La vie est belle
“The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future.
Instead time moves through and within us, in endless spirals.
Eternity does not mean infinite time, but simply timelessness.
If you want to experience eternal illumination, put the past and the future out of your mind and remain within the present moment.”
– The Forty Rules of Love
Capturing one of the fastest creature was always on my wishlist. No matter how hard I tried, they run to the slightest sound.
But now it doesn’t seem to be the case. More than 6 months staying at home, we have become friends to the extent that it pose for pictures 😁
Driving back home with my grand-aunt, we were having conversations about life, dealing with adversity and making key decisions that would shape one’s future. The conversation with grand-aunt was filled with precious lessons, and one that stands out for me is-
“When you are taking important decisions in your life, if you feel even a red-flag, don’t go for it!”
I was reminded of this conversation once again, when I started reading the book – Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, “The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” as part of an activity by Lean In Personal Branding led by Suba Lakshminarasimhan.
Blink is an interesting book that offers a unique narrative to how a human mind can bring as much value in the blink of an eye as in months spent on analysis. Malcolm introduces the readers to snap judgement that can be taken in seconds with limited information through – “Thin-slicing”. When I was contemplating with myself if this theory is right or wrong, I went down to my memory lane to recollect the instances where I might have applied this theory.
And the one simple instance from my routine that I could recollect was my regular commute to the office. I had to cover a brief distance by hiring an auto-rickshaw. Every time I got off the bus, I would take a quick glance at the auto-drivers and in seconds decided whom I should go with. That was me, applying the Thin-slicing theory, analyzing with the limited information I had based on the auto-drivers personality, body language and facial expressions because I was too conscious about my safety. Most of the times I was right, for I never had a bad experience except for few.
There is no right or wrong approach to this. It all depends on the data and information that is available.
“The truth is that it can. Just as we can teach ourselves to think logically and deliberately, we can also teach ourselves to make better snap judgments. The power of knowing, in that first two seconds, is not a gift given magically to a fortunate few. It is an ability that we can all cultivate for ourselves”
In 2005, the National Science Foundation published an article summarizing research on human thoughts per day. It was found that the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those thousands of thoughts, 80% were negative, and 95% were exactly the same repetitive thoughts as the day before. Just as important it is to provide relevant data to build a meaningful model with machine learning and artificial intelligence, we have to make conscious efforts to send information that can teach us in taking better snap judgments. We need to filter our thoughts to an extent that our decisions are not driven by our biases, past experiences, stereotypes etc.
“Blink is concerned with the very smallest components of our everyday lives-the content and origin of those instantaneous impressions and conclusions that spontaneously arise whenever we meet a new person or confront a complex situation or have to make a decision under conditions of stress.”
Is there an experience that you can recall, share in the comments section below.
P. S. This is my first attempt at writing a book review based on the first two chapters of the book. 😊
Life throws surprises in the most unexpected ways. This little nest was discovered by my mom in her vegetable garden. 💖
Life has always been uncertain. But this year, it has been different. Every day we wake up to a news that gives us reminders about the fragility of the Life.
So when everything is temporary, the best thing to do is appreciate the present – the gifts that we posses in form of mother nature, our family, our loved ones, ourself and everything that holds a dear place in our heart.
I pray may you and your loved ones be protected and be safe. God bless!
“You can’t have a bad day in polka dots.” 💞
-Anna Kendrick
All it takes is to give yourself a break from being productive to being in the moment. We look for happiness when it’s right there around us, within us. The choice is ours. Be kind to yourself, the world is not going to end. Make the best out of the present.
– Me to myself ❤️
I am so happy to share with this community that I have been shortlisted for the HerRising Awards for 2020 in the Women In Tech category.
The HerRising Awards applaud women achievers and I stand a chance to win, based on your votes!
Read about my work and achievements on my Profile+, created exclusively for me by JobsForHer, here: https://www.jobsforher.com/profile/ancycher-71321
If you’re impressed with what you see, you can help me win by voting for me on the HerRising Awards voting page, here: https://www.jobsforher.com/herrising/awards
Counting on your votes, and if you do, please comment and let me know ❤️
Something woke me up in the middle of the night. From my bed, I could see the living room filled with the moon light. Staying alone was never a nightmare for me but there was something different about today.
A fear took over me, as I just sat there, I felt my throat dry. I was thirsty. But do I dare to move from my bed. No!
I reached out for my phone, to check the time. 4:00 a.m! .
All of a sudden, it struck me, “It is 4.00 a. m. The time when granny used to wake up, read the Bible and said her prayers.”
When she read the Bible and sung her songs of praise and worship,it was so comforting. It was like angels singing for our protection. Had she been alive, this would have been her time of prayer.
My fear was replaced with her warmth and love.
I said à prayer for her and for my loved ones and then went back to sleep.
The nights that followed were no different. Between 3 a. m. to 4 a. m. I found myself wide awake with the thought about Granny. The silence and the light that filled the room made me feel as if Granny was watching over me, to say something.
It’s been years that she left us, but since then there have been many occasions, she has visited me in my dreams. I don’t know how this happens. But I want it to be like this forever. The last I saw her was a few weeks ago, all bright and ready to go to church.
And few days later my paternal grandmom left for her heavenly abode. I can only imagine the signs.
Miss you both, my Wonder women. The love and compassion with which you are filled is hard to find.
I have to be always ready with camera, for I do not know what can come next 💖
Who don’t speak to me 👀
And said, “Shine on, You are the light”💖🌞☀️
Big brother: Please give me that toy. It’s mine and I want to play with it.
Little sister: No, It’s mine. I won’t give it to you.
Big brother: Think again. I won’t allow you to watch TV. I won’t let you watch Doraemon or Pokémon.
Little sister: Please take this. When did I say it’s mine?
Big brother: That’s like a good girl and my sweet sister
Finding “the purpose” can be demanding at times, what’s important is to keep moving and enjoy the journey! 🐎
Language, considered to be the most common way to communicate and converse. When left to a completely new place without the fluency of the local language, it leads to a fear for survival and the dire need to know the basics.
It has been no different for me. I’ve always dreamt spending my time in social work and getting connected with the local community in need. But, how will I converse with them has been the question that goes on, in the back of my mind.
My grandma however has been a perfect example for me that language isn’t a barrier in conversing. After spending her lifetime at her native, she willingly accepted the opportunity to travel and stay with her children and their families, spread across different states of India.
Our house was situated in the outskirts of a little town. And the people who surrounded us were farmers who owned huge acres of land and spent most of their time taking care of them.
The owner of the land was a lady, aged probably same as grandma. When she was on her usual visits to the farm which was near our house, she never missed an opportunity to talk to my grandma. Both didn’t had a common language to talk, my grandma spoke in her native and the old woman spoke in gujarati.
After she would leave , we used to ask grandma, what were you two talking about. And to our surprise, grandma always had a perfect answer to it with details around their conversation.
Well, to this day it still remains a mystery how they made it work. Even though, both of them left for their Heavenly abode they continue to inspire us with these memories of them.
And here she is.. Our hero.. ❤ ❤
She looked at her watch again. It was half past 12. She had been standing at that place for more than an hour. Still there was no sign of the bus that would have taken her home.
Her school had closed earlier than expected, that’s when she decided to take the public transport instead of waiting for her school bus. After all, someday she had to try this, to be independent, to explore the roads never taken, to be bold enough to travel alone. Someday she had to, so why not now.
But now, she stood there feeling stupid of her decision. And started getting worried more than ever. Calling mom wasn’t an option because there was no mobile phones back then and a public phone bhooth was no where to be found.
All she could do was just stand there and wait. To her relief, à bus finally arrived. Having waited impatiently for a few hours now, she just hopped on without giving a second thought. The bell of the bus rang and it took off. She stood there shocked as there was no passenger except her.
It was just the driver and the conductor. Not knowing what to do, she quickly took a window seat and sat there hoping the next stops will have passengers.
One, two, three, four, and so on. The bus passed stops, but no one to take it. Her heart started beating faster. What if something happened to her. She was the only girl in the bus. No one to witness if anything happened to her.
She reached out to her bag, and found her weapon to fight any harm. She held the white rosary, closed her eyes and starting chanting her routine prayer. Seeking help ! With hope!
The bus stopped, and there emerged a woman and sat in the front seat.
Ayesha looked out of the window to get a glimpse of the sky. “Thank you” she said and closed her eyes in relief.
The best thing about Christmas for me has always been eagerly waiting for the day and enjoying that feeling of hope than the Christmas day itself. The heart feels lighter, there is so much happiness around and to look forward to. This year was no less. My day always started with Christmas carol songs by Libera and Vienna Boys’ choir,putting up my Christmas tree and Crib with the least perfection.
Today is the day and I wish you all a Merry Christmas. And for those who are not in a state to celebrate, I wish them all blessings, love and warmth for the years to come.
Happy Holidays!
A man whom I will call Akash, came rushing with a suitcase in his hands. Behind him was a young woman, let’s call her Vidya. He checked for their seat which turned out to be next to me.
Seeing me, I could sense that he was very relieved. He started inquiring my destination. I said, “Bhopal”.
He took out his phone for a video call. I was totally surprised when he handed over his phone to me and asked me to talk.
That was the moment I realized what was happening. The couple were differently abled, none of them could hear or speak.
On the other side of the phone was a very graceful woman. She had a very beautiful and genuine smile on her face. When she started speaking all she wanted was for me to assist her daughter at her destination.
There was no reason I would have denied this request. Akash left bidding goodbyes.
There was a pause for few minutes. I wanted to engage Vidya in conversations, but at the same time I had no clue how to do that. All of a sudden, she started asking me something in signs. From what I could make out she was asking about her berth. But she wasn’t confident if I understood. She immediately video called her mom and asked her the same thing. Her mom explained that she wanted to sleep after her lunch. And then she also stressed that there was no rush.
Sometime passed, I got back to my reading.
Meanwhile, I could see Akash and Vidya on a video call again. Expressing as much as they could, to let the other one know how much they loved and cared for.
It was a rare sight for me, because these days, it is the other way around where the priviledged people have nothing to speak as there are more interesting things going on which can’t be missed on their phones.
There were lots of questions going on in my mind- why did this happen to them, their life would be so difficult, how can a mother be so calm despite of all her fears, how can there be so much love? Why can’t this world be like them? Why don’t we value our blessings? Why do we keep chasing for more? And these questions went on until I chose to stop. 🙎♀️
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This was my third visit to Agra. The first time I visited was 4 years ago. Then and now, my love for this place still remains as is. What changed is probably the surroundings and the state of this place. This time due to pollution – all the pictures I took were blur, but does that take away the beauty and charm of this huge monument which is and forever will be a symbol of love?
Love for Taj Mahal will never die 🙂
I haven’t been as active as I used to be these days on WordPress. While going through my notifications I realized, I have 840+ fellow-bloggers who have been supporting my page. First of all, I feel guilty for not being able to stay updated on all the recent posts. I promise I’ll catch-up soon 🙂 Secondly, I wanted to take Thanksgiving Day also as an opportunity to show my gratitude to each one of you. Despite all the crazy work and personal schedules, I always wish to come back here and write about experiences and what I feel, because I know there are people here who read and support the work. So thank you – I wish you all a blessed day with your family and friends.
There was a 2.5 hours halt at the Black Sea which was part of our Sile-Agva Bus Tour. Sufficient time probably for people who wanted to enjoy the beach. But when we reached the place, there were two sides to it – one that was too crowded and the other one quieter.
We had already lost an hour figuring out the way and a place to sit and relax. Finally, we gave up and thought to just stay at the beachside cafe and enjoy a hot coffee. There were all sorts of sounds I was able to hear apart from just enjoying the view – the laughter of kids playing with their parents, the waves crashing against the shores, squawking of seagulls, people walking on the shore, cycling, and whatnot.
All of a sudden, I could see the crowd’s attention move to a young lady who is accompanied by a guard. What I notice later is a little girl, on a wheel-chair. I don’t know what to assume what she might be suffering from – all I could see was a Mom carrying her child in her arms and sitting aside the seashore allowing the little one to feel the water and let her soak the light of the Sun.
As I got back to my sight-seeing, all I could think of was the life I should be grateful for. There are so many reasons to be happy which we fail to realize when we get into the tangles of our daily routine.
I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping. I thought to myself, what time is it? Is it morning already, time to wake up? The chirping seemed closer now, and I was sitting on my bed looking for where it came from.
From a little hole on the wall, came a flock birds rushing and flying around me in circles. Down they came still in flight but closer to me, some flying near my hands. Suddenly, one of it caught my hand and stayed there for a while. I moved my hands closer to take a look cause it was still so dark. A tiny little bird, looked somewhat like the jungle babbler. Reminded me of my home where we were always surrounded by them.
Before I could make myself sure, off it went alongwith the rest. Flying off! Outside the window, stood a bigger version of the bird. All I could see was it’s head and a clear blue sky in the backdrop.
What was happening, I thought again and looked on the bed to find myself in deep sleep.
When I was discussing TED talks during a coffee break with my friends, little did we know that we were only hours away from witnessing one for ourselves.
The theme for this year’s TEDxGurugram was “LEVEL UP”. With 8 speakers and 200 attendees, the event was a perfect opportunity to meet people from diverse backgrounds.
The event started off with an activity where the audience came together to play a unique game with boom whackers and made music in unison. The challenge was to level-up with each attempt that set the pace with the theme. Since we had our own misconceptions about Talk events, it was refreshing to start the day and prepare ourselves for what was to come. What followed was a journey of various speakers and their incredible ideas and contribution to society.
Dinal Jain, born with a down-syndrome – went on to become a Gold Medalist in Special Olympics despite her disability. She shared, how much her consistent practice in swimming and yoga helped her to focus and concentrate on her passions. And this is not the end goal for her, when asked by the moderator regarding her dreams, she shyly replied that she wanted to open her own café, get married and have a family too. And, to the audience she said, I would like you all to help me find my boyfriend – there was a burst of laughter in the room
Avik Sarkar, Assistant Professor, ISB, shared his journey while working on several projects with the government. He introduced his idea to create a “Partnership based Accountability Platform”, that will be a centralized platform for the citizens to report and take advantage of the facilities that are available and at the same time defining accountabilities and building transparency around it by utilizing the data at disposal.
The project N-Pulse Prognostics was born out ofKajal Shrivastava’s dream to make Ayurveda and health practices more accessible and trustworthy to the world. NadiPulse is focused on building ergonomically precise, data-driven devices, which brings together modern technology and wisdom from the Vedas to create a revolutionary device.
Atishi’s talk on “Delhi’s Education Revolution”was a very inspiring success story on the transformation of Delhi Government Schools. With over 60% of the school-going children, dependent on government schools, she shared the government’s vision to provide not just a dignified environment but also preparing them to take on the future challenges, through the introduction of happiness project in the curriculum. The School Management Systems comprised of parents are set-up who support them in their undertakings.
When Rajiv Bajaj, Chairman, and MD, Bajaj Capital came on stage, our obvious assumption was him talking probably about his enterprise. To our surprise, he brought to light a very beautiful and interesting Japanese concept “Ikigai”. “Iki” stands for “Life” and “gai” for “flow”. Despite all success in his professional journey, he set on a quest for finding his purpose in life and that’s how he discovered his love for Japanese culture and Ikigai. Since then, he has been researching on the subject and also conducting “Ikigai” workshops.
Jonas Suchanek, born and brought up in Auroville, he is an “arborist” a concept that is new to India. Under the banner TreeCare India, his team has been doing exceptional work for creating a sustainable environment. In addition, has been working toward promoting and creating awareness around arboriculture in India through Education, Legislation, and Passion.
Last but the most powerful talk that also received a standing ovation from the audience was the story of Zainab Patel. As she grew up, she faced a lot of abuse while fighting for her identity. She was one of the petitioners of National Legal Services of Authority vs. Union of India, that led to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of India, which declared transgender people to be a ‘third gender’, affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to transgender people, and gave them the right to self-identification of their gender.
As the theme goes, each moment about the event was a “Level Up”. The event closed with amazing performances by Shruti Jalhar and Djembefola United band.
And this is not the end, this is just a beginning – the talks and experiences shared by everyone including the speakers and the performers not just gives us reasons to be grateful for what we have and but also to make the best out of life through simple and impactful ideas. After all, its gratitude and what we give back to the society that gives real happiness.
While serving on the board of our organization’s Employee Resources Group, I was always on the lookout of great speakers whom we could invite for speaker series. From Srijan Pal Singh (Founder & CEO), Kalam Center, to National Award winners Shasha Tirupathi and Ashish Vidhyarthi. What this gave me was access to amazing people whose life is a living example for one and all.
Although it didn’t materialize, it’s my hunt for the best speakers that led me to Ashish Vidyarthi’s page. I always knew him as an actor more known for his antagonist and character roles. Since then I had been looking for opportunities to attend his workshop.
And finally, this happened – “Partnering with Ashish and Piloo Vidhyarthi” Both of them make a powerful couple who can motivate you with simple and practical examples. I absolutely had a great time attending this workshop.
Also, one of the “Am I dreaming?” moments 😊
Do share your “Am I dreaming? Moments in the comment section below. I’d love to read. 😊
P. S. A re-introduction was inspired from this workshop.
I am glad to present this week’s guest blog. This week features World of Words a wonderful page owned by my friend. What I like about her writing is her talent to beautifully capture her moods 🙂 Presenting one of this and do check out her blog for more.
Inspired:
Inspired by the bounty showers of Rain,
She strolled the paths manned by the Tree Gods;
Her mind wandering the World of Mysteries,
She let herself dissolve into Oneness with the Great Love;
Enthralled at the Seraphic Beauty of Nature,
She embraced all the Love at once…
Kindled by the Earthly Scent,
She felt life breathing its way into her…
The Cold Winds cuddled her,
Stroking her hair strands and pampering every bit of her skin;
When Her Lips adorned her with Non-Stop Smiles,
And Her Eyes Smiled more than Her Lips,
She knew she was “Inspired in Love..!”
In the Moment and Forever.
Visiting a new city is like meeting a new person. From the moment I land, I am in conversation with everything I see or encounter. To me, it’s more than just checking off something from my bucket list. When I am there I want to make the most out of each moment. It feels like the city says to me, please don’t go, not yet, there is still so much to see and talk.
Shimla! Was always on my wishlist. And finally getting to visit was a dream come true. Sharing a few pictures from my recent visit.
Couple of weeks ago, I got an opportunity or rather I would say, I took the opportunity to attend a workshop, that was themed as “Partnering with Life”
As the name itself speaks, the workshop was all about embracing life by adding different flavors to the way we approach it.
Not a new concept! Isn’t it? Since years, there are so many books written, movies made, speeches given – aimed at introducing us to life in a more meaningful and impactful way. We see, we hear, we agree to all of it, only to come back to a reality where changing an old self is so difficult.
I had the same thoughts when I went to the workshop, but I also believe in the fact that, when we welcome these learnings with an empty mind, we never come back empty handed. There is a take away that stays with you forever, and will be reminded at the right time.
Who am I? Was a question, that constantly reminded me of the way I see myself more than how I introduce myself to the world. When I am asked to introduce myself, I usually end up, giving à one liner introduction that only reflects, what I do for a living 😂 But this session was an eye-opener even for simple things like this, that connects me to the world. Here I am, re-introducing and re-branding myself to you all –
“Call me Ancy, Aswathy or Ayesha, Ancy is the name my parents chose for me, Aswathy is the nick name only because this is also my zodiac sign as per Malayalam calender, Ayesha is the name I chose for myself as a writer. I work with a reputed organisation, and I am also a traveller, a singer, an aspiring writer, a leader, a linguist, a storyteller, an adventurer, a photographer …. And my goal is to keep adding to this list”
I invite you to also reintroduce yourself in the comments section below.
This week my guest blog features MySmallworld. This guest is not just a writer but someone whom I have always looked up to – A born fighter – a multi-tasker – a wonderful mom – and above all my lovely sister 🙂 Her page is full of beautiful quotes that are inspired from her real-life experiences and this is probably her first attempt to write a blog. And I am glad she did it for me 🙂
I am possible
Ever been into a situation where you felt “I am done, there is nothing left for me now, I am worthless or hopeless? Well, we live in a world where, no matter how hard we try to keep ourself positive, there are people around who don’t fail to crush our confidence.
I still remember the days of my 11th grade. Teachers are known to be great mentors in a student’s life, but fortunately or unfortunately, there a teacher who for some reason believed that I won’t make it. She used to tell me in every possible way that – “just wait and watch – no one will hire you. You won’t get a job, ANYWHERE!”.
Those days were hell for me – I was disheartened and depressed. I almost lost all my wish to exist. Coming out of that situation was a difficult, slow but daily process. I spent days praying, reading self-help books, listening to motivational speakers and uplifting music.
I wish I could meet my dear teacher once and tell her “I am the same person whom you declared jobless way before she even cleared the schooling”. Because I have been working for more than a decade now without any breaks.
As Les Brown quotes – “Someone else’s opinion about you doesn’t have to be your reality”. This changed my world. Whenever I feel down, I keep saying this to myself. It boosts me up and keeps me going.
This is just one example of rejections I have faced in my life. I know we all have many such experiences. But let not the bitter experience stop you from living your life. We all are here for a purpose and we all are capable to make it happen!
Keep going!
I am starting a guest blog series once in a week, where I will be inviting some of my fellow bloggers or people outside of my WordPress network to write for my readers 🙂
This week I am publishing a beautiful work by mydreammywords. The writer is also my little sister, which makes me extremely proud of her talents and writings.
I plead…..
In times of laughter,
In times of pain,
Often did I think of
How could I write not
My soul wrote
When it immersed in yours
Each seasons did we conquer
A dreary solace coming over!
The love can never be ceased,
Unless turned to hatred,
I wish, it doesn’t
Let go not, if it happens –
Instead stay I plead,
Be patient
And make me yours!
A few years ago, I remember what a huge fan I was of Don Moen‘s songs. Each song I heard him sing was like a divine voice talking to me.
But today, it has become different. No matter how much I try, I don’t feel the same now.
This was just one instance. Same goes with my love probably for an author, an actor, a passion, a habit and so on.
But I also realize, all of the above have been replaced by someone or something that resonates more with my current phase in life.
What’s that one thing you loved, which you can no longer relate to?
P. S. Deep down in my heart, my love for that divine voice of Don Moen is still alive❤️😄
#randomthoughts
To escape the heat, I was looking to hire a taxi or an auto-rickshaw as soon as possible. But, the roads were already deserted with just a few people here and there.
Standing on the road side, I was kind of getting impatient. I finally decided to take a metro which was at a walking distance from where I was. At the crossroads was this horse-carriage parked and a couple of men descended from it.
There was a puff of smoke in the air and the person holding the cigarette was the coachman. Now there is nothing unusual in the act of smoking, but there was something else in the way this man carried himself as he smoked with style and attitude. The entire view was so picturesque. For a moment it made me forget why I started.
Though I couldn’t capture that moment, I requested if I could take his picture with his horse carriage.
From a jampacked schedule during my travel to Kerala last year end, I was fortunate for getting the opportunity to visit new places. One of which was this beach in Thrissur.
What I expected and what I found was completely different. A serene and beautiful place where you can be with yourself.
This was a first attempt, so this doesn’t look as neat as it should have been. 😀😁
She studied all corners of the small clinic. The walls had been converted into shelves housing all kinds of medicines. In between, lay a table and few chairs for the patients and visitors.
Dr. Ryan was attending to a patient. She took a corner seat, anxious and worried, for the purpose of her visit was her husband, that too just few days after their wedding. A few minutes passed by and her husband took his seat facing the doctor.
There was dead silence, she couldn’t make out why. Finally, her husband broke the silence and showed his recent reports. He had a high blood pressure. The doctor listened very attentively to what he was saying and then took his blood pressure monitor from one of the drawers.
To her surprise, all of a sudden, Dr.Ryan started singing. She couldn’t recall which one it was except for the fact that it had to be a very old Hindi song. She was taken back to her memories of waiting to watch “Rangoli” on Doordorshan the only show that would have played the oldest songs that anyone could ever imagine.
The doctor paused for a second, his hands still at work, diagnosing and then signaled her husband to continue the song where he stopped. And he did as he was asked.
She sat there befuddled, watching an health check-up that turned out to be a duet.
I strongly believe, that if there is anyone who can make you happy, then it has to be yourself. No money or person can bring you the happiness which you would get by investing in yourself. I never let go of any opportunity that would allow me to explore the unknown outside of my routine.
Attending a workshop on “Urdu Calligraphy” was an experience of a lifetime in recent times. Persian, Arabic, and Urdu are few of the many languages that I have always been in awe of. The carvings and writings in Urdu or Arabic found in historical Mughal monuments have had amazing stories to say. Often wanting to decode the beautiful and artistic writings, experiencing the writing myself through the calligraphy helped me connect more deeply to this art.
As I held the pen and started to try my hands on a new form of writing – I was feeling so content with the work I was doing. There was no pressure to be perfect or to be better than someone else. As we were experimenting in our groups, there was only smiles, laughter and learnings we had to exchange with each other.
Credit goes to Project Kitabat and Hobbmob for organizing this memorable event. Follow their page for the next event in your city.
During my visit to Kerala, one of my relatives took us to the St George Orthodox Koonan Kurishu Old Syrian Church, popularly known as ‘Koonan Kurishu Pazhaya Suriyani Palli’, which is situated in Mattancherry, Kochi. When I thought about the visit to a church, I was expecting a very common structure. But I was surprised upon reaching there.
Please refer to this site if you want to know more about this historic church.
This picture is from my first visit to AmigosIndia.
If you are a visitor in Delhi, this is the best place to stay and experience the culture. Check out the website for more information.
My younger self,
To you, I owe my life, my world, and what I am today. I am thankful to the little dreamer in you who always reminded me of this beautiful world and the endless opportunities that were ahead of me. You made me realize, no matter how weak I may seem to the world, the power is within me to achieve what I always dreamed of.
If you have started thinking that it’s all because of you then you are wrong There were many obstacles, fears, and challenges that I had to face during my journey. But that’s why we are blessed with wonderful people around us both on the personal and professional level, isn’t it? Over these years, I have realized that in the end, there is nothing such as a good or bad experience. When I look back and connect the dots, I realize that everything happened for a reason and it falls in place at the right time. Neither too early, not too late.
I want to let you know that you are still in me, no matter how wise I become – to cherish the little things in life, to express what I feel through my writing, to offer a helping hand to the needy, to spread happiness and the list goes on.
Lots of love!
It has been a couple of months now since I last posted about my move to a new city. And since then, I have been trying to find opportunities to sit and write but haven’t been successful.
Today, with much determination, I logged in to my WordPress account “to write”. The first thing to notice was a notification from WordPress for my 5 years here. But I know that officially it has been just two years, I took interest to actively start blogging. Nevertheless, its a definitely something worth celebrating. I am really glad to be here and I hope to keep myself motivated and determined to write regularly.
The way you see is the measure of the world ~Rumi
Both the title and the verse credits to “The Illustrated Rumi” A new translation by Philip Dunn, Manuela Dunn, and R. A. Nicholson
Despite of all the rush, happy to have found opportunities to go back to my childhood memories.. Counting the little chicks, or chasing them alongwith Grandma.. Life was so careless back then, though it’s only now we realize.
Christmas brings to me beautiful memories from my childhood. Known to be an average student during my school days, getting an entry into a school activity was always hard to believe.
The first one to name was preparing for a Christmas carol along with a group of 20 more kids from my class. We were handed the lyrics and the song was played for us to hear and practice the tune. “Silent Night, Holy Night” the song played and was played, again, and, again, and again.
The more it was played, the more I fell in love with the idea of waiting for little Christ on a peaceful and Silent night, to an extent that even now this memory is still so fresh and preserved in my heart.
What is your Christmas memory?
It was my first visit to this church. But something went wrong with the timing and I was late in reaching for the Holy Mass. I lit a candle and prayed and was appreciating the person who would have kept the bouquet. The sight itself was so peaceful.
I was rushing to leave for another church, when I thought to capture this in my cam. Due to the sunlight, the mobile screen was hardly visible. But I was surprised to see what I found in my picture gallery.
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To celebrate Diwali, I thought the best way should be by exploring my new city. I’ll keep the story of my experience for some other day.
For now, sharing this capture:
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