Diwali of Enlightenment and of My Mom's Goodness Hug

From the times I was a child
Diwali has had a very special meaning in my life

No doubt I loved the Divine Diyas and Lovely Lights
And savoring mom's delicious dishes to my absolute delight

There was something that fascinated me more about Diwali
And it was the happiness of  triumph over evil, of Good's  Victory

Every year from mom I endlessly heard the tale of Rama's win and home-coming
As it infused in me, a self-belief that I must not leave the path of righteousness, no matter how much I was bullied

Though I admit sometimes I was pessimism engulfed
But the sorrows vanished when my mom gave me a tight goodness hug

And thus I held on firmly to the ray of hope
Always challenging injustice, to my last breath I fought

Situations went grim and we were abandoned in life's perils
Almost ready to give up, we chose to silently perish

And then came Deepawali and enlightened us from within
I once again remembered that it's the truth which always prevails

I collected the scattered particles as best as I can
And weaved our nest all over again

Thus Diwali for me is enlightenment
Of the power of goodness within

Capable of defeating all evils which try to pull you down
When darkness engulfs, lights of goodness it lightens...

Many years later today, though my mom is not with me
I still hear her tales of wisdom from the rising lanterns

She smiles to me from behind the Diyas
Only enhancing my trust on humanity and goodness

I try to pass on the same ethos to my little son
May he shine in the glory of lessons from my mom

So you know how I await Diwali each year
For the enlightenment and my mom's goodness hug...

Copyright ©2016 Roma Gupta Sinha

This Post is written for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) which challenges you to a blog post every single day in November. Publish posts daily, meet other bloggers, and try something new. 

I Invite You to Watch ABC - An Inspirational Short Film with A Purpose

Money we can amass by heaps but does it bring equal happiness too. NOT necessarily, then how can we get happiness or rather how can we assimilate what true happiness is? For me happiness is a state of mind and our own perception of our well being. When we cease to indulge in unnecessary expectation and focus on our karma, I guess we reach a state of satiation and become happy.
 
Friends, feel proud to present to you a Special Invite for a Strong and With a Purpose Short Film produced by a dear friend Shajan Samuel. The film titled 'ABC' is about a young inspirational boy whose dad has left for the heavenly abode and who was a fourth grade dropout but that never deters his confidence, knowledge seeking ability and ambition..This young lad is charismatic and knows the mantra for real happiness.  The story unfolds beautifully as he meets a young entrepreneur teaching us crisply some worthy lessons of life.

Meaningful cinema has always impacted me deeply and it is great to see Short Films Genre rising to the occasion and doing a stupendous job in reaching minds and hearts. This 15 minute movie directed by Madan Ram Venkatesh and produced by Shajan Samuel Productions is undoubtedly a perfect example of the same and no wonder it is garnering an overwhelming response from the viewers and critic alike.

ABC: Produced By 'Shanjan Samuel Productions"

Here's what Shajan Samuel wrote to us:

Pleasure connecting with the Readers of Straight From The Heart. Friends, I recently produced one of the costliest self funded short films in recent times ABC. I made the film to usher in a new paradigm in new short film making . My bread & butter doesn't come from making films , therefore I make cinema to bring socially relevant messages to the forefront , in other words issues which needs to reach out to a wider audience or needs immediate attention . I find cinema a compelling medium which can transcend geography . I would request that if you can devote 16 minutes of your precious time and watch the film & if you do like please do share it with your friends we can only but spread happiness and the message of optimism around. 

This short films candidly essays how for some people life is about triumph against all odds while for some life is only about complexities. Some walk through this road aimlessly and some; actually become the bridge. ABC is a short film that showcases the dichotomy between two extreme yet simple individuals. It is an empowering film which has the dexterity & optimism to resonate amongst all sections of audience. As humans, we do tend to forget that we are but one world than just mere economy, that it can just take one human, just one moment, just one action to turn around the paths of millions. ABC is just a sweet gentle reminder of this thought.

Kudos to the Producers of this film who are both senior professionals for self funding this short film to get their message known to the world. They lovingly call it a feature film as all the technical aspects of the film are at par with Commercial cinema. The protagonists look adorable and the scenes are profoundly weaved to keep us hooked and simultaneously think.The two characters are impeccably portrayed by Shruthi Hariharan and Master Shahbaaz Saleem who make us fall in love with them almost instantaneously. Story is quite fresh and exhibits great shades of humanity.

I have found ABC hugely impressive for its finesse in its modus operandi and would request all my readers to watch this too and take home sheer happiness. Why wait, you can now watch the screening of this wonderful film right here on your favorite blog by clicking below. Made ‘Straight From The Heart’, this cute flick is definitely worth a watch and if like me you find it really worthy, do share it with your family and friends. After all happiness is meant to be shared.

          This post is also linked to UBC and Daily Chatter

What A Day It Was : A Decade Later I Relive It For You

Some Days are Real Pearls

Which when woven into a garland

Adorn life and make it beautiful

Our wedding was truly a dream come true and so was our wedding day. It has taken some real hard-work to convince our families and get their nod for us to tie the knot with everyone's blessings. And I am so glad our love did win and after a lot of discussions and rescheduling, our wedding date was finally locked. The venue for the same was fixed at bride groom's place as per the need of the hour and almost everyone was invited on either side. This being an extreme inter caste wedding, my mom has been meticulous in noting down all their customs and the essentials for them. On the other hand, I and S have been silently praying that all goes well. 

Flashback:  5 December 2005
The day began on a sweet note when my granny woke me up for the customary 4a.m. rose petals bath. I almost froze in the December chill but all for her love I did managed to smile throughout. Or was it the overwhelming feeling of eventually getting united with your love that made the sail through the infinite customs that day seem like a cakewalk.

It was a 24 hour wedding with Engagement, Pheras and the Reception all planned in the same day. This being the first wedding from our side and the last from theirs,the excitement was at peak. Almost every relative and friend on the guest list has made it and their presence and smiles were priceless for us. There was no differentiation between the hosts and guests and everyone was ready to contribute their bit on what was going to be a perfect medley, albeit a little confusing, of Kaistha and Baniya Ceremonies, in the pious city of Allahabad.

After finishing the early morn ceremonies at the guest house, I was clad in a blue Saree sent by the groom's side and escorted to the banquet. A mere glance at the banquet which was decorated in white and red flowers was so appealing and soothing. I ran my eyes through how huge and mesmerizing it was..I was living my dream. My prince charming would come in a while and complete our fairy tale and yes I could see him waiting on the stage.

 The next ritual that morn was God Bharai and Ring Ceremony. As I moved slowly on the red flower-laden aisle towards him, my heart started beating faster. It's a very special feeling words fail me to describe. We have known each other for umpteen years, but today when he looked into my eyes, I blushed. He kept smiling while talking to his cousins and friends who surrounded us. I am sure they were cracking jokes and discussing our love story as I could see them burst into laughter but I heard nothing, my heart was humming its own tunes and dancing in ecstasy. I was silent and if anything, they were my tinkling eyes that gave away all the secrets.

In a while, he has held my hand in his to skid the ring into my finger. The tenderness with which he held my hand and the earnest and candid gesture of very gently moving the ring inside touched me, for this warmth and care was the quality which I loved the most in him. Someone from the crowd shouted loud that now their boy was no more theirs and all of us grinned aloud crazily on many jokes which followed until our stomachs ached.

The day advanced slowly, we didn't speak much to each other and only exchanged some love tit-bits on our BBMs occasionally between so many outfit changes, photo shoots and customs from either side. I understood a few and did not many others but was elated, super-elated.

It was now time for the Pheras which would unite us and our souls, at least for 7 births. The Phera Pandal was made of glass and was placed amidst huge lawns adorned with flowers of myriad shades. Now, I was dressed in a made to order half red half yellow Saree bearing in mind the colors required from either side for this ceremony.

 Words again fail me to describe my gratitude to my mom for doing all the homework so impeccably for every single custom so that no religious sentiments are hurt. The priest was a great learned intellectual who translated the sanskrit shlokas of Pheras in English  for me. He was a guy who has also conducted the wedding ceremony of S' s Parents and thus his connection to our family was deep as was evident from his love for us which oozed out of his eyes. 

He blessed us and concluded our wedding after kanyadaan during which I peeped into my dad's moist eyes. Though they were numb they also seemed confident that he was handing over his princess in the right hands. It was heartening that he trusted my choice but all said and done leaving mom and dad was a very heavy feeling. S sensed my anxiety and like a perfect partner tried to make the moment lighter. My little brother whom I didn't realize when had grown so sensible, realizing the gravity of the moment, picked me up in his arms and took me to groom's side for the next following ceremonies.

The party was in full swing. Yummy food was laid in the lawns and the Dance Floor was burning hot. While I walked down to get ready for the Wedding Reception, I could see everyone making merry. It was a pleasure seeing everyone happy on the happiest day of our life. My cousin helped me getting ready in the gorgeous orange lehenga(Indian Bridal Dress) my mum chose for me and then went to get ready herself.

 It was about 10:45 in the night when S texted me that he is waiting for me for a long time to which I replied in innocence that I have been ready for a while too but there is no one around me to fetch me to him. In just a couple of minutes I saw him bending in front of me as he whispered in my ears - "You are now officially mine! You need no one else" and then with his known gentleness he held my hand and walked me to the Reception stage. 

On stage, I met S' s dad,  a wonderful  human being at heart for whom we had squeezed all the events in a single day and preponed our wedding by more than 2 months as he was at the last stage of lung cancer. His last wish was fulfilled and we were glad we could fulfill it beautifully as he miraculously lived for many more days.

Next couple of hours went in meeting and greeting guests and full on DJ Masti along with the mandatory solo performance by the Bride. 

I performed on Kajrare Kajrare - Aishwarya Rai's most popular number of that time though it wasn't easy to do so in a heavy lehenga and heels. Nevertheless, I went with the flow of the moment and danced my heart out in which S joined soon.

 Post an exorbitant dinner, came the Vidai which was the only heart- breaking event of the day though my parents chose not to shed a single tear and bid me good times ahead.No doubt they are the pillars of all my strength. My little brother concluded the last ceremony by pushing our car out of the gate. In a few minutes, we were home, my new and forever to be home.

Everyone welcomed us with a lot of love and soon we were taken to our room. It was 3 a.m. by then...and we have to get up at 6 for the Pooja. So did we sleep for the next 3 hours? Obviously not...one and a half hour he spent in removing the not less than hundred Jooda (Hindi Word for a Hair-bun) pins in my hair and the rest one and half hour went in laughing at our bed with squeaked aloud at every single movement of ours.

Truly 'What a day it was'. It gifted me forever togetherness with the love of my life. It's been more than ten years since then but the memories of the precious and priceless moments of that day are forever imprinted on my heart and it was indeed a pleasure re-living them day here. Trust you enjoyed the sail-through as much as I did.

And yes, I would like to conclude this post with us of today who still bask in the glory of that awesome day which united us forever :)

© [Roma Gupta Sinha][Straight From The Heart][2016]Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or pictures without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.