The most memorable day of my life

As my college exams were over I was in full party & vacation mood.
Goa and Thailand were the two places on my priority list.

But my parents were all set to ruin my plans as they had decided to visit Jiran, too meet a relative.

I was reluctant in going to a village as I wanted to go to some happening place.
My parents warned me of cancelling plans for a foreign outing next year if I didn’t accompany them now. I had no other option than to go along.

When my friends came to know about my vacation plan they were laughing like hell.
They wished me all the best for my trip in a mocking tone.

I was really scared now.
Going to a village and staying there seemed to be a nightmare.
I was really pissed off as I had no clue of how will I even sustain the ambiance of the village for a day.

Finally the day came and we started our journey to Jiran.
It took us around 8 hours to reach the place.

As we entered the village, everything looked messy and obsolete.
The lanes were narrow and houses looked like the ones built before Britishers came to India.
People had so sense of fashion and hygiene.

Finally after 1 hour of crazy horn blowing, frustration and agitation, we finally reached the home of my mom’s cousin, whom I used to call Hari uncle.

They were waiting for us anxiously. As we got down they welcomed us whole heartily.
It had been years after I meet them so couldn't recall their face.

There house was very big and looked more like a historical monument which was not white washed for ages. There were no marble flooring and furniture appeared to be of Akbar's time.

They showed us our rooms and told us to get fresh as dinner was ready.

Our room had nothing to be happy about as it was as old fashioned as the house.

After having dinner, everyone decided to sleep as we had to get up early in the morning.

In the morning I asked uncle where we were going. He just asked me to follow.

When we came across a farm he told me that it was there's and they grew different vegetables like ladyfinger, cucumbers, green onions, pulses and cereals.

It was before dawn and the crops appeared dancing with the cool breeze.

The panorama was beautiful and so natural.

We have to get to the top of that hill which appears at the other side of this farm, affirmed he.

I was gasping for air as the path to the top was not easy and it took all my stamina to even stand still.

Come on my boy we have almost made it, exclaimed he. I could see a 50 year old standing at the top and motivating a young champ to take those remaining steps.

When I reached at the top I was completely tired and out of my senses. Suddenly a gust of cool breeze touched my face, blowing my hair. What I saw next was phenomenal, tiny extravagant shades of orange and pink appeared in the sky. Shortly after a fiery ball enhancement started to make it’s way beyond the mountain ranges at a distance. Sky was filled with colours of unexplained magnificence that had no known name. I felt like I am on top of the world with nature charming me with all it's elements.

After doing some yoga and exercise we headed towards our home as breakfast was waiting for us

After we were done filling our hungry stomach, I was in a desperate need of a shower as my complete body was stinging and sweating.

We will go to a nearby river side which is just 10 km away from here and don’t worry this time we will go on my bike, Hari uncle chuckled.

We were accompanied my father also.

When we reached the spot there was no crowd there. Uncle told us that this place was rarely known to the village people. In no time he climbed up a rock which was 20 feet high and made a dive in the water. 

Wow, that’s super cool I thought and tried myself too. I was feeling a bit nervous as 20 feet was not a small height, but then I made my move and went straight into the water. I could see small fishes passing by my ear; it was a breath taking moment for me, so natural and wonderful.

                                     

After doing different somersaults and relaxing in the free flowing water for some 2 hours we finally headed back home.

It was already 12 and lunch was at our disposition.

Dal Batti with a lot of pure ghee glued me to it. I loved having a lot of ghee in my food and this time I got exactly the same. I ate like a vociferous hungry boy.

We generally used to eat with spoons but this time we used only hands, and I bet food is more delicious when we use hands rather than spoons or knifes.

Finally the exciting day came to an end after we had our dinner which was equally delicious.

It was the most memorable day of my life as it got me close to the nature and also changed my mentality. I used to think that village people are nothing in front of us but I was proved wrong.

I got inspired and motivated by Hari uncle. Life is not so tough and complex as we think. Village people in spite of getting few basic amenities enjoy their lives to the fullest and the people living in city cry for petty things. It made me optimistic about the life I was living and also gave me the strength to face new challenges which were going to come in my life.

This post is written for Housing.com

The bold step of my life

I lived with my family in a small town called Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. We were a middle class family which consisted of 6 members. My father was a business man and my mother was a housewife. I had a younger sister and 2 elder brothers. My sister was our little princess who was loved by everyone in the family. She had a dream to become doctor and wanted to get admission in the top medical colleges of Mumbai. We were against sending her alone to a new city but as my job location also came out to be Mumbai so my parents agreed to it. 

Mumbai the commercial capital of India has lot of opportunities for everyone. It was the city of dreams which had fulfilled dreams of many people. I also had a dream to own a flat somewhere in Bandra. I got a one room kitchen in Andheri for me and my sister. As her college was in Bandra so it was the perfect place to live in. My sister was a bright student from her school time. She was always good in studies as well as other cultural activities. Her enthusiasm and determination was appreciated by all her teachers and friends. She was an amiable person who used to jell well with others. It was her first day of the college and she was filled with energy.

 I gave her a hug and told her to concentrate on studies. As it was a new city so I advised her to be cautious while judging people and making friends. In few months itself we got comfortable in the new city. My office team was really amazing. It had some nice people which became my best friends. As we all were foodie so every weekend we used to explore a new restaurant. Blogging was my passion and I was really happy to meet some great Mumbai bloggers in various meets which were held once in a month. My life was going on smoothly until the worst weekend of my life came.

It was a routine weekend and my office friends suggested going to a bar. I was a bit hesitant in going as I used to not drink. My friends especially my senior insisted on trying it once. As he was my senior so I agreed to only taste it. After we went to the pub my friends drank a lot and got out of their senses. As I was also drunk, my friends insisted me to stay with them for the night. I agreed and stayed with them. Next morning when I visited my home I was shocked to see my sister shivering with fear and pain. Blood was coming from her head. When I asked what happened she started crying. I appeased her and requested her to tell what the hell happened. She told about a guy in her college whom she fell in love with. He was very loving and caring. Yesterday night when I informed her about my night out she asked him to come to the flat. What happened next was quite evident, she was raped. I went to police station to file an FIR against him. As he was the son of a local politician, police was reluctant in filling complain. 

It was time to take a bold step to provide justice to my sister. I used the power of blogging and spread the case on social media sites asking for justice. One of my lawyer friend helped me file a case against the culprit. My blogger and journalist friends provided the required media coverage. In no time the culprit was behind the bars. After this incident I took pledge to start a NGO which will work for providing justice to the rape victims. I will always remember this incident as a bold step in my life.

This post is part of activity Start A New Life by Housing.com.

Look Up Stories- My Optimistic pace towards Dawn

Being from a typical Indian Brahmin family I sacrificed my likeness, educational choices and so many things which I cannot even count because number keeps going on but today when I see myself; sometime I cannot recognize my own identity. I doubt myself and ask one simple question to myself if I am the same girl who some years ago was just a statue of sacrifices and today when I see this new bold lady in me who fights for the rights of women and protest against injustice and try to protect justice always.

Some years ago I had to marry a rich Brahmin engineer guy at the age of 20. I remember it when I just completed my graduation and wanted to pursue further studies. I had a dream of becoming a great lawyer of this country but as our Indian Brahmin society doesn’t like bold lady lawyer especially when a higher position comes in the destiny of a women then maximum number of people sow thrones on the path of that lady in order to make her unsuccessful and ineffective in her career. It was my destiny and I had to get married soon without fulfilling my dreams.

My husband was not soft enough towards me and I came to know about this immediately after some months. I was 9 year younger to my husband and we had lots of differences in thinking and likeness; Yet, I controlled myself and somewhere a hoping ray was alive inside me and I was waiting to receive my husband’s love. Time came and that hoping ray turned off and I lost all my patience when I came to know that I am not eligible for any love from my husband as it is already reserved for someone else. Yes, my husband had extra marital affair and after almost 2 years of marriage I came to know about this bitter truth of my life.

I finally decided to take an exceptional step for myself as I was really young and I didn’t have dare to sacrifice my whole life just for one bitter truth. I decided to take divorce; I had good amount of gold ornaments which I had received from my parents during my wedding as a dowry (Stridhana). I moved ahead filed a petition to seek divorce from my husband on the ground of “Adultery”. Subsequently, I arranged a new home for myself and enrolled my name as a law student; simultaneously I joined one multinational company in which I was a legal trainee. Somehow I managed to run my household and I was getting a reasonable amount as my stipend. After three years continuous hard work I received my “Sanad (license to practice in law courts)”   

Today, almost after 3 years I became a Legal Manager of one of the reputed multinational company and I proud on my previous decisions which made me more stronger and gave me a bright future and optimistic surrounding.  

This post is part of contest Look Up Stories with Housing.com on IndiBlogger