Trunk full of Clothes

Trunks full of clothes mock me,

Their actual number Shock me.

I am a hoarder I admit and state.

That suit I wore on our first date,

The engagement sari is special,

The wedding sari is ultimate.

The dress I won in a competition

Has a place of pride in my collection

The nightie I had worn

When my baby girl was born,

The same lucky one,

I had worn for my son.

There are clothes of all shapes and sizes

Piles and piles of the same surprises

The fainthearted ones.

I am okay with it, I swear,

Yet always feel I have nothing to wear.

I do possess a wide collection,

But when it comes to selection

I fret and I fume

They all seem so out of tune.

There is no appropriate outfit

For the appropriate occasion.

Everything is either,

too loose or too tight ,

too loud or too light,

too out-dated or too modern.

And whenever I am at a loss,

as to what to wear,

with my hubby I reason,

and go out and buy an outfit

just right for the occasion.

-Lucks aka Sulekha

Versatile Blogger Award

I was very excited to find out I was recognized by another blogger, Jim Brandano at http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com/ .I was honored to find that my blog, as well as 6 others, have been given the Versatile Blogger Award.

Jim has a great blog where he talks about photography among other things!! How do you not want to follow that blog??? Visit his site and I know you'll follow and enjoy it.

With this award comes responsibility. I am to tell 7 things about myself and bestow the award on 7 other bloggers. Those already awarded can’t be named again so Let me begin by saying that, I love all the ones already chosen by my other blogger friends. And also love a lot more than the seven blogs mentioned below.

7 things about me….

1. I love my Dad, he is my hero and my inspiration

2. I am a compulsive writer.

3. My occupation is Home Engineering.

4. I live in a fantasy world, at least that’s what my family members complain about all the time.

5. I hope to be remembered as an eccentric writer.

6. My family is my backbone and my friends my support system.

7. I believe in Reincarnation, karma, destiny, telepathy and souls.

My seven favourite bloggers are:

http://worldasisee.wordpress.com/ Priyashmita is a versatile blogger through and through. She introduces herself in her own unique way, “I am who I am...an enigma for some and an open book for others. A strict disciplinarian for some and a fun girl for others. A heartless authoritarian for some and the kindest friend for others. I am who I am...which sliver of me you see depends on you.” Go to her blog and see for yourself.

http://thilalangadi-sheba.blogspot.com/ Chokher Bali is a truly great poetess and reading her poems is like looking into her soul. Her posts are straight from the heart and touch yours every time.

http://erinsdomain.blogspot.com/ David’s blog is called Erin is Love, Reflections on life with the world's best dog: World traveller, therapy dog, church attendee, stage performer and beloved friend. I adore his posts about Erin, his dog and am always moved when reading them.

http://ardithsquest.blogspot.com/ Ardith is another great blogger, she writes,” I have found blogging to be a great way for old and new friends to become acquainted with the real me; to sort out and organize some of the thoughts that swim in my head; to give my day-to-day routine a little more purpose and direction.” Read her posts and you will know, what I mean.

http://annalwalls.blogspot.com/ “Writing is my obsession, and fiction is my passion.”, writes Anna, and she is a terrific writer. She has three blogs and I love going through her posts. Visit her blogs and be amazed at her talent.

http://lifethrulucylasticaslense.blogspot.com/Lucy says, “Please enjoy my random ramblings and personal observations, inspired by the life that is all around me. Thoughts, feelings, wit and wisdom.” I enjoy reading her splendid posts and look forward to them every day. She has a great blog, see and then believe.

http://saintfaron.blogspot.com/ Sukanya is a terrific blogger and writes about her travels and her other blog is called timid cook. She writes, “It's not the destination alone; the journey matters too...” read her articles and you will get to know her and her blog well.

These are my seven versatile bloggers and wish I could have named many others but alas the limit is seven.

Little things make a big difference

How do you like your eggs?
Do you like your coffee black?
Or are you a tea person?
Tiny bits of information,
makes a world of difference,
To those who care about you.

What’s your favourite color?
The dearest time of the day?
Do you look at the sky and,
Trace patterns on the clouds?
Admire the scenery and sigh?
Thinking of someone special,
why?

Do you like roses or carnations?
In a wild bunch or bouquet?
What kind of chocolates,
Do you like Bitter or sweet?
In a day, how many do you eat?

Do you sleep on your side?
Which side of the bed,
do you prefer to keep?
Do you snore, talk in your sleep?
These insignificant little things,
In her mind she always keeps.
Making her lose her precious sleep.

What do you dream about?
Whom do you see there?
What do you talk about?
Does it make you happy?
Being there with her,

These are some of the things,
She constantly wonders about,
Her thoughts forever with you.
Her love envelops you,
Encircles your heart.
Shielding you from all,
The hard knocks of life.

Even though you are so far apart,
distance is a state of mind.
If you look closely,
you'll find,
her love in your heart,
her thoughts on your mind.

Do you miss her, think of her?
And long to be with her?
Do you want to hold her close?
And never let go.

Do you believe in fate? And,
want to meet your Soul mate?
She is crazy about you,
Is so selfless and sweet.
She is your missing Heartbeat.

Sulekha aka Lucks

Junk food is good food

I wish mommy cooked better food for us?
Why can’t she make chips and cookies,
Cola and cream cake?
Instead of mashed potatoes and vegetable,
Fruit salad and milkshake?

I hate vegetables and detest milk and whey,
I want to eat chocolates and candy, whole day.
And gorge on burgers and pizzas every day.

Why doesn’t she understand that,
Kids love junk food.
Puts them in a good mood.
So what if we put on a few kilos?
Don’t chubby kids look cute?

Someone please tell her to go easy,
On whole grain bread and nutritious food.
And just cook what we ask for,
And make us feel good.

Sulekha aka Lucks

P.S. Friends, I had written this poem when my kids were very young and used to crib about food. Every mother worries about her children not getting enough healthy food and tries to ration their junk food. Hope you like this post....happy reading :)

Loving you is easy.

Loving you is easy,
doesn’t take much effort,
to keep your memories,
in my heart.
The times when,
we were so much in love,
Faithfully stay with me,
never to part.

I am transported back to,
those magical times in my life,
When I was ridiculously happy,
Was so much in love.
That the mere mention,
of your name was enough,
to send me into,
raptures of delight.

I was surviving till I met you,
Then I started to live.
I bring up your name,
in my conversations,
anyhow.
Talking about you,
makes you seem closer,
I happen to miss you less.
somehow.

Days merge into nights ,
without any respite,
From the heartache,
of your absence,
From my empty life.


Lucky aka Sulekha

Is being too sensitive bad for people’s sensitivities?

“The imperfections of a man, his frailties, his faults, are just as important as his virtues. You can't separate them. They're wedded. ~Henry Miller”

Sensitivity is a curse at least that is what I feel. Being too sensitive is not good for anybody concerned. Definition of sensitivity is, is open to, acutely affected by, easily upset by criticism. Why are we so emotional and how does it affect our life? When do people say that you are too sensitive? When we feel, a bit too much, take everything, people say to heart, are pained by unintentional jibes, imagined slights.

Overemotional people create problems for themselves by inviting hurt and pain in their lives. I remember going to my doctor, a renowned medical specialist, and his diagnosis was that I was too sensitive for this world, hence all my medical problems. He had given me excellent advice, which I conveniently forgot, that was, “You need to become less sensitive, develop a thick skin to survive in this world. If you continue being so emotional and vulnerable, you will find it difficult to carry on with your normal day-to day activities and will suffer from depression.”

Today, when I look back at the years gone by and the increasing number of pills on my bed-side table, I regret not heeding his advice. Had I listened to him and conditioned myself to be tough and invincible to imaginary hurts and thoughtless remarks, I would be better off from what I am now, an emotional mess, a sensitive fool, a misfit in this society. One who feels bad if the doctor’s receptionist is rude or the liftman doesn’t smile back or even when the neighbour’s maid gives her a dirty look.

I had a friend who was so much in love that the mere thought of, not being able to see her sweetheart even for a day, or not hear from him at least once daily, drove her to the brink of despair and acute distress. She lived for the moments, when she could speak with him or receive his letters. When I asked her why she behaved in this manner, she simply told me,” I love him”. I had no immediate response, though in retrospect, I feel I could have said so many things to convince her to be gentle with the love pony, and ride her nice and easy.

What do people mean when they say,” I Love you?” What are they trying to imply? Since time immemorial, we have been trying to understand this phenomenon called,” love”. When two people like each other and want to spend time with each other, long to be together all the time and can’t stop thinking about one another, they are said to be in love. He looks into her eyes and whispers these three magical words and her life changes completely; she is never going to be the same again.

The love bug has bitten her, for good. She starts dreaming about a future with him in it, her every thought revolves around him. He doesn’t make her his end-all and be-all, like she does him. She is a part of his life, not his entire life; she is a very dear option while he is her top priority. She being hyper sensitive, feels bad about it and constantly keeps thinking about it, and harming herself, in the process.

This is where we women become our own worst enemies, we fall in love and never rise up completely again, while men glide into love and never lose their footing. They know love is important but so are a host of other things. They don’t lose their senses along with their heart; in fact they hold on to their heart as security and capture hers as down payment. Men are such businessmen when it comes to love. Women are selfless in love and life, they just know to give and never ask for anything in return. But they go overboard with their display and declarations of love, at least the super-sensitive ones do.

The fact that he said, I love you, proves that he loves her so why does she want more? Why this constant need to hear him say it again and again, why the want to know that he misses her when he is far and is thinking about her 24/7? She creates problems for herself by being so paranoid and clinging, she doesn’t realize it but she ends up pushing him away with her maniacal display of emotions. She needs to take a chill pill and sit back on her pretty behind and dream lustful dreams, to keep her mind off the disturbing and negative thoughts. Fantasizing about a reunion with an absent mate is sweet medicine for the soul and prepares her for the actual event, when it occurs.

“A sensitive plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew,
And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light,
and closed them beneath the kisses of night.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant,"


Lucks aka Sulekha

Is it 8th March already? International Women’s Day is a joke!!!

Is it 8th March already? International Women’s Day is a joke!!!

"God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met." ~ Farrah Fawcett

Look how far we have come from the first Women’s Day celebration which took place in 1911. The bold headline in The Times of India, New Delhi, Monday, March 7th 2011, screams,

“Women should tolerate violence”

“Nearly one in four Indian men has committed sexual violence at some point in their lives and one in five has admittedly forced his wife or partner to have sex. The findings of a recent International Men and Gender Equality Survey reflect a new low for Indian men. More than 65% Indian men believed that women should tolerate violence to keep the family together, that women sometimes deserved to be beaten.”

What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander too. Both man and woman are part of a family, so why shouldn’t men be beaten up and why shouldn’t they tolerate violence to keep the family together? Why is it that the woman is made a scapegoat and the onus of keeping the family together falls on her strong shoulders?
`
“And although Indian men were the most sexually and physically violent at home, they were not involved in violent or criminal behaviour outside. Only 4% Indian men had participated in robbery and 7% had been involved in fights with weapons”

Does that make them public heroes, they don’t commit crimes outside of their homes, wow, Just beat the crap out of their wives and children, what model citizens!!! Men should be rewarded for behaving like decent human beings outside their homes, and what about in the house, where people who love them, live? Here they behave like animals and beat them up mercilessly. If they can control their violent temper outside then they should refrain from violent behaviour in the sanctity of their homes too.

Another headline that jumped out of the paper was,

“Men don't change diapers, says study”

“A six-country gender equality survey has found that 86% of Indian men believe that changing diapers, giving kids a bath and feeding them, is a woman's job. Almost an equal number don't participate in household work.”

Aren’t the men related to the children and don’t they live in the same house as the wives and kids? So why can’t they change their own child’s diaper and help in washing the dirty dishes, they too eat in? Same goes for the other household chores.

“Moreover, roughly 80% Indian men say they should have the final word about decisions in the house. This 'I-am-the-boss attitude' seemed less prevalent in all other countries.

Be her friend; don’t try to hold her down forcibly. She is more than capable of sharing your burdens and shoulder responsibilities. She is an asset not a liability.She doesn’t ask for much, needs you to back her up and be there for her when she needs a helping hand, like she is always there for you. I am a woman and all I can say is, it doesn’t take much to become worthy of a woman’s love. All she needs is a little tenderness, a little understanding and a whole lot of love. Give her these three things and she will be yours forever and ever. She has an abundance of love and affection in her heart and will shower it all on you only if you care a bit for her feelings. Make her the centre of your universe and she will make you the king of her heart’s kingdom.

Happy International Women’s day to you all.

Lucks aka Sulekha


WOMEN'S DAY• ONE DAY IN A YEAR,

IF,

No man /boy teases a girl going to school or college,
No girl child is made to stay back home to work instead of being sent to school,
No wedding is cancelled because of dowry demands,
No woman is beaten up and burnt alive in the name of dowry,
No employer sexually assaults a female employee,
No girl child is married off to an old man for money,
No woman is forced to commit sati,
No girl is sold for prostitution,
No female infanticide is committed,
No mother having more than two daughters is belittled,
No widow is blamed for her husband's death,
No woman is raped,

Then, maybe then –
That one day can be labelled as women's day.


International Women’s Day is a farce, eyewash and a blatant attempt by the men of this world to flatter the women and lull them into a false state of security. No singIe day is a woman's day; it is a man's world and men are the judge, jury and the executioners.

8th March is no different from any other day for a mother of a teenaged daughter; she worries about her going to school/college even on this great and historical day. A bride is set ablaze irrespective of the date, a rape occurs every day, somewhere in the world. What women's day are we talking about?

A handful of socialites organize a get together, click some photographs, videotape the event, show it on the news channels and that's about all there is to 8th March. A few articles, about a handful of women, who have braved the odds and managed to claw their way to the top, are the icing on the cake of International Women’s Day for you.

Lucks aka Sulekha