दिल.. झूमता सितारा...

सपनों की दुनिया जगमगाई फिर से 

दिल में अमन सा छा गया...

प्यार भी उभरा ऐसा, कसम से 

बिखरा दिल दोबारा जुड़ गया...

फूलों वाली रंगीन बस्ती में ही 

जैसे चाँद का टुकड़ा खिल गया...

मोहोब्बत है इतनी मिली मुझे की

दिल भी झूमता सितारा बनगया...

An attempt to write...after really long... Not bad eh!

ದನಿಯಾಯಿತೇ ಚಿತ್ರ?

ದನಿಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಮಾತು
ಚಲನೆ ಇಲ್ಲದ ನಡಿಗೆ
ಎದ್ದು ಬಂದಂತಿಹನು
ಈ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಪೋರ, ಚಿತ್ರದಿಂದ ಜೀವಕೆ

ಅಸೆಗಳ ಹೊಸೆದು ನಿಂತಿಹನು
ಕೈ ಚಾಚಿಹನು ನನ್ನ ನಿಮ್ಮೆಡೆಗೆ
ಹಂಚಬಯಸಿವೆ ಆ ಕಂಗಳು
ತಮ್ಮ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ನೂರಾರು ಜನಕೆ

ಈ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಕಂಗಳಲಿ
ಪ್ರತಿಫಲಿಸುವ ಆಂತರ್ಯ ಕಂಡಿತೇ ನಿಮಗೆ!
ಅಸ್ಪೃಶ್ಯನಲ್ಲ ನಾ, ನನ್ನನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸಿ-
ಎಂದವನ ಮನದಾಳದ ಕೋರಿಕೆ....

ಚಿತ್ರ : krishna.gummani

Gushing Pain..!?

It rained today...
Rained real bad
It splashed around the streets and buildings
It hit the trees hard 

The earth, the trees and mere humans 
Accepted the wrath with heads bowed low
But the structures of metal and cement
Heartlessly, casually passed the solid blow

Nature's creations know, the mother's anger is only valid
Coz the children have been hurting her bad
But the human's creations, lacking any sense 
Don't understand emotions- happy and sad 

Who is to blame, but mother nature herself
For raising us petty humans with so much love 
Who is to blame, but mother nature herself
For letting us rise beyond her and above... 

To all Mammas and Pappas...

Back after long long long....

And I am writing here today because today is special, the day my Amma and Appa got married 42 years ago. 

And this is for the love of them…This is a dedication to my parents, a dedication to all parents.

(P.S: The lines are a little clumsy, please bear with me.)

Dear Mammas and Pappas,

Remember the nights when you were so worn out that you’d doze off in the loo,

And how, even then, our slightest movement was enough to alert you;

Remember the mornings of your lives when you sprinted to get us off to school,

And how we would never bother much and refuse to play by the rule;

Remember how you gleamed in pride when we had first won some little games,

And how you saved those victory pics for years together in those frames;

Remember our teenage years when we made you feel so low,

And how, you never gave up hope and decided to go with the flow;

Remember the days you were worried sick due to our spendthrift attitude,

And how you somehow know even now that money control is still off our latitude;

Remember the pre-wedding jitters you had before those weddings of ours,

And when we showed those jittery sides you hopped in with those super powers;

We remember the love you showered on us without conditions or confines,

And how we failed to utter to you some minimum loving lines;

We remember that we have expressed towards the whole world but you,

But that’s just because we have always known that you’ll treat us as good as new.

Love,

Kids these days…

Go EGO!!!

It seems like years since I’ve written a word. I guess this phase, when we feel detached from our favourite activities, favourite food and sometimes even our favourite people, is common to everyone’s life. It doesn’t imply that we have grown hatred towards those things or people, as I said it is just a passing phase, a phase which, if handled well, can end in developing the same interests and relationships for better.

But, we human beings have issues…huge issues. Sometimes our egos stand as barriers and at times the others’. We sometimes stop doing an activity we like most because someone close to us thinks it is a waste of time or unworthy or gives us some other random reason, likewise, we stop communicating to someone close to our heart because the person, according to us, did something which hurt us (could be sometimes true and at others just an assumption born out of our amplified egos).

I could be wrong, but I sometimes feel that egos grow with generations. When I look at the my parents, the eldest generation (generation of the 40’s & 50’s) I have been watching day in and day out, I wonder how they could be so cool about people or incidents of the past which really really affected their lives, how they just acceptingly smile at the most disregardful people, how they manage not to lose it when the kids play nasty; yes they have their bad days too, ofcourse they wouldn’t probably understand the differed values and priorities of life of the younger generation, but they are by far the best models for the new sprigs. Next in line, I have closely noticed, is the generation of the 70’s, who carry a modern outlook to life, yet touch base with the roots. True to the rule they have issues too, but they know how to handle relationships, or should I say how not to mishandle relationships. Now about us, we are tech-savvy, excessively fast and have the ability to handle any work crisis sitting in some resort without letting the boss know of our absence at work, we use iphones& ipads, send i-cards and  i-gifts, book i-tickets; we are so obssessed with the letter 'i' that we seize to remember that any other letter exists, specially "u" and "we". We crave for love and care in relationships, but expect the others to come forward, we long for smiles but ourselves keep ironed faces, we crave to hug a friend when sad but put up wide smiles to hide the sadness and when a relationship withers we break even by making new relationships and never try hard enough to set things right however special the lost relationship be. 

There again we go back to square one…our egos…we give the reason for non-expression several names like fear, respect, care etc. but ultimately it is the ego thrashing us left, right and center without us even realizing it. I myself have had several occasions when disputes could have been easily sorted with a little of selfless thought. There are misunderstandings I didn't try to clear giving self-respect as the reason, there are several interests I left buried having respect for others as the reason, there are several things I never tried giving fear as the reason; all reasons sum up to the three letter killer 'EGO'. We hide behind self-respect, fear, respect and other such terms because we want to protect & preserve our ego like a just-conceived baby, very prominent to us but unknown to the world. In the thick of following the "i" we don't even realize when our life, instead of moving forward, stagnates and twists and turns to become a "!".

Well, I just decided that I shall try to get rid of all the synonyms of "EGO" and start off fresh and new. Its easy to go without an ego!!!!

Cheers to going... Cheers to letting go....

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???