Guns n` Roses

Hey Friends,


News ! News ! News ! I have been transferred to Corporate Strategy and Planning Deptt., courtesy this blog . Sounds Strange haan . Here`s the story : Our CSPD had notified vacancies for editorial team of IDBI Bank`s esteemed House Journal Shree Vayam . They were looking for creative people preferably those who write their own blogs . I decided to give it a shot and fortunately I was shortlisted for interview . Then I pondered deeply over the proposed profile and I decided against it . Though I was desperately looking for a different profile but I wanted more exposure in Banking . My heart can wait for creative jobs  . So, I regretfully refused to appear for interview saying that there is so much I have to learn about banking that I may decline, rather postpone, my desire for creative works . Then I got a call suggesting me to appear for interview and that I may be offered a profile in Banking only . I appeared and luckily got through . Most of the questions were about my present profile and some on Banking . Fortunately and thankfully , the interview panel had read this little blog of mine so it was also the topic of some part of the discussion . Mr. Edwin Fernandes, General Manager , IDBI Bank, also the Chief Editor of Shree Vayam and Chairperson of the Interview Panel asked me why don`t I take up societal issues . I said I have titled my blog as " Me, Myself & My Life " so I am usually writing about myself but I will surely take up other issues in my upcoming posts . Yes I should indeed .  I was later detailed about the proposed profile . It sounded challenging, I gladly gave my consent and orders folowed later . So, time now to move on to IDBI Tower at Cuffe Parade . I am doubly exxcited about this new assignment . First and the most important , I get  to work with a team of policy makers of IDBI Bank . Second, at IDBI Tower we get Breakfast, 3 Course Lunch and Snacks in the evening, further there is a library, a gym , sports and so many other facilities .  I had never imagined that my this hobby will be a boon for me .  Thanks to Blogspot ,I got it  .


But yesterday`s terror attacks in Mumbai have ruined all the thrill and excitement . I really fail to understand if the fight of the terrorists is with the Govt. then why are they targetting innocent people in the name of God  ????? What wrong have they done to you ???? Why don`t you shoot these f***** ministers who are playing with the motherland ??? What are your demands exactly ????? Come out you motherf****** !!!  I have some questions to the lame duck Prime Minister : Why was Kasab not shot in the encounter or later ????  Why are we still feeding him while he is mocking at our system ????? How do you justify the cost in maintaining him ??? Why did you attack harmless Ramdev and his supporters in the night ???? Why is our security mechanism so weak ??? What is your PoA to prevent such terror attacks ???? When will you speak up and justify your position as PM ???? People are now doubting that you are a Sardar . Come`on , Mr. Manmohan Singh, get out of the lap of Sonia and do something to protect this beautiful country you are heading .


There is no song in my heart today . Just these lines, in Red :


Laa raha hai laash koi lahoo mein bhar ke saamne,
Kis kadar khaufnaak manzar hai nazar ke saamne,


Kya tamaasha bana rakha hai Kasab ne adaalat ko,
Kuchh nahi hai aur sab kuchh hai nazar ke saamne


Ramdev desh ko kya se kya bana deta magar,
Kiski chalti hai Sonia ke hunar ke saamne,


Kyun Naadano par chhup ke vaar karte ho buzdilon,
Haunsla hai kuchh toh aa jao nazar ke saamne


Iss nazar ko aur nazaron ki tamanna nahi " Munish"
Kya kya na dekha hai tumne is nazar ke saamne .




Munish.

Meet The Bhardwajs

People are usually more interested in Masala. They may not find goody-goody things about anyone interesting but this is my blog and I will use this space in any manner I may think fit . I have captioned my blog as “ Me, Myself and My Life ” . Meet the Bhardwajs without whom me, myself and my life is incomplete .

My Parents : My Father, Shri Anil Bhardwaj, is in a senior position in a Bank in Shimla . Apparently he is a strict boss in office with 60 odd BHs reporting to him, cheuffer driven car ..but his colleagues and subordinates might be surprised to know that Papa is indeed a thorough Gentleman and a very humble person at home . Unlike others he is too family oriented who loves to spend most of his time with his family . Papa follows just one rule at Home - no rules . So we would just go mad when we used to be with Papa . He never put any restrictions at all on playing , on gossiping and on watching TV .  Papa has always been my childhood Hero . Papa always played with us during our childhood and we loved some of his self-invented games and pranks , I still use some of them on Manya ( Like aate-baate, main toh…) He used to attend all our Parent Teacher meetings invariably . He would always encourage me to excel in studies and also pursue my passions for sports and music  . I always thought that Papa had a special affection for me which is why he had kept so many nicknames for me ( at least 7 ) and I loved all of them . Papa is very fond of cooking so on Sundays he would always cook something special for all of us . Ohh I miss his Kadi and Rajmah soo much ! Papa has always been more like a friend than a father to us . Ever since I can remember , Papa has slapped me only once and that too because I had slapped my sister . So like a filmy scene there was Thaad - Thaad back to back and I was stunned for 5 minutes or so and I realised that you may portray yourself as angry young man but never forget tumahara bhi  Baap Hai . All said n done Papa remains the most humble and loving person I have ever known. Papa you are the Best !! Coming now to Mummy, my Mummy, Smt Bhuvneshwari Bhardwaj,  is a Gazetted Officer in The High Court of Himachal Pradesh and we feel priviledged to be her family . I regret to note ( and against my wish ) we have misused her position quite often like not paying at Toll Plazas, breaking the lines at important places where names matter, breaking traffic rules and not paying any fine/challan !!! At Home , she is soooo sweet and caring like all Mummys are . People tell me that I resemble my mother a lot . I think my character also resembles that of her. My way of talking is much the same like Mummy. I fall short of words sometimes and most of the times I would use "ye" and " wo" confusing the listener to the core ! I am also of forgetful nature like she is . Many times she has done blunders with Papa`s important documents and our certificates/offer letters/officail correspondence but according to her she had kept them "sambhaal ke " . So while handing over our certificates we used to politely request Mummy : Mummy "  Inn certificates ko sambhal ke mat rakhna please !!! " As I said she is very caring about all of us like all other Mummys usually are but there is one distinctive trait about her that I would like to highlight . I don`t know how this happens or what sixth sense or what amount of love Mummy holds for me in her heart but Whenever I am sick or in trouble I get a call from Mummy immediately asking me whether I am fine as she had sensed that something`s wrong with me ! This is magical ! More than that this is her love and care for me . Mummy is so sweet that she breaks to tears at the drop of a hat . She would cry while watching any emotional scene in TV or Films . Strangely she started crying at the Vidai of Bhabhi and Nidhi as well (whether she was crying for Bahus` or Dulha`s remains a mystery ) I know Mummy will be crying all through reading this post .

 My Brother and Bhabhi : Er. Amit Bhardwaj , Anu , is heading HP circle of Videocon Telecom and most of us in the family are quite surprised at his achievement because he was never serious in studies to achieve this feat but we all are very happy for him .  Anu-Manu were the famous duo brothers in the neighbourhood, another one comprising of Three Arora brothers  and our parents were strictly against all of us grouping together . When together we played a lot outdoors be it the famous gully cricket, pitthu, badminton, kanche ( glass marbles ), table tennis and later video games apart from running and jumping all around the hills, pelting stones on fruits hanging with the trees and all the stupid activities that made absolutely no sense .  All this madness continued till we entered our teens .  Gradually as we grew our distance grew as well with both of us joining different group of friends as also the schools of thought .  Through all these years we have never expressed how much we love each other but deep down we know we do have affection for each other as brothers . It would be very cheap of me to highlight our sacrifices but yes we have risked our lives and careers for each other. We have this silent care and concern for each other in our hearts and this will continue in future as well. Anu has also kept a nickname for me which of course I will not disclose here. My Bhabhi is a science teacher in a school where I have studied right from Nursery till 12th Standard , Dayanand Public School, Shimla . With the advent of Bhabhi in our family there`s one thing that changed the most. We became disciplined ! We know we are not well cultured and sophisticated but we can act . So we started having dinner on the dinner table, no more fights for a particular seat in the car, teasy nick names reduced to standard nick names, no rush for the toilet and bathroom, deciding menu in just 15 minutes, no fight for the remote and so forth .  All this continued for about 6 months and then we came back to our form . Can`t control it  . Besides being very intelligent Bhabhi is a lady of substance . She takes all decisions very prudently and sticks to her ideals no matter what . I have to thank Bhabhi for one big reason : she has tamed Anu,  the most Junglee member of our family . She is strict at times towards Anu and children but that`s Okay she knows her job as a mother .  Bhabhi has a very wide network  all over mostly because of her social nature and partly because thousands of students have studied at our school regard her , many hundreds took tutions from her then their parents . We normally avoid walking with her in Mall Road , Shimla because almost every third person knows her . We have to just smile and stand still till their milaap is over . They have two sweet kids Anvesha and Ashmit . Anvesha ( Gogu,5 ) looks like a doll and Ashmit ( Gogla,2 ) is very naughty . Check their snaps .

   Myself and Nidhi :  Ab khud ki kya tareef karun J  . But I have something to say about Nidhi . Nidhi is the only non Himachali member of our family. She is from Patiala, Punjab . Nidhi lost her mother when she was 18 and her younger brother and sister were not even grown enough to realize the loss . She has almost brought up the kids and took good care of all the household chores at such a young age . When I was informed about all this I had become comfortably numb . But I knew I loved her before I met her . It is needless to mention that Nidhi is a family oriented girl with strong values and I have already explained sacrifice of her career for my sake but there is one more thing about her : may be it is in Punjabi culture but I have not noticed this of late anywhere. She calls me as “Ji” ! and never lets me help her in Kitchen  . In my 5 years with her I have made tea only 5 or 6 times and that too when she was sick or away . I really feel blessed to be her Husband and it is my constant endeavor to give her as much happiness as I can in my capacity . You all know that we have a beautiful daughter Manya and we both love her like crazy . She has given a new meaning and purpose to our lives .  Nidhi calls her Mithu ( Alike Nidhi , woh bass bolte huye mishri si ghol deti hai ) and I fondly call her my “ Gugla ” . Hence, after Anu, Manu and Binu next generation Bhardwajs are Gogu, Gugla and Gogla J

  My Sister and Jijaji : Mrs. Chanchal Bhardwaj ( now Chanchal Sharma ) aka Binu is my mirror image . By looks and by behaviour she is much the same like me .  In her early years, Binu was like a sweet little princess and each one us literally fought just to hold her in our arms . She has been brought up and pampered as a princess only . ( Also refer the slap episode narrated above )  She is very sweet, sensible and full of character .  I have shared the most wonderful and most memorable moments of my childhood with Binu . We have had so much fun together at home,  playing carom for hours, video games , making fun of guests , playing pranks on neighbours , chit chatting till late nights ( and Mummy yelling at us in the background ) , playing, singing and recording songs together . Binu  has been the dress designer of all of us at home . When everyone else is complementing you and feigning affection , Binu will be the first to criticize you when you least expect it. This is what makes her so special . I have never cried so much in my entire life as I did in her “ Vidai ” . She is now happily married to Mr. Anupam Sharma , a high ranked  PCS equivalent officer in Govt of HP . Anupam Ji, as I call him , is perhaps the most disciplined and gracious spouse among all three of us . He is a man of values and ethics . He likes things to be planned and systematic , does not tolerate mess and carelessness towards anything including health . His unflexible  adherence to food habits, vajrasan after dinner , wisdom about monetary decisions and strict punctuality of daily routines makes him a very wise and disciplined person . I am sure he must have got the shock of his life when he would have realized how “ Junglee” all of us are .  Now he is an integral part of our extended family so much so that we all consult him while taking major decisions . I am glad for Binu that she has got such a caring partner with no vices at all . May God Bless Both of them  .

 So  these are the Bhardwajs , very emotional yet strong at heart . We all cry a lot when we meet each other after a long time .  We have seen relationships falling apart , friends turning foes, accidents , financial crisis and prosperity , we have been through it all and still we are one . I am proud to be part of such a sweet family .

I have tampered this song by Westlife  :

Hello Anu  , my brother and my friend

We've played together till we were eleven or ten

Together we've climbed hills and trees

Learned of love and ABCs

Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees

Hello Anu it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that spring is in the air

There are brothers everywhere

Think of me and I'll be there

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time

 Hello Papa you are the Best,

I have seen and known the rest ,

Mummy you always  prayed for me

 And all of us in the family

You tried to teach us right from wrong

Too much books and too much song

Wonder how I got along

Hello Papa Mummy it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that the spring is in the air

Little children everywhere

When you see them we'll be there

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

But the books and the song like the seasons have all gone

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

But the wine and the song like the seasons have all gone

Hello Binu my little one

You gave me love and helped me find the sun

And every time that I was down

You would always come around

And get my feet back on the ground

Hello Binu it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that the spring is in the air

With the flowers everywhere

I wish that we could both be there

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

But the books and the song like the seasons have all gone

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun

I am,

Manu.