Dream that matters...

All that matters is what we aspire and dream!

I was born in a village based Indian family which exceptionally allowed girls in their family to dare to dream. However, they were tweaked, modified or rejected at times but there were times when they were accepted too.

I grew up to see my grandfather being addressed as “Vakil Sahab” meaning “Mr. Lawyer” and being one of the oldest children of the family, I admired and aspired being a lawyer.

It was one of the dreams that was tweaked and questioned. It was also partially rejected and eventually modified.

I’d like to take you through the journey of my dream of being a lawyer to what I am today.

As a child we were often asked what did I dream to be and my answer would be a mixed response between being a fashion designer and a lawyer.

Only when I passed my eighth standard, we seriously evaluated my options and what I can become in my life. I was in a school which asked us to choose streams in ninth standard and options were commerce or science.

The big fat Indian wedding...

Day 2 of my friend's wedding was full of music and dance. The Indian traditional music and dance. The details about that will come later.

However, today is the day of the big fat Indian wedding.

Venue - Jaypee palace and resort, Agra

Time- 11 am.

Say it the Bollywood style..

"Will you marry me?" Is said best in the Bollywood style. Therefore, it has now become a trend in Indian marriages to have an evening with Bollywood stars.

Music, dance, Bollywood star and a fun filled atmosphere...there couldn't be a better beginning to this big fat Indian wedding.

Every one twisted and shook a bit. The groom knelt on his knees and made the ever so grand proposal.

Champagne, cake and great music made the Bollywood style night a star studded evening.

"Mehndi laga ke rakhna"

Most Indian brides will know the pain that one goes through to get mehndi applied on her hands and her feet for her wedding day.

The Hindu tradition requires the brides to apply henna up till their forearms which depict the wedding rituals and the traditional holy symbols.

In Muslim tradition, brides sit with henna leaves and wait till the colour transfers to the skin. 

The tradition and the method of colouring the hands and feet changes from family to family and region to region.

In few regions, mehndi is replaced by alta, a red liquid used to make the design.

"Mere yaar ki shaadi hai" - my best friend's wedding...

My best friend is getting married and I am on my way to attend her wedding. Since I won't be really concentrating on anything else except attending her wedding, I believe it is best if I write about this big fat Indian wedding for my daily challenge and include you in spirits too.

Sanjoly, my friend from my elementary school is one of my oldest and closest pals. Belonging to same hometown, she is the only real friend I have in the town.

We haven't really spent a lot of time together or stayed in same town but with it's own ups and downs our friendship sustained.

Exact three months ago my mother called me to tell me that she was getting engaged. Two days and some abuses later I congratulated her on phone call.

Lost Treasure...

She kept him like a child. Found in her lane, injured and bleeding he was on the verge of fainting and even a squeal would not come out of his mouth. She bought him home, washed and served food. She took him to doctor and arranged a make-shift bed for him.

She played with him, loved him, fed him and insisted on sleeping with him. But now he was gone. Her parents insisted that he needed to go to a proper shelter, what she could do, she was only eight. But he was her first treasure, and she lost him.

Why should you negotiate for leaves and not salary…

 I once read an advice to negotiate a leave than on salary at work. The presentation advised about travel and came across the point. I was highly impressed by the presentation and made a mental note of a few points to try when life permitted.

Amongst the other advices, this one is proved to be the one I remember most clearly. It sounds like "the thing to do" to me. My reasons though are slightly different than the presentation.

So here are my top reasons to negotiate on leaves -

What I write and why?

 I came across an impressive post about a blogger finding her niche in her writings. She knows what she blogs about and why. It impressed me to introspect about my own blogging habit.

I haven’t been an active promoter of my blog. I seldom post a link from my blog to my facebook (since auto import is no longer available).   However, that does not mean that I do not like it when people read and comment upon my blog.

There are various things that I write about. My topics vary from fiction to memoirs, 55 fiction to long episodes, encounters and experiences, my remarks and comments, emotions and reflections, etc.

I have tried to categorize my blog into a few pages, but I believe very soon I will either remove them or have too many to handle. (I keep contemplating about adding a miscellaneous tab)

So the question arises, “Why?” Why do I have to write or take up this challenge?

Weekend gourmet party away from home

It was a chilly Saturday evening. It was slightly snowing outside. Some of my Indian friends were supposed to come over for dinner to the apartment that was to be my home for 20 days of my stay there.

It reminded me of cold Delhi winter evening, which of course is not as cold as snowing but minus the room heater as effective as this, it's equally uncomfortable.

I missed the hot Indian meal that we cherish in Delhi winters. My friends would love it if I cooked something Indian. Also, I didn't feel like eating another salad or pizza that had been my food for last 10 days.

I am not a great cook plus non-availability of spices. The spices in super market were to expensive for one time cooking.

I was in heavy dilemma, I paced between room and kitchen wondering if I could get something creative. I opened different bags to see what was there. Suddenly a slow smile set in.

There it was, the gourmet collection by kitchen of India packed by my mother.

Summers...we'll miss you

It is rather crazy how we miss the season that just passed. Being lucky enough to experience all four season changes in my city, I often hear people miss the season that went by.

Still, it sounds stupid for many to miss summers (You have to survive Delhi winters to understand our love for summers). However, there are many who do love summers and with monsoon hitting the city are missing it.

My reaction to monsoon (or call it autumn) is a bit mixed. I love Rains…absolutely love them. There is nothing about water pouring down with full force that I do not like, but still I wish I could control it as per my requirements.

First showers of monsoon 2013

Days of prickly heat and sweat seems to end with first showers of monsoon...irrespective of the parental advice of how it carries dirt and infection, first shower always welcome us to take it in the aroma the wet mud, feel the water trickling down our fingers and getting soaked.

Songs are written on the first rains, poets call it the season of love, sadists call it season of missing your loved ones...and sadly but truly doctors call it season of infection...

However, good or bad the description might be, it has always managed to tempt me to take an off from work, get myself a mug of tea and a book and sit in balcony to day dream while I pretend to read. It manages to tempt me to put on my flip flops, pick an umbrella n walk. It always manages to tempt me into going out on a drive with a thermos full of warm tea, roll the glasses down and feel the breeze.

Then comes the whole season of sweat and rains, sticky heat and puddled streets, traffic jams and insects...and they last till we start to hate it.

But being a Delhite, and waiting for monsoon to arrive (and its scheduled to start from tomorrow as per MET) I am readying myself to welcome it with love and affection...are you?

A solo movie date - check

For many people, it might be completely normal thing to do, but for me (who am extremely talkative and restless) it always seemed impossible to go out alone. And not only because it is awkward, but also because it is not considered safe.

Many of my must watch movies have been missed because I didn’t have company to watch it. Also, many a times I have been accompanied or accompanied friends for some such movies only because one of us really wants to see it and other doesn’t.

Happiness!!

Happiness is one of the most beautiful color in palette of life...if I have to pick a shade for happiness, I'll pick Pink.

Mostly, we associate Red with happiness. Red is an absolute primary color, it does not have mix of other colors in it. Red is whole, pure and complete. We often want our happiness to be same.

Whereas Pink is mix of Red and Yellow and blue, it has a tinge of grey in it,vibrance of Red in it, mix of mellowed yellow in it, and presence of blue in it. Happiness in our lives is similar.

While we search for absolute happiness, it often doesnt come in whole and isolation. Most happy moments have a sad moment woven in them, there is a fear of end, story of a start. Searching for happiness in whole, is search in vain. Searching happiness, without having to earn them through sorrow and pain is meaningless. Expecting happiness to wash away all other shades of life is mistake. We should accept it as it is. Vibrant, mix of various shades, and overpowering as it is.

The day two of my writing come back!

My yesterday's blog was about shade of fear (i believe my fear is gray in color)so today i'll just continue with the same today.

Coming back on the day two isnt all that tough...a promise that i made to myself that i will write a blog a day till writting is no longer a fear to me.

It is surprising that something which is so easy to do, becomes impossible task at slightest criticism. Surprisingly there arent so many "backspaces" and re-readings as yesterday. Probably that has to do more with the little confidence that has built up in me after writting yesterday. I will search on a new topic to write, a new shade of life, a new emotion as the shade of my fear is now fading.

Let my fear fly, Reflect the light o dear!!give me the colors of life, and let the gray disappear...

To start all over again

Few months back, in a disheartning moment of self pity and criticism, I deleted all I had ever written. And Alas! except one single post, that some-how remained on one of the other pages all had no back up.

So here i start all over again. And let me tell you that to start is not easy, but to re-start is even tougher. While I write, the shadows of fear and criticsm creep in. I re-read and edit sentences that I write and therefore, there is alot of usage of "backspace".

However, now that the begining is made, a paragraph is written, I'll end with a few lines I wrote sometime ago which keep me inspired to pursue my dream..

I am wrong and I am right,

I crawl and I fly,

I love and I hate,

I live my life learning...

I am what I am...a human in making.