Anonymous ...

" Lines,
Lines can keep you in,
Lines can keep you out,
Some lines you can't understand,
Some lines you can erase,
Some you can't,
Some lines you wait for,
And some lines make you wait,
Lines can keep you alive,
Lines are with you till the ned
But the only lines that matter
Are the ones you make ... "


" Slavery isn't abolished,
It's just a whole lot more sophisticated,
What matters is that you remember
The only boundaries, are the ones in your head..
Because while the World stops all those it can,
It's against the ones it can't.
It takes a little to reclaim your life. "

Good morning !!

Its early on a Monday morning .. I just happened to wake up early so thought I'd write about mornings.

Mornings to me are the best time of the day. I may not be an early riser and people have been surprised to hear that i can be at work by 8 - 8:30 am, but i feel that the freshness of a morning cannot be replicated. A deep long drawn breath of the morning air can open up your insides like nothing else and fill it up with enthusiasm and energy to begin a brand new day with more freshness that what they show in a nescafe ad... :)

If i asked you to guess the sounds I'm hearing as i write this, you would normally guess chirping of birds and other Nature sounds, wouldn't you? Contrary to all of that all i hear is the annoying rustle of the auto-rickshaw engines, honking of a few cars, in other words a trailer of what I'm going to listen to a lot more of soon. The chirping of birds i do hear but very faintly in the background ... In an urban scenario i can't expect too much more i guess but I am really glad at least the air is clean and i know its not going to be for long when all the pollution kicks in.. what takes the cake though are the mornings of some place far away from the businesses of a city, amidst nature. The hills or the forests, Nature has a music of its own, and fragrances no one can imitate... ( it brings me joy even to think about it :) )

But none of the noisiness of a city affects the freshness a morning brings to me. The fresh and cool air, i just can't get enough of.

Go out for a drive, park the car somewhere in the middle of nowhere where you don't have the company of a variety of noisy engines and only have nature by your side giving you company, and maybe a hot cup of tea in an earthen cup ... what a great start to a day that would be !!!! A few places where I've enjoyed that kind of a morning are a small town called Doonga ( although i don't have too many memories of that trip years ago ) and Mysore and my hometown Calcutta of course.

Although i do have to go to work after all that, a morning like this can kick start even a Monday morning when quite a few would be cursing the end of a relaxed weekend :)

Morning light had begun to set in and this is my favourite part so I'm gonna go to the balcony and enjoy as much of it as i can get ... :)

Have a nice day & Keep smiling :) !!!

Think about it ..

" मज़हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना,
हिन्दी हैं हम, वतन है हिंदोस्तां हमारा " - इक़बाल

Satisfaction NOT Guaranteed !!!

A recent ad film on TV hit me when our Mr. SRK is standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper and is screaming out loud against satisfaction. Is satisfaction a bad quality to possess?? Isn't the state of being satisfied where we all want to be?? Then why was he cursing all Indians for having this quality??

A little thought into the matter brought out a new perspective to satisfaction altogether. As the cliched saying goes, 'there are always two sides of a coin'.. i began to wonder why it didn't strike me earlier.

Satisfaction as we all see it, usually refers to a state of being content, a state of peace !! Isn't it. I'm sure most would agree. Its good to be satisfied because it means not committing one of the seven deadly sins of GREED...

But where the problem lies is what we are satisfied with. Are we satisfied with too little or are we never satisfied with anything at all.

Ambition takes a backseat if we are satisfied with too little or with whatever we get and we never ask for what we deserve or never move out of our comfort zone to get what we can achieve, materialise our true potential.

On the other hand if we're never satisfied we're plain and simple greedy. Are we?? Are we being greedy by not being satisfied with what we have, ever.. cause if we are we're never going to strive for more and more and more. and is it justified to label us greedy just cause we aren't ??

Where does one draw the line??? :)

Can you Imagine ???

" .................

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world" - John Lennon

Is the 'Grass' really greener on the other side ???

What's with all the doping in sports ???

Is that gold really that important that sportsmen these days don't mind risking lose everything they or their nation were ever proud of ??? Has it become a competition of which nation can afford or make the best and totally undetectable drugs ???

Marion Jones had the courage to confess what she had done and how she had won all those medals but what is the price she's paying .. was it all really worth it .. She lost all that she had ever achieved .. people have lost faith in the dignity of sportsmanship and in the nation's integrity .. is victory so important that you don't mind losing against your conscience ??

" winning is not everything, it is the only thing " .. Is it .. Really ??

Stop !!!

Stop !! What's the hurry ???Just take a minute to think ... where do u wanna go so fast that getting there 10 minutes late is just not an option ??? what would the damage be ??? Would you also kill if that's what it takes to get where you want to be ???

I bet all of you can identify with the questions I've asked. Or at least you know so many people who would fit into that description.. But really what's the hurry. Did you know India has the world's highest accident rate in the world. more than 11 lakh people die of road accidents and India contributes a whooping 80,000+ to that figure.

Just today two people on bikes were killed due to an accident with the blue line buses in Delhi less than 2 hours apart and less than 3 kms apart. And invariably the crowd, the media, the news channels blame the buses and other heavy vehicles for the accident. but did you even for a second consider that it could have been the biker's fault too. I'm eye witness to bike riding that can shock you out of your wits!!

Please don't mistake me for taking the bus driver's side on this but I'd ask each one to at least look at both sides of the coin. The bus drivers are in a hurry of their own but the bikers are no less guilty. If you ever happen to stumble upon the statistics of the number of bike riders riding without a license I wouldn't have to speak a word more.

And let's not even get to the process of issuing licenses !! I could get you a license without even you moving out of the comforts of your house, in fact having sat in a car or on a bike is also not a mandate !!! Rs. 600 for a 2-wheeler license and Rs. 1000 for a 4-wheeler license are not exhorbitant prices anyway ;).

And to top it all there's bad news for those few sincere citizens who still believe that the RTO is the place you go if you want to apply for a fresh LL or DL. A friend of mine happened to think so and went to apply for an LL for a two wheeler with all relevant documents. The first question he was asked at the RTO was "Which driving school ?" and to which his answer was a sincere "None". He was asked to come back a week later and when he returns in hope of getting ahead he was simply returned all his documents with his application saying a particular document was missing ( which was of course deleberately removed from the set he submitted !!! ). Moral of the story: ' Want a DL, go to driving school !!! ' so that the guy sitting at the RTO can earn a little more money, after all how much does his job pay him C'mon [:)]!!!!

And then we come to reasons why so many accidents happen ( trust me the license Scandal is the least of our issues ). We blame the people driving the vehicles but you might be shocked to hear how very guilty the so-called innocent pedastrians are... Jay walking is dangerous and people know it all very well. But when you're in a hurry do you even care what the cop tells you about walking on the pavement or the zebra crossings??? People on the famous park street in kolkata push aside the lonely cop and say step aside sir, i'm in a hurry :).. how very convenient i must say.

And what makes you think that just a monetary penalty is gonna stop people from driving rash??? You think a fine of rs. 1000 is gonna even make a rich kid with a rich dad think twice before driving rash again or do you think a fine of Rs. 100-300 is going to make youngsters apply for a fresh license. And at other times even a Rs. 100 note is enough to get away for an offence which should be penalised with at least Rs. 1000 or more as long as it goes unnoticed into the traffic polices' personal funds !!!

Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai or Calcutta - Its the same story everywhere.. Whats the hurry i ask ??? Whats the hurry to get driving without a (a legitimate one i must add ;) ) license ??? Whats the hurry to get to your workplace 10 minutes early and what stops you from leaving 10 minutes early rather than try and make up those 10 lost minutes on the road putting 10 other lives in danger including yours ??? If only you can just STOP n THINK !!!

Chak De !!!

Chak de !! ... Yes, that seems to be the new cry of the nation. Be it for an individual who needs some inspiration or a whole team that needs to be motivated to defeat the opponents. And the credit goes solely to the movie by Yash Chopra.

It’s the tale of a hockey player surrounded by match fixing allegations who makes a comeback and regains all respect by coaching the women’s team to a World Cup victory after 7 long years of a life of misery. But that my friends, is not what the movie is all about.

The movie is all about everything that we need to prosper as a great nation, succeed as a great team and only lastly succeed as an individual. We tend to forget at times that we’re Indians and we only identify ourselves by the state we come from. It feels like we live as citizens of various states rather than of ONE country. We fail to realize that a team is one entity and not a composition of various individuals. This is the first lesson that Kabir Khan, the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team teaches 16 girls from different states, that they’re here to play for one country. To be a team member means to be able to give up self interests for the team goals, to overcome to desire to succeed as an individual for the sake of the team.

Respect one another and treat everyone equally regardless of one’s background and knowledge or skill is lesson number two. Skill and knowledge can help you but won’t take you far if you don’t succeed as a person. Personal biases shouldn’t exist in a team if there are any intentions of the team to succeed. He says that the team can learn how to play hockey but what they need to learn more importantly Respect.

The very fact that we need to put our nation and our team before ourselves in whatever we do stirs up a lot of patriotism as well among people who think patriotism is a word used only for the freedom fighters. All in all, a great movie to watch. Great acting, great direction, great movie!!!

Failure !!

Ever wondered why someone on a winning streak keeps winning and someone out of form just keeps losing?? Why one failure in the day can make the simplest of tasks seem herculean??? And the confidence from one victory can make you jump over the highest mountains as if they were the tiniest hills ???

I'm in that situation today where one defeat has almost destroyed my enthusiasm and momentum that carried me so far. Just yesterday I could have conquered any task and a day later i feel like a complete loser. Why??

I've heard them say "Tough times never last, But tough people do.."!! what does it take to be tough?? What makes them survive through thick and thin?? What drives them??

I sound like I've lost the only battle i was out to fight!! But i know better.. a small defeat cannot destroy me. Because i will reassess, re inspire and restart !!! :)

To a better tommorrow !! Cheers !!

Religion .. Ever a wonder !!

"Religion is the opium of the masses",

An amusement for those who can afford it,

An occupation for some and a profession for others,

Reason to kill for some and reason to die for for a few others...

And a million other perceptions for the million others...


( incomplete )

During my training days at Mysore City ...

Walk On ..

I am what I am,
I am what I chose to be,
The guy in the mirror doesn't like me,
Am I what I want to be... really?

Long gone are those days,
When I did what you'd tell me to do,
Time has come when I have to do the things
That will take me to where I aim to be.

I'm sure it'll pain to get there,
Pleasures may not be,
But i'm also certain at the end of it all,
It'll really hurt if I don't make it
And my dream will cease to be.

'All it takes is pressure and time'
Time I got, Pressure i need to build
Cause only when my insides explode
And my Passion screams out loud,
Will I take that small step forward,
And make my own Destiny!!!

Let's Take Things Away

Today, let's play a game
A game in which no one loses
Whether you win or not
You'll tell by how you play.

One by one, from life,
Yours, mine, everyone's
Whoever has any reason to whine
Let's take things away..

For just one day,
Let's take Light away
Life'd be so cold!!
What would you do?
If you could see no one,
And no one ever saw you..
Would we do half the things we do??
We would bump into each other
But would we know who's who??
Mirrors, moons wouls cease to be.
We'd have nothing to "show" or "hide"
From friends or enemy!!

If next, we took anyone
Between Love or Hate away,
The other would no longer be.
Being so different,
Each still needs the other.
You wouldn't love th eones you do
Wouldn't hate anyone either.
Why would you then even care??
No one would

If then we took away from you
Your Religion
Imagine how happy Lennon would be!!
Anyway, would you believe in anything
"Who" would b your God??
Would you still find him within you??
Or standing beside you??
And where would you go,
To wash all those sins away?
Would you "sin" at all??

Let faith be the next to go.
The world would be a lonely place
Or would there be chaos everywhere
Would you believe me if i said..
Sorry, such a thing would not be.
Who would you go for help?
Who would you ask?

I guess i've taken enough away
For this to be a game..
But look back and see
How did you play?

Free Falling

One day far ahead I want,
To stand at the edge of the cliff
(With a parachute, don't worry)
And dive down..
Only to see what i'm gonna feel.

Will I scream,
And waste more moments
Miss out on more things
Go past so much reality
With my eyes closed
Only cause i'm too scared to look
At the End

Will it be quiet around me
As if watching a movie on mute
In a 3D theatre
With action all around
But as silent as a lake
Will I be at peace
Even though i know what's waiting
At the End

Will i feel the wind in my hair
like in a roller coaster ride
Only straight down..
Like driving a fast car
Fuelled by gravity,
A rockstar playing on adrenalin...

Or will everything slow down for me?
For me to see everything i wanted to
Each leaf of every tree
Each crack in the mountain
And the faces it makes to mock me
Can i turn around and look at the sky too?
To count every star
Think of all happy moments
Relive them if i can
And not worry 'bout the end at all..

Or will i be frantic
For everythng i can grab
Every small thing i can hold onto,
To stop the End
Does knowing the End help at all?
Or how soon i'm gonna get there?

What will it be?
What will i see?
Be it scenes from my memory,
Or just a silent movie
Reality "TV"
I'll surely tell you
But if you go first
Be sure to tell me

Tainted Glass

Looks so beautiful,
The artist creates images,
Gives the plain glass colour,
And looks, or so he thinks!!

The world plauds his masterpiece,
Understand deeper meanings,
But only of what they see on the surface
Created by the artist...
What an irony..

They claim to see beyond
What their eyes show them.
Each one tells his own tale
And mere fools, they drink to it too..

Isn't there something more to it.
Have they seen everything..
Isn't there anything that they failed to notice?
The fate of the glass beneath.

Lying right beneath the paints and the colours,
Is the helpless glass.
Having lost its character and true meaning,
Merely being used by the artist
To gain the fame he always wanted.
Having thrown the glass to lie unnoticed,
Lie alone having lost all its charm..

Where all it ever wanted
Was to be a gateway to the true Light.
Show the light its true colours,
The spectrum of colours it holds within.
Just be what it was meant to be.

The artist took away all its beauty,
Gifted by Nature,
Instead gave it 'fame',
Dressed it up, Covered it up
Murdered it
And left it devoid
Of all it ever wanted

This Side Or That???

The door slams home,
Am i locked inside,
Or am i free at last..
How can i tell?

Have i just begun a journey,
Of a thousand miles,
Or am i finally home..
How can i tell?

The door separates two worlds,
Also connects the same two!!
Inside from outside,
The closed to the open,
Can you tell one from another??

Look at the door..
Does it have a "Welcome" sign,
Or one that says "Thank you for coming"
Which one would you rather see?
Through which one would you rather go?

"You're confused!!", screams the voice inside,
"Help me decide, help me, help me please", plead I.

He says dont look at the door, fool,
Look at what you see,
If you see the door, you're home..
If you see the horizon,
You have a long way to go, son..

Stars

Sometimes when i look up in the sky,
There are so many stars..
Wonder who put them there

I look around me,
There are so many stars..
Wonder when they'll realise they're stars..

Ever wondered whats beyond the stars you see,
What lies beyond the eye can see..
If someone else sittin elsewhere,
Wonders the same...

Ever thought what lies within the stars around me,
What lies within those restless hearts,
If they'll ever meet the star within them,
Will they even recognise if they do!!

These stars are wonders,
The almighty hand crafted each one,
Every single one, right from the guy who lives next door,
To the big-ol' Sun!!!