New Year's Eve Day!

Early in the morning as I gazed upon the rising sun, from the window sill,

I could not stop appreciating the beauty of the brightest star over the yonder hills.

This was when I was savouring my morning tea, the last one, of this passing year,

accompanied by my grand-ma, aunts and mamma on the dining table amidst the family cheer.

I was lost as much in my own thinking sphere, as much as I was there, feeling blessed to be amongst those who are so near and dear.

Although it’s time for a year to end and time for our very own earth to complete one more circle around the sun,

there are still many dots waiting to connect to form the perfect pattern.

And so, I look forward to the year ahead with much more wonder and curiosity,

to know what’s in store in the coming year and to witness the subsequent unfolding of the mystery.

Good bye, 2011! - Thank you for everything!

May the coming year for all of us be promising and fulfilling!

Mood of the moment!

As I look back and look around, I see myself yearning and striving for Clarity.

But to my dismay, I always end up getting caught up by Confounding Uncertainty.

My inner compass and the outer world are not yet in synchronicity,

And I am earnestly looking for all possible cues to stabilize this situation which is so topsy-turvy!

Questions, I have many! But, Answers, I have hardly found any…

God! Light my way to what is my true destiny!

I wish to live it up well and purposefully,

Because I believe this journey is meant to be holy!

And the ultimate reality is nothing but pristine beauty!

A smile for a smile. :-)

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, smile,a kind word,a listening ear,an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring,all of which have the potential to turn a life around."-Leo F. Buscaqlia

I am so touched by the gesture of our two garbage collectors( two kind ladies),that I couldn't help sharing my feelings through this blog post.Yes,this blog post is dedicated to two wonderful ladies,who made my day,today! :-)

Everyday,around 1000 hrs our door bell rings and we know that it's time for garbage disposal.So even today,as usual our door bell rang around the same time and I almost unconsciously opened the door without realizing that it must be the garbage women or 'Kude walis'(I am finding this term so weird all of a sudden.And no doubt,it doesn't sound good at all.Still we use it  for the most humanitarian souls who take the pains of disposing our garbage everyday.But this is life,full of ironies-isn't it? :)...On a second thought, 'what's there in a name?' formula applies here.Because no matter what we call them,we have great respect for our garbage women(men).Right? Yes! :-)...and we really don't mean MEAN at all.).

Anyway,coming back to the point.As I opened the door I saw our garbage women, greeted them with a smile and went inside to get the dustbins.Returning back,as I kept the dustbins outside the door,waiting for them to get emptied into the larger bin that our two garbage women carry,one of them asked me,"What do you do?".I said,"I teach in a college." They were quite impressed with my reply and then she said something which really made my day,today.She said," You know ,I keep talking about you with her(the other lady) and the reason is your smile.You have a beautiful smile.Whenever you open the door,you always greet us with a smile and we so love it.It brings a special joy to our hearts." God! I was and am still completely touched by such a kind acknowledgement of hers.I am really touched to the core. I smiled back a grateful,joyous smile and told them that I equally adore them.(I seriously do.Earlier two garbage men used to come to collect our garbage.They were too real gentlemen.These two ladies have started coming only recently and they always smile a friendly smile.)

As I was almost done with reciprocating my feelings,the other lady asked me,"why are you at home today?" and I said,"Heavy rains!...there are water logging news reports,schools have been closed for the day and even the trains are going late.Some of them are even cancelled and then I don't have any lecture today.So,I am staying back at home."

And with an understanding smile on her face,she said,"Yes,my son's school has also been closed.You must rest well.Relax yourself today." Wow! I am so overwhelmed by their warmth and kind words of appreciation and consideration that I am feeling full of love for the beauty of humanism.

Three cheers to the spirit of humanism!

God bless our dear garbage women! They gifted me a smile for a smile.:-) A smile that made my day! Really. :-)

My life is a Blue Rose...!...

A never ending quest for the impossible...

An appreciation for the enigmatic and the inexplicable...

A hope for the unattainable...

Yes! My life is a Blue Rose...!...

A wonderfully enchanting journey, which I can better describe in verse than in prose...

Oh yes! My life is a Blue Rose...!...

Musical strings...!...

Each moment brings its set of players,

who touch your strings and make you hear,

a musical note, which sometimes is  lively and sometimes is queer.

At times the music gets you high , at times ,it fills you up with fear, and a lot more feelings both clear and unclear.

God! I feel so bemused in this musical fare, which despite of all the odds is nothing but interestingly dear !

Different players produce different rhythms in different occasions at different locations.

Some rhythms tune you perfectly with the divine and some just leave you betwixt and between the real and imaginary lines.

Our musical strings when touched may produce any music ranging from annoying cacophony to melodious symphony.

Let us strive to understand the nature of our musical strings along this musical journey to know the real meaning of our destiny!

Gulmohar Talkies

This post is an attempt to understand and present my silent yet communicative interactions with a ‘Gulmohar’ tree which almost touches my bedroom window (not to mention, now my heart too) and is a constant companion during my evening walks.

I have seen this tree through all the changing seasons and it continues to have a nothing short of stunning influence on me. There are times, when this tree stands bare branched for months, times when it blossoms with scarlet coloured flowers and is decked up with refreshing green leaves and times when all that adorned it with pure beauty, flourished and bloomed on it, begins to fall apart and eventually leaves it all alone...But the tree, irrespective of being WITH or WITHOUT continues to LIVE.

I often wonder about its state of mind during all the phases and also ask it about its feelings... and... there’s always one answer-“I am ALIVE.”.

I am always gladdened to see its waving branches with smiling leaves and flowers and feel sad to see it bare-branched, but in some ways it has a special power to always inspire me to LIVE life as it comes.

The most surprising element was that this year it remained bare-branched for a much longer duration of almost two months than the usual time. We could see other Gulmohar trees in the compound blooming with leaves & flowers, but this wasn’t showing any signs of flowering and its bark and branches started appearing wrinkled and lifeless. What the eyes could see was indeed disheartening.

Everyday, during my evening walks I used to pray for the tree and ask mamma if it has really died and she would always say, “In all likelihood-Yes!” We were apprehensive that the tree might soon get felled down by the authorities and this made us feel sadder as it was now a part & parcel of our lives.

But the theory of uncertainty proved its validity like it often does and one fine day(almost 15 days back) we saw few branches of the tree decked up with green leaves –it was completely amazing and heartening to see something which was least expected but deep down inside always wished. And now it’s all blooming and smiling with flowers again! :)

I have no words to express my happiness to see it bright and blooming these days-Feels awesome!

My admiration for the tree has increased manifold, now that I’ve observed it pass the test of time with its grounded and ‘Never say DIE’ demeanour.

I have a habit of pouring my heart out to it during my evening walks and it always gives me company by silently listening to me. Sometimes, all you need is someone who is willing to lend you an ear and just be with you and my Gulmohar tree is one such friend I feel blessed to have.I just pray to God to give me enough strength to pass all phases of life with ‘Gulmohar’ like poise & power!

Three cheers to my Gulmohar tree!:)

Thought of the day: Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers. –Rainer Maria Rilke



The Ongoing Mahabharat

Mahabharat and Ramayan are two great epics to which almost every child in India or those of Indian origin are introduced at a very early age and I am no exception. I very fondly remember those days when my great grandmother, grand parents and parents used to tell us stories from Mahabharat and Ramayan, stories of all Gods and Goddesses. I have always been fascinated by such stories and I still find them interesting. I remember since a very young age, I used to ask questions pertaining to God and holy texts and scriptures to my parents and the best part was that I was never ignored and always got an encouraging response from them.

One day (when I was in school), I remember asking Babba that why in Gita , Lord Krishna supported the war? I mean how can ‘God’ be in favour of war when we all know that war is a heinous practice?

And he just replied in two sentences. He said, “ Gandhiji, interpreted Mahabharat as the ongoing war inside our minds.” and then he said, “ Beta, Gita is a perennial philosophy…it has a lot of depth…”

His response gave me enough food for thought- something that I found interesting enough to contemplate on, which eventually also helped introduce me to the concept of ‘fighting a good fight’.

And today I concede being a witness to the ongoing Mahabharat inside my mind…the war between good and evil…the waging war between umpteen thoughts…and amidst all this there is always a voice of the conscience acting as a guiding force…

At present, I can best fathom ‘Mahabharat’ as an artistic representation of the happenings inside the MIND-the real battlefield.

And I feel there’s much more to it which I am yet to realize and understand…There’s a long way to go!

Let me end this post with this prayer:-

“O creator of the universe, we meditate upon thy supreme splendor. May thy radiant power illuminate our intellects, destroy our sins and guide us in the right direction.”(Gayatri Mantra) Amen.

P.S: I also feel that games like cricket, tennis, soccer and the likes too portray our ongoing inner struggle. Infact, it is better to say that the physical world is a mirror to the inner world.

Let's talk some headlines!



Well, March was one month, full of big headlines...! Headlines which shook, stirred and touched us all...Some brought us gloom and some brought back our smiles...It was a completely chaotic and turbulent month...One that made us furious with agony, distress and unanswered questions (Sometimes, it’s really hard to wait for the answers...)-It made us even more curious to understand what was happening...to know why was it happening...Nevertheless, it also made us realize the value of the gift of LIFE!

Let me present my point of view for some of the stories that made headlines for me.

1. The Japan disaster

It was a shocking news! ...Completely heartbreaking...!... All I could understand from the Japan disaster is that, death is inevitable and unpredictable. How and when we are going to die, nobody knows and it’s good for us...certain things are better off unknown...After all, life wouldn’t have any meaning, if everything was known...All those who lost their lives in the disaster accentuated the ultimate truth only for us to understand what is important and what is not...For me, life is more about relationships than any other thing. Let’s focus on building beautiful relationships. I am sure, in doing that, we’ll experience life at its best.

2. The world cup fervour

Yeah, I am completely gripped by the World cup fervour this time. I know it’s way too dramatic...but then life is filmy, isn’t it? :)...and I like that...What I love about cricket and the love for cricket is the energy and the spirit that comes alive while watching the game and the best part is that we all share the sportive spirit, which is remarkable! It is absolutely fantastic to see how a game of cricket brings us to the common ground. I love to see and feel the collective desire to win-It’s amazing!

I am eagerly waiting to experience the moment when TEAM INDIA will hold the World cup winners trophy in Wankhede stadium today :)

3. I got a job!

Yes! I am placed and this time in the textile industry! I hope my FUNemployed days continue even after I join the job. I am happy and satisfied with what I’ve got. Let’s see what’s in store!

Feeling of the day: I feel abundantly blessed!

Thought of the day: “There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.”-Jim Morrison



Didi....!

I think, but I can’t explain what is a thought...

I see dreams and wonder of what is and of what is not...

We’ve heard it so often that dreams are products of our subconscious. Be it whatever, dreams undoubtedly add a great deal to the mystery of life. And I have absolutely no idea about the purpose and meaning of dreams. Considering my present state of realization, all I know is that dreams are a part of reality-that’s it. The phenomenon of dreams is way beyond my grasp. Although it is indeed something that leaves me intrigued and puzzled when I wake up, but then the routine takes over and the curiosity fades along with the dream.

However there are few dreams which have left a lasting impression on me and are dearly special. They have touched me in amazingly inexplicable ways...!

One such dream I just saw, some 4-5 days back and I am completely touched by it, so much that the feeling is still intact.

Just to ensure that I never forget it, I feel it’s better to freeze it in words.

So, here I go...

[Note: The dreams that I intend to talk about in this post are the ones we see while sleeping (I wonder who sleeps then? I feel, it’s the chattering part of the mind...?...).]

The dream

I was walking on a pavement, when I spotted a black Labrador lying at a distance and perhaps, as far as I remember, I was out in search of Eskimo (our pet, who was also a black Labrador).

Having spotted a black Labrador, my heart pounded and I became alert in anticipation of the feeling I would experience on identifying Eskimo. I so wished, that this dog be Eskimo and the closer I was getting to him, the keener I was becoming to find ‘my Eskimo’ in him. And you won’t believe, that as I was just about 5 feet away from this being, with a feeling of both hope and fear in equal measure...hope- that this is my Eskimo and fear -of getting mistaken, I witnessed something so bizarrely beautiful that the moment froze then and there. It was when I heard Eskimo calling out for me...

The magic of the moment was that he called me-------------->“Didi...............!” Yes, he did...!It was a breathtaking moment-completely ethereal that in a flash second all my fear vanished and the feeling of uniting with him engulfed the moment-making it absolutely perfect! God!-he spoke...literally!-It was irresistibly endearing!

This dream left me with two thoughts:-

1. May be this was Eskimo’s way of telling me that he still thinks of me and loves me beyond measure-He couldn’t have expressed that any better!

Or

Perhaps it was a deep-rooted longing that surfaced in my dream. But then the question is, 'what is a dream?'. And I don’t want to delve into that because it was a beautiful dream and the wise say that each and every form of TRUTH is beautiful which I like to believe.

2. I somehow feel, there was a hidden message in this dream or you may take it as my interpretation of the dream and that is- Each one of us is busy in finding something or the other –may be what we don’t realize is that whatever we are searching for is also searching for us...

I am inquisitively touched...!

The gift of words

This happens to be the first post of 2011 and I thought why not begin this year with words for words by words which will readily respond to my feelings towards them.

So, this post is wholeheartedly dedicated to WORDS which are one of those beautiful stuffs life is made up of! I can’t imagine life without words. Words have such a great impact on our lives-of all the other good things, they give us expression, which I feel is the best part of life.

Like everything else, words are also available in all sizes, all shades and all colours. Sometimes they annoy us, sometimes they bring us peace. Sometimes they tease us, sometimes they motivate. Sometimes they teach us, sometimes they challenge. Sometimes they question us, sometimes they answer.

With words we experience the phenomenon called life, with words we interpret it, with words we share it, with words we celebrate it. Words form an integral part of our lives. They have their own special place and worth.

Yes , there are words which pollute the atmosphere and shatter lives. But there are also words which bind us together and make our lives. Let us refrain from using bad words and always add good words to our vocabulary.

All of us are blessed with the gift of words-Let us use them well and wisely!

Words are really friendly and I love to play with them! I feel so lively in their company. They may reach you through a book, through a friend, through your family members, through television, through movies, through many such mediums and even through your own conscience. Let us savour them, play with them and last but not the least share them.

I wish you all a happy time with words. May words have a positive influence on your lives!

Happy new year!-happy feelings, happy thoughts and happy words to everyone! :)

Cheers!