Preeti Shenoy's blog.

The picture clicked recently shows my daughter and my brother

Death. It has a way of creeping up on life, when you least expect it and it also has a creepy way of showing up inside your mind. Even the minds of little children.

My children were in bed yesterday. I had just finished the marathon story-reading sessions that we have, turned out the lights and was about to leave for my bedroom.
My 5 and half year old daughter’s voice rang out
“Mama, can I ask you something?” Usually these ‘somethings’ that are asked, are very amusing. So with Pavlovian anticipation of a good laugh inside my head, I said

“Ask away”

“What will happen to both of us, if both, you and papa die?”

My mind worked at lightning speed, to give her a convincing answer.

“Well, you can call up Prem mam and he will come and pick you up”

Prem is my only sibling. We share a very close relationship. The children call him Prem-mam. He is their super hero. He is younger to me. He is a ‘big-man’ now .And I don’t mean just physically—He…

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“To move freely you must be deeply rooted"
---Bella Lewitsky

Good painting is like good cooking.It can be tasted but not explained. Therefore I am not even attempting to explain it.And I am not even sure it is good !(But yes, I like it) It is just an expression of my deep rooted emotions.
It is called Deeply rooted.

It is a mixed media collage-painting(again!) that I made today. Thanks to my friend Tyler Durden(again!) who continues to find new ways to inspire me.


And here are some quotes which say all that I want to, about paintings.


" Thirst will parch your tongue and your body will waste through lack of sleep ere you can describe in words that which painting instantly sets before the eye”
---Leonardo Da Vinci


" Eloquence is a painting of thoughts." ---Blaise Pascal


"Painting is very easy when you don't know how,but very difficult when you do."
---Edgar Degas


“For me, painting is a way to forget …

Happiness makes up in height, what it lacks in length.To me, it is like a butterfly.Beautiful.Free.Yours to see, feel and enjoy.Never to possess.If you try to own it, you kill it.
I wrote this poem very recently.(On 22nd january 2007.)

Elusive Joy

Fractured thoughts
Dreamless sleep
Rootless love
Running deep

Eternal quest
Quiet unrest
Recurring memories
Seeking to forget

Anguish, loss
Corroding deep
Wanting more
Losing sleep

Moments march
Time ticks on
Now it’s here
Now it’s gone!

© Ps

What does happiness mean to you?

This was not going to be a sad post. I had planned a nice happy thing to write about and had got nice photos too. I usually update my blog in the night, just before going to bed, or early the next day, if I haven’t updated, the previous night. I thought that by the time I write this, I would have cried sufficient tears and passed on my sorrow to sufficient friends, and would feel better-- so that I don’t blog about misery.

Alas, that is not to be.

I watched mykitten getting killed this morning by a stray dog. I rushed to save it, but the dog had already bitten its neck, deep. It was bleeding and writhing in pain. It could barely lift it's head, off the ground. It's body was convulsing. Violently. It was struggling, exactly like a fish struggles, when taken out of water. I couldn’t bear to watch helplessly and I rushed to get my car keys. But it had already died.
Life. So unpredictable. You are there one moment. Could be gone the next. Even if you are not a kitten!(That is one gre…

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I haven’t seen ‘Fight club’ though it has been on my list. Yet, I can relate to certain parts of Tyler Durden. Especially when he says

“Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.”

Or when the voice-over says “This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.”

That is when I feel a bit sent…

There is no escape from Shakira's video and it is on, all the time, on various music channels. Many see it as 'dirty dancing'.I love the way she moves.

My children are amused that I actually admire her dance.

"Yuck mama--How can you like her?" they echo in chorus.

"But look at her dance.Can you do that?" I ask.

My nine year old listened to the lyrics.(and he doesnt know Spanish)Then he says

"Does Shakira have a mouth on her hips?"

He claims he was trying to make me laugh.I did.
It took me 10 seconds to figure it out.
And I continue to smile when I think of it.

Click on the photos to enlarge .The third kitten is a bit shy and refuses to pose for the camera!

Dogs and children for some reason, gravitate towards me! I’m really good with both. I can spend hours in the company of dogs or children, without getting bored.

I’m not a cat person. I don’t hate them either, like some people do. Then again, I love most animals and since childhood, I’ve always had a variety of pets, ranging from a rescued bird that couldn’t fly, hamsters, fishes, a rescued kitten, a rescued squirrel, and dogs. I was forever, bringing home, one kind of animal or the other. In one of the places that I lived in, my house was next to a Blue Cross shelter. I was a familiar figure there.

Now, these three kittens and their mother have clawed their way into my life, with their cuteness ,charm, cunningness and antics. I have a patio that leads into the garden, and there is a rocking chair there, where I usually read my morning newspaper. The kittens have now discovered the joy of roc…

This is what it said about me when I did the quiz.I do not know how much of that description is true [:-)] , but I was honest when I answered the questions. There are about 40 questions, but you can choose in what order to answer, as they are all attractive visuals.You click on a visual that appeals to you.Then answer,then again choose another visual, and so on till you complete it. The order in which you choose the pictures, also probably ,determine the end result.
It was fun!

"Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is a speaking picture"says Simonides.I couldn’t agree more. I love poetry and have read poetry to my children ever since they were babies , and now they love it too.



This lovely poem is taken from a book that I often read to them.I love the illustration that accompanies it, as well.Click on picture to enlarge

Why do I like this poem? Because, like most of the ones I like, there is a beautiful play of words.It is so simple, such beautiful thoughts, most of all , it makes you think. Don’t you agree?
Some Opposites
Richard Wilbur

What is the opposite of riot?
It is lots of people keeping quiet.

The opposite of doughnut? Wait
A minute while I meditate
This isn’t easy. Ah! I’ve found it.
It’s a cookie with a hole around it.

What is the opposite of two? A lonely me,a lonely you.
The opposite of a cloud could be
A white reflection in the sea
Or a huge blueness in the air
Caused by the cloud’s not being there

The opposite of opposite?
That’s much too difficult.I…