Au Revoir Eddie.

 Au Revoir, Eddie 

You’ve been good to me, as I’m on my way 

I’ll be off road, for some days, I’ll be away. 

So many sighting last night, you thrill me.

Today, now 11 minutes in I’ve already counted three. 

We don’t judge Eddie, the ilk of you and I

Unlike those who ride us, always projecting 

Their contaminated minds on to other. 

We don’t judge. That’s what I like about us. 

Function before form, that’s the norm

That you and I and others of our ilk, understand. 

We don’t discriminate against, color or conduct,

Knowing how we conduct ourselves is to suit the job at hand. 

Having said that, Eddie; do you wonder, like I do, 

If our Spirits align, like mine does with you? 

Of all the others that traverse the road we share,

Why is that it’s only your presence excites me, 

For the others my levels of affinity, are not the same,

Even though we traverse sometimes shoulder to shoulder 

Perhaps sometimes to a common destination 

Sometimes, to perhaps never meet again. 

Now again this crack of dawn, we passed side by side. You were a bit slower,

Responsible as you always are. 

You know Eddie, the other thing I like about us?

No pain or defeat in our gaze, no sense of confusion in our eyes,

Unlike the Spirit of those who we carry, more my kind than yours,

We don’t have the convoluted sense or non sense of identity. 

See you in the Spring Eddie, I’ll stay behind, but my humans lift off 

For a few days to warmer climes. 

What a glorious couple of days, the sun shine brightly,

With minus two below, the overnight activity of making ice, 

Left its mark everywhere. 

At 10:30 am, with the sun still quite high, 

What a display of twinkling, winking diamonds 

In no rush to go on and about. They twinkle and wink from every surface

Before they will melt away, give way to day. 

Au Revoir then, Eddie we’ll meet in Spring. 

Till then, be well, and safe wherever you come and go.

Don’t forget, to get your snow tires.   

Your friend, Mercedes E 220D 

and Veenu

12/08/2022

9:32 am

Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bees, how are things with you?

 I’m sorry there’s too many pesticides, 

And why people have no clue, 

It’s not too hard, and why it’s best 

The right thing we do! 

Busy Bee, you know hard it was for me,

To get this off the ground,

Every thing grows more complex each day,

Wish things would turn around. 

And folks would be more down to earth,

Appreciate you, Busy Bee, and 

Understand your true worth? 

I hope this will make a teeny tiny difference,

When they read what has been said about you,

And your friends in the gardens,

So here it, my little offering, without further ado!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNYXG57V/ref=sr_1_3?crid=252HXP1P9BLWB&keywords=veenu+banga&qid=1670200623&sprefix=%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-3

Veenu Banga

12/05/2022

12:45 am.

Another year, one past, the next starts

  Time goes away, memory brings it back, round snd round, we go in circles. I thought it was yesterday, but did not feel it. My body, soul and spirit know better. It was today, and I felt it. The sadness, the tears, though far lessened, still flow easily when I miss her. Sometimes, when I think of her bravery, her fierce zest for life, I’m amazed. 

Climbing the St. Augustine lighthouse, at age 80! Insisting on using the stairs in their building, from the top third and fourth floor penthouse, in Hyderabad. Always. When the driver would come to take her out, even if he took the lift, she took the stairs.  

She was far from perfect. My dear beloved mother. But she was all I had, and with her passing, I became an orphan. Something I did not realize then.

However, I’m far from alone. Any child, every child must but have strong emotions with regards to a parent. Whatever that may be. I can say that I was blessed, but for her, I would not have been given the opportunities that I did. 

Just as we, as parents, are prone to err, she may have made mistakes, except I see none. I am amazed at her grit. In 39 minutes, this day will be over. Another year will start afresh, counting down the time. 

To my mother, grandmother and grandfather, and to all our ancestors before them, my humble obeisance. I live this day because you came before me. My children are here, because you did all things right. Why does one feel, that we don’t do justice to our ancestors? I wonder, if you all, my ancestors, felt the same in your lifetime? 

Never a moment when I do not look back in gratitude and adoration. Of you. 

Your ever loving daughter,

Veenu 

10/16/202211:26 pm

All Children are little people

Even babies. All children are little people. As adults, and especially as young parents, we tend to forget that children are little people, with personalities of their own, right from the time they are born.

When we truly engage with children, we realize how different each one is in their actions, reactions, acceptance, non-acceptance, and general outlook of their life and circumstances.

Children never cease to surprise me with their innate intelligence and quick grasp of the information they encounter. Sometimes, we as adults do not even realize how much they can grasp. Adults can unintentionally underestimate a child’s level of intelligence. In my opinion, we should not hesitate to introduce our children to new words and ideas that stretch a little beyond whatever level they are. You’d be surprised.

When my daughter was just over a year old, I hand-made her first book of Alphabet. I illustrated every picture myself and wrote the letter of each Alphabet, in both capital and small letters, using the Marion Richardson style we wrote in my school, the Convent of Jesus and Mary, New Delhi.

My daughter and I read this, her first book, every day before I read other story books to her. She was about eighteen months old when one time, as we were driving down a busy Main Street, she excitedly shouted A! She pointed her finger toward a billboard and saw the Apple logo on the computer company’s advertising. (A for apple) My daughter was a late speaker, and this A! was probably her first word! She was essentially reading before she could talk.

It was a happy surprise, and I am pleased to say that it inculcated a sense of curiosity and desire for learning in my child. Later, in high school and college, she always took on additional subjects than required and earned extra credits. She is well-rounded and extensively knowledgeable about various topics. Her love of reading has sustained her well.

Writing this blog post is to justify my use of vocabulary not usual in children’s picture books. I am not writing for the little child. I am writing for the little person.

My storylines are longer and more engaging than most books written for very young children. The reason for this is to encourage children to have a longer attention span, which is lacking in our cultural environment today due to excessive exposure to too many distractions, not the least of which is TV, with its quickly changing optical frames. The emphasis is on ‘gripping’ a person’s attention, not engaging it.

When my children were little, we read story books every day. Many that I read to them were later read and re-read by them as they grew older. They grew with the books and learned as they grew. They developed their own tastes. Now my children introduce me to different genres. They surprise me with their reading preferences, more so my son.

I sincerely hope your child finds my stories engaging, exciting, and informative. I hope your child feels they have progressed with the book and expanded their learning. As they read, they grow with the book. All children have favorite books, and I hope mine will be among your child’s favorites.

All children are little people, and all children are society’s most precious assets. It gives me immense pleasure to write for all the little people out there who look forward to having a book read to them or to read one themselves.

Veenu Banga
October 5, 2022

There should be a law..

 That every single day of our lives, we have stop whatever we are doing to watch the sunset. 

Saw another spectacular sunset, driving to Costco, about 30 minutes away in Coventry. Most of the time, it was on country roads, and not just the sunset across the open fields, and the odd village, but on the east of the horizon was a beautiful double rainbow. So beautiful, just so, so very beautiful. Open sky, shades of blue and the clouds, lined with liquid gold, as if it was a piece of stained glass and the gold edges were holding the clouds together. 

Normally I like the freedom of a watercolor effect, because the watercolors tend to bleed a little, asserting their freedom, breaking through boundaries- they are not constrained, like oils or acrylic, which btw was my mum’s medium of choice. Today, the sky was structured, though wisps of cloud still strayed away. 

So yes, about the law, it must be considered by any sane society, to encourage its citizens to feel good by being in nature. After all, we count our lives in days, everything is made up of days, like weeks, months and years, so what a shame if we’ve lived life, and to not see the day come to a close? 

The clock has just gone past midnight, so technically, while I started this on Thursday, it’s going to be published on the blog on Friday. 

I should know better. Maybe this is one more alarm I will set on my phone, to remind me to stop whatever I’m doing, and come time for sunset, I will head our, stand by the door, or better still go out to the hill in the park overlooking the Tesco’s, and admire the sky and the sunset. 

Veenu Banga

9/30/2022

12:13 am.

The worlds within our World!

 We coexist with the worlds that inhabit our world. We just never think of it. What made me realize that could well be a teaser for what’s coming from me!

Next book intro: A Fun Way To Learn! series

As we walk the earth in our day-to-day lives, are we aware of a whole world alive and thriving in the trees? 

This story unfolds the days and nights through the curious eyes of a fun-loving, friendly baby sparrow and his siblings. Meet the Sparrows' neighbors and the world they inhabit in the tree tops. Find out their fears. See their excitement when Ethan and Adelyn fill the bird feeder and when their Mama Sparrow heads to the birdbath. Eavesdrop on their conversations.

*Pictures and new words for your little ones to help expand their vocabulary.*

Been a bit grueling with this one. Back and forth, etc. And now I’m finally close to the finish like, with bringing it all together. 

Navratri started today!

Veenu Banga

09/26/2022

11:35  pm.

The rain was

 A bit of a damper. But, not enough to stop us from having a marvelous day. 

After losing a few posts when I accidentally deleted them, I hope this one survives my tired bones, but exhilarated spirit. It was such a great day. Visiting all our favorite haunts, it was like we had never left. 

Seven years is a long time, and something’s had notably changed. For starters Pinocchio, our favorite local Italian was no longer in business. In its place was another Italian restaurant. Rob the humongous store was very much there. I still remember my surprise seeing their wine cellar for the first time. It must have been the size of a regular grocery store in Florida. Then there was the cage, which looked more like a chapel, because of the ornate wrought iron gates that housed wine bottles with visibly displayed price tags of thousands of euros. 

One location of Pizza Saco was also permanently closed. Covid must have extracted it’s toll. Other changes included changing traffic patterns, with increasing padestrian areas, especially near the city Centre areas such as Centraal and the Grand-Place.  A bit of a damper. But not enough to stop us from having a fabulous day. 

The day showed us all four seasons. There was rain when we started, then it became cloudy; followed by sunny, and then rain again. A hail storm quickly followed this! Back to sunshine again, and soon dusk was asserting itself with a coolness in the air when we returned to our hotel. 

We had a great breakfast/ brunch at Le Pain Quotidien, followed by a late lunch at Bia Mara and the walkabout in the abovementioned areas. We went to St. Nicholas Church and spent about 45 minutes there. We were then shopping around the area going to our old favorites. 

We had the best intentions to go to Pizza Saco for dinner, but the Gods had a bigger and better dream dinner in mind for us. For that story, we will have to wait till tomorrow!

Veenu Banga

09-16-2022

11:26 pm.