Empower, Encourage yourself

I got a chance to attend the”Women in Tech” event organized by Yahoo for Geeky women working in IT sectors. According to the Yahoo HR Exec, Aparna this was a tribute to all the geeky women and a platform where ladies could socialize with other women in technology industry. It was a great opportunity to “network, share and empower”.

The event started at 6.30 pm in Leela Palace, but as I reached there, I was given a Bingo sheet which had a number of events and we had to talk with girls there and get the signature of those who fit into the criteria and people who complete all the events would get gifts and 1 lucky lady gets “Ipad2”. It was fun, I met a couple of ladies, interacted with them, and we exchanged the sheets and signed the respective events we fit into…. :)

Later, there was a panel of executive level women who participated into a Debate topic and Sucharita from NASSCOM moderated the discussion. The topic was “Are women considered geeky enough to climb the corporate ladder? “ Since there were no guys, there was no as such hot debate on this topic, infact all of them shared their thoughts and views and gave some very good pointers.

I would summarize the discussion as;

Being Geeky means having the passion for technology, keeping abreast of all the upcoming technologies and wiliness to learn them.

Yes, Girls are geeky, but the number of girls that participate in such geeky talks are very less and hence they are not considered geeky enough. Girls should grab opportunities as men do and take up the challenges.

The statistics show that only 6%-7% of women are at executive levels. There are number of reasons, why the number is so low;

• As a woman grows in her professional life, she also has to take the responsibility of her family and that is when we give up growing and don’t take up roles of executive levels.
• Marriage and particularly parenthood, are life changing events in everyone’s lives and it is very important that women gets a supportive family for her to take up any executive level roles.

It is we, who do not consider girls geeky enough and hence backout from climbing high in the corporate ladder, so the message spread was “Empower and encourage ourselves.” Others will treat/consider girls the way they consider themselves, so it is entirely in our hands.

You must watch "Why we have too few women Leaders"talk by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.

• No one gets the promotion unless they think they deserve their success. Believe in yourself, own your own success. Reach out for opportunities
• Make your partner, real partner. Make sure, your partner is real supportive at home and appreciates your job at home and at work.
• Don’t leave before you leave. Stay in until the very day you really need to leave. Don’t make decisions too far in advance.

Know your local language

It was my cousin sister’s engagement the day I reached B’lore and it was great fun. It was a gang of only girls and there was no one to stop us, we just had lots of fun and we had bhavis talks, all just enjoy the way she speaks kannada…. ;)

Then I realized it really does not matter much, if you do not know kannada in B’lore. Infact I find very few who talk the language or even if they know, they will prefer talking in English or hindi….My sister tells me, you should talk in kannada only with your family or where it is necessary. I really did not get why was she telling that and then I realized it a few days later;

One day, our bike was towed by the police and we went to the station to collect it. The police asked us to give 300 bucks and i asked him, why 300 for? The usual charge is 150 (100 for parking in Non-parking zone+ 50 as towing charges). I was about to debate with him, and then my sister told me, “Let me talk to your head officer”. We met the office, he was of 50+ aged and my sister, who never talks in kannada outside, started speaking to him in kannada and very softly. She told him, “Sir, it’s so late in the night, we are just 2 girls and we did not see the No Parking board there and why do we have to pay 300 bucks. Please be generous to us sir.” He got so emotional, he asked the other office to take only 100 bucks from us and give us our bike. I was stunned, he did not ask for the DL, bike papers, etc, just let us go so easily…. Then my sis tells me, if I had spoken to him in hindi, I doubt if he would have let us go without 200 bucks.

The other place she tells me to talk in kannada is with bus conductors, they will help you get down to the right bus stop and give you the change properly. Preferably, in all govt offices, try talking in local language, you can get your work done easily.

So, if you know the local languages, it really helps you a long way. It is way of showing that we respect the place and the language and it is mental psychology; we always get well with people who know our language than the person who doesn’t …..

This is everywhere; I am not telling this in particular to B’lore, but this really sucks, why we don’t treat “Hindi” as a common local language, why discriminate, people by language or places. At the basic level, I am a human being and I should be given all rights, it should not change as I move from one place to other. I believe, we should all change this attitude in ourselves and educate others too… But till the change happens, I would recommend learning local languages of the places we stay, it really helps….:D

Share the power of a Wish

Children as I believe are the most sensitive, innocent souls of all. It’s said, always be a kid throughout your life…. I become a kid when I am with kids around and simply love their smiling faces and will do my best to get that smile.

I imagine at times, what if you knew when you are going to die, what would most of us do….. I don’t know what would I do but Yes, I would have lots of Wishes which I wished would come true and never be regretful of leaving life early without enjoying things I wanted to.

And I am really fortunate enough to have lovely people around who would try their best to make my Wish come true, but what about those people whose wishes cannot become reality due to some financial problems, especially kids…. I think it is this “Wish” which would give the kid hope in the future, will give them something to look forward to and focus on something other than their illness.

I hope I can in some way or the other make a Kid’s wish come true.

"There’s nothing like making a sick kid’s wish come true” that’s what Make A Wish foundation says and I do agree with it. They grant wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Today I experienced the pleasure and the most mesmerizing smiles on 2 sweet little angel’s face when they got video games and a cycle……

I tried contributing for this noble cause by purchasing a photo frame…. I would gift it to my father who has always been into such social causes and i am sure this will get a smile on his face too….J

So, I am using this blog post to spread the word of “Share the power of a Wish”. Try adopting a Kid’s wish by monetary help or by been a volunteer to such noble causes…..Adopt a wish and get the smile on a kid’s face, nothing can you give such a pleasure.

Congratulations Team India!

History was rewritten on 2^nd April 2011 by the World Cup 2011 Champions….by our bleeding blue cricketers. I remember dad, my uncle’s always talking about the 1983 WC win and finally millions of people wishes came true after a 28 yr long period, Congratulation Team India!!

The entire WC11 tournament was a period when all people be it any caste, creed only wished that World Cup comes to India. That was the period when literally India’s heartbeat stopped only to watch the victorious win. You go anywhere, you could only hear about cricket, player’s performance, etc. All wanted Indians to win this WC11 just for God of Cricket “Sachin” wish come true, that was a tribute to the iconic guy.

I still remember the 2003 World cup finals between India and Australia…the most memorable one. I had my 10^th Exams and was in front of the TV just watching the finals, mom was very unhappy with me and that turned more disastrous with India losing the match. Since then I lost all hopes and never took interest in cricket, thanks to my scores in 10^th Exams. My mom always reminds me of the Crazy “me” and I never followed Cricket…. :(

It was only this time especially after I saw the same crazy people around me talking about WCC11 that I started following it. But the match against South Africa where we lost the almost won match, I felt this was the blow India really needed. It’s not good (especially for we Indians) to keep winning continuously, you get boosted off and you lose the concentration. I believe that was the match which helped the players tighten up their socks and play the knock out matches cautiously.

I remember when India won the quarters, when asked about the India-Pakistan knock out in semis, Dhoni coolly said “It is just another ODI match for us and we gotto give our best in it.” The semis was a hyped up situation for the players. People said “You don’t win the finals, doesn’t matter much, but Indians cannot lose against Pakistan.” Hats off to our great Cricketers, they played a flawless game, their bowling and fielding amazed all….. that was a true Champions game, which left even the Aussies and many competitive countries support India in the Finals…. :) I remember this day, the match being on weekday, many took leave from office just to watch India win the game, none on the streets from kids to elders all in front of the TV, what an awesome feeling….. :D

Then came 2^nd April, finals against Srilanka that too in Wankhede stadium, Mumbai, Sachin’s hometown. Another match of outstanding bowling and fielding innings by Indian players; but when Sehwag and Sachin got out early, I said mom that we are losing and I don’t want the 2003 instance to repeat but there was a ray of hope and kept the patience. Gambhir’s patience and dedication kept that hope intact till the end of the match, he was the true foundation layer (Wish he could complete his century). Dhoni played a Captain’s league and batted in his “desi” style to the Victory path. He simply grabbed the cup from the lankan’s hands and cant forget his Winning Sixer shot, what could we ask for more?

Each and every player in the team deservers to hold the World Cup11. Everyone has contributed and together they stand as World Class Champions!! Not to forget our couch Gary Kirsten who says “India has to remain at the top of world cricket” Amen!!

I am going to cherish this ever and I am glad I can proudly tell the next generation to come that we were World Champion in WC11…. :) Congratulations Team India !!

Living with Creativity

It is said whenever you feel low do something that you enjoy the most, even when u are in a situation when you cannot waste time doing other stuffs…..Its well said “Its always better to sharpen the axe than wasting your time and energy cutting with a blunt axe.” I feel the same, give yourself some time, some break from the routine work & simply Enjoy!!

Whenever I feel low the only thing that can get me back into good mood is creativity…..do something with whatever I have & create something out of that.

I have won many prizes during my school times and I simply love doing this…..

I am lost into it completely….nothing can get me out of it. I love learning and experimenting new stuffs.

These days I take all that I make to my Dee’s house & she simply accepts them and admires them a lot…..i love her for that :)

Creativity for me is anything, sketching, painting, making cards with different stuffs (like egg shells, different Indian dals, etc), pencil carvings, designing dresses, making collages….etc

Even while writing this article I am all happy, lively (totally forgetting all the stress)…….i guess that is the result of doing things you really love doing :-)

Pictures of a few which i have.....

-Some wall hangings made of candy sticks and plastic strips. -One of the Greeting cards for which i won prize in school, made of card board, satin ribbons and different indian dals.

-Few paintings/sketches :

Bring a ‘SMILE’ on someone’s face this New year!!

As someone rightly said “there is no biggest joy than giving joy to others”, let’s start our New year by bringing SMILE on someone’s face and let them feel special!!

Some of the ways which I feel we can do to get that SMILE;

1. Appreciate your dear one’s and Thank them for all they have contributed in your life and feel it from your heart (I will fall short of my words expressing my feelings to all…)

2. Just come out of your comfort level and do live a simple life atleast for a day and you will realize how lucky you are and you will surely do something for people are deprived of basic things…..

3. I know we all are very busy in our lives…..but do spare out some time with family/friends and see the effect, you will fell livelier and enjoy life differently.

4. Always help people in need in any form….believe me in some way or other you will get goodness back in some form.

5. Donate your old clothes regularly…there are many people who can’t survive in this extreme winters…..donate books, help a needy child got to school, etc.

6. When people ask us for some donations why do we think so much even to shell off 100 bucks and we feel the same is very less when we are at CCD……?? So true right, this happens….

So….simply cut off your unnecessary expenses and donate generously, even a penny will help a needy accomplish his dreams/needs.

7. Never the less, don’t forget to SMILE…to get a beautiful SMILE on someone’s face.... :)

There are tons of ways, we could get a SMILE….these are few I felt like sharing. I am going to do my bit throughout……

Let it be clothes/books donations…thanks to my office and the NGO.

Let me share something….i am a volunteer at Great Foundation NGO and we teach Maths/English to the municipal school kids on Saturday mornings. I don’t feel like getting up so early that on a Saturday that too after a very tiring week, but it is the kid’s smiling faces, appreciations that give me the driving force…. :)

I can’t get this joy anywhere. I know I can’t please all the students…but when atleast a child thanks me for what I have taught them and they tell me “mam you teach really well and you will come next week rgt?” nothing can beat this…..i feel more motivated.

So, always Thank and appreciate people for what they have done and keep spreading the SMILE :)

Do you use Incongnito Mode?

Most of the crowd today can’t survive without browsing. It’s become a day to day affair for us. But how safe is you data when it comes to data security? Especially, when you are doing some online banking transactions or checking personal mails on some stranger’s PC.

If you are not aware, Google Chrome/Firefox has provided a new feature called “Incognito Window” for such private browsing. If you don’t want your browsing history to be traced or any cookie to be preserved, then you should use this feature to save your data.

Instructions to access them:

1. Open Google Chrome.

2. Click on this icon at the end of the address bar.

3. Select “New Incognito Window” from the options.

So simple rgt?? So, whenever you are browsing on stranger’s PC and don’t want to leave any traces or cookies then go incognito…J

Incognito mode is a read-only mode which is a secure mode and does not preserve any data on the disk, except the files downloaded.

PS- Have a safe browsing !!