Have faith and smile, is what my Granny told me!

When I saw the subject for this week’s #IndiSpire, it got me thinking. There are like so many stories that I can remember my granny telling me that it would be difficult to write all of them. But I chose the following one, a real life incident that she experienced and changed her life.

After her first pregnancy, my granny was detected with DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis), a disorder that was very rare that time. It limited her movements, made her suffer from high fever for more than a month and left her unconscious most of the time. The doctors then had little knowledge of the disease and its treatment method and usually would give up hope. However, it was only one person’s faith that she will get better and lead a healthy life ahead did not let the hopes die. His only words were, let her live through this pain. This pain will not come back to her in future. A couple of months passed and she started getting better and went on have a healthy life later. Her disorder was completely cured and she was back on her feet. This was her life changing story and a new beginning of having unending faith in the Almighty. Her faith in her Gurudev, Shri Naresh Brahmachari Ji and the Almighty that she will get back on her feet and will take care of her family and children never died even when the doctors gave up hopes.

As grandchildren, we were told this story whenever we felt down or troubled due to the minor mishaps that kept happening in our lives. This story always inspired us to have faith during difficult times and have an optimistic attitude at all times. According to her, it’s only a phase that will pass. Brightness or the ray of hope always finds its way to enter into darkness. You just need to have patience and faith to survive through it. Her words and her story continue to remain my life’s inspiration.

If you have set yourself a goal and want to achieve the same, have faith in your goal and yourself. It might take a bit of extra time, but you will achieve it for sure. Never let your faith in yourself and your inspiration bow down to difficulties. Put up a smile, stay positive and win the world! J

Reviving the lost art: Pattachitra

A friend from school writes about decorating the home with colors and art. Her posts and the pins in Pinterest made me realize that happiness and wisdom walks into your haven only if you allow them. The house is mine and so are its elements. The walls, the cabinets, the mirror or the cupboards—each should tell a story of the family and me. And so, the interest of decorating the house is mounting up with each passing day as well as the slow realization of too many things that I want the walls in my home to have. Photographs, paintings, wall hangings, creative book shelves, etc.

Paintings, both traditional and modern, are unique. As if they speak something new every time you look at them.  Sadly, traditional art forms from the different corners of the country are losing its value as they get overshadowed by digital art and other new forms. Traditional art forms are India’s pride and should continue to remain so. Following is a small description of one such art form, Pattachitra.

Pattachitra, like many other traditional art forms (Madhubani art, Terracotta art of Bishnupur and similar others) is a living art form hailing from Orissa. A very old type of art, Pattachitra or Painting on Patta is primarily wall or manuscript paintings or palm leaf etching on cloth (cotton as well as silk). The artisans who still practice this living art form are found in and around Puri, the home of Shri Jagannath as well as in the village of Raghurajpur. The artisans from Raghurajpur dwell in a dedicated area known as Chitrakar Sahe.

The paintings on the cloth are primarily based on Hindu mythology, particularly inspired by the Vaishnava cult, emergence and establishment of Shri Jagannath, Krishna Leela and stories from the Hindu mythological epic, Ramayana. These paintings have three perspective: (a) the temple art or art of Jagannath Temple (b) less significant is the court art or art of the Jagannath Temple (c) generalized nature in the art of the society as opposed to temple art.

Image: jayajagannath.blogspot.com

The process of creating a Pattachitra is no easy work. Hard work, hours of toil and creativity, as they are put in, produces the best of art works that makes everyone gaze at them with awe and not fail to praise them for their work.

Image: www.shreekhetra.com

However, not all good things get what they deserve. The art of such magnificent traditional forms of mythological art is gradually getting lost. The artists who put in hours of labor to produce such masterpieces are not paid well or appreciated for their work properly. They sell their work at a minimal price to the middle-men who in turn sell them at a much higher price in international as well as domestic markets.

The need now is to create a buzz about them and help them secure their art and skill through informed marketing and well-deserved recognition. Applauds to #DoRight for taking up the initiative of bringing out the issue into public notice. By writing this post, I am making a humble attempt to spread the word of reviving the forms of traditional art and help them earn well-deserved appreciation.

Image: blog.artsya.com

Please watch the video below to know more and initiate a contribution.

Sources:

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

http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/Nov/engpdf/57-61.pdf

http://www.odisha.gov.in/portal/ViewDetails.asp?vchglinkid=GL010&vchplinkid=PL060&vchslinkid=SL036

That’s me! – Theme for A to Z Challenge April 2014

If you've noticed, the Looking for me? section in my blog says, Experience. Learn. Blog.

I have always believed that new beginnings help in experiencing new things. Say, for instance, activities like cooking can help you bring out your foodie self and you would be interested in replicating dishes that you ate at a restaurant or have jotted the recipe down from the internet. It is about expressing your love for food in a better and creative way. Similarly does taking part in group activities or in fests that introduces you to new people. It’s about finding your new self!

However, one tiny little task that I, personally, find difficult to do is introduce myself and write or talk about myself. Out of sheer modesty, I feel why should I mention that I can do this or that? Isn't that quite obvious? Well, no. It isn't. Over time and numerous experiences, I have realized that leaving answers open ended can create opportunities for people to assume things about me. And it certainly doesn't reap good results all the time.

When I happened to know about the A to Z challenge from a friend’s blog, it immediately ignited a spark inside me. It was about a chance to write regularly now and just the things that I wanted to write on. Therefore, I finalized a theme for myself, and that's me! Each of the 26 alphabets will describe an aspect of me and will help me express myself in a more creative way.

I hope, with this challenge, 26 new things about me gets on my blog and inspire me to write more. Thank you for coming up with such a theme! :)

Here’s That’s me! listed down alphabetically:

A: Advertisements

B: Beat the boredom

C: Culinary skills

D: Dad

E: Egg Factory

F: Fashion

G: Google

H: Healthcare

I: Ice Cream

J: Junkie

K: Kochuri & Aloo r torkari

L: Lipsticks

M: Mom

N: Never say never!

O: Optimism

P: Phones

Q: Quizup App

R: Red

S: Sisterly love

T: Television Serials and Sitcoms

U: Untimely

V: Vow

W: Womanhood

X: Xerox

Y: Young

Z: Zindagi na milegi dobara

I am linking this post to the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal Blogfest hosted by Vidya Sury.

Ek Apple ki daastan!

I heard something like this long back in Radio. I used to be a regular listener of 93.5 Red FM’s RJ Praveen’s show, U Turn during my college days, courtesy my first mobile phone which had a radio (Nokia 2300 model). His wittiness had completely blown me over and out of his many crazy scripts, I remember this one. Whatever I could recollect, I have penned it down. I have written my own lines wherever I could because I couldn’t remember the original lines. 

A for Apple

B for Bada apple

C for Chhota apple

D for Do apple

E for Ek apple

F for Fir se aur ek apple

G for Gol apple

H for Hara apple

I for Itna sara apple

J for Josh se khao apple

K for kisko chahiye apple

L for lal apple

M for Mujhe bhi do apple

N for Naya apple

O for Oats ke saath khao apple

P for Pyare pyare apple

Q for Queen ko pasand hai apple

R for Raaste me chalte hue khao apple

S for Sweet se apple

T for Tum ne liya apple

U for Unko diya apple

V for Vase ke paas rakhha hai apple

W for Waqt se khao apple

X for X-mas ke din khao apple

Y for Yeh hai apple story

Z for Zyaada kha liya apple?

Choose to respect, not abuse!

This ad campaign won accolades in the international advertising circuit for its hard hitting and powerful stance. Issued for Save Our Sisters initiative by Save the Children India NGO and created by Mumbai's Taproot India Advertising Agency, the campaign urges us to act before it’s too late against domestic violence.

The ads showcased bruised faces of Hindu Goddesses, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, in an attempt to spread the message, "Pray that we never see this day. Today more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray too."

Photo credit: CNN IBN

Domestic violence is a serious issue, not only in India but everywhere. It is not about men exercising their physical control or strength on women, but a serious mental problem. No person deserve to be hit or abused in any way. Neither a woman nor a man. Getting battered, beaten, slapped or refused of daily amenities or sexually abusing anybody, does not fall in the decorum of any law. Reports of physical abuse, harsh behavior, burn cases and even death of victims are all over the media every other day. Either the man or the lover kills the woman only or gets himself killed after committing the crime. Many women are reported to be beaten regularly due to causes like excessive alcohol consumption, drugs, stress and mental weakness of the men.

Many women choose to leave when the level of abusing crosses its limit but some continue to stay back in the hope that things might get better someday. Some also believe that going out of the abusive relationship would invite social trauma or negative turn of events from the people who she knows and interacts with. Abuse, whether physical, sexual or verbal, is crime in every sense. There are many cases of economic abuse as well. The spouse is deprived of economic resources or exploitation through demands of resources from her family. This is what we know better in India as the Dowry system.

The idea here is not talk about stopping abuse but bring a change in the mindset of people. In cases of marital abuse, not only the husband but the in laws are known to abuse the bride for reasons that are very hard to explain logically. How difficult is it to accept that women are equally skilled and knowledgeable to run a household? That she can be a partner is supportive enough to make the house function smoothly? That every decision taken by her is in favor of her family? If she is educated and earns for herself, it is only to ease out the burden off the shoulder of the father or the husband?

A woman does not need to exercise her physical power to prove herself. It is her nature, her behavior, her mind and her selflessness that makes her what she is. A daughter, a wife, a mother, a sibling is what she is by birth, but a leader, a colleague, a friend is what she becomes when she is accepted with respect socially. It is never late to realize that you need a woman beside you to survive your life. Respect them and you will earn much more respect than you probably deserve.

Salute and cheers to womanhood!

You're special, Grandmas!

I am about to hit 30s soon, not very soon though! I was born, became a daughter, sister, grand-daughter, cousin, aunt, friend, colleague, co-worker and much more in all these 30 years. While it sounds and looks familiar for we are part of a society that gifts us a family from the moment we are born, it also gifts us relationships that makes us feel special.

A daughter to my parents and little sister to their elder daughter, I am part of a huge family that has extended its support towards me at all times through their unending love and care and has helped me become who or what I am today. Yes, I am blessed to be a daughter and not a son, for I believe, I care for them more from the heart than the mind.

My family gifted me relations that are more female dominated than male. And the most special amongst them are the grandmas that I have.

Grandmas are special. They are the one who do not behave like an elderly parent and do not try to control your behavior any time. In fact, they get amused with your acts of insanity, they know how you feel when you get scolded and offer their lap to sit on and listen to the complaints about their own children, take your side and encourage secretly to go and fulfill your dreams and assure you love and care all throughout your life. Blessed with so many grandmas and each different in their own ways, my childhood, teenage and adulthood have been filled with so many of their memories.  

My paternal grandma, Thamma as we called her, was the matriarch of our family. My grandfather passed away in mid-1960s leaving behind four children with her. She brought his family together, took care of the children, had them settle down and enjoy a house filled with grandchildren. I am her fifth grandchild and emerged at a time when she was already enjoying her time with a relatively new born grandson. Our cousin brother-sister Jodi must have driven her crazy for we were considered twins and were always together in our acts. I remember her as the woman who was respected the most in the family due to her motherly nature towards each and every one, her flawless beauty even in her old age, her cooking capabilities and preparing vegetarian dishes that can make the most popular chef weak on his knees and for her rules and regulations that nobody dared not to follow. I admire her for her personality as a woman who never bowed down to circumstances that might have gone wrong and for having strength to keep her family closely knit. All I have today is respect for her and prayers that her granddaughter can live and lead her life with equal respect.

If Thamma was a woman of strength, my Dida or maternal grandma, was a woman of eternal love and spirituality. Personality of a person does not only depend who the parents are, but also the grandparents. Being nice and humble to people, sporting a smile on your face always and having eternal faith on the Almighty that He will lead us to good times, that is how I describe Dida. She belonged to a family where there are more women than men. She herself had three daughters and four granddaughters and a grandson. No doubt, she knew how to read our minds and what gifts we wanted on our birthdays. Her stories, her lullabies, her conversations with me which no one really understood and her emotional support when it was needed the most, she filled my life with love. I always knew that her lap was the most precious and secured one when I needed or a word of encouragement from her would suffice my fearing and troubling mind. She wasn’t the matriarch like Thamma but she was the woman who earned respect from all because of her nature and we feel proud to be addressed as her grandchildren. Spirituality or the eternal love and faith on God was what she gifted me as genes. If I know I have to pray to God for helping me get through a tough phase in my life, I do it because of her and my mother’s faith on Him and because, their faith never failed. I adore her for being the friend that I had and respect her for being the woman who only knew how to love, care and bring a smile on my face.

An interesting fact is that I share my birthdays (English and Bengali calendar) with both these lovely and beautiful women. If not for them, I would not have managed to get such wonderful parents. If I know why I must earn respect for myself, it is because they earned it for themselves.

On the occasion of International Woman’s Day, I salute my grannies for who they had been and who they continue to be.

You’re special, Lady!

Coming Saturday is International Woman’s Day. March 8. A day that seeks to honor women across the globe and which focuses to appreciate their very existence on this planet, respect them for they are and love them for who they are. Recognized as a prestigious occasion worldwide, the theme for International Woman's Day 2014 as decided by United Nations is Equality for Women is Progress for All.

Through this blog post series, I take the opportunity to write about the different aspects of being a woman and what her existence here means to me. In this series, I aim to highlight some of the aspects of womanhood.