Portraits on Janusworx

Happy Birthday Abbygail

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530

Abby, at her second favourite place in the world.

Love knows no difference between life and death.
The one who gives you a reason to live is also the one who takes your breath away.

جینے مرنے میں کچھ فرق نہیں فرق نہیں
اُسی کو دیکھ کر جیتے ہیں جس کافر پہ دم نکلے

(jeene marne mein kuchh farq nahi farq nahi
usi ko dekh kar jeete hain jis kafir pe dam nikle)

— Ghalib

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14 (All is Possible!)

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0530

How it started & How it’s going!

Picture credits, Walter Pinto & Priyanka Saggu
Click the pic, to make big!

In love, as in dreams,
all is possible!

I love you for completing me, in every possible way. I cannot imagine life without you! 😘

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13 (Grow Old With Me)

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0530

Abby and me, sittin in a tree, c-l-o-w-nin-g!

Picture credit, Priyanka Saggu
Click the pic, to make big!

Grow old with me, the best is yet to be …

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Happy Birthday Abbygail

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0530

You haven’t changed a bit in all the ways that matter!
And so …

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

— The Bard (as rendered by the Dench)

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The Rest Is Memory

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:01:54 +0530

Priyanka, hoping Hedwig will carry her to Hogwarts.
Click the pic for a bigger image

We look at the world once, in childhood.
The rest is memory.

— Louise Glück, Nostos. (via @ashstfu on Tumblr)

81

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 05:45:00 +0530

Dad

“He’s dead?” said Princess.
[…] “Who told you that?” said Grandad.

“We keep that name moving in the Overhead,” he said, and it seemed to Princess that the wind in the shutter arrays above her blew more forlornly […]
His name is in the code, in the wind, in the rigging, and the shutters.
Haven’t you ever heard the saying,

‘Man’s not dead while his name is still spoken’?”

Excerpted from Terry Pratchett’s, Going Postal

Savio, 38 Years, In Memoriam

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 16:51:46 +0530

For the past twenty years, you’ve been the bane of my existence.
I slept with the phone by the bedside, never knowing when Mummy would call, and one of us would have to come find you, and dig you out of the newest hole you dug for yourself. And none of those years have been harder, than the one where we were estranged for the past year. Two decades of picking up after you had taken their toll.

I told you repeatedly over the years, that while all was always forgiven, it was hard for me to forget. Especially since I lived amidst the wreckage of your actions.
In fits of frustration, I would wail to Abby or Mummy, “Why doesn’t this boy understand?”

Until you decided to move on.

You were always my boy.
I taught you to walk.
I made you laugh.
I taught you cricket. I outgrew it, but it was a lifelong passion with you.

With the exception of your weakness, you were the best of us.
You outsang us in choir, even as a three year old.
You probably were the only person who I’d say was more generous than Daddy was. (to the extent of people taking advantage of your gullibility so many times.)
You had the most joie-de-vivre. You made us laugh.
You were sensitive and kind. Nobody who met you, would come away unhappy or sad.
And for all your foibles, I believe that you loved Mummy and Daddy the most. I might be responsible, Derrick might be caring, but you had the biggest heart.

You gave me your love for animals.
You saved Puppy, by making sure she lived as a puppy.
You jumped into that large stinking drain and pulled her out later, when she got stuck. Foxy, Puppy, Little Puppy, Two Socks, Pink Nose or Popsicle would not be here, if it wasn’t for you.

I might have been the straitlaced one, and you and Derrick have a bond, that is actually brotherly, but both of you had no problems defending an older brother who took life too seriously.
You believed in me blindly. You believed I could be wrong a hundred ways to Sunday, but I would never wrong you intentionally.

So I choose to remember everything that was good about you.
Derrick told me, your last words to him were, “Good, you came.”
I want to imagine you only held on, until you felt like you were back home.
And now that you’re with Daddy, I hope to see you one day, and I hope you tell me, “Good, you came” too.
You will always be my boy.
I love you.

A Eulogy for Mai

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I lost my Mai today.

Until my mid 30s, I rued the gulf that stood between Mai and me.
While my parents insistence on teaching us English, as our primary language has benefited me immensely, in most everything I do, the one thing that I feel sad about is that I speak my mother tongue (Konkani) in a slow halting manner. ¹
Which meant that I never could talk well with my grandmother.
I am one of her oldest grandchildren, and I never got to have heart to heart conversations with her, the way my other cousins did.
And yet …

My earliest memories are full of her.
Mai means mother. Odli Mai (Big Mother) is grandmother.
But to a young me, Mummy was Mother and Mai was grandmother.
Born as I was, to a young girl in her early twenties, what I got from mummy was fierce love and passionate discipline.
What Mai gave me was gentle love and wisdom.
What Mai gave me was a patient ear.
I could talk a mile a minute, and Mai understood nothing of my English gibberish.
She’d just make coo noises and hug me (and then figure out what it was that I just blabbed, from Mummy.)

I know nothing of her childhood or youth.
I know nothing of what she was as a wife and the mistress of the farm, eking a hard existence from the land.
I only know snippets of her, as a mom of a large brood of nine children.
The only thing I know, is that she was my Mai.
And that she loved me as no one else ever could.

I wish I could have kept the shirt, made out the cloth she stole and sneaked into my arms when no one was looking. All because I thought every other godmother gave their god children gifts and mine ought to, too! ²
I wish I could have kept a seed out of all the fruits she plucked for me, from the trees on the farm. (I was too busy sucking on mangoes, and then handing the seeds over to her to throw, while she laughed and howled at me ‘Paara pathlyaan dhaanv’ (Run after that seed)).
I wish I had seen her more, as I began working, as we both grew older.
And yet …

Maybe we did not need language.
She is the reason, I got over my fear of dogs (and other animals).
She is the reason, I still crazily love the outdoors and communing with nature.
She is the reason, I took to stoicism to help me through the storms of life. She was stoicism in action, my modern day Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus all rolled into one.
She is the reason, along with daddy, that I love practicing irrational generosity.

Maybe that is her legacy to me.
I carry her with me.
In my bones, in my marrow.
In my words and deeds.
And just like Shelley never let Keats die, I know, I carry my ancestors with me.
As long I remember them and celebrate their words and deeds, they live.
My father is here.
My nana is here.
Mai is here!

Because her touch and her actions spoke more than language ever could.
To me, Mai means mother or godmother or big mother and grandmother.
Or maybe Mai could just mean a big old heart, full of love.

I am to blame too, for never having learnt it after. ↩︎
Yes, she was my godmother too. ↩︎

You Make Me Feel, So Beautiful!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 05:45:00 +0530

In the silent forest, somewher in Meghalaya

I have lost my illusions, I have drowned in your words
I have left my confusion to a cynical world
I am throwing myself at things I don’t understand
Discover enlightenment holding your hand

You are …
So beautiful!

Phenomenal Woman

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 05:45:00 +0530

Pooja Singh!

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

— Maya Angelou

Happy Birthday Abbygail

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 06 Jul 2019 09:15:26 +0530

Click the pic for a larger one

Love looks pretty on you.
Makes you soft, tender, proud.
Makes you sit up and take notice.
Gives you a home to set down your things.

What a blessing it is, to have music and dancing and poetry.

What a gift it is, to look at someone and say,
I’m so happy to have found you
at last, at last, at long, long last
you’re here.

— Lang Leav

It has also been a blessing to walk by your side, sharing our lives.
It’s hard to think of me, without you anymore.
Like Leav writes, “Every time I see my name, I hear it in your voice.”
Happy Birthday, my heart!
I love you.

So God Made a Dog …

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:41:47 +0530

God said, ‘I need somebody strong enough to pull sleds and find bombs, yet gentle enough to love babies and lead the blind.
Somebody who will spend a day on a couch with a resting head and supportive eyes to lift the spirts of a broken heart.’

So, God made a dog.¹

I don’t know the actual source, but I saw it here, years ago ↩︎

Portraits – Pooja – 2

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:40:05 +0530

“One day the sun admitted
I am just a shadow.
I wish I could show you
The infinite incandescence
That has cast my brilliant image!
I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being!”

— Hafiz

It’s the Little Things

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:34:27 +0530

The little things you say
To me, and nobody else
Make me feel good
The little things you say
To me, make me laugh out loud
And not when I should

That’s why
I like to hang out with you
I never can guess
The next mad thing you’ll do
And I like that we’ve made, a mistake or two
Together

— Mikey McCleary, The Little Things You Do

62

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:33:01 +0530

Not all superheroes wear capes!

Happy birthday, Mummy!
Love from Daddy …
and the rest of your entire brood!

Almost 40

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:30:44 +0530

They danced for nearly forty long years.
And we loved them every minute.
Happy anniversary, mummy & daddy!

Happy Birthday Abbygail!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 13:20:33 +0530

You turn 34 today!
I’ve known you for seventeen of those years.
(I’ve known you half your life! :)
We’ve been in love, eight.
And I’ve been privileged to share my life with you,
and walk with you for nearly, six.

I cannot imagine life without you.

You love crazy movies;
(Which you drag me to.)
You can engineer anything out of anything.
(rain gutters out of old bisleri bottles,
window screens out of old packing material.)
You fill our home with warmth.
(occasionally by burning stuff on the stove,
mostly with love and cakes.)
You keep me sane.
(by reminding me, that all we ever need is love and fresh air.)

You’re wiser than me,
stronger than me,
and way cooler than me :)

Happy birthday, sweetheart ❤️
I love you!

38

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 12:28:26 +0530

Memento Mori
and gratitude!
That is all…

You Have My Word

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 19:15:39 +0530

“I love you, I do –
you have my word.

You have all my words.”

— Lang Leav, Lullabies

Toasty Nuts! (Or a toast to Natanya)

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 18:48:47 +0530

(My toast at Nuts’ communion reception on the 3rd of January, 2016 … posted for posterity)

Hello!

Good Evening to all you warm folks …
and a Happy New Year!

That gorgeous girl (sorry not this one – that one) over there is my wife of four years :)

She is Natanya’s much, older cousin :)
Which is how I met Natanya four years ago.
I wanted her to be my flower girl, but when I saw her, it was love at first sight and I asked her to marry me instead!

She very wisely, and very selflessly, asked me to marry Abby and walked us down the aisle along with her handsome brother, Joshua.

She was 4, turning 5 then.

At age 6, she saw her favorite uncle (that’s me), getting fat and so she volunteered to teach me Yoga.
She has helped me stay in shape ever since :)

At age 7, she taught me how to sing my heart out, because she thought I had a nice voice!
So now, nobody beats me at singing “Beautiful Sunday” on karaoke, other than the equally talented Tanya

When Natanya was 8, last October, her Abbygail Aunty fell really, really sick.
I had to take her to a big old hospital in Mangalore for a big operation.
And it was big.
And it was long.
And it took 7 whole hours.
And then, after all that, the doctor said, it was going to take a long, long while before she got well again.

There I was alone, nervous, scared and praying really hard.
And then Natanya (through her daddy) sends me letters.
One, for every day we were there.

How is Abbygail Aunty?
I really miss you.
I really, really, really, really, love you.
And just to make sure, that her dumb uncle understood, she drew a heart and explained that, that was the symbol of love; she drew a small sad face crying, and said that that was the symbol of missing some one.

Comforting messages, letters of hope, written by a child who did not ostensibly know any better.

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength …

goes Psalm 8:2

And that was when I knew, all would be well.
That was how Jesus comforted us, and took care of both of us, and got us here today.

So you see Natanya, Jesus has always been there inside you, guiding you.
And today is when He makes His presence felt, to you and all of us,through the Eucharist that you received this morning.

So, on this special day, I have no special advice; just a small reminder.
To do for everybody, what you have always done for me.
To do what Jesus says with his commandment.

Love one another, as I have loved you.

To love, like you always have.
Everytime we meet, you make me a better person.

Through your kind words,
through your concern,
through your little pieces of advice,
and through your big, big, smile!

So with Jesus’ help, leave every one you meet everyday, a little better than you found them.

A New Beginning

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 18:44:24 +0530

It’s been two months since we checked you in.
Four, since we figured out what was eating you alive.
A year and two months, since we started battling it.

You’ve been so brave, through it all!
Through scans and needles and burning meds
Sleepless nights, and broken muscles, and
A lost voice, unable to eat, to speak

And even though you’re tired,
I’m so glad we made it through.
Time to soldier on.
Time to pick up the pieces of our life.

Time to start again…
I love you, wife!

Happy Birthday Mummy

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 18:41:34 +0530

My mother wants me to write for her …
You wrote for Daddy, she said.
Now write a little something for me too.

Such is Mummy.
Satisfied with love.
So here’s to you Mummy!
Happy 60th!

Sometimes I think, being a mother is all she ever knows.
She had three boys by the time she was twenty eight.
Daddy worked two jobs, to feed us.
Leaving Mummy to handle three hyperactive boys.
And she did.

Daddy got laid off and was too old to find another job.
While Dad did his carpentry, Mummy figured, she could teach.
With three boys and the home and hearth and god knows how many of the neighbours kids wanting to learn from her.
All this she did.

Well, God’s taking care of us, she thought.
I should give back, she thought
And we don’t have money.
So let me work for him.
With three boys and the home and the little kids coming to learn, there is a little time to go around supporting the Church
As an animator, as an educational resource, an area coordinator, a parish coordinator, a eucharistic minister, a sunday school teacher…
This she did.

And she slogged and struggled and cried and laughed and made her way through life.
She did.

We’re a houseful of boys.
But Mummy’s the strongest.
She carries us all through life.

Her infectous laugh, her naïveté, her determination, her enormous work ethic, have not only inspired us, but a whole generation of people around her.

What little she had, she’s made so much of.

We certainly did not make life any easier for her.
But she still loves us no matter what.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Thus says the Bible.
That’s my mother, says I
A life well lived, that’s my mother.

All that, she is.

4

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 18:38:38 +0530

“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”

I take thee Abby,
to be my wedded wife,
to have and to hold,
from this day forward,

for better for worse,
for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part …

I will love you, and honour you, all the days of my life!

Portraits – Mama Bear, Baby Bear Once More …

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 18:17:24 +0530

Li’l Princess Natanya!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mummy!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 21:07:45 +0530

My mom is a never-ending song in my heart,
of comfort, happiness, and being.

I may sometimes forget the words …
but I always remember the tune

– Anon

And a Toast to New Beginnings

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 21:02:56 +0530

Derrick came home two years ago in December to tell me he liked a girl.

Then he told me that she was older than him.
Then he told me she was Hindu.
Then he told me, she was a divorcee with a kid.

All of this didn’t surprise or bother me.
I’d be OK with all of this no matter what, if the girl’d be good.

What did surprise me, was that my brother, my impetous, independant minded, “I am my own man” brother cared enough about this girl to seek my approval.

Which I can tell you, has happened rarely enough, I can count such moments on my fingers.

(the approval seeking … not the girl meeting)

I met her. We spoke for two whole hours.

And I came away with the belief she was too good for him.

That all these “strikes” notwithstanding, Rajeshwari was still too good for Derrick.

I firmly believe that my brother is marrying up.
I firmly believe that Rajeshwari’ll, finally make an honest man out of my brother.

I’ve seen them together for the past year and a half.

My brother is a more peaceful, more happy, and dare I say it, more sane person, because of her.
Rajeshwari is already more than a sister that we boys ever had.
She’s compassionate, she’s kind, she’s full of joy and has a wicked sense of humour.

They’re good together. And Jai completes them.

This apparently, is the place where I’m supposed to impart worldly wisdom.
From my own short three year, crazy roller coaster of married life, all I can say is,

Be together.

      Be happy.
      Be sad.
      Be angry.
      Be stupid.
      Be idiotic.
      Be ecstatic.
      Be determined.
      Be brave.
      Be whatever you want to.

All this and more’ll be infinitely better, if you do it together.

So here’s to the two of you …

Be happy!
Together!

Portraits – Abbygail – 6

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 20:46:06 +0530

Through the years, as the fire starts to mellow,
Burning lines in the book of our lives,
Though the binding cracks,
And the pages start to yellow,
I’ll be in love with you …

Dan Fogelberg

God Has Grace, Even For Fools

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:42:57 +0530

I still find it hard to believe, that I turned this gorgeous girl down, when she told me that she loved me twelve years ago!

My life would would have been so different!

But God has grace, even for a fool like me.
And, so did she.

I love you, babygirl.

To quote Lang Leave,

I don’t know how you are so familiar to me—or why it feels less like I am getting to know you and more as though I am remembering who you are.
How every smile, every whisper brings me closer to the impossible conclusion that I have known you before, I have loved you before—in another time, a different place, some other existence

I love you so much!¹

I wrote I love you twice and was about to edit and remove one of the lines, but Abby thinks I could love her twice over and let the line stay. So here babygirl, I love you thrice over! :) ↩︎

Portraits – Bachchan Pandey!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:27:34 +0530

Dashing! daring! Action star! Pandeyji!

Friday Photo – Au Revoir, Zei

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:25:51 +0530

I’ll miss you soooo much my little muse!
I’ll miss your your constant chirping and your husky laugh!
I’ll miss your joie de vivre!

And yes, I will cry blood tears! :)

Portraits – Pooja

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:23:33 +0530

– Li’l Baby Pooja

Friday Photo – One More Beti ;)

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:22:04 +0530

– Madcap muse

Portraits – Abbygail – 4

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:20:51 +0530

– In her rocking chair … enjoying her siesta

Portraits – Dad

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:16:35 +0530

Wood worker, Craftsman, Music aficionado, Artist, Father, Husband, Superman!

… his blood runs through my instrument
and his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt
to imitate the man
I’m just a living legacy
to the leader of the band

Portraits – Sheetal

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:12:42 +0530

–Sheetal “Carpe Diem” Kamble

Friday Photo – Baap, beti!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:11:15 +0530

Happy Children’s Day, Bonny :)

Portraits – Sachin

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:09:42 +0530

— Sachin Rane

Friday Photo – Here be dragons…

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:06:06 +0530

There’s a little hidey ho plant at my Grandma’s

Filled with dragons! :)

Portraits – Dreamy li’l Abby

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:03:02 +0530

– Dreamy li’l Abby!

Friday Photo – Saas Bahu

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 18:57:48 +0530

– Zei & Jaya

On Li’l Zeimona!

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 18:50:58 +0530

Sad li’l Zei

Li’l goonda Zei

Li’l kooky Zei

Li’l blah Zei

Li’l “Look at me, I’m a scooty model!” Zei

Happy li’l Zei

Really happy li’l Zei

Really, really “I’m so happy I could dance, because it’s my birthday” li’l Zei

To my li’l muse,
It’s funny how you’ve walked into my life and made a place there… like you’ve always belonged!
I pray you always be happy, and that you always have your sense of innocence and gay abandon.

Happy Birthday, my little one

Lots of love,

J

Portraits – Abby … in a Mess

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 18:43:16 +0530

Portraits – Abby… With Her Tea

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 18:35:03 +0530

Enjoying her cuppa …

Portraits – Alisha

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 18:31:47 +0530

And time flies…
The little mutt who would chase & hug little dogs outside my home has grown into a smart, beautiful, wonderfully poised woman.

Portraits – Raj

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:47:33 +0530

Raj … lost in thought

Portraits – Abbygail - 3

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:43:32 +0530

The better half …

3

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:40:52 +0530

Dear Lord,

Thank you for making this bundle of mischief my better half

And help me always keep her this happy.

Even if it means, I have to wear funny clothes to do that!

And Abby – I love you!

Portraits – Subhash Chavan

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:20:39 +0530

– Subhash Chavan

On 36 Trips Around the Sun

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:15:10 +0530

This year, I realized…

Memento Mori! I’m not superhuman. I’m lucky, nay blessed to be alive.
Some people change… some don’t. I have to learn to live with that.
Being debt free is an awesomely freeing feeling.
Meditation and prayer help.
I was a fool to have given up on reading and music.
“Bird on a Wire” is the soundtrack to my life.
That whenever I’m down, all I need to get rid of sad, depressive thoughts is to look up.
That’s it. It always works.
Crane your neck and look up. Try it :)
I have very few friends. But they’re awesome.
I am luckier than most when it comes to my work & career.
Vivek & Vinay, I cannot thank you guys enough. You guys both have been so influential and so supportive in my life, I cannot express my gratitude enough. You guys are my other family. I love you for all you do.
I spent my childhood being scared of my parents; my teens, resenting them; and my twenties in rebellion and thinking that they were not so smart.
Turns out, they were the best thing to have happened to me.
I know that now.
And I will spend the rest of my life in gratitude and love as far as they go.
And finally…
I should have married Abbygail, twelve years ago.Yes, I was wrong Abby, and I hope this public admission lays our one long standing argument to rest :)
The past three years with you, have been bliss and to quote The Platters… “Only you, can make this world seem right!”

Thank you, Lord!
I could not ask for more.

The Mystic

feedback@janusworx.com (Mario Jason Braganza) — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 17:13:01 +0530

The man is a mystic, a loner.

I think he is content all by himself.
He likes sitting by himself, lost in his thoughts.
He used to love long walks at night gazing at the stars, when he was young and able to.
He loves listening to Jim Reeves or Patsy Cline crooning as he relaxes after a hard day at work.
His is a man of faith, of prayer.

And yet, I have never let him be.

He was never by himself, having shouldered the reponsibility of his large number of siblings, his parents, his wife and his three kids.
There was no quiet for him, with our constant demands for attention.
Yet, if I am a good responsible human, who yearns for solitude, I owe it to him.

He could never really enjoy the stars, because he had three noisy kids who would walk with him at night, peppering with with a thousand questions.
And yet, today if I enjoy the moon at night or point out the stars to my wife, I silently thank him.

He would get barely 10 minutes of listening in, before I would hog the tape deck and blare disco and pop.
Today, it’s mostly his music that I listen to.

I have had several crises of faith. But I see his devotion and think, if God is good enough for him, He’s good enough for me.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you.