কলকাতা : Being a Bengali

I wanted to start my blog of 2015 with a different theme.. While searching for it, I found out why not write about our incredible India. So for my 1st write-up, I decided to virtually visit Kolkata...! One of the oldest developed cities of India, Kolkata (earlier named as Calcutta), is a magical city. Rich in traditional aspect and highly knowledgeable literates, it is regarded as Cultural and Intellectual capital of India. It is homeland to world's well known personalities including nobel laureates, scientists, artists, actors, etc and at the same time, it is amongst the most affordable megacities of India even being a metropolitan. See the variance in Kolkata, rich and poor...every person are self sufficient with whatever lives they have. It's basically a living soul itself which resides on every Bengali or residents of West Bengal and that's why they say "Amar shonar Bangla" (My Golden Bengal ). One side there is Mayapur, the Prayer's paradise which is also the epicentre of ISKCON; and on the other side there is Sonagachi, the Brothel paradise, one of the largest red-light districts in Asia. On one side there is Kolkata Knight Riders, the famous IPL cricket team, which people follow from heart; and on the other side there is Calcutta Football league, and Bengalis..they just loves football... From maach (fish) and chicken ; to the famous Kati rolls ; to the tastiest sweets all over the country like Rasgullas, chamcham, sandesh, and other countless mishtis (sweets).
But above all, the most interesting thing about Kolkata is the diverse and lively people residing here who love chit-chatting all day long be it a man or a woman (infact truth being told, Bengali men gossips a lot even more than women...hehe.. ). I mean, they just love to talk man.. :) A typical Bengali sounds funny when he/she talks in hindi or english.. The famous hindi words including.. Udi Baba (Oh My God), kya korta hai tum (what are you doing), and mixing genders as well.. lol. :P. Women, they like to dominate the house and screams at her top of the voice when she gets angry but loves her households a lot. Another way of finding out a Bong from a group, is his love for food..they are basically Foodaholics.. haha :), always keeping their hands and mouth busy with n-number of cuisines around them. The best time to visit Kolkata is during Durga Puja, when these bunch of party lovers are full-on celebrating this 10-day festival in full masti like the world will end after it. Also, if you ever encounter with a Bengali, you will find a romantic side of them, they love being loved and pampered, and keep their hearts on their hands for people they are really fond of ;) . All in all, Bengalis are, what we call as Shaukeens or Zealous with just about everything they need to be happy and that's precisely why it is called as City of Joy...!!!
I surveyed some of my cute Bengali friends for whatever I wrote in my above lines, and I'm sure, people reading it, will fully agree to it. I would like to know more about being a Bengali. I thank my friends for each word I wrote in this small article. :)

I'm lucky to have a best friend like you..

Few days before Preeti's birthday, she messages me saying that I should write something about her as a gift from my side to my best friend.. It's difficult to pen down a list of unforgettable and lovely journey that we are travelling together since more than 7 years. But, here I am, telling something about a girl, who, by sheer coincidence met me when I was an alien to a big city and in desperate need of a friend.
We were in standard XIth, both in a new school and both from co-ed background, coming to a girl's school. I don't exactly remember that moment when we started talking but yes, we both were a part of a friends group. I really loved her sweet smile and straight-forwardness which still exists ;)

As I got to interact more with her during many light moments in school, combined studies, tutions, etc., we started to bond so well that we could actually read each other's minds....
The next thing I remember was that she was in a long distance-long time relationship with her childhood friend, which after some time was called off because of some personal reasons. During this time, I started knowing about her soft-hearted and emotional nature, "you really have a heart of Gold, Preeto!". The most confusing thing about her was that she didn't know what she actually wanted, and she was just going on.. She kept her heart open to any guy who talked to her very nicely,..and people came, people went, and her heart broke every time. Her life had many turn-overs...many twists, but with each incident, she became so strong within that she fought all of those situations so patiently,which I'm sure less people could handle, and I really hats-off to her. She is a perfect blend of a child's heart and mature mind which is rare to find these days in such a materialistic world. She is just like an ocean..sublime within but harsh if you intentionally cause trouble to her. And surely, if she starts writing her own biography, it's going to be a bestseller too :P and I would suggest each girl to read it as well.. :)
At present, she is happy in her job, earning well, and the best part is that all of these vulnerable situations have made her know better about herself and what she exactly wants from life and people. But, still she has grief and and a lot of un-answered questions from her recent past which, I'm sure she will get over with in a duration of time...
Today, on a very special occasion, I would like to give you my best wishes and all my love to you, Preeti..and stay connected always because, as I often say,
'You can run, You can hide, but you can't escape, My Love...' ;)
Happy Birthday Preeti Singh..!!

Chhat Puja

Diye jalte hai.. :)

Hystorical Hyderabad..

Revitalizing Rishikesh..

Being Creative...

When you start finding new ventures of life, you tend to get misled a lot of times. Its not because you have no sense of direction but because we are not sure as to how to go about things which are new and we try to experiment many exciting and indulging changes. These changes maybe harmful or may lead to a success, which ofcourse, is a matter of time that we realize. But what is important here to notice that you did think out of the box for a while. This thinking itself is creative and creativity only comes to those who are daring and do not fear consequences. Foremost, it is really what we enjoy doing and the inner feelings give birth to creativity. It is something which our crazy mind thought of and yes it's a crazy idea which normal people won't come across, and that is why it's a new idea. To express interest in creativity, one must not fear of the unworthy comments of the society because new ideas are many times un-welcomed by the masses at the first time, and when it starts showering fruits they will have all praises for you. Creativity is to free one's mind and blocks made inside mind. It is to jump out from social stigma and create a world of our own. And...my friends, it needs hell lot of guts and patience to nurture your idea. So without any delay, we should let our mind and hands working towards our dreamsss :)