Madam Bagwati Ji !

In a recent flick, Zindagi na Miligi Dobara, A Hermes bag was named BAGWATI by Farhan Akhtar, deifying the exorbitantly priced bag. The bagwati joke was a good one and the movie was excellent entertainment. The “character” of Bagwati was just priceless! Bagwati had a charming personality of her own and wore sunglasses and fancy stoles….

Being a girl, I always wonder how guys manage without a hand bag… For us, our handbags are indeed priceless and we hardly ever move around without one. A girl’s handbag is indeed a pandora’s box and is priceless for the owner…. Bagwati is our close friend who stands by us in all good & bad times. 

I don’t understand how a guy can roam around with just a wallet in one trouser pocket and a hanky, cell phone and maybe car/bike keys in another…And yeah at times a small comb peeping from the back pocket ! And… that’s it! 

For females, wallet, comb and hanky occupy just a little bit of space in the otherwise larger scheme of things. I personally have a deo, compact mirror, kajal, lip gloss, tissues, hand sanitizer, cell phone, face talc, specs case, keys, migraine pills, pudin hara, safety pins, some or other toffee/ chewing gum, band aid, ear phones, pen, pencil, extra rubber band/ clutch etc in my hand bag… I have never felt weird carrying all this stuff with me because as you see these are all essential items. 

But yes, I have come across a lot of times when I have witnessed un-usual stuff being carried in Bagwati . I will list some here:

• Pepper spray : Meant to be sprayed in eyes of stalkers ( I personally feel deo would do the same so never bothered to carry pepper spray)
• Folding Knife again for the same purpose
• Glass bottle of perfume ( Is it not a bit dangerous to carry glass bottle? In case it breaks and glass hurts you when you are trying to find something, why not stick to simple deo sprays ?)
• Extra pair of slippers ( That’s more like being paranoid)
• Hair straightner ( Too much) Another small purse inside (that’s heights !)
• Tweezers (What the fuck, tweeze the unwanted hair at home.. why outsides ?)
• And the list is endless….

A friend of mine calls a girl’s hand bag, “Almirah” and I cant imagine carrying lesser stuff with me ! And yes, there are times when you are out with male friends and they buy some small stuff, then the handbag gives the stuff a place to stay and keep the friend handsfree ! Hats off to you Bagwati for being a great friend indeed… Keep rocking… And as for men, well we all know that Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus.. Don't we ???? ;)

Gargi !

Today I got a call from a person trying to sell some stuff over the phone, He asked me to repeat my name around 3-4 times as he was unable to get it. So, this prompted to write this post on my name.

I love my name.. It is unique and nice..But, as a child, my view was different. Gargi is essentially a name which is more popular in eastern part of India. Being brought up in North India there were literally no Gargi’s around. I used to think why my parents could not give me a simpler (read more commonly found ) name like Neha, Pooja, Priyanka, Arti etc. Why didn’t any other kids have my name. When anyone used to ask for my name, I used to be damn sure that the other person won’t get my name in the first go and I would have to repeat it. Even today that’s the case and I am ever ready to spell my name!

I didn’t like my name as a kid… Such is the psychology of kids.. I guess anything different is not really welcome. It makes the child feel weird and left out.

Anyways, slowly I learnt that Gargi was indeed a very thoughtful name, chosen after much research by my parents. And then the same name made me feel proud and different from the everyday crowd of Neha’s and Priyanka’s !

Gargi is mentioned in the Sixth and the Eighth Brahmana of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Gargi was the daughter of sage Vachaknu and her inclination towards academics was very conspicuous from an early age. In brahmayajna, a philosophic congress organized by King Janaka of Videha , she challenged the sage Yajnavalkya with perturbing questions on the atman (soul). 

In Vedic literature, she is honored as one of the great natural philosophers Gargi composed several hymns that questioned the origin of all existence. Yogayajnavalkya Samhita, a classical text on Yoga is a dialogue between sage Yajnavalkya and Gargi^. Gargi was one of the Navaratnas in the court of King Janaka of Mithila. She has composed several hymns and is an author of Gargi Samhita.

Gargi denotes a Wise, learned Woman!

I don’t know if I justify the name or not… Maybe the real owner of this name turns in her grave when she hears of my activities.. Or gets a fit up there in the heaven while witnessing my life on her CCTV installed in heaven. Who knows and who exactly cares!!

Anyways, as Shakespeare would say…. What’s there in a name…. !!! ;)

I write today........

Today, I write because I owe myself a few, last words that I shall dedicate to the past few months of my life, the person I had become, the person that I am now, the person I will always be, and the person I will sought to be.

I've changed. For the better I'd like to believe. Things that didn't matter before, have now found their place in my life.. a place I now respect. Emotions that didn't make sense a little less than a year back, are the very same ones that I now accept as a part of the many things I had to learn.
I've grown as a person. Or so I tell myself. I've learned to forgive if not forget.

Conscience always comes in way of things you want to go ahead with. I have learnt to deal with my conscience, to fight it off and switch it off ! Ultimately, what we do today is what we most want today, and thus it becomes most desirable for one. It is indeed a very small life and you never get a second chance to fulfill your desires. I have learnt to stand against people and their opinions... I have learnt how to remain silent and let things take their natural course.... I have learnt how to take every day as it comes.....

I've learnt how to make sorrows worthy of that pain that they bring along with themselves. I've learnt that there's no turning back.. even if you're not too far ahead. I've learned how to stand by the decisions I've made... even if they hurt too much. I've learnt how to never stop myself from taking the risk.

I've learnt how to give myself a chance. I've learnt how to give myself reasons that make sense and hear others out even when it's the last thing I want to do.

A part of me will never change. I won't let it. Because that part of me will always define the essence of the person I will always be. I know what it feels like to lose the upper hand over people. I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed.

I know how it feels to finally be able to breathe again. I know how it feels to never regret decisions you've made... and to stick by that even when everything turns against you.

As I try to fight the exhaustion which is persuading my mind to fall asleep whilst it is trying to finish what it wants me to pen down, I realize that at the end of the day, we all make the same mistakes, we all learn the same lessons in different ways...And life goes on..... Teaching us, tempting us, making us grow, taking us higher, going on and on.......