A tiny little truth and lesson for life!

After having read the blog post brief provided by #IndiBlogger for Kinley’s Kitna chain hota hai na sachchai mein #HappyHours campaign, I kept on wondering what exactly should I write. I am no saint and there have been instances in life where I have chosen to lie instead of revealing the truth to my parents or others, with the intention of keeping situations under control. But they have not been such that harms anybody. Today, I chose to write about an incident that became a life lesson for me way back in my early childhood.

I love food and the excitement of eating out never really dies in my case. While in school, Ma would pack some usual tiffin for me that would look and sound boring. Of course, it would’ve been impossible for her to make different types of snacks and meals every day but then, having the same old food never satisfied my hunger. At my school, Gokhale Memorial Girls’ School, students were allowed to buy food from the canteen from Std. II and that meant, we were allowed to carry money with us. While for most of us, it was more about the jhaal-muri and aloo kabli that mattered most than the food prepared at the canteen. When I had informed my parents about this deal in Std. II, I was first asked to get the rate card of the food items that were usually sold. They would vary from Rs. 3, 5 or maximum 10. I was allowed to carry Rs. 5 on the days I wanted to eat from the canteen.

Well, I did start having food from the canteen initially, but felt the need to save the money in the next few days. I would take money from Ma or Baba but never really used that money to buy food, neither at the canteen nor from the food stalls outside the school. I kept collecting and saving that money in a tiny purse that I had got as a gift. This went on for about a month or so until one fine day, Ma found out about the entire thing.

I was not able to find a classwork copy in my bag and like all other child, asked Ma to find it for me. I was pretty sure that her expert eyes will not skip the copy. While she rummaged through my bag, she, instead of the copy, found the purse and the money inside. I had, actually kudos to me, saved about Rs. 50 by then, which in any case was a big amount. She wasn’t sure about how I ended up with so much money and just asked me about it. With a very scared look on my face and fearing a big scolding on my way, I chose to gulp down the truth. For the initial five to seven minutes, I heard her scolding me and threatening me about how Baba will scold me. While I chose to keep quiet till Baba would come and hear me out, the fear and guilt of hiding this truth kept creeping me out. Baba reached home and we started the case. Ma explained the entire scenario and I was asked to speak up. Not having the courage and strength to hold it back anymore, I spoke. The truth. “This is the money that I have been keeping in my purse for the past one month. The same money that you give me for eating at the canteen and also jhal muri. I just didn’t eat but thought of saving the money because I heard you that we need to save money for emergency situations and that wasting money is not good.” 

They obviously didn’t know what to say but I knew, this wasn’t the statement that they were expecting from me. They both replied, “It is our responsibility to save money and not yours, at least at the moment. We gave you money to eat because you wanted but that doesn’t mean that you put it in the bag and don’t use it. This is neither saving nor proper utilization of the money. We could have used this money in some other cases. If you don’t want to eat out, then don’t take the money on that day. And if you wish to save, we have the Mickey House where we drop coins and rupee notes to save for emergency situations. We appreciate how you thought about the entire thing but did you realize, if you got caught by your teacher, what would’ve happened?”

Yes, I realised. Now, why I call this tiny incident in my life as a life lesson is because, my parents cleared my misconceptions. The very importance of understanding what people mean when they say something is important. And Baba taught me about the importance of saving and proper utilization of resources. This, now, sounds like a petty situation but at that moment, telling them the truth definitely felt like the right thing to do.

While watching this advertisement by Kinley, many of such incidents stirred up in my mind and I kept on reminiscing about them. There have been situations where I have told myself to speak up the truth to avoid any further deterioration of the situations and went ahead to tell my parents about it. It definitely felt the right thing to do. 

When I chased a bus in a bus!

Disclaimer: This definitely doesn't happen every day. It is once in a lifetime experience because you do not tend to end up in such weird situations every often. This experience of mine is a unique one and I hope I do not end up in such a situation anymore.

In Bangalore, you have the provision of buying monthly passes for accessing public buses. I normally buy the one that allows me to travel in the Volvo buses and it costs Rs. 2250 (if you already own an identity card) and Rs. 2300 (if you do not). On the very first day of December, 2014 I was ready to buy the monthly pass and boarded a Volvo bus from the nearby bus stop. I informed the bus conductor to give me one that costs Rs. 2250 and to hurry up since I will be getting down in the next stop itself. He informed that he doesn't have that one but instead will give me the one that costs Rs. 2300. I agreed. By the time, he handed me the pass I got down without taking the change of Rs. 200. Neither did he remember nor did I notice.

It struck me just at the moment when I got down from the bus and checked for the change. The bus was gone and there was no way that I could have chased it by running with a heavy backpack. Just when I was wondering what to do, another Volvo came and I got into the bus. I explained to the conductor and the driver what had happened, with an all confused and helpless look. They asked if I noted the bus number (from the number plate) to which I replied, no. Then something exciting happened!

Both the driver and conductor ensured that I will be able to catch the bus and get my money back. Luckily there wasn't any other Volvo bus of the same route between both these buses and this bus could follow the earlier one. Since we were a little behind, we were getting stuck at every signal that the earlier one cleared. But this chasing one made sure that it zooms through the traffic and not stop unnecessarily at stoppages. The chase was turning into an exciting one where not only I but the driver and conductor were in equal anticipation. At each and every signal, while my prayers to God increased its pace, for the driver the wait to drive a little faster to catch up was visible clearly. Finally, at one signal both the bus got stuck. The driver was quick enough to let me get down and run and catch the earlier one. I ran through the cars and knocked on the bus door. Normally, the buses do not allow passengers to board buses in the middle of the road but this one did. I got into the bus, caught hold of the conductor and asked for the money. Initially, he denied but then when I told him I had got down without taking the change and mentioned the bus stop, he remembered and thankfully, gave me the change without much problems.

Now, I was in an area which was completely off track from the route to my office and I was left with a new bus pass and change that was destined to be spent on auto fare. But this chasing a bus in another bus will always remain a special one, for I know, these unique experiences visit you very rarely.

He quit smoking, finally!

As a kid, I always wondered why is Baba carrying a box filled with white sticks in his pocket and occasionally will light these sticks up and put them in his mouth. Not knowing what exactly these apparent sticks were, I was more interested in how smoke keep coming out of his mouth every time he repeated the act. Not only he but his friends and many other relatives did the same thing. Well, when I actually understood what Baba used to smoke, he had already quit after being told by the doctor. But the others didn’t. One of them being a very close relative whose life would come to a standstill if he didn’t smoke for a while.

I am allergic to the smell of cigarette smoking and hence, keep myself away from the people smoking as much as possible. I make sure that they understand it’s disturbing and suffocating by using my facial antics and expressions. Sometimes it work and sometimes it doesn’t. More than they moving away from me, they ask me to move to a smoke-free place and wait until they finish. This leaves me insulted and ignored at times. With this particular relative of mine, I used to feel the same way until his wife came over one day and asked me to move away to the corner near the window.

Because of the disliking that I have for smoking and having already been told that it is harmful to your health, I really wanted to ask him, why don’t you quit smoking? How does smoking help you anyway? He replied, “I started smoking in my 20s to be part of the elite group and be part of the trendsetters and socialise. But it soon became a habit and now, an addiction. It is very difficult to move away or rather quit smoking for me. I don’t think I will survive even for a minute.” Well, it sounded like he had made up his mind not to quit.

Things, however, changed with time. I was visiting them on a weekend at the time when I had started working for the first time. I was writing for a healthcare knowledge processing company and had to read extensively on health issues. We had worked on a campaign against smoking and I had already mugged up the reasons why one should quit smoking. While I spoke elaborately on each of the reasons, he had his own reason to counter them. Say for instance:

1. You smell like smoke: Oh! Doesn’t matter. There are mouth sprays, chewing gums and perfumes to cover for me.
2. Your sense of taste and smell is go! : No. This doesn’t happen in literal terms. I make sure I do not smoke more than one ciggie before having food. And when you’re smoking for more than 45 years at a stretch, it seriously does not count.
3. You age pre-maturely and get wrinkles on your face: (chuckles) Well, I am happily married for the past 40 years. Does it really matter now?
4. People are now very conscious about second-hand smoking too. They will not even invite you for their social gatherings: Well, my buddies smoke and we are happy with each other.
5. You are exposed to infections of all kinds: There are ways to fight them back.
6. You are a danger for others around you: That’s why I have started smoking near the window or in the balcony where nobody is there to feel at danger.
7. Your physical fitness will go for a toss: I still go for morning walks every day and I am as fit as you think of.
8. You save so much money: I have earned enough to spend on this luxury.

Well, I wasn’t in the mood for a debate with him and chose to stay out of the conversation for some time. Although it was irritating and annoying to debate with him, the feeling of having failed to convince him to quit smoking was way more frustrating. I just kept asking myself, why can’t one quit smoking? What is that thing that stops them from quitting? How can they ignore the message “Smoking is injurious to health” written on the box so confidently? Why don’t they take the message seriously instead of being oblivion about it?

Photo courtesy: http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/VC/Views/Exhibit/visuals/antismoking.html

The next time I visited him, I felt some change in the house and him. Auntie looked at me and told me that he has something to tell me. I looked at him while he pointed to a cigarette box with 6 cigarettes in it kept on the showcase in their cabinet. I gave a questioning look, wondering what the message could be. It was, miracle has happened. He had quit smoking, FINALLY! And it was on the insistence of his daughter who gave him an ultimatum that either he chooses his life or meeting her and the grandkids.  His doctor had told him about the possible complications of having severe bronchitis if he didn’t quit smoking with immediate effect and face the adverse effects. He chose his daughter and the kids for good.

PS: It’s been already four years since he quit smoking and the box is kept intact as a memento. Now, that’s a unique one to cherish. He has less signs of Bronchitis and is fitter than ever compared to people of his age. 

#AbMontuBolega and I will too!

A few days back, at a corporate training program at my workplace, I was asked some questions unexpectedly. The Leadership Training Program was designed to understand the capabilities and aptitudes of the upcoming leaders in the organization and to check whether we are ready to take up new roles. Each of us was asked to fill up a questionnaire that had questions related to our thoughts over leadership.

One of the questions that struck me personally was whether I voice my opinion strongly whenever we are in a meeting or when our suggestions are discussed in an open platform. I asked myself, and the answer was 'No'. While I do voice my opinion and suggestions, they are sadly not strong enough to be taken seriously. Isn’t it the same that is happening with our country right now? We all have opinions about what to do and how it should be done. But do our opinion reach the right platform?

India, with its newly formed government, is wishing and working towards bringing about a change in the outlook of the country. That we can and we will. But how? For me personally, turning India into Swachh Bharat is not only the government’s responsibility. It is our responsibility as well. Clean India is not about only clean roads and alleys or putting up dustbins all across. It is also about voicing your opinion about something that requires immediate attention, and that for me is the safety of women and children. It becomes difficult to travel at late nights for women, even if accompanied by family or friends. Whether it is when you are coming back from work in a public transport or from another place, the fear of facing unexpected and difficult situations is always there. Why can’t we have police patrolling on the streets on the weekdays as well? Why can’t we have a female police accompanying us? Why can’t we have the lights on at the bus stops to check if any person is already there?

Probably we can now - with the new campaign from Strepsils. Strepsils is the world’s leading sore throat lozenge which fights both bacterial and viral throat infections and gives soothing and long-lasting relief. With Strepsils, you can get a healthy voice to express yourself completely.

#AbMontuBolega campaign or The Power of Voice to Clean India, organized by Strepsils has been designed to encourage the people to raise their voices, share their opinion and to stop being a silent spectator. Raising their voices against all that is dirty in India is the most significant power that they have. Exercising this power will help in taking a step towards cleaning those places and addressing those issues that deserve immediate attention and the authorities managing them require to hear them out. This is how we can achieve a Swach Bharat. That is why, they say Kyunki Bin Bole Ab Nahi Chalega #AbMontuBolega. The campaign details and updates can be accessed on Strepsils Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/StrepsilsIndia) and Twitter (@StrepsilsIndia). For further details and to listen to Montu, visit http://www.abmontubolega.com/

And like Montu, I am raising my voice and opinion, with a clear throat to address this issue.

PS: I am going to apply the same in my office as well. Because, it’s time to speak up and speak right.

#BringBackTheTouch of love and care with your soft and smooth skin

It is going to be more than two weeks that Arjun will be out of town on work and then visiting his family. First, he will be visiting his regional head at Chennai and will be stationed there for about week, followed by a week and a half spending time with his family back in Hyderabad. Arjun had been busy with his shopping for his mom, dad and sister and making plans to meet his friends after almost a gap of eight months. It looked like the most exciting phase in his life and he didn’t want to miss out on any of his plans. Diya was a constant witness to his excitement, shopping ideas and buying things, helping him pack his bag, etc. While she understood his excitement, encouraged and smiled at each of his ideas, he missed out on understanding her sadness. A customary hug was what she got the night before he left.

Diya made sure that she makes the most of these few days and concentrated on finishing off her pending work and waiting for Arjun to come back to her. Her wait seemed to look longer than it actually was. She waited for him to come to her and be with her. She waited to feel his love for her back, the exact one that she had started enjoying from the time they realised their love for each other. She didn’t wish it go away so fast because of the work and the stress, or any other thing.

The day Arjun was back, they couldn’t meet. She was out on a meeting for the entire day and decided to catch up the next day when they both are free to spend time together. They met for dinner, talked for hours and Diya was dropped back home. She knew she couldn’t make him realise how much she missed him. She knew he loved him but failed to realise why the passion in their love was missing even after they met after such a long time.

The coming Friday, they met again. Not for dinner, but for a quick chat on the projects they were planning to manage together. While discussing the project details, it was a just a casual touch with her soft hands that made Arjun feel something different. She, oblivious to his realisation, continued with her discussion while he just held her hands as they sat close to each other. Her touch had managed to ignite the missing spark with a sensual touch and feel. After almost a month, they experienced a sensual experience of touch, discovering the feeling of being together. The love that was never lost, but was only missing in action.

Well, Diya’s smooth, soft and nourished skin did the trick for both of them!

You may lose your precious moments of love and care owing to your other priorities in life. But a simple touch of love and caress can bring back it back for you. That is what Parachute Advansed Body Lotion promises to do for you. Parachute Advansed Body Lotion is a 100% natural moisturiser complete with the goodness of coconut and ensures that you have a soft, smooth and nourished body skin in seven days and #BringBackTheTouch.  Visit http://www.pblskin.com/ for more details on the product.

If you have a similar story like Diya and Arjun or Nimrat and Parambrata (watch the video below), do share with us. It’s always great to read about love and feel happy about it. 

Time for some action, let’s build a #ToiletForBabli

When you have loads of grannies, aunts and uncles, your conversations with your mother will never have a dull moment. For she always has tons of stories and circumstances to tell you to help you relate with your current situation. Yes, this is exactly what happens when I am chatting with Ma.

This time, we were discussing about one of my grannies and Ma’s aunt. One of the prettiest sisters who grew up in a posh locality in Kolkata was married off to a Zamindar family still living in a village, looking after their family business of farms, etc. Visiting them in their village used to be once in a while affair on occasions such as weddings or festivals. For me, rural areas seemed a distant reality and used to be a place that will be exactly like I had seen in my books or painted in my classes. After growing up in an urban setup, relating to most of the things in that village seemed difficult. I was about seven or eight years old that time and followed Ma for everything. But what was most shocking was the arrangement of toilets and bathing there.

Since they were Zamindars, they had a bathroom in their palatial house but the others, I found, had been defecating in the open in the nearby areas. Not knowing how to react, I asked my Dad about it. He replied that these places are still not developed enough to have bathrooms in each of the houses. It sounded unbelievable and disheartening to see many of the kids of my age going beyond the bushes or in the open field to defecate. The children and the parents, especially the mothers looked pale and sick. And I was only helpless, not knowing how and what to do for them.

But now I do. I know the importance of practicing hygiene and having proper sanitation facilities in your house and I have realized that it is now time to take a step forward, even if a tiny one, to eliminate this problem. #ToiletForBabli is an initiative launched by Domex, Hindustan Unilever Limited’s flagship sanitation brand that aims to make a major contribution towards solving the problem of more than 597 million people defecating in the open, still.

The Domex Toilet Academy programme was launched on November 19, 2013, with an aim of becoming a sustainable and long-term solution of providing sanitation facilities that will benefit the local community and in turn help in stimulating the local economy. This academy makes toilets that are easily accessible and affordable, and promote the benefits of using clean toilets and good hygiene. Their efforts have resulted in bringing about a change in the villages of Maharashtra and Orissa and in the coming time by 2015, their aim is to build 24,000 toilets in the rural areas that still deal with the problem of open defecation.

So, are you game for making a start to address this issue? All you need to do is, visit http://www.domex.in/ and participate in the “You Click Domex Contributes” and show your support for this Domex initiative. Simply “click” on the “Contribute” Tab on the site and on your behalf, Domex will contribute Rs. 5 to help in their plan of eradication of open defecation, thereby, will help many kids like Babli to live a dignified life.

I have done my bit. Now, it’s your turn. Go ahead and give the women and the children chances to live a healthy and a happy life.

Workaholic, are you?

There is something special about being a workaholic, I believed in my childhood. People somehow respected the person than an average person who would slog equally but was there to have fun, spend time with his or her family and pursue interests. So, I wanted to earn that respect of a workaholic, not knowing what this life holds for me.

When I joined my first workplace, I was the junior most member and needed to work as much as I could to prove my worth in the company. I had no idea about a deadline because it was completely different from the ones that were given in the University. Daily assignments and meeting deadlines were becoming a pain in my life. But it could never overshadow the power of getting appreciated for the good work that I did. I started overlooking the work pressure, stress and body ache completely. I spent more time at work than at home. This followed at every workplace where I have worked so far. I will reach early and leave late. There will be never ending work on my list even if it is not a priority. And this leads me to become a certified workaholic, going by the definition of the same.

By the time I realised what being workaholic holds for you, it got a little late. I was already having health problems, would stay tired and exhausted mentally and physically, the pretty face of mine started having puffed eyes and dark circles and a permanent fixture of sadness on my face. Was I working too much than I am expected to, or rather needed to? I needed to find out, seriously.

Workaholism usually refers to extreme behaviours such as working late at night in the office when everyone has left so that one can get peace and sort out the tasks for the next day, typically leading a life that is out of balance. The problem seems to get worse if not addressed at the right time. To make you workaholic, you have your smartphone with a messaging and mailing facility, a tablet to do all your work even when you are travelling or simply sitting back, and an annoying calendar to remind you of your meetings and updating you with your schedule. I do use a smartphone and it has a calendar as well. Just that I don’t own a tablet and work on the go.

May be I haven’t become a workaholic to the extreme that one of my fellow office colleague has become. He reports to work as early as 6 am on the rare days and by 7:30-8:00 am on regular days. I also come early and we usually bump into each other. On this particular day, while we were discussing something completely irrelevant, I find him taking out something from his bag pack. I was completely taken aback when I found him brushing his teeth at his desk using his tooth brush and paste from the travel kit which is kept in his bag. Upon asking him, he replied that he forgot or didn’t have time in the morning. It’s normal, he said.

No it wasn’t, and it should never be. Is working day in and out the only thing in our lives left to be done? What happens to the parents, the friends, the fun and frolic, the hobbies and personal satisfaction from things that we love doing? Job satisfaction should be there but we must also realise that work must not become an addiction. Your health will deteriorate and so will your mind. Negative thinking, frustrated and unsatisfied outlook toward everything that we do, and most important, incompleteness.

I wanted to become workaholic to earn respect. That’s a dream I lived. Now, it’s the other way round. I want to earn respect by leading a balanced life. With going for a morning walk with a free mind, walking into office at the designated time and leaving when I am done with my work, paint, knit, cook, watch a movie, read and write at my convenience. And sleep peacefully with the alarm not set at midnight for me to wake up at the wee hours to finish off my work.

So the next time when someone asks me, do you work hard or do you hardly work, I will answer, I do both!

Triple times the immunity, triple times the naughtiness!

I am often accused of being the partner in crime with my nephew. Since the time he was born, started crawling, walking, running, screaming, hiding stuff and happily yapping on his own. My sister often told me, it looks like we have two kids at home, one who is genuinely a kid and the other one, just enjoys being one. Grow up!

I would reason myself saying that when you have a tiny little kid at home, what more do you expect me to do? That takes care of the situation slightly and gets followed up by scolding. But I know for sure, she enjoys every bit of the naughtiness that we do. Well, I only supervise, he does the execution part. The house remains filled with laughter and joy and there’s always a fun moment in everything that he does. But when he falls sick, none of us could find the energy to do anything except for care for him as much as we can. Especially me. I just need him to get back on his feet, running around with the toys following me and Didi around, occasionally seeking help from my brother-in-law to help him catch these two women in the house.

I still remember one incident when Adi had fallen sick just after returning from school. I was in office when Didi called and asked me to bring a thermometer. Adi had high fever and our thermometer wasn’t working properly. I came out of work as early as I could, bought a thermometer from the medical store and ran home. His doctor diagnosed the fever as a seasonal viral fever and suggested that he must be taken care well because his immunity system is still weak. We needed him to recover and stay healthy. Every one of us in the house went berserk to figure out what to do to make his immunity system strong so that he doesn’t get prone to falling sick every now and then. Suggestions poured in from everywhere, and each had their own reasons. Someone, at that point of time, suggested Dabur Chyawanprash, a time tested formulation that we as children ate and loved too. For us, it was just a black colour formulation that tasted very different from what we ate or any medications that we took during fever. Dad made it a point to bring a bottle and had to be shared amongst the sisters every morning. This time, both of us, thought of understanding why is it important and why should we give it Adi. We scanned through https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/ for more information.

Dabur Chyawanprash contains a number of herbs including Amla (one of the best antioxidants), Giloy (also known as Guduchi which has some of the best immune-modulatory properties) and 40 other natural ingredients. The anti-oxidant properties of Dabur Chwayanprash helps in strengthening the body’s internal defence mechanism or the immunity system as we know it. This helps in protecting us from infections and cough and cold. Dabur Chwayanprash helps in stimulating the natural killer cells in our bodies and assist in fighting with virus and bacteria in the body. Its anti-allergic potential has also been proved.

Didi got a small bottle for him and started feeding him every morning one spoon of it. Initially, he started making faces because of the taste that was so new for him but gradually, he started eating as a compulsory food as part of his breakfast. It worked wonders on him. Within no time, after he recovered from his fever, he showed signs of improved immunity with less bouts of cough and cold and no running nose. He was back on his feet running around the house, cycling in the park and giggling at everything he saw. His smile and laughter replaced the crankiness that he was having for the past few days.

And when he’s back on his feet, I was back. So was Didi. Scolding us for running around and troubling her! J

I am going home this Diwali! :) #GharWaliDiwali

While scrolling down the news feed in my Facebook wall, I saw a friend had shared a post with #GharWaliDiwali video from Pepsi some days back. I did not see it. Not because I do not have the time or interest to watch it, but because I didn’t want to cry sitting in my office. I was pretty sure it will have something that will make me emotional and remember what I was about to miss again this year. Like three years in a row.

In the past two years, I have Diwali spent sitting back at home, lighting diyas just to follow the tradition and spending time reading books or cleaning the house. Alone. All my friends and flat mates had gone home to celebrate Diwali with their families. Whomever I called, they were already on their way back home. I could not join them because I was going home a few months later and getting leaves was difficult. Yes, my mom felt bad but she said, it’s ok. You’re coming in January, in her choked voice.

I was all prepared to spend this Diwali alone here again when this tiny incident happened. My boss called for a meeting a few weeks back to check our schedules and whether we are taking leaves during Diwali and when are we planning to join back work. One team member was already going home for a week, the rest of us replied in unison that we’ll be back at work on the day office resumes. None of us were happy with the answer though, he felt. He took a minute and looked at us. He said, “I got a call from my mom. He wants to Shaurya to spend his Diwali with his grandmom this year. Shaurya hasn’t spent one single Diwali with his grandparents till date and it has got us thinking. So, this year, we are going home. I am going home to spend my Diwali with my mom.” We saw his smile widen. But it failed to bring to smile on our faces.

The next morning, we all got mails from him to assemble for a meeting at 11 am. He had something very important to discuss. He came and sat with his laptop, connected it with the projector and looked at us. He announced his dates of travel. Then, looked at us again and said, “You need to quickly tell me the dates of your travel as well. It will help me synchronise the work schedule accordingly so that none of us lose our jobs!” Where are we travelling was the look on our faces. “To your homes, of course! I saw your expressions last evening and could understand your state of mind. Diwali is a celebration to be enjoyed, not a regular holiday to spend cleaning the house and watch movies. I want you all to go home, spend time with your families and come back with a bang.” We weren’t expecting this. Seriously.

We booked our tickets and planned our return dates accordingly. And we decided, let’s surprise the parents and enjoy the smile on their faces. We’ll whatsapp on how each of our parents reacted. Let’s preserve those priceless expressions.

Diwali is a just a few days away and my tickets are booked. All of us leaving very soon for home, to meet our parents, to enjoy the puja, the burn the crackers, to get scolded for not coming back home despite getting late, to hang out with friends and remember how we spent our Diwali together, to eat as many laddoos as possible without caring about the numbers on the weighing scale and to breathe in fresh air. 

And in the meantime, while I am busy shopping gifts and packing my bags, I decided to watch the PepsiCo #GharWaliDiwali film. This time in a happy mood.

After watching the video, I wanted to thank someone for making this Diwali happy for me. I logged on https://www.gharwalidiwali.com/ to check the offers on the gift hampers. I typed my message for my Boss, thanking him for what he’s done for us this time and sent him a Pepsi Ghar Wali Diwali hamper. It’s definitely not a bribe for the upcoming appraisals but a heartfelt thanks to him.

Image courtesy: webneel.com

Happy Diwali! :)

Did she just blame us for not smiling?

Do you remember your school days? I am sure all of you will be excited and nostalgic now about how fun those days were, your friends with whom you share a lifelong friendship now, etc. And school day memories are such that we keep going back to them whenever we face any similar situations that we might have faced in school. Recently, I had one really nostalgic moment. Trust me, the feeling was just the same.

We all have heard about loving thy neighbours. Neighbours are your next door people who become your immediate friends outside home gradually but in the same premises. You meet them, you greet them or simply know them. Today, as I speak to you, I choose to share a rare experience about one of my encounters with my neighbours here in Bangalore. I grew up amidst neighbours who were my relatives. So I could never relate to the type of neighbours who were shown in the television serials or the movies. But this desire of mine got fulfilled in a very interesting way when I moved to this new house in Bangalore.

My apartment has a lot of families who are either living their retired lives and have moved in to enjoy an old age life and are taken care by the children. And then, there are the flats occupied by working bachelors. You will often find these retired folks taking a walk in the long corridor together, discuss about the people living in the apartments, gossip at times about who they saw with whom, etc.

Now, we, my flatmates and I stay in a place, which is quite strategically located between the flat of the Secretary of the Society aka the apartment and the Vice-president. So, both of these families have the men in the leadership roles and the women to feed them information.

One evening, when one of my flatmates and I are at home, watching movies, our doorbell rang. I went and opened the door only to find my neighbour lady, an aged Bengali woman, walk in. No, not walk in, she barged in. Dressed in her night gown, hair tied into a bun and chewing paan, so yeah, bright red lips. While she chewed paan, she asked me to call my flatmate out. Both of us thought that it might be some apartment issue that she’s come to inform us, but her face said something else. She looked angry.

She asked my flatmate, I have something to ask you. Looking at her face, I had quietly went back to my room. She continued, today, while coming back from office, you saw me standing at the corridor with Mrs. G. You saw me, right? She nodded yes. There, you did something that you shouldn’t have done. A, my flatmate, stood stumped and confused and so did I, in my room of course. With confused expressions on our faces.

A asked, what exactly happened Aunty? Aunty replies, you did not smile at me. Like you do every time. That too, when I was there with Mrs. G. Do you know what she told me? Look those girls do not smile at you anymore. What happened? They smiled at me just today morning. Now you tell me, won’t you feel insulted if someone comes and tells you that your neighbour did not smile at you? I was called back in the room.

We stood still. Was she scolding us for not smiling at her? Really? We tried telling her, that there was a phone call that she was attending and she did not notice her. She accused me of the same thing. She refused to listen to us. She rejected our reasons. We had no intentions of insulting her by not smiling at her. She felt insulted and she made it clear. She barged out that same way she had come.  

Here, our neighbour came to us not to ask for sugar but to scold us for not smiling at her. The entire concept of having a neighbour turned upside down for me. We didn’t have any answer as to why it happened.

There she left and here we felt like school kids who had no answers as to why we did not do our homework. I remembered how teachers asked us why isn’t that we haven’t done our homework? We never had any answers because no answer can satisfy her brain and mind. I felt absolutely nostalgic.

She angrily walked out leaving us wondering, is this also a reason why your neighbour can knock on your door? Blame us for not smiling at her? Well she did. 

She wasn't alone this time

She came back to her desk teary eyed. No one asked her why. May be no one noticed her any more. She needed to breathe fresh to get back her mind to work when suddenly a voice whispered, I won! You couldn't do anything to prove me wrong. She turned behind to find him standing and winking at her. She had no choice but to cut the crap this time. Her fingers raced through the keyboard as she drafted her resignation and attaching a few images to prove her point. The mail was marked To All. On her way out, she heard a voice, loud enough to say, Thanks for making everyone know. Wait, we are joining you. They marched out of the office together, feeling safe and breathing fresh air.

The 25 word magic!

As many as 25 words created magic. Short, simple and it's there. It's here.

1. She cried. She begged for a chance. She promised the unthinkable. She negotiated. He listened. He appeared. He disappeared. She cried again. Her dream ended.

2. She had to reach on time. This time she couldn’t afford to miss it. She almost ran. She smiled as he said, Mamma, you’re here!

3. If it wasn't him, then who? She kept asking him. There’s no way she could know the truth. He was gone. The night was over.

4. You don’t deserve to be here. You should leave. She stood still hearing him. She smiled, and left. Only this time, she didn't turn back.

Happy Teachers’ Day, Parents!

September Five. It’s your day Teachers!

If you are an Indian, you would be certainly well versed with the significance of the fifth day of September. It’s Teachers’ Day. This is the day when we get ourselves to thank the teachers who have helped in shaping our lives as they are now and continue to offer their guidance whenever we need them. For me, Teacher’s Day was always about the teachers in school, performances and gifts for them and a few return gifts at times. The realisation that not only the teachers in school but the many others who are or have been very important parts of my life dawned only when I learnt the other perspective of this meaningful day. In this series, I am going to pen down the different teachers in my life so far and what their contributions towards my life have been till date.

The most important role models should and could be parents and teachers. But that said, once you’re a teenager you’ve probably gotten as much of an example from your parents as you’re going to. ~ Andrew Shue

Isn’t it so true? You know that your parents are the most important people right from the moment you are born. Your every need is taken care by them, they know exactly what you need or want at a specific time and most importantly, they are the only teachers in your life who are given the responsibility of teaching everything starting from the basics without an end of that tutorial.

They are your role models that you want to grow up like.  For me, becoming a doctor or an engineer was never in the hindsight. I simply wanted to work like my father did. Going to office regularly, following a discipline of getting ready on time, driving up to office, attending meetings, and coming back home to be welcomed by the family members, I only wanted this. I was not bothered about the qualifications you need to become a working member in the family but the only attraction was the respect that he earned from each and every person we knew. In case of my mother, what I have always learned is the way you manage a family of people with different personalities. If there’s a grandma who has a routine of waking up at 4am and sleeping off at 8pm every day, my mom never failed to attend to her needs; if there are children who study late or have people working late night shifts at office, they do not need to worry about things like food not there. For me, my mom is the only person who teaches and preaches without a set tutorial and teachings are about each and every thing that you can imagine exists in this world. And then, there’s the sister. Didi is the person who emerged to be a combination of Baba and Ma. If she inspired and taught about the life that exists outside our home, she also has been instrumental about imbibing the confidence in me that I can manage both house and office easily. I only need myself to face troubles and solve them. And oh yes, to celebrate every happy moment in your life with a smile and your favourite food.

Yes, parents and family members are there for you always, but the concentration of teaching the lessons of life seemed to be more and started vigorously in my teenage years. It was and is as if I need guidance at every step. They became more protective about me and everything I wanted to do. Be it studies, friends and hanging out with them and also about work. Phew!

No wonder that this is also true when it comes to the parents!

We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up. ~ Phyllis Diller

Well, it’s not all bad because you have someone to fall back one when your decisions are proved wrong.

Baba, Ma and Didi, Happy Teacher’s Day! Surprisingly you didn’t need a job at a school but got a student to teach throughout life. Hopefully, the returns from my side are better than the salary that you expected! 

Getting Synced with Communication!

What can a smartphone do to your life? Other than the basic function of helping to speak to people and message them at any point of time, it also enables you to check your mails which cannot be ignored or kept for deletion in future. Such was this day when I had suddenly received an alert from IndiBlogger asking me whether I would want to be part of the Univercell Sync contest. Without giving much thought, I quickly went to the details of the contest section to check the location, date and time. Perfect! Close to my house in Indiranagar, Bangalore on a Sunday afternoon and an opportunity for me to be part of an IndiBlogger meet for the first time since my registration.

But what was the thing that I had to do? The excitement was killing me inside till the time I stepped inside the store. This was the same Univercell Sync store from where I had bought my phone. My smartphone. I was already kind of a loyalist since the time I had decided to buy my phone from the store. Having been to different stores at different locations, interacting with the staff to understand the phone’s features and whether the phone they show me is what I wanted, I was exhausted and tired. That time, I didn’t want to go to any more store where I have to choose from the display or tell them my requirements and they will show me phones that is within the budget. I wanted to a good customer satisfaction experience where I do not have to wait for the staff member to stop juggling between customers and show me phones in between.

Univercell Sync had given me the exact experience that I had wished for. And this time, when I had stepped in to their store, I relived my earlier experience. Although I did not have any intentions of buying products, the motto was to understand the strategies behind their brand success. Univercell Sync has a unique store layout. While the store might just sound like any other mobile retail store, the fact is that, it isn’t. When you step inside the store, there is much more that than just the latest versions of the mobiles kept on display and a staff members assisting the customers and answering to their queries.

The best part of the store is that there are dedicated sections for each type of gadgets that you would look for. There’s a music section that has a checklist for the music lover printed on the wall. The checklist includes all your queries about storage, headphones, battery, music online, file format, music player UX and music apps—things that you require and things that the store offers. The next one was for the multi-tasker who looks for battery, has doubts regarding operating system, enterprise, screen, connectivity, multi-media and camera and this entire section addresses each of these problems. Move on to the next section: the photography and related accessories section named Point & Shoot. You get storage equipment, printing machines (including the portable ones), etc., information about apps such as Instagram being displayed on the screen, etc. The next section called the Work & Play zone is all about gadgets that are meant for people who prefer using a single gadget and do every work on it only. The store has exclusive gadgets that takes care of such problems.

The Sync Squad, as they call themselves, is a tech-support team and is there to help each and every customer to get the new phone working and syncing the devices. Beginning with providing assistance on making the phone work to going to your house to provide a demo or pick up and drop your phone in case of any damage, the Sync Squad manages everything. They help you identify the best gadget that will suit the customer’s choice and requirements and make the best decision when it comes to investing money on electronic items that are meant for delivering the best results.

The store, undoubtedly, has its charm. Be it about documentation process after your purchase, suggesting the best devices or simply answering to your questions so that you are convinced, Univercell Sync is, for me, the store to recommend and visit as many as possible for buying my gadgets. I appreciate their effort of setting up a store that is primarily consumer-centric, has a well-trained and qualified staff, offers value added services to ensure that the consumer does not stay confused anymore, apart from the latest gadgets and phones.

Be Period Positive!

They ended their speech with this line: Be period positive. They spoke about an initiative that is not talked about easily because it’s a taboo. You are not supposed to discuss the subject in the open. Especially in the presence of men, be it anybody—father, brother or any other person.

Aditi Gupta and Tuhin Paul were introduced by the Emcee in the second session of #TedxBangalore on August 3, 2014 as the couple who is working as a team on a delicate subject. It’s about that difficult time of the month that a girl cannot explain easily to anyone and her mother is known to tell her, every girl has to go through this phase. You are not alone in this case!

Maybe we girls are not alone. Maybe the girl sitting next to you is going through the same problem, but why is it so difficult to discuss it in the open? Everyone knows about it. It is not that secretive a matter like an invention of a rocket. Aditi, in her speech, spoke about the problems that she had to go through in her early days of menstruation wherein she was not allowed to talk about it with her father and brother, not speak with the relatives or worship Gods and follow many such instructions. Almost all of us are asked to follow the same rules, except in a few cases where the men in the family are supportive enough to understand your problem. I never had a problem talking about this with my Dad because he was simply my father who needed to hear out his daughter. My Mom never told me don’t let people know about it but yes, it is a subject that you should not discuss too often. It’s something that happens to girls and boys know about it too. They don’t come and tell you if something related to their health happens. You definitely have a lot many interesting things to talk about other than this. Oh yes, we do!

However, the idea generates a sense of embarrassment when you even step out to buy the packet in the presence of men in a pharmacy shop, but not that much when you pick it up from the local supermarket. Men generally do not linger around that area, so it’s easier to pick it up from there. But in the pharmacy shop, it's not that easy. Initially, when I had started shopping for myself, asking for the packet used to be difficult. I was shy because the pharmacists were men and the people around were too. But, when the realisation dawned upon me that it’s a necessity and there is absolutely nothing to be shy about, walking up to the pharmacy and asking for my preferred choice of sanitary napkins was much easier.

It is nothing new or innovative that is happening with us girls, but it is exclusive to us. Making it sound like a dirty thing doesn’t really help because it is an integral part of being a woman. I would personally like to applaud the idea and efforts of Menstrupedia couple for bringing it in the public in such a creative manner and I hope, their efforts help in transforming the shyness into a positive confidence in the young girls and feel good about themselves.

Learn more about the concept here.

Can I take a few balloons after the party gets over?

Isn’t that what you would expect a child coming to a party to tell you if you are hosting it? The colourful balloons are what attract the children so much and they wait for the party to get over so that they can pick and choose the balloons according to their choice. But is this the same scenario when it comes to the monthly birthday celebrations in office? Well, for one, there are no children but what happens when you hear your colleague asking for balloons so that she can take them home to the HR?

At my workplace, as a HR policy, on the fourth Friday of every month, a monthly birthday celebration is organised where the employees who were born in that particular month celebrate their birthday together with all the others in the cafeteria by cutting a huge cake and eating some munchies. This month, a colleague of mine was celebrating her birthday and we all gathered in the cafeteria. It was decorated with balloons and festoons and the cake, the patties and the coke were waiting for us. All of us had only one thing in mind. A big piece of cake after the customary piece has been eaten. But this one colleague had something else in her mind. She wanted to take the balloons and was only waiting for the party to get over. Not showing much interested in the cake or in meeting everyone else in between work, she was looking for a chance to go and talk to the birthday organisers to help her the balloons.

After about 20 mins when people started moving out and getting back to work, she walked up to the HR team, asked for the balloons and came back to us all giggling with two bunches of balloons. Apparently, the HR team was also amused and they happily gave her the balloons to take home. She clicked photos with the balloons, posed along with others and finally got back to her seat.

The next thing that struck all of us was how was she planning to take these balloons home? Travelling back home in a bus was out of question but wouldn't the balloons burst while going in an auto as well. She was left with no other option but taking an auto back home. I accompanied her till the bus stop. Certain funny things happened on the way that made the whole incident more interesting. First, the neighbouring auto had women in it who kept touching the balloons while we were stuck in the traffic and it had pissed my colleague off quite badly. This was followed by the inquisitive auto-wallah (not blaming him though), as to why is she carrying so many balloons home? And whenever, a balloon or two would burst, he would turn and say, Kya Madam? The ultimate end to her dream of going back home with balloons ended with the street children catching her and running after her to give away the balloons to them. The kind hearted young lady she is, she gave them and returned home finally with only five out of, may be, 12 of them. 

We all knew that she has a fascination for balloons when she said, “We can put up balloons on her birthday and celebrate!” or “Oh wow! That team is celebrating his birthday and they have so many balloons on his desk. I will go and ask for some.” These only gave us the idea that on her birthday, we should gift her a packet of balloons if not anything else. That packet, I heard, is one of her most prized possessions and may be kept for her children to be inherited.

We feel amused to see her excitement when it comes to balloons and all she tells us, the balloons brings out the kid in her. It is always fascinating to have something of this sort in your life that never fails to bring a smile on your face, irrespective of how old you are and what profession you are in. A food for thought here? So, what’s that one thing that makes me a kid and bring a smile on my face? What about you?

When the maid went to jail!

My usual conversations with Ma includes our daily routines of who did what throughout the day, and some interesting things that may have happened on that particular, and most importantly, who’s cooked what. On this particular day, Ma sounded a little distressed because our maid had informed her whereabouts after bunking work for more than three days in a row.

Me: So, what happened to her? Why isn’t she coming?

Ma: She’s in jail!

Me: Whaaaat? What? Why? How? When? Which jail?

Ma: She hasn’t done anything. It’s her brother because of whom she’s in jail.

Me: What did the brother do now? Please explain.

Ma: Her brother had been going out with a girl for quite some time and eloped a few days back and they got married. Both have been missing since then. So, the father of the bride registered a police complaint against the entire family of the boy including his widowed mother, married sisters and brothers-in-law. So, now all of them have been arrested under non-bailable warrant. There’s no clue as to when they will be released from jail. Sigh!

Me: OMG! Really? Now?

Ma: Now what? I will have to find a new maid within a few days because I do not know when’s going to be back.

Me: Yes, better. Or you can look for a temporary maid because she won’t be spending her rest of the life in jail. She will want her work her back.

Ma: Yes, that’s there. Let’s see.

………….

Ma found a replacement maid who agreed to work in our maid’s absence.

………….

After about a month:

Ma: The maid is back to work from today. She came to meet me.

Me: Oh! She got released from jail? What happened to her? How did she get released?

Ma: Her brother came back home with his wife and they met the bride’s father also. After much persuasion apparently, he agreed to accept him as his son-in-law only if he accepts some of his conditions. He also took back the complaint.

Me: That’s good. So, how’s she doing? Is she fit to work? Was she harassed in the jail?

Ma: Harassed? Not at all. She’s glowing and looks as refreshed as she can. I was surprised to see her.

Me: What? How did that happen?

Ma: Apparently, inside the jail, there wasn’t much work to be done by them. They were only made to do some basic works and were given meals three times a day. The breakfast included coffee and snacks, etc. Now, she didn’t have to do strenuous work inside the jail. So, she’s all charged up and refreshed.

Me: Ma, are you sure she was actually arrested and not holidaying in the jail???

 

This is not entirely a piece of fiction for the conversation is based on the facts shared by the maid herself. Can’t guarantee if the entire episode was made up or not! ;)

  

But I didn’t run away!

One of the most basic ideas that every child gets when he or she gets scolded by the parents is to run away and lead an independent life. This thought can come at any stage of the childhood years. I had seen my cousin sister threatening her Mom that she’ll storm out of the house because she was scolded badly due to her mischievous attitude and using bad words that she had picked up from school. This girl was only four years at that time. Realising that she doesn’t have the permission to go down the stairs, she decided that coming to our house was the safest option and packed a few dresses, pants, a bottle of water, two sweets and two lemons that her grandma had got for them. She told her Mom, she doesn’t wish to stay with her anymore and walked out straight and reached our door. She knocked and when I opened the door, I could see her angry face and my aunt’s giggling face from the other side. She came and told my Mom, she’s now her daughter and demanded that she will eat, sleep and bathe in our house. She will only speak to her Dad because he’s the only person who understands her. How thoughtful!

But my case wasn’t the same. Technically, I had no intention of doing any such things but what happened out of a tiny miscommunication gave shape to the following incident.

It was raining and my school, like any other school, didn’t formally declare a holiday. Since I always used to go to school with my Dad and return in the school bus, we had not checked whether the school bus is available on that day. I was dropped at school and my Dad left for his office, which was about 100 mtrs from my school. Upon reaching the class that we, hardly five or six of us, were told that no classes will be held on that day and the teachers gave us free periods to enjoy. Being in my fourth standard that time, my school used to get over at 2:40 pm afternoon. When school got over, I was told that there is no school bus available and I will have to call my parents to take me home. Didi was appearing for her graduation exams at that time and Ma was busy with her. So the option of calling home was stroked out, despite knowing the fact that there are others in the family who can come and pick me up. Well, the next suggestion I gave to the school authorities was that they can drop me at my Dad’s office and I can go back with him. I am the last in my family to have studied in this school after my aunt and my sister. They knew me and Dad quite well. They agreed. I was dropped at Dad’s office, went to his cabin, sat on his chair and happily slept off. My Dad wasn’t in office at that time, obviously. He came back after about a couple of hours and was taken aback to see me sleeping. He asked me about the whole incident and immediately realised what must be going on back home. Ma and Didi would have returned home from the exams and found out that I haven’t reached home yet. My uncles and aunts would’ve panicked by now and started looking out for me. Dad picked up the phone to call and found the line busy. In an era with no mobile phones and only a landline connection, you are limited in your actions. He was finding ways to communicate to them about my whereabouts while they might be trying Dad’s office number to ask or inform about me. Therefore it was a total chaos without me understanding what’s going on!

We finally decided to go home as early as possible and started walking towards the parking area. The second shock and to my amusement, I witnessed my Dad getting scolded for the first time ever! My uncle was trying to find a parking space with my sister. They both got out of the car and greeted us with angry faces. Didi kept asking, rather scolding me about whatever happened while Dad got scolded for not informing back home. Quite a weird and funny situation with both elder siblings scolding their little ones. 

Well, we reached home and Mom was relieved to see me alive and not kidnapped or that I did not run away anywhere. I was then scolded and told for the umpteenth time that a family at home means everyone and not only your parents and sister. I should have called home and informed someone. That was a lesson that I learnt and remember till date. But now, if you think about it, everyone in the family thought I would have run away because someone must have scolded me. But I didn’t.

PS: For quite some time afterwards, I was being watched closely by everybody and my cousins faced the same situation too. However, the regular dose of scolding didn’t go down!

When I woke up choked from my sleep!

The nephew, in his first couple of years, had built the habit of taking his afternoon nap with me. Well, I understand the fun and the need to sleep in the afternoon, which I ignored (unfortunately) in my childhood days. And so does my sister. That's why, she insisted that my nephew should sleep in the afternoon so that he doesn't regret not doing so in his later years.

So, both of us are blissfully sleeping after hours of story book reading and coaxing the little devil to sleep. Now, babies crawl and climb on you unintentionally. No offense there. But, he found a better way. In his sleep, on this day, he didn't climb on me. Instead, he rested his little head with spiked hair on my throat comfortably. Interestingly, the head and my throat fit beautifully.

Photo Credit: www.dreamstime.com

I was having some weird afternoon dream where I was about to enjoy my ice cream but suddenly I find someone strangling me to prevent me from having my ice cream! I panicked and screamed in my dream and wake up scared. Oh! Thank God, it was only a dream and why do I still feel choked and why is that something scruffy? And to top it all, I am not able to move myself. Then it finally dawned upon me, the little sleeping baby had found himself a comfortable fitting pillow! :)

How this simple story of Ogilvy’s new advertisement melted my heart and left me misty eyed

Ghar ka khana, ghar ka khana hota hai (Home cooked food is home cooked food after all)! A scroll down my Facebook news feed one day caught my attention on a post that said, Ogilvy & Mather's new advertisement is bit long but you wouldn't regret watching it. The brand is Fortune Oil, this time.

I love advertisements. Totally. So, out of curiosity about the interesting story line and love for advertisements, I watched the 4 minutes 38 seconds ad. It has a Grandma visiting his grandson in a hospital who is not allowed to have any food that is cooked outside. Daadiji takes effort to walk up to her grandson everyday with the help of a walking stick, asking the attending nurse to let her feed him the home cooked daal (lentils). Priya, the nurse refuses her every time Daadiji requests her to feed only do chammach daal (two spoonfuls of daal) because it is not bahar ka khana (outside food) but cooked at home. Daadiji keeps insisting in various ways, either by saying that her grandson used to drink bowls of daal after he used to come back from his evening games, playfully saying I love you to Priya so that she melts but her efforts continue to go in vain. Priya does not comply and keeps rejecting until one day, she finds herself eating Daadi's cooked food on the occasion of her grandson's birthday. The next day, when Daadi comes with the same tiffin box containing daal, Priya is seen greeting the old lady with warmth, leaving her surprised. Daadi, on seeing Priya about to feed her grandson the same hospital cooked daal, makes another attempt to request her to feed him the two spoonful of daal. Her voice sounding choked now. Priya initially hesitates but goes ahead to close the door and asks Daadi to feed that ghar ka bana daal that her grandson has been longing to have. Daadi is overjoyed on hearing the same and wastes no time in quickly opening the tiffin box and feeds her son the home cooked daal. He also reaches out with shaking hands and drinks straight from the box after the two spoons are fed. The film ends showing Fortune Oil's new brand statement, ghar ka khana, ghar ka khana hota hai.

In the words of Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia, "I believe it is one of the finest pieces of work that I have written. It has to be a very brave client with a very big heart to make a commercial of this kind. I salute the entire marketing team at Fortune for making this happen. I am also hugely grateful to Vivek Kakkad and my own partner Sukesh Nayak, for bringing this story alive. Enjoy, and have some home cooked food!"

Yes, my eyes were moist when the film ended. My voice choked for a few seconds. My heart was filled with the warmth and love that all of us long for from our loved ones, especially when it comes to home cooked food. Daadi's adamant nature of convincing Priya to let her feed her grandson showed how important are these relations in your life. No matter how much you try, the love that you get from your parents and grandparents is irreplaceable. In my case, I still regard my grandmas’ cooked food the best in the world, and claim that not even my mom can beat them. Their food had more love and warmth and they can soothe your depressed and anxious heart and mind in seconds.

O&M’s advertisements always have a charm in them and they are pleasant to watch always. Their storylines, concepts and visualization with the perfect actors make it appear magical on screen. This particular one will always stay amongst the top few advertisements that I like and will enjoy for a long time.

Credits:

Brand: Fortune Edible Oil & foods

Client: Adani Wilmar

Chief Operative Officer: Angshu Maik

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather India

Chairman: Piyush Pandey

Group Creative Director: Sukesh Nayak

Vice President: Saji Mathews

Production House: Curious Films

Director (film): Vivek Kakkad

Producer: Shahzad Bhagwagar

You can watch the advertisement here.

Content Source: Campaign India

Vegetarian?? Yes, that’s what I am!

An obvious question that many people never fail to ask me, how am I a vegetarian despite being a Bengali? Bengalis are known for their huge appetite for non-vegetarian food and fish and rice is like lifesaving food for such people. Well, the reason that I am not a non-vegetarian eating Bengali girl is because of certain family upbringing reasons. My grandparents believed that vegetarianism is a better food habit than its counterpart and one should it embrace it whole heartedly. No one in the family were forced to give up eating fish and meat, rather they were asked to make a choice.

I grew up eating a very typical staple diet that included almost all kinds of leafy and other vegetables. My parents followed the rules of my grandparents and encouraged us to eat vegetarian food but had always conveyed that should there be a craving for other non-vegetarian food, we are free to try them out. We, my sister and I, did that with eggs and we absolutely love them. So, I am basically an eggetarian as the nomenclature now refers to.

Choosing to be a vegetarian is a personal decision. I have no hard feelings for people who gorge on chicken pieces and admire them, neither am I stubborn to say that vegetarian foods taste much better than them. To each his own, completely. The infinite number of studies that reveal facts about which food habit is a better lifestyle choice can only confuse a person. There are both advantages and disadvantages to them. We vegetarians, at least most of us I suppose, have not become one to avoid or protest the killing of animals or support eating plants and vegetables because they are not made with flesh and blood. It’s how the digestive system in our bodies functions and accepts the choice of food. Yes, the argument of we are killing plants and thus, we are also committing sin will continue till eternity until some smarty finds the solution to end the debate.

Yes, our exotic options involve very few choices, but then, they can be cooked in multiple ways. Take for example, paneer. Our very own dairy product that we cook on our special days in different ways. In a hot and spicy gravy, or mixed with some flavoured paste, either works for us.

Many who are staunch vegetarians also avoid onion and garlic in their food, the reasons being something religious and spiritual. They are far more particular and follow the rules to the tee to avoid committing any sin. There are many who avoid eating in the same table if the other person in the close vicinity is eating a fish or a piece of meat. These are completely their own personality traits that they have.

I have been told many a times that I may be losing out tasting a few good dishes. May be, yes. But then, I believe in avoiding points of stress and stressing the stomach with something new and that doesn’t go well with the system is not something I would be proud to do. Let’s say, we stay on equal terms. You enjoy your food, I enjoy mine. In fact, why don’t you taste some of my vegetarian dishes for a change in your appetite?? J

Eating @ Earth Plate

When the Earth’s cuisine came to one single plate!

They don’t say Thank God it’s Friday just like that. There are absolute and nice reasons behind it. This particularly Friday, we the colleagues, ganged up against one nice other colleague who was to treat on occasion of ummm….many many things. She successfully completed her Research course and officially turned into a Dr., followed by successfully completing her driving course and received her driving license and buying a brand new car and oh yes! She also successfully completed a year in the company. So, to celebrate her successful completion of many things, we asked her to treat us out. She just couldn’t say no. After all, it was only to celebrate her successes!

Since it’s a Friday and no one in the team is in no mood to work, we realised may be the food will wonders and bring us back our dedication. So, not deciding to go too far, we thought of exploring a new restaurant in HSR Layout, Bangalore that calls itself, Earth Plate. We’ve noticed this restaurant on our way back and had always wondered, so many cuisines at one place?? We have got to explore this place.

We reach and our super-food enthusiastic boss runs up the stairs to book a table for us. No buffet for us, he declared. We will go al-a-carte. And there we went deciding what each of will be having:

I ordered a Syberian Sunset (a cool and refreshing drink made of orange, pineapple, peach and apricot, topped with soda) for my drink while another colleague ordered Blue Island Ice Tea (a delightful crush of litchi, peach, apricot and mango with a dash of blue curacao topped with cranberry juice), a sweet and juicy rip off of Long Island Ice Tea, I suppose. The others, read the Boss and the treating host, our PhD qualified in this case, settled for sweet and salt Lime Soda.

Syberian Sunset

Blue Island Ice Tea

Vegetable Chimichanga (flour tortillas stuffed with jack, Colby cheese, cottage cheese, shredded carrot and capsicum, rolled and deep fried served with Spanish rice and Latino set) was my main course, two others ordered Stuff Mushroom in Smoked Barbeque Sauce Sizzler (Mushroom stuffed in spinach and cheese, served with smoked barbeque sauce accompanied with potato wedges and herb rice) and Grilled Chicken Sashlik Sizzler (cubes of boneless chicken served with rice, sweet and sour and Garlic Sauce) and lastly the good old, Chicken Biriyani. So this was a mix of food from all geographical zones. Truly, the earth was there on one table!

Vegetable Chimichanga

Stuff Mushroom in Smoked Barbeque Sauce Sizzler 

Grilled Chicken Sashlik Sizzler 

The food was good, and the ambience too. Only that it being a Friday, the place had office teams from all over. Well, guess we were lucky to have found ourselves a table. The foods were served a little late, for understandable reasons. The next time I visit this restaurant, I am going to try out the buffet menu, now that I am convinced about their quality of food.

Address: 1, 14^th Main, 17^th Cross, Sector 7, HSR, Bangalore

Zomato: http://www.zomato.com/bangalore/earth-plate-hsr/info#tabtop

Cost: Rs. 900 for two people (approx.)