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 !!!!

Love,life and all that Jazz!!!

Love, life and all that Jazz

 

In the overflow of books written by Indian writers off late ,here’s another addition by Ahmed Faiyaz. The book revolves around four friends  and their trials and tribulations with life .

The book talks of the complications of the Long Distance Relationship (LDR) ,a phenomen which has proved hard for any couple to sustain even after years of bonding. Other than this the book also delves into the more mundane things of life like a crappy boss and a extra famous girlfriend.

The good parts of the book are definitely the areas where the relations between friends are defined .The book also manages to keep the attention of the readers not because it’s a mere 256 pages in totality but because of the good narrative in the book.

The reader does not lose interest as things are not repetitive. Yes , the book does become predictable at certain junctures but does it bore  you?? No, I would not say so atleast….

A good cup of coffee, some light music and Love ,life and All that Jazz …..worth a day spent.

?????

Of all the signs that we have in our different languages ,nations and religions..i feel that this one particular sign which just keeps popping up  every now and then, the inevitable question mark "?".

The questions just dont stop and so does the sign.The question changes forms,shapes ,timing....Sometimes they are for concern,some for love ,some for guilt ,forgiveness...but the sign just keeps hitting you again and again....
From a simple wassup?? to the life changing questions where people ask you " Are you sure you want to do this"??Even when you heaven or in some cases hell ;) ,the questions still dont leave you ...They just dont stop ,Do they ;)???

How do you respond when all these questions are thrown at you .Do you deflect, reflect ,effect?? Life as i see it is a series of questions and answers .A question is asked , you answer it on your understanding and based on your answers the future of your life changes...So the next time a question is asked , be conscious of the answer that u give...be really conscious.Because once you have answered theres no going back....and because out of the two ,  answers are the one you have some control over :).....

ANTICIPATIONS!!!

Today at the end of my week long vacation i actually remembered something that was discussed with my roommate some time back. We were discussing how the anticipation of something is always better than the thing itself, so this one’s for u Akanksha.

Though my vacation in itself was a fabulous break from the rigmaroles of work life, yet i am now missing the feeling that had been there prior to my coming..the days when i had been planning what all i will be doing at home, how i had counted each day before coming ,how the thought of reaching amongst my loved ones where i was not supposed to be one of the paid hence liable to the company employee.

The anticipation itself helped me pass through the last few difficult days at work. The thought that no matter what is happening right now, i shall be home next week. That feeling makes you work with double energy and double the enthusiasm.

And this is a fact which is applicable to all the big and small happenings of life, we always like the feel of the dream becoming a reality more than living in the reality itself. The anticipation leads us to imagine things , but the reality is never exactly a 100% match to our anticipations.

This is human nature i guess, we live in the dreams like when we read books we make up a world of our own ...and hence a movie based on the book never really matches our expectations fully. We imagine the characters to be having certain physical features , certain characteristics and the image of two readers can never match with each other.

But the fun of anticipation is amazing and the fear of the reality not matching with our anticipations should never stop us from making our own world....so now i m making plans for my next visit J

So people keep ANTICIPATING!!! J

Shopping is FUN!!!!!

SHOP SHOP TILL U DROP!!!!

Had an amazing day shopping for continuously 5 hours today ....i know the time is less for many of the veterans of this field..but the amount of work done is not...Its not diwali till you go out for shopping for the diyas , candles, lights , sweets, idols.....and what not!!!


Buying and roaming around the market for five hours..but am i exhausted ??? Hell No !!! Have to go shopping for  the Crackers in the evening !!! :)

I have always seen that 6- hours of shopping never tires you but 8 hours of office kills you.....so whats the difference???what is it that shopping does to you that you dont feel the slightest hint of weariness.....It charges us, it acts as a therapy if you are sad....it makes you feel happy ..it keeps you engaged whether or not you have company ..

Shopping is a stress relaxant , its a group activity, its an anti-depressant ..its just ticks the girl feeling good button :)

See ya soon people ...Off to another round of shopping!!!

Two drops do make a difference!!!

One year back when i was doing my internship in Himachal Pradesh and i was amazed seeing that the state had a strict rule against the use of polythenes..so much so that outsiders like us were warned by the localites that people seen with the polythene bags in the market place are charged 200 bucks instantly...I was mighty impressed.The state was making its small little contributions for the environment and it was good to see people making an effort from their sides also.

Then when later this year , i was standing at the billing counter of a big retail chain in Chennai ,i was asked if i would like to take a plastic bag for the merchandise bought . Oblivious to any new notifications on the same i said yes in the routine way . The cashier then added 2 more bucks per packet used by me and i ended up paying 10 rs extra for my purchase ...seems like a trivial amount..does not it?? but trust me it hurts ;)

I took it as a one time thing and the next time i went to shop i was still without any preparation. But this time round i saw a change , out of the 5 people standing in front of me in the line, 3 chose not to take a polythene bag. which goes on to say that atleast 3 polythene bags saved ....." Well Done" ..the efforts have already started showing results. And yes the next time i went for my usual shopping, i made it a point to carry my bag with me.

We live in a state of denial ..feeling that our individual efforts are not of significance to the society,,what we forget is that it is individuals like us only who make the society what it is. So the next time u throw a wrapper on the road, think about it for a second ..because it is you who is making the city u live in a dirty mess.


It is an "I" who can make all the difference and a " You " who can make the world a better place to live in.. Because even if two small drops are added to an empty glass....the glass can no longer be called " EMPTY"....

The Kodak moments!!!

They steal your moments and then preserve them for time unbound. That’s the beauty of the product   as they say ..so the next time anyone says cheese “ SMILE ‘ and make it a mom ent to be cherished …

The funny photos.. the hilarious photos ….all have a story to tell…and they all make u go down the memory lane each time u look at them ….They are our way of reliving our pasts..when we r either too busy or bored of our present.

They make our dull moments colourful and gloomy moment are filled with joy just by having one look at them..

In this rapid pace of life where we have so many things to do, so many goals to achieve  at times, we at times forget  what is it that really life is all about ..or what really makes up our lives…such times just looking into the pics..makes our day and energizes us to move ahead in life …

They are as my friend rightly pointed out “Our life that was”…. So people ..keep those treasures with u forever  and keep  clicking…click ..click :)

Fear as we know it!!

Life shows you different phases, different situations, relations and lots more...its the same for everyone but for the way we deal with them ...and for more than a a few most of us the four letter word “FEAR” changes the way we deal with life, people, situations, fights, makeups....the list goes on....

We always end up saying in a philosophical mood “Life’s very complicated’ ...but somewhere inside we all know that its our fear that makes our lives complicated.....we give it different names but it is actually the different forms of the same fear.....the fear of dying, the fear of losing someone precious, the fear of upsetting your loved ones, the fear of not being successful......there are many shapes but the basic structure remains the same....fear conquers all at some point of time and those who conquered fear life becomes simple ...yes it remains hard but then the complications seem to die down....

When we were kids, we feared that somebody would take our toys...the ghost stories used to scare the hell out of us....when we were teenagers our fears grew bigger...would we pass?? would somebody take away our crushesJ ??? we always feared that something bad is around the corner....entering into family mode gives our fears a wider touch...we are afraid not only for ourselves but people we love.......if i say something that i don’t feel good about ,would he leave me??? What would happen to me?? Are the questions all of us ask....

Fear is not all that bad ...it gives the energy to move forward ...the will power to work for better things...to reach and aim for bigger goals...but then as the wise men have said that too much of anything is bad.....our mind generate our fears... our mind is our greatest friends if we control it but it become or greatest enemy if we get controlled by it.....the fear of losing friends leads us to all the things that a relation should not be based on.....we lie, we crib but we do not have the courage of saying the truth in the face of the friend....and we cover it by saying that we don’t want hurt his / her feelings..but what we don’t realise that not saying it that time.. we r not being true to our friend also..

We have to achieve the right balance so that we can take fear also in our stride and make it work in our favour..so that ghosts dun scare us anymore ..Next time..when u r afraid..just let all the inhibitions drop and LET GO !!!! J

Whats d right way???

There are lots of things that lots of people say about life…”Its not a bed of roses “, “Its unexpected”,”its beautiful”….they are all different but they are all right in their own ways ….

But the real point is not what life is but how you take what life gives to you….there are options…always…either you can fight the conditions and keep fighting till you get what you think you really want…or you can adjust to the conditions and make your present a better place and think about your future with a positive mindset..but this option does not guarantee that you would get what you thnk you want …it may also mean that after sometime probably you r so adjusted that you don’t want to shift out of your comfort zone…

So what should one do? get used to your surroundings or try harder each day to change your surrounding ??? whats the right thing …what’s the right way???

The same thing in a different way is taught to us during gwoeing up…should we be polite and adjust with whats being given or stand up and demand what we need even to the extent of being rude at times…

This time I am just confused so am asking whats the right thing to do???

Make the small things count

All of us in this race of life to achieve the best grades , the best job, the promotions forget to notice that the little things that made all this happen should  be given credit to.

The grades would not have been achieved had it not been for the good professors, interesting lectures and even more interesting notes of the studious people in the college which were so vital for us to pass. The job would not have been achieved if we did not have the wishes of all the near and dear ones and also the support of our friends who provided us all that we need just in time for the interview .And the promotion would not have been yours had your team not worked well with you.

Every little step we take towards our goals should be recognised and valued by us. We would never be able to achieve the big goals if we forget the small ones. Make the small things count, cherish those little moments of joy, and preserve the memories of those light hearted conversations with your friends which take our stress away. These things are vital for us to grow and make it large in life.

When all is going wrong just one little something can make you feel good about the whole thing….when you are thinking that nothing is getting sorted out and life has become too complicated to handle ,if at that time just one thing turns in your favour you get the confidence to set the other things in order yourself.

After all the puzzle is only solved when you put all the small pieces in place to make the bigger picture. A sad and gloomy day can be turned into a cheerful day just by a simple smile from a stranger.

Random thots at three am :)

Lets say in my final sem i have lots of free time or i have become addicted to movies ...else what could numerous movies on laptop every day  and 2 movies in one week in the theatres ....one was serious based on the story of a girl who made national headlines not for what she did but for what people did to her ....and the second was as far from reality as one could possibly get....with all the melodrama and bollywood mixing to it the movie was lets just say a mind less pleasure !!!

I m not giving any more reviews on the movies than you already have read , am just sharing two observations which hit me hard.....

Scenario 1: The serious movie

After a grilling session of around two hours ,the movie compelled people to think as does any movie on serious matters like this(remember the fire ignited in all by Rang De Basanti??)...so like all others my group of friends also discussed what are the problems with the existing systems in our country and what are their complaints...what should be done ...what are our suggestions to improve the country..the discussion grew interesting once a situation was raised and responses were asked

Situation: You are in a reserved train compartment and some miscreants enter into your compartment ...they want to molest the girl in your compartment ....what do you do??? You save the girl trying to be the hero thus running the risk of getting shot by the goons....run for your own safety... run to fetch someone to help who you are also not sure may be willing to help....or you just watch ???what would you do???

My friends had all varied responses some said they would save the girl come what may, others would run to fetch help....but it made me think what would any of us have done??? Do we risk our lives for the unknown girl ...would you do that if u knew u r the bread earner of your family back home???Do we run back for our own safety and live a life that probably we would be not proud of because we did not do what was required or what we should have done for the cause that girl could have been your sister for all u know..what is the right path here???

We all say its time to do something now, saying is not enough ...youth has got to be more empowered ...but are we???

Scenario 2 : The laughter riot

The movie was funny alrite, we had fun .....and it was during the movie i realised something from one of my friends ...while all of us were just curtailing our smiles or were simply not in the hyperactive mode...he was laughing away merrily...so much so that he in a way made us all laugh J in that overly bollywood movie....the laughter makes u forget all the worries, planning, conspiracies and all that worldly stuff....in short laughter makes u a kid again...so why don’t all of us laugh more often ...why don’t we bring that kid out more often...why do we like to keep it in that small frame of a perfect smile....why do we become so complicated in our lives that have been made by us that we forget that we can laugh and laugh our hearts out..are we plain too busy wid life ???

The scenarios don’t match ..i know ...but these r just random thoughts which stayed in my mind and i wanted to share with all....for me the solution would probably that we have become constrained in sharing our emotions...afraid that either we would be harmed or would be exposed to the  world ...what would your reaction be????