A Delightful ride!

Last weekend, my car met with an accident with me in it; with the boot crushed and now on a holiday to get itself a new look, it left me to the mercy of little public transport in this Diwali week.

Already having to deal with rude peddle and auto rickshaw drivers bugs the hell out me and now with the crowds swelling in the market places, it was a more serious ordeal for me. To complete some very important work and with an auto strike, I had to inevitably pick up a peddle rickshaw to commute. The thing with these rickshaws is either their speed can put you to sleep with even walkers bypassing you or it can give you a slipped disc! But today, God seem to ensure me a good ride for the day, literally! J

I hired a rickshaw puller who surprisingly didn’t argue me about the fare, was polite and even said sorry for suddenly pulling a break!!!! I was left gaping at his politeness! Over a couple of years, the labour especially in the Northern part of the country has become rude taking advantage of the increasing awareness of their indispensability for all strata of society. This guy not only ensured that he rode the rick well on an excuse of a road but also enquired whether I got hurt when he pulled off the brake suddenly! He just became an Angel for me; could he be one? :D

And when I got off to get some diwali gifts and wondered how am I gonna take all that back home, alone and getting a new rick; he offered to stay for as long as I was done shopping. This guy left me disoriented now with me gaping at him while he awaited my response. I wondered whether there was a while halo around his head to confirm that this kind soul was an angel indeed. I shopped for about 20 minutes and then he voluntarily came at the door to pick up the bags and dropped me home. Everything looked too good to be real but surprisingly it was as real as Mount Everest is!! I tipped him well and was left with a bright smile on my face with a sense of comfort and warmth on knowing that kind and helpful people exist amongst the rude ones and that Life is not all that bad on a rickshaw! J

Love Always!

The buzz quietens...for the time being!

Last 2 weeks have been quite busy with LOT of noise around me. Having a house a few metres away from Ramlila Maidan during Navratri ensures the buzz until wee hours. I have shared a complex relationship with the 'Mela' and the subsequent noise it brought. As a 5 year old, I would anxiously wait for my Dushera holidays because that meant daily visit to the grounds for watching Ramayan acts, the rides, and some crazy fun with my cousins! :) I remember we kids being treated by my father with our respective 'shastra' for good behavior at the grounds; I always chose 'gada' being the Hanuman fan I was and still am. Spending 4 hours daily, watching Ramayan and sometimes even fighting adults 3 times my age for seats for those 11 days, was BLISS! That experience was even better than going for a movie and if that was not enough, my gang of cousins with the our shastras would play roles from Ramayan and enact them in the mornings at home. The dialogues, the lanka dehan, the Surpnakha killing with OTT make up and expressions; we were a bunch of crazy kids who stayed glued to our seats throughout the act!

Things changed with increasing commercialization, deteriorating quality of the acts and the frenzy of Ramlila died a slow death. The 5 year old me grew up and then came the new exam system in school with half-yearly exams to be held exactly after the Dushera holidays. All of a sudden, the buzz of the mela and everything around it became a nuisance to my mind and my exam preparation. The unabashed fun gave way to long study hours with the futile use of ear plugs to help concentrate on studies. How I cursed my school management to put me through this! Though, some things haven't changed much; I am still jolted out of my sleep by rowdy boys on their bikes blowing bizarre horns in the middle of the night. As much as I curse them then, I am sure to miss the madness tonight. The mela ended yesterday and the sound of some very amusing and loud songs of the 90s would make an appearance next year. 

Though, this quietness is only for the time being; wait till another 2 weeks before the marriage season kicks in; I will have to plug my ears again to the DJ's constant loop of Munni, Sheila and Chameli songs given the fact that I have a community centre at a stone throw distance from my house!! :D

Love Always!

The Blue Lagoon

No, I am not talking about the movie here or the eroticism. Time and again this word keeps hounding me; one fine day, my ever analytical mind went on a spree of finding the appeal behind the word. After a moment, the uncanny connection hit me. Don’t worry, I didn’t go about running madly around the streets like Archimedes with this eureka moment! ;) I guess, blue lagoon defines me in more ways than one; blue is the most consistent in my list of favourite colours, blue lagoon is my favourite mocktail, I get blues often, I can gaze endlessly at the blue sky or the ocean. Blue is vastness and that is what I aim at- vastness of being; though at one point my mind misinterpreted it as vastness of waist and that left me in trouble! :P

By definition, Lagoons are shallow, often elongated bodies of water separated from a larger body of water by a shallow or exposed shoal, coral reef, or similar feature. In my understanding, it is an isolated water body amidst huge volumes of water thinking itself to be separate from it. Aren’t we, as humans just like that? We think ourselves as isolated personalities in the ocean of humanity wherein we are always connected to the Source. Our mental blocks i.e. reef makes us feel separate from wholeness of the Being. Remove those barriers and see that you are the Ocean yourself! So by that means too Blue Lagoon defines my reality and my journey! It after all had a hidden meaning! Unintended symbolism! I think I should apply for a consultant job- by such logic, main kisi ko bhi lapet sakti hoon...haha J

May the blues never reach you; just gaze away!

Love Always!

Election time- Passing the Baton, not the Blame!

A few days back, I was reading a rather elaborate and long interview of Madeleine Albright, Former US Secretary of State on foreign policy (courtesy- R) that a thought struck me- how each successive government of any country creates a picture of its country to the World outside. What Clinton or Bush government did is perceived by the world as what America did and not just their individual governments. What happened in India in 1991; the debacle and the subsequent reforms is what India did in the eyes of the world; not just Narshimha Rao’s government. The world sees a country as a unit; not fragmented terms of its individual governments. Shouldn't then, the election time be rightfully treated as passing the baton than passing the blame?

I see the whole process through the relay race. The athletes run and pass the baton at regular intervals to other athletes with one goal- winning the race. Unless there is perfect co-ordination and an intention of not only putting one’s best but bettering the other runners’ inadequacies, the team can’t win. Similarly, unless successive governments take ahead the work done by the previous government with utmost honesty, the goal of Nation building can’t be achieved! What politicians, Indians in particular do is to blame each other for the inadequacies and there in goes the goal of nation building for a toss! What if the baton slipped, what if the runner tripped; pick up, back them up and run forward.

Is there a point in blaming for mistakes in the middle of the field and hurling abuses at each other? Can’t they just shake off the dirt and run as best as they can? Is it too much to ask for the sake of the country?

Shower some love shuv on yourself too :)

Finding yourself- this is the message that resonated loud and clear after I got out of the theatre having watched English Vinglish. No one else can do it for you; you have to do it...it’s the minimum you owe it to yourself. For Shashi (Sridevi), its English language that became the instrument for getting back her self esteem and some respect from her family that tends to take her love and care for granted and look down upon her for her inability to understand English. Sometimes, it takes new people, a fresh life to make you see what beauty and talents you hold when you start viewing yourself as someone lesser than the world around you. Everyone has weaknesses; for some subtly wrapped and for some glaringly evident; but it just doesn't matter! Respect yourself first and see the world crumbling on your knees to do that to you! LOVED the spirit of the movie.

Not all of it was great but yeah it did leave me with some beautiful thoughts and some eye tonic too ;) The French guy in the movie is hot. The only good thing visually throughout the movie since the makers didn’t focus much on the locations. Sridevi’s voice disappointed me; she never had that command but her voice has lost that vivacity that was so Sri! It was too choked even for the submissive and easily overwhelmed house-wife. Acting- she hasn’t lost her spark but to do another film after this might just take some more hard work from her.  Right amount of humour and emotions; though some tight pace would have nailed it for me.

One time watch; go have some good time with your family wamily J

Luv Shuv...Always!

P.S. What is with hot and gorgeous men being left to deal with a heart that hurts? Such 'Khuda ki rehmat' don't nurse a bleeding heart and live with unrequitted love! That's not allowed and it's criminal to see them go wasted! ;) Seeing Damon Salvatore in Vampire Diaries and now this French guy in this film made me question this. Guys; you MUST come to me; the world doesn’t have the ‘Parkhi’ nazar to appreciate the kind of scarce beauty you hold!! What a waste of Nature’s bounty...some people just have a problem of plenty and for some like me...whatever! :P

The flavours of Silence

I have always been a chatter box as a kid; friendly, with variety of theories about anything and everything. Teenage brought out silence to the fore; not the very comfortable kinds but that is where my tryst with Silence began. Ever since then, I have come to appreciate the many flavours of Silence beyond the customary ‘library silence’.

The flipside of exploring silence was that my tongue might get its rest but the onslaught of the heavy traffic of thoughts is always borne by my innocent mind and eventually my brain! So I have decided to bring a balance to this equation of silence and talk; the fact that I am still seeking it is a different matter! J

Usually, when you are silent, people tend to misconstrue that silence as either about a nagging issue troubling you or a sign of arrogance or plain ignorance on a subject matter. It can all be true but many a times it is a comfortable silence too. Trust me; I have been misunderstood for my silence umpteen times! This could be because over the years I have evolved from a chirpy kid to sometimes shy and a contemplative individual who is pretty happy in her own space. Being quiet has become my second nature and my loved ones don’t like and understand that at all; of course they can’t, since they have always come to love the bubbly and chirpy me! J I hope one fine day, like me, they too will be aware of the many flavours of Silence beyond the sad one, the ones I am going to broadly list now.

Ø  Blissful Silence- Ah! WHAT a blessing it is to experience this! It is the kind of silence where you are ‘Just there’; aware of the vast expanse that is your Ultimate Reality. No questions, no seeking answers, no thoughts; just ‘That’. You just celebrate the Existence! Been blessed with this Silence twice and since then my quest for this elusive one continues.

Ø  Contemplative Silence- This is my usual comfort zone which gets misconstrued most of the time with all the things I mentioned already. Most of the time, it’s a quiet, peaceful, contented space where I know the answers I seek, are within the periphery of my mind and I just got to focus to be able to get them. A space of all Eureka moments as also a space to imbibe and absorb various lessons that Life gives me. This one heals and brings such terrific awareness and understanding of the world within and without. 

Ø  Agitated Silence- That is pretty much common I guess; some kick ass when angry and some go the silent way. I do the latter when I know I’ll end up creating havoc with my as well as someone else’ butt in the former. J Edgy I am in this silence; sarcastic and irritated remarks welcome people who shake me up from this state.

Ø  Sad and Depressive silence- Widely experienced and traditionally accepted reason for Silence. It is surely not a happy space where nothing stirs within and a state of apathy and numbness engulfs you. Its deafening in there unlike its other counterparts and needs LOADS of will power and blessings to snap out of it. If anyone is stuck in there; much love to them; they’ll come up sooner or later. J

This is by no means a conclusive categorisation on Silence; I am sure there is more to this enigmatic space. Though I for now feel good about this awareness; my bad I don’t have any source into research departments; who knows this awareness might have made its way to Organisational Behaviour (OB) papers in B-schools and I would have gotten to see students making presentations and writing assignments on the same! :D

Is there a Nobel Prize for Human Behaviour/ psychology? Should I revise this list and add a category of ‘Drunken Silence’ now? :P

Love Always...the silent way! J

Let Love be!

Once again this inexpressible emotion knocked me down and upon recovering consciousness gently nudged me to make one more attempt in expressing its beauty and vastness.

I have always wondered about the many layers of this deep emotion to the point of believing in the saying- “Love is not an emotion, it’s your very existence.” It is the pure, unadulterated, unconditional love bordering on the lines of devotion that has always caught my fancy. When someone says ‘I love you’; who is I and who is you? See deeply and wouldn’t it be evident that the divinity in ‘I’ loves the divinity in ‘you’? Doesn’t the Divine love himself here?  He only makes it look different in the form of two people loving each other. Most of us cling to the outer forms, but it’s the core that intrigues me. When I discard the outer and talk about the core, I am termed hypocritical and rather impractical. J

I don’t blame the world either because making sense of this emotion can make people seem loopy. I’d rather be termed impractical than refrain myself from seeing the immeasurable beauty that love entails. I am not against the ‘romantic love’ that most people feel and look for in their ‘soulmate’ rather I am a hopeless romantic and did I say impractical in worldly parlance? ;) 

Come to think of it, isn’t everyone looking for that unconditional loving space when one can just be? When meeting the other person or even thinking about them is a source of nourishment to the soul? Don’t all of us seek to either feel complete or share our completeness with someone? Isn’t true love which we shamelessly gush about in books and movies border on the line of a lover’s devotion to their beloved? What is love if not divine, the core that we all are?

Devotion is the highest form of love; but why loving a person unconditionally in the worldly parlance earns someone a ‘tag’ of Meera Bai? Why can’t some ‘earthly person’ trigger the same level of devotion in someone; why can’t it be felt for the God within than just for the God at the places of worship? Why people mock love if it goes beyond their limited understanding and belief that it is only a worldly emotion? How limiting is that; an insult to love! Why can’t love just be? Why we only like to praise the divine love of Radha- Krishna and not even dare to explore that love ourselves? Why someone who loves God in this modern age of need and lust need to hide his/her love and longing for the fear of being ridiculed or worse, misunderstood? Why can’t it be seen as someone’s only life purpose? Accept it or not, each of us is doing just that; we are only too scared and rigid in accepting it as it is.

This song from the movie 'Khamoshi' has been my perennial favourite; couldn't put it more soulfully myself. 

Love Always!

Thodi 'Barfi' ho jaaye?

Barfi is an Indian sweet which has just about the right sweetness; it satisfies your craving for a sweet without nauseating you with its sweetness. That’s exactly what I loved about the movie, Barfi, too! I had a lot of apprehension about how Ranbir Kapoor will play out a Charlie Chaplin and Priyanka Chopra, an autistic character but when you have friends who drag you to the movie hall since they have rave reviews and know that it is a fab movie; it’s only little you can do. J

And how did I find it- Beautiful and refreshing!! It’s the cutest movie I have seen after a long time with just the right amount of ingredients to leave the viewer with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Now I can say; only RK could have pulled off this act. Barfi is intelligent, smart and SO adorable! PC is great too; infact just as I only saw Auro in Paa and not Sr.AB; I only saw her character Jhilmil and not PC! That’s saying something about her acting abilities in this one!

Love has no barriers and even if it has, it transcends it all provided your love is unconditional and pure. That’s one of my takeaways from the movie. A mute and deaf guy ends up loving an autistic girl because they connect through their attitude towards life- to view it as something alive, new, beautiful, each moment! The world may never appreciate their outlook; may call them careless or difficult but if they find just one person loving them for the way they are and share their outlook of life and beauty; life would be as sweet as Barfi. We ‘normal’ people want to define terms and conditions in our love for the other; we want a name to that relationship never attempting to let love be. Not all love like that but surely an attempt can be made right now because we all can.

Watch it for the freshness in bonds, for living a carefree life through Barfi (RK), for seeing the world as Jhilmil sees it; upside down. J Beautifully subtle treatment of a beautiful, tender emotion- Love.

Don’t miss the start; the sweetness begins right there! 

Love Always!

An Innocent voice

The blues gave way to hope and my core tossed out another poem! Aha, feels SO good to see this channel of words making it's way through me. This one is based on a very vivid experience I had; the understanding of which hopefully would remain with me for a long, long time. :)

In the depths of my heart

Makes an innocent voice its abode

What is it that perturbs you?

What is that you worry about?

You were. You are. You will be.

You are joy, love and peace.

See through the veil of illusion

There never has been any chaos or confusion

Everything is just perfect the way it is

The seemingly imperfect and amiss

Your work is to do and let go

You are never alone; this you must know

With faith; go fly as you were destined to be

Fall if you may; know you always have Me. 

Love Always!

The blues and the greys

One of those days when the day didn't feel right from the moment I opened my eyes to a new sun. The various activities and interactions through out the day didn't soothe the heart and mind either. And for heaven's sake, it's not even that time of the month! :P

A part of me tries to make some sense of these bouts of seemingly unsettling moments but a part of me knows that they are just clouds that will pass by. I am not perfect and know my flaws. It's just that once in a while the flaws seem overwhelming and the strength a little lost. The lazy bone that I am didn't want a long verbose cathartic writing session and voila! A poem pops up and gives me the much needed solace. This was written nearly 3 months back but the emotion today remains more or less the same even if the cause behind them changes. First from me and hopefully many more will flow, hopefully in better moods :) Now I know why pain is supposed to unravel the depths of human consciousness. A no-creativity person becomes a poet; how mind boggling is that!

The mist, the grey, the gloom

 Hold on darling there’ll be cheers soon

The future awaits your greatness

Let go of all jitters and sadness

Let’s build the castle one brick at a time

The fire within will melt the rime

Oh dear, there is always help

That spurs to your comfort before you yelp

So gather yourself and see the light

Soar high, let be, realise your Might!

Love Always!

Teachers' special

I don't believe in all the 'days' that make the rounds to celebrate the various people or emotions in our lives but Teachers' Day is special as it has loads of memories attached to it. Handing cards and flowers to the teachers who made a difference; seeing our seniors in sarees and giving them a tough time managing us, the parodies on teachers, exploring the fun side of their personalities; all that was so much fun! J

I have been blessed with some wonderful people whom I can call teachers par excellence. It's only in recent years of my life, I have begun to appreciate the huge difference that teaching makes in developing the personality of a child and his/her likes and dislikes in picking up a career. With that awareness in mind, I am now going to begin my thanksgiving ceremony. 

I thank Valsama Mam for bringing SO much passion and sincerity into teaching a subject which many find boring to death- History. Learning that for 5 years under your brilliant guidance was a treat to the mind and soul. I remember you everytime I visit a historical site and feel a childlike joy to see the books come alive. Thank You!

I thank my English teachers- Sister Rosaline, Dutt Mam, Reena Mam, Buhazre Mam for making me fall in love with the language; for motivating me to do my best and being ultra strict too even before I could think of resting on my laurels. You have been a BIG influence in whatever cultured speech I can boast of. 

I thank Saini sir, my class Xth tutor who was more of a father figure than a teacher to me. I have never felt SO pampered even in my own family. I have vivid memories of the day when you consoled me when I broke down for not meeting 'people's expectations' in my Maths board exam. Thanks for those cherished moments of learning and love.

I thank Dua Sir, my accounts tutor for being the most organised mind I have ever seen. You made me see my potential in the subject when scoring a second highest 'went against my caliber'. Thank you for making the debits and the credits such loved terms. :)

There are others too who have contributed in making me who I am today and I am ever so grateful to them for gracing my life. The defining trait in all these wonderful people is their passion for teaching and imparting the best to their students. They were teachers out of choice and not because of the lure of cool job timings or the convenience that the profession brings vis-a-vis other careers. They truly made teaching a noble profession.

I hope there are many, many such teachers in every school and college so that the students can truly appreciate the joys of learning and remember them with full hearts for shaping their lives and minds for the better. Amen!

Love Always!

P.S. On another note; why doesn't a Maths teacher feature in the list? Did no one do a good job there or was I a thick head? :P

Morning bird or a Night Owl- who soars higher?

Ah! Once again, the ever so famous saying-‘Early to bed, early to rise, makes the man, healthy wealthy and wise’ rattles my brain. During childhood, I ignored the great advice under the pretext that it talks about a man and not a woman, so by that means I shouldn’t be spoiling my blissful earning morning sleep! :) I feel someone who made this quote definitely was a sadist who took great pleasure in teasing night owls like me and holding himself to be morally superior. My late grandmother told me to be in tune with Nature; ‘see how the birds start chirping at the breaking of the dawn’, she would say. I always wondered, isn’t owl a bird too and a natural one at that??!! A religious lady as she was, I tried convincing her seeking the religious texts reminding her that owl is the official vehicle of Goddess Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. So maybe I am destined for prosperity and material riches! Misplaced logic is what I was told I indulged in! J

Ok jokes apart, I personally feel that every one of us has a natural rhythm and style. People who get up early tire out by afternoon; and for someone like me afternoon is just the time when my brain feels alive and kicking! No phone calls, no random visitors dropping by, no traffic, absolute stillness of the night; ah...what bliss! While the world sleeps, I am awake; who said you can have a personal awakening only when you get up early and meditate? Misplaced logic again...huh? ;P I get some of the best ideas at night; sometimes they nudge me mentally and I have to get up and work on them. My brains just don’t stop! 

Having said that, I know that the world with its herd mentality never let the mavericks breathe easy and conspires to take away their peace by kick starting the day early. Neither am I a writer or a painter working on her own leisure nor am I A.R. Rahman who can make producers dance to his tunes by strictly working only at night. I am a mere common citizen who will have to face the morning sun no matter how much my system wants to remain under cover! My aim is not to be an early bird but surely a lesser owl because the current situation demands it. I have much to lose with my over spilling brains having a ball at night. But that doesn’t make me any less wise than the morning chirpers!

So while I once again begin my struggle to get in tune with the world at large...I sign off with the wish that one fine day people like me can burn the midnight oil without being judged and labelled as an owl! But why do I see one more morning yoga class falling to the charms of a blissful sleep? Wasn't there an evening class too?! I am incorrigible but as Mr.Obama said-'Yes we can'! :)

Love Always!

Badli ki Baarish

I was making a cup of tea in the morning to soothe myself when to give me company came the light drizzling from the benevolent skies and a gentle breeze that stroked the wind chimes to perfect the setting with their delightful tinkling. I soaked up the beauty that everyday life brings in and which we so easily miss. The skies in a second turned demanding and started pouring; were they perturbed or just having a drunken party, I wondered! My mom was frantically collecting clothes off the verandah and told me- ‘yeh badli ki baarish bhi na!’I enquired what is badli; I only knew of it as of the oldest villages in Delhi and that too after taking the benign help of the Google god. But seems moms know things beyond what Google can search!

‘Badli’ is also called ‘Bhadon’ which forms the latter half of the rainy season. The defining trait of this season is sudden changes in the skies from sunny to extremely cloudy and rains in a matter of minutes. Means if you are out thanking for a sunny day to go shopping to Lajpat Nagar or Sarojini, chances are you might have to change your plans even before you can apply your sunscreen! Yes, that’s ‘badli’ which brings out the most important aspect of Nature which it relentlessly tries to tell us- ‘Everything changes.’ It’s just that sometimes the change can be a little drastic and demanding like this season’s rains. We can either fret or fume being stranded on a street over the sudden change of sky god’s mood or think of getting drenched and enjoying a strong cup of coffee once back home. Life brought me this sudden change too and in my ignorance I chose to fret. Am I any wiser now? I hope so; only ‘badli’ will tell J

Then amongst the wise ones are people who ever so willingly in their quest of new experiences want to challenge the lesser gods with their spirit of seeking fun and adventure. If you happen to be one of them; here’s wishing you a wiser heart and a playful spirit if despite the Rain gods you want to make a killer bargain at Sarojini or Lajpat nagar market next time. Just armour yourself with a raincoat and shop till you drop!

Love Always!

Attraversiamo – Lets Cross over

Ever since I read ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert, this word has stayed with me. I feel this word has a very personal significance in my life because I have been stuck up in past with its insecurities, fears, expectations of how life should be or infact how I should be. I needed to cross over and while pondering over this word I realised, everyone of us needs to cross over sometime or the other; either in a life changing decision or simply mundane ones. Aren’t we all stuck up in the past to some degree? One can be stuck with some harsh words said by someone; an employee may be stuck up with hurt or anger over its bosses’ behaviour or a husband/wife over his/her spouse’s or even kids when their demands are not met by their parents! The instances can be numerous and this is what creates pain for a whole lot of humanity.

Come to think of it, God always wanted us to travel light, devoid of emotional baggage. Had He wanted us to be stuck up every now and then, He might have given us tentacles! :D

So gather yourself up, shake off things that don’t serve your life’s purpose and Cross over!

There is always help available; visible or invisible. One might have a friend/family next to oneself or miles apart; it doesn’t matter. Just reach out and if there isn’t anyone, remember there is ALWAYS a Higher Power having your BEST interest. This has been the biggest truth of my life J

Attraversiamo

Love Always!

You are your best listener

Ever talked to yourself out loud; with animated gestures as if you are having an intense and brilliant discussion at the Oprah? If you have; welcome to the world of self talkers and if you don’t then please put aside those raised eyebrows and join the club. Is it insane to do that? No! Infact, going by the number of self talkers I know, its therapeutic! In the privacy of our minds, all of us talk to ourselves but sometimes it is rather pointless. Your thoughts keep going round and round in circles. There are times when you need to offload your thoughts and emotions and just be and there is no one physically or emotionally available for your catharsis; that is when you step in as your best listener. Happens with me when my mind is bustling with thoughts, writing them down seems like an arduous task; talk it out loud and voila the tension disappears into thin air! A lot of insights and Eureka moments happen during such sessions for me. Should you be thinking of trying it out, yes I am talking to you; go ahead and be your best listener! :)

Love Always!

The Unseen Bonds

After much thought, finally, this blog is born and the entire credit to this goes to two of the world’s most fabulous people- R and P! Hey,that makes them happy and proud parents of this blog...aye? Haha, I have already assumed they will be happy and proud of what I post here. Talk of liberties of the free world! LOL. Thank you guys for being such great cheerleaders. :) 

These 2 people are special because I have never met them and yet have forged a bond and an understanding which is pretty much a rare experience for me. And that is what I want to talk about in my very first topic for this blog- Unseen bonds!

We meet people, like them or dislike them; interact more with the ones we share a rapport with and try to avoid the ones that push our buttons. This is a very usual way of connecting to people; exchange identities, contact details and then let the bond develop between you and them. And there are some bonds that find you; yes they find you and it shows that you are blessed; where you are connected by spirit- compassion, understanding, and love. There is an inexplicable factor that comes into play when you connect with strangers in faraway lands. Identities are not important here; neither is your way of life or your nationality or religion or your designation or social status! NOTHING matters because such bonds transcend all these social barriers and bring people together as human beings.

When I was working in Mumbai a few years back, I used to catch 8.02am local train from Dadar to Malad every day. Amidst the ever burgeoning crowd of people, there were some faces which I could spot regularly at the station. After few days, we happen to look for each other, exchange smiles and greetings all the while not knowing each others’ names! The train would come and take us to our respective places to begin our daily struggles and drama of life. It became a daily ritual for us and the day felt incomplete without those bright smiles and a gentle nod that accompanied it. This simple, yet powerful experience of bonding with nothing but love for the sake of it has remained a vivid memory of my Mumbai experience.

Even our films are filled with such stories where people fall in love before they even meet! I have always wondered whenever I watched ‘You’ve got mail’ and other such films; what is it that connects people to each other this way? And I realised apart from the human values connecting them, such bonds let people be and let them express themselves fully without the fear of being judged. There is no holding back of opinions or the fear of losing face! (They haven’t seen you, so you can’t lose this one, literally!! :D). You are what you are! And this attitude makes you beautiful in the real sense! I SO wish people across the world could connect with this attitude with each other in the ‘real’ world too; that would make life more loving and worth living.

So cheers to the beauty of such bonds, seen or unseen! For me this is as ‘real’ as it can get.

Love Always!