Monika Suri

In the month of September 2019 I have been writing about my travel story of the recent NewZealand holiday trip , that too a solo trip. Go here if you want to read #traveloguenz from the beginning  My Newzealand trip has been a great experience and Travelling alone did teach me some lessons also . After my long awaited solo trip was accomplished , I came out as a new person . I found myself happier , rejuvenated and even more confident . “Travel brings power and love back into your life “ When I visited the Auckland zoo , there was a creative section for kids where they could paint , draw , play games or watch the LED show of stars and sky . There were some cards with ‘My Goal’ written on them . All children were writing their goals . I also wrote mine on a card . Look for yourself : Some Lessons from my travel : 1.Travel makes you confident When you travel solo there are many situations where  you need to all the little or big tasks alone . Right from Checking ...

Starting September 1 , I am taking part in the BIG blogging campaign #MyfriendAlexa and I have been writing my posts under the theme #LetusKISS . KISS is an acronym for Keep it Simple and Significant and I express  my  gratefulness to God who made  me choose this as my theme  I have shared my mind and heart on keeping our Life as simple + significant , and stop unnecessarily making  it Complex . Let us focus more on the aspects which make Life significant , memorable and  appreciable . My Gratitude for Pains and Pleasures  Let us divert our focus from mere collection of  Things to collection of Moments . Let’s live our Life with Mindfulness rather than our minds always full of worries . Let us follow the path which leads to calmness , happiness , cheerfulness. To achieve a special kind of Fullness in life ,  Gratefulness also plays a major part . Gratefulness is magnification of the positive happenings in our life . If we can inculcate  a habbit of being grateful in all the time...

When was the last time you pressed a pause button in your life ? When was the last time you sat in silence for 10-15 minutes ? When was the last time you took a real  break from social media for a day ? When was the last time you took a leave from office just for yourself &  not only for your pending works ? When was the last time you smiled sitting alone ? When was the last time you felt worthless ? (It’s worrying if you often feel so ) When was the last time you felt like ” Almost half the life is spent , Baaki bhi aise hi nikal jayegi ” When was the last time you prayed from heart ? You may be thinking -What the hell is this writer talking about ? Where is the time to press the pause button  ? I have so many works to do . Others may be free but I have so many responsibilities , so many works . I am busy till evening in the office , then I get busy in cooking , kids , family , TV , I have to watch serials , I need to be updated about the latest news also , I have...

    Calm down ….Calm down ….. Why  this phrase ” Calm Down ”  has to be used so often? – sometime we tend to say it to any of our friends or vice-versa. What puts us in stressful situations ? Do we actually need to calm down ? What should be done to calm ourselves ? Any tips ? Almost daily I can hear someone asking in the office – ” Agli chutti kab hai yaar ?”( When is any  next holiday coming up ?)  Why does it happen that we are  waiting for the weekend or any other next holiday ? Even I question myself why I always wait for the weekend ? And it is not like that weekend becomes a complete rest for me . I am a mom , a homemaker – How can I sit idle ? I have scheduled  lots of pending works for the weekend . I have to do laundry , dusting , have to do chopping -grinding  of veggies as a pre -preparation for the next weekend , have to help my daughter in her school project , have to color my hair, etc.etc. So I am not free e...

As I told you that in this month of  September I am participating in  the blogging campaign #MyFriendAlexa by the team Blogchatter.    For this month long blogging festival , I have decided a theme in which I would be sharing few thoughts ,  quotes or ideas which can help keeping your life simple and calm . My  Theme is :  # LetUsKISS . What is this theme  about ?  Well  It’s an acronym for KEEP IT SIMPLE But  SIGNIFICANT . #LetUsKISS –Let us keep it Simple But Significant Today all of us seem to have a very complex life .  We are most of the times  in a hurry  and feel  stressed . The reason may be our family , our boss , the traffic jam we faced on road , the messed up kitchen at home,   the EMIs which we have to pay ,  or may be some other reason  . But this is for sure that something or the other keeps our mind  cluttered .    Let’s try working on de-cluttering our lives step by step . Let’s start today with the subject – Less is More or More is Less ?...

#Fridayfotofiction is a weekly bloghop which celebrates fiction writing based on the photo prompt. All were enjoying Bonfire at the NariNiketan . But  as expected, Neha didn’t come out of her room . Everyone knew she gets  frightened at the sight of fire . Asha Didi   went   to her  and  again saw her   lost in her past as usual , browsing her wedding album. How enthusiastic she used to be earlier ! How the magical love in the college had made her  tie knot with Varun around the sacred fire ! But her family  just couldn’t satisfy the greed of her in-laws. How she became a victim of domestic violence and of Bride Burning !!! (Tears  were making  itching sensation while rolling down her burnt cheeks) Neha had somehow managed to escape  from her in-laws but her fifty percent burns  were just not allowing the terrifying memories to escape. “Neha , Don’t keep feeling like a victim, you are a survivor. Burn your past memories ,not your dreams ” Asha Didi fondled ...

The month of September 2017 went crazy with #Myfriendalexa.  Blogchatter gave my blog  a new friend  #Myfriendalexa  which further gifted me many new friends. Waiting eagerly for the reading list every week was fun and it was more fun to read all the blogs out of the list . Lots of engagements as a blogger, lot of reading, writing and learning. Actually, a month  ago ,  I never knew what Alexa   rank meant. Why one talks of it ? Why one wants it to lower down ? How does it make a difference to my blog ? When  I came to know of #Myfriendalexa campaign  to be hosted by the blogging community Blogchatter , I came to know a little about Alexa. Actually Alexa is a ranking system of sites  done by Alexa.com . This belongs to the company Amazon. The rank is calculated based on how many people visit your site . If the audience comes from someone who already has a good Alexa rank, better it is for your site. As on date , I don’t know the minute details about Alexa ranking and how does it affect...

#fridayfotofiction is a weekly bloghop which celebrates fiction writing based on the photo prompt. “Mam , I don’t know what the problem is.  My brother Aadi is behaving differently nowadays.  He seems isolated . Most of the time, he just wants to sleep, and  he gets irritated also over little things . ”  Ajay  asked the psychologist. She reacted  too  busy  to listen to  his problem and just advised  ” I think your brother is going through emotional exhaustion . Try to handle him with more love n care . ” Not happy with psychologist’s behaviour,  Ajay came  back home and  tried to find some reason out of his brother’s  belongings .  He got  panic stricken  when he found  Aadi’s  recent  sketches of jumping off from a building , coming in front of a fast train and hanging from the fan. Even before his brain could process what he saw  , Ajay heard a scream from the roof . He quickly ran upstairs but all he could see was  the  blood art sketc...

U know my daughter has a period in her school , called as DEAR period , which stands for DROP  EVERYTHING  AND  READ  It is held twice a week and i just love this concept. Everybody just drops any work he/she is doing and starts reading any book or magazine of choice. Same was the case with  me   in the month of September 2017 under #Myfriendalexa. Daily  I was finding special time when i dropped everything and started to read others’ blogs . #Myfriendalexa gave a wide collection of   blogs based on different genres.  Reading these blogs  widened my mind’s thinking . My daily DEAR time not only took me to different worlds( worlds of fiction, fantasy , recipes, travel ,……..and …….its a long list )  but also enhanced my vocabulary . I learnt many new words which i had never known about . I had to search for those words in the dictionary to understand what they mean. So today let me  share some of the words that i recently  learnt . You may be already...

#Bloggarba  is a blogging train in which we 16 blogger friends are participating as  a chain to mark Navratri celebration.   The blogger behind me was Varsha   and now she passes on the hop to me . Thanku Varsha . जैकारा शेरांवाली का …..बोलो सच्चे दरबार की जय … बहुत ही पवित्र नवरात्री का त्यौहार चल रहा है….त्यौहार के आते ही जैसे पुरे वातावरण में भक्ति छा जाती है  I  नवरात्री हिन्दुओं  का प्रमुख त्यौहार है I  नवरात्री का अर्थ है  9  रातें  I  इन 9 रातों में तीन हिन्दू देवियों -पार्वती , लक्ष्मी , सरस्वती के 9  रूपों की पूजा की जाती है  I  इन्हे नवदुर्गा भी कहा जाता है  I  नवदुर्गा  के हर रूप को शक्ति के नाम से भी पुकारा जाता है  I   वो शक्ति जो दुःख दर्द , कष्टों व् वेदनाओं को दूर करती है और सुख समृद्धि का आवाहन करती है  I इन 9  दिनों के त्यौहार में पहले तीन दिन माँ दुर्गा को समर्पित हैं जो शक्ति व् ऊर्जा का प्रतीक है   I  अगले 3  दिन माँ लक्ष्मी को समर्पित हैं जो धन धान्य का प्रतीक हैं  I  आखरी के 3 दिन माँ सरस्वती को समर्पित हैं जो ज्ञान का प्रतीक है  I नवरात्री  Navr...

When i started my blog a few months ago i would often think how long would i be able to continue this blog,  how could the ideas keep coming, after all the ideas would vanish after writing   40 or 50 posts.  But No, i was wrong .  When you jump into the writing world , the ideas just keep flowing, and for this flow, i am very very thankful to the various Blogging Contests.  Such contests motivate you to  write and read too. You can’t be a good writer if you don’t read. The more You read , more You wish to  Write. Blogging Contests help me in lot many ways :– Blogging Contests challenge  and motivate me   – Contests have a fixed theme and a deadline too. I work the best when given a challenge otherwise my mind prefers sleeping. Such challenges push me and make me realize ” YES, I can do it “. The motivating comments on the posts and the best post badges make me feel like paragliding . I still cherish my #MMM badge for my post challenges of Motherhood ...

Sometimes , I  feel like Life is a  game  of experiences ,  just  like  that  game of passing the parcel which  the kids play at their birthday parties. There is a box containing the prompt tickets . Each player needs to pick a prompt ticket and has to act accordingly . Isn’t same  the case with Life ? God has created daily prompt tickets for all of us .  You never know which prompt are you going to be given today . Every prompt ticket brings a new experience with it. Each experience has its own flavour. Some experiences are positive, some are negative. Some experiences are fun , some are problematic. Some experiences bring  lot of learnings , some bring adventure. Some experiences are such you feel always thankful for and some you regret. Today I write about the day Life gave me a prompt ticket which read ” Adventure of  River Rafting “. It was my long awaited wish. It was few years back that we went to Rishikesh and decided to stay at a  tented accomodation near t...

#Fridayfotofiction is a weekly bloghop which celebrates fiction writing based on the photo prompt. ” Unlocking Minds ” This was the name of the educational institute where Sammy  was working as a psychologist/theorist for the last few years . Suddenly , he was fired from his job today.  He had to listen to few vulgar insults also.  He sat in a corner , depressed , and analyzing ( sometimes cursing) his queer identity . His queer sexual orientation made him face social discrimination and mistreatment many times. When his best friend Martin came to him  ,  Sammy’s tension found a way for words : “Martin , Am i born in a different way ? Why this societal imprisonment ? How does it matter to the society if i love a man ? I hate  this  bias .” ” But I Love You ” Martin said softly & maturely. “Come, Let’s go to the emancipated world where the minds may be queer but not locked .”  Martin extended his hand to Sammy. The two best...

ज्योति है ऊर्जा है , ज्ञान का श्रृंगार है हिंदी वो भाषा है जिससे हम सबको प्यार है सुनने  में तो यह बहुत बढ़िया पंक्तियाँ हैं पर क्या वाकई में हम सबको हिंदी से प्यार है ? क्या हम हिंदी का प्रयोग करते समय अपने को गर्वित महसूस करते हैं ? या केवल अंग्रेजी का प्रयोग ही हमको उच्च स्तर पर महसूस करवाता है ? अगर बच्चे के स्कूल में PTM  हो तो कई बार बच्चो को यह कहते हुए पाया गया है ” मम्मा, आज आप मत आना स्कूल मेरे टीचर से मिलने , पापा को भेजना , क्यूंकि वहां  सिर्फ इंग्लिश में बात करनी  allowed  है ”  I  ऐसा सुनकर मन सोचने पर मजबूर होता है  कि अगर कोई हिंदी में बात करता है तो क्या उसकी personality में कोई कमी आ जाती है क्या ? भाषा तो केवल एक माध्यम है न एक दूजे से अपने विचार साझा करने का ? अगर किसी पार्टी या फंक्शन में गए हैं तो भी आप कई बार सचेत होकर रहते हैं कि आपको इंग्लिश में बात करनी है चाहे आप उसमे सहज महसूस करें या न करें  I  ऐसा क्यों होता है ? अगर कोई बात अंग्रेजी में कही जाये तो उसका अच्छा प्रभाव पड़ता है और अगर वही बात हिंदी में बोल दी जाये तो शायद कुछ लोगों को हम अनपढ़ प्रतीत...

#Fridayfotofiction is a weekly bloghop which celebrates fiction writing based on the photo prompt. Rohan was a smart and intelligent engineering student , always enthusiastic, having many dreams and aspirations . He  loved himself  the most  and  had a passion of   always capturing his  life’s smiles  in the camera. Life took a twist and he started loving someone else more than himself.  His heart started   singing  sentimental fairy tales for her but life didn’t want it to be duet song.  The intense one-sided  love outweighed his life’s aspirations and emptiness started engulfing his heart all the time . Feeling battered and shattered , the emptiness weighed so much that he just didn’t want to face the  cruel camera of life. He planned to find a better place than this emptiness. linking this post with Mayuri and Tina  I am taking my Alexa rank to next level with #Myfriendalexa There’s a heart warming  song “Emptiness”  , also known as ” T...

Many times in  our lives , we feel entrapped in  the cages of certain issues. They keep wobbling our minds 24×7  and sometimes get transformed as big problems which actually were petty issues.  If we try to think and work in the right direction , we would find that they were just the tiny cocoons. Just a little push to yourself  was all that was required to come out of it and  free our mind to fly like a butterfly , the one which is so light , colourful and its beauty adds joy around its environment. So the need is   Thoda Push Karo   and  Dil Khush Karo. You had an argument with someone  at your workplace and are not talking to each other for many days , Thoda Push Karo , just pass him/her a smile and see the hearts melting again . That little emotional stir would be more than enough  to add sweetness  in your day. You are gaining weight day by day , your favourite dresses don’t fit you any more, you have started receiving pinching comments about your figure , Thoda Push K...

ज़िंदगी में बहुत से लोग मिलते हैं , बिछड़ते हैं, सभी के साथ खट्टी मीठी यादें बनती हैं I किसी के साथ कुछ ही समय का  रिश्ता रहता है तो  किसी के साथ आजीवन रिश्ता बन जाता है I कई लोग सदा सम्पर्क में रहते हैं  पर कई लोग ऐसे भी आते है जीवन में जो सदा सम्पर्क में रहें  चाहे  न  रहें पर मन में उनकी यादें हमेशा बनी रहती हैं I वे भुलाये नहीं भूलते कॉलेज टाइम की बात है , youth festival  के लिए त्यारियां शुरू होने जा रही थी I  कई प्रकार की ऑडिशंस हो रही थी I किसी कमरे  में singing  का ऑडिशन , कहीं  dancing  तो कहीं  theatre  के लिए ऑडिशन I मैंने  भी सोचा  चलो इस बार थिएटर में कोशिश करके  देखी जाये I  बहुत से चाहवान स्टूडेंट्स आये हुए थे जो नाटक करने के इच्छुक थे I मैं भी डरते  डरते चली गयी ऑडिशन देने I  अभी भी याद है कि जब मेरी बारी आयी और डायरेक्टर Sir  ने कुछ एक्ट करने को कहा तो मैंने लाठी लिए एक बूढ़ी औरत  की एक्टिंग की I शाम तक  Sir  ने सभी के ऑडिशन लेने के बाद कॉलेज में से 7 स्टूडेंट्स को चुना जिनमे से 1  मैं भी थी I नाटक के लिए  7  की टीम बनाई गयी जिनमे  6  लड़के और  1 लड़की  I वो लड़की थी  मैं I ...

गंगा , यमुना , सरस्वती , कृष्णा , कावेरी , इन सब से तो आप परिचित ही हैं । ये हैं हमारे भारत की नदियाँ , जो सदियों से हम सब की रक्षा करती आ रही हैं । नदियां हमारे पर्यावरण का एक मुख्य अंग हैं ।   अब  कई कारणों से हमारी नदियों को काफी क्षति पहुंच रही है । कुछ खतरे के कगार पर हैं  और कुछ   नदियाँ हद से ज़्यादा अस्वच्छ हो गयी हैं ।  हमारी प्रमुख नदी गंगा को सबसे अधिक खतरा है । हमारी नदियाँ सूख रही हैं । अगले कुछ सालों में हमारी पानी की ज़रूरत  कैसे पूरी हुआ करेगी ? 1947 से लेकर अब तक पानी की उपलब्धता प्रति व्यक्ति  75% कम हो गयी है ।   गंगा नदी गंगा  नदी भारत मे एक विशाल भाग को  सींचती है । इससे बहुत से लोगों की धार्मिक आस्था भी जुड़ी हुई है । इसे माँ की तरह पूजा जाता है  । इस नदी में कई प्रकार की प्रजातियां भी पाई जाती हैं । इसके पानी मे विशेष विषाणु पाए जाते हैं जो हानिकारक जीवाणुओं को मार देते हैं । इसके पानी मे ब्रह्मदव होने की बात  एक  वास्तविक तथ्य है ।  तभी तो इसका पानी बोतलों में भर कर रखने पर भी कई वर्षों   तक खराब नही होता । पर आज हमारी गंगा मैया प्रदूषित हो चुकी है । इसलिए गंगा  व ...