My favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
these are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,
snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
silver white winters that melt into springs,
these are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don’t feel so bad.

Remember these words from The Sound of Music?? A nice song to hear, but not one I can really understand. Satin sashes and woolen mittens don’t somehow figure on my shopping list. So here are a few of MY favourite things.

1. Leaving footprints on the wet sand while walking on he beach.
2. Eating cheese cubes with a lot of ketchup.
3. Taking pictures of sleeping doggies on the street.
4. Listening to my best friend whistelling a song.
5. Riding my bike in the rain.
6. Playing sad songs on my casio.
7. Getting up late on Sunday mornings.
8. Making my mother sing lullabies to me.
9. Watching the red sun sink into a horizon dotted with small boats.
10. Trying to remember the stories my grandfather used to tell us.
11. Long drives on rainy days.
12. Snooping peoples’ scrapbooks on orkut
13. Contests on “who-can-twitch-their-nose-better” or “who-can-keep-their-fingers-crossed-the-longest”
14. Doodling on my notebook during a particularly boring lecture.
15.  Playing antakshari when the power goes off.(thank God that still happens..gives us some quality time to spend together)
16. Playing tug of war with Gilloo the dog.
17. Having funny dreams and remembering every detail after waking up.

Well there are so many more..i could just go on..

How about this..lets make a tag game out of this..anyone who reads it is free to write about their favorite things and let me know when u do!

Kinds of silence

A silent bus full of people. A world full of complexities. I wonder what all these people are saying to each other through the silence.

A and B share silence. One of the many that come and go. Each expecting the other to apologize. Each wondering if a silly fight is worth the ego tussle. Each willing the other to break the silence. Both aware that it won’t last forever. I wish them many more fights to come.

C and D share silence. One that comes with spending so many years together. It shows theres almost nothing new to discover. Nothing left to share. More things to complain about, less things to marvel at. Not at all a failing relationship, but one hell of a communication gap. I wish it would bridge soon.

E and F share silence. One that comes when neither knows the appropriate thing to say. When words might not be enough to say goodbye; to express gratitude and sadness at the same time. I hope they understand each other through their silence.

G and H share silence. One that brings contentment. One that shows how at peace they are in each other’s company. And they know through the silence that the other person is as happy as they are themselves feeling at the moment. I hope they end up marrying each other.

I and J share silence. One that shows uncertainty. None knows what the future holds, both wondering if the other is strong enough to give what it takes. Both wondering how much faith the other has in themselves. When they get down at the hospital I wish them a long and healthy life.

K and L share silence. One that comes when physical distance manages to overpower a great relationship. And suddenly things are uncertain. And questions that may never be answered begin to surface. I hope things will work out for them.

M , N and O share silence. One that comes with too much individuality. Each thinking his/her own thoughts, each immersed in their own world. Each aware that separation will come someday when they all set of to live their own lives. Each aware, that he/she is growing further and further away form the rest.

It may be sheer boredom, or inability to express one’s feelings, or too much self-indulgence. Silence has many things to say…if we only listen.

Define Love

Very cliche, I know, but most of us will have had this big question in our heads at a certain time in our lives. (or maybe the same question comes in different forms in different phases of life? ) Whatever it is, you think you know what you want from life, and you are ‘in control’ and along comes this question in an orkut community.. “define love”..and you say oh yes…i know what love is…”true love” as they show in the films…”real love” as you thought you had felt…and you start typing..and you suddenly feel at a loss to explain what you feel about love.

Sometimes you just go …bah!…it’s all crap…just a concept that doesn’t really take form…but then we do need someone in our lives don’t we? Someone to share everything with? Is it not love that bonds us then? Or is it the compelling necessity of companionship that brings us together. Being in love makes you dependent, it makes you vulnerable…is that true??

Of all the answers that were given to that question..one stood out, and was appreciated and applauded by many members of that community. In fact I made friends with that person just because I liked the answer so much. Not that it was a perfect answer..It is very hard to find the kind of love that she has described..and harder to make it work..but if you want an almost complete definition of love, here’s what Anindita Bhattacharya had to say:

To me love is:

U think about yourself, get to know yourself, build yourself up to be so strong that u are confident that u can handle your own life, that u don’t need anyone, that no one can hurt u without ur permission, that you are the master of your own life,

& then, u meet someone… who makes u want to surrender all of yourself, without hesitation, when you become ready to lay yourself totally open in front of him/her, all your vulnerabilities, your fears, your dreams, your weaknesses, your wishes and ambitions and principles, things that make you think and feel and wonder and laugh and cry, when the tiniest of his/her unhappiness zoom straight inside your heart, when you feel like bringing the whole world at his/her feet, just to make him/her happy, when you are ready to give him/her all the freedom and right over your life, comfortable in the knowing that the other person is so strong that he/she will honour you, the you that you’ve opened up, & will never take advantage of your openness… will care for you because he/she wants to, not because it’s supposed to be that way, when adjustment doesn’t feel like adjustment, when u willingly make yourself flexible for his/her sake, when the freedom between you makes your relationship stronger, when u both start feeling that u need each other, not because u lack something, but because of how much both of you enjoy being part of one another’s lives, & both of you want to practically take it forward,

That’s love for real.

And I agree with her to quite an extent. I’m not quite “learned” enough to “profess” anything, but yes, i feel love is learning to love yourself, knowing that you are strong enough to survive anything life throws at you, and then finding someone who you don’t mind being vulnerable with, because you trust him/her enough, and you are comfortable enough to shed all ego barriers.

Miramar again

Miramar

Boy do I love the land I live in!

Learning to skate in 6 days

A week of holidays with nowhere to go (& all your friends gone out of station already) can leave you desperate sometimes. Well I always wanted to learn to skate!

It’s been a long long time since i did something even minutely adventurous and I always wanted to learn boxing and skating. Of the two, I thought skating seems like something I can do on my own. So off I went with the money I had saved and I got my self a pair of skates. Inline skates are certainly the more difficult kind to learn on..but they fascinate me more…here’s my pair: my skates

Well my first day was spent in choosing the right ones..and buying accessories like knee, elbow and wrist pads. Whoa!! I’ve fallen only twice yet though…

I learned to take baby steps the next day. Standing up was easy..thanks to a dude named Dhruv in my colony, who let me try out his skates some years ago even though he was younger than me. (maybe I liked it so much then, that I’ve always wanted to learn it ever since) And then I was successful in moving forward with each foot about one foot distance at a time. I practiced where my father plays table tennis. The wooden floors gave me the confidence to fall whenever i liked.

Now I’ve been bugging my mother in the house…doing all my chores in skates the whole day..it slows me down considerably, but its many times more exciting! Now i can move forward easily..but I’m failing to get into motion with the sweeping strides that i see most skaters take. I asked a friend of mine who skates pretty well on his own pair of inline skates for some tips..He told me to incline the lagging leg by 45 degrees and push on it whenever i move forward. I’ll try that soon I haven’t dared to go on the roads yet, not with the vehicles around at least..maybe I’ll try doing it late tonight..

Will be updating on future developments soon.

Wish me luck!!

Kar salaam

Ever come across a song that completely expressed how you felt at the moment? A song that you barely seemed to have paid attention to earlier, but suddenly everything is clear and you play it again and again and again only to listen to the words. I have such songs all the time. Three months ago it would have been a melancholy old classic, but for a few days I can’t help but listen to this song again and again and nod my head in approval of every single word (because of the nice lyrics) and tapping my feet too (because of the awesome music).

Song : Kar Salaam Kar Salaam
Music : Pritam Chakraborty
Lyrics : Syed Quadri
Singers : Pritam, Suhail, Soham

Kyun Jindagi Se Ho Shikava Gila…
Yeh Hasati Hai Roti Hai, Jo Bhi Hai Jaisi Hai
Jo Bhi Yeh Deti Hai Woh Hai Tera
Kar Salaam…

Nakhre Utha Isake Nakhre Utha…
Haan Dhoop Bhi Hai Yeh, Chhaanv Bhi Hai Yeh
Jo Bhi Yeh Deti Hai, Tu Maan Ja
Kar Salaam…

Kho Jaana, Pa Jaana, Na Paana, Hai Jindagi Jaane Le
Bik Jaana, Loot Jaana, Bass Jaana Hai Jindagi Maan Le
Ho Ho Ho Karle Yakin, Jo Kal Gaya Woh Phir Se Aata Nahin
Ho Ho Ho Gujra Huva Jo Waqt Hai Woh Dastak Lagaata Nahin
Jo Aaj Hai Bass Wahi Hai Tera…
Ha Kya Teri Hasti Hai, Mitti Ki Basti Hai
Pal Mein Hi Ho Jaati Hai Yeh Fanaa
Kar Salaam…

Kyun Jindagi Se Ho Shikava Gila…
Yeh Hasati Hai Roti Hai, Jo Bhi Hai Jaisi Hai
Jo Bhi Yeh Deti Hai Woh Hai Tera
Kar Salaam…

Well the video is not really interesting..am including it only for the audio..Do listen to this for the wonderful music.

Are engineers more imaginative?

I’m almost halfway into my 3rd year….on my way to becoming an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer. Supposedly the clever guys end up doing engineering and the cleverest do medicine . They say this concept is a thing of the past. Parents don’t really pressure their kids to become engineers and doctors anymore….or do they?????

I would say things are such that even today most kids who get admissions into engineering due to the marks they score in their 12th Std. boards (and lately the entrance tests) have only a vague idea of what skills they are required to use during engineering. I remember my first day in college when our Engineering Graphics Sir(thats one monster of a subject with loads of imaginary stuff) asked us why we had chosen E n TC..and none of us had a really convincing answer other than maybe that we scored best in the entrance tests and those who score best usually choose EnTC !!!! My how dumb we felt at the time!!!

When you finally think the ratta- days are over, you find yourself with physics and chemistry in the first year, with hardly any problems and loads of theory…and you go “what the…..!!!” And when the time comes in 2nd year for the real applicative subjects, you start wishing you had chemistry all over again instead of this! Because at least ratta makes sure you can get some marks. Only an engineer knows the importance of 40 marks.

It is by third year that your brain starts adjusting to the ways of an engineering life. And then you start surprising yourself with your own imaginative skills. My professor has to just mention some wild concept and my imagination kicks into overdrive, on autopilot. We are all used to it by now. Most of the things in engineering are so very conceptual that unless you visualise it in your mind’s eye there is no way you are going to understand. And then comes the hurdle of putting what you are thinking of into words. You know what you have understood, but you cannot tell how it works.

And the symptoms show up all the time. A friend of mine can go on rattling about a some imaginary device till you tell him to stop. Another friend of mine thinks it is essential to have a wild imagination if you want to code or write programs. She says you are lost unless you have a 3-D image of the object revolving in your mind All in all, I’m starting to get a feeling that maybe engineers are more imaginative than any arts student. Electronics students have to keep imagining circuits and electrons and energy. If the very “flow” of current is imaginary (electrons don’t actually travel all the length from your switch to your fan when you switch it on…do they??) you can imagine how “electronics” will be I.T and computer sciences have to imagine cycles and cycles of things that happen in microseconds, control that doesn’t really exist, technology that takes decisions but cannot really “think” I’m sure they must be wondering sometimes if they are dealing with reality or fiction. Mechanical engineers, i think need the most powerful imaginations. They have to imagine how things move, how load is distributed, how energy and force are translated. But at least they deal with physical things that can be touched and seen

Well it is definitely a roller coaster ride. So maybe the wild imagination is just our way of escaping the relatively mundane things that we learn about. After all, engineers are the ones who convert dreams into reality. We are the ones who convert fiction into fact. And you know what..sometimes I’m really proud of that.

One more tag!

I was tagged by Maverick. I suppose this one is easier than the others – just have to answer questions. Seeing that I’ll be completing 2 months as a blogger soon, this one might be an interesting post for me to read when I’m a (so to say) adult blogger

Well the rules first.

Rule 1. Name the person with link who tagged you.
Rule 2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.
Rule 3. Tag 6 or more people. I’m sorry i might not be able to follow this one since i don’t know so many bloggers, and from earlier tag games I’ve learned that only few of those i know do complete the tags.

As i said, Maverick tagged me…and here are the questions.

1)Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
Happy..yes. Satisfied..No way!!! Every new blog i read makes me think..wow…I could have written about this.. As far as contents goes, as I said earlier, I started blogging so I could empty my head of all the nutty things that go through it…and I guess that is happening to my satisfaction..I do not like filling posts with forwarded mails just to keep the blog updated all the time. Look…well I like many of the themes that wordpress provides. Will try them out one by one for sure, whenever i get bored

Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Hehe..maverick, i can understand why you want to know my answer for this one. After all the psycho things i write about…hehe… The answer is YES! My family does know. I don’t seek appreciation or approval from them, but they too have discovered some bizzare stuff about me through my blog

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
Oh i love to have my friends read the blog. For one thing it gives me feedback from the people whose criticism i appreciate, and then i was screaming from the rooftops about it when i stated blogging Plus it’s nice to have the people who know me trying to guess which person I’m referring to when i write about someone, or which incident i’m writing about…for example it was nice to see my best friend’s happiness when i mentioned her .

Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Well i’ve mentioned this earlier. I do find myself thinking ” i should write about this” many times, and i guess this is a positive thing. Your perspective about certain things does change when u actually put it in words.

Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
I love tag surfing. I like finding more things to read. Especially personal blogs rather than informative ones. Having said i love doing it, it is also one of then things i need to do if i have to find more like-minded people. Normally I tag-surf or explore my blogger friends’ blogrolls.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
It mattered to me before I crossed a 1000 hits. Now i don’t really remember the latest count. I put it on my blog because it amazes me sometimes that my ramblings have been read so many times. And of course i wont deny that it gives me some amount of pride. By now, people who are really interested keep visiting to see what I’m writing, so I don’t have to keep reminding them or copying my link everywhere.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Interesting question. Well….no. I like observing their styles and predicting what they’ll come up with next. Looks can be deceptive.. I’ve seen a sensible looking girl’s blog full of flowers n glitters, and a shy sweet guy’s blog full of rowdy statements. hehe…

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Well yes and no. As far as personal blogs like mine go, the WWW is so huge that my contribution is infinitesimal but i do like finding people who like sharing my views and knowing more about me. As far as technical, political blogs go..I’m not really interested…but some of them are really good. The main things for me is (and i think I’m repeating myself too many times i think ) that i get to express myself.

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
Hell no!! Who said what happens in our lives has no effect on the world?? No, seriously, i think bloggers do discuss very much real and very much relevant topics…through actual news writing, or through fictional writing, or through writing about their views.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?
When it comes in the form of advice or comments from people whose views i value, criticism helps me a lot. When it comes in the form of snide, kiddish taunts (hidden references to my blog ) (yes people, it has happened)..hehe…it only amuses me.

Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?
Nah…not even interested.

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
I am new to the world of blogging. But i did go n read…and yes i was shocked.

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?
I absolutely love music. In fact i have a Diploma in Hindustani Classical Music.. (hehe.. talk about being modest ) welllll…… song for my blog….hmmmm…i’ll change my mind in a few days…but right now i’d say.. Those sweet word – by Norah Jones

Well thats the end of the questions…phew…it took longer than i thought it would..

Now I’m afraid I’m going to break the third rule…I’ve learned its stupid to force people to do tags…but i’d love to read how Moonriver, and Blues Rhapsody answer those questions.

 

 

 

Selflessness

The above picture means so many things to me, for various reasons. But what is selflessness? Who is selfless?

I am an 86 year old woman. I had a fair share of hard times. My husband left me alone in this world four years ago. He battled illness for more than a decade. I fought along with him, i gave my everything to it, met all his demands. Now I’m alone and I’m waiting for God to take me home too. I’m tired and old. I think only of myself. I pester the people I stay with for simple things so that I have their attention. I act like a five year old sometimes; craving for attention. I say I’m not selfish.

I’m a 19 year old boy. I ditched her. I made her happy, gave her love, and then i left her when she needed me the most. I believe I cannot keep her happy. I believe she deserves better. Right now I’m not capable of handling her world as well as mine, someday in the future, maybe i’ll be able to, but not right now. I say I’m not selfish.

I am a19 year old girl. I’m the eldest of 3 sisters and our financial conditions are not as great as i would like them to be. Playing the role of the son that my family needs so much as well as that of the eldest sister is not easy. I work with my father after college, cook for the family and study late at night. People in class call me a parrot that memorises all textbooks. I refuse to help some of them, some..who have all the time in the world, but don’t study. I say I’m not selfish.

I’m a man nearing my fifties. Life has always been a tightrope walk, with people that I love on both sides. Keeping everyone happy is practically impossible for me. And still i tried. I’m happy with what I’ve done in my life, I believe in having no regrets. Now i do whatever brings pleasure to me. My work, my contacts, my professional reputation….all these things make up the world that i live in. And I’m content. I say I’m not selfish.

Life is never completely black and white. It’s the grays in the middle that make it worth living. To get into others’ shoes you have to take yours off first. And very few people can manage to do that.

Guess!!

Hello people. I’m back before the 6th But only to give you something to do. Can anyone tell me which place in Goa this is?? All my Goan friends, or those who have visited Goa can try. It’s beautiful isn’t it??

Well have fun guessing..I’ll answer if nobody gets it right. Its pretty easy if you’ve been there already. Others can simply enjoy looking at the photo and envying me for living in such a beautiful land.