The Struggle is Real

You remember watching those romantic scenes or songs in several Bollywood movies in rain? The heroine looks sensuous and the hero most desirable. The setting and mood takes you to the other world. You are happy, almost immersed in the scene...

"What the hell? Close that window. The rain has just changed the direction. Leave that one closed for now. Hurry up or that rain will make our bed wet." 

Did the reality hit you? I hate Bollywood movies for this. The colorful funky colleges, love at first sight, and the romantic rain sequences. All fake.

Come back to the real middle class flat dweller's life and here is how the rainy season looks like:

1. The rain does not fall down straight. The serious spell of rain is accompanied with wind and makes it fall in any direction but straight down. For people like us, who took pride in owning the corner flat, it's the payback time. We keep on running around to close and open the windows as per the rain's direction.
2. When we were small children, we used to enjoy the smell of the rain. Now, the rainy season does not bring that earthy smell but whatever smell it brings, it sure immerse itself into everything. The cloths, the food, the books, the bed-sheet, the cupboard, the child, parents, husband, myself - everyone and everything carries the same smell - of dampness.
3. For a mother of a 6 yo, the only part of the flat that provides some privacy and "me time" is the washroom. Take your phone or take your book or just nothing but closing the washroom door's latch brings that relief. Come rain and the wooden doors swell up. They just refuse to close. Now, I am forced to use the washroom for its original use. No more that peaceful corner cos the door does not close. 
4. The ginger tea... Wow. Is it? When the monsoon gets in the full swing, 90% of the family members start coughing. Now the ginger is not used to make tea to accompany the pakodas but to make the kaadha for the coughing members. 
5. You sure feel sleepy or you want to spend some cozy time in your bedroom. Nah ah. Your bed, the chairs and any available space that you can see has your cloths spread out. The cloths washed today takes a free trip of the entire house throughout the day and finally is ready for you to wear after 4 days. If you are in hurry to wear them, iron them up.
6. How much time you spent to decide the color and texture of your walls? Thoughtfully handpicked wall decorations... Well, the continuous rain has left a sweet love bite on your walls. You see that? That wet damp patch. 

Hollywood movies are one step ahead. Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Titanic and so on. How much water they might have wasted to shoot them? Anyway. In those Hollywood movies, their phones continue to work even when they have been getting wet. My bloody phone starts misbehaving even when I pick it up with 3 wet fingers! Their cars, phones, guns, heroines - everything works. Here, just seeing the clouds, our Tata Sky and electricity goes off. 

And the most irritating moment award goes to - when the sky goes pitch dark and it starts with a drizzle. You start feeling happy. You dash out to take the cloths stand inside to save your almost dried up cloths from getting wet again. It rains for.... full 3 minutes and then the clouds fly away and the sun smiles back at you. Almost mockingly. 

No power, coughing family members, damp flat full of wet cloths and closed windows and doors. That's what the real monsoon looks like. I am not 

even talking about the flood hit areas. 

"Rim jhim gire saawan"

"Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si"

"Jo haal dil ka"

....

....

like, seriously?

Another MILESTONE!!!

Okay, there I changed the status message of my gtalk saying: "Today I complete 3 years of my Professional Life...!!!!!!!" and here my friend congratulates me and asks if I have written the blog or not?

I seriously had no intention to write a blog on this particular milestone but since he has poked me, I thought why not oblige him (Parikshit, if you are reading this, I dedicate this blog to you)

Btw, earlier my status message was: "Today I complete 3 years at 3i Infotech. Don't know if this is a happy or a sad occasion". Then another friend of mine suggested, why use 3i Infotech's name and get confused about it, rather call it 3 years of Professional life. I really felt happy and relieved at that…

I still cannot digest the fact that my father worked at the same bank for almost close to 32 years!!! I am already feeling suffocated after 3 years. As one of my bro-in-law says, "to get a hanuman, you have to be a Lord Ram first". But sadly, there is no Ram in today's corporate world (if there are any, I wish their number to increase drastically) and so there is no Hanuman.

But I am pretty impressed with myself when I see my bank account. My parents used to fill my piggybank or there were festivals to earn money when I was a child. At times, to tease me, my father would often say, "tum kya jaano khoon paseene se kamaya huye paise ki keemat" (how would you know the importance of the hard-earned money?). But I know it now. I know its value. It hurts when someone takes away my money and does not return it in terms of the service or the favor promised in lieu of that money.

It's not that I have nothing to boast about in these 3 years. I have had my share of joy and happy moments, some learning (which, sadly, was limited to not more than initial 2 years only), new friends, meeting new people or shall I call them strangers, travelling to few of the places/rural places, imparting training, tasting local food, nothing-less-than-adventure-type of experiences etc etc. Thanks to one of my official trips, I happened to meet my long lost family friends and was able to spend quality time with them at Baroda. Have seen so much of politics that many a times I have decided to call it quits but stayed back.

I know I might be sounding as if I have completed 30 years of my professional life when actually the number stands at just 3 years but in these times, completing every single year is nothing less than an achievement. And on top of that, this is a MILESTONE and my readers already know how I am hell-bent on remembering the milestones… btw, 15^th May, 2006 was my first day at ICFAI college and hostel J Five years!!!

Unhelpful “Help”

I am talking about the tab Help in a particular computer application or what comes once you press F1 on your computer keyboard. At times, you get such amazing help from this tab that you actually can make a nuclear weapon without any prior knowledge about what is 'nuclear' and what is 'weapon'. But at times, it does NOT help you AT ALL. You keep on keying in all keywords to search for the criteria or run through the entire Index table but it does not respond, apart from "No matching items found". On such occasions, even if you try to search for Nuclear Weapon definition in its very own Help manual, you will end up getting results like "Clean and Clear" L

Now, don't go by the literal example of nuclear weapon and one of the biggest PJ of clean and clear (I am just too furious today with this feature and so you have this example coming in from me)… The day at office started with my boss introducing his idea of giving the front end designed page for all the new services for which we give SRS to our development team, by creating the forms/pages in HTML, thus saving their effort in coding for such forms. He showed me some websites where we can create such HTML pages within five minutes. He also suggested a freeware where we can import such HTML pages and link it to some database, which could be really helpful for our development team in reducing their efforts. He suggested me to do some R&D on that freeware using the HELP to do such linking.

Happily I designed the forms with all my creativity, imported them to this freeware and started playing around with various buttons and options. I was playing around since I assumed that whenever I would get stuck, F1 will help me out. So till then I must put in my genuine efforts to learn this petty freeware. Finally the time came when I had to press F1 and believe me or not, I have spent almost 2.5 hours on that tab and had not got even one single meaningful information out of it….!!!

Have typed the keywords in all permutations and combinations, have gone through the entire Index, Glossary and Content table… have lost my precious forms created almost 5 times… had tediously designed them in this very freeware… have discovered such features which I never intended to BUT not what I was searching for… On top that, I know that whatever I am searching for will turn out to be the simplest feature to be implemented and then I will bang my head on this monitor…

This post could have been much shorter than this but since I don't want to go back to that HELP and I need some break, I am putting in more time and lines in this post…

PRECIOUS ONE YEAR !!!

Okay, I ought to write something but am not being able to write anything. Have tried writing something but every time this Backspace button has erased everything.

"Why is it so important to write something?"

Good question. The answer is that we (I and Nimit) are approaching our first wedding anniversary day. If I can write out a post on every trivial issue, this calls to write a novel, if not, then atleast a post is a must. Since 29^th Jan of this year I can clearly recall each day of the last year same time period. That was the day when I gave my office colleagues a nice party and left for Hyderabad to celebrate my brother's 1^st wedding anniversary. I and my bhabhi had practiced like maniacs for the dance that we were to perform on my sangeet. We had meticulously planned everything. On 1^st Feb 2010, I had landed at Jaipur. Another cousin of mine was getting married on 3^rd and so we had attended his sangeet ceremony and were looking forward to the wedding. But then came the day which can be called the villain of my wedding. Caught fever which turned out to be a symptom for Jaundice. 7^th Feb 2010 was the day when I was admitted to the hospital. This day when I am writing this post, last year same day same time, I was getting ready to get discharged from the hospital. Guests had started pouring in and my family was struggling to smile and welcome them.

I must not dwell further into how they managed to carry out the wedding with a smile on their faces. That makes me feel more terrible. And it was not only my family which was struggling to keep up the spirits, my in-laws, my close friends and closest relatives, who took turns to look after me and stand by my family to take care of the proceedings.

Exactly a year to the ordeal (not my wedding, but this jaundice thing) and I have no clue how the time has passed so quickly. We have had wonderful times and lot of tensed moments as well. I can say that both of us have changed in this one year. Now I am not much concerned about just a small circle of my acquaintances but a lot of other people- two sets of families and two sets of friendsJ. There was a time, when I was not much worried about my dinner; anything would do but now I have to assure the menu for the three meals in advance. I cannot just like that visit my parents; I have to take care about lot of other things. As for Nimit, I am sure I have made him more patient. No meditation or therapy required for that, it's just that I am a very difficult wife to handle… So the best policy is to be patient J J

Surprisingly, my nature is getting transformed into a typical married woman nature… Every time I open my cupboard, I feel that I don't have good enough cloths to wear (and I should buy more); every time I look into the mirror, I feel that I have gained atleast 10 kg of weight from the last time that I had noticed; every time I talk to any bachelor friend of mine, I ought to ask him/her about his/her wedding plans; I have started being a part of the gossip groups; have started discussing with other married female friends of mine about the type/categories of husbands and place our respective husbands in one of the categories... Phew… That's quite a big change in me…

Nimit has learned quite a lot about kitchen etiquettes (he helps me a lot there); he is getting to used to be called JIJU/Nimit JI; his wardrobe has some forced (thanks to me) entrants- strange colored, shaped and sized cloths; he now has an account on one of the most happening social networking sites and is regular on it; now his to-do list of weekends also has shopping, movies and eating out; his family has also discovered that he can SING those songs which no one has listened to or don't even recall (though they think that I am the reason for this change in him but I must confess that even I am not aware of such songs and his IQ about movies is not bad at all)…

There are lot many things to relish about this past year… Lot of things to learn from to grow mature with each passing year… I just wish and pray to God to help us make each other's lives ever wonderful and enjoyable and keep us together forever…. Amen!!!

Ye Dilli hai mere yaar...

Okay, before I start this post, there is a special note for die-hard Delhi fans: I love Delhi J

There is this strange irony of my life. The more I used to consider Delhi-NCR as the worst place to live in, the more connected I became.

I was born in Delhi. Nearly 90% of my school life was spent in this region. When I completed my schooling, I was kind of relieved that I don't have to come back to Delhi. I was happy at Jaipur. But I landed up at Gurgaon (NCR) for MBA. I was placed and my company stationed me at places like Mumbai, Chennai and now Bangalore. And guess what??? I got married to a Delhiite.  

But there is something magnetic about this place. I may have started realizing this magnetism only after spending some time in South India. The name of the famous roads, the numerous autos which keep on exhaling unbearable polluted fumes, the street food, the roadside chit-chat sessions of young groups, housewives buying vegetables from vegetable carts in their night gowns and bargaining on top of that, India Gate, the disinterested government employees, the government buildings, historical monuments, congested streets where there is no space for parking and yet each family proudly own atleast two cars, cheaper daily-use commodities (here I am comparing with South India), jugaadu attitude, Metro, latest model of cars or bikes speeding along-with cars which may crumble down to a pile of metal anytime etc etc.

Whenever I would travel through Delhi Roads, I feel some kind of connection with the names of the roads and areas, though I may not be able to guide you to any damn road of Delhi. Barakhamba Road, ITO, CP/ Rajiv chawk (for Metro travelers), Dilshad Garden, Akbar Road, Sardar Patel Marg, Rajghat, Janpath, Rohini (this is where I spent almost 7 years), Pragati Maidan, Dwarka, Mayur Vihar (this is where I am going to spend rest of my life J), Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, Kamla Nagar etc etc.

I may not have been to all the historical places of Delhi but just passing by them also gives a sense of pride to be present in the capital city of India- Delhi. It is polluted, it has now got extreme weather conditions- too cold in winters and too hot in summers, it is congested, it is cunning, it is the prime aim for terrorists, it is crowded but whatever it is, people born and brought up in Delhi cannot stay away from this place for long.

Here you get the best street food of India. Here you don't shy away from buying things from street and bargaining too even if you are the wife of the Director of a company. This is the place where you can sit in any local market with friends yet have a feast with inexpensive momos and chole-kulche. The roads may be less crowded during mid-night but not deserted, where the business language is English when you start and quickly changes to Hindi or Punjabi, where people have started travelling according to the timings of Metro, where still there are numerous areas where uninterrupted power supply is still a dream but the people are complaining and not rebelling, where people have forgotten the concept of balcony (almost 95% of the families residing in apartments built not very recently have covered their balconies and converted them into rooms), where people are too concerned about their health and so religiously go on morning walk and gulp samosas and chicken tikkas in the evening…

But Delhi is rightly named as a place of people of golden hearts (dilwale). Only a true Delhiite may cherish the title song of Delhi-6 J. Though I cannot call myself as 100% pure Delhiite, but I love this place in spite of all the ironies with which the people live here.

The GOD!!!

I am back from Hyderabad. That's where my brother lives and since he is not there, my parents have come to take care of my sister-in-law. Last time when we were going to Hyderabad, we missed our train by few minutes. It was all because of the cab that we had booked… Cab, obviously, cannot take secret lanes and cannot stuff itself in any possible empty patch on road. And so, this time we decided to leave well in time and take an auto.

If you want to have a Sholay experience, or, you want to feel what Hema Malini (Basanti) might have gone through when she instructed her mare, Dhanno, to run for their lives, all you need to do is board an auto during the peak rush hours. You will get the feel. Though, we never told our auto driver that we are in any hurry or we may miss the train, he took it as his unsaid responsibility to drop us in flat 1 hour and so we reached the station 2 hours before the departure time.

My father and sister-in-law had come to pick us up in my brother's brand new i20 car. I loved the car. It's the first major joint possession of my brother and sister-in-law and they are proud to have it. It's so smooth and the interiors are also amazing. Wow…

Oh, forgot to mention. The Enthiran fever. I had only heard about it earlier but witnessed it for the first time. Rajinikanth is considered God down here in South. His movie was releasing after many years (his last movie being Sivaji- a huge hit released in 2007 but these 3 years are considered MANY years by his die-hard fans). Enthiran released on 1st October, a day after the Ayodhya verdict. While passing by a multiplex, a saw hundreds of people outside the complex, police vans and flags and posters. Since I was not able to see what posters were they, I thought that some political party must be having some meeting post verdict, only to know later on that they were the fans of Rajinikanth waiting there since early morning to get the tickets. I don't know if it is the rumor or what, but the tickets were sold for as high as Rs. 5000 and one confirmed source told me that the tickets were indeed sold at Rs. 1700. While going to catch the train later that evening as well I saw huge number of people, ooops, fans gathered outside a shady theatre with police vans and media cars.

Sorry to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, but I think Rajinikanth's fans are crazier than your fans or they might have be this crazy for you when you were young. Just read on Wikipedia (yes, I again relied on Wikipedia to gain knowledge on the superstar) that Mr. Rajini was born in the year 1949, which means he is 61 years old (he will complete 61 years in December). And he starred with Aishwarya Rai in this latest release- she is 37 years old. But who cares as Mrs. Bachchan herself is a big fan of this superstar. I honestly have no idea as to why he should be worshipped. It must be, no, it actually is for his style and dialogues and mannerisms rather than ACTING. What Rajinikanth can do, no one else can but I don't find it amazing. May be because I watch a movie to see acting but end up watching Rajinikanth running on water or in air or shooting 4 people with a single bullet or him igniting cigarette or matchstick on a bald man's head and things like these which makes no sense for me. But if I continue to write more about my personal views on his "acting" skills, I may be found murdered by his fans in next two hours so better I shut up my mouth. But yes, I actually want to see Robot (Hindi version of Enthiran) on the big screen.

Before I end up this post, just wanted to paste few lines/ facts about Rajinikanth, which my friend had just got from somewhere and forwarded them to me. Long Live Mr. Rajinikanth and best wishes for the new movie…

RAJINIKANTH

For those who don't know who Rajini is ………..

·   When Rajini is doing push-ups, he is not lifting himself – he is pushing the earth down!

·    Rajinikanth can divide by zero!

·    He can delete the Recycle bin!

·    He can slam a revolving door!

·   He once kicked a horse in the chin – its descendants are today called giraffes!

·    He can make onions cry!

·    He can drown a fish!

·   When he looks in the mirror it shatters, because even the glass is not stupid enough to get in between Rajinikanth & Rajinikanth!

·    He never wet his bed as a child – the bed wet itself in fear!

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Happy Birthday to me....

Two legendary personalities born on the same day (different years though). R.D. Burman and second.... well, okay, should not praise myself, not a good habit. So, it was my birthday again on 27th June, my first one after marriage. As I had small small surprises for Nimit on his birthday, he did not had a surprise, but a planned outing- a trip to Yercaud- a hill station some, 30 kms ahead of Salem in Tamil Nadu, 5 hours from Bangalore. To whomsoever we told about our vacation, everyone supported enthusiastically of the place (I mean, those who understood the name of the hill station at the first place), so we were also very excited as if we have found out the best destination in the world. We started off on time, had really nice breakfast and reached Yercaud also well in time.

Now started the search for our resort/hotel. We followed the instructions for the way to the resort/hotel as per the contact person and suddenly spotted the name- “Cliffton Inn”. The name looks quiet fancy, right? But we were shocked to see that its a small house-converted-to-inn type of place. It could have been just one corner of a big resort. Nimit and I went into a state of shock and disappointment, because, both of us had also checked out its website which gave us an idea that its small but this small was not expected. Anyways, somehow put our luggage there and tried to convince ourselves that its a matter of just one night to be spent there. Next discovery was that our phones would not catch any signal in the room. WOW... my birthday, I am especially expecting calls at 12 o'clock but I would not be able to get any calls.

Finally, got ready and left for the lake, the only saving grace of Yercaud. Opted for pedal boating. It was fun, although the lake was not too big. But the weather was very pleasant. Then the deer park, where there were a total of 5-6 cages with deers, peacock, pigeons (normal pigeons, not the masakkali types), rats, rabbits etc. Thank God, they didn't put crows in the cages. Next, we decided to have nice lunch. Reached Shevroy's hotel which was over crowded. So we again thought that it must be a good place. It was good but I guess was one among the very few decent eating places and so was flooded with people. We stood near a table where a family of 3 was having their lunch, so that once they get up, we could grab the table. OK. So, have you ever had noodles with curd? Let me guess, you might have definitely ate noodles with hands (in exactly the same way as you eat rice with hands)? NO? OK. Then noodles with sambhar?? Don't tell me that you have never done that before. Even I have not done that but that family was doing exactly this. Aunty was forcing the noodles, mixed with curd, into the tiny mouth of her daughter with hands and since the girl was not enjoying the meal, her father decided to finish the noodles, and ate it with the remaining sambhar (from his South Indian meal thali).

Then we decided to cover the remaining points. Ladies' Seat, Gents' seat. Children's Seat, Pagoda Point, Shevroy's Temple- go anywhere, they were just the highest points of Yercaud, overlooking the valley. If we would have gone to any one of them, then also we may not have missed anything. At the last point, my intelligent husband got a bright idea. Rather than staying till next afternoon at Yercaud, lets go to Hogenakkal waterfalls. With that we went down to the lake again and sat there, called our folks and relaxed. Had dinner at the same place. But since we reached too early so thankfully did not encounter another noodles-with-hand episode. Packed chocolate pastries and ended the day. At 12 o'clock, was woken up by Nimit, wished and he handed over the lovely card sent by my parents and an amazing gift by him. I guess, the signal-less resort/hotel was actually planned by him so that no one wishes me before him...

Next day, we packed up as soon as possible and left for Hogenakkal. Throughout our way, I kept on getting calls for wishes. A BIG THANKS to all of you. The entrance was not at all appealing, with Tamilian and Kannad families all over the place with huge utensils, cylinders to prepare food there and have bath and picnic. We decided to have the round boat ride – coracles or paisal (in Tamil) or or Teppa/ Harigolu (in Kannada). The ride was expensive, though. Rs. 150 per head for a boat shared by 6-8 people or Rs. 600 for two people + Rs. 100 for waiting (which was anyways be default). So, it cost us Rs. 700 in total but the ride was amazing, different from traditional boating. On a small island there, you can have freshly caught fishes fried in front of you. They were amazing. For all the pure vegetarian people, it might appear as a gruesome act, but for rest, they were tasty.

After Hogenakkal, we finally reached home by evening. But the celebrations were still going on. Hubby dear got chocolates and cake and then my sis-in-law and her husband also came with chocolate fantasy pastries (yummmmmm). We ordered pizzas and another home made cake was cut in Delhi, with Birthday song sung on the phone in loudspeaker mode. Our guard came with another gift. No, he didn't give me the gift but it came from my parents and brother and sis-in-law- an amazing Fast-track wrist watch. Just as I crash landed in my bed, there came another cake and bouquet, from Delhi. What else should I ask for?

While I lay in my bed after calling off my day, I made up few points in my mind, which I must share:

1.Whenever you go on a vacation, always take other's feedback and book the staying place only on recommendation (don't follow what the website shows, the photographers and the site designers do amazing job in fooling people). If no one had been to that place, look for a hotel which atleast have a spa and other activity area (like TT, cycling etc), just to ensure that it is big enough.

2.Always carry sufficient stock of snacks, as we had, so that if you wish to avoid the noodles+curd+sambhar site, you can go back to your car/hotel and have your snacks.

3.Check all the taps and bathroom accessories before handing over the remaining tariff amount to the hotel people, so that you are not stranded in the middle of your bath for water. Don't ask from where I got this point.

4.Check if your mobile is catching the signal in the rooms, specially if its your birthday...

5.Even if everything goes wrong, don't forget to remind yourself that its a vacation planned by your special one to make your special day the most amazing time with bags full of feeling. This thought will definitely bring a smile on your face and everything will seem to fall in right place.

Thank you Nimit for planning my birthday in such a lovely way and thanks to all of you for overloading me with gifts, cakes and wishes... Love you all....CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!

(Just for summary sake: 5 cake+pastry cutting ceremonies and 4 times birthday song in a single day)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogenakkal_Falls

Give time to our family...

Just sitting idle at office for sometime, I thought of browsing through some random blogs and sites. Clicking on interconnected links, I ended up on one of the blogs and read this story. Found it very touching, so thought to share with all of you. Here it goes...

Source:http://academictips.org/blogs/give-time-to-our-family/

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After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked.

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, “she said, as she got into the car. “They can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said. “Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a chance to do anything for her. Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till “some other time.”

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Once upon a time...A Month Ago...

Here I am: Mrs. Nikita Mathur. As per my last post, I have lost my bachelor status and today the new status- Married, has completed its one month. Although, there was a twist in my wedding ceremonies ("Nikita" and "last minute twists" are inseparable phrases)...

People do fall ill, they are at times admitted to the hospital and they do feel weak at times but I had it all during my wedding. Yes, I caught jaundice, I was hospitalized for roughly 1.5 days and I was extremely weak because of this. The D-day was 11th Feb and I, instead of going to parlour on 7th Feb, landed straight to hospital. Each family member and few close guests as well took turn to feed me regularly with Glucose, fruits, and other recommended food items. Everyone made sure that I do not sit for too long at a stretch.

No one, including myself, to be blamed, but this deprived me of enjoying my own "once-in-a-lifetime" wedding, which I always used to dream as the most lavish and enjoyable event of my life. Wanted to look the best but could manage that only in the Wedding Lehenga and reception saree, else for all other ceremonies, I looked the worst. Had prepared a dance with bhabhi and wished it to be appreciated by all but could barely manage to dance for a minute, which seemed like a year at that time.

Where I should have been working as a new bride- Delhi, I had to lie down on the bed for most of the time, while my in-laws got busier as they took charge of my diet and rest. The expensive and most looked-after honeymoon had to be cancelled. Though, because of all this care by all my family members and friends, I have recovered in less than a month, but this is something I am never going to forget throughout my life and hate myself for troubling all at that time.

On a lighter note, I console myself by saying it was like, Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi... Everyone would remember it for years to come and I just pray to God that our relationship and bonding lasts long and strong... CHEERS !!!!!!

(Wish to relive the experience Minus Jaundice (or any other stupid disease) on our First Wedding Anniversary :) )

Happening Week- Part 2

Day 2. Somehow managed to get up early (verrry early) in the morning (4 am) to catch the flight to Agartala. This time there was another British family of 5 members- Husband-wife and 3 kids. Kids were cute and the parents handling them so nicely. Anyways, this time did not bother much and caught my “dear sleep”. Layover of 30 minutes at Kolkatta and I thought, now the flight may not be much crowded. But I was wrong. The flight was again full with passengers travelling to Agartala. The moment I stepped out of the flight, I could sense that yes, I am far away from my South India or even the West India and the “dulhe raja” (Babla- his pet name) himself had come to pick me up. He dropped me to his fiancé's home... I met her after 1 year and 11 months. Unfortunately, Babla was not allowed to enter into the house. Something was different about the house. May be Agartala touch. Met her parents, freshened up and had lunch, specially prepared chapaati for me. Got a beautiful saree from her mother (Babla also gifted me a suit and Chinchu's mom gave another saree for my mom...wow). I could clearly see how tensed Chinchu (Mitun- her pet name) was. Went in to see her dahej. So many bangles but interestingly, not in pair. Only two mandatory types of bangles were in pair, which are meant to be worn by each married Bengali lady- 1 red bangle pair and another white bangle pair (made out of elephant tusks).
Throughout the day, were so many ceremonies, thanks to which Chinchu was dead tired by the end of day because of regular change of sarees and lack of sleep. Most of the ladies did not know Hindi or English but men and children could easily talk to me. But still, everyone was trying to talk to me and making me feel comfortable. For some time even went to Babla's home.
One unique feature of Bengali ritual. Whenever ladies would give blessings or some auspicious task is being done, all the ladies would make a sound from their mouth, called Jokaar. Had seen that in movies, but when I saw this the first time, I was, frankly speaking, scared. But after witnessing this 2-3 times, I got used to it.
I managed to eat rice very neatly with my hands, though the speed was drastically slower than the others, but I did not back off. Thats the spirit. Ha ha ha...Chinchu's cousins made arrangements for dance party in the night and yes, even I danced and my “snake dance” was already made popular there, so showed off my skills to them.
Then came the wedding day (Day 3). I was made to accompany Chinchu for her make-up and dressing up and when the final product came out, I was awestruck. My Chinchu had turned into a beautiful Bengali BRIDE... Finally Babla had arrived and hard to imagine, but he was looking awesome Bengali GROOM, and yes, trying to act as if he is shying. He was made to sit in another room, where I also joined him, and people would peek into his room, as if he is an object in a museum. Whereas, everyone went in to congratulate Chinchu where she was sitting and was loaded with gifts. After a brief puja, Babla was made to go through few more minutes of embarrassment. He was made to sit in a cage-like structure and the entire gathering surrounded him, as if he is a resident of zoo (sorry Babla, but thats what I could relate this with). Then came The Bride and she was made to encircle him some 7 times, while he kept sitting there and the exchange of garlands took place. Another 2 hours of puja and then they were Man-and-Wife- officially and finally. Then some games and then the dinner.
Next morning, I met them and left Mrs and Mr Chakraborty, for my South India. Slept like anything throughout the journey and at Delhi airport my dear in-laws were already waiting for me. Somehow managed to look alive and active in front of them and had nice lunch and chit-chat session with them. At Bangalore was picked up and dropped at home by dearest....ha ha ha...you must know by now :)
Now eagerly waiting for the wedding photos and wish all the happiness of the world to the newly married couple. Muuaaaahhhhh....CHEERS !!!!!!!

Happening Week-Part1

The last week (not the weekend, but the week) was so happening. I travelled from South to North-east, all alone, for my two best friends were getting married (finally) at Agartala (Tripura). And the moment I would mention “Tripura”, everybody would raise atleast one or both the eyebrows as if I just had committed some murder. Specially my mother. Actually had to fight with her to convince that Agartala is also just another city in India. If bombs can go off there, so can at Jaipur as well. If flights can be delayed or missed or cancelled for Agartala, so can be for any other city. I really don't understand that even after travelling to so many places alone, by all means, why can't someone have just a bit of faith on me that I WILL take precautions for safe journey?
Anyways. To take off from office during the week is the most satisfying feeling and yes, I left for Delhi after office on Monday. In this post, I may just describe this small flight from Bangalore to Delhi. Can't say if it can be categorized as funny or horrifying.
I got the aisle seat of right side and to the left side came a “small” punjabi family, comprising of a very old man (83 years old- A), another elderly couple (61 years- B and 58 years- C respectively), their daughter- a middle age woman (37 years old- D) and her son (8-9 years old- E). Thanks to them, I could not sleep or relax for even one single moment:

1. All of them, except A, changed and swapped the seats among themselves and other passengers. C was the most difficult to move around, thanks to the excess usage of ghee/butter/oil that she must have done in her life, but she was the one who changed the seats maximum number of time.
2. By the time, I reached Delhi, I knew why and how they had come down to South and now going back (because their voice levels where nowhere near to whispers). It was D's brother's wedding. A Punjabi who must have married a South Indian girl, at Mysore.
3. I also know that the family had got the Spinach-Corn sandwiches packed from the CCD on the way back to Bangalore from Mysore, but still had the heaviest bill with the GoAir catering service. Yes, apart from their own packed sandwiches, they bought other sandwiches, nachos, juices from the airline caterers.
4. C and D were typical of Punjabi Gossip Ladies, addressing other ladies present in the wedding by their weight, size, saree color or makeup thickness.
5. C and D took time off from their gossips to look at the Items on sale in the airline and in 5 minutes asked Mr. B to handover mere Rs. 1100 for a purse.
6. Finally, E became alive after having nachos and swapped the seat with dear grandma (C) to sit with dearest grandpa (B) on the window seat.
a) The moment I loosened my seat belt to relax, bang came his first question – “Nanaji, what if another plane comes from this side and breaks this wing of our plane”. My instant reaction was to fasten my seat belt.
b) Without waiting for the answer came another question – “Nanaji, if there suddenly appears a hole on the floor of this plane and someone puts his leg on that hole, what will happend?”
c) Mind it, Mr. B was trying to answer him, but he had no time to listen to any explanations. There were so many randomly thought questions, which even God would not bother to answer. Does anyone reside on North Pole? If not, then why at the first place is it there on the earth? We should cut it off from earth.
d) Which are the best and the worst Domestic and the International airlines according to you?
e) Is this window having double layer of glass? Why two layers, when only one layer could have sufficed? What if I break this window? If this plane is to crash, how will we be rescued? Can I try opening the emergency exit (this is where I actually began sweating)?
f) Are we actually going to die in 2012? He then calculated the age of each member in 2012 (that’s how I could tell their ages in the beginning of the post).
g) Have you ever played Xbox?
h), i), j).......z)
Now was the time when Mr. B called up his wife to accompany him but mind it that E made it a point that I was constantly under threat with his never ending random questions.
When I was waiting for my bag at the luggage belt, E arrived again by my side. I actually changed my place for he might just ask, What if this airport is bombed at this moment?
At the Delhi airport, though, I got one of the most pleasant surprises (will not mention what, but yes, it was a big surprise). My aunty had prepared Sarso ka saag and Makke ki roti, which I had not tasted since past two winters. This was just the first day of my happening week. More in the next post...CHEERS !!!!!!!!!!

Chai Time Masti...

I was feeling very fresh today after too very sleepy days. Worked a lot, bugged other people a lot and was in good mood. After such a day, when I stepped out of office, I got an instant smile on my face. It was all dark outside with black dark clouds hovering above. The first thought that came to my mind was..."chai-pakoda mausam...wow...". In the cab, my room-mate asked if we have besan at home. That implied that even she was thinking of having pakodas today. Then and there we decided our menu- Tea, Onion and potato pakodas and paranthas... Another bachelor friend of ours had to interrupt us coz he had already started feeling jealous...

And went upto the shop under my umbrella to get the ingrediants and back home, we didn't rest for even a minute. She started her Pakoda (onion, potato and 1 bread pakoda) project and I started with my Parantha (plain and potato pranatha) project. With our super sonic speed (which can be seen very rarely), we were all ready with our final products within 30-40 minutes.

And yes, at that very moment (thank God) power went off. But nothing to worry. My torch and tea-pakodas-paranthas-butter-sauce (I know too much ho gaya tha). Started munching on them and relishing the moment and our efforts. After 10 minutes, 11th February 2010 (D-Day) date knocked my mind and I decided to stop myself from over-eating. Wow... Thats the beauty of Indian snacks...

A VERY HAPPY DIWALI....

In the last post, I wished all of you a very happy diwali. Hope, all of you had a great time on Diwali. I had a blast and I mean a literal BLAST in my life. Never thought that life can take twists and turns at such fast pace. Went home with the status of "Single" and came back (all within 4 days) as "Committed". The biggest problem with such a twist in life, specially with me, was that many of my friends were not believing me when I told them, thanks to my prankster image.

It was 18th October. I, with my family, went to His home at Delhi and I swear I was not able to eat anything many days before this day. Although I was assuring myself and was being assured by my family and closest friends that there is nothing wrong in meeting the family and take the step forward in life, but something was bothering me. I was not able to understand what was this "something".

Is this boy right for me and my family, the families are very different, His family is very open, will I be able to adjust there, will He like me, our compatibility, most importantly, am I ready to take up such a huge responsibility now... phew !!! These questions formed just the iota of hundreds of questions in my mind.

All of us got up very early in the morning after sleeping late, for Diwali puja, and headed for Delhi. I was trying to relax myself by taking the trip as a family picnic but the moment, we entered into Gurgaon, I confessed to bhabhi that I can't take it anymore. I am nervous. Got ready at my aunty's place. When we were about to reach the place, my mother announced, wake up now and look active, we are about to reach. We entered their apartment and I could see around 6-7 people staring towards our car. I tried to give my best smile ever, but I am sure, I failed badly. All of them were so warm and greeted us well. The moment I entered into the flat, I was literally shocked and shaky, coz, there were roughly around 20 people, all staring at me at the same time. Talked to almost everyone and I was amused at the very thought that this is the first time in my life that so many people wants to talk to me. But I was not able to gather the courage to look up and see around. We talked. They talked. Everyone was talking.

After sometime, to spare me from the tension, His bhabhi took me into another room where the Young brigade of the family was sitting. All of them introduced themselves to me. It was relaxing then. Then came my mother and asked me..."Shall we go ahead". I felt like crying at that time. I always wanted an arranged marriage but now that it was about to take place, the only question in my mind was, "how can I say yes to go ahead with a person whom I barely know". But then we decided to go ahead and then everyone was chearful and I was lost. Small ceremony, Roka, took place. Tilak, sweets, congratulations, gifts and ashirwaads and photographs. Time for lunch, which I anyway was not able to take in and how everyone was taking care of me and my plate.

Got to know so many things about the family in such short span of time. My mom-in-law is known for her jokes and her being "sweet 16" still, lovely nana and naniji, his uncles and aunties and the cousins. The two words which can send shivers down the spine of any girl - "saas" and "jethani" but was so relieved to know how cool they are.

Its a mixed feeling now. I know how boring that line seems, but its true. Nervous, excited, confused, sad (to leave my coocooned life at home), happy, anxious... I just thank God to give me two lovely families in my life and pray that everything goes off well and I could come upto the expectations...

I hate this...

I hate this. Why is it that your are so happy and jovial today and the other day you are the most depressing being on the earth? And mind it, this is not only with females, though, mostly it is, but not always. Yesterday my friend was feeling very low because of some reason of which he himself was not sure of. I was telling him to keep calm, it happens. And today, I was the victim of this situation.

The perfect setting: when you are all alone, there is no one with you to talk to face-to-face, you start thinking about your perfect future but ends up thinking what all wrong things you have done in the past and what rubbish are you doing in present, and you start blaming yourself completely for that. Its so weird. You force yourself to come out of it. But you cannot.

I put on the loudest music on my laptop, but myself shuts it off. I put on the TV but finds it the most boring device. I starts chatting with a friend, who is pulling my leg and I end up scolding him, for no apparent fault of his. You try to sound so casual and happy to your family members even if you are not. You discuss all such things with them which have no relevance and importance just because you are afraid that they should not get hold of your off mood. And there I sit in silence, with all negative thoughts which has hijacked my mind. I hate this. I have no clue how will I wake up tomorrow morning. I have no idea if I would be able to sleep tonight.

I HATE this and everytime I so earnestly wish that such situation never re-appears.

I know this post is so depressing, but thats my other side, can't help it. And sorry to my very dear friend who was at the receiving end for no fault of his.

Nostalgia-Part2

Earlier also, I had been nostalgic about the famous tv serials, the comics that we used to read, the cartoon shows which were our favourite time pass during childhood days. On this past Friday also, I again went down to the memory lanes. Somewhere I heard the title song of the then famous movie, Heena, and there I go straight to the youtube site and watched all the songs of the movie. There in the right side of the screen was a list of Related Videos. Since the lead actress of Heena was Zeba Bakhtiyar, a pakistani actress, the related video displayed famous Pakistani Plays.

Thats it. From there, I could not resist myself from watching that famous pakistani play, Bakra Qishto Pay, which I and my family were a big fan of during my childhood days. Since Friday, I have been buffering its parts in sequence and believe me, I can't stop laughing, even though I watching them alone... Omar Shareef, a very famous comedian, writer and the lead actor of the play, is incredible.

Then my friend came online and we started discussing the BIG B and his movies. My friend (as always) has to bow down in front of my Bollywood knowledge. The songs and the dialogues and the scenes and the sequences...Yarana, Agnipath, Amar-Akbar-Anthony, Satte pe Satta, Mard, Sharabi, Hum, Sholay... all were discussed :)

Still watching the remaining parts of the play...Laughter is the best medicine. You can try this one. CHEERS !!!!

Another Week gone...

Hmmm.. another week went by and yet another weekend as well. From past few weeks I had always been looking forward to the weekends. Thanks to loads of work at office. Last weekend was rocking and different. Went for some serious shopping all alone for the first time in life (serious shopping means, not the grocery item or usual stuff) and I must admit, its horrible to shop alone. Somehow managed to buy a pair of sandals, formal shoes, jeans, two formal shirts. Thats it. I am not a shopping freak, you know... hahaha.. No, but seriously I hate shopping. And whenever I tell this to any male friend of mine, I always get the same reaction- "What?? You serious?? Your husband would the happiest person on the earth...". Incidentally met another friend-cum-colleague and helped him also in his shopping and finally a good simple dinner.

Next day, met my school friend after almost 8 years... It was fun. Kept on talking and hopping from one place to other (since we were shoo-ed away from the restaurant and the ice-cream parlour :)).

This week, also I had some great time. My partner in crime in my pranks, Puzaa, and I suddenly decided to plan another prank on our usual victim (Sweetu). According to that plan, I was in Jaipur on a secret visit to see a boy for matrimonial purpose, and I indeed liked him. So much so that I may even say yes to him. She again, yet again believed us (this was the 4th time she had done this mistake). On top of that, another innocent person was caught into this. I must resist to write who this person was. But believe me, I had no intention to play that prank on him. Rather I was telling him about this thing and somewhere he lost the link and rather believed that I WAS in Jaipur. My God !!!

Next day he reached my home and eagerly enquired for me from my mom and he was furious when the truth was revealed to him. When he SMSed me, I could not stop laughing. But hey, I apologized to him very sincerely. Next, when I revealed this to Sweetu, she sweared that she won't believe me even if I would actually get married. Although she must know that Puzaa wanted me to continue with this till both of us reach Jaipur on Diwali. I have promised her that this was the last prank on her (but with a small "Terms and conditions applied", which I am sure, she did not listen). I said "this is the last prank of "bachpan" on you". Bachpan word must have lost somewhere. Hehehe.. I know this might have infuriated both these so very innocent victims, but thats the fun. This is what makes this moment different and memorable from other normal boring and usual moments. I am sure that they would remember me always for these stupid pranks....

Ok, I promise, I will try not to play any such prank in future. Rather I am waiting for my victims to surprise me with some of their prank on me... Lets see....

Strange...

Well well well.. I am back to blog after so many days, rather weeks. Lot many things happened. I shifted from the PG to a flat with my colleague-cum-friend. We spent almost 2 weeks to make the place comfortable for us. Bought TV with cable, got the net connection, gas connection, mattresses, utensils, and many other things... What was the hurry to do so? My mother was coming to stay with me for a week.
Here is what was strange about her visit. I was so very happy that she is coming to stay with me, but was worried about it as well, because I was not sure if I have made the place comfortable enough for her. She was travelling alone by plane for the very first time. But the moment she came out of the airport with the trolley and spotted me, there was this kid-dish smile on her face, an indication that she had no problem during the flight. When she came, the first thing that she noticed was that my flat didn’t have any balcony. That meant that she would have to be confined in the two rooms throughout the day when I would be in my office. That made me sad because I know that she cannot sit at one place for long. Then, being bachelors, mattress on the floor is the best and the most luxurious bed. But she was having difficulty in sitting down and getting up every time. I left my mobile with her so that she could at-least talk to her usual gang. She can now watch her serials without any disturbance. With a bachelor’s point of view, I had tried to make the place as comfortable as I can, but my mind would always keep wandering back to what she might be doing at home, when I am at office. I would call her after every 1 or 2 hours just to know that she is ok. Although she would always sound as if she is having a good time here, but I would want her to go back as soon as possible since I knew that she is not at all comfortable here. That is how parents are.
Then we went for some window shopping one Saturday. That was the best day. With no intentions to buy anything, we entered in a shop, Soch. Within 40 odd minutes, we ended up buying 7 sarees!!! Then wandered here and there, did some heavy bargaining with road side vendor for wooden carvings. Finally was the time to go to Hyderabad to visit my brother for Rakhi. There she got ample space to stretch herself and rest, which relieved me as well. Had fun on Rakhi. Very excitedly booked the tickets for Love Aaj Kal. Went to watch it but all of us came out with the same expression – “the movie was such a crap, over-rated and over-hyped”... Just the songs were good. Then we did some shopping for papa. Finally was the time to part again. Mom had to go back to Jaipur and I had to come back to this boring place. Once back to our destinations, everyone started feeling bored. First day after I came back, I was missing her so badly because in the previous week I would literally run up the stairs to find her standing on the door waiting for me. Now there was no one.
But my parents had no time to get bore, because they had to prepare for their first foreign holiday. I just wish that they have a great vacation and I am already eagerly waiting for their photographs!!!

Retirement...

My tauji, my father’s elder brother, retired on 30th June, 2009, yesterday. He stays with my parents. His wife is no more in this world and he has no kids. But then, he love all the kids of our family like a father.
I called him up to congratulate him. I asked how many years of service. I had to make him repeat. 38 years. My God!!! And I was celebrating the completion of my one year in the job, in the same company where I joined a year ago as if I have conquered the Mt. Everest. 38 years of untainted service record. It sure calls for a celebration and yes, it was arranged and he was getting ready for it. My father will also retire the next year. And I have, since my birth, seen him in the same bank.
I sometimes think how they managed to stick to the same company for so long. Many answers and many reasons. May be they were never so ambitious; they were never so insecure; they had limited spending; they invested in a planned way in few but secure means; they never had such stiff competition at work place; the companies also made them a part of their family. So many reasons to stick to the same company for so long.
As oppose to these reasons and the temperament of our elders, we always live in the environment which is full of tensions; we are over ambitious, which if not fulfilled hurts us; we are so insecure that each day I pray to God to save my job, which I can lose without any fault of mine; why is it that I would feel jealous and pull down of any of my peer who is ascending the success ladder; why do I invest my limited salary in so many places for future that for my present, I have to think twice before spending; why do I have to pretend myself in my social circle to maintain it; why do I buy expensive phones, clothes and dine at expensive hotels and cafes just to remain the part of the herd.
I remember that my father finally bought his own house in the year 1998-99, but most of our generation tries to own a house and car in early stages of life so that we have ample time to pay back our loans. Most of us are re-paying at-least 2-3 loans and credit card bills by now.
Even after retirement, we may not retire, for we would have left so much mess behind us to clear. But I wish that my elder generation do retire in the true sense. CHEERS!!!

Nostalgia...

I mentioned earlier that my cab comes too early in the morning and that all of us struggle to take a quick nap. But yesterday, none of us slept. Why? In front of us, there was this school bus, in which I saw a kid (must be in 2nd or 3rd standard) looking like a young Harry Potter with similar spectacles. He was reading a NOVEL, mind you, not a textbook, but a novel. My God. When that young I just knew the spelling of novel. I read COMICS... That started us on our journey back to childhood and our time pass. I will just write down few of them. I am sure, those reading this would also go back to their memory lanes and start missing those days badly:


1. Comic books of Chacha Chawdhary, Pinki, Billu, Champak, Motu Patlu, Bankelal. 2. Then some adventurous comic books like Nagaraj, and Super Cammando Dhruv. And there used to come advertisement on radio as well: “Raaj comics paish karte hai Super Cammando Dhruv ka naya karnama- Pralaya.. (James Bond type music)". Moreover, at times, these super heroes would come together in one comic in one story only. That used to be blockbuster hit as if Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are coming in the same movie.
3. Those limited TV shows for which every Sunday morning we would get up early and arrange our meals and other chores to match them.
4. Starting with Rangoli in the morning, for old songs and just 2-3 new songs towards the end.
5. Then take a bath and get ready for Mahabharat/ Ramayan. Even the starting of Mahabharat is fresh in our minds. Mahaaaaaabharat... and then. "Main Samay hu..."
6. Cartoon shows. Duck Tales, Tales Spin, Donald Duck, Jungle Book, Aladin and so on. Uncle Scrooge, his three nephews and his swimming in his treasure. Ballu- the pilot, Launchpad, Mogli, Radha, Bhalu, Baghira, Alaadin, Jinni...
7. One of our cab mate took onus to remember the jingles of these shows. But of course, no one can forget the jingle of the Jungle Book and my friend took out her mobile, in which she actually had stored the Jungle Book jingle.
8. Then came the EPIC. CHANDRAKANTA, in which no one would die. We would THINK that he/ she is dead but would re-appear out of nowhere. And the most popular- YAKKU...!!!
9. Potli baba ki, Alif Laila.
10. We faintly recalled legendary serials like Hum Log and Nukkad.
11. Today, while talking to my bhabhi, I recalled, Flop Show.
12. Somewhere, I was recalling few songs which were repeated almost daily. Mile sur mera tumhara..., ek chidiya-anek chadiya...
13. And the famous Doordarshan tone, which can make anyone sleep, but not now.

Phew, these were just the time-pass things. So many old advertisements are still afresh in our minds. But before we could start discussing them, we had reached our office :(

UNFORGETTABLE ...

As soon as I entered my PG, my room-mate’s sister broke the news that she could not get through the IBM recruitment process. I was left speechless but still managed to console from my end. I am very bad at consoling people especially in situations like this. Instantly it reminded me my placement time. How grateful God had been on that day and the most unusual thing that He did to me. So, thought of sharing it with you.
It was 1st October, 2007. My 3rd semester papers got over 3 days back, and I had already relaxed a bit. I was searching for my original mark-sheets and other documents, because 3rd October was the D-Day for me. Day 0 of our campus placement and I was to appear for the very first time for any company. Other friends of mine had already been a part of few pre-placement filtration tests and had been unlucky. On face of it, I was pretending to be absolutely cool. But I know how nervous I was to face my failure.
That day, I realized that I do not have the original mark-sheets of my 1st and 2nd semester and neither do I have their photo-copies. My father confirmed it. In the evening my mother called up and said that they are visiting me tomorrow and getting it to me, since 2nd October would be a holiday and courier won’t deliver it. I resisted once but I knew that I need them at this time, so succumbed to their persuasion. Next morning they came. We chatted for sometime and my father went to Delhi to his friend’s place. My mom checked my and my friends’ coat, shirts, buttons, and files and if anything required final touch. In the evening she took me to the temple. She made me sleep early without thinking much about next day.
The D-Day arrived. All of us (all the girls of the PG) got ready, prayed and my mom distributed prasad to each one of us. I left my mobile with her for contacting me. We entered college at 8:30 a.m. First pre-placement talk with Wipro left me disappointed since I was not eligible. Next was 3i Infotech. Process was simple. First level has to be cleared on the basis of CV short listing and then the interviews. First list of students came. My name was announced once but not in the repeat call. I was furious. I had a technical background as well as my specialization suits the profile. I had lunch. As soon as I was about to storm the panel’s room, my friend told me that another list has come and only my name was there and that I am being called for the interview. Before I could realize anything, I was facing the interview. First one was a cake-walk. I cleared it. For the second round, I had to wait till I was just the last one to be interviewed. Before I could go in for the next round, I saw the company people saying that since the list have already been prepared, no more interviews. But my placement co-ordinator arranged for it. I was disheartened but still maintained my composure. By the time, it was over; it was already 9:30 p.m. Almost 13 hours were over. My parents called me up on my friend’s mobile and told me that they are coming to see me at the college and then go back to Delhi, since its already late to go back to Jaipur. I met them and said good-bye with a heavy heart. I reached the waiting room on 5th floor and...
My friend tried to explain me something while talking to her mother on phone. I could not get it, but she was happy. Then I located sikgurum. She too was happy and talking to her mother. The moment she saw me, she declared that both of us have made it to this company. WOW. She was kind enough to disconnect her call and let me call my parents to stop the car. But they had already stopped. I ran downstairs to find chinchu. Hugged her and ran to find my parents entering the college!!! The watchman had allowed them to enter. I threw my heavy bag somewhere and hugged my mom. I could feel that she was crying and realized that tears were trickling down my cheeks as well. Then hugged my dad. He was overwhelmed. Immediately he called up my brother. He was so happy that he could barely speak apart from congratulations. This is brilliant. Now enjoy...and so on.
This was the most unusual gift that He gave me. Someone’s parents ON the campus at the time of PLACEMENT and on top of that, at the time of announcement of RESULT and again, their child appearing for the first company and getting lucky!!!
Thank God, can never forget that day and your gift of placing me in the first attempt and sending my parents at the right place, at the right time.