Day 91!

Happy birthday to the craziest, most fun-loving, frolicking, caring and smart-ass little sister there is!

Day 66!

Unbounded joy! When you know you can irritate your friend and the friend cannot do anything about it!

Day 40!

Nothing could have made me happier! A writer cannot deserve a better compliment! Thank you!

Maybe more, never less.

Day 35!

Trudging along the road! Someone, once told me, walk the extra mile, Aditi. I know you can do it. That is exactly what I'm trying to do! Hope I make you proud!

Day 34!

Thankful for the angels around me!

Day 31!

Two back to back Harry Potter happiness! Oddity or coincidence? Or just the charms of sorcery, shall we say?!

Day 1!

Not many of you must have across a very beautiful and almost noble initiative called 100happydays.com.

I'm starting mine today! Hope my efforts inspire you to start your own little happy initiative!

Here's my Day 1 :

Office friends who qualified as Chartered Accountants are in well deserved celebratory mood!

Durga Puja fervour in Calcutta!

It was 4:30 in the morning. The birds hadn’t even started chirping. Something disturbed my sleep. I awoke with a start. I could hear the dhak (drum beats). Durga Puja had arrived!

Covering my ears with the pillow, to muffle out the sound, I tried sleeping again, a smile on my face.

The Pujas had come! The next five days Calcutta would swirl and dance in the revelry of worshipping the Goddess, the city would shine bright through the night, people from the nearby towns would come to visit, sell, and soak themselves in the merriment!

One could see people anywhere, anytime! At 7 am, there’re people on the road. At 1 pm, again people. At 10 pm, still there! At 3 am, no the crowd doesn’t thin out!

These five days — dusk or dawn, morning or evening, noon or midnight – you just couldn’t make out the difference. The city didn’t sleep!

On the few tours made of the various pandals (temporary bamboo structures to house the Goddess), it was hard to miss that the traffic police personnel were having a tougher time manning the crowds than the vehicles!

One of the parks near my place had set up rides along with the pandal. Giant wheel was the hot choice! Not only did it give me the much needed adrenalin rush, but when I looked towards the sky, while my capsule was on the upward journey, I could almost feel myself reaching out to touch the moon. Those few minutes symbolized freedom more than anything! And then came the reality check. As soon as I stepped out of the dark and seldom used back gate of the park, I saw myself staring at a family of a mother and two children. Lying on the footpath, with tattered blankets barely covering them, the mother was trying to put her children to sleep amidst the din of celebrations in the land beyond!

The Pujas mix all hues of reality and of the realms beyond. They mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me it’s the time when my city looks and feels surreal!

The Pujas define Calcutta, its old-world charm, its people, its warmth, its serenity, its culture, its madness, everything!

As I sit here writing this, the roads outside are unusually silent! I hear the distant drum beats occasionally as the idols are being taken to the Ganges for immersion, marking the end of Pujas. A year to go, before She comes again!

May the Goddess bless us all!

They change the game!

Advertisements have always fascinated me. And good ones can keep me hooked! They say so much in just 60 seconds! Two of the new ads which caught my mind recently --- because they are quirky, very now, and fun to watch!

Pepsi — Change the Game! In a country where people (at least me!) are now getting fed of our cricketer demi-Gods, this ad hits you right on the spot with a tagline which has never been so apt!

What better way of showing how efficient, customer friendly and any time availability your call centres have!

To their creators I'd like to say only one thing - you guys make commercial breaks a better part of television now! ;)

Others will soon follow!

One day at a time!

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.”

Golden words by William Shakespeare which still hold true. But unfortunately there are very few among us who actually live by these lines anymore! We’ve forgotten that we’re here to simply play our parts and leave when the time comes.

We are busy trying to create a niche for ourselves or planning for the days ahead or hoarding wealth, yes hoarding, or simply feeding our egos by the apparent material success achieved!

How many of us have dreamt about a bigger house, a bigger car, a brighter future? All of us I’m sure.

And how many of us are living entirely in the present without speculating or worrying and making elaborate plans for the future?

I’m not saying people should stop dreaming. That would be a rather unfortunate end to man’s passions and soul.

I’m saying people should start living. Living in the present, rather than waiting to live in the future.

Enjoy each day as it comes. Live life one day at a time. Today, we’re all in a rat race, trying to outdo each other and ourselves too. We don’t have time for our own self, leave alone time for others! There’s this huge rush to reach the finish line before it’s the right time.

We all have to leave this life behind at some day, no one knows when. Don’t you think you’d rather want to live to the fullest instead of regretting in the end and wishing you’d lived and enjoyed every moment of your life and learnt something new each day?

Do something new each day. Learn something new each day. Smile and face the troubles. God won’t make you face any troubles you can’t overcome.

Let go of the crease on your forehead. Let go of all the worries.

Sit with your loved ones. Share a joke or two. Smile at the people at work.

You’ll feel good.

Life itself will look better. Of course, your troubles will still remain, but your strength will increase. And what’s more, you’ll feel happier!

It’s now or never.

If you can’t learn to live ‘now’, you might just ‘never’ learn to live!