My second year IN FIJI

With a kiss let set out for an unknown world. FIJI

Seems like reborn, time to learn and unlearn things in life. Came here with a blank slate nine months ago.

I am definitely more Indian than ever and shall come back to my motherland with one more layer of patriotism. Feel more Indian here than I ever felt back in Bharat.

With less than 6 Indians in the new company I joined in August 2017, I was the 3rd recruit. Get surprised, amazed, shocked and awed all together at the same time everyday. Seems like life has definitely something else stored for me, which I don't know yet. This is a paveway and that's mysterious. 

Need to share (express) more through this platform in days to come. Rekindle the passion and start living for the heart and not just the stomach (paapi pet).

Vinaka

Women's Day in a life of a Millennial

Pic Source: PWC-18

20's are a great time to spread those legs out on your sofa and munch a packet of Cheetos while thinking of what to wear to that party that awaits you on Friday night, and if you are edging out over the last few years of your 20s and find yourself living and working in a country like India, bless you because you won't run out of issues you "feel for" any time soon. I don't mean it in a bad way, but this is the best time to be a millennial in India. Every day comes wrapped with newer issues to fight for, and guess what, you have an audience for all your thought streams. Now writing a personal blog is fun for me, because this is only time I don't search the web for parallel narratives and sub-texts. No Huffington Post or Newyorker quotations will bore you. 

As I make my way through the crowded metro in New Delhi, I can't help but notice the growing number of women now working in my city, and women of all types, the saree connoisseurs, the fresh out of college girls, some with their headphones carefully plugged in to miss the chatter.

Pic Source- Quora

Back in 2007 things were different, we didn't have ladies compartment because there were lesser women working in the city, today we have pink autorickshaws and WiFi enabled cabs because of the growing working women population. In the wake of this not so subtle movement what does a 28-year-old woman think of Women's day and its relevance?

To begin with, I have conflicting thoughts about this "day" which I am sure most of my girlfriends also have primarily because I find the concept of celebrating a gender a little too amateur, I cannot undermine the dialogue that it's creating for sure, I am aware that these dialogues would mean a great deal to the women living in a small town in Udaipur who are now slowly foraying into the outside world in pursuit of sustainable livelihood opportunities . I have had the luck of knowing some of their stories and trust me you, women's day is for them first before you claim it for yourself. Fast forward 2018, now I am an urban woman of color from India living in a country that is not mine and far more progressive than the country of my birth, I can't stop feeling the daunting impression of patriarchy around my neighborhood. Sure the women here wear skirts for veils or traditional attire and have boisterous laughs but the men still drive the cars, so now I am back to my personal conflict zone that is my brain while i try to process all that information in my head.

If you ask me what women's day truly means to me i would tell you it should be a day where women must finally support women, not because she is your friend or you like her better than that other girl who couldn't find to meet you because she was running errands all day and you never bothered to open your heart to her issues, or because she is your mother. You must support other women because she is you. she braves that metro line because she chooses to not look at herself with empathy and it truly is about time that "women's day" becomes about women and not just the society's field day of posting lovely captions and content. 

Pic Source- Pinterest

I will confess, I have judged freely most of my 20s on how other women dressed and talked, and sometimes I still do , as guilty as I feel but when I step back and see the same women living a dignified(interpretations are free) life on her own terms my heart bleeds for I know I have sinned. This year I have decided to do away with flashy, sometimes untrue captions and write a blog instead because just four lines cannot do justice to what I truly think about this day. I feel a great deal about this day and so should you. So now that I am done writing, I wish you a great day ahead ladies and don't forget to catch up with each other this evening because at the end of the day all we truly have is each other.

The writer is Ronisha Bhattacharyya

Communications Expert

Rani Padmini, Padmaavati or Padmaavat

BHANSALI MOVIE DELAYED AND LAUNCHED UNDER FEAR. 

Yet to understand why so much cry over a historical event by a variety of sections in our society? FOR all kinds of reasons best known to their circuit of intellectuals, or not.

 The film poster made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali with the original name "Padmaati" outside a cinema hall in Nadi,Fiji Islands, South Pacifica region. 

Note: Noone is supposed to get offended because this post is to inform and make a protest (if needed) after having all the information in place, not before that).

Chor Minar near our place in South Delhi was built during Allaudin Khilji period. Around 800 years ago.

Few points to be noted.

1. Almost forgot who Allaudin Khilji was.
2. Mild remembrance of the story of the Queen Rani Padmini  (until the movie happened)
3. Forgot the name of our Rajput king Raja Ratan Rawal Singh of Chittor (before Wikipedia ing it until late night last night)
4. Remembered every protest by the Karni Sena a fringe noisy group claiming to be the bearers of Hindustani hindutva (the last being a debate between Arnab Goswami and another Karni Sena guy who kept on garraowling "abey sun le. Angrej" on live RepublicTV).

So, despite being tad lengthy (could have cut the flab out by 40 minutes ) the performance by trio Deepika, Shahid and Ranbir packed a punch or two. 
The expression of mise en scène
perfects the description. 
Again what were they protesting about, before even watching the film. The movie Taran Adarsh says may make money over 200 crore but what motivation it gives to small independent film makers in future? Anurag Kashyap' s "Paanch" is yet to see the official light as I write. The film was a fine piece of art threads of imagination weaved into a fine story. A good job done by the team. Nowhere it has gloried the Mughals or demean the Rajput.  So why the Halla  that our PM Modi had to intervene and give a go ahead for releasing the film (delayed by two months)? Should the movie be renamel as Padmaavati and not Padmaavat? 

According to this well researched blog.
https://www.esamskriti.com/e/History/Indian-History/Rani-Padmini-And-Alauddin-Khilji-1.aspxt 
(Rani Padmini was a princess of Jaisalmer or of Sinhala, a village near Sojat in Pali district of Rajasthan. In the history of Rajasthan there are many references which indicate that Rani Padmini was the 11th wife of Rawal Ratan Singh among his fifteen wives, as polygamy was prevalent among Rajput rulers then.)

It reads that Raja Ratan crossed seven seas to get the Sri Lankan Princess. Geographically you need to reach  Lanka, and starting from Chittor you take a ship from the south of Gujarat and keep going down over the Arabian Sea until late you reach Kerala and turn left. That's it. I doubt the Queen was from Sri Lanka. We can only imagine now. 

#Rebooting in Suva- Fiji

As if all your memory  (virtual) just got lost or taken away. And you got to start from scratch.  So be it. SFS.

As a friend said. You become stronger. 

#reboot

Pic source : Pacific_Travel guides

The Pacific Harbour Area, Fiji

60 days in Fiji

Also my first post in nearly six months. Just completed 60 days outside India. In between passed away Durga Puja, Diwali, the mandatory 15 day jetlag, and the constant setting up and settling down process and telling yourself that it shall pass soon. In a new and alien setup it's been a rivetting experience for me in every thing

new. The water, air, the sky and the lands.

I have never seen people celebrating an essentially hindoo festival in such fervour and harmony ever in my life. Buses with Diwali message, an ANZ bank ATM denoting the festival. You get everything here.

My Delhi was confused if the air post Diwali was clean, cleaner or cleanest sans dirty minds. The iTaukei people are warm and had an opportunityto drink Kava was a Senior war veteran served in Lebanon this Diwali at Kolekars' place laced with traditional clapping after each drink.

Quite a lot coming in. So keep keep looking out by this millennial (old) folk. 

India Pakistan ICC Final - Who Is Going To Win?

Why India and Pakistan games are historically big?

India captain Virat

For A Millenial it's been a big deal for the love of cricket and regional supremacy, however good Cricket wins at the end of every high wired game. This time it's The Oval and it's been almost 2 Decades 18 years since we witnessed a proper 50 over game, last time was the t20 under MS.

Dhoni, you are here today, history unfolding in front of you. The picture you shared with a rival captains infant son will go down in the history tof India Pakistan game. You, probably will be playing your last championship. You'll of course have a different profession in Delhi or Dehradoon or any place you want, you have been privy of your private life.

Virat, Bhai Hai and the young guns (guys) shall be booming today in full force.

Ab dekhna Hai, how many wickets Pakistan can down for ( whatever) target they set.

Twitter poll ends tonight.
Who is going to win India or Pakistan?

Picture source: Twitter and www.ICC.com

Is The 2017 ICC Cricket Champions Trophy The Last Millenial Tourney

Why the ICC Champions Trophy in its current format is a very Millenial thing. A big question also crops if the 8th ICC Trophy is its last? Will the 2017 ICC Trophy now pave way to an international test series going forward? These are the questions not known in the public domain?

With Virat Kohli winning the toss in a crucial game tonight with South Africa and bowling first, which means India will be given a role of a chaser. Will we finish just fine? We need to finish it off really well. 

When did ICC CHAMPIONS  trophy BEGIN?
Was googling Wikipedia and stumbled upon this phrase where it's described that the  ICC Champions Trophy is a one day international (ODI) cricket tournament and typically organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is pretty prestigious in the sense that its only second in importance after the Cricket World Cup. 

Why ICC  CRICKET TOURNAMENT IS A MILLENIAL THING?

Two years before the Y2K, the year 1998, when I was in class 10th Dehradoon, that was the year when it was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out Tournament in 1998 (Bangladesh) and has been played approximately every two years since. Its name was changed to the Champions Trophy in 2002.

The Game Against the Proteas today at Oval.

Indians need not to be 'overexcited' and our captain ( a Millenial) Mr. Virat Kohli, the BBC

reports "India must keep their emotions under control in Sunday's decisive Champions Trophy match against South Africa, captain Virat Kohli has warned."

All the best India. 

Pic Source- Google Images

Will We Stop Writing In Future?

Luxor Building in Okhla- June 2017

As this building in the picture is of a famous pen company #Luxor, the head office in Okhla, Delhi. There are hardly any people barring the lone chowidaar, whose only business is to keep people away from his premise, fair.

What about real writing. Paper and Pen? Yesterday some friend at a gk2 restaurant was talking about his love for Kindle. The Millenial parent will understand how writing,continuously writing is important, in this increasingly digitalised world. What do you think?

India Pakistan Game Washed? ICC Champions 2017

As we are glued towards the India Pakistan game at Edgbaston.
It was during the 90s (In South Africa) when we saw as kids Cricket as a game can be played at night as well clicked our heads, since we missed games and we had to be in the schools. D/N in Johannesburg. Terrific.  We millenials saw it coming right infront our our eyes and then came the satellite TV network. Zee TV, star, DD metro, were the first. Few Russian and German channels as well.

Pic source:- Getty

The ICC Champions trophy in England. We witnessed sporadic showers at the ground just made sure that the stellar game should lived to its expectations. We Won.

Real Time Information Dissemination Changed PR Rules

After coming from a late night gathering from east Delhi, our earstwhile dwelling place, fell the news of a 'Big Police Event' that was happening at London. How?  The Independent.CO.UK was streaming live through Facebook. Imagine. Broadcasting even professional ones such as BBC, CNN, fox, sky.au et all were very soon with FB live feeds along with common people of England. It was IST a little over 3 AM yesterday.

Should I assume that social media has disrupted traditional news gathering and disseminating process and PR as well. Or should you remain positive and see that more positive information can never be negative. So how do you push all these positive energies found online towards?

Let's pray for world peace and there should be no place for terror weilding fanatics trying to change the way we people from the free world live.

Have a great week ahead...TC and cheers.