Monday, November 29, 2010

Living in the age of Reality TV


Got a mail last week. The subject line was as provoking as its message, it read - ‘Stuck With Wrong Parents’. It is a promo for a show being aired on UTV Bindaas where the lifestyles of youngsters are pitted against the older generation. Saw its promos on TV as well where youngsters are yelling and screaming for possible ‘interference’ and ‘intrusion’ in their lives and later the shouting turns into name calling. 

Of course, it looks like great ‘masala’ and a sure shot formula to gather enough eye-balls for the show but a sad pointer to the fact that TV producers will go to any length to win more audience. Also, a stark reminder of how gullible our generation is (me included). 

Gone are the days when people wouldn’t give out their secrets for anything. Remember the age old saying – maine use zubaan di hai (I have made a promise) and people would go to any extent to keep up their promises and reputations. People wouldn’t hang around with folks who had tainted reputations.  No one would dare to start any controversial topic, leave alone become a centre pint of any uncomfortable conversations. 

Now, things are different. Our generation is more than happy to be a part of controversies. ‘Gossip’ is the buzz word everywhere, and the gossip mongers are as happy as their subjects.  We are dying to be part of shows like ‘Big Boss’, where every bit of lives, every moment of our day will be on display. We don’t mind losing our cool in public, retorting or responding to any claims or allegations heaped on us, even if it is coming from a dead fly. Patience, calm, grace, dignity are words found in the dictionary only. Otherwise in practical life we are all willing to give up everything for five seconds of fame, some Lakhs of Rupees or some recall value even if its comes for all wrong reasons. And this is where the clever producers win. They whip up shows where our meanest instincts are on display and they get more TRPs for bringing out the worst in us. Thanks to this new trends we have no bodies turn into instant celebrities, look at the likes of Rakhi Sawant, Raja Chaudhary, Dolly Bindra.

As for the UTV show ‘Stuck With Wrong Parents’, I would say Shravan Kumar must be turning in his grave after hearing about this shows. 

PS: Shravan Kumar is the mythical character who carried his aged, blind parents everywhere to fulfil their last wishes.  

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Technology: Boon or Bane?


Technology has made communication much easier for us. We easily connect to people through phone, chat, text, web-conferencing, mailing etc. At the same time, technology gives us the flexibility to ignore people with whom we want to maintain a distance. Like we can choose not to answer a call from a pesky relative or ignore e-mails sent by random strangers. So is technology really helping people stay connected or is it helping them create manageable distances?

Just wondering if technology is helping us grow in actual terms.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Salman and the social media strategy

So its social media all the way. From Shashi Tharoor to your neighbour almost everybody is on Facebook, Twitter and making the best use of it.

For now its Salman Khan who is making the best use of social media tools. There may be rumours of Salman Khan quitting Twitter et all but his fondness for Web2.0 suggests otherwise.

Yesterday his team uploaded an ‘clarification/apology’ video on Youtube to make his stance clear on the Mumbai attack remarks. The user salmankhanclarifies (on Youtube) has already received 33,910 views with close to 569 comments.

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmHREC5Sg3Y&feature=topvideos

Then Facebook is hosting a ‘like’ link called ‘10-reasons-why-dabangg-rocks’.Trust me, There wasn’t even one or may be half a reason why one should watch this film. I don’t hate Salman Khan, but I didn’t like the film.

And of course the web is full of hundreds of film review, blog posts, opinion polls, posters, photo-galleries for Salman, official fan clubs and scores of fan posts.

Thumbs up for his social media strategy.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

The other side of Delhi

When I started with new job, I thought it would be about new work assignments, new boss and new colleagues. And well there's just an addition here - I got a taste of a different culture as well, a 'mini Delhi' living within Delhi.

My new job takes me to a distant corner of Delhi, actually the border of national capital - Badarpur Border. This place is a meeting point of three states - Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (bordering to Noida) and Haryana (touching base with Faridabad).

When I say 'border', I don't mean a barbed wire cutting out geographical boundaries, it’s a highway that connects three different states. This highway hosts the corporate offices and warehouses of many MNCs including Sony, Nissan, Porsche, BMW. And this is what makes the place unique.

This location makes that place a melting pot of many cultures. The crowd here comes from two distinct worlds:
First, the white collar workers working in swanky offices, donning best formals and branded gear; and second the local crowd most of whom come from nearby villages and work in the factories/warehouses.
The cultural backgrounds here are as different as their attires, mannerisms and aspirations. When I move around with my female colleagues for ice-cream breaks, the crowd around giggles carelessly, making remarks about formal attires and dressing. So, it’s like either you move around in your vehicles or give in to the jeers of local crowd. This is when I miss moving around carelessly in CP, Saket or Sector 18, Noida. All these places are the hub of new-India where professionals usually gang up at cafes, ice-cream parlours, coffee houses and eating joints and nobody would even wink at you skirts or slim-fitting jeans. But this is not the case of 'Border'. Barely 20 kms from CP, this place hosts the conservative Indian sensibilities.

If you take a bus towards CP or south-Delhi, you'll find college students, working professionals who will happily accommodate you and won’t even turn around to notice what you are wearing.

This is not the case with 'Border'. If you are travelling towards Border in a bus, you’ll almost be doomed. The crowd includes the 'ammajis', 'taujis' and 'bhaiyas' from the north-Indian Jatland. They'll stare at you even if you are in simple formal, stare at your laptops bags and check you out throughout your journey. Many don’t just seem to understand hell why is a girl travelling in bus at 8 am or 7.30 in the night. May be this is the real India which begins from Delhi borders and extends all over the country.

May be this is where we actually live beyond our swanky offices and posh eating joints. The sooner, we realise the better it is.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

What's there is a name?

When Shakespeare asked this, little did he realise that ages later we would have a variety of replies - rather retort - to his question.

Remember Amir Khan as the adorable 'Ranchordas Shamaldas Chanchad' in 3 Idiots. Of course his character is strong but so is the recall value of his name in the film. And again, this week's release Khatta Meetha starring Akshay Kumar has a very uncommon name to his character - Sachin Tichkule. In all the promos, he stands out shouting his name, which acts like a brand value for the film.

Decades ago, we had Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay in almost all his films and Salman Khan as the chocolate boy Prem in at least a dozen of his films.

Today our name works like a trademark of sorts. Whatever name we carry will be our trademark for entire lives. Hence, new-age parents spend hours on internet to find a unique name for their child. Similarly in popular culture including films, TV serials, advt, comics or novels the names of characters help in brand/product recall. Would you every forget Lalitaji from Surf Advt or Ba and Mihir after watching Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Same is the case with Ranchordas Shamaldas Chanchad and Sachin Tichkule.

When I was growing up in the 90's most of my classmates and cousins were named Pooja, Shweta, Poonam, Payal, Ruchika, Megha, Kriti, Ashish, Rachna, Arun, Abhishek etc. But today my nephew’s classmates bear names like Navya, Siona, Agni, Geet, Vitul, Shreshth, Pariket, Himaghna etc

And it doesn’t end here. The pets too are named differently. Gone are names like Tommy, Jacky, Tiger  for doggies, New-Age pooches flaunt glamorous names like Jake, Goldie (my neighbour’s pet), Snoopy (that's a friends pet) even Rachel. And hey my fish have snooty names too, I call the orange shoal Blossoms and the black one Patice.

Actually, it’s all a part of the society being more conscious of their image - how we look, how people speak about us etc. This includes right dressing, right mannerisms, right schooling... and bearing the right name is actually the first step in this process.

So here goes to our new-age sensibilities and new-age names.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Living in the EMI era

Came across an advertisement by Levi's which says that now people can buy apparel from them on EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment). Levi's has a tie-up with a certain bank and a purchase with this designated bank's credit card will let buyers pay in EMIs.

And this situation doesn't seem funny considering that a decent pair of denim from this brand would cost anything around Rs 3000 -4000. Many will advice that if this brand is so expensive then why buy at all. However, a quick market survey will sensitise you that almost all decent brands cost the same. And remember I'm not talking about premium brands like Tommy, D&G, Gas. 

Given the way everything is becoming expensive day by day, may be we'll soon see banks offering loans for daily commodities - like denim loan, vegetable loan, loan to take your family out, loan to get your house painted, loan to pay another loan. AHHH.... this list continues.

Monday, May 31, 2010

New changes, new challenges

“I see a star that’s far away
I see some light, but its sill twilight
I hear the chants, but are they for me?

Should I walk along the instinct?
Stick to where I stand
Or lose myself in this mayhem...

Questions, questions and more questions. Looking for answers. Hence lazy about the blog. Cleaning the clutter in some way and creating a path for new beginning.
Here I am... new workplace, new experiences and much fun. Will keep posting new stuff more regularly.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Five reasons why you should forget mobile phone at home

The other day I rushed to office in a hurry and forgot to carry my mobile phone along. Initially I felt handicapped. I was missing the ringtone (Wham's song - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go). But then I realised it was a blessing in disguise.

Need reasons to believe me? Here they are:

- No calls from spouse to inform that his friends will drop in for coffee
Perks: Party time. No unexpected guests. Roam around in your shorts. No need to put on make-up, that plastic smile and the urge to look pretty all the time.

- No calls from cook to tell you that he'll not be showing in the evening
Perks: Time to chill. If the cook shows in the evening then enjoy. Else, hop into your jeans and head to the neighbouhood eatery. You were not notified, right?

- No calls from relatives to share lousy wedding tales. After trying to reach you many times, they will try to reach your spouse/in-laws to enquire if all is well with you.
Perks: You'll be saved from their eternal gossips; you may miss on some spicy hearsay though. At the same time, family will call you on office number to pass on the freaky messages.

- No calls from parents/in-laws to check if you have had lunch
Perks: You can dump the home cooked lunch and pick the tangy lunch snack from the canteen. There's no one to check if you have had food

- No calls from siblings to remind you about their birthday gifts (like my bro, who will happily choose a very expensive gift for himself and insist that I present it to him)
Perks: Saved from the expenses for a day. No call, no reminders to dole out cash. All Izz Well, at least for one day.

There are few fallouts as well. Here they go:

- No body will try to sell you homes via SMS
Fallout: You'll have no reason to crib, "why do these people keep selling me houses when I can’t even pay the rent for a decent 2BHK accommodation ".

- No body will call you for personal loan requirements/insurance policies
Fallout: This may hurt your pride, "No body calls me to sell loans. Am I not in the radar of the banks. Am I poor?"

Have more reasons? Share in the comments section. 

Monday, March 15, 2010

This Alice doesn't live in wonderland anymore

Warning! This isn’t a review of the film released recently. Please do not expect any critique on film here. This post is purely a personal note.

I did watch the film yesterday. While the film is based on Lewis Carroll's novel - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it takes on a different tangent on screen. Our little girl has grown up but is still haunted by her hallucinations of the Wonderland. She goes back to settle some scores.

When I was in class three I borrowed the book from school's library. I could find some commonalities with Alice. We both were young. We wore little pink frocks, had curly hair and wandered around in gardens - except that I roamed around in my orchard. We both lived in a wonderland.

My wonderland was of different shade than Alice. I certainly didn't talk to blue caterpillars but I did conjure a fantasy world.

I wondered what it would be to grow up suddenly. Had many questions - how will I look, will I be doing something (like job etc), would my brother still bully me, would my friends still be collecting colourful ribbons, would my class teacher still be the incharge for 3A (I liked her and didn't want to go to another class ever)?

Some 20 years later, I have answers to most of the questions.

This Alice has certainly grown up. Colouful imagination has given way to harsh realities - some sweet, some bitter.

I'm busy working, cleaning, cooking, learning, blogging, twittering - doing zillions of things that didn’t even exist then. My brother has grown up and doesn’t bully me, my teacher isn’t working with school, don't know where she is. My admiration for her vanished over all these years. Don't know where most of my friends are.

But one thing is for sure. My real world is far better than the illusions I had of it. Some incidents, some happenings may not be what I wanted it to be but I'm still happy with my real world.

Don't know about Alice, but I surely don’t want to live in Wonderland anymore.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Bakre Ke Nakhre!!!

Checked out a home delivery menu yesterday.

It had indeed some very interesting captions. Beginning from Bakre Ke Nakhre (to describe mutton dishes) to Murg Lajawab (to describe chicken delicacies).

Looks cool. Aint it?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Hard worker v/s smart worker

We live in strange times. Mommy said (and my fave teacher Sister Melba agreed) 'hard work is the key to success'. Work culture, however, tends to cut this line short. They say 'smart work is the only way to grow up the ladder'.

While many of us strive to learn the ethics of smart work (and practice them eventually), here's a quick take into our office lives. The hard worker v/s the smart worker:

SCENE 1 -
Hard worker will prepare ten documents and will send just one mail describing the intent of all ten documents.
Smart worker may prepare one document but will send ten mails on this subject to ten bosses.
Who wins: The Smart worker. Right document to the right people. How does it matter if the bosses do not have to implement these documents and they do not need it anyway?

SCENE 2 -
Hard worker will be in office on time, work uninterrupted and leave at the stipulated time.
Smart worker will come just 5minutes before his boss reaches office, works long hours only if his boss is around and dashes out just 5 seconds after his boss has left the office.
Who wins: The Smart worker. Be present at the relevant time. This is called 'visibility'.

SCENE 3 -
Hard worker will identify a group of friends who share similar tastes and sticks to them at lunch breaks and coffee breaks.
Smart worker will identify the habits of his boss and ensure that he inculcates some of them, get access to his boss's lunch group. He will have coffee only if his boss has coffee. Else, he will shun caffeine altogether.
Who wins: The Smart worker. Caffeine kills. Have it occasionally. Meanwhile the hard worker has got high BP because of high coffee intake.

SCENE 4 -
Hard worker knows the names of all family members of his colleagues.
Smart worker knows the habits, dietary routine, BP levels, Blood Group of his boss. That all. Unnecessary info not required.
Who wins: The Smart worker. Boss khush to hum khush

More inputs required for this post. Please share your ideas in the comments section.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Top ten reasons why you should fall sick more often

This post is straight out of heart.

I was down with viral fever last week. Had to gobble down bitter antibiotics and went though miserable blood tests, but I still loved it!!! SURPRISED?

Enlisting top ten reasons why you will love to fall sick more often, also some things that you may miss:

1. Your spouse will not crib while running the house-hold errands on your behalf. He/she will volunteer to clean the dishes, make your bed, iron clothes, clean the cupboards and cuddle you - without any expectations of returned favours (amazing).
What you will miss: Fighting with your spouse. There's just no reason left for argument :(

2. Your parents will check on you 20 times a day to find about your well-being (something they had forgotten after you crossed your teens). Sweet greetings like betu, raje, chotu will be repeated 10 times in one conversation. 
What you will miss: Their regular coarse tone, emotional blackmails like pata nahin tum kab samjhoge (when will you understand) :(


3. Your in-laws will cross all bridges to be with you. They'll be at your bed-side 24x7 to offer you the tissue paper even before you need one.
What you will miss: Your space. Almost everybody wants to hug you. Hasn’t anyone head of privacy  :(

4. Your siblings (who have long forgotten the art of gifting) will send you surprise flowers and get-well-soon cards.
What you will miss: Mindless arguments. Siblings are being toooooo good to you, and you just can’t handle it  :(

5. Your spouse's siblings will send you choicest chocolates and some cute teddy for company in the sick bed. She/he may even become the liaison officer between you and the doctor, checking on which medicine has to be taken at what time and which medication may cause side-effects.
What you will miss: You will have to gulp down all bitter painkillers without complaining, you will be forced to munch on spinach salad and you better not complain about it :(


6. Best of all, your colleagues will request you to stay at home and take rest while they slog it out in the workplace. Of course, they aren't jealous of you at this point of time and they don't want to trade places with you at least now.
What you will miss: Office gossips, the freak water cooler moments, tea breaks :(

7. Household help will come and gladly ask if there's any more work left to be finished, which is a rare opportunity. She pities your condition.
What you will miss: Grinding your teeth after the maid is gone. She hasn't left any work undone for the day, no reasons for you to complain :(

8. Your neighbours (who generally glare at you from their balconies) will step ahead to hold your hand while you are walking down the lane. They'll talk about sober things like have your seen the doc, what medicines has he prescribed etc. No more dress/car/sofa comparisons.
What you will miss: Latest neighbourhood gossips, no body mentions extra-marital affairs to a sick soul :( 

9. Your subordinates will call you/text you  frequently to check on your health. They want to create a good impression. After all you are the boss here.
What you will miss: Can't lecture them on using time effectively. After all you also love the ego-massage :)

- Your experiences may become a blog post.
What you will miss:  Everybody will come to know what you think of them :(

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

'A piece of Blackberry cake, please'

“And… a piece of Blackberry cake please,” I said.

This was at lunch table in a fancy restaurant. Mom and dad had come down to meet me and their beloved son-in-law last week. I was to treat everybody for lunch. Since my parents like Indian fare, we booked ourselves for lunch at Sawagat in Noida’s Sector 18 market.

Very confidently I placed the order for main course and then finished it with instructions for dessert. I didn’t check the menu card since I knew that mom-dad wont try anything except dal makhni or kadai chicken. I summed the order with a piece of “Blackberry cake”.

Everybody stared at me, I retorted back with a damn-care look. I asked, “what,…. what is wrong with it?” Vishal came closer to me and announced, “Blackberry is a phone. I think you are asking for blueberry cheese cake.” Ouch.

I was busted. Flushed with embarrassment, I checked the menu again. There was no mention of Blackberry cake. They did serve blueberry cheese cake though.

I put up a plastic laughter – like they do at comedy shows – and then corrected the menu :(

Monday, February 1, 2010

Is it bad to compare yourself with others?


A defensive question of sorts... actually it’s an ode to the fact that like million others, I too compare myself with others.

This comes like introspection after a long discussion with dad. He says our generation is materialistic. He adds that we all want best gizmos, best jobs, best salaries at very young age. We tend to compare ourselves with fellows around and constantly live in a comparative world and we don't mind taking short cuts to achieve these goals. This according to him was a) succumbing to peer pressure b) a very materialistic instinct and c) not a very good practice.

He says one should work hard, pursue individual goals but certainly don't cringe and cry when others do better than you. "Let them do what they have to," is his advice. He believes that unnecessary peer-pressure (things like my colleague has a bigger car, my cousin has a high paying job etc) will only lead to frustration.

I was on the defensive best. I said, “What’s bad with that? Who doesn't want to buy a bigger car, who doesn't want to buy the biggest villa in town? It's just another way of being ambitious. Until you compare yourself with others, you will never have that zeal to outshine them and become better in the process."

We try to measure our achievements (say salary, job prospects etc) to live up to certain expectations. Is it bad? And is it bad to be love all these things altogether? Is it bad to be materialistic? By materialistic I mean I'd love to be rich, I'd love to buy expensive clothes and I'd love to be famous. Who does not? Who wants to die poor? But this comes with terms and conditions that all these things will be earned and not stolen/bribed through. I mean I will not kill people to be up there on the ladder.

He doesn't agree with one single thought here. And our argument continues till date.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Of course 'Allll Izzzz Welll', but not with us

'Allll Izzzz Welll' is the latest psuedo-nymph that we have gathered from Bollywood, courtesy 3 Idiots. Last remarkable ones were - 'quete' for 'cute' and 'squeeze me' for 'excuse me' from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

3 Idiots is certainly a great film, great concept, an eye-opener of sorts but still I feel 'Allll Izzzz NOT Welll' with it. Yes, of course we need to have a progressive thinking and education is all about learning and not mugging. But it's still unfair to blame the education system for it.

The way our society runs and most importantly, the pressure created by it is equally to be blamed? How many of us would enroll our kids into a school where kids aren't not given any homework, and instead they are given activity sheets that involves some exercises and activity for the kids? Won't we think that the school is lousy and typical homework regime (involving writing and reading) would help kids learn the concepts ? Would we enroll our kids in a school where only grades mattered and not marks? (yes I know that some schools now offer grades but also mention marks simultaneously to keep things on track).

Don't know if many parents will volunteer for this. And this includes my parents too.

When I was in school, a bright student wanted to study Psychology with Biology. She aspired to be a behavioral analyst and thought this combination would work best for her. But the education board (CISCE, in this case) didn't really allow her to do that. There were three stringent streams of studies - Humanities (Arts), Science and Commerce.

Left with no choice, she opted for Humanities.

So what do you say for circumstances like these?

A better way could be to accept that things are not well, try to formulate and alternative education system it, check its practically and acceptability in the society before promoting it mindlessly. Check if it can help kids earn their bread and butter while they aren't really crumbling under the pressure to earn bright marks. Because life is not just Black and White. It's always Grey. Because at the end of the day we all have to earn our living, we need to choose professions and make a livingout of it - even Donald Trump does that.

So, no point talking about a fantasy world where ever thing is good and nice. Let's be little practical but yes, sensitive at the same time.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Solar eclipse warnings - Superstition or Super Funny??? :)


"Will the eclipse cast a shadow upon your life?"

Funny, right? This was the subject of an email that I received from an astro website this morning (pic above, click to enlarge). I am not registered with them ('coz I think astrology is an outright sham) but these sites gather e-mail ids from anywhere to keep sending spams. Damn.

The email claimed that one 'celebrity astrologer' will predict my future and my prospects after the solar eclipse if I subscribe to their services. Stupid and outright dim-witted. This is what I precisely think of such claims.

If these astrologers can predict anybody's future, then why don't they read their own life-lines and predict self prosperity and disease? Why do they wear stones to appease the nakshatras (planets)? Why don’t they proclaim to be God? Can their silly predictions stop anyone from dying? Are they trying to replace God?

Anyway, the point here is very different. The lunch group at office postponed lunch to 4pm, after the eclipse precisely. Mom called up to warn me that I shouldn’t be having any food cooked before the eclipse, else I’d be doomed.

Please. Eclipse is a natural phenomenon. It will occur when it has to. Useless warnings like don't watch the eclipse - especially if you are pregnant, don’t have any food cooked before the eclipse and nothing more than a waste of time.

Astrologers spend years to catch a glimpse of this beautiful phenomenon, let’s keep it to that. Unless there is a serious logic that I m unaware of.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Does 'Aman ki Asha’ have any relevance?

Two newspaper groups - India-based The Times of India & Pakistan-based Jang Group -have started a peace campaign called 'Aman Ki Asha'. These dailies are filled with glitzy advts displaying messages of Indo-Pak peace and harmony.

Seems like a great concept except that:
- While this campaign hopes for peace, Indian soldiers are still losing lives fighting for our safety on the border - While it’s good to talk about brotherhood, neighbourhood and whatever; hundreds of terrorists are still crossing border to cause chaos here
- While it looks fancy to love anything that hails from the other side of the border, we shouldn't forget many many terror attacks originate from that land. Have we forgotten the Mumbai attacks?

It's all OK to love your neighbours provided they also respect (if not love) you? Would you be friendly with your neighbour if he was encroaching in your backyard? No, you certainly won’t.

Anyway, a vague attempt to bring artists from the two countries together to croon and sing about peace won't really cement the ties between the two countries.

What we really need is serious attempts - no firing across the border, no killing there, no blood shedding, no land poaching and no terror.

As for ‘Aman ki Asha', sorry to say but it's a lame attempt to fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility CSR. Don't think it’s of much help.

Friday, January 8, 2010

This day, that year - happiest moment of my existence

Today's lunch-on discussions routed to discuss the happiest day/moment of our lives. Some described their wedding days, other remembered their first dates, many talked about their birthdays and still one chirpy soul said, "It’ll be the day when I get married to Ms. X and drive her home in my dream car".

I leapt back in time. January 8, 2008 - the day when I discovered the priorities of my life and it eventually became the happiest day of my life.

REWIND - Jan 2008

Hectic work hours, crazy friends circle, loving family and a caring special soul - this was the portrait of my life.

I was juggling with many things that time. Like many others, I was pressurised for time, unsure of the way things could frame up in life. What should come first and what could become the second lead. But was still happy with the way things had shaped up.

Things came to a slow in January when mom had to undergo a surgery. Family was prepared for the surgery and post-surgery care for her. I had taken a month's leave from the office. Mom's surgery was a regular case, as per the docs. No major complications, they said. Touch wood.

Things turned hay wired on Jan 8 while she was being 'dressed up' for the surgery. She was administered 'anema' and other chemical stuff to clean the digestive tract. (I can recollect things vividly since I was her attendant there. We stayed in a VIP ward where I stayed with her all these days)

She woke up at 6am. She wore a shirt-dress, handed over by the hospital people. She took off her jewellery and hair let loose. It was a distinct sight to see mom like that. Without food, lying there. She had a blank face. And then she was being taken away on the stretcher. I wanted time to freeze for a moment, wanted to hug her. May be push away the staff coz I wanted to cuddle her.

That day, that instant I realised how much I missed her. We all love our moms, but that moment made me realise how hollow my life was without her.

She was operated in the next one and half hour and brought out of the OT in a semi-conscious state. Later, as the day passed by she gained more consciousness. She moved her eyes and tried to move her fingers too. That was the most precious moment of my life. I won’t trade off that emotion with any damn promotion, boyfriend, wealth and success.

This one moment, one realisation and one thought shook many of my misconceptions. It helped me priorotise things.

Fancy job titles can be put off for later in life, handsome hunks can come in and walk out of your life but precious little moments shared with parents cannot be replaced with another moment or opportunity.

This was my moment of bliss and happiness. Of course I have been a part of many jubilant celebrations (some personal, other related to fellows around) but this still remains my cherished moment.

What had been your most cherished moment? Share with me in the 'comments' section.
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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Welcome 2010

Wishing all a rocking year ahead. Here's a little snippet for all:




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