Life of a 23 something girl...

7:00am.
Phone rings. Trrrrrring trrrrrring...
Voice on the other end : Hello beta. How are you?
Asha: I'm good amma. Getting ready to go to office.
Voice on the other end : Oho. Had breakfast ?
Asha: No amma, will have at work.
Voice: Ok. Ride Safely. Btw, we got hold of a "case".
Asha: What case?
Voice: The guy is working in a reputed firm. Earns pretty well too. And he's in the US.
Asha: So?? (I woke up 15 mins before, and this is what I hear first thing in the morning! And yes, btw proposals are referred to as "cases" in Indian families.. lol)
Voice: Well, see beta, you are getting old, and, so are we... (Raam katha started..)
Asha: Ok Need to rush to office.. TTYL.. Bbye

HUNG

10 am:
TRRRINN TRRRINGG
Asha: Hello.
Voice: Hello beta.. So, that case I was talking to you about.. The guy is.. blah blah blah. You see, u ll just need to take a break from ur career and go to US. Forget CAT beta, you can try somethign small there..
Asha: (Burning with rage...) I WILL NOT SACRIFICE MY CAREER..

THUD... Phone down :D

1 pm :
TRRRING TRRRING
Asha: Hello (Sigh..)
Voice: Beta, How are u ?
Asha: I'm good. (Wonder why ppl ask me the same question when they know the answer to it ;))
Voice: So, there s one more "case"...
Asha: having luch will call later.. Bye..
(Sigh !!!)

4 pm:

TRRRRING TRRRING
Asha: Hello (Sigh.. Sigh..)
Voice: So, this guy .. (Gosh, There was no hello.. Straightaway "GUY")
Asha: Mama, pls do whatever you please no... Chill !!

6 pm:
Voice: Hello
Asha: Hello, I am going out for dinner with friends today. Will be the last one, as they re leaving outta town for furthur studies. Will be back home by 10.
Voice: 10 !!!!!! Is that a time when girls return home ? Its not meant for our culture !!! Dont give us tension. If you go out like this we'll not find guys for you!!!
Asha: Ok. Will try to come back soon amma.. Dont worry. Its not always that I go. Its their last day, and probably the last time I am going out with them.
Voice: K. (ANGRY)

THUD


9:30 pm
TRRRING TRRRING
Asha: Hello.
Voice: Reached home?
Asha: Actually, just one round of starters is over, I ll leave after the main course.
Voice: WHAAAATTTT ? U re not yet home?????? Pack up NOW !!! Is this a time for girls to stay out ??? OMG ! Look at how our daughter has grown up...
Asha: Ok. Leaving NOW...

10 pm
Voice: Hello
Asha: Reached home ma.
Voice: Blaj blah blah blah blah.... blah blah blah blah blah... Blah blah blah blah bla.... (You can guess this...)
Asha: Ok, I am just bugged of life !!
Voice: Stop ur studies.. A degree is enough for a gurl.. Time you get married.. NO MORE HIGHER STUDIES... blah blah blah blah blah... blah blah blah blah blah


This is the story of a 23 something in a conservative Indian family. No matter what level of education you're capable of achieving, no matter how capable you are, no matter how high a dream you have, its time you go to that corner of the house called "kitchen", and cook something for your husband, if not, learn to cook some thing for ur future husband. Its time you get married to anyone what so ever, so that your parents can happily sit back and lay the burden off their shoulders. Its time you forget your business dreams, shed that extra weight, stop wearing those baggy jeans and tees, stop partying, and sit at home, to "create" that impression.

In an era, when business decisions are made over a couple of drinks, or, say, a game of golf, and, if, being a woman, you dont drink, nor play a game of golf, is it fair that you lose out on the opportunity of being a part of that decision, when you have the same caliber ? Hmm.. its not necessary that you drink, or play a game of golf, but making your presence felt, and being a part of the business is not that difficult right??

Its just a thought I always have in mind.. Why does life after 20+ suddenly seems biased towards the darker gender? I hope the former generation realizes the need for gender equality, and we get a fair share of everything enjoyed by the darker sex, as, we're equally able, equally hard working, and we have equal rights to indulge in all that they do !

The Quarter Life Crisis....

I reached home at 7 PM today, and realized, I had no energy to even step into the kitchen for a glass of water. As usual I shouted "AMMA Water..." And zoooooooinkkkk came a glass of chilled water. Drank it, didn't speak a word, and rushed into my room to open my books to read. Meanwhile dad came with a few doubts about using Excel sheets. Patience running out, I tried explaining, but it was hard. I felt like I was teaching a cat to swim ! I ended up shouting :D. Heard a few lectures from them on how to behave. I quietly heard them (I knew I was wrong.) Later, went for dinner and got back to my books. Suddenly I realized, I had to complete some stuff for work. And boom I was in front of the comp.

THATS the LIFE OF TWENTY TWO PLUS IN BANGALORE.

Sitting in my room, I started thinking of how life has changed in two years. A "happy go lucky" me in college, cool-headed during examinations, life was just about studying a day or two before an examination, and chilling for the rest of the time. The sole aim in life was to get good grades. And it now looks like the easiest part of life :D

I came across this phenomenon called the "Quarter life Crisis", when one of my cousins shared with me a link on it. I call it a phenomenon, because its prevalent in everyone in the age group of 20 - 30, no matter who. Its a transitional phase of life, where we find ourselves suddenly out into the open world, with a whole lot of choices, but with very less wisdom to make the right choice. The mind is always unhappy, and striving for the better.

Few symptoms are -
** I worked so hard for the project, and finally, my manager gave credit to my peer !
** He's got a double promotion, and look at me, I'm still at level 1, when I've done almost what he's done.
** All my friends are striving for a Post graduation, and here I am, still hungry for a B School seat, and not finding one !
** Her guy got her a diamond ring, and my guy hasn't even given me a plastic ear-ring set :(
** He has a beautiful girl-friend, and look at MY....
** He's already got a car !! And I don't even have a bike :(
** Oh, those ppl went for the match w/o inviting me :(

AND MANY more....
Being a twenty-three (I know girls lie about their age, But PROMISE I ain't) something, I realize how true this is. With every passing phase of life, we seem to encounter more challenges, and just about the time when we feel we've overcome one, another one pops from nowhere !! Its high time for me to master Risk Management skills :)

Do check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter-life_crisis

The Squirrel’s determination

Its been a long time since I penned down something, or blogged. Writing is my favorite stress-buster, and, when I write, I feel a lot lighter in my head. Quite obviously, I mostly write when I’m disturbed, or, when I feel I’m getting de-motivated (As writing motivates me to a great extent). But today, I’m writing because I feel motivated. The source of my motivation is something unusual. It’s a mother squirrel, whom I observed in the near past.

I’ve been living in a rented house for the past 4 years or so. A small room with a computer, my bed, and my books forms an integral part of my living. One day, I realized that there was someone in the room other than me. I could hear squeaking sounds from my window. I pushed the curtain, and I saw a squirrel sitting by some junk stuff. I saw the squirrel almost everyday. Day by day, it collected twigs and hay, and built a nest between the window mesh and the door. It took almost a week for the nest to be ready.

I’m not a great lover of animals. And, quite naturally, I realized that I can’t let the squirrel stay in my room with that huge nest – Mainly, cos someday it would have kids, and the small squirrels would roam around everywhere and dirty the place. So, naturally, the very next morning, I told Valli amma (my maid) to throw the nest outside. When she removed the mesh and took the nest out, the mother squirrel jumped out of it, and ran around the house. This was followed by some squeaks and squeals from me, but, finally, we managed to get the squirrel and the nest out. Woah, what a relief it was.

The next day, I saw the mommy squirrel frantically going up and down the window, regretting the loss of her house. I felt bad for her, and wished she’d chosen some other place to build her house.

I forget about the squirrels, and I carried on with my daily activities after that incident. One day, I again heard some sounds from my window. I pushed aside the curtain, and, to my horror, I saw a nest in formation!! The squirrel was building another nest. Hmmm, I was furious. How dare he do that! So, the very next morning, I again brought Valli amma into action, and got rid of the nest. What a relief again.

The next week I was extremely busy with work, and went out of station to meet my parents. Meanwhile, when I was away, my sister-in law called me, and told, that the squirrel has borne two baby squirrels, and they’re still residing in MY WINDOW SIL!!
Woah, I was taken aback. How dare they! Impulsively, my first reaction was to destroy the nest again. But, later, some thought made me appreciate the mother squirrel for what she’d done. Her firm determination, the never give up attitude and love for her newborns had quite an inspirational story for me to learn from.

We decided not to ruin the squirrel’s family, and to let her lead a happy life till her babies grow up. I’ve not heard noises off-late, so, I believe, the kids are grown up, and they’ve left their homes to start a living.

This may have been a very trivial story which I could have easily forgotten, but the mother squirrel taught me a lot of values, which, I’ve rarely seen in us humans. Well, it probably is the power of civilization that has made us what we are!