Maiden Navaratri Golu

Navaratri , The Nine Nights of Celebrating the Hindu Goddesses Durga,  Lakshmi and Saraswathi. Golu is the festive display of dolls, mostly comprising the dolls of Gods to bring in their divine presence to home. 

2 Days before Navaratri ,out of the blue the thought of having our first golu struck as the workload had eased out for the next 3 weeks! For once the husband and me knew our work schedule . The Husband got really excited that he picked up the bag and said "Let's go Bommai (doll) Shopping at Malleshwaram😃".The Parents and In-Laws were totally surprised and excited to know, that's because Mum and the Mum-in-law could not accommodate the golu in their hectic work schedule.

So hubby and I thought we would start small by having 3 steps, as golu ought to have odd numbered stair setup. 

Hubby and Me got the dolls for initial setup,Mum and Dad set of to Mylapore in chennai to get few more dolls before their travel to our home in Bangalore , FIL helped with some heavy lifting of the stand and its setup , MIL found out a super glittery Saree for the stair and The Grandma-In-Law(Granny K) & me had a detailed conversation about arranging dolls , prasadams , navaratri gifts and all the age old practices to be followed for the next Ten days !!

Tadaaaaaaa......!

So initially planned 3 steps turned out to be 5 row arrangement as Granny K and mom insisted on having the mahaans and common people along with our earlier planned all God show . 

 As per tradition Ganesha was made to sit first followed by the three Goddesses along with their vahaans and sevikaas . 

Madurai Meenakshi (Pachai Podava kari / Green Saree Goddess) with her parrot is my favorite of all clay dolls 

Dashavatar

 An entire row dedicated to Krishna , his ten avatars along with baby Krishna and Komatha

Meenakshi Kalyanam

 The third row is the grand Meenakshi Sundaresar Kalyanam with the gathering of important hindu Gods 

Mahaans collection

Common people and birds

The last row was personally very special as we had placed the Marapachi dolls - "Pair of wooden dolls" a hereditary gift from a mother to daughter on her wedding. I had kept it safe for half a decade to finally place them in Golu 

These Nine days were filled with family , friends and neighbors who came home for sundal/sweet , to comment on golu and not to forget the navaratri gift exchange !!

When my Mom arrived on the 7th day of Navaratri and having admired my Golu , she sat down and burst out laughing after noticing that I had put my Christmas tree light in the Golu 😆. This brought back memories of my childhood to her, having studied in a convent school and of all the slokhas my mum had taught me , I would recite the "Our father in heaven" prayer taught in school at any golu when a Maami(Auntie) asks me to recite a slokham 😂😂

And of course I did too in my own golu with a friend (Sandy is a teacher in a christian institute) who was scared that I might ask her to sing. I narrated my story and she said so what let's recite it together !! Imagine the fun my hubby had witnessing us do it 😆 also he clicked us during our selfie moments 

A wonderful festival that helped me connect to my roots , make more friends and of course a lot of appreciation about my culinary skills from the neighborhood auntie squad & Granny K 😄

Adieu 2013 , Welcome 2014

2013 ~ I really don't  know what you were to a whole lot of people in this world, but you've been a complete roller coaster ride for me and am definitely sending you off with a smile!

You changed my relationship status from Single to MARRIED,  took me to Sri Lanka ( my first abroad trip ) and to a couple of other new and wonderful places in Karnataka, you swept me into an amazing new married life in the buzziest locality of Bangalore, you gave me a Honda Activa to ride and made me ride a realllyyyy long distance to and fro from college, you converted me from a Software Engineer to a Student again, all the crazy things  you let me do and finally scared me to death when you put my DAD in the ICU bed and brought him back safe !

More than anything, you introduced me to many other things I dint know I was capable of, and forced me to confront the facts and deal with them. You gave me hours and hours to come to terms with myself..!


I think we made good progress together !

Hello 2014 hope you heard all this .. Remember that you got to treat me Better dear (^_^)

Last day @ office & First day @ College for MBA

Coz I Wanna

In my Life

So am 

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To do my MBA

INVICTUS

The title means “Unconquered” or "Undefeated" in Latin. For the warriors out there who are battling with their lives here’s some inspiration to keep you going. This is a wonderful poem by William Ernest Henley written in 1875. If this poem had the power to keep Nelson Mandela alive and going during his 27 years of  jail term it can also inspire everyone of us to battle out better !!

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Pausing for Patience

 Here comes my first post of 2012

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open.”

- Arnold Glasgow

Have you ever thought that our lives are made up of a series of activities and you need to streamline those activities in order to strike a balance and lead a stable life? How many times have you heard people around us or even our very own self say I don't have enough time? I need things to happen just this very moment. I'm losing my patience...  You are always in the stretch to get everything done by the end of the day. All those ASAP notifications and deadlines that are set for you. Why do you think they are called so? How many times have you let them take a toll on you??

Being mindful of all the pressure that keeps building on you leads only to two major consequences Impatience and Anger wherein you never think of the environment around you or the people around. The fire and hatred within you keeps building which ends up burning all the good in you and puts an end to many a relationships at work and home. The best way to overcome this is to take a step back and bring a Pause between yourself and your negative feelings. This creates clarity and brings about the required patience within you.  In that pause that you give you can release the inner turmoil and see ways to overcome unskillful actions. If you ever wondered why your grandparents or elders at home had asked you to count numbers when you were at the peak of rage.. well it was to give yourself a pause for self realization and regain some patience!! It's better to learn it in the easier way rather than learning it after a bad experience. . .


What are your frequent choices??  All those situations that come up to you every day. What do you choose to feel - when things get delayed, when they don't give you what you wanted , when no one understand , when someone irritates you.


What do you choose to feel ?
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Just Pause !!
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and you know what comes next :-)


Just wanted to share this thought with you, something that has helped me a lot in the recent times my friend  " The benefits of developing greater patience will be felt in all our relationships—intimate, casual, and professional—as well as that all-important relationship, the one we have with ourselves."

" CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STRENGTH "

It's been over a month at work. There have been very happy and the most difficult moments in this period. Corporate world teaches an individual quite a lot and my first best lesson learnt is CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STRENGTH . Here is a story that I wanted to share ....

 This is the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the Sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened.

“No,” the Sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: He dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of Judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The moral of this story: The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

A Date!!

I really loved this when I read it, Just wanted to share this on my blog ~~

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie.

She said I love you but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.

The other woman that my wife w anted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.

 

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.

"What's wrong, are you well," she asked? My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a sur prise invitation is a sign of bad news.

"I thought that it would be pleasant to be with you," I responded. "Just the two of us."

She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed t hat she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.

She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.

"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed, "she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting".

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down,

I had to read the menu. Large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said.

"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor," I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation - nothing extraordinary, but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed themovie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I did to do anything for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son."

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU!" and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than God and your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till "some other time."