Leaf, Tree and the Wind

I received this mail and found it pretty thought-provoking.... Also tried to find out the real source of this write-up which seems to be in circulation since quite some time....

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Tree
People call me “Tree”.
I had dated 5 girls when I was in Pre-U. There is one girl who I love a lot but never dared to go after. She didn’t have a pretty face, good figure or an outstanding charm. She was just a very ordinary girl. I liked her. I really liked her. I liked her innocence, her frankness, her intelligence and her fragility. Reason for not going after her was that I felt somebody so ordinary like her was not a good match for me. I was also afraid that after we were together all the feelings would vanish. I was also afraid other’s gossip would hurt her.
I felt that if she were my girl, she’d be mine ultimately & I didn’t have to give up everything just for her. The last reason, made her accompanying me for 3 years. She watched me chase other girls, and I have made her heart cry for 3 years.
She was a good actor, and me a demanding director. When I kissed my second girlfriend, she bumped into us. She was embarrassed but smiled & said, “Go on!” before running off. The next day, her eyes were swollen like a walnut. I did not want to know what caused her to cry. Later that day, I returned from soccer training to get something & watched her cry in the classroom for an hour or so. My fourth girlfriend did not like her. There was once when both of them quarreled. I know that based on her character she is not the type that will start the quarrel. However, I still sided my girlfriend. I shouted at her & ignored her feelings and walked off with my girlfriend. The next day, she was laughing & joking with me like nothing happened. I know she was hurt but she did not know deep down inside I was hurt too.
When I broke up with my fifth girlfriend, I asked her out. Later that day, I told her I had something to tell her. I told her about my break up. Coincidentally, she has something to tell me too, about her getting together. I knew who the person was. His pursuit for her had been the talk of the School. I did not show her my heartache, just smiles & best wishes. Once I reached home, I could not breathe. Tears rolled & I broke down. How many times have I seen her cry for the man who did not acknowledge her presence?
During graduation, I read a SMS in my hp. It said, “Leaf’s departure is because of Wind’s pursuit. Or because Tree didn’t ask her to stay”

Leaf
People call me Leaf.
During the 3 years of Pre-U, I was on very close terms with a guy as buddy kind. However, when he had his first girlfriend, I learnt a feeling I never should have learnt - Jealousy. Sourness to the extreme limit. They were only together for 2 months. When they broke up, I hid my happiness. But after a month, he got together with another girl.
I liked him & I know he liked me. But why won’t he pursue me? Since he loves me why he didn’t he make the first move? Whenever he had a new girlfriend, my heart would hurt. After some time, I began to suspect that this was one-sided love. If he didn’t like me, why did he treat me so well? It’s beyond what you will normally do for a friend. I know his likes, his habits. But his feelings towards me I can never figure out. You can’t expect me a girl, to ask him. Despite that, I still wanted to be by his side. Care for him, accompany him, and love him. Hoping that one day, he will come to love me. Because of this, I waited for him. Sometimes, I wondered if I should continue waiting. The pain, the dilemma accompanied me for 3 years.
At the end of my 3rd year, a junior pursues me. Everyday he pursues me. He’s like the cool & gentle wind, trying to blow off a leaf from a tree. In the end, I realized that I wanted to give this wind a small footing in my heart. I know the wind will bring the leaf to a better land. Finally, leaf left the tree, but the tree only smiled & didn’t ask me to stay.
Leaf’s departure is because of Wind’s pursuit. Or cause Tree didn’t ask her to stay.

Wind
Because I like a girl called leaf. Because she’s so dependent on tree, so I have to be a gust wind. A wind that will blow her away. When I first met her, it was 1 month after I was transferred to this new school. I saw a petite person look ing at my seniors & me playing soccer. During ECA time, she will always be sitting there. Be it alone or with her friends, looking at him. When he talks with girls, there’s jealousy in her eyes. When he looked at her, there’s a smile in her eyes. Looking at her became my habit. Just like, she likes to look at him.
One day, she didn’t appear. I felt something missing. I can’t explain the feeling except it’s a kind of uneasiness. The senior was also not there as well. I went to their classroom, hid outside and saw my senior scolding her. Tears were in her eyes while he left. The next day, I saw her at her usual place, looking at him. I walked over and smiled to her. Took out a note & gave to her. She was surprised. She looked at me, smiled & accepts the note. The next day, she appeared & passes me a note and left.
It read, “Leaf’s heart is too heavy and wind couldn’t blow her away.”

“It’s not that leaf heart is too heavy. It because leaf never want to leave tree.” I replied her note with this statement and slowly she started to talk to me & accept my presents & phone calls. I know that the person she loves is not me. But I have this perseverance that one day I will make her like me. Within 4 months, I have declared my love for her no less than 20 times. Every time, she will divert away from the topic. But I never give up. If I decide I want her to be mine, I will definitely use all means to win her over. I can’t remember how many times I have declared my love to her. Although I know, she will try to divert but I still bear a small ray of hope.
Hoping that she will agree to be my girlfriend. I didn’t hear any reply from her over the phone. I asked, “What are you doing? How come you didn’t want to reply?” She said, “I’m nodding my head”. “Ah?” I could n’t believe my ears. “I’m nodding my head” She replied loudly. I hang up the phone, quickly changed and took a taxi and rush to her place & press her doorbell. During the moment when she opens the door, I hugged her tightly.

Leaf departure is because of Wind pursuit. Or because Tree didn’t ask her to stay…

A day less ordinary...

The day began with me waking up and rushing to the TV looking for the update on Taj/Oberoi/Nariman terrorists fiasco.. It seemed status-quo to where v left at night before v slept...

Further during the day, all discussions revolved around which channels we saw during the previous day as offices were closed.. colleagues quoted the media channels and their various desparate attempts to keep the viewers glued to their respective channels...

Around lunch-time, some colleagues were frantically running and talking on fones.. appeared to be some fresh gun shots fired at CST Stn.. this was followed by more rumours of some more gunshots and bombs at various other locations and hotels.... I also did my 'civilian duty' by smsing about 10 odd near-dear ones who were expected to in and around those 'gunned' areas.. Well, at the end, it all happened to be a rumour and I, a part of the grapevine!!

Soon it was 3 pm and a mail from HR Dept came for a sanctioned "Early Leaving" keeping in mind the problems in the city.. I started thinking whether to use the local trains.. But..would that be safe?? Can't there be gunned men seated in the train waiting to open fire on unknowing passengers or maybe bombs planted under the seats..

So I thought to wait in the office till 6 for my contract bus ..(at least, only the stations and hotels have been targetted and buses might be safe!!).. As most of the colleagues were leaving, we wished each other a 'Happy and Safe Journey' back home.. And no body saw the intended satire in the wishes... Maybe that was an 'apt' good-bye greeting!!

I chose to leave office only minutes before the scheduled bus time.. Didn't want to risk standing on the road and getting a bullet shot from a speeding vehicle!! Also I decided to avoid the window seat in the bus for reasons explained above...

Now I am back home..watching channels seeing the ongoing battle between the terrorists and our brave soldiers..be it the Army, police, NSG, RAF etc etc.. Channels show the increasing count of the deceased civilians as well as the soldiers...And i sit back and ponder over cup of tea -

"I am safe for the day.. My family, friends are also safe today.. Now lets pray for another day tomorrow.. Every day is a battle..for mere survival.."

God Bless All..

Regards

Sunil

p.s. Couldnt think of any preaching or spiritual ideas.. My mind is just not prepared for any.. I am just too happy (or rather contended) to survive one more day !! Hoping all this to end soon.. to be followed by the over-used and much-politicised term/jargon of "The Undying Spirit of Mumbai" ;-)

Marital Bliss !!!

Its been a fairly long time since my last post.. and how things have changed.. some for the better and some not so-fine!!!

Sensex was trading at around 14K levels (& some of my portfolio continued to be in green!!)… Now its 9K and its all blood-red :-(
Worrying about the safety of my deposits at ICICI Bank used to invoke laughters…
The 1-lakh car was going to roll-out from Singur in West Bengal.. Sanaad was not a visible place on the Indian-map…
Raj Thakeray was not yet arrested & Mumbai life was on…
..etc etc etc etc …. Life moves on !!!


And amongst all good and bad things happening elsewhere, a very special & wonderful event happened in my life too … Lost my bachelordom..(or is it bachelor-hood??!!).. I know, there are many who would feel the last two sentences contradictory.. but not so for me..


……….


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The day was Anant Chaturthi … the 14th of September 2008..

Dressed in a traditional dhoti (mundu), I walked on stage.. no sign of her

The ceremony started with my panditji guiding me in inviting and seeking the Gods blessings for a happy life ahead… still no sign of her

Half hour gone since I am on stage with well-wishers watching me making some signs with my hands over the holy pyre …. And still… no signs of her

Finally, there was an announcement and … there she is .. walking towards the mandap.. typical keralite saree-makeup and all.. my my…. Did I say she looked beautiful !!!
After that, it was again more vidhis.. and then .. I tied the sacred thread across her neck… as the world stood up to greet us with flowers, claps etc…

So then.. there.. on that very dias where I had walked into as a single-ton/bachelor, in a hour and half, I walked down with a beautiful wife by my side !!!

I have attended many many weddings.. but this one was special.. as it starred “me” ;-)

So that’s summing it all… I am a married man now !!!

Terror strikes...

The past few weeks/months would have been busy time for the terrorists with numerous bombs being detonated across Ahmedabad, Surat and Bangalore. Also yesterday, I read about a bomb blast in Istanbul, Turkey killing atleast 17 people

Time and again, our security has breached. As these bombs are being unearthed one after the other, cant help but imagining that, at this moment, there would be some people working endlessly producing more of those.

It makes me wonder what the mind of terrorist will be like. What is it that would make them heart-less and so immune to the pain and suffering they are causing? Whose battle are they fighting? As can be seen in any of the bomb-cases, it was not a big-explosive and was not capable of resulting in many deaths.. They were not aimed at mass-killing but were aimed at a different & more dangerous level of killing … of the spirit, of the zeal to live, of the freedom to live

The terrorists have chosen to attack where it hurts the most – the Heart. They have succeeded in inflicting fear in our hearts… fear of moving around freely, fear of losing the loved one.. The bombs do not just take numerous lives but they take away the ‘life’ from so many other lives, connected with the deceased. How many wives become widows, husbands widowers, children rendered orphans, parents losing their child, losing dear friends.. For all those affected, the world changes in an instant..

May the souls of the departed rest in peace and I pray to God to give strength to the families and friends of the deceased

And hope the security personnel get to some strict action against these men of terror.

Tidbits from my world..

It’s been a month since last blog. Not that, I don’t have anything to write. These days, I am all “eyes and ears” to whats happening nearby and whether the same can be converted to some blog !! Have to admit, this Blog-thing has ensured that mind doesn’t doze off!! So there have been many things on which I had thought of scribbling something on, but somehow couldn’t manage the time and resources to do that..

So let me just summarise few of the events in my life in the past month.. none-the life changing or life-threatening ones.. but still, worth mentioning!!

Pune (July 11-12)
Been to Pune with Friends for marriage of Aakanksha… Had a wonderful time…. Wish her a Happy Married Life !!

Returned on 12th in car and .. that’s when .. our car got stuck !!

Had studied in school that “terrestrial craters are formed when a large meteorid, asteroid or a comet smashes into a planet”. We started wondering which one of these three were responsible for the big hole that was found in between the road near Shilphata just off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway enroute to Dombivli… But it turned out to be a fourth factor - the “efficiency of the work done by the governmental authorities” !! And there were plenty of such craters on this road, so much that a satellite picture may even think that they are capturing the images of the moon

After we exchanged our customary “niceties” on the governmental apathy, we had to get down and lift the car from the hole and put it back on track. All this ensured we spent about 1.5 hours in the filthy water that had filled in that “crater” !!

Kerala (July 16-20)
Been to Kerala to meet my grandmothers and my great-grandmother as well as other relatives to seek their blessings before my marriage, as they won’t be able to grace the occasion… Was a short and good trip
.... Plenty much to talk of Kerala .. maybe in another blog !!

Flight to Madrid via Paris (July 22)
Just a routine flight back to what-has-been-recently ‘my second home’, Madrid… since April, this was my fifth visit to the city!!
For the first time though, I traveled by Air France coming through Paris. Two mentionable things in the trip:
a) Saw Yuvraj Singh at the Mumbai airport. He walked past me, not once but twice, maybe in a desperate attempt to grab my attention. But then, I chose not to get disturbed as I can’t be talking to everybody naa, leave alone giving batting advices to all !!
b) As I was traveling via Paris, I was hoping to see the only major attraction, I have heard and seen in movies – the Eiffel Tower. Well, I did manage to see it.. but from some 3,000 ft above the ground… Maybe that’s too far off to actually admire its beauty.. as all I could recollect from that Wonder-of-the-World was the numerous electric towers back in India !!

That’s me for now .. at Madrid.. busy with the Spanish life... and so on and so forth.. till I write again…

Adios

Sunil

Barcelona in 6 hours !!

“Being the lonely traveler has its own advantages. For starters, you can decide where to go, what to see, what not to see, how much time to spend etc etc without any debate. Further, in an eventuality of your decision backfiring (as the case maybe, sometimes!!), you don’t have to hide your face from any angry comments from anyone. Also, there are chances of modifying your travel plans somewhere in the middle of it…”

So were my thoughts as I happily booked the tickets for a high-speed Train from Madrid to Barcelona this Sunday. But along the journey, between the various photos and videos, I started feeling like talking to someone, telling him/her about the thoughts, making a joke out an incident etc etc.. After all, what’s a joke, if it doesn’t have anyone to laugh at?? Well, I could have narrated the entire incidents to someone over phone, but alas … I am neither JK Rowling nor Agatha Christie nor anyone of those famed writers to make the listener visualize the picturesque… so all I could manage in the telephonic conversation was terms such as “wonderful beaches filled with more-wonderful people, beautiful monuments, nice gardens, stunning sceneries, fascinating aquarium etc etc etc”

Let me just put-down some thoughts that criss-crossed my minds through the journey -

Besides the thrill of seeing a new city, what made me take up this trip was to experience the high-speed tube trains. Imagine the trains go at a speed of about 250-300 km per hour!! It just takes under 3 hours to cover the distance of Madrid-Barcelona. Had seen the trains in numerous movies and enjoyed the scenes… It was a good comfortable ride .. but then .. a word of caution – If you are one of the persons who like to enjoy the sceneries outside, this one is not for you!! As, one second you see a thing, and by the time you register it in your mind, you are few kilometers away from it!!

Barcelona has a special bus services for its tourists. There are three ring-routes (named Red, Blue and Green Lines) on which the Buses ply. You can purchase a day’s ticket and can hop-on and hop-off from one bus to another. The Red-route takes you to the Northern Barcelona with various cathedrals, Castles, musuems etc besides going to the world-famous Football Stadium. The Blue and Green routes take you to the Southern side.. to the beach-front

I decided to take the Beach-route first as I was pretty bored of seeing the cathedrals, museums, castles etc etc. Nothing wrong with them, but I had already seen many in Madrid and adjoining country-side so I thought to give it a miss and venture on the beach side. I also took a rope-way to have an aerial view of the city alongside the sea.. It was awesome.. Up on the hillock, I could see the Barcelona port which boasts of many cruise-liners as well as the normal ship-service to Italy etc. Barcelona boasts of a wonderful beachfront and hoardes of tourists come here (especially during summers) to soak up the sun. And what I saw there was also not below expectations!! ;-) And I hope everyone agrees that beaches are not meant for fully-dressed people, as they run a grave risk of getting their clothes wet !! So lets move ahead….

Then I went to an Aquarium where they had created a “under-sea” walk where you walk through an glass-covered enclave with sharks and other kinds of marine creatures sailing above you and besides you.. It was fantastic .. Also, I met an Indian family from Delhi there who seemed to be having a good time on a Europe tour

After having seen plenty much of South and time remaining for my return-trip, I thought of going North with only one thing in mind – the Barcelona Football Stadium. I didn’t visit any other places and just saw them on the open-roof buses as I thought I could have more and more time in the Stadium. That’s were my decision backfired !!! I reached the Stadium at 2:45 pm and got to know that it closed at 2:30 :-( Having not-seen any other places in the North, I couldn’t even see this one !! Going all the way back to see some more places was not a good idea as I could risk missing my train. So I reached the train station around 3:45 (with my original train timings at 6:30!!) However, I managed to pre-pone my tickets to 4:30 pm ..and hence by 7:15 pm, I was back home!!

Well, that was exactly how I felt when I reached Madrid.. felt like home.. as over the past few months, this city doesn’t seem stranger to me .. I know most of the places around.. I have even showed some tourists the way to certain places.. I might even be in many photos taken by the tourists as I roamed across the streets!!

So that’s the story… bit lengthy one.. but considering that I put down an entire day and an entire city for you, I think I was in fact on the shorter version… As I said before, I am not a talented writer to make you visualize things.. For better information on Barcelona, you can do some googling!!

Listening..

“Kaash kabhi aisa hota kii koi apna hota jisse karta sari baat. Call 55365 Rs 9/- min aur kahein apni dil ki baat”

This is the sms received from Vodafone today morning … Vodafone was here playing the part of a counselor asking lonely souls to speak to them and pay them for listening to what he/ she is saying!! My first impression was to laugh it off as I thought about the funny business ideas these guys come up with and wondered if anyone actually called … But the very fact that this service is provided meant that the personnel at Vodafone would have done some basic market research for studying the requirements of the users…

Also made me wonder what would be the process involved.. One person desperate to speak to anyone (and just about “anyone”) decides to call the number and then pays for speaking his/her heart out to someone who is mechanically fitted into the scheme of things as a “listener”. Now what would the listener be doing at the other end? He/she takes on the role of being a supportive friend or a counselor hearing out the problems faced and trying to console. In most of the cases, this counseling or support would be fake since its too much to believe that any person can be so touched by just a phone call from a complete stranger. But then they get paid for appearing attentive and the caller is happy that he could speak his heart out. Maybe a similar approach to a Christian confessing in the Confession Box !!

Why would I want to speak to “anyone” rather than speaking to my family/friends? Maybe I don’t have anyone close to confide with or maybe I don’t trust anyone with this piece of secret information.. or maybe I don’t have anyone who wants to listen to me…

Looking back in my life, I have been really lucky to have wonderful people around me .. my family, my friends .. who have ensured that I don’t have to go to any stranger to air my views.. They have sat through (maybe bored!!) but been very receptive to my ideas, thoughts etc etc.. So let me take this opportunity to thank all of you dear ones for being there for me through all my success and failures, happiness and sorrow… You mean a lot to me..

But I feel I have not reciprocated quite well and I doubt whether I played the “Listener” role well.. I seriously think I need to work on this aspect

So start talking !! I am all ears for you !!

Regards

Sunil

89 days !!

missed the countdown !! nevertheless, the clock doesn't stop ticking and is moving on...

11 days before, I was exactly 100 days from losing my bachelor's degree ... now its down to 89.. Just while I was going through some office work, got this crave to do some maths and here it was.. the 89th day from now, i am getting married... woww.... how do i feel?? can't really pinpoint on any one particular class of emotions.. happy?? .. thrilled? .. afraid??.. nervous??...

read thru arun's blogs on "being with someone" and one on "marriage".. guess, he is giving it a serious thought!! But here i am .. been there, almost done tht!!.. been with a lovely girl for quite some time and now getting married to her.. wonderful !!..

Remember Aamir in 'Rangeela' saying "Life mein naa settle hone ko mangta hain".. well.. i am taking his advice !!

Too many scrambled thoughts .. readers confused.. not making any sense??... it was never supposed to be.. was just writing my thoughts !!

take care... bye

cheers.... to life.. to 'light'..

Sunil

Rains...

The rains are here in Mumbai…. With the heat seaming up to unbearable levels, the dark skies opened this weekend marking the onset of monsoon… Once again, the civic authorities are going to have a tough time facing the rains as well as the citizens… Within some time of heavy pouring, reports filled in TVs and newspapers about the water-logging of the roads, overfilled nullahs, the unfinished work etc etc.. Maybe yet again, year-after-year, the Mumbaikars would have to face the aftermath of the rains with their much-discussed “spirit”..

Perhaps, this is going to be the most horrible 3-4 months this year for the daily commuter with each day bringing in a new challenge of reaching the office and then returning back home!! For starters, today I missed out my contract-bus to office since I was trying to hold my umbrella and my office bag as the driver zoomed past me … Left with no other choice, I had to use the train to come to the “beautiful” Kurla station and reached the office wet and late!!

But still……

I love the rains… the coolness of the air.. the scent of the soil.. eating garam pakodas with tea.. watching the people on the streets with the umbrellas or wearing wind-cheaters/raincoats.. getting drenched in the rains as you maneuver the umbrella on the windy roads… simply magical .. and so romantic… reminds me of the eternal “Pyar hua Ikrar hua” song with Raj Kapoor and Nargis sharing the umbrella.. wowww !!

... eagerly awaiting some getaways to some serene places faraway from the city, witnessing the beautiful waterfalls, the lush greenery, being with family and friends, forgetting the daily hustle-bustle of the city..

Last weekend, I had been on my way to my aunt’s place for lunch in Kalyan. Having already been late (Getting up at 10am couldn’t make the journey any earlier !!), I was searching for some good valid reasons to explain my aunt for my delay.. And then .. as I was searching for reasons, the Reason came to me as the train stopped at Dombivli Stantion. After about minute or two, when the train refused to leave the station, being a true Mumbaikar, I started doing what we are pretty good at.. I blamed the governmental apathy and wondered when the civic authorities such as Railways would start giving importance to time of we poor civilians.. And as expected, the people around me were of similar kindda thoughts!! With the clock ticking past 1:30 pm, I was getting restless, but then there is no other choice.. Another 10 minutes passed and suddenly saw a group of policemen (Railway Police) barging into the compartments and asking all of us to get out of the train with our respective luggages.. Then they informed that they had received a telephone call stating a Bomb implanted in my train.. All got down in hurry.. But no unattended baggage found in my compartment …and later in any of the other 8 compartments either.. And so finally after 30 minutes of bomb-searching, the Police squad returned empty-handed.. and I resumed my remaining journey towards the lunch!!

All this made me wonder –
(1) Is the Railways/ Police / any such governmental agencies to be blamed for the delay? Apparently the answer is NO.. So let me publicly apologise for my outburst.. They were just doing their duty..
(2) But was the duty well performed?… I think so, because I was alive then to have my lunch and then am alive now to write this blog :-) But then, now I wonder, if I was the bomber sitting in the train with the bomb, I could have also got down with it while they checked the train and then boarded the train again since there was no frisking of the luggages
(3) But again.. Is such Frisking of each luggages/ bags of each passenger of each compartment in each train possible?? I can’t even imagine our plight in such a case. Just the sheer number of people traveling in the trains makes it an Impossible task to do that.. (Also thinking of my lunch, if they actually screened all bags then, I would have been home only for Dinner!!)
(4) So is the Mumbaikar lives Secured? Well, all of us know the answer is a NO… The dense varied population just getting more and more and the transport facilities are the same since ages.. The trains are already crowded with people leaving no other choice than traveling on rooftops and hanging on one finger and one toe on the footboard. Any one bad incident could take away precious lives. The only person standing between your living an extra day may be the bomber who allows you to live for one more day!!

Its really a sad state of affairs and it doesn’t seem to be getting any happier.. The Government is busy making plans for approving costs for new projects and then approving for increase in the budgets due to time delays.. The only thing constant here in Mumbai is “Spirit”.. Well that’s a strong word discovered by the politicians and hyped by the media for the lack of any choices.. Just because a bomb blasted in Ghatkopar, people cant avoid trains as they cannot afford the taxi-fares to office when they are running for earning their daily bread!!

That’s it for now.. I think that would be an abrupt ending .. but given this ‘interesting’ topic, this blog can extend to five-six pages!!! So I just sign off without any more ideas, more thoughts, more hopes, and lots of spirits!!

Bye

down the memory lane..

Date and Venue : 20th May 08, Frankfurt Airport

I was waiting for my flight to bring me back home.. Just been looking around when I noticed this Indian mother with her two daughters sitting quite some distance away. The elder one (seemingly in college) seemed to be searching something on the Internet. Some time later, I saw the mother in tears, hugging n embracing her daughters.. It was quite evident that her daughter had got some success in her exams or something similar

This scene took me back to the day when my CA results were out and The Institute decided to offer me its membership.. To be frank, I was more relieved than happy on my achievement.. Not because I didn’t deserve it but somehow I didn’t feel like “on-top-of-the-world”… Just another happy day!! But the moment I called up mom to give this news, I could hear the choking of her voice.. Later, when I reached home, she gave me this big hug and was crying… Then Dad came and - its not a usual sight to see Dad emoting - n he virtually rushed through the door to me… Ohh… I still cant forget those moments !!! Whenever I think of my results, this is the image that comes to my mind..

Not just this, there are many many such instances where I have lived my successes through them..

Mayb thts wat called Love.. pure love.. unconditional love.. They did so much for me n my bro.. taking loads of pains to ensure that we don’t need to suffer any hardships and can concentrate on our education.. Hats off to them.. Love u, Acchan n Amma !!

Living the Madrid Life !!

"I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone"


This "Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day" song lyrics kept my mind busy as I roamed across the Madrid streets in search of nothing... Just wandering across .. being the silent spectator.. watching people pose in front of cameras with big shopping malls, cathedrals, palaces, beggars in the backdrop.. yeah .. even beggars.... here they are really funky.. n even they are artisitic.. Some corners, u see statues of some kings and suddenly u notice that its actually a human being standing still to earn his living !! Also there are various other forms such as orchestras playing on the street and asking for alms..

Madrid sees hoardes of tourists round the clock because of its Meditarranean climate as well as for its city-beauty.. Its a wonderful place with wonderful people .. What really amazes me is their lifestyle.... The working hours and after-work life completely contrasts the Indian style..

Office hours of 9-2 and 4-7 with a two-hour lunch break !!! I used to very much wonder as to what they do for two hours but then once you go with them to a restaurant, you would understand... Picture that against our Indian setting where we rush to lunch in between our work, wen our work permits us !!

Also on weekends, the roads and restaurants are full of people meeting with their family and friends discussing the happenings thruout the week
In India, the only advantage of having a five-day week would be that you can wear come dressed up in casual T-shirts on Saturdays and maybe even an hour late depending on the urgency of work !!

All this makes me wonder - Wat are we making of our lives?? Office and work keeps us busy all days long... Meeting up with friends and loved ones depend on our office work pressure.. How many picnics and outings I have missed because of some assignment that needs to be completed by weekend?? :(

I think we Indian office-goers should seriously start thinking about raising their voices and start the trend of goiing on vacations, not-working on weekends, spending quality time with loved ones..

Let me think of & do something in tht regard.. .. but nywys, firstly let me complete the Project Report as I need to discuss it with Boss tomorrow... If you are free enuf to read this blog, maybe u cld spend it more qualitatively on doiing smthng concrete in this regard ;-)

Hurray !! .. My First Blog ..

Hi folks

Welcome to "sunilpisharody.blogspot.com" .. I am happy you could make it here !!

Wowww... how am feeling on this little new achievement!!.. Have spent too much time reading thru lots of bloggers all across the world.. n been admiring about their writing skills .. so now thought to be on the writer's desk and try putting on the ideas in here... so here I am !!

So wat am I supposed to be blogging about?? Not exactly thought about it as yet...

You may be wondering then why all of a sudden did I feel entering into the Blog-land. without any ideas/ thoughts to share about .... let me give you a reason for the "why-now" :
Because of following reasons:

1) today the 11th May 2008 happens to be my 41st Day in Madrid (21 days on a stretch). Now I dont have any complaints about Madrid.. Its a wonderful city and has been treating me fair enuf.. but still.. miles away from my home.. my parents..my friends...my people..

2) it happens to be a Sunday, a weekend for people to roam around, to be with their near n dear ones, freaking out...

3) I am sitting alone in my hotel room..

4) I dont have any good books to read.. the TV airs only Spanish language.. and my knowledge of that language is restricted to "Holla", "Gracias","Valle".. n such other one-liners...
&
5) u still searching for more reasons, uhhh !

Just happened to read a phrase which said "Every Silence is not a sign of Loneliness".. a wonderful thought.. though I think I cant be really feeling the inner meaning of this one, rite now.. bcos feeling pretty lonely...

Don't worry !! I know its just a phase.. may last for some time.. n then some phone call/ some chat-friend.. n normalcy restored !! ;-)

Now coming back to this blog-space.. this is going to be a space to put down my thoughts as they pass by.... out of the past 25 years on Mother Earth and approx 18 years after learning ABCD, my annual resoultions of maintaining a diary has not crossed the first three weeks of January.. so I am not pretty sure about this online diary.. NO.... But this time.. THIS TIME, I AM goiing to be in here for some really good time...

Thats about it for now.. Maybe would get out to the world outside my hotel for another round of stroll.. :)

Bye bye.. Cheers to life..

Sunil