For Her

She is a Best Friend

 

She is a Charmer

 

She is Beautiful

She is a Mother

 

 She is a Fighter

 

 

She is a Hard worker

 

  

Every woman is a Princess

 

Dedicated to all the wonderful women who have blessed my life with thier presence..

To my ever so loving and caring mom.. 

To my stupid,irritating sister..

To my three best friends,, Rinku,Shradha,Emilin

To the teacher whom I respect above all.. Sheela Miss

To my mentor and philosopher.. Sindhu Miss

To my selfless friend..Amy

To my cousin who never ceases to amaze me..Anju chechi..

To the umpteen strong ladies I have always admired and loved..

International Women's Day 2012

 Connecting Girls, Inspiring Future

Generosity Day!!

Wanna do something different this Valentine's day??

Join the MAD Rise Campaign and Celebrate V' day as GENEROSITY DAY!!

 One day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying “Yes.” Let’s make the day about love, action and human connection

Valentine's Day Bash..

Feb 14 is fast approaching and so is the excitement surrounding the day. Lovers have already started making plans for the special day and those 'not so lucky singles' have either taken to fantasizing about a secret admirer or have decided to celebrate their single status. Whichever the category, everyone, even the people who call the day rubbish have started noticing a change in the atmosphere. Just look at the shops.. they are the first to get ready for any festivities.
During Onam, you can see the beautiful floral arrangements and pictures of 'maaveli' adorning the various shops.. Some even have these pot bellied, umbrella holding big guys waiting outside textile shops, ready to invite you in.
During Christmas, its colorful stars hanging in front of the shops that catch your attention. And of course Santa will be hanging around, entertaining the little visitors while their parents engage in Christmas shopping.

During Valentine's day, one shop everyone should make a point to visit is the gift shop. All the cute 'I Love You' teddies, heart pendants, heart clocks, picture frames, heart shaped squishy pillows.. these shops are filled with sooo many V day goodies that even people without any one special would start wishing for one. The magic of these shops.. Isn't it amazing how these people trick us into buying things that we never thought we would want? :D Sensible people have always argued that all this hype regarding valentine's day is nothing but a marketing trick of gift shops and greeting card industry. Why do we need a special day to celebrate love?? A very good point indeed. But does it matter if the card guys or the gift shop guys get some extra bucks by making us feel special and happy?? I wouldn't mind that! By spending money on gifts, cards or on setting up some gala party, if we can make someone feel special or if we get happiness out of it, I would call it money spend wisely.
Its the small things in life that make us happy.. and V day is a reminder of our love for each other. Sometimes in our busy lives, we forget to make the people we love, feel the intensity of our love  for them. Valentine's day is a day to remind them how much we love them and admire them. Its not a day for lovers alone.. its a day for friends, family..for everyone we love and hold closely to our heart. Its a celebration of warmth and love..a gentle reminder of everything that makes life worth living. Joy of giving is more pleasurable than joy of receiving. If a single rose can cheer up someone and make them feel special, why hold it back by slamming V day?? Laugh, love and live life without holding back your heart..

I'm Not Twenty Four.. I've been Nineteen for five years

I recently read the book 'I'm Not Twenty Four.. I've been Nineteen for five years', written by Sachin Garg. The cover page of the book was something that caught my attention. It has this pic of a girl's legs adorned by red stilettos and clad in slim fit jeans. An image that shouts, 'chick lit'. But it couldn't be one, this is written by a guy! My initial scepticism turned into amazement as I drifted through the pages of this beautiful book.The author promised to tell a story that will take us to a world which is hard to believe in. That is exactly what Sachin Garg has succeeded in doing. He has delivered a beautifully crafted, engrossing story in 200 something pages.

INTF is the story of a girl, Soumya Kapoor, an MBA graduate from Delhi who loves her shopping sprees, malls and handsome guys. The story begins with her getting a job offer from Lala Steel Ltd, a much sought after steel manufacturing company. She is shocked when she comes to know that she has been posted in a remote village in the heart of Karntaka - Toranagallu!
In Toranagallu, Soumya along with her college mate, Amit (whom she dislikes for various reasons) meets Malappa, another new employee. Soumya strike up a good rapport with the talented and smart Malappa. Her first assignment in the company is in the Safety Section as a part of the Reaction Team. Her job involved taking evasive action in case of an accident and informing the relatives of the employee about the incident- a very emotionally taxing job that she grows to hate. Soumya had to witness several gory accidents on field that makes her crumble under pressure. Another unanticipated incident at the company makes her life there, unbearable. She has to make a crucial decison- quit the job or stand up and meet the challenges head on.

It is at this point that her relation with Shubrodeep Shyamchaudhar, a mysterious Indian hippie, develops. Soumya met him during her initial days at Toranagallu, during a trip with Amit and Mallappa. An IIM graduate, Shubrodeep has a different view on the world and relishes his nomadic lifestyle. Soumya falls in love with this charming and handsome Bengali, who never stays in a place for more than 90 days.Shubrodeep comes to live with Soumya at the township. But Soumya doesn't reveal her emotions for him as she fears that it might break her heart even more when he moves on after three months. From there, the story of Shubrodeep and his relation with Soumya unfolds and takes unpredictable twists.

The character that caught my attention is that of Shubrodeep. The author has developed the character in detail. His philosophies and carefree lifestyle really got me addicted. But the blog posts of Shubrodeep was a bit disappointing. I was expecting it to be a bit more colorful and interesting, coming from a guy as interesting as Shubrodeep. The character of Soumya also lacked detailing.

The author could have written the story from a third person view or from a guy's perspective. But he chose to write it from a girl's view. A very brave attempt for a first time author. At places he has failed in capturing the depth of emotions but that doesn't make it least bit ineffective.The prologue about meeting Soumya on a bus journey, reminded me of Chethan Bhagath's style of writing. Sachin is yet another young Indian author who doesn't try to bog you down with a lot of literary devices and techniques. He told a beautiful story in simple and effective language.I would give this gripping story eight on ten. A must read for everyone who likes an easy, refreshing and unpredictable story.

After reading the book, I couldn't help wondering, what is this title about?? The only relation I find with the story and the title is that the protagonist is 24 years old. But she never complains about it! Then why did the author choose such a title? A question that will keep me guessing.. :)

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

In Pursuit of Originality

I've been off the blogging world for a while now. My regular readers ( I hope I have a few! ;) ) , might be wondering where I've been. To them my reply is, I was wandering in the pursuit of originality. I've been facing an acute shortage of ideas for my literary rampages. Ok.. that was not the only reason, I was feeling damn lazy too. But lets come back to the point.

Lack of novel ideas is one common problem faced by all writers. I wrote a few articles and then deleted them completely because I felt that they lacked creativity. Someone, somewhere would have already talked about it or talked about something similar. Now if I say the same thing, won't that be plagiarism? I wouldn't wanna do that, would I?? Definitely no!! So I've been stuck in this cult of originality seekers. 

Then it got me thinking. Well is plagiarism of ideas that big a crime? Shakespeare is supposed to have ripped off plots for his plays from Greek and Roman mythology. Our very own  Mahathma Gandhi has said that there is nothing new in his methodologies and that everything he has ever said is as old as the hills. If these great people can do it, why can't we? Is there anything new in this world? No idea or thought is new. Everything under the sun has already been spoken on written by someone or the other. Haven't you all faced a situation where you thought up some new, superb ideas and later found out that someone had already thought of it. What makes an idea or thought unique is our packaging. Our very own twist to the story. Ripping off an entire article and claiming it to be yours is definitely bad. But borrowing an idea from someone and then reconstructing it to suit our style is definitely not that bad.

Knowledge of the fact that its ok not being completely original all the time, has lifted a huge burden off my shoulder. I feel happy and all ready to kick start another string of my random thoughts. It feels great to be back here.. :)

Thumb Rules for Happy Relationships

Busy as a bee, but even then my thoughts find time to wander into uncharted waters. Something that recently caught my fancy was a thought of Osho. In a very laconic way, he states the secret to happy relations. According to him, we have to realize three basic truths of life :

• Nobody is born for another
• Nobody is here to fulfill your ideals of how he should be.
• You are the master of your own love and you can give as much as you want but you cannot demand love from another person.

 Yes, the rules are simple but to sink them deep into your mind is not a simple task.

The first rule is the simplest. We came alone into this world and will be leaving alone.We transverse the journey of our life alone. All that people can provide is a false impression that they will be there forever. We are all separate individuals swimming across the turbulent water, trying to reach our destination. Don't always expect people to come up to your help when you are trapped in the undercurrents. Who knows, others might be battling their own private battles at the very same time.

The second rule is more insightful. We all have expectations from people, we have a preconceived notion of how a person is or should be. But its not always correct. Your ideals about a person don't necessarily have to be the way the person is and you cannot demand it from them. All that you can do is accept the person for who he really is. Giving space for other's individuality is a very important factor in any relation. You cannot expect everyone to behave in the way you want them to. Understand it and move on with life.

The last rule is the easiest to understand and the most difficult to implement. Our love is very often, a give and take institution. Most of the people feel that they have a right to expect back love in a quantity proportional to what they are giving out. That is selfish love. Love is a weird thing. It comes naturally to us but most of us don't know how to love. The way I express my love will not be the same way in which you express it. A person would naturally be expecting someone to love him the way he understands it. This leads to misunderstandings which brood discomfort and problems. All this is absent in selfless love. Selfless love is the purest form of love in which you give and give, never expecting a thing from others. It is not an easy task at all. But once you have learned to love that way, life would become a lot easier and fulfilling.

At this point, you might ask me if I follow these rules. I'm a student of life. I try out these so called rules searching for the ones that suit me the best. Of all the things Osho said, there was one that I personally loved.

Don't blindly follow the rules of anyone.Question them. Learn from life, explore and make your own rules...!

Now that's what I call the real thumb rule... :)

Distance

It had been raining all day and like the rain drenched earth, her mind felt damp and icy. There are things that time can't erase. Some memories stay on forever.. Two years had passed and even now, rain made her cry. She found it difficult to hold back the tears that rolled down her cheeks, a downpour in itself. The rain beating down the roof brought back a swirl of memories. His face.. A small dimple forming in his cheek as he swept away the soft hair that wind pulled down across his forehead. The way he tilted his face as his eyes closed for a second to wink at her.. It was raining the first time they met..



The heavy rain had delayed his flight for two hours. Even though he had to wait at the busy airport amidst a milieu of bustling people jostling for space, he dint mind it a bit. It was going back to that city, that he dreaded. Not long back, the very same city was close to his heart. It had given him everything he held valuable in his life.. his friends, his family, his flourishing career, his first love.. A jolt of pain cursed through him at the thought of her, his throat felt dry and parched.. The sweet fragrance of her body, the smell that he loved above all. Her touch, gentle and firm. He yearned for it, once just once to see her smiling at him. To feel his stomach doubling up, a feeling he hadn't felt since he last saw her.



Her office was buzzing with noise-the beeping printers, ringing phones and incessant talking. But as usual, she dint notice any of it. Life had become a routine. Wake up in the morning, make breakfast, call mom and listen to her patiently as she goes on filling her on the latest gossips or about the 'handsome, educated,six figure salaried boy' looking for a bride.. She hardly listened to any of it. At office, she didn't talk much.. She kept herself busy all the time.Often the fact that she was becoming a workaholic had crossed her mind. But the thought didn't scare her. The only thing that scared her was her buzzing phone. Every time it rings, her heart leaps up in anticipation. She hesitates a second before looking at the screen. Hoping for a second that it would be him. But like the rain outside her office window, her hopes had also started dieing..


As the car sped through the highway, rain had stopped outside, leaving a trail of droplets on the window. He flicked through the photos in his cell. There was her, in a white salwar, holding the rose that he had given her on their first valentines day. He remembered every second of that day so well as if it had all happened yesterday. How she had lied to her hostel warden to go out with him, how she had draped her dupatta  over her head with one hand and clenched his shoulder with the other as they drove through the city. She looked like an angel, standing there among a bunch of flowers in that park. It was the day he had gifted her the silver ring with a small heart engraved in the metal, the very ring that she threw at him the day they parted. Shuffling through his contacts, he stopped at her name,his thumb poised over the green button. "I don't want to see you ever again. Get lost you cheat..I hate you" her words ringed in his mind.




Sitting up in the couch she flipped through the channels. A chat show was going on where the host was guffawing over a joke cracked by her guest -pop- "the heavy rain has caused havoc in the city and the traffic has come to a standstill", a news reporter was shouting into the camera as rain rolled in the background -pop- a latest film song was playing with the scenes showing the hero and heroine dancing away in exotic locations -pop- pop- pop- The scenes flickered but she didn't pay attention to any. Sleep was again evading her and she had nothing else to do. Switching off the TV, she went to her bedroom and took out a silver ring from her drawer. As he walked away, she had picked it up from the ground. Through those watery eyes, she had stared at him walking away from her, calling out to him but words stopping at her throat. If he loves me, he'll turn back, she told herself stubbornly. But he dint. She waited till he disappeared and the sun had sunken low. The world moved about her but she never left that spot ever again..




The meeting was a success. The company had appreciated his proposals and had agreed to move forward with the deal. the next round of meetings would be held at his office. He had politely declined the invitation for dinner with the excuse of an early morning flight. Back in his hotel room, as he poured out a drink, he thought of her. She would be living somewhere in this city, working in a corporate firm as she had always wanted, married to some lucky guy. Maybe she even has kids now. She would be leading a happy life that might have been his too. "Oh God, why did this happen to us?? Where did we go wrong?"He thought as tears rolled down his cheeks...


Few kilometers away, a bolt lighted up the dark room where she lay cuddled.Her cries got muffled on the wet pillow..

Near yet so far..