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