In a regular health check-up 15 days back, when my mom's TMT (Tread-mill Test) showed baseline positive, little did we know that we were going to go through the worst patch in our closed-knit family life.

Meet my mom: 52-year old, slim (she proudly proclaims she is "almost size zero" and she is not kidding, believe me), health conscious (she is done with the advanced course of art of living, and has been practicing yoga, pranayam, om vilom, sudarshan kriya and what not for more than 2 years now), very active (she teaches English in middle and senior school) - she has no family history of any heart ailment, she is not diabetic, no BP problems.

In a follow up angiogram, and then angiography on 18th Feb, mom was diagnosed with severe blockage in all the three main arteries to the heart - 80%, 80% and 90%.

We all were shocked - the doctors were slightly taken aback too.

Life defies logic, they say.

Science could not help us ascertain the reasons but scientific advancement helped us take immediate remedial actions. Mom went in for angioplasty - there were multiple complications and I do not even want to recall what was going through all our minds and hearts - we helplessly held onto faith - hating god for putting mom through this and at the same time thanking him for guiding us to the right course before anything worse could happen.

By God's grace, the operation was successful and mom's been recovering well.

We had a family reunion after almost a year - given my work schedule, Priyank's college, mom's school, dad's work, it becomes difficult to synchronize vacations - but we all realized, so blatantly - our strength is in our togetherness - that is living - cherishing our love and the bonds that bind; happiness is here, within - we cannot and will not give up - together we can fight, and win; so what if we are not together on festivals so many times - when our hearts are one - when we are together and for one another, life's a sparkling Diwali, a benevolent Christmas, a colorful Holi, anytime, anywhere.

Happy Holi.

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And that explains the brief hiatus on the blog.

I am back home, with my folks in Noida, after almost two years and it’s been simply wonderful. Nothing feels like home…having been away for such a long time, the whole experience of homecoming has been awesome. It’s so comfortable to slip back to the old days’ holiday lifestyle…lazy mornings, late baths, no cooking, mommy’s food, dad’s pampering, endless ringing of the phone, incessant chatting with relatives, neighbors and friends (the antiseptic life of U.S. of A where your neighbor is also a complete stranger was getting to me) and all the Indian delicacies, shopping, mall hopping (sorry, this is common to all geographies) and the continuous banter and fights at home with my darling bro.

The only difference this time is that my hubby is around…but I guess this fact hasn’t changed much. Vish has easily become a part of our small family except for the VIP status he enjoys when it comes to selecting the menu for the meals and small things here and there. My parents are still getting used to the fact that he is as normal a kid as their other two kids and can live without all the attention he gets ;).

In these two weeks, have caught up with relatives, friends, neighbors…there are so many changes but all superficial…nothing’s “really” changed. Thank god for that! My baby nieces now go to school, some college friends are beautiful (and am not sure if dutiful as well) wives, some school pals are proud mommies, the neighbor’s kids now have beards but they are the same people I have known for years. The distance of two years have not dented our relationships, we met like we have always met. Ditto for the cities…Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad, where I have spent almost 25 years! There are more flyovers, metro connectivity has increased, lot of construction, infrastructure enhancements for the Asian Games due in 2010, bigger malls, better brands, increased auto fares but the spirit is the same…raring to go in the midst of the crowds and the dirt, in the midst of the peak hour traffic and the non-peak hour lull, and in the in the midst of the extremes of devastating poverty and disgusting opulence.
For good or for bad, I guess nothing “really” changes…

Am back in Chennai from the week starting 01/05 and it will take some effort to gear up for the work routine again but the party never ends…I just take a break!

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