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Influences and Influencers

We learn different aspects to different people/moments we come across in life... afterall we are but sponges, who absorb what we come across, both positive and negative... The love for history from a fabulous teacher in school who kept narrating history of the world like small anecdotes she witnessed herself.... The love for reading from a doting grandfather who would mark out snippets in the newspaper for us to read... The fear of traffic defaulters from the accident of a dear friend... The list is endless.... But we somehow ignore the inherent reason we are able to soak all this up... the gene pool and the environment we grew up in, thanks to our family and near and dear....

The "Odd" Even Choice

Ok... So the Delhi air still looks quite smoky and polluted. But the one thing no one who has travelled the Delhi roads in the last week will deny... is that irrespective of what impact this odd-even formula has had on the pollution levels, it has definitely made driving on Delhi roads a pleasure again. So for all the critics, presenting to you, the clean.. oops, empty Delhi roads.. Kudos to all the people travelling on the Delhi roads these days... for putting up with the buses, metros, autos, cabs.. whatever it takes.. to make it work !

Odd Even... Even Odd

We Delhites are born critiques...  you place in front of them even Michelangelo's David, and you'll find them commenting about the tall height and hair too curly.... Scepticism seems to be inborne... like second nature to all of us... Which is why I have decided to make an earnest request.. to a all those residing in the capital... to keep their extraordinary pessimistic thought process aside, and try and abide by the new rules being set to improve traffic, and effectively reduce pollution... We might talk about insufficient public transport, overcrowded metros, unsafe roads... the list is endless... but for once, keep all the thoughts aside, and try, just try, to make it work... Use odd for odd and even for even.. carpool... use public transport... cycle... walk.... But just try.... not because some Kejriwal has the courage to do something radical... but simply because we need to... 

Anger

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We are talking... and suddenly, without realizing, our voice approaches a crescendo... our pitch changes.. the heart starts palpitating... faster.. faster.... till we can hear the sound in our ears... and no longer hear what the other one is saying..... So it no longer remains a dialogue... we can't see the other person's perspective or hear their thoughts.... our head is just buzzing with our own.... Suddenly the realization dawns... that this is pointless... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Sigh.... What was I discussing in the first place ?!?  Anger Management, by Phil Singer Source: http://psingerart.com/his_work/anger-management/

Independent Being

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We come into the world, tied to our mothers cord...  tightly hugging her... ensuring we get all the warmth, help and support through life....  Somewhere along the way we become "intelligent", and we try and become self sufficient and intelligent... being "able" to take on the world and trudge on... and accomplish what we seek.... Just when all is going well, suddenly, we trip and fall....  we stumble and try to get up on our own... THIS is the wake up call.. for us... to realize we all need the help... That we might be intelligent and independent, but we need the support, just in case time throws us off balance...   Now my prayer has changed from hoping that I remain independent all through my life.... to the wish that I remain independent, till I have the grace and sense to take someone's help when I need it... Amen.  Source: http://mimiandeunice.com/2012/07/20/independent/

Freedom

We are all born in different homes... with different cultures and habits.. functions and functionalities.. But the one thing that seems to bind us all is the thought that our parents are outdated and need to update their outlook in life.. What most of us tend to ignore is that it is because of these same set of people that we are able to think the way we do... It is the freedom that they have given us which has enables us to question everything... even them.... How easily we forget our roots.... especially when we are in full bloom....

In Memoriam

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Rin

Tolerance

We all talk about tolerance, towards people, their thoughts, habits... but somehow, tolerance seems to be easier to practise towards strangers than people you love and care about. Tolerance, when it comes to family and friends, is tougher to implement... because one hopes that they see the sense in what you are doing and saying...  This hoping against hope hopen is strenuous, and eats into the relationship... If only we could let go... and let others decide what they want to do, and be okay with the same... If only...

The Ball is rolling till it Stops

We all talk about making amends in our life... like exercising, quit smoking, eating healthy... the list is almost endless.... In this pursuit of an ideal life and livelihood, we keep trying to mend and amend our lives, and those of our loved ones.... All this when we know, but don't accept, that the clock is ticking, the ball is rolling... and somewhere in the distant (if not near) future, this will all come to a grinding halt... I mean our life ofcourse... But for all the levity and naivety that carries us through, we often miss the actual essence of our lives... to love and be loved.... to hope... to dream and accomplish.... What we should do once in a while is to pause... step back... and admire the view  :)

A full Circle ?

India is a predominantly Agrarian society... still....  And though parts of the country have evolved really quickly, parts are still trying to come to term with the changes that are coming away... The part which is in touch with what is happening around the world, has suddenly realized that Organic food is the way to go... that a healthy diet should be free pesticides and other chemicals.. that the best way to grow food, is to not use any artificial fertilizers, and instead make do with the likes of cow dung. However, what is truly ironic is that the other part of the country is still coming to terms with the fact that crop can be genetically modified... that there is the possibility of using fertilizers to make the growth and yield more efficient..... At the end of the day, one part is trying to quickly unlearn what the other part is still trying to learn !!!!

Source Outsourced

So what would you prefer - to hear directly from the horse, or an intermediary ? Even if we ignore the Chinese whisper part, hearing directly is more satisfying and justified... both for the horse and the ear :) But in all fairness, if there has been no value add by the intermediary, and the news was delivered as it was told, does it really matter. Why do we, so often, make such a big deal of not being told directly... I am still unable to figure it out...

Work - Life

All of us (or atleast most of us) slog at office.. We explain the donkey work in one of the many ways... financial independence... fruitful (fruitful ? for whom ?!?) utilization of time... alternate social circle..  Whatever the excuse, we always find reasons to work more... push the limits.. try and prove that we are the best ... Little do we realize, that the trade off if ticking someone off... someone you'd want to be a part of your life... for life :) Jobs are temporary... but in the strife to excel at work, we loose track of our home... and annoy (often more than once) the person you'd rather be with..... and in effect, loosing them for life.... So is it all worthwhile...  in the end...  what matters more ? "Your" life or your "Life" ?!?

Travel

walking around the streets wanderlust gaining miles beating the dust meeting new people gaining trust... travelling is a form of catharsis.. making me realize what I really want...

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There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it—it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it—you don't know what right is and you're not a man. ~ Ayn Rand,  We The Living

Arbid thoughts

a fit a burst a thought a curse just rambling no passion just ambling no reason long days sad ways life - a journey wasted away

Small Things in Life

Off late I seem to be missing the small things in life... Does it make any sense when I say that I miss those random midnight chats with friends.... being able to call anyone at anytime of the day/night.... those arbitrary discussion about a travel trip which starts with seeing the photos... the wish to have all meals together...  24hrs with no one but myself... I can go on an on...  But somehow, the sudden realization that I probably won't be able to do any of this is giving me a dull feeling of missing out on life...  Somehow it is these small moments in life that I am missing... and in effect, the bigger things being achieved seemed to look paler in comparison...

Going with the Flow ?!?

I was recently reading about Kiran Gandhi , who ran the London Marathon.. not only for a cause, but also for a purpose... something very few of us manage to achieve. Like she puts it, she was facing an otherwise simple decision... whether to run the marathon when she was menstruating.. or to defer her plan of running to the marathon for one more year despite training for it all year long.... and she finally decided to go with the flow. I doubt if even 1% of women would have the courage to do what she did... though associating this act just with courage would also be incorrect. Despite being a totally natural process, menstruation seems to be one of the most taboo issues of today's society, atleast in India.... and it takes an act like this to bring people to atleast start talking about it, even if the discussions are only limited to the social media. I am a woman, and I menstruate... No one can understand what happens during the process, and it cannot be explained eit

Happy Independence Day

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Independence       noun in·de·pen·dence \ËŒin-dÉ™-ˈpen-dÉ™n(t)s\ : freedom from outside control or support : the state of being independent Each of us have a different expectation from our country, and hence, our definition of Independence differs basis our circumstances and experiences. While a large chunk of the Indian population was striving for Independence from Britishers in 1947 (what eventually become the Indian Independence Day), a substantial group of people were striving for a corruption free nation in 2011-12. Though we are all born in the country, our choice of what we associate with the country's Independence varies. While my neighbour who has witnessed the freedom struggle against the British will cherish the sheer independence to do as she pleases, the current generation will cherish the independence to say as they please (something most of us take for granted nowadays).  All I am trying to say is our symbol for Independence provided by the nation being free fr

Time to Change

The recent speech given by Shashi Tharoor at Oxford is simply brilliant... not just because of the courage of putting it across, in interspersed with humour in the Queen's own country, but also for the various points he touched upon, but also the spontaneity with which he connected what he knew, with what the other participants said... even something as trivial as the wifi password was used to make a point. Having said that, it is also strange that even after 60 years of independence, we never miss a chance to blame the British for our current situation. What Tharoor did was oratory.  But if that's our excuse for things not working even now, I think we need to think again. Consider Japan, a nation which was partly wiped out around the same time we got our independence, which has managed to literally rise from the ashes, and done a brilliant job of it too.... Indians have got used to making excuses... first it was the invaders... then the britishers... now our own politi

Fate in the hands of Faith

All of us like to keep faith... in something... in anything... Infact, if there is a single defining phenomenon in the country, it is that we all are patient about almost everything (from putting up to with the antics of corrupt politicians to keeping up with the delay in the repair of roads), and keep faith... As Aamir Khan says in the famous movie, we'd like to believe that All izzz Well ! But I've noticed that we try to obejectify ( I don't think there is any such word, but I can't seem to find an appropriate word which shares the same intent !) our Faith.... As of result of this, a small twig of Tulsi to a Banyan tree end up becoming a place of worship. What starts out with someone keeping flowers, leads on to someone lighting a lamp... and one fine day, the pavement gets cemented, and the area becomes a place of worship, with an idol installed. Ultimately what was actually a pavement/walkway and effectively public property, gets obstructed, with no possible