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19 Things People Say When You are Lean ~ The Saga of “BEING THIN”
Having been slightly underweight almost all my life, I have come across a volley of sarcastic comments, concerned advice, unwelcome suggestions and what not for committing a crime of sorts – the crime of “being THIN”. We are a nation where food is given utmost importance (which is great), resulting in a wide variety of cuisine available to be explored in a single country. Consequently, being thin in this country is almost treated as a crime. People will not bother if you are healthy (literally) or have never suffered from any ailments in your lifetime. The moment you come in their range of vision, they just have to blurt out…
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An experience on Bakul’s Day of Service : A Day dedicated to Humanity
Surfing through my WhatsApp messages last night, I came across a message in my WhatsApp group : DOS – 2017 (Patia Region). It was a notification from a fellow Bakul member stating that the first Bakul Day of Service for 2018 was scheduled on March 25, 2018 (held on last Sunday of March) and anybody could volunteer. This brought back a plethora of memories from the last Day of Service that I attended in Bhubaneswar, during the Joy of Giving Week on October 2, 2017. For a beginner’s information, the day of service (DOS) is celebrated across India and worldwide to promote the spirit of social service and provide a…
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The melodious Pankaj Udhas Live In Concert “Madhosh” in Austin, TX
That day, with a typical child-like excitement, I reached the Riverbend Center in Austin to witness the first live concert of my life. I always had this fascination for live concerts, but somehow never got the opportunity to materialize this dream of mine before. Finally, on 10th March 2018, I was about to check off one of my dreams from my wishlist. I have been in Texas for about 3 months now, and the first “live concert near me” notification on Facebook read – ‘Pankaj Udhas Live In Concert “Madhosh” in Austin,TX‘. That took me back to a string of good old memories. I sat reminiscing about my childhood when my father…
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The Day I Met GOD Himself – A.R. Rahman
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Tryst with nature at HIMACHAL
Himachal Pradesh – Indeed a land of the Gods! The desire to catch a glimpse of live snowfall, first sparked my interest to travel to the mighty Himalayas, fighting all the odds of a chilly December winter. And with my first wedding anniversary round the corner, the deal was sealed! Having booked travel just to and from Delhi, we were headed on a trip of uncertainties marked with random travel and accommodation bookings only on the fly. Travelling in a Volvo bus from Delhi, we first halted at the Pahalwan dhaba in Haryana on the way to Manali. Yes, this food junction did not resemble even an inch of a typical dhaba! I…
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The Rainbow Experience in India
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The quintessential cultural city – MYSURU
Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is often described as the ‘Cultural Capital of the state of Karnataka’. Boarded on a special train from my hometown Cuttack to Mysuru, my first job took me to this enchanting city in South India. This train was specifically operating to cater to the increased public travel during the auspicious Durga Puja. I was accompanied by a group of friends, from the same college and we were all headed to attend a 6-month long training at Infosys Mysore DC. Our eyes were brimming with excitement, as we first stepped down at the Mysuru railway station. Probably, it was the excitement of a first job, mixed with the…
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My favourite city of dreams – MUMBAI
Firstly, let me mention that there are millions out there, who still love to address this city as ‘Bombay’ (I’m definitely one of them!). But herein, just to be technically correct with the official city name, we’ll refer to it as Mumbai ~ Amchi Mumbai! Straight out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, my first encounter with the spirit of Mumbai was when I took a cab to the railway station. My cab driver was a lady, full of life and an equally competent Mumbai-style driver. The most amazing aspect was the way she interacted, with almost every passerby at every traffic junction. They knew each other and she was…
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What I learnt about Time Management from Mumbai
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A fun-filled bachelorette at GOA
GOA – rightly called the “Holiday Capital” of India! A group of old friends from different parts of the country, a bachelorette party – dedicated to a very special friend, mellifluous music, the typical beach repertoire, bikes, extraordinary cuisine and a perfect end to the trip within the serene confines of the magnificent churches. This sums up my first experience called “Goa” in a nutshell. Travelling from Mumbai to Goa, we reached the Mudgaon station way past midnight, had piping hot tea to activate our drowsy cells and were all set to experience the extravaganza called “Goa”! Heading towards the Ancora Beach Resort (where we put up for a formality I would…
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Women’s Day Special – A Thank You Note to the Amazing “MEN” in our Lives!
I grew up wondering why there is a specific day assigned to celebrate womanhood – March 8 (International Women’s Day). Researching through the annals of history, I realised that International Women’s Day first emerged as a result of labour movements at the onset of 20th century, across the world. Witnessing a couple of turning points in the world then (which included women gaining suffrage, movements prophesying equal rights for men and women, protests against employment gender discrimination etc.), United Nations (UN) established March 8 as a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe. Additionally, it serves as the UN day for…
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A Common Man’s Tryst with Words in Odisha
I had always dreamt of bringing stories of common people to the masses – stories that are common – yet uncommon, stories that are real and inspirational, stories about a nobody who is definitely a somebody, stories about amazing people we meet in our regular lives! And I finally get an opportunity to write about my conversation with a passionate human being, who is one amongst us and a celebrity of his own artistic might. Today, we have with us, a very passionate and young writer from Odisha, who believes in pouring his heart into his words. Despite having taken up law and public services for a full-time career, his…
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The good old carefree days of the ‘HOLI’days
….When Holi was all about family, friends, colours and more colours! Today I reminisce about the bygone times of childhood, when it took just colours to make us smile, just sweets to get us delighted and just friends to get us charged with excitement for the entire day. Right from the day we became aware of this vibrant festival of colours – HOLI, until the present day laden with busy schedules, assignments, responsibilities and what not, the significance of Holi kept evolving with time. I still remember the time, when my brother was a toddler and I was his trainer and guide for the day of Holi. The excitement always…
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Hypocrisy Of The Great Indian Society : Do We Actually Respect Women? #TruthAboutSociety
Just when we ushered in the new year brimming with optimism, new hopes and resolutions, we got to witness the “Padmavati” (now called “Padmaavat”) row in all the leading newspapers, tabloids and TV shows. Berserk and visibly irritated with the irrational vandalisation by the so-called guardians of our history, I decided to browse elsewhere just for a whiff of fresh air. Then, my eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of an online news website notification. It read – “Woman, 22, Pulled Out Of Car In Gurgaon, Raped In Front Of Husband”. I was deeply appalled. Here I was, hoping for brand new beginnings and our nation was still struggling to wriggle out of…
