Happy Hour ... and Me

This one is a time travel as I am going to pick up this one episode from the life. It was my birthday 17th or 18th may be. It was a time when Facebook didn't remind people about your birthday and also there weren't mobile phones.  In order words if you wanted to wish, you actually had to call. I would spend hours by the phone and it felt much better than having 1000 odd messages on my wall. So this one was pretty much going the same way until someone rang the door bell. When I opened,  I had a bouquet of beautiful flowers waiting for me. Oh happy me! Here is when the fun began,  we didn't know who it was from!!  There was no name.  A birthday wish. If hash tags existed then that moment would read as this #Secret admirer#MeReally#!!!! #visiblyshockedparentswhodidn'tknowho2react!!!#topoftheworld#sofullofme A decade has come and gone by with fabulous birthdays in it. But this one I'll always remember as this was the first time I knew I was person of interest....

Never forget what you are.. .. Because rest of the world will not Wear it like an armour and it can never be used to hurt you Game of thrones

A relationship is like a house.  When a light bulb burns out you do not go & buy a new house. You fix the light bulb.

Tuesday, 31st May 2016, at 6.10 pm, I was walking my husband’s grandfather Dada into the ICCU. We knew what was around the corner and he wanted to say bye one more time, while I wanted to be with him. Just then my husband came out and softly announced that she’s gone. Dada and I continued moving inside the ICCU, when we saw her. She was peaceful and seemed like she was in deep slumber.It was display on the monitor that conveyed a different message. “Wait for me in Vraj (Heaven), I'll join you soon” he said touching her softly and just like that companionship of more than 6 decades ended. 'Ben' as she was lovingly addressed, was my husband’s grandmother. She lived a full 80 years and nurtured 4 generations. I had this opportunity to share few words during her prayer meeting and here is what I said, well almost because emotions said few other things. We all lost a wonderful lady. No matter how hard I try, I can never do justice to what talk about her...

'I am so pissed', I told Mihir in a truly flustered way during one of our conversations. 'You always are' came the instant and cool replay from him. I was shocked and even more annoyed now. I let it be. No really, I did. Its not just because I want to sound good on my blogs. But when I reflected, I realized that when situations choose a not so favorable direction, is what causes the Pissed Syndrome to kick in . Also, somehow Mihir is responsible for most of those things. Even if there is an earthquake in Alaska, I tie it back to him. So he needs to know, you see!! While few things choose a take a different trajectory in life, there are lot things that do follow a 'the expected course' or choose a better route. Those are blessings for which the words 'Thank You' are insufficient. I have a thing for lists, there is to-do list,packing list, check-lists  etc etc. On an impluse I decided to make a Grateful List!! So basically ...

Last evening I had  few meetings to attend around dinner time.  I usually try not to work that time of the day because it really confuses my kid. It's our play time you see. Nevertheless, it was one of those unavoidable days. I was deep into a conversation with  colleagues from across the globe on how best we could mitigate risks for particularly challenging services that we were getting into. We were almost concluding, when my 16 month old aimlessly strolls in.  He casually comes near my table and starts his high decibel protest cry for me to pick him up and in the bargain obviously disrupts the discussion. I apologize for the ruckus and quickly put my line on mute, lift him and hand him over to his care taker.  It annoys him because he was looking forward to hitting my laptop keypad and pulling out a few keys under the guise of hanging out with me. He is now howling!! The mother in me feels sad until the brain switches back to risk mitiga...

When I was growing up and especially in my teens I recall my parents telling me not to get influenced by what my friends did. I should have a mind of my own and decide what's right and what's not. That's where I drew the first line. And then on the list of such lines and boundaries continues. You need boundaries, between you and the rest of the world. Boundaries don't keep other people out, they fence you in. They fence you into a framework that's acceptable to you. According to me, the most important and complicated boundaries are the ones you draw at work. So you create your boundaries and hope that no one crosses those. However life has a funny sense of  humor and at an unguarded silent moment someone breaks the lines and crosses over the boundaries. Now, there's a decision to make, do I want to rebuild that boundary again or explore life by crossing over. Some are way too dangerous to cross and can turn life into a mess. But I wonder when has life not b...