Monday, January 22, 2007

Mumbai Marathon – Toast to the spirit of Mumbai - 21 Jan 07


Having snoozed the alarm a couple of times I woke up with a start at 6am with the fear that I ,might just miss the marathon. Although with the little sleep and the tiring schedules that I had been having over the past couple of days, I wouldn’t mind missing it. As I boarded the train to Churchgate the atmosphere around seemed charged. It didn’t really seem like a sleepy cozy winter Sunday morning as I saw a few people dressed in tracks and running shoes waiting for the train

The train ride was so peaceful and beautiful as it passed through the little green patches in Goregaon, Parle, Khar Bandra and all through ,I could seen the orange twilight of the dawn and orange sun shinning brightly.

The journey
When I got off the train at Marine lines station, I noticed a lot of more people walking in different colored t-shirts were walking along with me to the Corporate challenge area from where we would all began our run. As I walked through the lanes to Metro from Marine Lines, I couldn’t help but notice some of the most oldest and beautiful buildings across the road. They all seemed nice and bright this morning. I loved the smell of the fresh bread which was being baked at Kayani Bakery.

I spotted my gang all dressed in the orange T- shirt which I ignored to wear completely , I was running as part of my company contingent and running for Women`s cancer initiative After a wait of over a hour and half and a passing through various lines we finally began running

The Run—6 km (VT- Nariman Point- Mafatlal club- Flyover- Metro)
The atmosphere was charged, and wherever I looked I could just see people. At various spots we had the traditional dhool wala, people dressed in different outfits. Although the most annoying part was the hundreds of people who were walking not running, one had to find their way through this walking people. Maybe next year they should have a separate line for people who want to walk and not disrupt people who want to run.

The run from VT to Church gate was nothing phenomenal, except the running fountain at Flora fountain, but when I reached the bay area near Jazz By the Bay I was so taken aback by the beautiful view of Mumbai`s skyline. The sea seemed to wrapped in a thin fog and looked so peaceful and calm. I just couldn’t take my eyes off it all the way till I reached the Mafatlal baug near the flyover which we were supposed to take to get down to Metro. The only dangerous part of it was ensuring I don’t fall down as I was looking on the side instead of looking in the front. When I got on the flyover the view was ecstatic. On one side I could see a sea of people, the enthusiasm, the energy, and the other was the calm sea which seemed to be smiling just as the helicopters passed by.

When I got of the flyover and moved towards the Metro Cinema, I noticed the beautiful Fire temple. The old buildings, Braboun Irani café, the now not operational Parsi Dairy Farm. On one such neatly carved old building which was probably 5 storey tall, I noticed two old Parsi women chatting. I wondered how Bombay would have been for them 30-40 years ago. It was just about a 45 min run and I had seen another brighter side of Bombay
I saw the Bombay spirit in action as I walked back in to the holding area ground I saw a group of rag pickers standing with huge plastic bags urging me to put my plastic bottle in their bags

All in all, it was wonderful running for a marathon which gave me an opportunity to explore my city in a new light.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Shashikala- An inspiring life



In the month of July, somewhere in 1920`s in the tiny bylanes of Agra, behind the Taj Mahal in an area called Namak Mandi a girl was born to Brijbhushan Das & Revaben. It was an old house owned by the Ghanshyam Das, a well known judge during the British times. It was a huge house with a small backyard, considering the numerous births in the household, there was a separate room built for delivery of children, and a dedicated mid-wife to the family.Hospital delivery were unheard of in that era

The parents were probably delighted to see the birth of beautiful daughter, after all till now they had just had sons, and having a daughter was a welcome delight. She was white as snow white, and nothing less than a princess from a fairy tale. She was named as Shashikala, but her naughty brothers named her Chhocho, pronounced as Chho chho as they couldn’t pronounce the word Shashikala too well. In the intial years of her childhood, mother took special care of the daughters, feeding them, ignoring the brothers.

In the early years, as she along with her sisters laughed and fought with the brothers after being the victim of the numerous pranks like tying their braids together, silently putting a handful of leftover seeds in their mouth, Somewhere in the native place of her Mother, Reva ben`s, native town, Kapadwanj in Gujarat her marriage was fixed by a aunt in a house to a man, whom, not only she but even her parents had never meet. They were just a known family to her parents who had a son aged 20 years, so they decided to fix the wedding with this girl then probably aged 10.

It was probably just another holiday to Kapadwanj, when Shashikala got married in the ancestral home in Kapadwanj., She was 15 years old and she had no idea what marriage was, she was just too happy to wear the new clothes and have a feast.

When she saw her husband and his family for the first time, she wondered what was wrong, what was she doing with a family who was completely dark skinned. She was white as a snow- white and her husband black as coal and ugly looking. She felt like a celebrity for the first couple of years. She looked like a white doll and people from neighboring households came to watch her beauty. They all joked in Gujarati “ Kagro, Daithro layegayo” which basically means the crow took the diamond.

Settling in Kapadwanj, was not to easy for Shashikla, having brought up in Agra and Haldwani, they had always spoken in Hindi, she didn’t know to read or write Gujrati, the common language in the town. The only comforting factor was a good mother in law. Just as we learn to live with our circumstances, Shashikala accepted her new life and moved on. She had two sons and just when life seemed to be going smooth her husband died.

She was 25 years old when her husband died. She was determined that she was not going to live a life of pitiful widow who is rushed from one house to other to do errands. She wanted to take care of her children and give them a good future. With a supportive mother in law, Shashikala enrolled herself to read and write Gujarati. She took help from Prof, who taught her. As usual people did make stories about her and Prof, but she never let any such rumors come her way to become a teacher. She appeared for the exam and after passing that exam, she went to Teachers college almost 4 hours away from Kapadwanj. For 2 years she selflessly lived at the hostel and studied to become a teacher.

When she came back she, got herself a job at a local school and taught upto 4th grade for over 30 years, got her two sons educated and today at the age of almost 78 , she still fends for herself getting a pension every month

Shasikala is someone who has inspired me so much. A women who never had a choice to paint her future, But when did get the brush in her hand, she was determined to turn her life brighter. She took her plight as a challenge and beautifully wiped away her worries. There must have been a million aspirations and dreams of her own which she must have cremated in her heart, all for her children`s future.

Today, Shasikala is almost 79 years old, She shuttles between her grandchildren houses and hers from Kapadwanj and Bharuch, playing with her great- grand children. Her health is not in the best of conditions, but she is happy and she has no desire. She is proud of being financially independent. She gets a pension of over 4,000 rupees a month which is even more than the salary she ever earned, and is more than sufficient to take care of her expenses. She thinks that god actually gave her a new life, when her husband died. The path was challenging but the end was very rewarding.

Most importantly Shashikala is my grand aunt, my grandfather’s sister. I, now, know where I and many of my cousins and aunts get our nature and abilities, it runs in the family.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Life



29 DEC 2001

Just when his face shined the most
And we thought it could be a beginning to a new life

Just when his melodious voice echoed with a folk song
And when we thought it was just his way to express his happiness

Just when he smiled the most inspite of all the pricking and poking of the pins
And thinking it was a fairy tale of Dracula’s sucking blood

Just when he knew that he has seen his new abode above
And we prayed for a miracle to happen

Just when he lay in transit awaiting the time for his new abode
And we stood there seeing the heart beats on that machine blink

Just when life & death played hide & seek
And left it to us to decide what the end could be

Time stood by and bid goodbye to the brightest star that shined that morning
With the most valuable lesson that life could ever leave behind

A lesson to spread the happiness & goodness around