Monkton Mondays!

It’s been a while since I was away…you know how it goes…you go a vacation and no matter how short, it takes days to prepare before and weeks to get back to routine after 😉 Or at least I like to pretend it does 😛 So it was, after our Easter weekend getaway in Ooty – a hill station in the Nilgiris, in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Detailed post will follow just as soon as I can get through the ton of pictures I have to sort through. 

I must also write that this will probably be my last Monkton post for a while. As much as I enjoy them, I’ve been doing them for so long that I’ve used all of my favourite pictures and unless Mr. Monkton does a fresh lot of illustrations, I feel like I’ll be forced to repeat many of them. I’ve been toying with the idea of using illustrations from the The Happy Page while waiting for new pearls of wisdom from Mr. Monkton. I love how their minimalistic illustrations manage to convey a myriad of emotions 🙂 and they fit rather well with my Blog title and theme. Unfortunately…I can’t seem to think of a cool alliterative title (I have a thing about alliteration as far as titles go :P), so all suggestions are very welcome!

Although I’ve been away from the Blog, I’ve been busy with the camera and am still very much a part of the CameraShy Take52 Challenge. Will update those posts as well during this week. We’ve had some interesting challenges these last two weeks 🙂 And so to the start of another week, just a few days left and we’ll be in May – almost half the year done in the blink of an eye! As of now the things that occupy my mind are getting a dog (although that’s perpetually on my mind!) and our trip to Kabini in June and then Goa – for a month long break after – by which time hopefully the Monsoon will be in full swing and we’ll be rid of this wretched heat! Tomorrow, Junior has a ‘Leadership Summit’ in school – can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with 🙂 And so let me wrap up this last Monkton post with a big ‘Thank You’ a la Monkton…To all of you for reading and for making writing a joyful experience – I’m very grateful! I hope you enjoy the Tin of Good Things 😀 

I know I will!

Happy Monday People 😀 

Monkton Mondays!

Today is Holi – The Festival of Colors! Like all things Indian, there are myriad stories that surround one festival 😉 My favourite of the ones surrounding Holi, is the story of Prahlad, son of the Demon-king Hiranyakashyapu. How’s that for a tongue-twister eh? 😉

Well, in manner of all Demons – old & new, this one too got so full of himself, that he declared that the World should worship only Him and none of the 36 million odd Gods that were around. However he harboured a fervent devotee of the Lord Vishnu (The Protector), in his own home, a fact that was like a humungous thorn in his demon-hide! The young prince Prahlad was pious and steadfast and under The Lord’s protection – a fact that saved him from several attempts on his Life. I think his Dad once tried to have him trampled to death by a mad bull elephant – NOT cool! Finally King H called on his evil sister (I wonder if she was a twin), conveniently named Holika (you see where this is going?) for help in killing his son. This is why I say – Family is overrated much 😛

Holika had a magical cloak (move over Harry!), that protected her from Fire. Supercool methinks! So anyway, she sat on a burning pyre, and on her lap sat Prince Prahlad, calmly meditating on The Lord’s name. I’m telling you – Meditation is the way to go People! And Lo and Behold (God, I’ve been dying to use that expression!), the cloak miraculously flew off her and onto the Prince, saving him. Meanwhile Holika was Toast! I must confess I feel a little sad for her, but then I’ve always enjoyed the Demon in me 😉 But for the rest of the goody goody World – All’s Well that Ends Well! Good once again conquers Evil and one more festival is added to the ever-lengthening list 🙂 And for those of you who are interested in the end of the story – The Lord Vishnu appears in the form of a lion-man, grabs the evil King, sits on the threshold and literally tears his heart out!! Oh yeah – Beware the Vengeful God People 😛 Then the good Prince P becomes the good King P and everyone is happy except the dead and we all know they don’t count!

The purpose of the tale, other than it took me down memory lane and was fun to write 😉 is to explain why we light a huge Bonfire on the night before Holi, and call it Holika! It signifies as always the triumph of Good and a phoenix-like renewal from the ashes of loss. I wonder if Rowling ever read this story? 😛 Last night we witnessed our very own Holika and she was pretty fiery 🙂 And although playing with colours traditionally follows the Holika, times they are a-changing my friends. We played with colours yesterday morning, because it was a Sunday and so – convenient 🙂 It was fabulously fun though and Junior who’s been terrified of playing before, was happy to smear colours on us and himself and even willing to be drenched by water guns 😀 some of which by the way, could easily be mistaken for army-issue! He’s growing up and it makes me a little teary, but well – c’est la vie. 

Holika burns!

The ‘Holi’ Moon, this morning 🙂

Captain Colour 😉

In other weekend news – finally began Steinbeck’s East of Eden and am already half-living in the Salinas valley 🙂 I’m just about a 50 pages in and already I know this is going to be an unforgettable saga of gargantuan proportions. Sorry for the floweriness 😛 Have been wanting to use ‘gargantuan’ for ages too 😉 And so on to Mr. Monkton…I chose this image because it reminded me of how ‘In the Groove’ we were yesterday – dancing to the latest Bollywood numbers, coloured faces grinning maniacally, carefree and happy! It was a good feeling! A Wonderful feeling 😀 I FELT it! And it’s very clear that  Ms. Bunny feels it too 😀

Happy Monday People!

May you always find COLOUR when you need it 😀

Monkton Mondays!

It’s been a mixed weekend. Spent the first half of International Women’s Day in School at the PTM with Junior. All was well except that I was down with one of those inexplicable attacks of the common cold – you know the ones where you were perfectly fine the day before (or so you thought!) but woke up to a hundred sneezes? Yup! That’s the one! Well, Mom had to be on duty, cold or no cold, predictably; and so she was, again – predictably. Dad was…lets just not go there shall we? Wouldn’t want to begin the first post for the week with a rant against husbands. So passé n’est pas?!

Junior has found his footing in school, more or less. He’s happy to go, happy to learn and generally happy for the most part 🙂 Fingers crossed for Grade 1 in August! The second half of Saturday I spent ‘zonked out’ in bed. There is no better term to describe it, I promise! It was the sleep of the afflicted and it was restorative to say the least. Woke for an hour around dinnertime, when Hubby redeemed himself a tad by taking the Munchkin and himself out to dinner and bringing me back some Pepperoni Pizza. And before you jump down my throat saying Pizza is not appropriate nutrition for the afflicted; let me jump right down yours and say IT IS 😛 Proof lies in the fact that I felt much recovered on Sunday and was able to attend my first Sunday Soul Sante – a Bangalore institution of sorts I imagine, a fiesta of arts & crafts supplemented with the requisite food stalls, fashion show and live music 😀 The traffic was killing but luckily the venue was practically in our backyard, and I had fun wandering around with Junior, discovering little treasures, for an hour or so. That’s my limit in a crowd that size…longer is unthinkable!

I don’t know whether this is a part of growing older too (so much of what I feel and experience seems to be), but routine weekdays are now ‘easier’ than planning weekends 😛 This morning for example, I must confess to feeling a disproportionate elation on the arrival of Monday 😉 Perhaps the fact that I look forward to writing this post and a new theme in my Photgraphy Challenge has a little something to do with? Possibly…whatever the reasons, it feels good to be alone, in a silent house and able to write; able to think. Also I’m happy to report the number of sneezes is down to 10 🙂 and that I have finished my latest Julian Barnes book, Levels of Life, which has reinforced my love of his writing manyfold. He writes about grief (don’t they all?!), but he weaves magic with his insight into ‘grief’ and ‘the mourning process’ as he sees it, so that in the end it doesn’t leave me feeling as depressed as I expected it would. As always he tells not a conventional story – that is not his way – this reads more like a philosophical essay perhaps – I’m unsure of where and how to slot it, which for me is part of its allure.

Through ballooning and photography, and the journeys of three fascinating real-life characters (completely and utterly unknown to me), who are ‘put together’ and ‘torn apart again’, he explores the mysteries of the human heart and mind and weaves his way to the story of his own grief, his own journey, his own process. All this is in 118 pages! Along the way, he taught me a few new words too, ‘divagations’, ‘recidivism’, ‘solipsism’…words that I had to look up and that are now happily a part of my consciousness. Every thought he offers, every feeling he feels, felt real and resonated with forceful impact, no doubt because of the loss of my own brother 5 years ago. I identify on a gut level where he’s coming from. No explanations required. Needless to say I’m in complete agreement with one of the judges who awarded him the 2011 Man Booker Prize, who called him ‘an unparalleled magus of the heart’. I don’t know of a better way to describe his writing 🙂

And so to Mr. Monkton – I must confess I’d almost forgotten him in my Barnes soliloquy 😛 but not quite! What with Women’s Day (although everyday is Women’s Day in my book!), and finishing this book which may be obviously about grief but is just as obviously about love, I think this thought of Mr. Monkton says it all. I’ve always thought that we women never do as good a job of loving ourselves and other women as much as we do with the men and children in our lives. And I firmly believe that’s it’s the only way forward! So here’s to self-love without which I believe there can be no form of lasting love at all.

Love Yourself People! You’re WORTH it! 

And then…Pass it On 🙂

Happy Monday!

Monkton Mondays!

So, here we go again! Another Monday – although this one’s special if you are an Oscar fan! I’m not 😛 The first thing I do on a Monday morning after Junior leaves for school and Hubby for work, is sit down to write Monkton Mondays. But today, the words just don’t seem to flow! Strange, coz I know what I want to write but I can’t seem to find a rhythm…and that just throws me. I think it must be because my mind feels overloaded with ‘STUFF’. Just ‘stuff’ you know – nothing unmanageable on it’s own but all together a rather heavy burden. Things that need sorting, difficult calls that must be made – stuff that I would rather not do and keep postponing (as if that ever helps!). Eventually, I’ll just have to bite the bullet and do it and I will, all in good time 😛

Took a break after writing that first bit…watched the Oscars for a while, did some deep breathing (and no I don’t mean yoga!), and made those calls. Managed to keep my cool and get my points across while keeping blood pressure within normal limits 😉 Am feeling so efficient and angelic right now! Am feeling that halo 😛 Feeling a lot better now that that monkey is off my back 🙂 and so back to the post.

It is Oscar Monday…but really, is it just me or are the Oscars just getting more run-of-the-mill with every passing year? I don’t mean the actual performances, just the rest of the surrounding hoopla. The Red Carpet interviews were ordinary, and yes some of the gowns were great, as were a few performances, my favourite was Ordinary Love by U2 🙂 and yet I got this overwhelming sense of deja vu – been there, seen that kind of feeling. It all just suddenly seemed so put on    I think it’s a sure sign of ageing 😉 (I’ve seen a fair share of Oscars over the years after all), although it could also be because I haven’t seen any of the nominated movies. And I don’t think I will because they all seem so angtsy and depressing! Also, I yearn for movie stars who ooze glamour like Elizabeth Taylor, who ooze charm like Audrey Hepburn and elegance like Grace Kelly…see what I mean? I’m living in the past. All the women looked so androgynous to me today…I guess I just like a woman to look feminine occasionally…LOVED Kate Blanchett though (so so happy she won!) and Glen Close and of course Meryl Streep 🙂 Missed RDJ and Depp and Denzel…Benedict Cumberbatch was great eye-candy for the 5 minutes he was on stage! Sadly, found Ellen rather boring and the humour flat but loved Pink singing Somewhere over the Rainbow, looking like a jewel in her stunning ruby red gown. Found the standing ovations for every performance very artificial and staged! All in all found the whole show rather dull and boring sort of like the weather we’re having here in Bangalore right now…muggy!

But since it is the biggest night at the movies, I thought I would share this Monkton film that is a sensitive and innovative interpretation of the greatest mystery in the world – Love! Now that to me is Oscar-worthy 😉 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KpfkCtmwVU

Happy Monday People! Have a good week ahead 🙂

Monkton Mondays!

This is my 300th post!! Rather chuffed I am, in a silly sort of way 😛 Didn’t think I’d last this long…not known for my sticking to any one thing for a significant length of time…just ask Mom or Hubby or…well Me 😉 I’m a restless soul – and in lieu of any other explanation – I must concede that I was born this way. I’m like the proverbial rolling stone, rolling this way and that, gathering bits of moss – some stick, some fall away, all leave a mark – invisible or otherwise. It isn’t entirely a bad way to be, to live…although there are moments when I crave the illusion of security that chaperones the more steady existence. Very brief moments 😉

For the most part though…I’m content with being who I am and Happy – in the way a ride on the roller coaster makes me happy 😛 It might not be everyone’s cup of coffee (I am not a tea person) – but it suits me just fine 🙂 I want to send a huge THANK YOU to all my readers without whom…on many days…there would have been no reason to lay pen on paper or I suppose finger on key! Many are the times when I have despaired of ever writing another word, and a nudge from a friend has rekindled the flame. You know who you are – THANK YOU! And I Love You all for your kind words of encouragement and support. Can’t do it without you, so please keep the  coming People 🙂 There…that’s my little ‘speechy’ moment all done and dusted 😉

And in return for all the Love you have shown me here’s a little something from Mr. Monkton that I hope you will find useful!

Because…we could ALL do a little bit of Loveliness in our Lives n’est pas?

Happy Monday Mes Amis 😀

P. S. If this post seems rambly blame it on Sherlock! Uh huh! Watching Benedict Cumberbatch while trying to write will do that to you 😛 Not that I’m complaining 😉

Monkton Mondays!

Monday again! How regularly they turn up! Oh well…it has been a quiet weekend and although Hubby returned from a week-long absence and entertained Junior for a couple of hours…well that’s just it…it’s a couple of hours out of the 24 and not nearly enough…but hey! I’ll take what I can get. I’m a little out of sorts…can you tell? It’s how I typically react when Hubby gets back from being away…there’s the return to a more intensive routine that bugs me for a while versus the joy of having him home. It takes a few days to get things in balance again. The achievement of that equilibrium is however a delicate process – easily derailed – often by silliness and randomness 😛 You know what I mean…having to make a cup of tea when I’m deeply engrossed in a book…that sort of thing 😉 Also, is it just me or does just the one extra person mean so much extra work and planning?!

Oh I know I’m cribbing…who cares! It’s Monday and I’m entitled…especially because I’ve just received a phone call from my maid’s Mom saying she isn’t well and won’t be coming to work today…so as soon as I get breakfast for said, now unsurprisingly, even more irritating Hubby, (this is a very Asian thing me thinks; this getting all het up with the Hubby when the maid disappears!), it’s off to do a sink full of dirty dishes and other ‘housework’, when I’d rather be writing! See what I mean! Well, at least she called which is more than some others do!

But there is one thing I did this morning that might just be my ‘Happy Fix’ for the day…took a picture of the beautiful, luminous moon at 6 am as soon as I got up 🙂 Just writing about it brightens my mood! So I guess it’s true about the Deadly Donkey then…

Well now! Isn’t that a deep rhyme to be living by! Sounds a lot like my Granny actually 😛 Thank you Mr. Monkton for your deep insights!

So today…I choose the Moon in all her wonderful lunacy! 

Isn’t she beautiful? 🙂

And you? Choose well People!

Happy Monday 🙂 

Monkton Mondays!

It’s that time of year again! February’s here and the World will go crazy in  or at least pretend to 😉 Come Valentine’s Day, all those who are lucky in Love will celebrate and those that are not will hang down their heads and cry…I suppose…or hold them high and celebrate for all I know 😛 I have no problems with Love and even less of a problem with celebrating it, but these days, it seems like everyone celebrates it because it’s what’s expected somehow, because they want to feel like they belong. I also don’t like how Valentine’s Day has become almost exclusively about ‘romantic’ love! Just my personal opinion – feel free to hold your own!

I have known my husband for 25 years. We’ve been married 22 of those. Our love has been fluid through the course of our relationship – as a lubricant when there was need for compromise; like water – for dousing out those infernal arguments; a fuel – for you know when 😉 It’s also been the glue that has held us together; the rubber band that has allowed us our space when we needed it; and the hope that keeps us afloat in the many storms that Life sends our way. And that’s how it been in ALL my relationships – with my Parents, my Gran, my friends and now with my Son…Love does what it can to show me a good time if I let it! If I don’t interfere too much, it generally knows best, even if I don’t see it at the time 😛

And so here is a collection of Valentine Day messages in inimitable Monkton-style…messages that I would love to send and receive on VD if I were into that sort of thing 😉 

Especially because you are 😉

Mon 10.03 am Just after I finish writing this post 😛

Let’s not!

Let us be Monkeys I say 🙂

True dat 😛

Me Biscuit, You Potato!

Happy Monday People!

Celebrate LOVE…Everyday! Always & Forever, Won’t you? ❤

Monkton Mondays!

I didn’t step out of the house this weekend. Really…not even to do grocery shopping! It’s just been that kind of weekend. For those of you who remember, I spent last week with Junior – exclusively, 24/7 – well it took it’s toll and I’m now down with a cold, which while giving me a sexy voice a la Depp & Downey (I can dream can’t I?), has also bestowed upon me the ignominy of a million sneezes. C’est la vie mes ami…for all I know it’s not a virus, but divine retribution for complaining about having Junior all to myself for a whole entire week! Junior on the other hand came through the ordeal swimmingly, no sneezes on the horizon as far as I can see! *Mommy Halo* 😉

Can I also just say that I’m very irritated with the Hubby, who after a whole week away in which he missed Junior’s Sports Day and first somersault, spent the entire weekend staring at the computer screen? Surely I’m allowed to feel RAGE?!!! Futile though it may be 😛 Oh don’t worry…I haven’t killed him or anything…not yet 😉 Can you tell I’m being overly explicit because I know he will read this although he won’t tell me he did? Yup…am sending him a message…a strong one…coz he’s off away again this time for the weekend as well! Now do you see? Well, just to be fair…he did play cricket with Junior as per their weekend schedule, which is why he is still alive 😛 *Wifey Horns* 😛

So anyway…as you can see, I’m in a strange kinda indeterminate mood…probably from a combination of irritation, incessant sneezing & ‘low oxygenation’, a phrase that Hazel from The Fault in Our Stars knows well! Finished the book on Sunday morning and I must say, was extremely impressed by how intuitive and funny John Green’s writing is 🙂 Although the story is tragic, it is rooted firmly in life and he tackles it with just the right balance of humour and poignancy while avoiding all manner of preachiness. That is tough to do. It reminded me of Juno – different story but similar irreverently sensitive treatment. For me it touched a very personal chord – I know my brother felt and thought a lot of the things the kids in the book do. Being terminal for whatever reason will do that to you I suppose. I can only imagine. This was difficult for me to read at times but also unputdownable! 

On a happier note – started my second 1000 piece puzzle last evening 🙂  This one is a glow-in-the-dark one and I’m quite excited to see whether it really does as it says! Felt good running the pieces through my fingers and separating out the edge-pieces! Got one side done too! Also watched quite a few Marple episodes online…she isn’t a great favourite of mine…but Christie is Christie and I had fun trying to remember what happened next. As Ms. Ariadne Oliver’s would say, I’m an ‘Elephant’ and I do remember! Don’t bother with that sentence if you’re not a Christie fan 😉

And so that brings me and you (Thankfully I’m sure!) to the reason why you’ve tolerated all the %&*#$ above 😉 Mr. Monkton! And because I am in the mood I am, this is what spoke to me this week…

I want to be a Dragon. I am that Hair! I love that Hair! I still want to be a dragon. Oh Whatever!

Go be Dragons People! Or be Hair! What do I care? 😉

Happy Monday 😀 

Monkton Mondays!

Another Monday morning dawns and I realise we’re almost at the end of January! It’s been a fun beginning to my year so far, and I can only hope things get better 😉 We had a fun weekend – lunch at home for friends on Saturday and a visit to the Whitefield Farmer’s Market on Sunday morning, followed by the mandatory trip to the Mall for the 5-yr-old 😛

Enjoyed the Market and the wholesome produce on offer! Have never seen such fresh greens at any of the stores I’ve shopped at so far in Bangalore! What a relief to know that they do indeed exist. Thanks to Buffalo Back & Dubdengreen, my kitchen is now fragrant with the scent of fresh basil 🙂 and the crunchy sound of crisp lettuce is as music to my ears 🙂 I didn’t realise how deeply green and leafy freshly plucked celery is! We’re lucky to get the rather oldish stalks in the supermarket if at all A heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to all the farmers who are doing the right thing and helping us eat healthy 🙂

There were other organic goodies on sale too – free-range eggs, organic pulses and cereal, organic baked products, soaps. And much to my delight, there was a stall that explained Composting! I know, I know…not the most romantic thing about gardening but certainly one of the most important. Lately, Terrace gardening has caught my fancy…but seeing as I have red thumbs instead of green 😛 I’m reading about it first to acquaint myself with what it entails. Its a fairly labour-intensive process from what I can tell so far, and yet the fabulous pictures of tomatoes-on-the-vine, aubergines, cucumbers, all manner of green leafies, lady-fingers, pumpkins…grown by people in the know, are utterly tempting and very motivational!

Anyway, the stall run by the rather aptly named Daily Dump had a daily composter on sale and a very helpful young lad who explained the process to me. I forget his name but I am very thankful for his expertise! I just think it’s time for me to seriously think about reducing my carbon footprint and this seems doable. I really want to start but I need to read a bit more first…and then hopefully it’s Happy Composting…followed by Happy Gardening…and many pictures of red cherry tomatoes on the vine 😉 I’m still uncertain whether my motivation stems from the promise of great veggies or great pictures! I  suspect it’s the latter 😛

And so, after all this talk of veggies and the like, it seemed only proper to share what they themselves think…the veggies that is…or more accurately, what Mr. Monkton thinks they’re thinking 😉

Who knew veggies could philosophise?! And now I’m wondering about the Broccoli 😛 Are you?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend 🙂

Eat healthy (try ;)) and have a good week ahead People!

Monkton Mondays!

The weekend has been superbly fulfilling! I finally got myself a McBook – something that Ive been wanting for a while but that never got to the top of that priority list. Even when my trusted HP finally crashed & died, I got a Samsung as a temporary replacement. Boy was that a mistake! But now, all is sorted and HAPPY!! The McBook is a whole new experience in cool and practical! It feels intuitive. It feels right. It feels perfect 😉

We’re already halfway through the first month of the New Year and a semblance of routine is now in place. I’ve joined a photography challenge this year, similar to one my friend A had organised a couple of years ago. It’s called Take52 ~ and it involves taking a picture a week based on a theme. Some of you may have seen my first picture on the FB page, but I’ve decided to also post the pics here. It’ll increase my blog posts for one 😉 I’ve taken up the challenge because although I love to take pictures, recently I’ve found myself struggling with both inspiration & motivation. Most of the pictures I take are of Junior and although he’s a willing and beautiful subject, I need variety! I need a fresh set of eyes and a new belief and that is why I turn to Mr. Monkton – who else?! 😉

See? That’s what we all need from time to time. A reaffirmation of our strengths and and a biscuit to believe in! I’m hoping it works for me!

What better time to start than NOW? 

Pick your biscuits People! BELIEVE!

Statutory Warning: Dunk at your own Risk 😉

Happy Monday 🙂