Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali.
Wish you happiness, prosperity, good health, peace and all things you desire. May all your dreams come true. May the festival of light always keep your spirits high.

Durga Puja 2009, Kolkata, India

This has been long-long overdue. It has been almost three weeks since Durga Puja and I am really delayed in posting these pics :(

I took some snaps of some very creative Durga puja pandals I visited during the durga puja.

Sharing some of those here -

Durga Puja, Pathuriaghata Street, Kolkata

Durga Puja, Darpanarayan Thakur Street, Kolkata

Durga puja pandal - Korbagan, Kolkata

Durga puja pandal, Telengana Bagan

Durga Puja 2009

Durga puja is in the air!
Kolkata is all dressed up and happy!

There is a lot of joy all around. KMC ia finally repairing the roads and hopefully we will all have a slighly less bumpy ride this puja!

I plan to for pandal hopping on Saptami in the wee hours of morining. Will post pics (maa durga photos) and photos of durga puja pandals here. There are many traditional households in Kolkata who celebrate Durga puja in their homes. I plan to visit some of these houses. Some of these houses have been celebrating Durga puja for over 100 years!

What I am looking forward to is the yummy bhog. It consists of ‘Khichdi’ which is usually served with mixed vegetables known as ‘labra’, chatni and pappad. The Bhog tastes out of the world!

While I go pandal hopping, check out some maa durga photos posted in the below-mentioned site-http://www.calcuttaweb.com/picture/durgapuja/index.php?p=1&subcat=2009&sub=K

Mahalaya

Tomorrow is Mahalaya.

Mahalaya happens a week before the Durga Puja. The puja countdown begins from Mahalaya.
It is a sort of invitation to Goddess Durga to descend on earth.

Wherever I am, I have to find time to listen to " Mahisasura Mardini”, Songs and Shlokas on Mahalaya at dawn. Not out of any compulsion, but because I love listening to it. Birendra Krishna Bhadra voice is immortal. To me no Mahalaya is complete without listening to him.

There is certainly something about this day...
It could be that since I was a little child, my parents used to wake us up at 4am to listen to Mahalaya.

The radio would be in my parents room and each of us would listen to it from our rooms. None of us had to get out of our beds...but we did keep awake to listen to the complete Mahalaya. Not because our parents insisted, but because we loved listening to it.

I guess the early morning ambience combined with the shlokas and songs has a spiritual element to it.

Can't wait for my dose of Mahalaya tomorrow morning.
Happy pujas everyone.

Everybody Googles, even my dad!

My seventy year old dad, a doctor, has computer phobia. He sees the monitor and runs in the opposite direction.

It took a lot of persuasion to convince him to sit next to me (in front of the comp) and understand what it can do for him.

All these years if he has ever needed print outs or if there was any information he wanted , he asked me and I got it for him...i don't think he ever felt the need to use the comp for anything.

What interests him though is the information that one has access to.

A few days back he called me and said, he needed some information on a topic and he said I could find it easily, all I need to do is google it!

I almost fell off my chair!
Daddy telling me about Google!!!

He read an article and later found out from his friends that, to find anything on the Internet you just have to google it!

I remember explaining to him a couple of years back about how people find information on the internet, not much had registered back then...

But Google seems to have found a way into his heart now:)

Wallowing in Self pity?

I started off today on a bad note...lets just say I am feeling down and depressed and
and there is no way that this situation that has brought about this condition, will change.

So what choices do i have?
Feel miserable...take a day off...wallow in self pity and then feel stronger about facing things?
Or do I accept this situation and move on...(this one is tough)

But finally, I know I have to accept it. If not today... maybe in a few days...
So, do I waste a beautiful day like this on feeling sad or do i find ways to get myself out of this situation so that this stops bothering me completely.

Easier said than done...I know:(

But do i have any other choice?

Vedic Village Kolkata

Can't believe that over 70% of Vedic village was burned!!!

It is such a wonderful retreat for us kolkatans. Not a long drive from the city...
it is deliciously green and wonderfully rejuvenating.

Why???

Here are some pictures of Vedic village taken during my last visit.

Busy...Busy...Busy:(

I have not written anything in ages!
Too many things happenning.
Wish I could take a holiday and really really enjoy myself:(
Hopefullly things will settle down and I will be back on the swing again.

Summers have given way to monsoons and the climate is so much better now. But I have not found any time to enjoy it...

Bad...v bad:(
Must manage time well. I am letting time manage me:(

Carnival of Healing #195 : Just About Everything

I am very excited about hosting the carnival of Healing for the second time. The Carnival is a weekly round-up of personal blog posts on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self-empowerment.It is managed by About.com's Guide to Holistic Healing, Phylameana Iila Desy.

I am an ardent follower of the holistic healing section of About.com and it feels great to be a part of it.

I begin the Carnival with a quotation that motivates me a lot. This quotation is by Walt Disney.

"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret - curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable."

I had a wonderful time going through blog submissions, reading great posts and presenting those to you. Hope you find it useful and enjoy going through them too!

Here goes -

• In order to be happy , we need to be completely healed of any pains or sadness , Jennifer talks about how to heal pain naturally at Distance Healing.
  

• Kaushik Chokshi has very informative and interesting posts on how to awaken out of the world of fear and sadness. Awakening Is Simple - Free Book Excerpts beyond-karma.com.

• Humorous Musings, Limericks, Song Parodies, & Satire About Stuff That Drives Me Mad - that's how Madeleine Begun Kane describes her blog and it is certainly worth a visit. Check out her latest post Empty Nest (Limerick) at http://www.madkane.com/humor_blog.
  

• Decisions Decisions… whether to have a cup of tea or a coffee...to switch jobs or not...Jenn Givler has a good post on decisions. Check it out.
  

• Isabella mori talks about a very interesting topic. Check it out @ in defense of 'trying'.

• Upon Reflection is an article that touched me. Read on @ joysjourney2wellness.blogspot.com.

• A laugh a day keeps the doctor away. Find out @ laughter is the best medicine for your heart.
  

• Good advice on how to build natural immunity against Swine flu.
  

That's all for this Carnival!

Last week’s carnival was hosted by Phylameana lila Desy, at Spiral Visions.

Next week WP, at The Conscious Life will be hosting the carnival.

Visit the healing carnival archive page for past carnival hosts.

Have a great weekend!

The Heat is on!

Those lazy, hazy, crazy...very crazy and sweaty days of summers.
Gosh! What a weekend.
With the mercury level soaring higher and higher there seems to be no mercy at all.
No rains in sight...winters are too far away and we are really -really getting cooked in this heat.
Hoping and praying for the monsoons soon.

Cyclone Aila

Villagers in Sunderbans have been displaced due to Cyclone Aila.
Here is a link -
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jun/04/slide-show-1-cyclone-aila-ravages-sunderbans.htm

A touching event

Yesterday while coming home from work, an incident touched my heart.
After a long day at work, I was returning home.
Even at 9.30 there was a huge amount of traffic :(

At the end of long days such as yesterday...I just wish to fly back home.

I usually get a chartered bus or share cabs on my way back...yesterday the queue was unusually long.
While standing in the queue and fuming at the lack of proper transport, I suddenly saw a lot of colourful toffees all over the road.

A old man, almost toothless, had dropped the glass jar that contained the toffees that he was selling.
his bag (equally old) gave way:(

There was a huge rush to clear out the toffees…the drivers and many of us around helped him pick up the toffees.
And he kept thanking everyone...

Within no time, I saw people from the queue; people passing by and anyone who witnessed this, come forward and offer him money.
His bag contained everything he owned and the glass jar with the toffees was his only means of livelihood.
I hope he gets himself a new bag and a new jar that brings him bagful and jarful of goodies.
More often than not, I am reminded of how lucky and fortunate I am. And in spite of being so fortunate...I crib:(
Yesterday's incident touched me....because it made me realize that life is good and it is not worth cribbing over things that might not be working out for me.

The spirit of people touched me...everyone went forward and helped him...there was a begger girl (about 10 years old ) holding a toddler...and she too helped in collecting the toffees... and gave all the toffees to him.

I am touched and overwhelmed. And I love Kolkata , and all the people here...no matter how much I crib about traffic jams and other things.

Oh! Kolkata - Kolkata spends Monday battling Aila

Yesterday was not a typical monday at Kolkata.
Nobody can tell that yesterday this time Aila was terrorizing the whole of Kolkata.It looks near normal now.

Yesterday morning it was raining but I had no clue that the day would turn out the way it did.
Around 10ish the rains intensified and with it came the terrifying howling wind! We thought it was just another stormy day but later when the storm intensified... we could hear things breaking,we heard that trees were uprooted in various places and there was chaos everywhere...It was nightmarish!

Our office decided to close early (around 2pm) so that we could reach home before the storm got worse. It was complete chaos outside...the wind was strong...i had this feeling that I might get whipped up easily and mercilesslyby the wind anytime...
The roads were full of people making their way home.Uprooted trees, and traffic jams added to the chaos. There was practically no means of public transport to take us home. My colleague dropped me home and on our way we managed to give lift to quite a few people.
The city witnessed intense storm till 6pm and then it was somewhat controlled. Though it picked up intensity again but it had weakened considerably and everything quietened by early morning.
Officially the wind claimed 35 lives in Bengal, 15 in Calcutta and Howrah and 20 in other south Bengal districts.

Aila brushed past with less than 50km to spare at 6.30pm on Monday. If it had actually hit Kolkata, the situation would have been worse.
Inspite of the terrifying situation yesterday, Kolkata's spirit is unbeaten. It is another normal day today with full attendance at work.

Speech by Larry Page

I really like this speech. Larry Page's University of Michigan Commencement Address.

This speech is by Larry Page , one of the co-founders of google - http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/annc/20090502-page-commencement.html

If you have time go through this.

Elections India

I am so happy with the election results in India. A stable government is really desired. We can now look forward to better and brighter prospects for India.
Here is what the newspapers are talking about today -http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090519/jsp/frontpage/story_10988754.jsp

Mother's day - Love you ma

My mother is possibly the most calm and collected person I have ever come across.Raising four of us must have been tough...but never ever have I seen her get angry or shout at us,infact I think she managed to spoil all of us, just a bit, not much:).

And I am happy she did...That indulgence did us good.

I don't know how, but inspite of her indulgences, the four of us learnt to care and share very easily. Any goodies as in chocolates and icecreams were divided equally and if there was a guest he/she would get a share from that too!

And I still don't remember feeling deprived...I just remember feeling happy.

We used to have long summer breaks..Aah! Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summers were really- really nice. We used to cycle to the swimming pool, meet up with friends and then go to the library...pick up lots of story books...Wow! I wish I could get back those days! I used to have so much time to read books...Currently I am trying to read 2 books and doing justice to none:(

When we got back home, my mom would have prepared Aam panna (a chilled raw mango drink)for all of us. Yummy! All of us would have at least two glassfulls each. Just the thought makes my mouth water. Have to remind ma to make some for me soon.

Love you ma. Thanks for everything!
You are the best. I am just so incredibly lucky to have you as my mom.

Bullying

The need to bully is inherent in people all around us...In our professional life, personal life, public places, everywhere...

Bullying involves a desire to hurt + hurtful action + a power imbalance + (typically) repetition + an unjust use of power + evident enjoyment by the aggressor and a sense of being oppressed on the part of the victim. More from this site -http://www.education.unisa.edu.au/bullying/define.html

I keep wondering...is it because they are insecure..or is it because that's how they function..
You can't escape them...they are like the moles and warts and you have to live with.But is there a way in which we could protect ourselves from them or even fight back?

There is very good stuff in this site that should help you lead a stress free and bully free life-
http://www.bullyonline.org/action/action.htm

My recent holiday to Jayanti, North Bengal

Jayanti is a beautiful little town with a population of around 1200. The River is all dried up. But the river bed looks beautiful. It forms a border with the Bhutan hills. To reach Jayanti...you can catch one of the overnight trians that plies from Howrah. We travelled in Saraighat express. This train leaves Howrah at around 4 and reaches New Alipurduar at 4.45am next morning (provided that train is on schedule:))From New Alipurduar it takes another 45 minutes by road to Jayanti.
The climate is perfect. Mornings and nights are cool and afternoons are not too hot.It is just the get away that I was looking for. Away from the noisy and polluted city to the peace and tranquility of this forest. The best part was that we had almost a non-existent network. So we were really-really cut off.That is what I call a real holiday.
We stayed at the cosy Forest rest house. From the rest house, you can view the vast expanse of the river bed. The river bed and the Bhutan hills. The refreshingly cool wind is very therapeutic.
There is nothing much to do once the sun sets. You can't go to the forest then. Good for us...we stayed at our rest house...spent a lot of time chatting and admiring the quiet nights...interrupted by ocassional sounds of elephants...
Jayanti is a paradise for bird and butterfly lovers.I managed to spot many beautiful birds and butterflies thanks to my cousin, ...who is an ardent bird watcher.
I would love to go back to Jayanti soon. Just to bathe in the tranquility and the pure bliss that Jayanti offers.I feel complelety rejuvenated.
Sharing some snaps of our trip.

I am Back!

Hi,

I went for a wonderful trip to a national reserve forest and had a wonderful time!
I will share my experiences and photos soon.
Take care and have a great weekend.
Stay happy.

Vedic Village Kolkata pictures

Hi,
Wanted to share a few snaps from our Vedic Village trip last year. It was peak monsoons and it looked so lovely and green. Try the breakfast buffet there... tasty and sumptuous.

If you live in and around Kolkata, this place is a must visit.

Happy Holi!

May the brilliant colours of Holi fill you with happiness.
Wish you a very happy holi.

My cup of tea

I do seriously think that a cup of hot tea/ coffee makes me much more equipped to begin my day:)

I am quite spoilt for choices where i live, as far as tea is concerned. Lots of shops selling a variety of tea . There is a variety of darjeeling tea and the best part is,i buy in very small quantities, taste all of them and then buy more of the one I like (My cousin Soma follows this and I quite like her way of selecting tea.

A hot steaming cup of delicately flavoured darjeeling tea is almost always something to cheer about for me. Certainly my cup of tea!

What about you?
Cheers!
Have a nice day.

Going Green

I had a great time shopping for indoor plants last weekend.My home has more colour now. It looks so much better with greens.
And peaceful...
Excellent stress buster.

Food Glorious Food!

Had a wonderful, absolutely yummy lunch on Friday.
It was sponsored by my office and we had a wonderful time.

Sharing pics of some of the stuff we had :) (clicked by my colleague)



I am feeling hungry again...

Life is good unless you decide otherwise!

If I let myself be...I will really get into severe depression...people are losing jobs...life is getting more and more insecure...one is not sure if one is going to come back alive... If i let all this bother me...I will really want to roll into a blanket dive under the bed and just stay there and possibly die...Morbid...
No way...I will not let that happen ever!
You see...I have been much too depressed with things that have beenhappenning all around me..uncertainties...unfairness...
All this existed earlier as well...but these days the frequency seemsto have gone up dramatically:(
I feel down and out almost always...but is that helping me?
No, not at all.
Have not posted in my blog in ages!Have not felt like it.
I have been happy to feel sad. Happily sad.
I realized today, that I have made my life miserable by simplythinking of what might happen if something happens...
Gosh! What a waste of time!
I realized there are so may good things going on in my life too but I have happilydecided to be sad about things going bad instead. And guess this has a prettybad effect on your near and dear ones! I have not only managed to make myself sad...i have successfully managed to irritate people because of my bad moods:((
We do simmer and boil in the hell of our own making!
If you are like me...People...just be happy... and everything in your life and around you will be happy.
Take care.