Meet The Multifacet

Yaadein!

2021-05-02T21:33:00.002-04:00

A couple of days back I lost my maternal grandmother due to Covid. Since then, I have been having flashes of childhood memories! Some of those have made me happy and some made me sad! She was the last one from her generation because of whom I felt like being connected with three generations.

The mystery of death!

Now that I know she is no more, I can connect all her dots looking backward. But I wonder, is she able to? Constantly I have been haunted by the question, where is she now? Would she know what grief all of us are going through? Is she out somewhere with the realization that she has died as being “Lakshmi Bai” daughter of, wife of, mother of, grandmother of……But still being able to look at us with the same feelings and worldly attachments as she had? She never visited outside India in her life. I wonder, now is she able to visit and see me in Canada?

Everyone around is talking how fulfilling her life was, that she died peacefully, she was all but a wonder woman. Does she have the same thought? Is she processing her life the same way? Is she even processing it or is she just gone? What if this is just our way of being able to live after her, convincing ourselves!

Memories she left me with:

I have umpteen happy memories with her, and I am glad that I do. Probably she is the first and only one I had from that generation who loved me, really loved me! Maybe that is the reason, I am feeling disconnected now. I am not a big fan of the rituals done after one die. I just want to relive some of my happy memories here as my way of letting her know what she has given to me, knowingly and unknowingly.

· My mom was in total 4 sisters and 2 brothers. It was a ritual every year, that all of them would visit Naani during summer vacation, for whatever duration it was possible. A total of 15 grandchildren is what she has left behind now. And at any given point in time, atleast 8 would be there during the summer visit.

· As a child, I always looked forward to the visit to Naani’s house. That was the most awaited part of my summer vacation. The excitement would keep me awake at night a couple of days in advance. Maa and I would board the bus at 6am, and the journey of 5 hrs always felt long.

· Naani would always have someone sent to receive us. The moment we would turn in the lane of her house, there she would be standing right outside the main door, waiting in anticipation. Her eagerness and happiness would always be evident. And she would hug and kiss me all over my face. She would ask my mom “kyun beta, bahut kharaab dikh riya”, “Bahut dubli ho gai”. “Chalo the log mooh, haath dho lo, mah thaali lagaaun garam garam”!

· During the visit, she would take me around to neighbor’s house and she would proudly introduce me and ask people “Pehchaane kya, Hyd se shaku ki beti hai”. “Maaiye, kitni badi ho gai 1 saal me”! And I would blush happily and enjoy that moment of city celebrity!

· Each day, she would wake up at 4am. All of us would be sleeping cramped up in what we called “Kinaare ka karma”. Sometimes, we would have slept on the terrace and had to come running downstairs when it suddenly started raining. I recall, she would be reciting her mantras and frequently ring her bell in front of God. After her long hours of Pooja, she would slowly come to see us and throw sarcasm “Abhi neend poori nahi hui thaaki”, “Dhoop nikal kar aa gai aa sar par. Aaaiii”. And we would just pull the cover up to the eyes, throw our head underneath the pillow and try to sleep back again.

· Once we would all wake up, there would be a big lineup for washroom and for taking shower. Some of us were given shower in the open, some of us got to use the bathroom. All in pairs or more 😊 The smell of ghaslate and the warmth of the stove which would keep running to help us with warm water, is still etched. We would throw water at each other, keep having random thoughts and take long time to come out of the bathroom. Someone would come running soon, “Jaldi karo, paani garam ho gai. Doosra na bhi nahaanu ha”.

· Summer vacation was the time to put on our best outfits and flaunt at each other. I remember fighting with mum to wear specific clothes. Once dressed, we were all given breakfast, little glass of milk and then Naani would say “Chaalo…Aba pet bhariyo na, sab bandi bhagaao mandir na. Ab 2 ghanta pacha aanu, bhookh lage jab”. We would all march towards mandir, most often she herself would accompany us while all the sisters/in law got their time to chit chat and manage kitchen. We would visit Balaji mandir and hanuman mandir. She would sit down there, and we would all play for hours together.

· During afternoon time she would stop anyone who would come to sell anything, Be it pepsi, be it baraf gola, sometimes fruits…Whatever it would be, she would definitely buy something for all of us. In the evening time, she would take us again for a quick stroll, and would ask “Kunaana paani puri khaanu hun” “Kaun milkshake peene waala ho” and there would be some of us who would be eyeing for both or all options :P And there would be some video game lovers who would trade this money for the game and not eat anything. She had a little bag that she would hang right in front of her belly along the waistline where her saree would run. She would happily take money out of it and treat us with these joyful delicacies.

· I remember she had this unique (I would find it peculiar as a child) way of expressing her love towards her daughters. She would knock on their door when they were taking bath and check on them “Aaun kaai beta, thodi peeth ghis dun thaari”. I would always ask mom, “why does naani do this?”

· My extremely fond memories with her are when I would ask her if I can comb and braid her hair. She had nice, long black hair and she would also tie extension. I loved doing it for it. She would look at herself in the mirror and say, “Aee diwani amma, kaisi daali beta choti. Diwaani lagri naani “! I also have a little scar on my right wrist. This was when I adamantly tried cooking “Jawaari ki roti” on the choohla and burnt my hand. She was scared that my mom would scold her!

· I also have faint memories of her stories around the erection of the signal tower in the village. She would mention the details of how many people died while trying to erect it. I also learnt riding a bicycle there. She would buy us rental bicycles and ask some boys to help us learn the cycle. She would give roti to gaai everyday. The gaai would block the main door and not leave till she was fed!

· And then, after the extremely delightful stay, whenever it was time for me to return to Hyderabad, I felt like leaving something behind. We would always be the first of the big family, to return! I would always think why everyone else can stay longer and why do we have to return so quickly! I would go through so many emotions during my return journey, recall each day and remember how I spent it. It would make me extremely sad, that all of this will happen again after a whole one year! Now I feel this was such a natural way of being taught “how to manage change”, “how nothing lasts forever. Both good and bad”, “If something good ends once, it will come back again. Be patient”

· The old structure of the house was something I always fancied recalling in the form of geometry. I would always recall it when I would come back to Hyderabad, just so that I do not forget! “Enter hote hi ek rectangle. Uske right me kinaare ka ghar. Uske baad, ek chota sa portion. Usme steps oopar jaane k liye, left me kapde dhone ka pathar, chota sa houz, aur kiraaydaar ka kamra. Right me naanaji ka room. Uske baad ek step oopar chadho to, black and white chessboard jaise pathar. Uske left mein store room, right me kitchen. Uske end me maama, maami ka room, left me badi si gali (jisme humesha choohe hote the). Us gali me right me bathroom aur uske bilkul end me washroom”. For one week after my return, I would recall this every morning, go over to the bathroom where mom would be washing clothes and tell her “Maa, sabki bahut yad aa rahi hai”!

Such are my beautiful memories of visit to “Naani’s house”. I always say, she never had a lot of money at disposal. But her house was always filled with lots and lots of love! And that was another big lesson. It does not matter; you have money, or you do not have it. If you are willing to share, care and love, that is all that matters. All of us have grown in our respective ways, but these childhood memories keep all of us connected till date.

I am most thankful to her for giving me the biggest gift of my life, my mum! I love her the most and I will forever be indebted to you for this! Someday, I hope to see you/feel you when I join you back in the family tree 😊 Till then, lots of love!

Love, Love, Love!

My Favorite!

Did I get that beautiful smile from her?

Change of Clock - Concept of Day Light Saving

2021-03-14T20:20:00.004-04:00

In my stay of last 1 year and 8 months in Canada I have realized that few topics are always of interest to people. These can be considered as Ice Breakers which can help in initiating conversations in this multicultural country. One of the common topic during the November and again in March is the day light saving off and on respectively! People have different views and often share their dislike and are of the opinion that it should be done away it. The reasons could be different. Some think that it is an old concept that does not hold any relevance in the current time, some say it impacts the time clock of their body and sleep cycle and many more versions! In my short stay here so far, I have become fond of this concept.

It is the month of March right now and today the day light saving was put on.

What does it mean?

On the night of 2nd Sunday of March, at 2am the clocks are moved forward by one hour. Technically that Sunday is only 23hours.Again in the month of November, this is reversed and you get an additional hour in the day! So in a year, this is stands at zero-sum!

Why was this originally started?

Keeping in view the agricultural nature of the society, it was started back in 1890s when work was primarily based on the hours of sunlight. The idea was to get the work started an hour early in Summer so that people would end their day and still have daylight after work hours. Basically, why waste the sunshine hours when people are sleeping?

First day of the day light saving

Till yesterday, the dawn was breaking at 6am and sunrise was happening at 6:45am. In the evening, sunset was happening around 6:25pm and the last bit of light would be around till 6:45pm.

Today, the sunrise happened at 7:45am, an hour later. And likewise, the sunset happened around 7:25pm. As I am writing this draft at 7:50pm, there is still a little glow in the western sky!

13 March, 2021 - 6:45AM

14 March, 2021 - 7:45AM

Why I prefer this?

Let's see what would happen if this concept is not in place. As the north end of the Earth tilt more towards the sun and Summer arrives, during the peak time the sunrise would happen at 5am [in Toronto, Canada]. Around the same time sunset would happen at 8:30 pm.

1. With the daylight saving on today, the evenings have more sunlight than early morning! And I see no one in today's society waking up at 5am to enjoy the sunshine. Even thought I am a morning person, I wake up around 6am and there would be light in the sky by April mid.

2. Work gets done by 5:30/6pm and it gives enough time to be able to bask in the sunshine. I realized the importance and the happiness of longer days since I moved from India wherein the variation was not that significant.

3. Change is good. I feel happy on the first day of day light saving when the sun sets at 7:30pm! Physiologically, it feeds that winter is officially over, spring is round the corner and summer is on its way. Everyday from here is going to be longer than yesterday.

4. In a country like Canada where winter lasts for 4-5 months, it is important to be given an opportunity to make the most of the sunlight in the months that it lasts. If shifting an hour of time can provide these benefits, we can bear a little change in the body clock. Do we complain when we vacation around the world hopping different timezone?

On a side note: This also reinstates that the concept of time is human made. We have defined days, hours, minutes, seconds! In the science world these are called as Earth days, Earth hours etc! It's scary and fascinating at the same time! Is there a different world(s) where the concept of time is completely different?

Year 2020! New way of Life!

2020-04-22T17:27:00.001-04:00

Locked inside my house, gazing outside the window, I see the barren park. The place which would be otherwise buzzing with people jogging, kids playing, dogs being walked around and many others enjoying the sunshine. As I turn to look at the other side, I see the almost empty highway which would be otherwise filled with heavy evening traffic when people would be travelling back home at the end of their workday. This is year 2020!

In my last post [a-nostalgic-visit-to-my-own-place] I was surprised to see how much my life has changed in the last 10 years since I started this blog. But then I realized the change that has happened in my way of life in last 1.5 months is much bigger than the entire 10 years put together. And it is not just for me but for everyone. As pointed out by lot of world leaders, these are unprecedented times. The entire world seems to have come to an absolute halt. As a result our life has come to a standstill. But did we not complaint too often about life running fast? Every time I spoke to my friends and family, everyone had one thing in common

"I do not know how days and months are going by! Oh, another year is coming to an end!"

But the last one month did not just fly past!

I agree that we all have a lot of complaints and how this pandemic has put all our life’s plan on hold! But I am sure once we are over this, we will remember this time of our life and recall how our life had slowed down and we had ample time. So let’s look at some brighter side of this lockdown life. Below are some thoughts on changes in my way of life and the world around.

1. I do not recall when I last saw my eyes without kajal. Not atleast in the last 10 years of corporate life. But now I have been without it for 40+ days. I like to see the new me in the mirror without any curtains of fakeness and when I look into my eyes, I am seeing the real me.

2. These days I do not feel the difference between weekdays and weekends. Suddenly the Friday excitement and Monday blues are gone. I still do office work, but there is no travel to office and no requirement of dressing up formally. The moment I close my laptop in the evening, my work day has ended with still a lot of my evening time left. I can read, write, watch TV and spend time with myself and my loved ones. I have been catching up on some of my favorite old movies, some classic movies which I missed watching earlier, reading and re-reading some books from my list.

If you want my suggestion, you can read:
Sapiens - A brief history of Human Kind by Yuval Noah Harari

3. The environmentalist inside me is very happy for how the Nature is able to restore the damage we have caused continuously from past so many years. I never imagined there would be a way in which people could be convinced to reduce their carbon footprint on the Planet. But now, it is all happening by itself and all it took was an invisible virus. I like to believe this to be Nature’s way of showing us our real place. If you still don't believe in Climate change, read my post on chasing-ice-documentary-of-lifetime and watch it.

I am still not very positive if way of life and mindset will have any change once life comes back to normal. History shows us we have always been greedy and never been kind towards Nature! I hope we are proven wrong this time and make some good changes in our life permanent.

Even one less car ride a month, one less addition to the wardrobe or one less bin of garbage will make a difference!

4. Most often we hear from elderly people how they wished they did things differently and stayed in touch with people from their younger days. I like to consider this to be such a checkpoint for us and it is still not very late. I have been utilizing this time to catch up with my old friends, relive and laugh at old memories, browse through some old pictures and talk to them to check how they are holding up.

As we move forward, we leave lot of things and people behind. As a kid, I would find ways and means of spending time and I thought 24hrs in a day was too long. As I grew up, the equation of time kept on changing and reached a stage where I started thinking why do we have only 24hrs in a day? It was always a race against the value of an activity and the time investment it required. But now I feel that my childhood days are back with an extra shot of technology. So yes, I am trying to make the best use of it.

5. Cooking has become one favorite hobby everyone around seems to be indulging in. I am no different. This isolated way of life has shown us that we can do well without restaurants and home deliveries. Each one of us has been trying to make food at home and add some healthy ingredients to it. With so much time at hand and ample recipes available online, cooking experiments has become my favorite pastime. Baking is my favorite these days! Previously I did quick cooking to help with the meals but now I have the time to try something new and fancy. If not anything, the next time I order a pizza or buy a pastry, I would know why it carries so many calories and how much cheese and sugar has gone into it 😉

These were my top 5 picks of how the quarantined life has changed my way of living and what I have been doing to make the most of it! In whatever phase of life you are in, I am sure you have your side of story of this new way of life. Do share some in the form of comments.

StayHome & StaySafe
Follow Social Distancing

Hope to see you all soon…

~ ~ Cheers ~ ~

A nostalgic visit to my own place

2020-04-15T21:03:00.000-04:00

I visited my own blog page today after almost 5 years! It seems like a lifetime to me. People say memories stay with you forever, but I beg to differ. I have forgotten about the details of my own life journey so much, that reading my posts from year 2011 left me wondering!

In my introduction to this blog as a young girl entering her 20s [To the right side - View Profile section] , I had mentioned "Life is all about events one after another. Years pass by, moments are lived and memories are made. I believe in going a step ahead.I take note of all those memories and experiences for myself and my louued ones." It sounds so mature for my age that time and definitely meaningful.

Life has changed leaps and bounds in these years. But reading the posts made me realize that I have few good constants in my life. I know these people and they are still very dear to me. But sometimes in this race of life, it is worthwhile to slow down and take some moments to relive those memories that makes the bond special. In a way I realized why after-all those bonds are so special to me. It starts with the hero of my life - my brother, my special girls gang SBG, Khushi ji, Addie, Surbhi, Shreyansh, Lakshmi and a few more. There has been nothing really special about my writing. But each of your comments on my posts made me so nostalgic and it also reassured how friends can make you feel special. Thanks for being there for me.

Why am I visiting the blog now?

I am sure some of you have this question. Why now after so many years? Last week we were playing this game on SBG group as a way to bring some fun during the current way of quarantined life. There was a task in which one had to write the name of 3 bloggers and Dishlu mentioned my name as one of the bloggers! Really??? I wondered myself - Was I really a blogger?

This morning came the Eureka moment when I was deciding on my To-Do for the day while taking shower. Some things never change :)
[Ref:best-thoughts-in-bathroom] And guess what? With not much work on my plate, I have been on this nostalgic ride whole of this afternoon. It tickled some of those emotions which were buried deep underneath and overshadowed with recent memories. I am glad I did it. Thanks Dishlu for bringing this back to me.

Another dear friend recently messaged me a dialog from one of our favorite movie - Yeh jawaani Hai Deewani :

Yaadein mithai ke dibbe ki tarah hote hai, ek baar khula toh sirf ek tukda nahi kha paoge

Hope to come back soon.....

~ ~ Cheers ~ ~

Early Bird

2015-09-19T13:44:00.000-04:00

I am one of those few people whom friends often tease “She’s a school kid. She loves sleeping by 10:30pm”. Yes that’s true, although the interpretation is wrong. I don’t love sleeping at 10:30 pm but I definitely love waking up at 6 am. That is because human body needs on an average 7 hours of sleep to be efficient, fresh and cheerful. So I hit bed by 10:30 pm and wake up at 6 am.

And when I wake up, the peacefulness of early hours makes me feel like my clock is working as per inter-stellar time. Within an early morning hour, I am able to do so many things which I would otherwise struggle completing in half a day. This efficiency, energy, and spirit is maintained through the day.

Below are the reasons/benefits for which I prefer waking up early:

Winner’s confidence: There is a sense of control acquired when you wake up suppressing your inner voice. When the alarm goes off, there is a voice which tells you that you went late to bed last night or no one around is awake, you also sleep. DON’T LISTEN. If you win the battle here, things start on a high note and get even better during the course of day.

Greeting the Day: I enjoy nature. Walking on silent roads, watching birds chirping and flocking in fascinating patterns, observing the sky getting illuminated with sun rays, and spending time in lush green garden brings a perfect start to my day.

Morning Sky :)

Get Active: Morning is a great time to exercise. Along with bringing in lots of positive energy and enthusiasm, it’s a great stress buster and leaves you calm and focused for the rest of the day.

Fresh air in which I workout!

Quiet time: My idea of personal time includes meditation, reading & writing. I ensure to do at least 2 of these at the start of each day. It helps me to connect with myself. Doing something for myself early in morning energizes me and makes me ready for the day.

Ways of pursuing passion!

One step ahead with enhanced productivity: Waking up early helps me be more organized and plan my day well ahead. Instead of waking up from bed and rushing to office, I prefer giving myself the time to list and prioritize the day’s activities. This helps me do things with complete focus and by the time other people begin to work, I would have already completed few important tasks. This gives me psychological comfort and also buffer time for impromptu work.

More time for family: Early start to the day helps me complete my activities on time and leave office without having to worry about connecting back from home. Having done few things of my interest in morning, and completed the day’s work in office, in the evening I feel much more relaxed and satisfied about the way my day was spent. This leaves me with some more time for my family. I cherish sharing the dinner time with dad and chit chatting with mom while watching her favourite soap operas. I look forward to this time each day.

Time for beautiful sunset from office!

To conclude, waking up early has improved my quality of life in many ways mentioned above. But in the beginning this may be hard. To start with take baby steps like just waking up 15 minutes earlier. Get to bed an hour earlier so that you won’t feel tired. It may take couple of days to adjust and you may not feel the benefits right away, but stick with it. Once you experience the benefits, it will be difficult to let go of this good habit.

P.S: However I like to stay late on one of either Friday/Saturday. This helps me come out of my routine and feel good about being still able to stay awake beyond regular time :P

Cheers

Morning Bird

Komal

Award - My moment of Fame

2015-09-13T10:50:00.001-04:00

Last one week has been extremely generous on me, showering lots of love in personal life and appreciation in professional. While personal end can be put off for the moment, I would like to share my professional achievement here.

I am just a month short of completing 2 years with Infosys. These 2 years were not exactly like a flash in second, but yes, it doesn't feel like I am going to complete 2 years so soon. I have always enjoyed working here. Employees of Infosys, relatives of employee, media & population at large have lot of things to say about Infosys. Good, Bad, Ugly...! We're the first one to hit media top lines for positive or negative reasons. Personally for me, it has been a journey full of learning, fun & memories.

For HR team, the awards are given away semi-annually. There is a HR town hall in which people who have contributed significantly &who went the extra mile are rewarded. This time it was scheduled on 10th Sept. When I logged in the morning, my calendar looked packed. I did not plan to attend the townhall and I thought to utilize the time for completing piled up work. At 10:30 am, I thought its late now! And then an email popped in, saying the town hall will now begin at 11 am. So far I was giving myself the reason that it will be a long walk from bldg 4 to bldg 12 [Infoscions will understand this], and its better not to attend than being late. But now I did not find an explanation to convince myself. It's rare that something is done for HR. Else we're busy organizing things for others. With this thought, I took the long walk in pleasant weather and reached the auditorium.

After 1.5 hour of speeches, discussions & debates on various topics, came the time for awards. A presentation was projected on the Video Conference. And came the first slide. My eyes quickly skimmed through the names & photos and they stopped on one! It was a girl's photo in a blazer, written underneath - "Komal Laddha - HRD Shine Award in recognition of outstanding performance and contribution to HRD 2015-16". Yayyieee. It's me! And people in the room started clapping, SMS started pouring in, People on Lync started to ping to congratulate. My team's email thread was started and team members started writing some good words for me. And this was my moment of fame :) It really feels good when your colleagues come up to you and say "You totally deserved this". That's what matters more than an award.

I was still cherishing for this award, but it was not over yet! On 11th Sept, we had an internal team meeting. Two members from each team were being recognized for the efforts put in to ensure maximum retention [ya! It's right. That's my job!] From my team it was me & my location colleague who received the appreciation & award from our HR head. And all I could do was smile and say "thank you".

Recognition for the work done, is one of the biggest motivation. You may be well paid off financially but if you do not enjoy coming to office each day, the journey in the organization is bound to be short lived. And that excitement to go to office comes when you have the confidence that your efforts will be recognized :)

That's me, posing off with my accomplishment !!!

Signing -off on this note.

Cheers
Komal

Chasing Ice! Documentary of a lifetime

2015-08-16T09:48:00.005-04:00

Climate change is so much heard of, so much talked about...but I never had a chance to see it this close. Although I was sitting on my couch watching just a documentary. But it was an experience of a lifetime. Hats off to the team of James Balog who put in unimaginable efforts just to convince people that we're going to pay the penalty of our ignorance & harsh treatment we give to our beautiful nature in our very own lifetime.

To give you a quick brief, James Balog is an acclaimed environmental photographer. He aims to spread awareness in people by showing the real climatic changes through photographs. He believes that one of the best ways to get real picture of global warming is to observe depletion of glaciers. And with this starts his journey of EIS [Extreme Ice Surey]. His team start off by setting up 25 cameras in different places [Greenland, Iceland & Alaska] by placing time-lapse cameras which capture photographs every one hour throughout the daytime. These places are not for human existence. Even technology will also fail to support in such severe & extremely cold conditions. And here is a team which keeps visiting these places periodically over 3 years to ensure the gadgets are working fine. Although watching it on a TV screen, the calving of ice for continuous 75 minutes, which is witnessed by James & his companion, leaves you in splits.

I was really moved watching this documentary. They have put in enormous efforts just so that they could let us know with evidence, what is the impact of our actions, on our beloved nature. The least we can do is to watch it. Sharing the breathtaking trailer which will compel you to watch the complete documentary.

Chasing Ice Documentary trailer

Having watched this I feel I have made some good use of my weekend.

~~ Cheers ~~

Joy of Learning

2015-08-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

Hey All [more to myself],

I am back to this place after 1 year 4 months. And it indeed feels nice :) I was waiting for this urge to come in me to get back to this place as writing cannot be imposed.

It's now almost 2 years into my Job and Sunday is usually marked by some good time with friends, lots of time with family and some time with myself. All this while I resorted to a personal diary to share my thoughts. So what's special about this Sunday?

Can you recollect the day when for the first time after learning to ride a bicycle you went out on your own? Or the first time after you learnt driving a bike by troubling someone to accompany you always and then a day came when you got the confidence to hit the road all by yourself? Well I had a similar experience today.

Having learnt car driving 2 years back, I never felt the need to make it a part of my regular routine. Thanks to my simple lifestyle & awesome friends who always picked up and dropped me. But off late this was taking a hit on my self confidence. And 6 months back when dad got a second hand car only so that I could learn car driving without having to worry about implications if I went wrong, I decided "this is it" [Bas bahut hua]. Slowly, steadily with support of different people I started honing my skills of car driving. Sometimes I fared well, sometimes I went wrong, Once met with a accident and lots of instances when I felt this was not meant for me....! On one side came a voice from within "Komal, you need not do this. There are umpteen number of people who are living without knowing this". And immediately popped another voice "Komal, in today's world car driving is a must thing. If you let your fear take over you today, you'll never be able to drive".

And today, 9th Aug, finally I gathered courage to take the car out all by myself for a lunch meet with friends. No one in car to guide me, to scare me, to motivate me. Me and my car. It was the same feeling as a child would get while taking his first steps in life [although I have no memory of it :P]Finally I checked all prerequisites mentioned by few experts and slowly took the car out from parking after taking God's name. My car's tire hardly took 2 rounds after the main gate, a black cat crossed from left to right in front of my car. Holy Shit! Whyyy??? Why now? I stopped the car aside. I got a feeling that this is divine hint to say me that I am not ready for this [You know how we are trained for this from childhood]. May be I should simply put the car back in parking and take an auto. I took a few seconds and told myself, "You never believed in these superstitions. Then why today? Why on this occasion. Drive slowly, drive carefully and you'll be fine". I started the car again and took a leap of courage to drive all by my own.

What happened after it is nothing to be elaborated about. I am sitting here and posting this blog after such a long gap. With this, I trust you can imagine how full of adrenaline rush was my experience today from which I emerged victorious.

Signing off with this thought :) Stay tuned.

"To escape fear, you have to go through it, not around"
- Richie Norton

Angels this Christmas.....

2013-12-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

It’s Christmas time :) This time of the year brings lots of happiness, gifts and surprises. I remember as a childhood memory the importance of this time when a family in my neighbourhood would put a shining star in their balcony and I would know it’s Christmas. Children love this celebration the most. They are the ones who honestly believe in the concept of Secret Santa fulfilling their wishes. And as years go by it just remains as a memory.

So…Another year is about to draw its closure. Personally I am waiting for this to happen with a blink of eye. In my view nothing has worked right for me this year. Still in the last couple of months few things happened and these changed my course of life to a great extent. And this post of mine is dedicated as a note of thanks this Christmas to those two angels of mine.

I am sure both the persons would be totally surprised to find their names here. Even I am just as I realised how you both have played an important role in this phase of my life. To introduce my first angel – He’s the person I look forward to meeting everyday at the bus stop. As they say few people just click along well. And so was with him. The funda of travelling in bus for an hour to reach workplace seemed weird to me. I delayed this travelling as far as I could but finally it had to come. Post Diwali vacation it was my first day to travel by office bus. Not sure of the pickup point, I reached a few minutes [actually a lot early]. The place was empty and I told my dad probably we’re at the wrong point. After a wait which looked like eternity, a tall guy walking in his own world, at own pace with Infosys ID card emerged from nowhere. Huh! I sighed at the confirmation of being at the right place. And there it started. Quickly we found similarities of being MBA graduates 2013 pass out from similar colleges and lot of things in common to discuss.

I had filled my bag with a novel, my ear phones and lots of sleep. I had my next list of reading books ready. Surprised with this amount of effort? It was needed because I was at that point of life where I was making efforts to draw myself out of the sad love saga of my life. A break up from a 5 year long relationship had left me devastated. I started dating one of my friends but looked like I would create another mess and injustice. And so I had been trying hard, time and again, to come out of this. I was unsuccessful all the times. Finally with the start of my job I made up my mind. I promised myself in these last two months I will walk on this path. And so I was slowly trying to be with myself all the time.

I use to refer to him as my bus friend till I reconfirmed his name :P His name is Vikky with a ‘k’. Yes, it’s his real name. I discovered soon he’s one of those who will miss the bus very often and his life would seem to be unusual if he doesn’t. And I experienced it soon enough where he took a lift from a scooter uncle to chase the bus for around 2-3kms. Initially trying to be quiet I would sleep off after sometime and avoid talking. But he’s a chatter box. He would never give up. He would often interrupt my gaze and lost thoughts outside window bringing up lot of varied and random topics of discussions and I started to like it soon. I found these discussions better than trying to sleep or forcing mind to keep thoughts away. And now I enjoy my bus journeys. It would not be overboard if I say I look forward to them when in an otherwise no purpose day [considering the ‘no-work’ disaster in office]

I think anything new in life keeps you going. Be it a new activity, new hobby, new work or getting to know a new person. He’s my first ever guy maarwadi friend with whom I get along well inspite of a lot of opinion differences [I think it’s because of cancerian scorpion compatibility:)]. Initially it was a lot of effort to keep myself away from checking my phone in bus and doing the unwanted. But with my new companion it has become natural to me. These days, I atleast, do not realise when the journey passes and we reach office and still are not out of discussions. And then these continue in our return journeys. From guessing the return travel plan of other person, to using office intranet to fix up return time, to forcing each other to take early/late bus, it’s been a wonderful start to these bus journeys.

I realise now how short lived this is going to be. Two weeks more and he would be on his way for his new job. And that’s when I realised God’s purpose of this brief interaction between us. The friendship has always been about bus journeys. Come the weekend and we would be in our own lives. So I am not sure how far we would be in contact post this, but you shall always be remembered as my ‘bus friend’ and missed during the travel time.

Yet to click one together!

I am sure you all would be wondering this is only a part of the day that is covered in this, what about the in between time. That’s where my second and precious angel comes into picture. She isn’t the one I got introduced to recently. We have been friends or rather ‘via- friends’. Her name is Aditi, can be referred to as teddy bear :P We have been a part of common group of friends between me and my brother. And that’s how I know her. But today the Aditi I know is very different, the bond we share is one of the bestest and the times we share is the most fun filled. Today we dislike when people ask us how do you both know each other – and we have to talk about the ‘via’ friendship. We have become friends in ourselves.

She also works with Infosys but was a part of branch which was 44kms away from mine. For some reason she took one month transfer to my office and we ended up sharing the same cubicle. Till the time she came to my office, my floor people would have hardly heard my voice. All my team members use to be on other side of floor/different floor. Since she joined me in my cubicle, the entire floor hears our laughter, hi-fi’s and discussions. Every day she has been brining something new in my life. New learning’s, new thoughts, new ways of looking at things and lot more. I have got to read a lot of new things staying with her. We are now known for our long walks in and outside campus and power naps at desk and in dorms. Engrossed in talks, we would not realise how much we have walked or how much time we have spent. She has been angelic enough to accompany me during day so that I would not feel alone. She would study or finish her office work after I left from office. At the end of the day when I would be back home, I was good to have a peaceful sleep without much worry.

She has seen all of me in these two months. My crazy side (which is at best with ) to my low side. She has seen tears in my eyes out of non- stop laughter to emotional tears. She has seen me changing and adapting to her crazy ways. One of these include the way we interact in washrooms :D We start off our discussions as strangers –

‘heyyy! It’s been long. I didn’t see you around. How have you been?’

The responses would go on to fake onsite visits, the abroad travel with family and many other classy, posh and cheesy things we would want to do.

Initially I would react with the expression – ‘what the **** is wrong with you’ or I would start laughing. These days I pull it off and she’s amazed to see it.

We would start off from the desk because we had nothing constructive to do on work front. And end up spending hours together with ‘Away’ status on office communicator. One talk to another, one incident sharing to other, one opinion to other, one belief to other…With so much ease I have disclosed most of myself to her in such a short span of time. Never did I have second thoughts in mind considering she’s first a friend of my brother.

Thanks to her we now somewhat have a youngsters group on campus. No more do I have to bear the office gossips or backbites at lunch table/chai breaks. I have people with similar thoughts to share table with and topics of our interest to discuss. The recent spiritual insight of her life has been mesmerizing. I owe it majorly to her for helping me in this not so good phase of my life. Like we believe everything has a purpose. And this entire turnout of events in last two months has been an affirmation of the same.

Again this is going to be short lived as soon she would be back to her old office. I wish she stay here for longer. I wish for her a special Christmas gift from Santa this year. Consider this as my way of thanking you on this Christmas eve teddy bear :)

That's my Addie and fun times with her:)

Thank you to both of you for being the invisible hands in helping me sail by being with me during this time.

P.S: Thank you God for once again making my belief strong that you’re always with me, guiding me and helping my way out.

How much longer? How much further?

2013-12-19T10:54:00.002-05:00

How much longer, how much further,

Working so hard, so lonely, so isolated.

Each day I open my eyes but my soul prefers to sleep,

Like a robot I am doing everyday’s regime.

No purpose of this disdain life,

Yet I am surviving with all my might.

Life fucked up at every possible mode,

I wish I could relive those moments which I just let go!

Like a free spirit I want to be again,

Tired I am of trying to be all sane.

With boundaries all around I long for air,

Is there something I can do without worrying about here n there?

When will it stop, when will it end?
The fear of society that harasses me each day.

Dread and fear grips tight,
Like a prisoner bound and trapped,
Emotions inside, tangled and messed up,
There is no end!!!

Just let it be!

Its 11-12-13!!!

2013-12-11T11:33:00.000-05:00

Hey der :) How r you all? I have kept myself intentionally away from blogging because it would have been overdose of negativity on this precious space. I am trying hard to forget it Asap and hence was not wanting to create a memory here about it. However I do intend to sum up sometime soon but not today surely :)

Soooo...Its 11-12-13 :) Once in our lifetime calendar where numbers looks so perfect n sequential. My friend and me were trying to be super excited about the day but it turned out to be a normal one. Still I feel these small things matter to me a lot. That time in your mobile clock when it turns 3:33 am/pm or when I capture 1:43 am/pm. It gives an unknown sense of optimism that things following it will turn out to be perfect.

And on this note I would like to sign-off and leave you all with a video on optimism:)

Here's something for laughs :)

And this is my favourite comic scene from the movie dhamaal :)

~~ Cheers ~~

My First Month at Infy!

2013-11-07T03:00:00.000-05:00

The astute among my readers would have noticed by now that I haven’t blogged since over a month. And it coincides exactly with the time I started to work. Not blogging for so long is a testimony to the fact that I have been enjoying my work and changes. And Oh yes, it’s a lifetime memory to start working in your birthday month :) So I here I come back with my first month experience in corporate post my MBA.

It’s exactly a month since I joined Infosys family. It was the awaited day since past 6 months. And finally when it arrived it was a day when my heart felt a sense of pride when is rare to me. My family was excited to see their daughter living her dream of MBA and soon to become a ‘manager’ in their words. I was damn nervous. Reasons could be attributed to many things. The biggest being the comfort zone of love & care I got used to in these 6 months of break. How does it look like today? I am still new into the system, learning has started, things are not clear, work is confusing, future is uncertain…..But what matters to me is that I am really happy. Every day that I step out for work, I am eagerly looking forward to the day. And at this moment I recall my internship mentor’s [V.P of HR of SAP] words – Biggest tool to test employee satisfaction is how enthusiastic/positive your employee is while coming to work!

The mornings have been a bit of struggle. Waking up at 6am to ensure I login at 9 after a drive of 1hour was a concept totally new to me. But it’s good to realize that there are lot of people around you who are up at that time and share the routine. It’s just that my eyes used to be closed that time and so how I thought about the world. Well not getting into every knick of detail, below are a few highlighters about the journey so far:

I am extremely astonished to see the vicinity and dedicated maintenance of Infosys’s beautiful campuses. I have so far visited the most coveted Mysore DC followed by Bangalore and Hyderabad. Each has the architect and spirit of its own. While there are extremes of opinions about this investment and philosophy, I am follower of the group which admires and takes pride in this fact.
Training was decent. We got opportunities in initial days to interact with biggies of the company whose reputation and contribution we didn't exactly know. Now as we’re getting absorbed into the system it’s vice versa.
Work environment is extremely positive and cheerful. Especially the people with whom I interact on daily basis. There is equal enthusiasm for work, food and fun :)

My day end with notes taking. It helps me to draw a meaningful closure to my day, acts as a self tracker and allows me to plan better the upcoming day. I intend to continue this habit for quite some time.

That's my Day 1 Click in campus:)

In closing this little lengthy, verbose and unstructured post, I need to admit certainly that I enjoyed my first month at work. Looking forward to many such firsts :)

That’ the update for now :) See you all soon.

From Summer to Monsoon...All in all

2013-10-01T14:14:00.001-04:00

To give you all a snapshot I can just show you all one song - My fav of this season. I lived like that. And it made my days better whenever I felt low. Meaningful lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Beautiful video. Dashing Ranbir Kapoor. From my fav movie of the season: Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani.

Ooh.. aah..
Ooh.. aah..

Shaame malang si
Raate surang si
Baaghi udaan pe hi na jaane kyun
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye

Da da dan dan dung dung dang...

Kal pe sawaal hai jeena filhaal hai
Khaanabadoshiyon pe hi jaane kyun
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye
brrrooom...

Da da dan dan dung dung dang...

Mera falsafaa kandhe pe mera basta
Chala main jahaan le chala mujhe rasta
Boondon pe nahin
Boondon ke samandar pe woh oo woh...

Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye ho...
Ho.. na na na....

Shaamein malang si
Raatein surang si
Baaghi udaan pe hi na jaane kyun
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye
Ilahi mera jee aaye aaye

O... woh..
O... woh..

Ilahii.. Ilahi.. Ilahi..!

Thank you all for staying tuned to this series of posts. Lots of love.

~~Cheers~~

P.S: Happy October :-)

On the factual list - From Summer to Monsoon...

2013-09-30T08:41:00.001-04:00

So now comes the factual list of things done.

If driving license is the recognition of learning to drive then I have procured one. I learnt driving car although I haven’t practiced after that. I cleared the car driving test and have finally a 2+4 wheeler license after riding bike for 3 years without license.

Also I read quite a number of books. I have completed the series of Shiva Trilogy. Plus I read Sins of a father and religious books like ramcharitramanas. Currently I am reading one of the old books I have got but hadn’t read – The da vinci code by Dan Brown.

I have got a guitar for myself just for obtaining the pride of possession :) But I have started learning it too through online lessons.I think that's a good way to start.Now I know a few chords now and can strum some general tunes. All in all now I get irritated when I see any hero/heroine holding a guitar and portraying as if they are playing with so much ease while just running around or flirting with their co-stars :-P And I have started admiring the guitarist of bands whenever I watch any shows.

On the series front, I have successfully completed Dexter series all 8 seasons. And I still and will continue to love Deb and Dex.

Oh yes you all should know this. In order to spend time together with mom I have developed this habit of sitting and watching her favourite sop operas from 8pm-10pm. [Megha you’re remembered at this point :)]. So right now if anyone needs update on “Meri Bhabhi”, “Ek hazaron me meri behna hai[which is over now], “DIya aur Baati”, “Yeh rishta kya kehlaata hai” do contact me :) And to tell you all the truth they are not as bad as we think them to be. Some of them have really helped me in managing things at home. I think it all depends on what is your take away from them.

Since I was never at my new home before, I hardly knew my neighborhood nor did they know me. But I am glad the ganesh chaturthi celebration gave me this opportunity. I thoroughly loved the daily gathering and masti with kids. And now I am known by all elders in the apartment and the favourite didi of kids[Watch out bhai, I am taking your place everywhere BbuuHahahaha]

The Bachcha Party :)

Lastly . I think all my friends were waiting for my return to get married. In 6 months 3 of my friends got married. I am glad I could be present for their precious moments. It was so much fun and reconnecting after having been away for 2 years [I know my friends would raise their brows if I use the word “away” because of my frequent visits :-P]

Brides this season!

Signing off for now.

~~Cheers ~~~

From Summer to Monsoon - Travelling :-)

2013-09-27T06:21:00.002-04:00

One of the best things about this vacation as I discussed has been being able to do things I love to. And to top the list was travelling :) I traveled, traveled and traveled. Places list include Amritsar, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Ganga sagar, Indore, Kolkata, Latur, Manali, Puri, Shirdi. Aaahhhh!!! It gives so much satisfaction seeing it here written :) I traveled to small towns, villages, large cities, hill stations. I traveled in summer, in monsoon. I traveled with relatives, cousins, friends, family. It was so much funnn. Having listed the places I think it will be too much of a task to describe each visit. So I shall, for my loved ones, describe few of my favorite non – alcoholic high moments.

1. The moment when I was inside a sleeping bag, with camp in centre of forest adjacent to a waterfall after a long day trek. Wow :) The recollection of the moment itself spreads smile across my lips. There was born fire, it was cold, it was scary when we started anticipating possibilities of things that can happen at night. But after all it was an adrenaline rush adventure.

The camps in middle of the forest:)

After the adventurous night!

2. When I was swinging to the wind left and right, zapping towards the ground and again up towards sky, in the midst of Himalayan Mountains – Wohoooo!!! I was paragliding in Manali. After an interesting successful negotiation we were at the top of the mountain[can be compared to the runway of flight]. I was the first to take off. The time when you hold the parachute and start running down the mountain till the time your legs are cycling in air, it is indeed much more pleasure than sitting in a plane watching the wheels takeoff from the ground. That’s the moment when I literally felt like a freeee bird!

The trekking!

Himalayas in Background!

As I gear up :)

From the sky :) :) :)

Way to gooo!

3. The days with cousins enjoying the simple yet peaceful village life was another best time while visiting relatives. Those endless discussions, random thoughts, sleeping under the sky.

The masti!!!

Three Monkeys of...!

My team of cousins:)

4. Watching MP [Madhya Pradesh] style royal wedding in Indore is a pleasure in itself. And when it’s of your best friend its one of the unforgettable moments :)

With the bestie :)

5. On a lazyyyy Sunday morning when I started riding with friends on bikes in Bangalore – till the time we were admist the clouds twisting and turning to reach the top of Nandi Hills – To the time when we had maggieee chit chatting. It was sleep well compromised.

Bangalore friends :)

The mist!

The Fog!

6. The awesomest flash of endless stretch of Bay of Bengal when I opened the balcony door of hotel room on 7^th floor. I was awe struck. The ferocious sea, the gurgling sound of waves hitting the shore just 100 meters away from where I was standing. It felt like heaven.

Isn't it awesome?

You get a moment when you feel powerless too. The water till the horizon with its tireless process of wave generation makes you realize what power it holds. Standing in the balcony I felt unsafe realizing the power of sea and what destruction it can cause to meager humankind. We humans keep bragging about small powers we have. At that moment I felt overshadowed by the unsaid yet evident power of sea.

When I just turned side on my bed towards the window, I could see the Sea. When I was reading a novel in the balcony as lifted my head up, I could see the sea.

Till the horizon:)

The marine drive!

It has been my dream come true to have been able to spend so much time being so close to Nature. Wish to keep exploring and keep travelling.

A typical evening - From Summer to monsoon.....

2013-09-17T13:42:00.002-04:00

Throughout these six months I have developed a bad habit of getting up late. But i cherish and m going to miss those evening when i would be wandering on terrace. With music on, I would be roaming around watching the sunset, changing colors of sky, huge buildings till the point of horizon I can see and my thoughts. How days were on campus and how they would soon be when work starts. What I have gained, what I have lost, what I have learnt, how I have grown,.....etc etc etc...And with these thoughts in mind, eyes rolling from one point of horizon to other, and legs hopping to and fro on terrace, the entire city would change. From the bright sunshine would elope darkness covering the entire city. Then sparkle like lights from smallest of small homes would make the stretch of city look like a necklace with pearls. The entire city changes obeying the laws of nature, people probably winding up their work to return to their loved ones, temple pundits starting off the evening chores, mothers and wives at home starting preparations of dinner, hustle bustle in the city peaks. But Aahh!!! I would be still standing there. Nothing to worry about, no routine to be followed. With a sigh of relief I would walk down the stairs back home calling my "Maa" and cuddle like a kid in her lap.

I would be really missing the willingness backed with ability to do things as per my mood along with ample of time to be spent doing things I love to do:)

From summer to Monsoon…….

2013-09-15T07:03:00.001-04:00

What I anticipated to be a break of lifetime, literally proved lifetime…A stay of two months at home once looked difficult [after spending two years away from home].Now as I can count on fingers the days left before the corporate kickoff, I am taking some time off to relook into these six months of break. Never have I rejoiced for so long. Before I am good to let off myself into the next phase of life, it is imperative to draw closure with the previous phase. And that’s what this title and following posts shall give a peek into :)

Retro - Spection !

Signing off for now! Catch you all soon.

~~Cheers ~~

One more off the Bucketlist :)

2013-08-29T05:59:00.000-04:00

Dear Blogdosts,

I was in a theatre all alone watching 'Once Upon a time in Mumbai Doobara'. I had asked for a corner seat and preferably a bottom row.At the end of the row were two college going girls who couldn't take their eyes off in disbelief seeing me all-alone. At first they thought probably some friend/bf would be joining me as the seats next to me were empty.

Oh yes! This has been on my bucketlist since quite sometime. I had to persuade my mom so much to allow me to do this. She was taken by huge surprise seeing me so excited to watch a movie alone. Oh yeah! That's me :)

Next on my huge simple, silly yet my precious Bucket list is a trek to Himalayas coming Summer :) Woohoo!!!

~~Love~~

Happy World Photography Day !!!

2013-08-19T07:19:00.002-04:00

"Today everything exists to end in a photograph" - Susan Sontag

Photography have moved from being an occasional ceremony to a routine. Photos have flipped from being a part of home albums to filling social media pages. And the "likes and flaunt" have substituted the "memory capture" reason of photography.

Still for much good I can see, these days capturing moments have become an integral part of all lives. Thanks to the social media and its daunting addiction. It's said, the photo is just as good as the person behind it. And equally true is the fact that usually people are lost in appreciating people/content of the photo. And the person behind the lenses go unnoticed. So here's wishing A very happy world photography day to all the amazing photographers out there - Amateur, Pro or professional :)

Though my love for photography is still in the budding stage, I find this good enough reason to share few of my clicks on this day with my blogdosts :)

A 'still' of moving life !!!

The dense spread !!!

Twists 'N' Turns

Refreshing :)

The playful capture ...

World of clouds - Up in the air :)

Serene Sunset !!!

The Sand & Water combo

Behind the lenses :)

~~ Cheers ~~

Worship...What is it at the end of all? Part II

2013-08-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

Part II

....Contd [ For part I: What is it at the end of all - Part I ]

Really!!!

All hands asking !

On one hand the ways of worship involve offering water and milk to lord shiva, hair to lord balaji, goat to lord durga and so on and so forth. Then on other side is the eye opener in the form of “Oh My God” which touches on these subjects in the most logical and agreeable manner. I am sure God would not be liking the line of devotees on a special day just to fulfill the routine, or the way people hover, crowd, fall and insult one another in a temple just while breaking the queue or showering[rather throwing] his/her water/milk/flowers over the idol. So these days when I am offering water/milk over the idol and see it getting drained into yet another sewage system, I think am I doing the right thing? Shouldn't this serve some needy? And I still walk out of the temple with no black and white answer!

Then there is the novel “Conversations with God” which identifies each of us as God in ourselves but with unawareness about the memory that we are God. The book is in the form a conversation between an ordinary person [the writer] who poses questions to god out of frustration and seeks answers. In the conversation God says there’s nothing right/wrong, good/bad, optimistic/pessimistic, hell/heaven. It says good wouldn't be known as good until and unless there is identification about bad. So how is it that good becomes lovable to god when god knows good is not possible without bad. So it is with right/wrong. Right is not right or valuable unless there exists something recognizable as wrong. And since both are either forms of a situation/person, whose existence is not possible without other, it is not right to believe that god loves one and hates another. An action of individual is the outcome of the spectrum through which he sees and perceives things. But at the same time it warns that this should not be considered as an excuse for the way one is leading the life. If the actions taken are justified by your inner conscience then there is nothing wrong in that. It highlights the words of god saying that Hitler was never sent to hell. He was right in the way he thought and was true to his conscience towards the purpose he visioned to serve.

Now coming to the belief of Brahmakumaris. It is so far the only one which directs me towards that supreme power and restrains from making an idol that I should be worshiping Meditations, self awareness, the way we lead our lives is the path towards meeting the divine power – Shiv baba. It recognizes each of our souls and the ultimate soul as just the source of light, the world a stage of drama, and human beings as characters playing the role. Destiny is something we create of our own lives. Many now consider Sister shivani, one of the popular preach to be someone close to divine. May be in future a day might come when even she would be qualified as God and worshiped But she herself never says so. She says all of us are children and the supreme soul is the father. This is the time to devote to the only power and go on to the path which will peacefully help you sail through the end of kalyug into the next cycle. This form of religious belief preaches only meditation as the way of reaching god. And reaching god not just after death, but on a day to day basis to recharge your inner strength batteries.

All these have clogged my spiritual beliefs. If I visit temple or not, if I do the rituals or not, offer prayers or not, believe in one god or not, if I fear or not, if I respect or not – At every step I am not in two thoughts but in multiple. While I try to follow all, I am following none. What is god? Ask me! And my mind still goes unanswered because I do not know the real god!

P.S: My sincere and genuine request to god is to let me know what the right thing to do is. If not in this lifetime, then it’s my wish that after this life I should be allowed to retain the memories of what happens after death and what and who God is!!!

P.P.S: I personally follow sister Shivani's advice. I think it is the most useful source of knowing ourselves and solving our day to day problems. To watch please visit: [Sister Shivani on self management ]

What is it at the end of all..???

Worship...What is it at the end of all? Part I

2013-08-12T08:13:00.000-04:00

Part I :

A disclaimer !

I am just 23yrs old and I am already confused and have umpteen questions about the way we worship. I am sure there are lot of people out there with questions relating to God, its existence, various poojas, after death reality and much more. Well this is no eye opener but just my ways of letting God know how confused I am!

So far I have gained knowledge from sources like Bhagvad Gita[Epic about Shri Krishna], Ramcharitmanas[Epic about Lord Ram], Shivlilamruth[Epic about Lord Shiva], Conversations with God[Novel by Neale Donald Walsch], to some extent Shiva Trilogy[Novel by Amish], Oh my God[ Hindi movie; remake of “The person who sued God”] and finally Sister Shivani [Brahmakumaris who believe in Shiv Baba]. Now my source of confusion is the extent of diversity and differences in the beliefs that each of these claim to be true.

What is the right thing to do?

To start on one common ground, all of these point to the existence of only one God. Lord Ram, Krishna , Shiva, Sai baba[irrespective of order of their arrival which is still debated] were the forms of God to restore harmony when the mankind was disturbed. True and agreed. Then why is it that all epics written about these forms of God[ref: ram, Shiva, Krishna] asks/commands people to worship these forms and not the original one and only on whose behalf these forms were created? I am sure these forms of God would not have told people to worship them. Surely there would have been a spread of knowledge regarding the supreme, the almighty and way to worship/reach out to them. I consider this to be the human created thing that the original knowledge got lost in its way of descending down the generations and the only remembrance being that of “human forms of god”.

I so far consider God to be lovable, kind and forgiving. I sit to pray when I feel I need to talk to God. This talking may involve thanking, asking for advice, guidance, questioning, sometimes conveying anger, frustration and other times asking for strength to face all. This has been my idea of connecting with God. I always wondered why people did it as a ritual/routine? In Recent times I have been able to spend a lot of time reading books related to God. And that is where I found my answer to the above question. The books define long processes of connecting with God, ways of offering to God and ways to avoid his anger. In the books it clearly marks out the segments where people have been punished /cursed with God’s anger due to their negligence, arrogance/failure to follow rituals. The writers of the epics/books mentions at every instance how people were treated when they mistreated/forgot to worship god, not just worship but worship in the right manner. This is the root of “Fear instilled love for god”. But my mind wanders, is God such an ordinary personality to force people to worship him/her and curse them if they do not do it? As human beings we might have the need to be loved by others, the need for power to be demonstrated over others to feel good about ourselves. But God is Divine! Would he have defined such ways of worshiping?

To be Contd.....

Part II [ What is it at the end of all - part II]

Blog's Marathon

2013-08-08T05:37:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers,
Its my pleasure to share that my blog stats number (viewer counts) have crossed 10,000 :) Writing and sharing has been a very cherishing part of my life. With accelerators and brakes have been able to reach this milestone. Thanks to all my readers for your love in the form of visits and encouragement in the form of comments :)

Keep reading dear blogdosts :)

~~Cheers~~
Komal
"Dream. But don't make it the end of all"

Customer Delight Experience

2013-08-05T08:33:00.001-04:00

As I entered the shop, I was nervous. I had spent one entire day for planning and making the surprises for the occasion of friendship day. It was the last and most important step, and I prayed it go right. I was in a printout shop, Lepakshi, Hyderabad. And the surprise was posters and photographs. Well on an ordinary day it might not sound a great deal. But when your eyes & heart have wandered and imagined the reaction on receiving the surprise from loved ones, you want it to go flawless.

One amongst the staff came over and enquired the requirements. I started off with simple color printout. As he took my pendrive and starting seeing the folders, my requirements became more specific. First I made him resize photographs to different sizes. He did so very patiently. Then I enquired about the different type of papers used for color prints and posters. Before I could direct him regarding non wastage of color prints, he himself gave black n white prints and asked me to check if this meets my requirements. I smiled, verified and gave a nod. One part was done.

Then I enquired for posters. A4, A3, biggest one, smallest one. Will the poster lose its quality on a bigger size? Should I opt for A4 or A3? I was confused. He asked me to show the posters. After seeing them he assured me that I should opt for A3 as they will look perfect and not lose the quality at all. Still, I wasn’t sure. He understood and gave one black and white and color print for one of the poster. I was aware only of the b&w print. He got and waited for my “okay signal”. Immediately he went and got the color one. I took few seconds after looking at the lovely poster to react. I took off smile from my face and told him, “bhaiyya why did you give color print w/o me telling to do so. If I wouldn’t have liked this, still you would have charged me for this waste print also”. He smiled and said, “No ma’am. That’s why I only showed first the bnw one. If you would not have approved, I wouldn’t show you the color poster nor charge for it. Also I will not be charging you for the black and white verification prints”. One after another all the posters were in my hand and I was happy at the execution.

Still my work was not over. I asked him to single out all photographs from the main sheet, so that I wouldn’t have any work left after I reach home. All this while, the other staffs were talking to him in local language which I do not understand. But from the gestures I could make out they were being annoyed with my polite demands and their staff’s smiling adherence. But the guy did not pay any heed to them and continued what he thought was his duty. Once the small photographs were ready, I asked him punch machine and scale for posters. He asked me the purpose and I explained him. He fetched me those from the adjacent shop [this is called walking extra mile. It was not obligatory on his part and a simple “not there ma’am” would have done]. As I did my work, I started rolling the posters neatly, taking care not to spoil them while I fit them in my bag. As soon as I rolled he got me a rubber band and a “fit to size” plastic cover.

At this point the guy enquired if I had made those friendship day posters myself. When I replied with a yes he said “they are really very nice ma’am”. And it was one more step into my happiness. Then I kept everything in my bag and with a sigh of relief finally asked him “Haan bhaiyya kitna hua in sabka [who much for all this?]. I haven’t enquired any rates because all I wanted was work well done. As the guy worked out the details, I took out the money and handed him over. As he brought me the change I tipped him decently and said a biggg thanku. He was all into smiles now. He turned back to the other staff members and started talking in local language. All I could understand walking out of the shop was that he was happy to giveback answer to the other staff in their face :) And I was happy seeing my work in hand.

The happiness of the receivers :)

My Kaidi number 347 :) Dishluuu

And the precious smiles :)

P.S: This might sound as an over exaggerated post. But I have had deadly experiences of reprinting an entire project, suffering the cost of a color print for 100 pages when I had asked for black n white and lot many. I truly regard this as a customer delight experience.

Move from battameezi to besharmi

2013-08-01T04:57:00.003-04:00

Theeee dazzling box office hit of YJHD[Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwani] with Ranbir Kapoor yet again stealing the show is hardly out of big screem and new promo of "Besharam" is making the noise. In the first it looks to be another "Drive It RK movie". With some cheesy dialogues which suits only this dude,here is the first official trailer :)

P.S: Awaiting with all smiles because the release month is October :)

Summer Love - A2

2013-06-30T07:12:00.000-04:00

Aashiqui 2 - One set of people found the movie depressing with an end on a low note. Another set found it to be purrfect to the extent it could have been. You could have made it out by now that i belong to the second one. I liked it because it was not one of those movies where all of a sudden it becomes possible for the hero to undergo rehabilitation and overcome the addiction just because of the girl and as usual ends with a note "....And they lived happily everafter".

This movie captured minute emotions so beautifully and the characters played it class apart. Kudos to the entire team of A2 for the great work. This is on my list of movies now that i would love watching over again and again without clinging onto the depression but rather enjoying the pure intentions of love.

My favorite songs are not the most demanded by public. I personally loved "Tu ye mujhko bata de, caahun mai ya na.." with girls lyrics being the best.

:) Aarohiii Keshav Kshirke :)

Another of my favorite is: " Bhula dena mujhe...Hai alvida tujhe...Tujhe Jeena hai mere bina". More than the original video, i liked this from youtube. It is simple, different and touching :)

P.S: Sorry if any of the A2 "non-lovers" bumped into this post :)