Spes Vera

simple, stunning and all set to go.... :)

2011-08-08T12:15:00.003+05:30

Clinique's lip gloss(Ripest Apricot) Lakme's Eye Artist and Life threads gold... :)

Ooohh la la....

2010-11-27T12:12:00.001+05:30

2010-09-20T17:51:00.000+05:30

Almost feeling like I'm flying..just have so much clarity suddenly in my head..looking forward to all the amazing things life is gonna offer

The Salt Princess

2010-07-22T13:21:00.004+05:30

As a kid i read this in the book of fairy tales a story which is a variation on the King Lear theme. It is called "Without Salt."

An aged king has three daughters, and decides to divide his kingdom among them based on how much they love him. Daughter 1 says she loves him more than her finest silk gowns. Pleased, he gives her 1/3 of his kingdom. Daughter 2 says she loves him more than her diamond bracelets, her ruby rings, her golden crown. Even more pleased, he gives her 1/3 of his kingdom.

Daughter 3 is his youngest and favorite daughter. She says, "Father, I love you more than I love salt."

The king pitches a fit. "Salt? You love me only as much as you love salt? Fine! Salt is all you love, then salt is all you shall have!" He loads her up with a sack of salt on her back and gives her the boot.

She wanders to another kingdom and finds work as a scullery maid in a castle. Because she is so good and beautiful and because it's a fairy tale, the prince falls in love with her and asks her to marry him. Meanwhile, the two shallow sisters back home split the kingdom between themselves and throw their lame duck dad out on his ass. Now a homeless beggar, the former king wanders to the other kingdom and happens to stumble in just as the wedding celebration, open to all, is getting underway.

His daughter recognizes him right away, and sneaks off to the kitchen. She orders the entire wedding feast be prepared....without salt.

Everyone sits down to feast. Soon they're gagging and spitting and grumbling. "There's something wrong with this soup!" "This soup is terrible!" "It's so bland!"

As soon as the beggar king tastes his soup, he realizes what is missing, and tears well up in his eyes. Then he realizes how cruel he was to his poor youngest daughter, who really did love him best...as much as she loved salt.

Fortunately, she's lurking nearby. She explains that her love for him was like salt: although invisible, it was ever-present, an underlying essential ingredient, and without it her life lacked all savor and joy. She could no more imagine living without love for him than she could imagine eating soup without salt.

Forgiveness all around, and the bad soup is thrown out and the poor servants forced to remake the entire wedding feast, but this time with salt, so it may be enjoyed.

it's a perfect story... now just wondering what am i trying to drive in here... ;P

:)

2010-04-14T16:25:00.007+05:30

Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior

truly wonderful....

2010-04-14T13:23:00.003+05:30

At times.... all i feel is that blessed are those who are devoid of any feelings... blessed are those heartless about things that happen around them.... or to them... and... pretending that everything is fine... or will be... is something i am tired about... :(((

Hey! Bloggie..

2010-02-12T11:56:00.003+05:30

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

2010-01-15T14:46:00.000+05:30

The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying of the sun.

The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.

~ Francis William Bourdillon

A true world war 1 story...

2009-12-26T15:24:00.007+05:30

Christmas in the trenches
by Jim Wallis
“Silent Night,” by Stanley Weintraub, is the story of Christmas Eve 1914 on the World War I battlefield in Flanders. As the German, British, and French troops facing each other were settling in for the night, a young German soldier began to sing “Stille Nacht, HeiligeNacht.” Others joined in. When they had finished, the British and French responded with other Christmas carols.

Eventually, the men from both sides left their trenches and met in the middle. They shook hands, exchanged gifts, and shared pictures of their families. Informal soccer games began in what had been “no-man’s-land.” And a joint service was held to bury the dead of both sides.

The generals, of course, were not pleased with these events. Men who have come to know each other’s names and seen each other’s families are much less likely to want to kill each other. War seems to require a nameless, faceless “enemy.”

So, following that magical night the men on both sides spent a few days simply firing aimlessly into the sky. Then the war was back in earnest and continued for three more bloody years. Yet the story of that Christmas Eve lingered - a night when the angels really did sing of peace on earth.

Folksinger John McCutcheon wrote a song about that night in Belgium, titled “Christmas in the Trenches,” from the viewpoint of a young British solder. Several poignant verses are:

“The next they sang was “Stille Nacht,” “Tis ‘Silent Night’,” says I.
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky
“There’s someone coming towards us!” the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one lone figure coming from their side
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright
As he bravely strode unarmed into the night.

Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man’s land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare-lit soccer game we gave ‘em hell.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played his squeeze box and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men.

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night
“Whose family have I fixed within my sights?”
‘Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung
For the walls they’d kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone for evermore.”

My prayer for the New Year is for a nation and world where people can come out of their trenches and together sing their hopes for peace.

Merry Christmas!!!!

a lovely piece....

2009-11-27T10:32:00.006+05:30

You make my day when you wipe my tears away,
I know what it takes when you forgive my mistakes.

When you sit by me I know I have a company,
Deep in my heart i always felt you were my destiny.

My heart broke when you said I was just another bloke
The land beneath me shifted and tears came into my eye,
When you said i aint good enough and i shouldnt even try.

But faith in my love kept me going for you my dame,
The longer you took to decide the stronger it became.

When you first smiled at me i got a hint about your decision in the making,
i guess its there in the guys they know what their girl is baking.

After we exchange our vows i know the missed opportunities you will rue,
But keep faith in my love and i will even win the stars for you

2009-10-29T15:13:00.005+05:30

I have been very lucky. ALWAYS.
But then there are times when things in your life aren't the way you want them to be. Every possible problem happens. You fight and fight with yourself and the world. Until you reach a stage where you look back and wonder. What's going on?? Why is the world conspiring against me?? Why isn't one good thing happening in my life right now?! Still there are no answers. Just a lot of struggle. I am saturated and tired.... of struggling.... Of the tensions. I just need to relieve myself. Totally.

So unusual of me to publish something like this....

2009-08-15T12:05:00.004+05:30

Shaam se aankh mein nami si hai
Aaj phir aapki kami si hai

Dafn kar do hamein ki saans mile
Nabz kuch der se thami si hai
Aaj phir aapki kami si hai

Shaam se aankh mein nami si hai
Aaj phir aapki kami si hai....

A little curiosity and look what i found.....

2009-08-14T13:33:00.003+05:30

http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/

just by typing my name.... it's true... ALMOST....

ME:

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life.
You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home.
You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

Miracles...

2009-07-22T16:40:00.002+05:30

Truly.... miracles have a funny way of happenning to those who believe in them!!!

awww...

2009-07-15T13:31:00.003+05:30

"On this earth true friends are rare
people always are not what they appear
memories they call them sweet memories
but none of them without a tear"

~ written by my Aunt, when she was in college.

whenever... i see it...

2009-07-13T14:47:00.005+05:30

Had seen it happenning to a few others, thought about it as one of the worst things that could happen to a person... feared it happenning to me... but... i have know the truth for long now... and it hurts to the core... the more i think about it.... whenever i see it happenning.... whenever i read it....

"The trouble with people is not that they don't know, but that they know so much that ain't so"

hope that one day it won't be so....

and... as they say having all three is a charm....

of the choices we make....

2009-07-13T13:27:00.004+05:30

Not sure about the reason i am writing this here, maybe because i have kept it in me for quite long... clarity of thought truly defies me right now...

although had promised myself wouldn't do this this here, had promised myself wouldn't think about it....

Not reacting to things, not being able to explain things, wanting the answers to a whole lot of unanswered questions, wondering if it's really worthwile....

knowingly i choose to keep things the way they are, truly... there are times where we shut our eyes and choose not to learn or know things because it's so much better to let them be the way they are maybe because a disappointing outcome is something which you fear happening to you....

and no matter what all i go through you will still be the ignorant one, living carelessly having one less thing to be bothered about.... :(

2009-07-01T12:12:00.004+05:30

one quwaali that i have cherished for years...

Kaam jiska fakat yeh daulat dil ki lutana hai.

Mohabbat ka khazana bhi kya khub khazana hai.

Kudrat jo hazaron karishme dikhati hai woh bhi toh

ek tarah se insaan ko mohabbat batana hai

Shabnam se moti, bade-e-saba ki tazagi, gulon ki mehek

kaenat ke ziyafat ka ye ek dilchasp bahana hai

Har pat me, har kali mein chippa paegam-e mohabbat hai

Har pankhuri ke labho pe ulfat ka ye tarana hai

Kya duniya ne samajha hai kya logon ne jaana hai

Ham khaak nishano ke thokar mein dekho zamana hai

Har pak rishtye ki buniyad, mohabbat hai

Ma bacche ka atul bandhan uska hi ek namuna hai

kya chiz mohabbat hai, duniya na samajh payi

yun kahene ko toh gardish mein sadiyon se zamana hai

Ye labz-e-mohabbat ka adna sa fazana hai

simte toh dile aashik, feleh ko zamana hai

Fizul woh hai dino dharam, jahan mohabbat basti nahi

jis dil mein mohabbat hai, wohi uska thikana hai

Pat var mohabbat ki hatho me rahe har dam

Duniya bhi taperon se gar sakine ko bajana hai

Ye ishk ruhani ab zaroorat ban gayi aadmi ki

ek baat yehi mujh ko belos batana hai.

Umm...

2009-06-26T11:56:00.012+05:30

It's monsoons... and it's cold and humid and am craving for the smell of freshly brewed coffee....

something soooooo INTOXICATING about coffee parlours... :)

"Let no man grumble when his friends fall off

As they will do like leaves at the first breeze

When your affairs come around, one way or t'other

Go to the coffee house, and take another"

2009-06-25T11:47:00.008+05:30

Chocolate sponge cakes, creamy waffles, fountain pony’s, light and crispy Monaco biscuits(back then they were manufactured under a different brand name),tom and jerry cartoons, hide and seek, merry go rounds, soap bubbles, balloons...

feels great to be reminded of things you did as a kid…. and love the fact that these are some things which you can still enjoy…. J

pen is mightier than a sword...

2009-06-03T15:55:00.004+05:30

The other day while writing my examinations... i sprained my wrist and hand muscles as a result i couldn't write the rest of the papers...

right now i can hold a sword comfortably but not a pen... it's truly mightier than a sword...

he he :(

(and... SK i still can't forget the way you laughed for the entire five minutes after i told you about it cause you thought i was joking)

Confusion Compounded!!

2009-05-22T10:04:00.004+05:30

Last Night...

Unsaved number(sends a messgae): goodnight and sleeptight sweetheart... :)

ME(sends an sms back): WHOSE THIS??!!

Unsaved number: Yours forever

..... and ever....

ME: Excuse me, i guess you are mistaken...

Unsaved number: No, sweetheart you can be mistaken, but i can't be about you... U don't know what position you hold in my life....

ME(has a good look at the number) : HA HA lol... hi babe... how have you been???? :))

.... those 10 minutes where i couln't figure out who it might be had my world going topsy turvy... :D

Similarly, the other day at a friend's place.

Bank Agent(comes home): Goodafternoon Sir.

CST: Goodafternoon, have a seat...

[CST comes back with a glass of chilled Appy Fizz.]

Bank Agent: Nahi Nahi Sir mein beer nahi peeta.

(No, Sir i don't drink beer)

from flowery feet to stilletos the saga continues...

2009-05-20T10:25:00.007+05:30

AK: Since we've been talking about feet and women's empowerment, this cartoon came to mind. Not really connected to the emails bouncing back and forth, I know, but thought you might like it. It's one of my favourite.

AH: High Heels = Empowerment.

AK:Yeah, let's work that into the next budget for SFC. Stilettos for all. I'm a size 34, thanks.

KR: i want my stilletos to match my lungi.

AH: KR, you Tamilian cross-dressing bamboo-pole dancer, you.

From Stinky feet to flowery feet!!!

2009-05-16T17:46:00.011+05:30

an exchange of emails and a transition from stinky feet to flowery feet!!! lol

S K(sends a mail with this link):

http://lifehacker.com/5249023/turn-old-socks-into-foot-odor-killers

to AH,KR,AK,AM an me ofcourse!!!

KR: Katewa, are you suggesting our feet smell?

AM: ew... didn't realise this was such a big problem with SFC staff. I can sponsor some foot scrub for you guys.

AH: I'm in for foot scrub!

S K: yeah me too! however our feet don't stink.. This was for if you know anyone who's feet stink.

KR: is AM offering to scrub our feet?

S K: you heard it right!!!

AM: what could be of more pleasure and honor for me than to scrub the one and only CEO Raman's feet?

KR: not just my feet. everyone at SFC. we could increase the women's
productivity as well.

AM: haha. I don't think SFC can afford my services. I need at least 7/8 cups of tea when I work. :-p

AK: thought you offered to sponsor it for all of us. stop being so gujju now :-P

KR: without knowing the quality of your work, why would we pay you? you
should use the drug pusher model and give us a free sample first.

AM: doubting the quality of my services??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! shocking! I have just withdrawn my offer... cannot, refuse and totally against my principles to work in such an insulting environment.

KR: oh is it?!?!?! Is it?!?!

AM: Fine, because the

stench of SFC feet is becoming so bad, I can smell it here... I will disregard the remark doubting the quality of my services and let you review a previously satisfied customer....I am happy for you to check out her beautiful, clean, shiny, glistening, perfectly shaped, flowery feet... and interview her.

KR: wait ... you want us to accept you as a previous client of yours?

absurd.
no, we need another client - perhaps someone less biased? yeah, let's
go for that.

also, what does it mean to have "flowery" feet?

AM: ahhh flowery feet... now that's my UPS

Let me remind you what GDL is all about........"This initiative takes an experiment-driven approach by applying best practices in development and innovative ideasto a geographically focused area."

KR: so your innovation is that you don't have clients?

AM: no! as an initiative of GDL, YOU should adopt innovative ways to experiment how to get rid of the stench in your feet.no! as an initiative of GDL, YOU should adopt innovative ways to experiment how to get rid of the stench in your feet.

KR: That's why SK sent out that link. Now, we just need someone to

implement. And you seem to claim some grand qualifications. Which you
should put to use. For free.

ME: umm... SFC can send me an invite and i'll gladly be one of the guests(considering that i am Shrot's sis, and come to bagar once in 2 years, oh! and i also write in some positive comments for the SFc articles published in the media :) ) ready for a foot scrub...

*smile, wink*

waiting for the invite...

( *Sorry AM no offense to you)

KR: Shruti, please consider yourself invited anytime! I'm sure AM would be glad to treat you as a proper guest. You can be first in line
for the flowery scrub.

AM: as an indian I have always believed that ... "mehmaan bhagwaan samaan hota hain".... so definitely a footscrub for you. (especially if you specify in the articles that my foot scrub was the best thing about SFC).

S K: My god, i don't believe this conversation is still going on! Can someone just stop th

e BLAH BLAH!! and give me (at least) a scrub.

S K: And by somenone i mean AM....

KR: i can't wait for the tagline ... "Empowering women through technology

... and foot scrubs"

AM: :-) I think definitely need a new logo to go with the new tagline.

S K: I don't understand AM, why would hand over your marketing materials of your "Foot scrubing" company. I think if this was a logo for your company it would sound great and the tagline could be like this:

Making world crib for more with our Foot scrub and your foot sore!!!

(donno if it makes any sense)

AM: wooosh... went straight over my head....

S K: did you duck under it..

KR: Dude, I don't really get it either. What's the foot sore part about?

ME: foot sore!!!

ha ha Lol

(*shruti still thinking of taking the first flight to bagar for a luxurious experience of AM's foot scrub*)

KR: flight to bagar? to land at the Anand Piramal International Airport?
Or maybe to take off from one of Mumbai's new heliports?

AM: hahahah... dont worry shruti. my business is gonna get so big and attract so many national / international clients, they will have to get a airport made to fill the demand (maybe in place of piramal boys school right here). as my first client... flights will be free for you.

KR: are you kidding me? you're willing to pay for someone's flight to

APIA? and yet, you still demand to charge us for your foot scrubs?

worst business model ever.

even though i still want to see how this can become a social enterprise.

AM:what? totally a social enterprise.

see first I didn't know shruti, now, when shruti comes to bagar for my foot scrub, me and her will already have lots to talk about. then she will recommend me to her friends, who will come to bagar, and I will have lots to talk about with them too, while giving them the flowery foot scrub. Soon I might know more than half of India... How can you have missed such an obvious SOCIAL aspect of this enterprise!

(lol took me a little while to figure out what APIA was...but soooo funny when I did)

KR: um, interesting definition of social enterprise.

so what about your bizarre coupon system for FLIGHTS but not for the
scrubs themselves? you're going to lose money hand over fist. forget
the social for now, it's not going to last the first month.

S K: I think i deserve a royalty !!! ( for connecting you to half of India).

kinda like this one...

2009-05-09T17:38:00.002+05:30

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g2/serenade.htm

Sundays...

2009-04-18T12:54:00.002+05:30

A:"hey! what are you doing?"
B: "m still in bed, was trying to sleep..."
A: "It's already 1.45 P.M. Shouldn't you be getting out of bed"
B: "I don't feel like but then maybe ill have too.. Last nite was BLAH BLAH BLAH.... "
A: "You are getting old... Pfffttt.."
B: "he he..."

hope some things never change... (fingers crossed)

MISS YOU....

2009-04-18T12:18:00.003+05:30

Dearest Choco,
You quietly became a part of our lives... and gave us another reason to smile... Made our hearts overflow with love and joy... you filled in a lot of blanks... and completed sentences...
Spending time with you.... some of the best memories we have had....
AND...
now that you are gone... the sentences which complete our lives are incomplete once again...
:(

love...
B, R , Sh and Candy.

You Needed Me…

2009-02-21T16:38:00.003+05:30

Whenever i cried a tear, you wiped it dry
Whenever I was confused, you cleared my mind
Whenever I sold my soul, you bought it back for me
And held me up and gave me dignity
Somehow you needed me….

You gave me strength to stand alone again
To face the world out on my own again
You put me high up on the pedestral
So high that I could almost see eternity
You needed me, you needed me

And I can’t believe it’s you,
I can’t believe it’s true
I needed you and you were there
And I’ll never leave
Why should I leave, I’d be a fool
Because I’ve finally found
someone who really cares

You held my hand when it was cold
When I was lost you took me home
You gave me hope when I was at the end
And turned my lies back into truth again
You even called me friend

And all 'cuz you needed me…till the end...

-an email forward

Every Woman Must Have...

2009-02-16T14:47:00.003+05:30

Got this article from gunj's blog thought it might help the woman readers of this blog...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
Enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
Something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A youth she's content to leave behind...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
One friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
A feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to fall in love without losing herself...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
When to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
That she can't change the length of her calves, the nature of her parents...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
That her childhood may not have been perfect...but it’s over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table... or a charming inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...

Cheers!!!

Help!!

2009-02-16T13:25:00.003+05:30

Somehow it's frustrating to keep looking for things that you don't remember where you last left them.... :S
I so hope each and everything could have a sim card and a number so one could just give it a missed call and know where it is....
Let me know if anyone of you reading it can invent something to help me sort this frustration.
Afterall, i ain't asking much... ;P

Of short trips that we continually make....

2009-02-16T11:36:00.010+05:30

To be honest i had no intentions of divulging the details of the short trips that we continually make... to LONAVALA. This post has been made on the pure insistence of B (Confession: you guys are too close too my heart and i am not a person who'll go flaunting things which mean the most to me, i'd rather hold them tight- close to my heart)

There's some kind of a fascination we seem to have for this whole thing, considering this was our third trip in the past three months, and the whole purpose being to have coffee and that too from Cafe Coffee Day!!!

All that we do is drive to lonavala, drink coffee and drive back... :))

It certainly feels different to have coffee by the lake side and the drive by the old expressway through the country side is breathtaking... plus with R being bubbly, warm, cranky-making her the highlight- topping it up with B's comments makes it even more rocking!!! Well, it's not that i don't have a role to play... apart from me being myself(which a few can vouch that i can be entertaining to the core!) i have a major contribution in helping R bring out this side and spicing it up.

Last evening a special someone(who was quite unaware of what he would be facing) had been invited for being a part of this trip. One thing about the invite is that you don't get invited merely on the basis of being Mister or Miss so and so... you have to get one for yourself precisely earn one!!!!.

Since R was not that well... i took up the responsiblity of making it an another memorable trip, with my creative abilities.

For this i was credited for stealing the show and also titled the 'queen of the evening'.... :)))

And... as for our guest... he reached home safely in one piece and thanked us for a wonderful outing.

Presenting 'Chotu- the Star of the evening' taking up most of the threesome's attention as i was busy eating.

Oh! and hope you had a great Valentine's. I had one... trying to making it special for all the people around me... :)

i wonder...

2009-01-30T19:52:00.004+05:30

What does one do when you have lost everything????

You start all over again, taking step by step, building brick by brick....

And.... i haven't lost everything... ;P

What it means to be in a witness state...

2009-01-27T17:18:00.004+05:30

Came across this beautiful poem, perfectly describing what it means to be in a witness state and how one can truly enjoy being in it.

I see a mountain from my window
Standing like an ancient sage
Desireless, full of love.
So many trees and so many flowers
They plunder the mountain all the time.
Its attention is not disturbed
And when the rain pours like
Many pitchers of clouds bursting
And it fills the mountain with greenery.
The storms may come soaring,
Filling the lake with compassion
And the rivers flow running down
Towards the calling sea.
The sun will create clouds and
Wind carries on its feathery wings
The rain on to the mountain.
This is the eternal play
The mountain sees
Without desires.

-by Nirmala Srivastava.

Do you believe in dreams?

2009-01-23T21:27:00.004+05:30

I have started to... especially the 4A.M ones...

Pop! goes the Ego...

2009-01-12T12:58:00.004+05:30

Round and Round
the Maya it goes...
Thinking that it's real
Take a good look
and laugh at yourself,
Pop! goes the Ego...

Up and down just like a clown,
Such a silly fellow.
Take a big pin stick it in
Pop! goes the Ego.

The year 2009...

2009-01-08T17:15:00.002+05:30

Although i am 8 days late in welcoming the new year... Happy New Year!!!
The year 2009 will be a continuation of the remains of the 2008. Atleast in my case it has been so... and no good has come yet. Also, intriging is that i came across this journal which predict and publish the trends in the coming years, and they also have a similar view.
have a look at this link to find out what they have to say about 2009:
http://www.trendsresearch.com/journal08.html

Coffee Messiah

2009-01-08T15:33:00.002+05:30

Came across this lovely post on Coffee and Tea. It has also been nominated in the 'Blogs of Note', so check it out.
www.coffeemessiah.blogspot.com
:)

MagMyPic....

2008-12-13T13:58:00.001+05:30

The desert - breeding ground of India's billionaires.

2008-11-19T17:42:00.005+05:30

‘This is backwoods, really backwoods,’ says Aditya, as the rackety, jam-packed bus pulls into Rajgarh, a small town in the north-west of Rajasthan, India’s desert state.
‘This is backwoods, really backwoods,’ says Aditya, as the rackety, jam-packed bus pulls into Rajgarh, a small town in the north-west of Rajasthan, India’s desert state.
Aditya is the only person on the bus who speaks any English, and the goggle-eyed stares and toothless grins of many of his fellow passengers bear him out. They are clearly wondering what on earth a foreigner is doing in their out-of-the-way part of India and it’s only when I mention the name of Lakshmi Mittal that it clicks. Surrounded by sand dunes, without adequate water for drinking let alone for agriculture, Rajgarh is far from prosperous. But it is here that Lakshmi Mittal, whose $32 billion fortune makes him the fifth richest man in the world, was born in 1950 and spent the first nine years of his life.
Last January, I’m told, he came back. One of the jostling villagers pulls a handful of laminated newspaper cuttings from his pocket and shows me the man they call ‘Steel King’ in procession through the town on the back of a pick-up, surrounded by cheering crowds, brandishing an outstretched arm in triumphant greeting.

‘We’re very proud of him,’ says P.S. Saini, the site engineer for the Mittal Community Centre, which the tycoon was in town to inaugurate. One of his colleagues adds: ‘He’s the richest man in UK and the richest man in India ... but also the richest man in Rajgarh.’
But what is most astounding about Shekhawati, this arid region of Rajasthan, is not that it has produced Mittal but that he is not even exceptional. This small area, where it is a struggle to produce basic foods, has an extraordinary ability to produce billionaires. For more than a hundred years the local trading class, the Marwari Seth, have shown an unerring talent for amassing riches. Four out of the top ten Indian billionaires in the Forbes rich list for 2007 were Marwari. An hour’s bumpy ride to the south-east of Rajgarh is Pilani, home of the Birla family, whose richest member Kumar Mangalam Birla ranks seventh of the ten. To the south west is Ramgarh, the home of Shashi and Ravi Ruia, whose steel, oil and shipping business ranks in eighth place. Lakshmi Mittal’s namesake Sunil Mittal, founder of the telecoms and supermarket group Bharti Enterprises, is in sixth place.
The list goes on: south of Pilani is Bagar, home of the Piramal family, who own the fourth-largest pharmaceutical company in India. In Nawalgarh to the south it’s the Poddars. Spread around other nearby towns are the home villages of the Bajaj family (who own a scooter and motorcycle empire) and the Goenkas, the Oswals, the Agarwals and the Dhoots, to name just a few. In 2000 the Indian author Gurcharan Das cited a study showing that Marwari groups owned half of India’s private industrial assets.
Indians from other communities talk about a legendary Marwari capacity for stinginess, about how commerce is taken in with their mothers’ milk. The explanations in local
legend are more colourful. Girish Sooni, a business student, tells me the story of how Narayan Baba, a monk in Pilani, blessed the Birlas to become billionaires. There’s a similar legend about Lakshmi Mittal’s father, Mohan Lal Mittal. His local Baba told him to look into a magic pot to divine his future. Inside he saw massed piles of gold and silver.

Sooni thinks the desert might have something to do with it: ‘We have a scarcity of water here. There’s an old saying that how we learnt to use water is how we learnt to use money.’ There might be some truth to that. The barren landscape forced these towns to live off the major trade route that passed through north Rajasthan; local traders became prosperous financiers, acting as bankers to the Great Mughal himself. When the British began asserting control over the region the Marwari were quick to ally with them against the region’s Rajput rulers. Soon Marwari traders were spread across India’s towns and cities, acting both as traders in their own right and as brokers to the British. By the late 19th century the largest Marwari firms, such as Tarachand Ghanshyam Das, founded by Bhagoti Ram Poddar, rivalled British companies in size.
Their riches have left Shekhawati the lavish havelis, or mansions, that cluster in even the smallest towns. Marwari who made their fortunes in Bombay and Calcutta competed to build the most opulent palaces back in their home villages, complete with garish murals depicting the India of the late 19th century. There are British redcoats, steam trains, even flying machines — everything that the newly sophisticated Marwari urbanites wanted simple country folk of the region to understand.

The Mittal haveli — built with the relatively modest fortunes of Lakshmi’s ancestors — is one of the humblest in Rajgarh. There are no murals and most of the eggshell-blue paint that once covered it has long since worn away, exposing pinkish brown plaster behind. In place of traditional carved wood haveli doors, the Mittal house has a crude corrugated iron gate. It’s difficult to equate this with Lakshmi’s 12-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens — the world’s most expensive home when he bought it in 2004. But the family still uses the Rajgarth house. Lakshmi’s aunt Saraswati lives here: in her early fifties, with a beaming smile, she is tickled enough by a rare visitor to Lakshmi’s birthplace to show off the well swept, whitewashed courtyard from which arched doors lead to two downstairs bedrooms, one of which is where Lakshmi was born. To the side is a garden where a calf, tethered to a tree, picks half-heartedly at some hay. Saraswati has few complaints about her lot, but not everyone in Rajgarh feels the same way.
Aditya Choudhary, a computer programmer from the Jat farming caste, says: ‘Lakshmi Mittal isn’t so much respected. In India to be a really big person, a really respected person, he has to do public work.’ In Pilani, for example, much of the town is taken up by schools, universities, ashrams and museums set up by the Birla family, who also have an airstrip for their private planes. Lakshmi is investing $20 billion in giant steel plants elsewhere in India but by comparison with other Marwari families, the Mittals have left their home town alone. When Lakshmi did come in January he was clear about the limits of his generosity: ‘He said he will help everybody who works hard,’ said one villager. ‘He said he doesn’t want to give charity.’

Nevertheless, the beautifully designed community centre he opened, in memory of his mother Gita Devi Mittal, cost about £600,000. It sits incongruously in the town centre among the small merchants’ shops. It has an air-conditioned, acoustically perfect, 129-seat auditorium, a room crammed with computers, and a gym that wouldn’t look out of place in a London health club. But it’s easy to argue the Mittals should have first provided roads and drains. Inside the centre, that’s exactly what P.S. Saini, the site engineer, and Kamal Singh Shettia, the centre’s manager, are busy working on. Laid out on tracing paper in front of them are plans for a concrete road costing £7,000, and a new drainage system costing £1,400. There are bigger plans for a regional hospital. Saini, a former railway engineer, gives me a tour of the centre, complete with a little ceremony in its temple to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. He is forthright about the problems facing the town. ‘There are sand dunes all around us. There’s no water for agriculture, there’s a scarcity of drinking water, and even the ground water is of a saline nature.’
Mittal’s aid may be late in the day, but it is welcome. And one of the comforts of living in Rajasthan’s billionaire belt is that even if this tycoon’s generosity dries up, there is every chance that the town will produce another one.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/
http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/business/142611/the-desert-breeding-ground-of-indias-billionaires.thtml

HAPPY DIWALI !!!!

2008-11-01T13:04:00.014+05:30

the bestest( and i know that's not even a word) DIWALI ever... with all the loved ones around... :))

Though something insignificant...

2008-10-31T13:42:00.003+05:30

Though something insignificant... but i kinda liked it at the very first instant...

2008-10-31T10:25:00.003+05:30

Ok, i'll acknowledge the fact that i REALLY REALLY ADORE YOU!!!!

Hard Kaur!

2008-10-30T16:29:00.002+05:30

Taran Kaur Dhillon never understood what it was to be a twelve-year-old. Traumatic experiences took her to a cold U.K., where she was bullied around for her skin colour. Today, she is defining hip hop in India and the U.K."Nobody can bully me into singing what I hate. I eat, sleep, s*** hip hop and I want to keep it just that way", says the U.K.-based star popularly known as Hard Kaur, who is now defining hip hop music in India. Her frankness is the result of many nightmares she lived. You can't separate her bittersweet experiences from her lyrics.
In India to promote her solo album Supa Woman (Saregama), she doesn't mince words about her difficult past. "Musically, the album defines what I have grown up listening to. It's a collection of what I am about. Everything is original and sets new standards. Lyrically, Supa Woman is about life, about what to expect while growing up", says Hard Kaur.
While growing up, she never imagined she would perform hip hop. The image of a salwar-kameez clad girl with a flower in her hair ruled Hard Kaur's imagination. Life is not a bed of roses, she learnt quickly. Her mother, after being kicked out of her in-law's place, refused to take things lying down. She moved to a cold England after her husband's death in the 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms in India.
At school, Hard Kaur was referred to as a "freshie" from India. She proved more than a point when she began dancing. Today, she is one of Britain's foremost women rap artistes.
"It's the best way to express things close to one's heart. Tell people what you have been through. I don't accept anything lying down. Rap was my way out of the cage. It gave me a voice, power... an identity".
Saregama made a brilliant choice when they came across Hard Kaur. However, Kaur also has her own label.
"I have always done things independently and took care of my management. Striking a deal just for the sake of it never interested me. Unless I like what I see, how can take it up? Music is about enjoying creative freedom. On my label you do your kind of music. There are labels for bhangra artistes. But what if a desi living in the UK wants to record urban genres? Which label will sign him or her up? For them, there is my label. I develop artistes, turn them into hummingbirds".
She is the same person whose "Move Your Body" (Johnny Gaddar) is on air. Hard Kaur has worked on her music independently and featured on global club hits including "Ek Glassy", which is still the number-one club anthem of India.
Her songs are about a woman's place in a male-dominated world, with the urban desi experience thrown in. She is associated with Breakthrough, an organization working on HIV and domestic violence issues, and has written a song for women's empowerment. After singing on the Bollywood soundtrack for Johnny Gaddar, she is working on other projects with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. She even got the opportunity to share the stage with stars like Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams!
On her first solo record, Supa Woman, she works with promising international producers including 45 WAX, D-Boy, Urban, AC Burrell, Asif (Fusing Naked Beats) and Tigerstyle. The album is supported by three videos - Look For Me and Mumbai Deewana are directed by Sumit Dutt of Mise En Scene, while My Girls features Meera Sayal of Kumar's At 42 fame. Prior to the album, she released a four-track EP in the U.K.
"Everything changes you. Watching my mother work hard has been a gruesome experience. Since the age of thirteen, I have been working with her. I am happy that I was bullied. It made me a tough person. I still work with my mother and clean the floor. Always remember where you come from".
Hard Kaur is already touring the U.K. to promote her album. Soon, she will back in India to host a series of concerts. A U.S. tour is being planned for late November.
[Courtesy: The Statesman]

www.sikhchic.com

Just a thought..

2008-10-15T20:16:00.002+05:30

khoya hai... khud ko ya, sab kuch paya hai... just like a drop of water looses it's identity to become the ocean...

Ecstatic....

2008-05-21T12:59:00.005+05:30

When i started off with gardening, i did so because i needed to do something... and now it feels great when i see a flower bloom every morning... I have always loved flowers but every single bud that comes up in the garden gives such immense pleasure, only because i took pains for it and the flower seems even more appealing beacuse you have seen it grow from day one.
Sigh...I think i have gotten addicted to it!!!
:)

2008-05-20T10:53:00.024+05:30

It's not like that i have taken a hiatus from writing for the blog, had written a few posts but din't really bother posting them.
Well,this morning has been great for a number of reasons... Firstly have picked up on my daily dose of excersing again. Have managed to get a lot of things in order starting from the office work to things at home. Also, the gardening that i had picked a month or two back has started bearing flowers and not just one but today there were around five of them and quite a few more buds that shall bloom in the coming days... :))

The Blushing Red color Roses

The Jasmines have come out well too...

The lazy crazy Aloe Vera's have been there for a while. Lazy cause even a lazy person can have them in his garden without taking much pains and i have been crazy about them for a long time.

Some white Petunia's in my Aunt's garden. Theses flowers can be found in lovely vivid colors everywhere in the Emirate of Dubai, and surely the government shells out a bomb on maintaining them and replanting every 6 months.

Summers seem to have kinda moved as its getting cloudier during the day. Hopefully monsoons will come a little early this year.

So work will get hectic from now on, as june's approaching. June's going to be a big month with some friends going out of bombay and some coming back almost after a year. The best part being that i shall have to attend a training program with collegues in mid July in Gujrat, so really looking forward to have a blast then.

As for now a lot of collegues have gone out and there's barely anyone at office, so have to look into a lot of small issues too, which becomes annoying especially if you aren't used to. It will be so for a week.

Will write soon. :)

2008-03-04T17:58:00.003+05:30

"Everytime i look at you, i see
the glint in your eye as bright as dew...
Your smile which mesmerises me, Phew!!
Reminds me the naughty side of you,
And compels me to think...
"How would it be without you??? "

Agra Trip

2008-02-23T17:08:00.015+05:30

the most beautiful flower

2008-02-23T16:58:00.003+05:30

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown
For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose And declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead.
No vibrant colors: orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower and replied. "Just what I need."

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
And appreciate every second that's mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
and breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

- Unknown

Love Struck!!!!

2008-02-21T10:46:00.002+05:30

I like your brilliance, i love your shine...
I fall for you evey once in a while.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend they say...
I don't know how far it's true...
All i know is that i am enchanted by YOU.
Mwwwaahhhh!!!!
:)

CONFUSED (Part-2)

2008-02-19T14:12:00.002+05:30

At times i wonder if you do things because it is a duty, or is it because you want to????

Happy Anniversary....

2008-02-06T10:27:00.000+05:30

Dear Blog,

It's been a year that we have been together.
The first post was marked with a trip to jaipur. Now, the 1st Anniversary shall be celebrated with a trip to Agra. :))
Shall be leaving on the 10th. Hoping to have a great time and yeah some lovely pics with my new di-gi.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Mwwaahh!!

CON-FUSED

2008-01-26T11:47:00.000+05:30

Almost all blogs have started off as online journals... atleast 8 out of 10, have. This too started off... as a journal, or a place where i could just jot what i have felt, to straighten things, to analyse them, or at times just because i wanted them to be there. After a period of journal writing there comes a point when you are excited about what you have written and want to share it with the world around... for that you let your friends know about 'UR' blog, leave comments on other people's posts, invite readers, request them to leave in a line or two for the posts or the blog... and try all the possible ways to achieve maximum publicity for your newfound excitement. Then there comes a time when you have got enough of people reading them and knowing about your private life, and that's just when you start to get possessive about things. This happens not only with relationships. It's like a cycle, like the cycle of life and death. You die only to be born again, till you attain nirvana.
Today i am not sure why but then i want the anonymity of this blog to be preserved, i want it to be there just for myself- to read, write or scribble anything that i feel. I just don't want to share it with anyone... maybe because of this fleeting feeling that i have, that there is atleast something which absolutely belongs to me. Off late, i have become finicky about things and the way they should be done... i am confused an wonder as to why this is happening??? Maybe i know why. But, i let it happen... knowing this cycle will complete itself someday... and i shall slowly learn to share things again....

2008-01-11T15:47:00.000+05:30

HOW sweet I roam'd from field to field,
And tasted all the summer's pride,
'Till I the prince of love beheld,
Who in the sunny beams did glide! -
He shew'd me lilies for my hair,
And blushing roses for my brow;
He led me through his gardens fair
Where all his golden pleasures grow. -
With sweet May dews my wings were wet,
And Phoebus fir'd my vocal rage;
He caught me in his silken net,
And shut me in his golden cage. -
He loves to sit and hear me sing,
Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;
Then stretches out my golden wing,
And mocks my loss of liberty.

- William Blake.

Musings...

2008-01-04T15:17:00.001+05:30

Our Sun is a Star. Millions and trillions of such small and big stars form a galaxy. Millions of galaxies comprise a nebula and many nebulae’s come together to form a single UNIVERSE. There are many such UNIVERSES…( science has discovered only 7 till now) .

In all this….
Who am I??? Where do I stand???

2008-01-03T18:35:00.001+05:30

this was what i ended up doing on a evening when i was getting bored...

2007-11-23T17:37:00.000+05:30

I sit in solitude, running my mind away from the bustling world….
Wondering if…
What I see – exists?
What I feel – is right?
Spes Vera – (meaning) I someday hope to find the truth.
And then, in this truth I shall dwell forever…
Knowing men, material and possession,
Do not give real pleasure.

2007-11-23T16:35:00.000+05:30

I have a thousand things to say…
Yet, can’t say a word.
I have a hundred thoughts to express…
Yet, can’t show a single one.
And I have a zillion answers…
Which only gets me more confused. :(

2007-11-22T17:15:00.000+05:30

Sigh... all messed up!!!!

All of a sudden I have somehow started taking a good note of things.(one should especially when things are not in the place where they belong, and it takes hours to search for that particular thing you need).

1. My messed up desk… which only clears at 6 in the evening when I leave work.
2. My desktop – I wonder how lazy I have become that I couldn’t even arrange the icons in proper folders (yeah! I can be that lazy at times).
3. I shall not think twice before blaming the fashionistas for making large sized handbags trendy cuz at such lazy times I really have to go fishing in my bag for that small tube of lip gloss.
4. It’s taking ages for me to find the other pair, in my wardrobe.
5. My chipped nail paint seems like it needs a fresh coat immediately.
6. Plus, I can barely manage to find any space on the bed to sleep with the clothes lying on it and the travel bag which I haven’t unpacked for the past three days.
7. The study table with books, newspapers and dvds sprung over it.
8. Five pairs of shoes scattered in the room.
9. The chocolate and chip wrappers with leftovers which I have neatly tucked in the drawer.
10. Lastly, the clarity of my thoughts which is getting affected by the things mentioned above. Sigh….prioritizing things has never been such a Herculean task.

There are times when walking away is an easier option than facing the situation or completing the task. Here I am sitting on the table in my room facing a dilemma of choosing between the two options. :(

2007-11-20T17:50:00.000+05:30

financial literacy... duh!!

There have been times where i have come across professionals from different aspects in life. Talking to them and getting their opinion in matters have been fruitful, but the most disappointing part comes in when you talk to them about finances or their money - they are lost!!! I have seen people who can't even differenciate between an asset and a liabilty, let alone making proper financial choices!!!!
Being a marru, i think of all the things, this is something i just can't tolerate. People work for money and work even harder to earn some more , and at the end of the day what they gladly do is splurge on liabilities just so that they can pay more bills and inturn gain some more liabilities as benefits!!!!!

This afternoon i met Mr. A a highly acclaimed professional wanting to do a CFA course. All that he complained was lack of money all his problems began and ended on money!!!
Probing in more i realised, lack of financial literacy had put him in such a fix. Offering solutions became more complicated. At the end of it i found myself counselling him more about his financials than his course options. :(

To top it all It's frustating to know that there are atleast 85% of people who can't make right financial decisions. Cuz this is something our schools don't teach....but it is must if you would like to enjoy life without hassles. I really ain't a materialistic person but then i o believe one can enjoy life better and many more things - Not when you make more money but right choices about spending money.

2007-11-19T16:08:00.001+05:30

On the way back to Bombay… I wondered “why do I travel so much???” considering that I have been out of the city at least once every month (except for the past few months).
Every time I stepped out it was not for a vacation or for the excitement of going to a new place. It has always been more of a necessity for me to move out for a while. To keep me level headed and to regain my sanity from this hectic life… A life in a city like Bombay, that we think ‘LIVE’ in but in reality where people only ‘EXIST’. I have always needed a break every now and then from this madrush to enjoy and feel the smaller things which is the bliss of a small city.

This time, I was going back to my home town almost after a year, wondering what all changes that I might find. Every time it’s like a home coming, a place where I feel I belong to…the culture, the people which never cease to fascinate and disappoint me.
A life so different from the one I live here. I have quite a few virgin experiences of this place like the feel of the soft, soothing, velvety sand in winter, a camel ride, the warmth of staying in an extended family, the carefree healthy living.
Some of the few reasons above have only given me a reason to come back to this place again and shall continue to do so.
Though I do not like to stay in this place for long because of the deep bonding that I have had with b'bay. I have always wondered if ever I’ll be able to leave b’bay - a place so addictive…. But… on this trip I have gained confidence that one day sooner or later for good or bad I shall live in this place forever… to lead a humble life.

Please Note:

2007-11-04T13:35:00.000+05:30

All the poems written on this blog are fictitious and do not resemble any particular situation, person or place.
Quotes or poems from different authors have been given due credit.

WINE no more , It’s chocolate time !!!!

2007-10-27T13:29:00.000+05:30

“70% premium dark chocolate from Sao Tome” I read aloud holding the deep brown-purple color chocolate cover.
It was something I never had read before, “NO…not the words ‘premium dark chocolate’ but those figures preceding them”.
I realized it meant much more than just figures or the cacao content it had. Well, we’ll get to that a bit later….
First off, I shall inform you that I consider myself to be a self-professed connoisseur in tasting tea and coffee. Plus am one among those few people who prefer iced tea instead of coke with my Pizza. Not just, because of the calories it contains but for the distinct tangy taste it gives, which goes well with the smooth mozzarella. Ummm… yum…
Ahem!
If you are one among those observant lot; you might be wondering by now if I just made a mistake in writing 'cacao' instead of 'cocoa'. Well, if you think so then the answer is a big NO!!!
It’s all about cacao that I am going to write and that people are already crazy about.
For those of you who didn’t know- Cacao is a tree from which cocoa and chocolate are made. There are usually two ways of making chocolate. The traditional being from cacao beans; you can make cocoa, which is used in making chocolate. The contemporary method requires you to make chocolate directly from the cacao beans, also called the ‘single sourced chocolate’.
On further observation I inferred that the terms like sweet, semisweet and bittersweet have been replaced by numbers such as 34pc, 53pc or 70pc . The percentage signifying the quantity of ‘single sourced chocolate’.
This has sparked off a trend which shall blanket the world very soon, that is to taste “YOUR CHOCOLATE” like it did with wine and coffee.
But, chocolate is much more complex than tea or coffee. I believe it shall be more like learning the intricacies of fine Wine.
So next time you go hopping by to pick up a premium chocolate as a perfect present for someone, look out for those figures 74, 53 or 34. But, do remember whatever the percent it does not affect the quantity of your chocolate.

Till then…..i shall sit back and relish my ‘single sourced 70pc cacaoed chocolate from the high end South African fields’. :)

2007-10-25T15:34:00.000+05:30

After a rather unhappy incident,
(Don’t bother asking me
I will not talk of it yet).
I closed my eyes
and sat in remorse
Wondering if ever, is it possible…
For just anyone, to understand…
The Plethora of dreams I have,
The variety of emotions I deal with,
The importance of the incidents, that take place,
The abundance of things I want to do.
How can I be bound to
one thing and sit still
I have just given wings
to my imagination
I have just learned to fly
I have just learned to live
and I have many more things to
Dream and do before I die.

And when I complain of this
I hear him say to me,
“Babe! you sound perpetually drunk !!
go home and grab some sleep… for me…”

White Lies...

2007-10-25T15:26:00.000+05:30

There are times when my mom makes it mandatory for me, to attend those boring get- togethers. Where, I have to put on a plastic smile till the time all my muscles pain and talk to unknown people like I have known them for ages!!!
Actually, it’s not as bad as I make it sound. But, the whole point is that they are BORING and I hate to attend them.
On one such boring evening after all the formalities were done. I found myself a nice cozy place beside a lady all decked up in an ORANGE dress and people complimenting her.
That reminded of one of my best friends who takes all the pains to explain why she had liked the dress and where did she buy it from.
I realize how much I missed her, but that’s beside the point that I have to make.
This eminent lady was in some topnotch position in a Blah Blah company and a hardcore color therapist (meaning using color co-ordination in your daily activities).
She went on to explain, the color Orange signified ‘socialising’ and that being one of the prime reasons for her to wear it for the evening.
She went on and on and on…..from one color to another .From blues and blacks to fresh pinks and deep maroons, we had covered them all.

“It helps you remain calm and focused” her explanation on her wearing ONLY navy blues and black to office surprised me. Weird was she and her notions, I say.

Deep in my thoughts the naughty side of me wondered if I should ask her, “which do you think is the most appropriate color to be worn in bed?”
Smiling I suppressed my temptations, wondering if it would be apt to ask.
With nothing much to do, I got back to the discussion only to hear her say “White is best for sleep disorders”

“Aha! White” I chuckled….and walked away as if these talks were meaningless after knowing this ;)
I gave it another thought…for this once, I seemed to agree with her.

After all,
“White without the Light
Brings all the glitter to the Night”

2007-10-25T11:20:00.001+05:30

I was standing at the window sill, sipping coffee. Quietly looked at him from the corner of my eye. He stood there with a mischievous smile on his face. Trying to read his thoughts and wary of what would be next. I groaned “What?!” that’s when I noticed him wearing a thick gold chain.
The alphabet S, in gold, dangled from the chain.
I questioned him about what the ‘S’ stood for?
He slipped deep in thought as if contemplating something and looked at me. Breaking into a mischievous smile, he informed me that his cousin brother’s name begins with this letter. “Oh! Yeah”, I said laughing.
He winked, and sipped the last of his coffee. Wished me “Get well soon, baby!” and walked away.

Similarly, the other day my boss showed us his newly made engagement ring in lovely white and yellow gold engraved with the name of his fiancée.
These incidents left me wondering how we wear ornaments as symbols of love and exclusitivity of our possession and of our claims on the other’s body and their claim on ours.

2007-10-25T11:18:00.000+05:30

“Life is a dream – a delusion …..
but alas the dreamer must awake…
a lovely reflection in the mirror …
but alas the mirror must break”.

- Shahnaz Hussain

2007-10-25T11:16:00.000+05:30

I sat on the porch
Under the dim moonlit sky
Held out my hand
For him, to hold tight
And…Gazed at the stars …
Which twinkled bright.

He broke silence , like
A drop of water falling
With all it’s might.
“Babe! You are a real dahling
Thank you! For being there by my side
I shall never let you out of my sight
From now on this shall be my plight
For you have made my life forever so bright”

With these words said …
We sat still, held hands
This time again rather tight
And gazed at the stars
That twinkled bright…

Oh! What a heavenly sight
As I sat on the porch
Under the dim moonlight.

Eeps…….NOT THE CLEANSING MILK !!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-27T15:43:00.000+05:30

The packing list was almost done , and dad was helping me out ( as he would be leaving in a few hours from now ). The next item on the list was soap, and oh! boy we couldn’t find even a single soap bar in the whole house !!!!!
N the last thing I see my dad picking up the bottle of cleansing milk …. N chuckling to himself saying “Ah! This will do ….”
I look at him and froze “ *damn* NO !!!!! …. DAD, That’s my cleansing milk !!!!!”
I frantically search all the cabinets , cupboards and all the silly places where I might find a single bar of soap and luckily I spot a small pearly white bar ….. I am elated and smile as I am about to pick up the bar …….

Well then, My Mom woke me up!!!!!

This is the first time ever that I am happy and not complaining about mom waking me up . The reason being , I realize it’s a dream and I will not have to put my favorite bottle of cleansing milk in dad’s luggage . :))

This morning has been beautiful for a number of reasons. First off, I look out of the window and realize it’s going to rain heavily pretty soon and I’ll have a good excuse to take a day off from work (though I haven’t , feeling guilty about taking a leave on the very first day of the week ) plus I love to sit on the window sill and watch it rain .
Second, tomorrow is ‘Raksha bandhan’ . I agree that’s not a good enough reason to be happy , but then I am the only girl on my paternal side, *smile* and that means tomorrow is my day and I get whatever I want from my cousins .

Just the other day I was coming back from work. I happened to sit beside a girl who culn’t help staring at me. * What the heck! *
The only solution I figured was to stare back at her and when I did she smiled and quickly took out a bunch of white flowers from her bag and presented it to me “ You look pretty” she said !!!!!! Man I was so ashamed I thought this girl was staring for no reason at all.
After that we had a small conversation and damn I was feeling guilty the whole time and even I wanted to give her something in return may be not for giving me a compliment but atleast for me thinking something ill about her. I dint know what to give her . After much thought I took out a black pen an gave her. Hoping she did like it .
She smiled and took out one of her notebooks and said “All my friends love my handwriting !!” Man it was so beautiful and neat , that was indeed the best thing I could have presented her.

I had to get down on the next stop . After exchanging ‘Goodbyes’ I got up thinking.
How a complete stranger had made my evening . :))

Unconditional LOVE….

2007-08-11T15:59:00.000+05:30

“LOVE is the best, when you give the most”.

But what is love???

Is it care the mother gives to a weeping child, or is it infatuation of a teenager or is it the odes that a lover recites for his sweetheart maybe it is the longing heart which awaits the touch, caress and the warmth of it loved one.

Is it limited to only the above …. And meant to be forgotten after a grand fiesta of one whole day, in a year???

There have been poems dedicated to the lovers, actually n number of them. But, has any one ever pondered over the fact that why poems haven’t been written to describe Love.

I agree love can’t be described it can only be felt and expressed by words and sometimes by actions. Love is not that type of love that we call Romance. It is much more higher than that because Romancing can be conditional. When conditions are applied it depletes and degrades the purity of love.

If love is unconditional then why is it reserved only for the lovers????

Can’t it be for people like you and me????

Also, love dsn’t mean to loose or to possess…. Because loosing and possessing are aided by attachment; which in a way demeans the purity of love.

It is only the unconditional love that is pure. Unconditional love that is what makes you truly generous and forgiving. Has the power to heal a broken heart or transform a person completely. It is one which takes away all our attachments from the maya, and that’s when our past karmas don’t affect you.

Love can only be felt and expressed. One has to go within to feel it. One has to be immersed in it to give it.
Therefore , love is innate , it brings you joy.
Joy shouldn’t be confused with happiness. As happiness is a temporary condition which is created by the situations or the factors around us. Whereas joy is never ending (niranand as they say in Sanskrit) . It is something which comes from within you and the best thing by which you can make others feel the depth of your love.

At this I am reminded of a beautiful couplet :

“ Lali mere lal ki , jith dekhun uth lal ,
Lali dekhan mein gayi , uth mein bhi ho gayi lal”.

Love is that joy which we get in giving something to someone without expectations, without reasons.
It is only possible to give unconditionally when one is immersed in love. First off, you have to beautified by its presence , surrounded by it , submerged in it.

Once the unconditional love is established within ourselves it’s only then that one can purely love and can say that ‘I AM IN LOVE’.

Unexpected Solutions

2007-08-11T11:12:00.000+05:30

You must have noticed .... sometimes things just fall in place , surprisingly seem as if they were just meant to be ... jus how perfect they sound .

As you have read the previous posts where moi describes about her fears and her biggest fear ' the fear of change '.
I still know not of anyone who can overcome this fear except me.
The only solution that i foresee is to take charge , overcome the fear and change according to the change .
This was told to me by my fren J. Unknowingly he has given me the solution as if it was told to me cuz it meant only for me.

thanks J . thanks a ton!!!!

I feel elated having found the last missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle called LIFE .... which makes much sense today....

2007-08-07T17:54:00.000+05:30

These are just some of the images from Dharamshala school.
The first snap is of the junior section and the second one of the senior section which leads to the valley (on the backside).
Behind the buildings (in both the pics ) you can see the mountain peaks (this is the dauladhar range) covered with snow . They remain so for almost the whole year except the first three months of the year where there's heavy snowfall which even covers both the sections of the school entirely !!!
Around the spring time (march an april) one can see some really beautiful and rare flowers . After all the himalayas are also known for their wide variety of flora and fauna.
Staying in himachal has been experience of a lifetime which i shall cherish ALWAYS .

Here's a song composed by one of the parents for the place 'talnoo' and the school.

And...
this one went dancing to work and to play,
out to make oceans , night , time and day .
out to make mountains and valleys and fun ,
out in the world where our life had begun .

In all of his beloved world he had
his favoraite place where he felt the most glad
and after his work and his play he would go
upto the lovely pure Himalaya Snow.

Dancing his dance in the chaitanya cool...
upto the sweet talnoo Sahaja yoga school.

Change ….

2007-08-01T17:38:00.000+05:30

It’s surprising how we get used to even the smallest and the simplest things in life.
Like …
The 9.07AM train that you take to work everyday …
Your morning cup of tea….
The column of the news paper that you read everyday…
The manner in which you do a particular thing …
Though the dissatisfying and discontented feeling that you get when you have missed out on those things is overwhelming ….

They say that change is inevitable and you have the choice to dislike it or accept it with open arms, but it’s not always that we can do things like the way we do them as you might be forced to change, knowingly or unknowingly.
At times more than change it is the FEAR of change which bothers you, haunts you and is much more viscous than change itself.

There are things that you cherish, enjoy and love when they happen …..
But…
You know they are going to change maybe cuz of some mistakes you have made in this learning process.

This fear I carry and I know not of anyone who can stop it from happening ….

Down but not out

2007-07-28T13:47:00.000+05:30

The market have witnessed the third largest fall in the history on Friday with BSE sensex falling 541 points.
This was mainly due to the withdrawal of the FIIs from the indian markets.The big picture shows that the real cause has been a major fall in the US market which lead the global indices to fall and thus affect the intra day movement on the sensex .

A strong recommendation at this juncture will be not to panic, stay invested and witness the market, as there’s nothing to fear. The market is unlikely to stay bearish for long.
Go by the age old rule of trading “Buy low , Sell high” , and you shall never go wrong .
The good news however is that there are speculations that the markets are going to touch 20K by December , creating a new all time high..
But the investors need to be prepared for another major fall the main cause of which shall be the correction in the stocks of the blue-chip companies .
Once the correction is done, the scenario will be bullish again and all set to make, new highs.J

Lets play the wait and watch game …. Signing off for now …..

Have a great weekend and enjoy the monsoons over chai and some steaming hot pakodas …..

Sex and Sensex

2007-07-28T13:43:00.000+05:30

If one could only replace the above terms with each other . Especially with indices leaping a whopping 1000 pts on Tuesday and inching upto the 16K mark .

The ‘UP’ and ‘DOWN’ movement seen in the market in the past 2-3 years have taken the investors in a frenzy .
The Pulse , the beat , the humdrum of the market has lured many new investors trying their hands at the indices and get ‘FRESH’ with the exchanges . What to buy and what to sell and which stock would be at its sexiest best is being discussed over cups of coffee , on the way to work , over the phone , in small groups of frens , in hushed voices even in the thick walls of conference rooms .

SEX the much talked about , over used , over hyped and the very hot three letter word has been every man’s fascination and has dominated his vocabulary and thoughts since the beginning of the civilization .
There’s an top Indian actress who remarked “ Only Sex and Sharukh Khan sell” but that was two years back .
Looking at the market scenario clearly the investors have been mesmerized by the swinging markets .

Today only……

SEX AND SENSEX Sells…..

My One and only attempt to write a POEM ….

2007-07-26T16:41:00.000+05:30

I Walk across the road,
With a wild upload .
No fear, no sorrow,
No pain , no gain .
There’s everything which looks insane,
Even the love of a mere stranger,
I believe will lead you to danger.

Looks that kill,
Glances that put you still.
Pressure so immense that will make you wretch
Nerves so tense , that you’ll want to stretch.

Everywhere I look I see ,
See nothing but sorrow…
As deep as the deepest sea.
My heart feels like a desert…
Which lies bare without being revered .

I walk across the road ,
With THAT wild upload .
Heavens forbid it to happen ,
Some more , I shall explode …

I pray to the HOPE Fairy ,
“Where art thou ?” , bless me with some strength
Which I need to fight this fierce wreathe
My godmother with her presence felt,
Blesses me; and sorrow seems to melt .

All fear, All sorrow , All pain
Drips and trips own the drain .
I don’t have to fight anymore
With myself some more .

Things turn bright, in this light
And then I see a heavenly sight .
I try to figure it, with a faint vision at the moment
Where the stones are turning into gourmet

A missionary, a pioneer, a patriot,
My beloved mounted on a horse top.
A sweetheart , a soldier , lover , best friend,
Or just a highwayman* at the end .

Soothes and smoothes , with his every move ,
My heart growing profound for him and his troop.
So deep in love am I ….
That at this mere stranger sight
I want to love him still,
Till all the seas go dry.

With all the feelings felt and set high,
I seem to think and them to cry.

How long will it last , this holocaust,
I fail to foresee, foretell and forecast.
I fear most of those unknown moments,
Deep in my heart fighting those torments.

Thinking a thought , after having fought,
“Even the love of a mere stranger
I believe will lead you to danger”
But…
So deep in love am i…
That at this mere stranger sight
I want to love him still
Till all the seas go dry ….
And I want to love him still
Till all the seas go dry ……”

* highway man : in old Victorian times the robber’s were called highwaymen , as they looted people on the highway’s.

2007-07-24T13:56:00.000+05:30

It’s 5 pm … and a mail from the Territory manager (west) flashes on the screen .

“ There’s a party at Rodas hiranandani Gardens , Powai for all the ICFAI Branches on the 28th July , 2007.
Dress Code : Men in Black , Women in Red .”

*S : Hey , K , A look the venue to the party has been confirmed .

( excited K and A come running )
( B checks his mail too )

*A: Oh! The dress code . Yipee! I just brought a black polka dotted shirt yesterday ;
good heavens ! my choice was perfect or I would have to go shopping all over again .

*K: huh ! now where should I find a Red dress ???

*B: Yipee ! I have a black shirt too….
(to everybody ) hope you guys also have .

*S : Oh! Why did they keep a dress code , I so wanted to wear the new spaghetti top that i went shopping for last week. I was waiting for an occasion to wear it .

*B: Sigh ! you gurlz , always have a problem with what to wear .

(K, S stare hard at B)

( M calls up his colleague cum best friend Su .
M being an conservative dresser and the one who hates the color black , discloses the news to Su.
They both talk about it for a while and hang up .)

*M ( to everybody) : What the heck ! What a color !!!
All guys are gonna look as if we are going to the Aiyappa temple for Pooja .

* S,A,K,B,R : ha ha lol

*S: now M what on earth made you think of that !!! ha ha …..

To Let go of Something ....

2007-07-23T16:12:00.000+05:30

There are somethings in life that you have to let go , no matter how MUCH and how BAD you would want them to be by your side …..
how much you…….
Want him to enjoy , share n cherish each and every moment of your life ….

The solace you find in listening to his voice….. when all things around you are going wrong ….

But there comes a phase when things just don’t fall in place, no matter how hard you try …..
that’s when you have to let go off these things , and letting go …. Believe me , Is not all that easy …

But ….
I have learnt … it ain’t that difficult too… You learn to get over them …. SLOWLY….

There are some friendships that you value the most in your life …. N all that is left of it is memories ….

Buried somewhere deep inside your heart ….

To let go off some things ….. believe me , is not that easy ….

boring days....

2007-04-03T16:39:00.001+05:30

oh! what the hell this days been so boring . My boss has taken an off just because his cousins come down to see him(Binoy you could have given a better reason to miss work!!!). My good fren cum collegue Amey has gone back home... My other three collegues are sitting staring at the computer n their empty desks (as we have already completed our 100%target for the month n even declared a star :) ) ... wondering what work is there to be done.... n oh! well, even i can't think of anything to be done ... except read other peoples post....
And then i suddenly realise that it's not going to be one of those usual evenings where i come back home to find my mom waiting to share the stuff done thru the day... n dad wanting to discuss my financials n bank accounts (one of his favouraite topics)....They have gone to Raj for a few days n i am satying alone for the first time in my life without them... & what the heck ! i have gotto stay with one of my aunts ... still wondering how i can make the most of my evening may be i can meet up with some of my frens but then ppl in bombay are always busy... (so much to pay to stay in this commercial hub). i am still

1. BORED!
2. CONFUSED
3. LOW
plus i can't find anything right .... oh! how so i wish Medha would have been here .... we cud have met up for coffee or may be just chat... :(

may be even i'll just get back to work...

Fulfilling SUNDAYS.....

2007-03-11T13:01:00.000+05:30

Fulfilling Sundays...
Well theres nothing like a great sunday.... when you get up late dreaming abt your bf ;) listen to some nice music... watch a movie of Brad Pitt..... Get ready n have a lavish brunch with your mom.... all ,with your favourite stuff....make plans for shopping in the evening .... have a nice get together with your moms frens coming over to load you with the gossip around town... (which you haven't been updated since u have been working pretty hard on weekdays...).... after the brunch you go out for a small walk to survey n note the changes around town...quickly drop mails to all your frens...have a nap before u load youself with spicy gossip.... such satisfyuing stuff.... where you dnt worry abt deadlines.... commitments... n ppl ard you.... it's absolutely carefree juz like an innocent child who knows nothing... such Sundays are RARE.... n this is one amongst those...

the best compliment eva....

2007-02-09T17:13:00.000+05:30

all those beautiful ladies just give a thought to this: "what is the best compliment that you ever received?" ..... think about it for a while .....it makes you smile , it makes you blush.... well.... this is the best one that i ever received( juz to make All you Jealous out there ) ;-P

it was from this cute dude i went out to meet one evening....dropping me back home.... after he let me out of his car ..... he calls me up to say these magical words :" i hate when you leave but I love to see you go "... on which i ponder , amuse , wonder think n think hard n smile n eventually end up blushing....

oh! well ,that was very sweet of him , may be he was being an absolute gentleman but ... i guess they are enough to get all you ladies jealous!!!!!! ;)

Off to the PINK CITY ..... hurrah!!!!

2007-02-09T16:18:00.000+05:30

This is it !!!! Again..... i will be going there again.... the one place which has really fascinated me with its people n culture , the ideologies n ideals they carry .....
i think there is some connection i have with this place(apart from the fact that i was born there), a feeling i get of ... a different kind .... the one that has no bounds n forgets every barrier to get there , the country side oh! so mesmerising... .. n its people : so down to earth, simple.... n large hearted with their ever flowing extended hospitality for the visitors.... but, hey!... i ain't any visitor....STILL..... this place ...still feels all so alien to this city bred gal , who can't imagine living a life without so called sophistication... the luxuries... she's been exposed to....
i like this 'pink city' for everything it was , it is ... n every bit of what it has to offer .... but if only it was ....like a place where i have lived n spend most or shall i say every single bit of my life....may be i could love it ...

this love -hate relationship with this place goes on.... n .... everytime i visit this place .... i think i love to be there but then deep inside my heart craves for the place that's none other than 'Aamchi Mumbai '.......