To LinkedIn, From A Newbie

I was starting to have sleepless nights thinking about my LinkedIn profile. With only 2 and a half years of work experience, I was feeling doubtful whether I would have any solid content to go to a profile which shares the same online platform with the "biggies" of all industries. 

But nevertheless, I decided to give it a shot. I signed up. From the first step on-wards, all my doubts slowly started to vanish. It all seems so easy. Its like a mini interview wherein you just keep answering facts about your work experience, education etc. 

The catch was the "skills" and the "summary" section. I was staring at the screen. One does seem to wonder that at such an early juncture in your career what skills does one have to be qualified as a skill mention-able in your LinkedIn profile. But then one starts to think slowly. MS Office, Communication, Public Skills..... Words started to pour in my mind and I got to typing. Skill is simply defined as something you are good at. A little bit of thought could give you quite a list. I myself ended up mentioning 15+ skills. Quite an achievement, where I thought I could go blank. 

Then came the summary section. This one was another rocky ride. I turned to Google to look at few examples. Felt a little confident. Read it somewhere --- "Your LinkedIn Summary should describe why you do what you do and it should make someone want to read it, even if the reader has only 10 seconds". Sounds quite tricky. What could one write so interesting that someone in a rush would also want to stop by and have a look. Gave it a thought too and ended up writing a small note about my professional self. I am sure I will keep going back to my profile and keep updating the summary and skills. 

As I was finishing section after section, I kept feeling as if I am accomplishing something outstanding. Your skills, education, achievements, outlined in black and white could give you quite a high. It does not matter even if it is small compared to the world around you. You get to know a lot about yourself and that heart-warming feeling of pride comes in. 

Once you have filled out all the sections, LinkedIn provides a level of completion to your profile. Now ask me what level have I been conferred upon. Ask me. Ask me. Come On. Okay I am dying to tell you. "Expert". Yes, somehow LinkedIn feels that my profile has been completed till the "Expert" level. I don't know how to interpret it. But the word itself brought a big grin on my face.  

I did not stop there. I slowly started searching for people I know and out came a plethora of known faces. I was sitting for hours inviting people to connect. And now slowly notifications are coming in as invites are getting accepted. 

I don't need to mention that EVERYONE  is on LinkedIn. Now I am too. (It has surely excited me enough to come back and blog about it.) It is a wonderful platform to share, learn and grow. It is nothing like the usual social networking sites. It is carved out for professionals and there is space for everyone and it is all FREE FREE FREE! 

This post might seem trivial to all the LinkedIn members, because presumably it is a must to have this profile. But my sole purpose of writing this post would be achieved if I am able to get even one more person to come on to LinkedIn as a new member and experience being "Linked". When there is so much to learn and information/inspiration is available at the tip of your finger then why wait. 

I end my day now with a feeling of content and pride. Go register yourself to know what I am talking about. 

Thrilled and Excited.

Aparna Gautam

This Rakhi..For V.V. and Vishal Ji..

2nd August, hardly 2 weeks from now, is this amazing day of Rakshabandhan. Its amazing because the year that has gone by has given me few amazing people, who I need to not only thank but demand their care and adoration for my entire lifetime.

My Guide and 'Pillar' of Support: I don't know when this bond became so strong. He has patiently listened to me crib and complain. He has laughed on the saddest of my jokes. He has pulled my leg like no other and not even once did I mind him doing that (I did mind it once "what are you doing from there?" ;). I have fought with him with all the rights (not talking to him/ignoring him for hours together). I trust him. I have traveled with him. He has protected me and has shown me the right path. He has guided me. He is someone I can't keep a secret from (not anymore!). I love to do little things for him. I can be so so happy when he is around, we laugh like mad people, no matter how stressed we all are.

I thank you, V.V., for EVERYTHING!


The Elders (the shade of care): He has made sure his care is reflected through her. I don't know when these two became family. I have become a kid again, since she has been around. We laugh as if no one is watching. I can't wait to tell her EVERYTHING! And can't stand if she is upset. She understands me and I know it through her, time and again that they care for me beyond imagination. She has let me commit my errors, to let me learn on my own but has never failed to provide a shoulder to lean on, a source of strength to depend upon. They are my shade of care in this hot, sunny, humid land of Chennai. I take rights on her and bug her to the extent of her wishing to kill me. But she adores me, i can sense it. They have become an inseparable part of my life.

I have to thank vishal ji, and not mention her separately (since it is rakhi and I know she is already cribbing about how her birthday gift is still pending and how her name is not mentioned here even if this note vividly talks about her ;) ; Vishal Ji, I will always remember you saying "ye bada bhaai hai na" ; though I am not sure if you remember saying it or not. I cant thank God enough for both of you.

So.. Dear VV and Vishal Ji, be prepared with your wrists on this 2nd of August, because with just one thread I am going to make it official that I can irritate/bug both of you for the rest of my life.

P.S. Inder Bhaai and Shravan, you guys are next!

Where My Roots Are..

My "real" tryst with nature goes back to my childhood days, when I was not me, when I was just my granny's little grand-daughter. Dad used to take us to granny's village for holidays. No electricity. No concrete roads.

My village, where morning is welcomed by gurgling and coughing oldies, creeching sound of the hand-pump, infants crying and cattle clinking their bells.

My village, where there are no regular toilets. You have to relieve yourself in the open and yes, the infamous "lotaa" system still prevails. Only that you could take an empty "lotaa" along, as there is a river flowing nearby. Ladies go there early morning in the dark so that no body sees them but still, to be on a safer side, they sit there with their faces covered, because they know that no one can recognize them from their behind.

My village, where there are no amusement parks, computer games or internet. The young girls and boys bring a lot of mud from the riverside and make their own toys. When their fathers are toiling hard in the fields, they play with marbles, or go fishing in the pond where an earthworm or kneaded flour acts as a bait.

My village, where kids go to a school where there are no benches or chairs, where they take their own sacks, to sit on and study. The school, where they sing along with "Master ji" chanting mathematical tables.

My village, where "nuclear families" don't exist. It is all joint. Food, fields, cattle, family, justice, income, everything.

My village, where there are no fans but it is always breezy in the lobby, or at the cot under the banyan tree, or by the river side.

My village, where there are no theatres but there is nothing more entertaining than two mother-in-laws discussing their good-for-nothing daughter-in-laws and vice versa.

My village, where no man apart from the husband could see the new bride's face for at least a year. She should always cover her head in a "ghoonghat" (veil).

My village, where there are no bathrooms or kitchen sinks, so the dishes are done, clothes are washed, bath is taken, all by the river.

My village, doesn't have elite rich inhabitants, but if there is a wedding, then all kitchens are shut down, as every single soul is invited for the "bhoj" (feast).

My village, where there are no marble/wooden floors which could be cleaned using floor-cleaning solutions. Here the mud floor is cleaned by a mix of mud and cow dung and no matter how unimaginable it sounds, once cleaned, the house smells like heaven.

My village, where there are no study lamps, where a bunch of kids gather around a kerosene lamp to study in the evening, while the mothers cook and fathers gossip about how the day was spent in the fields.

My village, where there are no DJs for family functions or get-togethers, but the ladies do not miss a chance to sing the traditional folk songs. The ladies who are totally unaware of the fact that their traditional songs are being proudly remixed and sold in the cities.

My village, where only few people have TVs, but their doors are always open for the entire village when there is an important match or if its "Sri Krishna", "Ramayana" or "The Mahabharata" time.

My village, where there are no air-conditioners or cozy mattresses, but where sleep is totally addictive on a bare cot made out of jute ropes because each and every soul has earned their siesta due to the day's hard work.

My village, which is far behind our comfortable living standards of the city, but where minds are at peace, faces are shining and kids are smiling. My village, where there is no mad rush, no cut-throat competition, no opportunistic behavior, no reason to be fake. My village where no one judges you based on what you wear, or how you look.

My village, where people are happy because they own all the things, money can't buy.

My village...

I miss those days. I miss those sunrises and sunsets. I miss my granny's bedtime stories where all of them used to end on one note "victory of good over evil". I miss being so close to myself.

For me, it doesn't get more real than this. My village is my tryst with nature and reality. My village where less is more, where my roots are, where I am.

'SAM'usic !!

in the night sky,

drops of music,

flying from the ground,

to become stars..

in the night sky,

the music,

becomes a person,

talking to me,

listening to me..

the moon and i,

watching over,

the creation,

of music profound..

wide eyed,

with a thousand dreams,

and the music in my eyes..

the stars hummed the tunes,

the breeze sang along,

i closed my eyes,

just the music and me..

strange how it makes you,

meet your 'self'..

this music..

hey music,

just stay,

i'll never let you go,

you make me, me,

you let me be..

in the night sky,

i am one in a million,

and you make me so,

so don't go..

the music and i,

together, forever !!

p.s. these lines go out to the entire team of 'swarnabhoomi academy of music' for making the night come alive !! thank you !!