The Carton of Happiness:

Take a sleepy man and put him on a roller coaster. What you get is the first year of fatherhood. The sleep won’t let you be active and the roller coaster won’t let you sleep. If at all you do, then what you get is an unbelievable mix of dreams and nightmares. And I stood exactly at that juncture, when I realized we were on the last three boxes of Lactogen. The carton stood empty. Vivaan was one!

And Viv had it all; from a tricycle he couldn’t yet ride to innumerable action hero figures, to cars and trucks. But nothing ever managed to hold his attention for more than a couple of hours. Every toy ultimately landed up in his storage bucket which the toys were soon outgrowing. When Viv was on the last few boxes of Lactogen, a brainwave hit me. Why not put his old toys into the empty carton? That should free up some space in our already cramped household. When I got the carton out, a very strange thing happened. Viv squealed with delight. He jumped right into the carton and got his favorite toys into it as well. To make things better for him, I tied a rope to the carton, and pulled him around. He had never been this happy with any of his toys.

Molested, assaulted, raped?

The entire world is up in arms. There are people with placards and black bands, holding hands, united in revolution. There are journalists writing up incriminating articles in the papers and there are the television presenters, with their uncanny ability to drag a debate till infinity, moderating discussions. It’s a liberated world; it’s a world which feels for the woman, it’s a world which recognizes her pain, her trauma and her anxiety. She has been molested, no because it left like an assault, but not still because she has been raped!!!

Love and God: The power of Devotion

The air is garnished with fragrant smoke from incense sticks, Sindoor has colored the world red, the drums play popular numbers at deafening decibel levels, and there is a lot of dance with humanity indulging in everything considered a taboo otherwise. The air is ripe with devotion. Everybody is busy worshipping faith in human form in their own special way. There’s revelry, there’s rowdism and there is God; sitting mute witness to the suffering of heart patients, expectant mothers and studious students. God being worshipped by everyone from stars to the dusters and faith left in the background. Everyone is so busy worshipping and praying they have forgotten what really binds them to their God, faith - the invisible force that brings a devotee closer to the creator.

Accepting the expected!

Life is an adventure and we keep searching for new stories to tell everyday. We look for anamolys in our in our day to day life to keep the mundane from ruling. But the everyday life is more than just that. It is boring! The day is a schedule and the chores are routine. Right from waking up in the morning to turning in at night, there is nothing new happening. Everything is predictable. Everything is as expected!

Health scares are just....Scary!!

Every day some or the other group of scientists are busy working on a new scare. If one group is busy proving the ill effects of coffee, the other group is busy proving natural remedies are for quacks. Everything from everyday cooking oil to the sun's rays is being used to prove just one thing-Everything is unhealthy. And these educationally enlightened could just be right. Because everything is harmful when done in excess. A cup of coffee never harmed anyone but eight cups a day would definitely be unhealthy. Brushing teeth twice a day is considered healthy but brushing eight to ten times could just brush away the teeth.Health scares most of the times are just that..scares.

The Marriage Conundrum

There are so many stories around marriage and so many incidences around it. But recently I came across an article about a 39 year old man who had hanged himself because he had not been able to marry. Again, it got me wondering about how important marriage is in our great Indian culture. We talk about modernism but we still stick to the old orthodox ways which press for marriage as a sure way to mate. When will it all change? We build computers and software, we launch rockets and satellites but we are still unable to launch ourselves into the future. 

Revenge gives meaning to life:

Everyone preaches about forgiveness. From self help books to gurus to teachers, everyone feels that revenge is what causes most of our worldly troubles. Revenge is what causes wars. Revenge is what causes people to ruin their entire lives. Revenge is the worst of our emotions. But is it really the case? Is revenge such a bad thing? We always look at the wars and the destruction but revenge has also been the best main ingredient in bringing out the best in all of us.

Revenge has brought to us some of the best art, science and even the best investments. Revenge has been instrumental in the forging of the Chanakya Neeti, the foremost text on politics. Revenge is actually a very misunderstood emotion. Its easy to ignore it and focus on the love, just like it is easy to ignore the bad and focus on the good. But we all have to face the bad in us to understand importance of the good.

Rise and Stand up:

Over the years, I have read quite a wide variety of philosophical books. And invariably, every one teaches us restraint and patience. From saints to preachers, everyone has the same set of advise. Conquer anger, conquer fear and conquer your mind.But how much is enough? Where do you draw the line, that you are no longer trampled on? At some point of time, it becomes imperative to show them, that you do have the power to be irritated. And yes, they do have to be told, "Mess with the best, die like the rest."

A very old friend of mine, has her ex chasing even after their break up. And he makes it a point to put her down, in some way or the other. Their prolonged relationship has given him the edge. He knows all her weaknesses and pressure points. And she just blows her top and cribs but just cant turn her ex away.

What we forgot about Gandhi: Being Minimalistic

It's a strange day. It's a day when you are not supposed to work because it is the Birthday of the Father of the Nation-Mahatma Gandhi. Ironic I say. A compulsory holiday for a man who never ceased to work? But that is just the beginning of the strange.

I step out on the road expecting less traffic. But the roads are jammed worse than ever. Everyone is out shopping or visiting. I wonder, would Bapu really want us to stay at home, laze around or to go visit the mall on his birthday? I wonder. The shops are doing brisk business. One of the shopkeepers tells me, "Business is better today than ever. Thanks to Bapu." He winks. And I wonder. Is this how we want to celebrate the birthday of a man who survived on minimalistic needs? Is this really the free India he imagined? Is this the Freedom that he struggled for?

The saint in the Rikshaw:

I had read somewhere a long time ago that there were saints everywhere and they appeared as and when they were needed. They live amongst us, protecting us, helping us in our everyday struggle with life. When we give up hope, they appear out of nowhere to motivate us not to give up our fight against life. And for long I have believed them to be angels working with us to make our lives easier. And for ever, I have placed them at par with Gods.

And so it has been that whenever I have been troubled, a stranger has come up to hold me. The past few days, I have been bothered about how the office space. I have been bothered about the evil that men do to project the good in them. I have been swallowed by sycophancy, I have been devoured by debauchery, I have been troubled by the troublemakers. And in this troubled mind, I hail a riksaw, almost when I had given up hope of finding one.

Give a damn someone...

It's been five years since I have been writing. And I have been getting better by the day. One of the abilities that I have been especially proud of has been my ability to rhyme. I might not be as good as Eminem but I am still better than most of the others. And my verses however silly have been able to bring a smile to the lips of people I have written them for.

I recently decided to put up  my verses online where not just the incumbents but everyone would be able to enjoy them. And surprise! No one seems to be interested. It takes more effort than writing about a recipe, writing a peom. With all the rhymes, working together to bring meaning to the fore, the abstract materializing into emotions and feelings, the real essence of poetry emerges from the corners of the words.

A worthy Life

Many fathers have died before us,

One day we will die as well.

But have we made our lives worth,

Only our deeds will tell.

Live for the own self,

But work not for this self.

Make life good and better,

For everyone, self and latter.

Words for me:

He says..write some happy words,

Write about the green grass and birds.

Not always about being sad,

Or just about being raving mad.

She says.. write me a happy verse,

Not ways about ghosts or a curse.

Write about the blue sky wide,

Or a wonderful fantasy ride.

In the middle:

I stand taller than,
Most of the men around can.
But not tall enough,
To be the tall and handsome stuff.

In the middle, I stand,
Trying magic without a wand.
Never high, never low,
Never hollow, but still shallow.

Sleepless:

Dark indeed is the night,

Thoughtless

Ever wondered, how forever we are bounded by thoughts? Good thoughts, bad thoughts, but thoughts everywhere. I could never understand how the brain works and where all these thoughts come from (the scientists claim they do). I wonder if they will ever be decoded, thoughts.

But there is a space in our lives, our everyday lives, where we can be absolutely thoughtless. Some call it meditation, a place, a state of the mind when the mind sleeps. But such is the hustle and bustle of success, we forget to rest our tired mind. And the poor mind toils and toils hard.

Leave the women alone!!!

I recently read an article by well-known author Chetan Bhagat, condemning the state of women in our country. He implored his fellow countrymen to look beyond the phulkas and understand the contribution women can make to the society. Then there is this famous writer and feminist who has been imploring women to get on beyond the kitchen and explore other avenues. And then we have this famous actor, pulling up men for the atrocities committed against women.

I recently read about a very dynamic lady in Gujarat who had turned her backyard dairy into a full-fledged business worth crores of rupees. Has she moved beyond the kitchen? Probably not. I am sure her family still enjoys the wonderful meals she cooks up for them every day. I have a colleague who makes wonderful paranthas and gets them in the tiffin every day. And the appreciation, she says, inspires her more to try out new recipes. Has she moved on beyond the kitchen? I wonder.

If women like cooking (which in most cases they do) why are we forcing them to move on? Everyone wants a piece of the pie in the advice for women. Everyone wants them to do this and do that. Some want them to work; some want them to look beyond child rearing and other want them to move beyond the kitchen. All of the above are basic qualities which all women have in them. And if they want to and like to be able to continue doing so, why force them to stop doing what comes naturally?

Strange beautiful data: the art of visualization

After years of learning and forgetting one technology after the other, I had almost given up on the life I would be living in the future. A sad, monotonous life spent making love to the computer screen in front of me. I dread the feeling.

I have never been one of the humongous crowd of self professed lovers of analytical powers. I have no clue how a balloon can fill a room or how I can fill a 5 L jug with a 3 L jug and frankly I don't and never did care. I never found writing code challenging or solving puzzles a way to feed my dying ego. I detested my job for lacking something that defines our very existence...color.

Surya Dev: The Sun God

With the power to give and take life, the sun, is the most powerful of the elements that surround us. Resplendent in the blue skies around him, Surya Dev or the Sun God can only be bowed to.

Next is what?

One of my good friends recently joined a small company with a really big package. All these years, she had been this average girl next door, who seemed to be happy with whatever she ever got in life. All she wanted was enough money to pull her through her treks to the Himalayas. And suddenly she was a big star. A person grossly underestimated by the people around her. It wasn’t long before people did start discouraging her. “Are you sure the company is gonna survive?” “You’d be laid off soon.” “You already had a good package, now you are doing better. Next is what?”