SAL DAY!!!! :)

The last day of the month is just like a Friday!! The excitement that you feel every Friday, when you know that the weekend is just around the corner is just amazing!It's the same delight that you get the last day of every month when you know that your salary is going to get credited to your account!

To be precise I have exactly Rs 65 in one account and Rs 74 in the other right now ( The amounts can't even be withdrawn at an ATM!!) . But I really could not give a damn. Because i know , I can feel the money that will be mine tomorrow! And that sure does leave me grinning away to glory already counting the many ways I will spend what will be mine!! I got this adorable forward today that quite describes my state!! It had two pitcures. One title TODAY BEFORE SALARY where there was this rather pathetic starved dog with a begging bowl in front of it . The other picture titled TOMORROW AFTER SALARY had a dog with a rather contented smirk across its face reclining on cushions hugging a pack of cup cakes. The minute I looked at these pictures I was struck with a profound sense of deja vu. A strange sense of affinity and kinship!! Ah.. to what extents the mighty do fall!! Living with my dad was easier on the pocket, definitely!!

THE DONKEY

When I was in a school, I had this amazing teacher called Nalini Parthiban. Most people found her incredibly boring. She was. She lived in a world of her own where every molecule surrounding her was fascinated by literature. When she would start talking about a particular writer, a book or a poem that fascinated her ,her eyes would light up, a delighted smile would settle on her face and she would start gesturing rapidly. The very sight of such passion made me love her. Love the depth to which she loved literature. Admired her ability to dissect any obscure piece of writing, analyse and hunt every single hidden meaning within what seemed quite cut and dried. I remember this one instance which happened probably when I was in the IXth. I had read a poem by G.K Chesterton which I had found quite enchanting. The language, the rhyme, the sheer descriptiveness of the poem captivated me. When I went up to Nalini and showed her the poem , she directed her delighted smile at me and said "Yes, this is an extremely good poem by Chesterton. But do you know what it means?". I was flumoxed. I had never thought about what the poem meant. When she explained it to me, from being enchanted, I fell deeply in love with the poem. It was such a simple poem but had such a sweet meaning behind it. I'll post the poem now and leave anyone reading this to guess the meaning.

THE DONKEY
G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!

I'ts my Birthday today. I turn twenty two. But somehow the thought does not leave me one bit excited. Somehow I can't fathom anything special. To be honest I find the day quite depressing.
When i was a kid I had an obsession for birthdays. November 6th was always the most exciting day of my life. I used to adore the attention, the fun and most importantly the gifts. When the day passed and it turned November 7th , I would immediately start a countdown to my next birthday. My dad and brother always said that 'Deepti has 365 friends for 365 birthdyas'.I think as a kid I probably lived for birthdays. Especially mine.

I would have those traditional birthday parties with a cake, streamers and balloons decking the house, a new dress and lots of friends and relatives bearing gifts for me, :) I remember this one instance where I refused to allow a cousin of mine to my party because he had not brought any present for me. I was like 'Giri! Don't you know that you are supposed to bring the birthday girl a gift? I can't allow you to my party'. Quite the precocious one, wasn't I?
My brother would in the night take me for a walk and buy me a pack of phantom sweet cigarettes ( I adored that stuff!!) as a birthday gift. And I would be so thrilled!It would be the final icing to a wonderful day.
Once you grow older the way you celebrate them turns different. Now its more of going out for lunch and dinner with friends and family. Its still enjoyable but so much more sober. Lacks the adrenalin surge and the excitement that traditional birthday parties with gallons of presents would offer. That wonderful feeling of being the most important person in the world that day.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to me.