how i met a Bindaas Bong

(Bindass Bong here refers to a Bold Bengali Girl)

My first day at office was a replica of my first day at school/college,

the only difference being i was away from my home town,

which was probably first time ever for me, 

Mumbai… 

Like everyone else i too had many preconceived notions about Mumbai

My mind was  inundated with Pre-Mumbai-Thoughts, 

for me this journey to Mumbai was as good as a desert (chocolate brownie yum-yum) after a nice & tasty meal, you want to savor its taste as long as it lasts....

I saw her at our orientation session, petite, hair tightly tied, calm,she had those trademark Bengali eyes

I don’t know if she had noticed me till then, but me being an observer was busy scrutinizing everyone present in the room, ummmm i was attentive towards the lecture too, am i a muti-tasker or what

I never tried to initiate any conversation with her, neither did she

But fortunately/unfortunately we were put together in a batch for technical training

I remember our very first conversation, which was about finding an apartment in Mumbai.

as we began chatting i realized that we had so much in common, love for movies, love for FRIENDS

(T.V. series), and she too was a gym maniac like me wow...

The joy of finding someone with similar frequency and that too in a totally strange city is boundless

 I was wrong about one thing though… she was anything but calm,

she was bold, flamboyant, fearless

she was ambitious and lived life on her own terms

she was difficult and moody at times

yet an adorable and a valuable friend 

it is truly said that all the big things come in small packages!!!

I would admire her, at times I would hate her, but altogether i was happy,

Since there are very few moments in life where you do not have to pretend, you can let go, and 

show off your crazy side to someone who is as crazy as you

But i guess our friendship was not meant to last forever,

i am still not able to figure out what went wrong, 

However, Life should go on and so shall I

I've buried all those fun-memories in some corner of my mind, 

Although we are not on talking terms,

I wish I could tell her that I have never met a girl like you,

that she is and always be a Bindaas Bong for me

"I've learned that things change, people change, and it doesn't mean you forget the past or try to cover it up. It simply means you move on and treasure the memories. Letting go doesn't mean giving up, it means accepting that some things weren't meant to be."

a HERO dies!!!!

On August 5, 2012, mass shooting took place at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, with a single gunman killing six people and wounding four others.The gunman, Wade Michael Page, shot several people at the temple, including a responding police officer. After being shot in the stomach by another officer, Page fatally shot himself in the head.

One man Satwant Singh Kaleka,65, fought back with all his strength and a simple butter knife with a man almost half his age carrying loaded weapons,

Satwant Singh’s four minute long and dreadful encounter with the gunman saved about 300-340 lives

when his son learned about this massacre he was not surprised by his fathers’s courageous act, nor were any of his relatives amazed,

for they were well-aware of the fact that he would do whatever it takes to save his people, his temple..

according to his relatives, he has always been like this, he would help his community or for that matter anyone in need, he was always a call away.

After coming to USA in 1982 with mere $35,

Satwant Singh Kaleka help found this temple in 1997 for nearly400 families in local Sikh community, he lead a very simple life, for him no job was too small

Satwant Singh Kaleka is and always remain an inspiration for the next generation

Is there a hero within everyone of us, well that’s the question we need to ask ourselves,

But, if we are able to give back/contribute at least half of what we have received from our Society that would probably make us a good and a responsible human being…

bye bye Virginia...

P.S: this is more like describe-Virginia-in-short sorta post

so all the busy/working people can just scroll through

while all gotta-do-a-lot-but-rite-now-at-leisure kinda people-please read it 

Moving truck is standing right beneath our apartment

Movers are busy wrapping all our stuff,

Mover Guy: Ma’am we have 8 boxes, please do check them and make sure you label every box

Me: blankly shook my head

Wondering what should I label a box with

not only every object is acquired by us, but also each has a story/memory adhered to it

every object reminds me of our long discussions, looking for offers, coupons/sales, deciding the color schemes, patterns, excursions to ikea or other furniture stores,

and the toughest part was to carry the furniture all the way to 4^th floor, phewww

our house is totally empty now,

it takes me back to

my first day in our house, first day in Virginia, first day in the USA

Its been only 6months and i’m in love with this place,

i'm not too sure about what makes Virgina so special to me,
may be our very first memories together, may be the kind of warmth, welcome i received from M’s friends, or pleasing surroundings...

what-so-ever, Virginia will always be home away from home for me

bidding adieu to...

  Reston Town Centre   

    shoppers paradise, high-spirited crowd, amazing food 

South Lakes

  It is believed that Virginia is for lovers, sure it is 

pani-puri ( yummy-Indian snack)

    weekend special-pani-puri, nothing beats Indian Chaat *slurp slurp*

Climate

        lush green foliage, soothing climate, not too hot, not too cold

Friends

last but not the least, our friends, bunch of awesome people

I’ll miss you guys

                                                      This is mananmind signing off from Virginia

                                                   Looking forward to Kansas City, fingers crossed!!!!

                                    

Once upon a time...

                                                     

Once upon a time there was a confused-little momma's gal

She would stalk her mother almost everywhere, 

life without mom seemed impossible to her, 

outside-world to her was one monstrous place,

She would observe things around her

some would inspire her, some would bother her, some would amuse her,

while some left her spellbound...

She was shy yet opinionated, confused yet logical, quite yet affable

what-so-ever she kept it to herself..

But as she grew up, her perception changed

She met new people, she made new friends

World to her no-longer appeares strange & cruel

Now she had one thing on her mind,

All her life she had waited for this moment

Moment which renderes sense of independence

Moment which renderes self hood

Moment which made her believe that she can survive in this world all alone

It wasn’t a cakewalk, but she got through

Now she would gaze the sky as if she owns a part of it,

She would feel the breeze as it was customized for her

She lived every bit of this moment

But, as they say happy-moments are short-lived...

Ever-so-often life compels everyone to make a choice

She did make a choice of letting go her most cherished moment,

This is a new beginning for her, she is pleased, delighted

But still longs for her piece of sky, longs for the breeze, longs for her identity

for now she has an uncertain hiatus ahead of her.... despite this

she would never let go her dreams, her ambitions

For she believes, she shall live her moment again, anew, afresh.....

                           

developing???

I never thought someday i would spend  my evenings watching soccer, NBA, Olympics

May be that’s the marriage effect people talk about, big transition :O

 Roger Federar, Novak Djokovic, Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo..

 i was familiar of these names,6months post marriage and i'm actually watching them play,

there were times when i used to detest sports channel (expect channel showing cricket)

but now the times have changed, since two days i'm literally glued to television set, not missing single Olympic event, and i'm thankful to M for rekindling long lost sport love in me

as a toddler i would eagerly wait for my summer holidays just to join my swimming classes...

Yesterday i saw Michael Pheles most decorative Olympian ever winning his 22nd gold medal, Missy Franklin winning her first ever gold medal & Rebecca Soni setting world record at London Olympics 2012.

WOW i feel like swimming again!!!! 

Point is our country lacks amount of prominence, esteem, prestige these countries have for sports,

We see sports as an activity, even parents do not encourage children to opt sports as their carrer

In India students have to choose between sports and academics

I’m not denying the fact that our country has produced some of the best sportspersons

Dhyan Chand, Milkha Sing, P.T Usha, Sachin Tendulakar,Viswanathan Anand,Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati.... are to name a few

Hatts off to these player, they have made us proud,

But Emotions apart, is that all we expect from India

India 7^th largest by area, 2^nd most populous country with worlds biggest democracy, despite this India is remarkable among the nations for having won very few Olympic medals

 when it comes to sports we have handful of sportsperson coping with minimal amenities, rock bottom scope & exposure, lack of equipments & infrastructure

on a positive note,

youths like Vijendra singh, Sania Miza, Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar, Mary kom have ignited  our hopes and transformed the present sports scenario.

we are proud of you!!!

but, all this coming from a novice like me felt bit wired,  

deep down i had this constant feeling that i'm writing all this just for the sake of it

which made me feel dubious about this post, to publish or not to publish

huhhhhhhh but Later this evening i decided to hit the publish button

following 4-5 lines gave me the courage to do so

work towards my fitness goals

definitely take swimming more seriously

Try my best to spread awareness amongst parents, 

 to begin with- I’ll encourage all my relatives, cousins, friends 

the chole BLOOPER!!!

helloooo everyone, Wishing you all a Very Happy Friendship's Day!!!!

so friends this is where i reveal my little secret to you.. sshhhh its between you & me

bloopers, goof-ups are part of my daily life..  

banging head with walls, falling off stairs, spilling food/chocolates/icream/drinks specially when i’m wearing white,

I’m extermely bad with keychains, and involuntarily cruel with my cell phone, do i even need to mention passwords huhhhhh

as of now you must be laughing your heads off but my blooper list has a new entry, cooking…

this was one untouched, unconquered field for me up until now

okk i can already hear those giggles, but you will be glad to know that i’m not that bad at it.. in fact i’m happy that i’ve inherited at least one good gene from my mom

overwhelmed with my new found interest, we invited some friends over for dinner

and out of the blue i thought of cooking chole bhature(chick peas), i don’t know what was wrong with me, i had never cooked chole, for that matter never ever cooked anything except Maggie & poha(maharastrian snack)

thus i was all geared up and started searching for chole recipe, poor M... i dragged him all the way to three different grocery stores to get all ingredients on the list, and he had that warning look on his face :p

thanks to the recipe video, my gravy turned out really well,  it was time to pour the canned chick peas or chole but wait..

flashback

out of curiosity i had open the canned chick peas and left it open in the refrigerator, as a result the peas were all dead dried 

M had gone downstairs to welcome the guests and here i was with dried chick peas, i was blank for a moment.. but had to think of something fast, so after lott of jumping around omg-omg,cursing myself omg-omg i thought of holding the peas under hot water and BINGO it worked, thoughts like these makes me believe that i am a true engineer.

i fearfully stared at everyone with a worried frown until someone broke the silence and said that chole really tasted good & asked me for the recipe…

i let out a long relieved breath

Now hopefully i can scratch cooking off my blooper list... yeyyyyyyy!!!