The beauty of her life!

Ria had the voice that brought a smile on millions of faces. Millions - wait a second, an FM station's reach could at most have lakhs of listeners? Well, there were overseas listeners too when she used to anchor shows for the web radio. She earnestly waited for that 4-hour slot everyday when she could share and touch other lives. Even her listeners waited for that time of the day when they could hear their favourite RJ's chirpy, bubbly pep talk in between the numerous hit songs she played. One of her listeners had confessed that he had become a teetotaller ever since she started hosting that evening drivetime show - not a drop till 9 every evening and after that he didn't ever feel like having it. Such heartfelt confessions made her day, encouraged her even more to bring about more hope, and she would set herself to  prepare for what she was gonna talk about next in her show. Being a radio host, it was her way 'to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight'.


She stumbled upon radio jockeying as a career option when one fine day she saw an ad and in response went for an audition. That simple, studious girl, considered an 'introvert' by her friends, who stayed quiet most of the time, yapped and yapped during the audition and how! The voice - mostly rested till that day, the million observations of human nature, the listening all these years (songs and others) landed her a radio jockey's job overseas and there she was soaring on the air-waves, literally! Since then, each day had been a new day full of new surprises, new challenges and new memories at work. What fun! You express yourself and so many others at the same time, adding hope, joy, putting in whole lot of creativity and get paid too for that - she cherished every bit of it and felt content to live her entire life this way.

But that was not meant to be. Over years as her popularity soared, her voice started getting affected due to some severe infection in her ENT. The studio, which once used to be her most-cherished 'den' would worsen her condition because of the low temperatures there. She tried all the treatments she could to make things better. Those 4 hrs would be a pain at times, but she did everything in her might to sound right for her listeners. Things kept deteriorating though and one day she lost her job, one she so loved and was passionate for. The occupation status changed. She had to undergo surgery to correct her ailment. Once she was alright, other chapters in life opened, however, she didn't get her cherished job despite almost a decade of experience. She started staying at home, taking care of her home and family. It was a full-time job, and one that needed constant preparation. She did it all with elan. The heartfelt confesions of how she touched other lives now were hard and rare to come by, but that didn't deter her spirit. The voice still brought a smile, dealing as she was mostly with family members, maids. She hums the songs she used to play and shares the PJs she used to say on air. Her smart, efficient, bubbly self takes everything in her stride lending her beauty that just doesn't flow through her voice, but shows itself in everything she is, she does.

In the end, to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, “No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” Her dedication, multi-tasking, her work-life balance will make her as beautiful as her work just like Megha in this MIA ad.

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This post is part of ‘As Beautiful As Your Work‘ Contest hosted by Women’s Web and sponsored by ‘Mia by Tanishq‘ - As Beautiful As Your Work.


Images courtesy : Google images

I Saw, I Learnt

Albert Einstein has said "Learning is experience. Everything else is just information." We are constantly bombarded by information on a regular basis but some things touch you and never leave you and become a part of your learning. That’s something you take with you wherever you go, shapes up your personality and as an experience makes you richer. As they say, life is the biggest teacher. Our programming, being loaded with information starts pretty early in life. However, how much we imbibe and actually goes into our human revolution depends on us. 

When we talk about learning to do things right, its just not just from the people around us, or even the strangers we encounter, but also, places, situations, circumstances, non livings things too, for that matter. Even silence, at times, lends us so much to learn from.

People: The moment I start thinking about the people who have inspired, encouraged me, there are lotsa images that start floating in front of my eyes - my parents who I owe it all to, my favourite teacher who was so fair (impartial), the night watchman, from whom I learnt my first lesson in bravery (I wanted to grow up and become one, coz I thought he was so brave and could wander during the night protecting one and all, can you beat that?). Once I grew up, my friends and peers, movie stars or the roles they played, professors, authors, I read, they inspired me. The basic lessons had all been ingrained till then - no lies, do good, caring and sharing, keep your word, practice good manners, try, try and win. But there was still something missing when I came across the writings of Dr Daisaku Ikeda, President of the lay Buddhist organisation, SGI. And the lessons I have come to learn are invaluable.

Respect and appreciate your life first

Respect every other life too, irrespective of their job, social standing 

Be happy first and self-lessly work towards making others happy

Strive for peace not just in your family, but society and peace of the land

Be world citizens

Appreciate and show gratitude to one and all (we owe much to them)

Think not just of yourself but the successors who'll follow you

Sufferings are inevitable, so learn to challenge them to win over them
Winter always turns to spring and so many others

And even something as basic as, greet others every day with a smile. Not that I hadn't heard these before, the way you could impact your environment and life through these won me over. Not mere hollow words or preachings, he has shown it thorough his experience, that you needn't forget and forego all the good things learnt to live happily in these soiled times.

Place : Earliest learning begins at home, then at school, or at grandparent's house or a friend's place. So many places, like people are etched in our minds for the right things we have picked up from there. I had my fair share of such places and incidents in my life till one day I decided to take up the radio job I was offered in Mid East. First time ever, I was ready to leave the protective environment of my house and that too so far, when I hadn't even stayed in a hostel ever. Of course, with my kitty full of revised lessons as well as new ones waiting to be learnt, ones you can only learn when you are alone in a distant land. How the freedom and independence brings along a whole lot of responsibility, how your confidence grows, how manage it all single-handedly, be it the finances or chores apart from your job, how your decisions affect you and others, how to keep yourself motivated despite anything, how not to take your independence for granted, how to say no and host of other such lessons which take you through the roughest of times in your life later, Yes, being single and away from your home is one experience I believe everyone should experience. Its such an invaluable lesson. I might have felt bogged down sometime but in retrospect, its one decision of my life, one experience that has made me see things differently and do them right, a place that I will always feel gratitude for making me what I am today.

Well not just people and places, situations and circumstances, even negative, do make us learn quite many right things. Certain situations or the absence of them, does make us learn life's harsh but important truths and lessons. When I quit my job, little did I know how things, people will change just because of that one change in my life, I was the same person, well educated, with same values, who had just left her well -paying job to take a break, or take another one after a brief sabbatical Soon things changed, the attitude of people changed and I realised I was being judged just on the basis of that, that I was jobless and not getting another one! I have learnt that just because of one change in your circumstances doesn't make you less of a person, worthy of respect. What you do to earn a living and how much you earn is important but isn't something that solely defines you as a person, that there is more to any individual, if you gotta appreciate them and feel grateful for. 

I am sharing what 'I Saw and I Learnt' at BlogAdda.com in association with DoRight.in.

Reality bites!!!

You might love them, you might hate them, you cannot ignore them.

You might love them for drama, you might be glued to them for reality, they surely are a much-needed, much-awaited break from the daily soap sagas. Yes, reality is addictive and so are reality TV shows. Who doesn't love a dash of 'real' masala in the grim reality of life! And not to forget full on entertainment, entertainment, entertainment! Now that most of the reality shows on our small screen have been running for seasons after seasons, time for few more ideas :

Castaway : The contestants in this reality show will be Bollywood celebs, business honchos, top political personalities who will be put together in secluded house where they'll be bereft of all the frills and thrills of modern living. They will be put away to exist in circumstances where there will be no modern amenities and facilities that they are so accustomed to : no gadgets - electrical, electronic, truly 'organic' living so to say.There will be no electricity meaning refrigerator, AC/fan, washing machine, gas cylinder, microwave. iron, etc. (Just wondering in case of politicians, how would they managetheir spotless, starched, white kurtas!) Cultivate your food and feed yourself to be the mantra and how they survive it all is the test. The contestant who survives it all and for the longest time will be the winner, 

Couple entry : Participants in this reality show will be couples who will be asked to shop for each other - husbands for wives and vice versa. The test will be their reactions to their spouses' buys and they have to live out a day in whatever shape, size and colour outfit they get from their spouse. Their candid reactions will make for masaaledaar real stuff, of course the deals/ discount/ bargain will also be taken into account.There can be three couples who contest every week and one winner to be chosen.

50 shades of grey (matter)/Kaun kitne paani mein: This reality show will be like 'political erotica' where we can have the politicians of our country as participants competing in a quiz and task show. This reality show has an altruistic purpose, since the ones eliminated will be retired from politics for good since there is no other way to retire them!

We all know that our politicians have a way with the words, can be more scheming than the saas-bahu-bhabhis of our daily soaps, but haven't we wondered many atimes as to how much educated our politicians are. Afterall, how much they do remember from what they have studied, which is surely not evident from the way they throw things and behave in the Parliament. The audiences will love to know 'kaun kitne paani mein' and this kinda 'real' stuff would make for shooting TRPs for the channel. I think so and this one certainly appeals to me the most and here's a quick dekko at what viewers are gonna experience.

Title : 50 shades of grey 

Participants : 50 politicians in one season

Objective : To clean up the policitical system of our country, to ensure good governance

Concept : The participants will be chosen from different political parties on the basis of the age, attendance in Parliament and participation in discussions during the sessions ( the lesser the attendance, stronger the chance). Also, the older one is, they fit the bill. Three participants from each party can be grouped together to compete against each other. There participants will have to endure a volley of questions from different aspects/walks of life, general knowledge, back to school round, morals and ethics round to check their IQ, EQ, ans SQ.

Apart from the quiz, they will also be judged on the basis of how they perform various tasks such as the one in which they'll be provided with some stuff and they have to plan a ghotala/ scam in the minimum amount of time. The one who does so earliest will be a strong contender for elimination. Another task could be to secure a job other than being a politician with an expert panel testing/interviewing them. Also, tasks to judge whether they are old and senile and need to be given rest. So every weelk there will be an elimination. 

Thus everytime there will be a catch and the eliminated ones get to retire for good thus making way or the new young breed with new ideas. The more seasons this show has, the better will be the clean up act.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Musings revisited 3

Now, you are young, dreamer, writing, ok trying writing poems, and no love poem? Hows that even possible? The question troubled not just others but me too and then 'this moment' I penned down one.
Love poem -my first ever!

THIS MOMENT

A chance meeting with you 

and the embers alighted anew 

that I had smothered so long

A sight of you 

and the heart - leapt

that stayed yet settled

A smile by you

and the pallor - yielded

to hot crimson blushes

A talk with you

and the memories revived

of the past with and without you

A laugh with you

and the ecstasy - experienced

never since long

A raillerie by you 

and the reverie - broken

to which I was drifting this moment

The meeting over

and the restlessness lingers

that had been repressed till this moment.

Musings Revisited 2

"In creating, the only hard thing is to begin", they say. Well, the first one had been created and the love for the 'Rhyme' was hard to abandon. So I realised when I sat out to compose the second one. Minimal 'I', 'my' and to 'ryhme' is 'fine'- that was 'My Plight', yes, the life-state that you are in. Here it goes :

MY PLIGHT

I had read somewhere

Lives of great men make you dare.

For me, they give me a scare.

Their success-stories inspire to acquire,

what they acheived and we just believed,

what they conquered and we just pondered.

My case is otherwise

They do make me realise,

But only my pettiness in my eyes,

my failure, my folly compared to the wise.

Their glory at having graced the heights,

makes me pity my plight.

The time spent in making castles in air, will never come back,

the doors that I shut, being on the wrong track,

life that's wasted in self-indulgence,

the cursed flower without fragrance.

Their achievements, do make me realise

my dreams and hopes that didn't materialise.

Their life stories when I do recollect,

cripple me, I muse, reflect , wonder, rather than act.

Though they are dead and gone,

yet, alive in what they have done.

This realisation, gives me pain, 

In 'Rich and Famous', there won't be my name!

Images : Google images

Musings revisited 1

"Every twenty-something does attempt to write poetry sometime or the other, especially so, if reading/studying literature", proclaimed one of my favourite Professors during one of the Modern Poetry lectures. That set me thinking. Despite three years of rigorous under-graduate literature studies and about to touch the twenty-year landmark, I hadn't tried penning any, or even thought about it. Had tried my hand at short story writing or articles, maybe a couplet if at all, but a nice little poem, none! Now I couldn't rest till I had tried writing one. So one fine day, I set about penning it all after gathering my random thoughts, emotions, reading fair share of  poems to be inspired and a dictionary, of course, for rhyming help! Yes, a set of rhyming lines, it was to be as my maiden poem and what better to write on other than the subject that has perennially bothered spiritualists, anthropologists, philosophers and scientists alike "Life and Death" - yes, this theme intrigued me even at that age, and still does! I still remember when one of my lecturers read it, he said it had the touches of ghazal -writing, which I little understood then. Also, that for my subsequent compositions, I was told to avoid 'rhyme' altogether, and 'I', if possible, (a deeper lesson, indeed, wouldn't avoiding just that uncomplicate so much in life!). I stumbled upon this first poem of mine today, and here I am re-producing it here.

Life versus Death

After trying life I long for death

For now this burden I want to shed;

I am tired bearing it so long

I want to sing the death's song.

A complete want of a loving touch, 

Twenty years have shown me so much!

Such disappointment, sorrow, such unrest;

I want to bring myself to rest.

Death, take me in your peaceful lap

O, free me from this life's trap.

In fury, you so many slay,

Yet, to kill oneself is no child's play, 

Facing life', they say, 'is a deed so brave.

It's easy to be death's slave,

To do nothing and lie in a grave'.

Sorrow, sorrow and more sorrow...

'Hold on', they say, there'll be a new morrow.

Its the past and present which make you say so;

The future holds many good things to show.

So here I am trying to come to terms with life,

Waiting for my time to be ripe,

And wondering at the strange Triumph of Life!

Images : Google Images

On a rainy day...

On a rainy day, her thoughts often veered to those brief moments of drizzling, that made her heart miss a beat, coupled with a look of panic and the lips sent a quick prayer and then next moment, a smile lit up her face.

XXX

Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks and the heavens poured too. The tears did stop, gradually, once she realised she couldn't force people to be by her side at the most important, much awaited juncture of her life, however, the heavens didn't. She continued to glance through the various flower arrangements being shown  to her slide after slide. The clouds roared outside. Then one look out of the window and her eyes got dewy again. "What if..? Will it ever stop raining? The arrangements won't get spolied na? The ceremony is gonna be outside, they would be complaining?" She kept looking out of the window for quite sometime and wishing in her heart that the rains would stop. Atleast not tomorrow, or she and her parents might have to go through lot of humiliation, and the wastage of food, money, decorations, efforts. No! She wanted everything to go smoothly and beautifully and nothing to play a spoilsport.

Her brother, paralyzed father had been doing months of research, discussion, recce to decide on the venue. The banquets which would be easier to reach for everyone were either booked, with not great decor or food, or really far away. Since both Tia's and the boy's family lived not too far away, it din't make sense to have the marriage ceremony which would take long to reach. The lawn venues, on the other hand, were spacious, had great parking space and lovely glittery, rich decorations. So, for the venue, despite much deliberation that the D-Day is gonna be then when it pours and pours heavily, somehow an open lawn of a club was agreed upon by both the families, though the question still hovering over their heads, 'what if it rains?' The club officials assured alternate arrangements could be made in the small hall, just in case. Tia wished and hoped and prayaed it won't rain and all would be well. So much for conviction?

It was the D-day. The skies were bright and clear and the weather was cheerful just like the festivities and ceremonies going around Tia at her brightly decorated house. Smiles hiding pain and tears hiding joy played hide and seek on one face or the other every once in a while. By afternoon the sun was playing the same game too. Once or twice that Tia got a glimpse of it, apart from bothering over her bridal dress, makeup, jewellery, the stuff to be carried to the venue, her suitcases, fighting tears, taking care of her mom, she got worked up. No, it won't rain, not today. Even on her way to the beautician she kept saying in her heart, "I love this weather, the breeze, the feel of raindrops on my face but no rains today, not today! I would welcome and dance with you like I have always done since my childhood, but not today!"

So far, so good. The heavens heeded her. All was going well. And then it was that moment when Tia, all decked up in her bridal glory, with hope, fear, faith for her new life had to go on the stage to meet her groom. Here he was, holding out his hand to have her, support her on the stage and exchange garlands and nuptial vows. Tia and the man of her dreams both held pristine white lilies and red roses garlands to put in each other's neck. Tia put the garland first in her groom's neck and everybody clapped. Just then Tia felt two droplets caressing her cheeks. No, she wasn't crying. And she tried looking up, but before she could, she felt a little weight on her neck, a gentle tickle, and the strong scent of lilies and roses so close,heard everybody clapping and looking up at the skies. It had started drizzling just then, very light but enough to bring about a look of worry on almost all the faces, And her eyes met her man's. There was anxiety in his, as if saying, "see, its gonna pour, now what?" She looked up at the skies next moment, her heart pounding fast, a panicky frown on the bedecked and beautiful and till-then-smiling face, thinking of what her parents might have to go through if it starts pouring heavily, how it would mar the celebrations, and saying a quick prayer at the same time and giving a  reassuring look to her man. And then, the next moment the drizzling almost suddenly, abruptly stopped. The smile returned on Tia's face and it dawned on her. She blushingly told her man, "Blesings, they were, from the Gods above'!" The marriage was solemnized! The droplets drizzled for only those brief moments that they held each other and exchanged garlands of holy matrimony and only at that spot of stage where they were standing. Since there was not a single droplet felt for the next few moments they both looked at each other, cherished a mutual smile and then turned up at the heavens above as if to thank for the blessings and being a witness to the holy wedlock that they were bound into.

XXX

Tia got up to the gurgling and roar of clouds, stared at the ceiling, bed, the man lying beside her, and then the walls to look for what time it was, and then she heard it again from the tiny window, this time louder! The pitter patter of rain drops turning into heavy downpour. She lay there listening to the heavens venting it out for quite some time and smiling to herself. It rained like never before that day. Afterall, they had held it for so long! The heavens had drizzled to pour the blessings and now they had to shed it all as wishes for her new life full of hope..

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda