In the lap of Nature !!!

This post is on special demand of my Paa. Yes my Dad has recently started reading my blog and was very critical of my last post. He didn’t like it at all. Specific reason he didn’t tell me but what I guessed was, that the topic was not to his liking. He didn’t like me talking about seclusion, living alone and all the other crap (according to him) which I filled my last post with. So this post is on a topic which excites both of us. Excursion, adventure, exploring new areas specially those remote hilly regions the beauty and simplicity of which is still untapped and undisturbed, ergo the raw natural freshness is very much intact. Like me, my Dad is also a travel enthusiast but unlike me he has been on many trips and adventures during his college and early service days which I can only dream of. But still thanks mostly to him I also have my share of such expeditions and one such occasion presented itself during this diwali holidays when I was back in my abode.

As it was my bhabhi’s first diwali so we decided to celebrate it differently. My Paa decided to take us all to a place which I am pretty sure not many of you would have heard before. Munshyari. Yes. And it is not about any poet’s imaginary fairyland, as the name might suggest but it is a place high up in the hills of kumaon in Uttarakhand. It is so close to Himalayan range that it seems one can touch those pointed peaks with outstretched hands. Magical. Seriously I was never more close to Himalayas and this statement comes from a person who has spent his entire life wandering in those twisty undulated terrains. Even my college was in Shimla, though the hills of H.P. never appealed to me as I found everything there very artificial and commercialized. Hills of Uttarakhand like the people of this Hilly state are still very simple and unadulterated which makes them more and more inviting and obviously beautiful.

So moving directly to my trip. We reached Almora on 22^nd of October and the very next day we left for Munshyari. As I had mentioned, in one of my earlier posts also that for me any trip is not only about reaching that specific destination but it’s about living through that entire journey. The places you pass through, those amazing landscapes that just goes unnoticed and that wonderful time you have when everyone is confined to that one place be it car, train whatever and enjoys each other’s company. Though, I like to travel alone but with family the level of enjoyment scale new heights. The Road to Munshyari was quite treacherous. It was narrow and in some areas due to landslides there was actually no road at all. As this mountain range is very unstable so generally during rainy season it not only rain in droplets, hails or snow but is also brings along stones, pebbles, boulders and sometimes entire mountain along with it. We also passed through one such point where this natural calamity struck a few months back and coz of which entire village was destroyed. Few miles ahead there was a beautiful big natural spring, sorry cant recollect the name but after Massourie’s campty fall it was the biggest fall I had came across and right at its foot Government’s TRC was situated. So we had our lunch in the lap of nature under clear blue canopy, in midst of lot of monkeys :P.. and the special effect of falling water’s surround sound. We also took a little detour to get a feel of that cool clear spring water. Majestic. After witnessing many such marvels of nature finally in the evening we reached Munshyari. Frist of all we went to PWD inspection house as arrangement for our stay was made there and while just roaming around in the gardens there, I was just staring far in the empty space when I saw something which my eyes were not ready to believe. Right in front of me from the blanket of clouds and fog the peak of Panchachuli was staring back at me. It was simply extraordinary. I knew that I was going close to Himalayas but when I actually encountered that fact, my senses were not ready to accept what was there in front of me. It was so daunting and awesome view and to some extend a little terrifying also as that peak was right there in front of me but was hanging in the sky as all its surroundings was filled with clouds and fog and in the fading light it was a monstrous white beast. Totally filmy scene. The night was cold and refreshing specially after coming from Pune and Delhi that cool breeze felt so revitalizing and soothing. We had a little stroll in the dark and as night comes a little too early for people of hills and everybody gets inside as soon as the sun sets so it was quite dark and quiet and obviously so very peaceful. I didn’t want to return to our hotel but as I had to see the first ray of the morning sun bouncing off those snow peaks, so I had to give in. Next morning came very early for me. 5:30, yes that is the time when I got up in that cold chilly morning and that too without any effort. I was so very excited that I didn’t even put my alarm on snooze and just jumped off my bed, throwing my quilt to one side and was out there in a flash with my camera. I was roaming in the balcony waiting for sun to wake up but he kept me waiting for more than half an hour in that bone chilling morning breeze. Watching me pacing from one corner to other in the balcony my Dad also came out of his room. Mind you normally he never leaves the warmth of his bed before 8, yes many of you might be surprised as normally in most homes Father is the first person up in the morning but my Dad is King and he lives like one. Leisurely, easy paced and hassle free morning is what is his style. But being a nature enthusiast he was also as excited as me. One thing I forgot to mention about Munshyari and why we chose it as the place for our sojourn is coz this place is very close to my Dad’s heart. This is the place from where he started his education and spent his childhood playing in those lush green hills. As for everyone of us the place where we spent most of our childhood is special so naturally my Dad was also as excited as any, to see his old house, that old market, what changes time had brought along with it and to top it all on 24^th we celebrated his Birthday along with his childhood memories in those majestic surroundings. So it was a nostalgic experience for him and watching him relive all those old memories was special. So finally at around 6 – 6:15 sun decided to make his most anticipated entry. As many of you might have read many poems in your school days about sun and his grandeur. I witnessed all that in its full glory. Sun God on his chariot slowly made his way to touch down on those bouncy terrains. Morning rays are not that bright but they are soothing. With a tinge of orange, and flickering, making its way through those floating clouds when it struck the highest peak a steam bellowed from those humungous beasts, as if they were angry on being disturbed from their slumber. I can’t describe the entire scene in words, even the pics I have taken doesn’t do justice to that Godly experience. I was staring ghastly and was working fervently on my camera hoping the next pic could do justice to that entire scenario. In front of me were the peaks of Panchachuli (named after 5 pandavas) along with Nanda devi, India’s second highest peak, and to my left peeking from between two hills was Milam glacier. Snow covered and unlike other peaks, it was smooth and quite gradual in gradient, like the one you see on TV where snow sports are organized. At that very moment I told my Dad, please make arrangement for me, I want to go for trekking on one of those. Don’t know if ever I would be able to realize this dream but surely I’ll make an effort. After that I went for a walk in early morning mist with my Dad, to see his old house and do a round of Munshyari, the Him Nagri. We clicked many pics from all possible angles and came back after an hours refreshing walk. But when we returned, other members were up and I had to go for another saunter with my Bhabhi. This time I went even further where there were no roads, just the narrow hill path and the view we encountered was, as if I was watching a Hollywood period movie. LOTR type. We turned one corner and we came to this huge open green field where many horses were grazing and were soaking the warmth of morning sun. Lush green fields with white snow laden peaks for background… wow…But we didn’t stop there, & went further deep into the hills and down those narrow zig-zag paths where we met some locals and had a nice conversation with them. After an hour or two of this masti we returned back but amazingly I wasn’t tired at all. Later in the day we went to see the local points and a museum. This museum was established and maintained by one Mr. Pangti. An elderly person, who without any help from Government or any NGO is trying from his own side to preserve old traditions of Hills. A great and commendable effort to preserve age old practices, which in this wild race of modernization are getting lost and forgotten. When we went to see the museum my Dad had a strike from the past, suddenly he stopped Mr. Pangti in between his explanation of different artifacts and enquired about his past and as it turned out he was my Father’s primary school teacher and principal. I was surprised, Seriously. I can’t even remember my college mates and here my father is able to recognize his teacher who taught him in one of the classes almost 40 -50 years back. Astonishing, and after that bond of teacher student was established we were given a privileged tour by the master himself. I also bought a book about holy Kailash Yatra written by Mr. Pangti himself about his adventurous trip to Adi Kailash. Finishing our tour of museum we decided to head back to Chaukaudi and have our night halt there. It is again a wonderful place with tea gardens and providing even clearer view of Himalayan range. People come here just to see the sunrise as the view is again breath taking. Trishul was another peak which was clearly visible from here. Though I can write further 2-3 pages describing Chaukaudi and my return trip which included my visit to Bageshwar, Kausani etc etc. but I can understand your plight after reading this big post and even I am tired now.

So like many of my expeditions this was also some experience. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute every sec of my stay in each and every moment. Yes, I stayed and lived in every moment, trying to preserve so many amazing memories which I fear might get lost in this daily monotonous sopor. As enriching and refreshing this experience was and being in the company of the most special people made this trip one of those permanently etched on the memory, an everlasting experience. I have made a promise to myself, to explore even deeper reaches of Uttarakhand and Himalayas.

Gliding my way through those mystical peaks, As if sliding my way through heaven steeps, Having the company of my DemiGods with no worries or care for the world, I lived a dream, fogginess of which still lingers on and images of which are etched on………….

Cheers

RJ

Main Aur Meri Tanhai !!!

Living in seclusion. Those who know me are very much aware of this dream of mine. How much I love spending time with myself, sitting there all alone with no one to bother you, chatting with yourself and just that feeling of being in peace and quiet. I really hate crowd and all the commotion and clamour which comes along the package. I think this is also some kind of a phobia but really whatever it is I can’t handle such stuffs for too long. But call it irony or whatever, God always makes you do things, you kind of hate the most. Maybe it is for our own good that we find ourselves in such adverse conditions and in turn devise some mechanism to survive in unpropitious scenarios. I also managed to find some means to get along this problem and my solution were my earphones and my ipod. Whenever I am out there, almost all the time I am hooked on to my beloved earphones. That’s my way of blocking out outer world from my precious, unadulterated inner garden.


Now whenever I try to sit down and analyze this situation of mine, that why I like being alone so much? Almost every second person finds it amazing and strange that how am I managing living all alone in my flat and not only that but at the same time loving it as well. For those who are not aware of my present living situation, yes I am all alone in my home here in Pune as my dear brother betrayed me and shifted to Delhi :P … Man is a social animal and he needs people around him, to support him, to laugh with him, cry with him and to share life with him. Yes I agree with all these stuff, but for me all these things are a bit overrated. Try something before you completely reject it. What I feel, hold most of us back whenever we think of doing something of our own, is that fear of what if, I require something from someone and that doubt on one’s ability. Living alone and blocking people out of your life is also not easy and again the reason which I feel is, human selfishness. We always have those ifs and buts in the back of our mind. It’s a general behavior that if you block out someone from your life, you won’t find the importance in theirs also, and then that selfish self creeps his head up that what if I need him/her in the future, obviously that person will be more than willing to reciprocate the hospitality you conveyed in the first place and then you find yourself wanting. I ask why in the first place you want help of somebody you rendered unimportant in your life in the first place. They say keep your friends close but enemies closer but I say keep your dear ones close, be it family or those special bunch of friends not close but in your heart and rest should be invisible to you. Keep the people who matters to you happy and be the reason of their happiness.


Now coming back to my own situation here. My parents specially, were quite worried and they still are that I am living here all by myself. What will happen if I fall sick or face any other such problem are the major point of concern for them. To be honest, I also found it strange when I started this new chapter in my life. When my brother left, for a day or two it felt strange. Don’t know what that feeling was. Was it sadness or the fact that I was like a ghost roaming around in empty rooms with no one whom I can disturb or irritate. I accept that for a day or two I felt real bad, I didn’t know that something which I always wanted to do will be so tough to start off with. Though in college also I had single room but that was something different as my friends were just next to me but this time I was really alone. But after 2-3 days things changed, I started enjoying that calm and quiet I talked about. By this I don’t mean that my bro was a chatter box or any kind of a disturbance, that thing apply to me actually, but being alone brought me more closer to Rishabh Joshi. I started interacting more with him, which ofcourse allowed me to know him better and really what an awesome guy… :P.. jokes apart but seriously I started thinking more and talking more with myself. It gave me time to reflect on certain things, my days work, my approach to different situations, my relations, everything. Living alone, I think has also helped me become more responsible. Yeah I know it may sound completely opposite, coz you might be thinking what responsibilities a person living alone can have. But for me, taking care of myself only was a daunting task. I didn’t realize earlier but I was quite free from any major worries till the time my bro was here. Rent, bills or for the fact bringing breakfast all was taken care by him. But now all has to be done by this tiny soul… uff sara kaam mujhe hi karna padta hai … safai bhi, shopping bhi .. and its not only about 1 kilo namak. But again its nice and exciting but yeah, a little expansive. But all this is necessary. I go on telling people about my plans for future and how I long for those secluded far reaches, those beautiful shreds of heaven on earth and if I seriously want to pursue that, these stuffs are not necessary but compulsory. I don’t know whether I really would be able to do all that, yes I know it will be tough and extremely challenging and will require sacrifices of all sorts but I think all that will be worth doing. All that we’ll see in future, what turn life takes who knows. You always find yourself in situations you expect least to happen with you, at least for me planning is of no use. So expect nothing, live frugally on surprises and don’t be afraid if you have to be alone, give it a shot coz in seclusion lies the closeness of one’s soul.

Cheers
RJ

The Great Indian Marriage !!!

The great Indian wedding.. it really was.. after all it was my BIG BROTHER’s shadi .. it had to be great and special. Past 1 week was like a dream and its hangover is still very much there. How time flew I really have no idea. Though every time we go home, time just seems to vaporize but this time it was never in liquid state. After such a long time I was part of a celebration of this magnitude and after such a long time we all were together at one place rejoicing the divine moment of union of two souls. At this moment I really am falling short of words to describe how I felt during my entire stay in Dehradun, actually I am not able to analyze and comprehend my own feelings. So many wonderful moments and amazing memories, actually I don’t want to come out of this dream which I am still living. 6th of October 2011 was surely the best day of my life so far, actually that entire week from 2nd oct to 8th oct was the best week ever.
My brother is married. Strange feeling… he really is married, difficult for me to believe. It seems like yesterday only when both of us use to ride our bicycles all around Rishikesh. Those fights while playing, irrespective of the game, though we still fight on small small issues but definitely intensity and frequency is far less.. then those moments in RPS when I used to boast of so many things coz I am Aakash Joshi’s brother … that special treatment I got from not only his friends but his old teachers as well just coz I am Aakash Joshi’s kid brother… and now he is married.. I don’t believe he has grown so much or I should say we have grown so much… that day for the first time I felt , I am no more my mamma’s small kid.. that moment when I saw him placing that garland around my bhabhi’s neck, a strange realization hit me, that yes, it really is happening and we both are slowly but surely moving from childhood to adulthood. But that was for that moment only and once I was surrounded by my sisters I was back to being that small mamma’s boy I love.
Now as I sit down and look back my special trip back home, it began on 1st October when I, along with soon to be groom boarded our flight for Delhi to attend another marriage there. It was kind of a trailer and an opportunity for my brother to prepare himself and get ready for the things to come. On 2nd we reached Dehradun to be a part of final round of shopping and to kick start 4-5 days of mega celebrations. Before I move any further I really want to congratulate my Mom and Dad for doing a fab job with all the preparations. All the arrangements were top notch and they did all that without much help. They, along with their three highly capable subordinates ( my didi, my chachi and my fufaji ) coordinated the entire show magnificently. From shopping, to making arrangement for everyone’s stay, then arranging caterers, band, DJ everything, all was done well in advance and till the time we reached there not much was left for us to do. Hotel, guest houses were booked not only for guest coming but also for house members. Though we have our own house in Dehradun but my parents didn’t want the burden of cooking, washing and other household work to fall on house members, so they decided to shift all of us to hotel, which was awesome, as it allowed my mom and other ladies to enjoy completely and not worry about daily house related activities. Everything from staying to travelling were well thought out and planned, though there were some minor glitches but few hiccups in arrangement of this magnitude is all but natural. So hats off to you Maa and Paa and your little brigade.
I am not going to bore you with entire description of all the functions and celebrations, though I can go on and on stating every minute detail but as my post is already quite long, I would like to share my experience and what I learned in past few days. I always considered myself a kind of a loner, who doesn’t enjoy much company and likes to be in secluded place away from all hustle bustle. Forget about being in contact with friends, I have a very small group of close friends but apart from them I don’t interact much with others who even though are present in my fb’s friend list. Friends aside, I wasn’t even in contact with any of my cousins all this while, and in the past few days I realized how much fun and togetherness I missed. After a long long time we all were together, all my cousins, sisters, brothers ,with few exceptions but most of them were there and we truly had a blast. I also realized how much value and importance I hold in my family and among my own people. Previously I used to think that everyone is busy in their own life and who cares where this tiny soul exist or what is he upto. But I was wrong, terribly wrong. The warmth, love, care I received in the past whole week was truly overwhelming. All my elders, my cousins and specially my sisters showered so much love and adulation that I am short of words to describe all that. Really thank you guys, you really made me feel special and as I am the little one of the house and if that is the reason why everyone took such care of me then really I never wanna grow old. All this also emphasized the importance of family in one’s life and in past few days I realized how strong my family is.
Another important thing I realized and observed is how important and extremely difficult it is to maintain your cool and composure in such situations. And once again my teacher was ,ofcourse my Dad. It still amazes me that how can one be so cool, calm and collective in every situation and obviously being unperturbed allows him to think rationally and come out with the best possible solution. Really amazing. There were instances during this past week when I lost my cool, don’t remember the exact reason why and when it happened but basically it was when things were not done to my liking by the people working there, be the caterer or the decorator or driver anyone but every time my Paa was always there to calm me down and he made a point to me that in such situations and occasions make sure you make everyone happy. It really is difficult especially for someone like me but definitely not impossible as I saw both my Maa and Paa doing that throughout. Don’t know how much I learnt but definitely I admired in complete awe, how both of them managed doing that during the entire course of marriage. One another thing I came to know about myself was, I am capable of taking responsibility and not boasting, but I managed to do a reasonable job with duties which were assigned to me. As you all know I am the youngest in my house and being the smallest nobody ever burdened me with any sort of responsibility before this, so it was something new and exciting for me as well and I thoroughly enjoyed doing whatever little task was assigned to me by my dad.
Now talking about wedding. Actually it was marriage not wedding, wedding gives a feel of more of a party, sort of celebration but marriage signifies the commitment, pledge, responsibility and vows, wedding last for a day but marriage is a lifelong endeavor which not only two people getting married but two families embark upon. Yes, I don’t know whether I am right or not but this important thing I realized, that marriage doesn’t take place between two people but this bond is created between two families. Families which were ignorant of each other’s existence a while back suddenly becomes one of the most important part of your lives. You don’t form one bond when an unknown girl as a new bride enters your house but she brings along whole lot of new relations and new people in your life and an all together new chapter starts not only in bride and groom’s life but each and every member inks a new heading in their life book. For me also it is a new thing, a new adventure, an unknown territory but this time I have a new guide alongside me. Yes, My Bhabhi. The newest addition to Joshi family. I ,along with every other member welcomes you with open arms and hearts to our family. I am pretty sure, not sure ,I know ,that we all will have a blast every single moment of every single day and this masti will start in diwali itself, eagerly awaiting your return from pardesh.
Signing off
RJ

A human among the resources

I am in the industry for more than a year now. I have had my share of experiences - All kinds. It is human only to share your experiences with people you know. Sharing your experiences is a great human trait as it multiplies your experiences and enriches you.

So this post is about distributing some of my wealth. In my Industry, employees are called resources. The rationale behind this is to calculate the amount of work possible by the available resources (employees). It is understandable as any business would like to know of its capabilities.

But if you put the Math aside, ultimately every business deals with human beings. Hence, assuming that X no of employees will always do Y amount of work is absurd. Most of the humans will work for some reason or another. In an ideal environment an employee should work for the success of company. He will only do so when he is convinced that the success of company will lead to his success.

This theory is not difficult to assimilate and has been reiterated by many management gurus. However, to my surprise, I don’t have even one incident from the plethora that I have gathered over this period, which exemplifies the above case.

Companies these days, very rarely try to take the stakeholders in confidence before bringing any change. Surely, it is difficult. And that is why it can act as a game changer if understood by some player in the game.

It will be great to see, when sales team will start rejecting lucrative offers because they deem it unfit for employee morale. It will be great to see a human among the resources. 

Progressing the right way!

If we look around, we will see that things are getting bigger, faster and better. Bigger buildings, better shopping complexes, faster cars, more advanced gadgets and so on. This seems obvious as the advancements in technology were bound to bring these changes.

But hold on for a moment and think it this way. Bigger and better things invariably are consuming more and more resources. Human brain has no limits but this planet has. In the mad rat race for big homes, faster SUVs, we have forgotten that this race is killing our planet.Almost every new product launched creates more demand for energy and resources which we don't have.

Our companies are delivering what the customers are demanding. And our demand is seriously skewed. Why don't we see Ipad or Android kind of discovery in the field of solar energy? This is certainly because all the attention has been shifted towards the market demand. All powerful brains are working to serve this irrational demand.

Science and technology is progressing but in the wrong direction. We need cheap products which can work with lesser energy . We need frugal inventions which can serve the purpose with almost no energy.


There are websites which will let us know the best of gadgets but hardly any website will let us know the most energy efficient gadgets. Clearly there is no demand for it. We don't understand the gravity of situation.


So much can be done in this field. Programmes can be written which need less computing power. Buildings can be constructed which produce everything that they consume; from food to electricity.. Bicycles can be designed that generate electricity.


Not that the above things are not getting done. But these inventions are few and far away from teh market forces and hence unaffordable.


Market forces will have to align themselves sooner or later. The sooner the better!

हिंदी !!!!

Hindi .. our National language … one of the distinct symbols and identity of we the Indians and our Nation India… India or Hindustan as it is called in Hindi sometimes … I am saying sometimes coz I know many of you will be arguing that it is Bharat and not Hindustan but still when you go about listing the names of our great nation, Hindustan will most definitely figure in that elusive catalogue… Hindustan derived from Hindi or it’s the other way round, don’t know or whether they have any such kind of relationship? Again not sure, not very good in history, but they seems to be connected in some way or other. What I am trying to emphasize here is the importance or significance of our mother tongue in our lives. How proud are we of the fact that we belong to this great Hindi speaking Hindustan..? Do we feel ashamed or chagrined in any way when we find ourselves as the only Hindi speaking guy in midst of so called modern high society “cool” people who thinks themselves to be the descendants of queen Victoria .. Well I don’t … on the contrary I feel proud that I am speaking in the dialect of the country I belong to and of which I am a proud citizen. By this I don’t mean that I am against English or for the fact any language. Every language is beautiful and I m not trying to compare or juxtapose two languages here. What I m trying to analyse is this growing obsession of conversing only in English or at least bringing in that touch or English flavour in every sentence … like “U Know “ … I know what ?? mystery I haven’t been able to solve till date .. but even then whenever somebody tell me … u know na … I nod along, coz I know something which I am not aware of but definite the other person knows that I know, and as they say its better to keep quiet and let the other person be in that state of confusion and dilemma that u r clueless than to open your mouth and remove all delusion … so yes I know..

Jokes apart, seriously why today’s society have created that kind of a stigma, where a person who cant converse properly in English is looked down as if he is some kind of an untouchable, and by society I don’t mean only the younger generation but I have seen this thing even among the grown ups… Surprising … I am writing this but I know I have also done this at least once which I can recall but there the reason was different, as I wanted something against that guy and only weapon which I managed to get hold onto at that time was his English and seriously I don’t feel proud of that. I never gave any serious thought to this Hindi English debate but a few days back I was mocking a friend of mine, as she was finding it a bit difficult to translate some very tough Hindi words to either common Hindi or even English. At that time it was only for fun and pulling her leg and I don’t know whether she even gave a second thought to all this but it surely forced me to think… to think about the state of our mother tongue in her own land. I am no master or pundit of Hindi language and even I am writing this post in English. But I consider my Hindi quite better than many out there, at least I don’t pretend that I don’t know Hindi.. yes I don’t know whether you will agree with me or not but I have seen people who would be knowing Hindi but will still pretend to be ignorant as if accepting that you know something that is said or written in Hindi will make you any less of a man or woman and I have seen this tendency to be a notch higher in girls… for me it is a proud feeling if I can converse in proper Hindi which by the way is not the Hindi we speak in day today life… Today’s Hindi is coarse Hindi , “ Abransh Roop” as we say in Hindi.. see I know Hindi ;) … By all this I m not demeaning English or its importance in today’s world by any sort of way… Agreed that English is the global language and in order to progress and interact with the outside world we have no other choice but to be good and fluent in English, but all this doesn’t mean we can’t be good in Hindi … Its brilliant that you know a foreign language and not only know it but you are also even better than the people who invented that … great ..congratulation … but how good are you in something which belong to you right from the start? They say if a country is not English speaking one then its progress in today’s world is almost impossible… but if that is true to some extend than in today’s world only we also have the examples of China and Japan … they have forced the world to learn their language and not the other way around.

Promoting children to learn English is terrific but to do that at the cost of Hindi, your identity, I am not in favour of that at all. Now a days English is compulsory in all the schools right from lower KG to 12^th standard and Hindi is not taught even till 10^th. I say you make English compulsory, no issues with that but make Hindi also mandatory. Today if I ask you to write a single sentence just one sentence in Hindi, I m pretty sure many of you wouldn’t be able to put your hand up and say yes I can do that, even I don’t think I will be able to do that either and I feel ashamed of that. If I ask you to narrate ABC, you would do it without even bothering to breathe twice but if I ask to enumerate “ ka, kha ,gh “ Hindi syllabary , I can bet no one would be able to even tell me first 6 alphabets correctly. Shameful, isn’t it?

Ruination of Hindi is really a matter of grave concern… atleast I think so… I feel that even for my regional languages, kumaoni and Garhwali .. as nobody from my generation knows it … forget about speaking, I can’t even understand it properly and surely it will succumb to premature end with my generation. I don’t want Hindi going down the same lane. Forget about English, it is facing stiff resistance within its own country with her own sister languages… down in the south people are still not ready to accept Hindi as their national language… even here in Maharashtra I see common language of conversation is predominantly Marathi… which is not bad but at least in public places or sign boards along with Marathi and English, message should also be stated in Hindi.. In buses I see slogans and messages written in Marathi and English but not in Hindi… what the hell is that… we are worried about foreigners who won’t be able to understand Marathi but what about Hindi speaking population of your own country?? Who will translate your noble thoughts for them ?? I think this National Tag is somewhat cursed.. anything you attach it with is destined to be doomed… you see the plight of Hockey, our National game.. tiger .. our national animal ..on verge of extinction ..similarly Hindi on road to ruin..

Now a days India is becoming a land of agitations, movements, hunger strikes etc etc as janta is becoming aware of their rights and “birthrights” … so why not bring a revolution for upliftment of our National language, or are we too ashamed to call ourselves Hindi Bhashi ( hindi speaking for those who cant understand it) … Feel proud of what you are rather then trying to ape someone .. feel proud to stand up and say yes I am an Indian .. true Hindustani coz :

Sare jahan se aacha Hindustan hummara…

HINDI HAIN HUM WATAN HAI.. HINDUSTAN HUMMARA…..!!!!

Cheers

RJ

Love – A Leap of Faith

What is Love? Does that sound absurd and vague? Or May be not? Many will define Love as friendship by saying that “Love has its first step of friendship and the last one too”, A famous Dialog from Sharukh Khan’s movie.
Un-doubtly, Love means trust, a bond between two souls which cannot be seen but is felt. It involves those emotions which one can never express. Love may mean a companion who stood by you at times of a difficulty and celebrates even the miniscule happiness.
However, Love for me meant the increase in heart beat by just thinking of her, a choke in throat, a desire to talk to her, eagerness to see her, Day Dreaming about her and what not ?
How amazing it is that a simple, candid girl suddenly looks like a queen of your heart, abduct your brain, kills you million times with her innocent, piercing but mesmerizing and compassionate eyes. Her one smile brings the cacophonic shores to the euphonic and tranquilizing silence. Her lustrous hairs can make the peacock to dance insanely in brightest of the sun. The merriment and stupendous face coerced many to look at her spontaneously just like a rainbow after year of rain.
But what actually Love means? Squandering your innocuous nights on phone? The love and infatuation are bipartite, two ends of river having a perceptible difference of thread. The parent of phone calls, shopping etc is care that brings the onus of that girl, faith and trust of that girl. The Love that makes you do these things also prompts you to take the world, face anything and everything.
Discerning love is just like a Bermuda triangle, a sea where one gets to the shore by drowning in it. A hurricane, which takes everything from you and leaves you impecunious. Many shrewd, deft people can’t decipher the conundrums of love. The acumen of love is in love.
Love is in air. One can’t script Love , it is a flower which blossoms even after its death.

Just like that!

Today, I got a chance to interact a bunch of people running around the bangalore belonging to different kinds of industries. Most of them talked about their precious initial industrial years after they broke out of their respective college cages. Well, This was not the first time I was in such a gathering. But, The theme was quite different this time. All persons are allowed only to share their worst of all situations they had in last few years of their corporate life. As everyone was unknown to the other one in the hall, So each of them started opening up him/herself easily and triggered off his/her worst of all incidents without any care...

First category of personals I met today were the persons who felt asleep very long time ago and still continuing the same in every aspect of their lives! but the point is that they were seemed Happy and satisfied but cant inject any kind of motivation. I mean they were the most chilled out persons I figured out.They don't have intention to care where they are heading. All they want is to live in present,enjoy it the most, spent some of the salary they acquire every month and save/invest the rest of it & keep walking along their peers.

Second kind of people there I could differentiate, were the persons who got awaken in their lives few time ago after a happening of some kind of heart moving incident or toxic relationships or financial crisis or a failure in an entrance exam or an immediate family responsibility etc.. And they are still being awake and moving or rather running like hell in their lives to beat the time ahead!! They don't care much about the materialistic enjoyment but their every next short time success ladder celebration is the only time they enjoy in their lives. Rest of the time,they are only left seen working hard fourteen hours a day to get just that extra mile of success,travelling around to solve several purposes of their respective organization they were working for, trapped in ruined personal relationships or so... But, Here the plus point is.. these people were seemed motivated, spreading energy around all the time but actually not Happy and Satisfied with their lives!!

Now, the real myth began when I met the third style of personals behaving quite differently from above two described genres. Well actually.. the above two categories I realized.. were the two most common kind of personals which people think.. exist in this world.. but let me make you think otherwise!  Because.. Here was the twist as the third trend which I found is relatively far more commonly found situation occurring with most of the people there than the two mentioned above was..

The scenario of those persons  who know where they want to go in their lives, have a clear picture of their goals(landing mark!), luckily carry tremendous variety of support of resources(financially,intellectually etc..), feel a sense of responsibility in themselves too,   interestingly got a visionary road map as well!, :) Overall..
Those were the persons who got their eyes wide open, wanting to respond to every scenario affecting them individually or collectively.., and are not actually sleeping in their lives, BUT .. They are just not leaving the bed !!!

Continued............

Its a bird ..its a plane ..no its a DREAM...!!!

Aeroplanes, helicopters, jets, Air Force …. What’s special in all these words? Don’t know about you but they surely gets me excited. I think I m not alone when I say that once I wanted to be a fighter pilot. This is a dream which every young boy grows up with. We all used to run to roof tops or outside just in the hope to get a glimpse of that flying metal bird, an ultimate feat of engineering. Ever thought why there is such level of excitement with anything related to flying? Why every young boy is goaded by that desire of one day donning that impeccable Air Force uniform? What I think of as a reasonable explanation is the desire to have something which you don’t have or explore the territory you haven’t ventured into yet, and that desire, I think is strongest when you are young. You always want that elusive toy which daily mocks you from that road side gift shop. But why so much fascination for planes and flying , clueless. Maybe flying high away from everyone signifies freedom and who doesn’t want freedom from one’s daily routine and this sopor. Soaring high away from everyone, away from all worries, to break free of all inhibitions as if in a dream… wow.. really want to experience that at least once, and that’s why I wanna give a shot at sky diving, to feel that rush and that cool wind on my face.. Coming back to planes and the fascination which they brings along, well we all have been on planes and first plane ride is always special. Though I don’t remember my first but I am pretty sure that I was excited as anything. To sit on the back of that metal bird and to view the world from up there through that small window was really some view and that adrenaline rush when it starts its run down that runway or when it gallops while landing, its like a roller coaster but way too expansive… But that thrill and excitement slowly but surely is dying out and now the condition is such that I no more like travelling by air. The only thing that I like about air travel is the beginning and the climax of the journey, when plane takes off and when it touch down… why so … well so many reasons … to name a few … once you are up there you don’t feel anything … not even the high speed you are travelling at… you can’t see anything out of the window coz you are so high up there that nothing apart from blue sky or white clouds are visible.. though that view is also terrific but you don’t feel it coz you are confined in that metallic body.. secondly when they say it's an airbus then they are not kidding and are 100% correct while calling it that. It really is a bus as the seats in the economy class are so very congested that even Volvo buses are far better when it comes to comfort and ease and to top it all even the air hostesses are not good these days :P … the only advantage and major plus point in favor of air travel is time saving factor. But if I am on a trip and time is not a constraint for me then I’ll prefer travel by train rather than flying overhead. For me the best part of any trip or excursion is the journey and the travelling you do to reach your destination. The places you pass through and scenic beauty you witness, you can’t experience all that from up there in that 2-3 hours of flight. You live through a journey and all that is an integral part of any trip.

But say whatever, fascination with those flying object still remains as such. Still by no effort of mine, my eyes on their own accord start searching that great blue canopy wherever I hear a plane flying by and it is a must in case of a jet. As human nature is I still haven’t had the experience to feel the thrust of a jet, so obviously I still feel that child like curiosity to watch that flying destroyer soar up in the sky and leave that white trail behind. I was really fascinated when I saw sukhoi fighter jets stationed at Pune airport. Though I was a little disappointed as they were nothing like I imagined, and were very tiny… but the sound they made once brought to life was something I never experienced before, such reverberating sound that even glasses of Pune airport were shaking and once when I was returning from Delhi, two sukhoi landed right after my flight and there was that boom again. Mind you even commercial flights make quite a lot of noise, after all they are also AIRBUS but even that was just a squeak in front of those roaring engines and as they touched down their parachutes fluttered from their back and I was glued to my window with both hands and nose pressed hard against the glass trying desperately to have a last glimpse of those smart machines. So my love affair with those Identified Flying Objects continues. I hope that one day I’ll get that opportunity to appreciate their beauty and power from close range and they live up to my expectations and this relation doesn’t have the sour ending like the one I had with their other cousin.

Cheers

RJ

9.15 Hours !!!

Another hectic hectic day in office… you must be wondering that I am a very dedicated, hard worker who religiously devote 15-16 hr each day towards my work. Looking at my past record even I expected myself to be one of those workaholics for whom work is worship. But as you know life is full of surprises and it was a pleasant surprise for many including me to see myself this detached from all this work and pressure which it brings along. By this I don’t mean that I am some kind of a lazy slacker. No not at all, even today I still find it impossible to just leave my work for tomorrow & more often than not, I complete my work well within the stipulated time which according to company standards is 9.15 but for me it never exceeds more than a few hours. So naturally I find it mighty hard to sit there in front on that 15” screen and stare at it all day long. Now what is the difference between old me and this new avatar, well today I don’t take much tension or any sort of work related undue pressure which I used to. What’s the reason for this change in me… well I don’t know but my best guess is that I don’t feel much connected to the work I am doing. That feeling of my work, my responsibility is just not there. I do it coz it has been assigned to me and I am expected to do it. But to do it with full earnestness and total commitment, it’s just not there.

In the first sentence when I wrote hectic hectic day, what did I mean by that? Did I really slogged for the entire day, I mean 9.15 hrs and returned home like a broken tree about to fall and the only thing which could have brought a smile on my face was my bed? Well yes for the second part and a strong no for the first. Yes I was terribly tired and it really was an effort trying to keep my eyes open but I am not telling you about my situation or condition in the evening but it was like that all throughout the day. Now I guess you know why it was a strong no for the first half of that sentence. My day was hectic not because I had loads to do but it was such because I had nothing much to do. But still as the law states," sit there to complete your working hours." Really I want to meet that great soul who introduced this beautiful and most thought out amazing concept of working hours. I don’t understand which is more important, completion of work or completion of working hours? If work is there then seriously I won’t mind sitting there for even 12 hours, but when I have completed my day’s job and nothing is left for me in the office other than wasting time, then please let me go home… it really makes no sense to just sit there, chat with someone or in my case do this blogging and all. Sitting idle even puts my brain in sleep mode and once it enters that state only a good night sleep can revive it. So what does that means…it means that even after returning home I am inept for anything. All in all complete waste of entire day. So today also was one of those hectic days. Though I was kind of dopey from the morning only but office environment and all this made things even worse. Literally I was swinging in my chair all day long and it was a great effort on my part to go through the entire day without falling from my chair.

So now hectic has a new definition in my thesaurus and laziness is fast becoming my new girlfriend. But ambition which is turning in to a fierce enemy is challenging me to get up and show my mettle which I am pretty sure I will one day but as of now I have just one line for my enemy – “Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.”

Cheers

RJ