Lost

Have you ever felt like a mice running around a maze frantically eager to reach its destination?Or have you enjoyed roaming around without any idea of the route?
Well, being lost in an unknown city is fun, especially if you have enough money to catch an auto or a gps enabled phone :P
Yeah satellites have become a boon, showing the way ahead, literally!
But one warning: don't stumble while checking out your location on the phone and walking simultaneously !

One step at a time takes you ahead , but where to?
Where do you want to go?
And where might that place be?
To your left is somebody's right,
So you feel it ain't right..
Asking the address
might not give you redress
For if you don't know the streets and their names
its just very lame.
But don't you worry,
you won't be sorry,
if you have what it takes to cross oceans or beyond
without going round and round.
By 'it' I mean the god sent signals
to your hand held device,
always follow its advice :)  

Those hours

It doesn't stop,does it? Oh,what on earth could stop it? Staring at the blackboard doesn't work; gazing out of the window doesn't work either.Counting the hair on the head of the person sitting in front of you, is another bad idea...May be sheep would do a better job. But how do you count sheeps with your eyes open? May be taking notes would help, but believe me you can find the world's weirdest handwriting on my book, it looks like chinglish :P ... May be messaging can stop the inevitable. But ahoy, can't waste the precious messages: only 100 a day :( May be reading a novel would help, but don't you think the prof can differentiate a novel and a book?
So I succumb. I bow down to the power of sleep and enter the nether worlds.Just then I am woken up by the prof who asks me , "Would you like some tea? " ...Haha as if I would refuse... I say sorry and sit down.
What was I sorry for?May be for not being able to interpret what he wants to say in the class between his oks and ahems. And there I sit, staring wide and trying to prevent IT again!! Does it ever realise how much embarrassment it has caused me? But it still returns like a true love :P ? What follows is history ...or may be just boring routine.The good bell ringing is most of the times a saviour. The Dream world beckons only during lectures otherwise its as fresh as if I swam in a fresh lake, even just after the prof exits.
I ll always wonder what is the mystery of this!!

When flab becomes fad....

Well while an increased waistline seems to be a nightmare for many; here's the good news: looking at the recent trends says it may not be so bad to be on the slightly chubbier side...Look at Vidya balan in the Dirty picture :P ...Or better yet look at those guys drooling over her... well ahem...
Even otherwise I've wondered when did the obsession with size zero or almost zero start among normal people (well models were eternally doomed to be size zeros and negatives if possible :P) Being fit is never wrong but when did thinner become equivalent to fitter?Well yesteryear's healthy beauties never looked famished...Be it Madhuri Dixit,Madhu Bala or Marilyn Monroe for that matter :P
Does a perfect size have the right to take away the pleasure of gorging on fresh cheese cakes? Can relishing swiss/belgian chocolates ever become a crime ;) ?
But making sure your clothes always fit you ain't wrong either...Btw jeans r meant to last forever, so buy them to your right size :P
Anyways, the silly me will always wonder how does the girl sitting next to me ,in the mess hall, survive on 1 and a half chappathis :) ;)

Riverside

There flows the river and I stand by its side, wondering why it flows, often without a ride;
I look through the waters to see myself clear, but I just see a running image as if I am not here;
Then a voice asks me: Is this what you learnt in the years you lived by?
There is no reason for every single season;
This is mighty nature and the pattern of its life: simple,serene and uncomplicated ....

Diwali

I was excited and  took two steps at a time, hopped, skipped and jumped to reach down...The whole day I heard crackers go bang and boom...But I wanted a visually enticing picture of fireworks.
After dressing up like a doll in my new diwali special dress ;) , I was hyper excited to show it off and to enjoy the festive atmosphere ... I knocked on a few doors on the way and offered sweets with a smile (and without guilt as I had gobbled up quite a few earlier :P)
When I and my sister reached down , all we could see were blurs of sparkles and blasts here and there..Cough..Cough...Survival was more important than fireworks , who could stand in a gas chamber watching flower pots,sur-suris and chakras , while breathing was becoming harder by the minute??!?? I tried taking a few pics but the pics made no sense; they were just smoke! I was happy we refused to buy firecrackers this time atleast we were not a part of this destruction! Are the crackers causing more pollution than earlier or are we getting populated day by day ? All I could think off is the nearing apocalypse :P
Well I shrugged off these depressing thoughts , drank some water and decided to re-ignite the festive spirit inside me! I went to the terrace, perched myself on top of the water tank...Thank god it wasn't much polluted there .... I looked up in the sky to see multicolored rockets zoom here and there amid spurts of color : red, green and an occasional purple!! Well I did realise that nothing can replace these firecrackers, not even virtual ones...But one day of pollution is it justified?Well we have to bear our own crosses....
May be we could all join together get a few crackers and burst them together, light diyas everywhere instead of lighting sparklers.Make sure the roads don't look like a collage of red and white the next day morning by sparing those fatakas!Spend more time eating sweets,dressing up,visiting relatives,friends and enjoying special tv shows...And of course watch others burst those crackers celebrating the death of Narakasur and praying our doomsday is nowhere near like his was!
Now back with the festive spirit,here is a special Diwali gift for my readers :) A few pics...
HAPPY DIWALI....

The purple constellation

                                                           Star struck

The chrysanthemum

Golden rain

When it rains here!!!

A wet view of the hostel I stayed last year

This is where I live  now :P

When I was young I never missed rain, it used to rain heavily at least for 3 months per year in Mumbai.
But today, when I think of the beautiful memories associated with the rainy season I can't stop smiling...
Wearing sloppy rainy chappals to school was                         considered trendy..We used check out rainy season footwear at Bata every year before school began in June and the process was always exciting :)...


I and my sister used to run wearing raincoats, shouting behind the school  bus cause we were always late :P
A hot cup of coffee in the rain is an eternal bliss....
The smell of wet mud reminds us of nature's sensuous presence !
Sometimes when the rain stops it appears to be more silent than usual, I always miss the sound of rain splashing over my windows...

 

Yeah, U guessed it right! Raindrops :)

Bliss

Plants and trees look fresher and younger in rain.... Infact everybody looks beautiful in rain, even your grandma ;)

And these pics are a part of my rainy hostel life...It is sad that we can't capture the beautiful breeze in pics :)

 Solitude

Raindrops were round and I never knew it till I captured them in this pic :P !!










Finally a poem on rain:
(pardon me if its silly though :P)

When it rains,
nothing restrains,
nothing pains,
and everything entertains,
this is how life sustains,
wit beauty and food grains :)

An apple today, an idea yesterday...

When someone inspires , they do it without a word, a whisper....May be I can mourn without a sob,a tear....
All it takes me to aim higher up in life is the picture of those who are up there, not physically or in a monetary sense but intellectually, psychologically....Mr.Jobs was one of those pictures and always will be a Monet for me because his masterpiece is my music and his invention is my entertainment, at least for now...
Wise were his words, wiser his actions...Peace...

Good Mornings....

The moist footsteps on marble shine as the sun lights up the house...
The sweet smell of soap and bubbles is replaced with the scent of incense sticks...
Coffee brews on the stove and the day's newspaper ruffles on the table...
As the sumptuous breakfast is laid, I hold up her tender hand, look into her smiling eyes and whisper into her ever listening ears, "What would I do if it weren't for you?"
She ruffles my hair , smiles amusingly and leaves me a wink :)

Moms are always like that aren't they? ;)

The Journey

From a long and sinuous path I turned back looking at the distance I had covered, I couldn't make out from where I had started, may be somewhere behind those hills;but I have even more distance to cover than what I had....By the way, where was I heading???Searching an Oasis,was I?
Well,I always believed that the journey is more valuable than the destination, but now I am confused; I have a lot of options, as many roads diverge from here, which one do I take?Do they all lead to the same place?
And where is my companion?Will it always be this lonely?
'It ain't a cakewalk';many warned me before I started, but I did not heed...Excitement and confidence propelled me ahead.An unexplained momentum keeps me going...It is not a journey for a few days,its a journey for a lifetime....
Those waves, that sand ,the wind that blows,
Those whispers, that voice and friendly hellos,
All gone,far away and today you know,
How it feels, when you miss things as you go,
All that's left is what you make of it,
Decisions that you must take on it,
Dreams that make you live in it,
Think it, Feel it and Make it work,
Try it , Test it and Give it all your worth....

    

Conveniently compromised

Every year we set a few goals, few of them practically achievable, few a bit difficult...But beyond our efforts (or the lack of it) we end up achieving none or hardly some...But we don't stop dreaming nor do we start working!
At this juncture, a realization has dawned upon me slowly but steadily that when we dream, we don't actually aim for it; somewhere behind, deep in our mind we are aware that it is a dream not a desire! So how do we start desiring?
We always knew how to desire for something, right from our childhood days; either while vying for the chocolates in the fridge ;) or while aiming for the coveted class monitor position :P....
Materialistic desires are powered by our conscious mind, they are substantial and can be imagined of.  Dreams may be set high, but our mind doesn't create the required craving for achieving it...
So stop dreaming, start visualizing and keep working!

On a last note I would like to present a poem I wrote;
Dream big, big is good;
But think even bigger,bigger is better;
Dreams live in your head,
But desire lives in the path you tread,
Caution is not a thing to follow,Passion would do the job :):)

Simple thoughts....

Quantify love, a curious child asked her mom...You said that I have to count the pencils in my box every afternoon at school to make sure I have all of them...You said that time was important and should not be wasted, you talk to me in terms of minutes and hours, while I can't remember my last second. You say you love me, I ask you just one thing show me your love, just like you show me the nouns in my english textbook; count your love for me just like you teach me how 2 times 3 is equal to 3 times 2, I want to make sure our equations match, I don't want to love you less than how much you love me.....If I fall short teach me how to increase my love, teach me to love.....I know you would teach me to live, but I want to learn love :)

Things left unsaid...

Every drop of tear, every laughter you hear, every spark in you, makes you feel new....

Every confession made,every promise made, they all just mean that memories don't fade.....

Words are just a part of something bigger, something deeper; while some things are beyond words... 

Sometimes just when you feel happy you may want to cry, have you ever given it a try?

Those lines I'd love to say, but I'm rather scared today,may be I ll find another wordless way or just another day....

 I finish my speech, yet there are things left unsaid ;they were worth the words but beyond their meaning.... 

Let them remain so, they would follow everywhere you go....

Tears

I cry
but my cheeks are dry
May be its my heart crying...
I fear
when nobody is near
May be it takes courage... 
I speak
when I feel weak
May be words heal better...
I mourn
when I lose my own
May be this is how death feels...
I pray
when I want good
May be everyone should....

Pray for everyone who loses a life or a loved one in terrorist activities across the world...
Mumbai can heal...But the scars would remain like everytime...
Its not fear but anger that keeps the mumbaikars determined to fight.My prayers to them...

Simply Pompous :)

As the evening breeze blows of all the dry lawn leaves,it sets forth a rhythm: flowers and plants and huge trees all sway .....to my naive eyes they seems like kindergarden kids nodding to a common rhyme :)
Sometimes being simple might seem difficult but thinking simple is not....So I am on a mision to unlearn what I learn in college - to make things complicated and to look them from a rigid perspective...When I shed this rigid outlook I hope the cocoon falls off to reveal a simple yet beautiful butterfly.When this butterfly emerges in my thoughts it should fly free and hopefully it should influence my thinking :)
Now while I finish writing this I am searching for words to make up a simple poem but all I get are complicated words - all thanks to the GRE ... Hope I understand the simplicity of the language and its flow instead of learning wordlists; but can we escape the system :P ??? So let me unlearn those words and get back to you with a simple and interesting article soon...Bbyee...

Uninvited Joking....

Clairvoyance is not my forte - I cannot interpret the unsaid, so I just make up something to say assuming the unsaid ;) ....
When it comes to intercepting conversations which have nothing to do with me , nor do I have anything to do with it, I take a parallel path! Why not waste a few PJs on a seemingly boring topic and lift up the mood...sometimes this ends up horribly wrong! The task of foreseeing people's reaction to a PJ is a daunting one,not that I care to do it...So the minute I feel let out of a topic I just intervene with a dash of poetic(or otherwise) PJs or add-ons , and thus bask in the conversational glory (or wrath :P) for a few minutes and exit quietly !!!
Seemingly innocuous, this does invite a few glares (especially from strangers in the group :P) and if there are elders conversing you might end up with an advice or two about being serious :P !!! But that is the fun part,right?

My say on this:
When you are ready to Dare,
Why fear a Glare,
You have jokes to Share,
They should be laid Bare,
Don't mind when they Stare,
As if you Care,
Just remember this: You are no Tupperware :P !!!!!!!




P.s (or p.j): The last line does not publicize any product...It is completely intentional to make you realize that you are no 'Plastic' though it might sound drastic....

Omg...me and my poetic tongue :P can babble forever...so to save me from further embarrassment: Bye... :D

Rendezvous with green canopy....

Whats more beautiful than nature? I cherish my rare and precious moments with nature...I have some special pics to share here from my recent rendezvous.....

Foliage perfect 

I am not alone

Filled yet empty

I call it: GOD AND MAN

Order and life

Hazy archives

reflections

Stunning Symmetry

Brooch for the skies

Cotton candy

Filled spaces

Wheres the sun?

pleasant crowd

close and up

Reaching 4 d skies

flippant fragrance

Oh these expressions!!!!

I was never the 'child' attracter....I dnt try entertaining them unnecessarily nor do I stare at them like a zombie, I smile but my smile is usually received with a puzzled and wrinkled eyebrow! Kids confuse me, but adults confuse me even more... :P so basically I'm confused, big deal!
When I m typing this I am also simultaneously trying to figure out my poker faced friend's expression on her fb account profile pic! The things I can never understand- people, their expressions ---both facial and verbal, not the explicit ones but the implicit and inane ones :P For example the smileys I put while writing this, I dont know why I put them , it just pops out of my key strokes ;)
I stare blankly at my mom when she says you are so lazy and blinks ;)  ...Why the blink? was that supposed to be a compliment?Hope not!
I quitely wonder at the stern looks some profs give to the class as soon as they enter-- Are they demanding attention? Are they angry or do they want us to show them regal respect by standing up like kids do in school? If latter is the case, who's being the 'kid' here???
I have a friend who keeps saying 'Damn it'...How can somebody damn anything and everything :P?
 "Oh, these mosquitoes damn it !!!" "Oh these long queues damn it!" damn it damn it and keeping damning it....damn the hostel food,the hot weather, the exams, the warden....etc. such a long list of things to be damned for life, to what???She alone knows....
Usage of expletives comes with free flow to some guys but they just don't know whom they are swearing at :P
Ok verbal expression is boundless!!! But facial expressions are "scene"full as they are normally made to be seen fully by others around!!So lets stop this article with one last word--damn it! ;)

FEAR

"Relish the known
Cherish the borne
Sitting alone

don't fear the unknown.

Fear if you must
fear the things you don't trust
Fear if you must
fear the things you detest.

Don't sit with the rest
Fight!And win the contest.
Don't fear to fight!

Fear if you must
fear those who behest
Fear if you must
fear the eternal quest

Change is a thriving fest
inviting you as a guest.
Don't fear to change!

Fear if you must
fear your inactions
It might add some vigour
and arouse reactions.

Don't fear your past nor your future
Look at your present
And start your your ascent.

Fear if you must
fear your anger
It would make you cool
Use it as a tool.

Fear isn't formidable,
Give it the right chance
Change the world with it,
try and enhance.

Fear of oppression
causes retaliation
Look at the Egyptians,Look at the Libyans,Look at their neighbors revolt
They feared their rulers , but the fear made them act
And surely this would make the oppressors retract!!!

Fear must make you fight
Otherwise it ain't right!!

Fear of exams makes you score

fear of losing makes you win

Find fear and get to its core

Fight it and find whats in store!!!

Fear isn't formidable

Its time you realise 

Use it properly

and it will make you rise!!!!" 

                                                            -Jyoty

And then there was one!

Just like we do for every other major news on paper, we keep reading about corruption and its best buddies- politicians,corporates etc and then we discuss a bit , maybe criticize on Twitter or Facebook.This is followed by some news , some articles and finally we have lots of GD topics to discuss :P
Who would have thought a hunger strike to promote an anti-corruption bill would workout in this reaallllyyy busy country? (Btw busy doing what?:P may be for most people - facebooking,including me ;))
And then one man stood up in a 1.2 billion populated country-Anna Hazare. He must have noticed all the dirt of corruption accumulating in the country's back yard and decided to start cleaning !
Everyday goes by, we meet people and make friends, we create an extended family! But who would have thought of extending ones family to include the country's whole population? One man did and he decided to stop people from stealing within this family.
Somebody asked me yesterday - "What's wrong with corruption?". I asked,"What's wrong with you?"
The counter argument to corruption can never be solid: They say 'Selfishness is a mortal virtue'.
I would like to ask "Why would you want to be just 'mortal' ? Immortality is every soul's desire "
Corruption can never be justified.It is pure evil.And it is rather pointless when it grows to huge proportions.A corrupt person has to be in constant fear of revelation and this fear is similar to the fear of an escaped convict- one has to keep looking over ones shoulders.
When the worlds largest democracy is hit with an epidemic of corruption, all we can do is criticize,inquire and proceed- this is what I thought till yesterday. And then rose a humble man and many have started following his trial!! If an effective anti-corruption act with stringent consequences to be faced by the offenders is passed,may we would start cleaning up a bit! If not a vacuum-cleaner, at least a broom would do a neat enough job to start with :P .
I hope that our nation rises to support this cause and makes the government act with appropriate seriousness!

The cup of joy!!!

I come from a country where brains defeat muscles, thought defeats might!
I always thought of cricket as a game of power and endurance, a display of strength and tolerance!!
So even though I was cheering for team India yesterday, I had this deep fear : How will such an innocent looking team defeat a mighty and powerful looking one(especially looking at Malinga sent chills down my spine :P, its high time he changes that hairstyle) ?
Will it take wonders to do that? 
My fear was baseless, all it took was a cool-nerved captain guiding a spirited team and making smarts moves at the right moments!And another important ingredient of this victory was the temperament of the young players in the team (Gambhir really stood upto his name(brave)).This was'nt a one-time coup for the team, it was the result of well coordinated hard-work match after match , raising their level to brilliant standards!

I have a great deal of respect for Sachin and I wanted the team to win, if not for the 1.2 billion people praying for them atleast for this one man who stood by them and by the game for years together!
And after the victory I was dumbstruck seeing his happiness!!This was the best present he could have got!

Sometimes it gives us great pleasure seeing happy faces all around!

Well if you are ready to read further I'd be happy to relive the experience of watching the world cup match with a 500+ crowd in our hostel lawns.
First of all, you should have seen the expression on the face of our warden, when she realised that its gonna be an out-of-control crowd of girls out there!

the setup

The first innings was a show of good fielding by all and excellent bowling by Zaheer (well his fan base has increased courtesy his new hairstyle and 3 opening maiden overs :P :) )
But the score was big 274, courtesy amazing innings of Jaywardene :) and a few loose balls of Sreesanth :P !!

some nail biting moments

As the crowd built up for the second innings the sky was darkening and the weather was cool and perfect,but the tension of chasing a big score of 274 was hung midair.
Every face in the crowd was painted with the tricolor!!Maybe it takes a game of cricket for our patriotism to spring  out :P!
When Shewag went duck-out the sudden gloominess was evident, the oooohss and the oshitttss were echoing.
Well Sachin was and will always be the crowd's favourite; but when he was caught within the next few overs, all our heartbeats fastened! The world cup ,without the masterblaster at the crease, seemed distant.Well, Gambhir bought it nearer, near enough to feel the heat!If only he had heard us whistling for him!

Every four or six saw girls leap out of the crowd dancing,cheering,hooting and making it a matter of joy!
Malinga became the target of boooers!! All conundrum rose into the night sky!!
After the fall of Kohli, the crowd though surprised with Dhonis entry at 5, hooted and cheered for him!
Well the Ranchi dynamite proved to be a true lifesaver! Every shot of him was admired!
When Gamtam broke his bat the crowd hooted out loud !!
But suddenly alas!! poor Gautam fell short of just 3 runs for a century.
Then came Yuvi- UV ;) (utterly vicious)
And from then the count of number of balls vs number of runs kept us biting our nails till the cuticles hurt :P
Every four blocked felt like a bullet missing its target! Whenever the ball rose higher, so did our hearts(but there wasn't any reason to worry, both of them won't fall into wrong hands :P)  !
During the last few overs the crowd almost went crazy! Ball-by-ball the cheer rose ! And then Dhoni's final SIX!!The crowd went mad, it was a carnival of uncontrolled souls shouting till their throats went dry! I am still recovering from partial deafness, pardon me I can't recollect what followed this burst of happiness!

All that I remember was seeing Sachin on other player's shoulders being carried round the ground! But in our lawns there was a different kind of victory lap, people were running around forming human chains shouting out loud 'Jai hind'...Patriotic fervour had reached amazing heights!!Maybe cricket was just an excuse- a win for INDIA was the real reason!
I couldn't see Bhajji crying; happiness makes people cry- how strange are human reactions!
And happiness makes people go crazy- something I knew but I hadn't witnessed till yesterday!The shouts,the slogans,the thumps and the claps still echo in my mind ; making me realise how lucky I'm to be a part of a country where the nation's win is everybody's win; where expression of happiness over victory knows no bounds! Be it Wankhede or Thirumalaisamudram (our campus) there is no difference, everywhere everybody's soul gorges the sense of bliss that comes along with victory especially the victory of our own nation, not in war but in a game---the game of cricket!!!

Jeet gaye hum!!!Champions!

Such moments give us reasons to cherish this short life!And to realize that every moment is just a step away from succees.