Melbourne, the city which is the capital of Victoria, is the heart of Australia. One of the most populous city and city which attracts tourists from around the world, which is one of the reasons for the city to be the second most populated in Australia.
I personally feel people fall in love with this city; it has charm that holds us back and brings us back to the city. Melbourne is city of diverse culture, where one may find people from all walks of life and of different backgrounds and most importantly the city gives us the freedom to enjoy life in the fullest possible way and truly a place where heavens fall down.
Well, I can go on to praising the city and write down all my feelings and experiences. But let me make this short and reader friendly and have you guys enjoy the tour to the city with this little article of mine.
Let me now share with you what I love the most bout this city, well there are a thousand things is what I would say, however the one thing that attracts me to the city the most is the serene beauty of nature, I am a nature loving person and the huge parks and gardens with the floral display and well manicured lawns make me fall in love with the city. I am sure each one of us ultimately aims for some peace when we want to get away from the hustle and the bustle of the city life, and voila you don’t need to take the long drive to the highway to find a place outside the city, well because the Great Ocean road Great Ocean road is the only road which you can take on to..if that’s not enough to get you away from the Monday morning blues, I suggest go ahead and allow yourself to rejuvenate to the beauty of the wild life and some fun activities. This you can enjoy alongside the Marysville.
The Philip Island has a magical parade of penguins which one cannot miss out on. Besides this the mention of Melbourne without Federation Square is impossible. This place is a home to major cultural attractions, restaurants, cafes, bars, museums and a lot more. The world famous Melbourne Museum, Cricket Ground and Zoo are must visit places too.
I am dying to go to Melbourne. This city has something for everyone, isn’t that amazing? Well here are a few must watch videos from Come alive in Melbourne, you must watch them- Strawberry hunt Hot air balloon
This post is a part of Kinley's Kitna Chain Hota Hai Na Sachchai Mein Campaign in association with IndiBlogger.
Well what is honesty? Is it only a policy that was used back in school and even till the management school for it’s said that Honesty is the Best Policy. What do we really understand of this term? So here goes my explanation or rather my understanding to this simple word Honesty which is equal to truth. It is a small word that we have been taught right from childhood; we have been taught that no matter what always speak the truth and also that a true person always attains victory maybe late but there is always success.
Again to be honest or truthful, the moment I saw this Happy Hour Topic which encouraged us to write our story of truth or when telling the truth was the right thing to do, I jumped on to write for this one as there is a story which is very close to my heart and which changed various important things in my life.
Here it goes:
It was the usual love story which began in the early days of teen and it was complicated like every other love story. This was more because the boy was of a different religion and we were trying to bring in peace or fit in our love between India and Pakistan, I am sure this needs no further explanation. So our love story went on for a few years till we both reached an age where confronting our parents was important and to make a decision was vital. For me, being a girl it was difficult and all the more because I came from a very conservative family where even thinking of a love marriage was a sin. Well so there came no question of me even putting across my case for presentation as I knew I will not get success. Even though they say Love has no boundaries or no religion, it still does not go down very well with our Indian culture or people and so was it at my place.
However I took this daring step with a lot of courage and of course with a lot of support from my loved one and shared my story with my mother assuming that she will at least want to listen to me and will not pounce on me. Well I briefly remember it was one such day where me and my mom were enjoying tea sitting in the balcony and when I opened up to her that I am seeing this guy from five years now and that I want to marry him. I told her that I needed your consent on this before I take any step further. My mom told me that she needed time to think about this and she even told me that she knew about this since a long time. To be honest I was very relaxed after sharing this with my mother as there was this satisfaction that I will no more have to play hide and seek with my family and someone very close to me knows about it.
So on moved the rest of the things from there. With me speaking the truth, to the meetings and convincing, we managed to pull it off and got hitched just last year. I am glad today that although I felt things wouldn’t work out, they finally did. For all this I would just say that Truth has a lot of power, it can help you reach mountains.
We must speak the truth as it is always appreciated. To end this I would say “Sachchai mein bahut chain hota hai na” as it truly gave me peace after letting the truth out.
I personally see this as a hygiene necessity more than
anything else. I mean why you would not want to shave. Is hygiene necessary
only for girls or women, why can’t the men also work on their hygiene and looks
equally? I sometimes feel men have this weird fetish for their beard for they
say it makes them feel manlier and they like to go around with that bearded
look.
Well, I must say that you men live in a world of weird
fantasy then, because let me scream out to all you men there that women prefer
you in a clean shave look than the subtle or the beard. I mean for every damn
reason this is justified, not just to get intimate but even otherwise.
I mean would men ever appreciate the fact that girls don’t
wax or do their eyebrows? The answer is a straight no, so then why is it that
men can’t do this little for us ladies. For once forget about the women in your
life, this is basic hygiene and is important for all you men in every walk of
life, from college to work or in events / family gatherings. So I not be at
your best and pass the test.
Yes, guys it is about passing that test, starting from
meeting your employer to meeting your girl’s parents, it involved you to make
this small effort to clean shave and make that impression. An impression that
will last for a life time and will take you ahead in this race.
Let me share with you all a small piece of advice that had
received from my grandfather once, his words went like “Remember a true
gentleman is the one who is always well dressed and is clean is every aspect”
It is now I realize the importance of these words and feel that men should
shave and it is only the women who are in their life, in form of mother,
sister, girlfriend, friend, wife who can get them to do this and make a
difference.
I know all you people there are wondering for what am I even
talking about, I mean is shaving so important today and the only answer I have
to this one is “Yes” it is very important, for it is a basic hygiene necessity
and hence I urge all you women to tell this one statement to all men in your
life “Shave, for it makes you look manlier than ever”
Well, I happened to read about this Blog, where we are all
asked to share our real life story ,on how having a clean shave look was
beneficial or rather appreciated by all. When I read about this I could not
stop my hands off writing and decided to put on this post , to share with you
my real life story and how it changed everything for me and my then boyfriend,
now my partner.
To start with let me tell you ours was not a normal arranged
marriage as they call it and very abnormally as people call it or make it sound
like; it was a love marriage and hence you can only imagine the amount of drama
to this. For little did I know that before I even get my loved one introduced
to my family, that they will have a say on his appearance. I knew that there
was something fishy to this and hence took my younger brother to the side and
asked him as to what was the entire fuss about. After a tough provoking session
and bribing of course, he finally spoke the great words of wisdom and said “Mom happened to see you and him
together when he was down in the building the other day, when he had come to
drop you”.
So, I went up to my great mother India and asked her to give
her opinion, after a lot of melodrama she told me “ well, you deserve a better
looking guy and that he is not worth you, you are my beautiful princess and the
guy is not so good looking and well groomed.
I knew where all this was coming from and had made up my mind to give
Rahul (my husband now) a piece of my mind.
I knew the solution to this problem and told my loved one to
please come clean shaven and will remember this all his life, unless he wants
to lose out on me. Well he was and is still very loving and understanding and
apologized to me for this and promised me to have a clean shave before he comes
to meet my parents.
Well, it was my birthday that we all chose to have this
meeting on and so he was called for the normal interrogation that happens
before every marriage, especially love marriage (mind you, because your parents
feel you are still incapable of making such decisions @25 in your life). So I
had prepared him well in advance for all the questions and that he had to
impress his mother in law the most.
We chose a small time and quite restaurant for the meeting
and we had all reached and were waiting for him to arrive. As he entered the
restaurant, my heart melted looking at him in a plain white shirt and blue
jeans (Guys, this is the best dress code for any event and will never go
wrong), he had his perfume put on and his face clean. I could see clearly this
time that he was dressed to impress and so I look on further to the reaction of
my family who is the judge here. To my surprise my mother cannot have her eyes
off him and I see her whispering into my Chachi’s ears, “Chokro Sutho Aaye in
sindhi, which means the guy is looking good”. I smiled at him and from inside
had a bundle of joy and a moment to scream out loud that “Yes, we won it
finally”. (That’s how it feels to convince your parents for a love marriage)
We won half the battle is what I knew and the other half I
knew he would take care of and so I smiled and thanked him through the gesture
of my eyes. And so on went the rest of the meeting and here I am happily
married to the love of my life. Well this is my story that changed my life, for
my loved one did listen to me and went for a clean shave thereafter.
Hope this was encouraging enough for all you young couples
out there and will make you attain victory in the war of love marriage.
Prompto I get a reply for this, naa…I am too lazy for this
today. Honey are we going out somewhere that I really need to? Can we not just
go for dinner and come back? And the only thing I think of is why the hell I go
through this painful therapy of hair removal and waxing.
I wonder most of the times, why only we women have to
undergo all this and why even the men can’t put in the same efforts every time
to look their best. And hence I decided to teach my loved one a tough lesson this
time. I told him clearly that I will not step out with him unless he shaves and
comes with me like a gentleman.
Well, my condition did not go down very well with him and we
got into an argument , which eventually broke out into laughter, for he
realized that I did not ask for much from him and that he just needed to shave
and we were ready to go.
And as always I won the argument and he decided to shave,
and so finally we were on the way for dinner. It was one of the regular
restaurants that we go to and decided to head there straight.
While we were enjoying our meal and me was still laughing
over it, my loved one seemed to be still annoyed with me for doing this to him.
It was only after this little reunion as I may call it, did I get all the
credit for having him to shave.
So, while we were enjoying our dinner, I see a couple in
their mid-20’s walking up to us and I see my loved one breaking into a huge
smile and instantly he gets up and hugs the guy, while I stand up gracefully
and greet the lady. “ Aree…yaar Rahul to bilkul nahi badla hai, you look the
same , young and charming as always” said the man to my husband. While I am
still finding myself a little lost and next my husband turns around to me and
introduces me to his childhood buddy aka the langhotia yaar “Sachin”.
I smile back at him and he only says Bhabhi “Rahul is the
same charming as ever; girls were flat on him in college for his looks”, while
I look back at my husband only to make him realize that I owe the credit to
this one. Well after the normal greetings, we settle down to have dinner
together and then finally depart and bid them a goodbye.
It was only our way back, did my husband thank me and
whispered in my ears “Thank you for this one, I owe this to you”. This is one
of my personal life experience that I wanted to share with all of you that why
is it important for men to have a clean shave look always.
Well, before I even say something to start with this topic.
Let me tell you that I am pleased to write about this one especially. Innocence
is one word that comes to my mind immediately when you speak about children. It
doesn’t matter of what caste, creed, religion etc. just the word innocent
describes kids the best.
I have had the fortune of being in and around children
always in my personal life and even professionally and I have loved it the
most, every moment I spend with kids; has been loved by me truly. Let us today
discuss about why travelling with kids is always regarded as fun and is always
remembered.
Why is it so different from the other vacations we go on? Well
the only answer I get to this one is that it the energy and the positive
attitude and that zest that the children have keeps us on the move and makes us
do all crazy stuff. Let me share with you one such instance of my personal life
where I took my child for a vacation and how it still is a cherished memory for
him as well as me.
It was that time around the year which we look forward to the
most and especially as a working mother all the more. The summer break; it’s
the best time and rather the most quality time that we get to spend with our
children and so was it for us. We decided to pack our bags and move on to lonavala,
one of the most beautiful places to be visited especially during summers, so
that you can get rid of the city heat and pollution.
So, it was a well-planned vacation and things were going
well. It was only until my little one insisted on going for activities which I had
never done all my life. He came up to me and said Mom, please take me for river
crafting; rappelling and the list went on. I briefly remember telling him that I
am tired and need to rest for a while, only so that he was convinced to leave
and not continue his list.
I know this may sound weird, I mean you go on a vacation
only to rest, but it’s been different for me. I have not been an active player
while in school or even during college. For me vacations have been that time
when I am at peace personally and relaxed with the idea of not going to work. But
let me tell you it’s seen differently by kids and they eagerly look forward to
this and so did mine. Let me share with you my story of vacations so far, it’s
always been very simple where I get time to chill out with family and friends
and catch up with family who stays far away. Besides that it has involved the regular
partying and clubbing events and as I said I have not been a very enthusiastic
sports person, so all these activities were always a big NO for me.
But as they say, you live your childhood twice; once when
you are a child and once when you have a child and that has been the case with
me. But sports and me have been like mixing Aloo with fish. And hence I told my
son to let me be, only so that I could escape from the river climbing and etc..
He was sure of going for all he planned and hence this time
there was no escape for me, I had to give in to his demands and hence went
ahead with what he insisted doing first (Rappelling), I was so scared that I was
in tears but I had to do this for my son and more so because of what he told me
before we went for this “ Mom when I was young did you ever give me milk
without checking how hot it was, or would you not check it by spilling it on
your palm first only so that I did not burn my tongue” These words took me back and made me realize what
he wanted to say. I gave in to his wish and went ahead with a life threatening
activity, rappelling is what they call it. I was shivering then but I finally
managed to do it and so on went the other set of activities.
It was only during this vacation of ours did I realize what
my son taught me and what it is to be on a vacation truly. Guys let me tell you
vacation is beyond chilling and having the long and never ending gossip
sessions. It is about being with your children in every moment of joy and enjoying
things with them. As I said previously it is about reliving your childhood and
doing all the things that you have not been able to do.
Let me also tell you I even started playing Badminton and
have begun cycling now on daily basis after our short vacation. A child can
bring out the best in you. Relive your childhood with your children and form
memories that can be shared with a smile for each one.
Fear is it good or bad? Well to each its own and I believe like every two sides of a coin, this word also has a positive and a negative aspect. Positive, I am sure this has brought many thoughts to your mind and you are definitely wondering why on earth I will say fear has positive side also. Well I will give my justification to this. Sometimes fear brings out the best in a person and can have life changing effects on an individual. It can lead to a complete transformation of an individual which can be positive and hence I say fear or rather overcoming fear can have positive outcome as well.
My personal thoughts and experience is what I am going to pen down today and want to motivate each one of you out there, so that none of us hold back our self and rise above fear and the feeling of fear. It is important that we face fear and obtain a result. It is important in life that we at least make the attempt , winning and losing are just two terms that decide upon a result or give name to the outcome of something that we do. But facing it and doing things is what actually is more important, because it gives us more than just victory or failure. It gives us learning, learning which is based upon self inputs and your own experience.
I am now going to share with you a personal story of rising above fear, and how it has changed my life into a better today and given me an experience of life time and a learning that will remain all throughout. Some of you might find this one funny or may not even look at it as a major fear, but only I can explain this and can narrate to you my experience on this. So I have been a hydrophobic since my childhood, I have never been in and around any place that is surrounded with water, or to put in a better manner, I have maintained a distance of miles even when around sea. My fear was till an extent that I got night mares that I am in my own washroom and that the water level has raised to an extent that I am sinking and can find no one to help.
Even when with my family and friends, I would ensure that I never go close to sea. I mean I am part of city which they say is surrounded by water and has been loved by all, but it was always different for me. When people spoke about how beautiful the sea side is early morning and after dawn, I only felt that it will eat me up and that I will drown. I always told my mom, I am scared of losing my life in any flood and she only laughed over it and comforted me by saying that she will be around. But little did anybody understand that this fear inside me grew each day and I needed to face it and get over it and enjoy every creation of god and our very own nature.
Let me now explain to you how a small little angel, yes she truly is my angel not because she is my little sister but more because she helped me overcome my fear that killed me each day and always held me back. This happened recently at an age where they say you have lived ¼ of your life; so I was on a small family location to the most beautiful place in the world and where people go on long vacations only to be by the sea side and enjoy the lovely nature. Yes I am talking about Spain, the most beautiful place and a place I will remember all life long, for what it gave me in return.
It happened so that we all planned to go to a very huge water park, which is one of the tourist attraction of the place and I almost pissed in my pants when I heard that and had no option but to go, as I could not be the reason for others not being able to enjoy, and so decided to go and stick by my mom’s side and gave clear instructions to all that I will not be part of any activity there. All my family members agreed with just simply that you are such a “Fatoo”, it was only this little angel who walked up to me and said Di, please come with me, I promise nothing will happen just hold my hand. In the start I resisted but later decided to give in after I saw my little angel’s innocent eyes calling out to me with so much affection. I decided to go and only told her that I will just stand and watch her; however she convinced me to put my feet in the pool and just sit. I agreed to her instructions and was later told to sit on a ride with her; else she would run away. I was scared at this time and told her a clear no but she kept insisting and all my family members insisted that I go for it and that they would all be around. After a lot of negotiations and a public scene in the park; I gave in and went ahead with all. It was only after the first ride I realized what I was missing on and decided to go for yet another one and so on. It was only this small visit to the water park and with all efforts of my little angel today that I am now learning swimming and enjoy the sea side beauty.
Just to end this story and give you a last update on my rising above fear, I even plan to go scuba diving someday, because I have now realized what I missed on all these years and want to make up for the lost time. I agree it was a small incident or rather initiative /effort made by me and my family but it has helped me overcome by biggest fear today and has given me a new way to look at nature.
Overcoming fear is an initiative made by oneself and be the efforts of others in motivating you to let go and rise above.
To conclude I would just say try or make an attempt before you say it’s impossible because even the word impossible says I am possible.
