Happy Birthday…. Mishti!!!

Today is a very special day for me and my beloved family. It’s 14^th October, the day that brought us the best of all. Today is her birthday, my niece – Avyukta aka Mishti aka Mishto aka Shona aka laddoo aka MumMum aka Guddu and etc etc. I prefer to call her Guddu which I believe means a doll. Well she is indeed one. My Guddu turns 3 today and has started calling me Maasi maa (with the maa a little longish). I am extremely elated today and these expressions are straight out of my heart.

   Time passes so fast. I remember the peculiar smell of that hospital which filled up the corridor when I stepped in at around 9:30 am on 14^th October 2007. She was born and already out. My dad and I were rushing towards the maternity ward when my brother-in- law gave us the best news on the greatest invention of mankind- the mobile phone. God bless the creator of mobile phones. There were some doctors nearby and the maternity ward was filled up with cute little baby pictures. As I walk past them I wondered if my niece would be the same, cute and sweet. Before my mind could jump on an answer, she was there,wrapped in a small piece of white linen cloth. Pink skinned delicate and big bright eyes. She was staring at almost everything around her and I guess was trying to figure out where exactly was she.

   I did not know how to react, but my heart did. I had tears in my eyes (women you know have the ability to cry at all times). I went ahead and took this fragile looking pink skinned angel in my arms and she smiled, slowly. I still don’t know what made her smile, but the fact that she did is good enough to boast that she loved me at first sight. I knew my prayers were answered and I had the most precious gift of god to me. I instantly named her Mishti- meaning sweets. And since then my doll has lived up to her name each day by growing sweeter and sweeter and sweeter. The joy of holding her in my arms is beyond expression. It can only be felt and not said. Each day since then has been a fulfilling experience.

   She was born in 2007, the year of many downs and little ups in my life. But the news of her arrival brought me- hope. I wanted to fight back, stand up for myself and overcome all odds. It wasn’t easy but I never thought of quitting. Whenever the feeling of being lost crept in, I knew what to think about. It was similar for everyone in my family. She came like a fresh breeze, a ray of light. She brought smiles back to me and my family. The happiness that had vanished somewhere filled up the place. The princess had arrived. I was promoted from a daughter, sister and a friend to Maasi. A Proud maasi.

  Since then I have seen my self grow in this relationship with one level to the other. Everyday Guddu teaches me new things. Sometimes a new tale, poetry, some rhymes or at times the trickiest lessons of life. She made me stronger as a person and brought the zeal. The recent promotion is that I have moved from Khuba Maasi to Maasi Maa. The latter sounds like the temple bells, comforting and soothing.  She is the apple of our eyes. On this special day I thank you Guddu for being the most special thing of our lives and for all the unconditional love that you bestow upon us.

Happy Birthday MumMum and Maasi maa loves you. God bless you!!

P.S. The picture above was taken when I held Guddu in my arms, the first time.

Life may not be just.... but it isn't that bad either

Life teaches you some lesson at every step and it's solely up to us whether to pick it up and treasure it as a learning or just shrug our shoulders and walk away from it. I am the kinds who would pick every thing that life has to throw on me, good ones to cherish and the not so good ones to learn. And the lesson that I learnt today would definitely top the list of my learnings forever.

It was just a routine day of my life. Hush hush in the morning for office, reaching with the never ending struggle in traffic and finally making it safe there. Planning the entire week, scheduling work etc etc and as usual the song that life is not just. I am the kinds who are a little more on the pessimistic plane as compared to its antonym. I wondered if life could get a little better than this. In the midst of this ocean of my daily saga popped up a thought that it was my colleagues' birthday and we had to make his day special by presenting him something that he would cherish. Another colleague of mine and I decided to go out and hunt for something really good.

The idea seemed interesting and we made sure it was implemented right on time. We boarded an auto – rickshaw (the only easy medium to commute) and since it would take around 20 mins , my colleague and I began to chat about all the difficult times that we had seen or the turbulence in our lives some or the other way. The driver I guess was listening to our conversation but his reaction went un-noticed by us as we were engrossed in our dialogue. Suddenly a painful and hoarse voice interrupted our chat and it was the driver. He said, "I am not sure if I should be saying this to you, but I need help. My 3 year old daughter is unwell and is admitted in the hospital. I have no one to help me and am trying to collect funds. Would it be possible for you to help me??" We were stunned and didn't know what to utter in the very next moment. The very fact that we are surrounded by people who choose to fib for some reason or the other, made it difficult for us to trust this man. But the tear in his eye was well noticed and we wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. My colleague extended some help and we reached our destination. While we were leaving I looked at him, a father who by all ways and means was struggling for every breath of his little daughter.

We finished our work and while our way back to office we felt silence between us. The thought of this incident kept on wobbling my brain. My mind was running in two directions. It could be that, we were conned and the fact that we are women it was easier for him to deceive us. But what if it was true????? What must a father be going through whose 3 year old daughter is in a hospital, wanting to live??? The helpless father who wants to be with his daughter but knows he has to earn every penny to bring his daughter back to health. And I realized all this while I was cursing my fate for petty issues but my life was far better when I looked around. People have bigger problems and they are still fighting, against fate.

This incident has definitely taught me a thing or two. One, that life is not meant to give up and sob in a corner, it is meant to stand up and look at its face, eye to eye with all the will and power. Come what may, don't ever quit. Second, parents are visible gods and the only ones who know what's best for us. They do all that they can for our well being. We are indebted to them and will always be.
All my prayers go out for the father and his beloved daughter.

Its true, If you feel miserable about anything in life, look around and am sure you will realise, "Life may not be just but it isn't that bad either".

(Written on 16th August 2010)

10 simple ways to beat stress!!

You want it or you don’t, stress comes without asking for it. In this fast paced life when one is trying to do so many things together in order to be ahead of the other , stress has become a part of everyone’s life. But over stressing yourself can lead to multiple problems both physically and mentally. Anger, irritation, anxiety etc can all be attributed to the side effects of an over stressed life leaving it meaningless.

Mentioned below are some simple ways that may help you cut down on the unnecessary stress and give you the needed relaxation and rejuvenation.

1. Eat Healthy, Feel Healthy: It’s not only your hectic work schedules that traumatise you but also your eating habits may be one of the reasons for your stressful life. Improper eating habits makes us lethargic and we tend to become irritating and slow at work which adds to our pile up of stress. Thus a healthy diet is one of the great ways to burst stress. Eat healthy and eat on time, this will make you physically fit and prompt at work. Avoid eating junk food, skipping meals or over eating. Drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet. A healthy body is a happy body.

2. Sleep enough, sleep sound : In the rat race of today we all have deprived ourselves of a peaceful or sound sleep. This is one of the key reasons for stress. Long working hours, hectic schedules and addiction have led to an enormous rise in insomnia, thus leading to a lack of proper sleep that your body needs. Thus it is advisable to sleep for at least 6 hours a day, and sleep sound.A peaceful sleep is what your body deserves after it has been exposed to almost every kind of torment in the day.

3. All work and no Play makes Jack a dull boy: Life can get too mechanical with all work and no rest or peace. It happens and it happens to all of us. We lose focus from our health and its demands thus leading to a sluggish body, lethargic mood and no spirits left to move. At such point an exercise or an outdoor game comes to your rescue. Your body needs some work out to keep it going healthy and fit. If not exercise an outdoor game which requires movements of your body parts is a must in our routine lives. Play any outdoor game and you will soon see the difference. Moreover games teach you to accept failures and keep trying till you overcome your obstacle. At the end of any of these activities you will realize you have just learnt to be in shape without too much of an effort.

4. Music therapy: Music unwinds you, your body and mind. It helps you calm down , gives a break to your thought process and helps you rejuvenate them. Music could be of any sort depending on your likes or moods. Anything from the traditional to folk, from jazz to rock, from soft and soothing to upbeat ones. They will help you relax yourself after a long strenuous day. These days the trance music is quite popular and is easily available all over.

5. Communicate your feelings : “A problem shared is a problem halved”. Talking about your feelings acts as an outlet to all the anger, frustration and agitation accumulated thus giving you enough space and time to focus on solutions and finding a way out. Talk to your mom, dad, spouse, sibling or friend or anyone you feel is close to you. Sometimes by just saying your thoughts or worries out loud can help liberate you from them. Also you may gain their perspective and who knows their inputs may help.

6. The Power of Meditation and Yoga: Meditation has helped people in more than one ways. Meditating at least an hour a day keeps you peaceful, active and positive all through the day. Meditating before you hit the bed gives you a sound sleep thus you are up fresh and relaxed the next day. Meditation not only relaxes your body and mind but also helps you connect to God, the Supreme Soul or whatever you call Him. It simplifies life, reduces tensions, makes you sharp and focused. It helps normalizing your blood pressure, use oxygen more efficiently and gives much needed relaxation to your brain. Yoga, when performed daily helps reduce stress and alleviate all the other issues that one has been struggling with. It increases flexibility, augments lubrication of joints, ligaments and tendons, detoxifies your body and tones your muscles. This in turn proves to be of assistance in your professional and personal life. A positive mindset is the easiest way to curb stress.

7. Spend some time with “Kids”: As they say “ a kid is the most happiest of all. He has no anxieties of the past and no worries of the future”. Spending time with kids can serve as a great stress reliever. Their innocence and creativity is miraculous.There is so much that you get to learn from kids, they never give up even if they fall short and they are more than curious to know and discover newer things. They don’t feel foolish to ask questions and are happy with the smallest of the things. Once you begin to learn from them, you will realize that your life becomes simpler and tasks easier.

8. Laughter is the best medicine: It is always easier to be happy than to be miserable. It’s easier to laugh than to frown. Laugh often, laugh loud. Laughter is turning out to be an extremely popular tool helping people relieve stress. It opens up your lungs thus allowing oxygen to reach properly to all parts of your body and making you feel fit and fresh. Apart from this, laughing eases out the physical stress and makes you feel lighter from inside. A research says, that laughing lowers the blood pressure and reduces stress hormones. It also produces positive emotions thus leaving you with a happy feel.

9. Pursue a Hobby: Remember your childhood days, when you always wanted to be a gardener? Because it would be such fun to chase the butterflies amongst the multi hued surroundings, play with the leaves around and then lie on the grass when you are tired of the play. As we grow up we lose out on our real wants, the want to be what you really feel from inside.Discover yourself and do what you always wanted to. It could be a childish thing like watering the plants, or a piece of pottery, writing a line or two, trekking, singing, discovering new places or any other leisure pursuit. Whatever it is, do what makes you happy. You will enjoy being a child again and the contentment you derive from such an activity can’t be expressed in words.

10. Love yourself and be grateful: This is most important and you have no escape to it. The major reason for stress is because we either over - estimate or under – estimate ourselves. The former leads to complications because we set un realistic goals and when we do not succeed to achieve them we find ourselves in a situation of agony and disturbance. The latter is even worse. We end up as losers sobbing in a corner and falling prey to self pity. Accept yourself and love yourself for what you are. Be thankful to God for giving you a healthy body, a family to love you, enough to eat and good to wear. You are not perfect, nobody is perfect. It’s good to fall sometimes, because you learn so much. Be thankful for everything you have and learn to share. This gives eternal happiness and no trauma however potent it is will ever be able to shatter you.

A combination of the above mentioned steps may help you in curbing stress, but the real help has to come from within you. A simple lifestyle is the best way to begin. Learn to be happy and appreciate the smallest of the things. Focus on solutions, problems will find their way out. Spend time with your family, share a laugh. Don’t seek peace and happiness outside, it is well within you.
So stay happy and stay Stress Free!!

The Little Orchid!!!

The Little Orchid!!!

I love flowers or be it anything that’s multicolored, has leaves or petals, photosynthesizes and rejuvenates. For me being in a garden with such beautiful creations of Him would be as good as enjoying the solace of heaven itself. There is this particular group of flora that I am very fond of or rather they are my most beloved– The orchids, so much so that in the past few years they have become real darlings for me and I have been gifting them to almost all of my friends (now the state is such that before I decide about getting a gift for a house warming my friends immediately pop up “no more orchids please”). But whatever it is Orchids have always been my choice.
Thus going with the same idea of lighting up any place with the exquisiteness of this delicate darling, I decided to present this to a very social place where it would brighten up the aura and bring smiles to peoples faces(don’t really want to disclose the place though). When I first bought it, the plant had tiny little buds; all set to bloom in to beautiful flowers, probably lavender or dark pink (can’t really understand the color). It looked pretty and I was more than excited to flaunt it to everyone. And as expected everyone loved the little buds and it became extremely popular among all. Every day I noticed people getting enchanted with its magnificent beauty and would often smile. I knew it would be loved and cared for. Days passed by and I basked in the glory of my Orchid.
One day when I was just passing by I noticed something very strange. The orchid was abandoned in one corner with no leaves on it, the flowers that had just blossomed, disappeared and the stem was strangled to death. The tiny sapling looked naked in a small corner. I was stunned for a moment. The plant no more looked beautiful; it was the ugliest of the things I had ever seen. Who could have been so uncouth to do this to my orchid? I just knew I had to bring it back home. It was indeed wrong to take something back that you have given to someone else but at that moment what I could see was my little orchid dying. It was more than painful and the fact that it would never grow again was killing. I picked it and managed to carry it home with a heavy heart but a hope that a miracle would bring it back to life.
It looked ugly for days and I would look at it every morning hoping to see a leaflet grown but all in vain. It continued to die with each passing day and I had almost given up. But there was someone who didn’t. My husband would nurture the leftover of the dead orchid everyday. Almost a month passed by and one fine morning I see a green stem, standing upright against all odds and I knew my orchid is back to life. It fought and came back. Today after a month it has many tiny buds of flowers growing and it looks stunning as ever. Looking at the sky with its spine upright, it flaunts itself and I go crazy every time I gaze at it.
Apart from sharing its beauty to me, my little orchid has taught me many important lessons of life which otherwise I would have taken years to learn. First, love heals all wounds, however deep it is. Love is the best medicine. Second it has taught me, never to give up. Whatever life has to throw on you, good bad or ugly accept it and live it with a smile on your face. Fight back and put in your best efforts. Hope gives strength. You will triumph. And the most beautiful of all, Patience is a virtue. Just like a small sapling takes days or months to grow, any relationship needs its time to mature and all it needs is the nurturing and care to become a fulfilling bond. And once it blossoms after all the giving in it, it turns out to be as beautiful as it could be.
Ah!! My beautiful Orchid…. What a love we share!!

When Love Strikes!!

Today when I sit to write I just wonder how life has its own twists and turns and how the presence of that someone special makes this journey of life worth. Life changes to its core and one ends up smiling for no reason. Even in the crowd, one finds solace and noise doesn’t seem to bother anymore. Blood rushes all the time to the brain forcing it to think about that special person, everything he does and he doesn’t. You start liking things once upon a time you detested the most and the simplest of thing on this phase of earth seems the most beautiful. There is this sweet melody that plays al the time in your ears and even the ruthless of the word seems the sweetest.

You stop cribbing about life and enjoy every bit of it. The feeling of belonging to that special someone is itself so out of the ordinary. You dress up the most striking way and stand hours and hours in front of that little mirror in your room. You don’t grumble about getting drenched in the rain neither do you grumble about the scorching heat of the sun above. Suddenly the air seems cooler and fresher than before. The fragrance of the perfume seems to be filling the air around you and everything seems so so perfect. You go out of your way to be extra good to people and everybody notices this change in your being. Habits change and sleep disappears. Heart starts beating with thrice its speed and romantic songs suddenly replace those party numbers. Such strange yet wonderful feeling is LOVE. And Falling in love with the right person makes it all the more wonderful. The best part is, there are no rules to follow, love follows you.

Such a beautiful form of a feeling bestowed upon us by HIM. It fills your life with smiles and your special someone becomes a part of your prayer. You fear losing your love and treasure his / her presence in your life. This union, so special, so rare. Stars keep twinkling in your eyes and you weave dreams of a blissful life together.

The love of my life once said, “ There is no Policy for love, Love is above all ” And know what? I firmly believe it!!

Power Power everywhere.... but not a watt for us!!!

In this hectic life of Mumbai , what one needs is peace of mind at the end of the day when one reaches home. But I guess we people staying in suburbs cant even dare to dream about such a life. The constant power failures in places , Vasai - Virar have been a pain for all of us. To add to it the power failures are for not less than 8 hours a day which excludes those small time power cuts in between, so it sums upto almost 9 hours a day. The timings are weird , 6 in the morning when one starts the day and the last cut at 3 in the after noon to 9 in the night. That means no power for almost the entire day when one needs to work. What troubles us the most is that the entire city enjoys 24 hours non stop elcetricity supply and we at the end suffer. After all these we also pay huge electricity bills not less than Rs. 1500 per month. When checked the reason for this , it was told by the officials that the state is running short of Electricity and thats the reason these load sheddings have become so frequent. But I am not able to understand the logic behind getting things compensated only from our end. Why cant the entire state stand together so that we save electricity and everyone, I mean everyone enjoys the same amount of electricity without causing much of trouble to anyone.

Chinku!!!!

It was just yesterday that I was reading an article by a friend of mine about his sister who got married recently.How much is he missing her...I was amazed at the way he expressed himself. I often hear my younger brother saying, I love u didi, meri chotti si beti ( he says that when he needs some cash!! ) etc etc...This article made me think how life changes when your siblings become a part of your life. But we all speak about how special sisters are and how they bring love and happiness in our life...... but never read how special a small and loving brother is( nope!! I m not getting into the gender discussion). I would love to speak about my brother who actually changed my life and I got my bestest friend in him.

'Chinku' as I call him came in my life when I was just 6 years old.Longing for a small little brother , one fine day we were told that a small little baby is soon going to be a part of our family........ Our joys knew no bound!! Yippie!! someone would call me didi now and would listen to all that I say.Everyday me and my didi would pray to God, Please "humko Bhai dena".And there came 15th Feb ( thats my chinkus birthday ), Mom was in the hospital with some complications and everybody around was tensed. I kept on asking my dad, Doctor bhaiya kab dega????...Time was passing very slow and I was all set to meet this new member and there came my dad, I heard him say,Its a boy!! Thats all I wanted..Me and didi ran to see him and after much request we were allowed to enter a ward where we saw this infant crying and wrapped in a small piece of cloth. He was my brother, just mine and I would not let anybody touch him....... was really possessive huh!!

He was brought home after 5 days and as per moms instructions we were not supposed to touch him without washing our hands. Me and didi would hate going to school , leaving him at home. Time passed by and he grew up. I still remember he couldn't pronounce my name and would call me, khuchu didi...I loved it. We always bonded well with each other .I would fight with children so that my chinku gets to bat first , we would eat chocolates together without telling mom , fight like cats and dogs and then end up saying sorry!! I could remember that he was afraid of school and teachers and i used to tell him all good things about school, the picnic and chocolates, celebration and competition. He would understand nothing but knew that school was not as bad as he thought. Children go to school at 3 , my chinku went at 4.He was the only boy who gave his Kindergarten interview in hindi...hehehehe!! Tore a 50 Rupee note at the age of 3 and when asked about it by dad , replied with innocence , Its just 50 Rupees and not Gandhiji ( meaning 500 Rupee note ). Had left home without telling anyone at the age of 3 and came back home after half an hour just because he wanted to pee....Would make me do his art home work and also would tell me to zip my mouth about it as it was supposed to be a secret!!

I can write endlessly about his stories and fun that we have together. Today at the age of 18 behaves like an elder brother and tries to do all that he can to keep me happy. Wants me to get married and go ( so that he doesn't have to share the room with me ) and keeps on missing me when am not around. Doesn't go shopping alone and drags me with him to buy his stuff ( though I have no say in anything and have to like all that he buys ).Writes blogs on what a bad cook I am and how he manages to survive after eating it. That how miser I am to not lend him money when he needs it...Gifts me a beautiful gift on rakhi and then takes it back after 2 days just because we had a fight as to whom does mom love more, me or him?? Gives me a tight hug and says I Love U Di for some 10, 000 times when he needs cash to spend on his friends. Discusses every bit of his life with me and is always ready to listen mine.Would always crack jokes and make everybody laugh.. during my tough times he was always there to support me , and would tel me, "Di main sab kuch thik kar doonga!!

But at the end of the day I love him a lot. Life changed completely after he entered my life and Me and Di became more responsible and indeed he added joys to our life. I do not need to find a friend for myself because He is the best buddy for me, always there to stand besides me.I wish his life is full of Happiness and success....Just like he brings smiles to others, may he always smile!!