Things I Learnt From My Little Sister – A Sister’s Day Note

First Sunday of August is Sister’s Day. I have written a lot about my baby sister over the years and they have all been about our childhood and the love we shared. But this post is about a rough space our relationship traversed through during Covid-19.

The happiest day in my life was the day my baby sister was born. We are 9 years apart and growing up, I was almost a second mother to her; one she could also play with. Our bond has been so strong! But it doesn’t mean that the path was smooth.

That is us – My Sister and I

As we grew, there came a point where she outgrew me in all aspects. I was now looking up at her, she wasn’t the tiny pup I could hug tight and protect, and she couldn’t ask Math doubts to me anymore because our streams were different. It was time for her to pave her own path, away from us and she did a wonderful job at it. But the one who returned to us was much different from my baby sister.

It took a while for us to wrap our heads around the changes my sister had gone through. While the Coronavirus Pandemic stretched on and on, we went through a roller-coaster ride of quarrels, emotions, conversation and growth and here are five things that I learnt from my Little Sister:

1. People change. So Will The Little Munchkins in Your Family and You Should be Prepared for it
   
   Change is always greeted with resistance at first. Our response to someone’s change always is ‘Hey! Why aren’t you that anymore?’ instead of asking to ourselves if the change is a positive one and why their change is bothering us.
   My sister was constantly trying to learn and grow. She was bringing on changes in diet, her character, the way she handled emotions, her work life etc. Basically she was experimenting on every aspect about her, but we kept searching for our little girl who had gotten lost in the transformations. At times, her pressure on herself and our questioning made her snap and some days weren’t the brightest in our house. But it made me understand that every individual has to choose his/her path and that we have to let them figure things out. It doesn’t mean that I have completely accepted this, but I am on my path to understanding it.
2. If You are Behaving the Way You Did Ten Years Ago, Chances Are That You Haven’t Grown.
   
   Some of us have the habit of not communicating when we are angry. Our faces swell, we take faster heavier breaths with flared nostrils, and we keep to ourselves. When the subject of our wrath enters the room, we shoot a pointed glance in their direction. This is where they should know that we are angry and ask us or guess why we are angry. This isn’t something we do on purpose. It is now that I am realizing that I do it.In reality, I’m trying to cool off a bit before talking. Because angry me is a mess!
   
   My sister started taking the initiative to come talk to me when she realized that I was upset about something. It didn’t always go well, but it always ended well. Whether she was wrong or I was wrong, we told each other what our problems where, yelled at each other, split up, introspected and tried to better ourselves. She made me realize that this is a family trait and it is high time I change it.

3. Every Platform is a Source to Learn From if You know Where to Look

Learning doesn’t have to be from an academic viewpoint or by means of reading alone. You can learn even from entertainment apps such as Tiktok. When I was trying to bake a cake, my sister who has never baked one in her life gave me tips and told me why we used some of the ingredients. She learnt it from TikTok videos. If we really want to learn new things, even entertainment mediums such as Tiktok and Instagram have some brilliant resources. We end up consuming information that is given to us rather than going in search of quality content.
She consumes a lot of information in the form of videos and articles because of which she knows so many things. Whether they are important or not, she can hold any kind of conversation because of all these resources. I find that impressive though that isn’t something I want. My point being, you need to actively look for learning material if you want to learn.

4. Speak Your Mind

Over the last few months, I have seen my sister speak her mind more than the rest of us put together did. Speaking your mind need not necessarily mean you get your way. It means you put it out there for discussion and a decision could be made together.

But more often than not, when one person speaks his mind, the other agrees with him to avoid conflicts or because he’s hesitant to speak his mind due to fear of rejection. Years of conflicts induce the habit of suppressing our thoughts so much so that when the other person voices an opinion, we think it is a command and that we do not have a say in it.

This also opened my eyes to the fact that this habit reflected in my workplace too. When someone said something that I did not like, I silently endured it while my insides boiled. But recently, I have been voicing my thoughts when I disapproved of something and the freedom that standing up for yourself brings is liberating.

But it is important to know the thin line between speaking your mind and being rude. Also, it is important to know your audience before you do it.

5. You have a lot to learn from people Younger Than You

‘You need to respect your elders. You should never retort to your elders or question their decisions because they know what is best for you.’, we Indians are brought up on this Mantra. But one fine day, when someone younger than you tells you that you have been wrong all along, that your method is outdated, you feel offended. You think they are defying and disrespecting you. There’s the ego that grew with you; you respected your elders without question and when it was your turn to be respected, you were denied it. This mindset can be changed with conscious effort.

I was caught up in this mesh too. But now I know that there are things I could learn from my sister and there is nothing wrong with that. If anything, it helps me grow and growth is what life is all about.

It is all about understanding that learning could come from anywhere. We need to find a balance in everything. When elders realize that sometimes it is important to listen to the younger ones, the latter shouldn’t let it get to their heads (just an indirect message to my sister) 😝. In any case, I’m happy to learn from the little one in the house and to know that no matter how much we quarrel, not a day will go by without me hugging her and planting a kiss on her cheek.

Will you try to incorporate any of these lessons in your life? What are some things you learnt from your siblings? Did you have resistance when your sibling changed over the years? Do let me know through the comments.

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Featured Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

One Stop Gifting Solution – IGP.com

A couple of years back, my sister and I had decided to celebrate Mom’s birthday with lots of gifts and surprises. One thing we had planned was to send her a bouquet. I tried searching for shops online since we wanted to get it delivered to her office which was in another district. But no luck. Recently I came across a gifting portal and I was blown!

IGP.com

Indian Gift Portal or IGP.com is one of India’s largest online gifts store specializing in gifts for all ages and occasions. They specialize in categories such as flowers, Cakes, chocolates, personalized products, festival merchandise, kids products, home & living and fashion. The best part about the site is their hampers section. You can gift a set of related products to a loved one with absolutely no hassle! You can see how the gift discovery platform works here – https://www.igp.com/how-it-works

My Experience with IGP.com

I believe in gifting something useful to people. So, when I decided to gift something to my Mom for no reason, I was skeptical about giving her bouquets or chocolates. I went into the depths of this portal and found this black sling bag at a reasonable price. There were no second thoughts. Our entire family loves black and something that looks this gorgeous could never be disliked.

They were very prompt in delivering the gifts and opening the package was pure bliss! For a second, I considered keeping the bag but alas! I will be using it anyway. So it really didn’t matter. 😛

 

Why choose IGP.com?

1. International Shipping! Now if your better half is away from you, you can surprise him/her on special days. IGP ships orders to 150+ countries (including USA, UK, Australia, Canada etc) in addition to 7,000+ pin codes in India. 🙂
2. If you are really bad at choosing gifts and you know that, most of IGP’s gift ideas are really thoughtful. Especially the hampers. You just have to click, click, click, pay and click!
3. There are a lot of hampers and some classy gifts of perfumes and ties for men. Gifting men is not so difficult as you thought it was.
4. They have personalised gifts where they will type the recipients name on the gifts. I thought that was very nice specially with these jornals and diaries. Being a writer and a diary lover, this would be a very thoughtful gift for me. (Ahem 😉 )
   
5. Their site categorized gifts in umpteen ways. As you can see below, it categorizes recipient wise, product-wise, occasion-wise, age-wise, personality-wise and so on. For instance, in the category women, they have sub categories like girlfriend, wife, friend, sister, mother, daughter, colleague, boss, teacher, neighbour, aunt and niece. An in depth sub-categorization right?

While there are plenty of e-commerce sites, a portal solely for gifting is really a boon during emergencies. If your girlfriend is upset or if you forgot to get her a Valentine’s Day gift, you could simply order a readymade hamper during the last moment. Because IGP has same-day delivery in some cities too! So where will your Holi online shopping be from? 😉 😀

All the images without the watermark are from the site of IGP.com. A Few Handpicked Things do not take credits for them.

Never Judge A Woman By Her Looks

 

Stereotyping is a part and parcel of womanhood. Every woman face the problem many times in their lives and there is no end to it. Sometimes I gape open-mouthed at the situations and comments that link to my appearance.

Not surprisingly, that is the case everywhere. Nielsen India conducted Nihar Naturals #IAmCapable survey and here are the startling figures:

a. 69% of men agree that their judgement of women is based on their looks.

b. 64% of women agree that the judgments passed on them have affected their ability to reach their true potential.

c. 70%of women agree that majority of judgments on women are from family members or friends rather than strangers.

d. 72% of women agree that working women face more judgments on their looks or their clothes than housewives.

The experiences prove the same too. It took me a while to change some of the perceptions. Yet many remain the same:

*****

1

No Ornaments = Not Religious

“Where is your Bindi? And what will happen if you were a necklace? Why leave that neck barren? Women these days! They don’t have Bhaya Bhakti Bahumanam. They do not fear or respect Gods.”, an old lady in our temple said.

How I overcame the experience? By wearing ornaments when I met them. 😛 Old unrelated people have a way of spoiling your peace of mind.

*****

2

Short/deep necked dresses = To tow Men

A friend had uploaded an image that she had taken for a magazine. She wore a deep necked top and the image was a beautiful one. She was bombarded with calls and texts asking her to take the picture down. They threatened to inform her family about this and ‘take action’ against uploading such exposing images.

How she overcame the same? She put up a status on Facebook about the calls and the texts. She got lots of support, followers and more appreciation for the image as well as her boldness. Her friends dared the ‘moral polices’ to comment right there if they had the guts. 🙂

*****

3

Dusky Bride = Dusky Groom

My aunt was groom hunting for me and then she tells the details to my parents.

“There is this wonderful family. The boy is very nice. I told them about your daughter. I said that there is one problem. The girl is dusky. Anyhow, even the guy is dusky. So it is alright.”

When I heard this, I asked why was it mandatory to look at the color of people for which she replied to my parents.

“What is wrong. Your daughter is dark complexioned. Can you deny that? No. So only a dark complexioned guy can marry her. She can’t be adamant that she needs a fair guy.”

And the word spread that I wanted fair guys and I sat with my hands on my head. Relatives!

*****

4

Modern clothes = Strong-headed
Traditional attire = Calm & Composed

“Are these your daughters? They are so adorable!”, Smiley aunty said. She said everything with a smile.

After a while, her husband walked in.

“These are her daughters. The elder one is very silent, calm and homely. Take one look at her and you’ll know. The younger one is a bomb! She is very smart, bold and sometimes strong-headed.”

My sister comes home and says, “How do they say that she-” she points at me.

“-she is calm? Composed? What atrocity is this? Her looks and clothing is what does it.”

*****

5

Fashionable = Spendthrift

“Look at those eyes! You have a ton of black paint around there. With all those make-up stuff and fashionable clothes, you must be a spendthrift!”

I write, win vouchers and buy my clothes mostly using them at discounted prices. I calculate the average price of material, stitching charges and compare them with the clothes I buy and only if I feel it is reasonable, I buy them. I like trying out variety outfits even if it isn’t in trend in my hometown. I am anti-make-up and the only things I use are Kajals & Eyeliners that aren’t too expensive.

I looked at him and asked, “What brand is your shirt?”

“Arrow.”

“How much does it cost?”

“Around 1600 INR”

“My top costs Rs 100, the shrug Rs 150. My jeggings Rs 850. Eyeliner Rs. 80 and Kajal Rs. 150. I have only asked you the cost of your shirt yet. Should I continue?”

That was enough.

*****

6

Decked up = To attract men

“What on Earth is that?”

“A Earring. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“What? You’ll wear that thing in your ears?” he asked looking at the pair of Peacock feather earrings a friend had given me.

“Yes.” I said. It was obvious.

“You think guys find it beautiful?”

I felt like something hit my head.

“Wait! You think women wear these stuff to impress men?”, he smiled to affirm.

I continued, “Seriously? I have quite a lot of crazy earrings and accessories and I wear them because I love dressing up. I have never thought of a guy while choosing my stuff. We dress to please ourselves and not guys.”

He stood there baffled and embarrassed.

My Peacock Feather Earrings 🙂

*****

7

Thin = Weak

“Oh yes! I learnt to ride a two wheeler when I was 13 years old. Soon after that I learnt to ride the bike.”

Arun choked on his Coke.

“Come on yaar!”

“Hey! Seriously! She used to ride a bike well before she came to the college. She was on the bike stunts team.”, I said proudly about my friend.

“What? She is so puny. The bike would have just crushed her if it fell on her.”

They all started laughing. I saw the glint in her eyes and I realized what she felt at that moment.

“Let’s go for bowling.”, I said changing the topic.

There have been many situations where we were able to overcome them, but in certain cases, it isn’t easy to change the ideas and perceptions that have been ground into people’s heads.

I’m breaking stereotypes based on appearance by sharing my experience for the #IAmCapable activity at BlogAdda in association with Nihar Naturals.

The Year in a Capsule

100 Happy Days – Day 75

Happiness is A New Year! Happy New Year!

31st Dec 2015, 11.49 PM

I hear a lot of activity around. The dogs are barking mad since the fireworks have begun. There are a lot of vehicles on road and an ambulance is rushing past. I pray that whoever is in it gets well soon.

As 2015 comes to a close, here I am doing what I love the most; writing. I cannot help but remember where I was 365 days back, at this time. I was on my Lavy (Hero Pleasure) with two friends, exploring the roads of Cochin on New Year Eve. The roads were heavy with traffic and we were wished a Happy New Year a thousand times by random people. We passed through a street whose walls were entirely adorned with lit candles. Later, we had ice cream and reached our room by around 2 am.

And now, I sit here, by my laptop. Look at the difference. The year has been similar too, with its highs and lows.

Blogging

• Won a couple of contests and a really big, unexpected one. I still wonder how that happened.
• Two of my poems were published in the Magazine Writer’s Ezine. You can read them and let me know if you like them.
  – Tresses
  – One Lie
• Ventured into freelance writing and wrote for half a dozen entities. I learnt a lot from each experience. Also, rejected some due to exams and I regret that deeply. This is how we learn, right? I know what to do next time I get a lot of work amidst exams. Go for my passion. 🙂 It isn’t as easy as said, but I’ll fight it through.
• I completed the 30 Days Book Challenge where I discussed various aspects of different books I have read.
• I began the #100HappyDays challenge, recording my happy moments in my blog. I couldn’t finish it in 100 consecutive days, yet I decided to complete it as and when time permitted. This is one. 🙂
• Lastly, I changed my ‘Shades of myself’ page. I have been intending to write a proper one for a long time. I made it by the end of 2015.

Career

Not much progress on the CA front.

 I attended my first interview, got the job in one of the hot shot companies. With time, I realised that the corporate life alone would kill me. I realised that more than earning in lakhs, I preferred earning less and having more of ‘Me’ time where I could rejuvenate myself with some art and writing. I learnt what sort of job I shouldn’t take up. 🙂

Random Acts of Kindness

I came across the Flower Granny and with the help of some lovely friends in the Blogosphere, gave her some money to pay off some of her debts. You can read about it here.

I also came across a group of students from USA who decided to buy a toy to a child who was running around in Marine Drive. I stood their watching the kid’s reaction, the students clicking pictures with the kid and when I had the time, I too took a picture. He was very happy. So were we. You can read about it Here.

Family

• A cousin of mine whom I have never met, visited from US this year. His wife, knowing me through Facebook, gifted me a queer diary. It has 365 leaves with a question on each page to answer every day of the year. There are 5 slots to answer the questions for 5 years and finally compare the answers and see the difference. I absolutely loved it!
• Another cousin who is of the same age as me stayed at home for a couple of weeks. As children, we have craved to be together a lot. But it was never possible. But this time, we enjoyed like never before. This time, I got to know her better and moved a hundred steps closer to her.
• I was sleeping one evening and my little sister ordered pizza for me from her savings ❤ What more can I say? It was a big moment for me 🙂

Miscellaneous

• Went on a trip to Ezhattumugham & Thumbormozhi
• Explored my very own Kochi and even now, I feel like going back there.
• Read Divergent, Insurgent, Life in the time of Cholera and half of Book Thief this year.

This were just a few among the hundreds of things that turned the hands of the clock this year. How can I not mention the lovely friends I found here? There is one thing about friends from blogging. You could know them too well because they write their hearts out. I have been wanting to know more and become closer to some of them here. I wouldn’t mention names here. Let it happen with time. Hopefully, 2016 would help me with that.

Here is to writing more, making more friends and laughing more. Here is to living! Wishing all my blogger friends and readers a mind-blowing New Year! 😀

Do let me know how yours went by.

Love,
Rangelz

PS – The image with the red fireworks is from a compilation of pictures of New Year from celebrations around the world by The Telegraph. You can see the compilation Here.

I’m sharing my #TalesOf2015 with BlogAdda

The Game of Monopoly

100 Happy Days – Day 70

I remember I had the game of ‘Business’ when I was a child. But the money were in coins. With time, we lost the coins and all I had was the board which was split in the middle.

Our aunt came visiting and guess what she gifted my sister?

The Monopoly! With the note version of the money. I have always wanted that. We cousins and aunt played this for hours together and as you know, the game just prolonged and we had to stop.

From now on, here is an addition to our indoor games list. ❤

Kochi Diaries 3 – Exploring My City

100 Happy Days – Day 69

Exploring My Very Own City

My first trip to Fort Kochi was for a photo shoot. Until then, being a Kochiite, it never occurred to me to pay a visit to Fort Kochi. Somehow, no one ever told me to and the thought never came up. After the first trip, I fell in love with the place and decided to go back. It was after my second visit that I wrote about Fort Kochi, Mattanchery and the Police Museum. I decided that I would visit again.

This time, my cousin was home and after our adventures with Arlo and Spot, we decided to go to Fort Kochi. We had cycling in our mind which did not happen. That could be taken care of in another trip.

We hired an Uber since there were three of us. We wanted to go to Princess Street first. But since none of us (including the driver) knew where it was and I just had a vague idea, we asked him to drop us off nearby. I found this beautiful Bungalow which is a home-stay and took a picture. It was very beautiful off-screen. Trust me!

Next, we walked some distance to buy slippers for R since hers broke midway. We found some graffiti on the wall nearby. They looked beautiful.

After my first visit, I began to read more about Kochi and Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica – one of the eight Basilicas in India – was among the many places I wanted to visit. This time, we had other things in mind and hence, I just had a glimpse of it from outside.

A Picture from outside the gate

Our next stop was The Kashi Art Cafe. It has a room dedicated to art and also a classy cafe attached to it. The Art on display comprised of charcoal drawing and photographs that spoke about the feminine body and how it has been perceived. The author’s description includes, “…my objective has been to trace the origins of societal dichotomy towards the feminine gender. A continued referencing of imageries from various sources like miniature paintings, early prints and archived old photographs allowed me to address the changing notions of feminine identity, empowerment, sexuality and tolerance of the same.”

The cafe isn’t restricted to a single room but is quite expansive, each area looking different from the rest. It was buzzing with people both locals and tourists. My favorite part was the portion that joined the two parts of the cafe. They had placed some classy antique pieces and I couldn’t stop looking at them.

The Entrance to the Cafe

The Path that connects both parts of the cafe. Look at the antique pieces.

Just loved the flooring on the connecting path.

Once outside, I noticed this quote written on the wall. I didn’t know this quote of Mahatma Gandhi’s. Loved it instantly specially because it has been written across a wall. We rarely come across such beautiful quotes on streets.

I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.

Another beautiful, red building I couldn’t help but capture.

Our next visit was to the beach. This is the skeleton of the Chinese fishing net; sans the net. Then you could sea the waves and also the horizon after the sun has just set.

On our way back, I couldn’t take my eyes off this white Bungalow with the lights. The cart has been so well placed that, to my eyes, it seems out of the world. There is something eerie about the building and the windows and something elegant about the cart. This is my favorite picture among the lot.

Did I mention that it is the same Bungalow I have put up in the beginning of the post? 😀

We were waiting for our Uber to arrive when I saw the e-toilets. I wasn’t aware that they were here. I never saw any in Ernakulam and so, I was excited when I saw them there. Oh come on! My sisters teased me too. But this means clean public toilets, clean city, reduction in urinating in public etc. It means someone cares after all.

What happens next? We are very hungry! I promised my cousin that i’ll take her to Goli – Vada Pav place. So, that is where we are headed next. If you have a Goli outlet nearby, please do visit. The Masala Vada Pav is my favorite.

Enter a caption

One of these pictures depict how we Kochiites could reach Mumbai with just Rs. 25. 😀

It was a very memorable day, well spent and that too in our own home town. I will be going back to Fort Kochi soon. There are many unexplored places to visit.

Jewellery of My Choice

100 Happy Days – Day 46

Happiness is visiting Jewellery stores 

We visited a friend’s boutique to buy nose-ring for my sister. Along with that, we bought a pair of cute studs. I don’t go for pricey stuff so you can be sure that these are well below INR 100. 😛

With an antique gold covering and a white stone in the center, this one was a class apart.

Located at Panampilly Nagar, this boutique named Sukriti has a wide variety of unique designs to offer. My sister rightly said that it is ‘my type’ of boutique. As in, it is a blend of modern designs and ethnicity. That has been my taste for a while and they offer such designs in plenty.

All jewellery lovers in Kochi must visit. 🙂

How We Refrained From Finishing The Cake

I had written a post earlier about preparing a cake in the easiest of possible ways – No oven and just 4 easy ingredients. Click HERE to read it.

 

I had been speaking highly of this cake to a friend but never prepared it for him. So, I decided to prepare it for his birthday.Obviously, it was a surprise. But after preparing it, we didn’t have any opportunities to meet since both of us were busy. After a couple of days, I opened the refrigerator to find a brown colored substance, 3*3 inches in measurement. You guessed it. My cake had shrunk.

Ah! No! I did not use any of my magical powers.  That was my sister and the little baby in our house, my grandmother. 😛 They took turns to ask me, ‘Can I have a piece of your cake?’ How can I deny requests that are asked so sweetly? I kept saying yes. Now that the cake was almost over, I called up H and told him about how he missed my cake. He was depressed I must say.

100 Happy Days – Day 45

Happiness is gifting (pieces of) self-made cakes

Not for long. We decided to meet yesterday. I shaped the remnants of my cake well and took it with me. My sister and I placed a tiny candle on top of it and presented it to him. He was elated, ‘You saved the cake!?’ he asked with a broad smile. That made my day.

 

 

A Purple Candle stand

Yesterday, we decided to go for a movie and while booking, a fortunate mistake happened. Oh yes! Mistakes can be fortunate. 😉 We thought we had booked for the 12.45 PM show but when e reached the multiplex, we were told that our show was at 3.20 PM. I shudder to think what would have happened if it was the other way round.

We had to find a way to spend our time until 3.20 PM. For my sister and I, that is not a problem at all. We love going around the mall looking at all the shops. But since our parents were with us, that wasn’t a good idea. Since we had a list of things to buy, we decided to look around and see if we could get them at reasonable prices.

That was how we entered a showroom of ethnicity. It was mind-blowing! They had cute wall and door hangings, tiny painted wooden Ganesha idols, wooden kitchen set for children like the ones below.

Image courtesy: amazon.in

100 Happy Days – Day 44

Happiness is buying something simply because you love it

Collecting gift items is my hobby. It means I will be owning beautiful things for a while and I will have handy gifts during emergencies. I regretted not going to this place earlier. They had lots of discounts for these cute ethnic gift pieces and also for clothes. After about a half an hour of loafing around the showroom, I came across a beautiful hanging candle stand.

Hanging Candle Stand

Of course! It happens to be purple. The color, the oxidized metal borders all made it look rich. I don’t have  a place to hang it yet. But, as my sister advised me, once in a while, luxuries don’t hurt. Specially if you get them for Rs. 200. 🙂 That was later. Much later. But in that showroom, I took around half an hour to decide whether or not to buy it.

Closer view of my hanging candle stand

Finally, I just shut my brains and went for it. I kept holding it close to me during lunch, during the movie and in the car. I have never behaved like this before but, I had taken a queer sort of liking towards it. It was in the car that I expressed my doubt about buying it. I loved the lamp, but I wondered whether it was a luxury. That was when my sister told me that it did not matter.

One day, you will light up my life

I have a strong feeling that this beauty will be playing a very important part in my life. It could be anything – by lighting up romance, by bringing forth a genie, by being a part of my book or maybe by breaking and making me weep. 😛

Bottled Memories

There was one portion of my cupboard that we had always ignored to clean. The lowermost section. Today, we decided to just do it.

We had shoved many games in there – Chess, Business, Connect Four, Sorry, some of my childhood toys, Badminton rackets etc. There was a huge carton in which I had saved my high school sports dresses, books etc.

The Carton

There was a white shawl in which my friends had written some farewell notes for me. We did that in our 12th standard. I wrote in many of my friends’ white shawls and they did the same for me. I had completely forgotten about it. Now as I look back, it was a wonderful idea. 🙂

 

One of the most interesting things that I found there was a perfume bottle. I used that perfume in college. The smell is one of a kind and so I was sure that I wont be using another perfume that has the same smell. It was my college perfume and whenever I used it, I got the 8 am, hostel room, pulling each others’ legs  feeling. So, when the perfume was almost over, I didn’t throw the bottle. I wanted to smell it and remember those days.

 

 

 

 

Bottled Memories 🙂

100 Happy Days – Day 42

Happiness is capturing memories in a bottle.

Smells trigger memories. This gesture of mine was similar to bottling up memories. That is what I did then, unknowingly. Yesterday, I opened the bottle and stepped into my past.

Whenever something nice happens, if there is a smell around that I love, I relate that moment to that smell so that I can relive that moment every time I get that fragrance.

The best part of the cleaning was when my sister and I sat down exhausted and I said that I felt like eating Pizza. We  never made such spontaneous decisions specially when it involved spending too much. But yesterday we just felt like it. My sister offered to pay from her savings since I was broke after all the Sisters’ Day Out bashing.

I want to put it this way. We were very tired after cleaning the room and my sister bought me pizza. 😀 It was the most beautiful feeling.

 

I guess I have saved this memory in a box of pizza and every time I open one, I’ll remember this. 🙂

Day 21 – Playing Badminton

100 Happy Days – Day 21

Happiness is playing badminton.

I had joined the gym 2 months back. As refreshing as it was, I couldn’t continue because I had to study and daily morning gym and books following that, put me to sleep.

Before gym, badminton was what helped me move around and get some exercise. I am talking about 2 years back. It doesn’t give the gym effect, but it is close to it. But soon, my partner who was none other than my sister was in her 11th class. She had tuition, entrance coaching and before I knew she was in 12th class, completed it and gave her entrance exams. During those times when she was free, I had my exams and hence it has been really long since we played.

I don’t know how long we can continue playing this. She might go somewhere far for her college and after that, these bats will become lonely again. But until then, I intend to play as much as I can.

I am a person who lacks the hand-eye co-ordination that a sportsperson must have. But when it comes to badminton, I am not that bad. 😉

Day 11 – Flying Chokers

100 Happy Days – Day 11

Happiness is, finding and owning something you have always wanted.

I love unique accessories and fashionable clothing. If something beautiful catches my eyes, whether it is in a movie or with a friend or a stranger, I’ll make a mental note about it and hunt it down. If it is affordable, that is, below 100 bucks, I buy it then and there. Else, I buy my time, wait until I have made some money, and then own it.

Whatever, the case, I am a very very good accessories and clothes hunter. I have made a list of luxuries I would love to own when I make money. Some of them aren’t too expensive. Yet, I know I don’t need them right now. So, I have kept them waiting. 🙂

One day, as I was watching the famous sitcom ‘Friends’, I happened to see a choker on Phoebe’s neck. I have wanted those when I was a child (Oh! I was born with immense fashion sense :P). But I wasn’t a hunter back then, blame the delay in advent of internet in our household!

So, when I saw the famed choker again, I began the hunt. It wasn’t too difficult to find it. But, it was difficult to find an inexpensive one. I was either led to sites with necklaces that cost approx 400 bucks or to sites that weren’t trustworthy.

It took me a long long while and finally through a friend, I was able to order the same for a low price. This happened almost a month ago. Occasionally, I thought of it and waited since I was told earlier that it would take a while to arrive.

Well well well! The arrival happened to be yesterday and ever since I have been flaunting these black beauties everywhere. They seem a bit fragile and if I’m to wear them all the time, I fear they’ll stretch and wear off. But what the heck! I can’t stay away from them.

The flaunting session began with myself trying them on and prancing all around the house. This was followed by myself showing the choker to each family member, seperately, again and again. Now, it is your turn to see them! 😛

It isn’t perfectly made. But that doesn’t make a difference. No one would look too close to see if the gaps are perfect. This one could go with almost every type of clothing, except ethnic ones. Sometimes, I feel none of my necklaces go with some of my dresses. Now, that problem is solved. If there is no matching necklace, I have the choker. This is not all.

I’m holding the choker necklace. It can be stretched easily. However, with time, it would loosen up considering the fact that I have paid comparatively less. On my wrist you can see the ‘choker-bracelet’. Not sure what it is called. That is the name I gave. Well, I got the 2 together and hence, voila! Double Happiness! 😀

These are available in multiple colors too. I’ll buy 2 more pair of black – one for me when these stretch and one for my sister. I may also buy a few other colors. I haven’t made up my mind on that. So, they will go into my lists. Too many of them are a luxury. But one is always precious. Myyy precioussssss! 😉

PS – You can contact me if you are unable to find it. Plus, I’m planning to learn how to make it. If that works well, nothing is a luxury. 😛

Day 9 – Pav Bhaji, Pani Puri, Papdi Chat & Earphones

100 Happy Days – Day 9

Happiness is hanging out with friends, giving gifts and eating chaat.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my sister scored good marks for her boards and my best friend wanted to gift her something. The two of us decided we’ll buy her earphones since hers was spoilt long ago.

I told my sister that she & I would simply go to the mall and spend some time. She asked me if we could call G for a company. I said that he can’t come due to work. It was after we reached there that she saw him and understood that we had initially planned the evening together.

Though we tried to keep the earphones idea a secret, at one point of time, we told her that we wanted to buy her earphones. She looked at us shocked for a while, unbelievingly and after a lot of deliberation, we bought one for her. She was way too happy to say anything.

She was all the more spell bound when we suddenly decided to go on the mini roller coaster. Now, she found her voice that kept repeating, “You guys are so sweet. Why is he spending so much?”. And all I could manage to say was, “Have fun when you do.”

The next program was to have some chaat. We ordered cheese pav bhaji, pani puri & papdi chaat. I loved the papdi chat for its tangy twist. It was a crazy evening.

And the happiness of gifting and seeing the smile on the other person’s face. That is my favorite type of happiness. I love planning surprises and buying gifts. And so, I loved this day. 🙂

Day 8 – When Someone You Love Beats You

100 Happy Days –  Day 8

Happiness is when someone you love crosses a milestone.

I have always been proud of my 12th standard marks. It wasn’t too high. But it was definitely a flauntable number, specially in my family.

Like others, I wasn’t particularly happy to hear that someone else beat my marks. Until, today. My baby sister’s 12th standard board results were out and…

I am not sure whether the picture is clear since I’m using the WP app. The percentage comes upto 92%. Since they had gone to Trivandrum, I was the fortunate one to check the results and inform. Imagine my joy!

I had no company to shout & scream. But with lots of excitement I called her up and read out the numbers while she listened wordlessly. In the end, all I could hear were squeaks and gasps. That confirmed her joy.

For another 2 hours, I was walking around the house thinking about how to celebrate. After all, it is not everyday that someone scores more than me & I feel happy about it. I bought her some sweets for starters and the bigger celebrations are on the way.

The most important thing here is, she wrote a couple of entrance exams and she did not get through. We never blamed her. If she hadn’t scored this well in her boards, we wouldn’t have blamed her either.

I do not believe that a person’s abilities are to be tested based on a few subjects. It is like asking an elephant, a fish, a crocodile and a bird to compete in a swimming competition. Children are different and Science and Maths are not the yardsticks to measure them.

This is that time of the year when umpteen results are declared. If your relatives or friends or children have not cleared or have got low marks, don’t upset them. They will already be upset. Remember, this is also that time of the year when student suicides are high. Tell them that it is alright. That this is not the end. Let them choose what they want to do. Tell them that exams don’t decide their abilities. Tell them, no matter what, you will be there for them.

For, lost marks are just numbers. But a lost child, will haunt you your entire life.

So, for those who scored well, celebrate. Eat some pizza! For those who didn’t, cheer them up. Eat some pizza! 😀

Choices Make The Difference

I am always awed by how an inanimate object could mean so much to us. We get so tensed and restless when our phone stops working or begins to malfunction. We immediately run with the sick guy to the hospital, take an appointment and ensure that he is restored to his normal condition. 😛 When my young fellow gets a stroke and gets hung, I do all kinds of first aid and yoga with him. I do. I open the phone, take out the battery and sim, leave him like that for a while assuming he is just resting. Then put him back together, tap twice behind, tap twice in the front, tap the corners against the wall and switch him on. Lo and behold! He opens his eyes.

This is the kind of Love and care I give my phone. It is high time I buy a new one and I am waiting for the right sign. Oh yes! I buy phones when I get the sign. Don’t look like that. I am perfectly normal. Well, the sign isn’t difficult to spot. My phone just goes into a comma or drops dead. That is the sign that I need to move on. 😛

Meanwhile, my sister’s phone dies every 10 minutes. It dies on her when she walks a bit fast, works fast, keeps the phone down, in fact any movement and the phone goes off.

At this point of time, if you give me a Moto E and ask me what I would #ChooseToStart with it, I initially have the predictable answer – learning to handle my new phone, checking the image and audio quality, the performance, processor speed… Well! You know!? But, on second thoughts, I realized that isn’t what I would choose to start with. This time, it would be different.

This time, it is about a series of firsts that won’t be forgotten for long. I would start with its Bluetooth. J

I would sneak my sister’s phone, and send her ringtone to the new Moto E via Bluetooth. I would also send an image that I have in my mind to her phone through the same mode. I would be sending it from my phone. At this time, I will ensure that the phones have been paired to avoid hurdles in future. I have always experienced Bluetooth pairing problems in my new devices when I urgently wanted something transferred. This would fix that.

The next first would be setting the transferred song as the new phone’s ringtone. That entails the first ringtone in the new phone. 🙂

You do think I am crazy and babbling away right? Well, some of you are on track already. I know that. 😉

A new phone is incomplete without the contacts and I would feed my own contact details into the phone. I would set the image I transferred as my contact icon.

Now comes the tricky part. I have to be very careful about this. Well, not so careful I guess. When she is off to school, her phone would be at home. I would take her sim and put it in the new phone and leave it near her bed, where she normally keeps it.

When she is back, I would move away from home stating some reason and call her up. The first call, of course! Since the ringtone is same as that of her old phone, she would run to ‘her’ phone. I know she will be flabbergasted. On a closer look, she would see the contact icon that says:

Rosta is what I call her. 🙂 She knows that her sister is a drama queen and so she would understand the crazy set up. 😉

The moment she picks the call, I would cut it because, picture abhi baaki hai mere dost. 😀 Immediately, I will send her a text that says:

You might want to check the gallery for any videos.

She would do as told and there would be only one video. Obviously, the first video. The one I did not mention here. A video that says how the phone is my gift to her. How I have always bought her fashionable dresses and how I wanted to buy her many more things. That this would be the first big gift that I would be giving her. And that I love her a lot. J

If you retrace the events unfolding in my narrative, you could find out what I #ChooseToStart with Moto E. Well, it was definitely not the Bluetooth. The video? Literally, that would be the one. I would initially record the video using the new phone. That is the important ingredient in this recipe. But still, figuratively, what I choose to start with is different.

I choose to start with gifting it to her, giving her a smile. Using a series of features in the phone for the first time, I choose to save a part of this gifting process through the video. Years later, when we go down the memory lane, we would never forget the first thing I did when I got this phone. The answer would be – Record a video AND gift the phone to my her. 🙂

This post is a part of Indiblogger contest in connection with Moto E.
Linking it to http://www.startwithmotoe.com/.