.......unleashing the power within

There are times when I wonder what if we led completely aimless lives? In fact, sometimes I do feel my life is absolutely aimless, filled with a void (oh cmon plz don't laugh!)..and then there are times when life offers so much that I'm overwhelmed by all the things around me....in short, life plays games with us and it is upto us to realize and at the same time distinguish between truth and illusion. Anything that is in abundance would never make you feel what it means to you till you experience a shortage of sorts (which by the way is a law so we shouldn't really blame ourselves :D)!

So in this royal mess called life, it is very important to know what you want, what is dear to you and then chase it accordingly. I have come to realize that once you know what you reallllly (note the Ls there!) want, all those dilemmas, apprehensions, fears vanish like they were never there at all! And a huge believer in God that I am, Mastercard's tagline works well for me although with a teeny weeny change - "for everything else, there's God!!" What a comforting line!

This one's a rather abstract post but just wanted to get my thoughts out of my mind and what better outlet than http://catchrucha.blogspot.com !!! :)

Even complete strangers can teach you a thing or two!

My Monday mornings (around 7:15) generally involve waiting at the Aundh bus stop to get back to Mumbai. Now, this has sort of become a routine unless I plan to stay in Mumbai on weekends...Anyway so this bus stop isn't any ordinary bus stop...it's a junction where all office goers, commuters (Pune-Mumbai travellers in particular) wait for their respective buses...The Neetas, Prasannas, Shivneris all halt here and in case you are a regular at this stop, you know you get to see a lot of familiar faces (as in people waiting for their Pune bound buses)...although the Pune Mumbai junta is not the same everytime....dunno why I see new faces all the time!

It was this morning that I discovered something after which my face simply lit up! I realized there's this uncle I keep seeing everytime, waiting for his office bus and always sporting a pleasant smile with such a refreshing look that would probably defy his age!! Seriously!! And that's when I was like if people his age can be so cheerful and lively, why can't we? Believe it or not, most of the youngsters at this bus stop have such expressions on their faces as if tragedy's struck or something!! I know that isn't my problem..it's entirely upto them to choose their expressions but it makes me wonder especially when I look at this ever smiling uncle (I don't even know him by the way!!) and I feel like yes, this is how life is meant to be lived! So what if I have to go to work, so what if I have to travel all the way to Mumbai, my smile is my asset and I should flaunt it no matter what! :)

Kudos to this stranger who taught me something today :)

Inspirations appear in some form or the other!

On a lazy Sunday evening, I tuned in to NDTV 24x7....it was the 'The Car and Bike Show' on air hosted by an incredibly dynamic and charismatic guy called Siddharth Vinayak Patankar. The omniscient Google helped me find out the name and his background:) Anyway, coming straight to the point, Siddharth, a reporter with NDTV since 1999 and now an editor, is a deadly combination of flamboyance, brilliance and panache. I was completely awed by his style and wondered how reporters like him could be so perfect! Soon, I realized, if there's anyone I would want to be like, it's him! And by the way, when I said he's a huge inspiration for me, my team mates winked at me...alright the guy is good looking but that isn't his fault na...he's one helluva reporter!

In our busy schedules and our pursuit for growth, we need people to draw inspiration from...people we can learn from...after all, that is what makes this ride called life complete and fulfilling :) It's upto us to identify our idols and learn a thing or two from them. Believe me, it is from such folks you get your courage and confidence! To me, Siddharth symbolizes zeal, intelligence and most importantly, amazing confidence!! His shows on NDTV absolutely delight yours truly! Hats off to Mr. Patankar :))

You ain't seen nothing yet!

Well it's not that I want to get philosophical or something but there are experiences in life which make you think hard in order to find out why something is happening to you or why you come across people who are almost impossible to deal with...like in the last 2-3 months, there were a couple of challenges both on work and personal fronts. As far as work goes, well I guess I had my share of ups and downs, not the sinusoidal kinds though!! :D And when your ego clouds your mind, you are in deep trouble! It then doesn't matter what you think for the simple reason that at the end it is gonna leave you frustrated about everything. As it is, frustration in this world is like a commodity which is up for grabs and that is probably the reason why we all end up picking quite a chunk of it! That is why, Rule #1 is to keep that ever inflating ego aside and think with a relaxed mind...again, the intention isn't to get preachy here! But this is what I realized of late and I thought this is something which I ought to share with everyone. One round of introspection once in a while can do you a world of good! Trust me ;) Another thing I observed is we sometimes, blow things out of proportion....this I concluded after my chats with mommy darling, my life skills coach! :) So, Rule #2 is to treat all problems uniformly and not to attach so much importance that all the other things in life cease to matter! And that's that.

As for the impossible souls one has to deal with, I wonder why they do not fall under the extinct species...maybe if they did, how would you and me learn our lessons? :D You know if you ACCEPT things in life, half your problems actually disappear! For example, since I'm like a cleanliness freak, I expect everybody else to be like that (read roomies)....but that is where the huge mistake lies! Forget cleanliness and if indifference is all you get, you have a sure shot recipe to go berserk! !#@$#@ This is where Rule #3 comes into picture which is "It just doesn't matter coz we need to respect people's idiosyncrasies and eccentricities after all" HEHAHAHA!! Maybe this is my way of comforting myself but it does help! I mean not everyone can be like me and it is this difference I believe that sets me apart! I am not on an ego trip mind you but when you come across lousy people in life, you're compelled to make such statements! Take it or leave it!

Sarabhai vs Sarabhai!

I don't even remember the last time I blogged (alright there is the time stamp just below the post so what:D).....again just as I mentioned in my earlier post, too many things have happened since I last blogged....some controversial, some nasty, some fun etc etc. Deja vu or what!

And I so hate it when I can't blog :((( Now that I'm done cribbing, I can start with the actual post!

Recently, I happened to watch an episode of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, a comedy serial that's aired on Star One. Boy that's one heck of a show! The characters, the performances, the comic timing...it's just legendary [Barney style ;)]! I had always heard people going gaga over it but I never really got a chance to check it out myself. And now I'm like a huge fan of the show! I'm still on a lookout for all the 60 episodes that were aired; for now, surviving on the episodes I managed to get my hands on!!

Maya Sarabhai is a pleasure to watch...full marks to Ratna Pathak Shah for her acting which according to Maya's lingo would qualify as 'upmarket', if you know what I mean :D Indravadan, Sahil, Monisha all of them add to the humour quotient...hey and I haven't mentioned the funniest of all...yes Rosesh Sarabhai...momma & whoopy, his hallmarks are amazing creations!!!

Even if you are like in the most awful mood, just a single episode can work wonders in terms of fixing your mood.....hats off to the creator of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai! I just love it :) And by the way, not getting time to blog is just 'so middle class' hahaha!!

It's nice to see your letter published in the newspaper especially if it's The Times of India!!

...and it's just a click away!

Missed blogging!

It feels great to be back on blogger especially after such a long break; the break wasn't a deliberate one...it's just that when you've got too many things to do, you kinda get stuck somehow.

Anyway, to sum it all up, life has been full of drama since the last time I blogged. Too bad I won't be able to write about it coz the drama was on the personal front :D Hey but a lot of drama has been happening in the Indian political scene as well and how!! Add to it the ongoing IPL saga...in short, there's drama all over :) Do you think I'm straying from the topic but I guess there isn't any topic in the first place heahahahhaha!!

Well, actually I have got way too many books to read for now so will be back soon :)