Colour me please!!!

When I visited my parents a couple of months back, I wanted to scan all my childhood photographs so that I have a digital copy of the same. So, while searching for my photos, I saw my parents’ marriage photographs. There can be no feeling to beat the feeling of going back in time and these photos always bring a smile to my face.

My mom has a photographic face. She looks brilliant in photos. (And my dad never ceases to mention that he got fooled by those photographs :) ) In those marriage photographs, she looks beautiful in the traditional madisar. My dad looks comical in those bell-bottoms. I love these photographs. The only digression being they are in black and white.

I love black and white photographs – especially those of portraits. But a wedding snap just CAN NOT be in black and white, especially Indian weddings. The bride and groom spend hours dressing up and looking beautiful. They are in the spotlight that day. And later when they see the photographs, they would like to see how the colour of their dresses match, how the mehendi is just in the right colour, how the bride’s saree matches with her ornaments and how the groom looks like an officer in suits and just re-live that day. This cannot happen in back and white. And this is exactly what I miss when I see my parents wedding photos – the colour of their love.

Colours have a significant impact on the way we perceive things.

Which of these boxes do you think is bigger/heavier?

Most people swear the black one is bigger. In fact, they are the same size. Black is the densest colour and creates perceptions of heaviness.

Interesting Historical Note



In the 1960’s the Presidential Election in the USA was between Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy. All information suggested that the outcome of the election would be very close. The main focus of attention was a live debate on television. Richard Nixon wore a light coloured suit whereas John F Kennedy wore a dark suit. The people who listened to the debate on the radio thought the Nixon had won the discussions. On the other hand, those that watched the debate on TV (on Black and White TVs - not colour) believed emphatically that Kennedy had won. It is now believed that Kennedy looked a more prominent person because of his dark suit. Nixon’s light coloured suit made him look much smaller and less significant.

After the TV debate Kennedy took a lead in the election polls and won the Presidential Election. Is this the first time that the choice of colour has determined the leader of the Western World?

Our life is a collection of emotions just as a painting is a collection of colours. Colours are good means to convey emotions. Colours can show our love, happiness, joy, fun, laughter, sorrow, tears and silence. Colours can speak to other’s soul in so many ways.



I wish I can see a colourful wedding photograph of my parents reverberating laughter, happiness, trust, affection and love. And the fact that I have no other photo of just the two of them makes me yearn more.

This is submitted as part of Indiblogger's contest "Take Flight with Colour" which promotes HP Laserjet printers.

Images courtesy google.

It’s me everywhere!!! :)

“Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” is an old proverb. It should be reworded today as show me your gadgets and I will show you who you are. At least it is true in my case. But as someone, who doesn’t like carrying many gadgets, I pretty much use mobile and laptop for most of my needs.

Calm and Confident

I change the wallpaper of my mobile pretty regularly. But it will always be a photograph of mine. :) In fact, after my engagement my hubby, in one of those romantic moods, commented that I should change the wallpaper to his photograph. I gave such a matter-of-fact reply that I like looking at my face and will not change it. (I know stupid me :)) And only when I saw a slight disappointment in his face did I realize that it was not the correct reply in that situation.

And after my baby was born, my mom suggested that I keep one of baby’s photos as wallpaper. This time I was mature and did not reply. (Clever me :)) I thought may be I should and changed it to the baby’s photo. But somehow I did not feel comfortable and changed it to my own photograph.

And the same goes for my laptop too. The only difference being the photograph is in a black or shiny blue or maroon or orange background. (I just have a liking to some colors at different times. There is no specific reason.)

I am a confident person. I like the way I look in some photos. And let me clarify I do not look beautiful in those. I look confident, but there is also a sense of contentment and peace in my eyes. And every time I look at those photographs, I feel I am in control of my life. (You can call me self-obsessed :) )

Plan and Prepare


Also, I note down the pending activities for each day in my mobile calendar. Today’s entries read:
• Contest
• Medical
• Tax return form
• Saree
• 2 1 coin

Similarly, there will be no unnecessary or unused files or folders in my laptop. The desktop contains only the basic icons. There will be shortcuts to the often-used folders and files in the task bar.

I am an organized person. Every time I remember something to do, I immediately make a note in my mobile. It helps me in remembering things and because I look at it everyday, I tend to complete it sooner. There is always a plan in whatever I do. Sometimes, I think it adds to tension. But that’s the way I am.

Sing a Song

You can always see a minimized music player, mostly playing melodies.

Songs are my primary source of relaxation. There are times when Ilayaraja’s music acts as the peace maker after a fight at home. :)

In summary my gadgets always portray a confident person in a bright background planning a lot of things listening to music.

This entry is submitted as part of IndiBlogger's Change is Easy contest sponsored by Dell.

Musical Mother

Celebrating " FemInspiration" 100 years of celebrating Women's day. My entry for the same.

In this fast age when people hate to wait for anything and shift jobs ten times in five years to fasten their career growth, I am fortunate to meet women, who have tremendous patience and confidence, a combination which is becoming increasingly difficult to see. These are the women who recognize the difficulties ahead, who know that overcoming those difficulties will take years together, yet are prepared to face them without thinking about the final result.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, after becoming a mother, my respect towards all the mothers and women in general, has increased tremendously. But, when I look at mothers of special children, I lose control over my emotions and my eyes become wet.

During my school holidays, I used to go to my uncle’s home for holidays. He lived in an apartment. My uncle’s neighbor was a college lecturer and had an awesome sense of humor. He would make me laugh for hours continuously. His wife sang so beautifully. She gave concerts and played Veena and her voice was totally mesmerizing. They had a daughter and a son. They surely looked happy and were always enthusiastic about life. At that young age, I thought they were all lucky to be happy always. (Not that I had any problems. But you know – Grass is greener on the other side :))

One day, when I was having dinner at my uncle’s home, there was a knock on the door. My uncle opened the door and the neighbor’s son came running inside, started shouting gibberish, behaved very different, and slapped me. I was puzzled and shocked. That is when I realized that the child had mental problems. He would start behaving abnormally some times and he would not stop until all his energy was exhausted.

That’s when I started looking at their family a little closer. Beneath all their happiness, I could also see their determination to create a positive atmosphere at home. In the morning, the aunt would teach her son Mridangam to channelize his energy. He did not go to school. So, she taught him lessons at home. She would prepare special dishes for him – all suggested by Ayurvedic doctors – which would take so much effort. She will never leave him alone. She will keep speaking to him, making him laugh. She would play simple games with him to develop his mind. In the evening, she will take him to the concerts she performed so that he got used to outside world.

And the best part was – She did all this every single day with no complaints or worries. She would also take good care of her daughter. She taught her Veena. Whenever I went to their home, she would speak to me so enthusiastically and would ask me about my day. She would include me in the games that she played with her son. When it was time for me to leave my uncle’s home, she would always gift me with something or the other.

Every summer, as I visited my uncle’s home, I was truly inspired. I could see the boy getting matured. The family atmosphere never changed. In fact it got better with the aunt and her daughter singing and playing Veena and the son accompanying them in Mridangam. Their major success came when he was admitted into a top school in sixth standard. Today, he is a graduate and plays Mridangam for top musicians in the city.

I keep thinking…….

How easy it would be to just complain about the child?

How easy it would be to take care of the child and forget everything else?

How easy it would be to just take care of his physical health and not the mental health?

How easy it would be to just think about family and forget the neighborhood kid?

How easy it would be to just let the neighborhood kid play with her son and forget her?

How easy it would be to keep the child in the home and cut off the external world?

And

How tough it should have been to accept that the kid is mentally challenged?

How tough it should have been to understand his needs?

How tough it should have been to visit multiple doctors – allopathy to ayurveda – and do every single thing that would help the kid?

How tough it should have been to live in an apartment with kids of the same age and understand the difference?

How tough it should have been for the couple to motivate themselves every single day to keep a positive home atmosphere?

How tough it should have been for her to teach him simple things that others perform so naturally?

How tough it should have been to come up with ideas to train the little mind?

She is truly a courageous woman – one who faced the challenge heads on with loads of patience, determination, and confidence, and changed the destiny of the child.

Men are what their mothers made them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jewel on the eyes

Technology based product that changed my life – Contact lens

When I was 5 years old, one of my teachers found that I struggled to copy the lessons written on the black board to my note. She doubted I might have some problem with the eye and she wrote a note to my parents asking them to check my eye sight. And that is when my relationship with eye specialists started.

My father wears glasses and hence the probability of me having some power in the eye was high. But my parents never thought I will have a power of -7 in both eyes at the age of five. So, I wore glasses with a string attached to the spectacles at the age of five. I don’t remember much from my childhood except that there was some kind of complex within me because I wore glasses. My class mates made fun of the fact that I was wearing thick glasses. [Well, nothing serious. But you know in that age, it was a BIG thing]

As I grew up, though I was comfortable with wearing spectacles, there was a still some sadness because everybody said I would look better without them. In fact, my biggest disappointment those days was I can not see for myself on the mirror how I look without spectacles. I did not like seeing my photographs and I preferred writing to myself than speaking to others. Thankfully, the brain was functioning properly. I was good at academics and also got prizes in the competitions attended. So, people stopped referring to my glasses. But a bigger problem persisted. My eye power kept on increasing. From -7, the power had increased to -12 when I completed college.

So, I thought of moving to contact lens as one eye specialist told me it might at least help in arresting the increase in power. I had to join a company in a few weeks. As the saying goes “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. I thought it might be better to try it now since nobody would know me at a new company and I need not carry the baggage of those heavy spectacles with a big frame.

How has life changed after using contact lens??

For people, looking from outside, there may not be any major change except that there are no glasses. But for me, lots of small changes in the mind. I am confident of the way I look because I know no reference will be made to glasses. Isn’t beauty a combination of confidence and grace? When someone comments that I look good, I say a silent thank you with a smile. I have taken loads of photographs and I am happy looking at it. Today, I am good at my job and can reach out to anyone and speak confidently. Even with those heavy glasses, I might have spoken to people but after a lengthy thought process. Now, there is nothing stopping me.

But the biggest impact of using contact lens was the realization that I want to live this way, with a confident look and a happy smile always and I will not go back to those heavy frames anytime.

The problem with contact lens is that they make their presence felt always. And in bad days, you might even regret the decision. You can not wear it continuously for more than 10 hours. Traveling will be a problem on rainy days. Add to it, working in the IT industry is no good for the eye. So, I further decided to go for LASER surgery and get the power corrected. Thanks to the doctors, today I have 6/6 vision.

Had I not used contact lens, I might have never gone for surgery. It was that experience without glasses that made me realize that the surgery will help me portray myself in a better way and will help me reach my goals.

You never spoke a word,
I never bothered.

But you look away,
And make my heart sway.

Your eyes told a story,
Don’t close them and make me lonely.

This is submitted as part of Blogadda contest – technology based device, product, or service that changed your life.


Check out Buytheprice.com and connect with Indian Bloggers at BlogAdda

Wide Angle - Lovely moments

Well... where shall I start? If I say I am happy, it does not do justice to the feelings of heart.

When I saw the contest conducted by Blogadda to write a tribute to Anil Kumble, I thought I should give it a go. I had not updated the blog for months together because of health and emotional reasons. But cricket is an addiction and really can not stop myself. I finally spent a few hours in writing and at the end of it felt wonderful. It was reliving those moments when I had watched those matches and had post-match conference with my mom and brother. :)

I was happy to win the contest but really did not know much about the book and was not sure what to expect in it. But everything changed when I actually got the book last week. Surely, camera is to capture lovely moments and relive those later. And that's exactly what happened with me. I spent the entire weekend looking at those pics. (It helped that power cuts in Bangalore are at its worst. :( ) Let me leave you with two of my most favorite photos.

1] Rahul Dravid, Man of the match in Adelaide Test.

In this test, Ponting scored 200 and blew a kiss to his wife. And when Dravid scored 200, he kissed Indian cap. Me and my brother, who hate Ponting, started comparing the two and made some really sarcastic comments. :) Oh those days!!!

2] Well, what shall I say about this. Fab five - thanks for all the happiness you provided us.

Thanks Blogadda for the contest and the book.

PS: Pardon the image quality. My digicam did not work and hence pics taken from mobile. :(

Reunion – The End

This post is submitted for the Mystery Fiction Blog Contest at Blogadda. Ajay Nair has written a story called "Reunion," laying out some clues. We are given the chance to solve the mystery.

My take is given below.

After Lila spoke to all the ghosts from her past, she decided it was time to make her move. Each of their actions indicated that they did not love her at all. They did not care for her. Even when they knew she had only a few years left, they decided to come empty-handed with no apologies at heart.

"Life is unfair," she decided. How can those people lead a normal life when she has to die? She decided to execute her plan. She had nothing to lose. She had only a few years left and had no one to care for her. Her desire to live reduced and taking revenge became the priority.

She thought of M. and crumpled his scarf in anger. The porcelain cup brought her memories of those six years and she threw them on the floor in disgust. Thoughts of R reminded her of the beads and she threw them to the bathroom. She looked at the arm band. Yeah, she was the snake. She believed in revenge – revenge against people who did not care for her. The arm band made her realize that even blood relation is not trustworthy and mangled the arm band.

She finally took the bullet from the pendant and killed herself. Last few minutes she felt satisfied that she had acted smartly and the cops will ruin the lives of the people in her past.

Sentences that made me think it is a suicide are:

"Lila was smart"

"In my invitation, she'd mentioned that she'd only a few years left to live and wanted to bury the past."

"Everyone knew she was suffering."

"After all, there was only one person in this house capable of killing Lila." – Well, I thought it has to be all or none. Everyone tried to murder her or no one did it.

And somehow the arm band in the shape of snake made me think of revenge. I know I am following Bollywood tradition. :)

Anil Kumble - The spin machine

If we think of sporting heroes, we can always classify them into two categories.

1. Naturally talented people who worked hard
   
2. Mentally tough people who understood their limitations and worked hard to overcome them
   

Sir Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Viv Richards belong to the first category while Steve Waugh, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Glenn McGrath belong to the second. The first set of people get a lot of attention, praise, and motivation to succeed; the world looks at the second set only after they succeed. But make no mistake – It's the second set of people who motivate ordinary men to conquer impossible things and become a role model. Such a role model is Anil Kumble.

Great Player - someone who believes in himself and faces challenges head on

"The mark of a great player is in his ability to come back. The great champions have all come back from defeat."

Anil Kumble always had the ability to prove the world wrong. After his test debut in 1990, he waited for two years to record his first come back. His figures of 6 for 53 at Johannesburg proved the world that he is here to stay.

For ten years he was India's match winner. During those ten years, he scripted test series victories against England (1993), Zimbabwe (1993), Srilanka (1994), New Zealand (1995), and Pakistan (1999). Ten years is a long time and though his mind was always energetic, his body needed rest. His shoulder needed a surgery. After the Australian series in 2001, Harbhajan Singh emerged as the first choice spinner and it was increasingly difficult for Kumble to play away tests.

In December 2003, Kumble got a chance to play the second Test against Australia after Harbhajan Singh was injured, and delivered one of his best performances; taking 24 wickets over three Tests as India drew the series. Throughout the series, Kumble demonstrated that he can be as potent a strike bowler overseas as at home and lodges his next comeback.

Injury caught up again in 2004 and was ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan but made the Test squad. Four wickets on the fourth day of the third and final Test at Rawalpindi scripted India's first-ever series win in Pakistan.

He was declared misfit for one-day and was dropped from the one day squad in 2005. Disappointed Kumble, returned to domestic first-class cricket after six years, in the Ranji Trophy season opener in Delhi. He came back to Kotla for the second test against Srilanka and takes 10 wickets yet again. In 2006, bowled India to a historical series victory in the Caribbean, 35 years after they last did so under Ajit Wadekar. Took 6 for 78 to bowl West Indies out for 219 as they chased 269 at Sabina Park.

He injured his shoulder again in 2006, is dropped from Champions Trophy. He returned in 2007 – announced retirement from one day, scored a maiden Test hundred at the Oval, became the captain of India after Rahul Dravid's resignation, faced tough test in Sydney test with controversies around and motivated the team to win the next test at Perth.

The tale of Kumble is not scripted by God. Because it's not rosy everywhere. It's a tale scripted by a man with an extra-ordinary mind which knew how to overcome challenges, and a heart which appreciated others as much as he enjoyed his own success.

A visionary

Today, if India is ranked as No.1 in Tests, it is because of Sachin, Rahul, Sourav, Laxman, and Kumble. They envisioned it first. They were the ones who could not enjoy the test victories at home. Wherever they went, people told them – "Lions at home, cats outside." They wanted to knock this tag off and they wanted to win away tests badly. And they instilled the same desire in Sehwag, Zaheer, Harbhajan, and a whole lot of youngsters.

While it is easier for the batsman to do it, for a spinner bowling in greener pitches is a challenge. Still Kumble wanted to do it. And his performances of 7 for 159 at Headingley in 2002, 5 for 154 at Adelaide in 2003, 8 for 141 at Sydney in 2003, 4 for 47 at Rawalpindi in 2004 are evidences of how when the batsman scored runs outside, Kumble's pressure was too much for the opposition to handle.

An ardent student

After he broke Kapil's record of 434 wickets, the world accepted him as a master of his craft. Being an ardent student of the game, he added new weapons to his deadly flipper. When he had to take a break because of his shoulder, he perfected the slow, loopy googly, added variations to his leg break, used the crease to great effect, and varied his angles.

Achieving success is easier than retaining it. Because anybody, even if he has not faced the bowler, knows exactly what the bowler's action is, the wrist position, the kind of deliveries that he would bowl, before actually playing a match against him. You have to keep bowling different variations if you have to be successful and these variations brought a new dimension to Kumble's bowling.

Coming from South India where education is the top priority, he took the education a little further. He gave himself homework, analyzed the batsmen, scrutinized his own bowling, and made detailed plans. Such was his discipline.

Gentleman Captain

"Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game."

The cricketing fraternity gave importance to these words because of the man who uttered them. The personality of Kumble, the respect he commands from his team and the opposition, the calmness in his voice combined with truth in his eyes ensured the controversy of Sydney test was outside the Indian dressing room. He kept his cool and led the team admirably both on and off the field.

As a captain who believed in cricket doing the talk, he motivated his team to conquer Perth and bring the much needed happiness and calmness after the storm.

100% cricketer

When we think of Kumble, the first image that comes to mind is this.

This is the most visible expression of Anil's commitment. But let's not forget, it is these long tiring spells and endless commitment that makes Kumble one of India's greatest match winner.

"Anil Kumble became the best cricketer he could be" – Shane Warne

This above quote from the spin wizard himself sums it up quite nicely. Here is a man who extracted every ounce of energy from within to extract the bounce from the pitches.

"You need to teach people how to get wickets, not go on about technique," Kumble says

True, cricket is played in the mind. Once your mind is set to become a strike bowler, it does not matter if you spin the ball 4 inches away to go past the outside edge or if you spin just a few cms to get the outside edge to the first slip.

I consider sports closest to the challenges of everyday's life. Success and defeat happens every day in sports. Watching a sportsman go through the highs and lows are lessons in itself. And the biggest lesson to learn from Anil 'Jumbo' Kumble is "Never, never, never, give up."

This entry is posted as a part of the Contest by BlogAdda.com

Edited to Add: YAY!! I won the contest. Click here to know the details. Thanks to all who encouraged me with your lovely comments and to those who read and did not comment (yes, yes, its you...)