October 15th : Pooja Ghalke

"Aren't you supposed to be tall?" This is the first thing I asked when I met Pooja in a restaurant after almost 6 years or so. The last time we met were at her elder sister's wedding. She laughed at me for asking such stupid question but took it as a compliment which she always does. We have known each since kinder garden but not exactly in the same way as other cheddi buddies, we still are distant strangers separated by time once for almost 14 years and then a mere 5 years but she always amazes me for the way she is. I still remember her calling me one time asking me to listen to her show at 7.am in the morning on a City Radio. Her telugu was obviously the most funny thing one could ever listen to but being a Marathi she made sure to get rid of her language barrier at an early age. Not a cake walk when one becomes an Eamcee but I am sure she must have done it with ease.

Our Birthday wishes usually happen in a systematic procedure. First I wish her on Oct 15 and remind her that mine was three days earlier. She would then put up a short smiley of dismay and wishes me back. But surprisingly I totally forgot about her birthday this time until facebook reminded me with a notification. Oh so even I could forget her birthday, I chuckled. Done with her masters in mass media in Newzealand, I am glad she loved every moment staying in a foreign country spreading her joy in all directions and I am sure Newzealand will not be the same once she comes back to India. She is one of the best persons I came across who could always keep my sarcasm in check so as on from this birthday I give my word to her that I will never be sarcastic with her. Mainly because I dont want get the taste of my own medicine from such a sweet person and secondly because her smile is more imporant for this world to witness but not her anger to throw some verbal jab in return

Kal ho na ho Moments :

Pooja is my hindi teacher's daughter. That's one of the very few things I remember from my first school. I had a teacher who I think taught us Hindi, I may be totally wrong if Hindi is not what she taught. Pooja had a elder sister Neha who was always protective of her little sister. And Pooja's brother used to play cricket, that's someone whom I was always scared of. He with his cricket used to scared the hell out of me. The last thing I remember about my teacher was that she was a lovely person and was strict enough to keep our Nautanki out of her sight.

I wasn't even aware of her until my other friend told me. I was shocked and sad to know on how God could be so kind to take his dear ones too early. I was then told how Pooja's smile kept everyone intact in such a situation. She was there to console everyone. That's when I understood how my teacher taught them life's best lesson before she left. That is to live every moment as if there is no tomorrow and that's how everyone & everthing around you would turn Awesome. Thats the power of a happy smile, that's the power of love and that's the power of Hope.

You are the pretty woman,
Forever walking down the street,
As long as I have the energy to shake a leg to that tune.

                                          

The Goddess :

You are like Goddess Durga helping everyone of us to get rid of our fears of future and live life to the fullest. Every day as we live, we will try our best to live in that hope and joy that its going to be a fantastic day. Pardon my analogy as I keep referring to mythology as its one of my favourite dictionary to turn to when ever I need to make an amazing statement.So keep smiling and spread your love to every devotee you come across. Kill the bad in us and let us find our own good in ourselves. every word as you speak, every joke you crack, every tantrum you throw is a blessing we take with a happy heart.Give this world a second chance to respect women and someday your anger will vanish knowing how even a cold blooded murderer could turn into a noble man. All we have is hope and Hope is going to change this world into a beautiful place once again.

Allow me to dance at your wedding pooja. Dancing in your baraath will be one of the many dreams which would come true for me. It will be honour to have known you for all these years even when we talk rarely. You are one of my first friends I ever made and you will continue to be few of my best friends till the end of time.

Happy Birthday buddy,
Stay awesome,
Keep Smiling.