Caution: The below piece was not written with the intention of bringing out the writer’s (lacking) poetic expertise or captivating writing. It was just meant to be just a product of random thoughts.

This piece is more a list of the notes that bring a smile to my face. Writing it gave me an opportunity to relive memories, beautiful memories =)

I want to listen…
To the sound of fireworks
To the sound of nervous breaths
To the sound of hearts beating
To the sound of kissing lips.

To the laughter of a kid
To the clinking of glasses
To the guitar strings
To the song of love.

What I’m missing out on really, is listening to me. =)

I like the Audrey one better than the Monroe sketch. The Monroe sketch has a lot of flaws in it which need to be corrected. You can click on the images to view a larger picture.

I always thought if I had to write in Hindi, I wouldn’t be that great. I had some random words being spun into a few lines of God-knows-what (Can’t call it Shayari yet I suppose). Here goes:

1. Aise na dekha karo,
Aankhein hi to hain meri.
Yeh alag baat hai agar,
Inme tumhe meri junoon ki gehrayee nazar aati hai.

2. Rooth kar chale gaye mae ki khoj mein
Rooth kar chale gaye tum mae ki khoj mein.
Pyaar se dekhte to jaante
Nasha humari aankhon se bhi chalakta hai.

I have no clue if I’m going to have these bouts of so-called poetry flowing out of my head very often, but I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts

We all want to soar, but we don’t want to let go. Only if we let go of our baggage can we let our minds free.

The inspiration for this post comes from a li’l girl of about 4 who I saw at the signal yesterday. She was on a bike, standing in front of the rider. I noticed how she loved the breeze that was blowing her hair away from her face. She was worry-free. Why? Was it because she was not a grown-up yet? Was it because she had no responsibilities? No. It was because she decided to let all her worry take a back seat.

Of course kids worry, about the food that they don’t want to eat, but are force-fed, the clothes that they are not in a mood to wear, but have to because they are not supposed to have an opinion, the itchy diaper, the forced naps, having a bath, an adult cleaning their nose painfully, about not being able to play with wires, the computer, the TV, the phone; the list is endless. As adults we look at these as trivial worries, but they are worries nonetheless. In spite of all this, have you noticed how the smallest of objects, the simplest of gestures, or a loving touch makes the baby happy? As adults, I realize, we tend to complicate life and everything that makes up life. We consciously or unconsciously train or minds to amplify our worries manifold.

I remember, how as a kid I would wait for the rains and get drenched. I loved the feeling of submitting to the raindrops hitting my face. I could feel even the tiniest of droplets on me. Now, I hate going somewhere drenched. I wonder where I lost myself. There was a time when I could read a book a day if I put my mind to it. Now, let alone a book, finishing a few pages tires me out. I wonder where I lost my mind.

In the course of trying to conquer the world, we manipulate ourselves to an extent where we let our fears, anxieties and worries slave us. As kids, it was always about where we would play in the evening, which chocolate to buy today, what we would wear today, was all that mattered. We no more live in today. It’s always about planning for the next day or the next week. Clichéd, but we lose the zest for today. What the future holds, we do not know. It’s the fear of the unknown that eats us up.

Why can’t we be kids again,learning to give more importance to our happiness in the present than our worries of tomorrow? I’m sure there is a reason they say ‘Ignorance is bliss’; why then is the ignorance of what tomorrow holds not blissful? What we end up doing is live each day of our lives partially. We evolve physically, but it feels like our mental strength and resolve shrinks as we grow older.

Note to self: If things go wrong, don’t go with them!

This weeks topic is Guilty Pleasure, suggested by me. Do visit the links to read about opinions from all the consortium members. Read on for my take on the topic:

Before suggesting this topic, I never really gave a thought to whether this would apply to both the genders alike. Come to think of it now, men seem to celebrate what might seemingly be bad for them. I am unsure if burping in public comes under this category. I’m sure they’d say that guilty pleasures are for the puritan chumps! *chuckling*

For me guilty pleasure is a way of life. I belong to a caste that forbids eating meat, alcohol consumption or any vice that is assumed to desecrate the religion and its beliefs. Ironically, now I know a lot of people belonging to the same caste who drink, smoke and eat meat frequently, with a lot of pleasure of course, though knowing very well that the elderly members of the family might not be too happy with their ‘wayward’ ways.

I drink socially. I have stopped feeling guilty about it because, I am a responsible individual and know very well what I am and am not capable of. I’ve tried eating meat – an act that might be considered a barbaric insult to the religious community. I did it anyways.

As a kid, junk food was a guilty pleasure. I loved it beyond measure because back then I was a size zero and whatever I eat wouldn’t make a difference. Likewise, chocolate for me was and will always remain a guilty pleasure.

Spiritually speaking, anger, lust, envy, pride, jealously are all guilty pleasures we submit to, unconsciously, but that’s what makes us more human. It’s the degree to which we exercise these pleasures and the strong resolve to break free of them that separates each of us from the herd.

What I wrote in the preceding para is something that I thought of only during the course of writing this piece. It struck me that vices need not necessarily have tangible attributes. What do you think?

Todays blog topic is ‘Synchronicity’ chosen by Delirious. Read on for my take on the topic:

I have to admit, I had to look the meaning of this one up. But, when I understood what it meant, I instantly knew what to write. I have two incidents to share with you- one that happened last weekend and one that happened several years ago.

I had received a voucher worth Rs. 500 from a retail store as an award along with a certificate at work for a job well done in December. I received this voucher recently during the quarterly rewards and recognition and it has to be used before the 15th of next month. I was dying to go shopping this weekend since we have three days off-the Saturday, Sunday and Monday(Memorial Day). But financially, mid-month already felt like the month-end to me, so I decided to put off the shopping plans till next week because at the retail chain that I’m taking about Rs. 500 won’t fetch me anything great!
On Saturday, a friend gifted me a voucher from the same retail chain worth Rs. 1000. I thought it was really spooky because it was the same morning that I was telling my mother: “If only someone was generous enough to give me another voucher!” I am also expecting a B’day voucher that is given at work during the b’day month to be coming in soon. So YAY!! I won’t have to wait till salary day! =D

Another incident happened years ago when we were packing to leave out of town. As usual, most of the packing was happening the day before and it was hurried. My sister was trying really hard to open a suitcase, but none of us seemed to remember the code to unlock it. I wonder what struck her, but she decided to use “786″ as a code. I suppose it was just the remote possibility of it working out that made my sister try the code. And it worked when all the probable codes didn’t. This incident happened when I was at a stage of “staunch atheism”. One such conversation a few days before the incident, with a Muslim acquaintance, ended with us parting after he said “Have patience. Allah will come to your aid when you least expect it”. I remember my sister being extremely excited. I was, however, left to question my faith in a higher power. Things have changed since, if not completely, to a certain extent.

Looking forward to reading all the other posts over the weekend. I will be at work when this gets posted. I work in CST. Will read the posts on Saturday Morning IST. =)

She smiles when she feels like crying and she sheds tears when happy. She is strong during the toughest of weathers yet the simplest of moments can make her weep.

She takes pride in her capabilities and is strong enough to accept her weakness.

She bears and nurtures another life and has the courage to let go. To her, every child is beautiful and every task, a new challenge.

She can nag and she can whine, but she can be extremely patient too. She has her own style. She loves in the most unlikeliest of ways and gives what she thought she could never share. She loves you for the same habits that she hates you for.

She can be courage in the face of fear and your life on your deathbed.

She is sure of herself and head-strong and yet sees no harm in seeking help.

It takes the strength of a woman to read the pain in your eyes and to help a stranger; it takes the strength of a woman to hear someone’s unspoken words and fight for what the whole world gave up on.

She lives, she loves, she hopes, she achieves. Question the strength of a woman and she will give you answers you never hoped to receive!

Here’s to HER!

Todays blog topic is ‘Risk’ chosen by Grannymar. Read on for my take on the topic:

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”–Andre Gide.

Its been repeated over and over again and its clichéd now-No pain, no gain. We hear a depressing saga or a story that has been a bed of roses, what is common in the narratives is the risk people were willing to take, that courageous leap of faith!

In my observation there are two kinds of people who might take risks- Ones who are extremely comfortable in their position(not necessarily career-related), are satisfied at where they stand and see no harm in taking a spur-of-the-moment decision and the others are the one who are hopping from one branch of the tree to another and need not necessarily see the lack of stability or security as a threat to living their lives to the fullest.

I partially belong to the second category at this point in time because I am toying with ideas(in connection with where I stand professionally), but shiver at the thought of blindly jumping at something. After a couple of vain attempts at sleeping and the insurgent thoughts that made me increasingly restless, I decided to give my ‘3am friend’-Ashok, a call. He successfully managed to knock some sense into me. I feel so much more better right now, for those restless moments were extremely depressing.

The fact is that my work is making me feel increasingly incompetent, not-so-creative and that coupled with the fact that I have to spare a thought for the responsibilities that lie ahead, were making me completely miserable. But as he very calmly explained, an objective and stone-hearted view is extremely important in order to make the right decisions and I totally see the point. Very soon, I will be rearing to go and take a few risks head-on.

Speaking of risk, the one story that I cannot help but mention is that of “Lijjat Papad”. I (and I assume would be the case for most Indian who have lived through the 80’s and 90’s) am reminded of the ads with a jingle still clearly etched in my mind-“Karram kurram, kurram karram” =D

Also, here is a news clip shown on NDTV, made on the occasion of Lijjat completing 50 years in 2009.

For all others, you must read the “Lijjat Papad Story”: A Story of how 7 semi-literate Gujarati (people belonging to Gujarat in West India) women took the risk of starting a venture in 1959(forget being women entrepreneurs, it was an era when working women were largely unheard of).Started with merely Rupees 80 as the capital, with the aim of sustainable livelihood using the only “skill” they had: cooking, 52 years on(March 15th 2011) , Lijjat papad, is a well-known name in every household and now has a turnover of over 315 billion and employ’s close to 50,000 people in 67 branches all over India. The brand has also significantly contributed to women empowerment. Here is an old but not redundant article on the how the business is run.

I hope you did enjoy the late read =)

I haven’t had trouble with my teeth for at least the last decade from what I recall(I understand that statement makes me sound really old but at this point in time *I couldn’t care less*). As a kid, I remember being told that I would be blessed with a stronger tooth, if I buried the one that just fell off. After that, I remember religiously running to bury my tooth for the next few times, without questioning the logic behind it.

It was years later, when I became more accustomed to using the internet as a source of information; I found out that it was the Europeans who were responsible for this superstition and the birth of the tooth fairy (Ah! The things people tell their kids can sometimes be extremely ridiculous explanations! For all that they know, their kid already knows much better than his parents and is just asking questions to test their knowledge.)

History has it that the tradition of burying a lost tooth in the garden or surrounding field was done in hopes that the permanent tooth could then grow in the child’s mouth to take its place. This tradition was also steeped in superstition because of the belief that if a witch got hold of the tooth, a curse could be placed on the child or the tooth-holder could have power over the child. (Some more ancient European traditions even called for throwing the baby tooth into the fire to ensure a child was free from any magical intervention.) The tradition of burying the tooth changed because when cities began to grow, teeth were planted in flower pots or planter boxes as open space dwindled. The next progression of the story is that the dirt was done away with all together and the tooth was “buried” under a pillow. Who comes for the tooth? Well, it depends on where you live.

On one of my innumerable such Google expeditions (not necessarily molar), I found some really bizarre practices/beliefs with respect to a fallen tooth. Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting me to write it here. You will need to fish for folklores in Google yourself!

Well, for now, I am tempted to get this not-so-wise wisdom tooth extracted and cremate it, or may be burn it, or may be I will just live through the pain. I do have options to explore-sigh!

Its miraculous how certain things just come to you on their own. Just when I was racking my brains as to what I would post on todays topic, I stumbled upon this amazing video.

Incredible Ravi

To me that is something I’d call ‘Art’-the product of Ravi’s smart mind. He can now sell that fan made of peacock leaves to any customer at all. He has never been to school. Whatever he has learnt is on-the-job, including all the languages that he speaks so fluently. What do you all have to say about Ravi?