All of us have been addicted to a sitcom once in our life time; moreover, there are couple of us who have been hooked on so bad, that a TV series needs to be watched to end our day. We switch from one episode to the other as we challenge ourselves not to complete the season which ends like a marathon. After the seasons have ended, we look for different interesting series choosing the genre that we would want to see next.

There are so many options to pick from the list which is so long, but there are only some that you are obsessed about. Do you remember any series which you have been so crazy on or any one character that you have been or are in love with? For many including me it has been SUITS, a USA network drama which revolves around the law firm in New York. It features Gabriel Match aka Harvey (a personality to die for complementing with super hotness), Patrick J. Adams as Mike (The smartest boy in town), Rick Hoffman (With the “Litt up” ideas), Sarah Rafferty ( The saviour and the godmother) and finally we have the perfect example of beauty and brain:- Gina Torres!! The group is just perfect to get the show going and so is the original soundtrack of the series.

With plenty business deals and handling different situations, this series has something to itself which is super special. The summer season 4 is over and the wait for winter episodes is getting longer as it is about signing the senior partner and giving Louis Litt what he has been dreaming since forever, the name on the wall. So much has happened in these series and every episode still feels fascinating and is an attention grabber. The way Donna understands Harvey in and out, the bond between Harvey and Mike, how Harvey concludes asking permission from Jessica is harder than forgiveness, How Louis is loyal to the firm and wants the best for his workplace, his home, it is just awesome.

My favorite has always been Harvey, the way he closes deals and remains emotionally
distant from clients and is willing to do anything to win on a fairer note. Trying to work things out for everyone, the charm, the charisma that he portrays is perfect. The mysterious man has a different side to him where he cares about the people he is working with and makes sure that emotional side of his is never shown. There is something about Gabriel Match and Suits which is unexplainable. He was there in some of the episodes of Sex and the city but I wasn’t attracted to him as I am now.

As you wait for the next episode to go live on air, the excitement and the craze is more as you love the conversations and the equation at Pearson Specters and the one liner from favorite cast. The art of simplifying the circumstance and winning big each time is what Suits is all about. Giving the best in the field and playing the man and not the case defines the most splendid series.

Yes, I am so in love with Harvey <span title="<3

Kids these days are much smarter as compared to a decade; many adjectives can go with smarter, they have become more informative, aware, the way they act and speak are twice their age . They are arrogant and demanding which is ignored when we see their innocence. All of us love spending time and watching kids perform unusual activities. They are fun to teach but at times handling kids for a few hours becomes a task, which is not easy.

24^th Aug, 2014, was one such day when we went to Euro Kids, Bansbari, to conduct a plantation event with the children. As we had already spoken to the coordinator, we started the event at 10.45. Around six to seven teachers accompanied us, and got the kids ready. They were standing in two lines as soon as they were out of the gate. They were excited to be outside their normal routine and class.

We made them form group of 20 and taught them a little about green. Since they were kids of senior KG we wanted to make it an activity which they would love doing. We initially asked them if they have trees in their house. To that one of the kids responded that he has 100 trees, and we smiled. Some said they have flowers and started naming them. The voices were coming from everywhere and we had to trick them down by asking them another question about the roots of the sapling, and if they knew about different types and parts of trees. We also taught them on why a tree is important and made them chose a name for the shrub that they would plant themselves. The conclusion for the name of the plant took a while as the kids gave different options and could not choose one.

After the selection of names, the kids were excited to plant a sapling. There was this one kid who wanted to dig the hole by himself when the shovel was his size. We helped him and the other kids to plant and taught them how to take care of the sapling. They promised us that they would water every day and see it grow. The two hour event was amazing as we learnt, lived and grew with the kids. The carefree nature of theirs made us realize that life is all about the laughter and living it to the fullest. It was a two way teaching.

P.S:- How can we forget the kids answered all the questions confidently and their talks was unimaginable!! Lets see what happens tomorrow as we have another plantation event with kids 🙂

An interesting question was asked by a listener at LOVE-A-LUTION on the love show that I host which I had no concrete answer to. I thought about it several times before I choose sides, but couldn’t come to a conclusion. It was one of those topics which could be spoken for the longest hours but there would be no winding up. Each one of us has our own experiences to share and each perspective is different. So the query was and still remains: – Are girls more complicated than boys?? This is in context of everything from taking decisions to relationship and more.

What do you think and what would your response be?? Majority of people will vouch for the opposite gender. Undeniably there will be a few girls who would say that the most difficult people to handle and live with are the women. It is because of the indecisive nature, insecurity about the person they have been with, trying to convey things indirectly and thinking deep. They reason out everything and would love the fairy tale land forever without being practical and realistic enough. I would totally disagree to this and would just say that everyone gets complicated once a while; it has nothing to do with the gender.

For instance, a girl expects to be pampered and connected each time because that is how the chase has always been to flatter a girl. That is the magic how a girl’s heart is swayed away. Men need to be responsible for giving false hopes and making things and moments perfectly perfect before getting hitched and not continuing. It stands both ways but the difference is that women emote constantly on how they feel and a man’s expression fades. All I am saying is one need to be the same person and the way they are and not make things extra ordinary. Woman are observers, teasers, and analyzers, they are mostly not direct and to the point. There are times when they say something and mean completely different. If one gets the tricks of what women want, things could be much simpler. Each individual is different and their traits and behavior explain how complex they can be.

On the other hand, boys do not say things at all, wouldn’t express on what is happening around them. They would want the girls to understand through the actions. The mysterious nature of theirs is attractive in the beginning but gets confusing with times. They might act differently in certain situations or express themselves, that doesn’t mean either is deeper or more complicated than the other. Everyone has reasoning behind their activities, and sometimes one needs to speak out loud on how they feel and what is going on. Words definitely speak more than actions.

P.S:- http://themangogroove.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/what-do-women-want/

The other day I went to my cousin’s birthday when I heard women in their late thirties debating about different career choices young girls makes after their studies. As I overheard their conversation, they were discussing how it is difficult for girls to manage professional and personal life and it ends with a compromise each time.

The majority of them were working ladies, and some of them had left their jobs once their kid was born. In my opinion, working professionally or being involved in different activities is a choice that one picks. It cannot be forced at unless the situation requires or such circumstances exist. There are women who have a job for the entire day, cook both the meals at home, and look after their kids. It surely gets hectic and tiresome, but they are up for the challenge. Undoubtedly things will be less perfect than the women who are involved in house chores throughout the day.

Who says staying at home and managing the house is an easy task? Who says grocery shopping, cleaning the house, checking on the storage of food or organizing everyone’s favorite food item is pretty simple considering the choice of seven different people in the house?? Managing and supervising the helpers and getting the work done faster can be related to the process of manufacturing certain product where there is a time constraint and a certain budget is to be followed for the best quality. While the best quality is served to the customers, there are the happiest; such is how the family runs. Being around the child and raising a kid is the toughest job if you are juggling between home chores and occupation. It would be an amazing combination if a woman can work things out and balance both completely.

There needs to be an equal participation and responsibility between a man and woman in today’s era to be a home-maker as both of them are career oriented. Since this thought will take some time to evolve, it should be accepted that home-maker is one of the challenging position one has accepted in life. With this, the hobby and interest of women should never be lost. Taking the time out for oneself and doing the things that one loves would add on perfectly to the chaotic day at work in home.

As I look at the pink tone in the sky,

Hearing the raindrops and enjoying the pie,

The black clouds are trying to cover the space,

And the flock of birds are competing in the race.

The breeze and the wind makes the trees dance,

What a view, from the terrace, what a glance,

The sun sets in no time as the evening shines,

The weather is perfect for a getaway and a bottle of wine.

My heart beats and wants to see you now,

As I look at the stretch up the horizon and down,

Feels so close to nature and blessed to be around,

Wish I could get a hold of you and time bound.

We are living in the era where people have started thinking rationally; we have modernized not with technologies, but with our thoughts too. There are many things that have changed with time. It is impressive to see independent women all around and the families supporting them to become one. The percentage of working class women has become high and the number of girls recording better marks than boys is rising in each board examinations. The ratio of girls enrolled in the primary schools has increased than compared to two decades. The importance of education, exploration and the opportunity of letting the children achieve his/her dream are understood in positive manner. The discrimination between the girl and boy child has reduced.

Even if we believe that there is no difference between both the sexes, and each one is capable physically, mentally and emotionally, the Asian society fails to prove it. The idea and the way things are implemented has not changed. As I had discussed in one of my previous blog on why does a girl leave her home and adjust to a new place and why it cannot be other way round or let’s say, why they cannot stay in both the houses for the same time each year. It’s a tradition which is going on and it would not change for centuries now. These are very big steps of change, but we can always start with small steps. For example :: When a girl is working professionally and is set with her career as
much as the man is, the responsibility of home chores should be for both of them. Don’t you think so?? Why should all the accountability be on one gender since we are talking about no prejudice? We are not talking about self-esteem here, but just the idea that if any work is divided among all, it would finish faster and easier. Our societies seriously need to give it a thought as we believe that there is no difference in the power of a man or a woman. This will happen when the kids are made to do their activities by themselves and the house hold work is helped by the son as much as the daughter works. The right that the boy feels he has since childhood should be changed as they become equally helpful with the tasks.

While I am writing about it, there are some families which follow the old school method. They need to accept the changes and their thought process. Things cannot be the same as it was since years. There is so much happening around, we need to be informed and discover more. With time we need to revolutionize and happily broaden our mindset. If this fails, and if we continue with the previous methods there will always be a generation gap between family members. To reduce the gap is a two way process, where the conservative thought of each individual is eliminated and the new generation inherits the values and norms passed by the elders.

Imagine a society and a place to live where there is no difference between both genders, which means no disparity and the responsibility of men and women are same, as the answer-ability lies. Visualize the situation where the supremacy and dominance of male is completely removed, it would be so much simpler. This article is based only for certain group, as the situation is totally different where much of empowerment is required for underprivileged lot.

Related article :- http://themangogroove.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/its-not-right-or-left-its-right-or-wrong/

P.S: If you did not know:

Despite being 52 per cent of the world total population, the women lack recognition in male-dominant society and have to face worst situation in case of a widow or a single woman. The widows and single women do not get right of inheritance in property. There are laws to strengthen the women but they are not being implemented in most parts of the world. Millions of children are pulled from the schools every year just because their widow mothers cannot afford to pay the school fees.

It was the happiest day for many, and for the majority it was the gloomiest day of their life. This is in context of the most awaited results of Chartered Accountancy which was published yesterday. This is a professional course for 5 years and three levels have to be crossed to be a member of the dignified group of Chartered Accountants.

The exams are conducted every six months in different centers across India, and also at two international centers, Nepal and Dubai. The evaluation takes about two months since there are lakhs of students appearing for these tests. The ratio of enrollment keeps reducing at each level as it keeps getting harder. Becoming a Chartered Accountant is a dream of many, but everyone cannot fulfill their desires in the first attempt.

The course itself is so vast and in depth, that a year and a half is required on preparing for the final exams at the minimum. More than twelve months is needed if one wants to take tuition and prepare for each subject at ease. After the teachings from the tutors, self study is important for which students need around six months or more. This is one of the most difficult time for the student, as it requires full concentration on a stretch, patience and hard work consistently. The preparation phase for Chartered Accountancy is compared to students preparing for medicine or to become a doctor.

As each student gives in their best effort for these examinations, the last minute revising is very tricky; the notes need to be prepared in a way that all the topics and the important matters are covered as it is impossible to revise the whole syllabus in a day. There is so much to study from, different study materials, revision test papers, scanners, modules and the prepared notes by the students. These years there is a day’s gap between the exams, which is a bonus in terms of time to go through the entire topics.

There are many who know about the course and the level of determination required for completing it, but the one who have experienced it and been in the situation can explain the best. Whenever people talk about C.A, they add another word to it, which is luck. These words undoubtedly go well with each other; in addition, I would say it is destiny too, and that is when the two precious words are etched before our name. This can be related to my own story. Wanting to become a Chartered Accountant since standard 8, I chose Bachelors in Commerce in my under graduation, so I could give time fully to the course as the studies of Commerce is less involving than business management. Completing the first two levels in first shot, I started preparing for my finals. Taking all the advice from the seniors and giving in the best I could, preparing as the ideal student ( If you are wondering what is the most suitable candidate, it is studying 16 hours a day for six months, staying in the hibernation zone, least socializing and heading for one dream strongly), I was set for the exams. As I gave my exams I was surprised to encounter questions which I had no idea about, something that I couldn’t relate, the theory that I had studied seemed vague and the practical practiced for hours made no sense. I wasn’t expecting such questions which would leave me wonder and were out of my understanding. I doubted if I could use the learnt techniques and concepts to solve problems. The studying for months suddenly felt of no use, because I was blank for a quarter questions of the exam paper. Trying to solve the best I could in three hours, as I got off the exam hall, majority of the students had the same look on their face and were surprised with the difficulty of questions as I was. We could not keep assessing the paper for long, as we had to prepare for the next examinations. The sixteen days period is the most crucial for the students, with sleepless nights, and not trying to waste each moment. During the examination, the hardest part is that there is so much knowledge that has already been gained, and it becomes tougher when the questions are not similar to the ones practiced, and three hours is very less for the trial method.

After the papers are over, the burden and agony seems over, this being no exaggeration, but each student feels relieved and the wait for results start. Two months seem short, and the day before the result is full of nervousness. The click of the button which confirms your pass to future increases anxiety since a week. When the results are displayed, it is a situation which can be compared to sides of a coin. It does not matter how many hours did you study, or how did you prepare for your papers, you passed or you did not. If you pass on the edge too, you have cleared the exams and if you have not you need to get back with the determination that you will complete what you started. It seems really easy to be writing this but no one would know it better than I do. There have been instances where I was left with one mark to get an exemption in a subject, which did not increase when sent for revaluation. That meant I was to give all papers again, the next time I did not clear the same paper with one mark and I cleared with aggregate but no exemption. To add to the misery, my papers when sent for revaluation did not reach the office till the last date, and when inquired for a week after the deadline, they declined on taking it for re-check. After persuading them, they agreed but the results did not change, and I was to give the papers again.

What I want to say to the students appearing for professional examination is you need that strength and patience. It sure is hard to study the entire syllabus and prepare the subjects once again. Try giving one group instead of trying to hurry in completing the both, because C.A is not normal exam that each student will clear after appearing for papers. There is no guarantee that you will clear if you appear for one group, but the chances of comprehending and understanding, revising is distributed in four subjects rather than eight. There is no different way to prepare, if you are confused that your preparation is been lacking somewhere, it’s not. Just keep doing what you are, and you will get the result. If you think that there are other options that you can choose, and don’t want to continue it professionally you should take that leap, it’s never too late.

Chartered Accountancy is being the best or nothing. You have to stand in the best lot or you are out. They have percentage of students that clear. If you can make it to that block you are lucky. You might just keep struggling and questioning if your decision for this course was correct. But all of this will disappear when you get those initials before your name and the joy of one of your dream being completed is immeasurable.

The love spell has been withdrawn,

No idea when it got over and done,

The expressions are least said loud,

As the actions speak in the crowd!

The look in our eyes is the simplest,

While the talks are way complex,

It’s really hard to make that decision,

We have always been slow with precision!

It is surprising how it got so far,

That was never the plan nor on the cards,

There is something that holds us close,

In each situation, no matter what we chose!

There is no denial it needs a fresh opening,

As each dawn shines and the dusk breaks in,

Waiting for the right time and believing,

The crazy charm is not lost as the beginning!

As we were proud on completing the 26^th event at THE KTM DRIVE, we got amazing responses from people around us, volunteers were happy and content with the cause, the crowd visiting were pleased that we were conducting such events and making an actual difference in lives of many. They were amused as they heard that we were an unregistered organization and professionals who have come together for a common reason. How we keep our Saturdays free for these eventful activities which includes working on various areas.

If we have to summarize the events at THE KTM DRIVE, it is pretty simple. We have carried five Rucksack Projects, where we collected anything used and old, lying extra in the closets, from old clothes, shoes, to things which could be useful for the people living in streets. As we categorized the lot after collecting them, we made bags and covered one area of the town and gave it to the needy. During winters, we handed gloves, cap and woolen socks in the streets of Basantpur. We gave healthy kits to the kids and taught them about the basics of sanitation as one of our projects. We were really happy when we could collect funds for a kid who could not continue her higher studies because of her financial hardship.

During the plantation season, we have events in school, as we plant saplings with kids and teach them why green is important and we need more of it. We have covered five schools till date. We make groups and they decide a name for their plant, and once they plant the sapling given on our direction, the responsibilities of nurturing, watering and taking care are on the kids. We give free tree saplings to the citizens, as we coordinate with different malls and arrange for an area where we can spread the message: – Grow and Multiply. We want people not to focus on free saplings, but buying more from the nearby nursery and planting them.

Even if one cannot spare time, and be a part of the event, we welcome ideas for further events. Since we are monitoring all our works, especially on plantation, there is a school, which did not take care of the plants after the enthusiastic kids planted them. It is surprising and disheartening to see such results. It is more shattering to get no reaction from the citizens who take the plants. As we follow up and ask them about the growth of the sapling and sending a picture to us, it is demoralizing to see them not bothering and careless.

It is amusing to notice the activeness in a person when they visit us and happily take the sapling and forget about the accountability once they reach home. People need to learn to be responsible. There is a certain level of expectation that we have from the greeners whom we give out saplings to, because this drive is for all of us, it is for making the place we live in a greener one. We are doing our bit by getting the sapling, arranging a place, coordinating for the event and spreading awareness, you need to do yours!!

As we wait for the calls, mails and messages,

We stay connected through the day as it passes,

The beep on the phone makes my heart throb,

It does not matter if you are so far, my heart feels so close!!

It is amusing how that glance did it all,

That look in the eyes, that smile made you fall,

There was something special that we had,

Did not know it was both ways so bad!!

The first talk and the ignorance did not help,

As we got hooked, addicted and swept,

Each conversation described how we felt,

Giving us the goose bumps, making us melt!!

One of the craziest days, feels like a dream,

Was so perfect, with cherry on the cream,

The madness and destiny playing its role,

Forever and for always is yet to be told.

The expression, intuition and the aura so strong,

Adds to the chemistry, as the lyrics of the song,

Everyone has their fairy tale land and story,

That they wish continued till time and eternity!!