True Love…eh…Fairy-tale or a reality?

No matter how far behind I try to leave my childhood yet the little girl within me refuses to accept that there are no “Happily ever Afters”, no such things as “true love” and fairy-tale endings. Why were the fairy-tales invented in the first place? Why are children raised to think that there will ever be a tooth-fairy, a fairy god-mother or a ‘Prince Charming'. This question lingers on in the mind of the grown-up within me. I wish I had a clearer answer.

Watching the movie Enchanted with my young cousin I could not resist the happiness and joy on her face. I was blown away into the world where true love was the ultimate happiness. It surely existed. Little cousin innocently asked me, "How did Giselle know Robert was her true love?" I wish I could give her a fair answer, since her big sister is as clueless as she is.

So what is the definition of this idea promoted and worshiped by the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Snow-white, Sleeping Beauty and this new love-struck Giselle of Enchanted. I wish I knew…yet I continue to fall for it and tell myself, this is indeed a reality and it will happen sooner or later. What if it does happen but what is the guarantee that it will turn into a happily ever after?

There is nothing set in stone. Life is unpredictable. This doesn’t happen in real life. However, we still watch these fairy-tale movies and narrate them to the kids. Why? Since it cannot happen for real, so there should be a fabricated creation where we can project our unfulfilled dreams and desires. Despite of knowing the harsh truth behind these magically beautiful tales, I still cry and smile at the same time watching the Little Mermaid.

The little girl says it will come true. As a grown-up I pray that her beliefs remain intact and this does turn into a reality some time…somewhere… I begin to wonder,

“humari filmo ki tarah humari zindagi main bhi end tak sab theek hi ho jata hai, happys ending. Aur agar theek na ho, to woh the end nahin, picture abhi baaki hai!”

Another fabled concept “ kehte hain kissi cheez ko dil se chaho to poori quayanat tumko usse milane ki koshish main lag jaati hai”.

All this leaves me utterly confused. I want to live in the bliss of ignorance, in the hope that this is indeed coming true sooner or later....“umeed par to duniya kayam hai”…

Having read this you must be thinking she is lost somewhere between growing up and being a child. Sure enough as much as it seems true, the reality is, this state of ignorance is a sure bliss. So all you fairy-tale makers bring it on!

Remix - What is love?

Simply in love with this song for the beats...the remix has enhanced the beats and pumped up the tempo quite well....so ready for a jig ppl?

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Count your blessings

Sometimes we are just blessed with some people whose presence in our lives can make a whole lot of difference.
Today was a an awesome day. Everything was going just fine until I reached my univ only to find out that there were a ton of deadlines to meet. I was not flustered AT ALL. But as I saw the gravity of the situation, my poise went all haywire and ended up being so annoyed at littlest of things possible. To top this was the incessant rains that drenched me despite my large umbrella. Sneakers soaked with water....itchy socks and my good hair day turned into a nightmarish bad hair-day. I managed to regroup my energy and decided to stay put and think of a solution.

The clock kept ticking yet no sign of the solution (read as my professors). No one seemed to be on campus to help resolve my problems..

So I headed home...I receive a call from my buddy.. I related the entire episode....sulked more and finally gave up on it....She was headed south. All she told me was, "I will be there in 10mins and be ready. You are coming with me for the Salsa lesson."

Lazy to the core as I am, I said an outright no. But there is no stopping her. 10mins sure it was and she was outside my apartment to pick me. Sure enough I was ready and kept complaining about the unnecessary things all the way to the class.

Boy am I glad I went for it. Just as much as I love to dance, Salsa class was the much needed break that worked best for me to put my mind off of so many issues flooding my mind.

So that's why I said how blessed you could be with some people who just brighten the day by being around you. I am truly happy to have her among a select other few, whose presence makes life even more wonderful !

My combat with locks and keys

Here is a story of what happens when you lock your brain and throw its key into the lake and start playing with simple things like locks and keys.

Lets see...how difficult is it to take out mail from your mailbox that opens with a key?
Doesn't sound that difficult eh?? But here I am..I put the key into the key-hole. Take my mail out, which ain't a happy experience. All you get is bills. Alright, step 2 done.

Step 3: Close the door and turn the key.
Result: The key turns BUT it refuses to come out of the key-hole.

Being left-handed, I thought, oh I might not be turning it right with the Right hand...Let's switch hands. I did.
Now the key turns vertically, then clockwise and now anti-clockwise...How about along the Z axis ? Noway! It likes the 2-dimensional plane.
Now I place the mail on the top of the mailbox. With one palm on the door, I push the door in and the key out. Results in the negative.
All kinds of sounds emanate from the metal mailbox. Seems like am breaking into someone's mailbox. Why would I do that? I have enough my own bills to pay. I don't want anyone else's bill.

A neighbor passes by. Gives me a sweet smile and doesn't even ask - May I help you? I Smile back with a BIG forced on grin.. Oh am totally fine kinda looks surface on my visage dotted with drops of sweat across my forehead.

Ok, enough of fighting with the key, I decided to return to my apartment, make dinner and watch TV. I cook, eat and watch TV at a speed unknown to me. My key is still in the lock...Damn who would bother at this hour in the night. What if someone knocks my door at an excuse and tries to kill me. How can a small key send a fury of baseless thoughts pass my head.

Oh am loving Seinfeld..yet that KEY...
So after a good one hour break, I return to the battlefield. All cooled down after being in the AC. THe fuel replenished in my system with the good dinner. Time to fight back. Not giving up runs in my blood..I could no way give up on this darn key.

So here I am again at the mailbox. I turn it clockwise, then anti-clockwise...no that doesn't work, lets try clockwise again and now outwards. No luck with one hand.

Let try both hands. Ok one hand on the door, now pull it out with the other. With half my body turned into forcefuly pushing the door in and other pulling the key out - it was a classic scene of a kid's hand stuck inside jar full of candies and trying to get the hand out with the fist-full of candies.

ok...it was only 5mins and it felt like 30. shoulders drooping, me muttering to myself nad talking to the mailbox. Still no luck!

So finally Miss Never Give up, Gives UP and QUITS.

Come next day...I draw the mail from the open mailbox with the key still in it. I wonder what the Mail man thought about the key.
Forget the key now, it's a nice relaxing evening. I just finished watching some more crap on TV.
Time to go to bed. But how can i do that until I dutifully check my Orkut and emails before hitting the sack. So I make myself comfortable on my bed, open my notebook and wait for the super slow OS to power up.
And where do my eyes fall upon. This brand new Notebook lock, that I had for 2 years and nevr used it.. Aha, lets see how it works.
"Oh I see this little notch on the side of the notebook.", I say to myself. "Let me see if this T shaped end to the lock fits in there" Damn it did. Good gracious, this is cool. Why hadn't I tried before. It clicks and sets Right In.

But what, how does it come out...Once again, in half my sleep, didn't bother to even look at the no. combination it was at before I turned the rings in all possible directions trying to get it out.
Wow...Once again I would say, I love to "create" work for myself.

Don't I have enough already on my plate. Great. So what if I have a lock suspended from the side of my notebook. Who cares, who notices?

enough of fighting with them..I need a break...I need another vacation already....hehe

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”

Uncertainties….oh well… ain’t life full of it? Would life be much easier if we knew what was coming our way? But then where will all the excitement be if we knew all the time what’s up next. It would be dull and mundane being already aware of when you wake up every morning what the coming day has in store for you.

I guess that’s why people say – Life surprises us all the time!

Well we do have control of the events in our daily life to the extent of our work schedules, attending meetings, classes, taking kids to school blah blah….but what happens when bigger decisions have to be made. Say I wanna switch jobs, relocate, go for higher studies or find a job, marry and settle down and the list continues?

As far as I have lived my life, there is one thing I have learned – no matter how much you plan out your life, things quite the contrary happen almost all the time. Then you begin to wonder, did I ever want this? Nevertheless it has happened so let’s deal with it. And so you go on with each day…until one fine day you sit down with yourself and reminisce - did it all happen for a good reason? May be or may be not! On what basis do I decide, there will be many variables and conditions…

R. I. Fitzhenry has aptly summarized that the very essence of an eventful life is its property to be filled with many uncertainties.

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”

On this note I might add that may be at the end of the day, we could probably take a pick for ourselves to see the glass as half full or half empty.

Lucknow - The City of Nawabs and Kababs!

Lucknow ki Shaan main kuch lawz. Arz kiya hai

WAH WAH Lucknow!
Woh Hazratganz ka sama,woh Chowk ki chaat
Woh Mini Mahal ki ice cream,Wah usme thi kuch baat
Woh Ram Asrey ki mithai,woh Madhur Milan ka dosa,
Woh Marksmen ki pavbhaji aur Sharma ka samosa.
Woh rikshaw ka saffer,woh Nimbu Park ki hawa,
Woh Buddha Park ki raunak aur Dilkusha ka sama.
Woh January ki kadake ki sardi, woh baarishon ke mahiney,
Woh garmi ki chuttiyan,jab chute they पसीने पसीने
Woh holi ki masti,woh doston ki toli,
Woh Janpath ka mahol,woh Gomti ki leheren,
Woh BoatClub ka nazara,Wah uske kya kehene.
Woh Novelty ki balcony aur woh Bajpayee ki pooriyan
Woh Aryan ka Chinese,woh Roverse ka styl
Woh school ki life aur woh College ki Zindagi,
Woh Polytechnic ka rasta aur woh Canteen ki patties,
Woh Bhootnath ki market,wo highway ke dhabe
Wo Puraniya chauraha,wo Charbagh station
Itna sab keh diya par dil kehta hai aur bhi kuch kahoon
Wo shehar hain mera, jiska naam hai LUCKNOW

Disclaimer: This is not my composition. I found it in one of the many forwards I received. Couldn't help posting is since it beautifully summarises and reminisces the good old times of our very own Lucknow!

Run Shalini Run....!!!!

This question has time and again flooded my mind. I am yet to find answers to it. It has been asked several times before too. So it’s nothing new that I am questioning. It is human nature to question. Had he not questioned we would not be flying over vast stretches of water, exploring the universe and discovering means to cure the once incurable diseases.

So today I ask myself where am I? What am I doing here? Is it worthwhile to run after something we ‘think’ we know what and where it is? But the reality is man wants to keep going after one thing or the other. He/she might live under the disbelief that they need to work harder to achieve more. Has there ever been a time when I might have told myself, well enough of trudging or sprinting, let’s slow down and smell the roses. Never!

Goal-oriented as we might label ourselves. At every stage in life we have different goals. As a child you wanted to be the best athlete in your school or be the topper of your class. Some wanted to be a dance performer or a singer when they grew up. With change in time priorities and goals change. What doesn’t change is man’s quest for achieving more! I do not say that is wrong. It is absolutely important as the quest to do better lies at the core of the growth and success of a person.

What I fail to understand is when will this quest ever end? How much more successful do you want to be? I want to be finish school and live upto my parents’ expectations. So I work harder each day and hope I can do better the next day as well. I keep upto speed with all the things going around me, taking care of errands, responsibilities and chores. I also do not fail to take time out for friends and my dear ones. Even if it takes two minutes of my busy schedule to speak to them over the phone or a line of email, I would do that. Yet at the end of the day, there remains a void. What is that I am missing? I come home to an empty house everyday, that which I call “home”. I strive to do better so that I can go home, the real home to my parents and siblings. How justified is this strife to keep running when what matters to you most is far away from you? I look for warmth and love around me. Is there any? Well yes if you are one lucky bum, you have the love and care of your friends. Yet there is a void unfilled!

Every morning I muster all courage within me and start another day. Another run after something known, oh well unknown! Call me a lil thinker. I wouldn’t disagree. Yet my questions remain unanswered. I hope I don’t turn into a philosopher anytime soon!

So I end it on this note –

But I have promises to keep,

And Miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep!

Is there love in the air?

Love can’t be as complex as it seems. I am moved to think about it this Valentine’s Day. I would have never given it such a serious thought as I am giving it today had I not discussed it lately with someone many lengths. I was surprised to find out how much thought I had already put into it and never realized it.

So, as the Valentine’s Day approaches there is a sudden whorl of euphoria in which everyone is caught up. Commercialized to the power of infinity as is this day, the euphoria seems to increase exponentially as the day nears. (Well does that jargon suggest I am an Engineer? We can’t help but analyze everything mathematically) Pink is the color! Hearts float all around. The love bug seems to have bitten the majority of the populace. People seek out for their girlfriend/boyfriend to spend the day with them and make it a special memory for their partner.

In this sudden surge to find the “one” and in this age of commercialization, the essence of the day seems to have been lost along the way. Some people just want to celebrate it for the heck of a date and to keep up the hype and be one of the crowd. Everyone is celebrating so why not ME? But do you wonder ever why we need to celebrate today?

So what is love? Why do we need one special day to remind everyone about it? Aren’t there other 364 days to express your-self? Why does the clichéd question – “So what’s your plan for V-day?” is thrown over and over again as if it’s Diwali, Holi, Christmas or your Birthday? All I do is smile and wonder.

Let’s try to analyze the many facets and sides to this emotion. Love is what bonds a family together, that’s what you share with your parents and siblings. It is that the friends shower on you. The care they show for you is also a form of love. (or is it just care? Or they care because they love? ) It is also the feeling that binds you to your spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend. But the inherent question is still unanswered, what is this feeling? Why the latter form of it is so much speculated about?

There are singles out there that are still waiting to find someone or are consciously looking around to find their love. Many of them would like to go with the flow and are prepared to meet someone, know them and just fall in love. There are some who just want to have fun and have short-term relationship and have a good time and move on. There is also a certain subset that loves to be loved, but unfortunately they can’t find anyone to love them. These people fall in love easily only to realize that it was just a dream they were living, it wasn’t love or may be it was. So move on!

For many there are certain criteria to which their guy/girl must fit into. But the golden question is – Will you be lucky enough to find someone that will fit perfectly into that? Well some will say I will wait till I find that One. (So the next pressing issue will be - for how long do you plan to wait??) Others say, there HAS to be someone like that and I am determined to find them. The methodology adopted could be questionable too while looking around (they want to just look at the guy/girl and make presumptions. Why can’t they give them a chance and try to know them better?)

At the same time some people fail to look beyond the looking, finding and waiting to see that there might be someone already madly in love with them right under their nose. The expectations sort of blind them to the care and love they might already be receiving from someone. This is human nature. We look far beyond and not around us. Humans are futuristic aren’t they? Sometimes we need to get practical and appreciate what we already have than to just keeping exploring more options. While we look away we might be aware of the concern and care from that person and thinking they will be always around, take them for granted. In this taking for granted, always being there attitude they might loose them along the way.

So the nature of love is open to and subjected to many interpretations. This is just a small portion of it that stormed my head and I was forced to pen it down. The large number of books, articles floating around especially today regarding this topic will have heck lot more ideas. Those of you who would read this might agree or disagree with me for sure. Everyone has opinions and that is why we are individuals.

So keep the love flowing and never stop yourself from expressing your love either in actions or words. It doesn’t matter. What matters are your feelings! To those it will matter will be the “One”.

Cheers and smile it’s Valentine’s Day!