised we will give your father, one day and eventually to you as a heritage.

From the hustle and bustle of city life, we want to live, we see a blue bungalow of our own, with a wall full of yellow roses. A dream we saw when we were young, with fire in our bellies and give you all the comforts.

Will you fulfil my dream she asked? When I open my window all I want to see is Yellow Roses. I then want to come out on the lawn and get my feet tickled with dew drops. A hot cup of tea will only ensure that blood flows well in my streams as the fragrance of the roses makes me remind of the dream we had seen together.

Magical isn't it? Same dream, one saw and so did the other? She then smiled at me and said, your grand father was a simple man, guess he blended with my dream, just like how sugar blends in our morning tea.

It's been 7 months since she is gone, She lives within the first smiling rose, now popped out in our garden today, all in her memory. I sat on our garden bench couple of days back looking at the buds with my wife, all we did was let the dew
kiss our feet and our eyes too. We smiled eternally!

Chuck a U-EY

Did ya know? knowing the true meaning of 'Chucking a u-ey' in 'Straya' is so important, it's like missing throwing caramelised onion rings on the side, when you barbecue.

When I started driving in this wonderful country, I was once asked by a buddy to Chuck a u-ey. Trying to blend with the culture, I did not ask what he meant and just continued driving like a kick-ass Indian driver, nodding my head and biting on the gum saying 'Ya mate'!.

After missing several U-eys and driving for extended 20 k's I was reprimanded and made to blend in my bloodstream, this brilliant quote of mother nature so simple, serene, that only meant - Take a U-turn!!!

Come on Utpal, how easy was this to crack. When in 'Straya' (Australia) you gotta chuck a u-ey mate!! Having enriched with this pearl of wisdom, I was geared up for many more road trips with this friend. We decided to head to Sydney one day for an on business training. “Ootie” (Uttie for Utpal) as my close mates call me here, he said, we are gonna have Dingo's breakfast today mate. Wow!! While in India, I had known Dingo is like a wild red four legged animal found in the Australian outback.

Being a carnivore, I thought god has planned to bestow upon this exotic specie on my plate, with utter happiness and hunger I began to nod and drive, It had been a while and I almost saw the road sign saying Liverpool (a suburb on the outskirts of Sydney)..wait a minute, we were to have something exotic right? “Pig's arse” (I don't agree) he said, Dingo's breakfast means no-breakfast you mighty Indian god!!

Haha..“Ripper”(Great) I replied and we had a hearty laugh! Deep down under, in my heart I knew I was better off having a McChicken from Maccas (Mcdonalds) and not Pigs Arse or some Dingo for gods sake.

Although my formal education has been in English, I am sure even the doyens of Oxford would just nod when asked to chuck a u-ey and say Ya Mate!!

Snug

As I curl up to sleep for the extra five minutes after smashing the alarm clock for more than three times, I realise how important it is to just relax and sleep in at times. I also realise how important it is to iron the business shirt before going to bed, polishing the leather to walk down the business street, hanging the winter coat in the car just to save that extra minute or even opening the garage door to save those 5 seconds.

The warm winter snug then takes me to a different parallel world, as I party in my bed on a weekday, I see a lot in those five snoozed minutes. I see cars I fantasise, a favourite straight drive hit by Tendulkar, our first bike ride as the pillion rider sleeps next to me like its still mid-night, as I still interact with the builder to put the right coloured timber baton chosen by us.

And then, I hear a soul threatening sound, it takes me from the unreal to the real world in micro seconds. I run to the closet, pick a shirt, polish the leather, hang the winter coat in the car, open the garage door & yes, I shave and shower in midst of all this too.Yes
Spider-man you were correct, responsibility does follow great power, but had you mentioned what to do when it is -7 degrees outside, the movie would have been a bigger hit. Caught in your own net, mate?

As I count 5 days of the week and sleep like a baby on the morning of day 6, after threatening the chirpy bird in the morning to sleep for little long too... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrinnng.... my soul wakes up again..why did I not shut the alarm clock last night? First world issues!

The Red Heart

As I walked in solace with the red sand crushing beneath my feet, the trinkets oozing up and falling on my toe with each step I realised the meaning of how it feels when someone walks all over you, crushing your identity and yet letting you rise and fall again on the ground for someone else to walk.

The analogy drives my thoughts towards the reign of a past government crushing so many hopes, so many lives,  so many dreams, beliefs and especially so many talents, being not able to rise above the ordinary. Mediocrity is a crime but the people who nurture it should be caned. 

I thus continued my walk in the outback and saw the yellow acacia flowers swivelling in the tunes of the desert breeze, spreading fragrance, love and saying hello to me for visiting the untrailed path. It made me realise that a sunrise on the horizon opens up a new day and we are so damn sucked in by our routines that we don't even have time to say hello to a new shining sun, the creator of life, or pay our gratitude towards its ray of light that's helps grow the herbs in the your garden.

The path took me to a massive red rock that used to be once underneath the surface of the earth and due to the movement of the plates, rose so high above the ground that it's magnanimous beauty took 50 million human years to create, possibly earths one of the oldest stand stone, tearing away the time count from creation of first living beings to us. Yes it was beautiful, I touched it. It was red, it blushed and in the local aboriginal language said "Palaya" to me, it means thanks in our slang. Taught me that it takes time to build yourself morally & eternally, but once it happens, the beauty of it stays for ever, across generations and lives all together. 

It's true that travel teaches one a lot and I want to say "Palaya"to the almighty for blessing me with the wild card entries to travel, fall, get crushed, rise above,learn, strengthen and believe that it's a new beginning each day, as I offer my gratitude to the rising sun!