the angel biker

Who am i? I am a winged creature who has been flying for more than a decade. Too dramatic? I fly because i am an air hostess not because red bull gave me wings you silly! For the last 6 years and 10 months I am a mother. When I was born I was destined to be called Voila - from my father’s favorite Shakespearean play - "the twelfth night" but I guess sanity prevailed in the guise of my mother who gave me a very proper name - Pragati. My dad’s nickname stuck though so I answer to Voila too but only if I like you enough.

I am a typical Gemini (yeah… Linda Goodman rocks). I live in a fantasy world. I am emotional in one moment and strong as a rock in other. I always stand by my family and friends no matter what. I am tall, dark and beautiful and every time he looks at me in that special way i feel pretty 

Things I want to change about me? I am too possessive for my own good. I trust everybody to anybody. I am also a spendthrift

What do I do these days? I work for an international airline company. I have been to so many beautiful countries but so much remains unexplored. When i tell people about my work and about the places i have been they want to know about the places I have been to. But every coin has two sides. Its 20:25 hrs and right now when everybody is looking forward to return to their home to cosy up to their family, I am getting ready, putting on make-up and flying away.

Did i choose to do this? As a kid i dreamt of becoming an air hostess one day… but I did not work towards it like someone possessed. At each stage of my life I did what I wanted to do then - from doing my +2 with maths and biology, to graduating in english literature and psychology, to doing my post-graduation in journalism! So I really cannot say if i chose this profession or it chose me. I was always a spoilt brat but I owe my success to my parents. When i joined Air India in 2004 the first thing my father told me was don’t leave this job. Stay! In the beginning i was very restless and desperate to leave. For me staying away from family for even a week was very painful and i used to spend all my money making calls back home. Now it’s been 11 years and apart from seeing a new place each time I take off, this job gives me the chance to meet different people from different parts of the world.

What makes me go yayyy? Like any other woman shopping makes me happy but i really love riding bikes.  My father taught me how to ride when I was in school and since then I am in love with the feeling when the wind is in your hair and you just speed away all alone. I bought a Royal Enfield for myself some years back but now my eyes are set on a Harley. Sleeping with my daughter’s limbs entangled with mine makes me a happy person in the morning. Travelling for fun and not work also makes me a chirpy bird.

My favorite smell ? The un-perpetuating smell of fresh air after a long flight, the smell of home cooked food when I reach home and fresh flowers. 

How do i de-stress? I have a life-size punching bag ...literally. After my separation this wonderful person came into my life with whom i share everything with and pour out my heart to. He is my best friend, my partner in crime, and he has made me the confident person that i am today. He has given me a sense of security and I feel wanted around him.

My dream is to bring up my daughter on my own terms and also be filthy rich. I know money can’t buy everything but you see it does help you buy a lot of things that do make you happy. Since the time i have become a mother all my hopes, dreams and aspirations have become one directional. i just want to give my daughter everything that she wants and everything i can give her. People might say i spoil her but to be very honest i think it is the guilt that works behind this attitude of parents like me, who cannot bring up their own child. I left her with my mom when she was just 11 months old.

The words I adore and keep chanting to myself? My father is a retired english professor. When i was young, i used to watch him teaching his students. I would listen attentively to all the poems, stories and novels and my young mind would go on an imaginative journey every time I was introduced to a new character. One of my favorite poems was " stopping by woods on a snowy evening"  by Robert Frost and the lines" the woods are lovely, dark and deep, but i have promises to keep, and miles to go before i sleep,  and miles to go before i sleep"        have been engraved in my heart since the first time I heard it. i find these lines very beautiful and since then this has been the motto of my life. "it is not in stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves"

What was the life altering event that changed my life? The first time I held my daughter in my arms and looked into her eyes. That moment lasted for just a few minutes but my life changed after that. In the last few years i have seen myself grow. From all the heartbreaks and broken relationships, from being a mother to my little angel, to being besties with her now, i have felt it all. We know what we are, but know not what we may be. Time teaches us everything. i feel every woman is strong in her own way. I, for once, know my strength now.

The Radical Romancer (of Life)

Who am I? Till a few years back, I had a clear idea of who I am. Today, I realize I was or am nothing close to that idea. I am discovering myself every single day, every single moment. Till a year ago, I had no clue that I had a love for paint and brushes. In the last few months, I have painted more than a dozen glass bottles and I totally loved doing them. In short, I am exploring everyday – who I am, what I love, what makes me tick, what is this world like, what are people like beyond their beliefs and projections. I am an explorer on a journey of life learning to be alive. People know me by the name Pallavi Srivastava.

Up till a few years ago, I was working as a business journalist. I was earning good. My colleagues were fun and fundamentally good people at heart. I felt important to know the big shots of the corporate world. It felt a matter of pride to eat, laugh and drink with the most important people in the business world. Logic said I should have been very happy and content. I wasn’t.

I was highly dissatisfied, very unhappy & sad and I didn’t know why. One day when I was sitting in my office, I had this feeling that I can’t do it anymore, not for a minute more. I picked up my bag and walked out from that office, knowing only one thing that I am never going to come back there or to any other office like that again. I figured out the official details of leaving later but in my head I quit that day.

For the last four years, I facilitate people to find their inner happiness and peace and help them acknowledge, embrace and be who they truly are. In doing so, I discover myself every day and it helps me to acknowledge, embrace and be who I truly am. In the worldly terms, I am working as a clinical hypnotherapist and a mindfulness trainer.

It was not an easy decision to quit a secure career and begin all over again, but the desire to be truly happy was strong enough to give me the courage to do so. The ride so far has been thrilling, exciting, fun and bumpy sometimes but not for one moment it has been boring and routine. I am happy I chose this.

And yes, I continue my love for writing too by doing freelance projects for UNICEF, Times Internet and a few other brands every now and then. I am truly happy doing what I am doing.

I am five feet tall with a dusky complexion, dark brown eyes and long hair that I adore. My smile and bright colors around make me feel pretty. Accepting myself and being me makes me feel pretty.
As long as changing anything about myself is concerned, I feel there is always scope of improvement till our very last breath. Every day ends with new learnings and every morning starts with an upgraded version of me.

                                    

Mini doses of happiness

A smile that comes from the heart, a carefree laugh, a good cup of coffee, special omlette, rains, sitting in silence by myself, flowers and huge trees, candles, little acts of kindness (both doing and receiving them) and sometimes doing nothing, thinking nothing and just being present to the moment makes me happy on a daily basis. Besides that, I am working on a novel. Finishing it, seeing it published and enjoyed by people will make me really happy.

On those days when the world takes over and the stress monster grows on me, I take refuge in painting or reading. A brush dipped in a thick bright color moving on a bottle somehow recharges my heart. Reading takes me to a world of its own where sometimes I can just live a fantasy. Sometimes, books help me find answers and solutions on challenges I am facing in reality. Whenever I can steal some extra time, I lie down on my terrace and stare at the sky, sometimes for hours. It reassures me that everything is alright and the world is a beautiful place.

I can best describe my motto in life by this song: “Main Zindagi ka sath nibhata chala gaya, har fikra ko Dhuyen men udata chala gaya”.

My most lucid dream

With my eyes open I dream that one day people will see the inherent goodness in themselves and others. People are generally good, to be trusted and loved. Life is to be enjoyed and lived passionately and joyfully. Our natural state is to be happy, peaceful and in awe of the goodness around us. I dream of the day when most of us will realize and believe this. That is the dream that drives me to get out of bed every day and I believe I will live to see that day come true.

A moment that changed my life
I used to be a very unhappy person at one point of time in my life. Very unhappy, sad and always disappointed with life and people. On one such day of distress at work, my colleague and dear friend (Surbhi Chawla) came to me and said, she would really want me to read a book. At that time we were not on very good terms with each other for certain reasons, nevertheless, I asked her what the book is about. She said it is a self-help book. In my arrogance, I mocked her and said I don’t think I need a self-help book. A few minutes later, during our coffee break, someone else brought up the book again. Surbhi was sitting there; she probably took this as a sign and got up to go to the office library next to the cafeteria, issued that book and gave it to me. With an intention to flip through it I opened the book.

That coffee break extended for another hour as I could not stop myself from reading it. That day changed my life forever. For the first time I realized there is more to life and to me, than I thought. I never looked back again. Life and me both are both more alive today, thanks to that day. The book was ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. 

Since that day many books and youtube videos have a played a key role in my learnings about life and I feel content like this should be a key part of curriculum at schools. There is a lot of stuff being taught to children which they hardly use ever in their life but what we all need is life skills: the art of being happy, the passion to live. We need to make this a part of the knowledge imparted in schools and it will truly make a difference to people at an individual level and will also make our society more happy and peaceful.

What price LOVE?

A few weeks back I was talking to a friend about what love is and this friend told me loving is accepting someone without any conditions whatsoever. He said, “We say we love our parents but get upset when they don’t understand us. Parents say they love their children but then they get upset when the children don’t fulfill their expectations. It is ok to have expectations from people we love but if we truly love them then the fulfillment of these expectations or lack of it will have no impact on our love for those people. The day we reach that level we can say we have learned to love.”  Well, I am still learning!

The Vintage Equalizer

“You will never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have”

Who am i? I am a working woman who fiercely loves her husband and her daughter. I am also a pampered sister, a spoilt daughter, and a cherished daughter in law. But weekdays 9 to 5 I am a marketing person working for HT Media Ltd as Senior Manager for PACE, their Newspaper in Education Programme.

I have a long pretty face which is adorned by shot curling hair. Most days you will find my eyes defined by eye liner and mascara. I am not so fussy about clothes but my daily ensemble includes a generous spray of my favorite perfume Lancome’s Miracle. I am 5 feet 3 inches tall and a bit on the healthy side but I feel pretty whenever I get complimented by my husband and my daughter because I know they will never lie to me. I love the way I am and the only thing I want to change about myself is my inability to say ‘NO’ even when my heart screams no. I think I have that old problem where you want to keep everybody happy in your life and then you forgot what made you happy in the first place!

                                        

Spending time with my family, especially dates with my daughter are extremely precious for me. To be honest, managing my family’s expectations and at the same time giving myself some quality time at any given day will make me really happy. I know it will be a miraculous day indeed but nothing wrong with hoping and dreaming I think…

On a serious note, my ultimate dream is to run a dog shelter one day. As kids, both me and my sister would get stray dogs at home, bathe them, feed them, make their beds but as soon as we would leave for school, my mother would let them go as we had a pet dog at home and she was scared that they would get into a fight. So I guess it’s a childhood dream that i have been nurturing for so long. I have been doing whatever little I can do, sometimes feeding them, other times take taking them to the vet for treatment or even handling them over to Friendicoes but I hope that when I retire I can help better by having my own little place for them.

I am from a small and ancient town in Rajasthan – Alwar, famous for the hill-forts and traditional milk cakes. I was a teacher’s pet and I loved being the object of their attention but I was always a shy child. My mother was my best friend during my growing up years. Even though she was a single parent, she worked hard and gave us the best of everything in terms of morals, values, education, food, clothes and pets! There were times when we faced money crunch but she would remain unaffected and sanguine so that it would not stress us out. She did everything in her power and beyond to keep us happy and content all the time.  One day I wish I can be like my mother, strong, patient, responsible, loving and gentle and the best confidante! She continues to motivate me even today.

                              

I came to Delhi in 1999 for my higher studies and since then this city is my home. Delhi has been very very kind to me. It has given me education, work, a loving husband, my beautiful family and some amazing friends. I have an elder sister who is married and stays in Jaipur. I never realized how important she was to me until she got married. Growing up, she was my rock. I still miss her a lot and I wish we were living in the same city. I lost my father two years back. We were never close but I feel like I lost something important after he passed away. There is a bigger void now that he is gone forever. But I have a better understanding and perspective on so many situations and issues now because I have been thinking about the past and connecting the dots. I guess I am a better person now due to the realizations.

                           

The Recipe Connoisseur

I am Lakshmi, born and brought up in the beautiful state of Karnataka. I am happily living my life playing the different roles of a daughter, a sister, a mother and a wife. But I take pride in saying I am I am also a passionate foodie! I am working as research administrator in the field of clinical research but I still take time out to blog about food and share my recipes at www.tasteofmysore.com.

If you meet me you will know that I am always happy because of my smile. According to my family, my smile lights up my eyes. I love the way I am and don't want to change anything about myself. Being healthy and fit is my definition of pretty! I am obsessive about 'healthy eating' and I try to do that by incorporating healthy ingredients in my cooking.

Happiness I believe is the state of mind you are in. For me it comes easily whenever I see my children smiling a smile on my children face and their little achievement. I love to wind up the day with a cup of filter coffee and watch sunset preferably near my jasmine flowers or read my favourite food blogs. But I have realized that it is meditation which makes me calm. Recently I met my spiritual guru and felt very good.

 Life has been very good to me. I have my masters’ degree in Pharmacy after which I worked for various companies in the field of Clinical Research. I met my hubby in college and friendship turned into courtship and ended in a happy marriage. I have a very supportive and loving husband whose love is beyond words.

My love affair with recipes started after I left my home actually. For education and employment, I have travelled all over India from South to North East to North West and it was hard to adapt to roti and potato in the beginning but very soon it became a love affair. From litti chokha to stuffed paratha, malpua, jalebi and rabdi to even phuchka and Jhaal Mori I used to relish every food item and got introduced to the amazing street food of India too so yes from the beginning I was foodie. I would gather whatever ingredients I could lay my hands on and experiment to make dosa and rava idli in college hostel when I was in North India and my friends would always awed by my creations. I was known as Lakshmi Di famous for cooking south Indian food in hostel.

Being a mother was one of the most joyous things that has changed my life completely. My two children brought lots of happiness to my life. Its my dream to see my children leading a happy, calm and beautiful life.

Life is good. I hope to keep up my spiritual practices and live a healthy life till my last breath.

The Whimsy Photographer

Who am I? Like so many other women, I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister etcetera. Depending on the day and time, I also wear the hats of a teacher, clown, nurse, warden, driver and so many others. But let me start again. I am Richa Yadav. I am a photographer. I click photos of babies, kids, pregnant women and families. I also own a studio named ‘Remember When’.

I am 5’6” tall and in the last decade my body made an upward journey from size XS to XXL and then in reverse order (it’s between M and L currently). I love pretty shoes but with a shoe size too big (8 and you read it right!) I am often asked to check out the guy’s section. 

Because my son tells me more than twice a day that I am very beautiful, so I am absolutely sure that I am. What make me feel even more gorgeous are handloom sarees, some statement silver jewellery, kajal and the perfect shade of red lipstick (slightly obsessed about that! 6 different shades of perfect red but I am always on the lookout for the perfect one). My dressing style is different. Women around the world co-ordinate their lipstick and jewellery around their dress but I choose my dress, keeping in mind the shade of lipstick I want to wear.

To describe me – words like restless, headstrong, impulsive, chatterbox and forever optimistic come to mind. But I have my shortcomings. I lose my temper easily, I can’t be polite if I don’t like you, I keep stalling things for the last minute, and I don’t have much faith in the power of forgiveness. As long as negative people are away from me, I enjoy almost everything in life. Having managed to learn the art of tuning out unwanted people from my life, I am in a very happy place.

There are so many that make me happy. An out of blue call from some old friend, finding an old letter in a folder, 5 minutes of extra sleep in the morning, husband’s spontaneous show of love, singing at the top of my voice in the shower, crafting, meeting with friends, the list goes on. What would make really happy? Reading. I wish I could have one full day to myself so that I can just sit, sip some tea and read. With two insanely hyperactive kids it is impossible I know, but hey! A woman can always dream!

I am a dreamer and I am working hard to achieve them. What tops the list right now is a Master’s degree in Arts in Photography from UK. Spending an entire day at Roald Dahl’s house, live in a small house with HUGE windows overlooking either a valley or a sea (I think I can see you sniggering there), read as much as possible(err sorry no limit can be defined there), solo travelling and so many other things are a part of my bucket list. I keep one half of myself content with all the good things I have got in life but the other half (not my husband J ) still wants more.

               

De-stress you say? My children’s antics, a good book (oops i think I am repeating but it’s true!) or a long chat with a friend or my husband is enough to restore the balance between my energy and sanity. On too stressful days, cursing and calling people names in Awadhi (yes you read it right, the choicest of abuses), works wonders too.

My life changing event? Umm it was actually when my daughter was born and don’t raise your eyebrows!  During her first two weeks on this planet, she was on ventilator and ICU and the doctors did not tell me if she will survive or not. I learned to live life from minute to minute. From someone who almost always looked at the larger picture, I turned into someone who gives as much importance to the very important smaller pictures. And yes, my daughter survived and now she is a healthy, precocious, 3 year old devil. I mean child.

The story of my life is what I am right now. I started my career as a tv news producer and ended up being a baby and maternity photographer. On one hand, I am totally happy and content with my life and on the other I am dreaming big and working hard to make them true.

 I was born to a family of farmers, government servants and some kickass women. At the time of my birth my dad was a lecturer at Allahabad University and two years later he became an IPS officer. My mother held the difficult fort that was my home. Having spent the first 5 years of my life in a pure village, I grew up climbing trees, taking cattle to meadows and rivers, and playing the regular games the village kids play like kanche, gulli danda, rolling in the hay and mud and doing so many other things. My first spoken language was Awadhi and for the first year of my school it was the only language I spoke. And I guess I was the only one in school to speak that language! I guess I was a pariah in the city. I mean a pariah in the dozen cities my father got transferred to. I was 23 when I got married to the most wonderful man in the world. My husband is as much a mother as I am and there is no baby work that he doesn’t do and I am one very proud wife.

For my daily spiritual guidance, I turn to Matilda - my go-to-book as it taught me early on how to look for magic around me. Everyday, I experience a lot of Matilda (magical) moments and they are perfect reason for me to giggle and look forward to each day with hope and smile.  

Living for the future is a tough job, so I take the easy route. I have had my share of mammoth troubles but there are no regrets. I always have a present to make up for it so why not spend the rest of life doing just that. 

The Crafty Samaritan

My name is Richa Gupta and I have seen 37 summers this year. I am a post graduate   (B.Sc., Med) and I have taught for some time in DAV school. I used to be a ‘computer professional’ and I am a registered acupressure therapist too. But I am none of these things right now. I see myself as a housewife, a passionate crafter (read professional crafter please!) and a loud animal rights activist (yes really loud in the animal rights circuit so beware J). I am married to Olive Green (read proud wife of an Indian Army Officer) and a mom to two little brats aged 7 & 5. These are the few things that define me right now.

What makes me feel pretty? I believe it is not looks that make you look pretty. God gifted me with a compassionate soul and that is what makes me feel pretty.

I feel happy when I am around nature. Being around my family and staying together is also something that makes me extremely happy, as being an army wife this is quite rare for me. Crafting is my second love (yep the first is my husband) so trying out new techniques with different mediums be it paper, clay etc to create something pretty makes me happy too. To distress I play with colors. No, not paint ball but actual painting on a blank media.

Do I want to change anything? I love my originality (yes I have my own original style of dressing up!) but the one thing I really want to change about myself is the way I don’t let go of memories. I am not easy on forgive and forget and move on. I tend to cling to the past but I hope I can teach myself to let go. 

My first life-altering event was the death of my father. My mother was still a typical housewife, I was studying for entrance exams for MBBS and my younger brother was in the 10th standard. We were not prepared for this incident, emotionally or even financially. My mother was an introvert but for us she made herself strong and became a mom-with-a-job, fulfilling our needs and never ever made us feel the absence of our dad. I shelved my dream to be a doctor and took up tuitions and part time job to support my mother’s income. My mother’s courageous act, her attitude towards life taught me to be more confident and accept things as they come. May be I will not be able to win all the battles destined ahead but I have immense courage to face new challenges and i am unafraid of the unseen situations now.

The other incident I can never forget is the day my family survived a terrorist attack. I had to make my kids understand what to do if their parents did not survive the incident. I realized then the uncertainty of life and how much time we waste being unhappy about little things. We should just live up every moment and make good memories to leave behind. I also deleted the two words panic and impossible from my dictionary.

When I see myself today I see a courageous confident lady who is leading a happy life with her family, but to reach this place I struggled a lot. I always wanted to be a doctor, but gave up due to financial constraints. I met my husband as a classmate and we became very good friends quickly. But an inter-caste marriage is a serious business in India and we had our share of struggle when we tried to convince our families. Post-marriage I had to adjust a lot as I was always a free spirited bubbly person but after marriage I had to transform myself 360 degree and become a dutiful docile daughter-in-law. Due to his job in the army, we lived in different cities and sometimes we met for very short durations only a few times in a year. The last few years have been good to me as we have been together.

A Kite, a barn Owl, one rare Himalayan Squirrel, a baby Monkey, Himalayan Myna, Fischer's lovebird, doves, ducklings, indigree pups, Labradors, a Beagle, Rabbits and Budgies. These are a few animals I have rescued and fostered to be either re-homed or released.

My dream is to have my own studio one day where I can teach the less privileged and help them to stand on their feet. I also wish I could set up a rehabilitation centre for the needy animals and birds. I will keep trying until I succeed as someone said:

Kaamyabi Miley Na Miley Ye To Kismat Ki Baat Hai …

Par Hum Koshish Bhi Na Karein Ye To Galat Baat Hai...

The Metro Traveller

Who am I? I am a Kashmiri who yearns for her lost home; a fish-eating Bengali, who can't understand all the fuss about hilsa; a Delhi Metro junkie, who likes the different styles and streams of conversation that cross-ventilate the ladies "dibba"; a journalist, who is tired of repeating the line "no, I am not a reporter, I edit stories"; a housewife, who has been increasingly turning a blind eye to the cobwebs in the various corners of her house and mind.

What makes me feel pretty?  A happy state of mind, well-behaved hair, a nice pair of earrings, and "What you thought you need" playing on loop somewhere in my head (I can never remember more than one line of any song). 

People tell me I am hypercritical; my friends tell me I have a dry/wry sense of humour; my husband says I keep repeating things (well, I repeat because he forgets) and that I should warn him every time I decide to sing; my neighbour thinks the stray dogs prance on our cars because I feed them. What do I think? I think I am all of those with shades of my dad, mom, sister and all the pets who embraced me with all my faults. Physically, my nose walks ahead of me; and my silver strands give me a distinct look in a sea of black and peroxide browns. For a living, I edit the weekend section of a newspaper. I strayed into the profession and have stuck to it—maybe I could have done something else, but I never wandered in any other direction. 

My dreams? It’s more like a to-do list: I will start running from tomorrow (I said tomorrow. Period); I will sort out my paperwork (again, tomorrow); I will leave early from work today (there’s no harm in being optimistic). I actually don't want much, but if were to win a million-dollar lottery, would that complicate life? 

I de-stress by taking a month off in two installments and going on a holiday (which is basically more about eating, lazing and less about sightseeing). Sitting quietly, not thinking of anything also works for me.

My daily bubbles of happiness? Simple random things really—waking up to rain on hot summer days; seeing a green chilli sprout from that potted plant in the balcony; having ice cream speckled with cornflakes (try it, the crunchy creaminess works); looking at old picture albums (yes, such things do exist); discovering a Rs10 note while cleaning the closet; fitting into a decade-old pair of jeans (wonders do happen, they were loose to start with).

What changed my life long time back was the fact that as Kashmiri Pandits we had to leave home and start all over again. Since then I have carried my home in all the houses I have lived. You also carry a holdall of memories, which you hold on to tightly, as time tries to loosen its grip on it. I used to be quiet on the outside and loud inside; now I am quiet on the inside and (a tad) vocal (not loud) on the outside.

To tell you a bit about myself, I grew up in Srinagar. The biggest excitement of our life was going on the yearly school picnic, feasting on Shivratri, and fasting on fritters and fruits on Janamashtami. And then militancy took hold of the Kashmir valley. We moved to Delhi and suddenly nothing made sense, everything seemed hostile: the weather, the people, the city. The initial years were spent in the hope that we would soon return home and go back to the old way of living. But I am still here in Delhi; in between I have lived (briefly) in a couple of other cities. As for the future, I have no plans. As always, I will go with the flow.

Motto: Don’t drive yourself too hard, let the Metro take you places. And if you get lost, don’t worry, you might just discover your GPS skills in the process.