Back to the future

On my birthday this year, hubby asked me a very profound question. 'What would you change about your life if you had the chance to do over?"....I thought for a while and came up with some minor changes like maybe live close to my family or do freelancing etc....but nothing earth shattering. Which got me thinking, my life must be as I'd always imagined it to be.....

So, I decide to write a letter to the younger me to relive her dreams and aspirations and resolve her fears and uncertainties with that letter.

So, here's a note from the wiser, smarter 30 something me to the wild, naive and cool 20 something me :)

To Me,

As you are riding on your white Scooty worrying about the practical exam that you didn't prepare for, you have not the slightest idea how wonderful your life will turn out to be.

In the next few years, you will graduate top of your university in an academic stream you hate but get a decent job right out of college. You will leave your family, your country and go live in the US. You'll marry a wonderful man, fall in and out of love and change 6 or more jobs before the turn of the decade. 

You will still be your Dad's greatest love and your mom's 2nd biggest worry. Your brother being the 1st ....He will still be his charming self ;)

Believe it or not you won't end up being a programmer though IT will be your bread and butter. You will make peace with it and start enjoying it - Because what you can't cure, you endure. You will drive....Can't really say "how well"....Because you will wreck two cars, but if its any consolation one of them will be a Mercedes Benz - your dream car.

The friends that you think you'd die without....well you won't. You'll still be in touch with some of them and the rest were never meant to be. You'll meet new friends, most of them you won't like but the ones you do, will last the test of time.

You will have a  girl child - just like you always wanted. A beautiful, caring, lovely little girl. She will fill your heart with so much LOVE that you will find strength and courage in corners you didn't know existed. The kind of Love that will melt your bones and tug at your heart strings.

You will gain a few pounds and look better than you do now on some days and not so much on other days. You will not exercise or eat healthy so you will have a few visits to the doctor before you start taking more interest in your well being.

You will still be watching BOLD and the BEAUTIFUL and FRIENDS and it will continue to warm your heart on a rainy day. You will never come to like Monsoons and will never end up eating meat contrary to popular belief. You wont ever try alcohol either though it would have been a good defiance strategy. Your principles will keep you grounded and confident and the blessings and love from your family will keep you centered.

You will still be a Feminist and your darling husband will let you be....You will grow to love and respect him more with each passing day for putting up with your idiosyncrasies. You will still be the most talkative person in the room and but will learn to listen too. You will still plan everything to a T - down to your visit to the restroom.  You will still have anxiety attacks and you will continue to be a hypochondriac.

You will not be crazy about SRK anymore (I know its hard to believe) but George Clooney will persist. You will discover Richard Bach and Nicholas Sparks. You will still be an incurable romantic.

You will grow and learn to accept your many flaws...and in the process forgive those that don't measure up. You will have a house with a pool and you will learn to stay afloat...I wont say SWIM because we wont really know till you've tested the waters ;) You will bake and cook ...oh yes, you will.

And in the end, you will make mistakes, learn from them and then make some more :) You will live zestfully, love deeply, hurt easily, crumble momentously but emerge brilliantly !!!

So, hang in there and go do your best at that practical exam. Just drive safe :)

Love, 
Me.

The RAINMAKER

As my uncles, aunts, neice, cousins, brother,BIL, my Mom, my husband (who happened to be in India on a business trip- b’coz he’s cool like that ;)) got together and celebrated my DAD completing 50 golden years in Hyderabad.... I couldn’t help but feel love, nostalgia, wonder and a warm and toasty sense of pride in being the daughter of the “RAINMAKER” (as I affectionately call him). 

Dad moved to Hyd from Kerala when he was 15 for education and for a shot at a successful life. He put himself through college working part time (a concept virtually unheard of in India even today). He then went on to getting his Master’s in economics and a journalism degree. He joined Deccan Chronicle as a proof reader and rose to be the Editor within his 25 year career span there. A self-made man - he has been a renowned journalist in the city for over 40 years and has worked as the PR chief for 4 consecutive CMs. His sterling work ethic and dedication are unprecedented and unparalleled.
   
He has worked 10 -14 hour day and night shifts atleast 6 days a week for almost 35 years now (I can’t seem to do 8 hr days, 5 days a week with great success) . But what makes me most proud in his 50 year journey is the number of lives he's touched and transformed. He has taken upon himself to educate and employ/settle not only multiple members of his family but friends and acquaintances. Amidst my most cherished childhood memories are those with people coming to our doorstep seeking help, guidance and he's always done everything humanly possible to resolve their problems. It is his biggest accomplishment by far and a legacy we'll all be proud of.

A journalist, a patron, a social worker but above all a humanitarian and a family man. Not to take away from the fact that he had an amazing partner in my Mom who let him take charge and realize his potential while providing all the support she could yet not relinquishing her identity for one minute.  
Anything he touched transformed to Gold. His grandmother used to say that he had the aura and the gift of reigning in prosperity wherever he went. And today I can proudly say he is the original “Man with the MIDAS touch” with all others being mere “Me too’s”:)

Love you Accha and so proud to be your daughter. I must have done something pretty phenomenal to have landed this spot ;) To many many more healthy, happy and peaceful years !!