This one's for Bokai....

I just finished watching 'Marley & Me'.....Haven't cried watching a movie in a long time...but this one really made me sob......The movie is about a newspaper columnist, his family and the most important part of his life - Marley, his dog......

While I was watching the end, I was remembering Bokai......

A few months ago, I became friends with someone who had an adorable dog named Bokai.....(which in Bengali means Stupid/Buddhu/Silly)....For all those who have known me for a long time know how much I despise animals, especially dogs and cats; I was basically scared of them......But Bokai was the first dog whom I patted and was not afraid of...He helped me get over my fear.....He was adorable and nicest dog I had ever met......He would sit on my feet at times and just wait to be patted.....Unfortunately, he was suffering from UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and was constantly unwell and in pain.....

Its been 5 months I haven't seen Bokai....I'm in a different city now and not in touch with that friend anymore.....I have no clue how Bokai is doing.....But I am thankful to him for teaching how to love animals and helping me get over one of my biggest fears.....Infact I want to get a dog sometime when I know I will be able to takecare of him.......But I just wish I could pat Bokai once more.....

Place where I stay....

So I've lived in a flat during college and it was on the 6th floor, very windy and nice.....and now again im staying in a flat....that is on the 4th floor...very windy and all....the good bit is you can see a beach from my balcony....Yes! there is a beach walking distance from my house...How many people are lucky to have that kind of view in cities that are more like concrete jungles now.....   The place is pretty...Being an empty flat, me and my flatmate had to get everything on our own...Believe me it felt like we were a newly married couple shifting in here, buying stuff like cloth stand, water filter, chairs, cupboards n what not......But after the initial struggle of setting it up, its like the place I alwaz wanted...small, nice, cosy, silent, with a beautiful view and a balcony to sit at with a cup of tea......Compared to living in main Mumbai (with the amount of noise and crowd), my place is a blessing.....I just love it!  (See pics and ul know what I mean)

View from my balcony...

Here's the unfortunate bit...we might have to vacate this place as the landlord is planning to sell it:( ....so before I say goodbye to my dream place I thought of sharing it with you......

My room....The soft board in my room...Sigh....I'll miss this place...The beach..........

My room

Just some pics.....

Parent-teacher meeting, prize distribution and long faces!

We had our monthly PTM (parent-teacher meeting) yesterday....Its great to see parents being so invested in their kids' progress.....we also had a small prize distribution for the kids who scored highest in math and english or had shown tremendous improvement....here are the reaction of parents....

Ameeruddin showed improvement in math...his mom couldnt believe...she said "mera ameer?? sahi mein?? isne acha kiya?? ghar mein to sirf filmein dekhta hai...isne kaise kiya??"

Sabrin showed improvement in english.......her mom told us that she goes home and starts studying and tries to do whatever she can...

Kashiyan's grandfather appreciated our efforts for doing whatever we can for the children....his Mom told me that she had never been to school but ensures he never misses a day.....

Alot of kids who did not receive any prizes, had long faces!! gosh it was an effort making them understand that they needed to do better.....I felt like a baby-sitter doing that! but its important for them to realise that hardwork does pay-off......and maybe being a little less naughty also helps....

Being a saturday, it was funday for the kids....the class coloured and put together a jigsaw of a peacock....(c pic).....There are so many things that have started exciting them....circling words they know in newspaper articles.....singing the song - This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, early in the morning...or the song - Aaj monday hai, aaj somwaar hai, kis-kisko bukhar hai.....seeing stars and smiling faces in their notebooks....but yeah u cant fool kids, they observe stuff more than you know.....a visitor to our class recently promised the kids that she will send sweets for them but after talking to my co-teacher she preferred getting them something more useful such as pencils and erasers...when Irfan, a kid in my class saw what was being distributed, he immediately turned to me and said, "Un didi ne to kaha tha toffee bhejengi, par chalo koi nahi pencil hi bhej di".....i was so surprised at his reaction!

This week in school just flew-by.....

Here is my progress on personal front...for all those who don't know I suck at cooking! But off-late Iv started doing a little bit of it...And I agree cooking really isnt rocket science...!(So I can now make pasta and rajma!)

Mumbai is still driving me a little crazy....the frequency of rain has reduced but the smell of moisture doesnt seem to leave the things at my place....Everytime I feel not ok about things, I remember the song....Find yourself.....

Would just want to leave you with the lyrics.......- When you find yourself...In some far off place...And it causes you to rethink some things...You start to sense that slowly you're becoming someone else...And then you find yourself....when you go through life so sure of where you’re headin'....And you wind up lost and it's the best thing that could have happened...‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way it's really just as well, because you find yourself.....Yeah that’s when you find yourself....

I'm hoping I'll find myself soon.....

P.S. For those of you have not seen Peepli Live...you can go for it...its one of the best satires I've seen....