Paraphernalia

It's been a while since I posted something here and let me think as to wht I should write about..
I had been to this shopping mall the other day where I saw a small jute exhibition put up. I love jute. It gives a very ethnic, classy feeling. I bought a jute handbag and a few accessories.
Jute gives a very earthy look. I strongly recommend jute with cotton wear. If you are wearing something in cream, you could try wearing a contrast jute accesory..probably jute with orange, jute with maroon. You could also match it with wooden accessories.
Teracotta is another which I like. Teracotta pieces look very good in gardens, in the verandah, balconies... I love these pots that are exclusively teracotta made. Again, these also give a very traditional look. I tried hand painting a small pot and made a few flowers with 'M- Seal' and painted them orange and pink. It does look good.
How about floral bed spreads? I love bright flowers- blue, yellow, green matched with floral curtains. They brighten the room as well as spirits.
I love interior decoration. It gives me a lot of energy and satisfaction when I spend a day cleaning, re-aligning furniture and taking out show pieces and moving them around.

After all, your home reflects what you are!!

Probably Tomorrow...

I would have loved to blog today but I am held up with something here...hope to write something tomorrow.
I wanted to write something on Carnatic music..guess will do it on a later date.

Nature-Thy name reflects beauty-1

I happened to travel to Bangalore, once through a route I had never taken before. The journey was longer than usual but I must say it was one of the most beautiful routes I had taken. I think I saw some of the most beautiful places one can ever see. It was an almost empty stretch of road with fields on either side, grass swaying to the tunes of the breeze, droplets of rain falling on the windscreen and rolling down, birds flying to their nests….it was breathtaking.
As the road ended, a mountain appeared and the journey continued on the hills. There was a small forest region through which I went. It reverberated with silence and the sound of the car seemed to echo from everywhere. Large trees loomed around and the aroma of herbs floated in the air.
It had stopped drizzling. The road was wet and clean. It curved, sloped and continued to stretch for quite sometime. The sky had gotten cleared and sunshine seemed to stream with gentle ease. As the forest region seemed to reach its border, I entered a small village. And I realized how beautiful nature could be. There were empty pieces of land with fields in between them, mountains bordering on end of the field, tree houses on top of small trees, small brooks running below the road into quite woods, people harvesting crops, tractors carrying people to the fields, goats running merrily, the atmosphere wet with moisture….I felt like settling down right there. People live in sync with nature there.
They might not know what Siebel meant; they might not know what a laptop is; they might not have plush sedans; they might not have malls or multiplexes; they might not have restaurants with valet parking; … but they had something valuable and precious- the gift to live life as it should be- entirely with Mother Nature herself and yes- on top of the world- on a hilltop.

Into the World of Books...

Imagine the smell of freshly printed sheets of a book. I love books. They are definitely a world in themselves. With the advent of retail stores like Cross Word and Landmark, a variety of choices are being presented to the readers.
I love going to Cross Word. It is a beautiful place to sink oneself in the deluge of books around.
Here are some of my favourite books.
Nothing Lasts Forever – Sidney Sheldon
Code to Zero – Ken Follett
You can Win – Shiv Khera
The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari – Robin Sharma
Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Books by the AOL Foundation
The Fitness Instinct- Peg Jordan
Marketing Management – Philip Kotler
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Sai Satcharita
Spouse- Shobhaa De
Grow Younger Live Longer- Deepak Chopra

Indeed, a gift for someone you love...

I love chocolates. Chocolate sauce, chocolate ice cream, chocolate brownie, hot chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate coffee, chocolate cakes, chocolate burfis, chocolate powder, chocolate biscuits….And I never felt guilty gulping huge chunks of chocolate. Life is to enjoy. And chocolate was created for that purpose- to indulge, relish, sink in the feeling of ecstasy.
I have had this habit of biting into the bars of ‘Barone’ or ‘Five Star’ whenever I felt low. I do not know how I got this habit but it used to make me feel good.
I remember once when I was in my first year of college, there was this lecturer who scolded me for something on which we did not see eye to eye. I was interested in participating in competitions and won many a prize but she would not approve of me doing that. She wanted me to attend classes.
That day, she shouted at me for something similar and that was very harsh on me. I remember sitting on the stairs of my college, chewing into ‘Barone’ and promising that I would win loads of prizes and do well in studies so that exactly after one year, she would change her opinion about me. And I did it!!
I felt good biting into that bar of chocolate. It relieved me of my pent up anger and emotions. I always believed that chocolate was an anti-depressant and would help to settle the mind.
And I was surprised to see the theory in some articles I read that chocolate is indeed an anti-depressant. Wow!! Now that’s some co-incidence. While there are contradictory theories that chocolate is not an anti-depressant, I am clear. Chocolate makes me feel good.
Chocolate is for joy. Chocolate relives you of depression. Chocolate transports you to a different world of sweetness. Chocolate helps you melt in the moment.

Hail the Cacao Bean!!

War over the Benches

This morning, there was an interesting debate going on air. Radio City’s two RJs, Vasanthi and Rohit were debating as to who were more successful: front benchers or back benchers.
That was quite an innovative topic to discuss in a radio station and indeed kept me engrossed to listening to people’s views.
What have I been?
To be frank, I have been an all bencher. During school, I used to shift between the last rows and middle rows (mainly because of my height). Whenever I used to sit in the front row, I was asked by the teachers to move back.
I have had my share of fun in the back bench. Eating good food, reading a digest of Archie’s comics, writing messages to my neighbour, drawing, having my own conversations….it was a world in its own. I guess it was more of a cult to be in the back bench.
During my under-graduation, I sat in the front bench throughout. I guess that was mainly because, I was most-of the time outside college participating in inter-collegiates that when I used to attend college, my gang of friends reserved a place for me in the front bench. I never cribbed about it. In fact it was fun there too. But yes!! One had to pay attention even to the most boring of the classes.
During my post-graduation, I mostly sat in the back bench. I had my laptop too. So, it was easy to hide my face behind the screen. I remember during one of the sessions, I was busy making a presentation for the next day and did not pay attention to what my professor was talking. I spent three hours behind the laptop screen converting my summer project into slides, diagrams and giving it a shape to speak about the next day. I must say it was a productive effort that brought me laurels. Thanks to that marketing class that I never paid attention to. (Sorry, Professor AKD. You were good but somehow that was of a higher priority.)
Are front benchers entirely studious? Or to put it in a different way, do studious pupils sit in the front row?
To some extent, yes!
I used to wonder as to how some friends of mine could extend their attention span even to the most boring of the lectures without batting an eyelid. And ask doubts!!! And take down notes!!
But they were the saviours for all photocopies to be taken before an examination.
Hey! Being a back-bencher, I have paid attention to my classes too…in fact asked doubts too.
I guess people should experience these two vastly different arenas of a class-room.
One aspect has been proved throughout my academic life and these are my opinions.
Back benchers have been more out-going, participative in events in school/college and seem to have a buoyant spirit.
Front benchers have been disciplined in their academic life, serious and observant.

So what am I??

Change!

It is strange how people sometimes change- change in the way they speak, change in their attitude, change their way of life. It is experience that sculpts every individual. But what is that causes short term changes in trust? Why is it that someone who has been extremely friendly for a period of time suddenly withdraws? Why is that somebody who has been loving and showing so much of trust suddenly accuses you of being untrustworthy?
Last evening, I was reading a book that gave out the message that every day presents windows of opportunities. Isn’t it better for everyone and for the individual to utilize these opportunities to create a positive difference?
These small positive differences would enhance the quality of life, create more positive energy and happiness to everyone around.
Yes, we all know this . Despite this, many a time, we succumb to the situations and allow them to take control of us. What happens then? What happens to our rationale when we stop thinking about how to make the situation better? What happens to all the positive thinking, resolutions we have taken when a situation threatens to take control of us? It is difficult to remain calm and composed and say “I will not let this deter my spirits”. But it is not impossible.
One can restrain from throwing words that can cause indelible wounds.
Thiruvalluvar said
“Theeyinaal sutta pun ullarum aaradhe
Naavinaal sutta vadu.”

Translating into English, it means that the wounds/injury caused by burns due to fire may heal but those caused by harsh words would not.
How true!!

What is Happiness?

Last evening, as I was going back home, a thought suddenly crossed me. It has been going on in my mind for quite sometime. Why do people go about in search of happiness? Why don’t people enjoy what is available? Why do they set standards for happiness?
Many a time, happiness is of a comparative nature. People look at another person and feel that things should move on as it has moved for the other person and only then would they be happy. Why? Happiness is right there in front of each of us. Happiness is there sitting along with us waiting for us to engulf it, savour it, be with it. So what if life is not the same as that of the neighbor? So what if one’s son studies Commerce instead of Medicine like his cousin? So what if one person decides to settle in a town unlike his neighbour who is in the US? What is the basis for setting these parameters? The saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” rings well in these cases.
I am a firm believer of enjoying each day of my life. I believe that everybody has the power to create happiness for himself and the people around. Happiness lies in the small things- waving at school kids in the bus, spending a day off with family, enjoying a fresh shower, sipping hot coffee, writing an article and sharing it, gifting a hand-made gift, cleaning the room and relaxing on the freshly made bed, adding colour to your work station, sending a beautiful birthday message to a friend who is least expecting it, surprising a loved one with a bouquet of flowers, teaching someone who is not literate…the list is endless.
We are full of energy to spread cheer.

I am here...

I have been intending to create my own blog for quite sometime now and I finally did it!! Congrats to me :) Random musings, refelections, opinions...well..I ought to write them all.
Let me get started today with what I wrote when I got to work. Probably that should be next blog.

Happy blogging to me:)