A Few Moist Eyes and a Bleeding Heart

One can never understand the importance of anything till there is a dearth of it. Similar is the case with human beings…one can never know how special the person is till the tide of time takes the person away from you. I experienced this feeling yet again ofcourse for a new set of people…but the feeling remains just the same.

I never knew that in this very short second innings of mine in Mumbai I had made such lovely friends, till the day we had our final lunch together (at Khushboo’s favorite food joint)…I don’t know whether you all noticed or not but that day we hardly spoke n were most formal with each other, also we didn’t click any pics…we used to click pics at DP’s, college cafeteria, classrooms…that was like our favorite pass-time whenever we were together but that day the whole atmosphere was so different…I never thought that a person as practical as Khushboo could ever drop a tear because one of us was going from Mumbai…Khushboo I might have never said it to you but I really admired you for one reason that you were really honest each time and miles away from the word ‘hypocrisy’…Did you know that it was because of you that I completed like one fourth of my syllabus...because whenever you asked me a question I was compelled to look at the notes, which I otherwise wouldn’t have bothered to read till the D-date…You were probably my first companion in college…when I came to know that we were in the same working group…I had kind of mixed feelings…but slowly as we went ahead with our assignments I really felt happy and more than that honored to be in the same working group as you, for the only reason that you put so much of hard work in every task…n inspire the others also…forget about the people who didn’t get inspired…they were hopeless cases (you know whom I’m talking about don’t you? )…but sweety, that day those tears….

Then for two the lovely people, one who can be the brand ambassador for laughter therapy n a perfect substitute for Baba Ramdev and the other who is the brand ambassador of Hide n Seek and Ruffles Lays…do I need to name the two of you??? These two girls brought the smile back on my face when I thought I had just given up smiling…they got the humor out of me…they made me feel special…I owe a lot to them…much more than what meets the eye n it can’t be expressed in just by petty words…The two of them are diametrically opposite…n I have experienced the best and the worst of both the personalities…but one thing both of them have in common, is that both of them are extremely stubborn (n not to forget allergic to cold stuff) n will never listen to me, be it having roadside stuff or the most unhygienic juices in the world…they will never listen to me whenever I ask them to refrain from such stuffs n almost always land up with a sour throat or an upset stomach…another trait that is common is that both of them derive immense pleasure in what ever sets my eyes to water…be it surprising me on the b’days in the most bizarre but gratifying way…or crafting the worlds most special gifts…or coming to see me off at the airport at 8 in the morning (its not easy, considering traveling time in Mumbai)….they did it all…but sweeties those tears…

Finally, my friends from School Shilpi, Smita and Sneha…you guys are kind of immune to my moving in and out of Mumbai...but still Shilpi you need to grow up in every which way…Shilpi you are one of the most innocent people I have come across and the best thing about you is that time didn’t rob you off that innocence…you made me feel mature…but that whimper on the phone that day….

Those tears didn’t set my eyes to water…but each drop of tear was like a spike…they pierced my heart…I never have moist eyes whenever I leave a place but always a bleeding heart…but guys there is one thing I tell all my friends and am sharing it with you all also…

There are many facets to friendship, the most important of them being a string that tethers the two individuals. To me the string should be very elastic in nature to survive the strain of spatial distances, every other facet just falls in place if this string is elastic enough…for me the friendship begins when a person’s physical presence in my routine diminishes or evaporates. So, I never I like to shed tears at a person’s departure as I know my friendship is to begin now…it’s the very important for the metamorphosis of a person from being an acquaintance to a friend…

So, I hope the string of our friendship is elastic enough to endure this strain of spatial distance…

The Gandhian Thoughts…

Reading the newspaper has always been the first thing I did each morning, I even fought my father to get my hands on it first, but these days I just let go of that most coveted paper…..

I just read the headlines a few days back and didn’t feel like reading the newspaper any further, that was because of the Varun Gandhi saga. I’m not a very fervent follower of news, especially political news, but this one news is all over and has seriously disturbed me.

I feel sorry for his thought process, at this young age he carries so much venom in his heart and what is worse is that he is giving words to this venom, worst still, he is giving such statements while addressing public rallies, which is has an audience of thousands. Most of whom are gullible, uneducated and some even young; by far the most lethal combination. How badly can such speeches influence those naïve minds is the question…

Mr. Varun Gandhi even discarded the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, though even I don’t quite agree with his thoughts, but that certainly doesn’t mean that I practice violence instead. Everybody is entitled to a viewpoint, but when you are a public figure one needs to think twice before venting his thoughts. If the young leaders of the nation have such heinous thought process then we can very well understand, in what direction we are heading and in how safe hands the nation is…

Something that’s more alarming is the support he is getting, not only from his fellow workers, but also the general public, I read some students even saying that there was nothing wrong is what Mr. Gandhi said.

Today I recall an article by Vir Sanghvi stating, “when you target an entire community or religion, then you needn’t bother with the ‘war against terror’-because then, the terrorists have already won”, now I know how true it is.... Mr. Vijay Mallya might have bought back the spectacles of Mahatma Gandhi, but we have lost the vision…Money can’t buy everything…. We harbor terrorist in our own country and still peep into neighborhoods for evidences.

GEM

“Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to”

This encouraging quote in a leading daily, reminds me of a batch-mate from class 12th. Of all that I can recall, I remember him as a guy who used to stand last in the row for assemblies, looking really sheepish…not because he was that tall, but because he was late to school without a day’s exception. He was one of the most good-humored and jocular person and usually the target for most of the gags in the bus. Incidentally we shared the same coaching class also, where again he was a declared hope-less case. None of the faculty members expected anything for from him…but all this didn’t rob him off his trademark smile and jovial spirit. At that time, I didn’t give this guy any heed; I simply didn’t know him well enough to comment on him.
With time he became a friend rather than an acquaintance, thanks to some common friends. That’s when I actually started understanding this guy and realized that he was far more talented than what he portrayed himself to be. His thoughts and deeds had a lot of depth and what was most striking was the way he kept back his thoughts to himself and never made them evident. He never gave word to his emotions. I don’t recall any moment except one when he spoke what he felt. He was never an emotional fool (as he puts it), but I know he is emotional. Our common friends always thought that he would never keep in touch and his principle in life was, out of sight and out of mind, but I always knew that he is the only person who can maintain the integrity of the bond called friendship and he proved me right.
When people thought that he was a hopeless case, he had a hope ignited within him, I could sense it. Somehow, after I started understanding him, I was confident that he would be successful but I couldn’t ever justify it, though now I can. He is not one of the most intelligent people I have come across, but he certainly is one of the cleverest people I have come across. He always knew what exactly he wanted from life and I loved the fact that he steered in every possible direction to reach where he wanted to. He never bothered as to what people had to say about him, because he knew that he was nothing short of the best. Today he is much more successful than many others because while others were involved in petty issues he already was working out his plan of action. He was determined to make a mark and he has succeeded in doing it…at least to some extent.
There are very few people apart from my parents whom I really respect and he is one of them….and as I always tell him that “he is a GEM of a human being”. I’m and will always be proud to have a friend like him.

THE COST OF LIVING

There is a voice deep inside me that says that I’m blessed to be living, that I can witness the world created by the Almighty, but there is also regret that I can’t witness the world as created by him.

So much has changed since this universe was created, though changes are inevitable, but the changes for good should be inevitable, but as it is said where good prevails evil also does exists, so we have to live with both good and adverse changes. To the extent where Good and Adverse strike a balance it is easy to cope, but sadly so, there is never a balance. The Adverse always overpowers the Good, rather the consequence of Adverse overpower those of the Good.

As much as I don’t want to sound like a pessimist, I can’t help such thoughts from flowing into my mind. The world appears to be a graveyard of dead souls rather than a consortium of lively spirits. We are increasingly swaying away from humanity and allied virtues.

In these times people see each other as crutches rather than a fellow human being. Every relationship is a means to reach some destination….wonder what is the difference between the local trains and our relationships, we leave one, hop into another and so on…

In today’s ambitious world people feel its better to work for few more hours and gain some fiscal benefits and improve the quality of their life rather than sitting peacefully with their family for at least sometime.

We are all running a big Marathon in which everybody wants to win. In doing so we forget about all that is around us and all that we are leaving behind…We are not even concerned with what is happening to the people around us we are just running…

At the dawn of each day we think about all the work and commitments lined for the day…when did we last think of ourselves and everybody we truly love the first thing in the morning…everybody is in search of ‘something’ and this something seems to have no end….we run and fight against ourselves just to get close that virtual something, without realizing that, that something is within us. We are just like the musk deer which could experience a sweet smell but couldn’t reach it…it kept running and running in its search and finally in its blind search fell from the mountain and lost its life just to realize that the sweet smell was coming from within him…

We are all paying the Cost of living which includes our mental peace, our strength, our happiness, the smile on the faces of our loved ones, and the most important ourselves, we seem to have lost the track of ourselves in this Marathon…Living is rather expensive in today’s times…because it involves living at the edge everyday and sacrificing all that is priceless…

Sometimes I ask myself why are we living and then I get this reply “We are living because there is still some trace amount of humanity and Good alive on this planet, and we are living so that we can propagate this trait and make the lives of our subsequent generations worth living, so that they never have to pay the cost of living as we do”.

When a smile from a stranger works miracles…

There was a restless kind of silence around me waiting to engulf me into its dark dungeon. Things were not going the way I had planned them, on the contrary diametrically opposite things happened…and when they happened I felt as though the whole world was conspiring against me. Dejection crept in, a sense of solitude filled my mind, and I felt alone in the crowd and failed to listen to the many people around me. I was feeling sapped out of my energies and cognizance….
With turmoil inside me I stepped onto the lanes outside my college, with a friend. She took me to a park nearby where there was not even a bench for us to sit. So we dug up our bags to find papers to sit on, finally settled we looked around aimlessly laughing at ourselves…suddenly from nowhere a gang of kids turned up…they were from families of slum dwellers…they had some of the dirtiest faces I have ever seen, yet the most beautiful smiles. They were playing with a Latto (Top). I have never seen such a defunct toy in my life…but they seemed to derive immense pleasure out of their toy. I exclaimed at my friend when one of the toddlers managed to spin the toy like an adroit, my exclamation brought a smile on his face and an expression as though he had achieved something out of this world…
He then came up to me and demonstrated all his tricks he could perform with that toy, noticing my cell phone he said in the sweetest possible tone “ Didi meri photo pahado na” which I gladly did…on looking at his photo he broke into one of the sweetest and purest giggle I had ever heard…he posed gallantly for the camera and called all his friends for a group photograph…one of them even rushed home and called his sisters and introduced them to us and asked us to click their pictures also...all of them saw the pictures, enjoyed them for a moment and then dispersed to play…suddenly two youngest boys from the gang came from nowhere and asked us to click their pictures and the striking salute pose was the highlight…the kids laughed and giggled and went on to play…
They went off and left their smiles on my face…I felt rejuvenated and complacent as though I had achieved something…had I ?
Yes I had…I regained my cognizance back, that my smile had never gone anywhere it was there with me, within me…the only thing that was lacking was the will and the reason…now I had both…
The kids had given me the will to smile even in the most excruciating circumstances like they did and the reason to smile being their infectious smiles itself…
All this thanks to my friend who took me to that park…..Thanks Sangeeta.

JIGSAW PUZZLE
A few days back I was at my cousin’s place and was helping my nephew solve a jigsaw puzzle. Every time we were able to settle a piece, his face would exude joy and satisfaction, sometimes we joined mismatched pieces also and the displeasure was also evident on his innocent face. That 20 min game made me realize and understand some of the most important lessons; our life is also a jigsaw puzzle, just a bit more elaborate with some more pieces but the rule is the same…..you keep configuring it correctly and you will be happy.
Like in a puzzle game the company provides us with all the pieces required to complete the picture so also God has given us all the pieces, they are just scattered and it is left to us, how to assemble it. The only difference is that the company provides us with a blue-print of the picture but God does not.
The best lesson I learnt from the game is no part of life is useless or bad….it may be a misfit but certainly not bad…it will fit somewhere else in the larger picture. Also if we try to forcefully settle a part somewhere it only leads to ruining of the piece and the picture both which is bound to give us displeasure.
But the beauty and complication of this game is that all the pieces unfold gradually they are all clandestine pieces…when the right time comes they will unfold. We have to just wait for the right time but be vigilant enough to know the turn of time and to act quickly and locate the pieces an organize them this is the second lesson I learnt.
The third and the most important lesson I learnt was, we can never grow if we can’t be childish. Like it is said there is only one way to understand a game…play it, similarly there is only one way to understand life…live it. So live life before the last piece unfolds.