Thinking of my Baba today

So thankful for the link my Baba (grandfather) created between me and his grandfather Dr. Makund Ram Sharma by reciting his writings ( and other poets’) and sowing the seeds for appreciation of poetry! 

Dr. Makund Ram Sharma was a doctor, poet, and social reformer. I am not sure of the exact year of his birth but I guess it to be early1860's. He died in 1941. My Baba was upset that he passed away just a few days before the birth of his first great-grandson, my father. Many of his poetries included a mix of Hindi, Urdu, and even English because he did not feel bound by any rules when it came to speaking his mind. When he needed to say something, he used whichever words conveyed his thoughts and ideas. HIs 'Takiya Kalam' (signature) was 'मुहकिक'' which means 'seeker of the truth'. This probably was the purpose of his life which he passed on to his grandson, my grandfather, by naming him 'Satya'  (truth). The influence Dr. Makund Ram Sharma had on his grandson reflected in the way he carried out his life, living up to the meaning of his name all the way.

Just the other day in an interesting discussion with friends I got reminded of this one by him- 

Atoms with energy, हर जिस्म ख़ाक शामिल

हर लम्हा ये बदलते, तुम देखो या ना देखो

कुछ ज़र्रे होते दाखिल , कुछ ज़र्रे होते ख़ारिज 

करते अजब करिश्मे, तुम देखो या ना  देखो 

ताक़त मिली जुली है, मुफरित नहीं 'मुहकिक''

हम रूह इसको कहते, तुम देखो या ना  देखो 

Meanings - 

जिस्म - Body 

ख़ाक - Earth /Dirt/Soil

शामिल - Included /Inclusive

लम्हा - Moment

ज़र्रे  - Very small particles /atom

दाखिल - Enter

ख़ारिज  - Dismiss

करिश्मे - Wonders

ताक़त - Strength

मिली जुली - All together

मुफरित - Separate

मुहकिक - Seeker of truth 

रूह - Soul

️

Laughter is the best medicine

While discussing which board games involve strategic and critical thinking -

Avi : Chess is really a great game and promotes problem solving skills.

Neev (who does not enjoy Chess as much as his older brother) : What about Life (another board-game) ?

Avi : (shakes his head)

Neev : Oh yeah ? Do you know you can end up having two wives on that game ?


:):)

Skiing in Winter Place , WV and Pilot Mountain State Park trip in January 2017

I have been slacking in recording our family events on the blog and a huge weekend was left out. We made our maiden attempt in the wold of snow-sports.  Kids certainly did better than us with only one day of ski school. In one day Avi was able to go from bunny slopes to blue level. I on the other hand was not able to master even the bunny slope, however, when able to glide without falling, it was an enjoyable experience.
On the way back we all stopped at Pilot Mountain and hiked to the top. Having friends for company was priceless! 

Spring Break 2017

After spending  a couple days with our friends in the rented house near Art of Living Ashram we did outdoor Zip-lining in Boone (Hawksnest ziplining). It took a bit of convincing but both boys agreed to try it and had a blast going over the waterfalls, ponds and through the trees. There was even a rope bridge. We had tried indoor zip-lining before but doing it outdoors was a very different and fun experience.
We also managed a sweet and short trip to Washington DC. We spent one entire day at Udvar-Hazy national air and space museum and boys were just thrilled to see 'Discovery', 'SR 71 Black Bird' , 'Enola Bay' , 'Concord' and the first Boeing. Our Docent was a very funny and knowledgeable gentleman whose personal stories made for a wonderful tour of the museum.
Very close to the museum is 'Sully Historic Site' and even though we were late to tour the house, we were still able to go around it and enjoy a beautiful afternoon stroll.

The next day we took the hop and stop bus tour to see all the monuments and museums. We enjoyed the beautiful sunny day walking around the city's national mall area. At Arlington Cemetery, we watched the change of guard ceremony and paid our respects. Though most of the cherry blossoms had already bloomed, we found a few lovely pink beauties in their full glory there.
We were able to spend a few hours at Museum of Natural History where the highlight for all of us was to see "Hope Diamond".  We had our very own personal guide Avi to tell us all about it :)
After walking around 10 miles during the day, twilight tour in open top bus was the best decision ! We rested our feet while admiring the night lights and lit-up monuments in the dark. The trip proved to be a great reminder for us to appreciate the democratic values that this country stands for.

Over the Hill and Over the Moon

I have not written a post in a long time. I feel this astounding desire today to pour out my feelings or I am afraid my heart, weak and strong at the same time from the amount of love I felt last night is going to burst . Once, as I leaned my head on shoulders of the love of my life on a train journey while looking at the passing moon from the window, he told me "I feel so happy tonight, I could die". He verbalized what I felt too in that moment. I hope everyone gets to feel this way at some point in their life-time and I feel lucky that I got to experience it more than just once.

I turned forty last month and my friends put together an evening of celebration that will be etched in my heart for as long as I live. Right from hand-made personalized decorations made by my friend' sweet daughter, cake, food (served on a silver platter....yes a silver platter), carefully thought-out games, video messages from all my family in India , heartfelt poems written and beautiful words spoken for me, dances choreographed just for me to a lovely sentimental photo collage capturing 40 years of my life and super delicious home-baked Russian tea cakes packed so well for the goody-bag that nobody could believe it came out of my friend's home-kitchen oven......everything was just perfect!

I am overwhelmed with emotions and love I felt in one night from all my friends and family. I will never know why universe chose to bless me with this circle of people but I want to convey to each one of them that in your presence I feel the inspiration and in your love I feel the grace of God!

My wish for all of us is to keep following our paths with passion, keep facing the challenges that are yet to come, and keep sharing the moments & memories that we hold so dear in our heart !

Thank you so much for being in my life!!