The Rebelle blog

While studying for my exams, Geography of India specifically, I started recollecting information I had learned in school that I still remember. The Mariana Trench for example is the deepest part in Pacific Ocean. The moment I read it, I assigned it to my memory. Few other things learnt in school that I can still recollect include Historical dates and events with information about the Ottoman Empire although I think my later reading bears a more strong hold in learning more about dynasties and empires.  Why I feel strongly about things learnt in childhood is the simple reason now being I have to make a choice about choosing a subject in my academics for extensive learning. I have been pondering increasingly about deciding between Public Administration and Geography. I haven't exclusively studied Geography and only wonder if it will sustain my interest unlike other subjects like Sociology. So I have taken to dedicating all my attention to Geography and I daresay I enjoy readin...

I guess a lot of things happening lately have put my mind onto a thinking wheel a bit too much. I have been thinking a lot about the sappiness of everyday life and moments that I reflect upon time to time. Suddenly everything seems to have grown in vision. There are things I wouldn't consciously dwell upon but which are now making their presence felt inside my mind. I have been procrastinating about a new kind of project that is totally to my liking and my gut says I will enjoy doing it but I can't make myself apply to it yet. I have drafted the email and it sits in the draft folder since Monday but I just can't make myself send it yet. I keep thinking of possibilities of doing either this or something else that might come along. 'Might' as I must remind myself. The uncertainty of happenings is weighing a heavy hand on my heart. I keep hoping and dreaming about 'that' something which will satisfy and satiate my passion but I can't seem to pinpoint as t...

काही व्यक्तिरेखा चिरतरुण असतात आणि त्या सदैव जिवंत राहतात. माझ्या मनात चिरंतर घर करून राहिलेल्या काहींविषयी मी आज इथे लिहिणार आहे. साधारण अकरा वर्षांची असताना मी पहिल्यांदा चार्ल्स डिकन्स लिखित 'ऑलिव्हर ट्विस्ट' हि कादंबरी वाचली. माझ्याच वयाच्या असणाऱ्या एका अनाथ मुलाची ती कथा वाचताना नुसतेच माझे डोळे भरून आले नव्हते तर मी ढसाढसा रडले होते. त्याचे करुण डोळे मला सारखे माझ्या नजरेसमोर दिसायचे. जगात आपल्यासोबत आपली काळजी घेणारं कुणी नसलं कि किती हाल होतात आणि त्यातल्यात्यात एका धोकादायक वास्तविक जगात आपण एकटे असतो हि नुसती कल्पनाच किती भीतीदायक आहे. त्यामुळे ऑलिव्हर बद्दल वाचताना मी खूप संवेदनशील आणि हळवी झाले होते. मी किती सुखासीन आणि सुरक्षित आयुष्य जगत होते याचं मला भान आलं. माझ्या कोवळ्या मनाला अतिशय छेदून काढणारा तो क्षण होता. त्याच दरम्यान व्हिक्टर ह्युगो लिखित आणि साने गुरुजी अनुवादित 'ल मिझराब' हि कादंबरी 'दुःखी' ह्या नावाने मराठीत मी वाचली. लहान असताना आपले भावविश्व किती स्तिमित असते. हि कादंबरी १८६२ मध्ये प्रकाशित झाली होती. साने गुरुजी यांनी लहान म...

Last Saturday, Dad and me went to a Book Exhibition after a long time. As soon as we entered the exhibition hall, Dad turned one way and I turned to the other. We lost ourselves in the long rows of books and only met halfway through the hall after what seemed like hours of browsing. We looked up from our reverie and smiled widely after seeing each other's arms full of books. In the middle of doing all this, we also met a few familiar faces, some of Dad's friends who had come with their kids. I felt very nice to see them running through the book aisles and picking up books and shouting at the top of their lungs about them to their parents. A very gratifying feeling that there exist parents still who are nurturing book love in their children in this age of fast technology. Also, the organisers of the exhibition seemed to be very nice and kind people because they did not reprimand any of the kids for causing ruckus. Usually when I visit book stores, kids seem bored in a compact ...

My 16-month old daughter wakes from her nap and cries. I pick her up, press her against my chest and rub her back until my palm warms like an old family quilt. “Daddy’s here, daddy’s here,” I whisper. Here is the island of Oʻahu, 8,500 miles from Syria. But what if Pacific trade winds suddenly became helicopters? Flames, nails, and shrapnel indiscriminately barreling towards us? What if shadows cast against our windows aren’t plumeria tree branches, but soldiers and terrorists marching in heat? Would we reach the desperate boats of the Mediterranean in time? If we did, could I straighten my legs into a mast, balanced against the pull and drift of the current? “Daddy’s here, daddy’s here,” I whisper. But am I strong enough to carry her across the razor wires of sovereign borders and ethnic hatred? Am I strong enough to plead: “please, help us, please, just let us pass, please, we aren’t suicide bombs.” Am I strong enough to keep w...

The shadows engulf me on all sides while I stand in the blazing hot sun looking for some respite from the tireless walking I had been doing all afternoon. I found a large canopy of the Mast tree drooping towards the roadside over the half-broken compound where it stood tall. I always feel that trees have a lot of self-pride for the way they stand tall and long on their ground and a drooping tree is merely an aged soul. Why I am writing this is because of the solace I felt in that intense heat in the shaded enclaves. While walking I was thinking of the story I had been working on for a competition organised by a daily newspaper. As I almost struggled with piecing the sequence of events in my story mentally, I became aware of the surroundings I walked past. The vivid blue mosaic tiles of a nearby recreation centre caught my attention and instantly lifted my spirits. Some colours carry an intense mood changing character like fuchsia, blue, yellow, orange which brighten and uplift a spac...

What a beautiful day! I would have not imagined spending another seemingly important day of my life doing all the things I love better than today. I went to the library, picked a Kazuo Ishiguro book, my first from the author to begin on the Bard's birthday. The newspapers had well-written articles on Shakespeare's literary genius and uncovering the man he was beneath the playwright and sonneteer.  It's the love and longing we all desire from our loved ones that makes us humane. In all our capacity as individuals who are rooted with their hearts in their families, friends and the people we connect to over our lifetime. I received a beautiful letter from my faraway friend and she captured the essence of a happy day in few words and drove me to tears. Isn't this an intrinsic quality of us humans, that we heal and melt with a few kind words and deeds? It was Vincent Van Gogh who said, Nothing awakens us to the reality of life so much as a true love. And who could ...

I feel over the moon right now. Two reasons; first, I finally seem to have mastered the map of the world and second, one of my dear friends who had been busy studying Law at a faraway place wrote to me after a long time. It's the happiness from two good things that have happened to me today and I am just so overwhelmed. The geography of the world was really getting under my nerves. I had always been a good geography student during school and then also during architecture, when we would roam cities and distant places, with maps, without maps. I used to take pride in the fact that unlike the stereotyped notion of women having no sense of maps and directions, I could actually read them, understand and arrive on locations and could also direct people in need. But this world map was mocking me and teasing about having lost practice of locating places on maps. One of my favourite childhood games and even today, is naming countries and their capitals. I was obsessed with information abo...

Everything that announces the onset of summer is here. There are watermelon mounds arranged everywhere in the market, the Gulmohar has started blooming its red blossoms prominently, the plants on my mother's garden sill have started flowering with a rage of colours and birds are making their nests on our Air conditioning unit. The hot, sticky summer nights are here and I have been gorging on ice creams almost daily. My mother has stacked our refrigerator with different flavours of home-made cold syrups. Hot nights are making people go for long walks post dinner in my town which is nice since this way everyone gets to meet each other. The mornings are still a bit cooler than the daytime but the poor ducklings in the lake prefer to stay in water and have stopped moving around the jogging track around the lake. I miss their familiar greetings on my morning jogs by the lakeside. Summer brings nostalgia too, esp, visiting my grandparents home during school holidays. Now that I hav...

“What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it.”  This quote is from Sarah Dessen's YA novel, Lock and Key . I have often looked into this quote and her words to understand the concept of family. One of my very first and also favourite childhood movies is The Parent Trap . I was 13 when I first watched it. And till- date it remains one of the few movies I can re-watch and go back to. At that impressionable age ...

Just when I think happiness is here to stay, something unpleasant happens. Shit happens. Not even the Buddha could help peace to extend its stay in my abode. Anger is very dangerous. But I am so disappointed, so heart broken. How pathetic that just today I was reading Russell quote- Man has the springs of action within him for he is born with certain tendencies to act. External circumstances do not induce activity. They merely re-direct it. Who would've thought? I am reminded of those days when this instability and uncertainty instilled fear in me. It shattered my belief and trust at an age when perhaps I could not fully apprehend the anger and the hurt and the reasons behind them. It's a wonder that I could transport back to those days of sorrow and feel remorseful at my inability to help calm the storm. Children are very sensitive to violence and domestic squabbles especially if they see that their happy abode is actually a can of worms, waiting to come out. It's...

This broke my heart. Is there more to say or anything at all after hearing this little girl's cry for peace and the lost childhood for the kids caught in civil wars? My tears won't stop but tears can't knock sense into the heads that possess power, who have inflicted these wars and hatred all over our world.

One thing that will always remain a constant in my life is BOOKS. One of the greatest joys in life is reading. It is singularly the biggest event in my life- the moment I learnt to read my letters and finished my first book. Today I take a vow, at the beginning of the year to donate books and help create libraries for underprivileged children. The thought crossed my mind a few months ago when during a casual outing with friends some street kids after noticing a pile of books in my hand wanted them. This encounter took me by surprise, and I kept thinking about creating a book bank specifically for kids who lack access to reading. Now that I have a substantial collection i.e. children's literature, I am reaching out to book lovers who might want to help with sustaining this idea and making this small effort reach kids who will benefit from this gesture. Write to me on sharayugangurde@gmail,com , if you wish to share ideas and means to distribute books to children. I hope this w...

Oh, how happy I am! It's always a joy to know new things. I attended a public lecture last night on Ancient Board Games in India and World. It was a fascinating insight into something that originated centuries ago and then spread and grew all over the world. I am not into games. I never was. However, I attended the lecture because it was conducted by Dr. Irving Finkel who is also a curator of the cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia, at the British Museum. I have a rather high regard and respect for museums, ever since I was a kid. My Dad being the reason. I remember our city trips in summer would be to the museums. Mumbai has two: The Prince of Wales now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum; and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad museum. We always attended the exhibitions and spent hours on end, watching transfixed the sculptures, paintings and exhibits. It was all I could ever want from my father- Time and wisdom! Museums are an education in themselves. My first impression of Dr. Bhau ...

There is so much chaos in and around our lives. Everywhere one looks at, there is noise, outrage, unhappiness, distress and uncertainty. When did this happen? We have become such slaves to lifestyles that chaos has become an essential part of us. Don't we all long for some solitude? That ME time, away from people and places increasingly! There are retreats now customised solely to help us achieve this inner peace and calm that we have been searching for from the vagaries of our busy lives. Nature has become a friend suddenly. So many people go on weekend trails and hikes on mountains, which is absolutely great. It also tests our physical fitness while really getting us acquainted newly with the many facets of nature. We miss out on so many things during the daily chaos. Even children who were thought to live stress-free lives for generations are now found to suffer from depression and anxiety. This is becoming worrisome. In our longing for better lifestyles and living conditi...

by M argaret Widdemer     The Poor Old Soul plods down the street,  Contented, and forgetting  How Youth was wild, and Spring was wild  And how her life is setting;    And you lean out to watch her there,  And pity, nor remember,  That Youth is hard, and Life is hard,  And quiet is December.  About this poem: Margaret Widdemer often wrote in traditional poetic forms, and many of her poems explore the social issues of early twentieth century. She first received widespread attention with the publication of her poem "The Factories," which tackled the subject of child labor. (Source: Academy of American Poets via Poets.org) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At times, I feel glad to be able to read essential poetry and collect it too. While reading this poem I was reminded of "When you are old" by William Butler Yeats. Is sorrow too private to b...