~ Reflections ~

Is what is it that you feel, when you say you feel pride in someone.. Is it right to talk about your pride only after the person is no more.... It is always easy to talk about someone in the past tense... But to express the same thing in the present.. That's much tougher...

A lot of people seem to confuse being alone with being lonely.  I beg to differ..... I have often been lonely in a crowd too ! Photo Credits: https://www.jackdogwelch.com/?p=13856

We are one confused species... we seem to strive for different things in each phase of life, and yet manage to be dissatisfied with the outcome... As kids, we wish to grow up... We have parents whom we'd love to over rule.. With each growing year, we become more independent, and seek money, career and similar trappings... and in th e process losing out time with people... I wonder how this would've been if it was the other way round... grew up as an adult and finally became a child, would I be more satisfied in life !?!

All of us have different associations with our grandmother.... but the strongest one, more often than not is the connection of food.. The delicacies my grandmothers used to make at my behest.. even the thought of it makes my mouth water even after all these years... Found this ad to be a perfect depiction of this love...  Credits: Catch Masala, Digital Campaign 2018, Ad Agency: Dentsu

I wonder what an election is meant to prove... Is it proof of someone's popularity or is it just a measure of the money dispensed or power politics... If they are trying to be the public leader, I often wonder why they need all the bungling...  I can understand the slogans and trying to get people to believe what one is doing.. but the attempt to earn through corrupt means, inorder to finally bribe someone to get their votes beats me... It is actually a vicious circle.. the attempt to get votes through money... and earning money beyond their means from the public....  It is not about who blinks first, but who makes the first move.. who makes the first move of not taking the money... politicians from the public or public from the politicians.... Someone needs to make a move to break the entire cycle... Votes for Money & Money for Votes !

How does one differentiate between something that is being said just for the heck of it or as a formality, as against something that is heartfelt. I often deliberate and waiver too long in making this decision, wondering whether something should be taken on face value, and does it involve in dwelling deeper... sometimes resulting in the moment just passing by. I guess this is an important skill that needs to be acquired.. or maybe that's what one gains with wisdom and experience.

All of us have had to run to Doctors, either for ourselves or someone we know. And with each encounter, we realize more and more how much one needs to trust this human inorder to be cured. It doesn't take a Doctor holding a knife in their hand to make you realize that your life, literally depends on them. But in the current time and age, where no profession seems to have a moral compass or any kind of scruples in making the best possible money in each case, I wonder why all of us seem to come down so heavily on the medical fraternity, especially doctors.  Oh yes, they directly deal with a person's life and well being, but I am yet to come across any doctor who intentionally kills their patients by administering a more expensive test/medication. And I am not referring to negligence here, which is more an issue related to the Doctor's quality/reliability. More importantly, most other professions also affect life in similar ways. A drunk driver let off by the cop w...

Are you an aggressive person ?!? So what happens when you suddenly start behaving like a submissive person... Do you appear to be a stranger to yourself  (pun intended)...  Or do you just enjoy the indecisive follow the leader kind of approach. More importantly.. is it sustainable ?

In the Corporate world, I have learnt the hard way that the more you are conscious about your/your team's gender, the more people try and take you for a ride. There is no limit to all the nonsense... You try to be careful, and you are told you are distant... You avoid social gatherings, only to be reprimanded that you are anti social... I am often left wondering if the people would give the same responses if the person on the other side was a male. Conveniently, since a majority of most workplaces are filled with men and sprinkled with women, even a random poll would have unfavourable results. So I have finally concluded that I don't care.. Don't care about what others think.. or what they 'expect' from the girl next door, or rather at the next desk....  Of course I am not worried about intimidating men.  The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.    ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

I understand a person's urge to do certain things.. to scratch and itch.. to click fingers.... to crack their knuckles... I get all that..  But I somehow can't seem to get over this urge hoards of people seem to have to grab a drink on Friday night to unwind....  Don't get me wrong, I am not against the idea of relaxing with friends over food and drinks.. but the primary objective always remains catching up... catching up isn't the excuse ! But now, Friday nights have been presenting a new nightmare... it is the jam close to our place thanks to a new 'state owned' liquor shop.... Every Friday, the place crowds up like there is no tomorrow... needless to say the joy in parking their vehicles inorder to successfully block all traffic.... I wonder what is the basis of these licenses the government doles out licenses for such liquor stores. There are already 3 such stores in a 2 km radius, and this is not including the 'sophisticated' wine selling ...

When your mind goes blank But your feet won't stop Churning words in your head which won't tumble out Angry thoughts lead on to frustrated actions The hurt in your head just suddenly hurls out Instantaneously frustration  becomes guilt The words lashed out were not meant to hit Yet no words will add up now As the demon in your head has taken a new form.

One verdict.. and your world turns upside down.. Suddenly, your plans seem to be a far away thought..  all focus shifts to the immediate obstacle.. But for someone who always believed and going with the flow... with a kind of preconceived notion that whatever happens, happens for the best... I am beginning to wonder if this attitude lacks the aggression and ferocity needed to face challenges..... Maybe one rethinks everything once in a while.. Call it catharsis... call it review & renewal... Source: https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview.asp?catref=rhan543

What would you do if someone asked you to appraise yourself.... will you do what the word is trying to say i.e. ap'praise' yourself (considering your next years salary, and in some cases the job, is dependent on it !) or will you take a step back and actually do what it takes. It is very easy to say that what we write is genuinely what we believe has been our contribution... but more often than not (unless we are delusional), we know the truth about where we stand... This is not just true about our professional lives but also our personal lives... So how do we do an honest one, atleast in our personal spaces... because it doesn't seem easy to take a step back and look at the situation and how one is faring.... Mirror mirror on the wall... who is the fairest of us all !

Words are a very powerful tool, but how the words are used makes them even more powerful...  Poetry and Prose are the perfect example.. the shorter the better.... So when I recently read these lines in Colson Whitehead 's Underground Railroad , they struck a chord... ... a visitation of a magnificent presence, a seeker awaiting a message. A conservation between an acorn, a sapling, and a powerful oak.... Poems are too close to prayer, rousing regrettable passions. Waiting for God to rescue you when it was up to you. Poetry and prayer put ideas in people's heads that got them killed, distracting them from the ruthless mechanism of the world.... Though there is a wide body of work by many poets, including famous Bards and Barons, but this Lady is one of the best. Fame is a fickle food Upon a shifting plate Whose table once a Guest but not The second time is set Whose crumbs the crows inspect And with ironic caw Flap past it to the Farmer’s corn ...

How do you draw the line between purpose and pleasure...  What if you find pleasure in your purpose... Or better still, purpose in pleasure.. Does that belittle the pleasure or the purpose ?!?

Read this on Facebook recently... Written by Philip John ... It is not the way it is written, but more about what he tried to say that rang a bell.... Alone in the World She writes a poem for her lover. She thinks it is a good poem. When she sends it to her lover he says, “Thank you, it’s nice.” As though she had given him not a poem but a cup of tea. Why, he should be grateful. How many people can say they have lovers who write poems for them? She feels alone in the world of her poem that perhaps only she truly and fully understands. Later that week she discovers her favourite writer is going to be present at a literary festival. Finally, a chance to hear him speak, perhaps even meet him. At the festival she manages to have a word with him while he autographs her book. Many people complained they did not “get” the writer’s last book. But she loved the book and she tells the writer this. “Thank you for writing this book,” she tells him. “When an artist of your caliber writes ...

We ultimately want the same thing in life...  To be wanted and to have someone we want next to us in our lives.... Through the many changes in life, it is very difficult to say when or how these people keep changing, sometimes bringing back the same old people.... as if nature need one more way to tell us that what goes back comes back ! The tricks our mind plays, directly and subconsciously to be the one, is amazing... and sometimes even amusing.... 2 March 2018

Travelling in public transport makes you realize lots of things... Our faith hangs in balance of thin threads, tempting you to tug at them and then face the repercussion.... We seem observe everything around us, but accept only what suits us... We make a big deal about our privacy, but seem to be okay with attending our personal phone calls loudly in public... Even hard core feminists and so called we-are-all-equal type ladies are the first ones to jump at empty seats, despite lots of people (aged and young) having waited for the same for ages... There seems to be another side as well... like DTC bus drivers applying brakes to wait for a pregnant lady to cross a crowded road... of DMRC employees properly assisting foreigners on which places they shouldn't miss... It appears to be a shallow two faced world, which likes to be taunted and teased... bullied and berated...

I sometimes wish I could live in a silos... Just as a social experiment.. To see if I'd be able to survive.. Manage to stay away from all the people I like and care about...  wonder if we'd live life the same way if we didn't have the social security... Of people we can depend on...  All of us like to think that we are individuals, with our own thoughts, feelings and imagination... But I wonder how long we'd survive without the social net...  In fact even our 'individualistic' thoughts are almost always influenced by our social circle.... Why then, is there so much hue and cry about Individualism.... I am all for independence, but I am not convinced that it necessitates individualistic outlooks... I know all of us like to think that we are individuals, with our own thoughts, feelings and imagination... But I wonder how long we'd survive without the social net...  In fact even our 'individualistic' thoughts are almost always influ...

What do you do when you want to break an existing norm, but don't want to hurt the sentiments of someone you care...  Let the person stay under the illusion that you agree with their thought ? Or make you stand clear ?  Where does one draw the line.. will the stance remain eclipsed forever... At one end, in my head, I am quite clear on what I believe.. But at the same time, I don't think I have the courage to take the stand and explain it... Clearly, to be able to pull it off, you need courage or clout !

We often plan something... build it up in our head... And one fine day, we realize, that the outcome has been very different... So were we expecting too much from life... Or is this life's way of showing us who is the boss...