Behold the beauty...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...and time has proved, not everyone can behold beauty  in all forms. We see beauty in only those places and forms which are in our mind, no offense, our mind is trained that way. Only those places and forms are colorful, rest remains just black and white.  We search for beauty everywhere, but our search is like the run of horses with blinders- we know where to search, the rest goes unseen. We miss out seeing the internal beauty of things, the mystic charm of life. 

We wish to possess a bungalow in a metrocity, drive a super-luxurious car, eat at a posh restaurant, shop in high-end malls, drape in silks and stones, - we feel its beautiful, we consider it divine; meanwhile we miss out on the beauty of the village greenery, the calm walks, the cool talks, the fun of bargain at the local vendor's, the ek-rupaiye ki chai at the corner shop- because for most of us sophistication is beauty, not purity.

अर्ज़ किया 

हुस्न की कदर तो माशा अल्लाह सब करना जानते हैं 

पर इन्सान को अच्छाई की है कदर क्यों नहीं!

यह न देखो भक्तजनों की मंदिर है कितना सुंदर 

देखो तो यह कि मंदिर के अन्दर भगवान है तो सही!

I may be taking a small diversion from the topic, but I would like to present to you to two out of the several examples, one reel and the other real, where I found value and beauty in any form was actually appreciated; FALTU- One motivating movie & CITYSHOR- An org very groovy.

FALTU is a movie about youngsters who are average students, who do not get admissions in any good college because of the cut off grades. a group of friends happen to create a fake website and location of a college, which by chance happens to attract hundreds more like them. All of them, desperate to gain respect, lie to their parents and since they cannot join any other college stay and enjoy in this fake college named Fakirchand And Lakirchand Trust University (FALTU). Things turn around when a guy feels that there is a need to prove themselves and gradually students take up activities of their interest and start practising the unconventional courses. Then as expected one of the parents find out about all this and as expected the students stand to prove themselves. That's the story. But what touched me is the line that a father says to his son, the hero of the movie, who brings about the change and makes everyone want to learn. He says only a 'kabadiwaala' can find value even in the waste and add value to it.  So very true, just like our elders have said- " हीरे की परख सिर्फ जोहरी ही जानता है"


When I speak of finding value, may I mention to you about Cityshor Ahmedabad. You  may have read my previous piece on Cityshor where I had introduced them as a innovative idea of an enterprise. Now that I have been following the updates by Cityshor regularly on  their website http://www.cityshor.com/, I have found that they have indeed kept their senses open to any good places, big or small, posh or simple, sober or stylish. Amidst several enterprises which attempt to  portray that expensive buying is the style of living, we have here a team which provides exposure to  the good without price considerations. They give you a platter full of stuff which they think is worth. Take a look their citations of Bhukkad gali or the Indore Chat house or Maggi Bhajiya which bring taste at low cost or look at some other places which offer a good ambience and good food. Likewise, they present their opinions  on fashion, travel, decor, etc, etc... The places that definitely interested me are the Soul Square Cafe, Unplugged Cafe & Grill, Vintage Village, Coal Art, Happy Potter, Short Circuit to name a few. Thank you CityShor for exploring variety and beauty. 

Worth recognized and justified...

There is a lot of beauty around you, you just need to keep your hearts open...

Cheers...to the beauty beheld... to the beauty hidden!!! 
Cheers to life...

Thalassemia

Dear Readers,

A write up by me about Thalassemia is published on another blog. Please read through it and review.

http://prathamaorg.blogspot.in/

And also act. . . :)

Amdavad ma Shor....with CityShor!

It was a little more than a month ago, I started getting mails regarding job openings in a new organisational setup, the ads started appearing in the newspapers, all arousing curiosity. The organisation seemed "COOL & FUN" and the job requirement seemed like "THE MOST ASPIRED", they wanted a person who wanted to have fun in Ahmedabad, who wanted to explore and bring out the new in Ahmedabad, who could eat, drink, travel, watch movies- in short ENJOY! at the cost of the company (Tell me you don't want to be on such a job and I'd say you are abnormal!). Initially, I thought the company was abnormal.. I thought, why don't they do it themselves! I thought, it was someone preparing for April 1st. But anyhow, long before April 1st things started opening up and new sights of Ahmedabad started unveiling..All thanks to CITYSHOR (www.cityshor.com). 

I am just a few months old in Ahmedabad and I have just roamed around the surrounding areas. I had just about started to think that I know all the good places around me and that's when  CITYSHOR gave me a look of a whole lot of new places which I wouldn't have noticed otherwise and even if I had noticed, I wouldn't have known how good they were. Atleast now I know new places (good places) which I can visit on weekends or whenever I want to.

One very good thing about CITYSHOR is that it is unrestrictedly stretching out towards exploring a variety of setups, be it food or recreation or fashion and as expected the all excited Amdavadis have diligently supported and cheered for CITYSHOR. A very interesting, new age creative enterprise as it is, I hope and wish that, further ahead all cities become SHORful with CITYSHOR!

Cheers to the initiative! Cheers to the unexplored beauty of life!

P.S.: Dear Cityshor, whether or not you send me the movie ticket, I'v appreciation for the work you've begun (btw, I am open to receiving more than one tickets..wink wink)

Love life...live life...

Its a busy age. Life is too fast, too hectic now unlike the olden days, the days of youth of our parents and elders where people had time for each other, had time for talks, had time for fun, had time for all special moments, and most importantly- all these moments were minus disruptions!

Most of us love the age we live in, specially since life is so damn easy. Every item required is a click away, be it food or groceries or clothing or gifts, name it and it is just there ready for you, everyone is just a phone call or video call away whether they live in the neighbourhood lane or the neighbourhood country or at the other end of the world, click the call button and they are there.

The older generation keeps expressing their disbelief to these newer and newer ways which sometimes bring joy and sometimes surprise or further sometimes even bring anguish. True, the new age technology has succeeded in bringing the better out of us, extended higher prospects of growth, provided ease of life; but inturn has led to super-high level of expectations against performance, overambitious goals against growth, and lifelessness in life against ease of life. Human life span has reduced, diseases have increased, minds are messed and hearts fussed.

A happy life is about very simple things like food to eat, place to live, clothes for body cover and love among family and friends. But amidst all the fast paced events, amidst the race for wealth & fame we miss out to enjoy these very simple essentials. Yet...yet there are some moments in life when all these riches and popularity fail to replace the basic amenities of happiness...in such situations all the heart wants is to throw away everything, hide from the world and run over to the loved ones and live life in the simplest possible way. 

Everything said above is just what everyone knows but  just needs to be taken seriously, not just to be waved off. I do not suggest that you stop aiming high for wealth and fame or stop using technology to achieve your goals, I am just wishing and hoping that you wouldn't miss the small events of happiness that come your way on those unexpected moments in the unexpected paths from unexpected sources.

On this note a few lines just for you...

दिल मसरूफियत में भी बुनता है ख़्वाबों का जहाँ

चाहे ये समेटना अपनी सुनहरी बाहों में पूरा समा

जिंदगी की रफ़्तार चाहे हो जितनी तूफानी और तेज़

मुकम्मल खुशियों की खोज में जलती है हर वक़्त साँसों की शमा

Know when to stop and enjoy life....

Know when to move on and still enjoy.....

Love life... live life as it comes. Cheers!!!

ಈ ಮನ ನನ್ನದೇ!!!

ಪ್ರೇಮಿಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಆಗಲಿ, ಸೋದರರ ನಡುವೆ, ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ನಡುವೆ ಅಥವಾ ತಾಯಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮಗುವಿನ ನಡುವೆಯೇ ಆಗಲಿ, ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಎಂಬೋದು ಬಹಳ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಶಬ್ದ, ಬಹಳ ಬಲಿಷ್ಠ ಸಂಬಂಧ. ಆದರೆ ಉಳಿದ ಬಾಂಧವ್ಯಗಳು ಸಮಯದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬೆಳೆಯುವವಾದರೆ, ತಾಯಿ ಮಗುವಿನ ಬಾಂಧವ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಗೂ ಮುಂಚಿನದು. ತಾಯಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತು, ಹೆತ್ತು, ನಮ್ಮ ರಂಪ, ಕೋಪ, ರೇಗಾಟ, ತುಂಟಾಟವನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸಹಿಸಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಬೆಳೆಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ; ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂತಸದಲ್ಲಿ ನಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ದುಖಃದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಶುಭಾಕಾಂಕ್ಷಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತು ಮೆರೆದರೆ, ನಮ್ಮ ಕೆಡುಕು ಬಯಸುವವರ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೆಂಡ ಕಾರುತ್ತಾಳೆ; ನಾವು ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ ಸುಮತಿಯಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತಿದ್ದುತ್ತಾಳೆ, ನಾವು ತಿದ್ದಿಕೊಳ್ಳದಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಿಡುಕುತ್ತಾಳೆ, ಆದರೆ ಅಂತರಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕೆ ನಮಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ನೋಯುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಈ ಮಮಕಾರ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಹೆತ್ತ ಅಮ್ಮಂದಿರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸೀಮಿತವಲ್ಲ, ನೂರು ಕೋಟಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳನ್ನು ಸಂಭಾಳಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಭಾರತ ಮಾತೆಗೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲೆ ಇದೇ ಪ್ರೀತಿ. ಆದರೆ ಈಗಿನ ಜನರನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ, ತಾಯಿಯನ್ನು ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರದಬ್ಬಿ ವೃದ್ಧಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ, ಭಾರತ ಮಾತೆಯನ್ನು ತೊರೆದು ಪರದೇಶದ ಮುದ್ದಿನ ಮಕ್ಕಳಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ.

“ನಮ್ಮ ತಾಯಿ ಭಾರತ ಮಾತೆ ನಮಗೆ ಜನ್ಮ ಕೊಟ್ಟಳು,

ಅವಳ ಪುಣ್ಯ ನಮಗೆ ನೀಡಿ ನಿಜದಿ ಹರುಷ ಪಟ್ಟಳು.”
ಈ ಸಾಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ ನೆನಪಿಂದು ಮರುಕಳಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. “ಜನ್ಮ ಸರಿ, ಆದರೆ ತನ್ನ ಪುಣ್ಯವನ್ನ ನಮಗೆ ನೀಡಿ ನಿಜದಿ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದಳು..” ಎಂಬ ಪದ ಬರೆವ ಮನಸಾಗಿದೆ.
ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ದೂರುಗಳು ತಕರಾರುಗಳು ದಿನ ನಿತ್ಯ ಕೇಳಿಬರುವಂಥವು - “ಈ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಿದೆಯಪ್ಪಾ, ಬರೀ ಗೋಳು.” “ಈ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನ ಸರಿ ಇಲ್ಲ” “ಈ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ಬರೀ ತಿನ್ನೋದೇ” “ಈ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆಗಳು ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಹೊಂಡ, ಸಂಬಂಧಿಕರ ಕಾಟ” “ಈ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪರಾಧ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜಾಸ್ತಿಯಾಗಿದೆಯಪ್ಪಾ ರಾಮ ರಾಮ!” ಮತ್ತು ಕೊನೆಗೆ, “ಯಾವಾಗ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಯುಎಸ್, ಯೂಕೆ ಅಥವಾ ಅಟ್‍ಲೀಸ್ಟ್ ದುಬೈಗಾದ್ರೂ ಹೋಗ್ತಿನೋ ಅಂತ ಅನ್ನಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದೆ, ಬೇಡಪ್ಪ ಭಾರತ ನಂಗೆ!!!”

ಭಾರತವನ್ನ ದೂರೋ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಭಾರತೀಯರಲ್ಲೂ ಕೇಳೊ ಆಸೆ- ಹುಟ್ಟಿ ಬೆಳೆದ ಈ ಭೂಮಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಇಂಥ ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ ಯಾಕೆ? ದೂರುಗಳ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡೋದು ಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಪಟ್ಟಿಯನ್ನ ಕಡಿಮೆಗೊಳಿಸೋ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಲ್ಲಾ ಯಾಕೆ? ದೂರದ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ನುಣ್ಣಗೆ ಅಂತಾರೆ, ಈ ಭಾರತ ಕೈಗೆಟುಕದಷ್ಟು ದೂರ ಆಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಅದಕ್ಕಾ! ಬಿಡಿ, ಅವರಿಗೆಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಥ ಆಗತ್ತೆ. ಈ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಕವನ ಭಾರತದಿಂದ ದೂರ ಸರಿಯುವ ಮನಸಿರುವ ಭಾರತೀಯರಿಗಾಗಿ...

ಸಂತಸದಿ ಕುಣಿದಿದ್ದ ದಿನಗಳು, ಕ್ಷಣಗಳು ಈಗ ಈ ಮನಕೆ ನೆನಪಾಗದೇಕೆ!

ಒಲಿದ ಮನಗಳೊಡನೆ ಬಾಂಧವ್ಯ ಬೆಳೆಸಿದ್ದ ಆ ಸುಂದರ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳು ಮರೆತದ್ದು ಏಕೆ!

ನೆನಪಾದರೂ ಮನಕೆ ದೂರದ ಆ ಬೆಟ್ಟವೇ ನುಣ್ಣಗಿರುವಂತೆ ಕಾಣುವುದೇಕೆ!

ತಾಯಿಯಾಸರೆಯಿಂದ ತಬ್ಬಿಬ್ಬು ನಾನೆಂದು ದೂರುತಿಹ ಮನಸು- ಇದು ನನ್ನದೇ??

ತಾಯಿಯನು ತೊರೆದು ಮಲತಾಯಿಯೆಡೆ ತಿರುಗಿ ಕನಸಕಟ್ಟುವ ಮನಸು- ಇದು ನನ್ನದೇ???

ನಮ್ಮೂರ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಸುವಾಸನೆ ಬೀರಿ ಸಂತಸಗೊಳಿಸಿದ್ದು ನೆನಪಾಗದೇಕೆ!

ಮನವ ಮುದಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಹೂಬಳ್ಳಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಅಂಗಳದಿ ಪರದೇಶಿ ಗಿಡಗಳ ತೋರಿಕೆಯೇಕೆ!

ಆಸರೆಯ ನೀಡಿದ ಅಂಗಳದ ಹೂ ನಾನೇ ಎಂಬುದು ಕಣ್ಣಿದ್ದರೂ ನನಗೆ ಕಾಣದೇಕೆ!

ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೆಂಬ ಹೂವಿಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ಸಾಟಿಯಿಲ್ಲವೆಂಬುದು ಈ ಹುಚ್ಚು ಮನಸಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯದೇಕೆ!

ತಾಯಿಯ ಕಂಗಳ ಕಂಬನಿಯ ಕಡೆಗಾಣೊ ಮೂರ್ಖ ಮನಸು- ಇದು ನನ್ನದೇ??

ತಾಯಿಯನು ತೊರೆದು ಮಲತಾಯಿಯೆಡೆ ತಿರುಗಿ ಕನಸಕಟ್ಟುವ ಮನಸು- ಇದು ನನ್ನದೇ???

THE NEW YEAR IS HERE!!!

Each one of us have spent the several years of our lives being firsts, being part if some firsts, experiencing firsts and looking at firsts. There are a few firsts which never occur again like the first smile or step of a baby, the first day at school, the first love, the first kiss...and these firsts are imprinted in our hearts like a dimple on a cheek.. but there some more firsts which recur- like the first day of school after holidays, the first day of the week-Monday, the first day of every new year.....despite the recurrence these firsts somehow manage to create a difference, a kick start, a re-start.. Today is such a day which has been the same...but different.

The new year has brought along a new series of hopes and commitments, a new excitement for evens and odds. This isn't different from the beginning of any year. Its a practice, a habit we have followed at the end of each year to plan the dos and don'ts, to look for something fresh, to frame new resolutions for the next year, most of which are likely to end up being just on record. We spend the wee hours of the first day of January taking time to wish our loved ones, party with them, recollect the memories of the past year and laugh with them..The first of January is one of the special few days when you have to wake up even before you sleep (sometimes not sleep at all), yet you do-without complaints, without pale faces, without negative showcases. That's the love for the new, that's the spirit of newness, that's our welcome to another new year.

Here we are again with the same love, the same spirit, the same excitement and here it is, another new year, as secretive, as sensuous, as sophisticated  as attractive as ever..provoking us to feel it, to live it and love it. The New Year Is Here!!!

Make it different 

Feel the difference, feel the sameness

Make a difference

Just feel the strength and feel the lameness

Cheers!!!