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

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 The pain of Child Birth has long been replaced by lots of good things and sweet memories of seeing her grow up, listening to her speaking, her effort to learn and talk about new things, etc.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

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

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

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. "