ABC Challenge #16: P for Priorities

As unique as we all are, our priorities are all different.It's as simple as that. Still some people fail to understand this simple logic.

Image Courtesy : FreeDigitalPhotos

When I was young I always imagined myself working in a very hectic atmosphere, running around here and there for getting things done. I did not particularly wish for it, but somehow God answered my prayers even before I could tell him and that dream came true. For the past few months, I had to put up with a very tough time at work. Meeting deadlines, facing eleventh hour challenges. Though it demanded my nerve and soul, I kind of enjoyed working in that hectic pace. I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I had to skip meals, I had to talk less over the phone with my family, I spent less time at home, I had to work during the weekends.I spent less time sleeping and I hardly spent time doing anything that I usually would have done.

So, when one is subjected to such a routine for almost 4 months, priorities do change.

ABC Challenge #15 :O for Opinion

Image Courtesy : FreeDigitalPhotos

Everybody has an opinion on something. Earlier people never expressed their opinion unless they were asked about it, since there was no particular medium available for everyone. Thanks to the advent of the Social media, these days it is easier for people to express their thoughts and make it known to the world. Well there is nothing to blame about here. People have a right to express their opinion(or that is what I think).

But the problem is when people give their opinion about something and others try to justify why a particular person’s opinion was wrong.

For instance let’s say Michael reads a book and he decides to review it in his blog. He would naturally write about how he felt the story was and whether the book was worth reading. That is fine. Let’s say Michael gives a positive review for the book, but another guy Lincoln did not like the book and has a different opinion. Upon reading Michael’s blog, if he expresses his opinion and leaves, that is fine. But when he gets to the task of arguing with Michael with the sole aim of trying to point out that he was wrong, that’s when things take a bad turn.

This One’s For Me.

I had to write this.

How would it feel to be standing at the place you’ve dreamed of? How would it be to stand there without having to owe anyone anything except perhaps your Mom? How would it  feel to have accomplished something all by yourself, through sheer hard work and perseverance without an iota of luck? How would it feel to have climbed all the rungs in the ladder, all by yourself without having to even bother asking others for a favour? How would it feel to stand there and bask in the light of success and realize that you’ve accomplished a feat, and that you alone the reason for it to happen?

Out of this world, I tell you.

Yes, I’m exactly in the position I’ve described above. It took me days, months and years to get to where I’m standing now. To accomplish something and to get recognized for it without taking help is indeed a tough job. The results might not be instant. But after years of patiently waiting for things to unfold the way you wished they would, that feeling , just to be standing there, is simply ecstatic.

ABC Challenge #14: N for Name

From Ashwini C N to Ashwini Cuppu.

So I am back to telling you guys more about my name. If you haven’t read the story of my name yet, please read it here (The Story of myName).

My dear sister, chose my name. She decided that I would be Ashwini. My parents decided that I would be C.N.Ashwini. N stands for my dad’s name and C is my Grandfather’s great grandafather’s name. In short, our family name.  At school, they took it upon themselves to rename me Ashwini C.N, since they felt the need to put the initials after the name. I did not have a problem with that. In fact I use that name everywhere, Ashwini C.N

So, what was my problem? The problem was that no one used to call me by my name. At home, Dad has his own pet name for me. Mom has her own pet name for me. As for my sister, the way she calls me would vary, depending on whether I managed to irritate her beyond her tolerable limits. So the name would keep varying. The rest of the family, call me  by my common pet name.  College friends  call me’ Ash’.  While talking to me in person,  they might use my full name, but while messaging and chatting it’s always Ash.

Oh, Excuse Me Please!

It is believed that we learn a lot from observing things around us rather than just reading about it. A practical experience is hard to forget and sometimes it gets etched deeply in our memories that it has a significant impact on the way we grow up.

Many of us are into the habit of giving excuses for everything under the sun. We look at people giving excuses and getting away with it (most of the time). Seeing people do this day in and day out, we get drawn towards it,involuntarily . Initially we might stammer and stutter, but with practice we would master the art of giving excuses. I happened to read somewhere that the very process of trying to think up of a story to cover up the mess, makes children creative. Absolute rubbish I would say. It’s things like these which gives others a false sense of being right.

To read more on this, kindly click here. Yes, My article has been published in GingerChai :-). Do let me know your thoughts.

(This article was originally written by me and published in Ginger Chai)

6 years and counting.....!

It totally slipped my mind. 

I had too many things loaded on my plate. I had to walk on a tightrope and balance the heavy plate on one hand. It was too much. It was taking a toll on my health and my mind.One day, out of the blue , it dawned on me that this April, I would have been blogging for 6 years. Yes, you read that right. 6 years. 6 wonderful years . As cliched as it might sound, I felt it that it was just the other day that I was writing a letter to my blog for having completed 5 years. Time flies. Indeed.

This year has very special to me and my blog. My blog and I have come a long way. We grew together , made mistakes together and learnt from them together.Initially I thought I should probably write what others would like to read, then I realized, I should probably stick to my ground and write for myself first, and write what my heart tells me to. My blog has been a wonderful parent. It does all the hard work, but when appreciation comes pouring, it redirects everything to me. When criticism comes by, it takes the responsibility and stands defending me, blindly. I owe so much to my blog. It has carved an identity for me. I can now call myself a Blogger and be proud of it. Thanks to my blog.

ABC Challenge #13 : M for Monica

You remember Monica? Of course, she is not someone one would forget. You either know her or you don’t know her. So for all those who know her, you would know what I mean when I say I tend to be a Monica at times.

Image Courtesy : Google Images

I prefer things to be clean. But I am not overly obsessed with pen caps lying away from the pens and magazines lying here and there. My mom takes care of all that. Sometimes I act as though I’m possessed, as if Monica has taken over me. I go on a cleaning spree and mercilessly trash everything that I think I don’t need.

ABC Challenge #12 : L for Life

We’ve heard it time and again but there is so much to it than what meets the eye. Life is an enigma to most of us. It’s not something we read about and watch the events unfold. It takes its own course and prefers to have its own turns and twists. Clueless and unpredictable as it may see to the untrained eye, Life exactly knows what it is doing and where it is headed to. It’s just that a normal human is incapable of trying to deciphering it to a T.

Life works in a very strange way. It gives you something when you don’t ask for anything and refuses to give you  something when you desperately need it , or when you think you desperately need something. When racing down the road, we have a vision of what lies in front of us. But Life lies a step higher and it has a vision of not just what lies immediately in front, but what lies in the impending future as well. So life is poised in a strategically comfortable position to make choices for us, most of the time, right choices. But we are oblivious to this fact, of course.

ABC Challenge #11 : K For Kashmir

Here are a few pictures from my Kashmir trip. By far, the most memorable trips I've ever had :-)

(Kindly click the pictures to get a better view.)

At Hazrat Bal Mosque. The pigeon did love this :-)

At the ever beautiful Dal Lake

Green Tunnel,On our way to Pahalgam, this was apparently
 of one the places near the Indo-Pak border

ABC Challenge #10 : J for Jealousy

She tried to be as good as her.

She tried to be as smart as her.

She was determined to find out what was special about her.

She tried to change herself to be just like her.

Just one step away from finding her secret,

she realized that she had lost herself in the maze.

Very often, we try so hard and focus on being like others, that we forget what God has gifted us with and ask for something that is far lesser than what we're blessed with. Remember, each one of us is as unique as everyone else. There can be no one like us!

To read other posts in this ABC Challenge, click here.