Me and Vehicles

I feel there has always been connection between me and a passion to ride different vehicles. Most of us start our first learning session to ride by starting to ride a bicycle but I certainly am not one of them. My first vehicle that I started or hopped on to was a Bajaj Chetak. Amidst all my passions, one of my passions is to be able to ride and drive all kinds of vehicles. I love riding I have no idea why? May it is something that I have in my genes.

Even to date I remember my first riding session with my Father. He is and always will be my mentor in teaching things. Let be it a bike riding or teaching different ways of handling things and situations in life. My first riding session was full of injuries on my hand, leg and where not as many of us would have. I started to learn riding a Chetak even before I would or could know what riding a vehicle means. But that is one experience that kind of gave a boost to my passion.

To my wonder I learnt to ride it within three days and then I picked up cycling which is the other way round in most of the friend’s and cousin’s cases. I used to find the cycle so light that I would rather carry it by hand all the way to school than hopping on too it and riding my way to school. I used to find it so light and a waste as in why would someone ride a bicycle when they know to ride a two wheeler. You can call it arrogance or anything but that was a very big fact to me.

Chetak and I have been friends since then on and I have ridden my ways on it all the days from school to my college days. I started riding a Bullet once I entered Engg college and I would like the way people would stare at me wondering that the days have come when woman are going to ride such heavy vehicles all the way to their destinations in an everyday life.

I have ridden many different bikes then on but the vehicles that would actually give me a kind of mental pleasure is riding an Enfield. My passion is to be able to fly a copter and be able to touch the clouds all through the journey and feel the wind at a high altitude on my face.

My passion to ride and drive has not yet stopped the more and more bikes coming in on an everyday basis in the market drives me crazier to ride them all. A boon to my passion is my Father being a business man who owns a Goods transport Company which is named after me adding up to it all. This being the fact I have been able to drive trucks, lories, tempos and what not. Thanks to my Father who has always encouraged me to do whatever I want to and be able to get away with all the damages I have done to all the vehicles I have ridden till now.

I learnt to drive a Maruti van and then I drove a Lorry which I banged against the go down wall. My dream is to be a racer someday and I wish to continue my quest towards it. That’s the relationship between me and Vehicles.

Fun Ethnic Day at office

An ethnic day was arranged in office on eight of October 2008 to celebrate the Ayudh pooja where we were all suppose to be wearing ethnic wears which would represent one of the Indian cultures we follow at home. That day the office was full of life and everybody trying to look their best at what they want to represent of the culture they belong to or believe in.

To spice it up a little an award was also there for two people - a male and female as the ethnic man and ethnic woman of the day. The office was full of people wearing different ethnic wears – mostly the ladies were in saris except for one. Many men dressed up in Dhotis and kurtas representing the southern culture of India. My lead in atypical cotton kurta and pajama, another ID lead and a colleague from different department in a saris, me in the most traditional UP sari style, my friend Christina in a Ghagra, the PM in typical madras wear which is a silk dhoti and shirt and small towel on his shoulder and a pointed shoe (called Joothi in Hindi) representing the traditional Tamilian culture.

Everybody is trying to be at work where as mostly being worried or so to say excited about who is going to win and what would they get as award. The day passes by us mostly wasting the time complimenting each other’s dresses and praising of how good each one is looking in their traditional ethnic wear. There were also a few of them at office in their casual wears which is a pant and a shirt.

As soon as the tea person comes with tea, the smokers of the office are out in the balcony of the office to grab a smoke. My friend clicks a snap and shoots a small video of me with a traditional Indian sari and smoking off a cigarette which was actually the best contradictory snap of me. As the day passes by, it is already lunch time. I with my friends go to a restaurant nearby called ‘Nandini’ where we had to wait for twenty minutes to get a table. Once done with lunch my PM asks me to get the gift which is to be given to the Best Dressed man and woman of the day. I with my friend am off to search for one. But with a small budget in our hand we find nothing that we can get for that amount even with a starting price of that at a gift gallery called ‘Archies’. In the mean time we get a call from our friend as in he is in trouble because the thread which was used to tie hiss pajama had broken and we were to find one to save his ‘face’ (In Hindi it is called “Izzat”).

Finding nothing at Archies we search for gifts in another gift shop and reach a shop nearby where two carpenters at work at that shop and after going through a few things we finalize on buying two pen stands each costing Rs.100.Once done we that we search for shops where we can find a two meter thread to fit the pajama of my friend at office. We roam the whole vicinity and find that most of the shops are closed for the occasion of Ayudh Pooja. We go to most of the readymade garments shop so that they could just give us one removing from one of the garments and help us but to our surprise we found almost no one was ready to help us in this regard, everybody had their own reasons to do so – some said the owner of the shop is not around, some said if we do so then it becomes difficult for us to sell that piece of garment and so on. But finally we land in front of big garment showroom nearby and when requested for help they did. With thread in our hand and the gifts we reach back office to find out that it is already time for the Pooja to start. One of our colleagues played the role of the pandit and offered the pooja, sweets were distributed and everybody was asked to cast their votes for best dressed man and woman without any bias on our mind. To my surprise after the results came in I was won as the best dressed woman and our PM won the best dressed man award. Ironically, it was me who bought the gift from the money paid by my PM.

There was a big photo session of all of us to capture these memories in the camera. After all this there was music and everybody dancing to the beat of music. Then comes the end to the Ethnic day and next day onwards everybody is back to their routine at work. 

Marriage

What is the true meaning of marriage? I have been married for four years and then on have been trying to find answers for this question and till now haven’t succeeded. Marriage is a big dream most of the Indian girls dream of and when the expectations that we have and had associated from marriage does not get satisfied is when the whole problem starts. I always felt marriage should just not be like other commitments adding up to rest of your commitments but it should be the one you are ready for and should not be forced on to even by yourself.

Many of us would have seen this saying or a phrase written on t-shirts ‘I was born intelligent but education ruined me’ with me marriage is also become one of such saying i.e. ‘I was happy before marriage but marriage ruined it for me’. After thinking of such a saying I wonder is this true or is it my portrayal of it? Is it gone so bad that everything is ruined and has become irreparable? I wonder and that is what is become of me… I am unable to find a path that would lead me through this or maybe it is just that I haven’t been able to figure out a way from this. When I say a way out does not mean a divorce or something but a way to sort out the confusions in my mind regarding it. The dissatisfactions I have mentally even so to say intellectually.

Many a time marriage to me seems like this owner servant relationship where my husband is the owner and I am serving him because he did a favor by marrying me. This is what I want to question. For men, wife means-my house, my car and my wife. We become a mere materialistic thing which is owned by our husbands. But we are not just that we are more than they can think or even imagine about. We are much more capable of what they can handle but we choose not to. I think, this whole choice of ours trying to mould ourselves according to some ones whims and fancies starts the whole problem. This is what is bringing the unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the term ‘marriage’.

Marriage is a whole new journey I started off with a new person, with new thoughts, expectations and a whole new meaning. But sometimes down the lane I find myself alone wondering what happened to my partner and find that my partner is found a whole new path to travel through this new journey and has reached or is about to reach the destiny he set for himself. More than anything it becomes two different journeys we are onto whereas it was suppose to be one path to be followed to reach ‘The destiny’ which is full of happiness, understanding and respect for each other.

I do not understand or realize where did it suddenly divide into two different journeys and why? Am I on the wrong path or is it that “the destiny’ I am referring to does not exist or not important at all? I wonder has it become more of a competition and people who were suppose to be on the same path and journey have suddenly become competitors of each other in race where they want to prove something to each other not knowing exactly what it is that they want to prove? I am so lost that I want someone to hold my hand take me out of this whole confusion and show me the right path to be on or at least show me the true way of living life which is much more meaningful and worth it.

Hostel Life

Many of my friends in college have been hostelites and always have praised it though they might not have proper food at all, strict timings and many things like that. But they always say that hostel life is one to be experience than told about.

Hostel life for them means, realizing the importance of homemade food, getting back memories of their tantrums regarding stuff back home, realizing the importance of parents but for them it also means being able to explore new things, difficulties in life, discovering their capabilities and capacity to do stuff. Being a hostelite means being resourceful, discovering your limits and ways to handle it, capacity to be able to take pangas ;). Doing impromptu things and enjoy college life to the fullest.

Hostel life to them meant seeing the true side of living life away from home, with less money or no money but still be able to do things without hesitation. Basically if I see the way they tell me about it, it is basically being unafraid and being able to express your thoughts, your passion and the fun side of life. I guess hostel life means having fun, taking pangas and getting away with it, in short be happy in an Academic year.

I used to think hostelites means people who are spoilt by character because they are doing things that their parents would never allow them to, undisciplined because they are the ones who are always ready to break any kind of rules set for them though they had strict rules at the hostel. Hostelites meant people who just find a reason to take pangas and spoil the names of their parents. But it is not at all so when I met people (my colleagues) most of them who have been hostelites at one or the other part of their life, they showed the real picture of what hostel life is all about.

Then on, I realized that hostel life meant having fun and do anything that would keep you happy regardless of the consequences. Hostel life meant see what life has planned for you when you have no money even by the second week of the month but still be able to enjoy with pennies in your pocket. Hostel life means do impromptu things in the middle of the night and you will find that city is still awake and secure enough to let a woman walk around at that point of time.

Hostel life kind of’ makes you realize that this is how we have to tackle other difficulties that come in our life, it teaches you to be happy with or without money, it adds a value to life and gives the capacity t enjoy life to the fullest without the concept of money around. It contradicts the fact that more money means more happiness which is not at all true, having more money does not mean that the person is happier than you are or having fun in their lives. Hostel life teaches you that. Because hostel life teaches you that happiness is in everything around you, you just need to find a way to discover it that’s all.

Luv Sadhana.

Friends

F – Free

R – Reliable

I – Intelligent

E - Eminent

N – Naughty

D – Dearly

S- Subtle

Friends are something which you make for free. You do not have to pay any one to be your friend. They just are your friend because they choose to be. Friends are reliable more than anyone in this world because they are the ones who will standby you even in situations and circumstances where even your parents or the most closed ones might not be there for you. Friends are intelligent I call them so because they have chosen you to be as their friend :). 

Friends are eminent because they are very important in your life. They play are very distinguished role in your life. They are the ones whom you can share your thoughts and can tell anything to.

You find friends as naughty as you are or even naughtier and they kind of add a jive to your life. The more they are like you the more you gel with them. Friends are very dearly to your heart because though you might not be in touch on an everyday basis but still they exist in your heart as a part of sweet memories. Friends are subtle, what I mean by saying this not that they are mean but they are the ones who can give you solutions to your problem in a very subtle manner.

Friends are the ones with whom you build a relation because and out of nothing. If you find a connection with a person then is when they become your friend. Friendship is also important because you have bond with a person not because of any kind of blood relation that exists or any kind of commitment or anything like that but just because they find a place in your heart.

When I talk of friends I can recall a song from a Bollywood movie Roadside Romeo which is not yet been released but the song goes like this…”So right..Tu mere paas hai…so right” and it is so true in case of friends. Haven’t you felt this way that whenever you are around friends everything seems so right and makes you feel happy about everything that you do.

Friends are the ones and only ones who would care for you when there is a need even if you do not ask for it. They are the ones who will always stay by your side and will cheer you up when you are sad, make you feel better and they are the ones who will stay throughout your journey of life as a part of your life. Friends have their existence within you they are a part of you, they will be the ones to lead through right path and direction when you are mislead by your thoughts, enemies and many more things.

Dreams

Ever wondered what Dream means. My friend says they are just images thrown to your conscious sense by the sub conscious mind which is trying to tell you desires hidden deep within you which are hindered back because of various reasons. According to him if you are able to connect back to your subconscious then you would be able to figure out what they actually mean and understand what your subconscious us trying to tell you.

All of us dream and have many dreams at different ages and somehow try to figure out a way not to think of fulfilling them and just ignore them as mere fantasies. But dreams are not something that you get when you go to sleep but they are strong desires that we have about something which craves to be fulfilled to be able to achieve the thing we want to achieve in life.

You may have dreams which may seem silly but not necessarily be so. So how do we know or understand what dreams are trying to tell us. A simple way would be is to try listening to your subconscious because it is the one which knows your past, present and future. It is you who need to figure out a way to connect to it and everything in your dream will start making sense.

When I think of dreams it reminds me of the song from the movie Yes Boss and the song goes like this ‘Chand tare tod laao……..bus itna sa khwab hai’ where he is singing a song talking about all the dreams he has to be in life. So do we, but we just get so caught up in our so called ‘realistic’ world that we actually forget about what all we wanted to do and achieve when we were young and just let them become a mere dream and nothing else. Finally, when we are old we think of all that we could and wanted to achieve in life and just regret about the value we gave to our dreams and what became of it.

What I want to say is if at all you have dreams which can be fulfilled with an effort to do it then go for it rather than postponing it for never and regret it. Just live your dreams and then see what happiness you get in life and you will actually be able to sleep calm without your dreams turning into a night mare. We may have really big dreams that might seem like will take an eternity to be fulfilled but I say it is not so, at least give it a try rather than ignoring it and you will see ways and paths to actually fulfill them.

So be a dreamer and not just that, but only if you dream will you have the crave within you to fulfill it. There is a Hindi saying to this which goes like this “Khwab dekho tabhi to use poora kar sakoge” which means only if you dream will then will you be able to achieve it.

My dream is to stand on the cliff of the hill early in the morning just before sunrise when the weather is really cold and I can feel the blow of the wind on my skin and there is absolute silence and standing on the cliff looking down at the valley beneath filled with lights of the city and me trying to jump off the cliff and someone just holds my hand and pulls me back.

Luv Sadhana

Rain and its hazards

As Bangaloreans you might have seen that there can be rain during any time of the year. Let it be summer season, winter or rainy season. And all this leads to accidents and incidents.

Why I am saying this is because I witnessed an accident right in front of me. An auto driver hits a man. Why? Because during the rain they don’t have wipers to clearly view the road, they don’t have headlights properly enough to see who is there in front of them and who is not.

An auto driver right in front of my office in Jayanagar hits a man so badly that the man falls 50 metres away and then adding to this the auto rides over him, and then the driver realizes that it was a man. He stops the auto and picks up the man so to find out that the man is hurt n his head and bleeding.

To stop any other confrontation from the passers on the road, he picks up the man and takes him to the nearby hospital. But Alas! The man has just succumbed to his injuries. What would you call this an accident or carelessness? I don’t know, because no matter what we call it still the man is dead and some support of his family given by him is lost.

Who is answerable to all this? Who is going to support his family now?  What would balance his lost in his family? What would his children and wife do? (Not really sure if he was married) But if he was or wasn’t, he will still have a family and they had a loss now. Who is going to balance this situation? What is the remedy to this problem? No idea...

All this also happened because there was no power in the area. But imagine, if there is no power at evenings especially when it is raining. I also understand that there will be other incidents if there is thunder, but then there needs to be another solution for this. In places where there is necessity of street lights especially during the rain because it will be absolutely dark, then their, if you have a power cut, then what? Think of what all can happen?

If you ever need to travel in these kinds of roads, there may be pits which will not be visible; there might be chances of burglary and much much more...

I am not writing this because I want to blame some body or something but then there has to be some alternative for all that can happen during rain. Lemme know if you can think of something and we can help.

Luv Sadhana.

Shaunak - My life

Shaunak is the name of my two year old son. He is my life, my world and a reason to live. He is one of the reason for me to have a job... the inspiration.

I learn almost a new thing every day from him. Be it the way to live, the way to be happy, the ability to find details in everything...etc. But he is the one that teaches me that there is happiness around us and we are the ones who choose to ignore it. He is the one that shows me how I can succeed in life if I keep trying. His smile takes away all my stress, my sorrow and everything that is negative in and around me. His hug makes me feel I am important to him and not only him but shows me my importance to the world also.

He is the one that I have and makes me feel proud that he is my son. He is everything to me.

As an Instructional Designer, I need to know how to teach and train somebody and my son Shaunak teaches me that. Because it is as good as teaching him the concept of colours, the difference between a fruit and a vegetable, the same applies when we have to create courses for our learners ... the difference being the age and profile. But teaching is still there.

With Shaunak, the world is full of joy and discovery. You would not believe the things that a child notices around him ... the things that is right in front of us but we do not see. I am also amazed with his power of imagination, his eyes for details which forces me to be creative, imaginative and be a strong visualizer. 

To be able to meet his expectation of learning I have to have the ability ten times greater than him. there is much more to tell and talk about him but I am not able to find words... This is it for now... hoping to find appropriate words to talk about him.

Luv

- Sadhana