Saturday 26 July 2008

Make hay while the sun shines

The doors of our house are wide open today and so are the windows. I can hear the whrooming airplane sounds, the twitter of the starlings, the soft rolling of the car tyres on tar roads, the squealing babies in creaky strollers and the thumping feet of enthusiastic joggers. An occasional bee gets in to the house creating mayhem in my six year old daughter, Asmaani's life.

This outside cacophony is music to my ears and I feel like I am back home in Mumbai. It has been ages actually since I have had the pleasure of having such a day in London. As I am reading the Book Thief the sun gets in my eyes and I simply blink not moving at all. I can even see the dust caking up on the shelves and the dinning table. But I am not complaining! I am making hay while the sun shines.... I am soaking up the summer sun for who knows, a frosty day might be round the corner!

Friday 25 July 2008

From 2 The Heights

8 Feb 2007

Asmaani and I have landed safely here in London amidst one of the worst>days as the Londoners call it. As for me as well as Asmaani it was the most>breathtaking day as we witnessed London dressed in pristine white! Yes,>there was snow everywhere on rooftops, on the walks and whereever our eyes>could reach. I am sure I didnt blink for a long long time. When it snowed
the next day Asmaani just couldn't get enough of the snow. She was merrily rolling out snowballs and playing in the snow as if it was sand at zuhu beach! But really its brutally cold out here. The first day I went out in the rain i felt as though someone had slapped me hard in my face. I now have a better comprehension about the terms 'biting cold' and 'a chill down thespine'. Well, its a completely different way of life out here so to tell you the truth I feel like a toddler taking her first steps in a whole new world. Learning to cook on hot plates, microwaves (I almost burnt a potato that set off the smoke alarm!), and doing everything by myself, understanding new systems and yes, that also includes getting used to the accent of the Brits. I sometimes wonder whether i know English or have the British forgotten theirs. The British speak a very different accent. I have to really strain my ears to get any kind of communication across. They say 'woh' for what and 'buh' for but. So looks like I have a long way to go.

Its very very quiet out here and awfully clean. I really miss the dust n' grime, the noise n' din and the warm sunshine of Mumbai.