The Lasting Impression

One of the basic rules of communication states that "The First Impression is the Last Impression". In most cases; it is the moment of truth. But how many times does this actually hold true?
When we try to create an impression, we are trying to project some aspects/attributes of ourselves; which are then left for the other person to perceive. Most often there can be a difference in the projection and perception. Humans are not perfect and not all are at the same skilled level; hence the same projection creates different perceptions in the minds of other people.

How many times it must have happened that we ourselves create a profile of a person in our minds based on his first impression upon us and then later on have to change it because then we get to know the varied aspect of that person.

I intend to ask; when should we actually form a firm opinion about another person. Should be on the first impression or after some later encounters?

Which Impression should be the Lasting ONE???

BONDS

We start cherishing a bond the day we are born in this world. The bonds of blood are the first ones we share.
But those are gifted to us. As our journey continues, we start earning some of these; in the form of friends, followers, students, teachers and loved ones.
But not all bonds share the same strength. We always find a person who acknowledges us...acknowledges our being....acknowledges our presence.
That's when friends bond. Sharing, caring, loving, all these attributes follow further strengthening the bond.
But the first thread is tied when you start acknowledging the other person. A person can go far enough to nurture this thread.
People who share such bonds are admired by the world around them.

I am lucky enough to have a few of these in my life. I hope each one of you has one such to cherish.

The Sinful Blade

How many times in life; the feeling of taking revenge might have dwelt in our mind.
When we were kids, growing up, small small incidents did occur which made us hold a grudge on someone. It's with the growing maturity that we start realizing that revenge won't bring us any good. The only thing it can bring about is repentance. Inculcating the feeling of revenge stops our growth; we seize to bloom further.

But having said this, even the level of maturity we might have may not avoid us falling into the clutches of the demon (revenge).
I think it can't be avoided..I mean not inculcating the feeling of revenge within us can never be the ideal situation. But if we could strengthen our inner self and bring about a certain level of clarity in our thoughts, then falling for this emotion of revenge can be avoided to a good extent.

"Revenge is a sinful blade that leaves a fatal cut on the hand of the one who wields it"

The Morning Glory

This post is to describe my day which started for me at 7 am.
You will say what's a big deal in it? Well if any of my office mates reads it..he will know. I had come to office at 10 'o clock after 6 long months. I normally go to office after 2 pm. Well it is 6 months because 6 months back I had been to a session which was at 9.30 am. Excluding that it has been nearly 13 months that I had come to office so early.

Well the world seemed very different to me that day. To start with, it was damn hot with no breeze at all. In the afternoon time though it is hot at least a slight breeze is blowing. I reached the bus stop. Um hmm..2 pretty girls were standing at the stop ;) Well thats one advantage to leave home early you get to see a lot of pretty faces in the day time (come on now don't think that I am acting pervy). So moving on, I reached the depot at andheri station......what's this...the bus stop there had a line stretching like an anaconda. Mann so many people in Mumbai. I moved on, reached the platform. Nothing to describe about the crowd here, thetrains are always packed to same capacity at all times. But waht was different is that I saw a new set of beggars on the platform. Normally during the afternoon there's an old blind guy who sits near the vridge on platform# 4 and plays his flute. I missed that sound that day. Well its ok, I then reached office. Checked my mails , did some work, colleagues were surprised to see me at my desk. A few thought that I must have doen a night shift and that is why I am still in the office ..heehee

But what was a bit overwhelming was the lunch time. I had the chance to be present at lunch with my friends (not colleagues) after 6 long months. After lunch time , it was like a normal day for me, which ended at 10pm as always. So nothing much to describe about it.

But that made me do a concious effort to reach office early everyday form now on in spite of the day in office ending pretty late for me!!!!!!!!

Reflect

You show me a ray, I'll sparkle like a sun.
To show you a smile, will be so much fun.
You can be a friend, you can be a foe.
I'll be the way, that you show.
You wanna break me, may it be.
But you will reflect in each one of me.

This is the nature of a plane mirror- constant.
Always true, always clear, always ready to reflect onto you.

Ok so we also have a nature. what should it be like. Many will say it should be different, nice, unique......ummmm..it should be, as it is the aura that allows us to make a place in people's heart.

But I was just thinking that our nature is somewhat similar to a mixture or mirrors..i mean the funny mirrors ..you must have seen in a fun-n-fare place. Each of those mirror exhibit a different reflective property. Similarly our nature is different towards different people. We exhibit different reflective behavior towards different people we meet or encounter.

But what if we exhibit a nature more similar to a normal mirror, reflecting things as they appear. Disadvantage will be that, since people do not like the truth being shown to them, it will create rifts, they will avoid interacting with us. But at least we will be true to our conscience.

But all this said, we have to twist the image so as to do something good for others. Because sometimes acting differently can make some people happy. So the best thing will be we exhibit all the mirrors. But somewhere we should use the plain mirror more often, at least with our friends

Boom Boom..Ihr cometh Diwali

What a lovely festival....It has got everything..Faith, Fun, Emotions, Worship, Hard Work, Humanity....and lots n lots of light. Now-a-days, we see many people finding the cons in these festivals. I agree there are, everything comes with a price. We see crackers cause noise and air pollution, so should not be used. But why lose this fun? Well just imagine I do not think they can be contributing so much of pollution as compared to the vehicles crawling on our roads. Do not use your private vehicles for just two days and it will nullify the pollution caused by the fire crackers.

But just recall the lovely things we do on Diwali. The fun in helping Mom to make those Diwali prep (Faraal). The lovely colorful Rangoli near the door. The bright Diyas and lights in our surrounding. A bright lovely Lantern hanging in our window. We are dressed in pretty new clothes.
Al the kids and even elders gather up to burst crackers. The fire sparks, so dangerous, yet so awesome. Even the little little kids enjoy them in spite of their noise and threat.

Also we get a chance to visit our dear ones share the faraal with them, gift each other.
And how can I forget the prayers and worship. Well as a kid I used to get bore but still I had some faith :D I hope this Diwali you all will be good and enjoy it to the fullest.
Lets celebrate Diwali and every other festival with their true form, true intent and true faith


HAPPY DEEPAVALI

Idle mind = Devil's workshop...so wrote these parodies...2nd one

Film: Rock On
Song: Sinbad the Sailor


Nikhil Owalekar ka concert jab chala
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
dhoondh raha tha apni mehbooba ka pata
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
wo apni hi duniya me tha O O..
wo dosti me awwall tha O O..

sab ne kaha tha PV project me jana nahi
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
onsite ke chakkar me MS karne gaya nahi
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
wo apni hi dhun me raha O O..
wo sunta tha dil ka kaha O O..

gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
aisa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr
gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
aisa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr

uska haath toota ek haadse me
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
phir bhi na aayi kami uske armaano mein
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
wo taaron ko chhed ta tha O O..
wo Guitar ka sultaan tha O O..

gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
sa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr
gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
sa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr

wo toote hue haath se O O..
wo badhta raha raah mein O O..
gehra wo ghaav tha, badi lambi recovery
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
achhe achhe bhi badi mushkil se ubhre
mere yaar sun lo sun lo
wo fitness ko paa hi gaya O O..
wo fir guitaring karne laga O O..

gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
sa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr
gaalo me uske do, jaise rasgulle ho
sa the nikhil owalekar, lekarr

Idle mind = Devil's workshop...so wrote these parodies...1st one

Film: Rock ON
Song: Socha Hai


BSM hai neela kyon,
CEMS laal peela kyon;
saath kyon ye nahi?

Upgrade document bhi hai,
Upgrade prime bhi ready hai,
Par upgrade complete kyun hota nahi?

H1 ham sab bharte hai,
H2 me marwaate hai,
Par ratiing 5 kyun nahi?

Senior onsite jata hai,
Tu yahin reh jata hai,
Tera number kyun aata nahin?

socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi?
socha hai… ki hai ye kya sabhi?
socha hai… socha nahin toh socho abhi

Timesheet me 8 bharta hai,
Kaam 10 ghante karta hai,
Par paisa zyada nahi?

System me itne issues,
TC karne mushkil hai,
aise me lag kyun hoga nahi?

socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi?
socha hai… ki hai yeh kya sabhi?
socha hai… socha nahi toh socho abhi

Progress dikhaayee nahi deta,
Aur release bhi nahi milta.,
socha hai… kya kabhi… hota hai ye kyon?

BSM hai neela kyon,
CEMS laal peela kyon;
saath kyon ye nahi?

Upgrade document bhi hai,
Upgrade prime bhi ready hai,
Par upgrade complete kyun hota nahi?

H1 ham sab bharte hai,
H2 me marwaate hai,
Par ratiing 5 kyun nahi?

Junior onsite jata hai,
Tu yahin reh jata hai,
Tera number kyun aata nahin?

socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi?
socha hai… ki hai ye kya sabhi?
socha hai… socha nahin toh socho abhi

socha hai… ye tumne kya kabhi?
socha hai… ki hai ye kya sabhi?
socha hai… socha nahin toh socho abhi

The power within; the power forever

When is it that a person gets stronger? Is it that as he matures he keeps gaining strength or because of the hardships that he faces in his course of life....all reasons do contribute to a person becoming stronger. But it is when you have someone to protect; that's when you start to grow more stronger. It's like when you have someone to protect, your strength grows exponentially. You grow stronger n stronger. You start getting strength form the chakras within. Cherish the ones you love ; the ones you ought to protect...you would grow stronger by the pulse

Priority

There are so many things or events in life that we have to do or think of either at particular stages or sometimes they have occur at the same time. So how should we decide the priority for them. Should one take into consideration all the surrounding factors or one should concentrate on one prime factor. Some of these events are related to many surrounding things like our family, our friends, our relatives and society. So while prioritizing these events, should one focus on all the surrounding entities equally?

What I believe is, focus on your primary habitat first, like family will be the primary entity for some events, then give a thought for other entities, because you won't be having time to focus on all the entities. So we will have to prioritize these entities beforehand. It helps in taking decisions firmly.

But the negative I observed was the entities to which you have given lesser priority seem to develop a cold eye of negligence towards you. Why is that so. Don't they undergo the same thing?. Don't they have the vision to see the other person's point of view.

But all in all, I think we ourselves are the right person to prioritize our events and entities.

A voice to remember

27 sept 2008.. it was the last farewell for one of the finest voices that we have heard in Indian films. Mahendra Kapoor passed away. But what our prestigious news channels did was just show a 2 min news on him and that too cursing the bollywood for not showing up for the funeral.
The only channel that did something worth was "Sahyadri" .They aired a program of his songs wherein mahendra kapoor was singing them in a studio. At least there is one good channel amongst the bunch

I ain't alive

If I was the dawn, you were my sunrise.
You were the essence for me to survive.

My life was a cliff, you were my rope.
Unknown was the fate, but you were my hope.

In my shallows and deep, you were there to guide.
Like a white feathered angel, standing by my side.

You were my honey, my heart was your hive.
Since the day you left, I ain't alive.


-The Devil

SHAZAM

Have been watching so many superheroes since childhood. People having super strength, super speed, power of flight, invisibilty........mannn the list goes on

If you were to imagine yourself in the shoes of one such super being, tell me what 3 super powers would you wish for???

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility...!

Think you heard this line somewhere?....If not then let me tell you where.
A young Peter Parker was confused or rather unclear of his newly discovered powers. He once consults his uncle, uncle Ben, to get himself a motive to use his powers. His uncle just said to him that young man, with great powers comes great responsibilities. But the young lad understood this verse the hard way, by losing the person he loved most, his uncle Ben. This is what our fictitious superhero Spiderman is all about.

But why am i writing this again. It's about the N-Deal. With this nuclear deal, India will have great power to do this country and the world a whole lot of good. It is a boon to people here but only if these powers are use constructively.

I just want the spearheads of our country to be aware of the responsibilities that accompany this great power and to use this power constructively. Just hoping that we don't learn a lesson the hard way....... Way to go India ..karlo duniya muthhi mein

Playful Palette

Stealing the blues from the splashing seas,
A tinge of green from the youthful trees.

A bit of orange from the sunset hues,
With crystal white from the morning dews.

Hug the yellow from the sparkling sun,
With a taste of brown from the Baker's bun.

Oh so lovely is the Rosy red,
Smiling along with the pink lotus bed.

Don't get scared by the fearsome black,
Angel will guard you from its furious wrath.

Taking all these colors with their texture and hue,
I have framed a bright and colorful wish just for you.


-The Devil

LOST

I plucked a flower but the fragrance was Lost.
I captured the smile but the moment was Lost.

I cracked a joke but the humour was Lost.
I played the game but the joy was Lost.

I lit the candle but the light was Lost.
I held the fountain but the thirst was Lost

I stumbled on the path but the pain was Lost.
I held the hand but the touch was Lost.

I kept my word but the meaning was Lost.
I pondered over but the thought was Lost.

I had a life but the soul was Lost.
There was my world but I was Lost.


- The Devil

Ganpati Bappa Mo$$$ryaaaa

गणपति बाप्पा मोरया ......
मंगल मूर्ती मोरया ......
१ २ ३ ४ गणपतीचा जय जयकार

Ganeshotsav, a festival that was religiously followed by the Hindu community since ages....but only with a religious belief. It was until 1983, that Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave it a new perspective. It was his initiative to publicly celebrate this fest so that people of all communities can participate in it.... a great step towards strengthning untiy and national integration.

But what is the picture that we have now. How or who is really believing on the true motive of this fest. Are we losing the motie behind this fest. The answer can be Yes or No. we see a lot of Ganesh mandals who convey really nice and useful messages through their conceptual setups.

But are we, as a person or devotee, trying to understand that message..or do we just watch the idol the decoration and move out? It is here where we need to put in some thoughts. We need to nurture such pure occasions so as to keep intact the untiy and integration that our country is renowned for. Do not let any any impure thoughts dampen your mind.

Believe in the power of the unity and foresee this fest for its true motive.

Thirst........!!

Must have seen Youngistaan's Pepsi Ad , where Dhoni says " Padhaaii chahe kuchh bhi ho, life mein pyaas honi chahiye "

So very right. We achieve something only if we have the thirst to get there. There should be some passion within. What else makes us excel is a stimuli. That stimuli can come to us as an opprotunity, as a critic or even as competition (sometimes good to have a pampered ego ;-) )

Here in our country we have loads n loads of talent. The only thing bein git is not channelised. But it's not the case for all talents. Some are standing in front of opwn horizon gates.

We just need to get thirsty..to gulp the ponds of achievements that are lying out there.

इनं कुँओं तालाबो से न बुझेगी अब प्यास
न रोक मुझे ऐ समंदर ,
कही पी न जौऊ तुझे राह बनने के लिए .
उस आकाश की तरफ़ है मेरी कुंज ,
अब तो उसे ही निगलने की है आस

Change To Adapt...To Evolve... To Survive

"Change is Inevitable.......................Change is Constant"

Must have heard this a lot of time. I had many questions on this right from my school days.
Why is change constant?, Why do we need to change?, What causes change?. What should the change be?, Can't we avoid change?...............................

I got many debatable answers but no fixed answer to this. Change is a relative term so definition of change can't be fixed. So agreed we do need to change, but what does change mean.
To me change is a phenomenon that we exhibit (and also inhibit.. to some extent.. till the time it emerges to the outer world) at each and every stage of our life depending on the physical and emotional environment that we dwell in.

But humans, as we are, we don't change, we try to change or we bring about changes in ourselves.
But that, I feel is incorrect. We should learn from other creatures be it birds or animals. We should change to adapt to the surrounding changes. Adaptability is necessary to survive. Since change is a relevant thing surrounding will keep on changing continuously depending upon changes in the other entities. So changes can't be predicted. We need to develop characteristics to predict these changes. For that we need to evolve.

I just wanna say that do not change yourself because of one other person. But change yourself to adapt to that change in one other person. We can survive just by evolving.

I read the below good lines in one of the Orkut Profiles.

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle awakens. He has only one thought on his mind: To be able to run faster than the fastest lion. If he cannot, then he will be eaten....

Every morning in Africa a lion awakens. He has only one thought on his mind: To be able to run faster than the slowest gazelle. If he cannot, he will die of hunger....

Whether you choose to be a gazelle or a lion is of no consequence. It is enough to know that with the rising of the sun, you must run. And you must run faster than you did yesterday or you will die.
This is the race of life."

Pitch Black

Darkness.... something that exists in the entire universe.....yet so scaryyyy.

I am afraid of the dark. As a kid I never stayed alone at home or wondered alone in the dark. Why?? because I was scared of ghosts. To wonder why only scared of ghosts..there are hell lot of things that do exist in the dark and they are scary too...like snakes, bats, other animals...even inhumans (still called humans)...... But what made me fear ghosts only ?

I tried to find an answer to this, but could not because I had no knowledge about it............ Hey there was my answer!!!! I lacked the knowledge to understand it

Now I could link the reason to all my frights..... I lack the knowledge to understand them.

The key to eternal light lies in knowledge. Our planet is marching towards it's own doom because we are not trying to know how to save it, even though the answer is right in front of us. What we all need at this time is to make sure that the ray of knowledge reaches each and every creature on this planet. We need to educate the future of our planet by means of educating.

The new minds are like black holes, wanting every ounce of that knowledge. What we need to do is just provide it to them. For that we need to have our minds open at all times.
Heard this in my training program.. " Learn...Unlearn...Relearn".

Lets make some effort to spread at least one ray of knowledge in this world

Summary of Patriotism

सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है
देखना है ज़ोर िकतना बाज़ू-ए-क़ाितल में है

(ऐ वतन,) करता नहीं क्यूँ दूसरा कुछ बातचीत,
देखता हूँ मैं िजसे वो चुप तेरी महिफल में है
ऐ शहीद-ए-मुल्क-ओ-िमल्लत, मैं तेरे ऊपर िनसार,
अब तेरी हिम्मत का चरचा ग़ैर की महिफल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है

वक़्त आने पर बता देंगे तुझे, ए आसमान,
हम अभी से क्या बताएँ क्या हमारे िदल में है
खेँच कर लाई है सब को क़त्ल होने की उमीद,
आिशक़ोँ का आज जमघट कूचा-ए-क़ातिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है

है िलए हिथयार दुशमन ताक में बैठा उधर,
और हम तय्यार हैं सीना िलये अपना इधर.
ख़ून से खेलेंगे होली गर वतन मुश्िकल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है

हाथ,जिन में हो जूनून कटते ते नहीं तलवार से ,
सर जो उठ जाते हैं वो झुकते नहीं ललकार से.
और भड़केगा जो शोला सा हमारे िदल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है

हम तो घर से ही थे िनकले बाँधकर सर पर कफ़न,
जाँ हथेली पर िलये लो बढ चले हैं ये कदम.
िजन्दगी तो अपनी मॆहमाँ मौत की महिफिल में है,
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है

यूँ खड़ा मक़्तल में क़ाितल कह रहा है बार-बार,
क्या तमन्ना-ए-शहादत भी िकसी के िदल में है?
िदल में तूफ़ानों की टोली और नसों में इन्कलाब,
होश दुश्मन के उड़ा देंगे हमें रोको न आज.
दूर रह पाए जो हमसे दम कहाँ मंिजल में है,

िजस्म भी क्या िजस्म है िजसमें न हो ख़ून-ए-जुनून
क्या लढ़े तूफ़ान से जो कश्ती-ए-साहिल में है
सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे िदल में है
देखना है ज़ोर िकतना बाज़ू-ए-क़ाितल में है

-- राम प्रसाद बिस्मिल

I Love My Freedom

I call it my land, the fighters took it from the English hand. I walk on the soil, where my brothers toil.
Every sacrifice deserves a tomb, coz we gifted our mother with freedom in her womb.
Tears were shed, blood was flown, that's how the trumpet of freedom was blown. Keep all the hatred aside, remember the martyrs and feel thy pride.


"Happy Independence Day"

Jai Hind

15th august was approaching and hence there was a quiz competition held in the office. But because of some pesky people I was not able to attend it. So here I was beating my keyboard keys black and blue... Just to the good luck of my keyboard , one of my colleague pinged me to come to her desk.... We were discussing something when we were joined by one more colleague....That disrupted the discussion I was having and hence just to divert the topic we 3 started talking about " watcha gonna do on 15th".

The two colleagues, (happened to be girls) talked about the national anthem and the national song. That just made me ask them who wrote these two, "The Anthem" and "The National Song". Well guess what each of them answered one of the above incorrectly........

Geee that's our Youngistan.....

As I was returning home.. I asked myself hey buddy....you has a laugh at those two back there in the office.....well do you even know the Pledge that you uttered for your entire school life.

So around after 8 years I started reciting the pledge in my mind........

India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I love my country and I am proud of it's rich and varied heritage.
I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders respect and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well being and prosperity alone lies my happiness.


Dunno why but I felt happy for myself. I came home and asked my brother to recite the same (I just love teasing him when he messes things up). Well he recited it too. That made me feel even more happy.

Hey youngistan... I would like you all to recite the pledge, the anthem and the song this 15th. Will you do that to make our Mother happy

I ain't walking

Hey all you Cricket lovers out there......are we seeing a new dimension in the Cricket arena.. For those who are not getting my point; I am trying to put in my thoughts on the new weapon introduced in the game yes "REFERRALS".

What's that??????????
"Well, a player is allowed to call for a referral from the 3rd umpire in case they think that the decision by the on-field umpire is ruling against them. Each team is given 3 chances per inning to call for a referral."

Didn't get it??????
"Ball goes whistling pass the edge of Sachin's bat, the aussies appeal, the umpire raises his finger that's OUT!!...........Well wait a second.......What if Sachin hasn't nicked it. Does he still have to go.....
Not anymore. He can ask the on-field umpire for a referral of decision to the 3rd umpire...the 3rd umpire will scrutinise the event using the on-field high end video cameras and then give his decision whether the batsman is Out or Not Out

Same is the case for the fielding team..if a nick is ruled against them..they can call for a referral"


So now he he hey heyy heyyy.......here we run our minds

So now if a batsman knows he is OUT..should he show his honesty towards the game and walk out.like a few batsman used to do... I don't think so..Hell wait there at the crease let the opposition ask for their referral..just waste all their 3 referrals.

This new thing will reduce a lot of human errors, which have resulted in many turn arounds in the game of Cricket.

But how demotivating this will be for the on-field umpires and also how tough it will be for the 3rd umpire to be accurate when he is constantly monitored by not only the match referee but millions of people around the world.
Technology seems to be overtaking the game

It is still on test basis currently happening in the IND vs. SL test series. Some players are for it and some against .


But above all I will still love the game for the sheer passion that I have for the game

There is no secret ingredient. It's just You !!

I recently saw an animated movie ( I love animation ) "Kung Fu Panda". Story of a Panda, how he fulfills his destiny; by not being anyone he is NOT...but being just HIM ( The Big Fat Panda ).

We always think of being like someone. someone who inspires us..who is successful ..who is awesome...that someone can be a real character or even a fictitious one.

But that day what dawned on me was that; you can't be successful by being someone you are NOT.. To make your mark...you have to be YOU and no one else.

I have one such real inspiration.. Gandhi
He was a man who could not save himself from being thrown out of a train in SAF but ended up throwing the entire British race out of India to give us the freedom we deserved.

There is no secret ingredient to life ( one can call it destiny )...It's just You ( you are the destiny)

So the next time you see your dragon scroll empty...be sure that You are the one to scribble on it