And life goes on...

I just noticed that I haven't posted anything since 2008 began and half the year has already gone by. Each day is filled with events and when things are happening, I tell myself that I should blog those. It's amazing how I don't have even a vague idea what I want to blog about when I actualy sit down to blog...

This year did not start on a good note...Losing my grandmother was the single most saddening and depressing event not just in 2008 but probably in my entire life so far. Perhaps, the only event that was equally depressing was losing my grandfather more than 12 years ago. They have been major contributors to my peace, happiness and growth from the day I was born and will remain a major influence throughout my life. They were both very different in character, attitude and energies, but at some level I was drawn to both of them in very similar ways. I plan on writing a biography of theirs from my perspective. I'm not looking to publish it anyday, but I think it'll give me a lot of satisfaction to salute their lives and to express what they meant to me.

My activities have continued like any other year though...I got myself a bicycle at the onset of spring and have been biking on trails small and big at every opportunity. That somehow led to horseback riding which until recently was only a big dream which I thought I would realize much later in life...where I come from, it is a very expensive sport and only the social elites get to do it. In the US too it's expensive, but definitely not unaffordable...Most of my american friends were quite surprised that I have never been on a horse in my 25 year life!

I also took up a drawing class at Emory University which was great...it was an experience of sorts. It was an 8 week course (2 hours every Wednesday) and the method of teaching ("Drawing on the right ride of the brain") was very different and much better than what I had expected. My teacher Mary Feagan, who is a retired artist, is not only a great art teacher, but also a writer, poet and one of the purest, nicest and the most endearing people I have met. The very first day of the class she narrated a poem that she had written "I need my grandmama", which literally flipped my heart...I was so moved. At that time, my grandma was ailing and this poem spoke to me like none other. Added to this was the fact that Mary resembles my grandmother a lot, which was the first thing that struck me when I met her. The 8th and the last class was a couple of days after my grandmother passed away and though at that time I was so messed up mentally and unwilling to do anything at all, I attended the class with the plain hope of seeing my grandmother in Mary. At the end of the class when we were leaving I hugged Mary like most other students did, but believe me, most of the others might forget that moment, but I never will!

I believe that each and every moment of one's life is unique and important in deciding each and every future moment. We meet so many people each day and experience so many different things and in some way or the other, each and every person and thing influences us. Many times we don't realize it at all, sometimes we realize it much later. But there are people who have immediate and perceivable impact on you. A lot of times, those people don't realize how much their words or actions meant to you. Mary falls in that category and I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart for the healing that she provided without even knowing it. I did thank her for the class, but she is more than just a teacher to me and since I would feel too awkward and embarassed to thank her for what she means to me, here is a public note of thanks, which I hope she reads one day! THANK YOU, MARY!