In remembrance of Soundarya, on her 33rd birthday...

While this post is dated April 12, the day that it now is here in Alaska, in India, it is now April 13 - the birthday of my late Muse and soul friend, who was Soundarya Ravichandran when I first met her and became Soundarya Anil Kumar on the day that I took this picture.

Muse - soul friend - beloved by all who knew her - remembered today, her 33rd birthday, and every day. Seen here with sister Sujitha (Suji), left, and her Aunt Vasanthi - early on the morning of the day that she would marry Anil Kumar, another beloved who we also continue to mourn. In the background is her cousin, Buddy.

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I take a blurry iPhone photo of Melanie and Charlie and see the impression of Mom; Little Miss Vaidehi: Eight studies

In midafternoon, I received a call from Charlie's cell phone, but after I answered, "Hello Charlie," I got this response:

"It's me, Melanie."

And indeed, it was. The two were just driving out of Anchorage with Charlie at the wheel, headed for Vagabond Blues in Palmer. Melanie asked if Margie and I wanted to come to Palmer and join them for coffee.

I said, "sure," but I could not get Margie to leave the house so I would have to go by myself.

I took a shower first, and then suddenly discovered that I was going to leave later than I intended.

I rushed out of the house and when I got to Vagabond, was shocked to discover that I had forgotten my camera.

This left me with only my iPhone, the lens of which is hopelessly smudged.

That was okay. I would go for the impressionistic effect.

Boy. When I look at Melanie in this blurred picture, the impression that I get is of my mom. Physically speaking, Mom really seeped through me into Melanie.

But Mom would have never joined any of us for coffee. The thought that we were even drinking coffee would have broken her heart.

As it happened, in the end, although she never saw me take a sip of coffee, her dedicated Mormon heart was thoroughly broken anyway and that broken heart took both her life and Dad's thereafter.

Afterward, Melanie rode with me back to Wasilla and Charlie joined us here. We ate Spam chunks for dinner, mixed with rice and veggies. It was pretty good.

Then Jim and Charlie hung out for awhile.

Chennai, India: Eight studies of Little Miss Vaidehi

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 1: With my lens cap

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 2: With her mom, Vidya

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 3: With her keyboard

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 4: She reaches for the ball

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 5: From the arms of her father, Vijay, she marvels at the girl in the mirror

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 6: With her Auntie Mel from Alaska

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 7: With her grandmother, Vasanthi

Little Miss Vaidehi, Study # 1: With her dad, Vijay

To anyone who would like to see a more contemporary version of Vaidehi on YouTube, as recorded by Vijay, here you can find her laughing or singing.

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A pushing boy, a walking man, a mountain in alpenglow; the lovely Sujitha of Bangalore, who so badly wants to come to Wasilla

This morning, as I walked, I saw this little kid pushing his pedal-powered four-wheeler up his driveway.

And in the early evening, I saw this man walking past Wasilla Lake. In just three months or so, there could be young women in bikinis lounging about on that beach just to his right.

I'll bet some of you looked at this picture and didn't even know there was a beach there, or a lake.

Here I am, stopped at a red light on the corner of the Parks and Palmer-Wasilla highways, looking back at Pioneer Peak through my driver's door rearview mirror.

My niece, Sujitha, has been in this blog before and I am certain that she will be here again. She is a regular reader and every now and then she leaves a comment. She did yesterday, and she badly wants to come to Wasilla. She wants to meet Kalib, she wants to meet Margie.

She wants to meet all of her Alaska family. So far, she has met Melanie and she has met me.

I took these pictures, along with one of her and her true love, Manu, the day after the wedding of her sister, my special friend Soundarya, to Anil. In my 2009 review of May, I posted the one of Sujitha and Manu, but I haven't posted these.

Until now.

Sujitha, we all want you to come to Wasilla. So hurry up. 

Sooner or later, we want your whole family to come.

Here she is, with her grandfather, Natarajan. I took these photos in the Bangalore living room of Murthy and Vasanthi, the parents of Vivek, who married Khena, the daughter of my little sister and made us all family.

Here's Sujitha in that same living room nearly two years earlier, taking part in a women's ceremony for the Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Beauty. That's Vasanthi holding the flame and my good niece Vidya, who loves animals, behind.

Sujitha.

I have photographed but the tiniest hint of the magnificent nation of India, yet, I have so many images that I have never even had a chance to take even one look at myself, and I know there is some good material in there.

I still hope that in the future I will somehow find the time to go through, do an edit, and put up a whole bunch of posts.

If I do, I will mix it all up with Wasilla, just like I did here.

Anil returns from the temple - the wedding will continue

Protected from the hot sun under the umbrella held by Ganesh, the man who would be his brother-in-law, Anil walks down the stairs toward the temple.

In the temple, he performs rituals, including the drinking of holy water. He prays.

Afterward, Ganesh again gives him shade as he climbs back up the stairs.

The musicians herald his return.

Anil will wed Soundarya. Everyone is happy.

Vasanthi marks a blessing upon his forehead.

All are joyous as they move back towards the door to the hall.

With his mother-in-law about to be at his side and his mother at her side, Anil leads the group from outside back into the hall. The wedding ceremony is about to continue.

Of course, it was never really interrupted at all, and Anil did not have any doubts about going through with it, as the whole cold feet and persuasion episode was just a part of the ceremony, as it has been among his people for a long, long, time.

Bride Soundarya makes her entrance

Bride Soundarya, wearing a special, traditional, saree, climbs the stairs toward the hall with Vasanthi at her side.

And look, there to the left: my own daughter, Melanie, looking so beautiful in her new saree.

Before entering the hall, Soundarya stops to pose for pictures. It is hot - searing hot. Steaming hot. Especially if only days before you were driving a snowmachine on the ice of the Arctic Ocean.

But even Bangalore people say it is hot. "It never used to be this hot," they say, "but they have been cutting down too many trees."

As she poses, little boys come running by. In the background, cooks sneak away from their job and come out to take a look at the beautiful bride. Remember, a click on the picture will bring up a larger copy and then you can see those cooks a little better.

After the pictures, she is again joined by Vasanthi as well as her younger sister, Sujitha. The two sisters are very close.

They step to the doorway that opens into the hall.

The bride and her entourage is about to enter.

Into the hall they come. The fans above are not working. They provide no relief from the heat.

Yet Sandy and her entourage all look cool and beautiful. They move forward, toward the stage where groom Anil awaits.

And then they walk right past the eager groom.

Sujitha glances at her own husband, Manu, as they continue on.

When I first met Sandy and Sujitha nearly two years ago, I was told by two different relatives that marriages would soon be arranged for each of them. "Whoever told you that told you wrong," Sandy later said to me in an online chat.

Both chose their husbands themselves.

The procession is complete. Soundarya will soon change into a different saree.