Of balloons and surprises...

Surprises are these tiny packets of joy that unexpectedly come your way and make life better... However, I had quite forgotten the feeling till recently i was at the non-receiving end of one !! D had been feeling miserable due to the mysteriously cruel workings of fate (details are not necessary) and was working hard trying to not show the obvious.... I got a brief about the situation from a common friend (V) and I was trying to figure out what could be done to make her feel better. What usually works to my disadvantage is trying to put myself in other people's shoes and then analyzing the situation (why this very admirable trait is a problem at times has the stuff for a whole post and therefore will be dealt with in more leisure at a later date... ;))... In this case however, that turned out to be the guiding light to making D feel better. I only needed to imagine myself in her position and i knew what would make me feel better... a wonderful surprise !! When happiness comes knocking at your door out of the blue, it makes you dance with joy and forget the burdens of the sorrows within... No words of consolation or comfort, no promises of hope and success work for me... but a sweet gesture or a wonderful surprise can bring me from the barren and lonely confines of sorrows untold to the beautiful gardenia paradiso...That was it... all in then needed was a list of things which i would want someone to do for me when i was depressed and off we went on a shopping spree... First on the list were balloons... there is something about these tiny pieces of rubber that remind you of childhood and innocence.. they also symbolize a carefree existence unmarred by the worries of the adults. When a balloon flies into the sky, it takes your spirit for a ride... it symbolizes freedom and joy !! Balloons are indeed these tiny bubbles of hope and joy.... short lived they may be but life is better with them than without... What else would I want ?? A nice dessert never fails to make you feel better... (glucose/sugar and endorphins are the explanation, but hey, who cares !! :)) So, off we two went and bought some delicious brownies and fudge cakes !! Chocolate - sinful, it may be portrayed as ,but it can make even the worst days seem tolerable ... The flowers of course called out to us... I am sure they wanted to play a part in cheering up a tired soul... so we grabbed a few pretty daisies along the way... and marched off towards the destination. As me and V walked along, of course, we encountered a puchka wallah... needless to describe ,as any true blue indian would know the wonders of a good plate of gol guppas... crispy 'bubbles' filled with a spicy mixture (it is a full fledged exercise for all your taste buds - impartial to the sweet, tangy, sour or the hot.. !!) ... And knowing D and S's fetish for them, how could we ignore the puchkas... so, of we two went and bought a load of gol guppas.... Finally, after all this shopping we rushed to the venue hoping to catch D off guard and asked S to bring D up to the terrace (the venue, BTW)... The surprise had the desired effect (at least visibly) and then the sulk on D's face was replaced with a big smile... My day was made !!! All this while, with the shopping, I was also worried about D not feeling better despite all this, and that big smile at the end of it all proved my worried wrong... (Never else is being proven wrong such a source of comfort... !! ) It was amazing how in the thrill of arranging a surprise for D, i had forgotten my worries for the day... !!! Guess, surprises work both ways... In the everyday mundane, somewhere along the line, I had forgotten all about the thrill of giving or getting a surprise... I am glad i remembered a valuable lesson... :) So next time, someone is feeling a little low... plan a surprise and you will feel good at the end of it too... !! :D