Success!

            "Overrated", "Ultimate-goal", "Bliss", "Money" are some of the contrasting words which adjectivizes success. Success has been in a positive or negative limelight depending upon how one got there or how one is viewed by the people who judge. Let us not focus on these aspects though and lets 'try' defining it. I say 'try' because it is really not possible to generalize perspectives and probably I would project my thoughts on this topic.

         Often in our journey of life, we are all left alone emotionally and feel hapless to have been trapped in that situation. During such times, will you being a accomplished entrepreneur/CEO help you get out of it? Quite simple to answer that right? We cannot use these positions to absolve ourselves of the emotional turmoil. What do you need then?who will get you out of it? The answer is quite simple, loved ones will always stand by you come what may. While what I stated was obvious, I was making up a background of my definition of success. Success, according to me is having a few people around who make your life memorable. What is the use of the professional endeavors when you have no person to share it with, to be expressive about and make yourself feel really good and confident.

         The professional journey of a person might be a success on account of his own work but it never really a sinks in until he/she doesn't feel about this achievement touching another person's life. The feeling of seeing your hard-work bringing smile on yours and someone else's face doesn't have a lexical expression, it can only be felt. Success is having people who help you get where you deserve to be and make you feel valued. Behind every man who is successful, there are many people who help him mold himself/herself into the person that he/she has become. Let me give you an example, the PM or the President of a country is in the chair not only because he deserves and worked hard to get there but also because many other people had confidence in him/her and wanted to see that person in the chair.

     To sum up, I would say success is all about people and for people. As we move along the journey of time, reducing the time-to-live on earth, we should more focus on increasing the count of quality people in life and less on materialistic things. Materialistic things will come and go by with time. Finally, Ask yourself this question:-
"What would you remember while breathing last, the most expensive flat you bought or the person with whom you spent the most important moments of life?"

Present: A treasure

It is a gift for which breathing is the tax. It is a surprise for our senses. It brings about new experiences each time and believe it or not, it is a treat for those who know the value of it. Yes, I am talking about the treasure which is the most non-monetary expensive yet undervalued thing to possess, the present time.
             
Theoretically, everyone is aware of this but how many of us practically treasure the present? Some people either live in the past or the future. Unforgettable memories, planning for the future, anticipating the future events are some of the activities a man does in the present.
There is nothing wrong in such behavior because that is how we are, treasuring the past as if it were present today and building a future which is till date virtual.  While its not wrong to plan things, doing it excessively and forgetting that you are an entity with life meant to experience things in the present is flawed.
           
 All being said, the value of the present doesn't really seep in until you meet an experience which potentially limits your future plans or makes your past invalid.  These experiences are once in a lifetime and get etched in your memory. Lasting for seconds at times, they teach you some invaluable lessons which sets the yardstick straight for your future life. Such experiences are in numerous forms and they, for one, make you equally refreshing as the sluggishness induced by your past. This maybe in the form of entry of a new person in one's life who changes everything drastically, with whom you can connect and erase the marks which your past shamelessly left on you. This person is all what your past wasn't and gradually without much damage, the person manages to take you away from the scars which once shone in you. It also maybe in the form of an accident which you encountered unexpectedly but fortunately managed to survive against all odds. This makes you realize your own worth and how being alert in the present can do wonders. Such shocks, I must say gets you out of the rut of circular thinking which leads nowhere. It breaks the circumference of your thoughts and lets you explore the innumerable opportunities present in the 'present'(:p).

Ctsy:OdysseyOnline

       
I am very well aware about the perplexities of human mind; until one doesn't experience certain things, it will never really seep in. However, the above blog is my attempt to convince my readers of the beauty of the present and how getting out of the circular thought process is of prime importance to enjoy life to the fullest.

Yours half'ly'..

    I am sharing a Half relationship story at BlogAdda in association with #HalfGirlfriend

                     How does it feel to be half committed? It seems strange and absurd at the same time. Such was the story of Rakesh and Priya who were neither into a relationship nor could remain friends. It all started when they met in a camp in Kashmir trapped by their captivators. They had been told that they have limited time till the government met their demands and would later be slaughtered mercilessly. Priya was a happy go-lucky type while Rakesh was a serious guy. Their hands were tied around the same pillar in that area. As Priya was blabbering some words, Rakesh grew curious and heard this, "I have so many unfulfilled wishes to travel around the world, to meet new people and enjoy life". This caught Rakesh's attention and he asked facing the other side, "What is your name, you seem to be more worried about fulfilling your wishes than about an instant death that awaits us". Rakesh was unable to see her face but he fell in love with the girl's attitude and voice.             

             Fortunately, the government and the captivators reached an agreement and they were released. Rakesh, being an enthusiastic person decided to take the conversation forward and asked her phone number, residence and broached up a casual conversation. To Rakesh's pleasure, Priya and he lived in the same locality just a few kilometers away. They started talking and Priya too started liking Rakesh for some of qualities like immense caring, respect for women and they had a common interest; travelling. 

                 Their conversations would endlessly continue crossing barriers of time and it seemed like this relationship was to be shaped like no other. Not that Priya did not know that Rakesh was to ask her out one day; it only struck her mind that her family would never accept Rakesh because he belonged to a different caste. Priya knew that her family would be unaccepting to Rakesh's proposal. Keeping this in mind, after intense talks for about 2 months, Priya one day showed the red flag to Rakesh. Rakesh was stumped and was curious to know about the reason. Priya simply started ignoring him thinking that this will absolve her of hurting his expectations. Little did she know that this was killing her from inside too.         

                Finally one fine day, after desperate attempts by Rakesh to get in touch with her, she picked up the call much to Rakesh's surprise. There was a surge of emotions for Rakesh who was left in the dark about her sudden ignorance of his presence. The first lines he asked were, "What do I mean to you? Tell me if you can live peacefully in my absence? Why are you ignoring me?" His sincere attempts solicited some sincere response from her too. She replied, "Look Rakesh, I too feel for you and these days have been very difficult for me. I never have felt so vulnerable in life from anyone. But you should know that my folks at home here wont accept our relationship. Its not just a bond between you and me but also between families and I, for one, cannot afford to go against their wishes completely. I think we should call it off." Rakesh said, " What is this unnamed relationship we shared, we were never committed nor just friends, i think it was more than that". Priya replied, " I was yours at one point of time, only restricted by societal norms and an urge to not hurt my parents. We are breaking off a relationship in which I was your half girlfriend, you can say."

           What happened later on is a different story altogether. Priya got married to a boy of her caste and Rakesh to another girl of his choice. Their conversations would continue though and this unnamed relationship made its presence felt later on too. Although not bound by any formal relationship in the past, Priya and Rakesh had something in their heart for each other, a brewing unrealized relationship started complicating each other's life. Finally, they mutually decided to stop talking too for the betterment of their lives with respective spouses. Their half-girlfriend-half-boyfriend relationship was definitely troubling them constantly but they learnt to suppress it and live in their present life. It remained an unrealized dream for both; perhaps to be realised in the next life?

The fault in the Stars

  [Despite the light around us in cities, we cannot see the most beautiful wonders of all- A glittered night sky. What are your views on light pollution, and memories of those wonderful starry nights? #DarknessForStars ]


              Yes, it's the fault in the stars for them to not attract our attention. Quite truly, in this hustle-bustle, the simple things which attracted us once upon a time are no longer attractive. Perhaps, it is our cell phones and i-pods and so many other indispensable gadgets which have taken over from a simplistic thing such as the night sky. Sitting in a room lit by artificial bulbs and being happy by the flickering screen is all the more attractive.

                The stars cannot form the queen's necklace type of arrangement in Mumbai, for that matter the stars in the sky isn't fanciful at all. Why will then we be attracted to something that's so random, which doesn't entertain us or is pleasant looking. We are so used to observing a set pattern like the city lights. A set pattern makes us feel comfortable because they don't change. The stars on the other hand represent randomness and irregularity. The current times are so stressful that we love a set pattern be it a 9 to 5 job or something which is constant as it gives an apparent sense of stability. Everybody wants to settle down and have a stable life except a few who go against a wind.  The stars represent curiosity regarding the unknown while the city lights represents stability using the known. Seeing the same thing again and again majority of us feel that we are where we belong and we know where we are heading. This is the sense of security most of us need these days and the city lights represent this.

        The reason why we no longer even think of seeing the stars is because we have become what the stars do not represent. We have become like those beings who cling to the known for security, those who fear the unknown, fear randomness and also fear the uncertain. How can we, with these attributes then peacefully see the stars above which portray a different message altogether?



In response to Indispire Edition #164. Topic suggested by Shantanu Ashima Gaur .

Wings of destruction

         While we humans are born with a pair of hands and legs for living our life, wings develop later on when a man understands just more than what he/she deserves. These are the wings which causes the descent of the person, a descent from the imaginary world he/she lives in. While whatever I stated might be a bit confusing, it is clear nevertheless; talking about a person who is staring an imaginary world which his imaginary wings developed to satisfy his greed for success take him in. What is this 'success' which makes you develop imaginary wings?

         In the recent wake of events around me, this question kept me pondering and I decided to dig deeper. The taste of success is so sweet that one keeps craving for even more. Let me ask you one question, what happens to your body when you increase sugar intake and don't exercise? Your body is unable to metabolize the excess sugar. Blood sugar increases which is very unhealthy. Similarly, when this thirst for success/material things never end and surpasses one's capacity to achieve, a pair of wings are developed. These wings represent deceit, treachery and blatant disregard for relationships(especially the ones who helped the person succeed).  So, the person becomes an iconoclast not because he was always like that but because he/she wants to disregard the ones in power to claim his own. Going against the higher echelon then becomes his/her identity but on what basis is quite questionable. He/She then tries to clip the hands of those who made him/her to surpass them.

        When does this all end? It all ends when he/she is stopped being given undue importance and is left for retrospection and void of support.  This bird which has developed imaginary wings to fly then becomes a bird with no base, nowhere to land and finally realizes the mistake it made. The point I make is that there are a group of humble people who are responsible for the ascent of a person. These people should always be respected as they have been your base/nest from where you flew.  This self realization brings a person back on track by clipping the imaginary wings. The signature of success is humbleness and often it is those who fail to succeed make more noise. This is to fill the gap between their ambition and shortcomings in a way convincing not to oneself but to others. Such people often seek the approval of others for their existence. Happiness and other positive emotions for them are in the hands of some other person who provides approval(second-hand person). When they don't get this approval, they start making noise and then the imaginary wings are developed to claim their supremacy.

       Next question is how to prevent someone from developing the wings of destruction? It is by avoiding a fundamental mistake made by humble and successful people. They exaggerate the other persons importance and skills and make him/her feel very special. These people then develop an air of over-confidence followed by developing wings of destruction. They then try to clip the hands which made them and taught them to stand on their own feet. Over-praising any person does more harm than good.

What do you think?
   

           

A Roadtrip to Kutch

             It all began on 30th December when I finally agreed to go on my first long road trip with friends who are nothing less my brothers. The prospect of it being a long trip made me a bit anxious and also think about the logistics(stay etc) as it was not completely planned. We roughly knew where we need to head to but did not follow an itinerary.

           Our first stop was in Ankleshwar, Gujarat(India). We reached here at about 2 AM morning on 31st December. The luxurious hotel(APEX) ensured that we had a sound sleep. Next day was all set for the long car drive; starting at 8 AM we set our Accelerator to Kutch, near to India's western border with Pakistan.  The major attraction in Kutch is the Rann of kutch which is a salt laden white marshy surface. Kutch not only hosted the white Rann(white Desert) but also the vivacious Kutch Utsav.

Rann utsav, Kutch,Gujarat

The kutch Utsav depicts the Kutch culture at its best. With people from the local attire performing stage shows as also exquisite items from kutch are out for sale.  I got a exquisite bell enclosed in a heart shaped structure from the utsav as a gift to my parents. We then moved on towards the White Rann, the focus of the trip at somewhere around 11:30 pm on 31st December, 2016. While I was going towards the gate to this one-of-a-type place, I met a Border Security Force(BSF) Jawan whose warmth and patience in talking was surprisingly overwhelming for me. Despite handling an hostile border under strenuous conditions at the border, I was spoken to with care and politeness and asked to come the next day morning at about 6 am. This further increased my respect for our Paramilitary and Military(their silent sacrifices which at times do not get the highlight they deserve). From when did sleeping in the car turn out to be an option for me? Well, this was the first time and a good experience in the chilling cold and windows shut completely. I was busy with making and receiving calls for the new years greetings. The following morning, we were the first ones to get into the Rann of kutch, accompanied by nothing but pitch black darkness enroute to the white rann which is just a walking distance from the place we were stationed in. An apparent fear of getting too near the border was always ingrained in us and it came to the fore when we saw BSF jawans coming back from their duty. As we couldn't identify him in the darkness, we were a bit scared and sat by the bench nearby to let the convoy pass.

White Rann

White Rann

As mentioned earlier, the white Rann is a seasonal salt marsh in kutch. The experience got even more amazing when we were the first ones to climb the small tower at the mouth of the white desert and awaited to experience the sunrise.This was a first time experience for me to walk on this  unique landscape.  The food reflecting the culture of the place; the taste of Bhakri, bhaji and a special chatni in one of the stalls left my taste buds tickling and wanting for more! We also had a camel ride there, to add to the experiences.

Jalebi-fafda brunch

We then stopped near a place called Bachau in Kutch where my taste buds were tickled again by the Jalebi-Fafda brunch. This is the specialty of the state and needless to say, we enjoyed the taste.Our next stop was Ahmedabad, a city which welcomed us with a very gloomy climate(blame it on the time of the day- evening).  We rented a hotel here and visited a few places around. Though I don't remember the place names, it helped me with some good memories and moments to remember. By now, I was tired and wanted to sleep even more(most unfavourable thing to do during trips-SLEEP). We just went back to the room and dozed off. The next morning our journey onward Mumbai began. We had kathiawadi Thali at Ankleshwar(en route Mumbai) followed by experiencing tea at a local stall near the connecting road to Surat.The last memorable stopover was at the Tapi riverfront in Surat, a well maintained bay area with all amenities to spend peaceful time with friends. Once we left Surat, we began to sense the normalcy and routine life we were about to resume and were counting each moment spent in the journey henceforth. The exact following day, I had to resume working so I did not even have time to sit down and reminisce on the wonderful time spent.

Tapi riverfront,Surat

One of the important observations made by me during the road trip is that India is largely an agricultural country with vast expanses of land under cultivation. Having lived in the confines of cities around India, I was not able to understand the importance of agriculture in India(I learnt it in the textbook but this experience made me understand it). I also realised that cities are just a small part of the whole state but constitute the most action politically and economy-wise. This made my vision limited. I was able to overcome this illusion of mine after this trip. Besides, from a political perspective too, I came to understand the difficulties in governing a state and on a larger scale India because of the diverse landscapes and cultures, each having different wants and needs which are contrasting at times. This trip indeed expanded my horizon and outlook on so many issues.

One thing I was determined about was writing on this. More than a month has passed and as I write this, I am experiencing the same thrill as I did whilst in the Journey with my brothers. We also agreed that this is just the first road trip we have experienced and we should plan out for many more. With this agreement and enthusiasm, we left for our respective homes.

...and then needless to mention, the next day was work as usual for all...(but hey, wait there was a sense of refreshment)