Colour me please!!!

When I visited my parents a couple of months back, I wanted to scan all my childhood photographs so that I have a digital copy of the same. So, while searching for my photos, I saw my parents’ marriage photographs. There can be no feeling to beat the feeling of going back in time and these photos always bring a smile to my face.

My mom has a photographic face. She looks brilliant in photos. (And my dad never ceases to mention that he got fooled by those photographs :) ) In those marriage photographs, she looks beautiful in the traditional madisar. My dad looks comical in those bell-bottoms. I love these photographs. The only digression being they are in black and white.

I love black and white photographs – especially those of portraits. But a wedding snap just CAN NOT be in black and white, especially Indian weddings. The bride and groom spend hours dressing up and looking beautiful. They are in the spotlight that day. And later when they see the photographs, they would like to see how the colour of their dresses match, how the mehendi is just in the right colour, how the bride’s saree matches with her ornaments and how the groom looks like an officer in suits and just re-live that day. This cannot happen in back and white. And this is exactly what I miss when I see my parents wedding photos – the colour of their love.

Colours have a significant impact on the way we perceive things.

Which of these boxes do you think is bigger/heavier?

Most people swear the black one is bigger. In fact, they are the same size. Black is the densest colour and creates perceptions of heaviness.

Interesting Historical Note



In the 1960’s the Presidential Election in the USA was between Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy. All information suggested that the outcome of the election would be very close. The main focus of attention was a live debate on television. Richard Nixon wore a light coloured suit whereas John F Kennedy wore a dark suit. The people who listened to the debate on the radio thought the Nixon had won the discussions. On the other hand, those that watched the debate on TV (on Black and White TVs - not colour) believed emphatically that Kennedy had won. It is now believed that Kennedy looked a more prominent person because of his dark suit. Nixon’s light coloured suit made him look much smaller and less significant.

After the TV debate Kennedy took a lead in the election polls and won the Presidential Election. Is this the first time that the choice of colour has determined the leader of the Western World?

Our life is a collection of emotions just as a painting is a collection of colours. Colours are good means to convey emotions. Colours can show our love, happiness, joy, fun, laughter, sorrow, tears and silence. Colours can speak to other’s soul in so many ways.



I wish I can see a colourful wedding photograph of my parents reverberating laughter, happiness, trust, affection and love. And the fact that I have no other photo of just the two of them makes me yearn more.

This is submitted as part of Indiblogger's contest "Take Flight with Colour" which promotes HP Laserjet printers.

Images courtesy google.

It’s me everywhere!!! :)

“Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” is an old proverb. It should be reworded today as show me your gadgets and I will show you who you are. At least it is true in my case. But as someone, who doesn’t like carrying many gadgets, I pretty much use mobile and laptop for most of my needs.

Calm and Confident

I change the wallpaper of my mobile pretty regularly. But it will always be a photograph of mine. :) In fact, after my engagement my hubby, in one of those romantic moods, commented that I should change the wallpaper to his photograph. I gave such a matter-of-fact reply that I like looking at my face and will not change it. (I know stupid me :)) And only when I saw a slight disappointment in his face did I realize that it was not the correct reply in that situation.

And after my baby was born, my mom suggested that I keep one of baby’s photos as wallpaper. This time I was mature and did not reply. (Clever me :)) I thought may be I should and changed it to the baby’s photo. But somehow I did not feel comfortable and changed it to my own photograph.

And the same goes for my laptop too. The only difference being the photograph is in a black or shiny blue or maroon or orange background. (I just have a liking to some colors at different times. There is no specific reason.)

I am a confident person. I like the way I look in some photos. And let me clarify I do not look beautiful in those. I look confident, but there is also a sense of contentment and peace in my eyes. And every time I look at those photographs, I feel I am in control of my life. (You can call me self-obsessed :) )

Plan and Prepare


Also, I note down the pending activities for each day in my mobile calendar. Today’s entries read:
• Contest
• Medical
• Tax return form
• Saree
• 2 1 coin

Similarly, there will be no unnecessary or unused files or folders in my laptop. The desktop contains only the basic icons. There will be shortcuts to the often-used folders and files in the task bar.

I am an organized person. Every time I remember something to do, I immediately make a note in my mobile. It helps me in remembering things and because I look at it everyday, I tend to complete it sooner. There is always a plan in whatever I do. Sometimes, I think it adds to tension. But that’s the way I am.

Sing a Song

You can always see a minimized music player, mostly playing melodies.

Songs are my primary source of relaxation. There are times when Ilayaraja’s music acts as the peace maker after a fight at home. :)

In summary my gadgets always portray a confident person in a bright background planning a lot of things listening to music.

This entry is submitted as part of IndiBlogger's Change is Easy contest sponsored by Dell.

9 months and still swimming!

My boy,

You have completed nine months, and by now you know that your mother will be late to record this month’s progress on the blog.

• We came back to Bangalore last week. This time you became so aware of the surroundings that you knew that the house, people, climate were new and hence you did not want to leave me. The first day I could not take a day off from office and your grandmother came only at 2 p.m. You refused to be with your dad and I had a two hour long call in the morning. I still do not know how I survived that day. The same continued for another two days with you refusing to go to anyone else. Thankfully, the third day you were happy to be with your grand mother and play with her. Now, you are back at your best to flashing smiles all around. :)
• Your vocabulary has improved. In addition to Amma, appa, tha tha, va va, athhai can also be heard.
• You are not sitting with support. Neither do you crawl. The doctor wants to wait for a month before he prescribes any treatment. As for me, I know you will take your own time to do things because you are genetically tall. So, I am chilled out.
• If you continue to bite me as you do now, I may lose two kgs in a month. And I may not be thankful for that.
• You want anything and everything that I eat. I hope you have the same keenness a few months later.
• But the major thing this month is I started going to office. Of course I have not started full time yet. It’s only for a few hours now. But, the way you have taken it is absolutely brilliant. I do not know if you missed me. But when I return from office, the way you swim towards me, hold my legs tight and laugh, tells me that you are happy to see me. And with this unconditional love, you are becoming a teacher who makes me understand the important things of life.

Love you,
Mom

Amma it is!!!

No, I am not referring to the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu.

Amma is the first word that my baby spoke! YAY!!!! And for that I thank you my boy.

He was saying “mam mam” for the last few days. But I thought it could either mean amma or food (we call it mammu in Tamil). So, I waited. And then you said ammmmmma. Yesterday finally you came to me in full speed shouting “amma”. I am thrilled.

This is exactly the motivation I need.

Love you my boy!!!!

Beauty lies in the joy of living!

Have you ever wondered why some people look beautiful and make us smile involuntarily? We may not know them. They may not even be looking at us. But with their sheer presence, they can make you smile. There should be something beautiful in them that the heart recognizes and makes us smile. What is it?

The joy of living. A joyful heart always has a cheerful face and that joy becomes contagious.



Everyone find kids beautiful, isn’t it? They make us smile immediately. They smile, laugh, play and cry and take us through all the emotions. But at the end of the day, we smile looking at their sleeping face. What makes us smile?

The joy of living. Kids live in the present.



Everyone find the first drops of rain, the gentle breeze, the river flowing gently, soothing music or a bird flying high beautiful. We all smile at those things. What makes us smile?

The joy of living. These gentle things are nature’s reminders to enjoy the simple pleasures of living.

And that to me is real beauty – The joy of living.

Everyone's life has peaks and valleys. What is good about life is as genuine as what is bad and, therefore, deserves equal attention. Consider each one of them as an experience that makes you better. Enjoy every single moment of life. Present is more important than the future. Do not sacrifice the present for the future. It creates emptiness in life.

Once you enjoy the present, everything in life will look beautiful and your heart will feel light and energetic. Remember the sunset is as beautiful as the sunrise.

This is my entry for the contest - What does real beauty mean to you?
For more details, click here.




Images courtesy google