Stuck between the door

How does it feel when a finger is stuck to the door? Ah! It's painful and it's not recommended at all for others from my personal experience.

If I am asked to recall from an experience I won't be able to recall the pain but I would be very careful while standing near the door.

I think I should strike off the careful part because for a split moment, my clumsy self emerged and my finger caught stuck between the door. Starting from the beginning will give a better idea of what happened. 

Today was a very humid day, I was sweating as if a bucket of water was poured over my head. The clothes are all sticky with sweat and it was very irritating to even communicate with others. Unfortunately, we are social beings who are forced to interact with others.

At the end of the tiring day, my dad gave me a task to complete and it involved me opening a door to pick something that I forgot to take. As I tried opening the door I mistakenly stuck my finger between the door so that it could open easily. But the door was tightly closed with a bare minimum space between and my carelessness led to the pain that followed later.

It was like the pain was travelling from the fingertips to the nail then to the centre to the palm. Initially, it was so painful but as time passed on the mail became numb and only a tingling sensation was left behind. My nail had slight blood patches within showing the damage that happened. 

Now I recall the forgotten memories of my childhood when I unknowingly stuck my finger between some doore and my nail turned blue but after a few months, it peeled off giving space for the growth of a new nail. It wasn't extreme this time but it had a similar feeling. 

Digging up teenager days

 

Teenager Today" was one of my favourite magazines that I cherished during my school days. It was initially only available in the school library but later on we were given a copy each, every month. I remember waiting in anticipation for a new edition with a lot of new ideas. During library hour the librarian would collect lot of other magazines similar to "Teenager Today" and keep it at my desk as he remembers me pestering for some of my favourite books or magazines.

Today as I was going through my old books as I cleaned after a long time I stumbled upon the magazine of July edition from last year (2023). It was given to my brother but I highly doubt that he read the entire magazine. And when I asked I was totally right he only went through the last page that is "funny bone". A slight change that I noticed was the cover page that have become a bit childish which is not to my taste at all but the contents is in a similar pattern as I remember with a few addition to it.

One of my favourite page to read was the "funny bone" that always brought a smile to my face.

One example would be:

"A man wanted to sell his dog. His friend wanted to buy it.

Friend: Is this dog faithful?

Man: Yes, I have sold it three times already. It is so faithful that every single time it returns to me !"

This was just a part of the magazine but it has lot more facts, photographs majorly of nature, ideas from students, short stories, quotes and lots more.

When I saw this magazine I got so excited and started searching for more but unfortunately there wasn't anymore. I just started reading and in the upcoming blogs I would like to share more of what I have read.

Illusion with pain

 "After all life goes on" this is a common phrase we all give to eachother but today its different for me.

I haven't read any books over a couple of days, apart from reading a few short articles that I don't consider much of a productive reading. I was feeling guilty for neglecting my routine do to some novel reading but then let's keep it a secret.

I wanted to read some simple story so I went to those online e-books that can be read in just one day. Its pretty impressive that some of the online anonymous writers write a better plot than some famous best sellers.

As I further scrolled in search of a captivating waiting story while going through the description. I finally ended up choosing a novel with a title that gave a gist of the entire story in the title itself but still i went ahead to read. 

Hmmm . . . . Let's see what the story says. This tiny 35 chapter novel of about an Indian woman who is forced into an arranged marriage to which she was happy but as the days moved on her husband seemed to neglect her, even threatened to rise his hand on her . Initially she forgive and accepted everything as she was taught that abuse is natural for men. It took a long time of verbal and physical abuse for her to realize how the toxicity of the situation has changed her completely to an unknown person whom she failed to realise. At the end she left her husband and discovered a better version of herself with a new beginning. 

As I read through the abuse it was painful especially when the protagonist's inner voice becomes audible. It was a relief when she left that toxic life and began anew discovering a new version of herself. The pain and heartache I felt as if was my experience that was lingering for a long time .

Of Roads

Badarpur to Noida is so far away and takes a long time to reach but if I start early before rush hour I should be reaching early right? Nope, it doesn't work that way when everything is jumbled up in my memory.

I was lucky to get a bus as soon as I reached the bus stop . I boarded a bus numbered 8 which goes to Botanical garden.

The bus looks good from outside but it was in a worse condition with the air conditioner not working properly and melting inside the bus but since it was free for ladies I have no complaints. After reaching Botanical Garden I walked all the way searching for a bus stop but as soon as I went there I was told that the bus stood in the opposite direction. Uff ! Now I have to walk all the way back to the start. After roaming around I did not get the bus I was looking for so I got on a substitute bus that dropped me off at Knowledge park II instead of Knowledge park III. This bus was different from Delhi bus that I travelled and its interior also differs as it belongs to a different state. The UP state bus has less space to stand but lot more seats providing a better option for the passengers but while riding on this bus it won't make the ride smooth as the passengers gets a land ride feeling while the short travel.

After getting down at Knowledge park II I started walking while expecting to get an auto on the way. Coincidentally, no vehicle came by. It was an isolated route with less people and more greenery just like walking inside the park. I continue to walk for around 32 minutes till I finally reached my destination.

As I reached the tiredness struck me like lightening and my stomach growled loudly. My legs hurt so much that it felt numb, so I removed my sandals to relax my sore feet and found shoe bites all around my feet.  I was also completely drenched in sweat. Seeing my  condition that looked like a drenched cat drying itself, I was asked to sit inside the office room till the person I was waiting for arrives. And the rest went pretty smoothly in the cool atmosphere. Ah! It was so relaxing.

It was a long trip that took more than 2 hours even while returning home. Now at home I feel better with the feeling of 'Home Sweet Home' and waiting to have a long relaxing nap.

The Long Route

As the day began it seemed like every other ordinary day that included boarding bus as well as auto on time and reach before time. But unfortunately today did not seem very supportive. We all have that one day in a month where everything is wrong. I would like to share about the chaotic day where everything was not right.

I started from home quite early so as to board my regular bus which usually comes very often but today unfortunately it was very late and I stood there waiting for a long time. Aah! finally the vehicle arrived after the long wait of thirty minutes. After reaching halfway I was supposed to board an auto that is commonly called as "Savari"  auto among the local people including me, which basically means a share auto.

I walked for some distance and sat inside an auto but the driver was waiting for other passengers to fill the vehicle. Me being a patient person also waited  with the driver but then it was too long and I lost my patience to wait for others so I  decided to look for another auto. Finally I  got an auto which started driving very quickly. Halfway through the road , a passenger said she wanted to go to a different place that is totally opposite to the direction the rest of us were leading towards. The auto driver being a good person asked for the permission from the other passenger and took the longer route for that lady. The roads were good compared to the other places but the construction was still on progress that included many buildings as well as the highway. After passing halfway through the smooth road, the rest of the road were were half constructed, covered full of stones and the vehicles passing by will leave dust particles behind lingering in the atmosphere. 

There was a bypass, that is two roads going into two different direction reminding me about Robert Frost's "Road Not Taken". Finally when we reached our destination it was tiring giving a splitting headache because of the loud noise and the polluted dusty air. 

The positive note in this journey will be the absence of the sun in this hot weather giving only slight relief as it was still a humid day. This long journey came to an end but the whole ride lingered in my mind leading me to pen down my fresh memory into a blank space that already has become a part of my past. 

Sarah: a woman with a strong foothold

Sarah, a biblical character considered an ideal model for married woman or an engaged woman waiting to start a life of marriage.

When I try to recall all the gospels I heard about this particular character from the Bible, she was depicted with qualities of a saint with perfection. My curious mind led me to read more about her and it came out to be a totally different perspective of what I believed for quite a long time showing her strength and weakness that she possessed. 

Sarah's original name was Sarai and according to the Bible God changed her name from Sarai to Sarah meaning princess or noblewoman. She was able to experience God's promise first hand. The promise of child in her barren womb. Sarah couldn't bear child so she was quite depressed but God said that she would bear child during old-age which is unbelievable leading to her doubt like any other person. Even though she doubted God's word for a moment the faith she had was strong leading to the fulfillment of God's promise. At the age of ninety she gave birth to a baby boy whom she named Issac.

Before she gave birth she did something that lead to further dispute in the family. Sarah and her husband Abraham had a maidservant named Hagar to serve them. Sarah send Hagar to Abraham as a concubine to bear a child and when Hagar conceived Sarah was very jealous leading to unhappiness in the family. She was harsh towards Hagar leading her to run away from home but she had to come back as she did not have any source of survival. Sarah also tried to manipulate her husband to send Hagar away. All these shows how her own decision backfired her leading to chaos in the family. 

Sarah lived for one hundred twenty seven years and later died of old-age which was recorded in the Bible. 

Sarah's character as described in the Bible is quite complex and pivotal. She is an ideal wife who stood by her husband during the trial and temptations that they faced during their life. As we study her character we know that she is not known for her weakness but her strength.

Sarah: a woman with a strong foothold 

A little guest

As the day progressed a small guest entered our life. It was a tiny little bird. They are very cute, fun and interesting to observe. 

When I think of birds a particular crow from Kerala comes to my memory. It was a crow who came flying from far as it was tired and weak. The first time when the bird came to our place my dad fed him water and some food. He started to come regularly and for one month every morning and will be present at a tree near kitchen and will be crowing. We were in Kerala for a month and took care of it during the time period. After we returned back to Delhi we heard that the crow will peck and make a lot of noise if a stranger enters the house. It was a huge surprise to know how a crow became a part of family by taking  responsibility to protect the house in our absense.

Today my brother found a little injured bird and he brought the tiny creature home. When he brought the bird it was not moving at all even after we gave water the bird remained still, later my dad came forward and gave the bird water and after few minutes it started moving. Initially, whenever we try to carry the bird in hand it would start crying but after some time  it started moving  around comfortably in my hand. It is very cute and would be watching and observing everyone very closely.

I don't know how long it would like to live with us but we named it Brownie hoping to have a much longer days ahead.

Imaginative bridges

 

Today I spent sometime observing little children. There were three children seated together in a very serious discussion, two of them were busy among themselves and the third child was watching them both play.

 They stayed quite for few minutes but after sometime they lost their patience and started talking amongst themselves. When the conversation started its like a group discussion where all of them start talking at the same time and I felt lost as I couldn't grasp what they were talking about.

 After few minutes they took out there handkerchief all fluffy and soft adorned with two different colours of blue and pink. They started making different shapes with that single piece of cloth and got excited to show their handmade house, swing, boat and gun as per their creativity. They were teaching each other and got very excited to display their art at works to whoever pass by their side. It was very fascinating to watch them work so seriously on something we pay very least attention.

 They think a lot and can make anything from scratch. They know how to utilise the time and can use any object as part of their toy which was fascinating. I also remember us playing with two dolls talking to each other in different sounds or my brother playing with cars while telling a story.

 They  unknowingly come up with various stories and their imagination is much broader than most of us. It was a wonderful moment to learn and recall all that I thought I lost while observing children.