hasta la vista

You may be given retirement because you are growing old. But it is a pity that they doesn’t realize, that it is letting go of an asset more precious than gold. And although you seem to be too young to retire, but since the day has come, I applaud you for your years of service and achievement at NITI Aayog (formerly Planning Commission). Please accept my heartiest congratulations and best wishes for your retirement.

Although it has been just a year and few months that I have started working with you, still I will need to adjust to the idea that you are no longer in the room number 401. I have thoroughly enjoyed our association. How I wish that you were born a few years later so that we would have got some more time to work under the guidance of an awesome boss like you. I have already started feeling that as if a part of us is missing. You have always brightened up the whole office. I hope I can do your reputation justice!

I can see very few who have worked as hard as you have. You never took day – offs from work... and there are no day – offs in retirement either. I hope you will enjoy directing your energies into your other special interests.

Please remember that no matter how much everyone wishes you well for your retirement, deep down inside they’re just sad that you are leaving.

All I will say at last is “PLEASE DO NOT BE A STRANGER”. 

Either drive or know how to avoid the bumpy roads of life

I have recently read it somewhere written that “if you feel that you’re the only driver in a relationship; it’s time to park it and walk away.” And Karma says there is no need for revenge. Just sit back and wait. Those who hurt you will eventually screw-up themselves and if you are lucky, God will let you watch. And keeping both these facts in mind and practicing it, which I have started doing recently, all I have reached to is that I am a very patient person and I give plenty of second chances but at the same time I am not a saint also to believe you every second time. I have my own limits as well. All that I have to advice to anyone in a relationship, that if one wants to avoid the probable bumps to occur, he or she should follow three golden rules which are (1) Don’t lie, (2) Don’t cheat and (3) Don’t make promise you can’t keep.

I think the best way to make anyone understand anything is via your silence, because sometimes silence has the power more than the words. And that is why they say, “She used words to say nothing at all and silence to explain everything.”

All I have to conclude is that I am happy to know and to observe a transformed me as I have come to accept the bumpy roads of life. All it seems to lead, the best, transformed and refined you, is to the best ever places. And it is just on the journey you realize the value of true people, people who deserve to stay near to you, people who knows & appreciate your worth and people you can look up to for every small little thing in life.

As far as words go to heal like medicines do

Today I met someone for the very first time and I would say addressing him as a True Gentleman ("G") would be an understatement. He is a soul hard to find rather ceases to exist in today’s time. He lives less for himself and more for others who are known to him and for those who doesn’t but will surely know him in the days to come because the kind of influence he has cannot go unnoticed for long. Mine was the first meeting with him today but really I want to meet him again and again. I really want to hear what all he has to say and share. He uses the easiest language to answer the most complex questions regarding life. The reason of our meeting wasn’t a nice one but still the meeting was enough to teach me the toughest lessons of life in the simplest way ever.

One of our friends lost his dad and his demise left all the living relationships shattered behind. He got a loss for lifetime which can never be repaired and the vacuum created by the missing soul can never be filled back. We all know this fact already but still when we face it, the situation becomes hard to accept for everyone. And moreover, it also happens that people fall short of words when it comes to counsel someone going through this kind of bad phase in life.

But today, being an extraordinary day, I met someone who had the perfect words to say and most appropriate examples to quote to bring the feeling of being better off than many, even in the worst situations of your life. “G” quoted, the daughter to a martyrdom attained solider, who was born after three months of her father being passed away is worst off as she never got a chance to see her father, nor did she met him ever, neither she shared a single smile or word with him ever. And when she was just three years old, she said her father in her dreams said that they both do not have even a single photograph together. These words from a daughter who was not fortunate enough to meet her father ever, were enough to bring the never ending flow of tears in the eyes of many who heard this. And hence, the friend of ours who lost his father just two days back is much better off as he at least have the memories of togetherness with his dad which he can cherish throughout his life.

That way “G” could easily explain that it is wise to be happy for the moments you have spent with the lost soul, which you can cherish, rather than crying for the moments which will never come. I am really influenced (which is very rare of me) and truly looking forward for meeting “G” more often to get to know such inspiring incidences and hence feeling blessed for what all I have and for all the time I am living with my loved ones. 

Life and Mistakes

Experience is the name which everyone gives to their mistakes. People usually think that mistakes only show up what needs improvement. They think, without mistakes how would they know what they had to work on. It is a known fact that anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. People think and say that making mistake is the only thing to grow. According to a bunch of, so called, experienced people you have to fail in order to practice being brave. If you have made mistakes, there is always a chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down for a period of time you chooses to stay.

All said and done, the important thing to remember is to continue the process of learning along with making mistakes. The only bad mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. All men make mistakes but only wise men learn from their mistakes. Hence a person should make sure to learn; what and to whatever extent a mistake has to teach. Life is a bad teacher and unfortunately so as a mistake. Both of them teach lessons but only after the test are over or the time is gone.

Hence one should appreciate and live with what you have learnt from the past mistakes instead of making the same mistakes again and again. Because the life is short and our lead role to perform any task stays even shorter, so utilize what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had. 

Dreams That Don’t Let Go

A Past to my present is what I call a DREAM.

Sometimes you cannot let go your character just because of your dreams but sometimes exactly opposite of this happens that is you cannot let go your dream rather get your character conform to your dream. You just want to bring your character into correspondence with your dream.

In the first case, our character plays a stronger role or our dream is a bad dream, which we do not want to live. But the second case is when our dream becomes our inspiration and a reason to live. That is exactly when we are motivated, pushed and propelled towards doing something which makes our dream a reality. A beautiful, more meaningful and a reality which we always wanted to live.

This clearly means that dream is different from reality. Today I have earned a doctorate degree from one of the best universities of India, is the reality I am living with. But this achievement is, back then, driven by a force called DREAM. My parents wanted both of their children to have Dr. as a title to their name. Although we were never forced, but it just happened automatically, much before when we could have realized, that we (me and my younger sister) started living our parent’s dream. And then I realized that it is not only your own dreams which plays a role in building your future rather dreams of your loved ones also becomes a reason for your achievements.

Dreams have another very peculiar, an idiomatic and a unique character of their own which I like the most about them and that is when your reality doesn’t allow you to live what you want to or love to; and then dream becomes your saviours, the only rescuer.

My mom who lives in heaver now, cannot receive a letter nor a last phone call. She is a star shining bright in the sky that can only be looked at that too only during clear nights. Moreover, there is no highway, no ship; neither flight nor anything else is available which can take us there to meet her with a pre-condition to bring us back. But dreams can; rather only dreams can. My dreams being the most powerful, the saviour allows me to meet her occasionally. She really cooks well in my dreams too and those are the only mornings when I do not wake up starving. She still has the solutions to my problems in my dreams. And this is why I always say, I LOVE DREAMING.

Here I want to conclude that my dreams are what I really live for and although not very real, but still give me pleasure, satisfaction and affection of their own. I really want to dream on and on and on…………

What do you see in the mirror?

A distinguishable, non-identical lookout of different segments of people makes an identity of a simple mirror more than an object. Mirror shows what you really are but amplifies what you have become. Mirror shows how physical beauty of a woman gets transformed to other kind of beauty with age; which over a period of time passes through distinct physical tasks like acts of giving birth and care, household activities, workplace pressures for working women etc.

Following, when you decide to look into your own eyes, you know, your

soul looks back at you, with what, only you can tell. And therefore mirror to lovers is like a test paper to be written every day to check whether the paths they have chosen for each other are correct or not. And the test is assumed to be passed when after seeing in their own eyes, they realize that they are doing enough for each other. 

Things that are hard to explain in words; can easily be written and read all over the mirror. This is beautifully practiced by a husband and wife when husband attempts to answer a difficult question posed by his wife. It is really difficult for a man to explain to his life partner, what are the limits of his love for her. But once, when asked about it, husband took his wife in front of the mirror and asked her to observe what all is visible. She replied, I am good looking today, this is what mirror shows but further argues, “remember, one day, this all will fade away”. A heart touching reply by her husband, which could not have been explained in any other better way was “the wrinkled skin then may be a cause of worry today; but the eyes will shimmer exactly the same way even years after, if you are happy then too”.

And this is what mirror does to all of us. It tells the story which is never told till date; it sometimes shows the future too by answering the most difficult questions in the most simple way.

I am in love for life and beyond WITH MYSELF that is what I could conclude after looking at the mirror today.

When a friend said "You never know what you can accomplish until you try"

Today morning I got a text from my husband which read like this:

“When we are wrong and surrender, we are honest;

When we are in doubt and surrender, we are wise;

But when we are right and surrender, we value relations.

Blessed TUESDAY morning. Mangal aapke liye MANGALMAYE ho!”

And it is really a blessed Tuesday for me today. One of my small write-up got published in today’s newspaper “The Hindu”. Can be read at http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/home-is-where-love-is/article7220699.ece

This brings in, a feeling of accomplishment and also rebuilt that confidence that your interest in writing is not getting waste and hence you are all self-motivated again to keep up with the work of writing.

Today’s event also proved that I have a right set of friends as they are ready to share and guide me in right direction. Sending the article to “The Hindu” was one of my friend’s ideas and she only guided me with the process and procedure of doing it. She is also one of those who not only reads my blogs regularly but also remembers what I write and hence never misses to quote one when required.  I cannot thank you enough “Madhura” for bringing me this feeling of joy and contentment. But still thank you and I am hopeful for keep getting such great ideas and suggestions from you in near future too.

Till date I have encountered many people who keep on doing the things secretively so that you should not know so as not to acquire the position, credit or something which they are enjoying. I think that they forget that no one can take away their luck, nor credit neither their talent from them. But I guess they are full of inferiority complex which keeps them a dual personality and hence loosing on good people. Only because of this habit of their, they gradually gets distant from people who could have done some good to them. May god gives them some positive mind to think about it and get their actions diverted in right direction.  

I am happy today, not only because of this published write up rather also to know that I have really good people around me who are always thinking for my betterment and very well know what can bring a smile on my face. All the glory is to Almighty for bestowing me with such good people.