Welcome October :)

October is just around the corner. There are lots of things that I have to look forward to this month. Every year, it brings  in lots of surprises and hope this time it turns out to be the same :)

Had a great time reading "I have a dream" by Rashmi Bansal. The first thing that would attract you most  is its blue book cover and the fluffy white cloud, on which rests the book title. The aesthetics is in perfect sync with the title and concept that is “Dreams”. Quite naturally, the book is about one common dream that 20 social entrepreneurs have of transforming the world with their capabilities to something phenomenal. The stories are impressive because of the amazing grit and resolve that each one has shown to bring a change in the society. It's plain inspiring and makes you think, " What am I doing for the country? "

I am glad that someone out there is not as selfish as we are and is relentlessly working to bring a change in the society. There are IIT grads, IIM passouts and many many others who could have easily had a better life but chose to go down this path of social entrepreneurship.

The book also tells us that social entrepreneurship does not always mean no profits. You can always earn profits and yet be a driver of change in society. Some stories are so exceptionally impressive that you would feel the urge to quit job and do something similar. Why we don't do it, is a different topic altogether.

The bad part is it seems to have a more journalistic way of writing. Each story is more of an interview conducted by her. While there is nothing wrong in that approach, I feel it should be accompanied by immaculate writing that keeps the reader interested. This is where Rashmi fails. The writing does become dull at times, you'll have to push yourself to finish the book at times.

But it is not easy travelling around India, collecting the information, interviewing them and then penning it down to a book. And also making it a best seller. So, kudos for that. 

My rating for this book would be 3.5/5

Hmm..Can't wait for the awesome things going to happen in October. Hope it turns over a new leaf in my life.

Lord Ganesha - The Remover of obstacles

For all of us, our tryst with obstacles started even before we breathed first in this world, i.e., among those 300 million sperms travelling to the fallopian tube, one succeeded in meeting the egg and here we are reading this post. So life without obstacle is sweet without sugar. The first job of each one of us in morning is to thank God for keeping you alive to see the light of the day. When we face any problems, we tend to limit ourselves thoughtfully and tend to move into the world of depression. It is said that mind is like a parachute; works only when it is open. Life would be monotony without problems. It is those obstacles which we face, are the opportunities that make a person expand his wisdom by tactically handling those insurmountable problems.

For those believers in God, Lord Ganesha is always seen as the one who removes the obstacles in the path of success. Every new endeavour, even if it is a routine start of the day, Lord Ganesha occupies the first place in their prayers. The traditional annual worship of God  is known as Vinayagar Chaturthi. It is the day on which we offer special adoration to the Remover of Obstacles. The main sweet dish during the festival is the modak.
 Along with it, wooden apple(Lord Ganesha's favourite), and some flowers are offered.

May he remove all obstacles in pursuit of the spiritual path.

If God was a Banker

This weekend was quite boring for me  and had very few choices left to explore. Hence I decided to read the novel “IF GOD WAS  A BANKER”  written by Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus from IIM Bangalore.  The story is of two bankers of New York International Bank (NYIB) who started their career together post their MBA from IIMs. But as they come from different family backgrounds, they have different levels of ethics and benevolence.

The story revolves around five characters viz Sundeep, an arrogant and overconfident graduate from IIM Ahmadabad; Swami, a modest and honest chap from IIM Bangalore; Kalpana a campus recruit for NYIB who goes on to marry Swami; Aditya, the first boss of Swami, Sundeep and Kalpana; Natasha, secretary of Aditya whom Sundeep gets married to.

The two of them Swami and Kalpana are hardworking and honest but the other guy Sundeep is a firm believer of shortcuts in success. All three of them achieve incredible success in their careers but as it always happens, especially in typical Indian imagination, the person who had taken wrong way to achieve success lands in a predicament.

The story subtly brings out some of the corporate issues of the like Glass Ceiling, sexual encounters at work place etc. The story is slightly engrossing in nature at the beginning where in it reminded the famous book “Five Point Someone” by Chetan Bhagat  and in some patches becomes slightly boring. The story sometimes seems to be inspired by Bollywood movies where an arrogant boss takes advantage of his women sub-ordinates belonging to middle class background.
Well, my rating for this novel would be 2/5

Shed those Kilos...

What makes you choose a particular dress to wear for the big party?

Your mood, party theme and crowd..?? Or the bulges you need to cover up ??

Look around, chances are that one in five people will be overweight and one in 10 obese.

Women are increasingly falling prey to the obesity bug largely due to a sedentary lifestyle and good appetite. Also the new age woman who juggles a hectic work schedule and personal life sees her body undergo metabolic changes. More often than not, such women either skip meals or binge on unhealthy food; all leading to obesity. Apart from your shape, all those extra pounds can lead to many health problems. 

So, is there anyway out...??
Here are some simple ways to lose weight in a healthy manner....

• Keep a check on your metabolism. The Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy used by a person while inactive. Agents in chillies and pepper help increase BMR. So next time, choose a spicy dish over a sweet one.
• Increase fibre intake. It will keep you feeling full for longer. Foods rich in fibre include whole grains, beans and green leafy vegetables.
• Ban the lift. You must have heard of " lift the ban" but it's time to ban the lift. Use stairs whenever possible and sweat away those calories.
• Gym responsibly. Excessive gymming  leads to muscle and water loss.

Don't expect miracles overnight. Try these faithfully along with healthy eating and I am sure you'll see a marked change in yourself.

By now, you must have heard this news...people who eat chocolates remain slim than those who don't.

So, instead of binging on pizzas and burgers, you can have those chocolates :)

Don't restrict kids...

Phew....The last week had been damn crazy with fever and runny nose. And now with full of energy, I start to write this week's blog post.

                                   Don't climb on that, you will fall....

                                  Don't go into dark room, the ghost would catch you....

These are some classic examples of a parent restricting her child from trying a simple and natural movement like climbing. I hear these a lot from my aunt and now my 2 year old cousin fears even to go to nearby room. It seems that the modern parent is also terrorised by the most functional movement. I've actually lost count of the number of times I've heard my neighbour tell his 3 year old son that he will fall and break his bones if he runs.

Such reminders only inhibit children from trying different movements. There is no point in complaining later that children are inactive. Fear of injury is one side of the coin. The other side sees some parents push them into serious sports at a very early age to live out their dreams through their children. There has to be a holistic approach when it comes to encouraging kid in sports. As a parent, one should not restrict a child; but provide them a safe environment to explore.

Kids tend to copy their parents. If you get back home only to sit and watch TV, the chances of your child being active are bleak. So start introducing children to playground and some fun exercises.

As I am suffering from cold and fever..:(

                                       As I am suffering from cold and fever.....

 No matter what is or isn’t standardized  in India, there is one thing that is completely standardized, on which people are educated perfectly from their 4th grade in school, which is passed on till the date that they retire from employment. That is, writing a letter requesting a grant for a leave of absense...:)

Looks very simple....a very simple and easy reason to say, but  suffering with runny nose and fever and enduring with it is really a herculean task. And I am too suffering now..:(

People do not tend to develop themselves with the skill of making their leave application look any better, and they just want to continue with this culture till the end of the world it seems.

And now "As I am suffering from fever, I am not able to write this post further..:D"

Journey of a Girl - Part 2 :)

Wow....Journey of a Girl beautifully portrayed in this recent advertisement.  Really an alluring video...!!



P.S. I am not an endorser :P

Courtesy : Jos Alukkas

Journey of a Girl

The baby girl, the apple of everyone at home. She is like the butterfly with most vibrant colors of the universe.  We all read, feel and understand her identity, yet, we treat her as per our convenience and whims and fancies.

The little angel who is a girl is beautiful, soft, loving and charming....the creator of a family. It is such a pleasure watching her, listening to her sweet melodious voice,her delicate approach towards life, the rolling tears in her eyes at the slightest scoldings .

What follows is her schooling. She goes to school in the spotless crisp uniform.She is academically conscious about her performance from the first day. She tries her best to be in the good books of all the teachers, score highest marks in all the subjects, never be punished by any teacher. She wants to remain disciplined in front of her fellow boys. She craves to be appreciated in front of other girls.  She has big career goals and high ambitions in life. At home, she is a helping hand for the other family members. She is expected never to misbehave, back answer or be rude. She tries to comply with all the conditions.

Next is the phase of young lady. Life is lovely and so are her dreams. Here comes the awareness of the  Prince waiting to carry her off in his horse to distant lands where she will have only happiness. She dreams of sinking into his arms & living happily ever after.
There is eventually a tug of war between her parents and her to find the “Mr. Right”. All this goes on while she is advised to improve her grooming sense, dressing sense,culiniary expertise and responsibility handling. She is made aware of the fact that she needs to conduct herself well enough to be able to handle a family independently. She is made health conscious. Every time she develops a soft corner for anyone , she either pulls herself back voluntarily , or is forced to pull herself back for she is not sure of the person who would finally hold the strings of her life. She is at a threshold with all her grace, beauty, emotions to shower on her soulmate. 

 New life, new atmosphere, new experiences, new power and responsibility.

 The last and final Phase is the most interesting and challenging. The phase of rediscovery! Rediscovering the youth in her obviously. Children have gone their way & grandchildren are finding theirs.  A phase when time is available aplenty but physically she can’t cope up with all she wants to do.  After all nature has ordained her with a great amount of emotional strength. She achieves all her dreams or at least tries to. For as they rightly say, AGE IS ALL IN THE MIND.

Coming Out Of Hibernation

Argh..... Only one blog post so far this year, I’ve been totally stacked. I've been exhausted and bogged down with too many works swirling around in my head.

Lots have been changed in my life...:) 

Strange feeling creeps my mind saying that "You are not a kid anymore..:( "

I’ve not found the time to blog – everytime I think about it I feel it needs to be something big and shiny as it’s been such a long time… so today I decided just to post a little something to get back in the swing of things.