Venkat's Random Thoughts

 Rivika - My grand daughter and best friend On this very day 11th September ten years back two things happened, 1) The tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the twin towers in the US and  2) The birth of my Grand daughter Rivika, The second child of my son Anand and Mallika. Both the events are unforgettable in my life ,On the day of the 9/11 attack, I was in Bath UK on a visit to my son in UK and heard the news on the TV at a relation's house. On the day of Rivika's birth I was in Mumbai and on hearing the news , i booked my tickets to visit my son's in laws in Ghaziabad, U P to visit the latest arrival. I immediately posted on my Facebook page the following lines.   "Off to Ghaziabad to meet the latest addition in the family!!      My grand daughter" Needless to say I was very excited and was keen to see and hold this bundle of joy in my hands. We did travel and attended the naming ceremony in Ghaziabad. I next met her on her first birthday when I ...

              A humble tribute to a great Soul I am writing this post in memory of my first cousin Renuka alias Bala who was snatched by the cruel hands of death from us all on May 21, 2020. For those who do not know  who Bala was She was my first cousin, eldest daughter of my father's sister Rajalakshmi. Our families were closely linked right from the days when we were neighbors in pre-partition days in Karachi. Though I was born in Karachi, in 1944  we landed up in Mumbai as refugees during the partition. The two families with some  other handful of South Indians ended up in Dombivli, a distant suburb of Mumbai. We continued to be neighbors. In 1958 we moved to Sion, my father having purchased a flat there. As luck would have it my Athai's family also landed up close to Sion, in the then Koliwada now known as GTB Nagar, continuing to be close by. I am writing below a short narration about her life. I was very close to her and used...