....Finally we are doing something we wanna do!!!!!

All thanks to that some entrance exam of mine for which we had to go to Jaipur and had 4 hours free before our return…..of course with Gud di along, we went for shopping and apart from all faltu shopin we bought this set of plain t-shirts (which I so much wanted)….tat was it…

We were back home and one night Gud di calls me urgently upstairs…and what I see is that this plain white t-shirt has a smart design that too with hand…I was actually surprised, was like “WOW!!!! Ye kaise hua??? Then she revealed her dil me dabi hui tamanna…jab se plain t-shirts kharide the, train mein  she was thinking of designing them (Something like how JKR gave birth to HARRY POTTER!!!!!)…and the  first thing that came to our mind was “ lets design t-shirts and sell”…..and so we are here presenting you this exclusive range of hand designed t-shirts…

Of course it took a very long time…..she had this khujli in her hands to design t-shirts …”jahan bhi jao plain t-shirts lao”…was her only cry…. And now I have this smart collection of t-shirts (in all pastel shades possible) filled with Gud di’s art and creative designs!!! At one point I stopped getting plain t-shirts … but she didn’t stop, designed t-shirts for Sneha (our Einstein), asked my friends to get their plain tees and hadd to tab hui jab Khushbu (who now wears saree after marriage) ko kahan  “tere liye to poori saadi design kar dungi”…. She actually did not stop… But there’s a secret I wanna share “out of all tees she’s designed, mine were the smartest”…Arpita ne to kaha bhi “ haan accha h par tere jaisa nahi h”…to the first t-shirt designed for her!!!!!!!

This shauk of hers (one of many other hobbies she’s recently discovered in my company) is now taking a new form…we’ve decided to start this online platform to also give others THE PLEASURE OF THIS TREASURE …..wah …wah !!!!!!

Its just the beginning so you guys will have to wait till we actually bang the markets (which will be online), Just look out for the seven letters :

“ENTROPY"

P.S. : The name has another story and there are many other stories of  “the making of ENTROPY”, which will be blogged soon.

Happy shopping and ask Dear God to please BLESS US….THANK YOU !!!!

Accha lagta hai

I got an early morning call 2-3 days back from Sushila ji Bohra saying Sunita got through the exam. "WOW...Thank you so much GOD...you made my day!!!!!!!!"....was all I could say before calling Sunita to wish her.

Now coming to Sunita...I met her 2-3 months back when she was preparing for II grade teachers exam alongwith her M.A. Eng Hons. final yr. exams, which were falling on the same time. Meanwhile, just for experience and practice, she's utilising her B.Ed. degree in teaching senior secondory students. No doubt she's been a very good student in her school.....You guys must be wondering whats SO Special in this C.V. I am writing about..... The wonder is, all this has been achieved without the eyes.....SUNITA IS HANDICAPPED BY Sight....I am not writing blind coz its just the eye sight she doesn't have, rest she's brighter than any of us. Writing handicapped is also very wrong in her terms because thats one word not in her dictionary....

Sushila ji Bohra, an eminent social worker in Jodhpur, runs this Blind School (with hostel) for both girls and boys. I am her neighbour and thats how I was introduced to Sunita. I got this privilege of being Sunita's reader for a month, just before her II grade exam.

The first day I met her she said "Shrutiji, mujhe padhane ka bahut shauk hai,isiliye maine B.Ed. kiya, or ab II grade ka exam ki oppurtunity mili hai to mai isse nahi khona chahti. Waise to hamare liye material kuch hota nahi (she meant, in Braille), par agar aap ya Shradha ji (my sister), mujhe ye book read kar de to bada accha hoga".....

and thats where my learning began....I was actually amazed by seeing the way they lived in hostel...anything they did like wearing the same footwear (from among many kept together) in both feet or taking the right pair of kurta and pyjama from the hook, handling the mobile perfectly well or just picking up the correct book from their pile of identicle books......all this seemed so difficult to me....from their eyes....but for them it was actually nothing...just their daily routine!!!!!!

Once Sunita came with 2 books to read from...kept them on the table...then gave me one and said "ye nayi hai, isme se padho..", I actually asked her "Sunita, how did you differentiate between the 2 ??? " She asked me to rub my hands on both...and I got my answer...their eyes are in their hands!!!!!

Talking to her, made me realise that any of my problems which I crib about is just nothing in front of the difficulties she's faced uptill now....writer (for exams) not coming on time or refusing at the last moment when she's waiting in the examination hall...or getting to the wrong examination centre just because she was dependent on someone elses eyes.....not only this, her school teacher refused to give her highest marks when she deserved it (but later her brilliance and hard work made the teacher realise his mistake)!!!!! .....she was also denied the writer she chose for this II grade exam, and had to find some other person..... Believe me whenever I feel low about anything or I start listing my problems, Sunita automatically comes to my mind and I feel blessed, as if my problems are no problems anymore!!!!

Today Sunita is a well qualified student, you'll be surprised to know that she can very well handle the computer. The school provides them with softwares they require, printer which type in braille and ofcourse very good teachers for their support.

Visiting that school was another pleasure. They had everything that You or I have used, played in school. From maps to books to computers and games- cricket, snakes and ladder...and all in their language, in their form.

This was Sunita I came across but there is a complete lot in this school - many students, brilliant, achievers,gold medalists in academics as well as sports....all on the path to brighten their lives!!!!!

I wish Sunita and all others ALL THE VERY BEST.....GOD BLESS THEM!!!!

Being a part of this society, taking everything from it, try giving anything which you can and are able to..

Aisa kuch karke dekhiye...ACCHA LAGTA HAI...

This is how friends make your day!!!

Wow!!! This is what i call a DAY!!!!! Thankx a ton  Shruti, Arps and Ritu.

Shruti u know what, yesterday night coz of some reason i was very sad had decided not to attend this function of Ritu's, come what may, din't inform Arpita that m here n not going, got up very late today morning and even kept my phone switched off....infact i dint go for my exam (ruined my course)....and then from no where you called up...and the rest you know...u guys actually made my day....aisa to books  n movies me hi hota h yaar!!!!!

 I was just going through the pics and the videos....peeping into the old classrooms and labs and finding them the same as we had left, singing the school song in the empty corridor just to check that we remember it or not...such a lovely  welcome from baiji and that shikanji..hmmm just awesome,the same taste even after 7 years...it was as if our movie running in flashback .....and spending such a good time in school even when it was all empty (being a sunday)....could only be possible with you guys...

The best compliment we got from ritu's mom.. " beta tum log jis tarah se milte ho (with the bang)...lagta h wahi rajmata ka time hi hai...dil khush ho jata hai mera!!!!! "........Thank you Aunty :)

n the day doesn't end here (wow ek hi din me itna saara!!!) the purpose of YOUR coming here....had a wonderful time there too...a very good start for my camera....wish you could stay back.....

This day 6th of march ,2011, will be written in golden letters!!!!

Thank you GOD....

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh, Kookaburra laugh,

Laugh, Kookaburra laugh,

Kookaburra, Gay your life must be!!!!

I can very well remember Sangeeta Ma'am singing this lovely poem to the tiny tots of 3rd standard in Rajmata, and we all were so mesmerized  by what she told us about this little unusual bird.Its unmistakable call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.Then she told so many things about Australia (native place of this bird.).....the small triangular island below it (Tasmania)....the coral reef.

This was all out of course books. Just for our knowledge. We learnt that poem n used to proudly sing it to everyone in school n at home as if it was something very special and no one else knows it coz Sangeeta Ma'am taught us.

Its been 15 years,I didn't hear it anywhere.  I came across this poem in a newspaper article sometimes back.It brought back all those lovely memories!!! But then reading that article made me sad.It said:

"In 2010, an Australian primary school director, Garry Martin, asked school children to replace "gay your life must be" with "fun your life must be." After outcry from internet users that he was banning the word gay and the Australian gay and lesbian advocacy group (Also Foundation), Martin tried to clarify his position. He stated: "All I was doing, relatively innocently, was substituting one word because I knew if we sing 'Gay your life must be' the kids will roll around the floor in fits of laughter." 

A sweet,simple nursery rhyme meant for innocent,little children could be given such a meaning and dragged to a controversy which had no logic and sense.Its pathetic.For these toddlers Gay is just Gay...happy...fun...it'll be a different meaning only if they are told about it.

The World's same for all, its just how you see it matters.

Someone has rightly said " I am only responsible for what i say, not what you understand"

One afternoon,I was on my way to home from factory when i stopped by at a Saras Dairy outlet to buy bottles of flavoured milk. I took 3 bottles and the total was Rs.33. The guy asked me to give change. I took out 3 one re. coin n was giving him when a man behind me (who seemed a labourer from some nearby factory (this dairy is in industrial area)) gave a 10 Rs. note and asked for milk. That vendor threw his note n said angrily;

"13 ka aata hai."

" 10 ki theli nahi hai kya??",the man asked.

Vendor didn't bother to reply,took my 3 Rs. and gave me my bottels. That labourer (as he seemed) stood there for a few secs., thoda dukhi sa laga, searched for some more money in his pocket,saw his only note in hand and went away.

Till i reached home i was wondering i should have offered him 3 rs but then i thought ..on what basis???? there can be ten reasons for having just that 10 rs....may be someone else had asked him to get milk, or may be his child was crying at home, there can be somebody not well at his home or he just wanted to have tea...anything and i really dont know..

I am not saying (and i dont know) that he was very poor or needy or something, I not pitying that guy but what happened the very next day forced me to think over it again and again and of course to write this blog. The next morning somebody opened the fridge and "thad",1 bottle gone.That time i felt the imbalance and how we actually take things for granted.This one bottle did not affect me at all atleast monetarily but yes if that guy had his money....i am sure usko us time dhoodh ki zyada zarurat thi....

Theres another piece i would like to share,Gud di read it somewhere, written by Mrs. X;

this lady X, a simple housewife once went out with her neighbour,Mrs Y(whose shopping freak,spending over-the-top kinds) to some big boutique just to see what is actually "spending".

Mrs Y made a huge bill there...paid..took her packets and they moved. It was difficult for Mrs. X to digest all this so she just asked her,

"you didnt ask for any discount or bargain ????"

"nahi yaar,yahan kaise??? yahan accha nahi lagta.Dekha nahi meri kitty ke kitne log the yahan!!!!"

Their next stop was at a cobblers place where Mrs.Y gave her sandles for repair.Here on asking for just Rs 10, this lady Y,with a lot of ifs and buts n tu ta, achieved to bring it down to Rs.8 !!!!!!!!!!

..................................................

Guys i am not complaining about people shopping,spending, enjoying ,freaking ....but if you can do all this i am sure giving a bit extra to somebody who really needs, will do you no harm... :)

A special trip to Haridwar...

I've been to Haridwar many a times but this one was very different. There was special purpose to it...we had gone for my Dadosa's Tarpan i.e; "Asthi visarjan". Normally Son or grandsons get this pleasure of taking the last physical remains of your loved ones to some holy place and say the final goodbye (as the Hindu tradition goes) but as i said, this was different coz 2 of his grand-daughters were a part of this and not grandsons!!!

Well my purpose of writing this is to share something i saw there for the first time which i guess very few people know. At "Hari ki pauri"(biggest ghat at Haridwar) there's a pandit assigned to every village, who takes care of all the rituals of that village families and that guy has the complete record of all the deaths in your family in bahi-khata of the last 100-200 years!!!!!!!

Just out of curiousity we went to that pandit's house to see our family history and it was amazing!!!! He opened this bahi....very old one....with that parchment paper and kalam which had to be dipped in syahi after every 3-4 words.....and started noting down the purpose of our visit. Apart from the date,time,place , he made a record of all the living members of my great-grandfather's family...and we were made to sign...it was as if we were writing history!!!!!!!!!!!

While seeing the old records we came across a 100 yr old from which we could track our ancestors. There was another record of my great-grandfather death, signed by my grandfather exactly 30 yrs back seeing that badepapa said "aaj hum inke tarpan ke liye aaye hain".

Another new thing which we got to know...when you are carrying the asthiyan,"Phool" as they are said, you are suppose to take it as a person i.e; u say to it...chalo sa, khana khao sa, utro sa...like that..

This was a  very different experience for us. Ek alag si feeling thi....something was very different in that air of haridwar.....

(to be continued...)

panditji with the bahi-khata

Ganga ke ghat pe

Record signed by us..

Happy Diwali!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Diwali Break".... the second most important marking on the school calenders (of course Summer Break was on the top!!!). Diwali meant a long break, bye bye school and friends for 15 days, shooing away the books, it only meant crackers, lights, diyas, mithai, chocolates, going for "rama-shyama" n collecting cash frm relatives....a total fun...no worries, no tension.

Today if i think of it, Diwali has a different meaning...first of all, NO CRACKERS, i dont see any fun in crackers in fact feel sad seeing polluted air all around these days plus u can actually smell the pollution (this comes from my school n reminds me of Sangeeta ma'am,donno why)!!!!

another thing which has changed is...now we (friends and cousins) are all at different corners of the earth and busy in our lives so ab this is the bahana to contact and update them , and if we are lucky enough we get to meet them also!!!!!

Diwali being a very important festival should actually be a "fest" for every person around u. this is the time i feel,that you should spread happiness all around be it in any form (n its d prime reason of my writinfg this blog)

You obviously start from your family....spend as much time as u can with your grandparents (if you lucky to have them with you), listen to their stories, their "hidayaten" (this will automatically make u the "aankhon ka tara" of ur parents)...contact all ur cousins and relatives near and far. Talk to ppl whom u fought sometime back n are not in talkin terms now....clear away all "jhagdas" " misunderstandings" "egos" ......Light up your house with diyas and candles and rangoli...and make it a treat for a photographer!!!!!

even better.... u can donate small share of your salary to some needy......if possible visit some old age home, orphanage,get in touch with some NGO in your place and see how you can help their........try buying small stuff (diyas n all) from poor children at traffic lights and roadsides and enjoy tat smile on their face!!!!  give away your old dress/footwear(new will be any day better) to your bai/gatekeeper/driver/chowkidar with some sweets and may be cash for the family......just wish ppl, other then your family and friends, like the shopkeeper on your roadside from whom u've been buying toffees since childhood or your office peon, bhaiyaji and baijis at your school/college/workplace.

Gift a large pack of chocolates to your fiancée/wife/best friend!!!!!! send postcards/greetings/letters (which u dont do nowadays) to your friends n make them feel loved and cared.....get in touch with your old friends, burn your phone bills on them, go to your olds meeting addas.......

u can also think of this "earth" and not go for crackers...promote "pollution free" diwali, plant a tree...grow flowers n flocks in your garden n pots (its d season of all beautiful flowers)......

if nothing, then just "SMILE" and pass it on to anybody and everybody who passes u....tat'll make a difference!!!!

so........is diwali aap kise khush kar rahe hain???