I think, therefore I write

Category: I OPINE (Page 12 of 15)

Double Standards

I was standing on the balcony of the plush apartments and stared at the amazing city that spread far and beyond. The sun was slowly going down painting the horizon skies a splash of orange and red. The tall buildings were a splendid sight displaying the grandeur and how much we have developed. I stood basking in that glorious sight.

Then I looked down.

There was a small slum by the side and a gutter was running down the side lane. The garbage was dumped in the empty land opposite to the slum. The road had no lanes and the traffic was heavy. People were driving without a damn about the traffic signal and rules. Some people were riding their 2 wheelers on the pavement. Kids were running across the street not caring to look out for vehicles.

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This is nothing but a vignette written by me to express the irony of our nation. This concept has been nagging my mind for a long time.

And where are the haiku posts you ask? Well, knowing me you should be better off without asking. Anyway, the problem with me is I do not have strong-footed consistency in anything 😈 I look at one thing and get interested and halfway I jump to another thing! I am not saying I won’t write them anymore. (Ajay – You have some consistency man!) I still love the challenge of writingĀ  haiku but I will not confine myself to that. Also, my eyes fell upon this other challenge called A-Z challenge wherein you write a post on any topic but in the alphabetical order. I might also take it up and then again, I might jump ship :mrgreen:

Until later šŸ™‚

Jibber Jabber

Hello all,

How have you been? Yeah, I know that I have gone missing for a while, no need to start accusations right away :P. Let me first tell you that I had gone on a long vacation to my native. And then my site was pulled down by my techie admin forĀ maintenance purposes. Ok, that is not the truth. Before the site was down for maintenance, K had a whole week to write. It is not like she didn’t have internet access which was usually the case when she is back home. This time she had so much of time and also an okayish internetĀ connectionĀ (though the speed is pitiable). The real reason – she was downright lazy!!

Ok, my alter ratted out on me and I have no escape. Yes, I was so lazy but not without reasons. I had gone back home after a looooooooong time and my mom was incredible. What with her cooking and pampering! So here is what happened to me from March 23, 2013 to April 1, 2013 –Ā Crispy Dosas with a chaotic variety of chutneys, Drumstick Sambar, Awesome rasam, Mushroom Rice, Mushroom fry, The yummy paapad that you usually get in the exhibitions/fairs, Soft Idlis, Pesarattu (Only that we call it parupu dosa back home), Hot Gulab Jamoons,Ā Mosambi juice every evening, Coconut rice with Onion Raitha, Tender Coconut every morning, Fruits given to me in ready-to-eat state and it went on.. These are just the toppers of the list.

Can you blame me for doing nothing except eat and sleep? Okay, let me move on. I am getting edgy because I am back in Bangalore and reciting all this makes me want to go home again. So except for a few useful things like applying for Aadhaar card, submitting my voter id for the long pending correction of my name, getting my lost debit card from the bank and helping out mom here and there, I was totally jobless. I spent the idle time by gossiping with mom, fighting with dad, playing with the stray cat that has made our home its regular haunt, feeding the dog which visits our house at mealtimes (otherwise, it has its own kingdom šŸ™‚ ), bursting the bubbles on a huge bubble wrap sheet, reading novels, sleeping, talking over phone to my bro, sis-in-law and Aditya. šŸ˜†

So that’s about it. And I am back in Bangalore only to find that the climate is worse. I have never felt this drained and sweaty in Bangalore. The city as I remember when I used to visit my aunt’s place for summer vacations was always pleasant and drizzly. Now, that city is no longer here 😄 Anyway, it was hotter back at Trichy and hence I would rather be here climate-wise.

While on it, I might as well let out a few other rants. I told you I went to apply for the Aadhaar card right? I was happy to see a small queue and the person behind the counter operating a computer. My first thought was we could get it done soon. As Murphy would have it, trouble came when my turn was just 2 steps away. Suddenly something happened and the database was not returning the data when the person’s name was typed in. And this official did not have a clue of what to do. He was asking the help of the person in the next counter and that guy was also busy and in the end both the queues got held up. In this situation what irritated me was, the guy behind the counter had been trained to do the procedure of applying for an Aadhaar card. But, the trouble is he was trained forĀ just that. He absolutely had no clue what to do when the DB had trouble. Then I suggested that him to import the data once again and he stared back blankly not knowing what import was. I could see an import option on the screen but I was not sure how they had gone about the entireĀ application and did not want to mess it up. After much deliberation, I told him there is an import option and hence there must be a way to bring the data in. He confirmed this with the fellow guy and after a bit of clicking around he got it. Why can’t they train the people in the proper way? Teach them what it is that they are doing from the start to the end. Just don’t say click this, click that and then clickĀ submit.

Next comes the voter ID. It frustrated me enough that they had got my spelling wrong but that’s not it. They had also got the spelling of my father’s name wrong and they had given my dad’s name with the wrong spelling with the label as Husband’s name! Jeez! 😔 I wanted to change it when I got the card then and there but I was told that they would come for corrections later. So I had no choice but to let it go for the Ā time being. After waiting for 6 years, I decided it was time to correct it putting aside my laziness and making use of the time when I am in Trichy. (God knows when I might be able to visit next). I go to the corporation office and I had to roam around for an hour to find the place where they give the application form for corrections. Then another hour to file the application and finally they ask me to come and check after 3 months. If they had told you can come and get it after 3 months, at least I would have understood knowing the speed of processes in India. But, it seems I should go and check what is the status after 3 months. God knows if my application will be touched in the meanwhile. Topping this, the guy who gave me back the acknowledgement slip for my application didn’t sign it. When I asked him, he says sign is not needed, just the number on it is enough. How long is it gonna take him to sign it and it says on the slip that he is supposed to sign it! 😔

When I complained, my dad lectured me on this is how the system works and only if I come out and do stuff like this, I will get experience. I mean, this is not experience. This is just getting used to violation of rules, negligence and carelessness of the officials and stuff like that. Only in India, we call this an experience worth learning. šŸ™„

I guess that’s enough blabber for a post. See you around guys!

Until later,
Keirthana šŸ™‚

Once upon a time…

There are times when you look back at your life and don’t recognize yourself doing all those things which you once did..

We always want what is not in our hands. And if by life’s grace we get what we want, we just find something new to long for. Reflecting on life – Ā I have done a lot of this subconsciously and I have had a lot of realizations but I have to honestly accept that they have not yet sunk in or rather the skewed human mind doesn’t allow the sink in process. You know that this is how things are and will be, yet the human nature does not accept it. Acceptance is a big deal – Acceptance of everything, the past, the present and the future. I never gave it a second thought before. Now that I know how important it is and how many problems it will solve, I want to embrace it. I try every single day. When I get up in the morning, I tell myself “Accept life! It has never failed you, though you might have misunderstood that it had during some tough times.” It is just harder than it sounds but I intend to keep trying. Also, the flashes of nostalgia about one’s life so far gives a very different perspective of how things are and how things should be.

There was a time when I had nothing but tears and fear in my heart about Hyderabad. There was a time when I got used to the city and whiled away the time in neutrality.
There was a time when I wanted nothing else in my life than to get out of the city.
Then there was a time when I started to think that the Hyderabad episode was not that bad.
Then there came a time when I realized that I had an awesome life there and just that I didn’t realize it back then.

There was a time when my first company seemed so special.
There was a time when I didn’t care about it.
There was a time when I started thinking that I am getting nothing out of it and wanted to just get out.
Then there came a time when I realized how much the company has shaped up my life even beyond my career and today I tell people I was treated like a queen back then.

There was a time when I entered my new company with excitement.
This is the time when the excitement has turned into fear because I have to meet up with a lot of expectations.
And I know there will come a time when I look back and laugh at myself for having feared about such things.

I wrote the these lines just to come back here in future and check how I feel about them! I have seen myself and many other people always just reaching out for the next step. It is fine as long as we take a moment to be thankful for where we are now. Every person’s life, if written down, will start somewhere and will end at a place which is nothing like the starting point. Sometimes, I find myself wanting to be in that comfort zone without getting out because of insecurities. I know it is not right. So, I chide myself and move on. This post is for the people who think they have achieved nothing so far and feel insecure. Think back on your “Once upon a time” moments and you will know how far you have come. It is good to think back as long as you remember that there is a tomorrow that you cannot avoid šŸ˜‰

Until later,

Keirthana šŸ™‚

The Shiva Trilogy

Last month, I bought the first 2 parts of the Shiva Trilogy – The immortals of Meluha and The secret of the Nagas ( Finally!) I had been getting mixed reviews about this set of books and I was also a bit skeptical because Mythology has mixed effects on me. However, once I started reading 1st part, I couldn’t put them down until I had finished both the books back to back.

The turns that the author – Amish Tripati has made the story to course through are captivating. The books were not the reflection of those mythical stories created/spread to induce some fear/discipline among the masses. The plot was based on such a simple concept – Those divine beings whom we call God (in various representations and by way of idolization) could have been normal human beings to start with. The choices they made through their life raised them up to a platform where they are worthy of being considered as the supreme force. After all, that’s what decides a human’s worth – one’s choices. Ain’t it?

Another baseline that mirrored my thoughts was that we consider certain things/people evil just because they are different from us. We fail to see that the differences are based on one’s own priorities/preferences and nothing to do with evil. Identifying the real evil and destroying it is the choice that a person has to make with tact and supreme will of the heart. This is what the Mahadev (Lord Shiva or Lord Rudra as we perceive today) had to do back then.

These concepts on which these books are based gave me something to think upon in this confused, most debated topic. If you are interested in exploring the depths of Indian myths, finding answers to deep-rooted questions about the way the idolizationĀ of gods evolved, you will find these books to be the right choice. People who use their religious/spiritual views to influence others or to look down on people must have a read and realize that all the scriptures defining the rules were formulated for a particular period and can be evolved for the good of the masses.

In a nutshell, these books are a really interesting read and gives something for the readers to chew upon and explore with their minds. I am eagerly waiting for the release of the last part – The oath of Vayuputras. Hope it will make as good a read as the previous 2 books and give some conclusions. šŸ™‚

Until later šŸ™‚

SHaDE – Helping is the best form of prayer

I have been searchingĀ for that ā€œsomethingā€ for a long time in life. I couldn’t quite locate it until recently. Then as I came to Bangalore, what I was searching for was some peace and happiness that comes from a totally different dimension. I have had ‘n’ number of self-analyses done and have cribbed about my job, my personal life and what not, but all those were just the cranky-me. They were not the real reasons which lasted long. One day, I will unhappy over my job and the next day I will feel happy about it. So, I concluded that whatever was nagging me for the past one year had nothing to do with my job or personal life. I wanted to do something that will bring a smile on others’ faces. This is not something that I am saying for boasting or creating an image. I will honestly accept that I am doing it because it makes me feel better. As Joey says in ā€œF.R.I.E.N.D.Sā€, there are no selfless good deeds. That is human nature and I am no one to change it. If we help someone, the smile on their face makes us feel good. So the action is always mutual.

That’s enough digression for the sake of explanation. Once I located this want in me, I started searching for ways to do it. And I hit a target in my search through a fellow blogger at the Cognizant blogging community and she has a personal blog tooĀ šŸ™‚ SHaDEĀ is a family that has been formedĀ and nurtured by Mr.Raghavan alias SaravananĀ with the sole purpose of lending the possible help wherever needed. As simple as that. It has completed 4 years of successful service and I am happy at the coincidence of me joining them at the beginning of yet another awesome year. The best thing that I liked about SHaDEĀ is that it is completely transparent and not at all a compulsion at any point. You can beĀ a volunteer or a contributor or both as you wish. It is just about if you are interested, you can help. The time, frequency and extent of help can beĀ decided by you and made clear to the group so that plans can beĀ made accordingly.

I have at many points realized that a small gesture of help when someone is in crisis can mean a lot to them. Much more than you would think. I have been at the receiving end of many such kind gestures and the giving end of some. So, to make myself a better person, to make a change that I wish to see and most of all to make a positive change in someone’s life, I am hoping SHaDE will help me.

This post is not intended to beĀ a promotional/influencing post in any aspect. I am writing this out of my interest, because I have found something that I have been searching for and maybe someone else who is searching for the same thing might find it useful.

Until later šŸ™‚

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