Time: An Enigma

         I have been recently pondering on the mysterious nature of time. All of you might have come across the quotes, "Life is too short", "Have patience, only patience will yield results". I find contradictions in these adages by the same people who quote both according to circumstances. Really, time has an enigmatic nature.
       One of the pillar of success is patience. I feel patience is a relative concept which implies that there is no defined measure or benchmark. Sometimes, people carelessly say that just wait for a year more as if it were just a  seconds time. So many things can happen over a span of a year. How can people so carelessly dismiss one year in a scale of a few minutes? The one year wait which people so carelessly degrade in comparison then becomes a painful wait for the associated endeavor to bear fruit. When I was in my third year of undergraduate college, people often told me just one more year dear and everything concludes. Only I knew how I felt each day of that one year. So a request to people not not inappropriately scale time. Time becomes a manacle during such times
     On the other hand we get to hear that life is short. If life is so short dear friends how come then living for one year becomes such a task. We are asked to forget the grudges and strike truce with everyone. Does holding grudges prolong life? Does it make each moment count as if it required tremendous efforts to breathe with the load of grudge we carry inside? All these factors seem so intertwined and complicated that only experience can unveil its veracity to each individual.
  I write this article with great heaviness. With paradoxical and contradictory thoughts, time is the most tantalizing enigma to decode. Let time only decode time!

GOOD DAY TO ALL on that note!

Fury

               

               Fury can do wonders, fury can change one's life, fury can make a person go up to his maximum limit of tolerance, fury can bring about the best in a person, fury can destroy a person. The fury I am talking about is following something in such extreme passion that it may lead to success or even failure but at least not keep you hanging in the middle.It will drag you to a phenomenal level of activity/dedication that you maybe extremely focused.
               What is this fury all about after all? It is a driving force, a force which drives your lethargy away and pumps in the energy which compels you to achieve something. I sternly believe that a stoic person is incapable of achieving anything because his reaction to all things is the same.In this regard, it is strongly advised to have an opinion on things which one has to achieve. This approach may often lead to criticism from people who will pull you down from the ladder stating prejudiced opinions/goals.Fury provides you a protective shield which actually blinds you in a way from external resistance. It is dangerous as it may blind you to realities and may lead to failures as well. I must say that once upon a time travelling to a Mars was deemed impossible but today its as possible as it might have got.Failures(a branch of fury) are those milestones in life which will make one realize the true taste of success and will drive one to work harder and harder.The worst fear I have encountered till date is to not be afraid of failures. When you feel that you are no longer afraid of any failures either of the two things maybe true in this case: You have overcome that fear or you no longer care about the outcome because there isn't enough motivation. The latter case is a benign feeling which is actually poisonous for one professionally/personally in which he/she may not even realize the gains/losses. This again makes me reminisce the point that we need to be passionate about something and that passion must be unique; you cannot love everything at the same time or be passionate equally for all activities.It is equivalent to stating that one cannot love everyone equally.
          So guys, it's time we have our preferences/choices very clear and feel for it strongly as only "Fury" coupled with hard work will help you accomplish your goal.I do not advocate hatred/anger in any way but one must have his preferences/choices in certain things especially professionally. The shield which "Fury" provides will provide resistance from all the negativity and 'impossibility barbs' which people throw at you.Embrace this fury for all the right reasons to take yourself and this world to a next level altogether.

Harsha Bhogle's video adds a new dimension to my argument i.e presence of talent in this endeavour.

Talent without passion is best described by the state of dormancy.

Be passionate(another word for Fury) to adjectivize your name as excellent!
         
GOOD DAY TO ALL ON THE ABOVE TWO QUOTES!

Book Review: The Bestseller She Wrote

         
Well, I wont divide this review into logical divisions as done earlier for a change. To give you all a background, I was reading 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand which is quite deep and a heavy read and I was desperately looking forward to read a thriller/suspense to lighten things up. Through Blogadda, I caught hold of this review copy which kept me enthralled for hours.

       Getting to the storyline, it all starts with projecting Aditya as a successful author coming to IIM as an alumni speaker.He is married to Maya, an elegant woman with all the ideal qualities a man might desire in his wife. While promoting his book, he crosses horns with a girl named Shreya who raises objection at him calling a book as a 'product' to be sold. It never started well with them; but Shreya, who was an opportunist wanted to be an successful author and Aditya was the bridge. An inchoate relationship which once began on unfavorable conditions and terms develops into something murky, transactional and later on complicated with emotions.To make it more interesting, the character of Sanjay, who is Aditya's close friend doles out a lot of surprises at the end.

     Ravi has given all the ingredients required for a book to be a bestseller in the book through the fictional character Aditya and it seemed to be too realistic for it to be classified as fiction. The overall story seems to be quite predictable after reading the prologue but still the suspense quotient is retained owing to the characters. Mention of known characters such as Anurag Kashyap, Nirav Sanghvi takes it further towards reality and away from fiction.However, the fact of Aditya not reading books but still able to write lucidly and be able to become a stellar author is something strange as I feel for effective and powerful writing, reading is a must.

     A very good attempt made at description of erotic scenes. This makes it murkier. Each encounter Aditya and Shreya had, I felt was backed by guilt, discomfort all overshadowed by pleasure nevertheless. It was like any other transaction of debit and credit until it got too personal. I couldnt really get if Shreya really loved Aditya or was it just his fame she wanted to inherit, it was really confusing till the end when the truth was out! In fact I still couldnt believe the genuity of emotions at the end!This part of the book, I felt was a bit puzzling as the love seemed to be only because of Aditya's stature and emotions couldn't have been genuine in any case.

   The roles played by Sanjay and Diana, I felt could have been elaborated a bit more. Sanjay did have a history to throw in the whole story.This history could have been elaborated a bit more as a separate chapter keeping him anonymous in that chapter. This would have added suspense and kept the reader wondering on the culprit half way through the book.A short trail would have been better.

  What a wonderful masterpiece, Ravi Subramanian, this is by far the best novel you have come up with. Throughout the book I was wondering if you have been through this situation/have seen a close person in this situation which you put Aditya in. For me, I could only imagine you in Aditya's place whilst playing the story in my mind like a movie. All in all, it is a perfect blend of suspense with quite a bit of romance.
The book briefly quotes its own review from my angle. Here it goes:

I loved it because  a)it is a great story  b) it's brilliantly paced  c) it ends very well d) the language is simple and easy and e) the characters are relatable"

- The bestseller She Wrote, page 117

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program forIndian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Forced Interest

            Do you love the job you are doing? "Ohh yes, why not, I mean I don't understand how I pass time when I am seated in office", says my colleague. He is drenched in the screen of the computer and is reluctant to even talk to me when I try to broach a conversation with him. What makes him interested or is it forced? yes guys, you read it right, there is a new trend going on whereby people force upon interests on themselves so as to at least try to love what they are doing.
       It is generally said that one must not sustain much in their current field if that is not what they want to become in life.Expressions to convey this feeling of boredom used to be in the form of nonchalance,disinterest. Nowadays, its even more dangerous, false enthusiasm and a shallow sense of contentment. People are tied in their own manacles, in a real prison they have their own false mirage which tells them this is what they always wanted. it is very evident in the companies which do not let you choose their stream and force it upon you after your engineering under-graduation studies. I have seen scores of people who were always interested in Java but got some area like Testing and today they are happily working there thinking the pickle served to them as a sweet delicacy.
    Such behaviour of being in a false mirage should be avoided. I would never suggest one looses his/her passion in the quest of helping someone else make money. If there are any financial implications, do work in your current place but make sure that you do not stray from your life's ambition. The world is working in half of its efficiency because we ask a fish to walk on land and a man to breathe in water. Each one of us have different roles and I believe one must be courageous enough to pursue his/her dreams at some point in life.
   There is another category of people who are not interested and are rotting in the job they do. These people are lively and they enjoy the most but out of office. They act as an inspiration to the people but they compromise in professional life. They forget that apart from enjoying they have come here to enhance their professional lives as well. These category of people also seriously compromise in their goals. The problem with us is that we are actually seem to be forgetting the line between personal satisfaction and professional one. When we are satisfied personally, we feel we are doing a job of our passion and when we are only satisfied professionally, we feel that we are personally content as well.
For others who are actually aware of their interest realise how valuable their interest was and then make plans to switch. It is not so uncommon to see people waiting to leave their jobs for an MBA or Masters in a field different from their profession. This is a sorry state of affairs and shows our inability to match our talent with appropriate jobs. This is the reason we experience brain drain. The quality of our so called "innovative" companies promising balance between work and personal life and those equating work and play is not so good. India has one more demand and a threat to cater to; it has to generate jobs, invest in research and make it a suitable destination for "reverse brain drain now". It's high time we stop speaking big and start doing big.
I wish to appeal to all my readers to define a set of objectives, define boundaries and keep your focus.
Good luck!

P.S: Salute to those people who have managed to choose their profession according to their interests

Eyes..

            She had pitched her eyes on him right from the time he entered the hall. What was in her mind?was it admiration or infatuation or was it just an exchange of expressions? probably only she could answer.......
  It was a rainy day outside and Sagar was to attend a public gathering for bloggers. It was probably an event he was looking forward to, meeting people with the same passion. The mundaneness of the world had probably bogged him down to a great extent. Work-Home-Work was a perpetual train which could never seem to end for him. It all started after his engineering where he got trapped in a larger net than he thought of. He was a wanderer in the world of his own creations which kept the reality from bay. He always felt work was all about the fancy concepts one studies in engineering but the truth was far from that. Work was all about delivering somehow even if one knows nothing(here lies the true art of survival).
     Love had now ramified into two branches for him 'love' and 'corporate love'. The relationships forged in corporate were generally shallow. Guys there were attracted to the plaster women put up on their face. Amidst all these things, he was looking towards something refreshing.
As he entered the hall, a Five star plush hotel in the finest areas of Mumbai, he could see people with diverse interests.Some wrote about delicacies, some shared about the experiences of travelling(wander-lusts) while others took blogging professionally.

Decipher my emotions

  An elegant woman with short and curly hair, eyes as dark as a black cat and skin as white as snow was accompanied by solitude. Her eyes contracted the moment their eyes locked, in reaction he upped his eyebrows.        
 She responded by dilating her eyes while he gently blinked an eye at her. She later displayed stress by narrowing her eyebrows once again and he was still relaxed. She wanted him to respond but he did not as his expression was the same throughout. In the rage of disappointment, she just left the place and disappeared into the crowd.



She had pitched her eyes on him right from the time he entered the hall. What was in her mind?was it admiration or infatuation or was it just an exchange of expressions? probably only she could answer.......

Its all in your intentions!

'A content Life' is a thing to wonder on, a thing which differs from person to person. So what is it that brings you contentment? Is it having your coffers filled with money or is it making someone stand on their own feet because of your assistance. A bounty in your coffers will do very little to make your life successful. However, all you be successful in is boosting your ego, which will only fade away with your body after death.

The greatest irony of this world is that people whose definition of content life is correct are clipped by monetary constraints and some of those who have their coffers filled do not play their part. Even if they do, is it intentional so as to increase their popularity or does it come straight from the heart. These are the questions I encounter myriad times when I think of these stalwarts who get into the business of philanthropy.If one looks for boosting ones ego and public image here as well, little will their inner self be ever happy. Karma only when done with the pure heart will bear real fruits. "Short term gains" and instant fame are the motivating factors behind the people who actually are in the lookout for image-boost. Better to leave such shallowness behind which serves no good.

It's Rakshabandhan here in India, a festival where a brother reinstates his duty to protect his sister(s). Lets take a pure and unintentional(one expecting nothing in return)oath to protect not only one's sisters but every woman on the road from the devilish atrocities committed by a few of us. On a lighter note, sisters, don't expect a lot of gifts coming your way because pure intentions is the greatest gift you can get :p
Have a good day guys!

This Rakshabandhan, I am supporting ‪#‎BhojanSurakshaBandhan‬


P.S: I really hope that no-one falls in the image booster category and that I am proved wrong by all means.

The Best Tribute

Hello Guys, it has been a long time since I posted. Got a bit busy with numerous tasks. One thing I observed in this long break is that I cannot distance myself much from writing. Having lost my dear grandpa and Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam with not much gap between the two events, I am feeling extremely heavy from inside.

My Grandpa and Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam were two stalwarts in their respective fields. One was the missile man of the country and the other one was the missile man of our family. Both have set an ideal example of how life is to be lived. Both have undergone inevitable pain, sailed through most difficult turfs in their lives and sometimes I feel that only selectively looking at their successes would be a mistake.

Back then at that time, both my grandpa and Dr A.P.J have been victims of "budding age and unbudding country". This categorically means they had desires and ambitions as high as the sky but resources were extremely as scarce as they could get. In a country just managing to free its clutches from colonisation, even basic necessities such as electricity was a challenge keep aside other amenities. In such adverse circumstances, they managed to study and get themselves a job which today has got a lot easier as compared to those times. I so wonder as to how Dr APJ Kalam had garnered so much of knowledge as to build missiles. Today, even after the prolific relevance of internet, no "Missile Man" of India has arisen. I think his dedication is unmatched and he never had to prove himself and his position w.r.t the country. I am not able to find any other missile man today,why?

My Grandpa, on the other hand had always been a "missile man"of our family. He had a widespread relevance and was known to even the most remote relatives. He was intransigent when it came to breaking rules for ones own benefits. Life had presented him with many opportunites to desert people and leave them struggling for themselves but he, undauntingly faced the hardships of supporting everyone and ensured even they are settled in life.I call him missile man because he ensured the launch of independent individuals(missiles).

Obviously, they both have seen terrible flipsides of life, facing resistance from people, criticisms and those things cannot be described because words cannot match up to those feelings at any point of time. The best tribute we can pay to these esteemed souls is by following their principles rather than admiring them for a day or two and going back to worthless mundaneness. I would like to end this blog by dedicating a short writeup(eulogy) for both:

Dearest Grandpa, it is said that the true value of people is realised only when we have lost them. In this hustle-bustle, I really feel that I had forgotten  to cater to the innocent emotions which you had for me. I really curse the debilitating Alzeimers which  snatched you away from my life.You had to go, as every mortal has to shed his/her body. I consider your body only a medium to forge ties between our souls and I sincerely wish that an esteemed soul like yours comes back and broaches up a coversation with me. I still remember the times when you went to the pedagogic state explaining me basic principles of life which I must follow. It is indeed those values which have let the undying spirit in me never fade and loose its sheen come what may. You have helped innumerable souls out there and what more could a person have asked for, when all he gets is goodwill from scores of people even after his death for the grand benevolence he portrayed when he was alive.

I would consider myself as blessed if I could even follow a percent of ethics you have always followed in life.

There were surely many things to learn for me from your life and I shall always have you in my heart for all that you have given me till date, including my pet name which many still utter.

 With Loads of Love from your grandson.     

A.P.J Abdul Kalam Sir, the best and the only tribute we can pay you is by engendering the creation of another diligent,selfless,grounded and a good hearted missile man of India.(Am I asking for too much?)                   

Dear God..

Hello Almighty,
                           How are you doing?Hope things are fine with you. What should I call you?Manager,Senior Manager or Delivery Lead of the Universe(as they designate in corporate ladder).Firstly thank you for making me experience this topsy-turvy world. Today I am writing this letter addressed to you since certain aspects makes me wonder the anomalies which you have created here. So shall I begin?
                          First, why have you created all this? Just imagine, absence of anything would mean that no hassles,no problems, no pain and nothing.This state is not even called nothingness since nothingness is the absence of 'something' and that something would have never existed. So null and void would have been apt? Fine, let us for once accept that you have created the whole universe, the whole grandiose scheme of matter which has led to a grandiloquent branch of science/astronomy, a bunch of intelligent people who are running behind something called infinity, something which has no end. Each year, they come up with interesting statistics to spice up the lives of others with some earthly-looking planet spotted yyy light years away.Please answer as to are there any other people like us you have spawned anywhere else? Look, my life is hardly 60-70 years on an average so Let this proposition be corroborated so that we are able to quench our unreasonable thirst to bond with extraterrestrials(but living inharmoniously with people on the same planet).
          Second, love, you have created the pure feeling of love for humans to experience. Since it is pure, it doesnt take into account the caste, creed or religion of the other person. Still, we are made to believe that the system of caste, creed was created in your presence and that it was for a reason. So tell me one thing, why did you create the feeling of love and then you made us restrict this pure thing with such principles which you yourself have condoned at one point of time?Isn't this behaviour self- contradictory?Please answer this.
         Third,you say you are good and invincible, so why haven't you destroyed evil souls/force. Are you insinuating  that the devils are insurmountable. What is the use of being invincible/immortal  then? Why don't you let justice prevail everywhere?
       Lastly, the concept of death, you make us devise these theories that death brings about peace to humans. If you ever wished for peace then why did you broach upon this concept of death and birth? First, you make us experience cherish able moments with our beloved ones and then suddenly you take them away from us?
   I would be elated if I got answers to these questions because behind these eternal questions leading nowhere lies the mystery of life!
                                                      Thanking you

                                                                                                    Yours Lovingly,

    (Just)A mortal.           

Deciphering A Mother's Love

         
                Rohit was a bright young student. He would caste a positive vibe where ever he went. He was a crowd puller had a penchant for learning new things related to computers and programming.It wouldn't be odd to say that he was destined to have a good future. Everyone, including his coworkers were of the opinion that the grass was green for him.
                  For a person with such an aesthetic personality, it wouldn't be hard to believe that his soulmate was already in his life at the age of 20.  He had first met her in his college library. It took him just minutes to broach up a conversation with her where others would have still counted on their luck for a topic to broach a conversation upon. Within no time she caught hold of his aura and intense passion but she wasn't an easy fish either. Rohit was determined to have her in his life and after days of putting in 'efforts' to know her more, she finally agreed to be his girlfriend.
                        Dedication was in his veins and he left no stone unturned to keep his girlfriend very happy. His dedication was such that even his life cost him nothing when it came to fulfilling her wishes.Being from the Indian society where caste, creed etc still count, Rohit was caught in the quagmire of either going against his family's wishes or else against his own. He knew that he had chosen her after gauging her for certain qualities which he always wished to see in his other half. His father was ill with Alzheimer's disease but his mother was healthy woman and she would form the backbone of the family.
                     Rohit's girlfriend was so demanding that Rohit would break down and start crying at times; having succumbed to their pressure  . He couldnt be bogged down ever in his professional life by anyone but here was a person who managed to make him bog down completely and shatter him to pieces. He was weakened by the emotions he had for her. This did not mean that she was bad, just that her nature was so, extremely demanding. Rohit had to weave a yarn each time he would meet his girlfriend as many other Indians do but not because of their orthodoxy but their grave concern of the attitude of the girl. They would often say, "She is making so many demands now, I cannot imagine what can happen in the future if this behaviour persists."
                    Rohit was once planning a trip with his girlfriend and her family to Manali. As expected, he couldn't convince his mother to let him go. His mother pleaded him not to go as she had an apparent intuition of loosing her son. "I will never let you go for I am sure something bad is going to happen and I am already sensing it. It's a mothers intuition beta and I dont think you are/will be able to understand it after being totally enamored by that girl." Rohit was cunning, he took advantage of his ignorant mother and somehow spun a yarn that he needs to attend a training for official purposes and that couldn't be missed.
              "I know what you are up-to and will not allow you to go at any cost", his mother said in utter helplessness.She was so stubborn and adamant that even if Rohit was 'not offered a job by anyone because of not attending these "trainings"', she wouldnt let him go. Somehow, after a lot of persuation and insistence, Rohit had made up his mothers mind and despite her repeated obviating behaviour, he left.
                  His mother would count each of the 9 days and wait for his routine call at about 9 PM daily. Such was a mothers helplessness caused by being in the dark despite knowing the truth. On the 4th day of his 9 day trip, Rohit was on his way to Chandigarh. A mob of 10 barged in the compartment of the train, each carrying a AK-47. As Rohit was having a co-ordial conversation with his girlfriend and her family, they suddenly, out of the blue pointed the tip of their gun on his forehead and shot 4 bullets into his brain. One by one, they eliminated each of the his co-passengers with no one to spare.

                It was 9 PM and his mother was getting restless with a magnitude of 100 increasing with each minute. At about 9:01 PM she tried reaching Rohit on his cell but such was her fate, you call it, the phone never even rang once. At 9:15, tears started flowing from her eyes beyond her control; his father could only understand vaguely that he had actually lost his son forever, the ever-bright, ever shining son who would have surely made his world wonderful, atleast that is what he believed knowing that he would never live to understand when his son made it big. Rohit's mom rushed to the police station and after several investigations, she finally got to know the truth. Rohit was no more, she was flabbergasted, torn and even the tears which hadn't stopped rolling from her cheeks from a long time couldn't take away the heaviness of loosing her son.
Hadn't she told him not to go?Hadn't her so-called 'baseless' intuition predict her gem to loose its shine?All she wished for now is death for herself, what remains of  a mother without her son? a mother who lives, breathes and struggles to keep her children safe. Even God, looking at her untiring efforts bestows these intuitions on her which are nothing but foreboding instincts.Can any love surpass this purity and dedication that even God is forced to betray the laws of logic by bestowing intuition?

*********************************************************************************
 For once, realise that others may desert you and make you feeble because it is known that if you do not do certain things for them, you stand a chance of loosing them. Clearly, Rohit betrayed his mother because he knew one thing for sure that he will never loose his mother come what may.
I appeal to all my readers vehemently to decipher and respect a mothers emotions and to love her back equally.

Innocence, the best way to be happy.

                   Recently, I had a very bad time personally. I had started to overthink on issues and though I cared and loved people around me a lot, it was taken negatively and I began loosing them.
The only reason for this is overthinking or being excessively aware of the issues which should not be aggravated.
                 I often used to feel as to why my care and love is being so negatively taken; where exactly am I going wrong. Inspite of being so caring, why is it that people around me are pissed off me. Well guys there is an old adage, anything in excess is bad and detrimental and that is what exactly happened with me. I tried to excessively think good for them and tried to convince them to follow certain things which I felt were good for them but in reality it was an aspect which was absent even in the remote areas of their minds. This situation is terrible and it makes you feel as if the "World is bad and that people dont value you". The truth is that they do not match your expectations or they are not of your level to match up to your level of thoughts. This is one incident which makes me realise the importance of "qualities" of my other half rather than looks. There is a reason why elders say, get a person who matches your level, quality else your life will only downgrade instead of upgrading. Though I had not been in a relationship with anyone till date, this experience made me validate this thought.
                    Oh God, so many serious talks, right? Amidst all this when I was travelling to keep up with a commitment, I paused for a moment on the railway station just as to get a gist of things going around me. Here, I observed a baby, a very small child who was laughing and had a constant grin on his face. What was it for?Nothing as such but that innocence made me forget everything and then for a moment even I could laugh as if nothing of what stated above happened to me.
                 This baby taught me the way to move on. People around me would often pester me to stop thinking about a thing. I would question them as to where can I find that happiness? There is no reason to be happy but looking at that child made me blissful. The baby doesn't understand anything but still is happy. What is the use of growing up and being dismayed. What is the use of thinking unnecessary things when avoiding that thing can make you happy?
                We have a lot to learn from small kids. They are the epitome of innocence and purity and hence they are in a way more nearer to God. As we grow up, manipulation, lust and so any things corrupt our sanity that we just keep going far from an absolute state of bliss and God. This makes us commit sins and later on repent to atone for them. Kids dont overthink, they just live in the moment and experience happiness and that is the greatest lesson to learn from them.
So guys, whenever you are down or feel as if the world isnt running as per your wishes, just think of the  baby and be like one! dont care/bother about anything and that is the way you will be happy.

GOOD DAY TO ALL OF YOU!