Good things about being in London

1. It's a cosmopolitan, you get to see all kinds of people: Indians, Chinese, Sri Lankans, Punjabis, Pakistanis, and hardly any Britishers. Hehehhee...:-)
2. Normally, friends who travel to U.S, pass by London to change flights, so you get to meet them. :-)
3. Public transport is very good. I love the trains, tubes, buses, cycle-rickshaws, etc.
4. You get to see amazing cars, especially in central London.
5. Fashion and clothing: simply amazing. I normally spend more time observing the way people dress more than talking to my husband when I go out. :-)
6. The eating hang-outs and cafe's remind me of Bangalore. I simply love this feeling.
7. It's nice to walk on the pavements, especially with my baby buggy.
8. Every place has been made suitable for babies, people with prams, and old people, which makes traveling extremely convenient.
9. It's any day better than Delhi! :-)

There are a few bad things. But why crib now. There's much more time for all that!

Back!

Finally, after a long hiatus of almost a year and a half, I am back to blogging! Yippie! Have been wanting to do this in quite some time now.

The first thing I did was to read my previous post. My last year was indeed very eventful, and probably the most memorable year of my life. My baby boy was born on the 30th of September. Life seems more meaningful now. I am enjoying motherhood and it's a beautiful phase of my life. My music found another new dimension for expression. I sing so much more than before now, to my baby. :-)

I shifted base from India to UK now. Another huge transition in life, which seems to be working well for me. More to come.

Lots of love and cheers.

Happy New Year

It's chilling cold in Delhi and to my surprise, I am finding myself getting comfortable with the weather here, as years have passed by. I would crib a LOT about bad weather here, all the time. But not anymore. I was at home, Bangalore last month and this trip was again activity-packed. I enjoyed the trip, except that I could not go out too much with mom. Each time I go home, I get so much love from my people, I feel so overwhelmed and so special. God is really kind to me in a lot of ways and I love life for all it's given to me. It's the beginning of the new year and I have a very positive feel about this year, that things are going to be much better this year. Why and how? I don't know, but I feel that. Looking forward to challenges, opportunities, and changes. Let's see how it goes. Signing-off for now.

I am mesmerized with Vijay Prakash's voice

I heard Latt Ulljhi, Sulljha Ja Baalam in Music World the other day and I asked the shop keeper what album was that song from and who was the singer, and he said that's from Yuvvraaj, and without thinking twice I bought the Music C.D. That was the effect of Vijay Prakash's voice. The song is in Abheri or Bhimpalasi in Hindustani. He's sung the song so beautifully, that it was probably the first time that I bought an A.R.Rahman's album for the voice of the singer and not for A.R.Rahman! Surprising isn't it?

Vijay Prakash's voice is not new to our ears. We have heard him in Sa Re Ga Ma:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=_3T6u5-jhsY&NR=1
Listen to the alapana in Mohana (Bhupali) raaga, how he ends with the Thillana - thaka tha jhanu dheem tha, tha, jhanu dheem tha dheerana...it's amazing.

Listen to Kavithe from Gaalipata:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=NYtAT0z4Jkk

Listen to Sooni Sooni from Cheeni Kam or Pal Pal Hain Bhari from Swades. Although these songs did not have too much of an impact, Vijay Prakash has taken the crown finally with this classical song from Yuvvraaj. I am totally into it at the moment. I am sure lots of people are, already! He is from Karnataka I believe...:-) Anyways, me really proud of this singer.

Enjoy the song at the moment, it's absolutely mesmerizing:
http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H002891.html

Lay-offs

How are we expected to react to lay-offs? The U.S team I used to work with, got laid off yesterday. I mean, it's all 'doomed'...I wonder how they are all taking it. And guess what, we are all thanking our stars that our asses are well on the office chairs! It is a weird situation. The managers are trying to cheer us up, telling us to look at what we have achieved so far, and be happy that the company still thinks that we are employable. Oh yes, there comes the famous talk of employment vs employability. Well all that apart, I still feel a little unethical to remain insensitive and move on. But I guess, that's the way to live in today's world. I am not cribbing about it, but I find it strange. If I fail to move on, then I am left behind. It's a bloody rat race out there. And we are all just moving without looking back. It tires me at times, but I really want to be a part of it, so much so that I want to lead the race. When will that time come? I am now reading 'Ignited Minds' by Abdul Kalam, it's such an inspiring book; especially now because my morale is a little down because of professional and personal sinusoidal waves..well ups and downs I mean. More to come...bye for now.

Ways to compensate

Is this the only time of the year that I feel happy? I wonder...

When I look forward to going back home, I try to find reasons why I feel so happy and there are many. I feel closer to myself. I feel extremely happy about being just me. But why so...what is wrong with the way I am today, I wonder again. At the moment, I am only a part of me, but the complete me is when I am at home.

For me, the biggest change in life was when I left my home, my parents and family. Although most people say that women get used to the fact that they are now somebody's wife, or daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law, ....I still feel that it the biggest void that one cannot fill in life. Whenever I see my husband being so happy with his siblings, his parents, I feel happy for him. I feel happy to be a part of his family. But I so badly miss my family. After so many years of marriage, I still have this one complaint about marriage. There's nothing to fill the void of missing your family, there's no love to compensate the love you get from your parents.

Probably, that's the reason God gave woman the power to give birth - to compensate what he takes away. May be that's the only way God decided to compensate love in a woman's life by giving her the power to deliver a life, to be a mother. When I will be one?

Preethiya Bengaluru

The more I go to my hometown, Bangalore, the more I fall in love with the city. For very obvious reasons, that I was born and brought up there? No, not just that. I have been to several places in India and abroad. Compared to most of the cities that I have been to, Bangalore is the best city so far. For the people, who you love at times, and you hate at times; for the traffic that could almost choke you every now and then; for the bad and bumpy roads; for all of these and more - there's something so good about the city. The places, the hotels, the hangouts, the crowd - everything has a class of it's own. I can't wait to see the city having a cool metro running all through. However, I hope the greenery remains intact.

Why do so many outsiders live and thrive in Bangalore? It is because the people are accommodating and soft-spoken. In every small way, I have observed that people try to help each other. Ofcourse, there will be a section which is really bad, but in general the crowd is nice. The food joints, pubs, cafes are simply great. It feels great to see the kannada movie industry doing very well. I simply love some of the kannada songs from the recent music composers like Mano Murthy. The FM radio channels are very good. Most of the youngsters are very smart and know a lot about technology. Bangalore is hip-n-happening, in every way.

Bangalore can definitely boast of very good schooling and education compared to most of the towns in India. You need not even think of going elsewhere until you complete your education in this city. You have all possible opportunities to pursue. Bangalore has some great shopping places, although crowded most of the time, the choice and variety is good. Ofcourse, inflation is an issue in this city. Blame it on IT or politicians, Bangalore is expensive. The minimum auto charge is Rs.14 now! And we can see some great looking double-decker buses in the city now. I simply love the city. While people maintain traditional values, the culture and heritage seems to be intact too. The city has lots of budding young talented singers, musicians, artistes, actors. The music concerts, the dance concerts, plays, drama, fine arts, movies, keep the city going. Alliance'de Francaise and Max Mueller Bhavan have paved way for several international alliances and join to be part of city's pride. Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha take the crown, standing in the middle of the city. Chinnaswamy Stadium and KSCA are the cricket hubs in the town. I can't express how much I love walking on M.G Road, Brigade Road and in Cubbon Park.

I feel proud of the city and it's people. The only city that has splendid weather all the time which brings a smile on your face as you welcome each day. The only place where I look forward to be all my life, close to my people, my friends and my home. I love Bangalore. :-)

May I Have Your Attention Please?

What exactly do you see in this picture? A group of kids? They all look like students from a class room? Precisely, a government school?

Wrong!

See carefully…

1. There are only GIRLS in this group


2. The girls are of different age groups


3. They are not the students of a classroom or a school, but they belong to Sharanya, a children’s orphanage.


4. The only similarity you can see among all of them is that they are all smiling and ask why? Because I had just given them lots of chocolates, before I clicked the snap, and the little girl in pink frock, right in the front, was the happiest of them all. It was beautiful to see the children smile and talk and even sing!

I am NOT writing this article for you to read and comment, but I want you to help. Sharanya is a children’s home – that houses orphans, or ‘special children of God’ like what I call them. These children don’t need anybody’s sympathy but they need your attention, time and financial support - to evolve into educated and civilized individuals tomorrow, probably with even better thoughts and opinions than what most of us have today.

The orphanage is in Bangalore, R.T Nagar. Anybody willing to spend some time can go and visit this place. Please think about it and see to what extent you can contribute. I can always help you with ideas, since I have been associated with the group in some time now. But it will be great if you can go and see the place on your own. Please write to me and let me know your thoughts.

Also, I would like to bring to your attention that why only girl children dominate these orphanages? Why is it that only female infanticide is rising so high in our country today? Read this:

The states of Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand have the worst sex ratios in the country. According to the 2001 census, there are only 874 women with respect to 1000 men in these states. The national average was 933.

Isn’t this a serious concern? Especially among the illiterates and the poor? These people worship Goddesses. But when it comes to giving birth to a girl child, parents step back. Why?

• Because of illiteracy and poverty?
• Because parents don’t have enough money to get her married when she grows up?
• Because parents don’t have enough money for her dowry?
• Because, today, even if parents spend on her, she will not be able to return anything when she grows up or even be there to take care of her parents, since she will be married off?

It could be any or all of the above.

In this post, I am going to share my thoughts on Dowry. To a great extent, I blame our traditions and our society. Most parents believe in proving their potential to the society by flaunting wealth when giving away their daughters during the marriage ceremony. The richer they are, the more they flaunt. Also, the biggest mistake they commit is giving dowry, may it be in the form of gifts / jewels / whatever. This culture has evolved so much and getting a girl married becomes the greatest challenge in a man’s life. So much so that today, in the North India, among Brahmins, if a girl is unmarried till 30 years for whatsoever be the reason, a fixed dowry of 25 lakhs – minimum is what the parents need to be prepared for. This is true, and I am telling you out of what I have seen very closely. Some families feel very disappointed when their sons fall in love and marry a girl, because their rights to demand more from the girls’ parents goes down, although it does not get evaded completely.

I spoke to some women. They feel that it is the only way they can instantly make place in the boy’s family and it is important that they bring wealth from the father’s house. May be in olden days, women were not working and earning for themselves. But today, times have changed. Although not all women are capable of coming out and facing the world alone, women are smart enough to manage to voice their opinions and there are plenty of ways through which they can build upon their skills and make money. It is really a matter of shame that till today we see such serious issues prevailing in our society. We do have our legal system in place. But the only thing is people are not aware of this and they fear to come out and voice their opinion.

Today we need more people to come out and stand up for what is right. We need more women who believe they can make a difference. Thanking God everyday for what we are and who we are is not enough. We need to think that since we are in a better position today, so why not work towards helping for a cause? We need to work against female infanticide and dowry. We need to think of pulling the left behind. When I got married, although my parents were not too happy, I very clearly told them not to encourage any such demands and they kept my word.

So people, please give it a thought and come forward to help. It matters. You will feel the difference within you. When you help others, you will feel that your existence is not just mere existence, but it meant something to someone, somewhere.

Pls: If you want to contribute for Sharanya, write to me or get in touch with them directly.