Today!

150+ innocents dead in Gaza, 250+ dead in a plane crash allegedly brought down by pro-Russian rebel forces or Ukranians...and this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is the world we live in. A place where the lives of innocents don't matter and the technology that helps us make our lives better is used in the most unfathomably brutal ways. Everytime I open the awesome app that gives me updates on news from all over the world, I shudder in disbelief as gruesome photos and headlines light up my screen. But for what? Why all this fighting and why all this death? Isn't life complicated enough to deal with? Boyfriend troubles, not being able to find a job or save up enough for a car, don't these troubles keep everyone preoccupied enough?

Yes, the juxtaposition of these issues is grotesque. But such is life today. We sit in our air-conditioned homes, flipping through the news on our tablets, getting disturbed momentarily and posting a new status on facebook about how this world is such a horrible place to live in, and within the next five minutes we are back to worrying about what to cook for dinner or how to save up enough to buy that new unnecessary gadget that just came out in the market.

But what can we do sitting so far away from all of this? And it's true. There is probably not much that we can do being so far removed from that world which we see through the portal of our computer screens and the internet. But what we can do is remember, reflect and pay happiness forward. We can find happiness, leave the anger behind... volunteer at a local organization to help collect aid for the victims of such events, go to that public demonstration against violence against women, sign petitions to support free journalism...and so many more small seemingly trivial things that may not stop the wars or the deaths, but it will help us to remember and more than anything it will help us to appreciate those things that we take for granted - the ability to smell fresh flowers, the ability to play freely on the beach, the ability to laugh and have a good time with our friends and families, and the ability to smile, laugh and live!

Chasing shadows

That feeling...the dullness...the rain...the blurred voices...the heavy eyelids...completely in your senses, yet so disconnected...unaware...as if life just shot you straight in the chest and you are stuck in time...sounds filter in sometimes...sometimes you become acutely aware of the sound of crackling of the bag that the person walking behind you on the street is carrying...but you still don't know where you are...what you really are doing and where you are headed...you just got caught up in that web...when you kept taking steps that you thought were leading you ahead...when they were just entangling you...until you didn't know what to do...how to escape...life does that sometimes...but...through the web you can still see the rabbits chasing each other in the grass adorned with dew drops...their white tails bobbing up and down...a smile and a tear...

Catch and Miss.

There is always a part of us that is scared of loosing people or things that are dear to us, whether it be family, friends, our favourite movie stars or our favourite stuffed toys that we hugged to sleep when we were little kids. Unfortunately, because of self-preservation or just in our attempt to keep up with the mind-numbing (literally!) pace of life, we shut this fear into a small little box and bury it in the deep recesses of our numb mind.

But for how long can it really stay there?

Someday when that person or thing actually does get lost, you realize that the least you could do was to make the most of the opportunities you had while they were around. Today, the great legend of Indian music, Jagjit Singh, the ghazal maestro, passed away and all I could think of was the opportunities that were so readily available to me but which I had so conveniently ignored, always thinking that there would be another time. I grew up listening to the mellow and soothing voice of this great man, not understanding at that time what the words really meant, but growing up with them as companions in times of heart break and homesickness. The suddenness of his passing made me really sit up and think - how many opportunities do we give up because we are too scared or too lazy to actually admit that there may not be another one coming down our way, ever.

Often we take a step back and spend some time introspecting and thinking about where we are in life and what we have achieved. Should we not think about what all we could have achieved instead of puffing up our chests and grinning away to glory for what we have?

Life is really short, you never know when you will turn a corner and come face to face with your biggest fear, the fear of loss. And when you do turn that corner, even though you can never be completely ready to face it, the least you can do is to make the most of the time you have and not be laden with regret when you do.

Hey, I'm Bangalore, and you?

We walk around them, meet people in them, crib and complain about them and love and hate them, but do we ever identify ourselves with them? The cities we live in often represent the people we are and the lives we lead. Social, outgoing, busy and noisy - Mumbai. Beautiful, fresh, stressed and laid-back - Bangalore. Busy, loud, showy and maddening - Delhi. The same descriptions can easily be used to describe an individual as well. But does that mean that we can define people by the city they live in or grew up in or define the city by the people who live or grew up in them.

Accept it or not, the cities that we live in are a major factor in determining the person we become while we live in it. Many of us think that we have beaten our city to it and chosen to live there because we know exactly who it is and know that we resemble it anyway, but we forget that the city changes with every second, sometimes a little bit and sometimes so much that you can hardly even recognize it, and then, the joke is on us. Crazy traffic everyday makes us angry and frustrated and makes us curse like we never thought we could. Months of constant rainy days make us lazy and hungry. We may fight it and maintain a constant struggle to preserve our innate nature but does it really work?

The schedule of our lives start revolving around the months that the weather is pleasant in or the hours that you can avoid peak hour traffic and power cuts. Dinner shifts to an earlier or later time depending upon the time that you can catch the least crowded bus that allows you to grab a seat and curfew shifts to the time that the last bus leaves the bus station.

Unfortunately, we are often so busy being in the thick of things and hustling around to fit into the city that we live in, that we forget to value it and everything it gives us. We crib and complain about hanging onto the last step of the bus (to those who have read my previous posts-guilty!), getting splashed by spoilt brats zipping through the city in their shiny new BMWs and about the never-ending heat and pollution, but do we ever turn to look at what the city is giving us? We don't even think twice about dumping chocolate wrappers and cigarette butts onto the pavement and leaving the lights on all day, but ofcourse every single moment we think about the bad odour coming from the side of the pavement or the smoke coming from the drain where leaves lay burning, and ensure that the thought does not leave us without it being garnished with a few curses.

As individuals we are always taught to take utmost care of ourselves and the people we love and care about. Why then, can we not even spare a moment to consider taking care of the very city we live in? The one that transforms us, teaches us so much and allows us to enter like a 'Bhopal' and leave like a 'Bangalore'.

Unity in blue!

Whether you are a cricket fan or not, it does not matter. Step out into the streets of any city of India today and you will find yourself grinning and cheering, throwing your fists up in the air, gripped by the fever of the religion of every Indian - Cricket. Shops were closed, offices had given their employees half day off, auto-rickshaw drivers had found a corner to park their vehicles (next to electronic appliance shops) - everyone was all ready to watch the semi-finals of the 2011 Cricket World Cup between India and Pakistan.

This match being played in Mohali was to create history. Tensed eyes, bitten fingernails and white knuckles - all a precursor to the celebration that was to follow. At 10:50 p.m. on 30th March, 2011, the fireworks began. Every Indian was out on the street, cheering for their Gods-the men in blue. The atmosphere was electric. Two hours after our beloved team won the match and the cheering on the streets shows no sign of ceasing. Thousands out on the streets, yelling "Jai Hind" and celebrating the man of the match Sachin Tendulkar by hanging garlands and whistling at life size posters of him hung from the electric poles in the city. Friend or stranger - smiles and high-fives being exchanged in abundance. There is no limit to the happiness and pride being experienced by each and every Indian all around the world. Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian - nothing matters! Today we are all one, all Indians, devotees of the Gods in blue.

Nothing unites our country like cricket, proved by the bliss flowing through the air tonight! Religion and patriotism at it's very best. Who can look at our country today and say that we are divided?

The power of blessings.

I didn't think much of it initially, but when my mom told me that the best thing you could earn in life are blessings, it got me thinking that maybe it meant more than I was giving it credit for.
Dead tired, I got into an auto-rickshaw after work, desperate to get home. As I was sitting in the rickshaw, I noticed that somebody had left behind their laptop bag. I promptly pointed it out to the auto-rickshaw driver. He immediately slapped his hand to his forehead and said "Sahib ka hai (It is Sir's)". Assuming he knew where this 'Sahib' lived, I agreed when he asked if we could go and drop it off at his place, which was close-by, before moving towards my destination.
Thinking it to be a very trite event, I could not fathom why the driver kept thanking me for not picking up the bag and taking it home. Following the driver's "Thank you"s were the owner's "I owe you so much!" when we dropped his bag at his place. In response all I could offer was a puzzled smile. I was put out of my confused misery by the driver soon after, when on the way to my place, in between several expressions of gratitude, he managed to tell me that the 'Sahib' was the owner of a large plumbing supply company and that he was returning home after collecting the earnings from all his outlets throughout the city which were in that very bag. An amount of close to 9 lakh rupees. Mouth hanging wide open, I listened. He explained to me how the police would blame him and throw him in jail for having allegedly 'stolen' the bag if I hadn't returned it to him.
As I got off, paid and thanked him for dropping me home, I could see in his eyes the earnestness and honesty with which he expressed his gratitude and gave me his blessings. It got me thinking - a poor man in this world may not have much power to gift or punish but what he does have is the power to bless or curse, and that no one can take away from him - no matter what.

"For you, Madam."

It's funny how the smallest things in life can bring the widest of grins on your face. Being a Sunday, I was just getting back home after a long walk to the supermarket, lugging my groceries, breathing in the poisonous fumes from the vehicles which sped past on the road, when a flower stall across the street caught my eye. Immediately I cheered up, remembering that I had managed to save up a few rupees (which is a big thing considering that it is the 4th last day of the month!) which I could spare to buy a few flowers to brighten up my apartment.

I walked upto the flower stall and selected a few flowers and asked the boy to wrap them up in newspaper for me. Being the hard-core Indian that I am, I managed to bargain with him and bring the price down by 10 rupees. Not much, but a personal victory nonetheless. Content with myself and looking forward to getting home and putting the flowers in bottles around the house, I quickly paid him and left. A couple of seconds later I heard the boy call out to me and I turned back only to see him come up to me and hand me a pretty yellow flower with a smile on his face. Surprised, I counted my flowers and told him that I had all the flowers that I had paid for. He looked at me, smile in place, and said, "for you madam".

The grin that spread across my face still remains. I thanked him, gave him a huge toothy smile and walked back home with a skip in my step, practically! A stranger, a very simple gesture and yet, it was all I needed to brighten up my entire day or maybe even the entire week! Made me realise that even if we made just one small such gesture towards a stranger in a day, maybe we wouldn't be able to change the world but we would be able to make a difference. No matter how many hardships one has to face in life, if we have a reason to smile, the burden does actually become easier to bear and small gestures, like helping a kid cross the road or giving up your seat in the bus to somebody who needs it more, can make a difference, small in respect to the world, but huge in respect to that one person whose burden you helped lighten.