Ruchi's favorite Poems, Verses, and Sayings

(Work in Progress...)

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

What makes it special is that Ashish used to read this loud to me when I was pregnant with Swati and was completely bed ridden. Sometimes I would just get sad and lonely and Ashish would read this poem and it would just completely lift me up. And Ashish's voice made it so special (even till date). My favorite part is the last stanza

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. ----- The other one is from Pythagoras. These words had profound effect on me. May be because I was more of speaking time. Learn to be silent. Let you mind listen and absorb. ------ This rubaiyat from Khayyam came at such a juncture where I always was making an attempt to live in present. Earlier I would either dwell in the past or get anxious about future. The Moving Finger writes; and having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a word of it.

Change of time

I arrived in Vegas in May 2011 all by myself and as I checked in I realized how much has changed. How much I have changed. I remember coming here first time in 1997 with my friend Sri for the first time I was amused by this place. It seemed surreal (and it is). I have come back here so many times after that with Ashish, friends, family and enjoyed but never cam alone here. This is first time all by myself and I realize how shallow this place is. So polluted fill with smoke. And my first reaction was to get annoyed. But then I remembered something else which I read on my way up here - A psalm of life by Longfellow. The gist is that you should be enthusiastic about everything you do. So here I am trying to make the best of my stay. However, within my mind I realize how much I have changed. How much my desires have changed.

Nancy Blues and the Magic Shoes (playwright by Swati)

Nancy Blues and the Magic Shoes

By Swati Goel

Age 9, Hoover Elementary School, Grade 3

Characters:

Nancy Blues – main character

Ms. Blues – Nancy’s mom

Kara – a jealous rival

Julie – her best friend

Man – the person running auditions

Scene I (Audition Hall – There is a bench where Julie and Nancy are sitting)

Nancy –Julie I am really nervous for this dance audition

Julie – I have seen you dance. I am confident that you will do just fine. You are an amazing dancer.

(Kara enters)

Kara – Hi you two. Are you here for the dance auditions too? I AM! And I do not think anyone can beat me, especially not YOU Nancy.

Nancy – J..J…Julie I .. I do not think I can do as well as Kara. I have seen her dance and she is sooooo good.

Julie – You will do just fine Nancy.

Man – who’s next?

Kara – I am!! (Shouting)

Man – Alright, ready, set, hit it – 5,6,7,8

(Music playing* D7 throughout on piano)

At the dawn of the light

At the dark of the night

With a pearl shinning bright

If you opened your sight

Oh if you opened your sight

Nancy – I do not think I can do better than this (and she runs away in tears and Julie goes after her)

Scene II (Nancy’s House – Nancy sobbing quietly and Julie sitting beside her)

Julie – Nancy cheer up. You have to practice for your audition tomorrow. You can do better than Kara.

Nancy – I know I won’t get the part. I just won’t (in a irritating crying voice)

(Ms. Blues enters)

Ms. Blues – What going on here Nancy and Julie? Why are you in tears honey?

Julie – Nancy ran away from the auditions. You know Kara that big bully who always teases Nancy? Well she made Nancy lose her confidence right before the auditions.

Ms. Blues – Really! But Nancy you have been practicing for weeks now.

Julie – Ms. Blues there is still another day of auditions tomorrow. You need to get Nancy to do her best. I need to go now to finish my homework. Bye Nancy!

(Julie exits)

Ms. Blues – Nancy, I have a secret – a dancing secret. I have a pair of magic dancing shoes. It can make someone dance even they have never danced before. But for a dancer like you they can do wonders.

Nancy (wiping her tears) – Really! Mom. Do you actually have them?

Ms. Blue – I sure do and you can have them. Let me get them for you.

Scene III (Audition Hall – Julie sitting on the bench while Kara is standing far away with the person taking audition. Nancy enters)

Nancy – Julie, Julie, I am so excited! Now I am absolutely sure I can make this audition. Look what I am wearing (Nancy pointing her to her red shinny shoes).

Julie – what are they, Nancy?

Nancy – Magic dancing shoes. My mom gave them to me. She told me that they can even make someone dance who has never danced before. And for me they can do wonders.

Man: Nancy your turn. Ready 5,6,7,8 hit it

(Music playing*E7 throughout on piano)

Then you really might see

What you just could be

With that pearl shinning bright

If you open your sight

Oh if you only opened your sight

(Nancy performs her dance)

Man: You’re in it Nancy. You did the best dancing among everyone who competed. You get the lead part.

Kara – What about me?

Man: You get the associate dancer part.

Kara: This can’t be true (Kara leaves thumping her foot, annoyed and jealous)

Scene IV (Audition Hall – Julie dancing in the background. Kara and Julie sitting on the bench)

Kara – I love the way your friend Nancy is dancing these days for all her performances.

Julie – I know (smiling secretly).

Kara – I would love to learn some moves from her. I would like to be as great a dancer as her.

Julie – You can’t. She has a secret to her dancing.

Kara – Really! And what would that be?

Julie whispering – It’s her magic dancing shoes.

Scene V (Nancy’s house. Nancy is crying and Ms. Blues enters)

Nancy – Mom I can’t do it now. I lost my shoes (Nancy says sobbing). Someone stole them.

Ms. Blues – What do you mean you can’t do it now. You have been doing all your practices so well. Tomorrow is your final performance.

Nancy – No the shoes did it. And now I do not have them anymore.

Ms. Blues – Are you ready for another secret? Those shoes were just ordinary shoes. It was all within you Nancy. Just go DANCE.

Scene VI (Stage – Nancy is on stage getting ready for her performance while Julie, Ms. Blues, and Kara are in the audience watching)

(Music Playing* F7 throughout on piano)

With a pearl shinning bright

If you open your sight

Through the cloudy night

You would see your own might

If you open your sight

Oh if you only opened your sight

(Nancy dances beautifully – at the end of the song there is a big applause)

(At backstage)

Nancy – Mom I did it!

Ms. Blues – I knew you could do it Nancy! You just had to find your confidence.

Nancy – Mommy I love you.

The End

*Original Song composed by Swati Goel

Swati's poem on 2050

My Message to World in 2050

By Swati Goel

Grade 3, Hoover Elementary School

In 2050 you’d see

How amazing science can be.

They’d be cool inventions too

Some created by me and you!

You could vacation on the Moon or Mars

With the option of visiting nearby stars.

You could travel in a spaceship of your own

To galaxies which are today unknown.

Humans would learn to respect

The nature and plants they had wrecked.

With Dodos, Mammoths, and Sabertooths

The Earth would be back to its natural roots.

You probably would say “Gee!”

If you could go to 2050.

What does D--O---G sounds like

Ashish in a futile attempt to teach Agastya some sounds asked him what does ddd - ooo - ggg sounds like. Agastya in his usual self responded "Popsicle stick"

India: Down in the memory Lane

I am back in India after 5 long years. In fact for all practical purposes after 14 long years. And boy has it changed - you bet BIG TIME. It seems like India has bifurcated into two parts - Metros and small interior towns. And the gap between the two has seemed to widen so much that I am not sure if there is any resemblance left at all. India in Metro is crowded yet vibrant, polluted yet bustling with energy, creative, and rich with tech gen who are just finding ways to spend the newly found money. I have not seen that many designer show rooms in US and Europe as I have seen here in India. The hotels on NH in Delhi close to airport cost as much as $450 a night. There are great eating joints with classy ambiance.
People are working hard as it is highly competitive work environment and almost every one wants to have a bigger and bigger title.

As you move along the roads you see all these newly constructed high rise especially in the suburbs where these construction sites are gutting more and more of the farmlands. There are few trees here and there with inches of dust on them. They seem to be bearing the brunt of the development and seem to be disappearing fast. A few that are left give such a sullen look as if requesting to be laid in peace.
You also see chawls (or slums) just outside the big cities. With mountain loads of trash around them. I could see small kids playing on the heap of trash. Looking at them made me feel guilty about the $20 breakfast I had in the morning.

The small towns are still sleepy and slow paced. You can see bullock carts and camel carts on the road. The streets are still crowded due to the sheer number of people on the road. The farms still exudes the old charm however the layer of dust is everywhere. I did not see even one clear morning where you could see sun rising. There is a perennial layer of smog on the horizon.

This time, I came with an intention of going and visiting all the places which touched my life in some form or the other while I was growing up. I also wanted to meet my old friends and family - cannot explain the reason but I had an urge to see everyone.

With this intention I started my journey from Saharanpur (my maternal grandfather's house) which is around 130 km away from Meerut. I had a great time at there . My mama used to take me to all these small cool places around the city on his bike - one of my favorite was this canal just outside the city. When I called Mama and told him that I am coming I was so touched that he went all across the city to collect my favorite food. He took me on his motor bike to the same canal along with my 3 yr old son in the front (where I used to sit as a kid).

I really went there to see my Nani (my mom's mom) with whom I am very attached to. She raised me till I was three and thereafter I spent all my school vacations at Saharanpur till I was 12. I have so many memories associated with that house. Among many things I remember my Nani buying me a toy vanity set with mirror, she making dolls for me out of the wool, and she giving me money out of her pocket expense to go and eat my favorite things on the street. I remember those endless long summers spent in making mango chutneys and papads and achaars (pickles). Some of those pickle jars are still lying there in the almirahs.

I spent most of my childhood on the third floor which is now empty (after my grandfather passed away). To me that floor is where all my memories are scattered. Right from the nook where my grandmother used to pray to the store house where I used to hide. That store house used to have huge trunks and I loved looking inside them with great curiosity as if there was some big treasure. I used to look at all the old things m grandmother had in them. The places that seemed so big when I was a kid just seemed so small this time. Right from the rooftop at my maternal grandparents house to the room in which at one point of time at least 7 of us seem to sleep with 4 beds. This time it was empty with just one bed which is almost 60 years old. Still the room seemed so tiny. There was also this old pantry kind of shelf which is at least as old as me as I always just saw it there in the same corner. I left the place with a feeling of closure. Not sure if I am ever going back there or not. But does not matter. I will always cherish my time there and I also felt that by taking my son back there he got the blessings of my grandparents.


(To be continued)

Happy Deepavali 2010

At one time or another, we have all known the paradox where after a hard day at work, we look back and feel not tired, but invigorated. That feeling describes our year perfectly; full of chaos and craziness but also enriching and satisfying.

First, the craziness. Ashish became Technical Advisor at Twitter after finishing his sabbatical there. He had an incredible experience and architected many of their algorithmic and monetization products, while maintaining his research program at Stanford. He also won the Rajeev Motwani mentorship award. Ruchi got promoted, and had her busiest professional year, launching a $2B product for her employer, Netapp. This involved non-stop work and many trips to Europe. It felt like we had four jobs between the two of us.

Now, the parts that made this year rewarding. Swati is growing by leaps and bounds. Last year she won first prize in a playwriting contest organized by the local Children’s Theatre. She was chosen into the local swim club for pre-competitive swimming and learned to ski comfortably on blue slopes. She also got adventurous and tried black a couple of times with her dad.

Agastya has become a little man with his own set of fixed ideas. He has fallen in love with tractors, tools of all types, and speaking. He likes to emulate Swati, so he has also started swimming and ice- skating lessons. He competes with Swati ferociously for every small thing; at the same time when he needs comfort he just cuddles upto her like a puppy.

Ashish's parents were visiting us this summer. Their trip was all too short, but the grandkids had a great time, learning harmonium from Dadi, listening to stories, and bonding.

We traveled to Costa Rica for our winter vacation, which was the most pristine place we have been to. The beaches were overflowing with small hermit crabs, there were iguanas everywhere, we saw dozens of different species of colorful humming birds in their wild habitat, saw lava flow from an active volcano, and walked high among the foliage of the cloud forest where moisture creates another layer of vegetation on the tree-tops. During the summer, we spent a week camping and hiking in Yellowstone and Glacier national Park; this was Agastya's first camping trip and he loved it.

Please accept our best wishes for a prosperous and healthy new year.