Tea Story

This video made me nostalgic and reminded me of my own experiences with tea at home, workplace and how a simple cup of tea played a very crucial role in my life.

Prior to getting married, my morning ritual comprised of waking up to the noise of vessels being washed by mom and the aroma of ginger tea brewing on the stove in the wee hours of morning. I would leave the bed, go to brush my teeth and in the meanwhile my mom would be ready to relish her first round of tea. She would ask in a teasing child-like tone- “Chakhmi? Badi badhiya banlo hei” (Wanna taste? It’s come out really well.) I do not drink tea empty stomach. But hearing her ask like that is impossible to refuse. I would rush to kitchen to fetch a small bowl or a cup whatever i can lay my hands on and rush back to her lest my sisters reached before me and there is nothing left to even taste. Just 2 sips of it and few minutes of conversations, laughter was enough to charge up for the whole day.

When I started working, for quite sometime tea time was a lonely affair. After a couple of days I even stopped drinking it as it was depressing to have it alone. And then just like that blogging happened. I made friends with a couple of bloggers who were in the same location as mine and we bonded for life over a cup of tea. The tea break used to be the most interesting part of the day. Sharing a small cup of tea with a friend, hogging over stuff ordered by another hungry friend, teasing and leg pulling the time would just fly. One of my managers would often comment how fresh I looked at the end of the day like am just walking in to work.

Later when I moved to a different location and project I didn’t eve have a team to interact with. There was no reason or excuse to interact with people sitting around as they were in other projects. After a couple pf days of boring evenings I looked at the girl sitting beside me and asked her if she would like to join me for tea? She readily agreed and invited her other friends as well. There were 3 of us and we bonded really quick. Thanks to wonderful cup of tea. After that day, irrespective of how busy we were, how critical the deliverable were, we met at sharp 4PM to recharge ourselves and get ready to face the day.

I might not be in touch with many of the people I connected with over tea but the conversations and experiences I had with them is forever etched in my memory.

Tea to me is all those wonderful memories and experiences stirred in the warmth of love in a small cup.

What’s your tea story?

A Walk To Remember

I read a very cute post from a very dear friend of mine and she inspired me to pen down my own story 🙂 

It was 2012. Me and my husband (then friend) were really good friends since 2010. We were working in same office and had same set of friends. We used to hang out for a while after office hours over half a cob of corn. Sometimes our other friends joined us, other times it was just the two of us chit-chatting under the star-lit-sky sharing our joys, issues, sibling-stories, mother-stories, defects he was working on, embarrassing-process-of-groom-hunt and so on. It had become a routine that we all looked forward to.

I was very sure I will have an arranged marriage. I used to assure my mom that she need not worry as people fell in love only in school and colleges and that after starting work we are pretty mature to get involved with anybody. Feeling challenged cupid must have struck me with it’s arrow that very moment I guess. 

One evening I was meeting a friend after office hours and thus had to skip our usual meet up. Upon knowing about the meet, he teased that I had a date with the friend. I retorted that going by the logic I have had many dates with him. He smiled. I asked him if he was jealous? And he accepted that he was. Not knowing what to say I just smiled back. He declared that I owe him a date. A proper one.  

So we planned our “official date” and met for a movie which was the safest option and didn’t invite too many questions from parents. After the movie he offered to walk me till the bus stop. While crossing the road our hands brushed and making use of the opportunity he held my hand. Not knowing what else to do, I just held his hand back tightly and we walked under the star-lit-sky silently. 🙂 

This was the story of my first “official” date. What’s yours? 🙂

55-Fiction

A couple of 55- Fiction (Fiction written using exactly 55 words or less) I wrote a while ago but missed to post them here. Actually I had totally forgotten I have a blog. 😀

1-

He sits there staring at me with hawk like eyes,
Waiting for me to leave my abode in broad day light,
Wanting a glimpse of my curvaceous body and grace,
He walks towards me in a silent slow pace.
Well, I also love to taunt him and tease,
As I fly around flapping my Wings.

• This is an ode to all photographers who wait patiently for a perfect picture of the beautiful bird(s)

2-

He was nervous. Just like he is before every show. His heart was constricting in nervousness. Keeping his usual smile on, he walked his funny walk to the stage. The performance began and audience burst into fits of laughter. Brave he was, fell off smiling. The audience applauded.

• This was my failed attempt at writing something humorous 🙂

3-

I push the door open and my eyes fall on his handsome face. He has his charming smile on. He pulls me closer by my hand and I can’t look into his eyes. I tip toe to reach his face and, slap him across his right cheek.
The mosquito is finally dead. My turn now.

• Well, something romantic(??) to finish the post 😛

 

The Gender Stereotypes

Recently a colleague of mine asked me if am married and if I am, why do I stay late at office despite having extra responsibilities at home.  I asked him if he would have asked the same to a male colleague and the reply was yes. He said he would have asked if his wife doesn’t scold him for going home late.

There was another incident where another friend of mine asked me how do I get time to make dinner when I reach home so late. I said I don’t, my mother in law cooks. Knowing me well, he was little scared to speak his mind, afraid that I might eat him alive if I didn’t like what he had to say. He anyway gathered his guts and remarked- Actually post marriage you should be cooking for her not vice versa. And these are educated men who I am sure have never made even a cup of tea for their parents.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not here today to do the male bashing. Women equally contribute to it and most of us do not even think it as wrong because we  grow up seeing these gender defined roles and its etched in our subconscious.

Gender Stereotyping- Whether we realize it or not unconsciously we all contribute to it. Some might argue what is wrong with it. Both genders were designed for certain roles and for a perfect balance, peace and harmony its good to stick to it. Well, I call that cavemen thinking. We have evolved so much from the days when we needed these gender norms. And it is only stupid to still go by those rules. Gender stereotypes only establishes the feeling of one gender being superior to another. It gives meaning to the word “weaker sex”. It is the main culprit behind most women related issues. and boosts the social evils like- gender discrimination, dowry, female infanticide.

Here is my small attempt on the topic.

Stepping into the world
For the first time on my own
Excited and Nervous
of the adventures to unfold
Dressed in my best
I walked Confident and Bold
Until,
I heard someone say
It’s a man’s territory
How long would a woman role play?

Ignoring the ignorant, I kept up the pace
And met another along the race

The career you are now
struggling to build
Will soon be gathering dust
With your dreams
Time will slowly kill
All your desires
To be the woman
You now admire
You won’t be the person
You are today
And before you know
The confidence will fade away

It broke my heart, to see her give up
As I soared high, met another well wisher

The stony path of success
Will not be gentle on your heels
Been led all your life
How well will you lead?
Taught to give up
What is yours by right
In the real battle
How will you fight?
Confined to the four walls
You ought to be
The world is not safe
For a woman so free
How will you explain to them
Your will to fight the world
To carve a name for yourself
Among the great leaders
Who will even regard you
For what you achieve
It’s all about what you wear
And the looks that deceive
Worried for your good
You will be made to heed
A knight in shining armor
They say all you need
Caught up between family and work
You will do justice to none at all
Who will make your home
If you do the man’s job
With roles and responsibilities
Always clutching at your wings
How high will you soar
Carrying burden of everything
Every joy of a tiny success
Will fill you with guilt and regrets
Why don’t you be happy
Staying in your zone
Leave the world to the man
You make a beautiful home

I thought for a while
Of a befitting reply
There was truth in every word
Why did it then sound absurd?
Should I just give up and whine
Is dreaming big such a crime
Sitting in a comfort zone
I can’t blame the world and moan
Let them judge let them speak
I know I am not that weak
Every fall at every wrong
I will rise up strong
I will be the woman
I want to be
Conquer the world
And let them see!

A dream to remember

A wise person once said- A dream is not the one that you see when you are asleep rather the one that doesn’t let you sleep.

Ever heard anybody mention about dreams that neither let’s you sleep nor leaves you alone when you finally manage to fall asleep? Those are the scariest ones.

Last night after struggling, scratching, clapping, whining for hours finally I gave up and though the weather was really pleasant, closed the windows and switched on the AC to save myself from the wrath of mosquitoes and finally drifted off to sleep covering myself head to toe, only to encounter a giant one in my dreams.

It was a huge but colorful one. It slowly flew to me, batting it’s huge eyelids and sat on my legs to bite. I tried to catch it but it was really swift. Seeing my failed attempt, it grew courageous and approached me again, this time with grown confidence. But I got lucky and got hold of one of its wings. The confidence was no sooner replaced with fear and it didn’t take long to realize that this means the end of its life. With those big eyes brimming with tears and a sad face, it looked at me almost pleadingly. I thought it looked like a cute kitten then. No am not exaggerating. Even in my wildest dreams i would have never thought that the mosquitoes can be cute. But at that moment I was almost in dilemma when it tried to free itself from my hold and in the process the wing I was holding onto, detached. It then swiftly flew away all the time staring sadly at the broken piece of itself.

I thought I can finally sleep. But to my dismay even before I had closed my eyes it returned with a match stick to alight the broken wing lying on the bed. Before I could think, the wing was burning a beautiful crimson and it flew away leaving it to fall on my bed.

Now my bed was on fire. And that is how my dear friends I woke up this morning trying to douse the fire caused by the burning of the broken wing of a frigging mosquito.

Note: This is not a work of fiction. It happened in real 😛 Does that mean this post is a tribute to the imaginary giant mosquito and its broken wing? May be. I just needed an excuse to note it down. 

 

The Power Of Will

While walking to office today my mind wandered to my school days. I have many fond memories of those innocent childhood days but there is just one that pricks me till date. The day I let myself down.

I was into sports. I wasn’t very good at it but my will power was very strong even back then and I ran on that. I used to run 100m, 400m, 800m and hurdles. There is a small story that I would like to share with you.

I was 13/14 year old, don’t remember the year exactly. We had gone to a different school for a couple of days to represent our school in sports. There was a pretty girl among the many students who travelled with me and a couple of my class mates. I was going to run 800m that day along with that pretty girl from my school. Before the run the guys from my class were cheering her. I felt really jealous and of course hurt. Well, its natural, isn’t it? On your mark, get set, Go! And we ran. The voice of my classmates shouting her name was reverberating in my ears and that hurt more than my feet which was already sore from running on the horrible black sand at noon time. I lost my will to complete the run. We had to do two rounds of the ground and I stopped after one. The pretty girl stopped too. The cheering of people didn’t help her. I guess we both didn’t have the will to do it.

I regret it till date. I know I could have completed the run and even won. If only I had not let my confidence be shaken by others. If only I had kept my will power up to finish what I started. If only I didn’t feel like a loser even before the run started. If only I believed in myself more than my care for what others thought. If there is one thing that I could change in my past, I would go back to that day and finish my run. I don’t care if I win or lose but I just want to finish the run. But (un?)fortunately we can’t change our past. We can only learn from it and try to not repeat the mistakes.

Living our life is same in many ways. We run everyday with others against others but as long as we believe in ourselves, keep up our will to achieve,  and not let our confidence be shaken by what others say/think, nothing can stop us from completing the run. Just don’t quit until you complete your run.

10 things to do when it’s raining

1. Call in sick to office.

2. Sleep until your stomach starts to growl and make sandwiches for breakfast. 😀 I usually don’t like sandwiches but rain makes it yummy.

3. Go to the terrace and get drenched. Because the whole world is busy in office nobody will be there to watch what stupid things you do. Just put on some music and shake a leg or two.

4. Do not forget to take a selfie. While it’s important to enjoy it’s also important to make your friends jealous. Why? Hihihi because it’s fun to tease them. 😀

5. Dry yourself and stay curled up in bed whole day with your favorite novel and a cup of hot chocolate. 😀

6. The perfect companion on a rainy evening is a nice cup of hot ginger tea and roasted corn/Pakodas. I personally prefer corn. 😀

7. If from pouring like cats and dogs it changes to mild drizzling, take your umbrella and go for a rain walk. Put on something that won’t get wet while walking on wet roads. Rain makes everything feel so fresh.

8. Grab an ice cream. Ice-creams are supposed to be a summer thing but I crave for it only during rains. 🙄 And the rain makes it all the more yummy. 😀

9. Make Maggie for dinner. It tastes extra yum with rain. Do not ask me for the logic but believe me.

10. Last but not the least, empathize with your friends who are in office and send them the pics of everything you are eating/drinking 😛

The Siblings Saga

Siblings are a blessing. But having 3 sisters? You have no idea. Especially if you are the eldest one. You lose all the rights to choose anything first and all you get is what none of your younger siblings liked. As a kid anything I laid my hands on, had to be divided into 4 equal parts. They never needed a scale or measurement tape for that. Be it a simple Cadbury Éclairs or Maggie. And surprisingly Maggie tasted better then. So did all the chocolates. 

When I started working, every evening after I reached home they would search my handbag for chocolates. They knew if I got any from my team mates/friends/client visits, I wouldn’t eat it alone. I still can’t. 

Now 2 of my younger sisters stay in different cities and the sharing happens only through pics in whatsapp/FB. It’s fun teasing them with the pics of cakes I bake or new dishes I try. 😀 They get all the more irritated when my friends send them the pics of them eating the cakes/dishes I have prepared. 😀 They make note of everything and make me cook/bake all the items when they are in Chennai, giving strict warning not to share anything with Friends. 😛 Revenge. I get disowned even if I try to smuggle a slice for anybody. Such is their love. 😛 

Once I had called a friend over lunch and had soaked basmati rice in water to make pulav. My sister wanted to have sambar rice so I made plain rice for her thinking basmati won’t go with sambar. It was a bad idea. Later I spent half an hour explaining to her how I am not differentiating between her and my Boy Friend by giving her plain rice and making basmati for him. They simply love using such dialogues. 

Recently during an offer on Snapdeal I bought 4 handbags for myself. Couldn’t choose 1 out of the 4. No I am not shopaholic. I just hate to leave something I like. Especially if it’s cheap. 😛 When my sisters came to know of it, they declared I have become spendthrift. When the handbags arrived, as per the tradition I sent them the pics of each handbag. To my horror all 3 of them announced which one they have picked for themselves. :O And I am supposed to keep the one nobody liked. 

The worse situation is when you have to choose 2 out of your 3 sisters. I needed 2 witnesses to open a PPF account so I gave the names of 2 of my sisters. The 3^rd one now is angry with me and wants to know why she is not a witness for whatever the others are and for whatever it is. Who will explain her that she needs to have an account first to become a witness and then get angry? 

But being the eldest has its own benefits and I love every bit of it. 😀

I am looking forward to December as all 4 of us are going to be together for a whole week after so many months. 😀

Roadmap to punctuality

People had been requesting me to tell them my secret of always being on time. 😀 So here you go. Some pointers to people like me on how to be on time.

Note: I am speaking strictly from my experience. Let me consider a scenario where you have a plan to meet your friend(s) at 4 PM today.

1. Take bath immediately after waking up in the morning even on weekends instead of mentally doing the tough calculation about the time it’s going to take to reach the venue(1 hour) plus time to decide what to wear(15 mins)+ time to decide what to wear because you didn’t quite like the one you have chosen(30 mins again)+ time to wash your hair and finish bathing(1 hour) plus time to dress up(30 mins) minus time for combing as that can be done after reaching the venue or anyway by the time you reach its going to be as good as it was never combed, so why bother? And finally concluding that the auspicious time to take bath would be 2:30PM and entering the bathroom finally at 2:45PM. Wondering why 15mins late? The mental exhaustion caused due to the tough calculation you just did will require at least 15 mins to recover.

If you are someone who wakes up at noon on weekends, just spray some deo and start. Do not bother about getting ready and all when you slept away your grooming time.

If you are a guy just keep minimum 10 alarms to wake you up at least 10 mins before your start time. I guess you don’t need more than 10 to complete all the above mentioned tasks.

2. If you have long hair just do not even think of combing it unless you have an extra hour. You know you are going to comb and keep combing and changing your hair style until your hands give up. And You know ultimately you are just going to tie it up into a bun deciding to just leave it free once you reach the venue. You can save yourself a precious hour here.

3. DO NOT COUNT the time you are going to save by running instead of walking when you calculate the time to reach the venue. If you think you can reach in 1 hour, make it 1 hours 15 mins. Chances are you are going to miss the bus even if you ran holding your heart in your hand. #TrueStory

4. Keep all the things you have to carry with you in one place. Especially money and change. Best if you can keep it in the handbag you are going to carry. You can start listing it down from the time you wake up itself. You will save the time you spend running in and out of the house taking one thing at a time at the last moment.

5. Never look into the mirror after dressing up. Never. You know you are not going to be satisfied and waste time deciding once again what to wear. It’s a never ending loop. Trust me.

If you are a guy, just make sure you have already done your laundry or at least you own a really good perfume.

6. NEVER ask your siblings how you are looking. The more siblings you have, the more comments and suggestions you are going to get regarding what needs to be changed. Once ready just hide your face, announce that you are leaving and leave. Do not wait for their comments.

7. DO NOT engage in taking selfies after getting ready. Your siblings will offer to click a pic vouching how good/bad you are looking and it deserves a pic but NO. Don’t give in. This is where you lose the precious half an hour and get late. Chances are your friends are not even going to notice what you are wearing.

8. Note down the directions to reach the venue and transport medium you are going to use. You are NOT going to remember everything even with the best memory power you have and you cannot plan while on the way whether to take bus/auto/cab. Quit relying on the road side annas and aunties. If you are tagging along a friend on his/her bike, bribe or threaten him/her so that he/she picks you up on time.

9. While it is important to be on time it is also important to know how on time your friends are to avoid waiting for them at the venue all alone. So before you start from home just check where everyone else is and then decide if the right time has come. Till then you can do touch ups. Or if you are a guy, small nap but with alarm every 5 mins.

10. Last but not the least, practice the art of smiling cutely every day for at least 10 mins. It will come handy while apologizing if you are meeting a new friend(s) and are late even after following the above mentioned pointers. Your old friends are never going to buy your cuteness filled apologies so just be prepared to get all scolding and beatings.

[Book Review]~Conversations

The moment I opened the book the first thing to catch my eye was “Dear BlogAdda Member, Have some Conversations of your own”. I did not understand much at that time and didn’t even try to as we do with many other questions that crop up in our mind and just gets ignored. As I read the stories, and the enlightening poems, I knew I was having “Some Conversations of my own”, with my self.

I am not going to talk about the author and his life as the book will tell you all. And by the time you finish the book you will know that this middle aged man strongly believes in how God is not responsible for what is happening with us and how every moment of life is to be cherished.

Conversations- The book is as unique as its title suggest. I prefer to call “Conversations” a book rather than novel for its introspective collection of stories and invigorating poems. Stories that everyone of us can relate to and poems that stirs your thoughts and perspective towards life. Every story has a theme, a lesson for us to learn from the experiences of characters in the story. Every story in “Conversations” tries to challenge the common perspective of every individual which we would have just accepted as a matter of fact by throwing at us the simple but right questions. The book talks about love. relationships. life, ambitions, dreams, GOD and emotions. The powerful impressive quotes and the simple questions Rajeev has used to provide the answers for difficult questions of life, is what I loved the most about the book.

The nuances of life, complexity of relationships, confusions of dreams, prejudices in beliefs and simplicity of truth, Rajeev has tried questioning and searching(giving) an answer for the questions that we all carry in our minds through his stories, through the experience of his life and life of people around. The message conveyed makes us think & analyze our own perspectives. Many a times while reading a story in the book, I got the urge to discuss what is written with my friends and know, what they feel about it. And before moving to the next story I had an introspective discussion with my friend and come to a conclusion mutually.

My favorite story in Conversations is “Four Eulogies”. It talks about dreams, ambitions, society, awakening, value of love & relationships, truth, importance of standing strongly by your beliefs, Role of people in your life, and dying a glorious death. The story is of a successful man, the impression he left on people around him, his family members and friends cz of his values and beliefs. Suzy was the inspiration who made him run the race of life faster at an age where people prefer to slow down and he called his extra marital affair with her as “Awakening”.

I can’t resist sharing some of my favorite quotes from the stories.

-“To be in love is to be inspired.” – Four Eulogies 

–“Remember, dreams are extremely fragile. IF you break one, its splinters will always be in your heart reminding you of the broken promise and betrayal”– Splinters

–“The day we stop expecting more from each other we put a stop to the growth of that relationship.” – Snowstorm

–“Being happy is different from being content. I believe in the progression of life.” – Snowstorm

– “Women have a sixth sense. We not only know who is watching us, we also sense the feelings behind those eyes.” – Snowstorm

– “The closest analogy I can give for marriage is that its a three-legged race in which partner have one leg tied to each other. You need to keep pace with each other.” – Snowstorm

-“Have a brutal and uncompromising attitude towards life” – Four Eulogies 

–“Your body is your soul’s temple and you only share it with someone whom you trust and love deeply. Maintaining the sanctity of this temple is your responsibility.” – Four Eulogies

– “To err is human. But if you run out of the eraser before you run out of the lead in your pencil, you are taking it a little too far” – Four Eulogies

–“The most difficult thing to do is to speak the truth and listen to the truth about oneself.” – The truth Club

There were many more but I will leave with this list. 🙂

Also I would like to mention few lines from a poem “Darkness” that touched me the most-

A hearse carries a body
What carries a dead soul?
The world mourns a dead person
Who mourns a dead hope?

A wreath decorates a dead body
What decorates a dead spirit?
If the spirit dies before the body
What carries the Death with it?

Read the book and see what Conversations you have 🙂

Note: Well a review cannot be complete without a complete feedback. Some stories like “The Rabbit Hole”, I felt the plot to be very weak and author not sure of how he wanted to end it. May be the confusion of how it should have ended as I found many dialogues for the same character contradicting at many places.
Then the horrible typos at various places which could have been avoided. “The Truth Club”, the story seems to be weak here too with weak character description. Some characters simply disappeared and some had no role at all. Also the end, was too lame and I felt the story was exaggerated to just let the three characters vent their suffering.

Overall, it was a nice read and the book could be read in between your any work without having to feel too addicted to it. 🙂

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at  BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!