Miss You Daddy

Dad,

You left us helpless and lonely in this selfish world without any warning. I had never ever imagined God would take you away from us so mercilessly. I had imagined you bidding me goodbye with teary eyes on my wedding night and later playing with my kids. I had never ever thought you would force me to bid you adieu forever.

How do you expect me to forget that fateful day ever in my life? When you were taken away from me forever for no mistake of yours. When you were taken away from me due to someone else's carelessness? How do I forgive that careless driver who took your life away? How will I ever be able to get over you and move on Daddy?

When I suffer with a headache, you were always ready with a disprin. Now my heart's heavy and it aches Dad. What medicine will you give me that will ease this pain? Will disprin work just like how it worked on my headache?

When you get Chicken home on a weekday, I would ask you why did you get Chicken today, lets eat on Sunday. You would answer, 'Agar main subah nahin utha toh. Aaj khaana ho toh aaj hi khaana chahiye. Kya pata main subah naa rahoon.' I laughed it off whenever you said that Daddy. But today I feel you were so right. You were fit and fine when you left home in the morning and never came back.

I took you for granted when you were alive. How I would fight with you when you would keep all the fans switched on for no reason. How I would scream at you when you fought with Mom for some vague reason. Whom should I scream at now? Who would deal with my tantrums now?

One thing that your demise had taught me Daddy is that life is uncertain and death is inevitable. Thinking what will happen tomorrow ruins our present and worrying about a problem takes away the moment's joy. You never know how and when death would come and take us away forever from our loved ones. Your death has taught me to cherish the current moment, love unconditionally and express it when the time is in your hands, and most importantly value people when they are alive because how much ever you want to value them later, they ain't alive to see it and feel happy about it.

P.S: Wish I could tell you Daddy how much I miss you.

Love,
Namu

Har ek boondh zaroori hota hai!

Now, how precious do you think is Water? Not just the drinking Water but Water in whole. You need Water right from the time you get up in the morning. First you need Water to brush your teeth. Then for potty. Then bath. Then when you go to pee multiple times in a day. To wash your hands before and after every meal. To clean the house. To clean the utensils. And the list is endless...

How would you actually manage when your watchman comes and tells you that there is no bore Water for the entire day? You will feel helpless. You did not store Water in advance. Not a drop in any of the buckets. That's exactly what has happened to every family living in our complex. We were told that there will not be Water for the whole day. And we were like OMG!



This was not for a day. Our building maintenance uncle took good 2 days to analyze why there is a water problem. Either the ground water level has gone down or the motor might need a repair. On the whole, we have been suffereing since 5 days with minimal water supply. The problem is still not fixed and we have started saving bore Water just like how we save drinking Water. We are given water once or twice a day which is just enough for all of us to take bath or go to potty. We try to store as much Water as we can.

This problem has got me ponder over how important Water is to mankind or for that matter to Earth. I wonder how the animals roaming on the roads and birds in specific survive during summers. It's so difficult for humans to survive without water even for a day! And these poor creatures have been victims of our development. For that matter, even Dusty feels restless when it is too hot and sits in the bathroom just to feel a little cold.

I take an oath that I will never waste water in my life! Har ek boondh zaroori hai yaar!

It was never going to be an ordinary day...

It was never going to be an ordinary day. It was her birthday. I had planned everything well in advance. She did not know anything about my plans. Our relationship was a long distance one where we got to meet only once or twice a month since I worked in Bangalore and she worked in Mumbai. We met through common friends around 2 years ago and hit off instantly. Couple of casual meetings, a proposal from me and we started dating. After around 6 months of our courtship, I got a job in Bangalore and I had to relocate.

I wanted to surprise her on her birthday and make it the best birthday of her life. I did not wanted her to know that I would be flying to meet her on her birthday. So, when she called me to confirm if I am coming to meet her, I told her that I am tied up with hell lot of meetings and I can't come to see her. She was obviously pissed with me and hung up the phone on my face. She later called up to let me know she understands that work is important too and said we will celebrate her birthday some other day together.

She lived alone in a decent apartment in Mumbai. Whenever I went to see her, we would spend almost the entire time in her apartment. I loved cooking for her and she loved eating. We were just perfect together. I never knew how time flew when I was with her. She had a face as beautiful as that of an angel. She had a great body as she liked working out. She never had to try hard to turn me on as the very sight of her did the magic.

Her birthday was on Wednesday. I boarded the flight to Mumbai late Tuesday night. I reached Mumbai at around 12:30 AM and took a cab to her apartment. I knew she must have been expecting my call at sharp 12 but I was in flight then. She must have tried my number too but it must given her a message that the number is switched off. She must be even more angry now but I knew it will all be fine when she would see me.

All the moments spent with her were still clear in my memory. I had picked a beautiful white knee length dress for her. 'How angelic she would look in this dress!' I said to myself. Of course there were flowers and chocolates too and a champagne bottle.

I got down from the cab, paid the driver and rushed to her apartment. She lived in the 3rd floor. I had no patience to wait for the lift to come so I took the stairs. I did not wanted to ring the doorbell so I instead took out the spare key of her apartment from my wallet. I unlocked the door and entered her house. I opened the door of her bedroom slowly and stood frozen right where I was! I could not believe what I saw!

There lay my angelic beauty soaked in her own blood...

At that instance, I felt my whole world crashing. I felt numb. I stood right in my place for God knows how much time dumb-struck. My heart thumped so hard that I felt it might just fall out. Tears rolled down my face as I saw her lying motionless on her bed. It took me a while to call out her name.

'Payal!' I screamed!

I rushed to her and took her in my arms. Her eyes were closed. My senses stopped working. I closed my eyes and cried out loud. I felt someone wiping my tears. My heart skipped a beat.

I opened my eyes and saw her smiling at me. I thought I was dreaming. She reached for my lips, kissed me and whispered, I Love You baby...

It was a prank. She played a prank on me. She was very much alive and fine too. It took me a while to regain my senses. She laughed but I did not even smile. I was still in shock.

She tried reaching my phone but it was switched off. She was quite angry that I did not even bother to wish her at 12. She came near the window to close it when she saw me getting down from the cab. She was so happy that I came all the way from Bangalore to be with her. She wanted to surprise me instead and thought about this prank. She had some red dye with her which she immediately sprinkled on the bed and on her and lay pretending to be dead.

I slapped her hard and then hugged her tight. It was never really going to be an ordinary day. The rest of the day was as beautiful and extra-ordinary as it can be.

This post is part of the contest It was never going to be an ordinary day.. on WriteUpCafe.com

Can I ever repay your unconditional love?

You brought me in this beautiful World
Going through a pain which I certainly would not bear
You understood I am hungry when no one else did
You smiled your angelic smile when I stood up on my own

You taught me morals, you taught me what's right
You hugged me tight when I shivered with cold at night
You showed me the path when I din't know where to go
You slapped me hard when I came home with a bruised elbow

You believed in me when no one else did
You knew when I lied but still smiled
And said you trusted me
You got up before me during my exams to make me a cup of tea
You tolerated silently when I vented my frustration on you
You let me go out on my birthday even though you wanted me at home

You loved me and without conditions
How could I ever repay for all that you had done for me?
All I can do is take care of you and Love You with all that I have

Happy Mother's Day Mom!
I Love You!

Dearest Mom Dearest Daughter :)

I am Me

I like my clothes at their shabbiest best
I like my hair left loose to the air
I like my life in a certain way
I can deal with you being the way you like and expect the same for me
I am ME

I am moody
I do not pay attention to half of the things you say
I take you for granted sometimes
I forget to keep in touch sometimes
But still I am ME

I am warm, loving and caring
I can breakdown for the simplest things and be strong in the toughest times
I cry when I see tears in your eyes
I say sorry for the silliest reasons
I am Me

I may look grown up but I am a child at heart.
I may be silent sometimes that's because my thoughts are somewhere else
My heart is a deep ocean of secrets where you will drown
I am Me

I am not the best girl you'll ever meet
I lose it when you compare me to the perfect girl
I am not perfect in most of the things I do
I am perfect in my own special way
I am Me

I love
I laugh
I cry
I frown
I see
I feel
I live
I am Me

A Letter to the Telecom Operators

Dear Telecom Operators,

We know that you guys are letting us stay connected with all our friends through your awesome network and great connectivity and trust me it's not a favor. We are charged a good amount to money for this each month which we pay without much ado. Other than letting us talk to our friends, you offer us a number of Value Added Services (VAS) like Hello Tunes (Or Dialer Tones or whatever), which are also not for Free. You charge a good Rs. 30 as a monthly Rental and Rs. 15 for every song we change even though I am sure it doesn't cost you so much. So when I give a call to my friend, I am curious to know what song has he on as his Hello Tune but this is what I listen to:

Press star and 9 to copy this song. Charges Rs. 15 for song selection and Rs. 30 per month for Hello Tune.. Hello...

So, even before this irritating message is completed and I get to hear the song, my friend answers the call. Can you please tell me why is he paying you Rs. 30 per month? Is it so that we hear your never ending advertisements? Trust me, the boring trin trin is better than that lady's voice! She's so annoying!

I tell my friend I want to hear the song begging him not to answer the call. I am forced to hear the annoying message again and then the lovely song. Well, thank you for that. I appreciate that you remember playing the song after your so-important advertisement.

Ah! I can't blame you completely, can I? You do give me a free hand. Incase I do not want my callers to hear any promo, I have to make a call to you and plead for the same. Now, what do you think dude? Would there be anyone who would, in the first place, want that promo to be played? Then why play it and then remove it on request?

Recently, I've noticed something else. I have a number of my friends who are Vodafone Network users. This is what I hear when I call them:

Switch to Vodafone now and enjoy all local calls at 1 paise for 2 seconds.  Trin Trin.....

How should I tell you that I am not interested in switching to Vodafone? Is there a specific key I could press to tell you I am not, so that I don't have to hear that message again? How should I convey the message that I am happy with my current network even though it does suck sometimes? Though I am being charged some extra bucks, I still do not want to switch? May be I should send you a recorded voice because that's the language you probably understand.

We already see a lot of your advertisements on TV and we love them too. Isn't that enough? Please stop this nonsense or else I... what can I do? Other than just blogging? Ah! Never mind.

P.S: I was so annoyed with these stupid ads that I had to write this post. Besides, there was no other topic I could think of.

P.P.S: I am sorry that I am unable to read/comment on your posts. I am somehow keeping busy these days but I miss reading your posts. I will do stop by your blog this week and will leave comments too :) 

Time to Change - Let's Control Traffic!

If there's one thing which irks all of us around then that certainly is traffic! But what do we do to get that down?

Nothing!

We are the ones who complaint about the the roads being so busy. We crib about the ever-increasing traffic but do we ever leave our vehicles at home?

Never!

There could be a shop which is just half a kilometer away but we still go on our vehicle instead of walking. It takes ages for us to reach a certain place which would otherwise take half the time thanks to constant jams. The peak times are morning between 9:00 to 10:00 and evenings from 6:30 to 8:00. Sometimes, we are halted at a place for long that we could actually take a short nap!

So, what could we actually do?

If I could change something around me, then that would be how the traffic is generally handled. My hero had actually mentioned this to me once and I really liked the idea. The idea is as follows:

• There should be a rule by the Government according to which all citizens should opt for a public transport at-least twice in a week so that less vehicles are seen on roads. This would help us in minimizing the jams to a certain level.

• There shouldn't be more than 2 vehicles in a house which has around 5 people. Now, why would you need separate bike/car for every person living in the same house?
• A random day can be declared as No Red Car day (or some other color for that matter). So, every citizen owning a red car should leave his car at home (exceptions for any emergencies). 
• Office hours should have a gap of atleast an hour. Like some companies should start functioning at 8 AM, some at 9 AM and so. This would lead to people leaving at different times, so minimum traffic. ;)

A little change in our everyday life will leave a great impact on our environment. Also, walking for short distances like when you go Grocery shopping could actually give you a good health too. ;)


On a lighter note, sales people should be called by companies only when they would buy the product/service. All negotiations should be done over the phone so that the roads are not that busy during the day. You know there's no point in going to a client who would eventually not buy anything :P So, the customers around should call the sales reps only when they are actually buying and not for the heck of it. ;)

It's time to think!

It's time to change!

Written for Indiblogger contest , Time to Change, an initiative by Stayfree who believe, a little chance can make a big difference!

P.S: I've a soft corner for Sales people since I am a Sales Professional too! ;)

A day worth remembering....

It's that day of the year again when men desperately try wooing their women and women wait for surprises from their partners. So howz it for me?

The last year's Valentine's Day was my first Valentine with my hero. He was out of town (Kerala) on urgent work and was expected to return only on February 16. I was feeling quite low and was certainly not happy as I expected a big surprise from him knowing his romantic side. But when I discussed with him my idea of Valentine's Day, I learnt how he dislikes the idea of celebrating love for just one day! I obviously was upset with his version as somehow I always loved Valentine's Day (okay, I know this is girlish and absurd but I can't help it ;)).

When I came to work on February 14, I received a cute customized e-card from him on my email with all our pictures beautifully arranged. Though I loved the card, I thought this is the least I could expect from an anti-Valentine's Day person. The previous day he told me that he's going to some hilly area in some part of Kerala on February 14th to trek and he's phone would be out of reach (how much I hated this).  So, I gave up the idea of receiving any romantic surprises from him and decided to be by myself on V-Day.

My colleagues cum friends were all excitedly telling me about their plans for the evening and I was wondering what I could possibly do. I saw his name flash on my mobile at around 11:30. I picked up the phone expecting nothing at all, speaking general things.

My Hero: What are you upto?
Me: Nothing. Just at work.
My Hero: Not going anywhere? I know I am not there but you could always go out with Deepa or anyone else right?
Me: Yeah rite! Ah. Yeah but I guess I will go home. Everyone have got plans of their own (trying to sound as upset as I can).
My Hero: Oh. By the way, what would you do if I come in front of you right now?
Me: Err. What?
My Hero: Look back. (I was in speaking to him from my office's entrance).
Me: What? Oh my God!!!! You here!!!!!

I jumped with joy when I saw him in front of me smiling! I rushed to him and gave him a tight hug (as tight as I could ;)).

Me: Weren't you in Kerala? How did you come? And so suddenly? You din't tell me!
My Hero: How would that be a surprise then? I came via plane to take my sweet heart out on the day which means a lot to her. I finished my work way in advance to be with you today. It doesn't matter if I like this day or not. You love it so do I. :)

I was moved by this gesture of his. I'd never thought he would come just because I like the idea of celebrating Valentine's Day.

What did I do next? Ofcourse I took an off immediately and went out with my love. We had pizza at Pizza Hut (I love pizzas), caught some English movie and then headed to our then favourite Cafe Coffee Day. :)

No matter how special he makes my each Valentine, the one day I would cherish and remember forever would be the last year's one. :)

P.S: Happy Valentine's Day people! ;)

Changes post Dusty's home coming :)

Dusty came home on August 22, 2011 and she was barely a month old. She's about 5 months old now (her birthday is July 20) and let me tell you she's full of life! Watching her grow is one the best things right now in my life. She's tenacious, hyper-active and truly a bitch! ;)

The other day I was trying to list the benefits of having her at home. So, that's when I thought about writing this post!

Here's a list of things which we hardly need at home now thanks to Dusty!

Body Lotion: With winters here, a body lotion is a basic need to keep dry skin at bay. Not for us! The moment we step out of the bathroom after a shower, Dusty comes running and licks our feet and hands! Our Ration Guy is curious to know why we ain't including a body lotion in the grocery list. He doesn't know that we have a better body lotion with us! ;)

Mop Stick/Broom: We don't broom or mop the house from the time Dusty came home as it's barely needed. Anything that falls on the floor can be found in Dusty's mouth. Right from spilled tea to even money (she ate a 20 rupee note too!), she doesn't leave anything!

Alarm: I feel Dusty licking my face at sharp 6:00 AM in the morning. I try covering myself with my blanket but she bites my face through it! If I try to move away, she gets on the bed and jumps on me! I no longer put an alarm as Dusty works better than that!

Stuffed Toys: I've got quite a decent collection of Stuffed toys and I love cuddling with them. But now with Dusty around, my stuffed toys lay at a corner and I hardly look at them (except the one My Hero gifted me on my birthday). Dusty's softer than a cotton ball and cuddling with her feels so good! :)

There are few things which no longer belong to us!

Sleep: There's no room for sleep anymore in our lives as Dusty wakes up as early as 3:30 and starts barking till we take her for a walk!

Bed:  She's quite grown up now and gets on the bed without much ado. She occupies half of the bed like a queen. :) At around 5:00 A.M. daily in the morning, she jumps on my bed and pushes me away and sleeps there as if the bed belongs to her! My bed is no longer mine! :(

Dusty on my bed!

And the last one:

Tensions: When Dusty gazes at me innocently, tensions take a back seat. Once I got Pizza home, everyone at home had a slice of it (except Dusty). My Dad was busy playing some game on the laptop so he kept his slice on the table and thought he will eat it in a while. The next minute the pizza was gone! When we looked around, we found Dusty enjoying the Pizza under the bed! We bursted out laughing and she din't care! Such mischievous acts of hers makes me forget everything else and gets a smile on my face. :)

Eating a stolen banana :)

Collage :)

Born a Woman - Curse or Boon?

Incident 1: She used to take the same route daily as that was the only road that led to her home. He, along with his gang, would be at the same place as always, waiting for her to pass. His stare caused her so much discomfort which only a woman could understand. The nasty comments lowered her confidence but she din't know whom she should discuss this with. She was too scared to show them what she feels as an unknown fear haunted her...

Incident 2: He used to come regularly to her home as he was quite close to her family. She called him uncle & jumped on his lap whenever he came. He always used to get her Chocolates, toys etc which she obviously loved. She never knew the real intentions behind his friendly gesture as she was an innocent child. Her parents never noticed too as they thought he's just being friendly. He would touch her at wrong places, kiss her unnecessarily. As she grew up she became aware of her own body & the discomfort in a man touching her. She began keeping a fair distance from him. She never discussed these things with her parents as she din't know how she would be received.

Every woman in this world must have been through similar incidents atleast once in her lifetime. The feeling of helplessness, fear, anger & unsure-ness of how she will be received if she discuses this with a loved one stops a woman from seeking help.  In this male-dominant society (yes it is still male-dominant), a woman is held responsible if she is eve-teased. Some maniac politician (can't recollect his name) claimed that a woman who is covered has less risk of being attacked than a woman whose skimpily dressed. I had like to disagree with his statement as if that was the case, any women whose "decently" dressed wouldn't be ever eve-teased or raped.

It is hardly possible for a man to understand how a woman feels when she is eve-teased or sexually abused. Be it school, work place, tuition or even her own home, she is always at the risk of being sexually abused. And it's not always strangers but she's also attacked by men/boys whom she trusts.

She is the one whose bordered with rules & regulations all throughout her life. She's the one looked down when a man molests her. Why her? Ain't regulations supposed to be for men as well? A lot of times a woman is asked to keep mum if she's raped. The family feels that if things are revealed to the society, she can never be married. Will these things ever change?

With our law being so weak, these bastards get away quite easily. Education plays a vital role in making sure our girls are safe. A girl should be taught to report any suspicious acts in and around her for her own security. She should report to her parents if any stranger or friends/family member touches her at inappropriate places. Child abuse should never be hidden as in future things can become fatal.  She should intimate her parents about nasty comments passed at her by a road side romeo. She should also be taught to raise her voice against such men so to let them them she isn't a sissy and she can stand up for herself when the need arises.

Martial Arts, Self defense training should be a compulsory subject in out not so great education system. Instead of feeling helpless when a man attacks, a woman should be able to fight back to protect her self esteem. There's no point in being a damsel-in-distress as no super hero would come to the rescue when the need arises.

Fight Back!