Back with a bang!

But Did I go anywhere at all? ...

I did for a while get lost from the hustle bustle of my online identity, tried to run away from the constant chattering inside me reminding me of  my aspirations and the other extremely hilarious but "not important any more" conversations!

So where did I go? I went to meet myself! Well! I said hello to my fears, anxiety, happiness, bliss, my strengths, my weaknesses and what not! My lovely girl made it all happen...She made me face myself with more strength and clarity, with more spirit and patience, more purpose and virtue.Alas!they say parenthood changes you and your life.

It definitely does! For better or for worse, is your viewpoint.If for once, parenthood changes something in you, it would definitely be your capacity to feel unconditional love which only these little wonders are capable of bestowing on high on aspirations parents like us!

And that is when the change starts...that is when this question.. "why are we doing, what we are?" starts coming up time and again bothers you day in day out. Everyone finds out their answers eventually.I am a little slow....have some answers and have not figured out others so far.

Cheers to this amazing journey, which has just begun ( while all this while, I thought we have arrived/settled, whatever one calls it, this realisation is quite big in itself); that WE HAVE JUST BEGUN!

I have just begun! and yes! M back!

Kabir- The practical Saint

"उड़ जायेगा हंस अकेला उड़ जायेगा हंस अकेला


जग दर्शन का मेला

जैसे पात गिरे तरुवर के

मिलना बहुत दुहेला

ना जाने किधर गिरेगा

लगया पवन का रेला।।

जब होवे उमर पूरी

तब छूटेगा हुकम हुजूरी

यम के दूत बडे मजबूत

यम से पडा झमेला ।।

दास कबीर हरि के गुण गावे

वा हर को पारन पावे

एक डाल दो पंछी बैठे

कौन गुरु कौन चेला

गुरु की करनी गुरु जायेगा

चेले की करनी चेला ।।

साधो ये मुरदों का गांव साधो ये मुरदों का गांव

पीर मरे पैगम्बर मरिहैं

मरिहैं जिन्दा जोगी

राजा मरिहैं परजा मरिहै

मरिहैं बैद और रोगी

चंदा मरिहै सूरज मरिहै

मरिहैं धरणि आकासा

चौदां भुवन के चौधरी मरिहैं

इन्हूं की का आसा

नौहूं मरिहैं दसहूं मरिहैं

मरि हैं सहज अठ्ठासी

तैंतीस कोट देवता मरि हैं

बड़ी काल की बाजी

नाम अनाम अनंत रहत है

दूजा तत्व न होइ

कहत कबीर सुनो भाई साधो

भटक मरो ना कोई

Kabir ranks among the world's greatest poets. A weaver by profession, Kabir’s verses openly criticized all sects and gave a new direction to the Indian philosophy. This is due to his straight-forward approach that has a universal appeal. It is for this reason that Kabir is held in high esteem all over the world. To call Kabir a universal Guru is not an exaggeration.

In his wide and rapturous vision of the universe he never loses touch with the common life. His feet are firmly planted upon earth. The constant insistence on simplicity and directness, the hatred of all abstractions and philosophizing, the ruthless criticism of external religion: these are amongst his most marked characteristics.

In India, Kabir is perhaps the most quoted author. His verse is an effort to tell the truth about that ineffable apprehension, so vast and yet so near, which controls his life. His genius lies in seizing and twining together symbols and ideas drawn from even the most violent and conflicting philosophies and faiths"
SOURCE: Advait Life Education Pvt Ltd.

Lansdowne- Serenity and Calm

Silence broken only by the sound of the wind and the symphony of the birds...Tall Deodar trees all around, letting sun reach you only in bits n pieces...Sound of the temple bells echoing throughout the spread of this quiet, sparsely populated town...all together make this place a must visit for everyone who wants to run away from the cacophony of cities,the clutter of people and the monotony of Modern hectic life.

Plus: No network connectivity at most of the places.A pure bliss!

Meditative Stillness and joyous silence-These happen to be my souvenir from the place!

Best time to go: March-Sep
Location: Uttranchal,India

Chamku-The Sunshine Boy!

Mustard flowers, shimmering yellow, spread over acres of farmland in a remote corner of a state in the chilly, winter struck,sun basking northern India...A quiet road transversing the fields shines on a bright sunny day and the generous breeze makes its presence felt...gently blowing across the face of a cyclist..coming from afar...lost in oblivion...

He is popularly known as "Chamku"(which means Shining in English) in his village.Why was he given such a name even though the colour of his skin does not suggest anything like that...may be the profuse sweating that he is prone to, gives his face an unusual shine..therefore the name!

Chamku always keeps on smiling..his smile is infectious! It catches on to you and suddenly you feel you are part of some girlie party that goes on crazily giggling away to glory for no reason at all....He smiles when it rains, smiles when it is scorching hot, smiles..when it is bone chilling cold ..keeps on smiling always...

Foreigners frequent his scenic village quite a bit.They come here looking for eternal peace and calm and many of them have actually confessed that Chamku makes them believe that this village can actually give them what they have come looking for..peace..for isn't Chamku just that-embodiment of peace and calm..

Chamku doesn't understand english at all..however, he loves conversing with these foreign tourists...speaks his own language and still communicates! Wow!Looking at them, you realise that you don't really need a language to understand each other...just a genuine interest in understanding others and being understood can work wonders!ha..they don't teach that at B schools...

Why is Chamku so happy?one wonders, what keeps him so content and genuinely calm? is it his scenic village, that does the magic or the people association that he gets or may be even better, the villagers....what is it?

Nobody has ever been able to answer that..

Yes, but Chamku does one thing absolutely right....he takes a lot of effort to shine the shoes of every passerby,villager, foreigner that comes upto his small box shop...a one box shop rather...works very hard..just to give that perfect shine....to the shoes....just to make them CHAMKU!

One wonders what would have Chamku achieved had he been putting all that effort into his education?

Shauk hai..masterpiece by AR Rahman-Guru

Raat ka shauk hai...
Raat ki saundhi si..Khamoshi ka
shauk hai..shauk hai......
Subah ki roshni, bezubaan subah ke aur gunganati, roshni ka
shauk hai

Facebooking!

Another one of my random tete-a tete with my mind!

Facebook...I have realised every time I go to Facebook, I am either bored and therefore want to fill my life with Masala from other people's lives or I need food for thought, which is somehow provoked by FB in me and may be in a thousand others!

I can't help relating the famous dialogue from three ideots-the famous Bollywood movie to facebooking which says , " aap fail ho jao aur apka friend fail ho jaye toh dukh hta hai, lekin agar aap fail ho jao aur aapka friend first aaye toh bahut zyaada dukh hta hai".

Therefore , If you have all the fun in life- (travel, go wild, buy a new car, new house, get married, have children, or join a new company at a fancy designation or a new B school( a top one on that) or relocate to London or somewhere in US), you have every right to announce the same to the world via pictures or of course the status message feed which says something like, ( Yippee...First day in blah..blahh) or (New life, new beginnings) etc etc etc...

However, the same done by any one of your FB friend ( FB friends= friends who rarely talk to each other personally, who get to know about each other's life only through a status update and friends whose conversations do not go beyond..how nice they look or how nice their trip must have been! i nut shell, friends who know nothing about your life other than what you choose to showcase to them ;P) might send you off in a frantic frenzy- not in admiration of the other's life but in lack of it !

And then starts the Food for thought syndrome..which is all about the famous questions-When, how, why, me, myself, etc etc. The good part is this provokes you( inspire is a better word here) to look forward to better things in life..the bad part is..you do nothing about the future and just sit and lament on the current state of affairs in your life!

and even worse...like me...you become a victim and decide to jot it down somewhere so that it goes out of your system, you get to see a better side to it, laugh a lot while writing this and then get on with work-which BTW is the only way to make things happen in your life.:D

So, till the time , that I happen to post a few pictures of my new muse in life..here's to FBing happily ever after!

Love thy work!

That is indeed a thought provoking statement...A statement that I have tried to live by and live through...
Yupp live through...and live through like hell..Coz with every dream, there might be a perceived price to pay.Please note " PERCEIVED"..these prices that you pay sometimes are more pschyological than real..Sometimes they just do NOT exist in the present..they are all nicely waiting for you in the future or so called future as potrayed by your near and dear ones..

and then starts the journey..the tussle of "to be or not to be".I happen to come across many such souls thoughout my day..at work..their reasons for taking any particular course could range from "Good marks" to" better paying" to "Societal recognition" to even a "nice matrimonial match." Passion does not seem to be the Trend...

Passion could be dangerous, rebellious, could just defy every existing norm and tradition and could prove that everything that has to be or will be is in the NOW, in the present that we reside in.If I do not appreciate the present of PRESENT given to me, in all proabilities my future would be just the same old story!

I am trying to reiterate certain rules that I have created for myself, to myself all over again, lest i forget the importance of the time that Iam in and the future that i am trying to create.

and the rule for my life is:

Following Passion = great satisfaction and pride and sense of achievement= great efficiency at work, great output= better paying, better growth= happiness = great life!

love the lyrics!!

ude khule aasman me khwabo ke parindee
Ude..dil ke jahan me khwabo ke parinde...

Jo bhi ho so ho!!

would you not, once in a while want to escape from certain things in your life, that have not exactly gone your way?
hmm..that's a question I am asking myself today..generally,.i am  the strong one, who likes to take things head on..but just some days, a few moments..i feel like totally running away..acknowledging that some things just didn't turn out the way..i liked..

But there is always an unending question.. So What? So what..things didn't work out..so what..there is hope.. and effort for a better tomorrow..

but for the time being..let me soak in self pity..cry my heart out ...and just be!

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears!

inspired!

Inspiration excites me!
Makes me do more!

I believe, I can fly!!

the survival tips today!!

Realisations @ 2nd feb, 2012.

1) Never get on to work on something without clarifying your expectations from the same.Clarity is the medicine for your mismatched expectation syndrome! if you don't get it, Seek it!!

2) Promise yourself that you would never take up something which makes you follow others' opinion about you! Stick to what you know the best about yourself!! just stick to it and let everyone else know!

3) Get what you want!! seek it and be a go getter! what better than being able to put yourself honestly across the table??

4) Work hard for your dreams, but work equally hard for ensuring that you are working ON what you want..not working on peripherals around it which may( may not) get to your dream someday.

5) Live in now! Now is the time! FUTURE happens in NOW..always!!\

6) the above mentioned points are my POA( plan of action ) for the day!i have to set some notions right!

Met another crazzy soul like me today! enjoyed the conversation..

makes me believe now that i am not the only one trying to live life according to my terms!I have companions!

crazy ppl...crazy reality..!!

Road less travelled!

I am about to embark on a journey..which i do not would lead where?
It is not the road I am worried about, it's the destination..that makes me cranky..

Do I even know..what is the reason? I can feel weiredness within me..but can't exactly define it.. Can't explain it..even to myself...

why am I worried and who is that I am afraid of? Of myself...or of others..or of my reactions/mood swings that i can get after seeing others' reactions??

Why are these others so important??Why?? when none of them makes any difference to my life?? These others do not share, add,bring joy to my world..so why bother??

I guess..it's not them..it's me...my own self that is looking outside for reassurance of my talent and prestige..m unable to look completely within me and decipher the beauty that lies here..just here..with me...which needs to be seen and felt only by me..

hmm..m ..alas on the road less travelled and therefore the mystery is for me to unravel...!

restless!

Each day is bringing with it an amazing amount of restlessness! Restlessness is the essential nutrient for a evergrowing zeal..however,I have suddenly my fears, what if this goes terribly wrong..? Hell with you! Stupid that you are!<i> These days i feel a very strong urge to write down what i feel, need lest i forget it and ruin it forever..lest m unable to what i was set out to...this, my friend is a inner battle, fought in the deep corners of my heart...understood, only by me and borne only by me... I am just like the solitary reaper...who has set himself a task..and if he loses..he loses everything.. he is solitary..not alone though..as he has his best friend with him....himself..

Royal Dissonance!

It is not even funny!

The last one year has been nothing less than a roller coaster....Understanding marriage better and therefore your role in the same...figuring out things that you had never before even given a thought to and ..not forgetting the dependencies that u get used to...that u get used to rely on...and yesss..then there is a New identity..and a New identity CLASH..

hehehee....Identity clash coz...it is one thing when u CAN prioritise one thing over the other..however, what if you can't? What if YOU ARE GREEDY and you want everything..best of both the worlds.....what then??

Then...the royallll. confusion or in OB terms..COGNITIVE DISSONANCE( thank god ! I remember that term from my MBA days)

Ok..So in the past time..I have been greeted by failure more than once..Infact more than what I have faced so far, put together.That's why I said, it's not even funny!Yupp....and they have brought to me a low...the obvious low...but they have done something else as well...

They have made me believe that " Any thing that doesn't Kill you, makes you stronger."

and yess..here iam ...realsing that those failures were more of gateways to new domains..things that I have never tried before...the sheer fact that I am trying them out in itself is a great success...

and guess what...thank god for this year and its setbacks..m geared up for this coming year..and more relaxed in terms of facing the unknown..knowing that whatever I step into, success or not..I will make the best out of it!!

and nothing more can spell LOVE OF LIFE more than this for me!

What does!

Have been crazyy...Have been wild..
Have been fun all the while..
have sometimes thought way too much
and sometimes..have taken a decision just like that..

I wonder what is life to me??
I wonder where it is taking me?
What is that interests me?
Do i know that still or..

Well. i don't have answers..
Have my insecurities, have my opinions..
Have all it takes to fall down..and then..get up again..
Have love and life...
and wonder is all that matters?
If not, what does??

opportunities!

hmm...just today this dawned upon me..that u never really fail in life....u fail when u accept your defeat and you close yourself to any other opportunities that come across..but the more you are willing to accept the situation as it is, the more would you be able to see opportunities...

and by experience..i know...the alternative that you take is generally more beautiful than the original option! you just never realised it!

Beat the Blues!! STRESSS BUSTERS!

yupp...do that exactly...and quite literally...BEAT the stress out of your life!!BEAT ITTT!!How?? Here we go...My tried and tested whacky ideas..They always work!!
1) Drink! alcohol, tea, juice whatever suits you..just sip it up!!yess..just ensure that you have switched off that non stop machine on your shoulders...and look around and enjoy the surroundings!

2)Leave being a Bathroom singer and come out and croon to glory! My take whacky, enthusiastic, rockingggggg, cracking songs....songs that will make you sinnggg along, shout at the top of your voice...just go plain crazzzyyy...stop being just a bathroom singer..let the world feel your glorry!

3)playing is not for children..it is for the child within us: my fav..ludo..cheat man...just play twisted and enjoy the mayhem thereafter...A game a day...keeps the stress awayy!

4)Creativity is not for closets! Do something whacky...cook a new dish..with new combinations...create a dress out of your already existing one...just do it! or may be create awesome or not so awesome art work out of waste...just put your stress to better use!

5)And lastly..do what is called OSHO meditation....dance...dance...go mad dancing..do not worry about..the steps or the performance..what the heck..it is meant for you..not for anyone else..make noise..have fun..go wild!!

all these work wonders for me..may be they work for you too!!

the recruting Blunder!

Phew!!!1 the last few days have been killing!!Has made me realise a few things...

In a country full of zillion ppl looking for employment opportunities, ppl who are educated, sometimes, very well educated..don't end up getting jobs..They have to wait endlessly to any company to respond to their applications.

Ppl say there are consultants who would take care of this, however, being from HR, i know...that none of the consultants take up the segment of junior level appointments..mainly because..companies pay them peanuts for such profiles...which means that there is no AID to these freshers who may not have graduated from the best colleges!

Business wise, i look at this as a huge opportunity and a need...that ppl are reluctant to look at!

What this kind of approach overlooks is the fact that intelligence is not all about education..I have witnessed utmost intelligence , sensitivity and willingess to do something in most of the colleges which may not be your BEST colleges..!
I believe HR doesn't have any other option.this seems like a perfect way to sieve through plethors of applications that pour in.However, this is what i feel..A CV is just paper...may be ...talking could be better..could give you a better picture..
So next time you outrightly reject a CV, look for pointers which tell you about the person and not the paper alone!

True friendship!

Having one friend who makes life easier for you...is there zillions of time inspite of you being cranky..irritated bitchy...is worth all the loneliness that a sea of fake friends can bestow you with!
If you have managed to differentiate between the chaff and the grain, you are lucky...since you have given your life reasons to be happy and alive forever....
Lucky you!!