Random talk

Have you been insulted and complimented at the same time?

Something like I really think you are not that attractive but I think you are cool.

How do you react in such situations? Do you care about the former or the later?

I say get a good night sleep and just let things fall in place or well cry your heart out and just think how you died for like full two minutes and decide to walk away.

Finals are coming so I can't really write more. Take care.

P.S. Food for thought..did you know that if you say colourful, your lip movement may be read as 'I love you' (source: a fifth grader)

You can be anybody you want!

I hated finance, now I don't. I could not see myself drowned in numbers but now, it can be safe to say I  have started enjoying it. In every interview, I sat for, they asked me what interests me more. I always said 'Marketing'. What am I going to do on May 7?

I am going to join as A Management Trainee in HDFC Bank in the working capital division of Business Banking.(quite a mouthful, right?)

Why would we want to be the same person year after year? One of my tshirt comments at the last day of college was 'don't change'. I personally do not believe in the concept. I am the kind of person who at a new year night would like to think how I changed in the year and 'how awesome I became'.

When we were children, we could be anybody. It was the kick of hormones and a sense of embarrassment which stopped us but then my question is why should we learn from other people's mistakes? Let's make our own.

You know what I want to do. I want to get a ticket of a place I have not heard of or well get off a random station on a train journey. 

I want to change my look every three months to the extent that I don't want to resemble my Photograph on my ID. Every morning, we should be shocked by our reflection. 

Explore!

I want to learn at least 5 languages fluently. You ask me for a reason? I would say because I want to 'be born' everyday. Just like a baby who learns to babble and then gets fluent in a language.

I also want to forgive and forget like a river which cleans the dirtiest and doesn't really gets dirty itself;a river which throws all the clutter in the ocean and purifies itself. 

I don't say forget yourself. There is a thin line between somebody new and faking it all. If you ask me, I would rather become a 'good, new me' then an already jaded 'somebody else'. Something like wearing a denim of 'flying machine' rather than a second copy of 'fcuk'. If you are trying to be somebody new, be classy about it, otherwise count it as an experience and get made fun off with friends who actually give a damn about you.

Life is beautiful and short, so let's be born everyday!

Tc

A love story..

"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"

Today somebody died. She was the sister of my grand father, probably one of the persons who had known him the most who was alive till yesterday.

She used to come almost everyday for tea at our place. She probably wanted to spend her some time in our house, a house built by her only brother. Her story begins much earlier. Born in a humble family, she aspired to become an educated lady. If looks could kill, she was a dynamite.

She studied MA English and became a lecturer in a girls college. She wanted to be successful,an ambitious woman. An educated and a smart woman with beauty at her side , is a lethal combination. It not only gave her confidence but an appeal which could have made the straightest of trees bend. She helped everybody who came to her. She inspired a friendship within people. She was with everybody yet always a leader, a support of her friends.

One day she met him. He was an advocate, a rich man of generations. He was well respected and his opponents felt their knees weaken just by the mention of his name. He was everything a girl inspired in a man. He was a gentleman. He was orthodox. He had earned his reputation of one of the greatest men by his own merit in his twenty year career. The only problem was that he was already married. 

The first day she met him, she did not swoon. She looked at him in his eye and asked him to behave better. He found her endearing. She found him irresistible. The first meeting became a series of meetings. 

He left his wife. She was tagged as the 'other woman'. When she married him, she became the 'gold digger'. Her family resisted, yet they understood later. She then became the principal of colleges and probably one of the most respected women of the city.

She had his children later. He died his natural death. She was younger than most of his friend's widows. She lived on, sparkling in her glory. 

She started visiting our house more frequently since the last few years. She would look at her brother's photograph in our drawing room and cry. She had no memory of the recent past yet had a crystal clear memory of what happened a two decades ago. 

I met her yesterday. She died today. 

I was not close to her, yet her death makes me remember her words which she had once told me,"They may call me a 'gold digger' but I was irrevocably in love with him. I see myself in you. Don't settle for what the world hands you. Fight for you want and choose your own regrets".

I like to believe that she went to a special place where he was waiting for her. After all, an era of hers cannot end without a happy ending for she never settled what the world handed her.

Jhadhu(broom), hi 5 or a lotus..your choice?

The election times have come.

This time  I feel more empowered than ever before. I want to vote, choose a better government. I want to become a participant. I don't want to sit in the corner like my elders do and say that nothing will move here.

I am from Chandigarh. I do not keep an active interest in politics, but I don't want to sit behind and say that politicians buy votes and do what they have to do. I want to vote, even if a different party comes in power. I want the right to discus and debate. 

So I ponder. Gul Panag(AAP), Kirron Kher(BJP),  and Pawan Kumar Bansal (congress) are fighting for election here. ( I have just alphabetically mentioned the names of the candidates)

Well, so far I can tell you that Gul and Kirron are free of any criminal charges whereas Bansal,despite no charge sheet been filed, has been earlier convicted for the Railgate escapade.

While Kirron declared her assets to the tune of Rs 23.88 crore, Gul showed her assets amounting to Rs 5.5 crore. Gul has liability in the shape of loans amounting to Rs 21 lakh.

Bansal along with his wife has assets worth 7.7 crore . 

So in the terms of assets Gul Panag has the lowest amount of assets and Kirron the highest.

Gul and kirron are both first time candidates and Bansal has been a seasoned politician. If he wins this will be his fourth term at a stretch. Frankly, Bansal's  work is worth mentioning. He has helped the power issue and has brought more organisation. There is a 24x7 power service departments. There is an intimation of power breaks if any. We have e-Governance cells called Sampark all around. The chandigarh election commission have started working. Bansal is amongst  a common man here. The only blot is his rail gate scandal.

All of them are graduates from Panjab University. It strikes a personal chord with me because pretty soon,I will be one of the graduates from PU.(does that make my entry into politics a possibility?)

Gul and Kirron, apart from their dimples are both known for their elegance, with the former being a beauty queen and the latter being a theatre stunner. Bansal, whereas has more wrinkles. He is a smart old man and makes you feel like talking to a veteran who is always smiling and knows what it takes. He gives you a feeling of the 'uncle who goes to the office every day and does his work in the office'. He would probably come back and watch the news and would probably give every youngster who comes across him a lecture on 'good Heath' and 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of lectures.( now that I am thinking, wasn't it Bansal's tenure in which the culture is Pubbing and Clubbing in the city is getting so popular? Ironic)

As a citizen I will always be in two minds whether kirron is in Mumbai for judging her reality show. Gul would probably be somewhere acting in a parallel cinema film. Pawan would be in the office or talking health benefits with passer bys. 

It's a tough call. Can we punish peopl for their lack of experience? That's way no new comer would ever stand for elections? Can the angst and guts shown by kirron while running away to become an actress be ignored? Can Gul Panag's confident and determined smile to change the world be ignored? Can Bansal's consistence to improve our city be left aside in front of his rail gate scam?

This is our time to decide and What a decision we have to make! This has our and our next generation's destiny involved. May the best candidate win!

Dream of Paradise!

The Bing dictionary defines "Paradise" as

1. place or state of perfect happiness: a place, situation, or condition in which somebody finds perfect happiness
2. heaven: in some religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, the place where good people are believed to go after death, or the state they are believed to attain after death
3. Garden of Eden: in the Bible, the perfect garden where Adam and Eve were placed at the Creation

I like the first definition better. I think I would have more control on it but then nothing is perfect. Even, the perfect rose has its thorns. Who knows, who gave it those thorns. Probably some animal might have gotten attracted to the rose and tried to pluck it. To safeguard her self interests, she grew thorns, a self defense mechanism to keep the poets away.

Coldplay got it right when it sang the song "Paradise". It has perfect lyrics, music and vocals.

I am looking for that paradise. What should I do?

Actually its a new runway. Lets run away and never look back, till we find paradise.! 

No nomad stays!

Sometimes the pain of being alive makes you wants to do things you donot want to do.

But why is that my pain making me feel alive today?

You donot know me and if you think you do, I don't want to know you. 

It is not that I want to hide. I don't want to be empty. 

They say the glass is never empty. It is always filled with air. It is all about perspective. 

What if the positive perspective of being alive is just one big lie? What if there is no hope?

When I was a kid, I read the story of Pandora whose curiosity made her open the box of everything disdainful and horrible. After crying a lot, she found some relief when the Fairy of Hope came. Where there will be despair, there will be hope.

What if that hope has been crumbled and it's only the horrible things which are making you feel alive?

It's ironic. I am sitting in my room with all my hair being messy hoping for the pain to engulf me. 

I can hear every sound. I can hear the birds tweeting somewhere. I can hear an automobile moving on the roads outside. I can hear the clock tick every second. I can hear myself inhale in air and giving it all out. I can hear some stray dog bark somewhere.

I have nothing going on in my head. It's complete silence there, yet very peaceful. It is as if I am waiting on a train station of Solan waiting to board the train for somewhere, yet I don't want to leave as yet. 

You can always come back here. This is home, he said. 

Every traveller must leave. No nomad can stay, he does not understand.

Till then, let's wait for the train together till we board our own trains.

Don't worry! Be happy

They say happiness is a state of mind.

Amongst the number of people I have interacted with, nobody wants to be sad and depressed.

We’ve all known that one person who is always happy, even while going through the worst phases of life. 

Everybody has a different way of being happy. Some smoke their lives, some do photography, some travel, some make trolls of people they work with(if you are in my class, you know what I am talking about),some shop till they drop.

I just thought and borrowed a couple of ways by which being happy can become a habit.

1. Appreciate Life

My corporate governance teacher's mantra of life is that be thankful that you woke up alive each morning. There should be a sense of wonder towards life. Make the most of each day. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Coming to the class and getting marked for your presence is just a way people survive,not live. Question everything. Curiosity kills the cat but doesn't stop her to get a thrill.

2. Choose Friends Wisely

My closest friends have probably the highest self esteems. By surrounding yourself with happy, positive people who share your values and goals, you make your life worth living. Those Friends that have the same ethics as you ,will encourage you to achieve your dreams. They help you to feel good about yourself. They are there to lend a helping hand when needed.(plus they accompany you to the newest eating spots and share the experiences..even if it's unhealthy)( yes,Richa and Ankita,I am talking about you both and Sahil too)

3. Be Considerate

This is something which Gurravi and Richa think. We should accept and respect others for who they are as well as where they are in life.. Touch their hearts with a kind and generous spirit. Help when you are able, without trying to change the other person. Try to brighten the day of everyone you come into contact with.

4. Learn Till you die

Find a hobby. We must try new and daring things that has sparked our interest. It can be anything such as dancing, skiing, learning music,reading or even bungee jumping.

5. Don't pity yourself

Don’t wallow in self-pity. As soon as you face a challenge ,get busy finding a solution. Don’t let the set backs affect your mood, instead see each new obstacle you face as an opportunity to make a positive change. Learn to trust your gut instincts – it’s almost always right. This is borrowed from my mom who believes let's not dwell on problems,let's find solutions.

6. Do What Thy Love

Can you imagine a finance guy developing a advertising idea or a marketing guy taking capital budgeting decisions? Everybody is not an all rounder like Farhan Akhtar who can act,sing,write,direct,produce,make music and dance at the same time. 

Some statistics show that 80% of people dislike their jobs! No wonder there’s so many unhappy people running around. We spend a great deal of our life working. Choose a career that you enjoy – the extra money of a job you detest isn’t worth it. Make time to enjoy your hobbies and pursue special interests.

7. Enjoy Life

Take the time to see the beauty around you. There’s more to life than work. Take time to smell the roses, watch a sunset or sunrise with a loved one, take a walk along the seashore, hike in the woods etc. Learn to live in the present moment and cherish it. Don’t live in the past or the future. Sit in a car with your friend and listen to groovy songs on the radio and see people walk by.

8. Laugh

Don’t take yourself  or life to seriously. You can find humor in just about any situation. Laugh at yourself. No one’s perfect. When appropriate laugh and make light of the circumstances. (Naturally there are times that you should be serious as it would be improper to laugh). Most of my class mates are really good at this.

9. Forgive

Holding a grudge will hurt no one but you. Forgive others for your own peace of mind. When you make a mistake – own up to it – learn from it – and FORGIVE yourself. This is my best friend Ishani telling me while watching how I met your mother when robin starts dating Barney.

10. Gratitude

Develop an attitude of gratitude. Count your blessings; All of them – even the things that seem trivial. Be grateful for your home, your work and most importantly your family and friends. Take the time to tell them that you are happy they are in your life. 

11. Invest in Relationships

Always make sure your loved ones know you love them even in times of conflict. Nurture and grow your relationships with your family and friends by making the time to spend with them. Don’t break your promises to them. Be supportive. Direct quote from mom.

12. Keep Their Word

Honesty is the best policy. Every action and decision you make should be based on honesty. Be honest with yourself and with your loved ones. Sometimes people will call you names. Let them. It is only possible for them to make you feel small unless you allow them.

13. Meditate

Meditation gives your very active brain a rest. When it’s rested you will have more energy and function at a higher level. Types of meditation include yoga, hypnosis, relaxation tapes, affirmations, visualization or just sitting in complete silence. Find something you enjoy and make the time to practice daily. I tend to have a virtual sleep phase everyday where I don't literally sleep but I am actually sleeping.

14. Mind Their Own Business

Concentrate on creating your life the way you want it. Take care of you and your family. Don’t get overly concerned with what other people are doing or saying. Don’t get caught up with gossip or name calling. Don’t judge. Everyone has a right to live their own life the way they want to – including you. So the next time, somebody tells you that you are living the wrong way, smile and just start talking about bjp, congress and aap. It will distract them and anybody can comment on them.

15. Optimism

See the glass as half full. Find the positive side of any given situation. It’s there – even though it may be hard to find. Know that everything happens for a reason, even though you may never know what the reason is. Steer clear of negative thoughts. If a negative thought creeps in – replace it with a positive thought. The number of people who say this are Ankur, Gurrav, Tapsi, Sahil, Richa, Ankita, etc etc etc. 

16. Love Unconditionally

Accept others for who they are. You don’t put limitations on your love. Even though you may not always like the actions of your loved ones – you continue to love them. This is what has been taught by all the classic writers.

17. Persistence

Never give up. Face each new challenge with the attitude that it will bring you one step closer to your goal. You will never fail, as long as you never give up. Focus on what you want, learn the required skills, make a plan to succeed and take action. We are always happiest while pursuing something of value to us.This is what dad says.

18. Be Proactive

The word 'proactive' has been used by my mom since I was in school. One day, I just asked what she meant by it. Trust me, till my sixth semester of Engineering, I had no idea what she meant by 'being proactive'.

This is what she told me. Accept what can not be changed. Happy people don’t waste energy on circumstances beyond their control. Accept your limitations as a human being. Determine how you can take control by creating the outcome you desire – rather than waiting to respond.This is what my mom says. 

19. Self Care

Take care of your mind, body and health. Get regular medical check ups. Eat healthy and work out. Get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water. Exercise your mind by continually energizing it with interesting and exciting challenges. This point credits to Ankita Bhasin. She works outs everyday you see.

20. Self Confidence

Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. After all no one likes a phony. Determine who you are in the inside – your own personal likes and dislikes. Be confident in who you are. Do the best you can and don’t second guess yourself. My closest friends know who I am talking about here.

21. Take Responsibility

Happy people know and understand that they are 100% responsible for their life. They take responsibility for their moods, attitude, thoughts, feelings, actions and words. They are the first to admit when they’ve made a mistake.har

Begin today by taking responsibility for your happiness. 

Most of all: BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.