~ Reflections ~

Wonder what to make of it... when all the people you treat as friends seem to disappear... and you are left with ... just people around you... Does that mean you are past your time ?  Is it just time to leave now ? Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work.  Someone would leave. Someone always leaves.  Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes.  I know what I need. I need more hellos. ~ Charles M Schulz

Thanks to the fantastic weather outside, I decided to go on a drive - windows rolled down, with cool breeze playing with my hair... I was beginning to travel into a different world..... till a blaring horn brought me back to the noisy roads of Delhi. I concluded that it was no longer possible to enjoy the weather by driving through the city, as there would always be some moron ready to honk you back to reality ! Please use the horn only when it is absolutely necessary or is a matter of life and death. No point being so noisy anyway !!

We seem to be a generation living in absolute contrasts. Most of us seem to be living our lives online, constantly "posting" every trivial thing we do on social network, be it facebook, instagram, linkedin, yet we fail to live the moment passing us by. Ironically, what we should try to discuss and debate are the exact thoughts we seem to carefully guard. It is as if we like the walls we build. Life would be so much easier if we weren't caged in the walls we built.

Magnanimity doesn't have a defined form. Or lets just say that one can encounter it in any shape and size, in any place... especially where one least expects it. Recently, a colleague narrated a similar story about the Assam Riots of 2012 , due to which many were rendered homeless and often, orphaned. But that's not why I have been in awe ever since. This absolutely inconspicuous colleague (also from Assam) told me how his room mate (whom he calls his brother) lost his parents in these riots when he was a teenager... How he saw his family being burnt alive with his own eyes. The surprising part is that he, as if he was stating the obvious, mentioned that this boy has been with him ever since, and he is now his guardian, and ensures his well being, both mental and physical. He is ensuring that he studies well (proudly admitting that he recently topped his class in DU) and he has already started preparing for IAS. Why I am even more in awe is because the supposed guardian ...

All of us chose our battles to fight. It could be about participation, breaking free, self assertion or just stating your mind. And more often than not, it all starts with small steps. Stating facts, setting examples and then sighting them, to make it seem normal, till it becomes the new normal. Gilette's ad on breaking stereotypes is one such example.

There are moments of doubt we all feel... second thoughts about what to do... There are instants of anger... and often, long spaces of regret... We move along all these emotions, almost daily... Live, to Die another day.... The following lines give good meaning, to going on.. There are stars  you haven't seen  and loves you haven't loved.  There's light you haven't felt  and sunrises yet to dawn.  There are dreams  you haven't dreamt  and days you haven't lived  and nights you won't forget  and flowers yet to grow.  There is more to you  that you have yet to  know. ~ Gaby Comprés

All of us like indulging in political commentary.  Primarily about the Prime Minister. Some of us, the MLA for the constituency. Often uninformed. Sometimes substantiated by media reports. Opinion mostly formed by random discussions in groups of equally uninformed people. This is how a majority of the 'educated' seem to vote. The other end of the spectrum are the supposedly 'uneducated', who not only know who their local MLAs & MPs are, but will easily be able to list of out what they have done for their constituency, and whether there has been any material difference. The easiest way to test this is to talk to the cab drivers, house helps etc, who will be able to confirm the same. So when an middle class family member grudgingly states that there has been insignificant change in their lives for the new MLA, it is because this set doesn't need to be appeased through action. All it takes is words. Anyway, for those who want to make a slightly more informed...

All of us are doing multiple things at a time... Various responsibilities... a list of pending chores...  A long list of confused thoughts and a longer list of woes.. As we walk through life, we get used to juggling everything... precariously keeping balance.... living it to the edge....and focusing our energies on keeping it together... So what happens if we just drop a ball... does all hell break lose...  Most of us aren't conditioned to handle this momentary chaos !

What happens when the blocks you setup, the ones you depend on, start tumbling down. Initially the loose and frail ones, but ultimately even the firms ones start to disappear. Is it a sign of age ? Or is it merely a sign for change ? Or maybe both seem to have suddenly coincided. What is the right response to such a situation, because it is tough to sustain numbing your way through this turmoil. Being patient might appear to be a good strategy in some instances and might feel like living in fool's paradise other times. There seems to be limited clarity on what can be done. However, it is clear that once the dust settles, and the tumbling stops, resulting in lesser stumbling, what remains will stay.... hopefully for good.

Everyone (Households and Corporates included) seem to have suddenly taken this appreciation to celebrating Women's Day. Different aspects of equality including load sharing to gender equality seem to be touched on during the discussion and advertisements of the day. I often wonder if celebrating such a day is energy misdirected.. afterall equality and equal rights is not just a celebration for a day. It is something to be understood and absorbed. Needless to say, the trending 'feminist' views seem to push it to the next level..  Somehow, all of sudden, being confident as a woman seems to be equated to no need for marriage... being aware of our rights has translated into sessions about environment in workplace... all of it being discussed with and amongst women. When did being okay with being single become a feminist stand. I'd have understood if the narrative was that marriage is not only about getting someone to manage the house and kids but someone who...