monthly challenge Archives - JAYANTHY'S FREE SPACE

The Devil Next Door

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 14:45:00 +0000

I don’t have to bear your chauvinism,
I take you as a challenge,
Everyday I learn what to ignore,
And break free to live a bit more!

A woman is not meant to cook all day,
Or clean and pop out babies just as you say,
You are not a man,
If you don’t know to respect a woman!

You shout to make us fear,
Expecting us to shed a tear,
So we will totally disappear,
And forget our dreams dear!

You have failed right there,
You just put me on first gear!
I am not willing to share a word,
To you who will think it is absurd.

I will never shed another tear,
Instead I will send above a prayer,
To save you from your cruel thoughts,
For a day will come when you realize what you lost!

You were a king of crafts,
You definitely had skill,
That does not mean,
You can demean everyone else.

You have your own fears,
Face them to find thyself,
Do not trouble another,
For you will never be respected ever!

Life is to enjoy,
Why are you keen on planning to destroy,
You will live in a void,
That you will not be able to avoid.

Cherish the moment,
What’s the pleasure in a bad comment?
Live and let live,
That way, We will thrive!

I am excited to participate in #MyFriendAlexa Campaign by Blogchatter. I am taking my blogging to the next level! This is my Post 6 for the campaign!
Current Alexa Rank: 1,877,045Indian Rank: 75,256

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Stereotyped! #MyfriendAlexa

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Image Courtesy

I never really knew,

We had to cut through,

To know where we stand,

When it doesn’t even look very grand,

As a girl child,

I am always expected to reconcile.

Maybe I lived in a dream,

Without knowing everything was a scheme,

When I became a graduate,

I never knew I was a marriage bait,

When I started working,

I never knew it was just to save for my wedding!

I had dreams aplenty,

Until my twenties,

I rebelled for a long time,

I was treated like I committed a crime,

All that I need,

Is to dream again and sow the seeds.

I must admit,

That I was never unfit,

But made to feel that way,

So I will never have a say,

I am here to have a go at it,

And preach to others not to fall into that pit.

We the women,

Are here to stay,

Let our barriers break away,

It is our time anyway,

Let us teach our little girls to dream,

And believe they are always supreme.

Come what may,

We must stay

With our heads held high

And not one bit shy,

For who we are,

And take pride in coming so far.

We have every right,

To question with deep sight,

A shift that brings light,

And changes our plight,

To make our future bright,

Because we are our own knight!

I am excited to participate in #MyFriendAlexa Campaign by Blogchatter. I am taking my blogging to the next level!

Current Alexa Rank: 3,575,940

Indian Rank: 1,58,309

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You are You and I am Me! #MyFriendAlexa

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 20:51:00 +0000

Recent incidents helped me reflect a lot about myself and my life in general. Life has a way of bringing excitements and adventures followed by disappointments and regrets. Some adventures make us restless whereas some disappointments show us an open door. At times, I don’t know which is a blessing – an adventure or a disappointment. I am still not the matured one to see the light at the end of the tunnel in everything that happens. Though I believe that everything happens for a reason, sometimes I need to sit down and reflect to find the reason.

Reflections happen everywhere. Not just when I sit still and meditate, though I do it very less. Not even the times when I sit down and decide to do nothing. It mostly happens when I sit to take a breath, but someone needs my help right away that moment. It is mostly when I call it a day, but someone calls me just to see if I slept so that they could have a “short” conversation. These are the times I wonder if I have a boundary set or am I standing in an unfenced area. My writing is the best time I take to reflect on my thoughts, my mind, my self, on the day’s happenings, or even about some incident that happened some time, some day. I would love to sit down and reflect more to understand myself and many of my actions or probably, inactions.

I even wonder if people can misuse a kind person. I realized it is very well possible. It is something that happens every now and then. If my kindness to you is a fault, then there is something wrong with your thinking. It has taken me years to understand this. I have built walls and so many defense mechanisms to shield myself from being hurt, but it hasn’t helped. It has made me rude and sarcastic, it hasn’t helped me become kinder in any way. When people blindly ask me to help them with something or if I see someone need it at that moment, I oblige. That is who I am. I don’t see if I like them or not, not at that instance, of course. I just do it. If you forget me after your help, I am not at fault, neither is my behavior. You are you and I am me! We are different and I would like to accept it as it is.

Lately, many things have angered me. I have some people who hate to see me do my work. And some more who want me to do everything they say without complaining or questioning them. And, a few more would be glad if I left my book down just to speak a useless, anger-triggering conversation with them. I realized people would always have a say in everything we do. Learning to ignore is an art that I must master and above all responding in an even tone is a skill, I must acquire.

Today was one such day where I spent half my day in silence on the outside. I just took a break. If you know me, you will know that I don’t consider shopping as a break, neither do I shop till I drop, (though occasionally I drop things). I had things to buy, but never made the time to visit. I really needed some air and I wanted some cheerful colors to calm my mind. One thing I am fond of shopping is stationery. I am not tired of purchasing them. Also, I bought beautiful skirts for Ilakkiya. I will update the photo in Insta soon. Otherwise, home stuff. Those two hours weren’t actually therapeutic, but it helped me focus on better things.

I also booked tickets for the 4 of us to Kolamaavu Kokila. If you are a fan of Nayantara or Yogi Babu,(thamizh movies like this encourage me to visit theatres) you will know I am going to spend 2 hours laughing tomorrow. That is therapeutic! Well, this will also be Ilakkiya’s first movie at the theatres. So, I am keeping my fingers crossed! Also, I figured I am the only one who must do my work irrespective of any delays! No one else will or can.

I am excited to participate in MyFriendAlexa Campaign by Blogchatter. This is my first season with them, I am excited and nervous about the journey this September with the entire team. I had a few questions, but the video answered them for me. Thanks for that Team Blogchatter.

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Rewind – July 2016

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 11:38:00 +0000

“Rewind – A replay of the month that went by”

Image Source: Google

Dear July,

Where did you go? You went past me in a jiffy. I am blushing and staring at August wide-eyed!

July was a month of fun with cousins, writing, KABALI with family, wedding work and lots of planning for the coming month!

With cousins scattered all over the globe, it was good to meet them again this July. We roamed and shopped in the last week of June in Hyderabad so we decided to enjoy at the theme park. The last time we visited MGM- Dizzee World was during my school days, like 10 years before. Some of my little cousins were kiddos then! *ahem ahem*

I am happy about my writing this month. It all started with Write Tribe’s 7 Day No-Theme Blogging Challenge. Though I started it a day after the actual challenge started, I enjoyed posting for the remaining 6 days! Thanks to Corinne!

Haiku, Writing Wednesdays, Friday Reflections, IndiSpire and A to Z Meme were other wonderful ways to keep this blog going.

It’s been quite some time since I read books. Right now, I am spending time ‘only’ reading catalogs and long application forms. Lucky enough to keep the reader in me active by blog-hopping the blogs I follow and reading articles on the go.

My best friend and her family had come to Hyderabad from Dubai for her kid’s summer vacation and she had to spend her whole time at her hubby’s place. We clearly knew it was difficult for us to meet this time. One lucky day, I got a call from my her brother who was in Chennai for a few hours before their train back to Hyderabad.

Uncle was with him and our actual plan was to meet over for lunch since it was doubtful for their visit to my wedding. Just an hour before his call, I confirmed my visit to the seamstress to get the designs finalized. Dad was out that day and mom was half-sick and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to see these guys. It’s been ages since we met! I had no idea where I was going to be in an hour. With all sadness, I called uncle and told him I was so packed, that it would take me at least an hour or two before I can start from my home and so I won’t be joining them for lunch.

The next moment Uncle just smiled and told me, “Beta, don’t worry! We are not going without meeting you! We are coming home!” I was beyond excited to even answer him! I just told him to book a Ola Cab! 🙂 After an hour, we were all together talking about old times over a cup of filter coffee! 🙂 That was a #BlessedFeeling moment!

With the little family time we got between running around, we went to watch KABALI! *My second time* #Maghizhchi. I am an ardent fan of Rajini and my Rating for the movie is 5/5. I am not rating it only because I am an ardent fan, but mainly because of Rajini’s role in the movie. It is simple and that’s incredible. A simple man who chose to become the Don to keep things in the right track and lost his family on the process. Obviously, he would search his family and get them back before doing anything else. Wouldn’t he? Well, without any argument, this is one of the best movies of Rajini, I would love to watch again! *Mesmerised*

Dear August,

Welcome!

KEEP CALM Wedding is Coming!

Image Source: Google

So, How was July for you?

Linking Post to Sanch’s Blog

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WTFOW5: Day #6: A Woman Has The Right To Say NO

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 03:00:00 +0000

Image Source: Google

Lately, I have heard a couple of incidents where recently married couples have approached the court for divorce. I know what it means and how difficult it can get for the people involved. The first and foremost issue being forced marriage, yes this still happens, in educated families too(mostly). However, the second main reason is being unable to respond during pressure. Many Indian families, from what I understand South Indian parents use status as a key issue. The caste is hidden, but still the social status and peer respect plays a vital role in marriage.

On deeper investigation, it is blowing a simple family scenario, out of proportion by society (let’s call it neighbors, extended family, relatives, blah). They are not even aware of the pressure they are increasing the pressure on the woman who is willing to get married, but not to a particular alliance or at that moment. In the case of marriage, whatever the age of the woman is, it is the right of the woman to decide whom to marry, irrespective of the type of marriage.

Most of the men and women today fall into a common category of engineers and this is not even a primary category for marriage between two humans. However, this is mostly an unfortunate case, marrying other degree holders gives rise to status issues per elders, at least one sector of this kind still exists. Arguing about things like education is not going to change the degree.

Similarly, the salary of a guy outside a particular state (eg. Comparison of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu or Mumbai and Kolkata! (argh.. How stupid?)) would look higher for the age. But for god sake, that might be the normal standard in that state. Never compare the earning capacity of a man or woman with the annual income till date. We never know whether the person is enjoying their job or waiting to quit anytime without our knowledge.

Social Etiquettes (Drinking and Smoking), this gets personal. When a person says he/she is an occasional drinker/smoker, ask what are their occasions anyway? Indians have at least a festival a month, who knows the guy/girl, might drink during all these occasions. Till you get personal with the person do not trust this statement, and if you want a total teetotaller there are very few who exist, but I guarantee you will find one! J

If people around you throw tantrums to keep you quiet, just walk out of the place, but be stubborn with your decision. They are not going to live life after marriage. It’s you who is going to face the truth a little later than much before. Walking out a little late could have its consequences where the same people who threw tantrums and said you will change once you get married will be in the opposite bench waiting to trash you and say you should have made tantrums and stopped.

Remember, Everyone in this world needs breathing space to clear their head and make their very own life decisions and take responsibility for their very own decisions.

Last but not the least, rejecting a person’s profile for marriage does not mean rejecting the person itself, but in the most pressured moment, people might make you feel like you are the worst woman/man existing on this earth. But that’s fine. It’s better to cut the cord right there than have plenty of people cutting their cords with you a little later ruining everything you had always wanted.

This gives a stronger chance to believe yourself and trust your guts. And for those who have chosen to cut the cord after marriage, still understand that you are doing this only to eliminate further negativity brought up in the relationship and definitely not once rejecting the person for his/her abilities. This gives peace to move on without feeling guilty and to make better lives in different paths for both.

Belief in self rather than a crowd is a better option at any point in life. You have no idea when they will leave you alone or stamp you.

Appreciate any man or woman who says NO. It’s not a common word, but it’s a word to notice. Everything that really matters in a relationship is love, care and togetherness. Not a thing more. Some fights can make two people closer and two people to walk out quickly. That’s the difference.

Whatever happens some people stay together whereas some other choose to move out for the sake of peace of self.

Finally, all said,

Let go of the person you love

if they come back to you, then you belong together,

if they are running really far away from you, kindly let them go, they were never yours!

Join Us Here!

Thanks Write Tribe for this wonderful challenge. I miss that one more day of writing! Still, I enjoyed this challenge completely! 🙂

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WTFOW5: Day #5: Will I Quit Forever?

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 15:30:00 +0000

#FridayReflections

What’s a big mistake you made? What did you learn from it?

Pain is deep rooted in my heart,

Every step forward is difficult to take,

Problem after problem without solution,

I am in the middle of nowhere,

Is this life worth living?

I quit!

Pain is the only word I have known,

Where is happiness in this life?

Don’t I deserve it ever in this life?

Is this life worth living?

I quit!

I am not able to make both ends meet,

I fight everyday with my wife over money and status,

It’s ages since I laughed or smiled with my kids,

I can’t share what I feel or how I feel,

My feeling of worthlessness increases day by day even after working 9 hours a day,

Is this life worth living?

I quit!

Every side I turn I have debt,

Every work I attempt, ends in failure,

Is my presence in this earth a burden to all?

Is this life worth living?

I quit!

As the rope fails me while attempting suicide,

I look up to god and ask, won’t you let me die too?

I can see my family surrounded by me crying and shouting for me to wake up,

Had I been worthless would they have cried?

Had I been a burden wouldn’t they let me be?

What have I done?

Waking up from death bed isn’t the easiest task,

But that’s the farthest I could go,

I have made up my mind, in god I trust!

I decided to live which is tougher than death!

DEDICATION to all those who choose to live life after facing death before their eyes.

God wants you to live.

Make a promise to God not to choose death during difficult times.

Join Us Here!

Linking with Sanch’s Friday Reflections

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WTFOW5: Day 4: A World Like That

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 04:00:00 +0000

This poem is dedicated to Saving Sould

What would have happened?

If I was ever told as a kid that

books were only for the rich?

If every penny I stealthily hid only to buy books

when everyone else needed food to survive?

To the reader in me*,

if there were no free books?

To the writer in me,

if only I had not read and framed everything

with the best companion,

the books I read in the library,

my first place where I learnt to sit and think!

To the power of imagination in me,

if I had not sat down and read various genres?

To the creator in me,

If I had not spent hours after hours

in the libraries

,

feeling secure about my thoughts

and continued to write?

To the viewer in me who is excited

to read and find similarities and enjoy the flow of writing,

To all the times when I had no hope that

I could ever keep a step forward in my life

and there was a book that God showed me

as a path and the courage to keep that step forward?

To all the thoughts and ideas,

had I not written and shared with all people I know

also helped me know myself better than ever!

To all the souls who have found solace in the books?

To the world around me,

which I have learnt to view from every perspective

with the help of books.

To the explorer in me,

if there were no libraries which was more like talking to God

and enjoying the conversations,

To the soul searcher in me,

whose repeated thoughts of negativity hindered the flow within me,

courage, strength and motivation is what

I got from books

and pushed me forward!

To the ability to see the positive side

in most critical situations

and how I learned to analyze situations?

To all the knowledge in me from learning?

The way of Life it has taught me?

To my long stares at the shelves of the school library

to know what genre means and

why everything follows a particular order!

To be with my best companion

without any restrictions,

If I had no way to express all that I learnt?

To the dreamer in me, who has always hoped for the best

and understood that struggle is necessary

to achieve the goals of our life!

To the merriment it brings

to be one with the books

and took us back to the

once lived generations,

To know right from wrong,

To even know the laws you guys frame now!

DEAD…

Closing libraries means demolishing future growth and generations,

Closing libraries is slaving the future and getting closer to doomsday,
Our history is from the books we have seen!

Our present is with the dreams we dream and our future lies in the fulfilled dreams!

There is no past, present or future without books!

This will bring a revolution that people keen on closing libraries will have to face!

Trying to kill people is war, but trying to kill the thirst for knowledge is equivalent to committing a sin to every single being on this earth, that never has moksha!

Me* here indicates the multiple personalities in each human being which has helped human stay sane for years and generations!

This is for Lynn Rosen and WTFOW #5

Join Us Here!

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Haiku Horizons & WTFOW5 #3: Clock

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 13:44:00 +0000

Image Source: Google

She glanced at the clock,

both hands together at 12

had he understood!

Posted for Haiku Horizons and WTFOW5

Join Us Here!

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WTFOW5 Day #2: Learning to Receive

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 02:38:00 +0000

Join Us Here!

Many times when bad things happen, I ask God, “Why me?”
For the first time, I asked God, “Why me?” for a good thing.
I heard an answer that made me smile.

Usually, I am your last hope, but now you have surrendered to me before draining your energy in worry!

Image Source: Google

I fret over many things. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small. I spend too much time over it that I forget it has to be solved “in reality”. At times, the solution that I conceive in my mind makes me feel that I have already accomplished the task. The games mind play! I never used to ask for help even in the most needed times! I have faced some miserable experiences because of this!

My grandmother is my biggest inspiration when it comes to believing in a superior power that exists. Her faith shatters my fears. She lives her life as if God is her friend and he holds her safely in his palms. At 80, she is carefree and enjoys life like there is no tomorrow.

She taught me to leave the problems as well as the credits to God and just live life with gratitude. I was eager, but I was not ready to leave my comfort zone for the struggle. Living mindfully is an unwritten rule to live by daily and there is no looking back once you start it. I had to accept my extreme laziness here and I was an awful procrastinator.

I am slowly changing, but I see the change is happening for the better. Any problem, big or small, I just close my eyes and tell God, I need help. This has done me wonders than anything else. Finally, I don’t feel I am depending on someone for some thing, but I am glad I am talking to God and making life easy!

God taught me one thing, Devotion is the ultimate aim to maintain that connection with the superior power! It could be anyway as long as we feel connected with God! We get from God and give to others. This feeling rules out the option of negativity in me! 🙂

How did you learn to receive?

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Write Tribe Challenge #1: Show Some Stray Love!

Jayanthy Govindarajan — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:45:00 +0000

Join Us Here!

My Bad: I thought the contest starts today! 🙁 My Bad, Apologies for joining late!

The Day’s Post:

I love pets, especially dogs. I have a very alert and super friendly
mongrel. These are well-known traits of this breed. I am a sincere fan of adopting stray dogs over buying toy dogs. Whenever I have dog-conversations with “elite” dog owners, I get a sleazy look because I have a mongrel at home! Seriously, I don’t understand what bothers them that I own a country pet/ mongrel that I adopted from a neighbor nearby.

Image Source: Google

I love pets, especially dogs. I have a very alert and super friendly

mongrel. These are well-known traits of this breed. I am a sincere fan of adopting stray dogs over buying toy dogs. Whenever I have dog-conversations with “elite” dog owners, I get a sleazy look because I have a mongrel at home! Seriously, I don’t understand what bothers them that I own a country pet/ mongrel that I adopted from a neighbour nearby.

I have a mongrel who will be 5 this September. We adopted him when he was just 4 months old. My other pet was a Mongrel + Rajapalayam cross. She passed away when she was just 7 months old due to distemper. This incident has changed me a lot, over time. Many people consider barking street dogs as a disturbance. Nowadays, it is also becoming common to raise a complaint and be free of street dogs. One thing to remember here is that street dogs are “guardians of the street” if you know their value. Every street dog has it’s right to live where it wills.

To all those “elite” crowds who think possessing a dog worth Rs. 25,000 or more is a matter of status, I am sorry to say, you have got it entirely wrong. Most people complain about stray dogs barking in the streets and how disturbing it is. Do you know what actually happens on the streets some nights? Do you even have the slightest idea of how street-smart these pets are?

My mother feeds 2 to 3 stray pets every day. They are such sweet loyal beings who protect us. I have noticed they are so protective of their owners that they don’t let any person with wrong intentions come closer. All this just for feeding them once a day. Let me say here, I have more enemies in the street because every time the corporation guys come to pick up the dogs, we ask them to leave them here because they belong to us.

I agree at times I am annoyed by the barking in the middle of the night. These are times I stand by the window and watch what’s happening on the road and why the dog is barking. Almost 3 out of 4 times, it’s due to suspicious behaviour in the street. When we learn to respect the dog, the dog’s barking is more helpful than disturbing.

We human beings live in a stressed world, I don’t like to call it a busy world. No person is too busy to stop and be kind to someone. A kind act is all it takes to make us real human. Help someone in need, that someone might be you, tomorrow!

Every dog is cute, it’s the owner that matters more when it comes to a dog’s behaviour! 🙂

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