Sunday, August 03, 2008
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
SMILE
Monday, January 01, 2007
I AM AN INDIAN
We’ve got all the time in world… We, Indians are pretty interesting people I’d say… we have a knack for using our resource and intellect for anything and everything that’s a non-issue. Take the fuss made over the release of the movie “da Vinci code”, Christians protesting, their posters screaming out the injustice being done to them just because they are in minority (which I think is beside the point they should have been trying to make…but, what the heck, everyone has freedom of speech). Of course the Europeans and Americans could not have had any problems to it cos there Christians are in majority.
Sometimes it annoys me to see India being glorified and sold out for all the wrong reasons… Manoj Kumar type people singing out “hai preet jahan ki reet sada” have made a fool of us all over.
Why don’t we take pride in what we are rather than try to please other people (that’s like essential with humans in general at times, but that is another story) We have a great cultural heritage; our literature is as rich as any other but how would we know we are hardly bothered. We admire the research that has been done on Jesus Christ and Bible, we sit gapping at our television sets seeing the amount of effort they have ut in to found out where Moses got the 10 Commandments. But when it comes to us… we give phony theories of religion… oh no! I can’t say that… we are all quite proud of the fact that NASA has discovered the bridge under the Indian ocean that could have been made by Lord Ram… studying the bridge would be probably like questioning our faith in God, let it be where it is, had God wanted us to study it, the bridge would have been on the surface screeching out it’s presence. And besides we are way too busy fighting over the Ayodhya issue… after all Babar had no right to destroy the Ram temple and build Babari Masjid there. Proof of the existence of Ram temple there? Oops… wrong question. For Heaven’s sake… was Lord Ram born in a temple? According to the theory given shouldn’t there have been a palace there rather than a temple… but again may be it was converted to a temple… ummm…. We’ll deal with one thing at a time… first let’s kill each other over religion and not let anything remain their not a Temple and nor a Mosque and then if we have anything left we might try to find out answers to the less relevant questions.
I know I am probably one of those responsible for it… we never take the initiative. But what I am trying to plead here is something that I do and am going to abide by all my life… I am a proud to be a citizen of this country. I am proud of the fact that we knew “Anu” and “Parmanu” long before, “Atoms” and “Molecules” amazed us. I am proud of the Holy Scriptures be it Ramayan or the Vedas……… I am proud of what I know of my culture and I don’t need a certificate from anyone to realize its importance and relevance to the present day scenario.
Finished at last ;)
Fountainhead…. It took me a long time to finish this book… quite unlike me but the book is way too descriptive. Especially towards the end it seemed to stretch like a piece of gum chewed and tasteless. I somehow failed to witness the miracle was expecting to see; the end and description deceived the content. I guess I do agree to the thought that has been conveyed in the book but it’s more like a fact thrust in to the face of the common man and he has accepted it and decided to live with it consciously or unconsciously. The book itself symbolizes, the worship of mediocrity, anything that doesn’t take you a mind of your own to understand is easily accepted and praised and so is this book. I am not trying to say that it’s a piece of crap getting glorified for no reason, I feel it’s the proof what it’s trying to sell. Every character has been exaggerated to most simplified version, one man epitomizing one trait… but I guess that’s how it works. What amused me the most was the way people try to relate to it, the way they actually go out of their way to abide by the book it’s almost like Peter Keating feeding himself in the writings of Lois Cook or preaching of Ellsworth Toohey. Before I read the book I met many a Howard Roark, their conviction to be someone else itself seemed to betray them before I could understand what they had been talking about. It’s a modern classic no doubt and it deals with reality and symbolizes it, but the idea lacks originality, it’s a general and rational observation…. But then again even that is so rare that it truly deserves all the acclaim it has gathered. It’s been almost heartening to see the world being acknowledge as it is… had I not gone through the glorification of it before I had read the book, I would’ve enjoyed it more.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
VOLUNTEERING
Isn’t this the story with almost all of us? We do want to help, but are so engrossed in our own lives that we just don’t have the time and energy left for anything else. Once in a while when we do stop to catch our breadth we realize that we aren’t doing what we wanted to and have given in to the mechanical lifestyle. And then we are filled with guilt with soon replaced by bigger plans and some more procrastination.
Now, what I don’t understand here is… who asked us to do big things. I mean let’s face it, not all of us can dedicate our lives to this. But we do want to help… don’t we? As my friend suggested to me that I could collect money… say put a few rupees whatever amount I can in a box everyday and then use that money for some worthy cause. And as I start to think of ways to utilize the money, I would be more involved with the volunteering work. Isn’t this simple?
But first I guess we need to change the way we think. All of us have our own share of joy and sorrow. And seeing someone else’s problems doesn’t make ours any smaller or less important, but it does help us appreciate what we have and use it wisely. We don’t need to go out and solve the poor man’s problems; we need to help him become self sufficient to solve his own problems. All we need to do is share a small part of whatever we have with someone who doesn’t have much. Even if we can bring a smile across the tired faces and make even a day easier for them, we would have done our bit.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
HOMELESS HOMEMAKERS
The girl leaves her parent’s place to make her own home, ends up in her husbands house…… where is her home?! Where does she belong?!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
RELIGION
I believe that religion is behavioral, it lays down the norms a society or cult has to be live by. It gives a sense of belonging to the individual following it, people of similar thoughts and beliefs live together.
The God one prays to is a personal thing… I don’t know what is God, I don’t know if he has a name or is God the name. I don’t know if I can feel God or not, still I am not an atheist… I do believe in God or the forces that be.
Christianity says that man is a born sinner, Hindus believe that man’s actions make him a sinner he isn’t born a sinner. Every religion has its own beliefs and they are right in their own perspective keeping mind the need of the time when the religion came in to being. I feel Christianity is glorified because it is the religion followed in the more developed countries and hence is noticed more… though it is not the most widely followed religion. Islam on the other hand is a religion about which very less is known, though there might be loads of other religions I know nothing about, but I feel Islam is a very widely followed religion that is suffering from lack of proper knowledge of it.
Every religion has turned rigid, but one can’t see that rigidity till he or she is actually involved in the religion… all the religions are God based be it Christianity, Hinduism, or Islam. Christianity was one religion that traveled from the underdogs to the kings instead of the other way round as has been the trend… but if you believe in God all religions hold equal potential to get you closer to God, and all of them preach humanity. I don’t know any religion that doesn’t preach equality or which says that the other religion isn’t good enough. There is one force, call it by whatever name you want, you’d still be praying to that one power above you. I respect your beliefs and you respect mine, one can tell me or you that the religion we follow is lesser, how can it be, God can’t have competitors.
Sikhism seems to be a religion that does not have a Godly start, it was started by Guru Nanak and after him followed 9 more Gurus, and they were teachers and never claimed to be God. Jesus was God’s own child; Hinduism has scriptures by God… Geeta was said by Lord Krishna himself, and Quran was bestowed upon Muhammad by Allah. But Guru Granth Saheb, is a compilation of teachings of the 10 Gurus, it has preaching’s of saints like Meera and Kabeer in it too… to me it seems to be one of the most practical religious scriptures to live by.
To me every religion has it’s own pros and cons and I think I know every little to judge them, and I love hearing about every religion and it’s big and small customs and the stories attached to them… there’s a lot that can be learned from there, a lot that has been sadly overlooked over the years.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
LETTING GO
We fight so many battles within ourselves and with every decision we win and lose at the same time. I guess it’s the same thing as learning to forgiving yourself. To know that it’s ok to make a mistake and that it is important to learn the lesson well and keep it for life…
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
CLICHE JUICE
It brings back a lot of memories for me... my friend gave it to me at a time when i didnt even know who David Duchovny was... she used to be a quite a X-Files fan and she made it a point to make me watch it too.....
This post is dedicated to her...
CLICHE JUICE
home is where my heart is, and my heart is out travelling
up into that wild blue yonder, wingless, prayerful
that this miracle of light will not end just yet
also at home with you, on the ground
wherever you might be at the moment, grounded like a high schooler
like a wire, a bird and a wire, feet on the ground
and my heart is in my throat now, now in my feet
lawfully descending with gravity, to the lower lowest
most sought after most beautiful bound home
aspirations involve reparations
we reach for the stars, wondering what we are
but my reason has been found, by finding youand looking down
and it is there not in the stars of the fantasized worlds
fifth dimensions, sixth senses, holy parallel potentates
of potentialities, that my feet will trace their slow
as history itself dance. A walking calligraphy so subtle
that it'll take forty years and more, and a view from above
with and impersonal remove and a lofty attachment
i hope to barely fail at that mythical two backed beast
itinerant states like the one i enjoy here
up here in the well attended air
to read the cursive strokes of my aggregate footsteps
like some fairytale dissolve, "once upon a time" or twice
written on our little page of earth ground
wherever our home may be, will be,
wherever we happen to be
Sometimes parents can be wrong too...
- Will Smith
This is the first thing that comes to my mind when I see kids these days. I am not saying all kids are extravagant but unfortunately too many are. And I feel that the blame for this falls less on the kids and more on their parents… when you say no for something to the child I think that should remain a no even if the child cribs. Parents know what’s best for their children and a child’s cribbing doesn’t make a wrong thing right so why do parents change their mind… parents themselves encourage tantrums this way. It might look cute to some when the kid is small (though to me it doesn’t look cute then too) but as the kid grows these tantrums take shape of irresponsibility and disrespect… and then it would be the parents turn to crib that their child is misbehaving!!
Parents always want to give their children the best of everything… but with this it is important that they pay some attention to making the child realize the value of what is being giving. My parents have never put it in to words that I should be careful about the way I spend… but yes they do expect me to be careful about what am I spending on. May be most parents are not like this… but recently I have come across way too many pampered spoilt brats… and depressed parents who keep wondering what made the child lose track… when the reason is obvious the kid knows all he/she needs to get things going his way is throw tantrums…
TRUST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MONOGAMY !!!!
I have always thought that I am kind of conservative but this time I got the shock of my life… the article was about couples being fine with their partners having extra marital affairs, talking about their crushes and a few more things of this sort. This was talked of as a way of having a “happily ever-after…” marriage……… well happy future is ensured by a happy present and if u are happy with your spouse what exactly was the reason for straying?! Also this is to prevent long term straying… huh?! Anything left for straying?!
I found it strange that marriage is taken more as a social obligation than a life long companionship… I don’t even understand what “marriage” means in this case. Being honest is good… but does honesty give you a license to get away with anything?! It’s like confessions would make your sins vanish. Freedom to talk about your crushes… this seems to be the weirdest part to me. First of all I don’t understand exactly how many people can you be with at one time?!?! Appreciating someone is one thing and having an affair another… and people it’s all in the name of trust… the spouse knows it and has absolutely no objections… HA! Why get married at all?!?!?!
I still can’t believe it’s actually happening… whoever calls the society unaccepting… if this kind of a thing is acceptable little remains to be rejected… no wait a sec… stealing and killing has yet to be legalized and lying has yet to be moralized. I can’t think of any person I know who’d be able to tolerate this concept (whatever it is!!!) and I am proud of my acquaintances for that. But I wonder what kind of people follow this… live with this so called “happily ever after”…
Monday, January 09, 2006
Tears...
I don’t know why so much fuss is made over tears… I agree I’d cry only in extreme conditions but then at that time I do need to cry… what is the use of holding back all the grief and letting it mount to an unbearable degree. Tears don’t mean that I am incapable of solving the problem… or that I have lost all hope and strength… I just want to express the pain I am going through. I am free to smile when I am happy but not to cry when I am sad… why so?! A smiling face always looks better but not everything in life is beautiful some things are just the way they are… not beautiful but they aren’t bad. I feel it’s ok to cry. Like it’s ok to make mistakes and learn from them… it is also alright to feel sorry for yourself if you don’t change it self pity drag your life on it… excess of anything can be bad. But sometimes we can let go for our inhibitions and cry… can’t we?!
I know most of you would feel that I have learned it too late… well may be I was happy believing people… ignorance is a bliss you know. But you can’t afford to remain ignorant lifelong at some point of time you have to open your eyes and face the realities. People don’t keep their word, lots of promises go unfulfilled… but I am not talking about these things… not being able to come up to someone else’s expectations is one thing but failing your own self is something different. I am amazed when people don’t even stand up for themselves… forget expressing their desires most don’t even bother about respect… you can have your way around them… because all they care about is that they shouldn’t be thrown out of the herd. They just move with the flow and speak with the wind… right or wrong who cares?!
Everyone is happy with the mediocrity of the situation… who’d bother enough to go for something bigger when you are getting things free here… after all what does it cost a little bit of self-esteem?! I have seen really good people lose touch with who they really are and accept a lower position than they deserve… I amazed how easily they sacrifice their dreams and ambition and begin believing that they deserve what they have got.
Why can’t people stand up for what they believe in… I don’t mean that you need to fight every time… but if you don’t ask you don’t get. At least don’t accept things blindly… live up to your won thoughts and words.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Random Thoughts
“What’s the question?” he says.
Remember the Book of Job?
“From the Bible?”
Right. Job is a good man, but God makes him suffer. To test his faith.
“I remember.”
Takes away everything he has, his house, his money, his family……
“His health.”
Makes him sick.
“To test his faith.”
Right. To test his faith. So, I’m wondering……
“What are you wondering?”
What do you think about that?
Morrie coughs violently. His hands quiver as he drops them by his side.
“I think,” he says, smiling “God overdid it.”
This excerpt is taken from the book “Tuesdays with Morrie” this is one of the many things in the book that have made me think…
I often feel I’m having a phase where the angel who was supposed to be watching over me has gone on a vacation. Then something happens and I’m forced to open my eyes and look at the world around me and I realize that I need to be grateful for all I have… and I don’t complaint. But still there is someone out there suffering… does that person deserve it?! Or is it his fate to suffer?!
PS: I do believe on God… I’m just wondering…
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Courage
Monday, December 19, 2005
FORGIVING....
I wonder how much of this divinity exists in the world... do we actually forgive all those who hurt us... or do we just accept the situation and make a compromise. I mean I can forgive people I’d say, but I don't forget the hurt very easily. Once I say I have forgiven someone I never look back to the mistake, would never hold it against that person. But the experience just doesn't leave me... it might take years before it fades out... does it mean that I don't really forgive, I just accept the situation in a hope that the person is truly repenting and would not repeat the mistake. After all what has happened can't be reversed... but it can be mended... made up for. I guess that is what punishments are for?! But the idea of punishing someone isn't very appealing to me either…
There have been times when I have hurt the people around me... knowingly unknowingly... and sometimes I have been forgiven, sometimes I had to pay for my mistake. But I remember times I have been forgiven better... those times have left a mark on me. Cos when I make a mistake and get punished for it, I don't have any complaint... that becomes a closed chapter... I was wrong and got what I deserved. On the other hand when I’m forgiven I can't get over the guilt feeling, I try to make sure I don't make the same mistake again...
Before forgiving a person... I feel... we need to forgive ourselves too. We have to know that it's all right to make mistakes... and that it takes a lot of courage to admit a mistake. And once we can understand that, we can relate to the person's pain and forgive the person. I guess that is what makes forgiving so difficult... and this why forgiveness is the key to happiness. Every time I have forgiven someone, I have experienced a strange peace within me as if I have called a truce with myself...
But I wonder what does one do... if the person doesn't want forgiveness.... when we don't get a chance to end the battle we fight within us.... when we don't know whether to accept things as they are or react to them...
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
DREAMS AND ME....
To my dismay I realized I had forgotten my dreams... the girl who had her own dream world, had lost her way trying to figure out the roads of mature thoughts n analysis...
I guess this happens to almost everyone... we forget ourselves in a race with time... n it's not about the hectic life today; it is about striking a balance between who you are n what you are expected to be. every person is an individual and has this wrong notion that he lives life on his own terms n conditions... but it is rarely so... every action, every step is inspired by an invisible force... we all want to feel accepted...
There’s a child within us who never grows up... it expresses itself in one way or the other... and our dreams are his strongest expression. the big yet simple thoughts... the goals that we decide as though nothing is impossible... the path that we choose as if nothing can scare us... that is the child-our true identity. but as we grow up, we succumb to norms of the society... we are scared that we might get lost in this big bad world... and hence begins our struggle for acceptance begins... the dreams are replaced by material needs... and the thoughts become mature and seek practicality...
Though I am glad that some of us are still able to live as children... with the same love for life, forgiveness for all and true enthusiasm to fulfill all our dreams. luckily such a person is my friend... our lack of practicality is what helps us relate to each other... and I want to thank him for making me feel comfortable bout being a dreamy kid in this world of mature grown-ups !!!!





