SIMPLY LOVE: it isn't that complicated

“Wake up! Come on wake up! It’s 6 am already. We are late!”.

He was waking her up. He tried to pull the soft comforter she was so fond of and which she loved to be wrapped in when she slept. But he only managed to pull away half of it, she had locked the other half around her legs and was peacefully asleep.

He looked at the clock, it said 5.30 am. He looked at her again and the only thing he could think of was the origin of the phrase “sleeping like a baby”.

He smiled to himself, bent down and gently kissed her lips, twice. He liked doing that, watching her sleep and kissing her innocent face, so pure, so pristine. He liked to love and admire her when she didn’t seem to notice. He was like that. He couldn't express much in words. Her calm and pretty face always made him go weak in his knees. He liked her child like ways. He liked it when she woke him up in the middle of the night just to kiss him and cuddle up to him. He liked it when she wrestled with him over the blanket. He liked it when she would ask him to stay up and talk to her till late in the night and would doze off in his arms within minutes.

No reaction. Not even a flicker. Even after trying to wake her up for the third time. “Well, that is expected”, he thought and while admiring her child like face, he imagined his unborn princess.

Even though they hadn’t thought of starting a family yet but his heart skipped a beat by the mere thought of having a daughter. Sometimes he wondered, how could fathers having baby girls leave home every morning to go to work. How could they manage not to have their sunshine in front of them every moment. He remembered how he used to become restless upon not finding his sister in the house, who was 8 years younger to him and the apple of his eye. She was his angel, just like his daughter would be.

In that single moment, he had visited the past, the present and the future. That is how nature has empowered the human mind and the heart. It will fly you to the moon and back if you put it the savage garden way!

While he was lost in his thoughts, the love of his life, his soul mate, went back inside her shell, the so loved pink soft comforter. “You love your sleep more than me don't you”, he said loud enough for her to hear with mischief in his voice and pulled the comforter off her with gentle force.

She moaned for a moment, braced her legs towards her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head. He looked at her again and admired her curves. He did that sometimes.

She was still the same like he had always known her. So beautiful, so care free, so calm. He bent down to peep inside the pillow and noticed a drop drooling from the corners of her lips and he fell in love with her again for the umpteenth time.

“I am going out to get the newspaper and milk. You better be up by then”, he said with a firmer voice now, while opening the window to let the sunrays in, and left the room with the comforter in his hand, which he kept on the couch on his way out. He knew the only thing that was good enough to wake her up was the lack of warmth. “Yes, I love my sleep” She murmured from under the pillow. He came back with the milk bottle and the newspapers in about ten minutes and found her still in bed but sitting, in her pyjamas and a white tee that had "love" written on it, with legs crossed, eyes closed and some hair falling on her pretty face. She looked awesome.

"Why do you have to wake up so early even on Saturdays?", she complained with a frowning face and with her eyes still closed. “And I am cold and I want you, or the comforter”, she demanded but with a puppy face.

“Because we go for swimming on Saturdays” he said, he paused and said again “and there are many other things that we have to do today, and No! you are not going to get any of those, not me, not the comforter so better open your eyes and get up”.

She waited in the same position for a minute, hoping for him to shut the window and leave, so that she could sleep for just fiiveeee more minutes. But she knew too well that he was standing there and would not leave until she got down from the bed.

Just like he knew too well that the moment he left the room, she would want to draw the curtain on the window and go to sleep again. “It’s your turn to make tea”, she took the last chance. Eyes still closed. “Wake me up after that”.

“No, today is Saturday. And Saturdays and Sundays are yours”, he replied back with extra energy in his voice. “Why is it Saturday today”, she finally opened her eyes, got down from the bed a little upset about being woken up so early, and took the milk bottle from his hand on her way to the kitchen. He headed towards the balcony with the newspaper.

He loved the early morning breeze and the warm sun. She hated it. Simply because it was "early" in the morning. The only thing she loved about morning was the "morning tea". She loved having tea. It was her favourite beverage. He just drank it to give her company and see her smile with content.

“Let’s go for a movie tonight. Check for the new releases”, she shouted from the kitchen where she was preparing tea for both of them. “So”?, she looked at him with a question mark on her face while keeping the tea tray on the bamboo cane table. He looked up and saw her expressions. She had always been so expressive with her face and pitches of her voice. There was no way she could have ever failed to put her point. He smiled as if he remembered something from the past. She still had the question mark expression on her face. She clearly wanted to know about the movie.

Saturdays were their movie days, The tradition which they had carried on since their college days. They used to watch a movie every weekend. No matter how bad or boring it was. This is one of those interests which they shared, even though their choices for movies were different. “Yes, there is one action, one romantic comedy and one biopic” he informed. “And why do you eat these spicy snacks in the morning, How many times have I told you that they are not good for your stomach” he added.

“Because I love to eat them, and they are not as spicy as you are, and I love to eat you too” she replied back with a naughty grin and a wink. “Alright, the biopic is boring, actions are meaningless, so let's book two tickets for the romantic comedy, the actor in it is so cute”, she declared while taking the newspaper from his hands and handing him his cup of sugar lemon green tea. He wanted to say something more about her habit of eating spicy snacks, but he let go.

“Yeah, as if romantic comedies are so meaningful”, he retorted and looked at her cup of milk tea with no sugar. She made a fake smile face and said "Yes, my love. Now book them." and kissed his cheek.

******

“What would you like for lunch?” She enquired while checking capsicums in greengrocer’s shop on their way back from sports club. “Anything”. He answered while checking his phone. She gave him a frustrated look and this time, directed her question to the green grocer with a smile. “Do you have ‘anything’? My husband only wants to eat ‘anything’. I don’t know if there is some food called anything. Do you know about it”. The grocer was confused and blank. She turned again towards him and said, “See they don’t have ‘anything’ so what else do you want to eat except anything”? Emphasizing on the word anything each time.

This happened with him often. He saw the red warning sign blink in his head and spoke instantly, “capsicum and potatoes will do”. And then pretended to be deaf for another 15 minutes during which she bought loads of other things which she would cook for him and argued with the shop keeper over prices. Pastas, frozen meat, corn, loaves of bread, other vegetables, sodas, etc.

She was a tough bargainer. In the end, the shopkeeper had to surrender to her bargaining skills and the aura of her charming personality.

“Why do ladies come to the gym as if they are going for some fashion parade”?, she said while unlocking the door. “That girl Maria, she really works hard. She was constantly on the treadmill for 45 minutes. How can she manage that. And I had an argument with Rita in the locker room. I was standing in front of my locker and she pushed me as if she is the only one there who needs all the space. In fact she does need all the space, she is like a baby elephant”.

She kept talking while she opened the door of their home and entered and put all her bags on the dining table in the kitchen. She paused and looked at him. He was removing his shoes. After a few moments of silence, when he realized that acknowledgement is needed, he said “yes, I agree with you, that Rita is mean”.  

She smiled because she knew that even if he didn’t know who Maria and Rita were, he was listening to her. “Ok, you can do some house cleaning and get a shower and I can prepare the lunch meanwhile ” she continued. “And I will bake brownies for you today, I know you love them” “Good, just call me if you need any help in the kitchen” he said and kissed her, which she didn’t seem to notice. He liked that. He finished the cleaning and other chores and she finished the cooking almost at the same time.

He was putting the clothes in the washing machine when she entered. “The lunch is ready, and I know you don’t like to eat before having a bath, so let’s go get a shower together if you are done” she whispered in his ear while putting her arms around his neck.

“Of course, and that way we can save water too” he replied back while holding her from the waist.

******

“Why did you cook so many things, you should have cooked something simple and fast, you get yourself stressed unnecessarily”, he said while looking at the table full of dishes. Most of them his favourites, some of them hers. She loved to cook and to cherish the meal.

Even if they were just two souls in the house, she cooked as if she was to host guests for lunch or dinner. She made sure she cooked well and arranged it nicely on the table with desserts and something to drink. She managed that often, even with her hectic professional life.

Weekend lunches were always special with her around. “Because I love to cook for you and I know, how much you love to eat”, she replied with a smile. “After lunch, you get some sleep and I will do the dishes”, he said. This was their mutual understanding. She cooked and he cleaned. She helped him clean the table, and moved towards the bedroom, but not before kissing him. He could see, her eyes were sleepy and droopy after swimming, shopping, cooking and eating. He entered the kitchen to do the dishes.

*************

“What are you doing”?, she asked from the doorway of the room which he had turned in to a study. After waking up and not finding him in the bed, she knew he will be in his study room. “Nothing, just clearing some bills and answering some emails”, he replied. “Did you get a good sleep?” he asked. “Yes, I slept well, for nearly 2 hours I guess. You know how much I love to sleep", she said with a lazy smile. "Come in the living room if you are done, I am making tea”, she answered and yawned at the same time.

He shut down his laptop and followed her. He was flipping the news channels when she entered with the tea and brownies. They both enjoyed the evening tea time together. In fact they enjoyed every time together.

“They telecast the same thing again and again, nothing new on these channels except bad and negative news. Let’s watch some comedy shows, I love them”, she said while putting down the tray. He was also fed up with these new channels now. He picked the remote and changed the channel to a comedy show. They both knew that no was going to watch or pay attention to the TV, but it gave them a feeling of someone else's presence in the house. They needed it sometimes. “I am confused”, she said while sipping tea. He could see a confused look on her face. She was so expressive, he wondered again. “Over what?”, he asked while he bit into a piece of brownie with his mouth. It was very tasty. He admired it silently. “Sofia, who works in my office, has her birthday on Monday”, she continued. “What should I give her? A handmade birthday card or a hand painted t-shirt?

You know how much I love to give personalized, handmade things to people”. She was good at arts. As far as he remembered, he had always seen her painting. She used to complete his drawing assignments in school too. He still wore t-shirts painted by her.

Every decorative item in the house was hand made by her. Her gifts and presents were the most admired ones amongst friends and family. “Yes I know”, he replied, “if she is a very good friend then paint a t-shirt, if not, then go for a card”. “She is a nice girl, she smiled, "I will paint her a t-shirt, she said. "I have a pink plain t-shirt, I think I will paint tulips on it. I love tulips, you know that. This tea is so good, I love it” she said all of it in one breathe and with a sparkle in her eyes. He smiled at her habit of talking about two things simultaneously.

“Yes I know how much you love tulips and tea” he said with an amused smile. He could see by the look on her face that she was really cherishing her tea. She cherished everything. She cherished life. Always full of ideas to have fun and celebrate. There was no dull and quiet moment when she was around. And he always had a reason to smile. He was reading a novel sitting on the couch while she was completely indulged in her work, delicately dipping the brush in the color and moving it on the cloth.

She was very creative and a fabulous artist. He couldn't draw but knew how to admire and appreciate a good work of art. He sat there and wondered, that even after being poles apart in their likes and dislikes for everything, except few like painting, they were happy with each other and had stayed in a relationship for so long. And besides everything else they were best friends!

May be the reason for their happiness was that they completed each other. They fulfilled each other’s void of interests with their own passion. They respected each other’s likes and dislikes. They argued but never fought. Their silent treatment never lasted for more than 10 minutes because they couldn't stay without talking to each other longer than that. He depended on her for certain things, and she on him, for others. When he said something, she listened and when she said, he listened. They compensated for one another’s lack of knowledge, and interests.

She loved to be under his umbrella of securities and logics. He loved to be wrapped with her love and passion for life. He was lost in his novel when, “What do you think of my tulips?”, she asked while playfully spreading the t-shirt over his book. “They are beautiful, really awesome", he replied and somehow admired the colorful tulips more in his heart than he could in words.

He had always been a man of few words. Never been expressive. She had been complaining about it for the last 15 years. He knew that he was not going to change his habit. She knew that too. He knew that she would never stop complaining about it. She knew that too. “All right, stop reading now that I have finished painting. Let’s go for a walk. And you know what? You should write more often or play music. It has been so long that you have not written or composed anything. What would you like for dinner tonight?” In a single moment she had demanded, instructed and thrown a question at him. “Don’t bother about dinner, we will eat out after the movie”, he answered . She seemed to be pleased. She kissed him happily on his cheek.

*******

“Let’s walk home, the weather is nice and it’s not very far”, he told her as they came out of the restaurant after having dinner. “OK, and can I hop on to you if I feel tired my honeybuns?”. She said with a baby face and naughty grin.

He turned around too used to her antics and said, "No .. now lets walk" he smiled in his head They started walking, discussing about the movie, music in general, cinema in today's times, theatre they missed recently, food they love, restaurants they haven't tried and have to visit, politics, religion, traffic, pollution, city, relatives and about many other useful and useless things.

They were never short of topics to discuss, never short of events, people and ideas to talk about. It seemed like they could talk and listen to each other for infinity and never get bored or tired. At some instances, he described and she understood. At some instances, she described and he understood. At some instances, they both described and they both understood. At some instances, they both described and no one understood.

It had always been like that for them. “Time flies when you are with the person you love”, she said as they stood in front of their home. “Time also stands still when you are with the person you love”, he said as he opened the door for her. They both had different angles and perspectives to see things. They never matched.

Many a times they tried to convince each other to see things according to their own views. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes they did not. But the difference in their approach in understanding the world had never been greater than their approach in understanding each other as individuals. At the end, it was a win win situation for both.

“Do you want to eat or drink something?”, she asked while slipping in to her pajamas. “No, I am good, but you drink a glass of milk before going to bed”, he replied back. “We are 30 years old”, she said while unfolding the blanket as he entered the room, after locking the main door and checking all the electric switches and stove. “And we have known each other for last 26 years. We have been friends for a good 18 years, best friends for 16, in love for the last 12 years and now married for 1 year. We have practically spent all our life together. Isn’t it a grand story to tell our kids”, she said with a smile and dreamy eyes.

“Yes it is”, he smiled back, and continued further for 2 minutes about understanding, compensating, complimenting and few other philosophical reasons behind their togetherness, and finally asked while lying down on the bed, “What do you think the reason behind the success of our story”?

“I love you, I have always loved you since childhood and I will always love you till I die. There is no other reason for me” She replied with the most honest eyes he had ever seen and a simple smile on her face. Like she didn't have to think at all. Like the answer ran in her veins. It was an instant reply.

He looked into her eyes and felt guilty. He wondered why he had to be so logical and rational about a simple thing like love. “She has far better understanding of love than me”, he thought, and fell in love with her all over again. “It’s late, let’s go to bed. We have to wake up early tomorrow”, he said, removing his eyes from hers. “Do you really want to sleep so early”? , she whispered in his ears as she rested her body over his. “No, I don’t. And you know that I won’t”, he whispered back.

“But still we will wake up early in the morning”, he added as he embraced and kissed her good night on her forehead. "I don't know why is it so important to wake up early" she whispered while snuggling into him,almost dozing in his arms. He looked at her drooping eyes and her innocent face and smiled to himself. "Good night my angel" he said and slept.

__END__

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

It was a hot sunny Sunday. The heat Gods were just not kind to us earthlings.

"Its very hot Dee" I told him "Where are we going? " "To my studio" he said. Dee was nick name for Devesh Vikar. I called him with various nicknames. This was one.

Devesh is a copywriter in the advertising world. He has a fairly good work experience in his field but his love lies in the world of theatre. "Theatre is my first love and my passion" he would tell me "and football world cup close next!" (Guys !! ).

Dee and me are very good friends. That day Dee was taking me to his studio at Bandra. Dee and his friends have a theatre group. This studio however belongs to their mentor where they do majority of their brainstorming, scripting and rehearsing. Dee and his friends have taken up stints in the world of English theatre for quite sometime now.

Dee always aspired to write and direct his own play one day.... and perhaps act in it too. He wasn't looking for commercial success particularly. He just wanted to achieve that milestone, the happiness of telling a story and narrating it to an audience through a great performance he'd tell me. And I simply loved that about him.

He would always tell me how every second of the day this thought was always at the back of his mind. And how his busy work life wouldn't allow him to write. To me he seemed like a serious guy when I met him the first time. But later... we got along like a house on fire.

Sometimes his behaviour would just surprise me. He could switch from being a sweetheart to being a moody artist in matters of seconds and you wouldn't know what happened! Nevertheless he was a fabulous guy.

I was looking at nothing while I was lost in these thoughts when the bike suddenly jerked. "Here we are" he said, it almost brought me back from wherever I was.

"Ahhh .. great" I said while getting off the bike. It was a really sunny and hot afternoon. The bike definitely wasn't a good idea. And Dee wasn't very fond of bikes either. I was surprised that he had brought one here to pick me up. But then riding it through the small bylanes of Bandra through the tree laden roads wasn't bad at all. And secondly I love bikes!!. I wasn't sure what his reason was. But I enjoyed my ride.

Dee was wearing a denim and a checkered shirt. I was wearing black haram pants with a maroon cotton short kurti and a sling bag. I took a wet tissue out of my bag and wiped my face, while I offered one to Dee too.

"You think this will work on my heavily bearded face" "How about offering me a shower instead " he teased me. Along with his witty sense of humour he had an inate ability to flirt, which was an integral part of our conversations.

I held him through his arms and told him "Sure.... but let's finish what we are here for first" and winked at him. Both of us have shared a goofy sense of humour ever since we have met.

As people, we are chalk and cheese. I'd call him chalk and I'll keep the cheese for me. Simply because I am yummy and more desirable... :p

As for Dee.. he is a creative guy. He loves his zone and space at one time and then suddenly he will bounce to being happy and crazy. It is really difficult to keep a tab on his moods.

But something about him was awesome and kept drawing me towards him. He was honest, very passionate about his dream of doing theatre, sensitive and a very caring person.

To his stark contrast was me. Rightly the cheese! A Fun loving extrovert, vibrant and always on the go.

Dee had taken me to his studio to show me around. It was a nice silent place in the bylanes of Bandra and we could hear the sea and feel the warm breeze.

It was a long time since I was pestering him to see the studio I had always heard of from him. I had never really seen his studio. For the last 4 months or so Dee was busy writing a play that he would discuss with me online, on phone or whenever we met. He was so involved in it. He would spend almost all his weekends here at his studio thinking and working on the script. I really wanted to see the place!

"Will u have something?" He asked me as we entered his not so big yet not a small studio "We have a pantry here. A small kitchen you can say. I can definitely make you tea or coffee."

Before I could say no. He went on. "Don't think of the trouble I'll go through or that I am making it specially for you, its my routine. I make my tea when I step in here and I could make another one for you! "

"hmmmmmm... I hate you" I mocked at him "ya I hate me too, high five" he told me and started laughing at me. "I love that silly face you make" he said" Ya and I hate that silly face you have" I retorted - this time we both laughed together.

Dee loves keeping a beard and to be honest it was this beard that brought us closer to being friends. Because I totally HATED it!

Everyday we would talk or meet, the beard always had its mention in our talks. The first time I saw his beard in the picture I was like OMG thats a lot of beard. And then on I would often tease him about how his love for a bushy beard would keep his girlfriends from getting to his cheeks or chin. And he'd always say "All my girls have pampered and stroked it so far. And that I have received no technical complaints really."

Every few days I would come up with some new idea of doing something with his beard style and he would dismiss it saying, "Nope. The stuble is all you have for now" (One annoying nut he could be.)

Now here we were, sitting at his studio with a cup of lemongrass and peppermint tea he is a pro at making. "Dee I am so happy, I get to see your studio." I said. "I had always heard about this place from you."

"Whenever you went underground for days thinking or practicing you always told me it was this studio." He smiled .. "Yep this is where I was when I wasn't at office or with you" "Ohhh and the jealous me thought you didn't love me anymore" I teased .. "Oh I still don't" he said looking at me with a straight face.

I threw a cushion lying there at him. It was a prop lying there which I put to perfect use at that moment. "High hopes not that I "love" you, you crazy head" Suddenly the fun had to stop as Dee told me "Ok girl I need to step out for a while. Just need to get some things. You be here and I'll come back in a jiffy." And started to head out.

"But where are you going! ? " I asked. "Just around the corner"he shouted while he was already out and leaping onto his bike.

"Aahhhh he left already" I sighed. "I wonder where he's gone. I don't even know this place" I thought to myself. I just decided to explore his studio.

The studio was a fairly big hall with 3 green rooms attached. 1 large and 2 small ones. There were mirrors on one side which could be hidden behind a curtain when not needed. On one side was a rack full of small props. Scarves, coats, hats, vases, carpets etc. There were spot lights and other technical and sound equipments.

On the other side was a wall of fame. It had pictures of their group - the fun moments they had while performing , portraits of each member in their best dresses. I smiled as I saw Dee's picture in a blazer holding an award. I couldn't figure out what was it for and I made a mental note to ask him when he comes back.

The wall was like a mirror to the hard work this group had put up over the years. The picture collages actually showed the physical progression of the members. From geeky looking boys to thoughtful bearded actors. Some grew tall. Some grew wide. I was smiling to myself while I was looking at the wall and I just couldn't get my eyes off all the stuff that was pinned up there. It actually reflected the body of work these guys had done over a long time. And I sooo wanted to soak it all up.

"Hey there" Dee called me from behind. "What are you looking at" I turned around and told him "all the stuff that you wouldn't yap about whenever we met" and turned back to the wall. "Really and I thought I talked a lot. Now I am wondering where I spent the last three months talking if it wasn't you." He laughed at me again.

I made that face again and he hugged me from behind and said "awwww don't be sad I was kidding" I gave a half convinced smile. "I have something to show you today." He told me in my ear. I turned around and looked at him with an excited expression. "What! " I asked him smiling again. He said " its a surprise and you will love it" "Waitttt... its the 30th of July. Wasn't the playwriting competition result to be announced one of these days???" I asked like an excited kid.

"You won it right?? You did?" He smiled and handed me a smart leather folder. I was sure it was his winning certificate or whatever one gets on winning a writer's competition. I asked him smiling. "Should I open it?" "Yup all yours" he said.

I opened the folder and it had a note written on a handmade paper that said - keep the smile on. Your surprise is in the green room 1. Used to his pranks I didn't want to whack him with the folder for harassing me and waste my time. I just went towards the green room. And Dee quietly followed me smiling.

The lights of the green room were off. I stepped in and couldn't see a thing. " Where are the light switches to this room Dee?" Dee switched on the lights and I was shocked to see a parrot in a cage. A bouquet of flowers and another leather folder. The flowers looked perfect for the occasion. But I was kind of surprised with what a parrot was doing there.

The moment I looked at Dee to ask him "what ...." "I love you" the parrot said. "I love you. ..I love you. . I love you" it kept saying and kept jumping in his rather huge cage. I was looking at Dee in surprise and he was smiling at me. "I LOVE YOU" Dee said, and opened his arms. I couldn't believe what was going on. It was one of the sweetest things Dee had done ever! I ran into his arms and gave him a biggg hug. Turned up, threw my arms around his neck and kissed his silly fuzzy bearded face. "What the hell is this you crazy guy!!?? "You always call me the boring geeky chalk. Here's my LOVE to you my cheese"

I couldn't help but laugh with him. I pointed at the leather folder. "What's that there?" "See for yourself" I took my arms off his neck and turned to pick up the folder while he threw his arms around me from my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"This is to let you know that Mr Devesh Vikar has won the first runner up position in the playwriting competition." I read ... I was a little disappointed with him missing the place of a winner. "Oh no! 1st runner up eh. ". But I immediately smiled and said. "So what!! Congratulations!!!! You won!! He smiled and said yes ... "but read on" he told.

I pecked his cheek and continued reading... "We would also like to congratulate Mr Devesh Vikar for opting to write such a wonderful story. It brings us immense pleasure to propose to you that our company would like to adopt this story and would like to co-produce this play with you for our pan India dramatics festival tour" "Paaaannn Innddiaaaa dramatics touur!! Woohoooo" I screamed .. "I love you ...I love you .. I looveee you" I screamed in excitement and hugged him tight... "I love you. . I love you. .." the parrot said too. Dee and me started laughing.

I looked at Dee n told "IIII loooove you. The parrot too looked at Dee and said "I love you". I opened the cage door smiling at the bird and let Mr Parrot go. It was a fantastic Sunday. And LOVE was literally in the air ...

Doing the Big B the small way - an insight to starting your own business

"What will do when you grow up?" aunties and uncles would ask me when I was a kid, And pat I'd reply - "I want to be a Business woman"

I just love the idea of starting something on my own. Different ideas that can be creatively converted into revenue generating models. Churning ideas keeps me upbeat and motivated!

So many of us are driven by the idea of starting something on our own, working for ourselves. To do something interesting other than the usual stuff.

Whether you are a student, a house wife, an aspiring entrepreneur or simply adventurous and creative and driven.

Or

You perhaps just love the idea of being an entrepreneur.

You have a set of unexplored talents that you can use to generate an alternative way to use your energies and also make some extra bucks!!

You perhaps don't fit in the 9 - 5 "office goer" category

You like challenges and creating opportunities

The list just goes on ....

Recently I encouraged my 15 -year-old cousin Khushi to start a cupcake business, and it’s so exciting to watch her get started. As I talked to her about starting her vegan cupcake business, she was beaming with excitement but had some worries:

She didn’t know how.
She didn’t know what kind of business to create.
She was worried she’d fail.

Do any of those ring a bell and sound familiar??

Those were my worries too, when I had a day job and was thinking of giving it up to build something of my own.

Worrying about not knowing what to do, how to do it, and whether you’ll fail … stops so many of us from starting in the first place.

I’ve helped a lot of my friends,  family members, acquaintances and clients to launch and start numerous ventures, from home based businesses to tiffin services to a staffing company, marketing consultancy,  communication workshops, yoga classes,  etc.

I intend to penning down the experiences of these young entrepreneurs and the thoughts behind their business ideas in a book and can barely wait to compile it for everyone to see and read!  However that thought is a little farfetched and will take some time.

In the meanwhile, I’d like to share the lessons I’ve learnt about starting a business, in hopes of encouraging more of you to get started with making (doing) something you love! :)

Here you go....

-- Look for opportunities.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities — what pain points do people have, what problems need to be solved, how can you make people’s lives better?
If you can’t wait to get started, you’re onto something.

Every time I’ve gotten my best ideas, I get excited. I tell people about it. I might even stay up at night thinking about it. I can’t sit down for long from the excitement.

-- Start small.

People try to build their new business into a massive launch, but this is a mistake or I'd rather say not required initially.

Start as small as possible, giving a minimum viable product to a few friends, and let them test it out. Then let a few more people try it... so on and so forth.

When you try to do something massive at launch, you make it less likely that you’ll actually start (in time), and you’ll take forever to launch, and you’ll build yourself up for failure, and secondly, you’re building something massive without any idea of whether it works or if people will like it.

Launch is just one moment in the lifespan of a business, and it’s not even one of the most important moments.

Not starting is the biggest mistake!!

I told Khushi that in the worst-case scenario — if the business fails — is not even bad. If she starts the vegan cupcake business and fails, at least she got to make and eat some delicious cupcakes, and share them with friends, and learn some valuable lessons along the way. She can always start something new after that.

In fact, this scenario of learning something and having fun along the way, even in “failure”, is demonstrably better than if she’d not started at all.
(Think about it!)

-- Start a blog / fanpage

The best way to market a business is by giving away free information. Show that you’re valuable, help people for free, and they’ll want more from you.

-- You need not really do SEO or social media or viral marketing.

These don’t add any value for your customers. Instead, be super valuable. Build something great, and word of mouth is all the marketing you need (including people passing on your best blog / fanpage posts).

-- Overdeliver.

They’ll love you, and you won’t need the SEO techniques. (Saves you a lot of money too!!)

-- Start lean.

I started mine and urged others to start their businesses with zero or minimum money, and just found free or cheap services to start with.

Only after I started making some revenue did I pay for anything, or hire anyone.

Make money as soon as possible by selling something valuable.

-- Advertising is not a very good business model.

When you make money from ads, what are you selling? Your audience’s attention. This isn't that great, and your audience/customers won’t really love you for it.

Instead, do everything possible to delight your audience/customers, and give them incredible value, and they’ll gladly pay for it.

-- Forget about numbers.

More specifically, forget about compulsorily hitting certain "targets".... A million pageviews, ten thousand subscribers, half a million in revenues. Those are meaningless and arbitrary.

Instead, worry about --
How muchyou’re helping your customers.
How much value are you giving them?
How can you make them smile?

Try putting some numbers on those things.

-- The joy doesn’t come later. IT IS NOW

Lot of times people kill themselves trying to reach a goal, or hit an amazing launch. They hope that achieving this goal will change their lives. Then they get there, and their lives aren’t any different. Then they move on to the next goal. And the cycle continues...

The joy doesn’t come when you hit the goal, or have an amazing launch. The joy comes right now.

"This" is the moment of greatness, of satisfaction with yourself and what you’re doing. Not later.

-- Forget perfection.

Too many people get caught up in trying to make a product, website, blog post, launch, etc. perfect. It’ll never be perfect.

Perfection is stopping you from shipping. Instead, do what you can, get it out there, get feedback, improve it, repeat.

-- Screw the business plan. (Oops excuse the language)

Planning, like perfection, is useless and stands in your way. Sure, you want to think things through, but planning is based on faulty information (we can’t know the future). Instead, experiment. Get started. Do. Then see what happens, and adjust. Flexibility is much more important than a good plan.

-- Start from home, and start with friends or a family member

You don’t need to have an office for most businesses … even a cupcake business doesn’t need a shop — at least not at first. Start with no extra money, in your spare time if you have to. Let your first customers be your friends, and ask them to be brutally honest. Then let them spread the word to their friends. That’s what my friends will call a " saasta and tikau" ( cheap and sustainable ) launch

-- Focus on important things.

Too often people get caught up in statistics, social media, lots of little tasks that don’t matter. Instead, get moving on what matters most — producing something that will add value to your customers.

-- Surround yourself with interesting people.

Having friends who are doing fascinating things is inspiring, and they will give you great advice and feedback. The people around you, and their positive and inspiring attitudes, matter.

-- Learn to be OK with not knowing.

You won’t know what will happen with the business. The world is changing. Your business will change. You will change. You don’t know anything, really, and that’s OK. Read more.

Get started, my friends!

You’ll love it.

Shazy D signing off

More soon .... Stay tuned! 

BEAUTY AND ITS BEASTS - SALONS AND SPAS SURROGATE GRANDMAS?

Mondays to Saturdays gruelling office hours and maddening sales targets to reach. The weekend after a flabergasting week seems like a fabulous retreat. An oasis in the desert.

 "Beta wake up, its Sunday morning, come sit on the terrace balcony with me and soak up the morning sun" said my granma "I have prepared the castor oil and egg mixture, I'll massage it into your scalp. Its very good for hair conditioning you know" "Daadiii! I don't like castor oil and eggs in my head. Its my hair and not a french salad bowl for Christs sake! "I don't like the smell either, and moreover I have an appointment at the parlour today for a deep root hair conditioning spa. That should take care of my mane" and I kissed her on the cheek and bear hugged her while she made a face that clearly said - God give these children some brains! 

But I dint wait too long to decipher and decode her facial expressions and cuddled my pillows back to catch a few moments of precious sleep. I had to reach Bandra by 11:00 am. It was only 8:45 which meant I could stretch my sleep time by about another half an hour atleast. 

As I was about to enter my beauty sleep my cellphone vibrated uncontrollably with several *beep* *beep* tones. With one eye open I saw the popped up whats app window. It read "wake up its 9 and I'll kill you if you are late!" "Meet me at the junction and pick me up from there" It might rain heavily and mind you I hate getting wet so dont be late" ....Yeah! That is a typical KJ message. My sweet, yet stern and endowed with supreme values friend - KJ. Salutations is just not her thing. She uses technology for 2 purposes. One. Important communications like I just received. And Two. Very very important communications like GOSSIP. 

But I loved my indulgent Sundays with her. Parlor trips. Shopping at malls. Lunches. Movies or pulling her leg while doing all of the above. I am usually the mischievous devil and she's forever busy taming me down (success rate being horribly low :p) 

I quickly showered and reached the spot I was to pick KJ from and drove straight to Bandra - just in time for the appointment. Okay about a ten minutes late. But that's because these Bandra lanes don't have enough parking spaces! Otherwise I'm bang on time. Every time. *wink wink* 

"Yes mam. We have your appointment booked with us, wait here while our staff takes you inside for your individual treatments" said Mary. KJ had booked herself and me for a herbal foot massage and pedicure, a fruit facial and a deep conditioning hair spa. A total pamper retreat after a crazy week at work. A bumper to our pockets but then relaxing and destressing doesn't come for cheap they say! 

We came home totally rejuvenated and crispy fresh! My dadi dearest was happy to see us back home and offered us to sit and talk to her along with steaming hot chai and bun maska khari (a typical parsi tea time speciality.) "so lovely ladies tell your old grandma about the latest in the cityville" "how was your parlour trip" I being the bubbly mischief brat thought of taking dadi on a virtual tour of the parlour experience. (Just to show off and prove parlours are so much better than castor oil egg mixture stuff!!) 

So I began telling her... "We reached the parlour just in time and the attendant with a cute pink tee and jeans and a smart apron came walking towards us and first guided us to the pedicure section of the parlour. She filled the tub with warm water and added Epsom salts to it with eucalyptus oil and dipped my feet in them. She scrubed and cleaned them with a pumic stone and applied a vegetable peel mask all over. She then massaged them with olive oil and moisturised them with rose water." 

Dadi was about to say something but then I gushed in with more... "The fruit facial was fantastic" I said.."she mixed strawberries with rosewater milk and cream and massaged it onto my face. I was glowing like a bulb after she washed it off. I could see my grandmother smiling and visibly impressed. While I was almost feeling the sadistic pleasure of proving it to her that parlours are just so kool!

 I continued "and you see my hair daadi? Protein pack! She applied a thick natural protein packed creamy mayonnaise in my hair and massaged it gently and steamed my hair for optimal absorption and then she washed it and blew dry!" Dont they look simply fabulous! And KJ had to add.. and dadi all this pampering for just four thousand five hundred bucks! 

I could actually see my grandmother begin to giggle and chuckle. And I was wondering what was amusing her so much. (Yes I am an entertaining entity when I get talking, but this wasn't the usual amusement. ) There was a hidden hint somewhere in her expressions that said ... "Hahaha Moron!" 

Every woman who manages her family is automatically an excellent finances manager. My grandmother who has brought up her sons and daughters on her own and taken care of her house, husband and inlaws is indeed an extremely practical and a smart one. 

So she says. . "You paid (blew off is what she really meant) a 4.5 thousand for all of THAT ! " "I must say that the service industry is booming indeed."

 "We grandparents offer you the same treatments and even more for free and you girls cant stand em eh. Of course we wear pink cotton sarees and not cute aprons!" She smartly mocked at me. And this time my mom who was over hearing our conversation giggled aloud! "And my darling intelligent granddaughter do you know that the power packed protein mayonnaise pack is actually castor oil and eggs whipped together."

 These two wisecracks were enough to get me and her both crack up and begin laughing on my silly stupidity. I hugged my rockstar grandma promising to book my next "Sunday beauty retreat" with her! - " ahhh haaa.. not until you pay me 5 k young lady"

 -- I remember this incident so fondly now. We often take our age old methods, techniques and recipes for granted. We spend hundreds of bucks at salons to get beautiful skin and shiny hair. But, we forget that our kitchen has all the home beauty remedies for every kind of skin problems and skin types. 

There's a very apt proverb in hindi that my grandma uses often. "Ghar ki murgi daal barabar" which in short means even if you have the best available at your own disposal you don't value it. But if the same thing is wrapped in a more presentable manner or is offered by someone else it automatically grabs our attention! 

Exactly the philosophy on which the beauty spa industry is booming and blooming today. Haldi chandan becomes turmeric exfoliating face pack for extremely oily skin. Strawberries become skin whitening booster with alfa acids .. After all...its just the service that your paying for. Products are in your kitchen! 

;) Jaago Grahak Jaago! 

Here are some of the remedies my grandma suggests which I now do to get salon beauty treatment effects at home and the best thing about this is that it saves me a lot of money ! ;) 

For a salon like glowing skin, make a paste of gram flour, a pinch of turmeric, and 1 tbs. of rose water. Make a semi thick pack of this mixture and apply on your face and keep it for 10 minutes. After it gets dried, gently rub it off from face. This way you remove dead skin as well as small unwanted facial hair. Wash the extra mixture with water.

If you are suffering from dandruff problems, mix one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice in two to three tbs. of warm coconut oil. Apply this on your scalp and massage lightly. Keep this in your head for 40 to 60 minutes and rinse with a good shampoo and conditioner.

To remove sun tan from skin, mix grated cucumber and curd in equal proportions. You can also add 1 teaspoon of lemon if you want. Apply this mixture on the face, neck and other sun burn affected areas and wash off in 15 minutes. If you don’t have cucumber, try using fresh tomato pulp which will give you same results. 

For those who are suffering from dry skin problems, mix equal amounts of glycerin and rose water with few drops of lemon. Apply this with the sterilized cotton bud all over the face and wash off after few minutes. This works as a natural toner for your dry skin. 

We all wish for smooth and silky hair but by over exposure to the sun, hair tends to get dry and dull. To take care of hair, use warm coconut oil to massage your scalp and take a hot towel and wrap it on your head for 20 minutes. Make sure that the towel is not too hot as it will damage the hair. The steam of towel will allow the oil to seep deep into roots of hair. Shampoo and condition your hair after this and you will immediately feel the difference in hair texture. Follow this routine once a week to get smooth and shiny hair. 

To get rid of uneven skin tone, take a raw potato slice and rub it on wet face. Make sure you rub in a circular motion for 5 minutes. This will increase the blood on the skin and even out the skin color of face. 

With our hectic life, numbers of skin and hair problems have increased. Instead of wasting money on expensive cosmetic products and salon treatments, its best to try some effective home remedies to get simple solutions to any kind of beauty problems! Says my grandma.

 Shazy D signing off.

 Happpppyy Skin Care! :D

Navroze Mubarak! - the bawa talks

The Festival of Navroze, the New Year celebrated on 21st March marks the change in season ushered by the Spring Equinox.

Its origins lie in the seasonal festivals of Central Asia and it acquired a religious significance for the Zoroastrians, followers of Prophet Zarathushtra, who preached his philosophy in ancient Iran around 1600 BC.

A small little miniscule community of "happy go lucky" people as it is fondly identified with, we are almost all over the place.

You surely cant miss a BAWA!

"Bawaji" "chal ni dikra" "su karech" "jamva chalo ji" these are phrases you must have surely heard once. One cant seem to miss these in movies, theatres, plays with parsi characters!

If you don't know a bawa for real (makes us sound like dinosaurs) you'd sure know one "on screen"

A lot of us know parsis, bawajis, iranis .. but most of us don't know anything about the festivals or rituals or celebrations of the community.

Navroze is one of the bank holidays parsis contribute to your annual holiday list and you ought to know why we celebrate it and its significance atleast!

But before I write about Navroze (my real intention to write this blog) a little introduction to the community ...who are parsis?!

We are a small religious community, which exists mostly in Mumbai and Pune and in smaller numbers in other cities of India.

The religion of Zoroastrianism was established by Zarathustra in 6th or 7th century BC.

The followers of this religion exiled from Iran in the 7th century AD because of the religious persecutions by the Muslims.

They arrived in India at the Gujarat region and were warmly welcomed by the people of Sanjan. Since then we came to be known as "Parsis" (since we had arrived from the land of Persia)

Parsis believe in the existence of one invisible God. We believe that there is a continuous war between the good forces (forces of light) and the evil forces (forces of darkness).

The community practices the philosophy of Good thoughts. Good words. Good deeds.

We preachfire. The symbol of light which signifies purity. And hence our temples are called the fire temples.

The holy language of the Parsis is an ancient language spoken in Iran, Avesta. However most parsis in India have adopted gujarati as their mother tongue.

The Parsis are less then 0.02% of India's population but their contribution to India is much more than their proportion in India's population.

The rich Parsi families contributed enormously to establish institutions of all kinds in India. Even today some of the bigger finance houses in India belong to followers of this religion.

Aahhh... a lot said about us ... Coming back to where I began...

Navroze is the beginning of the New Year for the Parsis of India and is also celebrated as a Spring Festival by the Kashmiri Community of India.

Navroze is a part of the Zoroastrian respect for the environment. This festival of the agricultural season became dedicated to Ahura Mazda(Lord of Wisdom) and the Amesha Spenta (Holy Immortals) as part of the Gahambar(celebrations of the seasons) 

Navroze or the New Year is the largest and most holy celebration, dedicated to Spring, Fire and Righteousness.  Navroze has links with the dawn of Zoroastrian history and the legend of King Jamshed of Iran. This is why among the Zoroastrians it is also called Jamshedi Navroze. 

Celebrated on 21st March, the Spring Equinox, it is the time of cleansing the house and spiritually rejuvenating the self. It is characterized by a sense of new life, the ploughing of the fields for spring planting, the wearing of new clothes and the sprouting of fresh greenery, which is placed on the specially decorated "Navroze table".

In honour of this feast, there are a series of customs marked by the number seven. This number represents the seven Amesha Spenta (the special Angels of Zoroastrianism) and particular food items are prepared in homes to be set on this table. 

There are special dishes for breakfast - one is 'Ravo' prepared with suji, milk and sugar and the other is 'Sev' fried vermicelli cooked in sugar preparation and decorated with dry fruits.

After breakfast, Parsis and Iranis visit the Fire Temple or Agiary for a special thanks-giving prayer called, 'Jashan'. They also offer sandalwood to the Holy Fire.

There is also a custom to keep a copy of the Gathas(holy books) , a lit lamp, an Afarigan (live holy fire), a bowl of water containing live fish, a shallow earthenware plate with sprouted wheat or beans for prosperity, flowers for colour, a silver coin for wealth, painted eggs for productivity, and sweets and rosewater in bowls for sweetness and happiness on a table.

Apart from these, the table also has seven foods beginning with 'sh' and 'sa'. These are meant to symbolise creation.
Food forms an essential part of Navroz celebrations.
‘Faluda’ i.e. milk flavoured with rose essence, is the traditional drink prepared on this day.

Pulao, rich with saffron, is a must for the lunch on Navroz.

’Ravo’, a popular Parsi dish is also made on this day.

The Navroz table has seven food items beginning with ‘sh’ (in Persian):
1. sharab (wine)
2. shakar (sugar)
3. shir (milk)
4. shirin berenjor (sweet meat)
5. shahad (honey)
6. shirin (sweet) and
7. shira (syrup)

The table also lays down seven eatables beginning with‘s’:
1. sirka (vinegar)
2.sumac (spice)
3.sumanu (pudding made from wheat germ)
4. sib (apple)
5. sabzi (green vegetables)
6. senjed (sorb tree berry) and
7. seer (garlic).

Each of these food items signifies creation.

Along with these, fresh fruits, dried fruits, nuts, and various seeds are also placed on the table.

The lady of the house takes the visitors to the table, traditional rituals are performed and then everyone sits down to share and eat these food items and celebrate.

I wish all parsis and iranis a vajtu gajtu haastu raamtu Navroze Mubarak and a humble invitation to all my friends and relatives to visit us on the 21st March 2013 or on anyone of the 13 days thereafter to celebrate the onset of happiness and prosperity.

Excuse the length and detailed description of the blog. But I simply can't cut it short sometimes! (Most times)
:p

Love
Shaz

THE ROSE WITHIN

A man once decided to have a small rose garden of his own. He religiously bought the seeds and sowed them in a flower bed in front of his little house.

He would water the flower bed faithfully every day in anticipation of having beautiful roses bloom in his garden.

One day whilst he was watering the rose plants he decided to examine them closely.He fixed his eye on the bud that looked like it would blossom soon. He noticed that there were thorns upon the stem of the bud. Looking at the bud he thought to himself, "How can any "beautiful" flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp "thorns"?

Saddened by this thought, he lost the motivation to water the plants. He neglected to water the rose bed then on, and dint bother much. The roses due to lack of attention and water...dried and withered.

Just before the roses were ready to bloom into beautiful flowers... they died!

If you notice, its the same story with most of us and so it is with people around us.

Within each one of us there is a ROSE. Beautiful and ready to bloom.

The God-like good qualities planted within us at birth, grow amidst the thorns of our faults and mistakes.

Many of us look at ourselves or others and see only the thorns, the defects, the faults. (our negatives)

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come out from us owing to the negativity.

We neglect to water the good (positive goodness) within us, and eventually the good within " withers and dies".

We fail to realize our own potential!

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the "rose" within them.

THIS is one of the characteristics of LOVE.. to look at a person, know their true faults and to accept that person into your life... all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul.

P.S. Help others to realize that they can overcome their faults.

Show them the "rose" within themselves & they will conquer their thorns.

Only then we will all blossom many times over...

Love SHAZ

THANKS MAA

Effervescent bubbling kids, colourful costumes and anxious and excited parents all over a playpark themed studio set.

I wrote this blog just after I was watching a reality show meant for drawing talent out of the little kids between the age of 3 - 12 I'm guessing!
And while I saw.. I just cudnt help smiling and gigging away to glory looking at each little bundle of energetic nerves perform!

Took me back to my kiddy days when I was a little pampered kid myself. Was?!  ... I still am ... just not "little" any more! :p

Like every daughter... I was an "out and out" daddy's girl (photographic evidence attached herewith). I saw a "superhero" in my father and couldn't get my eyes off him. My day began with running into his arms, seeking attention, getting pampered, bragging about him in school to my friends, waiting for him to come home so that I could hop into his car and go out for fun.

He indeed was my rescue man. He was my knight in shining armour who would save me from all the disciplinary protocols my mother had set for me. Things like "school" "homeworks" "getting up early" "having milk" ... urrghh!! Disgusting rules I'd say to myself !! (See my face in the picture with her?? Proof enough!)

I almost thought and was reasonably convinced that my mom hated me with the kind of rule book she had for me. Of all the things she would plan for me to do throughout the day,not a single activity in the entire agenda would even remotely mean "funnnn" for me!

I even proposed to my dad once (in supreme overconfidence) about getting another"nicer mom" in exchange of the one I had! Of course my super hero dad smiled and humbly explained to me that she was indeed a veryyyy nice mom and it's just that I need to understand her better.

Never understood what he really meant! :p. ... But I was just glad he never mentioned my grand idea to mom then.....else I'm sure I wudnt be alive today to write and share it here... ;)

Those were the days.. pampering dad and beating to pulp mom .. what a combination I say! Tee he hehe

One little incident in this reality show caught my attention. There was a little girl who superbly enacted a solo performance on a dialogue between a mom and daughter. The judges applauded her talent and asked if her mom was around. The smiling girls face suddenly turned pale and tears brimmed her eyes. She tried her best to keep them from rolling onto her cheeks but failed. Her 5 year old self was perhaps not experienced enough to hide the strong emotions that filled her up on her mom's mention.

The judges nudged her and asked the crew to call her father. That's when her father who accompanied her told the audience that she had just recently lost her mother. In no time I and I'm sure most people in the audience had goose bumps all over. I was awed at the kind of strength and will the little girl had in her to hide or atleast pretend to hide such a huge void in her life.

Throughout her performance she was commendable and nothing about her reflected her vulnerable side.

We sometimes so easily take things for granted.

Life takes us through different phases. Some good. Some difficult. We make mistakes. People come. People go. Some love you. Some hate you. But... that One force. One voice. One strength. That constantly continues to say I love you...is your MOTHER.

At 3, 13, 30 or 60 we still feel like little children in front of our mothers. I DO.

Though these words were written by Ms. Celine Dion to express her love to man who loved her the most.

I find them aptly fitting my love for my mom. This one is for you maa!

"You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see You saw the best there was in me Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

My world is a better place because of you maa !

I'm everything I am Because you loved me ...

P.s.. Love your moms! However monstrous they seem to you sometime or the other in life. They are the amazing powerhouses of love strength and care God gifted us with. Im so glad dad dint take my "exchange proposal" seriously!

Love you maa!