The Unexpected Visitor

Last Saturday Hubby & I went to watch this play. It was the first production put up by our local Mission that we are members of – The Sadhu Vaswani Mission. The story is about a Princes, Bhoomi,  who needs to make a decision to marry one of three Princes whose proposals were all accepted by the King & Queen. The King, who is eager to get his daughter married and also keen for a good alliance for his Kingdom, gives his daughter 4 days to make a decision. This is after the Princess pleads that she would like to marry the man of her dreams who will respect her for who she is and also respect that she has her own aspirations and goals and not be just a business decision between two States needing mutual alliance.

By the suggestion of her Lady-in-waiting, the Princess sets out to go in disguise of a male beggar to each of the 3 Princes’ Palaces. She tests the reaction of each one on how the treat a beggar searching for food and alms to their Palace. The first two Princes display arrogance and intolerance towards beggars and treat this one poorly. The third Prince, Harilal, invites ‘him’ in to join him and his companions for dinner much to his friends’ dismay. He stands by his compassion and further gifts the beggar with clothes, food and money. This benevolence and principles of the Prince wins the Princesses heart.
On the 4th day, she invites each Prince individually and announces her approval or disapproval. When she is in dialogue with Prince Harilal, the Prince who stole her heart, she is pleasantly surprised that he too had been testing and observing her over the past year and how he respects and appreciates all she has accomplished and how he too has lost his heart to her.  He further reveals what he learned about her, “Hmm…Yes, I read the all reports. Setting up an orphanage for abandoned babies and young children; establishing the Women Empowerment Programmes so that women are not dependent and at the same time the Realm manages to tap into the wisdom of the silent fifty per-cent of its population…she is definitely ahead of time”.
The Prince & Princess announce their decision to the King and Queen as they walk in to the room.  The King filled with joy, speaks his heart about his feelings about his daughter and that of Women.”Harilal, when the Queen was expecting, I asked God for a daughter who will show the World that there are NO limits to a woman. I was the first one to hold her.  And even then I knew she was special… very special!   Bhoomi, is strong-headed and wise. She is courageous, daring and compassionate. Give her the freedom to express herself and you will find great wonders happening… Bhoomi’s bold decisions are behind much of the success you see in our Kingdom.   Harilal, we’re not just giving you the Jewel of our Kingdom… Nor just the apple of our eyes… We’re giving you the very heart and soul of our lives.Treat each other as equals because I am sure you know, the family that honours its girls.  The community that respects its women, and the Realm that holds its women folk in high esteem, all prosper and flourish.  They enjoy peace and harmony.  We are happy with Bhoomi’s decision.  You have our blessings and those of the entire Kingdom.”

Amen!

For their first ever production, the SVC Theatre Team did a fantastic job with script, direction, music score, costumes, casting, visual affects and yes the talent!  All proceeds are for Mobile Eye Clinics in India.

Production Team:  Sadhu Vaswani Mission UK (SVC)

Script:  Deepu Mirpuri     Direction:  Sunita Mansinghani

The Man Behind ‘The Art of the Brick’ – Nathan Sawaya

I took the boys to see the amazing pieces built of tiny LEGO pieces by Nathan Sawaya.  The Exhibition, titled ‘The Art of the Brick’ at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, was quite inspiring.

Along with the amazing creation of Sawaya and his philosophy and inspiration behind each piece, I was very inspired by his thinking and his quotes.  I would like to share some with you.

 

Nathan Sawaya:

1.  “Create what you SEE, Create what you FEEL, Create what you have NEVER SEEN.  JUST CREATE!

2.  “Swim against the current.  Follow your own path.  Find the courage WITHIN.

3.  “Art makes better humans, Art is necessary in understanding the world and Art makes people happy.  Undeniably, Art is NOT an option!

4.  “Fortunately, there are no rules in Art!”

5.  “My favourite subject is the human form.  A lot of my work suggests a figure in transition.  It represents metamorphosis I am experiencing in my own life.  My pieces grown out of my fears and accomplishments, as a lawyer and as an artist, as a boy and as a man.”

Marilyn Monroe by Nathan Sawaya
Marilyn Monroe by Nathan Sawaya

And then I woke up inspired this morning, and made this for the boys:

Untitled - Anupa
Untitled by Anupa

 

 

What goes around…£10

A week ago I wanted to place £10 in a charity box.  I did not have the cash and was not close to an ATM.  While on my chores run, I was at the supermarket and self-checked out my purchases.  On my way out I realised I had a a £10 voucher I should have used.  I went to Customer Service to see if they would honour it and they gave me £10 back!  Guess where I went with that note???  YUP!  To the Charity Box!

Today, as I was checking out of my week’s groceries including a purchase of soft drinks and juices to feed the homeless (through the YAWC), I handed some papers to the lady thinking – ‘probably a few pennies will be knocked off’.  As it turned out… I got £10 off my shopping of the drinks I purchased for the homeless!!

The circle of energy… The circle of giving, getting, and intentions…

 

Colourful Women

This site is about Women in our lives who inspire us and who leave a lasting impression on us.

The first woman in most of our lives to do so is our Mother.

So, I start this page as a dedication to my wonderful mother, Jyoti Manu Nagrani (JMN as she loves to sign off), who is 73 years old, and still amazingly dynamic.  She is my inspiration to start this blog and is my daily inner voice, guiding me, strengthening me.  When I do get a few minutes in a day to pray, I pray that I get blessed with at least 50% of her will power and her strength.

mum

At 73, 20+ years post removal and treatment of an oral cyst, she is still running her retail business which she started at the age of 45, with so much enthusiasm and still sets her daily sales targets, which she states first thing every morning to her staff.  By the end of the day they have accomplish this.  Mum can still charm anyone in seconds and can sell them products they were not shopping for, making us all chuckle at the end of the sale.

Mum is an entrepreneur.  Mum is creative.  Mum can be very flamboyant (while making sure I was the conservative daughter and she did her job right!- double-standard!) and modern for a lady of her times.

As a wife, mother and grandmother, mum is still so aware and still caters to all our needs effortlessly.  Mum just needs to know we are on our way to her, and all our favourite food, our children’s favourite food, and yes, some lovely gifts, get prepared and purchased…….. but that’s not all…… even my husband  is always left ‘mesmerized’ with her ‘presentation’ of all the above….’.  The advantage of this is….. when he does cook for me…. he presents his food as artistically as she does.  Thank you mamma… 😉 for inspiring him as well!

As a daughter, I have seen mum ‘evolve’ so beautifully, with time, with change, adapting to so many cultures and to her colourful 6 children and 6 grandchildren… and yet, her appearance and presence is so timeless.

I have still to meet another who can do so much, and look after such a big family, tirelessly, and always with a smile.  She beams and has a private ‘winnning moment’ every time she does something for us.

I can go on for pages on my mamma while all of you are probably thinking…. ‘well…. that sounds exactly like my mother’….. yes, it probably does.  So share, share, share…..

10 + 1 Big Lessons I have learnt from My Mamma:

1.  Dream, and Dream Big

2.  Follow your Dreams

3.  Anything done with a good and pure heart is real devotion.  Keep your intentions and actions pure.

4.  Serve, Serve, Serve – serve the big, serve the small, always with a smile & let go of your ego when you do so.

5. Work hard.  Persevere.  You will Achieve.

6.  Carry yourself elegantly. Always.

7.  Handle trials and tribulations calmly, clearly, purely.  Stand out like a Lotus Flower.

8.  Do your duty 200%, don’t fall short and don’t let anyone get the better of you.

9.  Treasure your true friends.  Cherish your girly moments with them.

10.  Never sit idle.  Be productive, be constructive.

11.  And just 2 months ago, she taught my boys to say…’Ouwee… GO AWAY!’.  Now that’s how she’s battled her health issues.

Mamma, I have a long way to go still but thank you for always reinforcing these.   Pappa – I love you as much, and you have taught me all these things too and more…but this one’s for the ladies.. 🙂

 

 WATCH THIS SPACE FOR OUR NEXT FEATURE OF A COLOURFUL WOMAN!

 

 

 

 

 

The Red Carpet Evening…

STD21I have the pleasure of being a member of a lovely set of women called the YAWC (Young Asian Women’s Club). It is a non-profit/not-for-profit organization where we have monthly member-run events varying from an arts & craft session, bowling evenings, mini-golf & lunch, museum tours, make over sessions, first-aid classes given by the local fire-station, cocktail making evenings and even wine tasting and tapas nights. We then have our annual fundraiser held at Diwali time, which is our biggest fund raiser of the year. We have been fortunate to raise money now to support the entire education of 15 children and 1 teacher at the Parmanand School in Bangalore, India.

This year we had a lovely evening titled ‘The Red Carpet Event’ at the Hendon Hall. Dinner, Casino Tables, Entertainment, lovely Raffle Prizes and an amazing DJ, and our lovely guest made the evening magical and helped us raise funds for yet another year of supporting our children in Bangalore. A huge THANKS to all our sponsors, supporters and donors for enriching and empowering these children!

Splat!

Although this blog is not solely intended for mummy and me stories, my funnies are mostly about my boys and me… and that’s what keeps me smiling through the day, with a chuckle here and there.

I had invited a friend and her gorgeous son over for a play date with the boys one afternoon. Again, everything goes well… the 3 boys play well, share toys, have a few giggles and few tantrums, a bit of possessiveness, and a bit of fair play… all on queue as it should be. Dinner time comes along, the 3 get seated and we mums get to work with the feeding process. My friend with her eager toddler, and I take my place in front of the two high chairs. The boys all eating and singing and chatting. The next thing I know, I have a bowl of pasta flung on my face and I’m covered from head own in a very saucy pasta! I held the bowl too low and one of the boys while swinging his legs and singing got a good kick at the bowl and voila! A perfectly embarrassing moment! I did however wish at that moment my friend had her video mode on and captured it to be poste on UK’s funniest home videos!!!

Life is fun…it’s unpredictable… it keeps you on your toes and can keep you smiling and laughing if you allow it!

First Day Back…

5 Weeks ago I went back to work for the first time since the boys were born. Well, first time going in to an ‘office’ as opposed to attempting work from home.

So on the day, I wake up earlier than usual, so I could get myself ready before the boys wake up, and get their breakfast and snack bags ready, etc. Everything goes really smoothly, the stars are aligned and in support of my efforts. The boys wake up on queue, breakfast, and then handover to Papa to finish getting them ready and in the buggy while I get their lunch organized and notes for the nanny.

We stroll out in perfect time to school, and half way there I looked down on Yash’s dangling feet and went in to instant Panic!!! No shoes!!!

NO!!! this is not happening! It was all going so well…..!!! What happened???

A quick call to Papa…. ‘Yash has no shoes, do I turn back around?’….. then be late for school and late for work on Day 1?? Papa comes to the rescue, drives over to meet me with the shoes while we wait on the side walk… and then we continue on…. Phew!! First day back funnies!! One can never be too prepared I guess… Murphy/Sod, whatever we call that law… has to make an entrance!

Welcome to Colour Me Woman

Colored Oil CanvasPeople are BEAUTIFUL and COLOURFUL.  Sometimes, it takes one with beautiful vision to recognise the beauty in another.  Most of the time, one needs to look within and appreciate oneself and recognise the beauty within!

Colour Me Woman has been created for and dedicated to all the beautiful women in the world who are a significant part of our lives, or who we desire to emulate. We tend to spend time following and idolising celebrities, and there are a large number of them, who truly are remarkable and great role models.  However, the focus here is on US and the women who walk among us.  You are all heroes in your own right and to the people who look to you.  Among us, in our families, in our communities, at work, in our various circles, are women that make a huge impact on us, on the community and many on the world at large.  We want to celebrate them.

Colour Me Woman is also dedicated to women who are so busy being … who need to come up for a breath of fresh air every now and then from their lives, be it their careers or their families, and have the need to reach out to something light, to something fun, or even a reminder of who they are deep inside.  For you ladies, we have our fun updates on movies; music; cocktails (AND where to find a good one), useful gadgets and apps; a great recipe (OR where to eat a well made one!); where and how to connect with nature, a yoga pose for the day, or fashion and beauty updates.

I invite you to contribute towards this effort….. share with us the movie you just watched and loved, or didn’t; the song that keeps you humming through the day; the drink that took the ‘edge off’; the ‘app’ that saved your day; the dish you made or had somewhere; a funny experience that kept you smiling; talk about the woman/women that have impacted you…. and anything else you would like to share…

Stay Colourful….. and Beautiful….