Corporate Dress Code

If this sounds like an extremely serious topic, well I completely beg to differ. Not because I don't respect the policies of a corporate organization that has a well defined dress code in place for all its employee's but because, the more I try to think of it, the hilarious it gets.

I was given this responsibility by my boss to put up a dress-code presentation together with an intention that everyone at work looks presentable. I am not saying people in my office come in their pyjama's, but some of them quite seriously need a reality check. Because I am not a person who heavily policed for a dress-code due to the organization I worked for previously,  I took over a week's time understanding what should be the bare minimum clothing attire that fits "my organization" and finally had a draft version. What I wasn't aware of was the laugh riot that it would bring along while I got it reviewed by my boss.

People who type-cast dress-code for women, think again. dress-code just doesn't end with dressing well, it also brings along the grooming part which most of us tend to forget and is not gender specific. If the intent is to foster an environment conducive to working, then being appropriately dressed to let everyone focus on WORK than anything else when in business is of prime importance.

It's important to understand and respect the foray of colors that you wear to work. If you don't like someone at workplace, deal with it at a personal level, do not blind everyone else with a fearful reign of colors.

Dressing to work is not mood-dressing. You just cannot come to work with baby-you-look-gorgeous-when-you-wake-up look. That's a moment to save for your partner or spouse in the bedroom. You don't have to think too much to wear to work, a simple thumb rule, just don't look dumb.

The next thing to keep in mind is your body odour. Deo/perfume is not an option for heaven's sake. Now when I say it's an absolute necessity to have a good pleasant body odour, some people take this advice too seriously and bathe in perfumes. You don't want causalities at workplace. Just give a whiff of the perfume in a laid back manner.

Most of the corporate companies these day's are quite lenient when it comes to dress code. They have moved from the 100% formal dressing to business casuals which is pretty easy going and at the same time gives the employees a benefit of  doubt which will enable and help them to dress and behave like adults.

Life without make-up

I met a make-up artist at one of the most visited malls in Bangalore showing off his make-up skills with strokes from different brushes moving seamlessly from one palate of colors to another. I asked him, what do you think is the latest or the evolving trend in make-up today? Without even a blink, comes the reply "Less is more".

This might be a bit of an understatement for a make-up artiste, but the indication it gives to life is larger than that three words. Look closely and you will realize, Life - is without make-up. It gets more vivid and more impactful as one grows over the years. Sometimes you put it to test and many other times it tests you. Whatever the case, its like a white light in a prism that comes out with colors exuding a different personality of you at every single second.

Style is your ticket to expression, make-up is the quirkiness on a dreary day. Take-off all this, its just the real you -  as free, or as discreet, as subdued or as flamboyant you want to be.

The technology available today allows us to integrate life and its many facets, but remember to integrate yourself with life and create a balance. Keep life moving and it will allow you to flow and let you count on the comfort it brings along the way. Don't always focus on the goal, instead take stock of how far you've come and cherish.

As much success allows you to celebrate in open, failure shapes you that much more and teaches you to be humble. It makes you realize you're very much human and connected to your emotions. Don't dread failure. It is as real as your success.

Colors make you chirpy, but be the monochromatic natural human as well.

Bas 2 minute - Maggi

From the time Maggi has grabbed the limelight and is on the front-page of all the leading newspapers in India, I was thinking how Maggi has helped me survive through all my growing up years. Still continues to do so. I am not a nutrition expert, so I am not here to judge the righteous nutrition or health hazard Maggi is causing. I leave the job to the experts. I am here only to bring back my good old days with Maggi. I am sure most of us who would read this blog will vouch on that.

To begin with, during my school days, I rarely packed Maggi in my dabba. Every time we had our lunch breaks, I would ponder curiously to see which of my classmates' got Maggi in their dabba's. All my classmates who got Maggi, I always segregated them as a class apart people. Yeah the naive school girl I was, I always thought Maggi belonged to the richie rich. I went back home and cried endlessly complaining how I looked forward to have Maggi in my lunch box as a surprise one day. I completed my schooling, but having Maggi in my lunch box remained a wish for ever!

When I thought it was safe for me to go near the stove and make Maggi myself, I knew for a fact that this would be my companion for those hungry days back from college. I ensured there was a Maggi packet available in the kitchen for my groaning stomach. On many occasions, when there wasn't any good food, Maggi came to my rescue as a substitute for "good and healthy" food. I savored till my hearts content, slurping and laughing all by myself.

The after-school or after-college Maggi did more than just suppressing my hunger. It still continues to be my one-stop solution when I have fights at home with my parents.

Having said all that and more, what I fail to understand is why Maggi has this tag line - "bas 2 minute". In no way have I been able to prepare Maggi in 2 minutes. It takes at least 150 seconds for the water to boil. And then cooking Maggi with the veggie's and the taste-maker takes easily 6-8 minutes.

I am sure Nestle, the brand that is, they'll have some stringent tests to pass Maggi as a safe product. I don't want to sound like I am writing a eulogy for Maggi, but one thing is for sure Maggi definitely holds a special place in every Indian's home. The only change I would like to see obviously is to change the "Bas 2 Minute mein Maggi ready!" tagline. It's so not true. :)

Welcome to The Sin City

When you talk of Las Vegas, the first image of the city that runs through your mind is the lights, exuberance and a lot of Sin. No doubt it's famously called The Sin City. I had a chat with a friend who had been to Las Vegas recently and back. I usually don't blog unless I visit the place and experience it myself first hand. But this time I had to make an exception. Come on its Las Vegas. I have no idea how soon will I be able to visit the place myself and I really can't wait until then.

As you land in Vegas, the first thing you notice is the vibrant airport. True to the city's definition. It instantly charges you up for the anticipated gala trip.

Welcome to Las Vegas

From the pictures I got from my friend, I was not sure to decide on what Vegas is trying to communicate with me. Do I see her as a wide-open book or a mysterious lady who wants to be explored?

What best place to have your work bring you there for some serious discussion with the who's who of the organization. Having said that, you still squeeze in time to take a stroll on the gorgeously lit streets, you still manage to do what you want to do in the Sin City on a budget.

Lovely streets

Spotting a Harley Davidson showroom on the high street makes the trip all the more memorable for a die-hard Harley Davidson biker.

For the biker in you - Harley Davidson

You can spot the Paris Las Vegas Eiffel Tower at the center of the city which is one of the city views.

Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower

Casino is almost synonymous to Las Vegas. If you don't blow money in a casino at Vegas, you surely have missed the fun. Of course you don't win., but you get free drinks on the casino floor if you're gambling. I am sure it will be worth the money gambled.

The Sin City - Las Vegas is everything from entertainment to transport to food and an unforgettable night life. As they famously quote "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". Ahem ahem!

P.S: The blog will be revisited soon.

Finding my heart and my voice

Like many girls who dreamed to be grown up into a strong-minded woman, I felt the same urge from when I realized the physical, emotional and psychological changes in me started to seep in. I couldn't do much about it back then. Cut to present time, well, not that I am able to do much about it now either, but certainly there seems to be a good start for sure.

To have been born and raised in a family of strict disciplinary parents, where perfection was the prime factor of my upbringing, puts a perpetual pressure and challenge of living up to it. Mind you, I did (well at least I can get a few genuine people who will vouch on this for me). But as time passed by, I realized being drawn into a shell.

A lot of instances in my life, which I would not like to share on a public platform, have drained me so much that I was emotional and mentally exhausted. There were days I woke up only to go back to sleep unconsciously with a wish to never be woken up the following day. Things were disoriented and there was always a feeling of isolation even when surrounded by people I know have the best in class humor. My mind would always veer towards losing out on people who I thought were my emotional anchors. Sometimes in the process, I did lose out on them. If not completely, but partially for sure.

The concept of "honor" seemed to be gripping through the gaps of my hand like sand. Does it constitute to the most terrible experiences I have had till date or does it mean how I surpassed this experiences and still stand strong with very little or sometimes no hope or help?

I have had this feeling many a times to be the odd one out, ridiculed for speaking my mind, banished for having shed my inhibitions to not accept any form of idol worship yet have full faith in the supreme ( yes I still call myself his favorite child), to have been called a rebel for not having accepted the norms of the otherwise normal doing in the society, for the faults in my past. I'm sure I am not the first and the only one. But this has not made me wistful of my past. It has only exposed me to people who would stick around me even if I dint agree with what they said.

No matter how painful my experiences have been in the past, those innumerable sleepless nights, those tears I have shed hidden behind the noise of a running water tap in my bathroom - they've shaped me being the person I'm today and will continue to do so in the days to come.

As I start to talk to myself more, I find time to listen to my heart...

Parenting

Parenting - a topic I choose to write over the years of watching many parents (mine included) in my inner circle bring their kids up. I ain't a parent. Then how can I write a blog on something in which I have zero experience? Well, sometimes you learn and inculcate the do's and dont's just by watching and you don't really have to have a first hand experience. Do you?

To all those who are about to step-in to the world of parenthood this might just be the right time to have some "advice" so to say to help you out through the staggering challenge you are about to experience. For those who call themselves "the proud parents", maybe its about time to retrospect and make changes if any.

No offense meant here, but most of the parents even fail to reach "good enough" benchmark for their kids to trust them. As a result, kids grow-up lacking the ability to trust their own decisions. A few trends I found which I would like to highlight.

Walk-in-front parents: These parents usually love to the lead way for their kids. Although, this is good in the initial stages, but over the years this doesn't go down well as kids begin to grow up. This guarded way of bring-up the kids fail to build the ability to make the right judgments in them. The parents feel they maybe leading, but one day comes a shocker when they realize that the kids din't follow them!

Respect your children:  As much as you feel the need to be respected, so does your child. To demand respect as a parent from your kid by instilling fear is not the right approach.  Build self-respect in your children by letting them make their decisions even if they are wrong. That would help them gain experiences in life and take on the challenges early on. This is the most important aspect if you genuinely wish to transition to a positive parent.

Accept anger in children: Just as you seem to be angry and feel its normal, so is the anger in your child. Don't shun the angry child away saying "they don't have the right to be angry when they are young because they don't have responsibilities". As much as you feel you have a huge load of responsibility as a parent that you are shouldering, so does your child. Only difference being the gravity of responsibilities differ as different levels. Don't dismiss the feelings of your child as unimportant and send them of to their rooms. This will only make them feel unworthy as they grow up to be adults.

Be considerate and open to changes: This is another aspect which I have observed in parents who don't embrace a change a child wants to bring in. Parent's are so rigid about their wants and needs because a neighbor's daughter or son achieves, they try and impose the same on their kids. Be a little considerate and stop comparing your kids with others. Well, if you can't, then be prepared to be compared with the same neighbor's parents or a far off relatives parents by your kids!

Respect their friends: If you want your child to behave as a well mannered kid and greet your friends and colleagues, then its fair and square for your child to expect the same from you for their friends. Teach them to befriend everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, sex and religion and shower the same adulation on their friends. This will help you as well as your child be aware of the ground reality and hold humanity in high regards than anything else.

Set an example: How you behave and treat others impacts your child and speaks volumes about you to them. If you're a hypocrite and practice double-standards, not only will your child not respect you but they will also get confused about the real you and their innate sense of trust begins to suffer. Don't loose the privilege as a parent that you have. Resist the urge to punish your child when he/she points out your mistake about your preaching and your actions. Instead, take a step back and analysis and talk it out. Open conversation with your children goes a long way.

Of course, as a parent you have the power to decide for the betterment of your child, but what is also important is to empower your child to live the life they always want to, as they grow up. Give your child the opportunity to work through the feeling. It's okay to take advice from your kids, sometimes they show you the perspective that as an adult you wouldn't have thought through.

Comic Con Bangalore

It was the first time for me to visit Comic Con India, Bangalore that was held across three days. Yes it was one of the treats you could get on the Easter weekend in Bangalore.

It would be unfair if I dint thank my friend here.

Comic Con celebrates the spirit of creativity across all age groups. The hot sunny day did not deter the people of Bangalore to showcase their love for comics, pop-culture, gaming, movies and more. The venue, White Orchid Hall, Manyata Embassy Business Park, Bangalore was filled with vibrant colors, humor and energy. As I entered, the whole system was organized with sign boards where people could buy tickets at the venue, register themselves and were greeted by young comic con organizers with a high-five. It felt like the entire India comic industry had come together under one roof.

Bangalore Comic Con or the BCC, as it is called witnessed some high profile guests from the very famous and much awaited TV series, Game of Thrones. The show stealer was definitely the once in a lifetime opportunity to sit on the coveted throne from the Game of Thrones and get snapped. There was huge line up for the Throne.

 One of the stalls I stopped by was at the very famous Sirji Comic which was put up by a bunch of engineering students who claimed, Sirji was a visionary in himself.

 The Curiosity Kills the Cat stall had some cool paintings put up. I managed to take a click with all time favorite Chota Bheem.

There was something for every age group. The stalls and booths were packed with T-shirts, 3D-printers, bags, party gear. The stall Pavitra Paapi had some cool phrases from the very own Bollywood tweaked with sleazy humor and it definitely was a hit.

I also managed to spot Harry Potter, Jack Sparrow from the pirates of the Caribbean, Characters from the ElsWorld.

How can I miss, the live Skype chat with one of the NASA astronaut who shared her experience about the trips she made to Mars.

Although the 4-wheeler parking was much ahead from the main event venue, there were buses arranged to pick and drop from the parking to the main gate. Kudos to Bangalore traffic police who managed the traffic effortlessly.

I loved my first ever Comic Con experience. Did you?