tagged and delivered!

i normally don't do tags... where i have to talk about the 12 things i would like to do by standing on one foot; or the 23 things i would do with a cricket ball; or the 6 continental dishes i absolutely hate; or the 9 smelliest people i have ever come across...

i just can't get myself to do these things... but today i decided to break this self-defined rule and do this tag which preeti tagged me here

so here are the 5 things i love about being a dad :

i am sure there are many more relevant and esoteric reasons for being proud of being a dad, but here are the first 5 that come to my mind...

1. i love having my kids falling asleep while lying on top of me... not any more of course... they weigh quite a bit... but earlier when they didn't weight so much that they squeeze the breath out of me! :P

2. i love hearing my son tell me excitedly about how he scored a beautifully executed goal or catch someone out in cricket or win a chess game... ((most of the time he doesn't get chosen by the other boys to play because he can't kick a ball to save his life... but he makes up for it with all his enthusiasm... and its fun just to hear him describe it all... i always tell people, even if he doesn't become a cricketer, he has a future as a commentator! :P )

3. i love it when my daughter comes and whispers a secret in my ear and doesn't want me to tell her mom... and then the minute her mom walks in the room she can't hold it back for even a couple of seconds... she just has to blurt it out to her! :P

4. i love it when my daughter is scowling and moping (usually because she hasn't gotten her way for once) and tries to maintain a stern, serious expression while i am trying to get her to smile... and finally she can't control herself anymore and ends up grinning or bursting into laughter :)

5. what i love most is watching my kids walk hand in hand, while the older brother is leading his younger sister by hand across the road to the waiting bus on their way to school... :)

space: the final frontier

"Space: The final frontier
These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise
Its 5 year mission
To explore strange new worlds
To seek out new life and new civilizations
To boldly go where no man has gone before"

so many of us have such nostalgic memories when you hear these lines... of the eagerly awaited star trek series on sunday morning on television (on the solitary doordarshan channel in those days)...

i have never watched a single star trek movie after the tv series... i couldn't even bring myself to watch the new series which did not have william shatner as capt. kirk and leonard nimoy as spock... (i remember all the girls in school in those days being completely smitten by capt. kirk... yeah yeah, i know i studied in an all-boys school and you are wondering how i know this about the girls... well, i am not telling!)

but i finally decided to watch the latest star trek movie which is a chronicle of the early days of capt. kirk and his fellow uss enterprise crew members...

all of us trudged off for the sunday morning show... the big boss and the kids... the kids actually enjoyed themselves... and i don't mean just the popcorn and the fizzy drink... they actually enjoyed the film... though the younger one (daughter) did get a little frightened during some of the scenes... it was their first sci-fi film on the big screen...

i simply loved the movie... even if you have never watched star trek you will really enjoy this film... and if you are even a fringe fan of start trek and don't consider yourself a trekkie you would still be comiting an unforgiveable sin if you do not watch this film!

the movie has leonard nimoy playing the old spock (i am not telling you anything more) and he still can make you smirk with his logical dialogs delivered with a punch...

but for me, just like for another die-hard fan i chatted with earlier today, the most 'goose-bumpy' and emotional moment in the film was during the end credits where leonard nimoy says 'space: the final frontier....'

ah! that was the bestest moment in the film for me... but you have to watch it understand what i am saying...

i will sign off by borrowing spock's customary farewell line (accompanied by the vulcan hand salute of course) - "live long and prosper!"

not so simple

this is the first poem i received in response to my tag... a really nice poem from manasi
here's the link to her blog and the actual poem below :
http://forevermanasi.blogspot.com/2008/09/not-so-simple.html

ओ आसमान में उड़ते पंछी,
कभी मुझे भी अपने साथ ले जा.
खुल कर निडर मुक्त गगन में,
एक उड़ान की चाहत जो है.

बैठी है जो टीले के पीछे,
वो बुढ़िया जो अपना चूल्हा फूकती.
बताया उसने कि तुम ले गयीं थी उसको,
एक सूखी रोटी के बदले.

मैं होमवर्क पूरा कर लूंगी,
दूध वाले को तंग भी न करूंगी,
उस गुरजीत से नहीं लडूंगी,
एक उड़ान की चाहत जो है.

a different kind of tag

i got a beautiful poem from a dear friend which i am reproducing here.

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i wonder..

will there be a storm,
with howling winds,
and torrential showers,
when you come..

will the earth separate,
with molten lava
swirling at your feet,
when you come..

or will the mountain peaks,
lift their heads higher,
and roar to the world,
that you have come?

maybe, the trees will march,
with creatures of all sizes,
in the parade,
on the day of your arrival.

i wonder, if the brooks and streams
will join hands,
and create a wreath,
to welcome u with..

i wonder, whether this lil flower,
with petals so tiny and blue,
that just fell into my hands,
is actually you..

- riddhi shah (mumbai)
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i am sure there's a poet in each one of us. now what i'd really like is for you to send me one of your poems. whichever you like. either its one you have already written before or you can write one now. send it to me and i'll publish them here. why should you do this? just so that others can enjoy reading your poems.

i'll give source credit! :P
which basically means i won't pass them off as my creation... you'll get mentioned with a byline and with the url to your blog .

so go on, don't hesitate... let the creative juices flow and share it with the rest of the world...

(there's no deadline for entries... i'll keep posting them as i receive them)