Reader’s Appreciation Award

The funny, warm and kind Aalif Surti, who I have never met in real life but sense an instant connection with, nominated me for this award. Super-Grateful to Super-Aalif for once again for inspiring me. If you haven’t checked out his blog already, do it NOW! Dip into some deep insights peppered with a lot of humor, heartwarming caricatures and the shared joy of discovering songs and films that resonate.

Recipients of the award are asked to:

1. Identify the awards and who gave them to you.
2. Post the Logo on your blog.
3. Share 7 items about yourself.
4. Nominate 5-10 other bloggers to receive this award, and notify them on their blogs.

Here are the blogs that inspire me, although I must say some overlap with Aalif’s:

1. Kiran Gulrajani’s Co-Evolve – meeting Kiran and being with him has been a journey deserving of a book in itself…he continues to ‘unhook’ subtle beliefs from me and has introduced me to people and revelations I was waiting for since lifetimes.
2. Serene Reflection by Sangeeta Bhagwat – I was “introduced” to Sangeeta when I walked into the shop where I go very often to pick up crystals and I sensed her presence. A few minutes later, without a mention, Jahan Bhai (the pir baba who owns the shop) mentioned her being there a few hours back. The Universe was whispering and I was listening…I subscribed to her on Facebook and since then it has been triggering a beautiful heart-centering thanks to her deep writing.
3. Susheel Nair’s blog – A dear dear friend, soulmate and someone who always inspires me to write better and live better.
4. Just-In-Time Travels – A Beijing-born Canadian photographer whose travels to places I don’t know inspire me.
5. Vaibhav Dugar’s “Mero Soch” where he has stopped posting lately since he is busy with the nitty gritties of his awesome startup – EkTitli.org – that teaches you to make an organic garden in your balcony/farm/backyard in Pune, and in other times helping out friends like me for their website! 🙂

7 things about myself:

1. As a child I was immersed in philosophy, religion and Hindu mythology – I entered a Bhagwad Gita Sanskrit recital competition as a hobby, chanted mantras for hours through dawn as a necessity, read up everything I could on Hindu gods out of passion and soaked up Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quotes as an indulgence by age 11.
2. I was mostly raised by a lot of old people – my grandmother is the “eternal sunshine of my spotless mind”; and today too, I find old people having a youthfulness that I find lacking in people my age.
3. My father is the source of all my art – he is a violinist known to play any song / tune by ear once he hears it. He has been applauded by the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Jagjit Singh, etc. He is the most childlike in our family and has held it together with his simplicity and innocent wisdom which I seek to emulate every single day.
4. In my college days I happened to hear an interview of Arun Shourie and was hooked to the fact that he changed his professions/vocation every 5 years. Since then my personal life has been on such a trajectory where I get a “renewal” of friends every 5 years. I complete 5 years as an IT professional this October! 😉
5. I was trained all my life to be a playback singer; all my childhood was invested in learning the technical jargon of music, developing a fine-tuned ear for the notes and getting lost in the Gwalior gharana of Hindustani music classical singing lessons.
6. I often dream in French 🙂 i.e I tend to converse with a lot of people in my dreams in French! I fulfilled this dream of being able to speak in my waking life also when I graduated from my engineering college.
7. In my college days I had enacted/danced a mime which I had choreographed in an English play about child sexual abuse on the Enigma song, “I’m asking why“. I also had the responsibility of being the assistant director and had suggested the subject matter in the first place. The play won the first prize and the judge, Mr.Mohan Agashe complimented me that if at all there was an award for the best dancing, I would’ve received it. I cherish this play because I could study a bit of acting and it gave birth to the love of acting in me.

In love, delight and gratitude.