Cleaning the mess

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ Leave a comment

Ankur hated the morning hangovers, especially the Monday mornings. He tried to remember the last night and could recall a few scenes of his colleagues in his 2 BHK company apartment, drinks, music, dance and food. Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed by a call.”Suman bai” the screen flashed and he picked up dreading what he didn’t wanted to listen. Maids don’t call when they are going to come! “Sir, my son is ill and I won’t be coming”. One cannot argue on that but only say Okay.

Ankur was tall, dark but not handsome. He had one sided three girlfriends in the college (all from his side). He never gathered courage to speak up and approach any of them. Brought up in a co-ed school also never helped him. He started his job realizing building his career first was his priority and ignored the marriage proposals, every year passing by. He was not sure if he could adjust with anyone or anyone could ever adjust with him. He simply made lemonade for himself and had a Disprin to reduce the headache and headed for office. He worked in a MNC in Bangalore. Ankur was busy in work when his boss pinged him on internal messenger – Ankur, just wanted to inform you that Gunjan, my new secretary will be sharing your apartment for a few days till he finds a place to live. I hope it’s okay” An information cum order from boss, short and crisp, again could be answered well with an Okay only.

The position of his apartment struck to Ankur only after he replied his boss and he exclaimed-Oh shit!. He rushed to call Suman bai realizing the urgency of the situation, he didn’t wanted his boss’s new secretary to find that he was partying last night and what a mess he kept his “company appartment” at. Suman bai didn’t pick up the phone the whole day and Ankur had no option than to reach his apartment early and clean up the mess. He informed Gunjan that he is leaving early as he was not feeling well and made him understand the apartment address and landmarks. The house was a mess and a mess when a day older, becomes a plight. He started with picking up the trashes, used a broom and cleaned up room by room, which also reminded him of his childhood days when he helped his mother in the household chores and how it made him feel contented. The house cleaning activity made him exhausted, tired and sleepy. The hangover also demanded the sleep from him. He was waiting for Gunjan to arrive and have his dinner, when his phone beeped. An unknown number read,“ Hi Ankur, Gunjan here. I was supposed to come over your place tonight but I will be going to my relative’s home, they  live far but are insisting me to stay there tonight. Sorry bro, see you tomorrow”. Ankur replied nothing, looked around, smiled and dozed off.

Belief

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 2 Comments

Clouds are pouring water since morning. It rained yesterday also, as a tradition it has always rained on Chaudas, as a way of Mother nature bidding good bye to the beloved Lord Ganesha. Ganpati, as all say, was the prestigious guest for all for last 10 days, brought to every neighbouring house with joy and love, aarti and prasads cheered up the elder and younger ones respectively!

Today morning, while driving to office, I saw the adorned pandals were still intact, but were empty as they missed Ganesha’s idol. It was all empty and void inspite of the decorations. This reminded me the importance of belief – Belief with which an idol made of clay is celebrated as supreme power and its presence at a place makes the surroundings holy and complete. The faith which makes us believe in that power, power which influences lives.

The essence is one’s belief. Imagine what wonders can one do by believing in oneself, believing on their own thought processes and ideas for betterment of their lives or satisfaction, mental peace and health. Believe in you and you can achieve it. We generally lose the battle against ourselves, against our comfort zones, against our prejudices, against our setbacks. We need to come out of them, beat them, defeat them, overcome them and find our way of life, by believing ourselves.

Well, Ganesha comes to bless us, and goes back but with a hope to return next year, again to be a part of our life, to be a part of the lives blessed by him, to find more happy faces, to find more contentful lives on earth.

Ganpati bappa morya… Aavta varsi Loukarya.!

Image painted by- Shweta Ektare (ShwetaEktare.Art)

The Liebster Award – The Motivation

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 2 Comments

I was searching for a suitable blog topic since long and could not find one, it went like – once i thought about one topic, but didn’t find suitable content to justify, one time got a story but did not find relevant facts required to complete it. Keeping some ideas in drafts, I was spending time with reading posts of people whom I follow. Reading is an appropriate replacement of writing. At least you are surrounded by words. This reading replacement of writing overwhelmed me (15 days ago, I am already 15 days late) when I read Ayansola’s post named The Liebster Award which stated how glad he was on nomination to an internet based award. The post described the award details and rules which included answering 11 questions that the fellow blogger who nominated you has asked and writing 11 facts about yourself. Amazed by the drill, I read through his post and his answers which revealed a bit of him and brought a smile to my face. And what further overwhelmed me was seeing my name in the list of people he nominated further for the award. Wow. 

Ayansola is truly a wonderful blogger as he adds meaning to every sentence he writes and brings life to words. He is an inspiration for sure. He has been very supportive and encouraging through his comments on my blog. Do visit his blog Ayansola Ibukun , I am sure you would love his writings. Thanks a lot Ayansola for considering me eligible enough among the people you know to be deserving enough and thinking about me while thinking about people to nominate. It means a lot when this comes from such an amazing blogger.


Now if you think why am I so “overwhelmed” on a nomination only for an internet based award, I would like to mention that this is motivation for me when I have just started writing posts and seek support from fellow bloggers. This has boosted my confidence and instilled in me a sense of responsible ownership for my work.

A Little About This Award.

The Liebster Award is internet based and given by bloggers to fellow bloggers. The idea is to help connect with and support other bloggers.

The Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Share 11 facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.

4. Nominate 11 bloggers and make them happy!

5. Make up to 11 questions for your nominees to answer.

6. Notify your 11 nominees.

11 facts about myself –

1. I am from the versatile land of India.

2. I can speak, read and write in 3 languages – English, Hindi and Gujarati. Hindi and Gujarati are the vernacular languages.

3. I seek work for self satisfaction.

4. I am married to an amazing person and I am proud of my decision of choosing him, everyday.

5. I firmly believe in God but loosely on visiting temples to pray because I believe he is everywhere and I can pray from anywhere, anytime.

6. I believe in rising early, I was an early riser, though struggling with that too nowadays, but I am sure enough I will regain my strength to wake up early and maximize my morning time.

7. I am bad at marketing /sale tactics, but good at honesty and dedication.

8. I am a family oriented person and I am thankful to god for the wonderful family I have.

9. I am a chocolate addict. And am choosy with sweets. I need sugar to boost my moods, anytime.

10. I am a dancer and a teacher by heart. 

11. I love reading. I am reading from various sources and getting references from people.

Now to answer 11 questions asked by Ayansola-

1.What makes you tick?

-Yet to prove my potential, and yet to justify my purpose of life. 

2. Who is your favorite author?

– Nicholas Sparks for romantic novels and Robin Sharma for self help and positivity.

3. What’s your most memorable experience in recent times?

– Snorkeling at Phi Phi island. Being among those colorful fishes and watching the corals was the best experience in recent times.

4. Why did you decide to blog?

I decided to explore my potential. I love reading and thinking and so I am trying to put my thoughts to words. I want to reach mass through my words.

5. Where is the best place you’ll go for a vacation?

I have not been to many places so I don’t have any choice for best option. Any place will do..:)

6. Who are your first three most loved artistes?

My friend Shweta Ektare (Painter), My mother who made me what I am and me myself… I love Me!!

7. How do you find inspiration for your writings?

Applause and motivation from fellow bloggers, friends and family.

8. What’s your best meal?

Simple Indian meal, Roti (Chapati), Vegetable, Dal (Pulses)

 9. What’s that one thing you can’t do without?

Chocolates

10. How best do you relax?

Sleep and dance, I know both are way different techniques, but its like I don’t get tired while dancing and I am not tired of sleeping as well.

11. What’s your favorite quote?

Be Positive.

This is it. Thankyou for being with me all the way and patiently reading through my facts and answers!! Meanwhile, I’m supposed to nominate 11 bloggers for this award but I think I’ll pass on that.

 

 

(No) Horn. Ok. Please

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 8 Comments

Leaving Thailand with a bag and mobile full of memories (shopping and pictures, respectively😋). It had to be that way as Thailand – Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket offers a wide variety of scenic beauty, on and off the beaches, and beautiful and competitive options for shopping too.

Bangkok was a commercialised place and added Safari and Marine world in our experience. Krabi was an underdeveloped tourist place but with beautiful beaches and high scope of development, added Longtail boat and Snorkeling in experience for us. Phuket was an aptly developed tourist place, with focus on service and facilities for the tourists (Phuket’s economy is dependent on tourism). Added snorkeling, speed boat and sea swimming in our experience. An overall memorable experience and successful trip albeit monsoon making the days dull and gloomy, not-so-good hotel experience in Bangkok, foot wounds by beach stones, technical glitch delaying our return ticket booking and in turn a day extended in Phuket.

However, apart from all these, what I am also taking back with me is a No horn policy of Thailand which impressed me and all my family members since Day 1. Yes you read that right. No Horn. No sound Pollution. No honking. Being an Indian, it’s an awe-inspiring moment for us when traffic moves on the road with silent cooperation of drivers, without using the horns (which we Indians feel as a birthright to press every now and then when we sit on driver seat) . It is still an amazement to watch my taxi driver silently following the traffic, without any greed to press horn to the cars lined in front of us (if I were him, I would have pressed that noisy button 8-10 times in the last 20 minutes) and the same patience is observed in other drivers too, irrespective of private or public transport, 2 wheels or 4 wheels. You respect the other driver and everyone cooperates. Kudos to the people here for this traffic discipline and I take this lesson with me back home and try to spread it and apply it personally too. God save me in the traffic on Indian roads.

No Horn. Ok. Please. 🙏

Rendering unforgettable service.

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 4 Comments

It’s time for vacation and we decided to visit Thailand for a relaxed vacation topped with shopping benefits. We started the trip with Family.. 7 members on the tour and the trip took off well, though after a 5 hours delayed flight which spoiled our leaving-for-a-tour excitement. The taxi driver that dropped us from home to airport was a real service person. On his four wheels he ensured his customers were entertained by his talks, from the words mixed with tobacco, and his intriguing attitude of knowing everything about his customers on board. When asked by me for putting on radio, an excuse to keep him shut as I was not at all interested in a talk with a stranger at that time, he declared his radio doesn’t work, but provided an instant solution to connect our phone by USB to his system and listen to songs we like, pleasing tactic for customers. When my husband declined to not connect his phone with his system reasoning draining battery of phone,he was very quick on responding with a charger he had and said “Sir, charger bhi hai mere paas, aap to bas gaane suno aur relax karo” (Sir, I also have a charger, you listen your favourite songs and relax).I chuckled.

He taught me a lesson of customer centricity. He taught me that serving your customer in a right way leaves an unforgettable impression on them. And it’s an art of delivering such service to your customer when service is a growing and highly competitive market. It is not a product that your customer keeps with you and remembers but your timely service which is highly perishable. Enthusiasm and interest in this field makes the person’s service memorable, undoubtedly. Be it a restaurant waiter, teacher, tour guide or as in my story a taxi driver.

I would like to summarise the moral of the story with lines I came through recently – “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth ” by Muhammad Ali

She is your mother

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 2 Comments

She hears you when you cry silently

She feels your pain when you are broken and don’t want to discuss with anyone

She understands you even when you stay away from her.. Miles away..

She is happy when you laugh and she is hopeful when you don’t call her/talk to her

She prays for your health when she is herself not well.

She feeds you first when there is not enough food in her kitchen

She expects nothing, she is the Giver..

She is the first lady of your life who loves you unconditionally!

She is your Mother..

Take care of her!

Where did she went wrong?

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ Leave a comment

“You bitch”

The words echoed in her head so loud as a bomb blast that she could not even hear any other sound around her, the clock tikking, the baby wailing, washing machine beeping to inform that the clothes are done. She was feeling suffocated in the open air flowing in the room from the window, where she stood. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she realised she was crying.

She hurried to bed after feeding the baby and making her sleep. Today the baby slept without annoying her mother, maybe the little innocent toddler understood her mother’s feelings, and how not when she was a part of her for the 9 months!

She tried crying out while washing her face, to mix her tears with the running water, but felt helpless. Her eyes turned red. She dried her face and kept thinking…All will get good.. He was just not in his senses. But other thoughts loudly said that was he saying the truth because people tend to speak truth when they are not in their senses?!

She silently sat on the bed, to the opposite side where he was already sleeping.. He was in deep sleep.. Snoring…. She thought, how odd of him of sleeping so peacefully after hurting me! She wanted to shout at him and inform him that she was hurt. That she wanted to talk to him. But her words could not gather the power to come out of the mind and mouth.

Her heart wept. She turned around and tried to sleep. Her heart could not contain the tears, filled her eyes and tears slipped from her eyes through her nose, making the pillow wet with every drop of her tear. She gulped down the saliva formed in her mouth. She closed her eyes. She sobbed. She recalled what happened just a couple hours earlier and tried finding where she went wrong.

****

She was done with dinner preparations, was cleaning the house, kept the clothes for washing, checked out on baby and found that baby was playing with her toys. She felt relieved and excited as she thought now baby will sleep sooner and she could enjoy her time with her husband. Baby was 7 months old and since the baby came into their life, the couple had less time together, let alone “privacy” . She went to dress up, chose a red bright dress and was applying makeup when the door bell rang.. 4 times in a row.. She gasped her breath for once as she was expecting her husband to come at this time of the night and these bells startled her. She went towards the door, peeped from the peephole on the door and could see her husband. She was amazed as he carried another key of the house and generally steps in the home by his own key. She opened the door for him. He was drunk. Messy hair. Red eyes. Bad breath. He walked in. Managed himself to walk in. She was unhappy to see him this way..This was an unexpected situation for her as he had promised on their baby that he won’t drink alchohol for his life when she gave birth to their baby. She was angry. She was angry on him to break his promises… She was angry on herself to be stupid and believing him. A flood of emotions drove through her, leaving her weak.

“Where are you coming from? Where have you been?” She enquired, while imagining where he would have been.

“I was at work. I work all day long! I am not you who sits home and relaxes” He shouted. She was dumbfound. All she could think about was their baby. Her baby.

“Shhhh… Why are you shouting? Reduce your volume.! Baby is also in the home” She requested while tears filled her throat.

“Baby baby baby, I am tired of you and the baby. You have made my life hell.. You bitch.. Get lost.. Let me live my life.. I will do what I want. Get lost.” He screamed and rushed to his room like a thunderstorm and closed the door with a bang.. Like a cloud burst in thunderstorm. She shivered. This was not how she expected to welcome him. This was not all she expected to happen tonight. She felt helpless.

Before she could let his words sink in her mind and before she could find sense in what he said, she heard her baby crying. The baby got afraid of the door banged by her father and his shouting. She went to her baby and tried to calm her down. Meanwhile she also cried and the baby watched her and stopped crying, god knows how seeing her mother crying made her mature enough to stop cry and console her mother by silently watching her.

*****

7 months before.. She was so happy when he promised to leave alcohol. He sweared on their baby and she thought it was the best day of her life having her baby and her husband.. All to her. She loved him 10 times more for leaving alchohol. He used to overdrink. He was becoming an addict. He abused her and she prayed from god nothing else but him leaving alcohol and her enjoying her life with him as a happy couple.

ADDICT..She thought.. “Yes, he was an addict and so he went back to his addiction.. He lost to care for his wife and their baby.. He didn’t remember us, that we were waiting to be with him. He found his happiness in alcohol. I used to found my happiness in him..Where should I go now.!? “..

And tears rolled down her cheeks..and she tried finding where did she went wrong..

Journey of thoughts to words

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ Leave a comment

What we speak is a result of what we think. This is a natural phenomenon and it should be followed in the same way – Say what you think, Think before saying. However, when this phenomenon is literally followed, it may lead to problems such as hurting people, unwanted advices, untimely information dissemination and inability of corrections as the spoken words cannot be taken back. So this phenomenon was required to be coupled with another advice which is – Think “twice” before speaking. Thinking twice helps to first create your own thought and then scan it against the other person’s requirements and it’s impact on you or the other person. This advanced phenomenon if developed as a habit can be useful in all areas of life for an individual.

However people also tend to think 10 times or more before speaking! Believe me on that! These people have a long list of scanners for their thoughts, they think about other people’s reactions, their reputation /image change after other people’s reactions, the impact of their words, the alternative impacts of their words, their then reactions to the alternative impacts and so on… To summarize, these are the fearful individuals! Scared of the outcomes of their thoughts after it takes the form of a speech.

The extremity to this thought process gives birth to the manipulators, who, after processing their thoughts through multiple scanners, manipulate their thoughts in a way which delivers their best impression on the listener, even if they are cursing someone.

Such manipulators can be seen at many places, often seen at job places, so called kingdoms of “rat races”, where every rat is in the race to prove its potential against a rat that it assumes is weaker than it, ignoring the fact that every rat is not the same. Pardon me for digressing from thoughts of thoughts to rats, but that’s where my thoughts led to.!

Coming back to the crux, I read this line written somewhere – “Don’t think too much that you start doubting your own thoughts.”

People’s thoughts are the first expression of their own emotions, intuitions and point of views, which are original to them. Some people themselves destroy their own thoughts by overthinking on it, manipulating it in fear of other people’s perceptions, thus losing its essence and importance of being their own, which builds their identity and leaves an impression on others. A different impression will always be remembered. So have confidence on your thoughts if they are different (not damaging) . Do not judge them. Do not hesitate to let them take the form of speech and provide you the freedom of speech that you deserve. Give your thoughts the wings of words and let them fly. They are yours, be proud of them. You also need to take good care of your thoughts, so nourish them by good reads and more good reads.

What do you think?

Passage of time = Passage of life

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 9 Comments

You waste a minute, and you do not realise.. As it was just a minute.

You waste an hour, and you do not realise.. As it was just an hour.

You waste a day, and you realise, and think to cover it up the next day.

You waste a week, only thinking about what you ought to do rather than acting upon it and you persuade yourself by making another plan for another week.

You waste a month, and are guilty for not being able to make it up, and count the remaining months left in a year, and plan another plan.

You try a day or so or a week, feel good, and hit bed for another day or so, and are left where you were at the beginning.

An hour, a day, a week, a month, and a year passes just like the previous ones, leaving you the same as you were before.. until you try hard, work upon it harder, stick to your plan, keep an eye on your goal and imagine your life after you achieve the goal, OR else one day, your life too shall pass, leaving you with regrets of those things you didn’t do, especially those which you could, but you chose not to, because when you realised the waste of time, it was too late.

Remember : It’s never too late to start over. Greet the new day with a new you and feel the positive vibes working with you.

Losing things

~ Rupali (In my Pursuit to Satisfaction...) ~ 5 Comments

Teachers taught to remember ABCs,

No one taught to remember where are the car keys.

Finding mobile is always a struggle whenever leaving a place

Every time I criticize myself of not remembering it and where was it’s last place..

Forgetting – scooter keys in dikki.. Pen at client’s office.. Taking money change from ration shop Or sometimes even the purchased items after paying cash(though I rush back to take the parcel immediately before leaving from there)

Were just a part and parcel of my life!

And hubby dealt with it patiently though it is not his characteristic but coz I am his wife!

But now as if this is crossing limits as it happened for one time more

Forgetting same thing in a row is not what I had ever wanted to score

It’s the 3rd time I lost my earphones, latest loss happened 3 days ago

Gifted by my hubby, all the three earphones .

Did my best to find where I lost it and to remember in which way

But got no clue till today.

Guilty i feel, and restless

For Why am I so careless!!!!

But now hoping that my hubby gets me a new one 😬

I will be super careful and will give it to no one! 🤞