Magical Monday/7

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if we change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my seventh post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! Today the story is about a hero that I gave worshipped through out my life. The doctor who adorns innumerable posters and who's face is considered to be the symbol of revolution. Popularly known as 'Che' , Ernesto Guevara was an Argentine Revolutionary and a major figure in the Cuban Revolution. 

Che,  as a young medical student traveled extentively through South America and was heavily influenced by the poverty, poor health and hunger that gripped people. He documented these experiences in a book  titled 'Motor Cycle Diaries' which went on to become a best seller and is revered even now.

His unsuppresable desire to help overturn what he saw as the capitalist exploitation of Latin America by the United States prompted his involvement in Guatemala's  social reforms.

He later moved to Cuba to work with the likes of Fidel Castro towards overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence and played a pivotal role in the victorious two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.

Following the Cuban Revolution Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as was criminals during the rerevolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian land reforms as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba's armed forces and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism.

Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, in Bolivia where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and was assassinated in 1967 at an age of 39 by them.

As the year ends, I am sharing the story of my personal favourite hero who's story fills me up with a desire to change things around me to make things better for those who are less fortunate. A good note to start the new year with!

Magic Monday/6

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if we change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my sixth post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! The story today is of a renouned American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer who we lost this year, Maya Angelou. Her story exemplifies the strength and poential of the human spirit. 

Maya is known for her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which is the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. She also published the Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die and wrote the famous poem "On the Pulse of Morning" which she recited at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Angelou received several honors throughout her career . She died at the age of 86 on 28th May this Year.

Maya Angelou

Maya achieved all of this after a difficult childhood and early life. Her parents split up when she was very young, and she was sent to live with their father's mother in Arkansas. As an African American, Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Arkansas. At the impressionable  age of 7 Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend. Then, as vengeance for the sexual assault, Angelou's uncles killed the boyfriend leaving her traumatized and shocked by the experience.  Angelou stopped talking and spent almost 5 years as a virtual mute after this episode. She became the mother to a child as a teenager and as a young adult she took up different jobs in order to make ends meet. This also included work as a  prostitute and as a nightclub dancer and performer.

Maya joined the opera Porgy and Bess and toured Europe with the production of the opera. She began her practice of learning the language of every country she visited, and in a few years she gained proficiency in several languages. Following this she started her career as a writer and poet and achieved great heights and success in this field. She had the likes of Malcom X, Martin Luther King and James Baldwin in her circle of friends.

I find her story to be so inspiring because even after seeing the worst in her life she kept her positivity alive and gave a beautiful direction to her life and inspired so many others in the process.

Magic Monday/5

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if we change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my fifth post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! Today the story is about a braveheart who took a bullet in her head for the cause of others and survived it. Malala yousafzai is the only Pakistani and the youngest person in the world to get a nobel prize.

Malala Yousafzai (image by google)

Malala is a native of Swat Valley,  Pakistan where there is a dominance of the militant Taliban outfit. Malala's family runs a chain of schools in the valley and she is an activist of the cause of girl education. Taliban being a conservative group of hardliners do not suppor equal rights for women and do not encourage education of girls. In early 2009, Malala wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban occupation, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls in the Swat Valley. The following summer an American journalist made a documentary about her life in the backdrop of  Pakistani army fighting against Taliban's attempts to take control of the valley. Malala rose in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.

On the afternoon of 9 October 2012, Yousafzai boarded her school bus in the northwest Pakistani district of Swat. A gunman asked for her by name, then pointed a pistol at her and fired three shots. One bullet hit the left side of Yousafzai's forehead, travelled under her skin through the length of her face, and then went into her shoulder. The responsibility for this heinous crime was taken by Taliban. The days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham , England, for intensive rehabilitation.

On recovery Malala again started her efforts to champion the cause of education for girls. This teenager has shown such courage and unbreakable spirit which is a inspiration to all. She was recently awarded the nobel peace Prize and I believe that nobody could have deserved it more. Her speech on the receiving the nobel prize was a mirror to her fearless brave soul. A salute to her!

Magic Monday/4

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my fourth post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! Today I chose to write about 'stepping in' for your friends in their time of need and this story is inspired by a sweet gesture by 2 very well known names of the music industry. This story highlights that no matter how much money,  fame and respect you have,  a good friend can still save the day for you!!

The band U2 was supposed to hold a concert at a charity event which was to be held in Newyork. The lead singer of the band , Buno, suffered a bike accident a few days prior to the concert and incurred serious injuries. Bono suffered from what the doctors call a " high energy bicycle accident" while attempting to avoid another rider in New York ' s Central Park. The singer was rushed to a hospital and required 5 hours of surgery to treat numerous fractures including a facial fracture.

The singer is still recovering from the injuries and had a bleak hope of participating in the concert . his is when 2 of his friends and music world heavy weights , Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin agreed to substitute for their friend to make this charity event a success.

The  event is being held to support (RED) , an organization that aims to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child. Bono's doctor told Rolling Stone the singer will "require intensive and progressive therapy," but "a full recovery is expected." 

It is indeed heart warming to see such big stars stepping in to help another fellow singer in his hour of need especially for such a nobel cause thus setting an example to all their fans and followers!! 

NH7 Weekender

The NH7 Weekender,  organized on 29 and 30th of November 2014 at Budh Circuit Noida (close the India's capital city, Delhi)  was a very successful Music festival with some of India's finest bands playing live.

The ground at Budh circuit came alive with 6 stages where in the likes of Raghu Dixit, Indian Ocean, Goldspot and Amit Trivedi played live.

The shows which clearly stood out were that of Raghu Dixit who had exceptionally well choreographed dancers in addition to fine music and songs.

Raghu Dixit show

Raghu Dixit show

Hand shadow show

The band Indian Ocean had the crowds swooning to beautiful tracks composed by them.

Indian Ocean

Energetic performance by the band Fossils

Soft tunes by the band Goldspot

The grand finale of the 2 day event - brilliant show by Amit Trivedi

The atmosphere at the event was electrifying and a number of food stalls and games had been organized to keep the audience entertained.

Although this was the second such event organized at the Budh Circuit,  it got a packed house and crowd in hordes! A huge success!

Magic Monday/3

Magic Monday

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my third post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! Today I chose to write about a story on 'chasing your dreams' any why nothing  should stop you from doing so! This story is about a poor couple from India who made it possible to travel to 16 countries even when money was tight with their sheer hardwork and a passion to fulfil their dreams!

Kochi is a beautiful coastal city in South of India and Vijayan , a 65-year-old wayside tea-seller has been selling tea in this city for over 40 years now. His tea stall is the only source of income to his family but this has never been an obstacle in fulfilling his dream of travelling all over the world which include countries like Britain, France, Austria, Egypt, USE etc.

Vijayan loved traveling right form his childhood and visited various parts of india with his father as a child. On his father's demise his dreams came to a standstill as the responsibility of sustaining his family fell on his shoulders. He reignited his dream after his marriage and travelled to a number of countries with his wife, Mohana, because he believes there is no point of fulfilling your dreams if you have nobody to share it.

Despite having to work hard to make ends meet, the couple would take a loan, travel to a foreign destination, come back and spend the next three years repaying the debt they owed, and the cycle would go on. There was no stopping this couple from chasing their dreams and the next destination on their wish list is none other than United States of America!

Vijayan and Mohana have set an example on how life can be given a beautiful purpose and in the process making each day worthwhile :)

Feel Good Friday/2

This Friday post has been written with the aim of inspiring a few to do a bit for their physical and mental wellness. In this fast paced life we need constant reminders on the little things which can be done to improve our lifestyle.

Black or white head also referred to as acne commonly afflict teenagers at the time of puberty.

Mostly everyone has been through this and needless to say that mainly people remember this harrowing phase as a period of experiment with multiple products both medicinal and non medicinal. Twenty percent of individuals with acne develop severe disease which can result in physical scarring and mental and emotional stress. Although a number of products are available without prescription for acne treatment these may not be very safe.

The FDA, US Drug Regulatory Authority,  has issued a warning that certain over-the-counter topical acne products,includingProactiv, Neutrogena, MaxClarity, Oxy, Ambi, Aveeno, and Clean & Clear may cause rare but serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions or severe irritation. Users who experience hypersensitivity reactions such as throat tightness, difficulty breathing, feeling faint, or swelling of the eyes, face, lips, or tongue or who develop hives or itching should stop using the products and seek immediate emergency medical attention.

It is important to understand the condition, the treatment options available and also to consult a dermatologist before experimenting with products available in the market.

Acne is a skin condition that occurs when hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. Acne usually appears on your face, neck, chest and back. Acne may be worsened by infection of inflamed follicle by bacteria

Various topical and systemic drugs are available for treatment. Most common are adapalene and clindamycin used topically. Oral contraceptives  pills can be used for treatment as well. 

                              Now a bit for mental wellness...

A little something to bring up a smile..

Read on..

Magic Monday

Magic Monday

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

This is my second post in the Magical Monday series of inspirational stories aimed at motivating us to bring out our best on the first day of the week! Today I chose to write about a story of friendship and humanity highlighted by the inspiring gesture of a Brigadier in the Australian Army.

Brigadier William Sowry, 52, was posted to india for training in the year 1994. Here he met his friend Major Mohit Whig who was coparticipating in the training. William Sowry was a young major in the Australian Army at the time and developed a close bong Whig and his family. After a year of training in India Sowry left for Australia and Whig was posted to Kashmir, a disturbed area of India which has infamous  for insurgency and militancy.Whig was posted to the Kashmir Valley for counter insurgency duties. On 4 June 1997, while on a patrol, Whig along with three other soldiers was killed by a land mine. He left behind his wife Tina and two young children, Zorawar and Fateh. 

A few years back Sowry got in touch with Whigs family through the social networking and learnt about his late friends younger son who was suffering from Spina Bifidacongenital spinal disorder that has left him differently-abled since birth. In  his own words Sowry gives his account of the shock he felt when he learnt about the family's condition.

"I received a letter from Tina and I still remember the shock (I still have her letter) when Tina said Mohit was dead. As is always the case the tragedy hit the family even more with the severe spina bifeda that beset Fateh, his second son. Tina wants Fateh to have more independence as he gets older and the ability to self care to some extent and since one of the hospitals that can help with this training is in Australia she approached me," Sowry said. 

Sowry found out details and realised that they would need about 25,000 pounds in total. 

He decided to step in to help and built a fund-raising campaign called PUFF - Push Ups For Fateh. 

In the 23 days that the Tour De France takes place, he started doing four push-ups for every kilometre of the race. That meant for the 3,660 kilometres he did 14,642 push-ups in 18 days and  raised 12,000 pounds, which is roughly half the funds required. 

This is when very few of Whigs close friends in India contributed to this cause.

This is just such an inspiring story of friendship which proves that a true  friend will be there for you when you are alive and when you are gone, when you are close and when you are far, when you have kept in touch and when you come for help even after years of being away.

Feel Good Friday

This Friday post has been written with the aim of inspiring a few to do a bit for their physical and mental wellness. In this fast paced life we need constant reminders on the little things which can be done to improve our lifestyle.

Well I am starting this post by writing a bit about simple precautions that can help protect from the harsh effects of winter on skin. A part of physical wellness :)

• The importance of moisturising in winters need not be highlighted but it's important to know the type of moisturiser to choose. A moisturizer that's oil-based, rather than water-based should be prefered as the oil creates a protective layer on the skin that retains more moisture than a cream or lotion. 
• The skin on your hands is thinner than on most parts of the body and has fewer oil glands. Therefore it's harder to keep hands moist in winters and this can lead to itchiness and cracking. It is advisable to mosturize hands and wear gloves while go outside
• For your feet you need lotions that contain petroleum jelly or glycerine. Exfoliants should be used periodically to get the dead skin off; this will help any moisturizers to sink in faster and deeper.
•  Avoid using harsh peels, masks, and alcohol-based toners or astringents on your face as these strip vital oil from your skin. Instead, find a cleansing milk or mild foaming cleanser, a toner with no alcohol, and masks that are "deeply hydrating," rather than clay-based, which tends to draw moisture out of the face. And use them a little less often.
• Some people develop dry and scaly patches on the skin which are intensely itchy. These symptoms are of atopic dermatitis , a condition which may need treatment with topical steroids for relief of symptoms.

Now a bit for mental wellness...

A little something to bring up a smile..The latest invention to hit the market..an ostrich pillow!

A pillow that allows you too keep yourself away from all that happening around you and happily slip in to sweet slumber :)

The Heart Beats the Mind Again!

Sometimes life clasps you like a claw.

 Sometimes you have everything yet nothing.

Sometimes what is practical just doesn't make sense anymore especially to men with poetry in their souls.

-----------------

I might be the phoenix which rose from the ashes but I can't fly again,

I might be the night that found a flame but there can't be any fire again,

I might be the lake which that has water from frozen ice again but there can't be any ripples again,

I am a man with no more poetry in my soul

----------------

This post is in remembrance of the Chinese factory worker who committed suicide because his life was not making sense to him anymore. He was a 24-year-old migrant worker in the southern Chinese city of Shenzen killed himself who jumped out of a window of a residential dormitory run by his employer, Foxconn, the huge electronics manufacturing company with a million-strong workforce that makes the majority of the world's Apple iPhones. His monotonous life got to him and this was evident in the poetry he wrote. This was probably the reason why he took this extreme step.

 A bit ov his soul stirring poetry...

He wrote, "Every time I open the window or the wicker gate/I seem like a dead man/Slowly pushing open the lid of a coffin."

We ran along the railway,

arriving in some place called ‘the City’

where we trade in our youth, and our muscle.

Finally we have nothing to trade, only a cough

and a skeleton nobody cares about.

‘Sleepless’

Midnight. Everyone is sleeping soundly,

We keep our pair of young wounds open.

These black eyes, can you really lead us to the light?

‘Night Shift’

----------------------  May his Soul Rest in Peace  -----------------

Magic Monday

Mondays are full of madness! Mondays for most people brings out the colour blue (Monday Blues). But like so many things, is it just a figment of our imagination? So if change our attitute, is it possible to change Manic Monday into Magic Monday? What if we feed it into our system that Monday will be a grand day? It will be a day when our energy levels will be the higest because we will be refreshed after a break and that we will start a new week with zest and high spirits! What if we tell ourselves at the start of the week that this week we will be unstoppable, be a powerhouse and race ahead,  could it change things? I believe it could :)

And believing is the first step towards changing things for good !! :)

So this Post is Dedicated to Making this Monday Magical !!

Mondays should begin by talking about extraordinary people, who lead exemplary lives and remind us that if there is much to learn if we leave our comfort zones.

The first name that comes to my mind when I think of a person who truly inspires me is a living legend,  Stephan Hawking. He is proved to us that we can reach for the stars even when all odds are against us.


Stephan Hawking was born in 1942 in England. He was not known to be academically very strong during his early school days but gradually developed an aptitude for scientific subjects.

 At the age of 17 he enrolled in the Oxford university to study physics and chemistry and was easily bored by what he learnt there as he found all that was taught to be " ridiculously easy". Indeed he was brilliant but at the same time he was said to have a lively and witty personality. He was into many extra curricular activities during his college days and took active part in the college boat club.


During his final year in college he experienced increasing clumsiness , including a fall on some stairs and difficulties when rowing.The problems worsened, and his speech became slightly slurred. He was diagnosed wit motor neuron disease at the age of 21. This is a disease which makes the affected patients muscles progressively weak . Although he was deeply depressed but at the same time he found the love of his Life and that gave him a reason to continue.


During the late 1960s, Hawking's physical abilities declined and he began to use crutches. As he slowly lost the ability to write, he developed compensatory visual methods, including seeing equations in terms of geometryHawking was, however, fiercely independent and unwilling to accept help or make concessions for his disabilities. He preferred to be regarded as "a scientist first, popular science writer second, and, in all the ways that matter, a normal human being with the same desires, drives, dreams, and ambitions as the next person. He required much persuasion to accept the use of a wheelchair at the end of the 1960s, but ultimately became notorious for the wildness of his wheelchair driving.

The mid to late 1970s were a period of growing public interest in black holes and of the physicist who was studying them. Hawking had done his thesis and much more work in the field  and was regularly interviewed for print and television. He also received increasing academic recognition of his work.

 He is almost entirely paralysed and communicates through a speech generating device now. Even through such trying times he wrote one of the most widely read book of our times in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; his A Brief History of Time.

There can be no better example of a person who by training his mind to something constructive created history even when all odds were against him. 

So taking inspiration from this great man, let us also make most of this Monday and create some magic of our own :)

Woman on Top

Research shows that more and more women are holding top positions in all fields . In 2009 , women held 13.5% of fortune 500 executive officer positions and this number grew to 14.6% in 2013.

The ratios may gradually balance out but the fact the women are from Venus and men from Mars cannot change! So how does a woman boss fare as compared to a male boss?

Research shows that women bosses are:

• Very emotional about their work - they take success and failure too much to heart on a day to day basis and therefore stress out too much

• They are perfectionists - they like zero error and will not settle for less therefore can be hard on their subordinates

• They are not very comfortable with giving a free hand to their subordinates

• They are not very trusting of their bosses

• They tend to work harder as subconsciously they are always conscious of the male competition

• Are not very authoritative

• Are not fast at taking decisions

Well from personal experience, I have had women bosses with those characteristics but I dont think its good to generalize. But honestly, till now I have had a better experience with male bosses and as a boss myself , I work on not showing these characteristics to the extreme.

Dilli Haat : Delhi ' s Cultural Nerve Center

Delhi, the capital city of India, is enjoying the best weather of the year. As autumn is setting in, the sunny days are very enjoyable with the mornings and evenings having a slight chill. It's the kind of weather which urges you to step out and enjoy every second of the pleasent day. 

As a ritual, a trip to one of Delhi ' s culturally most active place is a must in this season. Delhi Haat, is an open-air food plaza and cradia. It is place where artisans and artists from different states of india come and showcase their goods and talent.

Shops in small thatched roof cottages and kiosks give the plaza a village atmosphere.Products offered may include rosewood and sandalwood carvings, embellished camel hide footwear, sophisticated fabric and drapery, gems , beads ,brassware, metal crafts, and silk and wool fabrics. A number of shows promoting handicrafts and handlooms are held at the exhibition hall in the complex.

Occasionally fests are held in Dilli Haat where in artists from different parts of India come and perform and show their talent.

It was indeed a day well spent in Dilli Haat. I was so culturally motivated by watching the performances by talented artists and by seeing the variety of handicrafts that various craftsmen had to showcase.!