Soulmate's blues

Dated: 7th March 2009

I came to know from Teilang that a band from Shillong will be playing at a concert somewhere near CP at around 8 pm. I invited my good friend Riwin whom I have not met since 2005. Our rendezvous was Meghalaya house at 6.30 pm. The venue, which we later came to know, was an open air theatre, and the concert was part of the event called 'Romancing India's Northeast: An Akshara Theatre Celebration'. The most striking thing about the venue however, was that it was just behind the 'Trauma Care Centre' of the Dr. R.M. L. Hospital!!

...and I was pretty sure that either the patients were getting traumatised or revitalised, and I hope it was the latter since these days 'music therapy' is in...and though it would probably be the first open air blues therapy session they would have ever experienced, I sure hope it kicked some immune cells into action.

Soulmate, the blues band from Shillong was already playing by the time we parked our behinds on the chairs facing the stage. The music was undoubtedly very groovy...Rudy with the guitar was excellent as was Tipriti with her characteristic raw-smooth vocals. The band rendered cover songs as well as self-composed ones, among which the blues version of the Khasi song 'Sier Lapalang' got me and my friends cheering at the top of our voices.

Soulmate in the act

"Voodoo Woman"

A swing at the tee

Dated: 8th March 2009

It was my first game of golf that I played. Jishnu took me to the Sri Fort Sports complex where they had a mini golf course with 9 holes. Jishnu learnt the game in Jakarta and I eagerly listened as he told me how the game is played. So I began to understand things like par, boogey, birdie and eagle. I also learnt how to use the clubs with the mark 'S' and '7', and what they meant. We did not need to use the 'driver' today as it was a mini golf course, but nevertheless I felt good swinging the 'S' and '7' and seeing the ball fly and land on the grass (and sometimes on the sand pit).

Jishnu said I did pretty well for a start with 2 pars, 1 boogey and 2 double boogeys in my game. I know I can become seriously addictive to this game...Maybe one fine day, I shall visit the greens more often. Thanks Jishnu for the lovely experience :)

Positioning myself to hit my ball

This was at the second tee, where I got a par

Jishnu trying to liberate his ball from the sand pit





A squirrel near the 3rd tee oblivious to our game of golf but engulfed in its own affairs

Raag and Daniella

Dated: 6th March 2009

Raag (formal name Swetabh Changkakoti) is now 6 years and Daniella 3. They both have earlier stories in my blog (Raag - http://aibz.blogspot.com/2006/10/raag-wonderful-boy.html and Daniella - http://aibz.blogspot.com/2007/03/daniella-simply-adorable.html). It is wonderful to see them grow into beautiful children with wonderful personalities.

They amaze us with their talents, their grasp of language and the matter-of-factly comments they make. Raag is in Class 1, loves playing football and making 'masterpieces' (paintings and drawings). He's recently learnt how to whistle and it has been 4 days now that he has been whistling. He speaks English, Hindi and Assamese with ease. His current favourite song is 'Delhi 6' from the movie by the same name.

Daniella is in pre-school, and a month ago she and her friend, Ohm exchanged lip-to-lip kiss in school. She asked me the other day 'Are you crazy?' because I didn't know there was a bird by the name Sunbird. She obviously know the names of many birds she can identify from her bird book. So also with fishes and other animals...I'm so glad she is learning about birds and fishes at this age. She's become extremely cute with her curly hair and dainty behaviour. Her favourite colour is pink. She likes to converse in English with her mother and in Khasi with her dad!

Raag and Daniella on the balcony. Daniella is holding a strawberry pastry which she did not eat

Of course she has become quite photogenic too

Watching cartoon channel

About the woods, about life

Morning walks by the woods....

There is something about the woods that speaks to my soul...in reality it's not just the woods, but the abundance of life and wisdom that nature freely gives us that really captivates me. Each time I visit the woods and forests I stand in awe and silence at the wonder all around me. It lives, it feels and understands us... I feel the connection, it lives in me.

Peter and I share this connection, and our morning walks to the woods always refreshes our understanding of life and the meaning of our own existence in this wonderful planet. This is an honest sharing about what makes the woods special for us. Peter by the way is my brother in law and a man my heart respects deeply.

He especially likes to walk bare feet while in the woods...I get the sense that he is trying as much as he can to be one with the ground beneath his feet and everything that draws life from the soil. I tried it too sometimes...though the sharp pricks of small stones and twigs tend to make me put my shoes back before too long.

My favourite walks are those in the forests beyond the golf links and up the hills overlooking Mawpat and Mawlai. The slender trees sway easily as the wind blows. The sound of the wind, the freshness of the air and the songs of birds give me my daily dose of contentment...ushering a certain peace of mind that I eagerly absorb each time I'm there.

I especially treasure moments when the sun shines through the trees, and when the forest vegetation is bathed by the early morning sunlight. Such joy in my heart to witness the awakening of the forest...

Green leaves wear their colour with an abundance that impress my imagination every time I see them.

During the time when Peter's grandfather (Grandpa) was in town, we would take him for a morning walk as well... He's an old tough guy, 84 years young. Travelled by himself all the way from Entebe (Uganda) to Shillong. Though his pace was slow, he made up by sharing interesting stories along the way making the walk quite enjoyable. I took this picture while Peter took Grandpa along a path leading to the golf links. I'm so thankful that we have such easy access to the forests and woods.

And we like to lay on our backs on the soft ground carpeted by soft grass and fallen leaves to gaze at the blue sky above, listening to the sound of silence and then sharing thoughts. There are several monoliths along the way, laid by our ancestors. They make the experience even more special. For me, the forests and the woods hold much wisdom and provides the environment for the mind to open and free itself, and on special moments, I sense a connection as if my being is immersed within the completeness of what surrounds me.