@Sashaa

Happy 75th Independence **Happy Independence Day to all Indians around the globe. A freedom gained after lot of struggle by freedom fighters remains as a history to be remembered. No matter what you own if you don't have a country of your own, where we can hoist our flag and be a proud national of that country.** Today as 75 years of independence has been completed, our Prime Minister took the privilege of hoisting the Indian flag and saluting at Red fort, New Delhi in the presence of delegates, Ministers, common man and students. A great achievement for all viewers watching live and through media. The sufferings and struggle by the great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and many more, led to the essence of this day by giving us freedom to smile, freedome to talk, freedom to move freely within our country, freedom to bring our dreams to reality. In short, a democratic India. The battle to freedom was a real battle by all Indians irrespective of caste, creed and religion. This shows unity in diversity. A unity of togetherness when in trouble. Respects for women freedom fighters, who also laid their life to free India. After witnessing so many encounters now the country is shining with achievements in the world of education, medicines, sports and science...the list is endless. New developments creating remarkable history. A proud moment for India when the flag is being hoisted in schools, colleges, other educational institutions and work space. Though its a National holiday, Schools and Colleges are conducting cultural programmes for an hour, March past by students, speech by the Principal and school prefects and finally they are dispersed by distributing sweets to the children and spectators. The present generation should be aware of such freedom we got with continuous struggle. So that they go on the right path with righteous deeds and execute their plans righteously. This should not go as just a "say" this should be put in "action". **Let this freedom give ray of hopes, peace and prosperity to all freedom lovers and let solidarity be maintained in the nook and corner of every state in the country.**

Generations then and now **Times keep changing which simultaneously changes the attitudes of the fast growing generation. Some changes are appreciable while some are intolerable.** There was a time when parents used to tell and we used to obey. **No question of why? Where? When?** Just shake our head and do what is told. But it is not the same now. We have to think twice before we tell something to the present kids and it takes for them sometimes to decide whether they have to do or not. In my time, which is years ago **most of things were gender biased. Girls were denied freedom.** Priorities were more for the boys than the girl in all fields be it education, social or cultural. Accolades for them on winning. Thanks to Almighty as my parents were totally against this. When a girl attains maturity she is prohibited from doing many things. They were forced to wear dresses below knee level, no more sitting beside boys above their age, talking with boys are being restricted . **Though these kind of things were found strange, it resulted in less crimes, more safety for women and above all we were respected.** Contrary to what is happening now. The present scenario has completely changed. Now-a-days, in no time a boy and girl get close and everything is over between them. When we question them, tap comes the answer "**you are still in old generation ".** **Children now are more studious.** They try to carry on many activities on par along with their studies. Be it music, dance, karate or any kind of martial arts or sports etc... some of them show their full potential in these skills. This being the reason why competition toughens among today's generation. In the yesteryear we can rarely find one with an extra talent. If the child is bright he will move only into studies no other activities. Their was a time when children was engrossed in studies only. Today children are much interested in making a fortune for themselves, apart from their academic career. **Children are ambitious.** The other day my friends son told me, he and his classmates are planning for part time jobs in Textile shops or Foot wear shops. When I asked him **"Where is the time?"** as his college working hours are 9.00a.m. to 4.00p.m. He retorted saying **"working hours in this places are from 5.00p.m. to 9.00p.m."** which means immediately after college time gets over. And an important thing he put to my notice **"5.00p.m. to 9.00p.m. we are in our mobiles"**. Which means they planned to use this quality time for financial gains. My next question was '**Why you need a job when your parents are paying your hostel and mess fees".** The spontaneous reply was "**the money we earn will be saved for outing and picnics."** The only privilege that we got after the covid left us is - people learnt to explore, to find new destinations, to travel afar - which means, travel became their main priority. **Present generation doesn't have the patience to listen to us.** When trying to explain something new to them, while trying to give them some advice or ask them for some clarity, they become restless and their facial expressions will force us from stopping to give further advice. In earlier years, as children we used to ask for opinions and advice from the elders in the family which is a rare sight to be seen now. **Rarely do we find a child without a smart phone. They are updated with all the latest news in this era of advanced technologies. While some have misused this opportunity some have proved themselves to benefit from this latest technologies. Changes should always be for good and not for destruction .** Thanks to my readers who constantly support by reading, upvoting and leaving comments.

From I to We ***Yes, from I to We, as time flies, a complete transformation from being "totally independent" to "reach upto others expectations". To be precise, from freedom to responsibility or from single to marital life.*** Being single means you are free from responsibilities unless you are forced onto something. Here you get the liberty to choose your way of life. Though we have our limitations from parents side, we gain a great support from them when need arises. When you are alone you have your fun and freedom to enjoy your life to the fullest. A freedom controlled by ourselves and parents only. We are given the freedom to spent time with our friends and relatives. A freedom to go anywhere we wish. A freedom to purchase things of our choice. A freedom to choose our career. All these and much more. But for everything there is a time period. Say a clock is set. When time is up, we should be prepared to give up our freedom to a certain extent for the smooth running of our permanent side of life. One of the toughest part of life, because we are taking up responsibility which was never in our bucket list. An endless job where things should be executed with utmost care. Once we are married we get settled in life with great expectations, to a certain extent we lose our freedom and take up new responsibilities. In the beginning everything is difficult for us. But as and when time passes by, we get used to all those. This is called life. Not everybody gets a life of their dreams or choice. **As time goes by, it is of great significance to realise how "we" becomes important than our carefree "I" life. Because our life is no more ours it just rotates with spouse, children, in laws and their relatives.** Most of us try not to give a loophole for any arguments. But then, sometimes it will happen and life should move on. ***Somethings that we give up and accept life when "I" become "We".*** We learn to give up and adjust with what we have. No more **decisions** to be taken alone. Interactions with your spouse is very important. Utmost care is taken while executing even a small thing. Our **patience** increases as time goes by. We get to understand nothing can be done in haste. We learn to put a smile even though we are experiencing a painful time. Most important we learn to share and care for eachother. Most of us lose financial independence but we learn to live even if it's a meagre income, with no complaints. We learn to appreciate life by finding happiness in the little things . In some cases, our close friends are also limited to "**hi**" and "**bye**". This is not purposeful but due to some reasons it happens. Most of all, **we try to please others** than ourselves. May be once upon a time we had an adamant nature and pleasing others was never our cup of tea. How I wish I get my beautiful days of freedom, that I once enjoyed. Time flies so fast that at the blink of an eye, my children are grown up, Iam getting aged and busy, no "Me" time for me. Just like a fairy tale, even we have our fun, laughter, sadness in this magical world. **Changes happen for good. And the one who is adapting to the new changes by accepting the foregoing challenges is the winner. So in some phase of life we all should definitely be a winner than a loser. Hope you agree with me.** Images from Unsplash.com.

Outcome of escapism from rain **Finally the non stop rain has come to an halt for the past two days which is a slight relief for the common man. Either it must be tired or may be it wanted to give a break to the public. The impact it left on a common man's life is unimaginable.** But the weather news still forecast heavy rainfall for another few days despite the sun shining brightly. As the sun is shining brightly people in my neighborhood are busy washing and drying their daily wears, washing pulses and drying in hot sun, cutting grasses which are knee length. Here we have to be careful as poisonous creatures crawl around these glasses. Due to heavy non stop rain sone of them lost their dear ones and some lost their homes and belongings. They took refuge in the nearby schools and colleges, under the instruction of the government officials. So these institutions remain closed while other educational institutions are working. Though many severe incidents took place, few were repeatedly telecast in the media live. One such incident was a car which lost control as the road was flooded with water and fell into a nearby lake. The people in the car was a male driver, a female doctor, her mother and her three month old daughter. As it was late evening and in order to reach their destination, they took the help of google map for the easiest way and diverted from the Main road which resulted the car falling into the lake. They were really lucky as the car did not drown as the windows remained closed. But on hearing the scream the inhabitants staying nearby with the help of a rope pulled the car to the bank of the lake and rescued them. They were lucky by Almighty's grace. **It is always safe to take roads in our visibility, especially the Main roads, instead if short cuts during bad wconditions.** Next were the two employees of small scale industries. They left the office around 7.00p.m.and due to heavy rain and flooded roads they started walking over the railway track which was on their visibility. On hearing the horn of the train from afar, both of them stepped down from the track to give way for the fast coming express train. But the intensity of the moving wind from the heading express train was too rash that it blew both of them away. Though both of them gave way to the express they just fell into the near water spot filled with stones. One of them died on the spot while the other was rescued by the spectators. **When the weather is bad never opt for easy ways, at the risk of your life. Your life is dear to someone.** As the rain unlashed consequently for eight days most of the roads were damaged resulting in big pits and deep holes . Just imagine those being covered with running water is how dangerous for an unknown traveler. Accidentally one can fall into this pit. The same happened to an office staff when he is traveling in his two wheeler. He was not aware of the unmanned hole on the road. **Closing Thoughts** **These are few incidents only that I mentioned here. There are many more. Please consider this as an awareness artice. During such heavy rain, never go for some new lanes unless you are familiar with it. Always take the Main road. And try to move out from your workspace as soon as possible rather than working till late hours.**

A little harvest from my garden Just imagine getting pest free veggies and fruits from our garden. They say hardwork always pays. It is very much true when you sow and reap the benefits pest free and fresh from farm to your kitchen with no extra expense. Let me show you the fruits and vegetables from my farm. Some vegetables like tomatoes and long beans were perished in the heavy downpour of constant rain. **Papaya** : One of the most commonly found fruit in our region. It is planted in almost all the house in our place. A very healthy fruit rich in fibre and Vitamin A and C. During the peak of covid, Doctors here recommend most of the patients to consume papaya alongwith medicines, either ripe or raw. Raw can be cooked with some coconut, garlic and cumin and consumed with rich. It is tasty. It helps to strengthen your immunity. The leaves are taken to boil water for drinking purpose. Most of them use it as a face package also. Its botanical name is carica papaya. **Passion fruit:** When you cut this fruit it consists of lot of seeds on thick fluid. Very sour indeed. But just add some sugar to it. It will taste good. Most of them take the extract and beat in juicer adding water and sugar. It consists of vitamin A and C. Another immunity booster. Its botanical name is passiflora edulis. **Banana**: A commonly found fruit all over the world with different varieties. A fruit with lot of benefits. It is advisable to eat bananas in the morning. This particular fruit is rich in potassium and Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C. Here Banana skin is used as a manure for plants as it contains potassium. Raw bananas which is also called as plantain is used for cooking. Even the banana flower is not spared as it has too much medical benefits when cooked woth lentils. **Tapioca**: A starchy tuberous roots grown under the soil. This can be just cooked in water by adding after peeling the skin. Too good when taken with coconut pieces. Here in most evenings we have rice porridge with tapioca. They are rich in carbohydrates. **Egg plant or Brinjal**: Commonly found in every country. You can find them in many colours violet, green and white. In India, in most vegetable curries this vegetable is a must. **Bilimbi** : It is usually grown in cluster. They are very sour. We use it for making pickles. Here, peoples also add in fish curries. Once ripened it will not stay in tree, it just keeps falling. All images of veggies and fruits fresh from my garden. Few being edited in Canva. Thanks for going through

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Growing with a Teenager **Grow with your children, especially, if he or she is a teenager. Grooming them at this age will be the result of what they are in future. Your patience and commitment is what is required to make him an asset to your family.** If we have a Teenager at home, for most parents and children it is supposed to be a crucial time. This is the age where they get easily influenced by others. Win your confidence over them by not finding fault over them but by correcting them. Most of the teenagers are in rage when we try to correct them. **It is because Patience is not there in teenage dictionary.** They get easily frustrated and get into relationships that cause long lasting troubles. Some take to bad friendships which finally takes them to drugs and other, unmanageable acts. According to them the decisions taken by them is appropriate. They argue if we try to guide or correct them. A rather unpleasant unappealing character. They are always in a confused state of mind as to what to do and what not. When we try to help them out they say its not our cup of tea. In simple words, they meant ro say **"better mind your business".** Sometimes their behavior hurts us. As technology grows faster so are they. Their mindset is more faster than us. When we ask for any personal help some children are ready to help, while some snubs us saying **"you can't do this simple things by yourself".** They are not aware such simple phrases hurt us a lot. ***Some few guidelines where we can get close to teenagers:*** Once they are above your shoulder they are your friend. Be a friend not a parent. Attend to their needs right from childhood. Correct them when needed. Use a cane only when necessary. Give them their freedom unless and until they choose a wrong path. When at home, give them some of your tasks. They will understand the pain you are taking to do the same. At the same time, their confidence and will power will strengthen. Trust me. They must fear you as well as respect you. They should be aware of the fact that you are the only person to whom they can confide and get a solution to their problem. When handling serious issues with teenagers its better to talk softly rather than raising your voice against them. Keep telling and showing them inspirational stories. Their journey should be with you. Do not keep repeating things to them. When something good happens appreciate them. Give them a lovely hug. Obviously they will work more better the next time to win your confidence. Close your eyes when they do little naughty things like bunking classes, going for movies without permission etc. Though teenagers does not pay heed to what parents say their constant push will definitely lead them to follow the parents sayings. **If we need a good citizen, the training should start right from home. They are the future of our country so give them the best and let them do the rest.** Image captured from my mobile this morning. Thanks for going through my article. Have a blessed weekend.

Nothing is permanent in life **Aware of the fact that nothing is permanent in life we still try to hold on to our adamant and our likes that comes our way. Are we permanent in this earth ?** Generally, its in human nature, one doesn't value people or things when it is close to them, but once it goes out of their hands they get to know the worth of it and brood ovwr it. And later regret. What for? Are we going to keep all these in our safety locker and live happily everafter. No way friends. In one phase of life we will give up everything and wait for tge call from Almighty. The other day my niece was quite upset. When enquired, my sister said they are vacating the present house for good. This was the house where my niece spent her childhood. My niece now 15, is reluctant to move as she is very attached to her room. She choose the painting for the walls of her room. She was quite comfortable in her cosy room arranging things in an orderly manner. But **life has to move on... as nothing is permanent here.** Our life in this Universe is only once. So live to the fullest by admitting your mistakes, by sincerely asking for forgiveness if the mistake is from your side, by lending your shoulder when the need arises, by not hurting anyone with harsh words, most important by being a shade to your old parents. **You will love mankind when you love thy self.** Life is a circle of changes. You grow each year as such your physique,attitudes, character and everything about you keeps changing. You meet peoples with different perspectives. Some you imbibe and some you ignore. Some becomes your favorite. Sometimes it so happens the person with whom you are comfortable today, may not be there tomorrow. This discomfort results in fear and lack of confidence. **That fear should always be instilled in us. So that we don't increase our bad deeds against the good ones.** When a person bids goodbye to the world and proceeds for his abode journey most of us pray for his good in the hereafter but when he is alive nobody ever bothers to enquire about his good health or illness. We forget the fact that one day we too have to bid goodbye and instead of enjoying our life we keep accumulating wealth for us, for grandchildren and for great grandchildren. What for?? Life is too short. So do good and expect good. Your service should be of good for others so later you don't have to repent but you can be proud at what you did. Appreciate the small things and happenings in your life. Never dance to others tunes. Be your own master. ***You can retain peace with no regrets .*** Many people go after riches above their reach resulting in heavy debts and above all, losing their peace of mind. A year ago, when covid was at its peak an Indian businessman based in Dubai committed suicide. Few months before his suicide this same person conducted his house warming ceremony with great pomp. At a glance it looked more like a palace than a house. After the house warming ceremony the family never got chance to stay together in this big mansion like house. A lifetime savings was invested to complete this home. Peoples keep making mistakes and still don't learn. **Do not envy on others property or prosperity. It is only for a while not permanent** Life is so uncertain. So feel free to smile as it doesn't cost us anything, instead it can make things better. On the contrary, it adds more to your beauty. **Let's accept the realities in life and move on. Never commit and never regret.** Thanks for your valuable time to go throug this.

Nature reacts : enraged rain creates havoc **Few days back the weather was pleasing and responding to all our needs. Though it rained then and there, no panics and no destruction. Life was normal with routine chores moving smoothly.** Nature is always serene with its beautiful flowers, blue sky, fresh clean water, huge mountains with snow falls, the sea and it calmness, the tall trees which has provided shelters to many. To say the list is endless. This is the calm side or you can call it the beauty of nature. But if you see the flip side it frightens us by showing its dreadful anger in the form of rumbles, lashes, roars and sometimes ferocious too, eradicating the serenity of the place. Yes, Iam talking about rain. Torrential rain has disrupted the routine life of many. Non-stop rains and cold winds has locked several of us at our homes. Our state has 14 ditricts and rain seemed to lash its anger in all these districts evenly by destroying houses, killing peoples, also creating heavy loss and damage to land and property. .the never ending saga goes on. It's nearly a month since the rain started. Though in the beginning days of the months, the rain showered for just few hours, now its continuous torrential rain. The climate is too cold even during the day time, limiting our routine jobs within the four walls of our home. Most of the dams are opened due to overflow of water resulting in water in residential areas. The farmers here are the most affected. Their main livelihood being restricted to farming. To add to their grave, the crops and plantations are perished due to heavy downpour of rain. Today, more dams are taking its turns to be opened. Moreover the peoples are forced to evacuate from their homes. People who are staying in these places for years are reluctant to move on, but are helpless and are forced to abide by the law. The law enforced the security forces to continue with this action. Appreciate the initiative taken by the security forces to be with the public at their service. Here, in most of the houses their livelihood is on livestocks, which they grow at their place. The security force have taken all initiatives to move them to safe place. In mountainous regions, the land slides seemed to be taking turns. Possibilities of more landslides are expected. Red alert has been declared in almost all districts. In few places the collector has placed order for people to stay within and not travel out. Educational institutions are closed down from day before yesterday. Children are busy having their fun. As all are closed in their homes no communication amongst the neighborhood also. Actually when I travel back to my school and college days, I remember how me and my friends would eagerly wait for the rain to come. Here comes a holiday or two. Great time indeed. But nowadays the rain is non stop followed by lightning and thunder and uncontrollable wind. Now, its really scary when the news pops up **"Tommorow holiday declared due to torrential rains".** When nature is calm and pleasing nobody bothers and respect to know the indepth of the beauty nature, instead keep destroying manually. But when it turns violent, people run from pillar to post for help. Only when nature reacts will the strength of Almighty be remembered. Image captured from my mobile.

A surprise family celebration Celebration! it came as a surprise to my niece when she never expected our visit all of a sudden. She is my little niece. Reason for celebration - should we have one? Yes, ofcourse, the girl topped her secondary examination with higher grades. Just a week ago the central board has published the result for higher secondary exam. Once the result was declared she called us saying she topped the exams. So we decided to get a cake for her. It is two hours journey from our place. So we went to her place in the evening. Yesterday, was the surprise celebration. We purchased a cake and went to her place. Not to say, it added more fun when unexpectedly we happened to meet her relatives at their residence. When she saw us she was over excited. Their were so many kids at home. All of them shared the joy of cutting the cake along with my grown up sons. Thank goodness, everybody got the opportunity to taste the cake. On top of the cake the writings with the cream was "**Congratulations** ". The youngest amongst the kids was a two and half year old happy little girl, who never hesitated to share the chocolates with my sons, which she got it from Abu dhabi, Dubai. She was the personification of sharing and caring. She took the permission from the elders and ran towards the fridge and later, came with a hand full of choclates. For her age, I was infact wondering and admiring her hospitality towards my kids. They are here for a short vacation. We were meeting eachother after a gap of six months. It was like a family get together. As it was getting late, almost 7.00p.m. and another 2 hrs journey to reach home, we bid them goodbye and left. Family bondings once a while are very important to strengthen the relationship. I could see this from the face of kids rather than the elders. The little girl came running hugging my sons. I really felt the children should be given their space for sometime atleast. When driving home, we passed through **Burger lounge .** A shop famous for its variety burgers which are my son's favorites. So we got in there to have Burgers. All of us sticked on to chicken burgers, a little bit expensive from other place. If I had to talk about this place. Some pictures and writings were sticked on to the walls. The writings showed the man behind this Burger lounge a food traveller. The table and chairs were neatly placed with lighting focused on each table. As it was late the lounge seemed to be empty. So we enjoyed the serenity with the burger. The hospitality was good, may be it was just the four of us. No other customers in focus. Actually we do not have to wait for a chance for a reunion amongst the family. Grab any opportunity that comes alongside for a happy never-ending celebration. But God forbid let it be for a good cause. Images taken from my own mobile. Thanks a lot for reading and sharing your opinions.

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People's you come across in daily life **Meeting various people's with different characteristics in different walks of life is a learning experience. From some we learn a lot and to some we impart what we learnt. If we need to know ourselves better we have to have an encounter with such characters.** Basically each people we meet has different characteristics. To some we are a hero and to some we are a zero. Peoples see things from their perspective which we cannot change. Generally, we get influenced by peoples who are pretty smart in handling various things in a stride. At times we even wish to be one among them. These people are good enough to get their work done perfectly by others. Precisely, they are through professionals. Sometimes we get to meet peoples who are just not interested in helping others even in trouble. Communication becomes problematic with such peoples. Probably they talk less and don't interfere much in others business. Just confined in their action and execution. You may call them introverts. If we interpret them for any clarification they hesitate to come with an answer. **But they are never trouble maker's .** Not all introverts have such characters. **Some of them are good enough to help us from behind by not revealing their identity.** In the peak of a tiresome job, sometimes even at the verge of tears, a comfort soul from among the crowd is a blessing. Obviously, the very appearance of such persons brightens one's face with a lovely smile. Not all are lucky enough to find such souls near by them. They are very particular, that unless and until they find a solution to your problem, they stick on to helping you by all means. **A support to lean when falling is always a blessed moment.** In contrast to the above, we come across people whose very presence make our life miserable. In the morning some of us pray that we should not encounter this person any where nearby, for the fear of losing our confidence and happiness on that particular day. But sorry to say, such character is sure to be present everywhere. **Do not intend to invoke him, just ignore such character for your good.** Some people feign to help you, when you are desperately in need of it. Do not fall into such appealing words. They tend to help us by saying **"Oh! do not worry ", "I am here for you", "Let me help you out"**......what not, all soothing words pour out to help you. After few moments all these words are turned to dust. And they disappear putting us in further trouble. **Do what you can, legibly and systematically. Leave the rest to Almighty.** I really appreciate peoples who are jovial. A never bothered type. They are always around us cracking jokes and making the environment very lively. Any existing problem though cannot get a solution, just disappear when you are in the midst of such a friend. A hope always lights up in meeting such peoples. You can call him an extrovert who is happy by making others happy. **Words of confidence build up our confidence. Few people's motivating words encourage us to complete our tough task in no time. Imparting confidence level to students can boost their IQ skills. A mentor is always necessary in all fields. Let it be a school, an establishment or your office space or at home, but just the right person.** Lead image from Unsplash.com

She is the Women of substance **To be a woman of substance is not an easy job. The perils she faced through, to reach the destination of her choice, should have made her the women she wanted to be. Here few win, but some give up, as their worth gets unnoticed.** It is hard to find a women of substance because more women depend on sustenance hiding their caliber. When you are determined and talented and when somebody is there to help you to bring out the best in you, definitely you become more influential. The way they handle things is quite different from a man. You give them a meagre income and ask them to run the family with it for a month and they will do their best. **The patience and strength they gather in executing various tasks within their limits is their real challenge.** She is the one who holds back the tears and fights for her needs silently. Give her a pat and the response is immense. Give her a hug, her love becomes unconditional. I know many people with hidden talents. Women who are good in speaking, in writing, in other creative skills like art, cooking, sports, singing, designing etc. But their input talents are suppressed within themselves either out of fear for public or due to family pressures. Some children shine brightly in education and sports during their school days. Always struggling to top the others. Winnin3h was their main criteria. They hardly give a chance for the others to win. But now most of these bright students are confined within the four walls of their room. But there are women who had attained their worth with the support of their family. **One such person is P.T. Usha from South India.** She is an athlete with a good record in track events. She is a legend who has won several gold medal for our country. In 80's and 90's she was a winning star in Asian games. Presently, she runs a sports school for children in her place. Recently she was in news. For her achievements she has become a member of Rajya Sabha. Only when somebody gives a chance for a women will she be able to know and prove her self worth. Infact, in our country I have seen many politicians talking about uplifttment of women. And the promises they make when in leadership, are just washed away in water once they take over charge. When women are empowered with responsibilities they can make wonders to their respective nations. It is more likely possible that a women can understand and execute things with less risk. **Every job has its own respect. Right from the four walls of kitchen to the renowned entrepreneurs. A real women of substance.** Images from unsplash.

When Celebration becomes blessing in disguise **Why not celebrate when you lose something that is out of your reach? Or Why not celebrate when you lost an important moment in your life for good reasons? A Blessing in disguise.** Nowadays we see the younger generation, are just waiting for a chance to celebrate. Just waiting for a chance to celebrate in their own way with friends. No reason required. When you sneeze its a celebration, when you cough that's a celebration....goes on like this. **Just imagine a much awaited celebration resulting in chaos. But when it becomes a blessing in disguise, why not celebrate.** This is the story of **Aarti**. A primary school teacher who by profession is very dedicated towards her job. She works in one of the Government school on temporary basis. To tell about her family her father is a retired post master now getting a meagre income as pension, her brother a second year degree student and mother a housewife. According to Hindu mythology the marriages usually take place only when the horoscope, between two people to get married, match eachother. The father is getting old and his only dream is to see his daughter getting settled happily. So he starts insearch of a suitable boy for his daughter **Aarti**. As he wanted his daughter to be settled in the same place he decided to choose for a boy from his own place. Daily new boys come i to see the girl and as usual when the boy liked the girl, she dislikes him due to one or the other reason and vice versa. And when both of them get to know eachother, the horoscope never match. Due to which the said marriage gets cancelled. Days turned to months and months to years. Obviously, **Aarti** was getting aged. Father was much worried as nothing suitable was getting finalised for his daughter. So finally he decided to accept proposals from boys working abroad. First he was reluctant for accepting proposals from NRI's for his daughter. But now as the chances seemed less from suitable boys working in our own country, he agreed for NRI's. Finally as predicted a proposal from abroad was accepted. Though the boy and girl has not met personally their marriage has been finalized by the family. Afterwhich, they regularly made a video call in order to know each other better. They shared their stories each other and had lot of fun while chatting. Now, the so called big day was approaching, **Aarti** s families are getting prepared for purchase of ornaments, Dress materials and new furnitures etc. They were forced to take a huge loan from the bank to conduct the marriage. The marriage hall was booked. The renovation of the house was also going on in full swing. The environment was surrounded with happiness by friends, neighbors and family members. The marriage is to be conducted in three days time. A grand feast was arranged in the girl's house just the day before the marriage. And relatives, friends and neighbours had a wonderful time eating together, making fun of new bride to be, and serving each other. While having a chit chat **Aartis** phone started to ring. She ran to her room. It was her would be. **The call that she just received changed her happiness to sadness all of a sudden.** What was it? He was not interested in the marriage any more. She wanted to cry aloud. But from far she could see the happiness in her father's face so she was not ready cry. Further, decided never to disclose anything to anyone. As it was late night, all retired to their beds. Next morning, ie., the big day, the bride started to get ready by wearing all the bridal attires. For her father she was a beauty in the wedding dress. After taking the blessings from her family, all left to the marriage hall. The groom was supposed to arrive in an hours time. As the **bride** was the only person who was aware that the **groom** will not turn up, she remained silent. One hour past, the bride with all her courage took over the **microphone** and came to the stage infront of the audience waiting for the marriage. With all her boldness she said the marriage is cancelled as the boy is no more interested in marriage. All were dumbstruck as to what happened. But she just said **it was my father's dream to see me in this attire and get married**. The marriage broke off in right time but Iam still in this attire. So why not celebrate this moment. The crowd came up with loud applause including her father. And they had a good feast and dispersed. ***So some celebrations are a real blessing in disguise. Here we can apply the saying Man proposes, God disposes.***

Medicine is not the only one, to cure illness ***Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. This is an old saying which made man to combat life against medicines in the earlier days. If we follow this small therapy we will be saved from lasting sickness- atleast to a certain extent.*** Too many inventòns and discoveries in our Universe, has worsened a man's living style.. Man's battle against medicine is more than his battle against money. When we look back some basic things like healthy food, hygiene environment, weekend family gathering, an outing for fresh air has all come to an end and has been replaced with junk food, polluted environment, nuclear family gathering and Air conditioned rooms. In such a surrounding, how can you expect a man to be health ? A moral support and words of encouragement as told my @gertu13 in the article "My son has Covid" can definitely bring a vast change and speedy recovery in the ailing patient. To follow a healthy life style, please encourage yourself to make this tips as habits. A good and sound sleep is very essential to make your day fruitful. A minimum of 8 hours of sleep is a must. Follow a balanced diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables to be added in every meal. That does not mean you cannot eat your favorite junk foods. It has to be strictly limited to once a while. And never forget to drink water. Prevention is better than cure. Follow this principle. Fresh air and friendly weather should always be welcomed with a smile. So keep your doors and windows open and let the sun penetrate through the window glasses into the living room and other rooms. While waking up early in the morning do not even peep into the mobile. Some disturbing messages can create mood swings which infact affects the whole day. Fasting is good for health. Our bad toxins are released when we stay away from food and water, just for a day. Meditation and yoga is very important. It gives you positive vibes. If you meditate regularly you will be forced to give up negative thoughts. This infact has proved successful for peoples affected mentally. Steady and speed walk by swinging your hands, early in the morning can create wonders. Cycling is also a no less activity. Listening to music that gives a soothing effect. A silent humming along with that song, can relax and ease your jobs that you are concentrating. Infact that doesn't cost a penny but rather gives you inner peace. Maintain healthy relationships with friends. Keep in touch with them constantly. Having a healthy laugh and cracking jokes once a while can boost your energy level. Never stress yourself by overthinking. This can only ruin your health condition rather than getting a result for your stress. ***Let us live in a medicine free world and bring happiness to us and our surroundings.*** Lead image from unsplash.com

Reminiscence of Hostel life ***Reminiscence of Hostel life can never be taken for granted. Some memories still haunt us, may be after years, good or bad, for sure. Especially when it comes to school or college hostel some moments can bring tears and some joy. A real carefree life away from parents, but not away from the strict wardens appointed in few hostels.*** For students it is a place, where their personality and character changes when stayed for a longer period of time. Depends on the circle of friends they get along. As there are no much professional colleges nearby I was forced to send my two children to hostel, once they completed their senior secondary schooling ie., after completing their 12th class. Admissions to professional colleges are based on an entrance exam conducted by the respective state governments. Once the result is declared, the ranks are published according to the seniority. The student with high ranks are allotted college of their choice while the other allotment goes as per the direction of the government. At first when leaving the comfort zone of their home its difficult for them to adjust with new surroundings but then they get habitual or used to the rules and routine of the hostel. In the initial days, my daughter found it very difficult to adjust to the hostel lifestyle. But gradually she started making new friends with whom she spent wonderful days until the convocation ie., the last of her class. It was a four year engineering degree. The transformation that takes place in a hostel life is quite surprising and unbelievable. In contract to her character she became very bold, she became an extrovert (because she was a introvert till then) , the girl who never spoke became talkative- she never gave up when it came to arguments . ***This is the place where the meet children from nothing to everything.*** Socializing with students from affluent families to impoverished, changes once perspective towards life. They get to know the behavior, strength and character of their friends. It teaches a lot and transform you as a successful individual. Aware of the fact that you are alone in hostel, with no family around, you try to combat the struggle yourself, may be with the support of your friends. You get the strength to control your tears and fears. In a way you try to be independent in what you do. But in hostel life always you are not on the right track. ***Here, You are the sole owner of yourself, either to make or break your personality.*** To make a personality of yourself takes time. For this you must be among some right chosen friends. Friends play a major role here. But if one amomg you choose to go in a wrong path, joint initiative should be taken to bring him/her in the right path. Very often we find children becoming more responsible once their tenure in hostel gets over. Children learn a lot from personal experience they gain from room mates. Some are good while some are bad. Let me narrate one such bad experience which my daughter went through and confronted to me. Her college had two ladies hostel. One was exclusively for the NRI's with all privileges like washing machine, fridge, an iron box, a table lamp attached to a wide study table etc. etc., with just two students in each room. While the hostel for local students was a room with eight students each, with no much facilities. In the first quarter of the academic year there was a new admission from abroad. To say, a girl from an affluent family. She stayed in the NRI hostel. Most of the time she was confined to her room and never mingled with anyone. She used to meet her friends in the mess hall which was a general hall. Though in the beginning she talked less, she gradually became friends with all of them. But compared to other students she was a bit arrogant, sometimes rude and also had selective friends from affluent families. All of a sudden she goes out of her mood. Though she stays jn the hostel, she never reached the class on time. Never punctual. Her parents were settled abroad. Evenings she used to move out with one or the other, so called affluent girls. Where she goes and what she does nobody wa sure of. In one of the weekend days, the girls decided to go to a nearby beach. So as per the rule of the hostel, they took the permission from the warden and signed the out going register. All set to leave. The new admit also joined them. They were twelve of them. They had a wonderful time in the beach and had some good food in the restaurant and finally, returned back to the hostel. Next day, few girls from among the twelve, were called for, by the Head of the Department (HoD). They were being questioned by the HoD as to where they went the day before? How many were there? Did they go with permission. As the girls took permission both from their homes and hostel warden they were on the safe side. Immediately the HoD produced some photographs of their beach photos. To their shock and disbelief, they identified this was their trip to beach the day before. But they were shocked as to how it reached the HoD. To add to their disappointment it was told the photos were received from colleges of another region. Those photos were captured by that NRI student, she being one among them. Though the eleven were innocent they got their first warning. My daughter was one of them. They left the HoD cabin and went directly to that NRI 's room. At first she was reluctant to answer them but later co-operated. It was one month past she joined the college. She said she got addicted to drugs and had lot of boy friends from other college to whom she forwarded the photo. The very next day the girls met the Principal and told whatever was told to them. Her parents were asked to come immediately from abroad and finally, she was terminated. She never felt guilty for what she did. She gave them a mocking smile and left the institution. ***A hostel is a place where you can either make or break your personality. Make it a place to win your confidence than losing your image.***

The grass is not always green on the other side ***We are simple human beings whose needs are always endless and the wants are unlimited. If given a chance, one never loses a chance to acquire more. And how much ever a man acquires he is unsatisfied. For the sake of little pleasure, inshort, to increase his wants, to acquire more wealth one never hesitates to leave his own country or leave his near and dear ones behind.*** In our surroundings I have seen how parents are forcing their children to pursue higher studies so that they get a well placed job and settle abroad. Mostly, they prefer to go to the western countries. So that after some years the parents too can join them and settle down there. Our country is opening lot of job opportunities here, but due to less salary as per the qualification and experience one prefers for a better option outside the country. While some esteemed institutions give salary with benefits, some of them hesitate to pay the salary on time leading them to quit the job in no time. There are some categories of people who just want to switch on jobs. Though they earn a handsome salary they prefer to go for better prospects. In contrast to this, they take time to realize **grass is not always green on the other side.** Some of them with high expectations leave the high paid job and go after expectations above their realization to the fascinated land. Only much later will they get to realize that it was not their cup of tea. I personally know the experience faced by two of my friends. One friend was in the fantasy world for long with family and kids settled over their for years. The children were educated their. Though they strictly adhere to our culture there, the children have taken steps to settle down with citizens of that country. This has infact disturbed the serenity of the home. It quiet hurts them and they wanted to move back to our country. The children are against their will to come back and settle down for good. Another friend was facing a lot of mental stress and pressure in his job due to which he suffers mentally and physically. How he wish he could move back to his country but he is not able to travel as his passport is being held there for various reasons. By the time we get to realize things go out of your hand and it is too late to mend up. Some of them unable to bear the heavy expenses prefer a better option. To make a better living by going abroad. Some win while some lose. ***Trust me we can find happiness with less income also. Only thing we should cur off some privileges which we are entitled to. When you are with your close ones, you will have less health issues and mental stress.*** Image captured from my mobile. My sincere thanks to all those who comment and upvote my post.

Muhurtam ***Let me take you to our culture and tradition. Irrespective of religion, there are some beautiful rituals followed in each caste. The rituals followed in each occasion in the Hindu custom is more when compared to other religions. To make it more precise each of their custom has a lovely epic behind them.*** ***You can spell the title as Muh-ur-tham***. Yes, that's the way it is pronounced. ***It means an "auspicious time" meant for any auspicious occasions.*** For any Hindu rituals peoples strictly follow "**Muhurtam**". It means the perfect time for any holy thing to be performed, in the presence of a Hindu priest. A perfect and determined time followed for any auspicious occasions such as marriage ceremeony, house warming ceremony, naming ceremony of new born etc. the list is endless. The occasion should ve carried forward only in this particular time. The invitees are welcomed by giving a printed invitation in which "Muhurtam" meaning "the specified time" when the function is going to be conducted will be highlighted. Say, for instance, **if it's a marriage invitation, Muhurtam will be between 10.30a.m. to 10.35a.m. and they strictly abide by the time**. Wherein, the groom and bride are supposed to exchange the colourful garlands or chains within this period of time. Failing which this will lead to an unhappy married life as per rituals. Hindu rituals for marriage is quite a lengthy process. When two people wish to get married, first they compare the horoscopes of both the bride and groom. According to them, in ten signs atleast 6 signs should match, which means its a happy marriage that will last for years. But if they do not match then it will result in bad omen. So the respective parents are very particular in getting the signs perfect for a marriage to live long. The matching process is conducted a month ago. When the horoscope doesn't match the marriage gets cancelled. But there are instances where love marriages takes place, whereby, the couples are totally against this ritual. Here you cannot expect a ten out of ten signs to match as per horoscopes. The bride and groom decide to get married against their parent's wishes, if the horoscope fails. **To build a new house is anybody's dream. Here also, to lay the first stone for foundation, "Muhurtam"ie., the auspicious time is considered.** Once the dream house is completed one waits for the house warming ceremony. For this also a date and time to step into the new home is given by the Hindu priest. Mostly this happens in the early hours of the day. After performing some **Pooja-"the rituals by the Hindu priest in front of the deity "** - the lady of the house is asked to get into the kitchen and is directed to boil a big pot of milk before the "Muhurtam" gets over. Once this process gets over, all the invitees are welcomed with sweet porridge followed by breakfast. **Naming ceremony of the new born is also celebrated with great pomp in Hindu custom**. Here the respective heads of the family put the infant in their lap and whisper the name of the child in the ear and finally call out in piblic before the "Muhurtam"- the specified time gets over. A moment of joy for the parents with pride. Relatives are gathered in the function to make it more joyous and lively. In most of the invitations you can see the time mentioned during which the function will be conducted. This is part of their rituals. The people give respect to such old traditions. These traditions are carried on from the time of their forefathers. In remembrance of this generation the traditions are still followed in most parts of our country. Respects to such culture. ***As time goes by, some traditions don't fade and some customs don't leave us. As a reminder it is being carried forward by the ancestors to retain its stability in the tradition. Such is the essence and beauty of some traditions. These rituals are carried on even by the present younger generation, no matter where they live, be it Europe or Western countries or any part of the world. People still follow.....***

The profession I choose by chance earned me respect ***Sometimes it so happens that we are forced to do something to please others. So by chance we get involved in something, that we don't like. But sometimes "this something" happens to be the destination where you succeed with name and fame.*** One such destiny is mine. A job taken just by chance earned me name and fame. Above all it gave me respect that I never ever expected. A respect I still continue to enjoy by Almighty's grace. Today when I look back I would like to **thank one person from the depth of my hear**t, without whose support I would reach no where. **No wonder it's my respectable Dad.** He was a central government employee with a meagre income. With this income he has to take care of us and also he being the elderson in his family, the responsibility to marry off his three sisters to suitable boys was in his shoulder. A person who came from a family of eight siblings and has suffered financially knows where life leads you to when you have no money and status. Belonging to a conservative muslim family, it was hard for the Muslim women to get educated. Once you finish your matric you must be prepared for a marriage and to take up the household responsibility. This is where my father won. He was adamant in giving me.and my sister the best education and kept telling us repeatedly "**stand on your own feet**". Meaning find a job and do not depend on anyone for monetary help. Though we couldn't get a private job, we had a well paid decent job as per our qualification. After completing my degree successfully in corporate secretaryship, I took a professional degree in Library and Information science. It was his arrogance and demanding nature which made me choose this profession. So I had to choose the latter degree by force from my father and by chance from me. My father wanted me to hold a professional degree in education, but honestly, I don't like teaching job. But I loved to work with students so with a heavy heart I pursued my career in librarianship. I Preferred clerical job to educational jobs. Finally I was appointed as a school librarian in one of the best International school. Initially I wasn't happy with the job, I even used to pour out my frustrations at students. In short, a frustrated librarian you may call. Gradually, my responsibilities towards students increased and I started to gradually like my job. Accordingly my students also became my favorites. I was handling library classes from primary to senior secondary. The most I enjoyed was with the primary students. They were more eager to read books than the higher grades. The books were catered according to the age group of students. I was happy to provide the book of their choice but slowly **I came to realize that among the bright students were slow learner's.** They would turn gloomy on seeing the books of their age. They were finding excuses to avoid the reading time, otherwise called the Library period. They felt reading was a difficult task. So I started giving them illustrated books which they simply could read along with pictures. And I enjoyed sitting with them, be one among them and explaining to them what they did not understand. Slowly they started to enjoy reading. And later on, they were the first to reach the library when the bell goes. **The job became challenging when I was with slow learner's.** I felt that if I can impart and help these slow learner's from my side I am a thorough librarian. I tried to spend more time with them. Eventually it had a drastic change in few students because they started to choose book of their choice. And when leaving the library they used to give me the half read book and say **"please do not keep it in the shelf else someone will borrow it"**. Once gloomy faces started smiling. Another winning challenge for me. Now I felt that my untiring job had a meaning. Sometimes I felt I was at the top. Once a strict librarian became more friendly towards students. This I understood when children came to me with their personal problems. If they had doubts in other subjects, they would come running to me for clearing their doubts. Due to love for reading, some of them donated books to the library. Every year, I never missed the opportunity to purchase a good collection of books along with our dear Principal. Every year on 23rd April World Book Day was celebrated. We conducted Book review competition, Book cover competition and Book mark competition for the higher grade students. And for the primary and secondary students they were given a task to dress themselves as their favorite cartoon character which they found interesting in their reading books. That received great applause as children dressed and played their role beyond our imagination and expectations. The creative talents displayed by the children were rewarded and the winners were given special prizes. The, then, supportive Principal who stood by me for all this is no more. My respects and prayers to her beautiful soul. ***In the field where I felt I will never complete even a single year, I succeeded by completing fifteen years. Today when looking back I can say I gave my best to the students. Because even after years some of the students never forget to give a call or drop in with their marriage invitation. But sometimes I regret that I could have been a better librarian.*** ***No job is small or less unless you underestimate it yourself.*** Images from unsplash

Interreligious marriage - a boon or a curse When two peoples meet and exchange their values of life and find themselves perfect for eachother, irrespective of caste or creed, then what is the harm in them to tie the knot or exchange the ring and lead a peaceful life ? It definitely is a question to think about before you answer. My son was here on Eid with a close friend of his. Both are classmates and hostel mates doing their third year degree in legal studies. As this friend's house is a day's travel from hostel he visits home rarely. Only when he gets a weeks holiday does he plan for a short vacation to his home. The reason behind this is it takes almost two days for his up and down journey and also, quiet expensive and whereby, he rarely gets time to spend some time with family if the college is off for 2 or 3 days. In contrast to my son, he is very shy and a quiet child. An introvert in short. He laughs hardly. He responds when something is asked to him. Nothing more nothing less. Both of them were here for three days. On the second day of his arrival he started talking to me. I asked him about his family. He was so happy to share about his family members. He was telling that his parents were from two religions and he had a sister who was two years elder to him and also pursuing legal studies. His father is a Christian and mother is a Hindu. As both of them are from the same place, the people looked down upon them as they had done some crime. It was difficult to survive in that particular place. They were looked down for various reasons. As both of them belonged to different religion they were thrown out of their own "**sabha**" meaning from **there own community,** which is a common picture here. It is like they don't have any more space in the place where they were brought up and living for years, in short where they spend there childhood. So they decided to leave the place for the betterment of their future. At the new place the boys mother was placed with a small job in the University close to their home. His father also managed to get a job with a meagre income on daily basis. But once the kids started growing up there was nobody to take care of them for which his mother has to give up the job. Even there own relatives turned their faces against them. So at times of help when it was really necessary, nobody was there by their side to even console them. Really terrific. He and his sister has an age difference of two years. So when they were too small and nobody to take care of them his mother decided to give up the job. As family is the first priority for anyone. This is his story. But to say far from the madding crowd they are living happily with no regrets. A real blessing. Now, coming back to the title "**Is interreligious marriage a curse or a boon**"? It is definitely a boon for all those who overcome all the conflicts and consequences and are moving forward successfully breaking the barriers. But it has its own disadvantages also as your close ones - the near and dear ones - stay away from you. Sometimes it becomes diffcult, particularly here in our country, when anything related to government matters arise they just don't do justice. You might lose some privileges. So such marriages had its own disadvantages also. People think getting married by alliances both by their parents stay long. There are marriages to my knowledge, from same communities, that broke away just for simple reasons. These marriages would have been conducted after a lot of enquiries from both brides and grooms side. Inspite of that, it might last only for a month or so. Just unimaginable. Marriage is a blessing. ***Let two hearts meet instead of two individuals in life. Relationship is for a lifetime. And every relationship should go through ups and downs, a little bit of fights to know the true essence, sweet 'n' spice of life unless it doesn't go to the extent of break-up.*** Images captured from my mobile. Thanks for your time.

Tsunami - an unforgettable nightmare After years of a hard hit natural disaster, you should have thought why Iam here with this topic! 26th December, 2004 happened to be a nightmare for many people. The people who slept peacefully with lot of dreams in the night, did not wake up the very next day. Our nearby place became a victim of this worst hit natural disaster, after Indonesia. This was the place where one lost their hone, near and dear ones in fraction of seconds. By chance we happened to visit this area. Just by chance.....only. Once occupied with a lot of inhabitants, later became a deserted land due to the unexpected natural disaster. Now after 18 years, things are back to normal. Except in some places huge black stones are laid as memories for the the lost near and dear ones. When Tsunami hit this place, the sea shore and houses were of the same ground level, due to which many houses, animals and peoples were washed away by the natural disaster. To overcome this disaster in future, the government has decided to raise the ground level by putting mud and placing huge stones as a barrier. So the houses are in raised places with the stones as barrier. **The present picture of this place is given below, where the shore alongside is built with huge stones.** So finally our drive went on insearch of the new bridge. As both of us had no idea where exactly is this located, we kept moving enjoying the beautiful nature. Along the bridge a light house was also built and inaugurated very recently. As it was Eid, the place was over crowded. Finally we saw the sign board showing the direction towards the bridge. So here we go. Its a newly built bridge connecting various places making the journey easy and comfortable especially for the old and sick. We the people are thankful to our government. A glimpse of the picture is given below. The center picture shows the light house. It was totally crowded. The police had tough time managing the public. It was a public holiday as well as Eid. So the crowd not to say was restless and kept parking the cars near the bridge and walked away to the shore. The police imposed a heavy fine on such vehicles. This view of the bridge was taken on Eid. On the day of Eid, my children wanted to do some shopping, we decided to leave them in a mall. As they said it might take hours for them to be back both me and my husband, decided to go for a ride. Recently it was in news a new bridge connecting various states was completed and inaugurated by the Minister of our place. To have a view of this bridge, we have to go through the shore, once hit by the natural disaster Tsunami, an exact 45 minutes drive, to reach the destination. When we pass through this road we can see to its left the sea shore and to the right are the houses built by government for the people who lost their houses during the disaster. Adjacent to the sea shore, are spacious grounds where the young and old gather. The youngsters are busy playing football and cricket while the old generation are playing rummy with cards. You can see the little ones playing with small balls or just running and playing in the wet mud. This scenario continues till we reach our destination, nearly for 30 minutes. So pleasant it was to see this wonderful sight. In between we can find lots of small shops for tea and snacks, an ice cream parlour, a toy shop etc. The passers-by stop at the shop to have tea and snacks. We too had some hot n spicy chilli snacks. Though it was spicy it was nice to eat it in the cold weather. Though it has been years since I visited the place, it was of great solace to see so many happy peoples around. Its not easy to get back to normal when something worst happens. ***Only when one is homeless one gets to know the worth of home and parents.*** All images captured in my mobile and edited in Canva, from the once Tsunami hit area. Thankyou for your time.

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Eid over... Gathering over..... Await continues..... ***The laughter, the shouting, the togetherness, the fun we had together yesterday following "Eid Al Adha" came to a stand still after everyone left to their designated places, today.*** Let me just brief about this occassion. As per Islamic Calendar this is the holy month of Hajj. It is told that rhe first 10 days of Hajj is powerful. So peoples fast abstaining themselves from food and watwr. Hajj means"pilgrimage to Makkah", Saudi Arabia. The rites are continued for five to six days in this holy place. During this month, the Muslims who are physically and financially capable, all around the world make it possible to visit the holy mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. A pilgrimage to Makkah is every man's dream. It is one of the strong pillar of Islam. It is mandatory for our every muslim brothers and sisters to visit this holy place, atleast once in a lifetime. Early in the morning, on this particular day everybody greet each other saying " Eid Mubarak" meaning "Happy Eid" to you. It was nice to spent another Eid with family. Eid becomes so special when we're with our near and dear ones. When everyone comes in here from far away places for just a short span of time, they leave us behind with lots of sweet memories. Memories to last, for another one year waiting period, just for Eid. The monotonous silence of the house is broken by the arrival of visitors. And the laziness is gone, making us full time engaged in the preparation and serving the family members and guests. Infact, an opportunity to try out new recipes. When some dishes become a big flop, some turn out to be a big success. If you take my advice, its better not to go for new dishes. Not because it might turn out to be a failure, rarely infact, but because it consumes more time and new ingredients might be required. The men in the house go for a mass prayer, while the women continue with their prayers at their home. Usually, men go to the mosque for prayers after which they visit the graves of their near and dear ones, grandparents and ancestors. A small prayer is performed their. They exchange a hug with their long time friends, have a small chat with them and finally, they are back home. For lunch, we might have some non muslim guests to enjoy our meal. They are much happy to visit us and enjoy our meal. We exchange some sweets and snacks with our neighbours. Here we make spicy Biriyani with salad, pappad and milk pudding. ***The essence of festivals like this is - you can see happy faces around us.*** All staying calm and peaceful and having friendly time eachother. That's the festive spirit. Once in a while, family gatherings is a must to open up your mind. Such festivals is a blessing for such gatherings. Now-a-days, such gatherings are a rare site. ***Yesterday was this great occasion in our place. Today early morning everyone left to their designated places. Waiting continues for their next arrival.....*** Imagr from unsplash.

Joy 'n' experience as an Admission Test Incharge ***Early in the morning, its a nice view of little children coming to school, holding the hands of their parents. But if its the case of a new school, new friends, new teachers imagine what would be the attitude of the little one.*** As ours was a multinational school, we had students from various countries, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. It was a wonderful experience as I got an opportunity to know the culture of various other countries. Let's start with the admission procedure. To be precise, it is one of the most wonderful task. It is like we getting prepared to meet the little ones. When we meet the little children, some of them are happy to meet us with a smile while some scream at the top of their voice. Yes, when this little ones come to the school for the firsr time, they are entitled to go through an admission test. Little ones, I meant class 1 & 2. You have a bench mark to qualify for the admission test. Do you know how we welcome them? Either by showing and giving them balloons or variety of choclates are displayed so that they prefer one of their choice. Some children hold on to their parents hands tightly so that we don't take them. Some are almost to tears while some hold on. Some are happy-go-lucky. A cute scenario, in short. Being in charge of the Admission Test was not an easy job. It was my duty to get the question papers from the the subject heads, type them and finally, submission to the respective subject heads for final rectification. Any error, Iam held responsible. Just one month before re-opening of the new academic year the preparation for Admission test starts. An advertisement regarding admission is placed in all the leading national newspaper. Basically, admission tests start from grade 1 to 10. So its divided into primary (class 1 -5), secondary (class 6- 8), Higher secondary (9 & 10), Senior secondary (class 11). This is how it goes. Its difficult to handle grade 1 & 2 students. We have to be with them. Two or more teachers will assist me depending on the strength of the students. The children from 1 to 5 are seated in one classroom and 6 to 10 in another room. Apart from being a non-teaching staff I enjoyed my job as an admission test in-charge thoroughly. I can assure you that I was committed 100% towards my job. Not to say,I had wonderful experience with some students. One such was an admission towards grade 11. A beautiful girl who was adamant in writing. She took the question paper and just kept it aside. I asked her if she was not prepared she remained silent. The time duration of the question paper for the higher grades was 2 hours. Half-hour past there was not a movement from her. Again I approached her but still she was adamant and remained silent. I lost my control. I took the question paper for which she broke down literally. She was weeping very badly. I was shocked as to why a grown up girl should weep on getting a question paper. I felt sorry for her. Firstly I asked her to calm down and asked her what was the problem. Then after a 5 minute silence she told me that her parents are separated and presently she is with her father and step mother. She hugged me saying she wanted to go back to her mother who is in another country working as a nurse. I had no words to comfort her. My mind went blank because my own daughter was studying in grade 11 of this same school. Finally I took the courage to speak to her. I just asked her to study well, get a good job and to take care of her mother. But for that she jas to wait patiently for some years. As I was working in the same school, I assured her any help if need arises. I think these words of mine made her peaceful. So she went on to complete the exam and scored very well mark, which led to her admission to grade 11. I still remember on the day of farewell, just before the final exams ro begin of grade 12, she came to me along with my daughter, who was her classmate then and requested to take a photo along with her. After taking the photo ahe hugged me and said **"I will never forget you Mam".** That was so touching and a memorable moment, which I could remember in a life time. Now she is married and a happy girl. **In our different walks of life we get to meet lot of peoples from whom we learn something that we cannot forgot in life.** No matter how much younger they are to you. The lesson I learnt was how much pain the children from broken family are suffering. Hope the parents give up and go forward for the happiness of the family. Thanks for your time for reading my article. Images captured from my mobile.

Be the Friend, philosopher and guide to your child ***Be the very best to your child by being a friend, philosopher and guide. Let your child have the courage and confidence to confide in you the happenings around him, be it good or bad.*** ***Be a good listener***- some children like to share all that he sees and hears. But he will be ready to do so only when he is sure that you are listening to him. If you aren't a good listener, you can't give any wise opinion, especially when something goes wrong in your child. More often give him the opportunity to speak out, while you listen. Be a patient listener. Do not pounce on him, when you hear something ill about him. Its habitual that while some people are cool some react very badly, irrespective of the surroundings. When you see your child lonely and troubled, **hold his hand, put your hands around his shoulder, a friendly pat, sit beside him for a while..**..all these are a great source of comfort and confidence for your child. He will be more than willing to open up. Very few parents are good listeners. Now-a-days, as both the parents are working they find it difficult to manage both home and work place. Make sure the office space to be a place just for work and while leaving for home, leave all your exertions with in the office premises. ***Be a good communicator*** **-** Communicating with your child constantly, makes him / her aware of the happenings in the society. The information given by the parent is the first hand information for the child. Never give advice, instead give the after effects of any problems that are going around. Now-a-days children are restless. They feel we are nagging, by giving them advices. In particular, they don't give any heed to your advices. It is like they know everything while we do not. So **when dealing with any serious matter, its better to take them out, enjoy a good fooding of their choice, exchange talks of their favorite subjects. etc.** Meanwhile, you can slowly convey the message you need to. ***Be a good motivator -*** some children are shy or naive. By constant motivation you are bringing the best in your child, to a certain extent. In other words, the hidden talent. For example, some of us still have the stage fear. Let this be my own example even today I cannot speak publicly. Because I never ever got the motivation from my parents. Though we were questioned for our mistakes, we were not given an opportunity to rectify it. The result being we were held back or remained silent for even small issues. **Speak the truth -** let him see the world through you. You should be the picture before him when he need to speak something seriously. If we try to hide or ignore an answer, he will never consider any of your opinions. Once he know the strength of truth, he will try to defend himself. There must be a family time. It can be even in your dining table. No phones or TV should be allowed. The older and younger generation should exchange topics of their interest. Only in such an environment the child gets the courage to speak. ***Last but not the least.*** *****Let your child be himself or herself. Never place or compare him with peoples above his reach.***** ***Encourage him to be himself and not someone else.*** Thanks for reading. Your valuable comments are always welcome. Images from my own private collection.

The Principal with perfect principles in life ***You are lucky if you get a person who tries to bring the best in you. It may take time to find one, but when you have such a person in life you will know your limitations and also opportunities, where you can shine the most.*** When working in an Institution many of us go through various flaws. Such flaws happens unintentionally leading to a disturbed and insecure future. Very few of them try to rectify their mistakes by guidance, while some due to fear of ignorance stay silent. **A strong leader above you can definitely bring the best in you.** Years back, I was working abroad in an educational institution. I was in the non teaching category. The post of a librarian. In general, from public viewpoint, it is told that this is one of the most simple and convenient job., where a librarian has to just sit and issue the books to the student. To a certain extent, this concept is definitely true where a librarian has to make entries of the books issued and return to the library. But not always, especially when you don't have anyone to assist you. When you are incharge of the library it's your self responsibility to keep the books back in the specific rack once the usage of book is over by the students. This helps to locate the book easily the next time when it is on demand. During new arrival of books it takes hours and days to complete. In case of an automated library, each book should be stamped, accessioned and fed in with full details in the system. In small libraries, all these are carried out manually. Before closing the library, the seatings are to be arranged perfectly and all books to be entered in the specific book shelf. So this job is not an easy task . I worked in this International school for nearly 15 years under four Principals. To repeat, the same old story continued with me under two Principals, who according to them, a librarian is a person with the least job. So I was entrusted with more responsibilities in the office, teaching General Knowledge to lower classes and imparting moral instructions to higher grade. Today, when looking back I could say how challenging my job was ? Apart from my librarian post I was incharge of the Admission tests, I used to occupy the Cashier's post when she is on leave, incharge of distributing salaries to the staff, incharge of alloting substitution to teacher's on leave and during school functions or PTA meetings additional responsibilities were given. Above all, two of us were assigned to type the question papers for the Gulf Board exams. When I used to do all these kinds of jobs, some of my colleagues used to mock at me asking **what exactly is your post ?** As I was much in need of this job to support my family, I used to ignore this question. My husband had a small job and my three children were put in the same school where I was working. So this income was important for our sustenance. To beat this all, the arrival of a new Principal made vast changes in my career. **A tough Principal indeed, with lots of principle in life.** In one word a perfect person for the title as a Principal. When all Principals who sat before her, was busy minting money for the school and themselves she was the only one who stood firm against the management to remove the weeds and yield fresh and best icons. She followed her own sincere principles. A person with strong will power and determination. She was indeed a big support to the teachers community. Her way of handling things that came into her cabin was above our thought. You expect something, but you receive something. She was the one who brought the inert talents from the teacher- student community. When something good she sees in you, she never forgets to appreciate you, be in private or public. A person who assures and executes, if found correct from her point of view. I wasn't much lucky to work with this strong personality for long. I worked under her for just one year after which I had ti return back to my country due to various reasons. But in the short span of time I learnt a lot from her for which I am grateful to her even today. She was the one who recognized and appreciated my job. She made me free from all office works and insisted me on spending more time on my related job to improvise and cater to the needs of students rather than the schools need. I learnt a lot from this great leader and dictator. It was just because of her that I with other staffs, could organise programs on World Book Day and organise a Book fair for the students by taking them outside the school campus. ***I Still remember her words of praise. She called a "Jack in all trades". Q*** An appreciation from a head can make wonders in you. No matter who you are? Only the job matters. Due to her indulgence, I was given the liberty to conduct competitions for students and purchase books according to students choice. **When you have such a person with leadership qualities, trust me.you can make wonders.** In today's generation all are after money. Money being the main criteria, they go to any extent just to extort money. Sometimes legally and sometimes illegally. The main reason of such happenings are they are not satisfied with the current job. Many of them take up a job by chance, just by chance, just for making a regular income. ***When sonething is done while putting your full interest and effort, you yield a totally rich fruit, for which you can take the credit with pride.*** Images captured from my mobile.

Feeling of togetherness after months **The memorable time spent with family, for the family and with the family can never be replaced with any important event. Especially when our children are in different places and just make a visit once a while, imagine the happiness.** Infact, it was a real surprise when my son and daughter decided to make a sudden visit to our place. My son is staying in a hostel and studying an undergraduate course in Business Administration, which is far away from our place and my daughter after completing her engineering degree is working in another place. She is staying as a paying guest with a family. Both of them decided to make a surprise visit this weekend. To our surprise, both of them came home, but at different timings So they planned together and made the visit. To our surprise it was one of the most beautiful moment. The monotonous environment will be gone for two days. Usually me and my husband has no much to talk. May be because we are under the same roof looking at each other for years . Yes, that's the truth. The more we try to share something, it will end up in arguments. Sometimes I think it's better to remain silent than to share the thoughts. So sometimes its painful when you don't have anyone to share your thoughts. Here, I find a great solace in **read.cash** atleast some thing interesting to read from the readers community and explore your thoughts by writing. Though my another son is here with us, he is busy either with his phone, laptop or his studies. He is pursuing his degree in electronics. He leaves home by 7.00 a.m. and is back at 5.00 p.m. He was also equally happy to see his siblings and had great fun with them. No laptops, no mobiles just playing guitar and exchanging interesting stories and having fun, the three of them. Years before, the three some when being together either makes fights or all of them preferred to be in their own world. But now its like a celebration for them when they get to meet each other after months. ***Such is the strength of relationships.*** As it was a family gathering after two months, we decided to have dinner out, that was yesterday night. Children were getting ready with their best attires to leave the home. Immediately there was a heavy downpour of rain. But anyway that did not stop us from the joyous outing. We decided to wait for the heavy rain to subside. Finally after an hour we left for the restaurant which is an hours drive from our home. Infact, it was a treat from my little angle who has grown up to get a job by Almighty's grace. The ambience we had in the restaurant was really great. There was a Turf attached to the restaurant and football match was going on in full swing. My sons had a wonderful time watching the match. This is being clicked from the roof top of the restaurant. We were busy browsing and ordering from the Menu card . The waiters were very friendly giving their best. First came the starter ie., the chicken pops and hot n sour soup. It was very spicy. Here comes the platter next. A variety of chicken with Naan (an Indian form of bread) . Very delicious but quite expensive for our budget. But then it was once in full moon that we go for such expensive foods. We enjoyed along with children. The rain is still continuing till today morning. It's being adamant of not stopping. Despite the heavy rain, my son left for his hostel by early in the morning. As its a day's journey he left early by 6.00 a.m. By noon he reached his place by Almighty's grace, as his regular classes are to resume by tomorrow. My daughter will be leaving by tomorrow early in the morning. *****Closing thoughts***** When we are young and the children are small, may be school going children, we forget to hug, forget to pat or forget to appreciate small happiness that they bring home. Not our fault, its just because we are tired in the **so-called busy schedule.** This small happiness children bring home should always be seen and appreciated. Because once they are grown up and are away from us, these are things definitely bring tears when looking back. Because once they are far away from us even when we feel like being with them or vice versa, it is not possible. So make the best use of your time with your family especially with the kids. I am writing this from my own experience. Because I was a working mother then, who gave very less time to kids. Now I force them to stay for one more day with me, but they can't, either due to education or due to job. Thanks for your time. Your valuable comments are appreciated. Images captured yesterday from my mobile but edited in Canva.

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Its Ok to be a little adamant.... ***Yes, it's really "OK" to be a little envious, a little selfish, a little adamant, a little stubbornness...for a good cause......Iam sure all of us should have atleast one quality of this . Such qualities, in one way, will make you more confident to face this world, which are full of challenges.*** Not ready to accept defeat easily is another benefit of this quality. When you have a little bit of stubbornness, adamant, envious....you will not let things go easily out of your hand. Striving hard is another fact of this quality. Some people after lot of efforts attains nothing at the end of the day, with not even a word of appreciation. That should never be a source of discouragement instead wait patiently for the ball to come to your court. Nothing is purposeful. It just happens. If you don't have any of this quality which means you're acting to be too good. Obviously, such loyalty will lead you to go astray. To provoke is another bad quality when done intentionally. In such cases, its definitely not ok to be adamant , stubborn or to carry your ego. Because anything you do out of your anger will turn out to be a total failure which in turn can provoke negative thoughts in you. Instead, think the other way - to work out with patience and win. Having litlle bit of this quality doesn't mean you are bad, you are just trying to be a little more better than the other or you just need to shine a bit more than your opponent. All these qualities exists in us only until a certain age. An age where you can't withstand your ego. When you know you have achieved what you need to, all these starts deteriorating. Trust me life is beautiful which means in life we have to experience all these. After ages, when we look back we might get to think, for this silly reason I had to lose my friend or my job as such. Sometimes its funny and sometimes painful. When you have a little bit of this quality, it's quiet ok. But if this happens to be the highlight of your nature, you are ruining your own character in public. Earning a respectful position, name and fame is not an easy task. For this purpose many unruly behaviout you can expect from your opponent. Some are acceptable while some cannot be, to any extent. ***There are honest people who follow the genuine policy of give and take.*** Its easy to get along with people of this character rather than with people carrying a face mask. When you get what you are intended to, you can see the true behavioral changes from someone you never expected. All these being part of life. When you look from children point of view, they go out of their mind for things they don't get while the same is being carried by their friends. Children from very young age should be taught the difference between good and bad. They should be aware of the fact that somethings are beyond their reach and cannot be gained by their adamant behavior. Images captured from my mobile. Thanks for your time.

Let your weakness be your strength ***Who is not weak? Not physically but mentally. You can overcome physical weakness by taking some rest but it is not possible when you are shattered mentally. While some of them are strong enough to ignore some issues coming their way, the people with weak heart fall a prey***. Work! Work! Work. All of us start to work from early in the morning until sunset. Almost every one has a purpose in life. Infact that being the reason why we do things even if we are not interested. When you are the boss you do things of your choice. Nobody to question or command you. But once you start working for someone else, many issues arise as to - **What have you done? Why don't you learn from him? Iam not satisfied with your job.** The list goes on...... making us physically weak. Despite our hard work no words of appreciation. Infact, such remarks make us weak. Inspite of giving your full effort, such low remarks make us weak and rethink- **Am I really capable? Will I be able to achieve the target? Why this happens only to me? Where did I go wrong?** Such questions make you weak. These are negative thoughts which gives only negative response. Sometimes when we see our colleagues shine like a star amidst the team, our heart sinks. Almighty has given different capabilities to different person. May be some are fast and some are intelligent when compared to others. But not all has the same capabilities. When one outshines in his office work, the other might shine some other field. May be he is a good father, a good son and a good husband. To be honest, these people are the one who are a part of the good society by bringing up their children worth a million. May be he is under estimated in his professional job but a super hero in his personal life. Let me tell you about a story of a young coward police officer who has infact chosen the job by chance and not by choice. Each time he was entrusted with a specific mission he produced a fake medical certificate to the superiors saying he had this ailment and suffering for long. So each time he escaped from such challenging mission. He was made a laughing stock in front of his colleagues. Finally he had to face an encounter in the police station which he couldn't avoid. The result being he was beaten up and injured profusely . He was given permission to visit the clinic. As part of examining his body, his blood sample was taken for a medical test. He was supposed to collect the blood result after two days. After two days, when he went to collect his test result he was asked to meet rhe superior Doctor immediately. Wasting no time, he met the Doctor who immediately said his days were counted, meaning, he will die very soon as he was suffering from cancer. He couldn't withstand what was just told to him. Though first few days went on with tears he decided to prove that his weakness is his strength. So he decided to take up the rough and tough mission assigned to him. And he came out like a shining star. Because this time it was his weakness that gave him strength. He knew his days were being numbered, so even if he die in an encounter, he would be remembered as a real hero. For his outstanding victory he was given a warm reception by his superiors. After all this, he went to the hospital to get his health check up. To his surprise he found an old man laughing at him. When asked the reason for his laughing the oldman said he was the one who interchanged both their sample test , which meant the oldman was the one suffering from cancer. This very story is an important note showing how strength can overcome weakness. Lead image captured from my mobile.

Let go hatred...as time never leaves any stone unturned ***Hatred ignites fury in you. So never keep hatred. Who knows the person whom you hated once will be a saviour of timely help. Remove hatred and let it go....*** In most cases people cannot accept failures. For some people every small things matter while for some, it is the least matter that affects them. Here the latter is more bold comparatively. One fine morning you wake up with a lot of stuff to complete. And when the day goes on joyously something worst happens to ignite your hatred. This actually reminds me of some good old memories that happened long years ago. The place where we lived years ago was so congested. More than 2000 government quarters which were closely built. The result of which the houses were just a furlong distance. So any happenings in any house can be heard aloud. As you know, the neighbours are more interested in others affair rather than their own. The story goes like this. Two families were so close to each other. The children were of the same age then. They were often secluded in one place so that they play and share a wonderful time together. One of the parent would take the responsibility of dropping the children ( of both houses ) to school while other would collect them back from school. When one family was sick the other would take care of them by providing food, water, medicine and overall care of the children. This was the routine followed. Even the other neighbors would envy them. All of a sudden the unexpected happened. They stopped talking to eachother. For no reason, the children were stopped from meeting each other. The reason for this sudden change was quite unknown by one of the neighbour. The indifference could not be accepted by the neighbour. So they quit the home searching for a new one. Years passed by. The children are in highschool and much aware of the fact, as to what is correct and what not. Though they don't speak to each other, they do not forget to exchange a smile. Afterall they are innocent children. There was a time when they used to share food in the same plate. But now looking into eachother's face was a difficult task. Finally, one day something serious happened to the son in one of the household. The doctor diagnosed him with kidney failure, which means immediate replacement should be done, failing which, it might risk the child's life. The donor was his own father. In the early days, the families were so close knit that being together was the prime priority they gave to each other. After years, after the sons ailment came into limelight, both families once again started to interact eachother. There were nights when the child had a panic attack and the parents had to go through nervous breakdown. During these times it was the neighbor who used to act wisely by taking him to the hospital along with other neighbors. This act of kindness helped the child from causing any further ailments. Days rolled by and they became thick friends again. Years rolled by and the boy now 21, was getting ready for the next transplantation. The earlier transplanted kidney was responding less which means immediate replacement is required. And this time the.mother was the donor . The operation was successful but this happiness lasted only for two months. The transplanted kidney stopped respondingl. If I had to tell about the boy, he was smart, handsome, capable and studious in studies and Art. He was infact a pet to the Doctors. Finally after two months of pain and struggle, he bid good bye to the world. This is not a story of fiction. This happened 25 years before. One of the family involved was my own. I and he was almost of the same age. I still remember clearly, when the boy was in immediate need of blood, it was my father who ran to the blood bank but when he saw the long que he fainted. On seeing the pitiful condition of my father the hospital authorities made immediate arrangement for the required amount of blood. Even today I do not know the reason, why we were apart for many years. May be for any small reason. But today, even after years, our parents and his parents living miles and miles away, never forget to make a call once a month. Such is their friendship. A spark is enough to create a hatred. But as days goes by it slowly ignites, turning hatred to fury. Here matter of time plays a very crucial role in beeaking or making a relationship. ***Please remember*** ***If you do not know the reason of hatred, do not hesitate to find out the reason from the concerned person.*** ***Hatred is a silent killer. It makes you weak and unenergetic. So never hate.*** ***Listen to your own innerself than taking advice from others.*** Images captured from my mobile

Marriage and extravaganza `Marriage is a beautiful contract with mutual consent of being together at times of pains and happiness, to share and care when in need etc. For very long we hear the story, "Marriages are made in heaven". If that is the case, does every marriage has a fairytale ending.` In our country, the people who starve are more compared to those enjoying a three day meal. ***Marriage means an unaccountable extravaganza for rich people and an unavoidable expenditure for the poor.*** There was a time when girls were less educated. Higher education were banned for girls in most backward communities resulting in giving heavy cash to the bridegrooms family. But as and when years rolled by, females are given equal importance like men in the education system. Though higher education with a modest job is every girls dream, the brides family were never exempted or set free from cash and gold demands by the groom's family. Here, in most communities the marriage starts as the three day function where, the expenditure is completely borne by the brides house. This includes stay, up & down transportation and fooding. Besides, the brides family takes all the initiative to entertain the guests in the best possible way. The renovation of the house begins once the marriage gets finalized. The decoration, which includes floral decoration is very expensive. And purchase of furniture and construction of extra rooms are all added to this extravaganza. The responsibility starts from the purchase of gold, bridal attire for to be bride and groom, food and vehicle arrangement for guests, decorating the marriage vehicle and finally, gifting a ransom amount and property to the said. groom. It's like selling our daughter at such a heavy price. When looking into the groom's side they are not entrusted with less responsibility. It is just a days function for them. The particular marriage day. On this big day, the bride and grrom assemble in the auditorium along with their relatives and once the ritual process is over, they proceed on to lunch after which the teary-eyed bride bid good bye to her parents and sent to her husband's home. This is called "vidaai" Once all this process gets over, you can see the amount of food waste lying all over. Huge quantities of food remain untouched. Certainly there are some humble people who take the responsibility of supplying the left over food to the municipal corporation who inturn reaches them to the needy after a neat packing. When we reach the food in right hands, the next is the distribution. This responsibility is once again entrusted to volunteers, who inturn, takes the initiative to find people, who are un desperate need of food. **This in a way is an humanitarian job done by youngsters, expecting nothing in return.** Once all the rituals are over and once all the relatives return to their hometown the brides parents check out the expenses incurred and with a heavy sigh await for the arrival of the newly weds, infact, to give thim a warm reception. So here ends the story of marriage. Thanks for your valuable time in going through this article. Lead image from unsplash.com

Go for things at your reach - your happiness lies there `Most of the problems that pop up in each household are brought by themselves. Nobody to be blamed. The more you peep into your neighbors window, the more trouble you are inviting.` When you know certain things are out of your reach, you still try harder to get that. May be you were longing for it , for quite sometimes. But the outcome in most cases are they don't stay with us for a long time in our hand. It just slips away with a note "**sorry, Iam not your cup of tea".** Just look around, you see and observe the most beautiful things near you, at your reach. But as they are at our reach, we ignore them. Expecting something more. Here our greed plays an important role. When he can achieve it, why not me? After a long struggle one tries to achieve beyond his reach. In short, a matter of pride. Obviously for certain reason they don't stay in our hand, no matter how much care you take. It will definitely go away. If something has to come to you it will definitely reach your hands. *There is a say that in every grain the name of a person is written for whom it has to reach.* May be you will have to wait a little longer. Go for things that are at your reach. It's human tendency to aim for more and more than expected. And once you attain it, you might lose your peace of mind for no reason which in turn, can go to the extent of ruining your career. Mans greed has enhanced not only in material gains but in marital life also. Parents try to find the best life partner for their off springs. They blindly go in search of relations above their capability finally resulting in hatred, arguments and finally divorce. For some it is prestige issue to highlight what is not with them. They keep praising themselves blindly and finally become prey for what they are not involved. Though they are aware of the fact that they don't deserve what they are expecting, they still move ahead as it's a matter of pride. Two important things we learn by stepping into others shoe. Firstly, if the person concerned is a poor person where his livelihood depends on his daily earnings, then imagine how lucky you are ! because you get a decent package at the end or beginning of every month. Secondly, when you meet a person who enjoys worldly pleasures but not happy at all leading a discontented life. People forget small happiness in life while going in search of big ones. And by the time they realise it might be too late. On the contrary, they must have lost - something dear to them or something carried close to their heart. ***To have a contended life -*** Aim but no aggressive desire. Learn to let it go. Do not let others interfere in your private affairs. Make yourself understand that it is not your cup of tea. Envy but don't accept if you are not sure about it. Do not ignore the small things, may be this is where your happiness lies. Enjoy each moment of your life so that you don't regret later. Believe in yourself and your opinions, as they are more valuable like you. Images captured from my mobile.

How important is the "Me" time `A time just meant for you and you alone. Here, you are the boss and you are the critic. No questions, no commands, no orders, only doing what you need to!` The "**Me** " time is just yours and yours only. Have you ever considered your life and time as valuable as others. Most of us tend to ignore the fact that a little time for ourselves should be given prime importance. The so called "**Me"** time where one gets an opportunity to relax your mind and body to rethink and explore something new. People with large family circle gets very little time for themselves. In some instance a person with less work, spent more time in a lethargic manner. On the other hand, a person with more work and less "**Me**" time uses his leisure hour productively. You gain a lot of patience once you give time and importance for yourself. One of the most important aspect in keeping yourself calm when calamities arise. "**Me**" time is most useful for ladies who are held up only with household jobs. As everybody knows it is a **24 hour clock unpaid job**. Here, no matter, how far you try to be perfect and fast in your work, you are answerable to all the questions irrespective of your dedication and sincerity. May be one single complaint is enough to ruin our whole day. So always ensure to keep a time for yourself, where you find happiness. The value of "**Me**" time is meant to recognize yourself, to bring out your inert talents, to add more colours to your life, to turn your hobby into a joyous profession and most of all when start enjoyig a meagre income from a hobby that you loved the most. That's the essence of this great time. Sometimes to do certain things we try to wait for the right time. The time never arrives until we take the initiative. In the same way, we prefer to complete all our regular work or the so called routine work, be it official or private, and then switch on to find the "**Me**" time in us. A time that can never be found or never arrives unless we take the initiative. Besides, for a healthy living style, enhance the "**Me**" time for a purpose meant to give you only happiness. Mentally and physically one becomes more congenial when he/ she finds a person of his / her similar choice. Here "**Me**" time can create wonders for such persons where similar thoughts coincide giving fruitful results. When you find a time for yourself, certainly you will find a time for everything that you are getting involved. And this time we try to execute it much more happily than expected. Imfact, your will power and determination increases. Besides, you get ample time once you get involved in something that interests you. **Benefits of Me time -** Essence of being alone and finding pleasure in doing things of your choice, for your own satisfaction You decide with nobody to question or command you. Infact, you are your own crtic. Sometimes a nap, a chat with a long time friend, making your favorite recipes, getting along with a small hobby can make it more productive. So find a "Me" time in you, may be that can evade half your issues and bring out the best in you. Images captured from my mobile.