Tale 85

Raashi is 25 now...
She had a boyfriend since she was 18.
Vaibhav was four years elder to her... He was a graduate but with no job and unsure about his own future.
Their families showed stark contrast in culture lifestyle and financial status...
But she loved him so dearly that she stuck around anyways....
They fought on and off for close to a year... 
It so happened that he had not called her for 2 days or so....
He wasn't online neither she heard of him from any of their common friends....
Raashi asked around....
She came to know that he had to suddenly go to his native place for some urgent work and hence no network... 
She found this weird and sensed something to be fishy....
When she called his father she came to know that he had met with an accident and was in the ICU. 
His father's voice trembled as he told her that Vaibhav may not survive.
She rushed to the hospital to find him in coma for 15 days.... 
He did meet with an accident which lead to some nerve pressed in his brain which would render him incapable of complete cognition....
Raashi took has good care of him and kept faith, he showed improvement in next 6 months....
About 3 months back at the hospital; somebody came and asked for his girlfriend who was with him at the time of accident....
Raashi exclaimed,"I'm his girlfriend, however I wasn't with him when the accident happened...."
It took her little time to realise that Vaibhav was cheating on her and seeing some other girl at that time....
Raashi was shattered shocked and broken to bits....
However she still chose to stick with him....
Because by then He was used to her support and she knew He could't survive without her but at the same time was incapable of telling her his past given his post trauma cognitive challenge....
It was difficult but not impossible for her to digest the infidelity....
She stayed with him out of responsibility of love...
She thought of moving on and finding a suitable match for herself elsewhere, however she knew she couldn't shun Vaibhav's responsibility...
It would have eaten her from within if she had chose to opt out...
And with marriage to someone else it would be unfair to attach herself to Vaibhav then...
She made a choice... To stay with Vaibhav as a caretaker....
She did have a few relationships... But none could bring out the best in her....
She knew she was bonded with Vaibhav for life...
She left her MA midway... Did a preschool training course and joined a part time job....
She is now thinking of marrying Vaibhav so that she can take better care of him under one roof....
Vaibhav's parents have almost worship her while her own parents fail to understand her psyche....
Her feelings have dried up...
Her patience at an all time high...
Vaibhav now walks and talks....
She knows that he is incapacitated to reciprocate any relation emotionally....
She is made of something not many of us can fathom...
She ll marry him...
And we'd still not know why?
All tales needn't be answered nor they need to be justified....
Either / or.... We are here to pay off...
In one way or the other...
‪#‎notsotinytales‬
- Prajakta Sathe

Tale 84

It was 1960's
Vidya was born in an era where awareness or detection of learning disorders or cognitive disabilities was negligible....
She struggled with studies, all of it...
She was bad with numbers and no good in languages either...
History geography sounded Greek and Latin to her....
Vidya totally unlike her name was almost labeled as a duffer in class...
She had an elder sister who was assertive smart better looking and above average in studies....
This comparison naturally triggered an inferiority complex in her....
Unfortunately Vidya had acceptance issues at her body image as well...
In her adolescent years she would fear to look at the mirror reflecting an acne covered face and her frizzy super curly hair that spread like a bird's nest above her head....
She failed her SSC boards not once but 5 times...
It took her close to three years to clear off her subjects...
This meant stern remarks from the social circle and stamp of being a repeater or a failure in academics...
By the time she cleared her boards she was 18....
Her parents struggled to find her a good course that she could learn...
They enrolled her in tailoring classes where they thought she could learn skills that could later support her financially....
She completed the coursework somehow...
She was 20 by then....with no job...
It was a time where marriage at 20 was not a surprise and being a house wife was a way of life for many girls...
Prospective grooms were sought for...
Right from restaurant owners to Temple priests....
But none would give an affirmative response due to her appearance....
The choice was limited given the limitation of looks education and job...
Vidya's parents opted for Sanjeev a well settled technician for her...
Post marriage she had wonderful co-operation from Sanjeev on all fronts...
He knew that she struggled to keep up with a few things and he helped her by actively taking part in the domestic work that she strived to perfect on and failed due to her limited skill set....
He made sure he gave her confidence and support in all aspects increasing her confidence handling the household with her capacity...
Sanjeev's mother was weird and behaved strangely with everyone around...
It was indeed a time where the probability of Amnesia or Alzheimer detection was out of question...
She was labelled as getting increasingly crazy and having lost her senses....
Sanjeev was sensitive to the fact that his mother was labelled as mad by the society and strived to strike a balance between maintaining a harmonious equation between his newly married wife and deteriorating mother....
His father on the other hand was a retired science teacher who suffered with hearing loss due to age and had diminishing eyesight due to diabetes....
Amidst the medical chaos that went on in the family Vidya discovered her pregnancy....
It was a confused revelation to her yet something she knew she had to handle well and with care....
Having advised to bed rest Vidya came back to her maternal house till she delivered a premature baby girl in the 7 th month of pregnancy....
The baby was raised well till its 6 th months by her parents in Vidya's maiden home...
Sanjeev had to take Vidya and the baby back to their house....
By that time Sanjeev's mother had completely deteriorated in terms of senses....
His father had lost his eyesight and Sanjeev's sister has returned from her failed marriage back to their house for good....
Vidya now had the challenge of handling a new life that her Daughter was, a physically handicap father in law who couldn't see or hear, a mentally challenged mother in law who was sinking every single day and a depressed and grieving sister in law who had returned to seek support and solace in her maiden home...
With her kind of understanding Vidya, kept juggling and multitasking on the home front with genuine support of Sanjeev...
Her Sister in law found a small job as a receptionist/operator at a coaching class in which her father had taught earlier...
Her mother in law passed away the next another year....
She then brought up her daughter along with the firm collaborative efforts Sanjeev...
Her sister in law is on therapy for crinic depression while her father in law leads a vegetative life with no hearing or vision...
But Vidya has brought up her daughter with courage...
Sanchie her daughter is a clinical psychologist practicing at a reputed hospital in the city...
She is now at a marriageable age, a voracious reader and a wonderful orator...
She understands her mother's psyche and completely gets it when people tell her that her grandmother was mad....
She applies a holistic as well as a scientific approach to treat her aunt who had struggled with chronic depression for all these years....
She empathises with her grandfather who is practically blind and deaf....
Her favorite however is Sanjeev her father...
Teacnically a technician but a man with patience compassion and deep understanding of challenge that the human life can be...
Of his struggle to help making this journey tolerable and sustainable for Vidya her brave mom....
Saanchie is a live example of how one cannot judge a book by it's cover....
Dysfunctional humans essentially do not result in dysfunctional relations neither do they create dysfunctional families nor do they lead to dysfunctional offsprings....
It's not always a matter of choice
It's sometimes not even a matter of chance...
It's how we see ordinary people tell extraordinary stories that we can learn from...

‪#‎notsotinytales‬

- Prajakta Sathe

Tale 83

Mahesh was a gem of a person who had a perfect balance of being sensible as we as sensitive to all the triggers in life...
He wasn't genetically well endowed, he wasn't someone who could be placed in good looking category least an average looking face....
He maintained good interpersonal relationships with almost everyone around him...
His parents were proud to have him as their son while his extended family and relatives found support in him in times of challenge and joy in sharing happiness with him in moments of celebration...
His friends and colleagues counted on him as someone they could open up to and rely upon at any given hour...
Mahesh, a peoples person was also diligent in work and practiced sincere work ethics...
He was everybody's favorite...
He got married to Swati when he felt the need of settling down...
It was an arranged marriage...
Swati was the youngest of four siblings at her maternal home...
Born and brought up in a conservative household , her maiden family had always been extra protective and possessive about her as their youngest daughter...
Her parents were not as financially well off as her in laws....
She was a free spirited girl with suppressed desires and oppressed expressions...
The marriage was a grand affair since Mahesh's parents wanted to invite everybody they knew to the wedding of their only son....
They opted to pay major expenditure of this marriage since they knew the monetary challenge at Swati's maiden home...
Post marriage Mahesh knew he had to take it slow since he knew the background from where Swati came from...
Swati surprised him by telling him about her total lack of knowledge about what a husband and wife relationship is all about...
Neither did she know about basics of procreation nor did she know about the significance of man woman relationship and emotional bonding which ideally would result in intimacy...
Mahesh digested the fact and gave her some books about facts of married life...
He tried talking it out with her...
Swati either shunned the topic or avoided him...
Otherwise she was loving the new found freedom in her in laws house...
She could go out with her friends over weekends, enjoy with them at the movies hang around after office hours and also attend overnight picnics....
She was never stopped about anything since Mahesh's parents likewise believed in personal space and individual freedom...
Swati was neither forced to help around in the house nor was she ever questioned about her newly acquired dressing pattern....
She graduated from Indian wear and salwar suits from her pre marriage days to jeans n tops and trendy dresses, jumpsuits and mini's post marriage...
With the kind of leeway that she got she took more out of the marriage than she could put in...
Not cooperating with Mahesh on the interaction and intimacy front she also refused to accompany him for fun date nights, weekend getaways and outings...
Mahesh's dreams of having a contended married life were challenged big time...
He asked Swati if they could go and see a counselor...
She refused downrightly saying that there was no need for a third person to tell them how they should behave with each other...
Mahesh made solitary visits to psychologists, counselors and sexologists to check if anything was wrong with him...
He received one answer from all...they needed to talk with his wife too...
Mahesh being the gentle and caring person that he was asked Swati to visit her nearest married friends , cousins and talk out her issues with them to counter check of things were different with them...
Bevause he knew she would never visit a clinic with him ever...
A year and a half into marriage... Neither they were emotionally close and nor had they physically consummated the relation....
Mahesh failed to understand the equation of why Swati refused to even let him touch her ever or even hold hands with him....
Finally he told her with a heavy heart that they should take a break, Swati should go back to her parents for a month and see if she missed him...
In the one month that they separated Mahesh felt terrible while Swati craved for the comfort and freedom of her in laws home.
Back with Mahesh her non cooperation arid behavior continued...
Mahesh tried his best to connect but finally took a call...
He called both the families together, made them sit and declared that he wanted to seek a divorce...
The meet turned rude and filthy from Swati's side...
She made false allegations and demanded alimony...
Mahesh made her sit down and explained it to her that mutual consent has to be a best way out....
Reluctantly she agreed to it...
They got a divorce within 8 months of filing....
Mahesh asked himself many questions....
If he had made a wrong choice or had he ruined the life of Swati along with him....
He was shattered and upset and hurt...
He tried to reason as to why something so unfortunate would happen to him...
But slowly he decided to come out of it...
The only way was keeping busy...
He asked himself what all he wanted to do really...
He joined a dance class since he was find of dancing since childhood
He started jogging and took professional help for his diet plan...
He joined entrepreneur classes meant for prospective proprietors...
He also attended self help seminars and did courses in healing....
He reconnected with his old pals...
Went on to join the spiritual club that he found solace in...
He started living life to its fullest....
Job was going excellent and his family was super cooperative....
Yes he wanted company
Yes he wanted to settle down
Yes he wanted to start a family
Yes he had average dreams of leading a perfectly normal higher middle class life....
To attract acquire secure and maintain all of the above he had one thing which was the highlight of his life...
Hope.... Which he never lost...
And Faith which he always had on his inherent goodness and positivity...
He pulled it all up and gathered himself as someone who was empowered to find his own happiness within....
Marriage or no marriage , it did not affect his state of mind....
He was calm...
His serene smile showed that some lessons were meant to be learnt in one way or the other....
What one can do.... Is of course keep trusting that all is planned for our ultimate good....
Let's not judge any divorce as just another failed marriage....
Let's not start guessing as to why certain things did not work...
They know better...
They tried their best....
They played their roles...
And opted out when the drama was over....
How life unfolds is in hands of no one....
None of us are prepared....
But we can be gentle accommodating and accepting....
We can let people be...
Lessons are tales
Tales can be lessons...

‪#‎notsotinytales‬

- Prajakta Sathe

Tale 82

Gorima was a pampered only child of her parents
Her mom was a government employee in service while her father was a graded violin artist at a radio station 
She was brought up by her grandparents in a secured enviornment
She was a tomboy doing fair in studies and clearing her grades every year...
She neither excelled in music nor showed exceptional performance in academics....
Gorima passed her Masters with average marks and took up a job in a pharma company 
Her parents sought a suitable alliance for her....
Being completely not aware of her expectations and implications of companionship in the institution that marriage is, she said yes to the first probable decent proposal that she came across....
Rituparno and Gorima had a grand wedding after which they flew to the UK...
Rituparno had to upgrade his degree while Gorima took up a job to support them....
Unfortunately he couldn't keep up with the international standard and failed the course...
They returned back to India and had to stay with Rituparno's parents until they could find jobs here to sustain independently....
Never being had to adjust in a new home Gorima struggled in trivial matters...
Neither could she maintain good communication lines with her in laws not could she collaborate in the household in completing the chores....
Her in laws naturally expected her to cooperate in the house in cooking and helping around in cleaning and stuff...
Gorima however was already bugged with their unsuccessful stint abroad....
She neither enjoyed cooking nor liked helping around the house...
Rituparno had his own frustrations of not having made it and not having proved himself till then....
This lead to tension between him and Gorima
As they eventually secured jobs, they got to doing things routinely....
Found staff to work around the house and things worked smoothly for a while....
In the mean while Gorima conceived...
She couldn't keep up with her job along with her pregnancy hence opted to resign and went back to her parents to get rest...
This was then a long distance relationship between Rituparno and her....
Rituparno opted to stay aloof throughout the pregnancy struggling with his own professional struggles and the pressure to settle down better for the impending fatherhood 
Gorima misunderstood this as his non caring attitude....
A bony baby boy was born to them however the misunderstandings did not subside....
They stayed far till the baby was six months old...
Due to his parents assurance he got Gorima and the baby back....
It was going well initially , Gorima wanted to get back to her job sooner....
At first the in laws agree0d to look after the baby...
She took up a job, but the in-laws couldn't manage the young infant...
They lacked the energy to keep up with the active child...
They told Gorima to look for a nanny which she wasn't ready to hire...
She took it personally and forced Rituparno to leave the house with her to stay in a rented flat near her parents place....
Tired and flustered with constant challenges in personal and professional front Rituparno reluctantly agreed....
It was a challenge for Gorima and him to seek a balance of earnings and expenditure in this new arrangement....
There was no interaction between the both of them....
Days months and years passed...
They absolutely lacked interaction
They were like two individuals striving to keep their act together under one roof for the sake of their child...
Tired frustrated and depressed they looked a lot more elder than their actual age...
Gorima on one hand piled up kgs while Rituparno shrunk and became underweight....
They kept the cold war non communicative zone at home....
Their weekends were split with the kid going to either of the grand parents house with the respective parent....
The other parent sat at home alone...
It so happened that Gorima was asked to join in for a get together with her college friends....
As she shared her story at the gathering with her closest confidants she got many views and opinions...
No one was judging her however by the experiences that she heard of her friends she introspected....
One of her friend's said that in a Relationship, nothing can be labelled as right or wrong. It's just a matter of perspective....
Many a times one needs to say SORRY even if its not his/her fault...
It is by default that one needs to at times bow down and accept and not expect...
Sometimes it's okay to let go...
While at times its imperative to Hold on and hold it tight...
Even if it means that one needs to bend over...literally....its fine...
One needs to be as non judgemental as one can and set aside EGO for good...
One needs to be caring , sharing and even more so gentle in words actions and appearance....
Ice on the head Sugar on the tongue approach can really mend things that could go wrong with a sharp pointed word off within partners...
Yes - separation, divorce, legal claims, single parenting are issues that are real and evident in today's society...
Just that at times they can be avoided with non judgement, acceptance and surrender to the humans that the spouses are....
More than being personalities with various traits and shortcomings....
She learnt her concepts well in the meet...
She was fortunate to have got friends with real experiences to share ..
She chose to learn...
She decided to change for good instead of expecting Rituparno to change for her...
And what a change it has been....
She is into wellness and wellbeing of a close knit family unit that she has....
Back to her in laws , she has moulded her ways collaborated with them to make it a brilliantly working model....
Saving up on the rent she now delegates work to the nanny who watches her son under the watchful eyes of her in laws...
Rituparno has calmed down and looks forward to being with this new woman that Gorima is...
He is in love...
And so is she...
Some tales happen to make us learn a lesson or two...
Like Ritu and Gori in this story...
‪#‎notsotinytales‬
- Prajakta Sathe.

Tale 81

Herambh, Pranali and their young daughter Keya were a nuclear family living in the city of Pune ....
They were married for over a decade...
Having known each other for that long they knew exactly how the other would react....
Early in marriage Pranali had larger than life expectations from Herambh 
She wore rose tinted glasses and believed that Romance Passion Zing were supposed to be a part of their connection as a rule....
She found it difficult to step out of her fantasy world into reality that city couples experience....
She thought over and dreamt of probabilities and options of she being with other men had she not married early...
She secretly sulked being stuck as a one man women in her early twenties....
She enjoyed whatever attention she received outside marriage...
Had an online fling....
Herambh came to know about it....
There was confrontation allegations and chaos....
She apologized and got back to being together with him...
It took time to regain his trust but eventually they got along and settled....
With the birth of Keya their equation changed....
Herambh as the man of the house went ahead to prove himself well in his profession meaning to bring home all comforts to his wife n kid....
He worked hard strived his best to do well at work...
Pranali had home and Keya to look into....
Herambh always pushed her to make her use her talents to their fullest potential....
However Pranali chose to be laid back and a bit negligent to her own self development....
She felt that Herambh did not give her any attention and their relationship lacked spark....
She somehow exuded vibes that portrayed her as an unhappy lonely housewife....
On one hand she managed Keya and the household successfully while grieving about having no companionship in marriage....
She was active on social networking as a way to pass time and get out of her loneliness 
She came across Sarang who she had befriended on the basis of many mutual friends....
It was the first time ever that he complimented her genuinely...
They got speaking...
Having found many common interests they exchanged numbers....
They shared their life stories and their current statuses....
Sarang was married but stayed away from his kids n wife due to conflicts...
Pranali stayed together with her husband....but wasn't sure if it really was a 'marriage'....
They connected, they met, they shared everything, they formed a bond....
Neither of them could get out of their marriage and stay together....
Sarang had nothing to lose, he stayed alone and welcomed Pranali's presence in his life with open arms...
He looked forward to her company....
Virtually and actually....
Pranali on the other hand lead dual life....
Stayed as a wife with Herambh while being a soulmate to Sarang...
This juggling act goofed up....
Herambh always kind of knew about Pranali's commitment issues....
One night he confronted Pranali about Sarang's presence in her life....
Pranali first denied... 
Herambh then presented her with printouts of all the mails and chats which she had as a proof....
She had no option but to agree to the allegations....
Herambh told her that by breaking his trust and cheating on him she had not only made him extremely upset but very angry and he felt hurt...
He shook her to reality... 
He told her that she wasn't a teenager to be gushing over new men every few months....
Herambh and Pranali had known each other for more than 11 years by then....
He questioned her about her integrity....
About the reason why she had a riving eye....
He gave her options....
Of packing her bags and leaving to go to Sarang and settle down with him...
Herambh told her that he will move on with Keya, get remarried and settled....
Keya would always be with him Herambh sternly said....
He also told her that if she wanted to stay back she had to stop all contacts with Sarang and be a one man woman in a committed marriage....
Had it not been for Keya, he would never have considered taking Pranali back, he said...
Herambh also told her that he was considerate enough to allow her to say a proper and final bye to Sarang if she choose to come back...
He warned her that one more fling, another affair or a flirt would cause him to take firm and final action....
He would pack her bags and send her out of the house if it ever repeated again....
Pranali listened....
She said sorry for have caused hurt to Herambh....
She slept that night. Surprisingly peacefully....
Woke up....unfriended Sarang from her friends list....
Bid adieu to him over the phone...
She just told Sarang what happened...
No questions were asked no explanations were made....
She submitted all her online passwords to Herambh as an agreement to stay in the trust zone....
What she had was beautiful...
What she now has...well it has to be beautiful...
It's how she ll look towards life and her perspective about satisfaction and contentment will signify how she leads her life ahead....
Fidelity, cheating, trust, grief, love, marriage are all faces of a dice that life might throw at us....
It's how we move forward when its our turn to play will decide where we eventually land up....
All tales needn't be happy or sad or successful or a failure...
Tales just happen....
Just like life....
‪#‎notsotinytales‬
- Prajakta Sathe

Tale 80

Sarthak was the only child of his parents
They had a joint family of uncles aunts and a his cousins living together...
Unfortunately he lost his mother to Cancer during mid school day and his dad to a stroke during his 10 th boards...
Losing his primary support system at such a tender age meant a challenging life for him...
Even though his uncles jointly took his responsibility, he felt out of place and lost in-between the crowd at their home...
A full house with a his father's brothers and their families with a dozen cousins and grandparents still made him feel empty...
He was average in studies and did his post graduation in commerce...
He felt the urgent need to get independent and hence secured a call centre job as soon as he got out of college...
Not that this family did any bad to him however he couldn't feel at home with so many people around...
He felt that they had their own things going on...their own lives...
He felt alone and lonely...
He always dreamt of having a family of his own...
However he had some practical challenges...
With his average Biodata, mediocre job and almost no home to call his own he decided to do something about it...
He put up an ad on the matrimonial column...
I seek a girl with a family ready to have a stay over son in law.
I work in a call centre and am good at cooking and helping around the house.
I am open and accepting...
Interested candidates kindly contact on the number given below.
Surprisingly he got many calls...
One of the prospective girl Prerna attracted his attention....
She was the only child of her parents who had lost their elder son in a bike accident...
Her father was a bank manager and her mother had a garment retailing business
She was a kindergarten teacher...
They loved the proposal...
Sarthak's family was shocked at this decision at his....
However Sarthak was firm and assertive
Sarthak and Prerna wanted to have a registered marriage...
Prerna's parents happy with the decision transfered the amount they had saved for her marriage to their a joint account in the name of the newly wedded couple...
Sarthak gelled in with this new set up as if Prerna's parents were his own...
Sarthak took a risk early in life and left his call centre job to help his Mother in law in her garment business...
They still had Prerna's father and her salary as a back up plan in case it did not work...
Fortunately Sarthak and his mother in law made a fabulous team and the business grew manifold making progressively higher profits...
A business confined in the four walls now went to exhibitions around the state abs slowly through the country....
There was lovely rapport between Sarthak and his new parents....
Everyone respected each other's space...
Sarthak loved cooking and experimented in the kitchen in his free time and Prerna was so proud of having such an enthusiastic hubby by her side...
Prerna also made sure that she kept in touch with Sarthak's family back at his house by occasionally visiting them or calling them over for get togethers or during festivals and celebrations....
Prerna's parents along with her and Sarthak made a modern day working family model not many would fathom...
They celebrated the father in law's retirement by a family trip to Thailand...
Sarthak and Prerna are now thinking of starting a family and the family is thrilled to bits!!!
What the rest of life holds for them is a question... But it doesn't matter...
They have made the best of what they have...
Some tales seem uncommonly common
Egos cannot be bigger than people...
Acceptance and openness is a virtue very few practice....
‪#‎notsotinytales‬
- Prajakta Sathe.

Tale 79

Incident 1.
My gym was stone's throw away from my house...
Just a matter of crossing two roads and joining the street where it was located...
Angry and frustrated on the incessant leaves of my domestic help I walked towards my workout temple engrossed in thoughts...
Just as I was waiting to cross the road I over heard her on the phone....
She had lost her job and was searching for a new one...
I reacted like I had seen an oasis in a desert....
I turned around and stopped for her to finish her call...
She was surprised to see me wait...looking at her....
"Sorry I don't mean to intrude but u heard that u are looking for work...! What kind of work do you do?"
I work as a domestic help, I cook clean and look after kids....she said.
I was about to jump with joy right in the middle of the road....
Almost grabbing her hand I took her to the other side...
Spoke to her about my requirement...
She agreed.... Time remuneration everything was fixed....
Voila I got what I wanted!!!

Incident 2.
I wanted to attend a classical music concert but wasn't sure if I d get front passes...
I happened to mention it to Dad...
He said wait, he made a phone call...
His best friend's company was sponsoring it...
I was presented front row passes to the same...
My joy knew no bounds....
I asked... I got....

Incident 3.
I had to go for a performance at a venue during peak hours of traffic in the evening...
I hate to travel by bus/train...
Was about to book a radio cab late in the noon...
Just then I receive a call from my co-artist that he happened to be in my area that day and had finished his work early....
He asked if he could drop in for some tea and then we could go to the venue together in his car....
I was literally pleasantly surprised to the core!

Incident 4.
It was my pregnancy time around 5 and a half years back...
I somehow wished to wear Mogra Gajra (Jasmine flowers) in my hair and eat Veeda (betel leaf mouth freshner) on a random day...
I had also craved for some raw mango delicacy since a week....
It was remotely possible since it was a working day and the schedule was packed....
Just when I was about to leave for my morning class the Bell rang...
A lady from our building had organised a spring season get together for all women in the society....
(It was Chaitra Gauri haldi kum kum)
As I rushed to reach the function after class....
Famished and tired...
I was welcomed with fresh Jasmine flowers and a refreshing raw mango drink ( aam panna)
The menu was Raw mango salad and (ambyachi dal) with Paan ( betel leaf)...
Unbelievably mind blown I was hap hap happy....

Incident 5.
My Uncle lived alone in the same city...
He was a part of the close knit maiden family of mine....
I couldn't say that we were really connected but I respected him a lot and he was particularly fond of me like his own daughter....
One morning I woke up with a feeling that he is no more....
I got a call from my parents in the next 5 mins (he suffered a stroke and passed away the night before and they were called by his neighbours since they did not see him get out of his home that morning... Neither he picked up any calls....)
I was calm when I heard this...
I did not cry... But I was moved from within .... Somehow... That feeling was overwhelming....

Incident 6.
I realised that I have been called for a house warming ceremony early oon a Sunday morning....
It was Saturday night and I was back from rehearsals and it was close to 10 pm...
There was no way I could find a shop open at that hour...
I had to buy a gift...
I stopped the rickshaw by the market hoping for a miracle....
Just then I noticed my usual store open...
Surprised and astonished I went in and I was told that they were winding up the store shutting it down for renovation from Monday....
So they were working day night to shift it to another place....
Not only did they happily show me many options but also gave me a nice discount on my purchase...
This seemed unreal... Out of a dream...

Incident 7
I was climbing Girnar with my friends.....
We started climbing post a light dinner...
Reached the peak at 2.45
It was pitch dark... Insanely cold and windy at that hour....
The temple on the top never ever remains open at midnight...
It was pounima the night before...
Somehow there was no one but my 3 friends and me at that hour there inside the temple along with the Pujari...
He allowed us to sit there for nearly half an hour unlike others whom were shunned away within minutes...
There was no sign of any visitors on our way down till almost dawn...
It was as if it was a magically created situation for our journey...

Incident 8.
One of those rare instances....
I stand on a platform waiting for the train, dreading the rush and hoping to get in at a peak hour....
The compartment door automatically arrives right in front of me...
I don't have to run or struggle...
I just take a light jump and manage to get in....
Find a good place to stand....
I don't struggle to find a seat...
I m happy with the wind that gently brushes past the crowd and teaches my face...
I am entertained by the toothless giggles of a baby right across the wall....
The music from my headphones rhythmically melds with the rail sound...
I m profoundly impressed by how things have worked in my favor....

Incident 9.
I was in college...
Confident about winning the group dance finals I pray that my group gets to perform the last....
The rule of the competition said that one who reports first gets to choose their performance order...
We somehow get the reporting time written wrong....
An hour earlier than that on the paper....
We reached the venue when the organisers are just about dropping in...
We reported..We registered first....
We chose to perform last....
We got to have a look at the stage settings and do our markings in mind...
We got ready... Waiting for our turn in peace...
I loved the way our troupe stayed calm n composed throughout....
We won...
It was as if we knew we d win...
But there was a sense of surrender in the performance...
The aggression of the quarter and semifinals had vanished by then....

Incident 10.
I was the apple of my Grandpa's eye...
I was his single most favorite person to him and he d always say that...
We had a special bond....
My grandfather hadn't been keeping well
He was hospitalised...
I had to leave the city for a family function....
I met him before going...
It was special...
I got to give him tea and chat with him...
I felt his aged skin, held his hands....
He smiled gently....his eyes showed many emotions...
I left Mumbai with a heavy heart....
Next day...while the function was going on in the evening....
I felt a lump in my throat and sudden restlessness and a knot in my stomach....
My heart started pounding heavily and I somehow knew it was time....
I called my mom who was crying on the phone saying that Grandpa has suffered an attack previously in the day and was in a coma....
He started sinking the minute I called and she told me to hold on as he passed away....
I weaped... I knew he was going... I knew that he knew he was meeting me for the last time...
Yet I cried like I never did before....
For the first time in my life I hadn't wished for anything....
I just let him go....

Conclusion - I strongly believe that we are indeed fragments from the same source born on this physical plane to experience life in this dimension...
We are given help we are guided and we are blessed....
We are pampered by the Force
We are meant to work with Divinity...
Holding hands and synchronizing ..
It enriches us with little surprises....
Like rain drops suddenly pouring on a scorching heated day....
Like getting a glass of water soothing a parched throat ...
Little things....
We are loved ...
We are meant to be loved ...
We are meant to be happy...
It's contagious...
Purity reflects through our vibrations...
People get connected with your energy ...
Purer the intent closer we come to awareness that makes us grateful towards the gifts we have....
Let's keep the energy moving....
Positive and light...
Let's spread smiles ..
Let us be...
Exuding peace....
Nature .. The elements ... Divinity....
Light.... Force...all becomes one...
The Sohum moment...
Who am I ?
I am everything....

Some tales together make a long delightful story
‪#‎notsotinytales‬
- Prajakta Sathe.