From the dark to the dawn

My grandparents used to travel only for absolute necessities. At that time, travelling was costly and time consuming endeavor. I can reach to Delhi within few hours from any place in India. But earlier, it would take days to travel from southern parts of the country (India) to travel to Delhi. The technology and improved transportation options has made travelling accessible and easier.  In earlier times, despite less technology and less travel options and more challenges, people loved to travel. To explore new places. To know more about the existence. To know more about themselves. If our ancestors had no curiosity for travel, we would have not known world as we know it today.  When I think of need to travel, all I can feel is the need of experiencing new vibes, new ways of living the life. It is always uncomfortable to leave my home to take a vacation in far away places. But this sense of discomfort translates into whole new experience and increases confidence in me. Goa Some...

In our small lives, we encounter many friendships. On most of them, we put alot of time, energy and money. It is almost hilarious barely a handful of so many actually survive the test of time. As I am writing this, I am recalling almost a hundred of people I called friend. I had put so much effort and energy into maintaining those relationships. As you are reading this, you would also be recalling a lot of names in your head with whom you had taken vows of friendship. How many of them last? Think of the good times with them. Think of the times you cried because of them and think of the indifference you feel about them right now. This is how the circle of life works. You might have made a lot of new friends after school, after college, after changing your workplace. You will make many more new friends. I need you to focus on the time you put into the relationships you don't even care after a while. They say time is the real currency. Use wisely. Most of the time, if you contemplate ...

According to Hindu scriptures, there are three qualities (Guns) : Sattva , Rajas and Tamas.  Source : Google  Everything that has been created, including us, is made up of five elements  : Earth, water, fire, air & space. These elements have three qualities (Guns) : Sattva, Rajas & Tamas. All the creation is governed by these three Guns.  Source : Google These Guns are unique and display certain personality traits in us. We all possess these qualities (Guns). During a certain phase of life, one gun dominates & other two go in the background.  It is natural  to experience these three qualities from time to time.  Sometimes you feel peace, joy, no fear and pure energy around you. Your Sattva quality (Gun) is dominating. Sometimes you are moody, restless, insatiable and full of ambitions, your Rajas quality (Gun) is in charge. When you feel lazy, depressed, angry, relaxed and destructive, your Tamas quality (Gun) is driving you.  All Guns...

It is a hot summer Saturday afternoon in June and half-day at the office. Most of the staff has already left. Shalini is unhurriedly making a list of her unfinished tasks. A while later, she looks at the clock ticking at 14.10 hours and starts working again. She belongs to Jhalawar District and moved to Jaipur last May for the job she cracked from her MBA college. In Jaipur, she lives in a 3-BHK rented apartment with her two flatmates, Shikha and Rhythm. Both are working and amicable. On weekends, they party and go to pubs that Shalini is not very fond of. Shalini got engaged to Mohit recently. Mohit is working for an MNC in Bangalore and getting married in December with him. Her parents found him through a matrimonial ad. Mohit is soft-spoken, ambitious, and intelligent. He is perfectly tall and dark. Three months prior, she knew nothing about him. After talking daily for half an hour to him she knows he talks less, listens more and values time. No doubt he is so successful. He never ...

It was a regular monsoon day. It was raining heavily since night. It was 7.30 am in the morning and I was in the kitchen. I had just finished packing my six year old son's school lunch. I went to check on him. His father was getting him ready for school as usual and he asked me to bring his milk.  It was almost his bus time and I rushed to kitchen to bring his milk. We have electricity pole just outside our kitchen window which looks somewhat like this:  Source :  Electricity pole photo The window of the kitchen was open as usual. The moment I entered the kitchen there was a momentary explosion (short circuit that was, I think) on the electricity pole that looked somewhat like this: Source : Electricity pole explosion I yelped on this quick shocker. Though nothing happened (thankfully), my husband and son came running to the kitchen. My husband asked me  is everything alright? I told him, pointing to the pole, nothing happened, just something blew up there. He said i...

There was a girl,  who used to sleep deep, Now, the slightest movement in her room wakes her up. There was a girl, who did not care for her messy room, Now, carefully folds every piece of cloth. There was a girl, who spoke till her heart emptied, Now, focuses more on listening. There was a girl, who used to fill her up with chocolates for every skipped meal, Now, chooses healthy food for every meal. There was a girl,  who did not give a damn to speed limits and speed brakes, Now, drives her car slowly and avoiding any crates carefully. There was a girl, who dreamt randomly without caring to complete them, Now, adds meaning to her ambitions. There was a girl, who lived with on her own terms with no rules, Now, abides by every rule she sets for herself. She was a girl then, Now, she is a mother. She knows her actions have more effect than her words,  She learns to be responsible and mature everyday.

When I got married, many things changed and changed instantaneously. One of them was filling out forms. In India, most of the forms ask for information like: Src:  https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/37233/why-does-the-visa-for-india-for-ask-for-the-name-of-my-father-husband Before marriage, it was simple! I would write my father's name in Father/Husband name column and be over with it. After marriage, this field of the form became annoying to me. In starting days of marriage, whenever I filled a form, I used to put a slash in between and wrote both names. Almost every form-checker would exasperate and ask me to fill the form again, enraging me. They also advised me to write my husband's name only. I understood that they were doing their job. It irritated me to fill the form with my husband's name only. Both my father and husband's names are important and irreplaceable to me. I still do not understand why I need to leave my father's name behind if I am marrie...