Liberated......yeah!!

If feeling liberated is about not having to count the expenses and just roaming around window shopping, bargaining, buying girls' favorites (as I am shopping on the behalf of my mom); having 3-square mom-cooked meals (not bothering much about the kitchen or cooking); planning and packing for a week-long getaway and doing away with the study hours with kids and the daily routine; I want to scream out, "I am liberated and I am loving it!!!!"

The Company That Was!!!

It all started when my sister joined the company in 2003.......my decade long association (though I never entered the office or worked there till date) with Wipro can be summed up into 3 titles, a romantic non-fiction 'Love Story that touched my heart', my reality series 'A Suitable Boy' and a daily soap opera 'The Day I Stopped Loving Wipro'..........two-hearts that started beating for one another on their first day at Wipro matured into a life-long marital relation,..........my 'Suitable Boy' hails from there and I stopped liking the company the day I learnt about it's other side from the experiences of my near and dear.

The least the company could have done is to send the employee a thank you note for his 10.5 year-old valuable services (leave alone a befitting farewell or send-off parties) on his last day with the company. They failed badly in doing that. I will not let it go unrecognized but for the fact that I don't exactly understand the person's contributions to the company in technical terms (the 'feather in the cap' and 'thanks a zillion' awards that he won in the past speak for that). I feel proud to announce that my husband worked for the company so long, the primary reason being........to ensure that he is always accessible to parents as the eldest son and family as a big brother, withstanding all the official turbulence and peer pressure he had to handle for holding on to the company and the location, for MORE THAN A DECADE!!!

KBC Psychology jugalbandhi

Never explain or argue or even get into conversation with self-obsessed and single-minded people..............when you do that, you'll be dumb stuck by your own foolishness! Linking this to Amitabh's KBC funda, when you cling on to yourself, your routine, your own shell of thinking and stop trying out new things, acknowledging novelty, respecting the innovative thinkers, thereby resisting change.........u have involuntarily stopped learning........aur seekhna bandh, toh jeetna bandh!!

Kaka's Night Out

Succumbing to Kaka's pressure (who received a detailed explanation from his teacher on what kids would do in school on the night) and unable to gain support to the argument that children should only stay with family; I gave up and sent him to the 'Night-out' organized by his school. But, I must confess............after watching the highlights on TV, I realized that changing my mind was worth it............he enjoyed it to the core. Though I had a night-out too referring to his schedule and thinking of what Kaka would be doing every now and then, all the pain and anxiety vanished once I saw his happy face when I went to pick him up in the morning.........
Kids need the change! As parents, we must let them go at times, when we trust that they would be safe........

Hollow Bond!

We maintain deep relationships with our loved ones, where we connect at almost subconscious levels and I dare say, shallow ones with some, where we just say 'hi! how do you do!' and then, 'bye'; after few more exchanges........thats it!!
But, the connections are not this simple! There is a twist of hollowness to some relationships and these are too complicated to understand too!! The superficial bond seems really strong and makes the relationship appear real, full and complete from the outside, but the vacuum is invisible. The emptiness is always brewing some problem whether the people involved acknowledge or not. This would certainly end up with an explosion each time you attempt to puncture the hollowness!!!
These are forced ties and staying in or out of them is not a matter of choice but of acceptance. The relationship lasts only as long as it is accepted.

Life

Life is tricky..........the most obvious thing always happens...........we pin up lots of hopes on tomorrow, but as the time moves on, meeting or breaking all these expectations, situations shape up, we plan to act per our plan and the situation would come under control, but we just play the role assigned and before we take the control, time pushes us backstage, heads on to the steering and moves on, leaving us deep into thoughts about where our yesterday's planning erred and the repercussions of our actions on tomorrow!!!
Wiser option would be to ponder on becoming a good actor and play the part better, rather than planning to control the situations or gathering the wisdom to tackle them (as the situations are invariably complex for one person to handle)!!

Facebook and Fastfood!!

Facebook and fast food have been the themes of my work lately. Now, I feel they are related. Facebook is the fast food for the users of internet. Everyone definitely know that neither of them is going to serve a purpose or fill the stomach, but want to visit it every now and then, just to enjoy the experience and know whatz going on!!!! The connection, confusion and the mania has stuck me so much that today I typed fastfood.com to open facebook........

My Mom

I have reborn twice when my kids were born, but she has given me a lease of life innumerable times.......when she gave birth to me, protected me as a child, encouraged my ambitions in teens n tweens, ensured that my guardianship went into safe hands when i needed a partner, played the dual role of being both my parents when I lost one of the most precious God-gifted assets with which every child is born, greeted me with an appreciating smile when I delivered my first baby for turning her into a proud grandparent and being my pillar of strength through my thick and thin thereafter! Which is the best way to thank her for being a great mom and showing me how a mother should be! I am at loss of words and just want to thank God for his kindness! I don't need a Mothers' Day to convey all this to her because she knows it all! Afterall, I am just her sweet little girl!

Tenglish

I don't know where this usage of a concoction of languages by kids, in their formative years, is heading up to!!!!! 
Prithvi says, "Lock chesi paadu, amma!" while asking me to sing the classical music with 'taalam'. "Ouch! Naaku debba tagilindi", says Kaka, 'talk cheyyaku', 'beat cheyyaku', 'bring cheyyanaa?'.........endless combinations of English, Telugu and Hindi. They are in a hurry to put all their vocabulary into use!!
 
Even more mesmerised with their newly acquired English skills. One gets to hear strange usage of verbs, prepositions and true translations ('Amma! Please close the door, I should wear the ball' to convey that he has to throw the ball)! Thoroughly enjoying their expressions and reliving the fun my parents used to have when I was that young!!!!

Best-est

Kids are so ambitious.......they want the best of both worlds!!! This new craze has caught up with my sons! They want to make big runs like Sachin and appreciate the speed of Virat.........so, they aspire to be 'Sachin Kohli'!! Can u guess what they would prefix their names with, after expertising in both Karate and Kung fu???.............'Kanf Kaka' and 'Kanf Prithvi'!!!!!!!!!!

HAHK

Hum Aapke Hai Kaun on Zee TV...............
I can watch it endless times...........for the ahhum.......ahhums that Salman-Madhuri exchange; for the madness of Anupam Kher; effervescence of Salman, one look of Madhuri when her beauty is epitomised by divinity and grace by the pearl necklace and pink shimmer of her frock in 'Pehla pehla pyar', her innocence in 'Maye ni maye', the decorum with which Reema Lagoo carries herself, Renuka Shahane's sweet close-up smile, her bidaai song and not to forget 'Didi Tera Devar', 'Wah wah ramjee' and the dog-and-the-bone game of 'Joote do paise lo'!!
 
It brings back the memories of my teens.......I was in my ninth class when the film released. We saw it in telugu, as 'Premalayam' (the same thing happened with DDLJ too!!). It became my dad's favorite too and on that day, he decided to get atleast one of her children married to any of his friends' kids, so that the new relation seals up the friendship (which didn't happen as marriages are made in heaven, I believe!!). He loved 'Aaj hamare ghar me' totally because of the healthy and subtle chemistry portrayed by Anupam Kher, Alok Nath and Reema Lagoo!!
 
The first half of the story might seem idealistic and unrealistic, but there lies the elegance of the narrative. The second half of the movie, I don't want to see it at all. I can't handle the tragedy and the scenes that follow, after so many feel-good situations!

Vacation for Fathers

Prithvi wants a vacation for all the fathers too (declared by their respective employers), so that they get a chance to drop and pick-up the kids to and from the school!! How nice would it be for the dads if they get such an opportunity to cherish those small moments with their children, without having to rush!! Hope Wipro is listening!

No First Ranks Please

For the first time I've come across a father, who doesn't want his son to come first in class!!!! 

When I probed him further, he went on to explain that when he gets a first rank or first prize or stands first in anything, he thinks himself to be better than others, that he knows everything........thus, slowly loses his real friends, stops being his real self and starts dancing like a snake to the tunes of the charmer (top ranker)!!! He thinks participation in a race is the most important thing!!

Mesmerized by this school of thought! May be this is true......people should learn to handle success first, then taste it? Or should it be the other way round? Children are not matured enough to differentiate these little things.......

Coming first is not a matter of choice, but just an outcome of participation.

The Traditional Domestic Water Boiler

Today, I was reminded of the smell and taste of hot water used for taking bath, from my childhood. The water used to be heated in a boiler using the dry leaves, branches and stems of plants and trees from the courtyard! It smells the same when it is heated on a traditional chulha! The scent and taste cannot be described, but can only be experienced.
 
My grandfather used to gather all the material needed, dry it, pile it up into heaps, then plan on which one to be used and when, undertake the cumbersome (delightful for him) process of loading the boiler with water and drawing out the heated water into buckets for us! Then came the time for cleaning the equipment and the ash plate, completely blackened after use! I think it was the sweet fragrance of the collective hard work that made me recall the 3 decade-old experience today!  There were numerous instances when he used to ask us to test the temperature and then, there was a small door to peep the finger in and test it!

Unsolicited Advice

This is for one of my anonymous facebook buddies, who requested me to write. The person has been bearing the brunt of unsolicited advice and uncalled-for-comments, from the people around her. This has grown so large, that the confidence levels and self-image are at threat. I wish this brings some happiness to the person!

Timely advice is welcome. But unsolicited advice is like those software that automatically keep updating whenever new updates are available and bombard us with related messages and pop-ups. At least we have the option of 'Ask me before you update' in the latter case. But, in the former, it is difficult to choose that too, as the advice-givers start off with, 'if u ask me......'!! No! No! Not again!! The best option, if at all, that suits such cases is, 'Never ask me, I'll get back to you whenever I need one'!! This thought struck me while reading some friend's update about Adobe's updates!!
(Disclaimer: Directed towards none and no harm intended!! Lots of respect for all my friends and elders).

Trip to Basara

Visiting the temple was just an opportunity to abscond the routine, break the boredom and escape to a new destination to rejuvenate ourselves............ This point is proved beyond doubt, when all of us forgot to even take the prasadam, in the excitement!!!
Yes, the preparation, the journey, our co-travellers, conversations, food, climate, a chance to stay with nature and peace of mind, meant a lot for sure!! All these made our one-day tour to Basara memorable and worthwhile!!!

One life to live!!

I have a life! One life to live!
I am more than a bundle of responsibilities,
I want to push them aside and live my life!
Why not, I have one life to live!

I am not a full time servant and not here to serve everyone always,
I want to enjoy my time, I have one life like you to live!

I am not a machine to work per the instructions every time,
I am tired like a human, I have a life that I like to live!

I am not a TV series that goes beyond 1000 episodes!
I get bored of going on endlessly, I need a break like anyone!

Like every living being, I want to feel alive!
Because, I have a life! One life to live!

Kaka's musings

Dumbstruck by kaka's explanation, while I was yelling at him for throwing his toys everywhere and my maid was sweeping the floor. He put a friendly, smiling, mischievous expression and said, 'amma! will u shout at me in front of everyone and anyone!!?? They'll laugh at me. Just take me to a lonely place, explain everything, leave the issue and come out smiling' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???? I did not know how to react to this! Pondering over it since 3 days............May be, he's correct! I need to correct my mistake, change my habit, respect his age and behold his individual self-respect!!!

OMG.........I'm in Guntur

I don't want to wake up from this dream-come-true situation..........Finally, I am in Guntur, at least for one day........the sweet dream that has been haunting me and giving me sleepless nights (recurringly) since quite some time. 
Yesterday was a sweet day to be marked and celebrated in my life.........one of the few days when I felt so lively!!
I finally made it come true............walked on every street from my childhood memories.......my place, my school, my home, talked to my dhobi, my milkman, my panditji, my familiar faces..............showing off my school to my kids...........I can't express my happiness in words...........I can't say how long I have been longing for this to happen!!!!

Seen him in a dream

Dressed in dark grey shirt and pants and seated in his official space, he was narrating to one of his closest friends ( Santoshkironvedantam Vedantam uncle) yet another incident of delighting an elderly customer by personally handling his issue at the bank. The lively eyes, the scar between his eyebrows, the hairline, his slightly crooked front tooth, the way he uttered the words could not be more prominent even when he spoke to me. His body language, the fullness of his face and built showed that he is healthy and hale. When I asked him to come to my house, he thought for a second, but did not hesitate to say, 'We'll go day after tomorrow'. I said, 'You cannot travel by train so long, we shall fly. Even while giving this statement my dubious mind was calculating the total expense that would have to be approved by the financial manager back at home!!! When I was requesting him to come with me immediately, I woke up suddenly! Very sad...........this is just a dream, where I could see and talk to the best dad in the world, My 'NAANNA

Warangal Trip

Had a look at the richness of our heritage through the sculptures and scriptures of the Kakatiyas at Kolanupaka and Warangal. Spellbound by their sense of art!
The 10th Century Someswaraswamy temple in Kolanupaka, once moulded into an archaeological musuem, is now in its ruins. It has numerous sculptures of Gods and Ekasila scriptures in Kannada and other Dravidian languages.
The Jain Temple here is carved from marble stones and the floral designs are embedded into them. The long statues of Vardhaman Mahavir and his contemporaries enchants everyone and sets the correct ambience to send one and all into the Bhakti mode.
The song in 'Varsham' was playing in our minds when we entered the Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal. These numerous pillars are pressed into one another to realise a temple-like structure, which is the abode for Shiva. The Nandi here listens to the wishes of everyone and conveys them to the Lord.
The one-and-half hours of extra journey to Ramappa temple is a totally worthy experience. The slightly bent pillars and uneven flooring signify the earthquake during the period. The pillars and ceiling in the hall that leads to the sanctum sanctorum are excellent. One cannot believe that it is a human effort - so good and perfect. The sculptures of madanikas and naaginis on the roof, around the temple are simply superb! Nandi here is alert to answer the call of his Lord!
Adding up to all these are the home-cooked food, the good-spirited companions and the music!!

Lazy Sunday

Lazy sunday for me. But, Kaka and Prithvi are thoroughly enjoying the last day of their vacation............all the animals from the forest launched an attack on the super heroes- Superman, Spiderman, He-man and Chhota Bheem. Their heroes won and the animals are injured. Kaka is carrying them to the nearby tent, giving them first-aid and Dr. Prithvi is treating their wounds!! :) 
Kids need not be entertained. They just need a companion, so that they create their own means of entertainment and enjoy under any situation

Mithunam

'Mithunam' movie pushes every telugu person who got to enjoy the tastes of parents and grandparents, into a nostalgia. Truly, you get to hear the good childhood radio programs.........opening music from AIR played in every household early in the morning, the Vandemataram, the sanskrit news (Samprati vartaaha shuyantaam!), the music before the agriculture-based program(oops..........forgot the name!!), Janaranjani(Vividbharathi, vanijyaprasaara vibhaagam) and everything.
The food at the heart of Telugu household, the pappu, vankaaya koora, dappalam (in bowls made of stone - raachippa), gaarelu, kaakarakaaya pulusu, and it goes on (I can't name them anymore....my mouth is already watering) is not left behind.
The open backyard filled with herbs, shrubs and trees of various fruits and vegetables is Telugu home authenticated.
The similes, the reclining chair with wooden frame and cloth seat, the wooden pillars placed outlining the verandahs...........I can go on describing the numerous sweet little things that the movie brought back to my memory and those reflections that came out as drops from my eyes. My father should have loved it to the core.
I prefer not to take back the performances of the actors (the characters from Sriramana's story, which I read 13 years back, are still intact in my mind), the story (the version on book is better) and the direction (Kaka is totally bored of the characters either staring at each other or quarreling).

My wife is pregnant??!!

What is your count? Mine has reached 20 in the last 7 years, the time when I started observing the phenomenon, where the person says, 'My wife is pregnant' when his better-half is carrying a baby and does not hesitate to transform the same into 'My son/daughter' while referring to the same child after he/she is born?????!!!! (these statements might be technically correct)
I don't want to sound like a feminist or a perfectionist, but this behavior intrigues me a lot. How nice and inclusive would it be if the person says, 'I and my wife are expecting a child' and 'This is our child'!!!
Inclusive behavior, which makes the other person feel the shared bond and secures it, can't be taught. It just reflects from our broad-minded thinking, that expresses itself in our words and actions.

SVSC

I am back to bombard all of u yet again with my latest watch..............
It might seem weird, but I loved the movie SVSC to certain extent(didn't like some parts), while every other person passed a negative comment. The crew has put in a lot of thought into the story, direction and the dialogues (while some serious efforts seem to be missing badly in some aspects and portions of the film). 
The struggle, confusion and anxiety of standing up to himself in a city, expressed by Peddodu are real. A person whose ego and stomach are fed well at home and hometown, is pushed into a city where compromise is the first thing and ego should be the last one in the mind of new-entrant, while trying to find a foot-hold. Using Chinnodu, who is well-versed with how things work in a city, as a prop to draw the emotional support and necessary confidence, is also real.
What I absolutely love about the movie is the way they showed the brothers. The relationship works that way for the siblings who stay away from the parents(staying elsewhere, mostly a village) I think. The connect is more than that of brothers or friends. They have grown-up together and know each other too well from inside. They are friends and share the secrets, fears and shortcomings. They are roommates and understand the hardships of staying without parents. Above all these, they understand the strengths and have confidence in each others' actions and future. They can't live without each other, but can't cry like girl-siblings do or they can't be senti-(which makes the other person weak too). To cover this up, they draw humor from the surroundings and divert themselves. They want to stay together for a lifetime, but know that life is not that simple. Brothers are like that.......................
All the remaining stuff from the film went above my brains(and heart)!

The Full Moon

It appeared as a tiny speck somewhere behind the faraway green signboard of 'Courtyard Marriott' and then grew into a huge golden ball, adding its shimmer to the waters of the lake. Then, as the journey of full moon continued, it turned white, tinting the water with its silvery glow and sending the message of inner peace to the watching souls. Witnessing this wonder while sitting on the banks of Hussainsagar, I don't want to ask for anything more!!!
Nature has endless surprises and bounty of resources to keep us happy in every way. I hope it keeps blessing us with the same grace (as long as we appreciate the fact and act responsibly)!!!!

Thoughts about life

Life is an endless collage of struggles. Whenever you come out of one, you either end up hurting yourselves or the others!! When you hurt yourself, no one cares for the sacrifice; but when you hurt someone else, everyone talks of your selfishness!!

The Fortune Tellers

Staying near a temple, that too a popular one, brought a new sect of people to my notice, the Fortune Tellers. Numerologists, palmists, face-readers, naadi astrologers and so on..... One year ago, it was just 2 of them, but since last 6 months, the number has increased invariably. Their white or off-white khadi shirts, angavastram with attractive zari borders, gold colored bracelets, steel watches, big red tilaks and a book or two in hand; have become a familiar sight, especially on tuesdays and fridays when the temple is flooded with devotees. The look is not complete without their iPhones, Samsung smartphones or the Xperia with a leather sleeve.
They first observe the people, their dress, cars, body language and family members from a distance and select a target. Rich and effluent, who get down from expensive SUVs; or a lady with dull and depressed look, with an unmarried daughter walking behind or young men with fresh out-of-college but concerned look, are the primary target groups. They start off with a unique accent and a sloka or two (these same 1 or 2 are repeated to all the customers!!!). The so-called life-savers through predictions chase these people, pester them and go behind them until these prospective customers are duped by the words. Slowly, the customers are moved to a shade and the fortune telling kicks off. The good things spiced with upcoming threats are bombarded on to the prey, creating a sense of fear and the need for a savior (our hero of the story)!!!! Only a small percentage of the predictions are disclosed per session!!
The business is closed by 12pm at the temple and these people disappear. At around 6pm, you can find most of them at any addictive place (don't want to mention the names).
These forms of astrology are accorded high respect. Some of them are even recognised as science and seriously studied under graduate and post-graduate courses in some of the universities. It is painful to see these people reduce the gyan gathered by our saints and rishis through their multiple years of meditation, experimentation and practice to the street-side pestering levels. On top of everything, does the profession demand a false dress code?

Salt!!

Thought for the day: 
A pinch of salt can make a lot of difference to a day! Putting aside the repercussions on physiology, let us consider the emotional well-being. If the breakfast has less or more of it, the mood turns wild and day starts on a bad note! I think salt is the feel good factor in food or it stimulates the release of some happiness hormones, that kick start your day. However, there is one thing that prevents me from drawing the conclusion. The optimal amount of salt that each one of us enjoys in food varies. Coming back to the thought, should salt hold so much control on our temperament and our day?