Ave Maria

Sometimes the background catches your attention more than the actual scene in forefront. In this particular case, it was the beautiful Roman Catholic prayer Ave Maria played in the background of a Newsroom episode (aired on November 30, 2014).

I am not a music person but this song somehow touched a chord and ever since has been on my mind. Very unlike me, I looked for this song, heard it over and over again and it still remains magical.

It's actually a very old song, was composed by Franz Schubert in 1825. [source: wiki] - "Ellen's Third Song". The version that I heard on Newsroom was sung by Katie Boeck - her voice is absolutely beautiful.

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Maria, gratia plena,
Maria, gratia plena,
Ave, Ave, Dominus,
Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris (tui),
Ventris tui, Jesus.
Ave Maria!

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Ora, ora pro nobis;
Ora, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Nunc et in hora mortis,
In hora mortis nostrae.
In hora, hora mortis nostrae,
In hora mortis nostrae.
Ave Maria!

Commuting – The BART Way

My dear friend has yet again posted a wonderful piece of blog –  http://understandingfortytwo.blogspot.com/2011/07/ride-in-delhi-metros-pink-compartment.html And I must admit that she has done a great job in weaving a colorful landscape of the ladies compartment of the Delhi Metro.

Delhi Metro … it is a monument in itself… it represents , in many ways,  the quintessential Delhi… - It is grand… it is mystic… it is colorful… and it is loud…! And I can definitely take pride in telling that I have been a witness to this historical movement which would change the face of Delhi…. for ever… and for best…! For me, Delhi Metro has been love at first sight… there was no looking back ever… ! Metro ride is an experience… It travels through cultures… religions… and qualifications. It is a tribute to the human spirit…. to those who built it and to those who travel in it….! But now I am not in Delhi... and Metro is one of the many things that I miss about my city... !!

At times I really missed those interesting metro trips... and longed to be back in Delhi (NCR) ... and then one day .... BART happened … :)

Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) brings the bay area together… it connects the bay area going right through the San Francisco Bay….! Considering the difficult non-uniform terrain of San Francisco bay area, the construction of BART is truly a great chapter in the history of civil engineering. The purpose of BART and Delhi Metro are exactly the same…. BART was conceptualized to handle the traffic congestion trans bay… and so was Delhi Metro … to take care of growing number of traffic bottlenecks in NCR (National Capital Region) … !

Before my first trip in BART, I had this misconception that the working population in the Bay Area do not use public transportation for commuting….! But considering the average weekday ridership of 341,151 passengers (data courtesy wiki)... I realized that… it was just that.. a misconception…. :)

Just like any other public transport… traveling in BART… is a learning experience… and more so for me…  because this is altogether a new world for me… ! As per the geography, I am globe away from my home… but as per the growth and development… I am at least a few years away …!  But the crowd that I travelled with in Delhi Metro… and the crowd I travel with now are remarkably similar… in many ways… ! In mornings... they are anxious to reach office in time... and in evening... they hurry back home...!! Sometimes they look happy and relaxed.. at others they may be sad , worried or confused..  other times they appear plain bored... excited... or even sleepy... ! I am actually amazed at the myriad of human emotions that I get to observe... and that there are as so many individuals and yet they belong together…!   And somehow... after a very long time I feel belonged... and I feel at home....!

Different phases of life...

Life evolves continuously and consistently... with every passing day... ! Today is different from yesterday... and it will not be same tomorrow...! We can,at best, categorize and classify life in phases.... And even though every 'phase' itself is in a state of flux... life can still be considered uniform to some extent and same over these small slices of time... !

I can roughly divide my life in following phases, which are distinctive and special. Each of these phases have significant contribution in my character-building and on my perspective towards life.

1. Sanehi-Sadan (My ancestral home where I grew up and completed my schooling)

2. School

3. Patna

4. Competition

5. B.I.T. (Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra)

6. Chennai

7. Newly married

8. Single in the City

9. and the present phase - 'On a break' :)

I have grown over these phases and matured gradually...! I have discovered myself... steadily and slowly... bit by bit... ! 

Every phase gets over sooner or later... and all it leaves behind are memories... some good and some bad... but irrespective... these memories are the moments that we remember from past... and they make us who we are today... ! 

Every outburst that I have... the mood swings that I get... my outlook... my reaction... my perspective... my insecurities... and my strengths... every single thing that makes me - 'me' - can be traced back to some moments in my past ... so my past explains me... and my memories are the cheat codes to unlock me and every trait of my personality... !

Where The Mind is Without Fear ...

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. 

By Rabindranath Tagore

"Spring" is finally here...

It has been cold for a long time now... right from October end...!!! But for past two weeks ... the weather has been real bad... gloomy and chilly...!!  Though in February end... weather started to get warmer and just when we hoped to see 'Spring' finally round the corner... it took a bad turn... !! Ahhh... the daily rains... and the cloudy sky... and no sunlight... it has been real disappointing... !!

Yesterday... I checked the weather forecast for the week... and to no respite.... it would be raining for most of days in this week... !! Can't do much about it.... !! And my spring time gardening will have to wait... :( I was slowly giving up hope when I stepped into my terrace garden to check on my plants... but here I was in for a huge happy surprise... all smiles... :)) ....

I see the first blooms of the season... :) Bright Yellow... and Bright Purple...  clean and distinct... and I am ecstatic... :) Here I see...that the colors are coming back... slowly but steadily.... !! It may be bit delayed... but spring should be here soon... with all its colors and warmth... so the hope need not be lost yet... :)

I love everything about spring... I love the bright colors... I love the warmth of the sun... the clear blue skies.... and I so love that sweet scent in the air.... wow...!!

Yes... I am the breadwinner...!

It happened on one of the Saturdays... around 2-3 years back... ! He was some survey guy... the kind who goes from door to door and collects answers for survey questions and also the contact informations...! I have this hunch that these are the places from where your contact information is leaked and then you get a zillion promotional messages/calls everyday... for everything from 'easy money' to 'perfect life partner'...! And I absolutely hate any and every such messages/calls... !

Though the fear of yet another promotional call is quite a reason for turning down any such survey requests whatsoever... there is another reason too... a personality trait... my impatience...!  I tend to lose patience...very quickly !

Long story short... I am not fond of any random surveys... and definitely not on a Saturday morning...! But here he was... standing on my door and asking me all sorts of questions... ! Under any normal circumstances ... I would have turned him down... and that too not so politely...  but for once... I was trying to be polite... and understand his point of view... and also appreciate his effort... :)

He started with the questions... first my name and mobile number which I provided hesitantly... then my education and so on...!  I was happy to help... and he was happy to increase his head count by one... ! 

The survey was going on fine... at least it appeared so... until he asked me..."Who is the breadwinner of the family?" and I promptly replied... "me"... He looked up from the questionnaire sheet to my face... and then he looked beyond me to the dinning table... where my husband and my brother were having brunch and reading the newspaper... and he repeated the question... little loudly..."Who is the breadwinner of the family... Maam?" and looked at me expectantly for the *RIGHT* answer...! 

In that one moment... I felt betrayed... cheated and insulted... ! Here I am... trying to help him... and here he is... looking through me... as if I do not exist... ! Whatever happened to my engineering degree... to my professional qualifications... and to my enviable salary package? Does nothing matter... just because I am a woman? 

Is he the only one who has asked me this question... is he the first one who has asked this question? No... definitely not... ! By now... I should have gotten used to this question... just that I am not YET ready to give in... I am not YET ready to surrender... ! I have worked very hard to create a place for myself... I have slogged for hours and days and months to have a standing of my own... I have fought my way up against all hurdles...! And I am not letting go any of it... not yet... not ever...!

And so I looked straight into his eyes... and replied "Yes... I am THE breadwinner... Indeed"!