Battle of Lazy Stubble v/s Clean Shaven

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette

With November having gone and having seen lots of people following the “NoShaveNovember” tradition in my Office and friend circle and some planning to continue till the New Year, by the looks of it, I decided to take a poll in my Office on the following topic: 
 “Do you like a Stubble? Or are you a clean shaven kind of Guy?”
 So I went ahead and took a poll at my Workplace. The response was Overwhelming, There were Opinions shared and Stories told.

I have with us Today, Two such People who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to Share their views and experiences about this Topic which they believe has a very large impact on a Man's life.
Without any further delay I would like to Welcome Mr. Benjy and Mr. Abhi who are here with us today to Share their experiences and help us reach to a conclusion in this battle of Stubble v/s Clean Shaven.

I: Let us Start with you Benjy, Tell us something about yourself and the side that you are here to support today.
Benjy:  Well I am Benjy, also called as “Benjy the Bear”. A Software developer by profession and I am here to support the “Lazy stubble ” look. I feel that Facial hair on a Man is not something to be ashamed of but to be celebrated. So come on People let’s take this “NoShaveNovember” tradition to the next level, or maybe “Next Year”.  Yo!!

I: Ah, Yes I can see by the um…bushy um grizzly um…beard you sport, that you are a man of your words.
Benjy: Ah…yes, I started growing it after I joined Professional college. Although it was by Accident, that I discovered its advantages.

I: Accident, did you say?
Benjy: Yes, at first I used to be a typical clean shaven guy. That combined with my Tall and Lean frame gave me an appearance of a Sweet tempered kind of guy. It was during the Second Semester of College, Thanks to some really tough subjects and pressure of exams and a few other (*ahem*) girlfriend issues, that I don’t remember now, I went without shaving for quite a long time.
That morning I walked into the wrong classroom by mistake.  I realized my mistake when I was near the Teachers desk and was about to walk out when I saw that all the students in the class seemed to have stopped talking. And some were even in the process of Standing up to greet me, or pulling out their books. That was when I realized that they had mistaken me for the new Professor who was to join that day. The professor who was feared to be Strict and No nonsense kind of guy , The slightly scary Mr. Ashwamedh.
That was the day I realized the Power of the Beard!!!  I had the power to Scare! Muhahahaha.

I: Okaaay…That was quite a story, Now let us talk to  Abhi who has been most patiently waiting through all this. Abhi, Tell us something about yourself and the Side you are here to support today.
Abhi: Thanks for inviting me here to share my story, I am Abhi, also awarded Mr. Charming 2014, Mr. Outgoing 2014 and Mr. Popular  Awards  for the Office Christmas Party. You must have realized by the lack of Stubble or beard that I have , that I am here to support the Clean Shaven look.

I: Yes Indeed I realize that.
Abhi: But yes, I cannot say that this is due to any accident like Benjy here. Nor do I claim to always be the clean shaven/Confident person you see before you. I have had my rebellious years where I used to be careless about my appearance and believed that if people have to like me,they will like me as I am and if they don't its their problem. But then I realized that this is not how it works. However much we say that appearance doesn't matter or that the beauty of the heart counts, It certainly does help if a person is well groomed. Its kind of like the steps you take to ensure that people wait around to see the beauty of your heart because many times the "First Impression is the Last impression".(*winks)

I: So Benjy, Have you come across any instance when you wished that you had Shaved and had a better groomed look?
Benjy: No, I don't think so.(*hesitating). I think its just too much trouble to get up and shave everyday.

I:Really?Are you sure? I sense some hesitation.
Benjy: Well there was a time. I was in the lift of an office building when a beautiful girl entered the lift.She seemed to be engrossed with her mobile phone. Chatting probably. She did not glance at me. Somewhere between the 5th-6th floor there was a Thump and the lift stopped with a Jolt. We were plunged into darkness. There had been a Power outage. Just then I switched on the Flashlight of my mobile and My face was illuminated just as she turned around. I do not know what she thought or what she assumed, she started screaming at the top of her voice and banging on the lift doors. I tried to calm her down but that aggravated her more. Thankfully the power was back on in a minutes time. The minute the doors opened she made a mad dash out of the door. The Suspicious glances of the people on that floor Left me feeling very small and disgusted. I felt that maybe if I had shaved that day maybe I would have looked less threatening to her.

I: Abhi, Can you tell us any instance where your well groomed look helped you in comparison to if you had a lazy stubble?
Abhi: Yes, As you can see, it has boosted my confidence and hence I was able to get a good job, make friends more easily and the best of all I gained the approval of my girlfriend's father who is a military man and doesn't tolerate sloppy and shabby people. In fact my girlfriend is come here to support me. Asha please come here.

(*the girl enters the room and glances around * this is followed by a gasp from Benjy as well as her)
I:Do you two know each other?
Benjy: Yes! This is the girl from the lift!!!
Abhi and Asha stare , the latter a little embarrassed.

I :Ok this may get a bit awkward. So on this note I think we should conclude the debate interview.I think we have got enough stories to make our readers decide which look they want to support. 
So Now readers, you decide. Do you want to be in Team Benjy? or Team Abhi.
Toodles for now. Catch you with new debates and New Posts in Year 2015. 

When the stomach is Full, everything else is good

Today i read about the "Blog to feed a Child'' initiative by Akshay Patra to eliminate classroom hunger. We have to write a post about our ideas on how to eliminate classroom hunger and how it effects the children's education and future. Today being the last day for submission and me haaving read about this late, I decided to start writing after i am back from work.
Here i was still pondering and trying to come up with some inspiration about the topic when I realized that writing about this topic is not as easy as i thought. This is a topic i have not thought about before.
 I was on the verge of giving up, but then i thought that there may be so many people like me who are lucky to be well educated and in a position to read this and make a difference but who have no idea about the education system of Rural India or how  Hunger can have a major impact on the education of children, who are our future.
I decided to just write what i feel. Straight forward and to the point. Without thinking about , giving it a story or style of writing.
I have never been a fussy eater nor do I hog a lot, i can eat most of the normal Indian food but I agree that I am at my best when I have had a good meal. I remembered a quote from a Hindi daily soap which i had once heard, "pet bhara to sab bhala" meaning that "When the stomach is Full, everything else is good".
I can imagine how the children must feel , when they are forced to sit and listen to the Teachers preaching whilst the only thing they can think about is the "Vada Pav" that a vendor is selling down the street or for that matter anything edible.
In the past few years in India, due to poverty and lack of knowledge about the proper nutrition that a child should receive , many were gripped by Malnutrition. 
Now because of increasing awareness among people and initiatives taken by institutions like Akshay Patra and various NGO's , parents and the government have started taking steps to make sure that Children receive a nutritious meal and Classroom hunger is kept at bay.
Government has started providing mid day meals to children who attend school, helping make sure that no child remains hungry, at least during the school hours and Bringing a little relief to families who struggled to make their ends meet.
Even people who would not think of educating their children , with some coercing and explanation even started sending their children to school, so that they were ensured a meal.
I feel these areas need to be ventured into further and it should be ensured that the food provided to the children is nutritious and keeps them full so they can concentrate on their studies.
Maybe soon if more such initiatives are taken up , there will be "Breakfast" also provided to kids at school and not only a Mid day meal and hence motivating the children to give their best from the start of the day.
I dream of living in the India where no child goes hungry and an entire generation is educated. When this happens, India will truly progress from a developing nation to a developed one.

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda

Rhyming down memory lane

A few days ago, on November 14th, Early in the morning I was woken up by the beep of my mobile phone. Groggily I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and opened the message only to see a "Happy Children's Day" message flashing in my Whats-app group chat.

"Its Children's Day! But I am not a kid anymore" I remembered with a sigh.

"So What?" argued a voice inside my head.

A smile slowly crept up to my lips, as I typed "Happy Children's Day to you too" in reply to the message.

This day always takes me tripping down memory lane. To my carefree childhood days. For me this is one day where I allow myself to indulge in a little childish activity and Spread a little of the magical energy that Children inherently bring to our lives. I believe in the saying "always keep your inner child alive".

So I went ahead to work that day and wished everyone a Happy Children's day. Some took it sportingly and reciprocated with equal enthusiasm, whilst some colleagues just Smirked at me from afar. A few of us who came early decorated the white boards with caricatures and cartoons to make us smile in the midst of our stressful work.

During lunch break I happened to talk to a friend about her 1 year old toddler. She mentioned that her baby did not eat unless she put on some nursery rhyme videos which he enjoyed and she needed to find a great source for such videos.

I volunteered to find and put together some nice videos that her baby would enjoy. Today as I was searching for just the right videos, I came across the Nursery Rhymes and stories put up by Kids Hut. A lovely collection of Rhymes which even I as a grown up could not help but enjoy.

What was taken up as a task for my friend turned out to be a fun experience as I remembered all my favorite Rhymes and started singing along. Here are the two of my favorites:

1) "JOHNY JOHNY YES PAPA"

According to the elaborate tales my mother tells me now, "Johny Johny ,Yes Papa", was  the first  Rhyme I learnt and apparently the one I would recite to anyone who would care to hear or even who didn't .

Right from childhood I had a sweet tooth.Especially when it came to chocolates. I used to sneak into the kitchen and forage out my favorite chocolates from the fridge. Somehow my parents always knew what was on my mind, but  they sportingly acted as if they didn't know and waited till i would come up by myself and ask for their permission to eat the tasty treats. I guess in my own innocent way I felt I could relate with Johny who loved to eat sugar.

When I saw this video and the little boys innocent yet sly expression to his father asking him about eating sugar, I could just imagine how I must have looked while enacting this nursery rhyme.It would be something like below:

What do you have to say to this little girl version of Johny? :p

2)HUMPTY DUMPTY

Humpty Dumpty is another nursery rhyme that keeps being used as a reminder to me even after all these years. According to the stories my parents tell me, I had a fall like Humpty Dumpty once had. Thankfully for me, the rhyme ended at "Had a great fall". I had fallen down from the top of the dining table, and started crying when I remembered that Humpty Dumpty who had fallen down couldn't be put back together again. Thankfully the doctor was able to mend my broken arm and a dozen chocolates and kisses had finally consoled me.

After this incident I was rather careful never to climb unassisted on any surface that was similar to Humpty Dumpty's Wall. :)

I have finally selected all my favorite rhymes from Kids hut videos on YouTube and will show them to my friend. I am sure she and her kid is going to enjoy all of them very much.

This post is a part of Kids Hut activity at BlogAdda.com

My Childishly Perfect Home

“Childhood” the most magical period of a person’s life.  It is the time in a person’s life where most of the memories are formed, all the senses prevail. It’s a wonderful world full of possibilities, where we are free to express, create, explore, dream and hope to one day fulfill this dream. A period where inhibitions are soon forgotten and bonds of a lifetime are created and strengthened.

As any average Indian child I spent most of my childhood frequenting my Grandmothers place. And hence most of my childhood memories seem to revolve around that house. The house in which I spent the most wonderful and enjoyable days of my childhood. It was how i wanted my dream home to be.

I can actually see the house right now in my mind’s eye. The quaint beauty of generations of artistic grandeur. 

The large hall where the entire family united to celebrate various Festivals with great pomp and joy, the kitchens where we kids used to smuggle Laddoo's and various eatables from right under our elders noses.

The vast courtyard, running around which my little feet did not seem to tire. The “Tulsi” plant adorning the center, where my cousins and I watched captivated, while our “Ajji”(as we called our grandmother) adorned the floor with a bright floral Rangoli.

She would even let us fill in the colors and reward us with a Ladoo when we did a good job of keeping the color inside the Rangoli borders. 

Another room i can vividly remember is the Prayer room, which was also the room where my grandmother slept. It had a serene and peaceful aura to it. The room where she taught us many hymns and told us countless bed time stories from the Ramayana or Panchatantra. Mostly stories of how Good prevails over evil . In some way or other these stories and morals imparted to us have helped us build a strong character and help us be what we are today.

In other words , it was the idea of a complete home for me and my childish heart. And what made it so, was the people in it. My Parent's,Grandmother, uncle's and Aunt's, cousin's, in short my "family". A place where i could feel safe and which had seen me at my best and worst.

Today, those same walls have weakened ,marred by the tests of time and so have the modern relations. But as they say, "Home is where the heart is" . 

So in some way or the other, this little heart finds a way to make "my house" into "my home".

Today as i read about the contest held by "make my home" i was swept into this Nostalgia and began wondering, How would i re-decorate my house? The answer was right there.

I would choose the Ethnic style  to redecorate my house because this is the style that keeps me close to my roots. it brings back a bit of the nostalgia that i left behind in my grandmothers house as a child. 

The Three items i would choose are:

1)Aapno Rajasthan Ganapati Kalash and Diya Wood and Clay Wall Decor

I will choose this Wall decor as it reminds me of the Tranquil serenity of the Prayer room of my Grand mothers house. It will be a reminder that  Lord Ganesha will always keep us away from all harm and guide us through life.

2) the second item i will choose is the Ghasitaram Shankh Rangoli, as it will bring to my house the same welcoming beauty that my grand mothers Rangoli used to bring. Plus this unique transparent rangoli is made from pvc and adorned with beads and hence there is no fear of it getting messed up. Way to be ethnic yet modern ;)

and third i will choose Aapno Rajasthan Warli Painting on Large Mirror , An enticing work on a large wooden frame with mirror. Although this has a significant resemblance to a mirror at my Ajji's place, it will be a reminder to me that , however much we choose to remember the past, we have to live in the present. As the mirror only reflects what is infront of it, presently. it will remind me that we make a Home by the memories we weave into the walls , and they will stay with us forever, as a safe abode, a piece of our soul.

I may not be able to feel again my grand mothers soothing hand on my forehead.The intoxicating smell of talcum as she applied it in front of her mirror, but i will always remember the soft brush of her crisp cotton sari as she held me close. 
I may not have the perfect house, but with all these memories and my own people i can make it my perfect home.

*// all images used in this post belong to "makemyhome" *//

This post is a part of Makemyhome activity at BlogAdda.com