Charu's Blog

When I graduated from college three years back, I used to feel like I’ve learnt whatever there is to learn in life, and now it is time to apply my learnings in real life. Three years later, I feel like I have more to learn now than I did ever before. One of the values I hold very dear to me, is the value of taking away lessons from everything I do. I strongly feel that each experience in life teaches you something, perhaps one experience teaches more than the other does. Nevertheless, there is something you can learn from everything you undertake.  On that note, I would like to mention the things I have learnt in the past 21 days. Do not wait for motivation to hit you: The moment I realized that I would be having more time on my hands for the next few weeks, I undertook this experiment of writing for 21 days continuously. I usually overthink whatever I do, but this time, I decided not to think too much, and simply started to write. I knew that since I would be writing ea...

They are cute and cuddly. They are graceful creatures, unique in their own way, each one having its own personality. They have beautiful eyes, sometimes making you feel as if they can peep into your soul. They are friendly when they want to be, and will come to you and purr in your lap. At the same time, they require and respect their own space. They love their food and their sleep. Yes, I am talking about cats. While I always found them intriguing, I was never an absolute cat-lover, until I started living around one, a few years ago. She was a feral cat, very cute and friendly. She would often come and go, our doors were always open for her. She had the most adorable meow, which would be especially loud whenever she was hungry and wanted food. Oftentimes, she would bring a kitten along, carefully holding them in her mouth. She would of course, share the food with her kittens. If we would go out somewhere, and return to our home, we would find her very casually sitting outside...

For Part 1 of this blog post, please click here. So the two of us moved in. Me, some suitcases, a laptop bag, a flat mate, and nothing more. Except, a few hopes and dreams, perhaps? It was a tiny house, with two tiny bedrooms, and a hall, which was just enough to accommodate the both of us. I don’t really recall when exactly it happened, when I developed a liking to this place, when I got comfortable enough to call it home. My room was bare, with a bed and a cupboard, and that was how I preferred it. However, there was something about it that I did not like at the time – I didn’t even bother to wait a day to change it – the open windows. They did not quite match with my “keeping it private” theme. I don’t know about most people, but I’m not comfortable with strangers peeping into my private space, even if it’s not what they intend to do. Hence, I picked up newspapers, new and old, and covered those windows with layers of them (yes, plural). I ensured that there was not an in...

I am going to write about one of the most unique, and by far one of my favorite experiences in life. I say that, because, as I was going through this time, I was devastatingly lonely and seemingly unhappy to the point where I might have considered myself depressed. However, looking back, I feel like this was the toughest and the most interesting time of my life, with the best memories, the biggest challenges and the most significant lessons. Which is what makes it my favorite. It was almost three years ago. I was 23, and I was starting out my first job. I did not know what role I was going to perform at my job, or where I was going to be posted. We had to undergo a 21-day orientation session in Bombay. The day on which I boarded my flight to Bombay, I did not know whether I would come back to my hometown or not. As someone who had spent 23 years of her life in one place, it was quite nerve wracking to contemplate being displaced like this, to think that I might never come back....

I look outside my window I witness the wonders of the world I gaze at the towering trees And the gust of winds That cause the leaves To daintily dance and sing. Leaves, green and yellow Flowers, white and pink Of all colors that prophesy A change in seasons A turn in moods A switch from cool to warm. And then I see The sun that rises Each day from east to west. Intense moonlight That g leams and glistens Each day from dusk to dawn. The dogs who lay On empty streets Longing for human touch. The cats who sleep On walls and pavements Undisturbed, at peace. The birds who chirp Their melodies heard Louder than ever before. This is what I see The wonders I witness When I look out my window.

In one of my blog posts a few days ago, I had written about three things that I would want my kids to learn from me. I am going to talk about one of those lessons today, since it aligns with today’s topic. Before I go ahead with the lesson, I would like to share something about Buddhism. I have picked up a couple of books on Buddhism lately, and while this might sound cliché, these books have truly been enlightening. The concept of Buddhism revolves around Four Noble Truths, and for those who are not familiar, I would like to share them here. Suffering is everywhere The cause of suffering is craving In order to overcome suffering, we must overcome craving The way to overcome craving is to follow The Middle Way These noble truths make much sense to me, and the first truth, that is, suffering is everywhere , is a lesson that I have learnt the hard way. I think many people can relate. Since most of us go through a rather happy and innocent childhood, it isn’t ...

While not much of a cook, over the last 2 weeks, I have been spending more time in the kitchen and trying out certain different recipes. I think most people reading this can relate! In spite of this experimentation, the one thing that remains my favorite is – cake! I have been baking cakes since my teenage years. I love the process of baking, and well, who doesn't enjoy the process of eating them? I’ve also attempted cookies, muffins and pancakes throughout these years. My attempts at cookies and muffins did not go very well, however, something I learnt and   almost perfected (where is the humility?) are pancakes. Pancakes – the beloved breakfast option across the world! As someone who absolutely adores a big and fancy breakfast, I am a sucker for pancakes. Heavy, hearty and delicious – what’s not to love? Pair them with a glass of cold-coffee, and your day could not get better. So, as part of this blog, I have decided to share the recipe I use for pancakes. They are egg...

It was about two years back, when I was living in a different city, away from most of my friends and family. I felt quite lonely sometimes and a colleague of mine recommended joining a hobby club. I found the idea of a hobby club to be quite intriguing and decided that the best one for me would be a book club (or a writing club, but I haven’t had any experience with that yet, I will definitely blog about it once I attend one). Since then, I have been looking for some book clubs that I can join. In July of last year, I finally found a good one in the area where I live. For some reason, during these last 10 months, I have not attended any of their in-person meetings. And earlier this week, when I came across an opportunity to attend one of their meetings from the comfort of my home, I went for it. The book club is designed in a way that each individual attending the meeting has to talk about a book related to the theme. The theme is decided by the facilitator. The theme of to...

I have a few goals in the next 30 days, especially because of the amount of extra time on my hands. These goals have mostly always been on my list, but with a full time job and a 4-hour commute per day, it gets slightly difficult for me to achieve them. Here goes: 1. Complete this Blog Marathon: Today is day 13, I’m two-thirds into this blogging marathon. It actually makes me quite excited to pick up my laptop and write each day. However, I will admit that even though I absolutely love writing, writing each day can get quite taxing. There are certain days where I find myself staring at my screen and drawing a blank (today being one of those days). But there is a sense of flow once I get to it, and a sense of fulfillment once I complete each post. I know that this blogging marathon is not about achieving perfection in my daily posts, it is about spending more time doing something I love. And that is what keeps me going every day.   2. Lettering challenge on Insta...

This seems like an interesting one to write about. Now I don’t know if I ever want to have kids, and it is not something I think about much. However, what seems interesting to me is the idea of teaching someone else some great values or lessons. Perhaps I will pass on these values to my own kids, perhaps I will mentor someone else's kids, perhaps I will become a school teacher and find means to teach them these lessons. The “why” and “what” are more important than the “how” I feel. Here we go: 1.   Dream Big: It is important to have dreams in life. As I mentioned yesterday, I think we create our reality by making certain choices. The first step towards that reality and these choices is to have dreams, (or aims, or goals, whatever you may call them). I think that these dreams pave the way for us and they have a big influence on the choices that we make in our lives. They are like the North-Star, constantly guiding us on where to go next, considering we follow them. O...

There are numerous instances in our lives where we arrive at a crossroads. We have multiple options in front of us, and we pick our options. I think we all create our reality by making choices. Where you are in this journey called life, mostly depends on the choices you make, rather than fate or destiny. Although, some of these are influenced by our circumstances, other people, or societal pressure. Similarly, we often end up making choices that we might not want to make, or those we aren’t particularly excited about. I’ve arrived at several such points in my life, where I had more than one option in front of me, and I chose one rather than the other, for whatever reasons. I completed my schooling in 2012, immediately went off to college, graduated in 3 years later with a degree in science, simultaneously prepared for an MBA and 2 years later, graduated with a master’s degree in HR. I got placed through campus in a job in HR, moved to another city to pursue that job, and then ca...

I’m going to bullet point my day today (Tuesday, 1 st April, 2020). It has been a normal work-from-home day, no different from any other work-day in the past two weeks. While it seems normal to me today, I’m sure I’m going to look back at these times as some of the more chaotic times of my life, as for all of us. Also, I had written this journal entry a few days back. Obviously, I can’t carry out all these activities in one single day. However, I’ve been taking out time each day to spend on these hobbies, at least one hobby a day. Here goes for today: 8:50 AM: Woke up, after snoozing my alarm twice. 9 AM: Opened my laptop and got to work. Yes, I wake up as late as I possibly can. 9:15 AM: Had my team call: a morning virtual chat over some very real coffee. 9:30 AM: Started work. Checked my e-mails, attended some calls, made some Excel sheets, the usual. 12:00 PM: Had my breakfast. Or brunch, whatever. 2:00 PM: Had my lunch. Turns out, I actually had breakfast at 1...