A Pocketful Of Ties

When I sing a song of my present tense
It’s a pocketful of ties
And the four and twenty hours in a day
They just go flying by………………..



I’ve been meaning to resume my blogging for quite some time. However, a thief called Procrastination has consistently been stealing my time, thus giving me a convenient excuse for all the dilly dallying. Well, actually there was not one but two thieves- the other being Commitment. And even if the first crook can be condemned, the second can never be convicted. Or rather should never be. Not unless one wants to spend the rest of their lives holidaying on a guilt trip.

It all started with my mummy’s failing health. And then my father-in-law suddenly fell ill. For him it was just a minor flu and not any dreaded disease, but that which when coupled with old age can also snatch away one’s zest for life. After we came back, one health debacle followed another. And since troubles usually come marching in battalions soon someone or the other in our family was taken ill. Some of the health problems even extended to my pets Champagne and Nelson and I got caught up in this torrential downpour of familial sickness. And with these newfound nursing duties my blogging world slowly faded away into the horizon. But when one steadfast soldier called Cancer, swaggered into our extended family home with confidence, it really took us all by surprise.

And months later, after being a silent witness to all those endless chemo sessions, I seriously feel that everyone should religiously visit a hospital at least once a month. It doesn’t matter which. When diseases flourish, healing homes automatically mushroom. So any hospital will do. For it is only in this therapeutic temple that all religions finally converge. It is only here that a devotee gets to experience the numbness of supreme grief or the exhilaration of a sublime joy. It is only here that one gets to witness the endless shades of hope or despair in the eyes of the patients and their loved ones. It is only here that one sees the various shades of celebration, devastation, construction, destruction or resurrection. Of life and of death! And during this miraculous pilgrimage one also gets a chance to finally stop cribbing and start counting their blessings instead.

Year after year, it’s funny how I have always spoken or written a New Year wish in a very clichéd term- without actually giving a second thought to the weight of the words that I coin. Maybe it is a universal phenomena where the greeting is nearly always a hackneyed sentence- A Happy and Prosperous New Year!

I mean what exactly is the yardstick by which we measure the happiness or the prosperity that we eternally keep wishing each other for. As far as I know, happiness is but a state of mind. And prosperity is merely a sign of success. But in the contemporary world, health and peace is the crying combination of a happy and prosperous life.

So my formula is now very simple. I have realized that I can be happy only when everyone around me is fit and fine. And safe. And I can succeed in life only when I have managed to conquer all my illnesses. Of the body and of the mind!

So these are my newfound wishes for all those that I hold dear to my heart.

1. May 2010 wipe away all the afflictions and ailments and hazards- from not only your life but also from those that you are close to.
2. May all your friends and family (and not only your spouse) love and honour you. May they stand by you in times of distress. And in sickness and in health!

As for my New Year resolution, I resolve to faithfully continue with my Pranayam. I resolve to visit a hospital whenever I can. And amidst the multitudes of Hi’s and Bye’s in my social and blogging space, I also resolve to pay more attention. To the pocketful of ties that I am bound to in my private little world!

Wishing you all a very, very Healthy and Peaceful New Year!
And Vim....thanks for those endless sms'es and reminders for me to start blogging again. Ab Happy kya :-}