This was about fifteen years ago. Those were the days when my friend and I were facing some similar problems in life. We had started our own venture that had gone downhill. It was like everything was closing in on us. We had suffered financial loss. The morale was at an all-time low. Around this time, we got into social service, and we tried to help the lesser privileged to the best of our capacities. It gave us some sort of peace.

We went to meet her on the appointed day at the appointed time.

If you have ever been to Bangalore, you would have heard of Tannery road. But you would never bother to visit the area. People above the poverty line generally do not visit these places. Moreover, the stench is so appalling, even the most noblest of souls would do a retake on entering these dingy lanes.

We entered a smelly little lane through a dirty little door. There were houses on either side of the lane. We were taken to a small house there. She was sitting on a cot. At the time we met her, she was about 22 years of age. Her limbs were immovable. She could not move her neck, too. She was immobile. She could speak, see, eat, and hear. Feel sensations too, which was proved when a mosquito bit her hand. She called her cousin nearby for help to get rid of the insect and to scratch her arm.

Gul (name changed) lives alone in this place. Her father had deserted her and her mother. The mother had struggled to meet ends, and had brought up the daughter singlehandedly. Her education had come to a complete standstill by the time she completed class ten, when a debilitating disease took over her body, and she slowly and steadily lost sensation part by part. By the time she completed school, she could no longer move her limbs or her neck. The mother then fell ill and was bedridden. An uncle, who was financially poor but rich by heart, offered to take any one of these two into his tiny home, as he could not afford to look after both women. Gul asked for her mother to be taken care of. What the disease could not take away from her was her strength and courage.

We were offered ice cold Fanta brought from a nearby store. Such hospitality, from a girl who could not even move her neck! We started by asking her questions. How did she manage her life? “I give tuitions”, she said. We just exchanged glances. She had studied only up to the tenth grade. So it was a big question. We asked her for more details. She said she taught kids from the surrounding slums, who were in classes below grade ten. Then she further explained, “I ask them to keep the book in front of me and I ask them to turn the page when required. I explain the lessons to them”. She charged Rs.75 from each child.

We looked around the small place. It had a single cot by the door, and a couple of chairs. The place was spic and span. Gul too, was dressed in clean clothes. Her nails were neatly trimmed. We took a look around the house, and went into the kitchen. Again, it had the bare necessary items, and was clean. This was the last thing we expected in a house situated in the slums off Tannery road! We asked Gul about it. She paid Rs.300 to another woman in the neighborhood to come and do the cleaning. The woman came in the morning, fed her, cleaned the house, gave her a bath, clothed her, and made her sit on the cot. She later came in the night to make her sleep. The uncle who took care of her mother brought food for Gul, who ate just once in the day. She did not drink water after a particular time so that she did not have to depend on someone to go to the loo.

It was summer, and schools were closed for the vacations. I questioned Gul on this and asked if children came for tuitions, as they would not study during the vacations. “I conduct summer camps!” she cheerfully replied. A fly could have entered my mouth at that point. She further explained, that she arranges for the children to play games, and give away some small prizes. She charged them a small amount. As we spoke, the girl expressed her desire to visit the US. Why US, and why not any other country, we asked out of curiosity. She said, “America has so much respect for people like me. They also have so many public facilities where people like me can move around without much of a problem”. Hmm. Ambitions too!

At this point, we couldn’t control our tears. Here was this brave young woman fighting so many battles so cheerfully, and we were feeling dejected for a couple of setbacks in life? We had almost given up on life.

Gul gave us fresh hope in life. We returned, humbled and chastised. Count your blessings, we told ourselves. We were educated, able bodied, healthy, and we had our families that supported and loved us. The only thing we needed at that point of time, was a good dose of courage. Which Gul supplied us – in plenty.

Each time I feel low, I remember this brave girl for my dose of vitamin C (Courage!). May God love and keep the Guls of the world blessed!

The whole market was shining with different colourful patterns of lights. Outside each and every shop, there were lanterns hanging which were giving more light and a beautiful look to their shops. People were busy in shopping and running from one shop to another, buying lights, decorative items, wall hangings, door hangings, rangoli colours and designs. There was a separate place for hand made diyas and decorative diyas. Ladies were dressed up in beautiful sarees and suits holding two to three bags in their hands full of different stuffs. There was a shop having all the pooja needs decorated in a beautiful way. It was looking like thousands of stars twinkling together on earth.

The traffic was horrible as many vehicles were parked on both sides of the road and others were slowly moving between those vehicles. Suddenly a glaze attracted her. It was a garment shop, full of clothes for kids and elders. Diwali was coming up in two days. She remembered that in the morning while going to school, Mohit asked her “Mumma this time, we will also buy clothes for myself and for Nana, Nani and Trisha Didi. Last time, Didi was not well. We could not celebrate the festival and you promised me to get a new dress and crackers this time”. She was in a hurry and just said “Yes beta for sure”. She gave him his lunch box and a kiss on his chubby cheeks and waved bye with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, her father came and told her “Kiran, your mother’s condition is not improving and the Doctor has told to get her operated within 15 days otherwise her condition will become worse. Beta, will you be able to arrange the money in this short frame of time?. Kiran smiled and said “Don’t worry Papa, I will arrange and you please book the appointment after 15 days”. “Thanks mere bacche” he said and started walking towards his room. Kiran noticed that his one slipper was torn. She looked towards the wall clock. It was 8:00 A.M. and she had to reach office by 9:00 A.M. She said to herself, “Today, I will speak to sir about my loan approval”.

She went to Trisha’s room to feed her. Trisha was lying on the bed and her bed sheet was wet. Trisha was her bedridden daughter. She picked up the diaper and changed the sheet, fed Trisha and then made her lie again on the bed. She explained everything to her maid who had just entered the house and went to her room in a hurry to get ready for her office. Trisha was born like a normal child but one accident changed her life and she was bedridden since then. Kiran was trying her best to handle everything on her own as after some years of her marriage, her husband Mudit had left them saying he is going to Dubai for work. Since then, he didn’t come back. They couldn’t get any information about him and with the passage of time and responsibilities mounting on her, she became deeply involved in work and home. She didn’t let anything break her. Maa, Papa, Trisha and Mohit, she was the only one who had to take care of each one of them. She had wanted to study more in her teenage days but her parents always used to say “Zyaada padhogi toh shaadi nahi ho paayegi” and that’s when she was married off to Mudit even before completing her 12th standard.

Kiran looked into the mirror, arranged her saree pleats and picked up her hand bag. She had got a job in a company as a receptionist. The owner of that company was Mudit’s maternal uncle, Mr. Mehra. He gave her the job to help her in taking care of her family. First she was not comfortable but seeing the condition of the house, she agreed to do the job. When we are left with few options, we have to compromise and this happened with Kiran too.

She reached office as it was not much far from her home. She checked Mr Mehra’s cabin and arranged everything as he had given this duty to her. She thought “Today I will definitely get the loan approval”. She went to her reception counter and started her work but somehow, she was eager to meet Mr Mehra. At 10:00 A.M, Mr. Mehra entered the office. He was on a call laughing loudly. Kiran thought “He is in a happy mood and her loan will be approved today”. She went inside his cabin 10 minutes later. “Come kiran come” said Mr. Mehra and offered her a seat. He was aware, why she came as it was the 5th time Kiran had come to him for the loan approval. Kiran said “Sir, I wanted to know about the loan approval as amma is not well and we have to get her surgery done in the next 15 days”. Mr. Mehra said “Kiran have you thought about my offer?”. Kiran was taken aback. She stood up silently from her chair and started walking towards the door. “My car will come near Sadar Market at 8:30 P.M and you will get your loan without any interest, inside an envelope in that car. She walked outside the room without even looking back.

In the evening when she came back home, Mohit came running and hugged her and asked her “Mumma, shall we go to the market today for buying clothes and firecrackers?”. Kiran looked into his eyes. She could see so many expectations inside them. She said “Let’s see beta”. She went to her parents room and her father looked at her. She smiled, went near her mother and kissed her on her forehead and said “Everything will be fine”. She went to her room and lied down on her bed emotionlessly. Today she felt, she is broken, helpless and all alone. She prayed to God to help her. She was missing Mudit like anything. Suddenly her phone beeped. It was a message saying “Be on time there”. Kiran stood up, went to the washroom, washed her face and after 15 minutes, she was ready to go out of the house. Mohit came close to her and said “Mumma, are we going to the market today”?. He asked with so many sparkles in his eyes. “No beta, I will be back in a while. We will go for shopping tomorrow morning and will have lots of fun” and after saying this, she stepped out of the house.

A Navy blue colour car came and stood in front of her. Seeing the car, tears rolled down her eyes. Kiran wiped her tears and said “Tomorrow will be “Diwali“ for my family”. She sat inside the car with so many tears and emotions hidden inside her.

“Beggars are not choosers” but if we support someone wisely, no Kiran will have to give up on her needs.

I knew this day would breathe dawn upon me,
Where my thoughts stood still in a frozen agony,
Watching a handful of treasurable memories swing by me,
I struggled to scream yet stood helplessly still, watching life drift away in the arms of time,
Quite subtle steps of insanity driven silence, gently crept up my spine,
Paralyzing my every desire, while it brushed across my vulnerable being,
Today was the beginning of a tormenting grand finale,
My hands desperately reached across in a frantic search,
To grab on to any hope that teased me,
I stood still, in complete awareness of my time and space..
My eyes shut in fear, I now tried to look within me,
Tender words of a warm summer breeze, gushed life through my veins,
A heartbeat racing to a long forgotten symphony, awaiting it’s turn,
Innocent voice of a neglected yet cheerful childhood, reminded me of strength,
A scarring youth battling soul hungry vultures, awaiting their turn to mock my morality,
Was an overwhelming evidence for my zesty passion to live,
A universal union of eternal love in spite of whispering tears,
Proved the existence of dignity draped divinity in love,
As this enlightening vision broke through the dark deep dungeons of a scared memory,
I knew it was now my turn to pick up the shattering pieces, not having to look any further,
There wasn’t a reason to seek beyond the sacred purity of a soul,
For I now realized the answer was always well hidden within me,
To pick me up, smile at my past, journey on with my pride leading ahead of me!

Bio: Smitha is a simple and straightforward person who believes in honesty, humanity and soulful poetry above all. Her first love has always been poetry. The ability to remind people of the extraordinary beauty in simplicity has always fascinated her and thus started her wonderful journey into the endless and breathtaking world of poetry!

Such is being a mortal,
When existence is measurable,
On scales and systems defined by us,
Just like the ones we use to celebrate our birthdays and anniversaries,
As we and our relationships age, between two numbers,
But a lot changes as as we jump from one number to another,
Let’s see how.

Suresh Chandra Sharma and Saroj Devi have been living together for the past 59 years. One can imagine them actually growing up together. Sounds a little funny, right? Especially to this generation which cannot maintain a relationship for even six months. Well, that’s how society transforms with changing times. And it happens for a reason.

Coming back to our beloved couple. Saroj was barely 15 and Suresh around 21 years old when their parents married them off. It’s been an adolescent’s and a newly grown up adult’s new beginning of a lifelong relationship. One can wonder how they must have lived the different phases of their emotional aging together. Saroj devi was 17 when she bore her first child who couldn’t survive as was the case with most women in India during those days. Healthcare, mother’s nutritional needs and child’s fetal development monitoring was a privilege only the elite could afford. Despite all this, they managed to raise six children. It’s a kind of managing only, with a single breadwinner and so many mouths to feed. With 5 daughters and the youngest being the son, as was the general norm in Indian families which exist till date, of having one son atleast (the so-called support of their old age), irrespective of the number of daughters one has. Today, one will find such a thing a bit scary,  when managing oneself is in itself a big task. The so called millennials won’t understand the entire notion behind having so many children. But if you ask Saroj devi, she has a different story to justify the reason behind giving birth to so many kids.

She narrates the teachings of her mother who herself had many children, out of which some  survived and some couldn’t. It’s a kind of a legacy in some way. Saroj being a pious and a religious lady has God as the center of all her activities and life events. So is the case with her children too. She thinks it was God’s will that she should bear 6 children so she fulfilled that. Human anatomy, physiology and the entire mating game backed by logic and science loses its credibility when God enters the scene. Such is the power of religion. Better not argue with her on this. She has more stories and even more theories to back up her stance than you can even cook up in a year’s time to counter attack her point. Her infallible faith in God and his magical powers is worth taking cognizance of.

With so many children came an equally large number of responsibilities. And this only increased with Suresh being in a transferable state government job. What is commendable about them is the way in which they raised their children with no discrimination at home or otherwise. All studied well, graduated from different colleges,  pursuing their dreams and charting their desired career paths. Suresh and Saroj got all of them married to partners who fitted best in their societal mores.

Now, at the last leg of their life’s journey, becoming grandparents, with grandchildrens visiting them in the summer vacations, the couple feels that they are reliving their parenthood again and they cherish these moments they spend with their grandchildren. But Suresh is 81 now, with asthmatic complaints and a declining memory due to Alzheimer’s gripping him slowly. He is a loving grandfather but with Saroj he behaves nastily and gets on her nerves with his childlike tantrums. He met with an accident a year ago leading to multiple fractures in the skull and an eventual decline in his memory, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Saroj blames herself for his condition as she feels that she did not keep the nine day navratri fast last year due to some minor health issues and so God cursed her by making her husband ill. Saroj’s health is fine but she fears the time when Suresh will succumb to death, as she is seeing him die slowly and painfully. She bears his erratic behavior because she understands he is in pain and also makes it a point to pray for him daily.

It was in the year 2015, Saroj and Suresh’s children decided to celebrate their parent’s 60th marriage anniversary (sasthipoorthi), a rare phenomena when couples complete 60 years of their marriage and togetherness. They planned a wedding in the same manner they did 60 years ago and the children arranged everything in the traditional UP brahmin way, the marriages were performed in the earlier rustic lifestyle of their parents. It was supposed to be a grand affair, as many relatives, kith and kin from far away, and even a number of acquaintances were invited. But on the night of 28th April, Suresh started feeling breathless and no inhalers helped him regain his breath to normalcy. An ambulance was called. Saroj was getting pampered as a new bride with haldi and mehendi on her hands and choosing her old banarasi silk brocade rusty red saree to be worn with her trademark gold jhumkis and deep maroon bindi. Little did she know her groom is in the ICU now.

As soon as her eldest granddaughter informed her, Saroj was in tears and pleaded her to take her to the hospital immediately. She spent the whole night by Suresh’s side as he was recuperating through a ventilator. She prayed whole night, but alas! on the morning of 29th April, though Suresh opened his eyes, looked at Saroj and his kids for a while, and smiled a bit, he finally closed his eyes forever. Saroj cried her heart out, beating her bangles on the hospital room bed and wiping off her sindoor and bindi. The children and the grand children tried to console her but it went in vain.

She lives in her home alone with Suresh’s picture by her bed side, which she sees often and remembers the beautiful years they spent together. The short film which their children made for the wedding day to show their years of togetherness, she now watches it in the evening, sitting in her living room, where Saroj and Suresh used to have their evening tea together.

She pauses the film at the last scene and stares at their last picture together for a long time and eventually falls to sleep.

Such is the dance of destiny,
You try to shake a leg,
To the tunes of joy,
In the times of merriment,
But it twists you in ways,
That you stumble and fall,
To never rise again.

Bio: Pradeepti Sharma is a banker by profession, but loves words more than numbers. Intrigued by the fine nuances of life, like music, art, literature, and love. Loves cooking and dancing. Children make her joyful to the core. Spirituality and philosophy define her existence. 

Just 4 months before my 6th wedding anniversary, I came to know why my husband really married me. It was like an enlightenment. At the same time I could feel the ground beneath my feet collapse. It was a strange feeling.

For years I had struggled to know why he really married me, if not for love. I made many assumptions and accosted him often. But he was insouciant to my pain and suffering. As a man he walked off saying he cannot emotionally connect to me. So? Thats it?

If not your wife, I am your son’s mother. As a mother, show me some respect. Withered my hope, from being sad to being indifferent, my emotions had evolved over the years.

But he was still the same, unruffled by my presence.

It was a usual Tuesday night, the first week of August 2014, that I googled and got the answer to my questions. I felt silly for not having seen the obvious reason for so many reasons. How stupid I was! All these years it was just under my nose. How could I have not seen it?

I felt light after knowing the reason. At the same time, I felt cheated. All the love which he had shown me before marriage seemed like a honey trap and I the naive girl, fell inside it.

I now had the answers why my husband avoided coming close to me. I recall on our honeymoon, I kept telling him that I feel like a tourist and less like a honeymooner. Why are we visiting museums, aquariums and doing sightseeing like a tourist? Why are we not spending time getting cozy, taking the day as we want, at our pace?

Few months later, we went to Europe for 17 days. Again, we toured the countries like tourists, making love not once. I just blamed the hectic itinerary. I was happy to be with the person I loved the most, and believed the same for him.

I stayed in a joint family, with my in-laws. I now understand why my husband would come upstairs to spend time with me after dinner, post 11 pm. He had to watch television till 2 or 3 am. Else he could not sleep. How gullible I was, I believed him! I would try to sleep by myself for months. He would join me when I would have slept already, tired of waiting for him.

On days when he was at home, either of his parents would find some work for him in the afternoon. That’s the time, when I expected a siesta holding him by my side. How like a perfect son, he would hop on his bike and rush to get things from the market. He used to get tired after coming back, watch tv to relax or just crash on the bed.

I loved shopping and he liked accompanying me. Well that’s before my marriage. Post the D-day he suddenly found it an unbearable chore to accompany me to markets or go out. The silly me thought it to be the universal ‘married man phenomenon’.

After our first anniversary, my MIL wanted us to have a baby. She asserted that once we have a child, our fights would cease. Well yes, I complained of the less time my husband spent with me, and believed it to be the in-laws effect. Because he loved me before getting married, or rather his words and actions showed love. Those days, he was the perfect gentleman, chivalrous, everything that a woman looks for in her life partner. But that was the day before I tied the knot.

We went to Thailand. That was the only time when he came close to me often. And I conceived. The romantic in me dreamt of a peaceful and happy family with our junior. Silly me!

Things actually dint get any better after my child was born. And my husband just evolved. He would always demean me and hardly interact. I was made to feel that I cant take care of my baby by myself. Which woman becomes a perfect mother from day one? With the birth of a child, a mother is born. They learn and grow together.  I was no exception.

Actually, the signs were always there. It once crossed my mind, but he thundered that he has fathered my child. I agreed. After all these years of faking a happy married life to the world, somewhere I had broken from inside. Why will a husband stop talking to a wife if the house was not arranged and prim and proper? Why will he not blame the full time maid for housework? Why will he find reasons so that he doesn’t have to come near me, talk to me, hold my hand, spend time with me, go out with me, shower me with gifts or make me feel special and loved ever?

After all these years, I had the answer. But I needed to be doubly sure before I speak up. I spoke to my parents and doctors. The ignorant me finally got the insight to my life. My husband was a sexually dysfunctional man. Shocked! Yes I was. Such men can have children. The other reasons which the doctors gave was either he is gay or he has an affair. I doubt the later. I would have been happier had he been in a relationship and gave me an easy exit.

One of the doctors smirked when I informed him that we may have got physical around 20 times in more than 5 years. Such marriages don’t last 6 months, he said. I felt such an idiot in love, blindly in love. In love with the man who actually never loved me. Ouch…this feeling actually hurts. But I am in a much calmer zone now.

I always wanted to write a novel with a story close to my heart but never thought I would be a part of one all these years!

It was raining heavily. Maya was sitting in the balcony with a hot cup of coffee and enjoying the beauty of the rain and the city. Her two kids were playing down with paper boats in the rain. She was observing everything carefully. Suddenly, she started missing the days she had spent with Rahul.

Life was beautiful for both of them in a small city of Gujarat, till the day Rahul met with an accident and died on the spot leaving behind Maya and their two kids. Maya was left totally devastated. She was a housewife for the past 15 years. She never went out to work despite of her being an Engineer. She always did what Rahul wanted her to do for the well being of their family. Her kids, Advik was just a year old baby and Myraa was 6 years old. Maya was unable to think anything. She had gone totally blank and her life was screwed up very badly. She was not in a condition to even feed her kids.

Her parents came to her and told her “Don’t worry Maya, we will help you in raising your kids”. Other family members started pitying her for her husband’s death and some people blamed her and her kids for the misfortune. Maya couldn’t take it anymore when people started cursing her children and that’s when she decided to stand on her own and raise her kids herself. She started hunting for jobs in companies where she was told that due to a gap of 15 years in her professional career, they wouldn’t like to hire her. Maya did not break down. She decided to try her luck in other fields. Finally, she got a chance in a preschool to work as a coordinator. The salary offered to her was very less but still she was happy that at least she would earn something for herself and her children. Rahul had purchased some insurance policies which also helped her a lot. Maya remembered how much both of them had argued with each other for these policies but Rahul had bought it ignoring Maya’s arguments.

She stood near Rahul’s photo and thanked him from her heart for securing her and their children’s future.

Life was not easy for Maya. There were end number of challenges which she faced with tears in her eyes but she didn’t give up. Maya decided to fight with whatever life would throw at her and she stood up for her family’s sake.

One day at the school, a parent of a kid told Maya “you are so good in managing the school, why don’t you create your own franchise and work?”. He told her that she can get loan from a bank and that he will help her if she is interested. Maya didn’t take it seriously that time and just thanked the parent for his idea and started moving towards her home.

Life started moving normally. Her kids were growing up. Myraa helped Maya in handling Advik’s education and in tackling his tantrums. One day, the principal of the school where Maya worked declared that they are shutting down the school and people working there will have to find a new job. Maya was shaken very badly and was crestfallen. She came back home with a heavy heart. She saw that Myraa was teaching alphabets to Advik. She was playing teacher and student game with her little brother. Suddenly her cell phone rang. She found that the person calling her was the same parent who had earlier told her to open the school franchise. Maya felt like Rahul has sent someone to help her. She agreed with the offer of that parent to meet the franchise people. She decided to plan everything but at the same time, she did not want to take any financial help from anyone.

Maya approached different banks and applied for a loan. She also decided to mortgage her personal belongings for getting the loan. She was adamant to not get defeated. People say that when a person decides to stand up for something, the whole universe tries to help him. Same thing happened with Maya. Her loan got approved and subsequently, she got the franchise of the school and then came the big day for Maya. It was the opening ceremony of her school. She felt very happy and proud. She thanked Rahul for sending someone to guide her.

Today, after 20 years of hard work, Maya is at peace. Her kids have settled down and her school has earned a big reputation and is considered one of the best schools. People respect Maya for her love, care, hardwork, dedication and the way in which she nurtured her kids and making them good human beings.

Maya had finished her coffee and tears had started rolling down her eyes. Suddenly, she saw a rainbow in the sky. She felt like it’s a blessing from Rahul. She smiled and said “Rahul I did my best and I didn’t give up”.

Life is full of unexpected challenges but if one is determined to face them, the whole universe will help him and Maya is an example of going through such challenges and passing it with flying colours.

Keep smiling and say to yourself that I will never give up come what may and then see how things will change. We as human beings have the power to change our lives with our determination and hard work. Lets vow that “WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP”. 

     

I stay by this shore… My reflection throws murky hues… When the tears of joy and fearless bygone tales echo over the mundane day, I stay awake… The breeze is cozy, and the dusk paints my hair, waltzing with the wind.

Who am I? Where do I head to? I have met thousands of people, with grief, laughter, many shades of stories buried within them. And they became a part of me, my little world, taking some ache and throwing a few to the grave. Lights will guide us, and the lanterns will bright up the dark. There is a mystery, told by my great grandmother. She was 102 when she passed away. Every dawn comes with a shine, and the dusk pulls down the curtain with darkness. Night is bliss, but the day pay way to it. And all that we see, seek, is all that we get.

“Trance” will be my 10^th book and the add on book “Let’s Trance” will be the 11^th. When I got my first book published 8 years ago, I never thought I would pursue this career. It was all magic, after getting rejected by many publishing house… And today, I am glad that I could do something that I never thought would happen… Let the rivers flow… Dreams soar… The magic is just about to begin…

And as I stay by this shore, my tainted reflection smiles, and in return the dusk ascends to the sky…

There are no books on success for everyone as each book or each journey has a different story. The day a baby is born, expectations are dumped on the baby to be beautiful, fair, thin,intelligent and so many other things. Expectations keep on growing . From education, marks, life, marriage and so on. In the rat race of life, you do what is asked by your family and keep on satisfying all till Mr Yamraj comes and asks about your life balance sheet. It’s often said what happens to a child till 5 years remains in their mind till the end and they act accordingly through out. If a child is not loved, picked up, cuddled and if it sees violence frequently, he or she does the same through out their life.

In a lot of seminars, I have seen people having issues with themselves, with their parents or how their boy friend or girl friend treated them. People have not spoken to their parents over years, few have been abused , scarred  and so on. Problem  in India is they don’t seek professional help. We talk about depression when Deepika Padukone speaks about it. Still going for counselling or taking help is a taboo. It’s assumed only people having mental issues should take help ,rest pretend nothing is happening. That’s why we read so many cases of crime, violence etc .

My write up is not to scare everyone but to let people know that all go through strife during their journey of life, many times. Therefore always listen to people you love and care and also be kind to strangers if you feel he or she needs help. In today’s world people record incidents and post it on social media rather than helping anyone. Also, stop having low self esteem issues and stop getting bullied, shamed, abused or disrespected. We are all imperfect and no one needs to be perfect. People in media looking perfect, use artificial or real means of diet, surgery, make up, air brush to look perfect. Look at Sonam Kapoor”s honest confessions. Love yourself and pamper yourself. Know who you are and what you want out of life. Treat failure as a stepping stone to success. Remember Robert Bruce ? Be happy,blessed and have  gratitude towards what you got. Try for what you want to achieve and if you can’t, decide was that your best or look for alternatives.

Life is a box of chocolates so enjoy it well.

Author Bio: Winner of the inner beauty sub-title at the recently held Mrs Karnataka Pageant, mother to a 20 and 18 year old. Soma Mukherjee tells us how she lives life to the fullest.

Hi Friends! I am writing a blog after a very long time as I am nowadays heavily tied up due to my work pressure. It’s very hectic for a lone person to handle everything, but in my case I never worry or fear about all these things. I have come a very long way and have worked and toiled very hard for achieving the prestigious status that I currently enjoy in my personal and business circle. Whatever I have achieved till now is due to the blessings of my parents and by the grace of God.

Once when I was just 16 years old, one day my father told me, “son, I think that the time has come for us to open our branch office at Ahmedabad and you will have to live there alone and continue your studies there, as well as handle our growing business.” Then he said are you ready my Pathan? I had the same characteristics like “Pathans” from the beginning and my father knew it as he too was like that in his entire life and hence it was in my genes. I immediately replied “Yes Papa, I am ready without thinking twice and hence at the age of 16, I got ready to stay in a different unknown city in Gujarat.

After reaching Ahmedabad, I worked very hard. I used to attend the morning college and would then attend my office, handle the business and return home at night. I used to stay alone in my house. I stayed there for six years and during that period, life taught me many things. I learned how to live alone without being dependent and without any support from anyone. I used to eat outside every day, but then it took toil on my health, so I decided to prepare food myself and learnt it from a Marwari servant. From thereon, I used to eat food prepared by me.

After my marriage took place in 1990 in Mumbai, we sold our business in Ahmedabad on goodwill to another party and also sold our house and since then I am permanently residing here in the dream city Mumbai. My father passed away in 1997 and from that day onwards, I am in charge of his business. I am just a caretaker of it. He was the real architect who had laid down it’s foundation. I am just sitting on a ready made chair whose supporting legs were constructed by my father. Words and paragraphs are not enough to describe my father. His journey of life was a very important lesson that I have learnt by just observing and then implementing it in my life. Hard work, strong determination, fortitude, tremendous willpower, courage, honesty, wisdom, sincerity and the always undying attitude are some of the things that I have learned from my father and today I am very proud that I am reaping the rewards by following his laid down principles.

My father was born in Porbandar, the karma bhoomi of the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi. My father was a self-made man. We were not born rich. At the tender age of 15, my father lost his father. He was the eldest son amongst his other four brothers and one sister who were much younger than him and hence he had to sacrifice his studies and had to venture out to find a job for feeding his huge family. He got a job in a petrol pump at Rs-15/- per month, where he had to carry heavy weight drums on his shoulders and deliver it to nearby shops in the surrounding area. His mother used to cry when she would see her young aged son come back home from work, all covered with petrol and grease all over his body and clothes. His journey of rags to riches thereafter is just like an unbelievable fairy tale which can not be described in short. I was informed about all this by my mother. She told me how my father used to toil hard and earn money but would never compromise on my and my brother’s necessities when we were young and immature. He would never spend more money on himself, but would always spend it on us. Today my elder brother is a very successful practising chartered accountant and I am a successful businessman, which is only due to the strenuous hard work and vision of my parents.

The story of my mother’s struggles and sacrifices is also highly commendable which I will surely share sometime later.

I can never repay my father in any way. Even if I make shoes from my skin and offer him then also it will not be even a little bit sufficient. My father is always with me. It’s only the body that perishes but not the soul, not the memories, not the principles, not the teachings, not the love and hence he will always remain with me. His name will always be beside my name and that will remain forever even after I die till eternity and even today I never do anything without seeking my father’s and mother’s divine blessings. They are my real Gods. They are present in my every breath, in my every heart beat, in my ticking mind and in every tiny cell. They will be always there inside me, even when I am turned into ashes and nobody, not even God can take away this privilege from me. It’s this son’s ever eternal right.

“Matru Devo Bhava:”

“Pitru Devo Bhava:”

Ketan Doshi from Mumbai is a businessman with a penchant for writing blogs and poems. He is an optimist, travel enthusiast, nature lover and philanthropist.