Preeti Shenoy's Blog, page 62

Friendship day and friendship day bands! Blog marathon post 7

Many people dismiss friendship day as a gimmick by the card making companies, to promote their products. And many say that they do not need a special day to assert their friendship. But the origin of this day dates back to 1935, in the U.S when the U.S State Congress declared the first Sunday of August as a 'National friendship Day'.  Later many countries adapted it.

This is one day that I like to celebrate. I don't think it is silly to tie friendships bands on your good friends. It is simply a way of affirming 'Yes, you matter to me and I shall be there for you.' These are words which we don't often speak. But tying a friendship band says all of it, and more, without words.

My best friend sent me this visual today:

 


She also told me that no matter what, she will always be there for me. It made me feel wonderful. Had we been in the same city, I definitely would have visited her and tied a friendship band around her wrist.
For now, we had to be content with electronic messages.

That's the thing about friendship bands---they are real. Not virtual. You have to actually take the trouble of getting a band, visiting someone, and then tie it on their hand.
So darn different from just uploading a visual on Facebook and tagging 50 people, wishing them a 'happy friendship day'. To me, that is meaningless.

What counts are the real bands, real meetings, face to face talks over a cup of tea, a warm hug and time spent together. The right friendships can open many doors. It can be motivating, encouraging, supporting and help us to grow in ways we never thought possible.
The wrong friends can get you down, demoralise you and put you on a path to slow self-destruction.
We are the average of the five people we spend most time with---and hence we have to choose them with care.

Nothing can replace the warmth of genuine friendship and  the feeling of being loved by a friend.
Fortunately I am blessed with some great ones!

And here is wishing each and everyone who is reading this a very happy friendship day!
Hope you all have had a wonderful time with your friends.

Happy friendship day folks!

___________________________________________________________

Buy my latest book: The One You Cannot Have and read reviews: http://www.preetishenoy.com/books/the-one-you-cannot-have/http://preetishenoy.com/

Friendship day Blog marathon post 7

Many people dismiss friendship day as a gimmick by the card making companies, to promote their products. And many say that they do not need a special day to asssert their friendship. But the origin of this day dates back to 1935, in the U.S when the U.S State Congress declared the first Sunday of August as a 'National friendship Day'.  Later many countries adapted it.

This is one day that I like to celebrate. I don't think it is silly to tie friendships bands on your good friends. It is simply a way of affirming 'Yes, you matter to me and I shall be there for you.' These are words which we don't often speak. But tying a friendship band says all of it, and more, without words.

My best friend sent me this visual today:

 


She also told me that no matter what, she will always be there for me. It made me feel wonderful. Had we been in the same city, I definitely would have visited her and tied a friendship band around her wrist.
For now, we had to be content with electronic messages.

That's the thing about friendship bands---they are real. Not virtual. You have to actually take the trouble of getting a band, visiting someone, and then tie it on their hand.
So darn different from just uploading a visual on facebook  that wishes a happy friendship day and tagging 50 people, wishing them a 'happy friendship day'. To me, that is meaningless.

What counts are the real bands.
But more than the bands, the real friendships. They are invaluable as the right friendships  can change our lives.

Nothing can replace the warmth of genuine friendship and  the feeling of being loved by a friend.
Fortunately I am blessed with some great ones!

And here is wishing each and everyone who is reading this a very happy friendship day!
Hope you all have had a wonderful time with your friends.

Happy friendship day folks!

___________________________________________________________

Buy my latest book: The One You Cannot Havehttp://preetishenoy.com/

A rainbow to bring you joy. Blog marathon post 6

"Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary."
                              ---H.W.Longfellow

And sometimes, you are rewarded with a splendid rainbow. I captured this from my kitchen window. It was a magnificent sight!
_________________________________________________________________________
 Check out my latest book and read the reviews here: http://www.preetishenoy.com/books/the-one-you-cannot-have/http://preetishenoy.com/

5 common misconceptions about relationships. Blog Marathon post 5

Being in a relationship, makes you feel special. There is this one person who you turn to for everything. There is this one person whose arms you can wrap yourself in, when the rest of the world doesn't understand. There is this one person, who understands you like no-other and who will always be around for you.

And yet, even the best of relationships,sometimes flounder. Things can go wrong, and what was once sweet might curdle.

Many of us have so many fixed ideas when it comes to relationships. Here are the biggest and the most common misconceptions about relationships.

1. You have to have same interests : One does not have to have the same interests as your partner. he may be interested in reading science fiction while you may be interested in anthropolgy and history. You might love to exercise and hit the gym, while his exercise may be limited to sprawling on the sofa and searching for the remote. There are so many couples who are as different as chalk and cheese. And yet they have a strong connect with each other, as they accept each other's differences.

 
2.You need the same friends :  Another big misconception is that once you become a couple, you need to have the same friends. This is not only an unrealistic and a forced expectation but it also puts a strain on the relationship. Your partner may not like some of your friends, and if you force him/her to socialise with them, they might do it for you, but may not enjoy it. Over a period of time,  it would just make things awkward. Enjoy your individual friendships and cherish them.

3.You have to do everything together : This is mostly seen in newly weds where the couple seems to be joined at the hip and they cannot bear to be apart even for a few minutes. And the thought of doing something seprately--Oh Perish it! It is 'we-we-we' all the way. While it may be great in the initial bliss of a new relationship, it can over a period of time, make you lose your individuality. So beware!

4.Your relationship will suffer if you fight: Many couples hate open confrontation, and hence 'adjust' for the sake of peace in a relationship. Studies show that passive aggressive behavior causes deep resentment, and over a period of time explodes as the affected party isn't able to take it anymore. If there is an issue, it is best to fight it out--and fight fair (without name calling, demeaning or saying derogatory stuff). Talk it out calmly--or wait till you are both calm and reason it out. if you are not able to reason it out, write an-email. Wait for a day--and see if you still mean the things you have said.

5.Your partner will fulfil all your needs Most of us are a blend of many personalities merged together. It is not possible for one single person to fulfil all the needs of another. This is the reason why a couple ought to have some ' our friends', some 'his friends' and some 'her friends'. Your husband/boyfriend can never take the place of your girl-friends. Men just don't get some things about women. Just like women won't ever get some things about Men's friendships.  So it is best to have an association with a variety of interesting people who keep you mentally stimulated, other than your partner

After all everyone knows that good relationships are a lot of work.


 ___________________________________________________________________

If you want to read my latest book  which is a story on relationships you might want to check out
The One You Cannot Have


Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/

How much time do you have left? Blog marathon post 4.

I came across the above visual and thought it worth sharing. I haven't linked the site as it is already in the visual. It is the ad for a house-cleaning service. But what they had to share I found powerful.

Put in the above manner, it puts so much in perspective.

Time is indeed precious. And I think it is too precious to not spend it with the ones we love most.

Make good memories. Take lots of pictures. Read. Travel. Do something that makes you feel that you have really lived.

Now do that every day----and you have made yourself a life you love!

______________________________________________________________
Ps: Day 4 of Blog marathon. If you are enjoying my posts, don;t forget to leave me a comment. Also tell me if there is soemthing you would like me to blog on. (Tell me in my comment box--don't mail, as I already have a huge deluge of fan-mails)

Buy my latest book 'The One You Cannot Have'. All info here: http://www.preetishenoy.com/books/the-one-you-cannot-have/ There's a whopping 49 percent discount right now!

http://preetishenoy.com/

When was the last time you did something new? Blog marathon Post 3.

At what age do we stop becoming curious about things, and just accepting of everything that is? At what age do we stop ceasing to wonder about something waiting to be discovered? When does prejudice and set thought patterns take over us, as adults?

These were some of the thoughts that occurred to me when I took my dog for a walk, a little while ago. She is a large dog, and when she stands on her hind legs, she can put her front paws on my shoulders. So you can imagine how huge she must be. On top of that she does look scary, as she is a doberman.


Usually when I take her for a walk, people are so scared that they cross the road and go to the other side. They part  and make way, like the sea did,  when Moses held up his staff.

But today, where was a group of kids who were so curious about her.
They wanted to know if they could pet her. I asked them if they were not scared and they asked me if she would bite them. I told them that she was trained and as long as I was with her and told her that they wanted to pet her, she would understand.
Then I made her sit and one by one, the children petted her. Only one was scared. The others nudged her and encouraged her, but she didn't want to touch her.

The children asked me a lot of questions about her--how old she was, what her name was, what kind of a dog was she, what time did i bring her for a walk on most days, could they come every day to pet her and what she ate on a daily basis and what she did inside the house.


Lostris and me

What struck me was that the children were so curious about her, and had not let prejudice affect them. The doberman gets a lot of rap as a ferocious breed. Even though the children were aware of it (they asked me about it) they were willing to overcome their prejudices for the joy of experiencing something they had never tried before.(Petting a doberman).

How awesome is that?
When was the last time, you did that as an adult? Ever thought about it?

If  share, I would love to know. Do leave your comments in the box below.

_____________________________________________________________

Get my latest book The One You Cannot Have

Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/

Zentangle. Blog marathon post 2.

When I was a child, the margins of all my text-books and note-books would forever be filled with little sketches I had made. Mostly it was because I would have already read the lesson long back, understood it and would be bored with the teacher's explanation. Sometimes, it would be because I did not like the illustrations that went along with a lesson, in the text book. So I would draw my own pictures.

Therefore it is no surprise to me when my children do it. (Guess I am raising  non-conformists here. I know some parents who would balk at the thought of their child drawing in text-books. Oh the horror!)

My daughter came home today with this picture, which she had drawn in her note book.



It was definitely more interesting to me than the notes she made above them :)


For those of you who do not know what kind of art this is, it is Zentangle.
I had introduced it to her a few months ago.

I did not expect her to be this good!
When I told her that I loved it, she just brushed it aside, saying it wasn't all that good.

I will let you be the judge.

Whenever I see any form of creativity --and not just from my kids--- it makes me happy.

And today I am extra-happy.

Gnite folks--new post tomorrow :) (as I am doing a blog marathon for the next 29 days. Day 1 is over)

_________________________________________________________________________  Buy my books:  Get my latest book The One You Cannot Have

Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/

Blog marathon time again! Post 1: Organic terrace Gardening

Every year I do a blog-marathon. What this means is that there will be a new post every single day, for the next 30 days. It may be a poem, a picture, a recipe, a thought, a musing, an incident--just anything that strikes me as worth sharing, but a new post it shall be.

I started this in 2009 and so have completed five blog marathons so far! It is definitely not easy. Some days, one just doesn't want to post on the blog. But like all marathons---persistence and effort is what gets you to the end post---in my case, the end being 28th August 2014.

The challenge here is to post every single day, no matter what is happening in your life. For me, I have my mom and her sister visiting me soon and I really look forward to it. I also have my husband's side of the family visiting and so it's going to be a busy busy time. This is in between working on my 6th book (yes! It's nearly done!) and in between my newspaper columns.

Of course, as always, you--the ones who read my blog--have been very kind with your comments and interactions, and all that you have to say. So please do take a moment to leave me a comment---it makes me happy to write again, the next day and the next and the next next and...and.. Oh, you get the picture.

So for all of you who have written in and asked when i will be doing it--here you go!

Today's post is a picture for you, from my garden:


This is the first time in my life that I am growing vegetables. There are about 16 tomatoes on one single plant! And I have about 8 plants, like the above one. I just harvested my first ripe tomato yesterday.

 When I started off, I had absolutely no knowledge about organic terrace gardening. But it was something that attracted me. I got inspired after watching this short documentary.
It has English subtitles and those of you, who are interested, I would urge you to watch it.

Next, I went and bought the pots, the compost, the soil and manure (Horse dung and cow dung). I sowed the tomato seeds (I picked them up from lalbagh) in small containers, and once they sprouted, i transplanted them into bigger pots. After that it was tender loving care and watering regularly that did the trick. I also read up a lot on the ideal conditions for growing tomatoes and this blog-post by a veteran tomato grower gave me some invaluable tips, that I followed to a T.

Growing tomatoes isn't very hard. It needs constant care though--and plenty of sunshine and water. (do not over water). An online forum called Organic Terrace gardening, is a community that I joined, and I found the members really helpful.

Where there is a will, there is a way. This cliched and well known saying is true--I can vouch for it. My tomato plants are a witness.

_____________________________________________________________


 Buy my books:  Get my latest book The One You Cannot Have

Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/

A wonderful afternoon with Cosmo and fellow authors.

A few months ago, Cosmopolitan conducted a poll to understand the Indian woman's career pursuits and choices. 

Regular readers may recall that I was featured in the March issue.

Based on the career choices of the above poll, they started a new career series in May 2014, called ‘So you want to be...’
The series aims to bring the biggest names from a particular field of work together each month, to understand from them on what it takes to make it big in that profession. Each month, they invite them for a working lunch, where they  ask them work related questions—what's a day in their work life like, perks of their job, challenges and problems they face, apart from their biggest tip and advice to someone who wants to make a career in that profession.
They had started the series by featuring the biggest female restaurateurs in the country, and followed it up with women brand managers from various fashion high-street brands. For the July issue, our theme was ‘So you want to work with a beauty brand’ where we invited successful brand managers from 10 beauty brands in the country.
For August their theme is ‘You want to be an author..?’Last evening, I was in Delhi. Cosmopolitan flew me down  for the above story and I must say that they are brilliant, stylish and so darn classy in all their arrangements. A cab picked me up and took me to this wonderful restaurant, where we were all meeting for the photo-shoot and the discussions.
I had an amazing time, met some wonderful people and it was so intellectually stimulating, with lovely conversation, great discussions and of course being with so many women authors who understood exactly what the dillemas and problems we face, was to sum it up, a very memorable experience.I had a terrific time catching up with Nikita Singh. 



We both wished we had got more exclusive time with each other! 




She and I get along so well—we are alike in our approaches to many things.
I also met up with Madhuri Banerjee. I always have a great time with her. She is a free spirit, fun, warm and there is never a dull moment when she is around.

There were a few more women authors---each one was so different, wrote about very different things and yet we were all united by our love of writing.

The editor of Comso India, Nandini Bhalla was warm, chic and it was wonderful talking to her--she has an amazing perspective on so many things. I so enjoyed the interactions I had with her and was full of admiration for her. Having seen her picture so many times in the Editorial in Cosmo, it was great to meet her finally.



Here is a selfie with Nikita, Nandini, Madhuri and me.





So what did we all  speak about? What are the tips? For that you will have to grab the August issue of Cosmopolitan!These are small perks of being an author, and I feel fortunate to be a part of this world.A big thank you to all of you who love to read what I write. 

Else I would have never had this career or this opportunity! :)
____________________________________________________________________

 Buy my books:  Get my latest book The One You Cannot Have

Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/

Candles in the wind

Pic clicked this morning, at Bangalore, India.

And this was how my day started this morning.

With hundreds of candles, swaying gently to the breeze.
Not a single one went out. They just danced in rhythm.

To say it was beautiful would be an understatement.

It was sheer bliss, peace and tranquility.
And a feeling of gratitude for every little blessing received.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, it helps to remember that it shall soon pass. And it also helps to remember all that is going well in your life right now, and be grateful for the blessings.

Not everyone is as fortunate, you know.
______________________________________________________________________


 Get my latest book The One You Cannot Have

Flipkart: http://is.gd/TouchFlipkart

Uread: http://is.gd/TouchUread (Uread ships internationally too)
Amazon: http://is.gd/AmazonTouch

http://preetishenoy.com/