Drops of happiness

"Diwali" or "Deepavali" is the most popular festival of India.Its the festival of lights which is celebrated in the month of autumn and spans for five days.Its an occasion to come together as a family and enjoy the festivities. Why is Diwali celebrated? There are more than one reason behind the celebration of this festival.But the most widely known one is related to the homecoming of Lord Ram after killing the evil king Ravan.When Lord Ram returned with his wife Sita and brother Lakhsman after completing his exile of fourteen years,people of Ayodhya celebrated the occasion by lightning diyas throughout the kingdom to welcome them.The series of diyas signifies the win of light over darkness,victory of good over evil and a ray of hope over despair. Significance of different days of the festival  Day one: Dhan Teras: This day is dedicated to goddess Lakshmi.People often buy gold or silver jewelleries, utensils or metal items on this day to bring wealth ...

Festivals play an important role in Indian culture. There is always a celebration going on in some part of the country throughout the year . One such beautiful festival is "Karva Chauth". This is mostly celebrated in the northern parts of India. But thanks to Bollywood for glorifying this occasion, and spreading it to other parts. What is Karva Chauth? "Karva" means earthen pot and "Chauth" means four. This festival is celebrated on the fourth day after purnima of Kartik month. Hence the name 'Karva chauth'.This month also makes the season of harvest for Rabi crops. So it gives a chance for people to gather and celebrate. Married women keep a long day fast until the moon rise without any food or water for the safety and long life of their husbands.Ladies put their best attires, looking like a bride, they worship the moon in the evening. After the pooja, they break their fast with the water from the karva followed by a dinner with family. ...

On a Friday morning, when you browse through the social networking sites,the most common thing you will notice is the hashtag #TGIF (Thank God It's Friday). Various posts and pictures are marked with this hashtag to welcome the weekend. People get busy in making plans to hangout with family and friends, to do pending house chores, groceries, kids activities and the list is endless. By the time its Sunday afternoon, the effect of Monday blues starts. Anxiety starts building up for the upcoming week. Before the social media age, when I was a  kid, back then also, my family would eagerly wait for the weekend. The primary reason being, no schools or office, special lunch meals will be prepared and whole family will spend some quality time together. This same tradition continues till today, where I always wait for the weekends. After a full week of hustle-and-bustle, living between office desk and kitchen counter , I will get some free time. But reality now is very different. Som...

Summer is over and fall is upon us. Bright sunny skies with warm temperature , slowly changing to cloudy and cold. Winter wears are getting out of closet now. Instagram feed is getting filled with fall pictures. Pumpkin spice latte is back. I must confess that I love summer . Living in Seattle where we get such a short season, summer feels like a rare commodity. So its hard to accept that its over and  will have to wait for months to get those golden rays back. But then , this week while going to work , when i saw the beautiful nature around me, trees filled with colorful leaves, it definitely inspired me to take a deep dive into this new season.  It did not take much longer for me to realize the significance of fall season in our lives. What fall teaches us ? Change is the only constant: First thing fall season shows us that change is inevitable. Nothing is permanent. A tree adorned with so many colorful leaves suddenly stands naked with the hope that, its b...

I am sure we all had that moment, when we put our best efforts in something and in return got an unexpected response. To give few examples, you worked whole weekend for a presentation and on Monday morning a co-worker just did not like some of the content or you spent an entire day in the kitchen cooking that perfect dinner, setting up the table and in the evening a family member   says the dessert is too sweet or curry is not well done. Now, in the above situations there can be 3 outcomes           You choose to be silent and ignore the conversation. Even though your mind is getting bloated  with anger.            You reciprocate with your defensive strategy in an intention to prove yourself correct.            You start a healthy conversation around the feedback and seek for exact details.  Majority of the people will fall into the first two category. Because a...