Darr ke aage JEET Hai!!!-Lessons @ Kolad Adventure Trip...

Life has taken a new turn since the last 2 months...Yes 2 full months ...I have completed 2 months with CRISIL today...It seems like a total Merry Go Round...I was initially apprehensive about working with new people and worried whether our wavelengths would match...But 2 months after I joined...I already feel as if I am here for years together....(Hope my colleagues feel the same way too.....)

Last week we had an office picnic at Kolad...It would not be fair to call it a picnic..It was an adventure trip!!!An adventure trip where we did adventurous activities like Rafting,Rappeling,Raft building etc...Here is a 2 part description of this 2 day journey..Part -I explains the activity i.e what we actually did and in Part-II I talk about my REFLECTIONS or LESSONS from each activity

PART I-THE ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES- ALL for ONE & ONE for ALL!!!

About 3 hrs drive from Mumbai...River Kundalika is an excellent white water rafting location..We had an amazing 3-4 hour rafting experience.In beginning we were enjoying the ride just like a boat ride...Once the water from Mulshi Dam was fed ...we had the real taste of adventure with the rapids (big waves in the water) coming in at regular intervals...

With a team of 6-7 members in one raft...we set out in our life-jackets ,helmets and paddles to an exciting and memorable journey..a journey which for me began with fear & apprehensions ,continued with excitement and ended with a feeling of contentment,satisfaction and a feeling of enhanced bonding with my team...I would not be exaggerating if I say that these were the most exciting and refresing 3 hours of my life..

After lunch we played an indoor game organised by Z-BAC Adventure Club..A game which tests the determination and co-ordination of a team in the face of adverse circumstances and difficult situations...We were first divided into 2 teams and a member was chosen as the leader (shepherd).The team had to devise a language similar to that of animals without the use alphabets or words..Then all members (sheep) except the shepherd were blind folded were left in an open ground...The shepherd had to direct members from his team to a particular destination with the help of the animal language devised by the team..Another twist in the tale was that once a sheep reaches the desired destination with the help of instructions from the shephard..he becomes the new shephard and directs some other blind folded sheep...The team whose members reach the destination first ,is the winner...

All this time Rain God was continuously showering his blessings upon us and at the end of the 2 days we were actually feeling like amphibians..because all the time either we were getting wet in the river or in the rain....

That evening we went to the site where Z-BAC Club had organised a rappeling exercise for us.What one has to do is descend from a 40-50 feet high steep rock with legs perpendicular to the rock ,taking the help of the rope with which he is tied from top & bottom of the rock.Most of my colleagues did it perfectly...but as usual Rachana is different...There is a long story attached to it which justifies the title of my blog...But for that please refer to PART -II of this post-My Reflections.

The next day we did the RAFT BUILDING Exercise.Again we were split in 2 teams...River Rangers is what my team called itself.We were provided with 8-10 wooden planks,2 bamboos ,2 huge rubber tyres and ropes.We were required to make a raft and cross the river in that raft.While returning we were not supposed to use the raft but float on our life jackets and cross the river,using a rope if required.Another example of how in a team everyone needs to contribute...Another justification of the phrase "ALL for ONE & ONE for ALL"

This trip has come to end...but some imprints which it left on my mind can never be erased...Some lessons,some realisations which I got here are not there with any book,any class ,any college and any professor of the world....An experience which has brought some positive changes in me and some REFLECTIONS which are my IPR.....proprietory to me..(Sorry....got to use those words because I am a CRISILITE now!!!)

To know more about them...read along....

PART-II-MY REFLECTIONS -DARR KE AAGE JEET HAI!!!

Seldom does life take us through an experience which leaves a lifelong imprint on our mind.Good or bad...Pain or laughter ...that is not relevant....What counts is the reflections...the lessons from that experience and its impact on our life...

The adventure trip at Kolad was a totally new experience for me.The first time I got a feel of the significance of a team in any task we do.How important it is for each one to work on his strengths but at the same time cover up for the weaknesses of the other members of the team.

Rafting was a beautiful experience.The experience of being on a raft for 3 long hours and the splendid landscape around can take you to a different zone altogether.The experience in a normal flow of water is quite serene and peaceful.But with the arrival of a rapid....the real adventure begins.Its similar to life in many ways....Thats because being in a calm and serene atmosphere all the time can give you joy....but to experience real happiness and satisfaction u must take on the challenge of a rapid (read waves or difficulties) and row in a way so as to conquer it...Literally while rowing you need to surmount a wave and raise yourself above it...When a rapid approaches...there is a feeling of fear..but upon going closer..it gives you a challenge,an invitation to fight and after that the contentment of victory.Also one more lesson I learnt...

The feeling of I DID IT gives happiness but the feeling of WE DID IT gives satisfaction!!!

With rappeling I had a unique experience...All dressed like a knight in shining armour (I dont know what a female knight (if any...) is called) I reached the spot from where I was supposed to rappele down.The instructor was talking to us in a manner which was extremely friendly and comforting because he could sense the fear within us.And in most of the cases his attempts were successful because most of the people rappeled down fearlessly.I reached the spot from where I was supposed to take the first step down.

This particular FIRST STEP is the most critical and counts a lot...both in life and in rappeling...It is this first step which makes or breaks our morale....That day I realised how important this FIRST STEP is to decide whether life takes you somewhere or you take life to greater heights...Whether you drive or are driven by life.....Its strange is'nt it...how we just allow life to take control over us...just because we are lack the courage to take that FIRST STEP....THAT INITIATIVE...

Something similar happened that day...A chill just ran down my spine as i stood at that height and I went completely cold..I dont know whether it was because of the rain or my fear but my limbs just went numb and that very moment I decided.."I am not doing this.".

I left the place and came down...but the instructor told me one last sentence.."If you dont do this today,you will never be able to do anything in life".

At that moment I was possesed by fear and paid no heed to his words but after sometime those words started pinching me.Seeing my colleagues do the act I felt even worse...I must acknowledge their encouragement at that point in time...Specially one person who said..."You already managed more than 90% of the task...You already went and stood there. that was the most difficult...Now you know what you have to do...So you are in a better position to do it"Three cups of tea was what it took for these talks and the instructors words to settle in my mind and finally I decided "I WILL TRY "

So I set out again on a war...The war was not with the height of the rock...It was a war with myself..with my fear...with my pessimism and under-confidence...A war between the 2 attitudes of I CAN DO IT & I CANT DO IT....

I reached the spot again.The instructor this time gave me a big smile and said "Aa gayi aap ???"I was shocked at this sentence...Was he really expecting me to come back....Well God knows!!!

I should admit that I had not surmounted my fear completely...But yes...there was a stronger force which forced the fear to take a back-seat...This was the force of my willingness to do it.I finally took that FIRST STEP and then after a minute or so I lost my balance and there I was hanging in between...After several unsuccessful attempts at making my legs perpendicular,I finally reached the ground just by feeding the rope...an extremely below average performance...But I was happy...The happiness was similar to that of a student who passes with the last rank after being promoted for several years in a row.The last rank seems like a blessing to such a person...doesnt it???

After coming down I heaved a big sigh of relief and was full of happiness...I had won the competition...with myself...

Upon coming down I was absolutely convinced about one sentence...

Darr se mat daro...Darr ke aage badho...Kyunki Darr ke aage jeet hai!!!

What counts is not whether we experience fear....but what we do about this experience..do we live with it or TRY to surmount it....and learn our lessons from it.What counts is whether we learn to live with fear or use it as a ladder in our personal & professional growth...by overcoming it step by step...

Raft building is also a unique experience...Again a perfect example of how unity of a team can make a seemingly impossible task possible...Also it teaches one more important lesson....

Knots have to be tied strong so that a raft sails safely on water...Something similar to our relationships in life...The relationships which are tied with strong knots sail through comfortably without a need to retie them...But if these knots are left loose....God save you and every one else on your raft!!!..Think about it..

The trip may be over...But the memories and experiences will always remain fresh on my mind..As someone rightly said...

“Life gives us brief moments with one another...but sometimes in those brief moment we get memories that last a life time...”

What an IDEA Sirji.....

The other day I saw the ad of IDEA Cellular featuring Abhishek Bacchhan....where he changes the way all the people in the village address each other ...from names to numbers...I was just thinking on the possible outcomes if this system was actually implemented....

Might sound funny but it can have interesting implications on the way our society functions.Imagine I were not Rachana Dekhtawala but 997******* and my younger sister was 987*******.Well as usual my thoughts ran helter skelter on this issue...

How nice it would be to live in a society where we were not discriminated by names,caste,religion...Dont we first make conclusions about a persons caste ,religion and so on ,on knowing his name...So if we were addressed by numbers that problem would be solved...We would be forced to judge a person by his qualities and not his roots...

Admissions to schools,colleges would be strictly on merit.If no one knows what caste he was born in,which religion he belongs to,no reservation can take place...right??That would be so nice...A world without names would be a world free from prejudices,a world free from discrimination...judgements would be based on qualities and not background...

No fights among Gurjar community in Rajasthan and no inter-community fights between Sikhs...No terrorism based on religion and no frustration among the student community over quotas...In a nutshell...there would be equal opportunities for all...Life would be simpler....

Is'nt it high time we realise that in a competitive world reservation harms both the beneficiary and the victim?...So in the above mentioned system,even the so-called Backward Classes would make an effort to come Forward because in a world without names and surnames,no-one knows which caste he belongs to...

Anyways there is no point in living in your dream...Life cannot be lived in a dream...Reality is what counts at the end of the day...and the reality is that our country will continue to run on the wheels of reservation...reservations in education,job and reservations in our mind...over caste,religion,colour...

There is little we can do about political reservation but yes... mental reservations can be done without...Lets try!!!!

ON A HOLIDAY WITH DAD...

PART-III-THE RETURN & MY REFLECTIONS!!!

May 23rd 2008,around 8.15 pm at Amritsar station-we got one of the most shocking news...After the wonderful experience at Wagah border as we moved towards Amritsar station we thought that once we board the Golden Temple Express we shall peacefully start our return journey and after a day and a half finally reach Mumbai-the place where we were longing to be!!!But there was something different instore for us...

Upon reaching Amritsar station we got the news that due to the Gurjar community protests at Rajasthan our train will not move beyond New Delhi..Lol...Sometimes God listens to you when you least expect it...And sometimes you just keep praying and praying...but your prayers are unheard...Whatever the matter...I have learnt one thing from my personal experiences...HE knows your interest better that even you do...So let's continue to have faith on him and let him exercise his discretion...After all we are HIS children and he will not be able to see us in pain for a long time....

So Delhi station at 6.30 am next day was a big centre of chaos and confusion..People running around for getting their tickets cancelled ,crowding at the reservation window to ask for an alternative arrangement and all this gave us a feel of the lack of arrangement and dearth of systematic processes which tha railway station of our capital suffers from..Moreover we wanted to cancel a ticket booked online by a credit card and somehow this simple task seemed like rocket science to our railway officials...

After a lot of confusion and running around we finally managed to complete the cancellation process..I would like to mention here the co-operation of an uncle of mine whom we incidently met in the train both during our start and return journey...We were incidently in the same train in our start journey (Mumbai to Nizamuddin) as well and we never expected that this person was god-sent to us...My belief that god sends the problem and solution in the same package got strengthened that day...He did most of the running around for us ,booked air tickets for us and also went to the extent of accompanying us to the airport and left only after ensuring that we check in...And finally we reached Mumbai on Saturday one day before schedule...That was the end of a holiday..and more than that a memorable journey....

MY REFLECTIONS

In many ways the journey from Banganga to Bhawan and subsequently Bhairavnath is representative of life.Just like our life it is difficult,tiring,exhausting for most of the people...who decide to walk it up there..Lot of conviction and belief in the destination is required...Because climbing up a path is not easy..Yeah for some of us it becomes easier if we hire some mode of transport..But for those who want to tread the path independently....without any help whatsoever...it's no doubt a herculean task...

Adhkuwari has a lot of significance..It represents a place where your patience is tested...And from here you decide the further course of action...This place represents all those junctures of life where you have to take a decision...whatever may be the area...education,career,marriage...It's one place where you have to come,halt,see the situation around you, assess your own strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats of the environment and chalk out a clear path for the way ahead.Should I wait here ,pass through the cave or be satisfied with it's holy sight and move ahead???Doesn't life sometimes ask us similar questions???
It's here that our paths are split from those of the people who were hitherto with us...and new passengers join us...
It represents every time the journey of life takes a major turn and a transition takes place in life..

On the way there are several instances where you have the option of either going the long way by the straight road or take the difficult way of steps which demands more energy but less time.Something similar to this happens when we are faced with a situation of a trade-off between taking the requisite time and achieving the objective with ease or choosing the fast track which requires us to go that extra bit...push a little more....

Bhawan ofcourse represents the goal we all aspire to achieve,the destination we all crave ro reach...It may mean different things for different people...Bhawan represents success...which manifests itself in different forms for different people...money,love,friends,family,success,desire for social good...But what is common is the keen desire within each of us to reach Bhawan..and the happiness which we get on reaching.

Once we achieve the goal we aspire to fulfill the dream...to put a final conclusion to the happiness..What we then crave for is self-actualisation...And that is what the Bhairavnath represents (atleast to me).Since I didnt go there I may not be able to express the actual emoceans attached with that place...But for me Bhairavnath is like self-actalisation on Maslow's hierarchy...Thats why these 2kms beyond Bhawan are the steepest and most difficult and require a lot of courage and determination...But that is what distinguishes a complete journey ( read life) from an incomplete one...

However in life unlike at Vaishnodevi,the challenge lies in identifying whether I am at Bhawan or Bhairavnath??...whether whatever I have achieved is accomplishment of my objective of fulfillment of my dream??.If it's only an objective accomplished then there is a further challenge in discovering what is Bhairavnath for me...??And here no one can help!!!Yeah once discovered there is a supreme power which helps...Call it Mataji,God,luck by whatever name you want...But the divine intervention exists...no one can deny it!!!

Think about it...JAIMATADI!!!

ON A HOLIDAY WITH DAD...

PART II-LESSONS @ VAISHNODEVI- Will Power-All It Takes!!!

Moving towards the most important destination of our trip i.e Vaishnodevi..We stayed at a hotel in Katra and started the climb at around 5.15 pm...I am not a trekker and not very much into exercising as well..The result...well I was not given a very warm welcome by TRIKUTA PARVAT..Moreover excited that I was with my new SONY CYBERSHOT...that I found everything on my way photogenic and made the biggest mistake of taking breaks every now and then to click snaps...Whatever reason I attribute..the fact remains that I found the journey tough and challenging..

We thought that this fatigue is the only test we have to give to reach Bhawan..but we were wrong..When we reached Adhkuwari which is a cave halfway between the lowest point of Banganga and the temple...we saw a huge crowd of people waiting for their turn to enter the cave and our registration confirmed that we would have to wait for atleast one day to pass through the Adhkuwari cave...We decided we shall do it upon returning and moreover since the temple at Adhkuwari was closed for the Arti we did not even visit the temple ,thinking we would do it upon descent...The first lesson I learnt later-Dont leave todays work on tomorrow...It will never happen...

The price paid was that we were not able to do both Adhkuwari cave and temple...

Well..the journey was no doubt a challenging one...a trekkers' paradise..but a hard nut to crack for someone like me...As we were moving away from ground level ,it began to get colder and also with sunset it started getting darker as well.....

The journey was quite tough...but as they say when the going gets tough ,the tough gets going...Just when we were at a mere half kilometre from the Bhawan the going turned tougher than it was...

The Vaishnodevi shrine board has erected shelters at regular intervals with lights,a real boon for the Yatris..specially those travelling after sunset...Moreover this place never sleeps...The temple and the road are flooded with devotees round the clock..
When we were half a km away from the Bhawan,there was a power cut at the shelter and everything around us turned pitch dark...Moreover the lightening made the aura even more scary and to add fuel to fire it started raining...I must admit that such climate change is not very unusual there but for me it was a taste of what adventure is like..We sat where we were for around 15 minutes and then when the rain stopped we started our journey again...When we reached there was a big confusion there and the rain had started again...However we finally entered the Bhawan and had a holy sight of the goddess...It really felt great to enter the cave and the experience was that of extraordinary contentment...We were allowed inside for barely 20 seconds and all whatever we wanted to pray had to be summed up in that much time...But I was at a loss of words to express my happiness...

As we left the holy shrine the happiness took the form of tears and rolled down our cheeks ...A feeling of being blessed,being protected and a feeling that now nothing can go wrong...in life ,because there is an invisible power protecting me,inspiring me to tread the path and reassuring me that I am not alone...that I will never be alone...in my difficult times...A feeling of gratitude for the life I am leading,for the wonderful parents I am born to,for the supportive and caring friends I have and for every small and big thing..It's strange..I wanted to ask for so many things from God..but when I reached I realised that I already have everything I can ask for...

At times in a hurry to ask for more and more..we forget all that has been conferred upon us by the Almighty..All those times when he has given us more than what we deserved...But in those some special moments I remembered this...Thanks to Mataji for this feeling....A feeling which only a devotee who goes there can feel!!!

We came out,extremely tired and our bodies refusing to move an inch..Here I saw one or those sights which really surprised me..There were around 8-10 thousand people outside the temple and in the small and big eateries and dormatories outside sleeping peacefully under the warmth of the blankets distributed by the shrine board...They were probably taking rest and would later start climbing to Bhairavnath..another temple 2kms above the Bhawan...But the sight left me shocked at the amount of faith which prevails in the hearts of the people...

After we came out the biggest question which before us was whether to go to Bhairavnath or not...Here I learnt another lesson...the most important of the trip...The importance of WILL-POWER in life...Sachin may say that Visa Power is all it takes.but that day I realised it's WILL-POWER which is more important...I accept that my body fatigue took over my tremendous desire to complete my journey by visiting Bhairavnath...And after 1-2 hours of unuccessful attempts at trying to find a place to rest,we started the descent..First time I slept on a small little bench of an ordinary eaterie...may be because god wanted me to get a feel of the real world..the lakhs of poor and homeless who sleep like this...Again a feeling came to me... that God has been so kind to give us a house-a shelter and sufficient clothes to protect us from vagaries of nature...How fortunate I am!!!

Is'nt it strange that we dont value the things we have..when we have them...Food,house,money,friends,relationships....we realise their true worth when they are away...Just like that night we realised the true worth of shelter and also that of our family...How incomplete I felt without them...Had they been there..this difficulty would have been lesser and it would have been easier to forget the pain in our body and concentrate on the mental happiness which the holy sight had given us..

Finally we started the descent but before that we took a final darshan on the LCD screen outside with thousands of thoughts in mind and just one wish...of coming again...once again...with full energy-both physical and mental...

I felt as if I was leaving something close to me behind and would have to come once again to collect it...

Now that we started the descent I realised that a herculean task lay ahead...But it was relatively easier as compared to the climb...Pitch dark night,cold weather ,a beautiful moon shining in the sky...(Luckily it was a full moon day) re-energising us with it's vibrant presence and both of us -me and dad started the downward journey...The whole night we walked...and finally with the blessings of Mataji..around 7.30 am we reached our hotel...

My body felt the impact for a very long time and the fatigue lasted almost 2 days..BUT......
My memories ,the experience and the unique bonding which I developed with my dad during the trip will last much longer...atleast a lifetime!!!

Our next destination Patnitop was a beautiful and refreshing experience...beautiful clean landscape...amazing weather and extremely photogenic surroundings...

Our bus journey from Katra to Amritsar took us a long 8 and a half hours despite the 6 hours promised by the travel agent and in one irritated moment I told dad..."lets cancel our train tickets and return to Mumbai by air!!"Little did I know that some supreme power heard me and said "TATHASTU"

Well thats another interesting part of our story...We 'll see it in part 3...Till then Keep Reading...Jai Mata Di!!!

ON A HOLIDAY WITH DAD...

PART-I Lessons @ Akshardham!!!

Last week I was on a trip to Vaishnodevi...The first unusual thing about this was that only my dad accompanied me..The last 2 years with my MBA did not permit to go out of Mumbai much and hence inspite of busy schedules or everyone else in my family,I still insisted that we plan it..Sometimes we learn life's important lessons where we least expect them...And sometimes we get the biggest surprises of life where we least expect them...Something similar happened during the trip......

Our first destination was Delhi's Akshardham temple...A magnificient structure...grand...beautiful...and full of artistic carvings...Huge land area...Nothing wrong in saying that it's a majestic piece of art..The documentaries made on the life of Lord Swaminarayan are indeed a treasure of invaluable knowledge and lessons of wisdom which the younger generation can adopt..Lord Swaminarayan,during his childhood. made a trip of the entire nation barefooted...and visited all the big shrines...The depiction of all these places and the portrayal of his dedication towards the goal of his life is amazing...

There are 2 important messages in the documantary which particularly stuck me...

One message was in the form of a big piece of rock which is partly carved and partly uncarved..The carved portion is a human face and hands holding a hammer...and trying to carve the rest of the rock...A lesson which is very important and still often forgotten by most us ...We ourselves are the sculptors of our life and are solely responsible for whatever happens...good or bad.I found a reference to something similar in a book called EVERYDAY GREATNESS which talks about the necessity to act in life and not wait for being acted upon..

The second lesson is a single sentence which is so powerful that I believe it has the power to uplift a sad heart...to cheer a sorrowful soul and to fill with confidence a heart filled with fear...It says "JAHAAN ISHWAR HOTA HAI,WAHAAN DARR NAHI HOTA."(Where there is God ,there is no fear)...All of us know this but still we forget it where it is most required...dont we??

There are still many more things to be mentioned such as the lovely taste of Swaminarayan Khichdi served at Premvati foodcourt,the magnificient temple with the beautiful statue of Lord Swaminarayan,the carvings of elephants,peacocks..the main entrance with 10 gates in 10 directions ...and many more..but some things are to be seen to be believed...

After the short but memorable (and incomplete also coz we missed the boat ride due to lack of time) visit we moved on to Katra where there were some unforeseen experiences ,some memorable moments waiting for us...We shall see that in Part 2 of this write-up!!! KEEP READING....

A smile can heal???

The other day I was travelling by our very own Mumbai local train.It was not very crowded but all seats were occupied and I was comfortably standing.At around Bandra I managed to get a seat and amidst the plethora of thoughts and my personal tensions ,I sat down.My body got the well deserved rest but my mind didnt???Due to certain personal incidents during that period I was extremely upset and disturbed...moreover I was travelling alone that day which added fuel to fire...It was one of those rare days when my heart had taken over my brain or intellect or ....call it by whatever name you like ....... after a big and deadly battle between the two...And as they say..there is no winner in a battle because both the sides are at a loss...life,property,success and above all morale...

And here the battle was between 2 entities both connected to me and the defeat of either one was my loss in the end...that was exactly what was happening and I could realize the toll on my work,health and more importantly my self belief and my self-confidence!!!

I tried to look around and made some unsuccessful attempts at changing the rhythm of the thoughts by observing what the others in the compartment were up to.But every face had a similar story to tell...Some were fast asleep,all emoceans hidden behind the fatigue which had forced the slumber.

Except one..one face...which I cant forget all my life...A face which was like the first ray of the sun which destroys darkness and brings light into the world...like the calm waves of a mighty ocean which bring serenity and peace to every heart they meet..eyes which lavishly spread love and happiness around.. to every other eyes they meet and something else.... above all this....A SMILE......a smile which tears apart all sorrows...

She was a tiny girl..around a year old travelling with her mom comfortably resting on the throne of the mother's lap.Her name was MILONI and she was the one who was interacting with everyone in the compartment...I was observing her since the time I was standing and the first time our eyes met she gave me an expression as if we knew each other since ages and seeing me was one of the happiest occassions of her life.Her smile attracted me so much that all that battle ,all those thoughts instantly vacated my mind and her contagious smile infected me just as it had infected everyone else around...an infection I was most happy to get.There was so much she wanted to speak butdue to her tender age she had to rely solely on her eyes and face to do the talking.After some time I got down at the desired destination and as I turned behind to see her,she greeted me again with that magnetic smile,as if trying to tell me,

"Look at my smile...Is any trouble of your life big enough to ignore it!!!Do you have the courage to think about anything else in the world after seeing it???No way...I challenge you...Even after we part...it will continue to rule your mind."

Most of us have heard and believe that kids smile to attract attention..but it's not completely true......It is Almightys plan to teach us that no trouble is so big that a smile cant heal it.This is just one example..I have had several instances with my nephew..Varun...Touchwood..but he smiles so often and one may feel he is trying to grab attention...but I feel his smile is a cosmic connection..He is an angel sent by God to give us a message that we have to smile amidst all troubles...If we can do that half the battle is already won!!!

I am not saying this out of nowhere...It's a tried and tested experiment.After getting down from the train that day I was thinking about the power of this tiny girl in washing off my tensions...a task which even I could not do was done by a total stranger..and then I told myself...What if I myself try and smile when I am in an emotionally low state of mind..Her smile may be a pain killer-but at some point of time a pain killer ceases to heal and what is required is something which can attack the root cause of the problem. That weapon is nothing but a capacity to face the problem from the front and and what better than a smile....the greatest foe of all problems to do this....

I may not have got an answer to my problems but I got something much more important...-A formula!!!And in life as in Mathematics, an answer can be of help for one problem but a formula can help you in any problem (read situation),is'nt it?

Want to know what the formula was??...Read along...

A smile is a weapon which confuses your troubles because they think they have killed your ability to smile long back ,then it attacks them and finally destroys them with the help of other weapons like patience,courage and determination...Even if it's not possible to destroy the troubles ,a smile gives us the strength to accept the fact that the problem or the trouble will continue...but there are other better things in life worth living for and for the sake of those things these troubles have to be pushed to the backseat...

A smile may not be the strongest weapon and it's not even the most indispensable one..because several battles have been won without it..BUT...there is no denying the fact that it's one of the most effective ones...to combat troubles...and a child is the greatest messenger of this lesson which God wants to teach all of us.

A child is a ray of hope which comes in the world to destroy the darkness and the plight of pain with a charismatic smile....

Paradoxically, a storehouse of both innocence and invaluable lessons of life..

As the reverend Rabindranath Tagore rightly quoted
"Every child comes with a message that God is not yet discouraged of humanity."

EMOCEANS!!!

Why such a hybrid name??Well thats because that is what I want this blog to be...A collection of content close to my heart...emotions which are like an ocean...deep vast but still soothing to the heart...However the nearer you go the more the risk ,the more the adventure...

Wondering where I discovered this strange connection...At a beautiful divine place called Ganpatipule...As I saw the ocean I realised..how a thing which is so very soothing and delighting can be potentially dangerous and fatal upon going closer...Similar is the case with emotions(read emoceans...) ..isnt it?A source of joy,pleasure,delight,peace,love,smiles and also......tears,sadness,restlessness....Nevertheless...just as these mixed characteristics differentiate an ocean from a tiny stream or a rivulet...similarly these emotions differentiate us.......we humans.......from other living forms on mother earth....Just as the divinity and the danger together are the identity of the mighty ocean... these emoceans are our identity...our distinct identity!!!What say guys???

BIENVENUE!!!!

Bienvenue...to my blogging world...Am quite a novice at blogging though...
Well to start with Rachana Dekhtawala...that's me..A poetess at heart and in words...Like to write poems and my poems have the place of a trusted friend in my life...Other passions include the French language..(Obvious for any student of Alliance Francaise...Why???..Well Alliance jao khud jaan jao!!!) and singing and dancing...Not very good at either but enjoy them...Specially singing...Provided the listener is patient..(Oops ....I mean has patience..lol)
A student by profession , just about to finish my MBA...Current activities-studying and Job Hunting...from now onwards blogging...Lets see how far it lasts...
What else...guess enough for now...Need to get back to studies..University Papers you see...
A plus tard...
Rachana