10 Things No One Knows About Me

There are certain things that everyone knows about us and then there are the ones which no one knows. People do think they know us in and out but only we know how much truth holds in that statement ;). And so, I decided to make a list of things about me which no one knows. I'm not sure if it's going to be fun but sure wanted to give it a try.

Go ahead and read them all.

1.   I am way too sensitive than anyone will ever know. Even the tiniest of things affect me and yes, I try too hard not to overthink think or expect anything, yet a thousand thoughts refuse to leave my head.

2.   People around me think they know everything about me but there is always something that they don’t know. And that something involves major details of my life :P. So if you think you know everything about me or know me too well, think again!

You think you know all my secrets, ha? :P

3.  My judgment often finds its way when it comes to giving suggestions to others and most of them turn out to be helpful as well. But at the same time, when it comes myself, all my sense of decisiveness goes to Mars I guess. I have no clue about what to do, how to do, should I do it or not and fail to discriminate between what is right and what is wrong. That’s the reason why I feel so miserable at times.

I'm mostly wrong about myself! (Rolling eyes)

4.  No matter how hard I try, I’m not able to market myself well be it about my work or things I do in my personal life. I am never able to show it off or portray about doing it. I strongly feel why do I have to flaunt it or boast it in front of people about the good thing that I did. People will learn about it anyway. I should focus on doing well. 

If only flaunting it off was as easy as flaunting a dress!

5.  I may look a confident, independent girl on the outside but deep down I’m just the opposite. And by opposite I mean, anything but these adjectives (or at least that is how my state of mind is at the moment).

Duh!

6.   People see me as someone who is always surrounded with friends and family, etc. and hence I always have someone to go to every time, (sure, I have people around) yet, I see myself as a lonely person.

That's how it is when I'm stuck with problems

7.  I’ve almost forgotten how to lie. I don’t know if it is a good thing or bad but whatever is there in my heart or whatever little knowledge I have I share it exactly the way it is. No twisting and turning. I’ve forgotten how to manipulate things. Again, wondering if it’s good or bad. Given the times we live in, I feel it’s mostly on the downside.

Yes! That's me at lying

8.  I strictly follow the tit-for-tat principle. I do things the way they are done to me. And I often fail to make the first move. *Rolling eyes*

Tit-for-Tat!

9.  Sometimes, what people think of me means everything to me. I know, it’s not right but that is how it gets so many times.

10.  There used to be a time when I was good at making friendships. People still think I am great with networking, but only I know how terrible I’ve become at making contacts and maintaining them.

Me at making contacts

I don’t know if I should be sharing it all here or not and I also, am aware of the risk of writing it here. But then I feel, this is my blog which is an image of myself and I’m sure all of us have our weaknesses. It's just I chose to write it down here.

And it took a great deal of time to come out with them and share it with everyone.

Care to share what no one knows about you? I’d be happy if you’re doing a post on it. Otherwise too, I’d be glad to know.

Cheers

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The Month that went by... #AtoZReflections

I sense relief within me with a little bit of heavy heart at the same time. The blog hopping, commenting, replying, sharing... it was a phase full of utter madness and it paid off! It always does! And it always leaves you with a sense of pride.

The month was all about managing my time better, the discipline that is required to carry it off and the lessons learned.

As the AtoZ fever was in the air when the year started by, I had made up my mind on participating for the third consecutive year. Though, I did not think anything beyond that.

As February went by, a dear friend was getting all paranoid about the theme and asked me about it at the same time and I was like, dude... it’s Feb! I have a whole month to think and plan and write...

What I did not realize was this month wouldn’t just pass but would run like an Olympic athlete!

Coming up with the theme:

As always, I was confused and finally went with my heart. There was a reason behind choosing the theme I chose.

It often happens when there are certain things that happen around me and I don’t really feel comfortable about it. I am not that articulate when it comes to keeping my perspective in a group (especially family) and that is when I feel the urge to put it somewhere, to show the other side, to think from another angle different from the way everyone has been seeing all their lives, that there is so much more beyond the stereotypes, that whatever everybody does is always for a reason and explaining all of that to a bunch of people who will never come to the point of agreement, it is kind of futile.

It was all these thoughts that inspired me to come up with this theme, where I thought of writing down everything that I think, follow and believe.

I often hear, what I talk is impractical (for example, my stand on divorced women or looking beyond looks for any marriage or having a baby or not is completely one’s choice and the likes), that all of it happens in books, television series or movies. In reality, it is much more complicated. I completely vouch for it being complicated but I also vouch for the fact that it exists, that things are changing around us and that we need to change ourselves if we want the change in our society.

A to Z feelings:

Expressing my thoughts this A to Z Challenge was beyond gratifying. It made me happy because I realized I wasn’t the only one who thinks this way. With like-minded bloggers, I got an immense support and motivation, not to mention wings to my thoughts and confidence to express them loud out there.

The Discipline that came with A to Z:

Initially, I had close to 18 posts scheduled (which is so not me!) and I was doing fine but as they were coming to an end, I was panicking because I was falling out of stories but eventually every day in the evening, I sat down and wrote the post for the next day and scheduled it and started with my blog hopping.

It was the first time I had scheduled these many posts and I was happy that I did. Writing every day became kind of a ritual that I would want to continue with. April is now over and this is just the second blog post this month but I am writing every day without fail. I hope to continue this way.

Lessons Learned:

What I understood this month is when we have a deadline coming up or a challenge that we take up, we make our minds continuously think and ponder over things; we push ourselves (beyond our limits) to the extent that we never do otherwise and feel surprised for the way we perform. I, for one, have countless thoughts in my mind which I feel like writing but I don’t. I just postpone (which I am expert at) and make an excuse to myself. I assume on my own that the topic is not worthy of being written or desirable enough to form a blog post.

But this time, even the slightest or tiniest of the idea took the shape of a complete blog post. It was kind of an eye-opener for me and I’d like to keep my eyes open now.

Contented with the numbers:

I’m not a number person. Yes, I do feel happy when I reach a certain benchmark but I don’t get finicky if I don’t have them. This year, during the A to Z, my blog entered the 6-digit figure and it felt contended and worthy of everything, worthy of investing time in my blog and the peace of mind that comes with it.

Readers Choice:

‘Arranged Marriage’ was one post that caught maximum attention with the highest number of views. Other posts that intrigued the readers and compelled them to think over were Beautiful Bride, Extra Marital Affair, Identity, Quit and Understand.

You can read all the posts here.

Verdict:

All in all, it was fun writing all month and I am happy that I survived!

A big Thank you to everyone who stopped by and encouraged me with their beautiful comments and thank you to the ones who did not stop by (it only pushed me more to improve my content).

So tell me, did you participate this year? How was it? What did you learn? Where did you struggle the most?

Cheers

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P- Pomp and Show

It was after 15 years of their marriage when they were blessed with a baby! Their happiness knew no bounds. Everyone in the family was beyond happy. Parents decided well in advance to not create hype about anything related to the child. The family had waited for quite a long time for this day and now they didn’t want to fall prey to evil eyes.

They had decided well in advance that they would do things for the child once he starts understanding things around him. So that he can remember and be a part of such occasions. That’s the reason why they didn’t celebrate his first birthday.

When the boy turned 5 that was the time when the family thought of making it a huge event! One, because their boy was big enough to invite his friends and enjoy his day, two, it had been a long time there had been an event in the family.

Birthday parties, these days have become quite a trend. A huge birthday cake, a few game stalls, a clown, a comedian, a magician are a few things to mention.

But this birthday party was different. It was celebrated with full pomp and show. Almost, everyone in town was invited. And by everyone, I mean everyone they know. From their mailman to their friends, from the grocery shop owner to their colleagues, from their laundry man to all the distant relatives.

The birthday invitation card too looked like a wedding card. It was a party for round about 800 guests... a number most people abstain from for weddings as well.

It was a 2-day affair. One day for the guests to assemble, relax and then attend the Mehendi program in the evening. The following morning had a pooja scheduled, followed by lunch, then high tea and then finally the Big Party!

And at the party, the snacks, main course, and desserts were in a variety no one could ever imagine. You name it and it was there! Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai... something as basic as Maggi was also available. The party had a dance floor for the adults to show their moves!

Source

Most of the guests who came for the party didn’t even know/recognized the birthday boy, let alone wish him for his day. They all came because the parents had invited them so generously.

But this is not why I am writing this post. The peculiar thing about the party was, all the guests who came in were only talking about how unnecessary it was to do such a huge program, that it was pointless to throw such a grand party just for a birthday, that it looked more like a wedding affair rather than a kid’s birthday party, that lot of unwanted/not-required people have been invited to this party when actually, the hosts are not that well-off financially... then why waste money like this!

I feel, yes, the party was a bit overboard for a 5-year-old boy but then at the end of the day, it is nobody’s business! People were invited to give their blessings to the child and not give unsolicited advice. This was a happy occasion for the family and they wanted everyone they know, to be a part of their happiness. They wanted to celebrate because this happiness came a little late in their lives! And all they wanted was everyone to be a part of it and nothing beyond that!

How difficult is that? And yet all everyone did was kept finding out faults in what should or shouldn’t have been done?               

Cheers

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Welcome to my Blog! This A to Z Challenge, my theme is ‘Let’s see the other Side’. Through this theme, I'm trying to giving voice lot of things that go around us and yet I can't do much to bring about the change. I feel, sharing my thoughts in my space here will somewhere make someone think and bring about the change we all want to see!
where I’ll be sharing about the daily nuances that we’ve been seeing in the same way since 1990’s! (:P) But this time you’re going to ponder over it a bit differently.

Feel free to express your thoughts and I'd be all ears!

I hope you have a great time here!

Read More

L- Lonely

Welcome to my Blog! I’m so happy to have you here! This A to Z Challenge, I’m going to give you a ride and take you to all the places untouched! My theme this year is ‘Let’s see the other Side’, where I’ll be sharing about the daily nuances that we’ve been seeing in the same way since 1990’s! (:P) But this time you’re going to ponder over it a bit differently.

Feel free to express your thoughts and I'd be all ears!

I hope you have a great time here!

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After getting married and visiting a number of houses ample enough to draw conclusions, one thing I find peculiar is the proximity that the lady of the house shares with the house staff or maid.

Sure there are daily tidbits involved, the daily cat fight kind of scenario as well but other times there are moments when the men of the house leave for work and children are busy with their work/college/school or activities and that’s when the lady of the house is left alone. Also, here I'm referring to the ones who're in their late 40's or 50's or more than that. Of course, the younger generation has multiple options to while away their time. 

Now, standing on one toe and doing the house chores solely, sure makes the day exhausting for her. And in the midst of this, when she finds solace in talking to the only person available in the giant house, someone who is all ears to her and is willing to give that patient ear, hearing all the family woes, not to mention her companion who gives her the news or the gossip of the society, by adding some spice to it, making her day a bit spicy is none other than her house maid!

Often, the kids or the men of the house find it strange and don’t really understand what pleasure does one derive by having a futile, not-so-productive, completely baseless conversation with someone they refuse to sit next to their side?!

Source

While their thought process isn’t really wrong, but the fact is, man is a social animal. Men go out and have a work life, women who’re working have a regular change in environment too where you get some free time from the daily dal-chawal conversations but the ones who stay at home... their only pastime or the thing they really look forward to is their personal BBC news channel, who would cook up stories and report about the various activities going on around her! They find it the only way to deal with the loneliness that creeps in the house once they’re all alone!

Do we ever look beyond this? Or just simply lampoon the ones indulging in it?

I don’t stay home much but I do get what they go through. And I never question them. All it needs is a bit of kindness from our side and they will feel much better about it!

Don’t you think so? Tell me what’s your take on it?

Cheers

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C- Candy Crush

How many of you were addicted to it or still are and have killed your precious hours on this revolutionary game? I, for one, haven’t wasted a single second on it.

Yes... we do exist!

The way Facebook has been accepted worldwide, Candy Crush Saga has been equally sensational. So much so that I thought of it being declared as the National Game of the country! :P

And the instances of people being glued to their phones are hilarious.

So a friend of mine was sharing the Candy Crush story of his mom. When his mom learned to play that game, she was so lost in her phone that she ignored every damn thing in her life! Office work, daily chores, social gatherings, everything!

Once my friend was awake until late night and came out of his room around 3 in the morning. He saw a flicker of light coming from his parents’ room and wondered if everything was okay. When he opened the door, it was mostly dark. His father was having a sound sleep, while his mom was missing. This worried him a bit. He started calling out her without letting his father get disturbed. 

And as he approached towards the light (which was coming from the bathroom), he was left aghast! His mom was sitting on the floor with the lights on, playing Candy Crush!!

‘What is wrong with you, mom!? It’s 3 in the morning!!’

Well... Things people do to play Candy Crush, I tell you!

Source

But that’s not why I chose to write on this topic. There is more to it.

I know a lady... or let’s just say lots of ladies, whose bodies are exhausted after finishing the household work, that all they feel is lie on the bed and have some rest. While doing so, they don’t sleep immediately, though. They have this urge to talk, to share things, to let someone know how exhausting their day was, how nasty the kids got in the evening and the likes.

And in the plethora of these thoughts, she sees her phone! Tempting, eh? Of course, (most) husbands don’t talk much to their wives. And the irony is there are hundreds of contacts in the phone, and yet not a single person whom they can call at an odd hour! Well, that’s the beauty of getting involved in your house altogether! Pun intended!

And the only rescue to free your mind, to get over with the chain of thoughts, to have that ‘me’ time, to put your mind apart from breakfast, lunch or dinner, to feel refreshed again is none other our very favourite... Candy Crush Saga!

And then they get judged for it too! Kids make fun of their moms, saying they’re glued on their phones all the time and don’t look after them, husbands start getting pestered because for once, wife is giving more importance to something else than them, the house management too gets suffered sometimes, but then if those few minutes turned into hours (:P), give them so much peace then so be it! There’s no harm in that.

One shouldn’t be judged for playing Candy Crush, what say you CC lovers?

What do you think? I’m sure not everyone would agree but you’re free to express your thoughts and let me be a part of it!

P.S: Sorry for making it so long! Couldn’t trim more! :D

Cheers

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Welcome to my Blog! I’m so happy to have you here! This A to Z Challenge, I’m going to give you a ride and take you to all the places untouched! My theme this year is ‘Let’s see the other Side’, where I’ll be sharing about the daily nuances that we’ve been seeing in the same way since 1990’s! (:P) But this time you’re going to ponder over it a bit differently.

Feel free to express your thoughts and I'd be all ears!

I hope you have a great time here!

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Should I walk on you?

Source

As I stand here

On this long path 

Obscure, undiscovered and untamed

I see my whole life ahead

Waiting for me 

To unleash 

The possibilities

And make a life 

Full of dreams turning into realities!
Should I walk on you? 

There's a long way to go

And I should choose happiness 

Above everything else.

Now it may seem hard

But that's the right thing to do

For they say

If it's good, it's never going to be easy!
Should I walk on you? 

I tried

A lot,

But can't anymore! 

Why does it feel so difficult? 

Choosing your own happiness 

Why does it sounds 

so Selfish? 

I know

I won't be happy 

If it stays the way it is.

Sure we need to 

Pay the price 

For things we choose

for Ourselves! 

Should I walk on you? 

~G

Linking with Friday Reflections

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Love quotient... is it still a Question?

Source

One thing that really moved me in a long time is the conversation I had with a really close friend of mine. We talk about almost everything going on in our lives... love, sex, kids, family, friends, enemies... everything!

There are certain things you learn from time to time and yet there are truths that hit you in your face like nothing else.

|There are things that smash you down and leave you broken. There are conversations that take away every bit of peace and sanity in you, leaving you behind absolutely numb.

Building brick by brick, one tries to make their relationship/marriage into a less miserable one but when they learn the truth, all they feel is, it was all utter waste. Waste of time, waste of energy, waste of efforts, and a waste of every single ounce of pain that you take for your relationship.

At the end of the day, when you learn that there is no significant difference between you and that yapping lady next door who is always, mind you always, is on her toes to eat her husbands’ head for every petty thing in her life and you, on the other hand, control the strongest desire of yours to talk about things that worry you and wait for the right time to discuss, or try to understand the frame of mind of your partner and then mould yourself accordingly, or after waiting for like a billion years, when you finally say for things you want to experience and yet after all this while, all you earn for yourself is the title of that yapping woman... it does nothing but shatters you completely!

How do you make peace? How do you accept all of this and go ahead? Sure, a glass of wine would help ease the pain, but that is all temporary. What about permanent solutions? But then I feel, we live in a time where nothing is actually permanent in life and that, my friend, is the sad reality!

After a few years of togetherness, you find out that nothing ever is going to change! Things will remain the way they are or worse, they may take a backseat as well! The storm that has hit your lives decide to never leave you! 

Are you willing to take it forward and live with this truth? What would you do in such a situation? If you’re in a relationship, sure you can break-up, but what do you do in a marriage? Leave your partner, saying what, you have compatibility issues? In a society where the ideal marriage means having the arrangement of having the perfect house, perfect car, perfect in-laws or the perfect ‘wealth’ to fulfill all your desires and yet the biggest quotient of ‘love’ is absent, what do you do? Do you walk out of that arrangement? Or do you have an extra-marital affair or do you wait for that forlorn day when you will have love by your side? What really should one do in a situation like this? 

What you feel is the ray of hope in a darkness like this which is barely seen or observed?

Cheers

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#MondayMotivation

Cheers

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Angels into Demons

The moment I close the doors

Of my room,

And am left with me all alone

The room is filled with nothing but gloom!

The angels that were dancing in the daylight

Get all melancholic, laughing at my plight

That’s when the demons come out in the dark

And show me the reality that is so stark!

‘You’re good for nothing’

‘Nothing good have you ever done in your life,

Not a single thing’

‘You will have to wait more for your happiness’

Thoughts like these bring out all the snappiness!

No Facebook newsfeed, no tweets on Twitter,

No snaps on Snapchat, and no updates on Insta,

Nothing seems to distract away the vicious thoughts

Nothing that can vanish away the woes, no friends, no folks, not even siesta!

The more you’ll lock up yourself,

The more you’re going to get trapped

Go out and breathe away the fresh air

Glow in the sunshine and get all wrapped!

And then I open my heart

And walk my way, for a new start

Finding my inspiration, with hopes held high

Walk past the demons with relief and give a sigh!

 Cheers

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10 things I love about my work

Do you love your work? I sure do. Life as a teacher has been acutely satisfying. So much so that a part of my life revolves around my work and my students. 

C'mon!. Let's explore the perks of being a teacher,

One The World knows my ability to talk! Just talk! And what better place could it be than a room filled with people, younger than your age, who have no other option than listening to you?! ;) :D Okay, jokes apart, I always find it therapeutic to interact with my students. No matter how my mood is, it always gets better after each class.

Two Who doesn’t like to stay amongst the younger crowd? Not that there is much of a difference between our ages, but it’s always a good thing to stay and meet people who’re younger than your age. It sure adds a new perspective to your thinking and involves so much of learning.

Three Isn’t it rewarding to see when someone looks up to you? To me, it’s even more motivating to keep myself live up to the expectations of my students. And that adds another sense of responsibility at the same time.

Four Daily interactions in the class, cracking jokes in order to make the subject more interesting, giving examples and going back to the time when I was a student! It makes me reminisce my old college days and all of this helps in keeping the child in me alive. 

Five Sure it occupies my time and helps me stay busy. And this is so important to keep my sanity alive. I know how miserable I get and how handy I become when I have too much of time to myself doing nothing. Sure, it ensures peace in my life :P

Six Taking one batch after the other and seeing your students come out with flying colors automatically does the due. The sense of respect in the loud and clear, ‘Thank you, Ma’am!!’ after each class is immensely satisfying. Along with the perks of recognition, accomplishing the sense of identity other being someone’s ‘Mrs’ is contagious!

Seven There was a point in my life where feeling worthless was the only sentiment I could sense.  Things changed with my work and helped me come out of that zone. The love that my students shower upon me, I don’t even know if I deserve that, but it feels exceptionally gratifying.

Eight And who can ignore the lifetime relationships and bonding that comes with it?

Nine My profession has taught me to embrace life, to consider the pebbles thrown at you as the stepping stones towards success and above all to feel grateful for changing lives for good, for shaping the thought process and for thriving towards excellence! 

Ten There was a time when I used to lose my cool real soon. But with time, my work has taught me to be patient and empathetic towards my students. Now I know, keeping calm and being a patient soul can do wonder to your class and of course, your life!

Thank goodness, I've not become like this :P

Does it ring a bell to you? Nope, you don’t necessarily have to be a teacher for it. Tell me if this post reminds you of any teacher? How were your experiences back then with them? Share with me and I am all ears J

Cheers

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Bitter Sweet Life

The other day this thought crossed my mind. And it made me realise things change so fast around us and we don’t even notice. But when realisations strike, it obviously gets too late!

So many things change when we grow up. And we become the kinds we never thought we would. Our circle gets limited. We become less understanding and more judging. We give less and expect more. For every ounce of stuff done around us. We’re always surrounded by things neck deep that we barely get time for our loved ones. And so, we don’t call them either. Rather, wait for the other one to make an effort and if the other doesn’t, it becomes our birthright to blame them for being busy and not calling us or not making an effort.

Convenient, isn’t it?

From the times in the school, when sharing about your first crush, or first boyfriend or the many firsts, that used to be the highlight of the day, without which we wouldn’t be able to digest our food, and was the top priority to get it out somehow, to the times when we fight our scariest demon... all alone! And the worst part is we start hiding things. Coz of the fear of being judged, or probably to display that our life is perfect. That we know how to deal with stuff around us!

I don’t know what is it and more importantly, why it is like this!

Things change. Relationships change. Priorities change.

|Something that once seemed so evil becomes the only drug to keep you going.

I, for one, used to be the most caring person around. I used to think about others before myself. I still do. I used to be the one making calls on birthdays to wish the person not-so-special (I've stopped doing that), the one who was always ready to sacrifice and suffer, the one who’d never put herself before anyone else, the one who couldn’t live without her friends, the one whose yapping used to be her thing, the one who couldn’t resist sharing the minutest of details happening in her life. Sharing the particulars of the most silly things that can happen in one’s life, to obviously the ones that are truly worth sharing. And today, when I look at myself, I feel so different. Part of that person inside me has taken a slow death!

I barely text my friends, let alone call them. And I don’t even regret that. If someone calls, it’s fine by me. But that urge to take that extra effort, it doesn’t come. I’m still figuring why?

But the good part is during this process, the ones who are truly yours will always come to you and that makes you happy. Really happy.

Recently, I saw this word and it resonated with my state of mind so well that I want to share it here.

Yes, sometimes I feel Exhaustipated!

I don’t care about things and I feel okay about it! People, who know me well, know how strange it is for me to feel this way.

And this year, the resolution that truly is the highlight and the one I’m religiously working on, is to ‘Speak less’! Yes, you heard that! Loud and clear.

Not that I’m trying to change who I am, but trying to change certain habits that have been doing more harm than good! And no one is responsible for it, but me. Whenever I end up feeling bad, I realize it’s all because of me that I felt the way I did. I’m not blaming anyone, nor am I pointing fingers at anyone, all I’m saying is there are certainly things that I should change about myself, coz no one but me will be the one getting hurt the most!

And in between, I look forward to discovering more of myself. I’m sure it’s going to be worth it.

I think it’s enough for today. Tell me about yourself.

Have you ever done this? Tried to change something about yourself and the way it turned out to be? 

Was it good? Was it worth the try? Share with me all your wisdom and I am all ears here!

Does this post resonate with you? Let me know either way.

Cheers

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