Catharsis

August 2016  (Source: Google) I burst into laughter watching the latest John Oliver segment on the absurdity of Trump insinuating that Barack Obama was the founder and Hillary Clinton was the co-founder of ISIS; John Oliver, host of HBO's popular show Last Week Tonight, is redefining comedy and journalism in profound ways ( Time has termed it the John Oliver effect ) - the show is a satire that covers politics, news and current events. While I was watching this, hubby returned from work and even before the poor guy could say "Hi", I started animatedly telling him about this episode. To recreate a picture perfect image of this moment in your mind, imagine a person walking 🚶 being suddenly hit by a torrential rain of words☔ and waves of laughter 🌊 - its on these days that hubby feels he has married a blizzard 👰😜😇! At that exact moment, I suddenly had an uncanny feeling that I had "been there, done that"; and lo behold, rewinding my memory reel a c...

August 2016 I recently attended a webinar on 'Careers in Impact' conducted by my alma mater, wherein people in the development sector talked about taking the 'road less travelled', work and interacting with different stakeholders. Having been a part of this sector (my first job was with the World Bank) and having faced all kinds of queries (including, and I am not joking, how to open an account at World Bank!) it was heartening to see the high level of interest in this sector. Excepts from the webinar - interesting perspectives shared by a panelist, Srikrishna S, Co-founder and CEO of Sattva: 1. Bunker Roy remarked that the driving force behind many iconic movements during 1970-80's was anger, and not passion. The key question was "What issues and problems do you see around you that make you angry and pursue it and tackle it full time?" 2. The Head-Heart-Hands equation: The decision to join social sector should be a perfect balance of ability ...

August 2016 (Source: Google) Growing up, like so many other millennials, I did not fully comprehend the patience, time and effort in managing a household - two kids who surprisingly turned out fine (even though I say it ;) and a husband (who I guess will always be the oldest kid on the block requiring adult supervision :P). Mom was a wonderful orchestrating magician; and obviously when things function smoothly, it does seem like a wonderland production - delicious steaming delicacies that make an appearance even before hunger pangs appear, used plates and crockery that magically travel to the wash basin:P, a closet brimming with freshly laundered clothes & Dad being the genie who used to get the groceries and household supplies ;). And a maid who had been with us for more than a decade completed the setting. Even in this background, I must say that there were clear ground rules - simple ones that unfortunately seem non-existent nowadays - for instance, just because the m...

July 2016 (Source: Google) I diligently followed the recent episode between Priyanka Chopra and an AIB member, whose BMF (Brain to Mouth Filter :P) is possibly non-existent (unlike mine which atleast is partly functional ;) consequently making AIB the roast of the nation :P. An AIB member made fun of PC's American accent, and was trolled mercilessly by all and sundry. Surprisingly, his 'knight in shining armor' turned out to be PC herself, who ended the debate by saying "Guys it was a joke!! From me and him!! Comedy is the smartest form of entertainment!!" Kudos gal...Way to go girl 👍 In the daily course of life, we all come across people who are offended by everything under the sun (and the moon, and the clouds) -- the co-worker who looks daggers at me because I went for my cuppa coffee after she specifically told me to go on as her work would take time (hell, what was I supposed to do - hound her like a stalker); the bus mate who believes that t...

July 2016 (Source: All images are from Google) Over the past few days, I have been inundated with calls and messages about how people have identified with part or parts of my recent short story. And now I begin to understand the quotes by my favorite author Agatha Christie in her Miss Marple series "Everybody is very much alike, really. But fortunately, perhaps, they don't realize it. Human nature, is much the same everywhere". Either in my immaturity or hubris that I was unique, I didn't quite grasp the profound truth in these statements. When I mean human nature is similar, I am not talking about generalizing or stereotyping; the problem with such prejudice is that it results in unfair treatment of individuals. For instance, when I casually mentioned to an acquaintance the other day that I did not change my surname after marriage (keeping aside the feminist aspect, the practical difficulties of having one's name changed on every...

July 2016 I have always wanted to write a fiction short story; and this is my first attempt at it. There lies great peril in venturing into the realm of fiction after writing articles based on real life ! Inspite of the risk of this being construed as reality, I have decided to take the plunge ;) (Source: Google) The first time I saw her, she stood out among the college crowd - not because of the reasons a heroine stands out in the films, but because she was a loner and didn't have any pretentious airs of trying to fit in. We did not become friends until quite sometime later, when we started working on a group assignment. I was so used to being 'the person in the room with the highest moral compass', it was a surprise coming across a person with moral values and ethics which were probably a notch higher than mine. I used to tease her that we were the perfect examples of the geek/ nerd debate (oh yes, there is a difference), and if she hadn't been around...

July 2016                         (Source: Google) I was reading the article about the woman who honeymooned alone in Europe since her husband's visa was rejected (talk about vacation plans going kaput!). Since it was a fully paid trip, she went ahead with her in-laws; and posted some hilarious pics of herself posing with her absentee husband, that soon went viral. And whenever I read any incident like this, I tend to start thinking about how I would've reacted in a similar situation, and this train of thought made me think about - you guessed it - dealing with situations with laughter, situations that life (picture a stern head mistress) believes that one should pass akin to examinations. My family, more specifically my Dad and I have a quirky, wry and a little weird sense of humor. Our conversation can be termed as a series of impromptu quips and banter in a ...