Bangkok Trip, June, 2008

Delicious Ice creams

Oh I had a wonderful holiday in Bangkok with my husband last week. This was our third trip together and we had fun, not exploring the new places but eating and shopping. Though I find shopping, hectic and tiresome but it is fun sometimes. Food in Thailand is always good for the meat lovers and we both had fun, though he was kinda sick with an upset stomach (that didn’t stop him of eating). Whenever I am there I am always amazed to see women all over the place. Be it in the clothes shop or a car shop or even in the computer shops, more than ninety percent, we find that women are taking care of their business. I wonder what does men do, and where are they, if not to be seen around.

The gals works so hard and all those beautiful young girls who we see with the foreigners, I feel thay have their own sad stories to share. Once I read a book called "My name is Lon. You love me?" Tells the story of a gals journey as how she becomes a prostitute and struggles to keep up with life to secure her families needs. Many times I wonder how they communicate with their clients with such limited or no English.

Whatever the reason, I love the way they talk and say " No Have" or "Swa dee kha " and I just try and say "Kha pan kha" or "Thank you".

Gaidakot Visit

Training is over and it went good. More than training I was happy to visit the fields. We went to the two villages of Nawalparasi, Pabitranagar and Dundheni. Met lots of local people, saw their lives, spoke to them clicked snaps. There was this particular incident I want to share, I was taking picture of an 11 year old girl. Her name was Chun Kumari Kulami and studies at class one. After taking her picture, I showed it to her and and she asked me innocently, when is she going to get her picture. I didn't reply, coz I myself didn't knew the answer. She was so soft spoken that I could hardly hear what she was saying to me. She was on her own world, day dreaming about the pictures. She was confused as to which corner of her house was she going to fit her two picture. She was talking to herself, and even asked me and then answered herself that she was going to put one in her house and one in her aunt's house. I felt sad coz I was so stupid that I couldn't even tell her that I would send it to her as I didn't know when I would be going back to her village again. I have posted here one of her snaps and one with her friends all in a happy mood, smiling for the camera.

Happy Mother's day

Going for the training to Nawalparasi on the 14. Kinda exicited as this is the first time I am going as a facilitator and not the participant. Mother's day over, nothing much happenned. Bought a saree for my mom in law as usual. thulo mom was also there for the mother's day. It was kinda fun. Had wrote an article for midway for mother's day, but didn't get published because the publication house received it late. so will just put it down here.

Mother's day comes and goes, but the memories linger and stay with us for a long time. Mother's day has been difficult for me since my mother expired of cancer almost two years back. There are many things I miss about her, but, what I miss the most is the sharing of my worries and happiness with her. Sometimes I get a twinge of sadness, because I used to fight with her for childish reasons and think about the love and patience that she always showed to me. I could never give back even a tiny fraction of what she gave me.Every Mother's Day, I bought her gifts, that I thought she liked and went shopping all over the place looking for that something special, then I realized that the only gift that she ever really wanted was my love.Even in the last days of her life , I never saw her sad, though I knew she was in terrible pain. We never let her know that she had a cancer, and hope she never came to know about it till the end, and we celebrated the last Mother's day together. Sometimes, how I longed to pick up the phone and call the person, who was not only my mother, but also my best friend, to tell her that the love and inspiration, she showered me all her life has made me stronger and happier. But I couldn't.Though she is not with me today, her love for me lives in other ways too. It visits me in the spring when the flowers, she planted before she died blooms, or when I see a mango grow in my garden. It comes to me from the people she knows, when they tells me how helpful and wonderful a person she was. It makes me smile.In each Mother's day I have lots of bittersweet recollections. I rejoice that in the world of abused and forsaken children, I had a mother who cherished me and nurtured me. Who taught me right from wrong. I cry in the night when the world is asleep, because I miss my Mother, her friendship, her strength, her humor and above all her love for me.There is a creed in Robert Fulghum’s wonderful book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. It is called the “Storytellers Creed” and it writes in part; That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.Love truly is stronger than death because it comes from God and I believe that there will be no more goodbyes, as there will be no tears in heaven. And this Mother's day the only thing I want to say to my dear mother is; Capitulate in your love, I feel alive, my joy lies in your arms and in your poignant care. Heaven is there, where, the soul of yours, reinforcing love everywhere. Happy Mothers Day.

New Beginning

It's been so long I have been wanting to create a blog of my own. Finally the day is arrived. Don't know what am I gonna write on this, hopefully something fresh and nice. After a longest vacation of my life, I am back to work and am enjoying. Life is going great.

Kanchi (my Pup) is not well and I am so depressed coz of that. She looks so helpless and tired. Wish I could do something for her. Bhai abd me chatted till one last nite. Nothing in particular, but about everything. He is getting married and I just want to see him settlled. This is it for now I guess, but will be back with a bang. I promise :))