Urja - Do not hide your light, let it shine!

If one is open to new things and if one has a passion for doing something and keeping oneself busy, life always gives you chances and opportunities to make the best of it. A similar opportunity knocked on my door, and I decided to grab it with both my hands. What exactly is the title of my blog post today, and what does Urja mean? Urja means energy, your inner light, that deep voice within which guides you to do good things to keep you happy. And that's precisely the name of our new venture, which I have started with my friend, Sarwari. It's a platform for women where we encourage and motivate them to come out of their houses and do something for themselves. I will tell you more about it as to how did we reach here and what brought Sarwari and me together in this.

Mere ghar aayi ek nanhi pari

When my close friend M broke the news that she is expecting, I was overjoyed. I so wanted it to be a girl, and yes god and the baby listened to all our prayers, and a baby girl decided to enter the life of my close friend and her husband. The extended family of friends and relatives was eclectic too. On 26th January 2020, a baby shower took place, and on that occasion, I wrote a letter to the baby who will come into this world in 2 months. The would-be mother and the father and all her friends and relatives loved the concept. I was quite emotional when I penned this letter and even more nervous when I read out to the audience there. Read the letter here and let me know how you like it!

Blog Marathon - Post 10 - ती आणि तू

तूच सीता, कधी चंडिका 

कधी राधा, तर कधी दुर्गा 

तूच आहेस शक्ती आणि 

तूच आहेस अंबा

सृजनशीलतेची आणि कर्तव्याची मूर्ती तू

अखंड इतरांसाठी जगणारी तू

मुलांच्या स्वप्नांना पंख देणारी तू

सदैव अविरत झटणारी तू

घे उंच भरारी 

त्या निळ्या आकाशात तू ही कधीतरी

पसरून पहा पंख

जग तू ही कधीतरी स्वतःसाठी

शोध घे स्वतःचाच तू 

ठाव घे त्या मनाचा 

शोध घे अस्तित्वाचा 

तुझ्यातल्या मी पणाचा

Blog Marathon - Post 9 - May the tribe grow!

I spoke to a friend today after many years. After I was back on FB, I saw her posts about her son's origami skills. I was pleasantly surprised that the boy had taken up a completely different hobby. In the age of online games and screen addiction, this boy was creating wonders with his hands and the ancient art of Origami. I learned from her today that she had shifted to New York to pursue a course, and her family was back in India. She would spend one year doing the course and probably the next year she would get a job and then her husband and son would join her later. But she was going to stay alone for two years, away from them. It must have been a tough decision for her, but for better future prospects, she chose to take the plunge and move to New York. I didn't have any words to say about her decision. I was no one to give an opinion after all. But I instantly had tremendous respect for her husband and family and for her to have taken that bold step of moving away alone for a short time. How many women in India are really able to do this?