A Menace called Rickshaw drivers !

Today I want to focus and concentrate on something that has annoyed me since a long time and the state of affairs just seem to be getting worse. Its been a really long time since autorickshaws have been plying on Mumbai streets. Years ago I clearly remember never having a problem with getting a rickshaw for commute from one destination to another. The rickshaw drivers were courteous and cooperative. I cannot clearly recall when and how things changed and why! But currently it has deteriorated to such an extent that it can be tolerated no more purely because there can be no justification to the behaviour and demands of these drivers.

Firstly they callously refuse to take you from one place to another, which if someone could just remind them is precisely what they and their vehicles are meant for. Earlier, they had issues about going from east to west or vice versa. Now they even have issues taking you within the east or the west. For those who know Mumbai and the suburban areas well, would understand the following. There are times I have tried to hail a rick from SV road santacruz to say SV road khar or bandra, just one straight road, and they have refused. Sometimes I actually feel like asking them if they would rather fly somewhere because they seem to have issues going anywhere and everywhere. Then there are those that will tell you that they will take you to a certain point and not beyond or into a particular area. And the tone is more like they are doing you some favour, though its on their terms and conditions. At such times, firstly people should ideally tell them to buzz off or if desperate to get somewhere just say 'Ok I will pay you less than what the meter reads cos you are not taking me where I want to go'! Then another norm these days seems to be them not having/ wanting to return change back to you. An easy way for them is just to say that they dont have it. Breaking signals is their right and they do it all the time ,even in stark daylight , which not to mention adds to the ever increasing traffic and creates more of a commotion. Thanks to all this our city just seems to be getting more and more uncivilised by the day and chaos seems to be the order of the day. Another aspect that almost always baffles me is that you may be going from point X to point Y almost daily ie the same route and the same place and the meter reading almost is different everytime. Once in a while you can blame it on the traffic or some other factor but not every single time. Its like say you have to go to a place which you know will be a minimum fare of Rs 11, given the distance, but in my experience and that of many others I knwo, it ranges from 11 to 15 or even more sometimes. If that is not a case in point of meter tampering then what is !!!

Then are the days of some problems that the city faces in the form of heavy rains or some other such aspects and again these very asses have the gall to ask for more fare and not go by the meter. Some heart and some audacity! I clearly remember that even on days of the train blasts some rickshaw drivers asked for more fare to transport people. These are days when they should have ideally gone out of their way to cooperate with the irate and vulnerable public and help tehm out in whichever way they could. But instead they added to their woes and stress by acting like totally irresponsible heartless human beings!

According to me, by far, the worst that they have done and continue to do is when they turn down old, invalid people. That is downright inhuman and unacceptable. I have heard of people complaining that they literally plead with them to take them where they need to go especially if its an emergency situation and someone needs to get to a doctor or a hospital, and they still refuse to cooperate. Its so disheartening to see an old person standing on the road and trying hard to hail a rick with no luck and most ricks just saying NO and going off like they have something better to do than their very own job. At such times I often wish we were empowered with certain rights as citizens to take strong action against such offenders or complain to an authority, which for once will handle this sort of stuff efficiently.

Most times we as women might just feel why take panga with such people as you never know what kind of an idiot you are dealing with and what if you get into trouble etc. We read incidents in the newspapers where these guys get violent. In the recent past an old man lost his life because he got into an arguement/ fight with one such character and then a gang of other drivers joined him to harass and beat up the old man who was eventually hurt on his head and lost his live eventually! These incidences do give you perspective and you wonder if its worth getting into any kind of interaction or dialogue with these people. To add to that we also have a conditioning that goes,' ke aise logon ke mooh nahi lagte' . The whole point is lagna bhi kaun chahta hai but how much nonsense can one tolerate! How long are we going to be held ransom to their whims and fancies. Today they have the guts to go on strike because they are being made answerable for their own follies. What kind of warped logic is that! In normal situations anyone not doing their job 'well' is also pulled up. Here, let alone "well", they are refusing to even do the very job they chose to do and they are allowed to get away with it, just because their union is handled by someone with the right connections and enough clout.

I think as citizens it might be a good start to give them a befitting reply by boycotting rickshaws for a day or like a weekend as the latter will not inconvenience people given that there is no pressure of reaching their work place etc! Maybe then, whether or not it makes a difference to them monetarily, atleast as citizens we are sending out a loud and clear message that their blackmail and bull shit will not be tolerated. If you are here to do a job just shut up and do it. As it is we deal with their fuss almost on a daily basis apart from dealing with ever increasing and tampered with fares. And the least we deserve is that our commute should be peaceful and problem free in the otherwise chaotic city that we live in!

Are we really so HELPLESS!!!!????

My next post was supposed to be a happy one .... I wanted to write about my serene monsoon getaway and another overdue one..which I promised my friend Asha ... that on Gulzar ... For now these two will have to wait ......... My frame of mind is different ....It is a mix of emotions ...... that of anger, fear, hurt, hatred, vulnerability, helplessness and the list goes on......

Another bomb blast and another list of innocent victims ....The common man is angry, and all that he gets to hear is a series of monotonous and shallow assurances ...... The same words , the cliched speech ...... it almost makes one nauseous.... and one cannot help but wonder .. " are we really that helpless"........ as usual there is a public outrage ... there are many questions and no answers ..... is the common man's life so invaluable and worthless ?!How long are we going to continue to be targets whilst the government continues to be as inefficient as ever and blurt out absurdities in the name of explanations that are as foolish as they are unbelievable........

How many terrorist attacks does it take to pull up our socks and say 'enuff is enuff".....On the one hand we have India which short of laying out a red carpet for these terrorists has done everything to make such attacks conducive ..... and on the other hand we have 'The Big daddy" who goes right into countries and flushes out the terrorists, with or without proof..... They just avenge and owe no explanations to anyone ....... and is that not the way it should be.. Its only logical apart from being the only way to send out a clear and loud message to anyone and everyone who harbours such malintentions........If not anything else, atleast our country can take a lesson or two from the way America goes about these matters ..... The recent operation which smoked out Osama is certainly a case in point........

Another factor that is absolutely annoying and provoking is the fact that such a big deal is made out of our spirit and resilience ...... Honestly is there any other option or choice?! Life has to go on and no one can afford to sit home 24/7 given that this fear lurks around all the time.....

We have a Qasab whose fate still hangs when ideally and as per law he is th eone who should....... A news channel reported that the government has already spent close to 32 crores on him...... even if that is an exaggerated figure , any approximate estimate would still be a huge one and a total waste of our resources all the same ....... Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.... And what more proof than having soild evidence in the form of footage of CCTV cameras ........ You have this man who went about killing people ruthlessly and it was for the world to see...... and then we have a mercy petition for the same ..... How absurd and ridiculous is that?! And then we have the issue of human rights.... what about the human rights of those who lost their precious lives in these attacks .... Didnt they have the right to live .. Why dont the human right activists fight for that ............

The politicians have high level security and they havent even earned it ...... What kind of a warped constitution decides these things ...... These corrupt selfish morons need to be protected but the average citizen of this country is always left to fend for himself .....how should he go about his own security and save himself from these coward dastartdly acts committed by lunatics in the name of religion .........Why cant we have a system in place where the 'aam aadmi' receives the security and protection that he rightfully deserves, even if that means diverting the resources and stripping the netas of their protective shield and cover.......

Maybe we need a high profile figure to be targetted to take terrorism as a serious threat to the very fabric of this nation and all that it stands for......Im not sadistic but at the same time I feel its high time that something happens which forces the government to pay enough attention to these matters and do the needful, which has been long overdue.......Or maybe we need another "Anna Hazare" type of movement to bring about a change or atleast set things in motion.......

Its sad that we have become so immune that any news of a terrorist attack just makes us numb after sometime.. We go through all the same emotions and at the end just feel helpless! And that is the bigger question ... Are we really and actually that helpless or are we just made to feel that way by the same silly reassurances that serve to be just lip service rather than a genuine ray of hope ......... Its become such a joke now ..... Some loonies come in, plant bombs , kill innocent people and walk away feeling proud and satisfied while we rave and rant which anyway falls on deaf ears ......And at the end of it all we have our home minister saying some rubbish like this time around we had better systems in place and the police did a better job..... Of what ???!!!! And a robot of a prime minister assuring the country that we will not succumb to these acts of terror ..... Its like everytime something like this happens, it looks like some button has been switched on and he delivers his ridiculous sppeech and then the button is automatically turned off!! I have yet to hear a more monotone speech than the one this man delivers each time.......We succumb time and again and we have this wonderful man, supposedly at the helm of affairs making such false, empty promises on behalf of a nation that is tired and angry, and certainly does not voice the same sentiment as his, but all the same does not know what to do ......... Like I read somewhere or someone said, we do not know whats worse .. these terrorists that come from outside and attack us or the internal terrorists in the form of the politicians who are corroding the roots and foundation of our wonderful country.........

I end this feeling the anguish, the insecurity and the despair as I do not know what lies ahead, for us............ I do not know when the common man will feel safe enough leaving his home for work and be assured that he will return home safely at the end of a laborious and hard day .........I do not know when there will no more be a fear in the eyes of the near and dear ones of a bread winner when they bid him goodbye at the start of a day ..... I do not know when we will feel safe enough to visit places like malls, markets,places of worship and theatres without the dread of being blown up into pieces...........

And the fact that I do not know .......makes me feel helpless enough!!!!

Insomnia .......

Insomnia strikes again...... sounds almost like a disease or an epidemic which has suddenly raised its ugly head yet again....... And while I write this, I realise that Im not the only nocturnal creature awake at this unearthly hour .... I hear voices of the lovely people staying downstairs ..... At first I ask .. are these voices in my head... do I think im hearing things which Im actually not ... and it freaks me out so I decide that it must be the people living under us ..... Its strange how u get the most weird, unwanted thoughts at times like these ....... and then u realise that its best not to entertain them ........ U wud rather get thoughts that choose to entertain u at such times......

So back to the sleeplessness bit....... I wasted 3 hours just "trying" to sleep and then when the radio also refused to cooperate given that the cell went dead, was when I finally pushed myself out of bed and decided to make some good use of this wonderful phenomenon called Insomnia ....... Till date I have rarely used this to my advantage ... In other words I have almost never used this time period constructively ..... Its so ingrained that " U shud try to sleep nahi toh jitni neend aa rahi hai ya aanewali hai, woh bhi chali jayegi"...... and then you wonder who the hell came up with this hogwash... Kahin mil jaaye toh uski neend bhi uda dein....... The conditioning is so strong that it takes long and arduous effort to break away from ......

The next thought is trying to identify and pin down the culprit who has been responsible for this state ... and after much thought the only thing that comes to mind is that I had tea rather late this evening .... And though this is a pattern and it always follows the same cause and effect path ... I still feel ...What the hell ya .. so what if I had tea late ...... why should that be a problem but like many other questions , this one too does not have an answer.. If it does , it does and u just have to take it in ur stride and do what u have to do which ideally is not have tea afte a certain time..... Im still not convinced but it has happened way too often to not be convinced ........ So if I dont learn I have to face the consequences or not being a good learner ........

This time around another "ullu" friend of mine was up and awake as she is now on way to fetch her darling hubby from the airport ... So till now we exchanged a few smses and I finally took her advice and started to write my blog.......

And the first thought was .. what better subject to write on than this ..... And just when I was about to begin, I heard some growling sounds from my tummy so I decided to start by nourishing and feeding it.....I wanted the creative juices to flow better, so as to facilitate the thought flow needed for writing rather than being distracted with the hunger pangs...... Since I wanted them to flow in the direction of my brain and not my tummy I gave in and ate my favourite Bourbon biscuits..... after which I felt satiated and began to write .......

As I logged in, the yahoo home page came on and suddenly there was this pop up of "shaadi.com" which said ... 'meet ur life partner on shaadi.com" ... I suddenly felt nauseous and the whole joy of eating bourbon just vanished ......The kind of people I have come across and actually met when I accessed that site, the less said the better .. I wud have rather seen an ad flashing which stated.. " meet a partner and then suffer life imprisonment together"........ Before my nausea could grow more I quickly got out of there and got down to doing what I had set out to.......

Its been an incessant downpour all night and somehow , for once I dont know why but Im not enjoying it.......I dont know if thats part of this whole syndrome...... I just chatted with another friend now in America ... on such occasions the time difference is such a boon and a blessing ..... U feel less isolated and lonely......... Now she is gone so Im back to my writing .......

On most nights like these I just listen to music on my cell and try to sleep....... Sometimes God is kind also .. atleast he makes sure the songs being aired are soulful and enjoyable and sometimes he is so kind that all the songs are your favourites ... but the epitiome of his kindness is when most of the favourites are also associated with or remind u of a feeling , emotion or a memory long forgotten or dug away deep inside somewhere ......... The painful chord is struck and then suddenly it gets raked up all over again.... So along with insomnia, as a bonus, u also get to enjoy these perks ...... The only phrase that comes to mind to throw more light on this kind of a situation is " when rape is inevitable u may as well lay back and enjoy it"............

The good thing is that now my mind is distracted enough and Im flowing with the writing process...... though in bits and pieces I am reminded of my long day tomorrow and how it will go since I have a track record of being cranky, whiney and irritable when Iv not had my fair share of sleep..... And the cherry on the cake is when on such days I have my counselling sessions ...... At such times I almost feel like telling my client.." ok we are doing a role reversal today :)" .... The only trick on such days is to be as busy as possible so u have no time to think and the day just passes by and before u know it , night arrives and then u can look forward to some good quality sleep ........Sleeping in the day is not a good idea as that screws up my body clock even more .....

By now Im actually listening to many voices and people laughing loudly .... And Im like .. wow people do this by choice as well.. as in the 'staying up' bit .. but the people downstairs are pure night birds .. they are up almost all night and must be catching upon some beauty sleep in the day ..... On most nights my house floor vibrates because they blast on music and have parties way too often...... In jest I have invited the lady owner of that house to come over and experinece the wonderful vibrations herself the next time around, and all she does is smile and the suddenly laughs out loud ..... and dashes any hope I have that this pattern might end .....I know she has no intention to change anything..... And then from somewhere another thought pops up which says ...'Atleast someone is enjoying life to the hilt irrespective of what others think or feel'...... And sometimes depending on my mood I either think ...'what the hell... we shud complain .. how can u not think that you are disturbing others' or then..' what the hell.. they are only having a good time which by no yardstick is a crime'....... So all in all I just let it go..........

Its 4.30 am and all I have are some teeny weeny bits of sleep in my eyes and I know if I even try to go to bed in this state, all optimistic and hopeful, that my sleep will befriend me and we can sleep together happily ever after ..... this myth will be busted as soon as I hit the bed and all Il do thereafter is toss and turn for the next couple of hours .......A total waste all over again.... So not worth it .......

The feeling that your halfway there but have still not been able to cross over to the other side and cover the entire distance to your sleep, is not a good feeling at all...... It leaves you even more restless than when you started out.......I can still hear the pitter patter of raindrops outside my window .... this time softer than earlier...... almost sounding like they are also tired and want some respite ........


5am and am wondering ... should I really call it a day or actually a night and try to go to bed ... Am undecided and unsure which doesnt leave me feeling too great.... And suddenly something happens which transforms my confused state to one of certainty as to what Im going to do next.....My mother walks through the door and throws a glance which has " have you lost ur marbles' written all over it and Im quite sure that all I want to do now is to go straight back to my room and jump into my bed whether or not I get sleep otherwise tomorrow I might get a nice sermon of a concerned mother or rather concerned parents...... Anyway, since I have nothing more coming to me in the form of words, I kinda decide to end this piece and sign out ......... Till ofcourse my uninvited guest decides to knock on my door yet again.......

Better late than never ..........

I could not think of a very patriotic title for this post so this is kind of a working title ...... It will remain so if I cannot think of a better one by the time I finish writing this ..........

This post is for all thats happening in our country at present ...... We all wanted this ... we wanted to see a change or atleast the begining of it but none of us knew what to do or where to start ...... We just felt so small and insignificant in being instrumental in bringing about any change and kept justifying it by saying 'what can a few handful of people with good /right inetentions do'....At the same time we were also so pessimistic that we almost always said 'nothing will change ... this country and the systems here suck'..

And ONE MAN , who is 74 years old has taken the initiative and proved us all wrong and HOW! .... One tiny man, with high stature has done the 'so called impossible'..........Given the skepticism which is so ingrained and which is so much part of our conditioning due to all that we see around us, day in and day out , still makes me feel, "I hope I/WE am/are not speaking too soon"........

I had heard of things that happened as part of our freedom struggle and seen them in movies ..... But what it really feels like, is what we are all getting to see now ..... Maybe its too premature to talk like that or feel elated, but it certainly gives more than a ray of hope to all of us who have just cribbed and ventilated about the sorry state of affairs in this nation .........

But even if this is mometary ( and I hope its not) ,I want to soak in all its glory .....Its so heartening for a change, to see the police providing a security cover to Anna Hazare and his supporters , rather than to a bunch of moronic buffoons (politicians) who have most certainly not earned it nor are worth it .......

The humungous crowds, all chanting in one voice that we want to do away with corruption and providing whole hearted support in whatever capacity they can to this great man's greater vision .......This is so amazing to say the least .......

And again from a common person's perspective I think the media is doing a good job and getting across that voice to people all over the world ... It feels reassuring to hear callers from different parts of the world , like New Zealand, America etc calling in to support this noble cause and say that if this bill is passed and if it looks like something will really be done against corruption , they would want to come back to their own country as these are the very issues that made them think of relocating in the first place .........Or to see Indian people lead marches in other parts of the world where all Indians have come out in huge numbers ...... It just shows how U can take an Indian away from India but u cannot take India away from an Indian..... Indian always at heart and proud to be so!!!!!!!!

For once the government seems all quiet after doing ridiculous things like calling Anna Hazare corrupt and trying to malign him or saying that this facade will die down and no one will be able to do anything and the fuuniest or the most insane thing I have heard a minister saying is US is behind all this ......Till now they only tried our patience , now they are even trying our intelligence ...... The fact that this movement is happening right under their nose is a tight slap on face of the government and they should ideally bow their heads down in shame because the writing on the wall is very clear for once and it shouts out aloud and says, " We put our faith and trust in you, voted for you and see how terribly you failed us "........Any self respecting Party who is in power would give up their power and walk out if such a 'no trust' motion is being passed ... but we unfortunately are talking about power hungry, corrupt, hardened criminals so to speak who want to stick to their chairs and are so thick skinned that nothing affects them.......

Even at a time like this ... seeing our parliament in session is so amusing ..... the government in power and the opposition are busy slinging mud at each other and trying to pull each other down...... They all look like a bunch of uneducated and uncivilised people and they are actually the ones in power.. How very sad and disillusioning is that.........And what upsets me more is that we have given them that power ....... Is there no way to undo this damage ? Is there no way that someone like Anna and the likes of him form a political party and are voted into power however idealistic it may sound... Hopefully we can start afresh and on a clean slate .......

We have always had the option of only choosing between the frying pan/ fire or between the devil/deep sea....... Why dont we ever have a better option ........ When will we see a day where India is not seen as a corrupt country and the term politician will no longer be synonomous with hooligan, buffoon, bloodsucker, goonda, uneducated, uncivilised, corrupt, criminal, inadept and the list can be endless........

Today this movement signifies a "no confidence' vote BY the people .. Is that not enough to implement a change ????? What every Indian sees on any news channel on his t.v. set is PEOPLE POWER and I wish this does not die down.. I hope this gains more and more momentum by the day.......... And we all can continue to do our bits ..... visavis not buying tickets in black even if we are dying to see a particular film with our favourite movie stars in it, or not bribing a cop who was willing to cut out a receipt for a certain amount fr eg, Rs 200 but we paid him a 50 or a 100 to not do that just because we did not have the time to get into 'procedural' hassles, or we do not encourage donations which amount to ridiculous figures, just for getting our children into BIG schools which are more commercial organizations and have very little to do with academics ........ We are all guilty of what we are trying to do away with , though in smaller proportions, but we have contributed to the corruption in this country.........

If we want the CHANGE we have to be the part of it and instrumental in bringing it about and we have to be sure of our own principles visavis what we will /will not do just to make life either a little bit more easy for us or get away in the name of the typical 'sab chalta hai' attitude or console/ justify ourselves by sayin "mere ek ke na karne se kya fark padega" .... It may seem insignificant today but in the longer run it will certainly go a very long way when the singular translates into the plural!!! And we are all already witnessing a glimpse of what can happen if that comes about ........So never say never..... We have to change our own attitudes first ... We have to become law abiding , conscientious, civilised citizens of our own country and then we will ceratinly see the country of our dreams being turned into what we have always visualised it to be.......

Even as I end this piece ... the news channel is on and I see this frail looking ANNA seated in front of a huge picture of the MAHATMA....... One who was responsible for a revolutionary past and the other, hopefully a revolution in the near future ....... I still cannot believe the heart warming support in the form of thousands if not more, of Indians gathered on the ground to stand up as ONE against what we have already had enough of!!!!

I love my India !!!!!!!!!!!!

An Ode to Friendship.....

The title for most of my dear pals would be 'an ode to frandship' and they would understand .... :) Today on friendship day ..... I just feel like celebrating the spirit and essence of friendship ...... Life would really not be so interesting without friends .... They all add so much colour and flavour to our lives ..... I cannot imagine my life without my 'frands' ..... and Im talking about all.... the ones whom Iv known for years, but still dont remember when and how we became friends and honestly thats the last thing that really matters .. It just feels like we have known each other forever...... and the other ones who came into my life in the recent past and we have grown so thick in the shortest span of time ... that I almost wonder how these things happen........One of the wonders or miracles of nature .......and just as well cos I would like to have it no other way ........

And what really stands out for me is the "timing" of how someone who is practically just nothing more than a stranger, just walks into your life from nowhere and becomes someone so special and stays there for keeps..... Most of my dearest friends are the ones whom I havent really gone and seeked out .. They just came into my life by chance and circumstances and became an integral part of my life ... I feel a lot of gratitude towards someone up there cos this certainly wud not be possible without his grace ........

The happy times become far more enjoyable and memorable when there are friends to share them with and the sad or tough times become so much less stressful and easier to cope with, only cos of the support and love of true friends who are always such strong pillars of strength standing by our side whenever we need them.......

Whether its something sad to share and offload , or something happy to enjoy, or something bitchy to gossip about, or then last but not the least, the pure unadulterated nonsense and madness, the fun is in doing all this ONLY with ur pals .........

To me , friendship means ..... fun, laughter, joy, heart to heart chats , sharing some of my most silly thoughts and most quirky moments ....... to be able to be myself totally without the fear of being judged or condemned....... to be there for your friend through both their best and worst , to be able to take off on each others whims, fancies, idiosyncracies and quirks but at the same time not let them affect the love and feeling you have for each other.......to be able to be completely crazy and do mad stuff that you can remember and laugh about for years to come..... and to cherish all this, always and forever :)

I always think that people who have good friends are truly blessed.... and Im fortunate to have some really lovely people as friends in my life ........So on this friendship day this one is certainly dedicated to all my dearest pals whom I cannot imagine life without :)

Normally words come so easy to me on any and every topic and this one is really close to my heart so I thought there wont be a derth here , but suddenly I am at a total loss ... maybe Im just overwhelmed!

Had stopped writing midway as went to meet my friends at barista in honour or friendship day .... and am resuming it now........ and I realise that there still is a lot to say or share but am not finding the words ... Somethings can just be felt and cannot always be expressed in words ........ And today evening's meeting also highlighted that ...... The group together ... laughin , chatting away , reminiscing old times , talking a fair load of senseless stuff and still enjoying oursleves to the hilt...... and ofcourse missing the rest of the group members along with their unique quirks .......

Something that happened this evening would sum up this piece very well cos it depicts the true essence of friendship ....
Barista was unusually cold with strong air conditioning and I had worn a sleeveless top, not realising that it would be that cold within .. Given our past few experiences at the same barista we have usually complained about the AC not working at all ..... My friend Manjusha had a shawl on her and she offered it to me which I politely declined cos I knew she would need it as feels very cold ..... But she insisted that I wrap it around myself as I was just about recovering from a viral ...... I still tried to resist but she did not relent so I wrapped it around me and felt comforted and warm instantly .... Alongside we tried to get the guy there to turn the AC down but that did not happen for quite awhile ..... During that time I knew that my friend was feeling quite cold herself, but did what she did cos that was the concern of a friend ..... To me thats FRIENDSHIP ...... These are the gestures that just throw light on what friends are all about and what friendship really means ....... And if you are true genuine friends then this comes so naturally ...... None of us would think twice or even make a big deal about something like this cos thats what most of us would do, given the way we feel for each other .....

I have just put this out in words .. It sounds descriptive but the feel of it is as overwhelming as it is fulfilling! There are many many more such instances that keep happening between 'friends' and just add to this whole journey of FRIENDSHIP that we have all embarked upon together................. Its like a comforter that completely engulfs you and provides enough warmth to take care of yourself when you need to......

So this one goes out to all my lovely lovely friends who have been with me and continue to do so...... We have built a treasure of memories of all these lovely moments spent together, which I truly cherish.......... And here's to many many more memorable ones in the times to come.......... Love you all...............

Satsang........

Have been meaning to write this one for quite some time now.... Like my wednesdays, my tuesday evenings have also become magical and mystical .. in a different way..... My parents recently did an 'art of living' course...... I had myself done it years ago..... Did not really follow up .. somehow the place I did it from couldnt captivate me .... Maybe a lack of connect?! There are some aspects of AOL that i still dont and cant relate to ... but overtime one thing i have learnt is that in anything u do .. take what resonates with u and leave the rest..... So the one thing about AOL that i can relate to and works for me are their "bhajans" and the "satsang"....Even then, i remember absolutely loving their bhajans .... So this time around when my parents did their course and were told that there will be bhajans every tuesday evening at the same venue where they did the course, i had decided that i will try and attend .....

I couldnt go the first time as i had my session with a client who has been coming for the longest time on tuesday evenings.... And it so happened that the following tuesday my client cudnt make it for some reason, which now in retrospect i look at as a blessing in disguise...... So that blessed and destined tuesday i accompanied my parents... and the entire experience was nothing less than divine......

To begin with, the environment is particularly conducive given that the venue is the living room of a sprawling appartment overlooking the sea at Carter road..... The view from there is nothing short of spectacular! And the vibes of the place are lovely.....The session begins with a "guru puja" where the diya is lit along with the chanting of mantras...... This sets the mood for a beautiful evening which unfolds even more magically! There are always atleast a couple of singers per session, if not more .... Needless to say they have amazing voices....... One after another , the most melodious bhajans are rendered..... And gradually you find urself being transported into a different world altogether..... I usually sit with my eyes closed..... and after awhile I am in some other space .... and its only when i open my eyes that i realise where i am and that there are so many people around me..... That feeling has to be experienced cos words cannot really do justice to what u feel ...... Its like being in a crowd but still being in and by urself .... in a good way!!! Somewhere during this I feel connected to what people normally refer to as one's 'higher self'..... and u also feel tuned to that core within u which is silence personified and where probably ur spirit resides ..... This is the closest i have ever come to being in a truly meditative state ...... Music always does that to me but the satsang experience is truly exceptional....

Its so rightly put that " if music is the food for love .... play on......" cos u actually feel this phrase coming alive at the end of the session .... where u feel something in u has changed and is full of "love"....... U feel so light ...... Its almost magical...........A truly divine feeling.....

Personally for me, whenever a male sings the bhajans , it touches me far more than a female voice...... It may sound strange or absurd but the male voice somehow penetrates much deeper and touches my soul ..... Although the last tuesday there was this lovely lady who sang most of the bhajans and she came quite close to most of the male voices i have heard so far! The energy, the zest, the joy, the dedication and last but not the least the "love" with which they all sing is so heart warming..... 'Total surrender' is also something i have seen come alive when i see these lovely people perform........ They are so "into" the whole process that its magnetic and as the session gains momentum, the cumulative energy of everyone present becomes so electrifying that u feel like a live wire urself.....

A special quality of the AOL satsang is the fact that they are far from the typical cliched bhajans or bhajan sessions , the way we know them to be...... The first thing that comes to mind when someone says im goin to attend 'bhajans' .... is that some middle aged/old person is probably singing some very slow songs in a monotone and boring voice.... atleast this is what i used to think earlier.....But attending the AOL bhajans has completely changed that for me..... The most unique and endearing part of these sessions are that some of the bhajans are sung in 'rock' style..... I was and still am so pleasantly surprised to see and experience that...... also sometimes suddenly in the middle of a bhajan the singer sings a para or a couple of lines from a famous hindi/english number and it is so beautifully blended in the bhajan, that it always leaves me smiling!

All else apart .. the highlight of the evening is something that still amazes and amuses me..... The owner of the house where the satsang is held, has a cute little poodle..... That cute little creature comes and sits down quietly while the satsang is on and i have yet to hear a sound from that dog.... I have never heard him/her bark of even let out a sigh........ Its one of the most happy and peaceful dogs i have ever seen.....Even my parents vouch for the fact that during their entire course there, they have never witnessed the dog make a sound... It would come and sit quietly without disturbing anyone...... It almost feels like the dog mustve also done AOL and follows it closely :) There honestly is no other explanation to this one ... It never follows anyone or goes to anyone, licks them etc .. It goes only to those who call it and want to play with it or cuddle it ..... For me this is nothing short of a miracle..... Im sure the vibe of the place and the whole process must be rubbing off on the dog bigtime...... Nothing else seems to explain the peaceful and serene presence of this creature who never makes its presence felt other than doing some happy jigs occasionally where it looks so happy that it lays itself on the ground , back touching the floor and throws its body around, from one side to another ......

I am so glad to attend the satsang that i look forward to my tuesday evenings .. My client has been kind enough to reschedule our tuesday sessions to fridays .. God bless him , cos given a choice and chance I wudnt want to change this new routine or miss the satsang for anything in the world..... I can literally feel my spirit being fed ...... And God knows that it needs to be fed bigtime :)

So here's to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the AOL for this wonderful thing they started called "Satsang' .............

Homemakers........

To me the term 'women of substance' is actually a no brainer, in a sense......Most women always have substance ... They are just made of that material.....God made them like that.....Ofcourse how they use that substance within is a different aspect altogether.... Some may make it an essence and others a menace :)

Anyway as this post unfolds i guess it will become more clear as to what i really mean.... Its all very nice and great when women become achievers in todays' world.. like being highly educated, having great jobs, holdin great positions,managing home, husband, kids , inlaws etc .... Women can be efficient multi taskers ...........I always have tremendous regard for women as they juggle between so many roles and responsibities......

One set of women who are totally undervalued and also guilty of not valuing themselves enough are the 'housewives', who for some reason i prefer to call 'homemakers'..... The latter term is more apt as i feel it conveys the true essence of what they do along with conveying a sense of dignity and appreciation as well....... For all practical and other purposes they truly "MAKE" a house a home......A house is just a concrete structure and becomes a home just because the woman tends to it with so much TLC! One day if women dont do the things that they do on a daily basis, the whole structure will crumble....you can see the mess and how everything goes haywire.......A man reports sick for a day or takes the day off his office will still run smoothly .. but one day if a woman decides to take an off or report sick a house can never run, forget smoothly.........

It makes me feel deeply sad when i often or rather very often hear women say " im ONLY a housewife"......... Its sounds so absurd .... U do everything in the house and u call urself 'only' a housewife ......If u ask someone who is employed and working somewhere, have u ever heard anyone say ...."im only an architect/accountant/teacher etc etc", when in the literal sense the word 'only' would be much more apt there as they do 'only ' that job.....Housewife or homemaker is not classified as a profession or a meaningful vocation and thats where we all falter...... If it were given the necessary value , respect and importance it would surely rank as one of the highest paid and most esteemed position/rank there ever was.........And if this is tough to believe, a good way to assess this would be, the next time u meet any homemaker ask her about her regular day, what its like, when it starts , all that she packs in a day and what all she achieves and what all is expected of her, U will clearly know what im talking about apart from the fact that it will be very insightful and informative at the same time......

I feel that women who are homemakers need to value and respect themselves much more .... And so do everyone around them..... Managing the A-Z of the workings of a home, apart from inlaws and kids ... phew .... its just tiring to even think about it,let alone live it day in and day out, without really burning out or breaking down ..... .... Agreed that in this day and age some things are simpler with the technology around and labour that we have but despite all that ... to even oversee it or be part of it in any capacity is huge..... Being a hands on wife, daughter in law and a mother at the same time is a tall order and doing it every single day without a break is superhuman .... In any office there is atleast one if not 2 days off that u get in a week ... How many times have we heard women say 'im takin a day off from my role as a home maker'...... Or " i have a 5/6 day week" And they so deserve that and i feel they earn it bigtime for themselves, given all that they do.....

Most or rather many of us belong to a generation where our moms have been homemakers .. Today when i look back i realise what a great and noble job they have done and how most often it was always taken for granted ... We never thought of the hard work, the sense of duty, the love and dedication that went behind every meal that was always cooked and served on the table before we even got hungry or ready to eat......... and how often did we really end up appreciating that ...... or showing gratitude for it ..... On the contrary we possibly made a fuss and threw tantrums about what was not there or how we did not like what was cooked ...... Sometimes when i say something to my mother, in sheer ignorance or silliness .... all she says in return is "U will know when u get married, have home of ur own and have kids of ur own as well" and that hits the nail on the head...... I have friends who can swear by this statement and totally vouch for it, as they have been there, done that ........... I guess we will realise and empathise when we are in the same situation....

There is just one desire ....that women who are homemakers take themselves more seriously and have more self admiration along with self respect for being who they are..... Being a homemaker is one of the most thankless jobs, only second to that of being a mother, if at all we were to classify and categorise, and i use the word job here , for the sheer want of a better word..... Imagine doing so much , not getting paid or even expecting a remuneration for it, and not even being appreciated ... how sad is that really .......

It amuses me to think that if, one fine day 'homemakers' are so empowered and realise their own worth what will we all get to witness......and the first thought that comes is that we all might just get into a lot of trouble...... Imagine if someone were to come up with a brainwave or an idea of forming a union of homemakers, and being a part of that means being able to have rules and regulations, do's and don'ts, have a new set of demands from time to time, go on strike , demanding wages/ salaries( cant put 'higher wages' here though that wudve been ideal), perks and benefits, gratuity, retirement , pension etc...

And if an idea truly has the power to change your life , then believe me this "idea" would certainly change not only an individual life but a lot of lives on a colective and much larger scale :)