Journey of NTW began a couple of years ago with a simple post. Over the years I shared significant pieces of my life and times with all of you on this platform. People like Shikha and Pranjali joined us for brief stunts and gave their beautiful thoughts too. You guys were awesome! Commenting, liking, sharing thoughts all the way through. You kept me going. Alas, all this comes to an end today (or technically, 7 days from now).

Yeah. NTW hosting is coming to an end and I am not thinking of continuing it.

Last year was a kind of eye opener for me. I realized that life is too short to simply exist. If I do not pursue my real dreams here and now, I might never be able to get to them at all. Oh boy, that thought is SCARY, to say the very least.

And I cannot get to my dreams by hiding behind a name like “Naari – The Woman”. Now I want to go out there and face the world being me. Just me. With all my whims, fancies, emotions, moods, love, laughter, creativity, faith – everything that makes me *ME*.

So albeit with a heavy heart I am letting go of NTW .

This is a bittersweet moment for me as I embrace a new e-place – varadasharma.com. A place which will be mine forever – for better or worse, in health and in sickness, in joy and in sorrow, in hope and in despair. I am in the planning stage for this, so I should be live about a few days from now.

As with NTW, I’ll need each one of you by my side – encouraging me with your kind words, wishing me well, at times even prodding me to go get things done if I am slacking.

You’ll do that for me, you’ll be there – won’t you?

I am counting on you…..

Thank You!!!

Share/Save

I resurrected one of my very old poems from A-mused-mind and gave it some twist.

What do you think of my attempt? I think I am getting too lost in this pink+grey combo.. Girlie, but…

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts and suggestions, friends. So ….

Share/Save

Anyways, being away from blogging has made me very very dissatisfied in one part of my heart, so I’ve decided to bounce back. As a ‘coming back’ gift to all of you from my side, I’ll be sharing details of a recent scrapbook project I am working on in my spare time (read minutes…).

Warning: this is the first time I am undertaking a scrapbooking project, so not sure my process is right. I am just going with what-works-for-me.

Before making full fledged pages and layouts, I’ve decided to put together various embellishments. Here’s first set of princess attire:

All these are made from paper.

	The dress: I have used thick pink color paper like the one used in greeting cards. (Do you call it cardstock?) It’s a simple evening gown cutout embellished with stones and white paper roses. I used the simple and fun tutorial by Dozi Design for making the roses. Grey and pink design is added later on the image using, what else? Photoshop!
For our princess’s make up we have (oh my I can feel the same excitement as I did when me and my friends used to dress up our dolls): a. Mirror: Again I cut the same think pink sheet (actually this is a recycled sheet from some brochure) to the shape of a compact mirror + face powder thingie. On the inside I’ve stuck a round foil paper to act as a mirror and a round off white colored paper to act as the face powder. Tiny glittering start on top are a work of PS. Lipstick and comb: Pink paper and handles wrapped in foil paper. Shoes (my fav.): Pink and dark pink colored paper cutout adorned with stone and a thick thread bow. The grey swirls are again PS.
	Accessories: I drew a tiny tiara and glued the thick thread tracing the line. Embellished in between the loops with pink and white stones. The bracelet is a simple ring adorned with stones. Earrings and pendant are again tiny metal rings from my jewelry chain maille collection on which I’ve hot glued matching pink and white stones.

I then took my hybrid scrapbooking project (is there even such a thing?) to another level. Combining these images with my older princess’s snaps, I made the following layout:

What do you think?

Would you to create something like this with your baby’s pictures? Is there some way I can help? Do let me know

As always, thanks for dropping by @ my e-place.

Cheers,
~Varada

Share/Save

Thanks for being my friend!

~Varada

Share/Save

26th evening, me and my precious little one were at the Golden Temple guest house seeking a room for 2 nights. The gentleman out there gave us an address of the Angad Dev Sarai and off we went in search of it. Imagine the look on our faces when the last room had just been taken! :( Turned out, Babaji had better plans for us.

Across the street I asked one shopkeeper about some rooms where we two could put up and he gladly told us he himself had a couple rooms available and ready to rent. Warned by several folks that I should not trust strangers straight away, I managed to raise as many suspicions as I could. (If you know me you can imagine this was tough!) But then the kind old uncle passed my interrogations with flying colors. We made the payment, showed my ID proof and put up our stuff in the sparingly furnished (the best part? No TV!)but neat and clean room.

We freshened up a little and on Dipu bhaiya’s (our new shopkeeper friend’s) suggestion, went to the Jalianwala Bagh. That place, though made beautiful with fountains, lights & sculptures today, has a bloody history. I somehow managed to convey to my tiny-miny companion the importance of that place, the sacrifice of the innocent people, of all the unsung heroes who lost their lives to the brutality of Gen. Dyer. We prayed for all those who made it possible for us to roam the same place freely without fear of being shot down at the Amar Jyoti.

By the end of our stroll we both were nicely tired. When we went to our room (our “Amritsar-wala-ghar”, as per Diya), Dipu Bhaiya had another surprise for us. He told us that his mom had asked us to dine with them. It was dark already and she did not want me getting lost in the city looking for food. It was an offer I could not (and did not) refuse. When we went upstairs to their place, we met Honey-Money, Dipu Bhaiya’s 24yr old sisters – identical twins! Uncle, aunty, Dipu bhaiya, Honey-Money, all of them were so gracious, so good-natured that we soon became friendly and started exchanging gossips about tele serials. (Did you know that a real Maharaja was coming as a guest on Akshay Kumar’s cooking show? I did not.. until then!)

Saturday morning, aunty took us to Golden temple. Being weekend, several schools were  visiting this place and it was very crowded. But aunty requested the Darbaan-ji at the gates and we were allowed to enter from the wrong side (from where everyone exited ). That way we were able to get darshan and prasada without any hassle. Aunty and Money also accompanied me & Diya on our way to the Wagah border and Mata Mandir. We met some incredible people in our shared cab ride. One of the ladies we met in this cab, told us this saying,

Every person we met was a good Samaritan, going that extra mile for helping strangers like us. I was humbled by the whole experience. It was a trip of feeling great divine presence around you. All the while I was there, I felt deep inside me that my Kanhaji was looking after me, taking care of my every little need, making sure I and my baby was comfortable.

It is true that the great Golden Temple attracted the peace-seeker in me to Amritsar, but it was the golden heart of people out there who actually made me so attached to this place! Me votes 10/10!

Have you been to this place?

What were your experiences?

What other place made you feel like you were special?

p.s. Check out this desktop wallpaper I made with one of the snaps that I clicked of Golden Temple. Use it if you like….

Enjoy!

~Varada

Share/Save

I am hoping with all my heart that all of you’ll get helpful takeaways from these posts for your pursuit of happiness. Enjoy the first installment!

3 must-haves for getting what you want

1. Being clear about what you want:

Undoubtedly the first step to achieving something, is to *know* what you want to achieve. Just like you can’t go to a place you do not *know* you want to go to, you cannot achieve your dream unless you are clear about what exactly you want.
It is also possible that you have not thought about it consciously till now. If this is the case, find yourself a quite spot, reflect on your joys, moments of contentment, even sorrows and learn from your own little inner voice what you should pursue in life. More on this later, in a different post, but for now, remember that this is the beginning of our quest.
I also feel it is important for us to keep reminding ourselves of this basic ingredient every now and then. With life being as busy as it is these days, it’s so easy to get lost with mundane things which are no doubt necessary, but do not really take us forward on our path to success. A reminder about your goal in life helps get your focus back on track.

2. Believing:

Once you are clear about “what” you are set out to achieve, there should be no element of doubt. None. Believe in yourself. Have faith in Lord Krishna (or your favorite deity or the extraordinary force of nature which created a very special person – *you*) – who resides within you. Know from deep within that you are capable of and destined to reach your goal.

3. Being grateful for all that you have:

You cannot keep hoping for more in your life without being truly and sincerely grateful for everything that you already have. We cannot be successful or happy all by ourselves. All sorts of people – parents, siblings, family, friends, teachers, co-workers, spouses, kids, relatives have their share, their contribution to our achievements.
I feel the best way to start my day is to say a sweet “Thank You” to my Kanhaji and all that he has offered to me lovingly in this life. No matter who you bow your head to – Kanhaji or any other deity, nature or the universe, your teacher, some book or even the power within, saying “Thank You” to that magnificent energy source, invokes a felling of having achieved your dream already. It fills you with peace and sense of well-being.  Try it yourself to experience the magic.

I feel these three conditions are like the wheels of a tricycle. You cannot ride without having all three.

How about you? What do you think is the *essential* ingredient for success in your quests? Do share so I can have the priviledge of learning from your experiences.

Thanks!
~Varada

Share/Save

Lately I am feeling so lost. I am back on my job after 6 months of being stay-at-home mom. With 2 princesses in my life, *life* is having more and more demands. Days seem to pass by without me getting a minute to feel my own breathing.

I am liking the pace of it, but keep wishing there were more hours to my days. My jewelry making tools and my books are missing me. My colorful papers and paper-shapers are lying abandoned in my closet. Sigh.

May be I am just being lazy and this winter mood is getting the better of me. I need help and a dose of motivation to spring back into serious action.

So, those of you who have stayed with me so far, do you also feel this way sometimes? Feel like you want to do so much more? How do you manage juggling everyday have-to-do’s with want-to-do’s?

Appreciate your thoughts and your help…

Share/Save

Do read and let me know your views…

Thanks,
~Varada

Share/Save

You walk down the same road to work every day. There are some school-going kids that meet you on the way and they pass an occasional, timid smile. Mere acquaintances. That’s what you are. Then one day you have a few candies on you and on a whim you offer it to the kids. 
The smile that you get in return!!
Lights up your whole day!!!
And that is the beginning of your smile-friend-ship!!!

Magic!

I know because I’ve done that myself. Yes, that was a long time ago and that was in another place (Goa), but I can still feel that moment of joy.

Here’s another chance for all of us to experience this joy, to participate in this magic all across the nation.

We are celebrating “Joy of Giving week” from Sep 26 to Oct 2, this year. This is an event organized by NGO Goonj, which is based out of Sarita Vihar, New Delhi.

Goonj…. a voice,an effort                         Contact information – J- 93 Sarita Vihar, New Delhi – 110076. Tel. – 2697 2351, 4140-1216 E- Mail :- anshugoonj24@gmail.com Website or Map: http://www.goonj.org

The idea here is to recycle or reuse anything lying around in our homes or offices or schools to help out people who do not have enough. What a noble thing to do!

They are mainly focusing on the following items which people can donate, deliver to various Goonj offices and collection centers, which they will then spread out to people across India.

Here are the items they recommend:

Large quantities of surplus/waste cotton & hosiery cloth for making sanitary napkins & undergarments for initiative- ‘Not Just a piece of cloth’

Old newspapers & magazines- to be used in packing of sanitary napkins & also for raising resources to make GOONJ.. self sufficient.

CLOTHES- Old / New but in wearable condition – Woolens/ Sarees / Salwar Suits/ Kurta-Pajamas /Trousers /Shirts / children clothes / Bed sheets / Blankets

FOOTWEAR – Of all size, in pairs (if possible, left and right tied together)

UTENSILS – Old/ New- Pans, Plates, Bowls, Glasses, Tawa, Spoons & Ladles, Cooker, Cups, Tongs etc

STATIONERY – Old/new school bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, Pen, pencil, sharpener, eraser, scale etc.

PAPER – Newspapers, magazines, one side used paper.

DRY RATION – Pulses, Spices, sugar, tealeaf, rice etc.

CASH DONATIONS – For Communication, Collection camps, storage, sorting, packing, travel, Transportation and local distribution expenses. Cash donations can be made at the collection centers or you can send an account payee Cheque / Draft in the name of GOONJ to J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 76 (All donations are tax exempted u/s- 80 G of IT act.)

TIME DONATIONS- VOLUNTEERS, who can spare a few hours to be with Goonj for door to door campaigns, and who can help in sorting, packing etc.

SPACE DONATIONS – GOONJ.. needs many more collection centers to ensure easy accessibility for everyone who wishes to make a donation. So if you can spare a corner in your house/office please inform them. Also check with your friends/relatives if they would allow the use of a small place in their premises as collection center.

Here is how you can participate as an individual or as an institution:

Come, let us join hands to give. Let us give to receive “The Joy Of Giving”!

Add a task to your weekend TODO list to collect and sort out stuff that you would like to give. Find your nearest location of Goonj collection center and go drop your stuff.

And don’t forget to come back here and let us know your achievements on this task!

Share/Save

Today’s a special day for me. It’s my Kanhaji’s birthday. Kanhaji is like my very own friend. Someone who is more than a mythical character, more than a deity, more than most people I’ve ever known.

Here are some of the pictures I collected from Internet. I sincerely wish I could back link to all the sources. So please pardon me, if you see one of your images here with my watermark.

We recently took a trip to Mathura. Wanted Akshara and Diya to experience the magic of that place. Here are some of the pictures of Kanhaji from that trip.

Here are a few Krishna idol I am love with

And here are some pictures of kids at my home dressed as Krishna

My nephew, Shubh

and my older one Diya dressed as Radha and Kanha

My desk at office and my older one when she was little with one of my Kanhaji idols

Oh, I know I can go on and on and on about Kanhaji, so let me stop rambling… Here’s wishing Happy Birthday to Kanhaji and Happy Janmashtami to all of you…. May the peace and joy of Lord Krishna be with all of you…!!!

Share/Save