Love Is In The Air.....

Yep its the love season all over again. Its really cute to see guys and girls struggling to get the perfect gift for their loved ones. The gift shops and particularly the card sections are really crowded. I would like to share the memorable valentines day gift that i gave and received so far. Initially i used to enjoy the whole process of shopping for the special gift. But recently it has become more of a struggle. I mean what is the perfect gift for a guy. Their list is almost tooo small.(Shirt, Watch, Coolers, Perfume, Jacket, Shoes, electronic items(if they are intrested). We must have given them on and on. The choice is really limited. Apart from that i've become very competitive with senthil. Its like whose gift is the best. I always want to win nd that gives me the stress.

I was really wondering how to make him feel special. So during the last valentine's day, i just got him the shirt. We usually exchange gifts in the morning. He gave me jwellery (Swarovski crystals) nd i gave him the shirt. He thought that it was his gift and he took me out. He planned the entire day so well. We went to look at the ice sculptures nd then to a very nice restraunt in downtown(Fountain) and we had very nice time. He wasnt aware of the nice surprise that i've planned for him. Anyway we enjoyed the day a lot and returned home. Just when he thought that he has outdone me this time i set the table with all his favourite dishes. I cooked it for him and arranged for candle light dinner at home. He was really surprised and he enjoyed it. I also slelected the list of music thats special to us. It was running in the background. I guess thats the best valentine's gift i have given him. Its really priceless to see your loved ones enjoying the gift u gave them. It definetly would be a great memory to treasure.

If i have to pick my best gift it would be the first Valentine's day with Senthil. We werent married at that time and were still in India. I went to Bangalore and he took me to Forum. We were roaming in Landmark for a while and i was casually telling him that i liked few items there. After that i returned to Chennai. The next thing you know, he sent me all those items to chennai. I felt really special. Isnt it really sweet?. I mean it may not be a big deal for many people. I've had very serious arguements with some of my friends regarding the gift exchanges on Valentine's day. Seriously its not necesary to gift just to express your love. Its just a simple way of saying that you love and care for them. it may be a simple bunch of red roses or a heart shaped chocolate box still its special for someone who knows and deserves your love. There are some people who read too much into the gift. I think thats totally unnecessary. Please share ur best gifting ideas too. I'm sure it will be helpful to many people.

Bibi Ka Maqbara - The forgotten treasures

I really wonder how many of us recognize the above the picture....

I really wonder how many of us have heard about it or seen the photographs....

I really wonder how many of us have been there....

I really wonder how many of us knew that a place like this even exist....

Well i'm talking about the "Bibi Ka maqbara", which was built by Prince Azam Shah as a tribute to his mother Rabia Durrani.(It seems that its often reffered to as 'poor man's Taj'). I dint know about this amazing place until recently when senthil (my husband) told me about it. I was shocked and surprised when i looked into the pictures. I couldnt help but be amazed by the resemblence it had with Taj mahal. What a shame that few of us dint even know about the existence of such an wonderful monument. We keep talking about the spectacular view of Niagara, the gorgeous lady in the statue of liberty, but i guess we are forgeting the numerous treasures that our country has been housing for centuries.
Its really sad to look at the current condition of the Bibi ka maqbara or few other historic places for that matter. Forget about building new landmarks, if we really cant protect or preserve the ones that we have now, i dont know where we are heading?. Just imagine in next 50 years what would be left of it. We take pride in saying that we are one of the oldest civilisations but what are we doing to protect the trails of our civilisation. When people all over the world are proud of their historic buildings and take utmost care to protect them we are just talking. We simply blame the population for the poor maintenance of such valuable monuments. Only when we invest in a business we would be able to earn profit. Similarly the government should invest in such historic places to attract tourists and this in turn will help to improve the country's revenue. Lets not be just proud about our country's treaures but also lets take this opportunity to show the world. If any of you know of such great places which is not been exhibited properly please share in this blog. Lets bring out all the hidden treasures.

"Small Talk" - is a Big deal...

I bet that few people would be wondering whats the big deal about small talks.

Just try answering these questions you'll know its importance.

What helps you when there's a long queue before you in the clinic?

What helps you to make a great impression when you are going to meet ur BF/GF's friends?

What helps you to approach a person you like?.

What helps when you go to your husband's collegues party?

Trust me guys small talk is definetly not a silly matter to discuss.I've seen some really embarassing moments. I know a girl during my college days who cannot make small talks. When someone introduces a new friend she doesnt know what to talk. Its usually like "Hi, how r u?" and then she runs out of words. She hates that awkward silence. The first impression that she always makes is that she's some sort of serious personality(which she's actually not). Later she worked on her weakness and before u know it she became the so called people person. In fact you wouldnt believe, she grew up to a level where she became the HR head of the company - nd that was me....Yep. I used to be the one who had hard time meeting new people(like friends's friends or cousins). But i'm happy and relieved that i'm not that same girl anymore.

Few people have a misconception that small talks are really unnecesary. Its actually not so. It is like a secret weapon . It will come handy when u need the most. You just need to use it appropriately. Especially in work environment you'll have to make small talks with the clients. C'omon guys whom would you prefer for a job where two people are equally qualified. Would you choose a friendly person or the serious one?. Isnt the chioce obvious?.In my experience i've seen serious people loose some great opportunity to friendly people. ofcourse one's talent and capablities comes first. These are all just the added advantages. But it plays a vital role too.

I consider "small talk" to be a form of art. It not only helps us build a better personality but also builds our confident level. You know, initially i used to make conscious effort to talk with people in different teams. In fact i used to do some preparation too. But now i'm spontaneous. I really started to enjoy having pleasant conversation. You know what we should not forget the other party in the converstion. Just try and keep the conversation intresting for both the parties. Sometimes being thoughtfull helps. Just talk from your heart. make sure that it doesnt sound fake.

Talk the Talk....

Size Zero Divas

What do we admire the most about the runway models?

What are the young gilrs these days craving for?

What is the thought running in the mind of ladies while working out in the gym?

Who becomes popular in schools and colleges?

What is the latest fashion trend?

Well, its all about girls with perfect figure. I'm certainly not against it. But who is to say which is the perfect figure?. I mean, is size zero the answer for everything?. How many of us workout to be healthy? very few i doubt. All that we think about is how to burn the extra carbs and fat or how to reduce the baby weight gained... Its not bad to look good but are we ready to sacrifice being healthy for it. Have we forgotten that beauty is within. You can have a perfect figure and still look plain. Similarly you can be fat and still look good.

I'm not against having a size zero figure. But the way to achieve such figure should be proper work out and sensible diet. I still wonder why people choose surgeries like tummy tucking even after knowing its complications. Why arent we taking the help of a physical trainer or a dietician instead of a surgeon?. I'm not sure how many of us knew about the model, Luisel Ramos who starved to death during the Uruguay's fashion week. (Google to get more details). Its just news to us now. How would it be for her parents to lose their 22 years old daughter. Before committing yourself to some crazy diet just ask yourself "is it worth it?" This does not only happen in fashion industry. It has an unhealthy, negative pressure among young girls too. They are highly influenced and they blindly follow such crazy diets(i wouldnt call it as diet. Its starving).

There are some less fortunate people who die because they dont have sufficient food. There are some people who would rather die than to eat. Look at the irony. We should all understand that when we start to appreciate our body, others will too. Most of us would have gone through a roller coaster ride in terms of weight loss. We would have gone up and down in the weight loss journey. Just dont give up. Eat right (healthy) and workout accordingly. There's nothing called perfect figure. Eat healthy and stay healthy....

Child Labour - A different world

We get irritated when we are asked to work on weekends.....

We do not want to help our colleagues after office hours......

We do not even wish to think about our work during vacation.....

We get upset when our work is not recognized......

Now in the same world somewhere there are some less fortunate people who are expected to work in weekends.....

People who has to work all day long jusy for the sake of one meal.....

People who cannot even dream about vacation....

Forget the recognition they are not being paid a decent wage....

They are mistreated, being taken advantage of, molested and what not?

I'm talking about the child labours in India.

There are laws in India too. Yet we see that the number of child labours keep increasing every year. You know why?. Its because of us. Its like we are encouraging people who are encouraging child labour. So indirectly we are encouraging child labours. Let me be clear. What do we do when we see small kids being used in road side entertainments? Most of the hostelers(including me) must have seen small boys nd girls being used as maids in hostels. What have we done about it?. I'm writing this article coz i feel guilty. I used to live in Bangalore and my neighbour used to have a small girl working for her. Though i dint like it i never said anything to her. It seems that the girl was tortured and the couples were arrested recently. It was shown in NDTV. I felt really bad for that girl. But hows that gonna help her. Thats what we all do. We just feel sad for them. Instead we could do something that might help them. I could have talked to my neighbour and expressed my opinion about having a child labour. But i dint. Thats y people are not afraid.

Whenever you see someone employing child labour just talk to them. Its not like picking a fight. Just explain them and make them understand that what they r doing is not right and also against law. Some people are still not aware of it. Some time you can make them understand. And also while buying any products just make sure that it doesnt involve child labours at any stage. For eg when you buy any knid of clothing in Tirupur just confirm from the shopkeeper if child labours are involved in manufacturing the piece. If so then do not buy the product. Do not support people encouraging child labours. These are the things that would make difference in the world........Lets all contribute not just money but some sensible work to take the load from the child......

Lost in winter wonderland

As i mentioned in my previous blog, i would like to share some of the beautiful moments in my trip to montreal. Before i start i would like to dedicate this post to Senthil, Satish, Sneha and thiru for the awesome company during the trip. Where should i begin?. I guess it all started when me and senthil planned to spend our new year in vancouver. But it dint work out as his leaves were not confirmed. Honestly i dont have any regrets. This trip was nothing that i expected. It couldnt be better in any way. You know whats the best part of this trip. Its the amazing company. Actually this is the first time that we all went together but it felt like i've known them forever. [we means me, senthil, satish, sneha, thiru].

I guess the excitement started right from the day we started to plan this trip. It was boxing day. Me and sneha were really tired after tons of shopping. (That day reminded me of college days where we buy identical dresses nd accessories. We both got same kind of laptop, bags etc). It was then we thought we should really do something crazy for this new year. Normally desi guys would plan to go south to escape winter but we thought we should go to some place really cold to try out skiing nd skating. Hats off to that thought. And we successfully tried to skii, skate and to eat pork.(he he he)

For new years eve we went to CIRCA -an happening club in downtown. Vow wat a blast...This is my first clubbing experience. I really dont know what to expect. Me and sneha dint leave the dance floor even for a bit. I'm sure that few might have even thought that we both are together. We just dint care. We got few compliments from strangers too. initially senthil and satish dint come to the dance floor but later we pulled them too. We all started dancing desi style like bale bale...

We started the next day at temple. On our way to collingwood where we planned to skii we stopped for breakfast. We had amazing country style breakfast(toast, potatoes, egg of choice).

None of us know skiing but we dint hesitate a bit to go there. The way to this place was like wonderland. The views were incredible. The IBMers are really loyal to their company u know. They were continously talking about their R 21 release. After reaching blue mountain resort there i simply couldnt believe my eyes. I just couldnt wait to skii. We rented all the skiing stuffs. I couldnt help but laugh when i think of how funny it was when we walked with the heavy skiing boots and helmet. It was like moon walk.There's no limit tothe fun we had during the skiing training. And u know wat the trainer made me the lead for the next phase(seriously guys not kidding). I cannot control laughing about how we tried to snowplough, hop and land during skiing. I must tell u that this is the best workout. Every muscle is being worked out. We were really tired when we finished. so we went to Anjappar - the only place which would give us the energy to njoy the next day.

The next day we left to Montreal. On the way Sneha suggested a game where we tell each other what was the first impression when we met and how has it changed. It was a great idea as we came to know what we thought about each other. After reaching Montreal we checked in at the hotel and left to downtown. Here we tried ice skating. We felt really embarassed to see the kids skate better than us. We somehow managed by holding the support. Then we were roaming in the streets in the snow. The night life of Montreal was not that great compared to Toronto. We searched for mexican or italian or indian restraunt but ended in subway as the others were closed. The next day we visited Biodome. I would say, out of all of us Sneha had the best time there. She was clicking pics of all species and reading about the facts about them. I loved the penguins there. The collections in the green house of Botanical garden was wonderful. I mean who wouldnt enjoy the colorful orchids and tulips collection. It was a treat for the eyes.

Everything about this trip was good and fun. We were discussing about love, commitments, what does a guy expect from his partner. There were some heated arguements too. Everything was enjoyable. I would like to mention special thanks to 2. Satish - who drove continously for four days and to GPS without which we would have been lost. he he he ....It really doesnt matter where u go if the company is right u can enjoy. Isnt it true?...

Go Green

Hey everybody, hope everyone had a blasty new year. Mine was blasty for sure. We tried skiing, skating and had a wonderful trip to montreal with amazing set of friends. i'll share the trip experience in the next blog. Now i would like to start this year by writing about something thats close to my heart. Its about going green. Do you realise that there are plenty of things that we can do in our day to day life which helps the earth in going green. Ok now, lets all take a minute and be honest to ourselves for a whilseand try answering the following questions with a simple "yes" or "no".

1.Do you switch off all the lights before leaving the house?

2.Do you place the items that are recyclable in the appropriate bin?

3.Do you carry reusable bags for the grocery shopping?

4.Do you remember to carry the reusable coffe mugs and water mugs to office or while travelling instead of using disposables?

5.What do you do when you see a pizza box in the garbage area of your appartment?

6.Do you carpool to reach office?

7.Do you buy organic products whenever possible?

8.Do you buy groceries in bulk?

9.Do you take shorter shower?

10.Do you sign up for papperless billing?

I doubt if anyone has got "yes" for all the questions. Is it a lot to ask?. Following these simple steps will not only help the planet to go green but also it will help us to save money and be healthy. There's no better reason for us than us to follow these simple steps. If not for others atleast for one's own self one should go green. i guess this is one selfish act which is gud for us and the environment. Its a win win situation. We would be fools for not following it.

We need to have discipline within ourselves. I mean just think how many of us have seen people double bagging in the grocery stores. Whats with that. We need to understand that this is the place that we live in. We have to be responsible for making this place a better or a worse place to live. Enough with the developed countries blaming the developing countries and vice versa. This game could go on forever. Lets face it. As people we are responsible for certain things. There are certain things that is expected from us. Just some simple above mentioned things like switching off the lights when not required or using reusable items instead of disposables, show our support to local farmers by buying organic products (its very healthy too)etc.

Now i'm not asking everyone to take a new year resolution because most of us will not even remember the resoluton in the midway through the year. Lets try constantly to keep our environment clean conciously. Its a big favour that we are doing for ourselves. Do we need a better reason than this. We should not stop there. We should also teach the kids about the importance of going green. May be while planning kid's b'day parties we can use the theme of going green instead of the usual princess or barbie theme. It would be refreshing for the kids and you can be proud as a parent for educating them. Its our responsiblity to make the next generation responsible and to make this place a better place for them to live.

Whats the point when few people are constantly preaching and practicing about the importance of going green and few others are doing the complete oppsite of it. The effects or nullified or rather it becomes worse. Each and everyone should realise the importance. I really wish that the day should soon come where we no longer worry about ozone hole or global warming. I wish that day is not too far....