Mumbai never stops moving – She is Fast and on the MOVE- SO TRUE!!!

Today is the 2^nd day of Navratri and Green is the colour for today.  Just when we had thought that the rains had bid adieu for this year, it poured through night and even in the early hours of the morning making the streets wet.

I was a little irritated as dressing up for an occasion when the weather is dry is definitely more exciting. But the beautiful Navratri festival lasts only for 9 days in a year and we love to dress up in the best of sarees, jewelry and want to make the best of it.  I reached Thane station and could see a flood of shades of green.  It immediately brought a smile on my face, I am sure just like me all those women would have planned.The rains did not stop the typical Mumbaikar from dressing up and showing.

That’s the spirit.  Festivals come and go. It is left to us to decide how we need to enjoy it and savour our rich Indian customs and traditions. Come Navratri, there is lot of colour and energy in the atmosphere followed by Diwali, yet another beautiful and vibrant festival.

Just few years back, all this noise and commotion especially the sound of the dhols were not very inviting to my ears.  But sooner I realized that may be this is one of the ways to keep our Indian culture and traditions alive and vibrant.  When Maa Durga was being brought day before yesterday, I felt so happy from within.  She was being welcomed with dhols and the entire atmosphere was filled with a certain magic. I loved it. We as Indians love noise and music, so let’s be open to all these. Yes, I am not very happy about the crackers.  But may be my perception towards it may change in few years, just like how it changed for the sound of the dhols.   We are blessed to be in a country that has such beautiful seasons, festivals, colours and vibrance.  Indians abroad make sure to celebrate each of the festivals with such enthusiasm and happiness to make sure that they do not miss out much of India.  So what are we waiting for when we already have the privilege to be in INDIA?

Lots of Luv

Rekha

Let’s celebrate ourselves – MaaDurga in every woman.

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Shakti rupena samsthita I

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Buddhi rupena samsthita I

Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Laxmi rupena samsthita I

Namestasyai II Namestasyai II Namestasyai II

Namo Namah II

My perception of the above shloka is

The Divine Mother resides in every living being (every existence).  She is the Universal mother.  She is energy and resides in each one of us.  She is intelligence and resides in us and tells us what is right and wrong.  She is Laxmi roopini and is wealth and gives us the means to live a happy and healthy life.  Oh Mother!   You are the one who gives life and you never say NO to me.  I ask from you and you have always given me.  I sincerely bow to you.

Shades of  yellow everywhere today. Navratri is the nine day festival dedicated to the Devi and every colour denotes something.  Yellow for me is like brightness and prosperity.  Yellow colour as such is life giving and giving life is the greatest thing on earth.

Maa Durga is life giving and ever ready to shower us with her love and warmth.  Yellow denotes energy. Her radiance and energy resides in every woman and so a woman is also considered to be shaktiroopini.  She is the combined power of Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati. She denotes creative energy and is the feminity and jyoti that resides in each and every woman.
So let’s celebrate her and let’s celebrate ourselves all these 9 days more than any other day.  This is a celebration of good over evil, happiness over sorrows so that we dissolve our misunderstandings and get over any negative feelings against each other, jealousy, prejudice.

Will try and cover more on Navratri

Luv

Rekha

The 40 plus curves and bends of life – What it means to me?

This article is basically for everyone, more so for those who have completed 40 and even for those who are touching their golden jubilee. 

Life is all about twists and turns and who doesn’t like CURVES.  Life has its own curves and bends. Yes, a straight line is a sign of danger .  It reminds me of the heart machine at the hospital and it reminds me of getting stagnant.  Few of us experience a lot of curves initially in our lives and few of us later.  But whatever it is, it is all these that make us look forward to something new and exciting.

What it means for those who have lived half of their life(completed 40 and entering the 5^th decade).  For me, it means there is still half the glass full and it excites me and many of my friends who are on the same page and curve as me.  Thinking that the glass is empty may be depressing so take a break guys.

By forty most of us are settled in our careers, other than those who have had late marriages and kids, life is generally more or less settled. We are not constantly running behind our kids to get the homework completed or complete the school projects.  Basically, life is easy by then with time on our hands.  This is the time when we can live the life of our dreams and if you are passionate about anything, please go ahead and do it.  You have all the time for sure and you are surely not going to feel guilty spending your time/ money for sure.

Let’s use this time to meet up with school friends, college friends, watch your favorite movie, go street shopping, eat out and basically have fun. At times, we need to remind ourselves that we need to do all this, simply because we are here to enjoy and celebrate life.

So I pledge to give myself time to relax and enjoy, think about myself, not judge both me and others, forgive myself and others, enjoy the happiness in my life account, try and keep negativity as much as possible and be the way I am without trying to change others.  Last but not the least; LIVE IN THE PRESENT, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY TRUTH OF LIFE!!!!

Luv

Rekha

The mad rush for the hour glass figure – Why this hype?

There has always been a mad rush for the hour glass figure since many decades from now. Fasting for long periods of time is actually unhealthy and with diet experts like Rujuta Diwekar, we are becoming more aware of what to eat, when to eat and how to eat.   Food is divine and as long as we are aware of this, we are surely going to respect food and respect our bodies as well.

Globally, the ramp shows and the beauty pageants have magnified the so called anorexic beauties to be symbolic of beauty and charm. But is it really so?  How many of us would really want to switch positions with them?  I am sure only three out of ten.  I was just going through some snatches of dialog with few Indian ace designers which clearly explained that dressing up a full figured is something that gives them satisfaction.  When we talk of Indian outfits, the choli, the lehenga and not to forget the six yard wonder, yes a full figured can carry it off well.  The dresses designed for the ramp are good for the ramp!!

My take is not to explain that fat and flab is in.  It’s just that anorexic is out and it is not that something anyone can be proud of.  Just like there are people who desperately want to lose out, there are two out of ten people who want to gain weight.  We only keep hearing of stories of people who want to lose weight, have we ever thought of those who want to gain weight.  People go to extremes to improve on their overall personality and want to gain weight as well.  It is all about loving yourself on what you have and sending positive signals to our body, that you are beautiful and adorable.  The best way to treat your body is by loving it just like your  own child.  We would never want to harm our child in any way, the same holds true for our body. This will make sure that we eat well, we eat right and do everything possible to make it look attractive and beautiful and beauty lies in the mind as we say.  Every thought  that you create and every word you say, you are listening, your body is listening. Think beautiful, look beautiful !!!!

Luv always

Rekha

Yes she is all set to jive and match steps for 9 DAYS – MUMBAI ROCKS!!!

Mumbai is all set to dress up in vibrant colours for Navratri and I just love her all the more when there’s a festive mood and atmosphere.  One gets to see a sea of colours right from women dressed in bright colours and following the colours for that particular day.  Mumbai is always on the run as we all know.  But in spite of this maddening crowd, we do make it a point to celebrate our festivals and dress up radiantly. There’s certain niceness to all these niceties if I may say and I am sure most of you will agree to it.

The Navratri fervor has really gone up over the years as the concept of Customs and following our Indian traditions is being followed with so much of zest and love.  Indians as such are colourful people, if you see our clothes, you will find all the possible colours – these are COLOURS OF LIFE.

The Indian tone is so beautiful that every colour looks good on us. Look at our sweets, right from yellow to green to orange, we have it all and our Indian Flag – isn’t she so beautiful?  Do we carry our colours beautifully? Be it crimson red, hues of greens and reds?  Yes we do, like no one else and we are proud of doing so and do not hesitate to represent our rich Indian culture on the international platform.

There’s fun when it comes to shopping for Navratri and it has begun since last week, colourful chaniyacholis at Bhuleshwar market, chunky jewelry, bright bangles (you name it- she has everything to offer).  We have so many festivals and Indians make it a point to celebrate and participate in these festivities (irrespective of whether they are in India or US or UK and not to forget Gulf).  As a teenager, Navratri for me was playing dandiya raas and garba (thanks to having been brought up in a conventional Gujrati environment – Mulund is decked up with colourful lights and has a complete festive look during NAVRATRI).

I make it a point to visit the Mulund Market where Maa Durga sthapna is done and she blesses one and all. She is dressed and decked in bright crimson red, orange and green coloured sarees – She is adorable and beautiful and I LOVE HER.

3 more days to go and we are all set to jive and create magic with our dandiya sticks.

Lots of luv

Rekha

Pinch of Marine Drive in my palm

Sunday evening 8p.m. and we drove down to the beautiful Marine Drive.  I do not recollect when we last drove down.  The weather was a little sultry and dry and the only saving grace was that there was absolutely no traffic, but was it really a saving grace or did I miss out on anything?  With very few vehicles plying here and there, I felt as if Mumbai had taken a break.  But nooo  Mumbai  does not take a break on weekends as Marine Drive, Chowpatty and Bandra are hotspots for Mumbaikars to freak out.

No soon we approached Marine Drive, it felt as if there was a fair going on.  Mumbai is sexy and beautiful, the long stretch like a necklace is mesmerizing. The bhutta waalas, chana waalas were making quick sales and there were groups of youngsters, college kids, lovebirds, just married couples and elderly couples taking the round around the Queen’s necklace.

Everytime I see the maddening crowd of Mumbai, I used to feel oh god too much of noise and commotion. But that stretch of 15 minutes with practically no people and cars on the road did not excite me. It’s but natural that as a Mumbaikar, I am used to this crowd and noise and commotion.  We like all this and this is truly a part and parcel of our lives. 

The Victorias were making their rounds and it was fun to see both kids and youngsters enjoying that joy ride.  Watching the beautiful waters of the Arabian Sea kiss the barricade is so nice to watch. I love all these small things and there’s a sense of romance when one comes to Marine Drive for sure, thanks to the cool air kissing my hair and sending a chill in my body. A drive slightly ahead is the array of the chaatwaalas and not to forget to mention the Cream Centre, Sukh Sagar and many more other restaurants. There was a queue outside Cream Centre (proud and Veg) was their banner. I loved that slogan. 

Looking forward to many more walks at the Queen’s necklace!!!

Lots of Luv

Rekha

SURVIVING THE WHATSAPP MANIA - My life with or without my cell phone

YES I SURVIVED IT!!!  AND I CONTINUE TO DO SO

Yes, I survived the “Being without my Cell” phase and it’s been close to more than a week if I am not mistaken.  See, I do not even know when I checked my Whatsapp last.  My friend called on my landline yesterday and asked me “Rekha are you kidding. How are you alive without your mobile phone/cell?  Yes, it does sound funny am sure, but that’s how people react to when you do not have your cell. This is when I thought, YES, it’s quite of an achievement or feat if I may credit myself with.  But honest as I am, I told her that I am not quite missing much of LIFE.

Are you asking me whether I am happy without my Cell?  Actually, am not sure about what to answer.  To be honest, Am HAPPY when I do not have to answer a particular whatsapp and not HAPPY when I am not able to go through the humorous and fun filled  whatsapp messages of my school friends.  How I miss my Sharon School group friends and my special Whatsapp Group.  Just few more days is what I can assure my school friends and am back again.

On a more serious note, I feel that it’s just a matter of getting used to without our mobile phones or cells.  This takes me back to times when we did not even have a residence phone in our homes.  Life was smooth even then and most of you would agree on that.  Yes, communicating with each other has definitely improved thanks to all the social networking sites and the mobile phones.  

Just ten days back, I was trying to send a Whatsapp forward to my school group and my cell started acting weird.  I tried twice but something told me that the touchscreen may be the cause.  I tried switching off the mobile completely, but it would not move.  Never have I been so dejected especially when it came to technology and devices. But hey what was happening to me? The first thought that came to my mind when my cell conked off was WHATSAPP!!!!  I had totally forgotten that I would not be able to make calls, receive calls and Maddy would be the first person to be upset over this. 

I have been hooked, cooked and booked to whatsapp and I just loved it all through.  But if you ask me now, about how it would be.  I say Life goes on and there will be many more technology applications that would come and go, but WHATSAPP is close to my heart.

I missed sharing pictures, forward messages with my friends and family, but THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!!

Missing you all on WHATSAPP

Love always

Rekha