HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

“God cannot be everywhere, so He made mothers.”

This has and will always remain my favorite quote. The major and the only reason for my devoted likeness to this quote is because I’m blessed with the best mother in the world. Dictionary wraps up meaning of mother as ‘a female who has given birth to offspring’. But, words can hardly give a concrete definition to a mother.

A mother is a universe where the only thing that resides is the undying love for her child. She is the only person who accepts you as who you are and what you are. She has known you since the time you started taking shape. She is among the solitary manifestations of pure and selfless love. I better not dare try to explain Her in words because if I do, then perhaps a book wouldn’t be enough.

My message to my readers (and especially to today’s youth) is that feel blessed to have a mother. Feel glad that God has considered you worthy enough to keep you under the warmth and love of a mother. This post is undoubtedly a tribute to all ever loving and caring mothers. But, that does not mean that your love and respect for Her should be restricted to this day only.

Don’t forget that one day you will have to bid goodbye to your mother forever. Don’t ever forget that there will be a cruel day when the comfort of your mother’s kindness and love will be snatched from you forever. So, take every moment and all opportunities to make her feel special. Give all the love you can while you can. I am not saying that your relationship with your mother should be an absolutely smooth one.

Nasty feelings like anger, frustration and annoyance will be there. She might be over possessive and over protective. But there is always a way of talking things out, and do you know what the best part is? A child is the only person who can convince a mother. If certain things get sour with your mother, then you are the only person who can turn it sweet. Don’t hesitate to talk to her because no matter how strict and harsh she appears, deep down she is truly, deeply and madly in love with you.

I hope this post has given you enough reasons to spare some time and share at least a cup of tea once in a day with your mother. Once again Happy Mother’s Day to all ever special mothers and all folks who are blessed with mothers!!

Please share some ideas for surprise gifts so that I can use some for my *Maa.

*Maa – In India, mother is addressed as Maa.

2014: TIME TO IMPLEMENT THE ‘HARD-LEARNED’ LESSONS

First of all, I offer my apologies to all my readers. I’m trying hard to cope with the head-on collision between my daily chores and writing schedule. And now that you all have accepted my apologies, I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. :) I’m sure that just like me, most of you must have fresh hopes, fresh plans for the year followed by resolutions of course. As for me, I have made just one resolution this year because in my case, too many resolutions have always spoiled my year.

My only resolution this year is to implement the lessons I have learnt from 2013. The year 2013 turned out to be great for me. Why? Because all my best laid plans went astray. I was literally screwed up and was thrown into a maze of hopelessness. Surprised why I still praise 2013? It is because I found out that God screwed my plans to make my wishes come true. My initial disappointment was gone when I looked over the incidents and the dots connected.

Those incidents taught me useful lessons and the reason behind sharing them with you all is my hope; hope that some lessons might come in handy to my readers for knowing and recognizing the ‘actually’ valuable things in life. So here come my ‘hard-earned’ lessons.

# Never Say Never

Life does maintain a diary where all our actions are noted down (that’s how karma gets back to us). Out of all entries made in that diary, situations that are entered for sure are those for which we firmly utter - I’m never going to do it. The moment you utter those words, the next moment life starts hatching out a plant to ensure that you do it.

I remember a conversation with one of my friends when I so confidently said to her, “I cannot stay away from my home for more than four months.” That very year, I moved to Ahmedabad for my job and my next visit to home was after eleven months. I turned almost insane, but I survived. Life rescued me but it smiled at me and said, “Never say never darling.” So better ‘never’ utter those words. Simply avoid the situation and move on.

#Never Take Anything or Anyone for Granted

Not even your slippers. Ever heard of Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the US that went bankrupt in 2008? No no! I’m not saying that they took their success for granted. I’m just emphasizing on the point that things can go wrong any time. What you have today may not be there tomorrow. So better respect all your loved ones and every good thing that you have – your loving parents, caring siblings, your beloved, your clothes or as I said, even your comfy slippers.

#What Doesn’t Kill You Definitely Makes You Stronger

Life often throws us in situations when we feel excruciating pain and wish that dinosaurs were alive to eat us up. Make damn sure that you survive those situations because those are the situations that turn you into warriors. And as my favorite Po (the kung-fu panda of course) says – warriors have nerves of steel and souls of platinum. It won’t be easy for others to break you down again.

#Hope for the Best but Stay Prepared for the Worst

Rihanna’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’ has a captivating line – even angels have their wicked schemes. SO VERY TRUE! In July 2013, I just landed into a great job and before joining, I decided to take a break. I was at home when malaria caught me for the third time and ruined everything. I lost the offer and was completely shattered. Thanks to my ever-supportive parents, they helped me stay stable and help me to put up new plans.

Guys! There’s nothing wrong in keeping your fingers crossed but there’s nothing wrong in keeping a backup plan either. Keep yourself prepared to face the extremes. That’ll help you a lot to stay stable when things don’t go your way.

#Don’t Try to Please Everyone

Because that’s next to impossible. Even God doesn’t try to do that, which maybe a reason for existence of atheists. Let me make it very clear that I’m not raising questions or doubts on anyone’s beliefs. I’m just trying to clarify that keeping up with everyone’s expectations will ultimately result in failing on your own expectations. Remember one thing – trying to make everyone happy will leave you lonely. So try to keep yourself happy because only then you can spread happiness.

These five important lessons that 2013 taught me have brought out several unknown aspects of my own self. I went bonkers when I was put through those tough tests but when they were over, I found myself again with stronger traits and in better shape. All I had to do was stay in the game.

I wish that my lessons turn out to be of at least some help for my close pals and nice folks. Once again, I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. :)

A TRIBUTE TO MY JOURNAL

Love, happiness, excitement, nervousness, hatred, anger, frustration and a lot more – my journal is a ‘pensieve’ that holds all my emotions besides my memories. I was in seventh standard when I started writing journal, which was in the year 2001. To be honest, I haven’t been able to visit it daily (something I’ve wished to do since a long time). But till today, my journal has been my only friend to stay with me through thick and thin.

Life doesn’t go easy on anyone but, it does grant a means of survival to everyone. This means of survival, be it a friend, hobby or anything, helps you to make it through the day. For me, it is my journal. This takes me back to the first episode of The Vampire Diaries’ very first season where Elena Gilbert sits beside a window and addresses her journal as ‘Dear Diary’. Yes, a diary is one of the dearest things to its owner. And why not? After all, this is the only place where incidents and feelings are entered unadulterated. There is no place for pretense.

However, when I started my journal, my purpose wasn’t exactly to report incidents. My sole purpose of writing journal was to improve my writing skills. But we got connected eventually. When I sat with it, all I could see was those blank pages eagerly waiting to be penned down with all I have in my heart and mid. When we were together, it listened to me so patiently. Anne Frank is so right. Paper is more patient than men.

From seventh standard till now, both my life and I have changed. In the last twelve years, I have metamorphosed from a nervous teenager to a confident spinster. So many things have changed except my love for my journal and its respect for my emotions. There have been times when I neglected it, even abandoned it for months. But, it never complained and every time I was back, I found the same warmth and love.

I am and will always be grateful to my journal for so many things. I’ll be grateful to it for helping me to maintain my integrity when other people have been losing theirs at such rapid pace. I’ll be grateful to it for helping me to believe in myself when others mercilessly broke my trust. My journal is and will always be my best friend.

P.S. – Before you start writing journal, find a good place to hide it, especially from your siblings. ;) J

CREEPERS, COUCH AND A CUP OF TEA

Drizzly morning, creepers growing on roofs, calm breeze, comfortable couch and a cup of tea – for a nature lover like me, Sunday morning cannot be better than this. The serenity such combination offers is hard to find and express as well. Honestly speaking, I don’t expect everyone to see the exception of this situation.

There might be nothing exceptional in enjoying a cup of tea on Sunday. But, having it amongst nature, away from the bustle and din of metros, certainly makes your Sunday special. It revitalizes you. It feels as if every molecule of your body is drawing its share of energy, ready to release it when they are set into motion again. But, not everyone has the eye to admire this beauty neither the ability to understand nature’s language.

Fortunately, I’m blessed to be among those rare species who understand its significance. I am bestowed with the talent to harness its energy and maintain internal peace as nature does. I’m lucky to be among the ones who have the ability to have a cup of tea and chat with creepers while whispering wishes to the wind.

While staring at the greenery, I saw the trees waving at me and asking me to savor my morning tea. I smiled back at them and said, “Isn’t it unusual to have tea with you all?” They were taken aback and asked, “And why do you say so darling?” I took a sip and said, “Because this one’s odd one out – manmade.”

They said, “Silly girl! Where do you get that tea from?” I thought, “Tea leaves of course – derived from nature.” I smiled at my silliness and continued enjoying my Sunday morning tea. 

SONGS FOR A SLEEPLESS NIGHT

It was 4’o clock in the morning and I was lying wide awake because GOD just granted my wish. I learnt a lesson from the sleepless night – be careful what you wish for as it might come true. I requested God to help me to wake up early in the morning; instead of that, I got blessed with a sleepless night. Next time, I would be more precise and more careful to choose my words. But, what’s done couldn’t be undone. So, instead of being angry on GOD, I chose to try – to sleep of course.

My experience says that it’s tough to pass a sleepless night, especially when you have restrictions on using your laptop or switching on the lights. The former kept me from watching movies and the latter prevented me from reading. But, I was saved by one thing which always comes to my aid when I need it the most – music. It was music that helped me to pass my long, boring night. Before that, I even tried to surf Internet through my simple Nokia feature-phone. But, it lacked the shimmering display of an iPad and I was soon beaten by boredom.

So, I went straight to my phone’s memory card which was stacked with around 80 songs. Not all of them proved to be effective, but fortunately, there were few tracks that at least helped me to keep my eyes shut for few minutes. I thought of listing down those tracks in case any of my readers faces a similar situation. You will find these tracks helpful until and unless, you are an insomniac. So, here goes my list.

1) Fireflies – Owl City

This song came to me through one of my colleagues and I’m really grateful to him for it. It has an amazing blend of soft beats and lyrics. Its soft notes shall surely soothe your ears. What attracts me most about this song is the voice of its singer – so different, so unique.

2) Cut – Plumb

I found the song from the first season of the Vampire Diaries and instantly fell for it. All those people who are truly, deeply and madly in love can pass their whole night by listening to this one. It does not have typical beats and has been composed on piano base. The beauty of this song has been augmented with heart-touching lyrics.

3) Good Life – OneRepublic

An empty mind is a devil’s workshop and worries have tendency to flood your mind when you are trying to sleep. But this song can keep those worries at bay; at least it worked for me. The song keeps on telling you about all the good things that can happen. I love the part of the song when it says, “Hopelessly, the hope is we have so much to feel good about.” This track can actually make you feel good.

4) Say It Right – Nelly Furtado

I have loved Nelly’s voice since her first song I’m like a bird. Nelly’s this song serves as an ideal one for sleepless nights because it is free from sudden screams and shrieks which are usually there in English songs. Lyrics, again, augments it and I can feel Nelly’s dilemma when she sings:

Oh, you don't mean nothing at all to me!

No, you don’t mean nothing at all to me!

Oh, you’ve got what it takes to set me free!

Oh, you could mean everything to me!

5) This Girl – Laza Morgan

I picked up this one from Step Up 3. There’s no special reason to fall in love with it as everything about this song is special – lyrics, rhythm, beats – everything. This one’s again a must have for all lovers, especially for guys who want to propose their lovely ladies. ;)

                                                                                             

6) Rude Boy – Rihanna

This is an odd one out, but being a huge fan of Rihanna, I had to have at least one track of hers. Now, you may ask why this one? And the answer is because I feel she screams a little less in it (no offense meant as I too am a great fan of hers). But, if you are looking for an alternative, then ‘Diamonds’ can be a good replacement.

Besides these six ones, other songs did a good job too but, these were the most effective ones. Also, if you have songs similar to these in your stock, then please suggest and share them.

P.S. – These tracks are mere suggestions, and they have the potential to bring your sleep back. But, if you still don’t fall asleep, then may GOD help you with your sleep. :P

AN UNUSUAL BEGINNING OF 2013

The first two months of 2013 are over and they have turned into memories. My memory bank has now some extra lockers where fresh memories are stacking up. Among those newly added lockers, there’s one that will always bring a smile on my face and that locker is of 01^st January, 2013 – the very first day of the year. For me, 2013 is passing rather quickly as compared to the last two years. I still remember the first day of 2012 that I had spent like a slothful snail. But this year, it was very much opposite. It just seems yesterday, when I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling on the night of 29^th December, 2012, trying to plan something interesting for 01^st Jan.

But, almost all my plans ended with one or the other flaw; so, I had to discard all my lucrative ways of welcoming the year. Had I been at home, this brainstorm wouldn’t have been necessary, but I wasn’t and hence, the plan. My very first idea of greeting the day was a lousy one (sleeping late till 11 am in the morning as my very generous office heads decided to grant a holiday on that day). So, I continued searching for better ideas. My next thought was to have tasty fried chickens, but for me, my Mom is the best person to prepare this dish and as I wasn’t at home, I immediately kicked out this idea.

The next one was to visit a decent restaurant that served extra-delicious food. Unfortunately, I was running on a low-budget scheme at that time, which meant that I couldn’t pay heavy load on my wallet; hence, this idea was formidable for my wallet. After checking and cross-checking the probabilities of all my ideas, I finally gave up on brainstorming and decided to embrace the day as it would turn out to be. But, I did ask one thing from God, which was a different and unique start to the year. My wish was granted as I did have the most unusual start to 2013. I spent the very first day of this year hunting the city for vampire fangs.

Yes, you read it right – vampire fangs. This hunt was the outcome of the theme party suggestion which was offered to our HR by my mischievously innovative colleague, Gaganpreet who was accompanied in this task by the ultra-intelligent ME. :P What was more appreciable than the suggestion was the very thoughtful nature of our HR department to shoot the mail in the end of our last working day of 2012 which was 31^st December, which meant that we were left with just a single day for preparation.

Both Gagan and I were predetermined to be vampires for the day, but we felt that just two of us weren’t enough to scare people; so we included Hina in our team, and after office hours, we were on our way to become vampires. Wow! That was some preparation. Hina and me hunted the shops on the 31^st night (when we were supposed to be partying around) and Gagan and me spent the entire day of 01^st Jan to gather all the things (when, again, we should have been hanging around). What caused so much pain for us to find the teeth was the inappropriate time that we chose for teeth-patrolling.

When I opened my eyes on the pleasant morning of 01^st January, every artery and vein of my body was aware of the fact that I’ll have to go on hunting, even before I turned into a vampire. At 11:30 am, Gagan and I set out on our journey again. We knew that finding the ‘fangs’ was going to be an uphill struggle and so, just to have some encouragement, we first went to Gurudwara (a place of worship for Sikhs) to seek God’s blessings. After leaving the Gurudwara, we went straight to collect our lenses. Getting the lenses was less tedious as Hina and I completed that part of homework on the previous day. But, the teeth – they were the real cause of our trouble. It took us almost thirty shops (and all our energy and precious time of the precious day) before we could finally shout ‘Hurrah’.

However, all our efforts paid off on 02^nd January, when our colleagues were awed by our transformation. We were poured with appreciation from known as well as unknown colleagues. We even won the prize for the best costumes. That day, I came back to my room extremely pleased because we spent a quality time with our ‘vampire-selves’. At night, I sat down and looked back at the cascade of events of the past two days. There was no doubt at all that those days were hectic and back breaking, but I was happy that my wish my fulfilled and that I got to spend my new year as a pseudo active-vampire rather than a slothful snail. J

EAT, PRAY, LOVE..!!

Julia Roberts is a great actress, and I knew this right from the time when I watched her first movie. But, I was completely dazzled by her performance in Eat, Pray and Love. I know I’m not a critic and though I can’t give the minute details as a critic does, I can certainly keep my opinion and say that I liked the movie.

The literature freaks and the English movie geeks must know what I’m talking about, but if you do not belong to any of the category, then let me give you a brief on it. Eat, Pray, Love is an English movie, based on the novel of the same name written by Elizabeth Gilbert, and Julia Roberts is its protagonist. Coincidentally  whenever I watch a novel based movie, I always stumble upon the movie first and then catch the novel. It was the same for this one too.

The movie had a very simple (and common) theme, which showed a disturbed and confused woman trying to get her identity and her peace of mind back. What kept me glued to it was her stylish and impressive ways to do that. Julia, who portrays Elizabeth in the movie, is a successful woman married to her Mr. Right. In spite of this, after a few months, she finds the charm of her relationship fading away, and the reason was she had been desperately trying to fit herself in someone else’s life. After a long fight with her husband (who seems to be a wife fanatic), she finally gets a divorce. And during this fight, a theater guy, David, grabs her eyeballs.

But, her desperation to seek peace leads to another devastating relationship as she could not get along with David. The only good thing that happens to her in it is she comes to know about David’s Guru and her Ashram in India where he learned the power of prayer. After a broken marriage and a botched relationship, Julia once again finds herself tangled into life’s cobweb. It was during a conversation with her best friend in which she realizes that in an attempt to make her relationships work out, she has completely lost herself.

She used to have a good appetite, a taste for food, and most importantly, she used to love herself. So, finally, she decides to take a break and go on a year-long tour to Italy, India and Indonesia. Her visit to the three ‘I’ countries aids her in finding the ‘I’ within her and the break brings her back from her numbness and teaches her to EAT, PRAY and LOVE. The movie ended on a lived-happily-ever-after note. Of course, there’s more in the movie but I had better cut to the chase as I don’t want my readers to doze off.

What I want to point out is in today’s life, this has become a common problem. We study, we work and we do every possible thing to make our life stable, organized and meaningful. At the beginning, the intensity is on peak but, suddenly, a day comes when you find yourself lost. In the movie, Julia found this out after a troubled marriage but nowadays, marriage isn't required to make things complicated. This might not be the case with everyone but most of us do become a victim of this struggle.

The reason why I can say it with such firmness is because I've been a victim of it. I’m 25 years old young lady with a Bachelor’s degree and a coincidentally landed job of a content writer with an in-between-low-to-moderate-salary that’s enough to support me. My parents aren't satisfied with my job, but I can understand their problem and they understand mine, and hence, our mutual understanding removes all conflicts between us. But, what I've always found difficult is to adjust myself with total strangers. Though most of the times I've succeeded in doing so, I had also encountered troubles. Right from the day when I left home and stepped into my first hostel, I've been trying to fit into places where I found no space for myself.

After staying eight years away from home, all my true colors blended to create a very strong, strange color that I had never known or seen before. Coincidentally  I too found out about this strange color during my conversation with one of my roommates in my last PG. I realized that I've become a chameleon. I realized that I camouflaged so wonderfully with others’ colors that I've succeeded in losing my own ones. However, I was very fortunate to find few true friends who helped me to keep up my basic values.

What saved me from turning completely insane were my short vacations to my Home Sweet Home, and these vacations helped me to restore my sanity and get my Zen back. When I’m at home, I eat well, I work, I read, I sing, I dance, I cry and I even get to enjoy the bliss of solitude. I even fight with my ever loving parents – arguing with my Dad on inter-caste marriage (which always leaves him suspicious :P), sulking when my dearest Mom scolds me and banging plates with my Sis when I’m hungry. I revived my colors for short time and then lost them again, and I grew tired of it. So, during my last vacation to home, I decided to shed off my chameleon characters and transform completely into ‘ME’ again.

This wasn't easy at all as I had to give up my extra politeness and the habit of nodding my head to avoid conflicts. So, I mastered the word ‘NO’ and I learned how to speak this word bluntly on one’s face. Here also, books helped me a lot. Surprisingly, the day I decided to do this, things started working my way. I started caring less for others and more for me, even if it meant that I was a bad girl for someone, I didn't give a damn to it. This year, I missed home a lot but cried a little less because I enjoyed being myself.

While watching Eat, Pray, Love, I found myself connected with the story because my life had some similarities with it. But, THANK GOD, I didn't have to travel to different places because my home acts as my rehabilitation center. After the movie ended, I returned from my flashback, but I got the moral, which clearly stated that every now and then, you must boost your morale to live your life the way you want to live and for this, the most important thing is to be in touch with yourself.

So, I would suggest every person to watch Eat, Pray, Love at least once (especially if you’re not very patient with books).

P.S.: That’s just a suggestion. So, if you yawn during the movie, I’m not to be blamed. ;)