The Bond of Love

This one dedicated to my brother. Yesterday we celebrated Rakshabandhan. It’s not only a day when a sister ties a thread (Rakhi) on her brother’s wrist, but it has a deeper meaning too.

A sister prays for her brother’s long life and her brother promises to protect her always. Every relation has it’s own value, but nothing could be as unique, and unpredictable as a brother -sister relation.

When I prayed to God, this Rakhi, I would like to thank him for many reasons.

– For giving me a friend, whom I can always trust.

– A constant supporter, who kept supporting me whenever I was low.

– A wellwisher, whose prayers will always work for me.

– A critic, who will find faults in me or my work, only to bring out the best from me.

Well I can go on and on with adjectives. We have many fights, our opinions don’t match many times, we have literally abused and attacked physically too 😉 ( Those days, good old days 😉 )
But we both know, that we will always be there for each other. We both never express our love, we never need to because we are always together, either at home or on Whatsap 😉

There are many things, jokes and gossips , and secrets that are only between us and only we both can understand. 🙂 😉

I know we both are used to each other’s presence. I know he misses me when I am not at home 😉 , so do I. Due to his busy work schedule (shifts) we cannot spend enough time, but when we do, it’s awesome. Even though we have a 5 year age gap, he is still my bestfriend who understands me very well, and he knows everything about my college life.

I am glad to have an amazing elder brother like him 🙂

Love you bro,

– Straight from my Heart,
Prakriti

August 21, 2013 3

Friendship, A Magical Relation…

On the occasion of Friendship Day , this one is dedicated to Friendship. It is a relation of not just mutual affection, but it’s integral to our lives, absence of which will make our life very difficult indeed.

Friendship is so powerful and amazing , that every relation is compared with it. A mother wants to be a child’s best friend, we say that our siblings are our closest friends, some find their truest friend in their girlfriend/boyfriend. The most purest feeling of Love is also compared with friendship. It is also said ” Friendship is Love” , and ” Friendship is the first step of love”.

We have so many friends, not everyone has the same priority and same value. But each one has their own value, every friend is needed and important in some or the other way. Many people find making friends as their hobby.

There are old friends, and childhood friends, who are with us for such a long time ,that they are like family. With them ,you are your true self, without any pretensions !! One can be as crazy and mad with them 🙂 We share many memories together. On the other hand , there are new friends, who are very excited and eager to know and understand each other. There are college friends, school friends, building friends , colony friends, family friends and what not !! I have library friends , dance friends, and train friends too ( A category of friends only Mumbai people can have 😉 🙂 ) The category of friends is never ending ! Each one is needed . As it’s said in Hindi “Har Ek Friend Zaruri hota hain “.

Sometimes things which could’t be shared with family , are disclosed easily among friends , perhaps this is the reason why a mother desires to be a best friend. True friends understand each other even without much communication. Friends of friends become great friends too. Many a time, in a short span of time ,people become great and inseparable friends. 🙂

And now , I have found people with same interests as mine on WordPress too , who always support my thoughts, encourage me , as a writer , as a person and a blogger . I share things with them . I can call them as my Blogging Friends 🙂

It’s not necessary that friends meet everyday or talk regularly. True friends can go a long time without talking or meeting , and yet when they meet, it’s like nothing is changed.

Isn’t it magical , a person who seemed nothing to you ,can later become one of the most important thing in your life. How our life can easily revolve around friends !! Every relation is compared with friendship !! However old friendship can be , somethings never change . It is indeed the magical relation . Cherish all your friends and keep making new ones too 🙂

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY 🙂

-Straight From My Heart,

Prakriti

August 4, 2013 4

From Strangers to Best friends…

The well known proverb “First impression is the best impression” ; may not be true always,especially in friendship .The first impression of anyone can be quite deceiving. I had a bad impression of almost all of the people who are now my closest and great friends . Being judgmental before the start of friendship or any other relation will just give us regrets.

Sometimes it takes many years to know people , whereas there are situations when we tend to know each other so much in a very short period of time, that it seems we have known each other since ages. It is rightly said that it’s not the age of the relation which makes it strong, but the heart to heart connections and the desire to know, understand and care each other is what makes it ever-lasting.

People who din’t meant anything to me two years ago, now mean a lot to me. When I joined college, I was not a library student at all, I used to spend most of my free time in the canteen with my classmates. I din’t do much during the after-hours of college, and rushed indeed as I had to travel one and a half hour or I had NGO work. With the beggining of second trimester of second year, my college life started changing. I started spending most of the time in the college library. I made a new friend and soon few of our mutual friends became great buddies. We all were different, belonged to different batches, but we sat nearby in library. Conversations started and soon we were known as the ” Library Group ” .

Out of the Library group members, 4 were my seniors, two my batch mate, ( one of them left the group later) and one my junior. I realized I started hanging with this group more than my classmates. Even our branches were different, the only thing common was library.. Yes we bonded over spending time in library,sounds strange but it’s true.

Soon we started going out too, initially to eat Panipuri 🙂 ( We all love Pani puri 😉 )

Then later we made plans for each and everyone’s birthdays, or just roam around. In a short period of time we had so much of affection between us. We helped each other in assignments, even though we were unaware of the subjects !!

Our likes, dislikes, interests matched. I started loving college more day by day. No matter from what time our lectures would be scheduled, we reached college, library particulary early in the morning without fail. All our pending assignments, writing work was done there, and as we were in a group, it was never a pain. We finished our works fast so that we could chat later. I stayed late in college. My class people noticed that all my assignments were completed before time, and I was always the first to complete them. Thanks to the library group.

We had endless group chats on Whatsapp, “Hey who all are free? ” , ” I am in lib” ,” come in library” some of the most common sentences of our chats 🙂 😉 .
The friendship wasn’t professional, as we were attached emotionally too. Even if one would be free, the person was supposed to wait for the others till they are done for the day. In short our day was incomplete without the seven of us sitting in library. 🙂

We din’t realize how time went so fast. It seemed we knew each other since birth, so strong our bonding had become. Now, the four seniors of the group are graduate. The group is shattered. It won’t be the same now. I would miss those ” Where are you? ” , ” when will you be free ” and all other whatsapp messages, the panipuri, outings, and everything. The three of us can still meet and will be meeting, but the incompleteness will always be there. I am glad we met, and it is not the end. We will always be friends, friends forever. Whenever I will enter college and then library I will be reminded of them and those days, all of us sitting together. But I have to accept their absence. There are still two years of my college life.

I never thought we would be such great buddies. In fact my first impression was that we are so different and would never be good friends. I ignored that thought and thankfully wasn’t judgemental about any of them; I would have missed a lot, and a beautiful chapter of my life din’t exist. And as we have promised we will always be friends..and there will be Dosti Forever.

– Straight from my heart,
Prakriti

July 15, 2013 7

Focus On Yourself …

In the race of life, the so-called race, we tend to ignore the most important individual, that is YOU. Yes , this post is about the need of focusing and caring about yourself. Majority of us are so busy in competing with one another, or just comparing yourself with someone else. But if we leave everyone aside, and think about our personal growth, our satisfaction, interests and desire, and rather compete with yourself, we would be a better individual.

The first step in developing yourself as a better person would be to Love yourself . Whatever you are,however you are, just love yourself. Not everyone is perfect. If one doesn’t love oneself, then it’s stupid to expect others to respect you. But don’t live in a hypothetical world, where you are perfect and you feel there is no scope for improvement.!!

The other most important thing is to Know Yourself, your likes, dislikes , interests. Many people reading this would be thinking , well everyone knows themselves.. No it is not true. We end up many times knowing ourselves wrongly, and try to be satisfied with it. Maybe that’s why we end up making wrong decisions , and having regrets in life, think about it.

Some people love commenting , discussing, and even criticizing someone else’s life, I believe they are the saddest and most jobless people in the world. Every person is different, you should respect their opinions and way of living. Instead that time can be used in self-development.

I have read many blogs about heart-breaks, spoiled relationships, wastage of time in getting over one’s ex and similar stuff. When in a relationship too, focus on yourself. I am not telling to be selfish, and leave your relationships aside, but don’t lose yourself in the process of maintaining the relation. I believe if a person really loves you, he/she would never want you to ignore yourself and just think about him/her.

Spend time with yourself daily, it sounds weird , but it is very important to keep yourself asking whether you are satisfied, happy with your life , or a decision in particular. Enhance your good qualities, and try diluting the bad ones. Try new things, take challenges, Explore Yourself . Do one thing everyday which not only makes you happy,but also defines you as an individual. Cultivate your passions, which may be lost somewhere, due to responsibilities or the fast-paced life, find them , and don’t let them go. As the saying goes, ” Life is too short to live with regrets” , Take time and Focus on Yourself. 🙂 🙂

– Straight from My Heart,

Prakriti

July 11, 2013 4

Didi , My Beloved Sister.

Some feelings can’t be truly expressed, some moments can’t be genuinely captured and some relations are always cherished. This is about one of the most important and beautiful chapter of my life, my sister and me turning into a maasi, i.e. maternal aunt.

The Beginning

Being the youngest member of my family, and the naughtiest one too, I was always pampered and loved the most. I have many beautiful memories, and few bad ones , and some regrets. My brother, five years elder to me, was initially jealous of my existence, as would any five year old kid would be; when suddenly all the attention and love gets diverted somewhere else, that is on me. This is why my sister loved me more and cared more when I was a little baby/small kid. I spent a lot of time with my sister, I used to be like her tail, following her everywhere. When I started walking, playing and gradually understanding things,I supposed it’s my sister’s duty to entertain,guide,play and roam around with me.Every evening she used to go walking or to play, I followed her.My sister’s friend used to tease her,“Hey where’s ur tail?” And ya, that tail was none other than me. I remember once she took a break from her studies and went for a walk with a building friend , without informing me(I was fast asleep). As my daily routine, I woke up and went near the window, I enjoyed looking out of the window. Obviously,I saw my Didi, and I got so furious, that I started throwing utensils and other stuff from the window; my flat was on 5th floor!!!

Growing together..

I accompanied her at times when she studied too, sometimes she started teaching me also what she was studying!! I knew what chlorophyll is and the reason why leaves are green when I was in I or II standard ! She taught me what is good and what is bad. Many times I cried while sleeping when I was small and had a bad dream. She used to freak out and panic so much, and consoled me and made me comfortable. All my school projects were made by her,and they were all , the very best, always and perfect. It made me feel so proud. 🙂

The Growing Trust

We have a 10 year age difference,but it never was a hindrance to our friendship and closeness. Few things which I couldn’t tell mom, I told her and she was always there with her examples,opinions and advises. Not only I loved her so much,all my childhood friends did and still remember her till date. She used to teach us dance and prepare us for all stage-shows.

A Role Model

My sister has always been a role model for me, perfect painter,dancer, student, and what not. She completed her studies , and started working also,and I was still in school, 7 std. I used to wait till she returned from office; to update her with throughout the day’s stories. We shared many secrets during our bedtime chats. That was the only personal time we used to get. I never understood at that time, what work she did,and her job profile, I was just proud of her , as always.

Left Alone ?!

Time passed by and after two years of working in Mumbai, during my 9th standard, she had to go to the US, onsite, officially. I was very scared and broken initially, as I never imagined myself without her presence.For so many years, we shared the same room , and then suddenly , I am to be all by myself !!! I always cribbed and desired a separate room,we always had fights, regarding “keep your things in place….” But I din’t like it,I had sleepless nights for few days. On the double bed too I slept in the second half,so used to my sister sleeping on the second half. Even now I have the habit of sleeping only on one half of a double bed, I never sleep on the middle. Gradually I got used to it, I missed her a lot; but phones, social networking and internet have conquered all distances now, and we kept talking. I din’t actually had the habit of talking on phone but I learned that too. thanks to my beloved sister 🙂 :*

My Support System

During my tenth standard , my I board exam year she guided me how to study and even made a timetable for me, I followed it truly. I had seen her studying and it gave me immense inspiration. That year was very difficult for me, without her; not even that my brother and mother got operated , I lost my elder maternal uncle(Mama, and had problems with friends.

But I din’t lose hope, I worked hard and sincerely as my sister and I topped the exam. I stood first in school. For the first time in life I had something genuine to be proud of myself.

Her Marriage

She returned from the US, and her marriage got fixed. I was so damn happy for her and excited and nervous too. I wanted to spend the few days joyfully with her before the marriage.

By this time even I was a teenager , matured and hence our relationship strengthened more. We could discuss more topics frankly ,which earlier couldn’t have been possible.I felt the old days are back, endless fights, chats , and bedtime gossips.

I saw a new her , more happy,practical and fun loving.

The day came, day of her marriage. I was so nervous, I felt as if a part of my body will be separated again.I felt butterflies in my stomach. the day went very fast, I cried a lot on the vidaai day. And again I felt lost initially,but gathered myself again.

Post Marriage Situation

We talked regularly , and more closer & closer we came with time.My sister’s happiness made me happy. I liked going to her place, at Malad. I still shared all my gossips and secrets with her. She will be settled in Mumbai, the thought made me very glad, that we can keep meeting. And,yes almost every weekend we met, but those meetings were not fulfilling, less of time spending and more of travelling.

Distances !?!

After sometime,a year or two after the wedding, my sister’s family decided to shift to Mysore and start their own business. My sister’s father -in-law informed me initially about this, they had bought acres of land,and planned to stay on a farmhouse. I could not digest it at first.Why would someone leave their well settled houses in Mumbai & shift near a village in Mysore!! ; Particularly two software engineers, highly paid & well experienced, these were my initial thoughts.

Then gradually , I realized, my sis made me understand ;they had experienced the IT world , made sufficient money,but when they used to look forward 5-6 years ,they were not interested in the typical 9 to 9 job and a monotonous life. Secondly, they have experienced rather explored whole of Mumbai,its outskirts,and nearby picnic spots. So , it wasn’t a painful decision for them to leave Mumbai.

Respect !! 🙂

Ultimately when I became aware of the goals: providing employment to the poor, being self-employed,and self-sustained , care for the environment,I felt very proud and it grew more respect for her.

……. Continued on Part II

June 30, 2013 14