Cool!

A lot of people think of Christians as lemon-sucking people, who have these long “thou-shall-not” lists and are seen as dull and “uncool” people. And even many Christians share the same opinion. A lot of us think that becoming “Godly” or “spiritual” will make us boring and snuff out the fun things in our life. Even I used to think so. But not any more.

The way I see it, the “cool” quotient is attached to things that blow our minds. Someone that inspires and impresses us. It could be a monumental architectural wonder. A new scientific discovery. A fashion designer. A singer. An artist. A dancer. A composer. Lady Gaga. Bono. Wael Ghonim. Nadal. Oprah. The list can go on.

So, how can we, the people who believe in a God that has created every single thing that exists – great and small - be such uninspiring and lackluster people, when we have access to the COOLEST OF ALL COOL – GOD! I mean he is everything. His “résumé” is incomparable and unmatchable!

Remember that HE is the ultimate scientist-engineer-architect who created such a wondrous and detailed system of the world and the DNA and the human body and its functions. From the nanoparticles to the sun; from the way our hands works to how the season changes, everything has its purpose. Even now the world’s best scientists cannot explain the workings, secrets and mysteries of a single cell. And only He knows everything.

HE is the ultimate fashion designer, who created colours, fabrics, shades, etc. It’s amazing how He has “colour blocked” on a single leave with hues of green, orange, purple and yellow. And the colour pink is not just one colour. It has hundreds of shades and variations.

HE is the most awesome musician and composer that gave sounds, melody and tunes to everything around us. Rustling leaves. Chirping birds. Gurgling water. Whistling winds. Musical notes and pitches. It’s amazing.

HE is the undisputed master chef who created all the wonderful flavours and spices and cuisines. Sour. Sweet. Salty. Spicy. Bitter. It’s mind-blowing. And then he gave us taste buds to enjoy all these things.

HE is the Creative Director of all Creative Directors with just how everything is purposefully and wonderfully given its place and purpose. Like how the sun rises and sets. How the night changes into day. How the seasons change.

HE is the Master of everything. So, if we can get inspired by other people and things around us, then why can’t live an extraordinarily inspirational life for HIM given by HIM.

And when God inspires, the result is catalytic, where we become inspirational, encouraging and an example to others. And great things will happen in small and big ways.

I cannot even fathom or put my head around on how HE did, does and will keep doing so. But I am so overwhelmed by HIS glory. And knowing this truth, I just want to live my life glorifying HIM in everything I do. Living my life to its fullest potential that HE intended. God is so COOL!

It's been a long time...

Gawd! I have not written in a long time. And it's not because I had nothing to say or had no time or no internet connection. I just felt too overwhelmed. Sounds weak but I have been. With just too many things in my life. The good. The bad. The ugly. The beautiful.

I am back in Delhi and I have had quite the crazy 7-months here. It's hard to adjust to Delhi and her aggression, apathy and atrocities. I have had many incidents but there are four that really stands out and shook me up.

1) Three guys on a bike tried to snatch my phone. But I fought back and they fled. Plus there was a security guard who saw this but did nothing. It was 6:00pm

2) Witnessed a mother and daughter get molested in front of me when trying to get an auto to head to work. The same man tried to molest me but I thwarted his hand away. The three of us tried to apprehend him but a group of men just said, "why are you making a big deal out of it...it happens everyday...you should just let it go...you guys didn't get hurt..." That perverted man got away. It was 9:15am. Rush hour. Lots of witnesses but no one did anything.

3) I slapped a man who touched me in the middle of the road around 3:00pm. My brother was with me when this happened.

4) Last night, as I was going home in an auto, a car with three men followed me. Taunting at me. They even tried to stop the auto. But luckily I reached home safely. But at one point we had to stop at a red light, and even though others could see that I was being harassed, nobody did anything to stop those men.

5) When I narrated some of these incidents to some of friends, a guy friend of mine said, "Well, maybe you should just avoid these kinds of places." That really shocked me because here was this person who was a son, brother, husband and a father to a daughter and he thought that I should avoid these kind of "situations".

All these things have angered me and frustrated me and I have shed a few tears over it. But I am not backing down. In fact, I am more gung-ho to change things around me and especially with people around me. :)

Appa's Surprise

The other day I was typing for my appa. We were both engrossed in our work when appa suddenly got up, walked out of the room and disappeared. After a while he walked back into the room with his hands behind his back, and gave me this expectant smile. He said, "I got something for you." And then he gave me this bar of chocolate. I melted. I love my appa!

Heartquake

You know how to tickle my heart
Making me smile silly smiles again
You know how to make me blush
Making my face red and even my ears warm
That until now I didn't know love could explode behind the ears
You know how to keep a cool face
But I can still smell the jealousy
And that’s what makes you cute
I can no longer organise my feelings
Because you have thrown them astray
My heart quakes

Sisters

It’s not easy having a sister or being one especially when you and your sister are so different. We even look physically different. My little sister is taller, smaller and an introvert. Then there is me: shorter than average, chubby and an extrovert. I am not afraid to voice my opinions and she tends not to say anything. I have a loud voice and she has a quiet one. I have been living away from home since I was 7 and she has never been away from home in her 22 years of existence. She can deal better with compliments and I can deal better with criticisms. I don’t like keeping my emotions bottled up whereas she keeps them tightly bottled up. I am brusque while she is gentle. I am restless and she likes her routines. I can’t get up in the morning and she can’t stay up late. And these differences have become stark after 19 years of growing up separately.

Honestly, if we weren’t sisters then I don’t think we could be friends. We would not be able to connect on a lot of levels – fashion, music, opinions, career, etc. I don’t remember us ever having a sisterly or even a girly one-on-one talk about crushes, heartbreaks, dreams, doubts or Brad Pitt. And how can two healthy females not talk about him! There has to be something wrong between us for that to happen. And there is. We still sleep on the same bed but we know nothing about each other's life. From the serious things like 'what do you want to do in life' to the inane things like 'when was your last shoe purchase", we never REALLY talk.

Of course, we do have our moments but I want more. I want everyday to be a giggly, clothes-borrowing, secret-telling, dream-sharing event. After all you can't just get a sister over the counter. I really want to communicate and know more than just her blood type, birthday and menstrual cycle. I don’t only want to be a sister but I also want to be a friend. So, I guess as the older sister I have to take the first few steps.

Meet Alfie

The only one-of-its-kind in the world and that's because I stitched him up for my mom. He is kinda ugly and asymmetrical and rough around the edges (I suck at stitching). But therein lies his charm. He is cute because of his abnormality and eclecticist - part soap dish, part cotton, part cloth. I hope you will love him like my mom has grown to after getting over her initial fits of laughter.

Blessed

A lot of times, it takes another person to point out things that you take for granted. Things that seem so mundane and ordinary but are actually really precious and extraordinary.

I was on the phone with a friend and he asked me what I did last night. So I told him that I spent last night inside my parent's bed - all cosy and warm - listening to my dad tell stories with my mom, sister and brothers. Then my friend said to me, "Wow, your family is really close". And I said, "What? What do you mean?"He replied, "I mean you guys seem to love each other and to spend time together. I don't remember the last time my family did that."

Then it really hit me just how blessed I was to have a family that really loves each other. My brothers still kiss me on my cheeks. Luckily (or unfortunately) they never went through a phase where they thought kissing or hugging their sisters were uncool. Rather my sister and I used to run away from their affectionate onslaughts. My parents still let us snuggle into their warmth, even though they protest especially to our cold feet. My dad still needs to be hugged before he falls asleep. There is still a fierce sibling rivalry for food. There is still a need to run to our parents and complain about my brothers. And in the end, we still love to gather in a big, warm bed basking in each other's love.