Dearest 16 year Old Avani - Happy Sweet Sixteen.. or fifteen ? : )

Dearest 16 year Old Avani...😊(okay fine 15 ! ) 

I always count a year more because I can't forget the 9 months You grew in my womb  and more than 3 long months I spent hoping I was finally pregnant with a girl child 😅 now you better forgive me for always running a year ahead of your true age 😊

I am typing this sitting in room no 641 of the Jupiter hospital observing Lata Aajji's tranquil face - the forehead that always adorns her trademark maroon bindi - she is so particular, that even if it slips in her sleep, she will put it back on - this gesture of hers tells me there are a million ways we can express love for our life partner. 

The way Aabba and Aajji are both sailing through their hard and hopeful days, speaks volumes about not just how inseparable they are, but how eternal, the bond of marriage is and how "Love" is the only thing that can hold it together. 

Theirs is a marriage made in heaven for sure - I wish every married couple an eternal bond like theirs and every eligible bachelor a match that is as suitable - taking turns at being the sunshine and the rain - to ensure there is a flowering garden they can enjoy. For them, this has been all the children and now the grandchildren of the SuperAwesome family ! Needless to say, both You and Aadvik are their whole wide world !

I can only sit back and feel immensely grateful that they have lived a fulfilling life and still have incredibly rewarding years ahead of them - not everyone is lucky to reach that life stage - may those blessings rub onto to us so we can both live to be called "grand ma" at the right time & stage of our lives too  ! 🙏

I know over this past year, both You and Me have sailed through so much change - You personally, Me professionally and I feel incredibly proud that You stayed so graceful & resilient through it all ! 

In fact on more occasions than one, I couldn’t tell, which of us was the mother and which one the daughter.. that’s how much You've matured - almost in a flash to be honest… 

- You backing and being there for Your best friend as she recovers from her father's loss..

- You raising awareness against bullying people that seemed less normal..

- After an ex-students suicide, you reinforcing the fact that help is always at hand if you choose to reach out - no matter what - taking one's own life, no matter how hard the struggle - is against our core human values and beliefs of living a life full of gratitude..

- Acknowledging that not all people are meant to get along with everyone and still choosing to keep your equations separate, precious and reconciling differences while guarding your sanity and friendships…

- Your magical ability to establish connections of the heart with every living being from a dog to a bird and having deep conversations across every age group from an infant to an old person is beyond admirable.. We always described you as a baby who can make even a stone talk ! In your company, anyone and everyone can only feel energized and happier ! 

- You choosing to proudly wear your own skin, no matter how flawed it may be vs. hiding it behind make up..

- You putting on a pullover on an off-shoulder top as a mark of respect for the elderly folk arriving on the scene unexpectedly

- You being conscious of not wearing black to a temple..

- You walking up to a door keeper to ask if he had his dinner..

- Giving to the needy, buying from the streets under-paid..

There have been numerous occasions over the last 2 years where I have stood back and been swept off my feet with your kind and matured behavior ! My heart has swelled with pride for every value you have exhibited - of empathy, humility, courage and kindness and on every occasion the words just echoed louder and clearer - 

" That's OUR daughter AVANI ! 💖😇💞💞" 

You truly are, one of a kind and I have immense confidence that as in the past and the present, so will You in the future - continue to Live Your Best Life reaching Your fullest, truest potential ! 

Today as You turn a year older and wiser, it's not just Kalpana Aajji, Baba, Daddy and Me, but the entire extended maternal & paternal family, friends and even our work connections who are rooting for Your progress and eager to see You succeed with whatever You choose to do and be in Life ! 

There is only one person that can continuously improve to experience supreme happiness & fulfilment from Your life and that person is YOU ! 

Happy, Happy Birthday our lil gurl turned little woman - we will forever be Your best-est Cheer Leaders Dear Ava ! 

There is only two cents I want to contribute to Your understanding at this age : 

1: Nature's clock is not just for plants and animals, but it is also for Human's to respect. Stay true to Your name Avani - Nurture Nature - she is our only savior. 

2: Human life stages evolve in a sequence and unfold with time, for the right reasons - let your life be reflective of those stages and timing. There is a reason god put teenage years before adulthood and after childhood and old age as the wintering years. Do not forget the importance of fulfilling the purpose of each stage of Your life and do it in time, but most importantly, remember to thoroughly enjoy every single stage to the maximum. The very essence of Life is to journey through the struggles - so might as well struggle with all our might and grace spreading happiness everywhere we go. Ensure that You will always be the reason of leaving every dead thing and each living human, a little better than You initially found them ! 

Prosper, flourish & smash your goals - willpower and discipline is all it takes ! 

Loads of luv, luc and cuddles dearest Ava ! 

- Mumma (You and Me are the luckiest girls in the world ! 😇)

Dearest 12 Year Old Avani - Earn Your Tomorrow's !

June 1st 2021 : Last year as we had a close knit family celebration at home, we made promises of seeing everyone in person for a real birthday party this year. Today, yet again, we find ourselves on video calls with our most loved members of friends and family. It has been a year more challenging, than the last. What seemed to be, only a momentary struggle with the pandemic, spiralled into a nightmare with the second deadly wave of the corona virus. While the world learnt to come to grips with their stories, we too lived through our suffering. 

We no longer have your great-grandmother around us in this home. Genie, who very fondly made you fall in love with dogs forever, is gone too.. Two deaths exactly a week apart, certainly brought about immense pain and a sense of permanent loss. There is a hole in our hearts which I'm afraid will never firm up. It brought back the feelings we had when panji-ajji passed away in the December of 2014. You pointed at the skies and asked me if she must have now reached heaven - You were just five then. 

Today as you turn twelve, You have learnt to express your pain, the sorrow of losing someone you related to, the grief of never being able to see them, the sense of never being able to touch them, feel them, or even smell them, ever again…! You still have an innocent resolve to break world records by being a mother-daughter pair who live to become centenarians. 

As a mother, I can only pray to God that may you be granted even the smallest of Your wishes true. But, I also want You to understand that our lives should never really be measured by how long we live, but by how we contribute in making this world, a better place to live ! 

So fret not, if we don't make the world record - There will always be a bright shiny star You can forever look up to ! 😇

If there is anything this pandemic has taught us it is this - 

"Death is a door through which every human will pass, a glass through which every human will drink - Death is, the only certain event of Life, once You're born". 

If one can learn to embrace this certainty without fear, one can truly feel fortunate for having being given an opportunity to contribute to humanity by showing Your Love ! As we express gratitude for being given yet another day as a gift, I want You to read this poem...

Have You Earned Your Tomorrow?
by
Edgar Guest

Is anybody happier because you passed his way?

     Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?

This day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;

     Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word of you?

Did you give a cheerful greeting to the friend who came along?

     Or a churlish sort of "Howdy" and then vanish in the throng?

Were you selfish pure and simple as you rushed along the way,

     Or is someone mighty grateful for a deed you did today?

Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that's slipping fast,

     That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;

     Does a man whose hopes were fading, now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day, or lose it, was it well or sorely spent?

     Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber do you think that God would say,

     You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?

                                                     As a Mother, I can only say, 

Let Your answer be a "Yes", every single day !

In a world where there are and must never be any free meals, I wish You all the courage to Earn Your Tomorrow's !  

Stay Brave and Be Kind ! 😚

Happy Birthday Dear Ava, Love You to no ends...!!! 💗

Hugs, cuddles and kisses... 😘
- Mumma.  

Once on Your Lips.. Always on Your Hips !!

Have u ever thought that chocolate could influence your childhood in profound ways ? 

A dairy milk always taught me to “share” and “eat in moderation” owing to its pre designed cubes ! 

Whereas a 5star always taught me to indulge ! 

Right now .. I feel like having this entire bar .. even that 25% extra and I know that happiness is only going to be momentary and guilt ?? 

Once on ur lips .. Always on ur hips 😃😃 ! 

No wonder why I’m still a dairy milk fan ! 😇 Chocolate taught me to love ! 💕💕😃😃

Riding a Bicycle on Hot Lava & Five things You "Must-Not" do to be a Good Runner !

Alright ! I'm back - ten days on and I've kept my attempts at running alive. Although, I must admit, I almost went dead on my second day of the Couch to 5K eight week challenge that I've set myself on. 

Yes, you read that right - the C25K as its famously / infamously known in the running world. 

So here are a few of the things I've been up to : 

1: I've earned a batch for exercising all 7 days a week - 😉

2: Attempted not one, but two five kilometre runs and completed them in 43-45 odd minutes 

3: Felt nice about reconnecting with my old running motivators on Strava 

4: Got back to the Nike Training and the Nike Run Apps - which means I have a more structured warm up and cool down routine

5: I have cleaned up all of my distracting subscriptions on YouTube - which encourages me to focus my screen time only on watching Running Videos - which, I am totally loving, at this point in time ! 

As important it is to know what is a 'must-do', it should be equally critical to know what is a 'must-not-do': 

1: Not Staying Hydrated : 

Never step out without the right intake of water - I almost dehydrated myself on my last run by skipping that glass of water before I headed out.

2: Skipping your Warm Ups & Cool Downs :

Lack of time should not be used as an excuse to skip your warm ups - go back to your childhood and reckon the days you've played a sport. Your coach never allowed you to touch that ball / racquet / hockey stick without ensuring your muscles were all warmed up. 

Even if you've never played a sport, remember to warm up using the below sequence, starting from your head down to your toes : 

1: rotations 

2: jumping (well head to toe sequence doesn't obviously apply in the case of jumping) 

3: stretching 

and for a cool down, slow down for the last five minutes and end with the same stretching routine.

3: An Under-Fuelled Body :

Yoga is probably the only form of exercise that can be done on an empty stomach. All other sport / exercise requires you to eat a healthy snack before you begin to burn those calories. 

4: Using only your Nose to Breath In :

Yes, in my last post I remember recommending breathing in through the nose for 3 strides and breathing out through the mouth for 4 strides. That worked, since I was probably just getting started and wasn't in it for the distance. But two 5Ks in the kitty and now I cannot emphasise enough on the importance of using your nose and your mouth to both breathe in and out. It keeps you going longer since you take in more oxygen to your blood cells this way !

5: Bad Form :

Sitting for long hours with a hunched back or being a stomach sleeper resembling the pose of a Spider-Man climb or dragging your feet while running - bad posture has disastrous consequences on our skeletal system.

I haven't really started to take my running so seriously, so as to give importance to form or technique - but my timings and the level of exertion I've felt on running two 5Ks are indicators enough that I should ! 

So while four of these five things are easier to do, the one I will be focussed on over the coming weeks, is my Running Form. My feet touching the ground for a fraction of a second and quickly off the ground - ensuring my Achilles Tendons are powering my runs ! 

And must I mention that I will Run like I'm riding a Bicycle on Hot Lava - Ouch, Ouch, Ouch !! 😊

Ouch ! That Hurt's !

It began how it begins every year - Year 2021 ! With renewed hope of keeping fit, I spent a week trying to get my body accustomed to walking long distances.. five, six, seven, even eight kilometres. 

There is something about Monday's - after the morning blues are gone, I finally make up my mind to try n run this evening. And wow, Do I feel awesome ? "Hell yea!"

What went right that day is what I will replicate on my following attempts I decide. 

So here it is - whatever went right & more of what went wrong : 

1: I made peace with my circumstances : 

Yes, this is a running tip. Anything you will attempt out of your comfort zone, has everything to do with your Mind first and your body later. So you may have demanding pets / children / ageing parents n in laws needing attention, maids that don't keep commitments, unannounced guests, incomplete errands, abandoned chores, a hard day at work, subordinates that under-deliver or bosses that over-commit, you're thinking about finished groceries or that course you had to tick off a week ago, which you remember not starting at all, laundry, dishes, prepping meals, several notifications crying for your attention, basically all hell breaking loose - but the truth is - life has always been like this - irrespective of your age, gender, relationship / employment / financial status - chaos is synonymous with everyone's life in one degree or the other. And hence, rather than trying to dot every i and cross every t, you must just make peace with your circumstances and get things and people around you, used to your short-lived absence ! 

2: Warm Up : 

While a lot of You tubers will claim - "30 minutes a day is all it takes" - that is not the truth ! It takes me a while to train my mind n body to get into that "zone". Then there's the dressing n lacing up for the run - a transformation from your Work-From-Home clothes. And now-a-days you will most likely come back to fetch your mask - if you are a mask hater like me ! Then you will want to take at least 10 minutes to warm up and another 10 to cool down, if you intend to run injury free. That is 50 minutes of your 24 hours gone right there.. ! However, if you really are a sucker for your time and other commitments - you do a ten minute run - just as good. In the age of capsule wardrobes, why can't there be capsule runs !  ;)

3: Breathe : 

To breathe is to live - literally ! Its taken me umpteen injuries and bad runs to learn to attach importance to the right breathing pattern. For this Monday evening what worked was breath in for 3 strides and breathe out for 4 strides - an odd-even breathing pattern. So let's say you took your breath in on the right foot strike and then after you breathed out for four strikes you end up taking in your breath on the left foot strike - ensuring both sides of your body get enough oxygen in the cells. Result - no injuries due to incorrect breathing. 

That's all that I got right on my Monday evening run. 

On Tuesday, I avoided these mistakes : 

1: Replaced my earphone with ear pods : 

Running with a phone in your hand and the cord hanging from the earphones makes one feel like you're running with too much circuitry in a wireless world ! 

However, even my ear pods fell off while I attempted my run today. (Lol !! :) ) And no, its not the B&O earpods at fault - it's just how my ears are. I've struggled for years trying to find something that fits well ! :) So if you're like me who refuses to move an inch without music, then it's worthwhile to invest in the right alternatives. 

2: Went without my jacket & with my waist pouch : 

You can get warmed up pretty soon and even the weight of a light jacket can prove to be a drag, especially when you're just starting. So you may be better off leaving it behind, unless you're running in the north pole ! 

Anything in your hand is a distraction. Your phone is best carried in a waist pouch. Better still, don't carry your phone at all. But again, if you want to carry your music along and don't really have a GPS enabled watch, you are left with little or no choice but to invest in a waist belt. 

Tuesday's run should have been better - or so, I thought ! It turned out worse - cause I committed new mistakes ! :)

1: When starting anew running everyday isn't going to work : 

While my knees don't hurt at all, it was my calf's and hamstrings that refused to let loose today. 

2: Of course the absence of music was a big let down : 

Elite marathoners never run with any music on - but its years to go before I get there ! For now Music is Motivation ! or to be precise - "Shape of You" is motivation ! ;) 

So this is how my first two days of a new running season have panned out. 

And hopefully, I'll keep learning, un-learning, re-learning along the way until I join the club of "Elite Runners" - for 

"If Your Dreams don't scare You - they aren't Big Enough!" 

Sweet Dreaming...! :)

We were, we are and we always will be "The SuperAwesome Family !! "

Dear SuperAwesome's, 

As I sit down to pen this, the smell of the soil from the raindrops that God surprisingly blessed us with last night, makes me want to relive an entire monsoon with all of You - like a child, all over again. :)  

While there is no rewind button to our existence, I'm glad we all had a chance to create new memories for time immemorial ! 

The five days spent together cannot possibly be captured in a twenty minute movie and neither can our experiences as a family, but the journey of those five days has been reflective of how all of our lives have panned out so far...

On our way, we've soaked it all in..!! 

Those long winding roads, at times gave us a sight of the deep dark valleys - never making us forget, how we were trapped into those at one point in time. 

Somewhere along the road, we got a  glimpse of the treacherous mountains - always reminding us of how vehemently we've bounced back, standing tall with all our might and pride today. 

We stood by to witness the waves, banging against those rocky stones on the beach, the noise they made, the splashes of salty water they left - bringing back flashes of some of our biggest disagreements - but eventually, even they retreated to unite with the ocean ! 

Sometimes the water currents were so strong, as though trying hard, to remind us of how we all needed to get back into motion to save ourselves from sinking in grief. 

The other times when we swam with the waves, brought back joys of the times we've showed confidence in traversing unknown territories and banishing our own fears..!! 

With every experience we've had over this vacation, there has been a parallel to the time we've both - failed and triumphed in our lives, together as one family !  

Fortunately, we are all the descendants of a legacy richest in its values and beliefs - the elder generation has served to be the best "Cheerleaders" one could ever ask for, while we battled it out on life's playground. 

It is not so much for the money, or the fame, or the power and neither the perceived notion of success that we have strived for. These, I'm glad each of us have, in one magnitude or the other, achieved as a by-product while we were focussed on looking out for each other.  

Our Family propels me to live for those moments when I turn back and I know for sure -  "I will see You All" with clapping hands and smiling faces, cheering me on... into the next day, the next chapter, the next challenge - reassuring me of a better tomorrow with all of your heart ! 

You may not hold my fingers any longer, but I do feel Your humble touch every step of my way ! 

And I'm glad our next generations will enjoy this very feeling - the feeling called "Family". A place where I belong, You belong, We All belong and the ones to be welcome Will belong... ! 

A place where "We feel at Home" will never be built with four walls - it will go on to become our abode only when, we will continue to have each others company - for Now and Forever ! 

" Each one for Everyone - Stay SuperAwesome ! " 

P.S : Here is the short film compiled by Abhi -  

Click on this link - best watched on the laptop or the TV screen - bigger the screen, more the fun. 

Scripted & contributed to by All of Us, where we ALL are the stars, the Celebrities of our own lives ! Time to sit back, relax and prepare for the next Block Buster Hit of the Year 2021 ! 

Cheers to MySuperAwesome Family ! :)   

Year 2006 : The year of the Serial Blasts

I hold a new surname, a new residence address, a new email and a newer email signature. From being 'Sayli S. Mahajan' I am now 'Sayli A. Yadav' ! Well, like any new bride, these were some of the most simplistic things, I had to get accustomed to. The more complicated ones, as they did in each bride's case, unfolded, as I spent time with my new found family and more often than not, willingly integrated them in my lifestyle. So effortlessly, that when I visited my parents for the first time post marriage, my mother said - "Everything from the nails of your toes to the strand of your hair is a changed Sayli!" And I had'nt even realised that the transformation was so swift. As a mother she could only stand back, admire and take pride in the new version of her daughter - as flamboyant as ever, less of a rebel and god-willingly, a little domesticated - Just the right balance of salt n sugar in a glass of lemonade!

As I observed the run up to the marriage on both the sides, my very neutral lense, couldn’t ever overlook one fact - it does not matter if you have a son or a daughter. The truth is, if you are born in an Indian middle-class family, chances are that the parents will slowly start to plan for their children's marriage as much as they did for paying up for their education. While the mode of funding the gold purchases was selling stocks for my parents, for my in-laws it was in exchange of the bits they accumulated on each 'Gurupushyamrut' / the three and a half auspicious mahurats of (Gudi Padwa, Akshaya Tritiya, Dassera, Dhanteras).

Throughout our courtship and the year that followed, one thing was very evident - Abhi and Me took a liking to great clothes, exotic food, dignifying simplest of days, wining n dining and basically spending our way to credit card bills through the tons of shopping n pub-hopping we did. We never really discussed money or finances. Until one day, we had an ugly discovery over our financial priorities being dramatically misplaced in each others views - Abhi wanting to buy a brand new car and me wanting to invest in a house! My shock only amplified, when he mentioned he intended on buying a new 'Honda City' as his first ever car ! We had obviously discussed his fondness and dreams of owning one, while we courted. But I had never imagined it to be our first big purchase in the initial year of marriage.

The tussle was fairly evident to the extent that my mother-in-law had to get involved. My father played it down and made it all seem so trivial stating - it's not as if you're staying on rent, neither as if you have no roof on your heads, so buying a house could wait. He went onto say, that for any normal man Abhi's age, owing a car is a very identifiable dream! At this point I thought to myself - why should his words come as a surprise, after all, here is man who himself had changed 5 cars in a span of less than one and a half decade! Also, one of the reasons I had fallen in love with Abhi, also had a lot to do with the fact that my Dad took a liking to him first and I would never doubt his choice of what "goodness" meant! So it wasn’t any surprise that I took his word for it and was more than happy to contribute my minuscule bit towards our first big buy !

So here we were in the middle of 2006, looking at our sparkling new 'liability' and making future plans of building a new 'asset' !

Life is not all Black and White. The beauty of 'Life' lies in making sense of the Grey's in the background 😉! 

A picture taken with our Silver Honda City - at the onset of Abhi's Birthday in 2007 outside the SOHO Toscana Lounge in Kalyaninagar...

Year 2005 : Smitten forever…!

It had almost been, a year being away from home and I had already made yet another painful transition from Secunderabad to Chennai, leaving behind a girl gang I had come to love in a matter of days of staying together. It was heart wrenching, settling farther away from home, paying for every single thing from drinking water to laundry ! But I soon started to find solace in a place where I never had to bathe with 'Hot' water, where I would wake up and go for a jog by the beach, return to do an intense ab workout, put on the Gayatri Mantra as I got ready for work, devotedly light up an essence stick and a diya to do my daily pooja as I soaked in the power of the hyms and was all recharged to take on the day in my stride !

I had come to love myself, to love the city and to B.L.A.Z.I.N.G.L.Y love my routine, which I thought, was the most balanced life I've ever lived ! I remember telling my mother, that I wouldn’t mind marrying a south Indian and settling down to retire by the beach side in Chennai.  She said it's not going to be long before you start to feel home sick - and like always, she was right !

Just as quickly as I had fallen in love with my new found freedom, it was time to un-settle myself, with the thought of getting married and it being arranged, just meant I was flying back home sooner ! I was leaving behind memories of half a year, of being surrounded by peers - almost all of the seniors in the integration practise had returned/were being posted abroad for long/short term stints working with onsite clients. Which also meant, I was surrounded by at least a dozen folks who were sitting on high net worth's just 2.5 or 3 years into their careers..!

I've never been happy being dumbfounded while others carried on with intellectual conversations. And when men make money, they talk a lot about where to put their pennies. If not participate/contribute to those conversations, I had to at the least, comprehend the jargon around stock market investing and the likes ! This was the anniversary year of me being a tax-paying citizen of my country. Introducing myself to investments was relatively easy - I just familiarised myself with the tax declaration form and had a long hard look at section 80C. I then started to research each instrument in my free time from PPF/VPF, NSC, ULIP, ELSS, Endowment plans to even Home Loans. A lot of websites came to my rescue - from moneycontrol to valueresearch, from personalfinance to msn money. My leisure reading on weekends was dedicated to picking up and reading magazines like Outlook Money (apart from the ones on GoodHomes and Good Housekeeping).

Working in Tidel park in Chennai, made it easier to gain access to a broker - Centrum Finance was located on  the 1st floor of the same building where I worked for a while. These guys were the first ones to help me with investing in tax savings mutual funds -a.k.a ELSS.

There were three close friends who critiqued my investing decisions at that point in time:

Seema : She believed that buying NSCs from a Chennai post office was a bad idea, since I may not be in Chennai when it matures - I was never going to return to the Teynampet Post Office to redeem the investment six years on.

Krunal : Who felt insurance and investment should be separate and I should instead, start to build up a decent equity portfolio. 

Santosh : Who felt a ULIP investment was expensive when compared with the total contribution vs. the administrative charges and future returns.

I have a lot to thank them for, for contributing to those views! But like always, I went ahead with my gut. 

It truly proved to be one landmark year mixed with lessons in investing to experiences of being Smitten - by someone Tall, Dark and Handsome. Literally my knight in shining armor, the one I had pictured in my mind as a young school girl, a gentleman who charmed me with his quiet demeanor, who sat in my room as a stranger and said "its ok if you can't think of anything to share, you can call me if you wish to speak.. once you are ok." - and I thought "Wow ! This has got to be Him !! Here is my Prince Charming! Finally !! 😃"  

Abhi and me courted each other for 9 long months before we tied the knot on December 25th and ended 2005 with eternal vows !

Yes, I digressed - it was supposed to be a post on my financial timeline, but 2005 was a landmark year, which can never be complete without the mention of a love story that began, the mention of "The" man who took my heart away and a year that taught me that everyone from my friends to my mother were indeed right !

A picture taken at Ravi n Rasika's wedding reception in January of 2008 !

Adding the 41st Rose to the Bouquet of Love...!

She was born to a Barrister Father and an Agriculturist Mother. A highly respected and cultured family of Akkalkot - the Bagul's. One amongst the four siblings, she was the eldest 'daughter' of the family who would go on to complete her graduation in Pune's Modern college with a Bachelor's in Arts.  

He was born in a village named Wade, that could not really boast of proper sanitation, healthcare, education or for that matter, even twenty-four hour electricity! In a joint family of three brothers of his father's generation and one amongst four sons and three daughters. Not to mention, this number would add up if he had not lost two of his siblings who failed to reach toddlerhood, owing to the absence of proper childcare facilities in the village. However, he would turn out to be so befitting to his family name "Maha-jan" - A Great Man !  

They both came from opposite directions of Maharashtra and rightfully owing to their upbringings - with completely opposing lifestyles. She came from a family who had domestic helps to even lay out her bedding each night and if the blanket was not laid out straight, she had a way to bring the roof down ! As a child, she once made a request for playing with rabbits and it was fulfilled ! One could easily believe she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

He toiled each month to make ends meet, living as a Bachelor's student of Science of Ferguson College in Pune. Making the transition from Wade to Pune in the late sixties / early seventies was almost synonymous to travelling to a foreign country in today's day and age ! The biggest difference probably being, the absence of capital, owing to so many children to be fed in the same family. 

To add to the ordeal, coming from a village which attached greater importance to holding a plough than holding a book in your hands, made it difficult for one to even dream of completing one's graduation, let alone pursuing his dream of medical studies - which to date, remains one of the most expensive educational investments ! After being digressed, he would still go on to complete his BSc, LLB, MLS - making the most of the situations at hand.. ! 

Their coming together, was like trying to bind the two ends of a rope - one could only imagine the immense transformation each had to go through, in the other's company. As tradition, culture, the patriarchal and socio-economic nature of the joint family in which she was wedded, would have it, the change 'She' underwent, was of greater enormity in comparison to 'His' ! Both of them had been extremely graceful in handling this transition - an important milestone in any marriage. 

41 years ago, they were married with an understanding that a "husband and wife" have the power to move mountains, if they join hands keeping in mind the same vision and zeal to pursue their dreams.

Today, they've become a living example of how one man's dream and his wife's love to see them through those dreams, can bring about a greater sense of equality in the entire joint family.. !! 

Yes, here is a couple, whose true purpose in life was to will-fully make immense scarifies, not just for their parents or children, not just for a generation prior and a generation after, but for the entire joint family. Because they understood, that the true meaning of a life well lived, is not in accumulating wealth, or indulging in needless materialistic pleasures, but it is in ensuring that the ones you call your extended family, are able to boast of a better quality of life - due to better education, better careers, better family relationships and better health. 

She was the 1st and only ever woman of her generation in the entire Mahajan family, to thoughtfully balance her further education, family relationships, kids, home and a fulfilling career! No one could relate to her tribulations - and neither would she ever try to explain or even seek empathy. But she was the true torch bearer of bringing about a change in mindsets, in ensuring that the next generation of 'daughter's' in the 'Mahajan' family, got an education that was great enough to see them employed and financially independent ! 

He was the 1st and most definitely, the only ever man, to have toiled to get even his cousin's children settled in fulfilling lives in Pune. He firmly believed, that a family with economic and educational disparity, is not a happy family. "Always take people along with You!" are his writings in Golden letters, that even I, will live by ! 

Together, they've re-written the norms of a contemporary fairytale "...and everyone lived, Happily Ever After... !!" 

A fairytale that 'We', as their children, loved to witness and take immense pride in ...! 

To Our Dearest Aai and Daddy - Wishing You a very very Happy Anniversary and an Eternally Healthy, Happy and a Prosperous Life ahead.. ! 

(P.S. Your children had better plans, but the lockdown allow's Us to wish you only with words today - We love you so very much ! )

Missing You Both Dearly, 

-Aarohi, Anant, Abhi, Avani and Sayli ! :) 

The Lock Down Stories - May You Meditate on Some Knowledge !

Spiritually, April is meant to be a month of balanced equilibrium. It's a time of growth and moving forward in new and positive ways. With psychic energy in abundance, it is the ideal month to start meditating, for the purpose of healthier living and raising consciousness. 

This WhatsApp forward, which has come to me way too many times, from way too many sources, in the last couple of days, has made me want to see myself as not lacking, but fostering discipline more than ever before ! 

And it helps even more, when You have a husband who lives that, days over months, over years !! The latest addition to his routine over the past more than a month has been meditation. 

In the tremendous exchange of banter that goes on, on our 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' groups, Abhi, very graciously, pointed us to the list of free courses on Harvard (/ edX). His recommendation comes just in time, when I've failed to tick the box against 'Knowledge'. 

So as a 1st step, I've gone ahead and identified the courses that have caught my fancy ! These are very reflective of my love for writing / speaking, my interest to arrange tangible things in a way that they tell a story, my willingness to gain philosophical insights from the history of Hinduism and Christianity, to understand how digital technologies allow us to visualise ancient monuments in new ways - in this case, the Egyptian Pyramids of Giza ! And finally, how social problems in emerging economies can have entrepreneurial solutions - this choice of mine is more influenced by the scale and magnanimity of tackling Covid-19 ! 

• Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking 

• Tangible Things

• Hinduism Through Its Scriptures

• Christianity Through Its Scriptures

• Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology

• Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies 

There is of course an innumerable variety of courses online, something for each one, from humanities to technology, from health to healing. Happy e-Learning ! 

In the quest for more Knowledge...

this is Sayli signing off.. ! :)

Year 2004 : Turning vegan in the year of the Tsunami .. !

I had 2 choices in the January of 2004...!

One : Stay back in Pune and take up a job with Tata Technologies, which was a result of my Dad's influence being associated with the Tata Group.

Two : Ride high on the fact that I had cleared an Open House, to get employed with one of the top 5 IT companies in India -  all on my own merit ! My Father of course, made that choice a lot easier for me, by allowing me to get out of my Home Town and experience life on my own terms .. !

So here I was in Hyderabad, staying as a PG in the Cosmopolitan area of Begum Peth in Secunderabad with make-up loving & extremely pure-hearted girls of Mumbai ! :) I was now going to earn almost double the amount compared to what I started out with, in Pune.

However, funding expenses as a result of staying away from home, made me feel the salary was still quite meagre. This time, I ensured that my purchases were reflective of my earnings, in line with my monthly budget, and yet very tasteful. I bought a modest pure silk saree for my Mum from Nalli Silks.  I even remember returning my Dad's cheque of INR 5000 which he had handed over to me as contingency funds - I did make him so proud for a change ;) …!

It was also the very 1st time I owned a cell phone and shopped for 'only' branded clothes. One day when I stepped out shopping with a bunch of friends and picked up this Pendant and Earrings set made of white sparkly stones, Santosh instantly commented "You can't fake these for Diamonds !!". Now, ME, being the rebel I am/was, went ahead and bought it! But that statement had a profound impact on me and would shape my purchase of jewellery going forward ! N oh.. It's also worth mentioning that on our very 1st official outbound event with fellow Entry Level Trainees, both Santosh and Myself were voted to be the best dressed - so surely, the comment had been made from the Male best dressed to another female who was perceived to be best dressed and ought to have been taken seriously !

So what does that have to do with Finances you wonder ? Well it's this...  

When you cannot afford what you love or aspire to own, you must settle for an affordable classic - and I settled for the 'Timeless Pearl Studs' !

(somewhere in the September of 2013, anchoring the Vodafone India IT Townhall, I had a chance to sport this astoundingly beautiful set of pearls gifted by Abhi in 2011 when I returned to work from a sabbatical of 3 years & the ring of course is what I robbed from my Mother ! ;)  ) 

Year 2003: Crash of the space shuttle or the Year of the cease-fire ?

The Americans were recuperating post the dot-com bust that followed the Y2K scare. To make things worse, the 9/11 attacks had intensified the 2001 recession.

As an aftermath, the days of 100% placements at PICT had sunset. I was coming to terms with the fact that I had not landed a placement through college. I graduated with a distinction, and my maternal uncle helped me take up my 1st job. For contracting as a programmer with the National Informatics Center (NIC), INR 7000 was what I earned as my 1st salary! 

My 1st purchase was 3 months into working ! 14K blown off in less than 45 minutes, on "couple watches" for my Parents. Later that week, my parents take me to the Titan showroom to return the watches and buy gold instead, from Tanishq (thankfully, both being TATA enterprises made the exchange possible).

I had learnt my first lessons in managing money - A penny invested, is wealth multiplied ! The price of 10 gms of 24 carat gold was Rs.5,600 in 2003 - Today it is Rs. 42,430 ! A whooping 657% return on investment ! 

As I look back today, the seeds on living minimally, by refusing to buy more of what you already have and making wiser financial decisions were sown by my parents almost 2 decades ago. It has in a lot of ways, paved the way for a Minimalist Lifestyle, which I have repeatedly struggled to adapt, but have been proud of the fact that I've never let go off my attempts !

--------------------------------------------------

In a hope to do more of what I love, more of what gives meaning to my life, more of dedicating time to what I do for a living vs. what I do for Joy, more of trying to influence people positively through my experiences, more of hoping to help people live better... a series of posts on the "Financial Timeline of My Life " so far.. this was the first of those series and I hope if you dint find something you already knew, you at least found a way to teach it to your children ! :) 

Stay Tuned, Stay Safe & Stay @Home ! :)
-Sayli
(sending you love n hugs from the 'Corona Virus' Lockdown of April 2020)

When you have the courage to say Goodbyes.. Life will greet you with new “Hello’s”!!

When you have the courage to say Goodbyes.. Life will greet you with new “Hello’s”!!

I was greeted with a very warm Hello, 8.7 yrs back on June 2^nd 2011. Since then, it has taken a battalion of extremely able people, to make my journey with Vodafone Idea a truly memorable one !

Brij : You truly lived up to being a “Friend indeed”. Thank you for recommending Ashutosh to consider interviewing me at least once… had it not been for that small push, I’d probably never be writing this email..

Ashutosh : The world needs more Men like You..! It does take a lot of courage to employ a lady who has been on a sabbatical of 3 long years to come back and start handling operations - You showed that grit ! I wish all men were alike in that sense… to bestow trust in women wanting to re-start their careers after a break ! You set the foundation for my years ahead with Vodafone, and it sure was a very strong one. I respect the sense of detailing you demanded from me and how patiently you had to put up with my ignorance of technical detail. It was these very qualities that we both strived to develop in myself, which helped me in my future roles. Thank You so much for being my best college senior

ever! J

Mr. Khatri : “You give a man some Fish and you feed him for a day. You teach a man ‘how’ to fish and you feed him for a lifetime !!“ I was only an ‘IBM middleware technologies / EAI’ resource before I fell into your hands - You taught me Telecom !! I would’ve never dreamt of understanding areas as varied as Dedupe to Interconnect, had it not been for your urge to ‘Coach’ me. When I stood up there in London as a Global Hero receiving the honour from Vittorio, the one person I missed was You – that was truly your award ! I was only receiving it on Your Behalf ! I owe every bit of the name, fame and honour to You – I always will. There will never be anyone I’d meet even in future, who would be as invested in my progress as You are ! Thank You Sir for being my best Coach !

Naresh Sir : Our’s may have been the shortest Boss-Subordinate association, but the smiles and laughs we’v shared while handling elephant sized issues with <<-->>, made the journey enjoyable. I salute you for your willingness to be open to your team member’s suggestions. However grave / trivial they may sound, you always had a patient ear and an open mind ! I still haven’t found an answer to your question : why would a global hero award winner want an AO hero award .. ? J

Vimit : It’s probably easier to hire talent for a job. It’s difficult to get a emotionally disturbed resource, to focus on delivering outcomes to the extent of the organization believing that You’ve hired the best man for the job ! When my entire family went through our most emotionally draining period, You uplifted my morale and helped me focus on my deliverables! You kept me away from the thoughts of taking yet another break in my career.  I’ve always said this because I firmly believe it – if there is just 1 person who is the best fit to lead the BA team, it is You. The human touch to you add to your interactions, makes you the best people manager we BAs ever had ! Thank You so much for being ‘You’ !

Mayuri : The sense of admiration I have, for your ability to handle the expanse, complexity and variation of architectural implementations is beyond express-able. Your ability to break humongous problems into chewable pieces and simplify solutions is what I am still trying to practice repeatedly, to the extent of making it a habit. In the barely 1.5 yrs we’ve spent together, there is a lot I have learned by watching you conduct white boarding sessions, evaluating options and presenting them in a convincing fashion to the extent of getting the results you desired ! A quality no ordinary being can master ! There will be opportunities galore when in future, I will recall your line of thinking.. after-all, whatever little I know of Solution / Integration architectures, I’ve learned from You ! Thank You so much for mentoring me and always guiding me with the much needed perspectives, which, only someone with Your experience could bring in…

Nirupmay Sir : The growth and development of People is probably, the highest calling of Leadership and if there is one leader who knows the pulse of his people, it will always be You Sir ! You’ve put me in the right places at the right times, even before I could ask for it. I would have been on a lost track, on a long winding road, feeling unhappy about having to carry on doing operations – a role I never planned to pursue as long term, but accepted for the lack of better prospects. For me, you will always be that God sent angel who had the magical abilities to put my career back on the right path – a path I planned to pursue when I started out as a Middleware consultant with Satyam, way back in 2004 ! I have seen myself transform under your Leadership. To change from an aggressive, loud personality, to an assertive, amicable one was easier when I was under your influence. I am always conscious of the one statement you made “Your brand is what people say about You when you are not around – what is your brand ? ”. As I set foot onto a completely unknown turf, I will surely try to create a brand, inspired by your candor, cause that is how I believe, I will rightly flourish as a professional ! Thank you sir and I will truly miss having You as “My Leader” !

A little bit of me - I will leave behind, a little bit of you - I will carry along. With every step I take forward, I will surely learn to move on… but I don’t think I will ever be able to leave…

I will miss you all dearly..

Wishing you the best that life has to offer…

-          Sayli

P.S: I never intended for this email to be this long.. hoping the name highlights reduced your reading time..

Regards,

Sayli A. Yadav

Solution Manager - Integration & ESS

Demand & Solution Management

Wishing Each One of You, THE BEST LIFE EVER ! :)

Hi – Good Morning..

Today, as the curtains come down on my 8.7 year long stint with Vodafone Idea, I cannot help but feel proud of having belonged to an organisation that was repeatedly, the most loved employer & consumer brand - and contributing to that, was every one of you .. all of our Partners (----) are the ones I worked very closely with. As I look back, the numerous exchange of views, counter-views, white boarding, brainstorming, evaluating options, went a long way in ensuring I learned from each one of you. You have been the very reason behind an enriched experience I carry out from here. I fall short of words to express my gratitude to You – Thank You !!

To me, Vodafone Idea has been no less than a finishing school of sorts….

To begin as a purely technical resource handling IT operations to graduating as an Integration Solutions Architect,

from walking in as an unsure, nervous mother back from a sabbatical.. to being a confident young professional presenting the work of IT to the Execo,

from being a men-tee to being a mentor to fresh graduates & new joiners,

from making small beginnings with the AO Hero to winning the Annual Global Hero award,

from hosting distinguished leaders at the IT town halls, to meeting CxOs,

from walking the red carpet in London to being the face of the Employer Brand,

from having an hour long extempore interview with the x-CEO to appearing on the TV channel (even if it meant only for a few mins),

from beginning with lessons in teamwork to getting lessons in Leadership,

from being called the 1^st lady of Technology to being known as a woman in the Zen state...

As I look back and reflect, my professional journey with VIL, made me feel like a ‘Super Star’ on most days… and yet, I swore and lived by my values of humility and utmost trust in my relationships with peers and seniors alike. I tried my best to never carry the baggage of success, but rather, the lessons from my failures to progress onto my subsequent challenging roles.

I cannot thank each one of you enough, for having contributed to my growth and well being. For having being there, when I needed your perspectives, opinions, knowledge and advice ! Thank You so very much for being a good Samaritan and a great Companion on my journey here.. ! You made it truly memorable…

A journey that’s been decorated with momentous occasions and landmark events, which I will savour for the rest of my life !

Wishing each one of you, THE BEST LIFE EVER ! :)

Stay Blessed ! :)

-Sayli 

  

Regards,

Sayli A. Yadav

Solution Manager - Integration & ESS

Demand & Solution Management

Dearest 10 Year Old Avani...

1^st June 2019 – Happy 10th Birthday Dearest Ava !!  

It’s a Hap-Hap-Happy Birthday ! A Hap-Happy Birthday to You ! 😊

Take a bow, take a bow, on your birthday, your birthday, show them how, show them how, on your birthday, a Hap-Happy Birthday to You !!  😊

Dearest 10 year old Avani !!  😊

As I start to pen this, Daddy is driving us through the ‘orange trees laden streets’ of Valencia – a beautifully laid out Spanish City of Arts & Sciences, famous for its futuristic complex of museums & theatres. What better way to bring in your birthday with a Summer Vacation break in Spain – one of the many cultural centres of Europe, the land of Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine.

As you’re seated in the front seat with Abhijeet kaka, your chirping doesn’t stop – so really, that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed since the time you started to mumble as a baby!  😊  When inquisitive & chirpy kids like you go silent, it’s usually a cause of concern. A signal that your child is showing signs of withdrawal – and I would never ever want that! So, continue to be, the sparkling self that you are!  😊

I’m sure, your “what’s, why’s n how’s” will only get amplified and applied, in seeking answers to anything and everything – from “why can’t we have a pet dog?”, to the very existence of this universe. !  😊

As you turn 10 today, I can’t help but take myself back in time to being your age. I had just finished my primary schooling until 4^th grade, in Narmada Education Socierty’s Dr. JW Iryan English Medium School in Satara. We had shifted to Pune in our 1^st self-owned house, resulting from the innate desire of Abba and Lata Aajji to educate their children in the famously known “OXFORD of the east” !

Abba had made innumerable attempts at ensuring I got an admission to a convent school. Coming from an English medium in Satara, to a convent in Pune, I battled my own sense of insecurities as a 10 year old. My command over English was extremely poor, I had no idea what Grace, Poise or Diction meant – a criteria used to set the benchmark for “ladies-in-becoming” at the convent of Jesus n Mary’s St. Joseph High School Pashan ! It took me about a year, to get over my inferiority complex and soon, I too walked around with a sense of dignity and pride, a sense of belonging to my school and to our new house, that I still fondly call my “Real Maher” – cause that’s where I grew up with Anant Mama, Lata Aajji and Aabba - from a child to a teen to an adult!   😊

In those terms, I see a lot of the “Younger-Sayli” in Avani !   😊 Your sense of nationalism that comes from watching / playing a sport [while you chose badminton and I chose hockey], your divine sense of belonging towards the school, your overflowing love for family and friends, a great set of friends to call your besties, the way you unapologetically express yourself – nice, loud and clear, how well you are able to reason out arguments and express your disappointments, how cheerful you are with the smallest of wins and equally graceful with handling failures!

Over the last year, you have been more than a daughter to me - You’re like my guardian angel,  😊 and I dearly love you so !  😊 As much as I love to give you varied perspectives on things - that you like to call solutions,  😊 you’ve made my life a lot easier with yours!  😊 And If there’s anything Daddy and Me wish for you, it is hoping that you are able to take more care of your eyes, apart from starting to write your book of “Values! “

And before I sign off, I wish to reinforce the dreams you’ve had as a child – at a tender age of 7, you already knew, exactly what, you wanted in life! Following in the footsteps of Mayura Attu, You wish to become a doctor for small children (child specialist / paediatrician). Inspired by Abba and Lata Aaji’s house, You wish to own a bungalow with not one, but two dogs  😊 – you even knew the breed of the dogs you want – a Mastif and a Boxer !!! (and Daddy always says German Shepherd) You want  2 children post marriage to a loving husband, a Girl and a Boy apart from the 2 dogs!!  😊

You also felt that Mayura Attu doesn’t charge any money for treating her patients and hence you would treat your patients for free!!  😊 I still laugh on recalling Daddy’s reaction to that !!  😊 However, at the same age of 7 you’ve been novel enough to say, that you don’t want a lot of money, but just enough money for our family and the house. And that’s why, after having that much, you would treat children free of cost, which I think you very well must!!

Remember, we are all here for bringing about a positive change in this world, through our Values, Knowledge, Wisdom and Work, and hence, it is always a responsibility of the privileged to uplift the less-privileged!

Lata Aajji also has a dream, that her grandchildren should be Nobel-laureates – I hope you achieve this for all of us through your great work!!

Wishing you a very Happy & a Healthy New Birthday Year June 2019- June 2020 !!  😊

Here’s Mumma making a promise to write you a letter for each of your birthday’s hereon – so stay tuned for the next !  😊

Loads of Love, Hugs, Cuddles n Kisses !  😊

-Mumma  😊