Why and I?

A-Do you know why does the sun set?
B-Well, maybe it is tired after shining all day long and that is why it needs to rest.
A- No silly, the earth rotates on its axis and so the sun sets in one place while it rises in the other. Do you know why does rain fall?
B- Well maybe because the parched land awaits to be moisturized somewhere.
A- No you stupid woman, water vapor rises in the atmosphere and condenses to form water droplets which join together to become clouds. As the cloud gets heavy, it starts to rain. Understood?
Do you know why?- this is one sentence that I have started despising. Do you know why this happens? Do you know why that happens? And blah blah..
I mean isn't it enough for us to know that what maybe right for you as a person may not necessarily be right for me. Why do people ask 'why' hoping that they get the exact answer that they have in mind from the other person?
Is it just another way of pompously boasting your knowledge or are you genuinely interested in increasing the IQ or EQ of the other person?
This continues to baffle me all the time. People, all the time, try and force their thoughts on the other person. And the weapon they use is this silly 3 letter word- why?
'Do you know why' is a classic opening line to make the other person start doubting his own thoughts. Then all he tries to do is try and think of something that might be anything close to what the questioner has in mind!
Oh God! Give me a break. Let us all please try and get rid of this why. This 'why' has made me feel stupid a lot of times and I am sure this has happened to you too. The only way to get rid of it is to stop using it..!

India

For every Indian, who stays away from his/her country, the mere mention of the word 'INDIA' is enough to evoke millions of memories and plenty of nostalgic moments.
I am no exception to that. People tell me, "You have left your country to serve some other nation (read USA). What good are you?"
What do I say? How do I tell them just how much I miss India, with every breath I take?!
I miss the lush green roads of my country, I miss the picturesque scenes that unravel themselves while one is traveling in any part of the country.
I miss the villages, the cities, the people, the food... but most of all I miss the warmth and the feeling of belongingness.
When a child is born, he/she is attached to the mother by the umbilical cord. The day I left my motherland, the cord was severed. I am here because I want to make something out of myself. Someday, just someday, I will be able to go back and repay my country all that it has given me.
If only India were a person I would touch it's feet as a mark of respect and be glad that I was born out of her.
I respect all nationalities and consider the world to be a global village, but if ever I get a chance to be born as a human again, I would love to be a part of India's womb only and none other...

Lost

I would like to thank my dear friend Gouri, for introducing me to this song. Another amazing number by the great band- Coldplay. The title of the song is 'Lost'...

Just because I'm losing
Doesn't mean I'm lost
Doesn't mean I'll stop
Doesn't mean I would cross

Just because I'm hurting
Doesn't mean I'm hurt
Doesn't mean I didn't get
What I deserved
No better and no worse

I just got lost
Every river that I tried to cross
Every door I ever tried was locked
Ohhh and I'm...
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off

You might be a big fish
In a little pond
Doesn't mean you've won
Cause along may come
A bigger one

And you'll be lost
Every river that you tried to cross
Every gun you ever held went off
Ohhh and I'm...
Just waiting until the firing stopped
Ohhh and I'm...
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off

Ohhh and I...
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off
Ohhh and I..
Just waiting 'til the shine wears off

For you..a thousand times over..

Right from the time I was a young kid, I was fascinated by books and movies. Until recently, I had profound knowledge of movies only produced and made in my country. People know it as Bollywood. We have had some amazing movies made in India by a lot of directors. But of late, some of my friends have got me hooked to watching movies made in Hollywood or for that matter made anywhere or originating from every part of the world.
Good movies move me in a way that I can not explain, no matter how hard I try. And about 5 minutes ago, I had the pleasure of being moved by a movie which is based on a book that I hold very close to my heart- The Kite Runner.
The story is based in Afghanistan and talks about how a boy actually turns into a man. All the circumstances around him that make him finally be able to take his own stand.
Watching the movie, The Kite Runner, was like reading the book all over again. It reminded me of all the moments that I had cherished when I read the book for the first time. Be it the time I had rejoiced on Amir's winning the kite tournament or the time(s) that I cried thinking about the horrors that surround the people of Afghanistan.
But there was this one statement or rather a dialogue which really touched me and it was, 'For you, a thousand times over'. How beautiful this one line is! It brought charm and added meaning to the whole movie. Hassan says this to Amir and proves that he can actually abide by it, and in return Amir says this to Hassan's son repenting for whatever mistakes he made.
Isn't it amazing just how one line can, sometimes, define everything that you feel? And sometimes even an entire book cannot accurately explain what the author is trying to say..

The place where I belong...

Welcome to Vidyanagar, a quintessential town situated at a distance of 5 kms from the milk city, Anand. The word literally means- “Abode of education”. This place was a dream conceived and realized by Bhai Kaka in those days when education was not given its due importance. Today, Vidyanagar is throbbing with vibrancy, life and most importantly- youthfulness. The place teems with thousands of students who march in togetherness towards pursuing their dreams.

Vidyanagar is, of course, known for its colleges and Sardar Patel University all across India. But what I have tried to bring to notice of the common man is the little moments of joy that only Vidyanagar can offer.

Imagine you are walking down the road and someone comes up to you, smiling and acknowledging you. You are perplexed- at a complete loss of words, because you don’t recognize this person. You have forgotten his name!! What a thoroughly embarrassing situation for you! But not to worry!! Because Vidyanagar states an unwritten rule- if you have to address a complete stranger you have absolutely all the rights to address him by a famous pseudonym- “Party!” So you maintain your composure and respond- “Oh ho!! Party, kem nu chaale chhe?” All said and done, you part from each other after a satisfactory conversation- and all this while, you didn’t even know this person’s name!!

Another popular culture that you may spot is what we generally know as the “Kitli Culture”. Just pay a visit to any famous tea- stall in the town and you will understand what I am trying to say. ‘Kitli’ is the so-called hot spot, the meeting joint. It’s a place where you may create beautiful memories with your friends. It’s a place where you pretend to sit and study hard while all you might be interested in, is the aroma of food and hot tea!! It’s a place where every young boy who serves tea is addressed as ‘Chhotu’ and it’s a place where you discuss everything and anything that comes to your mind with your friends.

Well all this talk about food makes me realize that I have missed out on Vidyanagar’s staple diet. No points for guessing this one- it’s our one and only ‘puff’. Don’t have enough money in your pocket to buy a decent meal? Well, don’t worry you wont have to sleep hungry. This magical little ‘Puff’ is the solution of many a hunger pangs experienced by our students.

All this is just a little peek into what Vidyanagar has to offer to its students. Apart from education, which is very good, Vidyanagar offers little joyous moments. Moments, which we in our later years call the beauty of college life!

Crossroads

Crossroads

I am a loner, walking on this long lonely road,

My journey was hard,

But everything else was smooth,

Until I came upon this crossroad.

I feel the past beckoning me,

And tugging upon my heart strings,

On the other hand lies my future,

Waiting for me to untangle and spread my wings.

It is chaos in my head,

And serenity in my heart,

Because the dead has become undead again,

And this time it’s my soul that is coming apart..

Moments..

They say that a lifetime is made up of small moments joined together. But I prefer to believe more in the power of living a lifetime in one single moment. These kind of moments are rare and few but they are definitely present. And it is because of these rare amazing moments that I enjoy the journey of life tremendously.

Here are some of the moments that get me high on life:

• Smelling the scent of the earth just after it has rained.
• Listening to some song, the lyrics of which transport me into a different world altogether.
• Reading a book that creates a void within, which no other book can fill.
• Hugging mom who envelops me into a tight embrace making me feel as if nothing on this planet can bother me anymore.
• Sitting with my closest pal laughing my ass of on silliest of all issues.
  
• The feeling of overwhelming love when a young baby cuddles up in my arms and places it's head on my shoulder, trying to sleep.
• Riding on my bike during rains, going to a road side tea-stall just to have a cup of 'cutting chai'
• Locking your eyes with someone in a room full of people, and suddenly realizing that you don't feel the presence of anyone else in the room.
• My breath turning into mist during winters.
• Having a heart to heart conversation with loved ones.
• Being so busy that you don't have any time to eat, drink or sleep!!

• Of late, watching the snow fall outside while I am warm and cozy inside my room.
• Finding money unexpectedly in my pocket when I need it the most!
• The different colors of trees and leaves during Fall.
• The sight of one leaf falling off from the tree joining millions of others on the ground.
• Nature, jungles, forests and mountains- all of these make me awed.
• The ocean or the sea and the mystery associated with it.
• Sun's rays falling on my face...
  

These are just a few of them that spring in to my mind right now. There are so many more, but I cannot recollect them right now..
These moments make me love life so much more. They make me realize the importance of stopping and noticing, and not just rushing ahead recklessly.

Coffee, conversation and wow!

We all need friends in our lives. There are, perhaps, thousands of gigabytes on the internet full of quotes, poems, essays, thoughts and songs dedicated to friendship. I am a mere mortal too and I need friends around me all the time. Also, I love carving new relationships and turning them into everlasting friendship.
A lot of my friends call me "gullible"- a term that I have come to hate, simply because I go out of the way to help someone and befriend someone. What they don't realize is that the friendship, the eternal bond created is something that I selfishly desire. It is for my own vested interest that I emotionally bind myself with another person. And that desire is - the desire to be loved. The desire to be cherished. And fortunately enough, I have the love of so many people to whom I am eternally indebted. And this is quite immodest of me, but it is true. I do have a lot of people in my life who, I can proudly say, love me a lot. But this blog isn't about friendship and stuff associated to that. I will do that later on.
This blog is dedicated to a special individual. An individual who has helped me create the most amazing rendezvous ever. The name of that person is Shayla.
Now, Shayla is unlike any person I would normally talk to. Atleast that was what I thought so. She loves to be clad in stuff made by Gucci and Armaani. She is very particular about how her nails are done, whether her hair is alright or not and all typical female stuff. Something that I am aversive to. So the story goes on something like this...
We met in a hotel in Nainital. Almost all the guests thronged the hotel lobby, that particular night. The reason being, the superstar Amitabh Bachchan was stipulated to arrive in the hotel later in the night, with his entire family. My friends and my sister waited patiently till 12 doing something or the other, just to keep themselves occupied. I waited with them because I didn't want to end up alone in the room. So there we were, waiting and there was Shayla sitting on the plush sofa, reading a book titled- The Secret. Now I had been playing with Shayla's cute daughter Juicy for quite some time (Yeah I am a typical female at times too.. I love young kids and babies). And after a lot of fooling around with Juicy I met her mom who was sitting elegantly reading the book. I struck up a conversation with her and we started talking about books. The conversation wore on and on and soon we realized we just couldn't stop talking. The lobby was getting crowded by all the fans and so we decided to go and sit in the coffee shop.

2:30 a.m.- Amitabh finally arrives and quickly disappears into his room. We don't even realize that. We just talk!
This went on till the wee hours of morning. Suddenly we realized that the sun was about to rise. We went out together on the terrace of the hotel and saw the sun rise over the breathtaking hills that surround the Naini lake. There was fog in the air and it was stinging cold. And there we were standing barefoot in the cold outside, trying to devour the whole view in just one glance. After so much of talking, that silence was like an icing on the cake which summed up the complete camaraderie that two strangers could share. There is a very famous Bollywood movie dialogue which says that, sometimes it takes ages to know a person, and yet you end up not knowing him/her and sometimes only one meeting is enough to uncover the deepest side of someone's personality. That was what happened with the 2 of us too. We felt like we had known each other since ages and there was no other soul on the planet who could understand us the way we understood each other. And trust me, that feeling of being completely understood is exhilarating. That was truly a liberating experience..
And later on that day, I left for Corbett leaving Nainital behind me. All I was left with was, memories of that wonderful conversation embedded in my bosom.
Thankfully, Shayla and I are still in touch and talk a lot. But I am sure, no conversation of ours will ever match the one we had during that mesmerizing night...

When eyes met..

I am silly and I am weird. And the best part is that I know that. There are so many things that seem tiny to the human eye, but for my heart they assume huge proportions. And one of those silly random moments was a bus ride that I had a couple of months ago.
I used to work in a place called North Arlington and to reach my office, I had to undertake a bus ride that would last for 45 minutes.
It was just another normal day when I boarded the bus to reach my destination. About 20 minutes away from my stop, 2 women climbed onto the bus. One of the two women, was quite decent looking with 2 kids in the tow. And along with her climbed this other woman who was unlike any woman I had ever seen. She helped her friend or sister (whoever she was) climb the bus and took a seat opposite them. She was dressed like a rock star. Her ears were punched with holes (read piercings) from top to bottom. She was wearing a loose fitting shirt with jeans and boots. She was dressed like a cool guy. Her hair was short and cropped, again like a man's. But all this suddenly seemed unimportant to me when I saw her eyes. Fixed on this manly exterior, her eyes were the most feminine thing in the whole world. They were a mixture of brown and black or God knows what color! But they were the most attractive pair of eyes I had ever seen. What was it that wanted me to just stare into them? Her eyes triggered a million questions in my mind. Who is she? What does she do? What are her likes and dislikes? All this and so much more..
I guess this happens to a person most of the time. Sometimes you feel like chatting with complete strangers and sometimes even known faces disgust you. Such is the irony of the world we live in today!! I just wish I could meet that manly woman sometime in life and get an answer to my questions.

Welcome to self

I hated the thought of blogging- an honest confession that I want to make at the onset. I have read a lot of blogs- some good, some not so good and I always used to wonder how can people share their deepest, darkest thoughts with the world? The entire idea seemed unfathomable. But slowly and gradually the pile of thoughts, that always remained unshared, started building up within me. There has to be a way out of this- was what my brain thought. And the answer seemed simple enough. Start blogging. This is a simple way to let certain silly and serious issues slip out of your head or heart (depends on the place where they originated) and help you feel liberated.
And boy!! This effect has already started. I, now, am in a position to empathize with my fellow blogger colleagues (if I may say so) and truly understand the rationale behind this great act.
I don't have a blogger guru who can perhaps put the 'Raj Tilak' on my head and wish me 'Vijayi Bhava'. So I guess I will do the task for myself. Good luck and Happy blogging!!