Oh!!! What a year this was!!! :)

It feels like yesterday when I bid adieu to 2008. It feels like yesterday when I wished all my friends a 'Happy New Year'. It feels like yesterday when I made my secret resolutions for 2009. And today is New Years' Eve already!!!

I like this time of the year when it's all festive and fun. We have so many festivals to celebrate through the year but the month of December and its last few days have this very specially different feeling.

Here's a quick round-up of some of the special things that happened to me during the last one year...

• Made a trip with family to Mysore and Coorg. Lovely experience.
• My little niece completed a year in February. She started walking around on her birthday. It was such a beautiful sight to see the little one taking her first few baby steps. She's moved on to running around, jumping around and tumbling around. She has even started talking now. She's one adorable niece. I miss my dear little Harini.
• Shifted base to Bangalore in February. Joined up with Infosys. I am not commenting on how green (no pun intended!) the grass is on this side of the fence ;) but somehow it feels nice to be a part of India's most sought after company.
• Ran a shopping marathon for nearly 5-6 months across every mall and every other shopping complex in Bangalore. I had my reasons and I had fun :).
• The year that's rolling over has been a really special one for me. I met someone special and got married to him this year. He's changed everything around me... and made everything around me so special. Thank you Sweetheart... this one's for you... for everything!!!
• My family just grew bigger. I now have an extended family - with the most adorable parents-in-law, the most bindaas sister-in-law and whole lot of new uncles, aunts, cousins and friends!!! I love all the attention they give me and I enjoy staying in touch with all of them.
• He and Me went to the Andaman Islands together. It was one awesome trip. The clear blue-green waters, the clean white beaches and the dense forests were captivating. We visited Havelock Island, Ross Island and a few places in Port Blair itself. We had a wonderful week-long getaway that let us give each other all the time we had.

2009 will always remain as one of my favourite years... thanks to these and many other special moments in the last one year!!!

2009 came... and went by like any other year before it. 2009 came... and brought each one of us our share of smiles and frowns. 2009 came... and will disappear into history in a few hours from now. 2009 came... only to pass by and make way for 2010!!!

May the New Year brighten up each one of our lives and bring in an infinite supply of happy and pleasant moments. Wishing you all a Wonderfully Happy New Year!!!

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Bangalore So Far...

I've been in Bangalore for a good five months now... been thinking ever since I landed up in Garden City, that I must spare some time and blog about how I've been doing in the new place. Somehow something or the other took priority and time decided not to spare itself :D Here's a quick one on what changed and how during my time in every Bangalorean's Namma Bengaluru :)

• The big fat house hunt began as mission #1 when I landed up in Bangalore. I spent the initial first month at a family friend's place. Had a wonderful 'home away from home' experience there :)
• After a month's hunt I found this little 1BHK for myself. Always had this secret wish to live alone, all by myself, some day. Was thrilled when this wish materialized :)
• Got busy setting up my new house... it's a cute, cozy place that I enjoy being in :) Best part is I have IIM Bangalore as my next door neighbour and I ensure I make a mention of it when someone asks me for my address. That's the closest I could get to the IIMs :)
• Got to be a part of Infosys! I never once miss the raising eyebrows or throats clearing when someone says 'Oh wow! You're with Infosys!' :)
  
• Was on bench for the initial one and a half months or so. Having been in the IT industry for over 4 years and never once been on bench before was kind of making me feel left out! I completely enjoyed this 'bench time' :)
• Joined up Infosys Toastmasters to continue my journey as a Toastmaster. Have been busy at work of late and not able to spare as much time for it. Managed to attend a few sessions and even MCed a milestone meeting here. Met some amazing Toastmasters and even shared the same stage as many distinguished ones :)
• Crossed paths with a wonderful person at work. She's turned out to be my best dost at Bangalore. We've giggled like idiots, cried like babies, passed remarks at anyone we sight, shopped and have not yet dropped and have had loads of fun together :)
• Shopped like never before... from clothes to footwear to you name it I've shopped it :)
  
• Got to meet my batchmates from Symbiosis more often. Quite a handful in Bangalore :)
  
• Met someone special for the first time at Bangalore... his folks and mine decided we go ahead and get married :) We're happily engaged now and we're getting married soon and I am so looking forward to it :) He's the best and the reason behind why you'll find me smiling at any time you choose to spot me... including at the end of every line above :)

Missed blogging and the whole blog duniya for a long time now... I do try and catch up with blogs that I read regularly... I hope to get back to being more regular with my Bindaas Baatein soon!!!

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Thankyou Irena

In May 2008, a 98 year-old Polish lady named Irena Sendler died.

During WWII, she got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist but she had an ulterior motive. She KNEW of the Nazi's plans for the Jews. Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and, in the back of her truck, she had a burlap sack for the larger children. She had a dog in the back of the truck that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the noise of the children. She managed to smuggle out and save 2,500 children before she was caught; the Nazis broke both her legs and her arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the children that she smuggled out which she kept in a glass jar buried under a tree in herback yard. After the War, she tried to locate any parents that had survived and reunited the families. Most, of course, had been gassed but she helped those children to be placed into foster family homes or adopted.

In 2007, Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize…

She LOST.

Al Gore won for doing a slide show on Global Warming!!!!

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I got this article couple of days back by email. My heart goes out in appreciation for Irena. I'm not sure how much the Nobel Prize would have even meant for a lady as selfless as Irena... but I strongly feel those who take a call about the Nobel Prize need to take a few moments off to think if they'd ever do something as selfless!!!

We may not necessarily get our due credit for the efforts we put in at work or the good we do as humans... does that mean we stop doing well or being good??? Does expecting appreciation and recognition take away the essence of what we're doing???

I'm not sure... I'm confused...

For the moment I'm all praise for Irena... hats off to you lady!!! May we have more of your type...


PS: this post's for my friend kavitha... thanks for pushing me to make sure I publish something asap :)...

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The 2-minute Magic Spell

'Mummy bhook lagi hai' mumbled two little hungry kids... 'Bas do minute' said the mother... and quite rightly so in the midst of an exciting television ad jingle a yummy platter of noodles was ready in two minutes flat!!! Oh yes, I'm talking about everyone's favourite - Maggi Noodles!!!

If you're in your twenties or thirties and if you have not had Maggi... then you've probably just landed from some other planet. Maggi was and is my favourite kitchen rack item. It takes you just two minutes to decide to want to eat Maggi, then just about two minutes to get it ready and if you're really hungry... just another two minutes to slurp it down :)

Amit's ode to this favourite snack of mine prompted me to write this post. Apparently Maggi completes 25 years this year... 25 years of filling hungry tummies in the quickest possible time! It sure is quite something. I'm quite impressed by the different variations that the Maggi family has tried to offer over the years... somehow though the original Maggi Masala will always remain my favourite.

As kids, my sisters and me were even part of the Maggi Club. We used to get these fancy Maggi memorabilia, Maggi Club pin-up badges, loads of mailers from the Maggi Club etc. The mailers would be something that we waited for longingly... who else would be kind enough to mark letters to some less-than-10-year olds :) Maggi did!!! It connected with us right then... and the bond continues to last right through... up to now and am sure for a long way down the future. It is almost as if the 2-minute magic has cast a spell to last us a lifetime :)

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