The Next Year!!!

Its again that time of the year when people look back and say that they don’t have a clue of how the year passed while some will be seen making the age old statement :Oh, How time flies”.

Yes that’s a fact and we all know it so every time a year goes by we don’t have to lament on the year gone by but take something from the year and make it count in the memories of your lifetime. Each year you live should have something special in it to remember it by. There should not be even one such year which when you look back at your life feels like a year lost.

For being able to do that thing, here are a few suggestions:

1.       Capture and document each and every big moment of your life: If something big is happening in your year ranging from a wedding to your promotion, celebrate it and capture it before the next big thing comes and make a diary to remember your big events in the year by.

2.       Go on a Vacation: You must, must and you must definitely go on on a holiday..a big break in the busy lives that we have…take a break ..Breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the locales with your partner, friends or family because it is only at the destination you realise the value of the journey and the companions.

3.       Make time for Family: If you work away from your parents make it a point to visit your folks as much as possible and enjoy very big event of their lives too with them. They have given you their time and life…its time to return the favour.

4.     Learn something new: Every year make it a point to learn something new…what you can learn can range from cooking a new cuisine, learning the guitar or trekking…anything that you can look back in the future and say that year 2013 when I learned how to do photoshop. Anything you learn take a picture and document it also in your annual diary J

5.    Check if you are happy- give yourself time and ask yourself if you are really happy. If the answer is yes then move on and  keep enjoying but if the answer is No ,introspect and find out what can be done to make you happy again and do that. Try to move on from the negatives of life and be genuinely happy. Your happiness can be shared by others but felt only by you and body is that a great feeling J

This is my list of what I will try to do every year…if you have better ideas share and I will incorporate them in my next year activities J

Here’s wishing everyone a fun and love filled New Year!!!! J

Raise Individuals!!!

Hearing the news of the brutal rape of the 5 year old in Delhi yet again has shook the nation which has yet not fully come over the horror of the gangrape victim case in December 2012.

The first case drew the people to the streets demanding justice .Where the case made the people come in support of the victim, it also led to certain weird remarks from various people at different levels of leadership in our country. Some   said that girls should not be allowed outside of the houses without dupattas , the others said they should dress according to the culture of the nation.People even went to the conclusions to say that the consumption of western foods like chowmein incites men.

But the recent case has put a stop to all arguments however baseless they were in the first place. There is no possible reason on this earth to violate a 5 year old let alone torture her. She has not even lived properly and does not even realise the complexities of life. For her she’s just a kid like the rest of them.Why then in the tender age of 5 , she has been subjected to violence that will haunt her the rest of life if provided she is saved after the incident.

The basic problem lies in the mindset of the men and women of our society. We are too bound in the shackles of the society where the two genders are not deemed equal. When a boy is born in the family they say that the heir has come and when a girl is born they either equate her to the goddesses or out rightly say ‘isse to paraye ghar jaana hain’.Both the approaches are wrong  because from the moment they are born we associate the kids to their gender and sketch out their future.

We have to raise them as individuals and not gender biased kids. We have to teach our sons that they are equal to the girls. Just because they are born as guys they do not have access to any special privileges. Similarly the girls have to be taught that they are born as individuals and they have full right to choose their own lives. They are in no way lesser than the boys.

We have been born as two different genders to keep a balance in the world. But nowhere does this need to be established that men are the superior race or women are the delicate darlings. The ladies should be allowed to do their chores on their own and the men should be taught to respect them and not treat them as an inferior race and treat them as commodities. Unless this thinking changes in our existing patriarchal society, such incidents might just keep happening.

We have to remember that at the end of the day we are all individuals trying to complete our journey of life in our own ways. And that journey is way too precious to everyone and we should respect that about each other. We can’t find all the existing or potential rapists breathing, what we can do is try and change the thinking of our next generation so that we finally get a society where people are treated as individuals and not on their genders.

The Average Individual!!!!

Every time someone used to say that everyone has something unique or special, all i could say was “Ahaa, what”? I never believed in this statement. True we might be different in some way or the other but different is not unique and there’s nothing bad about being different but not unique.

Like many others I have grown up watching and listening to the unique ones, Idolizing them, trying to be them. I had peers who knew right from the start what’s their passion in life..What they eventually want to be .But me the poor soul was the “jack” of all trades. They excelled in particular things..i averaged at most the things.I was not bad but I wasn’t excellent either. I was just avg  J

There were the “well done” lot and the “badly performed” and then there was me an a few of my friends J.Trust me when I say that we tried for both the categories but never achieved either. There were people who were great at studies but bad at extra-curricular, others sucked at studies but excelled at extra-curricular. WE did both but were never the shining stars in either J

Back then I used to get upset and jealous at both the categories, but years later and still an average person by all means. I have accepted it and am proud of the fact “ I AM AN AVERAGE PERSON” J.I am different in my ways, settled in my means and contented by my life.

I am the person who gets up each morning, gets ready according to the set routine, gets to his/her job,  slogs the day through, returns home and sleep. I am the person who loves sleeping more than doing something productive. I am the person who still treasures every compliment coming my way and each harsh statement made hurts still.

I am definitely not the iconic achiever who has the focus of her life who is doing work of his /her passion; instead I am doing what i like. I am not the one who is going out of the way but is following the old path coz it seems comfortable and nice J

Though some may say i take life easy and don’t break the boundaries …i like it that way J

I may have not had many epiphanies in life …but live a happy contented life with my near and dear ones. J

So all the average fellows like yours truly out there, smile cause we are different in our own ways J  

THE LAST DROP!!!

The swords were drawn, the sky was grim and the men had said their goodbyes to their families. The men had asked their children to keep fighting for the cause till their last breath. The battlefield was ready, and the prize was standing tall…This was different; it was not a battle for pride. It was a war for survival. They had no option but to fight it out.

No, it’s not the description of some prehistoric era fight. But the scene in front of my apartment as I saw it…the war was for the precious tanker which contained the most precious element for human survival –WATER. The fight was on between the apartments for luring the tanker guy to provide water to their apartment first. On a Saturday where in usual circumstances the day doesn’t start before 11, I could see all the residents down fighting for their right to survival…they could do anything to get it. Bargaining, bribe, requests, pleading.. anything …suddenly the tanker guy was the uncrowned king.

 

We always think that if something is given to us ..it will never end ..so use it as luxuriously as u want . This thinking had people wasting water in all activities of the day..right from watering of plants to the washing of their porch . One household could use gallons of water as water will never end and even if it does so what it’s a thing our next gen should worry about. Years of practicing this philosophy has led us to where we are now .I for one can actually visualize the third world war happening for water.

All I would like to say here is that make an effort to save whatever is left of the drinkable water. Use less ,save more. We can’t do anything to rectify the past but we can definitely do our best to save the future. If we don’t act now the day won’t be far ,when the scene in my mind would actually be replayed in every street, every area…The day is not far when all of us might see the Last drop …

The end of the Beginning.....

The waves washed her feet every now and then…this was where the most beautiful moments  of her life had been spent.. this was where he had asked her.. this was where she had her first kiss.. this was where she had the first love of her life…image kept coming in Ria’s mind one after the other as her life flashed across her eyes like a slideshow.

A sharp pain in her leg brought her back to the reality.. she bent down to see blood gushing out at the point where the broken branch had pricked her…this pain didn’t matter to her .The vastness of the ocean seemed to engulf her …it was ready to accept her after everything that had happened …she felt at peace after a long time.

Life had always been good to her …when did things go so awry ?

She could still remember the first time their eyes met in college…it was not love at first sight but yes there was a spark that flew from both sides..she liked him for the personality ,the way he interacted with the crowd and there was something else she couldn’t put a finger on but it attracted her. He had told her later that her eyes were what took his attention.

The conversations started when Prateik became the coordinator for the college fest and she was a part of the main team. Ria couldn’t take her eyes off him and listened intently to the way he talked, dealt with situations …she couldn’t still tell what was that one thing that made her go back to him for even the smallest of problems and he would solve them happily. He would say “ Don’t worry , I got this covered” and then would give her a smile that made her go week in the knees….yes she had her answer ..it was that smile ..a smile that made her believe that all in the world was good.

Anu told her it was one more addition to my long list of existing and vintage crushes. Ria conceded after all Anu had been her friend since she could remember. Anu was the only one person other than her parents who knew Ria through and through. So whenever she saw Prateik she thought about Anu’s advice and tried to keep his thoughts at bay. Somehow this time it was just not working. She couldn’t not think about him. And then when he asked her out, she could not say no….


Contd....

Dear Friend....Thou shalt be remembered !!!

It was one of the most precious days of my life, I had passed my class 7th exam according to my expectations…And excitedly I reached my home eager to show off my result ;) …
As soon as  I entered , I saw her…there it was sleeping on a stool …cuddled up…a beautiful cute pomerian puppy…it was white as snow and softer than cotton…my world was full of happiness I could not stop smiling for a second.
To name the puppy was an assignment that kept me fully occupied for the next one week…all sorts of names kept coming up... until one day my sister why not name it “ Cozy”, she’s so soft and cuddly…and just like that Cozy was the name.
They say a dog is person’s best and most loyal friend …and I couldn’t agree more..i grew up with Cozy…played with her.. Cuddled up with her …she was my toy, my friend, my pup. Every morning would start with Cozy coming up to my bed and shouting at the top of her voice to wake me up…I would open my eyes to a super active pup wagging its tail with full vigor.
I would come back from school and there she would be waiting for me …evenings would be occupied with walks, games and fun…whenever I got a scolding from Mum…I would have Cozy by my side to listen to my side of the story …she would look at me with the most comforting eyes…and I would actually feel better by the end of the confession round J
Years flew…I grew up, went out of home for further studies ..got busy with my life . But whenever I used to come back Cozy’s enthusiasm never decreased a bit…there she would be welcoming with all the possible warmth.. Wagging her tail with such intensity at times I thought it would fall offJ
Whatever be the case she was always there with me ….for me. But then with age she got sick…real sick .. she could not walk any longer…she limped all her way through. But that pain failed to diminish her love for me , my family and life…she would try to be with us all the time just lying there and looking at us…She never got better inspite of all our efforts to get her back …and then one day the pain got unbearable and she left us finally.
We humans have a tendency to get attached but then one might think what would be the level of attachment to a dog…trust me it is as much if not more than to a human…Cozy and her love will remain etched in our hearts forever…she taught me the real meaning of unconditional love.
Even a year after she has gone when I go back to my now silent home ..i miss seeing her,playing with her and getting all the love and warmth from her.
Love u Cozy!!
U shall be remembered forever!!

Does it Matter ??

Saw a casual Tee at a prominent retail store with the chest print saying " I m in shape, round is also a shape".The shirt was available in one particular size dimension.Made me think why do we need to declare such things to the world.

Its fun when its about a thing,but when such statements are on for humans,doesnt it make one think why the obsession with shape and colour? Agreed physical appearences matter.But are they really that glaring a factor for people to declare and get back at the people who ever insulted or mocked them???

Look at the flood of the fairness creams in the market, is that essential to be fair??The market and the entertainment industry both play play on the emotions and dreams of the consumers.In both the above cases one plays the dream of every common indian girl to be the fair girl who every guy wants to woo.The other plays on the emotion of anger of people whi have been taunted ,mocked about them getting out of shape.

Are we as a scoiety ,so biased that we have a mindset that to be successfully married (leave alone work success) we have to be fair and slim?? Do we ever look for a wheatish skin girl when we r going thru a matrimonial column ??

For me as a person, every person is beautiful....we r all heroes in our own lives, and no matter what NOBODY has a right to tell us what to do !!!!