Ten Women Who Made A Difference
In every man’s life, there always comes a woman who changes his perspective towards all things; or so I believed when I was young. (Blame Disney, not me)
Fortunately, in my life, there were more than one who changed my perspective altogether. (Yes! That is exactly how you think it is. Now, I have a screwed up perspective 
)
Strolling at the water edge
Image Credit ~ mirator
Some were teachers, some family, some friends, but they all left a big imprint of their persona in me. So, before this blog kicks off, I really would like to thank each and every one of them. (It’s only an irony that top 10 would be mentioned here. To vote for your favorite contestant message….. wait, this is not a reality show.)
So, in no particular order (very diplomatic, I know), here they are -
Rashmi Madan – My mom!
Yes, as cliché as it is, my mom did inspire me. And I think without her, I would have been less than half of what I am. Without her sacrifice and effort, I would not have been able to achieve anything in life. Thank you mom!
PHM – Sister
Imagine Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City minus weird nose; add to it a better accent and a reservoir of individuality. She is more impressive than the Himalayas. (I am not exaggerating!) She has taught me to do things “my own way” and I guess I will never be able to repay that. She has always been there for any queries regarding a wide array of questions. But, when we (Me, Neha Didi and her) were kids, I never used to like her because of the fact that she spent more time with Neha Didi. When she got married, surprisingly I was happy, because I knew she wanted this.
She is one of the most prolific writers and an inspiration in many ways. Okay, this is becoming more like a lifetime award speech so, she’s cool, funky and has a great sense of style. She is the best sister one could ever hope for ^_^
Shubhra Handa – Mom Part 2
She was my idea of “perfect mother” when I was small. Whenever I went to Dehradun, I had the most fun time of that year, because she was there to enrich it. Spending time with my sisters was the main agenda, but her role in the whole part was substantial. I love her for everything she did back then. From her I learned to manage the differences between people, manage relations in a joint family and the best part , remain happy while doing it all.
Devina Kohli (Neha) – Sister
As far as I can remember, I was always very possessive about Neha Didi. I always thought of her as my best friend. I used to hate everyone who spent time with her more than me. I used to hate that she goes to school when I was in Dehradun. When she got married, I was not happy at all because again, I was feeling very possessive. But after my mid teen transformation, I saw the wider implication of things and this is why she is in the list. She is my role model for “follow your heart” 
Jayashree Nair Mukherjee – Teacher
She was my English teacher in Class 9th, when I was in the prime of my mid teen transformation. I guess she was the catalyst which increased the speed of my transformation. I was getting regular information (here in reference to various social, political, religious and personal issues through Ragnarok – a game I played – I’ll explain in subsequent posts) and she gave me a way to process that. She is the one who introduced me to Pink Floyd, and it is still my favorite band. Thank you madam, for… everything.
Suman Joshi – Teacher
In the middle of class 10th, I joined Joshi Madam’s classes, after hearing incredible reviews from many St. Joseph Convent girls who were doing their CA internship in Dad’s office. After my first day of staying at my best behaviour, I got accustomed to the coaching. And because of my… enthusiastic behaviour, lets call it, I was usually scolded for a minute or two after the class. But, I learned a lot in the process. I improved my vocabulary tremendously, learned a lot about various issues, started to discuss those opinions with madam and learned a lot more 
. Thank you so much for showing me the other side of every issue.
Nidhi Khanna – Senior (as in my senior as a CA)
She was an intern in Dad’s office, and during the time she was there, mom’s favorite line while my exams were going on was “Look at Nidhi didi! She is so sincere….” (Thank god! I am out of school now.) But, after about a year or two, even I got convinced, and till date she is my “role model student”. She cleared her CA without any setbacks. I hope I can be as sincere and hard working as she was.
Aishwarya Dilkusha – Friend
I met her in a yahoo conference (initiated by another close friend), and boy, was I lucky! She has been one of the greatest friends you could ever hope for. She is really supportive and always ready to hear you out. I really admire her for that, she is very open to changes, always ready to expand her knowledge and be a better person. I wish I could be that!
Puneeta Upadhyay – Teacher
She taught me mathematics, for a while in 12th and during my CPT coaching. She has incredibly knowledge on the subject, but that is not the reason she is in the list. She is very modest and simple. I have never seen a person more polite and humble as her. I hope I can imitate that someday.
And now…
The Powerpuff Girls! - Cartoon (yay!)
They have and will always be my role model girls! They’ve got it all. Looks, style and ultra-super powers!
The Powerpuff Girls
Image Credits – Metapedia
Sugar, spice and everything nice.
These are the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girl.
But, Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient
to the concoction, Chemical X!
And thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born.
Using their ultra-super powers,
Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to
fighting crime and the forces of evil!
Honorable Mentions :-
Manali Shah – Another good friend, and a great person to discuss things with!
Asha Mousi – Because of the way she handled her family and raised her kids successfully against all odds.
I hope I can be like these women. I hope I can someday achieve what they have achieved.
Manali
22 Aug, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Awesome post, fab idea! \m/
Kritesh
22 Aug, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Thank you so much!
Minty
22 Aug, 2009 at 11:15 pm
A lovely post, must say.
Even i agree with you reguarding Mam Suman & Mam Puneeta.
Mam Suman is by far the best maths teacher I’ve ever known(better than my mom i suppose.). I do remember you asking questions, noting down those “difficult” words said by Mam Suman lol…
I miss Mam a lott.
Aranta
22 Aug, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Really creative and sweet!
Kritesh
22 Aug, 2009 at 11:21 pm
@Minty
Thank you. And yes, even I miss madam a lot. I still go to her sometimes though. And yes, the difficult words helped me
@Aranta
Wow! Huge comment.
BTW
[23:13] Aranta: battameez
[23:13] Kritesh: Kya hua?
[23:13] Aranta: honorable mentions mein although she rarely helps
[23:13] Kritesh: haha
[23:13] Meebo Message: Could not IM buddy
[23:13] Kritesh: haha
[23:13] Aranta: abey publically toh asccha likh deta
[23:13] Aranta: i know i rarely help
[23:14] Kritesh: Wait a second
Enjoy
Manoj
22 Aug, 2009 at 11:51 pm
*burp*
Manoj
23 Aug, 2009 at 12:03 am
okay, so, seriously this time.
a very nice couple of first posts.
looks like this will survive longer than your first eh?
Priya
23 Aug, 2009 at 7:48 am
Awww. You made my day
and not to forget, made life a bit more worth it! Do I look back and regret the ‘bad influence’ I have had on teens? No :p
Love you,
Priya
Kritesh
23 Aug, 2009 at 8:38 am
@Manoj
I really hope so. I’ll be updating regularly. And thank you ^_^
@Priya
I am pretty sure other teens you influenced are now really happy because of that influence 
You were never a bad influence to anyone
Devina
24 Aug, 2009 at 11:43 pm
wow manu kya post likhi hai…sari nariyo ko khush kar dia tune…mene to mom ko bi padhwa dia…she wz reading it aloud out of excitement
n yar tu akela nahi tha jo meri shadi se dukhi tha…list wz vry long cz i think al those ppl felt d same as u did…amit ye padh kar evil hasi zarur hasega
i liked d ending also wid asha mausi…tht wz a surprise but vry toughtful!
Finally bro keep d gud work going…write more about me okkkkk
Devina
24 Aug, 2009 at 11:47 pm
n ya d most important part…rashmi mausi ka part wz vry true n i hope ye padh kar unka weight zarur badh gaya hoga
Akash
31 Aug, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Well written post. Looking forward to more. Especially the ones about music!
Aishwarya
7 Sep, 2009 at 8:42 am
hmmm…!
Kritesh
7 Sep, 2009 at 3:05 pm
@Devina
Yes, you spotted my evil intentions
Also, I was not “dukhi” at your marriage, just kind of disappointed that you will no longer be alone to spend time
And mom has not yet seen the blog
@ Akash
Yes, sire. I promise to diss Linkin Park as much as I can. Happy?
Aishwarya Dilkusha
9 Sep, 2009 at 9:57 am
Gugumposhima!!:P
Jayashree
10 Oct, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Hey Kritesh<
Thanks a ton for calling me a catalyst. You were a very special child for me. Can you believe this? I stil remember your pranks in class. Sometimes I feel that I hesitate to get back to teaching only because I am not sure if I will have students like you.
Kritesh
10 Oct, 2009 at 6:32 pm
@Aishwarya
LOL, or as Neha didi says “Laugh Bhai Laugh”
@Jayashree Madam
Really? I don’t remember doing pranks at all.
And I should thank you… (and Anubhav too) for introducing me to Pink Floyd.
I can proudly say that I have heard every song of theirs and seen almost everything available on youtube of them