कर्म तेरे अच्छे तो किस्मत तेरी दासी,
दिल तेरा सच्चा तो घर में मथुरा काशी ।

#truckQuotes

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From Baby to Bhabhi

Hello Peeps. I am back, this time from Namma Bengaluru!

Where was I? 

After a sabbatical of 6 months, I am here to ink my thoughts on your screen! During the past 6 months my life has taken a major drift, from my roka and wedding and subsequently moving to Bangalore. In short, transforming from "Baby to Bhabhi".

Why this post?

Well, this single post shall not be enough to describe the entire story of my being Happily Ever After!

You may call it a warm-up note to break the ice between me and my blogger account. You may also assume that I am puking my undigested thoughts after a break. Please bear with me this time :)

Where am I?

Bengaluru- the Silicon City as they say, is quite different from MY Indore. This place taught me a lot, may it be buying vegetables, surviving the bumper-to-bumper traffic, the entrancing Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Oriya, Malyalam, aka the vivacious South Indian culture; their cryptic languages (with due respect); the palatable food and what not. I am lovin it!

Guess what? Bengaluru does not have cows (got to see only 3 cows on roads in the past 3+ months), stray dogs here only prefer non-vegetarian meals.

Moreover, I could barely see any old person here! Seriously, everyone here is young, none with salt-and-pepper-beard, only young folks everywhere. Ghosshhh! Don't people turn old here? The vast IT brigade has occupied the town.

About me-

I turned into a responsible young lady (sort of!) from a chirpy perky girly! Amusingly, I spend hours finding best deals on Dettol, Harpic, Vim bar, mop, non-stick cookware, moong dal, sugar, multi-grain aata, pillow covers, Patanjali Ghee, lemon and cauliflower on Amazon and Big Basket. This is a big twist in my life that came from marriage. And you must spare me a much deserved pat on my back for handling my maid who is Kannada from heart, soul and TONGUE!

What next?

In the last half year my life took a 360 degree turn by transforming me into the proud individual that I am now. Watch this space to know more of my myriad experiences.

(Disclaimer: This post does not intend to harm, defame, or hurt the sentiments of any person, gender, religion, political party, news channel, religious belief, god or to whomsoever it may concern. I sincerely apologize in advance if it is so.)

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You can probably do anything in life, but not everything! 
-web

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Its My Right Too

Since past few days, every time I turn the TV on and fiddle with the news channels, I can easily spot at least one channel showing 6-8 thumbnail sized faces and one bigger thumbnail of the news reader / moderator of the debate. The debate regarding entry of women to the popular Shani Shingnapur temple's sacred sanctum.

First, the news channels are seeking pleasure in giving air to the fire of the thought provoking debate which at the end of the day has no conclusion. Do we have anyone authorized to present a verdict on this, and hence a never ending debate it is!

Second, if our country keeps fighting on the name of religion it would be difficult for us to excel. This is what US President Obama said once. Let alone cross-religion fights, this one is amidst people of the same religion. So you may call it same-religion-cross-gender dispute-with-no-respite.

Next, our country has bigger problems to deal with. If every community comes with one such problem, its enough to land us in the middle of nowhere and other countries enjoying our cat fight! Recently, THE GREAT actor (you-know-who), and most importantly the husband of celebrity, actor and member of Parliament (you-know-who), has come up with a BRAND NEW (atleast it seems to be brand new) fight for the rights of a CASTE from Kashmir. And alas! he has received the most coveted Padma award, even before the issue is resolved. It seems that he is evoking the rage of the countrymen for the sake of popularity and awards. How come he suddenly arose after all those 26 years of injustice to the community?

Coming back to the original topic, the right to worship. While an interesting debate was being telecasted, a WOMAN, yes a woman priest (acclaimed saadhvi) was protesting AGAINST women's right to worship because they menstruate. A bunch of men who were on the extempore with her were favoring women's right to worship. Aweful contradiction. Meanwhile, the moderator representing the new channel was worth appreciating. Let me paraphrase what he said- "I don't go to such temple where my daughters are not allowed. I don't believe in such a god whom my daughters can't worship." And he ended the debate by reading a sentence from a piece of paper, which was probably passed on to him from his channel's representative. It said- "जिसके गर्भ में नौ महीने रहे उसी को गर्भग्रह में नहीं जाने देते..."

Next, for the women who protested. Do they have any political intent? Are they paid to cause the havoc? Is there something we are unable to see here? Do the news channels themselves pay them to help creating such masala news? Are they really devoted to visit the temple? Is this the only temple left on the planet? Don't  you fear that Shani Bhagwan will be angry at you for causing this mess? Forget about Shani Bhagwan, don't you fear that the epitome of Hinduism, those self-acclaimed modern Dharm Gurus will spell curse on you? Don't you think the time, energy and money you are wasting to convince those who can never change, can be used for some noble cause which in turn will automatically impress the honorable deity? Are you real or mechanical? A real incidence that happened with me a few months back, while I was visiting a famous Hanuman temple in my vicinity during evening aarti. They were forcing all the woman to stay behind the barricades placed a few feet far from the diety. I, unknowingly tried to go past that region to worship the diety, and a man shouted- "ladies, stay away". I was speechless, could have protested, but didn't. I didn't visit the temple again.

Next, for the saints who are favoring the restriction. Can you tell who has made such weird rules against the fair gender? Was it The God himself, or The Society? If it was God who did this, I wonder why would he get impure by the touch of those whom he has created? Is there any scripture stating this? If God has made women and the fact that they menstruate is also bestowed by God, how could he himself be impure because of their entry to his so-called home. As per sanatan dharm, god is present in every particle (including every human). In that case, we are causing impurity to our own existence. Let us eradicate women in that case. If it was human who made the rule, then let me tell you, to err is human! समाज हम से है, हम समाज से नहीं | Moreover, some of you are trying to confuse people by saying that Shani dev is not a God and he is a Grah (planet).

Next, to the news channels. There are a lot more places of worship in the country who have similar restrictions, either on the attire to be worn, or the entry of a specific gender or specific race or religion. Why are you creating havoc and mocking the religion for ONE temple? What is your motto: to cause more protests, to solve the issue, to create a new rule, or to earn TRP? You must aim, not towards destruction of humanity, but towards encouraging constructive thoughts. What is it that you are diverting the public from, any news which may have been more relevant, but not masala?

Next, for the men who have come in support of the women. Well, thanks for showing that you value women and their rights. Never mind, but you are just a handful of people and your efforts are already going in vain.

Next, when everyone is coming up with their opinion, why not me. I say- पुरानी परम्पराये जाएँगी तभी तो नयी आएँगी।

Thanks to these inconclusive agendas, that after progressing two steps ahead, we pull ourselves one step back. In that case, we as a nation remain standing where we had started.

(Disclaimer: This post does not intend to harm, defame, or hurt the sentiments of any person, gender, religion, political party, news channel, religious belief, god or to whomsoever it may concern. I sincerely apologize in advance if it is so. I wrote this to present the whole picture from my perspective and to encourage constructive thought process for a better and progressive nation)

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Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

I spotted this book on the Goodreads Choice Awards page. It has a whooping 1,814,600 ratings and 129,752 reviews as of date, which compelled me to buy and read it! This book is penned by John Green, who resides at Indianapolis and is one of the bestselling authors.

While reading, one gets totally soaked in to the raw, humorous, simple, medical fiction. This is the story of a 16 year old cancer patient Hazel who happens to meet Augustus Waters at a Cancer Kids Support Group. After this her life turns into a wonderful tale. Augustus is himself a 17 year old cancer survivor. Eventually they become good friends and then lovers. The plot is simple, down to earth and practical.

Hearing first of a cancer patient's story one may feel that it must be either too gloomy or full of doses of motivation of those who combat their terminal illness, trying to change the world, etcetera. But it is far simpler and still interesting. Generally, no one even imagines of a situation unless it occurs to them. For instance, I do not have cancer and no one in my close or distant family does. So, it is obvious that I would never ever think of what a cancer patient and his family go through. After reading this book, I got an insight into what they go through.

This book portrays it in a balanced and realistic manner, nothing filmy. The narration is from a teenager Hazel's perspective. Hence, we get to know her interpretations, at times, humorous. The grief of her unfortunate parents who are about to loose their daughter, and the only child at the hands of cancer is very touching. Hazel, Augustus and his friend Isaac are facing some or the other deformities that cancer has imposed upon them. But they compliment each other very well. Also, if one reads between the lines, they would realize the worth of life and good health, and that despite of any other form of agony, they are still bestowed with a gift to cherish- LIFE.

I have listed out a few of my favorite lines from the book below-

1) "Grief does not change you Hazel. It reveals you." - Peter Van Houten (Page #286)
2) "A desert blessing, an ocean curse." (with reference to water)- Augustus Water's letter to Peter Van Houten  (Page #313) 
3) "There is no try. There is only do."- Hazel (Page #218)
4) "...some infinities are bigger than other infinities."- Cassius' note in Shakespeare's composition (Page #111)
5) "I tried to tell myself that it could be worse, that the world was not a wish-granting factory, that I was living with cancer not dying of it, that I mustn't let it kill me before it kills me..."- Hazel (Page #121)
6) "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have a say in who hurts you."- Augustus Waters' letter to Hazel via Peter Van Houten (Page #313)
7) "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."- Page #111 (Cassius' note in Shakespeare's composition)

I read the second part with slow pace because I didn't want it to end so soon. Moreover, the end seems to be a promising beginning of a sequel. John Green, are you listening to me? You ain't gona behave like Van Houten! Are you?

My rating for this book has to be undoubtedly 4.5 on 5. It is near perfect and a touching tale, a mesmerizing saga of boundless love of two dying teenagers, cushioned by parental affection, laughter, tears, fury, twists, heartache and goosebumps.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing the review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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कागज़ अपनी क़िस्मत से उड़ता है लेकिन पतंग अपनी काबिलियत से। इसलिए क़िस्मत साथ दे ना दे काबिलियत ज़रूर साथ देती है।
Source-Internet

Happy Makar Sankranti :)

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'Why should I feel lonely? Is not our planet in the Milky Way?'
-Ruskin Bond (originally from Thoreau)

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Book Review: Love Among The Bookshelves

Ruskin Bond, the 81 year old India born author of British descent. He has spent most of his life in India and still stays in Mussoorie. He is recognized for the growth of Children's literature, and is the recipient of Sahitya Academy and a bunch of other awards.

This introduction of the great writer is highly appealing. Except for whatever of his work I have studied during my school days (which I don't remember much), I have very less knowledge of his books. This was his first book which I read, and which came to me as a December gift (secret Santa, to be precise) :)

I read about this book on goodreads which was embellished with mostly high ratings and good reviews, and had built high expectations from this. I am seriously bewildered after reading the book, and suspect how so many people can call it a good read. I totally understand that he is an eminent writer and a reverable figure but what is so good about reading his "reading adventures"? I mean this book is so shallow. Ruskin Bond has written about how he started reading at a tender age, books he read, how his reading and writing took place in parallel, and how his life went by during all this. On almost every alternate chapter, he has added content extracted from a favorite chapter of any of his favorite book. And many amongst these were penned in archaic English, which is out of my sense of language. The chapters suddenly emerged between Mr. Bond's own life story, and confused me. Strangely, so many pages are left vacant in the middle, and those which are printed, have nearly 25% or more wasted in margins.

 I felt as if Mr. Bond is too old to blog and use internet, and that is why he wrote all of it in a book in a random way, or the publisher just wanted to oblige the renowned author. I am sorry to write all this. May be it was me who couldn't get to the depth he is trying to guide his readers to, generation gap you may say!

Only one good thing about this book is that after knowing his reading adventures, book lovers get inspiration to read and read! He has read close to ten thousand books, a whooping number it is!

I rate it as 2.5 on 5 stars. However, I would love to read some other books of Mr. Bond. He is a real inspiration for readers and writers.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing the review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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Shallow Hal

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

I just closed VLC player after watching this Hollywood movie called Shallow Hal, and my hands ran on the keyboard to write about it this Sunday. I am hitting the Publish button now!

You may skip this paragraph, if you don't want a lengthy read. However, I insist you continue.

Shallow Hal is a humorous tale of a man called Hal who had fixation to physically attractive woman. Being an average looking guy himself, he didn't succeed in pursuing any lady for a date. When Hal was nine, his Dad's last words on death bed were, 'Son, never ever settle for less.' While Hal was struggling to search his lady, he stumbled upon a a famous life coach whom he was stuck with in an elevator. He motivated Hal about the worth of inner beauty, and not to strive solely for the exteriors. In order to help him overcome his disappointment and shallow-ness, the coach hypnotized him with a spell. Thereafter, every girl Hal came across looked thin, smart and beautiful to him. After a while, he started dating a girl- Rosemary, who apparently was his boss' daughter and was very fat. But due to the coach's trance, he found her extremely beautiful and lean. They fell in love. Later, his worried friend approached the coach and reverted the spell from Hal to prevent any jeopardy to either of the parties. It was now that he could see the "real", "unattractive" Rosemary. It was embarrassing for him initially, and he tried to avoid her. Gradually, he realized the worth of inner beauty, of the caring and affectionate Rosemary and reconciled with her. And then, there's the Happy Ending!

Moral of the story- Not all good things are beautiful, not all beautiful things are good. I know this is meager and has been read and told many times. The definition of real beauty is influenced by what television, magazines, movies and the society keep telling us for years. Why do we not look for beauty inside out? A beautiful face may not last forever, but a beautiful heart shall. On a similar note, I had written about the obsession for being thin and fair, about 2+ years back under the title- Fair is Lovely, Thin is Beautiful.

What appeals to the world's fancies is the exteriors. Agreed. Because as humans you have learnt to judge by what you see. Pragmatically, you tend to get attracted or distracted based on the same. For instance, paradoxically, we delude good looking people to be rude, proud or witty, whereas we assume the ill-favored ones lack confidence or are cunning. This is about first impression. But in the process of knowing someone, let alone your opinion of the physical appearances and look for the true person beneath.

Someone told me long back that when you grow old, your skin may be wrinkled, your hair shall turn white and your appearances may fade. All that lasts forever is the abstract you! Have no reason to be with someone, for if the reason diminishes the togetherness wanes.

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A Mirror- Tales of 2015

Shrug your shoulders and close the browser window right away if you are curious to read sad or happy TALES of my life's last year in this post. Read ahead, otherwise :)

Like every other year, 2015 was also bundled with ample of events, learning, peaks and valleys, success and failure, cheers and tears for me. I am listing down 12 of my take-aways, you may assume one per month. Although this does not have real examples or incidences stated along with, but trust me, every nook and cranny of this is entirely real to me.

1) Smile. Happiness is not a sin, sadness is not a virtue. Happiness comes at a cost and sadness comes for free. People in the world have enough problems to deal with. No one likes sad faces either. As my favorite quote from Dale Carnegie is- "It is so, it can't be otherwise." You do not own all the problems in the world.

2) Read as much as you can. Reading is to mind what exercise is to body. Reading a good book is like an entourage to another world that lies amidst the pages of the book. Fiction is a striking means to live all the characters that you couldn't have lived in this one life. I have detailed my thoughts on this in a post- Bibliobibuli yesterday.

3) Never get disheartened. When one door closes other opens, fall seven times stand up eight. You may not always get what you please, but keep going and wait for the magnum opus to come your way.

4) Music heals. Listen to your favorite music each day and soak yourself into the hymns and the lyrics of the symphony.

5) Exercise. You cannot take care of others if you do not take care of yourself. You cannot make others happy if you aren't happy. You cannot keep others healthy if you aren't in the pink of health. On the same verge, I strongly advocate that one must follow an exercise routine. Watch out the internet for various ways to stay fit- may it be an exercise regime, ergonomics at work, or certain foods to include in your regular diet.

6) Meditate. Spend some time in solitaire every day. Ponder over the day's activities. Meditation has powerful impact on the mind, body and soul as a respite from the stressful routines that we have.

7) Pray. Whatever religion you belong to, whatever be your ethnicity or faith, believe that there is someone who has a greater responsibility of you. And that One will always take care of you. Leave yourself in the God's hands and have faith that all that is happening to you is his will.

8) Accept what you cannot change. I know most people like me have the desire to procure the knowledge of what fate has in it's store for them. But let things happen as they are, go with the flow, for whatever has to happen will happen anyway. Do not attempt to fast forward life to see if your current situation or deeds are worth in the end.

9) Learn from other's mistakes. You do not live long enough to make all mistakes by yourself. Be a good observer, see people around you, talk to them, participate in discussions. You'll always get to learn something from someone or an incident. Be receptive.

10) Friend to all is a friend to none. Have some good buddies in your trunk of acquaintances. It's good to know many people and to be known by all, but keep a few aside whom you can confide in at anytime. The other day, I read a quote on twitter- "Dosto, hansne me to bahut saath nibhaaya tumne, aaj mera mann rone ka hai..." (Friends, you accompanied me well while I was merry, what if today I want to weep.)

11) When you are speaking, you are repeating what you already know. But when you are listening, you are learning something new. Hone your listening skills. Moreover, it is not always mandatory that you win every argument.

12) Use your anger wisely. It can do miracles. Anger impairs our judgement, and foresight. Get motivation from what makes you angry and drive it in the right direction.

I hope that 2016 dawns upon me and everyone in a happy, healthy and successful manner. Keep learning.

Happy New Year :)

I’m sharing my #TalesOf2015 with BlogAdda.

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