Loving Rains

RAIN - the Rhythmic Art of the Inspiring Nature

You may be beauty to few,
To few just a duty
You may be abundance to few,
To few horrible traffic jams
You may be hurdles to few,
To few those watery puddles
You may be romance to few,
To few just loneliness
You may be cold to few,
To few the blanket of warmth
You may be vegetation to few,
To few a strange irritation

You may be nothing to few
But to me you change everything

You stir my love, trigger my emotions and stretch my smile.
With you alone on a lonely road, I wish to walk a mile.
You get held in my hands, and you flow away
Singing songs for you, I wish I could all along sway
You make me happy, you make me sad and you make me feel funny
Drenched in your drops I wish someone said 'I Love You honey'

Loving Rains

Once Upon a 'Maidless' Morning

Once Upon a Maid less morning. - A painful but true story


I Woke up and rushed to the wash area as there was a sea of utensils and no maid since last two days. Without even brushing, I sat down to clean them. Mind you only removing the dirt with plain water. It took me an hour and a lot of effort to complete that. Then I walked proudly to the wash basin full of glass utensils. Washed them with some more effort especially on my back. Just then, God decided that he couldn't see my pain anymore and should bless me with some mercy and the door bell rang. To my relief, though temporary, it was the maid who left without notice. She had come to ask for money. Overwhelmed by the back pain, I used my brains, for a change, and asked her to do the work for today and that I will pay her then. So she did and that's when I could really brush my teeth and have a cup of tea. Now the search for another maid has begun now. Before it is too late, hope God continues his mercy and gets me someone permanently.

Having a house help has become one of the most essential aspect of one's life; especially for bachelors, and working women.

The Ultimate Truth of Life & Death

Death... the unsaid fear that haunts each of us even if we don't accept it.

None of us know how, when and where we too will succumb to it. But the closest I got to it was when I lost my mom recently. It has been tough ever since to accept her absence from our lives forever.
But something has happened inside me since then. Something I am still trying to understand and analyze.
I seem to be getting deeper and deeper within me.... further and further beyond what is visible. Questions coming to me every moment...

What are we after all, Mind, Body or Soul?
Where do we come from, where do we go?
What regulates all of this?

Accepting change is always difficult, but accepting the most painful one is the change that brings the absence of someone you love the most... that too forever. Yet I managed to look beyond the pain, with the able guidance of my mentor God Almighty, and begin to comprehend the reality of life.

Beautifully said in Bhagwad Gita and probably in our other religious books. That we are all here for a purpose. This body is mere a medium given to us to accomplish those goals and reach the purpose. Not the ones we chose along our path, but the one destiny God sent us for to reach.

Amidst all the pain, tears and sorrow of our loss, God Almighty, my favorite teacher, surely ensured he still taught me my lesson. Painting a clearer picture of my purpose in life dusting away the fog that kept it invisible for years and sparingly visible for some. The purpose I am here for, without fulfilling which my life will be a mere waste. Rest all I do will be only for survival and for completing my duties on the path of achieving my purpose, my ultimate goal.

I got clarity of my purpose in life. 

Have you found yours?

SHAME - Made me Proud and Confident

SHAME - a novel on a true story by Jasvinder Sanghera.

When a friend handed this book to me asking me read it, she said 'I thought of you when I read this. It resembles your story'; I smiled and took it. Though I started reading it the very day, having being engulfed into the day to day chores and reality it proudly rested among the other books in my small book shelf for a few months.

Ironically I found time to read the book, this week, when I lay unwell on my back suggested bed rest for almost a week.  And once I started, I couldn't stop.

Jasvinder aka Jas, the writer and the girl whose story 'Shame' is, seemed as a shadow of my own self, as if she was writing my story in a different set up, of course with some altercations to it.

While the book brought painful memories of my past back, I strangely did not drop even a tear throughout the book.

It instead did to me something that no one has been able to do for past few months. I found myself bubbling with new energy to tread on my path, the path i had chosen for myself. The path, sure to be tough, but without doubt the best one for me. A destiny I see so clear as a vision for myself. As if it was the purpose of my existence.

'Shame' as if reassured me that I was moving in the right direction. Brought back the confidence and Self-respect that was for some reason, getting buried within myself.

It brought a strange sense of relief and clarity. Something I was so badly needing at this time.

Jas, wherever you are, a warm hug to you and big thank you for being brave enough to write a book like this and for all the good work you are doing for the society.

Thanks for bringing back the bravery, the courage, the confidence and the self-respect back in me.....

And my dear friend - Thank you for lending me this book and literally coaxing me to read it.

And above all, Thank you Lord for making me a special child of yours, a blessed one. For having your umbrella of protection over me all the time, for holding my hand and walking me through troubled times. Love You! 

Yeh Vodafone, kab mujhe chhodega???

One unfortunate day in history I had to switch my connection from Airtel to Vodafone. Thanks to BA Continuum Solutions.
Being with Vodafone has been a bumpy ride. Horrible customer service, unstable coverage, problems with connectivity, and age long process to solve an issue.
Fed up of all this, late last year I finally switched back to Airtel using porting services. This process too however was not easy at all and the experience is still a nightmare.

Slowly I let go of this experience too and use the very natural habit of mine 'forgiveness'. But guess it was a BIG mistake.

Vodafone is back with its irritating abilities at the peak. Despite being with Airtel, I still get vodafone messages about their updates, offers and blah blah blah. And as if this was not enough, vodafone came up with a new idea. They are now calling me almost everyday for payment on a number I had disconnected 2 years back 9703201410. Despite mentioning to them multiple times that it was disconnected and I don't even have the sim and forwarding them the confirmation email too, there has not been any resolution as well.
Most interestingly, try calling that number 9703201410... it would say 'this number does not exist'. Every time the customer service rep agrees to this, makes a note and says will get back with a solution... but none so far.

Because my current number is a ported number, airtel has also pushing the pressure on me asking me to make the payment though have been understanding with the issue at least.

To add to all this torture, this morning wake up to get shocked to see my number inactive and it has been so since then.

Heading to Airtel office first with all relevant proofs and then to Vodafone if needed.

Overall a pathetic experience....and one that drains you out.

How much is too much???

In the small lives of BIG people and the big lives of small people, one thing that is common is lack of balance. 

Sometimes it is Balance between personal and professional life and sometimes that between give and receive. At other times it is between love and hatred and even between respect and disrespect. 

As a person who loves so much to GIVE, I often fall into the trap of this BIG question.... HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH???

How should a parent decide if their love for their child is crossing the bounds and can be taken for granted? 
How should a beloved judge the amount of time and attention to be given to the loved one before being treated as a doormat? 
How should someone decide if he/she should really love someone or hate someone before being tagged as indecisive?
How should someone decide if a person should be respected or disrespected for his/her deeds and behaviors?

A phrase often heard is 'Too much of anything is not good'.... but again... HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH???

Through the various experiences and encounters with people of different mentality, behavioral pattern, preferences, varied goals and mindsets, I have come to learn that there is no rule book that can define the border line to strike a balance. 

There are multiple theories on handling such situations, managing conflicts etc. But in reality, not all of them may work all the time with all the people. It is the mere judgement and quick thinking capability of oneself to handle such situations and be able to strike a balance. 

The biggest key however is to set priorities right. 
Recently, while speaking to a dear friend I was surprised and taken aback to see the kind of stress she was taking to keep some friends happy (if i may say so). I am not even sure if the attention she was giving to them was valued so much and even cared for. Did someone really think of the little things she was doing and the pain she was taking to just satisfy some silly egos and keep peace? Surely not!!!
As we discussed the solution to the situation,  it was evident that the only way out to clarity was SETTING PRIORITIES... and mind it, these priorities may keep changing from time to time. 

Hence to sum it, I feel there are three steps to bring balance in life:

Set Priorities Right 
Communicate Expectations 
Commit to follow and keep the commitment

This has helped me immensely in balancing between work, life, family, friends, and Myself.

YES SHE WAS A WOMAN

She gave you her blood and flesh, as a MOTHER, taught you to walk and talk,

She groomed you, as a TEACHER, taught you ‘life’ with a piece of chalk,

She hid your mistakes, as a SISTER, became a confidant,

She kept you on your toe, as a FRIEND, made you an aspirant

She made every stressful day nice, as a COLLEAGUE, made the monotony colorful

She brought sunshine in strife, as a COMPANION, made life beautiful and joyful

She stood by you in thick & thin, as a WIFE, taught you love & compassion at a glance

She became the reason you smile, as a DAUGHTER, inspired you to give happiness a second chance

YES SHE WAS A WOMAN!!!

Whose Life is it???

It was when I watched the superhit movie 'Baghbaan',that I came across a unique thought. It is also something I observed is prevalent in today's world.

While the movie very beautifully brings out the emotions, the pain and the suffering of an old couple betrayed by their own children, I want to throw light on the ther side of the story.

It's not about the movie 'Baghbaan' but there are stories around us, in the real world, where the younger generations suffers.

Most of the time parents bring up their children with an expectation to get financial and emotional support from them when they grow up.

While it's fair to expect support from your own children, how many parents really understand what their child's needs, dreams and desires are and support them?

They tend to force their children to live dreams they couldn't fulfil in ther lifetime. Then what happens to the dreams of these children? They further dump their dreams on their children and this chain continues.

It is carried down from one generation to the next one and everyone suffers in the process.

When a child is born, parents celebrate and welcome him to the new world. As the child grows, everything he does is an adventure for the parents, every word is a blessing and every move a lifetime moment for them.

It goes to an extent where parents keep the child's articles and things as if it was a treasure. They would never discard even the dirtiest and worst looking toy without asking the child, fearing it might hurt the child.

But as the child grows, his dreams seem meaningless to them, his words carry no weightage and his desires are mere waste of time.

The child has to either live his parent's dream sacrificing his own, or live his dreams sacrificing his parent's happiness.

Be it the smallest choice of which subject to choose, which college to go, which job to join, or as big as whom to choose as life partner.... every child goes through this tough choice in every way.

Some give up their dreams and silently live to see their parents happy. Some choose to live their own dreams and leave their parents behind in the process. Some unable to take the pressure of such choices take drastic steps and give up their hope on life.

Why is it that every child has to go through this tough choice?
Why can't parents allow the child to live his dreams without sacrificing their happiness?
Why can't there be a balance between these two?

I have been searching for an answer to this question... and after so many years of learning, observing and bringing up a child single handedly, I guess I do have some answers now. Will detail them in the next blog on this topic.

Peace - a short poem

Born from the mother Earth,

In her lap we shall rest

Then why these fights and terrors

What happened to our Peace Quest?

Candle light vigils and peace marches we attend

Do we genuinely mean them or are they the latest trend?

Pointing fingers and finding faults is called a courage flood now,

What happens to this courage when we ignore the accident site letting the blood flow?

Changing the world is not a one man's job we all got to stand

But before that be truthful to self, and let's not pretend.

Be the one who rises himself and lifts souls in pain too

Be the one who walks for Peace in Sun, dust and Rain too.