Reetu Rastogi

Owner of an event organizing company in USA...managing events with elegance and relevance! An entrepreneur, motivator, and an explorer!

[Harsh Goenka @hvgoenka]

Rather long but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did:

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I lack civic sense.

They can burn streets,
and vandalize a city after a championship game.
I dance at an airport excited about my first foreign trip, and suddenly I am the face of poor civic sense.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I steal jobs.

They move factories across oceans,
shift profits through tax havens.
I study, compete, earn a visa, work 18 hours a day, sometimes multiple jobs and somehow I am the one stealing jobs and scamming the system.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I am everywhere.

I build your software,
treat your illness,
teach your children,
drive your taxis,
and open your stores.
The world became a village,
yet my presence remains a problem.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I am too loud.

The evening news screams outrage.
The internet echoes with anger day and night.
I celebrate a wedding, a festival, a victory,
and I am told my joy is too loud.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I smell of curry.

The world smells of gunpowder,
of hatred,
of division,
of endless arguments about race and religion.
I carry the fragrance of spices from my grandmother's kitchen,
and somehow that is what offends.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I have no culture.

I come from a civilization that counted the stars
when much of the world was still learning maps.
I speak languages older than nations.
I celebrate hundreds of traditions,
yet I am told I have no culture.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I am backward.

I send missions to the Moon.
I build vaccines for millions.
I run companies across continents.
Yet a viral video of one fool becomes evidence against a billion people.

I am an Indian.

I celebrate my favorite actor's success
with flowers, music, and a few glasses of milk.

Others worship influencers who sell outrage, turn every disagreement into a battlefield, and every opinion into a war.
Yet my celebration is the one that makes headlines.

I am an Indian,

and everyone says I gather in crowds.

We walk together in processions,
celebrating our faith, our culture, our traditions.

Everyone is welcome.
No shops are looted.
No neighborhoods are burned.
No one is threatened for thinking differently.

We sing.
We dance.
We pray.
And somehow our gathering becomes the problem.

I am an Indian,

and everyone says I bring my culture everywhere.

I light a lamp in a foreign land.
I wear a saree in the snow.
I teach my children the language of their grandparents.

Others build walls between neighbors,
argue endlessly over identity,
and forget where they came from.
Yet I am told I should leave my culture behind.

I am an Indian,

and everyone says I live in the past.

But my past gave me yoga,
mathematics, philosophy, meditation,
and the idea that the world is one family.

The future keeps borrowing from my past,
while telling me to be embarrassed by it.

I am an Indian,
and everyone says I should be ashamed.

Ashamed of my accent.
Ashamed of my food.
Ashamed of my festivals.
Ashamed of my traditions.
Ashamed of existing.

But I am not ashamed.

I am the child of farmers and philosophers,
scientists and saints, workers and dreamers.

*I come from a land that taught the world
that truth can be many-sided,
that all paths deserve respect,
and that the entire world is one family.*

*Yes, we have flaws. Every nation does.*

*But judge me by my actions, not by your stereotypes.*

For I am an Indian.

*And before you tell me what is wrong with me, look honestly at what you have normalized in yourself.*

For I am an Indian.

The world may mock my accent,
question my customs,
laugh at my celebrations,
and judge me through a thousand stereotypes.

*Yet I stand tall. For I belong to a civilization older than empires, a culture richer than prejudice, and a people whose spirit refuses to bend.*

For I am an Indian.

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@airindia Great experience from Del- Paris flight. 👏
The seats are spacious.
Crew hospitality was awesome.
Meals were very good.
All in all better than many many airlines. Keep going.
Please work on your #wifi.

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@prioritypasscom @aairprairport Good job! My @prioritypasscom at Raipur airport was accepted this time. Appreciate the fast movement. Thanks! 👏
#incredibleindia

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

Hats off to @aairprairport ( Raipur) for opening the lounge. My @prioritypasscom was not excepted saying it is international. Why can’t they accept? Why this discrimination?

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

#SolarEclipse2024 from #newjersey
#android #samsung

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@mayemusk Exactly same story of my brother. Has been waiting for 10 years. Highly educated and skilled but no GC. Maybe he should swim across too and ease his frustration.

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@srasto Eat healthy, feel wealthy…new mantra!

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@anandmahindra https://t.co/AKfTsRD11w
#tesla owners in #NewJersey playing #oscar winning #RRRMovie song #NatuNatu

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@elonmusk https://t.co/AKfTsRD11w
#tesla owners in #newjersey playing the #oscar winning #rrr song #NatuNatu. Enjoy!

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@AmtrakNECAlerts Can I get a refund or move my reservation to tomorrow?

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@shoaib100mph what goes around comes around!!

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@Sportskeeda Rohit Sharma Yes
Virat Kohli No

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

The #shameful loss put spanner in millions of cricket fans hearts.
#Remove and #Replace should be the course of action. @imVkohli You rock!
#removeklrahul
#removerohitsharma
#replacebkumar
#removeaxarpatel
#T20Iworldcup2022
#BCCIPresident
#replacerahuldravid
#INDvsENG

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@BCCI @ImRo45 @rahuldravid_ind @RogerBinnyBCCI
Missing Dhoni! Focus should be on cricket, not on social media and tattoos! Can you not hire a proper coach to train your bowlers?? @BCCI you are so rich, pl focus on international cricket also and not just IPL.

[Harsha Bhogle @bhogleharsha]

India are still playing very conservative cricket. It was an issue they hoped to address and, in all fairness did, in bilateral cricket. But here at the World Cup, India were constantly hoping the back 10 overs would bail them out. Today, it wasn't enough

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

Crying doesn’t help!Need to analyze each step in depth & try to fix it asap.Cant depend on just 4. Not a vacation for the rest. You guys change captains for every series! Is there a new CEO in corporate every quarter?Billions need an answer @BCCI @RogerBinnyBCCI @rahuldravid_ind

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@imVkohli My birthday buddy…wishing you a vvvvvvvv happy birthday Majestic Magnanimous Virat!!
🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

OMG such a shame @ICC @cricketworldcup. Com’on guys this is not 1983, you can do better! @BCCI Can I sponsor hot food for our team? They surely need hot food and lots of protein. We owe a lot to our team…they make us so proud! Pl lemme know!
@bhogleharsha
@imVkohli
@ImRo45

[TOI Sports @toisports]

#T20WorldCup: No hot food on menu, Indian cricketers unhappy with after-practice meal

READ: https://t.co/pRtO3v429o

#TeamIndia #T20WorldCup2022

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@imVkohli Keep mounting rock on the fingers and the rock will get stronger and stronger 😀

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@wadhwa We belong to Sainik School community and hence trying to help ex sainiks along with civilians.

[Reetu Rastogi @rrasto]

@wadhwa Please support us! I'd really appreciate if you could share and donate generously to my campaign.
https://t.co/Vbw3bGYTCy
We have already shipped 40 O2 concentrators and would like to help more.