In our home, sweet home,
Two kids, father & a mom,
As a family we are a little too loud,
Of each other we are insanely proud;

With love we might smother,
Memories we love to gather,
We compete to care & share,
Try to stick to what is fair;

We slip, fall & make mistakes,
Never to give up & do what it takes,
We fight, struggle & shed some tears,
But still stand tall & fight our fears;

We do hugs & kisses,
Sometimes succumb to stresses,
We drive each other up the wall,
But are sure to catch if one of us falls;

Pessimism does occasionally find us,
Yoga helps put it behind us,
Patience, not always our strength,
For kindness, we walk any length;

We love to be one with nature,
Not always do we act mature,
We love to put on an apron & bake,
Nobody can accuse us of being fake;

We dabble at art & play some music,
Skip some manners & give fingers a lick,
Expectations, we don’t keep sky high,
Dreams, we let them fly really high;

We do the part of crazy very well,
Love each other crazily as well,
We do grace & thank the Good Lord,
He gave us a family, we could never afford.

Surely I need a dose of insulin after penning down such deliciously ‘over’ sweet lines about my family (post festivities sugar spike). It could have rocked the charts, as the track song for Karan Johar’s family block buster, the reel story ‘Kabhi Kushi, Kabhi Gham’ which most of the time translates as ‘Kahan Kushi?? Kaaphi gham!!’ in real life.

Trying to run a conjugal (see it rhymes with jungle) social unit called Family, whose members unfortunately belong to different planets, speak alien languages, function at different time zones & declare ‘home’ their war zone… its lots of ‘gham’, some rum, oodles of ‘kaam’, bottles of balm, waking up to alarms, staying calm, folding palms… that lets us get by without contemplating ‘khud kushi’, leave aside finding kushi (better chances with Nemo).

Now that I have got my frustration out & am back to my angelic disposition (stop rolling your eyes kids), I can rightly say that it is always ‘Family’ that brings meaning, happiness, satisfaction, security, love… & all the positive adjectives/nouns one can find, into our lives. Family keeps us GOING… (for the gun & that bottle of poison too). In our case however, it’s not ‘family’ alone that keeps us on the go. We have the army to thank for it. Army ensures that we leave behind places & houses, as snakes shed their skin… periodically. In fact the nomadic existence is one  of the main charms of Army life – we get to roam different places, make new friends, taste diff cuisines & culture, enjoy diverse shopping prospects, do up yet new nests &… thread more colour & vibrancy (bankruptcy too depending on which city you get posted to) to life’s beautiful tapestry, woven out of experiences & memories… all these & more, every two years, without fail.

So here is 3 cheers to my family & the Army for always keeping me on the go. Dedicating this platter of candles to ‘them’ with love… though I am sure my family would have preferred a platter of kebabs more, lol.

Firstly made individual candles out of things lying around the house (coconut shells, horns, wooden figurines, toys, stones, etc.) & placed them on a wooden platter. Easy, creative & pretty too… if I may say so.

 While you guys bask in the light of these candles & in the love of your family… Let me get ready for yet another move (snakes have to just shed their skin, but I have a shed full of stuff, kids & kin to take care of), this time from Sagar to Bangalore. Until then.. keep it burning!!!