HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYA :)

*You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum

Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie

You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop

Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye

And I love you so and I want you to know

That I'll always be right here

And I love to sing sweet songs to you

Because you are so dear*

It's the birthday of our THE JAYA and I wish her a very very very very happy birthday. Today, I have a lot of things to tell but lots of other things stop me from scribbling. 

But just to scribble something, I would like to say...ummmm...

Dear Jaya you are a great human being, very sweet and charming :) And i am proud to have a friend like you :) All the jokes that we have cracked and all the time we have spent together is special and pokes me with laughter because usually all the episodes regarding you are funnyyyyyy. :P Since its your 21st birthday (though I am still not able to understand why is it so special for you that you repeat it so often) I believe you'll do wonders this year.

I'm short of words right now (coz of the huge celebration we had, I'm tired...phew!!!) Will keep telling you about you whenever required till then enjoy and God bless you :)

Best wishes :)

Pankhuri :)

ONE MORE THING 

HAPPY B'DAY TO YOU

HAPPY B'DAY TO YOU

LA LA LA LA LA...

:)

Paa...

I saw the movie 'Paa' today. Amitabh Bachchan sported a phenomenal look in the movie. He was barely recognizable under mounds of makeup. Kudos to the makeup artists.
The ultimate purpose of any movie is entertainment and a box office hit, but when entertainment is blended with information and awareness about something of which even the learned are sometimes not aware, makes the movie a nonpareil. Same is the case with 'Paa'.
The movie is about a 13 year old, intellgent and witty boy, named Auro, who suffers from an extremely rare disease known as Progeria, which gives children an appearance of accelerated aging. Mentally Auro is 13, but physically he looks 5 times older. Besides, the appearance of Amitabh Bachchan, another thing which impresses are the witty dialogues of Auro. The way he sends her mother away from the school before anyone sees them, runs away at the sight of a cute girl who wants to say something to him and talks about potty in most of his jokes is rib-tickling. Infact, he calls his grandmother 'bumps' because she has a big one :P
Abhishek Bachchan refuses to have the baby and Vidya abandons him, gives birth to Auro and brings him up with the help of her mother. Its too late when he realizes that he has a son but is fortunate enough to hear the magical word 'paa' from the child's mouth just before he takes his last breath. Auro as the main protagonist takes the responsibilty of getting his parents married before his death by making them go 'round and round' his hospital bed with a religious grandma chanting the mantras.'Paa' has been projected as a father-son film but the mother-son relationship was something that touched me. The love and tenderness the mother has for this trudging 'boodha baccha' is stimulating and works far better.
With all the characters being superb, Auro steals the show. His mischeivous eyes and laughter stays with you after coming back home. The little speech of Abhishek Bachchan on media responsibilty was also appreciable and arousing.
It's a tender,simple, moving, and brilliantly written story (the dialogues especially) .
It's worth a trip to the theatre.

SANKALP-YUVA UNSTOPPABLE

PC (Priyanka Chopra) smiles at me showing those pearly-whites on TV , playing smart and saying,"Why should boys have all the fun?"... Well to be true, I feel no one has as much fun as girls these days ;)

We have the world falling on our feet literally... Nopes am not being arrogant... Naah! Naah! I, the girl, am not arrogant. 

We are shining bright and we are sought after.

Advertising industry has taken a complete turn when it comes to portraying women.

I feel so elated to see 'US' shining... We are everywhere, we are CEOs of organizations, we are ruling the film business,we are ruling the health and beauty industry, we are towering people in IT now. OMG, I am so happy for us. 

Men are advised to use AXE, Fairness Creams and what not just to land an impression on their women. ;) The whole perspective is changing gradually. 

Long gone are the days when women used to give in to what came in their way. Now, they demand, they explore and they 'call the shots' too.

Things are changing and I hope they are for good. I feel blessed that my family educated me and will, as long and as much I want to study.
I know there are many who are still caught up in the low-side.
I know we still have a long way to go... but I am glad atleast we have started walking in the right direction. 

Yes, my dear friends, we have started something under 'YUVA UNSTOPPABLE'. Today Jaya, Megha, Poonam (one of our juniors) and I went to a nearby slum, collected few children, talked to their parents and will be teaching them English every Saturday. Isn't it amazing?Four girls, 20 year olds, all on their own, took a step to contribute in a major way to the society for the upliftment of the underprivileged. OMG!!! I am sooo happy. The enthusiasm of the kids and the treatment we received there was exhilirating. We have zeroed in on the name 'SANKALP'. :D  Its not just we four, we have a chapter with a few members and the sankalp, I am sure u know what it is by now.

 

For once, I want to say that women are not all about suppression and pain. We have moved on. We have evolved and We are here to conquer the world. :) Enough of blame games and enough of crying behind the curtains. Optimism wins it all at the end.

Kisi mere jaisi kudi ne kaha hain :
"Bas ek kadam badaaney ki baat hain, raastey khud-ba-khud ban jaatey hain. Manzil par kadi nazar rakhney waaley hi ant mein jeet paatey hain".

Let's Keep Walking!!

beautiful GOA!!!

Goa, the smallest state of India is one of the most beautiful and charming state. It is globally famous for its pristine beaches fringed by coconut trees, beautiful landscapes, azure sky, medieval monuments, forts and churches and mix blend of culture. One visit to this state will surely compel you to come time and again to explore the magnetizing charm of Goa.

 I got a chance to visit this "Pearl of Orient" on the pretext of attending a cultural fest of BITS, Pilani, Goa campus. Nesting in the lap of verdant hills, overlooking the Zuari River, the campus proves itself to be one of the most beautiful campuses of India. The location of campus is unique in respect of scenic beauty and panoramic view of picturesque surrounding encompassing Zuari River, hillocks, waterways, forests and landscape and the students out there were a vanguard. A perfect combination of beauty and brains.

But this post is not about my experience in the campus but my experience in the scintillating combination of sun, surf, sand and sea which makes Goa one of the picture perfect destinations in India.

Visiting Goa is like getting into a big party, where everyone is enjoying life at its best. We also got in the same festive mood.

Our first excursion was to MAJORDA BEACH. This beach is a white sand beach and the first sight of this place was stunning. At 9am there was a perfect silence responding to the humming of the sea, where you can sit engrossed in a book and look up to catch the picturesque scene of the sea but sadly I had no book with me :P :P :P

After spending a wonderful time at Majorda we hired a taxi and left for CALANGUTE/BAGA beach.

Traveling such places on road is a totally different experience. One gets the essence of the state and its culture while on road. One thing which caught my eye was not the greenery, which was abounding, but the houses which were painted in dramatic and startling colours like violet, yellow, blue etc. Thus creating a sensation. They resembled colourful flowers blooming in copious greenery.

We reached the Calangute beach when the sun was sinking in the oblivion. It was beginning to get dark and so we got to see a completely different shade of the sea. One thing I must not forget to mention is that you can bet on the fact that in a day the sea never repeats its appearance.

The atmosphere at Calangute was very different from that at Majorda.  It was crowded with people, children making sand castles, colourful crowds surging towards the sea and the young and old alike lazing on the golden sands. This picture of a perfect tourist haven was completed with shacks and stalls under the shade of palm trees selling everything from fried prawns and beer to bags and clothes to sandals and even trinkets made of seashells.

At night we went to the most popular and happening night club of Goa - TITO'S 

 

"The year was 1971. It was the time of the hippies and the flower power generation. The hippies and other young people from Western Europe and the Americas were searching for Nirvana or Spiritual Salvation and Goa seemed to put them on the right track. The Goans also accepted these peaceful and gentle people whole heartedely. Life in Goa was simple then. No motorbikes, cars and restaurants.It was here and in this environment that Tito Henry de Souza who had traveled extensively decided to settle down and also provide a place for all the expats to meet up.
Today, Tito's is still the place where the world meets up. It is now run by Tito's two sons - Ricardo and David, and boasts of an indoor night club, a multi-cuisine restaurant called "Brass", an outdoor pub, the currently most popular beach pub - "Mambo's" a 24 hour coffee shop and boutique. Tito's is still the place to gather info on the various things happening along the Goan coast."

  Every Night is a Party Night in Club Tito's Goa

  Although we came very late at night and were very tired, we got up early in the morning to go for water sports. Goa is a paradise for water sports lovers. The long coastal area offers wonderful oppurtunites to indulge in all sorts of water-sport activites. The para-sailing and water scooter took our breath away.

PARASAILING was spine-tingling.

 

WATER SCOOTER was DHOOM machale :P

At 12 noon we left for the campus but lost the way as the driver did not know the location of BITS. We had our train at 3:10pm and somehow we managed to reach the campus at 2:45pm. The drive from the college to the station is of half an hour. You can imagine how tensed we were while leaving the paradise. Instead of relishing the last scenes of Goa we were praying to God that we don't miss our train. Our prayers were heard and we reached station just at the right time. As soon as we boarded the train it started. Phew!!!

On our way back in the train we saw the famous Doodhsagar waterfall. Goa is no less than a hill station. The hills and the waterfall were magnificent. We were spellbound. The waterfall takes a steep plunge down in the wooded mountains  and appears to be milky streaks cascading down the mountainside. Believed to be amongst the highest falls in the country, this magnificent fall is located in a blissful tropical jungle with crisscrossing streams. The view from the train was breathtaking.

Like a child joyfully rotating a kaleidoscope and chuckling at the changing patterns, one just gets hooked on to Goa. Beauty can be quite inebriating especially when you are in India and when in Goa, you have so much of it - in the golden sands, the blue waters, the sylvan forests and the lakes.

Almost everyone who visits Goa usually does the normal tourist circuits including one or two beaches and Madgoan or Panajim. But that is not enough. Beauty, they say, is not skin deep. So, when in Goa, you have to put in more days to fully savor the place, the pleasure of discovering a crab under a stone, churches of Old Goa, temples of small villages, and the thrill of walking on some of the best beaches in India full of crisp sea-shells. The mind stops thinking and the heart begins speaking. Such is Goa that you may not have seen. Goa has more than 100 km of coastline and the sea has different shades to offer at various places.

I will again visit the place and cover up what I missed this time. But even a day out there is captivating and memorable.

HAPPINESS OF WINNING + VACATIONS AT HOME :)

Hello everyone... :)

These days I am at home :D came for Diwali and I am enjoying myself like anything. Remember the post I had written "Longing for a date with myself"??? Well, God is great. He granted my wishes so soon that I can't help smiling :) :) :) :) :) So, its not the exact replica of my imagination but its no less. I have whole 24 hours of the day for myself. I can do whatever I feel like, I can sleep anytime, get up anytime, eat anytime, bathe anytime, watch TV anytime and study anytime...yeah I am studying and studying not casually but seriously and studying a lot. So that is giving me immense satisfaction. I am not tired when I go to bed but I have satisfactory smile on my face when I go off to sleep because I am glad to know that my day was spent according to my wishes and it was far more productive than those hectic days in Bhopal. I am missing Megha and Jaya but I am happy with papa, mumma and toshu. I can't describe how cute mumma has become. She is now probably the cutest mother on planet earth (no offence please). So I am having a heavenly time dating myself :)

One more thing, before I forget, I participated in a debate competition just before coming to Jhansi. There were three rounds, first was a general selection round. The topic was given on the spot which was "Religious diversity is a hindrance to the development of a country" and I spoke against the topic. Second round was infront of a crowd of approx. 500 people. The topic was given 5 min prior to the event and it was "Due to delay in judicial procedure, punishment of the accused in public by masses is justified or not?" and once again I spoke against the topic. The third round was a group discussion round on the same topic.

So finally when the results were declared the next day, I stood FIRST :) and got a printer as prize. I am thinking of starting an electronics shop with a printer, a laptop, a webcam all of which I have won in various competitions :D :D :D

DO ENJOY DIWALI AND IN THESE HOLIDAYS TRY TAKING OUT A DAY FOR YOUR OWN SELF. I TELL YOU ITS HEAVENLY :)

LIFE MOVES ON

Something happened today.
One of our hostelmates left the hostel as she got a job in Dubai.
Good for her and we all are very happy too yet there is something which has occupied my mind since she left.
Life is full of leaving your near and dear ones behind, showing courage and moving on.
I live far away from my parents and even when I miss them I need to be rational and move on.
I live far away from my brother and even when I miss him I have to understand and move on.
People come and if you get attached to them you need to show so much of courage when they leave and move on.
All these things in life tend to make you more rational and prudent. It actually teaches you not to let your emotion overpower your thinking and actions because at the end of the day the ultimate truth, as in Henry Miller's words, is
"Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such."

I am confused...very confused...
...Thoughts going haywire...
I'm not only trying to figure out the reason why these thoughts are randomly disturbing me today..but also I am trying to figure out a way from this mess...

When I look back..it feels as if life started just yesterday..it feels as if I am still fighting with my parents who are dragging me to my primary school early morning..the fountain ponys on either side of the head..the handkerchief pinned up on the school dress..my small feet in those tiny black shoes...water bottle hanged in my neck..
The time I found my dear friends..the time when I pulled my parents' hands to drop me to school even on saturdays and sundays..the fun..the masti..the jokes..and ofcourse the small me..lol
Time flies like a bee..how true..I can still feel the child inside me who was endlessly pampered by her papa so much that the little girl used to throw "whatever she can find" on them...the tears which fell down the cheeks when I was scolded...and the innocent face which got my younger brother into the rough and tough hands of my parents...

The days when I enjoyed life..the days when I had no reason for not smiling..the days where everyone liked everyone..the days when everything was just so perfect...

And today when I am in a college, living far away from my family, when life's difficult, cut throat competition around and the pressure to perform well, I just sometimes wonder how would life had been if I had not had my friends with me.

Friends. A simple word isn’t it? It’s uttered everyday to almost every person imaginable. Who are your friends? I used to think that friends were the people that you could laugh and talk to. Now I know that friends aren’t that, they’re the people that touch your heart. You could spend hours with them doing nothing at all and it can be the best time of your life, just because it was with them. They’re the people you can share your secrets with, cry with, laugh with, and just have fun with. They don’t judge you or make you change. They accept you exactly as you are. They look at you and they see a great person, one they love spending time with. We all share something in common and are tied together by memories, tears, laughs and smiles. We’re tied together by love for the other. Friendship is the strangest but sweetest thing in the world. I find my time with my friends, the best times of my life. My friends are my heart, my soul, my fun, my laughter, my tears, my love and my life and their names are MEGHA and JAYA.

Thanx to you both for being in my life and loving me so much.


Now something only for them.
Because you are my friend I would do for you all that my heart and my soul and body are capable of doing. I would cry with you and share your burdens when you are down. I would laugh with you and rejoice with you when you have achieved. I would be there when you want my company and I would be gone when you do not. But do not expect perfection from me, for the day shall come when I let you down and you will be hurt. And when I let you down, it will not be because I desire to hurt you, nor because I do not still love you. It will only be because I am human and that is one frailty from which no one can escape.


I LOVE YOU TWO A LOT :)

My Trip to agra...

It was 25th june and my main exams were to begin from 27th. So i was all determined, cleaned my messy table and sat down for studies very seriously. I was a little heavyhearted as my mother had informed me the same morning that my maternal relatives were coming for their vacations to jhansi (my hometown). Now here, it is important to inform that I have many cousins (approx 6), all nearly of the same age and so there is a lot of attachment amongst us. AND all of them were coming for VACATIONS and I was supposed to be here, at bhopal, burning the midnight oil. But still, I like a sincere girl was studying earnestly.



1:15pm and it was lunch time. I went to the mess only to find everyone talking about the postponement of the exams. Again there's one more thing to add here. Two of my friends had planned to go for holidays to north India after our exams and had booked our tickets for the date on which our exams were supposed to be getting over. I was a little abashed whether to be happy or sad. So our exams were actually postponed and were scheduled to begin on 6th july. The moment I came to know this, I seriously felt elated as I had a chance to go to jhansi and meet all my sweet cousins after a long span of time. Quickly I called my mumma and informed her about this state of affairs and she was at that moment, perhaps, one of the happiest human beings on planet earth.

The next day I left for jhansi and was welcomed there by a throng. We went to a park and then ate dinner outside in a nice little restaurant. The same night I was online, busy in a live webcam chat with my roomies, Jaya and Megha, when suddenly Jaya started missing me and said that she wants to come to jhansi. In just half an hour we decided that she will be coming the next day.

Now jhansi is in UP and there is electricity crisis. So I like a honest girl called Jaya up at morning 6:00am and informed her about this huge problem but then she was sooooo determined to come that she actually came all the way from bhopal to jhansi just because she missed me a lot in one single day. I and my brothers went to receive her at the railway station and she hugged me soooo tightly that I felt we have met after ages.

This is our pic outside jhansi railway station :P
Isn't she a sweetheart???


Not only her behaviour till now and her pic makes her a sweetheart but also the way in which she mingled with my family and became one of us very very very quickly.
Now began a very short yet a beautiful vacation. We were so many in number that our house resembled the one of marriage.

We went to the fort of Rani Laxmi Bai ("khoob ladi mardani wo to jhansi wali rani thi"),we went shopping, I took them to my school (the school which made Pankhuri Shrivastava)and trust me it was a jubilant atmosphere everywhere.



Then we went to agra...We were 12 people and we went in a tata safari...this in itself was audacious as we were sooooooo many...he he bt all good.
We went to datia, a temple visit in the morning itself (we saw the shringar of deviji)...and then finally TAJ MAHAL.

It was hot but we couldn't help admiring the beauty of the monument.The postcard picture of Taj Mahal does not adequately convey the legend, the poetry and the romance that shroud what Rabindranath Tagore calls "a teardrop on the cheek of time". The Taj certainly has a chaste poise and spiritual hauteur that makes it seem not completely of this world. Different people have different views of the Taj but it would be enough to say that the Taj has a life of its own that leaps out of marble, provided you understand that it is a monument of love. As an architectural masterpiece, nothing could be added or subtracted from it.

Captivated by the beauty and chastity of the Taj we left for jhansi and played a terrific game of rapid fire on our way back which became so pugnacious that we were forced to end it by the elders with us.

Enervated, we reached late at night and all went off to sleep. Next day we were to leave so all were a little gloomy but then we two had exams to look forward to so it was all "jao khelo" (Jaya's patent dialogue) type for us. So we came back very happy only to realize that I left my new sandals and a book in the train which made me sad (i m still feeling sad thinking about it) but then when you have Jaya to say "ohhh baby" and "jao khelo" things do not seem that bad. Thanks jaya for being there always and being so lovable and loving toooo.

Love you sweetheart...will always remember the way you came running after me because you missed me (like a boy madly in love) LOL...


PANKHURI :)