COFFEE DATE WITH KIDDOS !!!!

It finally happened....a visit to the favorite joint of my boys, where they hang out with their friends!!

Had heard so much about this place that i badly wanted to have a look for myself...on what was so attractive about it that it drew these kids there so often! Of course the idea was entirely theirs and they called it 'a date with mom'.

We had been planning for this rendezvous for a long time and i had been given a dress code too...[ was told that the average age of people coming there was between 17 and 30] ....because mummy dear had to look smart and not ancient... sari was a strict no no ... salwar was passable...but Jeans would be perfect !

But when it did happen it was nothing like we had planned... i landed up there in a saree...hehe...that too in a silk saree straight from a wedding!!

This place is a coffee shop kind-of-place called Mocha situated in one of the more posh localities of Chennai. It's a nice two storeyed building with great interiors. On the ground floor you have the non-smoking zone and the first floor is a compulsory smoking zone with Chinese decor all around. Smoking here refers to Hookah. Every table is set with a Hookah and you have to pay for it whether you smoke or not ....of course set with different aromas like mint,strawberry, apple ...not the tobacco ones!

In the garden outside you have several compartmentalised seating arrangements set in the midst of pebbled pathways interspersed with flowing water and fountains. One couldn even see an old hand rickshaw imaginatively set to be part of the seating arrangement...

During the first ten minutes that i was there it was fun to watch the boys trying hard make me feel good about the place...well they didn't need to ... I was impressed with the ambiance...it wasn't a shady joint but a fun place where people could meet up and enjoy a good chat...and then i was let into all the details of their outings there!

How, at times when they were short of cash [ yeah... every one got limited pocket money ! ], they would order the cheapest drink on the menu and then keep topping it up with ice just to prolong their time there; about the times, when they ran into [financial] trouble, when one of their friends, tried to be chivalrous by offering to pay up for old [girl] friends they bumped into and how he got clobbered later by these boys for trying to be an over-enthusiastic pig ....and many more interesting tales !!!

I was also told as to what was in and what was out clothes-wise/ slang- wise ....Oh my god... it was so much fun to have a peek into their world!

For any one who thinks Chennai is conservative, check out this place . It was a common sight to see many girls smoking... not Hookah, but cigarrettes! If that was one extreme, it was a pleasant sight to see one mother accompanying her teen aged daughters and having a good time with them !

And i was glad that my kids were open enough to tell me what to expect and had no hassles or embarrassment about me sitting there with them. In fact i am so tempted to take my own friends there, the next time we want to meet and chat!

I know many of my own friends are shocked at my attitude and feel that i am giving my kids a long rope under the garb of being progressive! If you consider hanging out in coffee shops as being progressive , i think its a big joke.... just as it is, if you think that they are likely to go wayward by hanging out in joints like these.

And many may not approve my saying this ....Let the kids have their share of fun. Give them the right values and guide them.But dont deny them the joy of these times spent with their friends by being over cautious or over reacting! Bad influences are there every where....Be approachable and open to them. Create comfort levels so that they feel free to approach you with their problems!

Try to be a part of their world and don't deny them something just because you did not or could not access it when you were young ! If there was a place like this when i was in college 25 years ago, am sure i would have loved to hang around and would have hated my parents if they hadn't let me !! May be its easier for me to say that because both of them are boys....but even if they had been girls am sure i would have let them have all the fun in the world!

Look at their world through their eyes ... and they would willingly see it through yours too !!!

MY INSPIRATION!!!!

Have you felt the cool gentle breeze caress your cheeks on a warm sunny evening? Have you taken in the wonderful smell that wafts through the air when the first drizzle hits the earth? Has your heart skipped a beat when you are feeling down in the dumps and you suddenly hear your favorite song being played? Or the wonderful sight of the rising sun spreading its rays on the horizon set against the background of the deep blue sea…..well, you cant describe these feelings can you ?? Except that it stirs something wonderful in you and brings an involuntary smile to your face

Well …this is precisely the feeling Narasimhalu evokes in you the first time you meet him. That charming smile and his energetic greeting knock you flat even before you try and collect yourself from the shock of seeing his physical disability. The myriad expressions that flit across his face as he tries to convey his thoughts to you are just amazing.

I was blessed [yes … I feel any one who meets him is truly blessed..he is God’s own child ! ] with the good fortune of meeting this wonderful gentleman in the year 2002 when my husband and I had the opportunity to organize a week long exhibition of his paintings at Hotel Ambassador Pallava at Chennai, through our Rotary Club.

I will never forget the efforts of the people who helped us in making this event a great success. Ace director Mani Ratnam and Actor Revathy inaugurated the event and spent a long time viewing the paintings and bought some too! Half the paintings were sold within an hour of the inauguration and ND TV did an exclusive on Narasimhalu… Yes… we went all out to publicize this event like fame-hungry dogs and never felt ashamed about it!

Because we felt Narasimhalu deserved every bit of attention he was getting and much more too!!

Orphaned as a child and afflicted with Cerebral Palsy, Narasimhalu can only use his feet and paints with his feet and toes!!!! The canvas is his world. And that’s not all… he does amazing embroidery too!!

Just watching him at work sends you into stunned silence and you feel overcome with emotions! Despite suffering from a debilitating physical handicap his zest for life astounds you!

He loves Nature which predominantly forms the subject of his paintings and uses acrylic, watercolors and….hold your breath…the computer too! Oh yes he is adept at using the computer [Adobe Photoshop and Flash] and meddles around with electronic gadgets. He resides at the home run by the Andhra a Mahila Sabha at Adyar and is a great source of joy and inspiration to all around. You can see him zooming around on a skateboard with amazing control with a smile that never disappears!!

We take so many things for granted in life and go around cribbing and complaining…. Shame on us for doing that when there are people like Narasimhalu taking on life with grit and determination!!!

I often feel that I should visit him more frequently and spend time with him but always find myself totally depressed and angry with God after every such visit… why did he have to go through so much???? That innocent smile lingers long in your mind….very long !!

Ever Made A Fool Of Yourself ??

Am sure this has happened to some of you ….I mean situations where you make a complete fool of your self!!! Or am I the only weird one with such experiences??
All said and done I think it’s worth sharing …at least for the humor it evokes…!

It was one of those days when it suddenly dawns on you, that you have been postponing a whole lot of petty work and suddenly they loom large, in front of you, with a narrowing deadline. Hard pressed for time and armed with a long ‘things-to-be-done list’ I set out one morning with a determined look on my face!

And was I glad to find an empty parking slot at a vantage point from where I could walk all around and finish all my work…..!!!!!! Thinking I had got off to a good start, I spent the next couple of hours ticking things off my list with a mighty pleased smile.

I realized it was noon by then and I still had some work at the bank that had to be completed before banking hours closed at half past twelve, it being a Saturday!!!
So I hurried to the car and inserted the keys to open the door and lo behold.... it refused to open!!

I rechecked if I had the right keys and yes I had! I tried again and it still wouldn’t budge…. A few more tries and I lost my temper and gave the car a good piece of my mind with the choicest of words… I aimed a nice hard kick at the tyre and eeeeks…. only to wince in pain the next minute with a broken toenail.

I quickly looked around to see if any one was a witness to my sudden tantrum and to my [bad] luck, sure enough, there was this guy standing on the pavement with a curious smile on his face.

I looked away cursing him under my breath, wishing he’d go away and tried once again to open the door faking a calmness I hardly felt …Much to my annoyance the guy came towards me and enquired, ’Having problems , maam ?’.

‘The door is not opening,’…I said.

‘Perhaps you don’t have the right keys”, he said grinning.

By then I was at my wits’ end and wanted to wipe that grin off his face….he was smartly dressed but …was he some kind of a conman ??

‘I can manage…its none of your business!’ I curtly said.

‘Oh yes it is…’, he said, now clearly laughing, ‘especially since its my car you're meddling with!’

It took a few seconds for his words to sink in!

Oh my god!!! What was I doing??? Trying to open someone else’s car with my keys!!! But it was a grey Zen…

I looked up to find my car parked right next to this one. In my hurry to get to the bank I hadn’t realized that another grey Zen had been parked next to mine and had gladly assumed that the first car I set my eyes on was mine!!

How could I ???? He saw me kicking his car and no wonder he that funny smile on his face …what an idiot I must have looked like!

What followed was a profuse flow of apologies from my side while he tried his best to make me feel at peace and reassure me. I had never felt so stupid in my life!

I just fled the scene and headed back home with a valuable lesson…never assume things and check the car number every time before you try to unlock it!!!