Thru my heart

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 ...

#ShortStory Jiya stepped onto the balcony and looked out. Such beautiful weather, the calm morning, lush green trees, a light breeze, so different from the maddening traffic which she endured daily.  "Hi Jiya. Happy Sunday! You are up so early? What happened to the 'no alarm, no snooze Sunday is the day to wake up at 10' girl? Kya baat hai?" It was Aarti her next door neighbour who was just back after dropping her kids to their squash classes. Jiya smiled “I just thought for a change let me get a feel of the real morning and guess what, I seem to like it. What plans for the day?" Aarti exclaimed "We are having some guests, so much of preparations to be done. Deepak's business associates and their families are coming over, everything has to be perfect. Got to go, see ya."A Jiya waved her goodbye and sighed. It would be so nice to have a house full of people - a loving husband, 2 doting kids, so many relatives and friends who are alway...

The lights dimmed, all looks were on the ramp, the cameras were all aimed at the ramp entrance as she walked in - the show stopper with style and panache- the smile that she wore and the confidence that blazed in her eyes made her stand apart, like none other. There was a thunderous applause, she stole the show.  Backstage as a crowd gathered desperate to meet her- she looked at herself in the mirror- half of her face which was scarred by the acid attack needed no scarf or stole today. She took out her phone to click a selfie- “at Lakme Fashion Week- look forward to NY Fashion Week”- she tweeted with a picture of her full face- something she hadn't done since that fateful day . “And that's why I am passionate about having more women in our workforce, helping them grow as diversity is the key to success of any organization. Seeing women excel and empower themselves makes me feel in awe of them”. The Senior Director ended his...