Shrinika Neethi

My employees and me A lady in her early 60’s walked into my store to enquire about the services offered. Her appearance humble and dignified. Salt and pepper hair well oiled and plaited, a big maroon Kumkum pottu on the forehead, adorned by some basic gold jewellery that are considered mandatory by south Indian women. A simple chiffon saree with floral prints and a plain full voile blouse with a slight puff on the sleeves.   The tailor who she visits regularly is now too old to do a good job and she couldn’t find any new ones who can stitch a well fitted blouse; that caused much frustration for her.  I could make out that she is the kind of person who makes meticulous efforts to look smart. As confident as I was about making well fitted garments, I didn’t want to promise her anything. As expected, she was taken aback upon knowing how much it would cost her for a blouse. She politely expressed,   “Well, that is too expensive, dear. Whatever happened to the time when tai...

This content was originally released as a video in my youtube channel, click on the li k to watch the video https://youtu.be/nGlFYSxBgNU “ Why do priests pour gallons of milk, curd and other stuff on temple idols? God never asks for such resources to be wasted! There is no point in holding on to these meaningless rituals. These litres of milk can feed hundreds of poor people. So insensitive!” This is something that every Hindu has wondered, at least once in their lives. The answers that our elders gave were not convincing enough. So.... should we conclude that Abishekams are indeed meaningless?! Don’t let your curiosity die yet. Invest the next 10 minutes of your life on this video and get enlightened. Vanakkam and Welcome to the 1st episode of Hinduism simplified, in which I will be throwing light on prejudiced Hindu practices and their real purpose. Go to the bottom of the blog post to find reliable reference materials that would answer any doubts and questions you might have. Coming...

  ……Continuation of part 1 Click on the link to read the first part https://hridayakamala.blogspot.com/2023/02/p-o-v.html For all the infamy, the fox is not a bad guy, at all. It is the unforgiving society that left him no choice, no? Like the fox, I too have been misunderstood, neglected and taken for granted…..innumerable times. Not all situations offered a chance to explain my stance, I had to put up with a bad reputation. It was very unfair, with time I realised that I should deal with it regardless of how I felt about it. I started watching out for myself, pointing out others' mistakes before they could point out mine, judging people presuming they would judge me anyway and kept up with the cut-throat attitude that was much required to stay afloat at work. Not long after, I saw myself running around in circles, blaming the world for my woes, feeling insecure, lonely, threatened, and exhausted. That was a high price to pay for surviving. When we say that the way of the worl...

This was a speech I delivered in Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Samayapuram, as part of the Trichy Toastmasters Club meeting. The audiences were a full house of students coming from various departments who were enthusiastic about public speaking. This story is a result of my improvisation of 3 folk stories originally from Aesopica/Panchatantra. I assume position on the stage and acknowledge the audience with eye contact and a smile. You know, this place is just like my college auditorium where I have attended numerous meetings. Back then, I would be sitting as part of the audience commenting or making fun of the speaker. I mean, come on, not all speakers are interesting. Some are boring, some are in fact funny, and some others are so good at putting us to sleep that the only way we can remain awake is by entertaining ourselves. Now, the tables have turned, and I am the speaker standing in front of a big bunch of students wishing for good behaviour. I mean, come on, I have prep...

  This is a memoir I had posted in Facebook on April 29, 2020. It was during the pandemic lockdown. Someone said that the quarantine period is a good time for inward travelling and so I did..... into myself and the loft shelves. Dug out quite a few pictures and memories. Penning my memoirs - Quarantine Diaries. DRAWING CLASS    An exciting part of my summer holidays was the Art lessons I took from Artist Vadivel (Vadivel Sir). The month long course happened for 2 hours each morning in the terrace of his home, it was a charming ambience..... lots of daylight, thatched roof for shade, coconut and neem trees for cool breeze, a kind teacher and his warm family.       Straw mats were spread on the floor and students of all ages sat together in clusters. The smaller children preferred to get distracted by the bees, fruits and birds on the trees; some used to chit chat by the water pot and almost all badgered SIR with useless queries. He enjoyed it all. Us teenage...

The following write up holds tid bits of my 2 days stay in Dharma Gurukulam, Palani (a homeschool that  upholds the Indian Knowledge System/ Rishi parampara) where my son is studying in 6th grade. Almost 7 months into his first year there, I noticed him and his classmates rising above  the hardships of the asharam lifestyle and gradually evolving into a sprightly set of younglings . Picture Courtesy : Srishti Khatry Monthly visits to Dharma Gurukulam are an exciting affair, for the obvious reason that I get to be with (my son) Vaibhav after what feels like ages. Besides that, it is the wonderful drive – smooth highways running between lush green fields and awe-inspiring hills. Indra devta has always been kind enough to cover up the sun with cottony clouds, things would not be as pleasant if not for the right lighting. So instagrammable, no filters needed. I did not stop for the usual podi dosai break at Anandhas Hotel in Pazhani, reaching the destination at the earliest was mo...

     With more and more women climbing up the corporate ladder and assuming up leadership positions, now is a good time to focus on your attire. Not because your current one is bad but with some styling tips your next purchase can help you in being taken seriously. Power Dressing means to dress up in a style intended to show that you are a leader/ person who holds an important position in a corporate, business, politics or government.     The adage ‘Great leaders have Broad Shoulders’ have meanings both metaphoric and literal. Shouldering responsibilities and holding oneself accountable for the outcome is an invaluable trait of a good leader; that is the metaphoric meaning of the saying. Coming to the literal meaning, studies suggest physical attributes like being tall, having a deep voice and broad shoulders contribute to people subconsciously trusting and accepting a person as their leader.       While the metaphoric ‘broad shoulders’ is an ...