How do I love thee...

I love you when you punch me or your dad with your little fists when we try to dress Oju & he screams.
I love you when you laugh through your scowl when I make silly jokes.
I love you when you say you want to marry me.

and

I love you when you say you want to do everything we are 'not' doing at the moment.
I love you when you chew your sleeves or collar.
I love you when you mutter under your breath when you are angry with me.

Prabh Harmandir Saajya (God decorated the Harimandir)...

There is this incident that happened when I visited Harimandir Sahib in 2002 when I was carrying Juju. (The fact that I have visited Harimandir Sahib twice in the past 5-6 years and both times I was few weeks pregnant without knowing it, is nothing short of a miracle). I am mesmerized by that place - so much that I cant quite describe the feeling. You have to go there to know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, not even the Harimandir is untouched by human pettiness. The morning & evening services there are relayed live by one of the TV channels. Which results in hordes of poeple trying to fit into spaces where the camera coverage is max. We however managed to find space in the camera's blind spot. The kirtan there is something amazing, so I inched forward till I was sitting right next to the railings which separate the Granth Sahib from the sangat. I was actually told by the priests there to move back because the place could only be taken by Panj Piarey(In this context, this meant sikh men who are in the true sikh for i.e. hav not cut their hair & wear turban)! Naturally, I shifted back but I was apalled. When this holy place was established by Guru Ram Das in mid 1500's, there were no panj piarey at all. Would he not have allowed women to sit wherever they mighty well pleased & listen to the words of the Guru's who are as much mine as they are any men's.
I always thought that Sikhism being one of the few new religions, is very modern & relevant in today's world. It certainly has very progressive views on women.
So when, Bibi Jagir Kaur, whatever her personal faults may be, when she tried to introduce reforms in terms of introducing women priests, I for one supported wholeheartedly.

Explanation of absence...

Wondering where I've been - been around half the globe & back...
My last announcement was that we were leaving for Belfast because the amazing husband had landed a job there & my dream of extending my sabbatical till my Oju reached school age was finally becoming reality.
No such luck. We did go to Northern Ireland but the husband's job didn’t work out that well - luckily, it was almost time for me to join work again as my extended leave period was nearly over. I requested an assignment in the UK as we discovered that the weather & the clean air suited my kids better than the climate in India. Well, one of our biggest clients (hush hush - a BIG Scottish Bank - must say no more :D ) wanted some work done which yours truly is rather good at so there...
So, we chanced upon this Byuuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful city of Edinburgh.
Of course, we all had to travel back to India for a month & a half so that I could get my work permit & others could get their visas in order.
And Wonder of Wonders - our permanent residence visa for Australia got approved in the meantime & we have to move there before Jan mid next year. I want to move in November this year so as to de-risk the whole thing. Fits in nicely with my project too.
But we are so fascinated by this city that as my dear huzband says - We will go away but we will leave our hearts behind - I agree (I mean where else will you find a city whose streets resemble a fairy tale set & the lanes have names like 'Candlemaker's Row' & little sailboats sailing from the rivers out into the sea ... my rant about the beauty of this place will take up another post)