Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The most beautiful love story :)

Life & love share a symbiotic relationship. The topic of love is very close to my heart right from childhood. I had a fairytale childhood, loved by everyone & cared & comforted by my dear grandparents who taught me the meaning of love.

Thani & dadu are the epitome of unconditional love for me. I consider myself very lucky to have been close to them & feeling the love they have for each other.Just like the good old romantic classics , thani & dadu had an arranged marriage which later transformed into the love lasting a lifetime.

You may have read in books that "for everyone you might be someone in the world but for someone you are the world". Thani & dadu found a world in each other. Their love was so pure & unconditional that it was reflected in them at every moment. Dadu has been in love with thani unconditionally..right from his playful indulgence in whatever thani did, to complementing her on her looks, to flirting with her , to wanting to be there with her every moment. Thani's love for dadu is also beyond words. The fond memories of me sleeping in between both of them & chatting till late hours & three of us giggling are still fresh in my mind. 

Whenever my parents would go out, three of us would have a gala time. We would order dosa from a local shop, switch on some slow bengali songs & play ludo.Dadu would come to his true self then, teasing Thani with playful words & it felt like heaven for me. Thani used to giggle shyly & i used to make them hold hands just in case they had minor disagreements on things. I know the song dadu had sung for thani during a moonlit night at puri beach describing her smile. These intimate details which they have shared with me are priceless treasures now.

Once i asked Dadu, which was the best achievement of his life. He replied with a smile saying " Your thani is the most beautiful woman for me & i am lucky that she married me".They exchanged letters during 1955-1958 when dadu had stay at cuttack & Thani at the village. Thani used to say how her father in law, my great grandfather used to get annoyed at the frequent letters suggesting that the cost of letters would be equal to the monthly grocery. Both of them would ignore it & continue as their love was vivacious just as it was in their 50th year of togetherness in 2005.

Their love has grown each moment since they have been together. The respect & faith they had in their relationship was nurtured with their unconditional affection for each other.I always wanted to get those letters from Thani, but she would tell me "Me & Dadu would gift it to you when time comes ".

Thani's sad demise in 2008 came as a rude shock to me.Till now i am unable to accept it & i dont think i can ever accept it. Dadu is suffering from Parkison syndrome & his memory does not contain the fact of Thani's absence. Earlier he used to enquire everyone about Thani's whereabouts but slowly it has decreased. He asks me sometimes "How is Thani? She should be here taking care of me..Where is she now?" To which smile and put his hand on his heart and say "Thani is right here now and forever".


PS: On my recent visit to my village after my graduation i found an old box containing 137 letter from 1955 to 1958. My graduation gift from my dear grandparents :)






Sunday, October 14, 2012

Of Wannabes and Fake Accents

I am an Indian and very proud of it. I have lived in India throughout my life. I have never been to any foreign country but secretly wish to visit many of them. I love English movies because of the beautiful display of emotions and characters in them. To be honest, when watching an American movie..i can manage without sub titles but while watching a British movie i seriously need sub titles :P 

Though i am a budding IT Professional yet i have a deep love for English. The reason being the fact that English introduced me to the world of stories, novels , poems and to thoughts which enriched me as a person. It is my deep love for English that made it so close to my heart..right from school to college.In my Engineering days..the stories and poems part of English metamorphosed to "Communication". Intonation, Pronunciation, Presentation all of this became an  inherent part of English for me.

Presently as i am undergoing my training at Trivandrum, i have been introduced to another part of English which i was blandly unaware of :P "IMPRESSION CREATION". 

Thanks to my humble upbringing, i have always been aware of the principle of  making your work speak for you. But yet sometimes one comes across peculiar characters who are BITAA..that is my definition of people very much Born in India but Talk with American Accent.

Why??? Why?? do Indians especially have the mindset that when they speak like Americans they become "The Elite" among the simple  normal accented creatures like me. Is speaking in any foriegn accent..esp when it doesnt come naturally to you a symbol of great pride. 

In the recent times i have come across many pretty ladies in beautiful attires..wearing something like a rado watch..all decked up with make up and perfume..raring to go..seeing them i sometimes wonder..am i travelling on a bus to office or to Lakme India Fashion Week. Well thats a different story altogether.

There is nothing wrong  in putting brown kajal or pink lipgloss to office, especially when you are just in your Traineeship. But what is baffling is when you hear the pathetic attempts to sound "so American". In my opinion, Intonation & Pronunciation are definitely important in today's Business scenario.But being loud & speaking in that extra made up way like one's make up is definitely the sign of a wannabe.

Why do i have to show off by saying "Can i have some surfffffffffff" in the American way in a grocery store.Those pathetic creatures who want to draw attention by speaking loudly in their fake Accents in any elevator or canteen or lobby or corridor or office , one simple advice from me.."please be your natural self".

We are educated individuals & there are tons of ways by which we can make a mark before others, one of the simple ways is being polite & humble. Just speaking anything rubbishwith that decked up accent can only make one the ambassador of Wannabeism". 

There's much more to life than just becoming a Wannabe with fashionable clothes & Fake Accents :)