Bye Bye Vibhor !!

We just heard yesterday about Vibhor leaving us and we  wanted to write something to remember you by and all the good times we spent together and celebrate his life. 

You were one of the most amazing person we ever knew. You were free spirited . You were enthusiastic about anything you did especially outside work which involved friends and family.

You were so passionate about cooking and had always someone invited over. Your pictures of cooked food were so tempting. Wish could have tasted few more of those dishes.

You were disciplined. During TCS times you controlled your food intake. We still remember your old over weight pictures and how you  had managed to reduce your weight and continued to do so over the years.

You were jaan .. shaan..life  in any party .  Loved the conversations we had and  your love for music especially Jagjit Singh. Anyone who spent even little time with you was an immediate fan of you. You were like a friend magnet.

You were good family man, a good son , good husband and a great father.  Wanted always the best for them.

Last few years we could not be in touch. Last time we spoke we were going meet to have dinner at your place. Alas that remains a dream.

We will always cherish your memories as our ever smiling buddy. Cheers buddy and  love you always!!

Deepa and Santosh

Tin-Tin Happy Anniversary Deepa !!

Is it already ten years

Being with each other

Feels like yesterday

When we tied the knot

So on this day

I want to thank you

From the bottom of my heart

I want to thank you

For the good times

For the fun times

For all the surprises

For amazing memories

For those moments of bliss

For making me feel loved

I want to thank you

For being a great mother

For being more than a daughter in law

For being my  friend

For being my coach

For being my anchor

For being together

For being always on my mind

I want to thank you

For all the arguments we have

For all the arguments we don’t have

For all the tears of joy

For all the tears of sadness

For all the food you cook

For all the food you don’t cook

For watching movies with me

For watching movies without me

For letting me play cricket

For letting me not play cricket

I want to thank you

For holding my hand

For sticking with me

For keeping me grounded

For being my passion

For being you

For letting me be me

For loving me

For me each day is a celebration of our love

Happy Anniversary Deepa  and cheers to many more to come !!!

Our Future - Divided by Hate or Love

The world has changed in last few years. Especially since 9/11, Kargil, Syria.... and more recently, terror attacks in India, India retaliation; New Zealand shooting... 
Everything impacts us and everyone reacts in different manner. We have seen people take extreme stance about religion /community and on patriotism/nationalism

I am sometimes shaken by the way we are losing our core principle of humanity

When we were growing up, we did not made friends based on religion/financial status. We were never taught to look down or hate someone. We celebrated all festivals together Holi/Eid/Christmas/Diwali.  We were allowed to go (or not go), to Church/Mosque/temple without any prejudice. We were taught to respect and be kind. We will told to learn and build from our experiences. If someone had different point of view, we could agree to disagree, but never call them out as traitor.

I want my daughter to grow up in a world filled with love/humanity instead of hate. 
I want her to grow up where world is divided between good/bad/ugly and not on religion . 
I want her to grow up in an inclusive culture and not exclusive . 
I want her to have trust based relationships instead of doubt based. 
I want her to grow up where we stand united instead of divided.

It is up to us to teach ourselves, our children/friends/family around us that we have to believe in the goodness of people and there is more than enough goodness in world which overshadows all this darkness. See this world with open eyes and open mind. 
Sow good thoughts in our mind, nurture them and give them the capability to stand tall and provide warmth to everyone in all walks of life. This is a tough ask and we have to do this so that we have a better future for us, our children and generations to come.

Want to end my blog with small excerpt from Madam Secretary (S7 E1) and  i  believe it is applicable for all of us. 

"What is an even greater threat than nuclear weapons? That which makes the use of them possible: hate. Specifically, the blind hatred one group or nation can have for another. That is why I am convinced that nationalism is the existential threat of our time.
Nationalism is not the same as patriotism. It’s a perversion of patriotism. Nationalism, the belief system held by those who attacked us, promotes the idea that inclusion and diversity represent weakness, that the only way to succeed is to give blind allegiance to the supremacy of one race over all others. Patriotism, on the other hand, is about building each other up and embracing our diversity as the source of our nation’s strength. “We the people” means all the people. 

And it is why we must never lose sight of our common humanity, our common values and our common decency.  Because governments can’t legislate tolerance or eradicate hate. That’s why each one of us has to find the beauty in our differences instead of the fear. Listen instead of reacting. Reach out instead of recoiling. It’s up to us. All of us. Thank you.”

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