'F' IS FOR FATHER

A Father is the first man a girl encounters in her life. It is because of a father that a girl is able to understand the opposite gender, and hence  fathers play a very important role in moulding the future of a girl.

It doesn't matter how educated or rich your father is. All that matters is how you are treated by your father, and it's truly a blessing if your father treats you like a princess.

My father was neither rich nor very educated. He struggled all his life, only to meet the needs of his family. He wasn't very expressive or very good at words either. He and us faced very hard times when his company closed down. But no matter  how difficult the times he found himself amidst, he truly remained a gem of a person at heart. He showered his immense love on me, and that was all I needed.

Its only because of him that I realised that all men are not bad, and  today I find myself truly blessed with a loving husband and a son.

Nobody can take the place of my father in my life. But I must tell you that I have got an amazing father-in-law, who treats me like his own daughter. He believes in all that I do, and never doubts or questions my judgment. I share an excellent rapport with him. I know that just like my father, he will be there for me always.

And above all is my Father in Heaven, God Almighty. I know he will always care for me and my family.

'E' IS FOR EVIL

I actually wanted to write on some other topic, but I think this one is more relevant to the times we live in. Yesterday I read about this young Bangladeshi atheist blogger who was hacked to death with an axe/machete/butcher's knife or some other sharp and heavy weapon. He had multiple stab wounds on his face. The way he was killed suggested that the murderer(s) was either very angry or absolutely sick in the head.

The blogger had supposedly written against religious fundamentalists. Or maybe he had written something blasphemous.

But I really wonder, which one is more evil? The one who wrote a few unsavoury things about the dark side of religion, or the  heartless and merciless people who kill in the name of religion? Such a shame. While a major part of the world is developing things to make living easier, some us are stuck in the dark ages and only thinking about taking lives.

'D' IS FOR DREAMS

"Without Dreaming, We Lose The Excitement Of Possibilities"

- Gloria Steinem

Everyone has dreams. Why humans dream might be a matter of great interest to psychologists and philosophers since countless years, yet no one has a clear answer. Nevertheless, I can safely label myself as a dreamer. I do it not just while I'm asleep, but also while I'm awake.

Sometimes, my loved ones call me impractical and foolish when I share my dreams and aspirations with them. I admit, I might be a little overambitious at times. However, I strongly believe that when we dream big, we are more likely to reach great heights than otherwise. I have always lived my life by this mantra. Hence, I never regret dreaming big, and haven't yet shied away from making my aspirations known, even at the risk of being ridiculed at times. It sometimes drives my hubby nuts, but I have no regrets. On the bright side, my attitude has at times helped my hubby take risks and succeed, and he has thanked me for the same.

There is a wonderful saying - "Don't Just Dream Your Life...Live Your Dream". Very true. If you simply dream and hold back from striving towards bringing your dreams to reality, then dreaming is useless. After all, life is nothing but a pursuit of dreams.

This post is written as a part of the April A to Z Challenge - 2015

'C' IS FOR CHRIST

I am a Christian from the Roman Catholic sect. With the holy week of lent going on, the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of the letter C was Jesus Christ.

The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Jesus is welcomed into the city of Jerusalem with his disciples by the Jews, who mistake him as a political leader who will lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire. However, when they realise that they were mistaken, they plot to get him out of the way, in connivance with Jewish priests who level charges of Blasphemy. Maundy Thursday marks the day of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples and his teaching them the important lesson of being of service to others by washing their feet. Good Friday is the day Jesus is arrested following betrayal by Judas, and charged for Blasphemy by the Jews. Subsequently he is crucified after a lot of torture and humiliation. Holy Week finally culminates with Easter Sunday, when Jesus rises from the dead.

Easter is actually a bigger festival for Christians than Christmas. Christians believe in the concept of redemption, forgiveness, and 'life after death'. For me, 'life after death' is not necessarily resurrection in the literal sense, but has more to do with having a second chance, or getting a chance to redeem one's self after initial failure. It is about repentance and starting life afresh.

As a Christian, I am proud of the fact that my religion is a religion of peace. The word 'Catholic' means all-embracing. I am also proud of the fact that our religious leader, i.e. the Pope is not shy of admitting mistakes and apologising for events in history where the Church was at fault. The fact that the Church is not rigid and fundamentalist, and is willing to move with the times is also a very good trait.

Here's wishing everyone a VERY HAPPY EASTER.

This post is written as a part of the April A to Z Challenge - 2015

'B' IS FOR BREAKFAST.

It is common knowledge that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is this meal that keeps us going the whole day. Just as a vehicle requires fuel to start, our body requires breakfast to start its day after a long night's sleep.

Many a times the power of a breakfast is underestimated. Sometimes, people miss or skip their breakfast due to unnecessary reasons like "I want to lose weight", "I could not find time" or simply "I didn't like the spread".

For most wives, including me, breakfast can pose a problem of epic proportions. Women will relate more to this, but "what to prepare for breakfast" is one of the hardest questions to answer every morning. Trust me, it's easier to find out what a woman wants (or maybe it's not). 

This is how my daily (almost) morning conversation with my husband goes, when it comes to breakfast:-

Me (yawning) - I'm so tired. Anyway, what do you want for breakfast today?

Hubby - Oh, don't take too much trouble, let's have cornflakes today.

Me - Cornflakes? But that's not filling. Remember, have breakfast like a king!

Hubby - Oh, alright then, let's have omelette sandwiches.

Me - Eggs have high cholesterol, you need to reduce your egg intake.

Hubby - Aargh...oats?

Me - Sorry, we're out of oats. You didn't make time for shopping....

Hubby (with an irritated look on his face) - I'm getting late...sorry gotta go...c'ya in the evening

Don't blame me...I was just making sure he got the most optimal choice of breakfast.

Ladies, sounds familiar? ;)

This post is written as a part of the April A to Z Challenge - 2015

'A' IS FOR ARRANGED MARRIAGE

They say marriages are made in heaven, but arranged on earth.

For me, marriage is an institution where two individuals are brought together - some times by love, and some times in hopeful effort of meeting your true love.

My marriage was an arranged marriage - arranged by my mother to a boy whom I had never seen or met before.

But was I ready for this?

I asked her why she wanted me to take this plunge and her answer simply was that no one can live a life alone.

But how do we live with a stranger? Is it as simple as it sounds?

It was such a scary thought for me at that time.

Funnily though, as we neared our wedding day, I realised that my husband had the same thoughts and fears as I did, and this curiosity helped us to understand each other. During the course of our quest to get to know each other, we first became best of friends of each other, graduated to becoming lovers, and then finally became husband and wife.

Today, we are blessed with a child.

Arranged marriages are indeed like an adventure, where you get to know new things about your partner every single day.

And I am loving this adventure!

This post is written as a part of the April A to Z Challenge - 2015

POOR LOSERS

As I feared, India lost the ICC World Cup 2015 semi-final to Australia, who were deserving winners all the way. I could hear Pakistani and Bangladeshi fans chiding Team India with chants of Mauka Mauka, and could not control my chuckles. Please don't judge me, but I think the poor Indian team had to pay for Star Sports India's cockiness.

No sooner had the match ended than our typical Indian cricket fans went on the offensive, blaming the team for underperforming and throwing in the towel without a fight. The Virat-Anushka jokes were absolutely uncalled for. Many people started calling for Captain Cool Dhoni's resignation. The same people were ranting about the team being invincible only a week ago, or maybe just a couple of hours before the match had begun.

I wonder when we Indians will learn to treat sports like sports, and not like a do-or-die war. Australia didn't show up on the field just to lose to India, they're playing for their country's honour too.

I wonder how many of us will throw away our mobile phones simply because we could not reach the final level of 'Angry Birds' or 'Candy Crush'.

Well played Team India! Reaching the Finals of the World Cup is a big thing in itself.

SHAME AND HOPE

Image Source: Hindustan Times

An incident that took place in Afghanistan last week disturbed me.

A young 27-year old woman named Farkhunda, who was a religious teacher, was falsely accused of burning the Koran following an argument with a mullah. Subsequently, she was beaten to death by an angry (and sick) mob. They beat the poor woman with their fists, stomped on her, pelted her with stones and rocks, thrashed her with a wooden plank, threw her off a roof, and ran a car over her lifeless body. As a climax, they then burnt her body and tossed it over a bridge into a dry river. The worst part was all this happened in the capital city Kabul, in the presence of policemen.

The attackers (all men) were absolutely ruthless and without heart. In the video of the killing, some men can be seen giggling while committing their act. Kids, some as young as 7-8 years can also be seen witnessing the killing like as if it were some form of entertainment. Such a dastardly event made me feel that there was no hope for the human race - even wild animals are capable of better behaviour. And all this for what? God would never approve of such an act.

But what followed afterward made me take notice.

Apparently, there were huge protests in Afghanistan against the murder. The protesters were all women. Traditionally, it is the menfolk who stand as pallbearers while burying the dead. But these women did not allow any man to come forward to carry the body. Instead, they themselves carried the body and buried her with full honour.

This was a perfect example of woman power! I foresee a positive progressive change in Afghanistan due to this event. Hopefully Afghanistan, which is absolute hell for women, will become a better place for women to live in the times to come.

We can only hope for a positive change.

SABKA MAUKA

 

Star Sports' Mauka Mauka TV commercial might be gaining a lot of popularity in India, probably due to the fact that our patriotism is measured by the yardstick of how much we can outdo our neighbour Pakistan. The first commercial, where the Pakistani fan kept arranging for celebrations at every World Cup encounter against India ended up getting frustrated each and every time was very funny, and I almost fell off my chair laughing.

However, it's not funny anymore. The fun changed to anxiety from the third part in the series. I mean, it's funny as long as you're winning. But if reality doesn't play along with your plans, things can get really embarassing. The commercial has begun to reek of arrogance on India's part, and I think they should really stop it before India falters (I hope not) and the chant comes back to haunt Indian fans. 

It's one thing to cheer your team. But when enthusiasm turns to arrogance, we need to pull back a little bit. We must remember that all the teams are talented and even the seemingly weaker teams are capable of pulling off a surprise.

WE WONT GIVE IT BACK

THE ICC World Cup has taken centre-stage once again. The event, that happens once every four years, keeps the whole world Desis and the Desi diaspora engrossed for close to a month. About 14 teams are playing this time, and I hope at least 1 minnow team makes it through to the knock-out stage. I always support the underdogs.

India enters the tournament as defending champions. Hope they win the World Cup for the third time.

The "We Wont Give It Back" catchphrase is really good. I love it.

Hope we really don't give it back, at least not without a fight.

Overall, however, it would be nice to see a team like South Africa, who have encountered bad luck consistently, to win too.

May The Best Team Win! 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Image Source: www.bocamag.com

It's that time of the year again when lovers go mushy, exchange roses/gifts/kisses ;) and make their feelings known. It's heartwarming to see, but sometimes becomes embarassing to see, especially the way some kids take PDA to levels once unimaginable (most of us have been there some time, that's why it is embarassing).

For us ladies, it's a nice feeling to be made to feel special, at least once a year. Some of us don't even enjoy this small privilige, especially married ladies, because once we get married, office-related work tends to get a better share of our spouses' attention. Nevertheless, even a simple gesture like a rose or dinner outside (let us stay out of the kitchen at least once a year guys) counts.

Here's wishing everyone out there a very Happy Valentine's Day.

MY MOM - MY BEST FRIEND

There is a saying - 'A Mother is someone who can take the place of all others, but who's place no one else can take'. How true this saying is. This saying is particularly apt for my mother.

My mother is the reason I exist today. I have an elder sister. Both of us lost our father when we had barely graduated out of school. Although he had lost his job a few years before his death, due to the company winding up, he had just begun to get back on his feet to support the family by starting his own business, when tragedy struck. The entire responsibility of the household, the education and raising of two young girls suddenly fell on my mother's shoulders. She had to start life afresh. Of course, she had amazing support from family, - both my dad's as well as her own - but it isn't easy for anyone, let alone a woman, to bring up two kids all alone. She did a great job, and that too while being a friend to both of us. We were more like three sisters, rather than a mother and two daughters.

Today, both daughters are well-settled. Both are married, and I have a young son. Amazingly, she hasn't retired and sat back yet. She still helps us around. She's our crisis-lady, always ready to help us with chores, important tasks,and even with child-raising. Sometimes I feel my son loves her more than me, but I'm not complaining.

It wouldn't be wrong for me to call her a Super-Woman, because she really is one.

I feel really blessed.

I wish I could be half like her to my son. Or maybe I shouldn't try, because I can never match up to that level.

SLEEP MY CHILD

The Dawn Has Gone And Dusk Has Come,
Sleep My Child, It's Way Past One,
If Nightmares Come You Need Not Fear,
You're Safe And Sound, Your Mom Is Near

So Lie Down Still and Close Your Eyes,
And Watch Your Dreams All Spring to Life,
Till The Morning Sun Comes Out to Play,
And the World Welcomes a Brand new Day.