The Festive Spirit

Hello All!!! My lovely viewers. . . . . . Its been a loooonnnnggg time since I posted a blog…. Well!!! Actually I was looking for some interesting story to share with you all. Finally!! I am back with a unique article… Here comes my article ‘’The Festive Spirit” which would shed light towards one of the biggest festivals in my city. The exciting part of the story is that my city is almost ready to deck up and bring the festive spirit alive this year….

What’s it?????

You must be wondering what’s the festival about!!! Let me clear the confusion… I live in India where festivals like Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali are usually celebrated in the months of October and November… More important to me is the festival of ‘Durga Puja’ since I live in West Bengal (a state in India)… Now if you ask, what’s Durga Puja for a Bengali like me? It’s an emotion… It’s the time when families come closer and old friends are reunited… It’s the time when people have their long time gossips and visit their relatives, wearing new outfits. Its when children have their long holidays in schools and they are free for all the mischiefs. Practically, it’s the time in the year that every Bengali look for…

Well!! As per Hindu mythology there are several stories behind the festivals of Navratri and Dussehra. Bengalis consider Goddess Durga to be an epitome of divine power to fight all evils. She is the Goddess with feminine prowess, determination, power and wisdom and plays the role of motherhood. She has ten hands and weapons in each of them to fight all odds. During the festival of Durga Puja in West Bengal, Goddess Durga is believed to visit to her paternal place on earth with her two daughters and two sons and stay here for five days… This is the small story that I know about the festival and I felt like it would be interesting for you all to know the history…

The celebration

What’s more interesting to me is the preparations taken by all Bengalis in my city to welcome the festival wholeheartedly. It starts with buying new clothes to planning for each of the festival days. As far as I believe, females are overexcited about the much awaited festival. Days before the festival actually commences, there are thousands of people crowding in shopping malls, salons and spas to get themselves decked up perfectly for the D-day. I am not an exception to this madness… But it’s a sheer sense of happiness that people gain out of all the preparations taken. Not only the residents but the city as a whole is also decked up with colourful festive lights. Small and huge sized pandals are created with bamboos and idols of Goddess Durga and her family are placed inside the pandals. Goddess is worshipped for five days and on the final day people wave her goodbye with a heavy heart with similar hopes for next year. Throughout the five days residents visit different pandals to appreciate the creativities done and there are even competitions held among the communities organizing the cultural programs. It’s kind of recreation people usually have from all sorts of stress and anxiety that they experience throughout the year… On the final day Goddess Durga is immersed into river Ganga as part of the holy ritual and people distribute sweets to keep the festive spirit alive. This is the story of ‘Durga Puja’ that’s practiced for a long time across state and I believe every Bengali waits eagerly to relive their memories.

What’s more unfortunate is the impact of Covid-19 since the year 2020 which has seriously affected the festive spirit. A festival usually means gathering of huge number people but Covid is something that does not encourage any sort of gathering… Last year it was strictly prohibited to visit any crowded place or participate in any form of social gathering… Masks, sanitizers and curfews were all sorts of obstacles people had and no one could smell the essence of the festival. Well!!! since the situation has improved compared to previous year and majority of people are fully vaccinated, there is a subtle hope that people might be able to experience the festive spirit this year… So, let’s hope for the best!! And fingers crossed… I am still running out of words to express my kind of excitement associated with this festival but I would pray to Goddess so that people are back to their normal life soon…

Please do share your views about this article!!! 😊 😊

 

Happiness Is _ _ _ _ _ _

What’s happiness???

Can anybody answer???? Well!! It’s a basic human feeling that every individual seeks for in their day-to-day life…. So, what according to you is happiness? Rather, I may ask, are you happy? It’s all about human perceptions which can actually make people happy. Some find happiness even in the morning blooms whereas some others are always in thirst of some bigger deal. What I feel is, happiness varies in terms of age as the idea of happiness changes from an infant to a graybeard. For a newborn, happiness is when their parents are around them smiling and cuddling them playfully. However, I have learnt about some extraordinary definitions of happiness through my experiences about life…. Well!!! life often gives us thousand reasons to smile, its our choice whether we would smile every other day with a new beginning.

“Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy. . . .“

Some interesting facts surrounding happiness

Satisfaction

Satisfaction, I believe is the inner peace that one derives from completing a mission or fulling a dream. This feeling is connected to happiness that is when one attains mental peace in doing something. The outcomes of our actions give us the level of satisfaction that we deserve. In my opinion, happiness can not only be derived from an external object but also from satisfying out soul. For instance, the satisfaction derived from completing a challenge is actually the mode to gain happiness.  

  • Young happy family at home.

Family/friends

Someone recently said ‘I just met an old friend and had a great time!’… In my opinion, the statement itself makes it clear that the person is extremely happy to meet his old friend and gossip about the old school days… So, it’s a kind of happiness that every individual experiences in life. Meeting an old friend makes memories that people love to cherish for days. So, some say happiness is reliving old days with best buddies and gossiping about all the moments they spent together. One even finds happiness being at home enjoying their lunch and dinner with family members… What it means being with family can only be explained by ones who stay away from their loved ones year after year. For them happiness is meeting their close friends and family members after decades and this feeling can never be explained….

Achievement

Next comes another factor leading to happiness that is ‘achievement’ or ‘success’… It is when one is able to achieve his/her own targets, it is the time when one finds happiness indeed. Long term goals are often difficult to achieve but when one meets unbelievable targets he consider his mission to be accomplished… So, success actually gives new hopes to set new targets and be happy in the long run. In fact, I believe people can take up more challenges in life if they are happy with their performances.  

  • Beautiful and athletic girl running and jumping with colorful balloons on the beach

Positivity

Positive attitude is necessary for people to be successful in life… In fact, positive attitude can also help an individual to conquer failure. Bill Gates once said – “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure”. So, its our positive nature that can make us happy even after experiencing failure… In my opinion, positivity is about learning from our mistakes and planning for a better tomorrow… Staying positive can make us dream every day and regain trust in ourselves to fight all odds.

The final verdict  

Last but not the least… Can money buy happiness? This is actually a tricky question whose answer varies with situations… One might be fond of a new car and money can actually make him happy. But money is definitely not an option for a person looking for love and care. It can be stated that money can meet the demands of materialistic individuals but it can never replace family, friends and well-wishers… It was rightly said by Bob Dylan- “All the money you made will never buy back your soul”. I believe money is just a tool, when used properly it creates history but when used wrongly, it makes a mess!!!! What’s say???????????

Unusual Talks Logo

Hey!!!! My Lovely viewers!!! I just designed my website logo which symbolizes my motto for launching this page…. The logo comprises of objects like pen and a girl expressing her views… This is exactly the purpose of ‘Unusual Talks’ where I share my views with all my viewers through the blogs. I would like to thank you all for your love and support throughout…. Please keep liking and following my blogs so that I get motivated to think of some more unusual aspects and bring to you some interesting stories…. 🙂 🙂

Do share your views about the design of the logo . . . .

Desires and Expectations. . . . .

‘DESIRES’ and ‘EXPECTATIONS’ the two important pillars which sometimes make or break human beings. In fact, both aspects are a never-ending process which keep human beings active and ambitious in life. You know what? For some people ‘Desire’ and ‘Expectation’ go hand-in-hand… Desire is actually a strong feeling for wishing something to take place whereas Expectation is the belief that it would take place. For instance, everybody has their own dreams but there are people who believe that their dreams would come true some day!! Unfortunately, every coin has two faces and I have found people with unrealistic desires who have ultimately ruined their lives.

There is actually a twist in this story…. Desires and expectations can only be realized with hard work, dedication and perseverance. I believe that it is not only the hard work that’s needed but one must be dedicated to their dreams as badly as they desire for it. ‘Perseverance’ is another important pillar that people must always practice as they chase their dreams. I am sure you must be thinking that I am going too much philosophical with these heavy vocabularies. Lets make it simple. . . . .  😊

True Stories. . . . .

I hope all of us are following Tokyo Olympics 2020 currently… I believe each of the participants in this international event have their basic expectation of winning a medal for their country. Since Olympics is an event that happens with a gap of four years and if someone fails to win a medal, the individual/team has to wait for four years to crack the next Olympics. There are 205 nations comprising of 11090 athletes participating in the current event and not everyone would be able to fulfil their dream of winning a medal. But this does not mean that they have not worked hard or put in their best efforts. We can rather say that their dedication and perseverance would help them win in the next Olympics. Every success story talk about hard work, dedication and perseverance that are needed to deal with all sorts of challenges. In fact, these pillars are even necessary to strengthen the mental health of the competitors.

I have also seen a different picture where desires and expectations have actually sabotaged over-ambitious people. Few businessmen who have reached great heights have gradually turned their businesses towards unethical practices in hope of fulfilling huge expectations and finally toppled down from those mountains of expectations that they had set. I feel human desires and expectations are very tricky and so one must nurture them wisely. In my opinion, fulfilling desires and expectations also require effective planning of strategies that can be adopted.

Realization. . . .

A few expectations are huge enough to be immensely time-consuming and one must be focused towards the objectives. For instance, I myself have the desire to go for a world tour someday and I am not sure whether I will ever be able to fulfil it. But the fact is, it keeps me enthusiastic every single day and I can fight all odds… I would say its good to have desires and expectations that make your life challenging as well as surprising. I have seen people hating challenges and looking for an easy way out but that actually makes no sense. Someone rightly said- “A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it”. So, we just need to smile and accept the challenges that come across…. 😊

The desire never ends. . . . .

There is something I believe for which the desire never ends and this desire is not even specific to any demographics. The desire to gain more knowledge and the desire to earn more…. Human beings are always in the constant learning process as they gain new knowledge, new skills as well as new experiences while keeping themselves active at all times. So, is the desire to earn more. But the sad part of the story is desire for more wealth leads some people to dig their own grave. I can recall a quote by Jonathan Swift in this regard- “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart”. Another famous quote by Benjamin Franklin- “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. Me too agree with all these quotes as in my opinion knowledge is wealth but money can buy enemies too. . . . . .

If I had a magic wand. . . .

I wish I had a magic wand that would give me the freedom to fulfil all my wishes…. I wonder how would I have felt with such magic in my hands!! Would I have been the superwoman changing the world and abolishing all the negativities around? Or would I utilize the magic to realize my personal goals? Would I be selfish or would I be selfless? Well!!! there are no answers to my questions unless I wake up some day in the morning with a magic wand in my hand… Ha ha. . . . 😊 That’s something unbelievable…..

I cannot think of the significant changes that I can make but yesss, there are a few things I would I like to change from the core of my heart… One such facet would be the attitude of each human being towards one another. I can still find disrespect persisting among human beings for no reason. What’s the cause? Why have people been behaving so rude and being so unsocial? Can anybody tell me?? There have been discriminations in the name of caste, creed, religion, sex, beliefs and superstitions which are simple man-made… I don’t think God would ever want us to be conscious about our culture and religion while helping a poor beggar. Some have even lost their senses to differentiate between the right and the wrong. I find people who have turned into religious puppets and who require immediate assistance to come out of this black hole.

The next thing that I found to be very unpleasant is the misery and suffering that people go through when they are unable to fulfil their basic needs. I wish I could twist my magic wand on all those penniless souls so that they are able to breathe fresh air and earn their bread every other day. It is so disheartening to see people die everyday just because they can’t afford a treatment. I ask myself everyday- ‘Don’t they deserve to lead a healthy and happy life?’ Again, it’s unfortunate that I don’t have the answer. I find newborn infants dying out of malnutrition just because their parents are not well off to feed their babies with a healthy diet. So, I just feel like pleading to God almighty- “Dear God! Bless me with a magic wand for a day and I shall bring smile to these despairing souls….”

The last but not the least- the change that I wish to bring is on myself because I believe that if we want to change the world the first step that we need to take is change ourselves. As Leo Tolstoy once said- “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”. In my opinion if one can change their own point of views, he can motivate others to bring a positive change. So, if I ever get a chance to twist a magic wand, I would rather choose to wave it on myself. I would use this magical power to create happy homes for the homeless, poor and destitute souls. I would even create a grievance redressal forum where every individual can find justice. I wish to create a wonderland where people would not face any scarcity of food, shelter, clothing and medical treatment.

Everybody like me would wish to have a magic wand to create a fantasy world but the bitter truth is we actually need the sorrows and sufferings to rejoice the golden moments. One can feel the importance of happiness only when one crosses the beds of sorrows…

“The deeper the sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain”

– Khalil Gibran

Thursday Blues

Dear Bloggers

Hope everything is going on well!! A kind request to all my beloved viewers… Please pour your comments and feedbacks to my blogs…. Also, request you all to follow my page for all updates… Your love and support gives me the energy to think of a new topic… Looking forward to your support . . . . . 🙂

Yours truely,

Budding Storyteller 🙂

When the world was locked

Since the onset of 2020 some new vocabularies have entered my dictionary. Actually, not only me but for many homo sapiens like me, the words – pandemic, lockdown, quarantine, Covid-19 landed out of nowhere. Could anybody ever think, that man, despite of being a social animal, have to stay in isolation just because some crazy virus has decided to party around?? I don’t remember human beings who have ever felt so powerless just due to an attack of a meagre virus. However, gradually I realized that what I had considered a petty affair was strong enough to make our lives restricted to isolation homes, masks, sanitizers and lockdown. Now comes the actual question- Do human beings even deserve this? Well!!!!! Some say that mother earth was taking a toll to all the injustice done to her.

Every coin has two faces and so does the impact of Covid-19…. On one hand it has turned out to be a nightmare to every other family who have lost their near and dear ones. The scenario was like all the social problems- poverty, unemployment, inflation, loss of jobs and psychological disorders have crippled human existence. I believe each of these problems are interlinked… Let me explain how!! A number of sectors have been affected as a result of the prolonged lockdown due to Covid-19. Companies have shut down and businesses have lost revenues leading to laying off their precious assets. The story does not end here. People losing their jobs desperately looked for new openings and due to lack of jobs they remained unemployed. Unemployed youths usually suffer from psychological disorders while isolating themselves for a long time. The misery of a family man losing his mode of earning can never be ignored and it gave rise to the biggest social problem that one can face- ‘POVERTY’!!!!! To my surprise, this lockdown tale continued for atleast seven to eight months when gradually people could accustom themselves… Soon after this first wave, came another destructive second wave which I believe no one had ever expected even in their wildest dreams. How can mother earth be so cruel? With death toll rising overtime, people were anxiously waiting for their turn to succumb to this deadly virus. This time it was not even the doctors who could do miracles and the spike headed demon ruled the world….

Let’s think the other way round… Did Covid-19 bring any change to lifestyle or the world as a whole? I would say YES!! It did change the stereotypical life of all individuals. People have started depending on themselves while staying in isolation. Some have even discovered their hidden passion which they failed to follow due to their busy schedule. Well!! The MNCs have finally realized that the employees can be productive even in their comfort zone…. & the world has been moving towards digital transformation… People have been working upon their technical skills to survive during the Covid phase. Last but not the least even the busiest souls had the opportunities to spend time with their family members which was a need of an hour. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the virus had not played its role? Would the world had ever changed? Or we would have followed the stereotypical lifestyle that’s similar to human robots??

To all the viewers- Please share your opinion in the comments section as to how you feel about the way in which Covid-19 has affected this world?   

Success vs Failure

Which comes first – success or failure? Well!!! Its exactly like the chicken and egg story where nobody knows which appears first. Some say failure is the stepping stone to success whereas some others are born with golden spoon. But what’s more important is the struggle and the journey that one takes to bridge the gap within these two pillars. I believe both are necessary for human existence. For instance, a person would never understand the importance of success unless he has failed once in life or a person who has already experienced failure can always learn from his mistakes.  So, basically success and failure are both two faces of the same coin and it is often the luck that favours the brave. Let us deeply understand the true sense of experiencing success or failure….

What’s failure?

Has anybody ever thought what failure is actually? It’s not when you are unsuccessful in your attempt or when you fail a thousand times… I believe it’s in accepting ‘I am a failure’…. There are times when we don’t even want to take up the challenges just because we are afraid that we might fail and be a specimen to laugh at. The worst part is due to fear of losing, we don’t even make an effort to go beyond our comfort zone and try something new. What else can be more pathetic than to know that we are unable to conquer our own phobias. It is very much necessary to be aware of one’s potential and incapabilities so as to overcome failure. Actually, life might give us a thousand opportunities and it is often us who do not take advantage of these opportunities and accept our failure. However, it does not even mean that life is always a race and we need to accelerate our motion to be the winner. If that would have been the case, the tortoise would have never completed the race. In my opinion there are certain human emotions that can set the stage for an ultimate failure- overconfidence, fear, nervousness, lack of willingness, lack of ambition. So, the day when one is free from all such emotions is the day when one can overpower failure.

“Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy

Success or accomplishment

Some might easily consider ‘success’ to be the antonym to ‘failure’ but I would say the true meaning to success is something deeper than this. It is the self-confidence that one develops upon the skills that he possesses. A success story can be considered as a collage that is formed of numerous small bits of failure, hard work, dedication, positive outlook and perseverance. Success is about fulfilling dreams that were once fantasized in a deep sleep. Intense planning and developing one’s confidence and skills and learning from the errors that were committed previously can help someone build the castle of success. I can truly accept the proverb- “Rome was not built in a day!!!!” Similarly, if we are longing for something unbelievable, the efforts cannot be measured in hours, minutes or seconds. In my opinion, success is the definition of a feeling that makes us proud and not arrogant. Well!! It is meant for people like Nepolean who considers the word ‘impossible’ to be in the dictionary of fools…. Success is something that one has to nurture for days, months, years or even decades just as a mother takes care of her baby.

Success and failure are basically interlinked and these appear eventually in lives of every human being.  Now what’s your motto of success? Is it climbing Mt.Everest or crossing the English Channel or winning an Olympic Gold?? No, I am not talking of setting high hopes but success is actually when one can suppress one’s own incompetencies and compete against oneself…

The Cheeeeesssyyyy Affffairrrr. . . .

“CHEESE- Milk’s leap towards immortality” – Clifton Fadiman

Say Cheeeesssseeee!!!!!!!!!! No, I am not practicing for any photoshoot… But my story today would revolve around this sheer piece of happiness- ‘cheese’. Let me give a brief introduction to how we gradually came across this white piece of emotion… Well!! The word ‘cheese’ came from Latin word ‘caseus’. In fact, the word derived from proto-Indo-European source was ‘kwat’ meant ‘to ferment and become sour’ which in turn gave rise to the word ‘chese’. I guess its more than enough of the history that I learnt about cheese and its evolution… Lets continue with the story!

Cheese Love!!!!

You know what? I can proudly call myself a ‘turophile‘- a cheese lover. I wonder how this basic milk product can give a twist to the simple dishes and help culinary artists introduce mouthwatering recipes. Although cheese was first introduced in Italy but there are numerous stories of several other countries which followed cheesemaking tradition and have made record-breaking innovations in their processes. Be it a savoury or a dessert, adding cheese to it can help it reach the next level in its journey to please a hungry tummy. Wait a second! Let me be a little more honest… This piece of happiness is not at all biased to any specific culture or tradition but it does spread love irrespective of any disparity in taste and preferences. I find children along with adults hoping for some extra cheese in their pizzas, burgers and sandwiches although getting fat is not in their to-do list. This slice of joy comes in different forms with unconventional names- Mozzarella, Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss cheese, Camembert and each with different utilities. The story of cheesy affair would remain incomplete without some interesting testimonials….

Blueberry Delight  

Nobody could ever think of a chemistry that can happen between cheese and blueberry unless they came across a dish name ‘Blueberry Cheesecake’… The combination of swirling blueberry puree into a cheesecake batter is a literal wonder. The cheesecake turns out to be extremely creamy delight melting in the mouths of dessert lovers and one cannot remain contented with just one bite. It is a perfect closure to a sumptuous buffet and tops the list of summer desserts. I must say that I fall short of words while describing this sweet affair and the lustre in the texture of these cheesecakes can never bluff my eyes. How can someone think of such a beautiful dessert that can happen with something as salty as cheese?

Pizza the Princess

Long ago, in the foody land of Italy, there lived a princess named ‘Pizza’ who was known for her lip-smacking taste and mouthwatering flavours. It is when she met prince ‘Cheese’, she fell in love and the two got married and lived happily ever after. I believe this is an eternal bonding that can never be separated. Can anybody imagine Pizza without even a pinch of cheese? This would exactly be similar to tea without sugar or a cake without the icing…. Molten mozzarella and cheddar enters into the layers of pizza bread and gives it the heavenly taste that one can ever imagine. It is the dream of every pizzaiolo that their creation would be the best blend of flour, mozzarella, vegies, meat stuffs, yeast and olive oil. Now can we call it a cheesy love story? Well!! Cheese plays the main character not only in a savoury dish but it can be a performer for a dessert too….

The one between the two

Surprisingly! Cheese can also play the role of a taste enhancing catalyst for just a simple breakfast delicacy like sandwich. When it’s just a vegie sandwich for breakfast, children suddenly go into ‘I am fasting’ mode whereas if it’s a slice of cheese as the topping, the mode automatically changes to ‘May I have one more please’… I believe that no one can ever play the role of a food inspector better than a child, when it comes to taste. The story says that if this white substance can bring a big smile to such delicate hearts, no wonder it can create revolution in the foodie’s world where taste is the ultimate priority.

Stories and testimonials supporting this cheese love can never be exhaustive and if I was given the opportunity to choose the best flavor enhancer I would have nominated ‘cheese’ for the golden award. It has the ability to twist a humble dish into an award-winning accomplishment…

THE CHEEEEESSSSYYYYYYYY AFFFFFFFAIRRRRRRRR…. PLEASE TWEET THIS…..

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