Monday, December 31, 2012

Money Matters....

MONEY!!!!!....Probably one of the biggest inventions of man.Actually the biggest!! Everything in this world revolves around this 5 letter word.Its all about making money.We as human beings have made money such an important entity that our entire life revolves around it.Its all about how much bank balance one has as opposed to how much knowledge one possesses.If we look at the life cycle of an average human being we would  realize that from childhood itself money starts playing a major role.Even before birth ,our future is decided by money.The hospital that we are about to get delivered in is decided on the basis of how much income our family has.Once born ,the clothes that we wear ,the school that we go to ,the sports that we play..all are dependent by and large on that dreaded five letter word ,MONEY!!

As we grow older the only mission we have is to get a got enough Job,the one which may be of the least interest to us but it should be the highest paying one.Its important to earn money or else we would not be able to buy things which we have dreamt of. We spend hours at our work place just to earn that piece of paper at the end of the month. It also is the biggest status symbol. The more money you have the more your stature grows.And add to the fact that if you are an Indian then it completely becomes the bone of contention.The feeling of "what will other's think of us " never leaves us in peace.We want to keep on earning not for ourselves but to show others how much we possess.

But this has been going on for ages and willingly or unwillingly we have accepted that money is supreme and existence without it is next to impossible.Then you would wonder why I am being so cynical of the fact that we have made money as our priority.The reason being, we in our quest for wealth have actually forgotten basic human values.Let me cite an example..

Yuvraj Singh hits 6 sixes in an over and the government showers him with crores of rupees.That's fine,he did what not a lot of people can do.But a girl in Delhi gets raped and eventually after a hard fought battle dies.It somewhat wakes up a sleeping nation.But a day after the cremation of the brave girl ,two state governments announce that they will pay the parents of the girl 10 or 15 odd Lakh rupees.Now that to me is shameful and it epitomizes how sick and tired we are and how badly we are tangled up with money.We don't know how when or where to use this powerful tool.Whatever be the occasion we just throw in money.

There's no point in covering our backs when our souls have been ripped apart.Lets stop following the age old tactics,lets stop falling for a piece of paper whose value is increasing so much that we are on the brink of forgetting our own values.Time for us to show respect to other things in life.Time to set our morals straight.

Finally a salute to the spirit of the girl who passed away fighting.Respect!!!!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

A letter to MOM


Sometimes in life we become so busy that we dont express ourselves to the fullest.And when we do its either grief or anger that comes out because that is really easy to lash out.But in this busy world we forget to express the love and affection we have for our loved ones.The ones with whom we may not talk everyday but then their love care and good wishes always accompany us.This letter is to the one who has had the biggest hand in shaping me into the 23 year old that I am today.This one is for you MOM.
When I look back at the life I have lived so far I feel a sense of pride in the human being I am and the freedom of thought that I enjoy and share.But this would not have been possible if I would have been suppressed into the narrow minded attitude that a lot of kids are forced into.Through the years gone by I have had the luxury of expressing myself and my feelings without the fear of getting beaten up or scolded. Of course there have been times when I and you have not shared the same opinion and many a times I have disagreed to your general outlook towards life and the world.But having said that never have you stopped me from following my heart and have always kept faith in me in whatever decisions I have taken so far.I have been one of those lucky kids who have got respect from people around me just because they know that I am your son.Your aura speaks more than a thousand words,the way you have grown in life has garnered respect from everyone who knows you.Hence I without doing anything got the respect that may be I would not have got if it would not have been for you.
Today when I sit back and go into flashback mode I remember how I used to cuddle next to you as a kid in the night because I felt so secure by your presence that I could close my eyes,forget all the worries and fears and sleep tight.I knew I was near my biggest guardian.Obviously with time I grew older and things changed.And the best part was that you as a mother changed with time.I never felt bound.I was allowed to do stuff that a lot of people growing up in my era were not allowed to.I completed my schooling and then went on to live away from you,I always looked at my side of things till the time Vivaan was born.For the first time there was someone who was younger than me in our family.And then through the last year or so I have seen what it takes to handle a kid.It has been the biggest gift life has given me so far because the way you handle him gives me a clear picture of how you would have handled me.
I know you love me a lot because every now and then you end up calling Vivaan by my name and that shows how much you are still attached to the little me who has now grown up so tall that you need to raise your neck and speak.
Its not mother's day,but I don't need a special day to remind myself how important you are in my life.I could go on and on but then I guess I have epitomised what I feel about you.Thank You MOM :)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The blurred life!!!

Life in the 20's is nothing short of a blur.You are full of energy yet you are not sure where to channelize that energy,goals are not clear.There's so much to choose from.All things come together.Love ,money,studies ,future and what not.You are out there fighting with the experienced guys who have been in this game since ages.You want to shed your wings and fly high but then there's a sense of insecurity wherein you do not know whether your wings are strong enough to stand the storm that might be on its way.Its not like school or college where your goals were defined.All you needed to do was to go to the next class and if you were a bit intelligent all you needed to do was to get good grades.People did not expect anything else from you.You were not expected to stand up for yourselves and you always had the backing of your family.You still have .But things are not so similar.All eyes are now on you.You are the center of attraction.People are looking up to you.The elders are expecting you to follow their footsteps and achieve things that they somehow could not achieve.People younger than you look up to you for inspiration.They want to be like you one day.And the funny part is here you are going through the motions,trying to figure out the right picture that life wants to present to you.But your vision isn't so clear.There's a blur.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Living Unbound....



An Indian celebrates Independence Day on the 15th of August every year.It's a day we celebrate because we became free from the Britishers.The world saw how a truely 

great freedom struggle brought down the British empire in India.It's actually like a bollywood flick,the good guys winning in the end.But this post is neither about 

bollywood or about our great freeedom struggle.It's about Independence!!!

When we say we are Independent do we actually mean it?Is independence only bound to the freedom our nation enjoys?I dont think so and I guess a lot of my friends would 

agree to it.Unfortunately in India still there are crores of people who dont enjoy their Independence.In rural India kids are taught from school to follow what the 

teacher says.Don't question what is being said.The mind is fed things which are full of weeds.A girl talking to a boy is thought of as a crime and because all the kids 

are taught so no one dares to break that rule and even if someone does manage to do so the next thing you know is the girl and the boy getting a scolding from either 

the school teacher or the parents at home.They say the base of a building should be strong but if the base itself is baseless then what can a 10 year old kid do about 

it.As we grow older we develop a thinking of our own.Some start finding that the teachings in school were utter rubbish as far as thoughts are concerned,some 

unfortunately stay with that same thinking.But a lot of it also has to do with the surroundings one has.In rural India people don't care about making a career.All they 

think of is getting into a business run by their forefathers.They get bound by the same little thoughts that were sown into them when they were young.Also people who 

do think of getting some sort of formal education choose careers based on what their fathers or relatives think will bring money to their pockets and not on the basis 

of their interests.People in India actually hardly ever rebel.They are happy with what they get.We settle for things with small benefits and let that dream of ours die 

below the burden of traditions and culture.

We say that our history and culture is great.Indeed it is!But it isnt that great either and the reason being that simply because of the same history and culture we 

dont do things which we might have done in other places of the world.The same history and the same culture is actually making us less independent than ever before.And 

the sad part is that this is not just bound to rural India.Almost all the major cities of India have people who have a defensive attitude.We hate change and we hate 

being alone.If we personally think that a product is good but 10 others say that it isnt we may end up not buying that just because 10 others were against it.We so 

hate being alone.There are atleast 5-10 moments in a day where we go against our ownselves just because we fear being alone.This fear is caused by the age old cliched 

question "what will others think about it?".I personally face this question on numerous occassions but then its how we all have grown up,worrying about what others 

will think.And because we are so worried about others we end up not doing what we actually should,we stop following our heart,we stop being independent.

You would be wondering then why have I given this post the name "Living Unbound" because till now all I have written is about how bound and dependent we are.Well the 

reason is that over the past year I have experienced a little bit of independence and its an awesome feeling I must say.Living in a big city is always helpful and if 

you are living alone then that is the cherry on the cake.It's not easy but the satisfaction is divine.The real sense of freedom emerges when you are alone and no one 

in the neighbourhood knows who you are what you do and where are you from.Well when you don't have one of your biggest obstacles in between then life is a lot more 

simpler.You don't have to worry about what will others think of you because who gives a damn about you,you are no one to them and to you they are neither of any 

relevance.Also there are no school teachers or parents to question your moves.You are free to shape your career the way you have wanted ever since you came to know the 

meaning of the word career.And the best part about living alone is that you can take chances.Risk chances unbound...all the three may be used in a different context on 

different occassions but when you actually look at them with an optimistic approach you will find that these are words that make an awesome trio.Every one has to take 

a risk somewhere or the other atleast once in their life.Obviously if you are optimistic there are ought to be chances out there for you and if you latch onto them you 

will gain what you would have dreamt of and would have come out of your own mental barricades.Life would then be unbound.

Life would also be unbound when we break a lot of old traditions which we know are not right but we still follow them,why?Didn't I mention that we are scared to be 

alone,its a tradition we are going against and in India that is a bigger SIN than honour killing!!Now to the illiterate that might be of no relevance but for someone 

holding a bachelors degree that is bullshit!!This is just an example,I am sure there would be thousands of such instances where we might feel the same but then we live 

such a bound life that we lower down our voice when its time to raise it.

This post might be like an amalgmation of different thoughts and by all means they are personal but I am sure that if i get some likes on facebook for this post then I 

would have some people who would follow the same thoughts as I do.

Time to wake up,time to live unbound!!!!