Awkward Phone Conversations

.. that you end up hearing at work.

• Love birds' mushy talk

• In-laws chronicles from the lady whose in-laws are visiting her for a week

• Stitching ideas you are giving your Stylist - the neck, the length, the fit, blah

• Cooking instructions to the new domestic help

• Grocery orders, and the long and short of it

• Diaper changing process from the new mother 

Now, I understand that many or most of the times, these conversations cannot be helped or postponed. But one small change, something as simple as getting up from your desk and move to the breakout area or an available meeting room can spare others the torture of involuntarily being made part and party of your own personal and domestic affairs.

Facebook Anonymous

There is this joke, about re-habitation centers which will cure you of Facebook addiction. Now, I do not know if such a center exists. However, the possibility of the need of something similar cannot be ruled out. One of my friends calls it a time-waste experience. There are some people who try and estimate how much time is the world wasting on a platform which offers nothing constructive. If you agree even partially to any of the above thoughts or have similar views on Social Networking, and wish to seriously help yourself or some one you know, this is the list of steps you can take to initially limit and finally give up Facebook from the wonderful phenomenon of Life. 

• First things First - Uninstall the phone application. Period. Yes, No more Facebook as a means to escape the situation of being in the elevator, or in a traffic situation. A phone is a phone is a phone - and not a Facebook device.

• Allot a set amount of time for Social Networking  - LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter included. One hour over the weekend may be. 
  
• Zero down how many REAL friends you have on your network and inform them of your goal so that you can be in touch by alternate means.
  
• Follow the Newspaper religiously to know about happenings and events which you otherwise would know via Facebook.

• Appreciate the power of Now and be Present in whatever you are doing to reduce the urge to constantly inform everyone you know.

• Be content with your Life without constantly feeling the need to show off to the World.

Home Remedies - I

• Applying honey into your eyes can eventually get you get rid of spectacles.

• Rest some uncooked potato (sliced or grated) on your eyes to lessen the dark circles.

• Honey-curd- gram flour- turmeric (just a pinch)-rose water mixed together make a great face mask.

• Chewing on Tulsi (aka Basil in the West) helps dry-up a runny nose

• Whipped egg and beer, each an excellent hair conditioner.

• Oil, mixed with few lemon drops and applied on hair half-an-hour before head bath can make 'receding hairline' a thing of yesterday.

Now, I am not particularly fond of such bullet point posts with little or no writing. Please excuse me, for its one of those days when nothing that I write seems good enough. So you will have to make do with concentrating on information, rather than words.

Satyamev Jayate, and 13 weeks hence.

Its been exactly 13 weeks since the last episode of Satyamev Jayate (translation - Truth Alone Triumphs) aired on television on August 4, 2012. Looked up as one of the most promising programs ever targeting to bring a change taking up  13 issues in 13 weeks, here we are 13 weeks after the show actually came to a close. The question before us, now, is, that if we are all reminded so many times of the issues paralyzing our society , what makes us still not fight them?

Who can fight the system – We are people, who are either too shy or too scared to stand out against the system. In the current conditions, the fear factor is quite natural. But we need to realize, that the problem is fewer people compared to issues. The day we have more people fighting issues than the number of issues, we’ll be a better nation.

No time for the Country– With inflation and thus the cost of living increasing by the day, we’re too occupied accumulating the basic needs for our family that we are left with little time to ponder or worry about the issues prevailing in the country.

Be the change – Hypocrisy has its roots deep within us all. Okay, let me be a bit more reasonable, at least 70 percent of us are plagued with double standards. While we want the best for ourselves, are we actually giving it back? From the simplest things such as while you expect a clean city around you do you really make an effort not to litter the place around you to while you expect your daughter to be treated well by in-laws, how well do you treat your daughter-in-law.  So basically we need to revisit what Mr. Gandhi had to say – “Be the change you want to see”

Not exercising our right to Vote - Most of the people I know, don’t exercise their right to vote. Reason- “Sab hi chor hain, kya farak padta hai kaun jeete”. We need to act a bit more responsibly and screen the profiles of people nominated from our constituency. I am sure, you will find at least one candidate worthy to be elected.

Ignorance isn’t bliss, it’s a curse – While Thomas Gray asserted “ignorance is bliss”, the fact is that ignorance and illiteracy is one of the biggest reasons for our country lagging behind. What can you say of a nation where people blame “Chowmein” for increasing rapes in a state rather than curbing the issue.

Lack of Patriotism – While most of the readers would disagree from this, but trust me we aren’t patriotic. Patriotism isn’t just about standing straight up to the National Anthem or listening to a few songs on the eve of Republic or Independence day. It is something to be observed each day. Patriotism is not always about bringing a big change. If you are making a difference in the life of one more fellow Indian to make it better in whichever way, you are Patriotic. Are You??

While I understand, that this post like 13 episodes of Satyamev Jayate and many other articles/programs may make no difference, but a little ray of hope that I have in my heart is that at least one reader of this post pledge to bring about some change. Again it can be as little a promise that “Never ever again, will I litter my city”.

JAI HIND.

Today's guest post is brought to you by my friend Mayank. You guys have met before too, here.

Every Sunday, the forum is open for you all to share your views to the rest of the world through this blog. The arena is unlimited, the theme similar - anything that touches you, and can help someone else, in six points should make up a post. 

I will look forward to your emails to keep the guest series going.

Deepawali Decor

• Perfume your home using scented candles.
• Decorate with real flowers - making a flower curtain for the main entrance or a window is a great idea.
• DIY a Candle Rangoli.
• Use little lights to light up statement pieces in the living room.
• Colored diyas surely can light any corner they adorn.
• Serve sweets in a traditional pattern - may be a Swastik or Diya.

Fall Fashion for Work in Sixx Things

Celebrity Weddings through the decades

Rajesh Khanna - Dimple Kapadia

One of the most glamorous faces that the Indian film industry has seen, Dimple Kapadia tied knot with the then Superstar of Indian Cinema, Rajesh Khanna in a private ceremony in March 1973. Dimple was not 16 yet, and Rajesh Khanna had still not seen a flop. Destiny, of course had some other plans. Though the couple have two daughters out of the wedlock, Rajesh Khanna's career saw a steep downfall post marriage, and the marriage too failed. The couple separated, and remained so until Rajesh Khanna's death in 2012. This is a sneak peak of their wedding and reception day. Ain't Dimple making a very  beautiful bride.

Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bahaduri & Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai

Bachchans across the generations - Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bahaduri tied the knot on June 3, 1973. In the picture, you see the traditions of a traditional Hindi wedding, with Jaya looking a just-right, non-glamorous, yet very radiant bride. Though Amitabh Bachhan was linked with several of his co-stars, not to forget his many years long relationship with Rekha, the marriage stands strong as a rock till date.

To the right is a snapshot of their son, Abhishek Bachchan getting wed to India's first Miss World Aishwarya Rai some 34 years later, on April 20, 2007. The media attention the pair had by this time was full blown, and the tabloids played every nitty-gritty detail pertaining to the wedding for months altogether.

Dharmendra - Hema Malini

On May 2, 1980, Hema Malini created history. Despite being India's dream girl, she married Dharamendra, 20 years her senior, legally married, and father to two young sons. Rumour has it that his first wife's brother tried to shoot him immediately after he wed Hema. The couple have two daughters out of the wedlock, but the situation seemed very ironic when some years earlier, Dharamendra declared that he was legally married to only one woman, which is Prakash Kaur (first wife).

Ajay Devgan - Kajol

On February 24, 2009, at the peak of her career as an actress, Kajol married Ajay Devgan, her long time fiancee. Huge criticism followed, not only because the two had contrasting personalities, but had a very stark difference in the kind of fan following each had. The pair has, since then, been going strong in their life with each other, proving everyone wrong. Dressed as a Maharashtrian bride, I fell in love with Kajol's simple look for her d-day, specially her choice of color away from the red family.

Rishi Kapoor - Neetu Singh & The Saifeena Wedding

Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor are seen on their wedding, held on January 22, 1980. 32 years later, Rishi Kapoor's niece Kareena Kapoor tied knot with the Nawab of Pataudi, and actor Saif Ali Khan. Kareena Kapoor is one of the most glamorous and successful actress in Bollywood today. Saif is ten years her senior, and this is his second marriage. He was previously married to Amrita Singh, and has two children out of his first marriage. Largely criticized by the media, the Saifeena wedding was held on October 16, 2012, and a closely guarded event. Because the marriage was inter-religion, the two had a registered marriage first, followed by a reception and a ceremonial nikah. In the picture, you see Kareena and Saif after the registered wedding and Saif saying his wows to Kareena during the Nikaah. Kareena is wearing Saif's heirloom gharara (his grandmother's) for the nikah.

October was all about the Saifeena (aka Saif and Kareena) wedding before the loss of Yash Chopra and Jaspal Bhatti was seen. I could not do a post on the Saifeena wedding in time, so thought to make up giving a full blown post on many celebrity weddings, this time there is a bonus bullet, as we covered sixx plus one weddings in the feature.

Also, with this post, AllThingsSixx enters into its third month. Yayy!

P.S. - The information provided in this post has been sourced from all over the world wide web with the help of Google. Though I have made quite some effort to ensure that the information is correct, please let me know in case you find a discrepancy, and I will be happy to make any corrections.