Padmaja's

Photo courtesy: Yatrablog.com Moving to a new city is always challenging especially when you don’t know anyone in the city. In this respect, I was lucky to have a friend in the city who helped me with everything from my first day in the maximum city. Now that he is gone, I feel that my days in Mumbai could have been colourless without him. I looked forward to weekends, as weekends became my happy days. More than being happy days, those were ‘my’ days.  I reconnected with myself and enjoyed the little things and small pleasures in life. Some of the good habits that I imbibed during those months now form a part of my larger nature.   He had eyes like that of a cat and he enjoyed scaring me with those magnificent eyes. But  those very eyes was my shelter during the storm.   He made me fall in love with Marine Drive . Even though it is more than 15 kms from my residence, it became my ‘go-to’ place to calm my mind. During such stormy days, we sat to...

There comes a moment in life when we realize we lack something in and around us and a change becomes imminent in order to succeed. I always believed that I could give eloquent speeches. Later, it dawned upon me that giving a speech in front of an audience and extracting information from an expert over the phone are poles apart. My work demands me to make multiple phone calls and extract information for my stories. Initially, it was a humongous task for me. Moreover, a stammering speech and nervousness compounded to a whole new level while interacting with industry experts.   The revelation that I was a rookie in this world with little know-how about the subject matter was never my con, but it was my fear of failing that was not letting me sprint towards success. This fear did not let me ask the next question as I thought that person at the other end will assume me to be a fool. It was only later that I learned that one of the key important traits of being a journalist is ...

Friendship can strike in the most unexpected scenario. However, things are quite the opposite at Mumbai Toastmasters(MTM). It is a fertile breeding ground for life-long friendship. Making friends in MTM is a cakewalk. MTM has the perfect concoction to build much enriching friendly relations. It is especially easier to make friends here as most of us share atleast one common interest: the love for public speaking or the fear of it. Moreover, people here welcome you with open arms. From the time I entered as a guest, I was thrilled to see such enterprising souls making my Sunday way better than I would possibly imagine. Friendship is organic at MTM. Guest Introduction and Project 1 speech are two brilliant ways to know about someone. It gives other people a topic with the help of which they can start communicating with one other. The Icebreaker project is a real icebreaker. One key aspect of friendship is time and familiarity. Friendship takes some time to develop. In school,...

If people ask me this question for a million times my answer will still be the same. To write or not to write is never the question. The real question is how. For me, writing is not just to get recognition or feel productive but it is my life. Writers write because it compels them to write. You don’t decide if you want to be a writer. It chooses you. It is like a breeze that flows past you and it’s up to you if want to hold on it or forget. In the same way when I was 14, this power of writing struck me. This breeze wanted to manifest in me as a journalism piece that leads to change. I had never really thought that I wanted to be a journalist before that breeze hit me while I was on my way to school. After a lot of chaos and pain, I realized to write or not to write was never the question. It was always within me and I choose not to ignore it. Writing is like an antibiotic or a remedy. If you take it in proper doses it has the potential to cure every form of imaginary il...

Everything starts with a big push. Things that are not easy but are essential for a better tomorrow need that gigantic push. Most of us have this habit of procrastinating. The tomorrow that we keep referring to every day never comes. Our mind is often muddled with unnecessary thoughts and most of the time we are unable to break the shackles. Then the time comes when not taking a step in the right direction can be detrimental to own well-being. When one reaches rock bottom, there is only one route left: to rise up. It is only when you reach the bottom of the pool you can push yourself up. However, in the meantime , you keep trying. The same thing happened with me. One Sunday morning, something inside me kicked me out of the bed. I wanted to survive and at that   point , nothing else mattered. The idea of changing two autos and trains were not strong enough to deter me from my goal. It   was post   demonetization and I just had 300 rupees worth of legal tender. I have...

You are so near yet so far away And it is strange how my mind refuses to give you up There was a start and lot of ends But somehow we kept moving on I did know from the start that you were not supposed to be mine However, over some things we don't have any control of My life has moved  on and I am not 17 anymore But for you I will always remain a 17 year old Thank you for making me the woman who may cry at small things but who will not stop My hatred towards you fuels my ambition as I struggle every day to survive Yes i want to succeed and because of that I am here The second reason why I don't feel going home is  you

Weekends are  normally not lazy for me, but once in blue moon I find myself too lazy to even move out of my bed. Moreover, going out also means spending money. So, this weekend I wanted to remain confined within Ghatkopar or my apartment to be precise. So here  goes the list of things one can do on a lazy weekend. Read- This is always going to be my number one thing to do on a weekend. On a busy weekend, I catch up on some reading as I wait for the local train to arrive or  when travelling from one place to another. Whereas, on a lazy weekends one can curl up with a book. The presence of snacks near your bedside can also make the reading experience far more superior. If you are more of an online person then there is a whole universe for you to explore. Newspapers' weekend supplements are also available online. Hence, go forward and pick a web page that suits you. An important point that should be mentioned here is that one should turn their notifications off, other...