Corridors

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Today, Rajiv had asked Rhea to move with him to another town. She was about to leave her town in next few days. Wanting to spend some time alone, she went to her favourite place.

These corridors had known the stories of her achievements and struggles, ever since she visited here for the first time with Rajiv. “Tread softly, and admire the work of the artisans on the walls.” Rajiv had said to her softly. His words had a great impact on her being. Her perception had changed to a great extent.

Observing these silent corridors had taught her to take a leap of faith and free herself from all the if’s and but’s, to recognize the truth, to look for the possibilities, to be confident, and to admire the positive spaces that were created by the artisans.

Walking through these corridors she had learnt to set on a journey, resolve the issues in here and now, and not to carry forward her emotional baggage. Her heart was humming a song.

Out of the many feelings that hid behind the doors, she chose love today. These corridors opened the doors of happiness for her.

-payal

I am participating in write tribe festival of words.

 

Miracle

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With suppressed emotions, it was becoming difficult for him to survive. Grudges and regrets had got hold of him and took a toll on his quality of work. In the morning boss had given him the last warning. His confidence was shattering day by day. While looking down, he saw his reflection in the mirror. His life had turned upside down. Contemplating, he shed a few tears and prayed. His distorted self-image started to collapse in front of his eyes. In that miraculous moment, his heart whispered, "Smile, God loves you." -payal
P.S. Miracles happen, if you believe in them. Believe in yourself.

Burnt leaves

Saharanpur, 2016

Burnt edges of rough curled leaves smelt of invincible rain that somehow stayed back in frozen footsteps on the white shimmering streets.

Strong steady branches that flowered once on a stony path look like ghosts in the night. Sunlight in the morning clears the haze and we quietly indulge in heavenly taste of melted snow.
~~payal~~

p.s. This leaf was lying lonely in my dad's garden. He brought it inside, and placed it well along with his favourite money plant. It became my muse for Day 2.

We are celebrating write tribe festival of words#5. Join in the fun here.

She

Miramar, Goa

She kept walking, on the curvy slope, far from the crowd,  towards the sea, fearlessly, when all at once she felt the need to relax. Sitting quietly on the  brick wall , she could feel the turbulent weather. The waves roared within, gripping her tightly. 

Reminiscing the days bygone, sitting there talking to her shadows.  Holding on to hope, waiting happily, for the new morning. She took a few more steps to face the tides.                                  
 

Just then moist air touched her, she could smell the sea.

~~payal~~

We are celebrating write tribe festival of words#5. Join in the fun here.

Teddy Travelogues

“When we were kids, we used to visit our grandparents where we used to meet all our cousins and relatives. As kids, we looked forward to the vacations. We used to have fun time together.” Seema was memorizing her childhood days.

“Vacations are a luxury these days. It had been long since we spent some time together. Let’s take out some time before the vacations get over! These are the days we can spend some time with our family together.”Nikhil had said with conviction to Seema, to which she agreed.

Kids were excited and a break from the boring routine was needed desperately. They had finished their holiday homework and their vacation was getting over.

They made the reservations, packed their bags and set on their journey.

We all need some time to be ourselves, to forget our worries, to live in the present, to strengthen our bonds, to understand each other and sometimes just to be one with nature, to appreciate and be grateful for whatever we have.  Nikhil and Seema were busy listening to the kids as they noticed the minute details and enjoyed the roads.

Travelling together on the road, penetrating the dark clouds, they went further and reached their destination where the Sun greeted them shyly.

“Wow! What a beautiful place!” Little Teesha exclaimed as she came out of her car with her favourite doll that she used to carry everywhere she went. “Bhaiya, look at that cloud, it looks like a fairy!“ She pointed towards a floating cloud while looking at her elder brother Dhruv.

Their smiles made their hearts happy.

“Come on, let us go inside!” Nikhil said to the kids who were already running fast towards the door.

“Hey, go slow!” Seema shouted while catching up.

Both the kids looked excited as Nikhil and Seema checked in the hotel room.

“Making sand castles, running on the shore, collecting shells and pebbles, enjoying on the white sands, catching butterflies, basking in the sun, hiking and admiring the breathtaking beauty of cascading water from the mountains in the rainy season, or simply going out in the market and shopping, no vacation seems to be complete when we leave our kids at home.”

“Yes, I remember, last time we had to leave them at home but they were in our thoughts! At every shop, we were trying to look out for something or the other that our kids wanted.”

Nikhil and Seema were busy talking as the phone bell rang.

“Sir, I wanted to ask you if you want to register your kids for the activities in the activity area. You can check out the details in our booklet. ” The receptionist had called up.

The kids seemed to be interested and got busy with the activities that enhanced their creativity. They had planned to spend evening in the play room together. Nikhil and Seema got back to their talks while sipping their cup of tea.

~~payal~~

 This post is a part of an initiative by Teddy Travelogues and indiblogger.

Dream wedding

Finally they were getting married.

Few days back they gave me a curious glance when I told them that I can handle all their worries related to the preparation of this wedding.

“Time is less, and work is more. It’s not easy!” They said.

“ Have you heard of Alladin’s lamp that used to fulfil wishes? I have it. See you in the evening with the invitation designs.”

“So soon?” They were not ready to believe.

I logged in baggout and there I found most of the things available from various retailers with discounts and cash back offers. As promised, I went back in the evening with the details.

I showed them samples of embellished wedding invitations that I chose from Shopclues.

I was somehow playing a wedding planner in their wedding. They wanted to keep it simple yet memorable. Close friends and relatives had to be invited and a beach resort had to be booked for the stay and ceremonies. Everything was planned in a simple manner with attention and importance to every guest.

I had it all at my fingertips. I suggested them to book the travel tickets and hotel rooms for the guests from Yatra's site. They very well agreed. Mouth watering dishes for the guests was fixed to be arranged from FoodPanda. A beachside resort was on my list that was booked from hotels.com as the venue for the ceremonies.

 ...and the preparations were almost done.

 Indian weddings! The ceremonies can be as grand as one wants, but handling them without hassle is another job. Taking out time to make proper arrangements right from receiving the guests,  venue, menu, rituals, reception, photography, video recording, lights, become unmanageable in today’s time for the families.

Somehow, I had less worries. I was quite sure that I’ll handle everything in a decent manner as per the budget.

****

There they rose from the shell, amidst the chants of mantras, with garlands in their hands. The bride was elegantly dressed in cream and red jarkan work lehenga from Nine colours and the groom in cream wedding sherwani purchased from craftsvilla. Apart from the dress, accessories that was chosen from the site gave the perfect look on the wedding day and could make any girl sigh. I stood there smiling as everyone was praising the beauty of the moment. Flower droppings arranged from shopclues was icing on the cake. I sat back and sipped coffee.

Photographer was taking the photographs and a video camera was installed in the centre to cover the celebration.

Everyone danced on the bhangra beats. I heaved a sigh of relief and moved to the beachside where  rest of the ceremonies had to take place. Standing on the carpet, lying on the sand, beneath the clear blue sky, where the mandap was set, well decorated, where the sound of waves would bless the newly wedded couple.

Shopping for marriage is the most time consuming activity. I looked up and thanked God for a single stop destination that helped me in making all the arrangements and ensuring deliveries without any hassle. The next morning, guests were given gifts as the token of love.

Appreciation came naturally. Unlike other celebrities wedding, Ripudaman and Shivangi's wedding was more of celebration.

P.S. This post is written in response to the initiative by BaggOut.com where the topic was, "You have been appointed the wedding planner at your favorite celebrity's wedding. Write your hypothetical experience of the same assuming that all the shopping and bookings are done through baggout."

Oh my Godmother! - a new age fairy tale

Life mostly starts after “..and they lived happily ever after. The End”, as it happened in case of Cinderella. After her marriage, she had got a new life full of love. Her prince wanted her to do whatever she wished to. He gave her the freedom she had always missed. When she stood in front of the mirror, she felt how beautiful she was.

She was appreciated and admired for being who she was. She had friends from all walks of life. One day she opened up her wardrobe and found her glass slippers that brought back many sad memories with her step mother and sisters that she had almost forgotten.

She sat there and grief struck her but then a moment of realization dawned. She felt anxious and remembered her fairy God mother.

“She helped me so much. It’s because of her that I am here.” She was talking to herself.

“I wish my step-mother and my sisters are fine. I haven’t heard from them since ages. If they had been good to me, how would I have met my fairy Godmother?”

All of a sudden she noticed a strange old lady sitting beside her.

 “Who are you? Where did you come from?” Cinderella got up from her place as she couldn’t recognize that lady and was shocked to see her smiling.

“Oh dear, I am your Godmother and here’s a gift for you.” Fairy removed her glares and handed over a beautiful dress to her.

 “Oh my God! You look so different!” Cinderella exclaimed and her eyes widened!

 They had met after a long time and her Godmother looked gorgeous! She was dressed in elegant outfit and astonishing jewellery. She looked like a new age woman, smarter than ever.

“Cinderella, you look pretty.” Fairy said with a cheerful smile.

“Mother, I feel bad for my sisters. Whatever they did was not right but..”

“You have a beautiful heart. Listen to what it says.” Godmother waved her magic wand and the cat that used to sit by the cinders with her near the fire place, in her time of distress, appeared. Cinderella was so happy.

In another flick of magic wand, the fairy gifted her the shopping vouchers.

‘What is this?” Cinderella looked surprised.

“It’s a new age mantra. Buy anything for yourself and cheer up. You are beautiful.”

“Oh! That’s why you look different!” Cinderella said with tongue in her cheek. They both chuckled.

“Come on, let’s go for shopping!”said her fairy grandmother.

Fairy waved her magic wand again and there appeared a gadget that looked like a laptop. Fairy opened the site and asked Cinderella to buy anything of her choice with the help of those vouchers.

Cinderella had never heard of BaggOut. There she felt as if she had entered a shopping mall. Attractive dresses, accessories, household goods and much more from different options.

She found it interesting. Her Godmother always made her life easy. Shopping was fun with her fairy Godmother and the cat. Without getting tired, she shopped for everything that she needed . She redeemed the vouchers and bought so many good things. Everything was going fine. Her anxiety vanished. She had purchased the goodies that were delivered within time.

Godmother blessed her and waved her magic wand. The cat disappeared.

“I am always there whenever you need me.” and then the fairy vanished leaving a smile on Cinderella’s face.

~~payal~~

  This post is a part of an initiative by BaggOut.com

Conditions Apply

At school

Parents take their three year old kid for admission in a reputed school.They wait in the long queue,fill up the registration form and submit it.The form gets rejected."In nursery,we take admission of the kids born till 30^th Sep.Your child’s birthdate is 1^st of October. Sorry, Can't help..*conditions apply*!"

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 At Work

He refused to work on Sunday .The manager took out an agreement from the drawer and read clause no. 24.``We’ll decide your job as per your training,but that would be only if you keep working as per our policies. If there is a project,you’ll have to work on Sundays too!”You’re fired!

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At Hospital

 Oh! It’s an emergency case. We need blood for him. Please arrange atleast 6 bottles of  A- blood group. Though we have it in our blood bank,we won’t be able to give it unless you get a donor. It is a very rare group and we need to keep it in store for emergencies.

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At Airport

They had to reach 40 minutes before the departure of the flight.Besides heavy traffic,they were almost on time and got the baggage checked."You are two minutes late,Sir.The counter is closed.We'll return your baggage!"said the girl sitting behind the desk.It's clearly mentioned on the tickets,here..*conditions apply*!"

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In Relations

Ever heard yourself say,

"If you do this for me,I’ll do that for you."

"If you can’t do this,I can’t do that."

Just to make it your way?

Bright colours sometimes fade

In this and that..

Now rarely,we find

Some relations true

Though detached 

yet connected 

*Conditions apply*

In some relationships too! 

~~payal~~

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P.S. This post is written for Write Tribe: 55 On Friday-2