The Intricate story of a Résumé

While once a résumé was supposed to chronicle your jobs and employers in a reasonably accurate fashion, there’s a refreshing shift in this thinking. A résumé no longer needs to sound like a stop-start narrative. Instead it ought to appear as a compelling story-telling document with a story that is relevant, factual and consistent with your personal brand. Context is the key when you are convincing someone that you can indeed make a difference. Hence your résumé needs to showcase a story about each of your accomplishments, as opposed to just listing them.

Despite a wealth of experience, if you’re not getting the sort of response you are seeking, give your résumé a second-look and ask yourself if it recounts the story of your career or simply recites a bunch of facts. While résumés have tremendous impact on the number and quality of interviews, from that point on, the "story" has to come from your own lips! My endeavor is to lend a ‘voice’ to your story.

I know you have a great story, I'd love to help you narrate it right!

Embrace the Elements

The last 72 hrs hours undoubtedly feature among the most precious moments of a lifetime for me...

16 Kms of tracing pure earth enroute a heaven called - Thadiyandamol the highest peak in coorg ( 5742 feet above sea level). All this while you walk right into the clouds and mist , giving you a feel of that of a sky walk. Despite all the breathlessness while you ascend, the whiff of fresh air at the peak makes it all worth every breath or rather breathless sigh to get there.

What could be better than being welcomed by a warmly- lit bonfire and a cosy meal and loads of well..nectar (coorg is indeed incomplete without dr.vijay mallya's contribution to the world!)

The fun continues with river rafting at dubare.. of pristine water over a 7 km stretch punctuated by racing rapids...and splendid company....the silver lining indeed!

I am just amazed at the discoveries I make each time I get there...
Fun..passion...zest for life...only goes up everytime i hit this paradise...

The magic of the kodava land lives on! Pictures soon on FB.

Rave reviews of Raavan!

Puzzled at the raavan reviews - poorly paced not a signature mani movie, lack luster performance by lead actors!

Well...for a racy narration...go for Shanghai noon, or even better watch Speed!

Now what’s a signature maniratnam movie…larger than life characters..like naayakan (dayavaan in hindi), guru (maybe), or is it the until-then-lesser-known species like the cryptologist in roja?

I partly agree with the view that abhishek, wasn’t the best of choices for playing the evil-man-with-a-golden-heart role. Vikram however has the arrogance for it! (both as dev in hindi and veera in tamil versions) Perhaps Saif would have been a better choice as veera, I wonder! (Can’t really get over his sharp character in Omkara!).

To me, Mani saar’s Raavan was definetly beyond a show of ‘creamy cleavage’ (in the words of Shobhaa De!) It was a discover of sorts… of an epic contextualized in the times of today! The parallels drawn between epic characters and the characters in the storyline was striking I thought. And yes, the brilliance of the plot which eventually leads to Veera’s capture is so exhilarating besides narration at a a pace par-excellence, and not to forget the brilliant performance of the Bhojpuri boy…Ravi Kishen!

It is time we learn to unlearn and expect a standardized format of storytelling!

of Reasons n Seasons

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. (or for you to offer the same FOR or to THEM). They may seem like a godsend and they are.. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. And now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether it is for a reason, season, or a lifetime!

When its Spring!

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai
Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein
Sare sehmein nazare hain Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain..

Kaise kahen kya hai sitam Sochte hai ab yeh hum
Koi kaise kahen woh hai ya nahi humare
Karte to hai saath safar Faasle hain phir bhi
magarJaise milte nahi kisi dariya ke do kinare
Pass hain phir bhi paas nahi
Humko yeh gum raas nahi Seeshe ki ek diware hai jaise darmiya
Sare sehmein nazare hain
Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

Hum ne jo tha nagma suna
Dil ne tha usko chuna Yeh dastaan humein vaqt ne kaise sunai
Hum jo agar hai gumgee Woh bhi udhar khush to nahi
Mulakato mein hai jaise ghul si gai tanhai
Milke bhi hum milte nahi Khilke bhi gul khilte nahi
Aankhon mein hai baharein dil mein khiza
Sare sehmein nazare hain Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein ho

Larger than life!

Perfectionist, Task master, Writer par excellence, ardent music lover, fighter, survivor...some keywords that describe amma!

My PTA meetings had a unique flavor to them. While it was common to see nervous children tagging along with parents fearing what their teachers had to report, I was worried about facing the teaching fraternity after the momentous meet! Amma had this expectation that both (sis and me) of us always excel in everything we lay our hands on; and when teachers at school made an attempt to relax these expectations there goes her popular one liner," Well I know what you mean; my daughter may be one among a class of 37 to you, but for me she's one among two..." (So keep your hands off this was the obvious msg...:P)

Amma was committed to getting my 'Ts' tall and 'Ls' long all along! she believed in crisp handwriting to be a precursor to clarity in thought. However, my fine motor skills couldnt get better beyond a point. MS word helps mask this inadequacy of mine successfully. Thank you Bill!

She made sure we accessed the best of music teachers and schools at times even challenging the respective principals (considering the number of relocations we've seen !). Her ability to connect to people from all walks of life is something that inspires me to date.

Eight surgeries, a crumbling spine and a diagnosis of panic disorder did little to her appetite for life. Last days of her life, which are still fresh in my mind evidenced her ability to intuit increase manifold. One such special conversations saw her tell me with absolute certainity that she'd pass away soon in an unexpected way, only to be born again to me... "I'd want you to mother me she'd say!"

And I believe this is true. I see traces of her in my children in ways more than one ; often helping me stay committed to something she taught me..better yourself in some way, every single day. And I know she's watching...Miss U Ma!

This piece of cluttered typing is dedicated to an effervescent woman with ambitions and principles larger than life could behold!

Renaissance

well..ya...after almost ten months of hibernation..here I am...
Still feels like am living on a treadmill...nevertheless... Feels like a new life force just paid me a visit today ...dragging me back to this space of mine...

Beautiful beautiful day it is today..and what's made it so beautiful

- Clothes shopping with Rits... we checked out some export houses and what a treasure we hit on..can u imagine...well-fitting pants for 150 bucks...:-)

- A chirpy pizza lunch..again just Rits and me... managed to gulp down some pizza slices amidst lots of school gossip about bad boys in his class...my boy seems grown up suddenly

- Weather has been so crisp....that it prompted me to take a nice long walk...all by myself...at 3 PM all that i can think of normally is a siesta..

- Experiencing Bangalore! - typical of namma bengaluru weather.....it started to pour heavens amidst my walk..Got drenched...to the skin...

Yes..i guess..its the magic of rain again... Thats manged to stalk the inertia...

I end this post..sipping a cup of hot camomile tea...and I promise myself...i'll see the colors of life all over again...in all its glory.