Whats your "H-Factor" ?

The other day, a colleague at work asked me if she looked good after loosing a few inches.
The fact is, I had barely noticed the change in her figure, but I smiled wide and said, 'Oh Yes, you look great!'
She was happy and got back to work and I, umm.. felt contented !

But when close friends ask me a similar question, I simply give an honest answer.
Then, be it appealing to the ears or not.

But amongst them, I noticed that some really want an honest answer and some just don’t!

(Psst.. Some times people also get slapped and kicked for being brutally honest !
Note: NO, I'm not recommending you to be dishonest)

Coming back to the point, my question here is, do you have to keep someone's heart who's not very close to you and make him/her happy and say what you don't really mean?
And what about the one's very close to you? Should you give them your honest opinion or a fake one would do no harm? What are they worthy of?

Concluding with a thought, does keeping people happy, makes you a saint and lying, a sinner?
(Considering people still consider lying as sin) And so, I wonder, if that should nullify it all...

How do we maintain the balance, between honesty and happiness, is there a Win-Win situation for all?

And if you could pick just one either “H”appniness of others or being “H”onest, what would be your H-Factor?

On a lighter note, do you like the song, love the way you lie? ;)

Peek-a-boo(k)

Although, I don’t make chats public, but these days being public is the trend.

Here is a small chat that happened between Me and my friend (Him: H) today.

H: One thing which I never understood over the years is .... why do ppl friend him on facebook.... wot good does it do to them

Me: No clue! Fun in peeking in others lives, may be!!

U know, human tendency.. When u walk around in ur hostel, n see room to someone's door is open,      u tend to peek in... no intention at all, just to see what’s going on.. and the new name of curiosity is Fb…

H: He is bigger offender than K series producer then :D

      But really earlier very few used to sneak a quick look into other’s rooms..

Me: Well... Then it was not considered 'cool'

        Now, not existing on Fb is called 'uncool'

        So sneaking  is what ppl r asking for!

And just now… U read someone else’s chat ;) 

Just wondering, what good it does to make your life public Or do u prefer to remain Private Or have the best of both worlds?

Moisturizer, need it?

In our early days we all want to be ‘like’ someone and then we want to be ‘Someone’.  Is there a goal that we have set for ourselves or for the man in the mirror that the world sees?

Are our dreams dreamt for our soul or for the society and if it’s broken, should we be shaken?

I feel ‘Dream’ is just one word, given many names. When we have the will and focus, it becomes our Aim, when we know we want it but cant easily get it, becomes a hope and when some dreams are fallacy it simply becomes a fantasy.

This is a quote I picked up from a TV series, SATC, rather the quote picked me up to think and to write… here it goes:

“That night I started to think about belief. Maybe it’s not even advisable to be an optimist anymore. Maybe pessimism is something we have to apply daily, like moisturizer, otherwise how do you bounce back when reality batters your belief system, and love does not, as promised, conquer all? Is hope a drug we need to go off of, or is it keeping us alive? What’s the harm in believing?”

Y Chromosome- Poem

I happened to read this poem somewhere and liked it.
Disclaimer: This isn't my poem. But a good poem ;) :)
Worth a read..

People talk about love, then they talk about being cursed

They talk about the good, later the bad that they nursed

About that someone who touched them in some way

About that someone who then suddenly went astray

I see people talking about trusting again

About not moving in the wrong lane

About not wanting disrespect nomore

About not being called an X,Y,Z, or a wh**e

I then see people describing the prominence

The submissiveness, the softness, the dominance

Of their beloved, who isn’t there anymore

Is this a game? Who in the world can then predict the score?

“One life isn’t enough” they claim

And all of them feel the same

Who is to blame? Who is wrong?

Who is manipulative? Who actually needs to be strong?

People are poetic, they are articulate

They talk about how it ended for them, what was in their fate

They call their beloved heartless

They blame others for their own mess

People find themselves wishing for more than one life

For having that tad bit extra guts to walk the edge of the knife

For having have it all in one bag

For having it ALL and yet not bothering about the tag

People want to start trusting again

They want to get over the pain

They want to feel what is true

They really want to come out of the blue

I sit back, watch those people talk

Watch those people fall, watch those people walk

Watch how everyone has a different problem to face

Watch how someone can just breach your space

I can’t help but wonder how

So much is said and now

Now that all is said and done

We are still at square one!

Goodness for Sale, any buyers?

When you are a child, you are being taught to be good to people, irrespective that they are good to you or not..


Well, I think I took that lesson pretty seriously, tried to swallow my fury and my words, instead of reciprocation of spiteful words that touched,well, not just my ear. And right now, I think I can swallow an ugly big frog! Gulp ! (Yuk!)


Here, I am just trying to figure out, that even if you are nice to people who are not the same with you, will they ever be slapped by karma or would a miracle happen to them as an eye opener?
Bang !
 
All the more you think about your deeds and its zero or may be negative outcomes, your goodness acts like a salt over the wound, shouldn't it rather have healing powers?

 The point is, should the good ones continue to be good, forever? Or should they become 'real' in this unreal world and become semi-devil...?

Walkathon

They say walking is a good exercise, but what if a few days of exercise is done in one single day?!

Well we did it in one night..few days back, by participating in a Walkathon, arranged by Aarey Milk Colony Walkers Club, Mumbai, on a Saturday night.

Our Itinerary was:
Distance :24-25 kms (approx)
From :Aarey Milk Colony
To :Siddhivinayak Temple @ Dadar
Starting Time :11.00pm
Tea Break :12.30am
Attend Arti :5.00am

We were a group of 150, divided in groups of 10, so as to stay together in the midst of night and talk while we walk. In my group it was majorly ladies and time just flew by… (Do I need to explain anything anymore..? ;-) )

We started walking towards Goregaon station with full energy and excitement, a hundred and fifty people walking together in the night looked like a mass parade, with the city all lit up. That’s the best thing about Mumbai, the city REALLY never sleeps and we could experience that in our over night walk.


Our walk, speed varying every now and then continued; except for the tea break, we dint take a single halt or stood by/ sat down anywhere.

First 17kms went smooth, post that, at least for me I had to drag myself up, but thankfully the good company made me walk the rest of the miles quickly. It’d have been a better feeling if I’d have a flag in my hand. Phew ..!!


We reached the temple around 4.00am and finally we all scattered and sat down wherever we could find a place, lawns, pathways or the playground; like THIS was what we were all waiting for. The Arti was supposed to start at 5.00am, so we all stretched ourselves, left- right- up and down!


At 4.45am we again started forming a queue to enter the temple and that is when we realized that THIS “break” was not what we wanted. Getting up again was the THE most painful thing in the entire Walkathon..!


Comatose we all started moving and then attended one of the most beautiful and serene pooja ever. No pain no gain, right? Proved ..!
Lovvvved the peaceful time spent in the temple, nothing like it..!!


Post the Arti, a bus was arranged for us to go back, breakfast served in the bus itself and by the time we reached home it was around 8.00am. All I could see was my bed..!! Thankfully it was a Sunday morning, so could take rest all day. Was a night well spent. :)


God Bless you all :)

A 'not' so Peaceful Journey

I recently had an opportunity to travel in train after 1000+ days (w.r.t. my last Train journey)
1. Coz there was no option of flight
2. I had to make it to the destination at a pre-defined time.


Managed to get tickets at the last moment, booked tatkal and after changing multiple local trains in Mumbai and convincing the reluctant Cab driver to drop me at the Boarding station and making to the station on time (somehow), I got into the train; where accompanying me where some 40+ aged people whose topic of discussion was big, fat, feral “Rats”. (WOW right…!!)


They enlightened each other and consequently me, about the size of rats in different cities in India and what all harm do they do, where, how, when…and then the worse part, (as they said), was that Rats ate some new born babies in some corner of the country! D-uh..! Till the time I was hunting for my iPod in my purse, the KT (Knowledge Transfer) went on and now “Cats” had mewed their way into the discussion, in some comparison with the “Rats”. May be the uncles had to present a Thesis on “Rats”, and so the healthy “Group- Discussion”.


Thankfully, they got down after a few stations. Later during the night, when I tried sleeping, (emphasis on the word “tried”), I heard a very musical lullaby, sung by various people (Thank you all :-) ), from various corners of the train, in their sleep, snoring as they call it, melodious…but sadly, not my taste of music.


Consequently, I was wide awake and suddenly one of the singers got up (in my compartment) and saw that I was awake, suggested me to sleep as half the journey was still pending and now the only question on my mind was How..!!


This was just one side of my trip, while coming back, it was ‘Ambedkar Jayanti’ and on this day, govt. gives free train tickets to certain tribes and so the train was over-overrr loaded. But again, thankfully as I was in the AC coach, there was tight security and only the confirmed-ticket passengers. Phew ..!!


All I was wishing in my round trip was nothing but an airport..!!


I am not asking for a lot but just some good sleep and also for more Airports to be planned in the country. :-)


Amen!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

"You know that thing when you see someone cute and he
smiles, and your heart kinda goes like warm, butter sliding down hot toast,
that's what is like when I see a store. " - Rebecca Bloomwood

.


There were a few quotes/dialogues which I loved from the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and was able to relate to a lot of 'em.. ;-)


When I was a little girl,


there were real prices and mom prices.


Real prices got you shiny,


sparkly things that lasted three weeks,


and mom prices got you brown things...


... that lasted forever.





When I looked into shop windows,


I saw another world.


A dreamy world


full of perfect things.


A world where grown-up girls


got what they wanted.


They were beautiful.


Like fairies or princesses.


They didn't even need any money,


they had magic cards.


I wanted one.


Little did I know...


... I would end up with twelve. :-) :-)




And............

A man will never love you or treat you as well as a shopping mall/ store. If a man doesn't fit, you can't exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags... oh yes... oh yes.

To Make it Short..

I got my first Cell phone during the first year of my Graduation and then the coolest trend was “SMS”. It sure was fun but 160 char. limit was the only problem and the solution was “Abbr.” aka abbreviation. Addiction to SMS led to its usage even in the exams, wrote ‘thru’ instead of ‘through’ and ‘n’ instead of ‘and’, and so on, but if realized, scrapped and corrected..! Phew..!


Then started YM (Yahoo Messenger), Gtalk and the trend of Chats and hence, more acronyms, like ttyl, gtg, Bfn, Gn, Sd; (Talk to you later, got to go, Bye for now, Goodnight, Sweetdreams) etc. For the trendy tech-literate, nothing was new, but for others, everything meant nothing and they would end up scratching their heads.


Formal usage of words may not be accepted graciously, but is informal usage like C U L8r inappropriate? Now to throw some light, using abbr. isn’t new, but Victorian poets were writing in this manner long before anyone dreamed of mobile devices, as per [1]


Usage of acronyms is not bad. When shortening a message for a telegraph was perfectly legal, so why take it out on SMS?

There are certain acronyms we use in day to day life and don’t realize it, like
• General Usage: ATM, FAQ, PIN etc.
• Officially Used: PS, NA, w/o, B2B, 4GL etc. and some companies just love this concept, like IBM, HSBC ;)
• Science: Laser, radar, (S, Pa, A, V, N, Wb, W), (siemens, pascal, ampere, volt, newton, weber and watt)
• History: AD, BC.
• Entertainment: LotR, RCHP and the list goes on.
• Politics: PM, CM, MPs, MLA etc.


And now that we are educated, we have one acronym in front of our names PhD, M.Phil, Dr., Prof. :)


As abbr. are used everywhere, in every field, would you still consider it wrong to use it formally as well? I know that there are certain limits to its usage, like if a Dr. would message you stating “C me 4 Ur <3 “, you sure would be mad at him. But limited usage, shortening of words OK?

PS: To add a little audio-visual effect to this: check this out.

Empty Mind

“An empty mind is a devil’s workshop”, three out of four people would agree to this statement. I’d like you to think about it once again. Is it really a devil’s workshop or is it a state of bliss?


People think that mind must have something in it and if it has nothing, it is not mind.
Has our minds always been occupied with something or the other and was it always the same?


To make this thought process easier, let us consider the mind of an infant, when he cant speak and does not understand what words like Mom or Dad mean and he doesn’t know the reason for his existence & meaning of life, he does not know the outside world, his mind is pure and empty.


The attainment of pure and empty mind is “Samadhi” and is “Buddhism”.
I do not preach Buddhism, yet, but agree to certain things I know about it.


In Buddhism, during meditation, it is said: “Don’t close your eyes; you will be bothered by your own thoughts. Don’t keep your eyes open; you will be bothered by outside things. Keep your eyes partly closed and meditate upon your soul”


So, if we engage our mind, consciously or sub-consciously, with our arising thoughts and feelings, they do have the capacity to manifest further and if we don’t, they die or fade out and that is when, we can experience “enlightenment”.


So I pray for all of you, for your minds to be empty and enlightened :- )


Any thoughts? :- )

Mumbai and Me

Mumbai, a city which never sleeps, a city of dreams for some and of necessity for others. For me, there has always been a weird connection with it. Why weird? Here it goes…

I have always been visiting Mumbai, from the time it was Bombay; to meet my relatives, to go to Essel World and later.… out of shopping sprees..! And to put some gravity to my reasons, it was Tech Fest at IIT or some or the workshops..! Ahem…! (patting my back :-P )


This city has had and still does have, some spell on me. Whenever I’m trying to run away from it, it calls me back, whenever I curse it..Oh lord…Imprisonment..!! When I had some free time in hand, before joining my job and after my course was over, I came to Mumbai for a while and ran away ‘coz of the huge dirty traffic..!! But, here comes the U-turn, was back again at IDC (IIT Powai) for quite sometime..!! Traveling everyday for 3hrs a day… and brain storming during the rest.

Phew….that was some experience and I went back as soon as I got my joining date (definitely not Mumbai) :- )

Again came to the city to chill out for a couple of days and Bang! 2nd job..!! Definitely a good one, but at the wrong time..!! Monsoons..!! Mumbai rains welcomed me reeaaallllyyy well..!! Oh yeah.. Ask me about my love towards Umbrellas…couldn’t live without it. And I’m still here, with rickshaw strikes, infinite traffic….it seems like you are time traveling when going from one place to the other.

But, looking at the brighter side, now when I’m exploring the city, making new friends, having a blast with ‘em over the Weekends, I’m sorta liking it :- )
Just can’t say anything bad bout it..!! Nah..Neva……..!! :- )
And now, God knows what comes next….in the chapters of Mumbai and Me.

Decision....

Don't you ever wonder maybe if you took a left turn instead of a right you
could be someone different? What if you had a choice, a choice to go back
and change it all? The question is, would you like to change something, a
teeny tiny part and create a butterfly effect in your life or are you sure
that all your past decisions in life were apt?



Sometimes our decision is at the spur of the moment and sometimes we are
into deep cognitive thinking amongst the choices we have, it can be
rational or irrational, quick or slow, but there is always a solution. Both
decisions either right or wrong would leave an imprint in our life in some
way or the other and future would tell us, if we were right or not and then
it becomes a lesson. Enjoying the falling down and getting up?





I just feel that we decide, we act, make mistakes, learn and grow. That is
how it works, right? According to this, we should have lesser confusion in
life as we grow and more clarity of thoughts. Is the no confusion magic
happening…?





Decision making is a continuous process; we all have taken a lot of big and
small decisions in the past and will keep on doing the same in the future
as well. I don’t want to go into the science of it now, all I wish to put
is, no matter what we decided in the past, and no matter what impact it has
on us, it shouldn’t effect us in any negative way “NOW”, as we cant change
it so lets not think about it.


The question still exists, what if we could change a decision, a small yet
huge decision..would you...?

Go Mobile..

During my school time, having a Computer at home would make the kid the coolest in the class and playing games, watching movies or listening to songs on it was fun and today kids have their own gmail ids and chat accounts, they Google the games they want to play. Basic Computer Education is a subject in the primary classes (even if we had that, we did not learn what they are learning now..!).



Time’s changing and so are we. During my Graduation, all my friends used to be online all night, geeks finding and researching technical updates and non-geeks finding a date.. ;-)

And our Mom used to wonder, what we are doing on the Computer all the time..!



Computers then Laptops and then we started gradually moving to Smart-phones and everything is now on “The Phone”…!

Though the use of Smartphone (till date) is not so widespread, but I saw the news today, that Samsung is launching a new OS to increase its market share, and comparatively on a low price. Already there are multiple players in the market, like Symbian, Android, Research in Motion (RIM) ,iOS etc and there are many more to come by the end of this fiscal year.


Consecutively, smart phone users will increase and hence its use and technocrats would be online 24 by 7. Thats “us” today and what about Gen Y..!!
Go Mobile all the way???

Anger

Living beings showcase various kinds of emotions. Anger is one form of emotion. Let’s analyze this emotion. I am not discussing Anger Management Techniques, but just writing about an emotion which is virtually present in everyone, some realize it and some don’t.


Anger is very much natural, sometimes the outcome of hurt and insult, but are “all” natural things good? My point here is, “Is Anger good or is it bad?”


Talking about natural things, poison is natural too, but is it good or is it deadly (as per the definition)? Anger is also like a poison in our heart, which not only hurts us but has the ability to hurt others as well. The psychological process is simple, is someone has hurt you, then, in your anger you want to hurt him back.


It is an emotion present in all of us from childhood, initially as aggression and later anger turning into revenge or in the form of depression (anger turned inwards called as unconscious anger).


For some anger has taken a form of Apathy, like I saw a couple fighting, the girl was screaming at his driving and at his some or the other deed but he was calm all the time, dint feel a thing and later when he realized that she has left him, he started crying. So its anger turned apathy, coming out in the form of sobs.


All I would say is, one should not suppress his/her anger, but not vent it in such a way so that someone else gets hurt, forgive him/her for being a human, a human with aggression.
But again, do not be a doormat that anyone can insult you and you keep mum. A total No, No.


Try to simply cool down and relax and try thinking from other’s point of view, if you are right, you have the right to speak up, but out of controlled emotions and analyzed thoughts.


I would like to conclude by stating “An Eye for an eye shall make the whole world blind”.
I read the following suggestion somewhere, which is pretty cool:

You might want to think of anger as just a lot of hot AIR.

A: Adrenaline.
That initial “rush” in response to an insult is adrenaline. Nothing but adrenaline


I: Identify.
Identify what is really happening, how much of a threat it really is, and why it is happening.


R: Reaction choice.
Choose a reaction that is compassionate and fair, rather than fall headlong into hostility and revenge.



@ Peace

Breaking Dawn –Book Review

Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer

Hardcover: 756 pages
Language: English
Published: (on my b’day ;) ) August 2nd 2008 by Little, Brown and Company

url: http://stepheniemeyer.com/breakingdawn.html

Characters: Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Bella Swan

Setting: Forks, Washington (United States)

Literary awards: ALA Teens' Top Ten (2009)

Description: When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one?


From the Book Jacket :


Summary:


To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both a fantasy and a nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice, to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life, has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life – first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse – seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

Review:


The anticipated conclusion to TTS, the fourth and final part does justice to the story and the readers. I enjoyed reading it and after reading Eclipse, wanted to see how it ends (though somehow had guessed a few parts), like Bella’s transformation, a wedding etc.


The transformation of Bella from a weak, clumsy girl to a more independent and bold woman was good. She did a good job near the end of the story. Steph gave Bella both Jake and Edward, a baby, fairytale cottage, distinct power after becoming a vampire, and her human family. A story well tied up for Bella, after a great deal of sacrifice for getting the love of her life.



Edward was as loving as ever, this time as a father, as a husband, does all he can to protect his wife and his daughter.


I enjoyed reading Jacob’s perspective the most; it was a good change and was interesting to read. The best part for Jake in this book was, despite all the heart-ache he got, in the end again a happy ending for him too. Although the imprinting was a bit lame, a minus from my side for the book. But Jake still remains my Fav Character in the book.


There was a scope for a lot of drama and action in the end, when Volturi meet the other Vampire Covens, but again wasn’t written very well. The Volturi come, talk and walk back..!! What???!! Needed some good action here..!


One more thing I dint like was the book cover.


All things perfectly tied up into a perfect bow in the end, a happy ending for all, a good story book for teenagers, addictive, not a learning experience, poor adjective usage and bad repetition but again a good story with overly perfect characters.

♪♫♪ Musical Mood :) ♪♪♫

“

Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.”

-E.Y. Harburg.

Music holds different meaning for all of us, euphony for some, energizing for others; for me its food for soul. There are a few songs which touch our hearts and I am posting here the first 4 which strike my mind right now and I’m sticking on to hindi songs for now, will come back to English some other day. :)


Baanwara Mann From Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi:

Bavre Se Mann, Ki Dekho Bavri Hain Baatein
Bavri Se Dhadkaane Hain, Bavri Hain Saansen
Bavri Si Karwaton Se, Nindiya Door Bhaage
Bavre Se Nain Chaahe, Bavre Jharokhon Se, Bavre Nazaron Ko Takna.
Bavra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna

Iktaara from Wake Up Sid:

Orey manva tu to bavra hai
Tu hi jaane tu kya sochta hai
Tu hi jaane tu kya sochta hai bavre
Kyun dikhaye sapne tu sote jaagte
.
.
Sun rahi hoon sudh budh khoke koi main kahani
Poori kahani hai kya kise hai pata

Aashayein from Iqbal:

kutch paane ki ho aas aas
kutch armaan ho jo khaas khaas
aashaayen ...
har koshish mein ho waar waar
kare dariyao ko aar paar
aashaayen ...

Tujhse Naraaz nahi from Masoom (couldn’t help but post it full):

tujhase naaraaz nahi zindagi, hairaan hoon main
hairaan hoon main
tere masoom savalon se pareshaan hooN main
pareshaan hoon main

jeene ke liye socha hi na tha, dard sambhalane honge
muskuraoon to, muskurane ke karz utaarne honge
muskuraoon kabhi to lagata hai
jaise hontonn pe karz rakhaa hai
tujhase ...

aaj agar bhar ayi hai, boondein baras jaayengi
kal kya pata inke liye aakhen taras jayengi
jaane kahan gum kahan khoya
ek aansu chhupake rakha tha
tujhase ...

zindagi tere gum ne hamain rishte naye samajhaye
mile jo hamain dhoop main mile chhaanv ke thande saaye

I’d certainly like to know your favorites.

PS : Let us stick onto our Hindi Playlist for now. :)

Eclipse- Book Review:

It’s the TTS-The Twilight Saga’s 3rd Part.
The movie is going to release on June 30 (approx), and I really wish to see it, though I’ve picturised it already in my head. :)
Eclipse is definitely better than New Moon, its fast and rolls very well.




(+)

• A good romantic triangle, includes love and friendship, independent yet interdependent.

Bella is expressing her feelings, by reading out this quote: “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger” from the her Wuthering Heights book.

• Emotions (of all kinds) expressed intensely.

“Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice” the introduction of the book starts with Robert Frost poem.

• Great action towards the end; energy and rage packed werewolves and vampires.

(-)

• The movie: If you haven’t read the book, understanding the characters would be difficult.

• Dialogue repetition, Meyer does it in all her books, which makes it banal at times.


All in all, it’s a good book for the TTS Fans and gets a better hook of the reader than the rest of the series.

My Neighbor

My neighboring Aunty loves me a lot..! And I realized it pretty soon. Here is the complete story.
When I had moved in this flat, she always passed a smile whenever she saw me and so did I. Oh and she would consider my home as her own, would even move in the house without me inviting her, would check out what all stuff I have at my house and then would invite me to watch TV at her place..!! Weird, ‘coz she was this overly-friendly with only me and not my flat-mates. (Jealous they were, oh yeah! )

When Monday to Friday are working days, all you need is a nice, peaceful, relaxing weekend..! This Friday, I had fever and a lot of work pressure. There is a switch to my doorbell, which I had put off, ‘coz generally no one comes on Saturday morning, took a crocin and dozed off.

ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Saturday morning, my maid came, rang the bell and assumed I was sleeping (she knows how much I love to sleep on holidays :P ) and went to some other flat, then came the paper-wala, then the milk man and I donno if there was anyone else. My neighboring Aunty got so scared, that I wasn’t opening the door, called up the watchman and my friends in the building, and out of extreme nervousness, started yelling and questioning, “Is the girl dead? We ought to know, is she still alive or is she dead?” Seedha maar hi daala…!

Whoooa.!! Thankfully, the friend in the building called me and told the story and then I opened the door and there were so many people standing outside my house..! Man…why dint you guys welcome me like this when I moved in :P

I assured them that I was perfectly fine and ALIVE and was horrified to know that Aunty really thought I was dead..!! What..!! Seriously!

Now, even if I go home for sometime and she does not see me around, she comes to my flat to ask them about my whereabouts. Why do u love me so much..! Ohhh My..!! I am touched…!

Hope

To start with, Pandora’s Box
is something which I assume all of us have heard about; this box contained all evils, including Hope. Now I do not know if hope is evil or good, is it situational or is it as per a man’s perspective?

For example, if a person commits suicide, will you call it courage or is it weakness, is it because of lack of hope from this life or a hope of a better next-life (if that really exists). Personally, I would call it weakness and helplessness, but my point now is Can lack of hope kill life? Is it that Evil?

Another Example: I wonder how many of you have read the story of “The Lady or the Tiger” (ask me if you haven’t, will be glad to share it), or seen the movie,”Before Sunset”, all these stories and movies are open ended, does the lover get the love of his/her life or is it an end, end to the story, end of their happy love life? Now the narrator leaves it to the reader/spectator, and puts a question, what do we expect or hope for them, a happy or a sad ending?

So could hope give life as well? Not just in stories, but in real life. If I talk about passing an exam, which I haven’t studied for, I still hope I will clear it (if miracles work) and to my surprise I do. On the contrary, if I would think, since I haven’t studied for it, how the hell can I pass it, leave scoring good, so I simply wouldn’t use my brains in writing the paper, simply sign and come out?

Now, is hope evil or good or does Hope have a Dual-personality?

Hum Panchhi Unmukt Gagan ke

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के
- ShivMangal Singh Suman (शिवमंगल सिंह सुमन)

हम पंछी उन्मुक्त गगन के
पिंजरबद्ध न गा पाऍंगे
कनक-तीलियों से टकराकर
पुलकित पंख टूट जाऍंगे ।

हम बहता जल पीनेवाले
मर जाऍंगे भूखे-प्यासे
कहीं भली है कटुक निबोरी
कनक-कटोरी की मैदा से ।

स्वर्ण-श्रृंखला के बंधन में
अपनी गति, उड़ान सब भूले
बस सपनों में देख रहे हैं
तरू की फुनगी पर के झूले ।

ऐसे थे अरमान कि उड़ते
नील गगन की सीमा पाने
लाल किरण-सी चोंच खोल
चुगते तारक-अनार के दाने ।

होती सीमाहीन क्षितिज से
इन पंखों की होड़ा-होड़ी
या तो क्षितिज मिलन बन जाता
या तनती सॉंसों की डोरी ।

नीड़ न दो, चाहे टहनी का
आश्रय छिन्न-भिन्न कर डालो
लेकिन पंख दिए हैं तो
आकुल उड़ान में विघ्न न डालो ।


This was a poem I read probably in my 8th Std. in School and still love it and can relate so much to it.

At times the poem also makes me feel nostalgic :( school days were so much fun.

I specially love the first two Stanzas…the first being :

Hum panchi unmukt gagan ke,
Pinjad bandh na gaa paayenge,
Kanak teeliyon se takrakar,
Pulkit pankh toot jaayenge

It speaks about being free so smoothly and softly. Isn’t this what we all want? Being free?

But….there is something which I don’t think “all” of us would want or not want. Like the poem says, that the bird doesn’t wish to live in a cage, even if it’s made of Gold.

In my case, I would always like my life to be simple, independent and free, and despite of all the riches in the world, life can be beautiful.

That shouldn’t be difficult? Right? :)

Wishes :)