Adorable Moments

Someone asked her what kind of boy, you want to marry.

She replied, "Someone like Krish".

Well, she is my 2 year old niece and Krish is a 3 year old cute neighbourhood boy.

The way she says "Krishhh jaisa" (like Krish), it's so adorable. We keep asking her the same question for 20 times to enjoy the way she tells it.

Please mimic her response like a 2 year old kid and it will bring an instant smile on your face.

Kids are adorable.

(People who are child-like, not childish are also adorable.)

When the last time we met, my sister hold her ears and made faces asking me to forgive her for hurting me. (Fun is that I wasn't hurt when she was pulling my leg, in-fact, I was enjoying and adoring the creative ways used by her while asking for forgiveness). Then, I coldly said then that I am not angry, still, I forgive you.

The next moment, she folded her hands and asked me to put my hand on her head to bless her. I was taken aback. It's not we do. I felt  a sensation which can't be explained. Next day, she had a flight to Bangalore and I faked my sadness as my anger for being teased by her. The results blew my mind. She is adorable, her act is now registered for eternity.....sisters are adorable.

Thank you God for giving me a little sister and a younger brother too.:)

Once, she read an article where I used "little sister" for her. She had a heartily laugh and the she said, "Little sounds like I'm a 5 year old kid". Ah..her smile was so adorable.

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A dog who goes to office everyday.

There is a dog...no..its not my pet dog. He is an orphan who was born and brought up near the vicinity of our office.

He does some of the most unusual things that I've ever seen a dog doing. He has melt heart of even the heartless with his sheer determination and love. This is his daily routine

• By the time I get ready and go outside our flat, we find him looking at us affectionately.
• Then, the cab will come to pick employees from the Guest House.
• He will send everyone and I can see the guilt in the eyes of people who don't have place in the cab to accommodate him. He is a little dirty as nobody baths him... after all he is an orphan. :(
• He jogs behind the bus and would reach office after 5 minutes. So, this way he jogs for 2 KMs every morning.
• Now, he would relax and people would offer him breakfast and he would go to play and fight with his friends.
• He is a free soul. He is not chained and he has no owners.
• However, everyone has his share of joy and sorrow. He has many masters. They feed him and he licks their shoes. It was little awkward earlier, now he is a part of our daily life.
• We discuss about the faithfulness of dogs. Everyone loves him.
• I once wondered, "There are many dogs here but why we all focus on this one dog and no other dog comes near us in the loving way like his.
• Came to know that we all are racist and it has something to do with his skin color.
• Like all other's dogs, he is not brown...he is black. They all used to bully him.  And, so, he got adopted without a pact.
• I learned that even dogs get bullied. They told that every street dog has his area and they pee to mark their territory.
• My colleagues explained me all this with such sincerity like this question is going to come in semester exam tomorrow.
• He reach the guesthouse five minutes after us. All day, he gets snacks like Biscuits... sometimes we feel that we are spoiling him as now he don't struggle to met his ends like other dogs.
• But, he is like a kid. We love him...still I don't hug him...he is not neat and I'm someone who likes dogs from away or in pictures because as a kid I was really scarred of them.
• He sleeps in the campus at night as next morning he has to get ready for office.
• Some habits die hard. I still get scared to come near to him as I wonder whether he has been vaccinated against diseases or not.
• And, that's How I met a dog who goes to office? 

While I'm writing this at office, my colleagues sneak peek and  wish this post gets attention as if this happens, we would show this to our management and melt them to provide for this dog. Management looks for something out of the box. Having a dog that goes to office 6 days a week is a unique thing. What do you say? Dude, he has holiday tomorrow and he will be leaving now as how can he miss the legendary India Vs Pakistan match.

Our dog says love to you all...thank you. :)

PS- Now, when someone says, every dog has his day- I wonder if they know about our wonder dog or are they talking about me. !:)

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When was the first time you were discriminated for being a female?

My sister has been discriminated so many times for her gender that I forgot when was the first time I discriminated against her. Before killing me by tearing into pieces,  keep reading.

Hello everyone, I want to spill the beans for one and all. I want to show the other side of my personality which is somehow not getting reflected in my writings.

Recently, I came across sentences from girls like "I'm not close to my Father" "I'm not close to my brother" "My trip got cancelled because my father said No." "My Father wanted a son and we are trying to prove him wrong". All this saddens me as by the end of this post you'll know how people like me are responsible for alleviating those feelings.

I am programmed to be interested in only serious lifelong relationship.

Don't judge a person by what he says...just notice his deeds.

Action speaks louder than words. I always feel that we often fail to give a correct picture about ourselves or any situation and so, I'm going to disappoint some of the people.

You only know what someone is willing to tell. I interact occasionally with some girls here and I don't even have an iota of idea about who are they? I've made it a point to keep the discussions intellectual and I'm glad that I never asked personal questions to anyone.

You know why? Because, they are also somebody's sister and I was never interested in the things people of my age do. I'm weird as per the standards and that's my strength as well as weakness. May be that's why I always had only a few friends....but true lifelong friends.

You know how- I love my sister beyond any measure and I write a lot about her. Still, I discriminate with her for her gender. I am sharing excerpts from "Rohan Sinha's answer to Why do some men hate feminists?

How she is getting discriminated by her own brother?

• I am partial- I love my sister a little more than my brother. A portion of my saving each month goes to a separate account to buy an expensive gift for my sister on her wedding. That's another thing that when she will be my age, she would earn way more than me because of a start with a salary more than double of mine. Still, I'm his brother, it's my love, ego, pride to gift something grand to her.
• What a hypocrite I am? You can understand the  dilemma between the love of a brother and the his belief that exchange of expensive gifts in cash or kinds on Wedding is Dowry. :( I never plan anything for my wedding or my brother's wedding. I hate to have a fat wedding for myself but I would not mind arranging one for my sister. You might not understand.
• Double Standards for boys and girls-I worry when my sister travel alone or even when she is with her friends but I am least bothered about my brother when he travels. Two weeks ago, I tactfully convinced her not to go to Infosys, Mysore to meet her friends. Your father or brother might have bluntly cancelled your trip. For us, she cancelled it on her own. We don't take decisions on her behalf but are definitely guilty of influencing her.
• Do you want to know what happened when she called at 8:30 AM morning to tell Dad that she wants to go with all college friends to Mysore. She is already new in Bangalore.
• Dad told, "Are you informing or asking for permission?"
• She replied, "Asking for permission..will come by night."
• Dad said, "Ok, go as at last moment you're telling and I can't say NO"
• Then I took the phone and I made her realize how she will get tired by covering it in one day.
• She replied that Neha was telling to stay. She will talk in Infosys.
• Me- No..no...don't stay...why don't you go tomorrow 6'o clock so that you have some time to explore mysore in your one day trip.
• Today, i.e. Saturday, go to a mall, buy watch that I have to gift you on your birthday.
• She asked, "Should I go or not?"
• Me- Resha, you're already grown up and have started working also. Have we ever stopped you from doing anything. Just we told so as you're new to Bangalore and even your friends can come to Bangalore.
• So, we left her to decide on her trip. She didn't went to Mysore. I felt extremely guilt when I heard the group cancelled the trip itself.
• With remorse, I kept calling her to casually check if she was upset or angry.Surprisingly, she was not angry or upset at all.
• After coming from the Mall, at around 4, she told that it was a really hot day and it was good that we didn't went to Mysore.
• Agreeing to elders is not bad, always :P
• Had my brother told to go to Mysore, we wouldn't have bothered much. This clearly shows how my sister has been discriminated for her gender by his selfish brother.
• But, he don't give a damn being stereotyped as bad because he knew what he was doing and for whom he was doing.
• Until, he's assured of her Safety, even God can't prevent him from supporting her/stopping her without making her feel at disadvantage.
• He has already planned that soon he would book a cab for her and her friends for their Mysore Trip that got cancelled because of him.
• She is our princess but I try to make sure that I don't infringe her space-
• When my brother doesn't pick calls and Mom panics, I tell her 100 reasons not to worry.
• But, when my sister doesn't pick call, I go restless and I call everyone from her friends to hostel warden to the Administrative officer. ( PS- I was in the same college so I know many people)
• This month it happened again when Mom got a call from her office . My Mom couldn't pick up what he said on phone due to his thick accent and her being not so accustomed to English communication.
• Now, Mom called me, her commander-in-chief, to inform that my sister was not picking up calls.
• I replied, "She told me in the morning that she has 3 meetings today-maybe that's why she is not picking up the phone". I told Mom that I'll try to call and text her.
• Mom called after 5 minutes and was still worrying because of the call from her office. She was not knowing that it was a call for background check.
• So, to release her worry. I told a white lie that I spoke to her and she is busy in meeting now. Hmmm... Mom was relieved but just after hanging the phone, I started worrying...why she is not picking calls and my sister called later to tell her phone was in silent.

I've gone through the comments on my answer where I've been labeled as an ideal brother. I'm no way close to that as you must have seen...In-fact now I feel cunning also for tactfully cancelling my sister's trip. But, I feel and mean every word when I wroteRohan Sinha's answer to Which are some of the most amazing stories ever?

Excerpts from this answer which came out direct from the heart and is my most upvoted and commented post ever in life.

My parents wanted a daughter when my brother born

Mom says that girls complete a family. Boys and girls are both equally important. So true!

She is youngest in the family and is the apple of everyone's eye. She is our angel, our lucky charm.

Girls are expressive. She credited me and my brother for her success but I failed to tell her that my thought process is a gift of having an amazing sister. I respect stranger girls as I also expect others to respect my princess.

I don't find the stereotypical jokes on women with the message "Women are dumb" funny anymore.

The Crime against women would be history if people treat other girls the same way they want their sisters to be treated.

PS- I wrote this for many of the girls who followed me for that answer. As you have unknowingly felt that I am someone who don't discriminate against girls. Apologies for the confusion...I'm such an idiot who even discriminates against his sister. And you're a stranger. What can you expect from me? Please read "Rohan Sinha's answer to Why do some men hate feminists? and do un-follow  me.

I've a satisfaction that I have given a broader picture of my bonding with my sister. It's real, strong and a guiding light for my all other female relationships. I sincerely wish this might change the perspective of at least one girl who has a negative feeling for her father/brother.

It's dedicated to your brother, who is not that tactful in conveying things. I told in a meeting that " It's not about what you say but how you say to have an impact. Telling right things at the right time at the right place is a game changer."

Why I answered this question?

When I meet people who discriminate against having a girl child. I tell them, how I and my sister have got equal opportunities and she has optimized the chances she got far better than me. After she got into INTEL, I was the first person whom she called, even before Mom and Dad. She touches my heart in ways that I never expect.

If my sister can love a brother who discriminates against her, I'm sure you have what it takes to make your Dad and brother feel proud on you. Never back down, no matter what happens, you can always control the outcome.

Don't allow the discrimination against you to make you bitter. Be so sweet that even, those who discriminate feel remorseful for this act.

People do change for good...you just need some patience and belief in yourself.

I also answered this question because questions like this force everyone to find a dark story. We all have many of them. When we share how our father or brother discriminated against us for our gender then everyone feels sorry for our bad luck. However, there are many sides to a story.

Even if a father wanted a male child and still carve or wish for one. That doesn't mean that he don't love his daughter.

I know about such people who cried when a daughter was born but later gave her the best of education and loved them like their princess. Now, when the daughter came to know that her Mother cried when she was born- it was a terrible thing for a teenage girl.

If she writes about that single incident then many girls might connect. But, she has thousands of happy memories with her parents. Please don't forget that males are less expressive and fell short of telling how much they love their daughters and or sisters. I am able to write not tell her...:)

My father is also reserved in his emotions but when I said, "Dad, my sister has made us all proud and she has brought glory to you" I can't explain the spark in his eyes.

Please don't judge your Dad/brother just on the basis of few negative experiences.

If anyone has any difficulty in getting along with family then ping me and I would try to help you get over those feeling.

I can understand your frustrations in not having the same degree of freedom as your male siblings. I won't tell much but would like to put excerpts from my another answer that can help you understand the root cause of such behavior of people like me who discriminate with their sisters.

We got independence 68 years ago. US has got it’s freedom 239 years ago. Our society is evolving and I am sure that within next 20-30 years things will get streamlined.  Currently, neither the society is equal nor the laws are equal for both men and women. The society is such that women in India can’t do many things freely here which might be a normal thing for a westerner. Similarly our Laws are heavily biased against men as rightly pointed out by Anushree Prakash B,

"Lie from a woman is truth until proven otherwise" and

"Truth from a man is a lie until proven otherwise"

Please say no to Male Bashing and say yes to Women Empowerment.

And, never forget that in life,

"It doesn't matters what happened, at the end, it's all about what you remember and how you remember".

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Are Indian Husbands Ashamed To Cook?

My Dad is not ashamed to cook but he rarely cooks.
My Brother-in-law cooks on weekends... haha... He is an awesome cook. My cousin (sister) is lucky.
My close friends now know cooking. Hope they won't mind cooking even after their marriage.
Regarding me-
Mom- (Scolding) What your wife will tell? Why you don't do X, Y, X, P, Q, R?
Me- (Little irritated) It's good that no body will marry me after all I'm good for nothing.
Mom- (with a smile)- No. It's not like that. X,Y, Z Aunt saw your cooking pics and were awestruck. They told, "Girls like when guys cook". I now tell everyone that you know cooking. After all, everyone is an engineer...you've some extra qualification.
Me- (Really embarrassing) - Yet, we both laughed so hard that I can't express in words. It was so funny and embarrassing. No one can beat Indian Moms :P

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My Dad reminds me of the Bollywood Movie Nayak.
My Mom is an awesome cook who has a wide variety like more that 50 type of chutneys (side dish). She is passionate about cooking and cooks South Indian delicacies, like dosa, idlis, chutney, sambhar, uttapam, upma, etc with the same expertise as the natives. (I will share the pics later)
After all, she learned this from people who were natives. During her school vacations, she used to visit her Aunt in Kolkata. There she came in close contact with poeple from South India and Sindhis. I am so glad that those people shared their indigenous recipes with her. My Mom also cooks Dhokla...a Gujarati dish and I'm eagerly waiting for a day when I can get feedback of a Gujarati friend about her Dhoklas that are just awesome with the Peanuts chutney.
Oh! this question is about husbands!
Mom- People support their wife in the kitchen chores, see your brother, XYZ who washed dish plates when maid didn't came. Do you feel ashamed helping me in the Kitchen. ( Well, she was referring to an incident that happened 20 years ago)
Dad- (sheepishly laughing and cracking self depreciating jokes heads towards the Kitchen) Oh! You should call me when I'm needed here.
Mom- (trying to find reasons to get him out of Kitchen as she don't often likes to get help)- Oh! you're not doing it right....You should go and help children in studies

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Observing my parents over years has been a satisfying experience. Women don't always mean what they say. They love to give back the love you give them with 10x more intensity.

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Dad cooked Rice and Tomato curry when Mom was ill.
Dad cooked Parathas with the shape of India when Mom had to go to alone to attend one function. He couldn't go due to office and our school.
Dad cooked when he felt that Mom needs rest.
Dad cooked to impress Mom. And, we loved his cooking like Mr. Anil Kapoor says in the Movie, Nayak that cooking of Dad is awesome as he cooks rarely. Same pinch!
My Dad loves to make tea and I must say he makes really good tea. I wonder if he makes tea to have it or makes me Mom feel loved as he is not much of a person who is naturally inclined for cooking. But he has what it takes to raise to the occasion and do some cooking.

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I wanted my Mom's cooking skill to pass on to the next generation.
So, I look the initiative to learn cooking. The another reason is that I love home made food and love what I cook:P.
I'm grateful to my friend Arighna, who has given critical feedback and stilled dared to eat whatever I cooked. He is one of the rare guy who gives honest feedback. One day, he tasted the chicken curry just while I was cooking for all the Flatmates and told that this is like what I eat at home.
My Friend and I are foodie and getting appreciated from him was like getting a trophy.
His Mom and Dad came and I cooked for them. It was a nervous moment as I was self conscious, I don't know how I cooked but they were generous in their praise.

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This post is incomplete without mentioning how I changed my cousin and best friend, who has never cooked.
While he was hunting for jobs, I started cooking at night with hiring him as my assistant. haha.. He has got a rich experience in preparatory works like cutting onions and Tomatos. We love those days. Some day I will share this in detail.

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My friend from Mangalore, Jagdish is such a down to earth person. He has tolerated all my experiments on Foods. Thanks Jagdish!

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Now, by coming in my contact, I converted 3 would be husbands - Arighna, Jagdish and Ashish as Husbands who won't mind cooking.

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As far as I am concerned, I'm not going to tell my would be wife that I know cooking- at-least that's the advice I got from my brother-in-law. He also cooks for him and my cousin (sister) on Weekends. :P However, you can see the pictures of what I have cooked over 2 years. Cooking is Beautiful
My Mom is more proud on my cooking skills that my engineering degree. Hmm.. She is result oriented. I promised her that I would start a blog for cooking where I would unveil her recipes. Oh! I just started one- Mom teaching Cooking - If you believe I make some sense- Follow to get notified- It's focus is on helping bachelor's learn cooking easily as we miss home foods, Isn't it?
I used to write down the recipes over phone and then would send her the photos of what I cooked. My Mom is so proud on my cooking skills. Dad taught me how to cook with minimum stuffs, (Jugaad Technology).

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I cook a wide variety of things like Chicken curry, Chicken chilli, Biryani, Egg Curry, Parathas, Rice, Pulses, Paneer Kadhai, etc. Why a bachelor started Cooking? by Rohan Sinha on Mom teaching Cooking

The weird shaped Sattu Parathas I cooked for dinner. Was loved by Arighna- who hailed from Patna but was a native of Bengal.

I and my friends sat on the floor and enjoyed this. Hope you guys remember! Sunday's have became fun day. All this has been prepared without their help. Now, they have also started cooking and I have to relax.

Hmm...This looks Yummy...It was for a beast like me- I'm pure Non-Vegetarian. (Vegetarians- Don't see me as a beast now, that's not fair)

It's one of the best meal. Easy and tasty. Smashed Potatoes, Pickle from home, Tomato -onion side dish complemented Rice and Dal. How is that?

Haha--- Biryani for eyeryone in separate pack. Happy New Year 2015- Sometimes, even I come up with some creativity.

Cooked on 1st Jan 15 for a picnic with my cousins at Hanging Garden, Mumbai. Awesome experience, Di and Ashish

I love curd...

Dal Khichdi- Easy and quick to cook. And trust me, it's yummy.
Follow Mom teaching Cooking to stay tuned for future posts where I will share my Mom's cooking recipes, tips and other stories related to food. Just imagine if I learned all this only on phone then why can't you. It's a satisfying experience. 

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Birthdays and Us

Originally written on 29th Feb,16

Birthdays are special for many people. I know people for whom it's just another day. Respect everyone's choice. There is no one-fix all solution for everyone.
Don't feel ashamed if you love to celebrate birthdays.
Don't feel that you're superior/inferior to anyone if you don't like to go over board on birthdays. I am closer to this group. In childhood, I loved to celebrate birthdays as the incentives were huge- I vividly remember waiting for months to get a cricket bat as gift, new dresses were so much fun then. Now, there is zero excitement. But a desire to live it well.
There used to be so much excitement for months before the birthday. Then the countdown...10..9..8..8..6..5..4..3..2..1-It's your birthday.
My birthday has almost came and I don't like the notice board showing it all the time as I like to celebrate my birthday in solitude with close family or friend in a modest way. However, that's not an issue as I'm already going home. I really don't remember who called me at 12:00 AM last year or any previous year as for me it's not important and my RAM also doesn't support those information.
However, I try to wish people on their birthdays to make them feel special. It applies to people whom I care about. It has happened that I've forgotten b'days...always happens and then I wish them belated birthdays. But, I do it.
It has been my 5th birthday in this company but I never cut cake in office as I prefer to take a leave or half day and do something different. However, I take initiative to arrange cakes and snacks on birthday of my friends and colleagues.

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After all, it's all about personal choices. There is nothing right or wrong.
I neither call nor expects someone to call me at midnight as I'm mostly sleeping by that time. I always have a pact with myself not to fail to wish people I care about..even if it's a belated wish.

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Last year, I was at home on my b'day after many years. This year also I would celebrate it in a modest way with my Parents. :)
It may not sound cool to many but for me, it's a terrific experience to spend quality time with them.

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How We Randomly Met Mr. Udit Narayan?

We came back from our trip to South East Asia and were waiting at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for our JET Airways Flight to Patna.
I was not wearing my specs and so, I didn't noticed him. Dad came closer to me and told, "See Udit Narayan".
Now, I liked his songs a lot and hence was excited to meet him. But, I was reluctant to go as he was standing alone without any fan chasing him which is quite unlikely with singers like him.
As I was not having specs, I went to Dad to recheck, if he was sure that the man is Udit Narayan. Once, dad confirmed. I had butterflies in the stomach due to my admiration for the man whom I was going to meet.
I went to him with a smile and told that "Sir, I am a very big fan of your's". He greeted with a pleasing smile and asked whether I am from Patna or Delhi. I told that I'm from Patna and we were returning from our trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. He told that he was also returning from Singapore and was going to Patna for the wedding of a relative. I got an early mover advantage and so could interact with him for long before other birds started flocking.
He is extremely warm and down to earth person. Luckily, there was no business class on the flight, JET Airways-Lite. And, so we were sitting behind him in the second row of the aircraft and we clicked some more pics within the flight. Here are few pics.


The first picture is of Delhi Airport and the next one is of Patna Airport.
Next morning, our news anchor (Dad) with his morning newspaper reads out the following news for us.

The famous singer, Udit Narayan, came to Patna last night from Delhi to attend a Wedding. He obliged fans with their request for photos.

It was one moment when we did something and it became a news..Aahaa..(just kidding) :P
Read more about my travel experience Travel Diary: Once upon a time in Singapore

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The Nicest Things I Do Backfire

I'm cursed or what but the nicest things I do backfire. Here is a brief summary of my experience:

• People often respond to my kind gestures with their best intention in ways that makes me uncomfortable.
• I prefer to stand in the corner unnoticed; I'm still uncomfortable when people surround me and shower praise for something which I did.
• I would promptly apologize even when I'm not at fault. This makes me look weak.
• I've tried doing some good deeds anonymously. Huh...many a times, someone finds out or I fall in a situation to reveal it. This makes me fall in my own eyes when some selfless acts gets tagged with me due to my poor execution of a noble cause.
• People tell their secrets to me and I guard them. One fine day, I would come to know that it was not a secret as the concerned person has told that to many people. This makes me fall in uncomfortable situation. Being Trustworthy has it's own pitfalls.
• I'm at a risk of being fooled and/or misled as I minimize judging others. Welcome to my world....you're free to fool me and break my trust. I allow everyone to take advantage of their association with me....(to only a certain extend) and it's a wonderful feeling when you see  few people trying to fool you yet you allow them to carry on. Have you experienced this?

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Latest Fad among Indian Girls

Taking selfies no matter where they are

(Photo Taken at 7:30 PM yesterday in our quest to meet Mumbai's most famous idol of Lord Ganesh at LalBaug cha Raja... This is less than 2-3 % of the total crowd at that time. But go for it guys if you are in Mumbai)

Yesterday, we were standing in the queue behind 3 enthusiastic girls (may be college girls) who kept taking selfies at regular interval . We have to be vigilant to ensure not to be in the background of their selfies. 

Though, I have no issues with selfies but the snail pace of the queue was getting slower as these girls would stop every now and then to click selfies. 

Ohh!

My friend murmured in my ears, "Look at her pics, they are way better than how she looks in real".

I irked him by telling, try your selfie also, your pic will look better than how you look. Also, you didn't had a good phone in college so don't be jealous of these girls. Then, I tried to have a self depreciating joke to cheer him. :)  

We both burst in laughter. Really, occasionally going in the crowd is fun if you appreciate that people have difference preference and tastes.

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