When I look back...

When I look back, the thoughts overwhelm me,
When I look back, you contemplate and see;

The emotions and times that have tested you,
all the victories and losses have perfected you;

The friends and family you need all the time,
all the love and care that came at the prime;

The temper and ego that hurt someone,
all the guilt and realisation that came in return,

When I look back, the thoughts overwhelm me,
When I look back, you contemplate and see;

The joy and happiness that come your way ,
all the good times and memories that make doubts allay;

The blessings and good luck that took me higher,
all the good deeds and respect that made me wiser;

The plans, the journey that were complete with finesse,
all the aspirations and dreams that tasted success;

The reflections, the learnings that I failed to see,
The year that reflected with what I could be;

When I look back, at the things that are gained,
The year we say had a perfect end;

When I look back, I see the journey that I pursue,
I realise the things to keenly look forward too.

...of Snow, Mist and Breeze.

There we were sitting in the common area of our flat with friends and discussing the events that have unfolded before us in the last three months in the city of Glasgow. As we sipped the finest drink and hitched the finest memories, while in the background played music that helped us further be nostalgic; we were shaken out of this by the loudest shriek.

As we all turned our heads towards the big window, we see a flake of snow sneak in. We had never seen snow before and here we are amazed by the beauty. It starts to snow heavily, and then like kids we rush downstairs and there we see many like us have gathered down, some lying down and making angels, some making snow balls and starting a snow fight, some making a snow man and it was pure madness,mesmerizing fun.

The next morning as I opened my rooms curtain; I gasped and with wide eyes looked upon a pure white heavenly view and immediately thinking whether I have ever seen anything more beautiful. I open the window and the breeze makes me freeze (I like that one). But a picture is worth a thousand words and a storyboard of pictures gives us the perspective so here goes see it through my eyes

Of...Snow, Mist and Breeze

THE COMFORT ZONE

"EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE IS WAITING FOR YOU OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE"

Yes it is true. Whether we like it or not.

But what makes it so difficult. Why are we afraid to step out of our comfort zone?

What does it exactly mean, what is this comfort zone, is it a plane? , is it a bird? ... no .. no its superman!!! (oops got a little carried away sorry)

Hmm...the dictionary meaning of comfort zone is "a situation or position in which a person feels secure, comfortable, or in control"

Yeah very true the dictionary is not lying at all. But there is a word in the definition which is very important, which says it all.... and that word is: "which"








Please obviously I am kidding, that word is not "which" , the most important word is "FEELS"
..... a person FEELS secure, comfortable, or in control.

Ah... yes thats it... it is just a feeling that you grab! We are having an eureka moment here people ..! So anything which makes you feel all the above things; defines yours comfort zone. You give up the feeling, and it breaks the comfort zone!

Many of you must be thinking ... "he thinks it is so easy... fool!"

Maybe... but what is stopping you to do stuff that you normally avoid.

Think about what stops you to do things that you normally would not do!!

Think about what stops you to step out of your Comfort Zone....

Think about it.....


Think about it more.................


Just don't keep reading this sentence.... think ...what is stopping you!!


Stay with me... and think some more please!


EXACTLY!! Right now while you are reading this, stand up and start dancing, wherever you are!

I am sure you would not do it!! Exactly that is stopping you!!
But if you did, you now know what stops you.

Relax, break the clutter, break the routine!

Keep this in mind:
We cannot become what we want to be, by remaining what we are.

My Life... My Freedom..they call me Paul Carson (Part 2 of 2)

They call him Paul Carson,

Born in Belfast, Ireland; this guy has had one heck of a life. If I go in extreme detail about his life it will take a very long blog post to accommodate it; so I will keep it short.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember the reason I am sharing his life story is because there are certain things about his life that should be given more thought to, and that to me defines real freedom...and of'course you need to read Part 1 in order to get the background of what I mean. Ok whatever... let me just get on with it.
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As a child he was like any other normal kid who wants to play sports and complete his schooling and life was normal...

Then came the stage of choosing of what he wanted to be in life,

Ah..he said "I am very good at Maths and Physics let me try my hand at being a graduate in Civil Engineering,...okie dokie.. starts his course in Civil Engineering in some college....
....and a year into the course he realises that civil engineering is too much for him and is not what he wants to become in life... and leaves the course half way....yeah. Ok.

Then what,

hmmm... he says... "what else do I like... screw it"...

and then what he decides to do?

He takes off on a 3 year vacation to see the entire EU..yeah just like that. (Yes for 3 years, it is not a typo)

"I like Greece " he says after completing his 3 year vacation.
Είστε πολύ τρελό Paul!..I shout out in Greek...
(ok ok I confess I said that in English)

Ok now what...

hmmmm...he says.. I'd like to learn Scottish and Greek Literature, and arrives at the University Of Glasgow for 4 years to complete his graduation and Post Grad in Literature.

I ask him.. what are your plans after you pass out from here...

hmmm... he says, "I'd like to go back to Greece catch up with friends and then maybe after a few months go to India on a vacation for about 5-6 months, then to Nepal, and then couple of months in Sri Lanka.

Wow I say!!

I ask him don't you want to settle in life maybe get a nice job, get married and live a normal life!!

hmmm.... (and he said nothing)... and it is the most confused I have seen him ever when I told him something very normal.

I ask him what kind of work do you see yourself doing ...?

hmmm...he says, "I really dunno, I have worked like 20-25 different jobs, so I can't really pin point one actually!" and I faint and fall on the floor. (Ok I did not faint but... duh')

And I ask him to list out each... hmmmm. he says, " lets see from working, in bars, in restaurants, banks, Universities, Being a warden, Kindergarten, care taker, in a car renting company and he keeps listing down for about 2-3 minutes more... and finally he says ...yeah thats about it.
...hey I almost forgot I have also worked in a cemetery.

Eah...Ohhhk...so..hmmm..eah....hmmmm...Okkk....(were the exact words I said once he finished)

You know what Maulin..I dunno what I am gonna do..I take life as it comes and don't like to think much about the future...

You know what Maulin. "I like my life, I like my freedom, thats who I am"

And that got me thinking about what he said and the pure freedom of life he was experiencing, no unnecessary peer pressure, no obligations to prove anything to anyone.

I feel this is one way of living life and now when you compare it with the life we live back in the country (Part 1), I would want to know the opinion of others about this way of living life.

Every country, culture has its own way of living life and every individual has to decide the way he/she wants to live.

As the famous saying goes

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."

My Life...My Freedom...they call me Paul Carson. (Part 1 of 2)

When you start meeting people from all over the world and you hear their life story thus far... it gets very interesting!

Today I would like to share a story of one such person who gave me a very warm welcome when I reached Glasgow and who also happens (very fortunately) to be one of my flat mates. The reason I am sharing his story is because (atleast to me) I find the way he has lived his life thus far very fascinating.

But then again I come from that part of the world where life is structured in a very systematic manner (or is it...?) and every stage of life is designed and decided like a business plan.

If I dare to generalize, and give you a vague picture of life back in the country it is like:

1) Childhood Stage - Prove that you are oodles of talent, and do everything possible right from Dancing to singing to sports and the list being endless, at the same time study and be "intelligent" as the other guys son gets "A+" every time.

2) Pre Teen Stage - Prove how you are consistently "topping" in every class and also the extracurricular activities is what is encouraged and how you have received "The best student award", along with certificates of Mathematical Olympiads...

3) Teenage Stage - Oh! This is classic ...secure admission in one of the best colleges and choosing "Science" if you have excellent grades... if not then choosing "Commerce" (Only on the condition that you become a Chartered Accountant)....and if by any chance you have low grades then going on to choose "Arts" ..... and yes while you are still in the process of completing your graduation start preparing for all the competitive exams which will give you admission in one of the best colleges for your Post Graduation (No questions asked)

4) Adult Stage: You have completed your graduation/post graduation, start looking for a job in a very nice company, work, earn, and after a few years "GET MARRIED" settle down, start a family and live happily ever after...........


In other words, it is almost preplanned on how we live our life.


Now let me get back to the "guy and his life story...

They call him PAUL CARSON,

(End of Part 1,

To be continued)

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CAUTIONARY NOTE:

LET ME BE VERY CLEAR: this is just a generalization and having mentioned the above things, it is in no way a bad way of living, I have mentioned just a way of living ; out of very many other ways of living life. The only thing I am questioning is the Structure, the pre decided events........
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and fortunately I have been blessed because I am born in the most wonderful family, as I have had a very good life.

Man answered God's Prayers!!

So finally God is happy that his prayers are answered.

History was violent, Temple breaks Masjid and Masjid breaks Temple, and mere mortals started killing each other over a piece of land.

A piece of land...eh.... or is it. Is it a birthplace of Lord Ram, or is it a original Mosque build by Mir Baqi under the mughal emperor Babar....

to answer this question people fought, killed, got divided, politics was played, and unnecessary stress was caused between two perfectly peaceful "religions"

Many committees were created and many studies were carried out, right from excavations by the Archeological Survey of India, to carbon analysis, to time analysis, just to prove to whom the land belongs.

Meanwhile up there "God" could not help but laugh and "pray" that all his fans stop playing games in his/her name and start to act like his/her "creations".

But many long decades later The Allahabad High Court decided for the "God's Fans" to whom the land belongs, and finally the land was given to Hindus and Muslims.

The funny thing is that the verdict that came out is exactly what many people had suggested when the issue first started taking in fire, and every time they suggested this, riots started all over the place, law and order went for a toss...

But this time something was different when the verdict was delivered the nation accepted it, there was 100% peace and sanity had prevailed!!

and for the first time

MAN HAS ANSWERED GOD'S PRAYER...AND THEY ACTED LIKE HIS/HER CREATIONS!!

Click here if you want to know more about this issue. Courtesy Times Of India.

Highlands of Northern Scotland. The Isle of Skye.

On Reaching Scotland....

The day is 3rd Sept.2010, and time is now close to 9.30..... there we were sitting in the living room along with my parents almost ready to leave for the airport. The last minute jitters were on, going to a very different country and that too for a long time, a number of questions start cropping up in your mind, and ten times more questions crop up in parents mind, concerned about their son going to far off place. But it is as it is, life should always be challenged, risks should always be provoked, uncertainties aplenty make you feel more lively and that is what makes you what you want to be.

the time is now close to 11.00 and now we are at the airport and all close relatives come to see you off, and you feel more nervous since you are going to miss everyone back home. You say bye to everyone, and as you take each step toward the entrance of the airport; the more cold your hands and feet get. But as you enter the airport terminal you are on your own, you are in your own ready to rock!!

the time is now 3.00am and they start to make everyone board the plane for London, you enter the plane and take your seat and wait for the aircraft to take off, as it does you realize along with the aircraft your dreams too take off, and ready for the journey ahead.

the time is now 7.40am London Time, and now I wait for the connecting flight to take me to Glasgow Scotland. So there I am sitting at the terminal, observing the happenings of a new country, new people, new culture, new everything! and you realize that how important it is to expand your think tank and you realize that you are not the center of the world. Everything does not work the way you want it to work. Sort of like the connecting flight which takes you to Glasgow from London, the same way the dream which took off from Mumbai, also needs connecting support to actually reach the destination. So another way of understanding why without the support you may have your dreams take off but may not make you reach the final destination.

the time is now 1.40pm in Glasgow,Scotland  and you reach the destination. The destination which you were planning to reach over a year, after working hard towards making getting everything ready, you finally make it happen and you get the triumphant feeling of achievement. You feel in control.

ON REACHING SCOTLAND.... you realize that the .....

THE TIME IS..........NOW!! ........to put the peddle to the metal.... and be the best!!

The Joy of Monsoon.

It is 7.00AM, there I am in the cosy warm bed comfortably sleeping, and it is almost time to wake up and face the day; just waiting for the alarm to go off triggering the activites of the day to commence.

The alarm goes off and you in almost slow motion get up; stretch out your arms and legs, twist and turn and with very lazy and sleepy eyes unwillingly get out of your bed. You go to your rooms window and open'em wide and then in the same gloomy and sleepy mood continue on. This is how typically the day starts.

Now we cut to the monsoon season....

You go through the same old routine of the waking up process...until the point you open up the window. Here when you open up the window you are blasted with sudden gust of cool breeze with ice cold water droplets hitting your face...the heavenly smell of mud and water..it changes everything. You are filled with Joy and the rain fills you with positive emotions. You get the goosebumps and you see the day in an all new light.

When the time to leave home comes you gear up wearing the rain gear "windsheater" as they are called and go for the mission impossible that is to successfully get an autorickshaw to go to your destination. There you are on the road all wet only below the knees thanks to the "windsheater". Then after mission impossible you sit in the auto and only pray that none of the roads are water clogged and if they are you pray that the auto does not stop in the middle of the road.

Thunder and heavy rains all around you; and I have the music in my ears..... perfect. Inspite of the chaos the rains makes you stay happy and feel positive. Something about the rains is just right.

Ah... you go up to a typical chai stall and sip on cutting chai in the heaviest of rain...and mark my words it feels like you are having the most tastiest tea in the whole world, coupled with a very hot and delicious "road side thela ka wada pav" you are in heaven and the feeling inside you is overflowing with joy and happiness.

It is during this monsoon season that people are happiest and they interact and discuss how the BMC has not done their job...discuss how Marine drive...Gateway and worli sea face is the place to be.

There you are sitting very close to the sea face watching the waves hit the wall with ferocious force and the thunder making the loudest of noice...within all this there you are just in the middle of this enjoying every second and wishing this never ends.

I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again.
So this is the Joy I feel during rain...'cause it wipes out sortsa' pain  ...yeee haw!

Phase of Life at AIM (Part 2 out of 4 - Realisation)

"Oh God..Please give me the Strength, Fitness, Confidence, Stamina, Motivation and extremely important blessings to successfully complete the journey that I am about to undertake" these are the exact words I said to myself praying to God just before karate classes were about to start.

There we were in black uniforms and a white belt standing in formation and our sir leading from the front telling us all about the history of our beautiful form of martial art. 

..............................

OUR SIR, OUR GURU, OUR IDOL, OUR ROLE MODEL, OUR OWN : SIR JAGDISH BRAMTA

Oodles and oodles of passion, mixed with tons of talent, coupled with unlimited resource of knowledge, filled with pints and pints of humor and goodness, having the spice of discipline, temperament and drive, and garnished with a fantastic personality is what the recipe of Sir Jagdish Bramta is all about. 

Sir, it is because of him that I have developed the self confidence, the strength, the motivation and the belief in oneself with never say die attitude. This has helped in my life tremendously. 

..................

As months went by,we rose from White belt to Yellow belt to Green II, Green I, Orange II. How can I not mention our belt grading examinations, our camps.


Camps are the most memorable part of my AIM life and at each and every camp, I became more independent, more mature, more stable. 


Early  mornings, when it is freezing cold-- having bath with cold water, then getting ready for early morning training in which I distinctively remember actual steam used to come of us after training, then waking up everybody and telling them to be ready, breakfast in which plain milk and glucose biscuits were served, then getting ready for training again.....after the first day the body aches itself to death due to lactic acid in the muscles...certain students start to remember their parents... gossiping amongst students about how he wishes the camp could get over soon and he would get freedom.... CAMPS were the most interesting part of AIM.


The exam day ..a day where emotions are completely mixed.... the nervousness of belt grading examination...the joy of leaving for home the same day.... hope to get promoted to another level of belt..... fear of going wrong..very wrong....seeing Sir in the red uniform even more scary.... at times you even forget the warm ups!! 


For me personally 4th advanced Kata ... to this day I cannot say that I remember all the moves.


But this phase of life at AIM made me realise the importance of this wonderful ART, made me realise the importance of Jagdish Sir, made me realise the importance of having the most wonderful friends who could make things so much more comfortable......


This second phase of life at AIM was exactly this.... IT MADE ME REALISE...... 


Then something that I could not have ever imagined happened...it was unbelievable..... that I say would form the next part of life at AIM.........that I say would be the best phase of life at AIM.......


(To be continued......)

Phase of Life at AIM (Part 1 out of 4 - Initial Struggle)

It was my first day at Hansraj Morarji Public School in the 5th Std; I remember just before recess this person enters our class and starts explaining about a Karate class which is going to be held after school; the positives of remaining fit, active,strong was explained and after about 15-20 minutes everyone is given a form to be shown to the parents. On reaching home that day I give the form to my mom and I forget about it and merrily go down to play; of course after explaining to my mom that I was not interested in joining any kind of class.

The next day after school I see my mom at the gate; she gives me a smile that I will never forget to this day and says to me 'I am about to change your life sonu; 10 years down the line you will thank me for doing this; of course today you are going to cry and curse me might I add!' Confused I start following my mom and she takes me to the school gymnasium, and to my extreme horror I see the karate classes being held there!

Before I continue....

My life, I was soft, I was protected, I followed my mom everywhere like her shadow, basically I was a "bacchha" , 'kaccha limbu' of sorts.

Ok I can continue now....

My mom without asking me enrolls me into the karate classes, and I cry like a baby!! The first day in my uniform White shirt and brown shorts I start doing the warm ups being shown by a senior ahead... punches are demonstrated... blocks are shown .... after 2 hours, the class finally end ...and after almost getting dehydrated due to litres and litres of tears flowing out my eyes and nose... I don't talk to my mom for the whole day...I throw away the 'Eclaires' she gives to cheer me up...and I cuddle up to my dad asking for freedom!

That very day my parents explain to me why learning Karate would help me...the next day I finally decide that I would continue and give it a try...

And my phase of life at AIM begins.......

(to be continued......)

**** I am writing my experience just to share how Jagdish Sir and AIM friends and family have helped me tremendously; and have played a major role in shaping up to what I am today****

IPL the IPL ------ (I Personally Like the Indian Premier League)

IPL the IPL (I Personally like the Indian Premier League)  2008--Novel, Good-------2009-->controversial, better----- 2010---> excellent, exposed. A wise person once said that if people start criticizing you; you are on a path to success. Sounds so true when compared to the resounding success of the Indian Premier League. Mr.Lalit Modi envisioned, shaped and moulded the new format of cricket in a smart way by combining Glamour,Business, Passion and garnishing it with pure unadulterated Power. Introduce IPL the format which gripped many many people, gave a chance to see a new combination of players playing for respective states of India, hence seeing 'micro patriotism' for their states. I have been following the IPL since the very first year and I have become a fan of the same. 3 hours of pure entertainment, millions tune into watching the game and quarreling with friends about who would win and why 'my team' is the best because of this particular player.

But IPL 3 which I feel is the best season amongst all; we get to hear in each and every news channel debating about the black money balloon, betting racket, irregularities in setting up franchises, a certain Minister favoring his girl friend, and also the commissioner more hungry for power and hugely inflated egos. Debates (more like high volume kids fighting to make points) on news channels asking why Lalit Modi is the biggest fraud, why the government fails to do anything about it, how players have stopped playing for their country and started making money, how attending late night parties etc. is affecting their performances. Yeah like they are robots who are expected not have lives and keep blowing sixes all the way and expected to win all the time.

The crux of the matter is that the IPL has managed to create the global brand, managed to grip millions and managed to give fresh entertainment to everyone. IPL has managed to bring a smile on marketeers face since it provides an excellent platform to establish a brand. IPL has also participated in many social causes and helped create awareness, raise money for the same. IPL has a done a lot of good and yeah in the process made loads and loads of money; nothing wrong about that actually. IPL has also and it happens to be the important of all ; shown quality cricket, exposed some brilliant and quality talent.

Yes irregularities exist and they must be investigated and things should be cleaned out, but that does not mean that the format and the idea of IPL should be corrupted and tainted. I am sure like me there will be million other people who would like to see the IPL reach newer and better heights, want the IPL to expose newer and better talent across the country, want better cricket being displayed by competitive franchises, want IPL to compete with other leagues of the world. IPL is a beautiful concept and it should continue because "IPL the IPL!!"

Right To Education Act

The other day I was watching a discussion on a certain news channel where Mr.Kapil Sibal was addressing the concerns on the Right to education act.

Before witnessing the discussion my opinion about the act was that it is a wonderful act which is a big step forward in a progressive yet orthodox (quite an oxymoron) country like India. But my judgement was based on certain generic assumptions and excitement of the right step taken forward.

During the course of the discussion on the show there were certain very true concerns and statistics that I came to know about. 220 million go to school, but a staggering 202 million do not go on to college level education every year. Out of the total schools in India 93% are government schools and the rest are private and majority of students going on to college level education come out from private schools. There are a total of 55 lakh teachers in India still there is a gap of 5 lakh teachers vacancy that need to be filled. The teacher student ratio in India stands 1:30 seems far fetched but true and if I am not mistaken the total figure for the implementation stands at 175,000 cr.

What do these statistics mean, it throws light on very real ground level problems. How will the ground level implementation happen, how will the act be deemed successful and how would we define this success. The question does not lie with the government alone but it lies with us.

The government particularly Mr.Sibal has done his major part of the job of implementing the wonderful initiative as a fundamental right, now in order to make use of this we do not have to look at them for more added support, it is us the society to shun the bias, shun the elitist thinking, shun the ego. and do the right thing come out in full support of the act and its successful implementation. Contribute, share, let us make sure that this is truly successfully implemented.

Concerns like quality of education provided by the teachers, methodology adopted by teachers and many more concerns like these are going to be addressed by the government. Concerns like the funding problems, concerns of parents protesting in schools silently to discourage under privileged children to be admitted to high profile schools, wide spread setting up of schools across the country with the proper infra structure should be the collective responsibility of the society at large.

In conclusion the possibility of this act being successful seems real. Because it is very well understood that we cannot afford not to make this possible and that is the bottom line.

"Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions." -- William Allin

HATRED

I hate you...you hate me..... Why did you say this...... I am not going to let this happen.....I will kill you....I will destroy you...I am powerful...bomb blasts.... power plays... HATRED is engulfing all around!!

What is happening, why is it always the common who wants to live a peaceful life targeted. The evil of hatred in the minds of the a few individuals who think are working towards a cause, trying to "save" a religion, a country, a belief are knowingly destroying what is supposed to be saved above everything else and that is HUMANITY!

These so called 'powerful' psychopaths think what they say is above all else and mindless followers of these psychopaths...do what they are told like freakin zombies.

But what are we supposed to do something about it....or the maximum that we can do is update are twitter and facebook accounts...when some such evil happens and keep checking our accounts to see how many comments have come on our update. Is this what we are supposed to do!!!!

Or do we have to be more aware...more mature.... more liberal....more aggressive...more attentive....more HUMANE. you have to be the judge of that!!!

Things need to move fast very fast.... since the evil of HATRED is moving and spreading fast.... !

The real power is in our hands.... stand together for what is right for what is Humane.

One fine morning in the winter days of December 2009 in Mumbai, when I was on my way to office I witnessed a very interesting thing. As I was reading the morning newspaper in the auto rickshaw at one point in time just as I happen to look up to see where have I reached; I saw many people from inside their cars waving and blowing kisses to someone standing on the road with a sign in his hand. I got curious and looked through two people fighting over lane changing, beyond the black smoke being released by tempo trucks, the heat generated by big SUV's, just after the window rolled up again after another shower of red muck on the road and beyond the group of beggars and eunuchs fresh after harassing another person.....beyond all this I see in the distance a person in white, with a innocent smile on his face, emanating from him waves of positive aura holding the sign "Sahi Karam karna hi asli dharam hai" (Doing right is the real religion which should be followed)

I keep my news paper back in the bag and start to introspect, what did I just witness. Beyond the utter wrong things happening in and around us there is always a hope; that things may change. It is amazing how just to see that person with the sign in his hand, I had to see through so much of chaos. Then another thought hit me, whether the person is wasting his time and energy by standing in the middle of the road and trying to change the unchangeable, trying to do the "undoable", trying to unfortunately tell people what in spite of they knowing what is wrong and right , do what they want to do.

Then another thought engulfed me, after seeing that person what I also saw were the people waving and blowing kisses to him, Had the process of changing those select few started?..... had he successfully broken the barrier and had made people think for a second atleast....

As these thoughts were playing in my mind, I see I reach my office, and then get involved in the day of the life in a big city, but what I also must mention that something was different....something had changed.... he made me think about various things.....

Something which has to be mentioned is that you do not necessarily need a person with a sign in the middle of the road to tell you what you already know.....be the change.... things will be better.

This is one thing which I wanted to share about the day I was on my way to office..................