*Happiness is within!*

What does it take to be happy? Some special talent? Some special achievement? Some training or workshop?

Well nothing of such sort right!!

Happiness is such a simple thing. Yet it becomes so complicated to have it sometimes. Laughter and happiness do not come with a hefty fee. Smiles are not only free but contagious also. Being happy and smiling will spread the smiles everywhere we go.

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When happiness is such a simple thing, why do we make it so difficult? We wait for some big things to happen so that these would give us happiness. But we forget that the happiness consists in the smallest of things. We want some larger than life things to happen, so that we would become immensely happy. We set targets and tell ourselves that we would be happy when we get this or when we get that. We wish for a long list of things to make us happy. When things are not working out the way we want them to, we become sad, agitated and angry. We want things to happen our way. We want to control the events of life. And when it does not happen, we feel irritated. Our happiness gets lost in the labyrinth of life.

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We time and again forget this fact that happiness is inside us. It is not to be found outside. If we feel happy from inside, there can be no stopping us. Whatever may come, even in our toughest moments, we could still be happy. We could chose between laughing it off or making a fuss about it. It is no less than an art to be happy all the time. Once we master this art, we would have conquered the world in real sense.

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For me ; Happiness is in;

Looking at the starry nights,

Basking in the sun,

Watching the sunset,

Talking to a friend after a long time,

Strolling on the streets idle,

Shopping the smallest things;

For me; Happiness is when;

I see a river flowing,

A flower growing,

And the sky snowing;

For me; Happiness is;

In the music,

In the words,

In the silences,

In the expressions;

For me; Happiness is;

In the wait,

In seeing the unfolding of my fate;

It is in the tiny dew drops,

in the sparkling of the river water with the touch of sun,

in the shyness of touch me not,

in the boldness of thorny cactus,

in the moon lit night,

in the romance of starry sight……

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It would not be wrong if we say that ‘Happiness is a decision’.

Celebration of happiness could be in every minute. We don’t need a reason to be happy. But we sure need happiness to be reasonable. There is no need to hunt for happiness, no brain-storming sessions are required to search for happiness, it rests within us, deep in our hearts, just there to be recognized, to be cherished, to be owned and loved. Happiness is within us…….

Celebrate the happiness on the Coca-Cola international day of happiness  with Coca-Cola  http://CokeURL.com/96jnc

#1000Speak - And she learnt to raise a voice!

Constantly suppressed by husband,

Pestered every minute by in-laws,

She spent many sleepless nights,

Tortured by her life,

Every minute she had to strive;

………

She had learnt to oblige all,

Not uttering a word foul;

What she had forgotten to learn,

Was to raise a voice for her own;

……….

The days passed by,

The months passed by,

And the years passed by;

……….

She kept quiet and obliged,

“Patience is a virtue”

With this thought she had been apprised;

………….

But all the bullying of the years,

Taught her a lesson not told by her peers;

…………

She analysed, she realized,

She learnt another virtue,

Of raising her voice for her rights,

Of standing upto the fight,

Of expressing herself,

And giving a befitting reply

With all her might.

#1000Speak - Building From Bullying

*Together with Family!*

If someone has read Revolution 2020, Chetan Bhagat has very beautifully and accurately described the Agony of mediocre Rankers. The drop years are definitely not very easy ones.

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Though in my story of drop, there never were such moments when I felt tempted to the comforts. Once in a while the luxury of cozy bed was definitely welcome but most of the times I was determined. I was clear in my head that I might not be a brilliant student with a very sharp intellect but still I was hard working. Hard work had always been my strength and so I had to study as hard as I could.

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Getting up at 6 in the morning and attending hectic classes had become a routine and I had got quite accustomed to it. Coming back by lunchtime, I used to have an hour’s rest. After that the daily dose of learning lessons, revising class notes and solving questions would start. It would go on mostly with short 5 min breaks in between. It would continue upto tea time. Tea time was a welcome break. After some refreshment, again the same schedule would repeat, of practicing questions, of going through notes till dinner time would come.

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Life was set in such monotonous and busy routine. Day after day, the D-day would approach near. And with that the anxiety would also double.

Time just flies. Soon the D-day had finally arrived.

Whatever effort you might have put in the entire year, nobody would see your effort. It is only what you do in those 3 hours duration, would carry weight. Nobody would talk about your efforts but they would definitely talk about your results.

As I came out of the hall, I knew I had messed up. The test had not gone well. And there was no point in citing any excuses also. It had been bad and the story ended here itself. I could not entertain any what’s and why’s.

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I was into tears when I came out of the hall. Sitting in the bus to head back to the hostel, I was all teary eyed. It was a feeling of my whole world just collapsing. I could not think through anything. I could not call home and could not even return their calls.

My friends told me to go home for a change. The next day, I boarded the very first bus to home.

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When I reached home, my parents did not once ask me anything about the test. They expressed concern over my health. I was served food specially made for me. And even when I started to talk about the test, they just silenced me and told me that such things also happen sometimes. They said some wise things and told me to take it easy. I can’t express how much relieved I felt. The day before I was struggling to find some meaning in my existence, I was cursing myself. But being at home changed my feelings entirely. Whoever and whatever I was, I was still important for my family. I didn’t talk much, but it was the feeling of being together that gave me strength to move on.

The next few days I spent at home doing nothing, no books to study and no test to think about. I just watched TV, sat in leisure, ate a lot. I just stayed, stayed together with my family.

It’s the power of togetherness, the power of family that re-instilled my faith in myself.

It is this unique and special power of togetherness of the family that I always look upto.

If you would like to celebrate this feeling of being together,  https://housing.com is the place to look upto!

*For a lost friend*

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This one is for a friend who departed from this world a few days back in a car accident. Nothing could be sadder than losing such a soul which was one in a million. I know it will never be read. Yet I am writing it as a tribute to his departed soul.

We were classmates in our engineering and yet we never talked much in the course of those four years. It was only recently that we became more acquainted. Both of us were posted in the same department together and that is how we started talking.

Anybody who knew him would never differ with me on this. Of all the souls I have seen, his was one of the most genuine and pure. He was quiet and shy, but once got acquainted enough, will meet you so warmly and affectionately. I never heard him talking in a loud voice.

He was so full of talents; A footballer and such a nice painter. He was always there for his friends. His parents were blessed to have him as son. He was not a “generation next” kind of son. He shared almost everything with his mother. I don’t want to recall her face when I visited his place. It is too painful for them to deal with this loss. I don’t know how they must be braving it. Every time I think of his face, it seems so unreal that he is not anymore.

I would say I got lucky to know you before you left us all. I feel blessed that I encountered your soul in the journey of life. Though I would never be able to tell you this, but your friendship, of however small duration it may have been, was cherished and so it would always be.

May you always be blessed! Wherever you are, may your soul be at peace! May you radiate positivity and happiness wherever you stay, just like you always did.

Indispire# Edition 55 The Unsent Letters. Weave a story. இڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— #UnsentLetters

* A new Phase- A new Life!*

Life changes every moment. Sometimes the changes are those which are hoped for, while sometimes completely unhoped for. But every change defines us in a new way. We undergo a constant metamorphosis in life and it is the result of this metamorphosis that we always keep redefining ourselves.

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This is a story of one such metamorphosis; the story of a new phase of life.

It was the very first day of my job life; my first joining. I had a whole lot of expectations from a new job, from a new life. It was all butterflies in the stomach when I left for office. I was the only one to join that company from my college. Entering into the joining room, I fell so nervous and excited all at the same time. People who were from same college were sitting in groups. I went and sat in a corner just next to a girl who was also sitting alone. Anyways, I was looking forward to the day.

Soon we were joined by the Vice President of the company. He was the same person who had interviewed me. He started the formal introduction round. To my surprise when it was my turn to introduce myself, he actually remembered my name. It made me delighted and I felt less out of place. After the introduction he made us shuffle our seats and sit in such a way that no one would sit next to the person he already knows. Now that was a nice exercise. The new seating arrangement made us know some new faces.

We had a seven days induction program to make us familiar about the Company’s background, and working. The day started with the management people coming in slots and introducing themselves, briefing about the working of offices pertaining to them and some chat sessions. There were some psychological sessions too and this is where we got the maximum chance to interact with each other.

This was the beginning of a new life or say a new era of my life.

Sitting in that room, getting to hear from so many professionals, the interaction with the management, it was all just so new and so exciting too. That is when I realized that I am finally grown up. All alone by myself, away from parents, away from friends, I had officially entered into that so called professional life.

We had a staying arrangement for seven days of the induction program. We were all together in the same hotel. So, those seven days were really nice with a lot of company and hustle- bustle around. I enjoyed the luxurious stay, which was my first some thousands of kms away from home with all the new people I had just met.

Soon, we had to vacate the place. So we were all trying to look for places to stay; a place where a new life of mine would spring forth, a life full of dreams, a life with a lot of new people.  

A life where I had to leave my home behind and yet a life where a new home was to be found surrounded with all the new people, new hopes and new life.

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Much happened after that. I switched job, I left job and I shifted my core domain of working. People came coming in and going by. But the feeling of home always stayed. I kept changing my places of stay but every place I stayed at got etched into my memory forever,  creating that feeling of home attached with that place.

I can only conclude the events of my professional life with the beautiful lines of the song which go like:

Oh, some pages turned,
Some bridges burned,
But there were lessons learned,
Lessons learned.

If you are on a journey looking forward to a new home filled with new hopes https://housing.com is the place to lookup to.

*lookup to the silent corner of my room!*

We all are vulnerable in some way or the other. But the girl I am talking about here is me. I don’t know why god made me over-sensitive and over-thoughtful. And it is perhaps the reason that I am too vulnerable to all the opinions surrounding me. Because of my over-sensitive nature, I end up hurting myself sometimes. Though I can’t say always, but most of the times, I never try to find faults with people, rather I start cursing myself or finding faults with my ownself. And eventually it’s me only who gets hurt!

But as they say every dark cloud has a silver lining. After every bad day, every heartbreak, there is hope too!

When I am upset about something, there is one place I always look up to. That place is the silent corner of my room where stays my diary on the table top. Here is where the solutions to my confusions lie. Words are my greatest hope, my loveliest treasure and the comfort of my room helps me connect with those words. If I say I love words; that is going to be an understatement. I don’t love words; I am rather addicted to them.

Sitting in that silent corner of my room, when I hold the pen in my hands and put it on the empty page of my diary, I forget almost everything else. I get lost in the world of words. I grow with the words and fall with them. But words never fail me. They fill me with a glowing light of optimism and hope. Words impart me clarity of thoughts. It’s through words that I discover the art of living and that of loving. I feel them almost coming alive. They remind me that flaws are integral to human nature. They remind me to cherish myself the way I am.

These words have a life of their own. And when I hold the pen in my hands, I become a part of that life. I live through these words and these words live through me. They remind me of the infinite power I have. The power of imagination, the power of positivity, the power of hope and the power of love and the power of optimism.

I am grateful to this small corner of my room where these words dwell inside my diary day and night and keep me hopeful of a future which is going to be as much bright as the shining stars in the sky.

I am grateful to this small corner of my room where these words sing and dance all day and night and keep me blissful through storm and tide.

I am grateful to this small corner of my room where these words reflect so much of light all day and night and keep me introspecting only with a smile.

This post is written for IndiHappyHours # Lookup Stories

https://housing.com/lookup.

Indispire# Round Rotis? ;)

So Round Rotis V/s Non Round ones!! ; )

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Well what say should a Non Round roti maker have in this!!

How much ever I try, a perfect Round roti which just melts in the mouth is a distant dream for me. Sometimes I wonder why these Roti things had to be discovered at all! It’s been close to four months now that I have been living alone and cooking for myself. Though I make Rotis every day, perfection in roti making is still a farfetched dream.

To cover up for my ‘not so soft rotis’, applying ghee on them helps. Applying ghee improves their texture. I prefer triangle paranthas than my Non Round rotis in appearance.

Though when I am hungry and cooking by myself, I don’t care about the shape of rotis. But if one could serve me the soft, round chapattis that sure is going to be a bliss.

I think the shape has more to do with softness. The round chapattis puff more easily and more uniformly making them softer. But inspite of these technicalities of Roti making, the fact remains that making Round ones is difficult at least for me!!

Now tell me is it that if your Rotis are not round, does that imply you are going to be unhappily married? (evil grin). Well I think I will get the answer sometime in distant future!

Till then happy roti making to one and all! : ) Be it round or non round atleast u have something to quell your hunger.

So cheers to Rotis! : ) Round or Non Round, lets have no discrimination! : )

This post is written for indispire # DO ROUND ROTIS TASTE BETTER THAN NON- ROUND ONES?#ROUNDROTI

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