The hand that rocks the cradle may not rule the world, but it certainly makes it a better place. - Margery Hurst

Dear Mummy & Papa,

I want to thank you so much for giving me life. So far I have had an incredibly wonderful life thanks to your deep love and unselfishness. There is so much I want to tell you--but it all boils down to THANK YOU--because I have truly been blessed.

I suppose I should start at the beginning. I remember a childhood filled with beautiful memories. I do want you to know that I think about you often. I devote a part of my day, thinking about you, because I know you're thinking about me.

Mummy/Papa, I know that you have both often worried about me and want to thank you both for all the love and wisdom you have given me over the years. It makes me proud and happy that I have such a great role model to build my future life.

You have both been an inspiration to me and I respect you both as parents but most of all for the warm loving generous people you are. You have taught me how not to be selfish. You have taught me the value of hard work as well as the need for compassion. I am grateful that you have provided me with the tools for me to become a good person. I love you both dearly…. Thank you…

I thank God for giving me the bestest parents in this world. Thank you very much, I'll always love you for this great gift of life with such a wonderful family.

Here's a short poem for both of you -

I wanted to tell you how special, you two are to me.
You have made me what I am, and am ready to be.

Tonight I will sleep, with dreams of bygone days,
My loving, carefree childhood, and of my childish ways.
Then I will awake, with dreams of things to come,
What my life will be, and who I will become.

With the morning I will have, emotions flowing free,
I just wanted you to know, I'll need you there with me
Your strength and love will guide me, as I become the bride,
As I start this precious journey, I need you by my side.

I'll always be your daughter, and your love I'll always need,
Though we are starting a new chapter, planting a new seed.

So as my wedding day comes closer, I say these words to you,
Hoping that you realize, you're in everything I do.

Your loving daughter,
Sherry

Dear Mukul

Sometimes I hurt and wonder why
Why God did this to me
Sometimes I think is this game
But then again, that's what my brother said
Now he's gone,
I don't understand,
How could he go and leave us this way
Now I just take it day by day
He's now an Angel, watching over me
Keeping me going the way it has to be
He wants me to live to watch over mother & father
But oh how I wish, I still had my brother.

New Year Begins

Year 2008 came with lot of shades…my family and me went through a lot of pressure – mental, health, and financial. I was waiting for the dark night to end and some bright sunshine enter our lives. Everyday I used to wish that from somewhere some angel should come and make things better for us. I thought I would never find that angel until I met you, Siddharth. Now that we start a new life I want you to know that Love is the most important part of my life and I want our love to be the backbone of our lives forever. Out of all the people in the world I just can’t believe that its ‘you’ who changed our lives. Life was full of tribulations until we met you. You walked in our lives and turned it upside down. You held our hand and stood by us. You showed us the path of sunshine and happiness. You guided my family back into this beautiful world by giving them back someone who they had lost some years back – their son, Mukul.

Siddharth, our love came naturally but I know that we must both work at making it last, so –

I will try my hardest at all times to be fair and honest with you.

I will strive for my own goals and help you achieve yours

I will always try to understand you

I will always support you

I will always consider each day with you - special.

Happy Independence Day

Hey guys, Please take out some time to go through the poem written by Prashant Kumbhat. The poem is really touching and please give a thought to the message.

Words from beyond the grave of a Martyr

As I lie in my cold grave,
I hear the voices above oh so strange,
Glad I am to awake from a slumber 60 odd years too late,
Is this really Gods grace?

I dig my way out, the earth smells so sweet,
tears of past in my eyes, I can’t help, it hurts as they bleed,
my time has come, to walk the Earth scented in my blood,
should I be nervous, scared, or walk the earth as if I didn care

I see progress, I see industries,
I see the high rises and I see them streets,
I see a nation thriving and driving economies,
but is this all my mother resurrected me to see?

behind this facade I see no communal harmony, no peace,
militants in different outfits blow-up what they see,
bribery and corruption rapes our democracy,
what the Mughals and English once bastardized, we Indians do not see

resources flushed down our WC's,
crimes on the rise, factions of society do as they please,
the media directs what they want us to see,
politicians battle over minor issues, the major ones they do not see,

as I go back to my grave, my heart can't help but bleed,
the vision we once saw was, perhaps, was for someone else to see,
I ask my mother is this how you intended things to be?
she replies not, for dear citizens its upto you and me

- Prashant Kumbhat

It's been a long and winding journey with you by our side. You always stood by us in good times and stormy weather like a good friend. You always fulfilled our needs..whenever we were in need of something all we had to do was take a peek outside our window.. and there you were with arms wide open. Whenever we were in a bad mood you were always there to cheer us with all the decorated streets with 'SALE' written in all the stores at Linking Road and Hill Road. We will miss your loving children - ShoeBiz, Magnet, Chaos, Gazebo (we know that you extended your help to the first floor also), Scandal, Khodal, Metro, Levis, Pepe, Sole-to-Soul, Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Sayonara, Esbeda, Globus, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Trends, New Beauty Centre, Sagar amongst many others. I'll miss your foodie children as well - Zaika, McDonalds, KFC, Amrut Sagar, H2O, Barista, Five Spice, Only Parathas, Chaat Street, Elco Pani puri, National, Sandwich wala, and how can we forget Hamla and PK chaiwala you were closest to our heart (building). We will definitely come back to have bhutta in tha rainy days at Carter Road and Bandstand like always.

You will have special place in our heart. Tears streaming down our eyes we bid adieu with heartfelt gratitude to our beloved one and as we depart today (01 Aug 08), we take with us memories of a lifetime that we will cherish forever and ever......till we meet again.

Thank You Bandra!!!

Hey .. please find below some of my articles published while i was working for a newspaper as a project during my college. This newspaper was brought out especially for World Social Forum in 2004

Hope you like reading the same. Your comments are always welcome. :)

Dear Mukul,

Wising you a very Happy Birthday. All the things we shared in childhood, I still hold so dearly in my heart even today. We may not be together now but the closeness that we feel will never end. You would have been 22 today and of course a great support to our family... We miss you so much. Dad doesn't say but i know how much he miss you... and mom, when she was going through bad health.. she only wished if you were around.

The last time i saw you.. you looked very cold.... Rest in peace my brother we will carry you in our hearts for the rest of our lives and you will never be forgotten. Take Care Mukul.. wherever you are.

Lots of love from your sister,
Sherry

Any Guesses where we are ;)

10 points for the one who guesses it right :)

Happy Birthday Papa

Dear Papa,
Every year, your birthday reminds us
how grateful we are that you are our father.
With all that’s going on in the world today,
We are thankful we get to watch you,
to look up to you, being an example of a good man.
What a privilege it is to observe your strength,
your competence, and your kindness.
You brought us up like a prince and a princess.
We are so blessed to be under your wing,
your protection, your care,
learning important life lessons from you.
If all fathers were like you,
The world would be a very different
and much better place.
Happy Birthday, Dad,
from your admiring children -
Mukul and Sherry

" The Himalayan Adventure Is Here again! " 26th Sep 08 - 05 Oct 08

As the wheels move along the trails, MB Himachal is already surging towards the 2008 fall edition. The route this year almost similar to the one in 2007, though expect more challenges and stages as well as time trials. The adventure becomes more adrenalized and much tougher than its preceding avatars. The chequered flag goes up on the 27th of September at Shimla, the start of the adventure and the finish podium is set at Manali on the 5th October. 6th October 2008, is reserved as the prize distribution day as the riders relax their nerves after their endeavors through the 9 day thrilling adventure; time to link back your tryst with the Himalayas.

Log On to http://www.mtbhimachal.com/main.htm

Happy Mother's Day, Mumma

Before I was myself you made me, me
With love and patience, discipline and tears,
Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Allowing me to sail upon my sea,
Though well within the headlands of your fears.
Before I was myself you made me, me

With dreams enough of what I was to be
And hopes that would be sculpted by the years,
Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Relinquishing your powers gradually
To let me shape myself among my peers.
Before I was myself you made me, me,

And being good and wise, you gracefully
As dancers when the last sweet cadence nears
Bit by bit stepped back to set me free.

For love inspires learning naturally:
The mind assents to what the heart reveres.
And so it was through love you made me, me
By slowly stepping back to set me free.

A Mother .. A Woman

Why are you crying, a young boy asked his Mom?

"Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said.

His Mom just hugged him and said,
"And you never will, but that's O.K.".......

Later the little boy asked his father,
"Why does Mom seem to cry for no reason?".
"All women cry for no reason," was all his Dad could say......

The little boy grew up and became a man,
still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God and when God got back to him, he asked "God, why do women cry so easily?"

GOD answered......

"When I made woman,
I decided she had to be special.
I made her shoulders
strong enough to carry
the weight of the world, yet,
made her arms gentle enough to give comfort...

I gave her the inner strength
to endure childbirth
and the rejection
that many times will come
even from her own children.

I gave her a hardness
that allows her
to keep going and take care
of her family and friends,
even when everyone else gives up, through sickness and fatigue without
complaining....

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all
circumstances. Even when her child has hurt her badly....

She has the very special power to make a child's boo-boo feel better and
to quell a teenager's anxieties and fears....

I gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults
and I fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart....

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but
sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him
unfalteringly....

For all of this hard work,
I also gave her a tear to shed.
It is hers to use
whenever needed and !
it is her only weakness....
When you see her cry,
tell her how much you love her, and all she does for everyone, and even though
she may still cry, you will have made her heart feel good.

She is special!
This poem is for the

men to read so they will understand about what a
wonderful thing a woman is.
Each day is a mountain that must be climbed; with courage each step
gets easier.

Love your Mother Always

and keep her Smiling

Live Life ...King Size

Have you ever watched kids...On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain..Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast...Time is short...The music won't last.

Do you run through each dayOn the fly?
When you ask How are you?...Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done...Do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast...Time is short...The music won't last.

Ever told your child,We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste, Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,Let a good friendship die...Cause you never had time to call and say,"Hi"
You'd better slow down...Don't dance so fast...Time is short...The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere..you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.
Life is not a race...Do take it slower...Hear the music...before the song is over.

Why God Created Teachers

Why God created teachers

When God created teachers,

He gave us special friends

To help us understand

His world And truly comprehend

The beauty and the wonder

Of everything we see,

And become a better person

With each discovery.

When God created teachers,

He gave us special guides

To show us ways in which to grow

So we can all decide

How to live and how to do

What's right instead of wrong,

To lead us so that we can lead

And learn how to be strong.

Why God created teachers,

In His wisdom and His grace,

Was to help us learn to make our world

A better, wiser place.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUKUL !

What was his life but a vapor

A grain in the sands of time, A drop of dew in the morning

And a ray of lost sunshine, His love was deep as the ocean

It reached from the earth to the sky

He looked for the wings of an angel

And the land of "Sweet Bye and Bye"

Sometimes his pain was a puzzle, sometimes his joy a rhyme

But his heart reached out and touched me

That wonderful brother of mine

Life is never a highway but a mountainous road to climb

I'm glad I had you beside me

Oh. wonderful brother of mine

You were here for only a momentNow you have slipped away

The stage of life's been traded for one of earth and clay

I think of the days of childhood

When we played on meadow and Lea

All that is left is an echo your voice is calling to me

How many drops of water has gone down the river of time

But none will be more precious

Than ours- Oh, brother of mine

The twilight of life came creeping across the portals of time

And when the veil was lifted....Gone--that brother of mine

Gone like the mist of the morning or flowers at ending of day

The song of the bird has ended and the music has faded away

If God would grant me the power to turn back the pages of time

I'd turn them back one by one till I found that brother of mine

Life's little day has ended your race on earth is run

So fold your hands my brother and wait for the morning sun

Farewell, oh wonderful brother of mine and may these words be read

By those who still remember you...

HAPPY BRITHDAY MUKUL ...

I haven’t taste the meaning of the life...since you have gone so far away. It hurt so bad, when i am alone without your love.My life is empty...I thought that i will never full this empty life...since you turn away. Take care... our wishes are with you where you are.