Suffering and failure are part of each success story

As women we are born strong, but somehow we feel our greatest strength lies in hiding our weakness.

Even I have felt it sometimes..

Like every woman I am strong, but just like most women , I feel that any sign of vulnerability is a step towards failure. I hide my moments of defeat, just like some women put concealer on scars on their face.

Sometimes to tell the greatest story of success, one has to first write the prologue of failure.

The sufferings are true, and part of the journey, but most people are afraid to tell their whole story. Can you imagine a child learning to walk without falling down?

• I have cried in front of my daughter over small issues but there are times when I have remained calm and shielded her from the hurricanes that hit my world.
• I have a temper and I have patience.
• I also give free advice to people esp when I feel they need to hear the bitter truth; I have received the same and it has done me good.
• I am not glamorous, I can be a fashion nightmare.
• I have my bad hair day (almost everyday)
• Sometimes I am not eloquent and curse myself when I scramble my head for the exact word.
• I buy books which gather layers of dust before I can actually read them.
• I am not fond of cooking daily (only therapeutically to calm myself) but still I love to make my daughter’s school lunch.
• I have had rocky spells in my marriage (and sometimes used the rocks to build the foundation)
• I have had rough days at work,I have partnered to build something exquisite and I have parted ways too.
• I have fought with my parents and siblings but i trust them the most.

(yes, I’m my own living contradiction, but aren’t we all constantly fighting between whims and reality?)

I am sometimes scared to start all over- again,from scratch, but I’d rather give it my best, than give up.

I have felt like an under-achiever, felt I haven’t accomplished everything I dreamed of and felt I am not good enough. If you feel this way on somedays, then you just need to be kind to yourself and drop the hourglass of expectations.

Life doesn’t always happen in the order we wish, sometimes the sequence may be different, but we eventually get all that we want and deserve. Keep doing your Karma (and while you are at it, do intelligent-hard work)

Despite my imperfections, I show up for life. Despite being beaten-down, I won’t give up.

Every failure, every defeat is the battle scar I have earned, marching my way to winning-big or small.

(These thoughts came up when www.ngoexpress.com along with Sampradaa Collections started a #Powersaree contest on Instagram @sampradaa, inviting women to share their empowering moment, their saree stories, tales of rocking the world in ethnic elegance-often liek our mothers and grandmothers, and celebrating being a superwoman in their special cape- The Saree. I still come across women who need encouragement to be proud of reciting their life story, because each story is unique and is meant to help someone out there)

An ode to foggy morning

How inviting is stillness, echoing the sound of silence… of walking into a white fog all around. Wrapped in this cold blanket of assumed softness , when life is a mystery.
It forces us to be in a moment of meditative presence.
Resonating with the soul’s need for stillnesss, quiet and not knowing what’s next but moving on with faith.

Even in a crowd, space is created with intangible cloak surrounding me.

the mental vibes of person near me is stopped by this foggy boundary

i walk on earth with a meditative presence. Embracing now every moment!
Much gratitude

It was Delhi before “gas-chamber”

Photo : chai for me and inhaler for my daughter , as we start our morning.

I woke up to a quiet morning with little time to myself. Autumn mornings and a nip of cold , the swirling smoke of warm tea tracing memories in the air. A rare delight, it was not. Delight is when you are happy but now the pleasant memories of autumn morning are safe somewhere in the past. A day off from school because the air is unsafe to “ Breathe” , was the last reason imaginable. Yet we live in a world stranger than Orwell’s 1984. Now we look at autumn morning form behind glass doors with green plants and air-purifiers adding freshness to the room.

The other day my daughter had breathing trouble in class and her classmate was quick to share her inhaler. I was shocked! Not At the quick thinking of child  to offer inhaler( offering first-aid knowing we do not share inhalers ) but at how the world has evolved from once sharing pencils and lunches, to this generation sharing “inhalers”.

Now , the school checklist each morning is inhaler and mask, followed by water, lunch, books & RFID. The school doesn’t allow sharing food due to health issues, I do not allow re-filling water bottle outside due to NDM 1 scare in water supply and the government doesn’t want us to Breathe due to polluted air.

“Vote- seekers” (politicians) call Delhi “gas-chamber” as though they will win empathy of citizens. Those in places to bring change have left it to citizens to do the needful.

Writing slogans, car-pool, online petitions can hardly put a dent in the bigger problem.

A problem that governments of various states can easily work-out together and resolve, after all it’s the lives at stake.

Innovative techniques to reduce farm stubble have to be used. Also alternate crops like maize should be grown, instead of paddy , that leaves such stubble and lowers ground water reserves. After all the wind will blow from west to east for now.

Cars are a major source of pollution but so are bigger transport vehicles like trucks but then what about the silent problems like road-dust on streets. A study by IIT- Kanpur in 2015 revealed that that cars and jeeps contribute less than 10% of particulate matter while trucks are bigger culprits. Also road dust that accounts for about 35% of tiny particles known as PM 2.5 in the air, followed by vehicles.

Construction sites are equally responsible for pollution as are restaurant and hotels.

Perhaps on a more neighbourhood level, civil society activism is needed where RWAs can pitch in to address issues like road dust, planting more trees in neighbourhood and leaving less carbon footprint in every possible way.

The urban jungles can use more green and less concrete.

However, for “vote-seekers” the problem to resolve immediately is the one that gets votes, not humans suffocating in capital of India which is leisurely termed as “gas chamber”.

If we are in gas chamber then what does it make those at top responsible for putting us in it? Need I say more or is it understood?

The only difference is we are all in the same “gas-chamber” – the haves, the have nots, the policy makers, the vote-seekers and the voters.

 

Does pseudo-faith supersede humanity?

We returned on Sunday 27th august, since Monday is school day. In evening the rumour mills started about schools being closed on Monday. ( since the deraviolence might spread more after the quantum of punishment is announced on 28th August ). .
A late night tweet put speculations to rest as schools remain open. On Monday morning the watsapp messages kept increasing, mostly parents who were asking each other if they were sending their kids to school? In one class 16/ 20 were bunking school. In another 12/20 would bunk. Then other friends, from other schools all over Delhi, were both contemplating and deciding in the same sentence as to not send the kids to school.

The mass bunking had begun.
Fear crept in and had taken form of inaction in action.
The last time I remembered something like this was more than 2 decades ago when a certain place of worship was demolished. Fear then , fear now. The common denominator is always a pseudo-faith that supersede humanity.
A shaken belief in government and administration reminded us how vulnerable we are in the hands of those who are to protect us? How unsafe we feel when small sects of blind-faith erupt like volcanoes.
Dera verdict is victory of the silent victims against a greater established organisation well funded with muscle, money and masses. .
Sometimes the truth echoes greater than the noise of violent mobs.
Faith is a beautiful emotion as long as its put in the right place.
Peace out~ Prachi .

Sampradaa- a wealthy life

Sampradaa is sanskrit word for wealth.
Often the modern interpretation of wealth is limited to material wealth . The long race of trading our time and life to accumulate wealth, and give it away to buy stuff which has shelf life of a banana, the reality remains are we focused on only one kindf riches ?

Wealth is holistic and it encompasses everything that makes a rich life.

In ancient India the Goddess of wealth had many forms like knowledge, courage, victory, progeny, health, food, natural resources, animals to name a few.

In modern times wealth is equated to cash and assets, but what about the asset of a healthy mind and body?

We must aim to bring together the different kinds of wealth given to us -emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, relationships and financial. Would you add other kinds of wealth to it? Like that of patience, family , natural resources of our planet, the wealth of good memories, of positivity and most importantly the wealth of gratitude.
Can we truly enjoy all our abundance in the absence of gratitude?

When we start accepting with gratitude all that is in our life, we will step into a consciousness of next level.

Yes all wealth are important in the right balance to enjoy the precious journey on earth… and thus begins our journey with you.

A house for everyone

Radha was particularly happy today. It was a mild autumn afternoon. The air was fresh with a slight chill that could only be felt on the tip of the nose. The leaves had started to turn shades of orange, sienna and amber. It was the incidental beauty of autumn when each leaf turned into the colours of spring flower. Radha’s children were playing outside, under a tree and the sounds of their laughter and crackling of leaves when crushed under their feet, was music to her ear, along with occasional beating of the hammer. The final repairs on her house were about to finish. Radha had helped her father-in-law and her husband all along the process from planning out the date of repairs, arranging the material and until today. Now they were fixing one last section of the façade of the house – a 6ft x8ft piece, which went on the front wall. Her father-in-law was inspecting it before it went on to finish the house-repairs.
Radha offered her husband water and said “ I’m so grateful the work is over before cold winters set in. I was worried about our children spending time in the house in its former condition.” “it was all possible because of you, esp. the money we saved on repairs due to your careful planning” spoke her husband, as he looked at her face,  the slight wrinkles that smiled with her smile.  The wrinkles that defined the smile in her kajal smudged eyes.
Her husband smiled at her and returned to work.

Radha watched her kids play near the house; they had mud all over them. An antic, which usually upsets Radha, did not bother her today. She was way too happy about what was being accomplished. She had requested her husband and father-in-law over a month ago for weatherproofing the house for the chilly winters.
Radha’s husband interrupted her trail of thoughts as he asked her to help hold the 6ft x 8 ft frame in the centre, while he and his father nailed it on both sides to the rest of the structure. The 6ftx8ft frame was the front wall. The side walls were 6ftx6ft.  The walls were wooden frame with plastic sheets tied and nailed on them. The plastic sheets were sturdy and durable. They were from the sacks used to sell dry cement and sand in, which was used for construction of permanent brick and mortar houses for most city dwellers. Radha got them from the construction site where she worked as a labourer. Usually the construction contractor sold the empty sacks for Rs. 15 each, but Radha got ten of them in exchange of one day’s wage. She thought it was a fabulous deal to get 10 empty sacks from the construction contractor , because if she went to the kabadi wala(junk dealer) he would charge her Rs 18 or Rs 20 per sack. For the rich it was the contents of the sacks that built their massive dwellings, For construction labourers like Radha the empty sacks were as good as cement to build her tiny box house. After all it sheltered her family- their dreams and disappointments.
(wrote it last autumn…. maybe now is the time to share)

Akhilesh Yadav – It’s not rebellion but humble adieu to differences, to live greater vision

 A man with vision who took over UP by a storm, with wheels of his cycle Yatra & his promises for the underdeveloped state of UP. He won -first the elections and then the hearts of every one. He took oath as the youngest CM of Uttar Pradesh while many doubted him.

5years down the road the populace of UP is crazy about him, they admire his leadership, praise the development & are in awe of his humble disposition Shri Akhilesh Yadav changed the way UP worked, lived and progressed .

The initial year marked a phase of settling in as CM, understanding the current situation of State and modus operandi of the machinery . Then CM Akhilesh carved his own space with his style of working – nonchalant and focused. The old system revamped to catch up with his nouveau leadership. There was no place for mediocrity . 360 degree approach to development was the only agenda.

He became the first CM of UP who was reaching out in person thru janta Darbars and even digitally thru Facebook, twitter and Instagram. Justice became reachable with 1090 & dial 100. Youth adore him and elders bless him. Women feel gratitude for empowerment thru laptops, Vidya dhan, pension Yojana and safety. Construction of Agra- Lucknow expressway was win-win for farmers, workers and now for everyone. Metros came even before the cities experienced major grid-lock. Just when all was going smooth, the inner turmoil of party surfaced in public. However, it harmed everyone’s image except CM Akhilesh. By now the populace of UP knows if they want development and to achieve their own dreams – they need leadership of Sri Akhilesh Yadav. Each time there is a crisis, Youth is out in large numbers supporting him .

The bigwigs of era gone by do not understand the need of the millennials and elders. 21st century politics is not just governance- it comprises of good governance , accountability & progress. A leadership style tailor made by CM Akhilesh. He knows how to address the unique challenges and turn them around into opportunities. The populace looks up to him as a saviour. As a man who takes care of every section of society. He has the ability to transform society. He was elected due to hopes of change and he will be reelected due to the immense faith that UP has in him – because he has done more than promised.

CM Akhilesh has dealt with the crisis of past few months with unmatched dignity. Instead of rebelling he chose to exit gracefully. He has never said an offensive word for his elders irrespective of what may come from them. Such persona is exemplary of his leadership. Something each youth should look up to.

#akhileshyadav #samajwadi #uttarpradesh #rebellion #grace #elections

Don’t be afraid of Failure, be afraid of quitting.

There are moments of failures in everyone’s life. You should not let that fear stop you. When you started walking , you fell many times.

A baby isn’t afraid of failure.
Also the baby in its most pristine stage of life doesn’t know the concept of quitting nor does it understand failure. Baby only tries to walk and receives positive encouragement for that. Only thru years of human conditioning do we learn the concept to “failure”. Worst still we learn the option of “quitting”

It’s time to unlearn . Failure isn’t full stop to success. Rather it is just a diversion, the route taken didn’t work, we need to change something or just try harder. Quitting has to be forgotten. Quitting is not an option but an end to all dreams,hopes and possibilities.

Bring out the child in you again.
Believe without doubt in your ability to do whatever you decide- just take the first step

Never give up

The sea-Eagles at backwaters of Palolem . They dive to get the feed in rush to beat each other , sometimes their grip gets loose and they miss the catch mid flight. Then they Dive down again. NEVER GIVE UP .  Nature always teaches us resilience and to be stronger than what hit us last.