New Year Time!!!

2009 has literally flown past! Its the end of December already and we are on the onset of 2010!!

Its New Year time once again...and I am left with a lot of mixed feelings- New years leave me both excited and scared.

New year is more like an annual stock taking!! Time to measure the Profit and Loss accounts and settle the discrepancies in the balancesheet!!!

Definitely there is happiness of a fresh beginning and anxiety about but more importanttly there is a lot of positive anticipation from the comming year!

2010, I have a lot of expectations from you dear, Don't let me down......!

Return to Innocence!

Children..aren't they the sweetest things!! No matter what state of mind you are in - they always manage to bring back a smile to your face!! Just try doing this!! Have you ever seen children lined up parallel to the railway line..happily waving back to the ignorant passengers of the passing trains!! For once - let go of all inhibitions of how people will judge you and wave back at them....with a simple smile if not over the top alacrity. And see the magic!! Their moon like faces brighten up with this momentary happiness of receiving a positive response to their mirthful anticipation. They keep waving back at you, till your train speeds away farther than their vision can capture!! I am not able to word the way this feels...its a pleasant feeling to make them happy in the most simplest form...like there is a complete different meaning to life other than the infinite materialistic ones we keep chasing about!!!

Tags!

I came across this very interesting tag on Anand's Blog! So filled in the details! Bongs, Aakya and Deeps you too fill in the details! It will be a fun-read!

1.Where is your cell phone?
Meticulously put on the Mobile Stand! See it 2 Believe it!

2.Your hair?
Used to be ruffled and gave an "out of the bed look"! Strangely they are completely manageable now! : )

3.Your mother?
The only person who loves me unconditionally!

4.Your father?
My Pillar of Strength!

5.Your favorite food?
Anything made by Mom as I hardly get homemade food made by her! I have to eat what I cook usvally!! : )

6.Your dream last night?
I don't dream anymore! Dreams just make people more impractical.

7.Your favorite drink?
H2O Neat on the rocks!!! What were u thinking???? ; )

8.Your goal?
To prove myself!!

9.What room are you in?
Definitely the one which has a lot of sunshine and ventilation! Any Guesses which one???

10.Your hobby?
Blogging!!!! I love it!

11.Your fear?
Being Judged wrongly!

12.Where do you want to be in 6 years?
hmmmmmmm! Now lets c how that one works!

13.Where were you last night?
Chatting away with friends @ Home - the best place on earth

14.Something that you aren’t?
Perfect!!!

15.Muffins?
Yes I am all "Gimme" for them - If they are made of Sugar Free!
On an after-thought its such a sweet name for a cat or even your object of affection!!!hahahaha

16.Wish list item?
A flat of my own and a car!

17.Where did you grow up?
Hogwarts

18.Last thing you did?
Just made some Chapattis!

19.What are you wearing?
Blue Tee and a pair of old Jeans!

20.Your TV?
Is sitting in the warehouse of some shop gathering dust!! As I Don't Have one yet!

21.Your pets?
Don't have any right now! Aishwarya and Sundari are two strays who are very cute and friendly dogs!

22.Friends?
My Lifeline!! They keep me on the move!!!

23.Your life?
A Roller-coaster ride!
Plain till 2007 - Bumpy after that!

24.Your mood?
On a H3
Holiday Happy High!!!! : )

25.Missing someone?
..................................!!!!!!!

26.Vehicle?
Kinetic ZX!

27.Something you’re not wearing?
My Specs!

28.Your favorite store?
Wills Lifestyle!

29.When was the last time you laughed?
Today afternoon while watching 3-idiots @ R-MALL, Mulund! Had a blast!

30.Last time you cried?
Don't want to remember as Tears only make you more and more weak! But yes it was a worthless effort for a person who did not care!

31.Your best friend?
My Lil Bro! Bhauama!

32.One place that you go to over and over?
Parvati, Pune. I am gripped with a dejavoo feeling every time!

33.One person who emails me regularly?
Bongs!

34.Favorite place to eat?
La Dolche Vita, Pune!

I like!!!

Fireflies in the Garden


Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.

- By Robert Frost

Bicycle Riding in Pune!

A few days back, I tried picking back one of my ardent hobbies which I had abandoned in My Odyssey years- Cycling! Since Aakash and YD were going on a long bike ride! I tagged along with them. I borrowed YD's cousin's ladies bicycle and on a chilly December Tuesday evening we were all jet set to hit the rough roads. So we decided our route which was going to be down from Sadashiv Peth-FC Road-E-square flyover-University road. I had only practised a little the previous evening on Karve road and was a bit apprehensive about the evening traffic on all these jam-packed bottle necked roads. Anyways it was my first time and I decided to take the risk. Of course I was finding it difficult to keep pace with these guys as they were very fast and experienced. I had to pedal my way faster to keep up with them. The seat of my bicycle was very low and I was finding it problematic to pull the cycle on upward slopes. Infact I had to get down on Garware Bridge! But some how I managed to ride down all the way ahead of E-square but then my legs which were not used to all this exercise gave up. So I turned back and returned mid-way! But though exhausting it was an exhilarating experience. And a quiet fulfilling one @ that. I think I need to go on more such bike rides which will make me used to ridding. The most difficult part was facing hell while driving thru full traffic at 6 pm. I wish we could go on a plain green pollution free road someday, probably on the outskirts of the city. Aakash had a bike problem so he turned back mid-way while I guess YD was the only person to reach the decided spot. Albeit a bit taxing, it was too good an experience! I think one must keep giving a shot at such different strokes to keep up the excitement in our mundane life!! Thanks Aakash and YD! Can't wait for the next round of Bicycle riding!

Life's Big Lesson in a Small Scoop! 10

I am updating this section after a loooooooong gap! It was not that lessons weren't learnt in this span! Infact there were many! Its just that not all of them were drafted here!

Abb padh likh kar kiska bhala hua hai?????

I have a habit (You can call it a bad one) of uttering hackneyed dialogues and making fun of the highly cliched sentiments that our Hindi Cinema evokes @ times - rather ignorantly. One of my favourite one is to babel fish in a typical auntie like monotonous style, " Abb padh likh kar kiska bhala hua hai ?"(Read:Who has benefited out of Education anyways?).

Yesterday I had my Eureka Moment! As me and my hostel mates gathered for our regular late night "girl talks". And our regular bhanksss about films began. I began to utter the same dialogue. And I stopped mid-way. Rather my rational brain forced me to press the STOP button immediately.

"Padh Likh kar Kiska Bhala hua hai ?" My brain re-read, scanned and comprehended the dialogue. The answer came pronto: Mera aur Sabka. This was even more applicable in terms of women. I gulped my curiosity @ that moment and let it lie low for later contemplation. After everyone descended to their slumber the internal ratification began. I am 26 years old. Am independent!(yeah I can finally say that) Inspite of a crash I have landed to the safety of my own feet. Bruised but certainly not broken! And a major portion of the terra-firma beneath my trembling feet(apart from my loved ones) has been provided by no one else but my education.

There are girls in my hostel who have practically come from remote villages in Maharashtra. Some of them can hardly afford a metro-lifestyle. They prefer to walk their way around instead of spending Rs. 3 everyday on the "comfort" of overcrowded PMT Buses. They want to educate themselves and the world around them. They are taking pains of working part time and educating themselves because they understand that in a society that is ruled by the influence of ever-altering political, social and economical scenarios, it is education that will be their backbone.

Education today has stood firmly with many ladies who have absolutely no support in this world. With education comes financial Independence and it further reckons freedom to take individual decisions responsibility.

Just imagine the spate of us Indian women if we were born in an earlier time frame where situation was not conducive for women education. The vicious circle of poverty - early marriage - illiteracy - dependency - destitution would have continued. The anti-women literacy antagonists would have ruled the world and our atrocities as a second sex would have multiplied. Or for that matter even if we were born in a third world country that was not pro-women education and liberation, each day would have been so difficult to live.

I think we Indian women should really be grateful to the doyens of women education like Anandi Bai Joshi, Mahatma Phule & Maharshi Karve etc. It is only because of the relentless efforts of these people that many Indian women are Educated, Independent and Earning a living for themselves today!

What has education provided me??? The answer is simple! EMPOWERMENT- to stare the world in the eye, keep pace with it and challenge it!!!!

I got my answer!
I will never repeat that dialogue again!
I swear!
: )

English just KICKED THE BUCKET! 1

English dies a sad death everyday..And very brutally @ that!
And guess what, we kill it~
Here is one instance how..

The victim- the word " Functional"

According to Merriam Websters dictionary:
Main Entry: func·tion·al
Pronunciation: \ˈfəŋ(k)-shnəl, -shən-əl\
Function: adjective
performing or able to perform a regular function
—func·tion·al·ly \-ē\ adverb ctional psychosis>—compare organic 1b

I have atleast heard 25 people at isolated instances using the world wrongly, in a totally different parlance colloquially!

They say- This dress is casual but I prefer functional dresses for special occasions.
or
This is a functional clutch- for everyday purposes I have another one.

1.e. the word functional is surmised as "related to function or special occasion"
when actually it means a regular function(activity).

It is high time that we correct this gross culpable linguistic gaffe immediately!

Yeah!

It rains in the land of creativity and the ensuing " Thinker's drought" ends....