Seema's Corner

Film 'WITH LOVE, DELHI!' releasing in select theaters on 16th December 2011

2011-12-15T15:57:00.003+05:30

Theatrical release of the film WITH LOVE, DELHI! on 16th December 2011 in select cities of India in the 1st week, more centers should add from next Friday.

Timings in select theaters for the film WITH LOVE, DELHI! given below:

1. New Delhi, DELHI

PVR Select City Walk (10am)
DT Vasant Kunj (3.55pm)

2. Gurgaon, HARYANA

PVR Ambience (10am)

3. Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA

PVR Phoenix, Lower Parel (9am)
Movietime, Goregaon (8.30pm)

4. Kota, RAJASTHAN

INOX (11.30am)

5. Indore, M.P.
(Not Available)

6. Ahmedabad, GUJARAT
(Not Available)

7. Surat, GUJARAT
(Not Available)

8. Rajkot and various cities of Gujarat
(Not Available)

Film 'With Love, Delhi!' - An intelligent thriller by IITians

There is difficulty even in getting theaters with sensible cinema like this one - we can just hope and pray that people come to know about this move, go and see this movie and love this film, recommend to friends and family and make this a big hit at these places. This will then automatically get all major cities of India for release in 2nd week, thanks in advance :)

Keep checking this blog for updates on the film WITH LOVE, DELHI!

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/withlovedelhi
Website: www.withlovedelhi.com

Dezinspire: An Exhibition by B.A. – Apparel Design and Merchandising Department of IAM

2011-12-01T17:33:00.001+05:30

You all are cordially invited to Dezinspire – An Exhibition by B.A. – Apparel Design and MerchandisingDepartment of IAM.

Logo Design by: Ms. Seema Kumar & Ms. Shalini Sharma
© Institute of Apparel Management

· Venue : Lynx 1 and 2, Ground Floor, ApparelHouse, Institutional Area, Sector - 44, Gurgaon - 122003.

· Date : 7^th and 8^th December 2011.

Invitation card for - Dezinspire

Dezinspire evolves from the words‘Design’ and ‘Inspire’.

Designs originate from inspiration. Inspiration is the fuelfor new designs and creative exploration. The importance of inspiration fordesign cannot be denied by any designer. We can take inspiration from anywhereand everywhere – our surroundings, nature, society, culture, past, present,future expectations and aspirations. Inspiration leads us to imaginativeexploration, continued innovation and unbound creativity.

Dezinspire is an exhibitionpresented by B.A. – Apparel Design and Merchandising departmentof Institute of Apparel Management. The aim of this exhibition is toshowcase students’ work inspired from different themes. Dezinspirealso intends to bring out that hidden artist, that designer, that creativeindividual which exists within each individual in some form or the other.

Dezinspire 2011 showcases wokinspired from the past, from the moods and colours of history. Students explorethe history of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Rococo, Baroque, Colourful 60s, Hip-Hop,Disco and take inspiration from there to be interpreted into different ideasand mediums. These inspirations are transformed into designs, artwork, materialexplorations, fashion, etc. Dezinspire 2011 presents creationsin the form of art, design, photography and fashion from aspiring designers andbudding creative professionals. Creativity is not limited by boundaries ormediums and you can experience the same during this exhibition.

Please circulate the invitation to your family, friends andacquaintances. Look forward to your presence at Dezinspire.

Film WITH LOVE, DELHI! releasing in theaters across India on 16th December 2011

2011-11-24T10:07:00.001+05:30

Am very happy to share here that the film WITH LOVE, DELHI! is releasing in theaters across India on 16th December, 2011. My last post had talked about the movie in more detail about the making of the movie, the cast and crew, etc. Visit www.withlovedelhi.com to see the music video, 1st look trailer, synopsis and other info for the same.

In this post, I am very happy to share the music video of the film WITH LOVE, DELHI!. Do have a look and leave your valuable feedback and comments about the song and the movie. We look forward to see you in theaters on 16th December, 2011, watching the movie.

You can also click directly on the YouTube link to see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BScWH074eq8

Credits and Info for the music video of the film WITH LOVE, DELHI!:

Director - Ashutosh Matela
Music Director - Sanjoy Chowdhury
Lyrics - Amitabh Varma
Singers - Shaan & Sarika Lal
Actors - Ashish Lal & Apurva Lamba
DOP - Premanand
Choreographers - Gaurav Ahlawat & Amit Verlani (Danz N Buzz)
Art Director - Sunil Chhabra
VFX Team - Rashmi Ranjan, Rohit Sharma & Varun Chakrabarty
3D Animators - Rohit Gururani & Abhinav Sharma
Costume Designer/ Fashion Stylist: Seema Kumar (yes, this is me!)
Banner - RedMat Reves Films Pvt. Ltd.

Related web-links:
1. http://www.withlovedelhi.com - Official Website
2. http://www.facebook.com/withlovedelhi - Facebook Page
3. http://www.youtube.com/withlovedelhi - Youtube Channel

4. http://redlal.blogspot.com/ - Blog on the struggles three middle class guys, with not a single contact in Bollywood, had to face to make this film WITH LOVE, DELHI!: Ashish Lal (IIT Delhi grad & theater/film actor), Ashutosh Matela (IIT Delhi grad & Director) and Manav Vigg (C.A. & Producer).

Film WITH LOVE, DELHI! - an intelligent thriller by IITians

2011-10-13T23:12:00.000+05:30

It is a proud and emotional moment for me when I present on my blog the first look trailer of the movie WITH LOVE, DELHI! - an intelligent thriller by IITians. It is a production of RedMat Reves Films Pvt. Ltd. The making of this movie is a dream come true for the whole team (including me), people who come from simple middle class family, but who dared to work towards big dreams - dreams do come true and as a team we did it. Now eagerly waiting for the release and its success. Do have a look at the trailer and leave your comments on the link, and please share with others if you like it .. we look forward to your support.

What is my role in the movie ? I am the Costume Designer cum Fashion Stylist. It is a great feeling to see one's name on the movie poster: Costume Designer - Seema Kumar . More about my story later on, here we talk about the movie and the team.

With Love, Delhi! - an intelligent thriller by IITians
(click on the poster image to enlarge)

USP of Cast & Crew

Introducing Ashish Lal and Pariva Pranati as the lead pair, this film has its Lead Actor, Producers, Director and Writers engineers from IIT Delhi who have joined hands with some of the most talented Bollywood cast and crew viz. Padma Shri Tom Alter (2008 - for his distinguished contribution in the field of Arts), National Award Winner Seema Biswas (1996 - for Shekhar Kapur's "Bandit Queen"), veteran Kiran Kumar, National Award Winner Cameraman S.Sriram (2000 - for his film "Blindfolded"), Filmfare & Star Screen Awards Winner Editor Namarata Rao (2011 - for Love Sex Aur Dhokha & Band Baaja Baaraat respectively), a veteran music scholar Music Director Sanjoy Chowdhury and an experienced Associate Producer Ravi Sarin (2011 - awarded Best Line Producer of Delhi).

The Story Behind the Curtains

Have you seen the 3 Idiots? Are they Aamir Khan (after engineering from a top institute, teaches kids in Ladakh), Sharman Joshi (after engineering does job on his own terms) and Madhavan (after engineering opts for wildlife photography)? Yes, but that's in reel life, in real life they're Ashish Lal (Engineer from IIT Delhi - now a Film Actor), Ashutosh Matela (Engineer from IIT Delhi - now a Film Director) and Manav Vigg (Chartered Accountant - now a Film Producer)!

These 3 Idiots, sar se paun tak shudh middle class, with not a single contact in Bollywood (didn't know even a spot boy :( ), have made a full length commercial feature film: WITH LOVE, DELHI!, a suspense thriller cum romance Bollywood film. Arranging crores to match the standards of a good Bollywood film was possible only through scores and scores of friends and relatives who supported them, some with 50k to some with 20lacs but each to the best of their financial abilities. Who says people don't support, especially not financially, for passionate dreams of others, they do!

With the financial support of so many friends and relatives, a humble attempt has been made to create a quality film with a sensible and entertaining storyline. The immense support from friends and family have made this film possible and we look forward to your support to make it a huge success :)

P.S. - Related web links

Movie Website - http://www.withlovedelhi.com/
Link to Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/withlovedelhi
Youtube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/withlovedelhi
Blog on how 3 middle class guys managed to make the movie - http://redlal.blogspot.com/
Twitter account - http://twitter.com/#!/RedLal
Click here to read what media has been telling about this movie.

Durga Pooja 2011

2011-10-13T01:06:00.000+05:30

This year Durga Pooja for us was very quiet. We did go to see Durga Pooja on the day of Vijayadashmi. But there was no celebration, just a lot of reflection on the questions of life and death. Also reflection on topics related to life and living.. like survival, struggle, change, happiness, attitude of gratitude, and many more things related to life and beyond life. Maybe time will answer many questions.

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone

Summer Workshops at IAM, 2011

2011-06-06T16:41:00.003+05:30

As the summer vacation starts, it is time to be busy with summer camps and workshops. The school students get busy with summer camps and there are short-term workshops for professionals as well as youngesters who would like to utilise their time fruitfully learning some new things and developing some new skills.

Like last year's short term programmes, 2010, even this year, I am conducting some workshops and short-term programmes at IAM, Gurgaon.

Course Code	Title	Duration	Dates	Time

005	Graphic Design for T-Shirts & Casual Garments	1 week	11th July - 15th July 2011	10:00 am - 01:00 pm
004	Technical Sketches and Tech-pack Development for Apparel	1 week	25th July - 29th July 2011	10:00 am - 01:00 pm

In "Technical Sketches and Tech-pack Development for Apparel", the students / participants will learn to develop and prepare garment specifications for production. They will gain an understanding of the product and technical specifications that need to go into new product development for garments like garment sketches, measurements, construction details, colour combos, trims and lebelling, placements of trims, embellishments, etc. Basically a student will learn to communicate his/ her ideas about garment design to make a sample or for manufacturing.

In "Graphic Design for T-Shirts & Casual Garments", the students / participants will learn to create graphic designs to be used as prints and embroidery on T-shirts and casual garments. There would be hand-on exercises to create theme based vector graphics (using softwares like Corel Draw) where the students will learn to understand, identify, and apply basic design principles and create graphics for T-shirts and casual garments. By the end of the workshop, we will come out with some 'real' work.

I am eagerly looking forward to conduct these workshops.

For More details, one can visit Certificate Programmes in Fashion Designing on http://iamindia.in/ or contact:

Manka - 0124-2708242, manka@iamindia.in

Neha - 0124-2708240, nehasikka@iamindia.in

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week

2011-04-22T23:35:00.001+05:30

This time I went with my students to attend a Fashion Show at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The photo here is from one of the shows on 8th April 2011.

Five Years of Blogging and 'Seema's Corner'

2011-01-20T01:58:00.001+05:30

Seema's Corner completed 5 years on 20th January, 2011. My first post was a few lines about my daughter 6 days before her first birthday and hoping that she was with me. The heading was 'How I Wish' and was written when she was away from me for a few months even before she was a year old. I was working and due to some sudden circumstances, there was no one to take care of her when I was in office, so I had to send her to my parents to take care of her. As any parent would know, it is not easy to be away from a child who is just a few months old. So my first post on my blog was thus inspired by motherhood and influenced by love as well as pain.

Seema's Corner still writes 'In the land of thoughts, dreams, wishes and introspection.'

I have already mentioned in the post One year of blogging... one year of 'Seema's Corner' what went behind starting this blog. Today, I only want to thank and express my gratitude towards all those friends whom I have come to known during these five years because of this blog or because of blogging; towards all those people who have read my blog, given me their time, comments, suggestions and helped me grow and evolve as an individual; towards all those friends who are still unknown faces, whom I have never met but who have enriched my life and thoughts in many ways; towards my old friends and family members who have been by my side always, in all good and bad times, and have been a part of 'Seema's Corner'.

Now before this starts looking like a 'Thank You' note, all I want to say is that the posts on the last 5 years have been quite random. Hopefully, along with the random topics, photographs, etc. I would start posting on some other topics pertaining to my subject and research areas as well. Do keep checking :)

Earthquake on 19th Jan 2011

2011-01-19T02:21:00.001+05:30

I just felt the tremors. Yes, it was an earthquake !! It was a little before 2 a.m. on 19th Jan. in the Delhi region. By the time I could go out of the house with my daughter, who was sleeping, it was over. I do not know yet where was the epicenter and what effect this earthquake has had. However, it did last for a few seconds. Hope all is well.

My Experience at the Photography Workshop at National Institute of Design

2010-12-31T18:44:00.001+05:30

This post has been in my draft folder for too long now and I could not have let 2010 pass without posting this. So here it is...

Always Carry Your Camera, a workshop on basic photography by Dr. Deepak John Mathew from 8^th to 12^th March 2010 was organised at National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad. I was sponsored by Institute of Apparel Management, Gurgaon, to attend this workshop.

Photography has been an area of great interest for me. However, I could not even call it a hobby till the time digital cameras became prevalent as photography was a very expensive hobby when you only had film cameras. In 2005, my younger sister living in US gifted me a digital camera ‘Kodak EasyShare DX6490’. That is when I really started taking photographs as a hobby. Someone at NID was rightly telling that since the time digital cameras have come, everyone has become a photographer :D . Yes, I did have interest in photography, and I did take a lot of photographs intending to capture some moments as per my own understanding about art and design; elements and principles of design and composition, but I did not have any formal training or education in photography. When I heard about this photography workshop at NID, it seemed to be a good opportunity to really ‘learn’ about photography. I am thankful to IAM for providing me the opportunity to attend this workshop and learn about photography.

DAY 1 :– 8th March, 2010

The workshop started with the registration process. During registration, we got a welcome kit comprising of a bag, notebook, reading material, brochures, etc.

Registration and distribution of welcome kit

On the first day, we got information about some different types of cameras, learnt basics about a camera, parts of a camera like aperture, shutter, etc. and how a photograph is taken. We also had demonstrations of some different types of cameras and lenses. Dr. Mathew was amazing and all the participants seemed to like him and his style of conducting the workshop.

Demonstration of different types of cameras

The second half of the day was mainly on ‘Elements and Principles of Design’ taken by Mr. Anil Sharma. We were told that the next day when we go on field trip to Modera and Patan, we should take photographs to demonstrate ‘Rhythm’, ‘Harmony’, ‘Balance’ and ‘Contrast’ and there would be a presentation the day after that where we will present 5 photos under each of these categories.

We were also asked to go in the library and spend our evening there as the library is open till 9:00pm. I am willing to spend my time in the library anytime. So I went to the library after the session was over. NID has a very good and big library of which I could hardly see browse through even a small part. I left the library a little before 9:00pm and walked to my hotel room and had my dinner there.

In spite of a long day which started very early, I was still excited about the next day’s field trip. I should have been very tired. But surprisingly, though I was somewhat sleepy, I was not tired. I woke up several times in the night to check the time because I did not want to miss the 6:00 am bus leaving from NID for the field trip like I had missed the 6:00 am flight to Ahmedabad and had to take the next flight. Even in just one day, I had learnt so much and enjoyed my learning experience at NID that I was glad I had taken the right decision to take another flight in the morning.

DAY 2 – 9th March, 2010

The day started early. Before 6:00am I was standing at NID gate. It was still dark and 2-3 participants were already there. By 6:00am most of the participants started coming in. Few did not turn up. However, the bus left for Modera Sun Temple around 6:20am. By the time we reached there, it was already daylight, so we could not see the temple at sunrise. We took several photographs of Modera Sun Temple. Also had breakfast there and left for Patan.

Photoshoot at Rani Ki Vav

At Patan, we went to ‘Rani ki vav’. The place was amazing in terms of archeology. A real finding. Took a lot of photographs there, too. I do not have a SLR camera but I got one from NID to take photographs and that was when I first handled a Nikon Digital SLR. After using that camera, of course my own camera seemed outdated ! We came back around 5:00 pm and went to the computer lab to sort our photographs and keep them ready for the next day’s presentation.

DAY 3 – 10^th March, 2010

We learnt how to sort and categorise our photos in Adobe ‘Bridge’. We also refreshed the basics of digital photography in the first half.

In the second half, we all presented our selected photographs from the field trip. We got feedback from Dr. Mathew and other participants. After the feedback, a lot of concepts were clearer. I could see a lot of flaws in my own photographs now and also how those flaws could have been avoided in many cases.

The evening was spent in group interaction over coffee and dinner. The plan for next day was to meet at 6:30 am at NID gate and go for another morning trip to ‘Sarkhej ka Roja’.

DAY 4 – 11^th March, 2010

We left for ‘Sarkhej ka Roza’ from NID gate at 6:30 am. We reached there before sunrise, went around that area and took photographs.

The whole day was spent in the Studio where we learnt about different equipments in a studio and about studio lighting. Potraits and objects were shot using different studio lights.

Shooting Potraits in the Studio

Shooting Objects in the Studio

At the end of the day there was a brief discussion on ethical practices in photography and Intellectual Property Rights. Stock photos and building a portfolio was also discussed.

In the evening, after the session was over, we went to see an exhibition of photographs at ‘Gupha’ near the University.

DAY 5 – 12^th March, 2010

The workshop group went for ‘Heritage Walk’. We were walked through old Ahmedabad starting from Swaminarayan Mandir, Kalupur, and ending at ‘Jumi Masjid’. In between we covered two Jain Temples as well.

We had a session on word and image association before lunch. The session was based on how images and words are associated. We saw some examples of images being used with words in advertisements. The session was quite interesting and informative.

After lunch, two digital photographs per participant were printed in the NID lab and were displayed as an exhibition. We saw the digital printing taking place and we all put up the exhibition of photographs.

After this there was a valedictory session, feedback was taken regarding the workshop, and participation certificates were distributed.

The workshop ended with this. The IPP team promised to send us the CD of photographs taken by their photographer (which they did send and the photographs used here are also from the photographs in that CD). Overall, the participants appreciated the workshop. It was a very good learning experience for me. The arrangements and management of the workshop was appreciable. We all looked forward to attending other photography workshops scheduled in the coming months, like the workshop on object photography, architectural photography, and other such workshops.

Participants of the workshop along with the faculty and organizers (IPP) at the end of the workshop

As this post is already too long, I shall write another post for some more photos taken during the workshop... or just post the photos.

Wish you a very happy and memorable year, 2011.

Foggy Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T23:14:00.001+05:30

This year, it was a foggy Christmas in Delhi and NCR. There was no sun the whole day. Here are some photographs that I clicked from 14th floor, when I had gone to attend a Christmas gathering with my colleagues on that day at our Institute's Director General's house. The view was like that of a hill station!

Photos by: Seema Kumar

A Motivating Story About 'TIME'

2010-12-22T15:00:00.001+05:30

The story below is not written by me. I have read it many times on different occasions, forwarded to me by different people. But this is one of those stories which has brought out a new meaning every time I have read it. So today when I came across this story once again, I just wanted to post it on my blog.. so that I can come back to it when I wanted to re-read :)

--------------

A woman came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find her 5-year old son waiting for her at the door.

SON: 'Mummy, may I ask you a question?'

MUM: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the woman.

SON: 'Mummy, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the woman said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'If you must know, I make $20 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: "Mummy, may I please borrow $5?"

The mother was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door..

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $5 and he really didn't ask for money very often.The woman went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' She asked.

'No Mummy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the woman. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $5 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you Mummy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his mother.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the mother grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Mummy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow.

I would like to have dinner with you.'

The mother was crushed. She put her arms around her little son, and she begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life.. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $20 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

--------------

Career Advancement Programmes by Fashion Innovation Lab at IAM, Gurgaon

2010-07-12T13:24:00.001+05:30

Apart from being a faculty at IAM and the co-ordinator of 2 year PG programme Apparel Marketing and Merchandising, I am also co-ordinating the courses being offered by Fashion Innovation Lab at IAM.

The whole idea behind 'Fashion Innovation Lab' (FIL) at Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) is to digitally integrate the whole process from "concept to consumer". FIL aims to provide Customised digital solutions to the apparel industry. FIL customizes short courses, training programmes, training and implementation in the areas of digital platform, Computer Aided Design, Virtual Prototyping for the apparel industry.

To keep up with the changing world of Fashion and Apparel Design and Merchandising, Fashion Innovation Lab at IAM has announced short term Career Advancement Programmes. These programmes equip the students / participants to work digitally and be a designer / merchandiser of the future.

Course Code	Title	Duration	Dates	Time
003	Technical Sketches and Tech-pack Development for Apparel	2 full days	15-16 July, 2010	10:00 am - 05:00 pm
004	Designer's Digital Tool-Kit (Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop)	5 half days	19-23 July, 2010	10:00 am - 01:00 pm
007	CAD and IT Integrated Merchandising	6 months	July to December 2010	02:30 pm - 05:30 pm (twice per week)

Given below are the details of programmes being offered or starting in July 2010.

Apart from co-ordinating the FIL courses, I am also the Anchor faculty for the workshop 'Technical Sketches and Tech Pack Development for Apparel'. Given here are the details of the programme.

There is a free counseling and mentoring session on 13^th July, 2010, from 10:30 – 11:30 am regarding these programme. Here one can get an overview regarding the programmes and can also clarify doubts regarding the programmes. Participation for this session can be confirmed by sending an e-mail to fil@iamindia.in

The participants shall be awarded a certificate from IAM on completion of the programme. More information is also available on our website www.iamindia.in or write to fil@iamindia.in

Some Quotations for Motivation

2010-02-03T00:11:00.001+05:30

"If Columbus had turned back, no one would have blamed him. Of course, no one would have remembered him either."

"The suffering of each depends not upon the factual happenings, but upon the texture of each one's mind"

"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs"

All powers, all abilities, which never belonged to us suddenly come alive when we say "I HAVE TO DO IT !"

"I do not know if SUCCESS gives happiness, but I DO know that a HAPPY MIND can lead to mighty success."

Export Merchandising LIVE !

2010-01-17T11:50:00.004+05:30

Institute of Apparel Management in association with Triburg conducted a seminar at Epicentre on 8th January, 2010. The topic was Export Merchandising LIVE ! A Seminar on Flat World Fashion Merchandising.

The speakers were from IAM and Triburg. Dr. Darlie Koshy, Mr. Manas Chakraborty, Ms. Padma Reddy and I were the speakers (more details in the image above).

Triburg, one of the biggest buying agencies in India and Asia, also happens to be my ex-empoyee company. It is a great company to work for. This seminar also brought out a shared vision of IAM and Triburg. It talked about the changing world of fashion and apparel merchandising, digital platform and 3D prototyping: their significance in apparel product development (which was the topic that I covered), transforming education to meet the needs of this rapidly changing reality.

The Seminar was followed by demonstrations in the Fashion Innovation Lab at IAM followed by refershments. The participation was enthusiastic and encouraging. It was a really hectic day for me, as I was not only the co-ordinator the seminar, I was also one of the speakers. But when the reponse is good, all the effort seems worthwhile.

I had conducted a lot of workshops at IAM when I was the Coordinator - Industry Programmes and Continuing Education, but this was the first seminar that I conducted and that, too, with my new additional responsibility in heading the initiatives of Fashion Innovation Lab at IAM.

The same day we had the First Convocation at IAM at Apparel House, Gurgaon. The day was really happening for IAM.

First Convocation at IAM

2010-01-16T09:10:00.005+05:30

Institute of Apparel Management held its first convocation ceremony on 8th January 2010. I could not attend the convocation ceremony of my own class in college and in NIFT which I had always wanted to. But it was really good to see my students come for their convocation and collect their certificates.

Preparing for the group photo

Getting ready for the photo-shoot

Bottom left to right- Mr. R.S.Kataria, Ms. Sharmila Katre,
Mr. Somesh Singh, Dr. Darlie Koshy, Mr. Premal Udani

Lighting the lamp

Mrs. Rita Menon, IAS and Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India was the chief guest. The institute was lively with its previous batches coming to attend the convocation follwed by dinner.

On the same day, we had also conducted a seminar in the morning and will write more about the seminar in another post.

Discover in 2010

2010-01-01T02:07:00.007+05:30

Photos by Seema Kumar

As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, we move into the new year with new hopes and expectations from the coming year. The hope for a new dawn, new beginning and cherished dreams come true.

The photographs here were taken by me in November 2009 during sunrise at my native place. I took lots of photographs of early morning and sunrise. At the beginning of the new year, I would like to feel the same freshness that I experienced that day at dawn, amidst nature.

I read somewhere,

"Before we discover, we must explore"

the exploration has been going on for many years and shall continue lifelong as exploration must always go on. I hope the year 2010 brings about discoveries and open new avenues. I start this new year with hope,faith and enthusiasm.

Original momentun isn't enough to keep you moving forward

2009-10-01T12:57:00.009+05:30

Today, my table calendar reads:

"Progress in life, business, or any project comes through taking initiative and continuing to press on with new strategies, concepts and plans. The original momentun isn't enough to keep you moving forward. Your progress will grind to a halt unless you refill your engine of inspiration with the fuel of fresh ideas."

How true and inspiring !! Quotes like these are also the '"fuel" to continue to be motivated and keep going. The original moment to good to start something, but to sustain, retain, keep growing and moving forward, fresh new ideas, motivations and inspiration is always required.

In a world of negativity, I think that although sometimes it IS difficult, yet it is very important to continue to be self-motivated with things like positive thinking, speaking, listening and reading and most importantly positive self-talk (I think it works amazingly).

Overcoming Writer's Block ?

2009-09-18T19:59:00.002+05:30

Today morning while I was driving to office, I was thinking about my current status in terms of an artist, a witer, a teacher, a blogger, etc. Too many profiles.. ? Maybe yes, but they all have to go hand in hand, simultaneously.

When I had joined IAM as Assistant Professor, I had thought I would get a lot of time to read and write and I would also be able to update my blog regularly. Contrary to that I have hardly been able to update my blog in the last one year or more. Not that I have not been able to read and write. I have read a lot, and written a lot of lectures and prepared presentations for my lectures for Apparel Merchandising, Fashion Forecasting and Product Development, Fabric Knowledge of Knits and even Design Drawing and Illustration. I have learned a lot in the process and also enjoyed while learning.

However, my writing and updating for my blog has been quite limited, rather quite negligible. Had the 'Writer's Block' effected me or I had just been too busy with other roles and responsibilities ? Whatever the cause may be, today I decided to start writing and updating my blog regularly. Whatever topic may be, I have to just be active and find time to continue writing even in my busy schedule... and instead of procastinating, I am starting today itself :)

Industry Programmes and Workshops at IAM

2009-04-02T17:16:00.005+05:30

Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) has announced a series of industry focused workshops for professionals working in the fashion and apparel industry who wish to upgrade themselves by acquiring skills and knowledge necessary for their career progression. These workshops are focused on different streams like management and merchandising, design, retail and technology.

Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) promoted by AEPC Society for Human Resource Development under the aegis of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is an industry driven institution offering professional programmes with sector specific and industry driven careers in the fast growing apparel industry. The college was established to meet the industry requirement for trained managers and design professionals, with a broad base of applied and management skills typical of the apparel business.

The workshops have been developed keeping in mind the following :

There is need for effective and focused training and development in a dynamic business environment.
Regeneration and up-gradation of management and design skills is required to meet changing business and market needs.
With the expansion of different sectors of the consumer goods and lifestyle products industry there is a need for professionals with in-depth and broad base of knowledge.
Shorter shelf life of lifestyle products requires innovative, pre-emptive and pro-active management styles to maximize business potential.
To be at par globally with international developments, businesses or the managers in fashion trade today need to continuously improve themselves through workshops and training programmes for their employees.

Industry Programmes and Workshops being offered by IAM is structured to address the current and emerging need of the industry to upgrade and train professionals who are already a part of the industry, working at different levels.

These workshops are for short duration. The participants shall be awarded a certificate from IAM on completion of the workshop.

One of the recent workshops in which I am teaching as Co-faculty is 002-Fashion Figure Drawing & Fashion Illustration

More information is available on www.iamindia.in or e-mail: industryprograms@iamindia.in

Surajkund Crafts Mela

2009-03-28T01:57:00.004+05:30

Surajkund Crafts Mela, near Delhi, is a gathering of skilled craftsmen and artisans. The beautiful and coulourful sights are worth capturing.

This year I visited this fair as a Faculty along with the students of IAM and got to take a lot of photographs. Here are some of them.. for a glimpse of the fair.

Mela also celebrates the rhythms of folk theatre.

A rural ambience s created for the urban audience. Cuisine, culture and crafs combine to make the fair a colourful and memorble one.

A View of water at Sariska, Rajasthan

2008-12-04T16:35:00.002+05:30

Photographs by : Seema Kumar

Crow on the Sea Beach

2008-10-20T14:08:00.002+05:30

Photos by Seema Kumar

Motivational Quotes that motivated me

2008-06-17T10:50:00.007+05:30

Today I recalled some of the old quotations.. from my school days and wanted to put them here .. like the thought for the day, and to remain here to read:

----------------------

Do not be too moral.
You may cheat yourself out of much life.
Aim above morality.

Be not simply good; be good for something.

- Henry David Thoreau

[US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)]

----------------------

Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.

- Joel Hawes

----------------------

All things are difficult before they are easy.

- Dr. Thomas Fuller,

Gnomologia, 1732British physician (1654 - 1734)

----------------------

On World Environment Day

2008-06-05T13:22:00.008+05:30

Today, une 5, on World Environment Day, my expressions come in the form of a few digital photographs ... of the flowers from one of my cherished plants.

And some more photograps are here, taken by my uncle, of our native village - which I have always loved because of its natural beauty and natural surroundings.

Photos: Seema Kumar

Shikha Lal clears the Civil Services Examinations conducted by the UPSC

2008-05-17T01:38:00.009+05:30

It has been a long awaited day. Like most IAS aspirants for whom it becomes a passion, my younger sister Shikha Lal has also been putting in a lot of effort in the preparation for the the Civil Services Eximaniation. Finally 16th May brought the good news of her success and final selection.

She has a unique combination of subjects, looking at her academic background. She has been meritorious throuout.

She used to be class topper in school. In +2 she studied Bio Science. After +2, she joined All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and did four years' B.Sc. (Honours) in Nursing. She was the topper in her batch who joined AIIMS, and she also received scholarships while studying there. She was also meritorious while studying there.

She then decided to explore the Fashion and apparel industry, when I was already studying in NIFT. She joined National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), and did Post Graduate Diploma in Garment Manufacturing Technology (GMT). Here again, she received Gold Medal for 'Best All Round Performance' for NIFT-Mumbai centre (one person from one centre, including all courses, got this award).

She also worked in a export house for more than a year. But then her childhood aspiration to get into Civil Services came alive again. Parents supported her when she decided to attempt for it. And finally she did make it. Personally I do find it brilliant that she could do it even with her diverse academic background, and the subjects she chose for this exam was Psychology and Public Administration. Only she can tell us the secret :)

She is a very special person and everyone who knows her will agree to me on this. She is a wonderful soul, and I am sure if more people like her come into the Civil Services, they will certainly build a better India, a better world.

All the best to you, Shikha. Go ahead and fulfil your dreams. We are proud of you :)

**More than 300000 candidates appear for this exam and the final selection this year was for 734 candidates. Shikha ranked 456 in the final list.

Fron UPSC Website: A total number of 734 candidates recommended for appointment include 286 General (including 12 Physically challenged candidates), 266 Other Backward Classes (including 5 Physically challenged candidates), 128 Scheduled Castes (including 5 Physically challenged candidate) and 54 Scheduled Tribes candidates.

Child Fun

2008-05-07T18:21:00.002+05:30

Happiness

2008-02-26T23:39:00.002+05:30

A nice quotation I read today:

"Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections."

Good Bye 2007

2007-12-31T15:54:00.000+05:30

Another year comes to an end. It leaves some good things and some events to remember.

A few of such events are my brother's marriage, Tejal starting play school and some events there. Also the formal inception of RedMat Entertainment and Blue N Blaze. Also a change of job. Not too much of blogging this year on my personal blogs but some contribution in writing on 'Hind Yugm'.

2007 saw a foggy 'New Year 2007' in Delhi and NCR . Let us see how 2008 starts and what it has in store for us.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year, 2008.

Tejal's first stage presentation

2007-11-29T16:01:00.000+05:30

Durga Pooja at CR Park

2007-10-23T15:30:00.000+05:30

Durga Pooja at CR Park, Delhi

Last year when I wrote about Durga Pooja, I had posted some pictures of the Pooja at CR Park in Delhi. This year again I was at Chittaranjan Park with my family and it was again a good reminder of the celebrations that we used to attend as kids. I posted more photos here on Baal Udyan that I had taken.

Kids having fun ... round and rouuuuunnnnddddd

Here is a video of the 'Aarti' ... I always enjoy these beats during the 'Aarti'

Flight

2007-10-03T16:32:00.000+05:30

Mother
When you taught me to fly
Were you aware
That one day
I would fly
Far away from you
To a new nest,
A new family ?

You would have been happy
That my wings
Can now take me
To far away places,
That I can fly to my destination
Even when alone..
Yet you would have
Had the doubt -
What if I get tired,
What if I fall.. ?
You would have had
The fear
That soon I would fly
Away from you.
Ever since I came to you
Your world has been
Revolving around me.
Your heart would have
Skipped a beat
Whenever you would have thought
This center of your life
Shifting elsewhere,
Gone to become
The center of
Someone else's life.

Yet, Mother,
You taught me
To spread my wings fully
And fly independently.
Even when far away from you
I always remembered
Your nest
And I kept returning there
To search for my memories..

Now it is my turn
To teach how to fly
And I still need you..
Your experience,
Your love,
Your guidance
So that even I can
Confidently
And fearlessly
Teach my little bird
To fly even higher.

- Seema Kumar
3rd October, 2007

(I wrote a poem in Hindi today - Udaan (उडा़न). While trying to explain its meaning to a friend who does not undertsnd Hindi fully, I ended up translating the whole poem in English... and here it is.)

Quotations

2007-09-22T16:06:00.000+05:30

Some interesting quotes that someone shared with me today:

"Success is when ur Signature becomes an Autograph."

... and when will that happen :D ?

"Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends."

... so even luxury is ultimately a necessity !!

"Dream until your dreams come true."

... and when one dream comes true, it gives birth to another one, so this process is lifelong :)

Random topics

2007-09-13T11:44:00.000+05:30

This is a photograph of one summer evening at India Gate, Delhi, same day that we visited Qutub Minar. It keeps buzzing with people, tourists and children during the evening.

Days have been hectic and something or the other has been happening. Time flies. In the meanwhile I have written some new poems and posts in Hindi.

And before I go, some nice words that a friend shared with me recently :

"The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems, but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect."

Qutub Minar through my camera

2007-08-14T12:36:00.001+05:30

Qutub Minar and Iron Pillar at Mehrauli, New Delhi photo by Seema Kumar

When you have guests who come as tourists, that is the time you get to get out and visit some such tourist places and historical monuments like Qutub Minar, Delhi, which otherwise remain just a view from the outside while you pass by. Qutab Minar, the 239 feet sandstone tower, the highest stone tower in India, is an Indo-Islamic architectural wonder of ancient India.

The Iron Pillar that has has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years, despite harsh weather is another monument in the same premises.

When you actually go inside the premises and have a closer look, it certainly gives a different look and feel than viewing from outside or just in photographs. You can actually sense and feel history when you are in such kind of a historical place... the buildings, shapes, architectures, carvings, etc., everything has a silent story to tell... even if you don't visit with a tourist guide. Although a tourist guide can make you see many things that may remain noontices or not undestood if you are on your own.

These are just some of the photograps that I took this weekend while visiting Qutub Minar.

2007-07-11T12:35:00.000+05:30

Today my table calendar reads:

You are a wise man today if you have learned from yesterday's blunders.

Does this indicate something ? Is this time to sit, look back and introspect and meditate a little, before moving ahead ? A need to spend some time looking within ? After all, isn't it said that the best guide and friend one can have is one's own inner self ?

This poem that got published today also has many questions.. some are too big questions I guess. But before that, there are many things, answers for many small questions that needs finding out. Maybe a little introspection for some time can help.

Construction and Creation

2007-06-27T11:28:00.000+05:30

An interesting quotation that I read today:

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists."

Each Moment is a Wonder

2007-06-20T11:59:00.002+05:30

Standing by the water,
I tried to count the countelss ripples
Caused in the silent water
Just by a pebble's throw
Or even by a gentle touch.

I strived to measure
The endless waves
That kept moving towards me
And then receding
Somewhere far away..

I yearned to embrace
The faceless wind
When it effortlessly touched me
And blew my raven hair
As it moved away from me.

The sand of time
Slipped away from my tight fists
And I watched the sand particles
Scatter and spread smoothly
Grain by grain, on the floor below.

As I enjoyed the flowers in the garden
I could see that the flowers' soft petals
Shall only last for a day
And their sweet fragrance reminded
"Enjoy me, before I fade".

They all kept repeating to me
Live, love, evolve, enjoy and cherish
Each little moment that you have,
Every flake of time that floats past,
As each moment is a wonder in itself.

- Seema Kumar
19th June, 2007

Lalyog - Specialised Yoga School for busy corporate guys & Ladies/ Children

2007-06-12T14:15:00.000+05:30

As a young student, when I saw my brother Ashish suffering from Osteo Arthritis and 24/7 of excruciating pain, it was really sad. He was so young and doctors told him he will not be able to lift heavy weights, or do tough excercises. There seemed to be no cure. He did not accept it .. did not agree to what the doctors told him. It was not in him to give up without fighting. Even as a young student at IIT, Delhi, he went for Yoga classes, meditation and made sure not a single day was missed out. His dicsipline was admirable and so was his enthusiam. And today noone can say he ever had Osteo Arthritis.

It was late night and he was still not sleeping, was sitting upright and unable to even lie down. Was not well and was not able to breathe properly. We consulted doctors. They suggested inhalers. It was some form of Asthma. He did take inhalers, but no, that was not what he was going to do all his life like the doctors suggested. How can he live like a patient all his life? He fought again.. and won. He does not need inhalers any more !

He and his wife are both trained at different places for Yoga and meditation and they practise regularly with discipline. I have often wished that I had the same discipline towards Yoga and excercise. Even though I myself have learned Yoga, like all busy corporate people, even I have the excuse ... where is the time for all this.. at least not for daily practise !

We all are at least aware about the benifits of Yoga and regular excercise. So it was good to know that Ashish and Sarika have started Lalyog - Specialised Yoga School for busy corporate guys & Ladies/ Children.

This is what they have to say about it:

"Many corporate/ other busy people since several years have been expressing their eagerness to learn Yoga but couldn't do so due to lack of time because all courses elsewhere are of about a week at least. Capsule Course at Lalyog is a 4.5 hrs (it's a one day 4.5 hrs course) complete course covering important Pranayamas, Aasanas, Bandh, Mudra and Meditation and will suit busy men and women. Owing to more than 7 years experience in this field, we can assure that there is no such course available anywhere else in India! We both would be the trainers for this unique course."

"There is a specialised course named Weekly Course which is only for Ladies and Children (less than 10years) which will extend for 5days in a week. Sarika would be the trainer for this specialised course."

If you want to do the course in near future, you can contact on the numbers given at the end of this post. Given below is a brief about 'Lalyog' as given by Ashish:

--------------------

Lalyog : gateway to a sound physical, mental & spiritual health

YOGA:
Yoga is our yog i.e. union with our soul! Does this statement excite you? Union with our soul is possible only after attaining a sound physical, mental and spiritual health. Hence, whether you want to be physically & mentally fit or you want to move up the spiritual ladder in your life, you ought to get excited because you’re at the right place – Lalyog!

SPECIALITY:
At Lalyog, we have two types of courses each having detailed teaching of important Aasanas, Pranayamas, Bandh, Mudra and Meditation – without all these five elements, learning of Yoga is incomplete which is exactly the case with most courses elsewhere.

COURSES:
--------------------
Course: Capsule Courses (Two per week of 4.5 hrs each)
Days & Timing: Saturday & Sunday: 7.30am – 12noon
For Whom: For busy males & females who have lack of time

Speciality:
· No such course available anywhere else
· Personalized training – only about 5 people in a batch
--------------------

Course: Weekly Course
Days & Timing: Monday – Friday, 10.30am - 11.30am
For Whom: Only for Ladies and Children (below 10yrs)
· Specialized course for Ladies & Children by a Lady Trainer
· Personalized training – only about 5 people in a batch

Speciality
Anybody can choose either the course on Saturday or Sunday; however, only ladies and children (below 10years) can do the Weekly Course. The courses would be conducted in South Delhi.
--------------------

TRAINERS:
The trainers are Ashish Lal (B.Tech. from IIT Delhi) and Sarika Lal (M.Sc. in Life Sciences) and have more than 7 years of experience in all the 5 elements of Yoga. They have been trained from the Yogis of most prestigious Yoga University in India – Bihar School of Yoga as well as from other prestigious organizations viz. Art of Living, Vihangama Yoga Sansthana and Vipassana Meditation. They’ve cured themselves of incurable diseases like Osteo Arthritis (endured 3 years 24/7 of excruciating pain) and Asthma (took inhalers twice daily for several months) after being confirmed incurable from AIIMS and Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi!

POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF YOGA:
Stress release - mental and physical, very essential in this modern world.
Prevents/ cures/ reduces the suffering associated with problems like – Arthritis, Asthma, Obesity, Depression, B.P. (high/ low), Diabetes, Gastric disorders, Cardio-vascular problems etc. Surprisingly, the benefits are infinite because Yoga works on each and every used/ unused cell of your body!
Develops positive attitude towards goals of life via physical, mental and spiritual growth.

CONTACT FOR FURTHER DETAILS:
Mobile – 9811800120, 9213753803 & 9213196487
Landline – 011-40560820
Email – ashishlal_iitd@yahoo.com

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The Little Artist

2007-05-08T15:49:00.000+05:30

Art on the wall ... the big canvas !

Enganed with colours :)

See.. I painted this ;)

More Photos of Rishikesh and Haridwar Trip

2007-04-13T12:28:00.000+05:30

Rainbow, Rishikesh, 13th August '06

Ganges Water, 13th August '06

Sunrise, Rishikesh, 14th August '06

Thirsty Dog, Rishikesh, 14th August '06

Haridwar, 14th August, '06

These are some more photos from our Rishikesh and Haridwar Trip taken by me.

Questions about life

2007-04-12T15:41:00.000+05:30

Summer is here. The sun keeps increasing its heat day by day and people start staying indoors most of the time during the day. I often think, does the thought process get effected by the season or the climatic conditions ?

There is a strange kind of restlessness. Does everyone feels the same or is it just me ? Is it because of the season, the weather, or just an introspective nature ? I have always felt life is too short and there are so many things that need time and attention and the unfulfilled ambitions need to be fulfilled, so many other things that I would like to do.

At one time, I had almost rebelled and went to study Drawing and Painting, after being a science student, and enjoyed it. It is almost nine years now that we had our independent group exhibition of our 'Pancham Group' and the members of the group went different ways to pursue different opportunities in life. I went on to pursue my professional course at NIFT and the related careers after that.

Few years of job and the restlessness bagan. Is this what I want from life ? Do I only need to have a full time job and trying to make ends meet, trying to find time for family and no time for things that I have always wanted to do ? What happened to art, to poetry, to thoughts about doing something for social development and lots of other things ? What happened to the girl who wrote THIS ... will it happen with the efforts that I am making towards it... or am I even on the right track ? Is life a cycle ?

Do we have answers to everything in life or is time the only answer ?

Thought of the day

2007-03-27T09:38:00.000+05:30

"Even if all you can do is crawl across the floor, it's better than just sitting there doing nothing."

Photo by Seema Kumar

Cricket Fever ??

2007-03-23T16:21:00.000+05:30

My brother's marriage

2007-03-05T12:18:00.000+05:30

Another family occasion, another time to celebrate. My younger brother is getting married on 8th March and am leaving to attend the ceremony. Hope to have a good family time :)

Don't Quit Poem by anonymous - A favorite poem

2007-02-14T12:42:00.000+05:30

Today I came across one of my favorite poems Don't Quit by an anonymous poet. It has been one of the most inspiring poems since my school days:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit;
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

- by anonymous

Photograph of 'Haveli' - in India Today travel PLUS in their SPECIAL 11TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE JAN 2007

2007-02-06T12:37:00.000+05:30

After Diwali I had posted the pics of A 'Punjabi Dhaba' - Haveli on my blog and on flickr. From flickr, it was picked up for India Today travel PLUS in their SPECIAL 11TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE JAN 2007. It has been published under 'EAT' section of Punjab (pg. 94).

The Entrance of Haveli.

The haveli Courtyard with traditional Dhaba style open air eating.

I had taken this photo on our drive back from Ludhiana to Delhi, after the office Diwali Party, where we had stopped for Lunch. I had heard about it and thought of giving it a try and it was good. Here again are some photos of Haveli.

Today I got a complementary copy of this special issue of India Today travel PLUS. Seemed to be a gift.. specially on my marriage anniversary day :)

Ansal Plaza at South Delhi

2007-02-02T15:59:00.000+05:30

This is Ansal Plaza, one of the earliest shopping malls in South Delhi.
There was a time when we used to visit Ansal Plaza mainly to go to Shopper's Stop or McDonald's or window shopping.
I went there after a long time in the first week of Dec'06 where I took these photos. It was working day and not much crowded. There are so many shopping malls now all around, but when you go somehwere after a long time, you have a different type of fascination .. and that is what made me take these photographs.

All photos by - Seema Kumar, 6th Dec.'06

Tejal Kriti's 2nd Birthday.. on Republic Day

2007-01-27T13:14:00.000+05:30

26th January is India's Republic day, something we all Indians celebrate.

I now also have another reason to celebrate this day. It is also my daughter, Tejal Kriti's birthday. Yesterday was her 2nd birthday.

No, I am not going to write another post about Child Birth like last year. Nor just post her photo and wish her because she was away from me. This year, we celebrated her birthday and she was with us.

Tejal is now two years old. The pain of Child Birth has long been replaced by lots of good things and sweet memories of seeing her grow up, listening to her speaking, her effort to learn and talk about new things, etc.

Now the concerns are about things like how she is taken care of when I am away to work, what she eats, her health, what should she be learning, her games, her toys, etc. etc.

Time flies !! When I look back, it is really hard to believe that she is already two years old !

One year of blogging... one year of 'Seema's Corner'

2007-01-20T23:00:00.000+05:30

Today marks one year of blogging and one year of ‘Seema’s Corner’.

Some random web-browsing, office and personal e-mails, or for some specific search, chat sometimes... that was what I mostly used the internet for. A year ago, I did not have the faintest idea what a whole new world would be opened for me through blogging. Exactly one year today when I had finally started a blog, although with no specific purpose, or topic in mind to write about. Probably just because I liked the concept of blogging. It was a place where you could publicly share your ideas, views, etc… although I was not even sure if anyone would be reading what I would write, but just for the pleasure of writing.

And why Blogger ? Just because the name seemed to be that for a Blog site!!

One year ago I Googled for Design schools in Gurgaon and I came across this post from Ashish Kumar of Tekriti Software. ‘Tekriti’ seemed to be the short form of my daughter’s name ‘Tejal Kriti’, and Ashish’s World caught my attention first of all because of that. The blog posts were interesting and inspiring and it became a major inspiration towards starting my own blog. Gaurav’s blog was another inspiring one.

When I wrote my first post, it was about my little daughter who was less than a year old at that time and away from me. Quite a few of my initial posts were inspired by motherhood.

And another thing that fascinated me was Hindi Blogging. I had been wondering for a long time about the ways of how to write in Hindi on computer. I not only got some answers, but also stated my Hindi Blog, initially with the idea of sharing some of my hindi poetry written over the years. I came across lots of interesting events and people through that.

Anoop Bhargava ji’s invitation (through my Hindi Blog) to join ekavita was simply a wonderful experience as it not only brought me closer to eminent Hindi poets and contemporary Hindi poetry, it brought me in touch with many people. Knowing Anoop Bhargava ji itself is a wonderful experience and when he came to India to receive this award, I got to meet him as well as some other poets and members of ekavita group. This meeting in Gurgaon brought many people together and although I could only attend for a short while, it is a memorable occasion for me.

Special thanks to Ravi Kamdar through whose blog I not only came to know about Hindi writing, about Hindini, but also about Narad. He was a great help in setting up my blogs and specially gave online guidance while creating my Hindi Blog. Anoop Bhargava ji’s online guidance was also a great help in learning about Baraha.

I came across many people through my blog. With some it was temporary interaction, comments and feedback, some became good friends and acquaintances. One year of blogging has given me more friends and meaningful contacts than I could have even imagined when I started this blog. I can go on and on and on about the last one year. But now I would only say that I look forward to another year of blogging, with more new things to learn and more people to know.

Photos of Nainital trip

2007-01-11T13:08:00.001+05:30

I had mentioned in my post about Nainital trip that I will be posting some pictures of the trip soon. I have uploaded today finally the pictures of Nainital Trip on Flickr. Enjoy the natural beauty :-)

The lake view from the ropeway, originally uploaded by Seema Kumar.

Foggy 'New Year 2007' in Delhi and NCR

2007-01-01T16:16:00.000+05:30

View through the tinted glass of my office on the afternoon on 1st Jan'07

Welcome 2007 !

The new year came with a foggy night and foggy morning on New year in Delhi and NCR. The fog was so thick that it felt as if it was still early morning or late evening. At such time one feels like staying indoors in the warmth of one's home. But we had to come to office, and we had the New Year snacks at office.

Is that the Sun or the Moon ? Photo of 1st Jan '07 afternoon at about 3:45 pm, Gurgaon.

The sun was not visible. When I went out in the afternoon, it was visible for a short duration and that, too, it looked like the moon and not the sun. Here are some more photos on Flickr, taken by me on 1st Jan.'07, of the fog.

Foggy afternoon at Gurgaon, 1st Jan'07

The buildings next of our office building, which are very clearly visible on normal days, were barely visible though the thick fog today. So the New Year started for me with work.. and fog. Should I interpret it that beyond the fog, there are bright and sunny day waiting to unfold in the days to come :) ?

So, another year has gone by and a new year has come - with new hope and expectations, and with the unknown. I have been greeting people on the new year with the following wish (adopted) which I liked and the same I do to all of you out there .. and for myself, too.

"All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do,
All that you hoped but did not will,
All the faith that you claimed but did not have,
May you have all these in the coming year. "

Christmas Weekend at Nainital

2006-12-29T14:15:00.000+05:30

Lake at Nainital on the morning of 25th Dec.'06

It was Christmas weekend and still we did not have any holiday at office except on Sunday, which was a weekly off. Yet, decided to take leave and go for an outing. We drove to Nainital - including me there were five adults and two kids. It was a long long drive but as it was last minute planning, no train tickets were available.

First day was quite pleasant and sunny at Nainital. Second day was cold and chilling but we enjoyed the cold, too. The hotel where we stayed had a nice scenic view of the lake. Soon, I will be uploading some photos of the trip. Have been quite occupied with lots of things to blog, and I won't call this post a proper one !

In the meanwhile, I read a quotation and really liked it :

"Every time something good happens to you, make something good happen to someone else."

My Hindi Poems on 'Kritya' - A Journal of Poetry

2006-11-29T16:56:00.000+05:30

This post is for Hindi readers and I have also written on my Hindi blog.

The December issue of Kritya - a journal of poetry, has published a collection of nine of my Hindi poems in their 'Samkaleen Kavita' (contemporary poetry) section. Rest of the poems are on this page.

These poems are from a collection of my poems written over the years... right from school and college days and not just all recent ones. The frequency of my poetry writing had reduced a lot with job and hectic city life. But this comes as a motivation to continue writing :-)

I am awaiting comments on the published poems.

Are metropolitan cities safe from corruption and bribery ?

2006-11-28T16:40:00.000+05:30

This is a continuation from my last post. When I applied for my passort in mid 2001 at Mumbai, my only aim was to have an identity proof in Mumbai, as I had been studying and then working there. I had completed one year in a working women's hostel while working and they could provide me the necessary residence proof (the most important document !).

After applying for the passport at Mumbai, I waited for the police verification but none happened. I was told by my room-mate, who was working for a travel agency who organised package tours for international trade-fairs, etc., that I myself needed to go to the police station to get the verification done. She was well aware about these procedures regarding passport and Visa because of her job.

After some time passed, one evening, after office, I personally went to the police station with all my documents to get the verification done. I was told by the concerned police officer to fill a form and bring certain documents. I took everything the next time. The concerned police officer again asked me to bring some other documents and photograph. Again I took it the next time. My room-mate told me I should just pay him something and my work will get done. The police officer did not ask me anything openly and I was not willing to offer anything as I had all the relevant and correct documents. Why should I pay him for something that was his job and on top of that they had not even come for the verification. Now I don't remember exactly how many times I went to the police station, and that too, alone, after office, and how many phone calls I made to the police station get the police verification done. Finally, I was told that the police verification was complete and was forwarded.

Again some time passed and no passport came. A few months had passed since I had applied for the passport. In the meanwhile I got a job in Delhi and I moved to Delhi. Still no passort came.

One day, after hearing this story about my passport, an acquaintance gave me the pamphlet of Directorate of Public Grievances, (Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India). This is "an administrative mechanism which facilitates individual citizens in obtaining fair and objective dealing of certain types of their unresolved grievances with specified Central Government Departments/ Organizations, in certain situations."

He asked me to send a written complaint here, which I did. I got a reply from there which asked me to furnish certain documents, which I did. I got a phone number of this department and an e-mail ID of the concerned authority. He asked me to fill the passport application form again and submit at the Delhi passport office. The passport application fees when I had applied in Mumbai was Rs.300/- and now when I was in Delhi, it was Rs.1000/-. However, I did not need to re-deposit any fee and although I had not completed a year in Delhi, still I was told to apply. This time the police came for verification promptly and did not even hint about any money in the form of bribe. My passport finally got made with Delhi address ... after about a year of my initial application.. without paying any bribe !!!

Ultimately, I stood my ground and did not pay any bribe. But I could do that only because I was in no urgent need of the passport. I have seen police verification happeneing of so many other family members and friends and everyone has paid to the police during verification - not because there was something illegal, or something was missing, but only because it has become a norm to pay the police - they ask either directly or indirectly as if it is their right and the only thing that is up to you is how much you can negotiate about it and finally how much you pay them.

Another episode relates to the registration of property. When I bought my house and went to get it registered, I had to pay a certain percentage of the property's registered value at the registration office- again, not because there was anything illegal in the property that I was buying, but just because it is a norm. My peoperty dealer had already told me about it. The officials there openly asked for it and said it was a 'fees' for them and the money gets distributed throughout the hierarchy. I did speak out there, too, but there was nothing much that I could do in this case.

Property deals are generally quite infamous for the corruption, bribery and black money involved. But it was amazing to see how even an important international identity like a passport can be made just by paying some money to the police !! But slowly, I guess, we become immune to these kind of things ... we just take these things for granted and we don't even think of raising a voice againt it. We talk about corruption and bribery that is prevalent in remote areas, in states like Bihar and UP, but what about our capital city and metropolitans like Mumbai ? Are they any less ? Are we safe from this kind of corruption and bribery while living in these metropolitan cities ?

*NOTE : Just in case it is of any help to anyone in need, the website of Directorate of Public Grievances is http://dpg.bharatsarkar.nic.in/

Few words on 'Manjunath Shanmugam Trust'

2006-11-27T17:16:00.000+05:30

I was reading this post of Ashish Kumar (founder- Tekriti Software) on his blog. This is about - Manjunath Shanmugam, an IIM Lucknow graduate and a Indian Oil employee, who was murdered by a dealer of an Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) for not accepting bribes and did not turn a blind eye to the adulteration of fuel being carried out by the dealer.

The aim is to spread the word on the activities taken by the Manjunath Shanmugam Trust. Ashish's blog has more information about the activities and the details are available on www.manjunathshanmugamtrust.org. The forms for the Integrity Award being offered by this trust are available here.

This murder of Manjunath was indeed sad and shocking. He paid a very high price for not accepting bribe.

In our daily lives, in our day-to-day dealings with many governmrnt offices, if not all, haven't we all come across officials to whom we have to pay bribe to get even small work done ? And how many times do we have the courage, resources, spirit, time or will to fight againt it, and not pay the bribe and get the work done? Even if we feel angry about it, even if we speak a lot among our friends and family about it, but do we really take any step towards stopping it ? When we are in need to get a certain work done, we go ahead and pay the bribe and get the work done. It is good to see the initiative being taken by trusts like 'Manjunath Shanmugam Trust'.

Talking about bribe, it was surprising to see that even enquiries for Passport are based on bribe and is commonly prevalent. I have personally faced it and the consequences of NOT willing to pay the bribe for the police verification even when I had all the correct and complete documents and certificates with me. But more about some of my experiences in my next post.

First show of 'Formula 69' movie at IIT, Delhi

2006-11-07T15:52:00.000+05:30

The Seminar Hall of IIT, Delhi, was almost full with students and guests by the time we reached there on the evening of 4th Nov.

The show began with the Director-Producer Nitin Das giving a brief speech and while waiting for the actual movie to start we saw another brief comedy movie.

A scene from 'Formula 69'

'Formula 69' is about three friends at IIT-D in their final year, like I had mentioned in my previous post. The dialogues and scenes in the movie have been taken from the events of the daily student life. This not only amuses the viewers and brings about comedy, but students can also relate to the movie.

I will not go into describing the details of the movie. I will only say that it is a low budget debut movie, with no one in this movie or in the making of the movie being from Bollywood or experienced in the film-line. The movie comes with a freshness, simplicity and genuine comedy picked up from student life and if was an engrossing and enjoyable 90 minutes watching the movie. I cretainly enjoyed the movie and the weekend with the movie :-).

This article in The Times of India has more about 'Formula 69' movie.

Seminar Hall of IIT-D before the movie began

A scene from 'Formula 69'

This is a scene from 'Formula 69' and my brother Ashish (on the left) plays a brief role of one of the CBI guys who come to investigate a murder that takes place at IIT-D.

Ashish Lal (Left) with Director-Producer Nitin Das (Right) at IIT-Delhi after the movie 'Formula 69' was screened.

This movie is by 'FILMKAAR Productions' by Nitin Das and more about it on http://www.filmkaar.com/

After the movie was over my brother Ashish introduced us to the Director and Producer Nitin Das, who is also IIM-L passout (and was full of praise about how talented Ashish was :-). When I asked him what was his next plan, he said he would be making a movie with the children from the slums next.

I hope this movie gets the acknowledgement it deserves.

Formula 69 - Film by IIT-Delhi and IIM-Lucknow in which my brother Ashish plays a part

2006-11-02T11:24:00.000+05:30

This post is about a film shot in IIT-Delhi, Formula69. It is a science-fiction Film that has been made in IIT-Delhi using a special technique (code named GIn technique). It is a light hearted adventure of three IITians who use their crazy inventions to save the world from a gang of Biochemical terroists. IIT-Delhi dramatics team guys are the star cast and my younger brother, Ashish Kumar Lal, ex-IIT, Delhi, has also played a role in this movie. Nitin Das - IIM Lucknow, is the Director and Producer.

Looking for fulfilling dreams, a pool of talented theatre guys of IIT-Delhi and IIM-Lucknow started making a movie 'Fomula 69' from January 2006. This movie is now ready and they are trying to premiere it on Telvision. Before that it will be premiered in IIT. They have got coverage from The Times of India, Asian Age, Mumbai newspapaers and magazines and 30minutes show on making of Formula 69 on Aaj Tak TV channel.

As told by Ashish, "This movie would be commercially released but not in cinema halls (the frames per second funda of the camera and the huge investment involved used doesn’t allow us to do that). The movie’s first shot was taken on 22nd Feb, 2006."

Here is an opportunity to watch this movie made by IIM-L and IIT-D guys at IIT Delhi on 4th Saturday at 5.30pm. Below is the formal invitation and details that I received from Ashish and is open for everyone.

*********************************
We are having a secret screening of our recently completed sci-fi film Formula 69.
This is a confidential invitation for you. The details of the exclusive premiere and the film are as follows:

Date : 4th November 2006 – Saturday
Time: 5:30 p.m
Venue: Convocation Hall, IIT Delhi , Hauz Khas, New Delhi
Dress : Compulsory
Entry Fee: A smile (only genuine ones will be accepted)

Hope to see you there.

Ashish Lal

(9811800120, ashishlal_iitd@yahoo.com)

Actor- 'Formula 69'

B.Tech., IIT-Delhi and a Business Consultant

On behalf of 'Formula 69' Group

(Please destroy this invitation after you have memorized it)
*********************************

More about the film (As told by Ashish):

Formula 69 is a sci-fi thriller about 3 IIT students who use their crazy inventions to save the world.

Chatur (Hemant Kathuria), Bhains (Himschwet Gaurav) and Magga (Tarun Singhal) are 3 final year students at IIT D who get involved in a bizarre adventure when their dean gets murdered and the secret formula he was working on disappears. Now the 3 geniuses have to solve the mystery, retrieve the formula and clear their final year exams, all in 10 days.

The film is a collaborative effort by the students, alumni and staff of IIT Delhi. The project is spearheaded by Nitin Das, a pass out of IIM Lucknow. And the film is dedicated to George Bush and Osama Bin Laden.

A short trailer of the film is available on: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1874121292114343258 (final trailer)

*********************************

The Times of India has article on 23rd Feb.'06 in Delhi and in Mumbai on 24th Feb.

Asian Age has the below article on 10th March '06 in its archives:-

*********************************

IITians on the roll make sci-fi film- By Rajesh Ahuja New Delhi

It took Delhi students 17 years to set the camera rolling on the campus again. The IIT Delhi and IIM Lucknow alumni have joined hands to follow the legacy of Pradip Kishen, (author Arundhati Roy’s husband), to attempt a full-fledged film on the campus. But this time, there’s a twist in the tale.

While Kishen’s flick, based on Roy’s novel In Which Annie Gives It To Those Ones, was shot at the School of Planning and Architecture in 1989 and had a splendid starcast, this sci-fi movie will be shot at IIT and will have IIT students donning the greasepaint.

Science-fiction plot

Talking about the movie titled Formula 69 (no pun intended), which boasts of many crazy inventions, Nitin Das, an IIM Lucknow graduate and the creative genius behind the project, says, "I had always been inclined towards filmmaking and decided to call my management career quits. Neither has anyone attempted a 90-minute feature film on the campus, nor has this genre been touched." But why this quirky name? "Coming from IITians, it had to be ahead of its times. It’s set in the year 2010, and the name plays a vital role," he adds.

Casting ouch!

Director and script writer Das affirms that zeroing on the cast was a big issue, but as IIT had a Dance and Dramatics society (D ‘n’ D), things became simpler. "I conducted a nine-day workshop on filmmaking at IIT Delhi in January and met a lot of talented people. Realising their passion for films, I decided to make the film. I auditioned students and finalised the cast."

Let’s talk money, honey

Though the cast and crew don’t want to divulge details about their monetary investment, the group in charge of the film’s marketing says "it is quite something". "What we are primarily investing is our time and talent," says Harshal, a third year IIT student handling the film’s marketing.

Overcoming obstacles

Why haven’t many films been attempted on the campus in the past? Is it primarily due to lack of funds and the right guidance? "Yes, that’s true. It took us a month to get approvals from different departments within the college. First, I had to get permission from the D ‘n’ D Society, then the Board of Recreational and Cultural Activities and finally the dean," says Das.

The students made effective use of technological expertise available at the college. "We’ve made gadgets out of scrap material, equipment available in the labs and some inventions that ex-students made over the years," informs Tarun Singhal, who plays Magga (the bookworm).

Rolling on the campus

"As we have our classes during the day, we rehearse at night. We are only allowed to shoot on weekends and till now, we have shot twice. We made ample use of the campus area and shot in classrooms, lecture theatre and terrace. We are also planning to shoot a scene at the Tughlaqabad Fort soon," reveals Nishant Kumar, who plays the baddie in the film.

Future of independent filmmaking

Das finds the future promising but the present bleak. "Independent filmmaking is in its infant stage in India. People don’t attempt such projects as they fear huge expenses. Films like these are story and talent-driven, equipments come later. But sadly, there are no groups or societies who could provide a sound platform to people with such vision," concludes Das.

*********************************

A short trailer of the film is available on Google here (final trailer) and on YouTube here.

Wish you all the best Ashish and the 'Formula 69' team. I plan to be there at the screening of 'Formula 69'. Good luck to you and your whole team :-)

Diwali and floor decorations like 'Rangoli' and 'Aripan'

2006-10-24T10:01:00.000+05:30

Diya lit over the 'Aripan' and 'Rangoli' at the entrance of my house on 'Diwali' - Photo by me

Diwali - the festival of lights ... and sweets :-)

I also like another aspect of Diwali - the rituals of floor decorations. The most poplar and well-known form seems to be 'Rangoli'. In fact the word 'Rangoli' is also often used as a synonym for any kind of Indian traditional floor decoration.

These floor-decorations are a form of Indian folk art and is usually done by the women folk of the house. The motifs are uaually natural or geometric motifs. These floor decorations not only enhance the beauty of the surroundings, it also brings about warmth and hospitality.

This link aptly describes the following about 'Rangoli' and is also true for any other form of floor decoration commonly used in India:-
"Rangoli is a traditional Indian art created to decorate the ground in front of houses and places of worship to attract Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth. Designs are created using decorative patterns marked out on the floor. The drawing of Rangoli patterns is often combined with rituals associated with auspicious occasions, such as major festivals and celebrations. The patterns are usually drawn by the women of the household in villages in parts of India; and in some places it is a daily ritual to mop and clean the entrance to the home and then make beautiful drawings in the doorways as a message of welcome."

It also tells about the different names for different types of floor decoration in India:
"There are different names for this craft depending on what part of India it comes from. There are Alpana from West Bengal, Aripan from Bihar and Orissa, Sathiya from Gujarat, Mandana from Raysatham, Kolam from Tamil Nadu and Rangoli from Maharastra."

Diya lit over the 'Aripan' and 'Rangoli' at the entrance of my house on 'Diwali' - Photo by me

'Diya' lit over an 'Aripan' at the entrance of my house on 'Diwali' - Photo by Rashmiman

I have seen my grandmother make beautiful 'Aripan' on the floor during different occasions, festivals, marriage ceremonies, etc. and I have always been fascinated by the free-hand flow while drawing. 'Aripan' is made using rice paste. Rice is soaked overnight, ground into a paste and then with the right amount of water added to it to make the right consistency, the 'Aripan' is drawn, prominently with the 'ring-finger'. My 'Aripan' is nowhere close to what my grandmother used to draw, or still draws. Nonetheless, I do try my hand at it off and on. I make sure to draw even a small motif on Diwali ... and honestly, I enjoy doing that. This time, I also tried a small motif with 'Rangoli' and the pictures here are of those at the entrance of my house.

A 'Punjabi Dhaba' - Haveli

2006-10-23T10:09:00.000+05:30

These are photos of a restaurant, a 'Punjabi Dhaba' named 'Haveli' near Karnal, Punjab, where we went during our journey from Ludhiana to Delhi. Good place for a change.

Pictures of an Indian Village

2006-10-12T10:07:00.000+05:30

Here are some more photos from a typical north-Indian village. I have been to quite a few villages and have seen that some things typically remain the same or similar, although the exact details might vary. These pictures are of some such things.

Durga Pooja

2006-10-03T19:46:00.000+05:30

Durga Pooja, this festival is not merely another Indian festival for me. It evokes a lot of happy memories from my childhood. Durga Pooja used to be the most awaited and the festival with most fun, even more enjoyable than Holi or Diwali.

Having lived very close to the Bengali community and having many Bengali friends, Durga Pooja became an important festival for my family as well. The enthusiasm that went into the preparation of the festival, watching the clay idol of Goddess Durga being made, the Pooja ‘Pandals’ being constructed (every year with a new theme and the competition among the neighbouring areas as to whose was the best), the excitement when we used to go to visit all the other ‘Pandals’ and Poojas in the nearby areas (of course, in our new outfits), the fascination to participate in the ‘Pushpanjali’ (morning prayer offering flowers to the Goddess) and the overall festivity mood used to be amazing - specially on the three days- ‘Ashtami’, ‘Navami’ and ‘Dashmi’ (eighth, ninth and tenth day of the festival).

So far any other festival has not been as fascinating and enjoyable as Durga Pooja. Even when I went and stayed at different places for my higher studies and jobs, I have always missed this festival and the celebrations. Some things leave everlasting memories and memories of Durga Pooja celebrations from my childhood days is among them.

Only when I went for higher studies, stayed in hostels and met people from different communities, states and cultures did I come to know the different ways in which people celebrate during the same time as ‘Durga Pooja’ in the form of ‘Navratri’ and ‘Dussehra’.

This year I went with family and friends to visit the Durga Pooja at Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi. It was certainly not the same as compared to the memories that I have, yet, it was a reminder of those celebrations and it was good. The pictures here are of two separate celebrations at C.R. Park.

Pictures of Durga Pooja at Chittaranjan Park

'The Power of Your Subconscious Mind' - Book by Dr.Joseph Murphy

2006-09-08T09:36:00.001+05:30

I have been reading a book that has been highly recommended by my cousin, brother and sister - 'The Power of Your Subconscious Mind' by Dr. Joseph Murphy.

I have just started reading it a few days back but the concept has engrossed me. While reading it, I have been recalling incidents from my life and trying to relate to it and find it to be very true. There are many things in it which we were taught in our childhood and I used to follow. But in our day to day hectic life, we forget about some of the basic and simple things or simply ignore many things. Reading this book is like relating back to the events in my life and also become the positive and optimistic me that I used to be. It is like being inspired again to stop worrying and thinking negative and start being positive and optimistic consciously. I would like to quote some lines here from this book:

"..there are two levels to your mind - the conscious or rational level and the subconscious or irrational level. You think with your conscious mind, and whatever you habitually think sinks down into your subconscious mind, which then creates according to the nature of your thoughts. Your subconscious mind is the seat of your emotions. It is the creative mind. If you think good, good will follow; if you think evil, evil will follow. This is the way your mind works.

The most important point to remember is this: Once the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it begins to execute it. It is an astonishing and subtle truth that the law of the subconscious mind works for good and bad ideas alike. This law, when applied in a negative way, is the cause of failure, frustation and unhappiness. When your habitual thinking is harmonious and constructive, however, you experience perfect health, success and prosperity."

So need to be careful about thoughts and wishes. As the book also says:

"Change your thoughts and you change your destiny."

Color Psychology

2006-09-04T11:40:00.000+05:30

Ever since I was in collge, I have been very much interested in color-psychology. As an art student and later as a design student, I found it really fascinating to read about colors and color-psychology. The symbolosim and psychological effects of different colors are interesting fields of study. There might be different opinions and views about these fields, but I still find these subjects really interesting.

It is really amazing how much your colour preferences can tell about you. I had come across a color-quiz on http://colorquiz.com/ and find it quite intesting to evaluate and see the results which are pretty close as far as I have tried. Try it and see. It would be interesting to know what others feeel about this or how correct they find it to be.

Self Motivation

2006-09-01T15:32:00.000+05:30

The quotation on my desk today reads:

"Don't let this day pass without doing something to make your dreams come true."

Very motivating ... so I must go back to work and do something that would bring me closer to my dreams. One needs to be self-motivated quite often and that is what I am trying to do :)

Rishikesh and Haridwar Trip

2006-08-30T13:59:00.000+05:30

We left for Haridwar early morning on 12th in our car. We reached Haridwar but found it quite crowded and not fascinating enough to stay. So we continued our journey to Rishikesh. We found a place along the Ganges Bank, at Omkaranand Ghat, near Ram Jhoola, to stay. The view was quite nice and the steps just led to the Ghat and the Ganges which was the most fascinating aspect.

When we reached there and went to the Ghat in the evening, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. It was a half circle with the middle part seeming to be partly hidden by the clouds. It lasted for quite some time and I was so fascinated by the view that I took several pictures.

View of the Rainbow beyond Ram Jhoola, 12th Aug.'06

The Ganges water level was quite high and there was no river rafting possible. The water was quite cold, in fact chilling, but still a bath in the Ganges water was quite refreshing.

On 13th, we went to visit the Laxman Jhoola over the Ganges and the Neelkanth Temple, which was quite high on the hills. We took a rented car but the drive up the hills was very enjoyable and with nice view. However, the disappointing part was that the temple premises and inside the tepmple was quite dirty and was not maintained at all.

The clouds and the hills near Neelkanth Temple, Rishikesh 13th Aug.'06

In the evening, we went to the opposide side to see the Aarti (evening prayer) more closely at the temple there. There was a huge crowd that had gathered on the Ghat and people seemed to be immersed in the musical Aarti and prayer.

People Gathered for Aarti in the evening at Rishikesh, 13th Aug.'06

Early morning (before sunrise) view from the Omkaranand Ghat of Ram Jhoola, 15th Aug.'06

Next day, on 14th, we went to Haridwar again in the evening. Haridwar was really crowded at the time of Aarti, but we could not see. We returned back to Rishikesh the same evening. We left from Rishikesh early morning on 15th. I got up early to enjoy the early morning view on the banks and the view was really beautiful. I had seen the sunrise and sunset even a day before but this view before sunrise was simply fascinating.

More pictures of Rishikesh and Haridwar which I have been planning to post but have not done so far. Overall it was a nice change from and good sightseeing.

Leaving for Haridwar and Hrishikesh

2006-08-12T01:54:00.000+05:30

Early morning on 12th, we are leaving for Haridwar and Hrishikesh. Small group and looking forward to the brief trip during the long weekend !

Flowers After Rain

2006-08-05T13:05:00.000+05:30

The summer heat had made all the plants in the flower pots at my house wilt. On top of that, I had been away and many plants dried completely. But just after little bit of rain, it was so amazing to see some beautiful flowers and leaves coming out. I would say, there has hardly been any rain here, but then nature has its own way and cycle.

Some more photos taken are here

Rainbow

2006-08-04T23:34:00.000+05:30

Today, after a long long time I saw a rainbow, and that too in Gurgaon where there is hardly any rain. I was sitting on the front seat of the car when I saw and tried to take some pictures from within the car. The results are not very good, but on a little close observation, the rainbow can be seen.

Quotation

2006-07-27T21:57:00.000+05:30

I had read this quotation many years back and have recalled it many times in life. Today again I read it and find it so true.

"Don't flatter yourself that friendship authorizes you to say disagreeable things to your intimates. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes,

The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table,

1858US author & physician (1809 - 1894)

In the loving memory of Bittu Chacha

2006-07-15T23:03:00.000+05:30

Today it is a decade that we lost you. But I feel you are still among us, in our family. Your memory has never faded. We all loved you and still love you.

Mumbai Blasts

2006-07-12T22:08:00.000+05:30

Yesterday itself I wrote the post 'Life is sweeping by' and yesterday evening those Mumbai blasts took place in the local trains ! I came across the news only today morning so yesterday night when I got an sms from my uncle telling 'we are ok' I could not figure out that it was sent with a specific purpose. I have lots of friends and relatives who stay in Mumbai now but fortunately whoever I am in touch with are all safe and sound.

I have personally stayed in Mumbai for about three and half years and travelled in the local trains and it was really scary and horrifying to hear the news.

Life seems to be so fleeting and uncertain when you hear of such things. One fine day, someone goes to office never to return back home .... You come to realize how precious is life and how fortunate are we to have all our loved ones with us. I had a similar kind of feeing when I had heard about the 11-Sept attack in US. People would have left for office, not even imagining that they would never come back home ! We do not know what the next day or the next hour or the next second has in store for us.

Somehow I felt compelled to write a few lines today. After hearing the news, I called most of my friends about whom I did not have any news. One of them had not taken the train and had come back in the car of a friend. One of them was sick and he did not go to office and his wife returned early from office sice he was sick at home... both of them travel in the local trains and in the same route where the blasts took place and the usually the same time and in first class! Another friend had to go to Borivli but did not go. The person who fell sick would not have felt good about falling sick at that time, but his falling sick could well be the reason for his life being saved and that too of his wife's.

I don't know if this is relevant here but I am suddenly reminded of something that I had read many years ago :

We have, each one of us, a task to do, a role to fulfil, a place which we alone can occupy.

Life is Sweeping By

2006-07-11T13:47:00.000+05:30

Quoting here a few lines for inspiration.

Rest not! Life is sweeping by;

Go and dare before you die.

Something mighty and sublime

Leave Behind to conquer time.

-Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Sometimes I feel life is so short and there is so much to do, so much that I want to do and know... and there is only twenty four hours in a day !!

Two Little Dolls

2006-06-24T09:07:00.000+05:30

14th June'06

India Gate in the Evening

2006-05-18T09:53:00.000+05:30

India Gate

Last week I went to India Gate with my family guests and their kids. We also went for boating there in the small pool of water that they have. There was heavy wind that evening and water from the fountain made us all wet and the kids loved it.

I had gone to India Gate for a visit after a very long time. Otherwise I see it only as as a passerby sometimes. It felt good to go there as a 'tourist' this time :)

Family Time

2006-05-17T22:54:00.000+05:30

It has been family time for me for more than a week. Lots of people at my home including kids. In fact I took a leave for two days to be with them and then it was second Saturday, so it turned out to be a long weekend. But the heat is so intense here that outings for a day or two for the guests turned into fever and sickness.

I have hardly got time to spend on the internet, other than in office and in office there has been so much work that I hardly get time for anything. Late working hours have started here as well now. I joined this company when it's new venture had not even started completely. That is why it is now good to see our efforts bearing some fruits now.. or at least approaching towards that.
Even though it was very hectic at home, it was good to take a brief break from work and start this new week afresh.

UPDATE : Some photographs of the outings are here.

Inside The Metropolitan Mall, Gurgaon

NIFT, Mumbai Campus

2006-05-01T14:17:00.000+05:30

These are the recent pictures of NIFT, Mumbai campus taken during my last trip to Mumbai early April. My cousin, who is studying there now took me around the new campus, part of which was to be inaugurated in a few days.

More pictures are here

This new campus is located in Khargarh, Navi Mumbai. This is very different to the temporary campus we had at Dadar, Mumbai, and for obvious reasons. It was located in a part of Tata Mills Compound, till the time the new campus came up. Although compared to the new campus, the old one was quite small, but being located in the center of the city had its advantages as well.

Mumbai Trip

2006-04-19T19:12:00.000+05:30

I am writing here after quite a long gap. Life has been really busy with all the travelling, increasing work pressure and late working hours at office.

I went to attend the 'Intex' garment and accessories fair in Mumbai on 6th and 7th April. It was after almost four and half years that I went to Mumbai since I had left from there. The moment I stepped out of the aircraft, my palms were moist and there it was... I was in Mumbai !

One thing that I had not liked about Mumbai was the humidity there and specially durring the summer. Mumbai did not seem to have changed much. The spirit of Mumbai, the rush hours, the local trains, the busy lives, all seemed to be the same. Only I felt as if I had slowed down as compared to Mumbai's fast paced life... although personally my life is much more hectic now than it was in Mumbai.

Also got to meet some old friends and relatives there and it was a good time spent with them and all the kids there. My first short trip to Pune during the weekend, specially the bus drive via Lonavala was also good.

Back from there and again a lot of the pending work to take care of that was waiting for me to come back !!

Innocent childhood

2006-03-30T23:48:00.000+05:30

A treat to the eyes

2006-03-24T23:13:00.000+05:30

Some flowers in my flowerpots - a treat to the eyes.

Photographs taken 19th March'06

More photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seemakumar/sets/72057594053694344/

FIEO - FIIB Training Programme on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills"

2006-03-07T16:11:00.000+05:30

I attended a Training Programme on behalf of my company on enhancement of "Presentation and Communication Skills" (23rd & 24th Feb, '06) organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) in association with Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB) at PHD House, New Delhi.

Some of the topics covered covered during this programme were :

# Some basics and introduction on Effective Business Communication : This was a general session on effective communication - thinngs that most of us know but need to revise at times.

# Public Speaking (Extempore) - This was video recorded and later on there was a playback of Public speaking and feedback was given by the audience. This gave one the opportunity of viewing one's own performance as a viewer and judge oneself. The intersting fact is that the fear of 'Public Speaking' is on the topmost among survey results… even the fear of death ranks after the fear of public speaking.

# Business Etiquette:- This comprised of things like attire, handshake, personal habits, telephone etiquettes and cross cultural dining etiquette.

# Effective Business Communication:- This comprised of verbal and non-verbal communication, including body language, gestures, etc.

# Good Business Writing :- This also included e-mails which is the most important tool for present day business communication.

# Cross Cultural Business Behavoiur:- This topic comprised of things like Deal-focused cultures, moderately deal-focused and relationship-focussed cultures.

# Cross-Cultural Communication:- This was a very intersting topic for people who are required to do business travel. This would specially be useful for people who are less travelled or for people who would be travelling to a certain region / culture for the first time.

# Two short films were shown on effective communication which were quite interesting and illustrative.

# There were a Role play and a Case Study: These were interactive sesions.

FEEDBACK :
1.) How did you find the Training Programme?

I felt that the topics covered were very relevant and useful. However the whole session could have been more useful and interesting by adding more games / excercises so that the whole thing would have been more interactive. At times during the session it felt like theoretical class. Also the venue for this programme was not appropriate. It was a small warm room and many people present.

2.) How has the training programme benefited you?

Some things were a revision of what we know but tend to forget in our day-to-day lives about communication and presentation. We all know that different cultures have different etiquettes and behaviours. But the way a summary was presented for cross-cultural communication and business behaviour and the role-play related to it was interesting. It would benefit while dealing with people of different global cultures. The public speaking exercise and video playback, self-evaluation and audiendce feedback after that was quite helpful in highlighting the errors and mistakes that need to be corrected during public speaking or presentation.

More Photos of a Cloudy Sunday Evening

2006-02-28T23:58:00.000+05:30

More photos of a cloudy Sunday evening are here

A Cloudy Sunday Evening

2006-02-27T23:42:00.000+05:30

Gurgaon, 26 Feb '06, Sunday

Wow ! What a pleasant weather it was this Sunday. I was tempted to take some pictures during sunset. After a long time it seems I spent a whole day at home. Enjoyed it .. specially with the lovely weather.

Art: 'After Study'

2006-02-23T23:42:00.000+05:30

Title : 'AFTER STUDY' (1997)

Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi Award at the state level

17th Annual Students’ Art Exhibition, Jaipur, 1997.

This is a digital photograph of one of my awarded artwork when I was in college - this photograph taken now almost eight years after it was awarded. Many thanks to the Fine Art Department of my college who kept this safe in their custody for so many years ... I recently brought it back from my college.

This is a 'collage' made of kite-paper. When I had created it, I had not expected it to last so long, at least not the colors of the colorful kite-papers. Surprisingly enough for me, it HAS lasted so long :-) . The colors might have faded somewhat but very little and is not very apparent.

Looking at this and some old artwork and paintings from my college days I feel like going back to the world of art and paintings and creativity ... maybe sometime in future life when money and job is less important than it is now !!

Art and Creativity

2006-02-15T00:13:00.000+05:30

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

- Scott Adams

How true and inspiring I had found these lines when I had read this a few years back and even now I find these lines very motivating.

Till the time one experiments with new ideas, creates something out of a new idea, one might not know the worth of it. We were often taught and inspired in Art and Fashion institutes to think, to create something, keep creating till you are satisfied with some of your work. How a rough sketch from a vague idea or a scribbled life sketch can turn into a beautiful work of art, be it in the form of a painting, a 'collage', a print, a graphic... or any other form of art, used to be so amazing. What a world of difference there is from the initial rough sketches to the final work of art ! Inspiration, imagination, visualisation and creative expression - all form a part of the creative process.

We keep trying to find short-cuts in life. How seldom we remeber the lessons learnt in schools and colleges while going through life !! Yet How true many of these lessons seem to be when related to the practicalities of life. If only we could remember all the lessons learnt !

New Age Dawn

2006-02-09T02:34:00.000+05:30

The evening is here.
The stars light up the sky.
The sun sets
Behind the horizon.
The birds fly back
To their nests.
The night falls
And embraces the darkness.
It is time to rest,
Time to sleep.
Nature rests.

But the city awakens.
Awakens as if
The life begins now,
As if this is
The new age dawn.
As if man has created
Another life
Against nature.

-Seema Kumar
9th Feb'06

More Photos from NIFT Fashion Spectrum, Delhi

2006-02-03T22:26:00.000+05:30

It was good to see the Fashion Show designed, choreographed, modelled and presented by students. Good Job.

The confusions and preparations at the back-stage, the glamour of the ramp, the hard-work of the designers ... was a spectator of all this and in some ways participant as well.

Some more photos for the 1st day at Fashion Spectrum are here

Photos from Fashion Spectrum at NIFT, Delhi

2006-02-01T23:48:00.000+05:30

The Fashion Show in the Evening

Events during the day

Photos by SK

Fashion spectrum at NIFT

2006-01-31T22:23:00.000+05:30

Today I went to NIFT, Delhi and was reminded about my own days at NIFT.

NIFT Fasion Spectrum is going to start tomorrow till 3rd Feb and today I had gone there as a part of a sponsoring company, Malwa. Not as a student. Looking at the busy students, the preparation for the Fashion show and other events, the enthusiasm, etc. all reminded me of of the days when I was at NIFT.

When you first think about these fashion or design institutes, the fashion shows, etc., its simply gets associated with fashion and glamour. A layman would probably have a very rosy picture about the whole thing. Only when you actully go there or get closely associated with these things, you come to know about the hard work and the sweat, the sleepless nights, the endless effort put together behind the glamour and the ramp.

It specially reminded me of my own Design Collection for the final Fashion Show.... and the sleepless nights spent at NIFT re-stitching the garments for the show after I had received the comments from the Jury. If it would not have been for my parents and grandfather who were coming all the way to Mumbai just to see the fashion Show and my final collection, I would probably not have had the patience and courage to re-do the whole collection in the last 2-3 days. many thanks to the 2-3 friends who helped me with my collecteion in spite of them being busy with their own collection as well.

Later on I don't know how many times the thought had crossed my mind if I could have had a second chance to do my Final Design Collection, what all I would have done. But like someone has said.. Time and tide waits for none. And you always don't get a second chance.

Although I am from NIFT, Mumbai, but have always been associated with NIFT, Delhi, more so because we were from the first batch of Knitwear Design and Technology (KDT) at Mumbai. Being the first batch of this course in Mumbai, we faced a lot of teething problems and we used to look towards NIFT, Delhi for solutions.

Looking at the students today, I felt like becoming a student again ! Tomorrow the Fashion Spectrum begins and I wish all the NIFTians all the best and a great time.
http://niftindia.com/

A page from my Diary

2006-01-30T21:43:00.000+05:30

SILENCE

Silence.
But words
Echo
Within my heart.
Darkness.
But my eyes
Behold
Several scenes.
Sleep.
But I dream
I am wide awake.
Voices tell me
“You are an eccentric,
You are a fool.”
I listen with patience.
In silence.
In the darkness.
In my sleep.
And suddenly
I get up
And start running
I know not
Why… ?
Where… ?
What for… ?
Probably because I am
An eccentric ?
A fool ?
Silence.
Darkness.
Sleep.

- Seema
Written on 26th August, 1996
B.V.

Child Birth

2006-01-26T00:23:00.000+05:30

Happy Birthday Tejal.

I can never forget this night a year ago.

It was not just another winter night.

I was in the nursing home with my mom and aunt. Sleepy, yet sleepless because of pain. The gynaecologist had come and gone. The nurses kept coming and going. Your heart-beats were monitored. We could hear your heartbeats loud? even before we could see you.

It seemed to be the longest night ever. Every 5-10 minutes, there was a sharp pain. I tried almost evrything that I could think of ? distract your thoughts, breath deep, breathe in ? breathe out ? everything that could possibly reduce the pain. But the pain and the night seemed endless .....

The pain kept increasing. At about 3:00am, my mom called the nurse who injected a needle in my arm for saline drops. We kept hoping that you would come to this world soon and relieve me of the pain but the nurses kept telling us that it would take time? few more hours !!

About 10:00 am and I was getting exhausted and trying my best to be patient. The only question I was asking was? how long? how much more time?? Finally I was taken to the ?Labor Room?? and then started another round of efforts to bring you into this world ? more hours in pain.

I asked the nurses and Doctor if I could get something to reduce the pain but I was told how could there be child-birth without pain !! I only wished the medical science in India was more advanced to be able to provide painless child-birth or child-birth with reduced pain !!

All my efforts did not seem to be enough. I tried all my will power not to scream in pain? but I did? sometimes. My will power was diminishing and I finally told the Doctor I could not make more efforts. She kept trying but prepared for the Caesarian as well? but it was not required. At 1:20 pm on 26th jan '05, you came to this world.

I only remember asking if you were a boy or a girl, heard you cry, felt another sort of pain as the Gynaecologist injected me with an anaesthesia while she continued giving me stitches ? and I was unconscious.

When I regained consciousness, I was on the stretcher, being taken to another room. As I tried to open my eyes I saw and heard my father congratulate me.

The ultrasound report and the doctor had told your size was big. You were thin but tall, 3.4 Kg and with a lot of black hair.

The pain was still unbearable because of the stitches and made me unable to sit. When I tried to sit and hold you for the first time, I was again unconscious.

My colleagues, who were also young mothers, had told me that you forget all pain when you hold your baby for the first time. Yes, the pain seemed never-ending ? but just the sight of you, another life, small hands and feet, small fingers? all a part of you? seemed to be amazing.

At this time I could feel what my mother must have felt when she held me, her first baby, for the first time and what probably you would feel when you have your first baby. As many have said - this pain and this feeling is something only a woman can experience... the experience of nurturing a life within you for nine months and seeing it live and kicking and crying after your encounter with pain.

Happy 1st Birthday Tejal on 26th Jan '06

2006-01-25T23:57:00.000+05:30

Tejal Kriti - When 5 months old. 28th May '05

Quotes for Self Motivation

2006-01-23T16:47:00.000+05:30

Photo by SK, 9th Oct'05

Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.

Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for your convenience, not the caller's.

Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.

Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

Stillness of the Night

2006-01-21T01:10:00.000+05:30

Photo by SK

The flickering light
The stillness of the night
It all reminds me
How silent
Life can seem to be
Without the ones
Who are close
To our hearts.