#528 The first Finnish song that my ears ever encountered

 The first Finnish song that my ears ever encountered

Pic Credit: My friend
Spring Ukulele Concert 23.05.2024 at Sello Library
I am in the first row, 2nd from right.

When I moved to Finland in mid-June 2022 from crowded places like India and Hong Kong, all I observed was quietness and a low number of people on the road as compared to the countries mentioned above. As I lived a few tram stations away from Helsinki, I would always rush to the Central Station area to soak myself in the hustle and bustle of the city.

I remember experiencing a tram ride for the first time in Hong Kong in the Hong Kong Island area while going to the Hindu Temple in Happy Valley to celebrate Janmashtami. I wanted to experience the difference between the trams of Hong Kong and Finland, that’s the reason why I took my first tram ride to Lasipalatsi from Tooluntuli. During those times, I was very interested in uploading small video clips as memories on my YouTube Channel – Around The Globe. The first Youtube short of Finland that I uploaded on Jul 7,2024 was that of my tram ride to Lasipalatsi. I decided to add the music of Ei Suomalaitset Tanssi to the video which I received as an autosuggestion on YouTube. It was the first Finnish song that my ears ever encountered and I absolutely loved it. It always gave me the vibe of some singers performing this song live in a concert and I was present there to get lost in the trance of this song.

Fast forward, to May 23, 2024, I performed this song as a participant representing Ukulele Intermediate/Advanced Group, in Spring Ukulele 2024 at Sello library. I had never imagined that I was subconsciously attracting a concert and me, being a part of it. Yes, the Universe always works wonders and backs us only when we dream and let go of all resistance.

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

26.05.2024  

 

#510 Instagram Journey of mine

 Instagram Journey of mine

Design Credit: Canva

I am going to share one wish of mine that got converted into a reality. During the lockdown in the second quarter of 2020, I started giving more time to singing to regain what I had lost over the years due to other commitments like studies and jobs. I’ve been trained in Indian Classical Vocals from Akhil Bharatiya Gandhav Mahavidyalaya (ABGMV), Mumbai up to 3^rd year when I was in 9^th standard and my music teacher moved to another city. After that, I never got the chance to complete my degree in Vocals till Visharad which I had always wanted to. I even considered preparing for 4^th year vocals exam and followed some of the YouTube channels for guidance, later to realize that I needed a Guru to teach me the nuances of classical music which can’t be learned through YouTube only. I created an Instagram account – MeLockDy (representing melody during Lockdown) to save all my recordings in one place, which I couldn’t, unfortunately.

 

Fast forward to Sept 2023, when I came to know about Ukulele classes for beginners at Lippulaiva Library, Espoo, I could think of nothing else but joining that. As a beginner, I sincerely attended all the classes and practiced at home. We were taught both English and Finnish songs by a Finnish instructor. Thankfully the medium of instruction was in English and I didn’t face any issue in following the instructions. I am someone who believes in experimenting with stuff, on my own, after getting acquainted with the basics. So, I started finding the chords for Bollywood or devotional songs, recording them, and uploading them to my YouTube Channel and Instagram account. With consistency, I have uploaded 71 recordings in the last 5 months and I couldn’t be more happy.

 

As a believer in the law of attraction, my Instagram journey has made me realize that no wish or goal is a small one for the universe, if you wish it, the Universe will help you achieve that. Right now, I am not aiming for any particular subscriber count or monetization, all I am focused on is to enjoy this process and improve my skills so that when I look back at this journey, I can do nothing but marvel at what this journey has given me and be proud of myself.

All Rights Reserved!

Swati Sarangi

15.04.2024

   P.S: This post is a part of #BlogChatterA2Z 2024Challenge for Alphabet ‘I’

#489 Under the magic spell of Ukulele

 Under The Magic Spell of Ukulele

Source : Google Images

New Year Greetings to the readers!

[Why not? The excitement of New Year shouldn’t fade away at this point.]  

It’s the first day of the second month of this year and I am all set to put my foot on this task of writing 10k words before this month ends. I have been putting away my habit of writing for no particular reason, but I am glad that this initiative of Write A Page A Day by BlogChatter will wake my writing spirit up from a deep slumber. Writing is not just a process of typing my thoughts on the keyboard but it’s an act of introspecting my life and surroundings. It reminds me to pause, reflect, collect, and write.

I’ve been a strong believer in the Law of Attraction. Last year, around this time, I pasted some cut-outs on my journal linking to my wishes/goals in various spheres of my life. Out of those cut-outs, there was a light blue Ukulele, I was aspiring to learn to play it. Fast forward many months, I found out about Ukulele classes being held at different libraries in the Helsinki/Espoo area, that too for different levels, beginners, intermediate, and advanced. It was like “When the student is ready, the teacher appears” kind of moment for me. I, right away, decided to join the beginner’s classes. When I got this information, I had already missed some classes which made me a little anxious about the fear of missing out on my peers, but when I started attending the classes, I found the instructor, Sakari Heikka, super welcoming and friendly. Interestingly, there was a provision to burrow Ukuleles and use them in the class. All the students used these Ukuleles until they got their own.

My training began with the right posture to hold the Ukulele, and tune and strum it in the right way so that the Ukulele sounds perfectly. There were about 8-10 students in the class who were very enthusiastic about playing Ukulele. I made many friends through those classes, got to know them, and enjoyed learning Ukulele with them. We were taught the basic chords like C, Am, F, G, Dm, C#, etc, and provided chord sheets to follow. We were so enrapt in singing and playing along with the instructor that those 1-hour seemed like a few minutes. It has been so aptly said that “Music has no language or religion.” It touched all of our hearts.

In the Beginner’s class at Lippulaiva Library, I attended around 12 classes, and I must never forget to thank the instructor for his patience in teaching the techniques to an absolute beginner like me. He was also very regular in sharing the resources of each class so that we could practice at home. I  experimented with the chords that I learned with Ukulele for playing many Bollywood or devotional songs. This helped me to convert a wish of mine, to create an Instagram Channel dedicated to my recordings, into reality. I started recording my songs on the Ukulele and published them on my Instagram Channel – Swar Symphony. I could explore another library; Lippulaiva Library, because of these classes. Another wish of mine, to be able to perform in a live concert, came true, when we were invited to perform in a Christmas Concert at Sello Library on 11.12.2023. The videos can be found on my Instagram Channel – Swar Symphony. We played Ukulele on popular Christmas songs, both Finnish and English. It was a great experience.

I have always wished to adopt playing the Ukulele as my hobby to accompany my singing but as a beginner, I was looking for the right direction to get started. Luckily, those classes helped me sail through the basics of Ukulele playing without getting distracted. Under the magic spell of the Ukulele, not only I could make those dark and depressive winter days of Finland exciting, but I also published as many as 47 recordings on my Instagram channel within 3 months. It’s no less than a wonder for me. I hope to witness more such wonders in the future and let the Ukulele cast its magic spell on me!

Source: Google Images

All Rights Reserved

SWATI SARANGI

01.02.2024

P.S: This post is a part of #WriteAPageADay by BlogChatter and I’ve picked up the prompt “Hobbies you’re working on”.

#386 Universe has already decided the winner

LOA Story -2

#386 Universe has already decided the winner

Hello readers, 

I feel blessed to share this incident with you to reinforce your self-conviction and belief on magical powers of the Universe which always listens to our every thought and desires like a faithful genie.   

Once my sister, Sweta, found out a competition which was requesting the participants to submit a hand written letter to their special ones on the eve of Valentine’s day and the deadline was few days before Valentine’s day. She challenged me to participate in that competition even after knowing the fact that I have never ever attempted to write anything in the genre Romance. I accepted her challenge. Unfortunately I missed out the deadline because of some of the academic commitments but deep down in my heart, I wanted to participate in that competition.

After few days, again my sister insisted me to participate in that competition as the deadline of the event had been postponed to 6^th of March for non-receipt of unsatisfactory entries. I perceived it as an opportunity which served two purpose; first, to win the challenge that my sister had given me and second, to try out something new in the field of writing. So, I poured my intentions of heart over a piece of letter.  When the result was declared, guess what? I was the winner.

It was as if the Universe had already decided the winner even before he occurrence of this competition.

Thanks to the powerful Universe and magic dust to all.

P.S: Read the winning entry here; Winning Entry; Contest by Writer's Ezine

Swati Sarangi

3.09.2019

#385 When LOA itself finds a way to my blog

When the LOA itself finds a way to my blog

Hello Readers,

I hope that you all might be doing great in your life as usual.

I’ve thought of starting this section of LOA; Law of attraction; for presenting our LOA stories to you so that you can get inspired by it.

Since my childhood, I have always been attracted to the immense power of thoughts as my father would always encourage us kids to be as positive and inquisitive as possible because nothing is impossible for a fully awakened and enlightened mind. We were always taught to be grateful to the almighty for everything we have with us. So, we grew up with a belief of infinite abilities of mind in achieving everything in life and felt blessed about it as a result of it we could manifest a lot of things as dreamers even without actually knowing that it was LOA.

Fast forward to many years, I feel so happy to relive those wonderful memories of childhood and again coming in sync with powerful LOA. With challenging circumstances of life, I had forgot my habit of feeling constantly grateful and became quite dubious of benevolent Universe. In 2016 , I discovered LOA again when I found out the book “The Secret”  by Rhonda Bryne when I stumbled upon blog of one of the IAS officers while randomly surfing in internet. The title of the book was so appealing as if it had contained some unknown treasures, I immediately downloaded it and started to read it. Today, I have read many books by Rhonda Bryne and stories published in the platform; https://www.thesecret.tv/all-stories/.

As I’ve always been so fascinated by psychological stuffs, I keep doing my research on it. During my research about LOA, I’ve come across a lot of videos in YouTube. I would definitely recommend YouTube channels; Awesome AJ and MindBodySpirit ( the recent one catching my attention) to anyone looking forward to know about what LOA actually is. Inspired by the success stories by mind,body and spirit , I thought of writing something under this category. It would also provide me a way to prevent my blog from going into a state of dormancy; that’s writer’s block which every writer faces.  Certain stories are related to this blog too, so it’s going to be exciting.

Hoping to inspire you through some stories of my manifestation through LOA technique from my past and present. Let our future be created by the directed visualization of our thoughts. 

Magic dust to all! 

Swati  Sarangi

11.09.2019

#378 When the storyteller comes out of the book

When the storyteller comes out of the book

I would begin this article with a snippet of the poem from the book "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne,

To trust in the force

That moves the universe is faith

Faith isn't blind;it's visionary.

Faith is believing that the universe

Is on our side, and that the universe

Knows what it's doing.

-Author unknown

The companion during my journey

It was during December 2018, my eyes fell on one of the Sudha Murthy's books, "Here, there and Everywhere" in Kempegowda International Airport. Being always an admirer Sudha Murthy's style of writing and storytelling, I couldn't resist myself from picking the book mentioned above from the catalog. This book was very special to me as it was purchased from my first salary and kept me glued to the word of it until I caught the flight. This contained many short stories based on real-life experiences of Sudha Murthy. I was full of awe and admiration for this lady with a series of achievements and yet -possessing down-to-earth demeanor. Somewhere I let out a random wish of mine to the universe to meet her in person and get an autograph of her in that book. Little did I know about the conspiracy of universe to fulfill that wish of mine.

 Fast forward to 29th June 2019:

I got a golden opportunity to attend an interactive session by Murthy couples in the Auditorium outreach of IIT Kanpur and it felt great to have shared a common roof with such eminent personalities. They discussed about various topics related to career, balancing different roles in life, maintaining consistency in learning, hobbies, society, shedding ego, influences in their lives, a generous idea of giving back to the society in any form. Few takeaways from the session were:

·         On Inception of the literary journey: Mrs. Murthy's mom was the main inspiration behind it who would always motivate her in the journey. She was not given supper if she had missed to write a page every night.

·         On earning/skills: At the starting of any career, more focus should always be given on learning than earning. Running behind the passion is important.

·         On handling ego: Everyone is normal; there will always be people above and below you in terms of talent/expertise. Showing affection is a way to reduce ego.

·         On Managing different roles: Time and disciplines are the most important pillars that can help one to manage different roles.

·         On successful marriage: Passion to understand partner's vision and dreams and care for each other are some of the ingredients of a successful marriage. In today's era, having an understanding man for a working professional is very important.

·         On handling judgments of people: Everyone should have a great confidence within themselves which can be developed through consistent efforts put day in and day out. The main focus should be given to unleash the potential and working ethically and legally.

·         Their experience of meeting famous people: In Mrs. Murthy's words, "I don't compare

myself with others. Everyone is good's gift and hence special. Everyone has some strength and blooms in a different rate, so they should focus on their personal growth."

In Mr. Murthy's words, "I never stop myself from learning from each person I meet. I've always been an unbiased admirer of legends."

I thoroughly enjoyed that session and was highly influenced by their simplicity and humbleness. The contrast in the behavior of Murthy couple was something to be admired; while Sudha Murthy was elaborative in her speech; Narayan Murthy was a man of few selected words and it was amusing to see their bonding when Sudha Murthy never missed any chance of introducing humor in the entire conversation.

I had carried the same book which I purchased from KIAB to fulfill that wish of mine. After the session, the audience was given a chance to get the autograph of the dignitaries and how could I miss the chance that I was eagerly waiting for? I went to Mrs. Murthy, got that same book autographed. When I expressed my gratitude to her to have purchased her book with my first salary, she paused for a while from the task of putting her autograph in the first page of the book and with a very humble smile said "Thank you so much". I could notice the expression in her face which was priceless as a result of which I was on cloud nine instantaneously.  

If it's not the act of universe, then what else it is! Imagine about some incident that you wished to happen in your recent past (déjà vu) and you had no idea how it was going to happen but somehow you have envisioned to happen. Such hopes always make life beautiful and of course it is full of miracles for those who strongly believe in it. 

Thanks to the team of Secret and Rhonda Byrne.

Last but not the least, Thank you , Thank you , Thank you , Universe! 

The universe is always hearing the unspoken words of yours! 

Here comes the precious autograph!

P.S:

Thanks to that session for breaking writer's block. I have been searching for a topic to write since many days.

©Swati Sarangi

29.06.2019