Since 1921

This company has been producing plant-based health products without any artificial preservatives.

It has been operating in over 50 countries across 5 continents though its primary production centres are in Switzerland, Germany and France.

Our home has always been well-stocked with its useful and handy homeopathic products like Arnica, Aconite, Belladonna, Graphites, Rhus Tox, etc.

But what I'm going to share with you today is this company's Baby oil product which I and my daughter regularly use though we are not babies anymore ;-)

It's the Calendula Oil made by Weleda.

Usually, if you want to keep your skin moisturised, always make sure that you oil yourself after bath because moist skin helps in absorbing the oil very well.

This oil comes in 2 varieties - one is perfumed and the other is fragrance-free.

Some of you may like its sweet smell but using it daily, I prefer the one that is fragrance-free.



This oil's ingredients are extracted from sesame seeds and the marigold flower also known as Calendula Officinalis.

In Hindi, we call this flower Genda Phool, which reminds me of a beautiful song sung by the trio - Rekha Bharadwaj, Shraddha Pandit & Sujata Majumdar from the movie: Delhi-6, lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi and music is by A.R. Rahman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BA3fmqdtCI

Happy listening and Happy massaging :-) as this oil is 100% organic with no artificial colours as being a baby oil, it is meant to be safe for a baby, and so it can be used as part of a daily skincare routine to take care of your face and limbs esp. with Winter approaching, this oil will keep your skin soft and supple and prevent it from cracking.

And now as always, bidding you goodbye with some witty quotes, these are by the American writer and lecturer - Dale Carnegie

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.

There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don't like their rules, whose would you use? - Dale Carnegie

That's all I had to share with you for now,

Phir Milenge :-)
Alvida, Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Google Posting - Happy Perusing :-)

https://plus.google.com/117466581567846877904/posts

True love stories never have endings. - Richard Bach

Image Courtesy: weleda.co.uk

Love This Song :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhRcWwPrWLg

A cute duet sung by Mohit Chauhan and Alisha Chinai

Came across this song while making another playlist for you.

It's got some magical melodies by the musician Rajesh Roshan who's the uncle of the famous Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP2Wr4O1Jak2CyGZKRIs_tWPgyiOeVli

Leaving you today with these beautiful songs which will take you down memory lane....as Rajesh Roshan has been composing music since the 1970s

But before I go, let me also give you a nice movie suggestion - the one that we enjoyed watching last Sunday.

It's the British-American comedy film About a Boy (2002). We've always known Hugh Grant (playing Will Freeman in this movie) to be a brilliant actor and so as expected, he played his part very well but what amazed us was the role of a 12 year old boy played by Nicholas Hoult. He was simply superb !!! Such a natural talent at such a young age - amazing !!!

And as always, let me bid you goodbye with some nice quotes that I've selected from my newspaper NPPQ

Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all. - Sam Ewing

This is your road. Some people may walk it with you, but no one will walk it for you. - Ameer Mohammed Ismail

Love, the quest; marriage, the conquest; divorce, the inquest. - Helen Rowland

Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays. - Henny Youngman

A man's heart may have a secret sanctuary where only one woman may enter, but it is full of little anterooms which are seldom vacant. - Helen Rowland

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar

When a man spends his time giving his wife criticism and advice instead of compliments, he forgets that it was not his good judgment, but his charming manners, that won her heart. - Helen Rowland

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. - W. Clement Stone

That's all my sharing for now,

Au Revoir
APARNA

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way. - Yogi Desai

Life

Thru the
Window
Of the
Gym
I see
An old
Woman
Walking

Some years
Down the line
There'll be a
Young woman
In the Gym
Seeing me
Walking...

Theme: Cycle

(This poem came to me today while cycling in the Gym)







There Were...

There were
Three cars
In the house

Must be
People
There too

But when
You ring
The bell
To talk to
Them, nobody
Opens the door
To you

(wrote this poem after seeing someone standing outside our neighbour's door for quite some time and then walking away as nobody answered the doorbell, though I knew there were at least 3 people inside the house as they all have their own cars which they drive out when they leave home; this could be the growing urban trend across many cities around the globe)







Every Day

Every day
I pray to
Get thru
The day
For I don't know
What will come
My way...
Whether it will
Make my day
Or lead me
Astray...






Morning

Morning
Cuppa
And
Cigarette
In hand

Health
And
Death
Go
Hand
In hand

(wrote this after seeing one of my neighbours standing in his balcony, inhaling the fresh morning air, sipping his hot tea and smoking his daily cigar)






You

You
Let them
Handle

You
Let them
Go

You
Let them
See

You
Let them
Know

For they
Also
Need
Their
Space
To grow

(addressed to parents with regard to children)






Living

Living
With
The
Living
And
The
Dead

You
Feel
As if
Life
Goes
From
Green
To red.


The first word 'Living' means 'to live'
The living and the dead implies those who are alive and those who have died but are still alive in our memories.
In this poem, life is perceived as a set of traffic lights wherein the human traffic of this earth begins with green (which is birth) and stops with red (which is death)






Fight

You can
Fight
With
Yourself

You can
Fight
With me

You
Can
Even
Fight
With
The
Whole
World

In your
War of
Words
And Might
You can
Win or
Lose,
Possibly

But
No use
Fighting
Your
Destiny

Whatever
Is destined,
It's bound to be...

(Theme: Destiny)






Having

Having
Treated
Us with
His
Literary
Fest

His opus
Being one of
The best

He's finally
Got a place
To rest.

Amen!

(dedicated to Dr. C.S. Shah who's one of my favourite Boloji writers)






Dreams

The dreams
You dread
Having are of your
Parents dying...
And your wet eyes
That never stop
Crying...


(Theme: Nightmare)

Now that my parents have grown old, I often keep having these sordid dreams that I would never want to have; the fear of losing my parents is very oppressive.


All the above Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Not many People know

That he's an accomplished artist having had exhibitions of his nice paintings and he used to work in Bank of India before becoming an eminent actor, producer & director.

I've seen many of his movies and I really liked the 'Aam Aadmi' image he portrayed in his films that we all could relate to...

In my teenage years, his TV serial Kacchi Dhoop was one of my favourites.

Recently, I liked his movie Paheli so much that I even wrote a poem on it :-)

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=11704

Twice married, he has two daughters. His first wife was Chitra and his second wife is Sandhya Gokhale.

He talks of himself as an actor by accident, a producer by compulsion and a director by choice.

If you want to know more about this 'Aam Aadmi' actor-producer-director, there is a biography at the end of this playlist that I made yesterday (24th November) on his 70th Birthday.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP2Wr4O1JamC9NN3fSGC-nYH5m6qV0Td

Happy Seeing :-) and of course, as always here are some Quotes for you to read and reflect.

These are all from my daily notes that I make from my Favourite newspaper NPPQ :-)

It's easier to make new friends than hold on to old ones. - Malou Gil

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy. - Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

If You feel hollow, let Me be the one, who fills You up with Love. Let Me free the butterflies within. Just open Your heart, and let Me in. - Philip T. M.

Dignity and love do not blend well, nor do they continue long together. - Ovid

Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them. - Publilius Syrus

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. - Earl Wilson

Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind. - Albert Einstein

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. - Paul Sweeney

The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots. - Erich Fromm

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. - Albert Einstein

If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I? - Erich Fromm

A sex symbol becomes a thing. I hate being a thing. - Marilyn Monroe

Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision. - Dick Armey

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. - George Burns

I do not trust people who don't love themselves and yet tell me, 'I love you.' There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt. - Maya Angelou

That's all my sharing for now,

Phir Milenge :)
Alvida, Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

Do everything with so much love in your heart that you would never want to do it any other way. - Yogi Desai

Gone

They've all
Gone
To the
Cremation
Ground
To see
What
Happens
When
Life
Runs
Aground

(wrote this today after calling home and finding that Baba wasn't at home as he had gone with his neighbours to cremate one of his neighbours)

© Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Songs + Quotes

Today I bring to you a new playlist on one of my favourite film personalities.

He would have turned 70 next year had he been here with us.

He was an actor, producer and director who has charmed us with his good looks, enchanting smiles and superb acting in over 100 Bollywood movies.

He was born in Amritsar in 1945, has married thrice during his lifetime but sadly died of a massive heart attack in Mumbai in 1990 at the young age of 45.

In the 1965 All India Talent Contest held by United Producers and Filmfare - more than 10,000 contestants participated out of which he became the male runner-up and the contest was won by another brilliant actor Rajesh Khanna.

Well, if you want to know more about the male runner-up and how well he acts :-) you've got to see this playlist which takes you to his musical world of movies.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP2Wr4O1JamQiMGz-9DL37zJKvAcK4f6

He's given us some stellar performances both as a hero and as a supporting actor.

There is also a bio-video (biography) at the end of this playlist.

Now, as the Title of this Blog goes - Songs + Quotes

Here are some nice, inspiring quotes I've gathered for you from my paper NPPQ

Out of all the 3 papers I have, NPPQ is my favourite because it inspires me every day with some nice, new quotes that I keep adding to my daily notes :-)

The starting point of all achievement is desire. - Napoleon Hill

Every man serves a useful purpose: A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor. - Laurence J. Peter

The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind. - Khalil Gibran

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. - Albert Einstein

Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them. - Anon

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk? - Laurence J. Peter

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. - Khalil Gibran

If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god. - Napoleon Bonaparte

Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered. - Marilyn Monroe

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you. - Khalil Gibran

Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of prejudices. - Laurence J. Peter

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. - Edmund Burke

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees. - Khalil Gibran

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. - Friedrich Nietzsche

People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind. - William Butler Yeats

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. - William Blake

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers. - Khalil Gibran

Happy seeing and sharing :-)

Love always,
As Ever, AC

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process. - Vincent Van Gogh

Guinness Book of World Records

There are now more than 20,000 poems on Boloji. Time and again I've thought of giving my name to Guinness Book to see if I hold the world record for editing and publishing more than 17,000 poems :-) When I joined Boloji in April 2005, there were a little over 2000 poems. It's gonna be my 10th year with Boloji next year. Till date I've edited and published on Boloji almost daily except the days when I've been really unwell or when I've been out of station on holidays. Till date I've edited and published on Boloji almost daily except the days when I've been really unwell or when I've been out of station on holidays. Not that I've enjoyed it every day because a daily reading & writing routine can get tedious and monotonous but those moments when I get to read some really good poems making them Ed's Choice I feel so contented. When I had joined Boloji, Rajender Ji used to picturise the poems and he kept doing it for some more years till I took over. Finding a befitting picture for a particular poem does take time but when it all beautifully matches and falls in place, the feeling is so sublime. I feel immensely pleased being able to decorate a poem with a nice picture. Moments like these keep me attracted to Boloji poetry even though all my work is voluntary. It's a non-paid role and I'm not in it for monetary remuneration. My love for good poetry and good pics from our Getty Images gallery keeps me going despite the hard work I need to put in every day juggling my familial responsibilities of taking care of my 2 children for whom I'm their primary carer as my hubby has very long working and commuting hours. Life and health permitting, I'll go on....till death comes my way. Hence with regard to Boloji, even my children keep egging me to put my name for Guinness Book :-)

But I won't do it as Name and Fame have always given me hiccups because I've always had a bad reputation ;-)

LOL

I and hubby keep joking that as a business analyst, he's donated his eyes to IT, being in front of the PC 24/7 as there's always so much of work pressure, so many deadlines to meet, so many projects to complete. Sometimes I really feel sorry for him as he has to wake up nights to finish pending work. Being a team leader, even though he delegates some tasks to his subordinates, but he is responsible for the overall performance because if anything goes wrong, he'll be held accountable. Hence, he's always on edge to see if all's working OK. I also wonder if those organ donation people will be interested in my eyes after my death, as I've already donated my eyes to Boloji and hence, the person receiving my eyes might feel dreadful opening them if all he gets to see are lines and lines of prolific poetry ;-) esp. if he's not a poetic person. Imagine his plight, thanks to me ;-)

LOL

Anyway jokes apart, just wanted to update you that not all of my 1400+ poems are on Boloji as my permanent database has always been PH because it allows me to make an E-Book of my poems which I diligently do after every 3-4 months so that I have the latest copy with myself and of course, I've circulated this E-Book amongst my trusted pals so that they can preserve it for posterity.

PH has not always been good with publishing. There have been many software bugs that have time and again made the formatting of my poems look awry and despite repeated attempts at fresh submissions, those HTML errors stay. Also, if you notice, poems with the same titles have to be always put with some kind of symbols otherwise the PH online publishing software doesn't accept it thinking those are repeats of old poems. For e.g. if I write a poem with the Title: You the next time I submit a different poem with a different content but with the same title You, I have to submit it to PH as - You - and then the next time as ~ You ~ and then as > You < and then again as < You > and so on and so forth....Many times, I keep running out of symbols and of course, all this symbolizing does make my poems look stupid but I have no way out. I've even written to them regarding this major flaw but they haven't been able to sort this out. Thankfully, on Boloji, you can see that many of my different poems with the same Titles don't have any silly symbols attached to them.

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Writers&WriterID=2140

I think the online PH software is akin to the Microsoft word software wherein if we want to save 2 documents with the same names, it will tell us that the document already exists and do we need to replace the old file with the new one even though the content in both the files may be different, only the Titles are the same. Just as Microsoft doesn't recognize that the 2 same titled Files could have different content, similarly, PH cannot recognize that 2/3/4 poems with the same title can have different content. I wish PH gets rid of such online bugs and limitations so that it becomes more progressive in publishing. It is giving us an excellent service with the PDF facility and also the facility that helps us download all our poems and save those in a Text File. I wish it all success and a lot more progress in all its poetic endeavours.

That's a lot of PH analysis for now.

Wishing you all a Happy Diwali :-)



Love always,
As Ever, AC

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

NPPQ - For You To View :-)

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1411211241#

Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives, and remembering what one receives. - Dumas

Image © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

Autumn is here

The trees are shedding their leaves and the streets are littered with the remnants of their withering lives.

Winter is fast approaching and the cold winter I'm dreading as I've always liked the summers here.

Not that all the days are nice and warm in summer but we make the most of those days when it's wonderful weather here - lovely long hours of warm sunshine - nice, bright and sunny :-)

Far better than the icy, cold winters of lashing rain, strong winds and snowy blizzards.

Though last year, it was a bit better as it didn't snow here in Essex. Don't know about this year.

Heavy snow makes the roads dangerous to drive. Very slippery road conditions. Even walking is a pain.

One never knows when one could lose balance and slip on melting snow and then of course, with broken limbs, you have nowhere to go ;-) but sit tight in bed to recuperate - life becomes so slow.

Hence, praying that you and me and all out there have a safer Winter - esp. those who live in places where it snows heavily.

Well, is this all the reason why I've come to you today?!

No, not to talk all about the dreary winter that is going to come anyway whether we like it or loathe it.

There is a lot more I need to share with you.

Here is a slideshow of Spring - Summer Blossoms 2014 that I clicked in our home garden and also in our nearby Chalkwell Park.

http://please-peruse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/blossoms.html

Hope you enjoy the show.

Happy viewing and Happy sharing :-)

Love always,
As ever, AC

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Image © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

Blossoms

In case the above slideshow stops playing in the middle, here is where you can see each and every photo of this album.

Spring - Summer Blossoms 2014

Photography by Aparna Chatterjee

What is MS ?!

No, it is not manuscript just because PS stands for postscript ;-)

Jokes apart, on a serious note, if you or any of your acquaintances are suffering from weakness or paralysis, have walking, balance and coordination problems, there is numbness in your face, body and other extremities, you also have vision problems, fatigue and pain, and to worsen it all, you are also suffering from bladder or bowel dysfunction, dizziness, vertigo, involuntary muscle spasms and feelings of stiffness (which could be spasticity), sexual dysfunction, cognitive difficulties, depression and other emotional changes - to add to this list of symptoms, you could also be experiencing abnormal sensations like "pins and needles", "electric shocks", speech disorders, swallowing difficulties, headaches, seizures, hearing loss, tremors, breathing problems and itching, then it's time to head straight for some important blood tests, neurological examinations, VEPs and MRIs to see if it is the early onset of MS or some other dreaded disease. MS (Multiple Sclerosis), if detected early, can be managed and its fast progression can be slowed down using some phenomenal therapeutic techniques that are now available to us, thanks to the dedicated research of the scientific community.

Now, what is MS or Multiple Sclerosis? It is a chronic, disabling, autoimmune disease of the CNS - Central Nervous System. In MS, the immune system attacks the CNS and so in this inflammatory disease, the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged and this damage adversely affects vision, balance, strength, sensation, coordination and many other basic bodily functions.

I'm not scare-mongering here and I'm not writing this article to scare you off but I want to drive home the point that if at any point of time you are experiencing a whole host of symptoms similar to the ones enlisted above, instead of sitting upon those and playing the endurance game, it's time you took immediate action for a good prognosis rather than leaving it a tad too late when nothing can be done to ease off the pain and suffering.

I came to know about MS and a lot more....especially about all those brave people who are down with MS but with their strength, grit, resilience and determination they try to keep their spirits up. Every day, they pledge to live it on....fight it on....and take on MS as if they are in a war-zone striving to succeed against all odds. My hats off to them. If you want to read their inspiring life stories, this is the book you need to buy.



I bought it from Amazon

This book has been edited by The Healing Project and all proceeds from the sale of this book would be donated to them. They are a non-profit organization founded in 2005 to support those challenged with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
__________________________________________________________________

And now, let me take leave of you by sharing some nice, new quotes with you :-)

You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however. - Richard Bach

If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. -  Frank A. Clark

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. - Albert Einstein

Every problem has a gift for you in its hands. - Richard Bach

Don't settle for a life that doesn't bring you cheers but tears. - Philip T. M.

Cheers
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Google Posting - Happy Perusing :-)

https://plus.google.com/117466581567846877904/posts

People who are sensible about love are incapable of it. -  Douglas Yates

Companion

Let me begin this Blog with this nice Quote I came across the other day.

Yes, I can very well relate to it as I owe a lot to solitude for it makes me think, feel, reflect, read, write and create.

Every day I need some precious moments of solitude to be myself, to be with me, so that I can make some sense of how my mind, my heart, my soul and my self work.

They are all within me but in the busy humdrum of life with my diurnal duties of a mother, a daughter, an editor and a wife, I often seem to lose touch with them.

Solitude helps me regain access to my inner potential, my inner voice, my inner thoughts and feelings and then I reach out to you to express them :-) through my writings.

Well, this blog is not all about solitude and companionship.

The reason why I've come to you today is to tell you about this New Paper which I've launched.

It is still very much in its nascent stage as I'm yet to add many more content sources but as it stands today, it looks good, not bad, I must say ;-)

The paper is NPPQ - For You To View :-)

NPPQ denotes - News, Pix, Poems & Quotes - updated daily for your Notes :-)

This paper is different from the other 2 papers of AC Daily and Today's News because it will have more of poems and quotes.

I plan to feature my favourite Boloji poems in this Newspaper through the RSS of Ed's Choice and of course, whenever I get to read a nice poem somewhere in the web, it will be there on this Paper.

As for Quotes, you'll find many nice sayings in this Paper sourced from various websites.

Hope you like this new venture.

Do spread the word if you like it :-) so that more people come and see it and my Paper gets some regular readers :-)

Thanks
Aparna

--

YouTube Playlists - Happy Playing :-)

https://www.youtube.com/user/playingplaylists/playlists

When marrying, ask yourself this question: Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Image Courtesy: Brainy Quote dot Com

Friendship

Friendship
Is all about
Caring and
Sharing...

Is that so?

Well, I didn't
Know ;-)

Now, that I know

Let me
Let you
Know -
That I'm
Not your
Friend ;-)
'Cause
I really don't care
Nor do I share ;-)


(Theme: Humour)

Poem © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Image © Getty Images dot Com (Courtesy: Boloji)

I'm Thinking

I'm thinking
Of him
Today

How
Will he
Come?

He has
A duty to
Fulfill and
A family to
Feed

There's
No choice

Whatever
The
Weather
He has to
Come...


(This poem is about our diligent postman who delivers our letters whatever the weather and today is one such inclement weather of lashing rain and strong winds here in UK)

© Aparna Chatterjee 2014

You can read more poems here

Granted

I cried because I did not have shoes until I saw a child that did not have feet. - Oswaldo Guayasamin

Here are some more inspiring quotes for you to see and share with those for whom you care.

Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love. - Socrates

Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness. - Bertrand Russell

When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there? - Thich Nhat Hanh

Relationships are not measured in time but in lessons learned. - Dr. Brian Weiss

The man with a toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty-stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man. - George Bernard Shaw

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end, we become disguised to ourselves. - François de La Rochefoucauld

There is always that one person in our lives who we deeply love, and that person can also destroy us. - Ranbir Kapoor

The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. - Albert Einstein

Think not those faithful who praise all thy words and actions; but those who kindly reprove thy faults. - Socrates

You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time. - M. Scott Peck

Love is what makes the cold universe warm. - William Shatner (Star Trek's Captain James T Kirk)

The shortest and surest way to live with honour in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be; and if we observe, we shall find, that all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice of them. - Socrates

Pleasures come in small packages :-) Aparna Chatterjee

Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not? - George Bernard Shaw

There is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love, as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. - Vincent Van Gogh

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde

I don't follow rules, I make my own. - Priyanka Chopra (Indian Actress)

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. - Stephen R. Covey

Pleasant surprises from people or places we don't expect feel all the more pleasant :-) Aparna Chatterjee

Silence is the continuation of what was not said. - Jan Oscar Hansen

I am calm, ... My surname is not a burden for me. It might be for others, but not for me. - Diego Maradona

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do. - Bob Dylan

She had lost the art of conversation but not, unfortunately, the power of speech. -  George Bernard Shaw

What is the Pain of Losing someone you deeply love, I can't really explain it but is like taking a Blazing Sword Piercing the middle of my Defenseless Heart creating an Immortal Complaining Wound, that feeds on my Happiness and Always reminding me that I lost You. - HloniM

I judge my country not by what it offers me but by how it treats our warriors when they return from wars. - Carl White

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself. - Wayne Dyer

I don't like that man. I must get to know him better. - Abraham Lincoln

We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path. - Paulo Coelho

You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus. - Mark Twain

You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. -  Eric Hoffer

The only proper way to eliminate bad habits is to replace them with good ones. - Jerome Hines

I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. - Vincent Van Gogh

People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up. - Ogden Nash

If the essence of my being has caused a smile to have appeared upon your face or a touch of joy within your heart.Then in living - I have made my mark. - Thomas L. Odem Jr

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. - Joseph Chilton Pearce

The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson. - Tom Bodett

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. - Mark Twain

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable. - David Tyson Gentry

One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life. - Khalil Gibran

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get into the office. - Robert Frost

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. - Albert Einstein

Sometimes you gotta create what you want to be a part of - Geri Weitzman

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. - Vidal Sassoon

Love is rare, life is strange, nothing lasts and people change. - Athena Orchard

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. - Alan Kay

To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. - Eleanor Roosevelt

They always say the hottest love has the coldest end. - Drake

We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone. - Orson Welles

Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship. - Oscar Wilde

The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows. - Plato

That's my sharing for now,

Au Revoir
APARNA

Image Courtesy: Search Quotes dot Com

You can view more Picture Quotes here

Tamasha

Woh Bulayen Toh Kya Tamasha Ho
Hum Na Jayen Toh Kya Tamasha Ho

You can read the rest of this poem here

http://www.urdupoetry.com/siddiqui12.html

Superb Poetry of a Poet who died in Penury at the young age of 46.

He was born in 1928 in Ambala and died in 1974 at Lahore.

He was Muhammad Akhtar more popularly known to us as Sagar Siddiqui or simply Sagar

You can read more about him here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saghar_Siddiqui

Here's another wonderful article on him

Saghar Siddiqui: A man, his demons and his dog

http://www.dawn.com/news/1110922

What touched me about this article is how it ended showing us how this great poet's life ended.

Here it is and I quote:

A fan of his once wrote how (in 1966) while he was driving down Lahore’s Circuit Road, the radio in his car began to play a ghazal written by Saghar.

As the fan was quietly revelling in the power of Saghar’s words, his eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of a thin man with unkempt long hair and in tattered clothes walking aimlessly on the side of the road. It was Saghar.

As the world abandoned this genius, Saghar abandoned the world.

For years he could be seen walking and sleeping on the streets of Lahore, living on the food given to him by those who took him to be a beggar or a fakir.

Amazingly, he continued to write powerful poetry in spite of the fact that he could hardly utter a single coherent sentence anymore.

At times he would write brilliant poems, read them out loudly with a vacant look in his eyes, then tear the papers he’d scribbled these poems on, make a heap and set the heap on fire.

Over the years he befriended a stray dog with whom he shared whatever food that was handed to him by the shopkeepers. The dog would follow him and sleep beside him on any street corner Saghar would choose to sleep on.

After 15 years of morphine addiction, depression and living on the streets, in early 1974 Saghar was found dead in one such street corner of Lahore. Exposed to the cold winter of the city, he passed away in his sleep. He was just 46.

The dog that was with him for more than six years never left the spot where Saghar died. Finally, one year after Saghar’s death, the dog too died — almost exactly at the same spot where Saghar did.

That's my sharing for now.

Love...
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

One day you will ask me which is more important? My life or yours? I will say mine and you will walk away not knowing that you are my life. -  Khalil Gibran

Somebody

Somebody has done an audio rendition of my poem Reflection

You can listen to it here :

http://www.poemhunter.com/i/poem_sounds/6/reflection-179.mp3

If the above Link doesn't work, you can scroll down this Page and try the audio box where it says "listen to this poem"

http://poemhunter.com/poem/reflection-179/

I've also added the Link to this Poetry Page.

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Poem&PoemID=9436

I also wanted to mention in this Blog that some of my friends have reported a slight problem with my News Feeds of G+ Posts.

Hope you are also not experiencing the same. Here's how to resolve it.

When you click this Link of my G+ RSS

http://plusfeed.frosas.net/117466581567846877904

It will show you all the News Feeds of my G+ Posts

But if you happen to see some Grubby HTML ;-) Don't worry.

Just Refresh the Page (press F5) and all the news will be there in the right order.

Hope this helps :-)

Have a Happy Dussehra.

L and R,
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. - Joseph Chilton Pearce

Spreading

Spreading
Smiles :-)
Wherever
You go

The world
Is yours :-)
Before you
Know

(I cropped this photo from my Kochi's school banner :)







Is It Me?

Is it me
Who
Writes
On those
Sites?

Could be
Me ;-)

'Cause
Even
I don't
Know
The
Person
Who
Writes
On those
Sites ;-)

(seeing my poems on PH and Boloji and trying to know the poetess in me as it seems she's another part of me, hence reading my poems often amazes me ;-)







Realise

As the
Years
Go by
You'll
Realise
That
You
Need
Nobody
Else
Except
Yourself
To realise
Your true
Self

(Theme: Realisation)


Image + Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

You can read more Poems here

Shashi Kapoor at 76

I saw this photo the other day and felt saddened by how Shashi Ji looks now.

Old age strips you of everything - your glory, your glamour, your sunshine personality.

He has been ailing for quite some time now and I don't know if with all his ailments, he wants to live more...

Whatever his wish, let it be granted. That's my prayer for him. He has given us some very sweet memories.

Remembering those years of his dimpled smiles, gorgeous looks, superb acting and emoting skills, I decided to dedicate a playlist to his wonderful songs.

Here it is for you to view

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP2Wr4O1JakzISRUyz93l4oXj1xQikwD

Hope you enjoy these musical melodies.

I wish him well.

Love...
Aparna

--
The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone. - Orson Welles

Image © First Post

Beautiful

It's a
Beautiful
Day :-)
Today

Don't want to
Let it go away

But as all
Good things
Come to an
End, this would
Too, my dear friend

(Today was a beautiful, sunny day here in UK)





Your

Your face
Comes to me
And I smile :-)

Wish you were
Here forever...
For me to smile

(wrote this poem thinking of Kishore's hilarious songs)






Feel

I feel
Good
When I
Write to
Him

Nothing
Else
Makes
Me feel
So good

Maybe,
He's my
Shelter
And I
Seek
Refuge
In him


The above Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014
Image(c)gettyimages.com (courtesy Boloji)

Addicted

Have I told you

How good it feels

to be me, just me

when I am with you?

If I close my eyes 

Would I miss you again

Perhaps I would...

Maybe it's an addiction

but you're the drug that 

keeps me going.

Sometimes I feel wasted

I have made so many mistakes

But I keep trying, because of you

Every day there is a storm

raging inside my head

when you are not here.

And I miss you all the more...

All I want is you next to me

It feels so wonderful

I have attained my clarity

And everything is now reality

And yes I'm addicted, to you...







Shame

My day is rewarded
commensurate with a great gift
that only you can give me

It's the one that lifts me up
takes me soaring into the skies
it costs you nothing
Your smile and your laugh :)

Yet do you know
it is of immense
value to me?
So much valuable to me...

And I shall reward you
Just not to fly
but the feeling of
soaring high, high into the sky

I will ensure that your
joys will vastly
exceed your desires
and I am not exaggerating

You are my beauty
My sweetie
My honeypot
My sugarpie

I aspire to remain in your heart
You know you might think so
But I never tire of praising
Your amazing beauty, intellect and sexiness

I will keep talking
and boasting of your awesomeness
I will lift, raise your spirits
Till you ask for more :)

Then I will lie at your side
maybe at your feet, my queen
and I will shower you all
delights like you're my new bride

I will fully
and fervently pay full heed
to you, for I have fallen
even more deeply for you

I want to spend all the time
I can get, and all the time
that your highness can spare
at your comfortable bosom.

You know, when we are in
bed together,
your beauty blossoms even more
You become completely free

I have seen you open up like
never before in your life
For I am the man
Who loves and enjoys you baby

Kiss me my sweetest
Hug me tight my darling
Let us make beautiful
passionate love that will shame the Gods







Lapse

The moment 

is almost

past us

Let us not

let it escape

or lapse

The fiery flame

lit within us

the kiss of passion

Between your

red, hot

lips

This feeling

never felt

before

This romantic nuance

never known, never shown

until now

Under the moon's radiance

a glance of your pout

as the wind caresses your hair

Let our heads

tilt their unusual 

stance

Let our eyes

embrace

in the dark night sky

Let us 

embroil ourselves

in this timeless dance

Before time reboots

before things drift

away from our hearts

Let there be rhythm

of one heart

not two

Euphoric melodies

that can't be sung

by anyone other than us

These words 

are not mere lyrics

in a poem

They can be fathomed 

by only you

for it's that tune

That will never cease playing

In my heart

When I'm with you.

The above Poems © Karthik Narayan (Chennai, India)

Image(c)bhmpics.com

You can read more poems here

Eyes

Of all the eyes
That saw my
Poems,
I was looking
For your pair
Of eyes :-)

Did you see?
:-)





He Said

He said
She's one
Hell of a girl

She makes me
Feel like Hell

She said
He's one
Heaven of a man

He makes me
Yearn for heaven

:-)

(Theme: Humour)





Keep Going

Keep going
Keep going
Keep going

Don't stop

What
Not to
Stop?

The way
You keep
Arousing

Don't stop ;-)





Let Me

Let me be
Attached
To my name
In this life
For I don't
Know
What name
Will be
Given
To me
In my
Next life

:-)

(thinking of all those writers, actors, poets, singers, directors, etc who've played their part and left the earth for their heavenly abode; God knows what names they carry now in their new lives if they've again taken rebirth on this earth; for e.g. imagine someone living amongst us and looking with awe at Ghalib or Tagore or Kishore not knowing that he or she was Ghalib / Tagore / Kishore in his or her previous life :-)





Life

Life is
Too short
To hold
Grudges
They say

What about
Those grudges
Which come back
To us, never
Want to
Leave us,
Holding our
Fingers...
Like those children
Who never want to
Go away





Let Me

Let me not
Say that I
Love thee
For I'll
Pollute
The very
Word LOVE
With my
Feelings
Of possessiveness
And jealousy...





First

For the
First time
In so many
Years, I
Really
Feel like
Living...

Why?

'Cause
Death is
So near me
That I really
Feel like living

(thinking of those people who finally realise the value of life towards the fag end of their life which they've taken for granted all their life; now that they really want to live, they realise that it's a tad too late as their time on this earth has been cut short by some fatal illness)

All Poems © Aparna Chatterjee 2014

Image(c)gettyimages.com (courtesy Boloji)

There Was...

There was
This girl
At the
Airport

I kept
Looking
At her

While
Admiring
Her
Divine
Beauty, I
Kept asking
God:
Why didn't You
Make me like her?

(Not only this girl, there are many such girls I've encountered in my life in all sorts of places like schools, colleges, shopping malls, tourist buses, etc and seeing their beauteous looks, I've often asked God, why did He leave me out of His beautiful garden of wonderful women? ;-) Though, it's a miracle that even after 16 years of marriage, my hubby still finds me Beautiful, even though I've never seen myself as beautiful but just Presentable enough. I guess, the difference in our opinion is to do with the perception that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder; so what I may see as beautiful, others may not and vice-versa. That's a lot of beauty talk for now. Bye for Now, Aparna :-)

Image(c)gettyimages.com (courtesy Boloji)

Today

Today while exchanging our regular weekly news, I heard from my parents that one of our elderly close relations has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

After my phone-conversation, I immediately wrote to that relation's son, expressing my deep anguish on hearing this sad news and mentioning about this book that I have in my home, asking him to procure it as soon as possible so that he has all the guidance he needs in coping with his father's tragic illness.

Thought of blogging about it also, so that others who are unaware of this treasure-trove of knowledge pertaining to Alzheimer's, can now access it.

It's called

The 36-Hour Day (Fifth Edition)

available in The Book Depository

http://www.bookdepository.com/36-Hour-Day-Nancy-Mace/9781455521159

and also on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-Alzheimer-Disease-Dementias/dp/1455521159/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408022015&sr=1-4&keywords=The+36-Hour+Day%2C+5th+Edition

It's a Family Guide to Caring for People who have Alzheimer's Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss

Here is what its Blurb says:

When someone in your family suffers from Alzheimer disease or other related memory loss diseases, both you and your loved one face immense challenges. For over thirty years, this book has been the trusted Bible for families affected by dementia disorders. This guide features the latest information on the causes of dementia, managing the early stages of dementia, the prevention of dementia, and finding appropriate living arrangements for the person who has dementia when home care is no longer an option.

This book has the following info:

The basic facts about dementia
How to deal with problems arising in daily care -- meals, exercise, personal hygiene, and safety
How to cope with an impaired person's false ideas, suspicion, anger, and other mood problems
How to get outside help from support groups, friends, and agencies
Financial and legal issues you must address.

If any of your friends or acquaintances have been afflicted by Dementia or Alzheimer's, you can suggest this book to their near 'n' dear ones, so that they are well-prepared to cope with this debilitating disease which robs oneself of precious memories.

That's all I had to share with you for now.

Tk Care,
Aparna

--

The AC Daily - Please See

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

Today's News - Please Peruse

https://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1400751156#

Love is rare, life is strange, nothing lasts and people change. - Athena Orchard