Happy Mothers' Day!

Mother - Amma - Aai - Mummy - Mamma - Mom 

So many words, but when you say it you get a feeling of the cozyness, the warmth, the feeling of being home! 

It gets more meaning when you yourselves become a mom - this is for girls - you realise the fear, anxiety, frustrations and worries that your mother must have hidden from you and then comes the additional feeling of Respect, for her efforts, for her love, for her sacrifice. 

There are lot of other mother figures in your life - Maternal Aunts, Paternal Aunts, The next-door neighbours, some Teachers, sometimes just someone you meet but does perform the role in a situation.. Each of them gives you love and warmth over and over again - and still they are different from what your mom is and rightly so!

Marriage gives you another Mother-figure : the much abused and feared Mother-in-law. She definitely isn't your mother, but is your spouse's. The love and respect is with an apprehension - as she is still different from what your mom is and again rightly so ! 

As a child, to all mothers - an important capability we need to learn is to forgive your Mother and Mother figures. As we appreciate their efforts , their sacrifice, there would have been times when you felt they are wrong towards you, they have mistreated you and probably at times mis-led you.. Forgive them today for all that and love them unconditionally for the love they give you. 

Forgiving is easy for your own mother, but to forgive other Mother figures - it takes a lot of courage. On this Mothers' day, find that courage, overcome the mind-blocks and look for a way to reconnect with those Mothers that made a difference in your life, the ones that have helped you be the person you are today.

Hidden Talents

So when I joined this new company, in the introduction round, I was asked what is my hidden talent. I mentioned Blogging, as i havent been doing it any often and hence has been hidden away . .

I wish I can write more.. and more often too. 

The Living Room Sofa

Since my childhood, I have always slept in the Living room, only now do I have a different room.
Earlier our house had only 2 rooms, the Living room and the Kitchen. So naturally it was the living room. We were kids then and getting up at 6:30 to start for school at 7 was a task !!! Poor mom and dad had a daily Herculean task..
Then we moved to another apartment which had same number of rooms but just a size bigger. It wasnt the age of Sofa-cum-beds yet, only a bed was prevalent and that took a big space in our living room. My Granny ( she was with us for that short time)  used to sleep on it.
So till all this time I always liked the bed-roll on the floor.
We moved in our Bigger home, with an additional room called bedroom. We children took the Living room and the balcony separately, after a proposition to exchange places on a periodic basis. (its another thing, that I never left the balcony till the Sofa came in)
So this home was remodeled so many times, that I almost remember staying in different places instead of one. and with each makeover, the balcony was more and more out of sight and Living room was the biggest room. Sometime in between, the Red Sofa-cum-bed arrived in our Living room. My brother declared it unfit for him to sleep due to his height and I was the sole contender to it !
I never looked at any other option unless there was some guest, or my mom had a restraining order on how late I could sleep in the Living Room.
When I went to US, I was placed in a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 roommates. I was supposed to share 1 bedroom with one of them. But with no cellphone, and house phone in the living room next to the Sofa, and my Long calls to Home and friends and my team back in India, I ended up sleeping on the Living room sofa.. When I was at my friends place ( I spent most of my time there), the Living room Sofa was much more comfortable than any other place.- for me it was my home in US !
I moved into another Apartment and shared it with one other roommate. Dint have a Sofa but just a mattress. Although I had a choice, I put it in the Living room and settled out there :)
When I relocated to another city, I rented another 1 bedroom apartment and naturally I chose the Living room over the bedroom. My roomie came in another month later, till then the Bedroom was only a store-room. As we collected furniture - mattresses and sofa, my roomie helped me change my habits by citing saving electricity as a reason. Although I did find reasons to sleep on the two-seater sofa with my legs hanging out e.g late night calls with my team in India, or work or watching online movies , etc. , I was comfortable sleeping anywhere :).
When I was back home to India, we had shifted to a new place. Its a 2 Bedroom plus Living room plus kitchen. Anticipating Brother's marriage, he was in one of the bedrooms and my parents in another.. Me was back in Living Room..My father got it partitioned so that I get some privacy of my own, yet it was still my favorite Living Room.

Post Marriage - I miss the Living room sleeping and after a kid its much more farther. Although I do find time to nap on the Living room sofa , its still a rare occasion.

How life changes!

Crazy to be Happy

Do you need to be crazy to be happy ?

Morning 9 am in Kuala Lumpur everyone is rushing towards offices on a Wednesday so halfway through the week. I saw a well dressed lady getting out of LRT.  She had a stuffed Koala Bear  and a small bouquet of flowers in her hand and was very happy. She was enthusiastically smiling and laughing and bouncing and saying something with the bouquet and stuffed animal held up high for display. She moved fast out of the LRT coach down the steps and out of the station. Everyone around was looking at her and I am sure wondering if she is crazy.
I did not see the lady beyond the ticketing point. I wanted to follow her , find the reason of her happiness.. see if I can catch the bug..

I was thinking, do you need to be crazy to be so happy ? I think we need to be soo crazy to forget every trouble and be happy regardless to what is happening around.

I had a smile on my face to see someone so happy .. and the incident bade me a good morning !

Grow Young..

Grow young - seems like such a senior citizen kind post ! But no .. this is a lesson I want to remember always. Because I read somewhere - If you think you are a grown-up already, you think you cant grow anymore, So be  child ..always.

Well this post is supposed to be the feeling of growing young - Not that I am too old, but once you cross the third decade of age, you feel you should act a little more mature - but this is about defying the same feeling.
My friend who is a Engineering college professor once mentioned - Teaching to this 18-20 aged kids keeps me young, their thoughts are fresh and different in each batch, I am very much kept up to date on how the generation thinks and hence I can gauge the generation gaps and understand people more.
I am currently having the same feeling. I go for lunch with a kid who is around 18-19. But she helps me understand her thoughts, aspirations, her idea of relationships, life and also makes me loosen up a bit and enjoy the lunch time. I feel I am letting go of my fears, learning new things and living it a little. Sometimes, you need just that !
Just few days back, we played a prank on a unsuspecting new colleague - as we did not want to mess up with office politics when we met a ex-colleague. And it was real  good fun. I probably wouldnt have done it, if I did not have the young company.
So yes, it refreshes me .. a lot !

But the key is being observant of their thoughts and empathize with it - not brush it off thinking its immature.. 'cause that's the attitude that results in generation gap.. Don't we know by our experience with some of our elders ?

Krishna-Radha meet in Swarg..

Came across this wonderful piece of work.. Not sure it's a poem or a prose..

स्वर्ग में विचरण करते हुए
अचानक एक दुसरे के सामने आ गए

विचलित से कृष्ण ,
प्रसन्नचित सी राधा...

कृष्ण सकपकाए, राधा मुस्काई

इससे पहले कृष्ण कुछ कहते
राधा बोल उठी "कैसे हो द्वारकाधीश ?"

जो राधा उन्हें
कान्हा कान्हा
कह के बुलाती थी

उसके मुख से द्वारकाधीश का संबोधन
कृष्ण को भीतर तक घायल कर गया
फिर भी किसी तरह अपने आप को
संभाल लिया

.....और बोले राधा से
मै तो तुम्हारे लिए आज भी कान्हा हूँ
तुम तो द्वारकाधीश मत कहो!

आओ बैठते है ....
कुछ मै अपनी कहता हूँ
कुछ तुम अपनी कहो

सच कहूँ राधा जब जब भी
तुम्हारी याद आती थी
इन आँखों से आँसुओं की बुँदे निकल आती थी

बोली राधा ,
मेरे साथ ऐसा कुछ नहीं हुआ
ना तुम्हारी याद आई ना कोई आंसू बहा
क्यूंकि हम तुम्हे कभी भूले ही कहाँ थे
जो तुम याद आते

इन आँखों में सदा तुम रहते थे
कहीं आँसुओं के साथ निकल ना जाओ
इसलिए रोते भी नहीं थे

प्रेम के अलग होने पर तुमने क्या खोया
इसका इक आइना दिखाऊं आपको ?
कुछ कडवे सच ,प्रश्न सुन पाओ तो
सुनाऊ?

कभी सोचा इस तरक्की में तुम
कितने पिछड़ गए

यमुना के मीठे पानी
से जिंदगी शुरू की
और समुन्द्र के खारे पानी तक
पहुच गए ?


एक ऊँगली पर चलने वाले
सुदर्शन चक्र
पर भरोसा कर लिया
और दसों उँगलियों पर चलने वाली
बांसुरी को भूल गए ?

कान्हा जब तुम
प्रेम से जुड़े थे तो ....
जो ऊँगली
गोवर्धन पर्वत
उठाकर लोगों को
विनाश से बचाती थी
प्रेम से अलग होने पर वही ऊँगली
क्या क्या रंग दिखाने लगी
सुदर्शन चक्र उठाकर विनाश के
काम आने लगी

कान्हा और द्वारकाधीश में
क्या फर्क होता है बताऊँ
कान्हा होते तो
तुम सुदामा के घर जाते
सुदामा तुम्हारे घर नहीं आता

युद्ध में और प्रेम
में यही तो फर्क होता है

युद्ध में आप मिटाकर
जीतते हैं
और प्रेम में आप मिटकर
जीतते हैं

कान्हा प्रेम में डूबा हुआ आदमी
दुखी तो रह सकता है
पर किसी को दुःख नहीं देता

आप तो कई कलाओं के स्वामी हो
स्वप्न दूर द्रष्टा हो
गीता जैसे ग्रन्थ के दाता हो

पर आपने क्या निर्णय किया
अपनी पूरी सेना कौरवों को सौंप दी?
और अपने आपको पांडवों के साथ कर लिया

सेना तो आपकी प्रजा थी
राजा तो पालक होता है
उसका रक्षक होता है

आप जैसा महा ज्ञानी
उस रथ को चला रहा था
जिस पर बैठा अर्जुन
आपकी प्रजा को ही मार रहा था

आपनी प्रजा को मरते देख
आपमें करूणा नहीं जगी

क्यूंकि आप प्रेम से शून्य हो चुके थे

आज भी धरती पर जाकर देखो
अपनी द्वारकाधीश वाली छवि को

ढूंढते रह जाओगे

हर घर हर मंदिर में
मेरे साथ ही
खड़े नजर आओगे

आज भी मै मानती हूँ
लोग गीता के ज्ञान की बात करते हैं
उनके महत्व की बात करते है

मगर धरती के लोग
युद्ध वाले द्वारकाधीश. पर नहीं
प्रेम वाले कान्हा पर भरोसा करते हैं

गीता में मेरा दूर दूर तक नाम भी नहीं है
पर आज भी लोग उसके समापन पर
" राधे राधे" करते है

Lot of good lines in this are very touching..
I will try to translate the one I felt as the best .
Radha on her love for Krishna..
I never remembered you or never shed any tears for you..
To remember, I had to forget.. Which I never could..
And was worried that you would flow out with tears so never shed them too..

There are lot more questions that Radha raises to Krishna on the way he dealt with his life and how he went far from love.. and in the end says, the People on earth now worship the Lover Krishna and not the other roles he performed in his life.

My take: Its a beautiful piece of literature ( I came to know later that the author/poet is Sharad Joshi). Krishna was a common man when her was at Gokul and was with Radha.. When he entered Mathura and challenged the King, he stopped being a commoner and then had to lead his life more as a strategist and had to make decisions for masses at large. He was a romantic at heart, but that does not make a good strategist and hence he changed.. If we dont like change in a person after a few years - that does not mean the person will not or should not change.. Its just that our expectations are wrong.
Lot of more thoughts on this..but some other time.

Happy New Year 2014

Another year strolls in and all kind of retrospection has been discussed.. So what changes with 31st December ? People still remain the same - no one can change overnight from a grumpy person to cheerful one.. A worrywart to happy-go-lucky... A Laid-back to Sincere hardworker.. Yet it seems like a new start- a new hope to see a change and a drastic one.. 

I always grow older at new year .. or should I say more experienced..Surely cant boast as being wiser ..because I think being wiser thing happens when you have a life altering experience..or atleast it has to be something unexpected. So I wish for such experiences tht make me wiser !

So more wishes and hopes for a different tomorrow.. may be not an drastically different year..but atleast a more hopeful one ! Wiser one..

National Obsession

Ok. Thats copied from very famous TV series by a famous actor.. dont want to increase my blog hits for mentioning them.. but I will always remember that the National Obsession of our country is Marriage !!

I used to think its only my parents .."You want to buy a house? Do it after your marriage", "You want to go somewhere ? Do it after your marriage" , "We will go on a India tour but after your marriage" , "We want to do something, but after your marriage" .. That's a different story that I did what I wanted to do after convincing them yet, getting them do what they want to "after my marriage" is something not attained it. It hurts, but then cant help :)
Recently I heard a similar case with one of my friends parents.. Its a little more crazy .. They are not ready to take up any treatment for their chronic ailments at a faraway place..till my friend's sister gets married !!
Earlier a few years back, I was at another friends place, where my friend's mom was telling her other daughter to not to take up medicine because it will be difficult to find a guy who will marry a doctor. The Aunty in question is a professor in a Engg. college.
The trigger for this post was actually a FB post from an acquaintance.. younger than me.. "Finally Climbed the ladder of Success....................proved myself rite in every aspect of Life..........Love u My Life:)" 
People who have commented hinted at her marriage getting fixed .. including her father saying "I am relieved"!!
I hope she is not talking about what I am assuming, but based on the overall tone and knowing her it seems to be the same.. and if it is then damn! Ladder of Success ?!?!

And its not just for girls.. One of my cousin was contemplating on selling off his business and taking up a job because he was not able to find a girl to marry !! 
Some of my team-members wanted a transfer to locations other than Mumbai because back in their native Mumbai was supposed to be a dangerous place and girls would not agree to marry them !! 

Not that I undermine the aspect that you require a life partner for companionship or sometimes put as a physical need or even the aspect of Security for women in the eyes of the Society - But should it really be sooo important that parents should put everything on hold for this ? 

And then is there really a surety of having the required outcomes from a marriage? I have seen happy couples. But then I have also seen people struggling through their marriages, getting separated,   being constantly unhappy in their marriages. Not really getting the companionship or even basic understanding from the partner is very common. An awful lot adjust with it for the society and the fear of gossip affecting their family.. and some do get out of it with repercussions.. 

But then, do we have to be so obsessed with it ? Whatever you plan to do, or wherever you plan to go  - does it have to be always weighed against marriage ? The cases I have mentioned are very few from those I have seen.. There would be lot more..

I am not against the institution of marriage.. Someday I will get married too when I find the right person or when I am destined to or as my mother puts it "When the time comes" .. But till that time, is it really worth putting all decisions on hold for it ?

Doubting

Have we grown so cynic that we doubt when someone does a good thing to you?

Have things been so worse that if someone does a favour we doubt what does this person want from me?

Have we become so competitive that - if someone tells you how sad they are, you tell your story and that should be much more sad than the other person's ?

The Grass is always greener on other side.. Someone else's Life is always better than ours.. and our life is always more complicated than anyone else..

Is Contentment out of fashion ?

Sangeet Natak.. Musical Play

Sangeet Natak.. Something I am seeing for first time..a play where everyone simply enters and starts singing :)
And yes, the story moves ahead with the songs..all of them classical songs..and sung beautifully..

For those who dont know, sangeet Natak are the way plays in Marathi started..and I guess thats where the songs in Bollywood started too..

So I watched two plays, one on Saturday and another on Sunday.. Dint know the story of "Jai jai Gourishankar" and had an idea of story for "Sangeet Saubhadra"

"Jai Jai Gourishankar" is a play that tells the story of Mangeshi-Shantadurga temple.. How Narad tries to start a quarrel between Shiv and Parvati using a game of dice.. He succeeds in starting it because the Omniscient Shiv allows it to.. and then Shiv Parvati separate to meet in Gomantak vana.. ( It was here I realised it was story of some temple in Goa, till then I was wondering whats it about) The story then unfolded to how Parvati tried to entice the ascetic Shiv in the garb of a Bhill (Adivasi). In a Sangeet natak, the story is punctuated woth Songs..after probably every 10 dialogues.. and every actor ..and I mean every actor sings.. even the Nandi and the Gana named Shundi too.. It was surely a fun..Mukund Marathe played Shiv.. rest I dont remember now..

Next day, "Sangeet Saubhadra"  was more fun.. This one had star actor-singers. Story of the marriage of Arjun and Subhadra- Sister of Krishna & Balram. Now where there is Krishna, there sure is some mischief..and thats what the story is about :) Wellknown songs sung by wellknown singer-actors and listening them live is an altogether different experience.. Anand Bhate (Lead singer in Baal Gandharva and singer of my favorite song "Chinmaya Sakal Hridaya") was Krishna, Rahul Deshpande (ex-Judge in Z Marathi Sa re ga ma) was Narad and Ajay Purkar (seen in lot of Marathi serials) was Arjun. I dont remember names of the actresses although they have also been awesome with their performance and Songs..

About the songs from these Plays.. some other time.. Just in case you get time, watch both these plays.. 

I hate bad English

Actually not only english, but any language spoken / written wrongly gets me in the corrective mode..

Bad English is something that occurs more frequently than others..
"I got an update from P that she needs assignments at ABC location because she is having a medical issue. In her earlier project she was worked from XYZ that time she felled in a faint 2-3 times in a bus during travel due to traffic congestion & suffocation. She informed about this to her earlier PM. She joined here just because it was just 2-3 weeks assignment as communicated earlier to her"

and this this written by a person with 8 years of experience and a team lead!

A conference call is going on, a remotely talking person says "Guys are you able to hear me, have you put me on hold?" A person at my end of phone immediately presses the "hold" button and when questioned he says "Usne bola na hold par daalo" ...I felled in a faint !!!! :D

These are very few examples that I have clear memory of.. There are many more and will put it soon.

Just Like that

Alright! I am not writing.. been a long time..

I think I have written this soo many times and not posted!

Today, my dear rains have come pouring.. and people have stayed home with their kids to enjoy their time..The Trains are empty, stations are empty ( Kalva!!!) .. so are the roads..(not really there is water on it)..

My kid (i.e. my niece) also did not let me go at first.. Now I am feeling bad that I left her and came to office. 

Hope I can leave early and return to play :)

(This is an attempt to restart the dormant blogging..Readers, if there are any faithful ones, please comment and encourage :) )

Random thoughts

Was thinking over multiple things, and realized that I have lost lot of friends due to loss of communication and not due to actual fight or quarrels.. 

Fights or Quarrels can actually be resolved..even at a later stage.. but catching up later? it doesn't always work..because till then each one of them has already built a novel on what the other person should have done and has not done.. 

Other is, does constant pressure situation make you impatient and panicky? Am dealing with a new PM for last three days, and he seems to have pressed the panic button already when the project is still in its 1st week. Is it his normal behaviour or has he been moulded into it due to situations he has been ? So far, I haven't heard a good thing about him barring one person.. so also my experience in last three days hasnt been encouraging.. the dilemma is should I escalate now or give him more rope.. 

Its also been interesting to see how shy people get pushed to react strongly when a limit of frustration is caused. Wishing that shy person luck to tide over the situation and upcoming inquisitions the person might have to face to.. or may be the escalation would simply pass by and the residue would be negative sentiments.. 

When the world is struggling with inflation and earthquakes and floods and bombblasts.. I am stuck in the world of musings of my own with too many random thoughts.. 

Looking for a car

Yess.. Looking for a brand new car now ..
I would love some small SUV like the Toyota Rav4 ( I had driven it in US ) but similar cars arent available in India in my budget. We either have large SUVs like Sumo, Scorpio.
So what do I want in the vehicle? We want that for travelling to our farm mostly, carry stuff to and fro, run on the mud roads near our farm and on the highways too!
On other days it should be able to carry 5-6 of us around..
Over and above, my father should be able to drive it as well. I know I can drive all cars..

Hope to get a decent one very soon.. Currently looking at something like Venture or Eeco.. Lets see..
Any suggestions ??

Optimism

Is it possible to be optimistic all the time ?

I used to get frustrated over lot of things at a point of time in life. Then a friend showed me, getting frustrated is taking me nowhere.. the situation remains the same, the people remain the same and I also stay in the same place.. There is only one difference, I have grown bitter and angry and it does not affect anyone else.

I had to check my emotions and words - continuously - to stay away from frustrations in adverse situations, keep thinking to find a way because there is always a way out. and it has helped me so far..

God, As I enter the world of indefinite, please help me keep my optimism, come what may.. and when I start losing it, I will remind you of this Blog prayer :)

Updates

When I had heard of Twitter first, I used to think "Why the hell do people want to send out their updates all the day long?"

And now ? I find it de-stressing to change my Facebook Status to reflect my thoughts at the moment and read people commenting on it .. It keeps me cheerful although my life has gone topsy-turvywith work and studies :)

Currently looking for Mobile Apps that will help me blog..

(And you thought there was some change from my life :) )

Slipping away

I am talking of friends.. dont we all encounter the slipping ?

School Friends, College Friends, Training friends, Location friends, Commute friends, Neighbourhood friends, Team friends, et al..

I am not talking of acquaintances.. I am talking about friends, whom we are pretty close with and share our lives with them .. and after a point of time the contact breaks.. for no specific reason.. how much ever you try to put things back.. it never comes together again ..

I wrote earlier about not being able to connect with friends after long time.. I guess its the same thing.. After a point of time, you stop being able to connect.. But it surely hurts when you see someone slipping away and having no rhyme or reason for it..

I read this post again .. I guess its soo very true..

Chak de!

Have you ever heard a running commentary of any sport ? How the commentators put the picture up through their words..their excitement and sorrow .. the anxiety and the relief .. They try to do the 100% communication from the only channel of Voice !

It was the Men's Hockey Semi Finals in CWG. I accidentally had tuned into the sarkari FM station 107.1 which was giving out the commentary .. It was the time of Penalty shootout which was to resolve the tie-breaker score 3-3 of India and England. 5 Shootouts and as each player attempting at the shot and the goalies taking pressure at each minute, the commentators in Hindi and English were so animated that they brought the stadium in front of the eyes.. and when the team India won - the English commentator went crazy with happiness !!!

It has been a good season of sports at CWG.. though it had not started on the right note due to the hungry, insatiated politicians - the sportspeople have been brave and courageous enough to battle all the odds and excel at their sport ! There hasnt been enough facilities or money or expert coaching but these guys have been fabulous !!

Kudos to Team India ! how many gold, silver or bronze medals you get is not important, Its important that you have excelled and have been better than all of your prior achievements !! Wish you get all the recognition you deserve !!

CWG ends tomorrow, but there are the Asian Games coming up ! All the best !!

Interesting thought

Just wanted to put it down..

Dahi-handi s are so contemporary to Corporates ..

Originally started by the great management guru - Shri Krishna.. An attempt to get people to work in a team towards a single Goal - Butter , which was good for their health. The team consisted of multiple skilled people - strong Balram, physically challenged Pendya and other differently abled cowherd friends. They made an human pyramid to reach the pot of expectations set by the Gopika's..

Now ? the politicians put out cranes to hoist the pot of Money. Pull it up higher and higher as the human pyramids start building.. and there are a lot of various teams putting together the pyramids.. competing with each other..

A very interesting thought came to my mind as I watched one of the cranes.. Doesnt it get any more closer to Current world corporates ?

Today, all companies are competing in equally cut-throat competition. Putting their teams under pressure to win the pot of money.. the teams have different skill-levels, work in multiple layers -some take lot of physical pressure and some take the higher risk - the mental pressure..

And the customers i.e. the organizers of the show - they keep increasing the height of their expectations, and the pot of money doesnt match the efforts or cover the risk as well ..

Just wondering, do our Govinda teams also need to get into contemporary mood and look for Innovative strategies to hit the prize instead working it out the traditional way ??

I hope all Govindas have been safe today and no one has got hurt..

Will call you later....

Have you heard it ?

"Hey, I am a bit tied up, will call you later , ok?"

"Hello.. hello.. I am not able to hear you well, its very noisy here, Will call you later, ok?"

"Hey, I am getting another call, I will call you later, aaramse baat karte hai "

And how many times does this "later" comes in reality ??

(Yeah, I am mad at my very close friends for doing this to me .. and I know they dont read my blog.. just my way to vent out !!)