For you.

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Yes, you. I am talking to you.

Yes, keep shunning that make up. You really don’t need to be perfecting your skin and eye lashes all the time. You love rubbing your eyes when you’re tired. There’s no compulsion to put on the kohl, if you don’t like it.

Yes, I am talking to you too.  You don’t have to be in line for the protein shakes, gym memberships and the energy drinks! Go for a run instead. Or that long walk with your friend. You don’t really want a girl who only falls for your brawn and not your brain, do you? So what if she doesn’t have the most beautiful face around. She will have  a beautiful soul, for sure. You believe that, don’t you?

Say what you have in your mind. People will call you bold, aggressive, bossy, too ahead of your times and innumerable other things! But keep voicing your opinions. They’re yours. And remember, if you choose to remain mum, there’ll be others who’ll label you as weak, shy, introvert, or worse still dumb. You don’t want that, do you?

You don’t like swooning over celebrities or watching and re-watching their films? Well, then don’t. You haven’t had a crush on any film or telly star? There’s nothing wrong with it. You don’t have to run with the crowd after them.

You want to sit at the lunch table with that shy female from work or that gawky guy at school because you don’t want them to feel any more lonely than they already are? Well, go for it. Make them smile. Ignore those whispers and looks.

You don’t want to back-b*tch  about your boss or your superior or teacher, do you? It’s alright to stand up for them! Don’t let the back-b*tchers make you think otherwise. You’re a far better person than the back b*tchers, at least.

You admire your friend for her courage, her determination, her optimism? It’s okay to tell her you are inspired. You may be a beacon for her in the world’s bleakness.

You are terribly real but that isn’t a terrible thing to be!

The pain will wither away. If you keep being real, you’ll soon find innumerable moments of happiness dragging you away from those instances of pain.

That pain is a part of your experiences. It has etched you, moulded you and refined you today.

Don’t hate the pain. Keep being yourself.

Yet don’t let the pain consume you. Let it go before it keeps you from being you.

Graciously Yours!

P.S.: I don’t know if you’ll ever come across this, but this is for you. You deserve so much of happiness. If only you would let the right things go…

365 days to come!

So by now, most of you know, 2014 has been a mixed year for me, same as most of yours. However, keeping in stride with what 2014 taught me, that life goes on, it’s time to move on into a new year. 2014 is now a part of your past. You carry the baggage, but you don’t have to necessarily look into it.

Letting bygones be bygones, here’s a post looking forward to a whole new set of 365 days (and 6 hours!).

I’m not really resolving to do things in 2015, because the brain seems to rewire itself to not follow resolutions each year (except maybe that of the lady who’d resolved to brush twice a day and actually did it!).

I’d rather prepare a list (again, entirely random and in no order of priority!) of what I WANT to do!

– Shoot someone with a paint ball smack in the middle of the chest! That would be some precision and would also mean that I go for lots of paint ball sessions! Yay!

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– Clear those two exams in the second half of the year.

C-R-U-C-I-A-L.

– Bungee jumping/sky diving/road trip with friends! If I manage either of these three, it would be a good, good year! All three? That’s virtually impossible! Except if I go on a road trip for bungee jumping and then move on further on the road trip to sky diving. Still impossible.

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– Complete my book already! Shhh. Not revealing anything.

– Participate in a marathon! Not the full marathon, obviously, but one of those categories on offer for amateurs! And drag along at least two people with me!

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– Schindler’s List. It’s A Wonderful Life. 12 Angry Men. Casablanca. These are certain movies I want need to watch.

Fearing I may be getting carried away, I think I’ll limit my list for the time being! Any additions would obviously be informed to you, fellow WordPress mates! Either before or after the act.

And. Needless to say, these are in addition to the desire to be a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, a better citizen, a better WordPress blogger and a better human being!

How do you want to welcome 2015? What is it that you’re hoping to accomplish? Have you taken any resolutions?

Graciously Yours!

P.S.: I’m putting out the post well in advance to avoid the undeniable new year blogpost rush! Wish you a happier 2015! ❤

1 day to go!

Facebook wants to tell me how my year has been. If I go by that, all I did in 2014 was sketch a few portraits, go to a few restaurants with a bunch of people, and get pictures clicked for my sister’s #100happydays!

Well, that’s not how it was, Facebook.

Exactly a year ago, my father suffered a cerebral stroke and ended up with aphasia.

Exactly a year ago, my life crashed around me.

Exactly a year ago, I had to remind myself to breathe.

2014 was a tough nut to crack. It made me shed tears, broke my trust, made me lose relations, showed me how cruel the world can be and that family is not about blood.

2014 was also a brilliant year to test myself. It made me learn to hope even in the worst of circumstances, smile no matter how dim the light is, trust people no matter how much it may hurt you (sometimes they need your help more than you need theirs) and that family is not about blood.

And this has been a very important life changing lesson for me. Come what may, never turn your back to your family and friends. You have no idea how badly and permanently you could leave scars on them! Life isn’t about your bank balance! Ask those who are dying and have so much more still left to be spent. They would trade it all for some more time with their loved ones.

Graciously Yours!

P.S.: My dad’s almost recovered now.

2 days to go.

With 2 days to go in 2014, here’s one of my most important life lessons:

People will come and people will go. Good times won’t last as long as you want them to. Forevers don’t exist in reality. A relationship, any relationship, takes work. Sometimes the other person will feel your love to be constrictive enough to even let go. Trusts will be broken, hearts will be shattered, and tears will flow. And in spite of all of this, life does go on. With the dull pain thudding inside you, life still goes on.

Graciously Yours!

3 days to go!

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3 days to go before another year into this millennium marks its grand exit! Time to chip in another life changing moment of 2014, or should I say a bunch of life changing moments of 2014 which happened because of one such mother moment?

So what is the mother moment I am talking about? It’s when I decided to begin my 100 happy days challenge; when I decided that I am going to make it a habit to find one reason to be happy each day, if not more! Going through the worst of days but coming up with a happy picture to post on my blog would work like magic and end up bringing a smile on face. It made me look forward to tomorrow and also those little moments of life we most often miss out on because we’re busy planning for the bigger moments. It has worked wonders for me! It could for you too. You just have to challenge your inner self.

Would you begin your 2015 with #100happydays? Or have you already completed yours? Here’s my 100th day.

Graciously Yours!

4 days to go!

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Following up the previous post with this one!

So after much thought and once again in no specific order, one of my top 5 life changing moments of 2014 would be my 38th All India Ranking in my Chartered Accountancy finals!

To see the years of hard work, rigorous (and fun!) training and intense studying become fruitful underlined my underlying faith in the fact that we are in charge of our own destiny.

Waiting for more from your end,

Graciously Yours!

5 days to go!

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2014 has been a year of massive ups and downs, myriad problems with countless solutions, new dreams have been laid, old ones put aside, new people to embrace, old friends coming together again!

With the last five days left, I am going to put in a post each day (no order, randomly random) thanking my stars for the lessons learnt and the life lived!

Today I have a friend to thank for the task I’ve set my eyes upon! I finally started writing a book. For many years, I’ve been wary of whether I can write a book, how good it will turn out to be or how the readers are going to react. But now, I am not afraid to try. Yes, I am still wary but I ain’t afraid. I have a story I want to share and I will. Whether the book does turn out to be successful or not is another matter altogether but that is not what’s playing on my mind as I am penning a little part of it each day.

Graciously Yours!

P.S. : What’s been your happy moment in 2014? Can you come up with a life changing moment of your own?

#IndiawithPakistan

#IndiaWithPakistan

Dear humans of Pakistan,

As a human, my heart goes out to you for innocent lives you had to lose to the guardians of terror. As an Indian, I pray that you find the strength to battle the fear that is spreading on your soil.

Did those terrorists not even think once about what they would be doing to the future of their own country? Did they not flinch while visualizing the terror those young eyes would have to see – friends being shot, teachers being burnt, blood soaked clothes, coffins, wailing parents, ensuing nightmares, and violent day dreams?

I know all of you are not terrorists. There are countless number of Pakistanis who are living in Pakistan but have nothing to do with the terror outfits. I know that all Muslims are not waging a war against India and the rest of the world. A section of people among you lead the world to doubt all of you.

The Army is the protector of the country. Yet, it couldn’t protect so many of its own. How disturbing it might be for you civilians to think of even stepping out of your home. I cannot fathom how resilient you have to be just so you can get up today, tomorrow or whenever and actually send your kids to school!

So many lives lost, so many dreams shattered, so many kids scarred, so many families devastated – all in the name of religion? Since when did the Gods allow this to happen? Which Holy Book does not condemn such acts? Which beastly heart proposed the execution of such a barbaric plan?

Show it to those filthy cowards that you won’t sit back this time. Tell them that you will not tolerate them and their so-called fight for Islam. Kick them out of your land and prove to the world that you are not terrorists and you will not stand terrorists either.

We are not different, the circumstances have created differences. In such times and at all times, we are with you.

May you ordinary citizens of Pakistan rise to cleanse Pakistan of it’s inhumanity.

Love,

A human from India.

Life Notes #7.

Today at dawn, a small fire was not allowed to blow out of proportion into an untoward incident with the joint efforts of our society residents.
[Each one of us got through unhurt. There was no loss of life, only minimal loss of property.]
Yet I am writing about it, under my Life Notes series, so there has to be a funny tale to tell! Read on:

At 4 a.m. I stirred in my sleep because I heard a lady shouting downstairs. Then I instructed my ears to catch the words and instead I heard my parents in the next room talk about fire and smoke. What would you do? Get out of bed to enquire? What did I do?

Blunder 1: Turned on my side and slept again! And I am not proud of it. I chose sleep over saving my life! Until obviously my mother came and announced “Out of bed now! There’s an emergency!”, at which I immediately leapt out of bed, grabbed my phone, pulled my sister out of bed and went to switch off the main electricity supply to our flat.

Blunder 2: While I was doing this, my mother ushered us out of the house just when my sister reacted in time to take the keys to the house, which my mother in her panicked state initially failed to see the relevance of!

By the time my father located the flat which was the source of the fumes, our resident electrician and another man had readied a fire extinguisher for use.

Blunder 3: Interestingly, my father had to remind the electrician to switch off the particular flat’s electricity supply to avoid the fire from spreading through the lines.

Blunder 4: While we were ringing door bells and evacuating other residents from their flats, a lot of them elderly, only after 10 minutes into the whole exercise did a young guy realize that the building’s fire alarm should be sounded to make things easier!

Blunder 5: While the evacuation persisted and the fire couldn’t be brought under control, a good 20 minutes from the first time I got out of my house, it struck me that the local emergency fire services should be informed.

Blunder 6: And guess what? I pride myself for remembering contact numbers of people, but I couldn’t recall if the fire emergency services were 101 or 102! (FYI, in India, it’s 101.) And of all the contact numbers I have, I didn’t have that of the fire department!

After which I called Just Dial, the online Yellow Pages of India, who thankfully responded very quickly! And further appreciation for the young chap at Just Dial who entertained my request, for breaking their custom and not having me asked me to rate the previous service I had received from a restaurant, the contact number of which I had taken from them. Good instincts!

And then the story has the routine firemen informed-firemen came-fire doused-all clear sign-residents go back home-sleep for a while again clichéd ending!

Note to self: Please appreciate that your life is more valuable than your sleep! And memorizing the emergency numbers is more important than memorizing those of your boss. Of course, he’s important too. But he’s not going to douse the fire, is he?

Graciously (and safely) Yours!

Love not lost.

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You knew all along,
How much I loved you,
Yet you feigned ignorance for so long,
Hoping time would make me grow over you.

You were wrong to have turned me away,
Your love which was mine always going strong,
Your heart kept beating and throbbing my way,
Until it was too late and things went wrong.

To this day when I read your words,
The pain in your eyes comes floating across,
They’ve all grown – the trees, the flowers, the birds,
The grief you burdened alone still leaves me at a loss.

Every time I pass by your grave,
The yellow lilies, my favourite I leave,
I put on a front that’s smiling and brave,
Heavy breaths and a broken heart I heave.

In a small corner of my broken heart,
You’ll always have a place to live,
We may be worlds apart,
But you’ve reposed in me all the love I could give.

Graciously Yours!

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