Six & Nine Sixty Nine

Six and Nine, Sixty Nine.

That is how the Tambola caller announces the number 69!

She loves playing Tambola, though may not be winning every time! So what?

She loves eating out, as the picture shows. 

She loves being with friends.

She loves her plants and the garden.

She loves online shopping. Offline too!

She loves eating mangoes! Who doesn't?

She loves sleeping late. And getting up later!

She loves all animals. And human beings too!

We love her for what she is!

Who is she?

She is the balancing weight of my life.

If I like crisp chappatis, she likes them soft.

If I like lauki, she loves her aaloo.

If I want my AC at medium, she wants to actually chill!

If I like my greens, she loves her whites.

If I relish palak-ki-daal, she devours her arhar-ki-daal and chawal.

If I choose an aisle, she wants her window.

If I chose white, she would select black. But not always, as the picture below shows!

This is God's way of keeping the balance in life. A balance which has seen us through the last 47 years! Without balance, even the largest of the boats will topple.

It is the 69th birthday today of my life's balance. Join us in wishing Neeta a very happy birthday.

Those who missed it earlier, read what we wrote on her 63rd birthday in 2017. It was titled 'Spouse's Birthday is Special'. It continues to be special.

May she continue to bring cheer into many lives.

God bless Neeta/Beigs/Mom/Dadi/Nani/Bhabhi/Jiji/Bhua/Taiji/Mami

    - Mom and Harsh@Secunderabad

    - Ashi and family@Pleasanton, USA

    - Ankush and family@Chennai

    - Sarita-Manne, Parul and family@Jaipur

    - Poonam-Rishi and Rajat@Bengaluru

    - Elders in the family, Sanjay-Sangeeta, Akshat-Minu at Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and USA

    - Galaxy of friends and well wishers all over the globe

Secunderabad/ 27th May 2023

#69thbirthday #spouse #balance #life #marriage #happiness #joy #funinlife #47thanniversary #neetabhargava #beigsthegreat #fulloflife #animallover #foodie #impulsiveshopper #retailtherapy #homegardener #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Bouncing Back in Lockdown

Feeling handcuffed in lockdown?
Emotionally stressed?
Physically overworked?

Take a cue from the Nature.

A small creeper in our yard shows us how to bounce back from emotional strain during the lockdown. Just three pictures shot over ten days convey the message.

Economic strain, however, will take longer time to heal. We need to keep going like the lauki लौकी creeper called bottle gourd or long melon in English!

You may browse our other stories on Covid-19 Lockdown by clicking the links listed below:

Every Day is a Sunday
Stay Home Stay Safe- learning from the kittens
Happiness during Lockdown is...
Corona- The Global Threat

Thanks for browsing and please stay safe.

   -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 6th May 2020 with Neeta Bhargava

#lockdown #coronavirus #beattheboredom #stayhomestaysafe #enjoythelockdown #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #homebirding #earthishealing #plantsarebestgifts #covid19 #gardening #powerofobservation #bouncingback #nature #laukicreeper #emotionalstress ##keepgoing #bottlegourd #learningfromnature

Every Day Is A Sunday

"Every day is a Sunday"!
Seems wrong? Because we all learnt in the school that everyday is not a Sunday.
But the prevailing global lockdown has changed it! Lockdown has also changed many other things like our lifestyle, need and consumption, family-first, health-first and so on!
Now locked up at home, it seems that every day is indeed a Sunday!

Ask yourself.
Is every lockdown day not similar?
Chirping birds wake you up. Even in metro cities!
Dawn. Glorious glow in the sky.
No pollution. Bright sunrise.
Home birding.
Morning exercise, yoga and meditation.
Breakfast, cleaning the dishes.
Composting the garden and kitchen waste.
House cleaning, mopping, garden cleaning, pruning.
Laundry, drying, folding, stowage.
Protecting the plants from intense heat.
Lunch preparation, eating, dishes.
Rest a while.
Back to garden- watering.
Golf chipping, putting.
Home birding.
Dinner, dishes.
Stroll on the roof.
Reading, writing, painting, music, other hobbies & calling the friends and family.
* WA and surfing the net during the intervening slots.

However, many people start and end their lockdown day with the starred activity above! They eat, sleep and dream with WA!

Whichever way, the whole routine repeats.
Now you decide, does it matter whether it is Sunday or Monday?
Yes for those working from home, the weekends mean more relaxation. But for veterans like Ghumakkad, every day is a Sunday.

Even the Coppersmith Barbet seems to agree with me. Every morning it perches on the tall Ashoka tree in our yard. See the picture.

Coppersmith can be heard more than it can be seen. It has a metronomic call that sounds similar to a coppersmith striking metal with a hammer. Tok tok tok tok. Listen to the 30-seconds video clip below. You may have to jack up the volume a bit.

Sunday or no sunday, Coppersmith is always there. See more pictures below of both male and female birds. Like many other bird species, but quite unlike the humans, God has given more beauty and colour to the males! It is also called crimson-breasted barbet.

Some of the plants like Brahma Kamal which are planted in the beds, can not be moved during summer. Instead of erecting a permanent green mesh for shade, I prefer to use my golf umbrella. It becomes part of the daily routine. See the picture below.

Lockdown has created more happiness all around except for a blow to the economy. The Earth is healing. You may browse our earlier posts on Covid Lockdown by clicking the links below:
'Lockdown Is...'
Staying Safe- What the Kittens teach us
Corona The Global Threat

Hope you are enjoying another Sunday during the lockdown.
Stay home stay safe.

Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 3rd May 2020

#lockdown #coronavirus #beattheboredom #stayhomestaysafe #enjoythelockdown #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #homebirding #gardening #cooking #homegrownveggies #golfchippingathome #earthishealing #plantsarebestgifts #covid19 #sunday #everydayisasunday #coppersmithbarbet #powerofobservation