earful of night and a handful of thoughts

i cannot call a dark outside 'morning.' if it's dark, it's night. and so, 4:20am, i sit by the window seat in the red room wolfing in an earful of night. a distant cuckoo (koel -- i associate these climactic crescendos of a south indian koel with summer holidays spent in mysore), a drone of a bus straining to pull up hill, an occasional toot of a taxi horn, a screech of a bat, clanging stirrings of coffee cups and saucepans, the idle hum of a ceiling fan, the yelp of a canine kicked out from its slumber... as the cool outside air blows gently on the nape of my neck, i ponder the milestones of July...

sanjana: consciousness; creator; creative; knowing right from wrong; gentle.
also: vivacious; loving; incredibly active; naughty; sharp; 90% angel.
she is 4 now (in all timezones). i hear her 4-ishness in many ways. more intelligent conversations have replaced toddler babble, her "why?"s now have a slight smile behind them as she knows how much they amuse us (and sometimes bug us), her independence has a life of its own -- "i'll do it, i'm 4 now." suddenly "mom, i am a vegetarian" and her little feet are in danger of outgrowing her newest pair of shoes -- all of 3 days old.

she begins school (and schoolbus) on monday. wow! that is going to be interesting. the school has sent a booklet of all things Indus. what to bring, how to dress, who to contact for various queries, calendar, etc, etc. it is a boarding school as well with instructions for both boarders and day-scholars (sanjana). almost three months of us having each other for company is about to change. wonder who will react how.

supriya (my li'l sis) turns 28 today. she looks not a day over 16 and probably never will, the lucky thing. with a doctorate behind her, she is one of my 'most admired' people. an ageless face notwithstanding, she swims beautifully, graceful, poised, socially conscious, pragmatic, intelligent (ok, except for math -- ha ha ha -- she'll kill me), artistic (havent seen a better kathak dancer & sings really well too), does off-the-beaten-track stuff -- she's been a DJ among other things -- and argues till the sun goes down when she is convinced about something. easily my favorite travel & idle time companion, i learn something from her each time we chat -- and we chat every day! i love the fact that sanjana looks and acts like supriya ;)
happy birthday chetaps.

ok, now various lights are going on in rooms and more cuckoos and crows have decided to shrug off the night. no sun yet, but all signs point to an imminent showing ;) and with it sublimates the magic of reminiscing.

coffee, anyone?