~ Reflections ~

We like walls.. barriers.. boundaries... Not for others benefit , but our own.. Not that anyone would cross them.. But so that our thoughts don't cross them... And then we open a small window.. For those special few... Without realising, that the window will open you to all...

We all work.. and like to be rewarded when we feel we've done something worthy of appraisal. But what happens when you see the same reward being given to a mediocre performance and one which was par excellence. I guess we all need to learn to refuse... not just what we don't deserve.. but also when mediocrity is rewarded in the same breath and with equal gaiety as good work.

I actually got inspired by a blog-post I read.. so here's an attempt at a different form of expression... just humour me.. Beauty... seen through other's eyes.. Vision.. seen through my own... Wind.. blowing in my face.. Rain.. beating against it... Things... with names.. Relationships.. without... Secrets.. bottled up inside.. Truth.. staring at me.. Structured thoughts... randomly expressed.. My life.. an oxymoron...

Conversations.. atleast the long ones... always leave me with the longing for more... Needless to say that the realisation of how few of them I've had in the past really gives me a sinking feeling.. of how it will be in the future, when all of us will get busier, trying to fight our way to our professional goals... It all sounds good in books and movies that relationships are a thing of the heart, and they are never lost... blah blah blah... but in reality, it is essential to keep in touch... So here's to all my friends... I hope we all stay in touch... "Someone remembers, someone cares; Your name is whispered in someone’s prayers."

There is some kind of jinx... I'm not a celebration kind of person... I don't attach too much importance to birthdays etc.... I guess this is life's way of teaching me a lesson... The one time I really felt like celebrating... when I thought I had finally earnt it.. I am unable to... I deserve it !!! Damn !!!

We all give importance to different things in life... And for me, time is the essence... I dont mind reaching early.. but i detest being late... So now, when I am on the other side, makiing people wait for me.. I really don't know what to do/say to make it better...

This seems to be the eternal dilema we face all the time... Where do we draw the line.. On your palm an endless wonder Lines that speak the truth without a sound In your eyes awaits the tireless hunger Already looks for prey to run down So why do we keep up this charade How do we tell apart the time to leave from the time to wait What does tomorrow want with me What does it matter what I see If it can't be my design Tell me where do we draw the line The dance of flames and shadows in the street Make poetry nobody's ever heard The weight of loneliness stands on your feet The cage already there around the bird So why don't we join the masquerade Before it all falls apart before our love becomes insatiate What does tomorrow want with me What does it matter what I see If I can't choose my own design Tell me where do we draw the line Where's the cooling wind Where's the evergreen field Where's my mother's open arms Where's my father...

There seem to be two ways of living life... (and since it seems to be raining in most parts of the country, thats the parallel I shall use) Some enjoy watching the rain .. maybe from a safe distance.. without getting wet... The others enjoy getting drenched in the rain.. like the feel of the raindrops on their head and body... Quote: "One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try."

What happens when you are suddenly let down.. not by someone else, but yourself... I'm yet to learn to cope with the feeling.. the sadness... It suddenly makes me feel weak.. or maybe I deserve it.. Maybe I had become overconfident.. and this was just a touch of reality...

This was a friend's gtalk status.... Really liked it.. No one will ever win the battle of the sexes; there's too much fraternizing with the enemy.

Sometimes simple appreciation from people who matter can make your day... It doesn't really matter how big or small the task was... Just the sweet after taste of the compliment stays... And the memory remains..

I walked in stealthily... tip toed into your life.. your thoughts... your mind.. and now you cannot think beyond me.. live without me... They call me doubt.. I call it insecurity..

Have you ever felt happy if you've had a fight with a person close to you... You might think I've become senile.... but that's how I felt recently... It's not that I enjoyed the moment of miscommunication... It's just that the relationship suddenly seemed more real... As if there was still life in it... Relationships having life :)

Read this somewhere... "Bheegi hui cigarette jal nahi sakti….. Aur yeh tay hai ki meri maut ki taarikh tal nahi sakti...."

More often than not, we resist change, and our overactive (or should i say over-reactive) brain starts concocting reasons to abstain from changing... but what we miss all the while is the newness and the excitement that change brings with it... Every new step looks like a giant leap, till taken.. and then it looks like a thing too small to talk about... All the same, every step is movement.. a change... and any change takes courage... " There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. " ~ Nelson Mandela

Change is a funny thing... Its perhaps life's way of playing tricks on us.. The moment of comfort is when things decide to change.. and when we long for a twist in life is when it all becomes static...

Maybe its that time of the year.. or just that I had the time, but i recently rediscovered some of the small joys of life... So I thought I should share some of them.. here goes... Fresh blades of grass on my palm... My fingers moving through running water... The feel of the strawberry seeds while eating it.. The smell of freshly ground coffee.. The intoxicating smell of the first rain beating the soil... We encounter most of these things regularly... but do we ever notice them.... Small joys come, not once in a while.. but quite regularly.. its just that we never recognise them...

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friendship is a funny thing. We put it through all the tests possible... all the fun, the fights.. But the moment you actually realise its importance, is when you are so close to losing it. Thanks for always being here...

Our life is a summation of the many relationships we create and then forge as per our liking... and they are THE reason most of us enjoy living our lives. But in each phase, we give importance to a different relationship.. our parents are our lives when we are young... we move on to school and friends move into our lives... their relative importance increasing as we move towards adolescence and adulthood... and so at each stage, we have different people by whom we get gravitated.... and its all good, because each of these relationships come of age, and we outgrow them when the time comes... What I'm trying to say, everything has a time, purpose, reason, season... and so does every relationship.... Or am I just looking for a reason to sever my ties with people !! मे मरासिम बनते है , लम्हों मे भला क्या टूटेंगे तू मुझ से बिचादना चाहे तो , दीवार उठा धीरे धीरे ~ ललित कॉल

"All my bags are packed Im ready to go Im standin here outside your door I hate to wake you up to say goodbye ..... Already Im so lonesome I could die" All of us have a time of entry and exit.. not just in this world, but also interms of each others lives.. So even though its good to treasure sweet memories, it isn't a good idea to cling on to them.. or you won't let new people enter your life..

There is also the debate on whether chivalry is good or bad... whether a man should take pride in being chivalrous.. and a woman should happily accept... or does it become a battle of egos between the two genders... The bigger problem of course is when the thin line of difference between chauvinism and chivalry is lost. Again, I m sure many people of the fairer sex (keep guessing whether I'm referring to the males or the females) tend to enjoy it all... but is it right.. Isn't giving help to the other sex irrespective of whether it is required, an attempt to show their superiority.I've met many men :) who take pride in not just being chivalrous but also chauvinistic . I really don't know if there is one right answer to this one... there are lots of people who enjoy the attention and help, and lots who detest it... The point is that the guy needs to be smart enough to understand what women want !!!

I know this not a very origional way of expressing my thoughts, but at this point in time, these seem to be the most appropriate... This song featured in Hazaaron Khwahishae Aisi.. sung by Shubha Mudgal.... Bavra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna Bavre Se Mann, Ki Dekho Bavri Hain Baatein Bavri Se Dhadkaane Hain, Bavri Hain Saansen Bavre Se Is Jahan Main Bavra Ek Saath Ho Is Sayani Bheed Main Bas Haathon Mein Tera Haath Ho Bavri Si Dhun Ho Koi, Bavra Ek Raag Ho Bavre Se Pair Chahen, Baavron Tarano Ke, Bavre Se Bol Pe Thirakna. Bavra Mann, Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna... Bavra Sa Ho Andhera, Bavri Khamoshiyan Thartharati Low Ho Maddham, Bavri Madhoshiyan Bavra Ek Ghooghta Chahe, Haule Haule Bin Bataye, Bavre Se Mukhde Se Sarakana Bavra Mann, Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna....

Life has its own way of getting back at you... I don’t believe in fate, but I do believe that whatever happens is for the good... Like Steve Jobs said, in one of his famous speech, that we might not understand the significance of all that we are doing... but somewhere down the line, if we look backwards, we are able to join the dots, and then, it all makes sense... I guess I’ve successfully confused you n myself with my thoughts, so I’ll let the lyrics of the song by Byrd’s do the talking, or rather, explain :) To everything - turn, turn, turn There is a season - turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap A time to kill, a time to heal A time to laugh, a time to weep ...... A time to build up, a time to break down A time to dance, a time to mourn A time to cast away stones A time to gather stones together .... A time of war, a time of peace A time of love, a time of hate A time you may embrace A time to re...

The battle between The Right & The Wrong (not The Left !!) is not something new... Questions keep popping up in our head.. Here's my two pence to the debate... Who decides what is right.. the majority ?!?? Is there any common guiding principle ? And if not, then doesn't it all boil down to what you think is right, and what you think is not... Who is anyone to judge you and your thoughts.. one can only give their opinions... Just the way I am :)

There is something very strange about power.. If one was to measure its effectiveness, we'd realise... The lesser you use it, the more powerful you become..

"Opinions are like hand watches. Everyone's watch shows different time from others. But, everyone believes that their time is correct." All of us like talking our mind... expressing our opinions... But what happens when your thoughts create a furore... was it worth the expression ?!?

Most of us tend to believe that we are alone in a situation... That we have the complete information, and that we can tackle it all... Till someone just makes you realise how myopic your view has been... Thank goodness we have friends..

We all have a tendency to plan ahead.. into the future... But very often, the event we plan the most is exactly the one which doesn't seem like its going our way... From whatever little I've seen... which is actually quite less ;) ... Since we have planned so hard, we should execute it anyway... Then we atleast have the satisfaction of having tried !!

These are the lines from Boulevard of Broken Dreams, a song sung by Green Day... I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known Don't know where it goes But it's home to me and I walk alone ...... My shadow's the only one that walks beside me My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me 'Til then I walk alone I'm walking down the line That divides me somewhere in my mind On the border line Of the edge and where I walk alone.... I think we've all been there and done that... as much as we'd like company and support in whatever we are doing, we ultimately walk the lonely street all alone :)

All of us have a tendency to keep giving justifications.. for what we do, what we don't do, what we should have done etc etc.. Ironically, we give the maximum number of justifications to the ones we love... though these are the people whom we shouldn't be giving explanations to at all ?!? Or is that just a myth ? Like most things in a relationship ;)

तस्वीर बनके राखी थी मैंने अपने खयालो मे सोचा नही था के आपसे कभी मुलाक़ात भी होगी.. आज आपसे मिले .. तो तस्वीर की तकदीर पे तरस आता है ... For those who donot have devnagri script.. tasveer banake rakhi thi maine apne khayalo mae socha nahi tha ke aapse kabhi mulaqaat bhi hogi.. aaj aapse mile.. to tasveer ki taqdeer pe taras aata hai...

What is it that we look for.... Is it that it should be something we like... or is there an underlying requirement that it should be extraordinary.. It has become a repeated occurrence that people demand not what they like, but something extraordinary... As if the ordinary is not good enough, even of they like it... “If a man knew anything, he would sit in a corner and be modest; but he is such an ignorant peacock, that he goes bustling up and down, and hits on extraordinary discoveries.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ratti bhar bhi sanam Bina sajaawat milaawat Na jyaada na hi kamm Tuhje chaahon jaisa hai tu Mujhe tere barish mein beegna hai ghuljaana hai Tujhe chaahon jaisa hai tu Mujhe tere lapat mein jalna raakh ho jaana hai We all dream of ideal love.. and Prasoon Joshi has expressed it perfectly.. But the point still remains, do we ever let the person be...

There is a direct connection between nature and me it seems.... It vents its frustration just the way I do.. it rains.. But it all seems so ironic. Rain seems to bring joy into so many lives... it is the indicator of the pleasure all let loose in one single burst of the cloud... Like the peacock which doesnt even waste a moment...

There are times when my mind is brimming with ideas.. But am unable to write about any of them... Don't know what to call it... confusion or avoidance :)

Here's an article I found on Wall Street Journal by Mr Stephen Moore.. Rings true... --- ATLAS SHRUGGED : FROM FICTION TO FACT IN 52 Years ~ Stephen Moore Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read "Atlas Shrugged" a "virgin." Being conversant in Ayn Rand's classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only "Atlas" were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I'm confident that we'd get out of the current financial mess a lot faster. Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was...