Life !!

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage.


They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes.When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard.

The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen,totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all.

It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages.When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital,where he died. The mother was stunned.

She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words.

What do you think were the four words?

The husband just said "I Love You Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

Moral: Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don't multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding on to forgiveness. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think...!!

3 symptoms of killing our dreams

The first symptom of the process of our killing our dreams is the lack of time. The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the Good Fight.
The second symptom of the death of our dreams lies in our certainties. Because we don’t want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as wise and fair and correct in asking so little of life. We look beyond the walls of our day-to-day existence, and we hear the sound of lances breaking, we smell the dust and the sweat, and we see the great defeats and the fire in the eyes of the warriors. But we never see the delight, the immense delight in the hearts of those who are engaged in the battle. For them, neither victory nor defeat is important; what’s important is only that they are fighting the Good Fight.

And, finally, the third symptom of the passing of our dreams is peace. Life becomes a Sunday afternoon; we ask for nothing grand, and we cease to demand anything more than we are willing to give. In that state, we think of ourselves as being mature; we put aside the fantasies of our youth, and we seek personal and professional achievement. We are surprised when people our age say that they still want this or that out of life. But really, deep in our hearts, we know that what has happened is that we have renounced the battle for our dreams – we have refused to fight the Good Fight.
When we renounce our dreams and find peace, we go through a short period of tranquility. But the dead dreams begin to rot within us and to infect our entire being.

We become cruel to those around us, and then we begin to direct this cruelty against ourselves. That’s when illnesses and psychoses arise. What we sought to avoid in combat – disappointment and defeat – come upon us because of our cowardice.

And one day, the dead, spoiled dreams make it difficult to breathe, and we actually seek death. It’s death that frees us from our certainties, from our work, and from that terrible peace of our Sunday afternoons


Source: The pilgrimage by Paul Coelho

......Din kuch aise guzarta hai koi......

Din kuch aise guzarta hai koi
Jaise ehsaan utarta hai koi

Aaina dekh kar tasalli hui
Hum ko is ghar mein janta hai koi

Pak gya hai shajal mein phal shayad
Phir se pathar uchalta hai koi

Der se goonjte hain sannate
Jaise hum ko pukarta ha koi

Din kuch eisy guzarta ha koi
Jesy ehsan utarta ha koi........

Quote Unquote...

In my opinion, the best thing you could do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are... good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome...what have you... the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.

-Mac Macguff, Juno (2007)

Midnight..

Ever tried getting up in the middle of the night ...its still dark out of the window and you know not nothing. That is, in what i think, the moment when you are at your truest best... to yourself. That is when you know what your truest feelings are, what you really require and what will complete you. What say?

On jealousy !!

When she was eleven years old, Anita went to her mother to complain. “I can’t manage to have friends. They all stay away from me because I’m so jealous.”
Her mother was taking care of newly-born chickens, and Anita held up one of them, which immediately tried to escape. The more the girl squeezed it in her hands, the more the chicken struggled.
Her mother said: “try holding it gently.”
Anita obeyed her. She opened her hands and the chicken stopped struggling. She began to stroke it and the chicken cuddled up between her fingers.
“Human beings are like that too,” said her mother. “If you want to hold onto them by any means, they escape. But if you are kind to them, they will remain for ever by your side.”

ALONE IN THE CROWD !!

Can you imagine what it's like to be alone in the crowd
To be the only one that is under an oppressing cloud?

Can you imagine what it's like to be the only one
To speak the truth, and yet be heard by none?

What can I say that i will make you understand
The affections I have suffered from other's hands?

Can you even convince the feelings that I have inside
The anger, the pain, even tears I keep inside?

The crowd expect you to stick to the norm
Suppressing all that makes you just to conform

So until I die I will remain alone in this life
These questions unanswered, through all my strife.

Bheed ka saath nibhane ki jaroorat kya hai !!

Bheed ka saath nibhane ki jaroorat kya hai,
Log patthar hai manane ki jaroorat kya hai!

Apne kadmo pe bharosa to karo ae humdum,
Saath chalne ko zamane ki jaroorat kya hai!

Aao hum haat haqeeqat se milana sikhen,
Yun haqeeqat ko bhulane ki jaroorat kya hai!

Badh ke Saahil ko bhi aayena dikha den aao,
Iss kadar aaknkh churane ki jaroorat kya hai!

Zindagi apni, kadam apne, hai manzil apni,
Raah chalne ko bahane ki jaroorat kya hai!

Five Point Someone !!

"It is amazing how happy one can be with low expectations of one's self."

"It is amazing how people who know you well can sense everything."

Veronica Decides to die !!

"There's always a gap between intention and action and one always

wanted to turn back halfway."

"Nothing in this world happens by chance"

The Witch of Portbello LP !!

"No one lights a lamp in order to hide it behind the door: the purpose of light is to create more light, to open people's eyes, to reveal the marvels around."

"No one can manipulate anyone else. In any relationship, both parties know what they're doing,even if one of the, complains later on that they were used"

"They say that extroverts are unhappier that introverts and have to compensate for this by constantly proving to themselves how happy and contented and at ease with life they are."

"Lines by Robert Frost :
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

"In my all life I've learned to suffer in silence"

"How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves - Even if we are unsure of who we are?"

Eleven Minutes !!

"When we meet someone and fall in love, we have a sense that the whole universe is on our side. I saw this happen today as the sun went down. And yet if something goes wrong, there is nothing left ! no herons, no distant music, not even the taste of her lips. how it is possible for the beauty that was there only minutes before to vanish so quickly ?
Life moves so very fast. It rushes us from heaven to hell in a matter odf seconds."

"My aim is to understand love. I know how alive I felt when I was in love, and I know that everything I have no, however interesting it might seem,doesn't really excite me."

"Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me ? does it want me to take no risks, to go back where I came from because I didn't have the courage to say "yes" to life?"

"I made my first mistake, since then, I've realized that sometimes you get no second chance and that it's best to accept the gifts the world offers you. Of course it's risky, but is the risk any greater than the chance."

"If I must be faithful to someone or something, then I have, first of all, to be faithful to myself."

"Anyone who has lost something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realize that nothing really belong to them."

"Sex means, above all, having the courage to experience your own paradoxes, individually and willingness to surrender."

Its Not The Way U Think...

Its Not The Way U Think...

If you see me walking the road with someone else
Its not because I like his company
Its because you're not brave enough to walk beside me.

If you hear me talking about him all the time
Its not because he pleases me
Its because you're too deaf to hear my heartbeat

If you feel me falling with someone new
Its not because I love him
Because you're not there to catch me fall

If you feel lost, I too am nowhere
I too don't know where the road is going
Are we gonna cross each other's path

Or just completely turn around?
Will we just let go of what we had
Or go to the place where love is bound

Don't let me walk with him
Its you I want to walk with

Don't let me talk of him
It's you I want to talk with

Don't let me fall for him
It's you I want to fall in love with.


The Answer

When you thought I wasn't brave enough to walk beside you
I was behind you every step of the way
Still filled with awe because of the beauty that stands before me

When you thought I was too deaf to hear your heartbeat
I didn't want to assume anything
And I was afraid to lose our friendship

When you thought I wasn't there to catch you
It was because you never gave me the chance
You never reached the bottom, you've already grabbed a branch

If you feel like you are nowhere, I too am lost
I too don't know where the road is going
Are we just going to turn around,

Or are we gonna cross each other's path?
Will we just let go of what we had
Or go to the place where love is bound?

Don't let me walk alone
I want to walk by your side

Don't let me talk of something else
It's you I want to talk with

Don't let me fall for someone else
It's you I want to fall in love with.

Words that influence My Life !!

The List of Books Recently (and not so recently) Read :-

* "Five Point Someone" - Chetan Bhagat

* "Veronica Decides To Die" - Paulo Coelho

* "The Witch of Portobello LP" - Paulo Coelho

* "Eleven Minutes" - Paulo Coelho

* "Karma Bhoomi" - Premchand

* "Godan" - Premchand

* "Gunaho Ka Devta" - Dharamveer Bharti

* "Aurten" - Khushwant Singh

* "The Company of Womens" - Khushwant Singh

* "Julius Caesar" - William Shakespeare

* "Malgudi Days" - R. K. Narayan

* "The Alchemist" - Paul Coelho

* "Angels and Demons" - Dan Brown

* "Deception Point" - Dan Brown

* "The God of small things" - Arundhati Rai

* "Papillon" - Henri Charriere

* "Aadhe - Adhure" - Mohan Rakesh

* "Dilo - Danish" - Krishna Sobati

* "Shekhar -Ek Jeevani(I)" - Ageyeya

* "Shekhar -Ek Jeevani(II)" - Ageyeya

and many more...listed here soon..

Plan to Read :-

* "The Moor's Last Sigh" - Salman Rushdie

* "Satanic Verses" - Salman Rushdie

Questioning Beliefs - Our Inner Stock Market !!

Just as the stock market rises and falls in response to what people are willing to put their money behind, we have inside ourselves an inner economy that rises and falls in response to our beliefs about what is possible. Sometimes the degree to which we are willing to challenge our belief systems determines the success of our inner economy. For example, imagine that your family of origin had a belief that musical talent was not something they possessed. As a member of that group, you would likely inherit that same belief about yourself. As a result, even if you had a great desire to create music, you might be hesitant to really get behind yourself, fearing that your investment would not pay off. Even if you had the courage to follow your passion, your inner belief that you are not inherently talented would probably be a major obstacle to investing your energy in your dream.

On the other hand, if you found a way to release that negative belief, a great flood of energy would pour forth, greatly increasing the likelihood of your success. How much energy we are willing to invest in the various ideas, dreams, and visions we carry within is like the money people are, or are not, willing to invest in the various commodities available for trade on the stock market. And in both cases, belief plays a key role in determining how willing we are to get behind something. One way to open up the possibility for greater success in our inner economies is to understand that belief is not the reliable guide we sometimes think. There are other more reliable indicators of success that we can put our faith in, such as passion, gut instinct, and intuition. Some of the most successful investors in the stock market are the ones that go against the grain, trusting their instincts over the prevailing opinion about what will work.

In the same way, we can learn to trust our heart's desires and our instincts to guide us, questioning any beliefs that stand in the way of our ability to fully invest in ourselves. As we withdraw energy from limiting ideas about what is possible, we free up the resources that have the power to make our inner economy thrive.

Meeting Of The Minds - Fragments Of The Self

Sometimes it feels as if we have many different people living inside of us, expressing themselves in voices that seem distinct from one another. There is the inner child with its wants and needs, the angry voice that expresses its opinion and probably several more as well. With all these different parts of ourselves express differing desires and needs and opinions, we may begin to feel as if we have no clarity. It is difficult to know which voices to pay attention to and which ones to ignore or dismiss. Even if we manage to move forward amidst the confusion, doubts and concerns may linger in our psyches simply because they have not been fully expressed and examined. As a result, we may have trouble being at peace with the decisions we do make.

One way to handle this dilemma is to consciously make time for a meeting of the minds within our psyche. This can be done as a guided meditation or as a journaling exercise. In both we can summon the many fragments that make up the whole of who we are and give them each a chance to speak. This can be a helpful tool in the face of a decision we need to make, and it can also be a fruitful path to take in the interest of self-exploration and self-care. When we gather the many fragments of our psyche together, the health and power of the whole is greatly increased.

We can imagine a roundtable in which we gather all the various representatives of our being, allowing them to name themselves and giving them a chance to speak. We allow each one to weigh in, fully expressing the perspective they represent, and we listen without comment. As we listen, we may be amazed at the wisdom and energy stored in these fragments of our self. This gathering brings the fragmented pieces of our psyche into a closer relationship, enabling us to move forward as a unified whole.

Building a wall over a slice of cake and a cup of coffee

My aunt was born and brought up in Kanpur. Her mother was one of the first female ticket collectors with the Northern Railways. after my aunt's marriage, they settled in Delhi. Two and a ahalf decades later, I came to the national capital to complete my higher studies. My aunt helped me a lot in the new city. During our weekend talks, she told me how Delhi has changed over the years. It has become extremely populated and congested.

Over a slice of cake and a cup of coffee, she would tell me how 'Delhities' are pained when 'outsiders' take their jobs away. She even suggested that a wall be built around the national capital to stop 'outsiders' from pouring i n.....

Umar was born and brought up in kargil. His father was a weaver. Umar did not want to stay in kargil. The conflict had ruined his life. He had lost his friends and relatives in the war of terrorism. He wanted to go somewhere more peaceful. He wanted to go to Delhi. He never expected his father to agree. But his mother consented. He came to Delhi and joined a local university. Between studies and friends, a beautiful girl fell in love with him...

Esther is a usual twenty-two year old girl. She works as an executive with one of the leading BPO's in Gurgaon. She works hard to support herself and her family in Manipur. The AFSPA(1958) turned her world topsy-turvy. Her elder brother was picked up for questioning. He never came home----Esther's aunt was raped....so her father decided to send her to a safer place,Delhi.....

Raghopur is the only constituency of the former chief Minister of Bihar, Rabri Devi. Mahendra Mahto was born and brought up in Bihar,Raghopur. When the world was celebrating the coming of a new yaer, his pregnant aunt and five cousins were burnt to death. The Chief Minister announced a compensation of a sum of two lacs to the next kin of the dead and twenty thousand rupees were promised for the injured. Mahendra was the only known relative. The District Magistrate hand over a cheque of twenty thousand rupees, with a promise to pay him two lacs later. A loan of five thousand was paid off to the local moneylender. The hospital doctor demanded a 'donation',Mahendra gave him two thousand rupees. The head constable wanted some thing for 'chai-pani'. So Mahendra paid him another thousand. After losing eight thousand rupees in one week Mahendra decided to leave Raghopur as soon as possible. His friend Bansi Yadav, who was an auto rickshaw driver in Delhi had told him about its plying roads. Today, Mahendra lives in Delhi, he could never buy an auto-rickshaw, but he does pull a hired cycle-rickshaw there, enabling him to earn three-four thousand rupees a month.

It has been more than three years since I left Dhanbad, my hometown. I returned only thrice. Rest of the time, I have tried to become a 'Delhitie'. I have my plans- I want to work for a Multinational Company. And my children will never be called 'outsiders'. Over a slice of cake and cup of coffee, I wonder whether having built a wall around Delhi would have been worthwhile or not!

A Hundred-Rupee Note

It was a hot noon in July. I had risen from my illness and so decided to go for a shave. The barber wasn't too busy and so immediately I occupied the place. In the mean time, a dark woman of around twenty-five entered the saloon. She was perhaps a begger.
To my surprise, the barber was exceptionally quick in doing his job after that woman arrived and both of them were having a fine conversation with each other. After I paid him, the barber made a nod asking me to move out. His expression made me suspicious but having no other option, I moved out. I had hardly stepped out when the shutter behind me came scratching down. I knew that we people were in isolation on the other side of the shutter and this made a chill run down my spine. My heart snak and I stood frozen, then came the cry, that of a groaning misery - perhaps helplessness...

The shutter reopened after a few minutes. The woman slipped out, her eyes wet with submission. I steamed thinking that why had she agreed for this disgraceful act. Then, I saw a hundred rupee note clutched in her hand and I instantly knew that she was drenched in the misery of harsh conditions. I was left dumb seeing her helpless eyes and creeping feet. I too moved away, for I could not do anything.

Me, Reshma

"Aye hero,give me ten rupees,"I said clapping and tickled the young man lying on the top berth of the train. ""Chi...chi...go away," he reported. I went closer to him and started pulling his cheeks. There was pin-drop silence in the compartment as everybody looked scared. The boy handed over a ten-rupee note to me and pulled himself together again. As I left the compartment clapping and singing a popular number, I heard suppressed giggles.

My tears had dried up, not a drop fell from my eyes and I started tugging and nudging people in the next compartment. Dressed in an orange salwar-kameez with a wig tied to my hair and lots of low-quality make-up applied on my face, I chewed a paan, I was aware of the fact that as I moved from one boggie to another, I stood as a complete entertainment package for on-lookers. The saddest part was that the people who made me the butt of many of their jokes very well knew that I was not responsible for my present predicament. I was so because God made me thus. Sadhus, handicaps, children, old people..all collected a few coins playing on the emotional frequency of the people but when I spread my hands before people, all their sympathies evaporated and I was made to realize what I was.

As I moved to the next bogie, Tikli called out to me,"Reshma, ours is the next stop." "Oh! Yes..." Today we had to get down early as we had to attend a birth ceremony. A bigbusinessman had begotten a son after daughters, so he wanted us to come and bless his son. Needless to say, we would dance for the guests' pleasure and we would be given food and money in return.

That night, as we returned to our kholi for the first time in my twenty-seven year old life, I felt a terrible pain. I went to Lalita Devi, he leader of our group but my beloved 'Amma' and rested my head on her lap. She had brought me from South-India after my parents handed over to her since then she had been my mother, my friend, my beloved, my everyhing. "Amma, why did my parents leave me?", I asked wryly. "How many times will you ask this question?" She sounded irritated. "I want to know Amma, how could they abandon me for a fault I did not commit. I saw the parents of the child today at the ceremony, they loved him so much. Didn't my parents love me? Why do people laugh at me? Why can't we live like normal human beings? Why aren't we given jobs? Why do we to beg? Why can't we go to schools and colleges? Can't I love someone? I want to breathe freely Amma, I want to breathe freely."

My throat was choking and I couldn't speak any further. All I could feel was Amma's tears dropping on my face.

Lessons of life !!

I feared being alone
Until I learned to like Myself .

I feared failure
Until I realized that I only Fail when I don't try .

I feared success
Until I realized That I had to try In order to be happy With myself.

I feared people's opinions
Until I learned that People would have opinions About me anyway.

I feared rejection
Until I learned to Have faith in myself.

I feared pain
Until I learned that it's necessary For growth.

I feared the truth
Until I saw the Ugliness in lies.

I feared life
Until I experienced Its beauty .

I feared death
Until I realized that it's Not an end, but a beginning .

I feared my destiny,
Until I realized that I had the power to change My life.

I feared hate
Until I saw that it Was nothing more than Ignorance.

I feared love
Until it touched my heart, Making the darkness fade Into endless sunny days.

I feared ridicule
Until I learned how To laugh at myself.

I feared growing old
Until I realized that I gained wisdom every day.

I feared the future
Until I realized that Life just kept getting Better.

I feared the past
Until I realized that It could no longer hurt me .

I feared the dark
Until I saw the beauty Of the starlight.

I feared the light
Until I learned that the Truth would give me Strength.

I feared change,
Until I saw that Even the most beautiful butterfly Had to undergo a metamorphos is Before it could fly .