A dinner date with the other woman I always loved besides my wife!!

We were a nuclear family of three. It was three months since our only son, Karthik, had moved abroad for higher studies. Happy for him, but we missed him every day. Our home has lost its laughter, radiance and happiness;  it started to look like a brick cuboid!! We felt lonely, especially my wife who had quit her job when my son was born. I could feel her pain, I wanted to comfort her. So, I proposed a dinner date and a movie!!

But, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She reasoned, “I love you, but I know this other woman would love to spend some time with you.” I asked if three of us can go together, she said "No, It would be different when it is just you two!" I thought she might have called any of my old girl friends, I was not in touch with! She dialed her and asked me to invite her. 

I said, "Hello" and the lady said, " Beta, whats wrong, aren't you well?" 

It was my mother on the other side.

I looked at my wife, she gestured me to continue

“Mom, Shall we go out for dinner this Friday?!!” I asked her. 

She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “Did I ever say 'No' to you?!!”

My wife and I moved into a separate house three months after our marriage because we wanted privacy and my parents never opposed!! Two years later, my father died and my mother started living alone in the same house. In the beginning, we used to visit her every weekend; weekly became monthly and monthly became occasionally, after I moved to other end of the city. I have my reasons : Tired, Busy with work, Busy with kids, Family Time!! She never insisted us to visit her, she was worried that I had to drive so long!!

That Friday after work, I drove over to pick her up. When I arrived at her (no more our) house, I found her arranging flowers at my father's photo. She draped herself in her favorite red saree that I gifted her with my first salary. She smiled at me. Even at the age of 65, she has that same spark in her eyes when she smiles.   

We went to that restaurant where we used to go frequently as a family when I was a child. She said, she would place the order. She didn't even look at menu, she ordered all my favorites when I was a kid, and they are still my favorites except I became more conscious of my intake. During the dinner, we had talked about many things -  recent events of each other's life, Karthik, my friends, movies and many more. 

When we sat in the car, I asked her if I can take her on a long drive. She didn't ask "Where?". We drove 20 miles, straight to my house!! Its been many years since my mother visited us, always we go to her place. 

When my wife opened the door, my mom hugged her and said, "Thank you!!"

My wife responded in a low voice, "Sorry, it took us so many years!!"

My mother made my house, a home again!! She filled the void in our home and also in our hearts!! There are silent smiles, louder laughter, fresh aroma from puja mandir, soothing music, old recipes on dining table and new plants in our garden. My wife found a wonderful companion for cooking, shopping and watching TV serials!! Their favourite pass-time is skimming through shadi websites for suitable bride for our joint family!! 

How much I missed my mother, especially her beautiful smile!! I thank my wife every day for that beautiful dinner night!!

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Watch Bahubali with your family to experience strength of our warriors, power of women in ancient India and grandeur of Indian cinema!!

Bahubali, the biggest Indian motion picture is now in theaters!! It is a historical fiction Telugu-Tamil bilingual dubbed into Hindi, Malayalam and French!! If you haven’t seen it yet, book your tickets to live through grandeur of medieval times of India, experience strength of our warriors and understand power of women in olden days. It is a must movie for every macho man, who thinks listening to woman is a sign of weak man. The movie shows you how women were power centers in ancient India, how mothers/wives were treated in ancient India, and that a woman & man complement each other, neither of them is superior.

I am not a movie buff, I selectively watch movies and this is the first time, I am writing about one. But #Bahubali is not just a movie, it is an experience!! More than grandeur/visuals of the movie, I liked the characters. Typically, Indian movies show hero as the strongest, most handsome and most generous – all the goodness in the world in one man. But, in #Bahubali, every character is important, every character connects with you and talks to you:

A magnanimous queen who can side mother& wife in her for the welfare of her kingdom (Ramya Krishnan as Sivagami)

A caring mother for whom her child is her world (Rohini as Sanga – Shivudu’s mother),

A loyal servant – Highly skilled, dissatisfied but loyal (Sathyaraj as Katappa),

A captivated & tortured queen – an epitome of self-respect (Anushka Shetty as Devasena)

A shrewd father who wanted to live his life again through his son (Nassar as BjjalaDeva )

A powerful warrior with thirst for power (Rana Daggupati as Bhallaladeva)

A noble king who knows how to play his strengths to protect his subjects (Prabhas as Bahubali)

A son/lover who could do anything for his mother and girl (Prabhas as Shivudu)

Spoiler Alert: No Comedy track, you just smile/cry but you wouldn’t laugh!!

Well, I felt Avanatika character was the weakest in the movie. I didn’t connect with Avantika and Tamannaah didn’t fit the role of Avantika.

I do not want to be a spoiler, so I am not talking about specific scenes. Do watch it yourself!! With IMDB rating of 9.4/10 (highest for an Indian film), you wouldn’t be disappointed at all.

80% of all Indian commercial movies beautify woman and in many movies heroines are no brainers, they are present only to virtually & visually romance with viewers (including a few of Rajamouli’s own movies). In many of our families, we think listening to woman is sign of a weak man, but this movie shows you that strength of a man is in respecting women. You need to listen to a woman when she has a point, and a woman has to be strong to drive her point.  Not just in Palace, even in tribal setup, villagers respect Sanga’s words and feelings!! A man beheads another for the vulgar comments he made on a woman (even before knowing she was his mother).

If you keep comparing this movie with counterparts from Hollywood, you would lose what movie had to offer you – that emotional connect with characters!! Given all the constraints, it is a great Indian movie, which would stand tall in Indian Cinema books. If you think, only “Hero” should have 70% of the screen-time, this movie is not for you!!

Some said, Bahubali script is weak. I didn’t find it weak, every story can be narrowed down to three feelings – Love, Revenge and Call for Duty – so is Ramayana, Mahabharatham… and is Bahubali. It is not about content of the story but it is about how you tell a story!! Rajamouli is a spectacular story teller. Bahubali is not an entertainer, you need to use your brain a lot. There is no chronological order, it moves back and forth in time and place – you need to connect the dots. Especially, you need to do lot of brain work to understand the war strategy.

Preferably, watch it with family and let your children learn about ancient culture, our powerful warriors, and war strategies. Let them understand how women were treated in ancient times, at least some of them would understand that women are not weaker sex and learn to respect women when they turn into adults.

All said, Bahubali – 2 looks evern more promising as you get to see more of Bahubali, Bhallaladeva, Devasena, Katappa and Sivagami.

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Flipkart Maternity Benefits : Bold and Welcoming move!!

Flipkart, one of the e-Commerce giants of India has raised bar very high for other Companies in attracting and retaining Women employees.

Snapshot of Flipkart new maternity package :

1. Six Months paid Maternity leave
2. Up to four months of flexible working option with full pay.
3. Extended maternity leave up to 1 year of career break without pay
4. Transport reimbursement benefit of Rs.600 per day during the last two months of pregnancy
5. Reserved parking slot for women 2 months before and after child delivery
6. Working on proposal with Famous day-care centres for discounted prices to its employees. 

Why such benefits??

Every woman loves shopping!! At least window shopping!!  Flipkart wants to aggressively market itself to women shoppers and to fully understand the psyche of women and design programs that best attract women, Flipkart needs strong representation of women in its workforce. Currently, Flipkart has no woman in its board of directors. The company is planning to recruit women for its senior leadership roles, and also nurture women talent within. Hence, the bold move - Benefits that stand out from regular and mandated 3 months paid maternity leave!!

Thinking of Change!!? Flipkart is waiting for you!! 

Flipkart has announced itself as the destination for young & talented women, many of whom have to drop the ball for Childcare. Not just that, the announcement of these benefits are applauded by many of its customers, and Flipkart has entered into good books of its women customers. This strong and positive brand image would definitely reflect in its online sales. 

So ladies, if you are planning to switch careers (or planning to start a family in near future), let Flipkart be your first choice!! It is not easy to work after marriage, especially after kids, you need very strong support from your colleagues and employer. 

What next ?!! You might be regularly following Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeals counter marketing trolls. Well, Flipkart has opened new space for marketing. I hope that Amazon and Snapdeal would respond with equally good, if not better maternity benefits. 

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