HelpAge India

O stick! Hold me for a little more time

They will be here soon

Breathing life into this withering body

Before another new moon

My sun will set any day now

But I promise to you my friend

You won’t be my lone companion

When I laugh once more, towards the end

My soul knows I’ve loved them always and

I know I’ve waited too long, you have been patient too

Just time has been barrier for some days

But they love me too, like you

Let my bones crumble in pain

But my will knows my son

Oh he lost his path back then

But he’ll come for me before I am gone.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

How many people live on with this mind set now days, all waiting for a family they gave up their life for? Some who have lost their only support system they nurtured for years, lost to life, lost to death, lost to "the new generation". HelpAge India is an NGO that works to supports help these people.

Make them a home away from the one they built.

Get them friends who are suffering like they are.

Not let them lose the hope to live life.

Not let them be alone in the last meander of their age.

We are humans and humans are social creatures. No one deserves to be alone when they reach the twilight of their life and specially not the people who have helped the new generation live a happy peaceful and luxurious life. They've taken care of us for long enough and now its our turn. And HelpAge India helps the people whose own blood has forgotten this very fact.

This is the official page of HelpAge India http://www.helpageindia.org/

If you loved your grand parents, loved to hear the stories they had for you, loved it when they made mud toys for you back when you visited your native village, you would surely give this site the NGO and their work a thought.

P.S.: written for the iDiya innitiative of indibloggers abd ISB http://www.isb.edu/idiya/

Its all about braids

I tie the braid

And flaunt and parade

I sing aloud

About my braid so stout

My heart dances and flounces

My ribbon like hair prances

Riding comes the prince of my dreams

Let your hair down my sweet pea

I pick the thick plait and lower it down

My prince shrieks and shouts, panic bound

I asked you to lower your hair, O Rapunzel,

Not a taut rope with damaged end, my damsel.

I wake with a shock and glance at my hair

My braid lies lifeless with frizzed dry split ends

Dreamy reminiscence of my childhood days

Adds to my misery ‘cause once I had beautiful undamaged hair.

This is my story…was my story till dove hadn’t launched its amazing Dove Split Ends Rescue System which took me back to my childhood days (as soon as I saw its ad).

Phase 1: The school long hair competition.

I guess I was in 6^th grade when I finally decided to let go of my tom boy blunt cut look to embrace the beauty of long flowing hair. I had a few of my friends giving me a competition back in those days because the long hair look and the fantasy or experiments with different versions of the French plait was very in. A year passed our hair grew, one girl’s hair reduced to a barely holding rope and she was out. 3 months went by, me flaunting a long healthy braid while 2 of the others were back to the ponytail business; braids just didn’t want to set up their shop on their head. Another 2 months and the rest backed down making me the clear winner later tagged the one with the perfect braid till 10^th grade.

*THEN*

Phase 2:  Back at my native

What a happy moment it is when people say you have hair just like your mom, especially if you have been praying to god to gift you with hair just like you mom, since ages. And how would you describe the feeling when the same people after a year say “Girl, you have better hair than your mom ever did.” *a flutter in your heart, pride inflates your chest* Same was my case. After I decided to grow my mane for a year or 2 I got the 1^st statement and later 4 5 years my hair danced to the words of the 2^nd statement. My nani and dadi used to tie up my hair into fish tail plaits and people would garland my hair with comments like “what lovely healthy hair you have!””You have the thickest and most perfect fish plait I’ve ever seen” and “Wish I had hair like yours that I could braid and still the ends wouldn’t look like a mangled exposed T.V. wire.”

Phase 3: The misery

Pride takes you down with it one day, and so it did. The hair once so beautiful and strong and so much in volume was reduced to half of its previous glory as soon as my engineering college started reason travelling pollution and that urge of styling *regrets*. My mom always oiled and combed my hair with love and full conviction, imagine the pain when she said, “I don’t feel like touching your hair any more, chop them, they’ve lost the charm and braids they don’t…well braiding is not meant for your hair anymore.” *heart fail* 3 years I‘ve sulked and wept over my maimed dry split end prone hair but nothing, no one came to my rescue.

Phase 4: I have a dream a song to sing

Here comes the Dove Split Ends Rescue System the magical saviour of my dying hair. A wash 2 wash 3 wash, courtesy to the sample pack by Indibloggers and the bottle-tube set I had bought 2 weeks back (desperation you see), my desperation grows and grows, and lo I have a thick shiny healthy looking braid just after 3 washes the splits tarnishing my hair seem so less. O yeah I do have beautiful ends to my beautiful braid  And I knew I wasn’t dreaming when a friend of my said this to me just before my midterm wmc paper “what did you do to your hair, they look thicker and less frizzed out.”

*dancing

Paper, studies down the drain

 It’s all about my hair

The lovey Dove’y feel

Of a braid finally with beautiful ends.*

 *NOW*

P.S.: Written for Dove Split Ends Rescue System by indiblogger
all the pics are of my own..:)

The Hogwart's Blessing For Hair

Remember how we all loved Rapunzel and fancied hair like hers when we were kids. Well Guess I haven’t grown up yet cause for me that dream still remains. I have long shinny lustrous hair but with 1 problem they are spiral and wavy and confusing like stairs of some old medieval cathedral. Now imagine when the prince calls “Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair,” and imagine me as Rapunzel letting down my hair. Flynn Rider climbs and climbs the twisted dense locks right left center; oh he is down with a bad headache now but freak where is the damn window, ops he is finally actually 'Tangled'. But courtesy to me, being ready to be a lab rat last time @Me the Lab Rat , I managed to get straight hair for some memorable hours. The straight hair venture made me realize the “straight sleek look” it looks good on me too but going through the whole iron or book dilemma just to look good for a day or two seemed way too much.  But like it’s said when you want something dearly with whole of your heart you are bound to get it sooner or later and Sunsilk Perfect Straight shampoo seemed god sent and when I got my free sample from Indibloggers I was over the moon cause in 2 days time was the college event of the year - the cultural fest!

I could write a whole book about how this miracle shampoo made my day but that would leave you…my readers, bereft of time to try test and rejoice in the super straight spell cast by this bottle wand. So here goes an illustrated weekly version of Solitary Soul completely dedicated to every girl’s new best friend SUNSILK PERFECT STRAIGHT, professor Flitwick’s nope YuKo Ymashita’s wonder spell, because a picture is worth a thousand words…

My Super Un tamable highly unmanageable long lustrous goldi locks which are nowhere coloured close to any shade of gold...: P

My sorrow song prone super wavy hair just before going under the water and the cauldron of the sunsilk perfect straight experiment

The outcome – happy, dancing, straight as candle locks…sorry no more locks...: D was the spell for my hair or my eyes...*bewildered*

Me happy happy with my new hairstyle with no side effects and least amount well hardly any “amount” spent...During the fest!

Why Sunsilk Perfect Straight is better

-          Ironing leaves your hair with split ends to deal with in near future while making your hair dry and frizz prone within hours but Sunsilk perfect straight has no such side effects in fact it leaves your hair smooth as silk with a feel good touch me feeling for days

-          It is affordable by all unlike permanent straightening that is heavy on the pockets and does not provide you with the option of reverting to the ‘old is gold’ policy.

-          The effect is long lasting but not very long. It lasts for 2 to 3 days depending on your hair quality and then you can always embrace your old hair style…this leaves you with options for trying out new looks.

And now thanks to Sunsilk Perfect Straight my poem is finally complete

Trendy trends tread around

And my misery seems unfair

Blessed I am with wavy hair -

Craving to be set straight

Comes riding the knight in shining armour

Not horse but through courier, at my door step

Small built of 2 wrapped in purple muslin

There sits my knight my Sunsilk Perfect Straight.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

This post has been written for Sunsilk straight hair contest and Indiblogger.

Jab We Met!!

  

A day I had been excited and worried about since Wednesday i guess, INDIBLOGGER'S HP CONNECTED MUSIC MEET. May not sound like a huge deal for many but for me it sure was a big deal as it was gonna be my first indimeet ever. Worried cause i usually have college on saturday, but when it comes to an indimeet its really crazy to choose college over it, anyways :P. so Saturday sets its pace and so does my indimeet venture. Bandra Station to Otto Infinito was a scorching not so interesting trip cause we were just 3 people eager to reach the venue that had so much in store for us. But the sun is forgotten totally when cold breeze greets you to such a beautiful location and you are welcomed with chilled light mocktails.

                                        

Then started the main event not the main event of the evening but definitely the main event for me - the meeting and greeting session. maybe just for 5 or 10 mins but i met around 30 people  and have connected well with them since 2 days now thanks to twitter and facebook. Many would say 10 mins is very less to meet anyone but i guess when you click you just do and once we had met we had the whole evening to interact with each other.

                                       

Post the meeting session was the actual main event of the evening the discussion about CONECTED MUSIC a venture of HP hungama and universal music. Boring but not "not productive" and being a music freak anything that relates to music sings to me. Also this very hour made #Connectedmusic A TREND ON TWITTER, so mumbai bloggers do rock big time!!!

                                     

 And this hour also was the jackpot hour sunday brunch at otto infinito and hp laptops. man wish the place had wifi or I had net access on my cell, but no use crying over spilt milk..:(. We gotta taste margeretta pizza and chicken well i would call it masala kabab which were the highlight of the food served to us during the event. The pasta and veg stir fry served later unfortunately couldn't rope in our taste buds still relishing the wonder of the previous visitors..:P

And yes the time after the discussion of the agenda was the most memorable one for me as the group of 3 which on reaching the venue had become 6 was now a huge group 13..:D..and we had a lovely photo session tooooo.

                             

                                

 Post this was the prize distribution and the opportunity to sing. YES SING!! Birds of the same feathers flock together - hold true everywhere just this time it was music. People with same musical interests formed a group and sang away to glory anything they wanted. Winners were the 13 13's which was the bollywood crazy club redefining favicol munni and sheila and runner-ups were the dhumchicks tapping to the disco track. And when you win u have prizes which for us were the HP DUAL EARPHONES. Thanx - my group 13 13 13 13 we rocked it!!          

                                     the 13's    

                                     the dhumchicks

And like every good book needs to end on a high note the evening ended with a group pic, indiblogger shirts and some new friends to be with...:)

Expectations lead to disappointment but no expectations can surprise you pleasantly. Being my first meet I went with Zero expectations and came back with a huge smile and excitement for the next meet which i hope is very soon.

Thanx a ton to Fatima, Rafaa, Aditi, Ashwin, Megha, Siddharth, Reshmi, Prutha, Nelton, Akash, Akshay, Stefan, Fizaah for making my day!!! and a special thanx to @deoxy_adi @priyaadivarekar @sumonigupta @KarishmaRawat @Shanaya_Sinner nice meeting u guys..:)

                                     

A Cupboard Full Of Emotions

@KalaGhoda festival, Mumbai

A smile in the eyes with hopeful dreams

A frown on the face of hurt soul

Some tears flowing down the eyes of heart

A stare a glare 

A shock a mock

All in a chiseled expression bank

Cal locally called human.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

Consuming Love

My cold heart whimpers

For it can’t feel the glow

It’s a cracked piece of metal

For all that I know

Where lies turn to truth

It sacrificed just itself

You blamed it to be frozen

And now it has no silver help

But rosier days await you somewhere

And it flutters with that thought

Silently it sings to self

The lullaby of all consuming love.

Why love can’t be simple,

Why its castle of glass falls?

What choices can we make-

When we are forced to let go.

Emptiness fills the sorrow pools

Where light mirages memories

Truly said, light is not accredited

If challenged not by darkness always.

-Vaisakhi Mishra
p.s. this poem is also a guest post on the standing coin
http://www.thestandingcoin.com/2013/02/consuming-love.html
my 2nd guest post ever...:)

Stubborn Trouble

He preys on my curiosity and my fears

He is a deadly charmer and knows all

He sleeps in darkness, and is worse than foes.

Oh, “Stubborn Trouble” is the name he owns.

He plays with my heart and my head

Pushes me deep in shadows of a den

Then pretends to be the truest of my friends

And takes me by my arm to the weirdest hell.

Stubborn Trouble is cunning and jack of all trades

He swings you in a twister and is eye of a storm

He grows with you and abandons you not

He finds you always, no matter where you go.

I feign sternness and strength

To rebuff trouble, who is now a friend,

But he is in my mind, all the way

And his affection always grows no matter what I tell.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

ME the Lab Rat!!!

Trendy trends tread around

And my misery seems unfair

Blessed I am with wavy hair -

Craving to be set straight

I love my hair the way they are long shiny and wavy. But recently the rampant trend of straight hair seemed to be stealing the luster of my hair. For my 21^st birthday I decided to give the straight look a try but was scared to do the permanent rebonding stuff cause in the end only the thing that suits you could be termed as fashion and if it doesn’t suit you it’s a disaster. Unfortunately permanent hair straightening was not a try and buy offer. So I had to rack my brain and came up with a workable but weird solution. Fingers crossed, I started the experiment on myself replacing the lab rat.

I had heard my friends saying - to straighten your hair you need to iron it. For once it did seem logical too cause if an iron can set clothes straight then why not my hair. And just so that it’s a bit more lasting I decided to glide the hot metal on my wet dripping just washed hair but not without support. I didn't want the iron to feel it’s doing a work under its pay level so I placed a fluffy towel on the iron board and sandwiched my hair between the towel another thin cotton dupatta and the iron. 1 roll 2 roll 3 roll and I started to feel the heat. A min passed of this wackiness and I couldn't believe my eyes because my ever wavy hair was straight like a lamppost. And just so that I don’t lose this newly achieved fleet- ‘at my hair’s risk’, I entered the war zone, sneaked into my brother’s stash of products and abducted the small box of hard shinny hair gel.

Guess straight hair is worth all this trouble. And believe me the iron and the gel do help you to have straight hair and then go back to your original style with the very next wash. I did experience it on that day. Somehow this seems to be the ultimate solution for straight hair as it’s a more trendy option. You can keep switching from one hairstyle to another and still have straight hair as and when you want. And for better results you can keep your hair spread like a queen’s gown on your bed when you sleep and keep your laptop on it while you take your beauty nap. It’s for a lasting effect, but not yet tested…

Submitting this post as an entry to the Indiblogger-

Sunslik 'The straight Hair Experiment Contest.'

the spooky birthday...

dear blog,

               heyya....its 2 not 2 am or anything but ur 2nd birthday, a day before mine 21st...;). i know i neglected you a lot this year. But i was determined to make it up to you on your birthday. Unfortunately a witch and her brigade of devils tried really hard to keep me away from you. But here i am just like you have always been for me. last year i dedicated your birthday to all the new friends you gifted me but this year is just to thank you for tolerating the letter punctures i engrave on you and forget (kind of). And yes happy halloween too. 

Your's damaged yet loving

Vaisakhi Mishra

p.s. to all my friends who have been with me to celebrate the 2nd year of my blog...love u guys...thanku so much for helping me grow with words...appreciating my work...and teaching me wenever i was wrong. And i sincerely promise to be more sincere from now on and not neglect you guys n my dear blog...:)

Autumn's Love

Whimsical winds carry the auburn leaves,

To lay the path where Autumn treads;

Whirling and twirling- the unmatched grace

She paints the land in a reddish haze.

Her pirouettes enchant a lover’s world,

For she showers the maples wherever she goes.

Wandering and prancing like a gypsy doll

To meet her lover before another fall.

She sings to the cacophony of the chirpy birds,

Asks the scurrying animals, alas,

Just to know the whereabouts

Of winter, the love nature blessed her with.

A glance and a touch of winter’s fleet,

Who quaffs off the remaining warmth when they meet,

‘Cause they have to spend an year apart,

To kiss and rejoice in the tenderness again.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

p.s.- the word fleet here is used for the ride or strength of winter's arrival the cold chills and sudden change of climate.