The Year That Was - 2014

It would probably be an understatement if I say that this year has been the best by far. At the risk of sounding cliched, that is exactly what I want to say - It HAS been the best year by far!! Oh what a year 2014 has been. When I look back, the year started with the "good news" of my marriage being announced to the world. Was that the good part of the 1st day of the year? No. The good part was, I was officially introduced as his fiancee to the friends :) A day I had been waiting for a while, to be known to the world as "his". 

3 months later our family was introduced to another "good news" in the form of my now brother in law :) My sister later got married on the 30th of May. A bitter sweet moment for me because I truly could not imagine a life without her, a house without her nor a bed without her. That's the bond we share - bitter sweet :) Much as I miss her presence, I am truly glad that she found happiness with a good man!

In between all this, there was a trip that my mom & I took to India for two weeks. THE best all girls trip that we have ever been in. Mummy, I can't wait to go on another one with you :)

I moved to a new job, to a new challenge & to childhood because I got employment in a school. Having been a student of a school here, it was a moment of pride to be employed in a school under the same group. It felt like I was going back to where I came from. Yes, not the career option I had in mind for myself but who is to say what is meant to be and not meant to be?

The second half of the year went by as a roller coaster - truly! Before I knew it, it was the 1st of September and I was standing on the mandapam with Surjith surrounded by the family & friends we love. The "sindoor" found its place on my forehead and the "taali" on my neck; I was now a wife, a daughter in law, sister in law, aunt in law - to the best people! That day and the days forward was a whirlwind for us but thanks to the candid photographs and posed ones, it brings back memories of the love that was showered on us. Thank you ALL for being such a support. You know who you all are. 

Settling down with each other as man & wife has been the best bumpy ride ever. But I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything else in the world!

All along this year, I have made some beautiful relationships. Its beautiful because there is no pretense, no judgments & most of all no requirements. We just let it be & that's how we enjoy each other's faults. Thank YOU for that.

And this year, I finally met my self proclaimed Godson, Noel :) The baby who evoked feelings of motherhood in me 2 years back and even today only he has the strong ability to do that. I love you :)

Well, this was my year & trust me when I say, the year 2014 will always be etched in my mind for ALL the right reasons.

Elections 2014 - A Non Political View

DISCLAIMER:

The below contents have not been written to create any sort of political rage/debate. The writer (yours truly) apologises in advance for any sentiments hurt.

It has been a crazy period of 9 months! 9 months of planning, 9 months of apprehensions, 9 months of labour & 9 months of anticipation. If it wasn’t for the title, many would have mistakenly assumed it to be an article of a mother to be. The emotions though are more or less the same.

9 months back, my parents along with the family of my fiancé fixed the date of our wedding. But more than the date of our wedding, it is the date of 16^th May 2014 that has been imprinted on my mind, all thanks to an avid follower in the form of my fiancé. I have never really been a political person – which means, my opinion & knowledge on this subject is extremely minimal. I have never voted, despite having a voters ID, the same reason as to why I had decided not to criticize the Govt. The elections 2014 changed that perspective.

The frenzy that these elections have created is second to none that this country has seen, or so I would like to believe. Elections 2014 was about one man. It was the first time in years that there came a candidate who knew what he was talking about & there was so much conviction that you were  led to believe every word he spoke. It is no doubt then that this man is who majority of India feels IS the change. There was a point in time where I had wanted the candidate in the current ruling party to be the PM one day because I really believed he had the capabilities of attracting the youth and well, changing the face of the country. Unfortunately, I was in for a rude shock after having followed a few of his campaign speeches, guest speeches & his infamous TV interview.

An unexpected twist though was the party of the common man & the man who led it. It truly was the excitement of an “Aam” citizen who took on the role of a CM only to later decide that leading a state & its people was no child’s play. No, I am not writing him off. Give him another 5 years and he will, I believe, be a tough candidate to contest against. Now that, I am looking forward to.

Apart from the ecstasy created by the parties & its candidates, the NEED to vote became massive especially amongst the youth. As an onlooker, for me, it did not mean that the citizens of India were being responsible. What it actually meant was that the youth was only living upto the peer pressure of getting a selfie flaunting the inked finger so as to upload it on various social networking sites!

All said & done, the Elections 2014, created a furore among media circles, social circles and at all possible awkward silences. And to those of you who have voted, for reasons best known to you, I just hope you have clicked the right button – the button of change, the button to a non – corrupt India and above all the button to a democracy in its true sense.