Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pride, Birthday and Beyond....

Last two weeks have been crazily busy. Indianapolis Pride was fun as usual. This time Sheetal and company joined us in the parade and so it made it very meaningful. Dhruv, my nephew was the youngest member of the float and Amit and I were very happy about it. It's very empowering and liberating to see people who attend Pride festivals across the globe. It does not matter what your age, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity is. What matters is you are walking in the parade with a pride of who you are. You are celebrating yourself, your identity and your self esteem. I always find walking with these amazing people very energetic and liberating. It's very important for each of us to know who we are and what we can do in life. Self confidence and Self esteem are big virtues in life and events like Pride help you boost those. Lot of Fortune companies as well as local businesses usually have their booths set up as part of the education and welcoming message to the attendees of the pride festival. I like to go to various booths and see what work they do and most importantly what freebies they have. I can always use more plastic clips :)

Aai-baba (mom and dad) arrived in Chicago after 7 hours of flight delay in Munich. They looked fresh and full of energy on the arrival, which always makes me happy. They have lot of interesting stories and pics. to share from their 2.5 weeks of Europe tour where they ventured nine different countries. Aai-Baba are people's people. They love to interact, talk, listen and understand other people. They are less of "me" attitude and more about "you". So, whenever they travel they always make lot of friends and fun memories.More to come on their trip...

This past weekend we celebrated Carla's B'day. Carla is a daughter of my host family Dick and Darlene. When I was a student at University of Cincinnati, I was assigned Dick and Darlene as my host family. We used to meet once in couple of months to share interesting perspectives about each other's cultures. This year has been 10 year anniversary of our friendship and with every year the bond has become stronger and stronger. I personally treasure this relationship very much. Dick and Darlene were my face of America when I was new in this country. They helped me understand this country, it's various aspects and facets of life here. It is at their house I celebrated my first Americal Thanksgiving and Christmas festivals. As a new immigrant to America at that point in time, the only picture of America that I had was from most of the American movies, and that wasn't too nice. Dick and Darlene played an important role in shaping my views and perspectives about this country. They showed me how family values, religion, importance on relationships and cultural heritage also matters to lot of Americans. They welcomed not only me but people associated with me to their home and their hearts. I felt instantly at home when I visited them first time. Darlene is a great host and has extremely loving and caring soul. I have gone to her on numerous occasions for advice and comfort. She is my American Mom, in the true sense. Celebrating their daughter Carla's B'day was a fun occasion. Italian food, wonderful conversations and a great company made the evening very special. I do believe it is these bonds of friendships, camaraderie and fun memories is life is all about. At times we worry too much and get ourselves entangled in unnecessary tensions, jealousies, and superficial pleasures that lead us to nowhere. I find birthday celebrations, family gatherings and get together as a great medicine on today's stressful life. With mercury heating up, I hope each of you find a way to relax and enjoy your loved ones' company and have fun. I, for sure am going to rock during this summer.

Happy Camping :)