New Job, Innocence and a Smile!

Finally the day arrived, sunny and bright. It was Thursday that is yesterday because as much as possible I always try to get into a new job or buying anything new on Thursday as I am sentimental about it.

I started the day as usual with my morning walk and rushed through the domestic chores as the maid was not there and got ready in time for the school bus. The best thing I awaited for on this day was to see her smile when she holds my hand and I need not let go of it once she gets into the bus, she knew it that Mom was going to come along with her to the school for which she was waiting anxiously all these days!

Then in the bus instead of sitting in the front with rest of the teachers I went to the kids at the back introduced myself and told we will start with telling a nice story today I will tell you from tomorrow one among you will tell me. I made a start, I told them about the coffe bean story carrot, egg and coffe bean and I said when your parents or teachers scold you you should not be a cry baby and become like a soggy carrot or sulk and be adamant and become hard like egg instead you should try to change their opinion on you so that next time they will not get a chance to scold you, they seemed to like it.

Then once I went to school as the syllabus was not decided and I am supposed to teach computers I asked the Vth class(Grade) children to write the difference between a man and computer and I could not help my self laughing when one kid came and showed me "Computer we have to buy it" "Man we need not buy" really what innocence and for the rest of the day that sentence kept on popping in my mind and a smile lightening up my face.

Off late I have observed that children are losing their innocence pretty early, it certainly is due to the information overload or the more exposure like TV and Internet but innocence is such a beautiful expression of childhood wish it is retained for a longer time.....

But don't you think in the present times, it is possible for men also to be bought? And once this kid will grow up in Life he will soon realise it?

A Beautiful Sky on a Morning Walk!

It has been quiet some time, since I gathered my senses to sit and pen a few thoughts or rather click away on the Key board. So many things going on in my mind pretty preoccupied over the weekend also as I had my sis in law over and we both had fun could manage to go for a Benetton Sale got few good clothes at a great Bargain for my daughter. I think I have to dedicate one complete post to SALEs and how we women are attracted to them but not without reason.

But once the week started it is hectic again, one thing that truly gives me the energy to last the rest of the day is my morning walk, I walk amongst the hills about 1.9 km and reach this beautiful spot in Vizag called Tenneti Park from a height you can see the beach below,

And the sea across, off late there are lot of clouds due to rains else as we stay on the east coast lovely sun rises too. And when I sit there and gaze at the sea it calms me, soothes me and rejuvenates me. And it never ceases to surprise me what a beautiful canvas the sky is each day a different brush stroke a different hue. This Monday when I went I liked the sky and its colors so much I clicked away a few pics and I feel really happy when I attach pics clicked by me. I was about to click one Mr.Crow perched and it did not like it and flew away and then another Mr or Ms crow happily obliged.

I am an early bird not many late nights but the body clock automatically rings and am up by 5am and the nature, breeze everything is at its best behaviour even my mood too(logically once we sleep over our problems(work, home or anything) the previous day, it is not worth while to start a new fresh day with the same old problems lingering over. And it is these wonderful gifts of nature that bring a smile on my face and give me the energy to start the day with the right step forward....

Seasons! Reasons for Happiness!

It was raining for almost a week now, as I said earlier however beautiful the weather is, why is it that the human mind always looks for something else than that is prevailing? When it was summer desperately waited for some cool showers a respite from the heat and when it started raining finally wanted that little bit of sunshine to dry the clothes and muddy roads as well tired of the wet feeling literally. And these are not my feelings alone but observations of people I come across in day to day life, neighbours, friends and colleagues that I make or opinions that overhear.

So in short it was a blessing to see the sunshine through the clouds finally, that reminds me of some humorously written article about seasons in some Telugu weekly in my childhood. I do not remember it word to word but the gist of it definitely yes. I will try to reproduce it here....

Oh! It is so Hot everywhere, even after having a shower we seem to sweat.

The water in the pipes is HOT, this heat is driving me crazy,

Wish we have some cool showers, how wonderful to look at the rain and sip hot cups of coffee

or eat some hot pakoras, Rainy season is oh so blissful!

Rains, Rains and more Rains, I am tired of these showers and fed up of seeing the grey skies.

Cannot dress up in good clothes and go out on the road. And the clothes do not dry. House is full of flies and there is this damp smell of clothes. Oh! when Will this season end? How wonderful winter is, those cosy mornings snuggling under the blanket, those early evenings and misty mornings wonder when the winter will be here? Winter is so wonderful....

Oh! My God It is cold so cold that we do not feel like coming out of the bed in the morning. And the moment food is prepared it immediately turns cold. These biting temperatures taking a toll on my health. Days are so short that literally there is no time for anything. I wonder when the Summer will come for those times in the park,those juicy mangoes and fragrant jasmines and ice creams in the park, I am eagerly awaiting the summer, Summer is so beautiful.....

And again it is hot everywhere.......... Life goes on....

It proves that we humans are not happy with what we have or can be happy constantly with a given set of situations or circumstances always longing for something more something better or the other way round we think about those good old days and hope for a better future but what we have we never ever realise how wonderful this moment is...

Most of us would have received the forwarded mail,

"We think we will be happy when we grow up, get a job, get married, buy a house, buy a car, get a promotion and so on but that ultimate moment never comes, but actually the moment to be happy is right now in front of you"

So for me and for you for everyone, Life goes on in the constant quest for happiness....

But Happiness is not at the end of the road but in the journey....

With you in the Rain!

I used to write poetry once upon a time, years ago which found its way to the school magazine 'Hansini' and now after all these years I felt like writing again may be I am getting into the groove thanks to this blogging....

It rains, and the drops fall like petals of flowers
Blessed is my body and soul to get wet in these showers…
Beside Is my beloved to shower his love
And it all seems like a blessing from above….

It rains, and the drops come and like thorns they prick me
My heart is forlorn and soul is lost trying to search me
My beloved is miles away the reason for all this pain
Without him next to me, what can be a season full of rain?

It is the same rain then and the same rain now,
But the feelings are completely different somehow
I just can say with you next to me I can see the rainbow
But when you are away, I only see the dark grey clouds, you know?

Green Monsoon and its beauty!

The color green is beautiful, especially when it is associated with nature. The ardent nature lover that I am, it never ceases to fascinate me the different hues of the color green in nature.

I think I am really blessed that I stay in a valley surrounded by hills. Initially when I was shifting to this part of the city which is known as suburbs, I really felt it is quite far off. But the few minutes of extra drive to home is worth it whenever I look across the green hills from different corners of my home. I have enclosed the pictures taken from windows and balconies of different rooms of my flat.

And when the monsoon arrives it is all the more beautiful, I feel as though the sky has given mother earth the much needed bath and all the trees gleaming and shining whenever there are mild rays of sun shining on them from in between the clouds.

And When the clouds go a little lower touching the hills, I feel like going up the hill and touch those clouds, of course when I go up the hill I pretty well know that I will not be able to touch the cloud but from down here I do get that feeling and it is a happy feeling. I do not know why there is this phrase 'On cloud nine' but I certainly feel that way being on cloud nine.

I like to get up early and when I do that I go for walk looking up at these hills seeing the clouds pass by and feeling the mountain breeze in my face and hair. When I cross the hills I reach the sea shore and it is nice to look at the sea from a height. And especially early in the morning nature is at its best, calm, serene, fresh and mesmerising. It gives positive energy to go through the rest of the day!

Has anybody of you ever experienced this magical experience?

Change: We all need but difficult to accept!

Off late I am slightly in a melancholy mood, as I am going to change my job soon. Most of us say I am bored of doing the same thing again and again I need some change, but familiarity has its own comfort levels, be it the peer group, neighbourhood, job or anything.

There are people who are born in a particular place, grow up there and take up the family business and settle down in the same place. Then there are globe trotters. There are also men in the armed forces who are transferred every now and then to different corners of our country into completely contrasting geographical and climatic changes. And they get used to it.

I have been used to moving from place to place and adjusting in different places right from my childhood and use to enjoy it making new friends along life's journey. There was a time from 96 to 2000 that for every new year i was residing in a new place altogether. It is not new for me to change jobs either, right from the time I graduated I have been working with intermittent breaks and into varied professions. Every time I use to start a new job after a break and I use to look forward enthusiastically to prove myself. But this time I am switching the job without any break and that must not be the only reason why I am feeling blue!

Over a period of time, I got used to the comfort levels of this job, the perks and the environment, the stress everything and feeling very sad of moving on but it is a choice that I have made with full consciousness and so no looking back.

Off late as I start coming to work, the feelings arise , I am going to miss this drive to office overlooking the bay, the familiar smell of the room freshener when i enter the office, the smiles of the office boys who are always energetic, the music playing above my head (as I am working in a radio station).

There are a lot of apprehensions about the next job, how interesting would it be, will i enjoy it as much, will I be able to perform to the optimum levels etc. Hope these all apprehensions will rest in peace. But this transition period of change is difficult to experience right now till I attain the comfort zone in my new job. But then that is the way of life.....

Here I like to reminisce a few words written by a friend about change

"The Oak was once a tiny seed and the flute was once a lonely reed and it is Change that brought the transformation, nothing is constant in this world, every moment something, somewhere, surrounding us is changing, the only thing constant is Change...

Beyond a Celebrity!

As I said last week that every day is not the same even every Sunday is not the same. This Sunday I had to come to work and it was a rather interesting assignment of having a tollywood hero and heroine in our station. It does not happen every day, it would have been a normal thing if it was Hyd, but them coming to Vizag is not so regular. If they come for shooting they get so tired that they hardly have the energy or the time to come for any interview.

So I was all enthusiastic to come to work and came along with my better half and daughter in tow. They actually were coming to promote their new film 'Current' and I was rather feeling sheepish as I did not watch that movie. Then I came to know that Sneha Ullal the look alike of Aishwarya Rai and the heroine was not coming.

I generally thought that celebrities keep us waiting and was in a relaxed mood but I was in for a surprise the Hero 'Sushant' (He is the nephew of the famous 'Nagarjuna' and the grandson of legend 'Nageswar Rao') came in sharp at the scheduled time. Earlier too I had couple of visits, one was the famous 'Ram Gopal Varma and then ' Varun Sandesh of happy days fame etc but Sushant was so different, he was so down to earth, very patient, cheerful, realistic no airs and baggage yet all. This was really a pleasant surprise. He patiently obliged the callers talked to them with interest and posed for n number of photographs right from the security to electricians to fans, everybody.

What I really wanted to put across is beyond this celebrity status is a warm human being with his own set of emotions, feelings and fears also may be (fears to prove himself to be successful in the Field he chose, to keep up the family name and live up to the legacy of his uncle and grandfather and make his own space amongst his cousins and other stars).

It is a memorable experience and I do wish this sweet hero a really bright future in Tollywood!

So my Sunday was a funday although a little disappointed with lack of rest but still it was worth it.

Making Heads Turn!

There are head turners every where, be it people, hoardings, buildings, trees anything, we have a glimpse when we pass by and then we turn our head again to take a second look and they are head turners.

Why I want to talk about head turners is not that I am making heads turn now :-) May be I did that in my twenties or sweet sixteens but was too naive to acknowledge. Being a head turner definitely gives a high.

I remember when my daughter was Baby, so chubby and so cute that wherever I went with her she made heads turn and people wanted to touch her and hold her and I definitely was a proud mom. But right now the head turner is our new car!

Recently two weeks back we bought a car the Honda Jazz and coincidentally it is the first car of that model to be out on the roads in Vizag. And wherever we went and stopped be it the petrol bunk or the temple where we did pooja for the car or on the beach side. Groups of people pointed out at the car and made their friends turn their heads to catch a glimpse of the car and it was fun watching people comment about the car. Some people walked up to us enquiring how much was the car on road and how much mileage it gave etc.

I know that this is completely temporary and at the rate that the automobile industry is growing in India and the ads on TV there will be another new model on the road from another brand and ours will be an old model and will stop turning heads.Life is like that there is something new happening everywhere every time and attention span lessons day by day and something special today becomes ordinary tomorrow.

Recently I chanced upon to lay my hands on an old diary written in 1998 where I went in a car probably maruti 800 then and wrote someday I should own a nice car and with good music go for a long drive. Now the time has come, but what was once a dream now is not as much a dream come true I mean that intensity is not there, it became rather a matter of fact to own it. But how I wish life did not become so mechanical and practical and dreams can be realised as passionately as when they were dreams.

Well it turns heads or not does not matter, but I definitely am looking forward to lots of sweet memories and long drives and family outings with our new car! And I definitely like its Tag line!

'One Life! Why so serious!'

Clouds and Colors!

So the monsoon has finally set in Vizag and it has been really cloudy for the past few days. It is really nice to enjoy this kind of weather sitting in doors and looking out at the drops of rain falling. Even the music of rain the pitter patter is so serene. The clouds hanging on the hills nearby and hearing to classic of Kishore Kumar humming along 'Rimjhim gir saawan Sulagh sulagh jaaye man.....'

But when it is grey for long it gets on our moods also and the mood becomes melancholy. But the best thing about rainy season is the colors that brings along well it is the umbrellas I am talking about, how many colors and patterns can they come in and it is really heartening to see these lovely colorful umbrellas against the grey backdrop.

Just wear bright colors like, oranges, yellows, Reds, lime greens and see how it lights up your mood and the day does not seem dull anymore. I personally follow this rule and trust me color has its way in turning around the spirits. Call it color therapy but it works. For all those who have to wear the dull and boring formals and stick to corporate dress code go for a colorful tie or a colorful scarf and at least the umbrella can be colorful definitely no black umbrellas please they are pretty boring.

I for myself chose a bright floral umbrella at Akbrallys in Mumbai last year and felt very happy about it. Even rain coats are available for the kids in the brightest of fluorescent colors and they look so cute in that match them with a pair of gum boots and let them splash in the rain water.

These are joys of life to be experienced we too feel like spreading out hands and turning round and round in the rain singing " Vaana Vaana vallappa chethulu chapu chellapa", let them get cold no problem cold is a way of cleansing the system the more we protect the more they will be susceptible to health disorders. Exposing them to nature is the best way of making them robust with health and increasing their immunity.

So colorful umbrellas and colorful raincoats clouds in the sky and smiles on the faces along with some paper boats and a few clicks on the camera you have memories for a life time.

Joy of Learning something new!

Yesterday I joined my little girl in the skating class. It was long awaited one. But due to the odd timings of my work I kept on postponing and finally the time came, when I am switching my job just to be with her to take her to learn all that she want to.

Vizag is blessed with a good skating rinks and good coaches, many have represented in national and international levels. Not that I want Vennela to go for such competitions. All that I want her to have is fun and experience the joy of learning something new.

This is taught by my Dad, he always encouraged me to learn anything that I can. So if I dabbled with Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, Basket Ball, Yoga etc during my childhood it is because of him. I do not regret that I am a master of none, I am happy to be jack of all.

It is the Joy of learning that is exhilarating. Even now I felt so good a few months ago when I started to learn swimming. In between a few friends we joined together and learnt bollywood dancing wow! it was really fun.

And again this brought back memories of joining Shiamak Davar's workshops that I joined with my friend, travelled miles for these classes but it was worth it.

I just could see the radiant smile on my little one's face and after the class, she said mom I want to do skating for 10 hours.(Although she just started the class with only one skate on one leg and dragged the other one.) I prayed God, let this enthusiasm and interest last long.

There were kids of all sizes from 2 and half years old to 12 year olds and it was a beautiful sight to see them zoom and turn around in the rink. Some of them falling down and toppling on each other again getting up and going.

There is such a lot to learn from these little ones, the first thing is how to get up and smile after falling down. I too felt like learning to skate because in my childhood I did not get the opportunity.If only I can overcome my hesitation of being the odd one out among the students and start off I for certainty do know that it will be a great experience, I should do it soon.

I plan to join carnatic music again and re learn with my daughter. Also I want to learn to draw, sketch and paint. I want to experience this joy of learning something new again and again. It makes life much more interesting

Will she be Happy ever After?

Working in Mirchi I got used to giving a spike(making people curious to know what I am going to write about), hence the title, with the picture all of pretty well know who it is.

I am talking about the famous Rakhi Sawant, the name associated with adjectives like bold, brash, rebellious etc; She is definitely not a stunning beauty. Sans makeup she will never make heads turn. Be it the vital statistics or any features in particular.

Television after privatisation has undergone many twists and turns, music shows, dance shows, laughter shows, reality shows but this particular show 'Rakhi ka Swayamvar' can be said as 'its different'. As usual it was hyped about not only on the channel that it was going to be telecast on and other media like the papers and websites etc.

I was curious as usual with random thoughts. Earlier too Rakhi did participate in 'BIG BOSS' and Nach Baliye with her then boy friend 'Abhishek'. The thought flow went on how much did the channel pay her? What are all the aspirants looking forward to in marrying her. Publicity? Becoming Rich? Or do they really like Rakhi so much? If they do like for what is it that they like her? Her looks? Her Dance? They certainly must not have come across her inner qualities.

And then I was thinking about Rakhi. The small town girl, middle class girl as she claimed. Innocent she claims herself to be and even the contestants say so.What is she looking forward to? Can she get a true life partner on this show, or is she doing it only for attention and money? Is she going to get married and divorce later?

The thoughts are still there and the show started and is going on. I was not watching the show ardently without batting the eyelid bcs that is the time when I concentrate on the 9pm news as it is an integral part of my profession. But on and off when did I watch and caught the glimpses.

There were 16 contestants from almost all professions from as far as Canada to small cities of India from Kashmir to Nagpur. From all walks of life. Each one was trying to woo her with some small gifts ranging from T-shirt to an idol of Ganpati and a white wedding gown etc. And the best friend of her ex boyfriend gifting her It was really funny to watch them saying Rakhi U are very beautiful, and hilarious to hear them read poems about her. I think the obsession with phoren is caught up with Rakhi also, ultimately she selected the guy from Canada for the day.

And I really do not know what Ram Kapoor is doing there? Why does the channel want him cant Rakhi handle herself or if not Ram Kapoor is there nobody else? He has become so wide filling half of my Television screen Ram with the earnings this channel gives U better pay for a gym membership or a slimming centre soon.

Let us wait and watch how this show will develop? Will Rakhi get her suitor and marry him and how long she is going to keep him.