A Saturday to remember.

Last Saturday was one of those special ones I have begun stealing lately for my soul from myself,where I am away from work doing something interesting other than dentistry ,my much loved profession.I received an invitation for a book launch at Observers research foundation Mumbai. The same day,we the spirited ladies at Indiblogeshwaris decided to meet for lunch and Friday I got invited to the formal launch of Vinspire ,a company promising to dedicate themselves towards transforming lives.Three different events back to back at three different venues across Mumbai .I felt suddenly very important .I consider myself more than lucky that it involved travelling in one direction starting from Juhu closer to where I live to Santacruz for lunch and then to Churchgate.

Half past ten in the morning, I reached Ramee Guestline hotel at Juhu and was pleasantly surprised to see that they started bang on time.Brownie points earned right at the beginning .A training initiative for teens,parents and teachers,Vinspire was being launched .The MC, a young girl began the journey followed by the founder members and then the mentor.The cheif guests,Juhi Babbar and Anup Soni unveiled the logo and  launched the website.Juhi and Anup both spoke very well ,keeping the talk crisp and to the point. Everything went well till one of the speakers decided to hijack the mike and I thought,-there goes the schedule!! Some people just can not stop talking about themselves.How can a respected educationist stand on a public platform and brag about how much respect he/she gets from the society? Much as I would have loved to stay till the end and participate in their survey etc,I had to leave for my next appointment. I wished the lovely lady behind the endeavor. It is always a pleasure to see all the hard work turning a dream to reality. I  think that the idea is brilliant and wish they implement it well with the right amount of dedication,commitment and commerce. I will checkout a few workshops to sharpen my skills very soon.

It was the second day for the new driver on duty and I was a little apprehensive but thankfully all seemed okay on that front.For me,if I am not conscious of his driving,he is good.There was no parking around Willingdon  Gymkhana  and I must say that driver S was smart enough to find one with  ease a little further down the lane. One of  our earlier drivers  had put us through much embarrassment with his habit of leaving us in the lurch while he WITH  our car would drive back to our garage and doze off. After searching in vain and many missed calls later we would cab it home much to the amusement of others. Haan toh kaa karein saahib,parking nahin naa mila....bahoot paresaani ho gaya, dekhiyega.. !!


Sorry, I digressed ! Coming back to the much awaited lunch with IndiBlogeshwaries ,I reached in time for the fun afternoon. Although a topic for the meet, ( Zee explained this later ) namely,Women's empowerment was pre-decided to break the ice , there was no ice to begin with and as usual , as soon as the ladies met ,all hell broke loose.Giggles galore,we smoothly jumped from one topic to the other and time just flew .Vivacious V ,calm and serene C and Z ,evergreen S,pretty J quietly observant T and M,a gritty  blogger Aj and energetic and bubbly A made my day special.We felt 'empowered' without the talk actually and soon realized that the staff at the restaurant had begun winding up..ac had been shut, a few chairs were being stacked a little but very visible distance away,indicating that it was indeed time to close . Good food, good company,good conversation = bliss. Simple math  I like. It was 3.15pm and A assured that I could reach Churchgate in 45 min. I was not sure as more often than not,Mumbai traffic manages to delay you .We left together,A and I and giggled and gossiped some more in the car on our way to town .Lovely girl this A..

 My last,most important appointment was at 4pm and I was running 3min late. Thankfully, chai-paani was in progress as I entered. Could not even look at the food, having had enough for the day at lunch.Tea was forced into my hands by the organizers.Actually two books were to be launched by a father daughter duo.Veteran journalist and awe inspiring role model,Syed Firoz Ashraf's popular Hindi column compiled into a book 'Pakistan- nama' and his daughter Farhana's English debut novel 'My soil My soul'.  I was invited to read and review Farhana Ashraf's 'MySoil My soul'. I had bookmarked the paragraph and prepared myself for the event. I was to realize a few minutes later that I refuse to learn from my own past experiences .You see,when ever I have been well prepared and comfortable ,Murphy,my purana dushman, raises his  head .

This day was no different. with other dignitaries on the dais, the book was unveiled.The proud author spoke brilliantly and then a few dignitaries took the mike.The difference this time was simple yet stark, no one cared for the time.They were simply a treat to hear.The language,the poise,the absolute command over the subject and the in depth study ( research in fact) was amazing to say the least .I was completely lost when I heard my name being called out as one of the panelists about to discuss India Pakistan Amity- across borders. I was ushered to my seat on the dais and I had no time to think while things moved fast and furious around me.
 What happened next and how I was enlightened after I heard the stalwarts,  is a subject matter of another post altogether.
I shall write and share ....very soon.