What's in the attitude?

Have you ever stopped to think of what attitude means to you! Well, I dared to stop on the thought and was amazed by what it does to you. This was worth sharing as it applies to everybody reading this - pretty confident about that!

Having an inclination towards public speaking, and human resource management being a childhood ambition, I attended almost every public speaking workshop that came my way. My favorites were of Raghavendra Okade and Prof. Dixit. I was always inspired by the manner in which words put across by them, resonated in perfection with your own thoughts. They were simple day to day things which one could adopt, to make life simpler and happier. And each of those were nothing but taking a second look at your attitude.

As humans we worry too much - way TOO MUCH, it specially mounts when we turn into adults. We want to weigh everything that comes our way. Worrying unconsciously becomes a habit; I call it a habit because we do it religiously and with no peer motivation. You might say "Have you lost your mind? Do you hear yourself!" Don't worry, I'm not living in an imaginary ideal world while I write this and am well aware of the reality we live in. There's two ways to deal with a situation, well most of the time. Let's keep aside the happy situations such as those of praise, affection, celebration, graduation, promotion et al. Those keep us happy anyway and there is nothing to worry about.

Let's move our focus to the times when you're not at your best and let's try to figure out how attitude can help you in that situation. Few of the common not so happy situations are those of anger, discrimination, dishonesty, jealousy et al. The most important thing in each of these scenarios is to not instantaneously react or respond to them. There are numerous ways to withdraw from a situation for a little bit and to give yourself a few minutes of thought to pull yourself together and come up with a calm and effective response (20 minutes is ideal and not a whole lot to ask for), it can work wonders! In a conversation that may have turned into a heated discussion, you can simply excuse yourself by saying something as simple as "let me think about this a little more and get back to you". If you're being yelled at by someone, do not respond with anger at that time. That will only worsen the situation and make you angrier. I am with you on that holding back emotion, especially anger,  is difficult but, it's worth a try. Discrimination is something that can happen unintentionally but sometimes, it can be intentional. It is necessary to talk about it, just picking the right time and words to do so will actually prevent it from happening again. The point I'm trying to put across is not to sit back and stay quiet to ease a situation but is to frame the right response before you react. And that can happen with a calm mind and the right attitude. Jealousy is one other common emotion we often experience either in our professional or personal lives. Jealousy can be only "your" feeling of being not as good. And this can be turned into inspiration. Instead of striking negativity caused by it, make it as an opportunity to learn from the good you believe in.

Attitude drives one's action and reaction. You can change your attitude in simple ways, by just looking at things differently. Most things have a positive and negative side to it. Choosing to look at the former one eases many things for us. Gives you that extra time to smile :)

So what's in the attitude??? huh! well! EVERYTHING!

Keep it Styish!

A story of three sisters ...

Kashibai, Basavanthi and Sarojini were born to the Landlord (of yester years) Hanumanthagouda at a taluka in Southern India. Hanumanthagouda was among the best agriculturists in the world. He owned acres and acres of fields where he grew coconuts, wheat, jowar, rice, bananas, sugarcane, and top it all - the king of all fruits - MANGOES! His poultry farm had the best hens and the dairy farms were adorned by beautiful cows and (not so beautiful ;)) healthy buffaloes. He once participated in Denmark's "The best cattle raiser" competition and won the first prize! His wife and he were blessed with a son and three lovely girls. Nothing to your amazement, the children were raised in a family no less than the royal family of Mysore or the Nizam of Hyderabad. Each of the daughters lived the life of a princess.

Kashibai was the youngest among the sisters and the fondest. She was gifted a horse by her father. She wore her cowboy shoes and her hair was neatly braided into two knots by her maid; her horse was groomed and dressed by the boy at the stable who then brought it out for Her Highness. Kashibai majestically mounted onto the horse back and sped away into the fields. I think she only missed carrying a rifle!

Basavanthi, the second daughter was the neat sorts; she always needed things in place. She has been a master mind with dates - she can remember dates of events as old as 15 (or more) years!

Sarojini, the eldest among the sisters was a responsible young lady. (as per everybody's expectations) She rode a bicycle to school while her younger sisters drove the horse driven cart with other girls. At lunch, she rode home and brought lunch for her sisters on days when the maid was away. Are you wondering why the three didn't carry their own lunch while they left to school every morning - well, if they did so the food would not be hot and the milk would be stale due to the heat! Yeah guys, I'm getting there - lunch was delivered to them every afternoon, a maid carried a basket containing tiffins with chapatis, a variety of sabzi, rice, sambhar, curd and dessert! Lunch would have been incomplete had they not had their full cream milk. (and now, we crib about Vitamin D and stick to 2% reduced fat or skimmed milk or god knows what!!!) It was the time of the 60s and we're talking ROYALTY here, probably difficult to relate to now in the world of Facebook where we play Farmville to get a feel for agriculture :P

Sarojini and Basavanthi got married on the same day. The preparations began 6 months before the wedding. There would be a function for every event – Ring Ceremony, Bangles ceremony, Handargamba, various pooja(s), Surgi, Walagin akkikalu and many more! Trays and trays of sweets were in preparation, every bit was home-made. There were more than a hundred people involved in the preparation. The ceremony was more than just a wedding, the newly-wed bride(s) and groom(s) sat on a royal seat and were taken on a procession through the taluka. Everyone knew of them; their father made the marriage ceremony a month long event. It must’ve been a sight! Only wish that we could witness something of that scale today!

Once her sisters were married, they went away to live with their husbands. Kashibai was by herself at home. There was still time before she would be married. While she went to college, she effectively groomed herself into a multi-faceted woman she has turned into today. The cooks in the kitchen welcomed her to learn cooking, she learned the authentic dishes of the south, she served her father lunch and dinner; she also went to stitching classes. Soon, she had knit her first sweater that she gifted her mom. Her parents were proud of her. She had completed a year in college when her father decided that she had to get married. She was married to a radiologist from a town nearby. Co-incidentally, her husband turned out to be Sarojini’s classmate. Now … that’s occasional!

With time, the three sisters got busy with their children and personal lives and ended up in different countries. They spoke to each other less frequently and probably met once or twice a year. The distance did not change the closeness they shared. I think this is miraculous among the three sisters. When they met, they spoke for long hours about how life had changed, their children, the schools they went to, their daily routine and stuff. By this time, Kashibai had turned Smita, Basavanthi had turned Vasanti and Sarojini stayed Sarojini ;) I don’t know why the nomenclature had changed but, it just had! Smita had a school of her own called “Happy Hours” where she taught children between the age groups of six to twelve. Her youngest daughter was the oldest child in her school. She was ranked the best teacher by parents. Her way of teaching was exclusive – it involved grammar, math, music, craft, science, rhymes with actions and parties!!! She was every student’s favorite. She had much more within – her cakes were amazing, the way in which she customized them were out of this world! There was no birthday party on campus without her cakes.

The three sisters have always been extremely simple and down to earth. Never have they flaunted the luxurious life their parents had gifted them. I would quote them as “Symbol of Excellence”. They have always been there for each other through thick and thin. One thing that they have not learned is “saying No”. Even in the toughest of times, they willingly come forward to help. The world is blessed by very few people who are a blend of love, sincerity and punctuality; the three sisters belong to this sparse group!

The story I just told you is very close to my heart. I’m specially attached to the fondest of the three – Smita whom I call PERFECTION! More often, I simply call her mom!

Yeah … this was a story of my pretty mom and her sweet sisters whom I call dodamma. (Mom's elder sis)

Michael Schofield breakin' outta prison!

With non-stop PRISON BREAK for the past 2 weeks, I completed watching the Final Break of the fourth and last season. Mind's shattering ... emotions spurting ... tears oozing... feels like something ended in this phase of my life. I'm surprised at the extent to which this English series has taken on to me. Accidentally, I found the four seasons on my roommate's hard disc and recollected my friend from office who rushed home after office only to watch it. I always wondered why he did that, so I thought let me give it a shot! On the first two days, I watched one episode per day. There was something unusual the third one did to me, it would not allow me move from my couch!!! That's the moment I realized the reason that drove donV crazy ... On an average, I began to watch 15 episodes per day. The only time I was not watching it was when I was at work (Damn! I had to work for 8 hours every day) and those few hours when I had to sleep to serve for those 8 hours ...

"You've seen the blueprint". "Even better, I have them on me".
"Have a little faith".
"You ready?".
"This is it".
"Alright".
"I'm coming with you" :'( :'( :'( :'(

A character so humble, so intelligent, so emotional, so PERFECT, Wentworth Miller who's existence of I knew not of till before a couple-a-weeks ago ... I cried my heart out when his character gives up his life for the sake of his wife and child. He left no stone unturned, be it for Linc or Sara or Sukre or Alex or for that matter even T Bag!!!

This is not a review on Prison Break, I'm sure there are millions and zillions out there crazy of the BLOCKBUSTER, it's a fact that it became part of life and distracted me from a sad phase and to an extent that it being over now hurts ...

Rockin' Sasians

10th of July 2006
Fac Z,
Inner Ring Road, Bangalore
MS | BSP | KPA | Vicky | Mad | donV | Beer | Krish | Potter | Ankur | Psycho | Michael |KVX863 | Parineeta | Tubelight | Lola Kutti | Choti | Philosopher | God Mother | Johny Bravo

On the dot, when the clock struck 9 - one before the next, they entered Craig Barrett. It was a time when they were all strangers to each other who secured a strong commitment to the cause. The duration for which each one would sustain was unknown, each one had a plan for him/her self. Yet, there was one thing in common to them - the astonishing and mysterious thirty days ahead!

Twelfth day of July 2006 - Mission Aprameyah
The troop set out to accomplish their mission. They were located two blocks away from the intersection at Inner Ring and 80 Ft. Here's some key information from the inside during this period of preparation and training ...

Torture at Aprameyah
The famous lecture by Johny Bravo. It was an elaboration and exaggeration of the "so called" useless activities we did the entire day. After every break, we looked forward to the next one :P

Sasian Bluff TV
A news desk that communicated between reporters from around the world. Breaking News - "A man rescued from a sinking ship; sources said he was provided a life boat due to his special situation!" The weather updates specified a sunny Sanjay Nagar and a snowy Marathalli!!!

Chocorepublic
A planet created by KVX863 and his partner in crime, Psycho. The ministers promoted tourism by chocolate attraction. All that the planet had and was made of was chocolate - chocolate houses, chocolate rivers, chocolate mountains, chocolate trees, chocolate people. They quoted "you need a baby, jus pick up at the river!" ROFL

Dominos
Sure it was a treat by the training institute - try imagining sharing a pan pizza with two other people when you're starving since the break of dawn. That's exactly what we did after which we had to grace the (so called ) favourite "Gangothri" (not like we had a choice!)

Mast Kalandar
It was the first time we were all hanging out as a group, it was a lunch treat hosted by donV and Ankur. Sadly, this also happened to be the last day at Aprameyah. Little had we thought that we would stay this close knit circle for longer than jus' those THIRTY days.

The group split shortly after this and were posted at different facilities. Chuckles were heard again, PJs rolled again, good ol' days at Aprameyah were lived again - it was Party time every time we met for lunch or took a walk or simply recollected the funny incidents from the past. Never had any of us imagined that corporate life would be no different than being a bunch of college kids!

10th of July 2009, it's been three years and yet again we've proved ourselves ROCKIN' SASIANS!!!
As always ~ Keep it Stylish!

In your twenties - Part 2

Recession blues ~

It struck us the hardest! This could be because we lie in that gray area of average or no experienced folks. We constitute the population of fresh grads and professionals with little experience in a specific area or we're among those who switch between jobs. Our qualifications do not promise to meet the industry requirement during economic crises. The 30 or 40 year olds stand a better chance who claim to have better experience. (I really wonder if that is the case!) The fact should not be forgotten that talent and innovation lies in us. Yet, some things are not in our hands (sadly)

We're grownups and it's not that we jus think so ~

The twenties I would say is a transition phase from youth to being a grownup. In our early twenties, we graduate from college and are thrown into the unsecured zone called "life". Initially, we manage it in not the best possible way and takes time with the getting used to it. The issue here is that of uncertainty. It's not a fixed syllabus like in college which is sufficient to meet our goal of passing an examination. The bigger issue is that the syllabus is not even known and changes every single day. Situations and circumstances tune us to life and we jus' learn how to live. I guess at this stage, we have the ability to accept challenges and welcome changes which soon become a part of us. It's not long before you're mentoring somebody at your work place and are being regarded as somebody to look up to. When I started spending time with Ronith, my nephew, it felt different from being with any other baby! The sense of responsibility was different. Yet again, when I came to grad school for Masters, a paycheck to paycheck life (with not an extra cent to spare and believe me I'm not exaggerating) taught me to struggle to survival. I learned more lessons than I thought I would in the last three years and the whole journey feels amazing to be thought about; not so, while being a part of it though ;) A twentite's life is flavoured with exciting stuff like meeting that special someone; either you find one or your folks do and it's time to enjoy those lovely moments ;)

As a twentite, I (and I'm sure most of you) trust my instincts more than ever before and embrace life gracefully. It's a wonderful phase - "The TWENTIES". If you've not realized it yet, it's not too late. Start living today!!!

In your twenties - Part 1

STATUTORY WARNING: Reading this blog if you're not in your twenties might not make sense to you. Proceed at your own risk.

Here's a blog dedicated to all my friends who accompany me in the TWENTIES phase. It's said and proved that a person in his/her teens is the toughest to deal with. We've all 'been there, seen it and experienced it'. Now, when I'm in my twenties I stop to think "Why in the world does nobody make a big deal of being a twentite (I jus coined that lame term and shall use it through this blog :P )!!!" I might begin thinking on similar lines when I'm thirty and then, forty and then sixty (if I live that long) and probably publish another post then if I still secure the continued passion for blogging! Anyway, for now let's peep into our present world of the TWENTIES...

"Living the twenties is a mysterious dream", said by a very intelligent person, let's accept it. I tried to make sense of it and here's my justification - It's a dream because more often than not, we're uncertain of what's happening with us and it's mysterious since we don't know why this happens. I'm sure more than 90% of you who read this will agree with me. If not, please scroll up and double check the warning jus' to make sure you're at the right forum ;)

Jus' out of college ~
Many of us were placed on-campus. We were accidentally drowned into the well of over confidence which showed in our 7th sem performance. Thankfully we realized it and "tried" to focus during final semester and it all kinda fell in place since we had only 4 courses. Soon, we were Bangalored - started yapping around in public flaunting the company ID, the only hangouts being Forum, Garuda Mall and at times Innovative Multiplex. Anybody who felt Hubli-sick (feel free to substitute Hubli with your native place) just needed to visit one of these places. Our dear friends in Mysore had begun to realize they had free recreation facilities on campus only coz they had time for nothing other than mid-term exams, Final 1, Final 2 and I don't know what not! Though, Sasken treated us well. In fact, it was a lil too welcoming and ROCKIN' ;) A few of us were those confused individuals who claimed to be determined and wished to multi-task and pulled it off pretty well. We wanted to make our lives more spicy by the GRE ingredient. I was one among them. A chilled out life there at Bangalore with all your buddies, home was only a night away; yet we wanted go to the US though it involved so much 'ghapla' and 'kharcha' and made very confident statements like "we won't turn into those confused desis" (though eventually we do ;) ) and now, we don't think twice before we address our fellow Indians as "desis". I know, its the tragedy of life. But, does not matter, life moves on.

Jus' married ~
If I look through my inbox, I notice a few frequently occurring words in the subject line - Marriage, Wedding Invitation... This has been happening since the beginning of 2008. Not just there, school friends whom I had not spoken to in ages sent me a friend's request on orkut and the moment I accepted it, I had new updates - ... added new pictures to album Wedding, ... added new pictures to album Engagement; this one was unbelievalbe: ... added new pictures to album "My lil one turns one". I was absolutely dumbstruck! Where were all these people for so many years! Now, they're all showing up after being married. Feels like everybody jus realized that its time we get married and spread the word :) And then, I got a chance to read about the sweet and memorable moments of their life. This one was for all of you who got married or are in the journey from engagement to marriage. Live the precious moments to the fullest!

I can't afford to lose your attention through this blog. So, I'll post them in parts. Hope you enjoy reading them!

Cheesy Chicago - Taboo

10th June 2009 - Taboo

One of the best games I've ever played; 8 of us - Dudes Vs Babes ;) on the eve of Shruti's birthday. She had just cleaned off the Harpic from her hair when we sat down with the game of unspeakable fun!!!

Here's a game in which you need to get your team to guess a word on the card without speaking out any of the taboo words (also included on the card) and using no gestures what so ever; gotta a see a lot of those gestures as the game progressed! We looked for the slightest opportunity to out do the guys!!! It was hilarious how scenes were narrated.

Hats off to the telepathic conversations that Varun and Teju shared; they didn't do much speaking nor even got close to the word!!! Picking on the opposite team's use of gestures led to major arguments. Soon, the guys feared to bring them up since we were on our toes to fight back!!! After a while, Vinay quoted "Array! kab tak darke chup baithenge, hum ladenge".


Shruti had the sand timer between the tips of her fingers to start it even before anybody would be ready and Pushkar finally gathered all his courage and exploded"Usko rakh de, main ready nahi hoo".

These funny incidents get my cheek bones working each time I think of them. The group that night was perfect! The cards were finally exhausted at dawn and as the world outside lit up, Downtown Chicago looked spectacular from the fifteenth floor of Shruti's apartment. The first thing you wanna wake up to see that would promise you a beautiful day ahead :)