Bachpan se Badapan

What interests the tweenagers (excuse the social media parlance) today? Not an easy one to answer for sure.  With mobiles as their raconteur coupled with selective listening skills it’s no longer easy to connect with them.  The only way to reach out to these young minds is to include phrases such as “Whatsapp?” “K” “FML”, “ROFL” in your vocabulary.  Talking to my 14-year-old niece the other day had me fumbling for words, as she excitedly discussed the lives of her icons Ronaldo, Messi, Serena and Maria Sharapova, found it so hard to relate to any of it.  This is such a far cry from the world of 80s’ when we used to sit with the entire family to watch B.R Chopra’s Ramayan, cry at Sita’s plight and guffaw at sitcoms such as “Yeh jo hain zindagi”. 

VCR tapes would be borrowed on meagre rentals and all and sundry would gather at a neighbourhood home to watch scary Ramsay movies, or play cricket in the backyard only to be chased away by the irate society secretary.  Breaking a piggy bank to buy audio cassettes was such a euphoric achievement.  An India Vs Pakistan match would call for intense action as sides would be drawn up and bets laid.  Kismi bars were every child and grownups delight, breaking into Antakshari at any given opportunity was perfectly normal, birthday parties at home were a royal treat with mommy’s special recipes to whet appetites.  As children we just needed reasons to be outdoors and had to be dragged home, albeit in an embarrassing way at times.  Tinkle, Amar chitra katha, and the like were our vacation companions and going to Lonavala was a matter of immense pride.  When friends would plan their holidays to visit their Nani’s home we would count days to their return.  Our treasure booty consisted of rare stamps and old coins defending them like a hawk from annoying siblings.    Getting a spin in the confines of a Maruti 800 was akin to a Mercedes ride back then.  Sheer nostalgia, Sigh!

Cut to the scenario today, where more is less, if children possess cell phones, the make and quality is a critical matter.  Tablets are not prescribed any longer but are smartly marketed as a must-have lest you stay far behind from the know it all brigade. Phablets (surely a Doc devised that one), smart gadgets, cloud computing rule the mindspace of a tweenager.  It is a preposterous crime to not hold a FB account.  Parks and outdoor spaces will soon enlist as historic monuments, as they are only visited by the elderly of the city.  Death of innocence is how I would like to term these phenomena.  I wonder if today, offspring come with pre-programmed minds thanks to our love for technology maybe their learning starts when they are a tiny cell in the womb.  They are averse to learning précis these days but are quick to adapt to the 140 character norm and for Pete's sake everything should be centred around “i” (with due respect to Jobs greatest misinvention).  With the past becoming history and future bright with technology wonders we just have to learn to LOL at situations, not OMG at turn of events and FML when you find it hard to cope but remember...there is always Hope ;) (just for the sake of rhyming).

Life in the Wild...

Picture one day of your life without…

A ping on the BB screaming for action

The addictions of the world of social media

Rushing to manage the 9.30a.m compulsory swipe,

Literally living like a wound up robot (I know they are far more advanced these days a la Jarvis)

No alarms, no organizers, no endless meetings,

For a change just getting off the rat race and getting onto life… planning a date with Mother Nature…

Sounds blissful? Well this is exactly what I experienced when I planned to take a 3 day vacation and headed to the famous Nagzira Tiger Reserve, a picturesque dense jungle located 3 hours away from the city of Nagpur.  Being my first wildlife trip, the thought of encountering a feral being did send shivers down my spine, but then I chided myself that we deal with such species all the time, and by now should have mastered the art of ignoring their existence.  So I braced myself up for the adventure with no expectations from the excursion, for me it was just an escape from the mundane routine of the so called corporate lives we lead.  All I knew was we were going to be put up in tents at a resort bordering the jungle, again the thought of a stray breaking into the tent raised my alarm antennas, but I managed to hush the thought. 

Jungle trail

We checked into the resort in the searing afternoon sun, welcomed with icy cold towels by the hospitable staff, could hardly decide whether it was the warmth of the resort staff or the temperature which was close to 42 degrees, that was warmer.  Contrary to my beliefs, was relieved to see the tents well equipped with an A/C and hygienic washrooms.   My eyes wandered beyond the fence to the unknown world of the wild awaiting us.  Within an hour of freshening up, our open jeeps were ready to take us into the heart of the Nagzira jungle.  Before we knew it we were waiting at the gates of the jungle, to be ushered in by a guide. After the preliminary formalities we entered the jungle trail. 

Say Banana!!!

Once within the jungle, mercury played mischief, it dropped drastically causing a chill in the air.  Suddenly the jungle came to life with sonorous sounds, shrill calls, unheard of sounds of hidden beings, my ears become extra sensitive to every thud, every reverberation it could pick. Was unprepared for the glorious sights that lay ahead, it was the most amazing feeling, we were asked to keep our mouths on mute and experience this extravagance expanse of lush green, thus causing all our senses to feel super active.  The serenity and calm of the place evaporated my fears and made me freely embrace the beauty of the flora and fauna around. There were mountains of anthills, huge, some as tall as short trees, that dotted the trail. Captivated by the green cover, we spotted bisons, four horned antelopes, a peacock, wild dogs, white monkeys and a host of lovely birds. 

We scanned the jungle for almost 3 hours in the hope of spotting the most sought after striped mammal, but in vain.  Finally at one point, our guide asked us to strain our ears to monkey signals, which are known to carry cues to the arrival of the king of the jungle. We were close to a circular man-made pond; the breeze rustled leaves to produce strange noises, we waited with bated breath and trained our eyes to spot movement that could appear from any direction.  My heart was doing a mini marathon, could feel the vibrations of its beat, all was calm yet tense, after 10 minutes we realized it was a false alarm. 

Since we had another two days left to try our luck, we decided to make our way back to the resort.  We were nearing the end of the trail, when we heard excited cries from another jeep ushering us towards a certain direction, they had just spotted the tiger. 

Our ace driver, took a near jerking about turn, and raced liked a possessed demon in the direction shown by the tourists.  We reached the chosen spot, which was a narrow lane that already had three jeeps waiting to watch the majestic grandeur of the king. I strained to get a good view, before my eyes could hit upon the target, I caught a glimpse of the carnivore through the lens of a handycam belonging to a lady in the jeep ahead of us. That moment will be etched in my memory for years to come…as I took my eyes off the lens and stood up in my jeep, within spitting distance lay the most stunning creature I had ever seen.…I spotted my first tiger….Jai…the guide told us the tiger was barely 5 years old….its sheer strength and raw virility surely belied its age.  Just like a seasoned celebrity it lay in its mud dug out, unaffected and unperturbed by the attention around him.  At first we thought he was hurt, hence lay immobile, but later were told he had over-hunted and his gluttony was preventing his movements.

 

We got some amazing shots of Jai, as he happily posed for all of us.  As the adventure for that day drew to a close, I felt content to have seen a tiger in its full splendour and glory.  And as luck would have it we spotted him again the next day, this time relaxing in a water canal, oblivious to the stir he caused around him. 

What did strike me about this walk in the wild, is the harmony with which different species dwell, each playing a unique part on the canvas of life, just as crafted by the hand above. All we are meant to do is find our path, explore the trail, and we shall reach where we are meant to be…

(Photo Credits: Sundar Sarma)

Resolutionz 2013

Time of the year when our conscience speaks louder than our voice and prods us to resolve to change for the better.  Come year end and we make countless resolutions that barely survive beyond the 1^st of January.  Lets try it one more time!!!

What if…

What if life went exactly the way you wanted?  What if there was nothing called fear, rejection, depression, sadness and sorrow? What if you never felt heavy in your heart and tears did not exist? What if you had a remote control to change your circumstances? What if words such as “heartbreak” and “betrayal” did not exist? Sigh…for a second you did enter fantasy land, and heaved a sigh of comfort and absolute relief….but is it possible? Can we really turnaround our lives from challenging situations? Can we actually live the life of our dreams? I am no therapist neither a spiritual healer definitely not a magician…just another being who faces similar trials and tribulations in life.  But as I have experienced a gamut of emotions over many years of my existence, I do know we can have the life we want.  Once you plant this thought in your mind, there is no looking back, all you have to do is program your mind to react to what happens to you differently, yes you have the remote to your life and you may not be able to control what happens to you but you can control how you react to it.  Yes ok, heard this, done that, The Secret vouches for it, every site, publication, medium that propagates spirituality talks about it, Zen, Buddhism, and Art of living preach it, but do you believe it? 

Unfortunately, the bare truth is that your belief shapes your reality, if you see darkness how can there be light, if you only see sorrow, happiness is just an illusion, if you only see pain, joy is far far away.  Sounds preachy, to me too, absolute trash at times, we always wonder so easy for someone to advice, feels good for a minute, then we are back to our mundane lives facing the same set of struggles.  But at the core lies belief, we do not believe it, we rubbish it as we have become so comfortable reacting, behaving and living in a certain manner, robotic if I am say, in our conduct, we lack basic belief that yes it can happen, things can go the way I want them to, life can shape up as I will.  The path of affirmations is not easy, reverting to preset notions and age-old beliefs is a safer option, as it offers comfort to be in known territory, the unknown comes with no guarantee. 

But till you try how would you know?  Either you face troubles the way you have been facing or try acceptance, try changing your ATTITUDE, it makes all the difference.  If there is anyone in this world who can make you do any of this it is only YOU, the strings of happiness lie only in your hands. The almighty has moulded you in a way that only YOU can heal yourself, any problems, however complex, any situation however complicated only YOU possess the power to CHANGE it. Adversities wont stop, problems wont disappear, they will always be there to keep us human, but how you deal with them will make all the difference in your life. Phew, gyaan and more gyaan, but no harm trying, the worst is you will FAIL, at least you won’t regret never trying.  Anything that betters the quality of your life is worth a try, you might just succeed and your epitaph will read “AND HE/SHE LIVED and WOW”.

The writer is simbly HUMAN J

C’mon Man….Wake Up, Rise and Shine!!!

Little did the celebrated cartoonist R.K. Laxman know that his glorified “common man” will someday transform into a “Superman”. We are not talking about the fictitious character out of DC novels but a real life hero, who deserves applause and acknowledgement for the unimaginable feats he performs in real life. So our Superhero not only juggles between his responsibilities towards work and home but is also up against corrupt Government authorities, errant rickshaw drivers, uncompromising cab unions, angry traffic cops, an unyielding education system, and a host of stress inducing trials.  His travails do not end with fending for his family but he is witness to hosts of rage emerging in a world starved of patience, right from road rage, school rage, to office rage, and every possible condition that would enrage even an ahimsa follower.

He wakes up to the sounds of incessantly blaring horns or if neighbours are in festive mode, then bhajans played at ridiculously loud decibels attempting to be heard beyond the skies.  If he belongs to the middle or lower side of the socio-economic divide, he has already mastered the art of acrobatics that come handy while travelling by local trains. Once he manages to squeeze into the train, he has to engage in deep breathing, as artificial fragrances are still a luxury in our country.  And if he resides on the upper side of the divide, he better gear himself up for a long drive, arming himself with enough distractions to kill the extra hours before he reaches his destination, and God bless his soul if he is in the driver’s seat cause shifting gears will keep him busy throughout the journey.

Our superhero pays a premium for basic necessities, bears the weight of exorbitant taxes, is regularly subject to food, fuel and every possible price hike, and is supposed to take all this with a pinch of salt, lest that gets dearer too. He keeps himself alive breathing toxic gases which are far deadlier than what he lets out and has no choice but to ignore the crumbling state of infrastructure.  He has limited access to basic hygiene amenities in the city, is constantly susceptible to bomb scares, terrorist attacks and alien viruses such as H1N1, which do not attack computer systems but choose to target the human body.  Unwillingly remits a hefty sum to school/college authorities for admitting his offspring and has to keep a running bank account to see them finish education.  The rising costs of living, with barely any increase in income, just add to his woes, thus causing numerous ailments, which only contribute to the earnings of the medical fraternity. 

Inspite of contributing to the revenues of the Exchequer he leads a chequered life abound by twists and turns caused by his immediate surrounding than fate.  Each day he leaves home to battle a fresh set of challenges without any magical prowess.  He survives and surmounts countless obstacles with the hope of a better tomorrow. Just one look in the mirror will find a superman staring back, telling us “C’mon man get up and get going today is another day”.

“I do”

Dreams and desires have found new wings,

The frost of winter has finally paved the way for spring,

Surprises and laughter in the air,

Celebrate the fanfare with the blessed pair.

Embarking upon a new beginning,

Life is filled with fresh hope and meaning,

Mixed emotions wreck havoc on the mind,

Peace eludes plays hard to find.

The heart exudes a warm glow,

With love so true for the chosen beau,

Backed by faith in the divine choice,

Every moment I humbly rejoice.

Walking towards the altar of love,

Heavens shower blessings from up above,

All geared to share the sacred vows,

Shall reap the love of the seeds we sow.

A Heart without a Life

What if we were born without a heart?

Life would be simple, and not tear us apart,

Mind would be the sole ruler of ours,

We would need no healing from countless scars.

Emotions and feelings would be history,

Winning the heart would no longer be a mystery,

No one would steal our hearts and return it on a whim,

Speak spiteful words that would make us grim.

Cupid’s arrow would lose target,

Lovelorn poets would cease to write sonnets,

A relation won’t sink b’coz of lack of romance,

Jilted love would stand no chance.

The ruler above never foreseen this twist,

Before blessing us with this precious gift,

So we have to live and learn to love our hearts,

True to ourselves but never apart!!!