In a lockdown, when everyone in the world is fighting against COVID19 in their own way certainly, the state of people whose life depends upon daily wages is pathetic. Though street vendors can still survive, the condition of beggars is worst. Few beggars even didn’t know for a long time why suddenly people stopped coming to public places. Everything seems okay when you are sitting at home and seclude yourself from the world weeping on your own misery until you encounter something. One day when I was going to the bank, I saw a crippled woman outside my society with a crutch. She was moving forward slowly with the help of a crutch. She was exhausted, depressed, and seemed disappointed. As I was going out of my society, she looked at me and folded her hands. I was in a hurry, so I hastily took some money from my bag and gave it to her without counting it and moved ahead hurriedly. After stepping a few steps forward, I looked at the woman she was stretching notes, putting money closer to her heart and looked upwards towards the sky to thank god. I was a bit confused about how much money did I gave? But I was getting late, so I turned and started moving towards the bank. After an hour when I was returning from the bank, I encountered the same crippled woman with a kid, this time, she was carrying a bag full of vegetables hanging around her shoulder. She saw me, she lifted her hands, spread it upward and waved to give blessings. This time she was smiling, disappointment on her face has been replaced by a sense of relief. I felt good that I was able to help someone.

I don’t know what made me help the crippled woman. But yes, I can never forget the positive emotional feeling I got from helping her. Maybe it was more satisfying because I know I helped someone who was actually in need. So I thought of doing something to help underprivileged. I am raising funds on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/donate/901854006947919/>for organisation Goonj<https://goonj.org/>. Organisation Goonj is really working on the ground to help people. A small contribution from your side would be helpful in this pursuit. Let’s do our bit. Even a small help can do wonders in someone’s life.

I still remember multiple heaps of mangoes in our yard. We used to sell half of them and keep the rest for ourselves. I remember how we all gather and sit around the huge tub filled with water and ripened mangoes of different varieties. We used to talk endlessly while enjoying succulent mangoes. We used to compete who can eat maximum mangoes.

After my grandfather’s death, we have shifted to the city. We rarely visit our village. Its been years since we all have visited my hometown in summers. But this summer I hope we will be able to make it to my village and enjoy delicious mangoes.

P.S: If this article reminded you any of your memory with mangoes, please share:)

IT LIES WITHIN US

The explosive sound of the blast that killed many people in my dream woke me up at midnight. I don’t know what made me rush towards the window. As I looked outside the window, it was a windy day. The sky was tar-black. I tried to open the door of the balcony to feel some air, but I felt some strong force pushed me back and shut the door with a loud noise. I could hear the restless wind, moaning and whistling carrying whatever thing coming in its way. Branches of trees crashing together.Leaves murmuring like angry bees. After a few moments, I heard a tapping on the window, and then it became a pitter-patter. I got the first splatter of rain. I opened the door again, the weather became calm now, the favorable wind started blowing. With rain, all dust in the air settled down. The earthy smell started diffusing. Contrary to the weather inside, it was very relaxing. And with such pleasant weather, I thought it is a perfect time for a cup of tea. Till the time I prepared tea, the rain had stopped, and a fresh chilly wind started blowing. I spent some quality time sitting in the balcony introspecting different things. Peace and calmness in the weather replaced the frightening feeling with happiness. I started enjoying the moment. That day I understood that we always seek attention from people around us for our happiness. In a way, we got dependent on others. But sometimes what we are searching outside just lies within us.

Its been 45 days in lockdown amidst COVID-19. When nobody is around you, the only way to find an escape from your daily quarantine life is by watching movies. Last night one of my friends suggested watching “Thappad” -Hindi drama movie. The movie ‘Thappad’ is a silent slap on our society’s age-old belief that — ‘shaadi mein sab kuch chalta hain.’ But honestly, should it be that way? And that is what we need to start talking about… now!.
This movie tells us all about some or most people living in a marriage, where always a wife has to sacrifices her dreams, her passion, her career, and sometimes her self-respect too, but not anymore. The movie brings about the beautiful relationship between a father and daughter, where father understands his daughter’s feelings and what she is going through contrary to parents in real life who sometimes fail to understand their kid even if their kid is right. There is a scene when Amrita asks her father “Is she doing right?”, Her father replies- Is it feels right from the core of your heart? If yes, then don’t worry, not every right decision has positive consequences and not every right choice is a good decision. But what is right is right, even if everyone is against it.
The scene when Amrita tries to explain her mother in law why she wants to get a divorce after being slapped by her husband because nobody came to console her that night. Nobody tried to make Vikram realize that he has done wrong. Everybody said Amrita should forgive him, and when she finally says in pursuit of becoming the best housewife how she forgets that her fav color was yellow, not blue will urge your emotions.
It is simple psychology that people can compromise, sacrifice luxury. It doesn’t hurt much. But what if you do every bit of hard work and for a piece of bread and somebody steals it. It will shake you. It will shake you because you were fighting for a basic necessity. It was your right to get for which you have torn yourself. Similarly, a woman can sacrifice her dreams, her career everything, but when anyone tries to steal the respect they are worthy of, it HURTS!!! It simply HURTS!!!.

I appreciate Anubhav Sinha-Director, for portraying nuances of emotions in the relationship so well on screen. So in case you are getting bored and wanted to watch some drama movies, I would suggest you give it a try.

Last month I went to Rishikesh, one of the most tranquil places in northern Uttarakhand, surrounded by hills and bisected by the vast and sluggish Ganges, which is often claimed as the `Yoga Capital of the World.’ Among all the places to visit, we decided to visit the Lakshman Jhula. It was around 10 pm we were strolling over the bridge with fewer people. It was dazzling to see lights on a bridge hanging over a wide, roaring river. Dynamic lightings were adding grandeur for passers-by. A steady and gentle wind moving my hair, tousling it into buoyant curls. There was a calmness in the breeze, which made me forget about the internal turmoil I was dealing with. We moved ahead to sit for a while at Ganga Ghat, reminiscing memories with old friends, laughing at nonsense things we did. While everyone was indulged in talking, I put my legs one step deep in the river. The water flowing around my limbs, drinking away my body heat. I started looking at the sky, stars shining like a sugar spread over black marble, glistening in the moonlight. It was the light we always craved for. The usual carousel of worries simply forgotten. There were the heavenly stars above and a crescent moon to smile down.

Meanwhile, my gaze returned to the swirling river, the surface glinted with the reflection of twinkling stars. The breezy and sparkling river seemed magical to me at that moment. Suddenly river started rushing to stones rapidly, and all the other sounds were lost in the noise of it’s splashing and eddying against the grey and slimy piles of rocks. I wanted to sit there for few more moments to feel the beauty of nature which we miss to observe due to our fast-paced life in metropolitan cities but unfortunately, we heard warning that we need to vacate the place as water has been dispersed from a nearby dam, and the water levels might rise. We vacated the place soon. Even after a month of my trip, I cannot forget the picturesque.

If you guys planning a trip to Rishikesh rather then rushing for things I would suggest, do visit Ganga ghat and sit for a while in peace and enjoy the beauty of nature, its magical.

P.S: If you liked the article do claps and leave the feedback.

Would you be able to do the same?

I would have to embrace your family like my own,

Would you be able to do the same?

I would have to adopt your culture, custom, religion,

Would you be able to do the same?

I would have the responsibility of becoming the pride of two different worlds,

Would you be able to do the same?

I would have to change priorities from my people to yours,

Would you be able to do the same?

I would have to transform myself as per your world,

Would you be able to do the same?

And when you would be able to do the same,

Let me know, I will marry you.

Every country has a national anthem, which represents the tradition, history, and beliefs of a nation and its people. Though with such high values it is confined to only schools, government offices or theatre. But our national anthem is close to everyone’s heart. Your parties and marriages are incomplete without our national anthem. Any guesses for the national anthem? Yes, it is the one, and only your favorite “lagawe lu jab lipastick.” Though the author of this national anthem is still unknown.

“Ahaan bhutia gel chiayi? “Do you understand this ? does it sound like Bihari?No???? off course, it is not Bihari. Because Bihari is not a language at all, it is Maithili meaning- Are you confused?It is funny, but people think by putting a long list of “baaaaaaa’s” to every sentence makes it a Bihari. My dear friends, we have two sweet languages, Maithili and Bhojpuri, which is not like which you hear in Bollywood movies.

Let me share with you an incident. I was going to Amritsar in so-called DEMU. DEMU is nothing fancy but a train. I saw an uncle supposed to be in 30–40 in terms of age was mocking and making fun of people from Bihar in Punjabi by calling them “Bhaiya” ( pronounced as “paiya” in Punjabi) which is used as a derogatory remark for labors from UP and Bihar. Everybody was silent until he started asking a flurry of stupid questions to laborers with people sitting around.

How do people in Bihar live without having access to basic facilities?Taking all the responsibility on my shoulder like Akshay Kumar in Namastey London(a Bollywood movie), I answered- It is very simple because they must be having advance facilities then what you think. He then asked do they have proper bus stand like Shaheed Bhagat Singh Interstate Bus Terminal of Jalandhar? I replied: No uncle they don’t have bus stand like one in Jalandhar, but they do have Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna. He again asked do all people chew Gutka-tobacco in the state? Biharis are stupid as they know nothing; their cheating cases are famous all over India. I replied, Yes uncle they cheat a lot that’s why I am thinking how they have most no IAS, IPS, and scholars like Munshi Premchand, Aryabhatta, etc. I also wish to cheat if cheating can make you this kind of scholars.

People from Bihar are known for having expertise in corruption and criminal activities. It is assumed that if you are from Bihar, you are indulged in smoking and drinking. The word ‘Bihari’ has now become a synonym of poverty, corruption, backwardness, violence and failed governance….etc. After answering a lot of questions, I don’t know what he understood, but certainly, I understood a bitter truth of life “Answering to uncle’s question was like playing the flute in front of buffalo.”I started ignoring it. All of sudden I don’t know what struck to uncle’s mind he asked me where do you belong. I admitted for the first time in my life that I am from Bihar. After utter silence, he wondered how many IAS you have in your family. I have one daughter to marry … I was astounded by his remark.

With this incident, I understood that living in Bihar would be challenging, but living outside Bihar with bad presumptions is definitely more challenging. The moment you mention this one magical country automatically you fall under the category of abnormals. I understand you may have a wrong notion about people of Bihar, but judging all people based on your pre assumption is not good.

Apart from factual things, I think people from Bihar are innocently humorous and sometimes gullible. I mean the name itself put a smile on your face, isn’t it? They are the most adjusting people. They only care for fulfilling their basic needs. They know all jugaads rather than boasting around. Their language is loaded with too much tehzeeb(Etiquette).

After this train incident and exploring much about Bihar the D day came when finally I made changes to my profile across all social media platforms and updated my hometown on 26 June 2015.

In the end, I want to conclude my article in PK(a character from Bollywood movie PK)style “Are bhaiya Bihar itna bhi lul place nahi hai.” i.e. Bihar is not that much worthless place what people assumes.

Imagine If I give you a magic wand with a choice that you can order one food item of your choice what will you order?

For you guys, it might be easy, but for me it’s like fishing a needle in the ocean. It is always difficult for gourmet people like me to choose one out of many . Somehow but mostly I stuck with one dish i.e Biryani. Biryani, a brilliantly balanced amalgamation of spices and flavor, sparks craving in everyone. An experience of Indian cuisine is never complete without tasting the legendary, famous Biryanis in India. Brought to India during the Mughal era, Biryani is almost like an adventure to the taste buds. Though of Persian origin, Biryani became popular in different parts of India. I have tasted Biryanis from different parts of India but every time I had different experience. And I was not able to figure it out what makes one Biryani different from other. So I decided to search a little bit on Biryani, their origin and how they are different from others. You will be amazed to know that there are more than 15 varieties of Biryani in India. Today I will be discussing a few of them which I have experienced.

So let’s start with Awadhi Biryani-from the “city of Nawabs, Lucknow”.

According to popular opinion Awadhi Biryani is the first Biryani which made its appearance in India

because of its origin from Awadh, the present day Lucknow and home to the Mughals who ruled India for over 300 years. Lucknow is popular among foodies for its lip-smacking dishes, Awadhi Biryani is the perfect blend of fragrant spices. With the tender rice, flavored with cinnamon, star anise, and saffron, it is layered with half-cooked meat in a deep bottomed vessel or ‘handi’ sealed with dough and cooked until the mouth-watering flavors seep into the rice. The perfection of this rice is because of this special form of cooking called ‘dum’ style. If you ever visit Lucknow don’t miss Biryani from “Wahid Biryani, Aminabad “or “Idris biryani Opposite Patanala Police Station, Chowk.”

In 1856, The Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was deposed from Awadh and he moved to Calcutta. Along with the household items and his favourite cooks, he brought to Calcutta another important element — and what was it? Yes it was “the Biryani!”. The recipe infused into the poorer class, who introduced the usage of potatoes and instead of the costlier meat. This gave a new turn to the ordinary, and thus, the Calcutta Biryani was born. A little variant of Calcutta Biryani is Tehri Biryani originated in North India and is popular among vegetarians. This variety of Biryani was developed for the vegetarian Hindu officers of Muslim Nawab rulers because during World War II, the price of meat increased substantially and potatoes and other veggies became the preferred substitute for Biryanis.

Next is Hyderabadi Biryani(My personal favourite) — from “the Biryani capital of India”.

It is believed that it originated from the kitchen of the Hyderabad’s Nizam

There are two types of Hyderabadi Biryani

1) Pakki (cooked)

2) Kacchi (raw).

In Pakki Hyderabadi Biryani, Both Basmati rice and meat are cooked separately and then layered together.

While the kacchi Hyderabadi Biryani is made from the raw marinated meat (chicken or lamb) placed between the layers of basmati rice infused with saffron, onions and dried fruits,

Both are slow-cooked in a dough-sealed earthen pot rather then handi as it was cooked in Awadhi Biryani over charcoal fire, which results in rich, aromatic Biryani. Though Biryani of Paradise hotel is famous all over India. But I would suggest you if you really want to have a taste of authentic Biryani then you must try Biryani from local restaurants and vendors as I found it better than Paradise Biryani.

No list of food in India is complete without a mention of the delicacies that originate in the Malabar coast. The popular Thalassery Biryani is of Arab origin, unlike the Mughal variations from the North. The Muslims of Kerala give a unique flavour to the Biryani by using small, flavoured Jeerakasala rice instead of Basmati rice. Malabar brings out the perfect fusion of spicy, tangy, sweet and salty tastes along with the meat and flavoured rice finally topped with fried onion, sauteed cashews along with raisins. The Jeerakasala rice is cooked separately from the meat, and mixed together only at the time of serving. If you ever get a chance to go in Kerala do try Thalassery Biryani from Paragon and Paris Restaurant. Little variant to it is Beary Biryani from Dakshin Kannad. The uniqueness of this Biryani is brought out by mixing of the spices and masalas and leave it overnight for the flavors to seep in throughout the dish.

So next time when you see a Biryani don’t consider it just a heap of rice, it is lot more than that. And If you struggle with menu containing lots of dishes go for Biryani. And I believe you will never regret your choice.

Just remember that

“ Pizza is just a buzzword but Biryani is an emotion”.

Today, I will share a story, a story of my mom. My mom belonged to an era where letters served as major means of communication. As a matter of fact, my dad is in the Indian Army and Just after marriage he was deployed to Ladakh. Unlike others, my dad didn’t get enough time to know my mom. My dad was little shy and didn’t know how to express love so he used to write letters. Letters of love to my mom. He used to pour all his emotions on a piece of paper seal it and send it to my mom, anticipating her reactions over that. Was my mom reading those letters or she was simply procrastinating reading?

Well!!! we all know about the war that took place in 1999 between India and Pakistan .Yes you guessed it right, I am talking about Kargil war. If I ask you to name few of martyr, you will certainly do. But what if I ask you to name any of the soldiers who came back alive? Difficult to recollect??

Is it because their names are not inscribed on the pillars of war memorial? Or we don’t bother about their contribution. Think about it!!!!

Anyways, In 1999 my dad was posted in Pune when Kargil war took place. He was asked by his senior to move to the Kargil Borders at that time. Commandant of that unit called him along with his team and asked to write a letter. There was utter silence as this was unusual request by any of the commandant.

“My soldiers! write the last letter of your life” Commandant reiterated. Now just imagine if you have been told to write the last letter of your life what will you write?

“My soldiers if you come back alive, the last letter of your life will not get posted to your home but if you don’t, I will decorate your coffin wrapped in tricolor with this letter and will send it to your home” Commandant said.

With heavy heart, my dad wrote the last letter of his life wishing that it should never get delivered. There was no news of my dad for a long time. Being strongest was the only choice my mother had. But as fortune turns the wheel, a letter of my father got delivered to my home. My mom didn’t know if it was the letter of well-being or letter of misfortune. She was struggling to read the most dreadful letter of her life. It’s not because my mom was not courageous, it’s not because my mom was not strong, it was just because my mom could not read it. My helpless mom requested my grandparents to read the news in letter but nobody could. My mom started cursing herself for not learning things when the problem was first encountered during her initial stage of marriage. When things were not worst as it is today. Today she was feeling helpless of being dependent.

After a few days my dad came back from the war and later on we came to know that letter was posted mistakenly to my home. Though inability to read the letter had spared the agony of my mom. But this incident hit my mom really hard. She decided no one in my family will ever face this problem again. She decided to overcome her problem of inability to read. Since she could not go to school again, she asked my father to be her teacher. She changed her thought from “You cannot remold a baked pot” to “if you want to forge something new, you have to crush the existing earthen pot”. To be a newer version of yourself you need crush your previous version.

She started learning Hindi — from vowels -a, aa , e…. e to consonants k kha g gh…. Sooner she was able to teach us basic Hindi. One day she called my sister to help her writing her name in English. The very next day when I approached my mom for getting her signature on my report card .I was shocked she was putting her signature in English.

The happiness that I got that day was priceless. No moment, nor present, could ever give me a fraction of that happiness that I felt on that particular day, at that one moment.

Friends, in life we do aspire to do lots of things but we leave it for tomorrow, and more often that “tomorrow” never comes. If you ever get chance to improve don’t procrastinate. As the wise men once said, strike when the iron is hot. If my mom could learn after having 3 kids then why can’t we. Let’s make our tomorrow the best, by utilizing the today to the best of our abilities.

So what are you waiting for?
Let’s ignite the fire within, propel ourselves forward to the ultimate goals of our lives, and make the impossible possible, and even those goals which we felt were too late to pursue.

Because you know what……………….IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.

1. “The Vow” and,
2. “The silver lining playbook”

I know most of you have watched these two movies, even if you haven’t don’t worry I am setting the context for you.

Let’s first talk about the movie “The Vow”. It is a tale of a guy Leo who was devastated when a car accident plunges his wife Paige into a deep coma. She miraculously recovers but the last five years of her memories have vanished. And those five years were exactly 5 years of Leo and Paige’s married life.Suddenly, Leo finds himself married to a stranger who can’t remember anything about him. Naively,Paige falls back under the influence of her controlling parents and reconnects with ex-fiance. Leo was in such a deep love with his wife Paige that he put all his effort to help her wife Paige getting her memory back. When nothing worked he desperately tries to recreate the moments that shaped their romance from their first date. At last despite all his possible efforts nothing worked and finally he decided to take divorce from her — to let her live her life as she want. The movie ends with them meeting at a bakery place which was closed. They haven’t seen each other in some time after their divorce and Leo didn’t know that she quit law school again and has moved back to the city to join art school. He was pleasantly surprised because obviously he was still in love with her. The movie ends with them walking away from the bakery. It is assumed that they again fall in love and get married again.

Now think is there any person in your life who you think will remain intact, no matter what happens in life. If yes, start appreciating those people as finding those people is rare in a world where people believe in instant patch up and instant break up.

There is a beautiful quote that people may come and go but the best will always stay.

The second movie ‘The silver lining playbook’ is a story of a guy named Pat who loved his wife Nikki very much. But one day he found his wife cheating on him. He was not able to handle that trauma and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Pat believed he lost the affection of his wife because he was fat,inattentive and intellectually lazy. To win her wife back, he was determined to make himself better. He started running relentlessly, reading the books Nikki was teaching to her students and practicing being more attentive. There was another character in movie Tiffany who loved her husband. And after he died in a tragic car accident she felt herself responsible for it, she sank into a deep funk. After Pat and Tiffany met at a dinner party, they began to see more of each other. They participated in dance competition and gradually fell in love with each other. In Pat and Tiffany story, there were two hurting people who need each other to grow. Their relationship forms a strange catalyst that helped them to overcome their old family wounds and conflicts. At the end, everyone was much happier, healthier and optimistic about their shared futures.

These two stories are not just stories, these stories are the reflection of situations which you face in your real life. It is up to you how you handle it. Now imagine if you were the protagonist in these two movies with totally different ending how you would you have ended your life?Like Leo, who kept his vow till the end of his life believing “one bad moment cannot outweigh their life time good moments” or like Pat who accepted the silver linings in his life as “life is all about keep moving ahead”.

Choice is yours and what is good for you, nobody knows better than you, yourself.

But whatever you choose, just remember “IT DEFINES YOU”.