Me Inc

The Journey.

2011-12-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

Stride after stride I tread, Breath after breath I take

The Sun dawns, and serene’s lake

Flowers stop their sway, wind lost its way

Thoughts aren’t gay, Heart’s not making any hay

Long way to go, the destination is still at bay

Miles to travel, before calling it a day

Like a beautiful dream, here he comes

With him comes, a gush of flutters

Eyes shy away , heart thaws

He shines, a volcano of happiness erupts

Flowers bloom, and the Lake is all silver

The sky is dark, yet the path so clear

Long way to go, the destination isn’t near

But the Journey’s now dear, with my “Full Moon” here !

Believe it or Faint !

2011-01-25T03:22:00.000-08:00

1) A mother should never sleep facing her back to the baby.

2) Do not kiss a baby immediately after her bath, your kiss drains off all her energy. (And they say kiss is an energy capsule..!!!)

3) Do kiss your baby after your meal, all the energy you have gained from your meal will go to your baby. (but HOW??!!) Oh by the way, this is applicable only to mothers.

4) Do not stamp a baby’s bedsheets. Not that they get dirty but “also” that it brings body pains to the baby (??!!)

5) Do not share your baby’s pics with many people or take your baby to a crowdy place, it results in this inexplicable state called “Dishti” which makes ur baby ill, makes her cry excessively and all sorts of other ‘evil/bad’ things happen to her. Beware, evil eyes around !!

6) Do not swing an empty cradle that is when the baby is not in it. It will result in severe stomach pain to the baby.

7) Do not show the baby her reflection in the mirror. They may become dumb. (Dumb logic eh?!) But once they start teething, its OK. (!!)

Any new mom would instantly identify what I am talking about, the rest will surely think I have become eligible to join a loony bin. In the plethora of advice thrown at a new mom, this kinda stuff definitely takes the cake. Obviously, anything which is related to baby’s well-being is given the top seat. An age-old war between ‘Sense and Superstition’ and we like pendulums keep swaying hither and thither.

My take? Well like I told you I act like a pendulum. While I know ‘Sense’ makes more sense, the fact that my baby’s well-being is at stake sometimes compels me to incline towards superstitions. Some of the new moms also echo the same feeling. Some even tell me that they practice all or some of these religiously because they have no choice. I am not audacious enough to criticise them nor foolish enough to put my sense aside, but what I genuinely feel is that there definitely could’ve been some logic/reason behind these when they were coined ages ago. And as we moved forward only the superstition that too a skewed version is passed on blissfully forgetting the rhyme and reason behind it! No matter how considerate I am in this issue, some sound way too outrageous to me. The logics are always time-bound and place-bound. The same logic may not work in different time at a different place. But all that is sieved and only the remaining pulp, the useless one is carried down to generations and generations. The Result : All the advice of the elders is mocked at and when emotional bondings are at stake, the confused new moms have yet another Pandora’s box opened..SIGH !

Any light properly thrown on these would not only make “Sense” but also helps us not to get bogged down by the so-called “Superstitions”. Till then, the swaying at our whims and fancies seem to continue....

Joie de vivre !

2010-10-31T04:11:00.000-07:00

The right knee is gingerly raised to give the necessary support, the left followed suit while the hands play their part in coming to the desired position. Even before they are set to move comes the collapse. Again flat on the floor, the head turns in right and left to see what has happened. After a second of recovery the whole cycle of the knees and hands coordination begins. They are back to the position, a second of no-motion and then all set for the movement. Collapse again!! The whole cycle is repeated. A minute of wavering and balance act, the limbs move again. Two to three steps forward and collapse greets them again. SIGH!! Repeat the whole process and this time the limbs move a little farther and a little further and a little further finally reaching the destination….

Are you already tired and bored to read this?? I am sure most of you are…but what about the one involved in the whole process?

…she finally lays her hands on her fave colorful toy which when pressed sings out lovely rhymes for her. She beats the toy in ecstasy, gives a squeak of victory and is engrossed watching the changing colors while listening to the rhymes. This is what makes the whole process an ‘Experience’.

Not a trace of boredom or tiresomeness is seen all along…what is the key? ‘Enthusiasm’ is my humble answer.

She creeps under the cot maybe to see why it’s dark there, slips under the computer table maybe to know what those black wires taste like, tries to grab every kitchen item and beats it to death on the floor like an acoustic expert studying some sound. Gosh!! Did I just hear a THUD?? To enthusiastically understand what this high-level stage is and what’s under it, Mugdha creeps vigorously to take a quick peek. And the inevitable happens :-(. A few seconds of loud cry is disturbed taking a definite end at the sight of her favourite toy and a tight hug from her mom. She is back to her enthusiastic world wondering who those two people staring at her are. Our reflections in the mirror excite her very much :-)

I go about diverse experiences everyday and I find each day with a baby is a new discovery, a new perspective and a new joy which can only be beaten by another joy brought about only by them. Call it whatever you want, the underlying secret is ‘Enthusiasm’. Babies are ‘Enthusiasm’ personified.

Whenever I am lost thoroughly enjoying her enthusiastic adventures, I wonder why is it that the elders the once children lost this very special quality as they grew. Even the most painful experience is forgotten by them once the enthusiasm of grabbing something takes over. While the kids learn stuff which makes them productive, constructive, positive and happy, we elders in the name of growing up also learnt clinging to unnecessary things for too long, having mood-offs on and off, seeing only the negatives, and wasting time on useless things. With depression, frustration and stress as our everyday visitors, time waste, mismanagement of things a daily routine, gossip and rumours as our food, we are just surviving and not ‘living’ life. While nature gives us every opportunity to learn, we are “grown up” and clever enough to ignore all of them.

I redirect my thoughts to my own life and think of all the lessons I have learnt. Apart from being good at academics, topping more than a few times in various competitions, I dabbled in painting, music, dance, shuttle and a host of things classified under “Hobbies/Interests”. Now when I am completely at home conveniently calling myself a “house-wife”, I ask myself why I have not pursued any of those gifts to become a master. The answer is obvious. My ‘enthusiasm’ to learn or pursue sometimes wavered, sometimes decreased and sometimes died off.

I don’t waste my time getting into the redundant regretting mode coz I know I still have that “one” thing in me which can make a difference – “Zest for life”. This undying zest for life in me is enough even if I have to begin my life all over again from this moment. Having a baby at home has only rejuvenated me and my zest for life just gets better by day :-)

What's in a Name?

2010-06-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

Absurd ! In this age where name is considered the best and first gift of parents to their children asking such a question is ridiculous! Naming a baby has surely come of age. Gone are the days when children were named after their grandparents or respectable ancestors. Then came a stage where parents included their favourite God's name and after came a phase where parents added their ancestors' names and God's name as prefix which was to be shortened as V.B.S.S...etc to their choice of name. All these make sense to me. Naming your child with some logic and a meaning. And now comes a phase where "Naming" is considered a 'Fad', an attempt to show how differently parents can think and come up with a unique name. The craze to go in search of a different n unique name sometimes crosses all sensible limits to the extent of calling it ludicrous. But NO all these wont cut any ice with these parents. They leave no stone unturned to find a different sounding name and its absoultely OK if there is no rhyme or reason !

I have seen some of these searches ending at a very logical point but some have been utter flops. And what can sound unique to you may not actually be so. My friend named her son "Akshar". When I asked her why Akshar she said it was different. But when I told her that its not unique she admitted that four of her friends also named their sons with the same name. Alas ! She knew it after naming her son. Infact there was a phase wherein every other boy was named Akshar or Akshath or Akshit or Akshay. Add an "A" in the end and you get a girl's name. Another species who tried to sound different and unique went to all ridiculous horizons and came up with the name "Hasanthi". I must say they succeeded coz nobody would name their child Hasanthi. It means a "Fire Pot", in telugu "Kumpati" :O :O ! Disastrous choice I say ! One parent named their beautiful angel as "Swetha" but now that girl is far away from the meaning of her name. She is a dusky beauty :-). I was very fascinated with the name "Rishabh". When I shared the same with my "Operation Namakaranam" team (Yep! I had one who guided me to find an apt name) they rejected it outright. Rishabh, according to them, is an anglicised version of 'Vrshabh', meaning ox. Without even checking the veracity of their opinion I dropped it that second itself. I asked a girl who had a very beautiful name as to the background of that choice . She plainly told me that it was her grandmother who named her and she has no idea of the logic behind it...Pathetic...Grrrrrrr...!!

Well...yeah..I know what's on your mind now. I can already see your raised eye brows asking me how different I tried to be. I had learnt lessons from some of my friends' disasters and so when I started off had a clear idea of my criteria. My criteria was - 1) A sanskrit word 2) Not more than 2 to 3 letters (in telugu, I mean) 3) No too-old or too-posh sounding names pls 4) No Negativity 5) Should give an "Aaha nice" feel when we hear. If its a girl, it should definitely be one of those 'Amma vari names' from the Sahasranamam or Ashtothram. (Yep! I am very religious :-)) With this criteria, my team and me set out our journey ! Then began a series of discussions on some hundreds of names, their meanings, logics etc in some hundreds of gmail threads :D Oh, BTW, Phani was dead against at choosing the name before the baby was born. He feels he should see the baby, get inspired and name him/her accordingly.

One Friday before my delivery my mom suggested a name after her puja. She read it in her daily stothrams somewhere and was very impressed. I heard with a slight nod and said will consider. When our baby was born, I asked Phani if she has inspired him to choose a name and yes he came up with the same name which my mom said. Coincidence, I thought ! On one of those instances where I talk to my baby, I called out different names eagerly waiting to see to which name she responds. When I called out "that" name which my mom suggested before delivery and Phani after she was born, she instantly responded and screamed with joy. Done ! I took it as a happy acceptance and resolved to go ahead with 'that' name. {{If she has any complaints about her name in future, I shall show this as a proof :P}}

Today, June 21, 2010, amidst all her loved ones, our beautiful princess is named "MUGDHA", meaning a beautiful, young, innocent girl :-). Whether we chose an apt name or not, she grows up to her name or not is for us to wait and see...but as a parent I am pretty satisfied with our choice :)

Tons and tons of thanks to Kiran Anna, Sandeep and Mouli for all the help. Do check out Sandeep's excellent write-up on Namakaranam basics at Operation Namakaranam

So much for the happy ending..!!

2010-06-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Carpet area, 10ft space, Setbacks, Elevation, Amenities and lots of cash – if this set of words doesn’t ring any bell to you, then a warm welcome to a cold “Realty” world…a world of dreams, a world of sentiments, a world of hard money and quirky fate! This world simply survives on nurtured dreams and dies on shattered dreams!

Talking about dreams definitely reminds me of this concept called 'Dream House'. Be it a small space with a single roof or a palatial bungalow, it is called a 'Dream' house when you burn all your savings, have a loan which can only be cleared just before you retire and 'buy' this house which is your 'dream-come-true'. Today a lot of couples especially the newly-wed ones are scouting for a house to fulfill this dream. The moment they set out their journey to find rather buy a house, the novices in them dawn! The realty world to them is dizzying right from the vocab to the wierd ways in which the world runs !!

Dont know where to begin...why fear when Google is here! They take the internet's help as the very first step and begin their search. The internet shows wonders to them. Remember they are realty-illiterates and so they are trapped. They start making cold calls to builders who claim to promise the sky but in reality right from the area they claim to the quality everything seems skewed :(. If the builder says two minutes drive from the chowrasta, he actually means 2kms and more from that point. If he says the price quoted included all amenities, then all he means is just 'lift and car parking'. Dont get carried away by the word 'amenities' it means nothing you have imagined. Even if it includes a big list when you finally start living there you realise everything comes at an extra cost. The list of white lies continues...!! If you are looking for a Gated Community, then the word 'amenities' tantamounts atleast '4 lakhs' If the amount is less than that I bet he isn't offering any good amenities.

The builder is an expert in everything under the sun. He is a vaastu expert, teaching you new fundas of vaastu and justifying why that balcony had to be small or why the hall's shape looks weird, an expert fortune-teller predicting how the government can change in the next few days, how a new road can come, how this area can become a prime area..!! If one construction looks like a train compartment, the other one looks like a school building, the other a non-ventilated den with criss cross compound walls..PHEW!!!

The couples dont compromise in the beginning and keep rejecting every house for one reason or the other. Finally after screwing their countless weekends and their mental peace, they relook at their priorities and thus begin the 'Compromises'. Finally they do find one house and resolve to end their unending search after compromising here and there. They announce to the world that they finally bought a "house" conveniently ignoring the word 'dream'. The routine dialogues being - 'This house is just an investment', 'We had to compromise in the sft area or the distance from the road or look and feel etc', 'we will rent this out.' 'we still have a loong way to go...our dream house will be after 40'...etc etc....Most of the time your house doesnt come in the budget you have set.

Phani & me went around for two months and were almost fed up. When we first saw our future flat, both of us loved it ! But since it wasn't coming in our budget, we just 'wished' it was ours and left the place. From then which ever flat we saw we had unconsciously compared that flat with our future flat. After a couple of visits again and again to the place, a huge fight with the builder vowing never to come back to that place, we finally made it "Ours" :-)

This is just the first step of a series of mentally irritating things..a lot of pain in the form of registration, interiors, carpenters, electricians etc begins now. Do thank me Im sparing you all the painful details here :)

It takes a lot for this happy ending. Dont be surprised if you are acting like a wreck :P. But imagine spending time with your loved ones at a place which you call "Yours"....Bliss ! No wonder home is where the heart is.

PS : I wrote this one a year ago when we bought our flat in June 2009 but obviously it never saw the light of day. Thank you VasuGuns for taking me back to those memories and bringing this out of the shelves with your good news! Congratulations again :-)

Great Expecations - II

2010-04-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

“It is a girl baby!”

Never ever in my life did I want to utter this line! March 30, 2010 saw what I can surely call the biggest surprise of my life – A baby girl in my hands after a 51/2 hrs of labour.

Recalling the last lines of my previous post “Great Expectations” ----- “....I just pray that both of us accept the coming bundle without any expectations and with all his/her positives and negatives. His/her mere arrival itself should be a joy to us….”

As if to test how much I really mean those lines, God must have given this surprise to me.

Surprise?? Isn’t this supposed to be a “Shock” to me??

I would have called it the rudest shock of my life if it was given to me like a Christmas present. Santa comes in knocks the door and leaves a baby gal at the door and vanishes! But that wasn’t the case here. It was what is popularly called a normal delivery though there was nothing normal about it and not a surprise door delivery. I would have been definitely disappointed, dejected and depressed to see her if Phani n me were busy in some sweet nothings and the gal directly falls on to my lap without an iota of suffering I had gone thru.

I wouldn’t have accepted her if having a baby never indicated an emotional bonding, never meant gaining weight and a 10-month wait, being sick and being careful every second, having to go thru all those pains yet bearing n grinning, enjoying a near-death experience and proudly smiling n telling people “I made it! We are “BLESSED” with a baby girl.”

The first thing I asked my doc after the delivery was if the baby was fine. When she said yes and showed the baby to me, I was glad that all my great expectations till then were fulfilled. I forgot all the pains I had gone thru and was waiting to hold the lil bundle. But the real twist in the tale came after 10mins when the doc coolly announced to me that it was a baby girl. My only reaction was a smile and silence.

“Alright!”, I told myself, “Get ready for an adventure.” Yes it is indeed an adventure for me for I have never imagined how my life would be with a girl. The best part about this Great Expectations – II is that I have NO expectations. The journey begins at ‘Ground Zero’ with two naïve individuals called ‘Parents’ exploring a new world with their little angel. The journey’s already unfolded and everyday is a new learning, every minute a fresh experience, every second a great memory. I am just waiting to experience the journey without any expectations and see what other surprises life has in store for me. No expectations and therefore no disappointments, I truly want to embrace all she wants to offer.

I see an active baby when she is playing, an observant when she is lost keenly looking at things and people around, a beauty when she is sleeping, a cutie pie when she is smiling, an agile kid when she is crying even if there is a one second delay in attending to her needs. Strangely, I have never bothered if she is a girl or boy. With her in our life the picture looks perfect and our lives complete. She is after all, a part of our blood, a piece of our heart and a symbol of our love :-)

PS: Now that it is a baby girl, how about making her a doctor? We don’t have any MBBS in our family….just cant resist…..another set of expectations is ready to takeoff… :-)

Great Expectations !

2010-02-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

Continuing the legacy of my coincidences with Vasudha, here I go writing about the great expectations we have when we are ‘expecting’ ! Sailing in the same ship and having reached the same port she crossed a few days ago I now completely understand and identify with every feeling and every sentiment she expressed. It feels so natural for us to feel the same vibes when we reach this particular stage of life what with the whole world and us acting so predictably when it comes to some ‘Great Expectations’.

Whoever must have coined the term “Expecting” to mean ‘to carry’ or ‘being pregnant’ must be repenting big time now. When it was actually meant to be ‘expecting a baby’, it is now seen as a saga of endless ‘expectations’ from a poor soul carrying another poor soul !

These great expectations usually begin with the world inquisitively enquiring about our gender preference of the baby. If you want a boy, they praise how nice it is to have a girl and vice-versa. And once the session on the gender is over it moves on to the looks of the baby. In my case, my world wants a Jr. Phani with those dimples, a cousin wants a Jr. Haritha with all that energy, yet another aunt comments about the dark complexion of the recent new-born of some relative and emphasises why I shouldnt be ignoring 'Saffron'. Another friend expects me to have lots of fruits so that the kid is chubby n smart. And how can I forget their predictions about our baby becoming an MBA like the mom or an M.Tech like the dad!!

I dint act any different. I had my share of expectations once the excitement of expecting began. I expected to have a boy who is fair n smart like his dad and active n talkative like his mom, tall like his mama and chripy like his pinnis. I expect him to grow up as the naughtiest kid breaking every object he can lay hands on, biting every hand that pinches his cheeks and hitting the moment people of my hate-list come closer :P !! There's more to this expectations list. I expected to have someone who goes to school without a tear, loses a pencil a day, opens the books only to tear away the pages, has a fight everyday with the big bad boys and has the guts to say NO to his teacher. Despite all this, he should be a true mamma's boy and a gud son to his mom! I expected to have a super whizkid who would be another Gates or an Amartya or an MS or a Leonardo or atleast our own Prabhu deva excelling in some field. If nothing happens he should atleast be an IITian like his dad :P. Phew !!

Now when I am entering the last month of my pregnancy, I look back at all of my great expectations with utter disbelief and laugh at myself. There is an eerie sense of calmness and stability and I am all emotional about the arriving bundle of joy. If only the world asked me to take 'Saffron' coz it acts as a good blood purifier, if only they advised to take lots of fruits coz they increase the body's resistance etc...the fact that they are linked to the baby's beauty and their expectations is very sad !

It is natural for us to expect the "best" possible outcome in whatever we do but now I feel its more important to smilingly accept any outcome as the "best" one ! Obviously, I cant expect to grow lillies by planting a rose plant :D

What if my baby expects to open his eyes to see an Aishwarya as her mom?!

I just pray that both of us accept the coming bundle without any expectations and with all his/her positives and negatives. His/her mere arrival itself should be a joy to us. I hope a day comes in future when people ask me if my child is an MBA or an M. Tech and I proudly say that he is following his heart, pursuing his dream and living life with passion. {Is this an expectation in itself by any chance? :O}

So you have a Bun in ur Oven..??!!

2009-11-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

“Woow!! Great news, congrats !”
“Hey that sounds exciting…u r about to enter a lovely phase of life !”
“Wow take care dear…Im soooooo happy for u !”

You feel out of this world and made to feel as if you are an angel fallen from 7th heaven! The hype and the excitement make you believe that you are indeed entering a wonderful phase where you are going to live life Queen Size!! Enough! I have been one of those poor gullible souls who imagined all the nice things about getting pregnant. The over excited world around us highlights only the happy things and blissfully ignores the not-so-happy parts! To have a green chilli after you are made to enjoy your fave dessert is really painful ! At least the other way round would have helped us to lower the expectations.

You are treated like you are fallen from heaven, but only you know that you have fallen flat & hard in some pits of hunger, continuous sleepiness and eternal tiredness. And while falling you have also thrown some things like your figure, that slim waistline, career and your energy into the ether ! Once the excitement of breaking the news subsides, you are now shut in a silent world where all you can hear is hunger pangs, puking noises and irking smells. You start hating your fave food and suddenly feel like having something which you never wanted to have in your wildest dreams. You begin to hate people and their over dose of advice flowing in from all possible directions. You have no clue why this happens, then that happens. Your number of whys and hows increase, and along with your pills you have to start taking some unpalatable surprises. But one thing you definitely can predict is that your health now is unpredictable. On the flip side, you get into a privileged class. Your laziness in the name of pregnancy is excused, early to bed and late to rise also makes you healthy, being with your mom and getting pampered is acceptable. At office an occasional nap during office hours is forgivable, the hawk-eyed manager is now trying to lessen the stress and burden on you, you can skip that imp all-hands, you are out of the cultural events of the company. All the career-oriented women, you can read all these in one phrase - "Sidelined at workplace". It is both relieving and frustrating !

The world now leaves the excitement and tries to paint a rather real pic of what it is like being pregnant. Now they dump some advice like this is how it will be till your 5th month or so…and let this 3rd month pass I am sure you will be fine. Then there are these emotional aunties who keep telling how wonderful it is to give birth to a baby, how lucky are we to be blessed with that virtue ! Don’t ever react and say what you really feel….that you feel sick, that it hurts and that it is so uncomfortable and so sudden in your life that you are not ready for it blah-blah…!! That blah-blah will make them feel that you don’t count your blessings in life and are an unwise fool. You will also be looked at as unemotional, immature and arrogant too. If you ask me it’s ok to be pissed with it, have that cranky mood of your speak out, vent out the frustration especially to your partner. The husbands are such a lucky lot ! With some minimal effort and a few seconds of pleasure, they have a readymade baby falling on their laps after 9 months.

Wait !

If you think this is it, think again. Like all dark clouds even this has a silver lining. Once the 3rd month begins to end and the months increase, you feel the difference. The sleepiness, the nausea, the cranky moods tend to reduce. Your body gets a lil predictable and you slowly start catching the pulse of it. By the time you are in your 5th month, things look brighter and in 6th you are infact feeling your best. You occasionally feel like humming your fave tune, shaking a leg, are more comfortable in meeting and talking to people, are OK with the various smells and are almost leading a normal life. The only difference being your protruding belly (if its already begun).

Now when things look much better, I get a lil positive about me and my pregnancy. I am enjoying this phase of life when I am treated royally and taken care supremely. If you are one of those lucky ones to have gotten a great loving husband then every moment of your life is all the more special now. A slight movement here and there in your tummy sometimes makes you wonder and keeps you excited ! I have also been lucky till now maintaining my weight, health and that figure ;-). Also our new house, the house-warming and everythiing related to 'our home' kept me in a never-ending excitement all thru. I am also glad that our future kid is partially involved in all these auspicious things (And when did I get soooo emotional?? :O) Even before I know I get possessive about the lil one. Phani and me have occasional bickerings on baby being my best friend or his best friend. Its true that you have advice attacking from all sides but some really make sense. Like reading a book (encouraging silence as you wouldnt have much energy to talk now), listening to some soothing music (loud music irks you like hell), eating at regular intervals (to avoid getting tired), enough rest (enough sleep). These things can actually make your initial months of pregnancy bearable.

This journey of life has brought me to this station (read stage) called Pregnancy. If life is all about the various experiences, then its foolish to not to enjoy each stage thoroughly. After all everything is a passing phase so we should enjoy before it passes off. This is what my journey is till the 6th month. Do wait for the 2nd part of this series to know how I felt about the last stage of my pregnancy and what my mind has to speak then. Needless to say the post will be out only after March 2010. Till then its me the would-be-mommy signing off ;-)

Independence, huh?!

2009-10-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

I know I am late and I know its better late than never. Writing something on

Independence, the idea for which was triggered on Independence day and the post is now out after full 1 1/2 months. But I have timed it in a way that it falls on our Gandhi's bday. The one who is seldom forgotten and always remembered whenever we talk of Independence.

The Orkut status line a day after I-Day by my friend says - "We have celebrated Independence Day, when will we celebrate Independence?" Well I am not sure what Kiran's version of Independence meant neither am I clear about what Gandhi felt about it when he struggled to fetch it in 1947. To me in a not so Independent India, Indians have unlimited Independence.

Right from freedom of speech to freedom to scream, protest, hit, and even kill/murder, India is shining like never before, Indians are enjoying a full-fledged freedom. When do you call it no freedom? To me it's a situation wherein you are unable to express what you want to freely. But hey Indians dont seem to have such impediments at all. They are now an aggressive and dynamic force capable of doing what they want to caring a damn about anything under the sun.

Look at a school boy who had all the guts to write a love letter to his teacher !! Sheer fearlessness !

Girls who were once in the docile category wrapped in a six yard piece of clothing now wear a hep, skin-hugging tee which says - "I may not be beautiful but parts of me are awesome" !!!

Look at the contemporary teenager enjoying every bit of luxury his dad has 'earned' for him. It is no rare scene to see such yougnsters driving rather speeding rashly in a sports car with a caption saying - "Hot girls are strictly pulled in..."

Reckless road-sense, increasing number of accidents, utter indifference towards fellow beings, murders including killing their own parents or spouse and even kids and reading about a super woman and a dowry death in the same newspaper on the same day.....Phew !! I can go on and on....I feel Indians have boundless freedom from ethics and values and hence are a spoilt lot now !

I know I am being too cynical writing about all these especially when we hear alot about India shining,discovering water on moon et al.... I still feel there's a long way to go for Indians in mending their behaviours and improving their social tolerances....Just a thought !

This is an outcome of what I suddenly felt after reading my friend's line. I may be wrong according to you but still there's never right or wrong thoughts according to me...All we have are perceptions and like humans perceptions are unique !

On a serious note, I feel the day Indians stop celebrating these kind of spoilt Independence, India is truly Independent. Till then we are celebrating this Independence and not a true Independence day !

Maids of Honour

2009-09-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

Time : Ticking Ten AM
Day : A Lazy weekend

My brush is gnashing my teeth in anger all thanks to my maid not turning out yet. Its weekend and I have the privilege to sleep till 10AM but she is a maid how can she not appear by 7.30?? Be it rain or shine, weekend or weekday, maids ought to be as early in the morning as possible. The world stops for us working ladies if the maid is out of reach. Strange, right !

One look at the dirty kitchen sink, dusty floors and messed up dining table, my BP shoots high, my blood boils and my tongue waiting to lash at my maid the moment she will be in. Is it the fear of my laziness at the prospect of cleaning the house which irks me so much? My mind is reluctant for any logics now and is awaiting the maid’s entry to vent out my pent-up anger.

The moment finally arrives and here she comes with a rather straight face trying to cover up all the tension and acting confident. My anger is now overjoyed and I scream my lungs out at her for her unpardonable crime (coming late to work on a weekend) ! She starts her story of excuses, her eyes betraying her and acknowledging the fact that both of us know they are simply ‘flimsy’ excuses. After my screaming and her excuses, both of us are relieved and get back to our business.

A few minutes of awkward silence and my maid tries to strike a conversation with me. The ice is finally broken and after a few more minutes, the friendly banter begins. The work progresses well much to my relief and my maid is also relieved to see me relieved and smiling. When it is time for her to leave, I give her strong instructions that she should be in by 7.30 AM on a weekend, to which she nods and leaves.

It’s Sunday morning 10AM….my brush gnashing my teeth in anger….my maid doesn’t turn out yet…..and history repeats…..!!!!!

Once a human being, always a human being and never a super human being :-) In this journey of life, there is an eternal need for interdependency on one another emphasizing the fact that every human is valuable and yes honourable. If the maid needs us to get her daily bread, we need her to help us with the household chores to go to earn our daily bread. As long as this interdependency continues, even the maids have to be ‘Maids of Honour’.

Food for Thought !

2009-08-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

It was a breezy monsoon morning. The door bell’s jarring noise made me rather kicked me out of my dreams to reality! Yes, what I was to experience after I open the door is truly the reality world. The fresh monsoon breeze was simply irresistible. I felt it brought a new life to my every nerve; my senses were thoroughly enjoying the experience and realize life is all about some beautiful small moments like this. “Aah..! Life is beautiful”, I say to myself.

While I was engrossed in my beautiful world, a sight of two kids fighting for a morsel of food takes me to that world of reality! If that morning had woken me to a beautiful experience, the very morning had woken them to yet another fight for survival. The poignant scene of the kids grabbing the left-overs from the dustbin and running behind a wall to have their share stealthily has tugged at my emotional strings! The monsoon morning left some mixed feelings but I move on….

Too much is always too little for these too many hands

The same evening, a strange forward from my friend Raam caught my attention instantly. The subject line read “Chicken a la carte”. For a foodie like me, it was obvious to open that mail instantly! It was a short film about hunger and poverty brought about by globalization. I have received umpteen numbers of forwards on hunger, food wastage etc and this one might as well fall in the same school. But the morning’s incident and the lyrics of the song at the fag end of the video have really left an emotional impression in my heart. The lines which go something like this – “How come someone’s laughter bring me close to tears” were really very touching. Thanks Hey Raam! for sharing this :-)

I don’t intend to preach anything but just wanted all of us to be a lil more careful when it comes to wastage of food. I wanted to have it in my blog as a glim reminder of the pathetic and poignant situations around us.

Happy Birthday "Santu Boy" !!!

2009-06-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

All you need is a light heart to fly high :-)

“Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things!” – Author Unknown.

Whoever said that must have had a friend like Santosh. A million little conversations, thousands of bickerings, tons of fun moments, a little melodrama, some more nostalgia…well..i can go on and on and on….. All those lovely memories make this friendship sooo special :-)

This guy-next-door, down-to-earth and heavy bodied but light hearted chap is like a fresh breeze leaving us refreshed all the time in his company. He ain’t someone striking you instantly but someone who can definitely make you ask for more !!

If my friends Pallavi, Smita, Gururaj, Naresh and some others made my MBA days memorable, Santosh has made it nostalgic! Thanks to these folks, I have many happy memories to look back in my life..!

Walking with your friend in the long lanes of your college campus is definitely a beautiful memory…but imagine walking around a bunch of crazy dogs and a crazy boy instigating those dogs on you !!! Bhat gave me such dreadful memories !

Gossiping in the coll library is fun but how about seeing your friend having fun with “that” person whom you hate the most??!! Bhat has this knack of irking me!

When all of us are ready for some fun, who else can make me sick by playing only “Antakshari” all the time…blaring the same old songs into my ears??!!

We had such horrible fights and I decided to call Santosh a “history” in my life and the next day I was with him talking about how relieving it was fighting with him…

Whatever said…this guy has all the patience to put up with my impulsive behaviour, a generous heart to buy me my fave pastry on his bday, his dad’s bday, his akka’s bday, blah..blah..blah..,a sweet tongue which never knew what a harsh word was and a caring (yes really caring) attitude towards anybody not just his friends…. All these and more make Santosh a friend you can truly look upto…

One of those precious possessions I can be very very proud of when I look back in my life is “Friendship with Santosh”. I sincerely pray that our friendship remains forever !

Santosh, I don’t know if you know but you better know now that you are one friend I really treasure. Wishing you many more happy birthdays and also wishing that you find your “lady” luck this year who comes singing “Tumse Milke…” (your fave song) into your life….

PS : A special note from Phani – “This guy is still single and is an absolute eligible bachelor….Rush in your applications to my id ;-)”

A Catch - 22 !

2009-06-05T00:49:00.000-07:00

Seven Rupees is a BIG Deal..!!

2001 : On a sunny sunday morning I was busy running and catching an auto to rush to my CAT classes. I manage to find one, I get in and out of it in 5 mins. I give a 10 rupee note to the auto boy and he says "No change madam !! I will be around always, you can take the change some other time". I snapped "I am not around always. This is not where I belong to." My heart says "It's ok, no time, forget the change" but my mind (rather my ego) says "Seven rupees is a big deal...let him get a change!" Even before I decided whom to listen to, the auto boy vanished saying the same - "I will be around always, I WILL take the change some other time."

"Seven Rupees is a BIG deal" agreed both my heart and mind "But to HIM more than you" whisper they in unison! Lesson learnt.

But I have only Rs. 750/- !!

2006 : On a dark night around 8PM, I come out of the MMTS station to rush home. Suddenly from nowhere this family of 3 (mom, dad & son) ask me if I can understand Hindi. After my affirmation he goes on to say how he was trapped and brought here in the name of some work. He said he had no money to even go back and his kid hasnt eaten for the past three days.

All my past lessons wake up this time. I quickly ransack my handbag and find Rs. 750. With an upset and an even more touching tone I ask him - "But I have only Rs. 750/-, will that amount be sufficient to go back?" All he said was - "We will adjust, it’s ok." I give that money and have a peaceful sleep (Obviously, I helped a family go back home !!)

That my whole world made a huge hue and cry telling me I was fully taken for a ride and such sob stories are very common is something I would rather forget. After a couple of weeks, I find the same people telling the same story to other innocent prey !! On one side I hear some heavy things like "help the needy", "save one's life", "donations to victims", "social consciousness" et al. On the other side I also hear some loud things like "dont encourage begging", "Even if its a single rupee, fight for it as you have 'earned' it", "No free lunch" and all that jazz.

I am left dazed and confused !

Conclusion : I havent yet been able to take a stand on this till date. The only solution I found relieving is to follow my instinct. If I feel like giving at that moment, I give; else I dont ! But I have made it a point not to give to men (adults) who look physically OK to me to work and earn. If you have a better idea to get me out of this catch-22 situation, you are more than welcome to share it with me :)

PS : Sincerely hoping I haven't ruffled any feathers by raising a socially controversial topic [:P]

Cooked Up..!!!

2009-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Yes...that's exactly how you will feel after those bheja-frying lectures on the art called cooking. And the artists – everybody possible…right from your grandmas to parents to aunties to friends!!! This is yet another saga of my transformation from cooking-illiterate to cooking-literate with “Pun Intended” ofcourse :P

The Late 1990s: Red chilli powder or Red Kumkum powder??
“Who cares??!!” was my instant reply and yes that’s how I was. During the 10th boards by some quirk of fate I had to enter the kitchen and cook, thankfully just a curry. Thought I was doing a great job till my mom gave a horrified look. Instead of using red chilli powder I used red kumkum powder (mind you…I was still in ‘school’ and both were red in color)

That’s “it” ! The funny bone of the whole world (read my world) was tickled to such a humorous (read sick) extent that all they did was to braoadcast to the rest of the unknown world about the great (actually shameless) act of mine. The whole incident was beaten, the fun grinded and the world chewed it sucking the juices out of me.

“She cant even differentiate chilli from kumkum??? Badly pampered!!” Said one.

“How can someone do this and yet be so proud of it? With this kinda attitude she will never be able to sustain in her inlaws place” said another.

I gave all of them a smile, a shameless smile of indifference, silently telling them “That’s not my priority NOW”

Mid 2000s: Jeera…What’s that??

Another unfortunate day when my friend asks me to get some jeera I fail to recognize how it looks much to their dismay. That’s another “it” ! This time the ‘shocking’ bones of the world were jerked. Obviously I was doing my MBA and not knowing Jeera at that age was hopeless according to them. My dear darling friends also join the bandwagon this time and make a song and dance about my culinary skills on every possible occasion. I don’t remember any gathering discussing food and not discussing my 'expert' cooking talent.

“I really pity the one who is going to marry Haritha.” Said one
“Pls teach your daughter atleast some elementary cooking tips before her marriage otherwise she will bring disgrace to you.” Said another very concerned and cribbing soul.

Then again I gave all of them a smile,a smile of exasperation, loudly telling them – “You are right Im grown up. Then why the hell are you still worried?”

Late 2000s – Precisely 2008 and present:

I can cook a full meal (tasty one) to my husband. He eats it to his stomach’s content and thanks (rather loves) me to his heart’s content for the tasty meal. I haven’t attended any crash course in cooking nor have I taken any of those expert tips from the so-called concerned world. All I did was to use my common sense while cooking and my heart while experimenting a new dish

The whole world gets started again but this time turning the tables ! Whoa!!
"Cooking isnt a big deal...it comes naturally especially to a woman" says one.
"I know you are smart enough to cook well even w/o any practice before marriage and you did it." says another (now) encouraging character
All of them now infact say – “When are you cooking for us? Waiting to taste your food”

Now again I give this enthusiastic crowd another smile, a smile of vengeance sarcastically telling them “I cook only for MY people” :P

All the while I kept telling my mom to let me do what my age and situations demand. If I am in 10th let me prepare well for my boards. If I am in my MBA, let me plan for my career. When I marry I will anyways cook. Why should I be doing something now which I can as well learn later?? Apparently there were no takers to my school of thought. To quote my cousin Vasudha(another victim) – “Cooking is to man what suckling is to babies”. How true ! And if it is this natural why raise such a hue and cry??

So gals...dont take the steam of those comments and boil ur blood or fry your mind even more….just put off the guilt cylinder and light ‘your’ stove in ur style….This way you will end up being a good cook without being badly “cooked up” ..!!!!

All About ME !

2009-04-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

I Love this....all about ME and MY :)

"I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might have-been has never been, but a has was once an are..!!"

Well more about me....

I Am : A normal human being (with all the normal qualities a human being ideally has)

Like : Talking
Dislike : Listening
Love : Me Ofcourse !
Hate : All those who dont love me !
Enjoy: Hurling sarcastic comments on ppl
Dont Enjoy :Ppl doing the same on me :P
Survive on :Compliments ;)
Suffocate on: Restrictions
Often : Lose my Temper
Always: Argue
Rarely : Put on airs
Never : Put on Weight :((
Have : Attitude
Dont : Lie
Can't be : A hypocrite !

All About "My"

My Mind : Fast
Heart : Sensitive
Dreams : Million !!
Goals : BIG
Attitude : Independent
Ego : Fragile
Words : Straightforward
Thoughts :Clear
Observations : Sharp
Conclusions : Quick
Talk : Expressive
Writings : Descriptive
Catchphrase : FORGET It !!!
Sun Sign : Aries (Ahh..u guessed it rite??)
Moon Sign : Scorpio (Yes Im really lethal)

Other Salient features : Athiga Alagadam, Baaga Bathimalinchukovadam, Eppudu janaala nethiki ekkadam !!

Life's Motto : Drink Life to the Lee

Friendship to me : Simply Being there for your friends no matter what, when and how !

Love : Enjoying that undivided attention of someone ;)

Marriage : Finding that special someone to annoy for the rest of the life :P

and finally my Epitaph should read : She LIVED !!!!

….And the Saga continues…

2009-04-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

“My emotional dilemma” is what I would like to call it in one word. Relations are myriad and relatives (read friends, family, cousins and every other association) weird. Even before I knew what a “relation” truly meant I knew I was emotional, I knew I cant live with out them and I knew being out of a relation breaks my heart and dampens my eye. Every time I find someone “close” to me part ways with me I have seen a piece of my heart walking away from me leaving my heart bruised…

All of my relations usually start off on a very stormy note thanks to my ever-talkative and over-expressive attitude. Sometimes they are like this lovely breeze which touch you only on and off yet leaving an eternal fragrance. Whatever be the case my heart has absorbed them like a clay pot absorbing any color of the water. The moment my eyes widen, my smile broadens and my heart jumps in joy seeing someone or talking to someone I know I have found another flower in the garden of my life. We may be as different as rose and lily yet I ensure that the seeds of our relation are strongly soiled. Different flowers bring different colors to our garden. My heart holds them close inside, my surprising lil gestures add water to nurture the relation, our 'sun'ny converstions give the much-needed food for the relation to grow strong.

There are occasional showers of anger, dampening disappointments and thunders of arguments. But after the storm there is lull again, the cool breeze hasn’t stopped us swaying again towards each other like two flowers swaying again to the breeze of friendship and love.

With all these my heart gets emotional, increases expectations and prioritizes the association. The green plant grows becoming a cynosure for the rest of the world. My friends tell me how much proud they are to be one in my garden. Each of those flowers vie with each other to be “My fave” flower

Suddenly one day the green plant of our friendship starts to show the yellow stains of disinterest. Everything is the same – the heart holding tight, the water nurturing and the ‘sun’ny talks still on. Yet its not the same realizes my heart... My heart worries, desperately tries to see what is wrong; the plant of our relation is now watered with its tears, there’s no longer sunny talks only a pall of gloom covering it like a sky around the earth. The plant knows it all but doesn’t heed.

“Why don’t you tell me what is wrong?” Unless you speak out how would I know what mistake I did?” asks my poor heart. But the plant of our friendship continues to become yellow and finally dies. The poor heart having seen a piece of its heart dead is appalled and dazed.

“This is not the only flower in the garden” tells my mind to which my heart says – “No flower is replaceable” while looking at the hundred others.

It wonders what could have prevented this and takes the extra care while planting a new seed of friendship. After the seed of a friendship blossoms into a lovely green plant it again turns yellow leaving a vale of tears to my heart.

Getting a little serious on this…No matter how much extra care I take to go that extra mile to make my relations, “some” people have ruthlessly ditched me. I take a cue from the experience, teach myself some wisdom and move on with my life. Yet it happens as I grow in my life….I don’t think I have ever learnt any lesson at this rate !!

Yet I don’t give up…I bring a new flower; it dies, and then bring one more, even that dies……and the saga continues….

But hey...the one thing I never learnt and never intend to learn is "Forget" & "Forgive" all those who made me shed a tear ... :P

PS: This is not for all those who have been, are and will be with me. A Big Thanks to all you guys for bringing some beautiful colors to my life :-)

My Moody Musings

2009-03-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

“What is this life if; full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare….”

Wonder all my well-nigh dead living senses in unison! This Davies poem which was once liked by me for its simplicity is now admired for depicting so well the modern life complexity. How can the poem written ages ago hold good even today is one question which left me gaping. But I was in no mood to think more than this. My so called busy life hasn’t given me any chance to be in touch with me for long and now after a long and tiring day at work here I am sitting in my cab waiting to be home and slowly slipping into my moody musings….trying to listen to all that my senses want to share….

My mind which was once calculative, fast and busy cooking some damn thing today has come to a grinding halt. It swiftly questions me “Should I be thinking always??”

My eyes which were ones very excited about dreaming even in sleep, observing people and things around are now innocently asking me “Can we be put to sleep?”

My heart which once beat for all my people, loved to be accompanied with them is now avoiding everyone. It feels bored with people around, feels ditched by the world around….and tells me “I would want to remain inside you…” robbing me of my chance to be an open-hearted gal !

My ears which were once all ears to have the ipod headphones plugged into them are now saying “Pls shut us in a silent world”. To them now a “Mauja hi Mauja”or a “Masakali” or a “Mysterious girl” are all the same – a mere cacophony!

My tongue which was once dying to tickle its taste buds with various tastes is now content with a glass of water ! All it says is “Give me something to live not just to survive..” for which I have no answer !

The creative streak in me which always was upto some blog topic is now drained of ideas and deprived of inspiration !

My musings came to a screeching halt thanks to the traffic and the rash driving, the cab had to stop that way and it was time for me to get down. I walk for a while finally reach home. I open the lock and enter the house only to see darkness. There’s a power cut I tell myself thinking there’s darkness in mind, darkness inside the home darkness everywhere in my life

In the darkness with no energy to even light a candle I fall flat on my couch and continue to get into my dark tunnel of thoughts with half-closed eyes and half-hearted mind. After a few seconds I see a light, a bright light shining in the dark. My reflexes wake up and tell me what it is and I also wake up from my musings like I have woken up from deep sleep!! The moment I realize what it is my tightly clipped lips break into a smile then laugh at my own stupidity and then break into a guffaw !! The red light is the light of the power meter…. I forgot to switch on the light !!!!! Indeed there’s light at the end of a tunnel :-)

The smile has dispelled all my moody musings and de-stressed me. My eyes are now wide-open, my mind plans to blog this, my creative streak says it’s now inspired, my ears say its all ears to hear what it has to say, my heart is jumping with joy to share this with its close people and my hands are all set to type ;-)

My work is waiting for me, my house is in a mess and is crying for my attention but all my senses said “Go on and do what you enjoy doing” otherwise we would again have to feel stressed and say “What is this life if; full of care, we have no time to stand and stare….”

A Year....and now Truly Married !!

2009-02-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

"Love is blind but marriage is definitely an eye-opener" - reads a funny rather a 'Pun'ny one-liner. How true !!! If Love was about all Sweet Nothings, marriage is an all-compassing everythings. On our first anniversary and in fact on every anniversary I would like to go back to the gift which Phani gave me after our marriage got fixed. This is his fave poem by "Khalil Gibran" from his book "Prophet" which talks about "Space" in married life.

When he asked me to read and appreciate it, I did it instantly. Little did I realise that its not as easy to appreciate it as I said. While it took me a "year" to understand what this poem really meant and what it is being "truly married to someone for life" I cant help THANKING my lucky stars for giving me Phani who simply loves me for what I am and who says to me "You are the one...still the one...the only one...for me.."!!

Here I dedicate the below poem to all those who are yet to marry, just married and already married....This poem is a must mantra for a successful marriage :-)

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together.

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress

grow not in each other's shadow.

That ONE Step...!!

2009-01-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

"I should definitely make it. I shouldnt give up nor should lose and stay focussed on the goal" - I kept telling these words to myself so that i could achieve what i wanted to!!

I was all set to go where I wanted to...mentally preparing myself to give my best and get there, pepping up myself to stay positive and not give up. I know the competition is fierce infact neck-and-neck, I know the rat race is too complicated with forces from all sides trying to distract me, beat me and make me lose the battle and yet Im prepared to go !!

While I was lost in these thoughts....the much awaited moment has finally come and Im now all into it, fighting it out, trying to pave my way & win, staying positive and above all telling myself not to give up !! I kept at it and desperately found various ways to win..!!

But all is in vain....it dint take me much longer to realise that I was fighting a losing battle, that the competitors have outdone me and my winning is now only a wish -- an unfulfilled wish!! Just then when I realised this I GAVE UP !! "This is not you....you dont give up jus like that...how did u do that??" my mind & heart ceaselessly questioned me for which I had no answer...!!

"Take that ONE STEP and you will be there" suddenly came a voice from behind. I know it was my hubby Phani. I wanted to look at him but there was no time."Dont Give up...just GO!!" came the voice again...My mind and heart stopped for a second and my reflexes took charge...I took that ONE STEP and I MADE IT !!! Yes I made it and Here I AM where I wanted to be.......Here I AM with a contended smile in the MMTS Train which has already taken off from the station :-) !!

PS : A feeble attempt to narrate my experience with a lil suspense and humourous end [:P] But on a serious note, dont you see the right push at the right time can take you to the right place and all it takes is that ONE step :-) ??

Bunty aur Bubly !!

2009-01-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

Bubly (Me) : Phani, today is 'Jealous day' ...Name one thing in me which you are jealous about.
Bunty (Phani) : I am jealous that you got a wonderful life partner !
Bubly (Me) : !!!!!

Our Date with the Nature !

2009-01-20T01:48:00.000-08:00

It was a cold winter evening...yeah..Dec end and the time was ticking around 5 PM, the time when the sun is not on our heads but on our sides waving us good bye and doing it faster than the day time !! The dark sky was beginning to spread its blanket on us while the sun is still around. A perfect time to go out on a date..huh!! We (Phani & me) along with his cousin and his cousin' dad went to the famous Hyderabad Central University (HCU) to spend an evening. And believe me it was literally a date in the lap of the nature.

HCU has a sprawling campus spreading as far as your eyes can see. It is covered with bushes and trees all around and is all green to look. The cold air emerging from the trees around on a cold winter seemed like a cold knife cutting your skin!! We had first seen the Sports Building and the ground there where we could find a lot of guys playing India's favourite sport 'Cricket' (Quite predictable..right??) Then we just galavanted the whole place exploring the canteen, the park, lake etc. Nature was at its best there.

We moved on to a beautiful lake (ofcourse it was dirty!!) The lake is actually covered by many thorns, dirty pits and grass both wet & dry. But we dint hate it as it was very natural.....this is how it would be if there is nobody to pamper the place yet it looked beautiful because it was nature at its natural best. The path to the lake was very narrow, dusty, thorny and rocky too but still was a visual treat. The place was disorganised yet had a beauty in itself. This dusty road which led to the lake had the much wanted privacy any young couple would ask for ;) !!

There were no artificial plants or man maintained lawns...it looked like as if nature was flirting with the place and leaving its mark wherever she wants and however she likes to do !! Do check out this place if you happen to be in Hyderabad to see what nature looks like when it is not 'man-handled' :P

In the name of Entertainment...!!

2008-12-26T04:01:00.000-08:00

"All is fair in Love and War"...well this old adage should now be modified to suit the modern world better. In my view it should be now called "All is fair in love, war and Entertainment" !! Entertainment is the buzzword now. Everything can pass off as long as it touted as "Entertainment" ! The word is sooo popular that we now have an "Entertainment Industry" constantly wooing us with their various sometimes weird shows. Is there anyone who cannot understand what Entertainment is right from a four-year old kid to an illiterate to a 60 year old granny?? Ironically despite having too many sources of entertainment people still throng to any place and any damn show if it is "in the name of entertainment" !!

Let me share why I had to write this. It happened a couple of months back during Ganesh Chathurthi. As usual our gullies were bustling with Ganesh Pandals and more and more people visiting the poor Ganesh. (You'll know why Ganeshji is called Poor very soon !!) Our apartment also had a pandal and all of our residents were busy in pujas, decorations, offerings etc. But the one event which drew max attendance and attention was the music and dance show organised every evening. I had a chance to attend one of those....thought i would have some fun and relax in the name of entertainment :)

Of all the performances I was particularly impressed with the performance of a 5 year old girl. She was there on stage dancing to a very popular item number in telugu. The song's lyrics are all about a girl wooing a guy and they have a vulgar tone to them. The poor girl blissfully ignored the lyrics and was gyrating to the song right under the nose of "Poor" Lord !!! Poor Ganesh has no choice but to wonder if all the devotees have come for his blessings or for the 'entertainment' offered !!!

The girl is just 5 but her expressions on her face defy it completely, her dance movements make you feel as if she is born to dance and her enthusiasm....boy it was just unstoppable !! The talent was clearly displayed but i guess at the wrong place. If only the girl was dancing on some classical devotional number with the same enthu..!! That would also become a useful platform to inculcate our values in our children.

The entertainment shows at the Ganesh Pandals are more than welcome but classical music and our traditional rituals/devotion would give the pandal more beauty than this "Item Entertainment" !! Then I am sure such entertainment leaves a happy smile rather than a bad taste on us !!

PS : The views and opinions expressed in the write-up are solely meant to express what I feel and are not intended to hurt anybody [:P]

Our Goa Trip !!

2008-10-04T03:10:00.000-07:00

"A Dream Come True" – For a girl who has grown up loving sea & sand , sun & tan, the goa trip with her beloved was indeed a "dream come true". Goa is supposed to be a laid-back city with people who love relaxing near beaches but for me it was all exciting from the beginning.

We were scheduled to leave for Goa on September 3 at 12.30PM flight. The day started on a very tensed note for me as we had to do puja on account of Ganesh Chathurthi and then leave. After our Ganesh Puja we started off to the airport and i must say the new airport was simply awesome !! It was huge yet beautiful. I spent most of time ogling both the food and place at the airport . After enjoying the airport to my eyes content and enjoying the food to my stomach's content we were ready to fly !!! Our flight was moving among the clouds. Despite the severe ear pain and the nausea I was undeterred and kept clicking pics in the flight looking outside the window. One look thru the window you would know we are above the clouds and one look at my face you would know that I am already on cloud 999 :-) !!

The flight had reached Goa around 40mins ahead of the schedule much to the happiness of my greed to spend more time there. Pranita (Phani's cousin) who is now my sister came to receive us. Soooo sweet of her !! Our resort had sent us a pick up and 3 of us went to Bay Watch Resort. The place had a homely feel to it. The floors, bedsheets etc were simply immaculate.

After refreshing and resting for a while we all set out to Colva and Sernabatim beach which were around 5mins walk away from our resort. Sernabatim was less crowded but Colva was happening. We had a long walk from Sernabatim to Colva enjoying the sun and the shells on the way. The sunset at Colva was really awesome. No camera would capture the beauty better than our eye. You just have to purely get lost watching the beauty there. After enjoying the sun set, playing in the beach and seeing off Pranita we started our walk back to the resort. By then it was dark and the crowd lessened. As we were approaching our resort the place had become more and more isolated leaving just me phani and yes the beautiful half-moon ;) It was indeed a romantic stroll on the seashore, in the moonlight, holding hands and engaging in sweet nothings. Our exciting day came to a sleepy (rather sound) end after a pleasant hot shower bath and sumptuous dinner.

Our Day 2 started off on a very confusing note. Firstly we woke up late, secondly we dint decide where to go how to go etc. After hassling and toying with so many ideas we finally decided to go North that day. Pranita arranged a cab for us but he wasnt allowed to take us as he was not from that village. Politics Again !! So we finally got into Norbert's cab by 1.00PM. Norbert was soft-spoken and was talking incessantly about Goa, its roads, the development, the tourists etc. Phani had been a patient listener while I was lost looking outside the window with an ocassional nap. Aguada Fort was the first one we saw that day. Its a big fort with a light house and was mainly constructed to help navigation of ships. The fort is surrounded by sea and its a great view looking at the Arabian sea from the fort. From there we moved to have a quick bite. Norbert took us to a very nice restaurant where the food was simply awesome. Phani was so impressed that he paid an extra tip for the food. After filling our stomachs we moved to the popular Calangute Beach. I have heard so much about beach and the shopping there that I was wondering if i was more excited about the beach or the shopping. The place was happening with a lot of varied crowd and lots of street shopping. Calangute is a beauty in itself. It seemed aggressive and the waves dint die at the shore also. It had a good number of eating joints and there were lots of people who were relaxing there with chilled beer and hot pakodas. From Calangute we moved to Baga Beach. Baga had a mountain towards the right which gave it a very natural look. The scenery there was also beautiful with the Aguada fort seen in a distance somewhere in the middle of the beach. From there we reached the Panjim City's Shopping center. The supposed to be busy center was very isolated with many shops closed as there was the immersion of Ganesh idols going on that day and it was a holiday. After buying a couple of things our friends wanted we moved to the Miramar beach. This beach is in the city center. It also had a beautiful view and it was very near to the main road. From there we reached Dona Paulo a point from where almost all the important cities of Goa are seen. This point is also known for its film shoots. After reaching our resort from there we had a musical dinner with Baretto Brothers playing our fave music and singing for us while we were munching.

Day 3 was our Sightseeing day by our resort. It was scheduled in the noon from 2.00PM. We had a relaxed morning with a wonderful body massage in the resort's Spa and then a yummy lunch. The resort team has arranged a cab for us which took us to Mangeshi Temple, Old Churches in Goa and to a Cruise on the River Mandovi. The cruise was the best part of the day. The sunset was beautiful and we had a nice musical and dance show by a couple of local dancers. They have treated us with Goan folk dance, Marathi dance and a Portugese number. The DJ was intermittently inviting the couples and guys to shake a leg to his bollywood beats.

Day 4 we wanted to completely relax and yes that's what we did the whole day !! We had a wonderful time spending together hovering around the resort, getting to know a lot of things about it, spending near the pool, engaging in sweet nothings etc. At around 4.00PM the resort team took us to the Goa Go-Kart. We were given a complimentary 10 laps. It was my first experience and i must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Back from Go Kart we spent time in Sernabatim beach just to have fun and play games like kids in the beach. The day ended on a sad note for me as we were leaving the next day :-( !!

Day 5 I woke up feeling nostalgic already even before leaving the place. We had planned to spend sometime with our new friends Preetha and Sunil. We couples went out to the near by beach, had some pics taken and had lunch at the beach hotel Furtado's. It was raining rather drizzling that day and it was the time it did after we went. Phani was especially excited about it as he wanted it to rain and I dint want that to happen. We came back to our room, packed everything, got into the cab which was waiting for us to drop at the airport. The return journey for me was the saddest part...frankly i dint feel like coming back. When we got down at our Hyderabad airport we were left with a lifetime memories of Goa

Goa is definitely a place for those who enjoy beaches and like to relax. All the beaches there have a unique beauty which cannot be replaced by another. Every beach is unique in its own way. The place has a different feel to it unlike other cities. The moment you step in you will feel as if you are disconnected from the rest of the world. No huge buildings, no crowded shopping malls, no big hoardings and posters and above all no irritating traffic jams. The roads and lanes are also narrower than what we see here with lots of Cocount and other green trees grown fully. It's so natural and serene there. Don't forget to take a romantic stroll with your partner in the moonlight on the seashore, playing in the beach as if you were still a child, posing in the beaches with the Goan outfits etc. These are a must for people like me who want to have fond memories of the trip ;-) All in all I would rate Goa as an excellent romantic getaway !!!

How NOT to Hire Right !

2008-09-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yes you read it right. It's about how NOT to hire right. While a lot of literature is rampant on the net about how to hire right, here's an audacious attempt to share with you how not to. This audacity comes from the fact that these are not based on any theory or principles proposed by the so-called Management Gurus. These are a classic example of "Experience speaks" types where the people around us have gone through. Let us look at those simple and easy-to-implement tips to make the poor job hunting prospective employee shy away in no time. Just get into any of the below categories and watch the prospect vanish in a second.

The "I-don't-know" type : They are too naive..work for a small firm..whose earnings are also small. They desparately wait to hire without being smart enough to know how?? Usually start off by addressing you "Sir / Madam" and giving some vague info like there is an opening (without giving you the whats of it) but persist asking you "Are you interested?" They sound more like a Customer Care Executive of a Bank asking if you want a Credit card!! The prospective employee by now understands that you hardly know anything and so will think of giving your company a miss !! Try it out..it sure works !!

The "I-am-smart" type : Here I recall an incident which my friend shared with me. She got a call from a girl who claimed that she was calling from a Top brand. After my friend's excitement and promise to her to meet the next day the girl slowly discloses that she is calling from a small firm and they deal with the top brand and this firm can be considered a subsidiary of it !!! That the girl got the firing of a lifetime from my friend is not relevant now anyways !! This is one trick to get an easy prey!

The "I-dont-care" type : Sometime ago when I was very busy with my wedding shopping in a big sari mall I got a call from this Gentleman who is supposed to be the Regional Head of a popular Indian MNC. As soon I pick up the call he doesnt care if I am even interested or if I can talk to him then...all he says was "Hi I am XXX calling from YYY. When can you come down to meet me tomorrow? I will be here in Hyderabad only till tomorrow evening." I was shocked by his attitude. How could such a senior person calling from such a popular company talk like this??? An utter disrespect towards the candidate. Go for it and you wouldn't be hiring right even if you are calling from the biggest brand :-) !!

The "I-am-too-desperate" type : One of my friends got a call from the biggest brand for a position of Resource Manager. She was never into Resourcing and had conveyed the same to the recruiter. But the recruiter persisted in saying that it is ok as she holds an MBA and is into HR. When she shared this with me I was wondering if he is trying to tell us that the biggest and the most wanted brand is not finding people to fill their positions that they have to compromise like this??

The list will go on and on and on....

On a more serious note, are jobs only for people? Don't companies need the right candidate? If yes why aren't they recruiting right ?? Most of people's experiences make me feel if the companies consider all these job-hunting candidates beggars begging for a job !!

Agreed that we need to be aggressive in reaching targets, closing positions and growing but what about Quality? what about values? and what really is "Right person for the Right job" all about ? Are we soooo lost in the number game that we miss wood for the trees, that we recruit for the heck of it only to see the wrong-fit vanishing in just a couple of months time?? Look who's talking about "Attrition" !!!!