A to Z Challenge 2015 Theme Reveal - WOMEN in A to Z PROFESSIONS

April A to Z challenge: I read many posts last year from this and when I tried to participate myself, I realised I was too late. For this year, I registered myself on time.

Now, the challenge to post every day (except Sunday) that too with a particular letter on each day does sound crazy. Having participated in Ultimate Blog Challenge in January 2015, I know the amount of task it requires. For the whole month, I could not think of anything else other than the topic to post for next day.

May be this was because I did not have any theme and was just posting random posts. The fact that I had a plan is a different story.

Coming to theme, this is my first April A to Z challenge and I am glad I choose to theme it. I browsed like one crazy girl for various themes. From several different options I settled down upon, I have finally chooses my theme for the challenge.

With the amount of emphasis on women empowerment, I could not stop myself from  choosing my theme as "Women in A to Z Professions". I would be choosing one or may be two professions starting form each letter and create a small post about women as they perform there. Hopefully I would also try and write a very small poem or really short story on the same as-well.

A to Z CHALLENGE 2015
Sunday		Monday		Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2	3	4
					Athlete	Business	Crimimal	Doctor & Daughter
5	6		7		8	9	10	11
	Engineer		Fire Fighter		Guide	Hacker	Inventor	Judge
12	13		14		15	16	17	18
	Karate		Leader		Mother	Newspaper Editor	Officer	Pilot
19	20		21		22	23	24	25
	Quality		Racer		Scientist	Teacher	Umpire	Villian
26	27		28		29	30
	Winemaker		X-Factor		Yo Yo	Zoology

I hope I would be able to do the justice to my theme.

Are you participating in A to Z Challenge 2015? Sign up's are open till 4-April-2015 11:59 PM North America - EST (Eastern standard Time).

Do you have a theme for the month? Check out other theme reveals as-well.
Visit A to Z Challenge to find more details.

Stay Tuned... :)

Simple Things That Make Me Happy

Happiness is a combination of healthy body and bad memory.

While healthy body is partly in our own hands, bad memory is something which is not everyone's cup of tea. By bad memory I mean the ability to forget and forgive. Yes, the sooner we are able to forget uncomfortable moments and the more we are able to forgive others, the closer stays our post prized possession -Happiness.

Talking about Happiness, all of us shave our own set of things which cannot fail to make us smile. Below are some things from my set of bucket:

KID

He has to be in top. No matter how sad I am or how tired I am. It only takes a smile from my kiddo to make me smile.

BIRTHDAYS / ANNIVERSARIES

I don't know why, but it does not matter whose birthday/anniversary it is, but whenever there is one around me, I am happy. My friends used to get a bit embarrassed sometimes as I used to announce their birthdays like anything. I used to tell each and every person I know that it's his/her "happy birthday". Yes, I never call it a birthday, it's always "Happy Birthday".

FESTIVALS

Festivals were the days when all cousins used to get together for whole day and have fun. We used to wait for Holi/Rakhi/Diwali with great curiosity and give a dose of head-ache to our parents. I so miss all that after my wedding, but still I try and make all feel that it's a special day on festivals.

WEDDING

Weddings of cousins is another reason to party and dance like crazy. From my father side, a lot of them are awaited and we are all ready for the fun.

FLOWERS

I love flowers. I guess, every girl likes them. Big or small, all flowers have a special place in my heart.

RAIN

Rain is beautiful. I love ten sound of little water droplets tinkling around. The only thing I donor like about rain is the wet smell that occurs as a result of continuous rain for days and of-course the Delhi traffic. Apart from that, I do or miss a single opportunity to soak in ever comforting droplets of water.

SMILES

Everybody likes smiles. Smile is free of cost. It makes your heart feel good. It makes others feel good. It does not mean that I like those irritating unwanted smiles from some cheep idiots.

SURPRISES

Anyone who says he/she does not like surprises is lying. A surprise brings that required smile to all.   I am no different. The surprise need not be well planned or expensive. A simple homecoming from office to home earlier than usual just like that without any reason is a small example of simple surprise.

KISSES from my kid/husband/cousins/parents/best friends

Hugs and Kisses from my loved ones never fail to make me happy.

SPACE

Last but not the least, I need some time for myself once a while. My own space and time is when I do nothing and think nothing. Believe me, those are one of the most happy moments of our life!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS is celebrated around the world in 20th of March. While celebrating a day is great, I wish everyone a bottle full of happiness and Smiles for each and every day of their lives!

Ps - I love the coca cola advertisements for this occasion they launch every day. All of them are awesome and bring an upper curve to my lips.

A Night Full Of Adventure

This goes back to my childhood days. I was at my cousin's house enjoying summer vacations. We used to go for a morning walk - only the kids.

As the lights of house were switched off, the chit-chat started.

After sometime, the barbecue serious and we narrated some incidents of theft and murders we had heard around us. The worst part was, the incidents were either directly about our houses or about our close friends. Like any teenagers, who first start the ghostly talks and then themselves shiver their wits out, we were extremely afraid.

Suddenly, we remembered, Bua Ji had asked us to switch off the water motor which was running. None of had the courage to go to the room at very end of house, open the bathroom which also opened in balcony and switch off the motor. But then, it had to be done or get scolded like hell in the morning. After long discussions, we finally decided to do the task TOGETHER.

We somehow gathered the courage to get out of our bed. Four of us, three girls and one boy, held our hands and made a line. I still remember the grip of our hands. We were holding each other as tightly as possible. We switched on the light of our room and took a deep breath.

Then, we again had a long discussion that now since the lights were on, either of us could go and do it. But then, all of us were scared to step out of room alone. We feared that someone one be hiding in the drawing room to kill us. We even imagined some goons waiting for us in the balcony so that they can make out mouth shut and loot the house.

 

Image Source - Pintrest

We marched out into the drawing room - again together holding hands. The switchboard of drawing room was in the darkest corner and at a low height. I do not remember how many minutes we took to reach that and turn on the light.

The next task was not the next bedroom. Thankfully, it's switchboard was just besides the door and we turned on the light by standing outside only. Once we went inside and looked at the bathroom which had our target 'Motor Switch', we looked at each other in horror. "What if the lock of balcony gate was left open by mistake?”

The bathroom was suddenly opened and we switched off the MOTOR. We all were relieved. But still, we had a much harder task ahead - switch off all lights and go back to our room! Just then Bua Ji came to or rescue - "what are all of doing here and why are all lights in house on?", she asked. We had no answer and she considered it our prank. We were directed to go back and sleep ASAP fearing the late wake up next morning for the walk. We were more than delighted and ran back to our beds before she could do the honor of switching off all lights.

Till date, I have no idea how in world we could have done that brave task if we were not together in the house that day..

GODDESS and PETALS

Tiny as a pulse

Similar as a boy,

Floating in the womb,

Symbol of LAXMI,

Sacred yet Scared!

Soft as a petal,

Innocent as cotton,

Tinkling by laughter,

Symbol of SARASWATI,

Education herself, yet illiterate!

Blooming as a flower,

Flourishing sweet fruits,

Apple of eyes,

Symbol of GANGA,

Precious yet donated!

Welcomed with crackers,

Accepts all changes,

Dreaming of happiness,

Symbol of PARVATI,

Loveable yet abused!

Worshiped in Temples,

Sought of in  Navratri,

Decorated in flowers,

No body cares,

As they become DRIED PETALS!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Also linking to weekly prompt -  DryPetals

The Bold Step Which Changed My Life

This story belongs to the person who had been very close to me ever since I was born. I have heard about his struggles in bits and pieces within gossips and general discussions. Although I am not sure if he felt the same as I have written, but I have tried my best to put myself into his shoes and narrate the story.

I was always the spoiled brat in my family. My friend circle included most naughty and mischievous kids around. My heart never gave in studies and I barely managed to pass the exams while my siblings topped them.

I still remember the day when a piece of broken glass pierced through my foot while running behind the kite. Till date I curse that glass which made the kite slip away from my hands. It was the kite whose string had been cut by my special string and thus belonged to myself and none else. Bu that small piece of broken glass made be limb instead of run.

Friends are the best gift we can ever give ourselves. Friends can make as-well as break us from within and outside. I had friends who were ready to die for me. That does not mean they were any step back in killing me for fun. I discovered this the day I was left unconscious and taken to doctor in emergency. The doctors did some tests and the result was that I had consumed excess of a drug called – ‘Afeem’. No, I was not an addict or tried anything for adventure. I had no idea how my best friends made me consume that dangerous powder.

Time passed and somehow I was recruited in Delhi Police Force as a sub-inspector. A sub-inspector in Delhi Police was one of the most looked upon jobs in early 1980’s. I was soon married just like any middle-class boy. My parents were now relaxed and satisfied that finally I was settled with a good job and married happily. Reporting to and working under some authoritative officers was getting over my head. I had always been a free bird and could not work for some one. I wanted to be my own boss.

I roamed around all in blank. I sat with my friends discussing what we wanted to do with our lives. Looking Up had never been so difficult and required much deeper thinking than it seemed.

Finally, I left the so called government job which left my parents fuming. Who in this world does that? I was declared irresponsible and useless. I wanted to start my own business. The thing that made it more difficult was that I wanted to do it along with my childhood best friends. My father declared that he is not going to help me. I was left helpless and stranded. It’s a bitter truth that money making needs money. Some capital is required to start the business. I had none.  It was then when I realized that it’s easy to blame fate and slouch upon. The right attitude is what it takes to follow your dreams. I knew that I am a dreamer.

Image Source

Then I received the most unexpected help I had ever imagined. I had only seen it happening in Bollywood movies. My wife sold her jewelry! Yes, she did it. I still wonder if she did it because she believed me or she had faith in me. But she took the bold step and handed me the much required currency. I knew she was one lady who believed in show off and now she had nothing. Ornaments in those days were considered the best show-off for women. That day, I told her – “I promise that one day I would get you double that what you have lost today.”

I along with my friends started the business. We worked really hard. We spent many nights getting the trucks loaded and unloaded. The whole neighborhood would know the moment I stepped out of home and entered into the street – thanks to the bullet I got while I was a good boy working 9 to 5. Slowly and steadily the business worked well and from the useless spoilt brats, we emerged into well looked upon business men.

Today, my wife proudly says that I kept my promise and returned her load in triples and fourths instead of doubles. This was my bold step to break free from a job I never loved and follow my heart. My better half took the step ahead with me to start a new life.

India's Daughter & Her Plea to God

I woke up on this Saturday morning and was just browsing through the Facebook news feed which made it difficult for me to scroll down and read all old stories. The documentary which was surprisingly banned by the government - PS freedom of speech, was thankfully live. I knew most of its content and decided not to watch it for I already knew what those so called men had to say. But then, I decided on not becoming the pigeon who hide his face in sand and think no one can see him, I finally gathered the courage to watch it.

I have no words to express myself: except some questions and comments on various snippets:

The lawyer says - 

"If you put the flower in gutter, it would spoil..."

Did you know our national flower lotus blooms in mud?

"If you put flower in a temple, it would be worshiped..."

Do you  know the fate of those worshiped flowers afterwards? How they are thrown in same gutter to rot?

The rapist himself says there is nothing good about the guy called Vinay.

Does it justify their rotten mentality?

The accused further says "He has wife and kids and he cries that what would happen?"

Oh really! He thinks of someone as human?

The lawyer continues,

"That girl was with some unknown boy..."

Realty check... He was her friend.

Well, he doesn't stops here, according to him, "the woman is you immediately put sex in his eyes."

Oh yes, beauty lies in the eyes of beholder and do does the invitation to have sex in the body of woman.

The guy who committed suicide in jail has left his poor old parents behind him. He was the only support they had.  The father was admitting that it was some mistake of some man if not his own son. 

But what was Ironical that - the mother was trying hard to protect his son. She even snapped him trying to stop him saying something. Agreed that she is a mother, but still, she is a woman also. I am also a mother and believe me mata Ji, he was not no help to you. He used to drink alcohol, party and go to Gb road for some fun with the money which could have fed you for days.

The accused says, "It was done to reach them a lesson! Accidental!"

Oh, an accident. The lesson to the question they asked the boy, "What are you doing with a girl at night?"

Which greek god- oh i am so sorry! You belong to Indian Culture. Which Indian god sent you from heaven to perform your noble task and teach lessons to people by ripping them apart? I thought god has decided to stay away after he his close encounter as and with humans - Ram  to his wife Sita and Krishna to his sister Draupadi.

I completely agree with the lawyer  who says that men do it thinking that "It is our right and we do it in the enjoyment mode.". The specialists argue they this is how they have been brought up. They have seen insult to their mothers and sisters since their childhood.

Did they also enjoyed it when their father used to beat their mother? Were they not afraid as a child when their parents quarrelled and their mother was swollen with wounds?

Them there is also the clipping of a woman. I did not feel angry on poor woman who is so confident of her husband being innocent. The video very part continued with "Hosh Mein aao" message shouted by protestors.

She is concerned about her son's future. Please dear lady, get out and look for some work. Admit you son into a school and make sure he doesn't bunk it like his father did. Sitting at home, crying and asking stupid questions would not help either.

The accused with no remorse or fear continues, "The death sentence would not help any woman. Now if some commits rape, he would not leave her like us, would just kill her."

Oh really, you left her alive! Let's put you in the same condition and allow you to live.

I know I might look another frustrated woman ranting non-stop in each sentence, but this is what I feel after watching the documentary and after every incident of insult to womanhood.

I seriously hope that I am able to inculcate deep respect towards women in my son and raise him like a human not as a MAN.

Book Review: Ramayana: the Game of Life - Book 2 (Shattered Dreams)

Review of first book: Ramayana - The Game of Life: Rise of the Sun Prince - Book 1

About the Author: A spiritual seeker and a motivational speaker, holds a degree in engineering and law with specialization in Patent Law. Read more about him at - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7705105.Shubha_Vilas

Book Review ★★★★1/2

The Blurb:

Shattered Dreams is the sequel to the national bestseller, Rise of the Sun Prince, in the new spiritual and motivational series Ramayana - The Game of Life. Twelve joyful years have passed in Ayodhya since the wedding of Rama and Sita at the end of Book 1.

Now, in Shattered Dreams, Shubha Vilas narrates the riveting drama of Rama’s exile. Through tales of Rama’s unwavering and enigmatic persona, the book teaches us how to handle reversals positively; through Bharata’s actions, it teaches us to handle temptation; and through Sita’s courage, to explore beyond our comfort zone. This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

With Valmiki’s Ramayana as its guiding light, Shattered Dreams deftly entwines poetic beauty from the Kamba Ramayana and Ramacharitramanas, as well as folk philosophy from the Loka Pramana tales, to demonstrate how the ancient epic holds immediate relevance to modern life. Experience the ancient saga of the Ramayana like never before.

About The Cover:

I must give a high five to the designer of cover. I loved the cover of first book and second one is no exception. The cover is very much detailed and I was bound to go back and have a look at it whenever I found a reference to it in the story.

What I Felt About The Book:

Second in its series, Ramayana: The Game of Life - Book 2 (Shattered Dreams) definitely lives up to its expectations. The author continues his trademark of narrating the story all from an angle we would never imagine it. All stories I have ever read of Ramayana have been centered on Lord Rama, Sita and Laxmana. But then there is this spiritual soul who made me realize it’s much more than that. All other characters - Dasaratha, Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi, Bharatha, Shatrugna, Urmila, Manthara, Sumanthra, Guha, Anasuya, Vasistha and others have their own share of importance and have something or the other to learn from.

As I have already mentioned in my review of first book, irrespective of if one has read Ramayana earlier or not, the book has a lot to get from. There are new insights and turn of events we generally fail to notice.

What I Liked About The Book:

1. Concentration on unseen events: There are several events described in the book which never came across my mind when reading or watching Ramayana before.

2. The Foot Notes: Those pearls of wisdom cannot be missed at any cost. These small notes also help he current generation reader to connect with the events and story.

What I Did Not Liked About The Book:

There was anything hard to find that I did not like. But, for the readers who are not into mythology reading (like me!), the teaching and preaching might go over the top. That’s a personal choice. Thankfully, the author has done a great job in not presenting the book in religious manner at all. That was because the stress is more on characters, their nature and actions.

It’s a must read for people who love mythology. The series might also serve as one of the best gift for mythology lovers.

Title: Shattered Dreams (Ramayana: the Game of Life, Book 2)

Author: Shubha Vilas

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Language: English

ISBN-10: 8184955316

ISBN-13: 978-8184955316

This review is a part of the biggest <a href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Review Program </a> for <a href="http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers.</a> Participate now to get free books!

Look Down to Look Up!

Ever heard the story of an ant trying to crawl up a wall and falling down in numerous times? What does she do?

That tiny ant never gives up. Every time she falls down, she immediately starts all over again. She does it again and again until she has reached her hole or goal. This was probably the first story we ever heard on being hard work/positive attitude/Optimism.

Image Source

 As we grow up we tend to forget simple lessons of life and thus this simple moral as-well. Our mind need to be reminded repeatedly that all we need to do in order to be content is ‘keep faith’. As adults, we have a better example right in front of our eyes. As we become parents, our joy sees no bound of course. But, at the same time, we start ranting about the problems and extra responsibilities that come along with it. We complain about not having enough sleep, not having time for ourselves and so on.

In the midst of such chaos, what we fail to notice is the struggle of child. If we give a slightly deeper thought, we would agree that they are actually the bundle of inspiration all smiling and happy jumping around us. The little fragile mind starts its struggle right from its birth. As soon as it arrives in this world, it struggles to find that perfect way to take feed from its mother. Yes, many infants have problem doing this natural activity initially. Then, the poor souls cannot take care of themselves and are continuously struggling to keep themselves full, clean, wet and may be more. As soon as they start crying in the middle of night when they wet themselves, we generally get up all frustrated. What we forget is, that the feeling that cute little baby must be having. He/she is not able to bear the wetness and thus had no other option but to cry out loud. They are bound to behave same for all their issues.

As they grow, they have much bigger challenges ahead of them. They see all of us talking, walking, reaching things by ourselves. This is the time they behave exactly like the ant in our story. They rise and fall down. They bruise themselves. They do this until they are not able to stand on their feet and move them one by one. This can do attitude keeps on until they become us – the adults!

I so want to know why? Why can’t we keep that child alive within ourselves? Why are we afraid of consequences? Why do we ever stop trying? Why don’t we smile more? Why do we urge for larger than life happiness? Why do we allow those negative feelings to overtake us?

Image Source

Why do we not Look up? Need a tip? Look down – may be somewhere below your knees: The children.

Note: All images used are created by myself on my blog - Quotes

My Kid My Pride

There are many people who make us learn new things in life. Then, there are some who help us become a better person. There are very few special one's who help us live our life our own way. They are the pride out or family and in-turn make us say #MyFamilyMyPride

We as adults and all grown up think of ourselves much wiser and knowledgeable. But, when we have a look at the children, we get a reality check. There are many things we can adopt from them.

If there is one person we need to learn something from is –it’s that child in our house. Yes, my three year old kid has helped me learn many things. Actually, I already knew these simple lessons of life, it’s just they need to reminded and rein fused into our brains.

1.       Forget and Forgive

Ever noticed how kids manage to be happy? Some say it’s because they are too innocent. Some say it’s because they do not understand things? Others sat it’s because they forget too easily. Yes, that’s the mantra. My kid gets a bruise on his knee while running or goes to some other family member crying out loud when I get angry to him. All I have to get him smile back is a simple kiss or his favorite toy or divert his mind to something more interesting.

If we as adults could also forget our tensions and worries with small things and more important, learn the art to forgive, live would be much simpler for us.

2.       Laugh Out Loud

Many times, we are discussing something and the room fills with laughter. The most prolonged laughter is always from my kid. Almost every time, he does not even know what we are laughing at. He is busy with his game, he sees us laughing and he laughs too! The child is not concerned what people would think about him. All he knows that he also needs to laugh too. If that sounds too over the top, try and smile at a child stranger to you: Chances are most likely you would get a smile in return!

3. Express Yourself

Children cry and laugh at the blink of eye. They cannot hide their emotions. The child would laugh if he is happy, he would cry if he is hurt, he would stay away if he is afraid and he would get angry if he does not like something. On the other hand, we so called adults think a thousand times before letting those feelings out. This is one trait I am trying to learn hard from my little prince. If there is something which is bothering me, all I have to do is tell that to someone!

4.       Be Curious

The curiosity of my kid and his innocent questions are one of the cutest attribute of my kid or I should say any child. We get him a new toy and the first thing he does is obviously jump with joy. Next, he becomes very impatient to know how to play with it. If it’s a car, how does it run, if it’s a toy plane, how does it fly. IF it does not fly, why dies it not fly?

People these days say that today’s kids are too smart. Specially our parents complain that they wonder how these 2 year old kids know to operate those smart phones when they do not understand them. Well, it’s a one word answer – Curiosity. Our parents often refuse to even try and learn the basic functionality of those smart phones. While my child, he is all active and alert when he comes to me asking me to undo or open something in my mobile he is not able to do so. He pays all his attention to what mommy is doing. After two-three trials, he does that himself!

5.       Live Life Everyday

Last but not the least, all above lessons combine and form one most important one – ‘Every day is a fresh start”.

Didn't I tell in the beginning that Children are the brightest source of learning? Do you have a child at your home? What do you think can we learn from those tiny pieces of happiness?

This post is written in response to Indi Blogger Happy Hour - My Family My Pride