Gen X Kids

Just summing up some elderly quotes from some small kids which I heard over a last few days..
The first one comes from my hubby's niece (a 6 yr old) when a kid brother was born to her..
"Good that I have a thambi papa(baby brother)..now I can use all the jewellery which Mama has and I would not have to share with any, Thank God "
Here comes another from my niece(11 yr old) seeing a pregnant relative of hers
"I am sure , she must be feeling the baby kicking in the stomach , now that she is 5 months pregnant "
The topper..a 10 yr old kid talking to his friend in the bus in tamil while crossing over an office of a political party..
" Dai, arasayil le matum dhan da, nalla kaasu sambadhika mudiyum..nama nalla irukanumna, yaara venalum poatu thallulaam da "
Translation - Man, Politics is the only thing where in you can earns lots...in order to make our lives good, we can definitely stab on others "

This is just a sneak peak of our GEN X....would love to hear such quotes from you guys as well

Take your daughters and son to work

Stop wondering about the meaning of this title...It is just an event celebrated at my workplace where in the parents could bring in the sons and daughters to work..naa not to work along with them but to get them know what their mom or dad does in his office for all day long...I could not participate in the event as I am not yet a mom and hence I chose to be the co ordinator of this event and had loads of fun meanwhile...

The event started dot on the schedule..at 9 a.m..thanks to the punctual parent who was on time with the special guest.Ashwath..a 6 year old toddler who was all amused and greeted by a lovely mickey right from Disney world..Soon Ashwath was joined along with few more amused, bewildered and naughty friends of almost his age group and the reception hall was filled with all entertainment now.

After a while they were taken to a conference room where they could have a meeting among themselves by introducing themselves and letting each other know their likes, dislikes and the heroes they admire... I was surprised when a couple of smarties...told the heroes they admire were none but ' their own selves'.... I could know the amount of zeal they had within them...

After the intro session and a swift gifts galore session...the bubbly ones were let free and asked to play any game they like and they chose to play ' Hide and Seek'... man...can you imagine a conference room of a software company getting turned into a playground... what a scene it was...I could see them squeaking everywhere..down under the huge meeting tables , behind the LCD monitors and the waste bins...not a thing or place was left untouched...

Once they were all drained out with energy..they were let to relax and we played them a slideshow on world widlife and global warming...the tiny heads were all glued up and could name the rarest of the birds and animals even which I could not recollect...Infact they had more points to discuss about the global warming than the slideshow itself...

The slideshow followed a video about my workplace...the work we do.. the clients we serve..the products we make...the fun we have and all the details worth mentioning and then I could see some bright and proud faces lit up in the room...of course they were all proud to know that their
Daddy Strongest or their Mommy Smartest works in this super duper place..

Lunch with lip smacking icecreams filled their bellys and hearts and they were all charged up to rock on the show again...and what they wanted to do now was..." Sing, Dance and amuse"...and yes we let them do that too...One of them was a sweet girl who is a dancer of Bharathanatiyam..(a South Indian Classical dance) and she wanted to show her moves as well... and then a little mister offered to sing for her dance...the event was all set and this mister starts off with a ' POP- Rock song' for a classical dance.. the poor girl was embarrased and shocked and she changed her idea about the dance ...Boys are always boys...no matter how old they are...!!!!

As the day came to an end..Finally, just before bidding them bye... I wanted to ask them what were their ambitions and what they wanted to grow up as...and I was left nothing less than fascinated...all of them had different ambitions...the youngest Ashwath..wanted to be a scientist , he wanted to launch rockets and he was tired of using the same stuffs everyday and wanted to create new ones being a scientist...another one wanted to be a NASA astronaut as he believed in making the entire world a small well connected place with all the satelites..the dancer girl wanted to grow up as a doctor as she wanted to serve the poor very much... another wanted to be a painter as he wanted a rather colorful life for himself..last but not the least.. the one which really hit me was...one of them wanted to be an archaeologist...(hope I got atleast the spelling right)...becuse he wanted to know more about the fossils and the historic era of mankind...hearing them all... I was left pondering once again over the words by Willaim wordsworth which says "The child is the father of the man"

I am delighted and proud of my workplace and the organisers ( which includes me as well ) for having such a different and wonderful event which was not only a learning for the little guests but to the co- ordinators as well.

Everyday ADventures

When someone asks me what kind of person am I.. I say outrightly, I am an adventurer.. thanks to my everyday adventures in commuting to office..Ever since I started working, I have been commuting through public mode of transport... do not ask me why so, as I would be rather embarrased to give you the reply (secret, I do not know to ride a two-wheeler and cant afford a four wheeler ) and that makes a solid 5 years of everyday travel in a bus, auto rickshaw , share autos , train, cab or by walk (walking in public, isnt it public transport as well ???)
Now I can say I have travelled a lot (giggles)......

All this 5 years have been all funny, crazy, wild and irritating... on the whole..BP raising..

I remember my first days of travel in Bangalore in my office cab, where I have not missed even a single day to remind the driver to pick me up for work... else he would not remember me at all.. afterall I am not one of those who could be forgotten too easily too... but stil he managed too.

Then followed my lovely days in Hyderabad and travelling in shared autos...where in atleast ten adults were flooded all over in a three wheeled vehicle.. along with loud music from the driver's cabin and of course with all the gimmicks arising from there using the rear view mirror.. which may fail to give a clear view of the vehicles behind but not the girls sitting behind..seeing all this, I can never stop myself admiring the poise and the beauty of the auto and the Auto Man [ well, i call the driver of the auto as Auto Man :) ]
You may ask what do the cops do when these autos ply around the city, but they really could not do anything as the public is very much supportive of this cheap, fast and efficient mode of commuting..With late comers like me, these autos are definitely a boon.

Then followed my better days when I could afford for a single auto all for myself , banking on my bargaining skills to make sure I do not pay any extra.. I travelled with ease and thats when I got to know the 'friendliness' of these auto mans..who had all the ears in the world to know about you, your family, your friends, your friend's family, your neighbours and your neighbours family too and they would not get daunted by any number of questions they would have to ask.. they just go on and on and on..until you get down and render the exact change for the fare...and if you did not have the change, then forget the rest of money or wait for an hour or two until he could bring in the balance..as these guys are known for not having any money with them at all..One really wonders what do they do with their entire earnings of the day...

My experiences do include my adventures in other part of the world too.. spain in precise... taking a metro to work... wow,what fun it was!
With trains coming in every five minutes there was no need for me to hurry up but naa, how could I ever let a train going away missing me...hence it was running and catching up almost all the time.. a.k.a DDLJ style (remember the shahrukh stunt).
Inside the train, it was a merry, with different people around.. right from couples getting cozy to beggars asking for alms with their traditional trait of playing music... and yes, a few teens bashing up for some silly reasons... nevertheless it was a treat to travel in these metros..and to hear the announcement for the approaching station which goes on in spanish like " la siguiente estación es ...... "
and thus making my days fun filled adventures...

For all who want to know how I commute these days... I take a bus to work.. the very famous Pallavan now called MTC ( Metropilitan Transport Corporation )....ask me whyI travel by bus now... and I would say, I still cant afford the single auto all for myself and the route to office does not have shared autos too... hence I am left with MTC... which is definitely not a sore anymore... with atlesat 6-7 types of bus services and relevant rate fares... its on a rocking way!

What is your priority, Career or family ?

Having asked this question myself several times, I am now wanting a discussion to know what comes before, your career or your family? especially if you are a woman...
My career was doing great exactly at the juncture when I got married, my long leaves and other familial responsibilities, soon robbed the flying colors of my career cap from me. I was put into a workpool and just when I was about to get myself a lift, I discovered that my hubby wanted to pursue his dream of being an entrepreneur all the more and due to some physical and monetarial constraints, his business had to be pursued from his native small town alone which meant I would have to give up my job in this metro city of mine and I do not want to live a marital life with the pillars of marriage living miles apart, so I will have to relocate...
Anyways, I was not ready to buy this idea of giving up my job at all, not only me but my entire family along with a few from his family were aghast to know this and were ready to support me, I tried hard to convince my hubby in many ways, but his soul and heart was so immersed in his dream, that he would not let it go away and slowly when I started listening to his words, I felt confident about his dream too though skeptical a bit and yet to decide what should I do and when..
Just a few hours ago one of my best work buddies was telling her tale too, she was getting married later this month and had to settle in a foreign city where my company did not have a office to work and she will soon have to quit her job and it was just last week when her boss asked her if she could replace his post as he was getting engaged with some other work... what a timing ??? She had dreamt of such a role through out her life and just before it was getting true, she had break it into pieces with her own hands...as she had to prioritise her family and marital life ahead of her career...
I wonder why it happens in almost every woman's life...I wonder how easily can someone throw up a career for someone else... no matter how close the relation is??

Can someone help me on this one?

Shopping Mall Surprise

How does it feel to catch upon a friend after years ? Feels awesomely great !! and how does it feel to catch upon a real good buddy after years in your newly wedded life along with your husband besides...feels great even now but with cautions in head like something of " Beware" , if he is from different sex. Well, this is a feeling experienced by those traditionally inclined Indian Woman alone.
Not before 24 hours , I happened to meet one of my good buddy accidently in a shopping mall. Having been in two different ends of the world until last few months, we could not catch up for quite a long time and that was not going to make any difference in our meet up but yes, with me having stepped into the marital affair , was definitely going to make an impact especially because my hubby doesnt not know much about this friend.
Well, I was meeting Sheik after almost 4 years or so[Info: my hubby is called Sheik too...just a spelling difference he is Sheik Shadullah and my friend is Sheik Abdullah]. It was an accidental meeting in a crowded garment section of the shopping mall but that was not going to stop me to think or pause and decide to how to greet him. I saw him from a distance of 20 metres or so and and he was standing facing his back and talking on a mobile phone, looks could have been deceptive but not his voice, I identified him in a jiffy and there I was..I slowly stalked him from behind and for all his surprised shock, I waved very close to his eyes with my burqa cladded hands... hope he did not have a nightmare last night after this shock of mine.. :-)
He was still on phone, an important call, I guess, and I was just waiting him to finish it off meanwhile I informed my hubby that the person in picture is my old college mate called Sheik and was trying to keep myself busy until he was done with the call. There he came with a resilent " Assalaam Alaikum and a ever lovely smile of his ", We greeted him back and my mouth was open 32 wide teethed. I introduced the two first timers as " Sheik meets Sheik " with a giggle. After expressing our happiness, we soon started up with a much needed conversation of his where abouts and stuff and my hubby had to do nothing there but to listen to us poorly... I was feeling a little awkward but could not help much. After about a 1/3rd of an hour, our conversation ended up as he had to leave, to catch up with his roomies who were searching for him.
He was still the same with jus a few kilos added onto his body mass but I was much different both in looks and personality all along with a hijab and burqa which would have made him all the more awestruck but not surprised.
A meet of around 20 mins but the experience priceless rekindling the vivid past of college years, the fun and frills , the stupidity shared and what not.. Well, here is a truth, I was so obsessed with this friend of my college, that one of the strongest reason for me to say an yes to my hubby for a marriage was because he shared the same name.
Now, you very well know how stupid I am :-)

Transformations !

Everyone knows life changes and slowly we get transformed into a new soul with every new step in our life... Seldom, and very few realise how it changes you thoroughly... I was one among them, I could see my life changing drastically and I had nothing to stop but had to just watch it changing and hoping that it would bring me good...
Born in a moderately urbanised family and having roamed around a few places in the world made me less orthodox and more modern in my lifestyle... to me... everything is just and fine until or unless it hurts anyone badly...well, this is how I was as a spinster, as I young girl..

Nevertheless, After a frantic groom hunt for more than 2-3 years my dad did land up with an alliance from a small town and with a family much in contrast to mine.... Everything was dependent on my final word... the YES.... How could I actually say a Yes without knowing the person or his family and with not less than a world of whirls and thrills, I took a sweet 8 months to say the YES, forcibly though.... thanks to my circumstances and situations itching me at that time...
And what now.. ? I was married within 2 months in the wonderful month of November,2008 and hoping that I made a educated choice... I was happy to get into the marital bliss with lots of turmoils in my brain and heart coming up a free package along with my marital bliss....
It wasnt even a month and I could see how he(My hubby) took charge of my life... My ideas and lifestyle now changed from moderatley urbanised to orthodoxly rural mindframe... I was draped in a Burqa all over I went. I stopped talking and hearing to strangers which I used to love just a few months ago... I kept away from my friends who have been my life for around 6-7 years now...My phone bill now started to appear in 3 digits rather than the usual 4 digit figures.....Threw up all my tights, jeans, tank tops and started learning to adore the 5 yards saree...Had to ask " Can I? " or "Should I ? " before doing anything different from the routine. The complete independent metropolitan girl now started transcending into a interdependent rural woman..My free time was now utilised in tidying up the kitchen and house much in contrast to my beauty parlor visits before a few months.
Why did I let this happen to me ?? I am wondering still but may be I did this because HE likes it and it helped me to keep away the tugs and quarrels at home due to our incompatibility.. I knew someone had to compromise and I chose to be the one... being a ever complacent goody girl.
Now, I ask myself " Is marriage a boon or a bane ? " and wondering what could the answer be, may be I should ask him before I can answer that...