Learning’s from the Corporate World

It has been a long day yesterday…. Right from interviewing some inters joining my team to attending Bangalore Barcamp - listening to some amazing talks by my friends. Barcamps hold a special meaning in my life and to prove that statement, I started blogging after attending Pune Barcamp 2007 which happens to be my first Barcamp.

As you would know I have been blessed to work with some amazing companies like Oracle, IBM, Motorola, Teleca & Huawei. Barcamp has thought me the art of sharing & learning, thus let me share with you’ll key lessons that I have encountered & adopted during my 6 years of corporate experience:

•   Truly believe in the company & project you are part of. Until and unless you are not passionate you can never give your best
•   Instead of your manager, Plan & Strategies your own work
•   Set targets & benchmarks for yourself. Timely keep a track on our scores
•   If you feel insecure it’s time to learn & work hard in improving your skill sets
•   Do things the way no one ever can do it the way you do
•   Instead of working hard, work smartly
•   Network & build your brand
•  Take ownership
•  Help people working for & with you to grow, they will help you step ahead
•  Present yourself & your work in the best way possible to management
• Let failures never define you, but help you get one step closer to success
• Last not the least – Learn, Share, Contribute, Support & Inspire people around you.

 You will never be remembered in a company for your contributions, but for the way you treated people around.  So have a true beautiful heart and don’t ever forget to carry a smile on your face no matter what the situation is.

Yesterday across the dining table one of my friends said, “You sound very corporate”.

Well I take it as a compliment because my Dear friends I know my business very well.

Best of 2012 & the world didn't end

It was well believed that year 2012 will be the end of the world & so that’s how people started living to the fullest. I am sure 2012 might have been the – Best year EVER for most.

 We are in 2013…thanks to the grace of God!

During my journey to coorg in the new years eve..I took some time off, sat down on the top of the hill to list down & share with you lovely readers the reflection of my 2012 journey.

Travel: “Destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

Coorg, Chennai, Nandi Hills, Vineyard, Allepyy, Auroville, Mysore, Mumbia, Trichy, Goa, Hyderabad.

Events: ”No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there”

Storm Musical Festival, Global Service Jam, Mobile Cloud Conference, ITU – Broadband for Rural Villages, Droidcon India

Passion: “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”

Badminton club, Cake Baking workshop, Cycling, Wedding planner

Work: “Job is just not Job for me, its something that I love”

Switch from Technology to Business

Hate it-love it-hate it-love it. Mostly love – people I work with & people I do business with & also people I get to meet every day

Celebration: “I sing, dance, smile & celebrate every small happiness & joy”

Potluck parties, Bday parties, Diwali pooja, Christmas party, Midnight mass, Bonfire Multi Culture New Year Eve, Friend’s wedding.

People: “People around me make me who I am today & better for tomorrow”

2012 was inevitable as I have met some very inspirational & amazing people from different countries & also people who are writing their own stories battling with life.

Family & Friends: “Royally spoiled by my friends & family love"
Grateful, Happiness, Joy, Support, Values, Believes, Strength, Forgiveness, Love, Smiles

Year 2013: “To be the Best Year Ever”

Raising standard, going global, adventure sports, singing, playing music, dance, blogging, learning, unlearning, embracing opportunities & newness, being grateful - Inspiring, getting inspired, loving, taking responsibility to shine, rubbing off fears, taking risk & smiling.

Give me red… only Red Wine!

My love for Red Wine is no secret. I fell in love with Red Wine when I visited Grover Vineyard, which is 40 Km towards north of Bangalore.

You will find people with a lot of passion for wines visiting the winery. Visit to Vineyard is a whole day event, per head charge is 1000/- and trust me it’s totally worth it. We were taken around the vineyard, winery and at the end is the most interesting thing – Wine Tasting.

Few things that I learnt during the tour:

- Land on which cultivation of the grape is known as viticulture.

- We have around 40 varieties of grape

- Green/White grapes is used to make White Wine and red grapes for Red Wine

- Viticulture depends on factors like sunlight, soil, moisture, wind, and pest and disease control.

- The best wines result from warm, dry conditions.

- Red wines actually vary in color from dark pink to almost black.

- Red wine contains resveratrol, has a positive influence on the prevention of aging and the promotion of heart health.
-The color comes from a natural organic pigment called anthocyan that is present in the skin of red grapes and not from the juice of the grapes

The tour to Grover was perfect in every way and we enjoyed every minute of our time spent at the Vineyard. The Winemaker Tasting and Vineyard Tour was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.

After going through the wine making process I have a new respect for grapes, although not all grapes. Wine is much more than just a drink. The more you read about it you realize that it represents so many other things, like culture & history.

I am so high about red wine is that the day when I have enough money I would love to have my own Vineyard.

What all did 2011 brought in

Jan: Amazing birthday celebration & lovely, memorable trip to Andaman

Feb: Participated at Mobile World Congress & visited one of the most beautiful city of Spain Barcelona

March: Invited to be a speaker at International WWW conference, Hyderabad. Got to meet many researchers & innovators in the web space.

April: Organized Hack day in Teleca and got recognized & appreciation for the success of the event. Learnt many stuff during this event journey.

May: This month brought in a slight change in my profile. Was enjoying creating ideas & building POCs for the company. Working with R&D engineers across 3 different continents was an opportunity which I loved the most.

June: Presented many android & mobile web talks at silicon India mobile conferences

July: Visited Amritsar - Golden Temple.

Aug: Time was to move on & take up new responsibilities & challenges. Joined Huawei as a Business Process & R&D tools Leader. Joined & did my first adventure trekking camp at Jogimatti

Sep: Enrolled into Landmark Training. A platform which made me realize what life means to many people & how each one is dealing with it in his or her own way. Got to relearn myself

Oct: One such month where I decided to let go of fears & regrets. Learnt that you can never be careful in love, just carry your heart on your sleeves & say "trample"...that’s the chance u take in love

Nov: A dream of hosting Droidcon in India came true. Started salsa classes and enjoyed every bit of it. At work was into managing a project, yes it was my wish of being a PM at the age of 26, it just came true :-)

Dec: List of 10 thing to do before the year ends…fulfilled all of them. Great Xmas celebration. & lovely memorable new year 2012 celebration with best of my people at GOA.

What a year it was…sure of 2012. I shall have many interesting stuff lined-up for myself.

Happy New Year 2012

10 things to do before the year ends 2011

This is how my the list looked and in glimpse my experience

1. Switch off the lights for a min at office floor – This was like bribing the facilities guys. They were sweet to do this for me, but till date they give me that look which makes me say opps

2. Hug a stranger – Wishes & desires do come true. U never know when God is listening to you. My one such desire came true. For the lifetime I shall remember that touch & words “Take Care Sweetheart”

3. Offer service at Gurdwara – Spending that half a day offering services at Langer gave so much of pleasure & happiness that I decided to do this often in year 2012

4. Random call to some number & wish them Happy New year – This was the best of all. The call linked to a college going girl. Luckily she turned out to be friendly & as I wished her I could sense here excitement. When I asked her what’s here wish for this year, she said I want to be blessed with true Love…and I just smiled.

5. Taste beer – Hmm this was something I wanted to do, to know why people are so crazy about boozing. Trust me I only wonder now why the hell people drink bear when its taste so bad and had all lot of bad health side effects

6. Visit Gurdwara, Temple & church all in one day – God is everywhere..u just need to feel him.

7. Candlelit bath – Sorry no details (Censored u see )

8. Stay up all night long and see the sun rise – This is an experience in all. Gonna witness more of sunrise in the year 2012

9. Midnight walk on the beach – Had a lovely New Year Celebration at Goa. Lucky enough to have this walk before the year ended…and what a walk it was

10. Visit Bangalore’s shady area – What all sort of life’s people live…but I always believe the choice is always in our hands.

Face Yoga ?

Well, I finally decided to take out time & fulfill all the promises that I made. Here about what face yoga is all about & my experience so far:
Most of them hit the gym, do power yoga or play some kind of sports, just to keep their body toned and stay healthy. The question is what’s the exercise for our 52 face muscles? The answer is Face Yoga. I got myself trained on Face Yoga 3 years back by an expert face yoga certified friend Natasha. I enrolled only because the name “Face Yoga” sounded interesting to me at that time, but today I am a great believe of it, try practicing it often and very soon will start conducting face yoga workshops :)

FAQs

What is face yoga?
= The human face is a hardworking part of the body and there are about 52 muscles found in the face. Yoga exercises for face is the maintenance routine for motivating muscles and keeping the skin in place. Not only are there about 52 muscles but also a dozen bones, arteries, blood vessels and veins that assists your face to do the work that it need to. Your face muscles absorb and accumulate most of your stress and tension. Unless you allow those muscles to relax, they will get hard and there will be a strained look. Tense muscles also limit the amount of blood flowing to your face and the nutrients it needs by constricting the arteries. Yoga exercises for face plays a key role in maintaining a healthy skin and preventing wrinkles.

How different is face yoga from any other yoga’s?
= The muscles of the face are no different from the muscles of the rest of the body. Just as yoga routines work the muscles in the body, the stretches and movements in The Yoga Face tighten and tone the face muscles-and combat wrinkles.

What are other names for face yoga?
= Faceworks, Facial Workout

What face issues does face yoga solve?
= Face yoga is an effective way of staying away from wrinkles, double chin, fat of the face, aging.

When is face yoga to be done in a day and for how long?
= The Yoga Face is a new and completely natural alternative that can do anytime and anywhere-and in just minutes. You can do it while bathing, cooking, watching TV, waiting for signal on road etc. Just do it when no one is around you :)

Are there any side effects of face yoga?
= The only side effect is if people around watch you while doing face yoga, they might find you weird and may laugh out loud looking at your expression.

What are the benefits of face yoga?
=These exercises for face can help reduce the tension, make you feel and look more relaxed. Increased oxygen, reduce stress, increased muscle tone, wrinkles onset lowered, reduced face fat and complexion improvement.

Where and how can I learn face yoga ?
= Check these videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WOI1Ce5L4A
Or else mail me at bhavsidd@gmail.com to know about upcoming face yoga workshop.

Which all part of face does face yoga include?
= It include exercises for Forehead, Eyes, Chin, Cheeks, Mouth, neck that help to feel relax from stress, tense muscles and improve blood circulation.

What if I am not a yoga freak, can I still do it ?
= You don’t have to be a Yoga freak, just let loose with those facial expressions and afterwards, your face will thank you.

Snapshot of how face yoga?
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1683326,00.html

What do you do in a face yoga class?
= Combination of traditional yoga postures along with face-specific exercises formulated to combat wrinkles through relaxation and tension reduction, and to tone the muscles as a preventive measure. To name few of the exercises:
Eye socket massage - for relieving tension and stress from areas around the eyes.
Cheek Squeezing - improve cheeks circulation by squeezing cheeks and grabbing bits of flesh
Relieving Tension in Forehead and Jaws - relieving tension in your forehead and jaws that could lead to headaches.

"Working out" with fun facial exercises such "Satchmo,"kiss," and the "Lion Face”. Trust me all these exercises would make you laugh a lot out loud and blow kisses to send love around the room.

What was it in going blind ?

First sight it was

felt different

safe and just so perfect.

knew it was all a planned game

closer as it could get

happier than ever

walking on a path with no sure destination

enjoying all that was coming

it was not the matter of anything less than a heart

touching & feeling it, realized its pureness

fine with all that was coming

fights, irritation, jealously, smiles, tears, completeness

and lots something which is still nameless

hard was it to accept all that was felt

so closed eyes tight to go blind

yes, self-cheated, but still happy

lied & pretended to what it was not

proved all wrong

running away and blaming all was the only safe option

far far away still not from those memories

please set me free, forgive me, unlearn me

move on…

set me free...

These are the days of my life.

I had been to Jogimatti which was my first treak ever. Completed a month in Huawei, meeting many new people every day, spending more time with loved ones. Hunting for a new property for investment in Bangalore, playing badminton on weekends, about to enrol for swimming classes “seriously” & my journey is going on. Thought of taking sometime out to note down things that I have realized & experienced more about life.

- Never judge, accept people the way they are, because you finally would realize that you were wrong.

- You cannot always make everyone happy all the time.

- People will never remember what you said but will remember you for how you made them feel.

- Once you make a decision, stick to it.

- It's hard saying goodbye.

- It's even harder saying goodbye to someone while they tell you they love you.

- It's scary when people know you so well, they predict what you're going to do and you still do it.

- Don't look for people to tell you that you did the right thing. If you think it's the right thing, then it probably is.

- Relationships can never survive in boundaries as they are meant to grow.

- Fear is ones biggest enemy; can’t forever keep running away from it. Face it & you shall conquer it. After which the happiness & joy you get is priceless.

- Realize who & where you are. Know where you wanna go…it’s always a leap that you need to take. Go for it & get ready to face all the emotions that come on your way. Trust me it’s all gonna be worth it.

- Bitching behind someone’s back does not make you best. Stand up & speak up upfront

- Always ask a question “Why” and you will discover miracles.

- Try to do those small things just for others happiness. People don’t expect anything but they deserve to be treated with respect.

- Smaller things in life give real satisfaction & joy. It’s just smaller things that the best things begin.

- Feelings can never be manipulated. One who is loved can never be hated.

- Don’t get upset if people make fun of you, be glad that you made them laugh.

- Everyone has their own set of problems, fears, sadness & aloneness what differentiate the best is the way they are dealing with them.

- Trust the one who remains & behaves the same even in your absence.

- If you can’t reciprocate the same at least respect the feelings.

- Give your best in everything that you do and make a difference – work, relationship, sports, art etc.

- No one is perfect, accept your mistakes & work on them. Life always gives second chance.

- Enough of running away, learn to face it…that’s what living is all about.

I'm enjoying myself so! I’m free, I'm happy, no regrets!

My weekend hobby "Moon watching... "

Be right in appearance wherever you are - part 2

For a special date:

- Stay natural & look hygienic
- Study the persons taste and select your color & style accordingly
- Preferably red, orange, purple, black colors
- Don’t overdo that’s what will make u sexy
- Let your outfit depend on the venue & time of your date
- Do something with your style which makes u memorable eg: Tattoo,piercing, designer sleeves or scarf, unseen hairstyle, any unique accessory that define u and only you.

Attending a Wedding:

- NO red & too not much of gold jewelry
- Don’t dress up like a bride or groom (even if you are looking out)
- Respect the culture and dress up according to their respective tradition. Eg: don’t drape your saree in a gujarati style in a maharashtrian wedding
- Dress rehearsals is a must if you are the Best Man or Best Woman at the wedding
- If planning to get drunk and plan to rock on the dance floor: Men: avoid layering clothes and blazers go in for Indian ethnic wear. Women: No heavy or lengthy lengha, saree well draped (hope u get what I mean :-))

Getting ready for a Party:
- Birthday, anniversary, house warming, get-together, bachelor, pyjama party, divorce etc all sorts of parties...
- It’s difficult to list down the dress codes as each occasion is different. So ppl have this theme style dressing.
- While sending out the invite do mention the dressing theme eg: Bollywood, Jungle, Traditional , Tribal, Towel, Disney, Geeky, Historical, Rainbow etc

Visiting spiritual places:
- It’s a very sensitive issues, so lets be very careful while dressing up
- Tikkas & Bindis : NO – Church, YES – Gurudwara, A Must – Temples
- Westerns clothes still not well received in south Indian temples
- No designer or branded shoes & sandals… you'll know why

Traveling:
- Be comfortable. Avoid layered cloths & too much of accessories
- Long flight or connected flights carry an extra pair of cloths
- Avoid hairstyles & plaiting of your hair girls
- Shorts, Capri, spaghetti, tunic tops or flowery scarf and a jacket is a must

Movie/Theater show: - The funkier the better… go ahead with all ur experiments. In Spain I had seen bunch of teenage girls with painted face, lovely hats, uniform frocks with pencil heel sandals walking in to the theater… u see how it builds in the right excitement :)

And what for trekking? Well I really don’t know. Allow me to come back to you after this weekend as I am heading for an adventure camp.

“Keep experimenting… Style is something you cultivate when you know who you are”

Be right in appearance wherever you are - part 1

It’s hard fact that most of the people including you and me judge a person based on what he/she wears. In my case most of the time my judgment has failed badly, as I said in my previous post, styling is more of experiments.

Sharing with you’ll some style tips for these special occasions:

Attending an Interview:

- No oily hair and don’t afford to have a bad hair day
- Avoid red & pink ties/shirts/skirts
- Girls please tie your hair, we are not here to win best hair award
- T-Shirts with bold slogans & prints plzz NO
- Pin your dupatta well & place it in the right position
- No dark makeup & strong perfumes
- No rolled sleeves & appreciate your shirt tucked in

As an Interviewer:
- Dress up causally & just try to be yourself
- Avoid bold colors, preferably White/blue
- Girl interviewing a guy “Please no lip gloss or dark eyeliner”. It’s distracting most of the time
- Stay away from drinks or smoke for a day before the Interview
- No raised colors…let Australian cricketers enjoy that style.
- No red eyes, don’t scare the prospective employee with the company work culture
- Guys don’t go extra miles or fall for doing stuff for your favorite female candidate
- Don’t smell as if you have jumped out of perfume shower, girls like me will faint

First week in new office:
- Don’t try outing new cloths; carrying something which you have always felt comfortable wearing.
- Be sober & not like F-TV models. Take time to understand the company culture & people’s taste with whom you would be working
- Avoid too many jewellery, exception to newly wedded bride :-)
- No bright colors – preferably black, dark blue, off white outfits
- Hair well pinned & no shinny headbands or clips

Participating in a conference:
- As you would be closely interacting with prospective business leads keep your nails clean & use mouth fresheners every 2 hrs
- No deep neck shirts or gowns
- Girls with long hair to be more comfortable go for French braid
- Avoid too much of colorful & mix & match outfits
- Cotton with thin border & no embroidery sareer are total YES.
- Black spegitte with blazers on formal cotton trousers looks NICE.

In a customer Meetings:
- Formal shirts/skirts tucked in with a combination of nice leather belt. Closed shoes a must
- If your presenting use gel to assure that even if you move your hair does not take weird shaped & makes you look funny
- Apply lip moisturizer or lip balm to avoid liking of your lips during the meeting
- Today I see most of them wearing denim jeans and its well accepted but with a formal color shirt or blazer
- Owning side & front slit skirts like me don’t worry - wear leggings. Yes back slit shirts are said to be formal in Europe.

While in a NGO activity:
- No fancy or branded cloths
- No formals just dress up with a simple nice quoted T-Shirt with pair of jeans
- Girls go with traditional Kutras & cotton churidar
- No skin show

Blog is getting lengthy hmmm…. Dressing up for a date, workshop, wedding etc all coming up in the next blog post.
*This is totally based on my experience & my conclusions. You’ll are totally welcome to put in your comments if you’ll disagree.

Only if I would knew when my last day on this planet…is

“No, I don’t want to go by this way… can’t see the cancer patients battling with life”. See choose the other path & reached the ICU where her father was hospitalized, early suspect for Malaria. Ohhh Its “Sie” that’s what I called her. One, who married whom she loved, gave birth to a beautiful son, over trusted a friend, became a suspect in the eyes of her husband, got divorced, chose to study again, started staying with her parents and had the guts to fall in love again and fail.

That day Sie wasn’t sure that her life is going to take a major twist. All reports were placed in front of her & the doc says “Your father is in the 3^rd stage of cancer, you just have 6 months more”. Didn’t know how to react, asked no questions & went up to her god to ask “Why? Punish me, not my father”.

For a month Sie had almost visited all the top cancer specialist of her city, showed the reports & all had different recommendation & stories to say. She was confused & had lost the meaning of the word “Trust”. She just kept running away from home as facing her father was no easier. I accompanied her one such day to meet one such specialist & that day was the day of conclusion. He saw the reports and said, “Your father is at the last stage, take him anywhere on this earth you can’t save him for cancer forever. Stop torcuring him by getting those all medical test done on him, his body no more can resist. You have 5 months in hand. Make it the best for him. Let him live his life… he is a lucky man unlike us. Imagine what would you do if you knew your last day on this planet…”.

That’s the only day I had seen Sie crying out loud, yes because she had accepted the truth & was all set to batter for her father’s life. After this her only moto was to fulfill all her father’s wishes, major being a MBA. 2 months passed her family or closest people kept this secret from her father. They did all that he ever wished and desired for. Taught days were not very far. His body started giving up, tremendous pain in stomach, blood vomits, cuts in fingers which kept bleeding, hair & body weight loss…

4^th month in the mid night when her father was awake she went up to him and said, “Please forgive me for all the pains & hurt that I gave you. We just have 2 more months and I want to live every moment with you papa”. Cancer started playing its game badly and Sie was fighting it well. I salute this woman for never giving it up. Those 2 months, were the worst days of her life. Her father was on the bed 24/7, on saline, could only intake liquid, lost all hair & weight was not more than 36 Kg. He used to cry out loud with the pain & pluck bucket full of blood. Every night she was awake sitting next to her father with her books in hand preparing for 2 exams – MBA & father’s life. Cancer is one should disease which can make a father say to his daughter “Please kill me, I no more can live with this pain…”. Sie’s did all that a daughter could do for her father in those last days. It was his birthday & knowing that it’s her father’s last birthday made all the attempts to make it special. Till date she relives those memories & finds herself in the arms of her father.

The day stroked & he finally got peace when he took his last breath.

I wonder in today’s world where we speak of advanced technology, why we don’t have a treatment for Cancer. Why are the patients forced to die a painful death? Why could we hold on uncle for few more days so that he could see Sie’s MBA certificate?

I would like to leave you with these questions:

What would you do if you knew it was the last day with your parents?

What would you do if you knew your love is embracing death tomorrow?

What would you do for all those cancer patients who are left by their dear ones as they were cowards?

What would you do to not be in the place of Sie?

Life is short…make every moment special for the people you care, who knows if you would get another chance or not.

Drive me back… let me…

I have not done some things,
and left others undone.
Drive me back,
let me re-do.

I have not cared for some souls,
and have hurt few others.
Drive me back,
let me re care.

I sacrificed some things,
and lost few others.
Drive me back,
let me reclaim.

I am suffering,
due to someone else’s offense.
Drive me back,
let me punish them.

I have ignored some moments,
and not noticed others.
Drive me back,
let me relive.

I kept silent,
and could never reciprocate.
Drive me back,
let me do justice to self.

I walked out of few life,
and they still can’t move on.
Drive me back,
let me bring back their smile.

I was spied,
and dictated to live life in not so my style.
Drive me back,
let me show them the value of a life.

I feared, shy,
and scared of losing & trusting.
Drive me back,
let and take a chance.

I acted weird,
and made them hate me.
Drive me back,
let me accept the proposal.

I was misunderstood,
and treated wrongly.
Drive me back,
let me teach them how to value a women.

I was trusted,
and made a part of their journey.
Drive me back,
let me tell them, “I am not worth it”.

Inspired by http://www.akshaysurve.com​/blog/2010/12/let-me/

A secrete pray during my Barcelona trip

My first visit to the most beautiful city & also first time at MWC(Mobile World congress), finally I thought it's time to blog about my memorable experiences.

Luckily this time I was accompanied by a lovely colleague & more of a friend. She is the most happily married women I have so far seen, carries an amazing sense of humor, a bad fortune teller & believes that I would meet my dream man in an airport.

At the Frankfurt airport we came across with a so called face-reader guy. These were his reading about my face, “ U r not married, we are going to meet on ### date at this same place, don’t take up the Barcelona street alone, someone will call out your name, be careful. Also you should stay away from alcohol”.

Flight to Barcelona was amazing & the view of the ocean was very pleasant & it was gearing my excitement. As we landed, realized that language is the biggest barrier here. Spanish people hardly talk English, what we could understand is just numbers.

My hotel reception guys were a bunch of jokers, very handsome, helpful indeed :) whenever I used to approach them, they all 3 used to give me a very funny & weird smile. Gosh guys are so difficult to understand.

Craze of tasting typical traditional veg-spanish food, made us ask for the bill before the food arrived as we didn’t wanted to fall short of money. Paid 54 Euros for 20% of stuff that I could digest.

Me & my friend got stuck in elevator with a crazy Spanish non-English speaker guy. Our mistake of taking a service lift made this man feel the happiest guy for that movement and he just couldn’t stop giving us flying kisses.

That Sunday evening dinner with my team members will always be memorable. At times I feel getting drunk is good- helps one forget worries, speak your heart out & just be yourself.

Learnt never keep your cellphone away from yourself, as it would lead you to not reading a important message & might just hurt someone. Why does it happen that you wish for someone be close to you and when its all happening we tend to run away. Well I was just not OK of my such wishes coming true.

At the MWC lunch time, all the Indians used to gather at the Maharaja restaurant & enjoy the look-like Indian food.

Valentine's day & decided to take up the Ramblas street. Love was in air that evening. Heart shaped balloons, flowers, lovers kissing on the street & music all around, that evening was really special. For the first time I felt like this night should never get over.

I was returning back to my hotel & here I heard someone shouting not my name (as the face reader predicted) but saying “Indian girl”.

We are so used to see queues at bus stand & railways stations in India, but after 6 pm at the MWC as the day end we used to wait in a big queue for the taxis. I used to freely walk out of the MWC campus, but had to struggle to get in again, as I used to forget my ID proof each time. I was a popular face for the security people.

Olympic beach was a treat to watch during the evening times. Best place for me in the entire city.

The experience of wearing Indian dress (salwar kameez) was interesting. You walk on the street and all will look at you as you are an alien. At the MWC I was requested for a photograph, and when I told them about my camera phoniness, it just sounded like a story for them. I was the colorful girl of the day where everyone one had black, white, brown formals on. I am so proud of being an Indian.

Ready to Eat was the only solution that was left, after the international Spanish food which I was totally done with. This madness of Indian food made me & my friend walk on the street in our night-suite to get into hotel cafeteria as we didn’t wanted to cross our team sitting in the bar that evening.

It was time to say goodbye to the beach city, but has it ever happened to you’ll that something caught your eyes & you forgot the whole world around looking at it. I left the city with a secret prayer.

From a Girl to a Women

A feminist during her college days,

is career-minded and career oriented.

play the game of hide and seek with her suitor,

dare to stay happily unmarried all her life.

buy flowers for herself,

feel the wind on her face,

go camping, biking,

be shy, be bold,

trust men occasionally,

give that second chance to everyone,

be a romantic,

get emotionally hyped over nothing and cool down suddenly,

go on a diet, yet eat chocolates and ice creams,

love being a woman,

get high and stay high on life, love her man and her reflection,

learn to love herself,

kiss herself goodnight in the mirror,

break rules – lead the dances,

drive her man’s car,

manage his business, wear his clothes

yet know that he’s a man and she’s the woman,

get flattered,

wear latest fashion and wear fine diamonds

for no special reason,

lay down principles in her life,

go out for window shopping all alone,

know the way to her man’s heart,

never forget the girl within.

Why is it so difficult?

Why is it difficult to see your loved ones die, when we know death is certain...

Why is it difficult to forget the pain received due to someone else’s mistake, when we know forgiveness is great...

Why is it difficult to lose faith & trust on humanity, when we see our people doing evil...

Why is it difficult to maintain eye contact with friends after the break-up, when you know matches are made in heaven...

Why is it difficult to correct your teacher when its wrong, when you know knowledge is no ones ownership...

Why is it difficult to adopt a child, when we know it’s great to make a life than creating one...

Why is it difficult to accept mistakes, when we know apologies make you more stronger...

Why is it difficult to share money, happiness & smile, when we know it doubles the more we give...

Why is it difficult to speak the truth, when we know we are not what we pretend to...

Why is it difficult to compliment our competitors, when we know the race is long...

Why is it difficult to accept the fact that it was not worth me, when we know it’s the matter of luck...

Why is it difficult to stop them moving out of your life, when you know they are worth being a part of your life...

Why is it difficult to ask someone to stop loving, when you know it just happens...

Why do I dance?

I remember when I was 8 yrs old my dad dreamt of making me a successful classical dancer.

He got me admitted to Bharatanatyam dance classes, which were during the evening time. To be very frank I hated dancing and found it funny. So here comes my big confession, I used to bunk my dance classes and play cricket with my apartment guys. Teacher went up complaining to my parents and that was when my dad’s dream broke into pieces.

I used to fail to understand why I was always pulled up in the school dance competitions by my teachers, just so that they give me good marks I used to join the dance rehearsals and perform. This went on and finally the day came: We were doing the candle dance, and my partners candle slight burnt my hand and I screamed out loud. The dance teacher without any knowledge hit me on my back hard via a wooden stick. I shouted back and threw my candles and stepped out of the rehearsal stage. That was an official goodbye to dance.

College days and parties invitations, hmmm
Friends B’day parties and they all loved music and dance. As usual I was standing out of the dance floor; all of sudden the D’j announced the best dancer gets a mobile phone… (this was 2002 where mobile phone were a luxury). Me and my friends (gr8 dancers) decided to win it at any cost. I got motivated and there was Bhavis making a comeback in dancing.
I don’t know how but I just remember that my name was announced as a winner. Gosh that evening was a turning point of my life. So now… I am happy…. I dance
I am upset…. I dance
I am angry…. I dance
I am tired…. I dance
I am crying… I still dance

I dance because I can express my feelings only though dance…

I don’t dance for a show
I don’t dance in parties
I don’t dance to win
I don’t dance to impress
I don’t dance to showoff

I dance only for myself; because I get to know myself better through dance.
(A room in my flat has got dedicated as the dance floor)

It’s all a curse…

It’s a curse to be young
It’s a curse to be humble
It’s a curse to be sacrificing
It’s a curse to have fans
It’s a curse to be mentored by the best
It’s a curse to be having many well-wishers around
It’s a curse to have a perfect family
It’s a curse to have caring and non-selfish friends
It’s a curse to be beautiful
It’s a curse to be adored
It’s a curse to be lucky
It’s a curse to be blessed with all the freedom
It’s a curse to be a gracious dancer
It’s a curse to be well learned
It’s a curse to be an emotional writer
It’s a curse to be an exception
It’s a curse to be loved so much....

Believe me when I say, “It’s never too good to be so much blessed by God”.