The 'M's of my life

Menon – My last name is MENON. In my school days, we were 3 girls by the name Geeta in the same class. And so, in order to differentiate between the 3 of us, class mates and teachers added either our last name or the initials of our middle or last names to our names. So, one Geeta was Geeta K (my best friend to date), the other was Geeta G (her 6 year old twins and my sister’s 6 year old daughter are school mates and best friends today – a small world indeed!) and I was Geeta Menon. And thus, my last name was a very important part of my life growing up. In college and later at work, my last name was not used as much, but continued to remain very much a part of me whenever I filled out any application or form. Then, I got married….to my husband……whose last name is……yes, Menon. And just like that, with a signature on my marriage certificate I had gone from Miss Menon to Mrs. Menon……and my last name…..the name I had known since the day I was born….stayed with me. When my children were born here in the US, their birth certificates needed their mother’s (my) ‘maiden’ name. And both the times, the nurses at the hospital came back with the form I had filled out stating that I had mentioned my maiden name as ‘Geeta Menon’. They were sure I had made a mistake since my husband had the same last name. And when I explained that ‘Menon’ was indeed my maiden name, they were puzzled and asked me if my husband and I were related to each other before marriage. But the fact of the matter is, before my husband came with his family to ‘see’ me before our marriage was fixed, we had never met each other. We found out much later that one of his closest friends lived in the same building as me and he had visited his friend’s house a few times before, another of his friend’s father was my father’s colleague and they had also been our neighbors in the past and finally, my husband’s closest friend’s sister was my college friend! Yet, we had never met each other. So, is it possible that we may have perhaps crossed paths in the past? The romantic in me wants to believe ‘Yes’. And since unlike in movies, such happenings in real life are not accompanied by background music……I guess I will never know. What I do know is that we were destined to be life partners……and I was destined to remain Geeta Menon.

Mumbai - MUMBAI….the only place I ever called home until I got married. The place where I was born, raised and educated. The place where my parents and sister still live. The place where many of my friends still live. It’s been 13 years since I left Mumbai……and a lot has changed since. Malls have come up, cells phones which were uncommon back then are now a necessity, there is more traffic, more noise, more pollution……and yet, in spite of all the changes, Mumbai continues to remain very much ‘mine’. My heart cries whenever Mumbai is in trouble (severe flooding in rains, train bomb blasts) and my heart swells with pride when I hear about the ‘Mumbai spirit’ (people helping strangers at such difficult times without a second thought). The excitement I feel when the plane lands at Mumbai airport is beyond words. I have noticed that every time the plane is about to land, my husband (also from Mumbai) and I have a big smile on our faces as we excitedly tell each other…Pohach gaye Mumbai! (translated: We have reached Mumbai!). Yes, no matter how far we may physically be from Mumbai…..Mumbai continues to remain close…..very, very close to our hearts.

Music - As a child, I would go to sleep with the radio beside my head listening to songs. My Dad would later come switch it off after I was in dreamland. And since then, MUSIC remains an important part of my life. I am not formally trained in music and I am not a great singer…..but I connect to Music or rather Music connects to me. It can leave me happy, joyous, serene and some music can even move me to tears. I start my day with music, songs are always playing while I am driving my car and music is on while I cook. Because music is to me not just a source of entertainment….music touches my soul.

Movies – I love watching movies. And while I appreciate and like good meaningful cinema, I also love watching mindless, colorful, full of emotions, songs and dances movies which can entertain me. And language is not a barrier…..Malayalam, Hindi, English, Tamil and even languages I can’t understand which have English sub-titles…..any movie which interests or entertains me. I even love watching children’s movies…..it is so much fun watching those along with my children….to laugh and giggle with them…to become a child again for an hour or so. Movies…..that source of entertainment which enables us to sit back and relax…..which enables us to step into make-believe worlds, which enables us to get in touch with so many emotions at the same time….which sometimes helps to distract us from our worries and problems. Yes, without doubt, MOVIES is an important M of my life.

Signing off knowing that the ‘M’s of my life would be incomplete if I did not mention ‘Malayalam’ (my mother tongue….a language I am proud of…a language which though raised in Mumbai my mother insisted I know not only how to speak but also to read and write); ‘Multitasking’ (which I often do in order to fit in the many things I love to do in my life) and ‘Meditation’ (those few moments in my day which help relax and reflect) and this quote by Muhammad Ali

‘What keeps me going is goals’.