A lesson to learn

Sometimes life has two ways but sometimes it has many. Choosing between two ways is way too difficult than choosing among many. I can say this because if you have two options to choose from, you would have discovered all the possibilities involved- what you are going to get and what you are going to lose. But if you have many, there may not be a clear distinction between what you get and what you lose.

Ultimately, its you who have to decide. Its you who have to select whether to follow the gains or to follow the loses.

I don't know, what is the right way and which option is the correct one, but I always like to see possibilities in the perspective of gaining. I mean, suppose I choose one option. Definitely, there would be two aspects- you gain something and you lose something. But if I start looking at  what I have lost by choosing the option, then I will definitely never be happy. So, its way better, if I choose to see what I have gained. After all, life is all about living and living positively.

As a child, I read Gandhiji's talisman in the front pages of our NCERT Social Science books. It said,"whenever you are in pain and despair, always look for those who are bellow your level, who are suffering more than you. And you will then feel how privileged you are." I, sort of, love this talisman because whenever I feel bad or miss something, I feel good if I remember this. But important thing is to remember it then and there because normally in low moments, you find it hard to concentrate on good thoughts. This is what people say. I, however,find it easy to do so.

Yesterday, I went to an orphanage. And that was exactly not an orphanage. At least, I didn't feel so. I can say this because the children over there are so much happy and jovial, you can hardly say that they miss anything in their life. They are living there with all the happiness in the world.....they feel so. There is a child of around three years age who is very loving. The in-charge told us that she has a late mental development. But, what I found out was she was much intelligent than many of us. She has the gift of love and the gift of smile. She kept us all grounded for all the moments we spent there. We almost forgot who we are. It was a feeling even words can't describe. So,if they can take life so easily, if they are not even giving a second thought to the option they could have, if they are taking life with all the beauty of it and are forgetting the losses they have gone through, then why we people having so much in life grumble for small things.  Its a lesson that we have to ,learn from those kids. Why can't we understand that whatever we have is more than enough. God has given us so much. We have been blessed with all the beautiful things. We should be grateful. I am not preaching or advising, but just give it a thought. After all, its just One Life To Live!!

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Once in a blue moon, once in college life!

When I first placed my first foot in my college life, I was not very sure what’s going to happen next. I mean, I didn’t have much apprehensions, I had some, but not as is normally expected. Well, what I mean to tell here is that I had no plans when I came here, rather I would say, I was in a state of “forget-all-plans”. I thought college life would be the same things as I have always thought of…..attend classes, jot down notes, behave crazy in the fiesta and whatever..... I was indifferent to anything that came my way and thought just to let things the way they are. I was in some “out-of-the-world” kind of state…..no special plans, nothing bothered me. Now, this is not a writing about the same old story of how college life is everything in a student’s life, how “no more friends groups, no more mass bunks, no more b’day parties” , blah blah blah.

I am writing this because I feel a lot has changed since I entered this college and the same applies to me too. After all, change is the only thing that is permanent in nature. So, today. Today is the 29th day of February. The day that marks the leap year. It’s a special one as it comes every four years. Sounds clichéd…..does it? So why I have named this piece of writing as “Once in a blue moon…..”? If that’s the question, then let me tell one thing, this is the day, we never had in our college life, nor will we have it again,…..together. Well, now that’s what makes it special. A thing which is even rarer and more precious than a blue moon. We have had many moments in these four years, some good, some bad, some stupid, and some not worth remembering. But this is one day, just a single piece, more special and unique than a singleton! Just one day which will be the only moment that has never repeated in all these years, a day which we had never lived, a day which we would never have again….. a day which never can be changed again and no one can ever be able to do so. If a birthday celebration plan in 1st year goes wrong, it can be changed or adjusted in the following year or something of sort…..but this day…..never ever can be modified or reframed. So, it’s you know, sort of a permanent thing.

Coming to today, it’s one of the most special days I had in my college life. Comparing to the person I was, with no apprehensions and special plans, I wanted to make this day a very special one. A day, which can never be changed, being planned by a person who herself had changed. Ironical. Though I always welcome changes….. (remember Mohabbatein! ). We had our usual classes but classes are a part of the things I enjoy in college. (Sorry guys….who don’t enjoy them.)

Even the classes seemed special today. Actually everything did. I wanted to feel each moment that passed by. The butterflies, the birds, the setting sun, the sky, everything and to top it all a small outing just outside the college with friends. Usually, we do so but today we did everything in a special way and with a desire to make it good. That’s what made it more special than was planned for. Everything seemed so splendid, so sweet and so very wonderful that even expressing them in words is just next to impossible. Everything and every moment the day unfurled for me was truly special and unique. And so it was truly once in a lifetime kind of experience. Just like ONCE IN A BLUE MOON….. And just ONCE IN MY COLLEGE LIFE!!

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Right from the platter!

If you are passionate about one thing in your life, and there’s no other thing that you can even think of, then definitely destiny will play its way to shape it for you. But it’s you who has to smoothen it further and work for it with all the passion. That is, if you have a dream and you work to achieve it, you will definitely achieve it.

Pick up any example. I mean example of any personality who made it large. By the way, I got the recipe for this article from a recent reality show for chefs called “Master Chef India 2”. Being a food lover, I love watching reality cook shows. I have followed (though not all episodes) Master Chef Australia, Master Chef USA, and Hell’s Kitchen, to name a few. I was not a very regular viewer of Master Chef India-2 though, for which I can blame a bad internet connection and absence of a TV. However, my vacations started, I got access to the TV (thank God for that) and I loved watching the show. That was the 10^th day of December, Saturday. The participants (8) were assigned a task to cook the dish of a 2 Michelin Star Chef of Hong Kong. They were supposed to work in pairs. At a point of time when nervousness comes naturally, I saw Jyoti ji consoling Joseph (who were both a team) just like a mother would do when her child loses confidence or/and is nervous. She was asking him to just relax and….. Wow….This happens only in India…..The following day was the elimination round.

11^th Day of December.  That team was in the elimination round. Finally Jyoti ji got eliminated. But, once her name was called upon for elimination, I saw Chef Vikas Khanna saying some very humble words to Jyoti ji and even touching her feet. He said that he wants to touch the feet of a mother who is of no comparison to any chef in the world. He said that this is the reason why no food cooked by any of the world’s greatest chefs could match the essence of a food cooked by a mother. And believe me I was watching the show spellbound and this part of the show was the “wow factor” for me. I mean a Michelin star chef himself praising the dish cooked by a participant, who is a mother, was just something… You will never experience such things on a Gordon Ramsay Show, never ever.

Chef Vikas Khanna who hails from Amritsar, Punjab is now one of the most prestigious hospitality group owners in the US. His success story might not be so dramatically discussed by some. It might be just another story. But, he is a personality who can easily be taken as a source of inspiration. From cooking in ‘langars’ to being an executive Michelin star chef of the Junoon Hospitality Group cannot be just another story. It takes the exact temperature, the right amount of spices, the perfect condiments and precisely chosen ingredients to make a good dish. But the precise garnishing and the specific attitude makes it perfect.

What I mean to tell is that, he had a passion for food from his childhood. He wanted this to be his life. He worked for his passion and he achieved it. Sounds simple, does it? But believe me, it is not. Having a clearly defined and distinguishing passion is not that easy. It even takes half a lifetime to discover your passion. But if you have it, just work to make it happen. And that is not easy as well, but not trying is worse than failing. 

Like I always say, keep dreaming and make them real.

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Update (December, 2016): I have been following Chef Vikas Khanna's shows because he inspires me. His interaction with people in his 'Twist of Taste' episodes are so humble and motivating. Truly, a gem of a person! 
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For Heaven's Sake..... I am

NOT A MACHINE

A lot has been going on these days. Vostok has stopped thinking about all this. She doesn’t even know how to react to these issues. Well… it’s actually not an issue but the way it’s going on these days it seems to be so. The environment, the surroundings, everything seems to be moving in a very fast pace and the poise that Vostok has been maintaining till now seems to lose its ground. It seems as if something is there that she is trying to figure out but just can’t. She can feel it very close to her heart but she just doesn’t know how to seek it. Well… wait a moment….. very close to her heart…!! It seems ridiculous. Yeah, I mean she has a heart, right? If yes, why do others do not feel it. I mean, if she has got a “Real” heart, one should feel it. The ones living in her proximity has never ever felt that she too has a heart. Is it a problem with them or is it true that she doesn’t have a heart at all?

Well, that question is still left unanswered. Vostok, from her birth till date was blessed with a beautiful gift of poise and patience. She never knew what it felt like to live life without poise. Her surroundings were always like she imagined it to be. Life was cheerful, always. If ever anything came her way that she has not planned for or has never imagined it that way, it had to change…may be she tried and changed or else nature did it for her. Life was like wearing rose colored glasses. Everything was so calm and eternal. But…..

(to be continued…..)

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And the moon got lost.....

And the moon got lost

When there was the silence of the words

Walking alone to the old birch tree

The rats were still racing on

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The clouds were on a marathon

Yet the stars twinkled with

Light and cheery, zest and merry

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The birds chirped, the bees hummed

The sun was wide awake

The leaves dried and the flowers withered

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The sandy breeze with the fragrance within

Whipped and circled and told some tale

The tides mystified and roared with laughter

And still the moon got lost!

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TIMES CHANGE !!

Change. It’s the nature’s nature. Whether we welcome it or are just ignorant about it, change does happen. It, I believe, is the fundamental law of nature and the sustenance of life. Well, just to explain my point a bit more, just imagine…..what we all are doing in this world!! Of course we are living our lives. But, to ‘live a life’ we need some basic requirements. Roti, kapda aur makaan, it might sound clichéd, but it is. And the entire world just revolves around this. I came across a beautiful concept of life on the website of a snack brand. It goes like this: Every crime that is done on this earth is just because of hunger. So pacify hunger and stop crime. Unusual, but true to the core. Just think, we are always striving to get better- getting better education, better living condition, better ethics… Doing in a better manner means changing the way it existed before. For example, History lessons in our education system-teach us how the world changed in due course. Science-teaches us the conditions that existed before and how these were changed by some new inventions, discoveries, technologies, whatever. Every aspect…..you just pick up one…..is a study of changes that happened and changes that are yet to be made. So, as I said earlier, Change IS the fundamental law of nature. It’s the basic property. And hence, we have no choice but to accept it.

Well, I always believe in the fourth dimension and very much agree with the dynamism associated with it. Now, a question might arise that nothing is static (as everything changes), so why do I have to agree with the dynamism? Whether I agree or not, the dynamism will still be there. Why do I have to state it loud? The reason is, the dynamism I am referring to is just not ‘change’. It’s the dynamism of the change. That is, the rate at which the change occurs. And that is why I believe in the dynamism of the 4^th dimension. This dynamism has been a sort of obsession for me since my childhood. I mean, I keep on wandering what exactly keeps on happening. How would we be able to find out correctly the quantities associated with it? And if ever we find out a way, a method, to calculate the numbers associated or the calculations that are to be done will it be 100% correct? I mean, we may feel that the way we are approaching is correct, but still there might be something, hidden or unraveled, that actually will be leading us in a wrong direction even without our knowledge. Well, thoughts like this always kept me puzzled. Genesis is believed to be the greatest puzzle till date. But what concerns me is the puzzle that existed before genesis. Genesis was just a change made.

For getting some diet for my odd inquisitiveness, I relied upon books. But gradually the puzzles increased in numbers. Some got solved but the solutions were over ruled by the number of questions. So I decided to take a break…..to just live my life…..and forget about the oddities for a span of time. But, life is all about oddities. The beautifulness of life is the oddities wrapped. Life teaches more than books. Actually to state otherwise, books are the portrayal of life itself. Hence, reading bountiful books would be a feast for my inquisitive mind (odd inquisitiveness- as stated by some)…..I thought so. But, I tell you, books are a real epidemic…..once you fall in for them, you just can’t get out. It spreads and spreads and spreads. It happened with me too. I just fell in for them and they became an addiction. Well, don’t think I am talking about my textbooks only….. I am referring to the solution corner of the puzzles. Book is just a synonymic term which encompasses everything, textbooks, media, any source of knowledge…..  The more I wanted to know about the dynamic nature of the 4^th dimension, the more mysterious it became. But that’s the way it is expected to be. Despite of knowing all these, our heart never stops trying. It’s the basic human nature after all. Our brain wants more. It just wants to know more and more…..actually it wants to know everything about everything in this universe and beyond…..This never stops. You feed the mind with a new stuff, it will desire for knowing even more. It wants to know the dynamism of its own self because it loves change…..And Times Change.

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Life, happiness and dreams

"Happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but rather how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy." 

--Mihaly Csikszentmihayli 

Yeah,its completely true to the tee. I have seen people measuring the level of happiness they are feeling. But I wonder, can happiness be quantitative!? I mean if you are happy, you are just happy and nothing. No other issue, stands between you and your happiness. If you are happy now, forget everything and just be happy. Why mix feelings? Just live the moment. I may seem preachy, but I am telling it out of my own experience.....whenever I am happy and I just stay happy, I feel really happy and everything turns happy and the moment turns out only for me. But, if I try to just give a thought that now I am happy.....as times change....will the moment change for me in the near future.....and guess what? It actually changes.....not because it was destined to, but I made the moment change just because of my thoughts. You see, thoughts really change your life. It makes you happy if you want yourself to be. Oh, I have been blabbering about being happy, happy moments and all happy things. I can't stop myself because the occasion is itself very happy for me. And to add on it has been made precious by my both my parents and friends, people who care for me and are really precious for me. Life is full of such short and sweet moments. We just need to find them and live them to the full. What happens next will be taken care when the appropriate time comes.

Dreams sometimes may make you happy and sometimes may not. But, as I have said before, it all depends on you how you perceive things. Life without a dream is not life at all. We should hold fast to dreams,for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow. Dreams are eternal, dreams are divine. Live your dreams because life is all about living, short and sweet moments.. of your dreams and celebrating every good thing, however small it may be. After all, its just one life to live....and we must live fully!

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Feel privileged!!!

Sometimes things seem so beautiful and so astounding that we tend to forget the real object.I mean, how the real object must be feeling to be a piece of such adoration. Sometimes, though it may sound rather peculiar and surprising, the admiration that they get is not what they desire. It's sometimes painful for them but their painful situation becomes so breathtaking for us that they can hardly complain and we can hardly realize. Just take for example, the images given here.It's of the Niagara Falls when it froze. It's so wonderful that we forget the woe of the water which is dead frozen....which is inhibited of the flow!

But, despite all this life is for living such moments. If your woes and sorrows seem good to others, then you must feel desired and privileged. After all, life is a mixture of good and bad. If everything we desire gets fulfilled, then it's not a life worth living!

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Words So True.....

What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.

# Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.
- Audre Lorde


# No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.
- Barbara de Angelis


# Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
- Anais Nin


# We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.
- Talmud


# Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.
- Buddha


# We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.
- Louisa May Alcott


# Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
- Ralph Ellison