The funny side of my robbery was suprisingly brought about by my mom... at first she was concerned about my safety... Level 1. Level 2 was the sadness with the lost jewellery.... They were so pretty.... pity I wont get to see them again... said my mom wistfully....

I was lying down on the sofa all the while trying not to listen to such lament....

and then my sister joined forces.... "you know I am glad she didnt get up in her sleep and see the robber.." said my sister while helping my mother sort out the beans.... 'actually, I am glad she didnt wake up and actually offer the robber coffee.."... at this I turned!! whattttt ??? really people.... what kind of nut did my sister think I am .... on seeing my quizzing look my sister immediately corrected herself "oh sorry. I forgot you dont keep coffee in your house. you would have offerred him diet coke or juice? Rights???" and my mom guffawed at the thought of me serving the robbers coffee in the middle of the night....

By now a nice fluffy pillow was halfway across the room enroute to meeting my sisters forehead....

It helped lighten up the situation a bit... all of us laughed a nervous laughter hoping to drown out what had been averted .....

There is something surreal about my world right now... given that I have just been the victim of a brazen crime... and a very daring one at that ... ofcourse I am thanking God profusely for having saved me from all harm... but now my view point to the world is actually coloured by what happened....

First off I am eternally grateful for the good things I have in life... and such good things are not measured by the wealth I have (which ofcourse can be taken away by a crafty robber)but by the intangibles in your life... your friends, family, your sprit, your safety, your mind, your zest for life.... stealing is not the way you loose these things...yuo lose these things in normal course and out of your own active action...

I am also concious now how bad the world really can be.... for one there are those who really pretend to care but dont really care... and you are left wondering "wait, isnt this person my friend?".... I have come to realise that expecting good from others is really not sane....

I have also realised that life is about making peace with what you cannot change... my stuff has gone and I probably will not get it back... I just have to make peace with it... and not fret on and on about it.... like I have to live with the fact that many people in my life really dont care about me....

One of the after effects of a robbery while you are in the house is the realisation that you are really really vulnerable.... a feeling that many would share on seeing the tsunami on tv..... its like you can try and be whoever you want to be but at the end of the day nature and a higher power control who you are....

While I lost money, the most precious possession of mine - physical safety was protected... it had to be someone smiling down on me to protect when the robbers were rummaging through my stuff in the bedroom.... and to think if I had just got up and seen the robber.... it gives me shivers still....

for days on end I could not sleep peacefully.......and I probably will not be able to sleep peacefully for a long long time....

I debated whether to write this post... I tossed and turned and tossed and turned and tossed adn turned.... till I decided that writing to me was therapeutic... and hence this writing....

I was victim of a crime recently... a most daring crime of house robbery.......

till date I keep thinking about the power of God that made me escape what could have easily been ugly... and God forbid anything had happened I would have just been a statistic to society, a lost resource to my employer and a terrible loss for my parents and some friends.....

the crisis also shows you who are the people who run to you with help... the people who dont loose nerves when you are in a crisis... people who will remain strong for you when you are at your worst.... people you can count on... and who will not be too busy to call you to check on you...... and who are just a phone call away....

I am too stunned to actually take what I am feeling seriously... all I can say is thank god you are not a victim... and keep praying that you are not a victim....

Its always good fun to interact with my nephews... nice to see the new generation coming up... but as always I expect them to follow what we did in our lives and wonder why they are so different... guess I will not make the best parent in the world....

Anyways Baby George was in Mumbai with me for a few days... and we had the best time ever.... he started speaking to me about his friends back in tanzania.... so what are the names of your friends?

Om, Mohammed, Shanoo, Anand....

And Baby George informed me that he doesnt like girls... 'they are not my friends'.... and then when I probed him a bit more he told me that he bit his friend Anand in the bus... why??? cos Anand said he was not my friend.... way to go kid.. bite someone who refuses to be your friend... hahaha.... and he started off by telling me that he had 5 friends and when I asked him who is the 5th friend he quickly reacted back saying 'the whole world is not my friend',... point taken kid....

anyways now they have left... after the euphoric victory of India winning the world cup... everytime i screamed Baby george would get scared... and then I took him fort he victory parade at Carter Road.... all in all India in a different light....