Let’s live a Simple New Year

We all know, intellectually, that living in the moment is the best thing we can do to maximize our living experience. What we also know is that it’s really hard to do that without spending too much time on planning for our future and looking back and regretting at our past from time to time. This seems to be the part of human experience; no matter how great the things are, it’s never enough. We often find ourselves imagining every possible scenario or organizing our future which is yet to happen. Either that, or we are enjoying or regretting over the past, the time which once was.

We always want more. Even if we are having a great time now, let’s say maybe a dinner with our loved ones, or a great concert, or even an amazing road trip, we can’t stop ourselves from planning for the future and looking forward, as if now is not enough, and always suggesting let’s do this again. We always want more.

For some people, past is the escape from the present. We, as a human being, are always regretting what we did and most of the times spend too much time on what had already happened. Is there anything we can do now to change it? The simple answer is no. Whenever we are more concerned with what has already happened than what is happening, the present moment loses its beauty, its power, its significance.

But there’s one occasion in our lives when we don’t this. This time travel from past to future just doesn’t happen. We all do it everyday. Drive.

When we drive, we avoid both unrealistic worlds. We focus on what’s happening around us. We have to keep our eyes on the road and be careful of the things on either side of the car. We know if we daydream too much, staring into the horizon, or keep looking back in the rear view, appreciating the beautiful scenery that just passed, we are going to crash.

It’s perfectly fine to occasionally glance on the roads behind us, just like it’s ideal to see what’s ahead of us from time to time when we are driving, but what we benefit the most from is the open road that’s directly in front of us. Right now. Right here. We don’t need more than this as it happens.

Let’s just drive in 2014.

You’re good!

What do we need to do today?

The things that happened last year with me have changed my beliefs, tested them, challenged them, shaped them up and strengthened them. It’s because of those things I think I know the answer to this question.

In 2012, I was studying in a college in India, and was one of those bored students who didn’t have anything to do after the classes. Most of the colleges in India don’t have the so-called “necessary” facilities like a recreational center, intramural, and fun events going on. So a friend and I decided to start our own college magazine after getting fueled up by reading the autobiography of Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin group. Crazy enough idea! We actually got some people working with us. The results were astonishing. In no time, we were on the verge of creating our own thing. But how did this happen so quickly? It wasn’t a miracle, it was the belief I had. It was the belief in people and in my dreams.

What are the odds of you asking somebody you don’t know at all to help you by spending out a large part of his time and doing it for free of cost? If you have asked, you know that the answer will always be a ‘no’ until you actually ask. A guy studying graphic designing and arts in England agreed to make the cover for our magazine. A professional photographer in California agreed to get the particular kinds of photographs we needed. A well-known journalist was so excited that he wanted us to use his work. A famous rock band let us interview them. One of the world’s most famous cricketers said no to give us his interview (still a pretty big thing just to receive that email!). The rejection didn’t help us but it did fortify my faith in what we were doing. Every time when I read that email, it reminds me that anything is possible.

I couldn’t believe what was happening at that time, but it was right there happening in front of my eyes. I was just amazed at how much easy this all was with these generous people in the world. I agree not all of them said yes, but most of them were willing to help, even though they had never met us. Sometimes, you have to convince them a bit because most of them are too protective, but most of the times, you’ll be surprised by the result you get when you actually ask for something. Though I never had the final copy of the magazine in my hands, it helped me a lot as a person and a writer.

The satisfaction of helping someone and that happy feeling is just too good to ignore. It may be one of the best feelings in the world. Sometimes people don’t help to gain something; they just help. That small act can change somebody’s life forever.

I believe in people. They are good enough to make this world a better place and inspire others by just simply helping each other. If most of us do even little things to help others, then soon, we won’t have a lot of things to complain about.

So what do we need to do today?

I think we know the answer!

Cuts ‘n Stitches

2 people passed. Some sadness filled their eyes, but in another moment, they were laughing. Even I couldn’t stop laughing. Same happened to many more. All of a sudden, their eyes seemed to be happier than before. It was fun to see their at-once changed expressions. Why? They all were looking at me! I was sitting on a chair waiting for the doctor to call me with my one leg spread across the floor. The wound gave a very saddening effect to anyone who looked at it but excitement on my face could not be hidden from anyone. The doctor had seen me few minutes before and told me that it was indeed a very deep cut and so, he would have to perform some tailor stuff. You know stitching and all! But why the excitement? Coz I’ve never been into this tailor stuff before. Though there have been many deep cuts in the past, few of them worse than the current one, but there was not even a single instance where I allowed Doc to carry his needles and scissors. I was always afraid of some pointing non-living thing going deep in my body. But today was no ordinary day. My old enemy, football, had yet caused me another of some serious troubles I’ve ever got. 7 years back it was a fracture in right hand, and now there was a volcanic eruption in the toe, again the, right side, with just one dissimilarity. There was no lava, just blood. Somehow it was made to stop by applying some primary first-aid things. There wasn’t much pain but as soon as you see it, you’ll be saying the same thing that everybody said, “Oh my God!”

So as I sat on the little bed looking at the primary preparations of the doc’s assistant and asking him several questions about the time period of stitches (I want to play again ASAP!!!), the doc stepped in closing the door behind him. He looked casual, the way I like it. The first thing he did made me realise the pain that was hidden from sometime. Next he asked me to lie down rather than sitting on the bed. “But I want to see how it looks, the stitching stuff”. This was my reply. He laughed a bit and said, “I guess you don’t want to lie down fainted”. All said, I quickly waited for the next instructions! Then started the process of tailoring me. 3 injections of small doses of anaesthesia to make my toe unconscious. And yet, it wasn’t completely unconscious. I could still feel whenever he put in the needle and took it out. Actually, it wasn’t much pain. It was the feeling of pain that made me feel something new. I had the realisation I was completely alive, no need to worry. Then came the next 2 injections, to lighten the effect of wound. Now that did hurt. Actually it was the only thing that hurt, the injections. Who the hell invented them? Couldn’t the doses be given by drinking or something like that?

So once again I moved out of the room with a different expression on my face, the expression of triumph. People, as before, looked confused, seeing my toe and then my face! I signed the form of something I don’t read in the pathology lab and then waited for my father to come back. He went to get the meds. Suddenly my cell started ringing. I picked it up and here’s the little conversation:

Friend: Hey where are you?

Me: At the hospital.

Friend: Why? What happened?

Me: (in a serious tone) I’m a father now.

Friend: What the hell!

Me: (couldn’t stop laughing!!!) Just kidding. Don’t worry; my clothes were torn, so I came here to get them stitched.

Friend: I think you are out of your mind. Will call you later

And he hung up.

But I couldn’t stop laughing!  🙂

The Dark Knight Rises…Epic!

“Madness is like gravity, all it needs is a little… push.”

The Dark Knight was madness, epic madness for some! Heath Ledger as ‘The Joker‘ made it legendary. Now comes the Dark Knight Rises. But without “JokeR”. The great movie minds will be ready to hit the red button and say that the previous one was better…as always. But is this about those minds? Or about our entertainment? I guess I’m being selfish…but its for our personal fun. Do we need the other person to tell us how is the movie? No. Enough now…lets get back to the Dark Knight Rises.

Well, the ‘James Bond’ of directors, Mr. Christopher Nolan is coming back with another awesome movie (hope so!), the Dark Knight Rises. Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes.

So their will be a new hero, oops… villain! Heath Ledger was of course the hero, don’t know about this one. The trailer looks awesome, sounds awesome, and the pre-released part of the movie of the so-called prologue has some real action going on.

In the end, we can only hope to see it as soon as possible. We will obviously miss the Joker. But come on, we’ve got a new one! As Christopher Nolan is claiming it, the movie will be an epic ending to the Dark Knight series. And we know, he doesn’t make false promises 😉

“If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”

SLap Day

7th Feb – 14th Feb.

Girl gets gifts, in fact a lot of all gifts!

15th Feb – 22nd Feb

Just don’t ask 😉

Well, girls give gifts, but not flowers, chocolates or big cakes. They are in the form of, well, in the form of some physical issues to the boys. And yes, Slap Day is one of them. I tried to find the history of Slap Day on Google but no luck (maybe the college firewall is blocking it). So I thought, why not invent one! So let me take all of you back to the day which says 7th Feb. On this day, a boy gives a rose to the girl to mark the beginning of the valentine week. In the following week, girl gets lucky, super lucky in some cases. But she has a secret, a deep secret that is buried inside her, which she don’t want to reveal due to gifts! So keeping aside this secret, she accepts all the treats and teddies. She spends her week happily, but when 14th comes, something happens. The boy hopefully proposes the girl. Now comes the secret part. The girl was already with some other boy! She didn’t tell that because she was selfish? Maybe, better ask her! So when her previous interest comes into play, he meets the new boy to celebrate the 15th Feb. as the Slap Day and what a way of greeting him….True Story! Maybe the girl is thinking of the best ways to spend the valentine eve but couldn’t. Just because of the boy’s fear of the following days that are destined to come? Yes, exactly! But what can he do? Nothing. Its all girl’s play! Whatever it is, njOy everyone 😉

Wait, its not over!

To be continued….

Just 1 day left…..

Valentine’s Day, or Tuesday!

Valentine’s Day. Just a day left for it. Flowers are ready, and so are the girls ready to accept them, though few will reject also! Gifts are being packed, colors being chosen carefully. Some are stuck on deciding the place for date, while others are booking movie tickets, etc. But do I care? Not at all…! 😉

Linkin Park wrote in their song ‘Valentine’s Day‘, “So now you’re gone, and I was wrong
I never knew what it was like, to be alone On a Valentine’s Day”. Maybe that is the true story of many of the guys out there, but definitely not mine. I’ve been alive since 19 years, and believe me, I’ve never ever thought about it, and I’m still alive! Valentine’s Day is a day when usually a boy, oh wait a sec, its always a boy 🙂 expresses his love to the girl. As the Wikipedia says it, “It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards“. But it says only flowers, confectionery and greeting cards. Does it also mentions the huge and expensive gifts that girls require nowadays? Doesn’t seem so….

Valentine’s Week is like a lottery for Archies, Cadbury, Flower Companies, and such other,   who earn their profit only in this week. Starting from Rose Day, the week has Chocolate Day, Promise Day, Hug Day, Kiss Day, and so many others that one could ever imagine! Imagine a boy who is getting ready to celebrate this week for his girl friend. First he buys a rose, then chocolate, and not an ordinary one, it must be Ferrero Rocher. And girl gets it all. Thats not all. He then also has to make a superficial promise on the Promise Day, buy a large, sweet and cute teddy on Teddy Day, and then has to do a lots of formality, until you are like her 😉

And after so much trouble, what he gets ?

Here’s the list:

15 Feb : Slap Day

16 Feb : Kick Day

17 Feb : Perfume Day

18 Feb : Flirting Day

19 Feb : Confession Day

20 Feb : Missing Day

21 Feb : Break Up

So guys, celebrate your V-Day with your loved ones, but do remember the list above. Happy valentine Day!!!

I’m the Sky

I’m the one whom you see,

When you look up, across the seas,

Spreading and protecting everyone, even you,

Like a shelter for all, not just for a few…

I’m the one where the birds fly,

Looking for food when their babies cry,

Where the airplanes take people away,

Passing through clouds as it swiftly sways…

I’m the one who holds the clouds,

Showering blessings when they shout out loud,

The blessings for farmers whose fields are dry,

I answer them with my teary cries…

I’m the one where light resides,

The heat which keep cold besides,

Where the stars twinkle at night,

Making beautiful patterns for every different sight…

Such natural wonders I show you,

There are many, not at all few,

People ask me who am I,

I’m everything and my name’s Sky…

As the years go on passing by,

I would surely not tell a lie,

New things I own and old went away,

To the lost place now where they lay…

Now I’m the one who is black,

In nature now I truly lack,

Smoke is all over me,

I’m burning now in tragedy…

I’m the one where chimneys glow,

Blanketing me, now the light is low,

Where the birds now come to die,

Without kissing their young-ones goodbye…

I’m the one who holds the waste,

Constantly changing my old taste,

I’m the witness of battles and wars,

Of the firing tanks and blown-up cars…

Such human wonders I show you,

There are many, not at all few,

People ask me who am I,

I’m nothing and my name’s ……

Does Santa really exist ?

Merry Christmas to you all! I know the Christmas means a lot of things to different people, but for me its an amazing festival with an interesting history behind it. Since I’m Indian, a Hindu to be specific, we don’t celebrate Christmas like the Christians. But thanks to my ‘Loving Parents’, they taught me early in my life to celebrate all the festivals.

When I was little, and believed in everything that seemed good, my parents used to tell me the day before christmas, that Santa Claus will come and put the presents under the pillow if I go to sleep early. And I still remember the excitement and sudden rush of joy I used to had when I used to see chocolates and gifts under my pillow after waking up! It’s truly an amazing moment for any kid.

Then something happened. I grew 🙂 And the belief in Santa Claus was now buried in the great old story books. I then believed that no Santa exists, it was just my parents who hid all the gifts and chocolates for me under my pillow. How much they loved me that they made me believe that its really the good ol’ Santa! But today as I was walking down the street and looking through the shops, I suddenly came across a child asking his father about the gifts Santa Claus would bring him if he behaved as a good kid! (there are some conditions too ;-)) That kid went on with many questions, like “Where do Santa get those gifts?”, “Does he really live in the North Pole or the South Pole?”, etc. His father remained silent on all his doubts. Finally, he asked, “Dad, Does Santa really exist?” His father smiled a bit, and before he could answer his question, I walked up to him and replied, “Yes, he really exists…”

Mission Impossible 4 : Ghost Protocol

“When it’s Blue, it’s glue.” 

“And when it’s Red?”

“Dead.”

This is just a dialogue-trailer of Mission Impossible 4 whose action scenes are just awesome! The story continues with keeping Ethan Hunt as the center of attraction. This time, Ethan Hunt returns again but he and his team, the IMF, are blamed for an attack that destroys Kremlin as part of a plan to disavow his whole team and allow them to operate beyond their usual limitations in the IMF agency. And when there are no boundations, great things are meant to be happened!

The main highlight of the movie is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper int he world. And yes, Tom Cruise handed it very well! Its just incredible how he plays around it, climbing it in one moment, and sliding down on it in another. And the best part is when he makes his way back to his room by making use of the rope back-and-forth….just awesome! But he has a lot of work to do in this movie. He has to battle a great sandstorm, catch the bad guys and get the nuclear codes from them, use some of the amazing technology, and obviously, save the world! 😀

The technology used in the movie is amazing. Though the time is very far away from us when the tech shown in the movie will actually be reality, still it gets the eye-balls rolling! The cars, hacking, and everything related to tech is at its best, including magnets that can keep you floating!

As of story and acting, everything was just perfect. Tom Cruise acts like a real hero. He holds the responsibility of his team, holds it together and well, get them out for some crazy stunt sequences. Now I’m not gonna tell you the whole story.This is one of those movie which will keep you to the edge of your seat till the end. And there’s not just action, the movie has also got some suspense from the 3rd installment about Ethan’s wife. So if you wanna watch high action thriller starring one of the best, Tom Cruise, then go watch it now!

 

Why I couldn’t give SAT??

Spent more than10  hours in a bus travelling to 2 different states in a journey which started at around 6 PM and ended at around 4 AM. Felt and fought the chilling waves of the early morning. No sleep for more than 24 hours. Reached the examination center as early as possible. Yet, I couldn’t give SAT. For real? Yes! But why? Lets hear the story of a journey then…

Me and my friend were all set to give SAT on 4th Nov. But why did we want to give SAT? Its because we both shared a common dream of attending an Ivy-League School. So SAT was the option, and we began our journey to explore it. First, we figured out how to get to the destination. We had to take a bus, then change it for the another one at the midnight, and that probably meant no sleep at all before the examination night! So we took the bus at 6 PM, reached the mid-stop destination at around 11 PM. And yes, it was getting colder and colder as the hours flew by. Maybe I felt a little more colder because of the exam the next day. You know students freak out a lot before the Big-Day! But I’m not one of them. Still it was very cold 😉

The 2nd bus started the journey at around 11:30 PM. We expected to reach our destination at around 2 in the morning. But I guess we were very very wrong! It was all foggy, and you can imagine the speed of the bus, very slow. It was a horrifying image of a vehicle travelling alone in the dark, coming out of nowhere and going to the same place! We stopped at least 2 times to eat and drink (not the bad drinks!). When at last we reached our destination at  4 in the morning, we were like “OMG, I’m too sleepy!”.

Somehow I got my 2 hours (not exactly!) of sleep and then got ready for the SAT, the next hurdle to be crossed off from my list! truth to be told, I was excited, not frightened, and quite fresh after the tire-some journey. We collected all our documents and the admit card and were completely set to make a mark in the exam. So my high hopes, I went into the center, got all my documents checked, and then was called in the office!

I didn’t know then what was going on, but later I found out I was not alone. There were around 6 students with me, including my friend, and the issue was told to us then. “All you guys and girls don’t have your passports with you, so you’re not allowed to give SAT“, the announcement was made, and I was like “WTF!” It was written on the admit card that you have to bring your Identification along with you, and I’ve everything, but why passport?

Then it was made clear. “The Indians and Pakistani students have to bring their passports for their ID verification. Nothing else will work.” Then I understood. The Collegeboard has some set of rules for the whole world, and some additional rules for the Indians and the Pakistanis. First, their extra fees which is added to the common fee+international fee. So the fees looks like: Common fee+International Fee+Fee for being from India, Isn’t it funny! And then the passport rule, ONLY PASSPORT WILL WORK, nothing else.

So that’s why I couldn’t give my SAT and was kindly asked to go out of the center after such a journey. But you know I have a wish to go to Ivy-League School, so I’m giving the SAT on 28th Jan next year, with much better preparation. And this time, I also have my passport ready :), so please no more additional rules Collegeboard!