A long absence

A big hello to all my blog friends, after a long time.

I know I've been completely M.I.A recently and haven't had time to update my blog, or drop by and read and comment of my favorite blogs.
Life has become super hectic these days, and it's just been one thing after another, and I haven't been able to keep up very well.

This is just a post to let all my friends know that I'm alive, still here and will be returning in full form very soon. Hopefully by next week. I have quite a few posts in the works for days now, and will be churning them out once I'm back.
I'm also gonna try and catch up on my dose of all the fabulous blogs I missed while I was gone .
Hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving weekend, and got their fill of shopping.
See you all soon !

Why the needless damage ??

Image source : toondo

The festive season is upon us, Indians in India and around the world are celebrating one of their biggest festivals... Diwali ! Happy Diwali to all my blog friends around the world !!
I've mentioned before on the blog, that I'm not much of a religious person, so for me festivals don't have a high religious significance, however that does not mean I don't celebrate them, I love celebrating any ocassion, big or small and festivals are no different. I love to celebrate them, including diwali and enjoy the festivities associated with it .

A decade of bliss

I rarely write about my personal life, because that is not what this blog is about , however this post is one of those few posts about my life. The event is such that I really felt like I should blog about it, just to document the momentous occasion in my life. It is the occasion of my 10th wedding anniversary. My marriage has completed 10 years this week. Although it seems like just yesterday that we were those two crazy kids (and we practically were just kids)  in love, without a care in the world, who decided that they wanted to spend their lives together.

Debate audience or lynch mob ?

America is nearing another election year. The race for 2012 seems to be getting hotter every passing day . I am a keen observer of US politics, it is a fascinating topic for me. America is a polarized nation when it comes to political views. Now that the elections are getting close, emotions are reaching a peak, and the nation seems more polarized than ever.
Currently the debates between the pool of possible candidates from the Republican party (GOP) who could contest against President Obama are on. These debates are an interesting watch in general, but this year there's a peculiar aspect of the debates that has made more people sit up and take notice.

Light a diya !

This is just a short post to let my blog friends know about a cool diwali feature that is available on the website NRI matters.
It is called light a diya. Since diwali is fast approaching, they've come up with an interesting little feature that can help us send diwali wishes to near and dear ones. Here's some more information about the application.

To Akka with love !

Image source : fotosearch

" Kuch log ek roz jo bichad jaate hain,
   woh hazaroon ke aane se milte nahin,
   Umra bhar chahe koi pukaara kare unka naam,
   Woh phir nahi aate, woh phir nahi aate "
  

These lines are from a well-known hindi  song , whenever I hear these lines, I'm reminded of my Akka.
Losing a loved one is probably the hardest event in anyone's life, and it was in mine too, but not only because I loved Akka, or she loved me, but also because she was one of the most extraordinary woman I'd ever met in my life, and had a big impact on me. She showered me with love, like only a mother can, she spoiled me silly like only a grandparent can, she taught me life lessons like only a teacher can and she got me to trust her and confide in her like only a friend can.
My friend, philosopher and guide, today I share with you, the story of one of the most important person of my life......Akka.

The breathtaking Canadian Rockies

This is a post to brag about where I live currently. Alberta is home to the  Canadian rockies , and one of my favorite things to do is explore the beauty of the rockies, they are beautiful and maginificent, and indeed breathtaking !
So in this post, I'd like to share with you some images of the lovely canadian rockies, hope you like them as much as I do.

A daughter is a blessing too !!!!

Image source : arthit

                               A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart
                                                                                        ---- Author Unknown                                                                                                  
This sunday i.e the 25th of september 2011 was world daughter's day, as a daughter as well as the mother of a daughter, this day certainly is very special for me. It is the only formal occassion  to celebrate being a daughter or having one.
I am not one of those who think that daughters are better than sons or vice-versa. There's something unique and wonderful about all children, and god gives us children that we are supposed to and meant to have in our life, so be it a son or a daughter they bring a whole lotta joy into their parents lives .

The life of an IT wife

Image source : funinstore

If you came here thinking, this is a post about a -'Tag-you're it" game between wives, or a wives manual on how to become the 'It' wife, i.e the wife that has it all........then I'm sorry to disappoint you, it's about none of that, lol.
For those who may not know (what were you living under a rock somewhere??), IT stands for Information Technology,  or the computer software industry, or as many Indians consider it , the magical industry that has helped shape the careers of the millions of engineers churned out by the countless engineering colleges of India each year.

The changing face of the desi Dad

The desi dad has undergone some changes in recent years . No, I'm not talking about them getting pot bellied, or bald, or getting cosmetic surgery to change the way they look . Nor am I saying that the desi moms are changing partners often, LOL.
I am referring to the role the desi father played in his home . His role has undergone a paradigm shift in the recent past.

The Real Desi Housewives of Silicon Valley

This is an article of mine, which was published recently in the online magazine 'The NRI' .
As I said in my last post, that I would be informing you all, whenever I have something new that gets published. So here's my latest venture.

Of changes, milestones and gratitude

I have been a late and fairly recent entrant to blogging, have been reading some blogs regularly for over three years now, but somehow never thought of blogging myself. I thought I'd have nothing to write, I thought I have nothing worth saying, that anyone would like to pay attention to and come and read my posts...so just remained a blog reader....

Why sita sings the blues ?

Anyone who grew up during the 80's in India, during the era of doordarshan (i.e pre cable tv era) , has definitely seen the epics of Hindu mythology, which were made into television shows on doordarshan, i.e the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Both were hugely popular shows, causing deserted streets, during the air times, because of their popularity. These epics have a very big significance in the Hindu religion, why I am not exactly sure, but I've been told that they are important.  Recently I happened to come across a narration of the Ramayana, through a different angle, i.e from sita's angle. It is an animated satirical documentary film, by Nina Paley called sita sings the blues (warning : it is mature subject matter) . It explains the story of ramayana through the eyes of sita, while also having a parellel narrative of an American couple and their split, eventually relating the story of sita to the modern woman. It got me thinking about the story of Ramayana, and in turn about most of hindu mythology and it's treatment of women, from an angle I hadn't given much thought to before.

Group Dynamics of women

Image Source : This is your conscience

In my last post about the way female bonding is represented in Bollywood, one of the fellow bloggers Preeti, made an interesting comment about the whole issue of female bonding.
In my post I had alluded to the fact that in society many think that women are incapable of long standing, deep relationships. I have mixed feelings on this point. On one hand I do believe that women are totally capable of long, deep friendships, and can be honest and supportive to one another, but I also agree that this is more the case of one on one friendships or with a small and close group of few girls.

Where's the sisterly love bollywood ?

Image source : Prairie girl

I had heard some good reviews of the latest bollywood hit ' Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ' (roughly translated is you only live once ) . Many of my friends were raving about it on facebook, and twitter, so I was super excited to see a good bollywood movie. Although the movie wasn't disappointing, beautiful locations, nice songs, good performances, overall a good bollywood movie, but one thing that kinda struck me was to see yet another movie dedicated to the close male friendship bond.
I guess I've seen one too many bollywood movies about  brotherly love, and male bonding, so the less than enthusiastic reaction, and, it begs the question in my mind, 'Where's the sisterly love, Bollywood ???'. Where are the movies showing similar close female bonds, with their girlfriends ?

Happy Independence day !!!

Image Source : Computer-wallpapers

                                                      Thankyou Blogadda !!
                                                                                                                  

This year the world's largest democracy celebrates it's 65th independence day. It was many moons ago on the 15th of august 1947, that India's freedom struggle against the British finally ended, and the British left India for good.
I am actually proud of what India has achieved since independence, considering that they'd been robbed of so much for so long, by the British, and also considering the humongous sized population and the kind of diversity there is in the nation.

My disenchantment with Raksha-Bandhan

Image source : yah.in

Many Indian homes will be celebrating the festival of  raksha bandhan or rakhi as it is usually called, in a few days. Sisters all over Indian homes, will tie a sacred thread on their brothers wrists, reminding him of his duty of protecting and loving them.
It is a beautiful tradition that celebrates the bond and love shared by brothers and sisters.
It has roots in hindu mythology, with many versions of it's origins, the most common one being the one where draupadi tore off a piece of cloth from her sari to tie up a bleeding wound on krishna's hand, and he in turn promises her to protect her and repay her debt down to the last thread, which he later follows through on, during the attemped disrobing of draupadi in the royal kingdom, when he magically appears and keeps adding fabric onto her sari, eventually saving her from getting disgraced.
Thus began the tradition of rakhi, or raksha bandhan (which roughly translated means a bond of protection) .

Just the two of us

The Delhi slutless walk

Image Source : Indian Express

It was a warm sunday morning in July, in Delhi, the capital of India, and a few hundred women and men took to the streets for something called a slut walk . For those of you, who haven't heard what this walk is, lemme tell you, it's nothing creepy, it's actually a women's movement. You can get a detailed account of this movement here .
In a nutshell, it started, when a Toronto cop made a statement saying, that women should avoid dressing up like sluts (i.e provocatively) so as to avoid getting victimized (raped/molested). This triggered a response in the form of thousands of women marching the streets of toronto (many dressed as so called 'sluts') with messages written on their body or holding placards reading things like 'Don't tell us (women) how to dress, tell men not to rape' . The movement spread like wildfire across the world with similar walks being held in multiple cities in the USA, england, australia, new-zealand, across europe, across south america, etc. Women everywhere were inspired to take a stand and make a statement about not accepting being branded as sluts for taking charge of their bodies and sexuality.

Amazing Vancouver !

I recently took a vacation to Vancouver, Canada. What an amazing city, such beauty all over, I'm so jealous of all those who get to live there, I would move there in a heartbeat. For now, here are some images from Vancouver.

View of downtown Vancouver from the hotel 'The Fairmont Vancouver'