5 Reasons...

I was just watching "Eat Pray and Love", starring Julia Roberts. Now, it semed like quite a package... that movie.Deals with the very common social phenomenon- People get hurt and hurt others all the time.. sometimes by just being themselves and sometimes by being someone they are not. How to deal with it?

I ran bits of the movie through my head and tried to see if there was anything that I could pick from it, for my life.. (That is what we usually do when we see stuff that moves us in any way- round it off to the centre; "me"!)
And here is what I think....

5 Reasons to remain Single...

1. You are the lead actor of your life's story. The remote must be nowhere, but in your own two hands.

2. No "baggage".... No flash backs, no sudden outbursts, nothing. You can walk into a cafe or a movie theater by yourself, without any hesitations or unpleasant emotions.

3. No crying away on forgotten birthdays or mooning away on valentine's day. You want a party? You make it happen... anytime... anywhere. You are the party, nobody can take that away from you

4. You learn to love yourself. Something which one tends to forget, sometimes... either when he/she is too busy pleasing someone else or when that other person makes it a point, that you forget it.

5. No break ups... no heart breaks.. :)

5 Reasons why women should eat...

1. Guys are visual creatures, but that is kind of low in a dark room.

2. Starving will not get you the guy that you want. He will go where he is supposed to be.Face it, you cannot control it all!

3. Hypoglycemia is not = awesomeness..... It is = glucose drips+ hospital visit + long bills.

4. There is always a pair of jeans that will fit you.

5. A relationship that is skin-deep and figure-based, won't last anyway.... You, on the other hand, have to last.

5 Reasons why we should meditate...

1. Balance comes to those who search for it.

2. Baggages need check-in and security check... and I do not just mean the airport.

3. We don't want mess in our home, in our lives, in our jobs... then why keep it all in our mind?

4. In the noises of the buzzing world around, the voices from our hearts and souls get muffled. We don't hear them clearly,ourselves. Then, how can we expect others to hear it?

5. Everyone needs an overhauling once in a while.


And in conclusion, the "Rule of quest physics"...

If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting..
And set out out on a truth seeking journey- either externally or internally...
And if you truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue
And if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher..
And if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself..
Then the truth will not be withheld from you.

All the best... :) :)

Not tonight...

I don't want to think about you tonight..

I don't want the pain to flow through my eyes..

I am all alone,

And times are steep..

The waves are hitting hard,

My wound's still deep..

I could do with a heartache less to fight..

I don't want to think about you tonight..

The silence stirs..

And I hear your laughter ring,

I wish I knew better..

Of hatred, as a thing,

'Cos kindness kills me..

And I am up all the time,

Going over details..

Finding reasons in my mind.

                                     

                                     

                                      So, I don't want to need you tonight..

                                       I just wanna do what is right..

                                       I am all alone,

                                       And times are steep..

                                       The waves are hitting hard,

                                       My wounds' still deep..

                                       I could do with a heartache less to fight..

                                       I don't want to think about you tonight..

                                             

Music and Lyrics.. And Movies....

It is very easy to predict the kind of day a fellow is having by simply looking at what they are listening to or what movie they feel like watching...

Call it the mood-o-meter, but it works, more often than not! :)

Happy mood------> Hello Colbie Caillet! ( I do! I do!..... Lucky to be in love with my best friend!...) or Natasha Bedingfield !( I've got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.... The rest is still unwritten...) or a nice rocking number.. ( You spin my head right round, right round, when you go down, when you go down.........

I love you and I need you, Nelly I love you, I do need you. No matter what I do, all I think about is you... even when I'm with my boo, oh u know I'm crazy over you.... )

Just broke up?--------> Earlier on it will either be a lot Taylor Swift ( I've never been anywhere cold as you...... Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone........ I go back to December, all the time.... ) or a lot glooming around with "Careless whisper"-brand of songs.... Gradually and definitely it progresses towards angry-young-girl-kind of songs ( Cruel to be kind, in the right measures...... I don't wanna be the girl who laughs the loudest--- How do I feel so good, sober?........ You change your mind, like a girl changes clothes..) And then, finally, by the time you find the lost pieces of your heart, maybe instrumental ( Hans Zimmer or good old Titanic) or just switch back to the old, much-loved playlist! :)

Exam times?-------> I used to swear by linkin park and eminem...don't know about u! :)

When in between exams----------> a light-hearted no-brainer comedy! "The Hangover" or "The Proposal" or "The American pie"  series....

When sulking away on some silly sunday night and looking at the door for that wee little bit of company (which by the way, never comes!)----------------> A romantic movie with lots of pringle and orange juice... even ice cream or chocolate would do, but that is only if u r really upset! :) could be " The Notebook", "The message in the bottle", "Nights at the Rodanthe", "P/S- I love You"..... :(

And like me, if are raring to go to that long awaited vacation, you watch---------> "The Holiday" 

( especially if u r single, all u dream of is bumping in2 some Jude Law over the next fortnight! or even earlier, maybe....)

Lolz.... :)

So what are you listening to today?

  

Doggie and I...

Love towards animals is nothing new... Cats,rats,horses,all kinds of birds... they have always been a fellow's pal.But, to me, the most delightful of all creatures is the dog..

Dogs are faithful, dogs are cute. But, bitch is a bad word and your ex is definitely and mostly a dog! What is it with these ironies?

Look at the pro's, people....
a. They are cute and sweet
b. They are faithful till the end
c. They are cute and sweet
d. They are faithful till the end..
.
.
.
.
z. Does anything else actually matter? :)

You come back from work or school or someplace... only to find a certain somebody who has missed you and has no qualms about wagging a tail or barking around like a lunatic or biting his little tail and going around himself in circles, to tell the world about it.. You throw things away and he brings them back to you.... could be a ball or a frizz-bee or sometimes, even a broken heart ( licked back to healing, courtesy- doggie love) :)
You don't eat and he goes on a diet too. You are not around and he is waiting at the doorstep for you. There is something so unique about a dog- whether it be a pet, house-trained dog or a stray one running around your hostels- they stay and somehow stick to your hearts, if you let them. Only few things can make you feel at home- Mum's cooking, a hug from someone you love and a dog... ( Your list may be different! But, there is always place to accommodate doggie love in it! Believe me.. :) )

Just a couple of my favourite dog stories...

There was this dog we had at home. A cross between a Doberman and a Boxer... jet black with unusually long ears, brown innocent eyes and a really small tail! :) We had him since he was a baby. He was a great watch-dog and great company. We had vaccinated him totally, but sometimes when things go wrong, they just go wrong. There is no right to them. He got rabid or something like that. We have no idea from where or what. But, his vet believed that it was something of that kind, which ran in the my dog's dog family. Do you know what they say about terminally ill patients? That they know they won't stick around too long? Well, for my little furred friend, it went a step further. Probably in some corner of his doggie head, he intuitively knew that he was a danger to all humans around him, including us, his family. He ran away that night. Never saw him again. A couple of months later, they found a dead dog in an old well. Everybody said it was him. I did not have the strength to go and look. I still look around for him, sometimes..

When I was in college, we used to literally burn the mid-night oil in the college reading rooms and libraries. And our constant companions throughout that time, were our 3 cute puppies... stray dogs, actually... they played with us and sat by us all night. The three were so distinct, it was so difficult to believe that they were brothers. We used to call them... Amar, Akbar and Anthony....( after the blockbuster Bollywood movie! ) One other dog had self-appointed himself as my very own personal bodyguard. He used to run either a few steps ahead of me or trail a few meters behind me right from the hostel gate to my room. At first, it was frightening, sprinkled with a bit of annoyance. Later, it became a habit.They were around till all of our exams finished. But somewhere between going home after the papers and returning back after the results, we lost them. They were our exam angels... :)

But, no, they were not perfect. One of them even bit a friend of mine and she had to get all those shots in the hospital. But, then, what is perfection? .......

To all the doggies I have known and those whom I will get to know, on some later date and hour..... You rock! I wish humans were more like you! :)

I, Me and Myself...

Multiple personality disorder is a well known psychological condition. But, to me, one person having several (or more specifically, three) personalities is a perfectly natural phenomenon, which is seldom noticed. I do not mean to say that every person around is a psychological nut case! No... But, every person, in my view is three persons.

I..                                        
I call the first person 'I' , because it is simple, self contained and complete, with its own identity. 'I' is a person's true self. What you are deep down... What you are made of... It may or may not be completely expressed. But, it is your absolute self.

.

Me..
'Me' is what I think of 'I'. It is the person you want to be. Loosely, it has the same thought behind it as that in the hollywood flick 'The mask', starring Jim Carrey. Whoever wore the mask, became the person they wanted to be. That is why, when our hero Stanley ( Jim Carrey ), wore the mask, he became this maniac-yet-adorable super-hero, while the villian Dorian ( Peter Greene) , on wearing the same mask became a dark, ugly super-villian... now, we do not possess a mask in the real world, but each one of us does hold on to a vision of how they want to be. Their own version of who they can be.. That is,the second person in each of us, "Me".

Myself..          
But the world is not just about us. There are other people too. And, we project a certain image of ourselves, in the minds of every person we meet and every life we touch. So, apart from this person that we are and this person that we think we are, there is also this third somebody which other's think we are. I call this third person- "Myself".... because, that is how most people introduce themselves, right? - "Hello Mr.Anybody... Myself, Miss.Somebody... Enjoying the party?" :) lolz...


However, these three people in us are like the three axis of the triple co-ordinate system. X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis... Though they begin at zero ( you ) , they never again come together....they diverge forever...

'Cos you never truely know what you are as you are too busy becoming what you want to be. And, despite everything, the world will always perceive you in a way which it finds the most interesting and fascinating!

True prudentiality and wisdom, comes from the understanding that "Les trois ne deviendra jamais un" (The three will never become one.. )

  You remain captivated and enchanted endlessly by your three personalities- I, me and myself- forever...:)

Being Human...

Humanity doesn't come easily to human beings..

We are born animal humans and we die animal humans. A very small margin of people therein, became human beings during their lifetime and an even smaller portion progresses further to become divine human beings.

Not going to the little understood aspects of divinity and divinity in humans, let me limit my thoughts on human-ness in the world around (or, should I say, the lack of it? )

Human-ness begins with 'humane'-ness....            

Kindness and generosity have been forever linked with people who showed it in a rather incredibly large amount... The Florence Nightingales and the Mother Teressas of the material world! Kindness embellished with eyes,ears,nose,hand and feet... Considerate to the 'e'..... And, not to mention, extremely rare to come across. But, humaneness, need not (and does not) mean being like them (There is a word called 'reasonable' and 'moderate' in the dictionary for some reason, you know! ) 

Humaneness is about helping a fellow human in need, without any thoughts of personal gains or benefits. How many times has a teacher chipped in extra hours without demands for extra pay or perks? How many times has a senior professional done something good for a junior, without him asking for it? Something as simple as, " Hey! You have worked a lot today, let me buy you a coke on our way back! " In fact, there is no need to go any further from home... Have you ever sit by your greying mother and just listened to her... really listened to her? It may just be a " Bhindi Rs.12 a kilo" story ala '3 idiots' or a long list of ills she is suffering from... backache, sprain, blisters.... or an occasional jabbering on how mean the lady living next door is.. how late in the night your little brother watches television... how little your dad helps her out with the house chores... But, have you made an effort to simply listen?

I do not need you to answer these things for me or post them as a comment to me. Just answer them for yourself. You'll know where you stand... in your eyes, at least. And that is all that matters.

Humanity can backfire.....

You being nice doesn't make it a rule for others to be nice to everyone, in general or you, in particular. Face it, the world is full of silly old losers. Their sheer number and variety is staggering. But, a few common labels are "i-am-too-good-for-anybody-here", "i-do-whatever-my-heart-says-and-others-don't-matter" , et al. I wish there was a provision to stick a label like this, somewhere on them, so we could know them before they could even begin to hurt or trouble us. But, unfortunately, it is not possible! You are bound to lose a quantum of your time, a piece of your heart or a few streams of tears over them. That, cannot be changed. However, goodness of the heart is not something you should control or administer in carefully segregated doses to cautiously hand-picked people. It is who you are! 

There is this story of the boy who was found helping a scorpion cross a stream.. the scorpion kept stinging the boy, as he was trying to place it on the other side of the stream. The boy had only good intentions in his heart, that the poor scorpion should not get washed off by the stream and should make it to the other side, safely.... But, it wasn't in the nature of the scorpion to understand. Scorpions know just one thing, and they know it very well -to sting...And that was precisely what the said scorpion was doing... Every time it dug into the boy's finger, he winced and dropped the creature down with an agonizing yelp. But, the very next moment, he would reach out again... still wanting to help. A passer-by observed this never ending cycle and came up to the boy and asked- "Why don't you give up?". The boy smiled and replied- " Stinging is the scorpion's old habit. He doesn't forget it ever.... Helping is my habit and I don't plan to forget it, either..."

He/She may be just another scorpion. But, you be the little,sweet boy you are. Simple!

Do something good everyday...

You may not be feeding on a 'Bourneville' everyday, but everytime you sit to enjoy your meals, ask yourself, if you have truly 'earned it'...

                                      

                                          As John Weasly has rightly said-

                                            Do all the good you can,

                                      By all the means you can,

                                            In all the ways you can,

                                     In all the places you can,

                                            At all the times you can,

                                     To all the people you can,

                                           As long as ever you can."

AMEN!

It's only words..

"It's only words...                                                                  
And words are all I have..
To take your heart away... "

Ronan Keating couldn't have crooned to better lyrics for his Irish band- "Boyzone". Words do, after all matter a lot. It may sound like something out of a self-help management book or something good old moms keep telling their kids all the time about. But, it takes that one moment in time, when the right words come through for you at just the right time and you realize what it is all about...

Words of encouragement...

It is when you are at your lowest nadir of disappointment ever... Or when you are trying to do something you have never done before and trying your best to do it right.... one wrong word can send you crashing down in a moment and one right word can build you up in no time. It is like this little boy, I know about. A bright kid, he is, and very young. In school, his teachers feel he has potential. Say that he is great and can be even better with a wee bit of tutoring and help. But, at home, his elder brother always plays him low... "You got 7.5? That's nice... I think I got a 9, when I took that paper..." or " This is not good enough, little bro... You have got to give it a 100% and be better. Look at me, look at dad... you gotta live up to what we have built."
Crash....
Little bro fails the next paper.
Immediate Cause- He was trying too hard.
Basic Reason- The wrong words from the right person on a potentially right occasion.

Words of adoration...

Everybody wants to feel special ( And there are No, I repeat, No exceptions to it.. ). And in His world and in His image, everyone does have a spark that sets them apart from everybody else. The point is- Do they know, they are special? Do they know that they are loved, no matter what? Actions may speak louder than words. But, in the longer run, it is words that leave a greater impact. It is like this teacher-1 who just teaches in school fabulously, corrects test papers commendably, leaves comments and points on scope for improvisation here and there, all over the workbook.... And another teacher-2 who may not be very good at their subject or at teaching it, but takes time, sits with you and looks you in the eye and says- "I believe in you. Do you believe in yourself?"
Believe me, your chances of passing are better with teacher-2!

So, say something to people who matter to you... all the time.
'Cos nothing is more powerful than a word...

it can built.. it can break..
it can swallow...it can shake...
it may become your doom...
or your reason to push on...
speak those words out loud now...
go on...  :)

                                                                   SPEAK NOW !!!!

Love stories....

It has been an everlasting debate between a friend of mine and me- "Does true love exist? Is there actually a perfect someone made for everyone..ala "Dil to pagal he" ? Do "The notebook"-style love affairs actually exist? Does every Cinderella find her Prince Charming and ride with him into the sunset ?
In all honesty, having been eternally single, both my friend and I, base our debates on our beliefs/ hopes...,

Love. A simple four letter word. There should have been nothing complicated about it. But, it is complication personalized. We love and we expect... We care and they don't always care back... When I look around, the ratio of happy endings to not-so-happy-endings is not very encouraging. That being said, people still want to fall in love. (No wonder they call it "falling" in love!!! No one ever "rises" in love, you see... )

It is easy to fall in love with someone...it is difficult to have it both ways.If that happens, by some miracle, it is tough to make it last. Call it cynicism, but I think I am entitled to it, having seen broken marriages and ugly divorces all my life.

It is pointless to discuss without an illustration.

Love story-1

"A" Boy meets "B" girl... High school sweet hearts.. Parents have been told and convinced... Everything is lovey-dovey... Then,the twist... "A" and "B" get into college.. not the same, but different ones... both very far from one another. For about an year their love survives the gulf of distance and the bitter taste of loneliness.But, slowly thereafter, something begins to change. Our hero "A" goes all crazy.. Writes love poems.. Becomes a modern day Dev-D and slowly gets introduced into the enchanting, stress busting world of alcohol and cigerrates. Then, one fine day "A" boy bumps into "G" girl... Ta da... "G" falls in love with "A" and "A" too begins to like her. It goes on for a while... Within the next 2 years or so, "A" goes on and meets girls "C", "D", "E".....( and yes, "G" is still around.. ) makes them all fall for him and likes them in his own way (or so he liked to say).
College ends...
"A" goes back home...
"A" marries "B".

Happy ending? I am not too sure of that.

Love story-2

"X" boy meets "Y" girl in college. "X" instantly proposes. "Y" doesn't agree. "X" persists... "Y" finally agrees. Both of them become inseparable. But, "X" is not that easy a man to love. He is good old Praan or Gabbar revisited. (Fancy Basanti falling for Gabbar! :) lolz.. ) Most of the days, "Y" is found saying "Sorry, I won't do it again" over the phone or crying her eyes out in the bathroom. But, after all that is over, she is spotted the next day, unfailingly, looking into the glittering blue eyes of "X"... maybe sitting in a restaurant having lunch or in some park with an ice cream cone in her hands.                                  
It is official.
"X" is going to marry "Y" this December,
You are all invited to the wedding.. ( lolz... :) )

Happy ending, yes... But, will it always remain happy? I wonder.

Moral of the stories-

Love is just good old compromise at the end of the day, either with someone you care about or without. It is just choosing a different story for yourself.
How does it make you feel? Well, I'll have to wait for the day I "fall" to tell you that!
Till then...
Friendship isn't too bad either! :)

About death...

Death makes everyone a saint...

I have never seen anyone speak badly of the deceased at their funeral. In those ceremonies, they are great heroes unmasked; spiritual beings unheard of; simple, gentle, lovable and most angelic creatures to have walked the length and breadth of the earth.

It would be too pessimistic and bitter to say that all of this is a fallacy. Because, though the moral fabric of the society is significantly tattered, we still find that occasional kind creature, who melts the ice around your heart, makes you smile and makes you want to love. For every 100 losers and 17 villains you meet in your life you have at least a handful of people to cry your sob-stories to and at least 2 people to ask sane advice from. Don't ask me the mathematics to it! But, it is true enough in most cases.. Go figure...:)

Death need not be the end...

I lost a close somebody recently. He was not the picture of perfection. No, he wasn't...  But, I had somehow come to love his imperfections.... un-oiled, cranky motor-like snoring ; over-perfectionism ; pointless anger bouts ; addiction to the daily news paper ( which he read from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening. But still, if you happened to ask him about "x" news on "y" page, he would have most certainly missed it... definitely, 'cos you "never" let him read his paper in peace, he would say! )...... all of it and more!

When he was gone to the brighter world, his mortal remains were burnt to ashes and those ashes too were dispersed off into a nearby river. He was a man of few words, fewer gifts and even fewer gestures... So, when I opened my little treasure box later, I had just one thing left of him with me...an Archie's card with no personally written messages. Just my name on the left upper corner and his dirty, illegible signature on the right lower corner. Within a few weeks, his things were gone.. that T-shirt he always kept hanging at the door knob... that silly white hat he wore all the time... his brown leather purse in the drawer... his dirty black sandals on the shoe rack... Gone... Today, it has been more than two years. And some how, from some deep crevice of my mind, a few memories are gone too.

Looking back today, I feel it is better to bury a dead man. Because we don't just need people to cry at funerals... We need them to keep coming back... Not to cry their eyes out on some sweet November morning... but to remember, cherish and smile at old, silly memories. To make death seem a little less final, so what if it is just in a fellow's mind. People deserve more...


And for those like you and me who are reading this.. and are most definitely not dead...

Count your blessings...
Live like you are going to die tomorrow.
Love like there is no tomorrow.
Sing like no one is listening
Dance like no one is watching.

To life! :) cheers....

Dream on...

The only certain thing about life is that it will always have an uncertain amount of uncertainty linked with it. Courage is not in trying to annul this factor of uncertainty.... it is in forging forth towards your dreams, despite the said factor of uncertainty...( Will it work out? Will I be okay? Will this happen, etcetra...etcetra... )

For I know not how long I will last...
I know not how long this wonderful world will last... ( It is a well-known fact that most directors of Hollywood have more than once painted the picture of a dying planet earth, near extinction of the human race, the end products of global warming and the invasion of alien species... So, I guess, wondering in this fashion is quite acceptable! :) )

But, if you have a dream, you need to try and make it happen.

It may not be easy ( it never is, actually.)

There are compromises.. small little-known-of sacrifices... struggle, lots of it... moments when you cry out with sheer frustration on the pathetic uncertainty...

But, Edison did not create the electric bulb in one go. It took him a nail-nibbling and hair-pulling 100 trials...

So, keep going..
Do your thing..
Walk the road you dream of...
It is okay to make a couple of mistakes.
The world is your very own notebook.
Pick up your pens and pencils and write on, folks... :)


If the spirit is true and your faith is unshaken..

Your dreams just might come true!!!