I had received a call from my friend Bhumi. I was delighted to see her name pop up on my phone. We had been friends for several years and it is always pleasure to speak with her.
"Hello how Mumbai is treating you?" Bhumi asked with a cheerful voice.
"Mumbai is treating me like a royalty. Just how she had been treating me ever since I was born. How is New York the treating you? Have you adjusted yet?" I asked Bhumi. I was curious to know how my fellow Mumbai Girl was coping up with a new city.
" Quite ok. After all New York is not Mumbai. I am trying to adjust and enjoy. But nothing beats our spirit of Mumbai. Every now and then I miss Mumbai. Whenever I see the huge burger in here I definitely miss our vadapav, Misal Pav and sandwiches. The one that I miss the most is Pav Bhaji. Otherwise …
No filter. What has been frustrating you that you…
No filter. What has been frustrating you that you have not said out loud?
We love in society where we need to reconsider every thought before speaking, cloths before wearing kr how to wall, how to eat, how to talk and all. I feel so irritated and frustrated at same time by this all and I want you to tell me, talk to me the things or words you can't say out loud because I understand you, all of youu (almost)... Just consider me your friend and let's have a talk where you don't have to be someone you're not and I promise I'll truly understand youu.
Ganesh Chaturthi is just around the corner. It is one of the biggest festivals in Maharashtra. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that is close to me because of emotional and spiritual reasons. Whenever we talk about any festival we definitely think about the fashion (yes, women have fashion on priority).
Recently I got a dress stitched especially for Ganesh Chaturthi. Today I was trying to see which Dupatta would go with that dress. I took out the box in which I store the design of dupattas. I placed each Dupatta on the dress to see which one fits better. After going through everything I finally shortlisted two dupattas. But I was confused which one looks better.
First I asked my mother but she too was not confident of her choice. "Why don't you ask your friends?" She suggested. It defi…
It was a normal day in the office. I had brought chocolates to be distributed among my colleagues. I had given the box to one of my colleagues and ask her to pass it around so that everybody gets their chocolates. The last one to receive the chocolate was a friend Priya. She took the last chocolate and came to my desk to return the empty box.
"Thanks for the chocolates, they were delicious" Priya said while returning the box.
" Thank you, they were homemade. I wanted everyone to have the taste of them," I replied thinking that it was a genuine compliment.
" So lucky. Your mother prepares really great delicacies," Priya assumed so confidently.
"Not my mother, I made the chocolates," I corrected her.
"Anyway, you still are lucky that you stay with your parents and your mother makes you meals…
It was the first day of our college. I had entered the classroom and found a seat which I found to be comfortable - neither too away from the professor nor in the front. It was somewhere in the middle. By that time I had become very confident and was not afraid of other student's judgements. I saw a girl entering the classroom and trying to find a spot to sit. She thought I would be friendly and asked me if she can sit next to me. I said yes and that is how I met Mira.
As we spent more time together both of us realised that we have a lot in common. Each day I felt that our friendship was growing and we were getting closer. We would share our dreams, hopes, and fears with each other knowing that the other one would not judge. Mira had always dreamt of a luxurious and comfortable home. She…
Just like today, it was the day of Sankashti Charurthi - a day when I fast. I would eat fruits, milk, and buttermilk on the days of fast. That day also, I had fruits in the lunch. At 4 pm I went to the cafeteria to have coffee. My friend Nikita accompanied me.
I took coffee and sat at the table. Nikita asked me, "what will you have?"
That was an unusual question. Nikita knew that I do not eat anything after lunch, otherwise I cannot feel hungry for dinner. Despite knowing this very well, I was surprised why was she asking me.
"Nothing, just coffee," I said why raising my coffee mug. I thought maybe she asked because I was fasting.
Nikita got up and went to the food counter. I saw her returning with a pack of chips. She opened the packet and said, "here, have some chips. They are salted po…
"Hi. Are you busy? Can we talk?", I saw a text message from my friend Preeti. I checked the time, it was sent 2 hours ago. I was unable to check my phone because I was in meeting.
" Sorry I was busy. I am available now. We can speak," I responded. I assumed it was not urgent because she had waited for 2 hours for me to respond. Preeti read the text and called me.
" Hi I wanted to tell you something important. Please keep an open mind," she initiated with pleading.
"Okay here I am with an open mind. Tell me what is going on?" I said in the most calming way ensuring her that I am here for her.
" Today I received a call from Yash," she spoke as softly as possible.
I immediately interrupted her, " no not again Preeti. Please tell me you did not pick up the call and spoke with him. By now we k…
It was a busy working day. I had a lot of deliverables on my worklist and all were required to be delivered today. My colleague Renuka walked up to me. I had no time to glance at her. While working, I said, "what's up Renuka? What beings you to my desk today?" She would not usually speak unless she wanted a favor.
Renuka was taken aback with my direct question. She put a fake smile and said, "don't say that. I often come to talk to you," she gave a gentle nudge to my shoulder.
"That generally does not happen. Do you want anything? I am quite occupied," I had no time for idle talk.
"Actually.. Do you have some time today? I need your help for a report," she kept looking at me hoping for me to say yes.
"Today is impossible. I don't know if I will have time for dinner," I was still working a…
It was a busy working day at the office. I was occupied with back to back meetings. It was such a busy day that I could not even get proper time to have my lunch peacefully. I had my lunch while attending a meeting. Thankfully it was a virtual meeting so that nobody saw me.
It was around 5:30 when one of my meetings ended and I returned to my desk. Most people had already left. When I kept my laptop back on the table I noticed that there was a small flower kept near it. I presumed that somebody must have forgotten the flower and kept it on my desk. Sometime later I received a text from my friend Swati which surprised me.
"Did you get what I left for you?" Her text read.
I looked around my desk to find what we had kept for me. I also check the pedestal to see if she has kept anything in…
In my office all of us where really close friends. At least I used to think that way, until a couple of incidents changed the way I thought.
It was a busy working day. One of my colleagues, Vrinda received an escalation from the client. As a result of this escalation the management arranged a meeting with her. The meeting apparently was to find out the root cause for the error that resulted in the escalation. In reality the meeting was nothing but a blame game. Vrinda returned from that meeting and started crying at her desk. I was really sad to see her cry and I went to her to console her. Along with me few other colleagues had been accompanying her. One of them was my colleague Dhruv. I sat with her till she stopped crying and I felt that she was okay.
Once we went back to our desk…
In the month of March, the board exams were about to start. My school used to be the centre for board exams. To prepare the school for the board exams, the school used to be only for half day. Shortly after the board exams our own school exams would begin. The school days in March used to be very casual. The teachers had already completed the syllabus. The students hand already started preparing for the exams. The school attendance would also not be taken on a regular basis during this time. But an incident took place which was life changing for everyone.
I clearly remember I was in Grade 8. The school was only for half day in one of the days of March. My mother instructed me to not go to the school, stay home, and study for exams. Being an obedient girl I followed my mother is orders an…
Me and my friend Priya had gone for breakfast. We got our food and sat down at the table. I looked at Priya. She looked upset and distressed. This was the time when a woman to woman conversation was needed.
"Are you all right? Are you feeling well?" I asked.
Priya looked at me. She knew that I had sensed that something was bothering her. She decided to come clean, "I had an argument with Ravi. It has been going on for a few days but now that is affecting me. I really do not like arguing with him because most of the time he is right".
"May I ask you what it is if it is not personal," I did not want to get into their personal matters.
" No I think your opinion would be really important in this," Priya said further, " it is about my delivery. It still has a time but many things need to be de…
It was a "make believe" serious day in the office. The reason was that our project head, Swati, who was based out of Delhi office was going to visit our Mumbai office. There were several meetings conducted with all team members by the managers to instruct how to behave on the day when Swati would be here. "You are not kids. You are working professionals. You are not supposed to scream, shout, or sing as you do every day. When Swati is here show some respect and discipline. Maintain the decorum of the working space" this was the common message of all meetings.
Finally Swati arrived at 9:30 AM and all leads and managers were called in a meeting room. Our manager warned us "behave all of you". We tried it to maintain the silence on the floor, but we soon failed.
My colleague Era came to me,…
One of my office colleagues, Rohini was going to get married. She was very excited for her wedding. Each day she would tell us about her shopping or wedding arrangement experiences. Hearing about her experiences, we always pumped up as well. However as the day of wedding got closer we saw a change of behaviour and demeanor for Rohini.
One evening Rohini give me a call, "have you decided what are you going to wear on my wedding day?"
" Not yet but I do have some outfits in my mind," I responded unaware of how the discussion is going to flow.
"Hurry up, don't sit and wait, wedding is only a month away," Rohini said casually.
It really hurt me when she said that. I had been really occupied with work and she was very well aware of it. I personally felt insulted when she called me that. It w…
I was friends with a giel in my office. Her name was Mira. Mira was 20 something girl who had completed her education and joined our company. It was her first job, so I had taken her under my wing. Mira was smart, quick learner, polite, and friendly. With brilliant social skills, everyone in the office instantly liked her. Mira and I had become very close friends or at least I believed so.
One day while working Mira approached me, "can you lend me rs 2000?" She looked almost embarrassed while asking me. I thought to myself that the pay she was getting was not enough to cover the expenses. Also she was staying away from her family. I empathized with her and lent her the money. Mira ensured to return the money afterbthe salary was credited.
But then it became a pattern. She would ask me to…
It was May 2021. Mumbai was under strict lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cases of infection were all time high. The rate of mortality had also been increased during this period. A lot of my friends and relatives contracted the infection. A lot of them even lost their lives. This was the time then I was contacted by a lot of friends with whom I was completely out of touch. One such incident occurred during this time.
It was a regular working day and I was completely engrossed in completion of the deliverable. My phone buzzed. I saw a text message "Hi". It was from my school friend Gauri, I had not spoken with her in a long time.
I immediately assumed the worse - what if she is infected and needs help? What if someone in her family is unwell and need help? Maybe something is wro…
It was a boring Monday. I was working on my desk waiting for 4 o'clock so that I can go on a coffee break. My phone buzzed, my friend Pooja was calling me. I answered the phone, "Come down at the cafeteria right now. Rohan is crying over Priti" said Pooja with frustration in her voice. This was just what I did not need at that moment - drama.
I went to the cafeteria where I found Rohan and Pooja at a table. Pooja look at me and rolled her eyes. Rohan had kept his head on the table.
"Rohan what happened?" I asked directly. I was expecting direct answers.
" I cannot believe Preeti is leaving me. She is getting married. Yesterday she distributed her wedding invitation to the entire floor and she told me specifically to attend the wedding. After all that we have been through she expect me to…
It was May 2015. A new Marvel avenger movie was going to release in that week. I called my friend Tina (pseudonym) who also was a Marvel, superhero, thriller, mystery, action movie lover like me.
"Tina, are we watching the movie this weekend?" I was so excited. I had already started planning what we were going to do that day.
"Yes absolutely. Let's take the morning show, it will be cheaper. I will use my credit card for the tickets. We will get 1 ticket free. Listen I am out right now. I will call you on Friday and we will decide," Tina sounded excited too.
"Great! Let's meet and catch up," I said and hung up. It was going to be another movie adventure. I could not wait until weekend to watch the movie and meet Tina.
I called up on Friday to check with her if she preferred Saturday or Sun…
Yesterday I was going through my contact list. I wanted to get rid of the contacts whicj I no longer need. I stumbled upon a contact that made me stop and think. The name was "Sonali D".
Sonali was my colleague. I still remember the day I met her. I came to the office and sat at my desk. I saw a new face. I thought she was a new joiner. I introduced myself and enquired about her qualification, profile, and project. She introduced herself as Sonali. She appeared friendly and we instantly became good friends.
I introduced Sonali to my friend group and they wholeheartedly accepted her. Since then Sonali became an insuperable part off our group. Sonali who was from Pune had been living alone in Mumbai. She did not have any friends in Mumbai and hence she appreciated being welcomed in our gro…
This may sound like "AITA" forum of Reddit but here it goes.
A couple of days ago one of my classmates created a WhatsApp group. The purpose of this group to facilitate the upcoming reunion of our batch. However the purpose got immediately diluted after the members were added. The group became nothing but chaos and noise. After seeing the condition of this group I did what any sane person should have done - I muted the group and silenced all the notifications for it.
Fast forward to Wednesday of this week. It was my birthday. I had received messages on this group and someone asked me what was my plan for birthday. I thanked everyone and mentioned that I would be working. I believed this indication was sufficient enough to understand that I would not be checking texts regularly and would…
Yesterday I was speaking with my close friend Sakshi (pseudonym). We had been speaking for over half an hour. While speaking about topics drifted from current day to 15 years ago. We had been speaking about our common friend Samrat (pseudonym) aka Sam.
I met Sam in my first corporate organisation. He was one of my friends friend. Sam was a doctor by qualification. He was the kind of guy you would want to be friends with - well mannered, polite, kind, sweet, and knowledgeable. Sam was really a good looking guy with athletic build. But it was Sam's nature that made him more likeable.
Sam was hiding pain behind his smile. Sam was in "closet". There was signs but he had not openly told anybody. However when he had resigned from the organisation he once told me in private and confidence.
…
Me and my friends what always discuss one burning question: who knows nose their children better mother or the father? Most of us girls used to agree that mothers would know their children better. The men who are now fathers would often argue that the fathers know their kids equally well as the mothers. This argument makes me chuckle. Though both genders new the truth: Mother knows best
Mothers know everything about their children. They know what the children like what the children dislike. Mothers know about their childrens strengths and weaknesses. Mothers do not have to guess but looking at their children the understand everything. I have a fantastic example to prove the theory mother knows best.
Two days ago I woke up with a headache. When I woke up I held my head in my hands becaus…
A friend promised something and then forgot you even existed. Has this ever happened to you?
This is my story. I was friends with 4 girls in my college. We were close. At least I used to think so. One particular friend R was very close to me. We had a lot of things in common. We shared some quality time in our college. After the college we chose different path. I joined corporate and started working. She joined a matrimony portal and got married. Despite our common traits, our ambitions were different, evidently.
R got married and moved to a different city. Our communication reduced day by day. I would always start the conversation and she would reply whenever she felt like. R would never initiate any conversation so even I stopped calling and texting her. I had many important things to …
