~ Reflections ~

All of us have different milestones & benchmarks in life... Some want to climb the Everest, some wish to start work of their own... but what if your only wish is to be happy... and that is all you aspire for... does it mean that one has settled for less... that they are less ambitious... or is it simply and endless ladder, since one is never happy.. and we always want better...

I am born.... I will die... This is the only reality.... Whatever I give or get in between, is likely to get rotated/recycled amongst people I know....  Do I "value" everything I get... No... But do I treasure it all... Yes... Atleast I try to... As a result, I accept whatever I get, whomsoever it might be, in my circle of life, who might be giving it to me.... and the same goes to what I give... I don't think twice... Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, While loving someone deeply gives you courage.   ~ Lao Tzu

The feeling that seems to be hounding my life the most is guilt... The guilt of not doing something I should have... the guilt of not spending time with friends, parents.... oneself... I guess the source of all happiness is to be free of guilt... No guilt... no nagging thought at the back of my mind... calm and peace.... But more often than not, guilt is a reflection of our own conscience...  which sometimes we tend to ignore for too long... It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution. ~ Oscar Wilde

India is a huge country, with varying tastes, traditions and beliefs. From the start, we interact with multiple thoughts and ideas be it faith, festivals or biases. But when these differences turn out to be beneficial for some, and not so for others... when these differences get documented in the constitution as quotas, financials aids, that's the start of the problem. Some might say that these quotas are justified.... If I am from a Brahmin family, where the last many generations are educated (even if it was the Vedas earlier, and English education now), the odds that I would get a fair education as against someone whose last few generations have been fighting for survival.... True... But there is no end to this... with all the differences we have as a society, we will alsways be able to identify some "difference" which will benefit us.... It is important that the government, instead of focusing on such quotas, should try and provide facilities for all.. Providi...

There are always moments when you loose your cool... When for atleast a split second, you want to shout...  make the other person realize how annoyed you are... But is it really worth it ? Afterall, some wise man has rightly said... For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am a believer of the ripple effect... Everything we do, has an effect, and the ripple continues... and somewhere it moves a full circle, and what goes around, comes around.... But at the same time, if I am looking to start over, there is no better time than today... since the present will continuously keep becoming the past, and the baggage will only increase with time... Like Oscar Wilde wisely said,  The only difference between the saint and the sinner Is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

While driving, besides following all traffic rules (yaah, that's part of the job !), we rely on the view in front and the rear view mirror to manoeuvre through all the traffic, to reach our destination... sometimes reaching the wrong place, and sometimes slightly late... However, in trying to focus on the rear view for too much, we end up losing sight of what is coming our way... Likewise, not paying any attention to the past, might come and hit you at some point in time.... So it's important to be cognizant of both views, and have a clear destination :)

There are 3 things needed to achieve anything... Aspiration , Ability & Approach... Most of us seem to concentrate on 2 out of these 3 requirements, leading to partial success, or even failure... Though aspiration is important, it has to be supported by your ability, or atleast someone able enough should be supporting you. The same goes for approach... There is no benchmark for these things I guess... and no tried and tested proportion either...

With the run up to the General Elections in India, it is amazing to see how policies (across states) are being pushed, and decisions are being made. It almost makes you wonder why they were sitting on all of it for the last 4.5 years when they were agreeable to the change in the first place.  Be it the Lokayukta Bill, or the Environmental clearances to 70 odd projects... The running government (please read ruining government ) is making amends in their style, as if the box has suddenly been open, and all decisions will be made overnight. The Aam Aadmi party is attempting to make the phenomenon in Delhi nation wide, and they just might succeed in some pockets... Eitherways, this will be an year of change..  All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was ...

The last week of December always leaves me with a nostalgic feeling... Between looking back at the year gone by... and what the coming year might hold.... So  here's some of the stuff the year brought by... Movie of the year: Jolly LLB & Table No 21 Both movies from lesser known directors.. and none of the cliched A league stars.... but both Jolly LLB & Table No 21 proved that if you've got the right story, and directors & actors to pull it through, the audience will shower praise... I think such cinema is the biggest boon multiplexes have given us. Most hyped book of the year : The Oath of the Vayuputras I understand the emergence of this cult of authors who have taken to writing plots intermingled with ancient history/mythology... I guess the trend was started by Dan Brown internationally, and successfully encashed by Amish Tripathi & Ashwin Sanghi amongst other....  But with this book, Amish stretched the concept (which sounded like a nice one in ...