A Family: #Together Forever !

Our adult lives are so busy and defined by our Whatsapp/ Facebook statuses.

Can we get those days back where we talked face to face and not face to screen?

Can we rebuild those cherished memories where we talked and walked along the streets of a garden, beach or playground rather than the escalators and elevators of mall or shopping arcade?

Can we go back to those days where I was not judged by the time I took to receive a phone call?

Can we sit #together in front on the TV and have dinner, rather than be in different places for different dinners with different people?

Can we get up in the morning and look at our reflection in the mirror rather than the IMs we missed last night?

Can we not judge a person based on why they have read but not replied to our message an hour ago?

I miss those simple times. Where we were not bound and gagged by technology.

I miss those uncomplicated relationships and people.

Regardless of those rich, vibrant memories of more than a decade ago, I love my times with my family.

(Image source: buildingabrandonline.com )

This is my memory of my source strength and optimism for more than two and a half decades now:

My brother, mom, dad and I have this routine of a "sitdown". We never timed it or planned it in advance. It just happened. We love to share our viewpoints on anything under the sun. We share food together, discuss plans, do homework, go back to our fond memories and funny anecdotes. We used to differ in our opinions too, but in the end, either one of us used to play mediator and get back the house in order. We shared our day's stories, our feedback on things, simple things that did not make much sense then, but used to make a lot of difference in our lives. 

In the end, we came together as a family, we came together as a team, brimming with optimism and positive attitude to life. My family gave me strength in my times of difficulty and distress. Be it flunking in an exam or missing out on an interview. When we sat down together as a family, the words of support and wisdom poured in and mended the wounds of difficulty. They were through thick and thin. That's what I cherish the most. That's what is lacking in perhaps many families now-a-days. 

We need another person or a gadget to"connect". In my opinion technology might have brought the world closer, so to say, but building and preserving relationships perhaps is difficult using technology.

It is funny, that we used to do this more than a once a week every month and it is now that I miss those times the most. Since after my marriage, I have a new family. A family that I have to nurture and bring to the table the same ideas and routine of a sitdown. I hope to implement alike thought processes, positivity and the values of togetherness, bonhomie and optimism on life.

Family. After all there is nobody like family. With family, you are #together forever.

Starting Afresh - One word at a time

This is about me taking a detour in life and beginning again. Starting afresh. I can talk about this as if it happened just yesterday.

Coming out of an interview for a 'Sales Manager' at a well known and upcoming organisation, the only thing that rang in my head was what the interviewer said to me after the official interview was over: "You write very well. Why aren't you writing for a living? " Everything about that interview - after that moment - seems like a blur.

On the way back home, I was still wondering if there was any iota of honesty in that question. I sat deep in thought. In retrospect I reflected on my past. I remembered those days in school how I loved finishing those essay questions, grammar quizzes. How it seemed to me that Verbal Ability section was a breeze in comparison to Quantitative and Logical Ability sections in CAT.

(Image source:  https://www.pinterest.com/jessirose1/words/)

Come to think of it, this wasn't the only time I was asked about my writing. I then realized that I had not paid attention to my strengths and followed it.

I went back to my earlier posts, those that I wrote on a whim and out of sheer boredom back during engineering. Those were some good posts.

Till that very moment, the question, I realised I was doing something that I didn't LOVE. I was not being true to myself. I wanted to #StartANewLife.

Is it too late to begin afresh? I still look at my peers - they're all at high and mighty designations in their career paths as I'm about to start from scratch. I will be a beginner while my peers have settled and mastered at their profession. I would be falling behind others.

I was trained for two years to sell, but to be honest, closing a sale did not gimme an adrenaline rush like the one I got when I was lauded with appreciation for writing a blog.

I now write, compose and create. I become a voice for somebody. My words walk the talk. Now, work does not seem like work. It has been more than six months since I took the step ahead.

No regrets. I will never have regrets in life, as I know everything happens for a reason. There was a reason for these turn of events.

Now there is no turning back. No more U – Turns. And it does not stop here. I want to write now and keep writing and build meaningful conversations that can make a change. I want to be remembered for my writing. I am not the best, I know it. But I will write nevertheless.

And not to look back in life and wonder, if only, I had chance to change.

And as for my blog, there is no thinking about shutting it down. No way.

Change is good. Change is for the better. After all it's time to #StartANewLife.

The all new housing.com in their new avatar. They highlight positivity and showcase optimism in life.

Life can change, only if you're willing to embrace the change. And for me, this is just the beginning.

Mumbai's lifeline has a heart

In a city like Mumbai, it is uncommon to pause. Forget pausing for a minute, even a second is precious for every Mumbaikar. Especially for those who take the daily local for work or business, every split second makes a difference.

Ask those who wait earnestly at the platform for more than twenty minutes on an average in the hopes to catch a relatively less crowded local with breathable space to Churchgate station.
Ask those at Borivali station's crowded platform number 4 who scramble inside the very second the 8.47 am local slows down to ten kilometer per hour.

(Glimpse of Andheri station during peak travel hours. Image source: www.mumbai77.com )

Yet a midst this daily routine cacophony, post the scramble to get in the train, the 30 second halt, the seat reservation post Dadar, the 4th seat buttock adjust, the footover board space negotiation and the local leaving the platform is the phase when an unsuspecting commuter meets his fate - falls off the train.
If one is lucky, falls on the platform but is up and about within a second. If unlucky, falls on the tracks with bruises and blisters.

I met with such fate once. It was a 6.36 pm evening Borivali local from Andheri on a rainy July.
I wasn't hanging on the footover board or hanging off the train. I was trying to board the train in the huge crowd of ladies gathered in the second class ladies compartment and within a split second I slipped and - fortunately for me - fell on the platform number one of Andheri station.
Such was the impact of my fall, that I hurt my knee in the process.

That 1 second cost me my train, but would've cost me limbs.

I took time to gather my senses. Panting, I did what anybody hurt would do - gather my belongings.
Then I checked my knee, there was a scratch. No major damage. Silent thanks to God.

When I got up, I was helped by 2 sets of strangers. And was asked if I was okay. I mumbled something, I do not recall. And was helped to a bench on the platform and offered water.
I refused, after all they were strangers.

I touched my knee and realised the I had hurt it so grimaced at the pain. One of the strangers, a lady advised me to go to the station master's cabin and get first-aid. I refused initially whilst flexing my knee to account the damage but then agreed when she thoughtfully insisted.
All this time I notice others on the platform waiting for a train staring at me constantly.

I got up, with some help and walked to the station master's cabin. The station master was there, sitting nonchalant. My strangers asked for some first aid for me. He enthusiastically helped us with some pain relief spray for my knee which I insisted on applying.

Feeling alright and relieved with the pain balm, I made sure I thanked the strangers and left for home in the next local. When I reached home I narrated this story to my parents, were in awe like me.
I said a silent prayer to those strangers who helped me at that opportune moment.

This whole event that transpired left me with a feeling of optimism. It was just so surreal.
Surreal because, we get to read such negative reporting in the newspapers of commuters being left on their own and the railway force's apathy. Thankfully, this was nothing serious, but I was left in awe that there are people still left in this city who are not apathetic towards other's problems.
It left me with an optimistic note, full of hope that Mumbai has not lost it's heart.

This is one story that made me #lookup to life's optimistic moments