Life is beautiful. You must've heard
this sentence a million times! But think about it, isn't it really beautiful? It
is beautiful in its unpredictability. The biggest & most interesting film
you’d ever watch is your own life with the added masala of
happiness, sadness and surprises that come in a package like a typical
Bollywood movie. All the emotions & suspense is what makes life vibrant
& worth-enjoying rather than just living.
In our life, as I said many
surprises amaze or startle us. Some come knocking at our doors while some come
unannounced and uninvited. Some make us little happy and some make us little
sad. Some give us a feeling of being on Cloud 9 whereas others shatter our
world and dreams into pieces. We celebrate as lavishly and loudly as possible,
when a huge happiness comes in our way. We grieve our hearts and souls out when
our world comes crashing down. The
little joys and little disappointments are very much vital, but are often
sidetracked.
So, I’ve decided to treat them important
because they are responsible for lighting up our heart; even though it might be
for a minute, an hour or a day. Thanks to those small disappointments &
failures, for teaching us a small lesson & helping us to bounce back
stronger. So whenever a small joy, compliment, sadness or even a failure come
looking for me, I’ll be ready to embrace them with a smile and a plate of my
much deserved McCain Snacks. From
henceforth, the delicious hot plate of McCain snacks will be with me to witness
my happiness, sadness & failures. It will also see me busy getting
stronger, with the each experience that comes crawling, walking or running
towards me.
A food for thought (Or you can say a
McCain Snack for thought) - What’s life without the blend of all unpredictability
and emotions? We Indians can’t eat anything that tastes bland, so why ignore
the spiciness life has to offer us? Every aspect of life should be accepted wholeheartedly, be it with a grand celebration or a
plate of your favourite & much deserved McCain Snacks.
In addition to the five necessities of life- food, clothing,
shelter, health & education, I feel ‘speed’ should be added to the list as
the sixth necessity. Speed is gaining an important part in our busy lives. It
has become part & parcel of our life, there’s no denying in that. This
ever-changing world demands speed in every aspect of life. Speed shows your
performance and efficiency in performing a task. I feel that speed is a key
competitive advantage irrespective of if anyone’s in some sort of race or not.
It is to be understood that working faster, delivering products & services
at better speed, are vital in this world for winning & keeping customers
satisfied in turn to boost your revenues. We just can’t afford to be slow. As they
say ‘Go Fast or Go Broke’.
I doubt anyone would disagree to this statement- Internet
has changed our lives enormously. Our world has begun to revolve around a new
sun called Internet. Internet has so much to offer- Making social contacts,
gaining knowledge, connecting with your loved ones, online shopping and
selling, banking, advertising, blogging & the list goes on. Internet is
bliss but slow internet really gets on everybody’s nerves. Thus fast internet
is mandatory for carrying out activities mentioned.
As I mentioned speed plays a very important role in our
lives, a good internet speed is something we all expect. But a best i.e. 4G
internet speed is a dream. And 4G internet speed at 3G internet’s rate is like
an unreal & unbelievable dream. But brace up! This dream has indeed come
true! Airtel is providing 4G internet speed at 3G’s rate. There’s more to this
news. A single tweet from your end with hashtag- #GetAirtel4G will deliver your
4G SIM Card right at your doorsteps. Now, this is what I call a mind-blowing
service. I am simply amazed by this innovative service. And the process was
incredibly hassle-free! And do you know what was even more hassle-free? Using
my newly arrived Airtel SIM Card’s 4G internet connection! Internet in my phone
never worked so amazingly. My phone never saw internet working so smoothly! The
speed is incredible!
First of all a big thank you Airtel, for making my blogging
experience divine! I love watching YouTube videos without interruptions.
Contacting my brother living abroad has never been this easy. Using navigation
apps with such high speed is indeed fun! Connecting with my friends, browsing,
completing assignments has become so enjoyable! I can’t thank you enough!
Life is indeed difficult! As I said, it demands speed in
every aspect of life! We don’t need more things to tie us down in this
competitive world, one being slow internet speed! So buckle up, embrace the 4G
internet speed with Airtel & conquer your online experience!
The skin is regarded as the mirror of an individual’s inner health. Genetically, we are wired to be attracted to people with clear and glowing skin because it’s a sign of good health. It turns out beauty is more than skin deep. More beautiful the skin, the healthier one looks. Everyone dreams of having natural, soft and supple skin. Beautiful and glowing skin is desirable by everyone.But how can loading up face with chemicals give you a fresh and natural skin? Won’t using natural products lead to a more natural and beautiful skin? Our skin is more like a sponge than a barrier. So when we are exposing our skin to innumerable chemicals, in fact, we are making our skin absorb them. So why not go natural where you get the desired results without damaging your skin?
Ayurveda has some time-proven tricks to make your skin clear, soft and radiant without spending a fortune or loading up on chemicals. Ayurvedic remedies have been doing wonders to skin since ages. And I’m definitely going to follow what my grandmother and mother have been using and advising all this while. These are some of the simple and natural skin care tips which I have heard from my grandma or mom and follow regularly.
The first and foremost tip is to practice meditation. Over time, it will give you a glimpse of pure consciousness, and you will have moments where you experience yourself as ageless and eternally vibrant.
The next tip is for soft, beautiful & glowing skin with one simple magical ingredient that is available in almost every Indian household- Honey. Raw honey is naturally anti-bacterial and a super quick way to get soft, beautiful skin. Using one tablespoon of raw honey (not the processed stuff parading as honey) and gently warm it by rubbing your fingertips together. Spread on your face. Leave on for 5-10 minutes and then use warm water to gently rinse it off and pat dry. Then bask in the glow of your honey-awesomeness. You are ready to go and flaunt your glowing and radiant skin.
Why spend your money on cleansing milk? You can cleanse your skin again with just one special ingredient. Milk is said to have done wonders for skin since ages. Dip a piece of cotton wool in non-boiled milk and wipe on the face with it. It also cleans unseen dirt and goes down to pores. Within minutes you’ll have a clean skin with no traces of dirt.
Those who have dry skin, winter becomes difficult to bear. The skin begins to itch. The moisturizers don’t come easy on pockets. So here’s a simple tip that’ll make your winter enjoyable with a beautiful skin. Before your morning bath, give yourself a gentle self-massage with sesame oil. Those who tend toward pitta imbalances may prefer sweet almond oil or olive oil or coconut oil. The oil helps to pull out toxins from the skin and also leaves a protective layer between your skin and the harsh winter environment. Don’t feel like you have to remove the oil with soap. Soap is essentially oil and fat combined with salt. A good scrub with a loofah or body brush after your morning oil massage is really all you need.
Last but not the least- Turmeric. Turmeric is a traditional, natural skin care home remedy to cure ailments and skin problems. The main benefits of turmeric, the Ayurvedic antiseptic is to cure skin problems like acne, hyper pigmentation, dark complexion and fighting radical damage on the skin. Turmeric gives one tight, healthy, clear and stainless skin. Turmeric is one of the magical ingredients that have been passed down from ages to us. Benefits of turmeric can be seen during the wedding where it is used as a cultural scrub pack for the bride and bridegroom. Mix it with gram flour and yoghurt and scrub it on your face for 5 minutes. It brings glow and cleanses the skin from dirt and black marks. Mix cucumber, lemon juice and add a pinch of turmeric powder to it. It helps get a glowing complexion. Another main benefit of turmeric is it is a natural cleanser to get a clear skin free from black marks, pigmentation and nose blackheads. Mix chick pea flour or rice flour and turmeric powder in equal proportions and keep in an air tight container. Make a paste of this powder by adding a teaspoon of yoghurt and milk respectively. Apply it on your face and wash it after it is semi dry. Western medicine has begun to experiment on the benefits of turmeric as a skin care agent. The Ayurvedic spice can be used as a daily ingredient for cleansing and moisturising. Use it to see the magic of the yellow colored spice. VICCO Turmeric Cream is one of the natural and effective skin care products I’ve come across. As the name suggests it has the goodness of turmeric which does wonders to skin without using any chemical.
The ancient healing tradition of Ayurveda is creating waves in the world of natural skin care. Go natural and see the wonders it does to your skin! Ask yourself: “Is my skin clearer? Is my body healthier? Is my sense of inner wholeness expanding?” The answers will be written all over your face. Small, gradual adjustments in your daily life can make you happier, healthier, and hence, more beautiful.
The skin is regarded as the mirror of an individual’s inner health. Genetically, we are wired to be attracted to people with clear and glowing skin because it’s a sign of good health. It turns out beauty is more than skin deep. More beautiful the skin, the healthier one looks. Everyone dreams of having natural, soft and supple skin. Beautiful and glowing skin is desirable by everyone.But how can loading up face with chemicals give you a fresh and natural skin? Won’t using natural products lead to a more natural and beautiful skin? Our skin is more like a sponge than a barrier. So when we are exposing our skin to innumerable chemicals, in fact, we are making our skin absorb them. So why not go natural where you get the desired results without damaging your skin?
Ayurveda has some time-proven tricks to make your skin clear, soft and radiant without spending a fortune or loading up on chemicals. Ayurvedic remedies have been doing wonders to skin since ages. And I’m definitely going to follow what my grandmother and mother have been using and advising all this while. These are some of the simple and natural skin care tips which I have heard from my grandma or mom and follow regularly.
The first and foremost tip is to practice meditation. Over time, it will give you a glimpse of pure consciousness, and you will have moments where you experience yourself as ageless and eternally vibrant.
The next tip is for soft, beautiful & glowing skin with one simple magical ingredient that is available in almost every Indian household- Honey. Raw honey is naturally anti-bacterial and a super quick way to get soft, beautiful skin. Using one tablespoon of raw honey (not the processed stuff parading as honey) and gently warm it by rubbing your fingertips together. Spread on your face. Leave on for 5-10 minutes and then use warm water to gently rinse it off and pat dry. Then bask in the glow of your honey-awesomeness. You are ready to go and flaunt your glowing and radiant skin.
Why spend your money on cleansing milk? You can cleanse your skin again with just one special ingredient. Milk is said to have done wonders for skin since ages. Dip a piece of cotton wool in non-boiled milk and wipe on the face with it. It also cleans unseen dirt and goes down to pores. Within minutes you’ll have a clean skin with no traces of dirt.
Those who have dry skin, winter becomes difficult to bear. The skin begins to itch. The moisturizers don’t come easy on pockets. So here’s a simple tip that’ll make your winter enjoyable with a beautiful skin. Before your morning bath, give yourself a gentle self-massage with sesame oil. Those who tend toward pitta imbalances may prefer sweet almond oil or olive oil or coconut oil. The oil helps to pull out toxins from the skin and also leaves a protective layer between your skin and the harsh winter environment. Don’t feel like you have to remove the oil with soap. Soap is essentially oil and fat combined with salt. A good scrub with a loofah or body brush after your morning oil massage is really all you need.
Last but not the least- Turmeric. Turmeric is a traditional, natural skin care home remedy to cure ailments and skin problems. The main benefits of turmeric, the Ayurvedic antiseptic is to cure skin problems like acne, hyper pigmentation, dark complexion and fighting radical damage on the skin. Turmeric gives one tight, healthy, clear and stainless skin. Turmeric is one of the magical ingredients that have been passed down from ages to us. Benefits of turmeric can be seen during the wedding where it is used as a cultural scrub pack for the bride and bridegroom. Mix it with gram flour and yoghurt and scrub it on your face for 5 minutes. It brings glow and cleanses the skin from dirt and black marks. Mix cucumber, lemon juice and add a pinch of turmeric powder to it. It helps get a glowing complexion. Another main benefit of turmeric is it is a natural cleanser to get a clear skin free from black marks, pigmentation and nose blackheads. Mix chick pea flour or rice flour and turmeric powder in equal proportions and keep in an air tight container. Make a paste of this powder by adding a teaspoon of yoghurt and milk respectively. Apply it on your face and wash it after it is semi dry. Western medicine has begun to experiment on the benefits of turmeric as a skin care agent. The Ayurvedic spice can be used as a daily ingredient for cleansing and moisturising. Use it to see the magic of the yellow colored spice. VICCO Turmeric Cream is one of the natural and effective skin care products I’ve come across. As the name suggests it has the goodness of turmeric which does wonders to skin without using any chemical.
The ancient healing tradition of Ayurveda is creating waves in the world of natural skin care. Go natural and see the wonders it does to your skin! Ask yourself: “Is my skin clearer? Is my body healthier? Is my sense of inner wholeness expanding?” The answers will be written all over your face. Small, gradual adjustments in your daily life can make you happier, healthier, and hence, more beautiful.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel has launched a campaign ‘Bachat ki khunn
khunn’ for its prepaid consumers who use smartphones. The other day I came to
know that the company had launched a new avatar of its ‘My Airtel’ mobile
application with a wide range of fresh features and capabilities. First of all
it’s a very first of its kind app from a telecom operator. I installed the
Android version to know more about it.
My Airtel App is
described to be the simplest way to manage your Airtel services through your
handset. It is the smartest way to recharge, pay bills & manage all your
Airtel mobile, 3G dongle, landline/broadband and DTH accounts at ONE place. And
it also promises to give you amazing offers on recharge. And I couldn't agree
more. The Airtel App is a must have for every Airtel Customer. The App is
amazing. Kudos to the team for coming up with this! Talk about making life
easier, ‘My Airtel App’ is a great example.
Now let me tell you
about my experience in using ‘My Airtel App’. Once you start using the app, it
automatically detects your Airtel Mobile Number and retrieves your account
information. Post this; you can add various broadband products like Broadband
account, Fixedline or Airtel Digital TV. It is very convenient to have all these
products in one place making them easier to access. You can select any product,
e.g. Airtel Mobile; you get a dashboard showing your account balance, your
account validity and also an option to recharge your account through the App.
You can also view your recharge history. Also, there is an option to Manage
Services. This option helps you to start and stop various services from
Friends, News, Astrology, Sports, Entertainment and so on.
The second feature has to be ‘Shake and Save’
feature. By just shaking the phone you get amazing recharge benefits, recharge
offers & free coupons when you recharge or pay bills. Listen to the jingle
of money you saved with help of the ‘Shake’ offer.
And last but not the least, the ‘I Want
To’ feature which allows customers to make their frequent tasks like recharging
quickly on our App’s home screen thus helping us to replicate the action fast.
This is a very handy,
fantastic and decent app. You can manage all your Airtel services right from
the app. I’m very much happy with my decision of downloading this App. I highly
recommend this App.
The Closed Heart can be like a dead weight
stone, so cold and dead that nothing is really felt anymore, mostly thoughts
and vague emotional conflicts, but no deep feelings. But
Mother’s unconditional and infinite love can even bring a dead weight stone to
life.
The phase; most of the
teenagers experience it. Almost everyone if I must say. As I grew older, the
teenager in me became increasingly rebellious. To be honest, I had pushed
patience of everyone around me. Nobody could believe that I had grown up to be
such a ‘spoiled brat’. I had been very tame as a child. Obeying everyone,
excellent at studies, soft-spoken, is how the people who hadn't seen me for 2
or more years remembered me.
But the phase, had
introduced them to alien me. She was alien to me a well. But I enjoyed the
attention she used to get. I liked how other girls envied her. I loved being a
part of most famous clique with her. The need of independence, a separate
identity and testing authority made me cherish the alien me.
But this package of enjoyment came with
bitter gifts. Whenever I attended family gatherings, I could hear people
whispering behind my back. They would stare at me. They wouldn't let their children talk to me,
thinking I would be a bad influence on them. I wouldn't have been surprised
that if their children misbehaved, they would have compared them to me. In
short, I was a bad example for them. This didn't stop me from being the way I
had become; in fact it made me more rebellious. I stopped attending family
gatherings. I started drinking secretly. I had the most understanding parents,
but I had become too ignorant to even listen to what they had to say.
I would shut myself in
my room once I got home and would get out of the room only when the dinner was
announced. My grades dropped drastically. I bunked schools, never submitted any
of the assignments on time, made students do proxy attendance for me. I was in
bad books of my teachers.
It culminated one day,
when I was found breaking school’s rules along with my friends. The Discipline
Committee had called for our parents. My mom had to take off from her work. I
had been rusticated from school for a week.
We didn’t speak until
the next afternoon. I had locked myself in my room. I didn’t even get out of
the room for dinner, the previous night. My mom ordered me to open the door
during lunch time. I was ashamed and had no courage to face her. But, I was
extremely hungry. I opened the room. I expected to hear the words, ‘You are grounded.’
But none of us spoke anything. She broke the tension by giving me a small
gift-wrapped box. I nonchalantly opened it and found a little rock inside. I
rolled my eyes and said, “Cute.”
“Read the card,” my Mom instructed.
I took the card out of
the envelope and read it. It read- ‘This rock is more than 200,000,000 years
old. That is how long it will take before I give up on you’. Tears started
trickling down my cheeks. She hugged me. There were no conditions in her love.
It was unconditional. I knew she will love me forever and nothing can change
that. Her Love had brought a dead stone to life. This was not one of our
sweetest memories together, but this is the memory which I’ll always cherish.
Because that moment made me realize, my mother is more than a fearless woman.
She’s more than a hero. She’s more than a best friend. She’s my Life.
Like any other day I logged into me Twitter Account to find
myself in the middle of ongoing buzz. The talks about Ek Nayi League had shaken
the twitter world. Everyone was racking their brains. I also discovered that
Kapil Paaji is now on twitter. I followed his Twitter handle & went through
his tweets. Then when I logged into my IndiBlogger Account, the history repeated
itself. I decided to watch the videos to know more about it. Before watching
any video, I assumed this to be somehow related to cricket. And the first video
that I watched was, the one addressed to M. S. Dhoni which made my assumption
stronger. But then the next video was addressed to Sania Mirza which confused
me.
So, this is
not about cricket. What could it be possibly about? The more I pondered, the
more I wanted to know. I read every possible tweet about the much talked and
trending hashtag. I went through blog posts of some people. But perceptions!
And everybody had a valid point and if it could be possible to say, an even
more valid explanation.
Kapil Paaji
has put lot of stress in telling us that this game should be played with brain
rather than heart. Whenever we play any sport the first advice our coach,
captain or our senior and experienced player gives us is,”Dil se Khelna”. But
Kapil Paaji’s advice was really unusual and catchy. What he said was -
“Dil se khela toh Hit Wicket
Dil se khela toh aapki Googly”
It once again brought me where I started. A
game where you need to use your brain rather than your heart. This sentence
kept me intrigued. I thought it could be chess, but somehow it did not convince
me. Then I thought it could be sport personalities from different fields coming together and competing against
each other. But my mind wouldn’t take and agree to it either. After innumerable
assumptions and racking my brain till it would explode, my brain allowed
submission of one possibility. I ‘really’ tried to think out of the box. In our
day-to-day lives where do we use our brain the most? In trading or business!
From a peasant to a billionaire everyone uses their brains for trading. I
immediately thought it could be real life Monopoly or Business related to sports;
where you have to trade something, gain something to emerge victorious. Where
in the board game monopoly or business, you can become bankrupt; here there
might be some kind of other bankruptcy.
But again
this is my perception or you could day wild imagination or guess. I hope the
mystery unveils soon to make way for the fun that this Ek Nayi League is about
to bring in our lives.
Even the laid-back ones can motivate
themselves by understanding the heartache, passion, commitment and
perseverance. Somebody’s faith in us can go long way in motivating ourselves.
Never ending obstacles seem to disappear once you come to know that somebody believes
in you. Hope keeps us going.
The phase; most of the teenagers experience
it. Almost everyone if I must say. As I grew older, the teenager in me became
increasingly rebellious. To be honest, I had pushed patience of everyone around
me. Nobody could believe that I had grown up to be such a ‘spoiled brat’. I had
been very tame as a child. Obeying everyone, excellent at studies, soft-spoken,
is how the people who hadn't seen me for 2 or more years remembered me.
But the phase, had introduced them to
alien me. She was alien to me a well. But I enjoyed the attention she used to
get. I liked how other girls envied her. I loved being a part of most famous
clique with her. The need of independence, a separate identity and testing
authority made me cherish the alien me.
But this package of enjoyment came with
bitter gifts. Whenever I attended family gatherings, I could hear people
whispering behind my back. They would stare at me. They wouldn't let their children talk to me,
thinking I would be a bad influence on them. I wouldn't have been surprised
that if their children misbehaved, they would have compared them to me. In
short, I was a bad example for them. This didn't stop me from being the way I
had become; in fact it made me more rebellious. I stopped attending family
gatherings. I started drinking secretly. I had the most understanding parents,
but I had become too ignorant to even listen to what they had to say.
I would shut myself in my room once I got home
and would get out of the room only when the dinner was announced. My grades
dropped drastically. I bunked schools, never submitted any of the assignments
on time, made students do proxy attendance for me. I was in bad books of my
teachers.
It culminated one day, when I was found
breaking school’s rules along with my friends. The Discipline Committee had
called for our parents. My mom had to take off from her work. I had been
rusticated from school for a week.
We didn’t speak until the next
afternoon. I had locked myself in my room. I didn’t even get out of the room
for dinner, the previous night. My mom ordered me to open the door during lunch
time. I was ashamed and had no courage to face her. But, I was extremely
hungry. I opened the room. I expected to hear the words, ‘You are grounded.’
But none of us spoke anything. She broke the tension by giving me a small
gift-wrapped box. I nonchalantly opened it and found a little rock inside. I
rolled my eyes and said, “Cute.”
“Read the
card,” my Mom instructed.
I took the card out of the envelope
and read it. It read- ‘This rock is more than 200,000,000 years old. That is
how long it will take before I give up on you’. Tears started trickling down my
cheeks. She hugged me. There were no conditions in her love. It was
unconditional. I knew she will love me forever and nothing can change that.
This moment brought back the real me. This moment motivated me to be a better
person. This moment gave me a hope for future. I decided to leave the alien me
behind, and embraced my new future and the old me.
I just wanted to share my story with
you all because I have learned that motivation, inspiration certainly takes you
a long way. Motivation, inspiration can come from anyone or anything in your
life. For me, it came at the right moment; when I least expected it. It
certainly took me where I never imagined I could reach.
After working with an Event Manager
for 3 years, I started up my own business. The first project was in Delhi. I
was truly terrified. I got into the train and searched for my seat. An elderly
lady was sitting in front of me with reading glasses on. I immediately
recognized her.
“Hello Meera Ma’am! Remember me?”
She looked up from her book, removed
her reading glasses and smilingly said,
“Ankita Jain, right? I'm so glad to have met you!”
“Same here Ma’am.” I replied.
Meera Ma’am taught me Economics at
college. She was also the chairperson of my College’s Cultural Committee. When
I was selected as a volunteer, she asked me to stand for the election for the
post of Cultural Secretary. I was unsure about it, but decided to give it a
try. I won the elections & I learned
a lot from her and my post. She would never get angry with any of us, if we
made mistakes. She would always say, “Mistakes are the proof that you are
trying.”
After this, I knew what I wanted to
become. I decided to become an Event Manager.
Her question brought me to real world.
“So, where are you headed to?”
“Delhi.” I replied. “What about you,
Ma’am?”
“Me too. So visiting a friend or a
relative?” she asked.
I explained her about my first project
without hiding the fact that I was very much afraid.
I would never forget her words.
“If it is important to you, you will
surely find a way. My husband & my brother died in a car accident. My
brother was unmarried, so there was no one to look after my parents. I was 29
at that time. I had to support my son, in-laws and parents. All I had was my
job. I was also doing my Ph.D. at that time. Life was getting difficult with
every new day. I had to pay bills, repay loans, and manage being a mother, daughter-in-law,
daughter and a professor. My in-laws never objected me supporting my parents.
They were very supportive. At times, I had to miss my child’s annual day or a
prize distribution, but he would understand. I would feel extremely helpless at
times, but never gave up. The problems never stopped but I had learnt to face
them. There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes,
but with hard work, there are no limits.”
By the time she had finished her
story, I had tears in my eyes. I had never imagined that this lady who always
wore a beautiful smile on her face, this lady who always was so positive and
full of life, would have experienced so many hardships. And we feel sorry for ourselves for little
things. You have to fight through bad days in order to earn the best days.
Sometimes you win; sometimes you learn. There are very few people who celebrate
what they have learnt as they would celebrate victory. And she was one of them.
She had many stories to share. She
told me she was visiting her son in Delhi, who is a doctor now. The day-long
journey ended in no time. And I felt that I didn't just boarded this train to
reach my destination; I had found the way to destination which I had always
aimed to reach.
“Ruhi Di! Arjun asked me out!” I screamed as soon as she entered the room. Her face started showing some excitement which soon faded.
“What did you say ?“ she asked.
“No! Obviously!”
“Apparently you had a crush on him.”
“Yeah! But... Relationship... Me getting into a relationship?”
“Why do you run away from this?” She stopped and then added “Always”
I didn't answer because I didn't know it myself. But she was right.
“You’re like a box of colorful beads. You've different colors for different emotions. You just need a right person. A string. A string which will tie all your emotions properly & beautifully to bring out the best in you.”
“I don’t need anyone! I have you!”
“I won’t always be there.”
I couldn't utter a word. I hugged her.
Months passed. I took a stroll in the gloaming. I didn’t know where I was going, I just kept walking. I loved that silence & the darkness seemed calling me more & more. I could clearly listen to my heart. I knew I was far off, but the darkness wanted me to continue. Somewhere beneath, expecting that string to find me, I didn’t expect him to appear suddenly and astonish me, but let live me each moment of his arrival. But this thought brought me back to the real world. I felt the urge to run away and I did. I turned around and made my way towards home.
When I reached home, I found my parents waiting for me. They looked worried. I could see that in their eyes. But they didn’t ask me anything. They knew I was depressed for I had lost my elder sister to cancer. It was the last day of December. Like every year there was a party in our society. My mother asked me to get ready for the party. I agreed because I didn’t want to hurt her; I agreed because I wanted to try not to run away; I agreed because I missed my sister.
I sat on the garden bench, among people still aloof from them. My parents & other grown-ups were partying in the club house. Younger generation had occupied the garden. It was the same night but now it was filled with light. I was too busy in admiring the decorations that I didn't even notice him coming & sitting beside me.
“Hi!” he said alarming me. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.” He added.
“It’s not you. It’s just me.” I replied philosophically.
“I'm sorry for your loss.” He said in a low voice. I just nodded. There was a silence between us. But it wasn't uncomfortable. We just sat there until I said,
“Would you like to join me for a walk?”
It had been three months since Di left me. I & Hariaksh lived on the same floor. But I never met him after my sister’s funeral or never did I see him. Perhaps ‘I’ never saw him. In these 3 months I had never talked about Di to anyone. But today I recalled every memory of hers & narrated it to him. It was as if I was re-living those moments. He already knew most of those stories; he had seen us all these years and was a part of many of our mischiefs. By the end, I was laughing for the moments we lived together & cried for I realized this was it. He let me cry. He let me empty my heart. He had stopped me from running. I looked up to him & remembered all the memories with him which I never cared to recall. He was always there for me, right by my side, but I never notice him. I looked up to him & noticed his care-filled eyes for the first time. The same care-filled eyes which saw me when I fell off my bicycle while racing with him; the same care-filled eye which looked at me after he punched the guy who had teased me at school; the same care-filled eyes which consoled me during my sister’s funeral. How did I fail to notice them before?
Suddenly, I felt guilty for what I did to him a year back. How I had insulted him. How I had walked away.
“Sorry.” I said
“For what?” he asked puzzled.
“For not treating you right.”
He understood what I meant. He just smiled.
“That’s the past! I was such a fool.” He laughed.
“You know before I...” he stopped.
“Don’t hesitate.” I smiled encouragingly.
“Before I came up to you, I told Ruhi Didi that I’m going to confess... You know...”
“I should’ve guessed.” I laughed.
Hesitantly he replied, “After what happened, Ruhi Didi told me to be myself for a little while. I didn’t understand what she meant by it though.”
“Do you still feel the same about me?” I asked him.
“Sorry? I mean... Yes... But you've nothing to worry.”
“I would have to worry if you had given up on me.” I said between my smiles. I got down on my knee, the same way he had gotten down on his knee a year back & said, “I’m a box of beads. Can you be my string & bring out best in me?” He made me stand up & took my hand in his and said,
“Forever.”
Not all endings are endings; they might be beginnings of new endings.
From that day onwards I stopped running, stopped feeling sorry for myself & welcomed the new me. Change is Essence of Life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become. Embrace the change, it will surely bring out the best in you.
