In love with the city

Stop right there before you judge this post as one ' inspired' by Wake Up Sid or it's likes and move to the next blog.... Cause,it's not!
So read on...

I would not like to name any city because my point is very clear- Love the city you are currently living in....!I am not writing this to promote any city in particular.

I have been born and brought up in just one city, unlike few of my friends who have had transferable parents(transferable jobs obviously). So for me, city abc is home!

For me, my heart is tied to almost every place I visit.
Walking by the playground reminds me, this is where I first learnt to cycle, where while running like crazy with equally crazy friends we fell really hard and even today I have a two inch mark carved on my knee which will stay for life.

Beach trips with our sand box tools, candy floss and sand castles...

The garden with the huge aeroplane, old lady's shoe and all those school picnics..

Movie outings with friends, birthday dinner restaurants, railway station homework completions..

The list is endless. Each place strikes a cord. Each road has a story. Each hangout adda has a memory.

And it's not just me, I am sure! The place you grew up is obviously special for everybody . Childhood memories are strong.

Having said that, is it the best place to be? Can no other city be better or be even good enough?

I had to move out of my comfort zone for post graduation and its only when I left 'my world' that I realized that there is life beyond my planet too! Its only then that I realized how biased we are after living in only one place for life! I realized that life can go on without local trains and local transport.  I realized that what I thought was a necessity was actually a luxury! I realized that each city has its own pace, it's culture, it's own lingo, it's way of living, it's food, it's weather, it's life, its pros and its cons.

If we hold on to our idea of how each city should be and hold on to it so tightly, can we explore it with a happy mind?
If we keep comparing it to the place we grew up in, are we being fair to the new city, we ourselves chose to live in for whatsoever reasons?

It took me a while to realize this. But once I let go of my pre conceived notions, I explored ! I explored every bit of the city. The best-ever chocolate cake bakery, the best chaat joint, the street shopping, gyms, salons, spas, temples loaded with black faced healthy monkeys, boating, local cuisines, long bike rides, water parks and sunsets by the lake. I explored it all! I started loving my own company. I partly got over my phobias.

 I loved the new city. I didn't try to fit in. I was always an outsider who loved exploring the new world she was exposed to.
Maybe its because our roots cant change !After a point in time, our personality cant either!But our outlook can. Our rigid perspectives can bend! It's not always black and white, grey is beautiful too.

So keeping it short, if you are currently living in a city outside your comfort zone, give it a chance! What do you have to lose? You are anyway spending time in a new place, you as well enjoy it.Explore it. Broaden your outlook. Try to love it.

If nothing, then it will definitely give you loads of memories.
So, love the city! and it ll love you back!

A book a day keeps reality away!

Happy are those who love reading, for they can lead multiple lives!

In today's age of tablets and e-books,hard bound books are almost close to extinction.

Last week however, when  I visited my sister and her family in Bangalore, I was nostalgic looking at her kids reading fairy tales, comics and cartoon books. It got me reminiscing.


I remember in my childhood days,dad would accompany my sister and me to the library on our way back from school. He was the one who introduced us to this magical world of imagination.
Our  library was nothing fancy. It was just four bamboos held in place by a tin roof. But it was big enough to magically accommodate millions and zillions of books in it.
It was on my fathers insistence that we were its yearly members  until we had read all possible books that it contained.
I still remember the excited heartbeat, the twinkle in our eyes and the tranquility felt on smelling the old, worm-nibbled pages while choosing from those million books.

I still read hard bound books! I still get excited when I choose my book after looking through millions! I still feel the fragile yellow pages through my fingers and  smell the old pages before I start reading it!Sometimes a good book is all the therapy I need...

Thanks dad !

Approvals

We all need constant affirmations and approvals in different phases of life. It's human nature.

Approval from mom for completing homework all by yourself and that too on time, approval from your school teacher on a well written essay (for which you sacrificed your television time) , approval from your best friend for being someone she could trust,  approval from the housemaid for being a good boss (and a good tipper) ,approval from your boss for an accurate and precise assignment completed well before deadlines (for which you stayed up late nights),approval from your work team mates for being knowledgeable and efficient, approval from your husband for the four course meal you took efforts to prepare (that too post office hours), approval from your mother in law for almost about everything and so on and so fore.

But, should your happiness truly depend on these approvals?

Should a 'well done' or an 'I am proud of you' define your state of mind? Should it set the tone for your day ? Should it build or break your self esteem? Should it define you? Should your happiness be based on someone else's affirmation of you?

Isn't a job done to your own utmost satisfaction, an achievement in itself?
Isn't working sincerely and meeting a deadline or cooking a delicious meal done purely out of your own choice?
Isn't being true to oneself enough reason to bring a twinkle in your eye?

Shouldn't happiness depend solely on YOU? 

My first post!

Hi All,
Well its my first post on my first ever blog.
So keeping it crisp... I shall be writing something about literally- everything .....soon!
Watch out this space!