What's In A Name...

One of the biggest 'challenge' we faced after the birth of our baby was to find her a name! It has to be new (?), original ( :o ), neumarology / astrology compliant,music to ears, sweet, short etc etc... We looked Puranas and Shlokas for inspiration. Then the wide web. Relatives, friends and who not. Every suggestion was either not good enough or too much for us! Our initial plan was to find one within 21 days so that we can have birth certificate with her full name in it. Only if we knew it was not that easy...

One thing I hate about the names is it being a burden for the person. Think about a Samarth ( efficient, able, scholar ) who fails in his maths test ? Or Tejas who is moody ?? Living upto the name should not be a burden... At the same time it was not no-meaning names to be either...

We didn't made it in 21 days ! Not even in 100 days for that matter. Our parents and friends were like crazy.. So when we suggested a name for their opinion, they were so quick to say, it was a very nice name !! Even they wanted to suggest it :D And we named her - Aarushi. Meaning the first ray of the sun :) She really is :)

Picture from : http://soulsentences.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/your-name-the-most-beautiful-sound-you-can-hear-in-a-lifetime/

Happy New Year !!

Happy New Year friends...

It's been a long while I have published anything here.. Almost an year back... Well, I can give the excuse of our extra attention seeking newborn for it, though it is not true. The sole reason is my laziness ! And as one of the first item I want to see out of my behaviour resume is laziness, one aspect of it is being more active here.. Promising you more frequent posts here, here is me wishing all you lovelies a very happy new year...

 

Picture taken from : http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2013/12/31/2014-new-years-resolutions-at-theblaze/

Got A New Cam - Nikon Coolpix L610

It was time. To say final Good-Bye to our dear Sony CyberShot W70... Though I believe we should never be 'emotionally attached' to things ( only humans are worth it ;) ) W70 indeed was dear to me. The time it was bought. I needed a camera then. But it was more than four times my stipend then! Still I owned it. Which was a very special story dear to my heart. And that made the camera special too... Well, after 6 years of glorious term, it retired now... Though I thought of repairing it, it may not be financially wise, as the new one will cost only marginally more than the repair charge!

So there came the thought of buying new camera. Sony, obviously was my first choice ( don't know why, but when I want to buy any electronics items, it will be my default preference ! ). But this time, I wanted a cam with a better optical zoom and I don't really like Sony lens much ( though the salesman at Croma told me that Sony G lens are the best lens available in India. When I asked about the Carl Zeiss lens, he told that is the world's best ! ). And Sony cam with Carl Zeiss lenses were beyond my budget. Though it was within the price of my old camera, this time my budget was half of last time ;)

Exhaustive ( almost ) online research. Discussions with photo friends. Hands-on experience at Croma. After all this I chose Nikon Coolpix L610, putting Canon Powershot 160IS aside. The expert opinions and what I saw through the lens, made Nikon the choice. And then the shopping. Thanks to my friend Vipin, this time I tried a new online store - tradus.com. They gave me a good offer at Rs 8,910, while other stores or physical stores offers it at 10,600.

I was thrilled to see what all they shipped. The camera works on AA batteries and they included 2 alkaline and 4 Ni-MH batteries and charger! The kit costs almost 3,000 stand alone... 4GB SanDisk card, pouch and a big surprise - HDMI cable :) I liked the package.

I liked the way the camera built. Apart from the battery cover, everything was so nice and sturdy. The lock of the battery compartment was tricky and I didn't like it much. Nikon even gave provision to tie the strap on both sides compared to only one in my W70. Placing it top, first I thought was bad, but once I started using it, I found it was best... It gives better support. The lens zooms in and out effortlessly. One point I noted that the alkaline batteries are draining quick. But the image needs a bit time to process making time between clicks long. But it is forgivable. Will write in detail about the clicking experiences later.

The first impression is this much. Let me click some pics and I will post my opinion about the camera - the way it works...

PS : The picture on the post is not clicked with L610 !

Me Too Is Smart Now... :)

When my favorite Motorazr took a dip and I need to buy my W205, I thought it will be an investment for life! Life, if defined in 14 months, I never knew! So I needed to hunt for a new phone...

Secret Rule Of Age!

I always enjoyed when someone tells me I don't look my age. Dress in shorts and  I will qualify for lower school! Not sure whether they tease me or jealous of me, I liked it. So when this fellow, a student, asked me 'Uncle, where is Central Mall' I was surprised. Do I look like an uncle was not my thought it was more like, is this guy blind! Anyway I gave him the direction and he happily said 'Thank you, uncle...'

In Keralam, to greet an unknown person, we generally use 'Chetta' ( elder brother ) or 'chechi' ( elder sister ) and it was always accepted. Most other places, uncle and auntie is the way to greet unknown and that was always accepted.

Until last week... I needed to ask my new neighbour about the visit from broadband company. And following the custom, I addressed her auntie. She smiled and gave me the information I wanted. I was happy to get a new acquittance. It lasted only few minutes. Till my wife with a big laugh announced that the neighbour was annoyed and conveyed in a 'strong' manner not to call her auntie! She told she might look like one and may have a kid going to school, but she in fact is lesser in age than me! I need to call her only by name! I don't know from where she found out my date of birth! 

Well, that taught me a lesson. Now, in order not to annoy anybody, I use 'excuse me..' It helps ;)

Fluidic Overflow !

With the new Fluidic i20 released, Hyundai has upgraded their entire range of cars to fluidic design. It didn't impress me at all. 

The Fluidic concept itself, for me, was loud and cheap. Friends say, Fluidic Verna is the example of the beauty and aerodynamicity of the concept. Well, have you seen the arrow-shoot design Honda City ??? Though it was launched more than an year earlier, it look more fluidic to me! Any doubt ? See both cars side by side. While Verna try to shout out loud its dynamicity, City does that in style and awe... in my opinion, of course.

But that is not the thing that wondering me. Every Fluidic sibling ( from Eon ( the worst Fluidic model,  with thick and loud lines than it can carry on ) to the Sonata ) looks similar! I mean not only the Fluidic theme gets boring, how can they think a premium car owner like Sonata, likes to be compared ( even in look ) with an entry-level Eon ??? I won't. I would like to see the extra money I spent on premium car make it a different class. Well, one reason why Suzuki's Kisashi didn't work, as told, was the prospect premium buyer for a 20 lakh car didn't like to be served along side a 2 lakh car.

Having a theme is good. It defines the company - great. But I guess Hyundai is overdoing it. The double bean grill of BMW's or the crossed grill of Volvo, though are in every car, it was used more as a signature than the theme. Even the Toyoto line-up have things in common, like headlamp assembly or grille, but not two guys are made copy!

Or is it something like, if one design clicked, stick to it... Do not annoy the admirers!

When One Ceases To Be Special....

Bondings are for a lifetime - or that's what I hope and expect ( though I know I should not ). To avoid disappointment, I make bonding rare. Mingle with all, bond with few. I know that is a stupid policy and I might have missed many interesting people because of my inhibition. But, to me, that helped getting wounded lesser. Still I get hurt...

Domestic Blues

Anybody remember my pre-marriage post Helping Husband ? If not click that link. Too bad for me, things didn't work out the way I expected it to be. My hope of giving 'oral support' and frequent compliment theory didn't work. It didn't back-fire, but my hope of lazy life after marriage simply didn't work :(

I Like To Write ....

I remember Amma bringing books for me when I was a kid. My favorite was '101 Short Stories For Children'. I used to like the story of 3 piglets, though I don't remember the story now! The stories and the world it opened made me admire the story tellers - but being one was never in my dreams ( not even now, because the imagination to create stories out of nowhere is not in me, all I can do is narrating the things I already know ).

One Long Drive

Though the Wagon R became a part of our family for quite some time, her service usually limited within 15 km trips. An occasional 110km trip to Kumarakam is something she gets to fight boredom. And except one trip to Thiruvananthapuram, around 300km,we never had a long trip. So I was all excited when we got the permission to take the car to Bangalore, around 500km, and first time crossing state border :)

My parents, being the parents they are, didn't give me permission to take it alone. Got a driver friend, Girish who, though had strict instruction from them not to let me drive, bend it a little bit ;)

We started early morning. The easy route through Palakkad, Hosur was avoided because of the ongoing Mullapperiyaar issue. We wanted to avoid driving through Tamil Nadu, so chose the Kozhikode, Bandipur, Mysore route. Soon we realised it was a mistake...

Kozhikode route is in fact almost 20km less than the Hosur route. But, most of it, except, Waynad and Bandipur when we drive through forest, is through towns. Busy towns with narrow road. And lots of curves and humps. We hardly touched 40kmph those regions. One thing noticed was, everywhere, stray dog nuisance was on rise. They were doing all the nonsense on road and I ended up hitting one, though it was not a bad hit, I hit!

The ride through forest was good. Waynad forest - it was the ghat section and the hair pin curves ( Girish didn't let me ride there :( ). The beauty of the sceneries though was completely taken by the bad quality roads. Poor car was struggling to find enough space to roll its tyres and I was worried whether the deep gutters disturb its suspension / or whether its bottom hit the road and what not...
Bandipur stretch was a different story. It was wide roads, almost good too, but there were humps almost every 200m, mostly for the safety of wild animals. I remember meeting a herd of elephants during one of my night trip in bus, so was hoping (!) to see them then... All we see was elephant dung on the road, not the animal as is :).
Once we left the forest, it was again busy roads. But this time, it was a different story. Both sides of the road were Ragi cultivation. The farmers dry it on road, so that the vehicles will help the grain separate from the plant! But the farmers who spread and collect it makes ride slow. Was not sure whether the highway belongs to them or the vehicles ! One poor sight was the over loaded bull carts. The carts were so heavy that the poor animals were not able to walk straight. And their drivers were hitting them hard to make them move. I felt death may be the only escape for those poor creatures...

Once we were in Mysore border, we wanted to avoid Mysore city and was looking for the cut to Nice road. We asked for direction and ended up where we started! Then a funny auto rickshaw driver helped us. He was saying ' it is ok road, not nice road! And for that you may take right and go straight!'. Once we were in the elevated, supposed to be express way, we realise what he meant. The heavy toll was not justified. Though the road was wide, it was very much un-even. There was almost an inch difference between lines and during overtaking it was causing trouble, made us go slower than we should be. And the pot-holes - it was as bad as Bangalore ring roads! The directions to get out of expressway - it also was confusing. They say only 'Exit to Bangalore' and not which part of Bangalore! We, only guided by intuition exited on the third one and thank God it turned out to the right one!
The drive in Bangalore city limits was another episode. In no time I was wondering whether I made a mistake to get the car here. Pure chaos. Bike here never felt this bad. I was sure I will not be able to move even a meter in this kind of traffic. Anyway after a good 13 hours, we reached home. Not sure, whether I was happier or my driver friend, who sarcastically said, if I need his service again, shouldn’t fail to call him !

Anyway, car is here. Though exhausted, I was back with my wife. All I needed was a hot bath and a nice sleep...

+'s about the trip : The speed governor was not with me, so I could go beyond 60kmph
-'s : I was missing my Love, with her, the trip would have been a totally different story
PS : My wife changes herself between speed governor and Love on trips ;)

I Need A Normal Trip Home !!!

You might have read the last few unintentionally and inconveniently funny trips I had home. This weekend also the story was more or less the same. With a difference - it was not KSRTC or the rain God made it. It was solely me.

Usually I take the 6:30PM bus. Wednesday, because of the long weekend rush I got ticket for 4:30 bus. Unfortunately the 16:30 time on ticket, I read as the usual 6:30 and planned to leave office accordingly. Only at 5, a casual look at the ticket told me the truth - my bus has left Bangalore ! Misery loves company. And my whole team was in action at once. Teammate Unnikkuttan gave me the brilliant idea of taking it from another point, and we can take a shortcut to reach there before the bus, thanks to the traffic blocks of Bangalore.

We hit the road in an instant and I was trying to call the information center numbers given in the ticket to check where the bus is. One eye was on the ticket and the other on my cell. Expectedly, none of the four numbers were reached. Cursed, I look up to see how Unnikkuttan rides. In the excitement of catching bus, I completely forgot his reputation of being fast and furious driver. He was shifting from left to right and back  avoiding potholes, traffic and what not ! That moment I was ready to walk home but to get down from the bike. I didn't want to look chicken, so I kept rooted to the seat and typed 108 and kept the thumb on call button, just in case. So that I can call emergency and tell 'Sir, send an ambulance for us!'.

Within 10 mins, we reached the stop. Unnikkuttan took off the helmet and flashed all 32 admiring his skill! Then I got a call from office saying my bus was through another route ! My going home was necessary. So I decided to go to the interstate bus station, in the other side of the city. Unnikkuttan was thrilled to hear it. Ample opportunity to show his skills ! He flashed 32 again and put the helmet again. I tried to look as sad as possible and told him ' I would love to go there with you, but your skill is very much needed at work. So I will take a bus. Thanks for the ride mate'. He was disappointed and me relieved.

I reached stand around 6:30. I checked a couple of buses and they were full. Thinking of taking the 9PM ordinary bus and was about to leave platform, my angel came. With the footpath aviator and mouthful of pan, he was walking in slow motion with an ear to ear smile. ' You want to go to Thrissur ?'
'Yes' said me.
'Single ?'
'Single, going to be mingled soon'
'No problem. You will get the seat in the 6PM bus.'
'Sir, I want to go tonight and it is already 6:30'
Then the angel told me that the 6PM bus got some starter problem and it is expected to leave anytime. I gave him Rs.500 for a 380 ticket. He accepted it gratefully!

Though I was afraid that the bus may break down in between, it didn't happen. The roads were  more or less empty too. The journey was nice, and I reached Thrissur, before the bus I was originally planned to take. And to my surprise when I was getting down angel gave me Rs.70 back. World is not that bad.

I do hope my Sunday journey back to Bangalore will be without any fun. I need some trips that way...

Another 'Different' Trip To Home

I always like the trips to home.  Many of the times, it will be different than the routine trips, in the wrong way though. The trip last week ( for Onam ) was one like that. One I really wished I didn't had...

Because of the rush, I didn't get tickets in my usual 6:30 Karnataka KSRTC Rajahamsa, I got to get into the Kerala RTC bus. Though it claimed Super Deluxe Air Bus, it was anything but airy ! Both the buses, to and from Thrissur, were poorly maintained. The KL 15 7116, which was the one took me back to Bangalore was pathetic. The seats were untidy, the whole bus was rattling. The overhead luggage shelf was wide enough only to slide a laptop bag in ( for both buses ). There was a hole in the roof above seat no 35, and I enjoyed the cold rain all the night. Worse, the metal lamination sheet under the luggage space was hanging loose and I was afraid anytime it will fall on head.

The trip to Thrissur was ok till we reach Mysore. It started on time ( 4 PM, I liked it ). This was after a long time I took the Mysore road and man, it was nothing less than a trip to hell. No wonder Bangalore Mirror chose it the worst road in the city..

From Mysore, 4 elderly gentlemen boarded the bus, despite there was no seat. I thought of giving my seat to the eldest, but thinking it will keep me standing for good 6 hours and those guys always had a choice of taking the next bus, I decided against it :) After a while they were all restless, and one among them vomited inside the bus !!! The driver and conductor became furious ( naturally ) and asked them to get out to do the needful. He did, got in and after sometime did it again !!! The good part is there was one guy who was sober and cleaned the bus at the station.

There was one interesting thing happened. We were crossing Bandipur forest area, and suddenly the bus stopped. There was a small elephant herd in front of our bus, including a baby. The baby was careless, took his sweet time to cross the road. The mommy elephant was vigilant and looking us with her ears open wide. I was expecting her to charge at us any time !!! I felt we should ban the traffic through the forest entire night, so that at least the nights the animals can claim the forest theirs !

The return journey was at 11PM, and supposed to reach Bangalore by 10AM. But, thanks to the Onam rush and no free platform at Thrissur, the bus started a good 20 minutes late.

The next incident was classic, I never seen anything like that. Again, an old man was the hero. He slept and missed the stop where he had to get down ! He started blaming the conductor, for sleeping and didn't wake him at the stop ! The driver and conductor first started heated argument, but then softened as this guy was adamant that the bus should reverse and drop him back to the stop! Because he knew that, as the forest road closes in the night, no vehicle will come from the other direction. The pace of the journey was drastically reduced because the driver was also trying to convince the old man to get another bus back home. The argument lasted very long, that I slept in between ! I don't know how it ended.

The argument made the bus reaching the forest checkpost late and needed to wait there. Precious time wasted ;) But it gave a peaceful sleep :) We resumed, only to get a flat tyre soon ! In the last five years I took Kerala RTC buses hardly six times, and this was the third time the tyre went flat. Too bad Kerala RTC..

Reaching late to the city made things worse. The Mysore road, being busy at the morning hour made things worse. The 10AM bus at last reached by 0130 PM !!! I reached home 2:30, precious one day was wasted...

Next time, I will go with Rajahamsa. They made take an hour or two extra, because of the slow driving and tea breaks, but that will be the most they do. The buses are comfortable, at least...

When Shouting Becomes The Order Of The Day

Bangalore, the garden city, silicon valley of India, blah blah blah. But for me Bangalore has one more identity, which is on face - The Shouting City. The vehicles, people, the machinery's all around, everything is shouting here, most of them for no reason...

Last night I needed to book a cab from work to home, so does one of my colleague. We both were staying in different part of the city and we ordered two cabs ( naturally ! ). The cab fellow promised cab within an hour. Then, just ten minutes before the hour, he calls us to club the cab ! It was raining and he wanted to use the other cab for another customer. I tried to reason with him, saying we stay apart and all. But no use. Then I shouted at him. Though I am not a master of that art, it was the need of the hour. Then suddenly he agreed for two cabs and within 10 mins.

Feeling angry I returned to my seat. Then the driver shown up. He said he will go only to the other route and can not drop me. I told him that the guy is busy eating and he will take the other cab, but no use. Then I used the art again - shouted at him. In no time, he agreed with me and dropped me.

Crap. But true. If someone hits your vehicle or you hit the other, you got to shout first in this city. And if you shout in the local language, the better. If you ever try to reason, then you are in for a toss. 

One good thing is I don't need to do it in Keralam. There people are not scared or indifferent with others, at least yet...

The Birdie’s Day Out

Our house is not our house alone ! Many ‘wild’ animals have made it their own at different points of time. I am not referring to the not so rare visits of venomous snakes or monitor lizards or marappatty ( I don’t know their English name). It is about the animals and birds who chosen our house to be their delivery home ! Few years back a mongoose couple had their litter in our firewood shed. We didn’t disturb them. Whenever amma needs any firewood from there, they will make some frightening noise, but never attacked. So we lived in an agreement of not hurt the other and they left once the babies were big enough to be their own.

The latest of them to made our home nursery is a honey eating ( drinking ) sparrow ( Thenkuruvi in Malayalam ). It is no the first time one of them came here, but this time, they made a mistake. They didn’t make the house in the shade and this year it was heavy rain. The nest didn’t handle the heavy rain last week and fell on ground, along with two babies. Luckily when amma found them the next day, both were alive.

Amma made them a make-shift home, and hung them near to the original nest. Thank God, the parents found them and are taking care of the babies now. Waiting for the day they become big and leave the nest. And do hope they too will fly back here, to make their nest too…

Being Invisible In The Crowd

I got one more reason to like my trips home. Incidentally it is in these trips I am getting most ideas for posts! Last trip also gave me idea for a post.

I reached the stop much earlier, or was it my bus late once again... As the only few seat at the stop is taken, I went to the lower compound wall of the Tata showroom and sit in the shade of a tree. I checked for any crows above, and found only a few kites flying high. I need to be careful not to be the potty for a crow. Incidentally in Bangalore crows are very less. And it makes the cry of the crow back home nostalgic ! The place where I sat was very low. Which I would have not considered any other day, thinking it is dirty. But today I need a place to sit and this serves that purpose. And the best part is, the lower stance give me a totally new perspective ! And I liked it, the new view. I was sitting in the middle of crazily busy street with people rushing all around me. Still, nobody gave me a second look. Nobody cared for my presence. It was like I was ceased to exist. I became invisible. And I started looking at the world around me, as I was watching a movie on a screen...

I saw a beggar giving final touches to his broken leg make-up. Kids made to dress like adults. Most of the people and lost either in a cell conversation or music. One lady was talking to the phone and with the other hand closed the free ear, may be to ensure the golden words not escaping through it... People chewing pan and spitting everywhere. ( may be where I sat too, but the rain last night should have washed it away, I don't want to think about it ). There were two kids trying to cross the busy road, but was too afraid that they take two steps back for every one forward. All kind of vehicles. Cars of every make. Trailers with many tires. One car being towed away. The time was flying, but I was lost in the interesting drama on my screen.

More people joined me in the wall. Most of them were checking watch every minute and cursing for the late bus. And then I spotted my bus on the screen. Time to end the show. I left my comfortable seat and joined the crowd. To be the part of show someone else is watching...

When Faith Becomes Blind

Disclaimer : I am not against faith in God. I am a believer myself. This post is against the people who misuses faith.

Faith can move mountains. Faith can strengthen you from within. Faith can heal you. Faith can make you a millionaire, if you use it wisely !

You read it right. In my opinion, investing in faith is a sure return. People are more educated now, and so is their superstitions. The rocket scientist, who design the satellite to predict weather, offers the replica of the rocket to God, just to make sure his mission will be a success. And for the temple guys, it is just another testimony of the power of the God.

My point is something different. These days, the number of new temples and the rush there should make us stop and think for a minute, do we need this ? The Gods, poojas that we did till today is not enough ? Do we need to go for that expensive pooja, idols, or visit to the far away sacred place ( most of them are new found too ) ???

Some time back there was a news about two guys beaten wife of one for refusing to sleep with the other. Incidentally, that guy after failure in many businesses started a temple and that poojari life was very successful. Was shocked to see the truth about the poojari. He was incidentally from Bangalore.

Is there any way we can check the credibility of temples or poojaries...

I used to go to the Shiva temple near Kemp Fort in Bangalore. I like the aura of that place. Peaceful and pleasant. But last week when I go there, it was all changed, but not for good. They blocked the regular way and made everyone go through the 'special' paid way. Wish faith was not a business...

These things will not and can not make me stop visiting temples or respecting the poojaris. The few places where I always feel God, and is not business. We badly need a governing body to keep a track of the institutions who taps people's faith. Hope it will happen soon. Till then we will guard our faith, ourselves.

What A Trip !

One thing I like about my routine escapes to home is the bus trip. Though most of my family and friends wonder how I manage the 10 hour a side trip, I never felt it difficult. Once I learned the trick to sleep in the moving bus, everything was easy. But the trip to home this time, made me, forced me to think again about it. Both up and down journeys…

Friday it was raining in Bangalore. Not heavy at all, but steady and long one. The ill-drained roads flooded in no time. Hardly a kilometer journey from my office to bus-stop took more than 45 minutes. I should have understood the clue and prepared for what lies ahead from that itself…

It was mayhem all the way. The bus which never fails to reach on time every time I was just-on-time days was not on time. I was 20 minutes early that time, just to be sure. And the bus came a whole 3 hours late ! Waiting at the  ill-maintained bus stop - no chairs, no proper shelter from the rain and wind, made it more difficult. There was a small boy waiting and he was shivering despite his dad’s over sized jacket covering him. The overflowing drains and damaged road made the bus late. The traffic was horrible, and the driver was too soft on the throttle that he never bothered to move fast, even on empty stretches.

But, home and lovely food by mom made all those frustrating things forget.

Return journey happened on time. And with this high speed AC bus, I planned  some sleep in proper bed too. Only till I realize things were planned otherwise… it got a flat tire on way. No big deal, till we realize the bus guys were ill equipped and ill experienced with it. And the shower made things go even slower… I tried to find a positive thing about it and found one – around two hours in a non-moving bus, I was able to sleep well !

Somehow by the time it reached Bangalore, it was 3:30 hours late. And then the ultimate hiccup – the door was jammed ! It was not opening and with the screw driver and spanner slided through the small opening on the top of the door, somebody removed the lock to open the door ! Another 20 mins wasted on road. But it was not home I was coming to. Late to office only made my day, well, more dramatic.

Thinking back, I don’t regret much. Because the 4 days spent at home was worth it

Stand For Ourself

In the life we face times when we need to stand on our feet, literally. Just on our own. When the World is against us, with all its might. Everything, everyone has only one thing to say - decide against our call.

It might be the most hurting and demanding situation. We know we are right, but when the voices from all around try to tell us it is not the right thing to do, and warn that the result may be devastating, what shall we do…. It is easy to listen to others. And live in regret. Regret for playing it safe, and not giving at least a chance to stand for what we want…

The world hates change. Period. It wants everything to be going by the way it wants to. Even that means, it is against our very normal wishes, demands, rights. We are expected to bear everything that is thrown to us. Expectations not met – learn to live with less or no expectations.

Never fall in the trap. Though it may means I am making the world my enemy, I prefer to stand for what I feel right. At least, later, it will be easy for me to convince myself that I was right. May be it is too early for others to accept it. Or, I know they don’t want to see me happy, especially by living my way. So they may try to make my life horrible, but they cannot break my will and they will never succeed.

I don’t want to bear everything thinking, all will be right in the end. NEVER WAIT FOR THE END. There is nothing left after it, nothing happier, better, no heaven. There is nothing after the end, whatever we need to do; we got to do it now, this moment.

You don’t need to turn back pages to see people who stand for what they believe. Their story is not ending with Ram ya Gandhiji. The millions who stood for Egypt, Libya were fighting the good fight. They stood for what they believe, though they knew they might even be killed. My friend Batool, who voiced her support for her fellow people. Though she was away from them, though she was in a foreign land, she stood for what she felt right. I am damn sure, her name, her faith may make it difficult in the foreign land. Still she decided to face it. Singled out. Humiliated. Laughed at. She may have faced it. But she stood for her cause. That is something I respect her for.

Voice for ourselves. If not us, who else we can expect to do it. Though others may laugh at us or make our life miserable, it is only temporary. We will see it through. And later, we will never regret it. Good luck.

What's This Life For...

Creed was screaming in my mp3 player with this song ' What's This Life For... ' and I was sinking into it. And started thinking about me, my life. What is the meaning of it. Does it having any meaning at all…

There’s hardly anything that is unexpected in my daily life. It is almost picture perfect and moves in the way it was  decided to be. Even the hour of sleep is same. The food that I eat daily – almost same. The routines, the route to work and back, the things I do both at work and back in room, the people I call, meet, mail – everything is same. It is so predictive. The only occasional change will be my trip to home, but that also is almost synchronized, every other or third weekend. And that journey is also surprisingly predictable. 

Is this life… can this be called life….

WHY NOT ???? 

Everyday, I am smiling, laughing, enjoying. I been Loved. I am being a reason for somebody to smile, a light moment, to feel Loved. That is worth my life. 

I Love my life

When Faith Goes Wrong...

I think nowadays people's faith is increased. Faith in God. It could be a show-off or escape, but dependence on God is definitely on the rise. There are a few things make me think so - increasing number of religious channels, and people take seriously the stuff it offers ( from performing pooja on specific days to buy yanthras / kavacha / idols it advertise ). There are numerous gurus giving advices and solving problems. It was always there, but nowadays it is on the rise.
 
I have many colleagues who fast, men included. I never believe God would want people to 'sacrifice' eating on particular day. Or ask me not to eat non-veg on particular days. I never think God would want his people to crucify themselves to show their gratitude or faith to him. Nor I think, he will bless only them who give those sacrifices…

People may be technologically advanced. But in the back of their mind, they are being so unsure about themselves. Their caliber. Or is it an excuse to run away from responsibilities... Dear God, I have given up food for these many days, now even if I won’t try, it is your responsibility to get the thing done... may be. Nowadays the number of temples has increased many folds. We don’t need temple in every street. Interestingly every one of them attracts a lot of people. They are doing a lot of pooja and offerings. May be after schools and hospitals, God be a largest selling commodity of this time.

There was an incident happened in the suburbs of Bangalore recently. There was this road widening project was going on and for it, they needed to cut a tree. Under that tree, there were some photos the locals used to do pooja and they protest against cutting it. The officials visited the place and they re-designed the route. The straight short road was given up for a messier one to save that tree. There is a Shirdi Sai baba temple near to where I stay. It attracts a lot of people, especially on Thursdays when they conduct Aarti. It was built only 2 years back and now with a lot of gold / silver pooja properties and granite floor it looks grand.

Last month, the saint in a TV channel asked to light diyas in 5 different oils on a particular day to minimize the effect of disasters in 2012. Interestingly there were so many people followed that there was shortage / price hike for oil on that day. Aren’t we going blind, if someone taking the name of God…

People tend to become God-fearing… Why should we fear God… God will punish only those who act against His rules. He will never punish someone for not fasting on Tuesdays… My God is my companion. Who direct me. Lead my ways. Show the light when my mind is clouded. He is not like the school head master who always found an excuse to punish the kids, or show his power.

Lets Love God. Worship Him. Say prayers. Say thanks for His gifts and blessings. But never ever be afraid of Him. Like Paulo Coelho said in The Pilgrimage, lets offer our happiness and victories to Him and not our struggles or pains.

I am not against God. Being a believer myself, I can never be either. But I am against all those shows in the name of Him. And that is all this post is about.