Poems ,Stories and lot more .. By Maneesha Purandare

जसलोक हॉस्पिटलच्या १४व्या मजल्यावर, समुद्राकडे तोंड असलेल्या या खोलीत बसले आहे. समोर अथांग समुद्र दिसतोय, पण मनात मात्र असंख्य विचारांची गर्दी आहे. काळजी आहे, भीती आहे, आशा आहे आणि मनाच्या एका कोपऱ्यात एक प्रश्न सतत डोकावतोय... मी जे केलं ते खरंच योग्य केलं का? आईची थोड्याच वेळात हृदयाच्या व्हॉल्व्हची शस्त्रक्रिया होणार आहे. पण आईला विचाराल तर तिच्या मते तिला काहीच झालेलं नाही! “मी ठीक आहे गं. थोडा दम लागतो एवढंच. वय झालं की एवढं होतंच.” पण किरणला आणि मला जाणवत होतं की हे केवळ वाढत्या वयामुळे नाही. ही तीच आई आहे जी माझ्यापेक्षाही कितीतरी फिट होती. डोंगर सहज चढायची. रोज कमीत कमी दहा किलोमीटर चालायची आणि तरीही तिला थकवा जाणवायचा नाही. पण हळूहळू ती बदलत चालली होती. थोडंसं चाललं तरी दम लागायचा. पटकन थकायला व्हायचं. साधा स्वतःसाठी चहा करायला उभं राहणंसुद्धा तिला कष्टाचं वाटू लागलं होतं. मागच्या वेळी मुंबईला आले तेव्हा तिला हॉस्पिटलमध्ये घेऊन गेले. म्हटलं, सगळ्या तपासण्या करून घेऊया. पण विश्वास बसणार नाही... बाई चक्क हॉस्पिटलमधून पळून गेल्या! सत्तरी पार केलेली आई अशी हॉस्पिटलमधून...

I was sitting in a very posh patisserie in the heart of Mumbai’s business district, pretending not to listen to the management meeting happening at the next table. I failed completely and, if I’m honest, I continued to overhear every word because I wanted the gossip far too much. Heheheheheh... There were three management consultants discussing the launch of a new chain of patisseries. And judging by the seriousness on their faces, you would think they were negotiating the national budget rather than deciding where Mumbai should buy its next croissant! Saarvi, was one of them .. Mumbai born and bred, dressed entirely in black, with light eyes outlined in dark kohl, she had the sort of piercing look  She leaned forward. Saarvi: “Right. Let’s align on the launch strategy. Mumbai has to be our flagship market. Location, product mix and customer experience have to work together.” There it was. Align. Strategy. Flagship. Customer experience. Four management-consultant words ...

As I sit on the 14th floor of Jaslok Hospital, looking out at the sea, my mind is anything but calm. Mum is shortly due to undergo a valve replacement surgery, and I am filled with mixed emotions, anxiety, fear, hope, and above all, that nagging question: Have I done the right thing? Because if you ask Mum, there is nothing much wrong with her. “I’m fine,” she says. “I just get a little breathless. It comes with age.” But Kiran and I could see what she perhaps did not want to see. This is a woman who has always been fitter than me. She has climbed mountains in a jiffy, walked at least 10 kilometres every day without thinking twice, and rarely seemed to tire. Gradually, that woman began getting breathless and exhausted after the slightest effort. Even standing long enough to make herself a cup of coffee had started becoming a chore. During my last visit, I took her to the hospital for cardiac and general investigations. And believe it or not, she fled from the hospital! Can ...

So I did something wildly different … I booked a coach trip. Yes. Voluntarily!!! Why a coach, you ask? Because there’s something oddly poetic about sitting by a giant window, doing absolutely nothing, while the world scrolls past like a slow Netflix documentary. No driving stress, no Google Maps drama… just you, your thoughts, and comfortable seats. Now, unlike London coaches packed with energy and chaos, this one had a very… distinguished vibe. Let’s just say silver was the dominant hair colour. Not judging, just observing. I felt like the youngest intern on a wisdom retreat. Destination Sussex. Weather glorious. Mood joyful.. We reached just in time for a late breakfast and then wandered into a castle that looked like it had been rehearsing for a period drama. But honestly, the gardens stole the show. Tulips posing like divas, rhododendrons having a colour party, azaleas showing off, and forget me nots quietly gracefully displaying their beauty!  I of cou...