Suitcase of memories

                Goodbyes are never easy. Not when you are saying it to a way of life, to a lifetime of memories, to family. I am standing and staring at an important event to unravel. I have been running around shops, dropping down on the couch with all the bags, making lists of things on my mind. All without a moment to stop and wonder. Now that the day is about to descend on me, I feel the weight of it. It is more than all the bags that are packed and lying all about the house. Two decades of existence cannot be just folded into bags and carried away.

                Every girl has been given generous dose of preparation for this day. "What will you do at your inlaws house?", "Who will do this for you at your inlaws house?", "Its ok if you do all this here, will your inlaws tolerate such behavior?", every girl has heard of it enough times, if not by parents then by every nosy relative! Its known all along that a daughter has to leave the house. Yet,  nothing prepares a girl for this day. The day she has to leave her home. For me, that day is about to come.

               It feels like someone seriously played with time! It feel like just some days back I was learning to ride a bicycle. Dad kept running, holding the handle and seat so that I don't fall. I sometimes ran a wheel over his feet and although it hurt, he kept on having my back until I managed to balance myself.

              I feel terrified to think of waking up with a fever and not having Mom to run to. Of not having her constantly feel my temperature or check on me. Not having her company to indulge in paani puri. Of not being pampered by her with gifts and little goodies. Of coming home thinking of some food and not having her to keep that ready, without me telling anything about it!

              I feel armless without the little brother. The one who would be partner in crime. The one who would get me a box of erasers because I kept losing them. The one who would come all the way back from college just to receive a courier for me. The one who would say, "Don't worry. I am there, I would take the blame."

              I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

              My romance with the city is about to end. Mumbai, how shall you ever go out of me!
The city that gave me multiple cultures to imbibe. The city that taught me that relations deeper than blood can be formed with people of various histories. The city where the most grass root class of people have important values to share. The city which gave me the best of friends, the best kind of exposure and the city where I came home at 12.30 am from work and still felt safe.
   
             How shall I ever say goodbye to the booksellers outside stations who get some of the best books at great deals so that the bibliophile in me is at peace? How shall I ever say goodbye to the shopkeepers who have known me over the years? How shall I ever say goodbye to the people I would drop to visit without notice and be welcomed wholeheartedly? Goodbyes are never enough!

            If only all these could be packed in suitcases!

             
            pic courtesy: inloveandwar.ca
           

             
           
             
              

Daddy and his baby

It is said that a girl is closer to her father than to her mother. 

For a daughter, a mother is an epitome of discipline, whereas, a father is like her partner in crime! 

There is special bond that a girl shares with her father; after all, he is the first man in her life. And, she is always a little princess to him. 

From infant to toddler to pre-teen to teen, a father sees the apple of his eye grow up from a little baby to a pretty woman.
From a little girl in pony tails to an elegant lady in a saree

But what happens when the time to search for her groom arrives. Dads start having the feeling of losing their gorgeous little princess overnight to some stranger who may or may not keep his angel happy. 

The mere thought of giving away his daughter to a person who he barely knows or has probably just met, starts giving him restless nights.  

From the start of seeing the groom, to the marriage preparations to the main ceremony. I am sure father's might be going through different emotions.

The excitement in his daughters eyes while shopping, the smile when she is talking to her fiance, the sad face when she doesn't get the exact shade of what she wants.
It makes him very happy as well as sad, to think that the time for her to leave him is coming nearer.

  

On the day of her marriage, all the memories from her childhood to now, even those forgotten memories flash through his life, like a photo album. 

During the Kanyadaan, father goes through a wave of emotion in this biggest moment of his and his daughter's life. That moment when its time for him to finally accept that there is going to be another man who will love her and protect her.

Silently, he wishes that this man loves, cares and protects his daughter more than daddy can does. 

When his daughter steps out of  her parents house as "Miss" to become a "Mrs" she leaves a gazillion memories in that house.

With tears in her eyes, when she turns back, she sees a man standing in the corner with sad red eyes, trying hard not to cry.
When she comes and hugs him, he doesn't see the bride, the grown up woman but he sees the little girl who used to hug him. He sees his little baby.

And a single tear rolls out from his eyes.

He is the father of the bride

Daddy's are always the daughter's first hero -Google Quote
A son is a son till he finds a wife, but a daughter is a daughter all her life-Google Quote 

Original Post: http://indiandramaqueen.blogspot.in/2014/10/daddy-and-his-baby.html
I really wanted to share this post here, since there are a lot of girls here and would understand the sentiments. 
Thanks Maithili for letting me post from my blog.

Lastly, Happy Diwali all you pretty ladies