antonyjosec

[antonyjosec]

The "pressure" of a vacation narrative!

Diwali vacations are about to come to an end (some schools have already reopened). When schools re-open, the first day conversations for students (& teachers) are likely to be centred around "what did you do" / "which place did you visit" during the vacation? Language teachers are likely to ask students to pen essays / notes on how you spent your vacations (in English / Hindi and Marathi ;-).

To ensure my 8-yr old is not falling short of a vacation narrative / content for 'essays' in different languages, "The Sunday Dad" had to scramble together a 'plan'. While the original plan was to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar (every time I think about this holy place, I get goose bumps - I have already visited this place once several years ago) with a trip to Wagah border, yours truly could not manage to pull it off (so let us just say the calling is yet awaited). While funding a domestic trip even at the 11th hour is not really out of bounds OR unaffordable, the middle-class value systems are so strongly ingrained in the mind of yours truly, that to make such a choice by paying a premium for airfare and accommodation is akin to committing a mortal sin.

Thanks to options like Malhar Machi (the recommendation by Suman C came handy). Nestled in calm, serene and tranquil surroundings is this beautiful resort in Mulshi taluka of Pune (shortest distance from Thane is 154 kms). One of the views from the resort is of a waterfront with hills as the boundary (see pic).

Day 1 - We kept it light with indoor games (Foosball, carrom, TT) in the gaming zone, a short horse-ride, a tractor-trailer ride, magic show with a flute-player dishing out good old Bollywood melodies. The flutist also walks around the resort every morning donning the role of a wake-up alarm in the hills (unprecedented for urban mortals like us). Buffet dinner is served in the lawns. A bonfire is lit to keep patrons warm.

Day 2 - Walk in the botanical garden ["Touch-me-not" (botanical name is Mimosa pudica) is such a delight for kids & adults too]. A 'safari' in a 4X4 which takes patrons half way to the hill nearby. Lucky souls can spot deer, peacocks, rabbits and snakes; Alas! lady luck did not smile at us this time. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, neither the zip line activity was operational nor the night trek could be conducted. Another horse-ride (but this time with a light gallop, and the accompanying bounces on the saddle) took us back to the resort from the garden restaurant where high tea is served.    

Be prepared for some strong overdose of calories with the buffet spread for across all 3 meals (American Plan).  With high tea included, the only complaint patrons are likely to have is about the excess quantity of food intake. Yours truly came back with the weighing scale screaming a 2kgs+ gain. Oh gosh, it’s time to hit the road with running shoes to burn calories with a vengeance.

Cheers,

 The Sunday Dad

[antonyjosec]

Chronicles of ‘The Sunday Dad’ - 1

Mon, 4-July-2022

It is no secret that daughters mean the world to dads. It is no different for yours truly (YT).

Since, Home Minister is particular about the time our daughter hits bed, on most weekdays the only face-time (the real one and not Apple iPhone variant) I get to spend with our daughter is approximately the first 30 minutes every morning on working days. This is when she has to be cajoled and implored to have her breakfast on time before school while Home Minister and I have our morning tea. After this, YT goes to drop her to school next-door (we share a common boundary wall between our society and her school). The benefits of having your kid’s school at such proximity far outweigh other disadvantages. Getting face-time on Sundays is also at super premium as morning service at the church followed by Sunday school (Catechism classes) takes away first half of the day from the family.

So guilty Dad, has to find new ways to create some worthwhile and memorable moments with daughter dearest.

A couple of Sundays ago it was YT cooking 'Dal-khichdi' independently, and a near full meal, first time ever in his life. A WhatsApp voice note from Home Minister on the ingredients and steps to be followed helped YT behind the scenes…. oops…. behind the stove! The best compliment YT ever got was when daughter, after tasting the 'Dal-Khichdi' said, "Dad cooks the best Dal-khichdi in the whole world" (thanks to the generous quantity of pure ghee with free-flowing salt - literally) :-, the aroma and taste did make the dish palatable (if not mouth-watering).

Yesterday was another Sunday. It was time for an impulsive 2-minute noodles cooking session - which actually took YT about 9 minutes to cook. To add some zing to the standard tastemaker (part of the noodle pack), YT added some black pepper and cracked open a couple of eggs (in raw form) even as the twin pack noodle contents were being slow-cooked. After the dish was ready, it was generously laced with utterly butterly delicious, you know the brand!! The improvisations earned the dish an apt title, "Butter-Pepper-Egg-Noodles" which, if enlisted on Swiggy and Zomato, should be a "Bestseller" / “Recommended” dish with nothing less than 4.5 stars!  I truly hope yesterday’s "Butter-Pepper-Egg-Noodles" was not a flash in the pan (no pun-intended).

Daughter liked "Butter-Pepper-Egg-Noodles" too.  While Home Minister almost without exception has frowned every-time I added or asked her to add eggs to noodle preparation, yesterday for a change she liked the dish and gave it a thumbs up!

So, among the strictly, limited edible items YT can prepare, include Masala Tea, versions of egg (omelette / scrambled / sunny side up), "Butter-Pepper-Egg-Noodles" and now the ubiquitous Dal-Khichdi.

And Sunday evening was spent with daughter on the terrace with her latest fad - bubble making using a soapy solution - something almost every kid loves. With that Sunday Dad, shed some guilt.

Watch this space for more.

Cheers,

  The Sunday Dad

[antonyjosec]

Convergence - Faith & Science, Religion & Rationality

To my friends and associates. An incident, that will forever, remain close to my heart. This one has only cemented my faith in SOMEONE sitting RIGHT UP THERE: On Jan 18, 2004, late in the evening, I had gone out to meet my sister's friend and her husband at the Yari Road (Andheri-W) beach - popularly known as The Rocks. The young lady is expecting and there were lot of youngsters playing cricket. To avoid any mishaps, we approached a bed of rocks that were "flattened" by a layer of sand and thought of spending some time chit-chatting. After watching the sunset and ensuring that the stumps were pulled out by the players, we thought of taking a stroll. As we got up, the gentleman brushed his trousers to get rid of the sand particles that invariably cling to one's garment. In the process, the gold-ring studded with a precious stone, that he was wearing, slipped off his finger and fell in the sand. My sister was expected to join us later. She rang me up to confirm the exact place where we could meet up and I apprised her of the incident, asking her to carry a torch on her way to the beach. By then, we had already spent a considerable amount of time searching the ring in all possible directions, that tested all our skills in mathematics and physics - on the distance, direction and "exact" location where the ring could possibly be found. We witnessed the helping nature that Mumbaikars are known for , when a young mother - who was sitting close by - lent her NOKIA phone that had a little torch right on its "head" that threw a beam of light sufficient enough to keep one's hope alive. However, we were not destined to find the ring. We returned the hand phone to the lady. In some time my sister arrived with a torch (this one with a much more powerful beam of light) borrowed from our neighbor in the society. The 4 member team continued with the search operation. By now the gentleman had lost hope of finding it, though the 3 of us kept our efforts going. Two youngsters - who were locals OR probably regulars who are used to people like us losing valuables on the beach - joined us offering help, though none of us were very comfortable with their presence. Personally, I have had an unpleasant experience as a college student with the locals who stayed on the beach. Probably they could feel the negative vibes and left quickly only to join us after some time. They did make an effort wading their hands through the sand. I was "certain" that even if they found the ring, it would never be returned to us. So much for a single unpleasant experience as a college student, when some of the locals tried to claim our Football as their own, when the Football had landed in their "territory"!!! Finally, the four of us gave up and decided to go back home. After reaching home my sister and I discussed the unsuccessful search effort with my Mom who had already chanted 13 "GLORY BEs" to St. Anthony, the patron Saint who is known for helping find lost articles. Her immense faith, that comes from a somewhat similar incident in her childhood, has somewhat rubbed on me. After dinner, I called up this guy to persuade him to come along for one last, genuine try under the Sun, the next morning, i.e. today. He was not very hopeful and also did not want to report the loss to his other family members and hence declined. Despite my best efforts, I could not convince him, for the "Search Operation" at day-break. Mom woke me up at 0700 hrs and asked whether I planned to go to the beach. I got ready to leave, as there was in the corner of my heart, some hope left of retrieving the ring. In a sense, it was important for the couple - as the Lady's family had gifted it to the Man on their engagement and he was extremely emotional about the ring. From the lady's point, loss of such a valuable, that signified an event in their coming together and that too at a time when she is carrying. It was definitely an unpleasant experience. After reaching the spot, I was a little relieved to see that the waves had not reached the boundary wall. It filled my heart with hope, that still there was a chance that the ring was somewhere in the sand and was not swept away by the waves overnight. It was relieving to note the residual of bottles, dead plants and other matter, caused by the waves were a few feet away from the "SPOT". I had carried with me a ball-point pen that had no use after it had ran out of ink. Thought it would help me wade through the sand. The previous evening, just as we began the search operation, I was thoughtful to count the no. of steps from the closest Rock (as a landmark) to the "SPOT" - 9 in all. I counted 9 steps from the stop and got started, wading through the sand in a particular fashion so as not to miss an inch. Moved a little right, and then to left, went forward, receded my steps, went diagonally......in short tried all the possible tricks in the trade, but to no avail. In the meantime, I had with me, the sympathies of the fitness-freak enthusiasts (through their enquiries abt the incident) who thronged the beach every morning. After having spent 20 minutes searching the ring, but before losing all hope, something struck me. I turned to St. Anthony. I stood still chanting 13 "GLORY BEs" and pleaded with him to atleast guide me to a spot where I could possibly locate the ring. May be SOMEONE UP THERE, heard my prayers, and guided me to a spot. I dug the pen in the sand once again and waded through. A minute passed and I had struck gold, literally!! I saw the ring come out of its "hiding". I had never seen it earlier on my friend's finger. "But it could not be any other ring", I said to myself. It had to be the one that we were looking for. My eyes moistened. My prayers were answered. The euphoria was writ large on my face. One of the the fitness freaks guessed it and asked me to confirm, "Mila kya?". I showed him the ring as I ran out to pick up my bike. I felt the need to visit Good Shepherd Church, in Four Bungalows to thank St. Antony in person. Came back home and broke the news to my family. Mom had another miracle to add in her LIFE's "book". On my way to work this morning, returned the lost article to the guy. I was left with a big THANKS by the couple and yes a feeling that, come what may, I am not alone. HE is there and will always be there for me and for you, if we are willing to try hard. As long as I live, I'll recount this experience. Irrespective of what your religion is, you'll find SOMEONE who is holding the strings to your life. Thanks for your time.

[antonyjosec]

Mumbai to a village in Satara on Rs.15/- and FAITH

This is an incident dated January 8, 2013. I was driving back home after my day’s work and had pulled over at the banks of Powai Lake on JVLR (Mumbai) to attend a call. The call had just ended and before resuming my drive home, I wanted to send out some text messages. One mother-daughter duo knocked at my car's window. The mother sought a lift to Kanjurmarg railway station. I declined and buried my head in my phone. Once done, I resumed my drive back home. At a little distance, I saw the mother-daughter duo walking. Something made me pull over again and I offered to drop them, somewhere realising they won't cause me any harm. Possibly it was the weariness in their walk. They wanted to go to Kanjurmarg station. I reckoned, the East-side of the station would be a slight detour for me on my way to Thane. 

  The rear seat of my hatchback is usually stuffed with my sales kit, brochures, sample-copies of student and teacher material, rendering it useless for any passenger and practically making my car a 2-seater [perfect for a DINK (double income no kids) couple]. The mother asked her daughter to move some stuff to one-half of the seat so that the other half could be occupied. I offered the mother the passenger seat in the front that she politely declined. Their frail bodies helped them squeeze themselves in the half-seat after moving the dump of materials. I moved the front passenger seat as ahead as I could to make the seating comfortable for them. 

  I struck a conversation with the mother. She identified herself as Suvarna Sapkale and her daughter was called Jagruti who I guessed was about 14-15 years. They were from a family of farmers from a village in Satara district, Maharashtra. They were going to VT (CST) to try and take a train to Satara. Jagruti was not of sound mind as I heard her blabbering something to herself throughout during the drive. Suvarna said that Jagruti’s classmates and school authorities were finding it difficult to manage her with her state of mind and hence she was taking Jagruti back to her village. She was no different from any other mother for whom her child was the best and most valued and did not believe that Jagruti was suffering from any mental ailment.  

  I asked her where they started walking from. She said Tunga (somewhere near MIDC, Andheri-E) and had Rs. 15 (Rupees Fifteen Only) on her to make it to VT. I choked. As I was nearing Kanjurmarg-E station, I offered to buy them something to eat. Suvarna again declined. I choked again. En route, I cautioned her about seeking lift from strangers (like she asked me) and not to leave her daughter alone anywhere. The scars from Nirbhaya-incident from Delhi was still afresh and I wanted Suvarna to be extra cautious about her daughter. I also asked her to pray for me and my wife as even after over 4 years of marriage we were yet to be blessed with a child. She said she will and also spoke about a temple where I should go and pray. I handed over the 2nd largest denomination note in circulation in India to her that she hesitatingly accepted. After dropping them at Kanjurmarg-E, I resumed my drive back home to Thane. My eyes welled blurring my vision for a moment. I regained my composure and thanked God for a life bestowed with good health, education and a reasonably secure life with all the wonderful gifts, almost feeling guilty for the weekend visits to mall, dining out-at-will, a movie a month (at times every fortnight). This was juxtaposed with Suvarna Sapkale’s Rs.15 to VT and the proposed walk from Tunga to Kanjurmarg (a distance of over 9 kms).

  I came home and narrated the incident to my wife and her eyes too turned moist. I noted the incident in my personal diary. 

  My wife conceived in May 2013, and we are expecting our first child in January 2014.