The 3am club

"The 3am people remain the same, exactly that whenever given a chance"

This is a thought which I found validated recently. After a tiring day, when my baby slept, I was alone at home and could have chosen to get my quota of the week's sleep and rest. Instead I became the younger version of myself whose days would never get completed by midnight and would always need just a little bit longer before going to bed. This night I watched reruns of old sitcoms, read and wrote in my diary and just gave way to thoughts and imaginations. Nothing that couldn't be done the next day ( being Sunday). But there is such a peace during that 3am hour. When mostly noone is awake, there is no rush and no real tasks to be done. The best of creativity sprouts so much easier then when the mind finds its peace. Time kind of slows down and more gets done in those 2 hours than maybe in an entire day. Things just strike sooner!

Maybe the earlyrisers feel the same way about early mornings but morning would ultimately involve the opening of a day, getting into the rush soon while 3am involves the time before closing of the day...when one is absolutely free for a while.

As the week progressed, a week of shifts,  with just myself and baby at nights, I realised I continued the 3am routine. Somedays I was a little extra tired, most days it was still OK. I realised peopled routines and solitary routines vary. Sometimes you need regularisation just by example to follow usual life norms. Because we 3am'ers don't and can't somehow. Not on our own. Not by default.

September Booklist

Book 41: Allegiant
By Veronica Roth
Rating: 3.5
The series has many unexpected twists but it becomes much darker than expected and somehow seems less in sync with the rest of the series.

Book 42: The Babysitters' Club ( 2 books in the series)
By Ann M. Martin
Rating: 4
Light, fun and good read anytime anyday.

Book 43: Nancy Drew books ( 5 books)
* The emerald eyed cat mystery
* En garde 
* Swami's Ring
* Ice cream soda
* Intruder
(Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene )
Rating: 4
Nancy Drew books are always fun, light and good reads. The best kind of stressbusters.  Good to read when life is rushing and there is less time or energy to focus on something heavy.

Book 44:  Here's to you Rachel Robinson by Judy Blume
Rating: 3.5
A sequel to an old favourite. It gives an interesting perspective not only to teenage life but also to family life and friendships....the weird and the wonderful!

Life's queries

Sometimes it feels like life should have a master  answer book where we find answers, actual true ones to each of our queries.

What is right varies by opinion and situation of course but sometimes one just wants to be validated or be given a direction. A map with a big HERE marked. "This is where you are and this where you are suppossed to go". Of course we may still not follow but it would good to know what is right.
So here are some random questions:

1. Where does selfcare end and selfishness start? How much individuality is OK for parents to have? How does one know which side of the line one lies on.

2. In priorities, what is more important? What one does currently or how it impacts the future? Should we live in the moment or plan for the future? When and how does this vary?

3.  Everyone talks about work family balance. I would add a third factor to it...individuality. However, how often is that balance maintained? Mostly the pendulum just keeps swinging. It's not something to be chosen because both peak in their requirement at the same time. So it can't be a choice, each choice would involve some amount of regret. The question is, is it a necessary choice or a struggle of balance. Is there a third way?

4. Human nature is such that it wants to be quiet when there is too much chatter and yet when all is quiet, it gets eerie. Ok, even I don't know the question in this.

5. How do people know what they want in life. 5 years, 10 years. How does one know what is good will remain good. Or that it won't seem less good because another path was equally appealing. On equally appealing cases, how does one choose a single so as to not regret it later. When one goes along a path for long and gets diverted midway, what is to prevent them from wanting that path back again when it is too late. Is it too late ever? I guess it would be sometimes.

6. When we stretch ourselves a little, how do we know whether it will make us grow bigger or break us?

7. How does one know when one just needs to hold on a while and wait for things to get better and when needs to take action because waiting will not help.

8. When is it right to say a no? Is it actually right? Somehow my instinct is more towards a "no" to mostly all no situations. One approach is to say yes to life's experiences. Another is to say no because you are sure you only want certain experiences.

More than a post, this is just a collection of queries.
Maybe they are questions based on qhich we "Discover Life". Maybe when time is right, somehow we would just "know" the answers.

August booklist

Book 35: How to fall in love
By Cecelia Ahern
Rating: 4
A reread but a good one. Worth coming back to.

Book 36: Divergent
By Veronica Roth
Rating: 4.5
An amazing book with refreshing concepts. It's fast paced enough for the reader to not let go and enthralling enough to jump to the next book in the series.

Book 37: My not so perfect life
By Sophie Kinsella
Rating: 4
Another worth rereading book. It talks about the difference between the depicted and actual worlds in the age of social media and its pitfalls.

Book 38-39: Babysittersclub..number 81-82
By Ann M. Martin
Light, fun read.

Book  40: Insurgent
By Veronica Roth
Rating: 4
The series is well carried forward ahead.

ज़रूरी नहीं

हर सज़ा के लिये कुसूरवार होना जरूरी नहीं है,
हर खुशी के लिये किसी  मुस्कराहट का उमीदवार होना ज़रूरी नहीं है ।

हर रौशनी के लिये सुर्य की किरनों का हकदार होना ज़रूरी नहीं है,
जिन्दगी के उतार चढ़ाव में, हर मोड़ के लिये तैयार  होना ज़रूरी नहीं है ।

Translation:

It is not necessary (but happens)

It is not necessary for every punishment to be due to some direct fault
It is not necessary for every happiness to have ownership of a smile.

For (receiving) every light, it is not necessary to be entitled to sun rays,
In the ups and downs of life, it is not necessary to be ready for every turn.

Explanation:
Everything that we experience or feel need not necessarily be sourced back to ourselves, our actions, reactions or even our own emotions.

Conversations or the lack of them

There are different types of conversations we have with different people. Most conversations, unless urgent, are a kind of catching. In some cases it could be for years, months, weeks, days or even just hours. Some are actually conversations while others just fizzle away.

The conversations after years and hours are specific cases. But here's the thing about the rest. They may or may not last beyond the first two sentences. Here's why. Consider the most common scenario...

A1 talks to A2 ....
A1: Hi, how are you? How's life?
A2: Hi, I am fine..all is good.
What about you?
A3: All is good here also.

And the conversation  or any chance of a meaningful conversation is bound to end a few minutes after that. Just because of a few missing words. What A1 actually means is "what is the most interesting aspect of your life since our last conversation?". Since A1 misses asking, the meaning is either not conveyed to A2 or more likely the inclination to talk is not conveyed.  A2, as a result, closes down. The other possibility is where A2 continues with the knowledge and assumption about A1's inclination and continues with the conversation as if the right questions had been asked and shares relevant details, experiences, viewpoints.
A sharing which starts at one end is likely to continue at the other end.

Of course this assumes there is an inclination to talk on both sides which has not been clearly conveyed.  Lets thus stop asking "how's life" or at least replying by an "all ok". At least regularly.  Lets take our pick from the plethora of life's interesting topics!

The guilt of the bystander

I am the bystander
I see all, I hear all
But in actions I did stall

Sometimes you see an unfairness
And keep quiet you do
Sometimes you analyze and realise
Your control over the situation is none

So what does one do there?
Close eyes to what is true?
Or speak up without fear
Knowing changes it brings about are none
Or cloud eyes with guilt and tears
While actions you take are still none...

Sometimes there is a need to take a stand
Just to speak up, say aloud  that " 'tis was wrong"
Knowing it doesn't solve matters
For in absense of it at all
One experiences the guilt of the bystander

One wonders how valid it is...
Is it the same as the wrongdoer?
Or less simply for lack of action?
Or nullified for lack of possible result of any said action?
The guilt that eats away the bystander

July booklist

Book 31: Granny Dan by Danielle Steel
Rating: 4.5
A fabulous story which emcompasses different aspects of life: ambition, love, strife, war and family and maintaining balance. It so well depicts that life goes on and it should, no matter the circumstances.

Book 32: Who moved my cheese?
By Dr. Spencer Johnson
Rating: 4.5
Came back to it recently in an hour of need and it was yet again as helpful. Sometimes we need to go back to basics and understand that we have to accept changes, especially when that is the only actionable possibility.

Book 33:  The murder of roger ackroyd Agatha Christie
Rating: 4
A chilling one! The end was actually completely unexpected.

Book 34: Medical Romance : A family Christmas by Josie Metcalfe
Rating: 3.5
A calm, soothing everyday kind of romance novel.

Does writing also come with age limits?

Ok, here I am actually looking for answers. Does writing, especially poetry writing peak and ebb at certain ages? Does poetry ....free flowing only come with unrest? Maybe once you get out of the typical teenage unrest, it ebbs off? Or maybe it just requires more nurturing after that, just like any other skill.

Do words flow in all ages? I recently noticed that I seem to go back to, agree with and appreciate old poems more than write new ones. Ideally one is not suppossed to like ones own old writings and we don't for all cases but yes I do like to look back at them. Or is it all I can do because new words are difficult to flow?  New poetry is difficult to come even when inspired, even though words are not. Maybe there are stages in life to write and stages when just reads. A third would not be a possibility a writer or a reader could imagine with ease.

Does daily life make one too mechanical for it? Can one become too busy living life to observe and record its vagrants?  Or maybe this just a writer's block speaking...lets see.
What I do know if it can't go away completely, words do come back though the medium and level of inspiration may vary.

Movies and reviews

Besides other resolutions, a fun one was to watch more good movies.  So here are two which required that I actually take notes while watching them:

Dear Zindagi

The movie was interesting though it dragged a little. But it had several vital lessons and dialogues. Some interesting quotes are given below:

Sometimes we only choose a difficult path because we feel it's necessary to choose it get to the important stuff, while its ok to choose the easy option.

If we understand ourselves then it doesn't matter what other people think about it

Genius is not the person who has answers to questions but one who has patience to arrive at all answers

Every broken thing can be repaired

To feel safe, one has to remove all fears

The chair creeks when you really like someone and can't do anything to do about it. So many chairs we see before buying so why not for a life partner

One needs to cry freely to laugh freely

Don't let the past blackmail your present to ruin a beautiful future

We are all our teachers in the school of life

Genius is about knowing when to stop

Hichki

An amazing movie. I wasn't able to understand the negative reviews for this one.  It had many vital lessons and in a way they were depicted throughout the movie but here are some interesting dialogues besides the rest:

Life does not take exam subjectwise

Chalk: a little change at the top makes it easy to use.  That's all we require, a little change from why to why not

Who was your favourite teacher in school.....do u know their salary?

TTT: Life, time and random stuff

Time for some new short stories. New instances of Terribly Tiny Tales or more like Tragically tiny ones. No theme this time or maybe time itself is the theme or life as a function of time.

#TTT1: They were to about make an emergency landing in the sea. There was one less lifejacket. His. As he wondered about looking for one, there it was with the postit "happy birthday :)" followed by the sound of a splash.  As he looked, there, down below, a speck of a new swimmer started the struggle against the mighty sea.

#TTT2: She reflected on the time and money spent on antigeing creams and agony and fear of white hair and wrinkles as the doctor told her that she didn't have enough time left to age.

#TTT3: She didn't know how to say the sad goodbye. So she didn't. 15 years later they still say the happy ones after regular phone calls and rendezvous.

The inevitable changes

There are changes and then there are inevitable changes, to which we resign ourselves. I guess it's easy to call yourself adjustable to changes when its just changes that affect you externally. Like the seasonal changes, illness which comes and goes and changes in your daily tasks. There can be changes which seem smaller than these but which affect you internally.  An example, as an only child I would cry when certain guests/family/ friends left. It was an inevitable change. If people come to visit you, they will go eventually but that didn't change the fact that the little me didn't want that. All around there would be smiles at the childishness and yet the process would get repeated often enough for a few years.  I guess some parts of us just don't grow up. And it has more to do with inevitable changes, where you can't even hope. "The Secret" holds the theory that whatever you really desire, you can make happen. But that fails for these changes because logically you know they will happen/have happened such that can't be reversed do you aren't able to even wish them away. Like after learning to walk, after a while we lose the ability to crawl well. Some examples:

1. Death: when death takes someone away, you can't wish it away. There is nothing anyone can do and it brings with it a hopelessness due to the unreachability. That is why it is feared.

2. Passing out of school/college/higher studies: Yes, this is a very unique form of inevitable change with mostly a fixed duration. You know a year before that it's going happen and it will change your life forever. It is exciting, yet a part of us wishes we could just remain in our cocooned phase. That we could hang out with friends forever discussing "what we will do in life" rather than knowing that that itself is one of the most beautiful phases of life.  We almost never get a chance for those carefree discussions again.  It's like, in the words of a protogonist of a forgetable movie with an unforgetable dialogue...when you realize that the people you meet everyday you would now talk to on birthdays and meet maybe every 3 months to reminsce the "good old days" and that too if things are good.

3. All the other inevitable changes in life that you are logically convinced will happen and yet you don't want them to. They may make sense. They may not. It doesn't matter to the child within who only wishes the good phases to last a little longer, for people to stop going away/ stop changing. It's a little like finishing the last chapter of a really good book series. You feel empty. You are glad you read it, yet you wish it could have lasted a little while longer. Or when one dream is fulfilled and next is not out of the pipeline. It's the journey we enjoy, the journey we live for. End results are but pauses to the next journey. Yet some journeys are better than others. Some infinities, you wish to be bigger than others.

June Booklist

June booklist

Book 30: Agatha Christie  ( at Bertram's Hotel)
Rating:3
Below the usual Agatha Chrisyie standards.  The end didn't justify the twists and turns.

Book 29: Nancy Drew series: (Green with Envy)
Rating: 3.5
It was disappointing to know that the story was to be continued in the next part and left the readers hanging but the current seemed very much incomplete in itself unlike the books generally are in series.

Book 28: The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles) by Rick Riordan
Rating: 4
A fascinating mix of Greek and Egyptian mythology.

Book 27: The  Demigod Files( Heros of Olympus) Rick Riordan
Rating: 4
An interesting mix of Demigod stories.

Book 26: Koi Good News by Zareen Khan
Rating: 3.5
It was supposed to be humurous but turned put to be less so.
Book 25: The private lives of Pippa Lee
By Rebecca Miller
Rating: 3
It was interesting to how the current events are affected by past inicidents.

Book 24: Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson
Rating: 3.5
Intetesting, fun and light.

Relationships as components of a house

The people in our lives can be compared to different components of a house. Some components form the core interiors and are vital for its sustainance while some are situated just outside as extensions. Then there are others which are further apart but have paths charted out to reach them.

For now I will only discuss the interior. The walls, roofs and the base. The base belongs to family and ancestors, it is what holds the whole house together. They will almost never leave you and no matter how hard you jump on them. But jump too hard and they will crack and those cracks will hurt you as much as them if not more.

The walls are friends and certain family members sometimes whom you talk to regularly, where you bounce off ideas, have fun together, where you bring out your confusions and frustrations. They create your boundaries and keep you safe within. They prevent you from going astray. There are generally many walls, some closer than others, within the interior of the house.  Walls are somewhat dynamic in nature, they may change places. An inner wall may get transformed to an outer one with changes in life but it's still kind of nice to have them around

The roofs are slightly different. They are people you come in regular contact with, who support, guide you, share good and bad times with you but never in a very active kind of manner. They shelter you against storms but not like umbrellas which you have to hold on to. The roofs can sometimes be taken granted. Sometimes it's just enough to know they are there. That is why often you only realise the true value of roofs when some roof goes off or is removed. Suddenly you realise you need to weather so much on your own which you never had to earlier.

The interiors need to cherished, maintained and protected. They all have their own role, each uniquely vital but only if we make sure they maintained and continue to have a belongness to us, the house.

Then come the exteriors. People with whom we may have a shared a couple of good conversations maybe in a lifetime, people who seemed like friends but fadec away through the test of time . They belong to other houses and structures but are reachable from our house. There is a path from ours to theirs.

The paths to exteriors last while we want them to.

In this world, we all have our own unique houses to live in which makes life joyful and interesting.

A year later...

It's been a year at my current working place.  Labor day, an interesting day to start work! The first year at any place after PhD. Firsts are always memorable if not special.  Well this was certainly special with its plethora of experiences. During PhD I often felt I was in a candyland where you are tempted to try all before picking your packet. Well here that was actually possible.

I wrote this post earlier for the first 6 months so won't repeat its content but yes the rest of the year followed suite mostly. Here are some other observations about industry life in general based on experiences throughout the year.

It's a very dynamic domain. If you are looking for absolute stability,  you are at the wrong place. For this is an everchanging place be it on terms of work, responsibilities or the people and hence the culture. However, if you can accept that growth requires changes and thus any place which is pacing towards growth will be dynamic, you may even enjoy it. If it's exciting to try new stuff for you, you will enjoy. Of course some changes do take more time for adjustment than others but the key is to accept rather than resist. Go with the flow.

I mentioned last time that some places become a way of life. I still agree. But it's very important to define not just physically but also in mind the work and home time. It's very important to switch off from time to time to be recharged and happy in what you are doing. One shouldn't feel guilty or hesitant about that. And places where you have those opportunities are the good ones.

In terms of people, I have heard more than often that there are no friends in workplace. Comments such as "don't look to make friends" and you have to be professional at all times and never be emotional or take things personally are often heard though I don't agree entirely. Then there is that theory of "people management" where the people are asked to be warm and friendly. It integrates diplomacy, kindness and genuine friendliness into a murky mix called professionalism.  It can be a bit disorienting in the beginning. But it's easier to be nice than not to be so it's better when the culture encourages friendliness rather than extra strictness. Of course timelines don't exactly encourage long discussions unlike college times. Maybe those were easy times for friendships where one has a lot of time to just talk. But I still feel friendships are people dependent more than environment. For friendships, a good test can be to see how many people you interact with when you don't have to, whom you would keep in touch with if you changed workplaces. Those will be mostly very few.

Speaking specifically, here the environment itself has been good, as close to relaxed lab environment as one could expect where there is friendliness, teamspirit, goodwill and a kind of lightness which itself is very rare from what I have generally heard.  Sometimes that's also enough. 

Well this has been my jumble of thoughts for this first year. An everchanging yet exciting  and enriching time so far.  Lets see what the journey holds ahead!

Booklist for April and May

Here's the list for April and May. April was probably the lowest reading month in a long time. When life around you gets complex and thought provoking, you look for lighter reads. So I abandoned a couple of books and switched to a couple of lighter novels. Here's the list till now from Book 16 to 22. I am planning to add at least 1-2 more to this list before the end of this month:

Book 16
Elizabeth's secret diary...Sweet Valley series...By Francine Pascal
Rating: 4.5
Light and fun, intriguing yet never disappointing,  full of childhood memories. This series does justice to nostalgia. I must have collected over 30 books of this series so far.

Book 17:
Secret at Mystic Lake
Nancy Drew diaries
By Carolyn Keene
Rating: 3.5
A normal  Nancy Drew book.

Book 18:
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
Rating: 3.5
An interesting one time read. But forgettable.

Book 19:
The bomb girls by Daisy Styles
Rating 4.5
An exceptional book about women  who are forced to work towards creation of bombs during World War. It gives an insight into the life of people during that era and yet how in any situation, one finds their comfort zone with close ones even if that is within a place that blows up and leads to loss of life and limb. Everyday life continues hoping for a better tomorrow. Some get it while others get sacrificed midway. Definitely worth a reas.

Book 20: The Perfect Holiday : by Cathy Kelly
Rating: 3.5
A light, fun read.

Book 21:Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Rating: 4
A classic in its truest sense. A book wortg coming back to again and again and one which offers new insights each time.

Book 22: The woman who went to bed for a year
By Sue Townsend
Rating: 3.5
A unique, interesting concept which captures the readers' interest. This interest is sustained till midway the book then it tapers off as it stops leading anywhere. The plot seems to get lost midway onwards somehow. For once I couldn't even figure out what the author wanted to convey by writing the book.

----------------------------

Book 23: The short second life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Rating: 3.5
A good synchronization with the existing Twilight Saga but lighter and not with as much attention to detail and emotion as the mentioned series. It's more like a character sketch than a detailed novel. But then maybe that's why it's a novella!

March Booklist

Book 10: One Suitable Girl by Chetan Bhagat
Rating: 4
An interesting time read. The struggles of an Indian girl towards finding a balance between success at work and personal life.

Book 11: The year I met you by Cecelia Ahern
Rating: 4
A book worth its words:
"Most people in life don't have to actively do anything to change us, they simply need to be."
"Miracles  only grow where you plant them"

Book 12: The girl on the train by Paula Hawkins
Rating: 3.5
An enthralling thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.

Book 13 Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter
The original book about positivity. Will be adding a detailed blog about it separately.
Rating: 5

Book 14: Bone Magic by Yasmine Galenorn
Rating:4
A gripping story that takes the readers into lands of Fae, witches and vampires. Fantasy and normal family life combine to form a powerful series.  The only fallout...it leaves the reader hanging at the end for the next series. It leaves off right in the middle of intense developments! A series book should be such that not just satiates but also leaves room for more. But not completely satiate is somewhat like cheating the readers.

An interesting quote:
For whether we pledged ourselves to one person or to four, whether we were drawn to men or women or both, whether we walked the path of the priestess or the path of a witch  or a bookstore owner, life without passion was no life at all

Book 15
Jessica's secret diary...Sweet Valley series...By Francine Pascal
Rating: 4.5
Light and fun, intriguing yet never disappointing,  full of childhood memories. This series does justice to nostalgia. I must have collected over 30 books of this series so far.

A new guest arrives

Recently I came across an old poem which I wrote at the time of observing my first white hair.  At that time it only brought joy. Recently I again came across white hair, more in number this time but still equally pleasing, though with a tinge of nostalgia.
So here it is.....

I saw it first today
My step out of the road of yesterday
Childhood seems a thing of past
As I gaze at my first step to wisdom and experience alike
I thank God that with it I am now blessed 

Yes it’s my first white hair 
But I am not aghast; just with wonder do I stare
It seems a beauty by it’s very solitary nature
Blowing lightly it tells me age I will
And age with grace I will contrive

Soon a lot many will follow
Each denoting moments of joys and sorrow
Precious on its own, each is
For age brings with it gems of memories
To look back to and treasure

Black gives way to white so clear
As youth gives way to grace so dear
Uncertainty goes and peace resides
Lessons of love, forgiveness and faith we revise
As slowly we move towards the final abode

Women's Day : women as humans

This Women's Day I came across many messages celebrating women's days, appreciating women as mothers, sisters or daughters. Women as supporting men through thick and thin. This time I found them almost offensive. Women don't exist to support men. We are individuals with our dreams, wishes and goals. We have our own lives. Yes, we are a different species. We do generally have a stronger femine side. A side that makes us care deeper, cry louder, get weak in the knees, need to heart to heart conversations regularly and get touched deeply by small gestures. We may like bright colors, flowers and makeup. But we also have a stronger endurance and a fiery sense of protection for those close to us. Apart from that we are just individuals leading our lives. We may or may not multitask. We may or may not be self sacrificing in nature. We don't enjoy enduring hardships just like any other being. We may be completely introvert and quite or highly outspoken. We may or may not be organized. We can as easily be slovenly or lazy as not. We are all very different from each other.

We don't expect to be treated as weaker people but we do enjoy chivalry and politeness. We expect equality with a bit humanity and kindness. We expect to be celebrated for our achievements, hard work, sharp minds, talent and creativeness as much as for our compassion, softness and adjustability.

This women's day lets celebrate women for not just being great mothers, wives, sisters and daughters but also as friends, individuals to be treated with respect and professionals like great astronauts, doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, sportswomen, defense personnel, writers and entrepreneurs. Lets also not forget the maids and other household help who have an equal right towards this day. This women's day, lets not thrive in a woman's ability to sacrifice. Lets stop expecting that. Lets celebrate women as people who work hard, play hard, get tired and may make mistakes and may need a break. A change, a smile and little bit of acknowledgement. That's what this day represents for most of us.

Women's Day : women as humans

This Women's Day I came across many messages celebrating women's days, appreciating women as mothers, sisters or daughters. Women as supporting men through thick and thin. This time I found them almost offensive. Women don't exist to support men. We are individuals with our dreams, wishes and goals. We have our own lives. Yes, we are a different species. We do generally have a stronger femine side. A side that makes us care deeper, cry louder, get weak in the knees, need to heart to heart conversations regularly and get touched deeply by small gestures. We may like bright colors, flowers and makeup. But we also have a stronger endurance and a fiery sense of protection for those close to us. Apart from that we are just individuals leading our lives. We may or may not multitask. We may or may not be self sacrificing in nature. We don't enjoy enduring hardships just like any other being. We may be completely introvert and quite or highly outspoken. We may or may not be organized. We can as easily be slovenly or lazy as not. We are all very different from each other.

We don't expect to be treated as weaker people but we do enjoy chivalry and politeness. We expect equality with a bit humanity and kindness. We expect to be celebrated for our achievements, hard work, sharp minds, talent and creativeness as much as for our compassion, softness and adjustability.

This women's day lets celebrate women for not just being great mothers, wives, sisters and daughters but also as friends, individuals to be treated with respect and professionals like great astronauts, doctors, engineers, teachers, researchers, sportswomen, defense personnel, writers and entrepreneurs. This women's day, lets not thrive in a woman's ability to sacrifice. Lets stop expecting that. Lets celebrate women as people who work hard, play hard, get tired and may make mistakes and may need a break. A change, a smile and little bit of acknowledgement. That's what this day represents for most of us.