Gud n Gr8

You are the sole owner of what you are!! The difference between good and great is the extra effort you take towards the success. To get what we've never had, we must do what we have never done. The only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible. Remember, it's your life, you are responsible for the results.

travell light...

I had so much pain to transport my luggage from old room to new house, even though it was so close. First, I had to throw out a hundred of no use things I have been keeping around. It seems there is abundance of Vishnu Shakti- skill of maintenance in me, and a budding Shiva Shakti - the transformation energy. So I had to invoke all the Shiva Shakti and select only few things to be taken further to the new home.

Still the luggage was HugE!! Some 10 Cartons. I shiped some on my HONDA DIO, and 3 had to go in auto rickshaw.

Its so important to Travel light in the life! The incident made me aware of what all things I have been accumulating for no reason!

And this is just from one home to another. This body is also a home, I am temporarily living in here. When I have to leave it and go, will I be able to travel light!?

Cooking is not rocket scient-II

Jeera Rice

Ingredients
1 cup rice (preferably basmati)
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
Water
1 heaped tsp ghee
a pinch of salt
a few drops of lemon juice.

Procedure:

1. Wash the rice properly and soak it for 10 -15 minutes. After 10-15 minutes drain the water from rice and keep aside.
2. Boil about 6 cups of water in a vessel.
3. Heat ghee in a pan, add jeera. After the jeera crackles add the rice. Toss well in the ghee.
4. Add the boiled water. Add salt and 4-5 drops of lemon juice.
5. Let the rice cook (it would take about 5-7 minutes).
6. Drain the water from the rice.

7. Serve it... :)

Cooking is not rocket science...

Daily Dal

1 cup moong dal (yellow dal)
4 tomato (finely chopped)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 green chilly (slit)
1 tsp red chilly powder
salt to taste
1 tsp ghee 1/2 tspgaram masala
½ glass of tamarind water and 

10 coriander leaves

Procedure:

1. Wash the dal properly.
2. Add green chilly, tomato, turmeric, tamarind water to the washed dal.
3. Pressure cook for 4 whistles. Wait for the cooker to cool. Remove the dal and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan, keep the gas on a low, add ghee, jeera, red chilly powder.Immediately add the dal to this tempering.

5. Add salt and mix well. If the dal is thick add a little water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Sad note ended happily…

It was a dry day in recent season…

Not so energetic, not so joyful, not so healthy… Badly suffered from fever, cold, cough and so much of mental torture…

One of my dear buddy, whom I use to take care was not bothered to look at me and not concerned about my condition… I felt I was completely ignored… That was the pain I suffered more than physical illness… Took that circumstances in a positive means and learnt to live by myself…

I wanted to shout, scream and say to this world that”JAGAMANTHA KUTUMBHAM NAADHI, EKAAKI JEEVITHAM NAADHI” I was literally crying inner self and was trying to make things comfortable…

There was a call from another close pal of mine and that relieved me from all the physical and mental sickness… I was completely out of all the worries… I was recovered half the way…

I was in search of that kind of support, love and other means to come out of that messy situation…

Thanked god for giving me such a nice buddy as my frnd…

Date: 30 April 2008

Disturbed day at office…

Disturbed day at office…

It’s been good working from the day he is working in the office… He’s exploring a lot, working hard, and solving puzzles, supporting politicians so called people and so on…

A day that was not his day… Woke up from the twin bed with a smile on his cheeks and good feelings in his brains… Rushed to office as regular…

It was unexpectedly a meeting which started bothering him… He was not tinted as per his potential… All others were recognized for the work completed by him… He was disturbed in his mind, bothered about his space and worried about his bread winning… He took it on the lighter side and started ahead with the daily schedule…

There was a call from his boss to guide him thru the process he has to go thru…

Boss was painting the points which he was taking care from past long time… (Boss wants to have some time pass and do show-off) He felt annoyed but can’t do much and can say nothing…

He kept his cock shut and started working as like a dog yet again…

This is not an opening experience for him; This has been in the past and will be there in the future too…

So, he understood the way of life and learnt lessons to lead the life as it comes…

Taare Zameen Par

If you want to know how good TZP is, just go to your nearest theater and watch the people coming out after the show. The cacophony that surrounds a crowd exiting a theater will be missing. Some would be walking in slow motion. Some would look petrified. At least that's what happened in the theater I went to. Not a single soul was talking after the movie, probably because what everyone saw on screen was not fiction, but a semi-biography of his/her own life. In fact, the normally rowdiest gang in a theatre (ie my friends and I) that is uber vocal at the end of a film left the theater in pin drop silence. The first thing we said to each other - 'Aamir has done it again… He did it for the first time and for the rest of life time.

I know only Aamir can make this film TZP...
But at the end its a successful movie with marvelous team effort.
Kudos to all the cast and crew of this project.
Darsheel Safary - Ishaan Awasthi
Amol Gupte - Writer
Aamir Khan - Creative Director/Producer/Lead'

Love, Pain, Devotion, Fear, etc...

I have gone through all the stages of love (pain, devotion, love, lust, fear, etc…) and I finally come to an end. It may not be as I planned it; but that’s love, unpredictable.

You are the end of a path that I took, because you showed it to me. You just told me “go that way” and I went and I found you. Just the funny ways of love. No, it might not be the right anything, but I love you. See, when I took mi first step, you had just saved me from my past. I followed the path and I found what I thought was true love; it wasn’t. I don’t know what it was, but not love, I wasn’t truly in love. It was just a shadow. Then I ended up going all along the crooked way. I fell for sin, I fell for what I will always fall .I almost touched the bottom, I almost fell to the well, I almost sealed my fate. But there were you agian, showing me the way.

And I found that I loved you. I saw me trying to stop you from leaving, I saw you there by my side, playing like little kids, I saw our game and I understood it. You took my heart that day, you took it. I didn’t know then, but you did. All I knew back then was that I felt something for you, but it never occured to me it was love. now I know.

So one evening I found my self loving you madly. You were in my dreams, you were in my eyes when I woke up. Every word we shared, every laugh, every tear, it was, and it is gold to me. But how was I going to tell you. See, I know I am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminaly vulgar. I have always known. And you, the godess, the light. I kept the feelings for me. I wrote to you, I shouted that I loved someone, but I never said whom. But now you know. I know you know.

And, well, you know what I told you, you know what I feel. And it was beautifuly arrenged by the cosmic simphony. I know there could have been better ways, but not more beautiful. And still I dare not write your name. But I’m confident you know that I love you. And maybe you have stolen too many hours of sleep and work. Maybe you have stolen too many words of love. I don’t care. I love it when you do it. I love your just you, I love all the things that you are.

And here it is, just love, still seems kind of impossible. Pure, bigger than this universe, just love. All kinds of love, love of everykind. It is better than a dream. Or maybe it is a dream come true. You see, because you told me you love me. That is greater than heaven. Even if you do it only once.

I am a fire bird, and I’m bidding you to run free, to do whatever you want to do. I’ll be there, right beneath the stars, waiting for you. It is funny, I thought I could never shout to the world that I love you and here I am not doing it, just telling the world that I love. And once the beautiful eyes of you have gone through this, the rest of the world won’t matter. So world, be fast, be quick, you’ll never know when she’ll get here, when you will stop spinning.

I love you, I guess I have told you many times, but I love you. Wait, just one more time today. I love you.

Frstated Monday Morning...

For most of us, our days often start with the regular snooze of cribbing sessions, days when you crib about your personal, professional & social life and everything else you can possibly think of. It was one of those days...my day begun with the irritating sound of the alarm pushing me right off the bed. I had overslept and was already late for work. My house was in a mess, the maid hadn't turned up, I could not find my favorite black shirt that I had to wear for some strange reason and I was having a bad hair day...

It was a frosty Monday morning and I was stuck in a huge traffic Jam. A feeling of frustration, depression and irritation had crept within me. Everything around me bothered me...the sound of the honking cars, the chilly breeze blowing across my face and the ugly green shirt I was wearing...

My thoughts were disturbed and my cribbing session disrupted when a young girl walked up to my scootret. Though I tried to shoo her away, she stayed, trying hard to remove the frost, stuck to my windows. She would have been of six or seven years of age and her hair was tied up in a clumsy bun. She wore a torn, brown frock and from what she wore, it looked as though she didn't realize that winters were still not over... She looked pale...but a tinge of colour was added by her smile.

Her eyes had a strange depth in them, a depth that disturbed me. The signal had changed to green. The sound of engine and horns from the vehicle brought me back. The noise scared her a little too...She jumped back to the pavement...back to her friends...her smile remained...I looked back and she waved at me, her smile remained refusing to fade away...

I got back to work...thinking about the little girl I had met a few minutes ago and going through my regular doze of mails...I could hear someone fighting for an edit bay...and somebody else screaming that their computer had just crashed...

Work to Live, but don’t Live to Work

The clocked ticked 6'o clock and, one of these days, I arranged my desk, packed up my bag, got up from my seat and started walking towards the exit gate of my office.

Though I tried my best but could not avoid the attention of the people around. Actually, how could I have? - (except for being 'Mr. India') - with me sitting almost towards the end, making me cross the entire office before reaching the door. My colleagues started staring at me with multiple face expressions & one thousand questions on their faces - and in the end one of them could not resist asking "Hey! Half day today?"

"Half day? It is 6'o clock dear. Time to go home as per our office hours and I have some work also outside".

"Oh! I never knew this!" she answered sarcastically with a witty smile on her face (as if I was doing a crime!).

For a moment, I thought of going and asking the boss - to leave at 'this hour'. But, giving it a re-thought, started marching towards the door - this time toying with my cell phone so as to avoid looking at others'faces and any further questions (though many seemed to have the similar urge). Carefully avoiding the last glance at my boss's cabin I, somehow, crossed the area but could not help encountering the guard with a smile on his face, a cursory glance at his wrist-watch and an obvious question - "Aaj jaldi jaa rahen hain?" (You are going home early today?) With no replies, started waiting for the lift. The regular liftman looked me from top-to-bottom but, thankfully, did not embarrass me with another 'unanswerable' question.

Fortunately, with no further encounters and explanations, I could get out of the office. Being the summers, the sun was quiet strong at 'this hour' and I had to walk to a distance for my parked Scooter.

Felt somewhat different with exit in almost bright daylight. If I could recollect, it was after quiet a while since I witnessed the 'evening sunlight'on a 'working' day! (with a relatively free after-office mind of-course)

As I was walking, the things 'actually' looked very different. Could feel the audacious structure of the building where I worked. (Never knew the fountains worked in the evening!) The roads were bright, so was the crowd.

I kept walking towards the parking slot. Needless to mention, looking at me the parkingwala was surprised as well as slightly angry as my scooter was parked in the end and he had to work a lot to show me the way to exit.

The street-food sellers had their busy slot and how I could have missed my favorite 'Bhel Poori'.

Turned my vehicle on the road. Actually, had no work - so towards the home. 'Switched-on' and 'switched-off' my head light. Though I thought otherwise, the traffic at 'this hour' was relatively lesser. As against around 30 minutes - 45 minutes, it took me less than 15 minutes to reach NIFT Collage.

There was good crowd around - Hardly knew that our area was so busy at this time! The evening meeting of the NIFT students was 'on'. Looking at me - my neighbors were surprised.

With feeling of being less tired, I could flip few pages of a book. Could watch some television. Had quality chat with my roomie. Patiently ate my dinner, and could read again before sleeping. It was really a wonderful & welcome change from the everyday hectic and late coming schedules; instilling a feeling of momentary joy & happiness in my mind.

Many people often ask me "Why do you come so late everyday?" "Do you really work till this hour?" "You have a very difficult routine, how do you manage?" I try to explain the pressures & the workload. Try to justify my routine. But, sometime I have no logical answers!

Sitting late in the offices has actually become a trend or rather a fashion (or someone can say a compulsion) nowadays. Interestingly, it is not with few but many of us. This developing and ever growing trend leaves us with many important thoughts. Either most of our workplaces are understaffed and we are bound to work for late hours for completing our day jobs or alternately it has become a trend (or a habit or a fashion) to sit till late hours and slog. Someone can argue - we have no choice but to work till late hours to run ahead of everyone.

We all are running. Running harder. Running faster - faster than time probably. But, sadly, in this rat race of careers, promotions, increments, money, and faster growth et al. we seem to have forgotten our own identities. Our own personal priorities. Our own interests. Rather ourselves! We are so awfully engrossed in our cubicles that - perhaps - we seem to be slowly forgetting the fun & the joys of this 'Work to Live, but don’t live to work'