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Point of View

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Everything has a interpretation..  What we do, what we say... And the interpretation is not subject to what one does or days, but what the viewer interprets of the situation.... What adds up to the whole situation is the preconceived notions... So what happens if we get misinterpreted... or lets just say someone provides an alternate interpretation... So how do we say if the water is flowing upstream or is it all downhill from there :)

Time and Tide teaches all of us

Hope is a funny thing... There are times when we don't think or imagine that something will happen... that here might be a change... and then suddenly, there is a flash,,,  All of a sudden, all the variables involved in the equation change... Things appear in a new light... you see people in a new light.... and suddenly, it doesn't seem all that grim... Situations change... and so do people... or atleast our outlook towards them... So do we change with time... or does time change us ?

The Background Score

We all like being the front runner... or atleast a part of the action... right in the middle of the hustle bustle... hoping that we wouldn't miss out on anything... That is natural tendency... So when you end up taking the backseat... fading into the background... in view of the bigger picture... it is a tough decision to make... the only hope being this decision will not be in vain, and will not be forgotten... But what hurts the most, is that those who silently fade into the background without making too much of noise, are often forgotten a little too soon... in that they are not given credit for what is due... Though they are not the Hero of the show, they still are as much an essential part of the crew.... If only people would understand that most things are team work... and if someone is able to be a Hero is because someone decided to work in the shadows towards the same thing.

That Nagging Feeling

It is difficult to explain... We spend so much time with each other... we are part of each others growing up... We grow up.. get busy... run the rat race... Suddenly, one fine day, we realize that it is not the same... Unsure whether it is people have moved, or whether we have.. whether we disappeared in their daily landscape.. or they did in ours... But this feeling..... this nagging feeling.... hmmmmm.....

Needs with Moods

Holidays are therapeutic... They calm you down... they ease out the pace of our fast moving life and heart.. and give you time to think and assess, about what we are actually doing with it.. That been said, having the right company is equally important... If my holiday was because I was not satisfied with what I was getting out of life and needed to find an answer, the only company I'd need is myself, with probably a good book or a diary... But the same company could be a recipe for disaster if I was depressed and dissatisfied with the way my life was turning out.. Same person... different hues...

Man and Machine

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It's a generation disease.. more pertinent to our generation and the next.... our  multiple attempts to replace the human touch with machines.. This is partly caused by our hurried lives... due to which we often loose the plot as to what is the reason we are running this race... but it is also about our superiority complex... from hand drawn rikshaws to cars... hand woven cloth to mills... workers in factories to robots... we call it automation and efficiency... which is true... But is it really effective in all cases... I think this video says it all.... 

Intolerance

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Couldn't resist sharing what Barkha Dutt recently said on the National Debate 2016 organized by The Telegraph in Kolkatta on Tolerance and Intolerance. She was spot on... Exactly what I was trying to say in News Today

Evolution with Time

As children, we epitomize our parents... but at the back of our head we also sort out their habits subconsciously into the ones you wish you'd get, and those you wouldn't want to inculcate. Imagine my surprise when, in a recent discussion with my parents, I realized that I had subconsciously started doing some of the things in exactly the way they do... except, as a kid, I didn't like it... What would you call it then... growing up ? inheritance ?  Or has my memory just dulled and I have chosen the path of convenience over the right one... All of us change with time.. but am wondering if I'll suddenly realize one fine day, that I've turned into a person I don't like ! 

People

I like travelling... different places... different people... different food :) Actually I revel in it... By places, I don't necessarily mean globetrotting... even different streets of Delhi qualifies... because each nook and corner seems to have a species of homo sapiens specific to that latitude and longitude, with a food specialty too... Chatting up with people is the perfect way to understand their ecosystem, and how they tick... My latest sample space of human curios are Ola/Uber drivers, who seem to belong to varied sects/segments of society, from college students to part time workers to fleet operators.... each of them has a different story to tell... and different side of the coin....

News Today

In the last few years, especially the last five years, Media, especially in India, seems to have turned a new leaf. With the availability of 24 X 7 news channels to feed, and 24 pages to print, there is a growing strain on content.  Terms like newsworthy and breaking news have been totally redefined, items and issues are openly plugged, without any scruples. When Gail Wynand openly accepted that he plugged an event or an issue, he was clear it was about circulation and making money. Now, all media personnel seem to have turned into the same Gail, atleast on paper. The other issue, which has become a bigger problem nowadays is the lack of unbiased narrative reporting, as the events panned out. What was earlier restricted to the center-spread of the newspapers (and to add, well modulated by the editors) has now become what is common content. Everyone has an opinion (which they did earlier as well), and are happy to express it on first page and prime-time, where one would have

Life

We fret over tiny things... we cry over minute issues... And then we face the big one... to realize it was all for nothing.... that all this strife was all for a peaceful life and a dignified death... whatever we might do, we Will end up... in that small piece of land.. 

Fear or Urge

What is Vertigo ? Fear of Falling ? Then why do we feel it even when the observation tower comes equipped with a sturdy handrail ?  No, vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves. These lines from The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera  ring true to me... There is a thin line between the fear of doing something, and the fear because you realize you have the urge... despite knowing that the end result might not be very good. This is not an argument of the devil and the angel sitting on your shoulders... this is pure impulse... and the fear of the impulse... because suddenly, you face the moment of truth.

Frustration

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Frustration is a frustrating feeling... It sucks you unto a loop of negativity leading to even more negative thoughts.. further leading to an increased dose of frustration.... It is like a maze which you can't exit by finding light at the end of the tunnel... there is no end of the tunnel...  one just has to break a hole through the damn tunnel, and try and feel better about themselves...

Influences and Influencers

We learn different aspects to different people/moments we come across in life... afterall we are but sponges, who absorb what we come across, both positive and negative... The love for history from a fabulous teacher in school who kept narrating history of the world like small anecdotes she witnessed herself.... The love for reading from a doting grandfather who would mark out snippets in the newspaper for us to read... The fear of traffic defaulters from the accident of a dear friend... The list is endless.... But we somehow ignore the inherent reason we are able to soak all this up... the gene pool and the environment we grew up in, thanks to our family and near and dear....

The "Odd" Even Choice

Ok... So the Delhi air still looks quite smoky and polluted. But the one thing no one who has travelled the Delhi roads in the last week will deny... is that irrespective of what impact this odd-even formula has had on the pollution levels, it has definitely made driving on Delhi roads a pleasure again. So for all the critics, presenting to you, the clean.. oops, empty Delhi roads.. Kudos to all the people travelling on the Delhi roads these days... for putting up with the buses, metros, autos, cabs.. whatever it takes.. to make it work !

Odd Even... Even Odd

We Delhites are born critiques...  you place in front of them even Michelangelo's David, and you'll find them commenting about the tall height and hair too curly.... Scepticism seems to be inborne... like second nature to all of us... Which is why I have decided to make an earnest request.. to a all those residing in the capital... to keep their extraordinary pessimistic thought process aside, and try and abide by the new rules being set to improve traffic, and effectively reduce pollution... We might talk about insufficient public transport, overcrowded metros, unsafe roads... the list is endless... but for once, keep all the thoughts aside, and try, just try, to make it work... Use odd for odd and even for even.. carpool... use public transport... cycle... walk.... But just try.... not because some Kejriwal has the courage to do something radical... but simply because we need to... 

Anger

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We are talking... and suddenly, without realizing, our voice approaches a crescendo... our pitch changes.. the heart starts palpitating... faster.. faster.... till we can hear the sound in our ears... and no longer hear what the other one is saying..... So it no longer remains a dialogue... we can't see the other person's perspective or hear their thoughts.... our head is just buzzing with our own.... Suddenly the realization dawns... that this is pointless... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Sigh.... What was I discussing in the first place ?!?  Anger Management, by Phil Singer Source: http://psingerart.com/his_work/anger-management/

Independent Being

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We come into the world, tied to our mothers cord...  tightly hugging her... ensuring we get all the warmth, help and support through life....  Somewhere along the way we become "intelligent", and we try and become self sufficient and intelligent... being "able" to take on the world and trudge on... and accomplish what we seek.... Just when all is going well, suddenly, we trip and fall....  we stumble and try to get up on our own... THIS is the wake up call.. for us... to realize we all need the help... That we might be intelligent and independent, but we need the support, just in case time throws us off balance...   Now my prayer has changed from hoping that I remain independent all through my life.... to the wish that I remain independent, till I have the grace and sense to take someone's help when I need it... Amen.  Source: http://mimiandeunice.com/2012/07/20/independent/

Freedom

We are all born in different homes... with different cultures and habits.. functions and functionalities.. But the one thing that seems to bind us all is the thought that our parents are outdated and need to update their outlook in life.. What most of us tend to ignore is that it is because of these same set of people that we are able to think the way we do... It is the freedom that they have given us which has enables us to question everything... even them.... How easily we forget our roots.... especially when we are in full bloom....

In Memoriam

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Rin