Day 4. The Rising of Ilaa - Part 2

Day 4 and we go ahead with the tale of Ilaa. 

While Ratna was busy with her prayers, the sound transfixed Ilaa and she moved towards the nearby garden where the new make shift school was underway. The new school in Sauviragram had opened the opportunity of education for the masses which was restricted to the elites till then as sending kids to school in the next village meant lesser working hands in the fields. But with education coming to the portals of Sauviragram, even the lesser privileged could send their sons to school for some time. The school shall run at impermanent places till the construction of the school building. Ilaa stood behind the nearest tree to see the children repeating the lesson after the school teacher. She had only heard about it as in her parent’s village, there was no school, but she did have an unvoiced desire to be a learner of words someday. The teacher was taking lessons on language. He spoke the alphabet and students followed. Wry of the boundings of her life, Ilaa turned her back to the world behind and moved back to her own. That night, as she lay next to Sada, her morning face off with the imposed tyrannies did not allow her to sleep. There was no one she could talk about this.

Although they employed two workers, Adra and Panu on their fields, the members of the family worked equally. Ratna went to the fields with Hara and Sada. Ilaa followed after finishing off the work at home. Panu was an year elder to Ilaa. They both spoke at times beyond the routine exchange of pleasantries. Panu had joined the school and went for the evening shift. Seldom he shared his learnings with Ilaa. There was no girl student in the school, but they did attend the same in the times before, Ilaa had heard. She was perplexed by the nature of the changing times as she thought about the subordination towards girls too often now. Ilaa wondered when the world has been witnessing a change in all spheres of life from ancient times why the position of ladies has been receding. Her profound cerebrations debated with her own societal self. Panu’s occasional exhibits of knowledge introduced Ilaa to the splendor of erudition and gradually turning her noetic.

The cotton bales were ready to be bartered for necessitates. The camp of traders was pitched in the ground near main market as always. This year the yield had been phenomenal. Sada and family were expecting good returns.

The family loaded the bales in carts and moved towards the market. It was very early in the morning, but they wanted to be amongst the first ones to be there. Ilaa was expecting her first child and it was her seventh month running. 

Watch out for this space for the concluding part of this story.

Day 3. Accomplish your desires with creative visualization.

Day 3 : Positive thinking with creative visualization

This morning I got up with an amazing vibrance which had continued from the last night. Its day 3 and I can already feel the energy kicking me to get down with the emotional outburst and write. Right now its inconsequential of any materialistic pleasure, my heart solely reverberates with the unbound happiness of doing what I feel passionate about, writing. So moving ahead with the blissful madness, today I talk about creative visualization and how to achieve it.

‘If you see it in your mind, you’re going to hold it in your own hand’

         -       The Secret by Rhonde Byrne

Life is a reflection of our thoughts. We receive what is transpired by our imagination. While we all know this, believing in the same doesn’t come easily. It is the power of the human mind which makes the thoughts supreme force behind what we receive in life. Law of attraction can be summed up as being the genesis of this theory and is based on creative visualization. It is nothing but our imagination fueled by strong thoughts. The way how it all functions has been reiterated in various studies and also quoted time and again by great legends.

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

                                -        Albert Einstein

If we value and be grateful for what we have, it reflects abundance which in turns attracts more and more happiness. Our thoughts are nothing but a form of energy which is defined to be magnetic in nature. Whenever energy is exhibited, it draws similar form of energy, which can be either positive or negative. So simply speaking, if we are happy and desire more happiness, we attract the same and when sad and down with negative thinking, get laden with more unhappiness. The choice is all ours about how we want to feel and what we desire to achieve. I have come across few great books which help you practice positive thinking through specific affirmations and techniques. ‘Creative Visualization’ by Shakti Gawain, ‘The Secret’ by Rhonde Byrne and the ‘You can heal’ series by Louise L Hay, is to name a few. However, there is a difference of opinion in the first two books where the first one says creative visualization works for only good, but ‘The secret’ says even the negative thoughts also attract more negativity in life. Here are a few basic techniques which will help you accomplish the most coveted of your desires through creative visualization. But for further readings I suggest the above books.

1.         Realize your dreams. For once when you have a clear goal in front of you, the energy and efforts can be driven in the correct direction. It is better commanded with penning down your desires in a small handbook. Listed in bullet points you can give a definite shape to your dreams and fantasies. While the creative imagination of your wish list as achieved will fill your being with colorful exactness, you dream of situations and events where you enjoy the exhilaration from the fulfillment of your desires. Try to write your deep desires and imagine yourself to be part of such scenes which will give more power to your thoughts and thus help the universe to manifest them for you.

2.        Clearing of negative thoughts and blocks. Any emotion which becomes an obstruction in the flow of positive energy is called a block. While a conscious effort is required to remove it from our system, it gets difficult at times to identify these repulsive energies. But a beautiful exercise told by Shakti Gawain mentioned in his book helps in digging out the same from our subconscious self. Write on a piece of paper the reason for which you think the desired cannot be achieved. This simple process will flush out both known and unknown blocks in front you. This can be a bit draining out exercise for it brings you face to face with your fears and weaknesses and then release them. Acceptance of your dark side will help you release them with positive affirmations. In the 'You can heal' book of Louise L Hay, she has listed out positive affirmations for every practical situation. 

3.               Another technique which transpires the manifestation of the desires is crafting of treasure maps. As the name suggests, it is a pictorial representation of the fulfillment of your dreams. It is in the form of a drawing that you create a scene of your future and place yourself in the accomplishment of the same. Now this doesn't mean that if you don't have an artistic hand, you can not do it. A treasure map can be as sketchy as a kid's drawing. Only the message has to be communicated to the universe.

So lets us unleash the secret and achieve the unthinkable with the power of our positive thoughts of our creative visualization. There are many natural healing therapies prevalent in the world, but the basis of healing is to release, forgive and move ahead with a new life. Each day is new and brings out new hopes. We have to be cautious with creating a better space for our living with positive thoughts and attain happiness of fulfillment through creative visualization. Covering the vastness of the topic is not justifiable in a small blog but if this has moved you a single bit, go ahead and discover the secret of success in the above mentioned books. Till then, happy reading. Live, love and stay happy.

Yes, certainly. Anything is possible. Just believe in yourself.

Day 2 of Blog Marathon.

Alright, so it's Day 2. Amidst lukewarm response to the earlier post, there was one great critical feedback coming from a dear friend, school type academic stalwart. Namita, thanks a lot for your valued comment. That’s what friends are for, to help bringing out the best in you. So while all of us value our association with the most wonderful people on Friendship day, here’s wishing a very happy Friendship day to all my friends for being the wind beneath my wings. I am sure will take an eagle’s flight someday with all your support. Life has been on a continuous roller coaster ride for the past few months and turning points being created by the biggest maker. So while I unlearn, and learn few important lessons of life, shun some and find some new characters in life, here’s wishing for a brighter tomorrow. While my inbox is full with some amazing Friendship day messages, I quote one which truly touched my heart, which best describes what I feel right now.

My blogger friends must be surely aware of this amazing initiative by Times of India under the flagship of Times Write India campaign, but for those of you who have a budding author hidden deep inside and are unaware of the opportunity at hand, have a look at Write India. I planned to pen down my story last month, but the deadline got amiss. Truly fascinated by the plot, I post it here for my readers. The author of last month was Amish and the guidelines given are here. Briefly about the preface, the story is set in 17th century and what it speaks about, you will find out. Happy reading.

Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman called Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carry for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak!

But Ilaa was not found in the fields. She wasn’t working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari.

‘I am sick of this!’ she grunted loudly. Grappling with the growing turmoil within, she looked at her aging reflection in the calm and serene waters of Godavari. She could no longer relate to the image in front of her and the building emotional unrest threw her back to the disdained memories of the past.

The harvesting season had just ended and the heat of the sun had accentuated, making the river water comfortable for the early morning rituals to be performed by the young bride of Sada, Ilaa. It was her first visit to the holy river. She was accompanied by Sada’s mother, Ratna along with the other married ladies of the village. ‘Say your prayers Ilaa and seek blessings for a blessed life ahead. Request maa Godavari to always enrich us with her benediction,’ said Ratna with a smile exhibiting her proudest possession. Smitten with the beauty of young Ilaa, the village ladies smiled placidly with a reverential smile on their faces. Ilaa executed the rituals with complete veneration brushing off her narcissist side in the still waters. She did indeed personify heavenly beauty. Laden with the magical onset of youth, still in her teens, Ilaa dreamt of a fairly tale life for herself.

Sada, the only son of Hara and Ratna was a handsome muscular man in his late twenties. With age, formal education and added perennial knowledge, which got tried with time, Sada had acquired somberness and maturity. While he inherited and metamorphosed to a man in whom the religio-social norms embedded unquestionably, Ilaa was a perky young girl with her childhood still reflecting in her adolescence. Changes in the life of a married Sada were restricted to a separate room with Ilaa but by the time Ilaa could realize what it did to her, the dark looms took her over. The dreamy affair which it appeared distantly, with self made interpretations reflecting the glitz of dressing up and the promise of love, changed. The switch was too instant and turbulent. Her early days in the new house were full of compulsive doings expected out of a bride which did not come to her naturally and easily.

The banging on the door intensified with Ratna shouting out for Ilaa. ‘Ilaa get up. It's already quite late’, she almost screamed. Ilaa got up hurriedly and unlatched the door fighting her state of drowsiness. Getting up early was a tough ordeal for Ilaa even today after six months of her marriage, which bumbled up her mornings putting her on the wrong foot of Ratna everytime. Sada turned his back to the door while Ilaa moved out of the room and carefully closed it amidst banal grouching of Ratna. Moving towards the river for their morning chores the ladies walked quietly. Sauviragram was bathing in the morning glory of the unearthed dawn. While life came to light, the ladies were walking back with drawn water carried in pots on their heads. They reached the temple to offer their morning prayers. Ilaa had been devotedly praying to Lord Shiva since childhood, but as she stood there with a forgotten self, her heart pained with an undefinable commotion. Just when her wandering thoughts were in deep trance, a distant collective repetitive sound pulled her out of her inner rumblings.

Watch out for the concluding story tomorrow here on Day 3 of blog marathon. 

Day 1 of Blog Marathon

Taking up challenges in life gives a kick which can only be experienced when you take up one and while writing took a back seat past couple of months for reasons which may appear to be as excuses, here I am back with my first ever blog marathon, the best way to train my wandering thoughts. At times even after knowing the tricks of the trade, which in the case of writing is to write every single day you are not able to do it. So if the stars are shining bright enough, this is going to be the blog marathon month for me, so guys wish me luck.

To start with, here’s a great quote on challenge which I stumbled upon while planning to take up the challenge of doing a blog marathon

Certainly, taking up challenges and striving to achieve them gives a push which stretches you beyond your limits and in the process helps in bettering self and discovering a new you. So hoping the same and much more, I wish this month to be exciting and loaded with fun for me and you both. Happy reading.

Day 1 (Yeah, I did feel the adrenaline gush whilst typing that)

It is day 1 of blog marathon and also my first attempt in flash fiction. A five sentence fiction post for lilliemcferrin. This week’s word is bubbles.

The new bubble in the red light area of Patna was ready to be turfed out. Rukmani was lifted on the outskirts of Kishanganj, on her way to school last month, and while the search was dying its own death miles away, she was being geared up for her new life. She was chosen for Dubai, where she would be part of a famous nightclub. Blessed with a reverential beauty,  Rukmani was the cynosure of all eyes but little did she know of her doomed fate where she would be ejaculated tonight. It's seven in the evening and Rahim walks up to Rukmani’s room as her first client, but she had burst to nothingness leaving the lineage of a bubble behind.

Guys this is my first attempt at flash fiction so please be critical with your comments to help me grow.

This post is linked to Lillie Mcferrin Writes - Bubbles

It was another usual morning, which started with the ever sickening, sinking feeling. A feeling which would pull down all the emotions, drawing her of all the excitement life offered, a new life, with a new day, which she told herself every day but it was not working. In fact, nothing was. A feeling which would make her heart sink, with a heaviness deeply embedded in her complete system. Her chest would feel heavy with a pain which she felt. Her eyes spoke of the pain she was going through, but that was something which would find its own ways to slide quietly and take over the gleam every time. Nalin would tell her that she can never be happy because she loves to sulk and enjoys all the gloom it offers. However, she knew that it was her dying marriage and its failed attempts, to survive, which got stuck in her like a black hole. It would not allow any other feeling to take over its darkness and would absorb all emotions to reflect its nothingness. That day while dusting her bedroom, she reached to that corner of the room where her, in fact their most favorite picture was kept. It was clicked three, four days before marriage. And it had something special about it. They smiled. Together, and with an amazing innocence, their dreamy eyes sparkled, completely unaware of what the future had in store ahead. It was indeed the best time of her life with Nalin. Young, bright pass outs from one of the best Hotel Management Institutes of the country, their moments were memorable because of the blissful togetherness. And things were falling in place. They got placed in the same city under one of the leading luxury hotels. They both convinced their parents and got married within a month of their placements. Mumbai, the city of dreams was shaping their life day after day, but it was their home where the world dawned and rested. They moved out together every day with brimming confidence to conquer the world and came back with a sense of achievement.

Neetie and Nalin were both bright students at college and academic rivals, but as they say, opposites attract. After months of rivalry they succumbed to the wit and charm of each other and thus cupid struck. And here they were travelling together to the same destination like before switching channels of FM. What changed was the destination and that they were now Man and Wife.

Although their departments were different at the hotel, they bumped into each other just to plant a secret kiss or say a mere hello. Life was all rosy till they received their first appraisal and Neetie did marginally better than Nalin. Although marginally but it was better than Nalin and with an incentive of consideration for promotion in next three months. That was a bit unusual and pretty fast too, but Nalin took it as a matter of pride. They celebrated the leap with shopping like crazy for each other followed by candlelight dinner at their favourite fine dining restaurant. The night was as starry as their life and sang to the tunes of their love for each other when the ethereal moments were interrupted with a familiar voice. “Hey Neetie. What a pleasant surprise!” There was Neetie’s boss standing and his eyes spoke with an unfathomable intimacy. And there was a sudden change of expressions on the beautiful face of Neetie which Nalin noticed. Neetie got up to greet his Mr Khanna and with an unusual request, he asked her for a dance which she obliged. While Neetie and Mr Khanna danced to the soft live music playing in the restaurant, something struck Nalin and he immersed into recalling certain incidents which he never seemed to notice earlier. But as Neetie left him to dance with his boss, he could’nt stop, but consider those moments of casual togetherness he had seen even earlier between the two of them. Pulling himself out of the uncontrolled reeling of thoughts, Nalin fixed his glance over the two of them again. It was a normal dance, but there was something disturbing about the way Mr Khanna looked towards Neetie and in turn she was trying to avoid the eye contact. And after a while she came back to Nalin bidding his boss goodbye. She looked a bit disturbed and requested Nalin to leave. Nalin, bit unsure of what was happening, cleared the bill and they both moved out to head home. There was a strange silence between them. None of them took turns to switch the channels. Nalin was expecting Neetie to speak, but she was lost in a bigger turmoil, which was going inside her. The tsunami of thoughts completely took over her and the voice of his boss getting played in her mind continuously like a loop. “The choice lies with you Neetie. Take the appointment and the promotion will be yours. You don’t even have to wait for three months.” Her boss offered her a post where she would be directly reporting and working under him. This out of the turn favour made her a bit uncomfortable and nervous. She kept thinking whether she should tell Nalin all what she has been facing for past few months or keep quiet as they were still new at the workplace.

With every passing day the suspicion of Nalin grew, resulting in frequent fights between them and finally, when Neetie realized the damage the untold truth is doing to her marriage, she shared it all with tearful eyes. But things were not the same, Nalin did not believe or may be did not wanted to believe. Life had moved a bit far for Nalin which Neetie never came to know. His growing mistrust and distancing from Neetie gave space to his new found interest in his colleague in the department. Neetie got betrayed not just by Nalin but by life and it hit her so badly that it started affecting her work. Things were already bad after her refusing Mr Khanna’s offer. Finally, she quit the job to give her and her marriage some time, but time was the only thing which was not right. 

Sitting in the balcony the entire day holding the picture in her hand and going back in the aisle of time, she was motionless with only her eyes speaking. The busy life of the city moved under the balcony with its usual pace and although Neetie tried to pull the cords of her own life and stop everything for a while, nothing happened as she wished. She was still looking out at one more setting sun bringing down another hope, when the bell rang  and as she suddenly got up with a sudden jerk, the picture fell from the hands and the glass broke. Nalin came inside as the maid opened the door. Neetie stood still, looking at the picture smashed below at her feet. Sensing something unusual Nalin joined her only to see their picture perfect lying in pieces. The picture was dear to him too. Brushing away the broken pieces of glass he took the photo in his hands. It had been quite a long time he looked it. In fact, he could’nt remember the last time he actually did as it rested on the other side of the bed. Looking at the frame of the bygone times he looked at Neetie in the picture. Smiling as beautifully as she always did, he realized so much had changed in between. Neetie down with several ailments looked almost ten years older now and lost weight also. The one thing which he knew, he was trying to not accept for past so many months was Neetie’s innocence. Let down by Neetie not trusting him to share his problems had filled him with hatred and a forced mistrust. Nalin actually became blind to what was in front of him like an open book.

Nalin looked at Neetie and she could’nt stop herself from giving herself in the arms of Nalin submerging herself to where she belonged. Although Nalin was not ready for this and held Neetie first with a bit of hesitation, but soon surrendered himself in the melting emotions and drew her closer to embrace the time which seemed to have lost somewhere. The glittering pieces of glass shined with the hope that the darkest hour of the night is just before the dawn which seemed to have gotten over. 

 This post has been written for Indispire for the prompt 

"The Darkest Hour Of The Night Is Just Before The Dawn"

Dar Ke Aage Hi Jeet Hai ...

 I have given ten years of my life to the gallant Indian Army and the service of the nation, donning the olive greens, which to date has been the best colour which suited me. But being in the Army does not mean that army men don’t have fear in their life. Big or small, at some point of life or the other we face known and unknown fears in life. We can either keep avoiding it through our entire life, or get up, push them behind and tame them forever. The choice is all yours.

At times we have fears which we fend off till they stand against us, life size tall, looking straight into eyes, inviting for a bout of life. It is up to us, whether we stare and roar back to diminish them eternally or look down, show our back and tell ourself that we will fight next time when we are more prepared. Believe me that day never comes, the fear stays with us like a stigma and reassures its existence on top of us, lifelong ahead. If you have a fear of height, you will conquer it only when you jump off that cliff, if you have a fear of water, you will sail through only when go in for a splash and make your way through those waves of life, if you have fear of public speaking, you will live with it until and unless, you stand on that podium, look into the eyes of your audience and address. So fears can be of various kinds which once you defeat, it will reassure you of your own capabilities and strength. I had fears in life which I faced and defeated to emerge as a winner. Here I share one with you.

Joining Army as a woman officer was considered a taboo when I joined forces almost 12 years back. It was a man’s world, then, it still is. Having a company of boys and being a tomboy was a different thing and leading tall, robust men of almost your father’s age was a different ball game all together. Although getting trained in the academy we get a fair taste of what lies ahead in life but facing things in real life, it did make me feel a bit weak in my knees. The incident I am talking about, dates back to Sep 2002. It was the same month when my shoulders became heavier with the responsibilities of serving the nation in the form of two brassy stars. The world never seemed brighter before the shine of these two adorned my very own shoulders. When I got commissioned in the Army, I got placed on the forefronts of our nation where my unit was then deployed in field conditions. That was the first time in my life, I realized why the woman in the Army was considered surprisal. In field conditions we stayed in tents and in the entire spread of the unit, and horde of almost 200 – 300 men I was the only female. The first look around, made my head spinning. It was certainly a man’s world. The entire view in front of my eyes with the soldiers busy with their routine work, spread around me, kept revolving for a few minutes before I held myself. Well, that was just the first day and the fear of being surrounded by so many men and a distant  voice with just echoing ‘what if?’ kept haunting me with me brushing off the probabilities every time. And the biggest one came in the evening when I told by my senior officer that I have to go for the guard check as a duty officer at 2 O’clock at night along with the duty JCO (Junior Commissioned Officer). Till now I was only battling the awkwardness of being the only lady in this soldierly world and pulling myself up, but this one really hit me hard. The fear of moving out at that hour with a not known man, that too in a hostile terrain and going on armed posts for guard check shivered me. Thousands of thoughts raced my mind every second and I kept striking them and pulling myself out of my imaginative world. So there was a task at hand, which was to be done and more importantly, there was a fear which had to be defeated. I gathered up myself, assumed myself in the combat fit, put on the boots, picked up my arms and told myself that I fought against all odds to be here. This is where my today lies which is responsible for the tomorrow of my nation. I reassured myself to believe in the integrity of the forces, wore my helmet and kicked myself out of my tent. My duty JCO was ready outside and we went ahead with the task assigned. We went around in the darkness, post to post checking the alertness of the guards. Getting acclaimed on every post, receiving those sautés and that proud calling back of ‘Jai Hind’ filled me with a sense of pride and immense boost of energy which kept me driving for the rest of my years in the forces.

[Image from my personal album]

So it's all about how you tackle your fear, rise above and defeat it. The rest is like a story what you are reading right now.

This post is written as  Rise above fear for campaign as part of Happy hours on Indiblogger. Here's the new, awe inspiring video of Mountain Dew re-establishing faith in self and courage.

Top 5 tips to boost your body metabolism

Did you ever have heart burns knowing people with high metabolic rate? When you were busy sweating and hitting hard on your fitness regime and keeping your calorimeter in check, the other one was indulging into guilt free savouring with no or minimal workout and still in shape? Well, yes, it does makes one feel jealous, but having a good metabolism is not a rocket science. Your body might not be having a naturally good metabolic rate, but relax, it is quite achievable.

Here are top 5 ways you can step up your metabolism in easy ways:

1.         Having a high protein diet has multifaceted effects on our body. Apart from being a nutritional supplement to the body, a generous dosage of protein means giving our body a low dose of carb but with the increased energy boost. This makes the task of body metabolism easier and helps it in working faster to extract the fat element from the diet. Therefore, having some protein rich snack helps tremendously if had as a pre workout meal, fuelling energy for your fitness regime.

2.         If you don’t like indulging in caffeine too often, think twice because having caffeine regularly can help in sprucing up your body metabolism.

3.         Thyroid is one of the most dreaded illness, which sucks its patient’s metabolic rate, making the accumulation of fat easier in the body. Therefore, most of the thyroid patient get into depression tackling the weight gain issue and most of the times give up on workouts slamming the slow results on the disease. But understanding the core issue of a slow metabolic rate would help resolving the distress. Again, having a high protein diet helps thyroid balance in the body which stimulates the metabolic rate and with an improved metabolism, it gets easier to shed off that extra body weight.

4.         How about a generous sprinkle of spice in life? Hello don’t derive meanings out of it. I am, talking in the literal sense. Enhanced spicy flavours with the adaptation of green or red chilli in the food can be increasing your metabolic rate. The natural chemicals present in these spices act as metabolism boosters.

5.         If you are the gym kinds, you can go for interval training which combines high intensity workouts with the regular breaking with low intensity exercises. In a gym you can achieve it with varying your speed on the treadmill and if you are into walking or running in parks or otherwise, you can inculcate this otherwise also. Shuffling speed during running helps to achieve the results faster and also facilitate in shedding those extra calories even after you finish with the workout. This happens as your body needs more oxygen, which makes the metabolism work faster and thus give the desired results.

So if you are also struggling with those weighty issues in life, you probably know the secret now behind those calorie cutter’s working. Go ahead and make the body metabolism work more to give a leaner and prettier you.

 Images Courtesy Google :)