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 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 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...