Self Praising is good for Health

Self Praising

I write, I write for my own happiness and satisfaction. I feel happier when people appreciate my writings, when people encourage me to write more. But given a scenario where people dislike my writings, should I give up writing? No way. I love my own writings. The first person for whom I write is "Myself". The first person whom I want to impress is "Myself". Life is interesting if you show interest to life. Every small thing you do for yourself and your dear ones, do it with full heart. If you are happy with the outcomes, praise yourself, reward yourself even if your loved ones forget to praise you. That new dish you tried the other day was too good, pat yourself on the back. You just helped someone in need, be proud of yourself. We already have too many critics in this world to criticize us, to find faults in us.  Be an encourager, encourage yourself, encourage others to do good things, things which make you and others happy. Before stepping out from your house look at your mirror and tell yourself "I look amazing, I am gonna have a great day.".

A night of terror which will never be forgotten even if I want to

Night of Terror

It was a night which we thought would be a night to remember, a night full of fun, after all 3 girls were meeting together after a long time.  

It was 9ish at night when we were returning home, looking forward to a gala girls night at my place. As usual I was in the driver seat. While I was driving slowly due to traffic jam, a biker knocked on my car window and said There is a riot going ahead. If possible go back. I heard him, I looked around, everything and everyone seemed normal. I didn't believe him. Perhaps because  riot is something I get to hear and see in movies and news channels,  my brain denied to believe the man sent by God.  

After driving not even a km, I started sensing  unusual things. On the other side of the road I saw a group of people carrying a body full of blood. After sometime, a mad mob came and choked the entire road. I wanted to take a u-turn but it was too late. They blocked both sides of the road. My car was the first to get trapped in that mad crowd. People started screaming Delhi police hai hai. They started burning effigies right in front of my car. We were literally surrounded by a mad mob. Then came the worse part,  people started jumping over my car. Few of them told us to leave the car and run away. They were not going to spare anyone and anything. In such scenario people normally become numb and their brains stop working. My case was different. My brain worked faster. There were so many things running in my head. I was responsible for the safety of 3 women, including me. Getting down the car in that very short dress I was wearing was not a good idea at all. I had to drive out of the place by hook or by crook. 

God is great. For the second time He sent saviors for us. Five people from the same crazy crowd turned out to be our protectors. They assured us that we would be safe and no one would harm us. They stopped other people from attacking our car. They escorted our car while I was driving in reverse. Then they helped me in taking a u-turn. God bless You were the words from three of us for those unknown angels sent by God. 

While I was driving at the wrong side, people continued to throw stones on cars and buses.  I was somehow managing to escape from the place. Then I saw the car in front of me. The driver was a policeman in uniform. My next challenge was to overtake that car as I would also be in trouble if I kept following that car. The policeman literally joint hands and begged for his life in front of the angry mob. I didn't know how but I overtook the car and many other vehicles. For the first time I felt proud of my own driving, it saved us. I thanked my dad inside my heart who taught me driving when I was in my 10th class. Things we saw in movies happened right in front of us, we were part of it. It was indeed a miraculous escape. For a moment I prayed for the victims of such unfortunate terrible incidents. And every moment of that night we thanked God for saving us.  

Lesson Learnt - Listen to all kinds of words of caution even if they are from strangers. Do not ignore!

Why Shaandaar is shaandaar?

Shaandaar Movie

I went for the movie with apprehensions. Why did I read the critics' reviews? But I knew that it will be pleasure for my eyes watching Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt chemistry.  

I was not wrong,  it was fun watching Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Don't expect any romance between them as they clearly said it's a comedy movie (not a romantic movie). The icing on the cake is Pankaj Kapoor who played the role of a possessive and over-protective father of Alia Bhat and Sanah Kapoor.

There are dragging parts in the movie. I don't like the animated portions, they are not required at all. Both Shahid and Alia are insomniac in the movie so it is rare that they dream. But some dream scenes are badly put,  again not required. Guys will hate me for this but the scene of Alia in bikini is also not required. 

What I like the most about the movie is the realization that woman can be beautiful irrespective of her size. Sanah Kapoor looks so pretty in her XL size. The best part is she does not give up her love for food just for her loser fiance. Being a foodie I can very well connect to it. 

Shaandaar...  overall a good time-paas - a must watch for Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt fans.

Life in a Delhi Metro... (Episode 4)

Lost and Found

Standing in the queue to security check, I saw a woman walking rapidly from one end to another screaming loud "Pinky Pinky ". She looked panicked but she was in total control of herself. Before I could understand what is going on, two girls standing in front of me said to each other "O My God! She lost her child.". In such situation any mother would break down with tears, will go out of control. But she was a brave (but stupid) woman. She didn't even seek help from security or people around, which should be the first thing to do. I thought of helping her first by getting description of her child, second by going to CISF to seek their quick help. Thank God, it was not required. Her daughter who might be 4 or 5 years old came out from somewhere. The mother was undoubtedly so happy to see her daughter back. I must say the little girl was also brave like her mother. Any normal child would be panicked and crying in such situation. Her mother asked her repeatedly where were she. She didn't open her mouth but kept smiling. Looking at them the two girls standing in front of me said to each other "Such a nice mother. If I were in her place, I would have thrashed the child that she would cry there itself.". I asked myself "What would I have done if I were in her place?". I didn't get any answer. 

Anjali is now with Him!

Anjali... born into an elite family in Cochin, her father an actor, her grandfather a famous and respectful man in the city, is a 3 years old cute girl. Acting is in her genes. She is 3 but she is already a good actor. Her favourite scene is playing role of a dying girl in her last breath. She does it so naturally, no kidding. 

Anjali is sweetheart but very smart and witty. Yes, she is just 3 years and some months old. I am her favorite. She loves my hair and skin. Whenever she sees me, her first sentence is "Aunty, can I touch your hair, can I touch your face?". Her beautiful eyes will become wider while playing with my hair. She has got those beautiful curly hair but she wants my long straight hair. She will complain to her mom why she does not have long straight hair. 

Anjali is not an ordinary child. I was surprised to see her dedication towards God. She has more faith in Jesus than anyone else in the family. She will not miss praising God while playing with her friends and toys. I was very sure that Jesus will be always there with her, safegaurding her. 

I knew that Anjali was God's own child, but I didn't know that God love her so much that He will take her away from us. That day Anjali was on a holiday at a place far away from Cochin. While playing with her friends by a pond side she told her friends "Look, Jesus is standing beside us.". She insisted her friends to see that He was smiling at them. None of her friends could see anything. Only later people realized Jesus came to take His favorite Child to Heaven.

Don't you have self respect?

Self Respect

Don't you have self respect? a friend asked me. I neither felt offended nor was I angry at him. Rather he was the one angry at me for being nice to people not worth. Another good friend told me Nirmala, you are too good. Surely it was not a compliment. What he meant was why I was being nice to people who tried to harm me. People in this modern world follow tit for tat policy a lot. If he is good to me, I am good to him and vice versa. I am also one of them, not a Saint. But I have few ideologies which are different. And I am happy I follow them. We are mere humans and no human is perfect. More you realize this point, a better and happier life you will live. I have come across different kinds of people - good, bad, ugly. I have been blessed with great family and friends who are always there for me, whom I can count on anytime. At the same time, I had people in life who broke me down, pulled me down. But I have no complains, rather, I am thankful to God for all the good things happened to me.

So, what is Self Respect? Respecting Oneself? I would say respect others to respect yourself. There are people who have been good and bad as well to me. Considering the fact that they are just humans, I focus on the good things they did to me and ignore the bad sides of them. Trust me, when you start observing positive sides of people, you will become more positive, you will have more respect for people around you and ultimately you gain your inner self respect and inner happiness.

P.S. - Whenever you open your mouth to say something, say something good.

Life in a Delhi Metro... (Episode 3)

Sitting in a crowded metro compartment I saw one of our office housekeeping boys in the same compartment. He didn't see me but  I couldn't resist a smile on my face. I recalled a quote which I read somewhere - "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars, its where the rich use public transport.". My intention is not to prove that I am rich or he is poor. Living in a society who has set classes like high, middle, low etc I bet many (so called) upper class people will not like this encounter. But if you ask me, I was happy to see him. It made me realized we all are same. It made me realized we all are born empty handed and someday we all are going to leave this place empty handed. 

Try this if you have not tried it yet - Know people, make friends with people from different places (states, countries, continents etc), different social backgrounds (rich and poor), different communities.