आजोबा...

आजोबा - आमचे नाना आजोबा
उंच, ताठ, सदपातळ बांधा,
पांढरे शुभ्र केस - अन् पांढरे शुभ्र च धोतर.
Extremely disciplined.
आई म्हणते - "भाजी कितीही आवडती असो -
रोजची त्यांची ठरलेली - अर्धीच खायचे भाकर..."
काका म्हणतो - "आमच्या लहानपणी खूप होते ते रागीट...
पत्त्यांचा डाव दिसतच - टाकून द्यायचे बम्बा च्या आगीत!"
मला मात्र आठवत नाहीत कधीच ते चिडलेले...
मला आठवतात - शांत आबा - मला फिरायला घेऊन जाणारे...
शाळेतला result घ्यायला जाता जाता - हात मी पटकन दिला सोडून...
अन् येणार्‍या बाइक सोबत accident बसला होऊन...
तेव्हा सुद्धा आठवते - केला नाही त्यांनी त्रागा -
शांतपणे जवळ घेऊन म्हणाले, " खूप लागले आहे का बाळा? "

माझे आजोबा - आमचे आण्णा
त्यांच्या साठी अन् त्यांच्या बद्द्ल लिहावे तितके थोडेच...
मला ते फारसे आठवत नाहीत - पण त्यांच्या गोष्टी ऐकून वाटते -
खरच असणारच ते इथे - आमच्या सगळ्यांसोबत!
प्रत्येक decision - as if - guide करत...
आणि ते असतील बघत - म्हणूनच जाणवते एक अनामिक बळ...
एक अनामिक ओढ - दिलखुलास जगायची - खूप खूप शिकायची!

आजोबा - उगार चे आजोबा
हसत खेळत - जोक्स सांगत - chess च्या moves शिकवणारे...
दर सुट्टीत - ह्या वेळी हरवणार का मला - असा challenge देणारे!
रोज लाइब्ररीत जाऊन पुत्सक बदलून आणणारे -
अन् मला - कोणते नवीन पुस्तक वाचलेस - सांग बघू -
अस excitedly विचारणारे!

आजोबा - अनू चे आजोबा.
बॅडमिंटन चा आमचा डाव चालू असताना -
असायचे ते बाजूला फेर्‍या मारीत - अंगाणातल्या बेंच वर पेपर वाचत...
संध्याकाळ होताच - "लवकर आत या पोरांनो, नाहीतर डास येतील..." अशी हळूच हाक मारत.
पण आम्ही काही जायचो नाही लवकर - तेथेच असायचो खेळत दारात ...
मग काय - डास यायचेच invariably त्यांचा घरात...
आजोबांना asthma, आजी स्वयंपाक घरात -
मग आलेल्या डसांशी आम्ही करायचो दोन हात - त्यांच्या वर मारायचो आम्ही 'Flit' मन मुराद!
खुर्चीवर, कॉट वर, पन्ख्या च्या पात्या वर - दारात अन् खिडकीत -
"We made sure every mosquito was hit!"

आजोबा - अदिती चे आजोबा
बुधवार दुपार चे आजी चे दासबोध मंडळ
सगळ्या आज्यांचे चाले मनोभावे भजन - वाचन...
आम्ही मुले मात्र करत असू अजोबान्शी संभाषण...
आजोबांचे श्रवण यंत्र कसे चालते याचे वाटे - त्या वेळी भलतेच attraction!
खूप खूप गप्पा, खूप खूप गोष्टी - यात मस्त पैकी रमायचो -
आणि पुढया वेळी पुन्हा येऊ म्हणत - दर बुधवारी घरी परत निघायचो...

आजोबा - लट्टू आजोबा.
सुरांची अजिबतच ओळख नसलेल्या मला - पेटी वाजवायला शिकवणारे...
S/W Engg शिकते म्हणल्यावर - त्यांच्या संस्थेचे 'project' करून बघा सुचवणारे...
Second year च्या आम्हा मुलांवर केवढा तो विश्वास दाखवणारे!
"भातुकलीच्या खेळा मधले" गाणे शिकवणारे - आज सुद्धा भेटले की -
Conveyance Deed & Society bylaws हे माहिती हवेच असा आग्रह धरणारे...
दर वेळी भेटले की नवीन काही positive शिकवणारे!

ह्या सगळ्यांचीच आज कुणास ठाऊक का -
खूप खूप आठवण आली ...
आणि आजोबांची काठी घेऊन - हळूच एक चक्कर मारली -
आठवणींच्या गावी...

~Written on 17th April 2016 #Original

Of Anchors and Horizons...

Who do you like the most, the Sea asked the Ship :
the Anchor or the Horizon?
The Ship thought awhile, and smiling said,
But ofcourse the Anchor.
For it gives me the Freedom to be free;
The Freedom to be me.

The Horizon will always tempt...
With dreams of distant lands and unchartered realms.
And whilst in pursuit of the Horizon,
There will be times when I need to seek shelter -
shelter from storms and shelter from the unknown.
And then I will always need an Anchor;
For it gives me the strength of familiarity -
and Acceptance and Guarantanee.
The Freedom to be free;
The Freedom to be me.


The Horizon will always beckon...
- and I - true to my calling, will always seek it out.
and steadily, slowly keep moving in the direction of my dream.
But without the Anchor;
I would not have the courage to conquer.
For because of it, I can stop awhile - I can renew, I can rest.
For it always gives me what I need the most;
The Freedom to be free;
The Freedom to be me.


And although it seems counter intuitive,
For an Anchor to be a symbol of freedom,
Strength indeed is oft times derived,
From the most familiar and oft 'taken-for-granted'.
In their own special way, Anchors do make lives enchanted.

And hence I was not suprised;
For when the Sea asked the Ship :
Who do you like the most,
the Anchor or the Horizon?
And the Ship smiling said,
But ofcourse the Anchor.
For it gives me the Freedom to be free;
The Freedom to be me.

~Written on 29th Dec 2015. #Original

Thou shalt not judge...

Thou shalt not judge
is what you often repeat
But sometimes, just sometimes
Its tough to practice what you preach

And so you judge the traveller sitting right next to you
for no real fault of his,
Just because his belongings seem slightly askew...

Thou shalt not judge
is what you often repeat
But sometimes, just sometimes
Its tough to practice what you preach

And so you judge that friend who's now far far away
Yeah, the one who wasn't embarrassed to join you in singing songs out of pitch
Just because you weren't the first to know she's in love and getting hitched...

Thou shalt not judge
is what you often repeat
But sometimes, just sometimes
Its tough to practice what you preach

And so you judge a super woman colleague who's a real good Samaritan
For a cause greater than the two of you.
Just because she pinged in the middle of a Christie marathon...

Thou shalt not judge
is what you often repeat
But sometimes, just sometimes
Its tough to practice what you preach

And so you judge your little bro who you simply cannot do without
For something you've probably done many times too!
Just because he chose to celebrate his bday with a night out...

Thou shalt not judge
is what you often repeat
But sometimes, just sometimes
Its tough to practice what you preach

And so you judge your well meaning senior who's job it is to drive your project
For something that's just a part of who he is;
Just because his solution was something your logic asked to reject...

At times like these, know it isn't wise to set up a fight
When there's not much that crib chats and ice creams cannot set right :-)
And, thou shalt not judge is what you should often repeat...
Especially when it's tough to practice what you preach...

~Written on 28th Oct 2015 #Original

Random Thought #12

Learn to trust.
Have faith in the 'good'.
Let your default setting for any person be to "trust", unless that person proves otherwise.

~Life Lesson on a Friday afternoon by CG.
Danke girl, you rock!

PS: A series of original random thoughts that are concise...or may be I am just too lazy to follow up with longer text...

Of lines, plots and curves

Sometimes I wonder how life (as we know and remember it) is nothing but a set of "points in time"...

...as if all the decisions we take, every single day, can be plotted, and ultimately (might) fit a (standard?) curve...
Of course everyone's curve will be different/may be even unique.
Although I'd rather people's life curves will be more or less similar ultimately, once you account for everyone's share of ups and downs...

but the point is, will we be able to map out a standard curve out of our life experiences?
Perhaps this is what they mean when they say, "The days are long, but the years are short...?"

The X axis for sure is time. The Y axis can be anything you value : happiness, satisfaction, success, health, wealth, relationships - whatever you fancy to plot.

Will this then, necessarily fit some standard curve?
If yes, can we then extrapolate our life/happiness/success/health based on past mapped points?
And can we then change the future points and the curve if we think we are sloping beyond a 'threshold'?

I wonder...

Flights of fancy

Sometimes my mind takes me on flights of fancy -
Higher and higher above everyday chaos...
Until all known things look distant
& troubles so tiny -
they disappear in an instant...

Sometimes my mind takes me on flights of fancy -
Faster and faster as the winds blow...
Until I see the land of my dreams -
A land of new beginnings and un-charted realms...

Sometimes my mind takes me on flights of fancy -
Deeper and deeper into the hazy clouds...
Until the lands merge into skies
& all that I had ever dreamt of - stands realized...

Flights of fancy :
They make you daydream like there's no tomorrow;
Compel you to create a world -
of your favourite-most people and things...
In excruciating detail - every single person, every emotion
every thing - amplified, almost real.
A world, almost like a bubble.
Your very own 'unburstable' version of reality -
that lives solely in your head...

Well, like all flights, this one must end too;
& when my mind comes back from its flight of fancy -
I find myself just a tad bit disappointed by reality...
Dull, humdrum and everyday.

But I always agree to travel, every single time;
When my mind takes me on flights of fancy -
For they give the vision of distant lands seen...
& the belief that I can perhaps still create
that, which 'could have been'...

~written on 7th June 2015 #Original

Freedom

What does freedom mean to you ?

I'd say, freedom isn't always about splendid sunshine, vast clear expanses of blue sky and a never-ending horizon...
...sometimes, freedom also means turning away from the sun, and choosing the drab, dark, dank 'everyday stuff' - the freedom to do what you want - irrespective of the way the worlds defines freedom... allowing yourself (and others) to have views that don't fit the standard society norms - and not be apologetic about it :)

Just a Monday morning self-realization that hits when a pigeon repeatedly refuses to venture back to its home in the balcony, and you wonder why it chooses to stay, when it could so easily fly away. #everydayLifeLessons :)

...and makes for the 100th post too! Yayyy B-)

Random Thought #0

This is something I have lately been realizing.
People, places, things - become special because you believe they are special - because you think they are special.
Ordinary events, ordinary people, ordinary places - get important because you think they matter... :)

A simple thought really, but worth remembering! :)
This makes me smile whenever I reflect upon it - like my very own secret life philosophy revealed...

PS: When I told J regd this, she also mentioned a corollary - that the ordinary people/places/events end up actually live up to 'extraordinary'/'special' since you believe they are!
Makes sense? Think about it... :)

PPS: A series of original random thoughts that are concise...or may be I am just too lazy to follow up with longer text...

High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out the reason why!
You jump, you float;
You cry, you gloat;
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out the reason why!
May be you resolved a tricky bug
Or was it that your best friend gave you a hug;
Could've been the ginger tea your Mom brews...
Or the sky decked in sunset hues.
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out a reason why!
May be you got to work with a father figure you admire
Or you just saw stacks of fresh flowers piled higher and higher;
Could've been the effect of your recent haircut...
Or the race to book a tatkal ticket.
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out a reason why!
May be you found an antique earthen lamp decor
Or the seed you planted just sprouted a pretty blue flower;
Could've been the project deadline you successfully met...
Or the Chips and Orange Minutemaid you always get.
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out a reason why!
May be you just finalized a trip with friends
Or finished a Poirot novel with awesome twists and turns;
Could've been the pasta you cooked...
Or the Marathi play ticket your Mom booked.
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

Sometimes life gives you a high
And you can't figure out a reason why!
May be you suddenly saw lots of fireworks in the night sky
Or just laughed over a PJ till you felt you'll cry;
Could've been that the late night radio played all your fav songs in a loop...
Or someone made you hot Manchow Soup.
And you can't help but say I'm high;
High on Life!

And you realize these are just ordinary little moments
No rocket science or phenomena strange
Even small reasons suffice;
Trivial things bring happiness...
'Coz you're high on Life!

~Written on 31st October, 2014 #Original

Random Thought #2

One of the things I keep reminding myself is "Thou shalt not judge..."
Whatever the situation, whoever the person, however sad/angry/happy/pissed off/spiteful you feel...remember "Thou shalt not judge..."

You can never ever completely understand anyone else's point of view/perspective/situation unless you yourself are that person...
So the next time your mind wanders and wants to make a caustic remark about someone, hold those words back...put those thoughts away and remind yourself that, "Thou shalt not judge..." :)

Trust me, the lesson is worth learning. You will walk away a better person from it...:)

PS: A series of original random thoughts that are concise...or may be I am just too lazy to follow up with longer text...

The Elephant in the room : Day#16/30

Have you heard of the elephant in the room syndrome?
Well, even if you haven't heard, I'm sure everyone must have gone through it at least once...

It's like this:
Imagine a room where people are sitting, discussing stuff. They may be colleagues, may be friends, may be family...
And there's an elephant right in the middle of the room.
A huge elephant.
Everyone 'sees' it, but no one wants to 'notice' it. No one acknowledges it. No one talks about it. No one brings up the fact that there is an elephant in the room, although each is aware the other knows of the elephant's existence.

How many times do we ignore the 'elephant' in the room? The thing that's on everyone's mind, but no one wants to say out loud.
I am guilty of quite a few many times.

It takes courage to say out loud that there's an elephant in the room.  Recognizing an issue is the first step towards trying to solve it.

Here's to noticing the elephants and spelling out thoughts.
Speak. Talk. Discuss. They say it helps!
(Yeah yeah, I know I'm preaching...I go into infinite thinking loops and never say out whatever I want at the moment it's meant to be said)
Precisely the reason I identify most with the 'elephant in the room' syndrome.

PS: These days, I often start by saying, "I want to talk about the elephant in the room..." whenever I need to have those 'difficult' talks, and that in itself eases tensions and makes the conversation much more easier ;-)

Word challenge : Day#8/30

Here, Paulo Coelho asks readers to write on a list of words : miracle, torture, prayer, suffering, advice, xenophobia (fear of the unknown) and marriage
Decided to make that as my Day8 post :

Miracle :
Somethings can never be explained. Not by logic. Not by science. Nor by any rule in any book ever written.
This is one of them. And you don't really need anything to experience it...miracles are what all of us experience every single day, in the smallest things. I always feel magical when I'm around butterflies :) And luckily for me, I have always managed to find some where ever I live :)
Sigh! Miracles :)

Torture :
The word itself is extremely 'thorny', with strong negative connotations. Brings to me memories of the hell recreated by TV and films. The hot coals, burning oil, huge thorns, etc etc. But leave all external forces apart...one can't control them anyhow...so look at yourself...do you inflict torture upon others by being brash, a sudden insult belted out, arguments carried on for the sake of arguing, slight misunderstandings that weeded out strong friendships...the list is quite long if you care to inspect. But most of all, make the list of the things you torture youself about...the goodbyes said hastily, the acquaintances never made, the things never said, the second chances never asked for and never given too...these inflict far more torture than mere notions of some imaginary hell...

Prayer :
Pray with your soul. Not for money, not for fame, nor for smaller everyday things...I feel it's too much to bother Him with all our daily issues ;-)
Pray for peace. Yours. And the world's. Pray so you can hear clearly what your mind says. Be still, Serve people, Teach, Work, Learn, Love, Play, Cook,
Feed, Travel, Share, Talk. Most importantly, Live. You can practice prayer in many forms :)

Suffering :
Most times it is a self created thing, might be circumstantial too. But one thing is certain, it makes heroes out of ordinary people. Its a hot furnace with burning coals that shapes and strengthens the soul of the sufferer. Sometime, sooner rather than later, we get the strength to break the shackles of suffering and emerge victorious.

Advice :
Haha! :P Something I love to give my brother for free, especially when he obviously is least interested ;-)
Well, listen to advice, everyone's. But be sure you analyze it before you believe/act on it. There's one nice quote I had read which sums things up quite aptly, "Never take advice from someone who doesn't have to live with its consequences" :)
Well, and it never harms in being miserly while belting it out too. Especially more so, when you know the person listening believes and trusts you...:)

Xenophobia:
Something everyone deals with their entire life. I guess free will is its positive side...because afterall free will gives us endless possibilities, and endless possibilities lead to innumberable paths...multiple crossroads...not knowing, i.e choosing one path. And staying true to it. Also, retreating if you think you've come the wrong way. Trusting the signs, trusting yourself and believing that you will ultimately reach the destination. Not forgetting the unknown journey will bring you more than the destination ever could.

Marriage :
I wanted to write 'a sacred bond', but that would make it too 'heavenly', too bookish, very filmy. Marriages may very well be made in heaven, but it's people on earth who give it meaning. Two mortal beings. Not 'perfect' by themselves. May be not 'perfect' together as well. Actually, might not be 'perfect' for each other too! Two people who know that the road will never be smooth. Potholes and speed breakers and accidents are all a part of the ride. But who still want to travel together, believe that they will sort out problems together, enjoy the beautiful sunrises and sunsets and rains and storms too. Who know they wouldn't be judged and will be loved even when they are at their worst behaviours. And grow with each passing day. Share a dream. Strive for it. And in the process, inch towards being 'perfect' together...

Bas! Am done
Stopping now :)

Something's just not right : Day#7/30

A lump in the throat
A tug at the heart
A tear just waiting to roll off
And you know that something's just not right...

However far it might actually seem
the pain is really very near
Almost friendly
like a neighbour
Always peeking in
Always looking into your life
Probing, Questioning, Staring.
May be because it knows
something's just not right...

A photograph long forgotten
Or a poem long lost
A word oft spoken
A person passing by
A favourite song
Small things really; but are enough
to bleed you afresh
And then you know something's just not right...

However hard you try
However fast you run
There are times when you can't stop
Sadness from creeping over
There are times when you can't deny
Something's just not right...


PS: Well, please don't be alarmed pplz, everything's alright really :)
Just a melancholy working Saturday does this sometimes ;)
The 'something' is probably the code I'm working on...and this is what I do when it doesn't work even after eating away into my weekends. :(

--Written on 6th April 2014 #original

Someday : Day#3/30

#iSketch #Life #Lessons

A place in the sun : Day#2/30

Well, I bunked the Day#2 post. :-P
So posting #2 and #3 together.

Take me to that place
A place in the sun
Where crossroads are commonplace
and 'not-knowing' is so much fun

A place in the sun
From where you see the stars shine bright
and things are simple
come day or night

A place in the sun
Where 'today' is the favourite day
and you cherish and count your blessings
and not fret seeing other's play

A place in the sun
Where you stop and smell the roses
not bothering about pimpled freckled noses
A place in the sun
Where there's always a way
Even if you go astray

Take me to that place
A place in the sun
that makes you realize
Things might not be wrong
even if they don't seem right

~Written on 2nd April 2014 #original

PS: I really really need my place in the sun! NOW! Yeah, a bit boggled and battered by life and things in general. Just a phase. A very very bad time (or is it a good one assuming I'm in a mood to vent and rant) to have started the blog marathon! I hope I don't end up cribbing all over the blog :-P

Music and Memories

It started with incoherent mono-syllables. Then there were lullabys. Along came nursery rhymes and poem recitals. Practice songs for her high school drama. A playlist of the latest and greatest hits for her RJ stint on the local radio station.
They always sang together.

He never got upset even when she sang out of tune, merely smiled and corrected her - every single time. He always let her sing in her own way...muddling the words, skipping notes...and smiled admiringly at his little angel. And he wondered how quickly time had passed since he first saw his bundle of joy, and decided to name her after the first note of music - after all she was the beginning of his note of happiness too :-)

Sometimes she used to close her eyes and just listen to him as he did his daily riyaaz. Although she couldn't grasp the nuances, she loved to close her eyes and listen. And all she could then see was a hue of colours dancing away - like a rainbow doing a waltz (if one could ever imagine such a thing...:) ) Graceful, colourful, full of mirth. Entangled colours, yet each freely retaining its own unique shade. Just like the bond they shared.

The notes still linger. The lyrics still play. The only thing missing is him.

Although she will always feel his presence. The voice she will hear when she plays their favourite songs will still be his. He will speak out whenever she reads the poems they read together. And his voice will always echo in her head - whenever she needs to hear him - all through her life - through good times and bad, happy ones and sad, when she needs to take decisions, when she needs to hold on to her beliefs and when she needs to let go of prejudices too.
His voice will be her guiding light. A guardian note. She just has to close her eyes, and no matter what's going on in her life - she will see the rainbow do the waltz, yet again.

I just pray and hope she has the strength to close her eyes and listen, yet again.

The Keymaker(s) of Magarpatta City

A Tuesday morning. Laptop? Check. Charger? check. Wallet? Check. Office ID? Check. Close the door shut. Bam! Keys inside.
Knock on P's door for the extra key. She can't find it :-|
Realize that you will have to tackle the issue immediately because the decoration stuff you promised you'll get for the office fest is trapped inside as well :-|
Realize with a heavy heart that you need to call him.
Yet Again.
Dial 'KeyMaker' (called KM, henceforth) for rescue :P

There are some people whose services you just can't do without. "Essential services". When I moved in to Magarpatta, HC gave me the KM's number, along with the usual list of Maid, Cook, Laundry and Car washers numbers and I thought, "OK this is cool, but I won't be really needing it. But let me save it, emergency ke liye..."
But yeah, HC knew me better :P

And this KM has really been a 'saviour' at times :P
Especially for people like moi who have duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate and even pentuplicate keys (I wonder if those are even legit words :P) (and yes, this is over exaggerating things ;) ) and still manage to lock themselves out, or lose (mostly its a 'forotten them somewhere, and think you've lost them' syndrome) the 'Keymaker of Magarpatta City' (as I like to call him) is indeed a saviour.

He is a character, and a completely technosavvy one at that. Just a phone call away from all 'stranded/locked-out' people. :P
His phone rings and you hear "इतनी शक्ति हमें देना दाता...मन का विश्वास कमजोर हो ना..." Seriously. #I am not kidding.
And you smile, despite yourself, and think, "What irony! This guy opens people's doors for a living and his caller tune says 'भूल कर भी कोई भूल हो ना...'"
You already trust him, even before he picks up your very first call :P This should be a decent banda you think, 'coz his cellphone sings 'हम चले नेक रस्ते पे...' :D

"Kaunsa door lock hua hai? Main door ya room ka?" he asks. "Room ka." "Naya key banvana hai ya sirf door unlock karna hai? Naya key banvane ka charge is 200/- Sirf door unlock karna hai to visiting charges 200/-" he says. "Key andar fasa hua hai, sirf unlock karna hai. Office jana hai, aap abhi aa sakte hai kya bhaiyaa?" you plead. OK, he says and promises to be there in 20 mins. He arrives, with all the paraphernalia, a big brown bag packed with keys, tools and whatnots. And you can see he's quite the busy man...for the ten odd minutes he takes to unlock the door, he gets atleast five calls :P

The first time he had come, he got a thick plastic sheet, just slid it in the gap between the door and the wall frame and with a well trained jerk pried opened the door! And I was like, "What! That's it?! Is this so easy?! And 200 bucks for this?!" :-O He smiled his saint like smile.

This time around, he was upto more 'technical' stuff. He loosened the disc in front of the lock, and used some kind of a screw driver that had a bent pointed end and used that to 'open' some lever inside the lock. Hmmm. 200 bucks.

Anyways, like I said, until there are swift gusts of winds to shut doors and forgetful people like me around, he's going to have a good business going! All I can do is thank him and pray he stays as honest as he is... :-))
Amen.


PS: This was written in a fit of #'I have nothing to do, while being stranded outside my room' and waiting for the Keymaker to turn up. Totallyy in a mood to rant and crib.

PPS: Although I have seen, and dealt with the same keymaker always, am sure they have a gang...err 'team', of their own. Hence the title, 'Keymaker(s)' ;-)

PPS: and while I was whiling away the time, it did occur to me that it's high time I learnt to open locks on my own. And I remembered one such time @H11, when me, C and K had (unsuccessfully) youtubed and tried to open K's room after she had forgotten her keys@home :P
Nevertheless, am definitely going to try some youtubing the next time around :P And who knows, if I get really good at it, may be I can even think of an alternative profession, and also get to call myself a 'non virtual ethical hacker' ;-) :-P

Dream(s)

You paint a dream.
Vivid. Colourful. Lively.
You use up all the patterns and techniques you've learnt. You put in the hues you've thought up till now. You practice it over and over.
Till its near perfect. Almost. Perfect.
You put in all of your heart in it. All of your mind. All of your soul. Till it becomes almost synonymous with you. Your existence. Your breath. The boundaries between your dream and your self blur.
It is a work of a lifetime. A dream of a lifetime.

Shiny. Sparkling. Fragile.
It shatters.

What do you do?
You dream another dream.
Equally vivid. Equally close to your soul. Equally 'you'.

Its OK to fail after you have tried all you could. Because you can always try again. Failure is not fatal. So long as you are true to yourself and know that you tried your best.

PS: This post is the result of a late night show of the movie "Bombay Talkies". ;-)
I especially loved the last story in it, and this post an interpretation of that last story.

Its a story where a father teaches his son the 'importance' of failure, the fact that sometimes however truly you might try, there are chances you might fail.

An awesome awesome story. Awesome lyrics (सब्र की मीठी चाशनी में भिगो के, वक़्त खड़ा है मर्तबान में ले के...) Awesomely scripted. Awesomely shot. Loved it!

TGIM!

Monday morning, almost noon. Mid September, if you stand looking out from one of the windows @ my office, you can see the huge expanse of green in front, displaying a whole gamut of shades, as if daring the camel/asian paints/colour-making companies to catalogue the numerous and varied shades of green... Amidst this serene atmosphere, a solitary eagle takes flight. A gentle flap-flap of wings and then it soars, turns and circles - smoothly, calmly, effortlessly - gliding across the cloudless blue sky and over the lush green meadow - once, twice, thrice - without a single flapping of wings. Round and round it goes, its rich golden brown wings glistening with the moisture of freshly fallen rain drops. Its eyes sharp and sparkling, ready to take on the day. I stood at the window for a long long time, trying to capture the breathtaking sight...Marvelling at the graceful flight, the magnificence of nature that never ceases to awe, you can't help but feel grateful for everything in life... Some days just start on a super awesome note...this is one of those days... Makes me say, Thank God it's Monday!! :-)

Closed bridges and open umbrellas...

Something funny happened today - something that made me smile a lot, and then ponder a bit...

I closed my umbrella as I approached the bridge on Kanjurmarg station, glanced on the platform to see which train was scheduled, and then started climbing the steps; when I saw something that made me smile - a guy on the bridge was walking with his umbrella still open - in the hurry to reach the platform and catch a train, he had forgotten to close his umbrella - didn't realize that the bridge was covered and he no longer needed to shield himself from the rain anymore. Quite commonplace. Have seen it happen quite often, and sometimes even have climbed halfway through a bridge before being aware, smiling goofily and closing my umbrella. :-)

Don't you think our prejudices, judgements and preconceived notions are a lot like these open umbrellas? There might have been times when we needed them and their protective shield; but after some time, we eventually come under safe bridges, where we no longer need the shield of these "prejudiced" umbrellas.
But we are unaware, and continue to keep them open. Perhaps, we often need to pause, think and decide whether it's time to close these self-created umbrellas, make ourselves free and move on...

After all, it's ridiculous to be seen under a closed bridge with an open umbrella, isn't it? :-)