All the best Bammi!

Bammi has worked  real hard for last eight months. He has given up a lot to gain some, in fact most of the good old life for the new horizons. He has been extremely focussed and honest towards his studies. In some hours from now it will be his final face off with his last and deadliest enemies. I know he's prepared and he's nervous too! After all, it's all about maintaining his consistency of the high grades!

Don't worry Bammi, you will be rocking in each and every exam that you will write. You are constantly in my prayers. You have already proved your mettle by bagging the internship. I am sure you'll shine in all endeavors.
I feel extremely fortunate to have you in my life as my best friend and my mentor. I am sure you'll go places and thus me too :)

Images courtesy:
credendacreators.blogspot.com
same2u.com

Origami, latest passion!

Thank you so much Bammi for reintroducing Origami to my life!

It all started with Bammi's presentation on demonstration a TnD method. Ever since that day I am regularly folding papers into some artwork daily.. It's kind of became a part me before bedtime rituals along with shower and brushing teeth..eeeeee!

All done by me, me and me :)

missing the momentum...

It's like the winning streak, one has to put in efforts to keep it on. Same principle can easily be applied to me and writing. So many days have passed, so many moments have been lost without getting into the memory lane.
I have got so much on me mind that I don't know from where to start?

Past week was all about desi music, the soft, romantic melodies. Following two are me latest favorites :)
Coincidentally both movies have Tushar Kapoor in the lead role but I likes it bery bery much, eh!

IELTS : My experience!

First thing first, I took IELTS - academic module in first week of March this year. I scored 7.5 in listening, 7.0 in reading, 7.0 in writing and 7.5 in speaking with an overall banding of 7.5.
My major realization in this whole process of IELTS application, preparation, examination and then the result is that you can't drastically jump bands(exceptions may exist)! IELTS is basically an universally acknowledged yardstick to measure one's level of English language proficiency. It is practically impossible for most of us to master the language overnight! Our score most probably will be the same as mock tests. It'll be okay if you directly face the exam however taking practice tests before the actual test make you more conversant with the format.

There's no need to buy any additional material for IELTS. The complimentary book in itself is a complete package. Practicing 3-4 mock tests for listening and readings should be good enough. I personally did nothing for writing section, I just went through couple of samples from the book and got an idea of how to go about it. Same goes for speaking, I just treated it like a cordial professional conversation with a stranger/interviewer.

If somebody is planning to join coaching classes especially to clear IELTS then I think it's futile. If your command over English is weak then you must look at improving on it. You may join classes for longer duration, but again for English and not for IELTS. Again, I would like to reiterate IELTS is just a scoring system, your grades will totally depend on your proficiency and there are no tips and tricks to prove language proficiency!

Are we Indians liability to our ex-countrymen outside India, eh???

Note: Purely my thoughts, my anxieties.. Please read at your own risk!

I still remember the sarcastic expression that I had made when one of my family friends had stayed with some unknown Indian family during their first visit to states back in 1998. I clearly remember the amount of jokes that I had cracked up with an aunt about this so called phenomenon of 'fellow Indians outside India are as good as family'. It was weird that how in US, UK, Canada, Australia...etc. Hindi could make people so mushy that they would actually go out of the way to help strangers. Honestly, I never believed in this then I just thought it was just another cheap trick to save money. I mean how is it possible that in this selfish world people would do such nice things without any self interest? who's got the time and energy to do so? It's not those few altruistic ones I am referring here, I am referring to the major chunk of Indians settled outside India!

In 2007, I left home for the fist time and went to Bangalore for my first job. In Bangalore, most of the  communications were in English and sometimes I used to get lucky with a four liner banter in Hindi. Marathi - my mother tongue, my most favorite language on the face of Earth seemed extinct to me! One fine evening when I was window shopping at Shopper's Stop, suddenly I had heard familiar words amongst mixture of Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam. No offence meant to any language but they all seemed same to my ears except change in pitch and tone. I saw an elderly couple conversing in Marathi. I approached them, introduced myself and started chatting with them. I had no shame in following them till their car, just for the sake of some conversation in Marathi. Unknowingly I had  followed them everywhere in the mall, I also carried their bags and helped them pick some stuff. The joy that I had experienced then I can never express in words ever. Interestingly I was in India, my family was just a call away and I was in decent circumstances still it was such a big deal for me! Ever since then I have become a lot more sensitive to such issues. This experience has evoked deep pride and great sense of belonging in me about my state, my country.

Here I am, again on set of leaving my home, my state and most importantly my country. I know I will not only long for Marathi but also for Hindi, there. I know that any Indian face will put a smile on my face. I will need moral support from my fellow countrymen, who are now better known as NRIs in swadesh. Will they be courteous enough to return my smile, a greeting, few kind words may be? Based on all the horror stories from many people (again no offences meant, these are just the things bothering me night and day) I am harassed by these questions for which I have no answers at least sitting here in India:

Are we Indians really bad at keeping in touch, especially with our schools, colleges and ex employers?
Are we really not interested in being referred to help the newcomers from Swadesh?
Do we expect every new entrant to seek help for employment? Is that the reason why we want to maintain safe distance from them?
Do we really see our fellow countrymen as a potential threat to our existence in that country?
Is guiding someone new is so much pain that we keep shying away?
Have we westernized ourselves so much that the Indian values have evaporated with our Indian DNA?
Do we laugh at the misery of a fellow countrymen in society?
Are our feelings dead along with our accent?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, I also don' know how true/relevant are they. All I know is that if I am able to pursue  my current dreams. My answer to all these questions will be a big NO. I don't know the scale and the magnitude but I will always be there for my countrymen, no matter what! I am born Indian, and I shall stay one till my last breath!

''Garvach naahi tar Maaj aahe mala Marathi aslyacha!''


Image courtesy: Google images
Disclaimer: No offences meant to any particular person or community, these are the questions that have turned me insomniac for past few days!

Marathi new year - Gudi Padwa!

I have loads to look up to and go through this year. I don't know whats in store for me, eh! I pray to the almighty for courage, strength and patience for easy passage through all the odds of life. I also ask for humble satiety of all the good and joyous things of life. 

I have left the well-being of my nest and my folks on him and I am sure he'll be the best at it, since he has always been the best! May this year bring peace, humility, progress, prosperity, health an happiness to each and everyone!

Happy New Year 2011...

INDIA: We are the world champions!!! ICC World Cup 2011

Yayyyy... we did it, we are the champions!!!!!


If you recall my last post 'now or never', I had pledged not to follow Cricket if India loses in WC 2011. Well, I won't have to give up Cricket now because men in blue are the new ICC WC 2011 champions... 


As a die hard cricket fan it was a long long wait for me, wait of the lifetime actually, eh? yeah because I wasn't born when Kapil Dev and team had lifted the bad baby(WC Trophy) in 1983. It's euphoria everywhere, and why shouldn't it be? We are a nation of 1.21 billion people and Cricket is our religion, if you cut open our veins you'll see cricket flowing with every RBC. Every li'l boy from almost every corner of the country aspires to be Sachin Tendulkar one day!


This is most probably my last WC in India and I wished, hoped and prayed for it more than ever. All of us have an ultimate secret wishlist, things before we die. I am happy to strike out one wish from my wishlist. What more to say, HaPpY is what I am...


India played exceptionally well in this tournament, except the game against England and SA they were killers.. the real terminators. This championship hasn't come by fluke, MSD and his brigade have really worked hard to dominate international cricket. This team has an excellent mix of experience and enthusiasm (Hosh ke saath Josh). They are matured, responsible and are chasing same goal. This team is not dependent on any one particular match-winner. Every single player is competent enough in coming ahead and rising  for the occasion. This team is not overconfident and doesn't mind experimenting. They have world's best batting order but this doesn't hold them from diving hard to save opponent team's boundaries. 'Catches win matches!' seems to be a part of their DNA. Not deadly but decent match winning bowling what else is the formula for world champions?


All in all, this was an excellent tournament for team India. It was a team effort, they are the best team in cricket world for sure an they really deserved the title! 


Every victory was followed by this brilliant Doordashan clipping...

My daughter from next life!

Title seems creepy and mysterious, eh? I know that it's not at all the typical of me to speak about things beyond this life as I really don't know and don't care about what after this life scenario...

"You know what? I pray to the almighty that in my next life I should be born as your daughter. I should be twice as difficult as you are to me!" I remember Maa telling me this, ever since I was like 4 yrs old. Initially she would say it every time I would be mischievous or stubborn and I would make faces. As I grew up mostly in my teenage, every attempt of mine to be a rebel was counterattacked by these lines and I would hate it to the core. Couple of years ago I heard these lines on my mistakes where they just brought tears in my eyes...

Today, I heard them again but the context was totally different. We were arguing over something silly just for fun. Both of us were looking at each other  to see who laughs first and the other one automatically wins the argument.  Maa laughed first and I won, she came and hugged me from behind while I was reorganizing  my farm. I sensed Maa's deep, unconditioned love, her pain that she will miss me like anything when I'll be gone. I really find these lines very amusing that they have appeared different and have lead to different emotions at different point of time in my life...

What if I'll be blessed with next life as a woman? What will it be like to be Maa's Maa? You know what I have no clue at all but I know one thing for sure that I'll be the happiest and the luckiest to have Maa around me in every life irrespective of our relation.


Kailas Kher's this composition had brought tears in my eyes when I had heard this song for the fist time, while watching Dasvidaniya!

I had also cried buckets, while watching Tare zameen par when this song was playing in the background...