A 6th Birthday Letter!

Hey my li’l one! Because you will always remain my li’l one. Remember the balmy morning you came into this world, six years ago? The birds chirped, the flowers bloomed and our hearts warmed when you came into our arms. This morning isn’t any different today; I saw the same spark in your eyes when you woke up in my arms! It’s the 6th – it won’t be the same anymore. Today is the beginning of the next stage in your life. All of 6, how do I express my pride in being called your Mom. We were overjoyed on the day when you made that journey and arrived with a scowl on your face and your eyes twinkled; we even laughed at how you tried to eat some air - what was that, Ilvikaa? I clearly remember how determined you looked and gave those glares. Just imagine, how time has flown… seen you right from learning to walk and feeding yourself to making those large Lego models… my fat chubby fingers can barely fix those blocks! How can I forget those times when you held strong than most of us and showed courage while I was away, thanks to you and your Nana and Nani for that love that backed us up! Telling you that I needed to be with you was the hardest but your love for me, never for a moment wavered. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I had the strength or the will to make it but the nerve you took – commendable. Indeed, a strong lady in making! I don’t think I’ve ever felt so proud of you when you have been kind, hospitable and loving to everyone around you! In the last few years, I have grown with you – you have taught me so much and how to be a parent. Good or bad, that is your judgement. I have learned to be more patient, more tolerant, more understanding, more resilient, more trusting, more proud, more compassionate because of you. We are blessed in our relationship as mother and daughter and friends. I love you. Your wisdom has amazed me, but you know they say ‘age teaches you with experience’ and with some silvery patches in my Mommy crown, please hear me out… you would like some things and you can thank me later on the 16th birthday! • At the outset, love yourself like none can love you – you will learn to enjoy your own company • Love with all your heart — remember it’s a muscle, it never breaks, it just gets bruised and bruises fade with time • Spread cheer and smiles wherever you go, everything heals with a smile and you have a charming one! • Aim higher, always – sky is your limit • Listen to none when they tell you, ‘you can’t achieve your dream’ • Surround yourself with great friends, they will add the aesthetic value to your life • Take risks – fall and rise again • Stay change-friendly – that is the way of life • Never stop learning — new skills, new ways of thinking... • Trust your intuition — if it feels right do it, if you have any doubt — don’t Spread your light, live your name; let the world shine through you. Remember you can always come back running to me when you feel lost! All my love, Mom April 2nd, 2017

A Lucky song tale

All of 16, a teenager’s heart skipped a beat to the tunes of an indie-pop singer and created an archetype in her head on new standards for handsome men! His earthy voice bracketing pyramids of Egypt, archaeology, a desert that yearns - in total of a little over four minutes; just enough to dream of ultimate love-travel. It was 1996, and I was in love with Lucky Ali in his blue shirt and bedouin head-gear for his first song O Sanam from his album Sunoh. Such was my first step in youth, love, and life. Then came a song, “Dekha hai aise bhi….and the words “Dil ke kisi kone mein bhi kuch aise hi vaadein hai” it was a track on traveling and revisiting somewhere without judgments. All you had to look for was a message, ‘on working towards your goals… without caring less’. Meet new people, let them be, they may or may not come around, but life will go on. At 17, for someone who felt a tad bit lost and yet confident; this song gave hope. Cut to Bollywood, Lucky Ali sang for Hrithik Roshan in a blockbuster hit. A master dance - step, velvety tone, locales of New Zealand and soaring towards Y2K (you can’t forget this) – it’s time to make a choice between your heart and mind – choose what you love or learn to love what you will study for the next four years! I am sure every 90s kid would agree with me on his charming yet rugged looks that made a smooth transition into mainstream world – just like how I had learned to be different, yet join the race later. Life takes its course, and so does your love, which never fades away; only to make rounds from where it was, behind shadows of time. ‘Sur’ was an experience. Onscreen, background score and a choral Lucky Ali was a delight to watch, and another milestone that coincided was a lifelong commitment of wedlock. A journey that has milestones and no destinations… Such were his melodies that rang attune to what I was living… He was often heard, loved and appreciated in years to come for Anjaana Anjaani… Aahista Aahista…. And Hairat. I think it was Safarnama, early last year, when I felt the same long lost connection; with what he said in the song, after a hiatus of personal nature. More on lines of ‘life does go on’ and making peace with that. It wouldn’t be entirely wrong to mention that each of his songs has a special place in my timeline of growing up. Lucky Ali’s music and his mystic renderings are the sketches, which outline the magic he sings with; he has colored my spells of happiness, sadness, anxiety, bewilderment, and at times solitude. His lyrics had stories; his music is still fresh to my ears as it was, in the decade before the last. Why this, today? I heard him at a concert this weekend, live and still exuding the same sharp charisma that hits you in the most unexpected way possible. Behind his silvery mane, melodic eyes, captivating resonance, and alluring performance, song after song – I witnessed myself from times that were my own, once upon a time!