A beautiful sunset

A beautiful sunset captured on our last trip. It is always very pleasant and soothing to view the sunset or the sunrise. 

A brave heart

He promised to be back.
With a peck on her cheek.
She bid good bye.
With tears in her eyes.

She waited for his call.
She waited for his message.
She waited to show him their new born who resembled him.

With every knock on the door, she expected his return.
Days passed to weeks and weeks to month with no clue of his return.
Finally a day arrived were she received a call that he is on the way.
She cleant the house, lighted lamps and dressed her son in a best possible way.

She opened the door and fell unconscious when she saw his coprse in front of the house.
She regained strength and stood with broken heart.
She saluted and said she is not scared even if her son wants to serve the nation following his path.

Happiness is a choice

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Are we really happy today? It depends on us. Happiness is our choice. If you want to be happy, you will be happy no matter what. And what makes us happy depends on each individual.

My daughter is happy even at the small things. If she sees a dog or a cow, she will jump in happiness. She is very happy when she see us coming back from the office. A small chocolate or a doll excites her a lot.

My husband is very happy when he does his job perfectly. He is happy when his hard work is recognised. He is happy playing with our daughter or shopping for her. He is happy when he play's any outdoor game or spend time with friends.

I am happy when my daughter eats without any tantrums or when she listens to me. Her every small milestone has made me happy. When I get a helping hand or when I get time to relax, I am happy.

This way if I want to write, everyone are happy in their own way. Earning money is a part of living. Even earning makes me happy as it gives me a feeling of independence. But I still carry out my other tasks and responsibilities. We cannot say we forget happiness while earning money. We still laugh, play, go out, enjoy and are happy. Even small things can still make us happy like an appreciation, a kind gesture, helping others.

Annoying things I get to hear

It's been a long time since I have written something. My busy schedule, professional and personal commitment kept me out of writing. But today, the reason for me to write is frustration. I am so frustrated at certain things that it pushed me to write. Here are few things that I am very frustrated.

Mesnturation: Yes, I am mensturating. But that is not the reason for my frustration. The reason is how mensturation is looked at even today. I came out of my room in the morning to have a cup of coffee and I was asked to have bath first, before anything as others should perform puja. Now, how would me having bath make any difference? Will it stop my periods for rest of the days? Why is mensuration seen as a dirty thing when it is a normal process of a women which lasts for 5 days? Why is a women untouchable for 5 days just because she is going through a normal process?

Bangles and bindi: Okay, now, I am married and I am not very particular about bangles or bindi. But that does not make me less married or less women. I know how to dress in what occasion and when to wear bangle and bindi. But why is a women judged about culture and upbringing for a bindi and bangle? I have seen so called cultured people with bangle and bindi behaving in a uncultered way with no etiquettes and moral values. If that is called as culture, then I definitely do not wish to follow that culture.

Women in a marrige need to adjust and have patience: Wow! So what will men do? Test women's patience? I am not saying having patience and adjusting is wrong. But why to mandate it only for women? Both husband and wife have their equal share in a marriage and both are bound to adjust with each other and have patience. Successful marriage is in both the husband and wives hand, not just a wife.

Don't wear revealing clothes to welcome rape: Sure. But please give me list of what type of clothes to wear. It is better if the list contains clothes to be worn for every age group. Because rape happens even to a 8 month old baby who does not know anything expect for her family and even at a 3 year old or even at 60 year old. Or better why not people stop lecturing a women. Instead of lecturing a women, it is better if your son is taught to behave well and respect women. Then even with a two piece dress, women will feel safe and be safe.

People want to get modernized. People want to get all the luxury and comfort. People want change in the society and want things to improve. But people fail to improve their thought process. People fail to change their mindset. Because of which most women get to hear these things in their daily lives.

Trust

Trust left me broken

Trust left me shattered
Trust put me into pieces
That could not be fixed ever

I trusted you blindly
I trusted you heartily
I trusted you than anything else
Only to be crushed mentally

Oh! Trust not anyone
To put yourself in affliction
Never lose your self to someone
Who has no obligation.

Few things a married woman should always remember

Getting married comes with a lot of responsibilities. In India, getting married to a man is like getting married to his entire family. You need to take care of their needs, likes, dislikes and have to keep everyone happy. Amidst all these, a woman becomes so busy that she finds no time for self. And sometimes, she remains quite when she is supposed to raise her voice.

Here is a list of things that a married woman should never forget.

1. Dedicate some time for yourself

  You may have too many responsibilities and a lot of day to day work to be carried out but it is not wrong to have some time for yourself. You need a change too from your daily routine. So once in a while take a break. Hang out for a movie or shopping or anything that makes you happy.

2. Be independent

How much ever supportive & caring your husband and his family are, it is very much important to be independent. Be independent and pay off your own bills rather than waiting for someone else to pay them for you. Be independent and make your own identity and you will know how happy you can be.

3. Have a social circle

No matter how occupied you are, take time and meet your friends once in a while. Get in touch with your old friends. Call them and talk to them. Reconcile with all your friends and cherish the memories that you created. Share things with your friends. This will make you feel happy. This will make you feel light. Having a friend circle will always make a person better.

4. Support your parents

Your parents might be independent but being there as a pillar of strength when needed is very important. Be it a financial support or a moral support never leave there side. You are what you are because of them. As a man has responsibilities for his parents, woman too has the same responsibilities for her parents. Since you are married off does not mean the responsibility is over. You should still take care of them and support them in all possible ways and make them feel happy.

5. Do what you feel is right

You don't have to stop yourself from doing something just because someone else does not like it. If you feel like doing something and if you are sure that it is not at all wrong then there is no need for you to be scared. You can go ahead and do what makes you happy.

6. Have kids when you are really ready

Don't have kids because someone else wants you to have one. It's people's tendency to give unnecessary suggestions and opinions. Have a kid only when you and your partner are ready. Remember a child is only your responsibility and no one who once asked you to have a baby will even bother once your baby is in this world. If you feel you are still not ready to take up a responsibility of a child then give it some more time but don't ever think of having a baby when you are not at all ready for it.

7. Raise your voice against domestic violence and when ever needed

This is the most important thing of all mentioned above. Unfortunately, even many educated woman face domestic violence yet keep quite without raising a voice against it. Remember, keeping quite will only encourage a person to continue it even in future. So be bold and talk about it to someone if you are into a abusive relation. Take help from your family and friends and put an end for the violence. Never keep quite and bear everything that is happening to you.

My most loved selfie

This is my favourite selfie of all and I am sure that it's gonna be my favourite forever. This selfie was taken in a place called Thekkady-kerala were we decided to babymoon before we welcomed our little bundle of joy.

I always have a special preference for travel and since the day my pregnancy got confirmed I was not allowed to travel much, it was just my home to office and office to home. And then even that had to be stopped as I was told to bed rest for a couple of months because of some complications. I was going mad staying at home between four walls literally doing nothing except eat and sleep. Though I had no physical activity, I was somehow mentally stressed and wanted to escape somewhere for few days away from everything and just relax. And after my first trimester when doctor confirmed that everything was perfectly fine and that I could resume back to my normal life, my first question was if I could travel and received a positive yes from the doctor with few safety precautions and guidelines.

I always dreamt of babymoon ever since I started planning my pregnancy and now I started making plans for the same. And when I put forth my thoughts before my husband, it immediately agreed to it and then we made proper arrangements and set for the most awaited trip. The pic above was taken on the last day of our babymoon. This pic will always be cherished because it was just me and my husband with freedom and liberty and doing things in our own time and our own way. And this pic was taken after I had a relaxing spa and body massage in Kerala which made me feel very light. And ofcourse, I was pamperd a lot at that time and i was given a special attention by everyone that made me feel even more special. Even now, we go on trips but it's always with a little one and we have to sync up according to her timings. Ofcourse, we love to travel with our daughter but it's not gonna be like before as we have our share of responsibilities.

Now, I wanna visit more places with my small little family and capture beautiful selfie with my husband and daughter using Mobiistar because Mobiistar gives an overall different selfie experience with its dual selfie camera having the capability of capturing a 120 degree wide angle shot. It is definitely going to be a lot of fun to capture beautiful selfies with our loved one's and making our selfie experience memorable. Everyone loves selfie. Who doesn't, right? Mobiistar will make our selfie experiences even more better to capture not just us but also everything around us. Wow! It sounds so exciting even to think of it.

Now, I am eagerly waiting for the launch of Mobiistar on Flipkart to order one and to experience the wonderful selfie moments. You can even visit http://mobiistar.in/ to know more about it's features. 

Z security #A2Z challenge

It was a dream come true day for me and for everyone in the college and across our district as missile man of India APJ Abdul Kalam was visiting our college and lot of events had already in place to welcome him to the college but our attraction was the Z security that was given to him.

Many security arrangements were unfolded a day before and we could see a lot of built guards with dogs and all our classroom doors on the premises were locked and sealed. And we saw a couple of guards standing with rifles at the balconies. The stage had a D shape in front it and no one was supposed to cross it and few gunmen were already standing there and there were high chairs set upon the stage. There were already more than 10000 people who were waiting for him.

The moment had come when APJ Abdul Kalam was about to visit us and I was privileged to be a part of escorting him. All of a sudden we heard a lot of sirens and escort jeeps arriving near us. There were around six escort jeeps and missile man was in the center of escort. The moment they Conway stopped, the Z security force was on their jobs and even we escorted him to the stage along with Z security. As he arrived on the stage he uttered to the people on the stage, by seeing at this incident all the audience stood up. The incident was, he asked the people on stage to remove the high chair and put up the normal plastic chair that was used for every audience. This was the simplicity of our APJ Abdul Kalam.

Opportunities #A2Z challenge

College is place where students can catch their dreams as they have lot of opportunities and scope to shape their carrier. Opportunities may always come in disguise.

I have story of a boy who was not good at studies and was regularly irregular to the classes. He was always into his own masti mode and just managed to pass his exams. But he got an opportunity to attend an interview in an MNC after his graduation though he had no minimum % required to get the job. To everyone's  surprise he had cracked the interview and sealed the opportunity and he was 1st one to get the job in his batch. This was all possible because, most of the time he bunked the class and played only computer games and he was so into those that he never brothered about studies or results and the MNC that had come for interview was into computer gaming. And that helped him crack the interview easily. Here I just want to say that opportunity will come in your way only if your best at that.

Youth leader #A2Z challenge

I call college as a Youngistaan as we find many youngsters there with great energy and enthusiasm. From the beginning of the year, we would volunteer in many events and others would actively participate in those. Even professors would have a youth like energy. There would be youth leader in the college who would decide the events and activities that has to be carried out in the college.

There would be elections conducted to decide the youth leader and voting would be with strict security. The tensions created in the college during this time was as if everyone were participating for the countries election. My friend had contested for the election and we used to go and talk on behalf of him to select him and that friend would treat us later in the canteen for supporting him. We would support him not because we wanted him to be elected but because we would be treated later. I hope many of us will have similar memories and have crossed the same lines.

Xerox notes #A2Z challenge

I have a great bonding with Xerox during my college. It was a tool that saved us in our crisis. We used to Xerox the text books instead of buying them and that too only during the exams or the internals we would Xerox the notes.

It was a real saviour when we had to appear for our lab exams as our class guys used to get the micro Xerox of all the programs and would help us also by sharing it. We had a micro processor lab which the entire class found it difficult to understand the program and execute it and the entire class was saved by this micro Xerox. Xerox was a powerful tool for everyone.

Work outs #A2Z challenge

Work out keeps us physically and mentally fit. During college life, we were involved in lot of activities and sports that kept us fit and active throughout, which I am missing now as I hardly find any time for myself even to excerise for 30 minutes.

We used to spend lot of time in the gym or in the play ground and equally we would eat a lot as we would feel hungry very often. I remember, I used to have 3 -4 chapati's and still I was fit. But now, I feel that I increase my weight just by smelling chapati as there are no work outs which are essential. I think, many of us have the same feeling.

Values #A2Z challenge

College and the hostel life teaches a lot of values in shaping a character of a person. Moral values, social and economic values will be inculcated if you are in a hostel because you tend to know that value of money, time, food, love and emotions as you will be away from your home sweet home. Hostel teaches a lot of these values in its own way and it might not be joyful at times.

I used feel home sick often and would expect things to happen as the way it was at my home. But, at the end college life taught me how to interact with people, how to negotiate things, my responsibilities and how to face challenges thrown at me which is valuable.

Unexpected moments #A2Z challenge

College life is all about accepting the unexpected. At the start of the college, we see every student as a stranger and looking at some will have a mindset that we don't get friends with each other but unexpectedly we get along only with that person very well. Similarly, exam papers and the results are also unexpected!

There are many incidents and one of them is I had prepared for Logic Designs paper with 5 out of 8 units. But most of the questions were asked from what I had not studied and that was unexpected but the result was expected that I just got 28 marks out of 100 marks.

Thrilling #A2Z challenge

Everyday of a college life is a thrilling experience. You never know what happens when or what you will encounter. Unlike school, which is planned and classes are carried out according to the time table, college is never like that. Though a time table is scheduled, classes always don't go according to that and their is always atleast one surprise lecture that happens and you are forced to sit in the class. 

It's thrilling even when you try to escape from your professors site and hide somewhere. It's thrilling when you do not submit your assignment but still manage to get good internal marks. And it's thrilling to eat the local food from the local vendors. You expose to so many things for the first time and each and every experience that interests you becomes thrilling.

Sustain #A2Z challenge

Once we are in college we learn to sustain numerous things. This is true atleast in my case. I have sustained the most difficult phase of my life. I have sustained all the hardships. I have sustained and moved on in so many matters.

Today I have sustaining ability and I give all the credits to my college life, my hostel life. There were days when all the pocket money would get over just few days after receiving it. Fear of asking again I have managed the entire month with the little money left and I learnt I can sustain any situation with proper planning. I have sustained the mental pressure, heartbreaks with friends by being strong. Today I see myself as a confident women who can sustain and handle any tough situation without losing hopes. And I am sure, most of you would relate to it that you have also learnt to tackle many tough situations from your college days.

Ragging #A2Z challenge

There is nothing wrong if I say that ragging is a part of student culture. Every senior wants to show their seniority first by ragging the juniors. Of course, ragging is not a good thing but still ragging is fun if it is not too personal, humiliating and abusing. And one should never cross the limits and keep it only for fun.

Like every junior, I too was a subject to ragging but in a funny way. No seniors crossed their limits of ragging and neither did we cross our limits with our junior. Certain ragging incidents still put a broad smile on my lips if I think of it. We were made to sing a nursery rhyme and dance while singing. We were asked to speak about ourselves for 5 minutes and after every sentence we were supposed to say "my seniors our great". And there were many more funny ragging incidents that I faced and enjoyed.

Ragging in a healthy way has helped in bonding with seniors and other friends. The relationships became stronger. College days became easier with the guidance of seniors.

Quarrels #A2Z challenge

Quarrels are very common in college. Though it looks like a horror show during that time, it sounds very silly now when we think of it. Like anyone, I also had quite a few quarrels with my friends, roommates, bestfreinds. All the silly fights and arugments over a silly thing would leave us broken for days together.

I remember having a bad fight  during my first year of engineering with a girl who was one of my good friend once upon a time. I, along with my two other friends had such a big argument with the girl that we did not sleep the whole night. The only silly reason for having a fight was that girl was attention seeker and she was upset that we had been for a movie without her. We were frustrated with her behaviour since beginning and removed all our irritation on the day we fought. Our fights reached the ears of our principal and the next day, we were sent a letter to meet him at the office only to be patched up. Though we pretended to be nice before him, we did not talk to one another for four years. Only in the final year gathering, we left all our ego's and spoke to each other. Such is the silly quarrels that I still remember.

Placement drive #A2Z challenge

This is the day which every student eagerly waits for. Everyone wants to get placed in the top company with a very good package. Before placements started in our college, we were given training on aptitude, a syllabus from the beginning was brushed up and we were guided on our presentation skills.

On the day of placements, everyone dress in their best formals and reach college with the hopes of grabbing a job. There is nervousness in every student yet there will be excitement that very soon everyone will be independent. The thought of earning my own money and becoming independent always made me feel like grabbing a job as early as possible. But getting an offer letter was not as easy as I thought. I had faced my own roller coaster ride. Attended interviews of few companies that came to the college. Got rejected by some and I did not accept a offer letter of some for my own reasons. And finally, I realized the happiness of finding a right job when I got placed in my dream company with the salary I had expected. My happiness knew no bounds.

During this period of placement drive and job hunting, I realized how desperate I was to grab a job, I experienced the pain of rejection, I came to know how waiting for something for quite a long time feels like, and also realised what true happiness is. After everything, most of us were flying with true colors. We were eager to finish our exams and wanted to join the office soon. Wanted to experience the happiness of receiving the first pay check and buying gifts for everyone at home. It was an amazing feeling of mixed emotions.

Network #A2Z college

College plays a very important role in building our network and making our network strong. Having a strong connection with other students of a college and other colleges are very important so as to learn various things. It also plays a very important role during interviews.

If there are any inter college fest organised, we make friends with many students coming from different colleges. They in turn invite us for their colleges during any event. With this, we build our confidence and do not hesitate to take part in various activities.

When a fest was organised in our college, I took part in paper presentation. I got an opportunity to make many good friends from other colleges. Through those friends, I got to know about various others events organised in different parts of our state and was also invited to their college. I happily took part. I could see my confidence and presentation skills getting improved. With this new friends our network started building and we made more and more friends and got close to some like minded people as well. We started hanging out together, going out for movies, dinner. In fact, this even helped us in finding a job as everyone of us would be informed about opening if any one person came to know about any.
Having a strong network is very essential which can be easily achieved in college life.