Mother's Day 

Today Sept 14th 2023 is my beloved mother's 5th death anniversary . I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to the message from my wonderful friend Munah living in Philadelphia remembering this day in my life. How beautiful some people are !! And Munah is one .

Well, my mother left such warm cozy memories for all her children. When we think of her which is so often , we recall her courage of living, her smartness in facing life with limited means in her young days and yet carving out a good path for her children, her ever encouraging words expressing trust in our abilities, her pride in us, and in herself, her extraordinary musical talent which unfortunately went un-noticed by the world, her amazing cooking ability turning out the most tasteful healthy snacks with minimum ingredients for her growing children,  her thrill in wearing pretty saris and jewelry, her tall beautiful stature in her young years , in fact she was an example of "Living life joyfully"

 
She had a fine delicate clear fair skin. She faced her Parkinson's struggle with such intelligence and creativity. She discovered different foods that can help her. She accepted her physical sufferings with such grace. Because of her longevity ( outlived my dad by more than 20 years) she became more close to her children and family and friends. 

I had lot of differences of opinions with her which eventually got resolved with our aging process. Towards the end she was this precious mother we all had to take care of. 

I cherish her memories today, the value system she and my humble-kind-loving dad gave us all. Forever grateful for the life she gave me , without her "I" would not have come into existence!!! 

Oh Mother Mother you taught me so much about life - how to be a strong supportive good human being .

 

  

The Art of Happy Living - Eating Right, Feeling good

Good food = Happy Living 

The thought of tasty food makes me joyful. I have developed a healthy habit of eating low carb nutritious options while making and eating good food. 

Being diabetic and an aging senior citizen and maintaining a pain free arthritic joints, and cooking my own food lead me to developing healthy choices

Food - Our choice

Remember, every time one opens the mouth to eat something, one has a choice !! 

I have some simple rules 

1) DO NOT buy food as far as possible. Buy ingredients - do not cut corners , be generous with yourself - whatever is needed , buy best quality ingredients , no need for exotic expensive imported ingredients - just buy the best quality natural native stuff. 

2) Buy unprocessed ingredients as far as possible  - no sauces, jams 

3) Go light on carbs - which means incorporate good quantity and quality of proteins and fats  and natural fibers - healthy nuts , seeds , fruits , raw greens are all are great options

4) Minimize eating of cooked food as a whole meal. At least one or two meals a day should be uncooked food  

5) Use natural ingredients as much as possible - like raw fresh coconut in any form is better than coconut oil 

6) Milk is a controversial topic today as 50% advice it as a health food and the other 50% are dead against the use of milk. I follow a middle path - a little milk in my coffee tea is fine, some yogurt once a day is good, few  pieces of cheese is fine with my salads. Ghee , butter all are good in moderate quantity 

7) Flour based grainy foods like rice flour, ragi , wheat flour, maida ( self raising flour) are all high in carbs as compared to consuming whole rice, broken wheat, whole ragi etc. 

8) Any food item can be made low calorie by including lots of vegetable components like finely cut carrots or shredded carrots , bell pepper, fresh grated coconut, onion in upma, dosa etc. 

9) Can you add fresh greens or vegetables to food items ? Then do so - like I add lot of salad to my curd rice - tastes yummy and reduces the quantity of rice. 

 10) Three things govern our food habits and subsequent health: 

• Taste

• Satiety

• Nutrition

a) Taste 

Our taste buds are like a security at the gate of our food consumption - we enjoy eating only what we feel is tasty - We enjoy food only when we eat tasty food , . Our sensations , our happy association , past experiences and memories arising out of them all these factors decide what food feels tasty. Taste is a very individual concept - what one finds tasty may not be so for another person 

We are lucky that taste can be cultivated , we can train ourselves to develop new tastes. 

b) Satiety

Generally one eats till one feels satiated. For me it is important that I feel satiated at one point when I am eating my meals. Many dietitians  advocate that we stop eating when we are  half  full - But I think it is possible only we feel satiated - it is a state of mind - our brain signals that we are satisfied and we do not need to eat any more. It is a good habit to recognize that signal and stop eating any more - we do not require more food 

c) Nutrition

Ultimately the food we eat supplies nutrition to our body and that is the sole purpose of eating - if we analyze the food we eat ,  most of the time we have sacrificed nutrition for taste. So we have to make a clever decision - to satisfy our taste buds with only healthy nutritious options 

Nutrition  =  lots of natural fibre + good protein + some fat + low carb 

all  as natural as possible 

Nutrition = love and care for yourself

Stick to natural uncooked food as much as possible - Eat foods which you must chew a lot, which means lots of green leafy vegetables - lettuce, celery, arugula, mixed leafy greens, some baby spinach once or  twice a week,  basil, mint, coriander , coconut slices, tomato, bell peppers - green, red, yellow, orange, strawberry, blue berry, apple, chia seeds, sabja seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, walnut, almond, raisins (limited) , carrot, beetroot, cooked leafy vegetables like amaranth, spinach, many vegetables.  

Make healthy options in proteins - For me a vegetarian, that means lentils, beans, nuts , cheese (limited) , fresh home made yogurt - once a day

Fats - all limited quantity -  butter, ghee, some oil - i use rice bran oil, olive oil ( best quality) , coconut oil, sesame oil 

I avoid  or consume small quantity of many vegetables and beans that flare up my joint pains like potato, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato and many more - though many are recommended as nutritious, for me they do not suit. But I read a recent book by a Doctor Gastroenterologist who strongly recommends that we  should keep train our system to accept good food choices , so I am planning to try to include more cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and beans in future . He also talked about including fermented food , pickles etc..  as pre and probiotic food . 

I prefer to eat a cooked full meal once a day for lunch and prefer uncooked options for breakfast and dinner whenever possible - A full dinner is best avoided. A bowl of salad rich with nuts and seeds and little carb like a table spoon of raw oats is very tasty, filling, keeps sugar in check and nutritious also. One can be creative and choose tasty options . 

An Interesting bowl of fulfilling Salad includes  

• Fresh vegetables

cucumber, red, yellow, green bell pepper , celery .....  

• Fruit

Some fruit like a piece of apple, grapes, avacado, strawberry, blue berry , dried cranberry , dried manuka, raisins etc....  

• Seed 

1 or 2 tsp of some seed/seed powder like chia seeds , sabja seeds , hemp seeds, ground flax seed , pumpkin seeds etc... 

• Nuts 

coconut slices , Almond sliced or whole , walnut, ground nut, few cashew nuts etc ... 

• Green Fresh Leaves ( As much as you like) 

Mint, Lettuce , celery green, beet green , any available thoroughly washed green leaves .In USA we get amazing leaves like Mixed greens , Arugula, Romain lettuce etc.. mostly pre washed and ready to eat.  

• Seasoning

Add Salt + Pepper + Olive or Avacado oil , Some pieces of cottage cheese or cheese if you like , some boiled beans or lentiles like kabuli chana, Rajma etc .... 

• Adding Carbs 
  

If you wish , you can add 1 or 2 tbsp of oats ( uncooked, no need to soak) or red rice poha ( pre soaked) 

A salad can be made interesting , yummy , very filling  meal ( breakfast, lunch, dinner) by itself. Several different choices are there for each day. I just LOVE my salads. 

• Add all that you love to eat 
• Eat instead of a regular meal till you are full.    

 If salad is not available then a bowl of soup with one or two tablespoons of cooked barley and an apple for more fibre is also filling . 

Food should bring us joy. 

Every time we open our mouth to eat, we have a choice 

Also feeling a sense of calm, peace, joy when we eat is the art of happy living . Munch well . Enjoy every morsel. Not plugging our happiness and state of mental peace to how others behave around us brings peace. Be as independent as possible - make right food choices, prepare your own food , eat in a happy frame of mind . 

Develop proper time gaps between meals. At least 4  to 6 hours. Do not give in to temptations of snacking and binging. Do not give in to people around you cajoling you or teasing you  to make  unhealthy choices and forcing you to eat . Think for yourself. If you must eat junk, then just a little only - a tiny bit. 

Once you make up your mind that you will only be eating "Home cooked food" that choice automatically cuts out lots of unhealthy stuff that people offer to you.   

Art of Happy Living

House work 

Mundane everyday repeated chores of cooking, cleaning, making bed, cleaning the clutter, loading and unloading dishwasher, folding and putting away clothes all contributes to good health and peace. Orderliness, cleanliness is calming anywhere to everyone around. Maintain a clean, calming,  beautiful , peaceful environment around you . Find joy in small things. 

People in our life 

Enjoy and appreciate the people in your life. Never let a chance to praise pass by, but be genuine and mean it. 

Serve whole heartedly people in your life with kindness , love and generosity. Be unconditionally helpful around the house - both your own and when visiting. 

Do not advice, preach , suggest, give opinion - No one wants to hear that . Silence is sweeter. 

Do not judge. Do not resent. Accept differences. Each one just like yourself is in her or his life journey, Each one carves his or her own path of life. 

Love yourself 100% . 

Exude positive vibes. Feel beautiful. Feel positive.Things will always work out . Believe in yourself and the goodness of the universe.  Talk only if you must, choose words carefully . 

Cultivate anger-free calming peaceful nature. Anger is energy draining for one self . Anger creates a negative atmosphere around for everyone. Anger is senseless, meaningless nonsense. It arises out of a false sense of EGO - "I am so great that everyone should behave as per my wish" type of thinking. Anger is totally EGO-DRIVEN . The sense of false EGO plugs all happiness to how others behave and what they say and what they do. The angry person is an unhappy person. Anger spreads uneasiness in the air. Anger is dangerous to health, relationships, property, life itself.  

If one feels angry, recognize the defect in own character . Anger is unnatural. It has been nurtured by oneself. Building one's own sense of self-worth, cultivating an unshakable faith in your abilities, choosing your own natural sense of peace over unnatural senseless anger can all eliminate anger from one's life permanently.   

Smile whenever possible. Develop habit of positive talk even to yourself at all time

Do not volunteer  data, information - Remember - you have a choice when you open your mouth .   

Whenever you get time, sit calmly , meditate, practice deep breathing , exercise joints and muscles. Feel the peace within. 

Small children at home 

Small children live in the present completely and they are truly god's presence in our lives. They have a natural joy of living and emanate pure happiness around generously. Enjoy your grand kids , love them unconditionally, share your time and attention completely. They are sensitive and tender of heart. Give emotional support when they need you to. "Just be there for them " and have lots of fun with kids whenever possible.  They in fact improve you as a human being.   

Material things

Material things in life have a limited role in bringing eternal joys , They have their utility value . Unnecessary accumulation only builds clutter around the house. Desire for expensive objects makes us greedy and dissatisfied within and definitely obstruct any chance of a lasting peace within. So constantly review your needs and wants. Buy as few things as possible. Put to good use what you already have. Give away things you no longer need. Avoid accumulating clutter.  Clean out closets , clothes as often as is possible to do so with a happy frame of mind. Live with lighter baggage in life as anyway sooner or later you have to bid a final farewell 

Find beauty and creativity in everyday life around you. Maintain cleanliness at all times ( Try to....)  , Talk softly, kindly with truth and love in your heart. 

The four Pillars of Happy Living :

• Happiness - Feeling the joy within
• Health - Pain free , disease free and a functioning body 
• Protection - Feeling a sense of safety and security in existence
• Peace - Being calm and content within 

I Wish myself happiness, health, protection and peace. 

I Wish for the people I love  - happiness, health, protection and peace.

 

I Wish for everyone in this universe happiness, health, protection and peace.

Beautiful Moments of USA Visit 2022

Magnificent Magnolias

Slowly the winter's stark scene was changing and many trees and plants were sprouting hundreds and hundreds of buds. The magnolia trees here and there were slowly getting covered with fragrant flowers pink on outside and white on inside 

Feb 27th 2022 - One fine day in my regular visit to Elizabeth Gamble garden near by , I came upon this "Oh_My_GOD SUCH MAGNIFICENCE !!" moment. The  Magnolia tree was completely covered with huge fragrant magnolia flowers - the moment was indescribably beautiful -  like Wordsworth's daffodil poem. The air was filled with heavenly fragrance and beauty - hundreds of lovely magnolia flowers gently swayed in the breeze from the top of the tree to lower most branches -one could reach out, hold, smell, gaze in amazement. My heart filled with pure joy . The sight of the magnolia tree in full bloom will forever bring freshness into the rest of my life . Such precious blessings nature bestows upon us - we humans must open ourselves to the bountiful nature

   

Change of season - Spring is here - Joy of colors, fragrance

Tulips in every color

These beautiful delicate pink flowers bloomed on roadside everywhere

The sprawling mustard field - Cousin's Children house visit

Lots of colorful huge Camellia flowers bloom in Winter - From our garden

Pretty Daisies dance in the breeze on roadsides, compounds and everywhere

Fragrant white Jasmine flowers-  fences , roadsides

Thick bushes of Blue flowers in abundance on a short tree

Cherry blossom trees burst into full bloom in compounds 

Daffodils in yellow, white and multicolors appear everywhere

Living in God's Presence 

Visiting USA in Winter  2021 - The COVID 19 Crisis, Misery and Enlightenment after effects

Sweetest Delicious Fleshy juicy Persimmon in our garden

 

Empathy

Recently I came across a YouTube  video where the presenter said some people totally lack empathy. That shocked and surprised me - like How was that ever possible?

That set me thinking "What exactly is EMPATHY? "

Empathy is to feel what the other person is feeling

- like is a child is physically hurt and is in pain, I feel that pain , I suffer, I cry

- like if two people are in a conversation / fight / bitter exchange of words and if one says something that hurts the other person - and if the person who said these words in the first place has empathy, then he/she senses the pain he/she caused to the other person and feels the pain - This results in spontaneous apology and the empathetic person will never repeat such episodes.

- like when we hear horror stories of rape, war, violence , murder we feel the pain of the people involved and their loved ones

- moved to tears by other's misery and pain

These are examples of empathy causing us the same pain and hurt virtually .

Can empathy also cause joy and happiness?

It is empathy that makes me happy when people with whom I relate are happy, laugh when they laugh , feel love and loved when some one expresses that their  love for me. 

Now on the opposite side of this spectrum is a non-empathetic person.
- They hurt the hurt
- inflict misery and pain on the weak and vulnerable especially on children,
- cause misery in others as a habit and do not feel the pain at all - will never apologize and will repeat such incidents knowing very well the pain they infliced.

It is like this person has a shield around the brain that protects them from feeling empathetic.  Such are rapists of kids, murderers and generally unhappy negative narcissistic people. 

Truly Empathy is a gift of being a fine human. Empathetic people are joyous and spread happiness around.

Non-empathetic people add to the misery of the world. The true human nature is to feel empathy. By some twist of fate and life's circumstances the non-empathetic person transformed himself/herself and became this unnatural unhappy personality. Can this be reversed? Yes if the person wills it and works on himself/herself. It is just a matter of returning back to your true self . 

Empathy is common collective consciousness - we feel for each other. This is what sets us apart and at the top of the living world . 

My Oh-so-empathetic parents.  Thank you Dad for showing me the path 

Importance of Being Nice

Need to be 100% nice

"It is nice to be important 

but

more important to be nice"  

 I am in Philadelphia, the most ( of the 3 to 4 cities I have visited and experienced living )  amazing city in USA . I come across American parents all the time telling their children "That is not being nice" or "That is mean" , or "Say sorry - you were mean" . Even dogs are told to behave !! Like if a dog as much as growls at a stranger the owner reprimands "That is rude - we don't like being rude. Do we?" and I as an Indian used to dogs barking at me for no reason - am surprised and amused - Dogs being nice to strangers?? Never heard of that !!

Like here in America I come across so many strangers being so nice to me - a smile, a helping hand , a warm kind word - ALWAYS !!  And it feels so good , so connected to other human beings. So most of us are really nice to strangers, to our friends, relatives etc.. We go out of our way to clean up the house, cook the best food, welcome our friends and relatives with warmth, make them feel welcome and talk pleasantly with them. Totally "being Nice"

Home as hell
I am coming across this issue of being nice and not being nice as a spoiler for sustaining most important relationships in life. But what I experience is adult human beings don't implement "Being nice concept" in their real life appropriately.

But what happens inside a home? with people with whom we live? Aging parents? Small kids? There is so much of "Not being nice" to the people we love most in our lives like hot verbal exchanges between husband , wife, children , in-laws, mother, father, grandparents, brothers, sisters etc.

Small Kids are the most vulnerable and most abused lot verbally. Parents do not consider " Being Nice " is important to kids 100 % of the time. Discipline at the cost of self-worth - does it have any meaning?  Aging parents are most certainly "Not nice" recipients. Grown men and women do not consider being nice to aging parents , grandparents is important - they can be as rude as they wish and hurt them at the drop of a hat !!

But in the presence of visitors at home, grown men and women put in a great show of "Being Nice" to other members of the family. How confused a kid gets seeing such see-saw behavior of "being Nice - Being not nice" constantly  by the adults around?

I come across so much of "not being nice" - it is like this adult person does not think it is necessary or important to be nice to this other person who really matters so much to him or her in life. When we can be so nice to people who really do not matter to us why is it not easy to be nice to people who really matter the most? I am puzzled. This not being nice is reciprocated in full by the other person who also considers being nice is not at all important to some one who is not so nice in the first place.

The silent sufferer
Often a person who is habitually being nice silently suffers loss of self-respect and self-worth when the other person in the relationship is "not-being-nice" most of the time . What should be an endearing conversation between two adults enforcing mutual faith, love and trust turns into a verbal battle and shatters the peace and harmony of coexistence.

Come on - Move it 
I often heard this spoken in most derogatory terms by one person to the other to prove one's control over the other. It is the worst not-being-nice utterance.

Being Nice is the cement that holds relationships
So one can see how relationships which are the foundation of our very existence is only held and cemented by being nice to people who matter to us . Why would we be not nice? Why can't we be nice to some one we love so much? It is such a simple solution to living in peace and harmony.

What starts as being not nice soon turns to big fights, bitterness, quarrels, references to all past "being not nice episodes" etc etc leading to a complete breakdown of that relationship - most often divorces over most trivial reasons - all round pain - totally avoidable just by being "Genuinely nice to people who matter to us in our life"  Simple - just be sincerely nice to people .

OMG - I am nicely enlightened

Just for a day let me be nice to everyone 100% of the time  

Human Relationships

Relationships - Inter human links 

Deepest Satisfying link with my son 

Two most beautiful people - My parents

Thank you ma for giving me an opportunity to be a good daughter and a good human being by serving you in the final part of your journey on this earth. Thank you for making me the person I truly am.  

Relationship - the buzzword applicable only to human beings
We humans stand apart from all other living beings in several aspects - the ability to talk, communicate effectively because of our highly developed linguistic expressions. We have built our super brain with several capabilities over generations of usage. Our fine-tuned emotions makes us feel happy, sad, hurt, loved etc..  

We link with other human beings ( and some animals too ) via this abstract terminology called relationship. It is a complex concept. 

In the data base world, the technology is called RDBMS - Relational data base management system. All relevant data are grouped together in logical units called tables and all tables bear some form of relationship to each other. Once meaningful relationships link the different tables, then meaningful information can be extracted and mined from the vast available data. 

Natural positive relationships

Genetic links:
We have natural positive relationships with all those with whom we have genetic links like father, mother, siblings, son, daughter , cousins, uncles , aunts, grand parents , grand children etc. A positive relationship is one of mutual love, respect, trust. It enriches both the humans in the link. One has a sense of joy and deep satisfaction when one comes in physical presence of such people.     

Relationships that develop due to regularly spending long hours together:
Another set of links we forge is with people with whom we spend long hours of duration each day for many years like school. college, work etc. The relationships may or may not be very strong and positive.  Some develop friendships that last a life time. Some links are so weak that they vanish over time. Sometimes we experience love-hate relationships here - we love and hate the same person at different times and situations especially in professional relationships.

Relationships due to Marriage:
 Another set of link is the relationship we as humans attract due to a legal system of our society called Marriage - we call them "in-laws" like mother-in-law, daughter-in-law,  brother-in-law , husband , wife etc. Then we have many extended families due to the same system. At the heart of this system is the Family to which every human belongs. It is sad if a human does not belong to any particular family. A family is the birth place of harmonious relationships between a man, a woman and their children. This root then spans several branch relationships.  

Random relationships:

Fascinating and extremely common is the fleeting happy relationship we establish with random humans who cross our random path in our life. A smile, a small exchange of words touches us and lifts our spirits up for that moment or that day or that journey. Sometimes these type of relationship evolve into positive and permanent ones and can be so fulfilling too. A feel-good factor in life. Many god-men and god-women - gurus  are blessed with unconditional non-judgmental love for all humans . That is the reason they tower over  other humans like a tall monument. 

Developing and Sustaining relationships

When a relationship is based on exchange of material objects and services , the relationship usually withers away with passage of time - like we give gifts, they give gifts, we do some favor, they do some favor etc. . This is very often true with so called acquaintances  in various stages of life. One can hardly recall all the people who attended one's wedding and gave gifts . Out of 200 to 300 who attended and expressed such wonderful wishes with gifts , only a handful are associated with our life for more than 10 years. A wedding thus turns into a social gimmick. Most of the so-called family functions turn out to be social gimmicks too .

Face-to-face Relationship - a fading, dying link
A face-to-face relationship is generally a fading or dying link between two humans - this means both the humans react with each other only when they come face to face physically . It is sad if only this type of interaction  exists between a parent-child with passing of years. There is total lack of meaningful communication.  Often one person in this weak link is just using the other human to extend some service to him/her like a son meets his parent face to face to resolve property issue mostly to claim his dues.    

Parent-child relationship - permanent? 

A parent-child relationship seems like permanent but it may not be so . The child who grows up to be a man or a woman often chooses to walk away from the relationship of his/her free will . A parent often has to "Let Go" . A single parent who brings up children single handed often faces the "Empty Nest Syndrome"   - the birds have flown away!!

But if nurtured and cherished constantly, a parent-child relationship is the deepest fulfilling inter-human link. Especially with aging parents, a lot of responsibility and sacrifices are involved and most of the humans shun away from that and do not want to invest time and energy in this dying link. Serving my mother and taking care of her needs (she is 92 years old and afflicted with Parkinson's syndrome for more than last 20 years)  I can vouch is the most satisfying  part of my life.   

So even natural relationships like parent-child need to be cherished and looked after  by both with passing years. 

Sustaining any relationship is the tough part. It requires both the sides to make constant and consistent effort to bring positive vibes. It requires mutual respect and trust.  Sharing with generosity and caring for feelings is the underlying foundation. 

One-sided relationships - True love?? 

A one sided relationship is a non-existent one. One cannot say "Oh I love him/her so much - it does not matter how he/she feels about me" There is no relationship here. Often men and women are caught in this type of  complex one sided affairs and making one self miserable day-in and day-out. Just walk away and forget - there is no love here, only hurts and totally not worth one's life. It is the saddest decision when youngsters decide to take one's life and commit suicide due to this kind of a non-existent one sided relationships.    

Dominating and Abusive relationships have no hope 

Often in life one is unfortunate to be associated with an abusive relationship where one person constantly feels the need to establish absolute control over the other human. Why some humans become like that is really puzzling . Why did Hitler feel the way he felt and brought so much misery to countless humans?

The wonderful human brain can be so well trained for peace, love, harmony and generosity. Relationships are all about sharing, caring, respect and trust. 

There is no need to tolerate such avoidable misery . Life is too short, too fleeting, too sweet to waste waking up to days of slavery, abuses and misery, Such harmful negative relationships should be nipped in the bud and thrown out of our life forever. Usually there is no hope in this inter-human link. The same abusive person may have very respectful loving relationships with other humans. A relationship based on fear and guilt is a non-existent one. Better to leave that path and chooses one's own path of harmonious links with humans who love , respect, trust and care.  

An abusive relationship is commonly seen in drug-addicts, alcoholics, boss-worker, mother-in-law - daughter-in-law , people in powerful positions in society , step-parent - step-child . It is just a form of constant victimizing of one human being by another. One must be courageous and strong to severe such relationships and move on.

How do you want to wake up today? 

At the bottom line is how you want to wake up each day? Do you want to feel thrilled to welcome another lovely day , meet and interact with people who love and respect you, and value your relationship with them? Or waste another day in misery being a victim of abuses? Are you going to sleep with a prayer of immense gratitude for all the lovely people and their relationships in your life or an uneasy head and heart full of pain wishing for a better tomorrow? The choice is in our hands.

Healthy relationship = Mutual Respect and Trust 

Beautiful floral scenes - Palo Alto Spring 2017

I was fortunate to witness such lovely floral blossoms fill the landscape in this pretty neighborhood.  My eyes and camera captured the lovely scenes. It was as if the great artist NATURE was displaying her paintings , splashed with rich colors , a different one each day each place .   How fulfilling it feels to be a part of this grand exhibition !!