Thru my heart

My tryst with motherhood is what made me pick up the pen (to be honest the laptop) and start writing my thoughts and publish my blogs. I could never have thought in my wildest of dreams that I could pick up the pen and write something that would be of any interest to anyone to read. I count myself fortunate to have been bestowed with so much love, adulation and popularity and most of all some great friends in this virtual world. If I think of how it has enhanced my perspective as a Mom, here are the few blog posts I wrote, each of which bring out different shades of my parenting journey and here is what I learnt from this: 1)       Being a Mum don’t lose “you”, keep loving yourself fiercely: As a Mum it’s easy to get lost in the whirlwind of emotions for your child, the daily routine sucks you within its grind but its importance you don’t lose sight of yourself. For me it’s my passionate love towards my blog which makes me find ways and means of comi...

You usually pick up a book to read because you heard a good word about it from a reader friend, or you chanced upon a good review or simply browsing for a book, you read the back cover and were intrigued to know more. My reasons for picking up this book is something you surely can’t beat! A chance encounter with the author Bavna Rai in a networking event right at my workplace made me rush home and download it on my kindle for weekend reading. Now being a blogger and aspiring writer, nothing gives you more joy than meeting someone who shares the same passion. Unfortunately I have never met a single soul who has remotely anything to do with blogging or writing in my workplace though I have worked for some of the biggest names in the Investment Banking World. Imagine how euphoric I was to receive an invitation for a networking event with 2 senior women leaders and I see that one of them is passionate about writing and has authored a book. Listening to Bhavna’s candid thoughts ...

A short story                   I look out of the plane window excitedly- my animated face resembles that of a school kid who is eagerly awaiting his summer holidays. And why not? Not exactly summer but these are my half yearly holidays when I fly down from Riyadh to be with the people dearest to me. The feeling of spending two weeks with my beloved kids and my wife is something that fills up my void life with so much excitement that I find it difficult to contain it within. I am one of those unfortunate few who makes a lot of money but has to pay the price of living away from my family.  I fondly remember those days when I hardly made a pittance, we lived in a one room kitchen rented house but we were such a close knit family. Love kept us strong despite the financial difficulties we faced. My wife is a homemaker but together with our two kids Astha and Karan we had built a beautiful life. I kept trying to change my jo...

#IWD2017 was remarkable will forever be etched as a special day in my mind for numerous reasons. To start with it was heartwarming to see one of my blog posts which is very close to my heart do fabulously for the 3rd time. Though it’s not a new one, sharing this on multiple platforms has always evoked such a heartwarming response. This time it was on the eve of International Women's Day and the topic was something we Indian women always grapple with- and hence I always say this -NO - Getting married is not a woman's biggest achievement. There is much more to life than “settling down” as we call it (for reasons I fail to fathom). Why not celebrate her dreams, her aspirations? You can read the post here . The other big highlight of the day was a Panel Discussion with some really strong, veteran, women leaders in business. This was a part of Women's Day Celebrations by our very own Women's Network at UBS- something that is very close to my heart and I love ...

Only when one is truly happy from within, can they spread joy to others. Haven't we heard this time and again and it resonates so well with me. I could imagine a situation where there is something making me feel low, don’t think I could do a good job of spreading cheer around me. Of course we all face problems in life- work related stress and issues, financial ones, a tiff with a dear one. We cannot expect a fairy tale  life where everything is picture perfect and happily ever after is only a myth. No, this is a part of life and it would be foolish to expect a problem free life. Now let's digress a bit. Being a woman how many of us take time to think about ourselves, our dreams, passion, interests? Haven't we always been conditioned that the role of a woman is to keep her family happy first, cook for them, and take care of her kids. Only such a selfless woman is the epitome of womanhood, the "Adarsh Nari". Once we become moms, the responsibility of raisi...

Much before we had thought of having a baby, I was always obsessed with having a baby girl. And I remember from the time I conceived I was probably far more obsessed. So much that- at times I was advised by my younger brother and doctor friend- what if it is a boy? Would you love him any less? No. So stop obsessing for you don’t want to subconsciously end up being biased. My joy knew no bounds when I first heard “It’s a girl just as you wanted”. But as days, months and years fly by, I sometimes wonder if the life of a woman is easy. Hell no. Its laden with more barriers and thorns than one can envisage and that sometimes makes me wish – if it were a boy, his life would probably be easier, wouldn’t it? 1)      Right from the time you are born, people judge you by your appearance- Angel has big and beautiful eyes just like you but she looked very fair when she was born, now she is getting darker. Take care and apply channa powder, that way she will be ...

As women propagating feminism we often say that misogyny and the deep set patriarchal beliefs of our society act as a roadblock in our progress. We usually blame it on the men. But look closely and you will find women are equally guilty- in fact I would say more- for not supporting their own kin. In my personal and professional journey I have come across different kind of women- some who stood by me unabatedly and made me believe in myself when I thought I had lost it all. There were also those who discouraged me, mocked me and the worst lot were the backstabbers. But as they say each one teaches you a lesson and in hindsight you are always thankful to have met the good and bad ones. The good ones leave with you memories and the bad ones with lessons. Both are vital. I have always spoken about the strong women in my family – my mom and grand mom and their unflinching support throughout. Today I want to take time to thank these 5 women who are not tied to me by blood but in ...