What if there were no trees.

Good Morning everyone.

Schools is fun and educational, but the best part of my day is the time when mumma tells me a story from her childhood. When my mumma was small she had a best friend. His name was barky and  he was a tree. Yes a small tree. My munna used to tie a rope on the bark of the tree and swing on it for a long time. She also made a small tree house where she and her friends used to hide, laugh, eat snacks. It was so much fun.

With all this thoughts and stories I went to sleep and in my dreams saw my self on the tree having fun. I laughed, fell down and had lots of fun i. I woke up to realise that it was just a dream. Then when the school announced this elocution completion, the only though that Came to my mind was all the fun that the children will miss if trees are not there

I know that trees are Important. They give us food, oxygen, help in rain, reduce landslide, provide shelter. They help purify the environment. But what they do most is give us the joy and love that we children need. The opportunity to play, climb trees, get wet in the rain. Tree make this earth look beautiful . they make us live healthy. Therefore save trees for us children and for the future.

Thank you.

It My Choice, It My life - Respect it

Before you all start thinking about the connectivity between this blog and most famous/controversial video by Deepika Padukone's "Its My Choice", yes its the source of the inspiration.

I have been a big harper of the fact that its my life and I will do whatever it takes for me to live life on my terms. But somehow this gets translated to the term arrogance. We are doing what others want us to do. For the best example, I have to marry so that my parents social status remains intact. Welcome to the middle class family story. Its like those typical bollywood stories of the 70s, A helpless mother, an old father, an unwed sister sitting near the window awaiting her prince on the white horse. If we are talking about the 70's then lets make on thing clear, women at that times never had much options. They were barely educated, ambitious and social. The only reason why they existed in this world is to get married, have sons and haress thier daughter in laws. And if by mistake they had girls then its like the worst crime that poor women has committed. She becomes a helpless poor soul searching for rich grooms for her daughters so that she can pay them dowry in return for their daughters.........Bullshit!!!!

Lets face it people we are living in 21st century and I am in  a much better position today. If I don't want to get married I don't. Its as simple of that. But.... We still live in a very dilusional world, so my choice becomes my arrogance. Well so be it. This videos about My choice comes in the right time and I share it with my sister. She does not agree to certain parts of the videos which is fine as she is entitle to her opinion. But making a mockery of this is an old habit that may not die fast. So there comes jokes, sub videos and message, which trust me are hilarious and super funny. 

The issue here is that people have understand that others too have a choice, you got to respect it. By mocking someone and saying "Let her learn the hardway" or her mind is getting rusted" or "Shes frustrated" does not help. Its simple, I don't like florescent so I wont wear it. I don't believe in marriages I wont get married. ITS MY CHOICE.

Life is all about the choices we make and the path we choose to get there. I strongly believe that there is no right and wrong in anyone's life. Its a choice that I made, respect it.

The Great Expectation

The absence of something make you realise the importance of it in your life. I hate summers. The only reason why I always waited for this season is mangoes and my birthday. Mangoes are now easily available in all seasons thanks to this new era of technology "Har Mausam Aam" and birthdays are now meant to be spent in solitude. But nevertheless i still hate summers. Sometimes it makes me wonder if we have switched the planetary position with Venus? It just gets hotter by the day. This is when I realised the importance of rains. Since then I have been singing. Rain Rain come again... Little nattu
wants to play... Lolzz

With all these thoughts I walked by the station heading towards my cute little paradise called home, I stumbled upon two incidents. The first one goes like this. As I exited my office premise I started walking on the pathway desperately trying to halt a taxi. There were two aunties already waiting on the spot before me. I continued to walk ahead and to my surprise a taxi agreed to drop me at my destination. This was not fair. They were waiting much before me. For a moment a did think to give them a ride, but taxiwalas here behave as if you have asked for their kidney or their liver. I didn't want to get into an argument so I royally ignored them and continued my journey to the station. Caught my train and headed home.

At my home station I came across the other incident. As I was climbing the bridge, there was a man in front of me. He skipped a step and fell. Like any normal person I leaped at him and offered my helping hand. He was up and promptly accompanied by his daughter. All I was expecting at this stage was a little "Thank You". However the uncle behaved as if nothing happened and just walked away like a normal Mumbaikar. I smiled and continued my journey.

These two accidents were very different, however still the same. The two aunties expected me to ask them for a lift while uncle did not even bother to say thank you. While helping others we often think what's in store me. Why should I do it? What will he do in return for me and when we do good to other we still complaint of how insensitive the other person can be. We, the civilised modern society are practically trained to expect something in return for everything that we do. That's exactly where we falter in our lives trying to find the perfect balance, the perfect mojo but we cannot fulfill everyone's expectations. All we can do is at least try to change something.

Hence this is the day I decide to lead my life by example. Do it yourself.. Inspire to aspire.. All the best...

The Missing Sunset...

Travelling by air has its own benefits or perks that you may call. You save time but you also get free goodies. The one in my collection is called the eye pack/ cover. Just tied it around your eyes and suddenly its night. The best part of a Sunday is when you wake up early morning, realise its a Sunday, put on your eye cap and go back to sleep. Classic.

But on the contrary, you don't really get to see the beautiful early morning sunrise. Very few people understand this as a spiritual experience.

In this super fast world, our individual lives have got complicated. Its just busy. Running after the train, catching the bus, trying to catch the auto back home. In all this mess we have forgotten to appreciate nature.

I left early from work today. Mom had given me a task to pick up some masala from churchgate ( her new obsession this month... Pickle making). I took the usually longer route to reach the shop. At 6.30 pm, the sun was beginning to set. The hazy orange sky made it look like a mosaic painting. It was beaaautifullll!!! ...... A little walk opened a new dimension for me. The beauty of nature. What was different about this you may ask. Nothing ... Nothing at all. What made all the difference is that I looked at the sunset today after so many days. Kept my phone in my pocket and just observed the beautiful serene nature.

Yes indeed,  it was a very spiritual experience. The sunrise gives us a new hope to live another day, but the sunset tell us to rest as another hectic day is awaiting me. The sunset was never missing, it was me that missed then entire point of it.

What women want??...... Just a little more

Travelling in the train daily could be the most barbaric experience you could ever have. You are crushed, bruised, tortured and strangled. And I don't mean it metaphorically, but literally barbaric. But it does show you who we as people have become. Its our choice that makes us barbaric. Nevertheless, its a brilliant time to reflect on various aspects of your life. Observing people who travel daily can be a very educating experience. So here's what I reflected on today.

My daily routine ensures that I take a fast train. Every morning and getting a seat to sit is like job none of us get paid for. With my skills (ahem ahem) I managed to  procure a seat. There was this another lady who was also boards the train with me. She has an arthritis problem and like a good Samaritan I offered my seat to her. With a gracious smile she sat and thanked me for it. Just after ten minutes she got up and asked me to sit for sometime. I insisted  that  she sits as we were already approaching the station. But she still did and said " Thoda baithne milega toh accha lagta hain, aap baitho". We all in our lives strive for that thoda extra. Whether its our personal problem or a commute issues, or our relationships.

This was exactly the problem i was facing with my other quest of finding a husband. What we women want is something that we women also don't know. I met this guy who had everything going. A good job, a stable income, a houses etc etc. But there was this something that was missing. I could not even talk to him or rather I had to become Dan brown to decipher his statements. I had made up my mind to cut  him out. My funda is very simple. If I can't talk to him I can't marry him. So a forced meeting on Sunday ensured that I did not take it forward and ended it there. This is exactly what I had planned for and exactly what I wanted.

I came home a little disappointed. I had no idea why. Was the feeling of ending a relationship killing or the fact that I may never find someone who loves me for who I am.  I was restless the whole night, had a very incomplete sleep. Turning from one side to the other, I don't know why. I wish he spoke well and had some manners. This is exactly the little more that we all look for in our lives.

Life is beautiful. The way it is given to us is amazing. What we make of this life is entirely our choice.  What differentiates us from the saint? .. Its the want for a little bit more. What is this want for that extra "more"? I have an amazing Honda city, but I still aspire to posses a BMW, that's "More". I think its pretty natural for  all of us. They call it ambition here

The want for that extra topping, the fourth seat in a local train, the words free on a product, we all want more. The day we realise that we should have what we need and not what we desire, our lives would be less complicated.  Life is a journey that you never planned for. So just walk!!!

The Swamy Family Bloodline

My name is Natasha Swamy. I have always been a curious soul searching for answers, information and anything that's entertaining. Well, being in this family, one thing that your never short of is entertainment. And trust me there's lots going on here :-).

Getting to the to the topic, the one thing that seriously snatched my curiosity is my bloodline(sounds very dan brown types) but yes, I  am curious. I am supposed to be a South Indian, and my mother tongue is Tamil. The interesting part starts here. My grandfather, my father, me have always been in Mumbai. If I ask my father about my native he says "Secundrabad". With that logic my mother tongue is supposed to be Telegu, Then why is my mother tongue Tamil?? I asked every person in my family who laughed it off saying " Let me call my ancestor and ask them". To no avail I finally had to figure it out myself.  So I started speaking to my grandmother but due to her age she could not remember much. However she still managed to give me juicy insight to her life.

So here is the puzzle that I managed to put into perspective of the "Swamy Family Bloodline”. There is not much know about my great great great grandfather, so I begin this story trailing the life of my great grandfather(GGF) and his name was Vednaigam Swamy. The date is the closest that I could arrive based on my fathers year of birth, but it could be a plus/minus here and there.

The story begins somewhere in the year 1910. GGF migrated from madras to Bangalore. By his name we can figure out that he must have been a Hindu. This community usually carried some reference to god. He had very humble beginnings. He didn't have a job or much education, so he joined with a truck driver as his assistant/cleaner. He had a brother as well but we don’t know much about him. GGF was an adventurer himself so he loved his profile and accompanied the driver to all his destinations. After a few years the truck driver was employed by the British for their work. This would earn an extra them buck and would allow them a great travel plan. The British went on a voyage to Burma. My GGF and his boss traveled with the British troops to this side of the world. 

This is not Annieamma.
  Its a mere depiction of what annieamma would have looked like

There he happened to see Annie Mary. I think he fell in love with her. And I arrive at this conclusion because GGF was a hindu and Annie was a Tamil Christian. He may have converted here for her. They were married around 1912-13. GGF brought Annie to India. She was fondly called "Annie amma". They settled in Bangalore and GGF joined the railways. They eventually had two children Manuel Arokiaswamy and Anthony ArokiaSwamy. 

Manuel (my grandfather)  was born in the years 1914. GGF was then posted at Igatpuri, this was the cooling hub for the Indian railways. GGF moved base to igatpuri with bag, baggage and family. He continued his life here. My grandfather grew here with his parents in a small house near the station. The Swamy family was a devout followers of St.Anthony. They had a small chapel built here where people from far and wide came to pray. 

The alter at Igatpuri that still remains

On such an occasion they had a group visiting to pray for their children. They were the “Murray Family”. During their visit, they discovered that the Swamy family was looking for a bride for Manuel and the Murray family was looking for a groom for their daughter Rosemary. As fate had it, they were married. Rosemary's father gifted her two houses in the main city of Mumbai as her wedding gift. 

Rosemary and Manuel shifted base to Mumbai and had 10 kids. Manuel carried his father name as south Indians do not have surnames.

However, his children carried the name of their grandfather instead of their fathers names. That’s how we became the “Swamy's”. Manuel worked in a private tyre manufacturing plant in Mumbai and my grandmother was a homemaker. 

Now, the second most interesting twist, how is my native "Secundrabad". Well to answers this question you need to first know your history well. The British had one motive or a logo " the sun would never set on the British empire".

This simply translates to the fact that the British wanted to capture the whole world.  Since they were in India, they had to break the monarchy of the existing rulers. Modern Secunderabad was founded as a British cantonment after the Nizam was defeated.When the British took charge of this city. They moved their troops from the cantonments on Madras to this new city. The newly migrated crowd made this their home. The adapted to the local culture and also changed their dilalect to suit the locals. This version is called the Secunderabad Tamil. If you wan to know more then please google it out.



All the kids are married and busy with their lives and settled in Mumbai.  There have been further additions like the grandchildren and great grand children.

Rosie Amma with her Sister Sisilia.. fondly called as Chitti...

Not much is known about Annie amma but of what I hear, she was a kind lady. Annie Amma passed away in Igatpuri and was buried there. A trip to igatpuri is not complete without a visit to her grave. GGF is buried in our family grave at Sewri, Mumbai. The house in Igatpuri was sold long time back due to financial difficulties. All that remains there is memories and St. Anthony’s Chapel which the locals still celebrate.  

The Statue still remains at Igatpuri

That's how we ended being the Swamy family.  Its always good to know your history.

Please leave your feedback and comments.

PS : The contents of this blog is the sole copyright of the writer. Any copy or duplication of this work will be subject legal prosecution.

Lets Uncomplicate.............

This column of mine is purely dedication to my lovely sister who is a prime example of complication. My sister is a pretty sorted person. She can very well differentiate between the good and the bad, the right and the wrong. She has her priorities set straight. Then the question arises "why is she complicated?" Well to answer this let me first deviate a little.

  
Once upon a time (I so loveee this word) there was a man who was very intelligent, smart, witty, confidence, basically a guy who can fight the world alone with a sword. One day he set on a journey to visit the nearest kingdom to sell pots that he had made. He had heard from many travelers that there is a kingdom on the northeast path of his village. This kingdom was ruled by a very good king. He was kind, brave and courageous. The only one flaw that he had was his belief in his court astrologer. He could not take any decision without the consultation of this astrologer. The king would wear all the possible astrological symbols needed for him to succeed. Mr. Potter had heard that this king was a great businessman as well and his subjects would pay a good price for his pots. However, if the potter had to enter the kingdom he had to accomplish certain customs before he entered. He readily agreed as he wanted a good price for his pots. So he set sail on a long journey with all his pots. 


As advised by the others he had to first stop at the banyan tree and hang upside down for half a day. This custom, as believed by the local folklore and the king is useful to ward of the evil forces. Since you hang upside down the evil will fall off (wiered). Then as he moved ahead, he noticed a plain path which had thorny bushes all around. The stretch across was nearly 2 km. He had to roll on this path to ensure that evil forces are tired and leave the body. Now since this was a long path and the potter decided to carry his pots to the end of the road. Once he reached he kept his pots in a secure location and came back to the spot where he started. Now he had to roll for those two kilometres. By the time he reached the stretch he was all drained out and famished. He wanted to eat something but could not as he was advised against it. When he reached the place where his pots were kept he observed that a few pots were broken as the monkey were busy jumping on them. Hungry, tired, irritated he continued his journey. The next stop was local temple. This was the entry into the kingdom. However this would not be simple either. He would have to climb nearly 500 stairs on his knees. (Wow)... So our Mr. Potter being a very obedient student started to arrange himself to a position where he could climb the stairs. He did contemplate for a moment whether he should walk those mammoth stairs keeping his pots coming back, going back accomplishing his tasks and then finally picking up pots once done. But then he was so tired (physically and mentally) that he just wanted to get over with these stairs business. Like a very good student he arranged the pots on his head and started to climb the stairs. Trust me when I say this, that this was not easy.  

To climb the stairs on his knees and along with managing that basket of pots on his head was just next to impossible. But he never gave up. He started the long journey in the night. While he was walking, a few pots fell off and were instantly broken. This broke his heart as his hard work was wasted. He still continued his journey and somehow managed to reach the top. He entered the temple, collected the flowers and left. Since he was famished he sat near the edge of the temple trying very hard to keep his mind blank. Suddenly he saw a priest and curiously asked him about all these customs. The priest informed the potter about the king’s faith in blind faith was the route cause. As per him these custom was meant to tire the evil in you so that it does not come again. Irritated the potter rested for the night. The next day he arrived in the local market. Since his few pots were destroyed he immediately jacked up the rates. His pot now priced at twice his normal price. The potter waited for the entire day but failed to find any customer for the asking price. Fed up with all this he slashed the price of his pots to half and sold off all that he had. At the end of this day he sat down under a tree and reflected on the day. What had he achieved? The answer...... nothing. Like a fool he was hanging from the tree , rolled over the path, fought monkeys, climbed stairs on his knees and finally sold of his pots at half his price. Why did he do all this? Because people asked him to do it. This was the custom of the land. It was just done as people believed that this had some eternal meaning which could not be explained. Not one person gave a satisfactory answers to why was this done. All he wanted was a good price for his pots which he did not get. He just got up and walked away deciding never to ever do all of this again.

We are similar this potter in many ways. Our ancestors have told us something and we just illogically do it. Go the temple on sunday, do not enter the temple on those days of a month, put a black tikka on ur head. etc etc. I don't get it when people say that put a black tikka on your head to ward of evil however black is considered the sign of evil anyways. In India we remove nazar with salt as it wards of evil and if u keep salt near you house it will attract of evil (Utter bullshit).

Coming back to my sister. She is just like the potter in every way. She can fight the world with a sword single handed. But when it come to blind faith she will just do it as others have said it. Everything in life is beautiful. God made the good and then he made the bad also. Not that the bad will kills us and harm us but for us to understand what is good and what is bad. Have you ever wondered why these animals don’t follow all this bullshit that we do. Cause they are animals. They have not been given the power to reason. We have been given that power to reason. But don’t we just love to love to complicate everything. Why is that lady staring at me? My child will have a bad stomach if she stares at her milk bottle (cover it), others should not watch me eating food or I will have a stomach upset….. OMG .... 


But that’s her. I can change her and don't want to either. I hope she appreciate the most beautiful thing is life. There are no set rule, no definitions, no principles. Its just the way you like it and the way you want it. The nomads never wore clothes but we do, it our choice. We evolved due certain people who were outcaste from society for their different thinking. The reason I wrote this blog today is that I want people to see the simple beauty of life. What may be good for you may not be good for me. When you are on your death bed the only person you are answerable to is yourself and god. Live the life you want not what others want you to.     

Don't complicate... Let's uncomplicated!!!!

Jesus Christ - The true meaning

Its wired. As a normal Sunday ritual I was getting lectured by my father about how incomplete a Christian I am. Just because I don't attend Sunday day mass, my dad loves loves to question my faith in god and the way I am leading my incomplete life. He is also equally critical about his views in the way the priest are today but still ensures that all the customs and traditions are still followed.

On the contrary I just can't stand the way the church today functions. Its all looks like a very rehearsed play, that does not seem to change. On special occasions the services is tweeked by adding some specials elements like music and song. This keeps the crowd entertained. As a child I remember the beauty of the Sunday mass. Being utterly irritated and waking up early. Queuing to take a shower, put on your best clothes and shoes, powder up (as kids we were not allowed make up) and attend mass. During the service I have been pinched by my sister for sleeping during the sermon. The best past of the mass was the recessional hym and my personal favorite "Go the mass has ended, go and tell the world".

However the utter most joy was when we left the church and went shopping with my granny. The Sunday market used to bustling with fresh produce from the local farmers, the fresh catch of the day from the sea, the chickens chirping their way etc etc. Going home and mixing all those ingredients to make the perfect Sunday dish. Usually a delicious curry and rice.

But all these customs still do not establish the importance of god in our lives. Jesus for me in one word I my best friend. He understands everything I want to say even before I say and this is what sometimes I feel. The bible has different versions of stories and take about god and his punishment if we do not do something. But that's exactly when Jesus came to this earth to simplify things for me. He gave me only one commandment." Love one another as I have loved you". Also I find it very funny and hypocritical when people talk about very big things.. Like Jesus gave his life for us, took away my sins, cleaned me with his blood.. etc etc. etc. I could never understand any of these notion till date. I tired my level best to understand but could not get my thinking to it. 

Then one fine day I was hit by a lighting bolt (metaphorically of course). I was attending easter mass and I was staring at the cross and then I realized. Jesus taught me one thing that no one else taught me that is  "forgiveness". It simply translates to he took away my sins by forgiving me. He cleansed me within his blood by giving me another chance. He gave me a new life by telling me its OK but don't give up. We as Christians just need to understand one thing that the purity of the cross can only be maintained if I have forgiven and have forgotten. If I cannot do this very basic thing that I do not deserve to go to church and pray to god.Love as I have loved you and forgive as I have forgiven you. If we as human beings understand this one principal then the world be a much beautiful place to live in.

And remember the best change can be within you. Don't change the world... start with changing your thinking. The world  will change on its own. This my simple motto for life. Don't complicate things. The more simple you make the more easier it would be.

May god bless you and give you peace in your live. Take care!!

Companionship - The views of my Bai

I had a very interesting conversation with my maid. She asked me when will I get married and I answered pata nahin. She didn't stop there she then asked kyunn nahin pata..... Pata karo aur Shaadi karo.
With the most annoyed look I thought to myself why not get take her for a ride. I said " kya karu main Shaadi karke".. She started giglling and said Shaadi toh karni hi padegi. I again asked her kunn to which she replied arree Kynnn Matlab... Karna hi padata hain.

I din't stop there I asked he" Mausi,kya hoga Shaadi karkr" she said.. Ghar basaoo, bacche paida karo, accha hoga.

I told her bacche toh waise bhi hosakte hain... She gave a very blank look as if I asked her to give me her kidney.. Nevertheless... Carrying on I asked her only one final queation .. Do you love your husband... And trust me she did not
have an answer..

This entire conversation made me realise that in an Indian society its imperative to get married. It really does not matter if you love your husband or wife... But for the entire society you have to get married. Its utterly ridiculous. In a relationship what really matters is Companionship It has lots of different takes meanings an approaches. Everyone has a different take or interpretation about it. If you as me, companionship is about being yourself and openly talking about any thing. It not necessarily have a sexual connection to.

For me companion ship has a different perspective. Its someone who is on the same wavelength like yours. Whom you can talk to anytime of the day/night. It is someone with whom you can be you.... The world doesn't matter... What matters is you..

The Programmed Heart

Yes its true! I know its sounds very strange but its the truth... our hearts are indeed programmed. It is one   in the world that does not follow any command. But still it knows how to respond and where to respond. If you observe it closely it like this mini computers, that has the capacity to perform in numerable things at the same time with pre-existing commands.

The motive of writing this blog is all the rom-com I have watched in the recent past. I am a big romcom fan.. I actually try to watch every rom com movie. Its the usual story. Boy meets girl. Either they like each other or hate each other. But in the end they know, somehow that they need to end up together. The interesting question to be answered id that how does this really happen. Is it some kind of chemical imbalance (called chemical locha in Hindi ) within some corner of the brain or is it something that makes your heart pump really fast.

Of recently I have fallen madly in love with Bradley Cooper. He has that perfect rugged looks and is extremely charming. Of course when I see him my heart skips a beat. There were similar feeling with Brad Pitt once upon a time. Though I blush at the thought of these guys I still know that there is some place empty in my heart where someone permanently will sit.

People say matches are made in heaven. I do believe this cause the Bible says that "God took a rib from Adam and made Eve from it". So this proves it that matches are truly made in heaven. What is also interesting to observe is that in a fetus the first organ that seriously develops is the heart. This is where all the decisions are made. Your brain can go wrong but your heart will never be wrong. Its is where God lives.

I would still stand by what is said. Our heart is truly programmed cause it causes chemical locha . It knows what is right and what is wrong. Its selects the best from the rest.

Go people...............Fall in love and trust your hearts, it will never disappoint you :)