A Few Things That Touched Me :)

I was doing my own thing, busy in my own world, and suddenly this thing happens and I am like wow :) that is nice!


It happens to me sometimes. Just out of nowhere something takes place that leaves me touched. It could be a movie scene, someone I spoke to, someone I saw...one of life's tiny little gifts! Some of these moments fill me with a sense of peace! (Hence the picture, one of the moments when I was truly calm!)


A few days ago, I went to GK with Aruna. I saw this little kid who was asking for money. I dont give them money. I wanted to buy the boy a packet of chips. I did so. Went after him and gave it to him. I just left without looking at him. He came back and smiled at me in a way that no one has ever smiled at me. I mean that. That was the most genuine smile I have ever seen.


Funnily, I thought I had become really practical and I knew how to keep myself detached when I wanted to. A few days ago, a girl told me about how she bravely fought a bunch of bastards all by herself and how her cowardly "special friend" refused to get in touch with her after that. I was consumed with pride for being this girl's friend and I found myself crying at the thought that she had to bear all of it alone and that she had wasted her feelings on an asshole. Honestly, I surprised myself because I did not think I was capable of such emotion anymore.


I wrote a mail to Akshay and Rash, two of my close friends abt missing them a little. Akshay who has off-late been rather reticent about anything remotely mush, wrote saying "You better miss me more than a little buddy!" And like a  soppy fool, I got teary eyed. :P


There was this friend called Cheeru whom i got to know through someone. We spoke a few times over the phone, not enough to develop a friendship. With time, and due to circumstances, we lost touch. I got to know of his marriage and I left him a message on Orkut to which he replied. That was my last communication with him, exactly two years ago. Suddenly, yesterday, he pinged me and we spoke as if the past two years had never been there. He is not even a friend, or so I thought, and he very sweetly asked me to come to Jodhpur, his hometown, so that his wife and he could play perfect hosts. Its a silly thing, but this courteous gesture reaffirmed my faith in genuine and true feelings. I had no idea that an instant messenger conversation could lift my heart in such a way.


I think we spend so much time finding meaning in things that don't exist or should not matter that we forget to    let seemingly insignificant things affect us in a great and beautiful way!  

Hmm?

I thought in the past few years I had gone through such a metamorphosis that I could understand/explain almost anything I encountered…I realize that I gave in to smugness yet again…

There are so many things that completely stump you and you are left speechless…

Does that happen to you? Do you fumble for words when somebody asks you a question and you don’t know the answers?

Been happening a lot to me lately…I am yet to find answers to these questions :)


Found a few answers...so writing them down!

What is your ambition in life? To find a dream to live for and then fulfill that dream!

Who knows all your secrets? 


जो होता है वो अच्चे के लिए होता है? You alone can make that happen, if you want to!

What is your best friend’s name? (:P Don’t get me wrong! I have a few very close friends I can count on…but best friend…dunno)

What are the names of the governors of Delhi and MP? Delhi's Lt. Governor: Tejender Khanna

What do you often dream about? 

What is your favorite (food, book, actor/actress? Honestly, I can ever tell for sure)

Do you think I have lost weight? (hehehe…yeah I don’t want to lie and how can I tell if you have…a drop from the ocean does not make that much of a difference :P)

Have you ever been in love? No

Whose side are you on? (Get involved in this ugly choice making pretty often these days!)

What are you thinking? (Usually, I am thinking about a thousand things at the same time…they are all inter-related and not related at all…so what do I say?)

Those are just a few things that I can recall right now...

This blog is my journey...a journey of self discovery..maybe finding answers to some of these questions will reveal a new facet of my personality to me. :)

I’ll find out the answer to the question about the governors’ names pronto :)

Truck/Auto Shayari

Consider this: You are stuck in traffic jams that you cant seem to get out of? You are already running late, it is scorchingly hot---you have already begun using the choicest hindi abuses for everyone within sight, definitely including the horny middle-aged pervert ogling you; you have begun cursing life; blaming people you have explained to yourself are responsible for making your life miserable even though you haven't seen them in years and won't for the rest of your life; you are convinced that god is unkind; life is unfair...just then, there comes a glimmer of hope...everything is alright, life is fine...


Who or what is this godsend? It is an auto rickshaw or a truck that you have spotted with absolutely
out-of-this-world shayari! Sounds familiar? I bet you have experienced this if you are a Delhiite. I love the originality of our autowallahs and truck wallahs. The sheer nonchalance with which these people exhibit their HORRIBLE sense of humor always leaves me laughing out loud! I mean that! The cheesiness of the "poetry" is what ends up making it funny :P 


Very recently, I spotted this hilarious sample of an auto wallah's creativity: a self composed couplet that seemed like a passionate declaration of love:


"बिन फेरे हम तेरे!" :)


Here are a couple of more examples of absolute genius that I have found over time. 


1) मै चली तो तेरी क्यों जली!


2) Voh aaye hamaaree qabr peh, diyaa bujha kar chaley gaye, Baaqi jo teyl tha deevey mein, sar peh laga chaley gaye!


I would love it if you shared some of the ones that you have come across. 

Define Soul for Me

Soul, soul mate, soul food, soul stirring music, soulful…sounds familiar?


Some hind lines from movies, soppy songs, etc.— jo deve “ruh” ko sukoon; ruh kaap gayi; atma ko shanti de, etc


Will somebody please tell me what is this soul? This atma, ruh, the world seems to talk about? Why is it that today everyone who is even remotely “spiritual” seeks to satisfy their souls? Again, what is this spirit?


I don’t know the answer. But, I am trying to find the answer.


They say that what pleases the body is not necessarily what one should seek; what is pleasing to the soul is what actually brings true happiness. Why? My body is what I live with…will live with at least for the next 31 years three months. Starting from today, I will be 60 in the time I specified. The world will have the pleasure of my company till then I am sure. :D


So if my body is keeping me company for all my life, why should I not seek what pleases it? NO PUN INTENDED :D


My body is my life partner in the truest sense. I love it…more than anyone else.


So till I find out what exactly my soul is and what exactly pleases this soul of mine, I shall do everything possible to show me how much I love me!

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

I love this time of the year. The festive season has just begun. Everyone is in such great spirits, people seem to leave their worries behind and make a genuine effort to be warm to each other, to be happy, to absorb the brightness around them.

Diwali in particular is one festival that stands for conquering the darkness within and without with everything bright and beautiful. The gentle fire is truly symbolic of spreading warmth in your life.

For me, this time of the year is really special. There is always something life altering that is waiting to happen for me post navratras. This year was no exception. In fact, I think it was this year, that I did not just see the proverbial cloud with the silver lining after a really dark night and bla bla bla...there was a pretty good explosion of light that left me well and truly awake :) This year, it seemed as if the powers that be took it upon themselves to not just show me the path but literally drag me out of a hopelessly misleading mirage to a road with very clear directions to move on to "what are in reality greener pastures" :)

Preachy? So what, i refuse to be apologetic! ;)

So, anyway, the festive season has so far succeeded in doing what its meant to do at least for me!

Its woken me up from my drunken stupor, its filled me with hope and determination,. its brought warmth, cheer, and clarity into my life.

I hope its done the same for you. Wish u a very happy and prosperous festive season.

PS: You know beginner's luck favored me thoroughly this year. I learned flash for the first time from my "juari" cousins and ended up winning all the stakes :P I was taking hopeless chances and all of them paid off. When I lost, I could fall back on the reserve I had, when there wasn't any, money was arranged for me.

So may be, that is what you should do in life too. Take risks, not always calculative, and sometimes just hopeless chances. If they don't pay off, you will still manage. You will come up with an alternative...trust yourself, trust God :)

My Life!

*“I started my journey from frustration and curiosity and I have traversed over my fear of starting something new. Along the way I also crossed finding something new and I have reached losing something new…along the way…managed to meet pride…”

Years ago when I was in school, my teacher asked our class which animal each of us identified ourselves with. I replied a squirrel coz it minds its own business and keeps out of others’ way. Although that would not be my answer now, but its amazing how I chanced upon a book about a squirrel that managed to teach me quite a bit about my own life. The quote above is from the same book, Zapp: The squirrel who wanted to fly.

I am ending this post here...I know its abrupt...but life's like that...there is no beginning and no end...it is a series of nows...

Second Chances

I have read a lot of Paulo Coelho books lately...so chasing dreams, taking seemingly hopeless chances that always pay off, holding on to faith and hope is something that I seem to have absorbed. :)


I think most of us can make the fatal error of holding on to an illusion or a fantasy as chasing a dream. I know I did that. I guess there is no way of knowing the difference till you have learned the hard way...But guess what, at the end of the day, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you held the fort...till the very last minute.


I am like a sponge. When I begin reading something or watching something, I completely soak myself in it. What I am trying to say is that since I have read books in the similar vein, I have been obsessively trying to find the "hidden message" in my day to day life! Luckily for me, the foolishness is paying rich dividends...especially in terms of optimism.


A few days ago, I was watching Farah Khan's chat show. They featured a braveheart who had been paralyzed from waist down. The doctors gave up on him...he did not! He fought back because he said he does not know what defeat is. His name is now in the world record for having driven to the highest motorable pass without a break.


To say I was inspired would of course be meaningless and a cliche. His courage speaks for itself. What I thought was that he grabbed a second chance from life. It wasn't handed to him on a silver platter.


I looked closer home. Several years ago, my father suffered from sciatica. Its a condition due to which my father who is my superhero was in unbearable pain from his waist below. He could not move and had to depend on my mom to even go to the washroom. I saw my father battle that phase of his life like a warrior. He would smile when others would have shed tears. That for me was the biggest inspiration ever. We had a doctor who was a godsend. He told my father that god could not cure him. The only person, the only treatment for him was his will power. My father is the richest  man in that department. 


Being the magician that he is, Papa performed the miracle. He forced God to give him what was his...the kind of life he wanted to lead.


I know that I will fight tooth and nail for my second chance. I won't give in and I won't give up...its not in my blood :D