The Wanderer

How to create under confident women: Tell them that if they do not use fairness creams, no one will marry them. Tell them that if they do not look a certain way, no one will love them. Make sure they do not talk to guys in school/college, because you know Sanskaar . When they come to you about marital problems, try to find a way to blame them for it. Of course, she is to be blamed, after all how can the son be wrong?  Make her believe, that no matter how wrong the husband is, it is her duty to 'adjust'. And if she can't, she is not a good enough wife.  Tell her that she should be thankful that she is so lucky, you know 'it could be worse'.  Tell her that no matter who she becomes, the men will be rated higher than you. Equality? Bah, humbug. Scare them into believing that if they stood up for themselves, they will be outlawed by the society. And that this is a bad thing. Oh, and to be clear, most times it is women who make other women believe this. Yeah...

Loss can teach you so much. One of the most heartwarming pieces I have read. Or maybe just related to it. Excerpts from Sheryl Sandberg's moving tribute to her husband. The most powerful one-line prayer: “Let me not die while I am still alive.” The choice offered by tragedy I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning. These past thirty days, I have spent many of my moments lost in that void. And I know that many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well. I have lived thirty years in these thirty days. I am thirty years sadder. I feel like I am thirty years wiser. But when I can, I want to choose life and meaning.  Being a mother I have gained a more profound understanding of what it is to be a mother, both through the depth of the agony I feel when my children scream and cry and from the c...

Mental clarity is one of the most underrated assets.

Met my future self (hopefully) in a bus in the Japanese countryside ;)  Meet Giovanna, a traveler from Italy who started traveling when she was 25 and has been to 252 countries in 45 years of traveling. Visited several of them multiple times and said India was her favorite (may be she was just being nice tongue emoticon ) This time, she is traveling by herself across Japan for 4 weeks.  This coming July, she turns 70.

"How fast the seasons change And we don't even realize... We must make the most of life, Coz we are all running out of time..." Three years in Shanghai today. P.S.: Lyrics from a friend's song

As another close friend leaves Shanghai today, it reminds me of my old theory that Shanghai is like a huge hotel: you meet people for a while - by the pool or the coffee shop - spend some time together and then eventually they will check out and move on; and you know you will too.... And I can't even begin to describe the people I have met (wanderers, adventurers, vagabonds, war veterans, cancer fighters, dreamers, devotees, artists, musicians, writers, readers, ones so enthusiastic about life that it is contagious, the right amount of weird, an extra bit of crazy, witty ones, sarcastic ones...from all over the world) and the conversations we have shared - as if each person was a book to be read, and there minds countries to be explored.... And all you will have is a limited amount of time together - maybe you will get a chance to form a deep bond, maybe not; there will be some that won't keep in touch, some will go beyond all gaps to do so; Whatever it is, it is right her...

My friends love my Facebook life. And I, theirs. Do we like each others' real lives though ?