A day in my life

Gyaan at a Parlour :)

It is always a treat to eavesdrop on random conversations when people are definitely not trying to hide their most outlandish snippets of wisdom. But, this is what helps you understand people around and comprehend human psyche better…because at the end of the day, we all are similar to at least some degree of commonness.

While traveling in buses, metro, walking etc. I get to pick up so many philosophies, come across so many temperaments…guess Kolkata could make a psychologist out of me 😛 . And I am sharing it today because today I re-learned such an important lesson and that too in a ladies parlour 🙂

A place where womenfolk from diverse backgrounds and walks of life come and share their hearts out, at a parlor any topic under the sun gets discussed. Today’s topic was New Year Celebrations. First ten minutes were crap…the customer describing her party at Delhi, sophisticated fun; not my type. Then one of the beauticians described her ghetto party…the fun they had on New Year at their pada(locality); ok, interesting. I too had tapori kinda New Year. Maybe she took an off that day.

But it was the owner’s answer that got my attention. She simply told, “Hum toh yehin parlor me they madam…sabko sundar bana rahe they unka new year party ke liye. bahut bheed tha us din…bahut saara appointments. 7 baje band hone waala us din hum log 9 baje band kiya…uske baad kahan itna takat tha khud party karne ka. customer ka new year happy kar ke, hum log soch liya hamara new year ban gaya…kaam sabse pehle madam. “

So profound and wise. Duty comes first. That lady taught me so much in 2 minutes. Got me thinking. All those people who work hard t make our New Year happy; and why only a new year. Every other festival for that matter. There are thousands of people giving up on their happy moments to make ours a success; at restaurants, clubs, shops and what not.

When there is work to be done, u cannot just sit back and enjoy. No one else is gonna come up and do our share of work. To have your bit of masti, you will have to do your bit of kaam as well…great thing I learned at such a random encounter. Wo kehte hain naa…gyaan toh kabhi bhi kahin bhi mil jaata hai…kisi se bhi mil jata hai. Never forsake an opportunity to learn something in life, be it anyone from whom that gyaan is coming 🙂

Beginning or End

read somewhere ages ago “to the most advanced mind, death is but the next great adventure”…being a kid at that time, i happened to like it. i still do. because, somewhere down the line, it is in congruence with the higher truths of life…

but then, for once i would like to be not a learned and matured but a normal human being. death is loss and i can’t ravish in it. ever. any mention of death reminds me of march, 2004, the black friday (not sure whether it was friday) of my life…and many more associated with me. i woke up all excited for it was holi that day quite unaware of the fact that i will perhaps never play holi in my life again.

i woke up to learn of a loss in the family…an early loss. details, not necessary. my life has never been the same since. changed in a way quite invisible to others. yet, what gets me thinking is the suffering part. who suffers more in a death? the one who died or the ones left behind? very difficult to answer. we are left to walk on the memory lane and behold the pictures of beautiful glimpses…of times well spent…of near life experiences. fair or unfair?

true u go back to where u came from. true you submerge into the higher self. true u came from the ashes and u went back to it. but, as much as i try, i cannot comprehend the predicament of those who go to collect the ashes…perhaps i don’t want to. i know, i have miles to walk before i understand certain things. “everything that is created has to get destroyed” sounds good but doesn’t make me feel good. not at the moment at least…the flashback is too strong…a veil that doesn’t allow me look beyond the mundane.

life gives u a chance at being a phoenix only till u are alive…not thereafter. i find it difficult to live with this loss now that i am reminded of it.

A day to Remember !!!

wow feeling!!!

ever made a memory that will live beyond you? agar banayi hai toh u would know what i mean. and if u haven’t made anything of that sort yet; don’t worry…life is long for you. memories hi nahi banai…zindagi lambi toh lagegi hii naa

yesterday was so awesome…pepperchino, mama, mumma…the ride, the ganges and the photo session…even the cranky boat wallah seemed so hilarious…the rude chai wallah seemed so sabhya. essence of bengal with punjabi and bihari tadka…from a rajashthani point of view 🙂 wow…totally fab!!!

the humor was out of the world. but the most beautiful moments that would be so difficult to describe would all be the ones in the math and the temple. show stoppers of the day. it is so true to the word: there is maximum peace at the feet of the almighty…where all predicaments get answered, where the soul rinses itself off the mundane dirt…there is immense tranquility in the vistas of godly presence…all one needs is an honest effort to map the horizons.

spiritual fun at it’s best…the memory is perfect because it has perfect people…and finally some awesome clicks of the day 🙂

sunset over ganges

dakshineshwar ghat

belur math main temple

[slideshow]

Every day I want to say

i guess m blogging more when i should be studying more (exams on…) does that convey what i want to say???

huh…i guess not. because, right now, i want to say so many things that i don’t have words…to so many people that i do not know whom to start with…about so many things that i do not know what to say first…myriad, labyrinth, maze…bhool bhulaiya 🙁 my emotions have become and they suffer from the disease called selective amnesia(related to words).

those who have always liked writing, whether they are good at it or not, must have known, that the same words that add immense beauty to certain things: they sometimes are a great limitation. that thing about “somethings loose their things when talked about…” suffering from the same. fear loosing the exactness of what i want to say…or do i really know what exactly i want to say…or what i am thinking about??…

i guess no….sad again 🙁

A Beautiful Day

it’s a beautiful day….

did things that i do seldom. but enjoyed a lot. realizations and learning alike, it was a day full of good things. biggest achievement of the day: woke up early, took a bath, did cooking for the navratri ka pooja. i am alive…which means the food was edible. it was good actually. ab haath jalaya toh accha toh banna hi chahiye naa. then, had an awesome conversation for just 1 minute but with an awesome person (online). it just made my day.

then, got ready, left for nani’s place. and the favorite part comes: an empty local and i get to stand at the foot board and travel…simply wow. winds playing around and nature running along, i just love this travel. chote se safar mein lagta hai zindagi khubsoorat hai. my fav music on roll, i reach home and guess what: i have bhog ka khichdi and fafar ka khana for lunch. it can’t get better than this perhaps. but no…i have more in store. went pandal hopping( only one…ghar ke neeche waala) and got drenched in the rain at the middle of the aarti and then again on the terrace…twice in a day. awesome

then, i get to go to durga mandir…icing on the cake. nothing can match up to the serenity of a place where u can just be yrsellf, where u get to know yrself better, hope of better things, wish for a better life, for being a better person.

someone has rightly said: life is very beautiful only if u know what u want from it..only when u know what is it that makes u happy.

Tragic

the recent rail accident and the plane crash before….we have stunners everyday that dont allow us to recover from the previous shock before allowing a new one.

and even before the stench of flesh burns out, the political blame game begins. but what’s the use altogether…the lives lost will never come back, the families torn apart will never be together again…only bitter memories remain leaving behind a life long lament of the loss

The way of Loving…

saturday means chaos and crowd and the unbearable stench of sweat…particularly for those who have no options left but to use the metro between the 9:30 to 10 am window…one cannot and should not expect anything other than sweaty people and smelly armpits(yuck!!!!)…but surprises come in all sizes and suddenness..

today was saturday..so i saw all of the above…the best undoubtedly was the surprise part…in the midst of all the pushing and shoving a pretty lady was standing quite unabashed…peacefully talking and beautifully smiling to the person infront of her..strangely she was in the middle of all the dhakka yet quite away from it…just because the guy with her was keeping her out of harm’s way…standing in such a way that all of it came to him…and she was simply left to enjoy her journey..and it showed on her face

as if he was drawing a boundary wall around her…and it reminds me how unconditional people can be when it comes to actually loving the people they love..we get confused often “how to make people feel special…how to show what we feel” when it really isn’t necessary….when it comes from within, it gets reflected outside effortlessly…its not just about a guy-girl relationship…

loving anyone becomes very easy when you do it from the heart, expect nothing in return..and just let go…that’s where the best way..the selfless way of loving comes in…

Awesome Mausam…

its amazing how a good weather can create awesome moments….and to add on to it if u get good company one could ask for nothing better…

such is the weather of calcutta at the moment…totally awesome. after all calcutta has a nice weather once in a blue moon…a respite from the sticky, sweaty and despicaply humid winds of calcutta have come in the form of rains, cool breeze and a good good feeling. its very rare that u let your hair down and walk freely on the streets with no reason to fear the scorching sun for a change…that u want to feel the feel of calcutta..that u actually say “today i want to walk…mausam accha hai aaj”…hmm…maybe someone above is very happy…though i find no reson why this should be so..specially after what happened at park street…who knows!!!

The Glow of Dawn