Love - Khare Raste💞

                                                       Love - Khare Raste💞

Dear Readers, Happy New Year, I know I am late for the new beginings but whenever we meet, I think thats the begining. I hope all of you had a great start. Atleast I did, had sometime with family, winters in India and in the hills and trying to make life as better as possible.

LOVE, yes thats the topic I wanted to write on from a very very long time. Oh Yes, dont get me wrong this has nothing to do with me and my life but this topic of love always inspires me. I know as readers you would be in divided minds, trust me all my life till date - People have tried different philosophies on me, tried to lecture me till date that my world & thoughts are totally fairy taled and not even close to reality, PRACTICAL NAHI HO but my heart, doesnt change at all. 

Once a Jane Austen fan, always and forever one till I die. Btw, this is not about father- mother love, sister - brother, Nope, I am talking about pure Romance which does skip a beat, which does give you goose bumps, no matter what age of the life span you are in.

                                     

Just imagine

bada aitbaar hai mere yaar ko, ke deedar bina hum bekaraar rahenge...

Jao keh do unse pyaar karte hai, mann ki ankhon se nihaarkar unki yeh galatfehmi hum bekaar karenge!!

Doesnt that feel good, may be & may be not thats up to us. In fact, 2 years back I watched a Turkish series 1001 Nights and was so moved that you can stay sane and still like people say have fairy tales, I know its just a series and I dont know if we still have such people but the thought was so pure, so serene.

To my surprise, its Hindi adaptation was also released in 2022 which I watched last year and its poetry has really touched my heart. My better half - Nishant usually a quiet one keeps telling me I dont know how you always watch this so many times with the same charm. Just read it for yourself:

ऐ शाम ये तेरी बेईमानी, तेरे आते ही जाने की मनमानी..

तू उसकी याद लेकर आती है और मुझे रात के हवाले कर जाती है...

रात से डर लगता है उसकी बात से डर लगता है,

ऐ शाम तू तोड़े जो बार बार, उस ऐतेबार से डर लगता है....

सुर्ख शाम की अंधेरी रात आज भी आई है,

लेकिन आज वो मेरे डर को ढूढ़ नहीं पाई है...

सच कहूँ तो रातों को मैं अंधेरों से पहचानता था,

जब तक मैं जुगनुओं को नहीं जानता था....

एक जुगनू दिखा है तो और भी होते होंगें,

फिर जादू भी होता होगा, चिरागो में जिन भी होते होंगे...

दरिया और सपने भी पूरे होते होंगें,

चाँदनी में फरिश्तो का फरमान भी बरसता होगा...

और फिर...और फिर प्यार भी होता होगा,

होता होगा लेकिन क्या होता होगा....

अँधेरे में रोशनी का आना,

या मार्च की गर्मी में कुछ सोचके कपकपना...

चादर में मुँह छिपाना,

बिस्तर से उठ ना पाना....

मन की मेज पर बैठ कर उससे घंटों बतियाना,

छटपटाना, मुस्कुराना, अपने ही बालों को सहलाना...

बस उसकी यादों में खोते चले जाना,

बस खोते चले जाना...हाँ प्यार प्यार तो है...

वो मुझसे बात करती है,

ये कहके ख़ास करती है...

वो हँस कर धीरे से खुशी यार करती है,

वो देखती है मुझे और सुर्ख मेरे हालात करती है...

मुझे लगता है कि मैं हूँ,

क्योकि अब वो मुझसे बात करती है....

अब वो मुझसे बात करती है....

Isnt this heart warming? We all have such special people in our lives or have seen such people in front of us. Love and care are interchangeable between 2 partners what differs is the intensity. When this intensity crosses all barriers, thats True Love. I do sanely believe in one and I have seen many such examples. My mother the way she loves my Paa, Nishant's Paa, the way he loves my Mummyji, the way my home help Durga is trying her level best to keep her better half alive 24*7 , thats love - true, innocent and passionate. 

Infact, past few years I have also learnt that selfless love is all around me, why do you go extra miles to make someone so happy, why do you keep a person always before you, why are you willing to sacrifice everything for someone, LOVE. You bear all the pain to make things work for others no matter how bad it gets for you - atleast Durga has taught me a lot. When there was no hope, she truly lived upto her name to keep fighting but then you all call me DREAMY, really am I the one who is one or have you closed yourself to the real TRUTH.

Durga - Lives up to her name. People who know me, know that she one of the persons who is also the reason for my success. She doesnt know how she has taught me the real meaning of Love & care in her own ways - Hats off to such people around us.

A close friend of mine - Neeti is also a fighter and they way she has supported her better half is also an eye opener. I am sure you might think are there male examples to share, hote honge I am sure and next time, whenever I meet someone of this sort, I will dedicate an entire post to such lovely people.

                      

                                          Neeti - all love and more power to you - my super woman

Sawan ki pehli boond se, yaadon ke zharoon ke goonj se

Mann ke machalne se, saanson ke behekne tak

pyar ki gehrayi mein, umra bhar dubte rehne tak

Is ehsaas ko dil ke diye mein zinda rakhungi

Cheers to this feeling and may you all always be surrounded by such people all round you.

Love Leobond

RACING AGAINST TIME - AGEING!!

                                         RACING AGAINST TIME - AGEING!!

Dear Readers, today I want to start with something very cliched but currently my mind and heart are at war - "Time isn’t in a hurry; it’s just living in a world with no speed limits" - I wish  I could just live in this moment and time would stop.

I remember someone say that you dont need to miss people, they walk inside your brain - I used to make fun of this but now I do believe. I think many of you will be able to co-relate - with time the fingers you held to learn to walk, have been all ears to listen to you, with your voice on the phone can understand how you feel at that moment - yes, our Parents, our strenght and priceless support system forever.

                                                                         2010 - Assam

Okay, so like most of us, my fondness and attachment with parents is above everything and anything. With me entering 40, offcourse my parents wont get youngers and this feeling is what I am battling currently. My Paa is an epitome of stenghth and Maa of patience - a deadly combination of great qualities of moral ethics, honesty and ideal preaching me of all wrongs and rights till date but now they are ageing gracefully but I am going paranoid and certainly not able to accept the fact. This year, mutiple times I ha've been going through this sinking feeling for my parents and in-laws. Over the period, the motion slowness, the responsiveness and every little thing which is changing has been bothering me so much all the time. 

2017 - Noida 

Till date I always used to think that the alomighty cannot be in person with all of us so in one or the other shape, we have our parents but  each passing year these changes will tend to increase day by day as thats AGEING!!! While its almost a wrap 2024, I feel and hope totally that nomatter how fast time sprints on a treadmill, we will hold on to these special moments and live these moments with these 2 special angels - Paa & Maa. I wish all the good health and spirit this Christmas to friends and family and may my heart and brain for sometime be at peace.

2024 - Noida 

Kehte hain, bandagi aisi ho ki har saans mein aapki sehat ki dua ho. Aye mere Rab, is muskaan ko meri bhi umar lag jaye.

Leobond, wishes that all you have a great wrap of 2024 with your loved and dear ones and dont forget to take an extra special care of your Angels on earth. I wish you a very happy welcoming year in 2025.

"Yaadon ke diye hum roz jalate hain,

Lamho ko sajane ka hunar seekh jate hain"

Till we meet again!!

Love

Leobond

Besan Ke Laddu - MAA KA PYAR(Mother's Love)

                                            Besan Ke Laddu - MAA KA PYAR(Mother's Love)

Out of all the cherished memories that we have, some memories always stay with you. I am sure all of you will agree with Leobond that one thing which is always "Priceless" is Mother's Love. While  it has many sweet and different memories, for the Leobond, one thing which has been constant source of energy is Besan ke Laddu - my all time favourite since I was born and especially the one which my mother makes.

I have many fond memories of this Laddu, I was never a foodie but my love for specific items was always there since childhood - Like Kadhi - Chawal in whatever shape and form - good or bad, its always good for me. In sweets, very few - typical Bengali sweets, because of my childhood years in Bengal and Northeast were my all time favourites,  Sandesh - all shapes and sizes, Rasmalai , Kalakand and what topped the chart was - Besan ke laddu.

During my growing years, infact after 10th grade, my late night studies were often accompanied with 1or 2 laddu's at night. Have you ever noticed, no matter what the situation is, even if you are on fone and your mom cannot see you but she will immediately know by your voice on other side if you are ok or not ok, no matter how hard you try to hide it from her - One simply cannot , just cannot?

In college, it was a ceremony for my Maa to send it as much as possible, may be I never sat back and thanked her so much. When I started working, even then not even once this thought creeped in me but lot changed after marriage.

I will not shy away or deny that I am a lot - Papa's Gal but marriage taught me the importance and deep love and bond that I share with my Maa. This is the time when I realised that - O boy!!, if my kids go to hostel, will I be able to make these Laddu's, I may not be a great chef like my mom but I definitely picked up cooking after her so my interest in cooking is always there no matter how hard my week days are.

For 10 good years after marriage, I could never make round laddu's and the fear of not making good ones, always made me make Besan Burfi's and I sort of dreaded that I could never do it. While a major role cut of being a Mother has been my fate but I never gave up hope of making good ones like my mom and Yes, I succeeded in it and also good praises from my better half.

For years, my Mothers love for me comes with these laddus on my bday or 15th Jan on Sankranti and once in Oct/Nov - She will make my father courier this even when I turn 42 this year, so this priceless love of hers is above any gift which I feel lucky about. 

One thing which changed -  after 2 failed IVFs, my body, mind and soul were not hand in hand and I had to make dietary changes and with newer roles and work pressure in IT, I decided to go away from sweets till the time I get back into a normal shape - DONT GET ME WRONG, I am a LEO so I always LOVE MYSELF, never think otherwise but yes for my wellbeing I had to make some decisions. In this still mom mom thought I missed Laddus the most so my mother never gave up and then made them with only with milk khoya and sent them to me which I am happily eating - so laddus with/without Sugar, MAA KA PYAR here is PRICELESS!!

What is your MAA KA PYAR waala moment, Leobond will realy be interrested in your story, so do share with me, till I share my next post with all of you, take care and stay healthy!!!

Love 

Leobond

27th May'2024 - The Surprise

                                                     27th May'2024 - The Surprise

"We all have our time machines. Some take us back, we call them memories, some take us forward & we call them dreams" - this message showed up on my FB page when I logged in after a long log time and it really crossed my mind - dear readers, that the main puropose of this personal blogging of mine is to capture the moments of life all around and how can I not write about an extremely important change, infact a professional milestone to cherish!!

With all my fears and happiness people who know Leobond very well, know that my life cannot be like a DC line, it has be a sinosidal wave and if it is not, I invite or land into such challenges. This was exactly my situattio in 2022 Nov , when I was wrapping up a game changer project - raising my hand that the toughest one I would have ever done one, thats when my heart was racing and raising questions in my head what next - a) because with the project was heavliy working with lot of ecosystem partners on innovation and b) wanted to keep myself upgraded with technology while the world of AI & ML was moving to GenAI and GPTs. Back in Amsterdam in 2022, these thoughts never left my mind and after coming back in Dec - I wanted to take a calculated risk.  I was rewarded a designation change in November 2022 and the fear of high expectations haunted me if I will be able to upskill myself with new responsibilties - Oh yes, this also came with investment, so was I ready to invest time, energy and money all. With new roles, comes new responsibility and the roles completely in the incubation areas.

Sometimes I wondered, if I would break down and give up the Post Grad. Waking up at 5AM and studying till 7AM and then getting ready for office work was a regular routine from Feb 2023 till Feb 2024 and if in any official meeting, people spoke about weekeds, I had a complete silence in my head with a thought that what did I do to deserve this life.

I may sound cliched that we get something in life we make sacrifices and here I was giving up on everything on personal front. One thing which was constant was my family support and my father kept me on Toes to never give up.

I remember, Diwali all houses were lit by 7 PM and there was fun and frolic all over but I was confined to a single room since saturday and Saunday to run my Codes for project and submitted the project dot 8PM, and then got ready to celebrate one of my favorite festivals.

This was not enough, I had also given up my Yoga classes and put a 6 months hault to clear and settle things.

Trust me friends, life is a never ending race but Leobond has always loved to live life every single bit of it, no matter how tough and challenges it poses to me. I grew as a human, professional and learnt as well. Not to forget, a very close friend of mine also pursued this course with me so its always good to have a study partner and life becomes more easy as you grib, solve ,discuss together and grasp.

As luck would have it, both of us topped the class securing 1& 2 ranks, I know ranks dont matter in today's world but the feeling of Pride and trust me a free sat & sun since March 2024 came as surprise. Suddenly as if something went missing but these times in life are what keeps you going and the certificate below always gives me a sense of achievement.

This was not it, infact in the organisation, we have programs for Women in Tech and that also was a 6 months program - icing on the cake which got over in April end.

As we say, alls well that end well but I think God definitely had something special stored for me. As Leodond has always shared instances of my life with all of you, this is where my lifetimeline stands - April 2024. So with so much study, work and craziness, I wanted to take a break and my earlier post on Kashmir Diaries was the 1st break after a loongggggg time. May as usual I was charged to take up roles which dig deep into technology skills.

Here comes the biggest surprise. While working on projects, my regular Boss was travelling for lot of events and conferences in May for SAP - my bread and butter and I have this habit of always aligning and checking with her on the progress and 24th May, I was constantly asking for a review so she said lets talk on Monday - 27th May.

8:30AM - my mobile rings and it read - BOSS CALLING, I am a bit surprised, something was wrong as such early morning when your boss calls, it means, CALL FOR ACTION. The minute I picked, she said lets address and discuss all issues at 9:30AM, I asked should I set up a call?She said no, I will call.

While my better half was leaving for office, I told him, I somehow feel butterflies in my stomach today, if I call pls answer as I was not ok how things were turing out on the MONDAY.

So, knowing the calendars I still blocked that time as 10AM, I had workshops starting for my current project, btw - I am in another mess, which I will share in another post.

Dot 9:30, when my boss didnt call, I pinged her and said, we need to talk, she said she got something urgent with our super boss and will pull me in 5. I really wondered, I have workshops - which I was prepping and now if there was a new task, completions and timelines will become difficult.

As sharp 9:35AM, my boss pulls me in a call, I join and I see >10 MDs in the video call and I feel as if my world turned upside down. My adrenalin rush and my heartbeat could be heard by me and I hear my boss say, if I could come on Video? I turn on my video and my super boss says that the GenAI models were hallucinating which they wanted to fix and talk in the call and I smiled.

But that was 5 seconds and then came the next words - You have been progressed to a Managing Director Role - I heard and skipped multiple beats - No reeaction but a blush or a smile - I dont recall.

I felt my world had literally stopped!!! I could see people gazing at me and I still remember stating, I am in an awe and literally said - I have never blushed but I today I was, the call lasted for 10 mins.

Gosh, this moment and the goosebumps I had, the anxiety - what just happened, is this real, I had my hands folded and thanked almight but I didnt know what to do.

I didnt know how to concentrate on the workshop at 10AM. I also thought as if it was a dream.

I took a heavy sigh and did a video call with my family and then friends, while everybody was soooo happy but my heartbeat trust me that day went to 137, yes folks 137, can you imagine, while at one hand I was happy on the other hand the responsibilities were huge and such knowledgeable leaders to work - panic striken me spoke to my boss.

My better half with my heart beat check said , he would call by boss and tell her that I am literally not able to digest the Surprise.

Leobond feels, we all have our lows and highs in life but exciting surprises really make us believe that at the end - Hardwork +Luck means Dreams do come True.

While, the next journey is very tough and I will share where I am now but this is for all of us - our goal is to keep challenging us for better and good things and knowledge and sheer knowledge will always be yours and make you live your dreams, so never give up.

Leobond - In the recipe of Life, knowledge is a key ingredient which has the powet to turn bad things/time into good one. It all depends on how we take the situation. So keep growing your knowledge repository in whatever shape and size.

The Next Chapter of surprises in the next post but do read, subscribe & share your life suprises as well, till then stay happy and blessed.

Love 

Leobond

Kashmir Diaries Rather Srinagar!! - Part1

Kashmir Diaries Rather Srinagar!!

Dear Readers, I know its been a while that I shared something with you all. Nope, I am not absconding nor a cry baby this month 😋. April/May were very hectic and today I write to share with you all one of my adventures. The Leobond usually plans for leaves twice a year - one in April and other one in Dec end, this has been a ruotine for the past 12 years most of the times usually. I truly believe that life is too short to live as there are too many memories to capture in the camera of heart.

Kashmir has been in my wishlist for a long time and somehow the plan materialised this time in April. In this part 1 of the series, Leobond will mostly share glimses of our 1st half in Sonmarg. 20th early morning flight with friends who are more than a family and a gang of 7 embarked onto this beautiful Jannant. The 1st view before landing skipped my heartbeats and the beauty below me was breath taking, dont you agree?

I still remember someone say - sitting in an IT office and an AC cabin is not India. India in its roots is in the heart of its people, villages, its lifestyle, the livelihood they have and this time atleast in some parts I could feel it and felt alive. So, our 1st destination in Kashmir was Sonmarg.Its is a hillstation located in the Ganderbal distrist of Jammu and Kashmir and is typically known for many places.

Rather than checking in the hotel, we started off by going to the Dal Lake.

Every Indian I am sure will know about Shikara rides and one thing which I really found different there was life of living in a water body than land is different. Never thought about it and you will see boat vendors coming to your Shikara to sell KAHWA - the staple drink of Kashmir, the gorgeous jewellery, willow tree based wodden items and what not. You also have small eateries on boats and the mesmerising House boats and Meena Bazar were the main attractions. I realised that the artisans in India have still not reached across India, the one that I saw in Srinagar was so rare and has not even reached Delhi. This triggered me thinking - Do I want to do something to change? What do you think??

The Leobond yearned for some silence but thats where I pacified myself to enjoy the moment and not get overwhelmed. The mere gaze of the Meena Bazar triggered my adrenalin and I am a huge fan of Indian art work and when I saw the shawl designs on the Saris, I could not stop myself at stopping at one of the boats - Trust me the very thought that came to my mind was - We are a mine of talent in India but this was folks is really hidden - unexplored due to several reasons and the unrest also that we had in Kashmir for a quite a long time. I am adding this pic so that when Ditya grows big she knows this was her 1st trip as a 1 year old to heaven. She is the apple of  her parents eye and the centre of attraction for the entire journey. Doesnt she look a Kashmiri 😆?

Our next destination, was the place which is a spot of Romance - I am sure every Indian's heart starts beating after listening to Silsila's song - Dekha ek khwab to ye silsile huye, trust me you will want to have that moment in this place.

After a long time, being near to nature was nothing less than serene. Har laher pe zindagi ka ye ehsaas kabile taarif hai. Teri lehron ke kal kal mein agar khud ko talash lun to zindagi aur mutmayeen ho jaye.

In the evening on the dal lake the open markets and the shops and the lights around are worth spending penny and the wooden souveniers are worth the spend. Btw, the nide ride in a shikara on the Dal will really make you relive the melody of life.

In the next episode, will share our next destination - Sonmarg and its glimpses. Till then stay happy and blessed.

Love, 

Leobond

The Womane in me!!!

                                          The Womane in me!!!

Dear Readers, I hope the month of March has been good fo you all. While the Leobond calls Feb as the LoVe Month, March is for Womane!! Yes since the begining of the month we see wishes all over and 8th March becomes special while I know you all believe that as Human Beings - Woman are Super Beings because the creator gave us privildeged rights 😁. This post of mine in the month of March is an ode to the community which has the power to create, nuture & grow - all WoMaNE!!!. As a child, I had neve thought the roles that we play and how we shapen up makes a huge difference in the society. Trust me, today I see the real difference. As a soul Leobond believes life is a Fairy Tale, mind you people have abruptly always reminded me that its never but its my heart which rules over my brain and that thought never goes out. As a child and till date I believe that we grow when we share - our joys and sorrows both.

I know I cannot write about everyone but atleast will be honoured to mention the fearless and powerful SheMaNs in my life who have touched me and nurtured me. The 1st one is to my Creator - My Maa(Mother). I never realised that as I get elder, my love for this supreme humane will mutiply every second and I truly believe that since the almighty could not be with each one of us, he blessed each one of us a Fairy GodMother and thats what we all have.

As a child, I was very stubborn, mischieveous but then my heart was nutured by 2 ladies in the house. My Maa and my Great great grandmother. While life is a viscious circle and we do miss those who no longer are with us, so this one Dadi is for you.

Yes, this is from my childhood foto album and I love them.Then are those with whom I grew up and some are there for lifelong.These are what you call your growing buddies, no matter what time never separates you from them and mind you all special SheGals 💓.

Well, time moves on and as you grow, you want to have a career of your own, you make choices in life and your add new roles in your Kitty, oh not only roles but families and thats where you are making the ground to become a butterfly and take up the nuturing role. I truly believe that "Marriages are Made in Heaven", no matter what you do, you will land up with whom you are destined with and thats where you get to meet more Supreme creators. This is what we can say the right ventricle of your heart and when you transform from a Girl to a Womane, you never know. Love comes naturally to us - You can call us sentivite, fragile and what not but the only creatures on this earth who can adapt to any role they play but still never give up. I am sure by now you would understand that now you have more power added and more blessings in form of extended family and the Leobond is happy to have a very strong powerfact house full of womane. This is to my inlaws, my sis-inlaws and my sisters who give us a reason to survive each day with a smile.

Nomatter what we may say, as a working women, the Leobond has been very work alcoholic and those who know can relate with it but my bond with my friends at every stage in life gets stronger. We meet people every day and some stay for lifetime and those are your friends in a way a second life line as we may say as 80% of time is what we spend with them. I have travelled a lot across the globe and every meeting had a new addition to my friendlist. I may not have all of them in this blog but all matter to me.

Then there are a few whom you consider your IDEALS, by luck you are blessed to have mentors in your career who no matter what you do try to bring the best in you. Btw, I call her Legendary Lady AB, funny I know but everyone who knows me are aware that sometimes as a WoMane your character building plays a crucial role in the decisions you make and for that you do need to speak to all your seniors and take the guidances.10 Years of my career, I believe from a naive girl to someone who everytime argues with her, listens to her and tries to imbibe the best of her qualities to become a better WoMane is what I keep learning from her. This is to her who has been a rock solid one to build my character and to instill a never give up attitude and to finish what I start is what I try to learn from her. 

While the work life is full of some amazing and spectualar such pioneering path breaking women, here's a toast to all of you and more power to you for being just what you are.

It is said a friend in need is a friend indeed and when that friend is also a sister to you who is with you in your thick and thin and is always there no matter what happens, such relationships become undefined and come with infinite unspoken love and this is for my one and only TUTS for being for always being there so Tutu and Maa have been in my life from Engineering days since 2001 and this is is readers 2024 so 23 years and still going is part of the family. I've really had my own lows infact super duper lows and 3 people rock solid who stood with me are my fairy angel Maa-Paa & Tuts so this bond is extra special and it always gives the needed strength and makes the survival of Leodond much memorable and in my chapter of life these small memories with these super Womane are captured in my heart till alive!!! So three cheers to who we are and what we make out of ourselves!!!

Oh btw, holi just went by and hope all of you in some or the other form had a good one.I made my share, I know those who know will find it hard to see the girl and cooking skills out, yes I once sat and thought may be if I ever quit I will have a bakery or a sweet shop. Jokes apart, here I am signing off for now but will be back with April edition soon to share what I am upto but I am sure with Spring round the corner, you should also have your story to share. You can always share one with me!!

MERA GAM!!