Babes Day Out!

It's been a ritual for me ever since I can remember - Every Women's Day, I get up in the morning, rack my brains for something witty, and SMS it to my whole address book. A couple of people reply back; and that's it. The rest of the day is pretty uneventful.

Not this time!

The babes at Pramati decided we'd go down to the cafetaria and spend some time together in honor of the occasion - it was our special day, after all. Our HR came over with a yummy chocolate cake which vanished in a matter of seconds, all diets forgotten. We got to talking, and suddenly one of us decided, wouldn't it be great if we took turns in sharing the good things we find in each other. What started for fun got serious, and pretty soon, it started in earnest.

I was reminded of the chain mail we receive every few days of a teacher, asking her students to list out one good quality against everyone's name, and how, years later, it turned out everyone saved their lists. At the time, I waived that mail off as silly, one of those mass mails you usually come across. How wrong I was!

There were around 14 girls at our table, and it was fun getting to know each one from other people's perspective. I realized how my perception of them was so very different from what they really were. When eventually my turn came, I could just stare back open-mouthed. I never gave a moment's thought to how the world views me; and hearing them say all that about me left me astonished. One of them described me as vulnerable - a quality I would never have associated with, and well, so on and so forth.

I know I'll cherish those moments for as long as possible, and I want to thank all those people who made it that way - Shifa, Apoorva, Tanuja, Namisha, Swati, Nehal, Sangeetha, Sushmita, Ranjana, Chandana, Mrinalini, Deepika, and last but not the least Amrita (I know you were not there, but hey, the times you, me, and Shifa spend together are all special, don't you think? ;-))

Thank you ladies! That was the most special Women's Day ever!