Memories of my Grandma

My dear Patti ( paternal grandma) passed away today evening after almost 6 years of being bedridden at the ripe age of 95. She was a pillar to the entire clan, commanding respect for who she was, rather than what she was. She has produced 200 odd clan members through her 11 children and had seen 4 generations in her life. She has seen her grand-daughter's grand-daughter...she also managed to outlive her husband (my Thatha) by 23 years...but it is a sad state that in the last decade of her life, her sons were really bowling her from one place to another creating chaos in otherwise what would have been a smooth living...she had gone to live with her sons in Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore etc...now that her chapter is closed, thankfully and much to everyone's relief, this nasty exchange has come to a grinding halt. Apart from having some good memories of her during my childhood, the one I would always hold dear to heart is her presence in my wedding and her blessings she bestowed on me and my husband. It meant a lot to me and made my day! Later sometime in 2005 when I last saw her, she was not so feeling well but did pose for a photo shot with me, my hubby and my dad in Hyderabad. I think I've imbibed a lot of qualities from her that time only can test me to show as a proof...All she had was a meagre pension that she got from the Government with which she could hardly buy her medicines but her sons who were financially well off always carried on the show so well that she did what she wanted to in her lifetime and made everyone serve her. She was a classic example of a person who could command respect sans money power. Relatives across the world came to seek her advice and suggestions as she was the most elderly of the family. All said and done, I have a slight regret that I couldn't show my daughter to her before her time was out...Hope she blesses us from above and guides us in the right path for generations to come. May her soul rest in peace. OM!

"Peas vs Pills" workshop in Bangalore

My doc friend Dr. Nandita Shah is conducting a workshop on Naturopathy...if you are interested please attend the same. More details below -
Day/Venue/Time - Saturday 27 September 2008 at the Alliance Française de Bangalore from 9am to 5pm.

Coverage -
1. Health, disease and the scope of medicines.
2. What is the healthiest diet for our species? Understanding our anatomy, physiology and real nutritional needs.
3. Why the foods we are eating today cause disease.
4. Results of diet change.
5. The relation between diet and stress.
6. The relation between diet and our environment.
7. How to manage making the transition without missing the foods we are used to.
8. How to handle social situations.

Workshop fee: 1750 Rs. (1500 Rs. per person for couples / families).
Register by 12 September to avail of the early bird fee of 1500 Rs. (1200 Rs. per person for couples / families).
This includes breakfast, lunch, a snack and workshop materials.
For more information and to register for the workshop, contact info@sharan-india.org
Tel. 99864 78000.

Shallow Relations? Not for me...

Does a sun sign truly define a person? Are we not a product of our environment and upbringing as well apart from other parameters? I am thinking all these because recently my cousin who visited me was telling how his girl friend being born in the same sun sign as mine had shallow relationships...and he was surprised when I said that I strongly believe having only deep and meaningful relations. Is it just him or is it a tendency for the newgen to typecast someone into something because they belong to a particular sign...? While it could be true that being under the same sign may give you certain set of basic characteristics, it would and can not make you a replica of other person belonging to the same sign. Afterall, we are people hailing from diverse regions brought up in diverse climes and hence we are bound to have diverse tastes. It would be senseless to compare an Arian hailing from South India to an Arian hailing from say Russia or Mexico...What could be similar would be that they may both tend to be adventurous or say have a drive to start something unique etc. and that's about it. Making weird comparisons would actually harm the relationship as you approach the person with preconceived notions. Right?

Serenity redefined...

To perk up my mood and ofcourse to have a much needed break, we went on a bumpy and windy ride to a place called Harihareshwar. The route (via a place called Bhor) was scenic and breathtaking...we halted quite a number of times to take snapshots of the beauty that we couldn't get enough of. It was nothing like what I have seen earlier...there were milky waterfalls, alright but what made the trip worthy was that the roads were just laid adjacent to the lake...It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was the best drive I ever had in India...I could compare the experience of being in Seattle and enjoying the drizzly weather with a laid back attitude. The weather was perfect, occassionally showers turning to serious rain and then just pure mist - atop hills and engulfing us...we checked out into a hotel in a nearby place called Srivardhan and left early morning to Harihareshwar where we had darshan of the Trinity and Parvathi and Kalbhairav. Then off to a place called Dive Agar (pronounced something like Divyaagar) where we got to see 'Suvarna Ganapati' meaning Golden Ganesh which was found in a nearby lake abou 7-8 years back intact in a copper casing. History says that someone had made it perfectly well and dropped it in the banks of a river and that the Golden Ganesh was found and then idolized immediately and devotees keep flocking here especially during the Ganapathi pooja time. So we were lucky to go there by sheer chance at the right time. Another deity we paid our darshan was 'Somjai Devi' in Srivardhan. The devi was all dressed beautifully and shone brilliantly with all her might and prowess. You know what I would have prayed for...with that our trip ended and we came back via Tamhini Ghat and this time though it was not close to the beauty we witnessed while going, it was still a classic picture perfect route that put us back in Pune by dusk...and though it was aching all over my body, the mind and soul sure seemed to have enjoyed the spirit of the mini-vacation.

Melancholic ‘Me’

Fate spares none; we need to undergo the highs and lows of our lives no matter what and who we are. It is a realization that sets in every time a low occurs to us than when we flyi sky-high. Being between projects can be fun; but not when your employment itself becomes a looming question mark over your head after continuous, long period of idleness…this is hard truth…when a company fails to utilize your skill sets suddenly, it dents your self-esteem hugely…sipping a cuppa chai and listening to a melancholic marathi song over the radio in the nearby stall, I could sort of feel the sadness seeping through as one of the ingredients of the masala chai. It had a very depressing effect and even though I could hardly figure out what was been sung, I felt as if the song reflected my inner state – a perfect treat for a soul experiencing emotional turmoil…resisting the tears that was making way to well my eyes, I quickly gathered myself and my belongings and made an exit to avoid stares from fellow colleagues. I have not been able to express myself so well in the recent past and somehow started believing to hold things to myself rather than share the gloom with even my better half. There have been hints given to friends and family about the underlying dejection but not with so much exactitude for the fear of making them worry unnecessarily. So while the world spins around silently, here I am waiting for the one good news that I want to hear more than ever in the history of my career – ‘Welcome aboard our company…have a pleasant stay’…won’t this become a reality? Oh it would…that’s the HOPE that keeps me going…while I await that day with my fingers crossed, I know soon I would rewrite my destiny...

My note of Thanks to Universe...

There have been times when I have utterly felt lonely and times when I really enjoyed my solitude. Moving to Pune recently was a classic example of the latter transforming to the former kind in a period of time…the same ‘me’ who was surrounded by umpteen numbers of friends and colleagues now seemed a lonely soul walking the corporate corridors. And not to mention my idea of not making friends ‘just for the heck of it’…oh that would possibly never happen in my life which has seen spontaneous friendships most of the time. Recollecting the ‘first-time-meets’ of all my friends I must say that there was instant frequency mapping and matching that worked out magically to follow over the next years till now…why do I say all these now? Because one such totally ‘one-off’ incident happened to me at office a month ago when I met this person through a ‘food committee’ meeting and ever since no turning back and no loneliness for me…there is so much energy and life in the relationship that I feel elated and so special with every conversation we have...I am sure this is going to be a special one to treasure in the coming years. And as the days roll on I could see the how true the following line that I recently read in a magazine is – “How often the next person you get to meet may go on to become one of the most significant relationships of your life?

Thanks Universe for blessing me with wonderful people around…

Losers!!!

Kannadigas, well atleast the majority of them, get provoked with the slightest news about their language or cauvery issues...I really feel that, being in this state/city for almost 2 years now and witnessing all non-sense...Politics, Tamil Movies/Cables and Water issues all intertwined unnecessarily..

What Rajni told is purely his freedom of speech and also a gesture to support a state that has made him a star...how could it be alleged as wrong?...how could that be misconstrued by these people? Why should that irk them unduly? Why can't they think and reason it instead...? why to resort to cowardly actions of banning Tamil movies in the state until such time Rajni apologizes? Why are they so easily provoked? The pro-kannada elements have to really be mature be able to sensitize things...being loyal is one thing and being reasonable is another...there must be a balance of both while taking a stance on issues...God save Rajni...I don't want him to apologize for some mistake that he didn't commit...