The Christmas Cake!

It was 25^th December 2012 and my first Christmas miles away from my home, Kolkata. I used to stay in a four-sharing room in a ladies hostel at my workplace Hyderabad. All my roomies being college-goers and having a long holiday ahead went to their respective hometowns which were just few hours away from the city. And there I was, sitting alone in my room, ruminating the wonderful memories of every Christmas spent earlier at my hometown which is always buzzing with various activities during this time. I tried music and reading to divert my mind away but nothing seem to work that day.

My eyes had already started welling-up when suddenly I heard a knock on the door. Controlling myself, I went and opened the door. Outside, I found a girl of my age standing with our hostel owner Uncle accompanied by bags.”She is your new roommate”, said Uncle. I called them inside. In the next few minutes, Uncle showed her the room and described the hostel details while I was back to myself again. Uncle left and the girl sat, unpacking her things slowly. She looked quite sad which is very common for any new girl in hostel. But there was a very uneasy kind of silence in her which I couldn’t fathom. As I was also not quite in mood that day, even I remained aloof and started reading.

Quite a few moments passed quietly. “Hi, this is for you. My Mom baked,” I was taken aback by the abrupt sound and looked up to see the girl holding a piece of cake towards me. “Thanks”, I said, adding again,” I am Shawna,” to which the girl replied,” My name is Grace Reshma. I have come here for Gate coaching whose classes are starting tomorrow itself and so I had to rush today without getting to complete our Christmas celebrations”, she continued saying while bringing out a Bible from her bag,” My Mom bakes a cake every Christmas and we share the same with our family members and friends”, and I could feel her almost on the verge of tears. Still I couldn’t say anything as she said,” So, I thought of sharing this with you”, and smiled at me with morose eyes. I took a small bite of the cake.” It’s delicious,” I replied back,” with the perfect Christmas flavour as well”, finding nothing else to say and finished the whole piece. “Can I borrow some more?”, I asked her and that was the first time I saw her face brighten up like anything.”Sure”, she said and we both finished the cake that evening, chatting and laughing with all the heaviness in our heart melting away. And the two unknown girls although separated by geography, religion and language, yet, equally pained by distance from home on an occasion like Christmas soon befriended based on the bond of the Christmas Cake! That Christmas gifted me a good friend indeed (and definitely the cake!) and though we are not staying in that hostel together anymore, we are very much in contact till this day.

Yes, They Exist!

This is a very small incident of my life but I felt that I should share this particular experience of mine. I am presently working as a Deputy Manager in a nationalized bank in Hyderabad. Hence, I am in charge of Safe Keys holding important branch related documents of my branch. Once it so happened that we got very late while working in the branch and I hurriedly left thereafter suddenly reminded of the time while my Branch Manager was still working as she stayed nearby. After I reached home, immediately I received a call from my Branch Manager that I had not locked the safe, which she checked while closing the branch and the keys were with me. Therefore, there was no option for me other than to go back again and lock the same, as it was very crucial for a bank.

Annoyed with myself, I gingerly left home but as my bad luck prevailed, I was not able to get an auto to take me to my branch since it was quite late. Finally, I saw an auto, which I believe, was on its way back home but stopped after watching me standing helplessly and the driver immediately offered to drive me there with extra charge. I almost jumped in but the moment I got in, I started suspecting the over-eager behavior of this auto driver given the time at night. He however drove me to my branch where my BM was waiting with the Watchman. We locked the safes, checked everything and finally left the branch. My BM asked me about how I’ll go back home to which I readily replied, ”Ma’am , I’ll manage”(with the ” We are self-sufficient independent girls you see” attitude hardly having an idea of how I was going to manage), bade her “Good Night” and left in search of auto again.

I didn’t have to wait long as the same auto came along. This time I was seriously scared regarding the intentions of the auto driver with the thoughts of all the unpleasant incidents happening throughout India cropping up in mind whereas, I should have been happy at the thought that I won’t be facing any problem in returning home. Reluctantly, having no other way out, I boarded the auto and immediately started talking over phone to my parents back at Kolkata and kept the phone on throughout the time I was in the auto just as a precautionary measure. The auto however went on to drop me to my residence safely and I came out greatly relieved. I then paid the driver who thanked me and drove away. And sooner I realized that I should thank him back too for being such a Good Samaritan for me that night but it was too late I guess and even if I replied back, “ Thank You bhaiyya!”, I doubt whether he had heard that as the auto sped up soon thereafter. Staying and working alone in a big city, far away from home especially in India and for girls like me indeed becomes a challenge sometimes but amidst the bunch of disheartening experiences around, this incident always reminds me of the fact that the world still has ‘these’ people today who enable us to harness hopes in today’s world.

Never stop trusting. Never stop believing. Cheers!

Clash of choices!

Nowadays, we all face a problem of choice in almost every sphere of life. Starting from our studies, our career to matters like shopping, buying a car or house or even which place to go in a vacation, there is hardly anything left in our lives which are not controlled by various choices. The escalating population, the ever increasing urbanization and above all the invasion of globalization - together are responsible for the complete operation of our lives.

Now, the question is - To have choices is a good thing because after all it enables us to view lots of options and finally choosing the one that best caters to our needs and aspirations. But don't we also face the problem of confusion while going to select from those choices and sometimes even end up getting fooled or bluffed by the one we select. It's quite obvious that 'to err is human' and consequently the probability of mistakes are many but when it comes to vital things like our studies and career which will determine our lives in the long run, we can't afford to make even a silly mistake because it might transform itself into a grave unpardonable sin if the whole thing goes wrong! Therefore, it is very necessary to exercise absolute caution while making these choices. If necessary, it is always wise to consult a few other people from the related fields but then again here too, it is important to ensure that too many cooks don't spoil the broth. It should be always kept in mind that before proceeding for making any choice, we analyze the situation and our exact requirements properly because only we know our own self exactly and we should never be misguided by anything or anyone no matter how much convincing they sound. Difficult? Yes, to an extent but not impossible. We'll make mistakes but we'll learn and move forward to making better choices in the future.

Let your own Wisdom lead you to the happiness you seek because you know that you deserve it and you'll surely have it.

Happy Choosing :)

Bird Boon

Recently I went through a fact stated in a magazine which indeed struck a chord in my heart.It so said that a certain locality is said to be safe and secure if that place is inhabited by birds!

Interesting isn't it?It has been observed that the places in which most number of birds are found are considered to be safe and peaceful localities.I was indeed amazed while I was reading this fact.Birds generally prefer those places as their haven which are most peaceful.And they generally repel those areas having any kind of problems or tension.A matter to ponder now is:Is this the reason behind the number of birds surrounding us going down day by day as because there is hardly any place left today which has not bore the brunt of political tension,environmental changes,pollution or other ill effects of urbanization.A very significant example can be Sparrows-Do we find this very familiar bird(at least that's what it used to be one day!)around us anymore?Hasn't the numbers gone down drastically or rather gone down completely.At this rate I'm afraid,the birds will gradually tend to become extinct! :(:(:(

A grave matter indeed...a matter of serious concern!Birds which cling towards safe and secure places can nowadays be well taken as indicators of safe and secure localities.Keeping in mind today's India where the security of women and girls are at stake,then somehow,the nature can be our friends isn't it or rather nature's birds can be our friends.

But Alas!They are hardly noticed nowadays.Does that mean that there is no such safe and secure place left at all?And that itself is the very reason why each and every day the security of women are questioned like anything?

Humans are considered to be the highest level of Kingdom Animalia.Yet,the Homo Sapiens' level has somehow merged today with the Aves today it seems as both are being endangered at the same time due to same reasons.

And both are struggling to survive!Kudos must say...:)

Sip of Sunday

Sunday-The most awaited and expected day of the week.The day which we look forward to throughout our whole week to get a undiluted 24 hours break from the cobwebs of routine life.But do we really make the most of it to keep us going for the next half of the week even?Or rather are we at all able to properly utilize the essence of Sunday nowadays?

I remember having written an article once in school days in a school supplement of an esteemed daily speaking about Sunday being no more a Funday in context of school of course because eventually it so happens today that tuitions and other extra curricular activities take a toll of the Sunday of children completely and quite ironically Sunday turns out to be pretty more hectic than weekdays for them thanks to the increasing parental expectations,escalating peer pressures and cut throat competition that leads to this mounting up of mammoth tasks for these little kids.I used to think that maybe when I complete school and one day enter into the job field(the main aim and accomplishment for which we sacrificed our Sundays of Childhood!!!!)I might be able to gift myself a free Sunday.A Sunday to only spend quality time with friends,family and most importantly,myself.Of late,I am beginning to realize though have I been successful in my mission?

As we remain stuck up with work throughout the week,hence on Sundays usually,we get busy with all sorts of household chores starting from cooking to washing clothes,cleanup,maintenance of our home and other related stuffs.By the time we manage to finish everything,there is hardly any time left to have a sip of Sunday.

Of course, nowadays there are indeed places like shopping malls,multiplexes,lounges where the all and sundry flock together to hangout and chill with their pals within as much timespan as possible.The sombre portion of the population love to spend time in CCDs,Crossword and the like in the evenings with a Cappucino to go with it.This way or that,every single person has the right to enjoy Sunday in their own manner no matter what.So in a way or the other,for our own satisfaction an happiness,on some Sundays we somehow manage to control time('coz its time that controls us anyway!) and take our much awaited break.

Yes, after all, we are not gifted with the pleasure of time in our lives unlike days before(the days that are left behind long ago by our granmas and grandpas!).So, we do it our own way.It's our birthright to live life in our own way and guess what,no matter how much you try to snatch that away from our lives,we'll still grab it!

Happy Living :)

X Factor of life!!

Dumbstruck by the title of my blog?Well, it just crossed my mind about whether there is indeed some X-Factor in our lives.We've heard about the term called X-Factor right,almost in every sphere of our day to day lives.X-factor in personality,X-factor in a diva,X-factor in an institution,X-factor in one's management,so on and so forth.What does this term exactly mean?From its usage in vocabulary, we can make out that it basically means something that if present makes a particular entity unique,one and only amongst the lot.Very simply illustrated!But what makes this X-factor,have we ever tried to imagine the horizon of this term or description of this term.Okay it signifies certain qualities to make one stand out from the crowd.Indeed that is self-explanatory yet it is quite superficial.

But we can still make out or rather feel the X-factor in anything which makes us specially attracted towards that particular thing.Well,then here's the catch...Do we know the X-Factor of our own lives?Have we ever tried to find out the same if at all that is present and if not,then have we ever tried to add some flavours of X-Factor in our lives.Now you would call me crazy isn't it?What rubbish!Is this some kind of a deodorant or perfume or ingredients of a recipe or what that we'd add that in our life.Certainly not,rather it is something even more important.

Just ponder over!With the escalating population and cut throat competition,there is always a requirement of an X-Factor to make a mark in our field or else we would simply vanish amidst the crowd into the thin air.The same goes for our life as well, isnt it,what difference do we make in our lives so that we ourselves fall in love with our own lives.We say it's very necessary to love our job in order to be properly involved in the same.That holds good for our life as well.If we can dedicatedly devote a desperate move to add this X-Factor in our own lives,it would be much more simpler and happier to live in.After all,we are the bosses of our own lives.Here at least,there is no one to dictate orders.Hence,satisfaction comes our way.

So folks,still thinking?Ahh,stop brooding so much and try and find out the X-Factor in your lives.Take a Chance,Make a Move,Get Going.

Happy Living!!!!!!

Marginalization of women at work places

Talking of women empowerment,the very first thing that comes to our mind is how effective are women at workplace today. Evidently, the scenario has undergone a radical change within the last few decades. Today women are working in almost every sphere of life starting from IT Sector,Schools,Colleges,Banks,State & Central Govts., to airforce,navy and defence also. There is as such no discrimination between men and women in the work field. Yet, the shoe still pinches over the fact that: Are women really given equal importance and respect as compared to men in India today?

Women as compared to their male counterparts are facing increasing challenges at their workplaces even till this day. As they have to handle both the household chores at domestic front as well as workplace matters, quite evidently the pressure that mounts up for them is mammoth. In such a scenario,it is always expected that they get the support and cooperation from their fellow male colleagues. Yes, they do get this helping hand to some extent but the majority,unfortunately,fail to receive the expected treatment.

Workplace harassment is a very common phenomenon nowadays. Its a grim fact that many working women continue to face sex discrimination and other unfair treatment on the job,including sexual harassment and assault,wage theft,unequal pay and other injustice. Women in male dominated industries and those who are marginalized by race,poverty,immigration status,and/or sexual orientation often confront multiple barriers to equal opportunity and fair treatment at work.

The so called progressive male counterparts continue to create more and more problems for women at work starting from petty office issues to transfers and promotions where they keep no stone unturned to curb women interest. It has so happened in many cases that unable to cope with this escalating amount of pressure, the fairer sex has been forced to leave or retire from their work.

Surprisingly, even the management and HR of the reputed companies and organizations do not seem to be concerned inspite of being aware of such an alarming situation. Stringent measures and policies designed especially for women do exist in pen and paper everywhere but their implementation in practical scenario is questionable. There are only handful of cases where some valid step had been taken in support of the women.

In today's world of globalisation, urbanisation and modernisation, it is a matter of shame that we are still discussing issues like gender discrimination when we claim to be progressive with a modern bent of mind who treat men and women as equals. Unfortunately however, it is always easier said than done.

In a country like India especially in today's society which is extremely vulnerable towards threats to women security, the ladies always have to be extra cautious and careful about their each and every step. Added to these, if they have to face even more problems at their own place of work without any help and understanding from their male colleagues, it can well be envisaged the trauma that they have to endure throughout their daily lives. Gradually nowadays, women refuse to stay marginalized in this manner and as always the story of Indian women, their fight for survival goes on in a never ending manner.