Within My Universe - Leslin's Blog Journey

Corona Lockdown Diaries  Cactus Bloom 2020 My chronicles of the Cactus plant at our house, in bloom this year. It is about 12-15 years old, and it blooms into flowers every May, for about a month. The flower bulbs open around 10:30 pm onwards, and they close up by the next morning, around 8:30 am. It's one of the miracles of nature that I feel incredibly blessed to be able to witness, each year. I will try to post regular picture updates of the flowers that bloom this year, on this page. Night 1 2nd May 2020 3:00 a.m. One flower 🌸 🌵 The second time they bloomed was sadly when it rained very heavily for the whole night in my hometown, as a result of which the flowers were ruined and I couldn't get any pictures. More pictures and updates to follow.  Picture credit: I, me and myself. 😌

Quarantine Anecdote - 1 Sunday, 29th March 2020. I happen to be a self-confessed animal lover and I love animals of every kind, dogs and cats obviously included . However, I have heard numerous tales about cats being downright evil. Being in lockdown for nearly a week now, no thanks to the not at all dear Covid-19 pandemic, I saw this with my very own eyes today (I mean the part about cats being evil, of course!) We happen to have quite a few cats around our house in Mangalore, which me and my parents often feed, and I love playing with. My dearest jealous dog, though, who sadly happens to have a thing against the cute felines, has a field day chasing them daily. Earlier today evening, I was busy watering the garden, with my trusted doggy assistant by my side, when I saw her attention suddenly shift to the bushes nearby. Looking in that direction, I spotted a pretty little tomcat, almost hidden in the shrubbery near a young coconut tree, keenly eyeing Munni (that'...

SUCCESS AND FAILURE There are certain times In each of our lives When anything we venture into Just disappears into the blue; When all our sweat and toil Is simply destined to be foiled; When even our best endeavour Is acknowledged by none whomsoever. It hurts to not be appreciated; It hurts to have our aspirations deflated; To see people ignore your virtues And jump at the slightest excuse To point out our imperfection; To leave us in utter dejection; The look of defeat in our eyes Brings an apparent glow in theirs. We learn the hard way That effort is never lauded; Only success is of significance No matter how that success has been achieved; This world is not a place for a dreamer Or so it seems to me; It is for the ruthless competitor; Someone I don't think I can ever be. -Leslin Sushma D'souza

Do feelings even matter? In this era of internet and smartphones Where relationships begin with a like on a picture And end with the blocking of a profile Does fondness matter? Where emotions are considered a joke Where tears are considered a sign of weakness The mark of an attention seeker; Just worthless drops lost from our soul; Do tears matter? Does attachment matter? Attachment causes misery It's the source of all hurt and pain Affection only makes you feel inadequate Do sentiments ever matter? Gone are the days Where we waited days on end For a word from that special someone; A little hi brought tears of joy to our eyes We live in times Where relationships end with a one line text Is life that simple? What is the way to be happy And never get hurt? Will we ever have an answer? -Leslin Sushma D'souza

My mother taught me To be strong in the face of adversity My mother taught me To face all my problems with a smile My mother taught me How to survive in this cruel world My mother taught me How to not let myself be taken for granted My mother taught me What true happiness is all about My mother taught me How to find joy and laughter in little things. My mother taught me How to be a WOMAN My mother taught me How to be ME. LOVE YOU MOM, More than words can say. Love you mom, Although I know it is something I never say. Happy Mother's Day To my mom and all the amazing mothers out there. It's your day, not just today But every day. 💖

When the going gets tough, How do you convince yourself to get going; How do you tell yourself that you are tough, strong; How do you not let yourself just crumble under pressure and stress????? How do you prepare for the difficult times That lie ahead How do you make yourself realise That you can get through this; That this too, shall pass? That you will emerge even stronger? That this is, but, a mere hurdle To reach your journey of success? That all it takes Is just a bold step ahead? How? How? How?

I am in the bus on my way to God's own country, Kerala, as I pen this down. It's 1:00 a.m ., a fact I realised just now while looking at my phone clock. Sleep, amusingly, loves playing hide and seek with me when I travel, hence, while watching the trees (and buildings) pass by and thinking I should have probably been an owl 🦉, I thought of writing (typing?) down a few thoughts. The original destination that had been selected for the trip was Delhi, अपनी दिल्ली... But plans have a habit of not working out at times, and given that I live in Mangalore, we finally decided to travel slightly closer to home this time, and thus Kerala was decided upon. You'll have to wait a bit longer, Delhi... Kerala has always been on my list of travel destinations; however, for some reason or the other, this is my very first trip there. I somehow used to end up on a trip to a totally different destination every time.. Oh well, better late...