Month: August 2016

Count your Blessings

Each morning so many of us wake up with a heavy heart, some of us want better jobs, some want more money, some a better spouse, some better children…The wants are endless. But in that mood of melancholy we forget our blessings.

Let me give you the checklist

  1. Are you alive today?
  2. Is there someone( even one person) who loves you?
  3. Did you have your last meal?
  4. Do you have a home to go back to ?
  5. Do you have a place to sleep?
  6. You had a choice of clothes to wear this morning?
  7. You didn’t spent the last minute in fear of your life?
  8. You can read and write?
  9. You do not have to worry about how you will buy the next meal?
  10. You have access to clean water?
  11. You have access to clean washrooms?

So be thankful for what you have and stop cribbing over what you don’t have.

ALWAYS REMEMBER – A ROSE LIVES AMONG THE THORNS, AND A LOTUS GROWS IN MUDDY WATER.

THE MORE WE HAVE, THE MORE DISSATISFIED HERE. ONLY WHEN WE LEARN TO BREAK FROM THIS CYCLE WE WILL BE TRULY HAPPY.IMG_5062

 

 

Life of an Expat

18 November 2014 : That was the day i left the soils of India and came to Dubai. As with everyone, I had mixed feelings. Happy, coz I would be going abroad to a new life that awaited me. Sad, coz i would miss my parents…they would be so far away. Miss the warmth of my home.

I was anxious about the kind of people i would meet, would i be able to adjust. Will it turn out to be a wise decision? After all, we were moving from settled to a kind of unsettled life.

This november, I will complete two years in Dubai. One of the most negative points of living in a country with different culture is the missing all the festivities. None of the festivals give you the same feel which was back home.

Diwali lacks the lights, Holi lacks the colours and at festivals like RakshaBandhan you miss your family.

Neither of the day is a public holiday, so just like any other day you get up and go to work.

Not that I am a big fan of Crackers and fire workers, but at Diwali the whole sky would be lit up with various colours. All what we do here is go to temple, bring a few sweets which unfortunately are poor scanned copies that lack our taste of punjab, do a lakshmi pujan and go to sleep.

Diwali

Holi is usually a big splash back home. The beautiful colours all mingling with water, the sweet taste of gujiyas, holika dahan all make life more refreshing.  All what we have here is just the what’s app messages and phone calls.

HOLI ONE_09

One of my favourite festivals in India was Lohri. The bonfire and the offerings to Fire god would drive all the cold away. How i miss that here.

lohri-2014.jpg

Today it is Raksha Bandhan. Neither could i go to my brother’s house and tie rakhi on his wrist. Nor i have a daughter who could tie my son. Possibly that is making me miss all of them.

Another down about living is an expat is that your schedules never match back home. The vacations here start after the schools there are open, so you can never plan a family get together.

One more thing which i miss is decorating my home. In India, if you would buy something it would be for keeps. Here you look something just to pass time, as you don’t know how many years you will be here.

What i like about being an expat is you get to know new cultures, learn new things from them, visit new places, live in a secure environment and of course quality of life is much better. Here, i don’t have to bother that water will not come, or at night electricity won’t be there. Nor have any nightmares about the school transport.

Everything has its ups and downs..possibly this is life..so enjoy what u get. So I’ll keep enjoying what life has chosen for me.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to my little Whizkid!

My little one is  8 years old.

It seems just yesterday when i was struggling with my pregnancy woes, and Lol now he is 8!

Eight years back he was born on a lazy sunday morning and truly lazy he is! especially when he comes to doing simple things like getting up and taking a glass of water, or sometimes putting paste on his brush.

Sending him to school is a herculean task. ” Gunjit, Wake up! ” ..will start 40 minutes before the bus timings…but all he will give is 25 minutes for himself to get ready and still will want to be the first one to reach the bus stop.

According to the standards, he is ill mannered. He loves to enjoy, play and have fun.Typical Leo he is, has anger on his nose all the time. But spend some time with him, and you realize he is a loving and sensitive boy, adjusts wherever he goes, makes friends in a second.  Overshoots his limits just as any other kid of his age, but the next moment realizes that he has done something wrong.He  will be ready to say ” Sorry” that very moment…but still is trying to learn not to repeat that thing.

He Loves watching all the fighting movies…and enacts all the fight scenes after seeing them. Thinks he is the strongest of all…but will get frightened if has to stay alone even for 30 minutes. Pokemon is his favourite cartoon. And he likes reading Wimpy Kids. If by mistake we take him for our weekly groceries, we are in a big trouble, as anything that comes in an attractive label gets into the basket. He is fond of all the junk food which can be prepared or sold right from pizza, burger, chocolates, icecreams and doughnuts. He likes playing with bablets, cars and those funny toys which come with Macdonalds meal, still he will demand us to get him PS4. He likes playing carrom and all family games.. But he will cheat in order to win, so we have to be really careful.

Will shower his papa and me with kisses and hugs when he gets happy even over little things.

Though he is lazy but still he wants to do everything…Abacus, art, Dance, Karate, football, Swimming and would force me to enroll him into everything. Once he has learnt something will demonstrate his learning and skill to all, but finally it will take all our might to convince him to continue what he has already enrolled and not gravitate towards another option which he is considering at the moment.

The only grandchild in my In Law family…he is pampered to the point of spoilt by his Dadi & Dadu. Fights with them a lot, but then loves them also so much. Gets to see less of maternal side, so expects to be treated as king whenever he meets them.

Studies are his biggest enemy…but still wants to come 1st in everything studies included. Hates that now he is growing up, so his playing time is reduced. But is a real genius..picks up quickly and never disappoints us with his performance. Science and Maths are his favourite subjects, though he is still picking up on languages. However slangs like “Man” and ‘Dude ‘ are common in his vocabulary now.

Ever since he was 3, has changed almost 20 professions that he would do when he grows up. First, he wanted to be a driver, then doctor, astronaut,  scientist, actor, dancer, and  now Football Player…and a scientist when he retires from football!Though i’m still not able to understand the combo. Only thing definite is that he wants to be famous!

Wants to marry an Indian girl …but not have kids..as according to him ” Kids are a big responsibility  just like he is a big responsibility for us”

I can go on and on about this little bundle of mine, but he will be sore why I shared his secrets here.

Happy Birthday My Little Prince! Love you loads! You are definitely our superhero and we wish you all the best in Life !

 

superkid

 

 

 

 

 

Good , Bad and The Evil

She eats eggs on a Tuesday! Surely she will go to hell!

My goodness they are Hindus, and they cook Chicken at home! What kind of Hindus they are!

All of us have heard about these statements and many more. Is one’s inherent goodness linked to just these or something beyond it. Can One  be declared evil, if one does all of the above.

Take 1 : If you are eating eggs daily, not a big deal…Tuesday is just another day. What has my morality to do with eating eggs. Eggs are a good source of protein, loaded with nutrients and vitamins, easy to cook and yummy to taste. So who gives the authority to another to judge someone based on their eating eggs whether tuesday or any other day or not eating eggs any day.

eggs

Take 2 : Vegan or non vegan, what is the big deal! what has this got to with one’s  spirituality? Has this any concern with one being evil.

I agree according to some animals are living beings…but so are plants.

Counter comment is we eat a part of plant and don’t destroy it as a whole.

A tiger eats a deer. So Tiger is evil and deer is good.

But Isn’t this a delicate balance of food chain.  Man lies at the apex of food chain and before agricultural practices were introduced, the pre historic man was a hunter indeed.

I am not advocating vegetarian versus non vegetarian. All one should have is a balanced diet.  All i want to put forth is to delink religion, ethics and morality from what anyone eats. Let everyone follow what his Inner conscience dictates.

veg vs

Why do we confuse morality with our eating preferences?

The way different regions have different eating habits have been dictated by the availability of particular food, climate and so forth. In current Techno era, all lines have become blurred.

How one’s body reacts to a particular food  determines his eating patterns in the long run.

This has nothing to do with someone being immoral, if he eats a particular food.

This blog is inspired by and is in response to Beyond good and evil

 

 

 

 

Obsessed

 

The Difference Between Men And Women…Very, Very, True!

SPOT ON! MEN ARE FROM MARS AND WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS.

couplegfLet’s say a guy named Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening…

when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: “Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for exactly six months?”

And then, there is silence in the car.To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation…

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Life is not a joke.

Joke

“This is scary, Man! you should not do this.” Vaibhav shouted.

“Hey, Chillax ! I’ve been doing this for the last one month. See, nothing has happened. I reach home early and can give more time to studies.” Rishabh Blurted.

See, you won’t understand. My brother got in 1st 50 at IITs. You don’t have to prove anything. It won’t matter to your parents whether you get into DEC or IIT, as long as you get admission in good branch.

My whole life has been a shadow. Right, from the moment I was born…Sunil started walking at 9 months…Started speaking at 1 year…They think I am a loser. I have to show them for once that I can get a better rank than my so called brother.

“Its all in your mind, Bro ! Indian parents are like this only…esp we North Indians. Your brother loves you.” Anyway…See you for the next class. Bye.

Rishabh had been jumping into superfast trains, which would not stop at his station so that he could reach home early. He was not able to cope with time and studies, due to his daily commuting which would take him one hour plus either way. He remembered asking his father to let him take a PG accomodation near to school.The reply still echoed in his mind. “You can never do anything. Look at your brother. We never spent an extra penny for him and see this year he will graduate from IIT. And I can bet you he will get full scholarship from Stanford for his Mtech.” Simply wasting our hard earned money! Why can’t you come home daily. Sunil would read even in train.”

Rishabh had always lived in shadow of his elder brother. Sometimes he wished he could hurt his brother the way he was daily insulted. He had been a good student always..but no one appreciated him because his brother had been the best. The best son, the best student….The best tag it seems was discovered only for him.

 

Few Days later…..

Rishabh was lying in Trauma ICU in AIIMS. He had fallen down between the train and railway tracks while trying to catch the superfast which did not stop.

His leg was badly injured..and had to amputated to save his life.

Life is not a joke. We should never put our life at risk. Better late than never..A age old saying should always be followed.

Parents should never compare their children Every child has different potential which should be encouraged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Prompt: Paint – Colors of Peace

via Daily Prompt: Paint

I want to paint this world in the colours of peace.

Everyone’s heart to be painted white,

No bloodshed, No war, No gunshots, No bombs.

No fight over Religion.

No fight bout Land.

 

I want to paint this world in the Green.

A soothing green everywhere around,

No hunger, No starvation

No children going to sleep without food.

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I want to paint this world in Midnight Blue.

As serene as night.

As peaceful as sleep.

IMG_5005

 

I want to paint this world in Pink.

Little girls dressed in pink

Their gigglings and play making the world a lovable place.

 

I want to paint this world in the colours of sunrise and sunset.

The orange hue which fills the skies.

 

I want to paint this world in the colours of rain,

No droughts anywhere,

Each creature looking beautiful drenched in rain.

IMG_0035

 

I want to paint this world in the colours of life,

I want this world to be peaceful and beautiful inside out,

For each being which resides.

 

I want to paint this world with love,

Love for all the forms of life,

No discrimination on caste, colour or country,

No discrimination on the way you pray,

 

I want to paint this world in the colours of joy,

As joyous as little children are.

 

I want to paint this world,

To make it beautiful for you, me and everyone.