Hand Full, really!

Hey there!
Am really sorry for being out of circulation for many days now. Stuck with work and a whole of stuff on the sidelines as well... let me give u guys a recap:

1. My parents have their Housewarming planned for Oct 3rd. You guys are invited! They just bought a new house and there has been a mad rush in order to get some order there, have the house readied for the occassion - that means tackling the painters, the carpenter and the electrician, shopping for accessories and household stuff, arrange for the party decor, guest lists, gifts for the guests, food for the guests... the works! In India, the married daughter also plays a vital role in setting up her parents' home and this particular occassion, so yes, i have been busy!

2. The Puja festivals have started here. Remember i was talking about the mad rush that takes over during this time, especially in the city where I live. So thats started. Traffic on the roads seem to be bursting at the seams, crazy music playing everywhere, people are in their own world and hell bent on just makin the most of these holidays that they actually forget to be normal! Its like looking at the world on fast forward!

3. I have been getting creative.... this is for the housewarming occassion... India has this tradition that decorates the thresholds of houses. Its a sign of prosperity and grace to put up "bandhanvar' on the doors of the house.. the more colorful and bright, the better! so have been making these for the big day! We also put Rangoli's on the floors to decorate some vacant space in the house... in my case, the same would be done on landing where the staircase is in my building... so making those too... 4. Have cousins visiting us.. my sister in laws cousins have hit the town and are living with us. So have an obligation there as well... they have come from ne[pal and are visiting Kolkata for the first time, and that too this festival time. So lots to show them and do with them too!

will keep u guys posted on how things go here... will also put up pictures for all that we do!

Cheers,
Vrinda

Is This Wierd?

Hey there!

Regret the lapse in regular posting of an update from my end. This have been hectic and also been outta sorts for the last few days. Hence, taken a break and withdrawn within to hibernate for a while.
Has this ever happened to any of you? Have any of you guys felt scared at times for no reason at all? Anxious and apprehensive? A niggling thread of doubt at the back of your mind? A constant nag in the deep recesses of your brain and also heart? A feeling of impending disaster?

Thats whats happening to me now. Not sure why this is or what triggered it, but I have this eerie feeling that things would take a major turn now and i dont know what that would be - home, work, relationships, health? There is this sinking feeling in my stomach that this time, maybe it would be that one incident that runs the cup over. It would be that one time that would snap the tolerance level and maybe, make me react in a way that would be completely unreasonable and childish.

I dont want that to happen. Frankly, i just want this ugly feeling to pass. Be comfortable again. Be my confident self that assures me that I can handle most anything that comes my way. I want to be my original dignified self that contains my emotions and reactions within me until someone coaxes me bad. Am scared of asking God also now what this is all about! Unfortunately, that Guy above just has one side conversations wherein he is the one talking!

The Power of Internet

Hey Hey!

I have spoken about my first job being Genpact. From what i have known.. u really cant forget a lot of firsts... ur first love, ur first kiss, ur first time abroad and i agree, your first job. I can never get Genpact out of my system. The things that I learnt there, the people i met there, the friends I have made there, the professional I became there.
Genpact saw me working among a team of 11 immediate team members. I remember each of them clearly and can recall their mannerisms and their singular habits so so vividly as if it were all just yesterday we were together.

Now, i left this particular team to come back to my hometown back in 2006. Post that, i have beem in touch with some of them regularly, some of them on and off and some of them not at all. Among us, many have moved on to other companies and jobs, some have stayed back at Genpact and some of us have also ventured abroad for Genpact assignments. All of us are now married, some have even become a parent! All in all, most of us have grown up and learnt our way around the world.

Remember, i had written about Ajay a couple of posts ago. He was the leader of this mad team. A mishap among one of us got us all back together. Taking updates from one of us to me calling up another team member and an email chain got started wherein we started marking the mail to all those who were a part of the team. Regardless of which company they are in now, while we are on the same mail chain, we belong together.

It has been a great get together! All of us have been delighted to be back in touch with each other. the highlight of the day is to receive a mail from someone of this group, either recalling an anecdote or simply reviving an old nickname or mannerism! what fun those days used to be and how in a matter of moments we are all back to the days we call 'golden' and recall fondly.

Ajay, Steve, Sheetu, Vasudha, Himanshu, Anurag, Ady, Manish, Ebad - this is too u guys! U rock!

And this is something i belive in now...
"there will be new friends,
and there are friends that are old...
The new is silver,
And remember, that old is gold!"

Keep the chain moving!

Festivity in the Air

Dear All!

Salutations!
The air is cooling here in the Bengal province of India. Like newly bloomed flowers, the air is subtly laden with the smell of the festive season here. The roads are already flocking with people out with their families to do their shopping and stocking their homes with goodies. Traffic police have literally trebled in each of the prime areas of the city and are accompanied by volunteers across schools who assign themselves to social service by assisting the public to safely negotiate the far too busy roads. The shops are all heavily laden with merchandise and new trends to woo their customers. The sweet shops are thinking of new delicacies everyday and the newspapers are buzzing with the best deals of the season and the houses of the 'best of the best' of the season - be it clothes, food, shoes, home decor or even jewellery! Give it a week more, there would be a chill in the air, atmosphere would be ripe with the color of red, smell of sweets and incense and sound of beating drums and pulsating music from every nook and corner of the city.... the promise of a season that binds people and propagates sheer joy of celebration of faith and life!

Yes, its the Durga Puja season in Kolkata, India. The festive season of Bengal. Durga Puja, the festival of Bengalis is the worship of 'Shakti' or the divine power. Most of the religious celebrations in the world have legends surrounding them.The fables are generally the fight between the evil and the good, the dark forces eventually succumbing to the divine.Worship of Goddess Durga is based on myths where Durga symbolizes the divine power.

ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN MYTHOLOGY: Mahishasura, the king of Asuras, through years of austerities, was once granted a boon by Lord Bramha, that no man or deity would be able to kill him. The immense power filled in him the urge to rule over the world. He started to terrorize heaven and the inhabitants. Chaos and anarchy reigned. The Gods scared and unable to combat him, requested Lord Shiva, Lord Bramha and Lord Vishnu (combinely known as the Trinity) to stop Mahishasura's tyranny.
In answer, the three Gods combined their divine energy and summoned up a feminine form so brilliantly radiant that it illuminated the heavens. From the glow emerged Devi Durga, a beautiful dark skinned woman with ten arms riding a lion. Despite her grace she bore a menacing expression, for Durga was born to kill. She was sent forth against Mahishasura armed by symbols of divine power; Lord Vishnu's discus; Lord Shiva's trident; Lord Varuna's conchshell; Lord Agni's flaming dart; Lord Vayu's bow; Lord Surya's quiver and arrow; Lord Yama's iron rod; Lord Indra's thunderbolt; Lord Kubera's club and a garland of snakes from Shesha and a lion as a charger from Himalayas. Such might!

Durga Puja is the celebration of this victory (killing of Mahishasura). The interesting part of Durga Puja is that, instead of placing Durga on a high alter and worshipping her from a distance, Indians embrace her in their hearts and make her an inseparable member of the family. Goddess Durga is welcomed to the earth as our daughter who annually visits her parents' home. Durga stays for four days- last four days of the lunar cycle. She is accompanied by two other goddesses - Laxmi and Saraswati and her children Ganesh and Kartik. She sets back for her husband's (shiva) abode on Vijaya Dashami, also known as Dussehra in some parts of the country.

Though the literature and mythology of the entire festival is a wonder of sorts in itself, more fascinating is the fervour in which the Indians celebrate the festival. Business literally stops in this corner of the world on these 4 days. It seems as if life has resumed an objective - to prepare, provide and enjoy the season as if tomorrow never comes. Art flourishes to decorate the city with lights, artifacts, craftsmanship and paintings. Music assumes a new stage of deliverance as each professional strives to perform their stupendous best as their oen personal offering to the Goddess. Its a brilliant study of human nature to just sit and wtach the devotees of Durga embark on the journey of this celebration. Its really no wonder that the Goddess chooses to bless this human race with even more abundance and faith, year on year - its as if she is telling them to keep on the faith, and I will come every year to replenish the stock exhausted last year!

I truly feel its a blessing to be ordained with such faith। It knows no bounds, it takes never a beating when the tides are low. Time and again, it rejuvenates itself by simply celebrating the Almighty. Time and again, replenishes itself by giving yourself away. For in love and faith, the rule is - तुम एक दो, वो दस लाख देगा!

The Beauty of Death

No, I have not taken leave of my senses. No, I have not gone mad.

My first boss, Ajay went on to become one of my staunch pillars when I joined Genpact. Though he was much mature beyond me, wiser in the way the world works and had seen much of the corporate world just when i was walking into it. But he took the time to be my friend. Listen to a small girl who had left the security of home and shelter of college to foray into the big bad world. He became one of my closest allies and these days, about 4 years after he is no longer my boss, I feel very proud to call him a friend.

He lost his father last night. Uncle had been battling a heart condition for some time now with frequent trips to the hospital for the past year or so and last night, he finbally succumbed to it. Ajay had known his father was not keeping well. His family knew his fragile condition. But can u be ever prepared for losing someone so close to you? Losing a parent? It scares the living daylights outta me. I am feeling sad at his loss. Not because Ajay is my friend, or his wife has become a good friend too. But for the last of a wonderful relationship between father and son, grandfather and grandchild. May his soul rest in peace.

“You can shed tears that he is gone,
or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.”

Take care, my friend.

Is this All?

The problem lay buried, unspoken for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban housewife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night, she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question: ''Is this all?''”

- Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan (1921–2006) was an American writer, activist and feminist, widely credited with, and perhaps best remembered for, starting the "Second Wave" of the Women's Movement in the United States with her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique, and as the primary founder of the National Organization for Women in 1966 which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society now" in "fully equal partnership with men".

No need for Words