Just another Sunday

Spent the entire day trying to organise myself... As we are having nation election round the corner and particularly being from a state where communists ruled for more than 3 decades it throws up some interesting debate. Excerpts of some heated debated thanks to the flurry of local news channel:

Mamata Banerjee speaking at the election campaign kick off: "The ruling government need to have land at any cost and will snatch it from poor, tell them to go to the moon like Rakesh Roshan"

My comment: Incidentally it should be the Rakesh Sharma rather than Rakesh Roshan famed father of a bollywood hero! :)

Congress leader (forgot the name): "Dr. Manmohan Singh deliberately slowed down the GDP in this year to protect the country from recession created by the west"

My comment: Thank God he is not in a miles radius from finance ministry!

The ruling MP from my area used a train in full media galore to commute and even played football match. The contesting MP from my area made a mockery of things by suitable penning down a song for this and singing all along.

My comment: It always pays to be in a good mood! :)

Looks like things are going to be interesting in coming days. But I promise to blog from the voting queue in a months time.

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Watching Surviving Everest

Today evening I along with mom and dad was watching the Nat Geo documentary-"Surviving Everest". It's a great piece where the sons of Tenzing Norgey and Edmund Hillary try reaching the Summit a good 40 years after humans first reached there. I was amazed to note that it took more time for mankind to reach Everest than to go to space!

Well, three things came out, my mom was sad watching sherpas as young as 12 years old carrying 25 kilos weight for a day and climbing the base camp (5333 meters). My dad was consumed with the different tribes in Nepal who are good at mountaineering as well as giving a thorough prescription of the socio-cultural divide that exists and the religious belief along the mountain. I was glued to the human endeavour of reaching Everest.

The purpose of "Surviving Everest" has three connotations for three people, is this how we are groomed or is it our intrinsic nature that makes us so individualistic? Someone may say, It's all in stars!

Whatever be the case one should attempt Everest in a life time. Altitude is such a leveller. Oops! Was it Time?

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In times of Need

It's been quite some time since the last time I scribbled. Almost 2 years! Lot of things have changed, the impulsive feeling of being into studies has slowly eroded. But one thing that stuck me, I should write about what ever I see around and try to figure. This is a post to welcome you once again and to officially proclaim I'm out of hibernation... Let's get rolling!
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What does a woman want?

Everything happens for the first time.

Let me tell you a story that somehow personifies what women wants. Don't expect any magic or a potion that somehow you will engulf and be that Oh-So-Charming womanizer. It's a story that I heard over a mug of beer and somehow stayed with me even when the alcohol drained away from my blood.

Once upon a time when the world was ruled by the iron fist of a knight, there came a legend called king Arthur. In a battle king Arthur was defeated and was captured by King Solomon's army. The rule of the land was, a defeated king is as good as a dead wish. Before putting king Arthur to gallows, King Solomon gave him a choice; “Answer me one question correctly and if you can answer that I'll set you free give you back your kingdom”. King Arthur asked him the question that will eventually decide the fate of his people. King Solomon said, “ What does a woman want?” That's a pretty simply stuff for a person who is a King.

King Arthur said, “A woman wants money ,a woman wants to be proud of her man,a woman wants to feel successful”. King Solomon told king Arthur “I'll give you a year and then come back with the answer”. King Arthur went back to his kingdom to find a simple answer, an answer that foxes the very soul-mind-brain of a man even in the age of abundance. King Arthur gathered the noblest men and put forward the same question only to face confused looks and even more fuddled answer. As time went by, king Arthur became restless for the answer that eludes everyone. He came across a elderly lady with a hump in her back. Everyone around said if anyone could answer this, it will be her. King Arthur went to the elderly lady and asked “What women want?”. The lady replied, I'll answer you provided you marry me with the most eligible bachelor of the kingdom. The most eligible bachelor turned out to be king Arthur best friend. The King decided that, its better to die that to ruin the life of his friend. After much coaxing, the king finally agreed to give his the answer in return for his friend's hand. The elderly lady answered, “What a woman want is to take control of her life”. The elderly lady got married to King Arthur's friend. At the wedding night when his friend came for bed, he saw a beautiful princess waiting for her in bed, the old crooked lady was no where to be seen. The princess said to him, “Because you have been honest with me I'll give you two options; either you see me old at night and as a princess in the morning or as a princess at night and an old lady during day time.”

Had you been there what would have been your choice?

King Arthur's friend answered, “As you too have been true with me, I want you to decide what time you want to be a princess and what time you want to be an old lady”. The princess was so charmed by his reply and his honesty she stayed as a princess. Taking a cue from the story if we try to fit in our lives, somehow somewhere we all utter the words “I wish...” Every melodrama of the day is a matter of rejoice for tomorrow. Even when you are honest with someone and start building up expectations... nature has a crude way of grounding. We are only left with one question, “Why why and only why...” Socrates once said, “A person who can answer five whys at a go is God.” Over the period of time we forget that the only thing constant in life is “change”, all of a sudden the love flies off and we are only left with a mortal greed of gaining back that person. Do we ever ponder at what cost? Do we ever think that everything is not meant to happen. Aha!! I know the thoughts visiting your mind “If we have to lie on the laps of destiny then why try for anything”. My dear friend ask me how it feels, where it pains. But never clapper-claw anyone just because she was like that. I know its tough, in front of mirror when you stand alone you should always be able to look at your own eyes and be proud of that. How many of us can do that. You may be gulled, try a genuine effort to smile and say “ It's Ok”. Good things always happen to good people, is a thing better said than done. Like ways, marriages are made in heaven so are lightning and thunderstorm. Have faith in yourself so that someday you can smile over it rather than cry over something that you tried so hard but you couldn't make it.

Everything happens for the first time.
Everything happens for the last time also.

Stay foolish.
Stay hungry.

Happy New Year

Every time I ponder over doing something the unrelenting laziness cantors the moment. When I try to doze off, a sense of spryness engulfs the mind. Is this vegetative state we define as mind-in-action or is it an ordinate illusion from the reality. Talking about reality it very much depends upon what we want to feel and little about what others want us to perceive.

Let’s not blabber any more into the everlasting canopy of neo-reality. Let me take you through a thought of mine that intrigued me since the time I was playing with the likes of a bunch of kids whom I so effortlessly called friends. How many times we hear the same old clichéd question posed to us? Though over the stretch of time with growing number of candles in our birthday cake and apparently incrementing the age-cycle we loose the overall perspective of the answer. Answers that in childhood every kid gave with a smile, what do you want to become when you grow up? Gosh! Do we still remember the answer that used to make our neighbors envy the lucidity of our sweetness or is it that we have out grown ourselves so much that pondering over such primitive issues tickles the funny bone in our body. Either ways, it is fascinating to muse over such questions. Some call it expectation others name it facing-the-reality.

The prism of thought can be best reflected when there is light. So, when this New Year starts may be just before realizing the canopy of “resolution”, ask yourself what once you have answered so gleefully and what you are today.

What do you want to become when you grow up? Happy New Year.

Don't Break

Have u ever seen bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind? Then u must have noticed them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down. When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce back or return to it's original position, the word resilience comes to mind. When used in reference to a person this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person's emotions.

Have you ever felt like you are about to snap Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it. During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant physical symptoms. Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point bend but don't break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.

A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant ordeal. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant ordeal may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having. If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don't break!

Many Needs, One Life!

Humans have 9 lives.

I am smitten by the notion why on earth cats only have nine lives. It beats my contingence to reflect that the “Age of humans” is limited only with a timid life span. But digging deep into the nuances of a single and may be simple life opens the astounding sense of reality. It’s more that the usual Food, Clothes, Shelter and may be Sex that fall on the grades of humans. Some say needs some say wants; I say it’s the expression of life.

Problems due to missing 'basics' in people’s lives tend to develop over time, and so can be easily missed. Then, when the problem arises - be it anxiety, depression, addiction or some other nasty - they can't for the life of them fathom out why! It's therefore a great idea to know what your own garden needs in order to grow well, so when you see something starting to wither, you can check your list and apply the necessary nutrients.

1.The need to give and receive attention.

2. Taking heed of the mind body connection.

3. The need for purpose, goals and meaning.

4.A sense of community and making a contribution.

5. The need for challenge and creativity.

6. The need for intimacy.

7. The need to feel a sense of control.

8. The need for a sense of status.

9. The need for a sense safety and security.

It may seem that a life that meets all of these needs would be intolerably busy. But of course, one activity can meet many needs. Charity work for example, could be said to fulfill 1, 3, 4 and 5, and could contribute to 6 and 7. Walking with a friend as a pastime might go towards 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Generally, what this suggests, and what has been borne out by recent research, is that a more complex life is a healthier one. Then if one area of life fails or is taken away from you, your basic needs are maintained, at least in part, by those that survive.

So the message is... If your progress through life has gone a bit awry for you or a friend, check if there is petrol in the car, and that the battery is charged before going to a mechanic to have the engine taken apart!

F.I.G.H.T

Fight! Punch! Kick!
Don't bleed. Don’t' cry. Don't repent.

Since the time we are born till the time we pass away we fight with ourselves assuming that we are fighting for ourselves. These fights make us grow the world around us and eventually we shrink to that very point where we started all these fights. Life is a zero sum game. For instance, a newborn child fights for survival away from the comfort of mothers' womb with itself to accommodate itself towards the realities of the world. With the passage of time we fight with ourselves to bridge the gap between our aspirations and realities. While we mature we fight with ourselves to the extent of compromises we are ready to make. When we eventually have families we again start fighting with our aspiration and realities about what we want our kids to do. Then on later ages we fight with ourselves in accepting the realities. At the end we fight to link ourselves away from the earthly pleasure to the eternal truth that whenever there is a beginning there is an end, leaving behind a life full of struggle, a sojourn.

Just that in this fight with us we don't bleed, cry or repent only grow into different stages of life and leave behind the past as heap of experiences for others to fight.