End of My Teenage

 Today as I stand on threshold of youth, within next few months I will complete 19 years of my life and officially end most traumatic phase of my life, called teenage.

But looking back, I must say it was a fascinating journey. It was a journey from speaking to listening, anger to understanding and most importantly, from fancy to real. A shy, naive girl of yesterday, today I stand as young, educated girl today.
Over these few years, I have lost many people and made even more acquitances.
All those emotional blush fires and bitter fights with loved ones, I have endured. But it also had some best moments. That first sight of your loved ones, crushes, sweet talks, smiles.. teenage is probably a beautiful time when you grow and understand yourself, your body, it's responsibilities. Yes at time, it hurt for teenage made us little stubborn, little aggressive. But over the years, it turns into positive and hopeful youth. Those pangs of intolerance, strong desires to prove own point, somewhere provided a better clarity of life. I am so happy today that in my teenage, I have cried, lived, loved, being broken, repaired, experienced friendships, jealously and all because it necessary for cacoon to break and a young butterfly to emerge. As a young butterfly when I soar high today, I know my wings are strengthened by the winds of teenage.
33/12/15

My encounter with Rabindranath Tagore

 Yesterday, I have read book containing stories of Rabindranath tagore. It was such an amazing experience! I have always believed that a story tells more about the its writer than it tells about the characters written. And if this view of mine holds true, then Yesterday I had a chance to interact with one of the greatest geniuses ever in our country, Gurudev aka Rabindranath Togore sir. It feels as if through his stories, he gives us, citizens of polluted and industrial age, a chance to visit a beautiful nature of Bengal then. So vivid  and detailed description of environment and society around that hardly be found any where else. His stories reflect how he must have sat in nature for hours and observed minute and finest details there. His stories touch all human emotions. They have in them, love , revenge, sacrifice, jealousy, death, social evil, innocence and what not. Initially, it is tough to understand we aren't accustomed to the old kind archaic form of language prevailing then but you are comfortable, he takes on a wonderful ride thereforth. He showcases rich Bengali culture, he introduces you to British ruled era. In fact, he makes you live that era through his characters! And I really think you just can't get enough of it. By the time you finish one, in mind you are already busy planning which of his other works are you going to read next?

26/7/2014

Year with Mumbai

 It has been almost an year with you and ahead too, I wish a lot to be with you. But you knows what lies ahead? Probably it is my inner restlessness that drives me to change as soon as stability tries to creep. But before any change happens, I just wanted to say this to you: someone has correctly said, no man has walked out the same man he had entered Bombay. There is definitely something enigmatic about you that thousands come to you everyday with dreams in heart and hopes in eyes. And you, like a enduring mother, takes everybody in own lap of care. Yes your lap is not luxurious but the food you serve has got taste of own hard work. You kick us from that comfort zone and give a ugly check of reality. You don't reside in individual nor in groups here, you are bustling in crowds, that is always walking ahead and ahead until it reaches shore of sea, the destination. It is quite difficult to decide what is the best here, for some it is calmness at bandstand or the fresh breeze you get by facing sea at marine lines. Yet some are fascinated by your British era old architecture or some like me can spend hours admiring a beautiful skyline. Yes, it is hard to choose because I enjoy both classic parsi and Irani cafes spread across and also, it I equally enjoy mahastrian flavour found on the busy streets of dadar. If there was just one thing, I have to summarize it all into then, I would say the it is the diversity of life that I have experienced here. Diversity not just in the terms of cuisines, races, economic statures but views about looking at life. From dozens who sleep at station to few fortunate who travel 5 star cars, there is a common thread, they both call them proud mumbaikars. And when you talk about diversity, you would surely offend many hearts, if you don't mention, the diverse modes of transport this place offers you, all suited to your convience of budget and time, they have locals, autos, kaali peeli, brts and off course the favorite, your own legs..True to the title of mother, you have been teaching out so much. You shell out sense of independence, choice and, strength to live life on own terms. It is important to stand apart but you have taught me, also it is very important to certain times, to mix and assimilate in crowd. There is surely something very much striking about you, that can move a poet to compose, dancer to dance and writer to write. Mumbai, my dear you make a perfect muse to every artist and undoubtedly, that is the reason you are sheltering one of largest entertainment industries of world.

Reverse Journey

 It is a fantastic journey: when somebody enters your life as a random person and very soon, that acquitance changes into a strong friendship and in no time, you become inseparable. It is beautiful experience, that makes you smile when you reflect upon. But, all that starts has to finish, wave that reaches peak is bound to retreat and sadly, this is how the nature works and how can relations also escape this. It hurts to go through reverse journey, where, you realize that the person, you were once inseparable is actually moving away from you. You can feel that distance in all your conversations, you can sense that warmth missing in your hugs. It aches somewhere to accept that gradual loss of interest. And may be somewhere, in some of deepest reflections, what I have found is that this reverse journey might have hurt our hearts, but it enrichs our soul in the terms of experience. It teaches you to accept the life as it comes. Life moves ahead is something, that has been echoing in our heads since our childhood and may be this reverse journey is just a plan of destiny for us not to just hear that quote but to experience and imbibe that. Wheel of relation has to move ahead, as you experienced at top, it has to go down, may be that is necessary for us to understand that person in fact in better ways that you did before. Gradually as the charm of fresh acquitance fades it way into old bond where you have probably discovered every thing about the person. This slowly fading relation, brings you face to face with another side of person and gives you a deeper insight. This reverse journey from being closest friends to hard calling friend to stranger, may take you away from the other person, but it surely brings you closer to yourself and your thoughts.

Peace vs Festivals

I am not an atheist, I believe in beauty of traditions, understand that they hold some significance in our lives. But there is this one truth, I regard more. And that is: God is there omnipresent, he doesn't come by our  invitation to and doesn't leave by our farewell. The fact is we come, we live and we go. All these rituals to invoke him are just symbolic. All they serve is to ignite our conscience. At the end, all these festivals for different dieties in different seasons are not just to celebrate his various forms. They are to celebrate different forms of life. Life, that we all are blessed with. All these festivities serve just a reminder that life is to be celebrated and cherished and that is greatest purpose to have. It is not some days of celebration and then, God leaves. It is your whole life, which has to be lived before you leave. My question to all smart people, having lot of glitters on their dresses and no happiness on their faces is what are you doing? Why are you doing? And for whom are doing? If there is no peace in your mind, you are tired all the times, what festival are you celebrating? What God are going to please by disrespecting his most precious gift of life?  What sense it makes to have an array of lights, buffet of delicious dishes, if your mental state is miserable and you can't Savour it still. The question is do we celebrate just because it is social norm because we want to celebrate? And if it is for society, what kind of society we have developed? A society which has accepted fake but beautiful depiction rather it puts pressure on all to imbibe this feature as a norm but not accept raw and imperfect reality. My point is not to stop anybody from celebrations but to make people aware that above all, it has start from within. If you are happy and satisfied then, every festival has a meaning and if you are not happy from within, then no festival, no celebration, no social acceptance  can light you up. 

She is the weave of India

 She is beautiful and amazing. Whether she adorns a royal paithani or she goes with bobby print, it is her smile as delicate as pashmina which will melt your heart. And her bewitching eyes with a chanderi spark in them which tell own kantha of her life. And protecting her eyes from evil eye of pollution is line of kohl as sharp as the needle in hands of chikankari artisan. That little bindi on forehead at the centreof ajna chakra not only enhances her focus but makes her shine through the power of tradition like a pure kanjivarum. While you are still mesmerized by her eyes, down there is striking ring on her nose with patterns as intricate as kutchiembroidery which together are believed to relieve her pain in those uncomfortable days. Just let her turn her head little to right or left, you’ll will get a proper glimpse of those dazzling earrings which remind of peitra dura designs of Taj.  Wait for gentle breeze to flow and you can find her luscious hair with a shine as rich as bright muga silk sway with wind and set up a phulkari like playful atmosphere there. Admire those flowers tucked at her gajra, they just symbolize her relation with nature but their fragrance is still better than any perfume, more than incense stick, they have the power to create mangalgiri vibes for any auspicious event. Feel blessed in her vibes, bow your head in reverence, a look at her necklace and you’ll be reminded at marvelously carved pillars of Kailash temple of Ellora. It is hard to differentiate if it is her aura or artwork of bandhini where various distinct colours are seamlessly dyed together and her little imperfections like white specks make her more real infact more attractive. You can’t help but appreciate the fact that she has got a sense of life and her vision for her goals is as clear as the white colourof kasavu saree. She has talent and skills and which so make her stand apart from crowd like sambalpuri silk. Be it office or household chores, she has learned from khadi to effortlessly manage both. As she joins her hands to greet you to say namaste, find yourself lost in ageless classic designs like kalamkari on finger ring which connects to nerve of her heart. You can find in her divinity of jamdani, strength of tussar, gentleness of lepcha but importantly, morals of life. She knows it real gold is not in brocade of her benarasi pallu, it is her indomitable spirit, which she has preserved through ages. She is you, she is me, torch bearers of ancient wisdom but quintessentially new. 

Holi Tale

We are blessed to be born in a country of rich diversity and cultural heritage like India. Every festival here means a lot more than it shows up if you are keen to listen, India provides dozens of stories. To start with, let us begin with the festival of colors, Holi. Holi undoubtedly brings cheerfulness, it marks the beginning of the beautiful spring. We all have heard the tale of Pralhad and how his wicked father, demon Hiranyakashypu wanted to kill him just because his innocent son did not choose to worship him but Lord Vishnu. In a fit of revenge, he made his sister Holika to take little Pralhad on her lap and made her sit on fire. But as miracle could have happened, Holika, who was blessed to be immune to fire got charred down and little Pralhad came out safe. We all have heard this story since times immemorial. But once I got a chance to hear another story, which is equally intriguing. And the story starts as…Once upon a time, there was a fierce battle going on between gods and demons. Gods were on winning streak and demons started to flee, they needed refuge to protect themselves. They searched the whole universe but could not find a single place where gods could not reach. Finally, the chief of demons devised an ultimate trick. They approached humans. King of demons offered a plea, “oh dear man! Give us shelter in your heart. Shut the doors of your heart so tightly no god can enter”. “But what do I get in return? ”, replied man. Devil replied,” That every mistake you make every wrong do, Put that blame on me and you stay acquitted.” Man thought for second and let those demons enter. And then many years, centuries passed away but those demons were still residing in the human heart. With passing age, they too had evolved. In some hearts, they stayed unfortunate scars of past, in few others, they stayed as orthodox beliefs. Some were called fear of society. While other common names included jealousy, hatred, anger, and inferiority complex. They had made man so incapable that he succumbed to these evils even before having tried to change and use his rational mind. This old contract between man and devil had become outdated and even toxic. Fire had to be lit and demons had to be burn. Just like the usual story we have known, a fire was lit, the outer core of heart symbolized by holika had to burn but the inner pure soul represented by prahlad comes out victorious. This crux of life, holi teaches us, never let the fire of situations harm your inner peace and love for humanity. These two different stories like two opposite sides of the river lead to the same moral of life, triumph of good over evil. And this is the beauty of Indian culture, if you lend an ear to listen, it will provide you many stories to stimulate your mind and provide you direction in every state of life.