Chelsea Morning

These words bring the inanimate to life ...

Woke up,

it was a chelsea morning,

and the first thing that I heard

Was a song outside my window,

and the traffic wrote the words

It came a-reeling up like christmas bells,

and rapping up like pipes and drums

Oh, wont you stay

Well put on the day

And well wear it till the night comes

Woke up, it was a chelsea morning,

and the first thing that I saw

Was the sun through yellow curtains,

and a rainbow on the wall

Blue, red, green and gold to welcome you,

crimson crystal beads to beckon

Oh, wont you stay

Well put on the day

Theres a sun show every second

Now the curtain opens on a portrait of today

And the streets are paved with passersby

And pigeons fly

And papers lie

Waiting to blow away

Woke up, it was a chelsea morning,

and the first thing that I knew

There was milk and toast and honey

and a bowl of oranges, too

And the sun poured in like butterscotch

and stuck to all my senses

Oh, wont you stay

Well put on the day

And well talk in present tenses

When the curtain closes

and the rainbow runs away

I will bring you incense owls by night

By candlelight

By jewel-light

If only you will stay

Pretty baby, wont you

Wake up, its a chelsea morning...

-- Joni Mitchell

Fuzz, Thank you for this CD, it's beautiful :)

Picture Perfect

I watched some fresh green grass on a small lawn outside a pretty house today. The blades seemed in high spirits, chattering away. There was a little brook that flowed alongside. The sky was clear, with clouds, like cotton. And a bird flew with his friends.

I remember drawing this very picture in a scrapbook 2 decades ago. Somewhere along the line I lost this image only to resivisit it today and discover the sheer joy that it held.

All is happy, happy, happy.

This crazy Aunt wishes...

My dear baby nephew,

When you grow up, we will have many a conversation we will call 'bonding sessions'. We will use these to discuss life, your women (or men, it's really ok - you can tell me), school, goals, vision and music. I will sometimes talk about cricket. You will try hard to understand my passion, but sometimes you won't. And that's alright. Don't worry.

We will take walks. Where I will complain of my aching bones. And you will tell me that I sound like a 100 year old when I neither am nor do I look it. I will say you're being nice and that is one quality you got from me.

From time to time I will become nostalgic and tell you to live life to the fullest, like your dad, my brother - always did.

Yes, your dad was a pretty crazy man. But he somewhere decided to become more intense and serious with life. Or rather, let me correct myself. Your father was ALWAYS intense. About everything. The good things and the bad things. And somewhere decided to become more intense and serious about the good things.

We will laugh loudly. At jokes big and small. I will tend to giggle too at many points. Yeah...that won't ever go away.

And of course we will analyse lyrics to rock 'n' roll. Always stick to that music. It is eternal. If you like rap, you will get one.

There could be heartbreaks. But it is important to find love, and if a few heartbreaks lead to finding it, they are ok. Take them in your stride and make peace with them. And the truth is the feeling of being in love is always beautiful, whether it is for real or not. Don't be afraid to let emotions in. Don't bottle them up, they tend to get nasty.

You will find that I tend to get philosophical from time to time. Only because I am. I had a panic attack once in school. I fainted and recovered. Was alone at home. But went outside and meditated. And I didn't realise but I was staring at a statue of Gautam Buddha on the porch while meditating. I seldom believe in signs. But if there ever was one, this was it. I was meant to be peaceful. And I will do all I can to achieve this. And so must you.

Always travel, if you need money to do it, I will help you. Every birthday, festival and achievement of yours I put aside $5, which I will give you when you ready to travel. I want you to spend this money on buying books and awakening your mind. Also, learn to speak Hindi, and read our mythological tales. Amar Chitra Kathas are wonderful.

So this is what I call Gyaan, and brace your self for a lot of it. Just remember wherever I am and whatever I am doing with life is irrelevant. If you ever need an agent, call me. I'm in the book and I WILL show you the money.

For now let me go back to watching you go pitter-patter across the floor, like a beautiful lil' butterfly...