OUR FORMIDABLE CULTURE

From the land of the five rivers to the land where the three water bodies meet,

From the land of the Mahatma to the land where the seven sisters live,

Spreads a phenomena that you and me imbibe,

Not now but since ages she has been alive.

In the Hindus’ mantras and the Muslims’ azaan,

In the Sikhs’ gurubani and the Chirstians’ mass,

In all Parsis’ faith and the Buddhists’ believes,

She is Culture whom we seek.

In Bharatanatyam ,Lavni ,Kathak and Chhau nitraya,

In the Bhangra spirit and the Assami Sattriya,

With the Dandiya sticks and the Odissi grace,

She is Culture , we find her trace.

In the tangy sambar-idlis and the grilled tandooris,

In delicious Dhoklas and Rajasthani Kachooris,

In the Bhopali kabbas and the Bengali rasagollas,

She is Culture , eyeing like a foodie lass.

In Navratri , Id , Pongal and Ganesh Chathurti,

In Rath Yatra, Ramzaan, Onam and Guru Nanak Jayanti,

In Dree,Independence Day,Christmas and Diwali,

She is Culture ,who celebrates happily.

In Kanjivaram ,Khadi ,Phulia and Sambalpuri,

In Mooga silk ,Banarasi ,Kota and Luncknow’s Chikankari,

In Kosa ,Balrampuram, Ilkal and Pathani,

She is Culture , who drapes divinely.

In Sanskrit ,Hindi ,Urdu and Marathi,

In Odia, Santhali ,Kannada and Gujarathi,

In English ,Hariyanvi , Tamil and Bengali,

She is Culture , who converses fluently.

In Yoga,Chess and Hockey,

In Kabbadi ,Kalarippayattu and Khusti,

In Kho-kho, Archery and Snake boat race,

She is Culture , winning with ace.

In Taj Mahal , Meenakshi Temple and Qutub Minar,

In Gol Gumbaj ,Sun Temple and Charminar,

In Red Fort,Khajurao and India Gate,

She is Culture , embracing our heritage.

In Bapu ,Netaji , Bhagat and Malviya,

In Tagore , Premchand , Ruskin and Surraiya,

In Tirkey , Bhaichung , Tendulkar and Mary Kom,

She is Culture , who they epitome.

An amalgamation of diversity,

The depiction of multiformity,

The identity to our past, present and future,

Standing elegantly , our formidable Indian Culture.                

Reading as a stress-buster

With the first golden ray of the sun lightening our mind to the last glimmer of the moon soothing our soul, we keep reading voraciously. Reading, as it’s literal meaning goes encompasses a variety of subjects, official and non-official, electronic and hardcopy, informative and casual and so on. So it’s reading that gives us stress and again it’s healthy reading that can act as a stress buster.

Reading books of personal taste releases the burden on the mind. The fatigue or stress due to mundane things, fades out gradually. If stress is considered a social epidemic disease degenerating the body from within then reading is the best medicine to eradicate this disease. Reading is like the lemon juice to overcome the stress hangover. The mind feels as light as a feather shedding off all stress and tension. Reading can take us to the exotic snow clad lands with clear azure skies or way back into the times of  Kings and Queens or a leap into the future of robotic world. Sometimes reading can show us the route to a nutritious healthy life or teach us a new hobby or inspire us to do better. Reading can make us roll on the ground laughing or cry our heart out. Sometimes reading can also push us into abysmal grief which subsequently might increase our stress level. So choosing a good book that brings us out of our stressful life is extremely important.

From Dawn till Nox my eyes are busy capturing the daily newspaper to the roadside signs and billboards to my official documents to my bother’s school books, to finally my novel. But of all these it’s my novel that acts like a cooling cucumber to my eyes squeezing out the pain and stress. When I read a novel I start to create the characters from the novel in my surreal canvas. My odyssey with the characters continues as the novel progresses. Gradually as I move through the novel, page by page, I get engrossed in the story and more familiar with it’s characters. I start envisioning the scenes in my mind’s bioscope. My room gets transformed into the story-land and all the characters come to life exchanging their dialogues and I sit glued in silence. Reading ignites the creative soul in me free from the fetters of any load. My mind begins to loiter in the beautiful lanes of imagination. My brain becomes calm and my irritation due to stress takes a back seat. Eventually reality is disowned and stress is buried deep when my date with my novel begins.

Healthy reading not just acts as a savior from the stress ghost but also elevates our dilapidated concentration level. In our busy schedule instead of having healthy reading as an option if we can imbibe it as a habit we can be relieved from unnecessary stress with just a turn of the page.

The Mark of my New Life...

Absent minded , more often my state of mind nowadays, and I touched the red hot pan with my naked fingers. The roasting of my skin accompanied by the excruciating pain reminded me of no-one else other than my mother. The one who has been bearing this for countless years to satiate our taste buds with heavenly manna that she cooks. One thing I realized for sure in that furtive moment of pain is that a homemaker's job is truly a thankless job. A job that needs utmost patience, ultimate endurance , absolute perfection and definitely no expectations often goes un-rewarded and unnoticed. Forbearing our endless tantrums in taste she successfully brings on plate the most palatable bite. But how many times do we thank our maa for the food she serves , may be once in infinite times, when we should actually thank everyday. But we don't because the bond does not demand that.  

The burn mark on my finger , is now a vestige of that enlightening moment. And everytime I feel it I subtly thank my maa. 

'SHE' dies , Whatsoever !

While surfing the net on the eve of India’s Independence Day I came through a news headline.

“6 lakh girls go missing at birth annually” reads a headline in one of the e-news site for a country whose president is a female herself .No guessing it's India. This survey by United Nations Population Fund is not just alarming but pathetic and at the same time a blot on the nation. The heinous crime of female foeticide and infanticide is prevalent since the Indus Valley Civilization but it's existence in modern India is definitely irrelevant and shocking. This psychic mindset is not just restricted to the remote villages but also to many sophisticated cities.

The baby is sentenced to death the very moment it's gender is disclosed. This condemnable sin is executed in some of the most gruesome and merciless manners. She is thrown into a river or sea as a food for the man-eater fishes or she is abandoned on the roadsides for the dogs to feast upon or she is suffocated in a drum full of milk till she succumbs to death or sometimes cut into pieces by her own parents or even sometimes denied arrival to the world. Such unabashed deeds are committed with elaborate reasons like to elude dowry problem in future , due to superstitious belief or some curse , sometimes for family pride or for continuation of clan and hence the excuses extend till infinity. India is truly a land of contradictions. A land where the Divine female is worshiped with utmost devotion and regarded as Shakti , the human female is mashed brutally. Where should SHE flee and to whom , when the protectors turn into murderers.

Sometimes SHE escapes the slaughter but only for more torture ahead. SHE lives and grows with an innate fear, constantly protecting herself from many vulture eyes. Her plight written will only finish all papers and dry your ink.

I know not if I can do anything to change the headline , but now I only feel relieved and thank GOD that I am lucky to be born to my parents who think otherwise.

Believe

Few Untouched Desires there are

Not any near but far

Tales of the murky past

Not long they could last

A tussle of the two in me

I had abandoned my desires to wee

Pursuing an unknown path

I moved ahead but in desires dearth

Now unsatiated at a milestone’s end

I surmise where to wend

The beginning seems to beckon

Abandoned desires return to be taken on

Equine spirits rejuvenating

I bury all my bygone mourning

A desired milestone now to achieve

With nothing in hand but just Believe.

“You are not the same anymore. You have CHANGED !!!!!”

Men and Women, the two most contradicting creation of Nature .Their co-existence is the most complex equation , still unsolved. The equation is more complex when they fall in love and settle for a lifetime commitment.

The beginning of every love story is bliss. As the relationship grows expectations get appended and its when the understanding is tested. A female at most times expects her male counterpart to continue the mushy love lifelong which is kind of absurd. Even though they know but still they expect. This becomes difficult for the male to continue. May be because men strongly believe in changes being inevitable which is more practical and women find it unmanageable to step out of their fairyland. Or may be once men get a sense of security from their female counterpart they find it highly expensive to pamper them. Or may be women find it hard to come out of their cuddling love and accept the more matured one.  May be there is nothing abnormal in this situation and Nature has pre-decided this phenomena to follow. This foxing question remains unanswered since ages. May be Adam and Eve would be able to answer this. But every love story at some point of time definitely hears this argumentative question , “You are not the same anymore. You have CHANGED !!!!!” . Remember ! J

C ... The Ugly Truth

Cunning,Cruel,Crazy,Catastrophic,Cacophony,Clamour,Crooked,Chaos,Calamity and all those dark words that begin with “C”.

Suddenly this “ C” has become a phenomenal alphabet of my Life.This letter depicts my performance,my efforts,my sincerity,my dedication for my job and so does it decide my hike,my promotion and my career growth, the latter holding greater importance of the two categories.

Somewhere I had read recently “In Business you do not get what you deserve you get what you negotiate”. Now it so aptly defines itself. If Politicians are to be blamed and abused for nasty games then what are the Corporate echelons playing. I seriously doubt who is worse. In the professional world , professionalism was abducted since ages. But I was updated recently. Even when aggrandizement of a trivial job is all what people do flawlessly nowadays I had followed the archived rules of working as it is defined. And when rewarding times arrived I was given a brutal stab at my back. A man of honour is he who’s words match his deeds. But these adage for the present day find a place only in the trash can. Because people just search for scapegoats to move up the corporate ladder.

But as it rightly goes “Better late than never”. So be it. If people don’t respect your politeness just shout to the deaf ears.

REMEMBRANCE

(I never ever thought I would write this when I would be leaving the place (Chennai) I so wanted to leave .But that's the irony. I feel sad leaving my few precious friends back here with whom my journey in Chennai has just become simpler and happier.)

When things go wrong,

And you aint so strong,

Remember me … as your strength.

When you feel you are chained,

And even happiness gives you pain,

Remember me… as your smile.

When times are tough,

And people around you are rough,

Remember me … as your solace.

When joyous moments are few,

Forgetting them becomes difficult for you,

Remember me… as your friend.

THE LANGUAGE CRISIS

The other day while surfing through net casually I caught sight of an article related to the recent reforms made in the education system by the Govt. of India. The reforms include making Xth board examinations optional in the CBSE system and making , learning Hindi mandatory. No I have no intentions of analyzing those. Rather the reason for giving a reference of the article in my writing is because of the infuriated vehemently expressed comments for the article. The comments were more concentrated on the second reform mentioned above. I was not just aghast to the core but definitely embarrassed.

Few of the comments found it difficult to accept Hindi as our National Language. They abused the reformers for making Hindi mandatory to learn. They addressed the Hindi speaking regions of India as the “cow belt”. Someone had even written that “Why should states with a different regional language learn Hindi?”. They also referred these reforms as some conspiracy against other regional language and a mission to impose Hindi imperialism on the entire country. I don’t fear mentioning here that maximum of these comments were written by people from south east region of India.

Here I would like to express my views for those comments.

I belong to INDIA , Orissa , well versed in HINDI, ORIYA (I take pride in knowing both .) and ENGLISH. Presently learning TAMIL (out of personal interest) as I work in Chennai. I believe the Constitution makers must have gone through a series of analysis before choosing anything as a National asset, be it the National Flag or the National Animal or the National Flower or the National Bird or the National Emblem or the OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. When people do not argue or question the choice for the other National assets then why do these people everytime find it difficult to acknowledge and accept Hindi as our Official Language. A language that is spoken and learnt by majority section of the Indian population becomes difficult for few. This is definitely ridiculous. Since the inception of the Constitution Hindi has been our Official Language and we all should take pride in knowing it. If every regional language becomes stubborn on being a national or official language then we would have some 27 or 29 National language. A regional language is our identity in our own country but a National Language is our identity in global front. Patriotism is not always defined as dying for Nation, the respect that we give to National assets also reflects our love for Nation. We can learn English , being a foreign language but not Hindi. Differentiating people of your own Nation into “cow belt” region on the basis of language is no secularism that our Constitution advocates. It should be our onus to know about our National assets and no law should enforce the same. INDIA has only one citizenship that’s being INDIAN and all regional identity just get desolved in this. So lets not fight over reasons we should take pride in knowing.

Rastra Bhasa ki izaat mein hi desh ki izaat hai…..

(Didn’t have the Hindi script to write the article . Apologies for that. )

When they say you are in LOVE ..........

When the adrenaline rushes through all nerves in your body the moment you see him / her…. then be assured that you have been recently gunned down without your knowledge. That’s when you feel the first breeze of romance, the first spell of LOVE.

Yes, LOVE , the larger than LIFE phenomena that touches you , me and everyone atleast once in a lifetime. LOVE is an eternal blessing, a divine gift. There can be nothing more peaceful than enjoying the feeling of LOVE. The feeling is not just wonderful but enchanting. The spell of being beautiful and feeling the same is cast on you. You are guided by your emotions like they have dethroned you and taken charge of your SELF. You are lost in your daily familiar surroundings. There seems to be a famine of words when you wish to speak to him / her. A second’s wait seems to be longer than a decade just for a glimpse of him / her. Your enchanted self loiters in the lanes of romance.

Dare to get soaked in LOVE !

L.I.F.E .....

Life … the unfathomable , inexplicable attribute of each individual. Saying it as “attribute” would belittle it’s essence. It’s an ineffable phenomena. It’s mysterious, it’s enchanting, and more importantly it’s unpredictable. Sometimes it’s a melody, some other times a comedy of errors and often it’s a pandemonium.

From the imagination of a beautiful mind Life is an intoxicating beauty, an invincible valour, a blithe spirit which is eternal. On the flip side for a malignant mind Life is an obnoxious ugliness, an inevitable loser, a deciduous feeling which is persistent. But can anyone define Life. Is that possible ? I believe the definition is relative and not absolute. And that’s the very reason for the myriad explanations about Life….. Life can be miserly altruistic, cruelly kind, pathetically beautiful or scantily affluent.

Life for me is not bound by the limits of past, present and future. It extends beyond time, free from the x, y, z dimensions hence its undecipherable.

The Code of Life is hence difficult to Decode.

@Room 6

Officially the “PENTACLE”

This was initially our introduction and gradually became our identity.We are a gang of 4 girls who inhabitated this room for 4 years.This was not just a concrete structure of 4 walls.This was the very place where 4 strangers laid the concrete base for an everlasting bond.Embedded in it’s walls are our laughters ,our cries, our fights , our patch-ups , our discussions, our plans, our gossips, our pranks, our togetherness, our memories.This was our abode.

And these were those strangers.

I call her “The mobile Lexicon” , “The Sleeping Beauty” ......

She is someone in whom I can see myself clearly.She is a skittish spirit now transformed into an elegant personna.She is the elixir to all your problems irrespective of who you are.Her personality emcompasses a wide range of traits.If at one end she is a precognitive planner at the other end she is romanticism’s preacher.She is one of the most patient dreamer of realities I have ever known.She is a wonderful “Serendipity” of my life.A F.R.I.E.N.D. for eons to come.May you conquer all your cherished dreams!!!

I call her “The Questioning Encyclopaedia” ......

She is an aggressive yet innocuous soul. She is inquisitive and equally knowledgable. Her principles are stronger than her bones.[J] She is one “Down – to – earth” [:P] girl I have ever met. She is a live effigy of Silence. An ardent lover of nature’s beauty , she finds peace in nature’s embrace. She is a chilld’s soul permanently captured in a maturing girl. She is the “Stuart Little” of our gang. I wish all your dreams come true!!!

I call her the “The Jumbo”, The Maverick Genius”.....

She is an oxymoron. A concoction of paradoxes. At one time she is her audacious self and at other time she is religiously conventional. She is one brain where the grey cells replicate at the speed of light. She is pathetically comical and unfathomably philosophical. She is charged with the spirit of Nike – Just Do It ! She is the “Music n Lyrics” for our gang. May you live all your dreams!!!

And I am “Charismatic Simplicity”.......

My quotient of craziness to seriousness is > 1. I am a simple soul who incessantly struggles to avoid the complexities of life.

Cheers to our FRIENDSHIP !!!

LONELY TRIALS

Crying her way out her mother’s womb
She touches life ,
To begin her journey
To struggle , to strive.

Moving through her life’s lanes
She flunks , She falters ,
And finds her own way
For mistakes to alter.

Caught in the claws of darkness
She sails all alone ,
Wrecked by the torment of life
She has no-one for her to mourn.

Trying her way out through lonely trials
She triumphs life ,
To begin a new journey

And to end the strive

OUR BELOVED BEACH

Where dawn befriends hope
Forcing darkness to elope.

Where castles are made
And dreams given a shape.

Where the sun goes yawning away
The moon arriving for her night stay.

Where the waves kiss the sand
Souls strolling hand in hand.

Where the moon’s beauty reflects in the sea
Just as your love reflects in me.

Where the breeze clears all fright
For homeless to find shelter at night.

Where life’s beautiful and rich
That’s heaven on earth , our beloved beach.

MISSING IDENTITY

Moving through my bizarre life
Where loneliness stands alone ,
I take a pause to know
Where do I belong ?

Puzzled in my own maze
I try to recognize my self ,
Barren as the desert , I find
I cry for others help.

Shrouded by the crowd
I struggle for my place ,
Stolen by time
Is my dignity , my grace.

Then crawling through the memory lanes
I catch a glimpse of life’s simplicity ,
Assuring myself , I find
My Missing Identity.

My TRYST with Chennai .....

My Tryst with this city began on 26th September 2008. The choice of coming to this mammoth city was not a compulsion rather a conscious decision. Since my first step into the city until today it has been a potpourri of adjustments.

I would like to share few experiences from my ‘First Week Chennai diary’.
Chapter – 1 (Introduction to the GIANT)
Moving out from my small hometown, Chennai at the very first glance was a monstrous city to me.Before I could settle my feet on its soil there was a never-ending sea of people in front of me.I was stunned to my core.
Chapter – 2 (War of WORDS)
Before I could stabilize myself and ask for help I was lost in woods of words that sounded so different from my known scripts.Every conversation around me was like a war of WORDS.But fortunately I could do away with broken English.
Chapter – 3 (Places or TONGUE TWISTERS)
Then venturing further into the city in search of a secured roof I found that the name of the localities here were nothing but TONGUE TWISTERS. I had to first learn to pronounce them and then search for their latitudes and longitudes.
Chapter – 4(Every drop of SWEAT)
If you suffer from winter-phobia then this is the place to live. Ten months of a year you have to enjoy summer season. The exposure to the hot , humid and dehydrating climate gave me a taste of real Chennai.
Chapter – 5(Euthanasia of my DIGESTIVE SYSTEM)
The scorching heat was an appetizer. Searching every nook n corner I found nothing but food overloaded with spices and chilly powder which literally burnt my stomach.I had no other alternative than to gulp the suicidal food.So I call it the Euthanasia of my DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
Chapter – 6 (Transportation@Expensive and Entertainment@Regional.)
After having the suicidal food it was time for Chennai site-seeing and some entertainment. There I discovered ,Chennai’s Transportation@Expensive and Entertainment@Regional.
Chapter – 7(Meeting the WORK_ALCOHOLICS)
My maiden innings of professional life could have started at a better time than when the World was at the mercy of the RECESSION monster.The transition from academic life to work-life became more difficult when I was introduced to the WORK_ALCOHOLIC environment where I had to survive.My condition was more gruesome when I realized that out of 365 days maximum were working days.(Very few festivals are celebrated here.)
Chapter – 8(My LUCKY CHARM)
Just when I was starting to hate this city it suddenly proved to be ‘My LUCKY CHARM’. Because it was here that a bond of few years was transformed into a commitment lifelong.

It’s now half a year already after that first week and the stranger city is now an acquaintance. My Discovery of Chennai still continues.

Can a woman carve out a successful corporate career after a break from work

The femininity renaissance gave birth to the 21st century woman who is not just a homemaker now but the bread winner too. The metamorphosis of the timid pupa to an independent butterfly may have taken decades together for the female community, nevertheless this transition has been conspicuous and profound. This attainment of equal status has coupled her challenges manifold .But woman, being the incarnation of patience and dedication has confronted these changes victoriously.

A famous Russian proverb rightly goes , “Women can do everything, men can do rest.” The corporate lady has the double load of striking a balance between her professional duties and household responsibilities. During the course of discharging her duties there may be several times when she has to encounter unavoidable breaks in her career. These breaks can be due to varied reasons like a serious ailment, marriage, family upbringing, taking care of elders and many others. Whatever be the duration of the splitter in her career graph she has to sustain her optimism because it’s attitude that decides one’s altitude. One of our own Prime Ministers, Mrs. Indira Gandhi had once said ,”You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and vibrantly alive in repose”. Adversities act as a litmus test of an individual’s character. Hence, the tenacity that a woman inherits in her character aids her in such situations.

The re-entry into corporate life after a long intermission is exciting and equally stressful for a woman. Considering a break like marriage, only facilitates her in acclimatizing to the work environment analogous to adapting to her new home environment. Her qualities of adjusting to her new personal life is reflected in her approach towards her work and colleagues. Another interrupt in career is when she is baptized to motherhood. This particular pause can be for a few months or for few years. The very phenomena of managing a family instills in her a stronger sense of responsibility. She becomes more meticulous about life. The entire period where she is deeply involved in raising her children into self-sufficient individuals she is transformed into a more matured and stable persona. She faces a second phase of learning and developing with her children. The attributes gained in this phase of interruption in career prepares her sufficiently for the second innings in corporate world. These breaks discussed are often inevitable in a woman’s career. Other splitters in career like a serious illness or an emotional trauma are equally challenging. But the recovery period offers her to learn the attitude of facing adversities not just in personal life but also at workplace. In the present scenario of corporate rat race she learns to overcome her vulnerability.

In case of any break in career the time if utilized constructively can only help improve the resume. For a woman it’s not so difficult considering her natural instinct of preparing for the rainy days. A woman whatsoever is more disciplined. These attributes help her accommodate to changes. The 21st century woman is brim over with the competitive spirit and zeal to achieve her goals. She is more aware about the globe, it’s happenings and it’s emerging technologies. She can effectively utilize the period of her break to enhance and update her skills and knowledge to the latest. A woman’s socializing attribute helps her gain updates about her workplace from her colleagues. This eventually aids her in preparing to re-join her job. A woman is considered to be a born manager. Hence it isn’t a tough task for her when it comes to managing her career even after a halt. The stress involved in growing a successful career after a recess is huge. But the inherent ability of a woman to absorb stress, both physical and emotional helps her wade through the tides in her career.

Re-assuring a successful corporate career after a break is definitely a challenging task. But today’s independent corporate woman is not just elegance but success personified and hence can undoubtedly experience certainty.