GIRLY PROBLEM.........I MEAN REALLY!!!

Recently twitter saw an ugly spat between actrtess Ameesha Patel and actor Kushal tondon . recalling what happened would not be pleasant, but still for the sake of readers, let's run through what happened. The duo had separately gone to watch a movie in a theater hall in Juhu when Tandon found that Ameesha was not standing up for the national anthem and was fiddling with her phone.

Tandon approached her (not figuring who she was in the dark) and asked her to respect the national anthem. The rest is history with Ameesha getting back with abusive statements on Twitter, calling him 'asshole' and 'jackass' and explaining her 'girly problem at that time of the month'

ameesha patel 

I waited for the film to start so I cud address my GirLY problem in the bathroom. Didn't know that kushal wud make it a national issue

4:04 PM - 26 Oct 2015

ameesha patel 

Men like him who have forced a woman 2 speak about her intimate girly problems are jerks .. He is a shame to society

4:07 PM - 26 Oct 2015

Diyar Ameesha patel

A gold medalist in economics, a known actress , a person who can do those raunchy, double meaning item songs and yet you have to call the “Menstruation” a “Girly Problem”.

Let me tell you a little history. the first commercial sanitary towel, introduced in 1896 by Johnson & Johnson, failed to sell, not because there wasn’t demand for the product but because advertising for sanitary products was thought improper and so no one even knew they existed.

Various campaigns are going on, advocacy is at its peak in the world to call a period  simply a period not some girly problem, red friend, that time of the month, an aunt visiting . Do you even realize that this naming is bercause of shaming.   Shame of accepting that you are menstruating. 

Hey Ameesha, why don’t you bring out a biology book and read about it. And by educated , elite women like you failing to call it by its name you are pushing back the whole movement of breaking taboos around periods.

It’s ironic that so much embarrassment, awkwardness, and shame surround a natural bodily function experienced by half the population at some point in their lives.

The negative consequences of ‘the menstrual taboo’ are felt not just by individuals but by communities and economies as a whole. Over half of girls in East Africa miss important schooling during menstruation because they can’t access pads or the information they need about their own bodies and a recent study in Bangladesh found that 73 per cent of female factory workers were missing 6 days of work a month during menstruation.

And yes its not the problem of our culture to be specific. When you call it “Girly Problem” , you add the embarrassment to the long list of cultural-specific “sequestration rituals, around menstruating women. In Italy, women aren’t meant to make pasta sauce if they’re at that time of the month. In Nepal, women have to sleep in a cattle shed overnight and they aren’t allowed to cook when they’re on their period, so for four days a month the man will take over the cooking. “Until very recently in the UK people believed that dough wouldn’t rise if a woman tried to make bread while menstruating.

Breaking the taboo around menstruation is much more than speaking out. Its biological, its normal and it is associated with Menstrual hygiene it is an opportunity for the global community to say to disadvantaged girls and young women, ‘You Matter. Period.

So next time do not use the world “Girly Problem”……..Period.

With Love

A Girl Herself

TEN HEART WRENCHING IMAGES THAT WILL PUT US TO SHAME.........AYLAN IS NOT ALONE

I can’t stop thinking about Aylan Kurdi and the collective horror his cold image of being washed ashore generates .We as a human being fail when we see such tragic picture of a 3 year old boy washed away .But he is not alone ,neither our outrage on facebook  and twitter helping. Thousands are making the journey from Turkey to Greece’s easternmost islands each day. The majority are Syrians fleeing the war in their homeland. Others are from Afghanistan or Iraq. So far this year, the number of them crossing the Mediterranean has exceeded 300,000, with 200,000 landing in Greece, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR said.

Aylan is not alone in this plight The number of people uprooted from their homes by war and persecution in 2014 was larger than in any year The rapidly escalating figures reflect a world of renewed conflict, with wars in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe driving families and individuals from their homes in desperate flights for safety. But the systems for managing those flows are breaking down, with countries and aid agencies unable to handle the strain as an average of nearly 45,000 people a day join the ranks of those either on the move or stranded far from home.

Let me take you through heart wrenching images of refugee crisis  and why we need to correct this ,why we need to ensure these millions of refugees a simple right – Right to Live 

1) A happy Aylan Kurdi before he...........

        (Source-AFP/Getty Images)

2) Displaced children from Congo (Source- congomissionnewswire)

3) A child from Ethiopia ( Source- Rajonews.com)

4) Who can forget this image  of a scared child by Nadia abu shaban

5) Plight of rohingya, Myanmar by Saiful huq omi

6) A Lebanese child (Source- Daily star lebanon)

7) Syrian crisis in pictures

Credits- acelebrationofwomen.org , rescue.org, dailystar

8) Jerusalem (Source- Jerusalem post, kisa.org.cry)

We are sorry Aylan , we failed you and we will continue failing million of children because a millitary might is more important than a lost childhood

Keep Smiling there above......Believe me you are at a better place.

One Unforgettable trip..................GO GOA!!!!!!

This blog post is about a journey, a holiday taken after months of hard work ,an escape from the thing called competition, performance ,results   etc etc So we boarded Goa Express (Mind it if you are not in a group or with a romantic partner when days seem into minutes, don’t try this train 38 hours of journey can take your nerves out).

30 of us went to Goa and all credit goes to Ankit sir for handling not some little kids but grown up adults who every passing minute wanted to do something different from the group Amid Aantakshari, dumbshall act, mimicry our journey proceeded disturbing our fellow travelers when cards start world comes to a halt and non players (yeah it was me) look as the most foolish ones .The train journey was a roller coaster one with swords drawn out on the movie names ,enmity feeling which can beat India Pakistan , the ever so pathetic train ka khana ,some facebookites updating every single second and cherry on the cake was ghost stories until midnight.

Goa gives you a liberating experience ,a kind of break free attitude that strikes you the point you deboard the train as we reached ,I was enlightened that “What happens in goa ,stays in goa”(does it remind you of some other place?? Forget it…………J ).

We stayed at South Goa’s Palolem beach and if you are looking for a serene, quiet place, beaches that remind you of a distant island ,a romantic sojourn then South Goa is what you are looking for. The day had already ended when we reached so we just sat on the beach talking, dreaming There is something about beaches that make you dream, dream not of materialistic gains but something deep ,something spiritual.

 Next day was planned a trip to North goa and inspite of waking up the earliest we were late (we means the three girls-Nova, Prema and me) Finally on being threatened that we would be left behind we rushed secret is we always were late because………ha ha ha u actually believed I will split out beans of our girls talks, no way

The bus proceeded to Basilica of Bom Jesus church amid lungi dance and fevicol types item songs and here was Gaurav Agrawal,he never sat on a seat for a minute ,always dancing its people like them who never let the dancing mood die down The church is marvellous, visit it not for the story of a miracle called St Francis and his 400 year old body but for beautiful gothic architecture ,don’t rush, absorb the intricacies of architecture ,its lovely Agauda fort was next stop ,initially used as a water tank the age old walls face sea and I could find some guides telling tourists about the movies being shot there ,we can never come out of bollywood the continuity ,the walls with small windows make Agauda Fort so splendid as if it challenges Sea, questions its mightiness and still stands tall.

Yippee. North Goa and  its water sports ,the fun part actually began I was very terrified about the banana ride and the prospect of being thrown into the mid sea and these friends of mine assured that they will save me if I drown The person   standing at the edge of banana was holding my life jacket and I thought he was such a saint to support me suddenly I saw God in him Mid sea he held my jacket and threw me into sea and took the steamer with the rest of the people along I was like WTF !This demon actually left me here, well life jackets were there and Sid and Vishal screaming that keep cycling and yes inspite of that demon ,I was alive we went deep into sea later for an hour and I know I was a headache by being a non swimmer and always ending up coughing salt water after every wave, my friends never thought of leaving me and made sure someone or the other was always around to hold if I lost balance…..Love you doston for that

The main adventure was not water sports but finding out that we were left behind as we were late after changing and the bus headed to cruise as the tickets were pre booked (We here again refers to the three of us) we called ,bus waited midway and when we reached we could feel whispering and angry eyes penetrating us and then again friends made us feel that”Ho jata hai” nothing to worry ,making us laugh which we did not until we said sorry to sir. While everyone assured us that  nothing to be sad ,sir made it real being the sweetest person .

The late night talks were all full of planning for the next day, a group wanted to explore casinos, we wanted to go to Disco ,someone wanted to have a lone time at the beach and the day dawns ,we all took a boat ride to honeymoon island ,At the middle of the sea was carnatic music with Akshara Damle and when we returned a big wave splashed over all the plans made a night before ,after discussions, road safety ,distance issues, girls safety each and every plan was headed towards a no (he he) and evening was spent in biking ,trying local cuisine, buying cashews and Mallikarjun Temple (Krishna – mere ghar waale bolenge tu Mathura se Goa mandir dekhne gaya hai………;-)  and here came the shocker of the day-Silent disco now I really want to know who came up with this idea ,Dance is a community feeling, to celebrate joy, togetherness ,happiness or just to enjoy ,Keeping headphones on and dancing is something I could not understand and so did others When we perform classical ,it’s said that you have to make the audience believe that he/she is actually Radha and is longing for love and then this silent disco-something very individualistic, very isolated  and very silent.

Well Goa trip came to an end and I was at the beach at 6 in the morning for I knew I will miss the beach ,the splashing sound of waves the most when I reach back to hustle of Delhi and sitting there clicking pictures of couples who were trying after every failed attempt of self clicking, I observed something that I would carry with myself back” A Russian Father and his 2 year old son at the beach, waves come,the boy falls and he puts his hand towards father but the father does not hold, the child walks on hands and legs ,again the wave comes and he fells The father stands there just saying get up and finally the child stands on two feet ,again to be splashed by a wave and again trying ,Father never ever holding his hand and only boosting verbally “……………….so on the southern most end of Goa at sunrise ,I got life’s little lesson-lesson of parenting. 

Back to the train ,everyone was tired, exhausted, sleeping, exchanging numbers and in the process of one or the other person getting down in between at their home towns,almost everyone got down ,hugged, waved goodbye  ,promised to stay in touch ,This made me believe that we may have missed visiting a casino or a beach but we did not miss making new friends

This is for everyone there making it one of the most unforgettable experience:

"I couldn't find the right words
Nothing seemed to rhyme
To write something for you all
I think it will take time

Because when you have friends
That are very hard to find
There's so much to say
Because you make everything alright

So I will tell you right now
exactly what I need to say
To show you how much I appreciate
You all being there everyday

You're worth more than anyone
even a million pounds
Because you always know what to say
When I am feeling down

You made me smile big smiles
And my days so very bright
And when I was sad

we talked the whole night

I sometimes wish I could explain
How much you all mean to me
But its just not possible
To list a billion things

So I just wanted to say
I love you so so much
And I hope you never leave me
promise to stay in touch........

Go Hug your DADDY

In the mad rush to everything big , we forget life’s little joys – the joy of a bear hug.I look back on father’s day and miss my dad , being away from family for a long time I miss the little joys that filled our childhood. I miss dad when I see a father taking his daughter to park, I miss dad when I see a child throwing tantrums for another ice cream, I want to wrap my arms around my father when I feel low and devastated because I know only he has that magic wand that would make my problems disappear. I want to hug my dad when my driver speaks of working overtime to ensure a good future of his son and I remember my dad working day and night and never saying a no to all our stupid demands. I have been a daddy’s girl , a self declared daddy’s girl when my applications for outings went to mom through dad (I want to hug you dad for always convincing maa for the same ) , for never questioning my decision to take up writing as a career over medical .Today when someone appreciates me of the woman I am , I know its my dad and only my dad behind this , so I want to hug him and say him thank you for making me what I am today.

I love you Daddy………..Happy Father’s Day

Few lines that I wrote for my papa

जब किसी बच्ची को देखती हूँ जिद करते 

बंद जारों में राखी टॉफी के लिए

 
या फिर उन शैतान निगाहों को 

जो कंधे पर बैठने के लिए रोने का नाटक करती हैं 

जब देखती हूँ आइसक्रीम की ख़ारिज अर्जी

 
माँ से पापा के पास पहुँचते 

जब बात करती हूँ ऑटो रिक्शा वाले से 

और उसके बोलते सपने 

कि बिटिया को डॉक्टर बनाऊंगा

 
जब किसी अनपढ़ मजदूर की आँखें चमक उठती हैं

 
बेटी को अंग्रेजी में बात करते देख कर 

जब किसी बेटी की विदाई में 

डबडबा जाती हैं आंखें पर रोया नहीं जाता 

तो हर उस पल मुझे याद आते हैं पापा 

हर बेटी में दिखता है मुझे मेरा चेहरा 

और हर पिता लगता है एक जैसा 

कुछ अनकहा सा अबोला सा रिश्ता है 

पापा की परी कहूँ या Daddy’s Girl 

शब्दों की परिधि में समेटना मुमकिन नहीं

 
ये सफ़र है पापा से hero बनने का 

जो होता है सबसे ख़ास 

सबसे अलग 

This father’s day, I am expressing my love towards my dad by participating in the #HugYourDad activity at BlogAdda in association with Vicks.I loved this ad of #Vicks which without saying anything says a lot :

Fighting the everyday blues..............The Ambi Pur way

When it comes to odours I remember an incident which I would like to narrate. It happened such we, a group of 15 friends  used to take a whole day physics tution classes from a teacher  just before our board exams .One day it was Sunday and we were writing tests, suddenly a bad smell crept in. Everyone of us had a nauseating feeling, it was so strong a smell. Suddenly sir came in and happily told us that a relative from Bangladesh had visited them and she was cooking a fish delicacy where fish was soaked overnight in yoghurt, his happy foodie expression showed that he didn’t care about the smell. But we did, it was bad but no one had the guts to say this to a strict sir.After a while when this odour became unbearable a boy stood up and said “ सर! इस बदबू में मछली पकने तक दो –चार लोग मर जायेंगे “(a few people would die till your fish dish is prepared).

Well the class was called off and the moral of the story is –bad odours of home may seem bearable to you but  they surely are one pushing factor for guests. So let me take you to the world of bad odours of home (Keep your handkerchief on nose).

1)   Smelly Socks

The most common cause of bad smell and in most of the cases the originator of the smell is unaware of the torture he/she unleashes on others.

Grand Ma said- Put kapoor in your socks, some people even apply deodorant on their feet.

The School of Smelly to smiley -  Spray Ambi Pur if you plan to wash these genocidal stuff.

Copyright- Catcaster.com

2)  Smelly Shoes

Some homes should have a warning sign in front  because the different smelly shoes stacked together can make you puke out.

Grand Ma said- Put teabags overnight

The School of Smelly to smiley – How about a sash of Ambi Pur to make your guests smile.

Copyright- Manhattan Wardrobe Supply

3)  Smelly bathrooms

Ok, we all have witnessed the horror of horribly smelling bathrooms when some guests ,relative or any family member comes out of it, the urge to call a fire brigade is so strong but then we have to fight that odour. Doors are closed ,windows of washroom are opened and all attempts are made to not let that smell creep in our living area. Alas! It does and be equipped with our weapon called Ambi Pur to fight it.

Copyright- Memegenerator.com

4)  Unwashed Utensils

You had a party at home which crossed pass midnight and you are too lazy to do the utensils. You wake up to a tragic news that your maid has taken a sick leave today. You are late for office so postpone the washing part for evening and when you reach home after a taxing day you are welcomed not only with unwashed cutlery but also a strange smell of stale food all over. Before you put on that apron and ask your hubby to help ,spray Ambi Pur to ease the task.

Copyright- Dremstime.com

5)  Rains and the dampness that ensues

Ok ,I love rains ,they all make us romantic, we wish for drives,dance ,full on fat fried foods but with all those Aaww moments rains bring with them the odour of damp walls, seelan ,clothes that refuse to dry spoiling the moment. You can always fight the odours and then take care of the rest.

Copyright- Homegardenhealthydesigns.com

6)  Clogged Sinks or Pipes

Sinks that are clogged or pipes that fail to succumb to the power of drain it give the most excruciatingly bad smell. Plumber seems like a God’s avatar in those dire times of need and do you realize what tortures us the most till the most revered plumber knocks the door, it’s the smell .Use ambi pur because it makes the odour disappear like it never was.

From Smelly  Disasters to Smiley Dens ,It’s the Ambi Pur that always comes for rescue.

GET AMBI PUR INSTEAD :-)   ,Copyright- Cartoonstock.com

I am blogging for #SmellyToSmiley activity atBlogAdda.com in association with Ambi Pur