Petals!

What is the worst nightmare for a parent? Undoubtedly, the death of one's child. Or have you ever lost someone you loved and struggled to pick up the pieces of your life since then? The first time I read Aarti Raheja's "Where One is not a Number', I found tears flowing from my eyes. A happy couple's life is shattered. It's the kind of thing that can happen to anyone at anytime. This is a MUST READ book.                                          [Source: Aarti Raheja's FB page] A loved one's death has a way of taking your life apart and making you reflect on everything in your life including the purpose of your own. To read about a young and happy couple losing their child in a heart wrenching way and their struggles to come to terms with the hard reality of living without him cannot be explained in words. As I read it, I felt their sorrow weigh down on me. I remember crying when I had...

The first time I visited Amritsar, it was like an electric shock . No, I didn't get electrocuted, or anything.  I went like a tourist but I came back humbled . Of course, I had heard of Guru Nanak Dev, as the founder of Sikhism and the first of the Sikh Gurus. But that is all I knew.                                      Image courtesy:  http://www.4to40.com/ The day I went there, it was Diwali. I saw that Sikhs from across the world, particularly UK and US, had come to offer their prayers there. I sat by the shimmering waters that mirrored the Golden Temple. I saw young Sikhs crying with bliss after taking a dip in the holy water. I saw elderly couples help each other to take a dip and pray for their children who were not with them. I saw young parents, beautifully dressed, help their young ones to take a dip without fear.  Everywhere I felt love. There was l...