Free Spirit

  "It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change."  Charles Darwin "Whatever happens, happens for the best." Anonymous   These quotes are embedded in the deep labyrinths of my mind. I  have always lived by these maxims. They have more often than not worked as soothing balms on my conscious and subconscious mind. They have always had the power to guide me through different phases of my life.  But human mind is such that when faced with a change, the first reaction is to shun it.....you can call it a chemical reaction between mind and heart. It's a struggle between the practical mind and the emotional heart.  This is exactly what happened to me.  It was a cozy life in Mumbai. Oh! How I loved my life in Mumbai!! Nestled in the warm township-like environment, I couldn't have asked for more.  It was a treat watching my mischievous children play with their even more mischievous gang of friends in the beautifu

Holi hai! Holi is called the festival of colours. But I call it the golden festival. I think it is the KING of all the indian festivals. I will tell you why in a bit.... The colours and vibrancy of this festival threads everyone together beautifully.  Holi is a spring  festival and it falls on the onset of vernal equinox. It is predominantly celebrated to welcome fresh colours of spring and bid adieu to the icy cold winter. It has a religious conotation as well. The Hindu legend of Holika symbolizes the crematory ceremony of "holika dahun" and this day is more popularly known as "choti holi".  Holi is a two day celebration. The night before holi, as a symbol of the ancient ceremony, people light a bonfire. This symbolic pyre signifies the victory of good against evil. There is a beautiful story attached to this. The legend has it, that Prahalad, son of an evil King Hiranyakashipu and  a devout devotee of Lord Vishnu refused  to acknowledge his father as the almighty

It is International Woman's Day. "Celebrated" all over the world with much enthusiasm and rigour. The day originally called "International Working Woman's Day" was marked to promote equal rights for women including sex discrimination at work and suffrage in the, then, male dominated working scenario. A delegation of 100 women from 17 countries agreed upon this " historic strategy." Through the decades this historic strategy has paved its way till it actually became a movement . The century has seen many woman-led strikes, protests and parades world-wide from Vienna in 1911 to the February Revolution in St. Petersburg in 1917 and so on.....till date.   The west actually made this movement into a popular event. The first International Women's Day was observed in 1977 when UN General Assembly members proclaimed March 8 as the UN Day for Women's Rights and World Peace. It was a need of the hour in those days and probably was the most prolific