~Smiles~ Unlimited!!

After family, friends are what I consider one's greatest blessing...Life is so much better when one has friends, those confidantes we can turn to at any point, the ones who aren't merely cheerleaders, but who are with this us through thick and thin and the only well wishers we have after family.

Our dear friends, Sadiya & Naushad say good-bye and are all set to travel to the land of dreams, Dubai to pursue their dreams. The day we all have been dreading for is almost here, it is hard to say goodbye to all the good times we had.. We will miss you heaps... I can speak for each of us when I say we will genuinely miss you. Hopefully you will come back and visit us very soon! It just won't be the same without you.
“Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad coz I miss you I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss.”

Sometimes it is hard to find the rights words to articulate and sometimes words are just not sufficient to express the multitude of emotions you are experiencing. All I can say for now is I'm soo sad you're leaving us, I will miss you a lot but the memories of times we all have spent together are enough to keep me smiling. Love you all loads and you better believe that we have already started planning our trip to Dubai.
“No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.”

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand…

Kavya wanted me to write eight things that I loved about summer, so here goes a mediocre attempt....

I spent my childhood in boarding school, so coming home for holidays was something I used to look forward big time. Summer Holidays were certainly special as they meant NO School for two and half months!! They also meant 2 1/2 months of non-stop fun, long days filled with pure joy and excitement. Like every desi baccha on the block, I used to spend a part of the Summer Vacation at my Grandparent's (Nani Ma's) place where my chacha's, chachi's, maama's, maami's and cousins would descend too. .... Ahhhh those were the days...climbing trees, running across the fields, plucking stuff from the fields and getting into trouble, all cousins together with elder ones teasing the younger ones, playing games till late night, being pampered by Grandparents... Ooh.. undoubtedly the best times of my childhood!!! (*Sniff sniff.. I miss those days!!*)

Summer Nights - I miss those summer nights where we used to have our cots out in the open under the sky and doze off to sleep listening to all the princess stories told by my Granny. Those nights never seemed long enough.. Falling asleep watching the sky brightened by the moon and stars and waking up when the golden rays of sunshine caress my face upon sun's awakening and to the sounds of the birds chirping early in the morning… absolutely priceless!!
I still love to wake up early in the morning to witness the glowing beauty of the rising sun. There is something special in the sunrise…watching the world wake, as the veil of darkness lifts is astounding.

Jhoola – Grandma's house had a cool jhoola. After my tummy was filled to its capacity with the scrumptious food. I used to hop on to that whiling away the time just swinging, reading, silly talks, short naps, and so much more...it is the best place for a nap…seriously, taking a nap while gently swinging, simply amazing I tell you...

Food - Being the favorite of Grandpa, I had lots of perks in the house, got all the attention, not to mention the butter and all goodies. It wasn’t too difficult to coax my aunts into a deliriously happy mood that they rushed in to make sweets especially for me. My granny is full of enthusiasm and also an amazing cook, she used to make all the sweets I love. Some of her 'surprise' treats were not always the tastiest, but she would insist that they were good for our health and is brain food to do all the hardwork at school.

Sharbath (Nimbu Paani) – To beat the sweltering heat, there was a late afternoon ritual to have Sharbath, a cool thirst-quenching refreshing drink. My mom makes the best sharbath, she used to say that it helps in not only keeping us cool and healthy but also brings out that shine to our skin and glow to the face. I remember having litres of lemon juice during summers. I still love freshly squeezed limejuice.

Comics – Being the book-worm I was, I tremendously enjoyed reading Amar Chitra Katha, not to mention Chandamama, Tinkle and likes... I used to love stories, (reading, listening..whateva) Reader's Digest, Archies, Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, the list goes on…I used to read even when the power went off with torchlight or a lamp and would end up being growled at by Mom.

Bandi ke Baraf golas - I miss those yum treats. Best part of the summer was to eat the tanda icekrots in the scorching heat from the ghooming bandies. We used to have them quite often in the afternoons chup chupke from the elders as that was a big NO NO(not hygenic )... Ignorance is certainly a bliss, never really bothered about what involved in making them, all that mattered was we love them so we gotta have them.

Mangoes – Of course Mangoes, who wouldn't miss those yummy, juicy mangoes..I remember Dad bringing gazillions of Mangoes for us that the whole house used to smell of Mangoes. That was a treat for us to relish after lunch… Aaahhh I want to eat them now..

Lazy evenings – We would wind down too with the sun set, settling down to play some board games like Chess, Ludo, Snakes and ladders or cards (I was a queen of Rummy in those days) feeding off some snacks. We talked about school, discussing our plans for future and what not ..

Thanks for the tag Kavya!! Hamari bhi kuch sair hogayi un yaadon ki galion mein...

Life is all about waking up each day to discover something new, about meeting wahi puraane log but making new conversations, walking through puraane galiyan but still feeling kuch accha about it, realising that you have grown a day older but still feeling young at your heart, meeting busy schedules, but still finding time for old friends, being nostalgic about beethe huve kal but still looking forward for aanewaala kal…

We go through life trying to make sure everything is perfect. Through the most important moments of our life, we check all the details, brush the little speck of dust on the new coffee table, and make sure all the people who matter are present.
All this, while life happens, takes it's own course, leaving you wondering. It's humbling to learn and accept that we cannot control it all. Life battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster, but sooner or later the one who wins is the one who thinks he/she can.

Here is a paragraph that explains Life!
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS, which he got due to, infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983. From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: “Why does God have to pick you for such a bad disease?”

To this, Ashe replied: “The world over 5 crore children start playing tennis; 50 lakh learn to play tennis; 5 lakh learn professional tennis; 50,000 come to the circuit; 5000 reach the grand slam; 50 reach Wimbledon; 4 to semi-final; 2 to the finals, When I was holding a Cup
I never asked God “Why me?” And today in pain I should not be asking God, “Why me?”

Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong,
Sorrow keeps you Human, Failure Keeps you Humble,
Success keeps you Glowing, But only God Keeps you going..

Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well. We can choose our attitude even though we cannot always choose our circumstances. We cannot control all the events that happen in our lives but we can control how we deal with them. The choice is always ours.

This life is worth living, and we can say, since it is what we make it. We owe it to almighty to give it our best shot, and even if it falls short, we know one more way of how not going about it..… Live life to the fullest…. Always look behind with forgiveness, ahead with hope, above with gratitude…

aur ab suno what the crabby lady, Maxine has got to say about Life..

I am sooo psyched right now as the much awaited Long weekend is just 6 hours away (Dinchak Dinchak Da)....Off I scoot now.....Have a safe and happy Easter!! Enjoy your break..Gobble up all the hot cross buns, Easter bunnies and Chocci eggs..

By the time a Marine pulled into a little town, every hotel room was taken. "You've got to have a room somewhere," he pleaded. "Or just a bed, I don't care where."
"Well, I do have a double room with one occupant, a Navy guy," admitted the manager, "and he might be glad to split the cost. But to tell you the truth, he snores so loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past. I'm not sure it'd be worth it to you."
"No problem," the tired Marine assured him. "I'll take it."
The next morning the Marine came down to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"How'd you sleep?" Asked the manager.
"Never better."
The manager was impressed. "No problem with the other guy snoring, then?"
"Nope, I shut him up in no time." Said the Marine.
"How'd you manage that?" asked the manager.
"He was already in bed, snoring away, when I came in the room," the Marine explained. "I went over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, said, 'Goodnight, beautiful,' and he sat up all night watching me.

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A coach tour driver is travelling with a bus load of pensioners down the motorway when he is tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offers him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munches up.
After about 15 minutes, she taps him on his shoulder again and she hands him another handful of peanuts. She repeats this gesture about five more times.
When she is about to hand him another batch, he asks the little old lady,
"why don`t you eat the peanuts yourself?".
"We can't chew them because we've no teeth", she replied.
The puzzled driver asks, "Why do you buy them then?"
The old lady replied, "We just love the chocolate around them."

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One Sardar was enjoying Sun on a Beach in America. A lady came and asked him, "Are you relaxing" Sardar answered "No I am Banta Singh. "Another Guy Came and asked the same Question. Sardar answered "No No Me Banta Singh". Third one came and asked the same question Sardar was totally annoyed and decided to shift his place.While walking he saw another Sardar enjoying the Beach. He went and asked him " Are you Realxing?". Another Sardar was much educated and answered Yes, I am realxing. The Sardar slapped him on his face and said "Salay, Sab tere Ko wahah doond rahe hai aur tu Yahaan Aaram Kar raha hai."

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A donkey kicked Santa and ran away...
Santa ran to catch the donkey...
He finally caught up with a zebra and started beating it....
Saying.. 'SALA Tracksuit Pahan Ke Dhoka De Raha Hai..!!.