Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!!

Here we are at the end of another year, on the brink of a new one… The past year has been full of highs and lows during which my heart soared to touch the skies with every new high and sank to the depths of sorrow with the lows.

2008 – A leap year. Many think this is unlucky while others think it works magic for them. The year has given both sets of people the right to be correct! 2008 was a year when India saw medals in the Olympics; Nadal won the Wimbledon beating all time favourite Federer; the Australia was defeated by India and South Africa in test cricket (yeah it’s a good thing!!); India sent a spaceship into space; an African-American became a US president elect and much more… The year gave us a bitter pill to swallow with the US recession hitting the global markets; the numerous natural disasters around the world; the bomb blasts in various cities of India; last but not the least the terrorist attack on Mumbai which shook the world.

The past year has taught us to become stronger with every day, to learn to survive, to live and for this I thank it! It has opened our eyes to new horizons, to new technologies, to new ideas. It has opened the gates to blogging for me!! :-)

As the New Year approaches, it brings with it new hopes, new dreams, new horizons, new peaks to conquer and lots of expectations. I hope that 2009 lives up to all this and more for all of you out there!

As I sign off with my last post for the year, I would like to say to all of you:

2009 is at the door…
Remember... Life is Short,
Break the Rules, Forgive Quickly,
Love Truly, Laugh Uncontrollably,
And never regret anything that made you Smile!

A Very Happy New Year to You & Yours!

My journey to the Gateway of Peace..

I think most of my trips end up by having a pinch of spice and excitement in them and this trip was no exception!! A few colleagues and me decided to join the Peace March at Gateway of India to show our support for the "Enough is Enough" campaign and we headed of towards Goregaon station. After purchasing our tickets, we ran to catch a fast train to Churchgate. As we neared Bandra, we got a call from one of the boys (who were in another compartment) that there had been some bomb and RDX found at the CST station and to get down at Bandra. While we digested and discussed this news, Bandra station came upon us and we were too late to get down but not to late to see the guys of our group looking forlorn on the station! We decided to get down at the next station – Dadar and wait for the guys. When the guys approached us at Dadar we realised that we were one colleague short!! We realised that he was still on the first train that we had left! I tried calling his cell phone but received no answer. I tried again and suddenly felt a slight vibration in the camera case that I was carrying – his cell and wallet were in the camera case that he had given me to hold!! On discovering this we all got a little hysterical because our colleague was not a Mumbaite and he had no money on him and would not know where to go!! We immediately got onto the next fast train and made our way to Churchgate. Upon arriving there, we found our "lost colleague" and we were reunited once again.

Our journey had had an eventful start and hoping that there would not be any more hiccups, we made our way towards Regal cinema. Getting a cab was out of the question and we started walking towards Oval maidan. As we walked, we saw small groups of individuals returning from the Gateway of India with printed t-shirts, banners and posters. As we neared Regal cinema, the traffic on the roads was at a standstill. Groups of individuals were walking every where – on the footpaths, on the roads, on the road dividers – anywhere that there was space! Cars stopped and drivers got out watching and clicking pictures on their mobile phones.

As we walked on the road leading to the Gateway of India we saw throngs and throngs of people. People of all ages, all religions, all backgrounds had come together to take part in the Peace Rally. The atmosphere suddenly changed and the air around me had magic floating in it, there were people all around me. What amazed me was the number of people that turned up!! I felt a gush of pride inside me and I let myself get immersed in the activities around me. All around us, we heard slogans and yells of "Vande Mahataram", "Indiaaaa, India! (like at cricket matches)", “India hamara desh hai, Mumbai meri jaan hai”, anti-Pakistan slogans, anti-Indian politician slogans etc. We joined in the chanting and almost lost our voices!


While all this was happening we were walking towards the Gateway of India when suddenly the crowd became quiet in front of us and we head the first lines of our National Anthem being sung. The crowds stood still and all of us sang our National Anthem loudly and proudly – this was the first time that singing the National Anthem brought a tear to my eye and goose bumps on my skin! The atmosphere was full of electricity and love – love for our city, Mumbai, love for our country, India, love for the people who had lost a loved one, love for everyone and everything around us. It was amazing to see the different types and kinds of people who had turned up for the Rally – there were college students, young married couples – some with kids, young professionals, few middle aged ladies and gents, the youth of the city walked side by side on this glorious evening.


I was caught up in the excitement of the evening and declared loudly that “I am really happy – really happy to have come here and be part of this rally” Suddenly a gentleman next to me turned to me and asked me why I was so happy? And as I answered him I noticed a lady with a mike recording my answers! After that I was asked a few more questions – yes I was being interviewed!! I answered 4-5 questions which revolved around the reason for the rally to the prevailing government to Pakistan’s hand in the terror attacks at Mumbai. As I bade goodbye I was told that I had been interviewed by the National Broadcasting Radio, USA.



As we approached the barricade near the Taj, a hush fell over us, as we remembered the lives lost to the terror last week. There were commandos in their uniforms standing smartly making sure the crowds did not spill over the barricades. As I passed the police I looked at them and thanked them for all they had done and I received a big smile in return. :-) We then made our way to Leopold to see the café where it all started and were greeted with more crowds that had the same idea as us!


This ended our Peace Rally at Gateway of India and I went home proud that I had been part of this wonderful initiative and I hope that Mumbai and India now take a stand and say “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!”

Tonight the heavens smiled at us!!

I received an sms at 7 p.m. today telling me to look for the moon in the sky as it resembled a smiling face with two strategically placed stars. Imagine my disbelief when I read and re-read the sms - as if this was possible!! After about 15 minutes I received a similar sms and now my curiosity was aroused and I went up to my office building's terrace to see what I could see of the heavens above.

And there before my eyes was the moon - a bright crescent against a dark, slightly cloudy sky with two stars placed above it and believe you me - I saw a face smiling down at me!! With my face upturned towards the skies my face split into a big grin that had been a stranger to my face for the past 4 days due to the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks! I couldn't take my eyes of this beautiful message from the heavens - Smile Mumbai Smile! After tearing my eyes away for a brief minute I looked back at the "smiling face" through my mobile phone's camera and tried to take a picture of the "Smiley" in the sky! Though not too clear it does show the "Smiley in the Sky"!

I shall surely remember this evening as the day when the heavens sent us a "Sky Smiley" to us and gave us that little something to smile about at the end of a terrifying ordeal.