Her daughters need no father....!!

She has done it again.... and I am so proud of her... very proud.

She brought hope and happiness not only to herself, Renee and Alisha... but to all of us... and to all those kids who are still waiting for a home...! Fairytales sure does happen :)... !!

No prizes for guessing... of course she is our own...Miss Sushmita Sen...!!

In 1994, when she won Ms Universe title... she was the first Indian to achieve the coveted title...!! And it was awesome...!!

On June 30, 2000, she was exemplary again... may be one of very few (can be the first as well...! not sure though)... when court handed her daughter Renee...!!

She became the first again on 19 Dec 2009 ... when she adopted her second daughter... Alisha!! :)

Law did not make it any easier for her... She had adopted her first child Renee under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, which does not permit a person to adopt a second child of the same gender. Last year, however, the court had passed an order that allowed a person to adopt a second child of same sex under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, so much to her happiness!!!

She epitomizes womanhood... Strength, Independence, Responsibility, Affection, Intelligence, Confidence, Determination, Grit and Love...!! She has been a role model throughout.

She has proved that... to be a Mother... you have to feel like one...!! That is enough... and nothing else matters... !! :)

Kudos to you lovely lady... you make me real proud that I am a woman!! :)

 

You must always have faith in yourself!!

When life throws a challenge at us...the way we react to it...essentially decides the course of our life!! One incidence can so totally change us ... and our life.

If this is a truth that we cannot control life... then this is even bigger a truth that... the way we react to the situation is so totally in our control..!

When a bad situation is thrust on us... we can give up and crib... and accept our failure... but on the other hand we can decide to fight back... and though there is no guarantee that we would come out victorious... but at least then we would have tried and given a decent opposition... and u never know ...we might as well win :)

I watched this comedy “Legally Blonde (2001)”, and I was amazed at the concept behind it. This movie is special for its simplicity. It conveys the intended message of taking up life’s challenge and wining but without any preaching. There is an uncomplicated storyline but still manages to depict the enormity of the challenge posed.

The story is of a blonde sorority queen, Elle, who is dumped by her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is joining Harvard Law School and he believes that intellectually she is not good enough for him. Elle, then, decides to follow him to the law school to get him back. Not only does she make to the most prestigious Harvard Law School, but also learns that she is too good for him and that he is the one who does not deserve her :)!!

To beautifully summarize, I cite Student Address by the Elle Woods -
On our very first day at Harvard, a very wise Professor quoted Aristotle: "The law is reason free from passion." Well, no offense to Aristotle, but in my three years at Harvard I have come to find that passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of law -- and of life. It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct. You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.

This is my first post in the New Year 2010....!! I wanted my first entry to be special... and here it is... :)!!

Talking is important in any relationship...

I have a thing for romantic movies... and last weekend...my brother suggested me to watch this series of movies... 'Before Sunrise' and 'Before Sunset'... and believe me... these are no less than masterpieces...!! Simply awesome...!! These movies are very different from any other movie that I had watched.

Those who have seen these movies can well understand what I mean...:-) but for others... I can summarize these movies in one line...there are two people... a girl and a boy... and all that they do through out the movie... is TALK... they talk and talk and talk...!! That's pretty much it.... :-) And I loved it...!!

Sometimes it happens that I am talking to someone and I loose track of time... the surroundings and the turbulence around me ...cease to exist...!! ... The talks can be anything as silly as discussing some comic character... or something as important as religion....!! The subject ... or context is immaterial... what matters is the spontaneity... and the connection with the other person....!! For me... in any relationship... it is very important to be able to talk...!! That is how I get to know the other person... that is how I get to understand someone else's perspective... their hopes...their vulnerability... their quest... and their world... :-)

In any relationship... the bond is strongest...when the two individual can connect... can talk... because any other ingredient like age, money, status, beauty etc. are short lived....!!

In the movie, these two individuals meet on a train… and start talking …then they keep on talking... they could just not stop... and that was wonderful...!!They could talk about anything ... just anything under the sky... and they could connect... relate...understand... appreciate... admire...and LOVE each other...!!

Their paths crossed for few hours.... and they became so comfortable with each other… so used to each other... that they promised to meet 6 months later...!! Unfortunately that could not happen... and then they meet after 9 years...!! In all these years they had led their independent and distinct lives.... but they could never love anyone else... because they could never talk like that with any one else... !! When they meet again.... they talk... they resume their conversation as if they were always together...!! And that is magical...!! It then ascends on you... that yes... indeed ...this is love... TRUE love...!!

The world does not matter if you have got that one person in your life... who could complete your sentences... who would know what is on your mind...!! ...then you can just be yourself... and isn’t that the key to all happiness...?? :-)

To not react impulsively is indeed a difficult job !!

I am upfront... and direct... quick … and honest… and impulsive..!! Many of my well-wishers have tried to explain me that I have behavioral issues and I should not ignore them… But I being me… never accepted until I realized it the hard way... a few days back...!!

I was in the appraisal discussion with my manager... and I was my usual confident self...assuming... that the discussion would be similar to all the previous ones...!! (…smell arrogance...??? yes indeed!! ..may be even proud !!)

Quite unexpectedly… it was a shocker…an eye-opener!! ..I had not anticipated... but soon realized... this time... it was not going to be same...!! (Hope I never have to go through a similar appraisal ever again!!) Agree... it was difficult to face it then... but it is better late than never :-)

"I am too direct... and to tell the truth... I cherished that... but then being direct has its own consequences. There is a hierarchy... and most of the times the direct comments... cause raised eyebrows... :-) "

"Very opinionated... I always thought it to be my strength... but then definitely... many a times... having a very strong opinion prevents me from appreciating new ideas..."

"Perfectionist ... cannot accept anything that does not meet my criteria of perfection... and this definitely scares my team members away... and so I end up becoming unapproachable..."

"I have very high expectations from myself… this is fine as long as I don’t force this upon others… but I do… I expect a lot… and cannot accept any less!! This often creates uncomfortable situations for others…"

"And to top it all.... I cannot NOT react... :) "

My first reaction was ‘denial’… I cried … I cried my heart out…. Then... it was ‘rejection’… whatever has been told is incorrect…!! But this could not hold ground for long…as at the core of it I knew…all this has some truth in it…!! I ‘cribbed’ …and I felt ‘dejected’… but surprisingly… this time I ‘accepted’ and then started ‘introspection’… (…this will continue for sometime...!) … And the inner search!!

I feel… that to some extent… my 'Spontaneous Reaction' is the crux of all the behavioral issues that my manager pointed out...!! I am naturally like this... I react...!! If something is wrong... I have to voice it...!! If someone is not as committed... I lose my temper...!! I have this compulsive need to overtly express myself...!! I believe in telling the truth and then not keeping any malice inside... but may be this is not how it should be...!!

For once someone has pointed out my mistakes ... issues with my character… and surprisingly I have heard...!! But the bigger surprise is that I am thinking over these again and again... and more I retrospect... more I realize the truth... "To not react impulsively is indeed a difficult job" !!

Arrogance in moderation...

"Arrogance in moderation does wonders to one's personality!!”... I recently read this somewhere...cannot recall the exact context... but it did register in my permanent memory.

My first reaction was…did I read correctly? And then I read it again... and smiled...!! I was pleasantly surprised and relaxed. In one short and subtle sentence, someone has expressed what I feel so strongly about.

I AM arrogant... and I have made peace with this truth. Yes, there was a time when I was troubled and felt guilty about this very strong trait of my character. But as I retrospect and realize... that it is quintessentially me... and it is no WRONG...and that it is NORMAL... Coming to think of it , arrogance has rather been quiet helpful all these years...!!

People around me know for very sure that I will not take any rubbish from them... they are even scared sometimes... and it helps me speak my own mind...to have my own space.. They know that they will have to reason with me logically before they could convince me...and it helps me be independent and more confident…

In this society, where anyone to everyone whether qualified or not is ready with number of suggestions... more so for a girl...!! Where if you let others take control of your life even for once... they assume right on all your decisions...!! People are ready to trample you and make you follow the society norms..., it helps to be arrogant... :-)

Hectic yet fulfilling...

It was after a gap of 10 years that I went home for Chhath puja. And the experience was awesome... out of the world...!!

The very same city... home... even people...everything appears so different...!! There is only one purpose... only one focus... to worship...to pray... to seek blessings... to ask for forgiveness!! I don't think there is any other festival that is so elaborate... so difficult... yet so meaningful to our existence...!! We worship... Sun God... the eternal source of all energy...and in turn of life!! Interestingly, "Sun" is one of the Gods which is worshipped in various religion ... and not only in Hinduism...!! Another special thing is that we pray the "setting" sun as well as the "rising" sun...!!

This puja is one of its kinds as it does not involve any "idol" worshipping. On all the four days of the puja...you are occupied with one or the other rituals associated with it...!! This is an extensive and very elaborate puja... that engrosses you completely... and you could actually feel the vibes...!! You voluntarily get involved and you could feel peace within and ...satisfaction!! The surrounding appears so serene... so pure... just magical...!! You could experience it in air... a special feeling of warmth... of belonging...!! You feel drawn to your roots ... to your folks...!!

I never realized what it meant to me. May be I had drifted too far away from the magical spell of it. But this time as if 'Chhathi Maiya' wanted me to be there... and I was there to re-live the magic called "Chhath"...