The Green Fairy Princess

It is late in the evening and I ping my daughter. She usually takes time to respond, and I get back to my work. My daughter calls back in just a few seconds. And as we start chatting, she tells me that her cousins are calling her and that she would add me to that call too!

And very soon it becomes an aunts and nieces call, with family members from different times zones catching up on a lazy weekend evening. As with all family calls, there is light-hearted bantering and the exchange of silly family jokes.

While we are thus productively engaged, my younger sister signals us to keep quiet. As we wonder why, she switches her camera to the other side.

All our faces break out into delighted smiles, as my sister’s camera follows my little niece, who is walking purposefully towards the sofa, bedecked in a pair of green fairy wings and a green tiara.

She is totally oblivious to all of us, as she walks over to the sofa and settles down to be a fairy princess with the many other princesses on her favourite TV show. We continue watching her, while slowly getting back to our conversation.

She is our own little green fairy princess, with her new wings that are ready to take her to magical lands, where everything is possible and where dreams come true! Love you little fairy princess.

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Jewel in the sky

It is eight in the evening. I am putting away clothes in the various cupboards. I inhale the fragrance of fabric softener in the freshly washed clothes and lose myself for a minute.

A flashing light catches my eye. I realize that it is a video wall from a building nearby. Each time a video plays, the lights get reflected on the building next to ours.

Just like the video, my mind constantly switches from one thought to another, dwelling on the various mundanities that swamp our lives each day.

I press my nose to the window and watch the world outside. My gaze travels to the traffic at the junction – I see shining lights, silhouettes of people and the shadows of trees. My mind’s chatter continues – hopping from tomorrow’s menu to work to family, and to many other things.

My gaze shifts towards the sky. And there, shining between two buildings – on a deep, deep blue sky – is the planet Venus. Like a solitaire diamond suspended in space.

I continue to gaze at this beautiful jewel. Venus is far, far away and can see the Earth and so many other worlds that are beyond my comprehension. The thoughts in my mind seep away, and I am enveloped by a feeling of peace and timelessness.

The sounds from the traffic below fade, as my mind travels to the unknown – where everyday troubles seem so tiny in comparison, where the concept of hours, days and weeks seem inconsequential in the bigger scheme of things.

Venus will set soon, and in just a few hours the sun will rise on a blue sky, bringing with it the promise of another day. However, the minutiae of our lives will exert their sway on us all over again.

But just for these few glorious minutes I cut myself loose from the here and the now, and suspend myself in another realm where I peek into the magic of the universe, and ponder over its mysteries. Everything else can wait.

Rain

Another day has ended. I am stretched out on the recliner, staring at nothing in particular. My kids are nowhere in sight, while my husband is still busy at work.

A cool breeze enters from the balcony door and teases tendrils of hair onto my face. The sky is dark; dark grey clouds are hanging low. There is a deep rumbling of thunder from far away clouds that are at loggerheads with each other. Sparks fly and bright streaks of lightning illumine the firmament, now here, now gone. The rumbling goes on for sometime.

Finally, the clouds seem to have had enough. They let their emotions rain down on earth. Now, along with the breeze is the gentle sound of rain. Thin silver trains that can only be seen against the street lights. The falling rain is soothing. The clouds are spent. They are done with their day. The earth guzzles this welcome treat. The orchids on my balcony are nodding in merriment. The odd plop of a loud drop can be heard on and off.

Photo by Ilias Tsoutsoulis from Pexels

The rain’s music continues. There is the occasional rumble from high above, but down below all is well. The night has arrived with the rain, rejuvenating the earth, in a timeless dance that will repeat even we are all gone.

The magic of rain can never be explained, it can only be experienced. Whether it is the lashing Indian monsoon or a gentle evening drizzle or a continuous downpour at night, rain is love, rain is nostalgia, rain is hot coffee with samosas, rain is poignancy, rain is coziness, rain is music, rain is magic.

Two magical minutes

It is 7 am in the morning, and I jump out of bed in a leap that would put kangaroos to shame. I am late, and in just 45 minutes I have to send my brood, with lunch boxes and snacks, out into the world.

I spin around the house, multi-tasking – slicing, boiling, toasting and frying. I curse my alarm clock for not being louder, and for not cutting into those thick layers of sleep.

The household is chaotic, everybody is packing their bags, looking for phones, chargers, socks, missing papers.

My menu is pared down to what can be called ‘basic, filling and healthy’, nothing creative, nothing that will cause my kids to go wow when they open their boxes.

Somehow, things get done, and the kids leave, their minds preoccupied with tests and friends. My husband leaves soon after, his mind already at work.

And me, I get a breather before I plunge into my day. I take my coffee and stand near the window. The sky is a bright blue, and the moon is still clearly visible.

The moon looks so beautiful and calm. So near, yet so faraway. Floating as it does high above, the moon seems serene and totally oblivious to all the craziness down below.

Looking at the moon makes me dream of the impossible; and makes me believe that a two minute break in one’s day can be magical – rising above the mundane and all the clutter, taking a deep breath, and sipping coffee.

A few minutes of bliss. Peace. Calm.