Happy Raksha Bandhan !!

Today is Raksha Bandhan, popularly called as Rakhi.Its widely celebrated in north india as a festival of love and bonding between brother and sister.

I have a younger brother and two cousins for whom I tie Rakhi.This day brings me such fond memories.When we were kids we would all assemble at my grandparents house on this day.Then my father's sister will tie Rakhi for him and other brothers and we would do the same for our brothers.It was fun to go seniority wise to tie rakhi to all the brothers.And more fun was fighting over the gifts.All the sisters were teased by the brothers for the gifts. My brothers would invariably tease me by giving 1 Ruppe coin as gift. To which I sometimes used to get angry.Later I started accepting it , since I knew the are teasing me ( and also that their parents would force them to give me the rest of the amount too ;-)..hehehhe) My brother , when he was too young , used to say that he did not mind tying me the rakhi , if I give him the gift..:D

Now I am married and far from my brothers.I really miss them and also the fun we had. I miss how they used to tease me over petty things and enjoyed to see me irritated and sometimes crying too.Now ,things are otherwise , we do send gifts for each other and insist on accepting the gifts :D

Life has moved on.Childhood is just some fond memories now.I don't get to meet my cousins in years.I get to meet my brother 1-2 times a year for 2-3 days. But my love for all of them remains unchanged.And so is theirs :D

Today morning , my brother called me in morning and said "I was tying rakhi that you sent , so I thought let me do it online(phone on speaker). Here I put Tika , now I tie Rakhi and now I give you gift..you got it na" ..hehehheh..he wanted to tease me , but I realised that he was missing me :-)

On this day , I just want to say , I miss and I love my brothers ..Happy Raksha Bandhan to all !!

Am I Destined To Be Overweight?

You Are Destined to Struggle With Your Weight

Like most people, you find it a little difficult to stay at at weight you're comfortable with. If you change a few habits and make food less important, you may find the struggle hardly exists anymore.

Are You Destined To Be Overweight?

Excited or Mad ?

REQUEST :Please please don't call me "CRAZY" or "MAD" after you read this.

I came to Bangalore after my wedding and we hardly have any friends (apart from all of you in Bangalore) and relatives in this city.Though I like this city , for the weather , for my job , for the birth place of my baby and so many other things , I just can't stop missing Delhi.The first and foremost reason is it takes just 2 and 5 hours journey to my native and to hubby's respectively from Delhi (and its cost much lesser). There are a few more reasons though , like I feel a natural affinity to the city , where I learnt to be independent and earned my first penny.

So , the post is not about my love for Delhi or Bangalore , but its about me getting so so so excited about going for my yearly 2 weeks vacation to Delhi and our hometowns.NOW..you must be thinking I am going tomorrow or a week after. Nope ..I am going after 2.5 months :-OAnd why am excited today..coz we booked our tickets yesterday.Hehehehheh...remember the request I made before you started reading.

Well , thats me , I myself think I am crazy..but can't help it.I am going for Diwali ,and I actually started planning about what I will be doing there.Who all I will meet.What all will Aryan do.How will Aryan's cousins react to see Aryan.What would we all wear for Diwali and what not. Uff..what a stupid crazy female I am.

This habit of mine has disappointed me so many times.I get too excited and think too much into details and then I am seriously disappointed when I find others are not equally excited or when things don't turn up as I want. I keep telling myself that I should not think too much , should not plan too much and in the end should not get disappointed too much ..but no use :-( I cannot change my basic nature :-(

What do I do to help myself ? Do you really think I am crazy ..OK ..forget about the request on the top..and say it loud please.

On a second thought , is life not about the joy in these little excitements.May be I am crazy , but then I do find some smiles in little things.I get disappointed when things don't turn my way and I cry over small things (coz I ALWAYS feel they are important ..unlike others) , but then I get over them very soon and see at the brighter side.
But still, may be I would want to change a little..*scratching my head*

Through the eyes of a child

Read this poem in Mad momma's comment window and could not help recording and sharing this.

If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
There'd be no trouble and no strife,
Just a big happy life.With a bluebird in every tree.
(If I Could See The World Through)

I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I've never had.If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.

If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
Smiling faces would greet me all the while.
Like a lovely work of art,
It would warm my weary heart,
Just to see through the eyes of a child.

I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I've never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be

Independence Day - A thought

I am back after a short hibernation and here is wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day and Happy Teej too (for those who celebrate that).

So how did everyone celebrate ? I did not do anything for particular because of the virus at home.I did read NM's post on Independence day and I realized how times have been changing.Getting hooked to Doordharshan to see the Flag,going to school to hoist the flag.Performing plays and dances to portray the spirt of patrotism, singing the National Anthem.Coming back with sweets and full enthusiasm and watching some special movie on the patrotism used to be our routine on 15th August and 26th January year after year. But things changed and these are now just sweet memories.

Our grandparents use to tell us stories about freedom struggle with great passion but with each passing generation we are loosing that passion. Times are changing , like Doordharshan was replaced by Cable network and now Tata sky.Now schools do not have a compulsary attendence on Independence day and Republic day.Parents think that clubbing the day with weekend can mean a vacation. Kids these days, no longer feel the same enthusiasm for the celebration as we did.They are happy because they get a HOLIDAY in the mid of August and in chilly January winters.I asked few of my colleagues as what did their kids do yesterday and all of them told that kids bunked the school.No one feels its worth to go to school for just flag hoisting.People are bored listening to same speeches by Presidents and Prime Ministers year after year.They hardly say something new.

60 years have gone by.60 long years.Generations have changed.Soon we will have no eye witnesses of the freedom struggle.How do we maintain the same enthusiasm.Sooner or later our independence struggle will just be read in our history books in class VII.Coming generations will not be able to visualize the passion, the struggle ,the pain and the effort. Few people will judge the rights and wrongs and what could have been different.We will always have two national holidays.Flags will still be hoisted as a custom and more as a RULE on all the govt.buildings.

To be frank, do we really need independence day to feel patriotic.And should that be celebrated in the same way year after year.I think we should move ahead and find new ways to celebrate our freedom.Ways which our kids feel a part of.Ways which are just not customary. So that Independence day and Republic day do not become just holidays.

Some days are bad..

Like the ones when you have to see your little sweet heart coughing BADLY..
Like the ones when your baby does not eat for he is scared of throwing up again..
Like the ones when the frequency of your cutie's crying is more than smiles..
Like the ones when the father also has same infections as the son..

Some days are REALLY BAD..

P.S. Will post more when the days are not as bad as they are today.

'Mommy guilt' a fact of life for most with kids

Ohh none of us is alone. 'Mommy Guilt' has hit each one of us at times. I did a post and then I read Poppin and JLT. We expressed in different ways , but its all the same.

Here is what I read today :

"Mommy guilt" is both instinctual and cultural, he says. "Our culture looks to Mom to be the person who is there, who is hands on. There is this feeling that 'This is what I'm supposed to be and anything else I do is selfish.' "
Crawford says working mothers who feel an inordinate amount of guilt often try to overcompensate by forcing quality time with their children. These attempts can often backfire. "Any guilt that you carry from home to work or work to home will interfere in your performance in that role and in your satisfaction with that role. So you're really cheating yourself."

Not only is guilt harmful for couples, but Crawford believes it also hurts children. "A child will pick up on that and they'll ultimately feel like they're the reason that Mom feels guilty."

Read the full article here.

"In case you're worried about what's going to become of the younger generation, it's going to grow up and start worrying about the younger generation." - Roger Allen

Judging Strangers based on Intutions ?

I have mentioned in some of my previous posts that I am an intutive person.I decide things based on my intutions or 6th sense so many times.Till date my 6th sense has hardly driven me wrong and so I trust my intutions.

When I meet someone, I guess about the traits of the person by looking at him/her.Things like he/she is a geniuine person, he/she is intelligent, he/she is just like me, I can trust this person, I can make friends with him/her,he is a politician,he can stab at the back, he is a flirt and so many of these kinds and I can say I am hardly wrong till date.There have been times when people have portaied themselves to be different then their actual self and over the course of time I have felt that I was wrong, but some day their actual selves have come to picture.Similarly, when I read/listen about a person or talk to someone over the phone, I imagine about their personality. Relatives cannot always be chosen but I do choose friends based on my inner voice. I also stay away from some relatives and colleagues as directed by my inner voice though they hardly did any harm till date.

I really wonder, if others do the same.My husband says that I am a great observer.I observe things closely.May be he is true and may be thats the reason my guesses are always /mostly right. In reply I usually laugh and say that the sixth sense is inbuilt for girls.But then I have some friends who can hardly judge people and they often face fallback of their wrong judgement.So then may be its not inbuilt for all the girls.

Someone once wrote on my blog that "Intuition is a reflection of our past experiences coupled with our level of comfort.Likes and dislikes are manifestations of our comfort level with respect to the person/thing for which a like or dislike is being formed." But I still feel, I should not be judging people based on my past experiences and sometimes just plain intutions.Forming an opinion or like /dislike for someone based on just your apprehensions is not justified.You may be right and you may be wrong. Everyone should be given a chance to prove/express.But then, I am always a looser when I don't trust myself, so I am not too sure.

BTW..I have survived till my 50th post ..Yippee!

My Worst Nightmare and My Secret Wish!

Do you think you are scared of something ? What is your worst nightmare ? I don't know when how and why but I have a fear of blindness.Not like , I feel that I will be blind some day but just that I feel that nothing can be worse than being blind. I simply cannot tolerate darkness.I am not scared of darkness like many of us and I can go in a dark forest alone but I don't like it.I love the light and the colours.And I feel that their can be no serious punishment than making someone blind.It not only makes you handicap physically but also restrain you to see the beauty around.I feel the world is so beautiful and each one of us have a right to see and feel it.

I believe that our eyes are the most precious ,delicate and beautiful gift that God has given us.So ,probably thats the reason I wish to donate my eyes.Thats a secret wish and I have promised myself to definitely do so.Probably thats the best I can do with the little I have.I need to work on this.And this post is a reminder to myself.

Editted to Add : Reading NM's comment ,I feel I could not express what I wanted to.Blindness is a nightmare for me.Ofcourse the blind have the courage to face that and be happy with what God has decided for them.God gives us a strength to overcome our handicaps.Handicap people are stronger than us in so many different ways.Everyday I see one blind female crossing the busy Airport Road with great ease.Just a matter of her practice.Happiness is just our perception. But then still I cannot imagine darkness forever.The thought is killing for me and I wish to bring light to someone.May be someone can utilize this gift from God, after I die.

Weekend was a weekend !

We lived it in our own way.Three of us did whatever we wanted to with no schedules and hurries. Aryan slept for 6 hours during the day on saturday in two shifts which gave us ample time to do the cleaning.So I arranged Aryan's cloths (summer cloths went in and winter ones popped out) and re-arranged the racks in my room.

Afternoon we slept to the fullest.Evening we had fun playing with Aryan.Late evening ,after Aryan slept, we saw "Hyderabad Blues 2". The movie was good and we both enjoyed it.No big star cast but yet it kept us hooked in typical Nagesh Kukunoor style.

Sunday also it was cold and drizzling so we did not plan an outing.We played with Aryan and I stock checked my kitchen.After lunch Aryan had a good nap and then we went to buy our weekly grocery and veggies(a fixed schedule for each week). On the way back we bought VCD of "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom". So we saw that during the evening and enjoyed.Nothing new , but yet an enjoyable movie.Lot of peppy music ,great star cast, typical Yashraj style. The day was closed with dinner of Aalo Paranthas with egg bhurji and curd...what more to ask for :-P.

So , that was all ..a weekend of rest , masti and ofcourse the cleaning :-D Thats why I say , weekend was a weekend.

An Arranged cum Love Marriage !!

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl.The boy worked in Bangalore and the girl in Delhi.Both of their parents decided to find a better half for them and in the process they both met in a restaurant in Delhi.There was a platonic conversation for 45 minutes.They spoke about each others likes and dislikes , they spoke about how they visualize their future life and what they expect from their partners.The girl liked the straight forward guy who spoke without adding any frills.He had a magical smile and a good sense of humour.The guy liked her innosence , her smile and her clarity of thought. Time just flew by and then they parted ,saying bye to each other.Somewhere deep down the girl realized that the boy likes her , by the look in his eyes. Now was the time of decision making.A life time decision in 45 minutes.She never thought she could do that.She did not know why she felt he was the one! She also said yes! Probably she gave up to his honesty.

So all was fixed and they were given a day to know each other better , before the guy would go back to Bangalore , until the day of engagement.They roamed around Delhi roads and chatted.They wanted to stop the ticking clock, but the day passed by and they said Good bye.
That was not all.They started talking over the phone daily. From 5 to 15 minutes , soon to an hour and then 2. They thought of asking some discounts from the service providers. The two starngers soon became best of friends and more than that.

They met again at their engagement and sneaked looks at each other among the ceremonies.They got to meet twice ,the next day and then again on the day when he left for Bangalore.The phone conversations continued to grow longer.

Valentine day was just 2 days before their wedding and among the wedding preps they could bribe and pamper their sister in laws to arrange a 30 minutes meeting.They sat in a not so happening restaurant at 11.00 in the morning.The restaurant's day was just started and so they faced the curious looks from the waiters and stewards. They could hardly talk that day.Just 2 days and they will be together forever.The girl did not know what to talk.She did not know how to hold the excitement of being together and the fear of leaving a lot behind.She heard that marriage brings a peculiar feeling for a girl and she was realizing it with each passing day and each passing minute.

The boy and the girl are now a couple , happily enjoying love and life.

Fetish and Me :O

NM has tagged me for having Fetish about something.Fetish and Me ..ummm ..thinking...oh yes..but thats for more than one :-P ..is that okay NM :-)

So here I go.
1. I have fetish about bags.I have atleast a dozen handbags and to add to more I am lazy to use them often.While we shifted the house my husband was amazed to see that one rack of my cupboard was full of just handbags :P.Worse is still to come ..I don't feel like throwing them, so I have some with broken zips too :P

2. And about clothes but you know thats not my fault ;-) My diameter keeps on changing so often... :P(my favourite excuse ..ohh ..not just an excuse though ..sigh..). So I have an overflowing cupboard and 2 suitcases for JUST ME !! And hey ..I would love to wear all the variety if my body allows :)

3. About Greeting cards , sending and receiving and then collecting them.And yes ..each word should match the feeling.But off late ..I don't receive any ..thanks to the technology and even I am not sending regularly.

4. Last but not the least..I had fetish about key chains in school and college and whenever I would visit a place all I would buy will be a key chain and a hand bag :)

Yep, thats it.I know you cannot stop laughing and my husband will so very happy to read that I finally admitted all this :-) So just to make others smile ..I confessed. Passing this on to Pixie,Poppin and WIAN. Come on ..Give a try ..I am sure you will also have more than one !