Happy Birthday Medhansh

 

 

Today as you turn two

I closed my eyes and hugged you tightly

You snuggled, your eyes shined brightly

It was indeed a new morning

A bright new day with sun smiling

I wished you happy B ’Day dear

And you kissed me by coming near

Your eyes had new hope

Waiting for surprises which we chose

I can’t believe its been two years

And felt my emotions roll in tears

All these days were full of excitement

With you controlling most of the movements

Sometimes I lost my cool

Still your innocence made me a fool

Wherever I went it was your thought

Be it work or even a causal talk

Being a mom is what I love the most

My promise is to give you the best

With you I celebrate my B’ Day too

For I am a mom who just turned two!!

Its just another Manic Monday

  

I opened my eyes and looked at time.. "Oh, it’s already 7 am and so much to do.Who made Monday Mornings.”Cursing at the start of week was a usual ritual and most of the time it use to start from Sunday evening itself. Infact, I secretly wished to replace Tuesdays with Friday’s. For nothing can beat the Friday morning when I get up with a happy face all set to kick start the weekend so what if its only 12 hrs apart ..After all some time goes in warming up before the real fun begins J

Somebody truly said Monday’s are Manic and Friday’s are Fun…

Infact, It’s not me who has been suffering from this disorder, have a whole generation infected ;).I remember we had only Sunday’s  off at school and then corporate gave us lead of one more day. But eventually we work for just three days in a week, if Monday Blues and Friday Fever are not discounted. Still we keep blaming the 24hr cycle not enough to complete our tasks and extended weekends even less to relax our lazy bones.

And if you can’t agree with me enough just keep a meeting on Monday @ 10 am and you would be amazed to see the dropout ,sometimes with the most hilarious reasons .Now who can beat a late bed tea being served for not reporting on time. After skipping meeting and joining office little late mostly the day’s agenda revolves around..."Hey how was the weekend? So what did you do?”Only if the focus was ‘what should we do’ probably the week would too would be as fun, however that’s a different story all about. And yes let me assure you that having late Friday meetings will only have people answering calls tweeting or cursing the boss on FB for being late to party.

On the other hand we have people working 24 *7 and struggling to meet the ends, hardly can they ever imagine a word like weekend. For them life starts with dawn , sleeps after midnight and sometimes just waits on the footpath to end with a Friday Fever infected Maniac. Remember we have right to celebrate our hard work but only for the right reasons and if the fever gets onto your head you will surely be a Manic on Monday!!

So guys wish you all a great week ahead …

Story of Shikha Mataji...

She entered the room with flowing hair, subtle make up and a smile to say it all. A charmer that she is, you would dare to miss one her accessories be it her ‘star bucks’ coffee mug or her color coordinated bellies. I always wondered how she managed to look so fresh even after such a tiring travel which starts early morning. But that day I got the secret out…

 I was along with her on one of the routine obsessed Monday’s at her office. The moment she entered people just got up from their seat and one of them said,”Shikha Mataji is here”. Confused I looked at her thinking why my mom not introduced me to this goddess. Just reading my face she gave the most casual look and said very softly, “That’s me. They call me Shikha Mataji here”. “What??”…I couldn’t match her pace and almost shouted. “Shhhh”..She said, “You might disturb them, it’s ok, I am used too and now I don’t mind after all it’s the culture here. You know we are a religious NGO”. I looked at her from top to bottom then imagined her in goddess attire sitting on a lion which said “I am the HR of the company reporting Krishna”. This time it was hard to hold back my smile. So true….

Awesome ventures run on plugHR!!

It’s commendable how plugHR succeeds in managing and running such organizations were HR department never existed in first place.

I spent some time with her discussing the further action plan when suddenly someone came serving us breakfast. I again gave her a look as too why so much formality. She said, “Its ok, they serve breakfast and lunch also for free”. Well what else would you expect from an organization who serves ‘mid day meal’ to children across country. Now before I could even react the peon asked me, “Mataji, aap kuch lengi”.I just ignored and tried hard to hide my embarrassment by simply nodding and keeping myself out of any further discussion on the dignified salutation. Now I am open to be called ‘Mommy’ by a 2 year old but a 20 year old can definitely can be a challenge.

As we were about to call it a day around 5pm, the office boy came and handed over a big bag of puffed rice to ‘Mataji’ alias Shikha and before I could wonder much Shikha replied, “ This is my Friday baggage back home. They make it in-house for distribution and I am plain lucky to enjoy fringe benefits with difference.

“Hey,so now I know what makes you work for this company though you travel for two hours in bus and then not to miss the work load all to be done in two days, for its anyway a two day accounts”,I said. “Yes, you are right but wrong too.I enjoy working here for I get to do what my heart says and it’s not just the free lunch but the overall feel of the place. I enjoy the trust they show in me and the way I can nurture my stuff here. Having worked in large enterprises I have never been myself as much as I am now. I know when they call me Mataji its out of respect and frankly I love it now.The word holds a weight and now I exactly know why they call me that.This has changed me from inside and I am now doing it for Krishna.”

I was amazed to see her changing so much from the first time met her at our company induction. Was it plugHR or Krishna , I yet have to understand ,but this definitely was a fight where job content won over environment.

Jai Mataji!!

I am a Flexi Mom!!

I was a new mom ,who said I quit,

Wanted to enjoy my angel and no more office visits.

My world was limited to his smiles and needs,

I almost forgot, I was worthy of more deeds.

With time as my bundle of joy grew,

And I looked outside the window with a changed view.

I realized my happiness was to achieve more,

So why being a mom should change my core.

Are my aspirations not as important as motherhood?

Why should I let go my dreams of childhood?

I kept looking for a way,

Hoping for a magic to happen someday.

Then one day I saw the window opening to a bright light,

And energy enlightening my insight.

I am changed being, one who chose to dream,

When all said life now is not such an easy stream.

It’s a pleasure to breathe your life as sane,

And enjoying his moments time and again

I still pamper my baby and a sing him a song,

For I am what they call a ‘Flexi Mom’

 

 

Mommy's Day Out

“Beep, Beep”, went on my alarm clock.It was 5:30 am ,time to start a new life again .Its been a while since I have done it and needless to mention that my apprehensions towards this new beginning kept haunting me through out the night. Not that I was scared but something inside me was not happy the usual way. My husband shook me and handed over the morning tea. Sometimes I get lucky to be served that way.As always the great face reader heard my inner qualms and said ,”don’t worry he will be just fine”. And this broke me. It was about my cute little angel , whom I nurtured for nine months in my womb and then surrendered to all his demands for next 16 months. Since the day I first time took him in my arms ,have never separated from him more than an hour.

But today as I start back my career after pampering break, it was jittering  as to how will I stay without him ,more than him staying without me. So used to of his naughty smiles, half eaten words and running around the house ,I could feel a void inside me the entire day .He was on my mind during the orientation in the new organization and worse half way down I started feeling I am the worst mom in the world.My thoughts kept juggling between the right and the wrong.During lunch break,I called up the day care to check on him and was little relaxed to know that he was sleeping .Wondered how did they manage to make him do that, for it took me six months to learn about his sleeping schedule. Again the anxious mom called from inside, ‘what if they didn’t feed him and he slept all the way crying’. Thought itself  was too much for me to simply run away from all the hiring formalities with the new employer. But something held me back till 5pm and then as soon as I could, I reached to pick him up.

Looking at my anxiety the day care Head called me inside and there I saw my little one playing with kids of his age, singing ‘Ringa Ringa Roses..’All engrossed in dancing and matching the steps of new found friends, other then  his 30 yrs old mom,he didnot even realise that I was back.Again I couldn’t stop my tears , this time it was definitely for a better reason for I was overwhelmed with his first day response.Truly my angel!! I called him up and he came running straight in my arms.Hugged me tight and smiled.Felt like he said, 'missed you mumma’.I too smiled back and whispered, “I missed you a lot darling”. We came back home, played for a while, had our dinner and then he went off to sleep. We were all set for sweet dreams, for this time something inside me reassured me that , 'He loves you and you will always be his best mom in the world'.

Look who is with us always?

I was at my favorite hang out place, one which reminds me of my womanhood. Makes me complete. A place I am addicted to an extend that nobody can stop me from visiting it at least once a month. Don’t let your thoughts go any further for towards the end of month I have to be at Hyper city to replenish my already exhausted kitchen cabinets. Looking at the well managed value chain of the retail outlet I could only appreciate technology and be thankful to be born in this era. An age of 3G, where items are not stone’s throw but ‘finger tip’ away. A generation where ring tone is no longer limited to ‘tring tring’ but has varieties like ‘sheela ki jawani’ and ‘shaalu ke nakare’.

I kept checking out aisles as per my long list when somebody just said, “Is that you, Rakshita”. I turned and saw an old friend smiling at me, "Neha. wow!! Where have you been.Its been ages yaar”.I said all in a flow.  “Ya, you haven’t changed much though, how have u bee all these years”, she said responding to her Blackberry messenger first. We had a great time over a coffee apart from her phone being the only disturbance. Looking closely I realized she looked little more that age or may be she was overworked. Why not juggling between home, kids and demanding office is not a joke. Sometimes I feel these gizmos make us work more than we would have done without them. Gone are the days of 9 to 5 jobs now we practically work 24*7.

“Hey we need to wind up dinner by 9, have a call at 9:30 tonight”, my husband said on his way back from office. Not sure who to blame for this erratic work schedule, MNC culture or so called employee friendly ‘work from home’ policy. Interesting enough, looking deep inside, such policies are pain in disguise. As much flexibility one gets from them more and more it traps you in vicious cycle of timelessness. Office is never over; at least it’s always on your mind. I still remember when on a vacation he was taking a conference call while we kept waiting for him to finish.

This probably is the dark side of the technology which many of us have never paid much heed to. As technology became omnipresent, techno stress too came as a package. Now as it is advancing from 2G to 3G, we are becoming more and more obsessed with the electronic leech. Organizations are utilizing it in most effective manner to stay connected with the employees and providing them work flexibility. But like everything, this too comes with a cost. There is no fixed time to work and nor there is a limitation. Socio economic environment too has compelled people towards rat race where everybody is trying to achieve the most out of them. Hardly noticing how the technology has not just consumed us but even our time. We have started enjoying being connected from wherever we are and physical presence has been replaced by virtual. A great cost saving for companies it must be, but in long run we are compromising on human bonding which for ages has been responsible for building great organizations.

With changing time techno stress will lead to many social issues like family and health problems. Supporting more and more sedentary life style and ease of work, techno stress will lead to many lifestyle diseases. Gadgets if have given us flexibility then have damaged our day to day ergonomics. Finding youth suffering with back aches, over weight, high blood pressure in not new anymore. Every coin has two sides and we can’t ignore any and though 3G age has been a blessing in its own way but given the circumstances and advancements, techno stress will be a dominant part of our work lives in coming future.

A (Star)day at Mumbai Airport

“This is a love song for you..la la “…oh, that’s my cell phone ringer and I am glad finally he called up. Elated I was to hear him from the other side.”Hey, sweetie!!,  We are moving to Mumbai, I got a job there”, he said. “What??, Mumbai!!, ok good, so when are we shifting”, I responded. “20^th of Next month, it’s a Saturday, start packing”, He said and hung up.

I looked at my phone thinking gone are the days when we would talk for hours and still wait for other one to do the honors. Well this was some six years back though. May be I too need one of those Pond’s cream. Anyways…Now Mumbai definitely might sound a cool place to many of my friends but not to me .Monsoon trauma ,Traveling hassles and terror attacks were enough to keep that place out of my wish list. But still there was something exciting about that place …

“We are at Chattarpati Shivaji Airport, Passengers are requested to remain on their seats till the seat belt lights are on. Hope you had a great flight and we look forward to see you soon”, the pretty kingfisher airhostess said in her own style and ever charming smile . But as we Indians never fail to let the world know that we cant be driven by instructions ,almost all were up queuing behind each other as if that might fasten the procedure of getting off the plane. Since I hate getting pushed by people , chose to sit back and waited for others to fulfill there wish only to notice that somebody has been equally sane. “I remember, I have seen her somewhere” ,I told my husband. ”Shhh , shut up , you are too loud. Don’t you know she is Carol Gracias, the super model”, he whispered and also gave a broad smile to her . Now this was not acceptable for I don’t remember when did he smiled at me last. “Whatever, she is not that great too”, I tried to be loud enough but somehow it didn’t come out that well.

We landed at 5:30 pm and since Carol had raised my expectations , I started looking around for my favorite cine star. As if Mr. Amitabh Bachchan will just come and say, “Hi lady, I have been waiting to see you for a while now”. Lost in my thoughts I turned only to see my husband smiling at me for he somehow read my mind. “Should we move further, incase you have received an invite from him”, He giggled. He knows that for me Mumbai is not financial capital rather ‘star capital’ and I am one Big B movie buff . “Oh ya”, I said ,awkwardly.

 While we were waiting for the luggage, suddenly heard a long lost but familiar voice, “Oh my God, is that Shakuni Mama”, I shouted. My husband simply gave me a look and that said it all. Shakuni Mama, alias Gufi Paintal too was amused enough to know that there are people who still remember his deadly performance which actually led to Mahabharat.

“Hey ,don’t you think that suitcase is ours, the one which that man in blue shirt is picking ”, I asked my husband. “Oh yes, let me just see”. He replied and ran towards him. I followed him too, only to bump into Ravi Kishan who was standing almost next to me. ‘zindagi zand ba baki sab ghamd ba’…his famous dailoge from Big Boss was all I could remember about him. But from my previous experience , I controlled myself and went on without acknowledging and even apologizing, for the head on collision was the obvious reason for his Ray Ban to fall on ground. ‘Now he should have been more cautious and god knows why is the whole TV industry here to welcome me ’, I said to myself softly this time.

Finally we were at the cab point with our luggage , and I was wondering if I have seen any of the people around in any movie. Trust me observing people can be a great past time , just that God forbid, they shouldn’t be from D Company. As we were about to start , my husband almost shouted, “Look that’s Kareena, isn’t she beautiful”. Now somebody was raising eyebrows on my pitch sometime back. “Oh, I wish she had come with Saif”, I said and we both started laughing. We got in cab with smiles on our face ready to start our new journey in Mumbai on a Star studded Saturday.