Yours lovingly,

Going thru my room at home n trying to clear up the junk of many yester years,I cam upon loads n loads of letters!Cleaning was stopped in between n rest of the time went in reading them!Boy,wasn't I glad!Thr were tonnes frm my granparents, frm back home in India,cozins,many frm my skool frens who have left the country,many I myself have written as replies but have never posted! :)

Grandparents...the ever epitome of love!How rightly it is said,........Every generation revolts against its fathers and makes friends with its grandfathers. Being far away from them n visiting them only once a year ,for every summer, I did miss out the 'fun' most of the kids have,but they regularly send us letters enquiring about studies,health n advices n most of all ...their love n prayers,widout which we wouldn't have reached whr v r n for all the things yet to come!!I have treasured them n reading it again does bring a tear always!

From my cozins.innumerable uncles n aunts....I used to love the ones ezp frm lil cozins..jus learning to put all the words tog....thr was love n care written all over,widout them knowing!Now we r all in different walks of life,in different places n countries(at times not recognizing each others while once in a blue moon v meet up) n letters have obviously dwindled among us all!Though E-mail/MSN/Yahoo/Gtalk n other innumerable messengers n Orkut/Facebook have come up.....keeping in touch is a pretty rare phenomenon!

One of my closest frens while in primary skool relocated to a different continent while in 5 th grade n believe me v kept in touch for years thru letters!(yeah ,yeah ,yeah handwritten letters!)Frankly I dono whether I'll ever take the effort,now, to keep in touch wid any1 thru letters!Reading thru her letters,made me think about those times....The much awaited P.E class,Welcome Songs at Annual Day(in which v both h ad taken part!),Badminton games at our colony(she was an awesome badminton player ) n many more memories which time was slowly erasing from my system!(In one of dem I have written to her...plz dont send typed letters...plz write in ur own handwriting!Gosh!)Lost in touch wid her while I moved back to India for my college but a few months back ,caught her again on Facebook!so now its facebook posting!but thats nothing compared to those oldddd letters!

My Best Fren,Nins,shifted to India after 10th n after her first term in her new skool,she send me a letter regarding each n everything in her skool.....n guess how many pages it was?!?...116!!116 letter Pad Pages!Boy!My dad was bawled over wen he saw the 2 extremely thick envelopes at his mailbox! :D ....Readin it was the best part,It was like a calendar of events!Still read thru wenever I come home n get reminded of those lovely days!!(lemme take this chance to say a big THANKU....if ever u come across this blog or not..Thanku for everything,for being bestest of ma freinds,for being in touch though v have been in separate places for 5 yrs now,for lightening my spirits before those bloody exams,for being wid me thru all down times n for always ringing me up at the MOST APPROPRIATE of times!Not every1 ll have a best fren like u,dear...!)

n yet there were many letters,old family frens,sis' frens n the likes...........

I wonder,does any letter come to our mailbox now,besides the occasional courier or post or wedding invitation!

Orkut scraps,Facebook posts n many more social networking sites r the 'in' thing now....but do they really replace the letters,in one's own handwritings??Is it the same feeling?

Till Next,
Fly High! :)

Another lifetime!!

I just came across the video 'The Last Lecture:Achieving your childhood dreams" by Carnegie Mellon Professor,Dr. Randy Pausch,which incidentally became his last lecture before he left for his eternal abode on July 25,2008,after fighting a battle wid pancretic cancer.

The video makes one wonder about his amazing spirit though he knew cells in his body were going haywire,his ability to laugh inspite,his logical reasoning ,his innate academia,...

In the presentation,he lists down his childhood dreams and how he have realized them and about enabling others dreams!.....some of his dreams

• being in zero gravity
• to play in NFL
• to be an Imagineer in Disney
• to author an article in World Book Encyclopeadia ..n so on...

(Wow!I never knew people would have such specific dreams of childhood!Some people are jus born to make it big, I s'ppose)
That set me thinking...to jot down my childhood dreams! :)

• To become a neurosurgeon,after reading about Dr Ben Carson,the famous neurosurgeon(though it is not my chosen line of profession now... I am a dentist in training,Insha'allah...I am glad I had a dream so ! ) :)

• To be a Journalist,Archaeologist,Astronaut or Mathematics Teacher,at some point or other! :) (haha even writing about it makes me smile!Its nice to b a kid n dream ,wht am I gonna b! )
  

• To study in a college which has a huge campus,a town within! (wow!lord! Thank God for making ths come true!) :)
  

• To be like my dad (dono if I ll ever reach thr....He is my huge Role model!) :)
• To write stories like Famous Five,Secret Seven (by Enid Blyton),for kids,bcoz I grew up reading n loving 'em! :)
• To work with WHO/UNICEF....work in Africa (hehe...!! ) :)
  

• To go skiing!especially after watching movies in which kids play wid snow n ice ...... :)
  

• To play tennis n b like Pete Sampras,Steffi Graf n Martina Hingis!(Woah!!....some dreams!I used to adore those stars as a kid n love the game,but have never tried it till date! ) :)

Childhood.....jus wish it could come back!!Its innocence,joy,laughter,pranks,ice creams,chocolates,hugs, n dreams!! Its a period like NO other!

Till next!
Fly high! :)

Sir, Who am I?!?

Imagine waking up one day,not being able to figure out who v r,not knowing whr v are or even who our families r!

This is the case of 24 million people affected world wide wid Alzheimer's and senile dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease, brain disease, is a neuro-degenerative disorder which causes a gradual deterioration of permanent nerve cells, causing senile dementia.
The disease leads to an impact on the daily lives of patients: it is accompanied by a gradual deterioration of events leading intellectual, psychological and behavioural disorders leading to a loss of autonomy.

Much have been circulated in the media regarding these neuro-degenerative disorders ,......A Beautiful Mind(movie and the book), U me aur hum(a hindi movie) ..to name a few!I dint realise the full implications of this disease until I saw a loved one struggling wid it!

I grew up knewing her as an-all efficient,pious n kind hearted lady who gave her cent percent to her family,until IT struck her.The minute difficulties of not being able to read the time,forgetting the no of times she had done her mandatory 5 times prayers,initially, changed to not being able to recognize her own sons or not being able to say her own name,forgettin the recent incidents but still recalling situations and stories heard 25 years ago.

All through the stages of the disease,her faith in GOD was intact,remembering every prayer,every dua she learnt as a child.

God had blessed her with an amazing family-a pillar of strength, her husband, and 7 supporting children and innumerable grandkids who made sure that she would never realise her weakness,who enveloped her with all the love and care they could,who prayed for her every minute and who were there by her bedside till she breathed her last.

Medical science suggests many drugs like Donepezil,Rivastigmine,Minocycline and so on as medication for the disease(ther r no drugs as of now to cure the illness,they only slow down the disease) but the best treatment for this cognitive function declining disease is the drug of LOVE and SUPPORT from family and loved ones.No medication can surpass tht.The 24 million people affected are not so lucky, as a percentage of them are left in old-age homes and Alzheimer's rehabilitation centres by their own sons.These 'homes' are made of stone bricks and money buying materials,not of care,love and ties so essential for the patient.

A silent prayer for the millions affected.........

A prayer everyday,for her..

(ref:wikipedia n my physio,pharmac professors)


Till next,
Fly high! :)

Un-realised Metamorphosis!

The last time I opened the blog was 6 months ago.......!!6 mnths...how time flies!!

I remember the New Year's eve.....was on the terrace of my hostel...enjoying the fireworks.....and now its almost the 9th month now!2008....it has taught me lots!to grow up from a care-free gal to a matured-decision taking,voicing-opinions lady,I should say!:P

(from)The last time I posted the blog,.......

I was in the mid of my second year..now am done wid my year end exams! :)

I didnot know Responsibility begins wid a big capital, letter R! :)

I hadn't realized abt the fragility of life!

I hadn't thought about the truth called death!

I used to think life would go on as we decide/want,realising now tht IT has its own plans n its always have been for the good!

I used to be less-listening!

I knew lesser number of people than now!

I understand now tht adversities bring loved ones closer,families nearer!

I have learnt to look at every situation from a different angle,every cloud does have its silver lining,only tht we tend to overlook it!

I have tried out some diet plans, n for the first ever time in the recorded history of my life I have reduced the intake of sweets!!

I have learnt tooth preparation and amalgam restoration a lil better!

I share a better rapport wid my friends n professors than ever!

n changes n changes!

n I have realised CHANGE is surely one of the PERMANENT aspect of life!

till next(mayb another 6 months!:)
fly high! :)