Making of 'our' home

It's been almost two years after our wedding and now we are far more comfortable with each other. People keep on asking "What do you enjoy doing together most?". I always try to think about the answer but I'm often confused about it..
But since last few days, I think I now know the answer. Since last one year or so we've been house hunting. When we started the process, we were not clear about our requirements. We just randomly went on a house hunting spree and were shocked with what we actually wanted and what we got to see. Slowly, we started to understand what exactly we want. Then we followed a particular procedure and started shortlisting the properties. After this, the process was pretty smooth. In the meantime, we changed the city(from our very own Pune to Bangalore) so it all had to be started from scratch again.
With new city came new people and new experiences. We were adjusting to the new life here and simultaneously the thought of having our own Abode was now going very strong in our mind. But then it was not so easy. We had to start again from scratch. From shortlisting the areas to deciding the budget everything was done again. With a metro like Bangalore we had to take risks and be flexible with our capabilities. This city is expensive in it's own ways. But then, we were determined. We started the house hunting spree again. We had brain storming sessions and overnight discussions. We divided the work and individually visited some properties. This was the best decision we made. We learnt so much when we went individually. We learnt to go into minute details and that helped a lot to make the final decision.
It was a warm February morning and we decided to visit some projects on haralur road together. We visited two projects with property consultants but then did not really like them. We felt something was missing. After two hours we were really hungry and told the consultant that we would have lunch and after that we would visit the next project. After having lunch we were following the property consultant and in the mean time we noticed a project, which we were looking forward to. We decided to visit that first. We went inside. The manager took us around. We visited the actual flat where we immediately thought that this is what we are looking for. Both of us had the same opinion and we went home thinking about it.
After the visit everything happened very fast. We visited the site again the other day and were completely convinced about what we were thinking. And then we made the decision, this is it. We gave them our consent. Everything else after that went on smooth. In a way it was beyond our imagination that we would take such a decision. It strengthened our belief in ourselves. It made us believe in what we really can do. It was the happiest moment of our married life. We were doing something awesome together. We were building our 'home' together.
My father always taught me to take calculated risks in life. Now my husband has given me the joy of building my own Abode in a metro like Bangalore. With all our hardwork of last few years we are able to buy a spacious two bedroom apartment in a good locality in Bangalore without anybody's help. I am very proud to say that we took our own time for it but we finally did it. We did it completely on our own.  And now we can proudly say,
"Welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Kane's home"(obviously after we get the possession). Thank you my dear husband for this awesome anniversary gift in advance and thank you for making me realise how beautiful is to do such things together 😊

Out of the Box :)

A few days ago, I was a bit frustrated with my current job and was quite depressed. I thought there is nothing new to do and I am doing the same things for the last four years. Am I wasting my time? Well, my life seems quite settled now. I am engaged to be married soon(only few days left).
Now it's time to concentrate on my career and follow my dreams. I always think that I must pursue something other than my profession. I have several thoughts in my mind about this. I want to pursue a hobby like sketching. I also want to play a sport or go hiking. I also want to work for some under privileged children or some NGO. Well, I don't have time to do all of these. I want to do something that will give me satisfaction of doing all of the above mentioned activities. I want myself to be a multi faceted personality. And Eureka! I got an idea with which I can achieve my goal.
I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to do something of my own and earn a living through it. I can give employment to few people through it and serve the purpose of social service through that. Once I am settled in my venture I can start a subsidiary of my business that will deal with creative things like paintings and creative goodies.

I don't know whether I will be successful or not. But I have a strong will power and I am ready to work hard. My father has always encouraged me for my own venture and I am very happy and thankful to him for his support. I have few ideas in my mind but want them from you. So if you have any innovative ideas then please contact me. :) This can also save me from recession, fear of lay offs and the life of a software engineer full of tension that follows. Of course I am aware of the negative side of having my own business and I have a back up plan ready. That is why I want an idea which won't require much of capital.

Having worked in a start up for more than four years, now I know the tips and tricks in the business. I could learn many things other than technical stuff, which I can use for my own venture. Also, being an entrepreneurs daughter, I know the uncertainties and ups and downs in a business. But still I want to start something of my own, that will make my family proud. I will play it safe.

So if you have an exciting idea, please drop me a message and we can be partners. I can pay you royalty for the idea as well! So what are you waiting for, let us think out of the box and be Entrepreneurs! :)

A hand written letter

It is just one month for my wedding and the preparations are in full swing. My mum and dad are busy and the mission on priority is inviting people. They are using media like WhatsApp and email for inviting people who are not Pune or India. Yup, they are tech savvy.
They sent few invitation cards via post. One of them was for Colonel Varun Mathur and his family including his mother Srimati Sumati Mathur. My father posted that invitation card along with few other and forgot about it. He had talked to them few days ago for getting their postal address. They were dad's neighbours for a long time and our families were having a really good bonding .
Yesterday, we received a letter from Sumati aunty for dad via military courier service.
We just opened the letter and we were overwhelmed with the love that the letter contained. Yes, it was full of love. Sumati aunty must be around eighty three years old. I remember her treating us with awesome Pattice when we visited their Delhi home. She is a very affectionate lady.
The letter went through all memories of the times when  dad and Varun uncle were together and their medical college days. It also had memories of Garima who is Sumati Aunty's granddaughter. In her letter aunty also said that they won't be able to attend my wedding but they will celebrate my wedding with a lavish dinner on that day. She liked the invitation card and expressed her emotions about the card in a very apt manner. We became nostalgic after reading the letter.
I realised one thing yesterday. WhatsApp or any other social media or email cannot convey the emotions that a hand written letter can convey. It is magical. I was so happy that I told everyone I met about the letter.
I would like to say thank you Sumati aunty for the magical letter and we will write you a letter for sure. I will remember this for lifetime. I am so happy that my marriage is bringing these small but very precious and happy moments in my  life. I realized that how much people love me. These are the things which make your life worth living.. :-)

Believe in the system

I am an ordinary Indian who generally doesn't believe in the country's politics and overall system. My usual attitude was to blame the system for problems like corruption, unemployment, population growth and for every possible problem on this planet. But a recent incident changed my opinion drastically. 

It was 29th July 2014. Me and my college friends were going for a picnic. So, obviously I was excited. I was supposed to meet my friends at Swargate. I took an auto from my home. I think, I got the auto near Ramesh Dyeing. I was busy eating chips and WhatsApping with my friends. The auto reached Swargate and I was supposed to pay him 21 rupees. I didn't have one rupee change. I got down  and I was still busy with my chips.  In the whole excitement, I totally forgot about my mobile. The auto vanished in fraction of a second. I immediately realized that I had forgotten my mobile in the auto. It slipped from my pocket. 

Within few seconds, I realized  that my mobile was missing. I immediately tried to call on my number from an auto driver's cell phone. But I got "User Busy" message and then my phone was switched off. The auto driver was helpful enough to help me chasing the previous auto. But my luck wasn't in my favor. The previous auto was already vanished in the crowd. I got very upset. I called my Mum and said that I am not going for the picnic. She just tried to cheer me up and said that I should go and enjoy. I listened to her. In the mean time, my friends had arrived and suggested me to inquire in the police station nearby. I went there and asked the inspector about the formalities. He asked me to come with the IMEI number of the cell phone. I decided to enjoy the picnic and file an FIR in the evening.

As decided, I enjoyed the picnic, thanks to my friends who cheered me up. In the evening, my father had come with me to the police station and we filed a FIR. I was very upset. But the police told me not to worry and I will get my phone back soon. For me, filing an FIR was just a formality and I didn't have any hopes. The official FIR got filed on 31st July with PI Yogesh Jagtap. He is a very honest and dutiful police officer. He promised to give details about the investigation to my father on a regular basis. I didn't have any hope really. I got back to normal and my routine was going on. My father kept on ringing him on regular basis and had no news till 15th August. I ordered a new smart phone as there was no hope left to get the old phone back.

But suddenly, on 1st September 2014 we got a call from PI Yogesh Jagtap that my phone was tracked and I will get it back after Ganapati festival. A special officer was sent to the location where my phone was traced and my father got a call from PI Yogesh Jagtap on 11th September 2014, telling that he has recovered my phone. We got back the phone after completing all the formalities. I was the happiest person on this earth. I was really very lucky as everyone said. This strengthened my belief in our System. We have got a really good government and the people really work hard for the citizens. We should support them and the only intention of this post is to create awareness about Indian police and the overall system.They do look into small matters such as mobile theft very seriously. We must believe in the system and co operate with them. It will create wonders definitely. :)

My special thanks to PI Yogesh Jagtap, PI Santosh Kshirsagar and API Sandesh Kenjale from Swargate Police station again for their hard work. They did all this without expecting anything in return. They did not make us wait in the police station for long. We didn' t know anyone of them before hand. They did an excellent work. You make us proud with your work! We feel safe because of you! Hats off to you! They made the "Impossible" task possible with their efforts. We had a pleasant surprise. We exactly followed the procedure they told us and we got the phone back! :-)

So, I would like to tell you, "Believe in the system. Be an alert and responsible citizen and you would definitely get the returns!". Proud to be an Indian! :)

FRIENDS

"When will I get married? Tell me no, please." Buzzed the WhatsApp ping from my friend. "Rani( as I fondly call my friend) everything will be fine. Just chill!". I have become an adviser, a fortune teller and what not  for my friends.

Recently, J.J. has started watching FRIENDS. And she feels the love she has for her friends in her heart. She has a very  small circle of close friends. But each one of them means a lot to her and adds a lot of value to her.

The sad part is that all her interaction with her friends is online or over the phone except her MBA friends as they meet every weekend. Everyone is away from her :( . Still she has the warmest conversations with them. After all she is best at it, making her friends feel warm.

"When will you feel like talking to me at length?"Said one of J.J.'s friend. He was fed up of the written chats I think. J.J. curses herself when her busy schedule doesn't allow her to be in touch with her friends.

She is her friend's confidant ,knowing darkest of their secrets. She has the habit of convincing them and cheering them up.

She keeps on annoying her best friend for "the good news" and at the same time her heart pines for hearing "I miss you! Long time no see!' from her friend in Seattle. She drives ten more kilometres for her friend to track a key maker and that gives her pure happiness. She doesn't mind sacrificing a good night's sleep for helping Ash in studies or staying awake just for forwarding an email. She misses her hangouts with Varada, but is happy for her as she's living her dream.

She is overwhelmed when her sweetheart Sneha calls her from Canada to just help her make an important decision.

This makes her realise the worth of her friends in her life. Her life is incomplete without them. The love, care,attention,appreciation and support she gets from them is priceless. These relations without expectation make her life worth living. She's just waiting for a friend for life who will take care of her! ;)

Back to school :)

J.J( as I fondly call myself) was at her laziest best today. She was lying on the bed till ten in the morning.(this is very rare in her life these days). While she was thinking about some random things,she suddenly became nostalgic.She was missing her college days very much. But looking at the positive side(she has become really optimistic these days.) she thought she is back to college again. She has landed in a "B school". So why not make this journey enjoyable?

The thought process of doing an executive MBA started in her mind way back in 2012, immediately after her visa was rejected. She started browsing internet and found about SCIT. After overcoming all the hurdles of interviews and the admission process, J.J. landed in SCIT. She was thrilled but at the same time she wasn't confident. She felt, how can she give her hundred percent by sacrificing all the weekend fun? But nevertheless,the journey started with a bang in June 2013.

J.J was excited. She started attending lectures. It was fun indeed. All the subjects were new. Her confidence was on a new high, when she realised that she really has  good general knowledge.Her presentation skills improved and she was having fun solving financial accounting problems. Really, Financial Accounting was a nightmare. With all this hard work, there was awesome fun too. :)

J.J. met some really good people here. She had a bunch of intelligent, fun loving friends here. Be it a group chat on WhatsApp during boring lectures or the awesome trip to Splendour Country, everything was full of fun and adventure. She was enjoying the tea sessions at the small vendor outside her college. The lunch dates with her buddies were the best hangouts.

She had also started understanding psychology better. She met the serious A.K., the rowdy P.G, the boring C.R. and the studious P.C.T. here. Her bunch of girl friends was the best part of her life at B school. She shared her crushes with Ash. She realised that she should always smile(as Miss P told her). After all that makes her look much prettier ;). She got to learn work life balance from Arti, Maddy and Prerna who were managing work, kids, family and studies at the same time. She got a pat on her back for being helpful and talkative. She also learnt to be systematic and methodical. She has stopped complaining and has become much more calm.

She has learnt how to study a whole subject in one night flat, how to apply economics and marketing concepts in day to day office work. She learnt how to become more practical. She realized her own strengths and the importance of team work. She has learnt multitasking too. :D

And now after more than one year, she has stopped being lazy. She loves being busy. She is very happy with her life at SCIT as she is earning and learning at the same time. She loves the fun filled weekends at SCIT and would miss them when she finishes her MBA :)

Memories..

I absolutely have no idea how to begin this post but I just try to jot down some of the best memories of my childhood and teen age.
I really had an awesome childhood. Being the first child in the family I was pampered by everyone. But I consider my teen age as the most beautiful part of my life. The memories of my teen age are most beautiful memories that I cherish.
When I was in twelfth standard, we had human anatomy in detail in biology. We needed practical demonstration for better understanding. But any sort of animal dissection wasn't included in our syllabus. But we decided that we will dissect a frog on our own. Obviously my surgeon dad came to our rescue. Our first challange was to get a frog. My father arranged a frog somehow. I don't know how but my father has a solution to all the problems. After getting the little creature in a tiny box, we decided the place for dissection. It was our terrace. All my friends gathered at my place to participate in the adventure. We bought a dissection box and were thrilled to handle those instruments. But it was my father, who was actually going to dissect the frog. The frog was forced to go in an unconscious state and we started the adventure. My father did his job very skillfully and we were watching the whole procedure very earnestly. We studied the nervous system, digestive system of the amphibians. I still remember holding the flower like tiny pancreas of the frog in my hand. It was a very different experience which taught us many things. The only regret was the tiny creature lost his life in the whole adventure.
Our IIT Mumbai visit during second year of engineering has to be one of the best memories that I cherish. We were quite comfortable with each other and knew each other well by that time. This was my first trip with my friends and the destination itself was one of the best technology institutes in India. Meeting and interacting with  the best innovative minds, experiencing the wonders of technology , exploring some different side of my friends and making some new friends were few of the most cherished and important things about this trip. We got familiar with the brightest minds of this country and got a chance to watch amazing competitions like micromouse and few other robotics events. We also explored the scenic IIT powai campus. My bonds with Amruta, Indu, Pallavi strengthened during this trip.
The Manali trek in the summer vacations after my board exams holds a special place in my heart. This was the longest vacation of my lifetime and this trek was the best part of it. This trek taught me many things. The most important being the group or team spirit. Right from staying in tents to crossing the Biyas river in the chilling cold, each and every memory related to this trek is full of adventure and thrill. It taught me how to mingle with people and stop being the usual shy myself. The train journey from Pune to Delhi was one of the most memorable journies I had till date. We never let the other passengers sleep for two days. I met many different personalities and also learnt how to accommodate in seriously crunch situations. I also got to visit some beautiful places and Manali is one of the places which I admire the most. I am mesmerised by the natural beauty of this place. I loved being very close to nature in these thirteen days.
The next one in the list have to be the nightouts at Maithili's place during our school days. The ARAI tekdi visit with the whole  group, dancing on some random bollywood songs at two in the night or just random talks and laughs with my best buddies, everything is very fresh in my mind as if it happened just few days ago. I still remember eating the apple pudding at twelve in the night and games of badminton at her place.

The rangpachami celebrations at Swapna's place had to be one of the best I ever had.It was super fun.

Our early morning Parvati visits during our summer vacations, those long study sessions with Rati, the only night out with Mugdha at my place, the long swimming sessions at our club followed by some awesome food at some restaurant, watching Bend It Like Beckham at my place with the whole gang are some of the best memories of my teenage. These little things in life make it worth living. I will write a separate post about my college life memories.