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. 

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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......)