Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

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  • Thank you World#GratitudeCircle

    Today is the last day of 2015.

    I don’t know why today should be different from any other day because the sun will still rise in the East and set in the   West. 

    While returning home last night, daughter no 1 remembers Y2K and all the hype that went with it. She asked if we remembered what we did on that day. I still remember very clearly that I’d told my brother that on 1 January 2001 we’d get up to find ourselves in the Southern Hemisphere because the earth will flip on its axis. It was a flippant remark because obviously nothing of the sort happened. 

    But for many people it did – for those families who experienced a dramatic reversal of fortunes or circumstances. I can’t forget that on the morning of 31 December 1999 a well loved person in the extended family actually breathed his last, making his family’s world literally go upside down!

    So on this last day, I look back in gratitude for all the 365 days that went past: the good, the bad and the ugly.
    So what was good?

    • The two grand babies born in the middle of the year. I’m grateful that my children have given me this opportunity of becoming a grandma. Many people of my generation are baby sitting houses or dogs for their children.
    • The trip to Dubai in early April was a great getaway. Even though the weather wasn’t the best, it was a great time to connect with friends, the extended family,my Better Half and myself. I am grateful for this time away from home that allowed me to reflect and recharge my batteries.

    The bad part of the year was the constant activity that gave me no time to exercise. I’m not a very physical person but I enjoy a long walk in the morning, taking in the bracing air or a leisurely walk in the evening catching up with a friend. But then, having things to do and being “wanted” and “needed” are great ego booster. I’m grateful I have the opportunity to do the things I like with the people I like and am happy to be needed and wanted.

    There are many, many things that happened this year for which I’m grateful but essentially ,what I’m most grateful for is the fact that I’m leading the life that I am leading. 

    Thank you WORLD!
      

    As I look up ,

    I see a sky that is so blue 

    with clouds of fluff 

    reflected in the shiny glass 

    of modern buildings dwarfing the old.

    Isn’t mine a wonderful world?
    I’m linking this post to GratitudeCircle and Skywatch Friday. 

    Happy new year to fellow bloggers  – may you world in 2016 be wonderful too!

  • Looking back, looking forward#woty


    This is my favourite time of the year when people make lists of the good and bad things that happened throughout the year, take stock of achievements and goals and redefine their tasks for the year ahead .

    So what are my achievements in 2015?

    • Expanding my family tree:Undoubtedly the increase of my tribe by two more grandchildren born in the middle of the year : a girls and a boy born 5 weeks apart. While I am aware that this not really MY achievement, there are two more souls on this world thanks to my original two.

     

    • Expanding my horizons:I managed two overseas trips this year, a short trip to Dubai in the first half and a longer one to Singapore. Seeing these cities brought home the fact that just 30 years ago, Mumbai was way ahead of these cities and today it is 30 years behind! Returning home, I was saddened to see my city sink further into chaos while the rest of the world marched ahead. And, what was more disheartening was the fact that both these cities are actually built to a large extent on the labour of my compatriots. What happens to us in India? Why can we not make our own cities work?

     

    • Re-organising my BLOGS and reinventing myself: Taking a cue from several bloggers I admire, chief among them being Corinne and Vidya, I actually took the bull by the horns and took the first step to tidying up my internet identity. I took the help of Tanya of Blogelina and though I’m not entirely thrilled with the result, am happy that I took this step. Foodities and Mumbaionahigh are two blogs that are self hosted and I find, strangely enough that my WordPress blogs had less glitches proving that all that’s paid for doesn’t always work well.

     

    • Learning how to #blog without a desktop: Now this is a major technological breakthrough for me who is a firm believer in pounding only a trusty keyboard. A month’s stay in Singapore forced me out of my comfort zone and compelled me to use my iPhone more effectively. I can now upload photos, link URLS, copy paste efficiently and above all blog and email using #Wifi! Alas the Canva experience is not possible on mobiles yet, else I’d have been making more graphics.   However, I’ve discovered VivaVideo and it won’t be long before I begin posting Video blogs

     

    • Expanding my blogging experience: I participated insome amazing events -# BOLTING with Blogadda to Tiger Hill , participating in the #softestforbabyskin Pamper Launch which coincided with #WIN15.
      •  I went for several other events independent of Blogadda and participated in the A to Z challenge which had me blogging for an entire month!
    • Learning to say NO: this was by far my greatest achievement. While this has reduced my angst, it has increased my weight because I learnt to say NO to exercising  and reducing  my intake of food.

    And looking forward?

    Well like most people who make resolutions,in 2016 I plan on

    • Becoming a better person
    • Losing weight
    • Exercising regularly
    • Blogging regularly
    • Taking my blog rank higher
    • Mastering social media

    And above all I plan on learning to take life less seriously. With every passing year passing even faster than the previous year, I realise how much time I tend to waste in thinking and re-thinking and re-re-thinking. Situations don’t change by thinking,instead things swept under the carpet miraculously DO vanish.

    Word of the year

    Two weeks ‘ ago I read Corinne’s post on choosing a word for the year which she says is more meaningful than making resolutions that we tend to break even faster than we make them.

    So my word for 2016 is actually two words : BE ME.

    Over the years I’ve been amazed at finding facets of myself that I didn’t even know I possessed; qualities that remained in my subconscious, surfacing at the strangest of times.   Circumstances often make you downplay or mask certain attitudes and aptitudes and highlight or adopt others. Societal norms and expectations make us change or tweak our personalities just so that we fit in. Perhaps if I make a conscious effort, I may still be able to BE ME without creating too many ripples. 

    I’m linking this post to EverydayGyaan’s #YourWordfor2016 

    and 

    “I’m sharing my #TalesOf2015 with BlogAdda.”

     

  • 3 reasons not to see #BajiraoMastani

     

    Hindi movie aficionados will probably pillory me for criticising the  Bollywood blockbuster #BajiraoMastani but unfortunately, I am one of the few who isn’t gaga over this film that released just last Friday.

    Making love stories isn’t easy. Like a soufflé, it has to be whisked just the right amount so that it remains a delicate, delectable dessert rather than a stodgy, steamed pudding. Sadly, Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s latest offering #BajiraoMastani isn’t the soufflé that you are looking for.

    1. The song and dance

    There was much brouhaha about the movie well before its release thanks to the songs and dance that are par for the course for Indian mainstream cinema. Of course, the songs were far less lewd than the normal Bollywood fare but despite the poetic licence and creative muse that gives a film producer to do what he wants, I felt that the songs and dance didn’t do much for the movie except drag it on for a few more reels. (I’m not sure about this though, because films these days aren’t shot the old fashioned way and are digital which means that no photofilm was used and “reel” thereby becomes superfluous)

    Not only did the song and dance routine do nothing for the movie but they were most inappropriate. Granted the director /producer wasn’t retelling history but I doubt kings and queens break into song in the manner they did in #BajiraoMastani.

    2. Adultery is never pardonable 

    It probably sounds ridiculous but I felt the love between #Bajirao and #Mastani was more juvenile and delinquent  than pure and praiseworthy. Nothing can really justify infidelity especially when you have a spouse like Kashi. The love between Bajirao and Mastani to my mind is more lust and I feel that Mastani was a mere homewrecker and Bajirao a man who couldn’t control his hormones. This plain and simple physical attraction doesn’t deserve to be lauded- instead Bajirao should be castigated for being an irresponsible leader of his men and a lousy , cheating husband.

    3. Oh my God ! When will this end

    Apart from the unnecessary songs and dance, the movie drags in parts – the ridiculously staged attack on Mastani, the battle of Budelkhand and the most agonising , slow death of #BajiraoMastani which really had me look for the remote.

    BUT

    The movie does merit some credit though. Priyanka Chopra as Kashi is dazzling and was the perfect foil to the conniving Mastani played by Deepika. Another noteworthy performance was that of the dowager mother by Tanvi Azmi, whose strong personality comes through very clearly.

    Ranvir Singh has never been my favourite actor but somehow there is something endearing about him and his portrayal of a Maratha warrior is commendable. His true forte comes to the fore when dances exuberantly in front of his troops.

    So even though this is not a chocolate soufflé, its overall aesthetic , eye pleasing visuals and incisive and witty dialogue redeems it from being a stodgy steamed pudding.

    Verdict 

    Definitely worth seeing though may not be at Rs. 400 a seat!

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