Saluting Woman Power!

When I was asked to write about the one woman I look up to, it did not take me long to come up with an answer. It is my grandmother.

My grandmother was the most courageous and progressive woman that I have come across till date.

Being a woman, what she lacked in physical strength when compared with a man, she made up with her inner strength. It was this innate courage that helped her cope with this roller-coaster ride called life.

Her patience, tolerance, courage, and compassion were the four pillars of her strength.

She was a woman who was barely educated (in the traditional sense she had been to school only up till class 3), yet she was one of the most knowledgeable women I ever knew. She had embraced the philosophy of aryasamaj. Her views on society, politics, education, women’s liberty would leave any so called intellectual to shame. She had read all the Vedas and was a truly liberated woman.

She encouraged her husband, my grandfather to move to the city (Delhi) from a small village in Haryana because she wanted a better life for her children and herself. A truly ambitious woman, she left no stone unturned to help her husband fulfill his dream of a flourishing business in Delhi.

It was her loving and motivating presence that allowed her children to excel in their chosen fields.

She raised her granddaughters as sons and instilled a sense of independence in them from a very young age.

Today, she may not be there with me anymore. But she has left her values and courage as a legacy to me and my sisters.

This women’s day, I take the opportunity to salute my grandmother and sing a song in her honor, praising her dignity and a sense of self respect.

Redefining romance!

Growing up on a staple diet of mills and boon novels, I had a certain notion about romance...very very mush, extremely OTT, and the hero and the heroine would inevitably ride together into the sunset! There would then be that predictable happy ending with the declaration "And they lived happily ever after!" 

Then I read Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell where the hero and the heroine did not ride together into the sunset, where the heroine did not swoon at the sight of the dark, brooding, grumpy, filthy rich and sickeningly gorgeous hero. Rhett Butler, the sexiest fantasy man to date was all of what I described earlier, but the heroine was different too. She was no virgin, definitely not miss goody two shoes, had a mind of her own, and stood her ground in front of the super sexy Rhett (I'm almost swooning already at the thought of him!), and did not cry copious tears pining for the man she loved. She wasn't apologetic about using him for financial security or about using any means whatsoever (what is popularly and cheaply known as womanly wiles) to get him back when she realized that she wanted him. And in the end Rhett and Scarlett do not ride into the  sunset. Instead of the happily ever after, the book ends with Rhett telling Scarlett "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" To this Scarlett replies "I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!"

Wondering what's gotten into me? Why have I suddenly unleashed this summary of probably the original chick-lit novel? 

Well, over the years, I thought I had finally become practical and mature and had moved into my Scarlett/Rhett romance era as opposed to the Mills and Boon romance era for good. ;)

That was until today!

:) the thing is that today was my parents' 30th engagement anniversary! not wedding anniversary but engagement. And what happened during the course of the day took me back to my pre-Gone with the Wind fantasy days!

8:00 AM: My parents and i are driving to the nearby park for our customary morning walk. Mom casually mentions, do you know what day is it today? I take the hint and excitedly say that it is their engagement anniversary. This of course was for my father's benefit who I was sure would not have remembered. :)

12 Noon: Papa comes home to pick his tiffin. Mom packed kofte for papa. Normally, she would not, coz papa is a diabetic, but today was special, you see!   

3 PM: Papa calls to check if my mom is around. I tell him that she isn't.  I ask him if there is a message and he shyly says "Nahi aise hi baat karni thi." 

He then goes on to say, "Achcha aaj wo hamari anniversary hai na. kuchch lau?" I tell him excitedly, "bouquet le aao." :)

8 PM: Papa and my brother are having dinner. Mummy enters the room. My father is shy to give the bouquet to her so tells her "ye bouquet rakha hai." hehehe. Mom looks at it and like any self respecting woman would storms out of the room. I ask her "kya hua? papa itne pyar se aapke liye bouquet laye hai aur aap..." and she says "dia kaise?" :) i go to the room and tell my father "ache se do na, warna nahi manengi" then mom walks in again. This time round papa gives it to her nicely with a smile on his face. I wish you all could see the look on my mom's face. She was blushing like a teenager. hahah I know this is getting more filmy by the minute! 

10 PM: Papa Mummy go for an after-dinner walk. Normally, my brother and I accompany them. Today, we give them some privacy. Its a moon-lit night and my parents walk hand in hand. (Okie that bit I added on my own :) but it sort of fits in!) 

11 PM: Papa tells me that he will ensure that she takes her BP medicine first thing tomorrow morning. He says "Mai apne hath se khilaunga. Fir kaise bhulegi?" 

 Who says romance dies after a few years of married life...my parents are going great guns...with god's grace! I think I am going to stick with the mills and boon romance era for a while now! :)

Butterflies in the tummy!

 

****! the expletive is a result of the few butterflies who seem to be wreaking havoc in my tummy right now! You know that feeling when you are trying to keep everything in your tummy down but they seem to be having a party of their own! 

Have been having a few of these riots in my big fat tummy lately!

I remember feeling like this when I sat on one of the rides in the amusement park last year....you can't control the excitement...you can't decide if you want it at all, you aren't sure if you want it to stop! Hell, you aren't even sure if you won't go back to the ride to experience the feeling all over again! 

So a lot of things seem to be happening...a lot of changes...and I always thought I had a huge problem accepting change...then I turned 30-1 and I realized that I could live with any thing life had to offer :P

Honestly, not just griping as a woman on the wrong side of 25...but life takes an about turn when you reach the ripe age of 29. :)

I'm deviating again....So, like I was saying...this time round the butterflies have had quite a few occasions to party.

Let me not be a party pooper and spoil their fun...I wont spill the beans on the reason for their celebration either! All I'll say is...on account of my old age, could the adult larva please keep the noise down? :D 

Oh! and I'll heartily welcome any suggestions that you may have to tame these lil wild things a wee bit!

Save Tigers…a Great Initiative

 

I am not one of those great nature and animal lovers whose heart goes out to animals…which is not to say that it does not pain me when I see bears with jugglers and horses and camels being used for “sawari” in melas…. kids and adults as fat as elephants fit to be ridden themselves plonk their behinds on these animals while they shed tears!

It boils my blood when I see all of this…but sadly, I don’t do anything.

I remember having numerous “naughty” conversations with gal pals about what a beautifully powerful animal a tiger is. Conversations range from how majestic looking a tiger is, what sexy eyes it has, and what an amazing gait!

But, honestly since most of us quit going to zoos before we got into our teens, our image of tigers is relegated to what we have either seen on television or in books.

Each time I have spoken to people who went to Jim Corbett or Ranthambhore to spot tigers, they have only described their sightings of beautiful birds….

This in a way is an indication of how prominent is the danger that tigers find themselves in.

Just 1411 tigers left…isn’t that particularly ominous?

This was one initiative that truly captured my attention, more so because I recently witnessed how this majestic animal was literally tamed and domesticated.

I had gone to Thailand where for INR 350, you can feed a cub some milk from a feeding bottle…If that is not piteous, I don’t know what is…

The cub is nearly starved to death, so that the moment a bottle is brought close to its mouth, it suckles at it, without pouncing on a mere human that poses to hold it in his or her lap. It’s a hideous sight. Unfortunately, I was one of the people who willingly posed for this cruel spectacle. The sheer injustice dawned upon me much later.

These safaris to my mind are a mockery of wanting to keep the tigers alive. A tiger or a lion is a majestic animal. Irrespective of the area kept for these animals, you cannot deny the fact that at the end of the day, the tigers are living in captivity, not in their natural abode as they should. Why should that be?

I think we will do nature a great service if we allowed these animals to live in their own habitat. It sounds preachy alright, but all it takes to get you to understand what I am talking about is to go visit a zoo and spot a royal animal like a tiger or a lion in a cage looking helpless.

On an ending note, the least that you can do is when you see a disgusting brat of a kid or his or her more disgusting parent poking the animals at the zoo or pelting stones at them, throw a stone back at them…They deserve it!

Y is the whole world going gaga abt Avatar?

Prachi: My analysis of 3 D avatar: i say its an english remake of any rajanikant movie...itne lambe lambe fatte! by god! its like straight out of a manmohan desai movie....to top it all jaise jagran me "mata" aati hai, wasie ek jagran type scene me Ihwa mata blesses Jake Sully! kamaal hai!

Saurabh:  prachi .. kyon logon ki life main tension la rahi hai .. aachi to movie hai .. rajnikaant to pata nhi but ..old hindi movie jaisi jaroor thi .. : jamindar , jamin hatiyana chahta hai .. , bhoodhi ma .. ko marne se nhi bacha pata bichara hero, fir sub bhajan gate hai .. sub tha movie main .. mujhe or Rush ko " oo palan hare " yaad aa raha tha .. jab sub baith ke Iwaha ki wait karte hai .. 1 bar to hume laga .. vo Jake Sully nahi Shake-chillii bot rahe hai .. :D ask Aki n Soumik...

 

 

30-1 Series: Episode 3

 

 All izz well :)

So, finally the D day arrives...it is my happy budday! :) 30-1, does not hurt any more! hehe who am i kidding! it's killing me!

so here I am blurting out all...the countdown to this momentous occasion of celebrating my arrival into the world year after year...almost thirty years...was rather tumultuous!

As people my age are wont to...I witnessed several incidents that reiterated what amir khan said in 3 idiots...at the end of the day, all is actually well...or so you should constantly tell yourself!

Here are a few things that happened:

I tried to withdraw Rs 50 from my office ATM machine...yes you read right...Rs 50...and no it wasn't because my bania instincts kicked in....well maybe yes! but whatever! so i was trying to withdraw some money when my card was detained in the machine...now I don't know if it has ever happened to you...but I felt as helpless as a school girl who watches the class bully gobbling down her favorite cookie right in front of her eyes. :( When a message flashed on the screen saying "Your card has been detained. Contact your home branch," I felt as if the bully was saying "go do what you can!" 

I called the bank customer care executives repeatedly to find out why my card was detained. I had a feeling that it was coz the machine was angry that I had the temerity to want to borrow Rs 50...i was silently praying that some sniggering executive would not ask me in incredulous tones, "Miss Bansal, did you actually try to withdraw Rs 50 from the machine? how could you? Did you not know any better?"

Thank god, that was not the case. They had actually blocked my account. They very "helpfully" told me that they could not tell me the reason for this and that I would have to go to the "Home branch" to find out what yours truly had done to bring about the bank's ire upon herself. 

I particularly felt betrayed coz i was all set to go to Select City Walk and indulge in some retail therapy to hopefully forget about my age-related woes! God was not on my side!

Not to be deterred, I told my shopping partner that her debit card was henceforth going to be "our" card! After a serious dose of shopping, i must admit that I felt a helluva lot better...I also got my shopping partner to agree to present the clothes that I had shopped for as my birthday gift! :) so the thought of not having to pay her back made me feel MUCH better.

Any way, the following day, put on a sorry face and convinced my father to accompany his turning-thirty-in-a-year daughter to the bank to fight the big bad wolves at the bank in noida. Noida is a freaking 60-plus-or-minus-two-kilometers away from my place. There was no way I was going to travel on my own that far....

Because of this stupid trip, I was going to report late to work...really late. I had foreseen working over the weekend...exactly what I wanted...since on one of the fateful days, i would be giving in to the forces of nature...and would be turning OLD! :( 

So papa and I go all the way to noida to be told that the bank of today's times committed to serve its customers had closed my account because they had tried to send some silly mail to my postal address, which was returned twice due to nonavailability. This was my previous organization's address. Because I am really conscientious and a crusader for saving the environment, I had opted for the email statement facility. The #%$&*** also had my god-damned phone number. However, the morons insisted on contacting me through snail mail for some inane reason.

So, when the bank told me that they would take about 10 working days to open the account again, papa told them that we would close our account. Poor papa was hoping that his threat would work and the bank would bend backwards in expediting the process. :( no such luck, the jerks wouldn't move their you know what. So, the amazingly blank looking lady at the bank told us that we would be receiving the balance in my account through a check. The spiteful woman ensured that we had to spend at least 1.5 hours waiting for my hard-earned money. Okie, I take back the hard-earned bit...but MY money that I earned through whatever means.

So, basically, i was in a mood where I was screaming at everyone, feeling rather bad about the human race in general, and wondering...then while we were waiting papa suggested that we eat something.

During my LSR days, papa would sometimes go all the way from our house to drop me to college, and we would gorge on the yum egg parathas behind the college. We would pack some tea in a thermos and have our picnic. That was eight years ago...yeah yeah..that's how old I am! 

And, here we were, because of a twist of fate, after all these years, papa and I were all set to have our own picnic all over again after all these years! I know saying this goes against the vein of this blog...hehe...but I felt really genuinely pleased with life...and thankful for the turn of events!

Yes, I know you are reaching for a handkerchief...my writing does have that effect! 

I shall take your leave now...and come back again with another masterpiece soon! :)

30-1 knocking Series: Episode 2

 

The Scent of Something

The second episode from the 30-1 series!  

Was randomly going through blogs online and came across one that was in the same league as my blog! It was witty, engaging, and different from the run of the mill stuff you readily get! :P

I don't think I want to share the link! not when you have a better option available in my blog! Besides, for a change, I have made up my mind to be heavily inspired from this blog in future :P Lucky ***tard, I'd say!  

When you reach the ripe age of...(its okay prachi, you can do this!) 29, (there, I said it!), you kind of believe that you know all that there is to know about life, marriage, relationships, bla bla bla. People often approach you to seek your expert advice! I don't think any body's ever felt let down after one of my pravachan sessions.  

Anyway, so I thought I'd share my thorough knowledge of perfumes. I'm dispensing with this precious bit of information that may also answer the most perplexing question of all times...What to look for in a relationship?  

Here goes! We'll start with the discourse on perfumes first....why perfumes? Just coz I want to! :)

The picture above owes its presence to the following description:    

"Perfumes are generally composed of three different fragrances called notes,  which makes up for a harmonious scent. The top note or the head note is the scent you get immediately after you apply the perfume and remains with you for the next few minutes to an hour. Then, it makes way for what is called the middle note or the heart note, which is the main body of the perfume that kicks in once the top note starts to fade; this scent can last for many hours. Eventually as the heart note grows lighter, you start to smell the base note of the perfume. The base note is the underlying tone of the perfume and brings depth to a perfume. Over time, the top note and the heart note soften and the base note is the scent left at the end of the day."

Now, the pearls of wisdom…

“You should look for the base note in your partner! When all else fades away that is what matters...”

The applause is almost ringing in my ears!

 

 

30-1....knocking

okie...this is something I dreaded forever....

The clock is ticking...a little too loud...a few more days..and I'll be...eeks...30-1...I almost typed "3" there...I wish! 27 is digestible, 29 is GRAND! If anyone ever said mid-life crisis, i know what it is. Don't even feel like Bridget Jones anymore...bet she was younger in the movie/novel. :(

Agh...was speaking to this friend today...and discussed how the whole plan has gone kaput! I was suposed to have been married by 24, at best 25, had my first baby by the time I was 27, and around my 29th birthday, I was supposed to be pregnant with my second baby...ofcourse I would have a flat of my own, a car in my name, a decent bank balance...successful career...i had it all painted in front of my eyes. Did I mention that I would not know the meaning of the word "cynicism" as per my plan?

There's just been a "slight" change in "the plan"...I am turning (gawd it hurts) 29. I am single (of course unmarried), clearly childless, not even in a steady job (its a contractual assignment), no flat, no car, and cynicism? of course not! :)

man what a traitor god can be! Several years ago, (before I got into my late twenties), if you asked me "do you have a plan?" I'd say "of course, I do...for the next 50 years!"

Today, if you asked me the same question, all you'd get is a raised eye brow! 

Know what's brought about the tirade?...thsi woman who i believe was probably only a couple of years younger to me walked up to me and said "didi, bus kab ayegi?" Bloody ***CH! 

And on the trip to Thailand, to help her team guess the name of the movie, this disgusting cousin of mine pointed a finger at me and my "OLDER" unmarried cousin while we were playing Dumb charade. The movie was "Dhalti Jawani!" DO NOT LAUGH! It is NOT bloody funny!  grrrrr.

Graying hair, expanding waist line, bags under eyes! approaching 30's is the worst thing to happen to a woman I say! And is it just me or do all women approaching 30 develop an inexplicable affinity towards chocolate, fattening food, and daily soaps? 

I mean...ugh...and why is the whole ****ing world gettign maried....men and women...all you need is to turn 21...is the whole world becoming bloody th***i? I mean gimme a break! wait till you are atleast 35 if you are a woman and 40 till you are a man! lame joke...I know...but I bloody mean it! Thank god, I sit next to this woman at work who is also in her late twenties and is thankfully unmarried, unattached, and working on a contract!

That's the sadist in me talking! :) And I'm loving it...

And for once, can people who are married, unmarried, with children, without children, old and young stop asking me what's new in my life...The "news" that you, my parents, and like the whole world seems to be eagerly waiting for...will be delivered to you...while I scream from rooftops, whenever that happens!

This is just the first episode from the "30-1....knocking" series! there's more to come...

Enjoy! and I am NOT saying that cynically! grrrrrrrr...and I amNOT bitter....and I am NOT frowning! and the smile on my face is NOT fake or a result of BOTOX! :)

And YES! I may just bite! I don't know for sure, do I?

A Few Things That Touched Me :)

I was doing my own thing, busy in my own world, and suddenly this thing happens and I am like wow :) that is nice!


It happens to me sometimes. Just out of nowhere something takes place that leaves me touched. It could be a movie scene, someone I spoke to, someone I saw...one of life's tiny little gifts! Some of these moments fill me with a sense of peace! (Hence the picture, one of the moments when I was truly calm!)


A few days ago, I went to GK with Aruna. I saw this little kid who was asking for money. I dont give them money. I wanted to buy the boy a packet of chips. I did so. Went after him and gave it to him. I just left without looking at him. He came back and smiled at me in a way that no one has ever smiled at me. I mean that. That was the most genuine smile I have ever seen.


Funnily, I thought I had become really practical and I knew how to keep myself detached when I wanted to. A few days ago, a girl told me about how she bravely fought a bunch of bastards all by herself and how her cowardly "special friend" refused to get in touch with her after that. I was consumed with pride for being this girl's friend and I found myself crying at the thought that she had to bear all of it alone and that she had wasted her feelings on an asshole. Honestly, I surprised myself because I did not think I was capable of such emotion anymore.


I wrote a mail to Akshay and Rash, two of my close friends abt missing them a little. Akshay who has off-late been rather reticent about anything remotely mush, wrote saying "You better miss me more than a little buddy!" And like a  soppy fool, I got teary eyed. :P


There was this friend called Cheeru whom i got to know through someone. We spoke a few times over the phone, not enough to develop a friendship. With time, and due to circumstances, we lost touch. I got to know of his marriage and I left him a message on Orkut to which he replied. That was my last communication with him, exactly two years ago. Suddenly, yesterday, he pinged me and we spoke as if the past two years had never been there. He is not even a friend, or so I thought, and he very sweetly asked me to come to Jodhpur, his hometown, so that his wife and he could play perfect hosts. Its a silly thing, but this courteous gesture reaffirmed my faith in genuine and true feelings. I had no idea that an instant messenger conversation could lift my heart in such a way.


We were going to attend a wedding...there was an old kishore kumar song that started playing on the radio....and papa who by the way is not blessed with the most melodious voice around...started singing...:P I think that was one of the most special moments of my life!


I think we spend so much time finding meaning in things that don't exist or should not matter that we forget to    let seemingly insignificant things affect us in a great and beautiful way!  

Hmm?

I thought in the past few years I had gone through such a metamorphosis that I could understand/explain almost anything I encountered…I realize that I gave in to smugness yet again…

There are so many things that completely stump you and you are left speechless…

Does that happen to you? Do you fumble for words when somebody asks you a question and you don’t know the answers?

Been happening a lot to me lately…I am yet to find answers to these questions :)


Found a few answers...so writing them down!

What is your ambition in life? To find a dream to live for and then fulfill that dream!

Who knows all your secrets? 


जो होता है वो अच्चे के लिए होता है? You alone can make that happen, if you want to!

What is your best friend’s name? (:P Don’t get me wrong! I have a few very close friends I can count on…but best friend…dunno)

What are the names of the governors of Delhi and MP? Delhi's Lt. Governor: Tejender Khanna

What do you often dream about? 

What is your favorite (food, book, actor/actress? Honestly, I can ever tell for sure)

Do you think I have lost weight? (hehehe…yeah I don’t want to lie and how can I tell if you have…a drop from the ocean does not make that much of a difference :P)

Have you ever been in love? No

Whose side are you on? (Get involved in this ugly choice making pretty often these days!)

What are you thinking? (Usually, I am thinking about a thousand things at the same time…they are all inter-related and not related at all…so what do I say?)

Those are just a few things that I can recall right now...

This blog is my journey...a journey of self discovery..maybe finding answers to some of these questions will reveal a new facet of my personality to me. :)

I’ll find out the answer to the question about the governors’ names pronto :)

Truck/Auto Shayari

Consider this: You are stuck in traffic jams that you cant seem to get out of? You are already running late, it is scorchingly hot---you have already begun using the choicest hindi abuses for everyone within sight, definitely including the horny middle-aged pervert ogling you; you have begun cursing life; blaming people; you are convinced that god is unkind; life is unfair...just then, there comes a glimmer of hope...everything is alright, life is fine...


Who or what is this godsend? It is an auto rickshaw or a truck that you have spotted with absolutely
out-of-this-world shayari! Sounds familiar? I bet you have experienced this if you are a Delhiite. I love the originality of our autowallahs and truck wallahs. The sheer nonchalance with which these people exhibit their HORRIBLE sense of humor always leaves me laughing out loud! I mean that! The cheesiness of the "poetry" is what ends up making it funny :P 


Very recently, I spotted this hilarious sample of an auto wallah's creativity: a self composed couplet that seemed like a passionate declaration of love:


"बिन फेरे हम तेरे!" :)


Here are a couple of more examples of absolute genius that I have found over time. 


1) मै चली तो तेरी क्यों जली!


2) Voh aaye hamaaree qabr peh, diyaa bujha kar chaley gaye, Baaqi jo teyl tha deevey mein, sar peh laga chaley gaye!


I would love it if you shared some of the ones that you have come across. 

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

I love this time of the year. The festive season has just begun. Everyone is in such great spirits, people seem to leave their worries behind and make a genuine effort to be warm to each other, to be happy, to absorb the brightness around them.

Diwali in particular is one festival that stands for conquering the darkness within and without with everything bright and beautiful. The gentle fire is truly symbolic of spreading warmth in your life.

For me, this time of the year is really special. There is always something life altering that is waiting to happen for me post navratras. This year was no exception. In fact, I think it was this year, that I did not just see the proverbial cloud with the silver lining after a really dark night and bla bla bla...there was a pretty good explosion of light that left me well and truly awake :) This year, it seemed as if the powers that be took it upon themselves to not just show me the path but literally drag me out of a hopelessly misleading mirage to a road with very clear directions to move on to "what are in reality greener pastures" :)

Preachy? So what, i refuse to be apologetic! ;)

So, anyway, the festive season has so far succeeded in doing what its meant to do at least for me!

Its woken me up from my drunken stupor, its filled me with hope and determination,. its brought warmth, cheer, and clarity into my life.

I hope its done the same for you. Wish u a very happy and prosperous festive season.

PS: You know beginner's luck favored me thoroughly this year. I learned flash for the first time from my "juari" cousins and ended up winning all the stakes :P I was taking hopeless chances and all of them paid off. When I lost, I could fall back on the reserve I had, when there wasn't any, money was arranged for me.

So may be, that is what you should do in life too. Take risks, not always calculative, and sometimes just hopeless chances. If they don't pay off, you will still manage. You will come up with an alternative...trust yourself, trust God :)

My Life!

*“I started my journey from frustration and curiosity and I have traversed over my fear of starting something new. Along the way I also crossed finding something new and I have reached losing something new…along the way…managed to meet pride…”

Years ago when I was in school, my teacher asked our class which animal each of us identified ourselves with. I replied a squirrel coz it minds its own business and keeps out of others’ way. Although that would not be my answer now, but its amazing how I chanced upon a book about a squirrel that managed to teach me quite a bit about my own life. The quote above is from the same book, Zapp: The squirrel who wanted to fly.

I am ending this post here...I know its abrupt...but life's like that...there is no beginning and no end...it is a series of nows...

Second Chances

I have read a lot of Paulo Coelho books lately...so chasing dreams, taking seemingly hopeless chances that always pay off, holding on to faith and hope is something that I seem to have absorbed. :)


I think most of us can make the fatal error of holding on to an illusion or a fantasy as chasing a dream. I know I did that. I guess there is no way of knowing the difference till you have learned the hard way...But guess what, at the end of the day, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you held the fort...till the very last minute.


I am like a sponge. When I begin reading something or watching something, I completely soak myself in it. What I am trying to say is that since I have read books in the similar vein, I have been obsessively trying to find the "hidden message" in my day to day life! Luckily for me, the foolishness is paying rich dividends...especially in terms of optimism.


A few days ago, I was watching Farah Khan's chat show. They featured a braveheart who had been paralyzed from waist down. The doctors gave up on him...he did not! He fought back because he said he does not know what defeat is. His name is now in the world record for having driven to the highest motorable pass without a break.


To say I was inspired would of course be meaningless and a cliche. His courage speaks for itself. What I thought was that he grabbed a second chance from life. It wasn't handed to him on a silver platter.


I looked closer home. Several years ago, my father suffered from sciatica. Its a condition due to which my father who is my superhero was in unbearable pain from his waist below. He could not move and had to depend on my mom to even go to the washroom. I saw my father battle that phase of his life like a warrior. He would smile when others would have shed tears. That for me was the biggest inspiration ever. We had a doctor who was a godsend. He told my father that god could not cure him. The only person, the only treatment for him was his will power. My father is the richest  man in that department. 


Being the magician that he is, Papa performed the miracle. He forced God to give him what was his...the kind of life he wanted to lead.


I know that I will fight tooth and nail for my second chance. I won't give in and I won't give up...its not in my blood :D

Eavesdropping: 1

Have you ever noticed how sometimes we cant keep ourselves from eavesdroping...Thanks to my supposedly "holier-than-thou" nature, I keep reminding myself that eavesdroppers never get to hear anything good abt themsleves or something that they want to hear.

However, today, that was not the case. I "unintentionally" eavesdropped on a conversation that left a smile on my face and an assurance within me through the day.

The following is the snippet of a conversation between a senior colleague (SC) and my workstation neighbour (WN):

SC: Koi nahi hota hai. Life goes on.

WN: What is this about?

SC: Ye din bhi chale jayenge.

WN: Kaunse din?

SC: Bure din. Jaise ache din nahi rahe bure din bhi nahi rahenge.

WN: Are...aaj aise kaise?

SC: I read somewhere that the skin of our palm peels itself every six months. Hum apne palm ko dekhte hai and tell ourselves ki ye to mera hath hai. Six months later the skin sheds and its not the samer palm anymore. Jab apka hath apka nahi to fir...

I was hooked. :) I mean what a thing to have said yaar. Have been chanting that bit of conversation all day and cant describe to you how it affected me...

My Tryst with Reiki

I had been thinking about learning reiki for a long time. One of my cousins is a professional reiki healer. Whenever she asked me to give ia shot, I sniggered thinking that it was something only "strange and weird" people did. To use my mother's terminology, "normal" people do not take these things up!

In fact, a friend of mine who is obviously a lot more well read than my mom, responded with this when she got to know that I was learning reiki "Jadu karegi kya?"

With these misconceptions, I finally took the plunge when I felt the need to cleanse myself of negativity. I want to share my exerience to at least try and explain what reiki actually means..at least what it has done for me :)

I dont know how to meditate. I knew nothing about reiki. Just went because I thought it would help me and I wanted to do everything to help me :)

There was another lady who had come to learn reiki with me. She was a sixty year old braveheart who was blessed with a beautiful marriage but was battling cancer. Her loving husband had insisted that she undergo reiki to attract all teh positive energy that she could to heal herself. :)

I will not disclose the issues that we discussed there but I want to share teh process.

After talking to each other about the issues that we wanted to resolve, we shared our beliefs with each other. Our instructor told us how reiki could help us.

She then told us about the seven chakras in our body that could be visualized as seven different colors of the rainbow...VIBGYOR. These seven chakras are responsible for our life functions.

I will write another post about the proces in detail. I only want to focus on the experience for now.

Reiki is all about positive thinking. It is thanking God for everything that you "HAVE" in your life. It does not mean turning your eyes away from what is bad or negative...but the power to change that negative into positive.

The basic philosophy of reiki is that love is god, that it is god who is the guiding force in your life. God manifests in your life through love. This is love for yourself, for your near and dear ones. It says you are a magnet and if you give love you will sttract love and if you do not, you will repell love.

I guess that explains the bible verse "love thy neighbour ;P" haha...but on a serious note, it empahasizes the need to love yourself unconditionally, to accept yourself truly and to feel joyous for your existence. It is about focusing on happiness.

Ever since I came back from the session I feel a sort of change in my day. Its like a series of good things happened. They happened because I thought about them. And so I was in charge of my happiness.

This is the simplest truth in life. We all know this. But we forget it often. Reiki just reinforces that.

I am glad I decided to learn more about something that can empower me to alter my life the way I want to :)

Rakhi this year...

Like always, I was looking forward to Rakhi...knew my bank balance would increase considerably...was not disappointed...

Had the customary snapping session with my brother Akshat, we were clicked with morose faces with our parents taking a dig at us! Was followed by a silent lunch together...and a few hours later we were back to our normal selves :P Its becoming a sort of tradition now...

What I had not expected was to have another brother so late in my life...dont get me wrong my mom hasn't added to the roost...i tied rakhi to ayush so... :D

i know the concept of rakhi brothers is sort of dying and before yesterday I would have sniggered at anyone who would suggest a thing like that. But, I felt really nice.

That moron called me early in the morning and said he wanted to meet. :) I just took a rakhi with me on the spur of the moment...all dressed up and all haan!

Tied the rakhi for him and it felt great...I mean u know one of those tender moments you never want to confess to :) but im feeling courageous today! so, admitting...in fact, I even had the %$*** to message him and tell him how I felt :P imagine told Ayush that! I think the guy's completely changed now...completely lost his sting...so told me in as unlike a manner as possible for him...I felt great too :D

Kind of a sweet experience...will cherish it...!

This thing called status message!

This colleague had a fight with her boyfriend and changed her gtalk status to "Tired fo this thing called Life" hehehe i mean I am sorry but I could not stop feeling amused at such a public declaration of your feelings...Her boyfriend promptly changed his status to "When you are unhappy you just wallow in pain, when you are angry you bring about a change!"

What profound words....

A friend of mine often uses some title tracks of mushy hindi songs as her status message, changing it frequently depending on her mood. The lady in question had recently got engaged and used the status "teri or teri or" from singh is king...I forgot to ask her what exactly the message implied and she threw a fit...said i should ask her what prompted her to change the message...a few days later it turned out that her fiance was a creep who deserved to be thrown down the highest cliff...and i would have done so gladly..but could not! anyway, after the break up I expected her to change the status message to something like "tainu ghodi kisne chadaya bhootni ke" but it never did come...would have been fun though!

How easy people find it to wear their hearts on their sleeves...Another aquaintance often changes her gtalk status according to her mornings spent with her husband..the tagline changes from naughty to censor material to soppy...its a lil embarassing too at times!

There is also a certain group of people (including yours truly) who change their social networking site's status message frequently to spread some "precious" pearls of wisdom...

Frankly, i hate it when people do that...i know I admitted i do so too...but I mean gimme a break...what makes you think you can force a "thought for the day" down someone's throat like that!

:D my favorite status message is "TGIF" which I promptly use every single friday...and I've decided that on teh first of each month, it shall be "Meetha hai khana aaj pehli tareekh hai" DO send in more funny taglines please! These at least make you smile!

TO sign off...a really funny tagline comes to mind...and it stayed with me coz it was such in your face humor!

...Byron's epitaph read "To all you virgins, thanks for nothing!" :P

Why I love Farhan Akhtar

Because he is cute

Because he always talks about following his dreams: Dil Chahta Hai...Lakshya...Rock On...

Because he is cute

Because I lovvvvvvvvvvvvve the way he sings "Tum ho to" and all the other songs in the movie, even "saaso ki zarurat ho jaise"

Because he is cute

Because he has a sexy smile with perfect big wide teeth

Because he is cute

Because he comes across as really naughty in his interviews

Because he is oh so cute :D

Dreams and Wishes do Come True!

I have met so many people who stop believing in their dreams...who for various reasons stop wishing. Sometimes, their closest dreams are shattered and on other times unfulfilled wishes leave them disillusioned...I try very hard to not find myself amongst that group. I try very hard to stay away...I have been there, I sometimes find myself approaching them...but thankfully, with the support of my near and dear ones and with sheer determination, I manage to hold myself back.

At the outset, let me share my motto in life with you..."Thoda aur wish karo!" I know its as cheesy as it can be...and on top of that its a tacky line from a tackier advertisement...

But, its my philosophy in life. I think the one thing that makes a person truly happy is a dream to live for. Unfortunately for me, I have not been able to find a "theme for my dream." Before you label me "filmy", please read on...just a little more.

I am a very laid-back person. I don't remember ever pursuing anything with burning passion, with a couple of exceptions, at the most. I am not extremely ambitious, so my dream is not to reach the top of the corporate ladder. I have been blessed with a reasonably well-off family, and can afford the luxury to not be crazy about minting money. I haven't honed any skills in particular (blame it on my laid-back attitude) and so do not dream of perfecting my art. I am not very comfortable in big groups and keep to a certain group of people so I dont dream about absolute power or immense popularity. 

Now, what does that leave me with? Precious little na? For this reason, I set a goal for myself on a daily basis-to make a wish or see a dream-sometimes random things-nothing path-breaking,  normal stuff that most of us take for granted. And sometimes incredible things like world peace, protection for women and children, and a couple of other things, which fall in the realm of conjecture.

I just wanted each one of you to realize (while I reaffirm my belief) that no matter what your wishes and dreams, if you wish really hard, it comes true. I know another cliche from the Alchemist, Jab we met, et al. But, ok suggest something better!

Let me share with you some of the most inane things that I wished for/dreamt and they came true over the past month!

I was sitting at home for almost 4 mnths. I had been dying to get back to NIIT, my first ever office. I got a call from them.

I dreamt of chole bhature. The next day, my mom took me to Kamla Nagar and we had the very famous Chacha's chole bhature.

I wished to see an old aquaintance in NIIT. I had no idea she would still be there as it had been 3 years since I heard anythng about her. And she walked up to me at NIIT.

I was dying to talk to a friend. Rashmi called up.

I wanted to look great at a party where I was all dressed up. I got lots and lots of compliments.

I was feeling lonely. Ashu called up.

I wanted to have samosa. My father got me samosas without my having to tell him.

I wanted to go to Big Chill. My friend Poonam suggested we go spontaneously. I had the yummiest dessert in the world just what I had wished for.

I was missing my friend. Ayush called up to say he was returning to Delhi.

I wanted to meet my niece. My cousin came home for a stay with my niece without my calling her.

I wanted my mom to be perfectly alright and her pain gone. The pain in her leg decreased considerably.

I wanted a course I was constructing to receive good client feedback. I received a sign off with good feedback.

I wanted to go to Big Chill again today. Poonam agreed and we went. 

There are so many things that go unnoticed in teh course of the day, thngs that you wish for or forget to wish for. 

Just remember, wishes come true. Dreams turn into reality. 

So, the next time you wish, be very careful what you wish for.

:)