I have been a cricket fan since childhood and ever
since I can remember playing cricket gave me the maximum happiness. Every run
that I scored , every wicket I took or
every run that I saved brought a smile
on my face. Then celebrating every match whether we won or lost used to be a
regular ritual. After each match me and my gang of friends would ride our
bicycles and raid the pani puri shop that was quite famous for its spicy treats
and fast foods. Irrespective of which and whose team had won we would pool
money and order plates of “chaat ” and “Pani Puri” it used to be the
celebration of victory that was collectively ours. In these moments of
celebrations there used to be happiness, joy and smiles. It was the most joyous
and memorable time of my life that was very carefree and gave me every reason to
smile. Then as we grew older playing computer games and specially the game of cricket
on the PC or gaming console used to bring a lot of happiness and gave me
reasons to smile. These game sessions which happened on weekends generally were followed by a
small party thanks to all the snacks and the lemonade my mother would make for me and my friends who used to get
together at my place to play on the PC or the gaming console. I always looked
forward to these weekend parties and get-togethers. I look back with fondness
to all these collective celebrations and get together’s with friends and even today those memories
bring a smile to my face.Then as we grew up we became more of armchair players
who would follow every match on TV get together at my home and enjoy the
matches. We would cheer every run scored and every catch taken when our side
would be fielding. Then we would go out and celebrate or order some food that
we could consume while watching the match. Now most of that lot of my friends
have moved out of the neighborhood and settled in different parts of the
country or the world. We wave found a new way to spread happiness and bring
smiles. Whenever there is a cricket match being played on a TV we watch it in
our respective locations and through interactive social media and messenger keep updating our groups with scores and
indulge in chit chat and discuss the match that is in progress. This gives us
the feel that despite being far away and distant and geographically in
different parts of the world we are still united as one gang of friends. This feeling gives me
and my friends a lot of happiness and makes me smile. As for the parties and
the combined celebration. We maintain a diary and note down all the parties
that are due and every year we make it a point to get together a couple of
times a year and then the party and happiness and smiles flow.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Together We can Take on the world
When I got out of college I got a good job with a leading big
company with a nice fat package . My job kept me very busy and in no time I had
become a high flying executive. As I grew in my new life I found a new set of work
friends and colleagues. This was a new world for me full of excitement and
achievements. However slowly but surely my old life and friends were being left
behind. Actually the higher that I was
getting in life the lonelier I was getting. Each pay hike or promotion was just
an achievement like the numerous trophies that I had earned and were lying on
the shelves with no one to share the joy with. Then one day I discovered that
the company I had been working for had been taken over by a bigger company and as
the management changed so did the policies. I found myself to be out of favor
with the new management as they found little use for a person with my skill set.
In this newer working environment I was even more lonelier. I did not see a
future in the current organization. I had grown lonely and reclusive as there
was no one with whom I could share my feelings and do a heart to heart talk.
Then the day came which I dreaded the most I was given the pink slip. Having
being retrenched from work was like adding insult to injury. Suddenly all that
I had earned in all these years had been lost. Overnight I had been reduced
from a high flying first or business class executive to one who would travel in
economy or better still train as the industry that I had been working for was
experiencing a serious down trend. Jobs were scarce and executives were taking
a pay cut. Then who would give a person like me who had been fired, a new job. I
found my world come crashing down around me. I felt there was no place for me
in this corporate world and for a change decided to go back home for a few
days. When I reached the railway station to board the train I was a distant
shadow of my earlier more successful and flamboyant self . My train was late
and as I waited in the waiting room my thoughts drifted to all the mishappenings that had happened in my life. Then suddenly the chain of my thoughts
were broken by a voice who was calling out my name. I snapped out of my
thoughts to find myself face to face with
my best friend from school days. We had been best friends for many years but
ever since I had got my first job we had drifted away. Though he had tried to
get in touch with me a couple of times I had avoided replying to his emails or
the birthday cards that he had been sending to me with uninterrupted
regularity. Despite all the time that had passed and all my indifferent behavior he gave me a tight hug. A hug that seemed to last a life time and
that moment of togetherness was very special. The warmth of that hug and the
conversation that followed sapped all the negativity, strain and stress that
had been bottling up inside me. I poured my heart out to him and he gave me a patient
hearing, after all we were two long lost friends who were meeting after a long
time and had so much of catching up to do. That chance meeting brought a sea change in me
. In the time that I was #together
with my friend were very special
moments.The togetherness with my best friend had taught me the value of
relations and togetherness. A lesson that I would cherish for the rest of my
life.
#together
#together
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Relocate is my mantra for upward social mobility
Home to me is the perfect resting ground that you retire to at the end of the day. And as the sun goes down you play a game of chess with your neighbor in the common courtyard or watch the raindrops fall off the window pane during the monsoon months. Everything was calm and serene in life both at the work and home front, you may say so. The other perspective was that everything was routine , dull and boring. I agree that our homes provide a great place to rest and recharge to face the challenges of day to day life but they also make us battle ready to #StartANewLife . My argument is as follows that can you imagine eating your favorite food every day. However tasty it may be you are sure to get bored of it sooner or later. Same was my case so I opted for a change and decided to change my house and relocate to another part of the city to a more posh colony. I use the word relocate for moving to another part of the same city as I need to emphasize what important changes it has brought in my life. I am a laid back person and have a well-furnished fully functional apartment, so for me to give up this property and to move to a new one was a big decision that became a game changer in my life. The biggest benefit that I noticed is that when you move to a posh colony your social status increases. You suddenly become more sought after amongst friends and for singles like me you get a lot of attention from all those beautiful smart and intelligent members of the opposite sex who would not even have normally given me a second look. Secondly with a higher social status all those at my office and those in my social circle began to take note of me. Having moved to a new posh locality gave me the opportunity to throw a house warming party and invite my boss and all my colleagues. This is when I discovered the benefits of calling your boss over for dinner. Suddenly I became his blue eyed boy at office who could do nothing wrong. I noticed that I was being made in charge of important projects and my mistakes were being overlooked. Everybody at the office from the peon to the beautiful office secretary who is often the damsel in distress seeks my opinion and advice and I have become a very sought after person. I hope this excitement and attention continues to shower on me and when it would begin to vane I can always move to another colony in another part of the city or to another city altogether and continue my journey of upward mobility.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Baby Dry Hai toh Happy Hai
When our little one arrived it brought with it a 24X7 channel of
fun filled entertainment. This is our baby’s own channel and he is the star
performer and we are all his audience. Right from the first day of his arrival we
have been his biggest fans. Cheering to every sound that he makes. Be it his
mmmm…. Or trying to talk to us in his baby language which has its own set of
symbols, consonants and vowels. Despite the fact that we may not be able to
make out anything as to what he is trying to say or communicate but we are
always paying full attention and watching him with rapt attention. Cheering his
every move. Applauding every word that he utters as if it is an Oscar winning
speech. We have noticed that it enjoys all the attention that he can get. He
seems happy when we are around him and try to talk to him then he is all smiles
and really happy. This is the time when he points towards the TV and we know he
wants it switched on. Then Our task is to switch channels and watch his
reaction for approval or disapproval. We keep surfing all the channels and our
little one jumps with joy on the cricket and the cartoon channels. When he
jumps and kicks really hard we understand that we have arrived at the channel
that he would like to watch. This is usually a cartoon channel. However the
rule for TV watching is that he would watch the TV and in between see us .If he
finds that we are watching the TV instead of paying attention to him then he
would make a lot of ruckus. He is trying to communicate that he is the one
supposed to be watching the TV and we are there as his audience and are
supposed to keep watching him. He is an attention magnet and requires all the
attention that he can get. Then one day we noticed that he kept crying despite
having got his daily feed on time. He was uneasy and would cry even more when
we tried to put on a new diaper. Upon close examination we found the skin
around his nappy area to be pink. It had a mild rash. Due to which the baby was
in pain and had discomfort. We realized that this was due to the fact that even
though the diapers that we were using seemed to be dry from the outside but
actually they were quite wet from this inside. Due to the exposure of the skin
to this wetness the baby got a rash. On that day we switched to Pampers Baby Dry
Pants which were recommended to us by a friend.
What we experienced was that these Pampers Baby Dry Pants
are so easy to put on and take off. The material used is such that it can
absorb up to five glasses of liquid from its surface. The magic gel technology
locks the fluid and keeps the baby dry at all times. The diaper keeps the baby
dry for up to 10 hours. This translates to dry nights and dry days for the
little one. The baby lotion used in the Pampers Baby Dry Pants smells so nice
and over rides any bad odor and nourishes baby’s delicate and sensitive skin.
It protects the skin from rashes and skin irritation. This keeps the baby dry
throughout the day and night and free from wetness, skin irritation and rashes keeping
my baby dry and happy.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Moment of hope and optimism changed my life
It takes just a
moment to fill your life with hope and optimism and this moment can change the course of your life. This is what I have learnt in
my life.Since my childhood I was not the studious type. The whole day I spent
playing games with my friends. Neither was I good at studies nor a great sportsman.
Even doing homework seemed like a burden and torture for me. I was a typical
backbencher and most of my school periods were spent standing outside the class
as a punishment. This did not perturb me at all as I was not at all serious
about my studies or carving out a carrier for myself. The teachers had given me
up as a lost case and even my parents considered me to be a black sheep after
being called again and again to the principal’s office. They had become tired
of hearing complaints about me and given up all hopes for my reformation.
It was summer time
and the school was closed for our summer holidays. I heaved a sigh of relief as
there would be no more rushing to school for attending classes. Then my
grandmother came to live with us as she was not keeping good health. She
showered her love on me which was a pleasant change from the scornful looks of
the family members. Getting so much of love was a nice experience so I found
myself staying more and more by her side.She took out a packet from her
suitcase and gave it to me. On opening it I found that it contained a
Stethoscope. When I proudly displayed my gift in front of my family members
they all made fun of me saying that what would a boy like me need a stethoscope
for. At this moment my grandmother stood up for me and said that I am a true
carbon copy of my father and that I have the potential to do and achieve
whatever I set my sight upon. The moment she said this I saw a glint of hope
and optimism in her voice and eyes.I felt a spark of hope and optimism within myself . From now on I would tend to her smallest of needs like getting
her food, water or medicines. Now nearly my whole day was spent by her side she
asked me to bring to her my text books. Then she selected and read out stories from
my course. She made the lessons very
interesting and easy to understand. Slowly as I started to understand the
lessons my confidence grew. Whenever my attention drifted from studies my gaze
fell upon her gift of the stethoscope which I always kept by my side and looking at it made me relive the moment
when my dear grandmother had instilled in me a new optimism and hope that I
can achieve any goal. Filled with this new found optimism and hope I became a transformed
person. When the school reopened I became the front bencher from the back
bencher. The teachers were astonished when I could answer every question asked
by them. The new found confidence had given me a new focus and the words of my
grandmother had helped me set a goal and
a target for myself. As days passed I got better and better at both studies and
sports. Soon I passed out of school with merit and got admission to a medical
college which was my goal. Today I am a successful doctor . Many years have
passed but that stethoscope still remains with me . It is the reminder of that moment when my grandmother had filled my heart and life with optimism and
hope to reach out to my goals.
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